Machiavelli’s Family and Social Background: The Enigma of Messer Bernardo’s Illegitimacy

The article addresses the historical foundation of rumours about the illegitimate birth of messer Bernardo Machiavelli, Niccolò’s father. Although these rumours begun spreading during the writer’s life, they have been in fact largely neglected by Machiavelli biographers. In the first part of the paper a new survey of the records pertaining to both Bernardo and his ancestors offers fresh evidence to support his illegitimate status. The second part of the paper shows to what extent, in the political turmoil following the introduction of the Consiglio Maggiore in late 1494, Bernardo’s illegitimacy prevented Niccolò from actively participating in the Florentine political life of his time, allowing him to pursue only a career of a strictly executive nature in the city’s administration.