I will focus on the Italian and especially Roman side of things and the period around the year 1500 as that’s what I know best about. Stereotypes about foreign nations were indeed prevalent among the elites in Renaissance Italy and stem from the specific nature of Italian “nationalism” of the era. Italian humanists developed a strong sense of Italian cultural superiority, because of the Roman heritage of the country. The most important symbol of this superiority was the allegedly superior mastery of the Latin language by Italian scholars in comparison to the scholars in other countries. And just like the Romans had done, these humanists too viewed everyone outside of Italy as barbarians, especially the French and the Germans. When Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in 1494, many educated Italians were reminded of the Barbarian Invasions that had ended the Roman Empire. The depiction of king Charles as a brute in “The Borgias” is indeed in line with Italian stereotypes about the French at the time. When pope Julius II (1503-1513) aimed at ending French influence in Italy, he famously used the battle cry "Fuori i barbari!" - "Out with the barbarians!".

As long as a Frenchman recognised the cultural superiority of Italy, he could however be successful and acclaimed there. The French humanist Chritophe de Longueil was even awarded the citizenship of Rome in 1519 as a reward for an eulogy on the city he had written. When it became known however, that in 1508 he had composed a similar eulogy on France and its king, this was seen as an insult to Rome as well as to Italy and Longueil had to flee the city in order to not get lynched by the mob.

The Germans too were seen mainly through the lens of the ancient Romans. The "Germania" by Tacitus was of great importance here. Italian humanists equated the ancient Germans with the Germans of their own epoch and attributed to them the same characteristics that the ancient Roman historian had reported: drunkenness and lack of education, but also proficiency in war and artisanry as well as a moral lifestyle and religious devotion. A very good primary source for these stereotypes is the travel report by Antonio de Beatis, who travelled through Germany, the Netherlands, and France in 1517/18 as a member of the entourage of Cardinal Luigi d’Aragona.

As for the Spaniards: One of the causes for the negative feelings many members of the Roman Curia had against them, were indeed the pontificates of the two Borgia popes Callixtus III (1455-1458) and Alexander VI (1492-1503). While a certain degree of nepotism wasn’t frowned upon and was even considered virtuous, the nepotism of these two popes by far exceeded what was accepted at the time. Thus, a Spanish pope became synonymous with nepotism, and worse, with preferential treatment of Spanish countrymen to the detriment of the Italian majority at the curia. In addition, there was also the stereotype of the Spanish being particularly arrogant.

While the Spanish, especially their kings, were frequently praised for their tradition of waging war against Muslims and even for expelling the Jews from their realm, the connection to non-Christians was frequently brought up as a means to discredit Spaniards in Rome. It was easy to accuse them of being descendants of converted Jews (Marranos) and even of secretly continuing Jewish practices. In several “pasquinate”, a popular form of satirical poems, pope Alexander VI was accused of secretly being a Jew. Even Adrian VI, a Dutchman who was elected in 1522, was confronted with similar suspicions even though he wasn't Spanish by birth. However, before becoming pope he had been governor of Spain for Emperor Charles V.

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English translation of de Beatis' report: J. R. Hale (ed.): The travel journal of Antonio de Beatis. Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries, France and Italy, 1517-1518. London, Hakluyt Society 1979.

For further reading on the concept of nation and nationalism in Medieval and Renaissance Europe I recommend Caspar Hirschi: The Origins of Nationalism. An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2012.