Rodrigo Borgia

2012-08-10T03:21:39Z

75.22.116.163: /* Biography */

{{Era|AC2|PL|ACB|Renaissance|Bbook|ACL|Ascendance|Templars|Featured}}
{{WP-REAL|Pope Alexander VI}}
{{WPtargets}}
{{Quote|He is Rodrigo Borgia, one of the most powerful men in all of Europe, and leader of the [[Templars|Templar Order]].|[[Mario Auditore]] to his nephew, Ezio.|Assassin's Creed II}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Rodrigo Borgia
|image = char_rodrigo.png
|imgdesc =
|birth = 1 January 1431 {{Wiki|Xàtiva}}, {{Wiki|Kingdom of Valencia}}, {{Wiki|Crown of Aragon}}
|death = 18 August 1503 (aged [[72]]) [[Rome]], {{Wiki|Papal States}}
|period = [[Renaissance]]
|faction = [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] [[Templars]] [[Papacy]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed: Lineage]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Ascendance]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' novel]]
|actor = [[Manuel Tadros]]
|voice = [[Manuel Tadros]]}}
'''Rodrigo Borgia''' (1431 – 1503), born '''Roderic Llançol''', later '''Roderic de Borja i Borja''', was a [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Cardinals|Cardinal]] and the [[Grand Master|leader]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]] during the [[Renaissance]]. He was the father of [[Juan Borgia the Younger|Juan]], [[Cesare Borgia|Cesare]], [[Lucrezia Borgia|Lucrezia]], and [[Jofré Borgia]], as well as grandfather to [[Giovanni Borgia]].

Rodrigo was [[Papacy|Pope]] from 1492 to 1503, and was known as '''Alexander VI'''. He was one of the most controversial Popes of the Renaissance, and his surname became synonymous for the corrupt standards of the Papacy in that era.

==Legacy==
During the 21st Century, members of the Templar inner circle thought of Rodrigo Borgia as a debased tyrant instead of a respected Grand Master. Instead of spreading knowledge to enlighten his fellow man and break down the boundaries that keep men divided, Rodrigo used his power and position as Grand Master to corrupt the Templar purpose into gaining infinite power by any means.<ref name="Encyclopedia">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref>

True Templar motives are questionable, but they intended to serve the greater good; Rodrigo however wanted power for the sake of it, and saw total domination over all as his prize. The Borgia's leadership over the Order would later be known as the "Dark Age of the Order."<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>

==Personality==
{{quote|It's not approval I'm after. Just power.|Rodrigo, while dueling with Ezio.|Assassin's Creed II}}
[[File:Rodriog Borgia ACII.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Rodrigo challenging Ezio in the Vatican vault.]]
Initially an ambitious middle-aged man, Rodrigo was intent, as Cesare later would be, on taking Italy in the name of the Templar Order and exterminating the Assassins. After becoming Pope, his obsession not only with conquering Italy but also of realizing what he believed to be his true calling as the Prophet intensified. He actively sought to take the Apple from Savonarola, as demonstrated when he sent battalions of his family's soldiers to Florence to take it.

After his duel with Ezio in the Vault, and the shattering revelation that he was not the Prophet, Rodrigo was reduced to being an empty shell, and instead of continuing to pursue his dreams of infinite power and the extermination of the Assassin Order, he focused on maintaining his monopoly over Rome.

==Final words==
After Ezio's first assassination attempt.
*'''Ezio:''' ''I thought... I thought I was beyond this. But I'm not. I've waited too long, lost too much...'' Requiescat in pace ''(Rest in peace), you bastard.''
*'''Rodrigo:''' ''I don't think so.''

After Ezio's and Rodrigo's confrontation at the Vault.
*'''Rodrigo:''' ''You can't! You can't! It's MY destiny. MINE! I am the Prophet!''
*'''Ezio:''' ''You never were...''
*'''Rodrigo:''' ''Get it over with then.''
*'''Ezio:''' ''...No. Killing you won't bring my family back... I'm done.'' Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito. Requiescat in pace. ''(Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Rest in peace.)''

==Trivia==
[[File:Blason_famille_it_Borgia01_svg.png|thumb|The [[Heraldry|coat of arms]] of the Borgia, which can be seen on Rodrigo's personal guards.]]
*Rodrigo was called "the Spaniard" by the Assassins due to his Spanish origins.
* During some of Rodrigo's appearances, a dim red lighting effect can be seen on Rodrigo's hood and upper body, even though there is no source for this light.
* Historically, Pope Alexander VI ordered the execution of Savonarola, the mad monk of Florence.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'', while Ezio was disguised as a minstrel, he sang a song about Rodrigo before and after he became Pope.

;Combat
*When Ezio entered the Sistine Chapel to assassinate Rodrigo, he was proclaiming the Nicene Creed in Latin to the congregation. Ironically, Rodrigo later stated that he did not believe the concept of the Nicene Creed, which confesses the wholeness of the Roman Catholic doctrine.
* It is possible to kill Rodrigo while in the Sistine Chapel if you [[Poison blade|poison]] him. After this, you can wield the Staff of Eden, although you cannot use any of its powers.
* Occasionally, during the fight with Rodrigo in the Sistine Chapel, he can be seen wielding a spear instead of the Staff.
* Although Ezio did not kill Rodrigo, he is listed as dead in the [[Animus]]' Conspirator Web after the player completes the main memories of ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' and re-enters the Animus.

;Papacy
[[File:Papal_Arms_of_Alexander_VI.svg|thumb|Papal coat of arms of Alexander VI, which can be seen on his [[Papal Guard]].]]
* Rodrigo was the first Pope to be elected from a conclave in the Sistine Chapel.
* In Rodrigo's assassination target video, there is a scene with Rodrigo in his Papal robes standing next to his fellow Templars, who are seated at a table. This is impossible, because by the time Rodrigo became Pope, Ezio had killed all the other Templars present. The Pazzi, the Barbarigo, and Carlo Grimaldi, for example, are shown at the table.
* In the assassination target video for the Orsi brothers set in 1488, in the [[Battle of Forlì (DLC)|''Battle of Forlì'' DLC]], Rodrigo is again shown in his Papal robes, even though he was elected Pope in 1492.

;Death
* Rodrigo's fate in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]]'' differs from that shown in ''Assassin's Creed II''. In the game, after Ezio defeated and spared him, Rodrigo was left alone to come to terms with his misery as Ezio entered the Vault. In the novel, however, when Ezio emerged from the Vault, Borgia committed suicide with poison. His last act was to ask Ezio what he saw in the Vault, to which Ezio replied ''"Nothing. No one,"'' leading Borgia to die believing everything he had done in life was for nothing.
**In the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|novelization of ''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'']], however, Rodrigo evidently survived this suicide attempt, and Mario Auditore suggested that he had not taken enough poison, or that he had been faking.
* Rodrigo died in 1503 at the age of [[72]].

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center">
Borgia lineage.jpg|Rodrigo hiding from Giovanni Auditore in Florence.
Rodrigo Borgia V.png|Rodrigo, before becoming Pope.
Gallery3.jpg|Rodrigo's portrait at Tiber island.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{ACII}}
{{ACIID}}
{{ACBH}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgia, Rodrigo}}
[[de:Rodrigo Borgia]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Lineage Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Renaissance Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Assassination Targets]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Novel) Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Ascendance Characters]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy Characters]]
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:Grand Masters]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Pieces of Eden Wielders]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]

Assassin's Creed Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Rodrigo Borgia