A Brief History
On October 30, 1501, the long history of sordid affairs involving popes and goings on in the Vatican reached a bizarre new level when Cesare Borgia, a cardinal in the Catholic Church and son of Pope Alexander VI, hosted “The Ballet of Chestnuts” at his father’s residence, the Papal Palace. What made this gala party so special was that it was attended by 50 prostitutes for the pleasure of the guests.
Digging Deeper
Also at the party were the Pope and his daughter Lucretia. The 50 “party girls” were at first clothed as they danced with and for the guests, but they then removed their garments. Chestnuts were strewn around, and the girls got down on their hands and knees to pick them off the floor. Prizes were offered to the guests who could perform the most sex acts with the girls, and an orgy ensued. It is said that Pope Alexander himself distributed the prizes, being personally fascinated with male virility.
Although Catholic authorities deny that this orgy as described by the Master of Ceremonies, Johann Burchard, who made a written account of the party, ever happened, they do admit that Cesare Borgia did host a party at this time. Catholic researchers claim that enemies of Pope Alexander VI purposely exaggerated this incident to smear him and his legacy. Those who have a much lower opinion of the Borgia family describe the reign of Alexander VI as generally rife with corruption and immorality and are inclined to believe the sordid details.
This event was portrayed in season 3, episodes 4 of the Showtime series The Borgias. This cable television show created a version of the story in which the Borgias themselves were not present but instead used the party as a trap to blackmail the immoral Cardinals in attendance. The gist of the series is that not only was the Vatican corrupt and ruthless but so were the other royal and powerful families of the time. (By the way, the production is movie quality and a must see for those viewers who appreciate the dress and customs of the Renaissance.)
Disagreement among historians and researchers as to the veracity of historical accounts is quite common. All surviving literature about Alexander the Great was written 300 years after his death, so who knows what parts are true and what parts are exaggerated. The Gospels were written decades after Christ’s crucifixion, though this fact is also controversial among scholars. Was Caligula really a depraved lunatic as portrayed in the 1979 movie Caligula and in the British television series I, Claudius? It is hard to say because the unflattering accounts were written by bitter enemies who had a strong motivation to paint him in the worst possible light.
History is written by the victors. Question for students (and subscribers): How will our generation and time go down in history? Only time will tell. Feel free to give us your assessment of the Ballet of Chestnuts and your predictions about how history will treat our era in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Dunant, Sarah. Blood and Beauty: A Novel About the Borgias. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
Meyer, G. J. The Borgias: The Hidden History. Bantam, 2014.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6105 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=6105">28 Comments
I feel that most certainly happened, Men with power wanted to show their extravagance and Women were held so low at the time. as well as other stories of organized orgys of famous and historical people such as Ben Franklin in Paris and even with the history of concubines I bet the pope just thought it was normal
Hard to believe anything like this would happen today. Unbelievable
This is something that is crazy because men of that kind of power would most likely never do that in today’s society because it would have such a negative connotation.
It is interesting to see the kinds of power that people abused even when in positions of political power. It just goes to show you, even people in positions of power are not immune to moral or ethical hypocrisy nor are they above the law. Although this is somewhat of a hilarious display, one must remember that we are all human with certain moral and ethical failings.
This is pretty hilarious. I’d like to think that it is true, give a little spice to the Catholic Church’s history. I am also inclined to believe it because the cover up of it reminds me of the cover up of the more recent sexual controversies in the Catholic Church. I think our era will go down in history in America similar to previous eras in America, where America is seen as a nation that can do no wrong and had a right to do everything they did.
Very Interesting article. But in reality I do not believe this actually happened.
As a devout Catholic, I doubt that this is true. Too many things would have had to happen in order for this to work.
All kinds of corrupt things were going on during that period of Catholicism. It is not hard to imagine that this is true.
I highly doubt that much of this is true. I feel like this story is way too far fetched and was definitely blown out of proportion. The article even said that there were several enemies of the papacy who probably took every opportunity to cast a negative light on the catholic church.
Awfully hilarious if indeed true. I do not view this was impossible but rather unlikely. Will we ever know for certain? I doubt it!
This account in the article is quite fascinating. The level of corruption seems very shocking, coming from the highest level of authority within the church. It is also interesting that the account can be disputed due to people having a motive to smear the name of the Catholic Church at this time. As outrageous as it may seem it may still be possible because I believe that the church did hold the highest authority during the early 1500s. Therefore, it was very easy for corruption to take place within it and amongst the highest officials. Moreover, it was then extremely hard to hold the Pope and other clergy members accountable for their hypocritical behaviors.
Based on what I have learned in past history classes, I kind of find it hard to believe that something like this would happen within a group of Catholics. From what I have learned is that Catholics were strict and very religious. For religious authorities like the Pope to participate in something likes this makes it seem even more unbelievable.
This article is interesting but I am hesitant to believe the pope held an orgy! Honestly, it will be interesting to see how our generation and our country will be remembered!
Very funny if true
i think this is very funny the pope of all people having done this since he was suppose to be above all these wild and crazy things but if true that kinda funny he did that though.
With the often unchecked power of the papacy at this time, orgies and other indulgences such as this is less than surprising.
I do not believe that this story actually happened. The pope is a catholic figure and that would be considered unholy. I feel if this if this actually happened it would be a more known story.
I cannot believe this actually happened! So surprising
ok
Some would say this is less surprising to them than others, well I found it very surprising!
While I do believe that the papacy was corrupt during this time period, I want to believe this is not true.
One would think that during this time if this actually happened there would be some sort of uproar against it because of how unholy it would be considered. I personally think this cannot be true.
I dont even know what to say.Historical times never cease to surprise the hell out of me. Im gonna go bleach my brain now…
im shocked this happened.
I’m surprised this was portrayed in a showtime series
Ok, then.
the title, wow just wow
more scandal! someone should of known this guy had some bad habits before ever making him a cardinal