Giulio de' Medici entered the world on the 26th of May 1478 in Florence. His birth followed a tragedy that occurred exactly one month earlier. On the 26th of April 1478, his father Giuliano de Medici died inside the Florence Cathedral. Enemies of the family murdered him during a plot known as the Pazzi conspiracy. Giulio was born illegitimate, and the identity of his mother remains unknown to history. Scholars suggest she may have been Fioretta Gorini, daughter of a professor named Antonio Gorini.
The infant spent his first seven years with an architect named Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. He served as Giulio's godfather during these early days. Lorenzo the Magnificent then raised Giulio alongside his own children. Giovanni became Pope Leo X later in life. Piero and Giuliano were Giulio's brothers by blood or adoption within the Medici household. Humanists like Angelo Poliziano educated Giulio at the Palazzo Medici. He studied alongside prodigies including Michelangelo.
Giulio developed into a shy man with handsome features. He possessed great musical talent despite his circumstances. His natural inclination pointed toward the clergy. Illegitimacy barred him from high-ranking Church positions initially. Lorenzo helped him carve out a career as a soldier instead. He joined the Knights of Rhodes and became Grand Prior of Capua. When Lorenzo died in 1492, Giulio entered Church affairs more deeply. He studied canon law at the University of Pisa.
Cardinal Power And Strategy
On the 23rd of September 1513, Leo created him cardinal during the first Papal consistory. Giulio received the position of Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica. Marco Minio, the Venetian ambassador to the Papal Court, wrote about him in 1519. Minio described Giulio as having great power with the Pope despite his illegitimate birth. He noted that Giulio did nothing important without consulting Leo first. Yet he also returned to Florence to govern the city independently.
Leo X governed in partnership with his cousin from the beginning. Giulio administered Church affairs in Florence and conducted international relations. Henry VIII of England appointed him Cardinal protector of England in January 1514. Francis I of France nominated him Archbishop of Narbonne the following year. In 1516, Francis named him cardinal protector of France. Kings of both nations pressured him to resign one protectorship due to conflict of interest. Giulio refused their demands and maintained both roles simultaneously.
Clement VII's wavering politics caused the rise of the Imperial party inside the Curia. Cardinal Pompeo Colonna's soldiers pillaged Vatican Hill and gained control of all Rome. The humiliated Pope promised to bring the Papal States back to the Imperial side again. Soon after, Colonna left the siege and went to Naples without keeping promises. Clement could do nothing but follow the fate of the French party