Leo of Catania: "St. Leo of Catania was an eight-century Italian saint; this was a nickname for the courtier Lev Naryshkin, who had helped to host an operatic performance and gala that evening, after which Potemkin fell ill." (Catherine the Great: Selected Letters: 369)
the Great: "King Leon is spoken of in Armenian history as 'the Great' or ''the Magnificent" He was endowed with superb qualities, indeed, and achieved notable successes in the political, military and economic advancement of his nation, although he was not always entirely scrupulous as to the means he used to obtain his ends. It should be understood that the ethical standards of the period were inevitably lowered by the incursions of barbarians and the bitterness of conflicting interests. However, Leon fully deserves the admiration of his people for his beneficent innovations, his pious and charitable foundations and his progressive legislation. He prohibited the sale of Christian slaves to non-Christians, he established asylums for lepers — then numerous in the East — and enacted many measures for the welfare and prosperity of his subjects." (A History of Armenia @uchicago.org)
Anne-Marie Olympe Chassaigne
Sister Anne-Marie of the Penitence
the Century's Most Beautiful Woman
A living poem
la belle horizontale
Notre courtisane nationale.
Liane de Pougy, Caroline Otero & Emilienne d'Alencon.
Trois Graces:
la Favorita
the Jersey Lily.
Ulysses in a Dress (Lat. Ulixes Stolatus): ". . . Arguably the most powerful, certainly one of the most controversial and formidable women ever to occupy the role--her grandson Caligula later bestowed on her the sobriquet Ulixes stolatus (Ulysses in a dress), a hybrid reference to the Greek warrior known for his cunning and the stola gown worn by upstanding Roman matrons--Livia was the model against whom all subsequent wives of Roman emperors would have to measure themselves. No woman was to epitomize the pitfalls and paradoxes involved in being a Roman woman in public life better than she." (Freisenbruch: 2)
the Great: "Llywelyn's title of Great is given him b--y his Norman and English contemporaries. He was great as a general; his detection of trouble before the storm broke, his instant determination and rapidity of movements, his ever-ready munitions for battle and siege, made his later campaigns always successful. He felt that he was carrying on war in his own country; so his wars were not wars of devastation, but the crushing of armies and the razing of castles." (Mabry)
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.
Llywelyn ap Llywelyn Ddu.
the Luxurious: " . . . [H]alf a century later came Llywelyn ap Llywelyn Ddu, who for some unknown reason was surnamed 'Foethus' ('the luxurious')." (Aberglasney Gardens)
Lodovico Carminati de' Brambilla.
il Bergamino:.
the Moor (It. il Moro):
La Grande Horizontale (by the British press)
the Apocalyptic Whore: "Ms. Montez was acknowledged as one of the most beautiful women in Europe. . . The King's mistress became a convenient focus of unrest. The press called her 'the Apocalyptic Whore.'" (Royal Babylon: 231)
the Aspasia of the Nineteenth Century (by Cameron Rogers)
he Cleopatra of the Nineteenth Century (by Cameron Rogers)
the Divine Lola (by Sacramento Daily Union)
the Fair Impure (by the people of Ebersdorf)
the Fair Spaniard (by Seymour)
the Feminine Devil (by Prince Henry LXXII of Reuss)
the Guttersnipe (by Bavarian aristocrats):
the International Bad Girl of the Mid-Victorians
the King's Woman
the Aspasia of the Nineteenth Century (by Cameron Rogers)
he Cleopatra of the Nineteenth Century (by Cameron Rogers)
the Divine Lola (by Sacramento Daily Union)
the Fair Impure (by the people of Ebersdorf)
the Fair Spaniard (by Seymour)
the Feminine Devil (by Prince Henry LXXII of Reuss)
the Guttersnipe (by Bavarian aristocrats):
the International Bad Girl of the Mid-Victorians
the King's Woman
the Woman of Spain (by Ludwig I of Bavaria)
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| Lorenzino de' Medici the Little @Wikipedia |
Lorenzino de' Medici (1514-1548)
Lorenzaccio (Lorenzo the Terrible): "Lorenzino entered fully into the Duke’s life of profligacy and became his inseparable companion. Both of them admired physical charms and indulged in all physical passions: they set a base fashion in Florence, which degraded her men and women. They habitually made lewd jokes of everything human and divine, and were noted for their cruelty to animals. If Alessandro became execrated as “The Tyrant and Ravisher of Florence,” Lorenzino was scouted as “A monster and a miracle,” and his depreciative nickname underwent a new spelling—'Lorenzaccio,'— 'Lorenzo the Terrible!'" (Staley. The Tragedies of the Medici)
" . . . Lorenzo, however, forfeited his chance to inherit the duchy first when he assassinated the duke and then when he fled town the moment the city gates were opened the very next morning. Instead of seizing the moment to place himself on the throne, or to liberate Florence from monarchical rule, Lorenzo let the opportunity slip by him and, instead of a title, acquired forever the pejorative nickname of Lorenzaccio. At this point, the succession passed to an even more distant cousin, Cosimo di Giovanni delle Bande Nerre." (Eisenbichler. The Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici)
Lorenzino (Lorenzo the Little): "Among the wedding guests was Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, who held the Lordship of Piombino, the lineal descendant and heir of Cosimo, 'Il Padre della Patria’s' brother Lorenzo. His father died when he was an infant, but his mother, Maria de’ Soderini—a woman possessed of all the prudence and culture of her family—devoted herself to his rearing and education. Just twenty-three years old, he was small of stature and slightly built, dark complexioned, and of a melancholy aspect. His health was indifferent, and he was liable to uncontrollable fits of passion: he was restless and dissatisfied, and the associate of low and evil companions. In Rome—where he had lived in the Medici “happy family” of the Pope—he acquired the reputation of a coward and a provoker of disturbances. He was fond of defacing and mutilating ancient monuments, and became liable to pains and penalties from which Cardinal Ippolito rescued him. By his depraved and foolish habits he greatly incensed Clement, who at length dismissed him in disgrace. Lorenzo retired to Florence, where he was welcomed and entertained by Alessandro. In return for favours Lorenzo, nicknamed in Florence “Lorenzino,” “Lorenzo the Little,” became useful to the Duke and appointed himself spy-in-chief of the Florentine exiles. . . ." (Staley. The Tragedies of the Medici)
the Philosopher (It. il Filosofo): " . . . His studious character and his literary talent endowed him with another and a worthier sobriquet 'Filosofo,' and he carried out the rôle by dressing as a Greek and living as a sybarite. Devoted to the study of the classics and encouraged by his sensuous tutor, Giovanni Francesco Zeffi, when not engaged in vulgar orgies, he translated Plato and other writers, and even composed a comedy, which he called L’Aridosio." (Staley. The Tragedies of the Medici)
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici
the Magnificent (It. il Magnifico):
--Cosimo’s grandson Lorenzo (1449–92), known as ‘The Magnificent’ (the title was given to persons of note who were not of princely blood), was to prove himself truly worthy of the sobriquet. He is perhaps the most famous of the Medici, although it was paradoxically under his charge that the family’s commercial fortunes began to decline. He was a poor banker but a superb scholar, poet and collector. History recalls Lorenzo as the extraordinary patron of such great artists as Botticelli, Perugino, Filippino Lippi, the Ghirlandaios and Verrocchio. His patronage also touched future masters such as Leonardo da Vinci. In his garden at the Palazzo Medici, Lorenzo set up a workshop for sculptors, and it was there that Michelangelo first came to the attention of buyers and artists alike. Lorenzo was a gifted diplomat, a wise politician devoted to the welfare of Florence and above all zealous in his promotion of the Medici family and its supporters. When Pope Innocent VIII heard of Lorenzo’s death he is said to have cried out, ‘The peace of Italy is at an end!’ (erenow)
--Lorenzo had three sons; it is said that he called one good, one wise and one a fool. Unfortunately it was the ‘fool’, Piero the Fatuous (1472–1503), who was the eldest. Ill suited to rule, Piero found himself and his family quickly ejected from the republic and he later died in exile. His brother Giuliano – ‘the good’ – worked with Giovanni – ‘the wise’ – who had become a cardinal at thirteen thanks to his father’s intervention, for the only thing that mattered – their eventual return to Florence. They had to plot in penury for they were virtually bankrupt, their fortune taken by usurpers and their properties confiscated by the republic. Giovanni had a good head for intrigue but required patience; it was to be a long wait before events turned in the Medici favour again. Perhaps the family motto, Le Temps Revient (Our time will return), gave them courage. It was certainly the moral by which Catherine was later to live her life." (erenow)
--" . . . Lorenzo, surnamed the Magnificent, was born Jan. 1, 1448. At an early age he gave striking indications of extraordinary talent, and the munificent disposition which afterward gave him a claim to the appellation of Magnificent was apparent in his childhood. He had rendered himself conspicuous before he arrived at manhood by his poetical talents, and by his penetration, courage, and good sense. He was tall and robust, with a dignified countenance and pleasing manners, but labored under some peculiar disadvantages. His sight was weak, his voice harsh, and he was totally devoid of the sense of small. . . ." (Ripley and Dana: 341)
--". . . His preeminence earned him the title of respect 'the Magnificent.' Later this term was extended to also refer to Lorenzo's achievements as a poet, collector, and patron of the arts, letters, and humanist studies, which made him an influential taste-maker. . . ." (National Gallery of Art)
--" . . . 'Lorenzo The Magnificent,' as he was called by the people of Florence, was a statesman, ruler, and patron of the arts. 'The Magnificent' was a common title of respect in Italy at the time, but it was Lorenzo who raised it to special status." (Lucidcafe)
il Vecchio (the Elder):
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| Lorenzo de' Medici il Popolano @Wikipedia |
Lorenzo de' Popolani: " . . . On 14 November, both brothers succeeded in returning to Florence. In December, they renounced their family name and became known as Lorenzo and Giovanni de' Popolani."
il Popolano (the Commoner, the Plebeian): for his and brother Giovanni's support for Girolamo Savonarola.
" . . . At the head of the procession that arrived at Florence's San Frediano gate was Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici (1463-11503), a scion of the 'popolano' branch of the family. He and his brother Giovanni (1467-1498) were very popular in Florence. They were both leaders of the pro-French party, hostile to Piero de' Medici, and regarded themselves as the king's men. This younger branch of the Medici family distinguished itself from the elder branch by showing its preference for a broad-based government, hence the sobriquet 'popolano.'. . . ." (Plaisance. Florence in the Time of the Medici: 44)
the Abbot (Ger. der Abbacher): Lothair IV of France was called the Abbot from the several abbeys he held. (The Political, Social, and Literary History of France: 29)
the Great: "At the death of Louis IV., his son Lothaire was allowed to call himself king; and two years afterwards the great duke died. He was called the Great from his gigantic stature, the White from his pallid countenance, and the Abbot from the several abbeys which he held." (The Political, Social, and Literary History of France: 29)
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