Lorenzo the Elder (12 October 1394[1] – 23 September 1440) was an Italian banker of the House of Medici of Florence, the younger brother of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and progenitor of the so-called "Popolani" ("populist, i.e. for the people") line of the family, named for a later generation whose members were supporters of the Florentine political activist Girolamo Savonarola.
Lorenzo followed his brother Cosimo in his military maneuvers at Ferrara, Verona and Vicenza. In 1433 he tried to muster an army to free Cosimo from imprisonment when the latter was arrested under the charge of tyranny. Later, he joined him at Venice and returned with him in Florence triumphantly after Cosimo's rehabilitation.
Though dedicating himself much to banking activity, Lorenzo held several positions in the Florentine Republic and was ambassador to Pope Eugene IV and the Republic of Venice. In 1435, he moved to Rome to oversee the affairs of the Medici Bank at the papal court.
A young Lorenzo is portrayed by Stuart Martin in the 2016 television series Medici: Masters of Florence.[7] Although the television production has him assassinated, these events did not take place in real life. The show appears to be using elements from a later attack on his great nephew, Giuliano de' Medici, for dramatic effect.[8]
References
^Archivio di Stato Firenze, Libro dell'età 79, fol. 142r.
^Pernis, Maria Grazia; Adams, Laurie (2006). Lucrezia Tornabuoni de' Medici and the Medici family in the fifteenth century. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. p. 17. ISBN0820476455.
