The Project Gutenberg eBook, Villani's Chronicle, by Giovanni Villani,
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Title: Villani's Chronicle
Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani
Author: Giovanni Villani
Editor: Philip H. Wicksteed
Release Date: July 8, 2010 [eBook #33022]
Language: English
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VILLANI'S CHRONICLE
Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the
Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani
Translated by Rose E. Selfe
and
Edited by Philip H. Wicksteed M.A.
London
Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd.
1906
SECOND EDITION
Carefully Revised
Ditemi dell' ovil di San Giovanni
Quanto era allora, e chi eran le genti
Tra esso degne di più alti scanni
[Illustration]
PREFATORY NOTE
The Editor is responsible for the selection of the passages
translated, and for the Introduction. He has also compared the
translation with the original text, has satisfied himself of its
general accuracy, and has made numerous suggestions.
The Translator is responsible for the fidelity of the translation in
detail, and for its general tone and style. She has also drawn up the
Indexes, and seen the work through the press.
For the selection of marginal references to the works of Dante the
Editor and Translator are jointly responsible.
Both Translator and Editor desire to express their obligations to Mr.
A.J. Butler, who has given them his ungrudging assistance in every
difficulty, and whose learning and judgment have been invaluable.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION xxv
BOOK I.
_This book is called the New Chronicle, in which many
past things are treated of, and especially the root and origins
of the city of Florence; then all the changes through which
it has passed and shall pass in the course of time: begun to
be compiled in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,
1300. Here begins the preface and the First Book._
§ 1. 1
§ 2.--_How through the confusion of the Tower of Babel
the world began to be inhabited_ 2
§ 5.--_Of the third part of the world called Europe, and
its boundaries_ 4
§ 7.--_How King Atlas first built the city of Fiesole_ 4
§ 8.--_How Atlas had three sons, Italus and Dardanus
and Sicanus_ 6
§ 9.--_How Italus and Dardanus came to agree which
should succeed to the city of Fiesole and the kingdom
of Italy_ 7
§ 10.--_How Dardanus came to Phrygia and built the city
of Dardania, which was afterwards the great Troy_ 8
§ 11.--_How Dardanus had a son which was named
Tritamus, which was the father of Trojus, after
whose name the city of Troy was so called_ 8
§ 17.--_How Antenor and the young Priam, having departed
from Troy, built the city of Venice, and that
of Padua_ 9
§ 21.--_How Æneas departed from Troy and came to
Carthage in Africa_ 10
§ 22.--_How Æneas came into Italy_ 13
§ 23.--_How the King Latinus ruled over Italy, and how
Æneas had his daughter to wife, and all his kingdom_ 14
§ 29.--_How Rome was ruled for a long time by the
government of the consuls and senators, until Julius
Cæsar became Emperor_ 16
§ 30.--_How a conspiracy was formed in Rome by Catiline
and his followers_ 18
§ 31.--_How Catiline caused the city of Fiesole to rebel
against the city of Rome_ 19
§ 32.--_How Catiline and his followers were discomfited
by the Romans in the plain of Piceno_ 20
§ 33.--_How Metellus with his troops made war upon the
Fiesolans_ 22
§ 34.--_How Metellus and Fiorinus discomfited the Fiesolans_ 22
§ 35.--_How the Romans besieged Fiesole the first time,
and how Fiorinus was slain_ 23
§ 36.--_How, because of the death of Fiorinus, the Romans
returned to the siege of Fiesole_ 24
§ 37.--_How the city of Fiesole surrendered itself to the
Romans, and was destroyed and laid waste_ 26
§ 38.--_How the city of Florence was first built_ 27
§ 39.--_How Cæsar departed from Florence, and went to
Rome, and was made consul to go against the
French_ 30
§ 40.--_Of the ensign of the Romans and of the Emperors,
and how from them it came to the city of Florence
and other cities_ 31
§ 42.--_How the Temple of Mars, which is now called
the Duomo of S. Giovanni, was built in Florence_ 32
§ 50.--_Of the city of Luni_ 34
§ 57.--_The story returns to the doings of the city of
Florence, and how S. Miniato there suffered martyrdom
under Decius, the Emperor_ 35
§ 59.--_Of Constantine the Emperor, and his descendants,
and the changes which came thereof in Italy_ 38
§ 60.--_How the Christian faith first came to Florence_ 39
BOOK II.
§ 1.--_Here begins the Second Book: how the city of
Florence was destroyed by Totila, the scourge of
God, king of the Goths and Vandals_ 43
§ 2.--_How Totila caused the city of Fiesole to be rebuilt_ 47
§ 4.--_How the Goths remained lords of Italy after the
death of Totila_ 47
§ 10.--_How Charles Martel came from France to Italy
at the summons of the Church against the Lombards;
and of the origin of the city of Siena_ 48
§ 12.--_How Telofre [Astolf], king of the Lombards,
persecuted Holy Church, and how King Pepin, at
the summons of Pope Stephen, came from France
and defeated him, and took him prisoner_ 49
§ 13.--_How Desiderius, son of Telofre, began war again
with Holy Church, for the which thing Charles the
Great passed into Italy, and defeated him, and took
away and destroyed the lordship of the Lombards_ 51
§ 15.--_How Charles the Great, king of France, was
made Emperor of Rome_ 54
§ 21.--_How the city of Florence lay waste and in ruins
for 350 years_ 56
BOOK III.
_Goes back somewhat to tell how the city of Florence was
rebuilt by the power of Charles the Great and the Romans._
§ 1. 59
§ 2.--_Of the form and size in which the city of Florence
was rebuilt_ 62
§ 3.--_How Charles the Great came to Florence, and
granted privileges to the city, and caused Santo
Apostolo to be built_ 65
BOOK IV.
§ 2.--_Of the Emperor Otho III., and the Marquis
Hugh, which built the Badia at Florence_ 69
§ 4.--_Of the progeny of the Kings of France, which descended
from Hugh Capet_ 71
§ 6.--_How in the time of the said Henry, the Florentines
took the city of Fiesole, and destroyed it_ 71
§ 7.--_How that many Fiesolans came to dwell in
Florence, and made one people with the Florentines_ 74
§ 8.--_How the city of Florence increased its circuit, first
by moats and palisades, and then by walls_ 75
§ 9.--_How Conrad I. was made Emperor_ 78
§ 10.--_Of the nobles which were in the city of Florence
in the time of the said Emperor Conrad, and first of
those about the Duomo_ 79
§ 11.--_Concerning the houses of the nobles in the quarter
of Porta San Piero_ 80
§ 12.--_Of them of the quarter of Porta San Brancazio_ 81
§ 13.--_Concerning them of the great quarter of Porta
Santa Maria and of San Piero Scheraggio_ 81
§ 18.--_Narration of many things that were in those times_ 83
§ 19.--_Of Robert Guiscard and his descendants, which
were kings of Sicily and of Apulia_ 84
§ 20.--_Concerning the successors of Robert Guiscard,
which were kings of Sicily and of Apulia_ 89
§ 21.--_Of the Countess Matilda_ 92
§ 29.--_How the Florentines defeated the Vicar of the
Emperor Henry IV._ 95
§ 30.--_How the city of Florence took fire twice, whence a
great part of the city was burnt_ 95
§ 31.--_How the Pisans took Majorca, and the Florentines
protected the city of Pisa_ 96
§ 32.--_How the Florentines took and destroyed the fortress
of Fiesole_ 98
§ 36.--_How the Florentines destroyed the fortress of
Montebuono_ 98
BOOK V.
_Here begins the Fifth Book: How Frederick I. of Staufen of
Suabia was Emperor of Rome, and of his descendants, and
concerning the doings of Florence, which were in their times,
and of all Italy._
§ 1. 101
§ 2.--_How Pope Alexander returned from France to
Venice, and the Emperor returned to obedience_ 105
§ 3.--_How the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was reconciled
with the Church, and went over seas, and
there died_ 106
§ 8.--_Of the great fires which were in the city of
Florence_ 108
§ 9.--_How civil war began in Florence between the
Uberti and the government of the Consuls_ 109
§ 12.--_How the Emperor Frederick I. took their territory
from the city of Florence, and many other
cities of Tuscany_ 110
§ 13.--_How the Florentines took the cross, and went
over seas to conquer Damietta, and therefore recovered
their territory_ 111
§ 16.--_How Henry of Suabia was made Emperor by
the Church, and how Constance, queen of Sicily,
was given him to wife_ 112
§ 24.--_How the Order of the Minor Friars began_ 114
§ 25.--_How the Order of the Preaching Friars began_ 114
§ 26.--_How the Florentines destroyed the castle of
Frondigliano_ 115
§ 30.--_How the Florentines destroyed the strongholds
of Simifonti and of Combiata_ 116
§ 31.--_Destruction of Montelupo, and how the Florentines
gained Montemurlo_ 116
§ 32.--_How the Florentines elected their first Podestà_ 117
§ 36.--_How during Otho's lifetime Frederick II. of
Suabia was elected Emperor by the desire of the
Church at Rome_ 118
§ 37.--_Concerning the death of the old Count Guido,
and of his progeny_ 119
§ 38.--_How the parties of the Guelfs and Ghibellines
arose in Florence_ 121
§ 39.--_Of the families and the nobles which became
Guelfs and Ghibellines in Florence_ 123
§ 41.--_How the Florentines caused the dwellers in the
country around to swear fealty to the city, and how
the new Carraia Bridge was begun_ 125
BOOK VI.
_How Frederick II. was consecrated and made Emperor, and
the great things which came to pass._
§ 1. 127
§ 5.--_How the Florentines led an army against Pistoia,
and laid waste the country round about_ 129
§ 14.--_How the Emperor Frederick came to enmity
with the Church_ 130
§ 22.--_How the Emperor laid hold of King Henry, his
son_ 133
§ 23.--_How the war began between Pope Innocent IV.
and the Emperor Frederick_ 134
§ 24.--_Of the sentence which Pope Innocent pronounced
at the council of Lyons-on-Rhine, upon the Emperor
Frederick_ 135
§ 25.--_How the Pope and the Church caused a new
Emperor to be elected in place of Frederick, the
deposed Emperor_ 138
§ 26.--_We will tell an incident in the affairs of Florence_ 140
§ 33.--_How the Guelf party was first driven from
Florence by the Ghibellines and the forces of the
Emperor Frederick_ 140
§ 34.--_How the host of the Emperor Frederick was defeated
by the Parmesans, and by the Pope's legate_ 146
§ 35.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence were
taken in the fortress of Capraia_ 147
§ 39.--_How the Primo Popolo was formed in Florence
to be a defence against the violence and attacks of
the Ghibellines_ 149
§ 41.--_How the Emperor Frederick died at Firenzuola
in Apulia_ 151
§ 42.--_How the Popolo of Florence peaceably restored
the Guelfs to Florence_ 152
§ 43.--_How at the time of the said Popolo the Florentines
discomfited the men of Pistoia, and afterwards
banished certain families of the Ghibellines from
Florence_ 153
§ 44.--_How King Conrad, son of Frederick the Emperor,
came from Germany into Apulia, and had
the lordship over the realm of Sicily, and how he
died_ 154
§ 45.--_How Manfred, natural son of Frederick, took
the lordship of the kingdom of Sicily and of
Apulia, and caused himself to be crowned_ 156
§ 46.--_Of the war between Pope Alexander and King
Manfred_ 158
§ 50.--_How the bridge Santa Trinita was built_ 160
§ 53.--_How the golden florins were first made in Florence_ 161
§ 55.--_How the Florentines marched against Siena, and
the Sienese came to terms with them, and there was
peace between them_ 162
§ 65.--_How the Popolo of Florence drave out the Ghibellines
for the first time from Florence, and the
reason why_ 164
§ 69.--_Incidents of the doings that were in Florence at
the time of the Popolo_ 166
§ 72.--_How the great tyrant, Ezzelino da Romano, was
defeated by the Cremonese and died in prison_ 167
§ 73.--_How both the king of Castille and Richard, earl
of Cornwall, were elected king of the Romans_ 169
§ 74.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence sent
into Apulia to King Manfred for succour_ 169
§ 75.--_How the commonwealth and people of Florence
led a great host up to the gates of Siena with the
carroccio_ 170
§ 76.--_How King Manfred sent Count Giordano with
800 Germans to succour the Sienese and the Ghibelline
refugees from Florence_ 173
§ 77.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence prepared
to deceive the commonwealth and people of
Florence, and cause them to be betrayed_ 174
§ 78.--_How the Florentines raised an army to fortify
Montalcino, and were discomfited by Count Giordano
and by the Sienese at Montaperti_ 177
§ 79.--_How the Guelfs of Florence, after the said discomfiture,
departed from Florence and went to Lucca_ 181
§ 80.--_How the news of the defeat of the Florentines
came to the court of the Pope, and the prophecy
which was made thereupon by Cardinal Bianco_ 183
§ 81.--_How the Ghibellines of Tuscany purposed to destroy
the city of Florence, and how M. Farinata
degli Uberti defended it_ 184
§ 83.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence sent their
ambassadors into Germany to stir up Conradino
against Manfred_ 187
§ 86.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the
other exiles of Tuscany, drave out the Ghibellines
from Modena and afterwards from Reggio_ 188
§ 87.--_How Manfred persecuted Pope Urban and the
Church with his Saracens of Nocera, and how a
crusade was proclaimed against them_ 190
§ 88.--_How the Church of Rome elected Charles of
France to be king of Sicily and of Apulia_ 192
§ 89.--_How Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence,
accepted the election offered him by the Church of
Rome to Sicily and Apulia_ 193
§ 90.--_Incident relating to the good Count Raymond of
Provence_ 195
BOOK VII.
_Here begins the Seventh Book, which treats of the coming of
King Charles, and of many changes and events which followed
thereupon._
§ 1. 199
§ 2.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took the
arms of Pope Clement, and how they joined the
French army of Count Charles_ 201
§ 3.--_How Count Charles departed from France, and
passed by sea from Provence to Rome_ 202
§ 4.--_How Count Guy of Montfort, with the horse of
Count Charles, passed through Lombardy_ 204
§ 5.--_How King Charles was crowned in Rome king of
Sicily, and how he straightway departed with his
host to go against King Manfred_ 205
§ 6.--_How, after King Charles had taken the pass of
Cepperano, he stormed the city of San Germano_ 207
§ 7.--_How King Manfred went to Benivento, and how
he arrayed his troops to fight against King Charles_ 209
§ 8.--_How King Charles arrayed his troops to fight
against King Manfred_ 211
§ 9.--_Concerning the battle between King Charles and
King Manfred, and how King Manfred was discomfited
and slain_ 213
§ 13.--_How the Thirty-six were established in Florence,
and how the Guilds of Arts were formed and
standards given thereto_ 217
§ 14.--_How the second Popolo rose in Florence, for the
which cause Count Guido Novello, with the Ghibelline
leaders, left Florence_ 220
§ 15.--_How the Popolo restored the Guelfs to Florence,
and how they afterwards drave out the Ghibellines_ 223
§ 16.--_How, after the Ghibellines had been driven from
Florence, the ordinances and councils of the city
were reorganized_ 225
§ 17.--_How the Guelfs of Florence instituted the Ordinances
of the Party_ 226
§ 23.--_How the young Conradino, son of King Conrad,
came from Germany into Italy against King
Charles_ 228
§ 24.--_How the marshal of King Charles was defeated
at Ponte a Valle by Conradino's army_ 231
§ 25.--_How Conradino entered into Rome, and afterwards
with his host passed into the kingdom of
Apulia_ 232
§ 26.--_How the host of Conradino and that of King
Charles met in battle at Tagliacozzo_ 233
§ 27.--_How Conradino and his people were defeated by
King Charles_ 235
§ 29.--_--How Conradino and certain of his barons were
taken by King Charles, and how he caused their
heads to be cut off_ 240
§ 31.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at the
foot of Colle di Valdelsa_ 242
§ 34.--_How there was a great flood of waters which
carried away the Santa Trinita Bridge and the
Carraia Bridge_ 245
§ 37.--_How King Louis of France made an expedition
to Tunis, wherein he died_ 246
§ 38.--_How King Charles concluded a treaty with the
king of Tunis, and how the host departed_ 249
§ 39.--_How Gregory X. was made Pope at Viterbo, and
how Henry, son of the king of England, there died_ 251
§ 42.--_How Pope Gregory came with his court to Florence,
and caused peace to be made between the Guelfs
and Ghibellines_ 255
§ 50.--_Of the death of Pope Gregory, and of three other
Popes after him_ 258
§ 54.--_How Nicholas III., of the Orsini, was made
Pope, and concerning that which he did in his time_ 261
§ 56.--_How the Cardinal Latino, by the Pope's command,
made peace between the Guelfs and Ghibellines
of Florence, and composed all the other feuds
in the city_ 263
§ 61.--_How and after what manner the island of Sicily
rebelled against King Charles_ 267
§ 79.--_How the Office of Priors was first created in
Florence_ 269
§ 81.--_How M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was
defeated at Forlì by the count of Montefeltro_ 272
§ 95.--_How the good King Charles passed from this life
at the city of Foggia in Apulia_ 274
§ 105.--_How the king of France departed from Aragon,
and died at Perpignan_ 277
§ 114.--_Of a notable thing which came to pass in Florence
at this time_ 279
§ 121.--_How the judge of Gallura and the Guelf party
were driven from Pisa, and the Count Ugolino
taken prisoner_ 280
§ 128.--_How the Pisans chose for captain the count of
Montefeltro, and how they starved to death Count
Ugolino and his sons and grandsons_ 283
§ 130.--_Of the coronation of King Charles II., and how
he passed through Florence, and left Messer Amerigo
di Nerbona as captain of war for the Florentines_ 284
§ 131.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines at
Certomondo in Casentino_ 286
§ 132.--_How the Florentines besieged the city of Arezzo,
and laid waste the region round about_ 291
§ 145.--_How the soldan of Babylon conquered by force
the city of Acre, to the great hurt of the Christians_ 294
§ 146.--_Of the death of King Rudolf of Germany_ 298
§ 149.--_How the city of Forlì in Romagna was taken
by Maghinardo da Susinana_ 298
BOOK VIII.
_Here begins the Eighth Book. It tells how the second Popolo
arose in the city of Florence, and of many great changes
which by reason thereof came afterwards to pass in Florence,
following on with the other events of those times._
§ 1. 301
§ 5.--_How Celestine V. was elected and made Pope, and
how he renounced the papacy_ 304
§ 6.--_How Boniface VIII. was elected and made Pope_ 306
§ 8.--_How the great man of the people, Giano della
Bella, was driven out of Florence_ 309
§ 10.--_How M. Gianni di Celona came into Tuscany
as Imperial Vicar_ 312
§ 12.--_How the magnates of Florence raised a tumult
in the city to break up the Popolo_ 313
§ 13.--_How King Charles made peace with King
James of Aragon_ 315
§ 23.--_How the Colonnesi came to ask pardon of the
Pope, and afterwards rebelled a second time_ 317
§ 26.--_When the palace of the people of Florence was
begun, where dwell the Priors_ 318
§ 36.--_How Pope Boniface VIII. gave pardon to all
Christians which should go to Rome, in the year of
the jubilee_, 1300 320
§ 38.--_How the parties of the Blacks and Whites first
began in the city of Pistoia_ 321
§ 39.--_How the city of Florence was divided and
brought to shame by the said White and Black
parties_ 323
§ 40.--_How the Cardinal Acquasparta came as legate
from the Pope to make peace in Florence, and could
not do it_ 327
§ 41.--_Concerning the evils and dangers which followed
afterwards to our city_ 329
§ 42.--_Of the same_ 330
§ 43.--_How Pope Boniface sent into France for M.
Charles of Valois_ 331
§ 45.--_How the Black party were driven out of Pistoia_ 332
§ 49.--_How M. Charles of Valois of France came to
Pope Boniface, and afterwards came to Florence
and drove out the White party_ 333
§ 59.--_How Folcieri da Calvoli, Podestà of Florence,
caused certain citizens of the White party to be
beheaded_ 339
§ 60.--_How the White party and the Ghibelline refugees
from Florence came to Puliciano and
departed thence in discomfiture_ 340
§ 61.--_Incident, relating how M. Maffeo Visconti was
driven from Milan_ 342
§ 62.--_How there arose strife and enmity between Pope
Boniface and King Philip of France_ 344
§ 63.--_How the king of France caused Pope Boniface
to be seized in Anagna by Sciarra della Colonna,
whence the said Pope died a few days afterwards_ 346
§ 64.--_We will further tell of the ways of Pope Boniface_ 350
§ 67.--_How King Edward of England recovered Gascony
and defeated the Scots_ 352
§ 68.--_How there were in Florence great changes and
civic battles through desire that the accounts of the
commonwealth should be examined_ 353
§ 69.--_How the Pope sent into Florence as legate the
Cardinal da Prato to make peace, and how he departed
thence in shame and confusion_ 356
§ 70.--_How the bridge of Carraia fell, and how many
people died there_ 360
§ 71.--_How Florence was set on fire, and a great part
of the city burnt_ 361
§ 72.--_How the Whites and Ghibellines came to the
gates of Florence, and departed thence in discomfiture_ 364
§ 80.--_How Pope Benedict died, and of the new election
of Pope Clement V._ 369
§ 84.--_How there arose in Lombardy one Fra Dolcino
with a great company of heretics, and how they
were burnt_ 375
§ 88.--_Of the great war which was begun against the
marquis of Ferrara, and how he died_ 376
§ 92.--_How and after what fashion was destroyed the
Order and mansion of the Temple of Jerusalem by
the machinations of the king of France_ 377
§ 96.--_How Corso Donati, the great and noble citizen
of Florence, died_ 382
§ 101.--_After what manner Henry, count of Luxemburg,
was elected Emperor of Rome_ 386
§ 102.--_How Henry the Emperor was confirmed by
the Pope_ 389
§ 112.--_How Robert was crowned king over the kingdom
of Sicily and Apulia_ 390
§ 120.--_How the ambassadors of Henry, king of the
Romans, came to Florence_ 391
BOOK IX.
_Here begins the Ninth Book. How Henry, count of Luxemburg,
was made Emperor._
§ 1. 393
§ 7.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Germany
to go into Italy_ 394
§ 8.--_How King Robert came to Florence as he returned
from his coronation_ 395
§ 9.--_How the Emperor Henry passed into Italy, and
gained the city of Milan_ 396
§ 10.--_How the Florentines enclosed the new circle of
the city with moats_ 397
§ 11.--_How the della Torre were driven out of Milan_ 398
§ 12.--_How there was great scarcity in Florence, and
concerning other events_ 400
§ 14.--_How the Emperor besieged Cremona, and his
people took Vicenza_ 400
§ 15.--_How the Emperor took the city of Cremona_ 401
§ 16.--_How the Florentines, by reason of the Emperor's
coming, recalled from banishment all the Guelfs_ 402
§ 17.--_How the Florentines, with all the Guelf cities of
Tuscany, made a league together against the Emperor_ 402
§ 20.--_How the Emperor Henry took the city of Brescia
by siege_ 403
§ 22.--_How Pope Clement sent legates to crown the
Emperor Henry_ 405
§ 26.--_How the ambassadors from the Emperor came to
Florence, and were driven thence_ 406
§ 28.--_How the Empress died in Genoa_ 407
§ 29.--_How the Emperor put the Florentines under the
ban of the Empire_ 407
§ 32.--_How the city of Brescia rebelled against the
Emperor_ 407
§ 34.--_How the city of Cremona rebelled against the
Emperor_ 408
§ 35.--_How the marshal of the Emperor came to Pisa,
and began war with the Florentines_ 408
§ 36.--_How the Paduans rebelled against the lordship
of the Emperor_ 409
§ 39.--_Of the gathering together made by King Robert
and the league of Tuscany at Rome to oppose the
coronation of the Emperor Henry_ 409
§ 40.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Pisa
and came to Rome_ 410
§ 43.--_How Henry of Luxemburg was crowned Emperor
at Rome_ 411
§ 44.--_How the Emperor departed from Rome to go into
Tuscany_ 413
§ 45.--_How the Emperor came to the city of Arezzo,
and afterwards how he came towards the city of
Florence_ 414
§ 46.--_How the Florentines were well-nigh discomfited
at the fortress of Ancisa by the army of the Emperor_ 415
§ 47.--_How the Emperor Henry encamped with his
host before the city of Florence_ 416
§ 48.--_How the Emperor abandoned the siege, and departed
from San Salvi, and came to San Casciano,
and then to Poggibonizzi_ 419
§ 49.--_How the Emperor departed from Poggibonizzi,
and returned to Pisa, and issued many bans against
the Florentines_ 421
§ 50.--_How the Emperor condemned King Robert_ 422
§ 51.--_How the Emperor made ready to enter into the
Kingdom against King Robert, and departed from Pisa_ 423
§ 52.--_How the Emperor Henry died at Bonconvento,
in the country of Siena_ 424
§ 53.--_Relates how, when the Emperor was dead, his
host was divided, and the barons carried his body
to the city of Pisa_ 425
§ 56.--_How the Florentines gave the lordship of Florence
to King Robert for five years_ 426
§ 59.--_Of the death of Pope Clement_ 427
§ 63.--_How the Paduans were discomfited at Vicenza by
M. Cane della Scala_ 428
§ 66.--_Of the death of Philip, king of France, and of
his sons_ 428
§ 70.--_How Uguccione, lord of Lucca and of Pisa, laid
siege to the castle of Montecatini_ 430
§ 71.--_How, when the prince of Taranto was come to
Florence, the Florentines sallied forth with their
army to succour Montecatini, and were defeated by
Uguccione della Faggiuola_ 431
§ 72.--_More about the said battle and defeat of the
Florentines and of the prince_ 432
§ 81.--_Of the election of Pope John XXII._ 434
§ 86.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola sought to re-enter
Pisa, and what came of it in Pisa, and of the
Marquis Spinetta_ 436
§ 87.--_How the Ghibelline party left Genoa_ 437
§ 89.--_How M. Cane della Scala led an army against
the Paduans, and took many castles from them_ 438
§ 90.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the force of the
Ghibellines of Lombardy besieged Genoa_ 438
§ 92.--_How the exiles from Genoa took the suburbs of Prea_ 439
§ 93.--_How King Robert came by sea to succour Genoa_ 440
§ 94.--_How the Genoese gave the lordship of Genoa to
King Robert_ 441
§ 95.--_Of the active war which the exiles of Genoa with
the Lombards made against King Robert_ 442
§ 97.--_How King Robert's followers discomfited the
exiles from Genoa at the village of Sesto, and how
they departed from the siege of the city_ 443
§ 99.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the Lombards
returned to the siege of Genoa_ 444
§ 100.--_How M. Cane della Scala took the suburbs of Padua_ 445
§ 121.--_How M. Cane della Scala, being at the siege of
Padua, was defeated by the Paduans and by the
count of Görtz_ 446
§ 136.--_Concerning the poet Dante Alighieri of Florence_ 448
INTRODUCTION
§ 1. _The Text._
This book of selections is not intended as a contribution to the study
of Villani, but as an aid to the study of Dante. The text of Villani
is well known to be in a very unsatisfactory condition, and no attempt
at a critical treatment of it has been made. The Florence edition of
1823, in eight volumes, has been almost invariably followed. Here and
there the Editor has silently adopted an emendation that obviously
gives the sense intended, and on p. 277 has inserted in brackets an
acute suggestion made by Mr. A.J. Butler. In a few cases, by far the
most important of which occurs on p. 450, passages which appear in
some but not in all of the MSS. and editions of Villani are inserted
in square brackets.
§ 2. _The References._
It is probable that many more references to Dante's works might
advantageously have been inserted in the margin had they occurred to
our minds; and we shall be glad to have our attention called to any
important omissions.
As a rule we have aimed at giving a reference to any passage in
Dante's works on which the text has a direct bearing, or towards the
discussion of which it furnishes materials, without intending thereby
necessarily to commit ourselves to any special interpretation of the
passage in Dante referred to.
But in some instances such a reference would, in our opinion,
distinctly tend to the perpetuation of error. In such cases we have
purposely abstained from appearing to bring a passage of Villani into
relation with a passage of Dante with which we believe it to have no
connection. For instance, to have given a reference to the _Vita
Nuova_ § 41, 1-11, on p. 320 would have appeared to us so distinct and
dangerous a _suggestio falsi_ that we have felt compelled to abstain
from it even at the risk of being charged with a _suppressio veri_ by
those who do not agree with us.
§ 3. _The Principle of Selection._
Our aim has been to translate all the passages from the first nine
books of Villani's Chronicles which are likely to be of direct
interest and value to the student of Dante.[1] A few chapters have
been inserted not for their own sakes but because they are necessary
for the understanding of other chapters that bear directly on Dante.
When a chapter contains anything to our purpose, we have usually
translated the whole of it. Where this is not the case the omissions
are invariably indicated by stars * * * * * *. We have given the
headings of all the chapters we have not translated, so that the
reader may have in his hand the continuous thread of Villani's
narrative, and may have some idea of the character of the omitted
portions. By these means we hope we have minimised, though we do not
flatter ourselves that we have removed, the objections which are
legitimately urged against volumes of selections.
[Footnote 1: The complex and miserable history of Ugolino and Nino we
have given only in its most essential portions. Even its connection
with one of the most terrible and widely known passages in the
_Inferno_ cannot make it other than dreary, sordid, and
unilluminating.]
* * * * *
The nature of the interest which the Dante student will find in these
selections will vary as he goes through the volume.
The early portions, up to the end of Book III., are interesting not so
much for the direct elucidation of special passages in Dante as for
the assistance they give us in realizing the atmosphere through which
he and his contemporaries regarded their own past; and their habitual
confusion of legend and history.
From Book IV. on into Book VIII. our interest centres more and more on
the specific contents of Villani's Chronicle. Here he becomes the best
of all commentators upon one phase of Dante's many-sided genius; for
he gives us the material upon which Dante's judgments are passed, and
enables us to know the men and see the events he judges as he himself
knew and saw them. Chapter after chapter reads like a continuous
commentary on _Purg._ vi. 127-151; and there is hardly a sentence that
does not lighten and is not lightened by some passage in the _Comedy_.
Readers who have been accustomed to weary themselves in attempts to
digest and remember historical notes (into which extracts from
Villani, torn from their native haunts, have been driven up for
instant slaughter, as in battue shooting) will find it a relief to
have the story of the battles and revolutions of Florence, as Dante
saw and felt it, continuously set before them--even though it be, for
the present, in the partial and therefore mutilated form of
"selections."
When we come to the later portions of Book VIII. and the first part
of Book IX. the interest again changes. To the events after 1300
Dante's chief work contains comparatively few and scattered allusions;
but as the direct connection with his writings becomes less marked the
connection with his biography becomes more intimate. As we study the
tangled period of Florentine politics that coincides with Dante's
active political life (about 1300 A.D.), the ill-concerted and feeble
attempts of the exiles to regain a footing in their city, and later on
the splendid but futile enterprise of Henry, we seem to find the very
fibres of Dante's life woven into the texture of the history. The
dream of the _De Monarchia_ was dreamed by Henry as well as by Dante;
but as we read the detail of his failure it is borne in upon us that
he not only did fail but must fail, for his ideal was incapable of
realization. Italy was not ready for him, and had she been ready she
would not have needed him.
Finally, the last pages of our volume, which cover selections from the
portion of Book IX., extending from the death of Henry to the death of
Dante himself, are for the most part inserted for a very special
reason, as to which some little detail is necessary. Strangely enough
they derive their importance not from any interest Dante may have
taken in the events they record, but from the fact that he did not
take enough interest in them to satisfy one of his most ardent
admirers. The editions of Dante's collected works include a
correspondence in Latin hexameters between Johannes de Virgilio and
Dante. Now in the poem that opens this correspondence Johannes refers
to Statius and to Lethe in a manner that proves beyond all doubt that
the whole of the _Purgatorio_ as well as the _Inferno_ was in his
hands. But he alludes to the _Paradiso_--the poem of the
"super-solar" realms which is to complete the record of the "lower"
ones--as not yet having appeared. It therefore becomes a matter of
extreme interest to the Dante student to learn the date of this poem.
Now one of the considerations that led Johannes to address Dante was
the hope of inducing him to choose a contemporary subject for a Latin
poem and so write something worthy of himself and of studious readers!
With this object he suggests a number of subjects:--
"Dic age quo petiit Jovis armiger astra volatu:
Dic age quos flores, quæ lilia fregit arator:
Dic Phrygias damas laceratos dente molosso:
Dic Ligurum montes, et classes Parthenopæas."
"Come! tell thou of the flight by which Jove's armour-bearer
(the Imperial Eagle = Henry VII.) sought the stars. Come!
tell thou of the flowers and lilies (of Florence) crushed by
the ploughman (Uguccione da Faggiuola). Tell of the Phrygian
does (the Paduans) torn by the mastiff's (Can Grande's)
tooth. Tell of the Ligurian mountains (the Genoese) and the
Parthenopæan fleets (of Robert of Naples)."
The correctness and security of the interpretation of this passage
will not be doubted by any one accustomed to the pedantic allusiveness
of the age; and it is moreover guaranteed by the annotator of the
Laurentian MS., thought by many to be Boccaccio himself. It will be
seen, therefore, from the study of the concluding pages of this
volume, that when Johannes addressed Dante (after the appearance of
the _Inferno_ and the _Purgatorio_, but before that of the _Paradiso_)
Henry VII. had died (A.D. 1313), Can Grande had defeated the Paduans
(A.D. 1314 and 1317), Uguccione had defeated the Florentines (A.D.
1315), and Robert had collected his fleet to relieve Genoa (February,
1319). It also seems highly probable that Can Grande had not yet
suffered his reverses at the siege of Padua (August, 1320). This is
perhaps the one unassailable datum for the chronology of Dante's
works, and we have therefore included in our selections so much as was
needed to establish it. Our readers will perhaps forgive us for having
then left the fate of Genoa hanging in the balance, for as Villani
says: "Who could write the unbroken history of the dire siege of
Genoa, and the marvellous exploits achieved by the exiles and their
allies? Verily, it is the opinion of the wise that the siege of Troy
itself, in comparison therewith, shewed no greater and more continuous
battling, both by sea and land."
§ 4. _The Historical Value of Villani's Chronicle._
An adequate edition of Villani would have to examine his statements in
detail, and, where necessary, to correct them. Such a task, however,
would be alike beyond our powers, and foreign to our immediate
purpose. These selections are intended to illustrate the text of
Dante; and for that purpose it is of more consequence to know what
were the "horrible crimes" of which Dante supposed Manfred to be
guilty, than to enquire whether or no he was really guilty of them. To
know whether Constance was fifty-two, or only thirty, when she married
Henry VI., and whether he took her from a convent or a palace is of
less immediate consequence to the student of Dante than to be
acquainted with the Guelf tradition as to these circumstances.
At the same time, the reader may reasonably ask for some guidance as
to the point at which the authentic history of Florence disengages
itself from the legend, and, further, as to the general degree of
reliance he is justified in placing on the details supplied by
Villani.
On the first point very few words will suffice. There was probably a
Fiesolan mart on the site now occupied by Florence from very remote
times; but the form of the "ancient circle" carries us back to a Roman
camp and a military colony as the origin of the regular city. Beyond
this meagre basis the whole story of "Troy, and of Fiesole and Rome,"
in connection with Florence must be pronounced a myth. The notices of
Florence before the opening of the twelfth century are few and meagre,
but they suffice to prove that the story of its destruction by Totila,
and rebuilding by Charlemagne, is without foundation; and of all the
reported conquests of Fiesole that of 1125 is the first that we can
regard as historical.
The history of Florence is almost a blank until about 1115 A.D., the
date of the death of the Countess Matilda.
With respect to the second point, it is impossible to give so brief or
conclusive an answer. Villani is as valuable to the historian as he is
delightful to the general reader. He is a keen observer, and has a
quick eye for the salient and essential features of what he observes.
When dealing with his own times, and with events immediately connected
with Florence, he is a trustworthy witness, but minute accuracy is
never his strong point; and in dealing with distant times and places
he is hopelessly unreliable.
The English reader will readily detect his confusions in Book VII., §
39, where at one time Richard of Cornwall, and at another Henry III.,
is called king of England; and Henry of Cornwall and Edward I. are
regarded indifferently as sons of Richard or sons of Henry III., but
are always said to be brothers instead of cousins.
Here there is little danger of the reader being misled, but it is
otherwise in such a case as that of Robert Guiscard and the house of
Tancred in Book IV., § 19. By way of putting the reader on his guard,
we will go into this exceptionally bad, but by no means solitary,
instance of Villani's inaccuracies.
Tancred, of the castle of Hauteville (near Coutances, in Normandy),
had twelve sons, ten of whom sought their fortunes in southern Italy
and Sicily. Four of these were successively Counts of Apulia, the last
of the four being Robert Guiscard. He was followed by his son Roger,
and his grandson William, who died childless. Another of the sons of
Tancred was Roger, who became Count of Sicily. He was succeeded by his
son Roger II., who possessed himself of the Apulian domains of his
relative William, on the decease of the latter. Roger now had himself
proclaimed King of Sicily by the anti-pope Anaclete, and united Sicily
and Naples under his sway. He was followed by his son William (the
Bad), and his grandson William (the Good), on whose death, without
issue, Henry VI., who married Roger's daughter Constance, claimed the
succession in the right of his wife. (_L'Art de Vérifier les Dates._)
The most important of these relations may be set forth thus:
TANCRED OF HAUTEVILLE
|
+-------------------+
| |
Robert Guiscard Roger I.
Count of Apulia Count of Sicily
| |
Roger Roger II.
| King of Sicily
William |
+-----------------+
| |
William Constance = Henry VI.
the Bad
|
William
the Good
Let the reader construct the family tree from the data in Villani, and
compare it with the one given above. He will find that Villani, to
begin with, makes Robert Guiscard a younger son of the Duke of
Normandy, then makes his younger brother, Roger I., into his son
(occasionally confounding him with Roger II.); and, finally, ignores
William the Bad, and makes William the Good the brother of Constance.
His details as to the pretender Tancred are equally inaccurate. These
must suffice as specimens; but they are specimens not only of a
special class of mistake, but of a style of work against which the
reader must be constantly on his guard if he intends to make use of
any detailed dates or relations, or even if he wishes to make sure
that the Pope or other actor named in any connection is really the
right one.
So, too, even well within historical times, Villani is prone to the
epic simplification of events. His account of the negociations of
Farinata with Manfred, and of the battle of Montaperti for instance,
represents the Florentine legend or tradition rather than the history
of the events. These events are conceived with the vividness,
simplicity and picturesque preponderance of personality which make
them easy to see, but impossible to reconstruct in a rationally
convincing form.
To enter into further detail under this head would be to transgress
the limits we have set ourselves.
§ 5. _The Rationale of the Revolutions of Florence._[2]
[Footnote 2: The substance of this § is entirely drawn from Prof.
Villari's recent work on Early Florentine History. "I Primi due Secoli
della Storia di Firenze, Ricerche di Pasquale Villari." 2 vols.,
Florence, 1893, 1894. Price 8 fr. English translation by Madame
Villari. "The Two First Centuries of Florentine History." Fisher
Unwin. Price 2_s._ 6_d._ This work should be carefully studied in its
entirety by all who desire to understand the constitutional history of
Florence. N.B.--Some of our readers may be glad of the information
that the modern scholar is Pasquale Vill[)a]ri (with short [)a]), and
the mediæval chronicler Giovanni Vill[=a]ni (with a long [=a]).]
The settled conviction of both Villani and Dante that a difference of
race underlay the civil wars of Florence, rests upon a truth obscurely
though powerfully felt by them.
We have seen that the legend of Fiesole and Florence, upon which they
rest their case, is without historical foundation; but the conflict of
races was there none the less. And as it is here that modern
historians find the key to the history of Florence, our readers will
probably be glad to have set before them a brief account of the
general conceptions in the light of which modern scholars would have
us read the naive and ingenuous records of Villani.
The numerous Teutonic invasions and incursions which had swept over
northern and central Italy, from Odoacer to Charlemagne, had
established a powerful territorial nobility. They constituted a
dominating class, military in their habits, accustomed to the exercise
and the abuse of the simpler functions of government, accepting
certain feudal traditions, but owning no practical allegiance to any
power that was not in a position instantly to enforce it. Their
effective organization was based on the clan system, and the informal
family council was omnipotent within the limits of the clan. They were
without capacity or desire for any large and enduring social
organization. Their combinations were temporary, and for military
purposes; and internecine family feuds were a permanent factor in
their lives. Their laws were based on the "Barbarian" codes, but the
influence of Roman law was increasingly felt by them.
In the cities it is probable that the old municipal organization had
never wholly died out, though it had no formal recognition. The
citizens were sometimes allowed to live "under their own law," and
sometimes not; but the tradition of the Roman law was never lost.
Nominally the cities were under the jurisdiction of some territorial
magnate, or a nominee of the Emperor, but practically they enjoyed
various degrees of independence. Their effective organization would
depend upon their special circumstances, but in such a case as that of
Florence would be based on the trade guilds.
In Florence a number of the Teutonic nobles had settled in the city;
but it owed its importance to its trade. The city-dwelling nobles kept
up their clan life, and fortified their houses; but in other respects
they had become partially assimilated in feeling, and even in habits
and occupations, to the mercantile community in which they lived. They
filled the posts of military and civil administration, and were
conscious of a strong unity of interest with the people.
Under the vigorous and beneficent rule in Tuscany of the great
Countess Matilda (1076-1115) Florence was able quietly to consolidate
and extend her power without raising any thorny questions of formal
jurisdiction. But on the death of Matilda, when the Church and the
Empire equally claimed the succession and were equally unable
efficiently to assert their claims, it was inevitable that an attempt
should be made to establish the _de facto_ supremacy of Florence over
Fiesole and the whole outlying district upon a firmer and more formal
basis. It was equally inevitable that the attempt should be resisted.
Within Florence, as we have seen, there was a heterogeneous, but as
yet fairly united citizenship. The germs of organization consisted on
the side of the nobles in the clans and the Tower-clubs, and on the
side of the people in the Trade-guilds. The Tower-clubs were
associations each of which possessed a fortified tower in the city,
which was maintained at the common expense of the associates, and with
which their houses communicated. Of the Trade-guilds we shall speak
briefly hereafter.
In the surrounding country the territorial nobility watched the
growing power and prosperity of Florence with jealousy, stoutly
resisted her claims to jurisdiction over them and their demesnes, and
made use of their command of the great commercial highways to exact
regular or irregular tolls, even when they did not frankly plunder the
merchants.
Obviously two struggles must result from this situation. The city as a
whole was vitally concerned in clearing the commercial routes and
rendering the territorial nobility harmless; but within the city two
parties, who may almost be regarded as two nations, contended for the
mastery.
With respect to the collective struggle of Florence against her foes,
which entered on its active phase early in the twelfth century, on the
death of Matilda in 1115, it may be said in brief that it was carried
on with a vigour and success, subject only to brief and few reverses,
during the whole period with which we are concerned. But this very
success in external enterprises emphasized and embittered the internal
factions. These had been serious from the first. The Uberti and other
ruling families resisted the growing influence of the people; and the
vicissitudes of the struggle may be traced at the end of the twelfth
and beginning of the thirteenth centuries in the alternation of the
various forms of the supreme magistracy. But it was part of the policy
of the victorious Florentines to compel the nobles they had reduced to
submission to live at least for a part of the year in the city; and
thus while the merchant people of Florence was increasing in wealth
and power, the nobles in the city were in their turn constantly
recruited by rich and turbulent members of their own caste, who were
ready to support them in their attempt to retain the government in
their hands. Thus the more successful Florence was in her external
undertakings the greater was the tension within.
The forces arrayed against each other gradually assumed a provisional
organization in ever-increasing independence of each other. The old
senate or council and the popular assembly of all the citizens were
transformed or sank into the background, and the Podestà, or foreign
magistrate appointed for a year, with his lesser and greater council
of citizens, was the supreme authority from 1207 onwards. This marked
a momentary triumph of the nobles. But the people asserted themselves
once again, and elected a Captain of the People, also a foreigner,
with a lesser and greater council of citizens, who did not dispute the
formal and representative supremacy of the Podestà, but was in reality
coordinate with him. On this the Podestà naturally became the head of
the nobles as the Captain was head of the people; and there rose that
spectacle, so strange to us but so familiar to mediæval Italy, of two
bodies of citizens, each with its own constitution and magistracy,
encamped within the same walls. The Podestà was the head of the
"Commonwealth," and the Captain the head of the "People." There was,
it is true, for the most part a show of some central and coordinating
power, nominally supreme over these independent and often hostile
magistrates, such as the body of Ancients. But this central government
had little effective power.
To understand the course of Florentine history, however, we must turn
back for a moment to the informal internal organization of the two
bodies thus opposed to each other. The struggle is between the
military and territorial aristocracy on the one hand, and the
mercantile democracy of the city on the other; and we have seen that
the clan system and the Tower-clubs were the germ cells of the one
order, and the Craft-guilds those of the other. Now the Craft-guilds
were obviously capable of supporting a higher form of political
development than could ever come out of the rival system. The officers
of the Florentine Crafts were compelled to exercise all the higher
functions of government. They preserved a strict discipline within
their own jurisdiction--(and the aggregation of the trades in certain
streets and districts made that jurisdiction roughly correspond to
local divisions)--they had to coordinate their industries one with
another, and regulate their complicated relations one with another,
and they sent their representatives to all the great trading cities of
the world, where they had to conduct such delicate and important
negociations that they became the most skilful diplomatists in Italy.
Indeed, the training of ambassadors may almost be considered as a
Florentine industry! Add to this the vast financial concerns which
they had to conduct, and it will readily be seen that as statesmen
the merchants of Florence must eventually prove more than a match for
their military rivals and opponents. The merchant people was the
progressive and constructive element in Florentine society.
Accordingly the constitutional history of Florence resolves itself
into a progressive, though chequered, advance of the people against
the nobles (or, as they were afterwards called, the magnates) along
two lines. In the first place, they had to make the _de facto_ trade
organization of the city into its _de jure_ constitution--a movement
which culminated in 1282 in the formal recognition of the Priors of
the Crafts as the supreme magistrates of Florence. And, in the second
place, they must attempt to bring the magnates effectively within the
control of the laws and constitution of the mercantile community,
which they systematically and recklessly defied as long as they were
in a position to do so. The magnates behaved like brigands, and the
people replied by practically making them outlaws. They gradually
excluded them from all share of the government, they endeavoured to
make the Podestà personally responsible for keeping them in order,
they organized a militia of trade bands that could fly to arms and
barricade the streets, or lay siege to the fortified houses of the
magnates at a moment's notice; and finally, in 1293, they passed the
celebrated "Ordinances of Justice" connected with the name of Giano
della Bella, by which when a magnate murdered a popolano his whole
clan was held directly responsible (the presumption being that the
murder had been ordered in a family council), and "public report"
vouched for by two witnesses was sufficient evidence for a
conviction.
It is this struggle for the supremacy of the mercantile democracy and
the Roman Law over the military aristocracy with its "barbarian"
traditions, that lies at the back of the Guelf and Ghibelline troubles
of the thirteenth century. The papal and imperial principles that are
usually associated with the names enter only in a very secondary way
into the conflict. In truth neither the popes nor the emperors had any
sympathy with the real objects of either party, though they were ready
enough to seek their advantage in alliances with them. And in their
turn the magnates and merchants of Florence were equally determined to
be practically independent of Pope and Emperor alike. Nevertheless the
magnates could look nowhere else than to the Emperor when they wanted
material support or moral sanction for their claims to power; and it
was only in the magnates that the Emperor in his turn could hope to
find instruments or allies in his attempt to assert his power over the
cities. In like manner the Pope, naturally jealous of a strong
territorial power, encouraged and fostered the cities in their
resistance to imperial pretensions, while he and the merchant bankers
of Florence were indispensable to each other in the way of business.
We have now some insight into the essential motives of Florentine
history in the thirteenth century. But another step is needed before
we can understand the form which the factions took. It would be a
fatal error to suppose that the Ghibellines were soldiers and the
Guelfs merchants, and that as each faction triumphed in turn Florence
expelled her merchants and became a military encampment, or expelled
her soldiers and became a commercial emporium. Such a course of events
would be absolutely impossible. The truth is, that the main part of
the faction fighting and banishing was done on both sides by the
magnates themselves. The industrial community went on its way,
sometimes under grievous exactions, sometimes under a friendly
Government, always subject to the insolence and violence of the
magnates, though in varying degree, but always there, and always
pursuing its business occupations. It came about thus. We have seen
that in the twelfth century the nobles within Florence were on the
whole fairly conscious of having common cause with the merchants, but
that the very success of her external undertakings brought into the
city a more turbulent and hostile order of nobility. On the other
side, rich and powerful merchants pushed their way up into recognition
as magnates, while retaining their pecuniary interest in commerce.
Thus in the thirteenth century the body of magnates itself became
divided, not only into clans, but into factions. It always seemed
worth while for some of them to strengthen their alliances with the
territorial magnates, the open foes of the city, in order to
strengthen their hold on the city itself; and it always seemed worth
while for others to identify themselves more or less sincerely with
the demands of the people in order to have their support in wrenching
from their fellow magnates a larger share of the common spoil. It was
here that the absence of any uniting principle or constructive purpose
amongst the magnates told with fatal effect. Indeed their house was so
divided against itself that the people would probably have had little
difficulty in getting rid of them altogether, had they not been
conscious of requiring a body of fighting men for service in their
constant wars. The knights were at a certain disadvantage in a street
fight in Florence, but the merchant statesmen knew well enough that
they could not do without them on a battle-field.
We can now understand the Guelf and Ghibelline struggles of the
thirteenth century. The Buondelmonte incident of 1215, which both
Dante and Villani regard as the cause of these conflicts, was of
course only their occasion. The conclusive victory of one party could
only mean the reappearance within its ranks of the old factions under
new names. For if the faction opposed to the people won a temporary
victory, they would be unable to hold their own permanently against
the superior discipline, wealth, and constructive genius of their
subjects; whereas if it was the champions of the people who had
expelled their rivals and seized the plunder, they would be in no
hurry to give up to the merchants the power they had won in their
name. They would regard themselves as entitled to a gratitude not
distinguishable from submission, and would have their own definition
of the degree of influence and power which was now their due. Thus
what had been the people's party among the magnates would aspire, when
victorious, to be the masters of the people, and gradually another
people's party would form itself within their ranks. The wonder is not
that no reconciliations were permanent, but that Cardinal Latino's
reconciliation of 1279 lasted, at least ostensibly, so long as till
1300.
Obviously, if no new forces came upon the field, the only issue from
this general situation must be in the conclusive triumph, not of the
people's faction amongst the magnates, but of the attempt to break
down the opposition of all the magnates to the citizen law, and the
successful absorption of them into the commercial community. In the
"Ordinances of Justice" and the further measures contemplated by
Giano della Bella the requirements of this solution were formulated.
Had they been successfully carried out, the magnates as an independent
order would have been extinguished. Accordingly from 1293 onwards the
fight raged round the Ordinances of Justice. No party, even among the
magnates, dared openly to seek their repeal; but while some supported
them in their integrity with more or less loyalty, others desired to
modify them, or attempted to disembowel them by manipulating the
elections and securing magistrates who would not carry them out. This
was the origin of the Black and White factions. The Blacks were for
circumventing the Ordinances, while the Whites were for carrying them
out and extending their principles.
It will be seen at once how false an impression is given when it is
said that the Whites were moderate Guelfs, inclining to Ghibellinism,
and the Blacks extreme Guelfs. The truth is that the terms of
Ghibelline and Guelf had by this time lost all real political meaning,
but in so far as Guelfism in Florence had ever represented a principle
it was the Whites and not the Blacks that were its heirs. But the
magnates of Florence at the beginning of the fourteenth century
administered large funds that had accrued from the confiscation of
Ghibelline estates; they had fought against the Ghibellines at the
Battle of Campaldino in 1289, and they made a boast of being Guelf of
the Guelfs. Whatever party of them was in the supremacy, therefore,
was prone to accuse those in opposition of Ghibellinism simply because
they were in opposition. This was what the victorious Blacks did.
Their alliance with Pope Boniface VIII., who wished to make use of
them for his ambitious purposes, lent some colour to their claim.
Moreover, the remnants of the old Ghibelline party in the city or its
territory naturally sought the alliance of the Whites as soon as they
were in pronounced hostility to the ruling Guelfs. Thus arose the
confusion that has perpetuated itself in the current conception of the
Whites as "moderates," or Ghibellinizing Guelfs, a conception which
stands in plain contradiction with the most significant facts of the
case.
During the closing period of Dante's life the politics of Florence
became more tangled than ever. Every vestige of principle seems to
disappear, and personal ambitions and hatreds to become more unbridled
than ever. The active interference of the Pope and the Royal house of
France, followed by the withdrawal of the Papal Court to Avignon, the
invasion of Italy by Henry VII., and the rise of such leaders as Can
Grande, Uguccione da Faggiuola, and Castruccio, introduced new forces.
We dimly perceive, too, that the mercantile democracy of Florence is
becoming a mercantile aristocracy with elements of disturbance beneath
it in the excluded or oppressed minor arts. In a word, just before the
movement that has been steadily proceeding from 1115 to 1300 reaches
its natural goal, the conditions of the problem change, the history
enters upon a new phase, the far-off preparation for the Medici
begins, and the problem ceases to have any direct and intimate
connection with the study of Dante.
§ 6. _Dante's Politics._
Enough has been said to show the reader how very imperfect an idea is
given of Dante's politics when it is said that he was at first a
Guelf but became a Ghibelline.
We have seen that the political party, for his connection with which
he was exiled, was heir to the best Guelf traditions. His own writings
show that the maintenance of peace was his idea of the supreme
function of Government. The extreme severity of his judgments upon
thieving and upon false coining is characteristic of the citizen of
the greatest commercial city of the world. In all this, if we must use
the misleading words, he is more Guelf than Ghibelline. It is true
that he constantly opposed the influence of Boniface VIII. in the
affairs of Florence, but Boniface was a disturbing and reactionary
force that opposed the legitimate development of the Guelf policy of
the Florentine democracy. It is true that he is a passionate advocate
of an ideal Empire, and that he looks to the Emperor to heal the
wounds of Italy, but the more carefully his writings are studied the
more clear does it become that what he seeks in the Emperor is not a
champion of Teutonic feudalism and supporter of the territorial
nobility, but a power that will make Roman Law run all through Italy,
and will hold the turbulent nobles in check. The Empire and the
Emperor mean to Dante justice and peace secured by the enforcement of
Roman Law. Whatever this is, it is not the Ghibellinism of Farinata or
the Ubaldini. It is true, however--and here if anywhere Dante is open
to the charge of temporary desertion of his principles--that after his
exile he, together with other Whites, entered into a league with the
Ubaldini, the most obstinate of the traditional foes of the commercial
community of Florence. This was a desperate act, which, however
reprehensible or deplorable, cannot be taken as indicating the
deliberate adoption of a policy in contradiction to the whole tenor
of his life and thought. We may well suppose that the sense of the
hollow and indeed dishonourable nature of such an alliance was one of
the considerations that induced him to sever himself from the exiles
and "make a party for himself."
Lastly, he was an enthusiastic admirer of Henry VII., and he even
goaded him on to the attack of Florence. But Henry himself, who came
to Italy with the sanction of the Pope, came with the earnest desire
to heal and soothe. The Ghibellines proper felt that they had more to
fear than to hope from him.
We cannot say, then, that Dante's politics changed. Nor can we define
his position by calling him a Guelf or a Ghibelline, or both. His
political ideals were his own. They were the outcome of his life and
thought, intensely personal, as was all else about him. They cannot be
labelled, but must be studied in his life and in his works.
If we are to use the current terms at all, we shall perhaps come
nearest to the truth by saying that Dante was a Guelf in his aims, but
that he approximated to the traditions if not to the practices of the
Ghibellines in the means by which he hoped to see them realized.
SELECTIONS FROM THE CHRONICLES OF VILLANI
NOTES AND WARNINGS
The marginal references are to the divisions and lines of Moore's
"Oxford Dante."
* * * * indicates a passage omitted in the translation; . . .
indicates a hiatus in the Italian text.
Villani makes the year begin on March 25th. Thus 1300 is still running
till March 25th, 1301. For instance, Bk. VII., § 9, gives the last day
of February, 1265, as the date of the Battle of Benevento. By our
reckoning this is the February of 1266. So too the Reconciliation of
the Florentines by the Cardinal Latino, Bk. VII., § 56, took place by
our reckoning in February, 1279, and the death of Charles of Anjou,
Bk. VII., § 95, on January 7th, 1285, etc.
The Kingdom = The Kingdom of Apulia.
The Duchy = The Duchy of Spoleto.
The March = The March of Ancona.
The Principality = [?] The Principality of Tarento.
San Miniato = San Miniato al Tedesco, in the Arno
Valley, West of Empoli.
Nocera = Nocera of the Saracens near Naples,
not the Nocera of _Paradiso_ xi. 48.
The Duomo or Cathedral = What is now known as the Baptistery.
Master, M., Messer, all represent the Italian Messer.
"Popolo" is translated "people" except where it means "the Democracy"
as a form of government. It is there given untranslated. [[V] If this
rule is ever departed from, it is through inadvertency.]
The "popolari" or "popolani" are members of the "popolo" or people,
sometimes opposed to the "Nobili," or old Nobility of birth, and
sometimes to the "Grandi," or Magnates, the new nobility of wealth and
status.
To be "placed under bounds" appears to mean banishment or confinement,
under the form of a prohibition to cross certain stated "bounds."
The "Black" Cerchi are merely a branch of the Cerchi family: they were
"Whites" politically.
Villani was well acquainted with Dante's works, and evidently regarded
him as an authority. Therefore it must not be taken for granted,
without further thought, that in every case of agreement Villani's
testimony is an _independent_ confirmation of Dante.
CHRONICLE OF JOHN VILLANI
BOOK I.
_This book is called the New Chronicle, in which many past
things are treated of, and especially the root and origins
of the city of Florence; then all the changes through which
it has passed and shall pass in the course of time: begun to
be compiled in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,
1300. Here begins the preface and the First Book._
§ 1.--Forasmuch as among our Florentine ancestors, few and
ill-arranged memorials are to be found of the past doings of our city
of Florence, either by the fault of their negligence or by reason that
at the time that Totila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, their
writings were lost, I, John, citizen of Florence, considering the
nobility and greatness of our city at our present times, hold it meet
to recount and make memorial of the root and origins of so famous a
city, and of its adverse and happy changes and of past happenings; not
because I feel myself sufficient for such a work, but to give occasion
to our successors not to be negligent in preserving records of the
notable things which shall happen in the times after us, and to give
example to those who shall come after, of changes, and things come to
pass, and their reasons and causes; to the end that they may exercise
themselves in practising virtues, and shunning vices, and enduring
adversities with a strong soul, to the good and stability of our
republic. And, therefore, I will furnish a faithful narrative in this
book in plain vernacular, in order that the ignorant and unlettered
may draw thence profit and delight; and if in any part there should be
defect, I leave it to the correction of the wiser. And first we will
say whence were the origins of our said city, following on for as long
a time as God shall grant us grace; and not without much toil shall I
labour to extract and recover from the most ancient and diverse books,
and chronicles, and authors, the acts and doings of the Florentines,
compiling them herein; and first the origin of the ancient city of
Fiesole, the destruction whereof was the cause and beginning of our
city of Florence. And because our origin starts from very long ago, it
seems to us necessary to our treatise to recount briefly other ancient
stories; and it will be delightful and useful to our citizens now and
to come, and will encourage them in virtue and in great actions to
consider how they are descended from noble ancestors and from folk of
worth, such as were the ancient and worthy Trojans, and valiant and
noble Romans. And to the end our work may be more praiseworthy and
good, I beseech the aid of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name every
work has a good beginning, continuance and end.
§ 2.--_How through the confusion of the Tower of Babel the world began
to be inhabited._
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxi. 12-18, 46-81. Par. xxvi. 124-126. De Vulg. El.
i. 6: 49-61 and i. 7. Purg. xii. 34-36.]
[Sidenote: Inf. v. 52-60. De Mon. ii. 9: 22 sqq.]
We find in the Bible histories, and in those of the Assyrians, that
Nimrod the giant was the first king, or ruler, and assembler of the
gatherings of the peoples, that he by his power and success ruled over
all the families of the sons of Noah, which were seventy-two in
number, to wit, twenty-seven of the issue of Shem the first-born son
of Noah, and thirty of Ham the second son of Noah, and fifteen of
Japhet the third son of Noah. This Nimrod was the son of Cush, which
was the son of Ham, the second son of Noah, and of his pride and
strength he thought to rival God, saying that God was Lord of Heaven,
and he of Earth; and to the end that God might no longer be able to
hurt him by a flood of water, as He had done in the first age, he
ordained the building of the marvellous work of the Tower of Babel;
wherefore God, to confound the said pride, suddenly sent confusion
upon all mankind, which were at work upon the said tower; and where
all were speaking one language (to wit, Hebrew), it was changed into
seventy-two divers languages, so that they could not understand one
another's speech. And by reason of this, the work of the said tower
had of necessity to be abandoned, which was so large that it measured
eighty miles round, and it was already 4,000 paces high, and 1,000
paces thick, and each pace is three of our feet. And afterwards this
tower remained for the walls of the great city of Babylon, which is in
Chaldæa, and the name Babylon is as much as to say "confusion"; and
therein by the said Nimrod and his descendants, were first adored the
idols of the false gods. The said tower, or wall of Babylon, was begun
700 years after the Flood, and there were 2,354 years from the
beginning of the world to the confusion of the Tower of Babel. And we
find that they were 107 years working at it; and men lived long in
those times. And note, that during this long life, having many wives,
they had many sons and descendants, and multiplied into a great
people, albeit disordered and without law. Of the said city of Babylon
the first king which began to make wars was Ninus, son of Belus,
descended from Asshur, son of Shem, which Ninus built the great city
of Nineveh; and then after him reigned Semiramis, his wife, in
Babylon, which was the most cruel and dissolute woman in the world,
and she was in the time of Abraham.
§ 3.--_How the world was divided into three parts, and of the first
called Asia._ § 4.--_Of the second part of the world called Africa,
and its boundaries._
§ 5.--_Of the third part of the world called Europe, and its
boundaries._
* * * * This Europe was first inhabited by the descendants of Japhet,
the third son of Noah, as we shall make mention hereafter in our
treatise; and also according to Escodio, master in history, Noah in
person, with Janus his son, which he begat after the Flood, came into
this part of Europe into the region of Italy, and there ended his
life; and Janus abode there, and from him were descended great lords
and peoples, and he did many things in Italy.
§ 6.--_How King Atlas, born in the fifth degree from Japhet, son of
Noah, first came into Europe._
§ 7.--_How King Atlas first built the city of Fiesole._
[Sidenote: De Vulg. El. i. 8: 11-13.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 61-63. Par. xv. 126.]
* * * * This Atlas, with Electra his wife, and many followers, by
omens and the counsel of Apollinus his astrologer and master, arrived
in Italy in the country of Tuscany, which was entirely uninhabited by
human beings, and searching by the aid of astronomy through all the
confines of Europe for the most healthy and best situated place which
could be chosen by him, he took up his abode on the mount of Fiesole,
which seemed to him strong in position and well situated. And upon
that rock he began and built the city of Fiesole, by the counsel of
the said Apollinus, who found out by astronomical arts that Fiesole
was in the best and most healthy place that there was in the said
third part of the world called Europe. Since it is well-nigh midway
between the two seas which encircle Italy, to wit, the sea of Rome and
Pisa, which Scripture calls the Mediterranean, and the Adriatic Sea or
Gulf, which to-day is called the Gulf of Venice, and, by reason of the
said seas, and by the mountains which surround it, better and more
healthy winds prevail there than in other places, and also by reason
of the stars which rule over that place. And the said city was founded
during the ascendant of such a sign and planet, that it gives more
sprightliness and strength to all its inhabitants than any other part
of Europe; and the nearer one ascends to the summit of the mountain,
the more healthy and better it is. And in the said city there was a
bath, which was called the Royal Bath, and which cured many
sicknesses; and into the said city there came by a marvellous conduit
from the mountains above Fiesole, the finest and most wholesome spring
waters, of which the city had great abundance. And Atlas had the said
city walled with strongest walls, wondrous in their masonry and their
thickness, and with great and strong towers; and there was a fortress
upon the summit of the mountain, of the greatest beauty and strength,
where dwelt the said king, as is still shown and may be seen by the
foundations of the said walls, and by the strong and healthy site. The
said city of Fiesole multiplied and increased in inhabitants in a
short time, so that it ruled over the surrounding country to a great
distance. And note that it was the first city built in the said third
division of the world called Europe, and therefore it was named "_Fia
Sola_" [it shall be alone], to wit, _first_, with no other inhabited
city in that said division.
§ 8.--_How Atlas had three sons, Italus and Dardanus and Sicanus._
[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 67, 68.]
[Sidenote: De Vulg. El. i. 10: 39-85.]
Atlas, king of Fiesole, after that he had built the said city, begat
by Electra his wife three sons: the first was called Italus, and from
his name the kingdom of Italy was named, and he was lord and king
thereof; the second son was named Dardanus, which was the first rider
to ride a horse with saddle and bridle. Some have written that
Dardanus was son to Jove, king of Crete, and son to Saturn, as has
been afore mentioned; but this was not true, forasmuch as Jove abode
in Greece, and his descendants were kings and lords thereof, and were
always the enemies of the Trojans; but Dardanus came from Italy, and
was son to Atlas, as the history will make mention. And Virgil the
poet confirms it in his book of the _Æneid_, when the gods said to
Æneas that he should seek the country of Italy, whence had come his
forefathers which had built Troy; and this was true. The third son of
Atlas was named Sicanus, that is in our parlance Sezzaio [last], which
had a most beautiful daughter called Candanzia. This Sicanus went into
the island of Sicily, and was the first inhabitant thereof, and from
his name the island was at the first called Sicania, and by diversity
of vernacular of the inhabitants it is now called by them Sicilia,
and by us Italians Cicilia. This Sicanus built in Sicily the city of
Saragosa, and made it chief of the realm whereof he was king, and his
descendants after him for a very long time, as is told in the history
of the Sicilians, and by Virgil in the _Æneid_.
§ 9.--_How Italus and Dardanus came to agree which should succeed to
the city of Fiesole and the kingdom of Italy._
When King Atlas had died in the city of Fiesole, Italus and Dardanus
his sons were left rulers after him; and each of them being a lord of
great courage, and both being worthy in themselves to reign over the
kingdom of Italy, they came to this agreement together, to go with
their sacrifices to sacrifice to their great god Mars, whom they
worshipped; and when they had offered sacrifice they asked whether of
them twain ought to abide lord in Fiesole, and whether ought to go and
conquer other countries and realms. From the which idol they received
answer, either by divine revelation or by device of the devil, that
Dardanus should go and conquer other lands and countries, and Italus
should remain in Fiesole and in the country of Italy. To which
commandment and answer they gave such effect that Italus abode as
ruler, and he begat great rulers which after him governed not only the
city of Fiesole and the country round about, but well-nigh all Italy,
and they built many cities there; and the said city of Fiesole rose
into great power and lordship, until the great city of Rome reached
her state and lordship. And thereafter, for all the great power of
Rome, yet was the city of Fiesole continually at war with and
rebelling against it, until at last it was destroyed by the Romans,
as this faithful history shall hereafter record. At present we will
cease speaking of the Fiesolans and will return to their history in
due time and place, and we will now go on to tell how Dardanus
departed from Fiesole, and was the first builder of the great city of
Troy, and the ancestor of the kings of the Trojans and also of the
Romans.
§ 10.--_How Dardanus came to Phrygia and built the city of Dardania,
which was afterwards the great Troy._
Dardanus, as he was commanded by the answer of their god, departed
from Fiesole with Apollinus, master and astrologer of his father, and
with Candanzia his niece, and with a great following of his people,
and came into the parts of Asia to the province which was called
Phrygia [Frigia], from the name of Friga, of the descendants of
Japhet, which was the first inhabitant thereof; which province of
Phrygia is beyond Greece, after the islands of Archipelago are passed,
on the mainland, which to-day is ruled by the Turks and is called
Turkey. In that country the said Dardanus by the counsel and arts of
the said Apollinus began to build, and made a city upon the shores of
the said Grecian sea, which he called after his own name Dardania, and
this was 3,200 years from the creation of the world. And it was called
Dardania so long as Dardanus lived, or his sons.
§ 11.--_How Dardanus had a son which was named Tritamus, which was the
father of Trojus, after whose name the city of Troy was so called._
Now this Dardanus had a son which was called Tritamus, and Tritamus
begat Trojus and Torajus; but Trojus was the wiser and the more
valorous, and because of his excellence he became lord and king of the
said city and of the country round about; and he had great war with
Tantalus, king of Greece, son of Saturn, king of Crete, of whom we
made mention. And then, after the death of the said Trojus, by reason
of the goodness and wisdom and worth which had reigned in him, it
pleased his son and the men of his city that the said city should
always be called Troy after his name; and the chief and principal gate
of the city, in memory of Dardanus, retained the name which the city
had at the first, to wit Dardania.
[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio iv. 14: 131-154. Purg. xii. 61-63. Inf. xxx.
13-15, 98, 113, 114.]
§ 12.--_Of the kings which were in Troy; and how Troy was destroyed
the first time in the time of the King Laomedon._ § 13.--_How the good
King Priam rebuilt the city of Troy._ § 14.--_How Troy was destroyed
by the Greeks._ § 15.--_How the Greeks which departed from the siege
of Troy well-nigh all came to ill._ § 16.--_How Helenus, son of King
Priam, with the sons of Hector, departed from Troy._
§ 17.--_How Antenor and the young Priam, having departed from Troy,
built the city of Venice, and that of Padua._
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 88. Purg. v. 75.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 88.]
[Sidenote: Purg. v. 75.]
Another band departed from the said destruction, to wit Antenor, who
was one of the greatest lords of Troy, and was brother of Priam, and
son of the King Laomedon, who was much accused of betraying Troy, and
Æneas was privy to it, according to Dares; but Virgil makes him quite
innocent of this. This Antenor, with Priam the younger, son of King
Priam, a little child, escaped from the destruction of Troy with a
great following of people to the number of 12,000, and faring over
the sea with a great fleet arrived in the country where to-day is
Venice, the great city, and they settled themselves in those little
surrounding islands, to the end they might be free and beyond reach of
any other jurisdiction and government, and became the first
inhabitants of those rocks; whence increasing later, the great city of
Venice was founded, which at first was called Antenora, from the said
Antenor. And afterwards the said Antenor departed thence and came to
dwell on the mainland, where to-day is Padua, the great city, and he
was its first inhabitant and builder, and he gave it the name of
Padua, because it was among paduli [marshes], and by reason of the
river Po, which flowed hard by and was called Pado. The said Antenor
remained and died in Padua, and within our own times his body has been
discovered there, and his tomb engraved with letters which bear
witness that it is the body of Antenor, and this his tomb has been
renewed by the Paduans and may be seen to-day in Padua.
§ 18.--_How Priam III. was king in Germany, and his descendants kings
of France._ § 19.--_How Pharamond was the first king of France, and
his descendants after him._ § 20.--_How the second Pepin, father of
Charles the Great, was king of France._
§ 21.--_How Æneas departed from Troy and came to Carthage in Africa._
[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 122. Inf. i. 73-75. De Mon. ii. 3; Convivio iv. 5:
48.]
[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 62.]
[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 77-84.]
[Sidenote: Epist. vii. (3) 62, 63.]
[Sidenote: Par. xix. 131, 132.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 9.]
[Sidenote: Inf. v. 61, 62. Par. ix. 97, 98. Cf. De Monarchia ii. 3:
102-108. Convivio iv. 26: 59-70. Canzon. xii. 35, 36.]
Æneas again departed from the said destruction of Troy with Anchises,
his father, and with Ascanius, his son, born of Creusa, daughter of
the great King Priam, with a following of 3,300 men of the best people
of Troy, and they embarked upon twenty-two ships. This Æneas was of
the royal race of the Trojans, in this wise: for Ansaracus, son of
Trojus and brother of Ilius, of whom mention was made in the
beginning, begat Danaus, and Danaus begat Anchises, and Anchises begat
Æneas. This Æneas was a lord of great worth, wise and of great
prowess, and very beautiful in person. When he departed from Troy with
his following, with great lamentation, having lost Creusa, his wife,
in the assault of the Greeks, he went first to the island of Ortygia,
and made sacrifice to Apollo, the god of the sun, or rather idol,
asking him for counsel and answer whither he should go; from the which
he had answer and commandment to go into the land and country of Italy
(whence at the first had come Dardanus and his forefathers to Troy),
and to enter into Italy by the harbour or mouth of the river of
Albola; and he said to him by the said oracle, that after many
travails by sea, and battles in the said land of Italy, he should gain
a wife and great lordship, and from his race should arise mighty kings
and emperors, which should do very great and notable things. When
Æneas heard this he was much encouraged by the fair response and
promise, and straightway he put to sea with his following and ships,
and voyaging long time he met with many adventures, and came to many
countries, and first to the country of Macedonia, where already were
Helenus and the wife and son of Hector; and after their sorrowful
meeting, remembering the ruin of Troy, they departed. And sailing over
divers seas, now forwards, now backwards, now crossways, as being
ignorant of the country of Italy, not having with them any great
masters or pilots of the sea which could guide them, so that they
sailed almost whithersoever fortune or the sea winds might lead them,
at last they came to the island of Sicily which the poets called
Trinacria, and landed where to-day is the city of Trapali, in which
Anchises, his father, by reason of his great toils and his old age,
passed from this life, and in the said place was buried after their
manner with great solemnities. And after the great mourning made by
Æneas over his dear father, they departed thence to go into Italy; and
by stress of storm the said ships were divided, and part held one way,
and part another. And one of the said ships, with all on board, was
lost in the sea, and the others came to the shores of Africa (neither
knowing ought of the other), where the noble city of Carthage was
a-building by the powerful and beautiful Queen Dido which had come
thither from Sidonia, which is now called Suri [Tyre]; and the said
Æneas and Ascanius, his son, and all his following in the twenty-one
ships which came to that port, were received by the said queen with
great honour; above all, because the said queen was taken with great
love for Æneas so soon as she beheld him, in such wise that Æneas for
her sake abode there long time in such delight that he did not
remember the commandment of the gods that he should go into Italy; and
by a dream or vision, it was told him by the said gods that he should
no longer abide in Africa. For the which thing suddenly with his
following and ships he departed from Carthage; and therefore the said
Queen Dido by reason of her passionate love slew herself with the
sword of the said Æneas. And those who desire to know this story more
fully may read it in the First and Second Books of the _Æneid_,
written by the great poet Virgil.
§ 22.--_How Æneas came into Italy._
[Sidenote: Conv. iv. 26: 96.]
[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13-15.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 25-30.]
[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13-27.]
When Æneas had departed from Africa, he again landed in Sicily, where
he had buried his father Anchises, and in that place celebrated the
anniversary of his father with great games and sacrifices; and they
received great honour from Acestes, then king of Sicily, by reason of
the ancient kinship with the Trojans, who were descendants of Sicanus
of Fiesole. Then he departed from Sicily, and came into Italy, to the
Gulf of Baiæ, which to-day is called Mare Morto, to the headland of
Miseno, very near where to-day is Naples; in which country there were
many and great woods and forests, and Æneas, going through them, was
led by the appointed guide, the Erythræan Sibyl, to behold Hell and
the pains that are therein, and afterwards Limbo; and, according to
what is related by Virgil in the Sixth Book of the _Æneid_, he there
found and recognised the shades, or soul-images of his father,
Anchises, and of Dido, and of many other departed souls. And by his
said father were shown to him, or signified in a vision, all his
descendants and their lordship, and they which were to build the great
city of Rome. And it is said by many, that the place where he was led
by the wise Sibyl was through the weird caverns of Monte Barbaro,
which is above Pozzuolo, and which still to-day are strange and
fearful to behold; and others believe and hold that, either by divine
power or by magic arts, this was shown to Æneas in a vision of the
spirit, to signify to him the great things which were to issue and
come forth from his descendants. But however that may be, when he
issued forth from Hell, he departed, and entered into a ship, and,
following the shores until he came to the mouth of the river Tiber or
Albola, he entered it, and came to shore, and by signs and auguries
perceived that he had arrived in the country of Italy, which had been
promised him by the gods; and with great festival and rejoicing they
brought their labours by sea to an end, and began to build for
themselves habitations, and to fortify themselves with ditches and
palisades of the wood of their ships. And this place afterwards became
the city of Ostia; and these fortifications they built for fear of the
country people, who, fearing them as strange folk and unused to their
customs, held them as foes, and fought many battles against the
Trojans to drive them from the country, in all of which the Trojans
were victorious.
§ 23.--_How the King Latinus ruled over Italy, and how Æneas had his
daughter to wife, and all his kingdom._
[Sidenote: Inf. xiv. 94-96. Par. xxii. 145, 146.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xxi. 25-27.]
[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 125, 126. Purg. xvii. 34-39.]
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 35, 36.]
[Sidenote: Inf. i. 107, iv. 124.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xvii. 34-39. Inf. i. 108. Par. vi. 3. De Monarchia
ii. 3: 108-117.]
In this country (whereof the capital was Laurentia, the remains of
which may still be traced near to where Terracina now stands), the
King Latinus reigned, which was of the seed of King Saturn, who came
from Crete when he was driven thence by Jove his son, as we made
mention afore. And this Saturn came into the country of Rome, which
was then ruled by Janus of the seed of Noah; but the inhabitants were
then very ignorant, and lived like beasts on fruits and acorns, and
dwelt in caves of the earth. This Saturn, wise in learning and in
manners, by his wisdom and counsel led the people to live like men,
and caused them to cultivate lands, and plant vineyards, and build
houses, and enclose towns and cities; and the said Saturn was the
first to build the city of Sutri, called Saturna, and it was so called
after his name; and in that country, by his care, grain was first
sown, wherefore the dwellers therein held him for a god; and Janus
himself, which was lord thereof, made him his partner, and gave him a
share in the kingdom. This Saturn reigned thirty-four years in Italy,
and after him reigned Picus his son thirty-one years; and after Picus
reigned Faunus his son twenty-nine years, and was slain by his people.
The two sons of Faunus were Lavinus and Latinus. This Lavinus built
the city of Lavina. And Lavinus reigned but a short time; and when he
was dead the kingdom was left to Latinus, which changed the name of
the city of Lavina to Laurentia, because on the chief tower thereof
there grew a great laurel tree. The said Latinus reigned thirty-two
years, and was very wise; and he much bettered the Latin tongue. This
King Latinus had only one most beautiful daughter called Lavinia, who
by her mother had been promised in marriage to a king of Tuscany,
named Turnus, of the city of Ardea, now Cortona. Tuscany was the name
of the country and province, because there were the first sacrifices
offered to the gods, with the fumes of incense called _tuscio_. Æneas
having arrived in the country, sought peace with the King Latinus, and
that he might dwell there; by the said Latinus he was received
graciously, and not only had leave of him to inhabit the country, but
also had the promise of his daughter Lavinia to wife, since the
command of the gods was that they should marry her to a stranger, and
not to a man of the country. For which cause, and to secure the
heritage of King Latinus, great battles arose, for a long time,
between Æneas and Turnus and them of Laurentia, and the said Turnus
slew in battle the great and strong giant, Pallas, son of Evander,
king of the seven hills, where to-day is Rome, who had come in aid of
Æneas; and on the same account died, by the hand of Æneas, the virgin
Camilla, who was marvellous in arms. In the end, Æneas, being victor
in the last battle, and Turnus being slain by his hand, took Lavinia
to wife, who loved Æneas much, and Æneas her; and he had the half of
the kingdom of King Latinus. And, after the death of King Latinus, who
lived but a short time longer, Æneas was lord over all.
[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13.]
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 40-42. Convivio iv. 5: 80-97.]
§ 24.--_How Julius Ascanius, son of Æneas, was king after him, and of
the kings and lords who descended from him._ § 25.--_How Silvius,
second son of Æneas, was king after Ascanius, and how from him
descended the kings of the Latins, of Alba, and of Rome._ § 26.--_How
Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome._ § 27.--_How Numa
Pompilius was king of the Romans after the death of Romulus._ §
28.--_How there were in Rome seven kings one after the other down to
Tarquin, and how in his time they lost the lordship._
§ 29.--_How Rome was ruled for a long time by the government of the
consuls and senators, until Julius Cæsar became Emperor._
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 79-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-29. De Monarchia ii. 9:
99-105; and ii. 12. Epist. vii. (3) 64-73.]
After that the kings had been driven out, and the government of Rome
was left to the consuls and senators, the said King Tarquin and his
son, with the aid of King Porsenna of Tuscany, who reigned in the city
of Chiusi [Clusium], made great war upon the Romans, but in the end
the victory remained with the Romans. And afterwards the Republic of
Rome was ruled and governed for 450 years by consuls and senators, and
at times by dictators, whose authority endured for five years; and
they were, so to speak, emperors, for that which they commanded must
of necessity be done; and other divers offices, such as tribunes of
the people, and prætors, and censors, and chiliarchs. And in this time
there were in Rome many changes, and wars, and battles, not only with
their neighbours, but with all the nations of the world; the which
Romans by force of arms, and virtue and the wisdom of good citizens,
ruled over well-nigh all the provinces and realms and dominions in the
world, and gained sovereignty over them, and made them tributary, with
the greatest battles, and with slaughter of many nations of the world,
and of the Romans themselves, in divers times, well-nigh innumerable
to relate. And also among the citizens themselves, by reason of envy
against the rulers, and strifes between magnates and them of the
people; and on the cessation of foreign wars, there arose much
fighting and slaughter ofttimes among the citizens; and, in addition
to this, from time to time intolerable pestilences arose among the
Romans. And this government endured until the great battles of Julius
Cæsar against Pompey, and then against his sons, in which Cæsar was
victorious; then the said Cæsar did away with the office of consuls
and of dictators, and he first was called Emperor. And after him
Octavianus Augustus, who ruled in peace, after many battles, over the
whole world, at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, 700 years after
the foundation of Rome; and thus it is seen that Rome was governed by
kings for 254 years, and by consuls 450 years, as we have aforesaid,
and it is told more at length by Titus Livius and many other authors.
But note that the great power of the Romans was not alone in
themselves, save in so far that they were at the head and leaders; but
first all the Tuscans and then all the Italians followed them in their
wars and in their battles, and were all called Romans. But we will
now leave the order of the history of the Romans and of the Emperors,
save in so far as it shall pertain to our matter, returning to our
subject of the building of Florence, which we promised to narrate. And
we have made this long exordium, forasmuch as it was necessary to show
how the origin of the Roman builders of Florence (as hereafter will be
narrated) was derived from the noble Trojans; and the origin and
beginning of the Trojans was from Dardanus, son of Atlas, of the city
of Fiesole, as we have briefly recounted; and afterwards from the
descendants of the noble Romans, and of the Fiesolans, by the force of
the Romans a people was founded called Florentines.
§ 30.--_How a conspiracy was formed in Rome by Catiline and his
followers._
[Sidenote: 680 A.U.C.]
[Sidenote: Convivio iv. 5: 172-176.]
At the time when Rome was still ruled by the government of consuls, in
the year 680 from the foundation of the said city, Mark Tully Cicero
and Caius Antony being consuls, and Rome in great and happy state and
lordship, Catiline, a very noble citizen, descended by birth from the
royal house of Tarquin, being a man of dissolute life but brave and
daring in arms and a fine orator, but not wise, being envious of the
good and rich and wise men who ruled the city, their lordship not
being pleasing to him, formed a conspiracy with many other nobles and
other followers disposed to evil-doing, and purposed to slay the
consuls and part of the senators, and to destroy their office, and to
overrun the city, robbing and setting fire to many parts thereof, and
to make himself ruler thereof; and this he would have done had it not
been warded off by the wit and foresight of the wise consul, Mark
Tully. So he defended the city from such ruin, and found out the said
conspiracy and treason; but because of the greatness and power of the
said Catiline, and because Tully was a new citizen in Rome, his father
having come from Capua or from some other town of the Campagna, he did
not dare to have Catiline seized or to bring him to justice, as his
misdeeds required; but by his great wit and fine speech he caused him
to depart from the city; but many of his fellow-conspirators and
companions, from among the greatest citizens, and even of the order of
senators, who abode still in Rome after Catiline's departure, he
caused to be seized, and to be strangled in prison, so that they died,
as the great scholar, Sallust, relates in due order.
§ 31.--_How Catiline caused the city of Fiesole to rebel against the
city of Rome._
Catiline having departed from Rome, with part of his followers came
into Tuscany, where Manlius, one of his principal fellow-conspirators,
who was captain, had gathered his people in the ancient city of
Fiesole, and Catiline being come thither, he caused the said city to
rebel against the lordship of the Romans, assembling all the rebels
and exiles from Rome and from many other provinces, with lewd folk
disposed for war and for ill-doing, and he began fierce war with the
Romans. The Romans, hearing this, decreed that Caius Antony, the
consul, and Publius Petreius, with an army of horse and many foot,
should march into Tuscany against the city of Fiesole and against
Catiline; and they sent by them letters and messengers to Quintus
Metellus, who was returning from France with a great host of the
Romans, that he should likewise come with his force from the other
side to the siege of Fiesole, and to pursue Catiline and his
followers.
§ 32.--_How Catiline and his followers were discomfited by the Romans
in the plain of Piceno._
Now when Catiline heard that the Romans were coming to besiege him in
the city of Fiesole, and that Antony and Petreius were already with
their host in the plain of Fiesole, upon the bank of the river Arno,
and how that Metellus was already in Lombardy with his host of three
legions which were coming from France, and the succour which he was
expecting from his allies which had remained in Rome had failed him,
he took counsel not to shut himself up in the city of Fiesole, but to
go into France; and therefore he departed from that city with his
people and with a lord of Fiesole who was called Fiesolanus, and he
had his horses' shoes reversed, to the end that when they departed the
hoofprints of the horses might show as if folk had entered into
Fiesole, and not sallied forth thence, to cause the Romans to tarry
near the city, that he might depart thence the more safely. And having
departed by night, to avoid Metellus, he did not hold the direct road
through the mountains which we call the Alps of Bologna, but took the
plain by the side of the mountains, and came where to-day is the city
of Pistoia, in the place called Campo Piceno, that was below where
to-day is the fortress of Piteccio, purposing to cross the Apennine
mountains by that way, and descend thence into Lombardy; but Antony
and Petreius, hearing of his departure, straightway followed after him
with their host along the plain, so that they overtook him in the said
place, and Metellus, on the other side, set guards at the passes of
the mountains, to the end he might not pass thereby. Catiline, seeing
himself to be thus straitened, and that he could not avoid the battle,
gave himself and his followers to the chances of combat with great
courage and boldness, in the which battle there was great slaughter of
Romans from the city and of rebel Romans and of Fiesolans; at the end
of which fierce battle Catiline was defeated and slain in that place
of Piceno with all his followers; and the field remained to the
Romans, but with such dolorous victory that the said two consuls, with
twenty horse, who alone escaped, did not care to return to Rome. The
which thing could not gain credence with the Romans till the senators
sent thither to learn the truth; and, this known, there was the
greatest sorrow thereat in Rome. And he who desires to see this
history more fully, let him read the book of Sallust called
_Catilinarius_. The injured and wounded of Catiline's people who had
escaped death in the battle, albeit they were but few, withdrew where
is to-day the city of Pistoia, and there in vile habitations became
the first inhabitants thereof, whilst their wounds were healing. And
afterwards, by reason of the good situation and fruitful soil, the
inhabitants thereof increased, which afterwards built the city of
Pistoia, and by reason of the great mortality and pestilence which was
near that place, both of their people and of the Romans, they gave it
the name of Pistoia; and therefore it is not to be marvelled at if the
Pistoians have been and are a fierce and cruel people in war among
themselves and against others, being descended from the race of
Catiline and from the remnants of such people as his, discomfited and
wounded in battle.
§ 33.--_How Metellus with his troops made war upon the Fiesolans._
After that Metellus, who was in Lombardy near the mountains of the
Apennine Alps in the country of Modena, heard of the defeat and death
of Catiline, straightway he came with his host to the place where the
battle had been, and having seen the slain, through amazement at the
strange and great mortality he was afeared, marvelling within himself
as at a thing impossible. But afterwards he and his followers equally
despoiled the camp of the Romans from the city and that of the enemy,
seizing that which they found there; and this done he came towards
Fiesole to besiege the city. The Fiesolans vigorously took to arms,
and sallied forth from the city to the plain, fighting with Metellus
and with his host, and by force thrust him back, and drove him to the
other side of the Arno with great hurt to his people, who with his
followers encamped upon the hills, or upon the banks of the river; the
Fiesolans with their host drew off from the other bank of the river
Arno towards Fiesole.
§ 34.--_How Metellus and Fiorinus discomfited the Fiesolans._
The night following, Metellus ordered and commanded that part of his
host should pass the river Arno, at a distance from the host of the
Fiesolans, and should place themselves in ambush between the city of
Fiesole and the host of the Fiesolans, and of that company he made
captain Fiorinus, a noble citizen of Rome of the race of the Fracchi
or Floracchi, who was his prætor, which is as much as to say marshal
of his host; and Fiorinus, as he was commanded by the consul, so he
did. In the morning, at the break of day, Metellus armed with all his
people passing over the river Arno, began the battle against the
Fiesolans, and the Fiesolans, vigorously defending the ford of the
river, sustained the battle in the river Arno. Fiorinus, who was with
his people in ambush, when he saw the battle begun, sallied forth
boldly in the rear of the Fiesolans, who were fighting in the river
against Metellus. The Fiesolans, surprised by the ambush, seeing
themselves suddenly assailed by Fiorinus in the rear and by Metellus
in front, put to confusion, threw down their arms and fled discomfited
towards the city of Fiesole, wherefore many of them were slain and
taken.
§ 35.--_How the Romans besieged Fiesole the first time, and how
Fiorinus was slain._
The Fiesolans being discomfited and driven back from the shores of
Arno, Fiorinus the prætor, with the host of the Romans, encamped
beyond the river Arno towards Fiesole, where were two little villages,
one of which was called Villa Arnina, and the other Camarte [Casa
Martis], that is campo or _Domus Martis_, where the Fiesolans on a
certain day in the week held a market in all commodities for their
towns and the region round about. The consul made a decree with
Fiorinus that no one should sell or buy bread or wine or other things
which might be of use to the troops save in the field where Fiorinus
was stationed. After this the consul Quintus Metellus sent incontinent
to Rome that they should send him men-at-arms to besiege the city of
Fiesole, for the which cause the senators made a decree that Julius
Cæsar, and Cicero, and Macrinus, with several legions of soldiers,
should come to the siege and destruction of Fiesole; which, being
come, besieged the said city. Cæsar encamped on the hill which rose
above the city; Macrinus on the next hill or mountain, and Cicero on
the other side; and thus they remained for six years besieging the
said city, having through long siege and through hunger almost
destroyed it. And likewise those in the host, by reason of the long
sojourn and their many privations being diminished and enfeebled,
departed from the siege, and returned to Rome, save Fiorinus, who
remained at the siege with his followers in the plain where he had at
first encamped, and surrounded himself with moats and palisades, after
the manner of ramparts, or fortifications, and kept the Fiesolans in
great straits; and thus he warred upon them long time, till his folk
felt secure, and held their foes for nought. Then the Fiesolans having
recovered breath somewhat, and mindful of the ill which Fiorinus had
done and was doing to them, suddenly, and as if in despair, advanced
by night with ladders and with engines to attack the camp or
fortification of Fiorinus, and he and his people with but few guards
and while they slept, not being on their guard against the Fiesolans,
were surprised; and Fiorinus and his wife and his children were slain,
and all his host in that place well-nigh destroyed, for few thereof
escaped; and the said fortress and ramparts were destroyed, and burnt
and done away with by the Fiesolans.
§ 36.--_How, because of the death of Fiorinus, the Romans returned to
the siege of Fiesole._
When the news was known at Rome, the consuls and senators and all the
commonwealth being grieved at the misadventure which had befallen the
good leader Fiorinus, straightway took counsel that this should be
avenged, and that a very great host should return once more to destroy
the city of Fiesole, for the which were chosen these leaders: Count
Rainaldus, Cicero, Teberinus Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, Cæsar,
and Camertino Sezio, Conte Tudedino, that is Count of Todi, which was
with Julius Cæsar, and of his chivalry. This man pitched his camp near
to Camarti, nearly where to-day is Florence; Cæsar pitched his camp
upon the hill which rose above the city, which is to-day called Mount
Cecero, but formerly was called Mount Cæsar, after his name, or after
the name of Cicero; but rather it is held to be after Cæsar, inasmuch
as he was the greatest leader in the host. Rainaldus pitched his camp
upon the hill over against the city on the other side of the Mugnone,
and after his name it is so called until this day; Macrinus encamped
on the hill still called after him; Camertinus in the region which is
still called Camerata after his name. And all the other aforesaid
lords, each one for himself pitched his camp around the city, some on
the hills and some in the plain; but no other than these aforesaid
have left their names to be a memorial of them. These lords, with
their followers in great numbers, both horse and foot, besieging the
city, arrayed and prepared themselves to make yet greater war upon the
city than at the first; but by reason of the strength of the city the
Romans wrought in vain, and many of them being dead by reason of the
long siege and excessive toil, those great lords and consuls and
senators well-nigh all returned to Rome; only Cæsar with his followers
abode still at the siege. And during that sojourn he commanded his
soldiers to go to the village of Camarti, nigh to the river Arno, and
there to build a council house wherein he might hold his council, and
might leave it for a memorial of himself. This building in our
vernacular we have named Parlagio [Parliament house]. And it was round
and was right marvellously vaulted, and had an open space in the
midst; and then began seats in steps all around; and from step to
step, built upon, vaulting, they rose, widening up to the very top,
and the height thereof was more than sixty cubits, and it had two
doors; and therein assembled the people to hold council, and from
grade to grade the folk were seated, the most noble above, and then
descending according to the dignity of the people; and it was so
fashioned that all in the Parliament might see one another by face,
and that all might hear distinctly that which one was saying; and it
held commodiously an infinite multitude of people, and its name,
rightly speaking, was Parlatorio [speaking place]. This was afterwards
destroyed in the time of Totila, but in our days the foundations may
yet be seen, and part of the vaulting near to the church of S. Simone
in Florence, and reaching to the beginning of the square of Santa
Croce; and part of the palaces of the Peruzzi are built thereupon, and
the street which is called Anguillaia, which goes to Santa Croce, goes
almost through the midst of the said Parliament house.
§ 37.--_How the city of Fiesole surrendered itself to the Romans and
was destroyed and laid waste._
[Sidenote: Circ. 72 B.C.]
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 53, 54. xv. 124-126.]
Fiesole having been besieged as aforesaid the second time, and the
city being much wasted and afflicted both by reason of hunger and also
because their aqueducts had been cut off and destroyed, the city
surrendered to Cæsar and to the Romans at the end of two years and
four months and six days (for so long had the siege lasted), on
condition that any which desired to leave the city might go in safety.
The city was taken by the Romans, and despoiled of all its wealth, and
was destroyed by Cæsar, and laid waste to the foundations; and this
was about seventy-two years before the birth of Christ.
§ 38.--_How the city of Florence was first built._
After the city of Fiesole was destroyed, Cæsar with his armies
descended to the plain on the banks of the river Arno, where Fiorinus
and his followers had been slain by the Fiesolans, and in this place
began to build a city, in order that Fiesole should never be rebuilt;
and he dismissed the Latin horseman whom he had with him, enriched
with the spoils of Fiesole; and these Latins were called Tudertines.
Cæsar, then, having fixed the boundaries of the city, and included two
places called Camarti and Villa Arnina [of the Arno], purposed to call
it Cæsaræa from his own name. But when the Roman senate heard this,
they would not suffer Cæsar to call it after his name, but they made a
decree and order that the other chief noble Romans who had taken part
in the siege of Fiesole should go and build the new city together with
Cæsar, and afterwards populate it; and that whichever of the builders
had first completed his share of the work should call it after his own
name, or howso else it pleased him.
[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 107, 108.]
[Sidenote: 70 B.C.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 73-78. Par. xv. 124-126.]
Then Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, and Marcius, furnished with
materials and workmen, came from Rome to the city which Cæsar was
building, and agreed with Cæsar to divide the work after this manner:
that Albinus undertook to pave all the city, which was a noble work
and gave beauty and charm to the city, and to this day fragments of
the work are found, in digging, especially in the sesto of Santo Piero
Scheraggio, and in Porta San Piero, and in Porta del Duomo, where it
shows that the ancient city was. Macrinus caused the water to be
brought in conduits and aqueducts, bringing it from a distance of
seven miles from the city, to the end the city might have abundance of
good water to drink and to cleanse the city; and this conduit was
carried from the river called Marina at the foot of Montemorello,
gathering to itself all the springs above Sesto and Quinto and
Colonnata. And in Florence the said springs came to a head at a great
palace which was called "caput aquæ," but afterwards in our speech it
was called Capaccia, and the remains can be seen in the Terma until
this day. And note that the ancients, for health's sake, used to drink
spring waters brought in by conduits, forasmuch as they were purer and
more wholesome than water from wells; seeing that few, indeed very
few, drank wine, but the most part water from conduits, but not from
wells; and as yet there were very few vines. Gneus Pompey caused the
walls of the city to be built of burnt bricks, and upon the walls of
the city he built many round towers, and the space between one tower
and the other was twenty cubits, and it was so that the towers were of
great beauty and strength. Concerning the size and circuit of the city
we can find no chronicle which makes mention thereof; save that when
Totila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, history records that it was
very great. Marcius, the other Roman lord, caused the Capitol to be
built after the fashion of Rome, that is to say the palace, or master
fortress of the city, and this was of marvellous beauty; into which
the water of the river Arno came by a hollowed and vaulted passage,
and returned into the Arno underground; and the city, at every
festival, was cleansed by the outpouring of this duct. This Capitol
stood where to-day is the piazza which is called the Mercato Vecchio,
over against the church which is called S. Maria, in Campidoglio. This
seems to be the best supported opinion; but some say that it was where
the place is now called the Guardingo [citadel]; beside the Piazza di
Popolo (so called from the Priors' Palace), which was another
fortress. Guardingo was the name afterwards given to the remains of
the walls and arches after the destruction by Totila, where the bad
quarter was. And the said lords each strove to be in advance of the
work of the others. And at one same time the whole was completed, so
that to none of them was the favour granted of naming the city
according to his desire, but by many it was at first called "Little
Rome." Others called it Floria, because Fiorinus, who was the first
builder in that spot, had there died, he being the _fiore_ [flower] of
warlike deeds and of chivalry, and because in the country and fields
around where the city was built there always grew flowers and lilies.
Afterwards the greater part of the inhabitants consented to call it
Floria, as being built among flowers, that is, amongst many delights.
And of a surety it was, inasmuch as it was peopled by the best of
Rome, and the most capable, sent by the senate in due proportion from
each division of Rome, chosen by lot from the inhabitants; and they
admitted among their number those Fiesolans which desired there to
dwell and abide. But afterwards it was, through long use of the vulgar
tongue, called Fiorenza, that is "flowery sword." And we find that it
was built in the year 682, after the building of Rome and seventy
years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And note that it is
not to be wondered at that the Florentines are always at war and
strife among themselves, being born and descended from two peoples so
contrary and hostile and different in habits as were the noble Romans
in their virtue and the rude Fiesolans fierce in war.
§ 39.--_How Cæsar departed from Florence, and went to Rome, and was
made consul to go against the French._
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 65. Epist. v. (3) 47-49.]
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 73-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-79. De Mon. ii. 9:
99-105; and ii. 12. Epist. vii. (3) 64-73.]
After that the city of Florence was built and peopled, Julius Cæsar
being angered because he, having been the first builder thereof, and
having had the victory over the city of Fiesole, had nevertheless not
been permitted to call the city after his name, departed therefrom and
returned to Rome, and for his zeal and valour was elected consul and
sent against the French, where he abode ten years whilst he was
conquering France and England and Germany; and when he returned
victorious to Rome his triumph was refused him, because he had
transgressed the decree (made by Pompey the consul, and by the senate,
through envy, under colour of virtue), that no one was to continue in
any command for more than five years. The which Cæsar returning with
his army of French and Germans from beyond the Alps, Italians, Pisans,
Pirates, Pistoians, and also Florentines, his fellow-citizens, brought
footmen and horsemen and slingers with him to begin a civil war,
because his triumph had been refused him, but moreover that he might
be lord of Rome as he had desired long time. So he fought against
Pompey and the senate of Rome. And after the great battle between
Cæsar and Pompey, well-nigh all the combatants were slain in Emathia,
to wit Thessaly in Greece, as may fully be read in Lucan the poet, by
whoso desires to know the history. And after that Cæsar had gained the
victory over Pompey, and over many kings and peoples who were helping
those Romans who were his enemies, he returned to Rome, and so became
the first Emperor of Rome, which is as much as to say commander over
all. And after him came Octavianus Augustus, his nephew and adopted
son, who was reigning when Christ was born, and after many victories
ruled over all the world in peace; and thenceforward Rome was under
imperial government, and held under its jurisdiction and that of the
Empire all the whole world.
§ 40.--_Of the ensign of the Romans and of the Emperors, and how from
them it came to the city of Florence and other cities._
[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 4: 30-41.]
[Sidenote: Par. xix. 101, 102.]
[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 11: 23. Purg. x. 80. Par. vi. 32, 100.]
[Sidenote: Par. xx. 8, 31, 32. Inf. iv. 95, 96. Purg. ix. 30.]
[Sidenote: Ep. vi. (3) 79-85.]
In the time of Numa Pompilius by a divine miracle there fell from
heaven into Rome a vermilion-coloured shield, for the which cause and
augury the Romans took that ensign for their arms, and afterwards
added S.P.Q.R. in letters of gold, signifying Senate of the People of
Rome; the same ensign they gave to all the cities which they built, to
wit, vermilion. Thus did they to Perugia, and to Florence, and to
Pisa; but the Florentines, because of the name of Fiorinus and of the
city, charged it with the white lily; and the Perugians sometimes with
the white griffin; and Viterbo kept the red field, and the Orvietans
charged it with the white eagle. It is true that the Roman lords,
consuls and dictators, after that the eagle appeared as an augury over
the Tarpeian rock, to wit, over the treasure chamber of the Capitol,
as Titus Livius makes mention, added the eagle to their arms on the
ensign; and we find that the consul Marius in the battle of the Cimbri
had on his ensigns the silver eagle, and a similar ensign was borne by
Catiline when he was defeated by Antonius in the parts about Pistoia,
as Sallust relates. And the great Pompey bore the azure field and
silver eagle, and Julius Cæsar bore the vermilion field and golden
eagle, as Lucan makes mention in verse, saying,
Signa pares aquilas, et pila minantia pilis.
But afterwards Octavianus Augustus, his nephew and successor, changed
it, and bore the golden field and the eagle natural, to wit, in black
colour, signifying the supremacy of the Empire, for like as the eagle
surpasses every other bird, and sees more clearly than any other
creature, and flies as high as the heaven of the hemisphere of fire,
so the Empire ought to be above every other temporal sovereignty. And
after Octavianus all the Roman emperors have borne it in like manner;
but Constantine, and after him all the other Greek emperors, retained
the ensign of Julius Cæsar, to wit, the vermilion field and golden
eagle, but with two heads. We will leave speaking of the ensigns of
the Roman commonwealth and of the Emperors, and we will return to our
subject concerning the doings of the city of Florence.
§ 41.--_How the city of Florence became the Treasure-House of the
Romans and the Empire._
§ 42.--_How the Temple of Mars, which is now called the Duomo of S.
Giovanni, was built in Florence._
After that Cæsar and Pompey, and Macrinus and Albinus and Marcius,
Roman nobles and builders of the new city of Florence, had returned
to Rome, their labours being completed, the city began to increase and
multiply both in Romans and Fiesolans who had settled as its
inhabitants, and in a short time it became a fine city for those
times; for the emperors and senate of Rome advanced it to the best of
their power, much like another little Rome. Its citizens, being in
prosperous state, determined to build in the said city a marvellous
temple in honour of the god Mars, by reason of the victory which the
Romans had had over the city of Fiesole; and they sent to the senate
of Rome to send them the best and most skilful masters that were in
Rome, and this was done. And they caused to be brought white and black
marbles and columns from many distant places by sea, and then by the
Arno; they brought stone and columns from Fiesole, and founded and
built the said temple in the place anciently called Camarti, and where
the Fiesolans held their market. Very noble and beautiful they built
it with eight sides, and when it had been built with great diligence,
they dedicated it to the god Mars, who was the god of the Romans, and
they had his effigy carved in marble in the likeness of an armed
cavalier on horseback; they placed him on a marble pillar in the midst
of that temple, and held him in great reverence, and adored him as
their god so long as paganism continued in Florence. And we find that
the said temple was begun during the reign of Octavianus Augustus, and
that it was built under the ascendant of such a constellation that it
will continue almost to eternity; and this we find written in a
certain place engraved within the space of the said temple.
§ 43.--_Tells how the province of Tuscany lies._ § 44.--_Concerning
the might and lordship possessed by the province of Tuscany before
Rome came into power._ § 45.--_These are the bishoprics of the cities
of Tuscany._ § 46.--_Of the city of Perugia._ § 47.--_Of the city of
Arezzo._ § 48.--_Of the city of Pisa._ § 49.--_Of the city of Lucca._
§ 50.--_Of the city of Luni._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 73.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xiii. 152.]
[Sidenote: Vita Nuova § 2. Convivio ii. 15.]
The city of Luni, which is now destroyed, was very ancient, and we
find from the stones of Troy, that from the city of Luni there went a
fleet and soldiers in aid of the Greeks against the Trojans;
afterwards it was destroyed by soldiers from beyond the mountains, by
reason of a lady, the wife of a lord, who, when on the way to Rome,
was adulterously seduced in this city of Luni, wherefore, as the said
lord returned, he destroyed the city by force, and to-day the country
is desert and unhealthy. And note that of old the coasts were much
inhabited, and albeit inland there were few cities, and few
inhabitants, yet in Maremma and Maretima, towards Rome on the coast of
the Campagna, there were many cities and many inhabitants, which
to-day are consumed and brought to nought by reason of the corruption
of the air: for there was the great city of Populonia, and Soana, and
Talamone, and Grosseto, and Civitaveglia, and Mascona, and Lansedonia,
which were with their troops at the siege of Troy; and in Campagna,
Baia, Pompeia, Cumina, and Laurenza, and Albania. And the cause why
to-day these cities of the coast are almost without inhabitants and
unhealthy, and also why Rome is less healthy, is said by the great
masters of astronomy to be because of the movement of the eighth
sphere of heaven, which in every hundred years moves one degree
towards the North Pole, and thus it will move 15° in 1,500 years, and
afterwards will turn back in like manner, if it be the pleasure of God
that the world shall endure so long; and by the said change of the
heaven is changed the quality of the earth and of the air, and where
it was inhabited and healthy, it now is without inhabitants and
unhealthy, and also the converse. And furthermore, we see that in the
course of nature all things in the world change, and rise and
diminish, as Christ said with His mouth that nothing here abides.
§§ 51-56.--_Of Viterbo, Orvieto, Cortona, Chiusi, Volterra, and
Siena._
§ 57.--_The story returns to the doings of the city of Florence, and
how S. Miniato there suffered martyrdom under Decius, the Emperor._
[Sidenote: 270 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1013 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xii. 100-105.]
Now that we have briefly made some mention of our neighbouring cities
in Tuscany, we will return to our subject and tell of our city of
Florence. As we recounted before, the said city was ruled long time
under the government and lordship of the emperors of Rome, and
ofttimes the emperors came to sojourn in Florence when they were
journeying into Lombardy, and into Germany, and into France to conquer
provinces. And we find that Decius, the Emperor, in the first year of
his reign, which was in the year of Christ 270, was in Florence, the
treasure-house and chancelry of the Empire, sojourning there for his
pleasure; and the said Decius cruelly persecuted the Christians
wheresoever he could hear of them or find them, and he heard tell how
the blessed Saint Miniato was living as a hermit near to Florence,
with his disciples and companions, in a wood which was called
Arisbotto of Florence, behind the place where now stands his church,
above the city of Florence. This blessed Miniato was first-born son to
the king of Armenia, and having left his kingdom for the faith of
Christ, to do penance and to be far away from his kingdom, he went
over seas to gain pardon at Rome, and then betook himself to the said
wood, which was in those days wild and solitary, forasmuch as the city
of Florence did not extend and was not settled beyond Arno, but was
all on this side; save only there was one bridge across the Arno, not
however where the bridges now are. And it is said by many that it was
the ancient bridge of the Fiesolans which led from Girone to
Candegghi, and this was the ancient and direct road and way from Rome
to Fiesole, and to go into Lombardy and across the mountains. The said
Emperor Decius caused the said blessed Miniato to be taken, as his
story narrates. Great gifts and rewards were offered him as to a
king's son, to the end he should deny Christ; and he, constant and
firm in the faith, would have none of his gifts, but endured divers
martyrdoms: in the end the said Decius caused him to be beheaded where
now stands the church of Santa Candida alla Croce al Gorgo; and many
faithful followers of Christ received martyrdom at that place. And
when the head of the blessed Miniato had been cut off, by a miracle of
Christ, with his hands he set it again upon his trunk, and on his feet
passed over Arno, and went up to the hill where now stands his church,
where at that time was a little oratory in the name of the blessed
Peter the Apostle, where many bodies of holy martyrs were buried; and
when S. Miniato was come to that place, he gave up soul to Christ,
and his body was there secretly buried by the Christians; the which
place, by reason of the merits of the blessed S. Miniato, was devoutly
venerated by the Florentines after that they were become Christians,
and a little church was built there in his honour. But the great and
noble church of marble which is there now in our times, we find to
have been built later by the zeal of the venerable Father Alibrando,
bishop and citizen of Florence, in the year of Christ 1013, begun on
the 26th day of the month of April by the commandment and authority of
the catholic and holy Emperor Henry II. of Bavaria, and of his wife
the holy Empress Gunegonda, which was reigning in those times; and
they presented and endowed the said church with many rich possessions
in Florence and in the country, for the good of their souls, and
caused the said church to be repaired and rebuilt of marbles, as it is
now; and they caused the body of the blessed Miniato to be translated
to the altar which is beneath the vaulting of the said church, with
much reverence and solemnity by the said bishop and the clergy of
Florence, with all the people, both men and women, of the city of
Florence; but afterwards the said church was completed by the
commonwealth of Florence, and the stone steps were made which lead
down by the hill; and the consuls of the art of the Calimala were put
in charge of the said work of S. Miniato, and were to protect it.
§ 58.--_How S. Crescius and his companions suffered martyrdom in the
district of Florence._
§ 59.--_Of Constantine the Emperor, and his descendants, and the
changes which came thereof in Italy._
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 115-117.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 94, 95.]
[Sidenote: 320 A.D.]
[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. 10. Par. vi. 1-3; xx. 55-57.]
We find that our city of Florence remained under the government of the
Roman Empire for about 350 years after its first foundation, observing
pagan ways, and worshipping idols, albeit there were many Christians,
after the fashion whereof I have spoken, but they remained concealed
in divers hermitages and caverns without the city, and they which were
within did not declare themselves as Christians for fear of the
persecutions which the emperors of Rome and their vicars and ministers
brought upon the Christians, until the time of the great Constantine,
son of Constantine the Emperor, and of Helena his wife, daughter of
the king of Britain, which was the first Christian emperor, and
endowed the Church with all the possessions of Rome, and gave liberty
to the Christians in the time of the blessed Pope Sylvester, who
baptized him and made him a Christian, cleansing him from leprosy by
the power of Christ, and this was in the year of Christ about 320. The
said Constantine caused many churches to be built in Rome to the
honour of Christ, and having destroyed all the temples of paganism and
of the idols, and established Holy Church in her liberty and lordship,
and having brought the temporal affairs of the Church under due system
and order, he departed to Constantinople, which he caused to be thus
named, after his own name (for before this it was called Byzantium),
and he raised it to great state and lordship, and there he made his
seat, leaving here in command of Rome his patricians or censors, that
is, vicars, which defended Rome, and fought for her, and for the
Empire. After the said Constantine, which reigned more than thirty
years, first in command of Rome, and then in command of
Constantinople, there were left three sons, Constantine, and
Constantius, and Constans, which had war and contentions among
themselves, and one of them, to wit, Constantine, was a Christian, and
the next, Constantius, was a heretic, and persecuted the Christians by
reason of his heresy, which was begun in Constantinople by one named
Arius, and this heresy was called Arian, after his name, which spread
much error throughout all the world, and throughout the Church of God.
These sons of Constantine by their dissensions greatly laid waste the
Empire of Rome, and in a sense abandoned it, and henceforward it
always seemed as if it were declining, and its sovereignty becoming
less; and there began to be two and three emperors at one time, and
one would be reigning in Constantinople, and another in the Empire of
Rome, and one would be Christian, and another an Arian heretic,
persecuting the Christians and the Church, and this endured long time,
so that all Italy was infected thereby. Of the other emperors before
and after, we shall make no ordered record, save of those which
pertain to our subject; but he who desires to find them in order
should read the Martinian Chronicle, and therein he will find the
emperors and the popes which were in those times set forth in order.
§ 60.--_How the Christian faith first came to Florence._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 47, 145, 146.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 143-150.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 25, 47.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 42.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 17-20. Par. xv. 134, 135.]
At the time that the said great Constantine became a Christian, and
gave freedom and sovereignty to the Church, and S. Sylvester, the
Pope, was openly established in the papacy in Rome, there spread
through Tuscany, and throughout Italy, and afterwards through all the
world, the true faith and belief of Jesus Christ. And in our city of
Florence, the true faith began to be adopted, and paganism to be
abolished, in the time of * * * * who was made bishop of Florence by
Pope Sylvester; and from the noble and beautiful temple of the
Florentines, of which mention has been made above, the Florentines
removed their idol, which they called the god Mars, and placed it upon
a high tower, by the river Arno, and would not break or destroy it,
because in their ancient records they found that the said idol of Mars
had been consecrated under the ascendant of such a planet, that if it
were broken or set aside in a place of contempt, the city would suffer
peril and injury, and undergo great changes. And although the
Florentines had lately become Christians, they still observed many
pagan customs, and long continued to observe them, and they still
stood in awe of their ancient idol of Mars, so little were they
perfected as yet in the holy faith; and this done, they consecrated
their said temple in honour of God and of the blessed S. John the
Baptist, and called it the Duomo of S. Giovanni; and they decreed that
the feast on the day of his nativity should be celebrated with solemn
sacrifices, and that a race should be run for a samite cloak, and this
custom has been always observed by the Florentines on that day. And
they had baptismal fonts erected in the middle of the temple, where
people and children were and still are baptized; and on Holy Saturday,
when in the said fonts the baptismal water and fire were blessed, they
ordered that the said holy fire should be carried through the city
after the custom of Jerusalem, so that some one should enter into
every house with a lighted torch, for them to kindle their fires
from. And from this solemnity came the privilege of the "great torch,"
which pertained to the house of the Pazzi, from some hundred and
seventy years before 1300; because one of their ancestors, named
Pazzo, strong and tall in person, bore a larger torch than any other,
and was the first to take the sacred fire, and then the others
received it from him. The said duomo, after that it had been
consecrated to Christ, was enlarged by the space where to-day is the
choir, and the altar of the blessed John; but at the time that the
said duomo was the temple of Mars, this addition had not been made
thereto, nor the turret and ball at the summit; and indeed it was open
above after the fashion of Santa Maria Ritonda of Rome, to the intent
their idol, the god Mars, which was in the midst of the temple, might
be open to the sky. But after the second rebuilding of Florence, in
the year of Christ 1150, the cupola was built upon columns, and the
ball, and the golden cross which is at the top, by the consuls of the
Art of Calimala, to which the commonwealth of Florence had committed
the charge of the building of the said work in honour of S. John. And
by many people which have journeyed through the world it is said to be
the most beautiful temple or duomo of any that may be found; and in
our times has been completed the work of the histories depicted within
in mosaic. And we find, from ancient records, that the figure of the
sun carved in mosaic, which says: "_En giro torte sol ciclos, et rotor
igne_," was done by astronomy, and when the sun enters into the sign
of Cancer, it shines at mid-day on that place through the opening
above, where is the turret.
§ 61.--_Of the coming of the Goths and Vandals into Italy, and how
they destroyed the country and besieged the city of Florence in the
time of S. Zenobius, bishop of Florence._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK I.
BOOK II.
_Here begins the Second Book: how the city of Florence was
destroyed by Totila, the scourge of God, king of the Goths
and Vandals._
[Sidenote: 440 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 67.]
[Sidenote: 450 A.D.]
§ 1.--In the year of Christ 440, in the time of S. Leo the Pope, and
of Theodosius and Valentinian emperors, in the northern parts there
was a king of the Vandals and of the Goths, which was called Bela, and
surnamed Totila. This man was a barbarian and had no religion, and was
cruel in customs and in all things, born of the province of Gothland
and Sweden, and in his cruelty he slew his brother and subdued many
divers nations of peoples by his might and lordship; and afterwards he
was minded to destroy and take away the Empire of the Romans, and lay
Rome waste; and thus by his sovereignty he gathered together
innumerable people from his own country, and from Sweden and from
Gothland, and afterwards from Pannonia, which is Hungary, and from
Denmark, to enter into Italy. And when he desired to pass into Italy,
he was opposed by the Romans and Burgundians and French, and a great
battle was fought against him in the district of Lunina, that is to
say of Friuli and Aquilea, with the greatest number of slain that had
ever been in any battle, both on one side and on the other; and the
king of Burgundy was slain. And Totila, being discomfited, returned to
his own country with the followers which were left to him. But
afterwards, desiring to carry out his purpose of destroying the Empire
of Rome, he gathered a larger army than before, and came into Italy.
And first he laid siege to the city of Aquilea; so it continued three
years, and then he took it, and burnt and destroyed it with all the
inhabitants; and when he had entered into Italy, after the same manner
he destroyed Vicenza, and Brescia, and Bergamo, and Milan, and Ticino,
and well-nigh all the cities of Lombardy, save Modena, for the merits
of S. Gemignano, which was bishop thereof; for when he was passing
through this city with his people, by a divine miracle he did not see
it save when he was without the city, and by reason of the miracle he
passed it by, and did not destroy it: and he destroyed Bologna and put
to martyrdom S. Proculus, bishop of Bologna, and thus he destroyed
well-nigh all the cities of Romagna. And afterwards passing through
Tuscany he found the city of Florence strong and powerful. Hearing the
fame thereof, and how it had been built by the noblest Romans, and was
the treasure-house of the Empire and of Rome, and how in this country
had been slain Radagasius, king of the Goths, his predecessor, with so
great a multitude of Goths, as before has been narrated, he commanded
that it should be besieged, and long time he sat before it in vain.
And seeing that he could not obtain it by siege, inasmuch as it was
very strong in towers and in walls and in many good soldiers, he set
about to gain it by deceit and by flattery and by treachery. Now the
Florentines had continual war with the city of Pistoia; and Totila
ceased laying waste the country around the city, and sent to the
Florentines that he desired to be their friend, and in their service
would destroy the city of Pistoia, promising and making show of great
love, and to give them privileges with very generous covenants. The
imprudent Florentines (and for this cause they were ever afterwards
called _blind_ in the proverb) believed his false flatteries and vain
promises; they opened the gates to him, and admitted him and his
followers into the city, and lodged him in the Capitol. And when the
cruel tyrant was within the city with all his forces, under false
seeming he showed love to the citizens, and one day he invited to his
council the greatest and most powerful chiefs of the city in great
numbers; and when they came to the Capitol, as they passed one by one
through an entry, he caused them to be slain and massacred, none
perceiving ought of the fate of the other; and afterwards he had them
thrown into the ducts of the Capitol, to wit, the conduit of the Arno
which flows underground by the Capitol, to the end that no man might
know thereof. And thus he put them to death in great numbers, and
nought was perceived thereof in the city of Florence save that at the
exit from the city where the said aqueduct or conduit issued forth and
flowed back into the Arno, the water was seen to be all red and
bloody. Then the people perceived the deceit and treachery; but it was
in vain and too late, seeing that Totila had armed all his followers;
and when he perceived that his cruelty was discovered, he commanded
them to overrun the city and slay both great and small, men and women,
and from this there was no escape, forasmuch as the city was unarmed
and unprepared, and we find that at that time there were in the city
of Florence 22,000 men-at-arms, beside the aged and children. When the
people of the city perceived that they were come to such sorrow and
destruction, they escaped who could, fleeing into the country and
hiding themselves in strongholds, and in woods and in caves; but the
most part of the citizens were slain, or wounded, or taken, and the
city was all despoiled of substance and riches by the said Goths,
Vandals, and Hungarians. And after that Totila had thus wasted it of
inhabitants and of goods, he commanded that it should be destroyed and
burnt, and laid waste, and that there should not remain one stone upon
another, and this was done; save that in the west there remained one
of the towers which Gneus Pompey had built, and on the north and on
the south one of the gates, and within the city near to the gate the
"casa" or "domo," which we take to be the duomo of S. Giovanni, called
of yore the "casa" [house] of Mars. And verily it never was entirely
destroyed, nor shall be destroyed to eternity, save at the day of
judgment, even as is written on the cement of the said duomo. And
there were also left standing certain lofty towers or temples,
indicated in the ancient chronicles by letters of the alphabet, the
which we cannot interpret, to wit S, and casa P, and casa F. The city
had four gates and six posterns, and there were towers marvellous
strong over the gates. And the idol of the god Mars which the
Florentines took from the temple and set upon a pillar, then fell into
the Arno, and abode there as long as the city remained in ruins. And
thus was destroyed the noble city of Florence by the infamous Totila
on the 28th day of June, in the year of Christ 450, to wit 520 years
after its foundation; and in the said city the blessed Maurice, bishop
of Florence, was put to death with great torments by the followers of
Totila, and his body lies in Santa Reparata.
§ 2.--_How Totila caused the city of Fiesole to be rebuilt._
After that the city of Florence was destroyed, Totila went into the
hill where had been the ancient city of Fiesole, and encamped there
with his banners and tents and booths, and commanded that the said
city should be rebuilt, and issued a proclamation that whosoever
desired to return and dwell there, swearing to him to oppose the
Romans, should abide in safety and freedom, and this in order that the
city of Florence should never be rebuilt. For the which thing many
which were descended from of old from Fiesole, returned to dwell
thither, and of the Florentines themselves which had escaped, which
did not know where to dwell or whither to go; and thus in a short time
the city of Fiesole was restored and rebuilt, and made strong by walls
and by inhabitants, and afterwards, as before so now, it continually
rebelled against Rome.
§ 3.--_How Totila departed from Fiesole to go towards Rome, and
destroyed many cities, and died an evil death._
§ 4.--_How the Goths remained lords of Italy after the death of
Totila._
[Sidenote: Circ. 470 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxxii. 62. De Vulg. El. i. 10: 18, 19.]
* * * * And the King Theodoric held the Empire of Rome for the said
Zeno, the Emperor, doing him homage therefor and paying him tribute.
In these times, about the year of Christ 470, while Leo, Emperor of
Rome, was reigning in Constantinople, was born in Great Britain, which
is now called England, Merlin the prophet (of a virgin, they say, by
conception or machination of a devil), which wrought in that country
many marvels by necromancy, and ordained the Round Table of Knights
Errant in the time when Uther Pendragon reigned in Britain, which was
descended from Brutus, grandson of Æneas, the first inhabitant of that
land, as afore we made mention; and afterwards the Round Table was
restored by the good King Arthur, his son, which was a lord of great
power and valour, and more gracious and knightly than all other lords,
and he reigned long time in happy state, as the Romances of the
Britons make mention, and whereof the Martinian Chronicle is not
silent when treating of those times.
§ 5.--_How the Goths were driven the first time out of Italy, and how
they recovered their sovereignty by means of the young Theodoric,
their king._ § 6.--_How the Goths were entirely driven out of Italy by
Belisarius, patrician of the Romans._ § 7.--_Of the coming of the
Lombards into Italy._ § 8.--_Of the beginning of the religion and sect
of the Saracens, instituted by Mahomet._ § 9.--_Of the successors of
Rotharis, king of the Lombards._
§ 10.--_How Charles Martel came from France to Italy at the summons of
the Church against the Lombards; and of the origin of the city of
Siena._
[Sidenote: 735 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 740 A.D.]
In the time of the said Eliprando [Liutprand], albeit he was a
Christian, yet by reason of avarice, and of desire to usurp the rights
of Holy Church, and by the counsel of the emperor of Constantinople,
he began war against the Romans and against Pope Gregory III., and
came with all his forces to besiege the said Pope in Rome, he by way
of Lombardy, and Grimoald, king of the Samnites and of the Apulians,
with his troops from Apulia, in the year of Christ 735. For the which
thing, after a council had been held in Rome, the Church with the
Romans sent to France for aid from Charles Martel, which Charles was
son to Pepin, a great baron of France, and was of the Twelve Peers,
and governed all the realm and the king himself; and the said Charles
Martel did likewise, forasmuch as the king which then was, called
Chilperic, had the name only, but Charles had the strength and
lordship; and he was the son of the sister of Dodon, king of
Aquitania, and afterwards was father of the good King Pepin, which was
father of Charles the Great, and he had the surname of Martel, because
he bore a hammer as his arms. And in truth he was a hammer, forasmuch
as by his prowess he struck at all Germany, Saxony, Suabia, Bavaria,
and Denmark as far as Norway, at England, Aquitania, and Navarre and
Spain, and Burgundy and Provence, and became ruler over them all, and
they became his tributaries. Then, at the summons of the said Pope, he
passed into Italy as far as Apulia, and freed Rome and the Church from
the encroachments of the Lombards. And it is said that at that time,
about the year of Christ 740, was the place first inhabited where is
now the city of Siena, by the aged and sick [non sana] people which
came in with Charles Martel, and remained in that place as has been
told afore concerning the building of Siena.
§ 11.--_How Eraco [Rachis], the Lombard king of Apulia, returned to
obedience to Holy Church._
§ 12.--_How Telofre [Astolf], king of the Lombards, persecuted Holy
Church, and how King Pepin at the summons of Pope Stephen came from
France and defeated him, and took him prisoner._
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xx. 53 and the Commentators.]
[Sidenote: 755 A.D.]
After King Rachis there succeeded to the realm of Lombardy, and to
that of Apulia, Astolf, called in Latin Telofre, brother of the said
Rachis. He was a lord of great power, and cruel, and an enemy of Holy
Church and of the Romans; and by the counsel of evil and rebellious
Romans, he took Tuscany and the valley of Spoleto, and devastated
them, and claimed tribute on every man's head; and made a conspiracy
with Leo, and Constantine, his son, emperors of Constantinople, and at
his request they came to Rome, and together with Telofre they took it,
and sacked it, and burnt the churches and holy places, and carried to
Constantinople the riches of Rome, and all the images from the
churches in Rome, and in contempt of the Pope and of the Church and to
the shame of the Christians he burnt them all with fire, and many
faithful Christians they destroyed and consumed in Rome and in all
Italy. For which thing Pope Stephen II. excommunicated them, and as a
punishment for the misdeed took away from the emperor the kingdom of
Apulia and of Sicily, and established by a decree that it should
pertain to Holy Church for ever. And afterwards, not being able to
resist the force of the said tyrants and so much affliction, he went
in person into France to Pepin, prince and governor of the French, to
require and pray him to come into Italy to defend Holy Church against
Telofre, king of the Lombards, and he gave to the said Pepin many
privileges and graces, and made and confirmed him king of France, and
deposed Childeric, the king which was of the first race, forasmuch as
he was a man of no account, and he became a monk. Which Pepin, a
faithful and loving son of Holy Church, received him with great
honour, and afterwards with all his forces with the said Pope Stephen
came into Italy, in the year of Christ 755, and fought great battles
with the said Telofre, king of the Lombards. In the end, by force of
arms and of his folk, the said Telofre was overcome and defeated by
the good King Pepin, and he obeyed the command of the Pope and of Holy
Church, and made all amends, just as he and his cardinals chose to
devise; and he left to the Church by compact and privilege the realm
of Apulia and of Sicily, and the patrimony of S. Peter. And when the
said Pepin was come to Rome with the said Pope, they were received
with great honour by the Romans; and the said Pepin was made
patrician, that is, vicar of Rome, and father of the Roman Republic.
And when Rome and Holy Church were restored to their liberty and good
estate, he returned into France, and ended his life with great honour,
and Charles the Great, his son, succeeded him as king of France.
§ 13.--_How Desiderius, son of Telofre, began war again with Holy
Church, for the which thing Charles the Great passed into Italy, and
defeated him, and took away and destroyed the lordship of the
Lombards._
[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. (11) 1-6.]
[Sidenote: 775 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 94-96.]
[Sidenote: Ep. v. (4).]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 110, 111.]
[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. 11: 6. Par. xviii. 43.]
When King Pepin was departed from Italy and was returned to France,
the Church of Rome and the country was in repose and tranquillity for
a time, by reason of the covenant which Pepin had made with Telofre,
king of Lombardy, and the victory which he had gained over him; but
when Telofre was dead, Desiderius, his son, succeeded to him, which
was a worse enemy and persecutor of Holy Church than his father, and
broke the peace, and leagued himself with Constantine, which was the
son of Leo, the emperor of Constantinople, and with his forces began
to make war in Apulia, and Desiderius on his side in Tuscany more
than ever his father had done at the first. For the which thing Pope
Adrian, which was then governing Holy Church, sent into France for
Charles the Great, son of Pepin, to come into Italy to defend the
Church from the said Desiderius and from his following, the which
Charles, king of France, passed into Lombardy in the year of Christ
775, and after many battles and victories gained against Desiderius,
he besieged him in the city of Pavia, and when he had won the city by
siege, he took the said Desiderius captive, and his wife and his sons;
save that the eldest son, which was called Algise [Adelchis], fled
into Constantinople to the Emperor Constantine, and continued the war.
After he had taken Desiderius and his wife and his sons, Charles the
Great caused him to swear fealty to Holy Church, and did the like to
all the barons and cities of Italy; and when this was done, he sent
the said Desiderius and his wife and his sons prisoners into France,
and there they all died in prison. And thus was destroyed, by the
power of the Franks and of the good Charles the Great, the sovereignty
of the kings of the Lombards, formerly called Longobards, which had
endured two hundred and five years in Italy; for never afterwards was
there a king in Lombardy. Of a truth there remained the families of
the lords and barons and great citizens descended from the Lombards,
both in Lombardy and in Apulia; and still to-day there are certain
gentlemen of ancient lineage whom in common speech we call Lombard
Cattani, descended from the said Lombards which had been lords of
Italy. Charles the Great, after the said victory, came to Rome, and by
the said Adrian and by the Romans was received with great triumph and
honour; and as Charles the Great drew nigh to Rome, and beheld the
holy city from Montemalo, he alighted from his horse, and reverently
entered Rome on foot; and when he came thither, he kissed the gates of
the city and of all the churches, and gave rich offerings to every
Church. And when he came to Rome he was made patrician of Rome, and he
restored the affairs of Holy Church, and of the Romans, and of all
Italy, and he restored them to privileges and liberty, having subdued
in all parts the forces of the emperor of Constantinople, and of the
king of the Lombards, and of their followers, and confirmed the Church
in the donation which Pepin, his father, had given to her, and beyond
that he endowed the Church with the duchy of Spoleto and of Benevento.
And in the kingdom of Apulia he fought many battles against the
Lombards and the rebels against Holy Church, and besieged and
destroyed the city of Lacedonia, which is in Abruzzi between Aquila
and Sermona, and besieged and conquered Tuliverno, the strong fortress
at the entrance of Terra di Lavoro. And many other cities of the
Kingdom [Apulia] which were held by the rebels against Holy Church, he
entirely subdued to his governance. And when he had done this, leaving
Rome and all Italy in peaceful condition under his lordship, in happy
hour he was minded to attack the Saracens which had taken possession
of Provence, and of Navarre, and of Spain, and with the troops of his
twelve barons and peers of France, called Paladins, he entirely
conquered and destroyed them; and he passed beyond seas at the request
of the Emperor Michael of Constantinople and of the Patriarch of
Jerusalem, and conquered the Holy Land and Jerusalem, which were
occupied by the Saracens, and gained for the emperor of
Constantinople all the empire of the East which had been occupied by
the Saracens and the Turks. And when he returned to Constantinople,
albeit the Emperor Michael desired to give him many very great
treasures, yet would he take nothing, save the wood of the holy cross
and the nail of Christ, which he brought back into France, and which
is in Paris to this day. And when he had returned to France, he ruled
by his prowess and virtue not only over the realm of France, but all
Germany, Provence, Navarre, and Spain, and all Italy.
§ 14.--_Of the progeny of Charles the Great, and of his successors._
§ 15.--_How Charles the Great, king of France, was made Emperor of
Rome._
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 94. De Monarchia iii. 11.]
[Sidenote: 801 A.D.]
When Charles the Great had returned from over seas into France, as we
have said, and had subdued Germany, Italy, and Spain, and Provence,
the wicked Romans, with the powerful Lombards and Tuscans, rebelled
against the Church, and seized Pope Leo III., which was then reigning,
at Rome, as he was going to the procession of the Litanies (S. Mark's
Day, April 25th), and put out his eyes and slit his tongue, and drave
him out of Rome. And as it pleased God, by divine miracle, and because
he was innocent and holy, he recovered the sight of his eyes and the
power of speech, and went into France to Charles the Great, praying
him to come to Rome to restore the Church to her liberty; which
Charles, at the request of the said Pope Leo, came together with him
to Rome and restored the Pope and the Church to their state and
liberty, and took great vengeance against all the rebels and enemies
of Holy Church throughout all Italy. For the which thing the said
Pope Leo, with his cardinals and general council, with the consent of
the Romans, by reason of the virtuous and holy deeds done by the said
Charles the Great on behalf of Holy Church and of all Christendom,
took away the Roman Empire from the Greeks by a decree, and elected
the said Charles the Great Emperor of the Romans, as being most worthy
of the Empire; and by the said Pope Leo he was consecrated and crowned
in Rome, in the year of Christ 801, with great solemnity and honour,
on Easter Day.
The said Charles reigned with great good fortune fourteen years one
month and four days, ruling over all the empire of the West, and the
provinces afore named, and also the emperor of Constantinople was
under his obedience; and he caused as many abbeys to be built as there
are letters in the alphabet, and the name of each one began with a
different letter. And he caused his son Louis to be crowned lord over
the Empire and the kingdom of France, giving all his treasure to the
poor in God's name after this manner; for he left the third part of
his treasure (which was infinite) to all the poor Christians seeking
alms, and the other two parts he left to all his archbishops of his
empire and realm, that they might distribute them amongst their
bishops and all the churches and monasteries and hospitals.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 814 A.D.]
And this done, he commended his spirit in holiness to Christ, in the
city of Aquisgrana, in Germany, and was there buried with great
honour, to wit, at Aix-la-Chapelle. This was in the year of Christ
814, and he lived seventy-two years, and many signs appeared before
his death, as we read in the chronicles of the doings of France. This
Charles much extended Holy Church, and Christendom both far and near,
and was a man of great virtue.
§ 16.--_How, after Charles the Great, Louis, his son, became Emperor._
§ 17.--_How the Saracens of Barbary crossed to Italy, and were
defeated, and all slain._ § 18.--_Further, how the Saracens crossed to
Calabria and to Normandy in France._ § 19.--_How and in whose person
the empire and realm of France fell from the progeny of Pepin._ §
20.--_Of the same matter, and of how the lineage of Hugh Capet reigned
thereafter._
§ 21.--_How the city of Florence lay waste and in ruins for 350
years._
After the destruction of the city of Florence, wrought by Totila, the
scourge of God, as has afore been mentioned, it lay thus ruined and
deserted about 350 years by reason of the evil state of Rome and of
the Empire, which, at first by Goths and Vandals, and afterwards by
Lombards and Greeks and Saracens and Hungarians, was persecuted and
brought low, as has afore been related. Truly there were, where
Florence had been, certain dwellings and inhabitants round about the
duomo of S. Giovanni, forasmuch as the Fiesolans held market there one
day in the week, and it was called the Campo Marti, as of old, for it
had always been the market-place of the Fiesolans, and had borne this
name before Florence was built. It came to pass ofttimes, during the
years when the city lay waste and in ruins, that the said inhabitants
of the borough and of the market-place, with the aid of certain nobles
of the country which of old were descended from the first citizens of
Florence and of the inhabitants of the villages round about, sought
ofttimes to enclose within moats and palisades some part of the city
around the Duomo; but they of the city of Fiesole, and their allies,
the counts of Mangone, and of Montecarelli, and of Capraia, and of
Certaldo, which were all of one lineage with the counts of Santafiore,
which were descended from the Lombards, hindered and opposed them, and
would not allow them to rebuild; but whatsoever was being built they
came in force, and under arms, and caused it to be violently beaten
down and destroyed, so that, for this cause and by reason of the
adversities which the Romans were enduring, as has afore been related,
and because the Fiesolans always held with the Goths, and afterwards
with the Lombards, and with all the rebels and enemies of the Empire
of Rome and Holy Church, and were so great and powerful in strength
that none of their neighbours durst oppose them, they would not suffer
the city of Florence to be rebuilt; and in this wise it abode long
time, until God put an end to the adversity of the city of Florence,
and brought her to the blessing of her restoration, as by us shall be
narrated in the following chapter and Third Book.
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK II.
BOOK III.
_Goes back somewhat to tell how the city of Florence was
rebuilt by the power of Charles the Great and the Romans._
[Sidenote: 801 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 146-150. Par. xvi. 145, 146.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xvi. 65-78.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xv. 73-78.]
§ 1.--It came to pass, as it pleased God, that in the time of the good
Charles the Great, Emperor of Rome and king of France, of whom above
we have made a long record, after that he had beaten down the
tyrannical pride of the Lombards and Saracens, and of the infidels
against Holy Church, and had established Rome and the Empire in good
state and in its liberty, as afore we have made mention, certain
gentlemen and nobles of the region round about Florence (whereof it is
reported that the Giovanni, the Guineldi and the Ridolfi, descended
from the ancient noble citizens of the former Florence, were the
heads) assembled themselves together with all the inhabitants of the
place where Florence had been, and with all other their followers
dwelling in the country around Florence, and they ordained to send to
Rome ambassadors from the best among them to Charles the Emperor, and
to Pope Leo, and to the Romans; and this was done, praying them to
remember their daughter, the city of Florence (the which was ruined
and destroyed by Goths and Vandals in despite of the Romans), to the
end it might be rebuilt, and that it might please them to give a force
of men-at-arms to ward off the men of Fiesole and their followers, the
enemies of the Romans, who would not let the city of Florence be
rebuilt. The which ambassadors were received with honour by the
Emperor Charles, and by the Pope, and by the Romans, and their
petition accepted graciously and willingly; and straightway the
Emperor Charles the Great sent thither his forces of men-at-arms on
foot and on horse in great numbers; and the Romans made a decree and
command that, as their forefathers had built and peopled of old the
city of Florence, so those of the best families in Rome, both of
nobles and of people, should go thither to rebuild and to inhabit it;
and this was done. With that host of the Emperor Charles the Great and
of the Romans there came whatsoever master-craftsmen there were in
Rome, the more speedily to build the walls of the city and to
strengthen it, and after them there followed much people; and all they
who dwelt in the country around Florence, and her exiled citizens in
every place, hearing the tidings, gathered themselves to the host of
the Romans and of the Emperor to rebuild the city; and when they were
come where to-day is our city, they encamped among ancient remains and
ruins in booths and in tents. The Fiesolans and their followers,
seeing the host of the Emperor and of the Romans so great and
powerful, did not venture to fight against them, but keeping within
the fortress of their city of Fiesole and in their fortified places
around, gave what hindrance they might to the said rebuilding. But
their power was nothing against the strength of the Romans, and of the
host of the Emperor, and of the assembled descendants of the
Florentines; and thus they began to rebuild the city of Florence, not,
however, of the size that it had been at the first, but of lesser
extent, as hereafter shall be mentioned, to the end it might more
speedily be walled and fortified, and there might be a defence like a
rampart against the city of Fiesole; and this was the year of Christ
801, in the beginning of the month of April. And it is said that the
ancients were of opinion that it would not be possible to rebuild it,
if first there were not found and drawn from the Arno the marble
image, dedicated by the first pagan builders by necromancy to Mars,
the which had been in the river Arno from the destruction of Florence
unto that time; and being found, it was placed on a pillar by the side
of the said river, where now is the head of the Ponte Vecchio. This we
do not affirm nor believe, forasmuch as it seems to us the opinion of
pagans and soothsayers, and not to be reasonable, but very foolish,
that such a stone should have such effect; but it was commonly said by
the ancients, that, if it was disturbed, the city must needs have
great disturbances. And it was said also by the ancients, that the
Romans, by the counsel of the wise astrologers, at the beginning of
the rebuilding of Florence, took the third degree of Aries as the
ascendant, the sun being at his meridian altitude, and the planet
Mercury in conjunction with the sun, and the planet Mars in favourable
aspect to the ascendant, to the end the city might multiply in power
of arms and of chivalry, and in folk eager and enterprising in arts
and in riches and in merchandise, and should bring forth many children
and a great people. And in those times, so they say, the ancient
Romans and all the Tuscans and Italians, albeit they were baptized
Christians, still preserved certain remains of the fashions of pagans,
and began their undertakings according to the constellations; albeit,
this we do not affirm of ourselves, forasmuch as constellations are
not of necessity, nor can they constrain the free will of man or the
judgment of God, save according to the merits or sins of folk. And
yet, in some effects, meseems the influence of the said constellation
is revealed, for the city of Florence is ever in great disturbances
and plottings and in war, and now victorious and now the contrary, and
prone to merchandise and to arts. But our opinion is that the discords
and changes of the Florentines are as we said at the beginning of this
treatise--our city was populated by two peoples, divers in every habit
of life, as were the noble Romans and the cruel and fierce Fiesolans;
for the which thing it is no marvel if our city is always subject to
wars and changes and dissensions and treacheries.
§ 2.--_Of the form and size in which the city of Florence was
rebuilt._
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 37. Par. xvi. 97-99.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 123.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 124-126.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 97-99.]
The rebuilding of the new city of Florence was begun by the Romans, as
aforesaid, on a small site and circuit, after the same fashion as
Rome, allowing for the smallness of the undertaking; and it began on
the side of the sunrise at the gate of S. Piero, which was where were
after the houses of M. Bellincione Berti, of the Rovignani, a noble
and powerful citizen, albeit to-day they have disappeared; the which
houses by inheritance of the Countess Gualdrada, his daughter, and
wife to the first Count Guido, passed to the Counts Guidi, her
descendants, when they became citizens of Florence, and afterwards
they sold them to the Black Cerchi, a Florentine family; and from the
said gate ran a borgo as far as S. Piero Maggiore, after the fashion
of Rome, and from that gate the walls proceeded as far as the Duomo,
on the site where now runs the great road leading to San Giovanni, as
far as the Bishop's Palace. And here was another gate, which was
called the gate of the Duomo, but there were who called it the
Bishop's Gate; and without this gate was built the church of S.
Lorenzo, just as in Rome there is S. Lorenzo without the walls; and
within that gate is S. Giovanni, like as in Rome, S. Giovanni
Laterano. And then proceeding, as at Rome, on that side they made
Santa Maria Maggiore; and then from S. Michele Berteldi, as far as the
third gate of S. Brancazio [S. Pancras], where are now the houses of
the Tornaquinci, and S. Brancazio was without the city and near S.
Paolo, just as in Rome, on the other side of the city over against S.
Piero, as at Rome. And then from the said gate of S. Brancazio, they
followed on where now is the church of Santa Trinita, which was
without the walls; and hard by was a postern gate called the Porta
Rossa, and down to our own times the road has retained the name. And
afterward the walls turned where are now the houses of the Scali along
the Via di Terma as far as the gate of Santa Maria, some way past the
Mercato Nuovo, and that was the fourth principal gate, the which was
over against the houses which now pertain to the Infangati, on one
side; and above the said gate was the church of Santa Maria, called
Sopra Porta; and afterwards when the said gate was pulled down, the
city having increased, the said church was transported to where it now
is. And the Borgo di Santo Apostolo was without the city, and also S.
Stefano, after the fashion of Rome; and beyond S. Stefano, at the end
of the master street of Porta Santa Maria, they made and built a
bridge founded on piles of stone in the Arno, which afterwards was
called the Ponte Vecchio, and it exists to this day; and was much more
narrow than it now is, and was the first bridge which was made in
Florence. And from S. Mary's Gate the walls went on as far as the
turret of Altafonte, which was at the extremity of a projection of the
city, running out to the river Arno, then running on behind the church
of S. Piero Scheraggio, which was so called from a ditch or conduit
called the Scheraggio, which received almost all the rain-water of the
city that flowed into the Arno. And behind the church of S. Piero
Scheraggio was a postern gate, which was called the Peruzza Gate, and
from there the walls went on by the great street as far as the Via del
Garbo, where was another postern, and then behind the Badia of
Florence the walls returned to Porta S. Piero. And within so small a
space the new Florence was rebuilt with good walls and frequent
towers, with four master gates, to wit, the Porta San Piero, the Porta
del Duomo, the Porta San Brancazio, and the Porta Santa Maria, the
which were in the form of a cross; and in the midst of the city were
S. Andrea, after the fashion of Rome, and Santa Maria in Campidoglio;
and what now is the Mercato Vecchio was the Mercato di Campidoglio
[Mart of the Capitol], after the fashion of Rome. And the city was
divided into quarters, according to the said four gates; but
afterwards, when the city increased, it was divided into six sestos,
as being a perfect number, for the sesto of Oltrarno was added
thereto, as soon as it was inhabited; and when the Porta di Santa
Maria was pulled down, the name was dropped, and it was divided by the
course of the main street, and on one side was made the sesto of San
Piero Scheraggio, and on the other side that of the Borgo; and the
three first gates continued to give their name to sestos, as they have
done even to our own times. And they gave the sesto of Oltrarno the
lead, to go forth with the host with the ensign of the bridge; and
then San Piero Scheraggio with the ensign of the carroccio [chariot of
war], the which marble carroccio was brought from Fiesole, and stands
before the said church of S. Piero; and then Borgo with the ensign of
the goat [becco], forasmuch as in that sesto abode all the butchers
[beccari], and those of their calling, and they were in those times
very prominent in the city; S. Brancazio next with the ensign of the
lion's paw [branca], with reference to the name; and the Porta del
Duomo next, with the ensign of the cathedral; Porta San Piero last,
with the ensign of the keys, and seeing it was the first sesto
inhabited in Florence, in the going forth of the host it was placed in
the rear guard, forasmuch as in olden time there were always the best
knights and men-at-arms of the city in that sesto.
§ 3.--_How Charles the Great came to Florence, and granted privileges
to the city, and caused Santo Apostolo to be built._
[Sidenote: 805 A.D.]
After that the new city of Florence had been rebuilt in the small
circuit and form, and at the time aforesaid, the captains which were
there in the name of the emperor and the commonwealth of Rome ordained
that it should be peopled; and as of old at the first building the
order went forth at Rome that of the best families of Rome, both of
the nobles and the people, some should dwell as citizens in Florence,
so was it at the second restoration; and to each one was given rich
possessions. And we find in the Chronicles of France, that after the
city of Florence was rebuilt after the manner aforesaid, the Emperor
Charles the Great, king of France, when he was departed from Rome, and
was returning North, abode at Florence, and caused great festival and
solemnity to be held on Easter Day of the Resurrection, in the year of
Christ 805, and made many knights in Florence, and founded the church
of Santo Apostolo in the Borgo, and this he richly endowed to the
honour of God and of the Holy Apostles; and on his departure from
Florence he granted privileges to the city, and declared the
commonwealth and citizens of Florence to be free and independent, and
for three miles around, without paying any tax or impost, save
twenty-six pence yearly per hearth [_i.e._ per family]. And in like
manner he enfranchised all the citizens around which desired to return
and dwell within the city, and also strangers; for which thing many
returned to dwell therein; and in a short time, by reason of the good
situation and convenient spot, by reason of the river and of the
plain, the said little Florence was well peopled and strong in walls,
and in moats full of water. And they ordained that the said city
should be ruled and governed after the manner of Rome, to wit, by two
Consuls and by a council of 100 senators, and thus it was ruled long
time, as hereafter shall be narrated. Verily, the citizens of Florence
had for a long time much trouble and war, first from the Fiesolans,
which were foes so nigh at hand, and they were ever jealous one of
another, and were continually at war together; and afterwards from the
coming of the Saracens into Italy in the time of the French emperors,
as before has been narrated, which much afflicted the country; and
last of all, from the divers disturbances which befell Rome and all
Italy alike, from the discords of the Popes and of the Italian
emperors, which were continually at war with the Church. For the which
thing, the fame of the city of Florence and its power abode by the
space of 200 years, without being able to expand or increase beyond
its narrow boundaries. But notwithstanding all the war and trouble, it
was continually multiplying in inhabitants and in forces, nor did they
much regard the war with Fiesole, or the other adversities in Tuscany;
for albeit their power and authority extended but little way beyond
the city, forasmuch as the country was all full of fortresses, and
occupied by nobles and powerful lords which were not under obedience
to the city, and some of them held with the city of Fiesole,
nevertheless, within the city the citizens were united, and it was
strong in position and in walls, and in moats full of water; and
within the little city there were in a short time more than 150 towers
pertaining to citizens, and each one 120 cubits high, without counting
those pertaining to the city; and by reason of the height of the many
towers which then were in Florence, it is said, that it showed forth
from afar as the most beautiful and proudest city of its small size
which could be found; and in this space of time it was very well
peopled, and full of palaces and of houses, and great number of
inhabitants, as times went. We will now leave for a time the doings of
Florence, and will briefly relate concerning the Italian emperors,
which were reigning in those times after the French ceased to be
emperors; for this is of necessity, seeing that by reason of their
lordship many disturbances came to pass in Italy; and afterwards we
shall return to our subject.
[Sidenote: 901 A.D.]
§ 4.--_How and why the Empire of Rome passed to the Italians._ §
5.--_How Otho I. of Saxony came into Italy at the request of the
Church, and did away with the government of the Italian emperors._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK III.
BOOK IV.
[Sidenote: 955 A.D.]
§ 1.--_How the election to the Empire of Rome fell to the Germans, and
how Otho I. of Saxony was consecrated Emperor._
§ 2.--_Of the Emperor Otho III., and the Marquis Hugh, which built the
Badia at Florence._
[Sidenote: 979 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 127-132.]
After the death of Otho II., his son, Otho III., was elected Emperor,
and crowned by Pope Gregory V., in the year of Christ 979, and this
Otho reigned twenty-four years. After that he was crowned, he went
into Apulia on pilgrimage to Mount S. Angelo, and afterwards returned
by way of France into Germany, leaving Italy in good and peaceful
estate. But when he was returned to Germany, Crescentius, the consul
and lord of Rome, drave away the said Gregory from the papacy, and set
a Greek therein, which was bishop of Piacenza, and very wise; but when
the Emperor Otho heard this he was very wrath, and with his army
returned to Italy, and besieged in Rome the said Crescentius and his
Pope in the castle of S. Angelo, for therein had they taken refuge;
and he took the said castle by siege, and caused Crescentius to be
beheaded, and Pope John XVI. to have his eyes put out, and his hands
cut off; and he restored his Pope Gregory to his chair, which was his
kinsman by race; and leaving Rome and Italy in good estate, he
returned to his country of Germany, and there died in prosperity.
With the said Otho III. there came into Italy the Marquis Hugh; I take
it this must have been the marquis of Brandenburg, forasmuch as there
is no other marquisate in Germany. His sojourn in Tuscany liked him so
well, and especially our city of Florence, that he caused his wife to
come thither, and took up his abode in Florence, as vicar of Otho, the
Emperor. It came to pass, as it pleased God, that when he was riding
to the chase in the country of Bonsollazzo, he lost sight, in the
wood, of all his followers, and came out, as he supposed, at a
workshop where iron was wont to be wrought. Here he found men, black
and deformed, who, in place of iron, seemed to be tormenting men with
fire and with hammer, and he asked what this might be: and they
answered and said that these were damned souls, and that to similar
pains was condemned the soul of the Marquis Hugh by reason of his
worldly life, unless he should repent: who, with great fear, commended
himself to the Virgin Mary, and when the vision was ended, he remained
so pricked in the spirit, that after his return to Florence, he sold
all his patrimony in Germany, and commanded that seven monasteries
should be founded: the first was the Badia of Florence, to the honour
of S. Mary; the second, that of Bonsollazzo, where he beheld the
vision; the third was founded at Arezzo; the fourth at Poggibonizzi;
the fifth at the Verruca of Pisa; the sixth at the city of Castello;
the last was the one at Settimo; and all these abbeys he richly
endowed, and lived afterwards with his wife in holy life, and had no
son, and died in the city of Florence, on S. Thomas' Day, in the year
of Christ 1006, and was buried with great honour in the Badia of
Florence. And whilst the said Hugh was living, he made in Florence
many knights of the family of the Giandonati, of the Pulci, of the
Nerli, of the counts of Gangalandi, and of the family della Bella,
which all for love of him, retained and bore his arms, barry, white
and red, with divers charges.
§ 3.--_Of the Seven Princes of Germany which have to elect the
Emperor._
§ 4.--_Of the progeny of the Kings of France, which descended from
Hugh Capet._
[Sidenote: 987 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 49-60.]
Hugh Capet, as we before made mention, the lineage of Charles the
Great having failed, was made king of France in the year of Christ
987. This Hugh was duke of Orleans (and by some it is held that his
ancestors were all dukes and of high lineage), son of Hugh the Great,
and his mother was sister to Otho I. of Germany; but by the more part
it is said that his father was a great and rich burgher of Paris, a
butcher, or trader in beasts by birth; but by reason of his great
riches and possessions, when the duchy of Orleans was vacant, and only
a daughter was left, he had her to wife, whence was born the said Hugh
Capet, which was very wise and of great possessions, and the kingdom
of France was wholly governed by him; and when the lineage of Charles
the Great failed, as was aforesaid, he was made king, and reigned
twenty years.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 1003 A.D.]
§ 5.--_How Henry I. was made Emperor._
§ 6.--_How in the time of the said Henry, the Florentines took the
city of Fiesole, and destroyed it._
[Sidenote: 1010 A.D.]
In the said times, when the Emperor Henry I. was reigning, the city
of Florence was much increased in inhabitants and in power,
considering its small circuit, especially by the aid and favour of the
Emperor Otho I., and of the second and third Otho, his son and
grandson, which always favoured the city of Florence; and as the city
of Florence increased, the city of Fiesole continually decreased, they
being always at war and enmity together; but by reason of the strong
position, and the strength in walls and in towers which the city of
Fiesole possessed, in vain did the Florentines labour to overcome it;
and albeit they had more inhabitants, and a greater number of friends
and allies, yet the Fiesolans were continually warring against them.
But when the Florentines perceived that they could not gain it by
force, they made a truce with the Fiesolans, and abandoned the war
between them; and making one truce after another, they began to grow
friendly, and the citizens of one city to sojourn in the other, and to
marry together, and to keep but little watch and guard one against the
other. The Florentines perceiving that their city of Florence had no
power to rise much, whilst they had overhead so strong a fortress as
the city of Fiesole, one night secretly and subtly set an ambush of
armed men in divers parts of Fiesole. The Fiesolans feeling secure as
to the Florentines, and not being on their guard against them, on the
morning of their chief festival of S. Romolo, when the gates were
open, and the Fiesolans unarmed, the Florentines entered into the city
under cover of coming to the festival; and when a good number were
within, the other armed Florentines which were in ambush secured the
gates of the city; and on a signal made to Florence, as had been
arranged, all the host and power of the Florentines came on horse and
on foot to the hill, and entered into the city of Fiesole, and
traversed it, slaying scarce any man, nor doing any harm, save to
those which opposed them. And when the Fiesolans saw themselves to be
suddenly and unexpectedly surprised by the Florentines, part of them
which were able fled to the fortress, which was very strong, and long
time maintained themselves there. The city at the foot of the fortress
having been taken and overrun by the Florentines, and the strongholds
and they which opposed themselves being likewise taken, the common
people surrendered themselves on condition that they should not be
slain nor robbed of their goods; the Florentines working their will to
destroy the city, and keeping possession of the bishop's palace. Then
the Florentines made a covenant, that whosoever desired to leave the
city of Fiesole, and come and dwell in Florence, might come safe and
sound with all his goods and possessions, or might go to any place
which pleased him; for the which thing they came down in great numbers
to dwell in Florence, whereof there were and are great families in
Florence. Others went to dwell in the region round about where they
had farms and possessions. And when this was done, and the city was
devoid of inhabitants and goods, the Florentines caused it to be all
pulled down and destroyed, all save the bishop's palace and certain
other churches, and the fortress, which still held out, and did not
surrender under the said conditions. And this was in the year of
Christ 1010, and the Florentines and the Fiesolans which became
citizens of Florence, took thence all the ornaments and pillars, and
all the marble carvings which were there, and the marble war chariot
which is in San Piero Scheraggio in Florence.
§ 7.--_How that many Fiesolans came to dwell in Florence, and made one
people with the Florentines._
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 46-48.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio ii. 14: 171-174.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 61-78.]
The city of Fiesole being destroyed save the fortress of the citadel,
as has been aforesaid, many Fiesolans came thence to dwell in Florence
and made one people with the Florentines, and by reason of their
coming it behoved to increase the walls and the circuit of the city of
Florence, as hereafter shall be narrated. And to the end the Fiesolans
which were come to dwell in Florence might be more faithful and loving
with the Florentines, they caused the arms of the said two
commonwealths to be borne in common, and made the arms to be
dimidiated red and white, as still to our times they are borne upon
the Carroccio and in the host of the Florentines. The red was the
ancient field which the Florentines had from the Romans, as we afore
made mention, and they were wont to bear thereupon the white lily; and
the white was the ancient field of the Fiesolans, bearing an azure
moon: but from the said common arms they took away the white lily and
the moon, and so had them dimidiated and uncharged; and they made
common laws and statutes, living under one government of two citizen
consuls, and with the council of the senate, to wit of 100 men, the
best of the city, as was the custom given by the Romans to the
Florentines. And they increased greatly the city of Florence both in
inhabitants and in power through the destruction of the city of
Fiesole, and through the Fiesolans which came to dwell in Florence.
Nevertheless, they were not a great people in comparison with what
they are in our times; forasmuch as the city of Florence was of small
extent, as has been narrated, and as may still be seen by tracing the
first circuit, and there were hardly the fourth of the inhabitants
which there are to-day. The Fiesolans were much diminished, and at the
destruction of Fiesole they were much scattered, and some went one
way, and some another; but the most part thereof came to Florence. Yet
it was a large city for those times; but, from what we find, all the
Fiesolans together were not the half which there are now in our days.
And note that the Florentines are always in schism, and in factions
and in divisions among themselves, which is not to be marvelled at.
One cause is by reason of the city being rebuilt, as was told in the
chapter concerning its rebuilding, under the lordship and influence of
the planet of Mars, which always inspires wars and divisions. The
other cause is more certain and natural, that the Florentines are
to-day descended from two peoples so diverse in manners, and who ever
of old had been enemies, as the Roman people and the people of
Fiesole; and this we can see by true experience, and by the divers
changes and parties and factions which after the said two peoples had
been united into one, came to pass in Florence from time to time, as
in this book henceforward more fully shall be narrated.
§ 8.--_How the city of Florence increased its circuit, first by moats
and palisades, and then by walls._
[Sidenote: 1078 A.D.]
After that the Fiesolans were come in great part to dwell in Florence,
as aforesaid, the city multiplied in inhabitants and population; and
as it increased in suburbs and dwellings, outside the small old city,
after a little while it behoved of necessity that the city should
increase its circuit, first with moats and palisades; and then in the
time of Henry the Emperor they made the walls, to the end the suburbs
and outgrowths, by reason of the wars which arose in Tuscany about
the matter of the said Henry, might not be taken nor destroyed, and
the city more readily besieged by its enemies. Wherefore, at that
time, in the year of Christ 1078, as hereafter, in narrating the story
of Henry III., shall be mentioned, the Florentines began the new
walls, beginning from the east side at the gate of S. Piero Maggiore,
the which was somewhat behind the church so called, enclosing the
suburb of S. Piero Maggiore and the said church within the new walls,
and afterwards, drawing them nearer in on the north side, a little
distance from the said suburb, they made an angle at a postern which
was called the Albertinelli Gate from a family which dwelt in that
place, which was so called; then they drew them on as far as the gate
of the Borgo S. Lorenzo [suburb of S. Lawrence] enclosing the said
church within the walls; and after this were two posterns, one at the
forked way of the Campo Corbolini, and the other the one afterwards
called the Porta del Baschiera. Then they ran on as far as the Porta
S. Paolo, and then continued as far as the Carraia Gate, where the
wall ended, by the Arno; and there afterwards they began and built a
bridge which is called the Carraia Bridge from the name of that gate;
and then the walls continuing, not however very high, along the bank
of the Arno, included what had been without the old walls, to wit the
suburb of San Brancazio [S. Pancras], and that of Parione, and that of
Santo Apostolo, and of the Porte Sante Marie as far as the Ponte
Vecchio; and then afterwards along the bank of Arno as far as the
fortress of Altafonte. From this point the walls withdrew somewhat
from the bank of Arno, so that there remained a road between, and two
postern gates whereby to come at the river; then they went on the
same, and took a turn where now are the supports of the Rubaconte
Bridge, and there at the turn was a gate called the Oxen Gate, because
there without was held the cattle market, and afterwards it was named
the gate of Master Ruggieri da Quona, forasmuch as the family of da
Quona, when they came to dwell in the city, established themselves
near the said gate. Then the walls went on behind S. Jacopo tra le
Fosse (so called because it stood on fosses), as far as where to-day
is the end of the piazza before the church of the Minor Friars called
Santa Croce; and there was a postern which led to the island of Arno;
then the walls went on in a straight line without any gate or postern,
returning to S. Piero Maggiore whence they began. And thus the new
city of Florence on this side the Arno had five gates for the five
sesti, one gate to each sesto, and divers posterns, as has been
mentioned. In the Oltrarno [district beyond the Arno] were three
roads, all three of which started from the Ponte Vecchio on the side
beyond Arno. One was and still is called the Borgo Pidiglioso, seeing
that it was inhabited by the baser sort. At the head of this was a
gate called the Roman Gate, where now are the houses of the Bardi near
S. Lucia de' Magnoli across the Ponte Vecchio, and this was the road
to Rome, by Fegghine and Arezzo. There were no other walls to the
suburb about the road save the backs of the houses against the hill.
The second road was that of Santa Felicita, called the Borgo di
Piazza, which had a gate where now is the piazza of San Felice, where
runs the road to Siena; and the third road was called after S. Jacopo,
and had a gate where now are the houses of the Frescobaldi, where ran
the road to Pisa. None of the three suburbs lying around these roads
of the sesto of Oltrarno had other walls save the said gates, and the
backs of the outside houses, which enclosed the suburbs with orchards
and gardens within. But after that the Emperor Henry III. marched upon
Florence, the Florentines enclosed Oltrarno within walls, beginning at
the said gate to Rome, ascending behind the Borgo alla Costa below San
Giorgio, and then coming out behind Santa Felicita, enclosing the
Borgo di Piazza and the Borgo di San Jacopo, and roughly following the
said Borghi. But afterwards the walls of Oltrarno on the hill were
made higher as they are now, in the time when the Ghibellines first
ruled the city of Florence, as we will make mention in due place and
time. We will now leave for a time the doings of Florence, and we will
treat of the emperors which were after Henry I., for it is necessary
that we should tell of them here in order to continue our history.
§ 9.--_How Conrad I. was made Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1015 A.D.]
After the death of the Emperor Henry I., Conrad I. was elected and
consecrated by Pope Benedict VIII., in the year of Christ 1015. He was
of Suabia, and reigned twenty years as emperor, and when he came into
Italy, not being able to obtain the lordship of Milan, he laid siege
to it, right in the suburbs of the city itself; but as he was assuming
the iron crown outside of Milan in a church, while Mass was being
sung, there came great thunder and lightning into the church, and some
died therefrom; and the Archbishop which was singing Mass at the
altar, rose and said to the Emperor Conrad, that he had visibly seen
S. Ambrose, which sternly menaced him except he abandoned the siege
of Milan; and he, thus admonished, withdrew his host, and made peace
with the Milanese. He was a just man, and made many laws, and kept the
Empire in peace long time. Yea, and he went into Calabria against the
Saracens which were come to lay waste the country, and fought against
them, and, with great shedding of Christian blood, he drove them away
and overcame them. This Conrad took much delight in sojourning at
Florence when he was in Tuscany, and he advanced it greatly, and many
citizens of Florence received knighthood from his hand, and were in
his service. And to the intent it may be known who were the noble and
powerful citizens in those times in the city of Florence, we will
briefly make mention thereof.
§ 10.--_Of the nobles which were in the city of Florence in the time
of the said Emperor Conrad, and first of those about the Duomo._
[Sidenote: 1015 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 25, xxv. 5.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 104.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 108.]
[Sidenote: 112-114.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 137, 138.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 100.]
As before has been narrated, the first rebuilding of the smaller
Florence was according to the division of four quarters, after the
four gates; and to the end we may the better describe the noble
families and houses which in the said times, after Fiesole had been
destroyed, were great and powerful in Florence, we will recount them
according to the quarters where they dwelt. And first, they of the
Porta del Duomo, which was the first fold and abiding place of the
rebuilt Florence, and where all the noble citizens of Florence on
Sundays gathered and held civil converse around the Duomo, and where
were celebrated all the marriages, and peacemakings, and every
festival and solemnity of the commonwealth; and next, the Porta San
Piero, and then Porta San Brancazio, and Porta Sante Marie. And the
Porta del Duomo was inhabited by the family of the Giovanni, and of
the Guineldi which were the first to rebuild the city of Florence,
whence afterwards were descended many families of nobles in Mugello,
and in Valdarno, and in many cities, which now are popolari and almost
come to an end. There were the Barucci which dwelt near Santa Maria
Maggiore, which are now extinct; the Scali and Palermini were of their
lineage. There were also in the said quarter Arrigucci, and Sizi, and
the family della Tosa: these della Tosa were of one lineage with the
Bisdomini, and were patrons and defenders of the bishopric; but one of
them departed from his kin of the Porta San Piero, and took to wife a
lady called la Tosa, which was the heiress of her family, and hence
was derived the name. Also there were the della Pressa, which abode
among the Chiavaiuoli, gentlemen.
§ 11.--_Concerning the houses of the nobles in the quarter of the
Porta San Piero._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 89.]
[Sidenote: 94-99. 65. Inf. xvi. 37. Par. xv. 112-114. Par. xvi. 101.
Purg. xii. 104, 105. Par. xvi. 105, 93, 104.]
[Sidenote: Cf. 40-42.]
[Sidenote: 121, 122.]
[Sidenote: 106, 107.]
[Sidenote: 131, 132.]
[Sidenote: 115-120.]
In the quarter of Porta San Piero were the Bisdomini, which, as
aforesaid, were the patrons of the bishopric, and the Alberighi, and
theirs was the church of Santa Maria Alberighi towards the house of
the Donati, and now, nought remains of them; the Rovignani were very
great, and dwelt on Porta San Piero (their houses afterwards belonged
to the Counts Guidi, and afterwards to the Cerchi), and from them were
born all the Counts Guidi, as has afore been told, of the daughter of
the good Messer Bellincione Berti; in our days all that family have
disappeared; the Galligari, and Chiarmontesi, and Ardinghi, which
dwelt in Orto San Michele, were very ancient; and likewise the
Giuochi, which now are popolani, which dwelt by Santa Margherita; the
Elisei, which likewise are now popolani, who dwell near the Mercato
Vecchio; and in that place dwelt the Caponsacchi, which were Fiesolan
magnates; the Donati or Calfucci, which were all one family; but the
Calfucci have come to nought; and the della Bella of San Martino have
also become popolani; and the family of the Adimari, which were
descended from the house of the Cosi, which now dwell in Porta Rossa,
and they built Santa Maria Nipotecosa; and albeit they are now the
chief family of that sesto, and of Florence, nevertheless, they were
not of the most ancient in those days.
§ 12.--_Of them of the quarter of Porta San Brancazio._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 100, 111. Inf. vi. 80, xxviii. 103-111. Par. xvi.
88.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 103. Par. xvi. 93; Inf. 121-123; Par. xv. 115,
116, xvi. 92.]
In the quarter of the Porta San Brancazio were very great and potent
the house of the Lamberti, descended from German forefathers. The Ughi
were most ancient, which built Santa Maria Ughi, and all the hill of
Montughi was theirs, but now they are extinct. The Catellini were most
ancient, and now there is no record of them. It is said that the
family Tieri were of their lineage, descended from a bastard. The
Pigli were gentlemen and magnates in those times, and the Soldanieri,
and the Vecchietti; very ancient were the dell' Arca, and now they are
extinct; and the Migliorelli, which now are nought; and the
Trinciavelli of Mosciano were very ancient.
§ 13.--_Concerning them of the great quarter of Porta Santa Maria and
of San Piero Scheraggio._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 109, 110; Convivio iv. 20; 38-41. Par. xvi. 104.
105. 89.]
[Sidenote: 89.]
[Sidenote: 89.]
[Sidenote: 124-126.]
[Sidenote: 104.]
[Sidenote: 92, 127, 93.]
[Sidenote: 123.]
[Sidenote: 133.]
[Sidenote: 136-144.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 115, xvi. 127-132, xv. 97, 98.]
In the quarter of Porta Santa Maria, which is now included in the
sesto of San Piero Scheraggio and in that of Borgo, there were many
powerful and ancient families. The chief were the Uberti, whose
ancestor was born in Germany and came thence, which dwelt where is now
the Piazza of the Priors, and the Palace of the People; the Fifanti,
called Bogolesi, dwelt at the side of Porta Santa Maria; and the
Galli, Cappiardi, Guidi; and the Filippi, which now have come to
nought, were then great and powerful, and dwelt in the Mercato Nuovo.
And likewise the Greci, whereto pertained all the Borgo dei Greci, are
now come to an end and extinct, save that there are in Bologna of
their lineage; the Ormanni which dwelt where is now the said Palace of
the People, and who are now called Foraboschi. And behind San Piero
Scheraggio where are now the houses of the family of the Petri, dwelt
they of Pera or Peruzza; and from their name the postern which was
there was called the Peruzza Gate. Some say that the Peruzzi of to-day
were descended from this lineage, but this I do not affirm. The
Sacchetti which dwell in the Garbo were very ancient; around the New
Market the Bostichi were of note, and the della Sannella, and the
Giandonati, and the Infangati. In the Borgo Santo Apostolo the
Gualterotti, and the Importuni, which are now popolani, were then
magnates. The Bondelmonti were noble and ancient citizens in the
country, and Montebuoni was their fortress, and many others in
Valdigrieve; first they settled in Oltrarno, and then they betook
themselves to the Borgo. The Pulci, and the Counts of Gangalandi,
Ciuffagni, and Nerli of Oltrarno, were at one time great and powerful,
together with the Giandonati, and the della Bella named above; and
from the Marquis Hugh which built the Badia of Florence, they took
their arms and knighthood, for they were of great account with him.
[Sidenote: 1040 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1056 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1073 A.D.]
§ 14.--_How in those times Oltrarno was but little inhabited._ §
15.--_How Henry II. called III. was made Emperor, and the events which
were in his time._ § 16.--_How Henry III. was made Emperor, and the
events which were in Italy in his time, and how the Court of Rome was
in Florence._ § 17.--_How S. John Gualberti, citizen of Florence, and
father of the order of Vallombrosa, was canonized._
§ 18.--_Narration of many things that were in those times._
[Sidenote: 1070 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 13, 14. Par. xviii. 48.]
[Sidenote: iii. 118-120.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxxiii. 119.]
In those times, the year of Christ 1070, there passed into Italy
Robert Guiscard, duke of the Normans, the which by his prowess and wit
did great things, and wrought in the service of Holy Church against
the Emperor Henry III., who was persecuting it, and against the
Emperor Alexis, and against the Venetians, as we shall make mention
hereafter: for the which thing he was made lord over Sicily and
Apulia, with the confirmation of Holy Church; and his descendants
after him, down to the time of Henry of Suabia, father of Frederick
II., were kings and lords thereof. And also in those same times was
the worthy and wise Countess Matilda, the which reigned in Tuscany and
in Lombardy, and was well-nigh sovereign lady over all, and did many
great things in her time for Holy Church, so that it seems to me
reasonable and fitting to speak of their beginning and of their state,
in this our treatise, forasmuch as they were much mixed up with the
doings of our city of Florence through the consequences which followed
their doings in Tuscany. And first we will tell of Robert Guiscard,
and then of the Countess Matilda, and their beginnings and their
doings briefly, returning afterwards to our subject and the deeds of
our city of Florence, the which by the increase and the doings of the
Florentines began to multiply and to extend the fame of Florence
throughout the whole world, more than it had been heretofore; and
therefore almost by necessity it behoves us in our treatise to narrate
more universally henceforward of the Popes and of the Emperors and of
the kings, and of many provinces of the world, the events and things
which happened in those times, forasmuch as they have much to do with
our subject, and because the aforesaid Emperor Henry III. was the
beginner of the scandal between the Church and the Empire, and
afterwards the Guelfs and Ghibellines, whence arose the parties of the
Empire and of the Church in Italy, the which so grew that all Italy
was infected thereby and almost all Europe, and many ills and perils,
and destructions and changes have followed thereupon to our city and
to the whole world, such as following on with our treatise we shall
mention in their times. And we will begin now, at the head of every
page to mark the year of our Lord, following on in order of time, to
the end that the events of past times may be the more easily looked
out in our treatise.
§ 19.--_Of Robert Guiscard and his descendants, which were kings of
Sicily and of Apulia._
[Sidenote: 880-1110 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1078 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vii. 133-136.]
[Sidenote: 1110 A.D.]
Well, then, as was afore made mention, in the time of the Emperor
Charles, which is called Charles the Fat, which reigned in the years
of our Lord 880 unto 892, the pagan Northmen being come from Norway,
passed into Germany and into France, pressing and tormenting the Gauls
and the Germans. Charles, with a powerful hand, came against the
Northmen, and peace being made and confirmed by matrimony, the king
of the Normans was baptised, and received at the sacred font by the
said Charles, and in the end, Charles not being able to drive the
Normans out of France, granted them a region on the further side of
the Seine, called Lada Serena, the which unto this day is called
Normandy, because of the said Normans, in the which land, from that
time forward, the duke has reigned as king. The first duke, then, was
Robert, to whom succeeded his son William, which begat Richard, and
Richard begat the second Richard. This Richard begat Richard and
Robert Guiscard, the which Robert Guiscard was not duke of Normandy,
but brother of Duke Richard. He, according to their usage, forasmuch
as he was a younger son, had not the lordship of the duchy, and
therefore desiring to make trial of his powers, he came, poor and
needy, into Apulia, where at that time one Robert, a native of the
country, was duke, to whom Robert Guiscard, coming, was first made his
squire and was then knighted by him. Robert Guiscard having come then
to this Duke Robert, won many victories with prowess against his
enemies, for he was at war with the prince of Salerno; and carrying
with him magnificent rewards, he returned into Normandy, bringing back
report of the delights and riches of Apulia, having adorned his horses
with golden bridles and shod them with silver, in witness of the facts
he alleged; by the which thing, having roused many knights, following
this emprise through desire of riches and of glory, returning
incontinent into Apulia, he took them with him, and gave faithful aid
to the duke of Apulia against Godfrey, duke of the Normans; and, not
long time after, Robert, duke of Apulia, being nigh unto death, by the
will of his barons made him his successor in the duchy, and as he had
promised him, he took his daughter to wife the year of Christ 1078.
And a little time after, he conquered Alexis, emperor of
Constantinople, who had taken possession of Sicily and of part of
Calabria, and he conquered the Venetians, and took all the kingdom of
Apulia and of Sicily; and albeit he did this in violation of the Roman
Church, to which the kingdom of Apulia belonged, and albeit the
Countess Matilda made war against Robert Guiscard in the service of
Holy Church; nevertheless, in the end, Robert being, of his own will,
reconciled with Holy Church, was made lord of the said kingdom; and
not long after, Gregory VII., with his cardinals, being besieged by
the Emperor Henry IV. in the castle of S. Angelo, Robert came to Rome
and drave away by force the said Henry with his Anti-pope which he had
made by force, and he freed the Pope and the cardinals from the siege,
and replaced the Pope in the Lateran Palace, having severely punished
the Romans, who had shown favour to the Emperor Henry and to the Pope
whom he had made against Pope Gregory. This Robert Guiscard, duke of
Apulia, was once on a hunting excursion, and he followed the quarry
into the depth of a wood, his companions not knowing what had become
of him, or where he was, or what he was doing; and then Robert, seeing
the night approaching, leaving the beast which he was pursuing, sought
to return home; and turning, he found in the wood a leper, who
importunately asked alms of him; and when he had said I know not what
in reply, the leper said again that the anguish he endured availed him
nought, yet him were liefer carry any weight or any burden; and when
he asked of the leper what he would have, he said, "I desire that you
will put me behind you on your horse"; lest abandoned in the wood,
peradventure the beasts might devour him. Then Robert cheerfully
received him behind him on his horse; and as they rode forward, the
leper said to Robert--great baron as he was:--"My hands are so icy
cold, that unless I may cherish them against thy flesh, I cannot keep
myself on horseback." Then Robert granted the leper to put his hands
boldly under his clothing, and comfort his flesh and his members
without any fear; and when yet a third time the leper bespoke his
pity, he put him upon his saddle, and he, sitting behind him, embraced
the leper, and led him to his own chamber and put him into his own
bed, and set him in it with right good care to the end he might
repose; no one of his household perceiving ought thereof. And when the
banquet of supper was spread, having told his wife that he had lodged
the leper in his bed, his wife incontinent went to the chamber to know
if the poor sufferer would sup. The chamber, albeit there were no
perfumes therein, she found as fragrant as if it had been full of
sweet-smelling things, such that neither Robert nor his wife had ever
known so sweet scents, and the leper, whom they had come thither to
seek, they did not find, whereat the husband and the wife marvelled
beyond measure at so great a wonder; but with reverence and with fear,
both one and the other asked God to reveal to them what this might be.
And the following day Christ appeared in a vision to Robert, saying,
that it was Himself that He had revealed to him in the form of a
leper, to make trial of his piety; and He announced to him that by his
wife he should have sons, whereof one should be emperor, the next
king, and the third duke. Encouraged by this promise Robert subdued
the rebels of Apulia and of Sicily, and acquired lordship over all;
and he had five sons: William, who took to wife the daughter of
Alexis, the emperor of the Greeks, and was lord and possessor of his
empire, but died without children (some say that this was the William
which was called Longsword, but many say that this Longsword was not
of the lineage of Robert Guiscard, but of the race of the marquises of
Montferrat); and the second son of Robert Guiscard was Boagdinos
[Boemond], who was at the first duke of Tarentum; the third was Roger,
duke of Apulia, which, after the death of his father, was crowned king
of Sicily by Pope Honorius II.; the fourth son of Robert Guiscard was
Henry, duke of the Normans; the fifth son, Richard Count Cicerat, that
is, I suppose, count of Acerra. This Robert Guiscard, after having
done many and noble things in Apulia, purposed and desired, by way of
devotion, to go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage; and it was told him in a
vision that he would die in Jerusalem. Therefore, having commended his
kingdom to Roger, his son, he embarked by sea for the voyage to
Jerusalem, and arriving in Greece, at the port which was afterwards
called after him Port Guiscard, he began to sicken of his malady; and
trusting in the revelation which had been made to him, he in no wise
feared to die. There was over against the said port an island, to the
which, that he might repose and recover his strength, he caused
himself to be carried, and after being carried there he grew no
better, but rather grievously worse. Then he asked what this island
was called, and the mariners answered that of old it was called
Jerusalem. Which thing having heard, straightway certified of his
death, devoutly he fulfilled all those things which appertain to the
salvation of the soul, and died in the grace of God the year of Christ
1110, having reigned in Apulia thirty-three years. These things
concerning Robert Guiscard may in part be read in chronicles, and in
part I heard them narrated by those who fully knew the history of the
kingdom of Apulia.
§ 20.--_Concerning the successors of Robert Guiscard which were kings
of Sicily and of Apulia._
[Sidenote: Par. iii. 109-120. Purg. iii. 112, 113. Par. xx. 62.]
[Sidenote: Par. iii. 112-120.]
[Sidenote: 1197 A.D.]
Afterwards, Roger, son of Duke Robert Guiscard, begat the second
Roger; and this Roger, after the death of his father, was made king of
Sicily, and he begat William, and Constance his sister. This William
honourably and magnificently ruled the kingdom of Sicily, and he took
to wife the daughter of the king of England, and by her he had neither
son nor daughter; and when his father Roger was dead, and the
sovereignty of the kingdom had passed to William, a prophecy was made
known, that Constance, his sister, should rule over the realm of
Sicily in destruction and ruin; wherefore King William, having called
his friends and wise men, asked counsel of them what he should do with
his sister Constance; and it was counselled him by the greater part of
them that if he desired the royal sovereignty should be secure, he
should cause her to be put to death. But among the others was one
named Tancred, duke of Tarentum, which had been nephew to Robert
Guiscard through the sister who is thought to have been wife to
Bagnamonte [Boemond], prince of Antioch; this man, opposing the
counsel of the others, appeased King William, that he should not cause
the innocent lady to be put to death; and so it came to pass that the
said Constance was preserved from death, and she, not of her own will,
but through fear of death, lived in the guise of a nun in a certain
convent of nuns. William being dead, the aforesaid Tancred succeeded
him in the kingdom, having taken it to himself against the will of the
Church of Rome to which pertained the right and property of that
kingdom. This Tancred, instructed by natural wit, was very full of
learning, and he had a wife more beautiful than the Sibyl, but as many
think without breasts, by whom he begat two sons and three daughters:
the first was called Roger, which in his father's lifetime was made
king, and he died; the second was William the younger, which in his
father's lifetime was made king, and after his father was dead he held
the kingdom for a time. During these things, Tancred being alive and
on the throne, Constance, sister to King William, already perhaps
fifty years old, was a nun in her body but not in her mind in the city
of Palermo. Discord then having arisen between King Tancred and the
archbishop of Palermo, perhaps for this cause, that Tancred was
usurping the rights of the Church, the archbishop then thought how he
might transfer the kingdom of Sicily to other lordship, and made a
secret treaty with the Pope, that Constance should be married to
Henry, duke of Suabia, son of the great Frederick; and Henry having
taken to wife her to whom the kingdom seemed to pertain by right, was
crowned emperor by Pope Celestine. This Henry, when Tancred was dead,
entered into the kingdom of Apulia, and punished many of them which
had held with Tancred, and had shown him favour, and which had done
injury to Queen Constance, and had done shame to the nobility of her
honour. This Constance was the mother--we shall not say of Frederick
II. who was long king of the Roman Empire,--but rather of Frederick
who brought the said Empire to destruction, as will appear fully in
his deeds. When Tancred was dead then, the kingdom passed to his son
William, young in years and in wisdom; but Henry having entered the
kingdom with his army the year of Christ 1197, made a false truce with
the young King William, and having taken him by fraud and secretly
into Suabia, few knowing thereof, he sent him into banishment with his
sister, and having caused his eyes to be put out, he there kept him
under ward till his death. With this William son of Tancred were taken
his three sisters, to wit, Alberia, Constance, and Ernadama. When the
Emperor Henry was dead, and the young William who had been castrated
and whose eyes had been put out was dead also, Philip, duke of Suabia,
through the prayers of his wife, which was daughter of the Emperor
Manuel of Constantinople, delivered these three daughters of King
Tancred from exile and from prison, and let them go free. And Alberia
or Aceria had three husbands: the first was Count Walter of Brienne,
brother of King John, from whom was born Walteran, count of Joppa, to
whom the king of Cyprus gave his daughter in marriage. After Count
Walter had been slain by Count Trebaldo [Diephold], the German,
Alberia was wedded to Count James of Tricarico, by whom she had Count
Simon and the Lady Adalitta; and he being dead, Pope Honorius gave
Alberia to wife to Count Tigrimo, count palatine in Tuscany; and for
dowry he gave her the region of Lizia and of Mount Scaglioso in the
kingdom of Apulia. Constance was the wife of Marchesono [Ziani], doge
of Venice. The third sister, who was named Ernadama, had no husband.
These were the fortunes of the successors of Robert Guiscard in the
kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, down to Constance, mother of the
Emperor Frederick the son of King Henry; and thus it may be seen that
Robert Guiscard and his successors ruled over the kingdom of Sicily
and of Apulia 120 years. We will now leave the kings of Sicily and of
Apulia; and we will relate concerning the wise Countess Matilda.
§ 21.--_Of the Countess Matilda._
[Sidenote: 1115 A.D.]
The mother of Countess Matilda is said to have been the daughter of
one who reigned as emperor in Constantinople, in whose court was an
Italian of distinguished manners and of great race and well nurtured,
skilled in arms, expert and endowed with every gift, such as they are
in whom noble blood is wont to declare itself illustriously. Now all
these things made him to be loved of all men and gave grace to his
ways. And he began to turn his eyes upon the emperor's daughter, and
was secretly united to her in marriage, and they took such jewels and
moneys as they might, and she fled with him into Italy. And they came
first to the bishopric of Reggio, in Lombardy. From this lady, then,
and from her husband, was born the doughty Countess Matilda. But the
father of the lady aforesaid, that is to say the emperor of
Constantinople, who had no other daughter, caused great searching to
be made, if by any means he might find her; and found she was, by them
that were seeking, in the said place; and when they begged of her that
she would return to her father, who would marry her again to any
prince she might choose, she gave answer that she had chosen to have
him she now had above all other, and it were a thing impossible to
abandon him and ever be united to another man. And when all this was
told again to the emperor, straightway he sent letters and confirmed
the marriage, and money without end, with orders to buy fortresses and
villages at any price and erect new castles. And they bought in the
said place three fortresses, very nigh together, and because of this
close neighbourhood, they are commonly called the Tre Castella at
Reggio. And not far from the said three fortresses the lady had such a
castle built upon a mountain as might never be taken, the which castle
was called Canossa, and there the countess afterward founded and
endowed a noble convent of nuns. This was in the mountains; but on the
plain she built Guastalla and Sulzariani, and she bought land along
the Po and built divers monasteries, and divers noble bridges did she
make across the rivers of Lombardy. And moreover Garfagnana and the
greater part of the Erignano, and parts of the see of Modena, are said
to have been her possessions, and in the Bolognese district the great
and spacious towns of Arzellata and Medicina were of her patrimony;
and she had many others in Lombardy. And in Tuscany she established
fortresses and the turret at Polugiana, within her jurisdiction, and
she liberally endowed many noblemen, under fee, and made them her
vassals. In divers places she built many monasteries, and endowed many
cathedral churches and others. And in the end, when the Countess
Matilda's father and mother were dead, and she was their heir, she
thought to marry, and having heard of the fame and the person and the
other qualities of a native of Suabia, whose name was Guelf, she sent
formal messages to him and authorised agents who should establish a
contract of marriage between him and her, albeit they were not present
in person together, and who should arrange the place where the
wedding should take place. The ring was given at the noble castle of
the Conti Ginensi, which is now, however, destroyed. And as Guelf
approached the said castle, the Countess Matilda went to meet him with
a great cavalcade, and there was held the festival of the wedding
right joyously. But soon did sadness follow gladness in that the
marriage bond was not consummated, by failure of conception, which is
expressly declared to be the purpose of marriage.
* * * * *
The countess then, in silence, fearing deception and being averse to
the other burdens of matrimony, passed her life in chastity even to
her death, and giving herself to works of piety she built and endowed
many churches and monasteries and hospitals. And once and again she
came with a great army and mightily interposed in service of Holy
Church and succoured her. Once was against the Normans, who had taken
away the duchy of Apulia from the Church by violence, and were laying
waste the confines of Campagna. Them did the Countess Matilda, devout
daughter of S. Peter that she was, together with Godfrey, duke of
Spoleto, drive off as far as to Aquino in the time of Alexander II.,
Pope of Rome. The second time she fought against the Emperor Henry
III. of Bavaria, and overcame him. And yet once again she fought for
the Church in Lombardy against Henry IV., his son, and overcame him,
in the time of Pope Calixtus II. And she made a will and offered up
all her patrimony on the altar of S. Peter, and made the Church of
Rome heir of it all. And not long after she died in God, and she is
buried in the church of Pisa, which she had largely endowed. It was in
the 1115th year of the Nativity that the countess died. We will leave
to speak of the Countess Matilda, and will turn back to follow the
history of the Emperor Henry III. of Bavaria.
[Sidenote: 1080 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1089 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1107 A.D.]
§ 22.--_Again how Henry III. of Bavaria renewed war against the
Church._ § 23.--_How the said Emperor Henry besieged the city of
Florence._ § 24.--_How in these times was the great crusade over
seas._ § 25.--_How the Florentines began to increase their territory._
§ 26.--_How the Florentines conquered and destroyed the fortress of
Prato._ § 27.--_How Henry IV. of Bavaria was elected Emperor, and how
he persecuted the Church._ § 28.--_How at last the said Emperor Henry
IV. returned to obedience to Holy Church._
§ 29.--_How the Florentines defeated the Vicar of the Emperor Henry
IV._
[Sidenote: 1113 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1113 the Florentines marched against
Montecasciolo, which was making war upon the city, having been stirred
to rebellion by M. Ruberto Tedesco, vicar of the Emperor Henry in
Tuscany, who was stationed with his troops in Samminiato del Tedesco,
so called because the vicars of the Emperors with their troops of
Tedeschi [Germans] were stationed in the said fortress to harry the
cities and castles of Tuscany that would not obey the Emperors. And
this M. Ruberto was routed and slain by the Florentines, and the
fortress taken and destroyed.
§ 30.--_How the city of Florence took fire twice, whence a great part
of the city was burnt._
[Sidenote: 1115 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 13-15.]
[Sidenote: Par. xi. 35-123. Par. xii. 31-111.]
In the year of Christ 1115, in the month of May, fire broke out in the
Borgo Santo Apostolo, and was so great and impetuous that a good part
of the city was burnt, to the great hurt of the Florentines. And in
that selfsame year died the good Countess Matilda. And after, in the
year 1117, fire again broke out in Florence, and of a truth that which
was not burnt in the first fire was burnt in the second, whence great
hurt befell the Florentines, and not without cause and judgment of
God, forasmuch as the city was evilly corrupted by heresy, among
others by the sect of the epicureans, through the vice of
licentiousness and gluttony, and this over so large a part, that the
citizens were fighting among themselves for the faith with arms in
their hands in many parts of Florence, and this plague endured long
time in Florence till the coming of the holy Religions of St. Francis
and of St. Dominic, the which Religions through their holy brothers,
the charge of this sin of heresy having been committed to them by the
Pope, greatly exterminated it in Florence, and in Milan, and in many
other cities of Tuscany and of Lombardy in the time of the blessed
Peter Martyr, who was martyred by the Paterines in Milan; and
afterwards the other inquisitors wrought the like. And in the flames
of the said fires in Florence were burnt many books and chronicles
which would more fully have preserved the record of past things in our
city of Florence, wherefore few are left remaining; for the which
thing it has behoved us to collect from other veracious chronicles of
divers cities and countries, great part of those things whereof
mention has been made in this treatise.
§ 31.--_How the Pisans took Majorca, and the Florentines protected the
city of Pisa._
[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1117 the Pisans made a great expedition of
galleys and ships against the island of Majorca, which the Saracens
held, and when the said armada had departed from Pisa and was already
assembled at Vada for the voyage, the commonwealth of Lucca marched
upon Pisa to seize the city. Hearing this, the Pisans dared not go
forward with their expedition for fear that the Lucchese should take
possession of their city; and to draw back from their emprise did not
seem for their honour in view of the great outlay and preparation
which they had made. Wherefore they took counsel to send their
ambassadors to the Florentines, for the two commonwealths in those
times were close friends. And they begged them that they would be
pleased to protect the city, trusting them as their inmost friends and
dear brothers. And on this the Florentines undertook to serve them and
to protect their city against the Lucchese and all other. Wherefore
the commonwealth of Florence sent thither armed folk in abundance,
horse and foot, and encamped two miles outside the city, and in
respect for their women they would not enter Pisa, and made a
proclamation that whosoever should enter the city should answer for it
with his person; and one who did enter was accordingly condemned to be
hung. And when the old men who had been left in Pisa prayed the
Florentines for love of them to pardon him, they would not. But the
Pisans still opposed, and begged that at least they would not put him
to death in their territory; whereupon the Florentine army secretly
purchased a field from a peasant in the name of the commonwealth of
Florence, and thereon they raised the gallows and did the execution to
maintain their decree. And when the host of the Pisans returned from
the conquest of Majorca they gave great thanks to the Florentines,
and asked them what memorial they would have of the conquest--the
metal gates, or two columns of porphyry which they had taken and
brought from Majorca. The Florentines chose the columns, and the
Pisans sent them to Florence covered with scarlet cloth, and some said
that before they sent them they put them in the fire for envy. And the
said columns are those which stand in front of San Giovanni.
§ 32.--_How the Florentines took and destroyed the fortress of
Fiesole._
[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1125, the Florentines came with an army to the
fortress of Fiesole, which was still standing and very strong, and it
was held by certain gentlemen Cattani, which had been of the city of
Fiesole, and thither resorted highwaymen and refugees and evil men,
which sometimes infested the roads and country of Florence; and the
Florentines carried on the siege so long that for lack of victuals the
fortress surrendered, albeit they would never have taken it by storm,
and they caused it to be all cast down and destroyed to the
foundations, and they made a decree that none should ever dare to
build a fortress again at Fiesole.
[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]
§ 33.--_From where the miles are measured in the territory of
Florence._ § 34.--_How Roger, duke of Apulia, was at war with the
Church, and afterwards was reconciled with the Pope, and how after
that there were two Popes in Rome at one time._ § 35.--_Tells of the
second crusade over seas._
§ 36.--_How the Florentines destroyed the fortress of Montebuono._
[Sidenote: 1135 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 66.]
In the year of Christ 1135 the fortress of Montebuono was standing,
which was very strong and pertained to the house of the Bondelmonti,
which were Cattani and ancient gentlemen of the country, and from the
name of this their castle the house of Bondelmonti took their name;
and by reason of its strength, and because the road ran at the foot
thereof, therefore they took toll, for the which thing the Florentines
did not desire, nor would they have, such a fortress hard by the city;
and they went thither with an army in the month of June and took it,
on condition that the fortress should be destroyed, and the rest of
the possessions should still pertain to the said Cattani, and that
they should come and dwell in Florence. And thus the commonwealth of
Florence began to grow, and by force, rather than by right, their
territory increased, and they subdued to their jurisdiction every
noble of the district, and destroyed the fortresses.
[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]
§ 37.--_How the Florentines were discomfited at Montedicroce by the
Counts Guidi._ § 38.--_How they of Prato were discomfited by the
Pistoians at Carmignano._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK IV.
BOOK V.
[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]
_Here begins the Fifth Book: How Frederick I. of Staufen of
Suabia was Emperor of Rome, and of his descendants, and
concerning the doings of Florence which were in their times,
and of all Italy._
[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136. Purg. xviii. 119, 120. Cf. Par.
iii. 119.]
[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 137.]
[Sidenote: 1159 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 136.]
[Sidenote: 1157 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xviii. 119-120. Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136.]
[Sidenote: 1167 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xix. 70.]
§ 1.--After the death of Conrad of Saxony, king of the Romans,
Frederick Barbarossa was elected Emperor, called Frederick the Great,
or the First, of the house of Suabia, and surnamed of Staufen. This
Frederick, when he had received the votes of the electors, proclaimed
himself, and then came into Italy, and was crowned at Rome by Pope
Adrian IV., in the year of Christ 1154, and reigned 37 years between
king of the Romans and Emperor. He was liberal and a man of worth,
eloquent and noble, and glorious in all his deeds. At the first he was
friendly to Holy Church in the time of the said Pope Adrian, and
rebuilt Tivoli, which had been destroyed; but the same day that he was
crowned there was a great scuffle and fight between the Romans and his
followers in Nero's meadow, where they were waiting for the said
Emperor, to the great loss of the Romans; and again within the portico
of St. Peter's; and it was all burnt and destroyed, to wit, the part
of Rome which is around St. Peter's. And when he returned to Lombardy
in the first year of his reign, because the city of Spoleto would not
obey him, forasmuch as it pertained to the Church, he brought an army
against it, and overcame it, and destroyed it utterly; and through his
desire to usurp the rights of the Church, he soon became her enemy:
for after the death of Pope Adrian, in the year of Christ 1159,
Alexander III., of Siena, was made Pope, who reigned 22 years; and he,
to maintain the rights of Holy Church, had great war with the said
Emperor Frederick for long time; which Emperor raised up against him
four schismatical anti-popes at divers times, one after the other, and
three thereof were cardinals. The first was Octavianus, which took the
name of Victor; the second, Guy of Cremona, which took the name of
Pascal; the third was John of Struma, which took the name of Calixtus;
the fourth was called Landone, which took the name of Innocent; whence
came great schism and affliction to the Church of God, forasmuch as
these Popes by the power of the Emperor Frederick held all the
patrimony of St. Peter and the Duchy, so that the said Pope Alexander
had no authority. But the said Pope Alexander fought valiantly against
them all, and excommunicated them: the which all, one after the other,
during his reign, died an evil death. But whilst they were reigning by
the power of Frederick, the said true Pope, Alexander, not being able
to abide in Rome, went to the French court to King Louis the Pious,
which received him graciously. And it is said in France that when the
said Pope was coming to Paris secretly with a small company in the
guise of a lesser prelate, immediately that he came to St. Maure, near
to Paris, albeit they had not had news of the Pope, yet by Divine
miracle there rose a voice: "Behold the Pope! behold the Pope!" and
the bells began to ring, and the king, with the clergy and the people
of Paris, went out to meet him, whence the Pope marvelled greatly,
forasmuch as none knew of his coming; and he thanked God, and made
himself known to the king and to the people, and began to give the
benediction. And afterwards in France the said Pope called a general
council in the city of Tours in Touraine, in the which he
excommunicated the said Frederick, and deposed him from the Empire,
and absolved all his barons from their oaths, and deposed them of the
house of Colonna in Rome, that neither they nor their successors
should ever be allowed to hold any office in Holy Church, seeing that
they all held to the aid and favour of the said Frederick against the
Church. And in that council all the kings and lords of the West
promised and leagued themselves with Louis, king of France, in aid of
the said Pope Alexander and of Holy Church, against the said
Frederick, and likewise many cities of Lombardy rebelled against the
said Frederick, to wit, Milan, and Cremona, and Piacenza, and held
with the Pope and with the Church; for the which thing, when the said
Frederick was passing through Lombardy to go into France against King
Louis, who was supporting Pope Alexander, and found that the city of
Milan had rebelled against him, he laid siege thereto, and, after long
siege, he took it, in the year of Christ 1157, in the month of March,
and destroyed the walls thereof and burnt all the city, and caused the
ground to be ploughed and sown with salt; and the bodies of the Three
Kings or Magi which came to adore Christ by the guiding of the star,
which were in the city of Milan, in three tombs hewn out of porphyry,
he caused to be taken from Milan and sent to Cologne, whence all the
Lombards were very wrathful. And afterwards, crossing the mountains
to destroy the realm of France, with the aid of the king of Bohemia
and the king of Dacia--that is, Denmark--he entered into Burgundy; but
King Louis of France, with the aid of Henry, king of England, his
son-in-law, and with many lords and barons, was ready to oppose him,
so that by the grace of God he had no power, nor gained any land
there, but through lack of victuals those kings returned to their own
countries and Frederick to Italy. And he made war against the Romans,
forasmuch as they had come over to the side of the Church and of Pope
Alexander; and when the said Romans with their host were in the region
of Tusculum, they were defeated by the chancellor of the said
Frederick and his German troops in the place called Monte del Porco,
and many Romans were taken and slain in such great numbers that
cartloads of dead bodies were taken to Rome to be buried, and this
defeat is said to have been by reason of the treachery of the
Colonnas, which were always with the Emperor and against the Church;
wherefore they were by the Pope deprived of all temporal and spiritual
benefit; and because of the said defeat the Romans drove the Colonnas
away from Rome, and destroyed an ancient and very beautiful fortress
pertaining to them, which was called La Gosta, which is said to have
been built by Cæsar Augustus, and this was in the year of Christ 1167.
And after this the Emperor came to Rome to besiege it and to destroy
it, and brought it into great straits. The Romans caused the clergy of
Rome to take the heads of St. Peter and of St. Paul and to carry them
in procession all through Rome, for the which thing the Romans all
took the cross against the Emperor, and the first which took it was M.
Matteo Rosso the Elder, of the Orsini family, grandfather to Pope
Nicholas III., and by reason of old age he had abandoned arms, and
taken the habit of a penitent; and for this cause he put off the said
habit and took his arms again, for which he was much commended, and by
reason of this he and his came into favour with the Church, and
increased greatly. After the said M. Matteo, Gianni Buovo, a great
citizen of Rome, took the cross, and afterwards all the others with
great zeal and desire; for the which thing, when the Emperor heard
thereof, either through fear, or rather through a miracle of the
blessed Apostles, straightway he departed from the siege of Rome with
his followers, and returned to Viterbo, and the city of Rome was set
free.
§ 2.--_How Pope Alexander returned from France to Venice, and the
Emperor returned to obedience._
[Sidenote: 1168 A.D.]
Then, after the said Pope Alexander had been long time in France, by
the aid of the kings of France and of England he returned with his
court into Italy by sea, and, landing in Sicily, he was devoutly
received and favoured by King William, which then was king thereof,
and which declared himself faithful to Holy Church, and that he held
the island from him; for the which thing the said Pope confirmed him
king of Sicily, and gave him Apulia, wherefore the said King William
with his fleet bore him company by sea as far as the city of Venice,
whither the Pope desired to go for more security, that the Emperor
Frederick might not hurt him; and to show favour to the faithful
believers in Holy Church in Lombardy, he sojourned in the said city of
Venice, and by the Venetians was reverently received and honoured; and
by his favour the Milanese rebuilt the city of Milan in the year of
Christ 1168. Then, a little while after, the Milanese, with the aid
of Piacenza and Cremona, and of the other cities of Lombardy which
obeyed Holy Church, built a city in Lombardy, to be a rampart and
defence against the city of Pavia, which always was against Milan, and
held with the Empire; and since this city was built, to the honour of
the said Pope Alexander, and to the end it might be more famous, they
called it Alessandria; and afterwards it was surnamed City della
Paglia [of Straw], in contempt, by the Pavians; and at the prayer of
the Lombards the Pope gave it a bishop, and deposed the bishop of
Pavia, and took away from him the dignity of the Pallium and of the
Cross, forasmuch as he had always held with the Emperor Frederick
against the Church.
§ 3.--_How the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was reconciled with the
Church, and went over seas, and there died._
[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 129.]
[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]
The Emperor Frederick, seeing himself much cast down from his state
and sovereignty, and that many cities of Lombardy and of Tuscany were
rebelling against him and holding with the Church and with Pope
Alexander, which had greatly increased in estate by the favour of the
kings of France and of England, and of William, king of Sicily, sought
to reconcile himself with the Church and with the Pope, to the end he
might not wholly lose the honour of the Empire, and he sent a solemn
embassy to Venice to Pope Alexander to ask for peace, promising to
make all amends to Holy Church, and the Pope graciously hearkened to
him, wherefore the said Frederick went to Venice and threw himself at
the feet of the said Pope, and asked for mercy. Then the said Pope set
his foot upon his neck, and said the verse of the psalter: "_Super
aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et draconem_"
[Ps. xci. 13]; and the Emperor answered, "_Non tibi sed Petro_" [Not
to you, but to Peter, was it said], and the Pope answered, "_Ego sum
vicarius Petri_" [I am in the place of Peter]; and then he forgave him
every offence which he had committed against Holy Church, causing him
to restore that which he held from Holy Church; and this he promised
and did, under compact that whatsoever should be found held in
possession by the Church on that day throughout the Kingdom, should
pertain for ever to Holy Church; and it was found that Benivento was
so held; and this was the cause why the Church holds as hers the city
of Benivento. And this done, he reconciled him with the Romans, and
with Manuel, emperor of Constantinople, and with William, king of
Sicily, and with the Lombards; and as amends and penance he imposed
upon him, and he promised, to go over seas to the succour of the Holy
Land, forasmuch as Saladin, the soldan of Babylon, had retaken
Jerusalem and many other fortresses held by the Christians; and this
he did. Then the said Frederick, having taken the cross in the year of
Christ 1188, departed from Germany with an immense host, and went by
land through Hungary to Constantinople as far as Armenia [Pisidia];
but when the said Frederick was come into Armenia, it being summer and
very hot, as he was bathing for his solace in a little river called
the river of Ferro [Iron], he was miserably drowned. And this, it is
believed, was the judgment of God by reason of the many persecutions
which he had brought upon Holy Church: and he left a son, which was
named Henry, whom he had caused to be elected king of the Romans
before he passed over seas in the year of Christ 1186; and when the
said Frederick was dead, his wife, with her son and with their
followers, albeit many of them died on this voyage, returned from
Syria to the West without having gained anything. We will now return
to our subject of the doings of Florence and of other things which
were in the time when the said Frederick was reigning; but first we
will tell of King Philip of France and of King Richard of England,
which went over seas to the succour of the Holy Land in this same
time.
[Sidenote: 1170 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1174 A.D.]
§ 4.--_How the king of France and the king of England went over seas._
§ 5.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines._ § 6.--_How the
first war of the Florentines against the Sienese began._ § 7.--_How
the noble and strong castle of Poggibonizzi was first built, and that
of Colle of Valdelsa._
§ 8.--_Of the great fires which were in the city of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1177 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1177, fire broke out in the city of Florence on
the 5th day of August, and spread from the foot of the Ponte Vecchio
as far as the Mercato Vecchio. And afterwards, in the same year, fire
broke out at San Martino del Vescovo, and spread as far as Santa Maria
Ughi and to the Duomo of S. Giovanni, with great hurt to the city, and
not without the judgment of God, forasmuch as the Florentines had
become very proud by reason of the victories they had gotten over
their neighbours; and some among them were very ungrateful towards
God, and full of other wicked sins. And in this year, because of a
great flood of the river Arno, the Ponte Vecchio fell, which also was
a sign of future adversities to our city.
§ 9.--_How civil war began in Florence between the Uberti and the
government of the Consuls._
[Sidenote: 1177 A.D.]
Wherefore in the selfsame year there began in Florence dissension and
great war among the citizens, the worst that had ever been in
Florence; and this was by reason of too great prosperity and repose,
together with pride and ingratitude; forasmuch as the house of the
Uberti, which were the most powerful and the greatest citizens of
Florence, with their allies, both magnates and popolari, began war
against the Consuls (which were the lords and rulers of the
commonwealth for a certain time and under certain ordinances), from
envy of the Government, which was not to their mind; and the war was
so fierce and unnatural that well-nigh every day, or every other day,
the citizens fought against one another in divers parts of the city,
from district to district, according as the factions were, and as they
had fortified their towers, whereof there was great number in the
city, in height 100 or 120 cubits. And in those times, by reason of
the said war, many towers were newly fortified by the communities of
the districts, from the common funds of the neighbourhood, which were
called Towers of the Fellowships, and upon them were set engines to
shoot forth one at another, and the city was barricaded in many
places; and this plague endured more than two years, and many died by
reason thereof, and much peril and hurt was brought upon the city; but
this war among the citizens became so much of use and wont that one
day they would be fighting, and the next day they would be eating and
drinking together, and telling tales of one another's valour and
prowess in these battles; and at last they ceased fighting, in that it
irked them for very weariness, and they made peace, and the Consuls
remained in their government; albeit, in the end they begot and then
brought forth the accursed factions, which were afterwards in
Florence, as hereafter in due time we will make mention.
[Sidenote: 1182 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1184 A.D.]
§ 10.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Montegrossoli._ §
11.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Pogna._
§ 12.--_How the Emperor Frederick I. took their territory from the
city of Florence, and many other cities of Tuscany._
[Sidenote: 1184 A.D.]
In the said year of Christ 1184, the Emperor Frederick I., as he went
from Lombardy into Apulia, passed through our city of Florence on the
31st day of July in the said year, and abode there some days; and
receiving a complaint from the nobles of the country that the
commonwealth of Florence had taken by force and occupied many of their
castles and strongholds against the honour of the Empire, he took from
the commonwealth of Florence all the whole territory and the lordship
thereof up to the walls, and in the territory he set vicars of his own
throughout the villages to administer the law and execute justice; and
he did the like to all the other cities of Tuscany which had held with
the Church when he was at war with Pope Alexander, save that he did
not take the territory from the cities of Pisa and of Pistoia, which
held with him. And in this year the said Frederick besieged the city
of Siena, but did not take it. And these things he did to the said
cities of Tuscany, forasmuch as they had not been on his side; so
that, albeit he was at peace with the Church and had cried the said
Pope mercy, as afore has been narrated, nevertheless, he did not cease
from manifesting ill-will against the cities which had obeyed the
Church; and thus the city of Florence was left without any territory
for four years, until the said Frederick set forth on his voyage over
seas, when he was drowned, as afore we have narrated.
§ 13.--_How the Florentines took the cross, and went over seas to
conquer Damietta, and therefore recovered their territory._
[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1188, all Christendom being moved to go to the
succour of the Holy Land, there came to Florence the archbishop of
Ravenna, the Pope's Legate, to preach the cross for the said
expedition; and many good people of Florence took the cross from the
said archbishop at S. Donato tra le Torri, or at S. Donato a Torri,
beyond Rifredi, or the Monastery delle Donne, forasmuch as the said
archbishop was of the Order of Citeaux [the Cistercian Order]; and
this was on the 2nd day of the month of February in the said year, and
the Florentines were in such great numbers that they made up an army
in themselves over seas, and they were at the conquest of the city of
Damietta, and among the first which took the city, and for an ensign
they brought back thence a crimson standard which is still in the
church of S. Giovanni; and because of the said devotion and aid given
by the Florentines to Holy Church and to Christendom, the jurisdiction
over the territory around was restored to the city of Florence by Pope
Gregory and by the said Emperor Frederick, to the distance of ten
miles around the city of Florence.
[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]
§ 14.--_How the Florentines got the arm of the blessed apostle S.
Philip._ § 15.--_How the Pope brought the Pisans and the Genoese to
peace, thereby to strengthen the expedition over seas._
§ 16.--_How Henry of Suabia was made Emperor by the Church, and how
Constance, queen of Sicily, was given him to wife._
[Sidenote: 1192 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. iii. 109-120.]
Henry of Suabia, son of the great Frederick, as we said before, whilst
his father was alive, had been elected king of the Romans; and when he
returned from over seas, and had ordered his government in Germany, he
passed into Italy and came to Rome at the request of Pope Clement, and
was received with honour by the Romans, forasmuch as he restored to
them the city of Tusculum and its territory, which had rebelled
against the Romans; which city was all destroyed and laid waste by the
Romans, and was never afterwards rebuilt. And when the said Henry was
come to Rome he found that the said Pope Clement was dead, which had
sent for him; and Pope Celestine, a native of Rome, had been elected
by the cardinals, so that the said Henry was present at his
consecration, which took place on Easter Day of the Resurrection, in
April, in the year of Christ 1192; and he lived as Pope six years and
eight months and eleven days. And when Celestine had become Pope, on
the second day after his consecration, he crowned the said Henry
emperor. And before the said Henry departed from Germany, the Church
was at variance with Tancred, king of Sicily and of Apulia (son to the
other Tancred, which was sister's son to Robert Guiscard, as we made
mention in the chapter wherein we treated of the said Robert), by
reason that he did not, as he should, faithfully pay tribute to the
Church, and that he presented bishops and archbishops to benefices at
his pleasure to the shame of the Pope and of the Church; wherefore the
said Pope Clement treated with the archbishop of Palermo to take away
the kingdom of Sicily and Apulia from the said Tancred, and gave order
to the said archbishop that Constance, sister of King William and
rightful heiress of the realm of Sicily, which was a nun in Palermo,
as we afore made mention, and was already more than fifty years old,
should leave the convent, and he gave her dispensation that she might
return to the world and enter into matrimony; and the said archbishop
caused her secretly to depart from Sicily and come to Rome, and the
Church gave her to wife to the said Emperor Henry, whence a little
while after was born the Emperor Frederick II., which brought such
persecutions upon the Church, as we will tell hereafter in treating of
him. And it was not without Divine occasioning and judgment that such
a baneful heir must needs be the issue, being born of a holy nun, and
she more than fifty-two years old, when it is almost impossible for a
woman to bear a child; so that he was born of two contradictions--against
spiritual laws, and, in a sense, against natural laws. And we find,
when the Empress Constance was pregnant with Frederick, there was
doubt in Sicily and throughout all the realm of Apulia whether, by
reason of her advanced age, she could be pregnant; for the which
thing, when the time came for her to be delivered, a pavilion was
erected on the piazza at Palermo, and a proclamation was put forth
that any lady who desired might go and see her, and many went thither
and saw her, and therefore the doubt came to an end.
[Sidenote: 1196 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1200 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1203 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1192 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1197 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1198 A.D.]
§ 17.--_How the Emperor Henry conquered the kingdom of Apulia._ §
18.--_How the Emperor Henry rebelled against the Church, and
persecuted it, and how he died._ § 19.--_How Otho IV. of Saxony was
elected Emperor._ § 20.--_How the whole orb of the sun was eclipsed._
§ 21.--_How they of Samminiato destroyed their whole city by their
discords._ § 22.--_How the Florentines bought Montegrossoli._ §
23.--_How Innocent III. was made Pope._
§ 24.--_How the Order of the Minor Friars began._
[Sidenote: Par. xi. 43-117.]
In the time of the said Pope Innocent began the holy Order of the
Minor Friars, the founder whereof was the blessed Francis, born in the
city of Assisi in the Duchy, and by this Pope the said Order was
accepted and approved with privilege, forasmuch as it was altogether
founded on humility, and love, and poverty, following in all things
the holy gospel of Christ, and shunning all human delights. And the
said Pope saw in a vision S. Francis supporting the Church of the
Lateran upon his shoulders, as he afterwards, after the same manner,
beheld S. Dominic, the which vision was a figure and prophecy how by
them should be supported Holy Church and the faith of Christ.
§ 25.--_How the Order of the Preaching Friars began._
[Sidenote: Par. xi. 118-123; xii. 46-105.]
[Sidenote: 1216 A.D.]
And still in the time of the said Pope, after the same manner began
the Order of the Preaching Friars, the founder whereof was the blessed
Dominic, born in Spain. But in this Pope's time it was not confirmed,
albeit in a vision it seemed to the said Pope that the Church of the
Lateran was falling upon him, and the blessed Dominic sustained it on
his shoulders. And by reason of this vision he purposed to confirm it,
but death overtook him, and his successor, Pope Honorius, afterwards
confirmed it the year of Christ 1216. The visions of the aforesaid
Innocent, concerning S. Francis and S. Dominic, were true, for the
Church of God was falling through many errors and many licentious
sins, not fearing God; and the said blessed Dominic, through his holy
learning and preaching, corrected it, and was the first exterminator
of heretics therefrom; and the blessed Francis, through his humility
and apostolic life and penitence, corrected the wanton life, and
brought back Christians to penitence and to the life of salvation. And
truly the Erythræan Sibyl, tracing out these times, prophesied of
these two holy Orders, saying that two stars would arise to illuminate
the world.
§ 26.--_How the Florentines destroyed the castle of Frondigliano._
[Sidenote: 1199 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 62, 63.]
In the year of Christ 1199, Count Henry della Tosa and his colleagues,
being consuls of the city of Florence, the Florentines laid siege to
the fortress of Frondigliano, which had rebelled and was making war
upon the commonwealth of Florence, and they took it and destroyed it
to the very foundations, and it was never built again. And in the same
year the Florentines marched against Simifonte, which was a very
strong place and did not obey the city.
§ 27.--_How they of Samminiato destroyed Sanginiegio, and went back to
live on the hill._ § 28.--_How the French and Venetians took
Constantinople._ § 29.--_How the Tartars descended from the mountains
of Gog and Magog._
§ 30.--_How the Florentines destroyed the strongholds of Simifonti and
of Combiata._
[Sidenote: 1202 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 62, 63.]
In the year of Christ 1202, when Aldobrandino, of the Barucci of Santa
Maria Maggiore (a very ancient family), and his colleagues were
consuls in Florence, the Florentines took the stronghold of Simifonti,
and destroyed it, and took the hill into possession of the
commonwealth, forasmuch as it had been long time at war with the
Florentines. And the Florentines gained it by the treachery of a
certain man of Sandonato in Poci, which surrendered a tower, and
claimed for this cause that he and his descendants should be free in
Florence from all taxes; and this was granted, albeit the said traitor
was first slain, in the said tower, by the inhabitants, as it was
being attacked. And in the said year the Florentines went with their
army against the fortress of Combiata, which was very strong, at the
head of the river Marina, towards Mugello, which pertained to Cattani
of the country which would not obey the commonwealth and made war
against it. And when the said strongholds were destroyed, they made a
decree that they should never be rebuilt.
§ 31.--_Destruction of Montelupo, and how the Florentines gained
Montemurlo._
[Sidenote: 1203 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1207 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 64.]
[Sidenote: 1209 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1203, when Brunellino Brunelli de' Razzanti was
consul in Florence with his colleagues, the Florentines destroyed the
fortress of Montelupo because it would not obey the commonwealth. And
in this same year the Pistoians took the castle of Montemurlo from the
Counts Guidi; but a little while after, in September, the Florentines
went thither with an army on behalf of the Counts Guidi, and retook
it, and gave it back to the Counts Guidi. And afterwards, in 1207,
the Florentines made peace between the Pistoians and the Counts Guidi,
but afterwards the counts not being well able to defend Montemurlo
from the Pistoians, forasmuch as it was too near to them, and they had
built over against it the fortress of Montale, the Counts Guidi sold
it to the commonwealth of Florence for 5,000 lbs. of small florins,
which would now be worth 5,000 golden florins; and this was in the
year of Christ 1209, but the Counts of Porciano never would give their
word for their share in the sale.
§ 32.--_How the Florentines elected their first Podestà._
[Sidenote: 1207 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 105-107.]
In the year of Christ 1207, the Florentines chose for the first time a
foreign magistrate, for until that time the city had been ruled by the
government of citizen consuls, of the greatest and best of the city,
with the council of the senate, to wit, of 100 good men; and these
consuls, after the manner of Rome, entirely guided and governed the
city, and administered law and executed justice; and they remained in
office for one year. And there were four consuls so long as the city
was divided into quarters, one to each gate; and afterwards there were
six, when the city was divided into sesti. But our forefathers did not
make mention of the names of all, but of one of them of greatest
estate and fame, saying: 'In the time of such a consul and of his
colleagues'; but afterwards when the city was increased in inhabitants
and in vices, and there came to be more ill-deeds, it was agreed for
the good of the commonwealth, to the end the citizens might not have
so great a burden of government, and that justice might not miscarry
by reason of prayers, or fear, or private malice, or any other cause,
that they should invite a gentleman from some other city, who might be
their Podestà for a year, and administer civil justice with his
assessors and judges, and carry into execution sentences and penalties
on the person. And the first Podestà in Florence was Gualfredotto of
Milan, in the said year; and he dwelt in the Bishop's Palace,
forasmuch as there was as yet no palace of the commonwealth in
Florence. Yet the government of the consuls did not therefore cease,
but they reserved to themselves the administration of all other things
in the commonwealth. And by the said government the city was ruled
until the time of the Primo Popolo in Florence, as hereafter we shall
make mention, and then was created the office of the Ancients.
[Sidenote: 1208 A.D.]
§ 33.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at Montalto._ §
34.--_How the Sienese sued for peace to the Florentines and obtained
it._ § 35.--_How Otho IV. was crowned Emperor; and how he became the
enemy and persecutor of Holy Church._
§ 36.--_How during Otho's lifetime Frederick II. of Suabia was elected
Emperor by the desire of the Church of Rome._
The said Otho being the enemy of the Church, and being deposed by the
general council of the Empire, the Church arranged with the electors
of Germany that they should elect to be king of the Romans, Frederick,
the young king of Sicily, who was in Germany, and he won a great
victory against the said Otho; and afterwards the said Otho, returning
to his duty, went on crusade to Damietta over seas, and there died,
and the election was left to Frederick; and afterwards, in the time
of Pope Honorius III., who succeeded to the aforesaid Innocent, the
said Frederick of Germany came to Venice, and then by sea into his
kingdom of Apulia, and then to Rome; and by the said Pope Honorius and
by the Romans he was received with great honour, and crowned Emperor,
as hereafter in treating of him we will make mention. We will leave
speaking of the Emperor for a time, and will tell of the doings of the
Florentines up to the time of his coronation.
§ 37.--_Concerning the death of the old Count Guido, and of his
progeny._
[Sidenote: 1213 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 64, 98.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112, xvi. 99.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 94-99. Inf. xvi. 37.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Epistolæ Dant. Allig. adscriptæ, i.-iii.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 34-39. Inf. xxx. 73-78. Cf. Epist. ii. Cf. Purg.
xiv. 43-45.]
In the year of Christ 1213, there died the Count Guido Vecchio, which
left behind him five sons; but one died, leaving those who had Poppi
as the heirs of his portion, forasmuch as he left no children; and
from the other four sons were descended all the Counts Guidi. As to
this Count Guido, it is said that in ancient times his forbears were
great barons in Germany, which came over with the Emperor Otho I., who
gave them the territory of Modigliana in Romagna, and there they
remained; and afterwards their descendants, by reason of their power,
were lords over almost all Romagna, and made their headquarters in
Ravenna, but because of the outrages they wrought on the citizens
concerning their wives, and other tyrannies, in a popular tumult they
were driven out of Ravenna, pursued, and slain in one day, so that
none escaped either small or great, save one young child which was
named Guido, the which was at Modigliana at nurse, which was surnamed
Guido Besangue [drink-blood], through the disaster of his family, as
in the story of the Emperor Otho we before made mention. This Guido
was the father of the said Count Guido Vecchio, whence all the Counts
Guidi are descended. This Count Guido Vecchio took to wife the
daughter of M. Bellincione Berti of the Rovignani, which was the
greatest and the most honoured knight in Florence, and his houses
which were at Porta San Piero above the Old Gate descended by heritage
to the Counts. This lady was named Gualdrada, and he took her for her
beauty and her fair speech, beholding her in S. Reparata, with the
other ladies and maidens of Florence. For when the Emperor Otho IV.
came to Florence, and saw the fair ladies of the city assembled in
Santa Reparata, in his honour, this maiden most pleased the Emperor;
and her father saying to the Emperor that he had it in his power to
bid her kiss him, the maiden made answer that there was no man living
which should kiss her, save he were her husband, for the which speech,
the Emperor much commended her; and the said Count Guido being taken
with love of her by reason of her graciousness, and by the counsel of
the said Otho, the Emperor, took her to wife, not regarding that she
was of less noble lineage than he, nor regarding her dowry; whence all
the Counts Guidi are born from the said Count and the said lady after
this fashion; for, as aforesaid, there were left four sons which were
the heirs: the first was named William, from whom was born Count Guido
Novello and Count Simon, who were Ghibellines; but by reason of wrongs
which Count Simon endured of Guido Novello, his brother, concerning
his heritage, he became a Guelf and entered into league with the
Guelfs of Florence; and from this Simon was born Count Guido of
Battifolle; the second son was named Roger, from whom were born Count
Guido Guerra and Count Salvatico, and these held the side of the
Guelfs; the third was named Guido of Romena, whence are descended the
family of Romena, which have been both Guelfs and Ghibellines; the
fourth was Count Tegrimo, whence are the family of Porciano, which
were always Ghibellines. The aforesaid Emperor Otho gave said Count
Guido the lordship of Casentino. We have spoken at such length of the
said Count Guido (albeit in another place we have treated of the
beginning of his race), forasmuch as he was a man of worth, and from
him are descended all the Counts Guidi, and because his descendants
were afterwards much mixed up with the doings of the Florentines, as
in due time we will make mention.
§ 38.--_How the parties of the Guelfs and Ghibellines arose in
Florence._
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 136-144.]
[Sidenote: 1215 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 103-111. Par. xvi. 136-138.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 145-147.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 128.]
In the year of Christ 1215, M. Gherardo Orlandi being Podestà in
Florence, one M. Bondelmonte dei Bondelmonti, a noble citizen of
Florence, had promised to take to wife a maiden of the house of the
Amidei, honourable and noble citizens; and afterwards as the said M.
Bondelmonte, who was very charming and a good horseman, was riding
through the city, a lady of the house of the Donati called to him,
reproaching him as to the lady to whom he was betrothed, that she was
not beautiful or worthy of him, and saying: "I have kept this my
daughter for you;" whom she showed to him, and she was most beautiful;
and immediately by the inspiration of the devil he was so taken by
her, that he was betrothed and wedded to her, for which thing the
kinsfolk of the first betrothed lady, being assembled together, and
grieving over the shame which M. Bondelmonte had done to them, were
filled with the accursed indignation, whereby the city of Florence was
destroyed and divided. For many houses of the nobles swore together to
bring shame upon the said M. Bondelmonte, in revenge for these wrongs.
And being in council among themselves, after what fashion they should
punish him, whether by beating or killing, Mosca de' Lamberti said the
evil word: 'Thing done has an end'; to wit, that he should be slain;
and so it was done; for on the morning of Easter of the Resurrection
the Amidei of San Stefano assembled in their house, and the said M.
Bondelmonte coming from Oltrarno, nobly arrayed in new white apparel,
and upon a white palfrey, arriving at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio on
this side, just at the foot of the pillar where was the statue of
Mars, the said M. Bondelmonte was dragged from his horse by Schiatta
degli Uberti, and by Mosca Lamberti and Lambertuccio degli Amidei
assaulted and smitten, and by Oderigo Fifanti his veins were opened
and he was brought to his end; and there was with them one of the
counts of Gangalandi. For the which thing the city rose in arms and
tumult; and this death of M. Bondelmonte was the cause and beginning
of the accursed parties of Guelfs and Ghibellines in Florence, albeit
long before there were factions among the noble citizens and the said
parties existed by reason of the strifes and questions between the
Church and the Empire; but by reason of the death of the said M.
Bondelmonte all the families of the nobles and the other citizens of
Florence were divided, and some held with the Bondelmonti, who took
the side of the Guelfs, and were its leaders, and some with the
Uberti, who were the leaders of the Ghibellines, whence followed much
evil and disaster to our city, as hereafter shall be told; and it is
believed that it will never have an end, if God do not cut it short.
And surely it shows that the enemy of the human race, for the sins of
the Florentines, had power in that idol of Mars, which the pagan
Florentines of old were wont to worship, that at the foot of his
statue such a murder was committed, whence so much evil followed to
the city of Florence. The accursed names of the Guelf and Ghibelline
parties are said to have arisen first in Germany by reason that two
great barons of that country were at war together, and had each a
strong castle the one over against the other, and the one had the name
of Guelf, and the other of Ghibelline, and the war lasted so long,
that all the Germans were divided, and one held to one side, and the
other to the other; and the strife even came as far as to the court of
Rome, and all the court took part in it, and the one side was called
that of Guelf, and the other that of Ghibelline; and so the said names
continued in Italy.
§ 39.--_Of the families and the nobles which became Guelfs and
Ghibellines in Florence._
[Sidenote: 1215 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 115.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 128. Inf. xvii. 62, 63. Par. xvi. 127. 104.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xii. 105. Par. xvi. 105. Convivio iv. 20: 38-41. Par.
xvi. 104. 123. 136-139. Cf. 109. 110.]
[Sidenote: 66, 135.]
[Sidenote: 127. Inf. xvii. 59, 60.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 133. 105. 93. xv. 115. xvi. 110. 111. 93. 103.]
[Sidenote: 108.]
[Sidenote: 104.]
[Sidenote: 115-117. 112-114. 130, 131. 93.]
[Sidenote: 65, 94-96.]
[Sidenote: 121.]
[Sidenote: 104. 101.]
By reason of the said division these were the families of the nobles
which were at that time and became Guelfs in Florence, counting from
sesto to sesto, and likewise the Ghibellines. In the sesto of
Oltrarno, of the Guelfs were the Nerli, gentlemen, who dwelt at first
in the Mercato Vecchio; the family of the Giacoppi, called Rossi, not
however of great antiquity of descent, but they were already beginning
to be powerful; the Frescobaldi, the Bardi, the Mozzi, but of small
beginnings; of the Ghibellines in the sesto of Oltrarno, among the
nobles, the counts of Gangalandi, Obriachi, and Mannelli. In the sesto
of San Piero Scheraggio, the nobles which were Guelfs were, the house
of the Pulci, the Gherardini, the Foraboschi, the Bagnesi, the
Guidalotti, the Sacchetti, the Manieri, and they of Quona, fellows to
them of Volognano, the Lucardesi, the Chiaramontesi, the Compiobbesi,
the Cavalcanti, but these were descended recently from merchants. In
the said sesto of the Ghibellines were, the family of the Uberti,
which was the head of the party, the Fifanti, the Infangati, and
Amidei, and they of Volognano, and the Malespini, albeit afterwards by
reason of the outrages of the Uberti their neighbours, they and many
other families of San Piero Scheraggio became Guelfs. In the sesto of
the Borgo of the Guelfs were the family of the Bondelmonti, and they
were the leaders of the party; the family of the Giandonati, the
Gianfigliazzi, the family of the Scali, of the Gualterotti and of the
Importuni. Of the Ghibellines of the said sesto, the house of the
Scolari which were by origin fellows to the Bondelmonti, the house of
the Guidi, of the Galli and of the Cappiardi. In the sesto of San
Brancazio of the Guelfs were the Bostichi, the Tornaquinci, the
Vecchietti. Of the Ghibellines of the said sesto were the Lamberti,
the Soldanieri, the Cipriani, the Toschi, and the Amieri, and
Palermini, and Migliorelli, and Pigli, albeit afterwards some of them
became Guelfs. In the sesto of the Porte del Duomo, of the Guelf party
in those times were the Tosinghi, the Arrigucci, the Agli, the Sizii.
Of the Ghibellines of the said sesto were the Barucci, the Cattani of
Castiglione and of Cersino, the Agolanti and the Brunelleschi; and
afterwards some of them became Guelfs. In the sesto of the Porte San
Piero of the Guelf nobles were the Adimari, the Visdomini, the Donati,
the Pazzi, the della Bella, the Ardinghi, and the Tedaldi which were
called della Vitella, and already the Cerchi began to rise in
condition, albeit they were merchants; of the Ghibellines of the said
sesto were the Caponsacchi, the Lisei, the Abati, the Tedaldini, the
Giuochi, the Galigari. And many other families of honourable citizens
and popolani held some with one side, and some with the other, and
they changed with the times in mind and in party, which would be too
long a matter to relate. And for the said cause the accursed parties
first began in Florence, albeit before that there had been a division
secretly among the noble citizens, whereof some loved the rule of the
Church and some that of the Empire; nevertheless they were all agreed
as to the state and well-being of the commonwealth.
§ 40.--_How the city of Damietta was taken by the Christians, and
afterwards lost._
§ 41.--_How the Florentines caused the dwellers in the country around
to swear fealty to the city, and how the new Carraia Bridge was
begun._
[Sidenote: 1218 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 56, 57.]
In the year of Christ 1218, when Otto da Mandella of Milan was Podestà
of Florence, the Florentines caused all the dwellers in the country
around to swear fealty to the commonwealth, seeing that before that
time the greater part had obeyed the rule of the Counts Guidi, and of
them of Mangone, and of them of Capraia, and of Certaldo, and of many
Cattani which had taken possession of the lands by privileges and some
by force of the emperors. And in this year the building of the
bastions of the Carraia Bridge was begun.
[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]
§ 42.--_How the Florentines took Mortennana, and completed the new
bridge called Carraia._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK V.
BOOK VI.
[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]
_How Frederick II. was consecrated and made Emperor, and the
great things which came to pass._
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 119; xiii. 59, 68, 75; xxiii. 66. Purg. xvi. 117.
Par. iii. 120. Convivio iv. Canzone, ver. 21; also cap. 3: 37-44; 10:
6-12. De Vulg. El. i. 12: 20-35. Epist. vi. (5) 126-135. Par. iii.
118-120.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 119.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xvi. 115-117.]
§ 1.--In the year of Christ 1220, on the day of St. Cecilia in
November, there was crowned and consecrated Emperor at Rome Frederick
II., king of Sicily, son of the Emperor Henry of Suabia, and of the
Empress Constance, by Pope Honorius III., with great honour. In the
beginning he was a friend of the Church, and well might he be, so many
benefits and favours had he received from the Church, for through the
Church his father Henry had for wife Constance, queen of Sicily, and
for dowry the said realm, and the kingdom of Apulia; and when his
father was dead, he being left a little child, was cared for and
guarded by the Church as by a mother, and also his kingdom was
defended, and he was elected king of the Romans against the Emperor
Otho IV., and he was afterwards crowned Emperor, as aforesaid. But he,
son of ingratitude that he was, not acknowledging Holy Church as a
mother, but as a hostile stepmother, in all things was her enemy and
persecutor, he and his sons, almost more than his precursors, as
hereafter we shall make mention. This Frederick reigned thirty years
as Emperor, and was a man of great capacity and of great valour, wise
in books, and of natural intelligence, universal in all things; was
acquainted with the Latin tongue, and with our vernacular, with
German and French, Greek and Arabic, of abounding talents, liberal and
courteous in giving, courageous and prudent in arms, and was much
feared. And he was dissolute and licentious after divers fashions, and
had many concubines and catamites, after the manner of the Saracens,
and he sought indulgence in all bodily pleasures, and led an epicurean
life, not taking account that there were ever another life; and this
was one chief cause why he became the enemy of the clergy and of Holy
Church. And the other was his greed in taking and sequestrating the
revenues of Holy Church, to squander them evilly. And many monasteries
and churches he destroyed in his kingdom of Sicily and Apulia, and
throughout all Italy, and this, either through his own vices and
defects, or by reason of the rulers of Holy Church who could not or
would not deal with him, nor be content that he should have the
Imperial rights, wherefore he subdued and smote Holy Church; or
because that God permitted it as a Divine judgment, because the rulers
of the Church had been the means through whom he became the child of
the holy nun, Constance, they not remembering the persecutions which
Henry, his father, and Frederick, his grandfather, had caused Holy
Church to endure. This Frederick did many noteworthy things in his
time, and raised in all the chief cities of Sicily and of Apulia,
strong and rich fortresses which are still standing, and built the
fortress of Capovana, in Naples, and the towers and gate upon the
bridge over the river of Volturno at Capua, the which are very
marvellous; and he made the park for sport on the marsh of Foggia in
Apulia, and made the hunting park near Gravina and Amalfi in the
mountains. In winter he abode at Foggia, and in summer in the
mountains, for the delights of the chase. And many other noteworthy
things he caused to be made, as the castle of Prato, and the fortress
of Samminiato, and many other things, as we shall make mention
hereafter. And he had two sons by his first wife, Henry and Conrad,
whom he caused each one during his lifetime to be elected king of the
Romans; and by the daughter of King John of Jerusalem he had King
Giordano, and by others he had King Frederick (from whom are descended
the lineage of those who are called of Antioch), King Enzo and King
Manfred, who were great enemies to Holy Church; and during his life he
and his sons lived and ruled with much earthly splendour; but in the
end he and his sons because of their sins came to an ill end, and
their line was extinguished, as we shall make mention hereafter.
[Sidenote: 1222 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1224 A.D.]
§ 2.--_Of the cause why war broke out between the Florentines and the
Pisans._ § 3.--_How the Pisans were routed by the Florentines at
Casteldelbosco._ § 4.--_How the Florentines marched against Fegghine,
and built l'Ancisa._
§ 5.--_How the Florentines led an army against Pistoia, and laid waste
the country round about._
[Sidenote: 1228 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxv. 1-3.]
In the year of Christ 1228, when M. Andrea of Perugia was Podestà of
Florence, the Florentines led an army against Pistoia with the
Carroccio, and this was because the Pistoians were making war against
Montemurlo, and ill-treating it; and the said host laid waste the
country round about the city up to the suburbs, and destroyed the
towers of Montefiore which were very strong; and the fortress of
Carmignano surrendered to the commonwealth of Florence. And note that
upon the rock of Carmignano there was a tower seventy cubits high,
and thereupon two arms in marble, whereof the hands were 'making the
figs' at Florence; wherefore the artificers of Florence, to express
contempt for money or ought else offered to them, were wont to say: "I
can't see it, for the fortress of Carmignano is in the way." And the
Pistoians hereupon agreed to whatever terms the Florentines might
devise, and caused the said fortress of Carmignano to be destroyed.
[Sidenote: 1229 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1232 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1233 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1234 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1235 A.D.]
§ 6.--_How the Sienese renewed the war with the Florentines on account
of Montepulciano._ § 7.--_Of a great miracle that came to pass in S.
Ambrogio in Florence, concerning the body of Christ._ § 8.--_Yet again
of the war of the Florentines with the Sienese._ § 9.--_Of the
conflagration in Florence._ § 10.--_Yet again of the war with Siena._
§ 11.--_The same._ § 12.--_Of the conflagration in Florence._ §
13.--_How peace was made between the Florentines and the Sienese._
§ 14.--_How the Emperor Frederick came to enmity with the Church._
[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1226 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. De Vulg. El. i. 10: 50, 63. i. 11: 20. i. 13: 31. Par.
xi. 53.]
[Sidenote: 1230 A.D.]
After that Frederick II. was crowned by Pope Honorius, as we have
aforesaid, in the beginning he was the friend of the Church, but a
little time after, through his pride and avarice, he began to usurp
the rights of the Church throughout all his Empire, and in the realm
of Sicily and Apulia, appointing bishops and archbishops and other
prelates, and driving away those sent by the Pope, and raising imposts
and taxes from the clergy, doing shame to Holy Church; for the which
thing by the said Pope Honorius, which had crowned him, he was cited,
and admonished that he should leave to Holy Church her rights, and
render the dues. But the Emperor perceived himself to be great in
power and estate, alike through the force of the Germans and through
that of the realm of Sicily, and that he was lord over sea and land,
and was feared by all the rulers of Christendom, and also by the
Saracens, and was buttressed around by the sons which he had of his
first wife, daughter of the landgrave of Germany, to wit Henry and
Conrad, the which Henry he had caused to be crowned in Germany king of
the Romans, and Conrad was duke of Suabia, and Frederick of Antioch,
his first natural son, he made king, and Enzo, his natural son, was
king of Sardinia, and Manfred prince of Taranto; wherefore he would
not yield obedience to the Church, but rather was he obstinate, living
after the fashion of the world, in all bodily delights. For the which
thing by the said Pope Honorius he was excommunicated the year of
Christ 1220, and did not for that reason cease from persecuting the
Church, but so much the more usurped its rights, and so remained the
enemy of the Church and of the Pope Honorius as long as he lived. The
which Pope passed from this life the year of Christ 1226, and after
him was made Pope Gregory IX., born at Alagna in the Campagna, the
which reigned as pope fourteen years; the which Pope Gregory had a
great war with the Emperor Frederick, forasmuch as the Emperor would
in no wise relinquish the rights and jurisdiction of Holy Church, but
rather the more usurped them; and many churches of the kingdom he
caused to be pulled down and deserted, laying heavy imposts upon the
clergy and the churches; and whereas there were certain Saracens in
the mountains of Trapali in Sicily, the Emperor, that he might be the
more secure in the island, and might keep them at a distance from the
Saracens of Barbary, and also to the end that by them he might keep in
fear his subjects in Apulia, by wit and promises drew them from those
mountains, and put them in Apulia in an ancient deserted city, which
of old was in league with the Romans, and was destroyed by the
Samnites, to wit by those of Benivento, the which city was then called
Licera, and now is called Nocera, and they were more than 20,000
men-at-arms; and that city they rebuilt very strong; the which
ofttimes overran the places of Apulia to lay them waste. And when the
said Emperor Frederick was at war with the Church, he caused them to
come into the duchy of Spoleto, and besieged at that time the city of
Assisi, and did great harm to Holy Church; for the which thing the
said Pope Gregory confirmed against him the sentence given by Pope
Honorius his predecessor, and again gave sentence of excommunication
against him, the year of Christ 1230.
[Sidenote: 1233 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1234 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1236 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1237 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1239 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1240 A.D.]
§ 15.--_How peace was made between Pope Gregory and the Emperor
Frederick._ § 16.--_How the Church ordered a crusade over seas,
whereof the Emperor Frederick was captain, and how, after the
expedition had set forth, he turned back._ § 17.--_How the Emperor
Frederick passed over seas, and made peace with the Soldan, and
recovered Jerusalem, against the will of the Church._ § 18.--_How the
Emperor returned from over seas because the Kingdom had rebelled
against him, and how he began war again with the Church._ § 19.--_How
the Emperor Frederick caused the Pisans to capture at sea the prelates
of the Church which were coming to the council._ § 20.--_How the
Milanese were discomfited by the Emperor._ § 21.--_How the Emperor
Frederick besieged and took the city of Faenza._
§ 22.--_How the Emperor laid hold of King Henry, his son._
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 121.]
[Sidenote: 1236 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 31-108.]
In these same times (albeit it had begun before) Henry Sciancato [the
Lame], the first-born of the said Emperor Frederick, who had had him
chosen king of the Romans by the electors of Germany as aforesaid,
perceiving that the Emperor his father was doing all he might against
Holy Church, and feeling the same heavy upon his conscience, time and
again reproved his father, for that he was doing ill; whereat the
Emperor set himself against him, and neither loving him nor dealing
with him as with a son, raised up false accusers who testified that
the said Henry had it in his mind to rebel against him as concerning
his Empire, at the request of the Church. On the which plea (were it
true or false) he seized his said son, King Henry, and two sons of
his, little lads, and sent them into Apulia, into prison severally;
and there he put him to death by starvation in great torment, and
afterward Manfred put his sons to death. The Emperor sent to Germany,
and again had Conrad, his second son, elected king of the Romans in
succession to himself; and this was the year of Christ 1236. Then
after a certain time the Emperor put out the eyes of that wise man
Master Piero dalle Vigne, the famous poet, accusing him of treason,
but this came about through envy of his great estate. And thereon the
said M. Piero soon suffered himself to die of grief in prison, and
there were who said that he himself took away his own life.
§ 23.--_How the war began between Pope Innocent IV. and the Emperor
Frederick._
[Sidenote: 1241 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xix. 100-102.]
It came to pass afterwards, as it pleased God, that there was elected
Pope Messer Ottobuono dal Fiesco, of the counts of Lavagna of Genoa,
the which was cardinal, and was made Pope as being the greatest friend
and confidant whom the Emperor Frederick had in Holy Church, to the
end there might be peace between the Church and him; and he was called
Pope Innocent IV., and this was the year of Christ 1241, and he
reigned as Pope eleven years, and added to the Church many cardinals
from divers countries of Christendom. And when he was elected Pope,
the tidings were brought to the Emperor Frederick with great
rejoicing, knowing that he was his great friend and protector. But the
Emperor, when he heard it, was greatly disturbed, whence his barons
marvelled much, and he said: "Marvel not; for this election will be of
much hurt to us; for he was our friend when cardinal, and now he will
be our enemy as Pope;" and so it came to pass, for when the said Pope
was consecrated, he demanded back from the Emperor the lands and
jurisdictions which he held of the Church, as to which request the
Emperor held him some time in treaty as to an agreement, but all was
vanity and deception. In the end, the said Pope seeing himself to have
been led about by deceitful words, to the hurt and shame of himself
and of Holy Church, became more an enemy of the Emperor Frederick than
his predecessors had been; and seeing that the power of the Emperor
was so great that he ruled tyrannously over almost the whole of Italy,
and that the roads were all taken and guarded by his guards, so that
none could come to the court of Rome without his will and license,
the said Pope seeing himself in the said manner thus besieged, sent
secret orders to his kinsfolk at Genoa, and caused twenty galleys to
be armed, and straightway caused them to come to Rome, and thereupon
embarked with all his cardinals and with all his court, and
immediately caused himself to be conveyed to his city of Genoa without
any opposition; and having tarried some time in Genoa, he came to
Lyons on the Rhone, by the way of Provence; and this was the year of
Christ 1241.
§ 24.--_Of the sentence which Pope Innocent pronounced at the council
of Lyons-on-Rhone, upon the Emperor Frederick._
[Sidenote: 1245 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 55-78.]
When Pope Innocent was at Lyons, he called a general council in the
said place, and invited from throughout the whole world bishops and
archbishops and other prelates, who all came thither; and there came
to see him as far as the monastery of Crugni [Clugny] in Burgundy the
good King Louis of France, and afterwards he came as far as to the
council at Lyons, where he offered himself and his realm to the
service of the said Pope and of Holy Church against the Emperor
Frederick, and against all the enemies of Holy Church; and then he
took the cross to go over seas. And when King Louis was gone the Pope
enacted sundry things in the said council to the good of Christendom,
and canonized sundry saints, as the Martinian Chronicle makes mention
where it treats of him. And this done, the Pope summoned the said
Frederick to the said council, as to a neutral place, to excuse
himself of thirteen articles proved against him of things done
against the faith of Christ, and against Holy Church; the which
Emperor would not there appear, but sent thither his ambassadors and
representatives--the bishop of Freneborgo [Freiburg] in Germany, and
Brother Hugh, master of the mansion of S. Mary of the Germans, and the
wise clerk and master Piero dalle Vigne of the Kingdom, who, making
excuses for the Emperor that he was not able to come by reason of
sickness and suffering in his person, prayed the said Pope and his
brethren to pardon him, and averred that he would cry the Pope mercy,
and would restore that which he had seized of the Church; and they
offered, if the Pope would pardon him, that he would bind himself so
to frame it that within one year the soldan of the Saracens should
render up to his command the Holy Land over seas. And the said Pope,
hearing the endless excuses and vain offers of the Emperor, demanded
of the said ambassadors if they had an authentic mandate for this,
whereon they produced a full authorization, under the golden seal of
the said Emperor, to promise and undertake it all. And when the Pope
had it in his hand, in full council, the said ambassadors being
present, he denounced Frederick on all the said thirteen criminal
articles, and to confirm it said: "Judge, faithful Christians, whether
Frederick betrays Holy Church and all Christendom or no: for according
to his mandate he offers within one year to make the soldan restore
the Holy Land, very clearly showing that the soldan holds it through
him, to the shame of all Christians." And this said and declared, he
caused the process against the said Emperor to be published; and
condemned him and excommunicated him as a heretic and persecutor of
Holy Church, laying to his charge many foul crimes proved against
him; and he deprived him of the lordship of the Empire, and of the
realm of Sicily, and of that of Jerusalem, absolving from all fealty
and oaths all his barons and subjects, excommunicating whoever should
obey him, or should give him aid or favour, or further should call him
Emperor or king. And the said sentence was passed at the said council
at Lyons on the Rhone, the year of Christ 1245, the 17th of July. The
principal causes why Frederick was condemned were four: first,
forasmuch as when the Church invested him with the realm of Sicily and
of Apulia, and afterwards with the Empire, he swore to the Church
before his barons, and before the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople,
and before all the court of Rome, to defend Holy Church in all her
honours and rights against all men, and to pay the rightful tribute,
and to restore all the possessions and jurisdictions of Holy Church,
of the which things he had done the contrary, and was perjured, and
treacherous, and had vilely and wrongfully defamed Pope Gregory IX.
and his cardinals by his letters throughout the whole world. The
second thing was, that he broke the peace made by him with the Church,
not remembering the pardons granted to him by withdrawal of the
excommunications, and with respect to all the misdeeds done by him
against Holy Church; and in that peace he had sworn and promised never
to injure those who had been with the Church against him; but he had
done quite the contrary, seeing that he had scattered them all, either
by death or by exile, them and their families, taking away their
possessions, and had not restored either to the Templars or to the
Hospitallers their mansions which he had occupied, the which by the
articles of the peace he had promised to restore and give back; and
by force he had kept vacant eleven archbishoprics, with many
bishoprics and abbeys in the Empire and in the Kingdom, not suffering
those who were duly elected by the Pope to hold or to till them; doing
violence and extortions on sacred persons, constraining them to appear
and plead before his bailiffs and secular lords. The third cause was
the sacrilege he had done, when by the galleys of Pisa, and by his son
King Enzo, he had taken the cardinals and many prelates at sea, as we
afore told, and caused some to be drowned in the sea, and kept some
dying in cruel and harsh prisons. The fourth cause was, because he was
found and convicted in many articles of heresy in the faith; and
certainly he was no Christian Catholic, living always more after his
delight and pleasure than according to reason or just law; and in
fellowship with the Saracens. Likewise he used the Church and her
offices but little or not at all, and did no alms; so that not without
great and evident causes he was deposed and condemned; and albeit he
did much injury and persecution to Holy Church after that he was
condemned, yet in a short time every honour and state and power and
greatness God took from him, and showed him His wrath, as we shall
make mention hereafter. And because many have made question, who was
to blame in the quarrel, whether the Church or the Emperor, hearing
his excuses in his letters, therefore to this I make answer and say,
that manifestly not by one divine miracle but by many was it shown
that the Emperor was to blame, as God showed by open and visible
judgments in His wrath upon Frederick and his seed.
§ 25.--_How the Pope and the Church caused a new Emperor to be
elected in place of Frederick, the deposed Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1245 A.D.]
The said Frederick being deposed and condemned, as has been afore
said, the Pope sent word to the electors of Germany who elect the king
of the Romans, that they should without delay make a new choice for
the Empire; and this was done, for they elected William, count of
Holland and landgrave, a valiant lord, to whom the Church gave her
support, causing a great part of Germany to rebel, and gave indulgence
and pardon as if they were going over seas, to whoever should be
against the said Frederick; whence in Germany there was great war
between the said elected King William of Holland and King Conrad, son
of the said Frederick; but the war endured but a short time, for the
said King William died, the year of Christ . . . and the said Conrad
reigned in Germany, whom his father Frederick the Emperor had caused
to be elected king, as we shall make mention. From this sentence
Frederick appealed to the successor of Pope Innocent, and sent his
letters and messengers throughout all Christendom, complaining of the
said sentence, and setting forth how iniquitous it was, as appears by
his epistle written by the said Messer Piero dalle Vigne, which
begins, after the salutation: "Although we believe, that words of the
already current tidings, etc." But considering the real facts as to
the process, and as to the deeds of Frederick against the Church, and
as to his dissolute and uncatholic life, he was guilty and deserving
of the deposition, for the reasons set forth in the said process; and
afterwards for the deeds done by the said Frederick after his
deposition; for if before he was and had been cruel and persecuting to
Holy Church and to the believers in Tuscany and in Lombardy,
afterwards he was much more so, as long as he lived, as hereafter we
shall make mention. We will now leave for a time the story of the
doings of Frederick, and turn back to where we left off telling of the
doings of Florence and of the other noteworthy events which came to
pass in those days throughout the whole world; returning afterwards to
the doings and to the end of the said Frederick and of his sons.
§ 26.--_We will tell an incident in the affairs of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1237 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xii. 102.]
The year of Christ 1237, Messer Rubaconte da Mandello of Milan being
Podestà of Florence, the new bridge was made in Florence, and he laid
the first stone with his own hand, and threw the first trowelful of
mortar, and from the name of the said Podestà the bridge was named
Rubaconte. And during his government all the roads in Florence were
paved; for before there was but little paving, save in certain
particular places, master streets being paved with bricks; and through
this convenience and work the city of Florence became more clean, and
more beautiful, and more healthy.
[Sidenote: 1238 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1240 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]
§ 27.--_How and when there was a total eclipse of the sun._ § 28.--_Of
the coming of the Tartars into the parts of Europe, as far as
Germany._ § 29.--_Of a great miracle of an earthquake in Burgundy._ §
30.--_Of a great miracle that took place in Spain._ § 31.--_How the
town of Sanginiegio was rebuilt and then destroyed._ § 32.--_How the
Tartars routed the Turks._
§ 33.--_How the Guelf party was first driven from Florence by the
Ghibellines and the forces of the Emperor Frederick._
[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 109, 110.]
[Sidenote: 127.]
[Sidenote: 121, 104, 101, 112-114, 115-117.]
[Sidenote: 108.]
[Sidenote: 110, 111.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 151-154.]
[Sidenote: 93, 66, 140-144, 127, 93.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 115.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 48.]
In the said times when Frederick was in Lombardy, having been deposed
from the title of Emperor by Pope Innocent, as we have said, in so far
as he could he sought to destroy in Tuscany and in Lombardy the
faithful followers of Holy Church, in all the cities where he had
power. And first he began to demand hostages from all the cities of
Tuscany, and took them from both Ghibellines and Guelfs, and sent them
to Samminiato del Tedesco; but when this was done, he released the
Ghibellines and retained the Guelfs, which were afterwards abandoned
as poor prisoners, and abode long time in Samminiato as beggars. And
forasmuch as our city of Florence in those times was not among the
least notable and powerful of Italy, he desired especially to vent his
spleen against it, and to increase the accursed parties of the Guelfs
and Ghibellines, which had begun long time before through the death of
M. Bondelmonte, and before, as we have already shown. But albeit ever
since this the said parties had continued among the nobles of Florence
(who were also ever and again at war among themselves by reason of
their private enmities), and albeit they were divided into the said
parties, each holding with his own, they which were called the Guelfs
loving the side of the Pope and of Holy Church, and they which were
called the Ghibellines loving and favouring the Emperor and his
allies, nevertheless, the people and commonwealth had been maintained
in unity to the well-being and honour, and good estate of the
republic. But now the said Emperor sent ambassadors and letters to the
family of the Uberti, which were heads of his party, and their allies
which were called Ghibellines, inviting them to drive their enemies,
which were called Guelfs, from the city, and offering them aid of his
horsemen; and this caused the Uberti to begin dissension and civil
strife in Florence, whence the city began to be disordered, and the
nobles and all the people to be divided, some holding to one party,
and some to the other; and in divers parts of the city there was
fighting long time. Among the other places, the chief was at the
houses of the Uberti, which were where the great palace of the people
now is. They gathered there with their allies, and fought against the
Guelfs of the sesto of San Piero Scheraggio, whereof were leaders the
family dal Bagno, called Bagnesi, and the Pulci, and the Guidalotti,
and all the allies of the Guelfs of that sesto; and also the Guelfs of
Oltrarno passing over the mill-dams, came to succour them when they
were attacked by the Uberti. The second place of combat was in the
Porte San Piero, where the leaders of the Ghibellines were the
Tedaldini, forasmuch as they had the strongest dwellings in palaces
and towers, and with them held the Caponsacchi, the Lisei, the Giuochi
and Abati, and Galigari, and the fighting was against the house of the
Donati, and the Visdomini, and Pazzi, and Adimari. And the third place
of combat was in Porte del Duomo, at the tower of Messer Lancia of the
Cattani of Castiglione, and of Cersino, to whom belonged the heads of
the Ghibellines, with the Agolanti and Brunelleschi, and many popolari
of their party, against the Tosinghi, Agli and Arrigucci. And the
fourth combat and battle was in San Brancazio, whereof the leaders for
the Ghibellines were the Lamberti, and Toschi, Amieri, Cipriani, and
Migliorelli, with many followers of the Popolo, against the
Tornaquinci, and Vecchietti, and Pigli, albeit part of the Pigli were
Ghibellines. And the Ghibellines drew up in San Brancazio at the tower
of the Scarafaggio [Scarabæus] of the Soldanieri, and from that tower
an arrow struck M. Rustico Marignolli in the face (who was bearing the
Guelf standard, to wit, a crimson lily on a white field), whence he
died; and the very day that the Guelfs were expelled, and before they
departed, they came in arms to bury him in San Lorenzo; and when the
Guelfs were departed, the canons of San Lorenzo carried away the body,
to the end that the Ghibellines might not unbury it and do it outrage,
forasmuch as he was a great leader of the Guelf party. And the next
force of the Ghibellines was in the Borgo, whereof the leaders were
the Scolari, and Soldanieri, and Guidi, against the Bondelmonti,
Giandonati, Bostichi and Cavalcanti, Scali and Gianfigliazzi. In
Oltrarno it was the Ubbriachi and the Mannelli (and there were no
other nobles of renown, but families of the popolari) against the
Rossi and the Nerli. Thus it came to pass that the said frays endured
long time, and there was fighting at barricades from street to street,
and from one tower to another (for there were many in Florence in
these times, 100 cubits and more in height), and with mangonels and
other engines they fought together by day and by night. And in the
midst of this strife and fighting the Emperor Frederick sent into
Florence King Frederick, his bastard son, with 1,600 horsemen of his
German followers. When the Ghibellines heard that they were nigh unto
Florence, they took courage fighting with more force and boldness
against the Guelfs, which had no allies, nor were expecting any
succour, forasmuch as the Church was at Lyons on the Rhone beyond the
mountains, and the power of Frederick was beyond measure great in all
parts of Italy. And on this occasion the Ghibellines used a device of
war; for at the house of the Uberti the greater part of the Ghibelline
forces assembled, and when the fight began at the places of battle set
forth above, they went in a mass to oppose the Guelfs, and in this
wise they overcame them well nigh in every part of the city, save in
their own neighbourhood against the barricades of the Guidalotti and
the Bagnesi, which endured more stoutly; and to that place the Guelfs
repaired, and all the forces of the Ghibellines against them. At last,
the Guelfs saw themselves to be hard pressed, and heard that
Frederick's knights were already in Florence (King Frederick having
already entered with his followers on Sunday morning), yet they held
out until the following Wednesday. Then, not being able longer to
resist the forces of the Ghibellines, they abandoned the defence, and
departed from the city on the night of S. Mary Candlemas in the year
of Christ 1248. When the Guelf party were driven from Florence, the
nobles of that party withdrew, some of them to the fortress of
Montevarchi in Valdarno, and some to the fortress of Capraia; and
Pelago, and Ristonchio, and Magnale, up to Cascia, were held by the
Guelfs, and were called the League; and therein they made war against
the city and the territory around Florence. Other popolani of that
party repaired to their farms and to their friends in the country. The
Ghibellines which remained masters in Florence, with the forces and
the horsemen of the Emperor Frederick, changed the ruling of the city
after their mind, and caused thirty-six fortresses of the Guelfs to be
destroyed, palaces and great towers, among the which the most noble
was that of the Tosinghi upon the Mercato Vecchio, called the Palace,
90 cubits high, built with marble columns, and a tower thereto 130
cubits. Also the Ghibellines attempted a yet more impious deed,
forasmuch as the Guelfs resorted much to the church of S. Giovanni,
and all the good people assembled there on Sunday morning, and there
they solemnized marriages; and when the Ghibellines came to destroy
the towers of the Guelfs, there was one among them very great and
beautiful, which was upon the piazza of S. Giovanni, at the entrance
of the street of the Adimari, and it was called the tower of the
Guardamorto, forasmuch as of old all the good folk which died were
buried at S. Giovanni; and the Ghibellines, purposing to rase to the
ground the said tower, caused it to be propped up in such wise that
when the fire was applied to the props it should fall upon the church
of S. Giovanni; and this was done. But as it pleased God, by reverence
and miracle of the blessed John, the tower, which was 120 cubits high,
showed manifestly, when it came to fall, that it would avoid the holy
church, and turned and fell directly upon the piazza, wherefore all
the Florentines marvelled and the popolo rejoiced greatly. And note,
that since the city of Florence had been rebuilt, not one house had
been destroyed, and the said accursed destruction thereof was then
begun by the Ghibellines. And they ordained that of the Emperor
Frederick's followers there should remain 1,800 German horsemen in
their pay, whereof Count Giordano was captain. It came to pass that in
the same year when the Guelfs were driven from Florence, they which
were at Montevarchi were attacked by the German troops which were in
garrison in the fortress of Gangareta in the market place of the said
Montevarchi, and there was a fierce battle of but few people, as far
as the Arno, between the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the
Germans. In the end the Germans were discomfited, and a great part
thereof slain and taken prisoners, and this was in the year of Christ
1248.
§ 34.--_How the host of the Emperor Frederick was defeated by the
Parmesans, and by the Pope's legate._
[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 127-135.]
[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]
At this time the Emperor Frederick was laying siege to the city of
Parma in Lombardy, because they had rebelled against his lordship and
held with the Church; and within Parma was the Pope's legate with
mounted men-at-arms sent by the Church to aid them. Frederick was
without the city, with all his forces and with the Lombards, and abode
there many months, and had sworn never to depart thence until he
should have taken it; and for this reason he had made a camp over
against the said city of Parma, after the manner of another town, with
moats and palisades and towers, and houses roofed and walled, to which
he gave the name of Vittoria; and by the said siege he had much
straitened the city of Parma, and it was so poorly furnished with
victuals, that they could hold out but a short while longer, and this
the Emperor knew well by his spies; and for the said cause he held
them for folk well-nigh vanquished, and troubled himself little about
them. It came to pass, as it pleased God, that one day the Emperor was
taking his pleasure in the chase, with birds and with dogs, going
forth from Vittoria with certain of his barons and servants; and the
citizens of Parma, having learnt this from their spies, as folk
reckless, or rather desperate, all sallied forth from Parma in arms,
foot and horse together, and vigorously attacked the said camp of
Vittoria in divers parts. The Emperor's soldiers, unprepared and in
disorder, with insufficient guards (as they who took little thought of
their enemies), seeing themselves thus suddenly and fiercely attacked,
and being unable to defend themselves in the absence of their lord,
were all put to flight and discomfiture, albeit there were three times
as many horse and foot as there were in Parma; in which defeat many of
them were taken or slain, and the Emperor himself, when he heard the
news, fled with great shame to Cremona; and the Parmesans took the
said camp, wherein they found great store of muniments of war, and
victual, and vessels of silver, and all the treasure which the Emperor
had in Lombardy, and the crown of the said Emperor, which the
Parmesans still have in the sacristy of their bishop's palace; whereby
they were all enriched. And when they had spoiled the said place of
its booty, they set fire thereto, and destroyed it utterly, to the end
there might be no trace of it, whether as city or as camp, for ever.
And this was the first Tuesday in February, in the year of Christ
1248.
§ 35.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence were taken in the
fortress of Capraia._
[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1249 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]
A short time afterwards the Emperor departed from Lombardy, leaving
there his natural son Enzo, king of Sardinia, with many horsemen, as
his vicar-general over the Lombard League, and came into Tuscany, and
found that the Ghibelline party which was ruling the city of Florence
had laid siege in the month of March to the fortress of Capraia,
wherein were the leaders of the chief families of Guelf nobles exiled
from Florence. And when the Emperor came into Tuscany, he would not
enter into the city of Florence, nor ever had entered therein, but was
ware of it, for by soothsayers or by the saying of some demon or
prophecy, he had discovered that he should die in Firenze, wherefore
he feared greatly. Nevertheless, he came to the army, and went to
sojourn in the castle of Fucecchio, and left the greater part of his
followers at the siege of Capraia, which stronghold being straitly
besieged, and having scanty provisions, was not able to hold out
longer; and the besieged held counsel about coming to parley, and they
would have been granted any liberal terms which they desired; but a
certain shoemaker, an exile from Florence, which had been a leading
Ancient, not being invited to the said council, came to the gate very
wrathful, and cried to the host that the town could hold out no
longer, for the which thing the host would not consent to treat,
wherefore they within, as dead men, surrendered themselves to the
mercy of the Emperor. And this was in the month of May, in the year of
Christ 1249. And the captains of the said Guelfs were Count Ridolfo of
Capraia, and M. Rinieri Zingane of the Bondelmonti. And when they came
to Fucecchio to the Emperor, he took them all with him prisoners to
Apulia; and afterwards, by reason of letters and ambassadors sent to
him by the Ghibellines of Florence, he put out the eyes of all which
belonged to the great noble families in Florence, and then drowned
them in the sea, save M. Rinieri Zingane, because he found him so wise
and great of soul that he would not put him to death, but he put out
his eyes, who afterwards ended his life as a monk in the island of
Montecristo. And the aforesaid shoemaker was spared by the besiegers;
and when the Guelfs had returned to Florence, he also returned
thither, and being recognised in the parliament, at the outcry of the
people he was stoned, and vilely dragged along the ground by the
children, and thrown into the moats.
[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]
§ 36.--_How King Louis of France was routed and taken prisoner by the
Saracens at la Monsura in Egypt._ § 37.--_How King Enzo, son of the
Emperor Frederick, was routed and taken prisoner by the Bolognese._ §
38.--_How certain Ghibellines of Florence were discomfited in the
village of Fegghine by the Guelf refugees._
§ 39.--_How the Primo Popolo was formed in Florence to be a defence
against the violence and attacks of the Ghibellines._
[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]
When the said host came back to Florence there was great contention
amongst the citizens, inasmuch as the Ghibellines, who ruled the land,
crushed the people with insupportable burdens, taxes, and imposts; and
with little to show for it, for the Guelfs were already established up
and down in the territory of Florence, holding many fortresses and
making war upon the city. And besides all this, they of the house of
the Uberti and all the other Ghibelline nobles tyrannized over the
people with ruthless extortion and violence and outrage. Wherefore the
good citizens of Florence, tumultuously gathering together, assembled
themselves at the church of San Firenze; but not daring to remain
there, because of the power of the Uberti, they went and took their
stand at the church of the Minor Friars at Santa Croce, and remaining
there under arms they dared not to return to their homes, lest when
they had laid down their arms they should be broken by the Uberti and
the other nobles and condemned by the magistrates. So they went under
arms to the houses of the Anchioni of San Lorenzo, which were very
strong, and there, still under arms, they forcibly elected thirty-six
corporals of the people, and took away the rule from the Podestà,
which was then in Florence, and removed all the officials. And this
done, with no further conflict they ordained and created a popular
government with certain new ordinances and statutes. They elected
captain of the people M. Uberto da Lucca, and he was the first captain
of Florence, and they elected twelve Ancients of the people, two for
each sesto, to guide the people and counsel the said captain, and they
were to meet in the houses of the Badia over the gate which goes to
Santa Margherita, and to return to their own homes to eat and sleep;
and this was done on the twentieth day of October, the year of Christ
1250. And on this day the said captain distributed twenty standards
amongst the people, giving them to certain corporals divided according
to companies of arms and districts, including sundry parishes, in
order that when need were every man should arm himself and draw to the
standard of his company, and then with the said standards draw to the
said captain of the people. And they had a bell made which the said
captain kept in the Lion's Tower. And the chief standard of the
people, which was the captain's, was dimidiated white and red.
* * * * *
§ 40.--_Of the ensigns of war which were borne by the commonwealth of
Florence._
§ 41.--_How the Emperor Frederick died at Firenzuola in Apulia._
[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iii. 121.]
In the said year 1250, the Emperor Frederick being in Apulia, in the
city of Firenzuola, at the entrance to the Abruzzi, fell grievously
sick, and for all his augury he knew not how to take heed; for he had
learned that he must die in Firenze, wherefore, as aforesaid, never
would he set foot in Firenze, neither in Faenza; yet ill did he
interpret the lying word of the demon, for he was bidden beware lest
he should die in Firenze, and he took no heed of Firenzuola. It came
to pass that, his malady increasing upon him, there being with him one
of his bastard sons, named Manfred, which was desirous of having the
treasure of Frederick, his father, and the lordship of the kingdom and
of Sicily, and fearing that Frederick might recover him of that
sickness, or leave a testament, the said Manfred made a league with
his private chamberlain, and promising him many gifts and great
lordship, covered the mouth of Frederick with a bolster and so stifled
him, and after the said manner the said Frederick died, deposed from
the Empire, and excommunicated by Holy Church, without repentance or
sacrament of Holy Church. And by this may we note the word which
Christ said in the Gospel: "Ye shall die in your sins," for so it came
to pass with Frederick, which was such an enemy to Holy Church, who
brought his wife and King Henry, his son, to death, and saw himself
discomfited, and his son Enzo taken, and himself, by his son Manfred,
vilely slain, and without repentance; and this was the day of S. Lucy
in December, the said year 1250. And him dead, the said Manfred became
guardian of the realm and of all the treasure, and caused the body of
Frederick to be brought and buried with honour in the church of
Monreale above the city of Palermo in Sicily, and at his burying he
desired to write many words of his greatness and power and the mighty
deeds done by him; but one Trottano, a clerk, made these brief verses,
the which were very pleasing to Manfred and to the other barons, and
he caused them to be engraven on the said sepulchre, the which said:--
Si probitas, sensus, virtutum gratia, census
Nobilitas orti, possent resistere morti,
Non foret extinctus Federicus, qui jacet intus.[3]
[Footnote 3:
If sense or frankness bold, if virtues' grace or gold,
If birth from noble source, could stay death in his course,
Frederick who here doth lie, would ne'er have come to die.]
And note, that at the time when the Emperor Frederick died, he had
sent into Tuscany for all the hostages of the Guelfs to cause them to
be put to death; and on the way to Apulia, when they were in Maremma,
they heard news of the death of Frederick, and the guards, for fear,
abandoned them, who escaped to Campiglia, and thence returned to
Florence and to the other cities of Tuscany, very poor and in great
need.
§ 42.--_How the Popolo of Florence peaceably restored the Guelfs to
Florence._
[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 49, 50.]
The same night that the Emperor Frederick died, the Podestà who ruled
for him in Florence, died also, who was named Messer Rinieri di
Montemerlo; for, as he slept in his bed, there fell upon him of the
vaulting from the roof of the chamber, which was in the house of the
Abati. And this was a sure sign that in the city of Florence his
lordship was to be ended, and this came to pass very soon; for the
common people having risen in Florence against the violence and
outrages of the Ghibelline nobles, as we have said, and tidings coming
to Florence of the death of the said Frederick, a few days after, the
people of Florence recalled and restored to Florence the party of the
Guelfs who had been banished thence, causing them to make peace with
the Ghibellines, and this was the seventh day of January, year of
Christ 1250.
§ 43.--_How at the time of the said Popolo the Florentines discomfited
the men of Pistoia, and afterwards banished certain families of the
Ghibellines from Florence._
[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 151-154.]
Greatly did the party for the Church and the Guelf party rejoice
throughout all Italy at the death of the Emperor; and the party for
the Empire, and the Ghibellines were brought low, inasmuch as Pope
Innocent returned from beyond the mountains with his court to Rome,
bringing aid to the faithful followers of the Church. It came to pass
that in the month of July, in the year of Christ 1251, the people and
commonwealth of Florence gathered a host against the city of Pistoia,
which had rebelled against them, and fought with the said inhabitants
of Pistoia, and discomfited them at Mount Robolini with great loss in
slain and prisoners of the men of Pistoia. And at that time Messer
Uberto da Mandella of Milan was Podestà of Florence. And because the
government of the Popolo was not pleasing to the greater part of the
Ghibelline families in Florence, forasmuch as it seemed to them that
they favoured the Guelfs more than was pleasing to them, and as in
past times they were used to do violence, and to be tyrannical,
relying on the Emperor, therefore they were even now unwilling to
follow the people and the commonwealth on the said expedition against
Pistoia, rather did they both in word and in deed oppose it through
factious hatred; forasmuch as Pistoia was ruled in those days by the
Ghibelline party; whereby was caused so great mistrust, that when the
host returned victorious from Pistoia, the said Ghibelline families in
Florence were banished and sent forth from the city by the people of
Florence, the said month of July, 1251. And the heads of the
Ghibellines in Florence being banished, the people and the Guelfs who
remained in the lordship of Florence, changed the arms of the
commonwealth of Florence; and whereas of old they bore the field red
and the lily white, they now made on the contrary the field white and
the lily red; and the Ghibellines retained the former standard, but
the ancient standard of the commonwealth dimidiated white and red, to
wit, the standard that went with the host upon the carroccio, never
was changed. We will leave for a while the doings of the Florentines,
and we will tell somewhat of the coming of King Conrad, son of the
Emperor Frederick.
§ 44.--_How King Conrad, son of Frederick the Emperor, came from
Germany into Apulia, and had the lordship over the realm of Sicily,
and how he died._
[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iii. 121.]
When King Conrad of Germany heard of the death of the Emperor
Frederick, his father, he prepared with a great company to pass into
Apulia and Sicily, to take possession of the said Kingdom, of the
which Manfred, his bastard brother, had become vicar-general, and was
ruling it altogether, save only the cities of Naples and of Capua, the
which had rebelled after the death of Frederick, and were returned to
obedience to the Church; as also many cities of Lombardy and Tuscany,
on occasion of the death of the said Frederick, had changed their
government and returned to the obedience of the Church. The said
Conrad would not adventure himself to come by land, but being arrived
in the Trevisan March, he caused a great fleet to be equipped by the
Venetians, and from thence by sea with all his people came to Apulia
the year of Christ 1251. And albeit Manfred was wrath at his coming,
forasmuch as he had purposed to be lord of the said kingdom, he made a
great welcome to Conrad, his brother, rendering him much honour and
reverence, and when he was in Apulia he led a host against the city of
Naples, the which before had been five times attacked and besieged by
Manfred, prince of Salerno, and he had not been able to conquer it;
but Conrad, with his great host after a long siege, gained the city by
surrender, on condition that he should neither slay the defenders nor
dismantle the place. But Conrad did not abide by the pact, but so soon
as he was in Naples he caused the walls and all the fortresses of
Naples to be destroyed; and the like did he to the city of Capua,
which had rebelled; and in a short space he had restored all the
Kingdom to his lordship, casting down every rebel, or whosoever was a
friend or follower of Holy Church; and not only the laity but the
monks and holy persons he caused to die by torments, robbing the
churches, and subduing whosoever was not in obedience to him, and
appointing to benefices, as if he were Pope; so that if Frederick, his
father, was a persecutor of Holy Church, this Conrad, if he had lived
longer, would have been worse; but as it pleased God, a little time
after, he was smitten with a grievous sickness, but not mortal, and
as he was being tended by leeches and physicians, Manfred, his
brother, to remain in power, caused the said leeches for money and
great promises to poison him by a clyster. By such a judgment of God,
by his brother's deed, of such a death did he die without repentance
and excommunicated, the year of Christ 1252. And he left behind him in
Germany a young son who was named Conradino, whose mother was daughter
to the duke of Bavaria.
§ 45.--_How Manfred, natural son of Frederick, took the lordship of
the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, and caused himself to be
crowned._
[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 121.]
[Sidenote: 1255 A.D.]
Conrad, called king of Germany, being dead, Manfred remained lord and
governor of Sicily and of the Kingdom, albeit through the death of
Conrad, some cities of the Kingdom rebelled, and Pope Innocent IV.,
with a great host of the Church, entered into the Kingdom to regain
the lands which Manfred was holding against the will of the Church,
and under sentence of excommunication; and when the said host of the
Church had entered into the Kingdom, all the cities and villages as
far as Naples surrendered themselves to the said Pope; but he had
sojourned but a short time in Naples ere he fell sick, and passed from
this life the year of Christ 1252, and was buried in the city of
Naples. Wherefore by the death of the said Pope, and by the vacancy
which the Church had after him, which for more than two years abode
without pastors, Manfred regained all the Kingdom, and his strength
increased greatly both far and near; and with great care he allied
himself with all the cities of Italy which were Ghibelline and
faithful to the Empire, and aided them by his German knights, making a
league and alliance with them in Tuscany and in Lombardy. And when the
said Manfred saw himself in glory and state, he thought to have
himself made king of Sicily and of Apulia, and to the end this might
come to pass, he sought for the friendship of the greatest barons of
the Kingdom, with monies and gifts and promises and offices. And
knowing that King Conrad, his brother, had left a son named Conradino,
the which was by law the rightful heir to the realm of Sicily, and was
in Germany under the guardianship of his mother, he devised guileful
practices whereby to become king; wherefore he gathered together all
the barons of the Kingdom, and took counsel with them what should be
done with the lordship, forasmuch as he had received tidings that his
nephew Conradino was grievously sick, and could never rule over a
realm; wherefore it was counselled by his barons that he should send
his ambassadors into Germany to learn of the state of Conradino, and
if he were dead or ill; and meanwhile they counselled that Manfred
should be made king. To this Manfred agreed, seeing it was he which
had falsely arranged it all, and he sent the said ambassadors to
Conradino and to his mother with rich presents and great offers. The
which ambassadors being come to Suabia, found the boy whom his mother
guarded most carefully, and with him she kept many other boys of
gentle birth clothed in his garments; and when the said ambassadors
asked for Conradino, his mother being in dread of Manfred, showed to
them one of the said children, and they with rich presents, offered
him gifts and reverence, among the which gifts were poisoned comfits
from Apulia, and the boy having eaten of them, straightway died.
They, believing Conradino to be dead by poison, departed from Germany,
and when they had returned to Venice, they caused sails of black cloth
to be made to their galley and all the rigging to be black, and they
were attired in black, and when they were come into Apulia, they made
a show of great grief, as they had been instructed by Manfred. And
having reported to Manfred, and to the German barons, and to those of
the Kingdom how Conradino was dead, and Manfred having made show of
deep affliction, by the call of his friends and of all the people (as
he had arranged), he was elected king of Sicily and of Apulia, and at
Monreale, in Sicily, caused himself to be crowned, the year of Christ
1255.
§ 46.--_Of the war between Pope Alexander and King Manfred._
[Sidenote: 1255 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1256 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 107.]
[Sidenote: Cf. De V.E. i. 12, 21 sqq.]
After the death of Pope Innocent, and the vacancy which followed,
there was elected Pope Alexander IV., born in the city of Alagna, in
Campagna, the year of Christ 1255, and he sat on the papal throne
seven years, and certain months and days. The which Pope Alexander,
hearing how Manfred had caused himself to be crowned king of Sicily
against the will of Holy Church, by the said Pope Manfred was required
to abandon the lordship of the Kingdom and of Sicily, the which he
would neither hearken to, nor obey; for the which thing the said Pope
first excommunicated and deprived him, and then sent against him Otho,
the cardinal legate, with a great host of the Church, and he took many
places on the coasts of Apulia; to wit, the city of Sipanto, and Mount
Santagnolo, and Barletta and Bari, as far as Otranto in Calabria; but
afterwards the said host, by reason of the death of the said legate,
returned with labour lost, and Manfred took back and regained all, and
this was the year of Christ 1256. The said King Manfred was son of a
beautiful lady, of the family of the Marquises of Lancia in Lombardy,
of whom the Emperor Frederick was enamoured, and he was beautiful in
person, and, like his father, but even more, dissolute in every
fashion; a musician he was, and singer, and loved to see around him
buffoons and minstrels, and beautiful concubines, and was always clad
in green raiment; very liberal was he, and courteous, and gracious, so
that he was much loved and in great favour; but all his way of life
was epicurean, caring neither for God nor the saints, but only for
bodily delights. An enemy he was to Holy Church, and to priests and
monks, occupying the churches as his father had done, and was a very
rich lord, alike from the treasure bequeathed to him by the Emperor
and by King Conrad, his brother, and from his kingdom, which was rich
and fruitful; and, for all the wars that he had with the Church, he
kept it in good state so long as he lived, so that he increased much
in riches and in power by sea and by land. For wife he took the
daughter of the despot of Romagna, by whom he had sons and daughters.
The arms which he took and bore were those of the Empire, save where
the Emperor, his father, bore the gold field and the black eagle, he
bore the silver field and the black eagle. This Manfred caused the
city of Sipanto in Apulia to be destroyed, forasmuch as through the
marshes around it was not healthy, and it had no harbour; and by its
citizens, at two miles distance upon the rock, and in a place where
there might be a good harbour, he caused a city to be founded, which
after his name was called Manfredonia, the which has now the best
harbour that there is between Venice and Brindisi. And of that city
was Manfred Bonetta, count chamberlain of the said King Manfred, a
delightsome man, a musician and singer, who caused the great bell of
Manfredonia to be made in his memory, the which is the largest that
can be found for size, and because of its size cannot be rung. We will
now leave speaking of Manfred until fit place and time, and will
return where we left off in our subject, namely to the doings of
Florence and of Tuscany and of Lombardy, albeit they were much mixed
up with the doings of the said King Manfred in many things.
[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]
§ 47.--_How the Florentines discomfited the Ubaldini in Mugello._ §
48.--_How the Florentines took Montaia and routed the troops of the
Sienese and the Pisans._ § 49.--_How the Florentines took Tizzano and
then routed the Pisans at Pontadera, the Pisans having routed the
Lucchese._
§ 50.--_How the bridge Santa Trinita was built._
In this time, the city of Florence being in happy state under the rule
of the Popolo, a bridge was built over the Arno from Santa Trinita to
the house of the Frescobaldi in Oltrarno, and in this the zeal of
Lamberto Frescobaldi helped much, which was a noted Ancient in the
Popolo, and he and his had come to great state and riches.
[Sidenote: 1252 A.D. Cf. Par. xvi. 50.]
§ 51.--_How the Florentines took the fortress of Fegghine._
§ 52.--_How the Sienese were routed by the Florentines at Montalcino._
§ 53.--_How the golden florins were first made in Florence._
[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xviii. 133-136.]
The host of the Florentines having returned, and being at rest after
the victories aforesaid, the city increased greatly in state and in
riches and lordship and in great quietness; for the which thing the
merchants of Florence, for the honour of the commonwealth, ordained
with the people and commonwealth that golden coins should be struck at
Florence; and they promised to furnish the gold, for before the custom
was to strike silver coins of 12 pence the piece. And then began the
good coins of gold, 24 carats fine, the which are called golden
florins, and each was worth 20 soldi. And this was in the time of the
said M. Filippo degli Ugoni of Brescia, in the month of November, the
year of Christ 1252. The which florins weighed eight to the ounce, and
on one side was the stamp of the lily and on the other of S. John. By
reason of the said new money of the golden florin there fell out a
pretty story, and worth narrating. The said new florins having begun
to circulate through the world, they were carried to Tunis in Barbary;
and being brought before the king of Tunis, which was a worthy and
wise lord, they pleased him much, and he caused them to be tried; and
finding them to be of fine gold, he much commended them, and having
caused his interpreters to interpret the imprint and legend on the
florin, he found that it said: S. John the Baptist, and on the side of
the lily, Florence. Perceiving it to be Christian money, he sent to
the Pisan merchants who were then free of the city and were much with
the king (and even the Florentines traded in Tunis through the
Pisans), and asked them what manner of city among Christians was this
Florence which made the said florins. The Pisans answered spitefully
through envy, saying: "They are our inland Arabs": which is to say,
"our mountain rustics." Then answered the king wisely: "It does not
seem to me the money of Arabs. O you Pisans, what manner of golden
money is yours?" Then were they confused, and knew not how to answer.
He asked if there were among them any one from Florence, and there was
found there a merchant from Oltrarno, by name Pera Balducci, discreet
and wise. The king asked him of the state and condition of Florence,
whom the Pisans called their Arabs; the which answered wisely, showing
the power and magnificence of Florence, and how Pisa in comparison was
neither in power nor in inhabitants the half of Florence, and that
they had no golden money, and that the florin was the fruit of many
victories gained by the Florentines over them. For the which cause the
Pisans were shamed, and the king, by reason of the florin and by the
words of our wise fellow-citizen, made the Florentines free of the
city, and allowed them a place of habitation and a church in Tunis,
and he gave them the same privileges as the Pisans. And this we knew
to be true from the said Pera, a man worthy of faith, for we were
among his colleagues in the office of prior.
[Sidenote: 1253 A.D.]
§ 54.--_How the Florentines marched upon Pistoia and took it, and then
upon Siena and took many of their fortresses._
§ 55.--_How the Florentines marched against Siena, and the Sienese
came to terms with them, and there was peace between them._
[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxxi. 40, 41.]
The next year, 1254, Messer Guiscardo da Pietrasanta, of Milan, being
Podestà of Florence, the Florentines marched against the city of Siena
and encamped against the castle of Montereggioni and laid siege to it,
and of a surety they would have taken it, for the German garrison was
in treaty to surrender it for 50,000 lire of 20 soldi to the gold
florin; and in one single night the Ancients found twenty citizens
each of whom offered a thousand of them, without counting smaller
sums, so well disposed for the good of the commonwealth were the
citizens of those days. But the Sienese, for fear of losing
Montereggioni, agreed to the terms of the Florentines, and peace was
made between them and the Sienese, and they completely surrendered the
castle of Montalcino to the Florentines.
[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1256 A.D.]
§ 56.--_How the Florentines seized the fortress of Poggibonizzi and
that of Mortennana._ § 57.--_How the Florentines routed them of
Volterra and took their city in the fight._ § 58.--_How the
Florentines marched against Pisa, and the Pisans submitted to their
terms._ § 59.--_How the great Khan of the Tartars became a Christian,
and sent his army, under his own brother, against the Saracens of
Syria._ § 60.--_How the first war arose between the Genoese and the
Venetians._ § 61.--_How the Count Guido Guerra expelled the Ghibelline
party from Arezzo, and how the Florentines reinstated it._ § 62.--_How
the Pisans broke the peace, and how the Florentines routed them at the
bridge over the Serchio._ § 63.--_How the Florentines destroyed the
castle of Poggibonizzi the first time._ § 64.--_Incident telling of a
great miracle concerning the body of Christ which came to pass in the
city of Paris._
§ 65.--_How the Popolo of Florence drave out the Ghibellines for the
first time from Florence, and the reason why._
[Sidenote: 1258 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 118, 119.]
In the year of Christ 1258, when Messer Jacopo Bernardi di Porco was
Podestà of Florence, at the end of the month of July they of the house
of the Uberti, with their Ghibelline allies, incited thereto by
Manfred, purposed to break up the Popolo of Florence, forasmuch as it
seemed to them to lean towards the Guelf party. When the said plot was
discovered by the Popolo, and they who had made it were summoned and
cited to appear before the magistrates, they would not appear nor come
before them, but the staff of the Podestà were grievously wounded and
smitten by them; for the which thing the people ran to arms, and ran
in fury to the houses of the Uberti, where is now the piazza of the
palace of the people and of the priors, and there they slew
Schiattuzzo degli Uberti and many of the followers and retainers of
the Uberti, and they took Uberto Caini degli Uberti and Mangia degli
Infangati, which when they had confessed the conspiracy in parliament
were beheaded in Orto San Michele; and the rest of the family of the
Uberti, with many other Ghibelline families, left Florence. The names
of the Ghibelline families of renown which left Florence were these:
the Uberti, the Fifanti, the Guidi, the Amidei, the Lamberti, the
Scolari, and part of the Abati, Caponsacchi, Migliorelli, Soldanieri,
Infangati, Ubriachi, Tedaldini, Galigari, the della Pressa, Amieri,
they of Cersino, the Razzanti, and many other houses and families of
the popolari and of decayed magnates, which cannot all be named, and
other families of nobles in the country; and they went to Siena,
which was governed in the Ghibelline interest, and was hostile to the
Florentines; and their palaces and strongholds were destroyed, whereof
there were many, and with the stones thereof they built the walls of
San Giorgio Oltrarno, which the Popolo of Florence caused to be begun
in those times by reason of the war with the Sienese. And afterwards,
in the following September of the said year, the Popolo of Florence
seized the abbot of Vallombrosa, which was a gentleman of the lords of
Beccheria of Pavia in Lombardy, for they had been told that at the
petition of the Ghibelline refugees from Florence he was plotting
treason; and this by torture they made him confess, and wickedly in
the piazza of Santo Apollinare by the outcry of the people they
beheaded him, not regarding his dignity nor his holy orders; for the
which thing the commonwealth of Florence and the Florentines were
excommunicated by the Pope; and from the commonwealth of Pavia, whence
came the said abbot, and from his kinsfolk, the Florentines which
passed through Lombardy received much hurt and molestation. And truly
it was said that the holy man was not guilty, albeit by his lineage he
was a distinguished Ghibelline. For the which sin, and for many other
deeds done by the wicked people, it was said by many wise men that God
by Divine judgment permitted vengeance to come upon the said people in
the battle and defeat of Montaperti, as hereafter we shall make
mention. The said Popolo of Florence which ruled the city in these
times was very proud and of high and great enterprises, and in many
things was very arrogant; but one thing their rulers had, they were
very loyal and true to the commonwealth, and when one which was an
Ancient took and sent to his villa a grating which had belonged to the
lion's den, and was now lying about in the mud of the piazza of S.
Giovanni, he was condemned therefor to a fine of 1,000 lire for
embezzling the goods of the commonwealth.
[Sidenote: 1259 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxii. 40-60.]
§ 66.--_How the Aretines took and destroyed Cortona._ § 67.--_How the
Florentines took and destroyed the castle of Gressa._ § 68.--_How the
people of Florence took the castles of Vernia and of Mangona._
§ 69.--_Incidents of the doings that were in Florence at the time of
the Popolo._
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 97-99.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112, 113.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 101.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 102, 103.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv. 103-105.]
In the time of the said Popolo in Florence it came to pass that there
was presented to the commonwealth a very fine and strong lion, the
which was in a den in the piazza of San Giovanni. It came to pass that
by lack of care on the part of the keeper, the said lion escaped from
its den, running through the streets, whence all the city was moved
with fear. It came to a stand at Orto San Michele, and there caught
hold of a boy and held him between its paws. The mother, whose only
child he was, and not born till after his father's death, on hearing
what had chanced, ran up to the lion in desperation, shrieking aloud
and with dishevelled hair, and snatched the child from between its
paws, and the lion did no hurt either to the woman or to the child,
but only gazed steadfastly and kept still. Now the question was what
was the cause of this, whether the nobility of the nature of the lion,
or that fortune preserved the life of the said child, to the end he
might avenge his father, the which he did, and was afterwards called
Orlanduccio of the lion, of Calfette. And note, that at the time of
the said Popolo, and before and afterwards for a long time, the
citizens of Florence lived soberly, and on coarse food, and with
little spending, and in manners and graces were in many respects
coarse and rude; and both they and their wives were clad in coarse
garments, and many wore skins without lining, and caps on their heads,
and all wore leather boots on their feet, and the Florentine ladies
wore boots without ornaments, and the greatest were contented with one
close-fitting gown of scarlet serge or camlet, girt with a leathern
girdle after the ancient fashion, with a hooded cloak lined with
miniver, which hood they wore on their head; and the common women were
clad in coarse green cambric after the same fashion; and 100 lire was
the common dowry for wives, and 200 or 300 lire was, in those times,
held to be excessive; and the most of the maidens were twenty or more
years old before they were wedded. After such habits and plain customs
then lived the Florentines, but they were true and trustworthy to one
another and to their commonwealth, and with their simple life and
poverty they did greater and more virtuous things than are done in our
times with more luxury and with more riches.
[Sidenote: 1259 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
§ 70.--_How Paleologus, emperor of the Greeks, took Constantinople
from the French and the Venetians._ § 71.--_Of a very sore battle
which was between the king of Hungary and the king of Bohemia._
§ 72.--_How the great tyrant, Ezzelino da Romano, was defeated by the
Cremonese and died in prison._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 109, 110. Par. ix. 25-30.]
In the said year 1260, Ezzelino of Romano, which is a Trevisan
castle, was defeated and wounded and taken prisoner by the Marquis
Pallavicino, and by the Cremonese in the country around Milan, near to
the bridge of Casciano over the river Adda, as he was on his way to
seize Milan, having with him more than 1,500 horsemen; from the which
wounds he died in prison, and was buried with honour in the village of
Solcino. He knew by augury that he should die in a village of the
country of Padua, which was called Basciano, and he would not enter
therein; and when he felt himself wounded he asked what the place was
called, and they answered, "Casciano"; then he said, "Casciano and
Basciano are all the same," and he gave himself up for dead. This
Ezzelino was the most cruel and redoubtable tyrant that ever was among
Christians, and ruled by his force and tyranny (being by birth a
gentleman of the house of Romano), long time the Trevisan March and
the city of Padua, and a great part of Lombardy; and he brought to an
end a very great part of the citizens of Padua, and blinded great
numbers of the best and most noble, taking their possessions, and
sending them begging through the world, and many others he put to
death by divers sufferings and torments, and burnt at one time 11,000
Paduans; and by reason of their innocent blood, by miracle, no grass
grew there again for evermore. And under semblance of a rugged and
cruel justice he did much evil, and was a great scourge in his time in
the Trevisan March and in Lombardy, to punish them for the sin of
ingratitude. At last, as it pleased God, by less powerful men than his
own he was vilely defeated and slain, and all his followers were
dispersed and his family and his rule came to nought.
§ 73.--_How both the king of Castille and Richard, earl of Cornwall,
were elected king of the Romans._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 23-120.]
Now some time before the said year, by reason of discord among the
electors of the Empire, two Emperors had been elected; one party (that
is to say, three of the electors) choosing Alfonso, king of Spain, and
the other party of the electors choosing Richard, earl of Cornwall,
and brother to the king of England; and because the realm of Bohemia
was in discord, and there were two which claimed to be king thereof,
each one gave his voice to his own party. And for many years there had
been this discord between the two pretenders, but the Church of Rome
gave more favour to Alfonso of Spain, to the end that he might, with
his forces, come and beat down the pride and lordship of Manfred; for
the which cause the Guelfs of Florence sent him ambassadors, to
encourage his coming, promising him great succour, to the end he might
favour the Guelf party. And the ambassador was Ser Brunetto Latini, a
man of great wisdom and authority; but before the embassage was ended
the Florentines were defeated at Montaperti, and King Manfred gained
great vigour and state throughout Italy, and the power of the Church
was much abased, for the which thing Alfonso of Spain abandoned the
enterprise of the Empire, and neither did Richard of England follow it
up.
§ 74.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence, sent into Apulia to
King Manfred for succour._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 32.]
In these times the Ghibelline refugees from Florence (who being in the
city of Siena were ill-supported against the Florentines by the
Sienese, forasmuch as they had no forces to bring against their host)
took counsel amongst themselves to send their ambassadors into
Apulia, to King Manfred, for succour. And when they were come thither,
albeit they were of the best and chiefest of the band, much time
elapsed, and Manfred did not dispatch their affair, nor give audience
to their request, by reason of the manifold businesses he had to do.
And when at last they had a mind to depart, and took their leave of
him very ill-content, Manfred promised them 100 German horsemen for
their aid. Whereon the said ambassadors were troubled at this his
first offer, and were minded to make their reply in the way of
refusing so sorry an aid, for they were ashamed to return to Siena,
inasmuch as they had hoped for more than 1,500 horsemen. But hereon
Messer Farinata degli Uberti said, "Be not dismayed, neither refuse
any aid of his, be it never so small. Let us have grace of him to send
his standard with them, and when it be come to Siena we will set it in
such a place that he must needs send us further succour." And so it
came to pass; and following the wise counsel of the knight, they
accepted Manfred's offer, praying him as a grace to give his own
standard to their captain, and so he did. And when they returned to
Siena with so poor an aid, great scorn was made thereof by the
Sienese, and great dismay came upon the Florentine refugees, which had
looked for aid and support from Manfred beyond measure greater.
§ 75.--_How the commonwealth and people of Florence led a great host
up to the gates of Siena with the carroccio._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
It happened in the year of Christ 1260, in the month of May, that the
people and commonwealth of Florence gathered a general host against
the city of Siena and led thither the carroccio. And note, that the
carroccio, which was led by the commonwealth and people of Florence,
was a chariot on four wheels, all painted red, and two tall red masts
stood up together thereupon, whereon was fastened and waved the great
standard of the arms of the commune, which was dimidiated white and
red, and still may be seen to-day in S. Giovanni. And it was drawn by
a great pair of oxen covered with red cloth, which were set apart
solely for this, and belonged to the Hospitallers of Pinti, and he who
drove them was a freeman of the commonwealth. This carroccio was used
by our forefathers in triumphs and solemnities, and when they went out
with the host, the neighbouring counts and knights brought it from the
armoury of S. Giovanni and conducted it to the piazza of the Mercato
Nuovo, and having halted by a landmark, which is still there, in the
form of a stone carved like a chariot, they committed it to the
keeping of the people, and it was led by popolani in the expeditions
of war, and to guard it were chosen the best and strongest and most
virtuous among the foot soldiers of the popolani, and round it
gathered all the force of the people. And when the host was to be
assembled, a month before the time when they were to set forth, a bell
was hung upon the arch of Porte Sante Marie, which was at the head of
the Mercato Nuovo, and there was rung by day and by night without
ceasing. And this they did in their pride, to give opportunity to the
enemy, against whom the host should go forth, to prepare themselves.
And some called it Martinella, and some the Asses' Bell. And when the
Florentine host went forth, they took down the bell from the arch and
put it into a wooden tower upon a car, and the sound thereof guided
the host. By these two pomps of the carroccio and of the bell was
maintained the lordly pride of the people of old and of our
forefathers in their expeditions. We will leave this and will turn to
the Florentines, how they made war against the Sienese, and took the
castle of Vicchio, and that of Mezzano, and Casciole, which pertained
to the Sienese, and encamped themselves against Siena, hard by the
entrance gate by the monastery of S. Petronella; and there they had
brought to them, upon a knoll which could be seen from the city, a
tower wherein they kept their bell; and in contempt of the Sienese,
and as a record of their victory, they filled it with earth and
planted an olive tree in it, the which, until our own days, was still
there. It fell out at that siege that one day the Florentine refugees
gave a feast to Manfred's German soldiers, and having plied them with
wine till they were drunk, in the uproar they incited them to arm
themselves and mount on horseback to assail the host of the
Florentines, promising them large gifts and double pay; and this was
done craftily by the wise, in pursuance of the counsel of Farinata
degli Uberti which he had given in Apulia. The Germans, beside
themselves and hot with wine, sallied forth from Siena and vigorously
assailed the camp of the Florentines, and because they were unprepared
and off their guard, holding as nought the force of the enemy, the
Germans, albeit they were but few folk, did great hurt to the host in
that assault, and many of the people and of the horsemen made a sorry
show in that sudden assault, and fled in terror, supposing that the
assailants were more in number. But in the end, perceiving their
error, they took to arms, and defended themselves against the Germans,
and of all those who sallied forth from Siena not one escaped alive,
for they were all slain and beaten down, and the standard was taken
and dragged through the camp and carried to Florence; and this done,
shortly afterwards the Florentine host returned to Florence.
§ 76.--_How King Manfred sent Count Giordano with 800 Germans to
succour the Sienese and the Ghibelline refugees from Florence._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
The Sienese and the Florentine refugees, perceiving how ill the
Florentines had fared in the assault of so small a number of German
horsemen, considered that if they had a greater number thereof, they
would be victorious in the war. Immediately they provided themselves
with money, procuring from the company of the Salimbeni, which were
merchants of those days, 20,000 florins of gold, and gave them in
pledge the fortress of Tentennana and several more castles of the
commonwealth, and sent their ambassadors again into Apulia with the
said money to King Manfred, saying how his few German followers by
their great vigour and valour had undertaken to assail the whole host
of the Florentines, and had turned a great part thereof to flight; but
if they had been more, they would have had the victory; but by reason
of their small number, they had all been left upon the field, and his
standard had been dragged about and insulted in the camp and in
Florence and round about. And beside this they plied the best reasons
they knew to move Manfred, who, having heard the tidings, was wrath,
and with the money of the Sienese, who paid half the charges for three
months, and at his own cost, sent into Tuscany Count Giordano, his
marshal, with 800 German horsemen, to go with the said ambassadors;
who reached Siena in the end of July, the year of Christ 1260, and by
the Sienese were received with great rejoicing, and they and all the
Ghibellines of Tuscany drew thence great vigour and courage. And when
they were come to Siena, immediately the Sienese sent forth their host
against the castle of Montalcino, which was under the commands of the
commonwealth of Florence, and sent for aid to the Pisans and to all
the Ghibellines of Tuscany, so that, what with the horsemen of Siena
and the Florentine refugees, and the Germans and their allies, there
were found 1,800 horsemen in Siena, whereof the greater part were
Germans.
§ 77.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence prepared to deceive
the commonwealth and people of Florence, and cause them to be
betrayed._
[Sidenote: Purg. xi. 109-142.]
[Sidenote: Inf. vi. 79. xvi. 40-42.]
The Florentine refugees, by whose embassy and deed King Manfred had
sent Count Giordano with 800 German horsemen, thought within
themselves that they had done nothing if they could not draw the
Florentines out into the field, inasmuch as the aforesaid Germans were
not paid save for three months, and already more than one month and a
half of this had passed, since their coming, nor had they more money
wherewith to pay them, nor did they look for any from Manfred; and
should the time for which they had been paid pass by without having
done aught, they would return into Apulia, to the great peril of the
state. They reasoned that this could not be contrived without skill
and subtlety of war, which business was committed to M. Farinata degli
Uberti and M. Gherardo Ciccia de' Lamberti. These subtly chose out two
wise minor friars as their messengers to the people of Florence, and
first caused them to confer with nine of the most powerful men of
Siena, who made endless show to the said friars that the government of
Messer Provenzano Salvani was displeasing to them, who was the
greatest of the citizens of Siena, and that they would willingly yield
up the city to the Florentines in return for 10,000 florins of gold,
and that they were to come with a great host, under guise of
fortifying Montalcino, as far as the river Arbia; and then they with
their own forces, and with those of their followers, would give up to
the Florentines the gate of Santo Vito, which is on the road to
Arezzo. The friars, under this deceit and treachery, came to Florence
with letters and seals from the aforesaid, and were brought before the
Ancients of the people, and proposed to them means whereby they might
do great things for the honour of the people and commonwealth of
Florence; but the thing was so secret that it must under oath be
revealed to but few. Then the Ancients chose from among themselves
Spedito di Porte San Piero, a man of great vigour and boldness, and
one of the principal leaders of the people, and with him Messer Gianni
Calcagni, of Vacchereccia; and when they had sworn upon the altar, the
friars unfolded the said plot, and showed the said letters. The said
two Ancients, who showed more eagerness than judgment, gave faith to
the plot; and immediately the said 10,000 golden florins were
procured, and were deposited, and a council was assembled of magnates
and people, and they represented that of necessity it behoved to send
a host to Siena to strengthen Montalcino, greater than the one sent in
May last to Santa Petronella. The nobles of the great Guelf houses of
Florence, and Count Guido Guerra, which was with them, not knowing of
the pretended plot, and knowing more of war than the popolani did,
being aware of the new body of German troops which was come to Siena,
and of the sorry show which the people made at Santa Petronella when
the hundred Germans attacked them, considered the enterprise not to be
without great peril. And also esteeming the citizens to be divided in
mind, and ill disposed to raise another host, they gave wise counsel,
that it were best that the host should not go forth at present, for
the reasons aforesaid; and also they showed how for little cost
Montalcino could be fortified, and how the men of Orvieto were
prepared to fortify it, and alleged that the said Germans had pay only
for three months, and had already served for half the time, and by
giving them play enough, without raising a host, shortly they would be
scattered, and would return into Apulia; and the Sienese and the
Florentine refugees would be left in worse plight than they were
before. And the spokesman for them all was M. Tegghiaio Aldobrandi
degli Adimari, a wise knight and valiant in arms, and of great
authority, and he counselled the better course in full. His counsel
ended, the aforesaid Spedito, the Ancient, a very presumptuous man,
rudely replied, bidding him to look to his breeches if he was afraid;
and M. Tegghiaio replied that at the pinch he would not dare to follow
him into the battle where he would lead; and these words ended, next
uprose M. Cece de Gherardini to say the same that Messer Tegghiaio had
said. The Ancients commanded him not to speak, and the penalty was 100
pounds if any one held forth contrary to the command of the Ancients.
The knight was willing to pay it, so that he might oppose the going;
but the Ancients would not have it, rather they made the penalty
double; again he desired to pay, and so it reached 300 pounds; and
when he yet wanted to speak and to pay, the command was that his head
should be forfeit; and there it stopped. But, through the proud and
heedless people, the worse counsel won the day, that the said host
should proceed immediately and without delay.
§ 78.--_How the Florentines raised an army to fortify Montalcino, and
were discomfited by Count Giordano and by the Sienese at Montaperti._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
The people of Florence having taken the ill resolve to raise an army,
craved assistance from their friends, which came with foot soldiers
and with horse, from Lucca, and Bologna, and Pistoia, and Prato, and
Volterra, and Samminiato, and Sangimignano, and from Colle di
Valdelsa, which were in league with the commonwealth and people of
Florence; and in Florence there were 800 horsemen of the citizens and
more than 500 mercenaries. And the said people being assembled in
Florence, the host set forth in the end of August, and for pomp and
display they led out the carroccio, and a bell, which they called
Martinella, on a car with a wooden tower on wheels, and there went out
nearly all the people with the banners of the guilds, and there did
not remain a house or a family in Florence which went not forth on
foot or on horseback, at least one for each house, and for some two or
more, according to their power. And when they found themselves in the
territory of Siena, at the place agreed upon, on the river Arbia, at
the place called Montaperti, with the men of Perugia and of Orvieto,
which there joined with the Florentines, there were gathered together
more than 3,000 horse and more than 30,000 foot. And whilst the host
of the Florentines was thus preparing, the aforesaid framers of the
plot, which were in Siena, in order that it might be the more fully
accomplished, sent to Florence certain other friars to hatch treason
with certain Ghibelline magnates and popolani which had not been
exiled from Florence, and would therefore have to join the general
muster of the army. With these, then, they plotted that when they were
drawn up for battle, they should from divers quarters flee from their
companies, and repair to their own party, to confound the Florentine
army. And this plot they made because they seemed to themselves to be
but few in comparison with the Florentines; and so it was done.
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 78-111.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 85-87.]
Now it happened that when the said host was on the hills of
Montaperti, those sage Ancients who were leading the host, and had
managed the negotiations, were awaiting the opening of the promised
gate by the traitors from within. A magnate from among the people, a
Florentine from the gate of S. Piero, which was a Ghibelline, and was
named Razzante, having heard something of the expectation of the
Florentine host, was commissioned by consent of the Ghibellines in the
camp which were meditating the treason, to enter Siena; whereupon he
fled on horseback from the camp to make known to the Florentine
refugees how the city of Siena was to be betrayed, and how the
Florentines were well equipped, and with great strength of horse and
foot, and to urge those within not to advise battle. And when he was
come unto Siena, and these things had been disclosed to the said M.
Farinata and M. Gherardo, the plotters, they said thus to him: "Thou
wilt slay us, if thou spreadest this news throughout Siena, inasmuch
as fear will fall upon every man, but we desire that thou shouldest
say the contrary; for if we do not fight while we have these Germans
we are dead men, and shall never return to Florence, and for us death
and defeat would be better than to crawl about the world any longer:"
and their counsel was to try the fortune of battle. Razzante,
instructed by these two aforesaid, determined and promised to speak
thus; and with a garland on his head, on horseback with the said two,
showing great gladness, he came to the parliament to the palace where
were all the people of Siena and the Germans and other allies; and
then, with a joyful countenance, he told great news from the
Ghibelline party and the traitors in camp, how the host was
ill-ordered and ill-led, and disunited, and that if they attacked them
boldly, they would certainly be discomfited. And Razzante having made
his false report, at the cry of the people they all moved to arms,
calling out: "Battle, battle." The Germans demanded a promise of
double pay, and this was given them; and their troop led the attack
from the gate of San Vito, which was to have been given over to the
Florentines; and the other horse and foot sallied out after them. When
those among the host which were expecting that the gate should be
given to them saw the Germans and the other horse and foot sally forth
towards them from Siena in battle array, they marvelled greatly, and
were sore dismayed, seeing their sudden approach and unlooked-for
attack; and they were the more dismayed that many Ghibellines who were
in the host, both on horse and foot, beholding the enemy's troops
approaching, fled from divers quarters, as the treason had been
ordered; and among them were the della Pressa and they of the Abati,
and many others. But the Florentines and their allies did not on this
account neglect to array their troops, and await the battle; and when
the German troop violently charged the troop of Florentine horse
(where was the standard of the cavalry of the commonwealth, which was
borne by M. Jacopo del Nacca, a man of great valour, of the house of
the Pazzi in Florence), that traitor of a M. Bocca degli Abati, which
was in his troop and near to him, struck the said M. Jacopo with his
sword, and cut off the hand with which he held the standard, and
immediately he died. And this done, the horsemen and people, beholding
the standard fallen, and that there were traitors among them, and that
they were so strongly assailed by the Germans, in a short time were
put to flight. But because the horsemen of Florence first perceived
the treason, there were but thirty-six men of name of the cavalry
slain and taken. But the great mortality and capture was of the foot
soldiers of Florence, and of Lucca, and of Orvieto, because they shut
themselves up in the castle of Montaperti, and were all taken; but
more than 2,500 of them were left dead upon the field, and more than
1,500 were taken captive of the best of the people of Florence, from
every house, and of Lucca, and of the other allies which were in the
said battle. And thus was abased the arrogance of the ungrateful and
proud people of Florence. And this was on a Tuesday, the 4th day of
September, in the year of Christ 1260; and there was left the
carroccio and the bell called Martinella, with an untold amount of
booty, of the baggage pertaining to the Florentines and their allies.
And thus was routed and destroyed the ancient Popolo of Florence,
which had continued in so many victories and in great lordship and
state for ten years.
§ 79.--_How the Guelfs of Florence, after the said discomfiture,
departed from Florence and went to Lucca._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 48.]
The news of the grievous discomfiture being come to Florence, and the
miserable fugitives returning therefrom, there arose so great a
lamentation both of men and of women in Florence that it reached unto
the heavens, forasmuch as there was not a house in Florence, small or
great, whereof there was not one slain or taken; and from Lucca, and
from the territory there were a great number, and from Orvieto. For
the which thing the heads of the Guelfs, both nobles and popolari,
which had returned from the defeat, and those which were in Florence,
were dismayed and fearful, and feared lest the exiles should come from
Siena with the German troops, perceiving that the rebel Ghibellines
and those under bounds which were absent from the city were beginning
to return thereto. Wherefore the Guelfs, without being banished or
driven out, went forth with their families, weeping, from Florence,
and betook themselves to Lucca on Thursday, the 13th day of September,
in the year of Christ 1260. These were the chief families of the Guelf
refugees from Florence: of the sesto of Oltrarno, the Rossi, and the
Nerli, and part of the Mannelli, the Bardi, and the Mozzi, and the
Frescobaldi; the notable popolani of the said sesto were the
Canigiani, Magli, and Macchiavelli, the Belfredelli and the Orciolini,
Aglioni, Rinucci, Barbadori, and the Battincenni, and Soderini, and
Malduri and Ammirati. Of San Piero Scheraggio, the nobles: Gherardini,
Lucardesi, Cavalcanti, Bagnesi, Pulci, Guidalotti, Malispini,
Foraboschi, Manieri, they of Quona, Sacchetti, Compiobbesi; the
popolani, Magalotti, Mancini, Bucelli, and they of the Antella. Of the
sesto of Borgo, the nobles: the Bondelmonti, Scali, Spini,
Gianfigliazzi, Giandonati, Bostichi, Altoviti, the Ciampoli,
Baldovinetti and others. Of the sesto of San Brancazio, the nobles:
Tornaquinci, Vecchietti, and part of the Pigli, Minerbetti,
Becchenugi, and Bordoni and others. Of the Porte del Duomo: the
Tosinghi, Arrigucci, Agli, Sizii, Marignolli, and Ser Brunetto Latini
and his family, and many others. Of the Porte San Piero: Adimari,
Pazzi, Visdomini, and part of the Donati. Of the branch of the Scolari
there were left della Bella, the Carci, the Ghiberti, the Guidalotti
di Balla, the Mazzochi, the Uccellini, Boccatonde; and beside these
magnates and popolani of each sesto were put under bounds. And for
this departure the Guelfs were much to be blamed, inasmuch as the city
of Florence was very strong, and with walls, and with moats full of
water, and could well have been defended and held; but the judgment of
God in punishing sins must needs hold on its course without hindrance;
and to whomsoever God intends ill, from him He takes away wisdom and
knowledge. And the Guelfs having departed on Thursday, the Sunday
after being the 16th of September, the exiles from Florence which had
been at the battle of Montaperti, with Count Giordano and with his
German troops, and with the other soldiers of the Ghibellines of
Tuscany, enriched by the spoil of the Florentines and of the other
Guelfs of Tuscany, entered into the city of Florence without
hindrance, and immediately they made Guido Novello of the Counts
Guidi, Podestà of Florence for King Manfred, from the first day of the
coming January for two years, and his judgment hall was the old palace
of the people at Santo Apollinari, the stair of which was on the outer
wall. And a little while after he caused the Ghibelline gate to be
made, and the road out to be opened; to the intent that by that way,
which corresponds with the palace, there might be entrance and exit at
need, and he might bring his retainers from Casentino into Florence to
guard him and the city. And because it was done in the time of the
Ghibellines, the gate and the road took the name of Ghibelline. This
Count Guido caused all the citizens which remained in Florence to
swear fealty to King Manfred, and by reason of promises made to the
Sienese he caused five castles of the territory of Florence which were
on their frontier to be destroyed; and there remained in Florence as
captain of the host, and vicar-general for King Manfred, the said
Count Giordano, with the German troops in the pay of the Florentines,
who greatly persecuted the Guelfs in many parts of Tuscany, as we
shall make mention hereafter; and took all their goods, and destroyed
many palaces and towers pertaining to the Guelfs, and took their goods
for the benefit of the commonwealth. The said Count Giordano was a
gentleman of Piedmont in Lombardy, and kinsman of the mother of
Manfred, and by his prowess, and because he was very faithful to
Manfred, and in life and customs as worldly-minded as he, he made him
a count, and gave him lands in Apulia, and from small estate raised
him to great lordship.
§ 80.--_How the news of the defeat of the Florentines came to the
court of the Pope, and the prophecy which was made thereupon by
Cardinal Bianco._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 120.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xx. and xxvii. 100-107.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 51.]
When the news of the aforesaid defeat came to the court of Rome, the
Pope and the cardinals who loved the state of Holy Church felt much
grief and compassion thereat, alike for the Florentines, and also
because thereby the state and power of Manfred, the enemy of the
Church, would increase; but Cardinal Ottaviano degli Ubaldini, which
was a Ghibelline, rejoiced greatly thereat; wherefore Cardinal Bianco,
which was a great astrologer and master of necromancy, seeing this,
said: if Cardinal Ottaviano knew the future of this war of the
Florentines, he would not be rejoicing thus. The college of cardinals
prayed him that he would declare himself more openly. Cardinal Bianco
would not speak, because to speak of the future seemed to him to be
unlawful to his office, but the cardinals so prayed the Pope that he
commanded him on his obedience to speak. Having received the said
command, he said in brief words: the conquered shall conquer
victoriously, and shall not be conquered for ever. This was
interpreted to mean that the Guelfs, conquered and driven out of
Florence, should victoriously return to power, and should never again
lose their state and lordship in Florence.
§ 81.--_How the Ghibellines of Tuscany purposed to destroy the city of
Florence, and how M. Farinata degli Uberti defended it._
[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxx. 148.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 111.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 91-93.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 83, 84.]
After the same fashion that the Guelfs of Florence departed, so did
those of Prato and of Pistoia, and of Volterra, and of Samminiato, and
of San Gimignano, and of many other cities and villages of Tuscany,
which all returned to the party of the Ghibellines save the city of
Lucca, the which held to the party of the Guelfs for a time, and was a
refuge for the Guelfs of Florence, and for the other exiles of
Tuscany, the which Guelfs of Florence took their stand in Lucca in the
quarter around San Friano; and the loggia in front of San Friano was
made by the Florentines. And when the Florentines found themselves in
this place, Messer Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, seeing Spedito who had
insulted him in the council and bade him look to his breeches, drew
himself up and took from his pouch five hundred florins of gold that
he had, and showed them to Spedito (who had fled from Florence in
great poverty), and said to him reproachfully, "Just look at the state
of my breeches! This is what you have brought yourself and me and the
rest to, by your rash and overbearing lordship." And Spedito answered,
"Then why did you trust us?" We have made mention of these paltry and
base altercations as a warning, that no citizen, especially if he be a
popolano and of small account, when he chances to be in office, should
be too bold or presumptuous. At this time the Pisans, the Sienese, and
they of Arezzo, with the said Count Giordano, and with the other
Ghibelline leaders, caused a council to be held at Empoli, to
establish the Ghibelline party in Tuscany, and to form a league; and
so it was done. And forasmuch as Count Giordano must needs return into
Apulia, to King Manfred, by command of the said Manfred there was
proclaimed as his vicar-general and captain of the host in Tuscany,
Count Guido Novello of the Counts Guidi of Casentino and of
Modigliana, who factiously forsook Count Simone his brother, and Count
Guido Guerra his fellow, and all those of his branch of the family
which held to the Guelf party; and he was desirous to drive out of
Tuscany every Guelf. And at the said council all the neighbouring
cities, and the Counts Guidi, and the Counts Alberti, and they of
Santafiore, and the Ubaldini, and all the barons around took counsel,
and were all of one mind how for the good of the Ghibelline party the
city of Florence should be utterly destroyed and reduced to open
villages, to the intent there might remain neither renown, nor fame,
nor power of its might. To withstand which proposal uprose the valiant
and wise knight, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, and in his saying he
introduced two ancient proverbs of the street which say: "As the ass
has wit, so he munches his rape" [_i.e._, every one does his business
according to his capacity, such as it is], and "Lame goats can go if
they meet no wolf" [_i.e._, any one can get on if there are no
difficulties]; and these two proverbs he wove together, saying: "As
the ass has wit, lame goats can go; so he munches his rape if they
meet no wolf," adroitly turning the vulgar proverbs to examples and
comparisons to show the folly of thus speaking, and the great peril
and hurt that might follow thereupon; and saying that if there were
none other than he, whilst he had life in his body he would defend the
city with sword in hand. Count Giordano perceiving this, and what
manner of man and of what authority was Messer Farinata, and his great
following, and how the Ghibelline party might be broken up and come to
discord, abandoned the idea, and took other counsel, so that by one
good man and citizen our city of Florence was saved from so great
fury, destruction, and ruin. But afterwards the said people of
Florence were ungrateful and forgetful towards the said Messer
Farinata, and his progeny and descendants, as hereafter we shall make
mention. But in despite of the forgetfulness of the ungrateful people,
nevertheless we ought to commend and keep in notable memory the good
and virtuous citizen, who acted after the fashion of the good Roman
Camillus of old, as we are told by Valerius and Titus Livius.
[Sidenote: 1261 A.D.]
§ 82.--_How Count Guido, the vicar, with the league of the
Ghibellines of Tuscany, went against Lucca, and took S. Maria a Monte
and many fortresses._
§ 83.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence sent their ambassadors
into Germany to stir up Conradino against Manfred._
In those times the Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other
cities of Tuscany, perceiving themselves to be thus persecuted by the
forces of Manfred and of the Ghibellines of Tuscany, and seeing that
no lord was rising against the forces of Manfred, and also that the
Church had but little power against him, thought within themselves to
send their ambassadors into Germany to stir up the little Conradino,
offering him much aid and favour, against Manfred, his uncle, who was
falsely holding the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia; and this was
done, for from among the chief of the Florentine exiles there went as
ambassadors, with those of the commonwealth of Lucca. And the Guelf
exiles from Florence were represented by M. Bonaccorso Bellincioni of
the Adimari, and M. Simone Donati. And they found Conradino so young a
boy that his mother would in no wise consent to let him go from her,
albeit with will and with mind she was greatly against Manfred and
held him as an enemy and rebel against Conradino. And the said
ambassadors, when they returned from Germany, as a token and earnest
of the coming of Conradino, caused him to give them his mantle lined
with miniver, which being brought to Lucca caused great rejoicing
among the Guelfs, and it was shown in S. Friano of Lucca, as if it had
been a relic. But the Guelfs of Tuscany did not know the future
destiny, how the said Conradino should become their enemy.
[Sidenote: 1262 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 56.]
§ 84.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took Signa, but held it
only a short space._ § 85.--_How Count Guido, the vicar, with the
Tuscan league and the forces of the Pisans, marched upon Lucca,
whereon the Lucchese made their peace, and drave out the Guelf
refugees from Lucca._
§ 86.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the other exiles of
Tuscany, drave out the Ghibellines from Modena and afterwards from
Reggio._
[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]
After the miserable Guelfs which had been driven from Florence and
from all the cities of Tuscany (whereof none held with the Guelf
party) were come into the city of Bologna, they abode there long time
in great want and poverty, some receiving pay to serve on foot, and
some on horse, and some without pay. It came to pass in those times
that the inhabitants of the city of Modena, Guelfs and Ghibellines,
came to dissension and civic strife among themselves, as it is the
custom of the cities of Lombardy to assemble and fight on the piazza
of the commonwealth; and many days they were opposed the one to the
other without either side being able to win the victory. It came to
pass that the Guelfs sent for succour to Bologna, and especially to
the Guelf refugees from Florence, which straightway, as needy folk,
and making war for their own behoof, went thither on horse and on
foot, as each best could. And when they came to Modena a gate was
opened to them by the Guelfs, and they were admitted; and straightway
when they were come upon the piazza of Modena, as brave men and used
to arms and to war, they attacked the Ghibellines, which could not
long endure, but were defeated and slain and driven out of the city,
and their houses and their goods spoiled; by reason of which booty the
said Guelf refugees from Florence and from the rest of Tuscany were
much enriched, and furnished themselves with horses and with arms,
whereof they were in great need, and this was in the year of Christ
1263. And whilst they were in Modena, a little while after, in the
same manner as in Modena, fighting began in the city of Reggio in
Lombardy, between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines; and when the Guelfs
of Reggio sent for aid to the Guelf refugees from Florence, which were
in Modena, straightway they went thither, and they chose as their
captain Messer Forese degli Adimari. And when they were come to Reggio
they joined in the battle on the piazza, which endured long time,
forasmuch as the Ghibellines of Reggio were very powerful, and among
them was one called Caca of Reggio, on whose name wit is spilled in
gibes even yet. This man was well-nigh as tall as a giant, and of
marvellous strength, and he had an iron club in his hand, and none
dared to approach him whom he did not fell to the earth, either slain
or maimed, and by him the battle was well-nigh wholly sustained. When
the gentlemen in banishment from Florence perceived this, they chose
among them twelve of the most valiant, and called them the twelve
paladins, which, with daggers in hand, all set upon that valiant man,
which, after very brave defence, and beating down many of his enemies,
was struck down to the earth and slain upon the piazza; and so soon as
the Ghibellines saw their champion on the ground, they took to flight
and were discomfited and driven out of Reggio; and if the Guelf
refugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany were
enriched by the spoil of the Ghibellines of Modena, much more were
they enriched by that of the Ghibellines of Reggio; and they all
provided themselves with horses, so that in a short time, while they
abode in Reggio and in Modena, they numbered more than 400 horsemen,
good men-at-arms well mounted, and they came at great need to the
succour of Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, when he came into
Apulia against Manfred, as we shall hereafter relate. We will now
leave the doings of Florence, and of the Guelf refugees, and turn to
the things which came to pass in those times between the Church of
Rome and Manfred.
§ 87.--_How Manfred persecuted Pope Urban and the Church with his
Saracens of Nocera, and how a crusade was proclaimed against them._
[Sidenote: 1261 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xxii. 16-18.]
By reason of the discomfiture of the Florentines, and of the other
Guelfs of Tuscany at Montaperti, as we have afore said, King Manfred
rose to great lordship and state, and all the imperial party in
Tuscany and in Lombardy greatly increased in power, and the Church and
its devout and faithful followers were much abased in all places. It
came to pass that a very little while after, in the said year 1260,
Pope Alexander passed from this life in the city of Viterbo, and the
Church was vacant without a pastor for five months through the
disputings among the cardinals; afterwards they elected Pope Urban
IV., of the city of Troyes, of Champagne in France, the which was of
low origin, being son of a cobbler, but was a man of worth, and wise.
But his election was in this fashion: he was a poor clerk which came
to the court of Rome to plead a cause about his Church, which had been
taken from him, which brought in twenty pounds tournois a year. The
cardinals, by reason of their disputes, locked the doors when they
were shut up, and made among themselves a secret decree that the first
clerk which knocked at the door should be Pope. As it pleased God this
Urban was the first, and where he came to plead for the poor church of
twenty pounds tournois revenue, he received the Universal Church,
after the ordinances of God, as fixed in the election of the blessed
Nicholas. Because the election was miraculous, therefore have we made
mention and record thereof. And he was consecrated the year of Christ
1261. Finding the Church much beaten down by the power of Manfred,
which was occupying the greater part of Italy, and had stationed the
host of his Saracens of Nocera in the lands of the patrimony of S.
Peter, the said Urban preached a crusade against them; wherefore many
faithful people took the cross and marched in the army against them.
For the which cause, the Saracens fled into Apulia, but Manfred did
not therefore cease to molest the Pope and the Church in their
followers and troops, and he abode now in Sicily and now in Apulia, in
great luxury and in great delights, following a worldly and epicurean
life, and for his pleasure keeping many concubines, living
lasciviously, and it seemed that he cared neither for God nor for the
saints. But God, the just Lord, which, through grace, delays His
judgments upon sinners to the intent they may bethink them, but in the
end does not pardon those who do not turn to Him, presently sent forth
His curse and ruin upon Manfred, when he believed himself to be in the
height of his state and lordship, as hereafter we shall make mention.
§ 88.--_How the Church of Rome elected Charles of France to be king of
Sicily and of Apulia._
[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 113, 124-129; xx. 67-69.]
The said Pope Urban and the Church being thus brought down by the
power of Manfred, and the two Emperors-elect (to wit, the Spaniard and
the Englishman) not being in concord nor having power to come into
Italy, and Conradino, son of King Conrad, to whom pertained by
inheritance the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, being so young a boy
that he could not as yet come against Manfred, the said Pope, by
reason of the importunity of many faithful followers of the Church,
the which by Manfred's violence had been driven from their lands, and
especially by reason of the Guelf exiles from Florence and from
Tuscany who were continually pursuing the court, complaining of their
woes at the feet of the Pope, the said Pope Urban called a great
council of his cardinals and of many prelates, and made this proposal:
seeing the Church was subjugated by Manfred, and since those of his
house and lineage had always been enemies and persecutors of Holy
Church, not being grateful for many benefits received, if it seemed
well to them, he had thought to release Holy Church from bondage and
restore her to her state and liberty, and this might be done by
summoning Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, son of the king of
France, and brother of the good King Louis, the which was the most
capable prince in prowess of arms and in every virtue that there was
in his time, and of so powerful a house as that of France, and who
might be the champion of Holy Church and king of Sicily and of Apulia,
regaining it by force from King Manfred, which was holding it unjustly
by force, and was excommunicated and condemned, and was against the
will of Holy Church, and as it were a rebel against her; and he
trusted so much in the prowess of the said Charles, and of the barons
of France, which would follow him, that he did not doubt but that he
would oppose Manfred and take from him the lands and all the Kingdom
in short time, and would put the Church in great state. To the which
counsel all the cardinals and prelates agreed, and they elected the
said Charles to be king of Sicily and of Apulia, him and his
descendants down to the fourth generation after him, and the election
being confirmed, they sent forth the decree; and this was the year of
Christ 1263.
§ 89.--_How Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, accepted the
election offered him by the Church of Rome to Sicily and to Apulia._
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 128.]
[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]
When the said invitation was carried to France by the Cardinal Simon
of Tours to the said Charles, he took counsel thereupon with King
Louis of France and with the count of Artois, and with the count of
Alençon, his brother, and with the other great barons of France, and
by all he was counselled that in the name of God he should undertake
the said emprise in the service of Holy Church, and to bear the
dignity of crown and Kingdom. And the King Louis of France, his elder
brother, proffered him aid in men and in money, and likewise offers
were made to him by all the barons of France. And his lady, which was
youngest daughter to the good Count Raymond Berenger, of Provence,
through whom he had the heritage of the county of Provence, when she
heard of the election of the Count Charles, her husband, to the intent
that she might become queen, pledged all her jewels and invited all
the bachelors-at-arms of France and of Provence to rally round her
standard and to make her queen. And this was largely by reason of the
contempt and disdain which a little while before had been shown to her
by her three elder sisters, which were all queens, making her sit a
degree lower than they, for which cause, with great grief, she had
made complaint thereof to Charles, her husband, which answered her:
"Be at peace, for I will shortly make thee a greater queen than them;"
for which cause she sought after and obtained the best barons of
France for her service, and those who did most in the emprise. And
thus Charles wrought in his preparations with all solicitude and
power, and made answer to the Pope and to the cardinals, by the said
cardinal legate, how he had accepted their election, and how, without
loss of time, he would come into Italy with a strong arm and great
force to defend Holy Church, and against Manfred, to drive him from
the lands of Sicily and of Apulia; by the which news the Church and
all her followers, and whosoever was on the side of the Guelfs, were
much comforted and took great courage. When Manfred heard the news, he
furnished himself for defence with men and money, and with the force
of the Ghibelline party in Lombardy and in Tuscany, which were of his
league and alliance, he enlisted and equipped many more folk than he
had before, and caused them to come from Germany for his defence, to
the intent the said Charles and his French following might not be able
to enter into Italy or to proceed to Rome; and with money and with
promises he gathered a great part of the lords and of the cities of
Italy under his lordship, and in Lombardy he made vicar the Marquis
Pallavicino of Piedmont, his kinsman, which much resembled him in
person and in habits. And likewise he caused great defences to be
prepared at sea, of armed galleys of his Sicilians and Apulians, and
of the Pisans which were in league with him, and they feared but
little the coming of the said Charles, whom they called, in contempt,
Little Charles. And forasmuch as Manfred thought himself, and was,
lord over sea and land, and his Ghibelline party was uppermost and
ruled over Tuscany and Lombardy, he held his coming for nought.
§ 90.--_Incident relating to the good Count Raymond of Provence._
[Sidenote: Par. vi. 127-142. Vita Nuova, § xli. 34-52.]
Since in the chapter above we have told of the worthy lady, wife of
King Charles and daughter of the good Count Raymond Berenger, of
Provence, it is fitting that something should briefly be said of the
said count, to whom King Charles was heir. Count Raymond was a lord of
gentle lineage, and kin to them of the house of Aragon, and to the
family of the count of Toulouse. By inheritance Provence, this side of
the Rhone, was his; a wise and courteous lord was he, and of noble
state and virtuous, and in his time did honourable deeds, and to his
court came all gentle persons of Provence and of France and of
Catalonia, by reason of his courtesy and noble estate, and he made
many Provençal coblas and canzoni of great worth. There came to his
court a certain Romeo [pilgrim], who was returning from S. James', and
hearing the goodness of Count Raymond, abode in his court, and was so
wise and valorous, and came so much into favour with the count, that
he made him master and steward of all that he had; who always
continued in virtuous and religious living, and in a short time, by
his industry and prudence, increased his master's revenue threefold,
maintaining always a great and honourable court. And being at war
with the count of Toulouse on the borders of their lands (and the
count of Toulouse was the greatest count in the world, and under him
he had fourteen counts), by the courtesy of Count Raymond, and by the
wisdom of the good Romeo, and by the treasure which he had gathered,
he had so many barons and knights that he was victorious in the war,
and that with honour. Four daughters had the count, and no male child.
By prudence and care the good Romeo first married the eldest for him
to the good King Louis of France by giving money with her, saying to
the count, "Leave it to me, and do not grudge the cost, for if thou
marryest the first well, thou wilt marry all the others the better for
the sake of her kinship, and at less cost." And so it came to pass;
for straightway the king of England, to be of kin to the king of
France, took the second with little money; afterwards his carnal
brother, being the king elect of the Romans, after the same manner
took the third; the fourth being still to marry, the good Romeo said,
"For this one I desire that thou should'st have a brave man for thy
son, who may be thine heir,"--and so he did. Finding Charles, count of
Anjou, brother of King Louis of France, he said, "Give her to him, for
he is like to be the best man in the world," prophesying of him; and
this was done. And it came to pass afterwards, through envy, which
destroys all good, that the barons of Provence accused the good Romeo
that he had managed the count's treasure ill, and they called upon him
to give an account; the worthy Romeo said, "Count, I have served thee
long while, and raised thy estate from small to great, and for this,
through the false counsel of thy people, thou art little grateful: I
came to thy court a poor pilgrim, and I have lived virtuously here;
give me back my mule, my staff, and my scrip, as I came here, and I
renounce thy service." The count would not that he should depart; but
for nought that he could do would he remain; and as he came, so he
departed, and no one knew whence he came or whither he went. But many
held that he was a sainted soul.
[Sidenote: 1264 A.D.]
§ 91.--_How in these times there appeared a great comet, and what it
signified._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VI.
BOOK VII.
[Sidenote: 1264 A.D.]
_Here begins the Seventh Book, which treats of the coming of
King Charles, and of many changes and events which followed
thereupon._
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 99. Purg. vii. 113, 124, 128, 129; xi. 137; xx.
67-69.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 61-63.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 113, 124.]
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 126.]
§ 1.--Charles was the second son of Louis le Debonnaire, king of
France, and grandson of the good King Philip, the blear-eyed, his
grandfather, whereof we before made mention, and brother of the good
King Louis of France, and of Robert, count of Artois, and of Alfonso,
count of Poitou; all these four brothers were the children of Queen
Bianca, daughter of the King Alfonso of Spain. The said Charles, count
of Anjou, by inheritance from his father, and count of Provence, this
side the Rhone, by inheritance through his wife, the daughter of the
good Count Raymond Berenger, so soon as he was elected king of Sicily
and of Apulia by the Pope and by the Church, made preparation of
knights and barons to furnish means for his enterprise and expedition
into Italy, as we before narrated. But in order that those who come
after may have fuller knowledge how this Charles was the first of the
kings of Sicily and of Apulia descended from the house of France, we
will tell somewhat of his virtues and conditions; and it is very
fitting that we should preserve a record of so great a lord, and so
great a friend and protector and defender of Holy Church, and of our
city of Florence, as we shall make mention hereafter. This Charles
was wise, prudent in counsel and valiant in arms, and harsh, and much
feared and redoubted by all the kings of the earth, great-hearted and
of high purposes, steadfast in carrying out every great undertaking,
firm in every adversity, faithful to every promise, speaking little
and acting much, scarcely smiling, chaste as a monk, catholic, harsh
in judgment, and of a fierce countenance, tall and stalwart in person,
olive-coloured, large-nosed, and in kingly majesty he exceeded any
other lord, and slept little and woke long, and was wont to say that
all the time of sleep was so much lost; liberal was he to knights in
arms, but greedy in acquiring land and lordship and money, from
whencesoever it came, to furnish means for his enterprises and wars;
in jongleurs, minstrels or jesters he never took delight; his arms
were those of France, that is an azure field charged with the golden
lily, barred with vermilion above; so far they were diverse from the
arms of France. This Charles, when he passed into Italy, was forty-six
years of age, and he reigned nineteen years in Sicily and Apulia, as
we shall make mention hereafter. He had by his wife two sons and
several daughters; the first was named Charles II., and was somewhat
crippled, and was prince of Capua; and after the first Charles, his
father, he became king of Sicily and of Apulia, as we shall make
mention hereafter. The second was Philip, who was prince of the Morea
in his wife's right; but he died young and without issue, for he
ruptured himself in straining a crossbow. We will now leave for a
while to speak of the progeny of the good King Charles, and will
continue our story of his passing into Italy, and of other things
which followed thereupon.
§ 2.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took the arms of Pope
Clement, and how they joined the French army of Count Charles._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
In those times the Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other
cities of Tuscany, who were much advantaged by the booty they had made
of the cities of Modena and Reggio, whereof we before made mention,
hearing that Count Charles was preparing to pass into Italy, gathered
all their strength in arms and in horses, each one doing all in his
power; and they numbered more than 400 good horsemen of gentle lineage
and proved in arms, and they sent their ambassadors to Pope Clement,
to the end he might recommend them to Count Charles, King elect of
Sicily, and to proffer themselves for the service of Holy Church;
which were graciously received by the said Pope, and provided with
money and other benefactions; and the said Pope required that for love
of him the Guelf party from Florence should always bear his proper
arms on their standard and seal, which was, and is, a white field with
a vermilion eagle above a green serpent, which they bore and kept
henceforward, and down to our present times, though it is true that
the Guelfs added afterwards a small vermilion lily above the head of
the eagle; and with this banner they departed from Lombardy in company
with the French horsemen of Count Charles when they journeyed to Rome,
as we shall make mention hereafter; and they were among the best
warriors and the most skilled in arms, of all those which King Charles
had at the battle against Manfred. We will now leave for the present
to speak of the Guelf refugees from Florence, and will tell of the
coming of Count Charles and of his followers.
§ 3.--_How Count Charles departed from France, and passed by sea from
Provence to Rome._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1265, Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence,
having collected his barons and knights of France, and money to
furnish means for his expedition, and having mustered his troops, left
Count Guy of Montfort, captain and leader of 1,500 French horsemen,
which were to journey to Rome by way of Lombardy; and having kept the
feast of Easter, of the Resurrection of Christ, with King Louis of
France and with his other brothers and friends, he straightway
departed from Paris with a small company. Without delay he came to
Marseilles in Provence, where he had had prepared thirty armed
galleys, upon which he embarked with certain barons whom he had
brought with him from France, and with certain of his Provençal barons
and knights, and put out to sea on his way to Rome in great peril,
inasmuch as King Manfred with his forces had armed in Genoa, and in
Pisa, and in the Kingdom, more than eighty galleys, which were at sea
on guard, to the intent that the said Charles might not be able to
pass. But the said Charles, like a bold and courageous lord, prepared
to pass without any regard to the lying-in-wait of his enemies,
repeating a proverb, or perhaps the saying of a philosopher, that
runs: Good care frustrates ill fortune. And this happened to the said
Charles at his need; for being with his galleys on the Pisan seas, by
tempest of the sea they were dispersed, and Charles with three of his
galleys, utterly forespent, arrived at the Pisan port. Hearing this,
Count Guido Novello, then vicar in Pisa for King Manfred, armed
himself with his German troops to ride to the port and take Count
Charles; the Pisans seized their moment, and closed the doors of the
city, and ran to arms, and raised a dispute with the vicar, demanding
back the fortress of Mutrone, which he was holding for the Lucchese,
which was very dear and necessary to them; and this had to be granted
before he was able to depart. And on account of the said interval and
delay, when Count Guido had departed from Pisa and reached the port,
Count Charles, the storm being somewhat abated, had with great care
refitted his galleys and put out to sea, having departed but a little
time before from the port, so great peril and misfortune being past;
and thus, as it pleased God, passing afterwards hard by the fleet of
King Manfred, sailing over the high seas, he arrived with his armada
safe and sound at the mouth of the Roman Tiber, in the month of May of
the said year, the which coming was held to be very marvellous and
sudden, and by King Manfred and his people could scarce be believed.
Charles having arrived in Rome, was received by the Romans with great
honour, inasmuch as they loved not the lordship of Manfred; and
immediately he was made senator of Rome by the will of the Pope and
the people of Rome. Albeit Pope Clement was in Viterbo, yet he gave
him all aid and countenance against Manfred, both spiritual and
temporal; but by reason of his mounted troops, which were coming from
France by land, and which through the many hindrances prepared by the
followers of Manfred in Lombardy, had much difficulty in reaching
Rome, as we shall make mention, it behoved Count Charles to abide in
Rome, and in Campagna, and in Viterbo throughout that summer, during
which sojourn he took counsel and ordered how he might enter the
Kingdom with his host.
§ 4.--_How Count Guy of Montfort, with the horse of Count Charles,
passed through Lombardy._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vii. 133-136. Conv. iv. 11: 125-127.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 115, 116.]
Count Guy of Montfort, with the horsemen which Count Charles had left
him to lead, and with the countess, wife to the said Charles, and with
her knights, departed from France in the month of June of the said
year. * * * * * * And they took the way of Burgundy and of Savoy, and
crossed the mountains of Monsanese [M. Cenis]; and when they came into
the country about Turin and Asti, they were received with honour by
the marquis of Monferrato, which was lord over that country, forasmuch
as the marquis held with the Church, and was against Manfred; and by
his conduct, and with the aid of the Milanese, they set out to pass
through Lombardy, from Piedmont as far as Parma, all in arms, and
riding in troops, with much difficulty, forasmuch as the Marquis
Pallavicino, kinsman of Manfred, with the forces of the Cremonese, and
of the other Ghibelline cities of Lombardy which were in league with
Manfred, was guarding the passes with more than 3,000 horsemen, some
Germans and some Lombards. At last, as it pleased God, albeit the two
hosts came very nigh one another at the place called . . . the French
passed through without any battle being fought and arrived at the city
of Parma. Truly it is said that one Master Buoso, of the house of da
Duera, of Cremona, for money which he received from the French, gave
counsel in such wise that the host of Manfred was not there to contest
the pass, as had been arranged, wherefor the people of Cremona
afterwards destroyed the said family of da Duera in fury. When the
French came to the city of Parma they were graciously received, and
the Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other cities of
Tuscany, with more than 400 horsemen (whereof they had made captain
Count Guido Guerra of the Counts Guidi) went out to meet them as far
as the city of Mantua. And when the French met with the Guelf refugees
from Florence and from Tuscany, they seemed to them such fine men, and
so rich in horses and in arms, that they marvelled greatly, that being
in banishment from their cities they could be so nobly accoutred, and
their company highly esteemed our exiles. And afterwards they took
them round by Lombardy to Bologna, and by Romagna and by the March,
and by the Duchy, for they could not pass through Tuscany, forasmuch
as it all pertained to the Ghibelline party, and was under the
lordship of Manfred; for the which thing they spent long time in their
journeying, so that it was not till the beginning of the month of
December, in the said year 1265, that they arrived in Rome; and when
they were come to the city of Rome, Count Charles was very joyful, and
received them with great gladness and honour.
§ 5.--_How King Charles was crowned in Rome king of Sicily, and how he
straightway departed with his host to go against King Manfred._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxviii. 16.]
When the mounted troops of Count Charles had reached Rome, he purposed
to assume his crown; and on the day of the Epiphany in the said year
1265, by two cardinal legates, despatched by the Pope to Rome, he was
consecrated and crowned over the realm of Sicily and Apulia, he and
his lady with great honour; and so soon as the festival of his
coronation was ended, without any delay he set out with his host by
way of the Campagna, towards the kingdom of Apulia, and Campagna; and
very soon he had a large part thereof at his command without dispute.
King Manfred hearing of their coming, to wit, first of the said
Charles, and then of his people, and how through failure of his great
host, which was in Lombardy, they had passed onward, was much angered.
Immediately he gave all his care to defend the passes of the Kingdom,
and at the pass at the bridge at Cepperano he placed the Count
Giordano and the count of Caserta, the which were of the house of da
Quona, with many followers, both foot and horse; and in San Germano he
placed a great part of his German and Apulian barons, and all the
Saracens of Nocera with bows and crossbows, and great store of arrows,
trusting more in this defence than in any other, by reason of the
strong place and the position, which has on the one side high
mountains, and on the other marshes and stagnant waters, and was
furnished with victuals and with all things necessary for more than
two years. King Manfred having fortified the passes, as we have said,
sent his ambassadors to King Charles to treat with him concerning a
truce or peace; and their embassage being delivered, it was King
Charles's will to make answer with his own mouth; and he said in his
language, in French: "Allez, et ditez pour moi au sultan de Nocere,
aujourdhui je mettrai lui en enfer, ou il mettra moi en paradis;"
which was as much as to say: I will have nothing but battle, and in
that battle, either he shall slay me, or I him; and this done without
delay he set out on his road. It chanced that King Charles having
arrived with his host at Fresolone in Campagna, as he was descending
towards Cepperano, the said Count Giordano, which was defending that
pass, seeing the king's followers coming to pass through, desired to
defend the pass; the count of Caserta said that it was better to let
some of them pass first so that they might seize them on the other
side of the pass without stroke of sword. Count Giordano, when he saw
the people increase, again desired to assail them in battle; then the
count of Caserta, who was in the plot, said that the battle would be a
great risk, seeing that too many of them had passed. Then Count
Giordano, seeing the king's followers to be so powerful, abandoned the
place and bridge, some say from fear, but more say on account of the
pact made by the king with the count of Caserta, inasmuch as he loved
not Manfred, who, of his inordinate lust, had forcibly ravished the
count of Caserta's wife. Wherefore he held himself to be greatly
shamed by him, and sought to avenge himself by this treachery. And to
this we give faith, because he and his were among the first who gave
themselves up to King Charles; and having left Cepperano, they did not
return to the host of King Manfred at San Germano, but abode in their
castles.
§ 6.--_How, after King Charles had taken the pass of Cepperano, he
stormed the city of San Germano._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
When King Charles and his host had taken the pass of Cepperano, they
took Aquino without opposition, and they stormed the stronghold of
Arci, which is among the strongest in that country; and this done,
they encamped the host before San Germano. The inhabitants of the
city, by reason of the strength of the place, and because it was well
furnished with men and with all things, held the followers of King
Charles for nought, and in contempt they insulted the servants which
were leading the horses to water, saying vile and shameful things,
calling out: "Where is your little Charles?" For which reason the
servants of the French began to skirmish, and to fight with those of
the city, whereat all the host of the French rose in uproar, and
fearing that the camp would be attacked, the French were all suddenly
in arms, running towards the city; they within, not being on their
guard, were not so quickly all in arms. The French with great fury
assailed the city, fighting against it in many places; and those who
could find no better protection, dismounting from their horses, took
off their saddles, and with them on their heads went along under the
walls and towers of the town. The count of Vendôme, with M. John, his
brother, and with their standard, which were among the first to arm
themselves, followed the grooms of the besieged which had sallied
forth to skirmish, and pursuing them, entered the town together with
them by a postern which was open to receive them; and this was not
without great peril, forasmuch as the gate was well guarded by many
armed folk, and of those which followed the count of Vendôme and his
brother, some were there slain and wounded, but they by their great
courage and strength nevertheless were victorious in the combat around
the gate by force of arms, and entered in, and straightway set their
standard upon the walls. And among the first which followed them were
the Guelf refugees from Florence, whereof Count Guido Guerra was
captain, and the ensign was borne by Messer Stoldo Giacoppi de' Rossi;
the which Guelfs at the taking of San Germano bore themselves
marvellously and like good men, for the which thing the besiegers took
heart and courage, and each one entered the city as he best could.
The besieged, when they saw the standards of their enemies upon the
walls, and the gate taken, fled in great numbers, and few of them
remained to defend the town; wherefore King Charles's followers took
the town of San Germano by assault, on the 10th day of February, 1265,
and it was held to be a very great marvel, by reason of the strength
of the town, and rather the work of God than of human strength,
forasmuch as there were more than 1,000 horsemen within, and more than
5,000 footmen, among which there were many Saracen archers from
Nocera; but by reason of a scuffle which arose the night before, as it
pleased God, between the Christians and the Saracens, in the which the
Saracens were vanquished, the next day they were not faithful in the
defence of the city, and this among others was truly one of the causes
why they lost the town of San Germano. Of Manfred's troops many were
slain and taken, and the city was all overrun and robbed by the
French; and there the king and his host abode some time to take repose
and to learn the movements of Manfred.
§ 7.--_How King Manfred went to Benivento, and how he arrayed his
troops to fight against King Charles._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
King Manfred, having heard the news of the loss of San Germano, and
his discomfited troops having returned thence, he was much dismayed,
and took counsel what he should do, and he was counselled by the Count
Calvagno, and by the Count Giordano, and by the Count Bartolommeo, and
by the Count Chamberlain, and by his other barons, to withdraw with
all his forces to the city of Benivento, as a stronghold, in order
that he might give battle on his own ground, and to the end he might
withdraw towards Apulia if need were, and also to oppose the passage
of King Charles, forasmuch as by no other way could he enter into the
Principality and into Naples, or pass into Apulia save by the way of
Benivento; and thus it was done. King Charles, hearing of the going of
Manfred to Benivento, immediately departed from San Germano, to pursue
him with his host; and he did not take the direct way of Capua, and by
Terra di Lavoro, inasmuch as they could not have passed the bridge of
Capua by reason of the strength of the towers of the bridge over the
river, and the width of the river. But he determined to cross the
river Volturno near Tuliverno, where it may be forded, whence he held
on by the country of Alifi, and by the rough mountain paths of
Beniventana, and without halting, and in great straits for money and
victual, he arrived at the hour of noon at the foot of Benivento in
the valley over against the city, distant by the space of two miles
from the bank of the river Calore which flows at the foot of
Benivento. King Manfred seeing the host of King Charles appear, having
taken counsel, determined to fight and to sally forth to the field
with his mounted troops, to attack the army of King Charles before
they should be rested; but in this he did ill, for had he tarried one
or two days, King Charles and his host would have perished or been
captive without stroke of sword, through lack of provisions for them
and for their horses; for the day before they arrived at the foot of
Benivento, through want of victual, many of the troops had to feed on
cabbages, and their horses on the stalks, without any other bread, or
grain for the horses; and they had no more money to spend. Also the
people and forces of King Manfred were much dispersed, for M. Conrad
of Antioch was in Abruzzi with a following, Count Frederick was in
Calabria, the count of Ventimiglia was in Sicily; so that, if he had
tarried a while, his forces would have increased; but to whom God
intends ill, him He deprives of wisdom. Manfred having sallied forth
from Benivento with his followers, passed over the bridge which
crosses the said river of Calore into the plain which is called S.
Maria della Grandella, to a place called the Pietra a Roseto; here he
formed three lines of battle or troops, the first was of Germans, in
whom he had much confidence, who numbered fully 1,200 horse, of whom
Count Calvagno was the captain; the second was of Tuscans and
Lombards, and also of Germans, to the number of 1,000 horse, which was
led by Count Giordano; the third, which Manfred led, was of Apulians
with the Saracens of Nocera, which was of 1,400 horse, without the
foot soldiers and the Saracen bowmen which were in great numbers.
§ 8.--_How King Charles arrayed his troops to fight against King
Manfred._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 34-39.]
King Charles, seeing Manfred and his troops in the open field, and
ranged for combat, took counsel whether he should offer battle on that
day or should delay it. The most of his barons counselled him to abide
till the coming morning, to repose the horses from the fatigue of the
hard travel, and M. Giles le Brun, constable of France, said the
contrary, and that by reason of delay the enemy would pluck up heart
and courage, and that the means of living might fail them utterly, and
that if others of the host did not desire to give battle, he alone,
with his lord Robert of Flanders and with his followers, would
adventure the chances of the combat, having confidence in God that
they should win the victory against the enemies of Holy Church. Seeing
this, King Charles gave heed to and accepted his counsel, and through
the great desire which he had for the combat, he said with a loud
voice to his knights, "Venu est le jour que nous avons tant desiré,"
and he caused the trumpets to be sounded, and commanded that every man
should arm and prepare himself to go forth to battle; and thus in a
little time it was done. And he ordered, after the fashion of his
enemies, over against them, three principal bands: the first band was
of Frenchmen to the number of 1,000 horse, whereof were captains
Philip of Montfort and the marshal of Mirapoix; of the second King
Charles with Count Guy of Montfort, and with many of his barons and of
the queen's knights, and with barons and knights of Provence, and
Romans, and of the Campagna, which were about 900 horse; and the royal
banners were borne by William, the standard-bearer, a man of great
valour; the third was led by Robert, count of Flanders, with his
Prefect of the camp, Marshal Giles of France, with Flemings, and men
of Brabant, and of Aisne, and Picards, to the number of 700 horse. And
besides these troops were the Guelf refugees from Florence, with all
the Italians, and they were more than 400 horse, whereof many of the
greater houses in Florence received knighthood from the hand of King
Charles upon the commencement of the battle; and of these Guelfs of
Florence and of Tuscany Guido Guerra was captain, and their banner was
borne in that battle by Conrad of Montemagno of Pistoia. And King
Manfred seeing the bands formed, asked what folk were in the fourth
band, which made a goodly show in arms and in horses and in ornaments
and accoutrements: answer was made him that they were the Guelf
refugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany. Then did
Manfred grieve, saying: "Where is the help that I receive from the
Ghibelline party whom I have served so well, and on whom I have
expended so much treasure?" And he said: "Those people (that is, the
band of Guelfs) cannot lose to-day"; and that was as much as to say
that if he gained the victory he would be the friend of the Florentine
Guelfs, seeing them to be so faithful to their leader and to their
party, and the foe of the Ghibellines.
§ 9.--_Concerning the battle between King Charles and King Manfred,
and how King Manfred was discomfited and slain._
[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxviii. 16.]
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 118, 119.]
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 124-132.]
The troops of the two kings being set in order on the plain of
Grandella, after the aforesaid fashion, and each one of the said
leaders having admonished his people to do well, and King Charles
having given to his followers the cry, "Ho Knights, Monjoie!" and King
Manfred to his, "Ho, Knights, for Suabia!" the bishop of Alzurro as
papal legate absolved and blessed all the host of King Charles,
remitting sin and penalty, forasmuch as they were fighting in the
service of Holy Church. And this done, there began the fierce battle
between the two first troops of the Germans and of the French, and the
assault of the Germans was so strong that they evilly entreated the
French troop, and forced them to give much ground and they themselves
took ground. The good King Charles seeing his followers so
ill-bestead, did not keep to the order of the battle to defend himself
with the second troop, considering that if the first troop of the
French, in which he had full confidence, were routed, little hope of
safety was there from the others; but immediately with his troop he
went to succour the French troop, against that of the Germans, and
when the Florentine refugees and their troop beheld King Charles
strike into the battle, they followed boldly, and performed marvellous
feats of arms that day, always following the person of King Charles;
and the same did the good Giles le Brun, constable of France, with
Robert of Flanders and his troop; and on the other side Count Giordano
fought with his troop, wherefore the battle was fierce and hard, and
endured for a long space, no one knowing who was getting the
advantage, because the Germans by their valour and strength, smiting
with their swords, did much hurt to the French. But suddenly there
arose a great cry among the French troops, whosoever it was who began
it, saying: "To your daggers! To your daggers! Strike at the horses!"
And this was done, by the which thing in a short time the Germans were
evilly entreated and much beaten down, and well-nigh turned to flight.
King Manfred, who with his troop of Apulians remained ready to succour
the host, beholding his followers not able to abide the conflict,
exhorted the people of his troop that they should follow him into the
battle, but they gave little heed to his word, for the greater part of
the barons of Apulia and of the Kingdom, among others the Count
Chamberlain, and him of Acerra and him of Caserta, and others, either
through cowardice of heart, or seeing that they were coming by the
worse, and there are those who say through treachery, as faithless
folk, and desirous of a new lord, failed Manfred, abandoning him and
fleeing, some towards Abruzzi and some towards the city of Benivento.
Manfred, being left with few followers, did as a valiant lord, who
would rather die in battle as king than flee with shame; and whilst he
was putting on his helmet, a silver eagle which he wore as crest fell
down before him on his saddle bow; and he seeing this, was much
dismayed, and said to the barons, which were beside him, in Latin:
"_Hoc est signum Dei_, for I fastened this crest with my own hand
after such a fashion that it should not have been possible for it to
fall"; yet for all this he did not give up, but as a valiant lord he
took heart, and immediately entered into the battle, without the royal
insignia, so as not to be recognised as king, but like any other
noble, striking bravely into the thickest of the fight; nevertheless,
his followers endured but a little while, for they were already
turning; and straightway they were routed and King Manfred slain in
the midst of his enemies, it was said by a French esquire, but it was
not known for certain. In that battle there was great mortality both
on the one side and on the other, but much more among the followers of
Manfred; and whilst they were fleeing from the field towards
Benivento, they were pursued by the army of King Charles, which
followed them as far as the city (for night was already falling), and
took the city of Benivento and those who were fleeing. Many chief
barons of King Manfred were taken; among the others were taken Count
Giordano, and Messer Piero Asino degli Uberti; which two King Charles
sent captive to Provence, and there he caused them to die a cruel
death in prison. The other Apulian and German barons he kept in prison
in divers places in the Kingdom; and a few days after, the wife of the
said Manfred, and his children and his sister, who were in Nocera of
the Saracens in Apulia, were delivered as prisoners to King Charles,
and they afterwards died in his prison. And without doubt there came
upon Manfred and his heirs the malediction of God, and right clearly
was shown the judgment of God upon him because he was excommunicated,
and the enemy and persecutor of Holy Church. At his end, search was
made for Manfred for more than three days, and he could not be found,
and it was not known if he was slain, or taken, or escaped, because he
had not borne royal insignia in the battle; at last he was recognised
by one of his own camp-followers by sundry marks on his person, in the
midst of the battle-field; and his body being found by the said
camp-follower, he threw it across an ass he had and went his way
crying, "Who buys Manfred? Who buys Manfred?" And one of the king's
barons chastised this fellow and brought the body of Manfred before
the king, who caused all the barons which had been taken prisoners to
come together, and having asked each one if it was Manfred, they all
timidly said Yes. When Count Giordano came, he smote his hands against
his face, weeping and crying: "Alas, alas, my lord," wherefor he was
commended by the French; and some of the barons prayed the king that
he would give Manfred the honour of sepulture; but the king made
answer: "_Je le fairois volontiers, s'il ne fût excommunié_"; but
forasmuch as he was excommunicated, King Charles would not have him
laid in a holy place; but at the foot of the bridge of Benivento he
was buried, and upon his grave each one of the host threw a stone;
whence there arose a great heap of stones. But by some it was said
that afterwards, by command of the Pope, the bishop of Cosenza had him
taken from that sepulchre, and sent him forth from the Kingdom which
was Church land, and he was buried beside the river of Verde
[Garigliano], on the borders of the Kingdom and Campagna; this,
however, we do not affirm. This battle and defeat was on a Friday, the
last day of February, in the year of Christ 1265.
[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]
§ 10.--_How King Charles had the lordship of the Kingdom and of
Sicily, and how Don Henry of Spain came to him._ § 11.--_How the
Saracens of Berber passed into Spain, and how they were there routed._
§ 12.--_How the Florentine Ghibellines laid siege to Castelnuovo in
Valdarno, and how they departed thence worsted._
§ 13.--_How the Thirty-six were established in Florence, and how the
Guilds of Arts were formed and standards given thereto._
[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 103-108.]
When the news came to Florence and to Tuscany of the discomfiture of
Manfred, the Ghibellines and the Germans began to be discouraged and
to fear in all places; and the Guelf refugees from Florence, which
were in rebellion, and those who were under bounds in the territory,
and in many places, began to be strengthened and to take heart and
courage, and coming nearer to the city, plotted changes and mutations
within the city, by compacts with their friends within, which had
understanding with them, and they came as far as to the Servi of S.
Maria to take counsel, having hope from their people which had been at
the victory with King Charles, from whom with his French folk they
were expecting aid; wherefore the people of Florence, which were at
heart more Guelf than Ghibelline, through the losses they had
received, one of his father, another of his son, a third of his
brothers, at the defeat of Montaperti, likewise began to take
courage, and to murmur and to talk through the city, complaining of
the spendings and the outrageous burdens which they endured from Count
Guido Novello, and from the others which were ruling the city; whence
those which were ruling the city of Florence for the Ghibelline party,
hearing in the city the said tumult and murmuring, and fearing lest
the people should rebel against them, by a sort of half measure, and
to content the people, chose two knights of the Jovial Friars of
Bologna as Podestàs of Florence, of which one was named M. Catalano of
the Malavolti, and the other M. Roderigo of Landolo, one held to be of
the party of the Guelfs, to wit, M. Catalano, and the other of the
party of the Ghibellines. And note that Jovial Friars was the name of
the Knights of S. Mary, and they became knights when they took that
habit, for they wore a white gown and a grey mantle; and for arms, a
white field with a red cross and two stars; and they were bound to
defend widows, and children under ward, and to be peace makers; and
other ordinances they had, as religious persons. And the said M.
Roderigo was the beginner of this Order; but it endured but a short
while, for the fact followed the name, to wit, they gave themselves
more to joviality than to aught else. These two friars were brought
thither by the people of Florence, and they put them in the People's
Palace over against the Badia, believing that by virtue of their habit
they would be impartial, and would guard the commonwealth from
extravagant spendings; the which, albeit in heart they were of diverse
parties, under cover of false hypocrisy were at one, more for their
own gain than for the public weal; and they ordained thirty-six good
men, merchants and artificers of the greatest and best which there
were in the city, the which were to give counsel to the said two
Podestàs, and were to provide for the spendings of the commonwealth;
and of this number were both Guelfs and Ghibellines, popolani and
magnates which were to be trusted, which had remained in Florence at
the banishment of the Guelfs. And the said thirty-six met together
every day to take counsel as to the common well-being of the city, in
the shop and court of the consuls of Calimala, which was at the foot
of the house of the Cavalcanti in the Mercato Nuovo; the which made
many good ordinances for the common weal of the city, among which they
decreed that each one of the seven principal Arts in Florence should
have a college of consuls, and each should have its ensign and
standard, to the intent that, if any one in the city rose with force
of arms, they might under their ensigns stand for the defence of the
people and of the commonwealth. And the ensigns of the seven greater
Arts were these: the judges and notaries, an azure field charged with
a large golden star; the merchants of Calimala, to wit, of French
cloths, a red field with a golden eagle on a white globe; money
changers, a red field sewn with golden florins; wool merchants, a red
field charged with a white sheep; physicians and apothecaries, a red
field, thereupon S. Mary with her son Christ in her arms; silk
merchants and mercers, a white field charged with a red gate, from the
title of Porta Sante Marie; furriers, arms vair, and in one corner an
Agnus Dei upon an azure field. The next five, following upon the
greater arts, were regulated afterwards when the office of Priors of
the Arts was created, as in time hereafter we shall make mention; and
they had assigned to them after a similar fashion to the seven Arts,
standards and arms: to wit, the Baldrigari (that is, retail merchants
of Florentine cloths, of stockings, of linen cloths, and hucksters),
white and red standard; butchers, a yellow field with a black goat;
shoemakers, the transverse stripes, white and black, known as the
pezza gagliarda [gallant piece]; workers in stone and in timber, a red
field charged with the saw, and the axe, and the hatchet, and the
pick-axe; smiths and iron workers, a white field charged with large
black pincers.
§ 14.--_How the second Popolo rose in Florence, for the which cause
Count Guido Novello, with the Ghibelline leaders, left Florence._
[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 121.]
By reason of the said doings in Florence by the said two Podestàs and
the Thirty-six, the Ghibelline magnates in Florence, such as the
Uberti, the Fifanti, and Lamberti, and Scolari, and the others of the
great Ghibelline houses, began to have their factious fears raised,
for it seemed to them that the said Thirty-six supported and favoured
the Guelf popolani which had remained in Florence, and that every
change was against their party. Through this jealousy, and because of
the news of the victory of King Charles, Count Guido Novello sent for
help to all the neighbouring allies, such as were the Pisans, Sienese,
Aretines, Pistoians, and them of Prato, of Volterra, Colle, and
Sangimignano, so that with 600 Germans which he had, his horsemen in
Florence numbered 1,500. It came to pass that in order to pay the
German troops, which were with Count Guido Novello, captain of the
league, he required that an impost of 10 per cent. should be levied;
and the said Thirty-six sought some other method of finding the money,
less burdensome to the people. For this cause, when they delayed some
days longer than appeared fitting to the Count and to the other great
Ghibellines of Florence, by reason of the suspicion which they felt
concerning the ordinances made by the Popolo, the said nobles
determined to put the town in an uproar, and destroy the office of the
said Thirty-six, with the help of the great body of horse which the
vicar had in Florence; and when they were armed, the first that began
were the Lamberti, which with their armed troops sallied forth from
their houses in Calimala, saying, "Where are these thieving
Thirty-six, that we may cut them all in pieces?" which Thirty-six were
then taking counsel together in the shop where the consuls of Calimala
administered justice, under the house of the Cavalcanti in the Mercato
Nuovo. When the Thirty-six heard this they broke up the council, and
straightway the town rose in uproar, and the shops were closed, and
every man flew to arms. The people all gathered in the wide street of
Santa Trinita, and Messer Gianni de' Soldanieri made himself head of
the people to the end he might rise in estate, not considering the
end, that it must bring about loss to the Ghibelline party, and damage
to himself, which seems always to have happened in Florence to
whomsoever becomes head of the people; and thus armed, at the foot of
the house of the Soldanieri, the popolani gathered in very great
numbers and put up barricades at the foot of the tower of the
Girolami. Count Guido Novello, with all the horsemen and with the
Ghibelline magnates of Florence, was in arms and mounted in the piazza
of S. Giovanni; and they advanced against the people, and drew up
before the barricade on the ruins of the houses of the Tornaquinci,
and made some show and attempt at fighting, and some mounted Germans
passed within the barricade; the people defended it boldly with
crossbows and by hurling missiles from the towers and houses. When the
Count saw that they could not dislodge the people, he reversed the
banners and returned with all the horsemen to the piazza of S.
Giovanni, and then came to the palace on the piazza of S. Apollinari,
where were the two Podestàs, M. Catalano and M. Roderigo, the Jovial
Friars; the horsemen meanwhile having command of the city from Porte
San Piero as far as San Firenze. The Count demanded the keys of the
gates of the city to depart from the town; and for fear missiles
should be hurled at him from the houses, he had for his safety on one
side of him Uberto de' Pucci, and on the other Cerchio dei Cerchi, and
behind him Guidingo Savorigi, which were of the said Thirty-six, and
among the greatest in the town. The said two friars were crying from
the palace, demanding with loud voices that the said Uberto and
Cerchio should come to them, to the end they might pray the Count to
return to his house and not depart; and they themselves would quiet
the people, and see that the soldiers were paid. The Count being in
greater suspicion and fear of the people than was called for, would
not wait, but would only have the keys of the gate; and this showed
that it was more the work of God than any other cause; for that great
and puissant body of horse had not been opposed nor driven out, nor
dismissed, nor was there any force of enemies against them; for albeit
the people were armed and gathered together, this was more from fear
than to oppose the Count and his horsemen, and they would soon have
been quieted, and have returned to their houses, and laid down their
arms. But when the judgment of God is ripe, the occasion is ever at
hand. When the Count had gotten the keys, during a great silence, he
caused a cry to be made whether all the Germans were there; he was
told that they were. Then the same was asked concerning the Pisans,
and likewise concerning all the cities of the league; and when he knew
that all were there, he gave orders to his standard-bearer to advance
with banners, and this was done; and they took the wide road of San
Firenze, and behind San Pietro Scheraggio and San Romeo to the old Ox
Gate, and when this was opened, the Count, with all his horsemen,
sallied forth, and held on by the moats behind San Jacopo, and by the
piazza of Santa Croce, where as yet there were no houses, and along
the Borgo di Pinti; and there stones were cast upon them; and they
turned by Cafaggio, and in the evening went to Prato; and this was on
S. Martin's Day, the 11th day of November, in the year of Christ 1266.
§ 15.--_How the Popolo restored the Guelfs to Florence, and how they
afterwards drave out the Ghibellines._
[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 58-69, 110, 111. Purg. xi. 97-99.]
[Sidenote: Vita Nuova iii. 96-104; xxiv. 18, 19; xxv. 111-113; xxxi.
21-24; xxxiii. 2-4. Sonnet xxxiii. 1. De Vulg. El. i. 13: 36; ii. 6:
68, 69; ii. 12: 16, 17, 62, 63.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 51.]
When Count Guido Novello, with all his horsemen and with many
Ghibelline leaders of Florence, reached Prato, they perceived that
they had done very foolishly in departing from the city of Florence,
without stroke of sword and not driven thence, and they perceived that
they had done ill, and took counsel to return to Florence the
following morning; and this they did; and they came all armed and in
battle array at the hour of tierce to the gate of the Carraia Bridge,
where is now the borough of Ognissanti, but there were no houses then;
and they demanded that the gate should be opened to them. The people
of Florence were in arms, and for fear lest the Count, returning with
his horsemen into Florence, might take vengeance upon them and
devastate the city, agreed together not to open the gate, but to
defend the city, which was very strong, with walls and with moats full
of water around the second circle; and when they would have made a
dash for the gate, they were shot at and wounded; and there they abode
until after noon, and neither by persuasions nor by threats were they
allowed to enter in. They returned to Prato gloomy and shamed, and as
they were returning, being angry, they attacked the fortress of
Capalle, but did not take it. And when they came to Prato they
bitterly reproached each other; but after a thing ill-judged, and
worse carried out, repentance is in vain. The Florentines which were
left reorganized the town, and dismissed the said two Podestàs, the
Jovial Friars of Bologna, and sent to Orvieto for aid in soldiers, and
for a Podestà and Captain, which Orvietans sent 100 horsemen to guard
the city, and M. Ormanno Monaldeschi was Podestà, and another
gentleman of Orvieto was the Captain of the People. And by a treaty of
peace, the following January the Popolo restored to Florence both
Guelfs and Ghibellines, and caused many marriages and alliances to be
made between them, among the which these were the chief: that M.
Bonaccorso Bellincioni degli Adimari gave for wife to M. Forese, his
son, the daughter of Count Guido Novello, and M. Bindo, his brother,
took one of the Ubaldini; and M. Cavalcante, of the Cavalcanti, gave
for wife to his son Guido the daughter of M. Farinata degli Uberti;
and M. Simone Donati gave his daughter to M. Azzolino, son of M.
Farinata degli Uberti; for the which alliances the other Guelfs of
Florence distrusted their loyalty to the party; and for the said
reason the said peace endured but a little while; for when the said
Guelfs had returned to Florence, feeling themselves stronger and
emboldened by the victory which they had gained over Manfred, with
King Charles, they sent secretly into Apulia to the said King Charles
for soldiers, and for a captain, and he sent Count Guy of Montfort,
with 800 French horsemen, and he came to Florence on Easter Day of the
Resurrection in the year of Christ 1267. And when the Ghibellines
heard of his coming, the night before they departed from Florence
without stroke of sword, and some went to Siena, and some to Pisa, and
to other places. The Florentine Guelfs gave the lordship over the city
to King Charles for ten years, and when they sent him their free and
full election by solemn embassy, with authority over life and death
and in lesser judgments, the king answered that he desired from the
Florentines their love and good-will and no other jurisdiction;
nevertheless, at the prayer of the commonwealth he accepted it simply,
and sent thither year by year his vicars; and he appointed twelve good
citizens to rule the city with the vicar. And it may be noted
concerning this banishment of the Ghibellines, that it was on the same
day, Easter Day of the Resurrection, whereon they had committed the
murder of M. Bondelmonte de' Bondelmonti, whence the factions in
Florence broke out, and the city was laid waste; and it seemed like a
judgment from God, for never afterwards did they return to their
estate.
§ 16.--_How, after the Ghibellines had been driven from Florence, the
ordinances and councils of the city were reorganized._
[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]
When the Guelf party had returned to Florence, and the vicar or
Podestà was come from King Charles (the first of them being M. . . .),
and after twelve good men had been appointed, as of old the Ancients,
to rule the republic, the council was re-made of 100 good men of the
people, without whose deliberation no great thing or cost could be
carried out; and after any measure had been passed in this council, it
was put to the vote in the council of the colleges of consuls of the
greater Arts, and the council of the credenza [privy council of the
Captain of the People] of eighty. These councillors, which, when
united with the general council, numbered 300, were all popolani and
Guelfs. After measures had been passed in the said councils, the
following day the same proposals were brought before the councils of
the Podestà, first before the council of ninety, including both
magnates and popolani (and with them associated yet again the colleges
of consuls of the Arts), and then before the general council, which
was of 300 men of every condition; and these were called the
occasional councils; and they had in their gift governorships of
fortresses, and dignities, and small and great offices. And this
ordered, they appointed revisors, and corrected all statutes and
ordinances, and ordered that they should be issued each year. In this
manner was ordered the state and course of the commonwealth and of the
people of Florence at the return of the Guelfs; and the chancellors of
finance were the monks of Settimo and of Ognissanti on alternate
half-years.
§ 17.--_How the Guelfs of Florence instituted the Ordinances of the
Party._
[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 120.]
In these times, when the Ghibellines had been driven out from
Florence, the Guelfs which had returned thither being at strife
concerning the goods of the Ghibelline rebels, sent their ambassadors
to the court, to Pope Urban and to King Charles, to order their
affairs, which Pope Urban and King Charles for their estate and peace
ordered them in this manner, that the goods should be divided into
three parts--one part to be given to the commonwealth, the second to
be awarded in compensation to the Guelfs which had been ruined and
exiled, the third to be awarded for a certain time to the "Guelf
Party"; but afterwards all the said goods fell to the Party, whence
they formed a fund, and increased it every day, as a reserve against
the day of need of the Party; concerning which fund, when the Cardinal
Ottaviano degli Ubaldini heard thereof, he said, "Since the Guelfs of
Florence are funding a reserve, the Ghibellines will never return
thither." And by the command of the Pope and the king, the said Guelfs
made three knights heads of the Party, and called them at first
consuls of the knights, and afterwards they called them Captains of
the Party, and they held office for two months, the sesti electing
them alternately, three and three; and they gathered to their councils
in the new church of Santa Maria Sopra Porta, being the most central
place in the city, and where there are most Guelf houses around; and
their privy council consisted of fourteen, and their larger council of
sixty magnates and popolani, by whose vote were elected the Captains
of the Party and other officers. And they called three magnates and
three popolani Priors of the Party, to whom were committed the order
and care of the money of the Party; and also one to hold the seal, and
a syndic to prosecute the Ghibellines. And all their secret documents
they deposited in the church of the Servi Sancte Marie. After like
manner the Ghibelline refugees made ordinances and captains. We have
said enough of the Ordinances of the Party, and we will return to the
general events, and to other things.
§ 18.--_How the soldan of the Saracens took Antioch._ § 19.--_How the
Guelfs of Florence took the castle of Santellero, with many Ghibelline
rebels._ § 20.--_How many cities and towns of Tuscany went over to the
Guelf party._ § 21.--_How King Charles's marshal advanced upon Siena
with the Florentines, and how the king came to Florence and took
Poggibonizzi._ § 22.--_How King Charles with the Florentines marched
upon the city of Pisa._
§ 23.--_How the young Conradino, son of King Conrad, came from Germany
into Italy against King Charles._
[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
King Charles being in Tuscany, the Ghibelline refugees from Florence
formed themselves into a league and company with the Pisans and
Sienese, and came to an agreement with Don Henry of Spain, which was
Roman senator, and already at enmity with King Charles, his cousin.
Therefore, with certain barons of Apulia and Sicily, he made oath and
conspiracy to make certain towns in Sicily and in Apulia to rebel, and
to send into Germany, and to stir up Conradino, which was the son of
Conrad, the son of the Emperor Frederick, to cross into Italy to take
away Sicily and the Kingdom from King Charles. And so it was done; for
immediately in Apulia there rose in rebellion Nocera of the Saracens,
and Aversa in Terra di Lavoro, and many places in Calabria, and almost
all in Abruzzi, if we except Aquila, and in Sicily almost all, or a
great part of the island of Sicily, if we except Messina and Palermo;
and Don Henry caused Rome to rebel, and all Campagna and the country
around; and the Pisans and the Sienese and the other Ghibelline cities
sent of their money 100,000 golden florins to stir up the said
Conradino, who being very young, sixteen years old, set forth from
Germany, against his mother's will, who was daughter of the duke of
Austria, and who was not willing for him to depart because of his
youth. And he came to Verona in the month of February, in the year of
Christ 1267, with many barons and good men-at-arms from Germany in his
train; and it is said that there followed him as far as Verona nigh
upon 10,000 men on horses or ponies, but through lack of means a great
part returned to Germany, yet there remained of the best 3,500 German
cavalry. And from Verona he passed through Lombardy, and by the way of
Pavia he came to the coast of Genoa, and arrived beyond Saona at the
shores of Varagine, and there put out to sea, and by means of the
forces of the Genoese, with their fleet of twenty-five galleys, came
by sea to Pisa, and arrived there in May in 1268, and by the Pisans
and by all the Ghibellines of Italy was received with great honour,
almost as if he had been Emperor. His cavalry came by land, crossing
the mountains of Pontremoli, and arrived at Serrazzano, which was held
by the Pisans, and then took the way of the seacoast with an escort as
far as Pisa. King Charles, hearing how Conradino was come into Italy,
and hearing of the rebellion of his cities in Sicily and Apulia,
caused by the treacherous barons of the Kingdom (the most of whom he
had released from prison), and by Don Henry of Spain, immediately
departed from Tuscany, and by hasty marches came into Apulia, and left
in Tuscany M. William di Belselve, his marshal, and with him M.
William, the standard-bearer, with 800 French and Provençal horsemen
to keep the cities of Tuscany for his party, and to oppose Conradino
so that he should not be able to pass. And Pope Clement, hearing of
the coming of Conradino, sent to him his messengers and legates,
commanding him, under pain of excommunication, not to go forward, nor
to oppose King Charles, the champion and vicar of Holy Church. But
Conradino did not by reason of this abandon his enterprise, nor would
he obey the commands of the Pope, forasmuch as he believed that his
cause was just, and that the Kingdom and Sicily were his, and of his
patrimony, and therefore he fell under sentence of excommunication
from the Church, which he despised and cared little for; but being in
Pisa, he collected money and people, and all the Ghibellines and
whosoever belonged to the imperial party, gathered themselves to him,
whence his force grew greatly. And being in Pisa, his host marched
against the city of Lucca, which was held for the party of Holy
Church, and within it were the marshal of King Charles with his
people, and the legate of the Pope and of the Church, with the forces
of the Florentines and of the other Guelfs of Tuscany, and with many
who had taken the cross, and through proclamations and indulgences and
pardons given by the Pope and by his legates, had come against
Conradino; and he remained over against Lucca ten days with his host;
and the two hosts met together to fight at Ponterotto, two miles
distant from Lucca, but they did not fight, but each one shunned the
battle, and they remained one on each side of the Guiscianella; so
they returned, the one part to Pisa, and the other to Lucca.
§ 24.--_How the marshal of King Charles was defeated at Ponte a Valle
by Conradino's army._
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
Then Conradino departed with his followers from Pisa, and came to
Poggibonizzi, and when the inhabitants thereof heard how Conradino was
come to Pisa, they rebelled against King Charles and against the
commonwealth of Florence, and sent the keys to Pisa to Conradino. And
then from Poggibonizzi he went to Siena, and by the Sienese was
received with great honour; and whilst he sojourned in Siena, the
marshal of King Charles, which was called, as we have said, M. William
di Belselve, with his people, departed from Florence on S. John's Day
in June to go to Arezzo to hinder the movements of Conradino; and by
the Florentines they were escorted and accompanied as far as
Montevarchi; and they desired to accompany him till he should be nigh
unto Arezzo, hearing that the journey was like to be disputed, and
fearing an ambush in the region round about Arezzo. The said marshal,
being beyond measure confident in his people, would have the
Florentines accompany him no further, and in front of the cavalcade he
set M. William, the standard-bearer, with 300 horsemen well armed and
in readiness, and he passed on safe and sound. The marshal, with 500
of his horsemen, not on their guard nor keeping their ranks, and for
the most part unarmed, prepared to advance, and when they came to the
bridge at Valle which crosses the Arno nigh to Laterino, there sallied
forth upon their rear an ambush of the followers of Conradino, which,
hearing of the march of the said marshal, had departed from Siena
under conduct of the Ubertini and other Ghibelline refugees from
Florence; and being come to the said bridge, the French, not being
prepared, and without much defence, were defeated and slain, and the
greater part were taken, and those which fled towards Valdarno to the
region round about Florence were taken and spoiled as if they had been
enemies; and the said M. William, the marshal, and M. Amelio di
Corbano, and many other barons and knights were taken and brought to
Siena to Conradino, and this was the day after the Feast of S. John,
the 25th day of the month of June, in the year of Christ 1268. At
which defeat and capture the followers of King Charles and all those
of the Guelf party were much dismayed, and Conradino and his people
increased thereupon in great pride and courage, and held the French
almost for naught. And this being heard in the Kingdom, many cities
rebelled against King Charles. And at this time King Charles was at
the siege of the city of Nocera of the Saracens in Apulia, which had
rebelled, to the end that the others on the coast of Apulia, which
were all subject to him, might not rebel against him.
§ 25.--_How Conradino entered into Rome, and afterwards with his host
passed into the kingdom of Apulia._
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
Conradino, having sojourned somewhat in Siena, departed to Rome, and
by the Romans and by Don Henry, the senator, was received with great
honour, as if he had been Emperor, and in Rome he gathered together
people and money, and despoiled the treasures of S. Peter and the
other churches of Rome to raise monies; and he had in Rome more than
5,000 horsemen, what with Germans and Italians, together with those
of the senator, Don Henry, brother of the king of Spain, which had
with him full 800 good Spanish horsemen. And Conradino, hearing that
King Charles was with his host in Apulia at the city of Nocera, and
that many of the cities and barons of the Kingdom had rebelled, and
that others were suspected, it seemed to him a convenient time to
enter into the Kingdom, and he departed from Rome the 10th day of
August, in the year of Christ 1268, with the said Don Henry, and with
his company and his barons, and with many Romans; and he did not take
the way of Campagna, forasmuch as he knew that the pass of Cepperano
was furnished and guarded; wherefore he did not desire to contest it,
but took the way of the mountains between the Abruzzi and the Campagna
by Valle di Celle, where there was no guard nor garrison; and without
any hindrance he passed on and came into the plain of San Valentino in
the country of Tagliacozzo.
§ 26.--_How the host of Conradino and that of King Charles met in
battle at Tagliacozzo._
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 17, 18.]
King Charles, hearing how Conradino was departed from Rome with his
followers to enter into the Kingdom, broke up his camp at Nocera, and
with all his people came against Conradino by hasty marches, and at
the city of Aquila in Abruzzi awaited his followers. And being at
Aquila, he took counsel with the men of the city, exhorting them to be
leal and true, and to make provision for the host; whereupon a wise
and ancient inhabitant rose and said: "King Charles, take no further
counsel, and do not avoid a little toil, to the end thou mayest have
continual repose. Delay no longer, but go against the enemy, and let
him not gain ground, and we will be leal and true to thee." The king,
hearing such sage counsel, without any delay or further parley,
departed by the road crossing the mountains, and came close to the
host of Conradino in the place and plain of San Valentino, and there
was nought between them save the river of . . . King Charles had of
his people, between Frenchmen and Provençals and Italians, less than
3,000 cavaliers, and seeing that Conradino had many more people than
he, he took the counsel of the good M. Alardo di Valleri, a French
knight of great wisdom and prowess, which at that time had arrived in
Apulia from over seas from the Holy Land, who said to King Charles, if
he desired to be victorious it behoved him to use stratagems of war
rather than force. King Charles, trusting much in the wisdom of the
said M. Alardo, committed to him the entire direction of the host and
of the battle, who drew up the king's followers in three troops, and
of one he made captain M. Henry of Cosance, tall in person, and a good
knight at arms; he was armed with royal insignia in place of the
king's person, and led Provençals and Tuscans and Lombards, and men of
the Campagna. The second troop was of Frenchmen, whereof were captains
M. Jean de Cléry, and M. William, the standard-bearer; and he put the
Provençals to guard the bridge over the said river, to the end the
host of Conradino might not pass without the disadvantage of combat.
King Charles, with the flower of his chivalry and barons, to the
number of 800 cavaliers, he placed in ambush behind a little hill in a
valley, and with King Charles there remained the said M. Alardo di
Valleri, with M. William de Ville, and Arduino, prince of the Morea, a
right valiant knight. Conradino, on the other side, formed his
followers in three troops, one of Germans, whereof he was captain
with the duke of Austria, and with many counts and barons; the second
of Italians, whereof he made captain Count Calvagno, with certain
Germans; the third was of Spaniards, whereof was captain Don Henry of
Spain, their lord. In this array, one host over against the other, the
rebel barons of the Kingdom guilefully, in order to cause dismay to
King Charles and his followers, caused false ambassadors to come into
the camp of Conradino, in full pomp, with keys in their hands, and
with large presents, saying that they were sent from the commonwealth
of Aquila to give him the keys and the lordship of the city, as his
men and faithful subjects, to the end he might deliver them from the
tyranny of King Charles. For which cause the host of Conradino and he
himself, deeming it to be true, rejoiced greatly; and this being heard
in the host of King Charles caused great dismay, forasmuch as they
feared to lose the victual which came to them from that side, and also
the aid of the men of Aquila. The king himself, hearing this, was
seized with so great pangs that in the night season he set forth with
a few of the host in his company, and came to Aquila that same night,
and causing the guards at the gates to be asked for whom they held the
city, they answered, For King Charles: who, having entered in without
dismounting from his horse, having exhorted them to good watch,
immediately returned to the host, and was there early in the morning:
and because of the weariness of going and returning by night from
Aquila, King Charles laid him down and slept.
§ 27.--_How Conradino and his people were defeated by King Charles._
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 17, 18.]
Now Conradino and his host were puffed up with the vain hope that
Aquila had rebelled against King Charles, and therefore, all drawn up
in battle array, they raised their battle cry, and made a vigorous
rush to force the passages of the river and engage with King Charles.
King Charles, albeit he was reposing, as we have said, hearing the din
of the enemy, and how they were in arms and ready for battle,
immediately caused his followers to arm and array themselves after the
order and fashion whereof we before made mention. And the troop of the
Provençals, which was led by M. Henry of Cosance, being at guard on
the bridge to hinder the passing of Don Henry of Spain and his people,
the Spaniards set themselves to ford the river, which was not very
great, and began to enclose the troop of Provençals which were
defending the bridge. Conradino and the rest of his host, seeing the
Spaniards had crossed, began to pass the river, and with great fury
assailed the followers of King Charles, and in a short time had routed
and defeated the Provençal troop; and the said M. Henry of Cosance;
and the standard of King Charles was beaten down, and M. Henry himself
was slain. Don Henry and the Germans, believing they had got King
Charles in person, inasmuch as he wore the royal insignia, all fell
upon him at once. And the said Provençal troop being routed, they
dealt in like fashion with the French and the Italian troop, which was
led by M. Jean de Cléry and M. William, the standard-bearer, because
the followers of Conradino were two to one against those of King
Charles, and very fierce and violent in battle; and the followers of
King Charles, seeing themselves thus sore bestead, took to flight, and
abandoned the field. The Germans believed themselves victorious, not
knowing of King Charles's ambush, and began to scatter themselves over
the field, giving their minds to plunder and booty. King Charles was
upon the little hill above the valley, where was his troop, with M.
Alardo di Valleri, and with Count Guy of Montfort, beholding the
battle; and when he saw his people thus routed, first one troop and
then the other thus put to flight, he was deadly grieved, and longed
even to put in motion his own troop to go to the succour of the
others. M. Alardo, which was commander of the host, and wise in war,
with great temperance and with wise words much restrained the king,
saying that for God's sake he should suffer it a while, if he desired
the honour of the victory, because he knew the cupidity of the
Germans, and how greedy they were for booty; and he must let them
break up more from their troops; and when he saw them well scattered,
he said to the king: "Let the banners set forth, for now it is time;"
and so it was done. And when the said troop sallied forth from the
valley, neither Conradino nor his followers believed that they were
enemies, but that they were of their own party; and they were not upon
their guard; and the king, coming with his followers in close ranks,
came straight to where was the troop of Conradino, with the chief
among his barons, and there began fierce and violent combat, albeit it
endured not long, seeing that the followers of Conradino were faint
and weary with fighting, and had not near so many horsemen in battle
array as those of the king, forasmuch as the greater part were
wandering out of the ranks, some pursuing the enemy and some scattered
over the field in search of booty and prisoners; and the troop of
Conradino, by reason of the unexpected assault of the enemy, was
continually diminishing, and that of King Charles continually
increasing, because his first troops, which had been put to flight
through the first defeat, recognising the royal standard, joined on to
his company, insomuch that in a little while Conradino and his
followers were discomfited. And when Conradino perceived that the
fortunes of war were against him, by the counsel of his greater barons
he took to flight, together with the duke of Austria, and Count
Calvagno, and Count Gualferano, and Count Gherardo da Pisa, and many
more. M. Alardo di Valleri, seeing the enemy put to flight, cried
aloud, praying and entreating the king and the captains of the troop
not to set forth either in pursuit of the enemy or other prey, fearing
lest the followers of Conradino should gather together, or should
sally forth from some ambush, but to abide firm and in order on the
field; and so was it done. And this was very fortunate, for Don Henry,
with his Spaniards, and other Germans, which had pursued into a valley
the Provençals and Italians whom they had first discomfited, and which
had not seen King Charles offer battle nor the discomfiture of
Conradino, had now gathered his men together, and was returning to the
field; and seeing King Charles' troop, he believed them to be
Conradino and his following, so that he came down from the hill where
he had assembled his men, to come to his allies; and when he drew nigh
unto them, he recognised the standards of the enemy, and how much
deceived he had been; and he was sore dismayed; but, like the valiant
lord he was, he rallied and closed up his troop after such a fashion
that King Charles and his followers, which were spent by the toils of
the combat, did not venture to strike into Don Henry's troop, and to
the end they might not risk the game already won, they abode in array
over against one another a good space. The good M. Alardo, seeing
this, said to the king that they must needs make the enemy break their
ranks in order to rout them; whereon the king bade him act after his
mind. Then he took of the best barons of the king's troop from twenty
to thirty, and they set forth from the troop, as though they fled for
fear, as he had instructed them. The Spaniards, seeing how the
standard-bearers of sundry of these lords were wheeling round as
though in act to flee, with vain hope began to cry: "They are put to
flight," and began to leave their own ranks, desiring to pursue them.
King Charles, seeing gaps and openings in the troop of Spaniards, and
others on the German side, began boldly to strike among them, and M.
Alardo with his men wisely gathered themselves together and returned
to the troop. Then was the battle fierce and hard; but the Spaniards
were well armed, and by stroke of sword might not be struck to the
ground, and continually after their fashion they drew close together.
Then began the French to cry out wrathfully, and to take hold of them
by the arms and drag them from their horses after the manner of
tournaments; and this was done to such good purpose that in a short
time they were routed, and defeated, and put to flight, and many of
them lay dead on the field. Don Henry, with many of his followers,
fled to Monte Cascino, and said that King Charles was defeated. The
abbot, which was lord of those lands, knew Don Henry, and judging by
divers signs that they were fugitives, caused him and great part of
his people to be seized. King Charles, with all his followers,
remained upon the field, armed and on horseback, until the night, to
the end he might gather together his men, and to be sure of full
victory over the enemy; and this defeat was on the vigil of S.
Bartholomew, on the 23rd day of August, in the year of Christ 1268.
And in that place King Charles afterwards caused a rich abbey to be
built for the souls of his men which had been slain; which is called
S. Mary of the Victory, in the plain of Tagliacozzo.
§ 28.--_Of the vision that came to Pope Clement concerning the
discomfiture of Conradino._
§ 29.--_How Conradino and certain of his barons were taken by King
Charles, and how he caused their heads to be cut off._
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 68.]
Conradino, with the duke of Austria and with many others, which were
fled from the field with him, arrived at the beach towards Rome upon
the seashore hard by a place which is called Asturi, which pertained
to the Infragnipani, noblemen of Rome; and when they were come
thither, they had a pinnace furnished to pass into Sicily, hoping to
escape from King Charles; and in Sicily, which had almost all rebelled
against the king, to recover state and lordship. They having already
embarked unrecognised on the said vessel, one of the said Infragnipani
which was in Asturi, seeing that they were in great part Germans, and
fine men and of noble aspect, and knowing of the defeat, was minded to
gain riches for himself, and therefore he took the said lords
prisoners; and having learnt of their conditions, and how Conradino
was among them, he led them captive to King Charles, for which cause
the king gave him land and lordship at Pilosa, between Naples and
Benivento. And when the king had Conradino and those lords in his
hands, he took counsel what he should do. At last he was minded to put
them to death, and he caused by way of process an inquisition to be
made against them, as against traitors to the Crown and enemies of
Holy Church, and this was carried out; for on the . . . day were
beheaded Conradino, and the duke of Austria, and Count Calvagno, and
Count Gualferano, and Count Bartolommeo and two of his sons, and Count
Gherardo of the counts of Doneratico of Pisa, on the market place at
Naples, beside the stream of water which runs over against the church
of the Carmelite friars; and the king would not suffer them to be
buried in a sacred place, but under the sand of the market place,
forasmuch as they were excommunicate. And thus with Conradino ended
the line of the house of Suabia, which was so powerful both in
emperors and in kings, as before we have made mention. But certainly
we may see, both by reason and by experience, that whosoever rises
against Holy Church, and is excommunicate, his end must needs be evil
for soul and for body; and therefore the sentence of excommunication
of Holy Church, just or unjust, is always to be feared, for very open
miracles have come to pass confirming this, as whoso will may read in
ancient chronicles; as also by this present chronicle it may be seen
with regard to the emperors and lords of past times, which were rebels
and persecutors of Holy Church. Yet because of the said judgment King
Charles was much blamed by the Pope and by his cardinals, and by all
wise men, forasmuch as he had taken Conradino and his followers by
chance of battle, and not by treachery, and it would have been better
to keep him prisoner than to put him to death. And some said that the
Pope assented thereto; but we do not give faith to this, forasmuch as
he was held to be a holy man. And it seems that by reason of
Conradino's innocence, which was of such tender age to be adjudged to
death, God showed forth a miracle against King Charles, for not many
years after God sent him great adversities when he thought himself to
be in highest state, as hereafter in his history we shall make
mention. To the judge which condemned Conradino, Robert, son of the
count of Flanders, the king's son-in-law, when he had read the
condemnation, gave a sword-thrust, saying that it was not lawful for
him to sentence to death so great and noble a man, from which blow the
judge died; and it was in the king's presence, and there was never a
word said thereof, forasmuch as Robert was very high in the favour of
the king, and it seemed to the king and to all the barons that he had
acted like a worthy lord. Now Don Henry of Spain was likewise in the
king's prison, but forasmuch as he was his cousin by blood, and
because the abbot of Monte Cascino, which had brought him prisoner to
the king, to the end he might not break his rule, had made a compact
with him that he should not be put to death, the king would not
condemn him to death, but to perpetual imprisonment, and sent him
prisoner to the fortress in the hill Sanctæ Mariæ in Apulia; and many
other barons of Apulia and of Abruzzi, which had opposed King Charles
and been rebellious against him, he put to death with divers torments.
[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]
§ 30.--_How King Charles recovered all the lands in Sicily and in
Apulia which had rebelled against him._
§ 31.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at the foot of Colle
di Valdelsa._
[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xiii. 115-119.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xi. 109-114, 120-123.]
In the year of Christ 1269, in the month of June, the Sienese, whereof
M. Provenzano Salvani, of Siena, was governor, with Count Guido
Novello, with the German and Spanish troops, and with the Ghibelline
refugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany, and with
the forces of the Pisans, to the number of 1,400 horse and 8,000 foot,
marched upon the stronghold of Colle di Valdelsa, which was under the
lordship of the Florentines; and this they did because the Florentines
had come in May with an army to destroy Poggibonizzi. And when they
had encamped at the abbey of Spugnole, and the news was come to
Florence on Friday evening, on Saturday morning M. Giambertaldo, vicar
of King Charles for the league of Tuscany, departed from Florence with
his troops which he then had with him in Florence to wit 400 French
horse; and sounding the bell, and being followed by the Guelfs of
Florence on horse and on foot, he came with his cavalry to Colle on
Sunday evening, and there were about 800 horsemen or less with but few
of the people, forasmuch as they could not reach Colle so speedily as
the horsemen. It came to pass that on the following Monday morning,
the day of S. Barnabas, in June, the Sienese, hearing that the
horsemen had come from Florence, broke up their camp near the said
abbey and withdrew to a safer place. M. Giambertaldo, seeing the camp
in motion, without awaiting more men passed the bridge with his horse
and marshalled his troops with the cavalry of Florence and such of the
people as had arrived together with them of Colle (who by reason of
the sudden coming of the Florentines were not duly arrayed either with
captains of the host or with the standard of the commonwealth); and M.
Giambertaldo took the standard of the commonwealth of Florence and
requested of the horsemen of Florence, amongst whom were
representatives of all the Guelf houses, that one of them should take
it; but none advanced to take it, whether through cowardice or through
jealousy, one of the other; and after they had been a long time in
suspense, M. Aldobrandini, of the house of Pazzi, boldly stepped
forward and said: "I take it to the honour of God and of the victory
of our commonwealth;" wherefore he was much commended for his
boldness; and straightway he advanced, and all the horsemen followed
him, and struck boldly into the ranks of the Sienese; and albeit it
was not held to be very wise and prudent leadership, yet as it pleased
God these bold and courageous folk with good success broke up and
defeated the Sienese and their allies, which numbered well-nigh twice
as many horse and a great number of foot, whereof many were slain and
taken; and if on the Florentine side the foot had arrived and had been
at the battle, scarce one of the Sienese would have escaped. Count
Guido Novello fled, and M. Provenzano Salvani, lord and commander of
the host of the Sienese, was taken prisoner; and they cut off his head
and carried it through all the camp fixed on a lance. And truly thus
was fulfilled the prophecy and revelation made to him by the devil by
means of incantation, though he did not understand it; for having
invoked him to learn how he would fare in that expedition, he made a
lying answer and said, "Thou wilt go and fight; thou goest to conquer
not to die in the battle, and thy head shall be the highest in the
field;" and he, thinking to have the victory from these words, and
thinking he would remain lord over all, did not put the stop in the
right place and detect the fraud, where he said, "Thou goest to
conquer not, to die," etc. And therefore it is great folly to believe
in such counsel as is that of the devil. This M. Provenzano was a
great man in Siena in his day after the victory which he gained at
Montaperti, and he ruled all the city; and all the Ghibelline party in
Tuscany made him their head, and he was very presumptuous in will. In
this battle the said M. Giambertaldo bore himself like a valiant lord
in fighting against his enemies, and likewise did his followers and
all the Guelfs of Florence, making great slaughter of their enemies to
avenge their kinsfolk and friends which were slain at the defeat of
Montaperti; and none, or scarce any, did they lead to prison, but put
them all to death and to the sword; wherefore the city of Siena, in
comparison with the number of its inhabitants, suffered greater loss
of its citizens in this defeat than Florence did on the day of
Montaperti; and they left on the field all their belongings. For the
which thing a little while after, the Florentines restored the Guelf
refugees to Siena and drave out the Ghibellines and made peace between
one commonwealth and the other, remaining ever after friends and
allies. And in this manner ended the war between the Florentines and
the Sienese which had endured so long.
[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]
§ 32.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Ostina in Valdarno._ §
33.--_How the Florentines, serving for the Lucchese, marched upon
Pisa._
§ 34.--_How there was a great flood of waters which carried away the
Santa Trinita Bridge and the Carraia Bridge._
[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]
In the said year 1269, on the night of the first of October, there was
so great a flood of rain and waters from heaven, raining down
continually for two nights and one day, that all the rivers of Italy
increased more than had ever been known before; and the river of Arno
overflowed its borders so beyond measure that a great part of the city
of Florence became a lake, and this was by reason of much wood which
the rivers brought down, which was caught and lay across at the foot
of the Santa Trinita Bridge in such wise, that the water of the river
was so stopped up that it spread through the city, whence many persons
were drowned and many houses ruined. At last so great was the force of
the river that it tore down the said bridge of Santa Trinita, and
again by the disgorging thereof the rush of the water and of the
timber struck and destroyed the Carraia Bridge; and when they were
destroyed and cast down the height of the river, which had been kept
up by the said retention and damming of the river, went down, and the
fulness of the water ceased which had spread through the city.
§ 35.--_How certain rebel nobles in Florence were beheaded._ §
36.--_How the Florentines took the stronghold of Piandimezzo in
Valdarno, and how they destroyed Poggibonizzi._
§ 37.--_-How King Louis of France made an expedition to Tunis, wherein
he died._
[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1270 the good King Louis of France, which was a
most Christian man, and of good life and works, not only as becomes a
man of the world, being king over so great a realm and dominion, but
also as becomes a man of religion, ever working for the good of Holy
Church and of Christianity, not fearing the great toil and cost which
he endured in the expedition over seas when he and his brothers were
taken prisoners at Monsura by the Saracens, as we made mention before;
set his heart, as it pleased God, on going once more against the
Saracens and the enemies of the Christians; and this he carried out
with great zeal and preparation, taking the cross and gathering
treasure, and calling upon all his barons and knights and good men of
his realm. And this done, he set forth from Paris and came into
Provence, and from there with a great fleet he set sail from his port
of Aigues Mortes in Provence with his three sons, Philip and John and
Louis, and with the king of Navarre, his son-in-law, and with all his
chief men, counts and dukes and barons of the realm of France, and his
friends from without the realm. And on his expedition there afterwards
followed him Edward, son of the king of England, with many Englishmen
and Scots and Frisians and Germans, more than 5,000 horse; the which
army and crusade was an almost innumerable company on horse and on
foot, and were reckoned 200,000 fighting men. And believing it to be
the better course they determined to go against the kingdom of Tunis,
thinking that if it could be taken by the Christians they would be in
a very central place whence they could more easily afterwards take the
kingdom of Egypt, and could cut off and wholly impede the force of the
Saracens in the realm of Ceuta, and also that of Granada. And the said
host with their fleet passed over safe and sound and came to the port
of the ancient city of Carthage, which is distant from Tunis fifteen
miles; the which Carthage, whereof some part had been rebuilt and
fortified by the Saracens in defence of the port, was very soon
stormed by the Christians. And when the Christians would have entered
into the city of Tunis, as it pleased God, by reason of the sins of
the Christians, the air of those shores began to be greatly corrupted,
and above all in the camp of the Christians, by reason that they were
not accustomed to the air, and by reason of their hardships and the
excessive crowding of men and of animals, for the which thing there
died first John, son of the said King Louis, and then the cardinal of
Albano, which was there for the Pope, and afterwards there fell sick
and died the said good King Louis with a very great number of counts
and of barons; and an innumerable company of the common folk died
there. Wherefore Christendom suffered very great loss, and the said
host was well-nigh all dispersed, and came well-nigh to naught without
stroke of the enemy. And albeit the said King Louis had not had good
success in his enterprises against the Saracens, yet in his death he
had good success for his soul; and the king of Navarre, which was
there present, wrote in his letters to the cardinal of Tusculum that
in his infirmity he did not cease to praise God, continually saying
this prayer: "Cause us, Lord, to hate the prosperity of the world, and
to fear no adversity." Then he prayed for the people which he had
brought with him, saying, "Lord, be Thou the Sanctifier and Guardian
of Thy people," and the other words which follow in the said prayer.
And at last, when he came to die, he lift up his eyes to heaven and
said: "Introibo in domum tuam, adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum, et
confitebor nomini tuo" [see Ps. v. 7]. And this said he died in
Christ. And when his host heard of his death they were greatly
troubled, and the Saracens greatly rejoiced; but in this sorrow
Philip, his son, was made king of France, and King Charles, brother of
the said King Louis, which had sent for him before he died, came from
Sicily and arrived in Carthage with a great fleet and with many
followers and reinforcements, whence the Christian host regained great
vigour, and the Saracens were afraid. And albeit the Saracen host was
increased by an innumerable company, for from every place the Arabs
were come to succour them, and there were many more of them than of
the Christians, yet they never dared to come to a pitched battle with
the Christians; but they came with ambushes and with artifices, and
did them much hurt; and this was one among others, that the said
country is very sandy, and when it is dry there is very much dust;
wherefore the Saracens, when the wind was blowing against the
Christian host, stationed themselves in great numbers upon the hills
where was the said sand, and stirring it up with their horses and with
their feet, set it all in motion, and caused much annoyance and
vexation to the host; but when water rained down from heaven the said
plague ceased, and King Charles with the Christians, having prepared
engines of divers fashions both for sea and land, set himself to
attack the city of Tunis; and of a truth it is said, if they had gone
on, in a short time they would have taken the city by force, or the
king of Tunis with his Turks and Arabs would have abandoned it.
§ 38.--_How King Charles concluded a treaty with the king of Tunis,
and how the host departed._
[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]
The king of Tunis with his Saracens seeing themselves in evil case,
and fearing to lose the city and the country round about, sought to
make peace with King Charles and with the other lords by free and
liberal covenants, to which peace King Charles consented and concluded
it in the following manner: first, that all the Christians which were
prisoners in Tunis, or in all that realm, should be freed, and that
monasteries and churches might be built by the Christians, and therein
the sacred office might be celebrated; and that the gospel of Christ
might be freely preached by the minor friars and the preaching friars
and by other ecclesiastical persons; and whatsoever Saracen should
desire to be baptized, and turn to the faith of Christ, might freely
be allowed so to do; and all the expenses which the said kings had
incurred were to be fully restored to them; and beyond that the king
of Tunis was to pay tribute every year to Charles, king of Sicily, of
20,000 golden pistoles; and there were many other articles which it
were long to tell. Concerning this peace some said that King Charles
and the other lords did for the best, considering their evil state
from the pestilential air and the mortality among the Christians; for
the king of Navarre, when King Louis was dead, fell sick and departed
from the host and died in Sicily, and the cardinal legate of the Pope
died; and the Church of Rome in those times had no pastor which could
provide for all things, and Philip, the new king of France, desired to
depart from the host and return to France with his father's body.
Others blamed King Charles, saying that he did it through avarice, to
the end he might henceforward, by reason of the said peace, always
receive tribute from the king of Tunis for his own special benefit;
for if the kingdom of Tunis had been conquered by all the host of the
Christians, it would have afterwards pertained in part to the king of
France, and to the king of England, and to the king of Navarre, and
to the king of Sicily, and to the Church of Rome, and to divers other
lords which were at the conquest. And it may have been, both one cause
and the other; but however that may have been, when the said treaty
was concluded the said host departed from Tunis, and when they came
with their fleet to the port of Trapali in Sicily, as it pleased God,
so great a storm overtook them while the fleet was in the said port
that without any redemption the greater part perished, and one vessel
broke the other, and all the belongings of that host were lost, which
were of untold worth, and many folk perished there. And it was said by
many that this came to pass by reason of the sins of the Christians,
and because they had made a covenant with the Saracens through greed
of money when they could have overcome and conquered Tunis and the
country.
§ 39.--_How Gregory X. was made pope at Viterbo, and how Henry, son of
the king of England, there died._
[Sidenote: 1272 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 118-120.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 130-132.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 120.]
When the said Christian host was come to Sicily, they abode there
sometime to recover the sick, and to be refreshed, and to repair their
fleet; and those kings and lords were held in much honour by Charles,
king of Sicily; and afterwards they departed from Sicily, and King
Charles with them, and came into the kingdom of Apulia, and by
Calabria to Viterbo, where was the papal court without a Pope, and at
Viterbo there tarried the said kings Philip of France, and Charles of
Sicily, and Edward, and Henry his brother, sons of the king of
England, to see that the cardinals, which were in disunion, should
elect a good pastor to reform the papal chair. And since they were not
able to agree upon any one of those there present, they elected Pope
Gregory X., of Piacenza, which was cardinal legate of Syria in the
Holy Land; and when he was elected, and had returned from beyond seas,
he was consecrated Pope in the year of Christ 1272. Whilst the
aforesaid lords were in Viterbo, there came to pass a scandalous and
abominable thing, under the government of King Charles; for Henry,
brother of Edward, son of King Richard of England, being in a church
at Mass, at the hour when the sacrifice of the body of Christ was
being celebrated, Guy, count of Montfort, which was vicar for King
Charles in Tuscany, having no regard for reverence towards God, nor
towards King Charles his lord, stabbed and slew with his own hand the
said Henry in revenge for Count Simon of Montfort, his father, slain,
through his own fault, by the king of England. And of this it is well
to preserve a notable record. When Henry, father of the good Edward,
was reigning in England, he was a man of simple life, so that the
barons held him for nought, wherefore he sent for the said Count
Simon, his kinsman, to guide the realm for him, seeing that Edward was
but young. This Simon was much feared and dreaded; and when he saw the
government of the realm in his hands, as a felon and traitor, he
falsely averred that the king had passed certain iniquitous laws
against the people, and he put him and Edward in prison in the castle
of Dover, and held the realm himself. The queen, . . . Edward's
maternal aunt, was desirous of saving him, and knew that Count Simon
came every Easter to Dover, and took Edward out of the castle, and
made him ride with him; and when he departed he caused him to be again
imprisoned with strong and strict guard, that he might not so much as
have letters. So the wise queen sent to Dover a wise and beautiful
damsel, which knew how to work in jewels, purses, and pouches. And
when Edward saw her he loved her, and so wrought with his guards that
they brought him the said damsel, and when he would have touched her,
she said to him: "I am here for other matters," and she drew forth
letters sent him by the queen, advising him as to his deliverance and
welfare; and therein she advised him that she was sending him one of
our Florentine horse-dealers, which was named Persona Fulberti, with
fine steeds, and a small ship equipped with many oars, and advising
him what he was to do. Now, after his wont, at Easter, Count Simon
came to Dover, and took Edward out of the castle, and while they were
trying the steeds of the said dealer, Edward, with the count's
permission, mounted the best of them, and galloping round in a wide
sweep, at last took to the field and made off, and came to the port
and found the bark prepared. Then he left the horse, and embarked, and
came to France, and then with aid from the king of France, and
Flanders, and Brabant, and Germany, with a great host he passed into
England, and fought against Count Simon, and discomfited him, and
seized him by the scalp, and had him dragged along the ground, and
then hung. Then he set his father free; and when he was dead, then was
Edward crowned king of England with great honour. And now we return to
our chief subject--how was slain Count Henry, earl of Cornwall,
brother of King Edward, in revenge for this, as we said before. The
court was greatly disturbed, giving much blame therefor to King
Charles, who ought not to have suffered this if he knew thereof, and
if he did not know it he ought not to have let it go unavenged. But
the said Count Guy, being provided with a company of men-at-arms on
horse and on foot, was not content only with having done the said
murder; forasmuch as a cavalier asked him what he had done, and he
replied, "J'ai fait ma vangeance," and that cavalier said, "Comment?
Votre père fût trainé;" and immediately he returned to the church, and
took Henry by the hair, and dead as he was, he dragged him vilely
without the church; and when he had done the said sacrilege and
homicide, he departed from Viterbo, and came safe and sound into
Maremma to the lands of Count Rosso, his father-in-law. By reason of
the death of the said Henry, Edward, his brother, very wrathful and
indignant against King Charles, departed from Viterbo, and came with
his followers through Tuscany, and abode in Florence, and knighted
many citizens, giving them horses and all knightly accoutrements very
nobly, and then he came into England, and set the heart of his said
brother in a golden cup upon a pillar at the head of London Bridge
over the river Thames, to keep the English in mind of the outrage
sustained. For the which thing, Edward, after he became king, was
never friendly towards King Charles, nor to his folk. After like
manner, Philip, king of France, departed with his folk, and came and
dwelt many days in Florence; and when he was come into France, he
buried the body of the good King Louis, his father, with great honour,
and had himself crowned with great solemnity at Rheims.
[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1271 A.D.]
§ 40.--_How the Tartars came down into Turkey, and drave thence the
Saracens._ § 41.--_How King Enzo, son of the Emperor Frederick, died
in prison at Bologna._
§ 42.--_How Pope Gregory came with his court to Florence, and caused
peace to be made between the Guelfs and Ghibellines._
[Sidenote: 1272 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 103-105; vii. 91-96; Convivio iv. 3: 37-42.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 97-117.]
[Sidenote: 1273 A.D.]
In the year 1272, Gregory X., of Piacenza, having returned from his
mission over seas, was consecrated and crowned Pope, and because of
the great affection and desire which he had to succour the Holy Land,
and that a general crusade should set forth over seas, therefore so
soon as he was made Pope, he called a general council at
Lyons-on-Rhone in Burgundy, and by his mandate caused the electors of
the empire of Germany to elect as king of the Romans, Rudolf, count of
Friburg, which was a valiant man-at-arms, albeit he was of small
possessions; but by his prowess he conquered Suabia and Austria; and
the duchy of Austria being vacant, since the duke had been slain with
Conradino by King Charles, he made Albert, his son, to be duke. The
aforesaid Pope, the year after his coronation, set forth with his
court from Rome to go to Lyons-on-Rhone to the council which he had
summoned, and he entered into Florence with his cardinals, and with
King Charles, and with the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople, which
was of the lineage of the chief house of Flanders. This Baldwin was
son of Henry, the brother of the first Baldwin, which conquered
Constantinople with the Venetians, as we before made mention. And with
the Pope, and with King Charles, there came to Florence many other
lords and barons, on the 18th day of June, in the year of Christ 1273,
and were received with honour by the Florentines. And the situation of
Florence being pleasing to the Pope, by reason of the convenience of
the water, and the pure air, and that the court found much comfort
there, he purposed to abide there, and pass the summer in Florence.
And finding that this good city of Florence was being destroyed by
reason of the parties (the Ghibellines being now in exile), he
determined that they should return to Florence, and should make peace
with the Guelfs; and so it came about, and on the 2nd day of July in
the said year, the said Pope, with his cardinals, and with King
Charles, and with the said Emperor Baldwin, and with all the barons
and gentlemen of the court (the people of Florence being assembled on
the sands of the Arno hard by the head of the Rubaconte Bridge, great
scaffolds of wood having been erected in that place whereon stood the
said lords), gave sentence, under pain of excommunication if it were
disobeyed, upon the differences between the Guelf and Ghibelline
parties, causing the representatives of either party to kiss one
another on the mouth, and to make peace, and to give sureties and
hostages; and all the castles which the Ghibellines held they gave
back into the hands of King Charles, and the Ghibelline hostages went
into Maremma under charge of Count Rosso. The which peace endured but
a short time, as hereafter we shall make mention. And on that day the
said Pope founded the church of San Gregorio, and called it after his
own name, which church was built by them of the house of Mozzi, which
were merchants for the Pope and for the Church, and in a little time
were come to great riches and state; and the said Pope dwelt in their
palaces at the head of the Rubaconte Bridge on the further side of
Arno, whilst he abode in Florence; and King Charles abode in the
garden of the Frescobaldi, and the Emperor Baldwin at the Bishop's
Palace. But on the fourth day thereafter, the Pope departed from
Florence, and went to sojourn in Mugello with Cardinal Ottaviano,
which was of the house of the Ubaldini, who were his hosts, and who
did him great honour. At the end of the summer, the Pope departed, and
his cardinals and King Charles, and went over the mountains to
Lyons-on-Rhone in Burgundy. And the reason why the Pope departed
suddenly from Florence was that when he had caused the representatives
of the Ghibelline party to come to Florence, and to kiss the
representatives of the Guelfs on the mouth in token of peace, and to
remain in Florence to complete the treaty of peace, and they returned
to the place of their sojourn in the house of the Tebalducci in Orto
San Michele, it was told them, whether it were true or false, that
King Charles' marshal, on the petition of the great Guelfs would cause
them to be hewn in pieces if they did not depart from Florence. And
that this was the cause we believe by reason of the virulence of the
factions. And straightway they left Florence and departed, and the
said peace was broken; wherefore the Pope was sorely disturbed, and
departed from Florence, leaving the city under an interdict, and went,
as we have said, to Mugello; and for this cause he continued in great
wrath against King Charles.
[Sidenote: 1274 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]
§ 43.--_How Pope Gregory held a council at Lyons on the Rhone._ §
44.--_How the Ghibelline party were expelled from Bologna._ §
45.--_How the judge of Gallura with certain Guelfs was driven out of
Pisa._ § 46.--_Of a great miracle which came to pass in Baldacca and
Mansul [Bagdad and Mosul] over seas._ § 47.--_How Count Ugolino with
all the remaining Guelfs was driven out of Pisa._ § 48.--_How the
Bolognese were discomfited at the bridge of San Brocolo by the Count
of Montefeltro and by the Romagnuoli._ § 49.--_How the Pisans were
discomfited by the Lucchese at the stronghold of Asciano._
§ 50.--_Of the death of Pope Gregory, and of three other Popes after
him._
[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1276 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xix. 98-145.]
[Sidenote: Par. xii. 134, 135.]
[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 69-87.]
[Sidenote: 1280 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1275, on the eighteenth day of the month of
December, when Pope Gregory X. was returning from the council at
Lyons-on-Rhone, he arrived in the country of Florence; and forasmuch
as the city of Florence was under interdict, and her inhabitants
excommunicate, because they had not observed the treaty of peace which
he had made between the Guelfs and Ghibellines, as was aforesaid, he
was not minded to enter into Florence, but by cunning he was led past
the old walls, and some said that he could have done no other, because
the river Arno was so swollen by rain that he could not cross the
ford, but needs must cross over the Rubaconte Bridge, so that
unwittingly, and not being able to do otherwise, he entered into
Florence; and whilst he was passing over the bridge, and through the
Borgo San Nicolò, he took off the interdict, and passed on, blessing
the folk; but so soon as he was without he renewed the interdict, and
excommunicated the city afresh, with a wrathful mind repeating that
verse of the Psalter which says: "In camo et fræno maxillas eorum
constringe" [Ps. xxxiii. 9]; wherefore the Guelfs which were governing
Florence were in great doubt and fear. And the said Pope departing
from Florence, went to the abbey at Ripole, and from there straightway
he departed to Arezzo; and being come to Arezzo, he fell sick, and as
it pleased God, he passed from this life on the tenth day of the
following month of January, and was buried in Arezzo with great
honour; at whose death the Guelfs of Florence rejoiced greatly, by
reason of the evil will which the said Pope had towards them. And when
the Pope was dead, straightway the cardinals were shut up, and on the
twentieth day of the said month of January they proclaimed as Pope,
Innocent V. a Burgundian, which had been a preaching friar and then a
cardinal; and he lived as Pope until the following June, so that he
did little, and died in the city of Viterbo, and was there buried
honourably. And after him, on the twelfth day of July, Cardinal
Ottobuono dal Fiesco, of the city of Genoa, was elected, which lived
as Pope but twenty-nine days, and was called Pope Adrian V., and was
buried in Rome. And after him, in the month of September following,
Cardinal Piero Spagnuolo was elected Pope, which was called Pope John
XXI., and lived as Pope but eight months and some days; for as he was
sleeping in his room at Viterbo the ceiling fell down upon him and he
died; and he was buried at Viterbo on the twentieth day of May, 1277;
and the chair was vacant six months. And in that same year there was
great scarcity of all victuals, and the bushel of wheat was sold for
fifteen shillings, of thirty shillings to the florin. And a great and
true vision should be noted concerning the death of the said Pope,
which was seen by one of our Florentine merchants of the Company of
Apothecaries, which was called Berto Forzetti, and it is well that
this should be told. The said merchant had a natural infirmity of a
wandering fancy, so that often when sleeping he would rise and sit
upon his bed, and speak of strange wonders; and there is yet more, for
being questioned by those around him as to what he was saying, he
would answer rationally, and all the time he was sleeping. It came to
pass, on the night when the said Pope died, the said man being in a
ship on the high seas, journeying to Acre, rose and cried out, "Alas,
alas!" His companions awoke, and asked him what ailed him; he replied:
"I see a gigantic man in black with a great club in his hand, and he
is about to break down a pillar, above which is a ceiling." And after
a little he cried out again, and said: "He has broken it down, and he
is dead." He was asked: "Who?" He replied: "The Pope." The said
companions wrote down the words, and the night; and when they were
come to Acre, a short time after there came to them the news of the
death of the said Pope, which came to pass in that same night. And I,
the writer, had testimony of this from those merchants which were
present with the said man upon the said ship, and heard the said
Berto, which were men of great authority, and worthy of belief; and
the fame of this spread throughout all our city. Afterwards was
elected Pope Nicholas III., of the house of the Orsini of Rome, which
was called by his proper name, Cardinal Gianni Guatani, which lived as
Pope two years and nine months and a half. We have spoken of the
aforesaid Popes because four Popes died in sixteen months. We will say
no more, at this present time, of the aforesaid Popes, and we will
speak of those things which came to pass in their days in Florence and
throughout the world.
[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1276 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]
§ 51.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese defeated the Pisans at the
moat called Arnonico._ § 52.--_How the Della Torre of Milan were
defeated._ § 53.--_How King Philip of France caused all the Italian
money-lenders to be seized._
§ 54.--_How Nicholas III., of the Orsini, was made Pope, and
concerning that which he did in his time._
[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 52-84.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 98, 99.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xix. 81.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 67.]
In the said year, whereof we related somewhat before, M. Gianni
Guatani was made Pope, a cardinal, of the house of the Orsini of Rome,
which, whilst he was young, as priest and then cardinal, was virtuous
and of good life, and it is said that he was virgin in his body; but
after he was called Pope Nicholas III. he had great schemes, and
through warmth towards his kinsfolk, he undertook many things to make
them great, and was among the first, if not the first, of the Popes in
whose court simony was openly practised on behalf of his kindred, by
the which thing he increased them much in possessions, and in castles,
and in treasure beyond all the Romans, during the short time that he
lived. This Pope made seven Roman cardinals, whereof the most part
were his kinsfolk; among others, at the prayer of M. Gianni, head of
the house of Colonna, his cousin, he made M. Jacopo della Colonna a
cardinal, to the end the Colonnesi might not lend aid to the
Annibaldeschi, enemies of the Orsini, but might rather aid these
latter; and this was held a great thing; because the Church had
deprived all the Colonnesi, and those of their kindred, of any
ecclesiastical benefice, since the time of Pope Alexander III.,
forasmuch as they had held with the Emperor Frederick I. against the
Church. Afterwards the said Pope caused the noble and great papal
palaces to be built at S. Peter's; then he entered into strife with
King Charles by reason that the said Pope had requested King Charles
to form an alliance with him by marriage, desiring to give one of his
nieces as wife to a nephew of the King's, to which alliance King
Charles would not consent, saying, "Albeit he wears red hose, yet is
not his lineage worthy to mate with ours; and his lordship will not be
hereditary." For the which thing the Pope's wrath was kindled against
him, and he was no longer his friend, but opposed him secretly in all
things, and openly made him renounce the office of Roman senator, and
of vicar of the Empire, which he held from the Church during the
imperial vacancy; and he was much against him in all his undertakings,
and for money which it was said he received from Paleologus, he
consented, and gave aid and favour to the plot and rebellion in the
island of Sicily, as hereafter we shall narrate; and he took from the
Church the castle Santangiolo, and gave it to M. Orso, his nephew.
Again the said Pope made Rudolf, king of the Romans, invest him, on
behalf of the Church, with the county of Romagna, and the city of
Bologna, by reason that he was debtor to the Church for the fulfilment
of the promise which he had made to Pope Gregory at the council of
Lyons-on-Rhone, when he confirmed his election, to wit that he would
pass into Italy, and equip the expedition over seas, as we before made
mention; which thing he had not done by reason of his other
undertakings and wars in Germany. Now this gift to the Church of the
privileges of the country of Romagna and the city of Bologna, neither
could nor ought to have been made by right; among other reasons,
because the said Rudolf had not yet attained to the imperial
benediction; but that which the clergy take, they are slow in giving
back. So soon as the said Pope held privilege over Romagna, he made
Bertoldo degli Orsini, his nephew, count thereof, in the Church's
name, and sent him into Romagna with a company of horsemen and
men-at-arms, and with him as legate Brother Latino, of Rome, cardinal
of Ostia, his nephew, his sister's son, of the family of the
Brancaleoni, of which was the chancellor of Rome by inheritance; and
this he did to take the lordship out of the hand of Guido di
Montefeltro, which held it and ruled there tyrannically; and this was
done in such wise, that in a short time almost all Romagna came under
the Church's rule, but not without war and great cost to the Church,
as hereafter we will tell in due place and time.
[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]
§ 55.--_How King Rudolf of Germany defeated and slew the king of
Bohemia._
§ 56.--_How the Cardinal Latino, by the Pope's command, made peace
between the Guelfs and Ghibellines of Florence, and composed all the
other feuds in the city._
[Sidenote: 1278 A.D.]
In these times the Guelf magnates of Florence--having rest from their
wars without, with victory and honour, and fattening upon the goods of
the exiled Ghibellines, and through other gains--by reason of pride
and envy began to strive among themselves; whence arose in Florence
many quarrels and enmities between the citizens, with death and
wounds. Among the greater of these was the contest between the house
of the Adimari on the one side, which were very great and powerful,
and on the other side the Tosinghi, and the house of the Donati, and
the Pazzi, all leagued together against the Adimari in such sort that
almost all the city was divided, and one held with one side, and one
with the other; wherefore the city and the Guelf party were in great
peril. For the which thing the commonwealth and the Captains of the
Guelf party sent their solemn ambassadors to the court to Pope
Nicholas, that he should take counsel, and give aid in making peace
among the Guelfs of Florence; if not, the Guelf party would be broken
up, and one side would drive out the other. And in like guise the
Ghibelline refugees from Florence sent their ambassadors to the said
Pope, to pray and entreat him to put into execution the treaty of
peace which Pope Gregory IX. had commanded between them and the Guelfs
of Florence. For the foregoing reasons the said Pope put forth and
confirmed the said treaty, and ordained a mediator and legate, and
committed the said questions to the Cardinal Frate Latino which
represented the Church in Romagna; a man of great authority and
learning, and highly considered by the Pope, who, by command of the
Pope, departed from Romagna, and came to Florence with 300 horsemen,
in service of the Church, on the eighth day of the month of October,
in the year of Christ 1278, and by the Florentines and the clergy was
received with great honour and with a procession, the carroccio coming
out to meet him, with many jousters; and afterwards the said legate on
the day of S. Luke the Evangelist in that same year and month, founded
and blest the first stone of the new church of Santa Maria Novella,
which pertained to the Order of Preaching Friars, whereof he was a
friar; and in that place of the friars he dealt with and ordained
generally the treaties of peace between all the Guelf citizens, and
between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. And the first was between the
Uberti and the Bondelmonti (and it was the third peace between them),
save only that the sons of M. Rinieri Zingane de' Bondelmonte would
not consent thereto, and were excommunicated by the legate and
banished by the commonwealth. But the peace was not set aside on their
account; for afterwards the legate very happily concluded it in the
month of February following, when the people of Florence were
assembled in parliament on the old piazza of the said church, which
was all covered with cloths and with great wooden scaffolds, whereon
were the said cardinal, and many bishops, and prelates, and clergy,
and monks, and the Podestà, and the Captain, and all the counsellors,
and the orders of Florence. And at that time a very noble speech was
made by the said legate with citation of great and very fine
authorities, as behoved the matter, seeing that he was a very
dexterous and beautiful preacher; and this done, he caused the
representatives ordained by the Guelfs and Ghibellines to kiss one
another on the mouth, making peace with great joy among all the
citizens, and there were 150 on either side. And in that place, and at
that same time, he gave judgment as to the terms and agreements and
conditions which were to be observed, both on one side and on the
other, confirming the said peace with solemn and authentic documents,
and with all due sureties. And from that time forward the Ghibellines
and their families were to be allowed to return to Florence; and they
did return, and they were free from all sentence of banishment and
condemnation; and all the books of condemnation and banishment which
were in the chamber were burnt; and the said Ghibellines recovered
their goods and possessions, save that to some of the chief leaders,
it was commanded for more security of the city that for a certain time
they should be under bounds. And when the cardinal legate had done
this, he made contracts of peace between single citizens; and the
first was that one where had been greatest discord, to wit, between
the Adimari, and the Tosinghi, and Donati, and Pazzi, bringing about
several marriages between them, and in like manner were all the
agreements made in Florence and in the country round about, some
willingly, and some by command of the commonwealth, the cardinal
having pronounced sentence, with good securities and sureties; by
which contracts of peace the said legate won much honour, and
well-nigh all of them were observed, and the city of Florence abode
thereafter long time in peaceful and good and tranquil state. And the
said legate gave and ordained, for the general government of the city,
fourteen good men, magnates and popolani, whereof eight were Guelfs
and six Ghibellines, and their term of office endured for two months,
and there was a certain order in their election; and they assembled in
the house of the Badia of Florence, over the gate which goes to Santa
Margherita, and returned to their homes to eat and to sleep. And this
done, the said Cardinal Latino returned to Romagna to his legation
with great honour. We will now leave the affairs of Florence for a
while, and we will tell of other things which came to pass in those
times, and especially of the revolt of the island of Sicily against
King Charles, which was notable and great, and whence afterwards grew
much ill; and it was a thing well-nigh marvellous and impossible, and
therefore we will treat of it more at large.
[Sidenote: 1279 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1281 A.D.]
§ 57.--_How there was a treacherous plot to cause the island of Sicily
to rebel against King Charles._ § 58.--_How Pope Nicholas III., of the
Orsini, died, and how Martin of Tours, in France, was made Pope._ §
59.--_How Peter, king of Aragon, promised and vowed to Paleologus and
to the Sicilians, to come into Sicily and take the lordship thereof._
§ 60.--_How the said king of Aragon set about preparing his armada,
and how the Pope sent to him and forbade him._
§ 61.--_How and after what manner the island of Sicily rebelled
against King Charles._
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 75.]
In the year of Christ 1282, on Easter Monday of the Resurrection,
which was the 30th day of March, as had been purposed by M. John of
Procita, all the barons and chiefs which had a hand in the plot were
in the city of Palermo for Easter, and the inhabitants of Palermo, men
and women, going in a body, on horse and on foot, to the festival at
Monreale, three miles outside the city (and as those of Palermo went,
so also went the Frenchmen, and the captain of King Charles, for their
disport), it came to pass, as was purposed by the enemy of God, that a
Frenchman in his insolence laid hold of a woman of Palermo to do her
villainy; she beginning to cry out, and the people being already sore
and all moved with indignation against the French, the retainers of
the barons of the island began to defend the woman, whence arose a
great battle between the French and the Sicilians, and many were
wounded and slain on either side; but those of Palermo came off worst.
Straightway, all the people returned in flight to the city, and the
men flew to arms, crying, "Death to the French." They gathered
together in the market place, as had been ordained by the leaders of
the plot; and the justiciary, which was for the king, fighting at the
castle, was taken and slain, and as many Frenchmen as were in the city
were slain in the houses and in the churches, without any mercy. And
this done, the said barons departed from Palermo, and each one in his
own city and country did the like, slaying all the Frenchmen which
were in the island, save that in Messina they delayed some days before
rebelling; but through tidings from those in Palermo giving account of
their miseries in a fair epistle, and exhorting them to love liberty
and freedom and fraternity with them, the men of Messina were so moved
to rebellion that they afterwards did the like of what they of Palermo
had done against the French, and yet more. And there were slain in
Sicily more than 4,000 of them, and no one could save another though
he were never so much his friend, no not if he would lay down his life
for him; and if he had concealed him, he must needs yield him up or
slay him. This plague spread through all the island, whence King
Charles and his people received great hurt both in person and in
goods. These adverse and evil tidings the Archbishop of Monreale
straightway made known to the Pope and to King Charles by his
messengers.
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 112, 114-116, 125, 129.]
[Sidenote: 1281 A.D.]
§ 62.--_How King Charles complained to the Church, and to the king of
France, and to all his friends, and the aid which he received from
them._ § 63.--_How they of Palermo, and the other Sicilians, sent
their ambassadors to Pope Martin._ § 64.--_Of the aid which the
commonwealth of Florence sent to King Charles._ § 65.--_How King
Charles led an expedition against Messina by sea and by land._ §
66.--_How the king's forces took Melazzo, and how the Messinese sent
for the legate to treat for peace with King Charles._ § 67.--_How the
treaty of peace was broken which the legate had arranged between King
Charles and the Messinese._ § 68.--_How Messina was attacked by King
Charles' forces, and how it was defended._ § 69.--_How Peter, king of
Aragon, departed from Catalonia and came to Sicily, and how he was
made and crowned king by the Sicilians._ § 70.--_Of the parliament
which the king of Aragon held in Palermo, to succour the city of
Messina._ § 71.--_The letter that the king of Aragon sent to King
Charles._ § 72.--_How King Charles called his council and answered the
king of Aragon by his letter._ § 73.--_What was King Charles' answer
in his letter to the king of Aragon._ § 74.--_How the king of Aragon
sent his admiral to capture the fleet of King Charles._ § 75.--_How
King Charles must needs depart from the siege of Messina, and how he
returned into the Kingdom._ § 76.--_Who was the first Christian king
of Aragon._ § 77.--_How the Lucchese burnt and destroyed the city of
Pescia._ § 78.--_How Rudolf, Emperor elect, sent his vicar into
Tuscany._
§ 79.--_How the Office of Priors was first created in Florence._
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
In the year of Christ 1282, the city of Florence being under
government of the order of the fourteen good men as the Cardinal
Latino had left it, to wit eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines, as we
afore made mention, it seemed to the citizens that this government of
fourteen was too numerous and confused; and to the end so many divided
hearts might be at one, and, above all, because it was not pleasing to
the Guelfs to have the Ghibellines as partners in the government by
reason of the events which were come to pass (such as the loss which
King Charles had already sustained of the island of Sicily, and the
coming into Tuscany of the imperial vicar, and likewise the wars begun
in Romagna by the count of Montefeltro on the Ghibelline side), for
the safety and welfare of the city of Florence they annulled the said
office of the fourteen and created and made a new office and lordship
for the government of the said city of Florence, to wit, the Priors of
the Arts; the which name, Priors of the Arts, means to say "the
first," chosen over the others; and it was taken from the Holy Gospel,
where Christ says to His disciples, "Vos estis priores." And this
invention and movement began among the consuls and council of the art
of Calimala, to which pertained the wisest and most powerful citizens
of Florence, and the most numerous following, both magnates and
popolani, of those which pursued the calling of merchants, seeing the
most part of them greatly loved the Guelf party and Holy Church. And
the first priors of the Arts were three, whereof the names were these:
Bartolo di M. Jacopo de' Bardi, for the sesto of Oltrarno and for the
art of Calimala; Rosso Bacherelli, for the sesto of San Piero
Scheraggio, for the art of the exchangers; Salvi del Chiaro Girolami,
for the sesto of San Brancazio and for the woollen art. And their
office began in the middle of June of the said year, and lasted for
two months, unto the middle of August, and thus three priors were to
succeed every two months, for the three greater Arts. And they were
shut up to give audience (sleeping and eating at the charges of the
commonwealth), in the house of the Badia where formerly, as we have
aforesaid, the Ancients were wont to assemble in the time of the old
Popolo, and afterwards the fourteen. And there were assigned to the
said priors six constables and six messengers to summon the citizens;
and these priors, with the Captain of the Popolo, had to determine
the great and weighty matters of the commonwealth, and to summon and
conduct councils and make regulations. And when the office had endured
the two months, it was pleasing to the citizens; and for the following
two months they proclaimed six, one for each sesto, and added to the
said three greater Arts the art of the doctors and apothecaries, and
the art of the Porta Santæ Mariæ, and that of the furriers and
skin-dressers; and afterwards from time to time all the others were
added thereto, to the number of the twelve greater Arts; and there
were among them magnates, as well as popolani, great men of good
repute and works, and which were artificers or merchants. And thus it
went on until the second Popolo was formed in Florence, as hereafter,
in due time, we shall relate. From thenceforward there were no
magnates among them, but there was added thereto the gonfalonier of
justice. And sometimes there were twelve priors, according to the
changes in the condition of the city and special occasions that arose;
and they were chosen from the number of all the twenty-one Arts, and
of those which were not themselves artificers, albeit their
forefathers had been artificers. The election to the said office was
made by the old priors with the colleges of consuls of the twelve
greater Arts, and with certain others which elected the priors for
each sesto, by secret votes; and whosoever had most votes the same was
made prior; and this election took place in the church of San Piero
Scheraggio; and the Captain of the Popolo was stationed over against
the said church in the houses which pertained to the Tizzoni. We have
said so much of the beginning of this office of the priors, forasmuch
as many and great changes followed therefrom to the city of Florence,
as hereafter, in due place and time, we shall relate. At present we
will leave telling, for a time, of the doings of Florence, and we will
tell of other events which came to pass in those times.
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
§ 80.--_How Pope Martin sent M. Jean d'Appia into Romagna, and how he
took the city of Faenza and besieged Forlì._
§ 81.--_How M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was defeated at Forlì
by the count of Montefeltro._
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 76-78.]
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xx. 118.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 44.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 122.]
In the said time, when the said M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was
in Faenza, and was making war against the city of Forlì, he dabbled in
practices whereby he might gain the said city by treachery; the which
practices Count Guido of Montefeltro himself, which was lord of the
city, had set in motion and floated, as one that was master both of
plots and of war, and who knew the folly of the French. At last, on
the first day of May, in the year of Christ 1282, the said M. Jean
came with his forces in the morning very early before day to the city
of Forlì, thinking to have it; and as it was ordered by the count of
Montefeltro, the entrance to one gate was granted him, which he
entered with part of his followers, and part he left without with the
orders, if need arose, to succour those within, and if things went
against them, to assemble all his forces in a field under a great oak.
The French which entered into Forlì rode through the city without
meeting any opposition; and the count of Montefeltro, which knew all
the plot, had gone forth from the city with his followers; and it was
said that this same count of Montefeltro was guided by the augury and
counsel of one Guido Bonatti, a roof-maker, who had turned astrologer
or the like, and that it was he who prompted his actions; and for this
emprise he gave him the standard and said, "Thou hast it at such a
pitch, that so long as a rag of it hold, wheresoever thou bearest it
thou shalt be victorious." But I more believe that his victories were
won by his own wit and mastery of war. And according as he had
planned, he charged those without under the tree, and put them to
rout. They which had entered in, thinking the city was theirs, had
given themselves to plunder and gone into the houses; and as was
ordered by the count of Montefeltro, the citizens had taken off the
bridles and saddles from the most of their horses; and suddenly the
said count, with part of his followers, entered again into Forlì by
one of the gates, and overran the city; and part of his horse and foot
he left in troops drawn up under the oak, as the French had been. M.
Jean d'Appia and his men, seeing themselves thus handled, when they
thought they had conquered the city, held themselves for dead and
betrayed, and whosoever could recover his horse fled from the city,
and came to the tree without, thinking to find friends there; and when
they came thither they were taken or slain by their enemies, and
likewise they which had remained within the city; wherefore the French
and the followers of the Church suffered great discomfiture and loss,
and there died there many good French knights, and of the Latin
leaders, among others, Count Taddeo da Montefeltro, cousin to Count
Guido, which by reason of disputes concerning his inheritance held
with the Church against the said Count Guido; and there died there
Tribaldello de' Manfredi, which had betrayed Faenza, and many others;
albeit the count of Romagna, M. Jean d'Appia, escaped with certain
others from the said discomfiture, and returned to Faenza.
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1283 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1283 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]
§ 82.--_How Forlì surrendered to the Church, and how there was peace
in Romagna._ § 83.--_How the king of Armenia with a great company of
Tartars was defeated at Cammella [Emesa] in Syria by the soldan of
Egypt._ § 84.--_How the war between the Genoese and Pisans began._ §
85.--_How the prince, son of King Charles, with many barons of France
and of Provence, came to Florence to march against the Sicilians._ §
86.--_How King Charles and King Peter of Aragon engaged to fight in
single combat at Bordeaux, in Gascony, for the possession of Sicily._
§ 87.--_How on the appointed day, King Peter, of Aragon, failed to
appear at Bordeaux, wherefore he was excommunicated and deposed by the
Pope._ § 88.--_How there was in Florence a flood of waters and great
scarcity of victuals._ § 89.--_How a noble court and festival was held
in the city of Florence, whereat all were arrayed in white._ §
90.--_How the Genoese did great hurt to the Pisans returning from
Sardinia._ § 91.--_Still of the doings of the Pisans and the Genoese._
§ 92.--_How the Genoese discomfited the Pisans at Meloria._ §
93.--_How Charles, prince of Salerno, was defeated and taken prisoner
at sea, by Ruggeri di Loria, with the fleet of the Sicilians._ §
94.--_How King Charles arrived at Naples with his fleet, and then made
ready to pass to Sicily._
§ 95.--_How the good King Charles passed from this life at the city of
Foggia in Apulia._
[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 113, 124, 128.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 31, 49-72; ix. 1.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. viii. 82, 83; Purg. xx. 79-84.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 76-84.]
When King Charles had returned with his host to Brindisi, he disbanded
them and returned to Naples to make his arrangements, and to furnish
himself with money and with men to go again to Sicily the coming
spring. And like one whose anxious mind could not rest, when
mid-December was past, he returned into Apulia, to be at Brindisi to
hasten on his fleet. When he was at Foggia, in Apulia, as it pleased
God, he fell sick of a grievous sickness, and passed from this life on
the day following the Epiphany, on the 7th day of January, in the year
of Christ 1284. But before he died, with great contrition taking the
Body of Christ, he said with great reverence these words: "Sire Dieu,
comme je crois vraiment que vous étes mon Sauveur, ainsi je vous prie,
que vous ayez merci de mon ame; ainsi comme je fis la prise du royaume
de Cicile plus pour servir sainte Eglise que pour mon profit ou autre
convoitise, ainsi vous me pardonniez mes péchés;" and a short time
after he passed from this life, and his body was brought to Naples;
and after great lamentation had been made over his death, he was
buried at the archbishop's at Naples with great honour. Concerning
this death of King Charles there was a great marvel, for the same day
whereon he died, the tidings of his death were published by one
Brother Arlotto, a minister of the Minor Friars, and by M. Giardino da
Carmignanola, a teacher in the University; and when this came to the
notice of the king of France he sent for them to learn whence they
knew it. They said that they knew his nativity, which was under the
lordship of Saturn, and by its influence had resulted his exaltations
and his adversities; and some said that they knew it by revelation of
some spirit, for each of them was a great astrologer and necromancer.
This Charles was the most feared and redoubted lord, and the most
valiant in arms, and of the most lofty designs, of all the kings of
the house of France from Charles the Great to his own day, and the
one which most exalted the Church of Rome; and he would have done more
if, at the end of his life, fortune had not turned against him.
Afterwards there came as guardian and defender of the kingdom, Robert,
count of Artois, cousin of the said king, with many French knights,
and with the princess, and with the prince's son, grandson to King
Charles, which was called after him Charles Martel, and which was some
twelve or thirteen years old. Of King Charles there remained no other
heir than Charles II., prince of Salerno, of whom we have made
mention. And this Charles was comely in person, and gracious and
liberal, and whilst his father was living and afterwards he had many
children by the princess, his wife, daughter and heiress of the king
of Hungary. The first was the said Charles Martel, which was
afterwards king of Hungary; the second was Louis, which became a Minor
Friar, and afterwards was bishop of Toulouse; the third was Robert,
duke of Calabria; the fourth was Philip, prince of Taranto; the fifth
was Raymond Berenger (count that was to be of Provence); the sixth was
John, prince of Morea; the seventh was Peter, count of Eboli.
[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]
§ 96.--_How the prince, son to King Charles, was condemned to death by
the Sicilians, and afterwards was sent prisoner into Catalonia by
Queen Constance._ § 97.--_How there was a great flood of waters in
Florence, which overwhelmed part of the Poggio de' Magnoli._ §
98.--_How the Florentines, with the Genoese and with the Tuscans, made
a league against the Pisans, whereby the Ghibellines were driven out
of Pisa._ § 99.--_How the Florentines began the foundation of the
gates, to build the new walls of the city._ § 100.--_Of the great
events that came to pass among the Tartars of Turigio._ § 101.--_How
the Saracens took and destroyed Margatto in Syria._ § 102.--_How King
Philip of France went with a great army against the king of Aragon._ §
103.--_How the king of Aragon was discomfited and wounded by the
French, of the which wound he afterwards died._ § 104.--_How the king
of France took the city of Gerona, and how his fleet was discomfited
at sea._
§ 105.--_How the king of France departed from Aragon, and died at
Perpignan._
[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 105.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vii. 109.]
[Sidenote: Par. xix. 143-148.]
King Philip of France, seeing his fortune so changed and adverse, and
his fleet, which was bringing victuals to his host, taken and burnt,
was overcome with grief and melancholy in such wise that he fell
grievously sick with fever and a flux, wherefore his barons took
counsel to depart and return to Toulouse, and of necessity they were
forced thereto by lack of victuals, and by reason of the adverse
season of autumn, and because of the sickness of their king. And thus
they departed about the first day of October, carrying their sick king
in a litter, and they dispersed with but little order, each one
getting away as best he could and most quickly; wherefore, when they
were crossing the difficult pass of the Schiuse through the great
mountains of Pirris [? the defiles of the great mountains of Pertus],
the Aragonese and Catalans which were at the pass, sought to hinder
the passing of the litter wherein the king of France lay sick. And
when the French saw this, they gave battle in despair to them which
were at the pass, to the end they might not take the body of the king,
and by force of arms they broke them up and discomfited them, and
drave them from the pass; but many of the French common people on foot
were taken and slain, and many mules and horses and much baggage
destroyed and taken by the Catalans and Aragonese. And a little while
after the departure of the king of France and of his host, the king of
Aragon received Gerona back on conditions. And when the host of the
king of France in guise as if defeated came to Perpignan, as it
pleased God, King Philip of France passed from this life on the 6th
day of October, in the year of Christ 1285; and in Perpignan the queen
of Morea, his wife, with her company made great lamentation and
sorrow. And afterwards Philip and Charles, his sons, caused the body
to be brought to Paris, and he was buried at S. Denys with his
predecessors, with great honour. This enterprise against Aragon was
attended with greater loss of men and more cost in horses and money,
than the realm of France had almost ever suffered in times past; for
afterwards the king which succeeded the said Philip, and the greater
part of the barons, were always in debt and ill provided with money.
And after the death of King Philip of France, King Philip the Fair,
his eldest son, was made king of France, and crowned king in the city
of Rheims, with the Queen Joanna of Navarre, his wife, on the day of
the Epiphany next following. And note, that in one year or little
more, as it pleased God, there died four such great lords of
Christendom, as were Pope Martin, and the good Charles, king of Sicily
and of Apulia, and the valiant King Peter of Aragon, and the powerful
King Philip of France, of whom we have made mention. This King Philip
was a lord of a great heart, and in his life did high emprises; first,
when he went against the king of Spain, and then against the count of
Foix, and then against the king of Aragon, with greater forces than
ever his predecessor had gathered. We will leave now speaking of the
doings beyond the mountains, whereof we have said enough for this
time, and we will go back to speak of the doings of our Italy which
came to pass in the said time.
[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 20-24.]
[Sidenote: 1286 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1287 A.D.]
§ 106.--_Of the death of Pope Martin IV., and how Honorius de' Savelli
of Rome was made Pope._ § 107.--_How a certain Genoese flotilla was
taken by the Pisans._ § 108.--_How Count Guido of Montefeltro, lord of
Romagna, surrendered to the Church of Rome._ § 109.--_How Pope
Honorius changed the habit of the Carmelite Friars._ § 110.--_How the
bishop of Arezzo caused Poggio a Santa Cecilia, in the territory of
Siena, to rebel, and how it was recovered._ § 111.--_How there was
great scarcity of victual in Italy._ § 112.--_How M. Prezzivalle dal
Fiesco came into Tuscany as Imperial Vicar._ § 113.--_How Pope
Honorius de' Savelli died._
§ 114.--_Of a notable thing which came to pass in Florence at this
time._
[Sidenote: 1287 A.D.]
In the said year, M. Matteo da Fogliano di Reggio, being Podestà of
Florence, had taken and condemned to be beheaded for murder one Totto
de' Mazzinghi da Campi, which was a great warrior and leader; and as
he was on his way to execution, M. Corso dei Donati with his following
would have rescued him from the officers by force; for the which thing
the said Podestà caused the great bell to be sounded: wherefore all
the good people of Florence armed themselves and assembled at the
palace, some on horse and some on foot, crying: "Justice, justice."
For the which thing the said Podestà carried out his sentence, but
whereas the said Totto should have been beheaded, he caused him to be
dragged along the ground, and then hung by the neck, and he condemned
to a fine those who had begun the uproar and impeded justice.
[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 120, 121.]
§ 115.--_How the Guelfs were driven out of Arezzo, whence war arose
between the Florentines and the Aretines._ § 116.--_Of a great fire
which broke out in Florence._ § 117.--_How the armada of Charles
Martel took the city of Agosta in Sicily, and how their armada was
defeated at sea by Ruggeri di Loria._ § 118.--_How a great fire broke
out in Florence at the houses of the Cerchi._ § 119.--_Of the calling
of Pope Nicholas IV., of Ascoli._ § 120.--_Of a great expedition which
the commonwealth of Florence made against the city of Arezzo, and how
as they departed the Sienese were defeated at the Pieve [parish
church] al Toppo._
§ 121.--_How the judge of Gallura and the Guelf party were driven from
Pisa, and the Count Ugolino taken prisoner._
[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. viii. 53.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxiii. 31-33.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xvi. 46.]
In the year of Christ 1288, in the month of July, great divisions and
factions having arisen in Pisa concerning the government, for of one
party Judge Nino di Gallura de' Visconti was head with certain Guelfs,
and of another Count Ugolino dei Gherardeschi with another party of
the Guelfs, and of a third the Archbishop Ruggeri degli Ubaldini with
the Lanfranchi, and Gualandi, and Sismondi, with the other Ghibelline
houses. And the said Ugolino, in order to gain power, sided with the
archbishop and his party, and betrayed Judge Nino, not considering
that he was his grandson, his daughter's son; and they ordained that
he should be driven out of Pisa with his followers, or taken prisoner.
Judge Nino hearing this, and seeing that he was not well able to
defend himself, left the city and went to his castle of Calci, and
allied himself with the Florentines and Lucchese to make war against
Pisa. Count Ugolino, before the departure of Judge Nino, to the end he
might hide his treachery when he had planned the banishment of the
judge, departed from Pisa, and went to one of his manors in the
country, which was called Settimo. When he heard of the departure of
Judge Nino, he returned to Pisa with great rejoicing; and the Pisans
made him their lord with great rejoicings and festivities; but he
abode only a short time in the government, for Fortune turned against
him, as it pleased God, because of his treacheries and crimes; for of
a truth it was said that he caused Count Anselm of Capraia, his
nephew, his sister's son, to be poisoned, from envy, and because he
was beloved in Pisa, and he feared lest he might rob him of his state.
And that happened to Count Ugolino, which a little while before had
been foretold him by a wise and valiant man of affairs, named Marco
Lombardo; for when the count was called by all lord of Pisa, and when
he was in greatest state and happiness, he prepared a rich feast on
his birthday, and invited thereto his sons and grandsons, and all his
lineage and kinsfolk, both men and women, with great pomp in dress and
ornaments, and preparations for a great festival. The count taking the
said Marco, showed him all his grandeur and possessions, and the
preparations for his feast; and this done, he asked him: "Marco, what
thinkest thou of all this?" The sage answered and said unto him at
once: "You are better prepared for evil fortune than any nobleman of
Italy." And the count fearing these words of Marco's, said: "Why?" and
Marco answered: "Because the wrath of God is the only thing lacking to
you." And of a truth the wrath of God soon came upon him, as it
pleased God, because of his treacheries and crimes; for when the
archbishop of Pisa and his followers had succeeded in driving out Nino
and his party, by the counsel and treachery of Count Ugolino, the
forces of the Guelfs were diminished; and then the archbishop took
counsel how to betray Count Ugolino, and in a sudden uproar of the
people, he was attacked and assaulted at the palace, the archbishop
giving the people to understand that he had betrayed Pisa, and given
up their fortresses to the Florentines and the Lucchese; and being
without any defence, the people having turned against him, he
surrendered himself prisoner, and at the said assault one of his
bastard sons and one of his grandsons were slain, and Count Ugolino
was taken, and two of his sons, and three grandsons, his son's
children, and they were put in prison; and his household and
followers, and the Visconti and Ubizinghi, Guatani, and all the other
Guelf houses were driven out of Pisa. And thus was the traitor
betrayed by the traitor; wherefore the Guelf party in Tuscany was
greatly cast down, and the Ghibellines greatly exalted because of the
said revolution in Pisa, and because of the force of the Ghibellines
of Arezzo, and because of the power and victories of Don James of
Aragon, and of the Sicilians against the heirs of King Charles.
[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]
§ 122.--_How the Lucchese took the castle of Asciano from the Pisans._
§ 123.--_How the Pisan mercenaries, coming from Campagna, were routed
by the Florentine mercenaries in Maremma._ § 124.--_Of the dash on
Latterina made by the Florentines as an attack on Arezzo._ §
125.--_How Prince Charles was released from the prison of the king of
Aragon._ § 126.--_Of a great flood of water that was in Florence._ §
127.--_How the Aretines came and laid waste the territory of Florence
as far as San Donato in Collina._
§ 128.--_How the Pisans chose for captain the count of Montefeltro,
and how they starved to death Count Ugolino and his sons and
grandsons._
[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxxiii. 1-90.]
In the said year 1288, in the said month of March, the wars in Tuscany
between the Guelfs and Ghibellines becoming hot again (by reason of
the war begun by the Florentines and Sienese against the Aretines, and
by the Florentines and Lucchese against the Pisans), the Pisans chose
for their captain of war Count Guido of Montefeltro, giving him wide
jurisdiction and lordship; and he passed the boundaries of Piedmont,
within which he was confined by his terms of surrender to the Church,
and came to Pisa; for the which thing he and his sons and family, and
all the commonwealth of Pisa, were excommunicated by the Church of
Rome, as rebels and enemies against Holy Church. And when the said
count was come to Pisa in the said month of March, the Pisans which
had put in prison Count Ugolino and his two sons, and two sons of
Count Guelfo, his son, as we before made mention, in a tower on the
Piazza degli Anziani, caused the door of the said tower to be locked,
and the keys thrown into the Arno, and refused to the said prisoners
any food, which in a few days died there of hunger. And albeit first
the said count demanded with cries to be shriven; yet did they not
grant him a friar or priest to confess him. And when all the five
dead bodies were taken out of the tower, they were buried without
honour; and thenceforward the said prison was called the Tower of
Hunger, and will be always. For this cruelty were the Pisans greatly
blamed throughout the whole world wherever it was known, not so much
by reason of the count, which because of his crimes and treacheries
was peradventure worthy of such a death, but by reason of his sons and
grandsons which were young and innocent boys; and this sin committed
by the Pisans did not go unpunished, as in due time hereafter may be
found. We will leave speaking, for a while, of the affairs of Florence
and of Tuscany, and will tell of other events which took place in the
said times and came to pass through the whole world.
§ 129.--_How the Saracens took Tripoli in Syria._
§ 130.--_Of the coronation of King Charles II., and how he passed
through Florence, and left Messer Amerigo di Nerbona as captain of war
for the Florentines._
[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 2nd day of May, there came to Florence Prince
Charles, son of the great King Charles, which was returning from
France after he had been loosed from prison, and was going to the
court at Rieti where was the Pope; and he was received by the
Florentines with great rejoicing, and the Florentines did him much
honour and made him many presents; and having sojourned three days in
Florence, he departed on his journey towards Siena. And when he was
departed, tidings came to Florence that the troops of Arezzo were
making ready to go into the country of Siena to hinder or bring shame
upon the said Prince Charles, which had but a small company of
men-at-arms. Straightway the Florentines caused the horsemen of the
cavalry to ride forth, wherein were all the flower of the best
families of Florence, together with mercenaries which were in
Florence, and they were in number 800 horse, and 3,000 foot, to
accompany the prince; wherefore the prince took in very good part such
honourable service, and speedy and unasked succour of so many good
men, though it came not to the pinch of need withal; for the Aretines
having heard of the riding forth of the Florentines, did not venture
to go out against them; but nevertheless the Florentines accompanied
the said prince beyond Bricola to the borders of the territory of
Siena and of Orvieto. And when the commonwealth of Florence asked of
the prince to appoint them a captain of war, and also that he would
grant them to carry forth the royal standard with the host, the prince
allowed it, and knighted Amerigo di Nerbona, a man very noble, and
brave and wise in war, and gave him to them for captain; which M.
Amerigo with his company, about 100 mounted men, came to Florence with
the said horse; and the prince came to the court, and was honourably
received by Pope Nicolas IV. and by his cardinals; and the day of
Pentecost following, on the 29th day of May, 1289, in the city of Rome
the said Charles was crowned by the said Pope, king of Sicily and of
Apulia, with great honour, solemnity and rejoicing, and many favours
and grand presents of jewels and of money were made to him by the
Church, with subsidies of tithes to aid him in his war in Sicily. And
this done, King Charles departed from the court, and went into the
Kingdom.
§ 131.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines at Certomondo in
Casentino._
[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 49-51. Purg. xiv. 118, 119.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 65, 94-96.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 82. Cf. Par. iii. 106, 107.]
[Sidenote: Purg. v. 88-129. Inf. xxvii. 68-129.]
In the said year, and month of May, the horsemen of Florence being
returned from escorting Prince Charles, with their captain, M. Amerigo
di Nerbona, a host was straightway gathered against the city of
Arezzo, by reason of outrages received from the Aretines, and the
banners of war were given out on the 13th day of May, and the royal
standard was borne by M. Gherardo Ventraia de' Tornaquinci; and so
soon as they were given to them, they bore them to the abbey at
Ripoli, as was their wont, and there they left them under guard,
making as though they would march by that road upon the city of
Arezzo. And the allies being come and the host being ordered, by
secret counsel they purposed to depart by the way of Casentino, and
suddenly, the 2nd day of June, the bells sounding a toll, the
ever-prosperous host of the Florentines set forth, and they bore the
banners which were at Ripoli across the Arno, and held the way of
Pontassieve, and encamped to await the gathering of forces on Monte al
Pruno; and there were assembled 1,600 horse and 10,000 foot, whereof
600 were citizens with their horses, the best armed and mounted which
ever sallied forth from Florence; and 400 mercenaries, together with
the following of the Captain, M. Amerigo, in the pay of the
Florentines; and of Lucca there were 150 horsemen; and of Prato, 40
horsemen and foot soldiers; of Pistoia, 60 horse and foot; and of
Siena, 120 horse; and of Volterra, 40 horse; and of Bologna, their
ambassadors with their company; and of Samminiato, and of
Sangimignano, and of Colle, men mounted and on foot from each place;
and Maghinardo of Susinana, a good and wise captain in war, with his
Romagnoli. And the said host being assembled, they descended into the
plain of Casentino, devastating the places of Count Guido Novello, who
was Podestà of Arezzo. Hearing this, the bishop of Arezzo, with the
other captains of the Ghibelline party (for there were many men of
name amongst them), determined to come with all their host to
Bibbiena, to the end it might not be destroyed; and they were 800
horse and 8,000 foot, very fine men; and many wise captains of war
were among them, for they were the flower of the Ghibellines of
Tuscany, of the March, and of the Duchy, and of Romagna; and all were
men experienced in arms and in war; and they desired to give battle to
the Florentines, having no fear, albeit the Florentines were two
horsemen to one against them; but they despised them, saying that they
adorned themselves like women, and combed their tresses; and they
derided them and held them for nought. Truly there was further cause
why the Aretines should declare battle against the Florentines, albeit
their horsemen were two to one against them; for they were in fear of
a plot which the bishop of Arezzo had set on foot with the
Florentines, and conducted by M. Marsilio de' Vecchietti, to give over
to the Florentines Bibbiena, Civitella, and all the castles of his
see, and he to have 5,000 golden florins each year of his life, on the
security of the company of the Cerchi. The progress of this plot was
interrupted by M. Guiglielmino Pazzo, his nephew, to the end the
bishop might not be slain by the Ghibelline leaders; and therefore
they hastened the battle, and took thither the said bishop, where he
was left dead, together with the rest; and thus was the bishop
punished for his treason, who at the same time sought to betray both
the Florentines and his own Aretines. And the Florentines, having
joyfully received the gage of battle, arrayed themselves; and the two
hosts stood over against one another, after more ordered fashion, both
on one side and on the other, than ever in any battle before in Italy,
in the plain at the foot of Poppi, in the region called Certomondo,
for such is the name of the place, and of a church of the Franciscans,
which is near there, and in a plain which is called Campaldino; and
this was a Saturday morning, the 11th day of June, the day of S.
Barnabas the Apostle. M. Amerigo and the other Florentine captains
drew up in well-ordered troops, and enrolled 150 forefighters of the
best of the host, among the which were twenty new-made knights, who
then received their spurs; and M. Vieri de' Cerchi being among the
captains, and being lame in his leg, would not therefore desist from
being among the forefighters; and since it fell to him to make the
selection for his sesto, he would not lay this service upon any who
did not desire to be chosen, but chose himself, and his son and
nephews; the which thing was counted to him as of great merit; and for
his good example and for shame many other noble citizens offered
themselves as forefighters. And this done, they flanked them on either
side by troops of light-armed infantry, and crossbowmen, and unmounted
lancers. Then, behind the forefighters, came the main body, flanked in
its turn by footmen, and, behind all, the baggage, so collected as to
close up the rear of the main body, outside of which were stationed
two hundred horse and foot of the Lucchese and Pistoians and other
foreigners, whereof was captain M. Corso Donati, which then was
Podestà of Pistoia; and their orders were to take the enemy in flank,
should occasion rise. The Aretines on their part ordered their troops
wisely, inasmuch as there were, as we have said, good captains of war
amongst them; and they appointed many forefighters, to the number of
300, among the which were chosen twelve of the chief leaders, who were
called the Twelve Paladins. And each side having given a war-cry to
their host, the Florentines, "Ho, knights, Nerbona," and the Aretines,
"Ho, knights, San Donato," the forefighters of the Aretines advanced
with great courage, and struck spur to smite into the Florentine host;
and the rest of their troop followed after, save that Count Guido
Novello, which was with a troop of 150 horse to charge in flank, did
not adventure himself into the battle, but drew back, and then fled to
his castle. And the movement and assault made upon the Florentines by
the Aretines, who esteemed themselves to be valiant men-at-arms, was
to the end that by their bold attack they might break up the
Florentines at the first onset, and put them to flight; and the shock
was so great that most of the Florentine forefighters were unhorsed,
and the main body was driven back a good space, but they were not
therefore confounded nor broken up, but received the enemy with
constancy and fortitude; and the wings of infantry on either side,
keeping their ranks well, enclosed the enemy, and there was hard
fighting for a good space. And M. Corso Donati, who was apart with the
men of Lucca and Pistoia, and had been commanded to stand firm, and
not to strike under pain of death, when he saw the battle begun, said,
like a valiant man: "If we lose, I will die in the battle with my
fellow-citizens; and if we conquer, let him that will, come to us at
Pistoia to exact the penalty"; and he boldly set his troop in motion,
and struck the enemy in flank, and was a great cause of their rout.
And this done, as it pleased God, the Florentines had the victory, and
the Aretines were routed and discomfited, and between horse and foot
more than 1,700 were slain, and more than 2,000 taken, whereof many of
the best were smuggled away, some for friendship, some in return for
ransom; but there came of them bound to Florence more than 740. Among
the dead left on the field were M. Guiglielmino of the Ubertini,
bishop of Arezzo, the which was a great warrior, and M. Guiglielmino
de' Pazzi of Valdarno and his nephews, the which was the best and the
most experienced captain of war that there was in Italy in his time;
and there died there Bonconte, son of Count Guido of Montefeltro, and
three of the Uberti, and one of the Abati, and two of the Griffoni of
Fegghine, and many other Florentine refugees, and Guiderello
d'Alessandro of Orvieto, a renowned captain, who bore the imperial
standard, and many others. On the side of the Florentines was slain no
man of renown save M. Guiglielmo Berardi, bailiff of M. Amerigo da
Nerbona, and M. Bindo del Baschiera de' Tosinghi, and Ticci de'
Visdomini; but many other citizens and foreigners were wounded. The
news of the said victory came to Florence the same day, at the same
hour that it took place, for after their meal, the Priors being gone
to sleep and repose, after the care and wakefulness of the past night,
suddenly there was a knocking on the chamber door, with the cry:
"Arise, for the Aretines are discomfited"; and having risen and opened
the door, they found no one, and their servants without had heard
nothing, wherefore it was held to be a great and notable marvel,
inasmuch as no person came from the host with tidings before the hour
of vespers. And this was the truth, for I heard it and saw it; and all
the Florentines marvelled whence this could be, and awaited the issue
in suspense. But when they arrived which came from the host, and
reported the tidings in Florence, there was great gladness and
rejoicing; and there was good cause, for at the said discomfiture were
slain many captains and valiant men of the Ghibelline party, and
enemies of the commonwealth of Florence, and there were brought low
the arrogance and pride not only of the Aretines, but of the whole
Ghibelline party and of the Empire.
§ 132.--_How the Florentines besieged the city of Arezzo, and laid
waste the region round about._
[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxii. 4, 5.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 42.]
After the said victory of the commonwealth over the Aretines, the
trumpet was sounded for the return from pursuing the fugitives, and
the Florentine host was marshalled upon the field; and this done, they
departed to Bibbiena, and took it without any resistance; and having
plundered and despoiled it of all its wealth and much booty, they
caused the walls and the fortified houses to be destroyed to the
foundations, and many other villages round about, and they abode there
eight days. Whereas, if on the day following, the Florentine host had
ridden upon Arezzo, without doubt they would have taken the city; but
during that sojourn they that had escaped from the battle returned
thither, and the peasants round about took refuge there, and order was
taken for the defence and guard of the city. The host of the
Florentines came thither after some days, and laid siege to the city,
continually laying waste the region round about, and taking their
fortresses, so that they gained them nearly all, some by force, and
some on conditions; and the Florentines caused many thereof to be
destroyed, but they kept possession of Castiglione of Arezzo, and
Montecchio, and Rondine, and Civitella, and Laterina, and
Montesansavino. And with the host there went two of the Priors of
Florence as inspectors; and the Sienese came in a body, with much
force of horse and foot, after the defeat, to regain their lands taken
by the Aretines, and they took Lucignano of Arezzo, and Chiusura of
Valdichiane, on conditions. And the said Florentine host being at
Arezzo, in the old palace of the bishops, for twenty days, they laid
waste all round about them, and they ran their races there on the
feast of S. Giovanni, and erected there many engines, and hurled into
the city asses with mitres on their heads, in contempt and reproach of
their bishop, and raised many wooden towers and other works to attack
the city; and a fierce battle ensuing, a great part of the palisade
(for there was not then any other wall in that part) was burnt and
laid low; and if the captains of the host had made the besiegers fight
lustily, they would have taken the city by storm; but where they
should have fought, they caused the retreat to be sounded, wherefore
they were held in abomination, forasmuch as this was done through
greed of gain; for the which cause the people and the combatants,
losing heart, were slack in skirmishing and on guard; wherefore the
night following they of Arezzo issued forth and set fire to many
wooden towers, and burnt them, with many other works. And this done,
the Florentines lost hope of taking the city by battle, and the better
part of the host departed, leaving the aforesaid strongholds guarded,
to the end they might continually harry the city; and the host
returned to Florence on the 23rd day of July with great rejoicing and
triumph, and there came to meet them the clergy in procession, the men
of birth jousting, and the populace with the standards and ensigns of
each of the Arts, with its company; and they set a canopy of cloth of
gold over the head of M. Amerigo di Nerbona, borne upon pikes by many
knights, and likewise over M. Ugolino de' Rossi of Parma, which was
then Podestà of Florence. And note that all the expenses of the said
host were furnished by our commonwealth by a tax of six and a quarter
per cent., which raised more than 36,000 golden florins, so well
ordered were then the registers of the city and country; and the other
affairs and revenues of the commonwealth were equally well ordered.
True it is that after the return of the said host the popolani began
to suspect that the magnates, through pride of the said victory, might
lay burdens on them beyond accustomed usage; and for this cause the
seven greater Arts drew to themselves the five lesser Arts, and made
ready among themselves arms, and shields, and certain standards, and
this was in a sense a beginning of the Popolo, which afterwards took
the form of the Popolo of 1292, as hereafter we shall narrate. From
the aforesaid victory the city of Florence was much exalted, and rose
to good and happy state, the best which it had seen until these times,
and it increased greatly in people and in wealth, for every one was
gaining by some merchandise, art, or trade; and it continued in
peaceful and tranquil state for many years after, rising every day.
And by reason of gladness and well-being, every year, on the first day
of May, they formed bands and companies of gentle youths, clad in new
raiment, and raised pavilions covered with cloth and silk and with
wooden walls, in divers parts of the city; and likewise there were
bands of women and of maidens going through the city dancing in
ordered fashion, and ladies, by two and two, with instruments, and
with garlands of flowers on their heads, continuing in pastimes and
joyance, and at feasts and banquets.
[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 64-66.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 136. Convivio iv. 11: 126.]
§ 133.--_Of a fierce and violent battle between the duke of Brabant
and the count of Luxemburg._ § 134.--_How Don James came from Sicily
into Calabria with his armada, and there received some loss, and
afterwards laid siege to Gaeta._ § 135.--_How Charles Martel was
crowned king of Hungary._ § 136.--_How they of Chiusi were routed, and
the Guelf refugees restored._ § 137.--_How the Lucchese, with the
forces of Florence, marched upon the city of Pisa._ § 138.--_Of an
expedition that the Florentines made wherein they should have had
Arezzo yielded up to them._ § 139.--_Of a great fire that broke out in
Florence in the house of the Pegolotti._ § 140.--_How the Florentines
and their allies made a third expedition against Arezzo._ § 141.--_How
Porto Pisano was taken and laid waste by the Florentines and Genoese
and Lucchese._ § 142.--_How the marquis of Montferrat was taken
prisoner by them of Alexandria._ § 143.--_Of a great miracle that came
to pass in Paris concerning the body of Christ._ § 144.--_How they of
Ravenna seized the count of Romagna, who was there to represent the
Church._
§ 145.--_How the soldan of Babylon conquered by force the city of
Acre, to the great hurt of the Christians._
[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxvii. 89.]
In the year of Christ 1291, in the month of April, the soldan of
Babylon [Cairo] of Egypt having first garrisoned and provisioned
Syria, traversed the desert and came into the said Syria with his
host, and laid siege to the city of Acre, which of old was called in
the Scriptures Ptolemais, and now is called Acon in Latin; and the
soldan had with him so much people, both foot and horse, that his host
stretched over more than twelve miles. But before we tell more of the
loss of Acre, we will tell the reason why the soldan came to besiege
it, and took it, as it was related to us by trustworthy
fellow-citizens of our own, and merchants which were in Acre at that
time. It is true that, because the Saracens had in foregoing times
taken from the Christians the city of Antioch, and of Tripoli, and of
Tyre, and many other towns which the Christians held on the seashore,
the city of Acre had greatly increased, both in folk and in power,
forasmuch as no other city was held by the Christians in Syria; so
that the kings of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus, and the princes of
Antioch, and of Tyre, and of Tripoli, and the Orders of the Templars
and the Hospitallers, and other Orders, and the Pope's legates, and
they which had gone over seas from the kings of France and of England,
all gathered at Acre, and there were there seventeen hereditary
lordships, which was a great confusion. And at that time there was
truce between the Christians and the Saracens, and there were there
more than 18,000 pilgrims who had taken the cross; and their pay not
being forthcoming, and because they could not get it from the lords
and states which had sent them forth, part of them, which were wild
and lawless men, scrupled not to break the truce, and to rob and to
slay all the Saracens which were in Acre, under the security of the
truce, with their merchandise and victuals; and in like manner they
went through many villages round about Acre, robbing and slaying the
Saracens. For the which thing, the soldan holding himself much
aggrieved, sent his ambassadors to Acre to those lords, demanding
compensation for the wrongs that had been committed, and that for his
honour and the satisfaction of his people, there should be sent to him
as prisoners some of the chiefs and leaders of them which had broken
the truce, to the end that he might execute justice upon them, the
which requests were denied him. Wherefore he came with his army, as we
have said, and because of the multitude of his people, by force they
filled up part of the moats, which were very deep, and took the outer
circle of the walls; and the next circle they caused in part to fall
by the aid of mines and engines; and they took the great tower, which
was called Accursed, because it had been foretold that by it Acre
should be lost. But with all this they could not take the city, for
albeit the Saracens broke down the walls by day, by night they were
repaired and stopped up with planks, or with sacks of wool and of
cotton, and vigorously defended on the day following, by the wise and
valiant brother, Guillaume de Beaujeu, master of the Temple, which was
captain-general of the war and of the defence of the city, and had,
with much prowess and foresight and care, vigorously defended the
city. But as it pleased God, and to punish the sins of the inhabitants
of Acre, the said master of the Temple, lifting up his right arm in
the combat, was shot by a Saracen with a poisoned arrow, which entered
into the joints of his cuirass, by the which wound he shortly after
died; and because of his death the whole city was moved and put in
fear; and by reason of the confusion of so many lords and captains, as
we before said, all fell into disorder, and there was discord in the
guard and defence of the city; and each one who could gave heed to
his own safety, taking refuge in ships and in other vessels which were
in the port. For the which cause the Saracens, continuing the attacks
by day and by night, entered the city by force and traversed it,
robbing everywhere and slaying all who came in their way, and the
young men and maidens they carried off as slaves; and there were of
slain and prisoners, men, women and children, more than 60,000; and
the loss of goods and booty was infinite. And having collected the
booty and treasures, and carried away the prisoners out of the city,
they broke down the walls and strongholds, and set fire to them, and
destroyed all the city, whereby Christendom sustained very great hurt,
for by the loss of Acre there remained in the Holy Land no city
pertaining to the Christians; and never again was any one of the good
trading cities, which are on our sea-shores and borders, worth
one-half of its former profit in merchandise and arts; because of the
loss of the city and port of Acre, by reason of its good situation
right on the brow of our sea, and in the midst of Syria, and well-nigh
in the midst of the inhabited world, seventy miles distant from
Jerusalem, a magazine and port for all merchandise, both from the East
and from the West; and all races of men in the world met there to
barter merchandise; and there were interpreters there of all the
languages of the world, so that it was like one of the elements of the
world. And this disaster was not without the great and just judgment
of God, for that city was more full of sinful men and of women of
every kind of abandoned vice than any other Christian city. When the
sorrowful tidings came to the West, the Pope proclaimed great
indulgences and pardons to whosoever should give aid and succour to
the Holy Land, sending word to all Christian lords that he purposed a
general crusade; and he forbade, under pain of severe judgments and
excommunications, that any Christian should go to Alexandria or the
land of Egypt with merchandise, or victuals, or wood, or iron, or
should give aid and favour there in any wise.
§ 146.--_Of the death of King Rudolf of Germany._
[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 103-105.]
In the said year 1291, King Rudolf of Germany died, but he never
attained to the honours of the Empire, because he was always intent
upon increasing his state and lordship in Germany, leaving the
enterprises of Italy that he might increase land and possessions for
his sons; who, by his energy and valour, from a small count rose to be
Emperor, and gained for himself the duchy of Austria, and a great part
of the duchy of Suabia.
§ 147.--_How King Philip of France caused all the Italians to be taken
prisoner, and then ransomed._ § 148.--_How the Pisans recaptured the
fortress of Pontadera._
§ 149.--_How the city of Forlì in Romagna was taken by Maghinardo da
Susinana._
[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxvii. 49-51.]
In the said year all the county of Romagna, being obedient to Holy
Church, and under the care of the bishop of Arezzo, which was count
thereof for the Pope, Maghinardo da Susinana, with certain nobles and
great men of Romagna, took the city of Forlì by theft, and in it they
took the Count Aghinolfo of Romena with his sons, which was brother to
the said count bishop of Arezzo; and they besieged the said count
bishop in Cesena; whence arose great war in Romagna. The said
Maghinardo was a great and wise tyrant, holding many castles between
Casentino and Romagna, and having many followers; and he was wise in
war and very fortunate in many battles, and in his time did great
things. He was a Ghibelline by race and by his works, but with the
Florentines he was a Guelf and the enemy of all their enemies, whether
they were Guelfs or Ghibellines; and in every expedition and battle
which the Florentines undertook, whilst he was alive, he was with his
people in their service as a captain; and this was because, when his
father died, which was called Piero Pagano, a great nobleman, leaving
the said Maghinardo, a young child and with many enemies, to wit, the
Counts Guidi and the Ubaldini and other lords of Romagna, this said
father left him to the care and tutelage of the people and
commonwealth of Florence, him and his lands; by the which commonwealth
his patrimony was benignly increased and guarded and improved, and for
this cause he was grateful and very faithful to the commonwealth of
Florence in all its needs.
[Sidenote: 1292 A.D.]
§ 150.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Ampinana._ §
151.--_How Pope Nicholas, of Ascoli, died._ § 152.--_How the whole
city of Noyon, in France, was burnt._ § 153.--_How Adolf was elected
king of the Romans._ § 154.--_How the Florentines marched upon the
city of Pisa._ § 155.--_Of the miracles which were manifested in
Florence by S. Maria d'Orto San Michele._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VII.
BOOK VIII.
_Here begins the Eighth Book. It tells how the second Popolo
arose in the city of Florence, and of many great changes
which by reason thereof came afterwards to pass in Florence,
following on with the other events of those times._
[Sidenote: 1292 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 131, 132.]
§ 1.--In the year of Christ 1292, on the 1st day of February, the city
of Florence being in great and powerful state, and prosperous in all
things, and the citizens thereof waxing fat and rich, and by reason of
excessive tranquillity, which naturally engenders pride and novelties,
being envious and arrogant among themselves, many murders, and wounds,
and outrages were done by one citizen upon another; and above all the
nobles known as magnates and potentates, alike in the country and in
the city, wrought upon the people who might not resist them, force and
violence both against person and goods, taking possession thereof. For
the which thing certain good men, artificers and merchants of
Florence, which desired good life, considered how to set a remedy and
defence against the said plague, and one of the leaders therein, among
others, was a man of worth, an ancient and noble citizen, being one of
the popolani, rich and powerful, whose name was Giano della Bella, of
the people of S. Martin, with the following and counsel of other wise
and powerful popolani. And instituting in Florence an order of judges
to correct the statutes and our laws, as by our ordinances the custom
was of old to do, they ordained certain laws and statutes, very strong
and weighty, against such magnates and men of power as should do wrong
or violence against the people; increasing the common penalties in
divers ways, and enacting that one member of a family of magnates
should be held answerable for the others; and two bearing witness to
public fame and report should be held to prove such crimes; and the
public accounts should be revised. And these laws they called the
Ordinances of Justice. And to the intent they might be maintained and
put into execution, it was decreed that beyond the number of six
Priors which governed the city, there should be a gonfalonier of
justice appointed by the several sesti in succession, changing every
two months, as do the Priors. And when the bells were set tolling, the
people were to rally to the church of San Piero Scheraggio and give
out the banner of justice, which before was not the custom. And they
decreed that not one of the Priors should be of the noble houses
called magnates; for before this good and true merchants had often
been made Priors, albeit they chanced to be of some great and noble
house. And the ensign and standard of the said Popolo was decreed to
be a white field with a red cross; and there were chosen 1000
citizens, divided according to the sesti, with certain standard-bearers
for each region, with fifty footmen to each standard, which were to be
armed, each one with hauberk and shield marked with the cross; and
they were to assemble at every tumult or summons of the gonfalonier,
at the house or at the palace of the Priors, to do execution against
the magnates; and afterwards the number of the chosen footmen
increased to 2,000, and then to 4,000. And a like order of men-at-arms
for the people, with the said ensign, was enrolled in each country and
district of Florence, and they were called the Leagues of the People.
And the first of the said gonfaloniers was one Baldo de' Ruffoli of
the Porte del Duomo; and in his time the standard sallied forth with
armed men to destroy the goods of a family named Galli of Porta S.
Marie, by reason of a murder which one of them had committed in the
kingdom of France on the person of a popolano. This new decree of the
people, and change in the State was of much importance to the city of
Florence, and had afterwards many and divers consequences both ill and
good to our commonwealth, as hereafter in due time we shall make
mention. And in this new thing and beginning of the Popolo, the
popolani would have been hindered by the power of the magnates but
that in those times the said magnates of Florence were in greater
broils and discords among themselves than ever before since the Guelfs
returned to Florence; and there was great war between the Adimari and
the Tosinghi, and between the Rossi and the Tornaquinci, and between
the Bardi and the Mozzi, and between the Gherardini and the Manieri,
and between the Cavalcanti and the Bondelmonti, and between certain of
the Bondelmonti and the Giandonati, and between the Visdomini and the
Falconieri, and between the Bostichi and the Foraboschi, and between
the Foraboschi and the Malispini, and among the Frescobaldi
themselves, and among the family of the Donati themselves, and many
other noble houses. [And therefore let not the reader marvel because
we have put this event at the head of our book, forasmuch as the most
strange events arose from this beginning, and not only to our city of
Florence, but to all the region of Italy.]
[Sidenote: 1293 A.D.]
§ 2.--_How the people of Florence made peace with the Pisans, and many
other notable things._ § 3.--_Of a great fire which broke out in
Florence in the district of Torcicoda._ § 4.--_How the war began
between the king of France and the king of England._
§ 5.--_How Celestine V. was elected and made Pope, and how he
renounced the papacy._
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. iii. 58-60; xxvii. 104, 105.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxvii. 41.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. iii. 59, 60.]
In the year of Christ 1294, in the month of July, the Church of Rome
had been vacant after the death of Pope Nicholas d'Ascoli for more
than two years, by reason of the discord of the cardinals, which were
divided, each party desiring to make one of themselves Pope. And the
cardinals being in Perugia and straitly constrained by the Perugians
to elect a Pope, as it pleased God they were agreed not to name one of
their own college, and they elected a holy man which was called
Brother Peter of Morrone in Abruzzi. This man was a hermit, and of
austere life and penitence, and in order to abandon the vanity of the
world, after he had ordained many holy monasteries of his Order, he
departed as a penitent into the mountain of Morrone, which is above
Sermona. He, being elected and brought and crowned Pope, made in the
following September, for the reformation of the Church, twelve
cardinals, for the most part from beyond the mountains, by the
petition and after the counsel of King Charles, king of Sicily and of
Apulia. And this done, he departed with the court to Naples, and by
King Charles was graciously received and with great honour; but
because he was simple and knew no letters, and did not occupy himself
willingly with the pomps of the world, the cardinals held him in small
esteem, and it seemed to them that they had made an ill choice for the
well-being and estate of the Church. The said holy father perceiving
this, and not feeling himself sufficient for the government of the
Church, as one who more loved the service of God and the weal of his
soul than worldly honour, sought every way how he might renounce the
papacy. Now, among the other cardinals of the court was one M.
Benedetto Guatani d'Alagna, very learned in books, and in the things
of the world much practised and sagacious, which had a great desire to
attain to the papal dignity; and he had laid plans seeking and
striving to obtain it by the aid of King Charles and the cardinals,
and already had the promise from them, which afterwards was fulfilled
to him. He put it before the holy father, hearing that he was desirous
to renounce the papacy, that he should make a new decretal, that for
the good of his soul any Pope might renounce the papacy, showing him
the example of S. Clement, whom, when S. Peter came to die, he desired
should be Pope after him; but he, for the good of his soul, would not
have it so, and in his room first S. Linus and then S. Cletus was
Pope. And even as the said cardinal gave counsel, Pope Celestine made
the said decretal; and this done, the day of S. Lucy in the following
December, in a consistory of all the cardinals, in their presence he
took off the crown and papal mantle, and renounced the papacy, and
departed from the court, and returned to his hermit life, and to do
his penance. And thus Pope Celestine reigned in the papacy five months
and nine days. But afterwards it is said, and was true, that his
successor, M. Benedetto Guatani aforesaid (who was afterwards Pope
Boniface), caused him to be taken prisoner in the mountains of S.
Angiolo in Apulia above Bastia, whither he had withdrawn to do
penance; and some say that he would fain have gone into Slavonia, but
the other secretly held him in the fortress of Fummone in Campagna in
honourable confinement, to the intent that so long as he lived none
should be set up as a rival to his own election, forasmuch as many
Christians held Celestine to be the right and true Pope,
notwithstanding his renunciation, maintaining that such a dignity as
was the papacy by no decretal could be renounced; and albeit S.
Clement refused the papacy at the first, the faithful nevertheless
held him to be father, and it behoved him to be Pope after S. Cletus.
But Celestine being held prisoner, as we have said, in Fummone, lived
but a short time in the said place; and dying there, he was buried
poorly in a little church without Fummone pertaining to the order of
his brethren, and put underground more than ten cubits deep, to the
end his body might not be found. But during his life, and after his
death, God wrought many miracles by him, whence many people held him
in great reverence; and a certain time afterwards by the Church of
Rome, and by Pope John XXII., he was canonised, and called S. Peter of
Morrone, as hereafter in due time we shall make mention.
§ 6.--_How Boniface VIII. was elected and made Pope._
[Sidenote: Inf. vi. 69. xix. 52-57, 76-81. xxvii. 70, 85-111.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 86-90. Par. ix. 136-142. xii. 90. xvii. 49-51.
xviii. 118-136. xxvii. 22-27. xxx. 148.]
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
In the said year 1294, Cardinal Benedetto Guatani, having by his wit
and sagacity so wrought that Pope Celestine had renounced the papacy,
as before in the last chapter we have made mention, followed up his
enterprise, and wrought upon the cardinals and the support of King
Charles, which had the friendship of many cardinals, specially of the
twelve newly elected by Celestine. And while he was pursuing this
quest, one evening by night he went secretly with but few companions
to King Charles, and said to him: "King, thy Pope Celestine had the
will and the means to serve thee in thy Sicilian war, but he had not
the knowledge. Now, if thou wilt work with thy friends the cardinals
that I may be elected Pope, I shall know, and I shall will, and I
shall be able," promising him by his faith and oath to put thereto all
the power of the Church. Then the king, trusting in him, promised him
and agreed with his twelve cardinals that they should give him their
votes; and there being at the election M. Matteo Rosso and M. Jacopo
della Colonna, which were the heads of factions among the cardinals,
they perceived what was toward, and straightway they too gave him
their votes, but the first to do it was M. Matteo Rosso Orsini. And on
this wise he was elected Pope in the city of Naples, the vigil of the
Nativity of Christ in the said year; and immediately when he was
elected, he willed to depart from Naples with his court, and came to
Rome, and there caused himself to be crowned with great solemnity and
honour in the middle of January. And this done, the first act which he
did, hearing that great war was begun between King Philip of France
and King Edward of England on the question of Gascony, was to send
beyond the mountains two cardinal legates, to the end they might
reconcile them together; but they availed little, for the said lords
continued in greater war than before. This Pope Boniface was of the
city of Alagna, a very noble man of his city, son of M. Lifredi
Guatani, a Ghibelline by race, and whilst he was cardinal he was their
protector, specially of the Todini; but after he was made Pope he
became a strong Guelf, and did much for King Charles in the war in
Sicily, albeit it is said by many wise men that he broke up the Guelf
party, under cover of showing himself a strong Guelf, as hereafter in
his actions may be manifestly seen by him who observes closely. A man
of large schemes was he and lordly, and sought for much honour, and
well knew how to maintain and advance the rights of the Church, and by
reason of his knowledge and power he was much redoubted and feared; he
was very rich through making the Church great and his kinsfolk; making
no scruple of gain, for he said all was lawfully his which was the
Church's. And when he was made Pope he annulled all the assignments of
the revenues of vacant benefices made by Pope Celestine, except where
one was in possession; and he had his nephew made count of Caserta by
King Charles, and two sons of the said nephew, the one count of Fondi,
and the other count of Palazzo. He bought the military fortress at
Rome, which was the palace of Octavianus the emperor, and caused it to
be enlarged and rebuilt at great cost, and other strong and fine
castles in Campagna and in Maremma. And always he abode in winter in
Rome, and in summer and spring in Rieti or Orvieto, but afterwards the
most in Alagna, to make his city great. We will now leave speaking of
the said Pope, following from time to time the things which came to
pass in other parts of the world, and above all those in Florence,
whereof the matter increases much.
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
§ 7.--_When the foundation of the new church of Santa Croce was begun
in Florence._
§ 8.--_How the great man of the people, Giano della Bella, was driven
out of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
In the said year 1294, in the month of January, when M. Giovanni da
Lucino da Como had lately entered upon the office of Podestà of
Florence, a cause came for trial before him accusing M. Corso de'
Donati, a noble and powerful citizen among the best in Florence, of
having slain a popolano, a retainer of his associate M. Simone
Galastrone, in a scuffle and fray which they had together, and wherein
that retainer was slain; for which M. Corso Donati refused to pay the
fine and bade justice take its course, trusting in the favour of the
said Podestà, to be granted at the prayers of friends and of the
lords; whereas the people of Florence looked that the said Podestà
should condemn him; and already the standard of justice had been
brought forth to carry the sentence into execution; but he absolved
him; for the which thing, when the said declaration of innocence was
read from the palace of the Podestà, and M. Simone Galastrone was
condemned for having inflicted wounds, the common people cried out:
"Death to the Podestà," and sallied forth in haste from the palace,
crying, "To arms! to arms! long live the people!" and a great number
of the people flew to arms, and especially of the common people, and
rushed to the house of Giano della Bella, their chief; and he, it is
said, sent them with his brother to the palace of the Priors to follow
the gonfalonier of justice; but this they did not do, but came only to
the palace of the Podestà, and furiously assaulted the said palace
with arms and crossbows, and set fire to the gates and burnt them,
and entered in, and seized and scornfully robbed the said Podestà and
his staff. But M. Corso in fear of his life fled from the palace over
the roofs, for then was it not so walled as it is now. And the tumult
displeased the Priors which were very near to the palace of the
Podestà, but by reason of the unbridled populace, they were not able
to hinder it. But some days after, when the uproar had been quieted,
the great men could not rest, in their desire to abase Giano della
Bella, forasmuch as he had been among the chiefs and beginners of the
Ordinances of Justice, and was moreover desirous further to abase the
magnates by taking from the Captains of the Guelf Party the seal and
the common fund of the Party (which fund was very great), and to give
them to the commonwealth; not that he was not a Guelf and of Guelf
stock, but he would fain diminish the power of the magnates. Wherefore
the magnates, seeing themselves thus treated, created a faction
together with the Council of the College of Judges and of Notaries,
which held themselves to be oppressed by him, as we before made
mention, and with other popolani grassi, friends and kinsmen of the
magnates, which loved not that Giano della Bella should be greater in
the commonwealth than they. And they determined to elect a body of
stalwart Priors. And this was done, and they were proclaimed earlier
than the wonted time. And this done, when they were in office they
conferred with the Captain of the People, and set forth a proclamation
and inquisition against the said Giano della Bella and his other
confederates and followers and those which had been leaders in setting
fire to the gates of the Palace, charging them with having set the
city in an uproar, and disturbed the peace of the State, and
assaulted the Podestà, against the Ordinances of Justice; for the
which thing the common people was much disturbed, and went to the
house of Giano della Bella, and offered to surround him with arms, to
defend him or to attack the city. And his brother bore to Orto San
Michele a standard with the arms of the people; but Giano was a wise
man, albeit somewhat presumptuous, and when he saw himself betrayed
and deceived by the very men which had been with him in making the
Popolo, and saw that their force together with that of the magnates
was very great, and that the Priors were already assembled under arms
at their house, he would not hazard the chances of civil war; and to
the end the city might not be ravaged, and for fear of his person, he
would not face the court, but withdrew, and departed from Florence on
the 5th day of March, hoping that the people might yet restore him to
his state; wherefore by the said accusation or notification he was for
contumacy condemned in person and banished, and he died in exile in
France (for he had affairs to attend to there, and was a partner of
the Pazzi); and all his goods were destroyed; and certain other
popolani were accused with him; and he was a great loss to our city,
and above all to the people, forasmuch as he was the most leal and
upright popolano, and lover of the common good, of any man in
Florence, and one who gave to the commonwealth and took nothing
therefrom. He was presumptuous and desired to avenge his wrongs, and
this he did somewhat against the Abati, his neighbours, with the arm
of the commonwealth, and, perhaps for the said sins, he was by his own
laws, wrongfully and without guilt, judged by the unjust. And note
that this is a great example to those citizens which are to come, to
beware of desiring to be lords over their fellow-citizens or too
ambitious; but to be content with the common citizenship. For the very
men which had aided him to rise, through envy betrayed him and plotted
to abase him; and it has been seen and experienced truly in Florence
in ancient and modern times, that whosoever has become leader of the
people and of the masses has been cast down; forasmuch as the
ungrateful people never give men their due reward. From this event
arose great disturbance and change amongst the people and in the city
of Florence, and from that time forward the artificers and common
people possessed little power in the commonwealth, but the government
remained in the hands of the powerful popolani grassi.
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
§ 9.--_When the building of the great church of Santa Reparata was
begun._
§ 10.--_How M. Gianni di Celona came into Tuscany as Imperial Vicar._
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 23-120.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 119, 120.]
In the said year 1294 there died in Florence a worthy citizen whose
name was M. Brunetto Latini, who was a great philosopher, and was a
perfect master in rhetoric, understanding both how to speak well and
how to write well. And he it was which commented upon the rhetoric of
Tully, and made the good and useful book called "The Treasure," and
"The Little Treasure," and "The Key to the Treasure," and many other
books in philosophy, and concerning vices and virtues. And he was
secretary of our commonwealth. He was a worldly man, but we have made
mention of him because it was he who was the beginner and master in
refining the Florentines and in teaching them how to speak well, and
how to guide and rule our republic according to policy.
[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]
§ 11.--_How S. Louis, king that was of France, was canonised._
§ 12.--_How the magnates of Florence raised a tumult in the city to
break up the Popolo._
[Sidenote: 1295 A.D.]
On the 6th day of the month of July of the year 1295, the magnates and
great men of the city of Florence, seeing themselves mightily
oppressed by the new Ordinances of Justice made by the people--and
especially by that ordinance which declares that one kinsman is to be
held to account for another, and that two witnesses establish public
report--having their own friends in the priorate, gave themselves to
breaking down the ordinances of the people. And first they made up
their great quarrels amongst themselves, especially between the
Adimari and Tosinghi, and between the Mozzi and the Bardi. And this
done, on an appointed day, they made a great gathering of folk, and
petitioned the Priors to have the said articles amended; whereupon all
the people in the city of Florence rose in tumult and rushed to arms;
the magnates, on armoured horses themselves, and with their retainers
from the country and other troops on foot in great numbers; and one
set of them drew up in the piazza of S. Giovanni, over whom M. Forese
degli Adimari held the royal ensign; another set assembled at the
Piazza a Ponte, whose ensign was held by M. Vanni Mozzi; and a third
set in the Mercato Nuovo, whose standard M. Geri Spini held; with
intent to overrun the city. The popolani were all in arms, in their
ranks, with ensigns and banners, in great numbers; and they
barricaded the streets of the city at sundry points to hinder the
horsemen from overrunning the place, and they gathered at the palace
of the Podestà, and at the house of the Priors, who at that time abode
at the house of the Cerchi behind San Brocolo. And the people found
themselves in great power and well ordered, with force of arms and
folk, and they associated with the Priors, whom they did not trust, a
number of the greatest and most powerful and discreet of the popolani
of Florence, one for each sesto. Wherefore the magnates had no
strength nor power against them, and the people might have overthrown
them; but consulting for the best, and to avoid civil battle, by the
mediation of certain friars between the better sort of either side,
each party disarmed; and the city returned to peace and quiet without
any change; the Popolo being left in its state and lordship; save that
whereas before the proof of public report was established by two
witnesses, it was now laid down that there must be three; and even
this was conceded by the Priors against the will of the popolani, and
shortly afterwards it was revoked and the old order re-established.
But for all that this disturbance was the root and beginning of the
dismal and ill estate of the city of Florence which thereafter
followed, for thenceforth the magnates never ceased to search for
means to beat down the people, to their utmost power; and the leaders
of the people sought every way of strengthening the people and abasing
the magnates by reinforcing the Ordinances of Justice, and they had
the great crossbows taken from the magnates and bought up by the
commonwealth; and many families which were not tyrannical nor of any
great power they removed from the number of the magnates and added
them to the people, to weaken the power of the magnates and increase
that of the people; and when the said Priors went out of office they
were struck with cudgels behind and had stones flung at them, because
they had consented to favour the magnates; and by reason of these
disturbances and changes there was a fresh ordering of the people in
Florence, whereof the heads were Mancini and Magalotti, Altoviti,
Peruzzi, Acciaiuoli, Cerretani and many others.
§ 13.--_How King Charles made peace with King James of Aragon._
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 115-120, iii. 116.]
[Sidenote: 1295 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. viii. 49-75.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 55.]
[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 116, vii. 115-120. Par. xix. 130-135, xx. 61-63;
Convivio iv. 6: 180-190. De Vulg. Eloquio i. 12: 15-38.]
In the year of Christ 1295 the King Alfonso of Aragon died; by the
which death Don James, his brother, which had been crowned king of
Sicily and held the island, sought to make peace with the Church and
with King Charles; and by the hand of Pope Boniface it was done after
this manner: that the said Don James should take to wife the daughter
of King Charles, and should resign the lordship of Sicily, and should
set the hostages free which King Charles had left in Aragon, to wit
Robert and Raymond and John, his sons, with other barons and knights
of Provence. And the Pope, with King Charles, promised that they would
cause Charles of Valois, brother of the king of France, to renounce
the claim which Pope Martin IV. had granted him to the kingdom of
Aragon; and to the end he might consent thereto, King Charles gave him
the county of Anjou, and his daughter to wife. And to order this
matter King Charles went into France in person, and when he returned
with the compact made, and with his sons whom he had set free from
prison, he came to the city of Florence, whither was already come to
meet him Charles Martel, his son, king of Hungary, with his company
of 200 knights with golden spurs, French and Provençal and from the
Kingdom, all young men, invested by the king with habits of scarlet
and dark green, and all with saddles of one device, with their
palfreys adorned with silver and gold, with arms quarterly, bearing
golden lilies and surrounded by a bordure of red and silver, which are
the arms of Hungary. And they appeared the noblest and richest company
a young king ever had with him. And in Florence he abode more than
twenty days, awaiting his father, King Charles, and his brothers; and
the Florentines did him great honour, and he showed great love to the
Florentines, wherefore he was in high favour with them all. And when
King Charles was come into Florence, and Robert and Raymond and John,
his sons, with the marquis of Montferrat, which was to have for wife
the daughter of the king, he made many knights in Florence and
received much honour and many presents from the Florentines; and then
the king with all his sons returned to the papal court and afterwards
to Naples. And this done, and after all the articles of the treaty of
peace had been fulfilled by the Pope and by King Charles, Don James
departed from Sicily and came into Aragon, and was crowned king over
the realm; but whosoever may have been in fault, whether the Pope or
Don James, King Charles found himself deceived, for when King Charles
thought to have the island of Sicily again in quiet, after Don James
had departed, Frederick, his next brother, became lord thereof, and
caused himself to be crowned king by the Sicilians against the will of
the Church by the bishop of Cephalonia; wherefore the Pope was much
angered with the king of Aragon, as well as with Frederick his
brother, and caused him to be summoned to court, which King James
came thither the following year, as hereafter we shall make mention.
[Sidenote: 1296 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 49-51.]
[Sidenote: 1297 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 97.]
§ 14.--_How the Guelf party were driven by force out of Genoa._ §
15.--_The doings of the Tartars of Persia._ § 16.--_How Maghinardo da
Susinana defeated the Bolognese and took the city of Imola._ §
17.--_How the people of Florence built the cities and strongholds of
Sangiovanni and Castelfranco in Valdarno._ § 18.--_How King James of
Aragon came to Rome, and Pope Boniface granted him the island of
Sardinia._ § 19.--_How the counts of Flanders and of Bar rebelled
against the king of France._ § 20.--_How the count of Artois defeated
the Flemings at Furnes, and how the king of England passed into
Flanders._ § 21.--_How Pope Boniface deposed from the cardinalate M.
Jacopo and M. Piero della Colonna._ § 22.--_How Albert of Austria
defeated and slew Adolf, king of Germany, and how he was elected king
of the Romans._
§ 23.--_How the Colonnesi came to ask pardon of the Pope, and
afterwards rebelled a second time._
[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 67-111.]
In the said year, in the month of September, negociations having taken
place between Pope Boniface and the Colonnesi, the said Colonnesi,
both laymen and clergy, came to Rieti, where the court was, and threw
themselves at the feet of the said Pope, asking pardon, who forgave
them and absolved them from excommunication, and desired them to
surrender the city of Palestrina; and this they did, and he promised
to restore them to their state and dignity, which promise he did not
fulfil, but caused the said city of Palestrina to be destroyed from
the hill and stronghold where it was, and a new city to be built on
the plain, to which the name of the Civita Papale was given; and all
this false and fraudulent treaty the Pope made by the counsel of the
count of Montefeltro, then a minor friar, when he said the evil word
"ample promise and scant fulfilment." The said Colonnesi, finding
themselves deceived in that which had been promised to them, and the
noble fortress of Palestrina destroyed by the said deceit, before the
year was ended rebelled against the Pope and the Church; and the Pope
excommunicated them again with heavy sentence; wherefore, fearing lest
they should be taken or slain through the persecution of the said
Pope, they departed from the city of Rome and were dispersed, some to
Sicily, some to France and to other places, concealing themselves in
one place after another so as not to be recognised, and to the end no
certain abiding-place of theirs might be known, especially M. Jacopo
and M. Piero, which had been cardinals; and thus they continued in
exile so long as the said Pope lived.
§ 24.--_How the Genoese defeated the Venetians at sea._ § 25.--_Of the
great earthquakes that befell in certain cities in Italy._
§ 26.--_When the palace of the people of Florence was begun, where
dwell the Priors._
[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]
In the said year 1298, the commonwealth and people of Florence began
to build the Palace of the Priors, by reason of the differences
between the people and the magnates, forasmuch as the city was always
in jealousy and commotion, at the election of the Priors afresh every
two months, by reason of the factions which had already begun; and the
Priors which ruled the city and all the republic, did not feel
themselves secure in their former habitation, which was the house of
the White Cerchi behind the church of San Brocolo. And they built the
said palace where had formerly been the houses of the Uberti, rebels
against Florence, and Ghibellines; and on the site of those houses
they made a piazza, so that they might never be rebuilt. And they
bought other houses from citizens, such as the Foraboschi, and there
built the said palace and the tower of the priors, which was raised
upon a tower which was more than fifty cubits high, pertaining to the
Foraboschi, and called the Torre della Vacca. And to the end the said
palace might not stand upon the ground of the said Uberti, they which
had the building of it set it up obliquely; but for all that it was a
grave loss not to build it four-square, and further removed from the
church of San Piero Scheraggio.
[Sidenote: 1299 A.D.]
§ 27.--_How peace was made between the commonwealth of Genoa and that
of Venice._ § 28.--_How peace was made between the commonwealth of
Bologna and the marquis of Este and Maghinardo da Sussinana by the
Florentines._ § 29.--_How King James of Aragon with Ruggeri di Loria
and with the armada of King Charles defeated the Sicilians off Cape
Orlando._ § 30.--_How peace was made between the Genoese and Pisans._
§ 31.--_When the new walls of the city of Florence were begun again._
§ 32.--_How the king of France by his practices got hold of all
Flanders, and had the count and his sons in prison._ § 33.--_How the
king of France allied himself with King Albert of Germany._ §
34.--_How the prince of Taranto was defeated in Sicily._ § 35.--_How
Ghazan, lord of the Tartars, defeated the soldan of the Saracens, and
took the Holy Land in Syria._
§ 36.--_How Pope Boniface VIII. gave pardons to all Christians which
should go to Rome, in the year of the jubilee, 1300._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. ii. 98, 99.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxxi. 104-108.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xviii. 28-33.]
In the year of Christ 1300, according to the birth of Christ, inasmuch
as it was held by many that after every hundred years from the
nativity of Christ, the Pope which was reigning at the time granted
great indulgences, Pope Boniface VIII., which then occupied the
apostolic chair, in reverence for the nativity of Christ, granted
supreme and great indulgence after this manner; that within the whole
course of this said year, to whatsoever Roman should visit
continuously for thirty days the churches of the Blessed Apostles S.
Peter and S. Paul, and to all other people which were not Romans which
should do likewise for fifteen days, there should be granted full and
entire remission of all their sins, both the guilt and the punishment
thereof, they having made or to make confession of the same. And for
consolation of the Christian pilgrims, every Friday and every solemn
feast day, was shown in S. Peter's the Veronica, the true image of
Christ, on the napkin. For the which thing, a great part of the
Christians which were living at that time, women as well as men, made
the said pilgrimage from distant and divers countries, both from far
and near. And it was the most marvellous thing that was ever seen, for
throughout the year, without break, there were in Rome, besides the
inhabitants of the city, 200,000 pilgrims, not counting those who were
coming and going on their journeys; and all were suitably supplied and
satisfied with provisions, horses as well as persons, and all was well
ordered, and without tumult or strife; and I can bear witness to this,
for I was present and saw it. And from the offerings made by the
pilgrims much treasure was added to the Church, and all the Romans
were enriched by the trade. And I, finding myself on that blessed
pilgrimage in the holy city of Rome, beholding the great and ancient
things therein, and reading the stories and the great doings of the
Romans, written by Virgil, and by Sallust, and by Lucan, and Titus
Livius, and Valerius, and Paulus Orosius, and other masters of
history, which wrote alike of small things as of great, of the deeds
and actions of the Romans, and also of foreign nations throughout the
world, myself to preserve memorials and give examples to those which
should come after took up their style and design, although as a
disciple I was not worthy of such a work. But considering that our
city of Florence, the daughter and creature of Rome, was rising, and
had great things before her, whilst Rome was declining, it seemed to
me fitting to collect in this volume and new chronicle all the deeds
and beginnings of the city of Florence, in so far as it has been
possible for me to find and gather them together, and to follow the
doings of the Florentines in detail, and the other notable things of
the universe in brief, as long as it shall be God's pleasure; in hope
of which, rather than in my own poor learning, I undertook, by his
grace, the said enterprise; and thus in the year 1300, having returned
from Rome, I began to compile this book, in reverence to God and the
blessed John, and in commendation of our city of Florence.
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
§ 37.--_How Count Guido of Flanders and two sons of his surrendered to
the king of France, and how they were deceived and cast into prison._
§ 38.--_How the parties of the Blacks and Whites first began in the
city of Pistoia._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
In these times the city of Pistoia being in happy and great and good
estate, among the other citizens there was one family very noble and
puissant, not however of very ancient lineage, which was called the
Cancellieri, born of one Ser Cancelliere, which was a merchant, and
gained much wealth, and by his two wives had many sons, which by
reason of their riches all became knights, and men of worth and
substance, and from them were born many sons and grandsons, so that at
this time they numbered more than 100 men in arms, rich and puissant
and of many affairs, so that not only were they the leading citizens
of Pistoia, but they were among the most puissant families of Tuscany.
There arose among them through their exceeding prosperity, and through
the suggestion of the devil, contempt and enmity, between them which
were born of one wife against them which were born of the other; and
the one part took the name of the Black Cancellieri, and the other of
the Whites, and this grew until they fought together, but it was not
any very great affair. And one of those on the side of the White
Cancellieri having been wounded, they on the side of the Black
Cancellieri, to the end they might be at peace and concord with them,
sent him which had done the injury and handed him over to the mercy of
them which had received it, that they should take amends and vengeance
for it at their will; they on the side of the White Cancellieri,
ungrateful and proud, having neither pity nor love, cut off the hand
of him which had been commended to their mercy on a horse manger. By
which sinful beginning, not only was the house of the Cancellieri
divided, but many violent deaths arose therefrom, and all the city of
Pistoia was divided, for some held with one part and some with the
other, and they called themselves the Whites and the Blacks,
forgetting among themselves the Guelf and Ghibelline parties; and many
civil strifes and much peril and loss of life arose therefrom in
Pistoia; and not only in Pistoia, but afterwards the city of Florence
and all Italy was contaminated by the said parties, as hereafter we
shall be able to understand and know. The Florentines, fearing lest
the said factions should stir up rebellion in the city to the hurt of
the Guelf party, interposed to bring about an atonement between them,
and took the lordship of the city, and brought both parties of the
Cancellieri from Pistoia, and set them under bounds at Florence. The
Black party were kept in the house of the Frescobaldi in Oltrarno, and
the White party in the house of the Cerchi in Garbo, through kinship
which there was between them. But like as one sick sheep infects all
the flock, thus this accursed seed which came from Pistoia, being in
Florence corrupted all the Florentines, and first divided all the
races and families of the nobles, one part thereof holding to and
favouring one side, and the other the other, and afterwards all the
popolari. For the which cause and beginning of strife not only were
the Cancellieri not reconciled together by the Florentines, but the
Florentines by them were divided and broken up, increasing from bad to
worse, as our treatise will hereafter make manifest.
§ 39.--_How the city of Florence was divided and brought to shame by
the said White and Black parties._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxiv. 22.]
[Sidenote: Par. xv., xvi.]
[Sidenote: 1299 A.D.]
In the said time, our city of Florence was in the greatest and
happiest state which had ever been since it was rebuilt, or before,
alike in greatness and power and in number of people, forasmuch as
there were more than 30,000 citizens in the city, and more than
70,000 men capable of arms in the country within her territory; and
she was great in nobility of good knights, and in free populace, and
in riches, ruling over the greater part of Tuscany; whereupon the sin
of ingratitude, with the instigation of the enemy of the human race,
brought forth from the said prosperity pride and corruption, which put
an end to the feasts and joyaunce of the Florentines. For hitherto
they had been living in many delights and dainties, and in
tranquillity and with continual banquets; and every year throughout
almost all the city on the first day of May, there were bands and
companies of men and of women, with sports and dances. But now it came
to pass that through envy there arose factions among the citizens; and
one of the chief and greatest began in the sesto of offence, to wit of
Porte San Piero, between the house of the Cerchi, and the Donati; on
the one side through envy, and on the other through rude
ungraciousness. The head of the family of the Cerchi was one M. Vieri
dei Cerchi, and he and those of his house were of great affairs, and
powerful, and with great kinsfolk, and were very rich merchants, so
that their company was among the largest in the world; these were
luxurious, inoffensive, uncultured and ungracious, like folk come in a
short time to great estate and power. The head of the family of the
Donati was M. Corso Donati, and he and those of his house were
gentlemen and warriors, and of no superabundant riches, but were
called by a gibe the Malefami. Neighbours they were in Florence and in
the country, and while the one set was envious the other stood on
their boorish dignity, so that there arose from the clash a fierce
scorn between them, which was greatly inflamed by the ill seed of the
White and Black parties from Pistoia, as we made mention in the last
chapter. And the said Cerchi were the heads of the White party in
Florence, and with them held almost all the house of the Adimari, save
the branch of the Cavicciuli; all the house of the Abati, which was
then very powerful, and part of them were Guelf and part were
Ghibelline; a great part of the Tosinghi, specially the branch of
Baschiera; part of the house of the Bardi, and part of the Rossi, and
likewise some of the Frescobaldi, and part of the Nerli and of the
Mannelli, and all the Mozzi, which then were very powerful in riches
and in estate; all those of the house of the Scali, and the greater
part of the Gherardini, all the Malispini, and a great part of the
Bostichi and Giandonati, of the Pigli, and of the Vecchietti and
Arrigucci, and almost all the Cavalcanti, which were a great and
powerful house, and all the Falconieri which were a powerful house of
the people. And with them took part many houses and families of
popolani, and lesser craftsmen, and all the Ghibelline magnates and
popolani; and by reason of the great following which the Cerchi had,
the government of the city was almost all in their power. On the side
of the Blacks were all they of the house of the Pazzi, who may be
counted with the Donati as the chiefs, and all the Visdomini and all
the Manieri and Bagnesi, and all the Tornaquinci, and the Spini and
the Bondelmonti, and the Gianfigliazzi, Agli, and Brunelleschi, and
Cavicciuli, and the other part of the Tosinghi; all the part that was
left of all the Guelf houses named above, for those which were not
with the Whites held on the contrary with the Blacks. And thus from
the said two parties all the city of Florence and its territory was
divided and contaminated. For the which cause, the Guelf party,
fearing lest the said parties should be turned to account by the
Ghibellines, sent to the court to Pope Boniface, that he might use
some remedy. For the which thing the said Pope sent for M. Vieri de'
Cerchi, and when he came before him, he prayed him to make peace with
M. Corso Donati and with his party, referring their differences to
him; and he promised him to put him and his followers into great and
good estate, and to grant him such spiritual favours as he might ask
of him. M. Vieri, albeit he was in other things a sage knight, in this
was but little sage, and was too obstinate and capricious, insomuch
that he would grant nought of the Pope's request; saying that he was
at war with no man; wherefore he returned to Florence, and the Pope
was moved with indignation against him and against his party. It came
to pass a little while after that certain both of one party and of the
other were riding through the city armed and on their guard, and with
the party of the young Cerchi was Baldinaccio of the Adimari, and
Baschiera of the Tosinghi, and Naldo of the Gherardini, and Giovanni
Giacotti Malispini, with their followers, more than thirty on
horseback; and with the young Donati were certain of the Pazzi and of
the Spini, and others of their company. On the evening of the first of
May, in the year 1300, while they were watching a dance of ladies
which was going forward on the piazza of Santa Trinita, one party
began to scoff at the other, and to urge their horses one against the
other, whence arose a great conflict and confusion, and many were
wounded, and, as ill-luck would have it, Ricoverino, son of M.
Ricovero of the Cerchi, had his nose cut off his face; and through the
said scuffle that evening all the city was moved with apprehension and
flew to arms. This was the beginning of the dissensions and divisions
in the city of Florence and in the Guelf party, whence many ills and
perils followed on afterwards, as in due time we shall make mention.
And for this cause we have narrated thus extensively the origin of
this beginning of the accursed White and Black parties, for the great
and evil consequences which followed to the Guelf party, and to the
Ghibellines, and to all the city of Florence, and also to all Italy;
and like as the death of M. Bondelmonte the elder was the beginning of
the Guelf and Ghibelline parties, so this was the beginning of the
great ruin of the Guelf party and of our city. And note, that the year
before these things came to pass, the houses of the commonwealth were
built, which began at the foot of the old bridge over the Arno, and
extended towards the fortress of Altafronte, and to do this they
raised the piles at the foot of the bridge, and they had of necessity
to move the statue of Mars; and whereas at the first it looked towards
the east, it was turned towards the north, wherefore, because of the
augury of old, folk said: "May it please God that there come not great
changes therefrom to our city."
§ 40.--_How the Cardinal d'Acquasparta came as legate from the Pope to
make peace in Florence, and could not do it._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xii. 124.]
By reason of the aforesaid events and the factions of the White and
Black parties, the captains of the Guelf party and their council were
fearful lest through the said divisions and strifes the Ghibelline
party might rise to more power in Florence, which under the plea of
good government already seemed likely; and many Ghibellines held to be
good men were beginning to be set in office; and moreover those which
held with the Black party, to recover their estate, sent ambassadors
to the court to Pope Boniface to pray him, for the good of the city
and for the party of the Church, to take some action. For the which
thing straightway the Pope appointed as legate to follow up this
matter Brother Matteo d'Acquasparta, his cardinal bishop of Porto, of
the Order of the Minor Friars, and sent him to Florence, which came
there in the month of June following, in the said year 1300, and was
received with great honour by the Florentines. And when he had taken
some repose in Florence, he craved jurisdiction from the commonwealth
to reconcile the Florentines together; and to the end he might take
away the said White and Black parties he desired to reform the city,
and to throw the offices open again; and those which were of one part
and of the other which were worthy to be priors, their names were to
be put into a bag together, in each of the sesti, and were to be drawn
thence every two months, as chance would have it; forasmuch as through
the ill-will which had arisen from the factions and divisions, there
was never an election of priors by the colleges of Consuls of the Arts
but that almost all the city was moved to uproar, and at times with
great preparation of arms. They of the White party which were at the
head of the government of the city, through fear of losing their
estate, and of being deceived by the Pope and the legate by means of
the said reformation, took the worse counsel, and would not yield
obedience; for the which thing the said legate was offended, and
returned to court, and left the city of Florence excommunicate and
under interdict.
§ 41.--_Concerning the evils and dangers which followed afterwards to
our city._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Sonnet xxxii. 1. Vita Nuova 3: 97-100; 24: 19, 45; 25:
111-113; 31: 21-24; 33: 4; De Vulg. El. i. 13: 37; ii. 6: 68; 12: 16,
62.]
When the legate was departed from Florence the city remained in great
turmoil and in evil state. It came to pass in the month of December
following that M. Corso Donati went with his followers, and they of
the house of the Cerchi with their followers, to the burial of a lady
of the house of Frescobaldi; and when the two parties came face to
face, they were minded to assault one another, wherefore all the folk
which were at the burial rose in uproar; and thus every one returned
in flight to his own house, and all the city flew to arms, and each of
the parties gathered a great assembly at their house. M. Gentile dei
Cerchi, Guido Cavalcanti, Baldinaccio and Corso of the Adimari,
Baschiera della Tosa, and Naldo of the Gherardini, with their
companions and followers on horse and on foot, went in haste to Porte
San Piero to the house of the Donati, and not finding them at Porte
San Piero, hastened to San Piero Maggiore, where was M. Corso with his
companions and assembly, and by them they were stoutly resisted and
driven back and wounded, to the shame and dishonour of the Cerchi and
of their followers; and for this they were condemned, both the one
party and the other, by the commonwealth. A little while after,
certain of the Cerchi were in the country at Nepozzano and Pugliano at
their country homes and farms; and as they were returning to Florence,
they of the house of the Donati, being assembled with their friends at
Remole, opposed their path, and there were wounds and assaults both on
one side and on the other; for the which cause both one side and the
other were accused and condemned for the assemblage and assaults; and
the greater part of those of the house of the Donati, not being able
to pay their fine, chose imprisonment, and were put under confinement.
The Cerchi desired to follow their example, for M. Torrigiano dei
Cerchi had said: "They shall not overcome us in this wise, as they did
the Tedaldini, eating them up by fines"; so he induced his companions
to choose imprisonment, against the will of M. Vieri dei Cerchi and of
the other wise men of his house, which knew the disposition and
wantonness of their youths; and it came to pass that a certain
accursed Ser Neri degli Abati, overseer of that prison, eating with
them, set before them a present of a poisoned black-pudding, whereof
they ate; whence in a little while, after two days, two of the White
and two of the Black Cerchi died, and Pigello Portinari and Ferraino
dei Bronci, and for this no vengeance was taken.
§ 42.--_Of the same._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. x. 58-69, 110, 111.]
The city of Florence, being in such heat and dangers from strifes and
enmities, whence very often the city was in uproar and at arms, M.
Corso Donati, the Spini, the Pazzi, and some of the Tosinghi and
Cavicciuli, and their followers, both magnates and popolani of their
faction of the Black party, with the captains of the Guelf party,
which were then of their mind and purpose, assembled in the church of
Santa Trinita, and there took counsel and oath together to send
ambassadors to the court to Pope Boniface, to the end he might invite
some prince of the house of France, which should restore them to their
estate, and abase the Popolo and the White party, and for this end to
spend to their utmost power; and thus they did, wherefore the news
spreading through the city through some report, the commonwealth and
the people were much troubled, and inquisition was made by the
magistrates; wherefore M. Corso Donati, which was leader in the
matter, was condemned in goods and in person; and the other leaders
thereof, in more than 20,000 pounds; and they paid them. And this
done, there were banished and set under bounds Sinibaldi, brother of
M. Corso, and some of his family, and M. Rosso, and M. Rossellino
della Tosa, and others their companions; and M. Giacchinotto and M.
Pazzino dei Pazzi, and some of the younger members of their families,
and M. Geri Spini and some of his family, to the village of the Pieve.
And to still all anxiety the people sent the chiefs of the other party
out of the city and placed them under bounds at Serrezzano; to wit, M.
Gentile, and M. Torrigiano and Carbone of the Cerchi, and some of
their companions, Baschiera della Tosa and some of his family,
Baldinaccio degli Adimari and some of his family, Naldo dei Gherardini
and some of his family, Guido Cavalcanti and some of his family, and
Giovanni Giacotti Malespini. But this party abode less time under
bounds, forasmuch as they were recalled by reason of the unhealthiness
of the place, and Guido Cavalcanti returned thence sick, whence he
died; and he was a great loss, seeing that he was a philosopher and a
man accomplished in many things, save only that he was too sensitive
and passionate. In such fashion was our city guided in the storm.
§ 43.--_How Pope Boniface sent into France for M. Charles of Valois._
[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]
When the legate, Brother Matteo d'Acquasparta, had returned to the
papal court, he informed Pope Boniface of the evil and uncertain
condition of the city of Florence; and afterwards, by reason of the
things which came to pass after the departure of the legate, as we
have said, and by reason of the importunity and free expenditure of
the captains of the Guelf party, and of the aforesaid exiles which
were at the village of the Pieve hard by the court, and of M. Geri
Spini (for he and his company were merchants for Pope Boniface and his
general advisers), it came to pass that by their zeal and industry,
and by that of M. Corso Donati, who followed the court wheresoever it
went, the said Pope Boniface took counsel to send for M. Charles of
Valois, brother of the king of France, with a double purpose;
principally for the aid of King Charles in his Sicilian war, giving
the king of France and the said M. Charles to understand that he would
cause him to be elected Emperor of the Romans, and confirm the
election, or at the least by the authority of the Pope and of Holy
Church would make him imperial lieutenant for the Church in virtue of
the rights of the Church when the Empire is vacant; and beyond this he
gave him the title of Peacemaker in Tuscany, to the end he might use
all his force to bring Florence to his purpose. And when he sent his
legate into France for the said M. Charles, the said M. Charles by the
will of the king, his brother, came, as we shall hereafter make
mention, in the hope of being Emperor, because of the promises of the
Pope, as we have said.
[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]
§ 44.--_How the Guelfs were driven from Agobbio, and how they
afterwards recovered the city and drove the Ghibellines thence._
§ 45.--_How the Black party were driven out of Pistoia._
[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxiv. 143.]
In the year of Christ 1301, in the month of May, the White party in
Pistoia, with the aid and favour of the Whites which were governing
the city of Florence, drove thence the Black party and destroyed their
houses, palaces and possessions, and among others a strong and rich
possession of palaces and towers which pertained to the Black
Cancellieri, which was called Damiata.
[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]
§ 46.--_How the Interminelli and their followers were driven out of
Lucca._ § 47.--_How the Guelf refugees from Genoa were peaceably
restored._ § 48.--_How a comet appeared in the heavens._
§ 49.--_How M. Charles of Valois of France came to Pope Boniface, and
afterwards came to Florence and drove out the White party._
[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 70-78.]
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
In the said year 1301, in the month of September, there came to the
city of Alagna, in Campagna, where was Pope Boniface with his court,
Charles, count of Valois, brother of the king of France, with many
counts and barons, and with 500 French horsemen in his company, having
taken the way from Lucca to Alagna without entering into Florence for
lack of trust therein; which M. Charles was received with honour by
the Pope and his cardinals; and there came to Alagna King Charles and
his sons to speak with him and to do him honour; and the Pope made him
count of Romagna. And after they had taken counsel and he had arranged
with the Pope and with King Charles the expedition into Sicily in the
following spring, which was the chief reason why he was come from
France, the Pope, not forgetting the anger he had felt against the
White party in Florence, and desirous that Charles should not pass the
winter in vain, gave him the title of Peacemaker in Florence for the
annoyance of the Guelfs in Florence, and ordained that he should
return to the city of Florence. And thus he did, with his followers
and with many others, Florentines, Tuscans, and Romagnese, refugees,
and under bounds from their cities, because they were of the party of
the Black Guelfs. And when he was come to Siena, and then to Staggia,
they which governed the city of Florence, being fearful of his coming,
held long counsel whether to allow him to enter the city or no. And
they sent ambassadors to him, and he made answer with fair and
friendly words, saying that he was come for their good and well-being,
and to make peace among them; for the which thing they which ruled the
city (who, albeit they were of the White party, called themselves and
desired to remain Guelf) determined to allow him to enter. And thus,
on the day of All Saints, 1301, M. Charles entered into Florence with
his followers unarmed, and the Florentines did him great honour,
coming to meet him in procession with many jousters bearing standards,
and horses draped in silk. And when he had reposed himself and
sojourned some days in Florence, he craved from the commonwealth the
lordship and charge of the city, and authority to make peace among the
Guelfs. And this was assented to by the commonwealth, on the 5th day
of November, in the church of Santa Maria Novella, where were
assembled the Podestà, and captain, and priors, and all the
councillors and the bishop, and all the good people of Florence; and
when his demand had been made, counsel and deliberation were held
thereupon, and the lordship and charge of the city was remitted to
him. And M. Charles, after his secretary had set the matter forth,
with his own mouth accepted it and swore to it, and, as the king's
son, promised to preserve the city in peaceful and good state; and I,
the writer, was present at these things. And straightway the contrary
was done by him and by his followers, for, by the counsel of M.
Musciatto Franzesi, which was come from France as his guide, and by
agreement with the Black Guelfs, he caused his followers to take arms,
even before he had returned to his house; for he abode in the house of
the Frescobaldi, in Oltrarno. Wherefore, when the citizens saw this
new sight of his horsemen in arms, the city was all thrown into
suspicion and alarm, and both magnates and popolani took arms, each
one in the house of his friends as best he might, barricading the city
in divers parts. But in the house of the Priors but few assembled, and
the people was as good as without a head, for the priors and they
which ruled the commonwealth saw that they were betrayed and deceived.
In the midst of this tumult, M. Corso de' Donati, which was banished
as a rebel, came that same day from Peretola to Florence by agreement,
with some following of certain of his friends and foot-soldiers; and
when the priors and the Cerchi, his enemies, heard of his coming, M.
Schiatta de' Cancellieri, which was captain of 300 mercenary horsemen
for the commonwealth of Florence, came to them and offered to go
against the said M. Corso to take him and to punish him; but M. Vieri,
head of the Cerchi, would not consent thereto, saying, "Let him come,"
confiding in the vain hope that the people would punish him. Wherefore
the said M. Corso entered into the suburbs of the city, and finding
the gates of the old circle shut, and not being able to enter, he came
to the postern of the Pinti, which was by the side of San Piero
Maggiore, between his houses and those of the Uccellini, and finding
that shut, he began to beat it down, and in like manner did his
friends within, so that without difficulty it was broken down. And
when he had entered in he stood in array upon the piazza of San Piero
Maggiore, and folk were added to him, with following of his friends,
crying, "Long live M. Corso!" and "Long live the baron!" to wit, M.
Corso himself, for so they named him; and he, seeing his forces and
followers to have increased, the first thing that he did was to go to
the prisons of the commonwealth, which were in the houses of the
Bastari, in the street of the palace, and these he opened by force,
and set the prisoners free; and this done, he did the like at the
palace of the Podestà, and then went on to the Priors, causing them
for fear to lay down the government and return to their homes. And
during all this destruction of the city M. Charles of Valois and his
people gave no counsel nor help, nor did he keep the oath and promise
made by him. Wherefore the tyrants and malefactors and banished men
which were in the city took courage, and the city being unguarded and
without government, they began to rob the shops and places of
merchandise and the houses which pertained to the White party, or to
any one that had not the power to resist, slaying and wounding many
persons, good men of the White party. And this plague endured in the
city for five days continually, to the great ruin of the city. And
afterwards it continued in the country, the troopers going on robbing
and burning houses for more than eight days, whereby a great number of
beautiful and rich possessions were destroyed and burned. And when the
said destruction and burning was ended, M. Charles and his council
reconstituted the city and elected a government of Priors of the
popolani of the Black party. And in that same month of November there
came to Florence the aforesaid legate of the Pope, Cardinal Matteo
d'Acquasparta, to make peace among the citizens; and he reconciled the
houses of the Cerchi and Adimari and their followers of the White
party, and the Donati and Pazzi and their followers of the Black
party, arranging marriages between them; and when he desired to divide
the offices among them, they of the Black party with the forces of M.
Charles would not allow it, wherefore the legate was troubled, and
returned to court, leaving the city under an interdict. And the said
peace endured but little, for it came to pass on the ensuing day of
the feast of the Nativity, when M. Niccola, of the White Cerchi, was
on his way to his farm and mills with his company on horseback, as
they were passing through the piazza of Santa Croce, where preaching
was going on, Simone, son of M. Corso Donati, which was sister's son
to the said M. Niccola, urged and prompted to evil-doing, followed the
said M. Niccola with his companions and troopers on horseback; and
when he came up with him at the Ponte ad Affrico, he assailed him in
combat; wherefore the said M. Niccola, without fault or cause, not
being on his guard against his said nephew Simone, was slain and
dragged from his horse. But, as it pleased God, the punishment was
prepared for the sin, for the said Simone being struck in the side by
the said M. Niccola, died that same night; wherefore, albeit it was a
just judgment, yet it was held as a great loss, forasmuch as the said
Simone was the most finished and accomplished youth of Florence, and
would have come to greater honour and state, and was all the hope of
his father, M. Corso; which, after his joyous return and victory, had,
in brief space, a sorrowful beginning of his future downfall. And
shortly after this time the city of Florence, not being able to rest
by reason of its being big with the poison of the factions of White
and Black, must needs bring forth a woeful catastrophe; wherefore it
came to pass in the following April, by the scheming and plotting of
the Blacks, one of M. Charles' barons, which was called Pierre Ferrand
of Languedoc, fostered a plot with them of the house of Cerchi, and
with Baldinaccio of the Adimari, and Baschiera of the Tosinghi, and
Naldo Gherardini, and others of their followers of the White party, as
though, under great promise of moneys, he should go about, with his
retinue and friends, to restore them to their estate and betray M.
Charles; concerning which letters were written or forged with their
seals, which, by the said M. Pierre Ferrand, as had been arranged,
were then carried to M. Charles. For which thing the said leaders of
the White party, to wit, all of the house of the White Cerchi of Porte
San Piero, Baldinaccio and Corso of the Adimari, with almost all the
Bellincioni branch, Naldo of the Gherardini, with his branch of the
house, Baschiera of the Tosinghi, with his branch of the said house,
some of the house of the Cavalcanti, Giovanni Giacotto Malispini and
his allies, were cited; but they did not appear, either for fear of
the wrong deed they had committed, or for fear of losing their persons
by reason of the said treachery; but they departed from the city, in
company with their [Ghibelline] adversaries; some going to Pisa, and
some to Arezzo and Pistoia, consorting with the Ghibellines and the
enemies of the Florentines. For the which thing they were condemned by
M. Charles as rebels, and their palaces and goods in the city and in
the country destroyed; and the like with many of their followers, both
magnates and popolani. And after this fashion was abased and driven
away the ungrateful and proud party of the Whites, in company of many
Ghibellines of Florence, by M. Charles of Valois of France, by
commission of Pope Boniface, on the 4th day of April, 1302, whence
there came to our city of Florence much ruin and many perils, as
hereafter, in due time, we shall, as we read on, be able to
understand.
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
§ 50.--_How M. Charles of Valois passed into Sicily to make war for
King Charles, and made a shameful peace._ § 51.--_How the band of
Roumania was formed._ § 52.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese marched
upon the city of Pistoia, and how they took the castle of Serravalle
by siege._ § 53.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Piantrevigne
and many other castles that the Whites had caused to rebel._ §
54.--_How the island of Ischia belched out a marvellous fire._ §
55.--_How the common people of Bruges rebelled against the king of
France and slew the French._ § 56.--_Of the great and disastrous rout
of the French by the Flemings at Courtray._ § 57.--_Of what lineage
were the present counts and lords of Flanders._ § 58.--_How the king
of France reassembled his host, and with all his forces attacked the
Flemings, and returned to France with little honour._
§ 59.--_How Folcieri da Calvoli, Podestà of Florence, caused certain
citizens of the White party to be beheaded._
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xiv. 58-66.]
In the said year 1302, Folcieri da Calvoli of Romagna, a fierce and
cruel man, had been made Podestà of Florence, by the influence of the
leaders of the Black party. Now the said leaders lived in great
trepidation, forasmuch as the White and Ghibelline party was very
powerful in Florence, and the exiles were plotting every day in
treaty with their friends which had remained in Florence. Wherefore
the said Folcieri suddenly caused certain citizens of the White party
and Ghibellines to be taken; which were, M. Betto Gherardini, and
Masino de' Cavalcanti, and Donato and Tegghia his brother, of the
Finiguerra da Sammartino, and Nuccio Coderini de' Galigai, which was
but half-witted, and Tignoso de' Macci; and at the petition of M.
Musciatto Franzesi, which was among the lords of the city, there were
to have been taken certain heads of the house of the Abati his
enemies, but hearing this they fled and departed from Florence, and
never afterwards were citizens thereof. And a certain sexton of the
Calze was among the prisoners. They were charged with plotting
treachery in the city with the exiled Whites; and whether guilty or
not, were made to confess under torture that they were going to betray
the city, and to give up certain gates to the Whites and Ghibellines;
but the said Tignoso de' Macci, through weight of flesh, died under
the cord. All the other aforesaid prisoners he judged, and caused them
to be beheaded, and all of the house of the Abati he condemned as
rebels, and destroyed their goods, whence the city was greatly
disturbed, and there followed many evils and scandals. And in the said
year there was much scarcity of victuals, and grain was sold in
Florence at twenty-two shillings the bushel, reckoning fifty-one
shillings to a golden florin.
§ 60.--_How the White party and the Ghibelline refugees from Florence
came to Puliciano and departed thence in discomfiture._
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
In the said year, in the month of March, the Ghibelline and White
refugees from Florence, with the forces of the Bolognese whose
government was of the White party, and with the aid of the Ghibellines
of Romagna and of the Ubaldini, came to Mugello with 800 horse and
6,000 foot, whereof Scarpetta degli Ordilaffi of Forlì was captain.
And they took the village and stronghold of Puliciano without
opposition, and besieged a fortress which was there held by the
Florentines, thinking there to make a great head, and gather Mugello
under their rule, and afterwards to extend their forces as far as the
city of Florence. When the tidings come to Florence, immediately they
rode to Mugello, gentle and simple, with all the forces of the city;
and when they were come to the village, and the Lucchese and other
friends were come also, they sallied forth in array and order against
the enemy; and when the horsemen of Bologna heard of the sudden coming
of the Florentines, and found themselves deceived by the White
refugees from Florence, which had given them to understand that the
Florentines for fear of their friends which remained within the city
would not venture to sally forth from the city, they held themselves
to be betrayed, and in great fear without any order they departed from
Puliciano of Mugello, and came to Bologna; wherefore the White and
Ghibelline refugees were routed and dispersed, and departed by night
without stroke of sword as if defeated, leaving all their harness, and
many of them threw away their arms, and some of the best of them were
slain, or taken by certain scouts which were sent on in advance. Among
the other notable and honourable citizens and ancient Guelfs which had
become Whites, there was taken M. Donato Alberti, the judge, and Nanni
de' Ruffoli of the Porte del Vescovo. After Nanni had been taken, he
was slain by one of the Tosinghi; and Donato Alberti had his head cut
off, by that same law which he had made and introduced into the
Ordinances of Justice, when he was ruling and was prior. And with the
said M. Donato Alberti were taken prisoner and beheaded two of the
Caponsacchi, and one of the Scogliari, and Lapo di Cipriani, and Nerlo
degli Adimari, and about ten others of little account; by reason of
which rout the White and the Ghibelline refugees were much cast down.
§ 61.--_Incident, relating how M. Maffeo Visconti was driven from
Milan._
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. viii. 73-75.]
In the said year 1302, on the 16th day of June, M. Maffeo Visconti,
captain of Milan, was driven from his lordship; and this was the
cause: he and his sons desired to govern Milan entirely, and to give
no share of honour to M. Piero Visconti, and to others his kinsmen,
and to other cattani and feudatories. For the which cause scandal
arose in Milan, and the lords della Torre, with the forces of the
patriarch of Aquilea, came with a great host against Milan, and with
them M. Alberto Scotti da Piacenza, and Count Filippone da Pavia, and
M. Antonio da Foseraco of Lodi. M. Maffeo sallied forth against them,
but because of the strife which he had with his kinsmen, he was
ill-supported, and had not sufficient power against his enemies;
wherefore M. Alberto Scotti undertook the office of mediator to make
peace, and deceived and betrayed M. Maffeo, who trusted himself to
him; for he deposed him from the office of captain, wherefore M.
Maffeo for shame would not return to Milan; but the lords della Torre
were restored to Milan without a battle, and M. Mosca and M. Guidetto
di M. Nappo della Torre remained lords of Milan. And M. Mosca dying a
little while after, the said M. Guidetto caused himself to be
proclaimed captain of Milan, and ruled harshly, and was much dreaded
and feared, and so persecuted the said M. Maffeo and his sons that he
brought them well nigh to nought, and they were fain to go begging
through many places and countries; and in the end for their security
they took refuge in a little castle in the territory of Ferrara, which
pertained to the marquises of Este, their kinsfolk, inasmuch as
Galeasso, son to Maffeo, had for wife the sister of the marquis. And
when M. Guidetto della Torre, which was captain of Milan, and his
enemy heard this, he desired news of him and of his state, and said to
a wise and clever jongleur: "If thou desirest to gain a palfrey and a
mantle of vair, go to the place where M. Maffeo Visconti abides, and
spy out his state." And in mockery of him he said: "When thou takest
leave of him, ask him two questions: first, ask him how he fares and
what manner of life is his; secondly, when he thinks to return to
Milan." The minstrel departed and came to M. Maffeo, and found him
very meanly furnished, compared with his former state; and on
departing from him, he asked his aid in getting a palfrey and a mantle
of vair; and he answered, he would aid him gladly, but he might not
have them from him, for he had none such. Then he said: "It is not
from you that I would have them, but answer me two questions which I
shall put to you"; and he told the two questions wherewith he had been
charged. The wise man understood from whom they came, and straightway
made answer very wisely. To the first he said: "Methinks I fare well,
forasmuch as I know how to live after the times"; to the second he
answered and said: "Thou shalt say to thy lord, M. Guidetto, that when
the measure of his sins is greater than mine, I will return to
Milan." And when the jongleur was come back to M. Guidetto, and had
brought the answer, he said: "Aye, thou hast earned the palfrey and
the mantle, for those are the words of none other than the wise M.
Maffeo."
§ 62.--_How there arose strife and enmity between Pope Boniface and
King Philip of France._
[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxxii. 148-160.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vi. 97-117.]
In the said time, albeit some while before the defeat of Courtray, the
king of France had become angered against Pope Boniface, by reason of
the promise which the said Pope had made to the king, and to M.
Charles of Valois, his brother, to make him Emperor, when he sent for
him, as afore we made mention; which thing he did not fulfil, be the
cause what it might. Nay, rather in the same year he had confirmed as
king of the Romans Albert of Austria, son of King Rudolf, for the
which thing the king of France held himself to be greatly deceived and
betrayed by him, and in his wrath he entertained and did honour to
Stefano della Colonna, his enemy, which was come to France on hearing
of the discord which had arisen; and the king to the best of his power
favoured him and his followers. And beyond this, the king caused the
bishop of Pamiers, in the district of Carcassone, to be taken prisoner
on charge of being a Paterine; and he spent the revenues of every
vacant bishopric, and would confer the investitures himself. Wherefore
Pope Boniface, which was proud and disdainful, and bold in doing all
great things, of high purposes and powerful, as he was and as he held
himself to be, beholding these outrages on the part of the king, added
indignation to ill-will, and became wholly an enemy to the king of
France. And at first, to establish his rights, he caused all the
great prelates of France to be invited to his court; but the king of
France opposed them, and would not let them go, wherefore the Pope was
the more greatly incensed against the king, and would have it,
according to his privilege and decrees, that the king of France, like
other Christian princes, ought to acknowledge the temporal as well as
the spiritual sovereignty of the Apostolic Chair; and for this he sent
into France as his legate a Roman priest, archdeacon of Narbonne, that
he might protest against and admonish the king under pain of
excommunication to comply thereto, and acknowledge him; and if he
would not do this, he was to excommunicate him and leave him under an
interdict. And when the said legate came to the city of Paris, the
king would not allow him to publish his letters and privileges, nay
rather they were taken from him by the king's people, and he himself
was dismissed from the realm. And when the said papal letters came
before the king and his barons in the temple, the Count d'Artois,
which was then living, threw them into the fire and burnt them in
despite, whence great judgment came upon him; and the king ordered
that all the entrances to his kingdom should be guarded, so that no
message nor letter from the Pope should enter into France. When Pope
Boniface heard this, he pronounced sentence of excommunication against
the said Philip, king of France; and the king of France to justify
himself, and to make his appeal, summoned in Paris a great council of
clerics and prelates and of all his barons, excusing himself, and
bringing many charges against Pope Boniface of heresy, and simony, and
murders, and other base crimes, by reason whereof he ought to be
deposed from the papacy. But the abbot of Citeaux would not consent
to the appeal, rather he departed, and returned into Burgundy in
despite of the king of France. In such wise began the strife between
Pope Boniface and the king of France, which had afterwards so ill an
end; whence afterwards arose great strife between them, and much evil
followed thereupon, as hereafter we shall make mention.
In these times there came to pass a very notable thing in Florence,
for Pope Boniface having presented to the commonwealth of Florence a
fine young lion, which was confined by a chain in the court of the
palace of the Priors, there came in thither an ass laden with wood,
which when it saw the said lion, either through the fear he had of him
or through a miracle, straightway attacked the lion fiercely, and so
struck him with his hoofs that he died, notwithstanding the help of
many men which were there present. This was held for a sign of great
changes to come, and such like, which certainly came to pass to our
city in these times. But certain of the learned said that the prophecy
of the Sibyl was fulfilled where she said: "When the tame beast shall
slay the king of beasts, then will begin the destruction of the
Church"; and this was shortly made manifest in Pope Boniface himself,
as will be found in the chapter following.
§ 63.--_How the king of France caused Pope Boniface to be seized in
Anagna by Sciarra della Colonna, whence the said Pope died a few days
afterwards._
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 85-90.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 52-57.]
After the said strife had arisen between Pope Boniface and King Philip
of France, each one sought to abase the other by every method and
guise that was possible: the Pope sought to oppress the king of
France with excommunications and by other means to deprive him of the
kingdom; and with this he favoured the Flemings, his rebellious
subjects, and entered into negotiations with King Albert of Germany,
encouraging him to come to Rome for the Imperial benediction, and to
cause the Kingdom to be taken from King Charles, his kinsman, and to
stir up war against the king of France on the borders of his realm on
the side of Germany. The king of France, on the other hand, was not
asleep, but with great caution, and by the counsel of Stefano della
Colonna and of other sage Italians, and men of his own realm, sent one
M. William of Nogaret of Provence, a wise and crafty cleric, with M.
Musciatto Franzesi, into Tuscany, furnished with much ready money, and
with drafts on the company of the Peruzzi (which were then his
merchants) for as much money as might be needed; the Peruzzi not
knowing wherefore. And when they were come to the fortress of Staggia,
which pertained to the said M. Musciatto, they abode there long time,
sending ambassadors and messages and letters; and they caused people
to come to them in secret, giving out openly that they were there to
treat concerning peace between the Pope and the king of France, and
that for this cause they had brought the said money; and under this
colour they conducted secret negotiations to take Pope Boniface
prisoner in Anagna, spending thereupon much money, corrupting the
barons of the country and the citizens of Anagna; and as it had been
purposed, so it came to pass; for Pope Boniface being with his
cardinals, and with all the court, in the city of Anagna, in Campagna,
where he had been born, and was at home, not thinking or knowing of
this plot, nor being on his guard, or if he heard anything of it,
through his great courage not heeding it, or perhaps, as it pleased
God, by reason of his great sins,--in the month of September, 1303,
Sciarra della Colonna, with his mounted followers, to the number of
300, and many of his friends on foot, paid by money of the French
king, with troops of the lords of Ceccano and of Supino, and of other
barons of the Campagna, and of the sons of M. Maffio d'Anagna, and, it
is said, with the consent of some of the cardinals which were in the
plot, one morning early entered into Anagna, with the ensigns and
standards of the king of France, crying: "Death to Pope Boniface! Long
life to the king of France!" And they rode through the city without
any hindrance, or rather, well-nigh all the ungrateful people of
Anagna followed the standards and the rebellion; and when they came to
the Papal Palace, they entered without opposition and took the palace,
forasmuch as the present assault was not expected by the Pope and his
retainers, and they were not upon their guard. Pope Boniface--hearing
the uproar, and seeing himself forsaken by all his cardinals, which
were fled and in hiding (whether through fear or through set malice),
and by the most part of his servants, and seeing that his enemies had
taken the city and the palace where he was--gave himself up for lost,
but like the high-spirited and valorous man he was, he said: "Since,
like Jesus Christ, I am willing to be taken and needs must die by
treachery, at the least I desire to die as Pope"; and straightway he
caused himself to be robed in the mantle of S. Peter, and with the
crown of Constantine on his head, and with the keys and the cross in
his hand, he seated himself upon the papal chair. And when Sciarra and
the others, his enemies, came to him, they mocked at him with vile
words, and arrested him and his household which had remained with him;
among the others, M. William of Nogaret scorned him, which had
conducted the negotiations for the king of France, whereby he had been
taken, and threatened him, saying that he would take him bound to
Lyons on the Rhone, and there in a general council would cause him to
be deposed and condemned. The high-spirited Pope answered him, that he
was well pleased to be condemned and deposed by Paterines such as he,
whose father and mother had been burnt as Paterines; whereat M.
William was confounded and put to shame. But afterwards, as it pleased
God, to preserve the holy dignity of the Popes, no man dared to touch
him, nor were they pleased to lay hands on him, but they left him
robed under gentle ward, and were minded to rob the treasure of the
Pope and of the Church. In this pain, shame and torment the great Pope
Boniface abode prisoner among his enemies for three days; but, like as
Christ rose on the third day, so it pleased Him that Pope Boniface
should be set free; for without entreaty or other effort, save the
Divine aid, the people of Anagna beholding their error, and issuing
from their blind ingratitude, suddenly rose in arms, crying: "Long
live the Pope and his household, and death to the traitors"; and
running through the city they drove out Sciarra della Colonna and his
followers, with loss to them of prisoners and slain, and freed the
Pope and his household. Pope Boniface, seeing himself free, and his
enemies driven away, did not therefore rejoice in any wise, forasmuch
as the pain of his adversity had so entered into his heart and clotted
there; wherefore he departed straightway from Anagna with all his
court, and came to Rome to S. Peter's to hold a council, purposing to
take the heaviest vengeance for his injury and that of Holy Church
against the king of France, and whosoever had offended him; but, as it
pleased God, the grief which had hardened in the heart of Pope
Boniface, by reason of the injury which he had received, produced in
him, after he was come to Rome, a strange malady so that he gnawed at
himself as if he were mad, and in this state he passed from this life
on the 12th day of October in the year of Christ 1303, and in the
church of S. Peter, near the entrance of the doors, in a rich chapel
which was built in his lifetime, he was honourably buried.
§ 64.--_We will further tell of the ways of Pope Boniface._
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 148.]
This Pope Boniface was very wise both in learning and in natural wit,
and a man very cautious and experienced, and of great knowledge and
memory; very haughty he was, and proud, and cruel towards his enemies
and adversaries, and was of a great heart, and much feared by all
people; and he exalted and increased greatly the estate and the rights
of Holy Church, and he commissioned M. Guglielmo da Bergamo and M.
Ricciardi of Siena, who were cardinals, and M. Dino Rosoni of Mugello,
all of them supreme masters in laws and in decretals, together with
himself, for he too was a great master in divinity and in decretals,
to draw up the Sixth Book of the Decretals, which is as it were the
light of all the laws and the decretals. A man of large schemes was
he, and liberal to folk which pleased him, and which were worthy, very
desirous of worldly pomp according to his estate, and very desirous
of wealth, not scrupulous, nor having very great or strict conscience
about every gain, to enrich the Church and his nephews. He made many
of his friends and confidants cardinals in his time, among others two
very young nephews, and his uncle, his mother's brother; and twenty of
his relations and friends of the little city of Anagna, bishops and
archbishops of rich benefices; and to another of his nephews and his
sons, which were counts, as we afore made mention, to them he left
almost unbounded riches; and after the death of Pope Boniface, their
uncle, they were bold and valiant in war, doing vengeance upon all
their neighbours and enemies, which had betrayed and injured Pope
Boniface, spending largely, and keeping at their own cost 300 good
Catalan horsemen, by force of which they subdued almost all the
Campagna and the district of Rome. And if Pope Boniface, while he was
alive, had believed that they could be thus bold in arms and valorous
in war, certainly he would have made them kings or great lords. And
note, that when Pope Boniface was taken prisoner, tidings thereof were
sent to the king of France by many couriers in a few days, through
great joy; and when the first couriers arrived at Sion, beyond the
mountain of Brieg [Sion under Brieg], the bishop of Sion, which then
was a man of pure and holy life, when he heard the news was, as it
were, amazed, and abode some while in silent contemplation, by reason
of the wonderment which took him at the capture of the Pope; and
coming to himself he said aloud, in the presence of many good folk:
"The king of France will rejoice greatly on hearing these tidings, but
I have it by Divine inspiration, that for this sin he is judged by
God, and that great and strange perils and adversities, with shame to
him and his lineage, will overtake him very swiftly, and he and his
sons will be cast out from the inheritance of the realm." And this we
learned a little while after, when we passed by Sion, from persons
worthy of belief, which were present to hear. Which sentence was a
prophecy in all its parts, as afterwards the truth will show, in due
time, when we narrate the doings of the said king of France and of his
sons. And the judgment of God is not to be marvelled at; for, albeit
Pope Boniface was more worldly than was fitting to his dignity, and
had done many things displeasing to God, God caused him to be punished
after the fashion that we have said, and afterwards He punished the
offender against him, not so much for the injury against the person of
Pope Boniface, as for the sin committed against the Divine Majesty,
whose countenance he represented on earth. We will leave this matter,
which is now ended, and will turn back somewhat to relate of the
doings of Florence and of Tuscany, which were very great in those
times.
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
§ 65.--_How the Florentines had the castle of Montale, and how they
marched upon Pistoia together with the Lucchese._ § 66.--_How Benedict
XI. was elected Pope._
§ 67.--_How King Edward of England recovered Gascony and defeated the
Scots._
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xix. 121-123.]
In this year Edward, king of England, made peace with King Philip of
France, and recovered Gascony, doing homage to him therefor; and to
this the king of France consented, by reason of the contest which he
had with the Church after the capture which he had made of Pope
Boniface, and by reason of the war in Flanders, to the intent the said
king of England might not be against him. And in this same year, the
said King Edward being ill, the Scots marched into England, for which
cause the king had himself borne in a litter, and went out with the
host against the Scots, and defeated them, and became lord over all
the lands of Scotland, save only the marshes and rugged mountains,
wherein the rebel Scots had taken refuge with their king, which was
named Robert Bruce, which, from lowly birth, had risen to be king.
§ 68.--_How there were in Florence great changes and civic battles
through desire that the accounts of the commonwealth should be
examined._
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
In the said year 1303, in the month of February, the Florentines were
in great discord among themselves, by reason that M. Corso Donati did
not consider that he was so great in the commonwealth as he desired,
and thought himself worthy to be; and the other magnates and powerful
popolani of his Black party had gotten more authority in the
commonwealth than seemed to him good; and being already at enmity with
them, either through pride, or through envy, or through desire of
lordship, he made a new faction, leaguing himself with the Cavalcanti,
whereof the most part were Whites, saying that he desired that the
public accounts of those which had held office, and had administered
the monies of the commonwealth, should be examined; and they made
their head M. Lottieri, bishop of Florence, which was of the family of
the Tosa of the White branch, with certain magnates, against the
priors and the people; and there was fighting in the city in many
places and for many days, and they set engines in many towers and
strongholds of the city after the ancient manner, which should hurl
missiles and shoot at each other; and upon the towers of the Bishop's
Palace they raised a mangonel directed against his enemies hard by.
The priors strengthened themselves with people and men-at-arms of the
city and of the country, and boldly defended the palace, for many
assaults and attacks were made upon them; and the house of the
Gherardini held with the people, with a great following of their
friends from the country; and likewise the house of the Pazzi, and of
the Spini and M. Tegghiaio Frescobaldi with his branch of the family,
which were a great aid to the people; and M. Lotteringo de' Gherardini
was slain by an arrow in a battle which was fought in Porte Sante
Marie. Other houses of the magnates did not hold with the people, but
some were with the bishop and with M. Corso, and some which liked him
not stood apart from the strife. For the which dissension and civil
fighting much evil was committed in the city and in the country, of
murders, and burnings, and robberies, as in a city ungoverned and
disordered, without any rule from the government, save that each
should do all possible harm to the other; and the city was all full of
refugees, and strangers, and folk from the country, each house with
its own following; and the city would have utterly destroyed itself
had not the Lucchese come to Florence at the request of the
commonwealth, with great number of foot and horse; who took in hand
the matter, and the guardianship of the city, and general authority
was of necessity given to them, so that for sixteen days they freely
ruled the city, issuing a proclamation on their own authority. And
when the proclamation was made throughout the city in the name of the
commonwealth of Lucca, it seemed evil to many Florentines, and a great
outrage and wrong; wherefore one Ponciardo de' Ponci di Vacchereccia
struck the herald from Lucca in the face with his sword while he was
reading the proclamation, for which cause afterwards they sent forth
no more proclamations in their own name; but so wrought that at last
they quieted the uproar and caused each party to lay down arms, and
restored the city to quiet, calling for new priors to promote peace,
the people remaining in its estate and liberty; and they inflicted no
punishment for misdeeds committed, but whoever had suffered wrong had
to bear his loss. And in addition to the said plague there was great
famine that year, and grain was worth more than twenty-six shillings
the bushel, level measure, of fifty-two shillings to the golden
florin; and if it had not been that the commonwealth and the rulers in
the city had made provision beforehand, and had caused to be brought
by the hand of the Genoese from Sicily and from Apulia full 26,000
bushels of grain, the citizens and the country people could not have
escaped from famine: and this traffic in grain was, with others, one
of the causes why they desired to examine the accounts of the
commonwealth, by reason of all the money which was passing; and
certain, whether rightly or wrongly, were spoken evil of and blamed
thereanent. And this adversity and peril of our city was not without
the judgment of God, by reason of many sins committed through the
pride and envy and avarice of our then living citizens, which were
then ruling the city, and alike of the rebels therein, as of those
which were governing, for they were great sinners, nor was this the
end thereof, as hereafter in due time may be seen.
§ 69.--_How the Pope sent into Florence as legate the Cardinal da
Prato to make peace, and how he departed thence in shame and
confusion._
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Epistola i.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 79-81.]
During the said discord among the Florentines, Pope Benedict, with
good intent, sent to Florence the Cardinal da Prato as legate to set
the Florentines at peace one with another, and likewise with their
exiles and all the province of Tuscany; and he came to Florence, on
the tenth day of the month of March, 1303, and was received by the
Florentines with great honour and with great reverence, as by men who
felt themselves to be divided and in evil state; and those which had
the disposition and desire to live rightly, loved peace and concord,
and it was the contrary with the others. This Cardinal Niccolo, of the
city of Prato, was a preaching friar, very wise in learning, and of
natural intelligence, subtle and sagacious, and cautious, and very
experienced; and by descent he was of the Ghibellines, and it was
afterwards seen that he favoured them greatly; albeit at the first he
showed good and impartial intentions. When he was in Florence, in a
public sermon and discourse in the piazza of San Giovanni, he showed
forth his privileges as legate, and made manifest his intention, by
command of the Pope, of setting the Florentines at peace one with
another. The good popolani which ruled the city, seeing themselves in
evil estate by reason of the disturbances and riots and strifes,
brought about in those times by the magnates against the people to
abase and undo them, took part with the cardinal in the desire for
peace; and by way of reconstruction of the Occasional Councils, they
gave him full and free right to set the citizens at peace one with
another within the city, and with their exiles without, and to
appoint the priors and gonfaloniers and rulers of the city at his
pleasure. And this done, he gave his mind to making peace among the
citizens, and renewed the order of the nineteen gonfaloniers of the
companies after the fashion of the ancient Popolo of old, and he
summoned the gonfaloniers and gave them the banners after the fashion
and devices that still are, save that they bore not the label of the
arms of the king in chief. And by reason of these reforms of the
cardinal the people were much heartened and strengthened, and the
magnates were brought low, so that they never ceased trying to bring
about changes and to hinder the cardinal to the end they might disturb
the peace, that the Whites and the Ghibellines might not have state
nor power to return to Florence, and that they themselves might enjoy
their goods which had been confiscated as of rebels, both in the city
and in the country. For all this the cardinal did not cease from
pursuing peace, with the aid and favour of the people, and he caused
twelve plenipotentiaries of the exiles to come into Florence, two for
each sesto, one from amongst the chief Whites and one Ghibelline; and
he had them to sojourn in the Borgo di San Niccolo, and the legate
sojourned in the palaces of the Mozzi of S. Gregorio, and often he had
them to take counsel with the leaders of the Guelfs and of the Blacks
in Florence to find out means and security of peace, and to order
alliances between the exiles, and the nobles within. In these
negotiations it seemed to the powerful Guelfs and Blacks that the
cardinal was too much supporting the side of the Whites and of the
Ghibellines, and they took counsel subtly to the end they might
disturb the negotiations, to send a counterfeit letter, with the seal
of the cardinal, to Bologna and into Romagna, to his friends the
Ghibellines and the Whites, that they should, without any hindrance or
delay, come to Florence with men in arms on horse and on foot to his
aid; and some say withal that it was true that the cardinal sent it;
wherefore some of those people came as far as Trespiano and some to
Mugello. By which coming there arose in Florence great murmuring and
ill-feeling, and the legate was much blamed and reproached therefor;
and he, whether he were guilty or no, denied it to the people. Through
which ill-feeling, and also through fear of suffering harm, the twelve
White and Ghibelline plenipotentiaries departed from Florence and came
to Arezzo, and the people which had come to the legate, by his command
returned to Bologna and to Romagna, and the ill-will was somewhat
quieted in Florence. Those which were ruling the city counselled the
cardinal that, to avoid suspicion, he should go to Prato, and should
reconcile the citizens thereof among themselves, and likewise the
Pistoians, and in the meanwhile in Florence a way might be found of
making general peace with the exiles. The cardinal, not being able to
do otherwise, did this, and, whether in good faith or no, went to
Prato and requested the inhabitants to trust in him, and he would
reconcile them. Now the leaders of the Black party and of the Guelfs
of Florence marked the ways of the cardinal, how that he greatly
favoured the Ghibellines and Whites and would fain restore them to
Florence, and saw likewise that the people followed him; wherefore
they feared it might turn out perilous to the Guelf party, and
ordained with the Guazzalotti of Prato, a powerful house of the Black
party, and strong Guelfs, to bring to pass in Prato a schism and riot
against the cardinal, and to raise a tumult in the city; wherefore the
cardinal, seeing the inhabitants of Prato to be ill-disposed, and
fearing for his person, departed from Prato, and excommunicated the
inhabitants, and laid the city under interdict, and came to Florence,
and proclaimed war against Prato, and offered remission of sins and of
penalties to whosoever would march against Prato; and many citizens
prepared to go thither on horse and on foot, folk that were, in faith,
more Ghibelline than Guelf, and they went as far as Campi. In this
assembling of the host much folk gathered in Florence of folk from the
country and foreigners, and the fear and jealousy of the Guelfs began
to increase; wherefore many which at the first had held with the
cardinal, changed their purpose through the turbulence which they
observed; and the magnates of the Black party, and likewise they which
were temporising with the cardinal, furnished themselves with arms and
with men, and the city was all in disorder, and they were ready to
fight one another. The cardinal legate, seeing that he could not carry
out his purpose of leading an army against Prato, and that the city of
Florence was disposed to civil strife, and that of those which had
held with him, some were now against him, became fearful and uneasy,
and suddenly departed from Florence on the 4th day of June, 1304,
saying to the Florentines: "Seeing that ye desire to be at war and
under a curse, and do not desire to hear or to obey the messenger of
the vicar of God, or to have rest or peace among yourselves, abide
with the curse of God and of Holy Church"; thus he excommunicated the
citizens, and left the city under an interdict, whence it was held,
that by this curse, whether just or unjust, there fell judgment and
great peril on our city through the adversities and perils which came
to pass therein but a short time after, as hereafter we shall make
mention.
§ 70.--_How the bridge of Carraia fell, and how many people died
there._
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. vi. 36.]
In this same time that the Cardinal da Prato was in Florence, and was
beloved by the people and by the citizens, who hoped that he might set
them at peace one with another, on the first day of May, 1304, just as
in the good old times of the tranquil and good estate of Florence, it
had been the custom for companies and bands of pleasure-makers to go
through the city rejoicing and making merry, so now again they
assembled and met in divers parts of the city; and one district vied
with the other which could invent and do the best. Among others, as of
old was the custom, they of Borgo San Friano were wont to devise the
newest and most varied pastimes; and they sent forth a proclamation
that whosoever desired news of the other world should come on the 1st
day of May upon the Carraia Bridge, and beside the Arno; and they
erected upon the Arno a stage upon boats and vessels, and thereupon
they made the similitude and figure of hell, with fires and other
pains and sufferings, with men disguised as demons, horrible to
behold, and others which had the appearance of naked souls, which
seemed to be persons, and they were putting them to the said divers
torments, with loud cries, and shrieks, and tumult, which seemed
hateful and fearful to hear and to see; and by reason of this new
pastime there came many citizens to look on, and the Carraia Bridge,
which then was of wood from pile to pile, was so burdened with people
that it gave way in many places, and fell with the people which were
upon it, wherefore many were killed and drowned, and many were maimed;
so that the pastime from sport became earnest, and, as the
proclamation had said, many by death went to learn news of the other
world, with great lamentation and sorrow to all the city, for each one
believed he must have lost his son or his brother there; and this was
a sign of future ill, which in a short time should come to our city
through the exceeding wickedness of the citizens, as hereafter we
shall make mention.
§ 71.--_How Florence was set on fire, and a great part of the city
burnt._
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 121, 122.]
When the Cardinal da Prato had departed from Florence after the manner
aforesaid, the city was left in evil state and in great confusion; for
there was the party which held with the cardinal, whereof were leaders
the Cavalcanti and the Gherardini, the Pulci and the White Cerchi of
the Garbo, which were merchants of Pope Benedict, with a following of
many houses of the people, (which feared the magnates might break up
the Popolo if they got the government), from among the leading houses
and families of the popolani of Florence, such as the Magalotti, and
Mancini, Peruzzi, Antellesi, and Baroncelli, and Acciaiuoli, and
Alberti, Strozzi, Ricci, and Albizzi, and many others; and they were
well provided with foot-soldiers and with men-at-arms. On the contrary
part, to wit, the Blacks, the leaders were M. Rosso della Tosa, with
his branch of Blacks, M. Pazzino de' Pazzi, with all his family, the
part of the Adimari which were called the Cavicciuli, and M. Geri
Spini, with his kin, and M. Betto Brunelleschi; M. Corso Donati stood
neutral, forasmuch as he was ill with the gout, and because he was
angered with these leaders of the Black party; and almost all the
other magnates held aloof, and the popolani also, save the Medici and
the Giugni, which held strongly with the Blacks. And the fighting
began between the White Cerchi and the Giugni at their houses at the
Garbo, and they fought there by day and by night. In the end, the
Cerchi defended themselves with the aid of the Cavalcanti and
Antellesi, and the force of the Cavalcanti and Gherardini so increased
that with their followers they rode through the city as far as the
Mercato Vecchio, and from Orto San Michele as far as the piazza of S.
Giovanni, without any opposition or hindrance whatever, because their
forces increased both in the city and in the country; forasmuch as the
greater part of the people followed them, and the Ghibellines sided
with them; and they of Volognano and their friends were coming to
their aid with more than 1,000 foot-soldiers; and were already at
Bisarno; and certainly on that day they would have conquered the city
and driven out thence the aforesaid leaders of the Blacks and Guelfs,
whom they held as their enemies (forasmuch as it was said that they
had caused M. Betto Gherardini to be beheaded, and Masino Cavalcanti
and the others, as we before made mention), save that when they were
flourishing and victorious in several parts of the city where they
were fighting against their enemies, it came to pass, as it pleased
God, either to avoid worse ill, or that He permitted it to punish the
sins of the Florentines, that one, Ser Neri Abati, a clerk and prior
of San Piero Scheraggio, a worldly and dissolute man, and a rebel
against and enemy of his associates, of purpose set fire first to the
house of his associates in Orto San Michele, and then to the
Florentine Calimala at the house of the Caponsacchi, near to the
entrance of the Mercato Vecchio. And the accursed fire was so furious
and impetuous, fanned by the north wind, which was blowing strongly,
that on that day were burnt the houses of the Abati, and of the Macci,
and all the loggia of Orto San Michele, and the houses of the Amieri,
and Toschi, and Cipriani, and Lamberti, and Bachini, and Buiamonti,
and all Calimala, and the houses of the Cavalcanti, and all around the
Mercato Nuovo and S. Cecilia, and all the street of Porte Sante Marie
as far as the Ponte Vecchio, and Vacchereccia, and behind San Piero
Scheraggio, and the houses of the Gherardini, and of the Pulci and
Amidei and Lucardesi, and all the neighbourhood of the said places,
almost to the Arno; and, in short, all the marrow and yolk and the
most precious places of the city of Florence were burnt, and the
number of the palaces and towers and houses was more than 1,700. The
loss of stores, and of treasure, and of merchandise was infinite,
forasmuch as in those places were almost all the merchandise and
precious things of Florence, and that which was not burnt was robbed
by highwaymen as it was being carried away, the city being continually
at war in divers places, wherefore many companies, and clans, and
families were ruined and brought to poverty by the said fires and
robberies. This plague came upon our city of Florence on the 10th day
of June, in the year of Christ 1304; and for this cause the leaders of
that faction the Cavalcanti, which were among the most powerful houses
in Florence, both in retainers, and in possessions, and in goods, and
the Gherardini, among the greatest in the country, their houses and
those of their followers being burnt down, lost their vigour and
estate, and were driven out of Florence as rebels, and their enemies
recovered their estate, and became lords over the city. And then it
was verily believed that the magnates would set aside the Ordinances
of Justice of the Popolo, and this they would have done if it had not
been that through their factions they were themselves at variance one
with another, and each party sided with the people to the end they
might not lose their estate. We must now go on to tell of the other
events which were in many parts in these times, forasmuch as there
arose thence further adverse fortune to our city of Florence.
§ 72.--_How the Whites and Ghibellines came to the gates of Florence,
and departed thence in discomfiture._
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
When the Cardinal da Prato had returned to the Pope, which was at
Perugia with his court, he made many complaints against them which
were ruling the city of Florence, and accused them before the Pope and
the college of cardinals of many crimes and faults, showing them to be
sinful men and enemies of God and of Holy Church, and recounting the
dishonour and treachery which they had done to Holy Church when he had
desired to restore them to good and peaceful estate; for the which
thing the Pope and his cardinals were greatly moved with anger against
the Florentines, and by the counsel of the said Cardinal da Prato the
Pope cited twelve of the chief leaders of the Guelf party and of the
Blacks which were in Florence, which were directing all the state of
the city, the names whereof were these: M. Corso Donati, M. Rosso
della Tosa, M. Pazzino de' Pazzi, M. Geri Spini, M. Betto
Brunelleschi. And they were to appear before him under pain of
excommunication and deprivation of all their goods; which straightway
came obediently thither with a great company of their friends and
followers in great state, for they were more than 150 on horseback, to
defend themselves before the Pope against the charges which the
Cardinal da Prato had made against them. And in this summons and
citation of so many leaders of Florence, the Cardinal da Prato
cunningly planned a great treachery against the Florentines,
straightway sending letters to Pisa, and to Bologna, and to Romagna,
to Arezzo, to Pistoia, and to all the leaders of the Ghibelline and
White party in Tuscany and in Romagna, that they should assemble with
all their forces and those of their friends on foot and on horse, and
on a day named should come in arms to the city of Florence, and take
the city, and drive out thence the Blacks and those which had been
against him, saying that this was by the knowledge and will of the
Pope (the which thing was a great falsehood and lie, forasmuch as the
Pope knew nothing thereof), and encouraging each one to come securely,
forasmuch as the city was weak, and open in many places; and saying
that he of his zeal had summoned and caused to appear at the court all
the leaders of the Black party, and that within the city there was a
large party which would welcome them and would surrender the city to
them; and that they should gather together and come secretly and
quickly. And when they had received these letters, they rejoiced
greatly, and, being encouraged by the favour of the Pope, each one
furnished himself according to his power, and moved towards Florence
on the day appointed. And two days before, through their great
eagerness, the Pisans, with their troops and with all the Florentines
which were in Pisa, to the number of 400 horsemen, whereof Count Fazio
was captain, came as far as the stronghold of Marti; and all the other
assembly of Whites and Ghibellines came towards Florence after so
secret a fashion that they were at Lastra above Montughi, to the
number of 1,600 horse and 9,000 foot, ere the most could believe it in
Florence, forasmuch as they had not allowed any messenger which should
announce their coming to find his way to Florence; and if they had
descended upon the city one day sooner, without doubt they would have
had the city, forasmuch as there was no preparation, nor store of
arms, nor defence. But they abode that night at Lastra and at
Trespiano, extending as far as Fontebuona, awaiting M. Tolosata degli
Uberti, captain of Pistoia, which was taking the way across the
mountains with 300 horse, Pistoian and mercenary, and with many on
foot; and in the morning, seeing that he did not come, the Florentine
refugees determined to come to the city, thinking to have it without
stroke of sword, and this they did, leaving the Bolognese at Lastra,
which, by reason of their cowardice, or perhaps because of the Guelfs
which were among them, were not in favour of the enterprise; so the
rest came on, and entered into the suburb of San Gallo without any
hindrance, for at that time the city had not the circles of the new
walls, nor the moats, and the old walls were open and broken down in
many places. And when they had entered into the suburbs, they broke
down a wooden palisade with a gate leading into the suburb, which was
abandoned by our citizens without defence; and the Aretines carried
off the bolt of the said gate, and in contempt of the Florentines took
it to Arezzo, and set it in their chief church of San Donato. And when
the said enemies were come down through the suburbs towards the city,
they assembled at Cafaggio, by the side of the Servi, and they were
more than 1,200 horsemen, and common folks in numbers, with many folk
from the country following them, and with Ghibellines and Whites from
within, which had come out to their aid. Now this was ill advised on
their part, as we shall tell hereafter, for they had stationed
themselves in a place without water; for if they had taken up their
stand on the piazza of Santa Croce, they would have had the river and
water for themselves and for their horses, and the Città Rossa round
about, without the old walls, all which was so built with houses as to
accommodate an army in safety were it never so large; but to whom God
wills ill, from him He takes all wit and judgment. When, on the
evening before, the tidings were brought to Florence, there was great
fear and suspicion of treachery, and the city was on guard all night;
but by reason of fear some went this way, some that, all at random,
each one removing his goods. And of a truth it was said that the
greatest and best houses in Florence, of magnates, and popolani, and
Guelfs, knew of this purpose, and had promised to surrender the city;
but hearing of the great force of the Ghibellines of Tuscany and the
enemies of our commonwealth which were come with our exiles, they
feared greatly for themselves, and that they should be driven away and
robbed, and so they changed their purpose, and looked to defend the
city together with the rest. Certain of our exiled leaders, with part
of their followers, departed from Cafaggio from the army, and came to
the gate of the Spadari, and this they attacked and conquered, and
entered in together with their banners as far as the piazza of S.
Giovanni; and if the larger force which was in Cafaggio had then come
towards the city, and attacked some other gate, they would certainly
not have been resisted. In the piazza of S. Giovanni were assembled
all the valiant men and Guelfs which were giving themselves to the
defence of the city, not, however, in great numbers (perhaps 200 horse
and 500 foot), and with the aid of large crossbows they drove back the
enemy without the gate, with the loss of some taken and slain. The
news went to Lastra to the Bolognese by their spies, reporting that
their side had been routed and discomfited, and straightway, without
learning the certainty thereof, for it was not true, they departed in
flight as best they could, and when they met M. Tolosato with his
followers in Mugello, which was advancing with full knowledge of the
truth, he would have retained them and caused them to turn back; but
this he could not bring about, neither through entreaties nor threats.
They of the main body in Cafaggio, when they heard the news from
Lastra how the Bolognese had departed in confusion, as it pleased God,
straightway took fear, and through the discomfort of continuing in
array until after noon in the burning sun,--the heat being great, and
not having sufficiency of water for themselves and for their
horses,--began to disperse and to depart in flight, throwing away
their arms without assault or pursuit of the citizens, forasmuch as
they scarce followed after them at all, save certain troopers of their
own free will. And thus many of the enemy died, either by the sword or
from exhaustion, and were robbed of arms and of horses; and certain of
the prisoners were hanged in the piazza of San Gallo and along the
road, on the trees. But verily it was said that, notwithstanding the
departure of the Bolognese, if they had stood firm until the coming of
M. Tolosato, which they could assuredly have done by reason of the
small number of horse which were defending Florence, they would yet
have gained the city. But it seemed to be the work and will of God
that they should be bewitched, to the end our city of Florence might
not be wholly laid waste, sacked, and destroyed. This unforeseen
victory and escape of the city of Florence was on S. Margaret's Day,
the 20th of the month of July, the year of Christ 1304. We have made
such an extensive record, forasmuch as we were there present, and by
reason of the great risk and peril from which God saved the city of
Florence, and to the end our descendants may take therefrom example
and warning.
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
§ 73.--_How the Aretines recovered the castle of Laterino which the
Florentines held._ § 74.--_Of certain further things which came to
pass in Florence in the said times._ § 75.--_How the Florentines went
out against and took the strongholds of the Stinche and Montecalvi
which were held by the Whites._ § 76.--_Returns back somewhat to tell
of the story of the Flemings._ § 77.--_How Guy of Flanders was routed
and seized, with his armada, by the admiral of the king of France._ §
78.--_How the king of France defeated the Flemings at Mons-en-Puelle._
§ 79.--_How, shortly after the defeat of Mons-en-Puelle, the Flemings
returned to the conflict with the king of France and gained a
favourable peace._
§ 80.--_How Pope Benedict died; and of the new election of Pope
Clement V._
[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Epistola viii.]
[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 82-87. Par. xvii. 82. xxvii. 58, 9. xxx.
142-148.]
In the year of Christ 1304, on the 27th day of the month July, Pope
Benedict died in the city of Perugia, it was said by poison; for when
he was eating at his table, there came to him a young man veiled and
attired in the garb of a woman, as a serving sister of the nuns of S.
Petronella, in Perugia, with a silver basin wherein were many fine
ripe figs, and he presented them to the Pope from his devout servant,
the abbess of that nunnery. The Pope received them with great
pleasure, and forasmuch as he was fond of them, and without any one
tasting thereof beforehand, seeing that they were presented by a
woman, he ate many thereof, whereat he straightway fell ill, and in a
few days died, and was buried with great honour at the Preaching
Friars (for he was of that Order), in San Ercolano, of Perugia. This
was a good man, and virtuous and just, and of holy and religious life,
and desirous to do right in all things; and through the envy of
certain of his brother cardinals, it was said, they compassed his
death after the said manner; wherefore God recompensed them, if they
were guilty thereof, in a short time, by a very just and open
vengeance, as will be shown hereafter. For after the death of the said
Pope there arose a schism and a great discord among the college of
cardinals in electing the Pope; and by reason of their differences
they were divided into two almost equal parties; the head of the one
was M. Matteo Rosso, of the Orsini, with M. Francesco Guatani, nephew
that was of Pope Boniface; and the leaders of the other were M.
Napoleone, of the Orsini dal Monte, and the Cardinal da Prato, which
hoped to restore their kinsfolk and friends, the Colonnesi, to their
estate, and were friends of the king of France, and leaned towards the
Ghibelline side. And when they had been shut up for a period of more
than nine months, and were pressed by the Perugians to nominate a
Pope, and could not come to an agreement, at last the Cardinal da
Prato, finding himself in a secret place with the Cardinal Francesco,
of the Guatani, said to him, "We are doing great harm and injury to
the Church by not choosing a Pope." And M. Francesco said, "It does
not lie with me." And the other replied, "If I could find a good way
of escape, wouldst thou be content?" He made answer that he would; and
thus conversing together they came to this agreement, by the industry
and sagacity of the Cardinal da Prato, who, treating with the said M.
Francesco Guatani, gave him his choice; for it was determined that the
one party, to avoid all suspicion, should choose three men from beyond
the Alps suitable for the papacy, whomsoever it pleased them, and the
other party, within forty days, should take one of the three,
whichever they pleased, and that he should be Pope. The party of M.
Francesco Guatani preferred to make the first choice, thinking thus to
have the advantage, and he elected three archbishops from beyond the
Alps, made and created by Pope Boniface, his uncle, which were his
great friends and confidants, and enemies of the king of France, their
adversary, trusting that whichever the other party might take they
would have a Pope after their mind, and a friend. Among these three
the archbishop of Bordeaux was the one in whom they most trusted. The
wise and far-seeing Cardinal da Prato thought that their purpose would
be better carried out by taking M. Raimond de Goth, archbishop of
Bordeaux, than by taking either of the others; albeit he had been
appointed by Pope Boniface, and was no friend of the king of France,
by reason of injuries done to his kinsfolk in the war of Gascony by M.
Charles of Valois; but knowing him to be a man desirous of honour and
lordship, and that he was a Gascon, who are by nature covetous, and
that he might easily make peace with the king of France, they
secretly took counsel, and he and his party in the college took an
oath, and having confirmed with the other part of the college the
documents and papers concerning the said agreements and pacts, by his
letters, and those of the other cardinals of his party, they wrote to
the king of France, and enclosed under their seals the pacts and
agreements and commissions between themselves and the other part of
the college, and by faithful and good couriers ordered by means of
their merchants (the other party knowing nothing of this), they sent
from Perugia to Paris in eleven days, admonishing and praying the king
of France by the tenor of their letters, that if he wished to recover
his estate in Holy Church and relieve his friends, the Colonnesi, he
should turn his foe into a friend, to wit M. Raimond de Goth,
archbishop of Bordeaux, one of the three chosen and most trusted by
the other party; seeking and stipulating with him for liberal terms
for himself and for his friends, forasmuch as to his hands was
committed the election of the one of those three, whichever he
pleased. The king of France having received the said letters and
commissions, rejoiced greatly, and was eager for the undertaking.
First of all he sent friendly letters by messengers into Gascony to M.
Raimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, that he should come to meet
him, for he desired to speak with him; and within the next six days
the king came in person with a small company, to a secret conference
with the said archbishop of Bordeaux in a forest, at an abbey in the
district of S. Jean d'Angelus, and when they had heard mass together
and sworn faith upon the altar, the king parleyed with him with good
words to reconcile him with M. Charles; and then he said thus to him,
"Behold, archbishop, I have in my hand the power to make thee Pope if
I will, and for this cause am come to thee; and, therefore, if thou
wilt promise to grant me six favours which I shall ask of thee, I will
do thee this honour, and to the end thou mayest be assured that I have
this power,"--he drew forth and showed him the letters and commissions
from both one part of the college and the other. The Gascon, coveting
the papal dignity, and seeing thus suddenly how with the king lay the
power of making him Pope, as it were stupefied with joy, threw himself
at his feet, and said, "My lord, now I know that thou lovest me more
than any other man, and wouldst return me good for evil; thou hast to
command and I to obey, and always it shall be so ordered." The king
lifted him up and kissed him on the mouth, and then said to him, "The
six special graces that I ask of thee are these: the first, that thou
wilt reconcile me perfectly with the Church, and procure my pardon for
my misdeed which I committed in the capture of Pope Boniface. The
second, that thou wilt recommunicate me and my followers. The third
article, that thou wilt grant me all the tithes of the realm for five
years, in aid of my expenses which I have incurred for the war in
Flanders. The fourth, that thou wilt promise to destroy and annul the
memory of Pope Boniface. The fifth, that thou wilt restore the honour
of the cardinalate to M. Jacopo and M. Piero della Colonna, and
restore them to their estate, and together with them wilt make certain
of my friends cardinals. The sixth grace and promise I reserve till
due time and place, for it is secret and great." The archbishop
promised everything on oath upon the body of Christ, and,
furthermore, gave him as hostages his brother and two of his nephews;
and the king swore to him and promised that he should be elected Pope.
And this done, with great love and joy they parted, and the king
returned to Paris, taking with him the said hostages under cover of
love and of reconciling them with M. Charles; and straightway he wrote
in answer to the Cardinal da Prato and to the others of his party,
telling what he had done, and that they might safely elect as Pope M.
Raimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, as a trustworthy and sure
friend. And as it pleased God, the matter was so urgently pressed that
in thirty-five days the answer to the said mandate was come back to
Perugia with great secrecy. And when the Cardinal da Prato had
received the said answer, he showed it secretly to his party, and
craftily summoned the other party, when it should please them to
assemble together, forasmuch as they desired to observe the agreement,
and so it was immediately done. And when the said parties were
gathered together, and it was necessary to ratify and confirm the
order of the said compacts with authenticated papers and oaths, it was
solemnly done. And then the said Cardinal da Prato wisely cited an
authority from Holy Scripture which was fitting to the occasion, and
by the authority committed to him after the said manner, he elected as
Pope the aforesaid M. Raimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux; and
this was accepted and confirmed with great joy by both parties, and
they sang with a loud voice "Te Deum Laudamus," etc., the party of
Pope Boniface not knowing of the deceit and fraud which had been
carried out, rather believing that they had as Pope that man in whom
they most trusted; and when the announcements of the election came
abroad, there was great strife and disturbance between their families,
forasmuch as each said that he was the friend of their party. And this
done, and the cardinals being come forth from their confinement, it
was straightway determined to send him the election and decree across
the mountains where he was. This election took place on the 5th day of
June in the year of Christ 1305, when the apostolic chair had been
vacant ten months and twenty-eight days. We have made so long a record
of this election of the Pope, by reason of the subtle and fine deceit
which took place, and for its bearing on the future, forasmuch as
great things followed thereupon, as hereafter we shall relate, during
the time of his papacy and of his successor. And this election was the
cause whereby the papacy reverted to foreigners, and the court went
beyond the mountains, so that for the sin committed by the Italian
cardinals in the death of Pope Benedict, if they were guilty thereof,
and in the fraudulent election, they were well punished by the
Gascons, as we shall tell hereafter.
[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]
§ 81.--_Of the coronation of Pope Clement V. and of the cardinals
which he made._ § 82.--_How the Florentines and the Lucchese besieged
and took the city of Pistoia._ § 83.--_How the cities of Modena and of
Reggio rebelled against the marquis of Este, and how the Whites and
the Ghibellines were driven out of Bologna._
§ 84.--_How there arose in Lombardy one Fra Dolcino with a great
company of heretics, and how they were burnt._
[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 55-60.]
In the said year 1305, in the territory of Novara in Lombardy, there
was one Frate Dolcino, which was not a brother of any regular Order,
but as it were a monk outside the Orders, and he rose up and led
astray a great company of heretics, men and women of the country and
of the mountains, of small account; and the said Fra Dolcino taught
and preached that he was a true apostle of Christ, and that everything
ought to be held lovingly in common, and women also were to be in
common, and there was no sin in so using them. And many other foul
articles of heresy he preached, and maintained that the Pope and
cardinals and the other rulers of Holy Church did not observe their
duty nor the evangelic life; and that he ought to be made Pope. And
he, with a following of more than 3,000 men and women, abode in the
mountains, living in common after the manner of beasts; and when they
wanted victuals they took and robbed wherever they could find any; and
thus he reigned for two years. At last those which followed the said
dissolute life, becoming weary of it, his sect diminished much, and
through want of victuals and by reason of the snow he was taken by the
Navarese and burnt, with Margaret his companion, and with many other
men and women which with him had been led astray.
[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]
§ 85.--_How Pope Clement sent as legate into Italy Cardinal Napoleone
of the Orsini, and how he was ill received._ § 86.--_How the
Florentines besieged and took the strong castle of Montaccianico and
dismantled it, and caused Scarperia to be built._ § 87.--_How the
Florentines strengthened the Popolo, and chose the first executor of
the Ordinances of Justice._
§ 88.--_Of the great war which was begun against the marquis of
Ferrara, and how he died._
[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 112; xviii. 55-57. Purg. v. 73-78. xx. 79-81. De
Vulg. El. I. 12: 38; II. 6: 42-44.]
[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]
In the said year 1306, the Veronese, Mantuans, and Brescians made a
league together, and declared a great war against the Marquis Azzo of
Este, which was lord of Ferrara, because they feared that he was
desirous to be lord over Lombardy, forasmuch as he had taken to wife a
daughter of King Charles; and they overran his places and took from
him some of his strongholds. But the year after, when he had gathered
his forces, with the aid of the Piedmontese and of King Charles, he
made a great expedition against them, and overran their places and did
them much hurt. But a little time after the said marquis fell sick,
and died in great pain and misery; and he had been the gayest and most
redoubted and powerful tyrant in Lombardy, and he left no son of
lawful wedlock, and his lands and lordship became a cause of great
strife between his brothers and nephews, and one of his bastard sons,
which was named Francis, whom the Venetians greatly favoured because
he was born in Venice; and much strife and war followed therefrom with
hurt to the Venetians, as hereafter in due time we shall make mention.
[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 132.]
§ 89.--_How M. Napoleone Orsini, the legate, came to Arezzo; and of
the expedition which the Florentines made against Gargosa._ §
90.--_How the good King Edward of England died._ § 91.--_How the king
of France went to Poitiers to Pope Clement, to cause the memory of
Pope Boniface to be condemned._
§ 92.--_How and after what fashion was destroyed the Order and mansion
of the Temple of Jerusalem by the machinations of the king of France._
[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 91-93.]
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
In the said year 1307, before the king of France departed from the
court of Poitiers, he accused and denounced to the Pope, incited
thereto by his officers and by desire of gain, the master and the
Order of the Temple, charging them with certain crimes and errors,
whereof as the king had been informed the Templars were guilty. The
first movement came from a prior of the said Order, of Monfaucon in
the region of Toulouse, a man of evil life and a heretic, and for his
faults condemned to perpetual imprisonment in Paris by the grand
master. And finding himself in prison with one Noffo Dei, of our city
of Florence, a man full of all vices, these two men, despairing of any
salvation, evilly and maliciously invented the said false accusation
in hope of gain, and of being set free from prison by aid of the king.
But each of them a little while after came to a bad end; forasmuch as
Noffo was hanged and the prior stabbed. To the end they might move the
king to seek his gain, they brought the accusation before his
officers, and the officers brought it before the king; wherefore the
king was moved by his avarice, and made secret arrangements with the
Pope and caused him to promise to destroy the Order of the Templars,
laying to their charge many articles of heresy; but it is said that it
was more in hope of extracting great sums of money from them, and by
reason of offence taken against the master of the Temple and the
Order. The Pope, to be rid of the king of France, by reason of the
request which he had made that he would condemn Pope Boniface, as we
have before said, whether rightly or wrongly, to please the king
promised that he would do this; and when the king had departed, on a
day named in his letters, he caused all the Templars to be seized
throughout the whole world, and all their churches and mansions and
possessions, which were almost innumerable in power and in riches, to
be sequestered; and all those in the realm of France the king caused
to be occupied by his court, and at Paris the master of the Temple was
taken, which was named Jacques of the lords of Molay in Burgundy, with
sixty knights, friars and gentlemen; and they were charged with
certain articles of heresy, and certain vile sins against nature which
they were said to practise among themselves; and that at their
profession they swore to support the Order right or wrong, and that
their worship was idolatrous, and that they spat upon the cross, and
that when their master was consecrated it was secretly and in private,
and none knew the manner; and alleging that their predecessors had
caused the Holy Land to be lost by treachery, and King Louis and his
followers to be taken at Monsura. And when sundry proofs had been
given by the king of the truth of these charges, he had them tortured
with divers tortures that they might confess, and it was found that
they would not confess nor acknowledge anything. And after keeping
them a long time in prison in great misery, and not knowing how to put
an end to their trial, at last outside Paris at S. Antoine (and the
like was also done at Senlis in France) in a great park enclosed by
wood, fifty-six of the said Templars were bound each one to a stake,
and they began to set fire to their feet and legs little by little,
admonishing them one after the other that whosoever of them would
acknowledge the error and sins wherewith they were charged might
escape; and during this martyrdom, exhorted by their kinsfolk and
friends to confess, and not to allow themselves to be thus vilely
slain and destroyed, yet would not one of them confess, but with
weeping and cries they defended themselves as being innocent and
faithful Christians, calling upon Christ and S. Mary and the other
saints; and by the said martyrdom all burning to ashes they ended
their lives. And the master was reserved, and the brother of the
dauphin of Auvergne, and Brother Hugh of Peraud, and another of the
leaders of the Order, which had been officers and treasurers of the
king of France, and they were brought to Poitiers before the Pope, the
king of France being present, and they were promised forgiveness if
they would acknowledge their error and sin, and it is said that they
confessed something thereof; and when they had returned to Paris there
came thither two cardinal legates to give sentence and condemn the
Order upon the said confession, and to impose some discipline upon the
said master and his companions; and when they had mounted a great
scaffold, opposite the church of Nôtre Dame, and had read the
indictment, the said master of the Temple rose to his feet, demanding
to be heard; and when silence was proclaimed, he denied that ever such
heresies and sins as they had been charged with had been true, and
maintained that the rule of their Order had been holy and just and
catholic, but that he certainly was worthy of death, and would endure
it in peace, forasmuch as through fear of torture and by the
persuasions of the Pope and of the king, he had by deceit been
persuaded to confess some part thereof. And the discourse having been
broken off, and the sentence not having been fully delivered, the
cardinals and the other prelates departed from that place. And having
held counsel with the king, the said master and his companions, in the
Isle de Paris and before the hall of the king, were put to martyrdom
after the same manner as the rest of their brethren, the master
burning slowly to death and continually repeating that the Order and
their religion was catholic and righteous, and commending himself to
God and S. Mary; and likewise did the brother of the dauphin. Brother
Hugh of Peraud, and the other, through fear of martyrdom, confessed
and confirmed that which they had said before the Pope and the king,
and they escaped, but afterwards they died miserably. And by many it
was said that they were slain and destroyed wrongly and wickedly, and
to the end their property might be seized, which afterwards was
granted in privilege by the Pope to the Order of the Hospitallers, but
they were required to recover and redeem it from the king of France
and the other princes and lords, and that with so great a sum that,
with the interest to be paid thereupon, the Order of the Hospitallers
was, and is, poorer than it was before in its property; or perhaps God
brought this about by miracle to show how things were. And the king of
France and his sons had afterwards much shame and adversity, both
because of this sin and of the capture of Pope Boniface, as hereafter
shall be related. And note, that the night after the said master and
his companion had been martyred, their ashes and bones were collected
as sacred relics by friars and other religious persons, and carried
away to holy places. In this manner was destroyed and brought to
nought the rich and powerful Order of the Temple at Jerusalem, in the
year of Christ 1310. We will now leave the doings in France and return
to our doings in Italy.
[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]
§ 93.--_Of events and defeats which came to pass in Romagna and in
Lombardy._ § 94.--_Of the death of King Albert of Germany._ §
95.--_How the Podestà of Florence fled with the Hercules seal of the
commonwealth._
§ 96.--_How Corso Donati, the great and noble citizen of Florence,
died._
[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 81-87.]
In the said year 1308, there being in the city of Florence increasing
strife between the nobles and the powerful popolani of the Black party
which were ruling the city, by reason of rivalry for state and
lordship, which began at the time of the tumult when they demanded to
see the accounts, as we have before made mention; this jealous
disposition must needs bring forth sorrowful consequences, because
from the sins of pride and envy and avarice, and other vices which
reigned among them, they were divided into factions; and the leader of
one faction was M. Corso de' Donati, with a following of some nobles,
and of certain popolani, among others them of the house of Bordoni;
and of the other party were leaders M. Rosso della Tosa, M. Geri
Spini, and M. Pazzino dei Pazzi, and M. Betto Brunelleschi, with their
allies, and with the Cavicciuli, and with many houses of magnates and
popolani, and the greater part of the good people of the city, which
had the offices and the government of the city, and of the people. M.
Corso and his followers believed themselves to have been ill-treated
with regard to offices and honours, whereof they held themselves to be
more worthy, forasmuch as they had been the principal restorers of the
Blacks to their estate, and had driven out the Whites; but by the
other party it was said that M. Corso desired to be lord over the city
with no equal. But whatever may have been the truth or the cause, his
aforesaid opponents and they which ruled the city had hated and
greatly feared him, ever since he had allied himself by marriage to
Uguccione della Faggiuola, a Ghibelline, and hostile to the
Florentines; and also they feared him because of his ambition and
power and following, being uncertain whether he would not take their
state from them, and drive them from the city, and above all, because
they found that the said M. Corso had made a league and covenant with
the said Uguccione della Faggiuola, his father-in-law, and had sent
for him and his aid. For the which thing, in great jealousy, the city
suddenly rose in an uproar, and the priors caused the bells to be
sounded, and the people and the nobles, on horse and on foot, flew to
arms, and the Catalan troops with the king's marshal, which were at
the service of them which ruled the city. And straightway, as had been
ordained by the aforesaid leaders, an inquisition or accusation was
given to the Podestà, to wit, to M. Piero della Branca d'Agobbio,
against the said M. Corso, charging him with wishing to betray the
people, and to overturn the city, by bringing thither Uguccione della
Faggiuola with the Ghibellines and enemies of the commonwealth. And he
was first cited to appear, and then proclamation was made against him,
and then he was condemned; in less than an hour, without giving any
longer time for his trial, M. Corso was condemned as a rebel and
traitor to his commonwealth, and straightway the priors set forth with
the standard of justice, and the Podestà, captain and executioner,
with their retainers and with the standard-bearers of the companies,
with the people in arms, and the troops on horse, amid the
acclamations of the people, to go to the house where dwelt M. Corso at
San Piero Maggiore, to carry out the sentence. When M. Corso, having
heard of the attack against him (or, as some said, in order to
strengthen himself to carry out his purpose, for he was expecting
Uguccione della Faggiuola with a great following which was already
come to Remole), had barricaded himself in the road of San Piero
Maggiore, at the foot of the towers of Cicino, and in Torcicoda, and
at the entrance of the way which goes towards the Stinche, and at the
way of San Brocolo, with strong barricades, and with much folk, his
kinsmen and friends, in arms and with crossbows, enclosed within the
barricade, and at his service. The people began to attack the said
barricades in divers places, and M. Corso and his friends to defend
them boldly; and the battle endured the greater part of the day, and
was so strong that, with all the power of the people, if the
reinforcements of Uguccione's followers and the other friends from the
country invited by M. Corso had joined him in time, the people of
Florence would have had enough to do that day; because, albeit they
were many, yet were they ill-ordered and not well agreed, forasmuch as
to part of them the attack was not pleasing. But when Uguccione's
followers heard how M. Corso was attacked by the people, they turned
back, and the citizens which were within the barricade began to
depart, so that he remained very scant of followers, and certain of
the people broke down the wall of the orchard over against the
Stinche, and entered in with a great company of men in arms. When M.
Corso and his followers saw this, and that the aid of Uguccione and of
his other friends was belated and had failed them, he abandoned the
houses, and fled out of the city, the which houses were straightway
plundered and destroyed by the people, and M. Corso and his followers
were pursued by certain citizens on horse and by certain Catalans,
sent expressly to take him. And Gherardo Bordoni was overtaken by
Boccaccio Cavicciuli, at the Affrico, and slain, and his hand was cut
off and taken to the street of the Adimari, and nailed to the door of
M. Tedici degli Adimari, his associate, by reason of enmity between
them. M. Corso, departing quite alone, was overtaken and captured near
Rovezzano by certain Catalans on horse, and as they were taking him
prisoner to Florence, when they were hard by San Salvi, he prayed them
to let him go free, promising them much money if they would let him
escape, but they held to their purpose of taking him to Florence, as
had been commanded them by their lords; then M. Corso, in fear of
coming into the hands of his enemies, and of being brought to justice
by the people, being much afflicted with gout in his hands and feet,
let himself fall from his horse. The said Catalans seeing him on the
ground, one of them gave him a thrust with his lance in the throat,
which was a mortal blow, and then left him there for dead; the monks
of the said convent carried him into the abbey, and some said that
before he died he gave himself into their hands as a penitent, and
some said that they found him dead; and the next morning he was buried
in San Salvi with little honour and but few present, for fear of the
commonwealth. This M. Corso Donati was among the most sage, and was a
valiant cavalier, and the finest speaker, and most skilled, and of the
greatest renown and of the greatest courage and enterprise of any one
of his time in Italy, and a handsome and gracious cavalier in his
person; but he was very worldly, and in his time caused many
conspiracies and scandals in Florence to gain state and lordship; and
for this cause have we made so long a treatise concerning his end,
forasmuch as it was of great moment to our city, and after his death
many things followed thereupon, as may be understood by the
intelligent, to the end he may be an example to those which come
after.
[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]
§ 97.--_How the church of the Lateran at Rome was burned._ § 98.--_How
the magnates of Samminiato destroyed their Popolo._ § 99.--_How the
Tarlati were expelled from Arezzo, and the Guelfs restored._ §
100.--_How the Ubaldini returned to submission to the commonwealth of
Florence._
§ 101.--_After what manner Henry, count of Luxemburg, was elected
emperor of Rome._
[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]
In the said year 1308, the King Albert of Germany being dead, as we
afore said, by the which death the Empire was left vacant, the
electors of Germany were at great discord among themselves concerning
the election; and when the king of France heard of the said vacancy,
he thought within himself that now his purpose would be carried out
with little difficulty, by reason of the sixth promise which Pope
Clement had secretly made to him when he promised to make him Pope, as
we afore made mention; and he assembled his secret council with M.
Charles of Valois, his brother, and there he revealed his intention,
and the long desire which he had had that the Church of Rome should
elect as king of the Romans M. Charles of Valois, even while Albert,
king of Germany, was living, by means of his forces and power and
money, and with the aid of the Pope and the Church; for at other times
of old the election had passed from the Greeks to the French, and from
the French to the Italians, and from the Italians to the Germans. And
now much more ought it to come to pass, seeing the Empire was vacant,
and especially by reason of the said promise and oath, which Pope
Clement had made to him when he had made him Pope. And he revealed all
the secret covenant with him, and this done, he asked their counsel
and made them swear secrecy. To this enterprise the king was
encouraged by all his counsellors, and that to this end he should use
all the power of the crown and of his realm, so that it might be
brought about, alike for the honour of M. Charles of Valois, who was
worthy thereof, and that the honour and dignity of the Empire might
return to the French, as it had of old pertained long time to their
forefathers, Charles the Great and his successors. And when the king
and M. Charles heard the encouragement and good-will of his council,
they rejoiced greatly, and took counsel that without delay the king
and M. Charles, with a great force of barons and knights in arms,
should go to Avignon to the Pope, before the Germans should have made
any other election, showing and giving out that his going was
concerning the petition against the memory of Pope Boniface; and that
when the king came to the court, he should require from the Pope the
sixth and secret promise,--to wit, the election and confirmation as
Emperor of Rome of M. Charles of Valois; and he being so strong in
followers, no cardinal nor any one else, not even the Pope, would dare
to refuse him. And this ordered, the barons and knights were commanded
to provide themselves with arms and with horses to bear the king
company on his journey to Avignon; and they of the signiory of
Provence were to make ready, and should number more than 6,000
knights in arms. But as it pleased God, who willed not that the Church
of Rome should be wholly subject to the house of France, these
preparations of the king and his purpose were secretly made known to
the Pope by one of the privy council of the king of France. The Pope,
fearing the coming of the king with so great a force, remembering the
promise he had made, and perceiving that it was most contrary to the
liberty of the Church, held secret counsel with M. d'Ostia, Cardinal
da Prato alone, forasmuch as they were already indignant with the king
of France, by reason of his inordinate demands, and because, if the
Church had condemned the memory of Pope Boniface, that which he had
done would have been made null and void, and the Cardinal da Prato had
been made cardinal by Boniface with certain others, as we have said in
another place. The said cardinal, hearing that which the Pope had
learned of the purpose and of the coming of the king of France, spake
thus: "Holy Father, here there is but one remedy, to wit, before the
king makes his request of thee, thou must secretly and carefully
arrange with the princes of Germany that they complete the election to
the Empire." This counsel pleased the Pope, but he said: "Whom do we
will to be Emperor?" Then the cardinal, with much foresight, not only
to secure the liberty of the Church, but to advance his own interests
and those of his Ghibelline party, which he would fain exalt in Italy,
said: "I hear that the count of Luxemburg is to-day the best man in
Germany, and the most loyal and bold, and the most catholic; and I do
not doubt, if by thy means he comes to this dignity, that he will be
faithful and obedient to thee and to Holy Church, and a man who will
come to great things." The Pope was pleased with the good report
which he heard of him, and said: "How can this election be brought
about by us secretly, sending letters under our seal, unknown to the
college of our brother cardinals?" The cardinal made answer: "Write
thy letters to him and to the electors under a small and secret seal,
and I will write to them in my letters more fully concerning thy
purpose, and I will send them by my servant"; and so it was done. And
as it pleased God, when the messengers were come into Germany, and had
presented the letters, in eight days the princes of Germany were
assembled at Middleburg, and there without dissent they elected as
king of the Romans Henry, count of Luxemburg; and this was from the
industry and activity of the said cardinal which wrote these words
among others to the princes: "See that ye are united in this matter,
and without delay; if not, I believe that the election and the
lordship of the Empire will return to the French." This done, the
election was straightway made public in France and at the papal court;
and the king of France, not knowing the manner thereof, and making
preparations to go to the court, held himself deceived, and was never
afterwards a friend of the said Pope.
§ 102.--_How Henry the Emperor was confirmed by the Pope._
[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]
In the said year, after Henry of Luxemburg had been elected king of
the Romans, he sent for his confirmation to Avignon to the court of
Pope Clement the count of Savoy, his kinsman, and M. Guy of Namûrs,
brother of the count of Flanders, his cousin, which were honourably
received by the Pope and by the cardinals; and in the month of April,
1308, the said Henry was confirmed as Emperor by the Pope, and it was
ordained that the Cardinal dal Fiesco and the Cardinal da Prato should
be legates in Italy, and should bear him company when he should have
crossed the mountains, commanding in the Church's name that he should
be obeyed by all. Immediately when his ambassadors had returned with
the Pope's confirmation, he went to Aix-la-Chapelle in Germany with
all the barons and prelates of Germany, and there were there the duke
of Brabant, and the count of Flanders, and the count of Hainault, and
more barons of France; and at Aix, by the archbishop of Cologne, he
was with honour and without any opposition crowned with the first
crown, on the day of the Epiphany, 1308, as king of the Romans.
§ 103.--_How the Venetians took the city of Ferrara and then lost it
again._ § 104.--_How the master of the Hospital took the island of
Rhodes._ § 105.--_How the king of Aragon prepared an expedition
against Sardinia._ § 106.--_How the Guelfs were expelled from Prato,
and then were reinstated._ § 107.--_How the Tarlati returned to Arezzo
and expelled the Guelfs therefrom._ § 108.--_How King Charles II.
died._ § 109.--_Of the signs that appeared in the air._ § 110.--_How
the Florentines renewed war with Arezzo._ § 111.--_How the Lucchese
would have destroyed Pistoia, and the Florentines opposed them._
§ 112.--_How Robert was crowned king over the kingdom of Sicily and
Apulia._
[Sidenote: 1309 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. viii. 76-84.]
In the month of June of the year 1309, Duke Robert, now King Charles'
eldest son, went by sea from Naples to Provence, to the court, with a
great fleet of galleys, and a great company, and was crowned king of
Sicily and of Apulia by Pope Clement, on S. Mary's Day in September of
the said year, and was entirely acquitted of the loan which the Church
had made to his father and grandfather for the war in Sicily, which is
said to have been more than 300,000 ounces of gold. In the said year
and month the Guelfs were driven out of Amelia by the forces of the
Colonnesi.
§ 113.--_How they of Ancona were discomfited by Count Frederick._ §
114.--_How M. Ubizzino Spinoli was driven out of Genoa and defeated._
§ 115.--_How the Venetians were defeated at Ferrara._ § 116.--_Of the
war between them of Volterra and them of Sangimignano._ § 117.--_How
the Orsini of Rome were defeated by the Colonnesi._ § 118.--_How the
folk of Arezzo were defeated by the marshal of the Florentines._ §
119.--_How the Florentines marched upon Arezzo._
§ 120.--_How the ambassadors of Henry, king of the Romans, came to
Florence._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 3rd day of July, there came to Florence M.
Louis of Savoy, senator elect of Rome, with two clerics, prelates of
Germany, and M. Simone Filippi of Pistoia, ambassadors from the
Emperor, requiring the commonwealth of Florence to prepare to do
honour to his coronation, and to send their ambassadors to him to
Lausanne; and they required and commanded that the expedition which
had been sent against Arezzo should be withdrawn. A great and fine
council was held by the Florentines, wherein the ambassadors
discreetly set forth their embassy. M. Betto Brunelleschi was called
upon to respond for the commonwealth, which at the first made answer
with proud and unfitting words, wherefor he was afterwards blamed by
the wise; then answer was discreetly made, and courteously, by M.
Ugolino Tornaquinci, whereon they departed, well content, on the 12th
day of July, and went to the host of the Florentines to Arezzo, and
made the like command that the host should depart, which did not
therefore depart. The said ambassadors abode in Arezzo, very wrathful
against the Florentines.
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
§ 121.--_Of wondrous folk that went their way through Italy beating
themselves._
END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VIII.
BOOK IX.
_Here begins the Ninth Book. How Henry, count of Luxemburg,
was made Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 82, xxx. 133-138. Epistolæ v. vi. vii.]
§ 1.--Henry, count of Luxemburg, reigned four years and seven months
and eighteen days from his first coronation to his end. He was wise
and just and gracious, valiant and firm in arms, virtuous and
catholic; and albeit of low estate according to his lineage, he was
great-hearted, feared and redoubted; and if he had lived longer he
would have done the greatest things. This man was elected emperor
after the manner aforesaid, and immediately when he had received
confirmation from the Pope he caused himself to be crowned king in
Germany; and afterwards he pacified all the disputes between the
barons of Germany, and purposed earnestly to come to Rome for the
imperial crown, and to pacify Italy from the divers discords and wars
which were therein, and then to carry out the expedition over seas to
recover the Holy Land, if God had granted it to him. Whilst he abode
in Germany to pacify the barons, and to provide himself with money and
with followers before crossing the mountains, Wenceslas, king of
Bohemia, died, and left no male heir, but only two daughters, the one
already wife of the duke of Carinthia, and the other, by the counsel
of his barons, Henry gave to wife to John, his son, whom he crowned
king of Bohemia, and left him in his place in Germany.
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
§ 2.--_How the Guelf party was expelled from Venice._ § 3.--_Of the
prophecies of M. Arnaldo da Villanuova._ § 4.--_How there was a
conspiracy in Ferrara to make the place rebel against the Church._ §
5.--_How they of Todi were routed by them of Perugia._ § 6.--_How the
Guelfs were expelled from Spoleto._
§ 7.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Germany to go into Italy._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 133-141.]
[Sidenote: Epistola v.]
In the said year 1310, the Emperor came to Lausanne with few
followers, awaiting his forces, and the embassies from the cities of
Italy, and there abode many months. When the Florentines heard this
they took counsel to send him a rich embassage, and likewise the
Lucchese, and the Sienese, and the other cities of the Tuscan league;
and the ambassadors were actually chosen, and the stuffs for their
robes prepared, that they might be honourably arrayed. Yet this
journey was abandoned by reason of certain Guelf magnates of Florence,
which feared lest under pretence of peace the Emperor might restore
the banished Ghibellines to Florence, and make them lords thereof;
wherefore suspicion arose, and afterwards indignation, whence followed
great peril to all Italy, forasmuch as when the ambassadors from Rome,
and they of Pisa and of the other cities were come to Lausanne in
Savoy, the Emperor asked why the Florentines were not there. Then
answer was made to the lord by the ambassadors of the refugees from
Florence, that it was because they were afraid of him. Then said the
Emperor: "They have done ill, forasmuch as our desire was to have all
the Florentines, and not only a faction, for our faithful subjects,
and to make that city our treasure and archive house, and the loftiest
of our empire." And it was known of a surety by folk which were near
to him, that up to that time he had purposed with pure intent to
maintain them which were ruling Florence in their estate, which intent
the refugees greatly dreaded. But henceforth, by reason of this anger,
or through evil report of his ambassadors which came to Florence, and
of the Ghibellines and Pisans, he gave his mind the other way.
Wherefore, in the following August, the Florentines, being alarmed,
raised 1,000 citizen cavalry, and began to provide themselves with
soldiers and with money, and to make a league with King Robert, and
with many cities of Tuscany and of Lombardy, to oppose the coming and
the coronation of the Emperor; and the Pisans, to the end that he
might cross the Alps, sent him 70,000 golden florins, and promised him
as many more when he should be come to Pisa; and with this aid he set
forth from Lausanne, forasmuch as he was not himself a lord rich in
money.
§ 8.--_How King Robert came to Florence as he returned from his
coronation._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
In the said year 1310, on the 30th day of September, King Robert came
to Florence on his way back from his coronation at Avignon, where was
the Pope's court; he abode in the house of the Peruzzi dal Parlagio
[of the Forum], and the Florentines did him much honour, and held
jousts, and gave him large presents of money, and he abode in Florence
until the 24th day of October, to reconcile the Guelfs together, which
were divided into factions among themselves, and to treat of warding
off the Emperor. He could do but little in reconciling them; so much
had error increased among them, as before has been narrated.
§ 9.--_How the Emperor Henry passed into Italy and gained the city of
Milan._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 26.]
In the year 1310, at the end of September, the Emperor departed from
Lausanne with his followers, and crossed the mountains of M. Cenis,
and at the beginning of October he came to Turin in Piedmont:
afterwards he came to the city of Asti, the 10th day of October. By
the people of Asti he was peaceably received as lord, and they went
out to meet him, with rejoicing and a great procession, and he
pacified all the disputes among the people of Asti. In Asti he awaited
his followers, and before he departed he had nigh upon 2,000 horse
from beyond the mountains. In Asti he abode more than two months,
forasmuch as at that time M. Guidetto della Torre was ruler in Milan,
a man of great wit and power, which had, between soldiers and
citizens, more than 2,000 cavalry, and by his force and tyranny he
kept out of Milan the Visconti and their Ghibelline party, and also
his associate, the archbishop, with many other Guelfs. This M.
Guidetto was in league with the Florentines and with the other Guelfs
of Tuscany and of Lombardy, and opposed the coming of the Emperor, and
would have succeeded if it had not been that his own associates with
their following led the Emperor to make for Milan, by the counsel of
the cardinal of Fiesco, the Pope's legate. M. Guidetto, not being able
to provide against everything, consented to his coming, against his
will; and thus the Emperor entered into Milan on the vigil of the
Feast of the Nativity, and on the Day of the Epiphany, the 6th of
January, he was crowned in S. Ambrogio by the archbishop of Milan,
with the second crown of iron, with great honour, both he and his
wife. [And the said crown is in Milan, and is of fine tempered steel
as for a sword, made in the form of a wreath of laurel, wherein rich
and precious stones were inlaid, after the fashion of the Cæsars which
were crowned with laurel in their triumphs and victories; and it is
made of steel by way of a figure and similitude, for like as steel and
iron surpass all other metals, so the Cæsars, triumphing by the force
of the Romans and Italians, which then were all called Romans,
surpassed and subdued to the Empire of Rome all the nations of the
earth.] And at the said coronation were ambassadors from well-nigh all
the cities of Italy save Florence and those of their league. And
whilst he abode in Milan he caused all the Milanese to be at peace one
with another, and restored M. Maffeo Visconti and his party, and the
archbishop and his party, and in general every man who was in
banishment. And well-nigh all the cities and lords of Lombardy came to
do his bidding, and to give him great quantity of money; and he sent
his vicar into all the cities save into Bologna and Padua, which were
against him, and were with the league of the Florentines.
§ 10.--_How the Florentines enclosed the new circle of the city with
moats._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Epist. vi.]
In the said year, on S. Andrew's Day, the Florentines, through fear of
the coming of the Emperor, took counsel to enclose the city with moats
from the Porta San Gallo as far as the Porta Santo Ambrogio, which is
called La Croce a Gorgo, and then as far as the river Arno; and then
from the Porta San Gallo to the Porta dal Prato d'Ognissanti, where
the walls were already founded, they were raised eight cubits higher.
And this work was done quickly and in short time, which thing was
assuredly afterwards the salvation of the city of Florence, as
hereafter shall be narrated; inasmuch as theretofore the city had been
all exposed and the old walls in great measure pulled down and sold to
the neighbouring inhabitants, to enlarge the old city, and to enclose
the suburbs and the new additions.
§ 11.--_How the della Torre were driven out of Milan._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 11th day of the month of February, M.
Guidetto della Torre, seeing himself cast out from the lordship of
Milan, and Maffeo Visconti and his other enemies much in favour with
the Emperor, thought to cause the city of Milan to rebel against the
Emperor, seeing that he had with him but few horse, forasmuch as they
were gone away and dispersed throughout the cities of Lombardy; and
this would have come to pass, if it had not been that Matteo Visconti
very wisely warned the Emperor thereof, and his marshal, and the count
of Savoy. For the which thing the city rose in arms and uproar, and
there was some fighting. Now there were who said that M. Maffeo
Visconti by his wit and sagacity deceived him to the end he might
bring him under the Emperor's suspicion, coming to him secretly, and
complaining of the lordship of the Emperor and of the Germans, making
as though he would better love the freedom of Milan than such
lordship; and saying to him that he would rather have him for lord
than the Emperor, and that he and his followers would give him all aid
and assistance in driving out the Emperor. To which proposal M.
Guidetto gave heed, trusting in his former enemy, through desire of
recovering his state and lordship; or perhaps it was for his sins, of
which he had many, and was the answer of Maffeo coming true, which he
had made to him through the mouth of the jongleur, as we related
before. M. Maffeo under the said promise betrayed him, and revealed
all to the Emperor and to his council; and this we believe of a
surety, because of what we heard thereof afterwards from wise Lombards
which were then in Milan. And for this cause M. Guidetto della Torre
was called upon to defend himself, who did not appear, but departed
with his followers from Milan, asserting that he was not guilty of
treachery, but that his enemies had charged him therewith to bring him
to nought and drive him out of Milan. But the most believe that he was
in fault, forasmuch as he was in league with the Florentines and the
Bolognese, and with other Guelf cities, and it was said that he was to
receive much money therefor from the Florentines and their league. But
whatever might have been the cause, the said intrigues made the city
of Cremona immediately rebel against the Emperor, on the 20th day of
February, and this rebellion and others in Lombardy were of a surety
brought about by the zeal and the spending of the Florentines, to give
the Emperor so much to do in Lombardy that he would not be able to
come into Tuscany. At this time the Ghibellines of Brescia drave out
the Guelfs, and this likewise came to pass to those of Parma; for the
which thing the Emperor sent his vicar and followers into Brescia, and
caused peace to be made, and the Guelfs to return to the city, which a
short time afterwards finding themselves strong in the city, and
seeing that Cremona had rebelled, and being encouraged by the
Florentines and the Bolognese with monies and large promises, drave
out the Ghibellines from Brescia, and altogether rebelled against the
Emperor, and prepared to make war against him.
§ 12.--_How there was great scarcity in Florence, and concerning other
events._
[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]
In the said year 1310, from December to the following May, there was
the greatest scarcity in Florence, for a bushel of grain cost half a
golden florin, and was all mixed with buck-wheat. And the arts and
trade had never been worse in Florence than during this time, and the
expenses of the commonwealth were very great, and there was much
ill-will and fear concerning the coming of the Emperor. At that time,
at the end of February, the Donati slew M. Betto Brunelleschi, and a
little while after the said Donati and their kinsfolk and friends
assembled at San Salvi and disinterred M. Corso Donati, and made great
lamentation, and held a service as if he were only just dead, showing
that by the death of M. Betto vengeance had been done, and that he had
been the counsellor of M. Corso's death, wherefore all the city was as
it were moved to tumult.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 13.--_How the relics of St. Barnabas came to Florence._
§ 14.--_How the Emperor besieged Cremona, and his people took
Vicenza._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 76-93. Epistola x. Quest. de Acqua et Terra. §
24.--Cf. Inf. i. 100-111. Purg. xxxiii. 40-45.]
In the said year, the 12th day of the month of April, the Emperor was
besieging Cremona with an host, and he sent the bishop of Geneva, his
cousin, with 300 horsemen from beyond the mountains, and with the
force of M. Cane della Scala of Verona, and suddenly took the city of
Vicenza from the Paduans, and they which were of Padua in the
fortress, through fear, without defending themselves, abandoned the
fortress, the which loss caused great dismay to the Paduans, and to
all their allies; for the which thing, a little while after, the
Paduans were reconciled to the Emperor, and gave him the lordship of
Padua, and 100,000 golden florins in divers payments, and they
received his vicar. The said bishop of Geneva went afterwards to
Venice, and craved aid for the Emperor of the Venetians. The Venetians
did him great honour, and gave him to buy precious stones for his
crown 1,000 pounds of Venetian grossi; and in Venice from these monies
and with others was made the crown, and the imperial throne, very rich
and magnificent, the throne of silver gilt, and the crown with many
precious stones.
§ 15.--_How the Emperor took the city of Cremona._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In 1311, on the 20th of April, the Emperor being with his army at
Cremona, the city being much straitened, forasmuch as they were
ill-provided by reason of their sudden rebellion, they surrendered the
city to the Emperor's mercy, through the negotiations of the
archbishop of Ravenna; and he received them and pardoned them, and
caused the walls and all the fortresses of the city to be destroyed,
and laid a heavy fine upon them. And when he had taken Cremona,
immediately he went with his army against the city of Brescia on the
14th day of May, and there he found himself with larger forces, and
more numerous and better cavaliers than he had ever had, for of a
truth there were there more than 6,000 good horsemen; 4,000 and more
Germans, and Frenchmen, and Burgundians, and men of birth; and the
rest Italians. For after he had taken Milan and then Cremona, many
great lords of Germany and of France came into his service, some for
pay, and many for love. And verily if he had abandoned the enterprise
of the siege of Brescia, and had come into Tuscany, he would have
quietly secured Bologna, Florence, and Lucca and Siena, and afterwards
Rome, and the Kingdom of Apulia, and all the lands against him,
forasmuch as they were not furnished nor provided, and the minds of
the people were much at variance, forasmuch as the said Emperor was
held to be the most just and benign sovereign. It pleased God that he
should abide at Brescia, the which siege cost him much both in people
and in power, by reason of the great destruction both by death and
pestilence, as hereafter I shall make mention.
§ 16.--_How the Florentines, by reason of the Emperor's coming,
recalled from banishment all the Guelfs._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 26th day of April, the Florentines having
heard how Vicenza and Cremona had surrendered to the Emperor, and how
he was going to the siege of Brescia, in order to strengthen
themselves put forth express decree and ordinance, and recalled from
banishment all the Guelf citizens and country people under what
sentence soever they had been banished, on their paying a certain
small toll; and they made many leagues both in the city and in the
country, and with the other Guelf cities of Tuscany.
§ 17.--_How the Florentines, with all the Guelf cities of Tuscany,
made a league together against the Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year 1311, on the 1st day of June, the Florentines, the
Bolognese, the Lucchese, the Sienese, the Pistoians, and they of
Volterra, and all the other Guelf cities of Tuscany held a parliament,
and concluded a league together, and a union of knights, and swore
together to defend one another and oppose the Emperor. And afterwards,
on the 26th day of June, the Florentines sent the king's marshal with
400 Catalan soldiers which were in their pay, for the defence of
Bologna, and to oppose the Emperor if he should advance from that
quarter; and in like manner the Sienese and Lucchese sent troops, and
they abode there many months in Bologna and in Romagna in the service
of King Robert.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 18.--_How King Robert caused the Ghibellines of Romagna to be taken
by craft._ § 19.--_How the Pope's marquis took Fano and Pesaro._
§ 20.--_How the Emperor Henry took the city of Brescia by siege._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Epistola vii.]
In the said year 1311, the Emperor being with his army before Brescia,
there were many assaults made, wherein much people died both within
and without the city, among which was slain in an assault, by an arrow
from a large crossbow, M. Waleran of Luxemburg, brother in blood and
marshal of the Emperor, and many other barons, good knights; whence
came great fear to all the host. And encouraged by this, the Brescians
sallied forth ofttimes to attack the host, and in the month of June
some of them were routed and discomfited, and forty of them were taken
prisoners of the chief of the city, and fully 200 slain, among which
prisoners was M. Tebaldo Brusciati, which was leader of the people
within the city, a man of great valour, which had been a friend of the
Emperor, who had restored him to Brescia when the Guelfs had been
driven out: wherefore the Emperor caused him to be drawn asunder by
four horses as a traitor, and many others he caused to be beheaded,
whereby the power of the Brescians was much enfeebled; but for all
that they within the city did not abandon the defence of the city. In
that siege the air was corrupted by the stench of the horses and the
long sojourn of the camp, wherefore there arose much sickness both
within and without, and a great part of them from beyond the mountains
fell sick, and many great barons died there, and some departed by
reason of sickness, and afterwards died thereof on the road. Among the
others died there the valiant M. Guy of Namûrs, brother of the count
of Flanders, which was leader of the Flemings at the rout of Courtray,
a man of great worth and renown; for which cause most part of the host
counselled the Emperor that he should depart. He holding the needs
within the city to be yet greater, alike from sickness and death, and
from lack of victuals, determined not to depart till he should have
taken the city. They of Brescia, as food was failing them, by the hand
of the cardinal of Fiesco surrendered themselves to the mercy of the
Emperor, on the 16th day of September, in the said year. Who, when he
had gotten the city, caused all the walls and strongholds to be
destroyed, and exacted a fine of 70,000 golden florins. Thus with
great difficulty, after much time, he gained the city by reason of
their evil estate; and 100 of the best men of the city, both magnates
and popolari, he sent into banishment, confining them within bounds in
divers places. When he had departed from Brescia, with great loss and
hurt, seeing that not a fourth part of his people were left to him,
and of these a great part were sick, he held his parliament in
Cremona. There, by the influence and encouragement of the Pisans and
of the Ghibellines and Whites of Tuscany, he determined to come to
Genoa, and there re-establish his state, and in Milan he left as vicar
and captain M. Maffeo Visconti; and in Verona, M. Cane della Scala;
and in Mantua, M. Passerino de' Bonaposi; and in Parma, M. Ghiberto da
Correggia; and all the other cities of Lombardy in like manner he left
under tyrants, not being able to do otherwise, through his evil
estate, and from each one he received much money, and invested them
with the privileges of the said lordships.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 21.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese strengthened the frontiers by
reason of the Emperor's coming._
§ 22.--_How Pope Clement sent legates to crown the Emperor Henry._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 82.]
In the year of Christ 1311, Pope Clement, at the request of the
Emperor, not being able to come in person to Rome to crown him, by
reason of the council which had been summoned, sent the bishop of
Ostia, Cardinal da Prato, as legate, with power to act as if he had
been the Pope in person; and he was with him in Genoa in the month of
October; and the said Pope sent as legate into Hungary Cardinal
Gentile da Montefiore to crown Carlo Rimberto, son that was of Charles
Martel and nephew of King Robert, as king over the realm of Hungary,
and to give him the aid and favour of the Church. And this the said
cardinal did, and abode long time in Hungary, until the said Carlo had
conquered almost all the country, and he had crowned him in peace.
And on the return of the said cardinal to Italy, he received
commandment from the Pope to bring to him across the mountains all the
Church treasure which was in Rome and in the other cities pertaining
to the Holy See, and this he brought as far as the city of Lucca.
Beyond that he could not bring it, neither by land nor by sea, because
the coasts of Genoa, both land and sea, were all in commotion of war
through the Guelf and Ghibelline parties, by reason of the Emperor's
coming. He left it in Lucca in the sacristy of San Friano, which
treasure was afterwards robbed by the Ghibellines; as hereafter we
shall make mention.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 23.--_How Pope Clement summoned a council at Vienne in Burgundy, and
canonised S. Louis, son of King Charles._ § 24.--_How the Emperor
Henry came into the city of Genoa._ § 25.--_How an imperial vicar came
to Arezzo._
§ 26.--_How the ambassadors from the Emperor came to Florence, and
were driven thence._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year, and month of October, there came to Florence M.
Pandolfo Savelli, of Rome, and other clerks as ambassadors from the
Emperor. When they were come to Lastra, above Montughi, the priors of
Florence sent them word not to enter into Florence, but to depart. The
said ambassadors, not being willing to depart, were robbed by
Florentine highwaymen, with the secret consent of the priors; and
fleeing in peril of their lives, they departed by the way of Mugello
to Arezzo, and afterwards from Arezzo summoned all the nobles and
lords and the commonwealths of Tuscany to prepare themselves to come
to the Emperor's coronation at Rome.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 27.--_How the Florentines sent their troops to Lunigiana to oppose
the passage of the Emperor._
§ 28.--_How the empress died in Genoa._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year, in the month of November, there died in Genoa the
empress, wife of the Emperor, which was held to be a holy and good
woman, and was daughter of the duke of Brabant; and was buried in the
Minor Friars with great honour.
§ 29.--_How the Emperor put the Florentines under the ban of the
Empire._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year and month the Emperor issued a proclamation from
Genoa against the Florentines that, if within forty days they did not
send him twelve good men with a plenipotentiary and full promise to
obey him, he would condemn their goods and persons to be forfeit,
wherever found. The commonwealth of Florence did not send any
messengers, but all the Florentine merchants which were in Genoa
received orders to depart thence, and this they did; and after that,
all merchandise which was found in Genoa in the name of the
Florentines was seized by the court of the Emperor.
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
§ 30.--_Of the scandal which was in Florence among the wool-workers._
§ 31.--_How King Robert sent men to Florence to oppose the Emperor._
§ 32.--_How the city of Brescia rebelled against the Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year, in the end of December, the Guelfs of Brescia
re-entered the city to cause it to rebel against the Emperor. Thither
rode M. Cane della Scala with his forces, and drave them out thence
with great loss. And in the said month of December M. Ghiberto da
Correggia, which was holding Parma, rebelled against the lordship of
the Emperor, as likewise did they of Reggio; and the Florentines and
the rest of the league of the Guelfs of Tuscany sent aid to them of
man and horse.
§ 33.--_How there was great tumult in Florence by reason of the death
of M. Pazzino de' Pazzi._
§ 34.--_How the city of Cremona rebelled against the Emperor._
In the said year 1311, on the 10th day of the said month of January,
the Cremonese rebelled against the lordship of the Emperor, and drave
out his people and his vicar, and this was through the suggestion of
the Florentines, which still had their ambassador there to treat of
this, promising to the Cremonese much aid in money and in people; but
the promise was ill fulfilled to them by the Florentines.
§ 35.--_How the marshal of the Emperor came to Pisa, and began war
with the Florentines._
[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 11th of January, Henry of Namûrs, brother of
Count Robert of Flanders, marshal of the Emperor, came by sea to Pisa
with but small following, and two days after sallied forth from Pisa
with his men, and took station this side Pontadera, and all the goods
of the Florentines which were coming from Pisa he caused to be
captured and taken back to Pisa; whence the Florentines had great
loss. For this cause the Florentines sent foot and horse to Samminiato
and the frontier there.
§ 36.--_How the Paduans rebelled against the lordship of the Emperor._
In the said year, on the 15th of February, the Paduans, with the help
of the Florentines and of the Bolognese, rebelled against the lordship
of the Emperor, and drave out his vicar and his followers; and
tumultuously slew M. Guglielmo Novello, their fellow-citizen and chief
leader of the Ghibelline party in Padua.
§ 37.--_How the Emperor Henry came to the city of Pisa._ § 38.--_How
they of Spoleto were defeated by the Perugians._
§ 39.--_Of the gathering together made by King Robert and the league
of Tuscany at Rome to oppose the coronation of the Emperor Henry._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 42.]
In the year 1312, in the month of April, when King Robert heard of the
preparation which the king of Germany was making in Pisa, to come to
Rome to be crowned, he sent forward to Rome, at the request and with
the support of the Orsini, M. John, his brother, with 600 Catalan and
Apulian horsemen, and they came to Rome the 16th day of April; and he
sent to the Florentines and Lucchese and Sienese, and to the other
cities of Tuscany which were in league with him, to send their forces
there; wherefore there went forth from Florence on the 9th day of May,
1312, a troop of 200 horsemen of the best citizens, and the marshal of
King Robert which was in their pay, with 300 Catalan horse and 1,000
foot, very fine soldiers; and the royal standard was borne by M. Berto
di M. Pazzino dei Pazzi, a valiant and wise young knight, which died
at Rome in the service of the king and of the commonwealth of
Florence. And from Lucca there went 300 horse and 1,000 foot, and of
Sienese 200 horse and 600 foot, and many other cities of Tuscany and
of the Roman state sent men thither. Which all were in Rome on the
21st day of May, 1312, to oppose the coronation of the Emperor; and
with the force of the said Orsini, of Rome, and of their followers
they took the Capitol, and drave out thence by force M. Louis, of
Savoy, the senator; and they took the towers and fortresses at the
foot of the Capitol, above the market, and fortified Hadrian's Castle,
called S. Angelo, and the church and palaces of S. Peter; and thus
they had the lordship and rule over more than the half of Rome, and
that, too, the most populous; and all the Transtiberine district. The
Colonnesi and their following, which took the side of the Emperor,
held the Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Coliseum, Santa Maria
Ritonda, the Milizie, and Santa Savina; and thus each party was
defended by bars and bolts in great strongholds. And as the people of
Florence abode there, on S. John Baptist's Day, their principal feast,
they ran the races in Rome for their cloth of crimson samite, as they
were wont to do on the said day in Florence.
§ 40.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Pisa and came to Rome._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vi. 107.]
[Sidenote Cf. Par. xv. 109-111.]
In the said year, on the 23rd day of April, the king of Germany
departed from Pisa with his people to the number of 2,000 horse and
more, and took the way of the Maremma, and then by the country of
Siena, and by that of Orvieto, without sojourning, and without any
hindrance he came to Viterbo, and had it without opposition, forasmuch
as it pertained to the lordship of the Colonnas. And as he passed
through the territory of Orvieto, the Filippeschi of Orvieto, with
their following of Ghibellines, began a strife within the city against
the Monaldeschi and the other Guelfs of Orvieto, to give the city to
the Emperor. The Guelfs, being strong and well-armed, fought
vigorously before the Ghibellines could gain the aid of the Emperor's
troops, and overcame them, and drave them out of the city with many
slain and captured. Then the king of Germany abode many days at
Viterbo, not being able to gain admittance by the gate of S. Piero of
Rome; and the Emilian Bridge over the Tiber being fortified and
guarded by the forces of the Orsini, at last he departed from Viterbo,
and stayed at Monte Malo; and afterwards by the forces of his
followers from without, and those of the Colonnesi and their party
within, he assailed the fortresses and strongholds of the Emilian
Bridge, and by strength overcame them, and thus he entered into Rome
on the 7th day of May, and came to Santa Savina to sojourn.
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
§ 41.--_How M. Galeasso Visconti of Milan took the city of Piacenza._
§ 42.--_How the Florentines drave away the Pisans in discomfiture from
Cerretello._
§ 43.--_How Henry of Luxemburg was crowned Emperor at Rome._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
In the said year, whilst the king of the Romans abode long time in
Rome, till he might come by force to the church of S. Peter to be
crowned, his followers had many battles with the opposing forces of
King Robert and the Tuscans, and overcame them by force and regained
the Capitol, and the fortresses above the market, and the towers of S.
Mark. And verily it seems as if he would have been victorious in large
measure in the strife, save that on one day, the 26th day of May, when
in a great battle, the bishop of Liège, with many barons of Germany,
having forced the lines, was traversing the city well-nigh to the
bridge of S. Angelo, King Robert's followers, with the Florentines,
departed from the Campo di Fiore by crossways, and attacked the enemy
in the flank, and pursued and broke them up; and more than 250
horsemen were either slain or taken prisoner, among which the said
bishop of Liège was taken; and whilst a knight was bringing him behind
him disarmed on his horse to M. John, brother of King Robert, a
Catalan, whose brother had been slain in this pursuit, thrust at him
in the back with his sword; wherefore, when he came to the castle of
S. Angelo, in a short time he died; and this was a heavy loss,
forasmuch as he was a lord of great valour and of great authority. By
reason of the said loss and discomfiture, King Robert's followers and
their men increased greatly in vigour and audacity, and those of the
king of Germany the contrary. When he perceived that these conflicts
did not make for his good, and that he was losing his men and his
honour, having first sent to the Pope to ask that his cardinals might
crown him in whatever church of Rome might please them, he determined
to have himself crowned in S. John Lateran; and there was he crowned
by the bishop of Ostia, Cardinal da Prato, and by M. Luca dal Fiesco,
and M. Arnaldo Guasconi, cardinals, the day of S. Peter in Vincola,
the 1st of August, 1312, with great honour from those people which
were with him, and from those Romans which were on his side. And the
Emperor Henry having been crowned, a few days after he departed to
Tivoli to sojourn there, and left Rome barricaded and in evil state,
and each party kept its streets and strongholds fortified and guarded.
And when the coronation was over, there departed of his barons, the
duke of Bavaria and his people, and other lords of Germany, which had
served him, so that he remained with but few foreigners.
§ 44.--_How the Emperor departed from Rome to go into Tuscany._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
Then the Emperor departed from Tivoli, and came with his people to
Todi, and was received honourably by the inhabitants, and as their
lord, forasmuch as they took his part. The Florentines and the other
Tuscans, hearing that the Emperor had departed from Rome and was
taking his way towards Tuscany, straightway sent for their troops
which were at Rome, to the end they might be stronger against his
coming. And when the said troops had returned, the Florentines and the
other cities of Tuscany garrisoned their fortresses with horsemen and
with soldiers, to resist the coming of the Emperor, fearing greatly
his forces, and confining more straitly the Ghibellines and others
which were suspected; and the Florentines increased the number of
their horsemen to 1,300, and of soldiers they had with the marshal and
with others 700, so that they had about 2,000 horsemen; and every
other town and city of Tuscany in the league of King Robert and of the
Guelf party, had strengthened itself with soldiers for fear of the
Emperor.
§ 45.--_How the Emperor came to the city of Arezzo, and afterwards how
he came towards the city of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
In the said month of August, in 1312, the Emperor departed from Todi
and passed through the region of Perugia, destroying and burning, and
his people took by force Castiglione of Chiusi on the lake, and from
there he came to Cortona, and then to Arezzo, and was received by the
Aretines with great honour. And in Arezzo he assembled his army to
come against the city of Florence, and suddenly he departed from
Arezzo and entered into the territory of Florence on the 12th day of
September, and there was straightway surrendered to him the fortress
of Caposelvole upon the Ambra which pertained to the Florentines. And
then he pitched his camp before the fortress of Montevarchi, which was
well furnished with soldiers, both horse and foot, and with victuals;
against it he ordered many assaults, and caused the moats to be
emptied of water, and filled up with earth. They within the city,
seeing that they were so hotly assailed, and that the city had low
walls, and that the horsemen of the Emperor fighting on foot, and
mounting the walls on ladders, did not fear the arrows nor the stones
which were thrown down, were greatly dismayed, and believing that the
Florentines would not succour them, surrendered themselves on the
third day to the Emperor. And when he had taken Montevarchi, without
delay he came with his host to the fortress of Sangiovanni, which in
like manner surrendered itself to him, and he took there seventy
Catalan horsemen, in the service of the Florentines: and thus without
hindrance he came to the village of Fegghine.
§ 46.--_How the Florentines were well-nigh discomfited at the fortress
of Ancisa by the army of the Emperor._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
When the Florentines heard that the Emperor had departed from Arezzo,
immediately the people and horsemen of Florence, without awaiting
other aid, rode to the fortress of Ancisa upon the Arno, and they were
about 1,800 horse and many foot, and at Ancisa they encamped to hold
the pass against the Emperor. And when he heard this, he came with his
army to the plain of Ancisa upon the island of Arno which is called Il
Mezzule, and challenged the Florentines to battle. The Florentines,
knowing themselves to be in number of their horsemen not much superior
to those of the Emperor, and being without a captain, did not desire
to try the fortune of battle, believing that they could hinder the
Emperor by reason of the difficult pass, so that he could not get
through to Florence. The Emperor seeing that the Florentines were not
willing to fight, by counsel of the wise men of war, refugees from
Florence, took the way of the hill above Ancisa, and by narrow and
difficult ways passed the fortress and came out on the side towards
Florence. The host of the Florentines perceiving his movements, and
fearing lest he should come to the city of Florence, some part of them
with the king's marshal and his troops departed from Ancisa, to be
before him in the way. The count of Savoy, and M. Henry of Flanders,
which were come before to take the pass, vigorously attacked them
which were at the frontier under Montelfi, and with the advantage
which they had of the hill, they put them to flight and discomfiture,
and some pursued them as far as the village of Ancisa. The rout of the
Florentines was more through the dismay caused by the sudden assault,
than by loss of men; for among them all there were not twenty-five
horsemen slain, and less than one hundred footmen; and well-nigh all
the foreigners which came in pursuit of them as far as the village
were slain. Nevertheless, the followers of the Emperor remained
victorious in the combat, and the Florentines were filled with fear;
and the Emperor spent that night two miles this side of Ancisa on the
way to Florence. The Florentines remained in the fortress of Ancisa,
as it were besieged and with but little provision of victuals, so
that, if the Emperor had been constant to the siege, the Florentines
which were at Ancisa would have been well-nigh all slain or taken. But
as it pleased God, the Emperor resolved that night to go direct to the
city of Florence, believing that he should take it without opposition;
and he left the host of the Florentines behind at Ancisa, seeing that
they were in a state of siege, and in much fear, and in great
disorder.
§ 47.--_How the Emperor Henry encamped with his host before the city
of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 111.]
And thus the day following, the 19th day of September, 1312, the
Emperor came with his host to the city of Florence, his followers
setting fire to everything they came across; and thus he crossed the
river Arno, over against where the Mensola enters it, and abode at the
monastery of Santo Salvi, with perhaps 1,000 horsemen. The rest of his
followers remained in Valdarno, and part at Todi, which came to him
afterwards; and as they came through the region of Perugia, they were
assailed by the Perugians, and defended themselves against them, and
passed on with loss and shame to the Perugians. And the Emperor came
thither so suddenly that the most part of the Florentines could not
believe that he was there in person; and they were so dismayed and
fearful about their horsemen which were left at Ancisa well-nigh
discomfited, that if the Emperor and his followers, upon their sudden
coming had advanced to the gates, they would have found them open and
ill-guarded; and it is thought by most that the city would have been
taken. The Florentines, however, beholding the burning of the houses
along the way, called the people to arms by sound of bell, and with
the standards of their companies they came to the piazza of the
Priors, and the bishop of Florence armed himself, with the horses
belonging to the clergy, and hastened to defend the Porta Santo
Ambrogio and the moats; and all the people on foot were with him; and
they barred the gates, and ordered the standard-bearers and their
people, at their posts along the moats, to guard the city by day and
by night. And within the city on that side they pitched a camp with
pavilions, tents, and booths, to the intent the guard might be
stronger, and made palisades along the moats of all kinds of wood,
with portcullises, in a very short time. And thus abode the
Florentines in great fear for two days, for their horsemen and their
army were returning from Ancisa by divers ways by the vale of
Robbiano, and from Santa Maria in Pianeta a Montebuoni [Impruneta] in
the night season. When they came to Florence, the city was reassured;
and the Lucchese sent thither in aid and defence of the city 600 horse
and 3,000 foot, and the Sienese 600 horse and 2,000 foot, and they of
Pistoia 100 horse and 500 foot, and they of Prato 50 horse and 400
foot, and they of Volterra 100 horse and 300 foot, and Colle and
Sangimignagno and Samminiato each 50 horse and 200 foot, the Bolognese
400 horse and 1,000 foot; from Romagna there came, what with Rimini
and Ravenna and Faenza and Cesena and the other Guelf cities, 300
horse and 1,500 foot, and from Agobbio 100 horse, and from the city of
Castello 50 horse. From Perugia there came no aid, by reason of the
war which they had with Todi and Spoleto. And thus within eight days
of the siege being declared by the Emperor, the Florentines with their
allies were more than 4,000 horse, and foot without number. The
Emperor had 1,800 horsemen, whereof 800 were foreigners and 1,000
Italians, from Rome, from the March, from the Duchy, from Arezzo, and
from Romagna, and from the Counts Guidi, and them of Santafiore, and
the Florentine refugees; and much people on foot, forasmuch as the
country people of the region which he was occupying, all followed his
camp. And that year was the most fertile and fruitful in all food
which had been for thirty years past. The Emperor abode at the siege
until the last day of the month of October, laying the whole country
waste towards the eastern side, and did great hurt to the Florentines
without any attack upon the city, being in hopes of gaining it by
agreement; and even if he had attacked it, it was so well furnished
with horsemen, that there would have been two or more defending the
city for every one without, and of foot four to one; and the
Florentines were in such good heart that the most part went about
unarmed, and they kept all the other gates open, save the one on that
side; and the merchandise came in and went out as if there had been no
war. As to the Florentines sallying forth to battle, either by reason
of cowardice or of prudence in war, or because they had no leader,
they would in no wise trust to the fortune of the combat, albeit they
had greatly the advantage, had they but had a good captain, and been
more united among themselves. Certainly they rode out to Cerretello,
whither the Pisans had marched with their army, and they forced them
to withdraw from it again, as though defeated, in the month of
October. The Emperor lay sick many days at San Salvi, and perceiving
that he could not gain the city by agreement, and that the Florentines
would not give battle, he departed, not yet recovered. [And whilst he
was still at San Salvi, the count of Savoy was discoursing with the
abbot and certain monks of that place, concerning the Emperor, how he
had heard from his astrologers or by some other revelation, that he
was to conquer as far as to the world's end; then said the abbot
smiling: "The prophecy is fulfilled, for hard by where you are
dwelling, there is a road which has no exit, which is called the
World's End"; wherefore the count and the other barons which heard
this were confounded in their vain hope: and for this reason, wise men
ought not to put faith in any prophecy or sayings of astrologers, for
they are lies and have a double meaning.]
§ 48.--_How the Emperor abandoned the siege, and departed from San
Salvi, and came to San Casciano, and then to Poggibonizzi._
[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]
The Emperor with his host departed on the night before All Saints, and
having burnt his camp, he passed the Arno by the way which he came,
and encamped on the plain of Ema, three miles from the city. On his
going the Florentines did not sally forth from the city by night, but
they sounded the bells and all men stood to arms; and for this cause,
as was afterwards known, the followers of the Emperor were in great
trepidation about their departure, lest they should be attacked by
night either in front or in rear by the Florentines. The morning
following, a part of the Florentines went to the hill of Santa
Margherita above the camp of the Emperor, and by way of skirmishes
they made many assaults upon them, in the which they had the worse;
and having tarried there three days in shame, he departed and came
with his host to the village of San Casciano, eight miles from the
city; wherefore the Florentines caused a trench to be dug round the
increase of the sesto of Oltrarno outside the ancient walls, on the
first of December, 1312. And the Emperor being at San Casciano, the
Pisans came thither to his aid with full 500 horse and 3,000 foot, and
1,000 archers of Genoa, and they arrived the 20th day of November. At
San Casciano he abode until the 6th day of January, without making any
attack upon the Florentines save incursions, and laying waste, and
burning houses in the region; and he took many strongholds of the
country; nor did the Florentines therefore sally forth to battle, save
in incursions and skirmishes, wherein now one party and now the other
suffered loss, not worthy of much mention, save that at one encounter,
at Cerbaia in the Val di Pesa our troops were routed by the Germans,
and one of the Spini was there slain, and one of the Bostichi, and one
of the Guadagni, because of their boldness at that place; for they
were of a company of volunteers, with a captain, their banner bearing
a red stripe on a green field, and they called themselves the
Cavaliers of the Stripe, of the most famous young men of Florence, and
they did many feats of arms. But during this time, the Florentines
parted from a great number of their allies and let them go; and the
Emperor himself had not many followers; and by reason of his long
sojourn and by the discomfort of the cold, there began in the camp at
San Casciano to be great sickness and mortality among the people,
which greatly infected the country, and reached as far as to Florence;
for the which cause the Emperor departed with his host from San
Casciano and came to Poggibonizzi, and took the strongholds of
Barberino and of San Donato in Poggio, and many other fortresses; at
Poggibonizzi he restored the fortress upon the hill, as of old it was
wont to be, and gave it the name of the Imperial Fortress. There he
abode until the 6th day of March, and during that sojourn he was in
great need of provision, and suffered much want, he and all his host,
forasmuch as the Sienese on the one side, and the Florentines on the
other, between them had closed the roads, and 300 soldiers of King
Robert were in Colle di Valdelsa, and harassed them continually; and
200 of the Emperor's horsemen, as they were returning from Casole,
were defeated by the king's horsemen which were in Colle, on the 14th
day of February, 1312. And on the other side, the marshal with the
soldiers of Florence, harassed him in Sangimignagno, so that the state
of the Emperor was much diminished, and there scarce remained to him
1,000 horse, forasmuch as M. Robert of Flanders had departed with his
followers, and the Florentines took him in flank at Castelfiorentino,
and a great part of his men were slain or taken, and he fled with a
few, albeit he had held the field well, and had given them which
attacked him much to do, which were four to his one, and were much
shamed thereby.
§ 49.--_How the Emperor departed from Poggibonizzi and returned to
Pisa, and issued many bans against the Florentines._
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
Thus the Emperor perceived himself to be brought low in men and in
victuals, and also in money, so that nought was left to him to spend,
save only that ambassadors from King Frederick of Sicily, which landed
at Pisa, and came to him to Poggibonizzi to make a league with him
against King Robert, gave him 20,000 golden pistoles. When he had paid
his debts with these, he departed from Poggibonizzi, and without
halting came to Pisa, on the 9th day of March, 1312, in very evil
plight, both he and his followers; but the Emperor Henry had this
supreme virtue in him, that never in adversity was he as one cast
down, nor in prosperity was he vainglorious. When the Emperor had
returned to Pisa he proclaimed a great and weighty sentence against
the Florentines, taking from them all jurisdiction and honours,
disqualifying all the judges and notaries, and condemning the
commonwealth of Florence to pay 100,000 marks of silver; and many
citizens, both magnates and popolani who were in the government of
Florence, he condemned in their money, and persons, and goods; and the
Florentines were not to coin money in gold or in silver; and he
granted to M. Ubizzino Spinoli of Genoa and to the marquis of
Montferrat, the privilege of coining florins counterfeited after the
impression of those of the Florentines; the which thing, by wise men,
was charged against him as a great fault and sin, for however
indignant and wrathful he might be against the Florentines, he ought
never to have granted a privilege to coin false florins.
§ 50.--_How the Emperor condemned King Robert._
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
Against King Robert he likewise proclaimed a heavy sentence, declaring
his realm of Apulia and the county of Provence to be forfeit, and
himself and his heirs to be condemned in their persons as traitors
against the Empire; which sentence was afterwards declared null and
void by Pope John XXII. And while the Emperor was in Pisa, M. Henry of
Flanders, his marshal, rode to Versilia and Lunigiana with 800 horse
and 6,000 foot, and took Pietrasanta by force on the 28th day of
March, 1313. The Lucchese, which were at Camaiore with the forces of
the Florentines, did not venture to oppose him, but returned to Lucca;
and Serrezzano, which was held by the Lucchese, surrendered to the
Marquises Malispini, who held with the Emperor.
§ 51.--_How the Emperor made ready to enter into the Kingdom against
King Robert, and departed from Pisa._
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
This done, the Emperor took counsel not to encounter the Florentines
and the other Tuscans (whereby he had little bettered his state, but
rather made it worse), but to bring matters to a head, and to march
against King Robert with all his force and take the Kingdom from him;
and if he had done this, it was believed that he would have been
master of all Italy; and certainly this would have come to pass, if
God had not averted it, as we shall make mention. He made a league
with King Frederick, who held the island of Sicily, and with the
Genoese, and ordained that each one, on the day named, should put to
sea with a large fleet of armed galleys; he sent into Germany and into
Lombardy for fresh troops, and made the like demands on all his
subjects, and on the Ghibellines of Italy. During this sojourn in
Pisa, he collected much money, and without sleeping, caused his
marshal continually to make war against Lucca and Samminiato, though
he made but little progress. In the summer of 1313, which he passed in
Pisa, after his forces were come to him, he numbered more than 2,500
foreign horsemen, for the most part Germans, and of Italians fully
1,500 horsemen. The Genoese armed at his request seventy galleys,
whereof M. Lamba d'Oria was admiral, and he came with the said navy to
the port of Pisa, and parleyed with the Emperor; afterwards he
departed towards the kingdom to the island of Ponzo. King Frederick
armed fifty galleys, and on the day named, the 5th of August, 1313,
the Emperor departed from Pisa; and the same day it came to pass that
King Frederick departed from Messina with his army, and with 1,000
horse, encamped in Calabria, and took the city of Reggio, and many
other cities.
§ 52.--_How the Emperor Henry died at Bonconvento, in the country of
Siena._
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
When the Emperor had departed from Pisa he crossed the Elsa, and
attacked Castelfiorentino, and could not take it; he went on through
Poggibonizzi and Colle, as far as Siena alongside the gates. In Siena
there were many folk of war, and certain Florentine horsemen sallied
forth from the Cammollia Gate to skirmish, and were worsted and driven
back into the city; and Siena was in great fear; and the Emperor
passed by the city and encamped at Montaperti upon the Arbia; there he
began to be sick, albeit his sickness had made itself felt even from
his departure from Pisa; but because he would not fail to depart on
the day named, he set forth on his journey. Then he went to the plain
of Filetta, to bathe in the baths of Macereto, and from there he went
to the village of Bonconvento, twelve miles beyond Siena. There he
grew rapidly worse, and, as it pleased God, he passed from this life
on the day of S. Bartholomew, the 24th day of August, 1313.
§ 53.--_Relates how, when the Emperor was dead, his host was divided,
and the barons carried his body to the city of Pisa._
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 133-138.]
When the Emperor Henry was dead, his host, and the Pisans, and all his
friends were in great grief thereat, and the Florentines, Sienese and
Lucchese and they of their league rejoiced greatly. And when he was
dead, straightway the Aretines and the other Ghibellines from the
March and from Romagna departed from the host at Bonconvento, wherein
were great numbers of people, both on horse and on foot. His barons
and the Pisan cavalry, with their followers, without delay passed
through the Maremma with his body, and brought it to Pisa; there, with
great sorrow and also with great honour, they buried it in their
cathedral. This was the end of the Emperor Henry. And let not the
reader marvel, that his story has been continued by us without
recounting other things and events in Italy and in other provinces and
realms; for two reasons, one, because all Christians and also Greeks
and Saracens were intent upon his doings and fortunes, and therefore
but few notable things came to pass in any other place; the other,
that by reason of the divers and manifold great fortunes which he met
withal in the short time that he lived, it is verily believed by the
wise, that if death had not come so early to a lord of such valour and
of such great undertakings as he was, he would have conquered the
Kingdom, and taken it from King Robert, who had made but little
preparation for its defence. Rather was it said by many, that King
Robert would not have awaited him, but would have gone by sea to
Provence; and after he had conquered the Kingdom as he purposed, it
would have been very easy for him to conquer all Italy and many of the
other provinces.
§ 54.--_How Frederick, the said king of Sicily, came by sea to the
city of Pisa._ § 55.--_How the Count Filipponi of Pavia was defeated
at Piacenza._
§ 56.--_How the Florentines gave the lordship of Florence to King
Robert for five years._
In the said year 1313, whilst the Emperor was yet alive, the
Florentines finding themselves in evil case, alike from the forces of
the Emperor and of their own exiles, and also having dissensions among
themselves from the factions which had arisen as to the filling of the
magistracies, they gave themselves to King Robert for five years, and
then afterwards they renewed it for three, and thus for eight years
King Robert had the lordship over them, sending them a vicar every six
months, and the first was M. Giacomo di Cantelmo of Provence, who came
to Florence in the month of June, 1313. And the Lucchese and the
Pistoians and the men of Prato did the like, in giving the lordship to
King Robert. And of a surety this was the salvation of the
Florentines, for by reason of the great divisions among the Guelfs, if
there had not been this device of the lordship of King Robert they
would have been torn to pieces and destroyed by each other, and one
side or the other cast out.
[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]
§ 57.--_How the Spinoli were expelled from Genoa._ § 58.--_How
Uguccione da Faggiuola, lord of Pisa, made great war against the
Lucchese, so that they restored the Ghibelline refugees to Lucca under
enforced terms of peace._
§ 59.--_Of the death of Pope Clement._
[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 82-87. Par. xvii. 82, xxvii. 58-60, xxx. 142-148.
Epist. v. 10: 167, 168.]
In the year 1314, on the 20th day of April, Pope Clement died; he was
on his way to Bordeaux, in Gascony, and when he had passed the Rhone
at Roquemaure, in Provence, he fell sick and died. This was a man very
greedy of money, and a simoniac, which sold in his court every
benefice for money, and was licentious; for it was openly said that he
had as mistress the countess of Perigord, a most beautiful lady,
daughter of the count of Foix. And he bequeathed to his nephews and
family immense and boundless treasure; and it was said that while the
said Pope was yet alive, one of his nephews, a cardinal, died, whom he
greatly loved; and he constrained a great master of necromancy to tell
him what had become of his nephew's soul. The said master having
wrought his arts, caused a chaplain of the Pope, a very courageous
man, to be conducted by the demons, which had him to hell, and showed
him visibly a palace wherein was a bed of glowing fire, and thereon
was the soul of the said nephew which was dead, and they said to him
that for his simony he was thus judged. And he saw in his vision
another palace being raised over against the first, which they told
him was being prepared for Pope Clement. And the said chaplain brought
back these tidings to the Pope, which was never afterwards glad, and
he lived but a short time longer; and when he was dead, and his body
had been left for the night in a church with many lights, his coffin
caught fire and was burnt, and his body from the middle downwards.
§ 60.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola with the Pisans took the city of
Lucca and stole the treasure of the Church._ § 61.--_How M. Peter,
brother of King Robert, came to Florence as lord._ § 62.--_How King
Robert went with a great armament against Sicily, and besieged the
city of Trapali._
§ 63.--_How the Paduans were discomfited at Vicenza by M. Cane della
Scala._
[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 28.]
[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 76-93.]
In the said year 1314, on the 18th day of September, the Paduans went
in full force to Vicenza, and took the suburbs, and besieged the city;
but M. Cane, lord of Verona, suddenly came to Vicenza, and with a few
followers fought against the Paduans; and they being in disorder,
trusting in themselves too much after having taken the suburbs, were
discomfited, and many of them were slain and taken prisoner.
§ 64.--_How the Florentines made peace with the Aretines._ § 65.--_How
a comet appeared in the heavens._
§ 66.--_Of the death of Philip, king of France, and of his sons._
[Sidenote: Par. xix. 118-120.]
[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 109, 110.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Par. ix. 1.]
In the said year 1314, in the month of November, the King Philip, king
of France, which had reigned twenty-nine years, died by an
ill-adventure; for, being at a chase, a wild boar ran between the legs
of the horse whereupon he was riding, and caused him to fall, and
shortly after he died. He was one of the most comely men in the world,
and of the tallest in person, and well proportioned in every limb; he
was a wise man in himself, and good, after layman's fashion, but by
reason of pleasure-seeking, especially in the chase, he did not devote
his powers to ruling his realm, but rather allowed them to be played
upon by others, so that he was generally swayed by ill counsel, to
which he lent a too ready credence; whence many perils came to his
realm. He left three sons, Louis, king of Navarre; Philip, count of
Poitou; and Charles, Count de la Marche. All these sons one after
another in a short while became kings of France, one succeeding on the
death of another. And a little while before King Philip, their father,
died, there fell upon them great and shameful misfortune, for the
wives of all three were found to be faithless; and each one of the
husbands was among the most beauteous Christians in the world. The
wife of King Louis was daughter of the duke of Burgundy. Louis, when
he was king of France, caused her to be strangled with a towel, and
then took to wife Queen Clemence, daughter, that was, of Charles
Martel, the son of Charles II., king of Apulia. The wives of the
second and third sons were sisters, daughters of the count of
Burgundy, and heiresses of the countess of Artois. Philip, count of
Poitou, on his wife's denial of the charge, and because he loved her
much, took her again as being good and beautiful; Charles, Count de la
Marche, never would take his wife back, but kept her in prison. This
misfortune, it was said, befell them as a miracle by reason of the sin
which prevailed in that house of taking their kinswomen to wife, not
regarding degrees, or perchance because of the sin committed by their
father in taking Pope Boniface, as the bishop of Sion prophesied, as
we have before narrated.
[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]
[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]
§ 67.--_Of the election which was made in Germany of two Emperors, one
the duke of Bavaria, and the other the duke of Austria._ § 68.--_How
Uguccione, lord of Pisa, made great war against the neighbouring
places._ § 69.--_How King Louis of France was crowned, and led an army
against the Flemings, but gained nothing._
§ 70.--_How Uguccione, lord of Lucca and of Pisa, laid siege to the
castle of Montecatini._
In the said year, Uguccione da Faggiuola, with his forces of German
troops, being lord of all Pisa and of Lucca, having triumphed
throughout all Tuscany, brought his host and laid siege to
Montecatini, in Valdinievole, which was held by the Florentines after
the loss of Lucca; and, albeit it was well furnished with good men,
yet by means of the siege works it was greatly straitened, and in sore
want of provisions. The Florentines sent into the Kingdom for M.
Philip of Taranto, brother to King Robert, to oppose the fury of
Uguccione, and of the Pisans, and of the Germans; and he came to
Florence on the 11th of July with 500 horsemen in the pay of the
Florentines, and with his son Charles, against the will of King
Robert, who knew his brother to be more headstrong than wise, and also
not very fortunate in battle, but rather the contrary; and if the
Florentines had been willing to tarry longer, King Robert would have
sent to Florence his son, the duke, with more order and more
preparation, and a better following: but the haste of the Florentines,
and the device of hostile fortune, made them desire only the prince,
whence came to them thereafter much harm and loss of renown.
§ 71.--_How, when the prince of Taranto was come to Florence, the
Florentines sallied forth with their army to succour Montecatini, and
were defeated by Uguccione della Faggiuola._
[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 27.]
When the prince of Taranto and his son were come to Florence,
Uguccione, with all his forces from Pisa and from Lucca, and those of
the bishop of Arezzo, and of the counts of Santafiore, and of all the
Ghibellines of Tuscany and the exiles of Florence, with aid of the
Lombards, under M. Maffeo Visconti and his sons, to the number of
2,500 and more horse, and a great number of foot, came to besiege the
stronghold of Montecatini. The Florentines, in order to succour it,
assembled a great host, and since they invited all their friends,
there were there Bolognese, Sienese, men of Perugia and of the city of
Castello, of Agobbio, and of Romagna, and of Pistoia, of Volterra, and
of Prato, and of all the other Guelf and friendly cities of Tuscany,
to the number, with the followers of the prince and of M. Piero, of
3,200 horse and a very great number of foot; and they departed from
Florence on the 6th day of August. And when the said host of the
Florentines and of the prince was come to Valdinievole, over against
that of Uguccione, many days they abode face to face with the torrent
of the Nievole between them, and many assaults and skirmishes took
place. The Florentines, with many captains and but little order, held
their enemies for nought; Uguccione and his people held theirs in
great fear, and for this cause they kept strict guard and wise
generalship. Uguccione, receiving tidings that the Guelfs of the
territory six miles around Lucca, at the instigation of the
Florentines, were marching upon Lucca, and had already routed the
escort and taken possession of the road whereby provisions were
brought to his army, took counsel to withdraw from the siege; and by
night he gathered his troops and burned his outworks, and came with
his followers in battle array to the neutral ground on the plain
commanded by both the two hosts, with the intention, if the prince and
his host did not stretch out to intercept him, to march through and
make for Pisa; and if they desired to fight, he would have the
advantage of the field, and would risk the chances of battle. The
prince and the Florentines and their host, perceiving this, when day
broke left the camp, and moved their tents and baggage; and the prince
being ill with ague, they showed but little foresight, nor kept good
order in the troops, by reason of the sudden and unexpected breaking
up of the camp, but they confronted the enemy, thinking to turn them
to flight. Uguccione, perceiving that he could not avoid the battle,
caused the outposts of the plain to be assailed (to wit, the Sienese
and them of Colle and others,) by his forefighters, about 150 horse,
whereof were captains with the imperial pennon, M. Giovanni Giacotti
Malespini, a rebel against Florence, and Uguccione's son; and the
Sienese and men of Colle were without resistance broken up and driven
back as far as the troop of M. Piero, which was with the Florentine
horse. There the said forefighters were checked and well-nigh all cut
off and slain, and the said M. Giovanni was left there dead, and
Uguccione's son, and their company; and the imperial pennon was cut
down, with many good and brave folk.
§ 72.--_More about the said battle and defeat of the Florentines and
of the prince._
[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]
When the attack was begun, and Uguccione perceived how sorry a figure
was made by the Sienese and the men of Colle when they fled by reason
of the assault of his forefighters, he straightway caused the German
troop to strike in, which were 800 horse and more; and they furiously
attacked the camp and the said ill-ordered host, whereof by reason of
the sudden movement a great part of the horse was not fully armed, and
the foot so ill ordered, that when the Germans attacked them in flank,
the javelin men let their missiles fall upon our own horse, and then
took to flight. And this, among others was one great cause of the rout
of the Florentine host, forasmuch as the said German troop pricking
forward turned them to flight with little resistance save from the
troop of M. Piero and of the Florentines, which endured long, but in
the end were discomfited. In this battle there died M. Piero, brother
of King Robert, and his body was never found; and M. Carlo, son of the
prince, died there, and Count Charles of Battifolle, and M. Caroccio,
and M. Brasco of Aragon, constables of the Florentines, men of great
valour; and of Florence were left on the field some from well-nigh all
the great houses and many magnates of the people, to the number of 114
cavaliers, between slain and prisoners; and, in like manner, of the
best of Siena and Perugia and Bologna, and the other cities of Tuscany
and of Romagna; in which battle there were slain 2,000 men in all, of
horse and foot, and there were 1,500 prisoners. The prince fled with
all the rest of his followers, some towards Pistoia and some towards
Fucecchio and some by the Cerbaia; wherefore, since numbers were lost
in the marshes of the Guisciana, many of the aforesaid slain were
drowned without stroke of sword. This lamentable discomfiture was on
the day of the beheading of S. John, the 29th day of August, 1315.
After the said discomfiture, the stronghold of Montecatini surrendered
to Uguccione, and the stronghold of Montesommano, which the
Florentines held; and they which were within were allowed to go out
safe and sound under conditions.
[Sidenote: 1316 A.D.]
§ 73.--_How Vinci and Cerretoguidi rebelled against the Florentines._
§ 74.--_How King Robert sent Count Novello into Florence as captain._
§ 75.--_How Uguccione beheaded Banduccio Bonconti and his son,
magnates of Pisa._ § 76.--_How the Florentines were divided into
factions among themselves, and elected a Bargello._ § 77.--_How a part
of the walls of Florence was built, and how bad coins were struck._ §
78.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola was expelled from the lordship of
Pisa and of Lucca, and how Castruccio at first had the lordship of
Lucca._ § 79.--_How the count of Battifolle was vicar in Florence, and
expelled the Bargello and changed the state of Florence._ §
80.--_Tells of a great famine and mortality beyond the mountains._
§ 81.--_Of the election of Pope John XXII._
[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Par. xxvii. 58. Epistola viii.]
John XXII., born in Cahors, of base lineage, occupied the papal chair
for 18 years 2 months and 26 days. He was elected on the 7th day of
August, 1316, in Avignon by the cardinals, after a vacancy of two
years, and after great discord among themselves, forasmuch as the
Gascon cardinals, which were a large part of the college, desired the
election of one of themselves, and the Italian and French and
Provençal cardinals would not consent thereto, so much had they
endured from the Gascon Pope. After long dispute, both one party and
the other entrusted their votes to this Cahorsine, as a mediator, the
Gascons believing that he would elect the cardinal of Bésiers, which
was of their nation, or Cardinal Pelagrù. Who, with the consent of the
other Italians and Provençals, and by the device of Cardinal Napoleone
Orsini, head of the faction against the Gascons, gave the chair to
himself, electing himself Pope after the manner ordained according to
the Decretals. This man was a poor clerk, and his father was a
cobbler, and he was brought up by the bishop of Arles, chancellor to
King Charles II.; and by reason of his goodness and industry he came
into favour with King Charles, who caused him to be educated at his
charges, and then the king made him bishop of Frejus; and on the death
of his master, the archbishop of Arles, to wit M. Piero da Ferriera,
the chancellor, King Robert made him chancellor in his stead; and
afterwards, of his care and sagacity, he sent letters as from King
Robert to Pope Clement recommending himself, whereof the king, it was
said, knew nothing at all, by reason of which letters he, the said
bishop of Frejus, was promoted to be bishop of Avignon, and afterwards
cardinal by reason of his wit and industry; wherefore King Robert,
before he was made cardinal, was wroth with him, and took away the
seal from him, forasmuch as he had sealed the said letters in his own
favour to the said Pope Clement without his knowledge. This Pope John
was crowned in Avignon on S. Mary's Day, the 8th day of September,
1316. Afterwards he was a great friend to King Robert, and he to him;
and by his means he did great things, as hereafter shall be narrated.
This Pope caused the Seventh Book of the Decretals to be completed
which Pope Clement had begun, and set in order the solemnity and
festival of the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, with great
indulgences and pardons to whoso should be at celebration of the
sacred offices, each hour, and he gave a general pardon of forty days
to all Christians for every time that they made reverence when the
priest repeated the name of Jesus Christ; this he did afterwards in
the year 1318.
§ 82.--_How King Robert and the Florentines made peace with the Pisans
and Lucchese._ § 83.--_How the Florentines recalled the bad money and
issued the good money of the "new Guelf" mintage._ § 84.--_How King
Robert sent his fleet to Sicily and did great damage._ § 85.--_How
Ferrara rebelled against the Church._
§ 86.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola sought to re-enter Pisa, and what
came of it in Pisa, and of the Marquis Spinetta._
[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]
In the said year 1317, in the month of August, Uguccione da Faggiuola,
with aid from M. Cane of Verona, came suddenly with much people, both
horse and foot, into Lunigiana, supported by forces and letters of the
Marquis Spinetta, who purposed to come to Pisa on the strength of
certain negotiations which he had conducted in the city with men of
his faction; which plot was discovered, and there was an outcry of the
people, whereof Coscetto dal Colle of Pisa made himself the leader;
and by the counsel of Count Gaddo they rushed in fury to the house of
the Lanfranchi, which were in league with Uguccione, and slew four of
the chief of the house; and others, together with their followers,
they banished and set under bounds. When Uguccione perceived that he
could not carry out his enterprise, he returned into Lombardy to
Verona. Castruccio, lord of Lucca, and Uguccione's enemy, made a
league with Count Gaddo and with the Pisans, and with aid of horsemen
from them, he went with his host against the Marquis Spinetti, which
had given Uguccione free passage, and took from him Fosdinuovo, a very
strong castle, and Veruca and Buosi, and drave him from all his towns;
and the said Spinetti fled with his family to M. Cane della Scala at
Verona.
§ 87.--_How the Ghibelline party left Genoa._
[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]
In the said year 1317, on the 15th day of September, the city of Genoa
being under popular government, but the Grimaldi and the Fiescadori
and their Guelf party being stronger than the d'Oria and their
Ghibellines (on the one hand because King Robert favoured the Guelfs,
and on the other hand because the Spinoli, which were of the
Ghibelline party, and in exile from Genoa, were enemies of the
d'Oria), certain of the house of the Grimaldi, by reason of enmity
against the d'Oria, reinstated the Spinoli in Genoa, under pretence
that they would abide under their command and that of the
commonwealth. When they of the house of d'Oria and their friends
perceived this, they feared greatly to be betrayed by the Guelfs and
by the Grimaldi; and the city was all in arms and uproar; and the
d'Oria not finding themselves powerful, by reason of the opposition of
the Guelfs, and also of the Ghibelline Spinoli their enemies,
concealed themselves and their friends, and showed no force of arms;
by the which thing the Guelfs were encouraged and took up arms, and
chose as captains of Genoa, M. Carlo dal Fiesco and M. Guasparre
Grimaldi, on the 10th day of November, 1317. And when the Spinoli
which were returned to Genoa saw that the city was come altogether to
the Guelf party, and knew that this was through the care and industry
of King Robert, straightway they agreed with the d'Oria and with their
Ghibelline friends, and they all departed from the city together, on
no other compulsion; whence afterwards ensued great scandal and war,
as hereafter will be told, forasmuch as the said two houses of the
d'Oria and the Spinola were the most powerful families of Italy on the
side of the Ghibellines and the empire.
§ 88.--_How the Ghibellines of Lombardy besieged Cremona._
§ 89.--_How M. Cane della Scala led an army against the Paduans, and
took many castles from them._
In the said year, in the month of December, the said M. Cane with his
forces led his host against the Paduans, and took Monselici and Esti
and a great part of their castles, and brought them so low that the
following February, not being able to oppose him, they made peace
according to M. Cane's pleasure, and promised to restore the
Ghibellines to Padua; and this they did.
§ 90.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the force of the Ghibellines of
Lombardy besieged Genoa._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio iv. 20: 38-41.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iv. 25. Purg. iii. 49.]
In the year 1318, when they of the houses of d'Oria and of Spinola
with their following were in banishment from Genoa, and by reason of
their power maintained themselves on the Riviera of Genoa on their
estates, they sent ambassadors into Lombardy and made a treaty and
league with M. Maffeo Visconti, captain of Milan, and with his sons
and with all the Lombard league which were Imperial and Ghibelline.
For the which thing M. Marco Visconti, son of the said Maffeo, came
from Lombardy with a great army of soldiers, Germans and Lombards, on
horse and on foot, and with the said exiles from Genoa laid siege to
the said city on the side of Co' di Fare and of the suburbs; and this
was on the 25th day of March, 1318; and a few days after they of the
house of d'Oria, with the aid of the others, led another army against
the city of Albingano, on the Riviera of Genoa, and this they took,
under conditions, in a few days. Afterwards, while the said host was
still at Genoa, M. Edoardo d'Oria made a compact with the Abao [chief
magistrate] of the people of Saona, and entered into the said city of
Saona by night secretly, and straightway, with the aid of the
Ghibellines of the city (for the greater part thereof were of the
Imperial party), caused the said city to rebel against the
commonwealth of Genoa in the month of April; for the which thing the
forces of the exiles from Genoa increased greatly, so that well-nigh
all the Western Riviera was under their lordship, save the strongholds
of Monaco and Ventimiglia and the city of Noli; and in the Eastern
Riviera they held Lerici.
§ 91.--_How the Ghibellines of Lombardy took Cremona._
§ 92.--_How the exiles from Genoa took the suburbs of Prea._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
In the said year, at the end of May, the said exiles had besieged the
city of Co' di Fare for two months, and it was bravely held by them
within by means of a cunning device of ropes which kept the tower in
communication with a vessel in the port of Genoa, and by this means
they were supplied and provisioned in spite of all the host; wherefore
the said exiles took counsel how they might dig and cut away the
ground under the said tower. They within, fearing that it might fall,
surrendered it on condition that their lives should be spared, and
some said for money; and when they had returned into Genoa, they were
condemned to death, and were cast down from a height. While the
refugees were busied with the said siege, they continually attacked
the suburbs of Prea, which are without the Oxen Gate; and fighting
manfully, they took the place on the 25th day of June in the said
year, whereby they advanced greatly, and the inhabitants of Genoa lost
in like measure; for the host without increased, and gathered in the
suburbs, and took the mountain of Peraldo and of S. Bernardo above
Genoa, and surrounded the city; and above Bisagno they pitched another
camp, so that the city was all besieged by land, and by sea it
suffered great persecution from the galleys of Saona, and from the
exiles, which had the lordship over the sea.
§ 93.--_How King Robert came by sea to succour Genoa._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
In the said year 1318, the Guelf party being thus besieged in Genoa by
sea and by land, they sent their ambassadors to Naples to King Robert,
who had been the cause of the whole disturbance in Genoa, that he
should succour them and aid them without delay; and if he did not do
this, they could not hold out, so straitened were they by the siege
and by want of victuals. For the which thing King Robert straightway
raised a great fleet of forty-seven transport vessels and twenty-five
light galleys, and many other boats and craft laden with provisions;
and he in person, with the prince of Taranto, and with M. John, prince
of the Morea, his brothers, and with other barons and with horsemen to
the number of 1,200, departed from Naples on the 10th day of July, and
came by sea, and entered into Genoa on the 21st day of July, 1318, and
was honourably received by the citizens as their lord, and heartened
the city, which could scarce hold out for lack of victuals.
Immediately when the king was come to Genoa, the exiles broke up the
camp which they had in Bisagno, and withdrew to the mountains of San
Bernardo and of Peraldo, and to the suburbs of Prea towards the west.
§ 94.--_How the Genoese gave the lordship of Genoa to King Robert._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
In the said year, on the 27th day of July, the captains of Genoa and
the Abao of the people, and the Podestà, in full parliament, renounced
their jurisdiction and lordship, and with the consent of the people
gave the lordship and care of the city and of the Riviera to Pope John
and to King Robert for ten years, according to the constitutions of
Genoa; and King Robert took it for the Pope and for himself, as one
who had long desired it, thinking when he should have got the lordship
of Genoa quietly in his hands, to be able to recover the island of
Sicily, and overcome all his enemies; and it was for this purpose
that, long ere this, he had stirred up revolution in the city, so as
to drive thence the Spinoli and the d'Oria, forasmuch as ofttimes
whilst they were lords of Genoa, they had opposed King Robert and King
Charles, his father, and had helped them of Aragon which held the
island of Sicily, as before we have made mention.
§ 95.--_Of the active war which the exiles of Genoa with the Lombards
made against King Robert._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xiii. 152.]
The host without Genoa was not weakened by reason of King Robert's
coming, but was largely increased by the aid of the lords of Lombardy,
which held with the Imperial party; and they renewed their league with
the emperor of Constantinople, and with King Frederick of Sicily, and
with the marquis of Monferrat, and with Castruccio, lord of Lucca, and
also secretly with the Pisans. And whilst they were at the siege, they
were continually making strong and fierce assaults upon the city,
hurling things against it from many engines, and attacking it in many
places by day and by night--being men of great vigour--in such wise
that King Robert with all his forces could gain nothing against them
in any part. Rather by digging underground they undermined a great
piece of the wall of Porta Santa Agnesa, and caused it to fall, and
some of them entered by force into the city. Wherefore the king in
person armed himself with all his followers, and they met one another
with great vigour upon the ruined walls with swords in hand, but the
great barons and knights of the king drove back their enemies with
great loss both to one side and to the other, and they rebuilt the
walls with great labour in a short time, working both day and night.
The king and his followers being thus besieged and attacked in Genoa,
sent for aid into Tuscany, and received it from many quarters: from
the Florentines, 100 horse and 500 foot, all with lilies for their
device, and the same number from Bologna, and likewise from Romagna,
and from many other places, and they went to Genoa by sea by the way
of Talamone; so that when his allies were come to him, the king was
supported in Genoa on the first day of November of the said year by
more than 2,500 horse, and by footmen without number. Without were
more than 1,500 horse, and the captain of the host was M. Marco
Visconti of Milan, and they held the hill fortresses round about in
such wise that the king could not go afield; and thus abode the said
hosts in close war and skirmishes, hurling and shooting at one another
all the said summer, and also the winter, forasmuch as neither one
side nor the other could get the advantage. And thus abiding, M. Marco
Visconti was so presumptuous as to request King Robert to fight with
him in single combat, and whichever was victorious should be lord,
which put the king into great scorn.
§ 96.--_How in the city of Siena there was a conspiracy, and uproar,
and great changes followed thereupon._
§ 97.--_How King Robert's followers discomfited the exiles from Genoa
at the village of Sesto, and how they departed from the siege of the
city._
[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 29.]
In the said year 1318, after that King Robert had been besieged in
Genoa for more than six months, as already narrated, he bethought him
that he could not crush his enemies without unless he could land his
army between the suburbs and Saona; and he raised a fleet of sixty
galleys and transport vessels, and assembled 850 horse, and of foot
full 15,000; and together with them were some Florentines and other
Tuscans, and Bolognese and Romagnese; and they departed from Genoa on
the 4th day of February, to bring the said people into the country
around Sesto. And when the exiles and those without heard this,
straightway they sent thither of their people on horse and on foot in
great numbers to dispute the shore with King Robert's host, to the end
the king's people might not come to land. Which people arrived on the
5th day of February, and with great travail, pushing empty casks
before them, fought hand to hand with the enemy, the chief of them
being Florentines and other Tuscans, which first descended from the
galleys under the protection of the bowmen of the galleys which were
by the shore; and by force of arms they landed, and broke up and
discomfited the forces of the exiles upon the shore of Sesto, and many
thereof were slain and taken prisoners; and they which escaped fled
into the suburbs and to Saona, and the night following all the host
which were in the suburbs and in the mountains of Paraldo and of San
Bernardo departed and went towards Lombardy, and left all their
baggage without having been pursued, forasmuch as the king would not
that his people should follow after them because of the dangers of
those mountains. Afterwards they of the city of Genoa recovered the
suburbs of Prea and Co' di Fare and all the forts outside the city.
[Sidenote: 1319 A.D.]
§ 98.--_How King Robert departed from Genoa and went to the papal
court in Provence._
§ 99.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the Lombards returned to the
siege of Genoa._
[Sidenote: 1319 A.D.]
In the said year 1319, when the exiles from Genoa heard of the
departure of King Robert, they equipped in Saona twenty-eight galleys,
whereof M. Conrad d'Oria was admiral, and they sent into Lombardy for
aid, and assembled 1,000 and more horse, whereof the greater part
were Germans, and a great number of common folk; and on the 27th day
of July of the said year they returned with their army to Genoa, and
set up their camp in Ponzevera, and on the 3rd day of August following
they drew nigh to the city, attacking the suburbs in many places by
land from the side of Bisagno; and the said galleys entered the port
and strongly attacked the city, but gained nothing. And on the 7th day
of August following there was a great battle in the plain of Bisagno
between the exiles and those within the city, with great loss both to
the one side and to the other, without either party having the honour
of the victory, for those without retreated to the hill, and those
within returned into the city; and afterwards they fought continually
by day and by night against the city by sea and by land.
§ 100.--_How M. Cane della Scala took the suburbs of Padua._
In the said year 1319, in August, M. Cane della Scala, with the exiles
from Padua, whom the Paduans would not restore to the city according
to the compact made by M. Cane, came with an army against Padua, with
2,000 horse and 10,000 foot, and took the suburbs, and set up there
three camps in order the better to besiege it.
[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]
§ 101.--_How the Guelfs of Lombardy retook Cremona._ § 102.--_How M.
Ugo dal Balzo was routed at Alessandria._ § 103.--_How the refugees
from Genoa retook the suburbs of Genoa._ § 104.--_How the Ghibellines
took Spoleto._ § 105.--_How the king of Tunis recovered his lordship._
§ 106.--_How Castruccio, lord of Lucca, broke peace with the
Florentines, and began war against them again._ § 107.--_How folk of
the refugees from Genoa were routed at Lerici._ § 108.--_How the
Genoese took Bingane._ § 109.--_How the Pope and the Church invited M.
Philip of Valois to come into Lombardy._ § 110.--_How M. Philip of
Valois returned into France with shame, having gained nothing._ §
111.--_How Castruccio marched upon the Genoese Riviera._ § 112.--_How
Frederick of Sicily sent his fleet of galleys to besiege Genoa._ §
113.--_How King Robert equipped his fleet of galleys to oppose that of
the Sicilians, and what it accomplished._ § 114.--_Of the same._ §
115.--_How the Florentines forced Castruccio to return from the siege
of Genoa._ § 116.--_Of the assaults which the exiles from Genoa and
the Sicilians made upon the city, wherein they were worsted._ §
117.--_How the exiles from Genoa laid waste Chiaveri._ § 118.--_How
the exiles from Genoa took Noli, and did divers acts of war._ §
119.--_How the king of Spain's brother was routed by the Saracens of
Granada._ § 120.--_How the brothers of the Hospital defeated the Turks
with their fleet at Rhodes._
§ 121.--_How M. Cane della Scala being at the siege of Padua, was
defeated by the Paduans and by the count of Görtz._
[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]
In the said year 1320, M. Cane della Scala, lord of Verona, had
besieged the city of Padua with all his forces continually for more
than a year, and having taken from that city well-nigh all its
territory and strongholds, and having defeated them many times, had so
crushed the city that it could hold out no longer, forasmuch as he had
surrounded it entirely with ramparts occupied by his men, so that no
provisions could enter therein. The said Paduans, well-nigh despairing
of any escape, turned to the duke of Austria, king elect of the
Romans, which sent to their succour the count of Görtz and the lord of
Vals, with 500 steel-capped horsemen, and they suddenly, and as it
were in secret, entered into Padua with these their followers. The
said M. Cane, by reason of his great confidence and pride in his
victories, and the great number of horse and of foot which were in his
army, cared little for the Paduans, and by reason of the long siege,
being too secure, had his troops in ill order. It came to pass that on
the 25th day of August, 1320, the said count of Görtz, with his
Friolese and Germans, and with the Paduans, sallied forth suddenly
from the city, and vigorously assailed the host. M. Cane, with some of
his ill-ordered horse, thinking to beat them back, gave battle, and by
the count of Görtz and the Paduans was discomfited and unhorsed and
wounded, and scarce came off with his life by the help of his
followers, and escaped on a horse to Monselice; and his host was all
routed, and many of his followers were slain or taken prisoners, and
all their belongings lost; and thus by want of foresight the good
fortune of this victorious tyrant changed to bad. At this siege of
Padua died Uguccione della Faggiuola at Cittadella [_al._ In the city
of Verona] of sickness, being come to aid M. Cane. He was the other
great tyrant, which so persecuted the Florentines and Lucchese, as
before we made mention.
[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]
§ 122.--_How the count Gaddo, lord of Pisa, died; and how the count
Nieri was made lord thereof._ § 123.--_How peace was made by the king
of France with the Flemings._ § 124.--_How there was great dissension
amongst them of the house of Flanders._ § 125.--_How the Ghibellines
were expelled from Rieti._ § 126.--_How there was a great enrolling
of armies by two emperors elect of Germany._ § 127.--_How the Marquis
Spinetta allied himself with the Florentines against Castruccio, but
it turned out to the shame of the Florentines._ § 128.--_How the
offices were changed in Florence._ § 129.--_How the Marquis Cavalcabò,
with the league of Tuscany, was routed in Lombardy._ § 130.--_How M.
Galeasso of Milan had the city of Cremona._ § 131.--_How there was an
eclipse of the sun, and the king of France died._ § 132.--_How the
Bolognese expelled from Bologna Romeo de' Peppoli, the rich man, and
his followers._ § 133.--_How the emperor of Constantinople had war
with his sons._ § 134.--_How Frederick of Sicily was excommunicated,
and how he had his son crowned over the kingdom._ § 135.--_How the
Florentines sent to Frioli for horsemen._
§ 136.--_Concerning the poet Dante Alighieri of Florence._
[Sidenote: 1321 A.D.]
[Sidenote: Inf. i. 87.]
[Sidenote: Epistola vii.]
[Sidenote: viii.]
[Sidenote: Cf. Canzone, 58-63.]
In the said year 1321, in the month of July, Dante Alighieri, of
Florence, died in the city of Ravenna, in Romagna, having returned
from an embassy to Venice in the service of the lords of Polenta, with
whom he was living; and in Ravenna, before the door of the chief
church, he was buried with great honour, in the garb of a poet and of
a great philosopher. He died in exile from the commonwealth of
Florence, at the age of about fifty-six years. This Dante was a
citizen of an honourable and ancient family in Florence, of the Porta
San Piero, and our neighbour; and his exile from Florence was by
reason that when M. Charles of Valois, of the House of France, came to
Florence in the year 1301 and banished the White party, as has been
afore mentioned at its due time, the said Dante was among the chief
governors of our city, and pertained to that party, albeit he was a
Guelf; and, therefore, for no other fault he was driven out and
banished from Florence with the White party; and went to the
university at Bologna, and afterwards at Paris, and in many parts of
the world. This man was a great scholar in almost every branch of
learning, albeit he was a layman; he was a great poet and philosopher,
and a perfect rhetorician alike in prose and verse, a very noble
orator in public speaking, supreme in rhyme, with the most polished
and beautiful style which in our language ever was up to his time and
beyond it. In his youth he wrote the book of The New Life, of Love;
and afterwards, when he was in exile, he wrote about twenty very
excellent odes, treating of moral questions and of love; and he wrote
three noble letters among others; one he sent to the government of
Florence complaining of his undeserved exile; the second he sent to
the Emperor Henry when he was besieging Brescia, reproving him for his
delay, almost in a prophetic strain; the third to the Italian
cardinals, at the time of the vacancy after the death of Pope Clement,
praying them to unite in the election of an Italian Pope; all these in
Latin in a lofty style, and with excellent purport and authorities,
and much commended by men of wisdom and insight. And he wrote the
Comedy, wherein, in polished verse, and with great and subtle
questions, moral, natural, astrological, philosophical, and
theological, with new and beautiful illustrations, comparisons, and
poetry, he dealt and treated in 100 chapters or songs, of the
existence and condition of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise as loftily as
it were possible to treat of them, as in his said treatise may be seen
and understood by whoso has subtle intellect. It is true that he in
this Comedy delighted to denounce and to cry out after the manner of
poets, perhaps in certain places more than was fitting; but may be his
exile was the cause of this. He wrote also The Monarchy, in which he
treated of the office of Pope and of Emperor. [And he began a
commentary upon fourteen of his afore-named moral odes in the vulgar
tongue which, in consequence of his death, is only completed as to
three of them; the which commentary, judging by what can be seen of
it, was turning out a lofty, beautiful, subtle, and very great work,
adorned by lofty style and fine philosophical and astrological
reasonings. Also he wrote a little book entitled, De Vulgari
Eloquentia, of which he promises to write four books, but of these
only two exist, perhaps on account of his untimely death; and here, in
strong and ornate Latin and with beautiful reasonings, he reproves all
the vernaculars of Italy.] This Dante, because of his knowledge, was
somewhat haughty and reserved and disdainful, and after the fashion of
a philosopher, careless of graces and not easy in his converse with
laymen; but because of the lofty virtues and knowledge and worth of so
great a citizen, it seems fitting to confer lasting memory upon him in
this our chronicle, although, indeed, his noble works, left to us in
writing, are the true testimony to him, and are an honourable report
to our city.
END OF THE SELECTIONS FROM BOOK IX.
_Grato e lontan digiuno
Tratto leggendo nel magno volume_
* * *
_Soluto hai._
INDEX
Abati (family), 125.
---- Bocca degli, 180.
Acre, 295-298.
Acquasparta, Cardinal, 328, 331.
Adimari (family), 81, 125.
---- Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli, 176, 185.
Adrian I., Pope, 52.
---- V., Pope, 259.
Æneas, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
Alberighi (family), 80.
Albert, king of the Romans, 255, 317.
Alexander III., Pope, 102-106.
---- IV., Pope, 158.
Alibrando, bishop of Florence, 37.
Alighieri, Dante, 449-450.
Amidei (family), 121-122, 124.
Anagna (town), 347-350.
Anchises, 10-13.
Antenor of Troy, 9, 10.
Antenora, 10.
Antony, Caius, 18-20.
Apulia, 48-53, 85, 86, 90, 127, 128, 130-132, 151, 152, 154-158, 187,
192, 195, and _passim_.
Arbia (river), 177.
Ardinghi (family), 80, 125.
Arezzo, 286-292.
Arius, 39.
Arno, _passim_.
Arrigucci (family), 80, 124.
Arthur, king of Britain, 48.
Ascanius, 10, 12, 16.
Atlas, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Augustus, Octavianus, 17, 31-33.
Babel, 2, 3.
Babylon, 3, 4.
Bardi, 123.
Barucci (family), 124.
Bella, della (family), 71, 82, 125.
---- Giano, 301, 309-312.
Benedict XI., Pope, 352, 356, 369-370.
Benivento (battle), 209-217.
Berenger, Count Raymond, 195-197.
Berti, Bellincione, 62, 80, 120.
Bianco, Cardinal, 184.
Blacks, party of, 322-331, 357-359, 361-362, and _passim_.
Bonatti, Guido (astrologer), 273.
Bondelmonti (family), 99, 124.
---- Bondelmonte dei, 121, 122.
Boniface VIII., Pope, 305-308, 315-318, 320, 326, 344-352, _sqq._
Bostichi (family), 82, 124.
Brunelleschi (family), 124.
Cæsar, Julius, 17, 23-29, 32.
Calvoli, Folcieri da, 339-340.
Camilla, 16.
Campaldino (battle), 286-291.
Cancellieri of Pistoia, 322-323.
Caponsacchi, 81, 125.
Carraia (bridge), 76, 126, 246, 360-361.
Carthage, 12.
Catellini (family), 81.
Catiline, 18-22.
Cavalcanti, 124.
---- Guido Cavalcante dei, 224, 331.
Celestine V., Pope, 304-306.
Cepperano, pass of, 206-207.
Cerchi (family), 62, 80, 324.
---- Vieri dei, 288, 324-326.
Charles I. of Anjou, king of Sicily and Apulia, 192-195, 199, 200-217,
225, 228-242, 249-251, 268, 274-276.
---- II., 200, 276, 284-285, 315-316.
---- Martel (son of Charles II.), 276, 316.
---- of Valois, 332-339, 386-387.
---- Martel, 48-49.
---- the Great, 51-56, 59-60, 65-66.
Chiaramontesi (family), 124.
Clement V., Pope, 369-375, 386-390, 427.
Colle di Valdelsa (battle), 243-245.
Colonnesi, 103-104, 261, 317-318.
Conrad, son of Frederick II., 129, 131, 133, 139, 154-156.
---- I., Emperor, 78, 79.
Conradino, 156-158, 187, 192, 228-242.
Constance, Empress, 89-90, 92, 113.
Constantine, Emperor, 38-39.
Constantinople, 38-39.
Creusa, wife of Æneas, 10, 11.
Dardanus (founder of Troy), 6, 7, 8, 9, 18.
Desiderius, king of the Lombards, 51, 52.
Dido, 12, 13.
Dolcino, Frate, 375-376.
Dominic, St., 96, 114, 115.
Donati (family), 81, 121, 125, 324.
---- Corso, 279, 288-289, 309, 324, 329-331, 335-337, 353-354,
382-386, 400.
Edward I. of England, 247, 251-254.
Elisei (family), 81-125.
Enzo, bastard son of Frederick II., 129, 131.
Europe, 4-5.
Ezzelino of Romano, 167-168.
Faggiuola, Uguccione da, 383, 430-434, 436-437.
Fiesole, 2, 4-8, 18-28, 47, 60-61, 71-73, 98.
Fifanti (family), 82, 124.
Filippi (family), 82.
Fiorinus, 22-25, 27, 29.
Firenzuola (city), 151.
Florence (city), 27-30, 75-78, and _passim_.
Foraboschi (family), 82, 124.
Forlì (battle), 272-274.
Francis, St., 96, 114-115.
Frederick I., Barbarossa, Emperor, 101-108, 110-111.
---- II., Emperor, 83, 90-92, 113, 118-119, 126-141, 146-148, 151-152.
---- bastard son of Frederick II., 129, 131, 143-144.
---- of Aragon, king of Sicily, 315-317, 424.
Galli (family), 82, 124.
Gangalandi (family), 71, 82, 124.
Gemignano, St., 44.
Gherardeschi, Ugolino dei, 280-284.
Ghibellines, 122, 123, 141-146, 153, 154, 282, and _passim_.
---- of Florence, 123-125, 164, 165, 169, 170, 173, 220-224, 263, and
_passim_.
---- of Siena, 173, 174.
Giandonati (family), 71, 82, 124.
Gianfigliazzi (family), 124.
Giordano, Count, 173, 174, 177, 182-183, 185, 206-207, 215.
Giuochi (family), 80, 125.
Gregory IX., Pope, 131, 132.
---- X., Pope, 252, 255 _sqq._
Gualandi of Pisa (family), 280.
Gualdrada, wife of Count Guido, 62, 120.
Gualterotti (family), 82, 124.
Guelf, duke of Suabia, 93, 94.
Guelfs, 122, 123, 141-146, 152-154, 402-403, and _passim_.
---- of Florence, 123-125, 187, 188, 189, 201, 263, and _passim._
Guidi, Counts, 62, 80, 82, 116-117, 119-121, 124.
Guido Guerra, 120, 176, 205, 212.
---- Guido Novello, 120, 182-183, 185, 202-203, 220-224, 243, 244.
Henry, earl of Cornwall, 251 _sqq._
---- of Spain, 233-240, 242.
---- son of Frederick II., 129, 131, 133.
---- III. of England, 252.
---- VII. of Suabia, Emperor, 83, 90-91, 112-113.
Hospitallers, Order of, 381.
Hugh Capet, 71.
---- Marquis, 70-71, 82.
Importuni (family), 82.
Infangati (family), 82, 124.
Innocent IV., Pope, 134-136, 139.
Italus, 6, 7.
James of Aragon, 315-317.
Japhet, 3, 4, 8.
John XXI., Pope, 259.
---- XXII., Pope, 434-435.
Lamberti (family), 81, 124.
---- Mosca dei, 122.
Landolo, Roderigo di, 218, 222.
Lanfranchi of Pisa (family), 280.
Latini, Brunetto, 169, 312-313.
Latinus, king of Italy, 14-16.
Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, 15-16.
Leo III., Pope, 54, 55, 59-60.
Lombardo, Marco, 281-282.
Lombards, 48-54.
Louis IX. of France, 192-193, 246 _sqq._
Lyons, Council at, 135-137.
Malavolti, Catalano dei, 218, 222.
Malespini (family), 124.
Manfred, son of Frederick II., 129, 131, 151-152, 154-160, 169-170,
173, 187, 190, 191-195, 202-217.
Mars (god), 7, 33, 40, 41, 46, 61, 122, 123, 327.
---- (planet), 75.
Matilda, Countess, 83, 92-95, 96.
Miniato, St., 35-37.
Montaperti (battle), 177-180.
Montefeltro, Guido di, 263, 272-273, 283, 318.
---- Bonconte di, 290.
Montemurlo (castle), 116-117.
Montfort, Guy of, 253-254.
---- Simon of, 252-254.
Mozzi (family), 123.
Nerbona, Amerigo di, 285 _sqq._
Nerli (family), 71, 123.
Nicholas III., Pope, 260-263.
---- IV., Pope, 285.
Nimrod, 3.
Nineveh, 4.
Ninus, 4.
Otho III., Emperor, 69, 70.
---- IV., Emperor, 120-121, 127.
Pallas, son of Evander, 15.
Pazzi (family), 41, 125.
Peruzzi (family), 82.
Philip III. of France, 249-254, 277-279.
---- IV., the Fair, 278, 344-350, 377-381, 386-389.
Pigli (family), 81, 124.
Pisa, 280-284.
Ponte Vecchio, 61, 63, 109, 122.
Prato, Cardinal da, 356-359, 364, 370-374, 388-390.
Pressa, della (family), 80.
Pulci (family), 71, 82, 124.
Robert, duke of Apulia, 85.
---- Guiscard, 83, 85-89.
---- king of Sicily and Apulia, 276, 390-391, 395-396, 409, 423, 426,
441-444.
Roger I., king of Sicily, 88, 89.
---- II., king of Sicily, 89.
Rome, 7, 16, 17, 29, 43, 54, 55, etc.
Romeo (pilgrim), 195-197.
Rubaconte (bridge), 140.
Rudolf, king of the Romans, 255, 262, 298.
Sacchetti (family), 82, 124.
Saladin, 107.
Salvani, Provenzano, of Siena, 175, 243-245.
Saracens, 247-251, 295-298.
Saturn, 14, 15.
Scala, Cane della, 401, 405, 428, 438, 445, 446-447.
Semiramis, 4.
Sicanus, 6, 7.
Sicily, 7, 12, 13, 86, 89, 90, 92, 127, 128, 130-132, 151, 152,
154-158, 187, 192-195.
Sicily, Rebellion of, 267-268, 285, and _passim_.
Siena, 171, 172, 177-179, 243-245, and _passim_.
Sismondi of Pisa (family), 280.
Sizii (family), 80, 124.
Soldanieri (family), 81, 124.
Susinana, Maghinardo da, 298-299.
Sylvester, Pope, 38-40.
Tagliacozzo (battle), 233-240.
Tancred I., king of Sicily, 89-91.
---- II., 112-113.
Telofre, king of the Lombards, 49-51.
Templars, Order of, 377-381.
Torre, Guidetto della, 342-343, 398-399.
Totila, king of the Goths, 1, 43-46.
Trinita, Santa (bridge), 160, 246.
Trojans, 2, 11, 14, 18.
Tunis, 247-251.
Turnus, 15.
Ubaldini, Cardinal Ottaviano degli, 184.
---- Ruggeri degli (Archbishop of Pisa), 280-282.
Uberti (family), 82, 109, 124, 141, 142, 149, 319.
---- Farinata degli, 170, 174, 178, 186, 224.
Ughi (family), 81.
Urban IV., Pope, 190-192.
Valleri, Alardo di, 234, 237-239.
Verde (river), 217.
Vigne, Piero dalle, 133, 136, 139.
Virgil, 6-7, 9, 12-13.
Visconti, Maffeo, 342-344, 397, 398-399.
---- Marco, 443.
---- Nino di Gallura dei, 280.
Visdomini (family), 80, 125.
Whites, party of, 322-331, 339-342, 357-359, 361-362, etc.
William I., king of Sicily, 89-90, 105-107.
INDEX TO DANTE REFERENCES
_The figures within brackets ( ) refer to the pages of this work: all
other figures refer to cantos, books, or lines in Dante's works._
DIVINA COMMEDIA.
INFERNO.
i. 73-75, (10), 87, (449), 100-111, (401), 107, (15), 108, (16).
ii. 13-15, (13), 13, (16), 13-27, (13).
iii. 58-60, (304), 59, 60, (305).
iv. 95, 96, (32), 122, (10), 124, (15), 125, 126, (15).
v. 52-60, (4), 61, 62, (12).
vi. 36, (360), 69, (306), 79, (176), 80, (81).
x. 13-15, (96), 32, (170), 48, (181), 48, (144), 49, 50, (153), 51,
(184, 225), 58-69, (224, 331), 79-81, (359), 83, 84, (186), 85-87,
(180), 91-93, (186), 110-111, (224, 331), 119, (127, 128), 120, (184,
227).
xii. 109, 110, (168), 112, (377), 118-120, (252), 120, (254).
xiii. 31-108, (133), 55-78, (136), 59, 68, 75, (127), 120, 121, (280),
143-150, (40), 146-150, (61).
xiv. 94-96, (14).
xv. 23-120, (169, 312), 61-63, (5), 61-78, (75), 67, (45), 73-78, (30,
62), 119-120, (312).
xvi. 34-39, (121, 212), 37, (62, 80, 120), 40-42, (176).
xvii. 59, 60, (124), 62, 63, (124), 100-107, (184).
xviii. 28-33, (320), 55-57, (377).
xix. 17-20, (40), 52-57, (306, 350), 52-84, (261), 69-87, (260), 70,
(104), 76-81, (306), 81, (262), 82-87, (374, 375, 427), 98, 99, (261),
99, (199), 115-117, (38).
xx. (184), 118, (273).
xxii. 4, 5, (292).
xxiii. 66, (127), 103-108, (218), 105-107, (118), 107, 108, (29).
xxiv. 143, (333).
xxv. 1-3, (130).
xxvii. 44, (273), 49-51, (287, 299, 317), 67, (263), 67-111, (318),
67-129, (290), 70, 85-111, (306), 76-78, (272), 89, (294), 94, 95,
(38), 100-107, (184), 104, 105, (304).
xxviii. 13, 14, (83), 16, (206, 214), 17, 18, (234, 237), 55-60,
(375), 103-111, (81, 122).
xxx. 13-15, (9), 73-78, (121), 98, (9), 113, 114, (9), 148, (185).
xxxi. 12-18, (3), 40, 41, (163), 46-81, (3).
xxxii. 40-60, (166), 56, 57, (125), 62, (48), 78-111, (180), 88, (9,
10), 115, 116, (204), 118, 119, (165), 121, (221), 121-123, (81), 122,
(273).
xxxiii. 1-90, (283), 31-33, (280).
PURGATORIO.
ii. 98, 99, (320).
iii. 49, (439), 107, (159), 112-113, (89), 116, (315, 316), 118-119,
(215), 121, (133, 151, 156, 158), 124-132, (216).
iv. 25, (439).
v. 73-78, (377), 75, (9, 10), 88-129, (290).
vi. 97, (317), 97-117, 103-105, (255), 103-105, (298), 107, (411),
111, (185, 418).
vii. 91-96, (255), 105, 109, (278), 112, 114-116, 125, 129, (269),
113, 124, 128-129, (199, 275), 113, 124, 126, (200), 128, (193),
115-120, (315, 316), 130-132, (252), 132, (377), 133-136, (88, 204),
136, (294).
viii. 53, (280), 73-75, (343).
ix. 30, (32).
x. 80, (32).
xi. 97-99, (224), 109-114, 120-123, (245), 109-142, (175), 137, (199).
xii. 34-36, (3), 61-63, (9), 100-105, (37), 102, (140), 104-105, (80),
105, (140).
xiii. 115-119, (244), 152, (34, 443).
xiv. 43-45, (121), 118-119, (287), 58-66, (339).
xvi. 46, (281), 65-78, (62), 115-117, (128), 117, (127).
xvii. 34-39, (15, 16).
xviii. 119-120, (101, 103).
xix. 98-145, (259), 100-102, (134).
xx. 49-60, (71), 53, (50), 61-63, (199), 68, (241), 67-69, (192, 199),
70-78, (334), 79-81, (377), 79-84, (276), 86-90, (307).
xxiv. 20-24, (279), 82, (288, 324), 81-87, (385).
xxxii. 148-160, (344).
xxxiii. 119, (83), 40-45, (401).
PARADISO.
iii. 106-107, (288), 109-120, (89, 113), 112-120, (90), 118-120, (83,
127), 119, (101).
vi. 1-3, (38), 3, (16), 32, (32), 35-36, (15), 40-42, (16), 53-54,
(27), 65, (30), 73-81, (31), 79-81, (17), 94, (55), 94-96, (52), 100,
(32), 127-142, (195).
viii. 9, (12), 31, 49-72, (276), 49-75, 55, (316), 64-66, (294), 75,
(267), 76-84, (276, 391), 82, 83, (276).
ix. 1, (276), 25-30 (168), 97-98, (12), 136-142, (307).
xi. 35-123, (96), 43-117, 118-123, (114), 53, (132).
xii. 31-111, (96), 46-105, (114), 90, (307), 124, (328), 134-135,
(259).
xv. (325), 25-30, (13), 97-98, (82), 97-99, 101-105, 112-113, (167),
109-111, (411), 110-111, (53), 112-114, (80), 112, (62, 120), 115,
(82, 123, 143), 115-116, (81), 124-126, (27, 30), 126, (5), 134-135,
(40), 137-138, (80).
xvi. (164, 325), 25, (40), 40-42, (81), 42, (40, 292, 410), 46-48,
(74), 47, (40), 50, (160), 56, (189), 62-63, (115, 116), 64, (117,
119), 65, (80, 125, 288), 66, (99, 124, 143), 73, (34), 88, (81), 89,
(80, 82), 92, (83), 93, (80, 81, 82, 124, 125, 143), 94-96, (125,
288), 94-99, (80, 120), 97-99, (64), 100, (80), 101, (80, 125, 142),
103, (81, 124), 104, (80, 82, 124, 125, 142), 105, (80, 82, 124),
106-107, (81), 108, (80, 124, 142), 109-110, (82), 109-111, (124),
112-114, (80, 125, 142), 115-120, (81), 115-117, (125, 142), 121-122,
(81, 363), 118-123, (154), 121, (125, 142), 123, (63, 82, 124),
124-126, (64, 82), 127-132, (71, 82), 127, (82, 124, 142), 128, (122,
124), 130-131, (125), 131-132, (81, 301), 133, (82, 124), 135, (124),
136-144, (82, 121), 136-138, (122), 136-139, (124), 140-144, (143),
145-146, (40, 61), 145-147, (122), 151-154, (143, 154).
xvii. 49-51, (307), 76-93, (401), 82, (375, 393, 405, 427).
xviii. 43, (53), 48, (83), 76-93, (438), 133-136, (161), 118-136,
(307).
xix. 101-102, (31), 121-123, (353), 130-135, (316), 131-132, (12),
143-148, (278).
xx. 8, 31-32, (32), 55-57, (38), 62, (89), 61-63, (316).
xxi. 25-27, (14).
xxii. 16-18, (191), 145-146, (14).
xxvi. 124-126, (3).
xxvii. 22-27, (307), 41, (305), 58-60, (427), 58, 59, (375).
xxx. 133-138, (393, 426), 133-141, (394), 142-148, (375, 427), 148,
(307).
xxxi. 104-108, (320).
CANZONI.
x. 58-63, (450).
xii. 35-36, (12).
SONNET.
xxxii. 1, (329).
VITA NUOVA.
ii. (35).
iii. 97-100, (329), 96-104, (225).
xxiv. 18-19, (225), 19, (329).
xxv. 111-113, (225, 329).
xxxi. 21-24, (225, 329).
xxxiii. 2-4, (225), 4, (329).
xli. 34-52, (195).
Sonnet xxxiii. 1, (225).
CONVIVIO.
BOOK II.
iv. 171-174, (75).
xv. (35).
BOOK IV.
Canzone iii. 21, iii. 37-44, (127), 37-43, (255).
v. 16-79, (31), 16-29, (17), 48, (10), 80-97, (16), 172-176, (19).
vi. 180-190, (316).
x. 6-12, (127).
xi. 125-127, (204), 126, (294).
xiv. 131-154, (9).
xx. 38-41, (82, 124, 439).
xxvi. 59-70, (12), 96, (13).
DE MONARCHIA.
BOOK II.
iii. (10), 62, (11), 67, 68, (6), 77-84, (11), 102-108, (12), 108-117,
(16).
iv. 30-41, (31).
ix. 22 _sqq._, (4), 99-105, (17, 31).
xi. 1-6, (52), 6, (53), 23, (32).
xii. (17, 31).
BOOK III.
x. (38).
xi. (55).
DE VULGARI ELOQUIO.
BOOK I.
i. 1, 12, 21 _sqq._, (159).
vi. 7, 49-61, (3).
vii. (3).
x. 18, 19, (48), 50, 63, (132).
xi. 20, (132).
xii. 20-35, (127), 15-38, (316), 38, (377).
xiii. 31, (132), 36, (225), 37, (329).
BOOK II.
vi. 42-44, (377), 68, 69, (225, 329).
xii. 16-17, 62-63, (225, 329).
EPISTOLÆ.
i. (357), i.-iii. (120).
ii. (121).
v. (393, 394), 3; 47-49, (30), 4, (52).
vi. (393, 397), 3; 78-85, (31), 5; 126-135, (127), 127-135, (146),
135-136, (101, 103), 137, (101).
vii. (393, 403, 449), 3; 62, 63, (11), 64-73, (17, 31).
viii. (370, 434, 449).
x. (401).
QUÆSTIA DE AQUA ET TERRA.
xxiv. (401).
JOHANNES DE VIRGILIO.
Carmen.
v. 26 (396-425).
v. 27 (431, 432).
v. 28 (428).
Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note on Corrected Text
On page 22 of the original edition used to prepare this e-book, the
last four lines were erroneously duplicated from pages 1-2. The
incorrect text, between "city of" and "he did," was as follows:
myself sufficient for such a work, but to give occasion to
our successors not to be negligent in preserving records of
the notable things which shall happen in the times after us,
and to give example to those who shall come
The correct text is as follows:
Fiesole and the host of the Fiesolans, and of that company he
made captain Fiorinus, a noble citizen of Rome of the race of
the Fracchi or Floracchi, who was his prætor, which is as
much as to say marshal of his host; and Fiorinus, as he was
commanded by the consul, so
The correct text was acquired from an online edition at
http://www.elfinspell.com/VillaniBook1b.html#sect34.
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VILLANI'S CHRONICLE***
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