Читать книгу The Blade of Gilgamesh - Jeff Edwards - Страница 18

Chapter 10

The ornately carved and magnificently painted banqueting hall was bedecked with a myriad of colourful banners, while a band of musicians played a jaunty air from their loft high above.

Below them, the long table stretching down the centre of the room groaned under the weight of food, while servants stood behind every chair to ensure that the revellers needs were catered to.

Despite this ostentatious display of wealth Lorenzo de Medici, who was called ‘The Magnificent’ by his supporters, was not a happy man. He would have preferred the feast to have been cancelled but his rivals needed to be shown that it was he, Lorenzo, who ruled Florence, just as his family had done for generations.

As the head of the richest and one of the most powerful families in Europe, Lorenzo had attracted many enemies, not only amongst his commercial rivals but from the Church in Rome as well.

This rivalry had culminated in Easter 1478 in the murderous attack upon his family during church services, and resulted in the death of his brother Giuliano, and his own wounding. The conspiracy had involved the Pazzi and Salviati families, who were both rival banking families, as well as the priest presiding over the church services, the Archbishop of Pisa, and even Pope Sixtus IV to a degree.

What made Lorenzo feel even more threatened was that after the plot had failed Sixtus IV pardoned the attackers and gave them dispensation for crimes in the service of the Church.

The Medici empire was under attack and Lorenzo knew that he must plan carefully to ensure their survival.

***

Seated to the left of Lorenzo, Dante degli Alighieri, the renowned poet and author, better known as simply ‘Dante’, saw the worried looked on his benefactor’s face. He knew what was troubling the man and sought to find a topic that might bring a smile to the great man’s face.

He caught Lorenzo’s eye, and nodded down the table. ‘They’re at it again. Squabbling like a pair of children. Whoever sat them across the table from one another was tempting fate.’

Lorenzo followed Dante’s gaze and smiled thinly. ‘It amuses me sometimes to see two men of such great intellect carrying on like scullery maids. I believe a little anger can sometimes go a long way to providing the impetus required for them to achieve their best endeavours.’

‘Isn’t it bad enough that they spend hours arguing in their studio about who should have the more space or who deserves to be near the window? All would be much quieter around here and much more work would be done if you were to send one of them away.’

‘Ah, my dear Dante, and who would you choose to send into exile? Michaelangelo Bounarroti, the man who is capable of turning a block of marble into a vision of such purity that the very angels weep, or Leonardo de Vinci, whose artworks are mesmerizing in their perfection and whose gift of creating mechanical marvels is unsurpassed.’

‘Their gifts are great but their egos are in constant conflict. I think you should let one go, my Lord.’

‘Perhaps, one day, but I have great need of them both at present, just as I have need of your talents. Which reminds me,’ he turned to the liveried servant behind his chair, ‘Remind our warring prima donnas that I wish to see them both in my chambers in the morning.’

The servant bowed, and made his way down the table to do his lord’s bidding, while Lorenzo turned back to Dante. ‘How does your work proceed?’

‘A very interesting story my lord. May I see this magical sword that is spoken of?’

‘No one outside my immediate family has ever laid eyes on it since the day it came into our possession. It’s hiding place will never be revealed.’

‘Such a shame. I would have very much enjoyed running my hands over the blade and feeling its power.’

‘Remove all thoughts of that from your mind. If I were to suspect that you had attempted to locate its whereabouts, or if you dared to breath a word about its existence then I will have no recourse but to cut off your hands and slice off your tongue. We’d see how well you write without a hand to hold a pen or a tongue to tell your tales.’

‘A living hell.’

‘Hell, a topic about which you know much Dante. Now forget about where the sword might dwell and tell me about the book.’

Dante nodded, ‘I have had difficulty deciphering much of the early writing but I believe it is now complete. There is only the matter of your own part in this tale to relate.’

‘My participation in this history has barely begun, and has many twists and turns to come. It will be up to my descendants to relate those details,’ he laughed, ‘Speaking of which, you may be surprised to hear that I am about to name Giulio as my adopted son.’

‘But he’s illegitimate.’

‘I care not. He is to be the sword of my revenge. The church has much to pay for, and the death of my brother Giuliano will not go unanswered.’

‘You can’t go to war against the church!’

‘War?’ smiled Lorenzo, ‘Who needs to wage war when your own son is sitting in upon seat of ultimate power.’

‘Ultimate power? You mean for Giulio to become Pope?’

‘That is my intention.’

‘Will it be possible?’

‘We are Medici. For us anything is possible,’ Lorenzo smiled, ‘Bring the book to me when it is completed. The day our first Medici Pope is installed as Pope he will wear the Sword of Gilgamesh beneath his robes and carry with him your tale of its past lives.’

***

The following morning Lorenzo’s servant ushered a pair of bleary-eyed artists into his chambers before bowing to his lord and leaving.

‘You two look as though you swallowed my entire wine cellar. Does your constant bickering make for such great thirsts?’

Both men looked down at their feet, not wishing to catch their lord’s disdainful eye. Neither spoke.

‘Well if neither has anything to say, I’ll move on. I have work that needs your artistic talents.’

Both men now looked up, their interest piqued.

‘Amongst my family’s fortune there is an object of great value that I now wish housed in a suitable container, and I wish you, Michelangelo, to create this receptacle.’

‘I have several commissions nearing completion,’ said Michelangelo.

‘I’ll do it my lord,’ piped up Leonardo, hoping to gain favour with his benefactor.

Lorenzo nodded, ‘I’m ordering you to do this Michelangelo. You will cease whatever you’re doing and apply yourself wholly to this task. I will supply you with the dimensions of the object, and you will select a block of the most perfect marble to make a casket. The object is not large and should not take you long. I want scenes from antiquity will be carved into it. Dante will advise you which events can be deemed most appropriate.’

‘Yes, my lord, and the inside of this casket?’

‘Bare, totally bare.’

‘But what about padding to hold the object secure?’

‘That is for a problem for others to consider. You may go. Select only the very finest stone. I want no cracks. No hint of light or moisture must be allowed to enter the casket.’

Michelangelo withdrew, leaving a disappointed Leonardo de Vinci facing his lord.

‘What about me?’ he asked, ‘What do you require of me?’

Lorenzo smiled and stood up, ‘My dear Leonardo, you are about to be given an opportunity that few men have ever had.’ He moved to a window beneath which an ornate chest was set. Opening the lid, he extracted a bundle wrapped in what appeared to be a thick woollen cloak.

Reverently, Lorenzo unwrapped the bundle and dropped the cloak to the floor. In his hand, he now held a short stabbing sword. ‘This is the object for which Michelangelo is creating the casket. Take it.’

Leonardo held out his hands and accepted the sword.

‘For the next hour, I want you to study this sword very closely,’ Lorenzo stated, ‘After that time it will be returned to its hiding place somewhere inside the walls of my palace, and it will not be seen again until the casket is complete.’

Lorenzo placed his hand upon the sword in Leonardo’s arms. ‘I am about to give you some very specific instructions, and you are going to use your genius for mechanical devices to make my instructions work come to life.’

***

True to his word Lorenzo’s son Giulio de Medici was anointed Pope Clement VII and did wear the sword beneath his robes at his investiture.

So too, did the son of Lorenzo’s brother who was Cardinal Giovanni de Medici prior to becoming Pope Leo X.

However, the death of Pope Leo saw the rise of the incompetent Piero II as his replacement and the Medici family’s fortunes fluctuated greatly. For a time, the family was forced into exile from their beloved Florence.

It might be said that the removal of the sword from Florence saw the beginning of the end for the Medici family, although their influence remained for several generations to come.

In Rome, the rule of the Medici popes also came to an end and the Sword of Gilgamesh languished in the Vatican vaults, securely locked away in the casket created by Michelangelo, with its complex interior built by Leonardo de Vinci.

Dante’s book was consigned to the Vatican library.