AS SEEN ON TV: LUCREZIA BORGIA

The debut episode of 'Warehouse 13' (as usual with first episodes, boringly entitled "Pilot") name-checked a lot of famous people who had some sort of connection to the secret government repository that served as "America's Attic". Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, and Philo Farnsworth.

But the episode concerned itself mainly with Lucrezia Borgia....
AS SEEN IN:
'The Borgias'

AS PLAYED BY:
Anne-Louise Lambert

The agents working for Warehouse 13 were sent to Iowa on their first mission in order to retrieve the comb of Lucrezia Borgia. Crafted by an alchemist, it allegedly contained the spirit of Lucrezia. And whoever possessed the comb was driven to act out her murderous, sexually-driven desires.

But I think by "spirit" it probably meant that the comb would imbue its owner with the qualities that Lucrezia Borgia displayed, rather than it housed her actual soul. But that's my interpretation....

Here's what Wikipedia says about the old girl:

Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 - 24 June 1519) was the daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia.

Lucrezia's family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. Lucrezia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, and films.
Very little is known of Lucrezia as a historical personage, and her complicity in the political machinations of her brothers and father cannot be determined at this time. Her father and/or brother certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions.

Several rumours have persisted throughout the years, primarily speculating as to the nature of the extravagant parties thrown by the Borgia family. Many of these concern allegations of incest, poisoning, and murder on her part; however, no historical basis for these rumors has ever been brought forward, beyond allegations made by the rivals of the Borgias.

At any rate, whether the stories about her were true or not, the comb depicted in 'Warehouse 13' shouldn't play hob with the depiction of Lucrezia Borgia in such TV productions as 'The Borgias'....

BCnU!