Florentine ancestry in Antwerp merchants, part 2

De Cordes

Before we'll look at the Florentine roots of Tommaso Spinelli, I first want to take a look at the less known family "De Cordes".

Till now it is absolutely not to say, how Constantia Spinelli's mother has to fit in the De Cordes-family. I suppose she will turn out to descend from the couple Jean de Cordes, seigneur de Biez, who married in 1451 Marguerite de Tiestelin. They lived in Doornik, Henegouwen. As Constantia Spinelli is known to have been born in 1516, then I estimate her mother's birth around 1490. She therefore might be a grandchild of Jean de Cordes.

In the trade between Flanders and Venice at least Jacques, Baltazar and Thomas de Cordes participated. It is not immediately clear to me if they are the sons or the grandsons of Jean de Cordes, but notable is the name of "Balthazar", which later on would become an important name in the Coymans family.

Spinelli

Tommaso Spinelli was the son of Guasparre Spinelli and his wife Alessandra Gualterotti.

Guasparre, according to The Spinelli of Florence, was a man busy with the affairs of his eleven children. He was raised in Venice, and went to the family palace in Florence after inheriting his uncle's bank and silk firm. Due to bad economic circumstances - Florence was about to decline quickly - he had to dissolve the bank.
Of his children, Tommaso, Leonardo and Benetto got the most successful. Tommaso as an agent/ambassador, Leonardo too, eventually through priesthood becoming chamberlain of Pope Julius II. Benedetto runned a silk trade, stretching to France and Flanders. Notable is that one daughter of Guasparre bears the name Costanza, the Italian variant of Constantia.
Guasparres ancestors are mentioned also in the book, of which most interesting is the family Strozzi, from whom grandmother Bice descended.

Alessandra Gualterotti was the daughter of Pietro di Bartolomeo Gualterotti, a family also joining the richer class in Florence.

Conclusion

Though it is known that Constantia Spinelli was the daughter of a Thomas Spinelli, I never have seen stated that her father was/could be Tommaso di Guasparre Spinelli.

The illegitimacy  explains that Constantia Spinelli marries not an Italian merchant, but a relatively homo novus in Antwerp. Furthermore, though it seems that names like "Thomas, Balthazar, Gaspar" were relatively popular in merchants in the sixteenth century, they are not very common, and all three are being found under the children of the couple Coymans-Spinelli.

I believe many people may now, of course aware of the fact that by now no conclusive evidence is presented, add these interesting Florentine family to their pedigree.

See here for the conclusive evidence.