he
post-scriptum that this ambassador says: "The Pope gave me to understand
that the said Duchess [Lucrezia Borgia] will complete twenty-two years
of age next April, and at that same time the Duke of Romagna will
complete his twenty-sixth year."(1)

1 "Facendomi intendere the epsa Duchessa e di eta di anni ventidui, li
quali finiranno a questo Aprile; in el qual tempo anche lo Illmo. Duca
di Romagna fornira anni ventisei."

This certainly fixes the year of Cesare's birth as 1476; but we are
to remember that Saraceni is speaking of something that the Pope had
recently told him; exactly how recently does not transpire. An error
would easily be possible in so far as the age of Cesare is concerned.
In so far as the age of Lucrezia is concerned, an error is not only
possible, but has actually been committed by Saraceni. At least the age
given in his letter is wrong by one year, as we know by a legal document
drawn up in February of 1491--Lucrezia's contract of marriage with Don
Juan Cherubin de Centelles.(2)

2 A contract never executed.

According to this protocol in old Spanish, dated February 26, 1491,
Lucrezia completed her twelfth year on April 19, 1491,(3) which
definitely and positively gives us the date of her birth as April 19,
1479.

3 "Item mes attenent que dita Dona Lucretia a XVIIII de Abril prop.
vinent entrara in edat de dotze anys."

A quite extraordinary error is that made by Gregorovius when he
says that Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480, extraordinary
considering that he made it apparently with this very protocol under his
eyes, and cites it, in fact (Document IV in the Appendix to his Lucrezia
Borgia) as his authority.

To return, however, to Cesare and Giovanni, there is yet another
evidence quoted by Gregorovius in support of his contention that the
latter was the elder and born in 1474; but it is of the same nature and
of no more, nor less, value than those already mentioned.

Worthy of more consideration in view of their greater official and
legal character are the Ossuna documents, given in the Supplement of the
Appendix in Thuasne's edition of Burchard's Diary, namely:

(a) October 1, 1480.--A Bull from Sixtus IV, already mentioned,
dispensing Cesare from proving his legitimacy. In this he is referred to
as in his sixth year--"in sexto tuo aetatis anno."

This, assuming Boccaccio's letter to be correct in the matter of April
being the month of Cesare's bi