"Give me the child." "Here we are." "Here." "You have suffered your mother's absence for too long." "Come." "Hush now." "You will be with her in a minute." "My lady." "There will be no more barriers to a mother's affection for her son." "None." "Next year, the year of our Lord 1500 will be a year ofjubilee, jubilate, jubilation." "And we would have it be the greatest the most glorious, the holiest year of jubilee in the history of our Holy Mother Church." "And we look to you, our cardinals to ensure its success." "We are putting on a show here." "Pilgrims will be flocking to Rome from all over Christendom." "And we would create in our St. Peter's a spectacle of such magnificence to satisfy the universal longing for salvation." "For example, the shroud which bears the imprint of our saviour's face-- ls in Constantinople, Your Holiness." "But must it remain there?" "In the absence of Your Holiness's great Turkish crusade, I'm afraid it must, yes." "Oh, well, there must be others." "Relics which have touched upon the lives and bodies of our beloved saints." "Oratorios celebrating the life of our most blessed saviour." "Hymns yet to be written." "We will provide the spectacle." "And the pilgrim who kneels in awe will be more likely to contribute generously to St. Peter's pence." "We await your suggestions with anticipation." "No further, my lady." "The plague lives in this rag." "Back away now." "God preserve you." " Your Holiness?" "Yes." "You asked for ideas." "Oh, yes, we did indeed." "Well, this idea is not mine." "It was your predecessor's, Pope Innocent's." "God rest his soul." "Pope lnn0cent's proposition was a bank of sinners." "Oh, yes." "We remember his idea." "We opposed it at the time." "I see." "But rather than repentance by means of prayer penance, fasting, flagellation the sinner would pay for his or her forgiveness in coin." "Gold, silver, promissory notes." "The liar, for example, would pay more than the fornicator less in turn than the usurer." "The usurer would pay less than the murderer and so on, and so on." "A sinner saved is a sinner saved." "And in the coming jubilee year, Rome will be flooded with pilgrims, penitents, all sinners." "All thronging the confessionals for their share of heavenly grace." "The simple expedient of a coin box outside each confessional may make the process manageable." "We will consider it." "Your Holiness." "Your devotion is noted." "Vitelli." "Why ask to meet me here in the middle of nowhere?" "Neutral ground." "Neither Rome nor Forli?" "Near La Spezia." "So surprise me with what you want." "Your allegiance." "And that of the Orsini, Baglioni." "And why would I give you that?" "The pope will not even give you full charge of his army." "Come." "France did me some favours, my lord." "Why would I need my father's army when I have one of my own?" "Holiness." "Observe our new bees, Cardinal Sforza." "However far they swarm in search of pollen, they always return with their bounty to the hive." "Like the pilgrims of Christendom, flocking to Rome." "They are not the only ones flocking to Rome." "There are also the Jews." "Good." "The Jews?" "Yes, from Constantinople." "More of them come every day." "Begging for trading rights within the city walls." "Indeed." "Taste that, cardinal." "Vatican honey." "How is it?" "Marvellous, Your Holiness." "Tell us at present, how stand the taxes?" "Particularly the taxes from the merchant guilds of Rome." "They are somewhat in arrears." "By how much?" "You can see for yourself." "Let us meet with the Jews." "A message for the Borgia pope." "My lord." "So you were driven out of Constantinople by the Turks." "We too have issues with the Turks." "We have taken it upon ourselves to rid the civilised world of their presence." "A great and glorious crusade against the infidel." "A crusade which must necessarily benefit you." "A crusade follows a Christian cross, Your Excellency." "We Jews have no business with a crusade." "But Rome follows a Christian cross and you Jews would do business with Rome." "We offer you a home, a place to prosper and the opportunity to contribute to the downfall of your enemies." "I must see the pope!" "And in return, what can we poor merchants offer you?" "Not so poor, I suspect." "A fair price for trading within Rome's walls a small contribution towards our holy crusade, and a tithe towards next year's holy year ofjubilee." " You ask for much." "As do you." "Or would you rather return to Constantinople?" "This matter cannot wait, Your Holiness." "The French army has landed at Liguria." "What?" "Let us know your decision." "The French army?" "They put into the port of La Spezia under darkness and disembarked made their way inland." "How many?" "Reports conflict, Your Holiness." "Some say 10,000, some say more." " Are they heading south towards Rome?" "I don't know, Holiness." " Well, you don't know much!" "Forgive me." "I've" "Summon all the generals of the papal army." "Go immediately." "What has he done?" "Has he insulted the king?" "Raped some poor princess?" "What in heaven's name could have brought this upon us?" "An entire army lands without your knowledge?" "King Louis of France invades our shores without your knowledge?" " And without our permission." "He has our permission." "Allow me to present the Archbishop of Rouen." "I have taken the liberty of pledging to him a Cardinal's hat as acknowledgement of the continuing amity between France and Rome." "Your Holiness, gentlemen, Cardinal D'Amboise." "Your Holiness." "Give me joy of my marriage, Father." "I am an honest man at last." "What do you say to this army?" "The French army that has landed in Liguria has done so with my permission, and is under my command." " With your permission?" "In your name, Father." " We gave you no such dispensation." "You said to ensure the safety of Rome." "You told me moreover that there were no limits to the extent of my negotiations." "I took you at your word." "I bring you an army." " Out!" "Out!" "Out!" "Go." "All of you." "All of you." "So you appoint cardinals now?" "In your name, Father." "He is most likely spying for King Louis but at least he is where we can keep watch on him." " You would bring an army into our land." "An army that answers to me alone." "But we have our own army." "Ill-equipped, ill-funded, spread thin, unprepared." "My army stands four days' march from Milan and Milan is not ready for me." "I propose that I ride north." "That I rally Italian families to my cause." "That I overthrow the tyrant, Ludovico Sforza." "That I take Milan" " In the name of King Louis of France." "Before Catherine Sforza even realises that the fight has come to her doorstep." "You would give away cities as if you were playing cards?" "I would eliminate the Sforza dynasty." "Ludovico, first." "And it need not trouble the papal armies one iota." "Then, Catherine." "But to have the French in Milan was not our design." "No." "But it was the only design that ensured success." "And you told me to secure our every advantage." "And I have done so." "I brought you an army, Father." "Would you have me send it back?" "Doors." "Ride north, Cesare." "That is our command." "You spoke out of turn." " They will throw us back to Cephalonia." "l'm well aware of that but I think I can read that Alexander." "I know what he wants." "The holy crusade against the Turks requires coin." "That is what he wants." "What coin do we have?" "He already looks to drain us bloodless with his taxation." "Yes, yes, yes." "So we must convince him not to." "Think!" "What do we have that they do not?" " The Spear of Longinus." "Yes." "The spear that pierced Christ's side while on the cross?" "The same." " But it has been lost for centuries." "No, not lost." "Kept." "Hidden." "Safe." "A secret known only to the Jews." " So the king died." "Most horribly." " And you have your son back." "For now, until the new king is crowned." "There are several claimants, I've heard." "ls your Alfonso among them?" "There are two in line before him." " Did you marry the wrong man, sis?" "Of course. ls it not my habit?" "If I married a thousand times, it would always be the wrong choice." "And you, brother, did you marry the wrong woman?" "Of course." "But she is beautiful and cultivated." "And came with an army, I am told." "France gave me the army." "The same which devastated the lands that I have moved to." "Are you sure about this?" "Now you take issue with me." "Just like our father." "Well, neither of us likes surprises." "A father may forget that one day his son will follow his example, not his advice." "My darling brother in whom politics, stratagem, and affection are always linked." "Not unlike my sister." "My, how beautiful you are." "I love my husband, Cesare, however difficult it has been." "Do you love your wife?" "Love is not an issue between us." "There is none other like you." "Well, then promise me that you will return victorious and that your French engagement will never put my marriage in danger." "Your marriage to Naples?" "My marriage to my husband who is of Naples." "This is a love which our parents will never allow!" "Such is the tragedy of our love." "What is this?" "A message from Lady Catherina Sforza of Forli to His Holiness Pope Alexander Sextus of Rome." " Treating for peace." "Peace?" "I wasn't aware we were at war." "For a continued peace, my lord." "Burn it." " My lord" "Catherina has no more interest in suing for peace than I do." "She seeks to sow confusion, cloud our mind with doubt." "She thinks a pope who seeks the peace will not ready himself for war." "This is a bluff." "Is that not for His Holiness to decide?" "I would not have His Holiness's judgement tainted one jot with Catherina Sf0rza's poisoned words." "Burn it." "Your eminence." "Burn it." "Burn it." "As you wish." "Wait." "Wait." "We should at least preserve the box." " It is exquisite." "Yes, your eminence." "More wine." "Your choice of drinking halls have fallen off of late, Vitelezzo." "The wine may have little to recommend it but the location does." " Halfway from Milan to Forli?" "Convenient for all of us." "Are you sure this intrigue of yours is convenient for all of us, Vitelezzo?" "Judge for yourself." "We threw the papal armies in his face, called his bluff." "And now he has an army of his own." "As does Catherine." " The scales balance." "For the moment, perhaps." "But what of us?" "Our men, united under a common banner w0uld tip the scales one way or another, would they not?" "So do we toss a coin?" "There is Rome." "There, Forli." "Now, I tell you plain, I care little for the Borgia pope." "But I have looked his son in the eye, and I have seen his army massing on the quay in La Spezia, and this much is plain:" "Rome is no longer the Borgia Pope alone." "Rome is Cesare Borgia also." "And that, in all truth, is a fight I have no stomach for." "So do you ride with me'?" "There was talk of an army." "This is just a small fraction of the army already on the march to Milan." "You are all second sons." "Bastard sons." "With fathers who deny you your rightful estates." "I offer you a chance to carve out your own fate." "To damn your fathers to the past." "Or to hell." "Ride with me my bastard army to the only future allowed us." "Soldiers!" "Move!" "Shall we drink?" "To the bastards." " Speak for yourself." "To the bastards." " To the bastards." "The bastards." "To us." "And the contents?" "An earnest supplication of peace even as we tremble on the brink of war and a supplication intended for the pope alone." " This is dangerous." "Well, perhaps." "But also an opportunity." "A lever." "Cesare Borgia seeks to suppress the one piece of news which could entirely alter the tapestry of politics in Italy." "Why?" "Why?" "Does it matter?" "He seeks to suppress it." "To keep it from his father." "Well, whatever their personal enmities may be this is treason, is it not?" "And I command the one piece of evidence." "May it benefit you." "I'm sure it will." "The Spear of Longinus?" "It has touched the blood of your Christ." " You know where it is?" "It sat deep beneath Jerusalem buried, for centuries." "It was moved, with our tribe, to Constantinople." "It travels with us." "We keep it hidden." "For events of great import, or portent." "Such as our imminent entry into Rome." "Yes." "We poor Jews have little in the way of coin but we are rich in history and we would like to show our gratitude to Your Holiness in whichever way God allows." "lf...?" "We can gain entry into Rome." "Can you send it to us here?" "It is already on its way, Your Holiness." "I could gift it to you if..." "We understand." "We will have a relevant bull drawn up." "And on receipt of the Spear of Longinus you and your people will be welcome to make your homes here in Rome." "Your Excellency's generosity knows no bounds." "Good to see at least one of our cardinals takes our purposes so closely to heart." "Thank you, Holiness." "That Cardinal Farnese will go far." "Indeed." " Forward!" "Keep up at the back!" "An army!" "We're under attack!" "That way!" "Men, to your swords!" "Get me my horse." "Make way!" "Move." "Hold the line!" "Well, well, the Spear of Longinus." "Apparently." "And to quote the Holy Father's words of approval:" ""That young man will go far."" "Again, apparently." "Do I detect a note of irritation, cardinal?" "If I may be so precipitant, even jealousy?" "No, cardinal, merely of caution." "Jews have sold Christians dud relics for centuries." "Why, Pope Innocent was offered the Ark of the Covenant by an itinerant rabbi from Salamanca." "We are children to their guile, cardinal." "Innocents, like our saviour himself." "And someone must knock this fake antiquarian off his perch." "Your Holiness, may I present to you a treasure that we feared was lost forever to the eyes of Christendom." "The spear that touched the blood of our saviour himself." "The Spear of Longinus." "Even the wrapping, Holiness falls away at the touch." " May we hold it?" "Jndeed." "It has been awaiting hands as blessed as yours." "Legend has it, it sometimes trembles to the touch." "Indeed." "We felt it tremble." "Holiness, if I may interrupt this sacred moment may I also present the Spear of Longinus." "Were there two spears?" "Were there two Longinuses?" "Sadly, Your Holiness, having researched the matter there appear to be many." "One in Alexandria, one in a monastery in Sicily." "And one was promised to your predecessor, Pope Innocent by a Moor fleeing from the siege of Granada." "This current claimant to the title was found in an Etruscan ruin north of Rome." "Does it tremble to the touch?" "It can be made to." "Would your cardinal be so kind?" "It looks authentic." "It feels authentic." "But as to the tremulation there is none." "And there is fresh sap, I see, oozing from the wood." "This wood was cut from a Roman beech tree I would hazard, within a month past." "Are there beeches in the Holy Land?" "No, cardinal, there are not." "There are cedars in the Holy Land." "Yews." "There are no beeches." "But we thank you, cardinal for proving the authenticity of the real Spear of Longinus which we will present to the world when we break down the doors of St. Peter's at the beginning of next year's jubilee!" "And you, cardinal may consign this piece of pretend relic to the trove of forgeries from which you found it." "My Lord Sforza?" "My mother was right." "Come tomorrow's dawn there will be rivers of blood." "What now?" "I've seen enough." "Tomorrow our fathers will know our place in history." " Until tomorrow." "Tomorrow!" "When we take Milan, my brother, we'll see who's the better fighter." " Are we ready?" "Soon, my lord." "How long to pull the cannon into place?" " Four hours." "Not one living soul gets in or out." " Of course." "My lord, you must come see." "The gates are open, my lord." "The city looks unguarded." "Mama!" "Mama!" "Welcome to Milan, my lord." "Where's Ludovico Sforza?" "Where's ll Moro?" "Where's the duke?" "Gone, my lord." "And his army?" "Gone with him." "What's this molten thing?" "It was a bronze horse once." "Ten houses high." " Designed by Leonardo" "Da Vinci." "The duke had it melted down for cannon then abandoned the cannon, rode into the hills." "The French King would meet with Leonardo." "If he can find him." "Da Vinci is gone too." " We have Milan, my lord." "No, the French have Milan." "And Ludovico Sforza lives to fight another day." "And he has a rightful claim to Naples." "Damn him!" "So you say it trembles?" "So legend has it, Your Holiness." "Or does it just seem to tremble?" "No, Your Holiness!" "The judgement of Solomon." "I think we will have to make do with "seems."" "Our Holy Mother Church is driven by belief." "And we choose to believe that this is the Spear of Longinus so that you and your tribe may make your lives here in Rome." "Now, what other gifts do you have to bring us?" "Stefano?" "Stefano, I need you!" "Stefano." " Stefano." "Do not enter, your eminence." "I've been calling" "Are you sick?" "What's the matter?" "I am burning up with fever." "Plague!" "Plague!"