Cardinal Latino Orsini to Piero de’ Medici
Magnifice vir, affinis tanquam frater carissime, salutem,—With great joy we have signed what our Johanni Tornabuoni brought us from you. I hope, thanks be to God, that this thing will conduce to the well-being of your house and of ours, for it pleases us old people, also the youth and the maiden, and indeed all. We should be glad to see our nephew Lorenzo, or saltem his brother, at the feast of the Nativity. We should give him a magnificent, a quiet, or a middling reception, according to your wishes, for we only desire to please you in this: and you may rest assured that all we have is at your disposal and pleasure. Be careful, I beg of you, to keep well and joyful, thus nought will be wanting to you or to us.—Ex Urbe, die 26 Novembris 1468.
L. Cardinalis De Ursinus,
Manu propria, Episcopus Tusculanus.[125]
Filippo de’ Medici, Archbishop of Pisa, at Rome, to Piero de’ Medici
Magnifice vir, tanquam pater honorande, post commendationem, &c.,—By Giovanni Tornabuoni I received your letter, and he has given me the message from Your Magnificence. It pleases me mightily; I do not think that in these times Your Magnificence could have done better. I could not be better pleased or more gratified, considering that it is for the benefit and the common good of all; therefore I congratulate Your Magnificence. And that Your Magnificence may be amply informed about everything, although I know you will hear all from Giovanni, nevertheless it is my duty to tell you that this very day, in the name of God, everything has been concluded. The reason why the contract is not per verba de presenti is that Monsignore [Cardinal Orsini] does not wish it to be divulged, therefore we send a sketch of the contract according to his desire; the one sent to us was simple enough. Everything has been agreed to in the following fashion, videlicet: That they give a dower of 6000 Roman florins in money, jewels, and dresses; which they stipulate should return to their heirs should she not have children or dispose of it by will. They agree that you should not give her the fourth part of the dower, as is customary here; and in this and all other matters, the Florentine usage and custom is to be followed save in the restitution of the dower if she dies sine filiis et intestata. Thus neither the custom here nor the custom there will be absolutely adhered to, so that both parties will be content. I have been present at all the arrangements, and they seem to me honest and reasonable; for you do not need her fortune, and your own remains to you. It is but reasonable that they should have their way in something.
Magnificent Piero, I value the connection much, but they are even more desirous and glad to be related to you. Of a truth their pleasure is not to be described. This must be a satisfaction to you, and every day, if it pleases God, you will be better satisfied, and we also; for truly if I had a hundred tongues I could not tell Your Magnificence how pleased I am. Send the contract soon, for it will be impossible to keep this affair secret, as Pietro d’Arcangelo, chancellor of the Duke of Urbino, has spoken of it, and these Pazzi have begun to spread the news.
You have not sent the letters I asked Your Magnificence for; probably because you had letters from the King to send here concerning the affair about which I wrote. If you have them it would be well to send them as I can assure Your Magnificence that if the friend takes up the business I have good hopes of success. Whatever Your Magnificence does in this and other matters about which I shall write will be well done, as I am certain that Your Magnificence values my well-being and my honour as much as I do myself. I commend myself to Your Magnificence, et quam Deus felicem conservet.—Rome, November 27, 1468. Magnificentie Vestres,
Filius Phy. Archiepiscopus Pisanus,
manus propria.
I said above that I had good hopes if the letters are sent, not because I rely on the benevolence of him who is to do the affair, but because he, if he wishes to gain a place, must give his companion a share, who will either do nothing or be obliged to act according to the will of the other. But he has a great desire to succeed, and will not give heed to what people say, and therefore will not care much for those who may claim their share at any cost. The afore-mentioned affair [the marriage] has not been announced yet to our Lord the Pope, because it did not seem good to Monsignore to do so before the contract is here.[126]
Francesco Tornabuoni, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s uncle, who together with his brother Giovanni was in the Medici bank at Rome, did his best to inspire his nephew with love for the girl suggested by Giovanni as his bride by writing flowery descriptions of her.