A MOTHER'S INFLUENCE IN ONE STANZA A TASTE OF THE POETRY OF LUCREZIA TORNABUONI DE' MEDICI

Considered by many to be the most prominent women of the Renaissance, any discussion of her children must begin with a small insight to the astounding intellect and forceful nature of the women that is Lucrezia Tornabuoni (1425-1482). With a life anchored in her city's golden age, Lucrezia exerted considerable influence not only on her husband and later her children, especially Lorenzo, but on the society in which she held sway. Influential in the politics and society of the age, she was as well a gifted and prolific poet.

Chief among her noted and conserved works are the Sacred Narratives, poems based on the lives of biblical figures-three of whom, Judith, Susanna, and Esther, are Old Testament heroines-are virtually unique in their range and expressiveness.

Ranging from gentle lyrics on the Nativity to moving dialogues between a crucified Christ and the weeping Poems of Praise. Within one such laudi, we find the overwhelming evidence of Lucrezia's intellect, strength and determination in which she raised her children, especially her sons who would come to define and bring the Renaissance to its titular glory. Her work is, as well, as testimony to a feminine freedom, one so seemingly incongruent with the era in which she lived, yet there were none that would inhibit or deride her. For your enjoyment, the laudi:

I Concern Myself with You No More

I concern myself with you no more;
I have taken up strong arms against you;
I do not answer when you call;
I ridicule and deride you instead.

 O enemy, I now have passed
The dubious way.
My Jesus has freed me;
You gain nothing by remaining.
I have known his grace, so I will not fall;
No longer tempt me with hook and bait
I do not answer when you call;
I ridicule and deride you instead.

You believe you have good reason
To shower me with pleasures;
But I no longer think of you
So I will not offend my Lord.
I want you to leave me be,
I no longer want to hear your cries.
I do not answer when you call;
I ridicule and deride you instead.

Who makes his way to the side of Christ,
Has little need of your words;
Who takes care to stop his ears
Is not harmed by your calls.
I go to follow him who died on the cross;
Do what you will, I desire you not.
I do not answer when you call,
I ridicule and deride you instead.

Now I want you to leave me be,
With your threat of mortal wounds!
I will think only on my sins
And on God, whose bounty is infinite.
I want now to lead my life
So that God will love me.
I do not answer when you call;
I ridicule and deride me instead.

Now show me what you can do
How many pleasures you know.
If you were you and of your party,
You would have from me nothing else.
Consider my struggle at an end
With your false and trivial ways!
I do not answer when you call,
I ridicule and deride you instead. 


While academics discuss this work in its obvious intent, that Lucrezia is denying a demon that would separate her from her Lord and God, it could also be a mantra against negativity of any sort, a denouncement of its power over lives which are in the control of their owner...I do not answer when you call, I ridicule and deride you instead. I am free from you.

After her husband's death in 1469, Lucrezia found only more freedom; she bought real estate in the Pisa territory. She took a lease on a spa in Volterra and converted it into a profitable health resort. Much like a dowager queen, Lucrezia spent much of her last years in the loving embrace of her son Lorenzo and his family. She died at age 56. Her contributions to the evolution of women and their infinite possibilities lives on.