Topic > To what extent were the Medici the great heroes of…

However, the truth is that the Medici were actually nowhere near the most corrupt family in Europe. Many important families paid bribes and killed members of opposing families, to become the most powerful. In fact, families like the Borgias are considered much more corrupt and evil than those of the Medici. The Borgias were accused of "a catalog of sins, including murder, corruption, incest, poisoning and enchantment". These accusations are much worse than those against the Medici, accused only of having corrupted, and very rarely of killing, members of opposing families. These charges are also not definitive, unlike those against the Borgias, which many of the accused are certainly said to have made. Furthermore, the alleged bribery and corruption should not mean that the Medici cannot be considered Renaissance heroes. This is because “almost every single European Renaissance family paid bribes and backstabbed their way to power.” From this it is clear that the Medici were just as, if not less, corrupt than many other families in Renaissance Europe, and therefore should not be considered evil. Indeed, even if the Medici family were to be considered corrupt on a personal level, this should not mean that in Renaissance terms they were villains. This is because, although they may have backstabbed and paid bribes to gain initial power, they contributed to the overall growth of the city-state of Florence, as well as the growth of the Renaissance. Although the Medici family may have been considered corrupt, in Renaissance terms, compared to other European families of the time, the Medicis can certainly be considered the great