Factual error: After the army's retreat, as Juan Borgia is walking through the great hall, he calls the priests fleeing with the books "rats deserting a sinking ship." But then says "you're like lemmings running to your doom." However, the notion of the suicidal lemming running to its doom came from Disney's 1958 film "White Wilderness", which was later proved to be a hoax. Lemmings do not commit mass suicide nor "run to their doom" so such an analogy would never have been said, or even understood. (00:42:55)
The Borgias (2011)
1 factual error in The Art of War
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan, Francois Arnaud
Factual error: In the Pope's coronation procession they play the anthem Zadok the Priest. It was composed by Handel for the coronation of George II in 1727, 235 years after this coronation took place.
Question: Why does Giovanni Sforza not prove he is not impotent? Was he in fact not able to perform in front of others or find the woman undesirable? I know historically he agreed to the annulment; but why? Was this scene historically accurate?
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Chosen answer: The Borgias arranged Lucrezia's marriage to Giovanni Sforza for their own political gain. When Giovanni was no longer considered useful to them politically, they sought to end the marriage. Eventually, Giovanni reluctantly agreed to admit to impotence in exchange for keeping Lucrezia's dowry, which normally would have reverted back to the family in the event of an annulment. Divorce was rare at that time, and being unable to consummate a marriage was one grounds for an annulment. In the series, when the Borgias convene the College of Cardinals to have Giovanni prove his potency by performing with two overweight and unattractive prostitutes, he refuses because he is humiliated. The historical facts are mostly accurate, though the part about the prostitutes is probably fiction.
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