Cosimo de' Medici, also known as Cosimo the Elder, lived from He was the first Medici to rule Florence. He was exiled from Florence in 1433, but he returned in 1434 and doubled his wealth through banking. He ended Florence's traditional alliance with Venice and supported the Sforza family in Milan. His historical significance was being a patron to such artists as Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Ghiberti, and as the founder of the Medici Library. ?Lorenzo de' Medici, also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, lived from 1449–1492, and he was one of the towering figures of the Italian Renaissance. He had little success in business, however, and his lavish entertainments depleted his funds. In 1478 Pope SIXTUS IV helped to foment the Pazzi conspiracy against him. Lorenzo's brother Giuliano was murdered, but Lorenzo escaped with only a wound, and the plot collapsed. In spite of the attacks of Girolamo Savonarola, Lorenzo allowed him to continue preaching. Lorenzo’s historical significance was being a patron of Bottielli and Michaelangelo. His second son later became pope as Leo X. ?Henry VIII lived from 1491–1547, and he reigned from 1509–1547. He married his brother Arthur's widow, Katharine of Arogon, who bore him a daughter, MARY I. His chief minister, Thomas Wolsey, concluded an alliance with Francis I of France, but joined Emperor Charles V in 1522, in a war against France. England prospered internally under Wolsey, who had almost complete control. The court became a center of learning, and the pope gave Henry the title “Defender of the Faith” for a treatise he wrote against Martin Luther. By 1527 Henry, desiring a male heir, wished to marry Anne Boleyn, but Pope Clement VII, under the control of Katharine's nephew, Charles V, resisted his demands for a divorce. An anti-ecclesiastical policy was adopted, and the subservient Thomas Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury. He immediately pronounced Henry's...
