© Ashgate Publishing Ltd www.ashgate.com www.ashgate.com www.ashgate.com www.ashgate.com www.ashgate.com www.ashgate.com © Ashgate Publishing Ltd Vincenzo Gonzaga and the Body Politic: Impotence and Virility at Court 1 Molly Bourne Florence, 19 February 1584: For the frst born [Eleonora de’Medici], betrothal was strictly negotiated with the Prince of Mantua [Vincenzo Gonzaga], whose frst wife had been a daughter of the Prince of Parma. And they were divorced on account of her impotence, something that rarely happens to women. And because the Farnese factions went about denying the thing, our Most Serene Patrons [the Medici] wanted to clarify the situation with extraordinary diligence. 2 Giuliano de’ Ricci, Cronaca (1532–1606) On October 9, 1583, Cardinal Carlo Borromeo pronounced the annulment of the marriage of Vincenzo Gonzaga, crown prince and future Duke of Mantua, with Margherita Farnese, whom he had wed two years earlier when she was just thirteen years old. 3 The reason for the annulment, according to evidence from extensive medical examinations of the young princess, was a congenital deformation that prevented her from consummating the union. 4 Margherita’s clinical diagnosis as an “unbreachable gate” rendered her perfect for the cloister, to which she was ofered no alternative. Still and forever destined to be a virgin, Margherita entered a convent in Parma, where she spent the rest of her long life under the religious name of Maura Lucenia, and died there in 1643 at the age of 75. Afer this frst fasco in the princely marriage market, Vincenzo’s family lost no time in proceeding with negotiations for a second and hopefully more successful marriage, this time to Eleonora de’ Medici, eldest daughter of Grand Duke Francesco I. The future of the Gonzaga state depended upon the ability of Vincenzo (Duke Guglielmo’s only son), to generate a male heir. Dynastic continuity was at stake, and procreation was, of course, critical for this purpose. Deeply ofended by Margherita’s repudiation by the Gonzaga, the Farnese fomented rumors that the failure to consummate the marriage was due not to any physical “defect” of the princess, but rather the impotence of prince Vincenzo. Accusations of impotence were a powerful threat to a man’s honor and identity, and when the man in question was a dynastic prince, the stakes 2 From Sara F. Matthews-Grieco (ed.), Cuckoldry, Impotence and Adultery in Europe (15th–17th century), published by Ashgate Publishing. See: http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472414397 © Molly Bourne (2014)