[
{"source_document": "", "creation_year": 1328, "culture": " English\n", "content": "E-text prepared by Ted Garvin, Linda Cantoni, and the Project Gutenberg\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustration.\nTranscriber's note:\n      This e-book contains numerous sidenotes. All sidenotes have\n      been moved to the beginning of the paragraph in which they\n      appear. Duplicate date sidenotes within a section have been\n      removed.\n      Phonetic symbols are represented by [)a] (short a) and [=a]\n      (long a). The \"because\" symbol (an inverted triangle of 3\n      dots) is represented by [V].\n      The last four lines on page 22 in the edition used to prepare\n      this e-book were erroneously duplicated from another page.\n      For details, see the note at the end of this e-book.\n      Inconsistent spellings of proper nouns have been retained as\n      they appear in the original, except where clearly incorrect.\nVILLANI'S CHRONICLE\nBeing Selections from the First Nine Books of the\nCroniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani\nTranslated by Rose E. Selfe\nand\nEdited by Philip H. Wicksteed M.A.\nLondon\nArchibald Constable & Co. Ltd.\nSECOND EDITION\nCarefully Revised\n     Ditemi dell' ovil di San Giovanni\n     Quanto era allora, e chi eran le genti\n     Tra esso degne di pi\u00f9 alti scanni\n[Illustration]\nPREFATORY NOTE\nThe Editor is responsible for the selection of the passages\ntranslated, and for the Introduction. He has also compared the\ntranslation with the original text, has satisfied himself of its\ngeneral accuracy, and has made numerous suggestions.\nThe Translator is responsible for the fidelity of the translation in\ndetail, and for its general tone and style. She has also drawn up the\nFor the selection of marginal references to the works of Dante the\nEditor and Translator are jointly responsible.\nBoth Translator and Editor desire to express their obligations to Mr.\nA.J. Butler, who has given them his ungrudging assistance in every\ndifficulty, and whose learning and judgment have been invaluable.\nTABLE OF CONTENTS\nBOOK I.\n_This book is called the New Chronicle, in which many\npast things are treated of, and especially the root and origins\nof the city of Florence; then all the changes through which\nit has passed and shall pass in the course of time: begun to\nbe compiled in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,\n1300. Here begins the preface and the First Book._\n\u00a7 2.--_How through the confusion of the Tower of Babel\n\u00a7 5.--_Of the third part of the world called Europe, and\n\u00a7 7.--_How King Atlas first built the city of Fiesole_               4\n\u00a7 8.--_How Atlas had three sons, Italus and Dardanus\n\u00a7 9.--_How Italus and Dardanus came to agree which\nshould succeed to the city of Fiesole and the kingdom\n\u00a7 10.--_How Dardanus came to Phrygia and built the city\nof Dardania, which was afterwards the great Troy_                    8\n\u00a7 11.--_How Dardanus had a son which was named\nTritamus, which was the father of Trojus, after\nwhose name the city of Troy was so called_                           8\n\u00a7 17.--_How Antenor and the young Priam, having departed\nfrom Troy, built the city of Venice, and that\n\u00a7 21.--_How \u00c6neas departed from Troy and came to\n\u00a7 23.--_How the King Latinus ruled over Italy, and how\n\u00c6neas had his daughter to wife, and all his kingdom_                14\n\u00a7 29.--_How Rome was ruled for a long time by the\ngovernment of the consuls and senators, until Julius\n\u00a7 30.--_How a conspiracy was formed in Rome by Catiline\n\u00a7 31.--_How Catiline caused the city of Fiesole to rebel\n\u00a7 32.--_How Catiline and his followers were discomfited\nby the Romans in the plain of Piceno_                               20\n\u00a7 33.--_How Metellus with his troops made war upon the\n\u00a7 34.--_How Metellus and Fiorinus discomfited the Fiesolans_        22\n\u00a7 35.--_How the Romans besieged Fiesole the first time,\n\u00a7 36.--_How, because of the death of Fiorinus, the Romans\n\u00a7 37.--_How the city of Fiesole surrendered itself to the\nRomans, and was destroyed and laid waste_                           26\n\u00a7 38.--_How the city of Florence was first built_                   27\n\u00a7 39.--_How C\u00e6sar departed from Florence, and went to\nRome, and was made consul to go against the\n\u00a7 40.--_Of the ensign of the Romans and of the Emperors,\nand how from them it came to the city of Florence\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Temple of Mars, which is now called\nthe Duomo of S. Giovanni, was built in Florence_                    32\n\u00a7 57.--_The story returns to the doings of the city of\nFlorence, and how S. Miniato there suffered martyrdom\n\u00a7 59.--_Of Constantine the Emperor, and his descendants,\nand the changes which came thereof in Italy_                        38\n\u00a7 60.--_How the Christian faith first came to Florence_             39\nBOOK II.\n\u00a7 1.--_Here begins the Second Book: how the city of\nFlorence was destroyed by Totila, the scourge of\n\u00a7 2.--_How Totila caused the city of Fiesole to be rebuilt_         47\n\u00a7 4.--_How the Goths remained lords of Italy after the\n\u00a7 10.--_How Charles Martel came from France to Italy\nat the summons of the Church against the Lombards;\nand of the origin of the city of Siena_                             48\n\u00a7 12.--_How Telofre [Astolf], king of the Lombards,\npersecuted Holy Church, and how King Pepin, at\nthe summons of Pope Stephen, came from France\nand defeated him, and took him prisoner_                            49\n\u00a7 13.--_How Desiderius, son of Telofre, began war again\nwith Holy Church, for the which thing Charles the\nGreat passed into Italy, and defeated him, and took\naway and destroyed the lordship of the Lombards_                    51\n\u00a7 15.--_How Charles the Great, king of France, was\n\u00a7 21.--_How the city of Florence lay waste and in ruins\nBOOK III.\n_Goes back somewhat to tell how the city of Florence was\nrebuilt by the power of Charles the Great and the Romans._\n\u00a7 2.--_Of the form and size in which the city of Florence\n\u00a7 3.--_How Charles the Great came to Florence, and\ngranted privileges to the city, and caused Santo\nBOOK IV.\n\u00a7 2.--_Of the Emperor Otho III., and the Marquis\nHugh, which built the Badia at Florence_                            69\n\u00a7 4.--_Of the progeny of the Kings of France, which descended\n\u00a7 6.--_How in the time of the said Henry, the Florentines\ntook the city of Fiesole, and destroyed it_                         71\n\u00a7 7.--_How that many Fiesolans came to dwell in\nFlorence, and made one people with the Florentines_                 74\n\u00a7 8.--_How the city of Florence increased its circuit, first\nby moats and palisades, and then by walls_                          75\n\u00a7 10.--_Of the nobles which were in the city of Florence\nin the time of the said Emperor Conrad, and first of\n\u00a7 11.--_Concerning the houses of the nobles in the quarter\n\u00a7 12.--_Of them of the quarter of Porta San Brancazio_              81\n\u00a7 13.--_Concerning them of the great quarter of Porta\nSanta Maria and of San Piero Scheraggio_                            81\n\u00a7 18.--_Narration of many things that were in those times_          83\n\u00a7 19.--_Of Robert Guiscard and his descendants, which\nwere kings of Sicily and of Apulia_                                 84\n\u00a7 20.--_Concerning the successors of Robert Guiscard,\nwhich were kings of Sicily and of Apulia_                           89\n\u00a7 29.--_How the Florentines defeated the Vicar of the\n\u00a7 30.--_How the city of Florence took fire twice, whence a\n\u00a7 31.--_How the Pisans took Majorca, and the Florentines\n\u00a7 32.--_How the Florentines took and destroyed the fortress\n\u00a7 36.--_How the Florentines destroyed the fortress of\nBOOK V.\n_Here begins the Fifth Book: How Frederick I. of Staufen of\nSuabia was Emperor of Rome, and of his descendants, and\nconcerning the doings of Florence, which were in their times,\nand of all Italy._\n\u00a7 2.--_How Pope Alexander returned from France to\nVenice, and the Emperor returned to obedience_                     105\n\u00a7 3.--_How the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was reconciled\nwith the Church, and went over seas, and\n\u00a7 8.--_Of the great fires which were in the city of\n\u00a7 9.--_How civil war began in Florence between the\nUberti and the government of the Consuls_                          109\n\u00a7 12.--_How the Emperor Frederick I. took their territory\nfrom the city of Florence, and many other\n\u00a7 13.--_How the Florentines took the cross, and went\nover seas to conquer Damietta, and therefore recovered\n\u00a7 16.--_How Henry of Suabia was made Emperor by\nthe Church, and how Constance, queen of Sicily,\n\u00a7 24.--_How the Order of the Minor Friars began_                   114\n\u00a7 25.--_How the Order of the Preaching Friars began_               114\n\u00a7 26.--_How the Florentines destroyed the castle of\n\u00a7 30.--_How the Florentines destroyed the strongholds\n\u00a7 31.--_Destruction of Montelupo, and how the Florentines\n\u00a7 32.--_How the Florentines elected their first Podest\u00e0_           117\n\u00a7 36.--_How during Otho's lifetime Frederick II. of\nSuabia was elected Emperor by the desire of the\n\u00a7 37.--_Concerning the death of the old Count Guido,\n\u00a7 38.--_How the parties of the Guelfs and Ghibellines\n\u00a7 39.--_Of the families and the nobles which became\nGuelfs and Ghibellines in Florence_                                123\n\u00a7 41.--_How the Florentines caused the dwellers in the\ncountry around to swear fealty to the city, and how\nBOOK VI.\n_How Frederick II. was consecrated and made Emperor, and\nthe great things which came to pass._\n\u00a7 5.--_How the Florentines led an army against Pistoia,\nand laid waste the country round about_                            129\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Emperor Frederick came to enmity\n\u00a7 22.--_How the Emperor laid hold of King Henry, his\n\u00a7 23.--_How the war began between Pope Innocent IV.\n\u00a7 24.--_Of the sentence which Pope Innocent pronounced\nat the council of Lyons-on-Rhine, upon the Emperor\n\u00a7 25.--_How the Pope and the Church caused a new\nEmperor to be elected in place of Frederick, the\n\u00a7 26.--_We will tell an incident in the affairs of Florence_       140\n\u00a7 33.--_How the Guelf party was first driven from\nFlorence by the Ghibellines and the forces of the\n\u00a7 34.--_How the host of the Emperor Frederick was defeated\nby the Parmesans, and by the Pope's legate_                        146\n\u00a7 35.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence were\n\u00a7 39.--_How the Primo Popolo was formed in Florence\nto be a defence against the violence and attacks of\n\u00a7 41.--_How the Emperor Frederick died at Firenzuola\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Popolo of Florence peaceably restored\n\u00a7 43.--_How at the time of the said Popolo the Florentines\ndiscomfited the men of Pistoia, and afterwards\nbanished certain families of the Ghibellines from\n\u00a7 44.--_How King Conrad, son of Frederick the Emperor,\ncame from Germany into Apulia, and had\nthe lordship over the realm of Sicily, and how he\n\u00a7 45.--_How Manfred, natural son of Frederick, took\nthe lordship of the kingdom of Sicily and of\nApulia, and caused himself to be crowned_                          156\n\u00a7 46.--_Of the war between Pope Alexander and King\n\u00a7 50.--_How the bridge Santa Trinita was built_                    160\n\u00a7 53.--_How the golden florins were first made in Florence_        161\n\u00a7 55.--_How the Florentines marched against Siena, and\nthe Sienese came to terms with them, and there was\n\u00a7 65.--_How the Popolo of Florence drave out the Ghibellines\nfor the first time from Florence, and the\n\u00a7 69.--_Incidents of the doings that were in Florence at\n\u00a7 72.--_How the great tyrant, Ezzelino da Romano, was\ndefeated by the Cremonese and died in prison_                      167\n\u00a7 73.--_How both the king of Castille and Richard, earl\nof Cornwall, were elected king of the Romans_                      169\n\u00a7 74.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence sent\ninto Apulia to King Manfred for succour_                           169\n\u00a7 75.--_How the commonwealth and people of Florence\nled a great host up to the gates of Siena with the\n\u00a7 76.--_How King Manfred sent Count Giordano with\n800 Germans to succour the Sienese and the Ghibelline\n\u00a7 77.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence prepared\nto deceive the commonwealth and people of\nFlorence, and cause them to be betrayed_                           174\n\u00a7 78.--_How the Florentines raised an army to fortify\nMontalcino, and were discomfited by Count Giordano\n\u00a7 79.--_How the Guelfs of Florence, after the said discomfiture,\ndeparted from Florence and went to Lucca_                          181\n\u00a7 80.--_How the news of the defeat of the Florentines\ncame to the court of the Pope, and the prophecy\nwhich was made thereupon by Cardinal Bianco_                       183\n\u00a7 81.--_How the Ghibellines of Tuscany purposed to destroy\nthe city of Florence, and how M. Farinata\n\u00a7 83.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence sent their\nambassadors into Germany to stir up Conradino\n\u00a7 86.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the\nother exiles of Tuscany, drave out the Ghibellines\nfrom Modena and afterwards from Reggio_                            188\n\u00a7 87.--_How Manfred persecuted Pope Urban and the\nChurch with his Saracens of Nocera, and how a\ncrusade was proclaimed against them_                               190\n\u00a7 88.--_How the Church of Rome elected Charles of\nFrance to be king of Sicily and of Apulia_                         192\n\u00a7 89.--_How Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence,\naccepted the election offered him by the Church of\n\u00a7 90.--_Incident relating to the good Count Raymond of\nBOOK VII.\n_Here begins the Seventh Book, which treats of the coming of\nKing Charles, and of many changes and events which followed\nthereupon._\n\u00a7 2.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took the\narms of Pope Clement, and how they joined the\n\u00a7 3.--_How Count Charles departed from France, and\npassed by sea from Provence to Rome_                               202\n\u00a7 4.--_How Count Guy of Montfort, with the horse of\nCount Charles, passed through Lombardy_                            204\n\u00a7 5.--_How King Charles was crowned in Rome king of\nSicily, and how he straightway departed with his\n\u00a7 6.--_How, after King Charles had taken the pass of\nCepperano, he stormed the city of San Germano_                     207\n\u00a7 7.--_How King Manfred went to Benivento, and how\nhe arrayed his troops to fight against King Charles_               209\n\u00a7 8.--_How King Charles arrayed his troops to fight\n\u00a7 9.--_Concerning the battle between King Charles and\nKing Manfred, and how King Manfred was discomfited\n\u00a7 13.--_How the Thirty-six were established in Florence,\nand how the Guilds of Arts were formed and\n\u00a7 14.--_How the second Popolo rose in Florence, for the\nwhich cause Count Guido Novello, with the Ghibelline\n\u00a7 15.--_How the Popolo restored the Guelfs to Florence,\nand how they afterwards drave out the Ghibellines_                 223\n\u00a7 16.--_How, after the Ghibellines had been driven from\nFlorence, the ordinances and councils of the city\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Guelfs of Florence instituted the Ordinances\n\u00a7 23.--_How the young Conradino, son of King Conrad,\ncame from Germany into Italy against King\n\u00a7 24.--_How the marshal of King Charles was defeated\nat Ponte a Valle by Conradino's army_                              231\n\u00a7 25.--_How Conradino entered into Rome, and afterwards\nwith his host passed into the kingdom of\n\u00a7 26.--_How the host of Conradino and that of King\nCharles met in battle at Tagliacozzo_                              233\n\u00a7 27.--_How Conradino and his people were defeated by\n\u00a7 29.--_--How Conradino and certain of his barons were\ntaken by King Charles, and how he caused their\n\u00a7 31.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at the\n\u00a7 34.--_How there was a great flood of waters which\ncarried away the Santa Trinita Bridge and the\n\u00a7 37.--_How King Louis of France made an expedition\n\u00a7 38.--_How King Charles concluded a treaty with the\nking of Tunis, and how the host departed_                          249\n\u00a7 39.--_How Gregory X. was made Pope at Viterbo, and\nhow Henry, son of the king of England, there died_                 251\n\u00a7 42.--_How Pope Gregory came with his court to Florence,\nand caused peace to be made between the Guelfs\n\u00a7 50.--_Of the death of Pope Gregory, and of three other\n\u00a7 54.--_How Nicholas III., of the Orsini, was made\nPope, and concerning that which he did in his time_                261\n\u00a7 56.--_How the Cardinal Latino, by the Pope's command,\nmade peace between the Guelfs and Ghibellines\nof Florence, and composed all the other feuds\n\u00a7 61.--_How and after what manner the island of Sicily\n\u00a7 79.--_How the Office of Priors was first created in\n\u00a7 81.--_How M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was\ndefeated at Forl\u00ec by the count of Montefeltro_                     272\n\u00a7 95.--_How the good King Charles passed from this life\n\u00a7 105.--_How the king of France departed from Aragon,\n\u00a7 114.--_Of a notable thing which came to pass in Florence\n\u00a7 121.--_How the judge of Gallura and the Guelf party\nwere driven from Pisa, and the Count Ugolino\n\u00a7 128.--_How the Pisans chose for captain the count of\nMontefeltro, and how they starved to death Count\nUgolino and his sons and grandsons_                                283\n\u00a7 130.--_Of the coronation of King Charles II., and how\nhe passed through Florence, and left Messer Amerigo\ndi Nerbona as captain of war for the Florentines_                  284\n\u00a7 131.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines at\n\u00a7 132.--_How the Florentines besieged the city of Arezzo,\nand laid waste the region round about_                             291\n\u00a7 145.--_How the soldan of Babylon conquered by force\nthe city of Acre, to the great hurt of the Christians_             294\n\u00a7 146.--_Of the death of King Rudolf of Germany_                   298\n\u00a7 149.--_How the city of Forl\u00ec in Romagna was taken\nBOOK VIII.\n_Here begins the Eighth Book. It tells how the second Popolo\narose in the city of Florence, and of many great changes\nwhich by reason thereof came afterwards to pass in Florence,\nfollowing on with the other events of those times._\n\u00a7 5.--_How Celestine V. was elected and made Pope, and\n\u00a7 6.--_How Boniface VIII. was elected and made Pope_               306\n\u00a7 8.--_How the great man of the people, Giano della\n\u00a7 10.--_How M. Gianni di Celona came into Tuscany\n\u00a7 12.--_How the magnates of Florence raised a tumult\n\u00a7 13.--_How King Charles made peace with King\n\u00a7 23.--_How the Colonnesi came to ask pardon of the\nPope, and afterwards rebelled a second time_                       317\n\u00a7 26.--_When the palace of the people of Florence was\n\u00a7 36.--_How Pope Boniface VIII. gave pardon to all\nChristians which should go to Rome, in the year of\n\u00a7 38.--_How the parties of the Blacks and Whites first\n\u00a7 39.--_How the city of Florence was divided and\nbrought to shame by the said White and Black\n\u00a7 40.--_How the Cardinal Acquasparta came as legate\nfrom the Pope to make peace in Florence, and could\n\u00a7 41.--_Concerning the evils and dangers which followed\n\u00a7 43.--_How Pope Boniface sent into France for M.\n\u00a7 45.--_How the Black party were driven out of Pistoia_            332\n\u00a7 49.--_How M. Charles of Valois of France came to\nPope Boniface, and afterwards came to Florence\n\u00a7 59.--_How Folcieri da Calvoli, Podest\u00e0 of Florence,\ncaused certain citizens of the White party to be\n\u00a7 60.--_How the White party and the Ghibelline refugees\nfrom Florence came to Puliciano and\ndeparted thence in discomfiture_                                   340\n\u00a7 61.--_Incident, relating how M. Maffeo Visconti was\n\u00a7 62.--_How there arose strife and enmity between Pope\nBoniface and King Philip of France_                                344\n\u00a7 63.--_How the king of France caused Pope Boniface\nto be seized in Anagna by Sciarra della Colonna,\nwhence the said Pope died a few days afterwards_                   346\n\u00a7 64.--_We will further tell of the ways of Pope Boniface_         350\n\u00a7 67.--_How King Edward of England recovered Gascony\n\u00a7 68.--_How there were in Florence great changes and\ncivic battles through desire that the accounts of the\ncommonwealth should be examined_                                   353\n\u00a7 69.--_How the Pope sent into Florence as legate the\nCardinal da Prato to make peace, and how he departed\n\u00a7 70.--_How the bridge of Carraia fell, and how many\n\u00a7 71.--_How Florence was set on fire, and a great part\n\u00a7 72.--_How the Whites and Ghibellines came to the\ngates of Florence, and departed thence in discomfiture_            364\n\u00a7 80.--_How Pope Benedict died, and of the new election\n\u00a7 84.--_How there arose in Lombardy one Fra Dolcino\nwith a great company of heretics, and how they\n\u00a7 88.--_Of the great war which was begun against the\nmarquis of Ferrara, and how he died_                               376\n\u00a7 92.--_How and after what fashion was destroyed the\nOrder and mansion of the Temple of Jerusalem by\nthe machinations of the king of France_                            377\n\u00a7 96.--_How Corso Donati, the great and noble citizen\n\u00a7 101.--_After what manner Henry, count of Luxemburg,\n\u00a7 102.--_How Henry the Emperor was confirmed by\n\u00a7 112.--_How Robert was crowned king over the kingdom\n\u00a7 120.--_How the ambassadors of Henry, king of the\nBOOK IX.\n_Here begins the Ninth Book. How Henry, count of Luxemburg,\nwas made Emperor._\n\u00a7 7.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Germany\n\u00a7 8.--_How King Robert came to Florence as he returned\n\u00a7 9.--_How the Emperor Henry passed into Italy, and\n\u00a7 10.--_How the Florentines enclosed the new circle of\n\u00a7 11.--_How the della Torre were driven out of Milan_              398\n\u00a7 12.--_How there was great scarcity in Florence, and\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Emperor besieged Cremona, and his\n\u00a7 15.--_How the Emperor took the city of Cremona_                  401\n\u00a7 16.--_How the Florentines, by reason of the Emperor's\ncoming, recalled from banishment all the Guelfs_                   402\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Florentines, with all the Guelf cities of\nTuscany, made a league together against the Emperor_               402\n\u00a7 20.--_How the Emperor Henry took the city of Brescia\n\u00a7 22.--_How Pope Clement sent legates to crown the\n\u00a7 26.--_How the ambassadors from the Emperor came to\n\u00a7 29.--_How the Emperor put the Florentines under the\n\u00a7 32.--_How the city of Brescia rebelled against the\n\u00a7 34.--_How the city of Cremona rebelled against the\n\u00a7 35.--_How the marshal of the Emperor came to Pisa,\nand began war with the Florentines_                                408\n\u00a7 36.--_How the Paduans rebelled against the lordship\n\u00a7 39.--_Of the gathering together made by King Robert\nand the league of Tuscany at Rome to oppose the\n\u00a7 40.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Pisa\n\u00a7 43.--_How Henry of Luxemburg was crowned Emperor\n\u00a7 44.--_How the Emperor departed from Rome to go into\n\u00a7 45.--_How the Emperor came to the city of Arezzo,\nand afterwards how he came towards the city of\n\u00a7 46.--_How the Florentines were well-nigh discomfited\nat the fortress of Ancisa by the army of the Emperor_              415\n\u00a7 47.--_How the Emperor Henry encamped with his\n\u00a7 48.--_How the Emperor abandoned the siege, and departed\nfrom San Salvi, and came to San Casciano,\n\u00a7 49.--_How the Emperor departed from Poggibonizzi,\nand returned to Pisa, and issued many bans against\n\u00a7 50.--_How the Emperor condemned King Robert_                     422\n\u00a7 51.--_How the Emperor made ready to enter into the\nKingdom against King Robert, and departed from Pisa_               423\n\u00a7 52.--_How the Emperor Henry died at Bonconvento,\n\u00a7 53.--_Relates how, when the Emperor was dead, his\nhost was divided, and the barons carried his body\n\u00a7 56.--_How the Florentines gave the lordship of Florence\n\u00a7 63.--_How the Paduans were discomfited at Vicenza by\n\u00a7 66.--_Of the death of Philip, king of France, and of\n\u00a7 70.--_How Uguccione, lord of Lucca and of Pisa, laid\nsiege to the castle of Montecatini_                                430\n\u00a7 71.--_How, when the prince of Taranto was come to\nFlorence, the Florentines sallied forth with their\narmy to succour Montecatini, and were defeated by\n\u00a7 72.--_More about the said battle and defeat of the\n\u00a7 86.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola sought to re-enter\nPisa, and what came of it in Pisa, and of the\n\u00a7 87.--_How the Ghibelline party left Genoa_                       437\n\u00a7 89.--_How M. Cane della Scala led an army against\nthe Paduans, and took many castles from them_                      438\n\u00a7 90.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the force of the\nGhibellines of Lombardy besieged Genoa_                            438\n\u00a7 92.--_How the exiles from Genoa took the suburbs of Prea_        439\n\u00a7 93.--_How King Robert came by sea to succour Genoa_              440\n\u00a7 94.--_How the Genoese gave the lordship of Genoa to\n\u00a7 95.--_Of the active war which the exiles of Genoa with\nthe Lombards made against King Robert_                             442\n\u00a7 97.--_How King Robert's followers discomfited the\nexiles from Genoa at the village of Sesto, and how\nthey departed from the siege of the city_                          443\n\u00a7 99.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the Lombards\n\u00a7 100.--_How M. Cane della Scala took the suburbs of Padua_        445\n\u00a7 121.--_How M. Cane della Scala, being at the siege of\nPadua, was defeated by the Paduans and by the\n\u00a7 136.--_Concerning the poet Dante Alighieri of Florence_          448\nINTRODUCTION\n\u00a7 1. _The Text._\nThis book of selections is not intended as a contribution to the study\nof Villani, but as an aid to the study of Dante. The text of Villani\nis well known to be in a very unsatisfactory condition, and no attempt\nat a critical treatment of it has been made. The Florence edition of\n1823, in eight volumes, has been almost invariably followed. Here and\nthere the Editor has silently adopted an emendation that obviously\ngives the sense intended, and on p. 277 has inserted in brackets an\nacute suggestion made by Mr. A.J. Butler. In a few cases, by far the\nmost important of which occurs on p. 450, passages which appear in\nsome but not in all of the MSS. and editions of Villani are inserted\nin square brackets.\n\u00a7 2. _The References._\nIt is probable that many more references to Dante's works might\nadvantageously have been inserted in the margin had they occurred to\nour minds; and we shall be glad to have our attention called to any\nimportant omissions.\nAs a rule we have aimed at giving a reference to any passage in\nDante's works on which the text has a direct bearing, or towards the\ndiscussion of which it furnishes materials, without intending thereby\nnecessarily to commit ourselves to any special interpretation of the\npassage in Dante referred to.\nBut in some instances such a reference would, in our opinion,\ndistinctly tend to the perpetuation of error. In such cases we have\npurposely abstained from appearing to bring a passage of Villani into\nrelation with a passage of Dante with which we believe it to have no\nconnection. For instance, to have given a reference to the _Vita\nNuova_ \u00a7 41, 1-11, on p. 320 would have appeared to us so distinct and\ndangerous a _suggestio falsi_ that we have felt compelled to abstain\nfrom it even at the risk of being charged with a _suppressio veri_ by\nthose who do not agree with us.\n\u00a7 3. _The Principle of Selection._\nOur aim has been to translate all the passages from the first nine\nbooks of Villani's Chronicles which are likely to be of direct\ninterest and value to the student of Dante.[1] A few chapters have\nbeen inserted not for their own sakes but because they are necessary\nfor the understanding of other chapters that bear directly on Dante.\nWhen a chapter contains anything to our purpose, we have usually\ntranslated the whole of it. Where this is not the case the omissions\nare invariably indicated by stars * * * * * *. We have given the\nheadings of all the chapters we have not translated, so that the\nreader may have in his hand the continuous thread of Villani's\nnarrative, and may have some idea of the character of the omitted\nportions. By these means we hope we have minimised, though we do not\nflatter ourselves that we have removed, the objections which are\nlegitimately urged against volumes of selections.\n[Footnote 1: The complex and miserable history of Ugolino and Nino we\nhave given only in its most essential portions. Even its connection\nwith one of the most terrible and widely known passages in the\n_Inferno_ cannot make it other than dreary, sordid, and\nunilluminating.]\nThe nature of the interest which the Dante student will find in these\nselections will vary as he goes through the volume.\nThe early portions, up to the end of Book III., are interesting not so\nmuch for the direct elucidation of special passages in Dante as for\nthe assistance they give us in realizing the atmosphere through which\nhe and his contemporaries regarded their own past; and their habitual\nconfusion of legend and history.\nFrom Book IV. on into Book VIII. our interest centres more and more on\nthe specific contents of Villani's Chronicle. Here he becomes the best\nof all commentators upon one phase of Dante's many-sided genius; for\nhe gives us the material upon which Dante's judgments are passed, and\nenables us to know the men and see the events he judges as he himself\nknew and saw them. Chapter after chapter reads like a continuous\ncommentary on _Purg._ vi. 127-151; and there is hardly a sentence that\ndoes not lighten and is not lightened by some passage in the _Comedy_.\nReaders who have been accustomed to weary themselves in attempts to\ndigest and remember historical notes (into which extracts from\nVillani, torn from their native haunts, have been driven up for\ninstant slaughter, as in battue shooting) will find it a relief to\nhave the story of the battles and revolutions of Florence, as Dante\nsaw and felt it, continuously set before them--even though it be, for\nthe present, in the partial and therefore mutilated form of\n\"selections.\"\nWhen we come to the later portions of Book VIII. and the first part\nof Book IX. the interest again changes. To the events after 1300\nDante's chief work contains comparatively few and scattered allusions;\nbut as the direct connection with his writings becomes less marked the\nconnection with his biography becomes more intimate. As we study the\ntangled period of Florentine politics that coincides with Dante's\nactive political life (about 1300 A.D.), the ill-concerted and feeble\nattempts of the exiles to regain a footing in their city, and later on\nthe splendid but futile enterprise of Henry, we seem to find the very\nfibres of Dante's life woven into the texture of the history. The\ndream of the _De Monarchia_ was dreamed by Henry as well as by Dante;\nbut as we read the detail of his failure it is borne in upon us that\nhe not only did fail but must fail, for his ideal was incapable of\nrealization. Italy was not ready for him, and had she been ready she\nwould not have needed him.\nFinally, the last pages of our volume, which cover selections from the\nportion of Book IX., extending from the death of Henry to the death of\nDante himself, are for the most part inserted for a very special\nreason, as to which some little detail is necessary. Strangely enough\nthey derive their importance not from any interest Dante may have\ntaken in the events they record, but from the fact that he did not\ntake enough interest in them to satisfy one of his most ardent\nadmirers. The editions of Dante's collected works include a\ncorrespondence in Latin hexameters between Johannes de Virgilio and\nDante. Now in the poem that opens this correspondence Johannes refers\nto Statius and to Lethe in a manner that proves beyond all doubt that\nthe whole of the _Purgatorio_ as well as the _Inferno_ was in his\nhands. But he alludes to the _Paradiso_--the poem of the\n\"super-solar\" realms which is to complete the record of the \"lower\"\nones--as not yet having appeared. It therefore becomes a matter of\nextreme interest to the Dante student to learn the date of this poem.\nNow one of the considerations that led Johannes to address Dante was\nthe hope of inducing him to choose a contemporary subject for a Latin\npoem and so write something worthy of himself and of studious readers!\nWith this object he suggests a number of subjects:--\n     \"Dic age quo petiit Jovis armiger astra volatu:\n     Dic age quos flores, qu\u00e6 lilia fregit arator:\n     Dic Phrygias damas laceratos dente molosso:\n     Dic Ligurum montes, et classes Parthenop\u00e6as.\"\n     \"Come! tell thou of the flight by which Jove's armour-bearer\n     (the Imperial Eagle = Henry VII.) sought the stars. Come!\n     tell thou of the flowers and lilies (of Florence) crushed by\n     the ploughman (Uguccione da Faggiuola). Tell of the Phrygian\n     does (the Paduans) torn by the mastiff's (Can Grande's)\n     tooth. Tell of the Ligurian mountains (the Genoese) and the\n     Parthenop\u00e6an fleets (of Robert of Naples).\"\nThe correctness and security of the interpretation of this passage\nwill not be doubted by any one accustomed to the pedantic allusiveness\nof the age; and it is moreover guaranteed by the annotator of the\nLaurentian MS., thought by many to be Boccaccio himself. It will be\nseen, therefore, from the study of the concluding pages of this\nvolume, that when Johannes addressed Dante (after the appearance of\nthe _Inferno_ and the _Purgatorio_, but before that of the _Paradiso_)\nHenry VII. had died (A.D. 1313), Can Grande had defeated the Paduans\n(A.D. 1314 and 1317), Uguccione had defeated the Florentines (A.D.\n1315), and Robert had collected his fleet to relieve Genoa (February,\n1319). It also seems highly probable that Can Grande had not yet\nsuffered his reverses at the siege of Padua (August, 1320). This is\nperhaps the one unassailable datum for the chronology of Dante's\nworks, and we have therefore included in our selections so much as was\nneeded to establish it. Our readers will perhaps forgive us for having\nthen left the fate of Genoa hanging in the balance, for as Villani\nsays: \"Who could write the unbroken history of the dire siege of\nGenoa, and the marvellous exploits achieved by the exiles and their\nallies? Verily, it is the opinion of the wise that the siege of Troy\nitself, in comparison therewith, shewed no greater and more continuous\nbattling, both by sea and land.\"\n\u00a7 4. _The Historical Value of Villani's Chronicle._\nAn adequate edition of Villani would have to examine his statements in\ndetail, and, where necessary, to correct them. Such a task, however,\nwould be alike beyond our powers, and foreign to our immediate\npurpose. These selections are intended to illustrate the text of\nDante; and for that purpose it is of more consequence to know what\nwere the \"horrible crimes\" of which Dante supposed Manfred to be\nguilty, than to enquire whether or no he was really guilty of them. To\nknow whether Constance was fifty-two, or only thirty, when she married\nHenry VI., and whether he took her from a convent or a palace is of\nless immediate consequence to the student of Dante than to be\nacquainted with the Guelf tradition as to these circumstances.\nAt the same time, the reader may reasonably ask for some guidance as\nto the point at which the authentic history of Florence disengages\nitself from the legend, and, further, as to the general degree of\nreliance he is justified in placing on the details supplied by\nVillani.\nOn the first point very few words will suffice. There was probably a\nFiesolan mart on the site now occupied by Florence from very remote\ntimes; but the form of the \"ancient circle\" carries us back to a Roman\ncamp and a military colony as the origin of the regular city. Beyond\nthis meagre basis the whole story of \"Troy, and of Fiesole and Rome,\"\nin connection with Florence must be pronounced a myth. The notices of\nFlorence before the opening of the twelfth century are few and meagre,\nbut they suffice to prove that the story of its destruction by Totila,\nand rebuilding by Charlemagne, is without foundation; and of all the\nreported conquests of Fiesole that of 1125 is the first that we can\nregard as historical.\nThe history of Florence is almost a blank until about 1115 A.D., the\ndate of the death of the Countess Matilda.\nWith respect to the second point, it is impossible to give so brief or\nconclusive an answer. Villani is as valuable to the historian as he is\ndelightful to the general reader. He is a keen observer, and has a\nquick eye for the salient and essential features of what he observes.\nWhen dealing with his own times, and with events immediately connected\nwith Florence, he is a trustworthy witness, but minute accuracy is\nnever his strong point; and in dealing with distant times and places\nhe is hopelessly unreliable.\nThe English reader will readily detect his confusions in Book VII., \u00a7\n39, where at one time Richard of Cornwall, and at another Henry III.,\nis called king of England; and Henry of Cornwall and Edward I. are\nregarded indifferently as sons of Richard or sons of Henry III., but\nare always said to be brothers instead of cousins.\nHere there is little danger of the reader being misled, but it is\notherwise in such a case as that of Robert Guiscard and the house of\nTancred in Book IV., \u00a7 19. By way of putting the reader on his guard,\nwe will go into this exceptionally bad, but by no means solitary,\ninstance of Villani's inaccuracies.\nTancred, of the castle of Hauteville (near Coutances, in Normandy),\nhad twelve sons, ten of whom sought their fortunes in southern Italy\nand Sicily. Four of these were successively Counts of Apulia, the last\nof the four being Robert Guiscard. He was followed by his son Roger,\nand his grandson William, who died childless. Another of the sons of\nTancred was Roger, who became Count of Sicily. He was succeeded by his\nson Roger II., who possessed himself of the Apulian domains of his\nrelative William, on the decease of the latter. Roger now had himself\nproclaimed King of Sicily by the anti-pope Anaclete, and united Sicily\nand Naples under his sway. He was followed by his son William (the\nBad), and his grandson William (the Good), on whose death, without\nissue, Henry VI., who married Roger's daughter Constance, claimed the\nsuccession in the right of his wife. (_L'Art de V\u00e9rifier les Dates._)\nThe most important of these relations may be set forth thus:\n      TANCRED OF HAUTEVILLE\nRobert Guiscard        Roger I.\nCount of Apulia     Count of Sicily\n               William          Constance = Henry VI.\nLet the reader construct the family tree from the data in Villani, and\ncompare it with the one given above. He will find that Villani, to\nbegin with, makes Robert Guiscard a younger son of the Duke of\nNormandy, then makes his younger brother, Roger I., into his son\n(occasionally confounding him with Roger II.); and, finally, ignores\nWilliam the Bad, and makes William the Good the brother of Constance.\nHis details as to the pretender Tancred are equally inaccurate. These\nmust suffice as specimens; but they are specimens not only of a\nspecial class of mistake, but of a style of work against which the\nreader must be constantly on his guard if he intends to make use of\nany detailed dates or relations, or even if he wishes to make sure\nthat the Pope or other actor named in any connection is really the\nright one.\nSo, too, even well within historical times, Villani is prone to the\nepic simplification of events. His account of the negociations of\nFarinata with Manfred, and of the battle of Montaperti for instance,\nrepresents the Florentine legend or tradition rather than the history\nof the events. These events are conceived with the vividness,\nsimplicity and picturesque preponderance of personality which make\nthem easy to see, but impossible to reconstruct in a rationally\nconvincing form.\nTo enter into further detail under this head would be to transgress\nthe limits we have set ourselves.\n\u00a7 5. _The Rationale of the Revolutions of Florence._[2]\n[Footnote 2: The substance of this \u00a7 is entirely drawn from Prof.\nVillari's recent work on Early Florentine History. \"I Primi due Secoli\ndella Storia di Firenze, Ricerche di Pasquale Villari.\" 2 vols.,\nFlorence, 1893, 1894. Price 8 fr. English translation by Madame\nVillari. \"The Two First Centuries of Florentine History.\" Fisher\nUnwin. Price 2_s._ 6_d._ This work should be carefully studied in its\nentirety by all who desire to understand the constitutional history of\nFlorence. N.B.--Some of our readers may be glad of the information\nthat the modern scholar is Pasquale Vill[)a]ri (with short [)a]), and\nthe medi\u00e6val chronicler Giovanni Vill[=a]ni (with a long [=a]).]\nThe settled conviction of both Villani and Dante that a difference of\nrace underlay the civil wars of Florence, rests upon a truth obscurely\nthough powerfully felt by them.\nWe have seen that the legend of Fiesole and Florence, upon which they\nrest their case, is without historical foundation; but the conflict of\nraces was there none the less. And as it is here that modern\nhistorians find the key to the history of Florence, our readers will\nprobably be glad to have set before them a brief account of the\ngeneral conceptions in the light of which modern scholars would have\nus read the naive and ingenuous records of Villani.\nThe numerous Teutonic invasions and incursions which had swept over\nnorthern and central Italy, from Odoacer to Charlemagne, had\nestablished a powerful territorial nobility. They constituted a\ndominating class, military in their habits, accustomed to the exercise\nand the abuse of the simpler functions of government, accepting\ncertain feudal traditions, but owning no practical allegiance to any\npower that was not in a position instantly to enforce it. Their\neffective organization was based on the clan system, and the informal\nfamily council was omnipotent within the limits of the clan. They were\nwithout capacity or desire for any large and enduring social\norganization. Their combinations were temporary, and for military\npurposes; and internecine family feuds were a permanent factor in\ntheir lives. Their laws were based on the \"Barbarian\" codes, but the\ninfluence of Roman law was increasingly felt by them.\nIn the cities it is probable that the old municipal organization had\nnever wholly died out, though it had no formal recognition. The\ncitizens were sometimes allowed to live \"under their own law,\" and\nsometimes not; but the tradition of the Roman law was never lost.\nNominally the cities were under the jurisdiction of some territorial\nmagnate, or a nominee of the Emperor, but practically they enjoyed\nvarious degrees of independence. Their effective organization would\ndepend upon their special circumstances, but in such a case as that of\nFlorence would be based on the trade guilds.\nIn Florence a number of the Teutonic nobles had settled in the city;\nbut it owed its importance to its trade. The city-dwelling nobles kept\nup their clan life, and fortified their houses; but in other respects\nthey had become partially assimilated in feeling, and even in habits\nand occupations, to the mercantile community in which they lived. They\nfilled the posts of military and civil administration, and were\nconscious of a strong unity of interest with the people.\nUnder the vigorous and beneficent rule in Tuscany of the great\nCountess Matilda (1076-1115) Florence was able quietly to consolidate\nand extend her power without raising any thorny questions of formal\njurisdiction. But on the death of Matilda, when the Church and the\nEmpire equally claimed the succession and were equally unable\nefficiently to assert their claims, it was inevitable that an attempt\nshould be made to establish the _de facto_ supremacy of Florence over\nFiesole and the whole outlying district upon a firmer and more formal\nbasis. It was equally inevitable that the attempt should be resisted.\nWithin Florence, as we have seen, there was a heterogeneous, but as\nyet fairly united citizenship. The germs of organization consisted on\nthe side of the nobles in the clans and the Tower-clubs, and on the\nside of the people in the Trade-guilds. The Tower-clubs were\nassociations each of which possessed a fortified tower in the city,\nwhich was maintained at the common expense of the associates, and with\nwhich their houses communicated. Of the Trade-guilds we shall speak\nbriefly hereafter.\nIn the surrounding country the territorial nobility watched the\ngrowing power and prosperity of Florence with jealousy, stoutly\nresisted her claims to jurisdiction over them and their demesnes, and\nmade use of their command of the great commercial highways to exact\nregular or irregular tolls, even when they did not frankly plunder the\nmerchants.\nObviously two struggles must result from this situation. The city as a\nwhole was vitally concerned in clearing the commercial routes and\nrendering the territorial nobility harmless; but within the city two\nparties, who may almost be regarded as two nations, contended for the\nmastery.\nWith respect to the collective struggle of Florence against her foes,\nwhich entered on its active phase early in the twelfth century, on the\ndeath of Matilda in 1115, it may be said in brief that it was carried\non with a vigour and success, subject only to brief and few reverses,\nduring the whole period with which we are concerned. But this very\nsuccess in external enterprises emphasized and embittered the internal\nfactions. These had been serious from the first. The Uberti and other\nruling families resisted the growing influence of the people; and the\nvicissitudes of the struggle may be traced at the end of the twelfth\nand beginning of the thirteenth centuries in the alternation of the\nvarious forms of the supreme magistracy. But it was part of the policy\nof the victorious Florentines to compel the nobles they had reduced to\nsubmission to live at least for a part of the year in the city; and\nthus while the merchant people of Florence was increasing in wealth\nand power, the nobles in the city were in their turn constantly\nrecruited by rich and turbulent members of their own caste, who were\nready to support them in their attempt to retain the government in\ntheir hands. Thus the more successful Florence was in her external\nundertakings the greater was the tension within.\nThe forces arrayed against each other gradually assumed a provisional\norganization in ever-increasing independence of each other. The old\nsenate or council and the popular assembly of all the citizens were\ntransformed or sank into the background, and the Podest\u00e0, or foreign\nmagistrate appointed for a year, with his lesser and greater council\nof citizens, was the supreme authority from 1207 onwards. This marked\na momentary triumph of the nobles. But the people asserted themselves\nonce again, and elected a Captain of the People, also a foreigner,\nwith a lesser and greater council of citizens, who did not dispute the\nformal and representative supremacy of the Podest\u00e0, but was in reality\ncoordinate with him. On this the Podest\u00e0 naturally became the head of\nthe nobles as the Captain was head of the people; and there rose that\nspectacle, so strange to us but so familiar to medi\u00e6val Italy, of two\nbodies of citizens, each with its own constitution and magistracy,\nencamped within the same walls. The Podest\u00e0 was the head of the\n\"Commonwealth,\" and the Captain the head of the \"People.\" There was,\nit is true, for the most part a show of some central and coordinating\npower, nominally supreme over these independent and often hostile\nmagistrates, such as the body of Ancients. But this central government\nhad little effective power.\nTo understand the course of Florentine history, however, we must turn\nback for a moment to the informal internal organization of the two\nbodies thus opposed to each other. The struggle is between the\nmilitary and territorial aristocracy on the one hand, and the\nmercantile democracy of the city on the other; and we have seen that\nthe clan system and the Tower-clubs were the germ cells of the one\norder, and the Craft-guilds those of the other. Now the Craft-guilds\nwere obviously capable of supporting a higher form of political\ndevelopment than could ever come out of the rival system. The officers\nof the Florentine Crafts were compelled to exercise all the higher\nfunctions of government. They preserved a strict discipline within\ntheir own jurisdiction--(and the aggregation of the trades in certain\nstreets and districts made that jurisdiction roughly correspond to\nlocal divisions)--they had to coordinate their industries one with\nanother, and regulate their complicated relations one with another,\nand they sent their representatives to all the great trading cities of\nthe world, where they had to conduct such delicate and important\nnegociations that they became the most skilful diplomatists in Italy.\nIndeed, the training of ambassadors may almost be considered as a\nFlorentine industry! Add to this the vast financial concerns which\nthey had to conduct, and it will readily be seen that as statesmen\nthe merchants of Florence must eventually prove more than a match for\ntheir military rivals and opponents. The merchant people was the\nprogressive and constructive element in Florentine society.\nAccordingly the constitutional history of Florence resolves itself\ninto a progressive, though chequered, advance of the people against\nthe nobles (or, as they were afterwards called, the magnates) along\ntwo lines. In the first place, they had to make the _de facto_ trade\norganization of the city into its _de jure_ constitution--a movement\nwhich culminated in 1282 in the formal recognition of the Priors of\nthe Crafts as the supreme magistrates of Florence. And, in the second\nplace, they must attempt to bring the magnates effectively within the\ncontrol of the laws and constitution of the mercantile community,\nwhich they systematically and recklessly defied as long as they were\nin a position to do so. The magnates behaved like brigands, and the\npeople replied by practically making them outlaws. They gradually\nexcluded them from all share of the government, they endeavoured to\nmake the Podest\u00e0 personally responsible for keeping them in order,\nthey organized a militia of trade bands that could fly to arms and\nbarricade the streets, or lay siege to the fortified houses of the\nmagnates at a moment's notice; and finally, in 1293, they passed the\ncelebrated \"Ordinances of Justice\" connected with the name of Giano\ndella Bella, by which when a magnate murdered a popolano his whole\nclan was held directly responsible (the presumption being that the\nmurder had been ordered in a family council), and \"public report\"\nvouched for by two witnesses was sufficient evidence for a\nconviction.\nIt is this struggle for the supremacy of the mercantile democracy and\nthe Roman Law over the military aristocracy with its \"barbarian\"\ntraditions, that lies at the back of the Guelf and Ghibelline troubles\nof the thirteenth century. The papal and imperial principles that are\nusually associated with the names enter only in a very secondary way\ninto the conflict. In truth neither the popes nor the emperors had any\nsympathy with the real objects of either party, though they were ready\nenough to seek their advantage in alliances with them. And in their\nturn the magnates and merchants of Florence were equally determined to\nbe practically independent of Pope and Emperor alike. Nevertheless the\nmagnates could look nowhere else than to the Emperor when they wanted\nmaterial support or moral sanction for their claims to power; and it\nwas only in the magnates that the Emperor in his turn could hope to\nfind instruments or allies in his attempt to assert his power over the\ncities. In like manner the Pope, naturally jealous of a strong\nterritorial power, encouraged and fostered the cities in their\nresistance to imperial pretensions, while he and the merchant bankers\nof Florence were indispensable to each other in the way of business.\nWe have now some insight into the essential motives of Florentine\nhistory in the thirteenth century. But another step is needed before\nwe can understand the form which the factions took. It would be a\nfatal error to suppose that the Ghibellines were soldiers and the\nGuelfs merchants, and that as each faction triumphed in turn Florence\nexpelled her merchants and became a military encampment, or expelled\nher soldiers and became a commercial emporium. Such a course of events\nwould be absolutely impossible. The truth is, that the main part of\nthe faction fighting and banishing was done on both sides by the\nmagnates themselves. The industrial community went on its way,\nsometimes under grievous exactions, sometimes under a friendly\nGovernment, always subject to the insolence and violence of the\nmagnates, though in varying degree, but always there, and always\npursuing its business occupations. It came about thus. We have seen\nthat in the twelfth century the nobles within Florence were on the\nwhole fairly conscious of having common cause with the merchants, but\nthat the very success of her external undertakings brought into the\ncity a more turbulent and hostile order of nobility. On the other\nside, rich and powerful merchants pushed their way up into recognition\nas magnates, while retaining their pecuniary interest in commerce.\nThus in the thirteenth century the body of magnates itself became\ndivided, not only into clans, but into factions. It always seemed\nworth while for some of them to strengthen their alliances with the\nterritorial magnates, the open foes of the city, in order to\nstrengthen their hold on the city itself; and it always seemed worth\nwhile for others to identify themselves more or less sincerely with\nthe demands of the people in order to have their support in wrenching\nfrom their fellow magnates a larger share of the common spoil. It was\nhere that the absence of any uniting principle or constructive purpose\namongst the magnates told with fatal effect. Indeed their house was so\ndivided against itself that the people would probably have had little\ndifficulty in getting rid of them altogether, had they not been\nconscious of requiring a body of fighting men for service in their\nconstant wars. The knights were at a certain disadvantage in a street\nfight in Florence, but the merchant statesmen knew well enough that\nthey could not do without them on a battle-field.\nWe can now understand the Guelf and Ghibelline struggles of the\nthirteenth century. The Buondelmonte incident of 1215, which both\nDante and Villani regard as the cause of these conflicts, was of\ncourse only their occasion. The conclusive victory of one party could\nonly mean the reappearance within its ranks of the old factions under\nnew names. For if the faction opposed to the people won a temporary\nvictory, they would be unable to hold their own permanently against\nthe superior discipline, wealth, and constructive genius of their\nsubjects; whereas if it was the champions of the people who had\nexpelled their rivals and seized the plunder, they would be in no\nhurry to give up to the merchants the power they had won in their\nname. They would regard themselves as entitled to a gratitude not\ndistinguishable from submission, and would have their own definition\nof the degree of influence and power which was now their due. Thus\nwhat had been the people's party among the magnates would aspire, when\nvictorious, to be the masters of the people, and gradually another\npeople's party would form itself within their ranks. The wonder is not\nthat no reconciliations were permanent, but that Cardinal Latino's\nreconciliation of 1279 lasted, at least ostensibly, so long as till\nObviously, if no new forces came upon the field, the only issue from\nthis general situation must be in the conclusive triumph, not of the\npeople's faction amongst the magnates, but of the attempt to break\ndown the opposition of all the magnates to the citizen law, and the\nsuccessful absorption of them into the commercial community. In the\n\"Ordinances of Justice\" and the further measures contemplated by\nGiano della Bella the requirements of this solution were formulated.\nHad they been successfully carried out, the magnates as an independent\norder would have been extinguished. Accordingly from 1293 onwards the\nfight raged round the Ordinances of Justice. No party, even among the\nmagnates, dared openly to seek their repeal; but while some supported\nthem in their integrity with more or less loyalty, others desired to\nmodify them, or attempted to disembowel them by manipulating the\nelections and securing magistrates who would not carry them out. This\nwas the origin of the Black and White factions. The Blacks were for\ncircumventing the Ordinances, while the Whites were for carrying them\nout and extending their principles.\nIt will be seen at once how false an impression is given when it is\nsaid that the Whites were moderate Guelfs, inclining to Ghibellinism,\nand the Blacks extreme Guelfs. The truth is that the terms of\nGhibelline and Guelf had by this time lost all real political meaning,\nbut in so far as Guelfism in Florence had ever represented a principle\nit was the Whites and not the Blacks that were its heirs. But the\nmagnates of Florence at the beginning of the fourteenth century\nadministered large funds that had accrued from the confiscation of\nGhibelline estates; they had fought against the Ghibellines at the\nBattle of Campaldino in 1289, and they made a boast of being Guelf of\nthe Guelfs. Whatever party of them was in the supremacy, therefore,\nwas prone to accuse those in opposition of Ghibellinism simply because\nthey were in opposition. This was what the victorious Blacks did.\nTheir alliance with Pope Boniface VIII., who wished to make use of\nthem for his ambitious purposes, lent some colour to their claim.\nMoreover, the remnants of the old Ghibelline party in the city or its\nterritory naturally sought the alliance of the Whites as soon as they\nwere in pronounced hostility to the ruling Guelfs. Thus arose the\nconfusion that has perpetuated itself in the current conception of the\nWhites as \"moderates,\" or Ghibellinizing Guelfs, a conception which\nstands in plain contradiction with the most significant facts of the\ncase.\nDuring the closing period of Dante's life the politics of Florence\nbecame more tangled than ever. Every vestige of principle seems to\ndisappear, and personal ambitions and hatreds to become more unbridled\nthan ever. The active interference of the Pope and the Royal house of\nFrance, followed by the withdrawal of the Papal Court to Avignon, the\ninvasion of Italy by Henry VII., and the rise of such leaders as Can\nGrande, Uguccione da Faggiuola, and Castruccio, introduced new forces.\nWe dimly perceive, too, that the mercantile democracy of Florence is\nbecoming a mercantile aristocracy with elements of disturbance beneath\nit in the excluded or oppressed minor arts. In a word, just before the\nmovement that has been steadily proceeding from 1115 to 1300 reaches\nits natural goal, the conditions of the problem change, the history\nenters upon a new phase, the far-off preparation for the Medici\nbegins, and the problem ceases to have any direct and intimate\nconnection with the study of Dante.\n\u00a7 6. _Dante's Politics._\nEnough has been said to show the reader how very imperfect an idea is\ngiven of Dante's politics when it is said that he was at first a\nGuelf but became a Ghibelline.\nWe have seen that the political party, for his connection with which\nhe was exiled, was heir to the best Guelf traditions. His own writings\nshow that the maintenance of peace was his idea of the supreme\nfunction of Government. The extreme severity of his judgments upon\nthieving and upon false coining is characteristic of the citizen of\nthe greatest commercial city of the world. In all this, if we must use\nthe misleading words, he is more Guelf than Ghibelline. It is true\nthat he constantly opposed the influence of Boniface VIII. in the\naffairs of Florence, but Boniface was a disturbing and reactionary\nforce that opposed the legitimate development of the Guelf policy of\nthe Florentine democracy. It is true that he is a passionate advocate\nof an ideal Empire, and that he looks to the Emperor to heal the\nwounds of Italy, but the more carefully his writings are studied the\nmore clear does it become that what he seeks in the Emperor is not a\nchampion of Teutonic feudalism and supporter of the territorial\nnobility, but a power that will make Roman Law run all through Italy,\nand will hold the turbulent nobles in check. The Empire and the\nEmperor mean to Dante justice and peace secured by the enforcement of\nRoman Law. Whatever this is, it is not the Ghibellinism of Farinata or\nthe Ubaldini. It is true, however--and here if anywhere Dante is open\nto the charge of temporary desertion of his principles--that after his\nexile he, together with other Whites, entered into a league with the\nUbaldini, the most obstinate of the traditional foes of the commercial\ncommunity of Florence. This was a desperate act, which, however\nreprehensible or deplorable, cannot be taken as indicating the\ndeliberate adoption of a policy in contradiction to the whole tenor\nof his life and thought. We may well suppose that the sense of the\nhollow and indeed dishonourable nature of such an alliance was one of\nthe considerations that induced him to sever himself from the exiles\nand \"make a party for himself.\"\nLastly, he was an enthusiastic admirer of Henry VII., and he even\ngoaded him on to the attack of Florence. But Henry himself, who came\nto Italy with the sanction of the Pope, came with the earnest desire\nto heal and soothe. The Ghibellines proper felt that they had more to\nfear than to hope from him.\nWe cannot say, then, that Dante's politics changed. Nor can we define\nhis position by calling him a Guelf or a Ghibelline, or both. His\npolitical ideals were his own. They were the outcome of his life and\nthought, intensely personal, as was all else about him. They cannot be\nlabelled, but must be studied in his life and in his works.\nIf we are to use the current terms at all, we shall perhaps come\nnearest to the truth by saying that Dante was a Guelf in his aims, but\nthat he approximated to the traditions if not to the practices of the\nGhibellines in the means by which he hoped to see them realized.\nSELECTIONS FROM THE CHRONICLES OF VILLANI\nNOTES AND WARNINGS\nThe marginal references are to the divisions and lines of Moore's\n\"Oxford Dante.\"\n* * * * indicates a passage omitted in the translation; . . .\nindicates a hiatus in the Italian text.\nVillani makes the year begin on March 25th. Thus 1300 is still running\ntill March 25th, 1301. For instance, Bk. VII., \u00a7 9, gives the last day\nof February, 1265, as the date of the Battle of Benevento. By our\nreckoning this is the February of 1266. So too the Reconciliation of\nthe Florentines by the Cardinal Latino, Bk. VII., \u00a7 56, took place by\nour reckoning in February, 1279, and the death of Charles of Anjou,\nBk. VII., \u00a7 95, on January 7th, 1285, etc.\nThe Kingdom             = The Kingdom of Apulia.\nThe Duchy               = The Duchy of Spoleto.\nThe March               = The March of Ancona.\nThe Principality        = [?] The Principality of Tarento.\nSan Miniato             = San Miniato al Tedesco, in the Arno\nNocera                  = Nocera of the Saracens near Naples,\nThe Duomo or Cathedral  = What is now known as the Baptistery.\nMaster, M., Messer, all represent the Italian Messer.\n\"Popolo\" is translated \"people\" except where it means \"the Democracy\"\nas a form of government. It is there given untranslated. [[V] If this\nrule is ever departed from, it is through inadvertency.]\nThe \"popolari\" or \"popolani\" are members of the \"popolo\" or people,\nsometimes opposed to the \"Nobili,\" or old Nobility of birth, and\nsometimes to the \"Grandi,\" or Magnates, the new nobility of wealth and\nstatus.\nTo be \"placed under bounds\" appears to mean banishment or confinement,\nunder the form of a prohibition to cross certain stated \"bounds.\"\nThe \"Black\" Cerchi are merely a branch of the Cerchi family: they were\n\"Whites\" politically.\nVillani was well acquainted with Dante's works, and evidently regarded\nhim as an authority. Therefore it must not be taken for granted,\nwithout further thought, that in every case of agreement Villani's\ntestimony is an _independent_ confirmation of Dante.\nCHRONICLE OF JOHN VILLANI\nBOOK I.\n     _This book is called the New Chronicle, in which many past\n     things are treated of, and especially the root and origins\n     of the city of Florence; then all the changes through which\n     it has passed and shall pass in the course of time: begun to\n     be compiled in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,\n     1300. Here begins the preface and the First Book._\n\u00a7 1.--Forasmuch as among our Florentine ancestors, few and\nill-arranged memorials are to be found of the past doings of our city\nof Florence, either by the fault of their negligence or by reason that\nat the time that Totila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, their\nwritings were lost, I, John, citizen of Florence, considering the\nnobility and greatness of our city at our present times, hold it meet\nto recount and make memorial of the root and origins of so famous a\ncity, and of its adverse and happy changes and of past happenings; not\nbecause I feel myself sufficient for such a work, but to give occasion\nto our successors not to be negligent in preserving records of the\nnotable things which shall happen in the times after us, and to give\nexample to those who shall come after, of changes, and things come to\npass, and their reasons and causes; to the end that they may exercise\nthemselves in practising virtues, and shunning vices, and enduring\nadversities with a strong soul, to the good and stability of our\nrepublic. And, therefore, I will furnish a faithful narrative in this\nbook in plain vernacular, in order that the ignorant and unlettered\nmay draw thence profit and delight; and if in any part there should be\ndefect, I leave it to the correction of the wiser. And first we will\nsay whence were the origins of our said city, following on for as long\na time as God shall grant us grace; and not without much toil shall I\nlabour to extract and recover from the most ancient and diverse books,\nand chronicles, and authors, the acts and doings of the Florentines,\ncompiling them herein; and first the origin of the ancient city of\nFiesole, the destruction whereof was the cause and beginning of our\ncity of Florence. And because our origin starts from very long ago, it\nseems to us necessary to our treatise to recount briefly other ancient\nstories; and it will be delightful and useful to our citizens now and\nto come, and will encourage them in virtue and in great actions to\nconsider how they are descended from noble ancestors and from folk of\nworth, such as were the ancient and worthy Trojans, and valiant and\nnoble Romans. And to the end our work may be more praiseworthy and\ngood, I beseech the aid of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name every\nwork has a good beginning, continuance and end.\n\u00a7 2.--_How through the confusion of the Tower of Babel the world began\nto be inhabited._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxi. 12-18, 46-81. Par. xxvi. 124-126. De Vulg. El.\n[Sidenote: Inf. v. 52-60. De Mon. ii. 9: 22 sqq.]\nWe find in the Bible histories, and in those of the Assyrians, that\nNimrod the giant was the first king, or ruler, and assembler of the\ngatherings of the peoples, that he by his power and success ruled over\nall the families of the sons of Noah, which were seventy-two in\nnumber, to wit, twenty-seven of the issue of Shem the first-born son\nof Noah, and thirty of Ham the second son of Noah, and fifteen of\nJaphet the third son of Noah. This Nimrod was the son of Cush, which\nwas the son of Ham, the second son of Noah, and of his pride and\nstrength he thought to rival God, saying that God was Lord of Heaven,\nand he of Earth; and to the end that God might no longer be able to\nhurt him by a flood of water, as He had done in the first age, he\nordained the building of the marvellous work of the Tower of Babel;\nwherefore God, to confound the said pride, suddenly sent confusion\nupon all mankind, which were at work upon the said tower; and where\nall were speaking one language (to wit, Hebrew), it was changed into\nseventy-two divers languages, so that they could not understand one\nanother's speech. And by reason of this, the work of the said tower\nhad of necessity to be abandoned, which was so large that it measured\neighty miles round, and it was already 4,000 paces high, and 1,000\npaces thick, and each pace is three of our feet. And afterwards this\ntower remained for the walls of the great city of Babylon, which is in\nChald\u00e6a, and the name Babylon is as much as to say \"confusion\"; and\ntherein by the said Nimrod and his descendants, were first adored the\nidols of the false gods. The said tower, or wall of Babylon, was begun\n700 years after the Flood, and there were 2,354 years from the\nbeginning of the world to the confusion of the Tower of Babel. And we\nfind that they were 107 years working at it; and men lived long in\nthose times. And note, that during this long life, having many wives,\nthey had many sons and descendants, and multiplied into a great\npeople, albeit disordered and without law. Of the said city of Babylon\nthe first king which began to make wars was Ninus, son of Belus,\ndescended from Asshur, son of Shem, which Ninus built the great city\nof Nineveh; and then after him reigned Semiramis, his wife, in\nBabylon, which was the most cruel and dissolute woman in the world,\nand she was in the time of Abraham.\n\u00a7 3.--_How the world was divided into three parts, and of the first\ncalled Asia._ \u00a7 4.--_Of the second part of the world called Africa,\nand its boundaries._\n\u00a7 5.--_Of the third part of the world called Europe, and its\nboundaries._\n* * * * This Europe was first inhabited by the descendants of Japhet,\nthe third son of Noah, as we shall make mention hereafter in our\ntreatise; and also according to Escodio, master in history, Noah in\nperson, with Janus his son, which he begat after the Flood, came into\nthis part of Europe into the region of Italy, and there ended his\nlife; and Janus abode there, and from him were descended great lords\nand peoples, and he did many things in Italy.\n\u00a7 6.--_How King Atlas, born in the fifth degree from Japhet, son of\nNoah, first came into Europe._\n\u00a7 7.--_How King Atlas first built the city of Fiesole._\n[Sidenote: De Vulg. El. i. 8: 11-13.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 61-63. Par. xv. 126.]\n* * * * This Atlas, with Electra his wife, and many followers, by\nomens and the counsel of Apollinus his astrologer and master, arrived\nin Italy in the country of Tuscany, which was entirely uninhabited by\nhuman beings, and searching by the aid of astronomy through all the\nconfines of Europe for the most healthy and best situated place which\ncould be chosen by him, he took up his abode on the mount of Fiesole,\nwhich seemed to him strong in position and well situated. And upon\nthat rock he began and built the city of Fiesole, by the counsel of\nthe said Apollinus, who found out by astronomical arts that Fiesole\nwas in the best and most healthy place that there was in the said\nthird part of the world called Europe. Since it is well-nigh midway\nbetween the two seas which encircle Italy, to wit, the sea of Rome and\nPisa, which Scripture calls the Mediterranean, and the Adriatic Sea or\nGulf, which to-day is called the Gulf of Venice, and, by reason of the\nsaid seas, and by the mountains which surround it, better and more\nhealthy winds prevail there than in other places, and also by reason\nof the stars which rule over that place. And the said city was founded\nduring the ascendant of such a sign and planet, that it gives more\nsprightliness and strength to all its inhabitants than any other part\nof Europe; and the nearer one ascends to the summit of the mountain,\nthe more healthy and better it is. And in the said city there was a\nbath, which was called the Royal Bath, and which cured many\nsicknesses; and into the said city there came by a marvellous conduit\nfrom the mountains above Fiesole, the finest and most wholesome spring\nwaters, of which the city had great abundance. And Atlas had the said\ncity walled with strongest walls, wondrous in their masonry and their\nthickness, and with great and strong towers; and there was a fortress\nupon the summit of the mountain, of the greatest beauty and strength,\nwhere dwelt the said king, as is still shown and may be seen by the\nfoundations of the said walls, and by the strong and healthy site. The\nsaid city of Fiesole multiplied and increased in inhabitants in a\nshort time, so that it ruled over the surrounding country to a great\ndistance. And note that it was the first city built in the said third\ndivision of the world called Europe, and therefore it was named \"_Fia\nSola_\" [it shall be alone], to wit, _first_, with no other inhabited\ncity in that said division.\n\u00a7 8.--_How Atlas had three sons, Italus and Dardanus and Sicanus._\n[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 67, 68.]\n[Sidenote: De Vulg. El. i. 10: 39-85.]\nAtlas, king of Fiesole, after that he had built the said city, begat\nby Electra his wife three sons: the first was called Italus, and from\nhis name the kingdom of Italy was named, and he was lord and king\nthereof; the second son was named Dardanus, which was the first rider\nto ride a horse with saddle and bridle. Some have written that\nDardanus was son to Jove, king of Crete, and son to Saturn, as has\nbeen afore mentioned; but this was not true, forasmuch as Jove abode\nin Greece, and his descendants were kings and lords thereof, and were\nalways the enemies of the Trojans; but Dardanus came from Italy, and\nwas son to Atlas, as the history will make mention. And Virgil the\npoet confirms it in his book of the _\u00c6neid_, when the gods said to\n\u00c6neas that he should seek the country of Italy, whence had come his\nforefathers which had built Troy; and this was true. The third son of\nAtlas was named Sicanus, that is in our parlance Sezzaio [last], which\nhad a most beautiful daughter called Candanzia. This Sicanus went into\nthe island of Sicily, and was the first inhabitant thereof, and from\nhis name the island was at the first called Sicania, and by diversity\nof vernacular of the inhabitants it is now called by them Sicilia,\nand by us Italians Cicilia. This Sicanus built in Sicily the city of\nSaragosa, and made it chief of the realm whereof he was king, and his\ndescendants after him for a very long time, as is told in the history\nof the Sicilians, and by Virgil in the _\u00c6neid_.\n\u00a7 9.--_How Italus and Dardanus came to agree which should succeed to\nthe city of Fiesole and the kingdom of Italy._\nWhen King Atlas had died in the city of Fiesole, Italus and Dardanus\nhis sons were left rulers after him; and each of them being a lord of\ngreat courage, and both being worthy in themselves to reign over the\nkingdom of Italy, they came to this agreement together, to go with\ntheir sacrifices to sacrifice to their great god Mars, whom they\nworshipped; and when they had offered sacrifice they asked whether of\nthem twain ought to abide lord in Fiesole, and whether ought to go and\nconquer other countries and realms. From the which idol they received\nanswer, either by divine revelation or by device of the devil, that\nDardanus should go and conquer other lands and countries, and Italus\nshould remain in Fiesole and in the country of Italy. To which\ncommandment and answer they gave such effect that Italus abode as\nruler, and he begat great rulers which after him governed not only the\ncity of Fiesole and the country round about, but well-nigh all Italy,\nand they built many cities there; and the said city of Fiesole rose\ninto great power and lordship, until the great city of Rome reached\nher state and lordship. And thereafter, for all the great power of\nRome, yet was the city of Fiesole continually at war with and\nrebelling against it, until at last it was destroyed by the Romans,\nas this faithful history shall hereafter record. At present we will\ncease speaking of the Fiesolans and will return to their history in\ndue time and place, and we will now go on to tell how Dardanus\ndeparted from Fiesole, and was the first builder of the great city of\nTroy, and the ancestor of the kings of the Trojans and also of the\nRomans.\n\u00a7 10.--_How Dardanus came to Phrygia and built the city of Dardania,\nwhich was afterwards the great Troy._\nDardanus, as he was commanded by the answer of their god, departed\nfrom Fiesole with Apollinus, master and astrologer of his father, and\nwith Candanzia his niece, and with a great following of his people,\nand came into the parts of Asia to the province which was called\nPhrygia [Frigia], from the name of Friga, of the descendants of\nJaphet, which was the first inhabitant thereof; which province of\nPhrygia is beyond Greece, after the islands of Archipelago are passed,\non the mainland, which to-day is ruled by the Turks and is called\nTurkey. In that country the said Dardanus by the counsel and arts of\nthe said Apollinus began to build, and made a city upon the shores of\nthe said Grecian sea, which he called after his own name Dardania, and\nthis was 3,200 years from the creation of the world. And it was called\nDardania so long as Dardanus lived, or his sons.\n\u00a7 11.--_How Dardanus had a son which was named Tritamus, which was the\nfather of Trojus, after whose name the city of Troy was so called._\nNow this Dardanus had a son which was called Tritamus, and Tritamus\nbegat Trojus and Torajus; but Trojus was the wiser and the more\nvalorous, and because of his excellence he became lord and king of the\nsaid city and of the country round about; and he had great war with\nTantalus, king of Greece, son of Saturn, king of Crete, of whom we\nmade mention. And then, after the death of the said Trojus, by reason\nof the goodness and wisdom and worth which had reigned in him, it\npleased his son and the men of his city that the said city should\nalways be called Troy after his name; and the chief and principal gate\nof the city, in memory of Dardanus, retained the name which the city\nhad at the first, to wit Dardania.\n[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio iv. 14: 131-154. Purg. xii. 61-63. Inf. xxx.\n\u00a7 12.--_Of the kings which were in Troy; and how Troy was destroyed\nthe first time in the time of the King Laomedon._ \u00a7 13.--_How the good\nKing Priam rebuilt the city of Troy._ \u00a7 14.--_How Troy was destroyed\nby the Greeks._ \u00a7 15.--_How the Greeks which departed from the siege\nof Troy well-nigh all came to ill._ \u00a7 16.--_How Helenus, son of King\nPriam, with the sons of Hector, departed from Troy._\n\u00a7 17.--_How Antenor and the young Priam, having departed from Troy,\nbuilt the city of Venice, and that of Padua._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 88. Purg. v. 75.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 88.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. v. 75.]\nAnother band departed from the said destruction, to wit Antenor, who\nwas one of the greatest lords of Troy, and was brother of Priam, and\nson of the King Laomedon, who was much accused of betraying Troy, and\n\u00c6neas was privy to it, according to Dares; but Virgil makes him quite\ninnocent of this. This Antenor, with Priam the younger, son of King\nPriam, a little child, escaped from the destruction of Troy with a\ngreat following of people to the number of 12,000, and faring over\nthe sea with a great fleet arrived in the country where to-day is\nVenice, the great city, and they settled themselves in those little\nsurrounding islands, to the end they might be free and beyond reach of\nany other jurisdiction and government, and became the first\ninhabitants of those rocks; whence increasing later, the great city of\nVenice was founded, which at first was called Antenora, from the said\nAntenor. And afterwards the said Antenor departed thence and came to\ndwell on the mainland, where to-day is Padua, the great city, and he\nwas its first inhabitant and builder, and he gave it the name of\nPadua, because it was among paduli [marshes], and by reason of the\nriver Po, which flowed hard by and was called Pado. The said Antenor\nremained and died in Padua, and within our own times his body has been\ndiscovered there, and his tomb engraved with letters which bear\nwitness that it is the body of Antenor, and this his tomb has been\nrenewed by the Paduans and may be seen to-day in Padua.\n\u00a7 18.--_How Priam III. was king in Germany, and his descendants kings\nof France._ \u00a7 19.--_How Pharamond was the first king of France, and\nhis descendants after him._ \u00a7 20.--_How the second Pepin, father of\nCharles the Great, was king of France._\n\u00a7 21.--_How \u00c6neas departed from Troy and came to Carthage in Africa._\n[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 122. Inf. i. 73-75. De Mon. ii. 3; Convivio iv. 5:\n[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 62.]\n[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 3: 77-84.]\n[Sidenote: Epist. vii. (3) 62, 63.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xix. 131, 132.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 9.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. v. 61, 62. Par. ix. 97, 98. Cf. De Monarchia ii. 3:\n\u00c6neas again departed from the said destruction of Troy with Anchises,\nhis father, and with Ascanius, his son, born of Creusa, daughter of\nthe great King Priam, with a following of 3,300 men of the best people\nof Troy, and they embarked upon twenty-two ships. This \u00c6neas was of\nthe royal race of the Trojans, in this wise: for Ansaracus, son of\nTrojus and brother of Ilius, of whom mention was made in the\nbeginning, begat Danaus, and Danaus begat Anchises, and Anchises begat\n\u00c6neas. This \u00c6neas was a lord of great worth, wise and of great\nprowess, and very beautiful in person. When he departed from Troy with\nhis following, with great lamentation, having lost Creusa, his wife,\nin the assault of the Greeks, he went first to the island of Ortygia,\nand made sacrifice to Apollo, the god of the sun, or rather idol,\nasking him for counsel and answer whither he should go; from the which\nhe had answer and commandment to go into the land and country of Italy\n(whence at the first had come Dardanus and his forefathers to Troy),\nand to enter into Italy by the harbour or mouth of the river of\nAlbola; and he said to him by the said oracle, that after many\ntravails by sea, and battles in the said land of Italy, he should gain\na wife and great lordship, and from his race should arise mighty kings\nand emperors, which should do very great and notable things. When\n\u00c6neas heard this he was much encouraged by the fair response and\npromise, and straightway he put to sea with his following and ships,\nand voyaging long time he met with many adventures, and came to many\ncountries, and first to the country of Macedonia, where already were\nHelenus and the wife and son of Hector; and after their sorrowful\nmeeting, remembering the ruin of Troy, they departed. And sailing over\ndivers seas, now forwards, now backwards, now crossways, as being\nignorant of the country of Italy, not having with them any great\nmasters or pilots of the sea which could guide them, so that they\nsailed almost whithersoever fortune or the sea winds might lead them,\nat last they came to the island of Sicily which the poets called\nTrinacria, and landed where to-day is the city of Trapali, in which\nAnchises, his father, by reason of his great toils and his old age,\npassed from this life, and in the said place was buried after their\nmanner with great solemnities. And after the great mourning made by\n\u00c6neas over his dear father, they departed thence to go into Italy; and\nby stress of storm the said ships were divided, and part held one way,\nand part another. And one of the said ships, with all on board, was\nlost in the sea, and the others came to the shores of Africa (neither\nknowing ought of the other), where the noble city of Carthage was\na-building by the powerful and beautiful Queen Dido which had come\nthither from Sidonia, which is now called Suri [Tyre]; and the said\n\u00c6neas and Ascanius, his son, and all his following in the twenty-one\nships which came to that port, were received by the said queen with\ngreat honour; above all, because the said queen was taken with great\nlove for \u00c6neas so soon as she beheld him, in such wise that \u00c6neas for\nher sake abode there long time in such delight that he did not\nremember the commandment of the gods that he should go into Italy; and\nby a dream or vision, it was told him by the said gods that he should\nno longer abide in Africa. For the which thing suddenly with his\nfollowing and ships he departed from Carthage; and therefore the said\nQueen Dido by reason of her passionate love slew herself with the\nsword of the said \u00c6neas. And those who desire to know this story more\nfully may read it in the First and Second Books of the _\u00c6neid_,\nwritten by the great poet Virgil.\n\u00a7 22.--_How \u00c6neas came into Italy._\n[Sidenote: Conv. iv. 26: 96.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13-15.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 25-30.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13-27.]\nWhen \u00c6neas had departed from Africa, he again landed in Sicily, where\nhe had buried his father Anchises, and in that place celebrated the\nanniversary of his father with great games and sacrifices; and they\nreceived great honour from Acestes, then king of Sicily, by reason of\nthe ancient kinship with the Trojans, who were descendants of Sicanus\nof Fiesole. Then he departed from Sicily, and came into Italy, to the\nGulf of Bai\u00e6, which to-day is called Mare Morto, to the headland of\nMiseno, very near where to-day is Naples; in which country there were\nmany and great woods and forests, and \u00c6neas, going through them, was\nled by the appointed guide, the Erythr\u00e6an Sibyl, to behold Hell and\nthe pains that are therein, and afterwards Limbo; and, according to\nwhat is related by Virgil in the Sixth Book of the _\u00c6neid_, he there\nfound and recognised the shades, or soul-images of his father,\nAnchises, and of Dido, and of many other departed souls. And by his\nsaid father were shown to him, or signified in a vision, all his\ndescendants and their lordship, and they which were to build the great\ncity of Rome. And it is said by many, that the place where he was led\nby the wise Sibyl was through the weird caverns of Monte Barbaro,\nwhich is above Pozzuolo, and which still to-day are strange and\nfearful to behold; and others believe and hold that, either by divine\npower or by magic arts, this was shown to \u00c6neas in a vision of the\nspirit, to signify to him the great things which were to issue and\ncome forth from his descendants. But however that may be, when he\nissued forth from Hell, he departed, and entered into a ship, and,\nfollowing the shores until he came to the mouth of the river Tiber or\nAlbola, he entered it, and came to shore, and by signs and auguries\nperceived that he had arrived in the country of Italy, which had been\npromised him by the gods; and with great festival and rejoicing they\nbrought their labours by sea to an end, and began to build for\nthemselves habitations, and to fortify themselves with ditches and\npalisades of the wood of their ships. And this place afterwards became\nthe city of Ostia; and these fortifications they built for fear of the\ncountry people, who, fearing them as strange folk and unused to their\ncustoms, held them as foes, and fought many battles against the\nTrojans to drive them from the country, in all of which the Trojans\nwere victorious.\n\u00a7 23.--_How the King Latinus ruled over Italy, and how \u00c6neas had his\ndaughter to wife, and all his kingdom._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiv. 94-96. Par. xxii. 145, 146.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xxi. 25-27.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 125, 126. Purg. xvii. 34-39.]\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 35, 36.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. i. 107, iv. 124.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xvii. 34-39. Inf. i. 108. Par. vi. 3. De Monarchia\nIn this country (whereof the capital was Laurentia, the remains of\nwhich may still be traced near to where Terracina now stands), the\nKing Latinus reigned, which was of the seed of King Saturn, who came\nfrom Crete when he was driven thence by Jove his son, as we made\nmention afore. And this Saturn came into the country of Rome, which\nwas then ruled by Janus of the seed of Noah; but the inhabitants were\nthen very ignorant, and lived like beasts on fruits and acorns, and\ndwelt in caves of the earth. This Saturn, wise in learning and in\nmanners, by his wisdom and counsel led the people to live like men,\nand caused them to cultivate lands, and plant vineyards, and build\nhouses, and enclose towns and cities; and the said Saturn was the\nfirst to build the city of Sutri, called Saturna, and it was so called\nafter his name; and in that country, by his care, grain was first\nsown, wherefore the dwellers therein held him for a god; and Janus\nhimself, which was lord thereof, made him his partner, and gave him a\nshare in the kingdom. This Saturn reigned thirty-four years in Italy,\nand after him reigned Picus his son thirty-one years; and after Picus\nreigned Faunus his son twenty-nine years, and was slain by his people.\nThe two sons of Faunus were Lavinus and Latinus. This Lavinus built\nthe city of Lavina. And Lavinus reigned but a short time; and when he\nwas dead the kingdom was left to Latinus, which changed the name of\nthe city of Lavina to Laurentia, because on the chief tower thereof\nthere grew a great laurel tree. The said Latinus reigned thirty-two\nyears, and was very wise; and he much bettered the Latin tongue. This\nKing Latinus had only one most beautiful daughter called Lavinia, who\nby her mother had been promised in marriage to a king of Tuscany,\nnamed Turnus, of the city of Ardea, now Cortona. Tuscany was the name\nof the country and province, because there were the first sacrifices\noffered to the gods, with the fumes of incense called _tuscio_. \u00c6neas\nhaving arrived in the country, sought peace with the King Latinus, and\nthat he might dwell there; by the said Latinus he was received\ngraciously, and not only had leave of him to inhabit the country, but\nalso had the promise of his daughter Lavinia to wife, since the\ncommand of the gods was that they should marry her to a stranger, and\nnot to a man of the country. For which cause, and to secure the\nheritage of King Latinus, great battles arose, for a long time,\nbetween \u00c6neas and Turnus and them of Laurentia, and the said Turnus\nslew in battle the great and strong giant, Pallas, son of Evander,\nking of the seven hills, where to-day is Rome, who had come in aid of\n\u00c6neas; and on the same account died, by the hand of \u00c6neas, the virgin\nCamilla, who was marvellous in arms. In the end, \u00c6neas, being victor\nin the last battle, and Turnus being slain by his hand, took Lavinia\nto wife, who loved \u00c6neas much, and \u00c6neas her; and he had the half of\nthe kingdom of King Latinus. And, after the death of King Latinus, who\nlived but a short time longer, \u00c6neas was lord over all.\n[Sidenote: Inf. ii. 13.]\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 40-42. Convivio iv. 5: 80-97.]\n\u00a7 24.--_How Julius Ascanius, son of \u00c6neas, was king after him, and of\nthe kings and lords who descended from him._ \u00a7 25.--_How Silvius,\nsecond son of \u00c6neas, was king after Ascanius, and how from him\ndescended the kings of the Latins, of Alba, and of Rome._ \u00a7 26.--_How\nRomulus and Remus founded the city of Rome._ \u00a7 27.--_How Numa\nPompilius was king of the Romans after the death of Romulus._ \u00a7\n28.--_How there were in Rome seven kings one after the other down to\nTarquin, and how in his time they lost the lordship._\n\u00a7 29.--_How Rome was ruled for a long time by the government of the\nconsuls and senators, until Julius C\u00e6sar became Emperor._\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 79-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-29. De Monarchia ii. 9:\nAfter that the kings had been driven out, and the government of Rome\nwas left to the consuls and senators, the said King Tarquin and his\nson, with the aid of King Porsenna of Tuscany, who reigned in the city\nof Chiusi [Clusium], made great war upon the Romans, but in the end\nthe victory remained with the Romans. And afterwards the Republic of\nRome was ruled and governed for 450 years by consuls and senators, and\nat times by dictators, whose authority endured for five years; and\nthey were, so to speak, emperors, for that which they commanded must\nof necessity be done; and other divers offices, such as tribunes of\nthe people, and pr\u00e6tors, and censors, and chiliarchs. And in this time\nthere were in Rome many changes, and wars, and battles, not only with\ntheir neighbours, but with all the nations of the world; the which\nRomans by force of arms, and virtue and the wisdom of good citizens,\nruled over well-nigh all the provinces and realms and dominions in the\nworld, and gained sovereignty over them, and made them tributary, with\nthe greatest battles, and with slaughter of many nations of the world,\nand of the Romans themselves, in divers times, well-nigh innumerable\nto relate. And also among the citizens themselves, by reason of envy\nagainst the rulers, and strifes between magnates and them of the\npeople; and on the cessation of foreign wars, there arose much\nfighting and slaughter ofttimes among the citizens; and, in addition\nto this, from time to time intolerable pestilences arose among the\nRomans. And this government endured until the great battles of Julius\nC\u00e6sar against Pompey, and then against his sons, in which C\u00e6sar was\nvictorious; then the said C\u00e6sar did away with the office of consuls\nand of dictators, and he first was called Emperor. And after him\nOctavianus Augustus, who ruled in peace, after many battles, over the\nwhole world, at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, 700 years after\nthe foundation of Rome; and thus it is seen that Rome was governed by\nkings for 254 years, and by consuls 450 years, as we have aforesaid,\nand it is told more at length by Titus Livius and many other authors.\nBut note that the great power of the Romans was not alone in\nthemselves, save in so far that they were at the head and leaders; but\nfirst all the Tuscans and then all the Italians followed them in their\nwars and in their battles, and were all called Romans. But we will\nnow leave the order of the history of the Romans and of the Emperors,\nsave in so far as it shall pertain to our matter, returning to our\nsubject of the building of Florence, which we promised to narrate. And\nwe have made this long exordium, forasmuch as it was necessary to show\nhow the origin of the Roman builders of Florence (as hereafter will be\nnarrated) was derived from the noble Trojans; and the origin and\nbeginning of the Trojans was from Dardanus, son of Atlas, of the city\nof Fiesole, as we have briefly recounted; and afterwards from the\ndescendants of the noble Romans, and of the Fiesolans, by the force of\nthe Romans a people was founded called Florentines.\n\u00a7 30.--_How a conspiracy was formed in Rome by Catiline and his\nfollowers._\n[Sidenote: 680 A.U.C.]\n[Sidenote: Convivio iv. 5: 172-176.]\nAt the time when Rome was still ruled by the government of consuls, in\nthe year 680 from the foundation of the said city, Mark Tully Cicero\nand Caius Antony being consuls, and Rome in great and happy state and\nlordship, Catiline, a very noble citizen, descended by birth from the\nroyal house of Tarquin, being a man of dissolute life but brave and\ndaring in arms and a fine orator, but not wise, being envious of the\ngood and rich and wise men who ruled the city, their lordship not\nbeing pleasing to him, formed a conspiracy with many other nobles and\nother followers disposed to evil-doing, and purposed to slay the\nconsuls and part of the senators, and to destroy their office, and to\noverrun the city, robbing and setting fire to many parts thereof, and\nto make himself ruler thereof; and this he would have done had it not\nbeen warded off by the wit and foresight of the wise consul, Mark\nTully. So he defended the city from such ruin, and found out the said\nconspiracy and treason; but because of the greatness and power of the\nsaid Catiline, and because Tully was a new citizen in Rome, his father\nhaving come from Capua or from some other town of the Campagna, he did\nnot dare to have Catiline seized or to bring him to justice, as his\nmisdeeds required; but by his great wit and fine speech he caused him\nto depart from the city; but many of his fellow-conspirators and\ncompanions, from among the greatest citizens, and even of the order of\nsenators, who abode still in Rome after Catiline's departure, he\ncaused to be seized, and to be strangled in prison, so that they died,\nas the great scholar, Sallust, relates in due order.\n\u00a7 31.--_How Catiline caused the city of Fiesole to rebel against the\ncity of Rome._\nCatiline having departed from Rome, with part of his followers came\ninto Tuscany, where Manlius, one of his principal fellow-conspirators,\nwho was captain, had gathered his people in the ancient city of\nFiesole, and Catiline being come thither, he caused the said city to\nrebel against the lordship of the Romans, assembling all the rebels\nand exiles from Rome and from many other provinces, with lewd folk\ndisposed for war and for ill-doing, and he began fierce war with the\nRomans. The Romans, hearing this, decreed that Caius Antony, the\nconsul, and Publius Petreius, with an army of horse and many foot,\nshould march into Tuscany against the city of Fiesole and against\nCatiline; and they sent by them letters and messengers to Quintus\nMetellus, who was returning from France with a great host of the\nRomans, that he should likewise come with his force from the other\nside to the siege of Fiesole, and to pursue Catiline and his\nfollowers.\n\u00a7 32.--_How Catiline and his followers were discomfited by the Romans\nin the plain of Piceno._\nNow when Catiline heard that the Romans were coming to besiege him in\nthe city of Fiesole, and that Antony and Petreius were already with\ntheir host in the plain of Fiesole, upon the bank of the river Arno,\nand how that Metellus was already in Lombardy with his host of three\nlegions which were coming from France, and the succour which he was\nexpecting from his allies which had remained in Rome had failed him,\nhe took counsel not to shut himself up in the city of Fiesole, but to\ngo into France; and therefore he departed from that city with his\npeople and with a lord of Fiesole who was called Fiesolanus, and he\nhad his horses' shoes reversed, to the end that when they departed the\nhoofprints of the horses might show as if folk had entered into\nFiesole, and not sallied forth thence, to cause the Romans to tarry\nnear the city, that he might depart thence the more safely. And having\ndeparted by night, to avoid Metellus, he did not hold the direct road\nthrough the mountains which we call the Alps of Bologna, but took the\nplain by the side of the mountains, and came where to-day is the city\nof Pistoia, in the place called Campo Piceno, that was below where\nto-day is the fortress of Piteccio, purposing to cross the Apennine\nmountains by that way, and descend thence into Lombardy; but Antony\nand Petreius, hearing of his departure, straightway followed after him\nwith their host along the plain, so that they overtook him in the said\nplace, and Metellus, on the other side, set guards at the passes of\nthe mountains, to the end he might not pass thereby. Catiline, seeing\nhimself to be thus straitened, and that he could not avoid the battle,\ngave himself and his followers to the chances of combat with great\ncourage and boldness, in the which battle there was great slaughter of\nRomans from the city and of rebel Romans and of Fiesolans; at the end\nof which fierce battle Catiline was defeated and slain in that place\nof Piceno with all his followers; and the field remained to the\nRomans, but with such dolorous victory that the said two consuls, with\ntwenty horse, who alone escaped, did not care to return to Rome. The\nwhich thing could not gain credence with the Romans till the senators\nsent thither to learn the truth; and, this known, there was the\ngreatest sorrow thereat in Rome. And he who desires to see this\nhistory more fully, let him read the book of Sallust called\n_Catilinarius_. The injured and wounded of Catiline's people who had\nescaped death in the battle, albeit they were but few, withdrew where\nis to-day the city of Pistoia, and there in vile habitations became\nthe first inhabitants thereof, whilst their wounds were healing. And\nafterwards, by reason of the good situation and fruitful soil, the\ninhabitants thereof increased, which afterwards built the city of\nPistoia, and by reason of the great mortality and pestilence which was\nnear that place, both of their people and of the Romans, they gave it\nthe name of Pistoia; and therefore it is not to be marvelled at if the\nPistoians have been and are a fierce and cruel people in war among\nthemselves and against others, being descended from the race of\nCatiline and from the remnants of such people as his, discomfited and\nwounded in battle.\n\u00a7 33.--_How Metellus with his troops made war upon the Fiesolans._\nAfter that Metellus, who was in Lombardy near the mountains of the\nApennine Alps in the country of Modena, heard of the defeat and death\nof Catiline, straightway he came with his host to the place where the\nbattle had been, and having seen the slain, through amazement at the\nstrange and great mortality he was afeared, marvelling within himself\nas at a thing impossible. But afterwards he and his followers equally\ndespoiled the camp of the Romans from the city and that of the enemy,\nseizing that which they found there; and this done he came towards\nFiesole to besiege the city. The Fiesolans vigorously took to arms,\nand sallied forth from the city to the plain, fighting with Metellus\nand with his host, and by force thrust him back, and drove him to the\nother side of the Arno with great hurt to his people, who with his\nfollowers encamped upon the hills, or upon the banks of the river; the\nFiesolans with their host drew off from the other bank of the river\nArno towards Fiesole.\n\u00a7 34.--_How Metellus and Fiorinus discomfited the Fiesolans._\nThe night following, Metellus ordered and commanded that part of his\nhost should pass the river Arno, at a distance from the host of the\nFiesolans, and should place themselves in ambush between the city of\nFiesole and the host of the Fiesolans, and of that company he made\ncaptain Fiorinus, a noble citizen of Rome of the race of the Fracchi\nor Floracchi, who was his pr\u00e6tor, which is as much as to say marshal\nof his host; and Fiorinus, as he was commanded by the consul, so he\ndid. In the morning, at the break of day, Metellus armed with all his\npeople passing over the river Arno, began the battle against the\nFiesolans, and the Fiesolans, vigorously defending the ford of the\nriver, sustained the battle in the river Arno. Fiorinus, who was with\nhis people in ambush, when he saw the battle begun, sallied forth\nboldly in the rear of the Fiesolans, who were fighting in the river\nagainst Metellus. The Fiesolans, surprised by the ambush, seeing\nthemselves suddenly assailed by Fiorinus in the rear and by Metellus\nin front, put to confusion, threw down their arms and fled discomfited\ntowards the city of Fiesole, wherefore many of them were slain and\ntaken.\n\u00a7 35.--_How the Romans besieged Fiesole the first time, and how\nFiorinus was slain._\nThe Fiesolans being discomfited and driven back from the shores of\nArno, Fiorinus the pr\u00e6tor, with the host of the Romans, encamped\nbeyond the river Arno towards Fiesole, where were two little villages,\none of which was called Villa Arnina, and the other Camarte [Casa\nMartis], that is campo or _Domus Martis_, where the Fiesolans on a\ncertain day in the week held a market in all commodities for their\ntowns and the region round about. The consul made a decree with\nFiorinus that no one should sell or buy bread or wine or other things\nwhich might be of use to the troops save in the field where Fiorinus\nwas stationed. After this the consul Quintus Metellus sent incontinent\nto Rome that they should send him men-at-arms to besiege the city of\nFiesole, for the which cause the senators made a decree that Julius\nC\u00e6sar, and Cicero, and Macrinus, with several legions of soldiers,\nshould come to the siege and destruction of Fiesole; which, being\ncome, besieged the said city. C\u00e6sar encamped on the hill which rose\nabove the city; Macrinus on the next hill or mountain, and Cicero on\nthe other side; and thus they remained for six years besieging the\nsaid city, having through long siege and through hunger almost\ndestroyed it. And likewise those in the host, by reason of the long\nsojourn and their many privations being diminished and enfeebled,\ndeparted from the siege, and returned to Rome, save Fiorinus, who\nremained at the siege with his followers in the plain where he had at\nfirst encamped, and surrounded himself with moats and palisades, after\nthe manner of ramparts, or fortifications, and kept the Fiesolans in\ngreat straits; and thus he warred upon them long time, till his folk\nfelt secure, and held their foes for nought. Then the Fiesolans having\nrecovered breath somewhat, and mindful of the ill which Fiorinus had\ndone and was doing to them, suddenly, and as if in despair, advanced\nby night with ladders and with engines to attack the camp or\nfortification of Fiorinus, and he and his people with but few guards\nand while they slept, not being on their guard against the Fiesolans,\nwere surprised; and Fiorinus and his wife and his children were slain,\nand all his host in that place well-nigh destroyed, for few thereof\nescaped; and the said fortress and ramparts were destroyed, and burnt\nand done away with by the Fiesolans.\n\u00a7 36.--_How, because of the death of Fiorinus, the Romans returned to\nthe siege of Fiesole._\nWhen the news was known at Rome, the consuls and senators and all the\ncommonwealth being grieved at the misadventure which had befallen the\ngood leader Fiorinus, straightway took counsel that this should be\navenged, and that a very great host should return once more to destroy\nthe city of Fiesole, for the which were chosen these leaders: Count\nRainaldus, Cicero, Teberinus Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, C\u00e6sar,\nand Camertino Sezio, Conte Tudedino, that is Count of Todi, which was\nwith Julius C\u00e6sar, and of his chivalry. This man pitched his camp near\nto Camarti, nearly where to-day is Florence; C\u00e6sar pitched his camp\nupon the hill which rose above the city, which is to-day called Mount\nCecero, but formerly was called Mount C\u00e6sar, after his name, or after\nthe name of Cicero; but rather it is held to be after C\u00e6sar, inasmuch\nas he was the greatest leader in the host. Rainaldus pitched his camp\nupon the hill over against the city on the other side of the Mugnone,\nand after his name it is so called until this day; Macrinus encamped\non the hill still called after him; Camertinus in the region which is\nstill called Camerata after his name. And all the other aforesaid\nlords, each one for himself pitched his camp around the city, some on\nthe hills and some in the plain; but no other than these aforesaid\nhave left their names to be a memorial of them. These lords, with\ntheir followers in great numbers, both horse and foot, besieging the\ncity, arrayed and prepared themselves to make yet greater war upon the\ncity than at the first; but by reason of the strength of the city the\nRomans wrought in vain, and many of them being dead by reason of the\nlong siege and excessive toil, those great lords and consuls and\nsenators well-nigh all returned to Rome; only C\u00e6sar with his followers\nabode still at the siege. And during that sojourn he commanded his\nsoldiers to go to the village of Camarti, nigh to the river Arno, and\nthere to build a council house wherein he might hold his council, and\nmight leave it for a memorial of himself. This building in our\nvernacular we have named Parlagio [Parliament house]. And it was round\nand was right marvellously vaulted, and had an open space in the\nmidst; and then began seats in steps all around; and from step to\nstep, built upon, vaulting, they rose, widening up to the very top,\nand the height thereof was more than sixty cubits, and it had two\ndoors; and therein assembled the people to hold council, and from\ngrade to grade the folk were seated, the most noble above, and then\ndescending according to the dignity of the people; and it was so\nfashioned that all in the Parliament might see one another by face,\nand that all might hear distinctly that which one was saying; and it\nheld commodiously an infinite multitude of people, and its name,\nrightly speaking, was Parlatorio [speaking place]. This was afterwards\ndestroyed in the time of Totila, but in our days the foundations may\nyet be seen, and part of the vaulting near to the church of S. Simone\nin Florence, and reaching to the beginning of the square of Santa\nCroce; and part of the palaces of the Peruzzi are built thereupon, and\nthe street which is called Anguillaia, which goes to Santa Croce, goes\nalmost through the midst of the said Parliament house.\n\u00a7 37.--_How the city of Fiesole surrendered itself to the Romans and\nwas destroyed and laid waste._\n[Sidenote: Circ. 72 B.C.]\nFiesole having been besieged as aforesaid the second time, and the\ncity being much wasted and afflicted both by reason of hunger and also\nbecause their aqueducts had been cut off and destroyed, the city\nsurrendered to C\u00e6sar and to the Romans at the end of two years and\nfour months and six days (for so long had the siege lasted), on\ncondition that any which desired to leave the city might go in safety.\nThe city was taken by the Romans, and despoiled of all its wealth, and\nwas destroyed by C\u00e6sar, and laid waste to the foundations; and this\nwas about seventy-two years before the birth of Christ.\n\u00a7 38.--_How the city of Florence was first built._\nAfter the city of Fiesole was destroyed, C\u00e6sar with his armies\ndescended to the plain on the banks of the river Arno, where Fiorinus\nand his followers had been slain by the Fiesolans, and in this place\nbegan to build a city, in order that Fiesole should never be rebuilt;\nand he dismissed the Latin horseman whom he had with him, enriched\nwith the spoils of Fiesole; and these Latins were called Tudertines.\nC\u00e6sar, then, having fixed the boundaries of the city, and included two\nplaces called Camarti and Villa Arnina [of the Arno], purposed to call\nit C\u00e6sar\u00e6a from his own name. But when the Roman senate heard this,\nthey would not suffer C\u00e6sar to call it after his name, but they made a\ndecree and order that the other chief noble Romans who had taken part\nin the siege of Fiesole should go and build the new city together with\nC\u00e6sar, and afterwards populate it; and that whichever of the builders\nhad first completed his share of the work should call it after his own\nname, or howso else it pleased him.\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 107, 108.]\n[Sidenote: 70 B.C.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 73-78. Par. xv. 124-126.]\nThen Macrinus, Albinus, Gneus Pompey, and Marcius, furnished with\nmaterials and workmen, came from Rome to the city which C\u00e6sar was\nbuilding, and agreed with C\u00e6sar to divide the work after this manner:\nthat Albinus undertook to pave all the city, which was a noble work\nand gave beauty and charm to the city, and to this day fragments of\nthe work are found, in digging, especially in the sesto of Santo Piero\nScheraggio, and in Porta San Piero, and in Porta del Duomo, where it\nshows that the ancient city was. Macrinus caused the water to be\nbrought in conduits and aqueducts, bringing it from a distance of\nseven miles from the city, to the end the city might have abundance of\ngood water to drink and to cleanse the city; and this conduit was\ncarried from the river called Marina at the foot of Montemorello,\ngathering to itself all the springs above Sesto and Quinto and\nColonnata. And in Florence the said springs came to a head at a great\npalace which was called \"caput aqu\u00e6,\" but afterwards in our speech it\nwas called Capaccia, and the remains can be seen in the Terma until\nthis day. And note that the ancients, for health's sake, used to drink\nspring waters brought in by conduits, forasmuch as they were purer and\nmore wholesome than water from wells; seeing that few, indeed very\nfew, drank wine, but the most part water from conduits, but not from\nwells; and as yet there were very few vines. Gneus Pompey caused the\nwalls of the city to be built of burnt bricks, and upon the walls of\nthe city he built many round towers, and the space between one tower\nand the other was twenty cubits, and it was so that the towers were of\ngreat beauty and strength. Concerning the size and circuit of the city\nwe can find no chronicle which makes mention thereof; save that when\nTotila, the scourge of God, destroyed it, history records that it was\nvery great. Marcius, the other Roman lord, caused the Capitol to be\nbuilt after the fashion of Rome, that is to say the palace, or master\nfortress of the city, and this was of marvellous beauty; into which\nthe water of the river Arno came by a hollowed and vaulted passage,\nand returned into the Arno underground; and the city, at every\nfestival, was cleansed by the outpouring of this duct. This Capitol\nstood where to-day is the piazza which is called the Mercato Vecchio,\nover against the church which is called S. Maria, in Campidoglio. This\nseems to be the best supported opinion; but some say that it was where\nthe place is now called the Guardingo [citadel]; beside the Piazza di\nPopolo (so called from the Priors' Palace), which was another\nfortress. Guardingo was the name afterwards given to the remains of\nthe walls and arches after the destruction by Totila, where the bad\nquarter was. And the said lords each strove to be in advance of the\nwork of the others. And at one same time the whole was completed, so\nthat to none of them was the favour granted of naming the city\naccording to his desire, but by many it was at first called \"Little\nRome.\" Others called it Floria, because Fiorinus, who was the first\nbuilder in that spot, had there died, he being the _fiore_ [flower] of\nwarlike deeds and of chivalry, and because in the country and fields\naround where the city was built there always grew flowers and lilies.\nAfterwards the greater part of the inhabitants consented to call it\nFloria, as being built among flowers, that is, amongst many delights.\nAnd of a surety it was, inasmuch as it was peopled by the best of\nRome, and the most capable, sent by the senate in due proportion from\neach division of Rome, chosen by lot from the inhabitants; and they\nadmitted among their number those Fiesolans which desired there to\ndwell and abide. But afterwards it was, through long use of the vulgar\ntongue, called Fiorenza, that is \"flowery sword.\" And we find that it\nwas built in the year 682, after the building of Rome and seventy\nyears before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And note that it is\nnot to be wondered at that the Florentines are always at war and\nstrife among themselves, being born and descended from two peoples so\ncontrary and hostile and different in habits as were the noble Romans\nin their virtue and the rude Fiesolans fierce in war.\n\u00a7 39.--_How C\u00e6sar departed from Florence, and went to Rome, and was\nmade consul to go against the French._\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 65. Epist. v. (3) 47-49.]\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 73-81. Convivio iv. 5: 16-79. De Mon. ii. 9:\nAfter that the city of Florence was built and peopled, Julius C\u00e6sar\nbeing angered because he, having been the first builder thereof, and\nhaving had the victory over the city of Fiesole, had nevertheless not\nbeen permitted to call the city after his name, departed therefrom and\nreturned to Rome, and for his zeal and valour was elected consul and\nsent against the French, where he abode ten years whilst he was\nconquering France and England and Germany; and when he returned\nvictorious to Rome his triumph was refused him, because he had\ntransgressed the decree (made by Pompey the consul, and by the senate,\nthrough envy, under colour of virtue), that no one was to continue in\nany command for more than five years. The which C\u00e6sar returning with\nhis army of French and Germans from beyond the Alps, Italians, Pisans,\nPirates, Pistoians, and also Florentines, his fellow-citizens, brought\nfootmen and horsemen and slingers with him to begin a civil war,\nbecause his triumph had been refused him, but moreover that he might\nbe lord of Rome as he had desired long time. So he fought against\nPompey and the senate of Rome. And after the great battle between\nC\u00e6sar and Pompey, well-nigh all the combatants were slain in Emathia,\nto wit Thessaly in Greece, as may fully be read in Lucan the poet, by\nwhoso desires to know the history. And after that C\u00e6sar had gained the\nvictory over Pompey, and over many kings and peoples who were helping\nthose Romans who were his enemies, he returned to Rome, and so became\nthe first Emperor of Rome, which is as much as to say commander over\nall. And after him came Octavianus Augustus, his nephew and adopted\nson, who was reigning when Christ was born, and after many victories\nruled over all the world in peace; and thenceforward Rome was under\nimperial government, and held under its jurisdiction and that of the\nEmpire all the whole world.\n\u00a7 40.--_Of the ensign of the Romans and of the Emperors, and how from\nthem it came to the city of Florence and other cities._\n[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 4: 30-41.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xix. 101, 102.]\n[Sidenote: De Mon. ii. 11: 23. Purg. x. 80. Par. vi. 32, 100.]\n[Sidenote: Ep. vi. (3) 79-85.]\nIn the time of Numa Pompilius by a divine miracle there fell from\nheaven into Rome a vermilion-coloured shield, for the which cause and\naugury the Romans took that ensign for their arms, and afterwards\nadded S.P.Q.R. in letters of gold, signifying Senate of the People of\nRome; the same ensign they gave to all the cities which they built, to\nwit, vermilion. Thus did they to Perugia, and to Florence, and to\nPisa; but the Florentines, because of the name of Fiorinus and of the\ncity, charged it with the white lily; and the Perugians sometimes with\nthe white griffin; and Viterbo kept the red field, and the Orvietans\ncharged it with the white eagle. It is true that the Roman lords,\nconsuls and dictators, after that the eagle appeared as an augury over\nthe Tarpeian rock, to wit, over the treasure chamber of the Capitol,\nas Titus Livius makes mention, added the eagle to their arms on the\nensign; and we find that the consul Marius in the battle of the Cimbri\nhad on his ensigns the silver eagle, and a similar ensign was borne by\nCatiline when he was defeated by Antonius in the parts about Pistoia,\nas Sallust relates. And the great Pompey bore the azure field and\nsilver eagle, and Julius C\u00e6sar bore the vermilion field and golden\neagle, as Lucan makes mention in verse, saying,\n     Signa pares aquilas, et pila minantia pilis.\nBut afterwards Octavianus Augustus, his nephew and successor, changed\nit, and bore the golden field and the eagle natural, to wit, in black\ncolour, signifying the supremacy of the Empire, for like as the eagle\nsurpasses every other bird, and sees more clearly than any other\ncreature, and flies as high as the heaven of the hemisphere of fire,\nso the Empire ought to be above every other temporal sovereignty. And\nafter Octavianus all the Roman emperors have borne it in like manner;\nbut Constantine, and after him all the other Greek emperors, retained\nthe ensign of Julius C\u00e6sar, to wit, the vermilion field and golden\neagle, but with two heads. We will leave speaking of the ensigns of\nthe Roman commonwealth and of the Emperors, and we will return to our\nsubject concerning the doings of the city of Florence.\n\u00a7 41.--_How the city of Florence became the Treasure-House of the\nRomans and the Empire._\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Temple of Mars, which is now called the Duomo of S.\nGiovanni, was built in Florence._\nAfter that C\u00e6sar and Pompey, and Macrinus and Albinus and Marcius,\nRoman nobles and builders of the new city of Florence, had returned\nto Rome, their labours being completed, the city began to increase and\nmultiply both in Romans and Fiesolans who had settled as its\ninhabitants, and in a short time it became a fine city for those\ntimes; for the emperors and senate of Rome advanced it to the best of\ntheir power, much like another little Rome. Its citizens, being in\nprosperous state, determined to build in the said city a marvellous\ntemple in honour of the god Mars, by reason of the victory which the\nRomans had had over the city of Fiesole; and they sent to the senate\nof Rome to send them the best and most skilful masters that were in\nRome, and this was done. And they caused to be brought white and black\nmarbles and columns from many distant places by sea, and then by the\nArno; they brought stone and columns from Fiesole, and founded and\nbuilt the said temple in the place anciently called Camarti, and where\nthe Fiesolans held their market. Very noble and beautiful they built\nit with eight sides, and when it had been built with great diligence,\nthey dedicated it to the god Mars, who was the god of the Romans, and\nthey had his effigy carved in marble in the likeness of an armed\ncavalier on horseback; they placed him on a marble pillar in the midst\nof that temple, and held him in great reverence, and adored him as\ntheir god so long as paganism continued in Florence. And we find that\nthe said temple was begun during the reign of Octavianus Augustus, and\nthat it was built under the ascendant of such a constellation that it\nwill continue almost to eternity; and this we find written in a\ncertain place engraved within the space of the said temple.\n\u00a7 43.--_Tells how the province of Tuscany lies._ \u00a7 44.--_Concerning\nthe might and lordship possessed by the province of Tuscany before\nRome came into power._ \u00a7 45.--_These are the bishoprics of the cities\nof Tuscany._ \u00a7 46.--_Of the city of Perugia._ \u00a7 47.--_Of the city of\nArezzo._ \u00a7 48.--_Of the city of Pisa._ \u00a7 49.--_Of the city of Lucca._\n\u00a7 50.--_Of the city of Luni._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 73.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xiii. 152.]\n[Sidenote: Vita Nuova \u00a7 2. Convivio ii. 15.]\nThe city of Luni, which is now destroyed, was very ancient, and we\nfind from the stones of Troy, that from the city of Luni there went a\nfleet and soldiers in aid of the Greeks against the Trojans;\nafterwards it was destroyed by soldiers from beyond the mountains, by\nreason of a lady, the wife of a lord, who, when on the way to Rome,\nwas adulterously seduced in this city of Luni, wherefore, as the said\nlord returned, he destroyed the city by force, and to-day the country\nis desert and unhealthy. And note that of old the coasts were much\ninhabited, and albeit inland there were few cities, and few\ninhabitants, yet in Maremma and Maretima, towards Rome on the coast of\nthe Campagna, there were many cities and many inhabitants, which\nto-day are consumed and brought to nought by reason of the corruption\nof the air: for there was the great city of Populonia, and Soana, and\nTalamone, and Grosseto, and Civitaveglia, and Mascona, and Lansedonia,\nwhich were with their troops at the siege of Troy; and in Campagna,\nBaia, Pompeia, Cumina, and Laurenza, and Albania. And the cause why\nto-day these cities of the coast are almost without inhabitants and\nunhealthy, and also why Rome is less healthy, is said by the great\nmasters of astronomy to be because of the movement of the eighth\nsphere of heaven, which in every hundred years moves one degree\ntowards the North Pole, and thus it will move 15\u00b0 in 1,500 years, and\nafterwards will turn back in like manner, if it be the pleasure of God\nthat the world shall endure so long; and by the said change of the\nheaven is changed the quality of the earth and of the air, and where\nit was inhabited and healthy, it now is without inhabitants and\nunhealthy, and also the converse. And furthermore, we see that in the\ncourse of nature all things in the world change, and rise and\ndiminish, as Christ said with His mouth that nothing here abides.\n\u00a7\u00a7 51-56.--_Of Viterbo, Orvieto, Cortona, Chiusi, Volterra, and\nSiena._\n\u00a7 57.--_The story returns to the doings of the city of Florence, and\nhow S. Miniato there suffered martyrdom under Decius, the Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 270 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1013 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xii. 100-105.]\nNow that we have briefly made some mention of our neighbouring cities\nin Tuscany, we will return to our subject and tell of our city of\nFlorence. As we recounted before, the said city was ruled long time\nunder the government and lordship of the emperors of Rome, and\nofttimes the emperors came to sojourn in Florence when they were\njourneying into Lombardy, and into Germany, and into France to conquer\nprovinces. And we find that Decius, the Emperor, in the first year of\nhis reign, which was in the year of Christ 270, was in Florence, the\ntreasure-house and chancelry of the Empire, sojourning there for his\npleasure; and the said Decius cruelly persecuted the Christians\nwheresoever he could hear of them or find them, and he heard tell how\nthe blessed Saint Miniato was living as a hermit near to Florence,\nwith his disciples and companions, in a wood which was called\nArisbotto of Florence, behind the place where now stands his church,\nabove the city of Florence. This blessed Miniato was first-born son to\nthe king of Armenia, and having left his kingdom for the faith of\nChrist, to do penance and to be far away from his kingdom, he went\nover seas to gain pardon at Rome, and then betook himself to the said\nwood, which was in those days wild and solitary, forasmuch as the city\nof Florence did not extend and was not settled beyond Arno, but was\nall on this side; save only there was one bridge across the Arno, not\nhowever where the bridges now are. And it is said by many that it was\nthe ancient bridge of the Fiesolans which led from Girone to\nCandegghi, and this was the ancient and direct road and way from Rome\nto Fiesole, and to go into Lombardy and across the mountains. The said\nEmperor Decius caused the said blessed Miniato to be taken, as his\nstory narrates. Great gifts and rewards were offered him as to a\nking's son, to the end he should deny Christ; and he, constant and\nfirm in the faith, would have none of his gifts, but endured divers\nmartyrdoms: in the end the said Decius caused him to be beheaded where\nnow stands the church of Santa Candida alla Croce al Gorgo; and many\nfaithful followers of Christ received martyrdom at that place. And\nwhen the head of the blessed Miniato had been cut off, by a miracle of\nChrist, with his hands he set it again upon his trunk, and on his feet\npassed over Arno, and went up to the hill where now stands his church,\nwhere at that time was a little oratory in the name of the blessed\nPeter the Apostle, where many bodies of holy martyrs were buried; and\nwhen S. Miniato was come to that place, he gave up soul to Christ,\nand his body was there secretly buried by the Christians; the which\nplace, by reason of the merits of the blessed S. Miniato, was devoutly\nvenerated by the Florentines after that they were become Christians,\nand a little church was built there in his honour. But the great and\nnoble church of marble which is there now in our times, we find to\nhave been built later by the zeal of the venerable Father Alibrando,\nbishop and citizen of Florence, in the year of Christ 1013, begun on\nthe 26th day of the month of April by the commandment and authority of\nthe catholic and holy Emperor Henry II. of Bavaria, and of his wife\nthe holy Empress Gunegonda, which was reigning in those times; and\nthey presented and endowed the said church with many rich possessions\nin Florence and in the country, for the good of their souls, and\ncaused the said church to be repaired and rebuilt of marbles, as it is\nnow; and they caused the body of the blessed Miniato to be translated\nto the altar which is beneath the vaulting of the said church, with\nmuch reverence and solemnity by the said bishop and the clergy of\nFlorence, with all the people, both men and women, of the city of\nFlorence; but afterwards the said church was completed by the\ncommonwealth of Florence, and the stone steps were made which lead\ndown by the hill; and the consuls of the art of the Calimala were put\nin charge of the said work of S. Miniato, and were to protect it.\n\u00a7 58.--_How S. Crescius and his companions suffered martyrdom in the\ndistrict of Florence._\n\u00a7 59.--_Of Constantine the Emperor, and his descendants, and the\nchanges which came thereof in Italy._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 115-117.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 94, 95.]\n[Sidenote: 320 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. 10. Par. vi. 1-3; xx. 55-57.]\nWe find that our city of Florence remained under the government of the\nRoman Empire for about 350 years after its first foundation, observing\npagan ways, and worshipping idols, albeit there were many Christians,\nafter the fashion whereof I have spoken, but they remained concealed\nin divers hermitages and caverns without the city, and they which were\nwithin did not declare themselves as Christians for fear of the\npersecutions which the emperors of Rome and their vicars and ministers\nbrought upon the Christians, until the time of the great Constantine,\nson of Constantine the Emperor, and of Helena his wife, daughter of\nthe king of Britain, which was the first Christian emperor, and\nendowed the Church with all the possessions of Rome, and gave liberty\nto the Christians in the time of the blessed Pope Sylvester, who\nbaptized him and made him a Christian, cleansing him from leprosy by\nthe power of Christ, and this was in the year of Christ about 320. The\nsaid Constantine caused many churches to be built in Rome to the\nhonour of Christ, and having destroyed all the temples of paganism and\nof the idols, and established Holy Church in her liberty and lordship,\nand having brought the temporal affairs of the Church under due system\nand order, he departed to Constantinople, which he caused to be thus\nnamed, after his own name (for before this it was called Byzantium),\nand he raised it to great state and lordship, and there he made his\nseat, leaving here in command of Rome his patricians or censors, that\nis, vicars, which defended Rome, and fought for her, and for the\nEmpire. After the said Constantine, which reigned more than thirty\nyears, first in command of Rome, and then in command of\nConstantinople, there were left three sons, Constantine, and\nConstantius, and Constans, which had war and contentions among\nthemselves, and one of them, to wit, Constantine, was a Christian, and\nthe next, Constantius, was a heretic, and persecuted the Christians by\nreason of his heresy, which was begun in Constantinople by one named\nArius, and this heresy was called Arian, after his name, which spread\nmuch error throughout all the world, and throughout the Church of God.\nThese sons of Constantine by their dissensions greatly laid waste the\nEmpire of Rome, and in a sense abandoned it, and henceforward it\nalways seemed as if it were declining, and its sovereignty becoming\nless; and there began to be two and three emperors at one time, and\none would be reigning in Constantinople, and another in the Empire of\nRome, and one would be Christian, and another an Arian heretic,\npersecuting the Christians and the Church, and this endured long time,\nso that all Italy was infected thereby. Of the other emperors before\nand after, we shall make no ordered record, save of those which\npertain to our subject; but he who desires to find them in order\nshould read the Martinian Chronicle, and therein he will find the\nemperors and the popes which were in those times set forth in order.\n\u00a7 60.--_How the Christian faith first came to Florence._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 47, 145, 146.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 143-150.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 25, 47.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 42.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 17-20. Par. xv. 134, 135.]\nAt the time that the said great Constantine became a Christian, and\ngave freedom and sovereignty to the Church, and S. Sylvester, the\nPope, was openly established in the papacy in Rome, there spread\nthrough Tuscany, and throughout Italy, and afterwards through all the\nworld, the true faith and belief of Jesus Christ. And in our city of\nFlorence, the true faith began to be adopted, and paganism to be\nabolished, in the time of * * * * who was made bishop of Florence by\nPope Sylvester; and from the noble and beautiful temple of the\nFlorentines, of which mention has been made above, the Florentines\nremoved their idol, which they called the god Mars, and placed it upon\na high tower, by the river Arno, and would not break or destroy it,\nbecause in their ancient records they found that the said idol of Mars\nhad been consecrated under the ascendant of such a planet, that if it\nwere broken or set aside in a place of contempt, the city would suffer\nperil and injury, and undergo great changes. And although the\nFlorentines had lately become Christians, they still observed many\npagan customs, and long continued to observe them, and they still\nstood in awe of their ancient idol of Mars, so little were they\nperfected as yet in the holy faith; and this done, they consecrated\ntheir said temple in honour of God and of the blessed S. John the\nBaptist, and called it the Duomo of S. Giovanni; and they decreed that\nthe feast on the day of his nativity should be celebrated with solemn\nsacrifices, and that a race should be run for a samite cloak, and this\ncustom has been always observed by the Florentines on that day. And\nthey had baptismal fonts erected in the middle of the temple, where\npeople and children were and still are baptized; and on Holy Saturday,\nwhen in the said fonts the baptismal water and fire were blessed, they\nordered that the said holy fire should be carried through the city\nafter the custom of Jerusalem, so that some one should enter into\nevery house with a lighted torch, for them to kindle their fires\nfrom. And from this solemnity came the privilege of the \"great torch,\"\nwhich pertained to the house of the Pazzi, from some hundred and\nseventy years before 1300; because one of their ancestors, named\nPazzo, strong and tall in person, bore a larger torch than any other,\nand was the first to take the sacred fire, and then the others\nreceived it from him. The said duomo, after that it had been\nconsecrated to Christ, was enlarged by the space where to-day is the\nchoir, and the altar of the blessed John; but at the time that the\nsaid duomo was the temple of Mars, this addition had not been made\nthereto, nor the turret and ball at the summit; and indeed it was open\nabove after the fashion of Santa Maria Ritonda of Rome, to the intent\ntheir idol, the god Mars, which was in the midst of the temple, might\nbe open to the sky. But after the second rebuilding of Florence, in\nthe year of Christ 1150, the cupola was built upon columns, and the\nball, and the golden cross which is at the top, by the consuls of the\nArt of Calimala, to which the commonwealth of Florence had committed\nthe charge of the building of the said work in honour of S. John. And\nby many people which have journeyed through the world it is said to be\nthe most beautiful temple or duomo of any that may be found; and in\nour times has been completed the work of the histories depicted within\nin mosaic. And we find, from ancient records, that the figure of the\nsun carved in mosaic, which says: \"_En giro torte sol ciclos, et rotor\nigne_,\" was done by astronomy, and when the sun enters into the sign\nof Cancer, it shines at mid-day on that place through the opening\nabove, where is the turret.\n\u00a7 61.--_Of the coming of the Goths and Vandals into Italy, and how\nthey destroyed the country and besieged the city of Florence in the\ntime of S. Zenobius, bishop of Florence._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK I.\nBOOK II.\n     _Here begins the Second Book: how the city of Florence was\n     destroyed by Totila, the scourge of God, king of the Goths\n     and Vandals._\n[Sidenote: 440 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 67.]\n[Sidenote: 450 A.D.]\n\u00a7 1.--In the year of Christ 440, in the time of S. Leo the Pope, and\nof Theodosius and Valentinian emperors, in the northern parts there\nwas a king of the Vandals and of the Goths, which was called Bela, and\nsurnamed Totila. This man was a barbarian and had no religion, and was\ncruel in customs and in all things, born of the province of Gothland\nand Sweden, and in his cruelty he slew his brother and subdued many\ndivers nations of peoples by his might and lordship; and afterwards he\nwas minded to destroy and take away the Empire of the Romans, and lay\nRome waste; and thus by his sovereignty he gathered together\ninnumerable people from his own country, and from Sweden and from\nGothland, and afterwards from Pannonia, which is Hungary, and from\nDenmark, to enter into Italy. And when he desired to pass into Italy,\nhe was opposed by the Romans and Burgundians and French, and a great\nbattle was fought against him in the district of Lunina, that is to\nsay of Friuli and Aquilea, with the greatest number of slain that had\never been in any battle, both on one side and on the other; and the\nking of Burgundy was slain. And Totila, being discomfited, returned to\nhis own country with the followers which were left to him. But\nafterwards, desiring to carry out his purpose of destroying the Empire\nof Rome, he gathered a larger army than before, and came into Italy.\nAnd first he laid siege to the city of Aquilea; so it continued three\nyears, and then he took it, and burnt and destroyed it with all the\ninhabitants; and when he had entered into Italy, after the same manner\nhe destroyed Vicenza, and Brescia, and Bergamo, and Milan, and Ticino,\nand well-nigh all the cities of Lombardy, save Modena, for the merits\nof S. Gemignano, which was bishop thereof; for when he was passing\nthrough this city with his people, by a divine miracle he did not see\nit save when he was without the city, and by reason of the miracle he\npassed it by, and did not destroy it: and he destroyed Bologna and put\nto martyrdom S. Proculus, bishop of Bologna, and thus he destroyed\nwell-nigh all the cities of Romagna. And afterwards passing through\nTuscany he found the city of Florence strong and powerful. Hearing the\nfame thereof, and how it had been built by the noblest Romans, and was\nthe treasure-house of the Empire and of Rome, and how in this country\nhad been slain Radagasius, king of the Goths, his predecessor, with so\ngreat a multitude of Goths, as before has been narrated, he commanded\nthat it should be besieged, and long time he sat before it in vain.\nAnd seeing that he could not obtain it by siege, inasmuch as it was\nvery strong in towers and in walls and in many good soldiers, he set\nabout to gain it by deceit and by flattery and by treachery. Now the\nFlorentines had continual war with the city of Pistoia; and Totila\nceased laying waste the country around the city, and sent to the\nFlorentines that he desired to be their friend, and in their service\nwould destroy the city of Pistoia, promising and making show of great\nlove, and to give them privileges with very generous covenants. The\nimprudent Florentines (and for this cause they were ever afterwards\ncalled _blind_ in the proverb) believed his false flatteries and vain\npromises; they opened the gates to him, and admitted him and his\nfollowers into the city, and lodged him in the Capitol. And when the\ncruel tyrant was within the city with all his forces, under false\nseeming he showed love to the citizens, and one day he invited to his\ncouncil the greatest and most powerful chiefs of the city in great\nnumbers; and when they came to the Capitol, as they passed one by one\nthrough an entry, he caused them to be slain and massacred, none\nperceiving ought of the fate of the other; and afterwards he had them\nthrown into the ducts of the Capitol, to wit, the conduit of the Arno\nwhich flows underground by the Capitol, to the end that no man might\nknow thereof. And thus he put them to death in great numbers, and\nnought was perceived thereof in the city of Florence save that at the\nexit from the city where the said aqueduct or conduit issued forth and\nflowed back into the Arno, the water was seen to be all red and\nbloody. Then the people perceived the deceit and treachery; but it was\nin vain and too late, seeing that Totila had armed all his followers;\nand when he perceived that his cruelty was discovered, he commanded\nthem to overrun the city and slay both great and small, men and women,\nand from this there was no escape, forasmuch as the city was unarmed\nand unprepared, and we find that at that time there were in the city\nof Florence 22,000 men-at-arms, beside the aged and children. When the\npeople of the city perceived that they were come to such sorrow and\ndestruction, they escaped who could, fleeing into the country and\nhiding themselves in strongholds, and in woods and in caves; but the\nmost part of the citizens were slain, or wounded, or taken, and the\ncity was all despoiled of substance and riches by the said Goths,\nVandals, and Hungarians. And after that Totila had thus wasted it of\ninhabitants and of goods, he commanded that it should be destroyed and\nburnt, and laid waste, and that there should not remain one stone upon\nanother, and this was done; save that in the west there remained one\nof the towers which Gneus Pompey had built, and on the north and on\nthe south one of the gates, and within the city near to the gate the\n\"casa\" or \"domo,\" which we take to be the duomo of S. Giovanni, called\nof yore the \"casa\" [house] of Mars. And verily it never was entirely\ndestroyed, nor shall be destroyed to eternity, save at the day of\njudgment, even as is written on the cement of the said duomo. And\nthere were also left standing certain lofty towers or temples,\nindicated in the ancient chronicles by letters of the alphabet, the\nwhich we cannot interpret, to wit S, and casa P, and casa F. The city\nhad four gates and six posterns, and there were towers marvellous\nstrong over the gates. And the idol of the god Mars which the\nFlorentines took from the temple and set upon a pillar, then fell into\nthe Arno, and abode there as long as the city remained in ruins. And\nthus was destroyed the noble city of Florence by the infamous Totila\non the 28th day of June, in the year of Christ 450, to wit 520 years\nafter its foundation; and in the said city the blessed Maurice, bishop\nof Florence, was put to death with great torments by the followers of\nTotila, and his body lies in Santa Reparata.\n\u00a7 2.--_How Totila caused the city of Fiesole to be rebuilt._\nAfter that the city of Florence was destroyed, Totila went into the\nhill where had been the ancient city of Fiesole, and encamped there\nwith his banners and tents and booths, and commanded that the said\ncity should be rebuilt, and issued a proclamation that whosoever\ndesired to return and dwell there, swearing to him to oppose the\nRomans, should abide in safety and freedom, and this in order that the\ncity of Florence should never be rebuilt. For the which thing many\nwhich were descended from of old from Fiesole, returned to dwell\nthither, and of the Florentines themselves which had escaped, which\ndid not know where to dwell or whither to go; and thus in a short time\nthe city of Fiesole was restored and rebuilt, and made strong by walls\nand by inhabitants, and afterwards, as before so now, it continually\nrebelled against Rome.\n\u00a7 3.--_How Totila departed from Fiesole to go towards Rome, and\ndestroyed many cities, and died an evil death._\n\u00a7 4.--_How the Goths remained lords of Italy after the death of\nTotila._\n[Sidenote: Circ. 470 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxxii. 62. De Vulg. El. i. 10: 18, 19.]\n* * * * And the King Theodoric held the Empire of Rome for the said\nZeno, the Emperor, doing him homage therefor and paying him tribute.\nIn these times, about the year of Christ 470, while Leo, Emperor of\nRome, was reigning in Constantinople, was born in Great Britain, which\nis now called England, Merlin the prophet (of a virgin, they say, by\nconception or machination of a devil), which wrought in that country\nmany marvels by necromancy, and ordained the Round Table of Knights\nErrant in the time when Uther Pendragon reigned in Britain, which was\ndescended from Brutus, grandson of \u00c6neas, the first inhabitant of that\nland, as afore we made mention; and afterwards the Round Table was\nrestored by the good King Arthur, his son, which was a lord of great\npower and valour, and more gracious and knightly than all other lords,\nand he reigned long time in happy state, as the Romances of the\nBritons make mention, and whereof the Martinian Chronicle is not\nsilent when treating of those times.\n\u00a7 5.--_How the Goths were driven the first time out of Italy, and how\nthey recovered their sovereignty by means of the young Theodoric,\ntheir king._ \u00a7 6.--_How the Goths were entirely driven out of Italy by\nBelisarius, patrician of the Romans._ \u00a7 7.--_Of the coming of the\nLombards into Italy._ \u00a7 8.--_Of the beginning of the religion and sect\nof the Saracens, instituted by Mahomet._ \u00a7 9.--_Of the successors of\nRotharis, king of the Lombards._\n\u00a7 10.--_How Charles Martel came from France to Italy at the summons of\nthe Church against the Lombards; and of the origin of the city of\nSiena._\n[Sidenote: 735 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 740 A.D.]\nIn the time of the said Eliprando [Liutprand], albeit he was a\nChristian, yet by reason of avarice, and of desire to usurp the rights\nof Holy Church, and by the counsel of the emperor of Constantinople,\nhe began war against the Romans and against Pope Gregory III., and\ncame with all his forces to besiege the said Pope in Rome, he by way\nof Lombardy, and Grimoald, king of the Samnites and of the Apulians,\nwith his troops from Apulia, in the year of Christ 735. For the which\nthing, after a council had been held in Rome, the Church with the\nRomans sent to France for aid from Charles Martel, which Charles was\nson to Pepin, a great baron of France, and was of the Twelve Peers,\nand governed all the realm and the king himself; and the said Charles\nMartel did likewise, forasmuch as the king which then was, called\nChilperic, had the name only, but Charles had the strength and\nlordship; and he was the son of the sister of Dodon, king of\nAquitania, and afterwards was father of the good King Pepin, which was\nfather of Charles the Great, and he had the surname of Martel, because\nhe bore a hammer as his arms. And in truth he was a hammer, forasmuch\nas by his prowess he struck at all Germany, Saxony, Suabia, Bavaria,\nand Denmark as far as Norway, at England, Aquitania, and Navarre and\nSpain, and Burgundy and Provence, and became ruler over them all, and\nthey became his tributaries. Then, at the summons of the said Pope, he\npassed into Italy as far as Apulia, and freed Rome and the Church from\nthe encroachments of the Lombards. And it is said that at that time,\nabout the year of Christ 740, was the place first inhabited where is\nnow the city of Siena, by the aged and sick [non sana] people which\ncame in with Charles Martel, and remained in that place as has been\ntold afore concerning the building of Siena.\n\u00a7 11.--_How Eraco [Rachis], the Lombard king of Apulia, returned to\nobedience to Holy Church._\n\u00a7 12.--_How Telofre [Astolf], king of the Lombards, persecuted Holy\nChurch, and how King Pepin at the summons of Pope Stephen came from\nFrance and defeated him, and took him prisoner._\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xx. 53 and the Commentators.]\n[Sidenote: 755 A.D.]\nAfter King Rachis there succeeded to the realm of Lombardy, and to\nthat of Apulia, Astolf, called in Latin Telofre, brother of the said\nRachis. He was a lord of great power, and cruel, and an enemy of Holy\nChurch and of the Romans; and by the counsel of evil and rebellious\nRomans, he took Tuscany and the valley of Spoleto, and devastated\nthem, and claimed tribute on every man's head; and made a conspiracy\nwith Leo, and Constantine, his son, emperors of Constantinople, and at\nhis request they came to Rome, and together with Telofre they took it,\nand sacked it, and burnt the churches and holy places, and carried to\nConstantinople the riches of Rome, and all the images from the\nchurches in Rome, and in contempt of the Pope and of the Church and to\nthe shame of the Christians he burnt them all with fire, and many\nfaithful Christians they destroyed and consumed in Rome and in all\nItaly. For which thing Pope Stephen II. excommunicated them, and as a\npunishment for the misdeed took away from the emperor the kingdom of\nApulia and of Sicily, and established by a decree that it should\npertain to Holy Church for ever. And afterwards, not being able to\nresist the force of the said tyrants and so much affliction, he went\nin person into France to Pepin, prince and governor of the French, to\nrequire and pray him to come into Italy to defend Holy Church against\nTelofre, king of the Lombards, and he gave to the said Pepin many\nprivileges and graces, and made and confirmed him king of France, and\ndeposed Childeric, the king which was of the first race, forasmuch as\nhe was a man of no account, and he became a monk. Which Pepin, a\nfaithful and loving son of Holy Church, received him with great\nhonour, and afterwards with all his forces with the said Pope Stephen\ncame into Italy, in the year of Christ 755, and fought great battles\nwith the said Telofre, king of the Lombards. In the end, by force of\narms and of his folk, the said Telofre was overcome and defeated by\nthe good King Pepin, and he obeyed the command of the Pope and of Holy\nChurch, and made all amends, just as he and his cardinals chose to\ndevise; and he left to the Church by compact and privilege the realm\nof Apulia and of Sicily, and the patrimony of S. Peter. And when the\nsaid Pepin was come to Rome with the said Pope, they were received\nwith great honour by the Romans; and the said Pepin was made\npatrician, that is, vicar of Rome, and father of the Roman Republic.\nAnd when Rome and Holy Church were restored to their liberty and good\nestate, he returned into France, and ended his life with great honour,\nand Charles the Great, his son, succeeded him as king of France.\n\u00a7 13.--_How Desiderius, son of Telofre, began war again with Holy\nChurch, for the which thing Charles the Great passed into Italy, and\ndefeated him, and took away and destroyed the lordship of the\nLombards._\n[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. (11) 1-6.]\n[Sidenote: 775 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 94-96.]\n[Sidenote: Ep. v. (4).]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 110, 111.]\n[Sidenote: De Mon. iii. 11: 6. Par. xviii. 43.]\nWhen King Pepin was departed from Italy and was returned to France,\nthe Church of Rome and the country was in repose and tranquillity for\na time, by reason of the covenant which Pepin had made with Telofre,\nking of Lombardy, and the victory which he had gained over him; but\nwhen Telofre was dead, Desiderius, his son, succeeded to him, which\nwas a worse enemy and persecutor of Holy Church than his father, and\nbroke the peace, and leagued himself with Constantine, which was the\nson of Leo, the emperor of Constantinople, and with his forces began\nto make war in Apulia, and Desiderius on his side in Tuscany more\nthan ever his father had done at the first. For the which thing Pope\nAdrian, which was then governing Holy Church, sent into France for\nCharles the Great, son of Pepin, to come into Italy to defend the\nChurch from the said Desiderius and from his following, the which\nCharles, king of France, passed into Lombardy in the year of Christ\n775, and after many battles and victories gained against Desiderius,\nhe besieged him in the city of Pavia, and when he had won the city by\nsiege, he took the said Desiderius captive, and his wife and his sons;\nsave that the eldest son, which was called Algise [Adelchis], fled\ninto Constantinople to the Emperor Constantine, and continued the war.\nAfter he had taken Desiderius and his wife and his sons, Charles the\nGreat caused him to swear fealty to Holy Church, and did the like to\nall the barons and cities of Italy; and when this was done, he sent\nthe said Desiderius and his wife and his sons prisoners into France,\nand there they all died in prison. And thus was destroyed, by the\npower of the Franks and of the good Charles the Great, the sovereignty\nof the kings of the Lombards, formerly called Longobards, which had\nendured two hundred and five years in Italy; for never afterwards was\nthere a king in Lombardy. Of a truth there remained the families of\nthe lords and barons and great citizens descended from the Lombards,\nboth in Lombardy and in Apulia; and still to-day there are certain\ngentlemen of ancient lineage whom in common speech we call Lombard\nCattani, descended from the said Lombards which had been lords of\nItaly. Charles the Great, after the said victory, came to Rome, and by\nthe said Adrian and by the Romans was received with great triumph and\nhonour; and as Charles the Great drew nigh to Rome, and beheld the\nholy city from Montemalo, he alighted from his horse, and reverently\nentered Rome on foot; and when he came thither, he kissed the gates of\nthe city and of all the churches, and gave rich offerings to every\nChurch. And when he came to Rome he was made patrician of Rome, and he\nrestored the affairs of Holy Church, and of the Romans, and of all\nItaly, and he restored them to privileges and liberty, having subdued\nin all parts the forces of the emperor of Constantinople, and of the\nking of the Lombards, and of their followers, and confirmed the Church\nin the donation which Pepin, his father, had given to her, and beyond\nthat he endowed the Church with the duchy of Spoleto and of Benevento.\nAnd in the kingdom of Apulia he fought many battles against the\nLombards and the rebels against Holy Church, and besieged and\ndestroyed the city of Lacedonia, which is in Abruzzi between Aquila\nand Sermona, and besieged and conquered Tuliverno, the strong fortress\nat the entrance of Terra di Lavoro. And many other cities of the\nKingdom [Apulia] which were held by the rebels against Holy Church, he\nentirely subdued to his governance. And when he had done this, leaving\nRome and all Italy in peaceful condition under his lordship, in happy\nhour he was minded to attack the Saracens which had taken possession\nof Provence, and of Navarre, and of Spain, and with the troops of his\ntwelve barons and peers of France, called Paladins, he entirely\nconquered and destroyed them; and he passed beyond seas at the request\nof the Emperor Michael of Constantinople and of the Patriarch of\nJerusalem, and conquered the Holy Land and Jerusalem, which were\noccupied by the Saracens, and gained for the emperor of\nConstantinople all the empire of the East which had been occupied by\nthe Saracens and the Turks. And when he returned to Constantinople,\nalbeit the Emperor Michael desired to give him many very great\ntreasures, yet would he take nothing, save the wood of the holy cross\nand the nail of Christ, which he brought back into France, and which\nis in Paris to this day. And when he had returned to France, he ruled\nby his prowess and virtue not only over the realm of France, but all\nGermany, Provence, Navarre, and Spain, and all Italy.\n\u00a7 14.--_Of the progeny of Charles the Great, and of his successors._\n\u00a7 15.--_How Charles the Great, king of France, was made Emperor of\nRome._\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 94. De Monarchia iii. 11.]\n[Sidenote: 801 A.D.]\nWhen Charles the Great had returned from over seas into France, as we\nhave said, and had subdued Germany, Italy, and Spain, and Provence,\nthe wicked Romans, with the powerful Lombards and Tuscans, rebelled\nagainst the Church, and seized Pope Leo III., which was then reigning,\nat Rome, as he was going to the procession of the Litanies (S. Mark's\nDay, April 25th), and put out his eyes and slit his tongue, and drave\nhim out of Rome. And as it pleased God, by divine miracle, and because\nhe was innocent and holy, he recovered the sight of his eyes and the\npower of speech, and went into France to Charles the Great, praying\nhim to come to Rome to restore the Church to her liberty; which\nCharles, at the request of the said Pope Leo, came together with him\nto Rome and restored the Pope and the Church to their state and\nliberty, and took great vengeance against all the rebels and enemies\nof Holy Church throughout all Italy. For the which thing the said\nPope Leo, with his cardinals and general council, with the consent of\nthe Romans, by reason of the virtuous and holy deeds done by the said\nCharles the Great on behalf of Holy Church and of all Christendom,\ntook away the Roman Empire from the Greeks by a decree, and elected\nthe said Charles the Great Emperor of the Romans, as being most worthy\nof the Empire; and by the said Pope Leo he was consecrated and crowned\nin Rome, in the year of Christ 801, with great solemnity and honour,\non Easter Day.\nThe said Charles reigned with great good fortune fourteen years one\nmonth and four days, ruling over all the empire of the West, and the\nprovinces afore named, and also the emperor of Constantinople was\nunder his obedience; and he caused as many abbeys to be built as there\nare letters in the alphabet, and the name of each one began with a\ndifferent letter. And he caused his son Louis to be crowned lord over\nthe Empire and the kingdom of France, giving all his treasure to the\npoor in God's name after this manner; for he left the third part of\nhis treasure (which was infinite) to all the poor Christians seeking\nalms, and the other two parts he left to all his archbishops of his\nempire and realm, that they might distribute them amongst their\nbishops and all the churches and monasteries and hospitals.\n[Sidenote: 814 A.D.]\nAnd this done, he commended his spirit in holiness to Christ, in the\ncity of Aquisgrana, in Germany, and was there buried with great\nhonour, to wit, at Aix-la-Chapelle. This was in the year of Christ\n814, and he lived seventy-two years, and many signs appeared before\nhis death, as we read in the chronicles of the doings of France. This\nCharles much extended Holy Church, and Christendom both far and near,\nand was a man of great virtue.\n\u00a7 16.--_How, after Charles the Great, Louis, his son, became Emperor._\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Saracens of Barbary crossed to Italy, and were\ndefeated, and all slain._ \u00a7 18.--_Further, how the Saracens crossed to\nCalabria and to Normandy in France._ \u00a7 19.--_How and in whose person\nthe empire and realm of France fell from the progeny of Pepin._ \u00a7\n20.--_Of the same matter, and of how the lineage of Hugh Capet reigned\nthereafter._\n\u00a7 21.--_How the city of Florence lay waste and in ruins for 350\nyears._\nAfter the destruction of the city of Florence, wrought by Totila, the\nscourge of God, as has afore been mentioned, it lay thus ruined and\ndeserted about 350 years by reason of the evil state of Rome and of\nthe Empire, which, at first by Goths and Vandals, and afterwards by\nLombards and Greeks and Saracens and Hungarians, was persecuted and\nbrought low, as has afore been related. Truly there were, where\nFlorence had been, certain dwellings and inhabitants round about the\nduomo of S. Giovanni, forasmuch as the Fiesolans held market there one\nday in the week, and it was called the Campo Marti, as of old, for it\nhad always been the market-place of the Fiesolans, and had borne this\nname before Florence was built. It came to pass ofttimes, during the\nyears when the city lay waste and in ruins, that the said inhabitants\nof the borough and of the market-place, with the aid of certain nobles\nof the country which of old were descended from the first citizens of\nFlorence and of the inhabitants of the villages round about, sought\nofttimes to enclose within moats and palisades some part of the city\naround the Duomo; but they of the city of Fiesole, and their allies,\nthe counts of Mangone, and of Montecarelli, and of Capraia, and of\nCertaldo, which were all of one lineage with the counts of Santafiore,\nwhich were descended from the Lombards, hindered and opposed them, and\nwould not allow them to rebuild; but whatsoever was being built they\ncame in force, and under arms, and caused it to be violently beaten\ndown and destroyed, so that, for this cause and by reason of the\nadversities which the Romans were enduring, as has afore been related,\nand because the Fiesolans always held with the Goths, and afterwards\nwith the Lombards, and with all the rebels and enemies of the Empire\nof Rome and Holy Church, and were so great and powerful in strength\nthat none of their neighbours durst oppose them, they would not suffer\nthe city of Florence to be rebuilt; and in this wise it abode long\ntime, until God put an end to the adversity of the city of Florence,\nand brought her to the blessing of her restoration, as by us shall be\nnarrated in the following chapter and Third Book.\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK II.\nBOOK III.\n     _Goes back somewhat to tell how the city of Florence was\n     rebuilt by the power of Charles the Great and the Romans._\n[Sidenote: 801 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 146-150. Par. xvi. 145, 146.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xvi. 65-78.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xv. 73-78.]\n\u00a7 1.--It came to pass, as it pleased God, that in the time of the good\nCharles the Great, Emperor of Rome and king of France, of whom above\nwe have made a long record, after that he had beaten down the\ntyrannical pride of the Lombards and Saracens, and of the infidels\nagainst Holy Church, and had established Rome and the Empire in good\nstate and in its liberty, as afore we have made mention, certain\ngentlemen and nobles of the region round about Florence (whereof it is\nreported that the Giovanni, the Guineldi and the Ridolfi, descended\nfrom the ancient noble citizens of the former Florence, were the\nheads) assembled themselves together with all the inhabitants of the\nplace where Florence had been, and with all other their followers\ndwelling in the country around Florence, and they ordained to send to\nRome ambassadors from the best among them to Charles the Emperor, and\nto Pope Leo, and to the Romans; and this was done, praying them to\nremember their daughter, the city of Florence (the which was ruined\nand destroyed by Goths and Vandals in despite of the Romans), to the\nend it might be rebuilt, and that it might please them to give a force\nof men-at-arms to ward off the men of Fiesole and their followers, the\nenemies of the Romans, who would not let the city of Florence be\nrebuilt. The which ambassadors were received with honour by the\nEmperor Charles, and by the Pope, and by the Romans, and their\npetition accepted graciously and willingly; and straightway the\nEmperor Charles the Great sent thither his forces of men-at-arms on\nfoot and on horse in great numbers; and the Romans made a decree and\ncommand that, as their forefathers had built and peopled of old the\ncity of Florence, so those of the best families in Rome, both of\nnobles and of people, should go thither to rebuild and to inhabit it;\nand this was done. With that host of the Emperor Charles the Great and\nof the Romans there came whatsoever master-craftsmen there were in\nRome, the more speedily to build the walls of the city and to\nstrengthen it, and after them there followed much people; and all they\nwho dwelt in the country around Florence, and her exiled citizens in\nevery place, hearing the tidings, gathered themselves to the host of\nthe Romans and of the Emperor to rebuild the city; and when they were\ncome where to-day is our city, they encamped among ancient remains and\nruins in booths and in tents. The Fiesolans and their followers,\nseeing the host of the Emperor and of the Romans so great and\npowerful, did not venture to fight against them, but keeping within\nthe fortress of their city of Fiesole and in their fortified places\naround, gave what hindrance they might to the said rebuilding. But\ntheir power was nothing against the strength of the Romans, and of the\nhost of the Emperor, and of the assembled descendants of the\nFlorentines; and thus they began to rebuild the city of Florence, not,\nhowever, of the size that it had been at the first, but of lesser\nextent, as hereafter shall be mentioned, to the end it might more\nspeedily be walled and fortified, and there might be a defence like a\nrampart against the city of Fiesole; and this was the year of Christ\n801, in the beginning of the month of April. And it is said that the\nancients were of opinion that it would not be possible to rebuild it,\nif first there were not found and drawn from the Arno the marble\nimage, dedicated by the first pagan builders by necromancy to Mars,\nthe which had been in the river Arno from the destruction of Florence\nunto that time; and being found, it was placed on a pillar by the side\nof the said river, where now is the head of the Ponte Vecchio. This we\ndo not affirm nor believe, forasmuch as it seems to us the opinion of\npagans and soothsayers, and not to be reasonable, but very foolish,\nthat such a stone should have such effect; but it was commonly said by\nthe ancients, that, if it was disturbed, the city must needs have\ngreat disturbances. And it was said also by the ancients, that the\nRomans, by the counsel of the wise astrologers, at the beginning of\nthe rebuilding of Florence, took the third degree of Aries as the\nascendant, the sun being at his meridian altitude, and the planet\nMercury in conjunction with the sun, and the planet Mars in favourable\naspect to the ascendant, to the end the city might multiply in power\nof arms and of chivalry, and in folk eager and enterprising in arts\nand in riches and in merchandise, and should bring forth many children\nand a great people. And in those times, so they say, the ancient\nRomans and all the Tuscans and Italians, albeit they were baptized\nChristians, still preserved certain remains of the fashions of pagans,\nand began their undertakings according to the constellations; albeit,\nthis we do not affirm of ourselves, forasmuch as constellations are\nnot of necessity, nor can they constrain the free will of man or the\njudgment of God, save according to the merits or sins of folk. And\nyet, in some effects, meseems the influence of the said constellation\nis revealed, for the city of Florence is ever in great disturbances\nand plottings and in war, and now victorious and now the contrary, and\nprone to merchandise and to arts. But our opinion is that the discords\nand changes of the Florentines are as we said at the beginning of this\ntreatise--our city was populated by two peoples, divers in every habit\nof life, as were the noble Romans and the cruel and fierce Fiesolans;\nfor the which thing it is no marvel if our city is always subject to\nwars and changes and dissensions and treacheries.\n\u00a7 2.--_Of the form and size in which the city of Florence was\nrebuilt._\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 37. Par. xvi. 97-99.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 123.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 124-126.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 97-99.]\nThe rebuilding of the new city of Florence was begun by the Romans, as\naforesaid, on a small site and circuit, after the same fashion as\nRome, allowing for the smallness of the undertaking; and it began on\nthe side of the sunrise at the gate of S. Piero, which was where were\nafter the houses of M. Bellincione Berti, of the Rovignani, a noble\nand powerful citizen, albeit to-day they have disappeared; the which\nhouses by inheritance of the Countess Gualdrada, his daughter, and\nwife to the first Count Guido, passed to the Counts Guidi, her\ndescendants, when they became citizens of Florence, and afterwards\nthey sold them to the Black Cerchi, a Florentine family; and from the\nsaid gate ran a borgo as far as S. Piero Maggiore, after the fashion\nof Rome, and from that gate the walls proceeded as far as the Duomo,\non the site where now runs the great road leading to San Giovanni, as\nfar as the Bishop's Palace. And here was another gate, which was\ncalled the gate of the Duomo, but there were who called it the\nBishop's Gate; and without this gate was built the church of S.\nLorenzo, just as in Rome there is S. Lorenzo without the walls; and\nwithin that gate is S. Giovanni, like as in Rome, S. Giovanni\nLaterano. And then proceeding, as at Rome, on that side they made\nSanta Maria Maggiore; and then from S. Michele Berteldi, as far as the\nthird gate of S. Brancazio [S. Pancras], where are now the houses of\nthe Tornaquinci, and S. Brancazio was without the city and near S.\nPaolo, just as in Rome, on the other side of the city over against S.\nPiero, as at Rome. And then from the said gate of S. Brancazio, they\nfollowed on where now is the church of Santa Trinita, which was\nwithout the walls; and hard by was a postern gate called the Porta\nRossa, and down to our own times the road has retained the name. And\nafterward the walls turned where are now the houses of the Scali along\nthe Via di Terma as far as the gate of Santa Maria, some way past the\nMercato Nuovo, and that was the fourth principal gate, the which was\nover against the houses which now pertain to the Infangati, on one\nside; and above the said gate was the church of Santa Maria, called\nSopra Porta; and afterwards when the said gate was pulled down, the\ncity having increased, the said church was transported to where it now\nis. And the Borgo di Santo Apostolo was without the city, and also S.\nStefano, after the fashion of Rome; and beyond S. Stefano, at the end\nof the master street of Porta Santa Maria, they made and built a\nbridge founded on piles of stone in the Arno, which afterwards was\ncalled the Ponte Vecchio, and it exists to this day; and was much more\nnarrow than it now is, and was the first bridge which was made in\nFlorence. And from S. Mary's Gate the walls went on as far as the\nturret of Altafonte, which was at the extremity of a projection of the\ncity, running out to the river Arno, then running on behind the church\nof S. Piero Scheraggio, which was so called from a ditch or conduit\ncalled the Scheraggio, which received almost all the rain-water of the\ncity that flowed into the Arno. And behind the church of S. Piero\nScheraggio was a postern gate, which was called the Peruzza Gate, and\nfrom there the walls went on by the great street as far as the Via del\nGarbo, where was another postern, and then behind the Badia of\nFlorence the walls returned to Porta S. Piero. And within so small a\nspace the new Florence was rebuilt with good walls and frequent\ntowers, with four master gates, to wit, the Porta San Piero, the Porta\ndel Duomo, the Porta San Brancazio, and the Porta Santa Maria, the\nwhich were in the form of a cross; and in the midst of the city were\nS. Andrea, after the fashion of Rome, and Santa Maria in Campidoglio;\nand what now is the Mercato Vecchio was the Mercato di Campidoglio\n[Mart of the Capitol], after the fashion of Rome. And the city was\ndivided into quarters, according to the said four gates; but\nafterwards, when the city increased, it was divided into six sestos,\nas being a perfect number, for the sesto of Oltrarno was added\nthereto, as soon as it was inhabited; and when the Porta di Santa\nMaria was pulled down, the name was dropped, and it was divided by the\ncourse of the main street, and on one side was made the sesto of San\nPiero Scheraggio, and on the other side that of the Borgo; and the\nthree first gates continued to give their name to sestos, as they have\ndone even to our own times. And they gave the sesto of Oltrarno the\nlead, to go forth with the host with the ensign of the bridge; and\nthen San Piero Scheraggio with the ensign of the carroccio [chariot of\nwar], the which marble carroccio was brought from Fiesole, and stands\nbefore the said church of S. Piero; and then Borgo with the ensign of\nthe goat [becco], forasmuch as in that sesto abode all the butchers\n[beccari], and those of their calling, and they were in those times\nvery prominent in the city; S. Brancazio next with the ensign of the\nlion's paw [branca], with reference to the name; and the Porta del\nDuomo next, with the ensign of the cathedral; Porta San Piero last,\nwith the ensign of the keys, and seeing it was the first sesto\ninhabited in Florence, in the going forth of the host it was placed in\nthe rear guard, forasmuch as in olden time there were always the best\nknights and men-at-arms of the city in that sesto.\n\u00a7 3.--_How Charles the Great came to Florence, and granted privileges\nto the city, and caused Santo Apostolo to be built._\n[Sidenote: 805 A.D.]\nAfter that the new city of Florence had been rebuilt in the small\ncircuit and form, and at the time aforesaid, the captains which were\nthere in the name of the emperor and the commonwealth of Rome ordained\nthat it should be peopled; and as of old at the first building the\norder went forth at Rome that of the best families of Rome, both of\nthe nobles and the people, some should dwell as citizens in Florence,\nso was it at the second restoration; and to each one was given rich\npossessions. And we find in the Chronicles of France, that after the\ncity of Florence was rebuilt after the manner aforesaid, the Emperor\nCharles the Great, king of France, when he was departed from Rome, and\nwas returning North, abode at Florence, and caused great festival and\nsolemnity to be held on Easter Day of the Resurrection, in the year of\nChrist 805, and made many knights in Florence, and founded the church\nof Santo Apostolo in the Borgo, and this he richly endowed to the\nhonour of God and of the Holy Apostles; and on his departure from\nFlorence he granted privileges to the city, and declared the\ncommonwealth and citizens of Florence to be free and independent, and\nfor three miles around, without paying any tax or impost, save\ntwenty-six pence yearly per hearth [_i.e._ per family]. And in like\nmanner he enfranchised all the citizens around which desired to return\nand dwell within the city, and also strangers; for which thing many\nreturned to dwell therein; and in a short time, by reason of the good\nsituation and convenient spot, by reason of the river and of the\nplain, the said little Florence was well peopled and strong in walls,\nand in moats full of water. And they ordained that the said city\nshould be ruled and governed after the manner of Rome, to wit, by two\nConsuls and by a council of 100 senators, and thus it was ruled long\ntime, as hereafter shall be narrated. Verily, the citizens of Florence\nhad for a long time much trouble and war, first from the Fiesolans,\nwhich were foes so nigh at hand, and they were ever jealous one of\nanother, and were continually at war together; and afterwards from the\ncoming of the Saracens into Italy in the time of the French emperors,\nas before has been narrated, which much afflicted the country; and\nlast of all, from the divers disturbances which befell Rome and all\nItaly alike, from the discords of the Popes and of the Italian\nemperors, which were continually at war with the Church. For the which\nthing, the fame of the city of Florence and its power abode by the\nspace of 200 years, without being able to expand or increase beyond\nits narrow boundaries. But notwithstanding all the war and trouble, it\nwas continually multiplying in inhabitants and in forces, nor did they\nmuch regard the war with Fiesole, or the other adversities in Tuscany;\nfor albeit their power and authority extended but little way beyond\nthe city, forasmuch as the country was all full of fortresses, and\noccupied by nobles and powerful lords which were not under obedience\nto the city, and some of them held with the city of Fiesole,\nnevertheless, within the city the citizens were united, and it was\nstrong in position and in walls, and in moats full of water; and\nwithin the little city there were in a short time more than 150 towers\npertaining to citizens, and each one 120 cubits high, without counting\nthose pertaining to the city; and by reason of the height of the many\ntowers which then were in Florence, it is said, that it showed forth\nfrom afar as the most beautiful and proudest city of its small size\nwhich could be found; and in this space of time it was very well\npeopled, and full of palaces and of houses, and great number of\ninhabitants, as times went. We will now leave for a time the doings of\nFlorence, and will briefly relate concerning the Italian emperors,\nwhich were reigning in those times after the French ceased to be\nemperors; for this is of necessity, seeing that by reason of their\nlordship many disturbances came to pass in Italy; and afterwards we\nshall return to our subject.\n[Sidenote: 901 A.D.]\n\u00a7 4.--_How and why the Empire of Rome passed to the Italians._ \u00a7\n5.--_How Otho I. of Saxony came into Italy at the request of the\nChurch, and did away with the government of the Italian emperors._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK III.\nBOOK IV.\n[Sidenote: 955 A.D.]\n\u00a7 1.--_How the election to the Empire of Rome fell to the Germans, and\nhow Otho I. of Saxony was consecrated Emperor._\n\u00a7 2.--_Of the Emperor Otho III., and the Marquis Hugh, which built the\nBadia at Florence._\n[Sidenote: 979 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 127-132.]\nAfter the death of Otho II., his son, Otho III., was elected Emperor,\nand crowned by Pope Gregory V., in the year of Christ 979, and this\nOtho reigned twenty-four years. After that he was crowned, he went\ninto Apulia on pilgrimage to Mount S. Angelo, and afterwards returned\nby way of France into Germany, leaving Italy in good and peaceful\nestate. But when he was returned to Germany, Crescentius, the consul\nand lord of Rome, drave away the said Gregory from the papacy, and set\na Greek therein, which was bishop of Piacenza, and very wise; but when\nthe Emperor Otho heard this he was very wrath, and with his army\nreturned to Italy, and besieged in Rome the said Crescentius and his\nPope in the castle of S. Angelo, for therein had they taken refuge;\nand he took the said castle by siege, and caused Crescentius to be\nbeheaded, and Pope John XVI. to have his eyes put out, and his hands\ncut off; and he restored his Pope Gregory to his chair, which was his\nkinsman by race; and leaving Rome and Italy in good estate, he\nreturned to his country of Germany, and there died in prosperity.\nWith the said Otho III. there came into Italy the Marquis Hugh; I take\nit this must have been the marquis of Brandenburg, forasmuch as there\nis no other marquisate in Germany. His sojourn in Tuscany liked him so\nwell, and especially our city of Florence, that he caused his wife to\ncome thither, and took up his abode in Florence, as vicar of Otho, the\nEmperor. It came to pass, as it pleased God, that when he was riding\nto the chase in the country of Bonsollazzo, he lost sight, in the\nwood, of all his followers, and came out, as he supposed, at a\nworkshop where iron was wont to be wrought. Here he found men, black\nand deformed, who, in place of iron, seemed to be tormenting men with\nfire and with hammer, and he asked what this might be: and they\nanswered and said that these were damned souls, and that to similar\npains was condemned the soul of the Marquis Hugh by reason of his\nworldly life, unless he should repent: who, with great fear, commended\nhimself to the Virgin Mary, and when the vision was ended, he remained\nso pricked in the spirit, that after his return to Florence, he sold\nall his patrimony in Germany, and commanded that seven monasteries\nshould be founded: the first was the Badia of Florence, to the honour\nof S. Mary; the second, that of Bonsollazzo, where he beheld the\nvision; the third was founded at Arezzo; the fourth at Poggibonizzi;\nthe fifth at the Verruca of Pisa; the sixth at the city of Castello;\nthe last was the one at Settimo; and all these abbeys he richly\nendowed, and lived afterwards with his wife in holy life, and had no\nson, and died in the city of Florence, on S. Thomas' Day, in the year\nof Christ 1006, and was buried with great honour in the Badia of\nFlorence. And whilst the said Hugh was living, he made in Florence\nmany knights of the family of the Giandonati, of the Pulci, of the\nNerli, of the counts of Gangalandi, and of the family della Bella,\nwhich all for love of him, retained and bore his arms, barry, white\nand red, with divers charges.\n\u00a7 3.--_Of the Seven Princes of Germany which have to elect the\nEmperor._\n\u00a7 4.--_Of the progeny of the Kings of France, which descended from\nHugh Capet._\n[Sidenote: 987 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 49-60.]\nHugh Capet, as we before made mention, the lineage of Charles the\nGreat having failed, was made king of France in the year of Christ\n987. This Hugh was duke of Orleans (and by some it is held that his\nancestors were all dukes and of high lineage), son of Hugh the Great,\nand his mother was sister to Otho I. of Germany; but by the more part\nit is said that his father was a great and rich burgher of Paris, a\nbutcher, or trader in beasts by birth; but by reason of his great\nriches and possessions, when the duchy of Orleans was vacant, and only\na daughter was left, he had her to wife, whence was born the said Hugh\nCapet, which was very wise and of great possessions, and the kingdom\nof France was wholly governed by him; and when the lineage of Charles\nthe Great failed, as was aforesaid, he was made king, and reigned\ntwenty years.\n[Sidenote: 1003 A.D.]\n\u00a7 5.--_How Henry I. was made Emperor._\n\u00a7 6.--_How in the time of the said Henry, the Florentines took the\ncity of Fiesole, and destroyed it._\n[Sidenote: 1010 A.D.]\nIn the said times, when the Emperor Henry I. was reigning, the city\nof Florence was much increased in inhabitants and in power,\nconsidering its small circuit, especially by the aid and favour of the\nEmperor Otho I., and of the second and third Otho, his son and\ngrandson, which always favoured the city of Florence; and as the city\nof Florence increased, the city of Fiesole continually decreased, they\nbeing always at war and enmity together; but by reason of the strong\nposition, and the strength in walls and in towers which the city of\nFiesole possessed, in vain did the Florentines labour to overcome it;\nand albeit they had more inhabitants, and a greater number of friends\nand allies, yet the Fiesolans were continually warring against them.\nBut when the Florentines perceived that they could not gain it by\nforce, they made a truce with the Fiesolans, and abandoned the war\nbetween them; and making one truce after another, they began to grow\nfriendly, and the citizens of one city to sojourn in the other, and to\nmarry together, and to keep but little watch and guard one against the\nother. The Florentines perceiving that their city of Florence had no\npower to rise much, whilst they had overhead so strong a fortress as\nthe city of Fiesole, one night secretly and subtly set an ambush of\narmed men in divers parts of Fiesole. The Fiesolans feeling secure as\nto the Florentines, and not being on their guard against them, on the\nmorning of their chief festival of S. Romolo, when the gates were\nopen, and the Fiesolans unarmed, the Florentines entered into the city\nunder cover of coming to the festival; and when a good number were\nwithin, the other armed Florentines which were in ambush secured the\ngates of the city; and on a signal made to Florence, as had been\narranged, all the host and power of the Florentines came on horse and\non foot to the hill, and entered into the city of Fiesole, and\ntraversed it, slaying scarce any man, nor doing any harm, save to\nthose which opposed them. And when the Fiesolans saw themselves to be\nsuddenly and unexpectedly surprised by the Florentines, part of them\nwhich were able fled to the fortress, which was very strong, and long\ntime maintained themselves there. The city at the foot of the fortress\nhaving been taken and overrun by the Florentines, and the strongholds\nand they which opposed themselves being likewise taken, the common\npeople surrendered themselves on condition that they should not be\nslain nor robbed of their goods; the Florentines working their will to\ndestroy the city, and keeping possession of the bishop's palace. Then\nthe Florentines made a covenant, that whosoever desired to leave the\ncity of Fiesole, and come and dwell in Florence, might come safe and\nsound with all his goods and possessions, or might go to any place\nwhich pleased him; for the which thing they came down in great numbers\nto dwell in Florence, whereof there were and are great families in\nFlorence. Others went to dwell in the region round about where they\nhad farms and possessions. And when this was done, and the city was\ndevoid of inhabitants and goods, the Florentines caused it to be all\npulled down and destroyed, all save the bishop's palace and certain\nother churches, and the fortress, which still held out, and did not\nsurrender under the said conditions. And this was in the year of\nChrist 1010, and the Florentines and the Fiesolans which became\ncitizens of Florence, took thence all the ornaments and pillars, and\nall the marble carvings which were there, and the marble war chariot\nwhich is in San Piero Scheraggio in Florence.\n\u00a7 7.--_How that many Fiesolans came to dwell in Florence, and made one\npeople with the Florentines._\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 46-48.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio ii. 14: 171-174.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 61-78.]\nThe city of Fiesole being destroyed save the fortress of the citadel,\nas has been aforesaid, many Fiesolans came thence to dwell in Florence\nand made one people with the Florentines, and by reason of their\ncoming it behoved to increase the walls and the circuit of the city of\nFlorence, as hereafter shall be narrated. And to the end the Fiesolans\nwhich were come to dwell in Florence might be more faithful and loving\nwith the Florentines, they caused the arms of the said two\ncommonwealths to be borne in common, and made the arms to be\ndimidiated red and white, as still to our times they are borne upon\nthe Carroccio and in the host of the Florentines. The red was the\nancient field which the Florentines had from the Romans, as we afore\nmade mention, and they were wont to bear thereupon the white lily; and\nthe white was the ancient field of the Fiesolans, bearing an azure\nmoon: but from the said common arms they took away the white lily and\nthe moon, and so had them dimidiated and uncharged; and they made\ncommon laws and statutes, living under one government of two citizen\nconsuls, and with the council of the senate, to wit of 100 men, the\nbest of the city, as was the custom given by the Romans to the\nFlorentines. And they increased greatly the city of Florence both in\ninhabitants and in power through the destruction of the city of\nFiesole, and through the Fiesolans which came to dwell in Florence.\nNevertheless, they were not a great people in comparison with what\nthey are in our times; forasmuch as the city of Florence was of small\nextent, as has been narrated, and as may still be seen by tracing the\nfirst circuit, and there were hardly the fourth of the inhabitants\nwhich there are to-day. The Fiesolans were much diminished, and at the\ndestruction of Fiesole they were much scattered, and some went one\nway, and some another; but the most part thereof came to Florence. Yet\nit was a large city for those times; but, from what we find, all the\nFiesolans together were not the half which there are now in our days.\nAnd note that the Florentines are always in schism, and in factions\nand in divisions among themselves, which is not to be marvelled at.\nOne cause is by reason of the city being rebuilt, as was told in the\nchapter concerning its rebuilding, under the lordship and influence of\nthe planet of Mars, which always inspires wars and divisions. The\nother cause is more certain and natural, that the Florentines are\nto-day descended from two peoples so diverse in manners, and who ever\nof old had been enemies, as the Roman people and the people of\nFiesole; and this we can see by true experience, and by the divers\nchanges and parties and factions which after the said two peoples had\nbeen united into one, came to pass in Florence from time to time, as\nin this book henceforward more fully shall be narrated.\n\u00a7 8.--_How the city of Florence increased its circuit, first by moats\nand palisades, and then by walls._\n[Sidenote: 1078 A.D.]\nAfter that the Fiesolans were come in great part to dwell in Florence,\nas aforesaid, the city multiplied in inhabitants and population; and\nas it increased in suburbs and dwellings, outside the small old city,\nafter a little while it behoved of necessity that the city should\nincrease its circuit, first with moats and palisades; and then in the\ntime of Henry the Emperor they made the walls, to the end the suburbs\nand outgrowths, by reason of the wars which arose in Tuscany about\nthe matter of the said Henry, might not be taken nor destroyed, and\nthe city more readily besieged by its enemies. Wherefore, at that\ntime, in the year of Christ 1078, as hereafter, in narrating the story\nof Henry III., shall be mentioned, the Florentines began the new\nwalls, beginning from the east side at the gate of S. Piero Maggiore,\nthe which was somewhat behind the church so called, enclosing the\nsuburb of S. Piero Maggiore and the said church within the new walls,\nand afterwards, drawing them nearer in on the north side, a little\ndistance from the said suburb, they made an angle at a postern which\nwas called the Albertinelli Gate from a family which dwelt in that\nplace, which was so called; then they drew them on as far as the gate\nof the Borgo S. Lorenzo [suburb of S. Lawrence] enclosing the said\nchurch within the walls; and after this were two posterns, one at the\nforked way of the Campo Corbolini, and the other the one afterwards\ncalled the Porta del Baschiera. Then they ran on as far as the Porta\nS. Paolo, and then continued as far as the Carraia Gate, where the\nwall ended, by the Arno; and there afterwards they began and built a\nbridge which is called the Carraia Bridge from the name of that gate;\nand then the walls continuing, not however very high, along the bank\nof the Arno, included what had been without the old walls, to wit the\nsuburb of San Brancazio [S. Pancras], and that of Parione, and that of\nSanto Apostolo, and of the Porte Sante Marie as far as the Ponte\nVecchio; and then afterwards along the bank of Arno as far as the\nfortress of Altafonte. From this point the walls withdrew somewhat\nfrom the bank of Arno, so that there remained a road between, and two\npostern gates whereby to come at the river; then they went on the\nsame, and took a turn where now are the supports of the Rubaconte\nBridge, and there at the turn was a gate called the Oxen Gate, because\nthere without was held the cattle market, and afterwards it was named\nthe gate of Master Ruggieri da Quona, forasmuch as the family of da\nQuona, when they came to dwell in the city, established themselves\nnear the said gate. Then the walls went on behind S. Jacopo tra le\nFosse (so called because it stood on fosses), as far as where to-day\nis the end of the piazza before the church of the Minor Friars called\nSanta Croce; and there was a postern which led to the island of Arno;\nthen the walls went on in a straight line without any gate or postern,\nreturning to S. Piero Maggiore whence they began. And thus the new\ncity of Florence on this side the Arno had five gates for the five\nsesti, one gate to each sesto, and divers posterns, as has been\nmentioned. In the Oltrarno [district beyond the Arno] were three\nroads, all three of which started from the Ponte Vecchio on the side\nbeyond Arno. One was and still is called the Borgo Pidiglioso, seeing\nthat it was inhabited by the baser sort. At the head of this was a\ngate called the Roman Gate, where now are the houses of the Bardi near\nS. Lucia de' Magnoli across the Ponte Vecchio, and this was the road\nto Rome, by Fegghine and Arezzo. There were no other walls to the\nsuburb about the road save the backs of the houses against the hill.\nThe second road was that of Santa Felicita, called the Borgo di\nPiazza, which had a gate where now is the piazza of San Felice, where\nruns the road to Siena; and the third road was called after S. Jacopo,\nand had a gate where now are the houses of the Frescobaldi, where ran\nthe road to Pisa. None of the three suburbs lying around these roads\nof the sesto of Oltrarno had other walls save the said gates, and the\nbacks of the outside houses, which enclosed the suburbs with orchards\nand gardens within. But after that the Emperor Henry III. marched upon\nFlorence, the Florentines enclosed Oltrarno within walls, beginning at\nthe said gate to Rome, ascending behind the Borgo alla Costa below San\nGiorgio, and then coming out behind Santa Felicita, enclosing the\nBorgo di Piazza and the Borgo di San Jacopo, and roughly following the\nsaid Borghi. But afterwards the walls of Oltrarno on the hill were\nmade higher as they are now, in the time when the Ghibellines first\nruled the city of Florence, as we will make mention in due place and\ntime. We will now leave for a time the doings of Florence, and we will\ntreat of the emperors which were after Henry I., for it is necessary\nthat we should tell of them here in order to continue our history.\n\u00a7 9.--_How Conrad I. was made Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1015 A.D.]\nAfter the death of the Emperor Henry I., Conrad I. was elected and\nconsecrated by Pope Benedict VIII., in the year of Christ 1015. He was\nof Suabia, and reigned twenty years as emperor, and when he came into\nItaly, not being able to obtain the lordship of Milan, he laid siege\nto it, right in the suburbs of the city itself; but as he was assuming\nthe iron crown outside of Milan in a church, while Mass was being\nsung, there came great thunder and lightning into the church, and some\ndied therefrom; and the Archbishop which was singing Mass at the\naltar, rose and said to the Emperor Conrad, that he had visibly seen\nS. Ambrose, which sternly menaced him except he abandoned the siege\nof Milan; and he, thus admonished, withdrew his host, and made peace\nwith the Milanese. He was a just man, and made many laws, and kept the\nEmpire in peace long time. Yea, and he went into Calabria against the\nSaracens which were come to lay waste the country, and fought against\nthem, and, with great shedding of Christian blood, he drove them away\nand overcame them. This Conrad took much delight in sojourning at\nFlorence when he was in Tuscany, and he advanced it greatly, and many\ncitizens of Florence received knighthood from his hand, and were in\nhis service. And to the intent it may be known who were the noble and\npowerful citizens in those times in the city of Florence, we will\nbriefly make mention thereof.\n\u00a7 10.--_Of the nobles which were in the city of Florence in the time\nof the said Emperor Conrad, and first of those about the Duomo._\n[Sidenote: 1015 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 25, xxv. 5.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 104.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 108.]\n[Sidenote: 112-114.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xv. 137, 138.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 100.]\nAs before has been narrated, the first rebuilding of the smaller\nFlorence was according to the division of four quarters, after the\nfour gates; and to the end we may the better describe the noble\nfamilies and houses which in the said times, after Fiesole had been\ndestroyed, were great and powerful in Florence, we will recount them\naccording to the quarters where they dwelt. And first, they of the\nPorta del Duomo, which was the first fold and abiding place of the\nrebuilt Florence, and where all the noble citizens of Florence on\nSundays gathered and held civil converse around the Duomo, and where\nwere celebrated all the marriages, and peacemakings, and every\nfestival and solemnity of the commonwealth; and next, the Porta San\nPiero, and then Porta San Brancazio, and Porta Sante Marie. And the\nPorta del Duomo was inhabited by the family of the Giovanni, and of\nthe Guineldi which were the first to rebuild the city of Florence,\nwhence afterwards were descended many families of nobles in Mugello,\nand in Valdarno, and in many cities, which now are popolari and almost\ncome to an end. There were the Barucci which dwelt near Santa Maria\nMaggiore, which are now extinct; the Scali and Palermini were of their\nlineage. There were also in the said quarter Arrigucci, and Sizi, and\nthe family della Tosa: these della Tosa were of one lineage with the\nBisdomini, and were patrons and defenders of the bishopric; but one of\nthem departed from his kin of the Porta San Piero, and took to wife a\nlady called la Tosa, which was the heiress of her family, and hence\nwas derived the name. Also there were the della Pressa, which abode\namong the Chiavaiuoli, gentlemen.\n\u00a7 11.--_Concerning the houses of the nobles in the quarter of the\nPorta San Piero._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 89.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. 40-42.]\n[Sidenote: 115-120.]\nIn the quarter of Porta San Piero were the Bisdomini, which, as\naforesaid, were the patrons of the bishopric, and the Alberighi, and\ntheirs was the church of Santa Maria Alberighi towards the house of\nthe Donati, and now, nought remains of them; the Rovignani were very\ngreat, and dwelt on Porta San Piero (their houses afterwards belonged\nto the Counts Guidi, and afterwards to the Cerchi), and from them were\nborn all the Counts Guidi, as has afore been told, of the daughter of\nthe good Messer Bellincione Berti; in our days all that family have\ndisappeared; the Galligari, and Chiarmontesi, and Ardinghi, which\ndwelt in Orto San Michele, were very ancient; and likewise the\nGiuochi, which now are popolani, which dwelt by Santa Margherita; the\nElisei, which likewise are now popolani, who dwell near the Mercato\nVecchio; and in that place dwelt the Caponsacchi, which were Fiesolan\nmagnates; the Donati or Calfucci, which were all one family; but the\nCalfucci have come to nought; and the della Bella of San Martino have\nalso become popolani; and the family of the Adimari, which were\ndescended from the house of the Cosi, which now dwell in Porta Rossa,\nand they built Santa Maria Nipotecosa; and albeit they are now the\nchief family of that sesto, and of Florence, nevertheless, they were\nnot of the most ancient in those days.\n\u00a7 12.--_Of them of the quarter of Porta San Brancazio._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 100, 111. Inf. vi. 80, xxviii. 103-111. Par. xvi.\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 103. Par. xvi. 93; Inf. 121-123; Par. xv. 115,\nIn the quarter of the Porta San Brancazio were very great and potent\nthe house of the Lamberti, descended from German forefathers. The Ughi\nwere most ancient, which built Santa Maria Ughi, and all the hill of\nMontughi was theirs, but now they are extinct. The Catellini were most\nancient, and now there is no record of them. It is said that the\nfamily Tieri were of their lineage, descended from a bastard. The\nPigli were gentlemen and magnates in those times, and the Soldanieri,\nand the Vecchietti; very ancient were the dell' Arca, and now they are\nextinct; and the Migliorelli, which now are nought; and the\nTrinciavelli of Mosciano were very ancient.\n\u00a7 13.--_Concerning them of the great quarter of Porta Santa Maria and\nof San Piero Scheraggio._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 109, 110; Convivio iv. 20; 38-41. Par. xvi. 104.\n[Sidenote: 89.]\n[Sidenote: 89.]\n[Sidenote: 124-126.]\n[Sidenote: 104.]\n[Sidenote: 123.]\n[Sidenote: 133.]\n[Sidenote: 136-144.]\nIn the quarter of Porta Santa Maria, which is now included in the\nsesto of San Piero Scheraggio and in that of Borgo, there were many\npowerful and ancient families. The chief were the Uberti, whose\nancestor was born in Germany and came thence, which dwelt where is now\nthe Piazza of the Priors, and the Palace of the People; the Fifanti,\ncalled Bogolesi, dwelt at the side of Porta Santa Maria; and the\nGalli, Cappiardi, Guidi; and the Filippi, which now have come to\nnought, were then great and powerful, and dwelt in the Mercato Nuovo.\nAnd likewise the Greci, whereto pertained all the Borgo dei Greci, are\nnow come to an end and extinct, save that there are in Bologna of\ntheir lineage; the Ormanni which dwelt where is now the said Palace of\nthe People, and who are now called Foraboschi. And behind San Piero\nScheraggio where are now the houses of the family of the Petri, dwelt\nthey of Pera or Peruzza; and from their name the postern which was\nthere was called the Peruzza Gate. Some say that the Peruzzi of to-day\nwere descended from this lineage, but this I do not affirm. The\nSacchetti which dwell in the Garbo were very ancient; around the New\nMarket the Bostichi were of note, and the della Sannella, and the\nGiandonati, and the Infangati. In the Borgo Santo Apostolo the\nGualterotti, and the Importuni, which are now popolani, were then\nmagnates. The Bondelmonti were noble and ancient citizens in the\ncountry, and Montebuoni was their fortress, and many others in\nValdigrieve; first they settled in Oltrarno, and then they betook\nthemselves to the Borgo. The Pulci, and the Counts of Gangalandi,\nCiuffagni, and Nerli of Oltrarno, were at one time great and powerful,\ntogether with the Giandonati, and the della Bella named above; and\nfrom the Marquis Hugh which built the Badia of Florence, they took\ntheir arms and knighthood, for they were of great account with him.\n[Sidenote: 1040 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1056 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1073 A.D.]\n\u00a7 14.--_How in those times Oltrarno was but little inhabited._ \u00a7\n15.--_How Henry II. called III. was made Emperor, and the events which\nwere in his time._ \u00a7 16.--_How Henry III. was made Emperor, and the\nevents which were in Italy in his time, and how the Court of Rome was\nin Florence._ \u00a7 17.--_How S. John Gualberti, citizen of Florence, and\nfather of the order of Vallombrosa, was canonized._\n\u00a7 18.--_Narration of many things that were in those times._\n[Sidenote: 1070 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 13, 14. Par. xviii. 48.]\n[Sidenote: iii. 118-120.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxxiii. 119.]\nIn those times, the year of Christ 1070, there passed into Italy\nRobert Guiscard, duke of the Normans, the which by his prowess and wit\ndid great things, and wrought in the service of Holy Church against\nthe Emperor Henry III., who was persecuting it, and against the\nEmperor Alexis, and against the Venetians, as we shall make mention\nhereafter: for the which thing he was made lord over Sicily and\nApulia, with the confirmation of Holy Church; and his descendants\nafter him, down to the time of Henry of Suabia, father of Frederick\nII., were kings and lords thereof. And also in those same times was\nthe worthy and wise Countess Matilda, the which reigned in Tuscany and\nin Lombardy, and was well-nigh sovereign lady over all, and did many\ngreat things in her time for Holy Church, so that it seems to me\nreasonable and fitting to speak of their beginning and of their state,\nin this our treatise, forasmuch as they were much mixed up with the\ndoings of our city of Florence through the consequences which followed\ntheir doings in Tuscany. And first we will tell of Robert Guiscard,\nand then of the Countess Matilda, and their beginnings and their\ndoings briefly, returning afterwards to our subject and the deeds of\nour city of Florence, the which by the increase and the doings of the\nFlorentines began to multiply and to extend the fame of Florence\nthroughout the whole world, more than it had been heretofore; and\ntherefore almost by necessity it behoves us in our treatise to narrate\nmore universally henceforward of the Popes and of the Emperors and of\nthe kings, and of many provinces of the world, the events and things\nwhich happened in those times, forasmuch as they have much to do with\nour subject, and because the aforesaid Emperor Henry III. was the\nbeginner of the scandal between the Church and the Empire, and\nafterwards the Guelfs and Ghibellines, whence arose the parties of the\nEmpire and of the Church in Italy, the which so grew that all Italy\nwas infected thereby and almost all Europe, and many ills and perils,\nand destructions and changes have followed thereupon to our city and\nto the whole world, such as following on with our treatise we shall\nmention in their times. And we will begin now, at the head of every\npage to mark the year of our Lord, following on in order of time, to\nthe end that the events of past times may be the more easily looked\nout in our treatise.\n\u00a7 19.--_Of Robert Guiscard and his descendants, which were kings of\nSicily and of Apulia._\n[Sidenote: 880-1110 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1078 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vii. 133-136.]\n[Sidenote: 1110 A.D.]\nWell, then, as was afore made mention, in the time of the Emperor\nCharles, which is called Charles the Fat, which reigned in the years\nof our Lord 880 unto 892, the pagan Northmen being come from Norway,\npassed into Germany and into France, pressing and tormenting the Gauls\nand the Germans. Charles, with a powerful hand, came against the\nNorthmen, and peace being made and confirmed by matrimony, the king\nof the Normans was baptised, and received at the sacred font by the\nsaid Charles, and in the end, Charles not being able to drive the\nNormans out of France, granted them a region on the further side of\nthe Seine, called Lada Serena, the which unto this day is called\nNormandy, because of the said Normans, in the which land, from that\ntime forward, the duke has reigned as king. The first duke, then, was\nRobert, to whom succeeded his son William, which begat Richard, and\nRichard begat the second Richard. This Richard begat Richard and\nRobert Guiscard, the which Robert Guiscard was not duke of Normandy,\nbut brother of Duke Richard. He, according to their usage, forasmuch\nas he was a younger son, had not the lordship of the duchy, and\ntherefore desiring to make trial of his powers, he came, poor and\nneedy, into Apulia, where at that time one Robert, a native of the\ncountry, was duke, to whom Robert Guiscard, coming, was first made his\nsquire and was then knighted by him. Robert Guiscard having come then\nto this Duke Robert, won many victories with prowess against his\nenemies, for he was at war with the prince of Salerno; and carrying\nwith him magnificent rewards, he returned into Normandy, bringing back\nreport of the delights and riches of Apulia, having adorned his horses\nwith golden bridles and shod them with silver, in witness of the facts\nhe alleged; by the which thing, having roused many knights, following\nthis emprise through desire of riches and of glory, returning\nincontinent into Apulia, he took them with him, and gave faithful aid\nto the duke of Apulia against Godfrey, duke of the Normans; and, not\nlong time after, Robert, duke of Apulia, being nigh unto death, by the\nwill of his barons made him his successor in the duchy, and as he had\npromised him, he took his daughter to wife the year of Christ 1078.\nAnd a little time after, he conquered Alexis, emperor of\nConstantinople, who had taken possession of Sicily and of part of\nCalabria, and he conquered the Venetians, and took all the kingdom of\nApulia and of Sicily; and albeit he did this in violation of the Roman\nChurch, to which the kingdom of Apulia belonged, and albeit the\nCountess Matilda made war against Robert Guiscard in the service of\nHoly Church; nevertheless, in the end, Robert being, of his own will,\nreconciled with Holy Church, was made lord of the said kingdom; and\nnot long after, Gregory VII., with his cardinals, being besieged by\nthe Emperor Henry IV. in the castle of S. Angelo, Robert came to Rome\nand drave away by force the said Henry with his Anti-pope which he had\nmade by force, and he freed the Pope and the cardinals from the siege,\nand replaced the Pope in the Lateran Palace, having severely punished\nthe Romans, who had shown favour to the Emperor Henry and to the Pope\nwhom he had made against Pope Gregory. This Robert Guiscard, duke of\nApulia, was once on a hunting excursion, and he followed the quarry\ninto the depth of a wood, his companions not knowing what had become\nof him, or where he was, or what he was doing; and then Robert, seeing\nthe night approaching, leaving the beast which he was pursuing, sought\nto return home; and turning, he found in the wood a leper, who\nimportunately asked alms of him; and when he had said I know not what\nin reply, the leper said again that the anguish he endured availed him\nnought, yet him were liefer carry any weight or any burden; and when\nhe asked of the leper what he would have, he said, \"I desire that you\nwill put me behind you on your horse\"; lest abandoned in the wood,\nperadventure the beasts might devour him. Then Robert cheerfully\nreceived him behind him on his horse; and as they rode forward, the\nleper said to Robert--great baron as he was:--\"My hands are so icy\ncold, that unless I may cherish them against thy flesh, I cannot keep\nmyself on horseback.\" Then Robert granted the leper to put his hands\nboldly under his clothing, and comfort his flesh and his members\nwithout any fear; and when yet a third time the leper bespoke his\npity, he put him upon his saddle, and he, sitting behind him, embraced\nthe leper, and led him to his own chamber and put him into his own\nbed, and set him in it with right good care to the end he might\nrepose; no one of his household perceiving ought thereof. And when the\nbanquet of supper was spread, having told his wife that he had lodged\nthe leper in his bed, his wife incontinent went to the chamber to know\nif the poor sufferer would sup. The chamber, albeit there were no\nperfumes therein, she found as fragrant as if it had been full of\nsweet-smelling things, such that neither Robert nor his wife had ever\nknown so sweet scents, and the leper, whom they had come thither to\nseek, they did not find, whereat the husband and the wife marvelled\nbeyond measure at so great a wonder; but with reverence and with fear,\nboth one and the other asked God to reveal to them what this might be.\nAnd the following day Christ appeared in a vision to Robert, saying,\nthat it was Himself that He had revealed to him in the form of a\nleper, to make trial of his piety; and He announced to him that by his\nwife he should have sons, whereof one should be emperor, the next\nking, and the third duke. Encouraged by this promise Robert subdued\nthe rebels of Apulia and of Sicily, and acquired lordship over all;\nand he had five sons: William, who took to wife the daughter of\nAlexis, the emperor of the Greeks, and was lord and possessor of his\nempire, but died without children (some say that this was the William\nwhich was called Longsword, but many say that this Longsword was not\nof the lineage of Robert Guiscard, but of the race of the marquises of\nMontferrat); and the second son of Robert Guiscard was Boagdinos\n[Boemond], who was at the first duke of Tarentum; the third was Roger,\nduke of Apulia, which, after the death of his father, was crowned king\nof Sicily by Pope Honorius II.; the fourth son of Robert Guiscard was\nHenry, duke of the Normans; the fifth son, Richard Count Cicerat, that\nis, I suppose, count of Acerra. This Robert Guiscard, after having\ndone many and noble things in Apulia, purposed and desired, by way of\ndevotion, to go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage; and it was told him in a\nvision that he would die in Jerusalem. Therefore, having commended his\nkingdom to Roger, his son, he embarked by sea for the voyage to\nJerusalem, and arriving in Greece, at the port which was afterwards\ncalled after him Port Guiscard, he began to sicken of his malady; and\ntrusting in the revelation which had been made to him, he in no wise\nfeared to die. There was over against the said port an island, to the\nwhich, that he might repose and recover his strength, he caused\nhimself to be carried, and after being carried there he grew no\nbetter, but rather grievously worse. Then he asked what this island\nwas called, and the mariners answered that of old it was called\nJerusalem. Which thing having heard, straightway certified of his\ndeath, devoutly he fulfilled all those things which appertain to the\nsalvation of the soul, and died in the grace of God the year of Christ\n1110, having reigned in Apulia thirty-three years. These things\nconcerning Robert Guiscard may in part be read in chronicles, and in\npart I heard them narrated by those who fully knew the history of the\nkingdom of Apulia.\n\u00a7 20.--_Concerning the successors of Robert Guiscard which were kings\nof Sicily and of Apulia._\n[Sidenote: Par. iii. 109-120. Purg. iii. 112, 113. Par. xx. 62.]\n[Sidenote: Par. iii. 112-120.]\n[Sidenote: 1197 A.D.]\nAfterwards, Roger, son of Duke Robert Guiscard, begat the second\nRoger; and this Roger, after the death of his father, was made king of\nSicily, and he begat William, and Constance his sister. This William\nhonourably and magnificently ruled the kingdom of Sicily, and he took\nto wife the daughter of the king of England, and by her he had neither\nson nor daughter; and when his father Roger was dead, and the\nsovereignty of the kingdom had passed to William, a prophecy was made\nknown, that Constance, his sister, should rule over the realm of\nSicily in destruction and ruin; wherefore King William, having called\nhis friends and wise men, asked counsel of them what he should do with\nhis sister Constance; and it was counselled him by the greater part of\nthem that if he desired the royal sovereignty should be secure, he\nshould cause her to be put to death. But among the others was one\nnamed Tancred, duke of Tarentum, which had been nephew to Robert\nGuiscard through the sister who is thought to have been wife to\nBagnamonte [Boemond], prince of Antioch; this man, opposing the\ncounsel of the others, appeased King William, that he should not cause\nthe innocent lady to be put to death; and so it came to pass that the\nsaid Constance was preserved from death, and she, not of her own will,\nbut through fear of death, lived in the guise of a nun in a certain\nconvent of nuns. William being dead, the aforesaid Tancred succeeded\nhim in the kingdom, having taken it to himself against the will of the\nChurch of Rome to which pertained the right and property of that\nkingdom. This Tancred, instructed by natural wit, was very full of\nlearning, and he had a wife more beautiful than the Sibyl, but as many\nthink without breasts, by whom he begat two sons and three daughters:\nthe first was called Roger, which in his father's lifetime was made\nking, and he died; the second was William the younger, which in his\nfather's lifetime was made king, and after his father was dead he held\nthe kingdom for a time. During these things, Tancred being alive and\non the throne, Constance, sister to King William, already perhaps\nfifty years old, was a nun in her body but not in her mind in the city\nof Palermo. Discord then having arisen between King Tancred and the\narchbishop of Palermo, perhaps for this cause, that Tancred was\nusurping the rights of the Church, the archbishop then thought how he\nmight transfer the kingdom of Sicily to other lordship, and made a\nsecret treaty with the Pope, that Constance should be married to\nHenry, duke of Suabia, son of the great Frederick; and Henry having\ntaken to wife her to whom the kingdom seemed to pertain by right, was\ncrowned emperor by Pope Celestine. This Henry, when Tancred was dead,\nentered into the kingdom of Apulia, and punished many of them which\nhad held with Tancred, and had shown him favour, and which had done\ninjury to Queen Constance, and had done shame to the nobility of her\nhonour. This Constance was the mother--we shall not say of Frederick\nII. who was long king of the Roman Empire,--but rather of Frederick\nwho brought the said Empire to destruction, as will appear fully in\nhis deeds. When Tancred was dead then, the kingdom passed to his son\nWilliam, young in years and in wisdom; but Henry having entered the\nkingdom with his army the year of Christ 1197, made a false truce with\nthe young King William, and having taken him by fraud and secretly\ninto Suabia, few knowing thereof, he sent him into banishment with his\nsister, and having caused his eyes to be put out, he there kept him\nunder ward till his death. With this William son of Tancred were taken\nhis three sisters, to wit, Alberia, Constance, and Ernadama. When the\nEmperor Henry was dead, and the young William who had been castrated\nand whose eyes had been put out was dead also, Philip, duke of Suabia,\nthrough the prayers of his wife, which was daughter of the Emperor\nManuel of Constantinople, delivered these three daughters of King\nTancred from exile and from prison, and let them go free. And Alberia\nor Aceria had three husbands: the first was Count Walter of Brienne,\nbrother of King John, from whom was born Walteran, count of Joppa, to\nwhom the king of Cyprus gave his daughter in marriage. After Count\nWalter had been slain by Count Trebaldo [Diephold], the German,\nAlberia was wedded to Count James of Tricarico, by whom she had Count\nSimon and the Lady Adalitta; and he being dead, Pope Honorius gave\nAlberia to wife to Count Tigrimo, count palatine in Tuscany; and for\ndowry he gave her the region of Lizia and of Mount Scaglioso in the\nkingdom of Apulia. Constance was the wife of Marchesono [Ziani], doge\nof Venice. The third sister, who was named Ernadama, had no husband.\nThese were the fortunes of the successors of Robert Guiscard in the\nkingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, down to Constance, mother of the\nEmperor Frederick the son of King Henry; and thus it may be seen that\nRobert Guiscard and his successors ruled over the kingdom of Sicily\nand of Apulia 120 years. We will now leave the kings of Sicily and of\nApulia; and we will relate concerning the wise Countess Matilda.\n\u00a7 21.--_Of the Countess Matilda._\n[Sidenote: 1115 A.D.]\nThe mother of Countess Matilda is said to have been the daughter of\none who reigned as emperor in Constantinople, in whose court was an\nItalian of distinguished manners and of great race and well nurtured,\nskilled in arms, expert and endowed with every gift, such as they are\nin whom noble blood is wont to declare itself illustriously. Now all\nthese things made him to be loved of all men and gave grace to his\nways. And he began to turn his eyes upon the emperor's daughter, and\nwas secretly united to her in marriage, and they took such jewels and\nmoneys as they might, and she fled with him into Italy. And they came\nfirst to the bishopric of Reggio, in Lombardy. From this lady, then,\nand from her husband, was born the doughty Countess Matilda. But the\nfather of the lady aforesaid, that is to say the emperor of\nConstantinople, who had no other daughter, caused great searching to\nbe made, if by any means he might find her; and found she was, by them\nthat were seeking, in the said place; and when they begged of her that\nshe would return to her father, who would marry her again to any\nprince she might choose, she gave answer that she had chosen to have\nhim she now had above all other, and it were a thing impossible to\nabandon him and ever be united to another man. And when all this was\ntold again to the emperor, straightway he sent letters and confirmed\nthe marriage, and money without end, with orders to buy fortresses and\nvillages at any price and erect new castles. And they bought in the\nsaid place three fortresses, very nigh together, and because of this\nclose neighbourhood, they are commonly called the Tre Castella at\nReggio. And not far from the said three fortresses the lady had such a\ncastle built upon a mountain as might never be taken, the which castle\nwas called Canossa, and there the countess afterward founded and\nendowed a noble convent of nuns. This was in the mountains; but on the\nplain she built Guastalla and Sulzariani, and she bought land along\nthe Po and built divers monasteries, and divers noble bridges did she\nmake across the rivers of Lombardy. And moreover Garfagnana and the\ngreater part of the Erignano, and parts of the see of Modena, are said\nto have been her possessions, and in the Bolognese district the great\nand spacious towns of Arzellata and Medicina were of her patrimony;\nand she had many others in Lombardy. And in Tuscany she established\nfortresses and the turret at Polugiana, within her jurisdiction, and\nshe liberally endowed many noblemen, under fee, and made them her\nvassals. In divers places she built many monasteries, and endowed many\ncathedral churches and others. And in the end, when the Countess\nMatilda's father and mother were dead, and she was their heir, she\nthought to marry, and having heard of the fame and the person and the\nother qualities of a native of Suabia, whose name was Guelf, she sent\nformal messages to him and authorised agents who should establish a\ncontract of marriage between him and her, albeit they were not present\nin person together, and who should arrange the place where the\nwedding should take place. The ring was given at the noble castle of\nthe Conti Ginensi, which is now, however, destroyed. And as Guelf\napproached the said castle, the Countess Matilda went to meet him with\na great cavalcade, and there was held the festival of the wedding\nright joyously. But soon did sadness follow gladness in that the\nmarriage bond was not consummated, by failure of conception, which is\nexpressly declared to be the purpose of marriage.\nThe countess then, in silence, fearing deception and being averse to\nthe other burdens of matrimony, passed her life in chastity even to\nher death, and giving herself to works of piety she built and endowed\nmany churches and monasteries and hospitals. And once and again she\ncame with a great army and mightily interposed in service of Holy\nChurch and succoured her. Once was against the Normans, who had taken\naway the duchy of Apulia from the Church by violence, and were laying\nwaste the confines of Campagna. Them did the Countess Matilda, devout\ndaughter of S. Peter that she was, together with Godfrey, duke of\nSpoleto, drive off as far as to Aquino in the time of Alexander II.,\nPope of Rome. The second time she fought against the Emperor Henry\nIII. of Bavaria, and overcame him. And yet once again she fought for\nthe Church in Lombardy against Henry IV., his son, and overcame him,\nin the time of Pope Calixtus II. And she made a will and offered up\nall her patrimony on the altar of S. Peter, and made the Church of\nRome heir of it all. And not long after she died in God, and she is\nburied in the church of Pisa, which she had largely endowed. It was in\nthe 1115th year of the Nativity that the countess died. We will leave\nto speak of the Countess Matilda, and will turn back to follow the\nhistory of the Emperor Henry III. of Bavaria.\n[Sidenote: 1080 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1089 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1107 A.D.]\n\u00a7 22.--_Again how Henry III. of Bavaria renewed war against the\nChurch._ \u00a7 23.--_How the said Emperor Henry besieged the city of\nFlorence._ \u00a7 24.--_How in these times was the great crusade over\nseas._ \u00a7 25.--_How the Florentines began to increase their territory._\n\u00a7 26.--_How the Florentines conquered and destroyed the fortress of\nPrato._ \u00a7 27.--_How Henry IV. of Bavaria was elected Emperor, and how\nhe persecuted the Church._ \u00a7 28.--_How at last the said Emperor Henry\nIV. returned to obedience to Holy Church._\n\u00a7 29.--_How the Florentines defeated the Vicar of the Emperor Henry\nIV._\n[Sidenote: 1113 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1113 the Florentines marched against\nMontecasciolo, which was making war upon the city, having been stirred\nto rebellion by M. Ruberto Tedesco, vicar of the Emperor Henry in\nTuscany, who was stationed with his troops in Samminiato del Tedesco,\nso called because the vicars of the Emperors with their troops of\nTedeschi [Germans] were stationed in the said fortress to harry the\ncities and castles of Tuscany that would not obey the Emperors. And\nthis M. Ruberto was routed and slain by the Florentines, and the\nfortress taken and destroyed.\n\u00a7 30.--_How the city of Florence took fire twice, whence a great part\nof the city was burnt._\n[Sidenote: 1115 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 13-15.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xi. 35-123. Par. xii. 31-111.]\nIn the year of Christ 1115, in the month of May, fire broke out in the\nBorgo Santo Apostolo, and was so great and impetuous that a good part\nof the city was burnt, to the great hurt of the Florentines. And in\nthat selfsame year died the good Countess Matilda. And after, in the\nyear 1117, fire again broke out in Florence, and of a truth that which\nwas not burnt in the first fire was burnt in the second, whence great\nhurt befell the Florentines, and not without cause and judgment of\nGod, forasmuch as the city was evilly corrupted by heresy, among\nothers by the sect of the epicureans, through the vice of\nlicentiousness and gluttony, and this over so large a part, that the\ncitizens were fighting among themselves for the faith with arms in\ntheir hands in many parts of Florence, and this plague endured long\ntime in Florence till the coming of the holy Religions of St. Francis\nand of St. Dominic, the which Religions through their holy brothers,\nthe charge of this sin of heresy having been committed to them by the\nPope, greatly exterminated it in Florence, and in Milan, and in many\nother cities of Tuscany and of Lombardy in the time of the blessed\nPeter Martyr, who was martyred by the Paterines in Milan; and\nafterwards the other inquisitors wrought the like. And in the flames\nof the said fires in Florence were burnt many books and chronicles\nwhich would more fully have preserved the record of past things in our\ncity of Florence, wherefore few are left remaining; for the which\nthing it has behoved us to collect from other veracious chronicles of\ndivers cities and countries, great part of those things whereof\nmention has been made in this treatise.\n\u00a7 31.--_How the Pisans took Majorca, and the Florentines protected the\ncity of Pisa._\n[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1117 the Pisans made a great expedition of\ngalleys and ships against the island of Majorca, which the Saracens\nheld, and when the said armada had departed from Pisa and was already\nassembled at Vada for the voyage, the commonwealth of Lucca marched\nupon Pisa to seize the city. Hearing this, the Pisans dared not go\nforward with their expedition for fear that the Lucchese should take\npossession of their city; and to draw back from their emprise did not\nseem for their honour in view of the great outlay and preparation\nwhich they had made. Wherefore they took counsel to send their\nambassadors to the Florentines, for the two commonwealths in those\ntimes were close friends. And they begged them that they would be\npleased to protect the city, trusting them as their inmost friends and\ndear brothers. And on this the Florentines undertook to serve them and\nto protect their city against the Lucchese and all other. Wherefore\nthe commonwealth of Florence sent thither armed folk in abundance,\nhorse and foot, and encamped two miles outside the city, and in\nrespect for their women they would not enter Pisa, and made a\nproclamation that whosoever should enter the city should answer for it\nwith his person; and one who did enter was accordingly condemned to be\nhung. And when the old men who had been left in Pisa prayed the\nFlorentines for love of them to pardon him, they would not. But the\nPisans still opposed, and begged that at least they would not put him\nto death in their territory; whereupon the Florentine army secretly\npurchased a field from a peasant in the name of the commonwealth of\nFlorence, and thereon they raised the gallows and did the execution to\nmaintain their decree. And when the host of the Pisans returned from\nthe conquest of Majorca they gave great thanks to the Florentines,\nand asked them what memorial they would have of the conquest--the\nmetal gates, or two columns of porphyry which they had taken and\nbrought from Majorca. The Florentines chose the columns, and the\nPisans sent them to Florence covered with scarlet cloth, and some said\nthat before they sent them they put them in the fire for envy. And the\nsaid columns are those which stand in front of San Giovanni.\n\u00a7 32.--_How the Florentines took and destroyed the fortress of\nFiesole._\n[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1125, the Florentines came with an army to the\nfortress of Fiesole, which was still standing and very strong, and it\nwas held by certain gentlemen Cattani, which had been of the city of\nFiesole, and thither resorted highwaymen and refugees and evil men,\nwhich sometimes infested the roads and country of Florence; and the\nFlorentines carried on the siege so long that for lack of victuals the\nfortress surrendered, albeit they would never have taken it by storm,\nand they caused it to be all cast down and destroyed to the\nfoundations, and they made a decree that none should ever dare to\nbuild a fortress again at Fiesole.\n[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]\n\u00a7 33.--_From where the miles are measured in the territory of\nFlorence._ \u00a7 34.--_How Roger, duke of Apulia, was at war with the\nChurch, and afterwards was reconciled with the Pope, and how after\nthat there were two Popes in Rome at one time._ \u00a7 35.--_Tells of the\nsecond crusade over seas._\n\u00a7 36.--_How the Florentines destroyed the fortress of Montebuono._\n[Sidenote: 1135 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 66.]\nIn the year of Christ 1135 the fortress of Montebuono was standing,\nwhich was very strong and pertained to the house of the Bondelmonti,\nwhich were Cattani and ancient gentlemen of the country, and from the\nname of this their castle the house of Bondelmonti took their name;\nand by reason of its strength, and because the road ran at the foot\nthereof, therefore they took toll, for the which thing the Florentines\ndid not desire, nor would they have, such a fortress hard by the city;\nand they went thither with an army in the month of June and took it,\non condition that the fortress should be destroyed, and the rest of\nthe possessions should still pertain to the said Cattani, and that\nthey should come and dwell in Florence. And thus the commonwealth of\nFlorence began to grow, and by force, rather than by right, their\nterritory increased, and they subdued to their jurisdiction every\nnoble of the district, and destroyed the fortresses.\n[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]\n\u00a7 37.--_How the Florentines were discomfited at Montedicroce by the\nCounts Guidi._ \u00a7 38.--_How they of Prato were discomfited by the\nPistoians at Carmignano._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK IV.\nBOOK V.\n[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]\n     _Here begins the Fifth Book: How Frederick I. of Staufen of\n     Suabia was Emperor of Rome, and of his descendants, and\n     concerning the doings of Florence which were in their times,\n     and of all Italy._\n[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136. Purg. xviii. 119, 120. Cf. Par.\n[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 137.]\n[Sidenote: 1159 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 136.]\n[Sidenote: 1157 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xviii. 119-120. Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136.]\n[Sidenote: 1167 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xix. 70.]\n\u00a7 1.--After the death of Conrad of Saxony, king of the Romans,\nFrederick Barbarossa was elected Emperor, called Frederick the Great,\nor the First, of the house of Suabia, and surnamed of Staufen. This\nFrederick, when he had received the votes of the electors, proclaimed\nhimself, and then came into Italy, and was crowned at Rome by Pope\nAdrian IV., in the year of Christ 1154, and reigned 37 years between\nking of the Romans and Emperor. He was liberal and a man of worth,\neloquent and noble, and glorious in all his deeds. At the first he was\nfriendly to Holy Church in the time of the said Pope Adrian, and\nrebuilt Tivoli, which had been destroyed; but the same day that he was\ncrowned there was a great scuffle and fight between the Romans and his\nfollowers in Nero's meadow, where they were waiting for the said\nEmperor, to the great loss of the Romans; and again within the portico\nof St. Peter's; and it was all burnt and destroyed, to wit, the part\nof Rome which is around St. Peter's. And when he returned to Lombardy\nin the first year of his reign, because the city of Spoleto would not\nobey him, forasmuch as it pertained to the Church, he brought an army\nagainst it, and overcame it, and destroyed it utterly; and through his\ndesire to usurp the rights of the Church, he soon became her enemy:\nfor after the death of Pope Adrian, in the year of Christ 1159,\nAlexander III., of Siena, was made Pope, who reigned 22 years; and he,\nto maintain the rights of Holy Church, had great war with the said\nEmperor Frederick for long time; which Emperor raised up against him\nfour schismatical anti-popes at divers times, one after the other, and\nthree thereof were cardinals. The first was Octavianus, which took the\nname of Victor; the second, Guy of Cremona, which took the name of\nPascal; the third was John of Struma, which took the name of Calixtus;\nthe fourth was called Landone, which took the name of Innocent; whence\ncame great schism and affliction to the Church of God, forasmuch as\nthese Popes by the power of the Emperor Frederick held all the\npatrimony of St. Peter and the Duchy, so that the said Pope Alexander\nhad no authority. But the said Pope Alexander fought valiantly against\nthem all, and excommunicated them: the which all, one after the other,\nduring his reign, died an evil death. But whilst they were reigning by\nthe power of Frederick, the said true Pope, Alexander, not being able\nto abide in Rome, went to the French court to King Louis the Pious,\nwhich received him graciously. And it is said in France that when the\nsaid Pope was coming to Paris secretly with a small company in the\nguise of a lesser prelate, immediately that he came to St. Maure, near\nto Paris, albeit they had not had news of the Pope, yet by Divine\nmiracle there rose a voice: \"Behold the Pope! behold the Pope!\" and\nthe bells began to ring, and the king, with the clergy and the people\nof Paris, went out to meet him, whence the Pope marvelled greatly,\nforasmuch as none knew of his coming; and he thanked God, and made\nhimself known to the king and to the people, and began to give the\nbenediction. And afterwards in France the said Pope called a general\ncouncil in the city of Tours in Touraine, in the which he\nexcommunicated the said Frederick, and deposed him from the Empire,\nand absolved all his barons from their oaths, and deposed them of the\nhouse of Colonna in Rome, that neither they nor their successors\nshould ever be allowed to hold any office in Holy Church, seeing that\nthey all held to the aid and favour of the said Frederick against the\nChurch. And in that council all the kings and lords of the West\npromised and leagued themselves with Louis, king of France, in aid of\nthe said Pope Alexander and of Holy Church, against the said\nFrederick, and likewise many cities of Lombardy rebelled against the\nsaid Frederick, to wit, Milan, and Cremona, and Piacenza, and held\nwith the Pope and with the Church; for the which thing, when the said\nFrederick was passing through Lombardy to go into France against King\nLouis, who was supporting Pope Alexander, and found that the city of\nMilan had rebelled against him, he laid siege thereto, and, after long\nsiege, he took it, in the year of Christ 1157, in the month of March,\nand destroyed the walls thereof and burnt all the city, and caused the\nground to be ploughed and sown with salt; and the bodies of the Three\nKings or Magi which came to adore Christ by the guiding of the star,\nwhich were in the city of Milan, in three tombs hewn out of porphyry,\nhe caused to be taken from Milan and sent to Cologne, whence all the\nLombards were very wrathful. And afterwards, crossing the mountains\nto destroy the realm of France, with the aid of the king of Bohemia\nand the king of Dacia--that is, Denmark--he entered into Burgundy; but\nKing Louis of France, with the aid of Henry, king of England, his\nson-in-law, and with many lords and barons, was ready to oppose him,\nso that by the grace of God he had no power, nor gained any land\nthere, but through lack of victuals those kings returned to their own\ncountries and Frederick to Italy. And he made war against the Romans,\nforasmuch as they had come over to the side of the Church and of Pope\nAlexander; and when the said Romans with their host were in the region\nof Tusculum, they were defeated by the chancellor of the said\nFrederick and his German troops in the place called Monte del Porco,\nand many Romans were taken and slain in such great numbers that\ncartloads of dead bodies were taken to Rome to be buried, and this\ndefeat is said to have been by reason of the treachery of the\nColonnas, which were always with the Emperor and against the Church;\nwherefore they were by the Pope deprived of all temporal and spiritual\nbenefit; and because of the said defeat the Romans drove the Colonnas\naway from Rome, and destroyed an ancient and very beautiful fortress\npertaining to them, which was called La Gosta, which is said to have\nbeen built by C\u00e6sar Augustus, and this was in the year of Christ 1167.\nAnd after this the Emperor came to Rome to besiege it and to destroy\nit, and brought it into great straits. The Romans caused the clergy of\nRome to take the heads of St. Peter and of St. Paul and to carry them\nin procession all through Rome, for the which thing the Romans all\ntook the cross against the Emperor, and the first which took it was M.\nMatteo Rosso the Elder, of the Orsini family, grandfather to Pope\nNicholas III., and by reason of old age he had abandoned arms, and\ntaken the habit of a penitent; and for this cause he put off the said\nhabit and took his arms again, for which he was much commended, and by\nreason of this he and his came into favour with the Church, and\nincreased greatly. After the said M. Matteo, Gianni Buovo, a great\ncitizen of Rome, took the cross, and afterwards all the others with\ngreat zeal and desire; for the which thing, when the Emperor heard\nthereof, either through fear, or rather through a miracle of the\nblessed Apostles, straightway he departed from the siege of Rome with\nhis followers, and returned to Viterbo, and the city of Rome was set\nfree.\n\u00a7 2.--_How Pope Alexander returned from France to Venice, and the\nEmperor returned to obedience._\n[Sidenote: 1168 A.D.]\nThen, after the said Pope Alexander had been long time in France, by\nthe aid of the kings of France and of England he returned with his\ncourt into Italy by sea, and, landing in Sicily, he was devoutly\nreceived and favoured by King William, which then was king thereof,\nand which declared himself faithful to Holy Church, and that he held\nthe island from him; for the which thing the said Pope confirmed him\nking of Sicily, and gave him Apulia, wherefore the said King William\nwith his fleet bore him company by sea as far as the city of Venice,\nwhither the Pope desired to go for more security, that the Emperor\nFrederick might not hurt him; and to show favour to the faithful\nbelievers in Holy Church in Lombardy, he sojourned in the said city of\nVenice, and by the Venetians was reverently received and honoured; and\nby his favour the Milanese rebuilt the city of Milan in the year of\nChrist 1168. Then, a little while after, the Milanese, with the aid\nof Piacenza and Cremona, and of the other cities of Lombardy which\nobeyed Holy Church, built a city in Lombardy, to be a rampart and\ndefence against the city of Pavia, which always was against Milan, and\nheld with the Empire; and since this city was built, to the honour of\nthe said Pope Alexander, and to the end it might be more famous, they\ncalled it Alessandria; and afterwards it was surnamed City della\nPaglia [of Straw], in contempt, by the Pavians; and at the prayer of\nthe Lombards the Pope gave it a bishop, and deposed the bishop of\nPavia, and took away from him the dignity of the Pallium and of the\nCross, forasmuch as he had always held with the Emperor Frederick\nagainst the Church.\n\u00a7 3.--_How the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was reconciled with the\nChurch, and went over seas, and there died._\n[Sidenote: Inf. iv. 129.]\n[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]\nThe Emperor Frederick, seeing himself much cast down from his state\nand sovereignty, and that many cities of Lombardy and of Tuscany were\nrebelling against him and holding with the Church and with Pope\nAlexander, which had greatly increased in estate by the favour of the\nkings of France and of England, and of William, king of Sicily, sought\nto reconcile himself with the Church and with the Pope, to the end he\nmight not wholly lose the honour of the Empire, and he sent a solemn\nembassy to Venice to Pope Alexander to ask for peace, promising to\nmake all amends to Holy Church, and the Pope graciously hearkened to\nhim, wherefore the said Frederick went to Venice and threw himself at\nthe feet of the said Pope, and asked for mercy. Then the said Pope set\nhis foot upon his neck, and said the verse of the psalter: \"_Super\naspidem et basiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et draconem_\"\n[Ps. xci. 13]; and the Emperor answered, \"_Non tibi sed Petro_\" [Not\nto you, but to Peter, was it said], and the Pope answered, \"_Ego sum\nvicarius Petri_\" [I am in the place of Peter]; and then he forgave him\nevery offence which he had committed against Holy Church, causing him\nto restore that which he held from Holy Church; and this he promised\nand did, under compact that whatsoever should be found held in\npossession by the Church on that day throughout the Kingdom, should\npertain for ever to Holy Church; and it was found that Benivento was\nso held; and this was the cause why the Church holds as hers the city\nof Benivento. And this done, he reconciled him with the Romans, and\nwith Manuel, emperor of Constantinople, and with William, king of\nSicily, and with the Lombards; and as amends and penance he imposed\nupon him, and he promised, to go over seas to the succour of the Holy\nLand, forasmuch as Saladin, the soldan of Babylon, had retaken\nJerusalem and many other fortresses held by the Christians; and this\nhe did. Then the said Frederick, having taken the cross in the year of\nChrist 1188, departed from Germany with an immense host, and went by\nland through Hungary to Constantinople as far as Armenia [Pisidia];\nbut when the said Frederick was come into Armenia, it being summer and\nvery hot, as he was bathing for his solace in a little river called\nthe river of Ferro [Iron], he was miserably drowned. And this, it is\nbelieved, was the judgment of God by reason of the many persecutions\nwhich he had brought upon Holy Church: and he left a son, which was\nnamed Henry, whom he had caused to be elected king of the Romans\nbefore he passed over seas in the year of Christ 1186; and when the\nsaid Frederick was dead, his wife, with her son and with their\nfollowers, albeit many of them died on this voyage, returned from\nSyria to the West without having gained anything. We will now return\nto our subject of the doings of Florence and of other things which\nwere in the time when the said Frederick was reigning; but first we\nwill tell of King Philip of France and of King Richard of England,\nwhich went over seas to the succour of the Holy Land in this same\ntime.\n[Sidenote: 1170 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1174 A.D.]\n\u00a7 4.--_How the king of France and the king of England went over seas._\n\u00a7 5.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines._ \u00a7 6.--_How the\nfirst war of the Florentines against the Sienese began._ \u00a7 7.--_How\nthe noble and strong castle of Poggibonizzi was first built, and that\nof Colle of Valdelsa._\n\u00a7 8.--_Of the great fires which were in the city of Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1177 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1177, fire broke out in the city of Florence on\nthe 5th day of August, and spread from the foot of the Ponte Vecchio\nas far as the Mercato Vecchio. And afterwards, in the same year, fire\nbroke out at San Martino del Vescovo, and spread as far as Santa Maria\nUghi and to the Duomo of S. Giovanni, with great hurt to the city, and\nnot without the judgment of God, forasmuch as the Florentines had\nbecome very proud by reason of the victories they had gotten over\ntheir neighbours; and some among them were very ungrateful towards\nGod, and full of other wicked sins. And in this year, because of a\ngreat flood of the river Arno, the Ponte Vecchio fell, which also was\na sign of future adversities to our city.\n\u00a7 9.--_How civil war began in Florence between the Uberti and the\ngovernment of the Consuls._\n[Sidenote: 1177 A.D.]\nWherefore in the selfsame year there began in Florence dissension and\ngreat war among the citizens, the worst that had ever been in\nFlorence; and this was by reason of too great prosperity and repose,\ntogether with pride and ingratitude; forasmuch as the house of the\nUberti, which were the most powerful and the greatest citizens of\nFlorence, with their allies, both magnates and popolari, began war\nagainst the Consuls (which were the lords and rulers of the\ncommonwealth for a certain time and under certain ordinances), from\nenvy of the Government, which was not to their mind; and the war was\nso fierce and unnatural that well-nigh every day, or every other day,\nthe citizens fought against one another in divers parts of the city,\nfrom district to district, according as the factions were, and as they\nhad fortified their towers, whereof there was great number in the\ncity, in height 100 or 120 cubits. And in those times, by reason of\nthe said war, many towers were newly fortified by the communities of\nthe districts, from the common funds of the neighbourhood, which were\ncalled Towers of the Fellowships, and upon them were set engines to\nshoot forth one at another, and the city was barricaded in many\nplaces; and this plague endured more than two years, and many died by\nreason thereof, and much peril and hurt was brought upon the city; but\nthis war among the citizens became so much of use and wont that one\nday they would be fighting, and the next day they would be eating and\ndrinking together, and telling tales of one another's valour and\nprowess in these battles; and at last they ceased fighting, in that it\nirked them for very weariness, and they made peace, and the Consuls\nremained in their government; albeit, in the end they begot and then\nbrought forth the accursed factions, which were afterwards in\nFlorence, as hereafter in due time we will make mention.\n[Sidenote: 1182 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1184 A.D.]\n\u00a7 10.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Montegrossoli._ \u00a7\n11.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Pogna._\n\u00a7 12.--_How the Emperor Frederick I. took their territory from the\ncity of Florence, and many other cities of Tuscany._\n[Sidenote: 1184 A.D.]\nIn the said year of Christ 1184, the Emperor Frederick I., as he went\nfrom Lombardy into Apulia, passed through our city of Florence on the\n31st day of July in the said year, and abode there some days; and\nreceiving a complaint from the nobles of the country that the\ncommonwealth of Florence had taken by force and occupied many of their\ncastles and strongholds against the honour of the Empire, he took from\nthe commonwealth of Florence all the whole territory and the lordship\nthereof up to the walls, and in the territory he set vicars of his own\nthroughout the villages to administer the law and execute justice; and\nhe did the like to all the other cities of Tuscany which had held with\nthe Church when he was at war with Pope Alexander, save that he did\nnot take the territory from the cities of Pisa and of Pistoia, which\nheld with him. And in this year the said Frederick besieged the city\nof Siena, but did not take it. And these things he did to the said\ncities of Tuscany, forasmuch as they had not been on his side; so\nthat, albeit he was at peace with the Church and had cried the said\nPope mercy, as afore has been narrated, nevertheless, he did not cease\nfrom manifesting ill-will against the cities which had obeyed the\nChurch; and thus the city of Florence was left without any territory\nfor four years, until the said Frederick set forth on his voyage over\nseas, when he was drowned, as afore we have narrated.\n\u00a7 13.--_How the Florentines took the cross, and went over seas to\nconquer Damietta, and therefore recovered their territory._\n[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1188, all Christendom being moved to go to the\nsuccour of the Holy Land, there came to Florence the archbishop of\nRavenna, the Pope's Legate, to preach the cross for the said\nexpedition; and many good people of Florence took the cross from the\nsaid archbishop at S. Donato tra le Torri, or at S. Donato a Torri,\nbeyond Rifredi, or the Monastery delle Donne, forasmuch as the said\narchbishop was of the Order of Citeaux [the Cistercian Order]; and\nthis was on the 2nd day of the month of February in the said year, and\nthe Florentines were in such great numbers that they made up an army\nin themselves over seas, and they were at the conquest of the city of\nDamietta, and among the first which took the city, and for an ensign\nthey brought back thence a crimson standard which is still in the\nchurch of S. Giovanni; and because of the said devotion and aid given\nby the Florentines to Holy Church and to Christendom, the jurisdiction\nover the territory around was restored to the city of Florence by Pope\nGregory and by the said Emperor Frederick, to the distance of ten\nmiles around the city of Florence.\n[Sidenote: 1188 A.D.]\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Florentines got the arm of the blessed apostle S.\nPhilip._ \u00a7 15.--_How the Pope brought the Pisans and the Genoese to\npeace, thereby to strengthen the expedition over seas._\n\u00a7 16.--_How Henry of Suabia was made Emperor by the Church, and how\nConstance, queen of Sicily, was given him to wife._\n[Sidenote: 1192 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. iii. 109-120.]\nHenry of Suabia, son of the great Frederick, as we said before, whilst\nhis father was alive, had been elected king of the Romans; and when he\nreturned from over seas, and had ordered his government in Germany, he\npassed into Italy and came to Rome at the request of Pope Clement, and\nwas received with honour by the Romans, forasmuch as he restored to\nthem the city of Tusculum and its territory, which had rebelled\nagainst the Romans; which city was all destroyed and laid waste by the\nRomans, and was never afterwards rebuilt. And when the said Henry was\ncome to Rome he found that the said Pope Clement was dead, which had\nsent for him; and Pope Celestine, a native of Rome, had been elected\nby the cardinals, so that the said Henry was present at his\nconsecration, which took place on Easter Day of the Resurrection, in\nApril, in the year of Christ 1192; and he lived as Pope six years and\neight months and eleven days. And when Celestine had become Pope, on\nthe second day after his consecration, he crowned the said Henry\nemperor. And before the said Henry departed from Germany, the Church\nwas at variance with Tancred, king of Sicily and of Apulia (son to the\nother Tancred, which was sister's son to Robert Guiscard, as we made\nmention in the chapter wherein we treated of the said Robert), by\nreason that he did not, as he should, faithfully pay tribute to the\nChurch, and that he presented bishops and archbishops to benefices at\nhis pleasure to the shame of the Pope and of the Church; wherefore the\nsaid Pope Clement treated with the archbishop of Palermo to take away\nthe kingdom of Sicily and Apulia from the said Tancred, and gave order\nto the said archbishop that Constance, sister of King William and\nrightful heiress of the realm of Sicily, which was a nun in Palermo,\nas we afore made mention, and was already more than fifty years old,\nshould leave the convent, and he gave her dispensation that she might\nreturn to the world and enter into matrimony; and the said archbishop\ncaused her secretly to depart from Sicily and come to Rome, and the\nChurch gave her to wife to the said Emperor Henry, whence a little\nwhile after was born the Emperor Frederick II., which brought such\npersecutions upon the Church, as we will tell hereafter in treating of\nhim. And it was not without Divine occasioning and judgment that such\na baneful heir must needs be the issue, being born of a holy nun, and\nshe more than fifty-two years old, when it is almost impossible for a\nwoman to bear a child; so that he was born of two contradictions--against\nspiritual laws, and, in a sense, against natural laws. And we find,\nwhen the Empress Constance was pregnant with Frederick, there was\ndoubt in Sicily and throughout all the realm of Apulia whether, by\nreason of her advanced age, she could be pregnant; for the which\nthing, when the time came for her to be delivered, a pavilion was\nerected on the piazza at Palermo, and a proclamation was put forth\nthat any lady who desired might go and see her, and many went thither\nand saw her, and therefore the doubt came to an end.\n[Sidenote: 1196 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1200 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1203 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1192 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1197 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1198 A.D.]\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Emperor Henry conquered the kingdom of Apulia._ \u00a7\n18.--_How the Emperor Henry rebelled against the Church, and\npersecuted it, and how he died._ \u00a7 19.--_How Otho IV. of Saxony was\nelected Emperor._ \u00a7 20.--_How the whole orb of the sun was eclipsed._\n\u00a7 21.--_How they of Samminiato destroyed their whole city by their\ndiscords._ \u00a7 22.--_How the Florentines bought Montegrossoli._ \u00a7\n23.--_How Innocent III. was made Pope._\n\u00a7 24.--_How the Order of the Minor Friars began._\n[Sidenote: Par. xi. 43-117.]\nIn the time of the said Pope Innocent began the holy Order of the\nMinor Friars, the founder whereof was the blessed Francis, born in the\ncity of Assisi in the Duchy, and by this Pope the said Order was\naccepted and approved with privilege, forasmuch as it was altogether\nfounded on humility, and love, and poverty, following in all things\nthe holy gospel of Christ, and shunning all human delights. And the\nsaid Pope saw in a vision S. Francis supporting the Church of the\nLateran upon his shoulders, as he afterwards, after the same manner,\nbeheld S. Dominic, the which vision was a figure and prophecy how by\nthem should be supported Holy Church and the faith of Christ.\n\u00a7 25.--_How the Order of the Preaching Friars began._\n[Sidenote: 1216 A.D.]\nAnd still in the time of the said Pope, after the same manner began\nthe Order of the Preaching Friars, the founder whereof was the blessed\nDominic, born in Spain. But in this Pope's time it was not confirmed,\nalbeit in a vision it seemed to the said Pope that the Church of the\nLateran was falling upon him, and the blessed Dominic sustained it on\nhis shoulders. And by reason of this vision he purposed to confirm it,\nbut death overtook him, and his successor, Pope Honorius, afterwards\nconfirmed it the year of Christ 1216. The visions of the aforesaid\nInnocent, concerning S. Francis and S. Dominic, were true, for the\nChurch of God was falling through many errors and many licentious\nsins, not fearing God; and the said blessed Dominic, through his holy\nlearning and preaching, corrected it, and was the first exterminator\nof heretics therefrom; and the blessed Francis, through his humility\nand apostolic life and penitence, corrected the wanton life, and\nbrought back Christians to penitence and to the life of salvation. And\ntruly the Erythr\u00e6an Sibyl, tracing out these times, prophesied of\nthese two holy Orders, saying that two stars would arise to illuminate\nthe world.\n\u00a7 26.--_How the Florentines destroyed the castle of Frondigliano._\n[Sidenote: 1199 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 62, 63.]\nIn the year of Christ 1199, Count Henry della Tosa and his colleagues,\nbeing consuls of the city of Florence, the Florentines laid siege to\nthe fortress of Frondigliano, which had rebelled and was making war\nupon the commonwealth of Florence, and they took it and destroyed it\nto the very foundations, and it was never built again. And in the same\nyear the Florentines marched against Simifonte, which was a very\nstrong place and did not obey the city.\n\u00a7 27.--_How they of Samminiato destroyed Sanginiegio, and went back to\nlive on the hill._ \u00a7 28.--_How the French and Venetians took\nConstantinople._ \u00a7 29.--_How the Tartars descended from the mountains\nof Gog and Magog._\n\u00a7 30.--_How the Florentines destroyed the strongholds of Simifonti and\nof Combiata._\n[Sidenote: 1202 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 62, 63.]\nIn the year of Christ 1202, when Aldobrandino, of the Barucci of Santa\nMaria Maggiore (a very ancient family), and his colleagues were\nconsuls in Florence, the Florentines took the stronghold of Simifonti,\nand destroyed it, and took the hill into possession of the\ncommonwealth, forasmuch as it had been long time at war with the\nFlorentines. And the Florentines gained it by the treachery of a\ncertain man of Sandonato in Poci, which surrendered a tower, and\nclaimed for this cause that he and his descendants should be free in\nFlorence from all taxes; and this was granted, albeit the said traitor\nwas first slain, in the said tower, by the inhabitants, as it was\nbeing attacked. And in the said year the Florentines went with their\narmy against the fortress of Combiata, which was very strong, at the\nhead of the river Marina, towards Mugello, which pertained to Cattani\nof the country which would not obey the commonwealth and made war\nagainst it. And when the said strongholds were destroyed, they made a\ndecree that they should never be rebuilt.\n\u00a7 31.--_Destruction of Montelupo, and how the Florentines gained\nMontemurlo._\n[Sidenote: 1203 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1207 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 64.]\n[Sidenote: 1209 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1203, when Brunellino Brunelli de' Razzanti was\nconsul in Florence with his colleagues, the Florentines destroyed the\nfortress of Montelupo because it would not obey the commonwealth. And\nin this same year the Pistoians took the castle of Montemurlo from the\nCounts Guidi; but a little while after, in September, the Florentines\nwent thither with an army on behalf of the Counts Guidi, and retook\nit, and gave it back to the Counts Guidi. And afterwards, in 1207,\nthe Florentines made peace between the Pistoians and the Counts Guidi,\nbut afterwards the counts not being well able to defend Montemurlo\nfrom the Pistoians, forasmuch as it was too near to them, and they had\nbuilt over against it the fortress of Montale, the Counts Guidi sold\nit to the commonwealth of Florence for 5,000 lbs. of small florins,\nwhich would now be worth 5,000 golden florins; and this was in the\nyear of Christ 1209, but the Counts of Porciano never would give their\nword for their share in the sale.\n\u00a7 32.--_How the Florentines elected their first Podest\u00e0._\n[Sidenote: 1207 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 105-107.]\nIn the year of Christ 1207, the Florentines chose for the first time a\nforeign magistrate, for until that time the city had been ruled by the\ngovernment of citizen consuls, of the greatest and best of the city,\nwith the council of the senate, to wit, of 100 good men; and these\nconsuls, after the manner of Rome, entirely guided and governed the\ncity, and administered law and executed justice; and they remained in\noffice for one year. And there were four consuls so long as the city\nwas divided into quarters, one to each gate; and afterwards there were\nsix, when the city was divided into sesti. But our forefathers did not\nmake mention of the names of all, but of one of them of greatest\nestate and fame, saying: 'In the time of such a consul and of his\ncolleagues'; but afterwards when the city was increased in inhabitants\nand in vices, and there came to be more ill-deeds, it was agreed for\nthe good of the commonwealth, to the end the citizens might not have\nso great a burden of government, and that justice might not miscarry\nby reason of prayers, or fear, or private malice, or any other cause,\nthat they should invite a gentleman from some other city, who might be\ntheir Podest\u00e0 for a year, and administer civil justice with his\nassessors and judges, and carry into execution sentences and penalties\non the person. And the first Podest\u00e0 in Florence was Gualfredotto of\nMilan, in the said year; and he dwelt in the Bishop's Palace,\nforasmuch as there was as yet no palace of the commonwealth in\nFlorence. Yet the government of the consuls did not therefore cease,\nbut they reserved to themselves the administration of all other things\nin the commonwealth. And by the said government the city was ruled\nuntil the time of the Primo Popolo in Florence, as hereafter we shall\nmake mention, and then was created the office of the Ancients.\n[Sidenote: 1208 A.D.]\n\u00a7 33.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at Montalto._ \u00a7\n34.--_How the Sienese sued for peace to the Florentines and obtained\nit._ \u00a7 35.--_How Otho IV. was crowned Emperor; and how he became the\nenemy and persecutor of Holy Church._\n\u00a7 36.--_How during Otho's lifetime Frederick II. of Suabia was elected\nEmperor by the desire of the Church of Rome._\nThe said Otho being the enemy of the Church, and being deposed by the\ngeneral council of the Empire, the Church arranged with the electors\nof Germany that they should elect to be king of the Romans, Frederick,\nthe young king of Sicily, who was in Germany, and he won a great\nvictory against the said Otho; and afterwards the said Otho, returning\nto his duty, went on crusade to Damietta over seas, and there died,\nand the election was left to Frederick; and afterwards, in the time\nof Pope Honorius III., who succeeded to the aforesaid Innocent, the\nsaid Frederick of Germany came to Venice, and then by sea into his\nkingdom of Apulia, and then to Rome; and by the said Pope Honorius and\nby the Romans he was received with great honour, and crowned Emperor,\nas hereafter in treating of him we will make mention. We will leave\nspeaking of the Emperor for a time, and will tell of the doings of the\nFlorentines up to the time of his coronation.\n\u00a7 37.--_Concerning the death of the old Count Guido, and of his\nprogeny._\n[Sidenote: 1213 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 64, 98.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112, xvi. 99.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 94-99. Inf. xvi. 37.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Epistol\u00e6 Dant. Allig. adscript\u00e6, i.-iii.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 34-39. Inf. xxx. 73-78. Cf. Epist. ii. Cf. Purg.\nIn the year of Christ 1213, there died the Count Guido Vecchio, which\nleft behind him five sons; but one died, leaving those who had Poppi\nas the heirs of his portion, forasmuch as he left no children; and\nfrom the other four sons were descended all the Counts Guidi. As to\nthis Count Guido, it is said that in ancient times his forbears were\ngreat barons in Germany, which came over with the Emperor Otho I., who\ngave them the territory of Modigliana in Romagna, and there they\nremained; and afterwards their descendants, by reason of their power,\nwere lords over almost all Romagna, and made their headquarters in\nRavenna, but because of the outrages they wrought on the citizens\nconcerning their wives, and other tyrannies, in a popular tumult they\nwere driven out of Ravenna, pursued, and slain in one day, so that\nnone escaped either small or great, save one young child which was\nnamed Guido, the which was at Modigliana at nurse, which was surnamed\nGuido Besangue [drink-blood], through the disaster of his family, as\nin the story of the Emperor Otho we before made mention. This Guido\nwas the father of the said Count Guido Vecchio, whence all the Counts\nGuidi are descended. This Count Guido Vecchio took to wife the\ndaughter of M. Bellincione Berti of the Rovignani, which was the\ngreatest and the most honoured knight in Florence, and his houses\nwhich were at Porta San Piero above the Old Gate descended by heritage\nto the Counts. This lady was named Gualdrada, and he took her for her\nbeauty and her fair speech, beholding her in S. Reparata, with the\nother ladies and maidens of Florence. For when the Emperor Otho IV.\ncame to Florence, and saw the fair ladies of the city assembled in\nSanta Reparata, in his honour, this maiden most pleased the Emperor;\nand her father saying to the Emperor that he had it in his power to\nbid her kiss him, the maiden made answer that there was no man living\nwhich should kiss her, save he were her husband, for the which speech,\nthe Emperor much commended her; and the said Count Guido being taken\nwith love of her by reason of her graciousness, and by the counsel of\nthe said Otho, the Emperor, took her to wife, not regarding that she\nwas of less noble lineage than he, nor regarding her dowry; whence all\nthe Counts Guidi are born from the said Count and the said lady after\nthis fashion; for, as aforesaid, there were left four sons which were\nthe heirs: the first was named William, from whom was born Count Guido\nNovello and Count Simon, who were Ghibellines; but by reason of wrongs\nwhich Count Simon endured of Guido Novello, his brother, concerning\nhis heritage, he became a Guelf and entered into league with the\nGuelfs of Florence; and from this Simon was born Count Guido of\nBattifolle; the second son was named Roger, from whom were born Count\nGuido Guerra and Count Salvatico, and these held the side of the\nGuelfs; the third was named Guido of Romena, whence are descended the\nfamily of Romena, which have been both Guelfs and Ghibellines; the\nfourth was Count Tegrimo, whence are the family of Porciano, which\nwere always Ghibellines. The aforesaid Emperor Otho gave said Count\nGuido the lordship of Casentino. We have spoken at such length of the\nsaid Count Guido (albeit in another place we have treated of the\nbeginning of his race), forasmuch as he was a man of worth, and from\nhim are descended all the Counts Guidi, and because his descendants\nwere afterwards much mixed up with the doings of the Florentines, as\nin due time we will make mention.\n\u00a7 38.--_How the parties of the Guelfs and Ghibellines arose in\nFlorence._\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 136-144.]\n[Sidenote: 1215 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 103-111. Par. xvi. 136-138.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 145-147.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 128.]\nIn the year of Christ 1215, M. Gherardo Orlandi being Podest\u00e0 in\nFlorence, one M. Bondelmonte dei Bondelmonti, a noble citizen of\nFlorence, had promised to take to wife a maiden of the house of the\nAmidei, honourable and noble citizens; and afterwards as the said M.\nBondelmonte, who was very charming and a good horseman, was riding\nthrough the city, a lady of the house of the Donati called to him,\nreproaching him as to the lady to whom he was betrothed, that she was\nnot beautiful or worthy of him, and saying: \"I have kept this my\ndaughter for you;\" whom she showed to him, and she was most beautiful;\nand immediately by the inspiration of the devil he was so taken by\nher, that he was betrothed and wedded to her, for which thing the\nkinsfolk of the first betrothed lady, being assembled together, and\ngrieving over the shame which M. Bondelmonte had done to them, were\nfilled with the accursed indignation, whereby the city of Florence was\ndestroyed and divided. For many houses of the nobles swore together to\nbring shame upon the said M. Bondelmonte, in revenge for these wrongs.\nAnd being in council among themselves, after what fashion they should\npunish him, whether by beating or killing, Mosca de' Lamberti said the\nevil word: 'Thing done has an end'; to wit, that he should be slain;\nand so it was done; for on the morning of Easter of the Resurrection\nthe Amidei of San Stefano assembled in their house, and the said M.\nBondelmonte coming from Oltrarno, nobly arrayed in new white apparel,\nand upon a white palfrey, arriving at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio on\nthis side, just at the foot of the pillar where was the statue of\nMars, the said M. Bondelmonte was dragged from his horse by Schiatta\ndegli Uberti, and by Mosca Lamberti and Lambertuccio degli Amidei\nassaulted and smitten, and by Oderigo Fifanti his veins were opened\nand he was brought to his end; and there was with them one of the\ncounts of Gangalandi. For the which thing the city rose in arms and\ntumult; and this death of M. Bondelmonte was the cause and beginning\nof the accursed parties of Guelfs and Ghibellines in Florence, albeit\nlong before there were factions among the noble citizens and the said\nparties existed by reason of the strifes and questions between the\nChurch and the Empire; but by reason of the death of the said M.\nBondelmonte all the families of the nobles and the other citizens of\nFlorence were divided, and some held with the Bondelmonti, who took\nthe side of the Guelfs, and were its leaders, and some with the\nUberti, who were the leaders of the Ghibellines, whence followed much\nevil and disaster to our city, as hereafter shall be told; and it is\nbelieved that it will never have an end, if God do not cut it short.\nAnd surely it shows that the enemy of the human race, for the sins of\nthe Florentines, had power in that idol of Mars, which the pagan\nFlorentines of old were wont to worship, that at the foot of his\nstatue such a murder was committed, whence so much evil followed to\nthe city of Florence. The accursed names of the Guelf and Ghibelline\nparties are said to have arisen first in Germany by reason that two\ngreat barons of that country were at war together, and had each a\nstrong castle the one over against the other, and the one had the name\nof Guelf, and the other of Ghibelline, and the war lasted so long,\nthat all the Germans were divided, and one held to one side, and the\nother to the other; and the strife even came as far as to the court of\nRome, and all the court took part in it, and the one side was called\nthat of Guelf, and the other that of Ghibelline; and so the said names\ncontinued in Italy.\n\u00a7 39.--_Of the families and the nobles which became Guelfs and\nGhibellines in Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1215 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 115.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 128. Inf. xvii. 62, 63. Par. xvi. 127. 104.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xii. 105. Par. xvi. 105. Convivio iv. 20: 38-41. Par.\n[Sidenote: 66, 135.]\n[Sidenote: 127. Inf. xvii. 59, 60.]\n[Sidenote: 108.]\n[Sidenote: 104.]\n[Sidenote: 121.]\nBy reason of the said division these were the families of the nobles\nwhich were at that time and became Guelfs in Florence, counting from\nsesto to sesto, and likewise the Ghibellines. In the sesto of\nOltrarno, of the Guelfs were the Nerli, gentlemen, who dwelt at first\nin the Mercato Vecchio; the family of the Giacoppi, called Rossi, not\nhowever of great antiquity of descent, but they were already beginning\nto be powerful; the Frescobaldi, the Bardi, the Mozzi, but of small\nbeginnings; of the Ghibellines in the sesto of Oltrarno, among the\nnobles, the counts of Gangalandi, Obriachi, and Mannelli. In the sesto\nof San Piero Scheraggio, the nobles which were Guelfs were, the house\nof the Pulci, the Gherardini, the Foraboschi, the Bagnesi, the\nGuidalotti, the Sacchetti, the Manieri, and they of Quona, fellows to\nthem of Volognano, the Lucardesi, the Chiaramontesi, the Compiobbesi,\nthe Cavalcanti, but these were descended recently from merchants. In\nthe said sesto of the Ghibellines were, the family of the Uberti,\nwhich was the head of the party, the Fifanti, the Infangati, and\nAmidei, and they of Volognano, and the Malespini, albeit afterwards by\nreason of the outrages of the Uberti their neighbours, they and many\nother families of San Piero Scheraggio became Guelfs. In the sesto of\nthe Borgo of the Guelfs were the family of the Bondelmonti, and they\nwere the leaders of the party; the family of the Giandonati, the\nGianfigliazzi, the family of the Scali, of the Gualterotti and of the\nImportuni. Of the Ghibellines of the said sesto, the house of the\nScolari which were by origin fellows to the Bondelmonti, the house of\nthe Guidi, of the Galli and of the Cappiardi. In the sesto of San\nBrancazio of the Guelfs were the Bostichi, the Tornaquinci, the\nVecchietti. Of the Ghibellines of the said sesto were the Lamberti,\nthe Soldanieri, the Cipriani, the Toschi, and the Amieri, and\nPalermini, and Migliorelli, and Pigli, albeit afterwards some of them\nbecame Guelfs. In the sesto of the Porte del Duomo, of the Guelf party\nin those times were the Tosinghi, the Arrigucci, the Agli, the Sizii.\nOf the Ghibellines of the said sesto were the Barucci, the Cattani of\nCastiglione and of Cersino, the Agolanti and the Brunelleschi; and\nafterwards some of them became Guelfs. In the sesto of the Porte San\nPiero of the Guelf nobles were the Adimari, the Visdomini, the Donati,\nthe Pazzi, the della Bella, the Ardinghi, and the Tedaldi which were\ncalled della Vitella, and already the Cerchi began to rise in\ncondition, albeit they were merchants; of the Ghibellines of the said\nsesto were the Caponsacchi, the Lisei, the Abati, the Tedaldini, the\nGiuochi, the Galigari. And many other families of honourable citizens\nand popolani held some with one side, and some with the other, and\nthey changed with the times in mind and in party, which would be too\nlong a matter to relate. And for the said cause the accursed parties\nfirst began in Florence, albeit before that there had been a division\nsecretly among the noble citizens, whereof some loved the rule of the\nChurch and some that of the Empire; nevertheless they were all agreed\nas to the state and well-being of the commonwealth.\n\u00a7 40.--_How the city of Damietta was taken by the Christians, and\nafterwards lost._\n\u00a7 41.--_How the Florentines caused the dwellers in the country around\nto swear fealty to the city, and how the new Carraia Bridge was\nbegun._\n[Sidenote: 1218 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 56, 57.]\nIn the year of Christ 1218, when Otto da Mandella of Milan was Podest\u00e0\nof Florence, the Florentines caused all the dwellers in the country\naround to swear fealty to the commonwealth, seeing that before that\ntime the greater part had obeyed the rule of the Counts Guidi, and of\nthem of Mangone, and of them of Capraia, and of Certaldo, and of many\nCattani which had taken possession of the lands by privileges and some\nby force of the emperors. And in this year the building of the\nbastions of the Carraia Bridge was begun.\n[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Florentines took Mortennana, and completed the new\nbridge called Carraia._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK V.\nBOOK VI.\n[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]\n    _How Frederick II. was consecrated and made Emperor, and the\n    great things which came to pass._\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 119; xiii. 59, 68, 75; xxiii. 66. Purg. xvi. 117.\nPar. iii. 120. Convivio iv. Canzone, ver. 21; also cap. 3: 37-44; 10:\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 119.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xvi. 115-117.]\n\u00a7 1.--In the year of Christ 1220, on the day of St. Cecilia in\nNovember, there was crowned and consecrated Emperor at Rome Frederick\nII., king of Sicily, son of the Emperor Henry of Suabia, and of the\nEmpress Constance, by Pope Honorius III., with great honour. In the\nbeginning he was a friend of the Church, and well might he be, so many\nbenefits and favours had he received from the Church, for through the\nChurch his father Henry had for wife Constance, queen of Sicily, and\nfor dowry the said realm, and the kingdom of Apulia; and when his\nfather was dead, he being left a little child, was cared for and\nguarded by the Church as by a mother, and also his kingdom was\ndefended, and he was elected king of the Romans against the Emperor\nOtho IV., and he was afterwards crowned Emperor, as aforesaid. But he,\nson of ingratitude that he was, not acknowledging Holy Church as a\nmother, but as a hostile stepmother, in all things was her enemy and\npersecutor, he and his sons, almost more than his precursors, as\nhereafter we shall make mention. This Frederick reigned thirty years\nas Emperor, and was a man of great capacity and of great valour, wise\nin books, and of natural intelligence, universal in all things; was\nacquainted with the Latin tongue, and with our vernacular, with\nGerman and French, Greek and Arabic, of abounding talents, liberal and\ncourteous in giving, courageous and prudent in arms, and was much\nfeared. And he was dissolute and licentious after divers fashions, and\nhad many concubines and catamites, after the manner of the Saracens,\nand he sought indulgence in all bodily pleasures, and led an epicurean\nlife, not taking account that there were ever another life; and this\nwas one chief cause why he became the enemy of the clergy and of Holy\nChurch. And the other was his greed in taking and sequestrating the\nrevenues of Holy Church, to squander them evilly. And many monasteries\nand churches he destroyed in his kingdom of Sicily and Apulia, and\nthroughout all Italy, and this, either through his own vices and\ndefects, or by reason of the rulers of Holy Church who could not or\nwould not deal with him, nor be content that he should have the\nImperial rights, wherefore he subdued and smote Holy Church; or\nbecause that God permitted it as a Divine judgment, because the rulers\nof the Church had been the means through whom he became the child of\nthe holy nun, Constance, they not remembering the persecutions which\nHenry, his father, and Frederick, his grandfather, had caused Holy\nChurch to endure. This Frederick did many noteworthy things in his\ntime, and raised in all the chief cities of Sicily and of Apulia,\nstrong and rich fortresses which are still standing, and built the\nfortress of Capovana, in Naples, and the towers and gate upon the\nbridge over the river of Volturno at Capua, the which are very\nmarvellous; and he made the park for sport on the marsh of Foggia in\nApulia, and made the hunting park near Gravina and Amalfi in the\nmountains. In winter he abode at Foggia, and in summer in the\nmountains, for the delights of the chase. And many other noteworthy\nthings he caused to be made, as the castle of Prato, and the fortress\nof Samminiato, and many other things, as we shall make mention\nhereafter. And he had two sons by his first wife, Henry and Conrad,\nwhom he caused each one during his lifetime to be elected king of the\nRomans; and by the daughter of King John of Jerusalem he had King\nGiordano, and by others he had King Frederick (from whom are descended\nthe lineage of those who are called of Antioch), King Enzo and King\nManfred, who were great enemies to Holy Church; and during his life he\nand his sons lived and ruled with much earthly splendour; but in the\nend he and his sons because of their sins came to an ill end, and\ntheir line was extinguished, as we shall make mention hereafter.\n[Sidenote: 1222 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1224 A.D.]\n\u00a7 2.--_Of the cause why war broke out between the Florentines and the\nPisans._ \u00a7 3.--_How the Pisans were routed by the Florentines at\nCasteldelbosco._ \u00a7 4.--_How the Florentines marched against Fegghine,\nand built l'Ancisa._\n\u00a7 5.--_How the Florentines led an army against Pistoia, and laid waste\nthe country round about._\n[Sidenote: 1228 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxv. 1-3.]\nIn the year of Christ 1228, when M. Andrea of Perugia was Podest\u00e0 of\nFlorence, the Florentines led an army against Pistoia with the\nCarroccio, and this was because the Pistoians were making war against\nMontemurlo, and ill-treating it; and the said host laid waste the\ncountry round about the city up to the suburbs, and destroyed the\ntowers of Montefiore which were very strong; and the fortress of\nCarmignano surrendered to the commonwealth of Florence. And note that\nupon the rock of Carmignano there was a tower seventy cubits high,\nand thereupon two arms in marble, whereof the hands were 'making the\nfigs' at Florence; wherefore the artificers of Florence, to express\ncontempt for money or ought else offered to them, were wont to say: \"I\ncan't see it, for the fortress of Carmignano is in the way.\" And the\nPistoians hereupon agreed to whatever terms the Florentines might\ndevise, and caused the said fortress of Carmignano to be destroyed.\n[Sidenote: 1229 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1232 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1233 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1234 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1235 A.D.]\n\u00a7 6.--_How the Sienese renewed the war with the Florentines on account\nof Montepulciano._ \u00a7 7.--_Of a great miracle that came to pass in S.\nAmbrogio in Florence, concerning the body of Christ._ \u00a7 8.--_Yet again\nof the war of the Florentines with the Sienese._ \u00a7 9.--_Of the\nconflagration in Florence._ \u00a7 10.--_Yet again of the war with Siena._\n\u00a7 11.--_The same._ \u00a7 12.--_Of the conflagration in Florence._ \u00a7\n13.--_How peace was made between the Florentines and the Sienese._\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Emperor Frederick came to enmity with the Church._\n[Sidenote: 1220 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1226 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1230 A.D.]\nAfter that Frederick II. was crowned by Pope Honorius, as we have\naforesaid, in the beginning he was the friend of the Church, but a\nlittle time after, through his pride and avarice, he began to usurp\nthe rights of the Church throughout all his Empire, and in the realm\nof Sicily and Apulia, appointing bishops and archbishops and other\nprelates, and driving away those sent by the Pope, and raising imposts\nand taxes from the clergy, doing shame to Holy Church; for the which\nthing by the said Pope Honorius, which had crowned him, he was cited,\nand admonished that he should leave to Holy Church her rights, and\nrender the dues. But the Emperor perceived himself to be great in\npower and estate, alike through the force of the Germans and through\nthat of the realm of Sicily, and that he was lord over sea and land,\nand was feared by all the rulers of Christendom, and also by the\nSaracens, and was buttressed around by the sons which he had of his\nfirst wife, daughter of the landgrave of Germany, to wit Henry and\nConrad, the which Henry he had caused to be crowned in Germany king of\nthe Romans, and Conrad was duke of Suabia, and Frederick of Antioch,\nhis first natural son, he made king, and Enzo, his natural son, was\nking of Sardinia, and Manfred prince of Taranto; wherefore he would\nnot yield obedience to the Church, but rather was he obstinate, living\nafter the fashion of the world, in all bodily delights. For the which\nthing by the said Pope Honorius he was excommunicated the year of\nChrist 1220, and did not for that reason cease from persecuting the\nChurch, but so much the more usurped its rights, and so remained the\nenemy of the Church and of the Pope Honorius as long as he lived. The\nwhich Pope passed from this life the year of Christ 1226, and after\nhim was made Pope Gregory IX., born at Alagna in the Campagna, the\nwhich reigned as pope fourteen years; the which Pope Gregory had a\ngreat war with the Emperor Frederick, forasmuch as the Emperor would\nin no wise relinquish the rights and jurisdiction of Holy Church, but\nrather the more usurped them; and many churches of the kingdom he\ncaused to be pulled down and deserted, laying heavy imposts upon the\nclergy and the churches; and whereas there were certain Saracens in\nthe mountains of Trapali in Sicily, the Emperor, that he might be the\nmore secure in the island, and might keep them at a distance from the\nSaracens of Barbary, and also to the end that by them he might keep in\nfear his subjects in Apulia, by wit and promises drew them from those\nmountains, and put them in Apulia in an ancient deserted city, which\nof old was in league with the Romans, and was destroyed by the\nSamnites, to wit by those of Benivento, the which city was then called\nLicera, and now is called Nocera, and they were more than 20,000\nmen-at-arms; and that city they rebuilt very strong; the which\nofttimes overran the places of Apulia to lay them waste. And when the\nsaid Emperor Frederick was at war with the Church, he caused them to\ncome into the duchy of Spoleto, and besieged at that time the city of\nAssisi, and did great harm to Holy Church; for the which thing the\nsaid Pope Gregory confirmed against him the sentence given by Pope\nHonorius his predecessor, and again gave sentence of excommunication\nagainst him, the year of Christ 1230.\n[Sidenote: 1233 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1234 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1236 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1237 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1239 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1240 A.D.]\n\u00a7 15.--_How peace was made between Pope Gregory and the Emperor\nFrederick._ \u00a7 16.--_How the Church ordered a crusade over seas,\nwhereof the Emperor Frederick was captain, and how, after the\nexpedition had set forth, he turned back._ \u00a7 17.--_How the Emperor\nFrederick passed over seas, and made peace with the Soldan, and\nrecovered Jerusalem, against the will of the Church._ \u00a7 18.--_How the\nEmperor returned from over seas because the Kingdom had rebelled\nagainst him, and how he began war again with the Church._ \u00a7 19.--_How\nthe Emperor Frederick caused the Pisans to capture at sea the prelates\nof the Church which were coming to the council._ \u00a7 20.--_How the\nMilanese were discomfited by the Emperor._ \u00a7 21.--_How the Emperor\nFrederick besieged and took the city of Faenza._\n\u00a7 22.--_How the Emperor laid hold of King Henry, his son._\n[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 121.]\n[Sidenote: 1236 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 31-108.]\nIn these same times (albeit it had begun before) Henry Sciancato [the\nLame], the first-born of the said Emperor Frederick, who had had him\nchosen king of the Romans by the electors of Germany as aforesaid,\nperceiving that the Emperor his father was doing all he might against\nHoly Church, and feeling the same heavy upon his conscience, time and\nagain reproved his father, for that he was doing ill; whereat the\nEmperor set himself against him, and neither loving him nor dealing\nwith him as with a son, raised up false accusers who testified that\nthe said Henry had it in his mind to rebel against him as concerning\nhis Empire, at the request of the Church. On the which plea (were it\ntrue or false) he seized his said son, King Henry, and two sons of\nhis, little lads, and sent them into Apulia, into prison severally;\nand there he put him to death by starvation in great torment, and\nafterward Manfred put his sons to death. The Emperor sent to Germany,\nand again had Conrad, his second son, elected king of the Romans in\nsuccession to himself; and this was the year of Christ 1236. Then\nafter a certain time the Emperor put out the eyes of that wise man\nMaster Piero dalle Vigne, the famous poet, accusing him of treason,\nbut this came about through envy of his great estate. And thereon the\nsaid M. Piero soon suffered himself to die of grief in prison, and\nthere were who said that he himself took away his own life.\n\u00a7 23.--_How the war began between Pope Innocent IV. and the Emperor\nFrederick._\n[Sidenote: 1241 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xix. 100-102.]\nIt came to pass afterwards, as it pleased God, that there was elected\nPope Messer Ottobuono dal Fiesco, of the counts of Lavagna of Genoa,\nthe which was cardinal, and was made Pope as being the greatest friend\nand confidant whom the Emperor Frederick had in Holy Church, to the\nend there might be peace between the Church and him; and he was called\nPope Innocent IV., and this was the year of Christ 1241, and he\nreigned as Pope eleven years, and added to the Church many cardinals\nfrom divers countries of Christendom. And when he was elected Pope,\nthe tidings were brought to the Emperor Frederick with great\nrejoicing, knowing that he was his great friend and protector. But the\nEmperor, when he heard it, was greatly disturbed, whence his barons\nmarvelled much, and he said: \"Marvel not; for this election will be of\nmuch hurt to us; for he was our friend when cardinal, and now he will\nbe our enemy as Pope;\" and so it came to pass, for when the said Pope\nwas consecrated, he demanded back from the Emperor the lands and\njurisdictions which he held of the Church, as to which request the\nEmperor held him some time in treaty as to an agreement, but all was\nvanity and deception. In the end, the said Pope seeing himself to have\nbeen led about by deceitful words, to the hurt and shame of himself\nand of Holy Church, became more an enemy of the Emperor Frederick than\nhis predecessors had been; and seeing that the power of the Emperor\nwas so great that he ruled tyrannously over almost the whole of Italy,\nand that the roads were all taken and guarded by his guards, so that\nnone could come to the court of Rome without his will and license,\nthe said Pope seeing himself in the said manner thus besieged, sent\nsecret orders to his kinsfolk at Genoa, and caused twenty galleys to\nbe armed, and straightway caused them to come to Rome, and thereupon\nembarked with all his cardinals and with all his court, and\nimmediately caused himself to be conveyed to his city of Genoa without\nany opposition; and having tarried some time in Genoa, he came to\nLyons on the Rhone, by the way of Provence; and this was the year of\nChrist 1241.\n\u00a7 24.--_Of the sentence which Pope Innocent pronounced at the council\nof Lyons-on-Rhone, upon the Emperor Frederick._\n[Sidenote: 1245 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 55-78.]\nWhen Pope Innocent was at Lyons, he called a general council in the\nsaid place, and invited from throughout the whole world bishops and\narchbishops and other prelates, who all came thither; and there came\nto see him as far as the monastery of Crugni [Clugny] in Burgundy the\ngood King Louis of France, and afterwards he came as far as to the\ncouncil at Lyons, where he offered himself and his realm to the\nservice of the said Pope and of Holy Church against the Emperor\nFrederick, and against all the enemies of Holy Church; and then he\ntook the cross to go over seas. And when King Louis was gone the Pope\nenacted sundry things in the said council to the good of Christendom,\nand canonized sundry saints, as the Martinian Chronicle makes mention\nwhere it treats of him. And this done, the Pope summoned the said\nFrederick to the said council, as to a neutral place, to excuse\nhimself of thirteen articles proved against him of things done\nagainst the faith of Christ, and against Holy Church; the which\nEmperor would not there appear, but sent thither his ambassadors and\nrepresentatives--the bishop of Freneborgo [Freiburg] in Germany, and\nBrother Hugh, master of the mansion of S. Mary of the Germans, and the\nwise clerk and master Piero dalle Vigne of the Kingdom, who, making\nexcuses for the Emperor that he was not able to come by reason of\nsickness and suffering in his person, prayed the said Pope and his\nbrethren to pardon him, and averred that he would cry the Pope mercy,\nand would restore that which he had seized of the Church; and they\noffered, if the Pope would pardon him, that he would bind himself so\nto frame it that within one year the soldan of the Saracens should\nrender up to his command the Holy Land over seas. And the said Pope,\nhearing the endless excuses and vain offers of the Emperor, demanded\nof the said ambassadors if they had an authentic mandate for this,\nwhereon they produced a full authorization, under the golden seal of\nthe said Emperor, to promise and undertake it all. And when the Pope\nhad it in his hand, in full council, the said ambassadors being\npresent, he denounced Frederick on all the said thirteen criminal\narticles, and to confirm it said: \"Judge, faithful Christians, whether\nFrederick betrays Holy Church and all Christendom or no: for according\nto his mandate he offers within one year to make the soldan restore\nthe Holy Land, very clearly showing that the soldan holds it through\nhim, to the shame of all Christians.\" And this said and declared, he\ncaused the process against the said Emperor to be published; and\ncondemned him and excommunicated him as a heretic and persecutor of\nHoly Church, laying to his charge many foul crimes proved against\nhim; and he deprived him of the lordship of the Empire, and of the\nrealm of Sicily, and of that of Jerusalem, absolving from all fealty\nand oaths all his barons and subjects, excommunicating whoever should\nobey him, or should give him aid or favour, or further should call him\nEmperor or king. And the said sentence was passed at the said council\nat Lyons on the Rhone, the year of Christ 1245, the 17th of July. The\nprincipal causes why Frederick was condemned were four: first,\nforasmuch as when the Church invested him with the realm of Sicily and\nof Apulia, and afterwards with the Empire, he swore to the Church\nbefore his barons, and before the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople,\nand before all the court of Rome, to defend Holy Church in all her\nhonours and rights against all men, and to pay the rightful tribute,\nand to restore all the possessions and jurisdictions of Holy Church,\nof the which things he had done the contrary, and was perjured, and\ntreacherous, and had vilely and wrongfully defamed Pope Gregory IX.\nand his cardinals by his letters throughout the whole world. The\nsecond thing was, that he broke the peace made by him with the Church,\nnot remembering the pardons granted to him by withdrawal of the\nexcommunications, and with respect to all the misdeeds done by him\nagainst Holy Church; and in that peace he had sworn and promised never\nto injure those who had been with the Church against him; but he had\ndone quite the contrary, seeing that he had scattered them all, either\nby death or by exile, them and their families, taking away their\npossessions, and had not restored either to the Templars or to the\nHospitallers their mansions which he had occupied, the which by the\narticles of the peace he had promised to restore and give back; and\nby force he had kept vacant eleven archbishoprics, with many\nbishoprics and abbeys in the Empire and in the Kingdom, not suffering\nthose who were duly elected by the Pope to hold or to till them; doing\nviolence and extortions on sacred persons, constraining them to appear\nand plead before his bailiffs and secular lords. The third cause was\nthe sacrilege he had done, when by the galleys of Pisa, and by his son\nKing Enzo, he had taken the cardinals and many prelates at sea, as we\nafore told, and caused some to be drowned in the sea, and kept some\ndying in cruel and harsh prisons. The fourth cause was, because he was\nfound and convicted in many articles of heresy in the faith; and\ncertainly he was no Christian Catholic, living always more after his\ndelight and pleasure than according to reason or just law; and in\nfellowship with the Saracens. Likewise he used the Church and her\noffices but little or not at all, and did no alms; so that not without\ngreat and evident causes he was deposed and condemned; and albeit he\ndid much injury and persecution to Holy Church after that he was\ncondemned, yet in a short time every honour and state and power and\ngreatness God took from him, and showed him His wrath, as we shall\nmake mention hereafter. And because many have made question, who was\nto blame in the quarrel, whether the Church or the Emperor, hearing\nhis excuses in his letters, therefore to this I make answer and say,\nthat manifestly not by one divine miracle but by many was it shown\nthat the Emperor was to blame, as God showed by open and visible\njudgments in His wrath upon Frederick and his seed.\n\u00a7 25.--_How the Pope and the Church caused a new Emperor to be\nelected in place of Frederick, the deposed Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1245 A.D.]\nThe said Frederick being deposed and condemned, as has been afore\nsaid, the Pope sent word to the electors of Germany who elect the king\nof the Romans, that they should without delay make a new choice for\nthe Empire; and this was done, for they elected William, count of\nHolland and landgrave, a valiant lord, to whom the Church gave her\nsupport, causing a great part of Germany to rebel, and gave indulgence\nand pardon as if they were going over seas, to whoever should be\nagainst the said Frederick; whence in Germany there was great war\nbetween the said elected King William of Holland and King Conrad, son\nof the said Frederick; but the war endured but a short time, for the\nsaid King William died, the year of Christ . . . and the said Conrad\nreigned in Germany, whom his father Frederick the Emperor had caused\nto be elected king, as we shall make mention. From this sentence\nFrederick appealed to the successor of Pope Innocent, and sent his\nletters and messengers throughout all Christendom, complaining of the\nsaid sentence, and setting forth how iniquitous it was, as appears by\nhis epistle written by the said Messer Piero dalle Vigne, which\nbegins, after the salutation: \"Although we believe, that words of the\nalready current tidings, etc.\" But considering the real facts as to\nthe process, and as to the deeds of Frederick against the Church, and\nas to his dissolute and uncatholic life, he was guilty and deserving\nof the deposition, for the reasons set forth in the said process; and\nafterwards for the deeds done by the said Frederick after his\ndeposition; for if before he was and had been cruel and persecuting to\nHoly Church and to the believers in Tuscany and in Lombardy,\nafterwards he was much more so, as long as he lived, as hereafter we\nshall make mention. We will now leave for a time the story of the\ndoings of Frederick, and turn back to where we left off telling of the\ndoings of Florence and of the other noteworthy events which came to\npass in those days throughout the whole world; returning afterwards to\nthe doings and to the end of the said Frederick and of his sons.\n\u00a7 26.--_We will tell an incident in the affairs of Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1237 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xii. 102.]\nThe year of Christ 1237, Messer Rubaconte da Mandello of Milan being\nPodest\u00e0 of Florence, the new bridge was made in Florence, and he laid\nthe first stone with his own hand, and threw the first trowelful of\nmortar, and from the name of the said Podest\u00e0 the bridge was named\nRubaconte. And during his government all the roads in Florence were\npaved; for before there was but little paving, save in certain\nparticular places, master streets being paved with bricks; and through\nthis convenience and work the city of Florence became more clean, and\nmore beautiful, and more healthy.\n[Sidenote: 1238 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1240 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]\n\u00a7 27.--_How and when there was a total eclipse of the sun._ \u00a7 28.--_Of\nthe coming of the Tartars into the parts of Europe, as far as\nGermany._ \u00a7 29.--_Of a great miracle of an earthquake in Burgundy._ \u00a7\n30.--_Of a great miracle that took place in Spain._ \u00a7 31.--_How the\ntown of Sanginiegio was rebuilt and then destroyed._ \u00a7 32.--_How the\nTartars routed the Turks._\n\u00a7 33.--_How the Guelf party was first driven from Florence by the\nGhibellines and the forces of the Emperor Frederick._\n[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 109, 110.]\n[Sidenote: 127.]\n[Sidenote: 108.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 151-154.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 115.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 48.]\nIn the said times when Frederick was in Lombardy, having been deposed\nfrom the title of Emperor by Pope Innocent, as we have said, in so far\nas he could he sought to destroy in Tuscany and in Lombardy the\nfaithful followers of Holy Church, in all the cities where he had\npower. And first he began to demand hostages from all the cities of\nTuscany, and took them from both Ghibellines and Guelfs, and sent them\nto Samminiato del Tedesco; but when this was done, he released the\nGhibellines and retained the Guelfs, which were afterwards abandoned\nas poor prisoners, and abode long time in Samminiato as beggars. And\nforasmuch as our city of Florence in those times was not among the\nleast notable and powerful of Italy, he desired especially to vent his\nspleen against it, and to increase the accursed parties of the Guelfs\nand Ghibellines, which had begun long time before through the death of\nM. Bondelmonte, and before, as we have already shown. But albeit ever\nsince this the said parties had continued among the nobles of Florence\n(who were also ever and again at war among themselves by reason of\ntheir private enmities), and albeit they were divided into the said\nparties, each holding with his own, they which were called the Guelfs\nloving the side of the Pope and of Holy Church, and they which were\ncalled the Ghibellines loving and favouring the Emperor and his\nallies, nevertheless, the people and commonwealth had been maintained\nin unity to the well-being and honour, and good estate of the\nrepublic. But now the said Emperor sent ambassadors and letters to the\nfamily of the Uberti, which were heads of his party, and their allies\nwhich were called Ghibellines, inviting them to drive their enemies,\nwhich were called Guelfs, from the city, and offering them aid of his\nhorsemen; and this caused the Uberti to begin dissension and civil\nstrife in Florence, whence the city began to be disordered, and the\nnobles and all the people to be divided, some holding to one party,\nand some to the other; and in divers parts of the city there was\nfighting long time. Among the other places, the chief was at the\nhouses of the Uberti, which were where the great palace of the people\nnow is. They gathered there with their allies, and fought against the\nGuelfs of the sesto of San Piero Scheraggio, whereof were leaders the\nfamily dal Bagno, called Bagnesi, and the Pulci, and the Guidalotti,\nand all the allies of the Guelfs of that sesto; and also the Guelfs of\nOltrarno passing over the mill-dams, came to succour them when they\nwere attacked by the Uberti. The second place of combat was in the\nPorte San Piero, where the leaders of the Ghibellines were the\nTedaldini, forasmuch as they had the strongest dwellings in palaces\nand towers, and with them held the Caponsacchi, the Lisei, the Giuochi\nand Abati, and Galigari, and the fighting was against the house of the\nDonati, and the Visdomini, and Pazzi, and Adimari. And the third place\nof combat was in Porte del Duomo, at the tower of Messer Lancia of the\nCattani of Castiglione, and of Cersino, to whom belonged the heads of\nthe Ghibellines, with the Agolanti and Brunelleschi, and many popolari\nof their party, against the Tosinghi, Agli and Arrigucci. And the\nfourth combat and battle was in San Brancazio, whereof the leaders for\nthe Ghibellines were the Lamberti, and Toschi, Amieri, Cipriani, and\nMigliorelli, with many followers of the Popolo, against the\nTornaquinci, and Vecchietti, and Pigli, albeit part of the Pigli were\nGhibellines. And the Ghibellines drew up in San Brancazio at the tower\nof the Scarafaggio [Scarab\u00e6us] of the Soldanieri, and from that tower\nan arrow struck M. Rustico Marignolli in the face (who was bearing the\nGuelf standard, to wit, a crimson lily on a white field), whence he\ndied; and the very day that the Guelfs were expelled, and before they\ndeparted, they came in arms to bury him in San Lorenzo; and when the\nGuelfs were departed, the canons of San Lorenzo carried away the body,\nto the end that the Ghibellines might not unbury it and do it outrage,\nforasmuch as he was a great leader of the Guelf party. And the next\nforce of the Ghibellines was in the Borgo, whereof the leaders were\nthe Scolari, and Soldanieri, and Guidi, against the Bondelmonti,\nGiandonati, Bostichi and Cavalcanti, Scali and Gianfigliazzi. In\nOltrarno it was the Ubbriachi and the Mannelli (and there were no\nother nobles of renown, but families of the popolari) against the\nRossi and the Nerli. Thus it came to pass that the said frays endured\nlong time, and there was fighting at barricades from street to street,\nand from one tower to another (for there were many in Florence in\nthese times, 100 cubits and more in height), and with mangonels and\nother engines they fought together by day and by night. And in the\nmidst of this strife and fighting the Emperor Frederick sent into\nFlorence King Frederick, his bastard son, with 1,600 horsemen of his\nGerman followers. When the Ghibellines heard that they were nigh unto\nFlorence, they took courage fighting with more force and boldness\nagainst the Guelfs, which had no allies, nor were expecting any\nsuccour, forasmuch as the Church was at Lyons on the Rhone beyond the\nmountains, and the power of Frederick was beyond measure great in all\nparts of Italy. And on this occasion the Ghibellines used a device of\nwar; for at the house of the Uberti the greater part of the Ghibelline\nforces assembled, and when the fight began at the places of battle set\nforth above, they went in a mass to oppose the Guelfs, and in this\nwise they overcame them well nigh in every part of the city, save in\ntheir own neighbourhood against the barricades of the Guidalotti and\nthe Bagnesi, which endured more stoutly; and to that place the Guelfs\nrepaired, and all the forces of the Ghibellines against them. At last,\nthe Guelfs saw themselves to be hard pressed, and heard that\nFrederick's knights were already in Florence (King Frederick having\nalready entered with his followers on Sunday morning), yet they held\nout until the following Wednesday. Then, not being able longer to\nresist the forces of the Ghibellines, they abandoned the defence, and\ndeparted from the city on the night of S. Mary Candlemas in the year\nof Christ 1248. When the Guelf party were driven from Florence, the\nnobles of that party withdrew, some of them to the fortress of\nMontevarchi in Valdarno, and some to the fortress of Capraia; and\nPelago, and Ristonchio, and Magnale, up to Cascia, were held by the\nGuelfs, and were called the League; and therein they made war against\nthe city and the territory around Florence. Other popolani of that\nparty repaired to their farms and to their friends in the country. The\nGhibellines which remained masters in Florence, with the forces and\nthe horsemen of the Emperor Frederick, changed the ruling of the city\nafter their mind, and caused thirty-six fortresses of the Guelfs to be\ndestroyed, palaces and great towers, among the which the most noble\nwas that of the Tosinghi upon the Mercato Vecchio, called the Palace,\n90 cubits high, built with marble columns, and a tower thereto 130\ncubits. Also the Ghibellines attempted a yet more impious deed,\nforasmuch as the Guelfs resorted much to the church of S. Giovanni,\nand all the good people assembled there on Sunday morning, and there\nthey solemnized marriages; and when the Ghibellines came to destroy\nthe towers of the Guelfs, there was one among them very great and\nbeautiful, which was upon the piazza of S. Giovanni, at the entrance\nof the street of the Adimari, and it was called the tower of the\nGuardamorto, forasmuch as of old all the good folk which died were\nburied at S. Giovanni; and the Ghibellines, purposing to rase to the\nground the said tower, caused it to be propped up in such wise that\nwhen the fire was applied to the props it should fall upon the church\nof S. Giovanni; and this was done. But as it pleased God, by reverence\nand miracle of the blessed John, the tower, which was 120 cubits high,\nshowed manifestly, when it came to fall, that it would avoid the holy\nchurch, and turned and fell directly upon the piazza, wherefore all\nthe Florentines marvelled and the popolo rejoiced greatly. And note,\nthat since the city of Florence had been rebuilt, not one house had\nbeen destroyed, and the said accursed destruction thereof was then\nbegun by the Ghibellines. And they ordained that of the Emperor\nFrederick's followers there should remain 1,800 German horsemen in\ntheir pay, whereof Count Giordano was captain. It came to pass that in\nthe same year when the Guelfs were driven from Florence, they which\nwere at Montevarchi were attacked by the German troops which were in\ngarrison in the fortress of Gangareta in the market place of the said\nMontevarchi, and there was a fierce battle of but few people, as far\nas the Arno, between the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the\nGermans. In the end the Germans were discomfited, and a great part\nthereof slain and taken prisoners, and this was in the year of Christ\n\u00a7 34.--_How the host of the Emperor Frederick was defeated by the\nParmesans, and by the Pope's legate._\n[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 127-135.]\n[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]\nAt this time the Emperor Frederick was laying siege to the city of\nParma in Lombardy, because they had rebelled against his lordship and\nheld with the Church; and within Parma was the Pope's legate with\nmounted men-at-arms sent by the Church to aid them. Frederick was\nwithout the city, with all his forces and with the Lombards, and abode\nthere many months, and had sworn never to depart thence until he\nshould have taken it; and for this reason he had made a camp over\nagainst the said city of Parma, after the manner of another town, with\nmoats and palisades and towers, and houses roofed and walled, to which\nhe gave the name of Vittoria; and by the said siege he had much\nstraitened the city of Parma, and it was so poorly furnished with\nvictuals, that they could hold out but a short while longer, and this\nthe Emperor knew well by his spies; and for the said cause he held\nthem for folk well-nigh vanquished, and troubled himself little about\nthem. It came to pass, as it pleased God, that one day the Emperor was\ntaking his pleasure in the chase, with birds and with dogs, going\nforth from Vittoria with certain of his barons and servants; and the\ncitizens of Parma, having learnt this from their spies, as folk\nreckless, or rather desperate, all sallied forth from Parma in arms,\nfoot and horse together, and vigorously attacked the said camp of\nVittoria in divers parts. The Emperor's soldiers, unprepared and in\ndisorder, with insufficient guards (as they who took little thought of\ntheir enemies), seeing themselves thus suddenly and fiercely attacked,\nand being unable to defend themselves in the absence of their lord,\nwere all put to flight and discomfiture, albeit there were three times\nas many horse and foot as there were in Parma; in which defeat many of\nthem were taken or slain, and the Emperor himself, when he heard the\nnews, fled with great shame to Cremona; and the Parmesans took the\nsaid camp, wherein they found great store of muniments of war, and\nvictual, and vessels of silver, and all the treasure which the Emperor\nhad in Lombardy, and the crown of the said Emperor, which the\nParmesans still have in the sacristy of their bishop's palace; whereby\nthey were all enriched. And when they had spoiled the said place of\nits booty, they set fire thereto, and destroyed it utterly, to the end\nthere might be no trace of it, whether as city or as camp, for ever.\nAnd this was the first Tuesday in February, in the year of Christ\n\u00a7 35.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence were taken in the\nfortress of Capraia._\n[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1249 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1248 A.D.]\nA short time afterwards the Emperor departed from Lombardy, leaving\nthere his natural son Enzo, king of Sardinia, with many horsemen, as\nhis vicar-general over the Lombard League, and came into Tuscany, and\nfound that the Ghibelline party which was ruling the city of Florence\nhad laid siege in the month of March to the fortress of Capraia,\nwherein were the leaders of the chief families of Guelf nobles exiled\nfrom Florence. And when the Emperor came into Tuscany, he would not\nenter into the city of Florence, nor ever had entered therein, but was\nware of it, for by soothsayers or by the saying of some demon or\nprophecy, he had discovered that he should die in Firenze, wherefore\nhe feared greatly. Nevertheless, he came to the army, and went to\nsojourn in the castle of Fucecchio, and left the greater part of his\nfollowers at the siege of Capraia, which stronghold being straitly\nbesieged, and having scanty provisions, was not able to hold out\nlonger; and the besieged held counsel about coming to parley, and they\nwould have been granted any liberal terms which they desired; but a\ncertain shoemaker, an exile from Florence, which had been a leading\nAncient, not being invited to the said council, came to the gate very\nwrathful, and cried to the host that the town could hold out no\nlonger, for the which thing the host would not consent to treat,\nwherefore they within, as dead men, surrendered themselves to the\nmercy of the Emperor. And this was in the month of May, in the year of\nChrist 1249. And the captains of the said Guelfs were Count Ridolfo of\nCapraia, and M. Rinieri Zingane of the Bondelmonti. And when they came\nto Fucecchio to the Emperor, he took them all with him prisoners to\nApulia; and afterwards, by reason of letters and ambassadors sent to\nhim by the Ghibellines of Florence, he put out the eyes of all which\nbelonged to the great noble families in Florence, and then drowned\nthem in the sea, save M. Rinieri Zingane, because he found him so wise\nand great of soul that he would not put him to death, but he put out\nhis eyes, who afterwards ended his life as a monk in the island of\nMontecristo. And the aforesaid shoemaker was spared by the besiegers;\nand when the Guelfs had returned to Florence, he also returned\nthither, and being recognised in the parliament, at the outcry of the\npeople he was stoned, and vilely dragged along the ground by the\nchildren, and thrown into the moats.\n[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]\n\u00a7 36.--_How King Louis of France was routed and taken prisoner by the\nSaracens at la Monsura in Egypt._ \u00a7 37.--_How King Enzo, son of the\nEmperor Frederick, was routed and taken prisoner by the Bolognese._ \u00a7\n38.--_How certain Ghibellines of Florence were discomfited in the\nvillage of Fegghine by the Guelf refugees._\n\u00a7 39.--_How the Primo Popolo was formed in Florence to be a defence\nagainst the violence and attacks of the Ghibellines._\n[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]\nWhen the said host came back to Florence there was great contention\namongst the citizens, inasmuch as the Ghibellines, who ruled the land,\ncrushed the people with insupportable burdens, taxes, and imposts; and\nwith little to show for it, for the Guelfs were already established up\nand down in the territory of Florence, holding many fortresses and\nmaking war upon the city. And besides all this, they of the house of\nthe Uberti and all the other Ghibelline nobles tyrannized over the\npeople with ruthless extortion and violence and outrage. Wherefore the\ngood citizens of Florence, tumultuously gathering together, assembled\nthemselves at the church of San Firenze; but not daring to remain\nthere, because of the power of the Uberti, they went and took their\nstand at the church of the Minor Friars at Santa Croce, and remaining\nthere under arms they dared not to return to their homes, lest when\nthey had laid down their arms they should be broken by the Uberti and\nthe other nobles and condemned by the magistrates. So they went under\narms to the houses of the Anchioni of San Lorenzo, which were very\nstrong, and there, still under arms, they forcibly elected thirty-six\ncorporals of the people, and took away the rule from the Podest\u00e0,\nwhich was then in Florence, and removed all the officials. And this\ndone, with no further conflict they ordained and created a popular\ngovernment with certain new ordinances and statutes. They elected\ncaptain of the people M. Uberto da Lucca, and he was the first captain\nof Florence, and they elected twelve Ancients of the people, two for\neach sesto, to guide the people and counsel the said captain, and they\nwere to meet in the houses of the Badia over the gate which goes to\nSanta Margherita, and to return to their own homes to eat and sleep;\nand this was done on the twentieth day of October, the year of Christ\n1250. And on this day the said captain distributed twenty standards\namongst the people, giving them to certain corporals divided according\nto companies of arms and districts, including sundry parishes, in\norder that when need were every man should arm himself and draw to the\nstandard of his company, and then with the said standards draw to the\nsaid captain of the people. And they had a bell made which the said\ncaptain kept in the Lion's Tower. And the chief standard of the\npeople, which was the captain's, was dimidiated white and red.\n\u00a7 40.--_Of the ensigns of war which were borne by the commonwealth of\nFlorence._\n\u00a7 41.--_How the Emperor Frederick died at Firenzuola in Apulia._\n[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iii. 121.]\nIn the said year 1250, the Emperor Frederick being in Apulia, in the\ncity of Firenzuola, at the entrance to the Abruzzi, fell grievously\nsick, and for all his augury he knew not how to take heed; for he had\nlearned that he must die in Firenze, wherefore, as aforesaid, never\nwould he set foot in Firenze, neither in Faenza; yet ill did he\ninterpret the lying word of the demon, for he was bidden beware lest\nhe should die in Firenze, and he took no heed of Firenzuola. It came\nto pass that, his malady increasing upon him, there being with him one\nof his bastard sons, named Manfred, which was desirous of having the\ntreasure of Frederick, his father, and the lordship of the kingdom and\nof Sicily, and fearing that Frederick might recover him of that\nsickness, or leave a testament, the said Manfred made a league with\nhis private chamberlain, and promising him many gifts and great\nlordship, covered the mouth of Frederick with a bolster and so stifled\nhim, and after the said manner the said Frederick died, deposed from\nthe Empire, and excommunicated by Holy Church, without repentance or\nsacrament of Holy Church. And by this may we note the word which\nChrist said in the Gospel: \"Ye shall die in your sins,\" for so it came\nto pass with Frederick, which was such an enemy to Holy Church, who\nbrought his wife and King Henry, his son, to death, and saw himself\ndiscomfited, and his son Enzo taken, and himself, by his son Manfred,\nvilely slain, and without repentance; and this was the day of S. Lucy\nin December, the said year 1250. And him dead, the said Manfred became\nguardian of the realm and of all the treasure, and caused the body of\nFrederick to be brought and buried with honour in the church of\nMonreale above the city of Palermo in Sicily, and at his burying he\ndesired to write many words of his greatness and power and the mighty\ndeeds done by him; but one Trottano, a clerk, made these brief verses,\nthe which were very pleasing to Manfred and to the other barons, and\nhe caused them to be engraven on the said sepulchre, the which said:--\n     Si probitas, sensus, virtutum gratia, census\n     Nobilitas orti, possent resistere morti,\n     Non foret extinctus Federicus, qui jacet intus.[3]\n[Footnote 3:\n     If sense or frankness bold, if virtues' grace or gold,\n     If birth from noble source, could stay death in his course,\n     Frederick who here doth lie, would ne'er have come to die.]\nAnd note, that at the time when the Emperor Frederick died, he had\nsent into Tuscany for all the hostages of the Guelfs to cause them to\nbe put to death; and on the way to Apulia, when they were in Maremma,\nthey heard news of the death of Frederick, and the guards, for fear,\nabandoned them, who escaped to Campiglia, and thence returned to\nFlorence and to the other cities of Tuscany, very poor and in great\nneed.\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Popolo of Florence peaceably restored the Guelfs to\nFlorence._\n[Sidenote: 1250 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 49, 50.]\nThe same night that the Emperor Frederick died, the Podest\u00e0 who ruled\nfor him in Florence, died also, who was named Messer Rinieri di\nMontemerlo; for, as he slept in his bed, there fell upon him of the\nvaulting from the roof of the chamber, which was in the house of the\nAbati. And this was a sure sign that in the city of Florence his\nlordship was to be ended, and this came to pass very soon; for the\ncommon people having risen in Florence against the violence and\noutrages of the Ghibelline nobles, as we have said, and tidings coming\nto Florence of the death of the said Frederick, a few days after, the\npeople of Florence recalled and restored to Florence the party of the\nGuelfs who had been banished thence, causing them to make peace with\nthe Ghibellines, and this was the seventh day of January, year of\nChrist 1250.\n\u00a7 43.--_How at the time of the said Popolo the Florentines discomfited\nthe men of Pistoia, and afterwards banished certain families of the\nGhibellines from Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 151-154.]\nGreatly did the party for the Church and the Guelf party rejoice\nthroughout all Italy at the death of the Emperor; and the party for\nthe Empire, and the Ghibellines were brought low, inasmuch as Pope\nInnocent returned from beyond the mountains with his court to Rome,\nbringing aid to the faithful followers of the Church. It came to pass\nthat in the month of July, in the year of Christ 1251, the people and\ncommonwealth of Florence gathered a host against the city of Pistoia,\nwhich had rebelled against them, and fought with the said inhabitants\nof Pistoia, and discomfited them at Mount Robolini with great loss in\nslain and prisoners of the men of Pistoia. And at that time Messer\nUberto da Mandella of Milan was Podest\u00e0 of Florence. And because the\ngovernment of the Popolo was not pleasing to the greater part of the\nGhibelline families in Florence, forasmuch as it seemed to them that\nthey favoured the Guelfs more than was pleasing to them, and as in\npast times they were used to do violence, and to be tyrannical,\nrelying on the Emperor, therefore they were even now unwilling to\nfollow the people and the commonwealth on the said expedition against\nPistoia, rather did they both in word and in deed oppose it through\nfactious hatred; forasmuch as Pistoia was ruled in those days by the\nGhibelline party; whereby was caused so great mistrust, that when the\nhost returned victorious from Pistoia, the said Ghibelline families in\nFlorence were banished and sent forth from the city by the people of\nFlorence, the said month of July, 1251. And the heads of the\nGhibellines in Florence being banished, the people and the Guelfs who\nremained in the lordship of Florence, changed the arms of the\ncommonwealth of Florence; and whereas of old they bore the field red\nand the lily white, they now made on the contrary the field white and\nthe lily red; and the Ghibellines retained the former standard, but\nthe ancient standard of the commonwealth dimidiated white and red, to\nwit, the standard that went with the host upon the carroccio, never\nwas changed. We will leave for a while the doings of the Florentines,\nand we will tell somewhat of the coming of King Conrad, son of the\nEmperor Frederick.\n\u00a7 44.--_How King Conrad, son of Frederick the Emperor, came from\nGermany into Apulia, and had the lordship over the realm of Sicily,\nand how he died._\n[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iii. 121.]\nWhen King Conrad of Germany heard of the death of the Emperor\nFrederick, his father, he prepared with a great company to pass into\nApulia and Sicily, to take possession of the said Kingdom, of the\nwhich Manfred, his bastard brother, had become vicar-general, and was\nruling it altogether, save only the cities of Naples and of Capua, the\nwhich had rebelled after the death of Frederick, and were returned to\nobedience to the Church; as also many cities of Lombardy and Tuscany,\non occasion of the death of the said Frederick, had changed their\ngovernment and returned to the obedience of the Church. The said\nConrad would not adventure himself to come by land, but being arrived\nin the Trevisan March, he caused a great fleet to be equipped by the\nVenetians, and from thence by sea with all his people came to Apulia\nthe year of Christ 1251. And albeit Manfred was wrath at his coming,\nforasmuch as he had purposed to be lord of the said kingdom, he made a\ngreat welcome to Conrad, his brother, rendering him much honour and\nreverence, and when he was in Apulia he led a host against the city of\nNaples, the which before had been five times attacked and besieged by\nManfred, prince of Salerno, and he had not been able to conquer it;\nbut Conrad, with his great host after a long siege, gained the city by\nsurrender, on condition that he should neither slay the defenders nor\ndismantle the place. But Conrad did not abide by the pact, but so soon\nas he was in Naples he caused the walls and all the fortresses of\nNaples to be destroyed; and the like did he to the city of Capua,\nwhich had rebelled; and in a short space he had restored all the\nKingdom to his lordship, casting down every rebel, or whosoever was a\nfriend or follower of Holy Church; and not only the laity but the\nmonks and holy persons he caused to die by torments, robbing the\nchurches, and subduing whosoever was not in obedience to him, and\nappointing to benefices, as if he were Pope; so that if Frederick, his\nfather, was a persecutor of Holy Church, this Conrad, if he had lived\nlonger, would have been worse; but as it pleased God, a little time\nafter, he was smitten with a grievous sickness, but not mortal, and\nas he was being tended by leeches and physicians, Manfred, his\nbrother, to remain in power, caused the said leeches for money and\ngreat promises to poison him by a clyster. By such a judgment of God,\nby his brother's deed, of such a death did he die without repentance\nand excommunicated, the year of Christ 1252. And he left behind him in\nGermany a young son who was named Conradino, whose mother was daughter\nto the duke of Bavaria.\n\u00a7 45.--_How Manfred, natural son of Frederick, took the lordship of\nthe kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, and caused himself to be\ncrowned._\n[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 121.]\n[Sidenote: 1255 A.D.]\nConrad, called king of Germany, being dead, Manfred remained lord and\ngovernor of Sicily and of the Kingdom, albeit through the death of\nConrad, some cities of the Kingdom rebelled, and Pope Innocent IV.,\nwith a great host of the Church, entered into the Kingdom to regain\nthe lands which Manfred was holding against the will of the Church,\nand under sentence of excommunication; and when the said host of the\nChurch had entered into the Kingdom, all the cities and villages as\nfar as Naples surrendered themselves to the said Pope; but he had\nsojourned but a short time in Naples ere he fell sick, and passed from\nthis life the year of Christ 1252, and was buried in the city of\nNaples. Wherefore by the death of the said Pope, and by the vacancy\nwhich the Church had after him, which for more than two years abode\nwithout pastors, Manfred regained all the Kingdom, and his strength\nincreased greatly both far and near; and with great care he allied\nhimself with all the cities of Italy which were Ghibelline and\nfaithful to the Empire, and aided them by his German knights, making a\nleague and alliance with them in Tuscany and in Lombardy. And when the\nsaid Manfred saw himself in glory and state, he thought to have\nhimself made king of Sicily and of Apulia, and to the end this might\ncome to pass, he sought for the friendship of the greatest barons of\nthe Kingdom, with monies and gifts and promises and offices. And\nknowing that King Conrad, his brother, had left a son named Conradino,\nthe which was by law the rightful heir to the realm of Sicily, and was\nin Germany under the guardianship of his mother, he devised guileful\npractices whereby to become king; wherefore he gathered together all\nthe barons of the Kingdom, and took counsel with them what should be\ndone with the lordship, forasmuch as he had received tidings that his\nnephew Conradino was grievously sick, and could never rule over a\nrealm; wherefore it was counselled by his barons that he should send\nhis ambassadors into Germany to learn of the state of Conradino, and\nif he were dead or ill; and meanwhile they counselled that Manfred\nshould be made king. To this Manfred agreed, seeing it was he which\nhad falsely arranged it all, and he sent the said ambassadors to\nConradino and to his mother with rich presents and great offers. The\nwhich ambassadors being come to Suabia, found the boy whom his mother\nguarded most carefully, and with him she kept many other boys of\ngentle birth clothed in his garments; and when the said ambassadors\nasked for Conradino, his mother being in dread of Manfred, showed to\nthem one of the said children, and they with rich presents, offered\nhim gifts and reverence, among the which gifts were poisoned comfits\nfrom Apulia, and the boy having eaten of them, straightway died.\nThey, believing Conradino to be dead by poison, departed from Germany,\nand when they had returned to Venice, they caused sails of black cloth\nto be made to their galley and all the rigging to be black, and they\nwere attired in black, and when they were come into Apulia, they made\na show of great grief, as they had been instructed by Manfred. And\nhaving reported to Manfred, and to the German barons, and to those of\nthe Kingdom how Conradino was dead, and Manfred having made show of\ndeep affliction, by the call of his friends and of all the people (as\nhe had arranged), he was elected king of Sicily and of Apulia, and at\nMonreale, in Sicily, caused himself to be crowned, the year of Christ\n\u00a7 46.--_Of the war between Pope Alexander and King Manfred._\n[Sidenote: 1255 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1256 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 107.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. De V.E. i. 12, 21 sqq.]\nAfter the death of Pope Innocent, and the vacancy which followed,\nthere was elected Pope Alexander IV., born in the city of Alagna, in\nCampagna, the year of Christ 1255, and he sat on the papal throne\nseven years, and certain months and days. The which Pope Alexander,\nhearing how Manfred had caused himself to be crowned king of Sicily\nagainst the will of Holy Church, by the said Pope Manfred was required\nto abandon the lordship of the Kingdom and of Sicily, the which he\nwould neither hearken to, nor obey; for the which thing the said Pope\nfirst excommunicated and deprived him, and then sent against him Otho,\nthe cardinal legate, with a great host of the Church, and he took many\nplaces on the coasts of Apulia; to wit, the city of Sipanto, and Mount\nSantagnolo, and Barletta and Bari, as far as Otranto in Calabria; but\nafterwards the said host, by reason of the death of the said legate,\nreturned with labour lost, and Manfred took back and regained all, and\nthis was the year of Christ 1256. The said King Manfred was son of a\nbeautiful lady, of the family of the Marquises of Lancia in Lombardy,\nof whom the Emperor Frederick was enamoured, and he was beautiful in\nperson, and, like his father, but even more, dissolute in every\nfashion; a musician he was, and singer, and loved to see around him\nbuffoons and minstrels, and beautiful concubines, and was always clad\nin green raiment; very liberal was he, and courteous, and gracious, so\nthat he was much loved and in great favour; but all his way of life\nwas epicurean, caring neither for God nor the saints, but only for\nbodily delights. An enemy he was to Holy Church, and to priests and\nmonks, occupying the churches as his father had done, and was a very\nrich lord, alike from the treasure bequeathed to him by the Emperor\nand by King Conrad, his brother, and from his kingdom, which was rich\nand fruitful; and, for all the wars that he had with the Church, he\nkept it in good state so long as he lived, so that he increased much\nin riches and in power by sea and by land. For wife he took the\ndaughter of the despot of Romagna, by whom he had sons and daughters.\nThe arms which he took and bore were those of the Empire, save where\nthe Emperor, his father, bore the gold field and the black eagle, he\nbore the silver field and the black eagle. This Manfred caused the\ncity of Sipanto in Apulia to be destroyed, forasmuch as through the\nmarshes around it was not healthy, and it had no harbour; and by its\ncitizens, at two miles distance upon the rock, and in a place where\nthere might be a good harbour, he caused a city to be founded, which\nafter his name was called Manfredonia, the which has now the best\nharbour that there is between Venice and Brindisi. And of that city\nwas Manfred Bonetta, count chamberlain of the said King Manfred, a\ndelightsome man, a musician and singer, who caused the great bell of\nManfredonia to be made in his memory, the which is the largest that\ncan be found for size, and because of its size cannot be rung. We will\nnow leave speaking of Manfred until fit place and time, and will\nreturn where we left off in our subject, namely to the doings of\nFlorence and of Tuscany and of Lombardy, albeit they were much mixed\nup with the doings of the said King Manfred in many things.\n[Sidenote: 1251 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]\n\u00a7 47.--_How the Florentines discomfited the Ubaldini in Mugello._ \u00a7\n48.--_How the Florentines took Montaia and routed the troops of the\nSienese and the Pisans._ \u00a7 49.--_How the Florentines took Tizzano and\nthen routed the Pisans at Pontadera, the Pisans having routed the\nLucchese._\n\u00a7 50.--_How the bridge Santa Trinita was built._\nIn this time, the city of Florence being in happy state under the rule\nof the Popolo, a bridge was built over the Arno from Santa Trinita to\nthe house of the Frescobaldi in Oltrarno, and in this the zeal of\nLamberto Frescobaldi helped much, which was a noted Ancient in the\nPopolo, and he and his had come to great state and riches.\n[Sidenote: 1252 A.D. Cf. Par. xvi. 50.]\n\u00a7 51.--_How the Florentines took the fortress of Fegghine._\n\u00a7 52.--_How the Sienese were routed by the Florentines at Montalcino._\n\u00a7 53.--_How the golden florins were first made in Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1252 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xviii. 133-136.]\nThe host of the Florentines having returned, and being at rest after\nthe victories aforesaid, the city increased greatly in state and in\nriches and lordship and in great quietness; for the which thing the\nmerchants of Florence, for the honour of the commonwealth, ordained\nwith the people and commonwealth that golden coins should be struck at\nFlorence; and they promised to furnish the gold, for before the custom\nwas to strike silver coins of 12 pence the piece. And then began the\ngood coins of gold, 24 carats fine, the which are called golden\nflorins, and each was worth 20 soldi. And this was in the time of the\nsaid M. Filippo degli Ugoni of Brescia, in the month of November, the\nyear of Christ 1252. The which florins weighed eight to the ounce, and\non one side was the stamp of the lily and on the other of S. John. By\nreason of the said new money of the golden florin there fell out a\npretty story, and worth narrating. The said new florins having begun\nto circulate through the world, they were carried to Tunis in Barbary;\nand being brought before the king of Tunis, which was a worthy and\nwise lord, they pleased him much, and he caused them to be tried; and\nfinding them to be of fine gold, he much commended them, and having\ncaused his interpreters to interpret the imprint and legend on the\nflorin, he found that it said: S. John the Baptist, and on the side of\nthe lily, Florence. Perceiving it to be Christian money, he sent to\nthe Pisan merchants who were then free of the city and were much with\nthe king (and even the Florentines traded in Tunis through the\nPisans), and asked them what manner of city among Christians was this\nFlorence which made the said florins. The Pisans answered spitefully\nthrough envy, saying: \"They are our inland Arabs\": which is to say,\n\"our mountain rustics.\" Then answered the king wisely: \"It does not\nseem to me the money of Arabs. O you Pisans, what manner of golden\nmoney is yours?\" Then were they confused, and knew not how to answer.\nHe asked if there were among them any one from Florence, and there was\nfound there a merchant from Oltrarno, by name Pera Balducci, discreet\nand wise. The king asked him of the state and condition of Florence,\nwhom the Pisans called their Arabs; the which answered wisely, showing\nthe power and magnificence of Florence, and how Pisa in comparison was\nneither in power nor in inhabitants the half of Florence, and that\nthey had no golden money, and that the florin was the fruit of many\nvictories gained by the Florentines over them. For the which cause the\nPisans were shamed, and the king, by reason of the florin and by the\nwords of our wise fellow-citizen, made the Florentines free of the\ncity, and allowed them a place of habitation and a church in Tunis,\nand he gave them the same privileges as the Pisans. And this we knew\nto be true from the said Pera, a man worthy of faith, for we were\namong his colleagues in the office of prior.\n[Sidenote: 1253 A.D.]\n\u00a7 54.--_How the Florentines marched upon Pistoia and took it, and then\nupon Siena and took many of their fortresses._\n\u00a7 55.--_How the Florentines marched against Siena, and the Sienese\ncame to terms with them, and there was peace between them._\n[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxxi. 40, 41.]\nThe next year, 1254, Messer Guiscardo da Pietrasanta, of Milan, being\nPodest\u00e0 of Florence, the Florentines marched against the city of Siena\nand encamped against the castle of Montereggioni and laid siege to it,\nand of a surety they would have taken it, for the German garrison was\nin treaty to surrender it for 50,000 lire of 20 soldi to the gold\nflorin; and in one single night the Ancients found twenty citizens\neach of whom offered a thousand of them, without counting smaller\nsums, so well disposed for the good of the commonwealth were the\ncitizens of those days. But the Sienese, for fear of losing\nMontereggioni, agreed to the terms of the Florentines, and peace was\nmade between them and the Sienese, and they completely surrendered the\ncastle of Montalcino to the Florentines.\n[Sidenote: 1254 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1256 A.D.]\n\u00a7 56.--_How the Florentines seized the fortress of Poggibonizzi and\nthat of Mortennana._ \u00a7 57.--_How the Florentines routed them of\nVolterra and took their city in the fight._ \u00a7 58.--_How the\nFlorentines marched against Pisa, and the Pisans submitted to their\nterms._ \u00a7 59.--_How the great Khan of the Tartars became a Christian,\nand sent his army, under his own brother, against the Saracens of\nSyria._ \u00a7 60.--_How the first war arose between the Genoese and the\nVenetians._ \u00a7 61.--_How the Count Guido Guerra expelled the Ghibelline\nparty from Arezzo, and how the Florentines reinstated it._ \u00a7 62.--_How\nthe Pisans broke the peace, and how the Florentines routed them at the\nbridge over the Serchio._ \u00a7 63.--_How the Florentines destroyed the\ncastle of Poggibonizzi the first time._ \u00a7 64.--_Incident telling of a\ngreat miracle concerning the body of Christ which came to pass in the\ncity of Paris._\n\u00a7 65.--_How the Popolo of Florence drave out the Ghibellines for the\nfirst time from Florence, and the reason why._\n[Sidenote: 1258 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 118, 119.]\nIn the year of Christ 1258, when Messer Jacopo Bernardi di Porco was\nPodest\u00e0 of Florence, at the end of the month of July they of the house\nof the Uberti, with their Ghibelline allies, incited thereto by\nManfred, purposed to break up the Popolo of Florence, forasmuch as it\nseemed to them to lean towards the Guelf party. When the said plot was\ndiscovered by the Popolo, and they who had made it were summoned and\ncited to appear before the magistrates, they would not appear nor come\nbefore them, but the staff of the Podest\u00e0 were grievously wounded and\nsmitten by them; for the which thing the people ran to arms, and ran\nin fury to the houses of the Uberti, where is now the piazza of the\npalace of the people and of the priors, and there they slew\nSchiattuzzo degli Uberti and many of the followers and retainers of\nthe Uberti, and they took Uberto Caini degli Uberti and Mangia degli\nInfangati, which when they had confessed the conspiracy in parliament\nwere beheaded in Orto San Michele; and the rest of the family of the\nUberti, with many other Ghibelline families, left Florence. The names\nof the Ghibelline families of renown which left Florence were these:\nthe Uberti, the Fifanti, the Guidi, the Amidei, the Lamberti, the\nScolari, and part of the Abati, Caponsacchi, Migliorelli, Soldanieri,\nInfangati, Ubriachi, Tedaldini, Galigari, the della Pressa, Amieri,\nthey of Cersino, the Razzanti, and many other houses and families of\nthe popolari and of decayed magnates, which cannot all be named, and\nother families of nobles in the country; and they went to Siena,\nwhich was governed in the Ghibelline interest, and was hostile to the\nFlorentines; and their palaces and strongholds were destroyed, whereof\nthere were many, and with the stones thereof they built the walls of\nSan Giorgio Oltrarno, which the Popolo of Florence caused to be begun\nin those times by reason of the war with the Sienese. And afterwards,\nin the following September of the said year, the Popolo of Florence\nseized the abbot of Vallombrosa, which was a gentleman of the lords of\nBeccheria of Pavia in Lombardy, for they had been told that at the\npetition of the Ghibelline refugees from Florence he was plotting\ntreason; and this by torture they made him confess, and wickedly in\nthe piazza of Santo Apollinare by the outcry of the people they\nbeheaded him, not regarding his dignity nor his holy orders; for the\nwhich thing the commonwealth of Florence and the Florentines were\nexcommunicated by the Pope; and from the commonwealth of Pavia, whence\ncame the said abbot, and from his kinsfolk, the Florentines which\npassed through Lombardy received much hurt and molestation. And truly\nit was said that the holy man was not guilty, albeit by his lineage he\nwas a distinguished Ghibelline. For the which sin, and for many other\ndeeds done by the wicked people, it was said by many wise men that God\nby Divine judgment permitted vengeance to come upon the said people in\nthe battle and defeat of Montaperti, as hereafter we shall make\nmention. The said Popolo of Florence which ruled the city in these\ntimes was very proud and of high and great enterprises, and in many\nthings was very arrogant; but one thing their rulers had, they were\nvery loyal and true to the commonwealth, and when one which was an\nAncient took and sent to his villa a grating which had belonged to the\nlion's den, and was now lying about in the mud of the piazza of S.\nGiovanni, he was condemned therefor to a fine of 1,000 lire for\nembezzling the goods of the commonwealth.\n[Sidenote: 1259 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxii. 40-60.]\n\u00a7 66.--_How the Aretines took and destroyed Cortona._ \u00a7 67.--_How the\nFlorentines took and destroyed the castle of Gressa._ \u00a7 68.--_How the\npeople of Florence took the castles of Vernia and of Mangona._\n\u00a7 69.--_Incidents of the doings that were in Florence at the time of\nthe Popolo._\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 97-99.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 112, 113.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 101.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 102, 103.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv. 103-105.]\nIn the time of the said Popolo in Florence it came to pass that there\nwas presented to the commonwealth a very fine and strong lion, the\nwhich was in a den in the piazza of San Giovanni. It came to pass that\nby lack of care on the part of the keeper, the said lion escaped from\nits den, running through the streets, whence all the city was moved\nwith fear. It came to a stand at Orto San Michele, and there caught\nhold of a boy and held him between its paws. The mother, whose only\nchild he was, and not born till after his father's death, on hearing\nwhat had chanced, ran up to the lion in desperation, shrieking aloud\nand with dishevelled hair, and snatched the child from between its\npaws, and the lion did no hurt either to the woman or to the child,\nbut only gazed steadfastly and kept still. Now the question was what\nwas the cause of this, whether the nobility of the nature of the lion,\nor that fortune preserved the life of the said child, to the end he\nmight avenge his father, the which he did, and was afterwards called\nOrlanduccio of the lion, of Calfette. And note, that at the time of\nthe said Popolo, and before and afterwards for a long time, the\ncitizens of Florence lived soberly, and on coarse food, and with\nlittle spending, and in manners and graces were in many respects\ncoarse and rude; and both they and their wives were clad in coarse\ngarments, and many wore skins without lining, and caps on their heads,\nand all wore leather boots on their feet, and the Florentine ladies\nwore boots without ornaments, and the greatest were contented with one\nclose-fitting gown of scarlet serge or camlet, girt with a leathern\ngirdle after the ancient fashion, with a hooded cloak lined with\nminiver, which hood they wore on their head; and the common women were\nclad in coarse green cambric after the same fashion; and 100 lire was\nthe common dowry for wives, and 200 or 300 lire was, in those times,\nheld to be excessive; and the most of the maidens were twenty or more\nyears old before they were wedded. After such habits and plain customs\nthen lived the Florentines, but they were true and trustworthy to one\nanother and to their commonwealth, and with their simple life and\npoverty they did greater and more virtuous things than are done in our\ntimes with more luxury and with more riches.\n[Sidenote: 1259 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n\u00a7 70.--_How Paleologus, emperor of the Greeks, took Constantinople\nfrom the French and the Venetians._ \u00a7 71.--_Of a very sore battle\nwhich was between the king of Hungary and the king of Bohemia._\n\u00a7 72.--_How the great tyrant, Ezzelino da Romano, was defeated by the\nCremonese and died in prison._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 109, 110. Par. ix. 25-30.]\nIn the said year 1260, Ezzelino of Romano, which is a Trevisan\ncastle, was defeated and wounded and taken prisoner by the Marquis\nPallavicino, and by the Cremonese in the country around Milan, near to\nthe bridge of Casciano over the river Adda, as he was on his way to\nseize Milan, having with him more than 1,500 horsemen; from the which\nwounds he died in prison, and was buried with honour in the village of\nSolcino. He knew by augury that he should die in a village of the\ncountry of Padua, which was called Basciano, and he would not enter\ntherein; and when he felt himself wounded he asked what the place was\ncalled, and they answered, \"Casciano\"; then he said, \"Casciano and\nBasciano are all the same,\" and he gave himself up for dead. This\nEzzelino was the most cruel and redoubtable tyrant that ever was among\nChristians, and ruled by his force and tyranny (being by birth a\ngentleman of the house of Romano), long time the Trevisan March and\nthe city of Padua, and a great part of Lombardy; and he brought to an\nend a very great part of the citizens of Padua, and blinded great\nnumbers of the best and most noble, taking their possessions, and\nsending them begging through the world, and many others he put to\ndeath by divers sufferings and torments, and burnt at one time 11,000\nPaduans; and by reason of their innocent blood, by miracle, no grass\ngrew there again for evermore. And under semblance of a rugged and\ncruel justice he did much evil, and was a great scourge in his time in\nthe Trevisan March and in Lombardy, to punish them for the sin of\ningratitude. At last, as it pleased God, by less powerful men than his\nown he was vilely defeated and slain, and all his followers were\ndispersed and his family and his rule came to nought.\n\u00a7 73.--_How both the king of Castille and Richard, earl of Cornwall,\nwere elected king of the Romans._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 23-120.]\nNow some time before the said year, by reason of discord among the\nelectors of the Empire, two Emperors had been elected; one party (that\nis to say, three of the electors) choosing Alfonso, king of Spain, and\nthe other party of the electors choosing Richard, earl of Cornwall,\nand brother to the king of England; and because the realm of Bohemia\nwas in discord, and there were two which claimed to be king thereof,\neach one gave his voice to his own party. And for many years there had\nbeen this discord between the two pretenders, but the Church of Rome\ngave more favour to Alfonso of Spain, to the end that he might, with\nhis forces, come and beat down the pride and lordship of Manfred; for\nthe which cause the Guelfs of Florence sent him ambassadors, to\nencourage his coming, promising him great succour, to the end he might\nfavour the Guelf party. And the ambassador was Ser Brunetto Latini, a\nman of great wisdom and authority; but before the embassage was ended\nthe Florentines were defeated at Montaperti, and King Manfred gained\ngreat vigour and state throughout Italy, and the power of the Church\nwas much abased, for the which thing Alfonso of Spain abandoned the\nenterprise of the Empire, and neither did Richard of England follow it\nup.\n\u00a7 74.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence, sent into Apulia to\nKing Manfred for succour._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 32.]\nIn these times the Ghibelline refugees from Florence (who being in the\ncity of Siena were ill-supported against the Florentines by the\nSienese, forasmuch as they had no forces to bring against their host)\ntook counsel amongst themselves to send their ambassadors into\nApulia, to King Manfred, for succour. And when they were come thither,\nalbeit they were of the best and chiefest of the band, much time\nelapsed, and Manfred did not dispatch their affair, nor give audience\nto their request, by reason of the manifold businesses he had to do.\nAnd when at last they had a mind to depart, and took their leave of\nhim very ill-content, Manfred promised them 100 German horsemen for\ntheir aid. Whereon the said ambassadors were troubled at this his\nfirst offer, and were minded to make their reply in the way of\nrefusing so sorry an aid, for they were ashamed to return to Siena,\ninasmuch as they had hoped for more than 1,500 horsemen. But hereon\nMesser Farinata degli Uberti said, \"Be not dismayed, neither refuse\nany aid of his, be it never so small. Let us have grace of him to send\nhis standard with them, and when it be come to Siena we will set it in\nsuch a place that he must needs send us further succour.\" And so it\ncame to pass; and following the wise counsel of the knight, they\naccepted Manfred's offer, praying him as a grace to give his own\nstandard to their captain, and so he did. And when they returned to\nSiena with so poor an aid, great scorn was made thereof by the\nSienese, and great dismay came upon the Florentine refugees, which had\nlooked for aid and support from Manfred beyond measure greater.\n\u00a7 75.--_How the commonwealth and people of Florence led a great host\nup to the gates of Siena with the carroccio._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\nIt happened in the year of Christ 1260, in the month of May, that the\npeople and commonwealth of Florence gathered a general host against\nthe city of Siena and led thither the carroccio. And note, that the\ncarroccio, which was led by the commonwealth and people of Florence,\nwas a chariot on four wheels, all painted red, and two tall red masts\nstood up together thereupon, whereon was fastened and waved the great\nstandard of the arms of the commune, which was dimidiated white and\nred, and still may be seen to-day in S. Giovanni. And it was drawn by\na great pair of oxen covered with red cloth, which were set apart\nsolely for this, and belonged to the Hospitallers of Pinti, and he who\ndrove them was a freeman of the commonwealth. This carroccio was used\nby our forefathers in triumphs and solemnities, and when they went out\nwith the host, the neighbouring counts and knights brought it from the\narmoury of S. Giovanni and conducted it to the piazza of the Mercato\nNuovo, and having halted by a landmark, which is still there, in the\nform of a stone carved like a chariot, they committed it to the\nkeeping of the people, and it was led by popolani in the expeditions\nof war, and to guard it were chosen the best and strongest and most\nvirtuous among the foot soldiers of the popolani, and round it\ngathered all the force of the people. And when the host was to be\nassembled, a month before the time when they were to set forth, a bell\nwas hung upon the arch of Porte Sante Marie, which was at the head of\nthe Mercato Nuovo, and there was rung by day and by night without\nceasing. And this they did in their pride, to give opportunity to the\nenemy, against whom the host should go forth, to prepare themselves.\nAnd some called it Martinella, and some the Asses' Bell. And when the\nFlorentine host went forth, they took down the bell from the arch and\nput it into a wooden tower upon a car, and the sound thereof guided\nthe host. By these two pomps of the carroccio and of the bell was\nmaintained the lordly pride of the people of old and of our\nforefathers in their expeditions. We will leave this and will turn to\nthe Florentines, how they made war against the Sienese, and took the\ncastle of Vicchio, and that of Mezzano, and Casciole, which pertained\nto the Sienese, and encamped themselves against Siena, hard by the\nentrance gate by the monastery of S. Petronella; and there they had\nbrought to them, upon a knoll which could be seen from the city, a\ntower wherein they kept their bell; and in contempt of the Sienese,\nand as a record of their victory, they filled it with earth and\nplanted an olive tree in it, the which, until our own days, was still\nthere. It fell out at that siege that one day the Florentine refugees\ngave a feast to Manfred's German soldiers, and having plied them with\nwine till they were drunk, in the uproar they incited them to arm\nthemselves and mount on horseback to assail the host of the\nFlorentines, promising them large gifts and double pay; and this was\ndone craftily by the wise, in pursuance of the counsel of Farinata\ndegli Uberti which he had given in Apulia. The Germans, beside\nthemselves and hot with wine, sallied forth from Siena and vigorously\nassailed the camp of the Florentines, and because they were unprepared\nand off their guard, holding as nought the force of the enemy, the\nGermans, albeit they were but few folk, did great hurt to the host in\nthat assault, and many of the people and of the horsemen made a sorry\nshow in that sudden assault, and fled in terror, supposing that the\nassailants were more in number. But in the end, perceiving their\nerror, they took to arms, and defended themselves against the Germans,\nand of all those who sallied forth from Siena not one escaped alive,\nfor they were all slain and beaten down, and the standard was taken\nand dragged through the camp and carried to Florence; and this done,\nshortly afterwards the Florentine host returned to Florence.\n\u00a7 76.--_How King Manfred sent Count Giordano with 800 Germans to\nsuccour the Sienese and the Ghibelline refugees from Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\nThe Sienese and the Florentine refugees, perceiving how ill the\nFlorentines had fared in the assault of so small a number of German\nhorsemen, considered that if they had a greater number thereof, they\nwould be victorious in the war. Immediately they provided themselves\nwith money, procuring from the company of the Salimbeni, which were\nmerchants of those days, 20,000 florins of gold, and gave them in\npledge the fortress of Tentennana and several more castles of the\ncommonwealth, and sent their ambassadors again into Apulia with the\nsaid money to King Manfred, saying how his few German followers by\ntheir great vigour and valour had undertaken to assail the whole host\nof the Florentines, and had turned a great part thereof to flight; but\nif they had been more, they would have had the victory; but by reason\nof their small number, they had all been left upon the field, and his\nstandard had been dragged about and insulted in the camp and in\nFlorence and round about. And beside this they plied the best reasons\nthey knew to move Manfred, who, having heard the tidings, was wrath,\nand with the money of the Sienese, who paid half the charges for three\nmonths, and at his own cost, sent into Tuscany Count Giordano, his\nmarshal, with 800 German horsemen, to go with the said ambassadors;\nwho reached Siena in the end of July, the year of Christ 1260, and by\nthe Sienese were received with great rejoicing, and they and all the\nGhibellines of Tuscany drew thence great vigour and courage. And when\nthey were come to Siena, immediately the Sienese sent forth their host\nagainst the castle of Montalcino, which was under the commands of the\ncommonwealth of Florence, and sent for aid to the Pisans and to all\nthe Ghibellines of Tuscany, so that, what with the horsemen of Siena\nand the Florentine refugees, and the Germans and their allies, there\nwere found 1,800 horsemen in Siena, whereof the greater part were\nGermans.\n\u00a7 77.--_How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence prepared to deceive\nthe commonwealth and people of Florence, and cause them to be\nbetrayed._\n[Sidenote: Purg. xi. 109-142.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. vi. 79. xvi. 40-42.]\nThe Florentine refugees, by whose embassy and deed King Manfred had\nsent Count Giordano with 800 German horsemen, thought within\nthemselves that they had done nothing if they could not draw the\nFlorentines out into the field, inasmuch as the aforesaid Germans were\nnot paid save for three months, and already more than one month and a\nhalf of this had passed, since their coming, nor had they more money\nwherewith to pay them, nor did they look for any from Manfred; and\nshould the time for which they had been paid pass by without having\ndone aught, they would return into Apulia, to the great peril of the\nstate. They reasoned that this could not be contrived without skill\nand subtlety of war, which business was committed to M. Farinata degli\nUberti and M. Gherardo Ciccia de' Lamberti. These subtly chose out two\nwise minor friars as their messengers to the people of Florence, and\nfirst caused them to confer with nine of the most powerful men of\nSiena, who made endless show to the said friars that the government of\nMesser Provenzano Salvani was displeasing to them, who was the\ngreatest of the citizens of Siena, and that they would willingly yield\nup the city to the Florentines in return for 10,000 florins of gold,\nand that they were to come with a great host, under guise of\nfortifying Montalcino, as far as the river Arbia; and then they with\ntheir own forces, and with those of their followers, would give up to\nthe Florentines the gate of Santo Vito, which is on the road to\nArezzo. The friars, under this deceit and treachery, came to Florence\nwith letters and seals from the aforesaid, and were brought before the\nAncients of the people, and proposed to them means whereby they might\ndo great things for the honour of the people and commonwealth of\nFlorence; but the thing was so secret that it must under oath be\nrevealed to but few. Then the Ancients chose from among themselves\nSpedito di Porte San Piero, a man of great vigour and boldness, and\none of the principal leaders of the people, and with him Messer Gianni\nCalcagni, of Vacchereccia; and when they had sworn upon the altar, the\nfriars unfolded the said plot, and showed the said letters. The said\ntwo Ancients, who showed more eagerness than judgment, gave faith to\nthe plot; and immediately the said 10,000 golden florins were\nprocured, and were deposited, and a council was assembled of magnates\nand people, and they represented that of necessity it behoved to send\na host to Siena to strengthen Montalcino, greater than the one sent in\nMay last to Santa Petronella. The nobles of the great Guelf houses of\nFlorence, and Count Guido Guerra, which was with them, not knowing of\nthe pretended plot, and knowing more of war than the popolani did,\nbeing aware of the new body of German troops which was come to Siena,\nand of the sorry show which the people made at Santa Petronella when\nthe hundred Germans attacked them, considered the enterprise not to be\nwithout great peril. And also esteeming the citizens to be divided in\nmind, and ill disposed to raise another host, they gave wise counsel,\nthat it were best that the host should not go forth at present, for\nthe reasons aforesaid; and also they showed how for little cost\nMontalcino could be fortified, and how the men of Orvieto were\nprepared to fortify it, and alleged that the said Germans had pay only\nfor three months, and had already served for half the time, and by\ngiving them play enough, without raising a host, shortly they would be\nscattered, and would return into Apulia; and the Sienese and the\nFlorentine refugees would be left in worse plight than they were\nbefore. And the spokesman for them all was M. Tegghiaio Aldobrandi\ndegli Adimari, a wise knight and valiant in arms, and of great\nauthority, and he counselled the better course in full. His counsel\nended, the aforesaid Spedito, the Ancient, a very presumptuous man,\nrudely replied, bidding him to look to his breeches if he was afraid;\nand M. Tegghiaio replied that at the pinch he would not dare to follow\nhim into the battle where he would lead; and these words ended, next\nuprose M. Cece de Gherardini to say the same that Messer Tegghiaio had\nsaid. The Ancients commanded him not to speak, and the penalty was 100\npounds if any one held forth contrary to the command of the Ancients.\nThe knight was willing to pay it, so that he might oppose the going;\nbut the Ancients would not have it, rather they made the penalty\ndouble; again he desired to pay, and so it reached 300 pounds; and\nwhen he yet wanted to speak and to pay, the command was that his head\nshould be forfeit; and there it stopped. But, through the proud and\nheedless people, the worse counsel won the day, that the said host\nshould proceed immediately and without delay.\n\u00a7 78.--_How the Florentines raised an army to fortify Montalcino, and\nwere discomfited by Count Giordano and by the Sienese at Montaperti._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\nThe people of Florence having taken the ill resolve to raise an army,\ncraved assistance from their friends, which came with foot soldiers\nand with horse, from Lucca, and Bologna, and Pistoia, and Prato, and\nVolterra, and Samminiato, and Sangimignano, and from Colle di\nValdelsa, which were in league with the commonwealth and people of\nFlorence; and in Florence there were 800 horsemen of the citizens and\nmore than 500 mercenaries. And the said people being assembled in\nFlorence, the host set forth in the end of August, and for pomp and\ndisplay they led out the carroccio, and a bell, which they called\nMartinella, on a car with a wooden tower on wheels, and there went out\nnearly all the people with the banners of the guilds, and there did\nnot remain a house or a family in Florence which went not forth on\nfoot or on horseback, at least one for each house, and for some two or\nmore, according to their power. And when they found themselves in the\nterritory of Siena, at the place agreed upon, on the river Arbia, at\nthe place called Montaperti, with the men of Perugia and of Orvieto,\nwhich there joined with the Florentines, there were gathered together\nmore than 3,000 horse and more than 30,000 foot. And whilst the host\nof the Florentines was thus preparing, the aforesaid framers of the\nplot, which were in Siena, in order that it might be the more fully\naccomplished, sent to Florence certain other friars to hatch treason\nwith certain Ghibelline magnates and popolani which had not been\nexiled from Florence, and would therefore have to join the general\nmuster of the army. With these, then, they plotted that when they were\ndrawn up for battle, they should from divers quarters flee from their\ncompanies, and repair to their own party, to confound the Florentine\narmy. And this plot they made because they seemed to themselves to be\nbut few in comparison with the Florentines; and so it was done.\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 78-111.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 85-87.]\nNow it happened that when the said host was on the hills of\nMontaperti, those sage Ancients who were leading the host, and had\nmanaged the negotiations, were awaiting the opening of the promised\ngate by the traitors from within. A magnate from among the people, a\nFlorentine from the gate of S. Piero, which was a Ghibelline, and was\nnamed Razzante, having heard something of the expectation of the\nFlorentine host, was commissioned by consent of the Ghibellines in the\ncamp which were meditating the treason, to enter Siena; whereupon he\nfled on horseback from the camp to make known to the Florentine\nrefugees how the city of Siena was to be betrayed, and how the\nFlorentines were well equipped, and with great strength of horse and\nfoot, and to urge those within not to advise battle. And when he was\ncome unto Siena, and these things had been disclosed to the said M.\nFarinata and M. Gherardo, the plotters, they said thus to him: \"Thou\nwilt slay us, if thou spreadest this news throughout Siena, inasmuch\nas fear will fall upon every man, but we desire that thou shouldest\nsay the contrary; for if we do not fight while we have these Germans\nwe are dead men, and shall never return to Florence, and for us death\nand defeat would be better than to crawl about the world any longer:\"\nand their counsel was to try the fortune of battle. Razzante,\ninstructed by these two aforesaid, determined and promised to speak\nthus; and with a garland on his head, on horseback with the said two,\nshowing great gladness, he came to the parliament to the palace where\nwere all the people of Siena and the Germans and other allies; and\nthen, with a joyful countenance, he told great news from the\nGhibelline party and the traitors in camp, how the host was\nill-ordered and ill-led, and disunited, and that if they attacked them\nboldly, they would certainly be discomfited. And Razzante having made\nhis false report, at the cry of the people they all moved to arms,\ncalling out: \"Battle, battle.\" The Germans demanded a promise of\ndouble pay, and this was given them; and their troop led the attack\nfrom the gate of San Vito, which was to have been given over to the\nFlorentines; and the other horse and foot sallied out after them. When\nthose among the host which were expecting that the gate should be\ngiven to them saw the Germans and the other horse and foot sally forth\ntowards them from Siena in battle array, they marvelled greatly, and\nwere sore dismayed, seeing their sudden approach and unlooked-for\nattack; and they were the more dismayed that many Ghibellines who were\nin the host, both on horse and foot, beholding the enemy's troops\napproaching, fled from divers quarters, as the treason had been\nordered; and among them were the della Pressa and they of the Abati,\nand many others. But the Florentines and their allies did not on this\naccount neglect to array their troops, and await the battle; and when\nthe German troop violently charged the troop of Florentine horse\n(where was the standard of the cavalry of the commonwealth, which was\nborne by M. Jacopo del Nacca, a man of great valour, of the house of\nthe Pazzi in Florence), that traitor of a M. Bocca degli Abati, which\nwas in his troop and near to him, struck the said M. Jacopo with his\nsword, and cut off the hand with which he held the standard, and\nimmediately he died. And this done, the horsemen and people, beholding\nthe standard fallen, and that there were traitors among them, and that\nthey were so strongly assailed by the Germans, in a short time were\nput to flight. But because the horsemen of Florence first perceived\nthe treason, there were but thirty-six men of name of the cavalry\nslain and taken. But the great mortality and capture was of the foot\nsoldiers of Florence, and of Lucca, and of Orvieto, because they shut\nthemselves up in the castle of Montaperti, and were all taken; but\nmore than 2,500 of them were left dead upon the field, and more than\n1,500 were taken captive of the best of the people of Florence, from\nevery house, and of Lucca, and of the other allies which were in the\nsaid battle. And thus was abased the arrogance of the ungrateful and\nproud people of Florence. And this was on a Tuesday, the 4th day of\nSeptember, in the year of Christ 1260; and there was left the\ncarroccio and the bell called Martinella, with an untold amount of\nbooty, of the baggage pertaining to the Florentines and their allies.\nAnd thus was routed and destroyed the ancient Popolo of Florence,\nwhich had continued in so many victories and in great lordship and\nstate for ten years.\n\u00a7 79.--_How the Guelfs of Florence, after the said discomfiture,\ndeparted from Florence and went to Lucca._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 48.]\nThe news of the grievous discomfiture being come to Florence, and the\nmiserable fugitives returning therefrom, there arose so great a\nlamentation both of men and of women in Florence that it reached unto\nthe heavens, forasmuch as there was not a house in Florence, small or\ngreat, whereof there was not one slain or taken; and from Lucca, and\nfrom the territory there were a great number, and from Orvieto. For\nthe which thing the heads of the Guelfs, both nobles and popolari,\nwhich had returned from the defeat, and those which were in Florence,\nwere dismayed and fearful, and feared lest the exiles should come from\nSiena with the German troops, perceiving that the rebel Ghibellines\nand those under bounds which were absent from the city were beginning\nto return thereto. Wherefore the Guelfs, without being banished or\ndriven out, went forth with their families, weeping, from Florence,\nand betook themselves to Lucca on Thursday, the 13th day of September,\nin the year of Christ 1260. These were the chief families of the Guelf\nrefugees from Florence: of the sesto of Oltrarno, the Rossi, and the\nNerli, and part of the Mannelli, the Bardi, and the Mozzi, and the\nFrescobaldi; the notable popolani of the said sesto were the\nCanigiani, Magli, and Macchiavelli, the Belfredelli and the Orciolini,\nAglioni, Rinucci, Barbadori, and the Battincenni, and Soderini, and\nMalduri and Ammirati. Of San Piero Scheraggio, the nobles: Gherardini,\nLucardesi, Cavalcanti, Bagnesi, Pulci, Guidalotti, Malispini,\nForaboschi, Manieri, they of Quona, Sacchetti, Compiobbesi; the\npopolani, Magalotti, Mancini, Bucelli, and they of the Antella. Of the\nsesto of Borgo, the nobles: the Bondelmonti, Scali, Spini,\nGianfigliazzi, Giandonati, Bostichi, Altoviti, the Ciampoli,\nBaldovinetti and others. Of the sesto of San Brancazio, the nobles:\nTornaquinci, Vecchietti, and part of the Pigli, Minerbetti,\nBecchenugi, and Bordoni and others. Of the Porte del Duomo: the\nTosinghi, Arrigucci, Agli, Sizii, Marignolli, and Ser Brunetto Latini\nand his family, and many others. Of the Porte San Piero: Adimari,\nPazzi, Visdomini, and part of the Donati. Of the branch of the Scolari\nthere were left della Bella, the Carci, the Ghiberti, the Guidalotti\ndi Balla, the Mazzochi, the Uccellini, Boccatonde; and beside these\nmagnates and popolani of each sesto were put under bounds. And for\nthis departure the Guelfs were much to be blamed, inasmuch as the city\nof Florence was very strong, and with walls, and with moats full of\nwater, and could well have been defended and held; but the judgment of\nGod in punishing sins must needs hold on its course without hindrance;\nand to whomsoever God intends ill, from him He takes away wisdom and\nknowledge. And the Guelfs having departed on Thursday, the Sunday\nafter being the 16th of September, the exiles from Florence which had\nbeen at the battle of Montaperti, with Count Giordano and with his\nGerman troops, and with the other soldiers of the Ghibellines of\nTuscany, enriched by the spoil of the Florentines and of the other\nGuelfs of Tuscany, entered into the city of Florence without\nhindrance, and immediately they made Guido Novello of the Counts\nGuidi, Podest\u00e0 of Florence for King Manfred, from the first day of the\ncoming January for two years, and his judgment hall was the old palace\nof the people at Santo Apollinari, the stair of which was on the outer\nwall. And a little while after he caused the Ghibelline gate to be\nmade, and the road out to be opened; to the intent that by that way,\nwhich corresponds with the palace, there might be entrance and exit at\nneed, and he might bring his retainers from Casentino into Florence to\nguard him and the city. And because it was done in the time of the\nGhibellines, the gate and the road took the name of Ghibelline. This\nCount Guido caused all the citizens which remained in Florence to\nswear fealty to King Manfred, and by reason of promises made to the\nSienese he caused five castles of the territory of Florence which were\non their frontier to be destroyed; and there remained in Florence as\ncaptain of the host, and vicar-general for King Manfred, the said\nCount Giordano, with the German troops in the pay of the Florentines,\nwho greatly persecuted the Guelfs in many parts of Tuscany, as we\nshall make mention hereafter; and took all their goods, and destroyed\nmany palaces and towers pertaining to the Guelfs, and took their goods\nfor the benefit of the commonwealth. The said Count Giordano was a\ngentleman of Piedmont in Lombardy, and kinsman of the mother of\nManfred, and by his prowess, and because he was very faithful to\nManfred, and in life and customs as worldly-minded as he, he made him\na count, and gave him lands in Apulia, and from small estate raised\nhim to great lordship.\n\u00a7 80.--_How the news of the defeat of the Florentines came to the\ncourt of the Pope, and the prophecy which was made thereupon by\nCardinal Bianco._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 120.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xx. and xxvii. 100-107.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 51.]\nWhen the news of the aforesaid defeat came to the court of Rome, the\nPope and the cardinals who loved the state of Holy Church felt much\ngrief and compassion thereat, alike for the Florentines, and also\nbecause thereby the state and power of Manfred, the enemy of the\nChurch, would increase; but Cardinal Ottaviano degli Ubaldini, which\nwas a Ghibelline, rejoiced greatly thereat; wherefore Cardinal Bianco,\nwhich was a great astrologer and master of necromancy, seeing this,\nsaid: if Cardinal Ottaviano knew the future of this war of the\nFlorentines, he would not be rejoicing thus. The college of cardinals\nprayed him that he would declare himself more openly. Cardinal Bianco\nwould not speak, because to speak of the future seemed to him to be\nunlawful to his office, but the cardinals so prayed the Pope that he\ncommanded him on his obedience to speak. Having received the said\ncommand, he said in brief words: the conquered shall conquer\nvictoriously, and shall not be conquered for ever. This was\ninterpreted to mean that the Guelfs, conquered and driven out of\nFlorence, should victoriously return to power, and should never again\nlose their state and lordship in Florence.\n\u00a7 81.--_How the Ghibellines of Tuscany purposed to destroy the city of\nFlorence, and how M. Farinata degli Uberti defended it._\n[Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxx. 148.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 111.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 91-93.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. x. 83, 84.]\nAfter the same fashion that the Guelfs of Florence departed, so did\nthose of Prato and of Pistoia, and of Volterra, and of Samminiato, and\nof San Gimignano, and of many other cities and villages of Tuscany,\nwhich all returned to the party of the Ghibellines save the city of\nLucca, the which held to the party of the Guelfs for a time, and was a\nrefuge for the Guelfs of Florence, and for the other exiles of\nTuscany, the which Guelfs of Florence took their stand in Lucca in the\nquarter around San Friano; and the loggia in front of San Friano was\nmade by the Florentines. And when the Florentines found themselves in\nthis place, Messer Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, seeing Spedito who had\ninsulted him in the council and bade him look to his breeches, drew\nhimself up and took from his pouch five hundred florins of gold that\nhe had, and showed them to Spedito (who had fled from Florence in\ngreat poverty), and said to him reproachfully, \"Just look at the state\nof my breeches! This is what you have brought yourself and me and the\nrest to, by your rash and overbearing lordship.\" And Spedito answered,\n\"Then why did you trust us?\" We have made mention of these paltry and\nbase altercations as a warning, that no citizen, especially if he be a\npopolano and of small account, when he chances to be in office, should\nbe too bold or presumptuous. At this time the Pisans, the Sienese, and\nthey of Arezzo, with the said Count Giordano, and with the other\nGhibelline leaders, caused a council to be held at Empoli, to\nestablish the Ghibelline party in Tuscany, and to form a league; and\nso it was done. And forasmuch as Count Giordano must needs return into\nApulia, to King Manfred, by command of the said Manfred there was\nproclaimed as his vicar-general and captain of the host in Tuscany,\nCount Guido Novello of the Counts Guidi of Casentino and of\nModigliana, who factiously forsook Count Simone his brother, and Count\nGuido Guerra his fellow, and all those of his branch of the family\nwhich held to the Guelf party; and he was desirous to drive out of\nTuscany every Guelf. And at the said council all the neighbouring\ncities, and the Counts Guidi, and the Counts Alberti, and they of\nSantafiore, and the Ubaldini, and all the barons around took counsel,\nand were all of one mind how for the good of the Ghibelline party the\ncity of Florence should be utterly destroyed and reduced to open\nvillages, to the intent there might remain neither renown, nor fame,\nnor power of its might. To withstand which proposal uprose the valiant\nand wise knight, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, and in his saying he\nintroduced two ancient proverbs of the street which say: \"As the ass\nhas wit, so he munches his rape\" [_i.e._, every one does his business\naccording to his capacity, such as it is], and \"Lame goats can go if\nthey meet no wolf\" [_i.e._, any one can get on if there are no\ndifficulties]; and these two proverbs he wove together, saying: \"As\nthe ass has wit, lame goats can go; so he munches his rape if they\nmeet no wolf,\" adroitly turning the vulgar proverbs to examples and\ncomparisons to show the folly of thus speaking, and the great peril\nand hurt that might follow thereupon; and saying that if there were\nnone other than he, whilst he had life in his body he would defend the\ncity with sword in hand. Count Giordano perceiving this, and what\nmanner of man and of what authority was Messer Farinata, and his great\nfollowing, and how the Ghibelline party might be broken up and come to\ndiscord, abandoned the idea, and took other counsel, so that by one\ngood man and citizen our city of Florence was saved from so great\nfury, destruction, and ruin. But afterwards the said people of\nFlorence were ungrateful and forgetful towards the said Messer\nFarinata, and his progeny and descendants, as hereafter we shall make\nmention. But in despite of the forgetfulness of the ungrateful people,\nnevertheless we ought to commend and keep in notable memory the good\nand virtuous citizen, who acted after the fashion of the good Roman\nCamillus of old, as we are told by Valerius and Titus Livius.\n[Sidenote: 1261 A.D.]\n\u00a7 82.--_How Count Guido, the vicar, with the league of the\nGhibellines of Tuscany, went against Lucca, and took S. Maria a Monte\nand many fortresses._\n\u00a7 83.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence sent their ambassadors\ninto Germany to stir up Conradino against Manfred._\nIn those times the Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other\ncities of Tuscany, perceiving themselves to be thus persecuted by the\nforces of Manfred and of the Ghibellines of Tuscany, and seeing that\nno lord was rising against the forces of Manfred, and also that the\nChurch had but little power against him, thought within themselves to\nsend their ambassadors into Germany to stir up the little Conradino,\noffering him much aid and favour, against Manfred, his uncle, who was\nfalsely holding the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia; and this was\ndone, for from among the chief of the Florentine exiles there went as\nambassadors, with those of the commonwealth of Lucca. And the Guelf\nexiles from Florence were represented by M. Bonaccorso Bellincioni of\nthe Adimari, and M. Simone Donati. And they found Conradino so young a\nboy that his mother would in no wise consent to let him go from her,\nalbeit with will and with mind she was greatly against Manfred and\nheld him as an enemy and rebel against Conradino. And the said\nambassadors, when they returned from Germany, as a token and earnest\nof the coming of Conradino, caused him to give them his mantle lined\nwith miniver, which being brought to Lucca caused great rejoicing\namong the Guelfs, and it was shown in S. Friano of Lucca, as if it had\nbeen a relic. But the Guelfs of Tuscany did not know the future\ndestiny, how the said Conradino should become their enemy.\n[Sidenote: 1262 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 56.]\n\u00a7 84.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took Signa, but held it\nonly a short space._ \u00a7 85.--_How Count Guido, the vicar, with the\nTuscan league and the forces of the Pisans, marched upon Lucca,\nwhereon the Lucchese made their peace, and drave out the Guelf\nrefugees from Lucca._\n\u00a7 86.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence, and the other exiles of\nTuscany, drave out the Ghibellines from Modena and afterwards from\nReggio._\n[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]\nAfter the miserable Guelfs which had been driven from Florence and\nfrom all the cities of Tuscany (whereof none held with the Guelf\nparty) were come into the city of Bologna, they abode there long time\nin great want and poverty, some receiving pay to serve on foot, and\nsome on horse, and some without pay. It came to pass in those times\nthat the inhabitants of the city of Modena, Guelfs and Ghibellines,\ncame to dissension and civic strife among themselves, as it is the\ncustom of the cities of Lombardy to assemble and fight on the piazza\nof the commonwealth; and many days they were opposed the one to the\nother without either side being able to win the victory. It came to\npass that the Guelfs sent for succour to Bologna, and especially to\nthe Guelf refugees from Florence, which straightway, as needy folk,\nand making war for their own behoof, went thither on horse and on\nfoot, as each best could. And when they came to Modena a gate was\nopened to them by the Guelfs, and they were admitted; and straightway\nwhen they were come upon the piazza of Modena, as brave men and used\nto arms and to war, they attacked the Ghibellines, which could not\nlong endure, but were defeated and slain and driven out of the city,\nand their houses and their goods spoiled; by reason of which booty the\nsaid Guelf refugees from Florence and from the rest of Tuscany were\nmuch enriched, and furnished themselves with horses and with arms,\nwhereof they were in great need, and this was in the year of Christ\n1263. And whilst they were in Modena, a little while after, in the\nsame manner as in Modena, fighting began in the city of Reggio in\nLombardy, between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines; and when the Guelfs\nof Reggio sent for aid to the Guelf refugees from Florence, which were\nin Modena, straightway they went thither, and they chose as their\ncaptain Messer Forese degli Adimari. And when they were come to Reggio\nthey joined in the battle on the piazza, which endured long time,\nforasmuch as the Ghibellines of Reggio were very powerful, and among\nthem was one called Caca of Reggio, on whose name wit is spilled in\ngibes even yet. This man was well-nigh as tall as a giant, and of\nmarvellous strength, and he had an iron club in his hand, and none\ndared to approach him whom he did not fell to the earth, either slain\nor maimed, and by him the battle was well-nigh wholly sustained. When\nthe gentlemen in banishment from Florence perceived this, they chose\namong them twelve of the most valiant, and called them the twelve\npaladins, which, with daggers in hand, all set upon that valiant man,\nwhich, after very brave defence, and beating down many of his enemies,\nwas struck down to the earth and slain upon the piazza; and so soon as\nthe Ghibellines saw their champion on the ground, they took to flight\nand were discomfited and driven out of Reggio; and if the Guelf\nrefugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany were\nenriched by the spoil of the Ghibellines of Modena, much more were\nthey enriched by that of the Ghibellines of Reggio; and they all\nprovided themselves with horses, so that in a short time, while they\nabode in Reggio and in Modena, they numbered more than 400 horsemen,\ngood men-at-arms well mounted, and they came at great need to the\nsuccour of Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, when he came into\nApulia against Manfred, as we shall hereafter relate. We will now\nleave the doings of Florence, and of the Guelf refugees, and turn to\nthe things which came to pass in those times between the Church of\nRome and Manfred.\n\u00a7 87.--_How Manfred persecuted Pope Urban and the Church with his\nSaracens of Nocera, and how a crusade was proclaimed against them._\n[Sidenote: 1261 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xxii. 16-18.]\nBy reason of the discomfiture of the Florentines, and of the other\nGuelfs of Tuscany at Montaperti, as we have afore said, King Manfred\nrose to great lordship and state, and all the imperial party in\nTuscany and in Lombardy greatly increased in power, and the Church and\nits devout and faithful followers were much abased in all places. It\ncame to pass that a very little while after, in the said year 1260,\nPope Alexander passed from this life in the city of Viterbo, and the\nChurch was vacant without a pastor for five months through the\ndisputings among the cardinals; afterwards they elected Pope Urban\nIV., of the city of Troyes, of Champagne in France, the which was of\nlow origin, being son of a cobbler, but was a man of worth, and wise.\nBut his election was in this fashion: he was a poor clerk which came\nto the court of Rome to plead a cause about his Church, which had been\ntaken from him, which brought in twenty pounds tournois a year. The\ncardinals, by reason of their disputes, locked the doors when they\nwere shut up, and made among themselves a secret decree that the first\nclerk which knocked at the door should be Pope. As it pleased God this\nUrban was the first, and where he came to plead for the poor church of\ntwenty pounds tournois revenue, he received the Universal Church,\nafter the ordinances of God, as fixed in the election of the blessed\nNicholas. Because the election was miraculous, therefore have we made\nmention and record thereof. And he was consecrated the year of Christ\n1261. Finding the Church much beaten down by the power of Manfred,\nwhich was occupying the greater part of Italy, and had stationed the\nhost of his Saracens of Nocera in the lands of the patrimony of S.\nPeter, the said Urban preached a crusade against them; wherefore many\nfaithful people took the cross and marched in the army against them.\nFor the which cause, the Saracens fled into Apulia, but Manfred did\nnot therefore cease to molest the Pope and the Church in their\nfollowers and troops, and he abode now in Sicily and now in Apulia, in\ngreat luxury and in great delights, following a worldly and epicurean\nlife, and for his pleasure keeping many concubines, living\nlasciviously, and it seemed that he cared neither for God nor for the\nsaints. But God, the just Lord, which, through grace, delays His\njudgments upon sinners to the intent they may bethink them, but in the\nend does not pardon those who do not turn to Him, presently sent forth\nHis curse and ruin upon Manfred, when he believed himself to be in the\nheight of his state and lordship, as hereafter we shall make mention.\n\u00a7 88.--_How the Church of Rome elected Charles of France to be king of\nSicily and of Apulia._\n[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]\nThe said Pope Urban and the Church being thus brought down by the\npower of Manfred, and the two Emperors-elect (to wit, the Spaniard and\nthe Englishman) not being in concord nor having power to come into\nItaly, and Conradino, son of King Conrad, to whom pertained by\ninheritance the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, being so young a boy\nthat he could not as yet come against Manfred, the said Pope, by\nreason of the importunity of many faithful followers of the Church,\nthe which by Manfred's violence had been driven from their lands, and\nespecially by reason of the Guelf exiles from Florence and from\nTuscany who were continually pursuing the court, complaining of their\nwoes at the feet of the Pope, the said Pope Urban called a great\ncouncil of his cardinals and of many prelates, and made this proposal:\nseeing the Church was subjugated by Manfred, and since those of his\nhouse and lineage had always been enemies and persecutors of Holy\nChurch, not being grateful for many benefits received, if it seemed\nwell to them, he had thought to release Holy Church from bondage and\nrestore her to her state and liberty, and this might be done by\nsummoning Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, son of the king of\nFrance, and brother of the good King Louis, the which was the most\ncapable prince in prowess of arms and in every virtue that there was\nin his time, and of so powerful a house as that of France, and who\nmight be the champion of Holy Church and king of Sicily and of Apulia,\nregaining it by force from King Manfred, which was holding it unjustly\nby force, and was excommunicated and condemned, and was against the\nwill of Holy Church, and as it were a rebel against her; and he\ntrusted so much in the prowess of the said Charles, and of the barons\nof France, which would follow him, that he did not doubt but that he\nwould oppose Manfred and take from him the lands and all the Kingdom\nin short time, and would put the Church in great state. To the which\ncounsel all the cardinals and prelates agreed, and they elected the\nsaid Charles to be king of Sicily and of Apulia, him and his\ndescendants down to the fourth generation after him, and the election\nbeing confirmed, they sent forth the decree; and this was the year of\nChrist 1263.\n\u00a7 89.--_How Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence, accepted the\nelection offered him by the Church of Rome to Sicily and to Apulia._\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 128.]\n[Sidenote: 1263 A.D.]\nWhen the said invitation was carried to France by the Cardinal Simon\nof Tours to the said Charles, he took counsel thereupon with King\nLouis of France and with the count of Artois, and with the count of\nAlen\u00e7on, his brother, and with the other great barons of France, and\nby all he was counselled that in the name of God he should undertake\nthe said emprise in the service of Holy Church, and to bear the\ndignity of crown and Kingdom. And the King Louis of France, his elder\nbrother, proffered him aid in men and in money, and likewise offers\nwere made to him by all the barons of France. And his lady, which was\nyoungest daughter to the good Count Raymond Berenger, of Provence,\nthrough whom he had the heritage of the county of Provence, when she\nheard of the election of the Count Charles, her husband, to the intent\nthat she might become queen, pledged all her jewels and invited all\nthe bachelors-at-arms of France and of Provence to rally round her\nstandard and to make her queen. And this was largely by reason of the\ncontempt and disdain which a little while before had been shown to her\nby her three elder sisters, which were all queens, making her sit a\ndegree lower than they, for which cause, with great grief, she had\nmade complaint thereof to Charles, her husband, which answered her:\n\"Be at peace, for I will shortly make thee a greater queen than them;\"\nfor which cause she sought after and obtained the best barons of\nFrance for her service, and those who did most in the emprise. And\nthus Charles wrought in his preparations with all solicitude and\npower, and made answer to the Pope and to the cardinals, by the said\ncardinal legate, how he had accepted their election, and how, without\nloss of time, he would come into Italy with a strong arm and great\nforce to defend Holy Church, and against Manfred, to drive him from\nthe lands of Sicily and of Apulia; by the which news the Church and\nall her followers, and whosoever was on the side of the Guelfs, were\nmuch comforted and took great courage. When Manfred heard the news, he\nfurnished himself for defence with men and money, and with the force\nof the Ghibelline party in Lombardy and in Tuscany, which were of his\nleague and alliance, he enlisted and equipped many more folk than he\nhad before, and caused them to come from Germany for his defence, to\nthe intent the said Charles and his French following might not be able\nto enter into Italy or to proceed to Rome; and with money and with\npromises he gathered a great part of the lords and of the cities of\nItaly under his lordship, and in Lombardy he made vicar the Marquis\nPallavicino of Piedmont, his kinsman, which much resembled him in\nperson and in habits. And likewise he caused great defences to be\nprepared at sea, of armed galleys of his Sicilians and Apulians, and\nof the Pisans which were in league with him, and they feared but\nlittle the coming of the said Charles, whom they called, in contempt,\nLittle Charles. And forasmuch as Manfred thought himself, and was,\nlord over sea and land, and his Ghibelline party was uppermost and\nruled over Tuscany and Lombardy, he held his coming for nought.\n\u00a7 90.--_Incident relating to the good Count Raymond of Provence._\n[Sidenote: Par. vi. 127-142. Vita Nuova, \u00a7 xli. 34-52.]\nSince in the chapter above we have told of the worthy lady, wife of\nKing Charles and daughter of the good Count Raymond Berenger, of\nProvence, it is fitting that something should briefly be said of the\nsaid count, to whom King Charles was heir. Count Raymond was a lord of\ngentle lineage, and kin to them of the house of Aragon, and to the\nfamily of the count of Toulouse. By inheritance Provence, this side of\nthe Rhone, was his; a wise and courteous lord was he, and of noble\nstate and virtuous, and in his time did honourable deeds, and to his\ncourt came all gentle persons of Provence and of France and of\nCatalonia, by reason of his courtesy and noble estate, and he made\nmany Proven\u00e7al coblas and canzoni of great worth. There came to his\ncourt a certain Romeo [pilgrim], who was returning from S. James', and\nhearing the goodness of Count Raymond, abode in his court, and was so\nwise and valorous, and came so much into favour with the count, that\nhe made him master and steward of all that he had; who always\ncontinued in virtuous and religious living, and in a short time, by\nhis industry and prudence, increased his master's revenue threefold,\nmaintaining always a great and honourable court. And being at war\nwith the count of Toulouse on the borders of their lands (and the\ncount of Toulouse was the greatest count in the world, and under him\nhe had fourteen counts), by the courtesy of Count Raymond, and by the\nwisdom of the good Romeo, and by the treasure which he had gathered,\nhe had so many barons and knights that he was victorious in the war,\nand that with honour. Four daughters had the count, and no male child.\nBy prudence and care the good Romeo first married the eldest for him\nto the good King Louis of France by giving money with her, saying to\nthe count, \"Leave it to me, and do not grudge the cost, for if thou\nmarryest the first well, thou wilt marry all the others the better for\nthe sake of her kinship, and at less cost.\" And so it came to pass;\nfor straightway the king of England, to be of kin to the king of\nFrance, took the second with little money; afterwards his carnal\nbrother, being the king elect of the Romans, after the same manner\ntook the third; the fourth being still to marry, the good Romeo said,\n\"For this one I desire that thou should'st have a brave man for thy\nson, who may be thine heir,\"--and so he did. Finding Charles, count of\nAnjou, brother of King Louis of France, he said, \"Give her to him, for\nhe is like to be the best man in the world,\" prophesying of him; and\nthis was done. And it came to pass afterwards, through envy, which\ndestroys all good, that the barons of Provence accused the good Romeo\nthat he had managed the count's treasure ill, and they called upon him\nto give an account; the worthy Romeo said, \"Count, I have served thee\nlong while, and raised thy estate from small to great, and for this,\nthrough the false counsel of thy people, thou art little grateful: I\ncame to thy court a poor pilgrim, and I have lived virtuously here;\ngive me back my mule, my staff, and my scrip, as I came here, and I\nrenounce thy service.\" The count would not that he should depart; but\nfor nought that he could do would he remain; and as he came, so he\ndeparted, and no one knew whence he came or whither he went. But many\nheld that he was a sainted soul.\n[Sidenote: 1264 A.D.]\n\u00a7 91.--_How in these times there appeared a great comet, and what it\nsignified._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VI.\nBOOK VII.\n[Sidenote: 1264 A.D.]\n    _Here begins the Seventh Book, which treats of the coming of\n    King Charles, and of many changes and events which followed\n    thereupon._\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 61-63.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 113, 124.]\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 126.]\n\u00a7 1.--Charles was the second son of Louis le Debonnaire, king of\nFrance, and grandson of the good King Philip, the blear-eyed, his\ngrandfather, whereof we before made mention, and brother of the good\nKing Louis of France, and of Robert, count of Artois, and of Alfonso,\ncount of Poitou; all these four brothers were the children of Queen\nBianca, daughter of the King Alfonso of Spain. The said Charles, count\nof Anjou, by inheritance from his father, and count of Provence, this\nside the Rhone, by inheritance through his wife, the daughter of the\ngood Count Raymond Berenger, so soon as he was elected king of Sicily\nand of Apulia by the Pope and by the Church, made preparation of\nknights and barons to furnish means for his enterprise and expedition\ninto Italy, as we before narrated. But in order that those who come\nafter may have fuller knowledge how this Charles was the first of the\nkings of Sicily and of Apulia descended from the house of France, we\nwill tell somewhat of his virtues and conditions; and it is very\nfitting that we should preserve a record of so great a lord, and so\ngreat a friend and protector and defender of Holy Church, and of our\ncity of Florence, as we shall make mention hereafter. This Charles\nwas wise, prudent in counsel and valiant in arms, and harsh, and much\nfeared and redoubted by all the kings of the earth, great-hearted and\nof high purposes, steadfast in carrying out every great undertaking,\nfirm in every adversity, faithful to every promise, speaking little\nand acting much, scarcely smiling, chaste as a monk, catholic, harsh\nin judgment, and of a fierce countenance, tall and stalwart in person,\nolive-coloured, large-nosed, and in kingly majesty he exceeded any\nother lord, and slept little and woke long, and was wont to say that\nall the time of sleep was so much lost; liberal was he to knights in\narms, but greedy in acquiring land and lordship and money, from\nwhencesoever it came, to furnish means for his enterprises and wars;\nin jongleurs, minstrels or jesters he never took delight; his arms\nwere those of France, that is an azure field charged with the golden\nlily, barred with vermilion above; so far they were diverse from the\narms of France. This Charles, when he passed into Italy, was forty-six\nyears of age, and he reigned nineteen years in Sicily and Apulia, as\nwe shall make mention hereafter. He had by his wife two sons and\nseveral daughters; the first was named Charles II., and was somewhat\ncrippled, and was prince of Capua; and after the first Charles, his\nfather, he became king of Sicily and of Apulia, as we shall make\nmention hereafter. The second was Philip, who was prince of the Morea\nin his wife's right; but he died young and without issue, for he\nruptured himself in straining a crossbow. We will now leave for a\nwhile to speak of the progeny of the good King Charles, and will\ncontinue our story of his passing into Italy, and of other things\nwhich followed thereupon.\n\u00a7 2.--_How the Guelf refugees from Florence took the arms of Pope\nClement, and how they joined the French army of Count Charles._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\nIn those times the Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other\ncities of Tuscany, who were much advantaged by the booty they had made\nof the cities of Modena and Reggio, whereof we before made mention,\nhearing that Count Charles was preparing to pass into Italy, gathered\nall their strength in arms and in horses, each one doing all in his\npower; and they numbered more than 400 good horsemen of gentle lineage\nand proved in arms, and they sent their ambassadors to Pope Clement,\nto the end he might recommend them to Count Charles, King elect of\nSicily, and to proffer themselves for the service of Holy Church;\nwhich were graciously received by the said Pope, and provided with\nmoney and other benefactions; and the said Pope required that for love\nof him the Guelf party from Florence should always bear his proper\narms on their standard and seal, which was, and is, a white field with\na vermilion eagle above a green serpent, which they bore and kept\nhenceforward, and down to our present times, though it is true that\nthe Guelfs added afterwards a small vermilion lily above the head of\nthe eagle; and with this banner they departed from Lombardy in company\nwith the French horsemen of Count Charles when they journeyed to Rome,\nas we shall make mention hereafter; and they were among the best\nwarriors and the most skilled in arms, of all those which King Charles\nhad at the battle against Manfred. We will now leave for the present\nto speak of the Guelf refugees from Florence, and will tell of the\ncoming of Count Charles and of his followers.\n\u00a7 3.--_How Count Charles departed from France, and passed by sea from\nProvence to Rome._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1265, Charles, count of Anjou and of Provence,\nhaving collected his barons and knights of France, and money to\nfurnish means for his expedition, and having mustered his troops, left\nCount Guy of Montfort, captain and leader of 1,500 French horsemen,\nwhich were to journey to Rome by way of Lombardy; and having kept the\nfeast of Easter, of the Resurrection of Christ, with King Louis of\nFrance and with his other brothers and friends, he straightway\ndeparted from Paris with a small company. Without delay he came to\nMarseilles in Provence, where he had had prepared thirty armed\ngalleys, upon which he embarked with certain barons whom he had\nbrought with him from France, and with certain of his Proven\u00e7al barons\nand knights, and put out to sea on his way to Rome in great peril,\ninasmuch as King Manfred with his forces had armed in Genoa, and in\nPisa, and in the Kingdom, more than eighty galleys, which were at sea\non guard, to the intent that the said Charles might not be able to\npass. But the said Charles, like a bold and courageous lord, prepared\nto pass without any regard to the lying-in-wait of his enemies,\nrepeating a proverb, or perhaps the saying of a philosopher, that\nruns: Good care frustrates ill fortune. And this happened to the said\nCharles at his need; for being with his galleys on the Pisan seas, by\ntempest of the sea they were dispersed, and Charles with three of his\ngalleys, utterly forespent, arrived at the Pisan port. Hearing this,\nCount Guido Novello, then vicar in Pisa for King Manfred, armed\nhimself with his German troops to ride to the port and take Count\nCharles; the Pisans seized their moment, and closed the doors of the\ncity, and ran to arms, and raised a dispute with the vicar, demanding\nback the fortress of Mutrone, which he was holding for the Lucchese,\nwhich was very dear and necessary to them; and this had to be granted\nbefore he was able to depart. And on account of the said interval and\ndelay, when Count Guido had departed from Pisa and reached the port,\nCount Charles, the storm being somewhat abated, had with great care\nrefitted his galleys and put out to sea, having departed but a little\ntime before from the port, so great peril and misfortune being past;\nand thus, as it pleased God, passing afterwards hard by the fleet of\nKing Manfred, sailing over the high seas, he arrived with his armada\nsafe and sound at the mouth of the Roman Tiber, in the month of May of\nthe said year, the which coming was held to be very marvellous and\nsudden, and by King Manfred and his people could scarce be believed.\nCharles having arrived in Rome, was received by the Romans with great\nhonour, inasmuch as they loved not the lordship of Manfred; and\nimmediately he was made senator of Rome by the will of the Pope and\nthe people of Rome. Albeit Pope Clement was in Viterbo, yet he gave\nhim all aid and countenance against Manfred, both spiritual and\ntemporal; but by reason of his mounted troops, which were coming from\nFrance by land, and which through the many hindrances prepared by the\nfollowers of Manfred in Lombardy, had much difficulty in reaching\nRome, as we shall make mention, it behoved Count Charles to abide in\nRome, and in Campagna, and in Viterbo throughout that summer, during\nwhich sojourn he took counsel and ordered how he might enter the\nKingdom with his host.\n\u00a7 4.--_How Count Guy of Montfort, with the horse of Count Charles,\npassed through Lombardy._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 115, 116.]\nCount Guy of Montfort, with the horsemen which Count Charles had left\nhim to lead, and with the countess, wife to the said Charles, and with\nher knights, departed from France in the month of June of the said\nyear. * * * * * * And they took the way of Burgundy and of Savoy, and\ncrossed the mountains of Monsanese [M. Cenis]; and when they came into\nthe country about Turin and Asti, they were received with honour by\nthe marquis of Monferrato, which was lord over that country, forasmuch\nas the marquis held with the Church, and was against Manfred; and by\nhis conduct, and with the aid of the Milanese, they set out to pass\nthrough Lombardy, from Piedmont as far as Parma, all in arms, and\nriding in troops, with much difficulty, forasmuch as the Marquis\nPallavicino, kinsman of Manfred, with the forces of the Cremonese, and\nof the other Ghibelline cities of Lombardy which were in league with\nManfred, was guarding the passes with more than 3,000 horsemen, some\nGermans and some Lombards. At last, as it pleased God, albeit the two\nhosts came very nigh one another at the place called . . . the French\npassed through without any battle being fought and arrived at the city\nof Parma. Truly it is said that one Master Buoso, of the house of da\nDuera, of Cremona, for money which he received from the French, gave\ncounsel in such wise that the host of Manfred was not there to contest\nthe pass, as had been arranged, wherefor the people of Cremona\nafterwards destroyed the said family of da Duera in fury. When the\nFrench came to the city of Parma they were graciously received, and\nthe Guelf refugees from Florence and from the other cities of\nTuscany, with more than 400 horsemen (whereof they had made captain\nCount Guido Guerra of the Counts Guidi) went out to meet them as far\nas the city of Mantua. And when the French met with the Guelf refugees\nfrom Florence and from Tuscany, they seemed to them such fine men, and\nso rich in horses and in arms, that they marvelled greatly, that being\nin banishment from their cities they could be so nobly accoutred, and\ntheir company highly esteemed our exiles. And afterwards they took\nthem round by Lombardy to Bologna, and by Romagna and by the March,\nand by the Duchy, for they could not pass through Tuscany, forasmuch\nas it all pertained to the Ghibelline party, and was under the\nlordship of Manfred; for the which thing they spent long time in their\njourneying, so that it was not till the beginning of the month of\nDecember, in the said year 1265, that they arrived in Rome; and when\nthey were come to the city of Rome, Count Charles was very joyful, and\nreceived them with great gladness and honour.\n\u00a7 5.--_How King Charles was crowned in Rome king of Sicily, and how he\nstraightway departed with his host to go against King Manfred._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxviii. 16.]\nWhen the mounted troops of Count Charles had reached Rome, he purposed\nto assume his crown; and on the day of the Epiphany in the said year\n1265, by two cardinal legates, despatched by the Pope to Rome, he was\nconsecrated and crowned over the realm of Sicily and Apulia, he and\nhis lady with great honour; and so soon as the festival of his\ncoronation was ended, without any delay he set out with his host by\nway of the Campagna, towards the kingdom of Apulia, and Campagna; and\nvery soon he had a large part thereof at his command without dispute.\nKing Manfred hearing of their coming, to wit, first of the said\nCharles, and then of his people, and how through failure of his great\nhost, which was in Lombardy, they had passed onward, was much angered.\nImmediately he gave all his care to defend the passes of the Kingdom,\nand at the pass at the bridge at Cepperano he placed the Count\nGiordano and the count of Caserta, the which were of the house of da\nQuona, with many followers, both foot and horse; and in San Germano he\nplaced a great part of his German and Apulian barons, and all the\nSaracens of Nocera with bows and crossbows, and great store of arrows,\ntrusting more in this defence than in any other, by reason of the\nstrong place and the position, which has on the one side high\nmountains, and on the other marshes and stagnant waters, and was\nfurnished with victuals and with all things necessary for more than\ntwo years. King Manfred having fortified the passes, as we have said,\nsent his ambassadors to King Charles to treat with him concerning a\ntruce or peace; and their embassage being delivered, it was King\nCharles's will to make answer with his own mouth; and he said in his\nlanguage, in French: \"Allez, et ditez pour moi au sultan de Nocere,\naujourdhui je mettrai lui en enfer, ou il mettra moi en paradis;\"\nwhich was as much as to say: I will have nothing but battle, and in\nthat battle, either he shall slay me, or I him; and this done without\ndelay he set out on his road. It chanced that King Charles having\narrived with his host at Fresolone in Campagna, as he was descending\ntowards Cepperano, the said Count Giordano, which was defending that\npass, seeing the king's followers coming to pass through, desired to\ndefend the pass; the count of Caserta said that it was better to let\nsome of them pass first so that they might seize them on the other\nside of the pass without stroke of sword. Count Giordano, when he saw\nthe people increase, again desired to assail them in battle; then the\ncount of Caserta, who was in the plot, said that the battle would be a\ngreat risk, seeing that too many of them had passed. Then Count\nGiordano, seeing the king's followers to be so powerful, abandoned the\nplace and bridge, some say from fear, but more say on account of the\npact made by the king with the count of Caserta, inasmuch as he loved\nnot Manfred, who, of his inordinate lust, had forcibly ravished the\ncount of Caserta's wife. Wherefore he held himself to be greatly\nshamed by him, and sought to avenge himself by this treachery. And to\nthis we give faith, because he and his were among the first who gave\nthemselves up to King Charles; and having left Cepperano, they did not\nreturn to the host of King Manfred at San Germano, but abode in their\ncastles.\n\u00a7 6.--_How, after King Charles had taken the pass of Cepperano, he\nstormed the city of San Germano._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\nWhen King Charles and his host had taken the pass of Cepperano, they\ntook Aquino without opposition, and they stormed the stronghold of\nArci, which is among the strongest in that country; and this done,\nthey encamped the host before San Germano. The inhabitants of the\ncity, by reason of the strength of the place, and because it was well\nfurnished with men and with all things, held the followers of King\nCharles for nought, and in contempt they insulted the servants which\nwere leading the horses to water, saying vile and shameful things,\ncalling out: \"Where is your little Charles?\" For which reason the\nservants of the French began to skirmish, and to fight with those of\nthe city, whereat all the host of the French rose in uproar, and\nfearing that the camp would be attacked, the French were all suddenly\nin arms, running towards the city; they within, not being on their\nguard, were not so quickly all in arms. The French with great fury\nassailed the city, fighting against it in many places; and those who\ncould find no better protection, dismounting from their horses, took\noff their saddles, and with them on their heads went along under the\nwalls and towers of the town. The count of Vend\u00f4me, with M. John, his\nbrother, and with their standard, which were among the first to arm\nthemselves, followed the grooms of the besieged which had sallied\nforth to skirmish, and pursuing them, entered the town together with\nthem by a postern which was open to receive them; and this was not\nwithout great peril, forasmuch as the gate was well guarded by many\narmed folk, and of those which followed the count of Vend\u00f4me and his\nbrother, some were there slain and wounded, but they by their great\ncourage and strength nevertheless were victorious in the combat around\nthe gate by force of arms, and entered in, and straightway set their\nstandard upon the walls. And among the first which followed them were\nthe Guelf refugees from Florence, whereof Count Guido Guerra was\ncaptain, and the ensign was borne by Messer Stoldo Giacoppi de' Rossi;\nthe which Guelfs at the taking of San Germano bore themselves\nmarvellously and like good men, for the which thing the besiegers took\nheart and courage, and each one entered the city as he best could.\nThe besieged, when they saw the standards of their enemies upon the\nwalls, and the gate taken, fled in great numbers, and few of them\nremained to defend the town; wherefore King Charles's followers took\nthe town of San Germano by assault, on the 10th day of February, 1265,\nand it was held to be a very great marvel, by reason of the strength\nof the town, and rather the work of God than of human strength,\nforasmuch as there were more than 1,000 horsemen within, and more than\n5,000 footmen, among which there were many Saracen archers from\nNocera; but by reason of a scuffle which arose the night before, as it\npleased God, between the Christians and the Saracens, in the which the\nSaracens were vanquished, the next day they were not faithful in the\ndefence of the city, and this among others was truly one of the causes\nwhy they lost the town of San Germano. Of Manfred's troops many were\nslain and taken, and the city was all overrun and robbed by the\nFrench; and there the king and his host abode some time to take repose\nand to learn the movements of Manfred.\n\u00a7 7.--_How King Manfred went to Benivento, and how he arrayed his\ntroops to fight against King Charles._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\nKing Manfred, having heard the news of the loss of San Germano, and\nhis discomfited troops having returned thence, he was much dismayed,\nand took counsel what he should do, and he was counselled by the Count\nCalvagno, and by the Count Giordano, and by the Count Bartolommeo, and\nby the Count Chamberlain, and by his other barons, to withdraw with\nall his forces to the city of Benivento, as a stronghold, in order\nthat he might give battle on his own ground, and to the end he might\nwithdraw towards Apulia if need were, and also to oppose the passage\nof King Charles, forasmuch as by no other way could he enter into the\nPrincipality and into Naples, or pass into Apulia save by the way of\nBenivento; and thus it was done. King Charles, hearing of the going of\nManfred to Benivento, immediately departed from San Germano, to pursue\nhim with his host; and he did not take the direct way of Capua, and by\nTerra di Lavoro, inasmuch as they could not have passed the bridge of\nCapua by reason of the strength of the towers of the bridge over the\nriver, and the width of the river. But he determined to cross the\nriver Volturno near Tuliverno, where it may be forded, whence he held\non by the country of Alifi, and by the rough mountain paths of\nBeniventana, and without halting, and in great straits for money and\nvictual, he arrived at the hour of noon at the foot of Benivento in\nthe valley over against the city, distant by the space of two miles\nfrom the bank of the river Calore which flows at the foot of\nBenivento. King Manfred seeing the host of King Charles appear, having\ntaken counsel, determined to fight and to sally forth to the field\nwith his mounted troops, to attack the army of King Charles before\nthey should be rested; but in this he did ill, for had he tarried one\nor two days, King Charles and his host would have perished or been\ncaptive without stroke of sword, through lack of provisions for them\nand for their horses; for the day before they arrived at the foot of\nBenivento, through want of victual, many of the troops had to feed on\ncabbages, and their horses on the stalks, without any other bread, or\ngrain for the horses; and they had no more money to spend. Also the\npeople and forces of King Manfred were much dispersed, for M. Conrad\nof Antioch was in Abruzzi with a following, Count Frederick was in\nCalabria, the count of Ventimiglia was in Sicily; so that, if he had\ntarried a while, his forces would have increased; but to whom God\nintends ill, him He deprives of wisdom. Manfred having sallied forth\nfrom Benivento with his followers, passed over the bridge which\ncrosses the said river of Calore into the plain which is called S.\nMaria della Grandella, to a place called the Pietra a Roseto; here he\nformed three lines of battle or troops, the first was of Germans, in\nwhom he had much confidence, who numbered fully 1,200 horse, of whom\nCount Calvagno was the captain; the second was of Tuscans and\nLombards, and also of Germans, to the number of 1,000 horse, which was\nled by Count Giordano; the third, which Manfred led, was of Apulians\nwith the Saracens of Nocera, which was of 1,400 horse, without the\nfoot soldiers and the Saracen bowmen which were in great numbers.\n\u00a7 8.--_How King Charles arrayed his troops to fight against King\nManfred._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xvi. 34-39.]\nKing Charles, seeing Manfred and his troops in the open field, and\nranged for combat, took counsel whether he should offer battle on that\nday or should delay it. The most of his barons counselled him to abide\ntill the coming morning, to repose the horses from the fatigue of the\nhard travel, and M. Giles le Brun, constable of France, said the\ncontrary, and that by reason of delay the enemy would pluck up heart\nand courage, and that the means of living might fail them utterly, and\nthat if others of the host did not desire to give battle, he alone,\nwith his lord Robert of Flanders and with his followers, would\nadventure the chances of the combat, having confidence in God that\nthey should win the victory against the enemies of Holy Church. Seeing\nthis, King Charles gave heed to and accepted his counsel, and through\nthe great desire which he had for the combat, he said with a loud\nvoice to his knights, \"Venu est le jour que nous avons tant desir\u00e9,\"\nand he caused the trumpets to be sounded, and commanded that every man\nshould arm and prepare himself to go forth to battle; and thus in a\nlittle time it was done. And he ordered, after the fashion of his\nenemies, over against them, three principal bands: the first band was\nof Frenchmen to the number of 1,000 horse, whereof were captains\nPhilip of Montfort and the marshal of Mirapoix; of the second King\nCharles with Count Guy of Montfort, and with many of his barons and of\nthe queen's knights, and with barons and knights of Provence, and\nRomans, and of the Campagna, which were about 900 horse; and the royal\nbanners were borne by William, the standard-bearer, a man of great\nvalour; the third was led by Robert, count of Flanders, with his\nPrefect of the camp, Marshal Giles of France, with Flemings, and men\nof Brabant, and of Aisne, and Picards, to the number of 700 horse. And\nbesides these troops were the Guelf refugees from Florence, with all\nthe Italians, and they were more than 400 horse, whereof many of the\ngreater houses in Florence received knighthood from the hand of King\nCharles upon the commencement of the battle; and of these Guelfs of\nFlorence and of Tuscany Guido Guerra was captain, and their banner was\nborne in that battle by Conrad of Montemagno of Pistoia. And King\nManfred seeing the bands formed, asked what folk were in the fourth\nband, which made a goodly show in arms and in horses and in ornaments\nand accoutrements: answer was made him that they were the Guelf\nrefugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany. Then did\nManfred grieve, saying: \"Where is the help that I receive from the\nGhibelline party whom I have served so well, and on whom I have\nexpended so much treasure?\" And he said: \"Those people (that is, the\nband of Guelfs) cannot lose to-day\"; and that was as much as to say\nthat if he gained the victory he would be the friend of the Florentine\nGuelfs, seeing them to be so faithful to their leader and to their\nparty, and the foe of the Ghibellines.\n\u00a7 9.--_Concerning the battle between King Charles and King Manfred,\nand how King Manfred was discomfited and slain._\n[Sidenote: 1265 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxviii. 16.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 118, 119.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. iii. 124-132.]\nThe troops of the two kings being set in order on the plain of\nGrandella, after the aforesaid fashion, and each one of the said\nleaders having admonished his people to do well, and King Charles\nhaving given to his followers the cry, \"Ho Knights, Monjoie!\" and King\nManfred to his, \"Ho, Knights, for Suabia!\" the bishop of Alzurro as\npapal legate absolved and blessed all the host of King Charles,\nremitting sin and penalty, forasmuch as they were fighting in the\nservice of Holy Church. And this done, there began the fierce battle\nbetween the two first troops of the Germans and of the French, and the\nassault of the Germans was so strong that they evilly entreated the\nFrench troop, and forced them to give much ground and they themselves\ntook ground. The good King Charles seeing his followers so\nill-bestead, did not keep to the order of the battle to defend himself\nwith the second troop, considering that if the first troop of the\nFrench, in which he had full confidence, were routed, little hope of\nsafety was there from the others; but immediately with his troop he\nwent to succour the French troop, against that of the Germans, and\nwhen the Florentine refugees and their troop beheld King Charles\nstrike into the battle, they followed boldly, and performed marvellous\nfeats of arms that day, always following the person of King Charles;\nand the same did the good Giles le Brun, constable of France, with\nRobert of Flanders and his troop; and on the other side Count Giordano\nfought with his troop, wherefore the battle was fierce and hard, and\nendured for a long space, no one knowing who was getting the\nadvantage, because the Germans by their valour and strength, smiting\nwith their swords, did much hurt to the French. But suddenly there\narose a great cry among the French troops, whosoever it was who began\nit, saying: \"To your daggers! To your daggers! Strike at the horses!\"\nAnd this was done, by the which thing in a short time the Germans were\nevilly entreated and much beaten down, and well-nigh turned to flight.\nKing Manfred, who with his troop of Apulians remained ready to succour\nthe host, beholding his followers not able to abide the conflict,\nexhorted the people of his troop that they should follow him into the\nbattle, but they gave little heed to his word, for the greater part of\nthe barons of Apulia and of the Kingdom, among others the Count\nChamberlain, and him of Acerra and him of Caserta, and others, either\nthrough cowardice of heart, or seeing that they were coming by the\nworse, and there are those who say through treachery, as faithless\nfolk, and desirous of a new lord, failed Manfred, abandoning him and\nfleeing, some towards Abruzzi and some towards the city of Benivento.\nManfred, being left with few followers, did as a valiant lord, who\nwould rather die in battle as king than flee with shame; and whilst he\nwas putting on his helmet, a silver eagle which he wore as crest fell\ndown before him on his saddle bow; and he seeing this, was much\ndismayed, and said to the barons, which were beside him, in Latin:\n\"_Hoc est signum Dei_, for I fastened this crest with my own hand\nafter such a fashion that it should not have been possible for it to\nfall\"; yet for all this he did not give up, but as a valiant lord he\ntook heart, and immediately entered into the battle, without the royal\ninsignia, so as not to be recognised as king, but like any other\nnoble, striking bravely into the thickest of the fight; nevertheless,\nhis followers endured but a little while, for they were already\nturning; and straightway they were routed and King Manfred slain in\nthe midst of his enemies, it was said by a French esquire, but it was\nnot known for certain. In that battle there was great mortality both\non the one side and on the other, but much more among the followers of\nManfred; and whilst they were fleeing from the field towards\nBenivento, they were pursued by the army of King Charles, which\nfollowed them as far as the city (for night was already falling), and\ntook the city of Benivento and those who were fleeing. Many chief\nbarons of King Manfred were taken; among the others were taken Count\nGiordano, and Messer Piero Asino degli Uberti; which two King Charles\nsent captive to Provence, and there he caused them to die a cruel\ndeath in prison. The other Apulian and German barons he kept in prison\nin divers places in the Kingdom; and a few days after, the wife of the\nsaid Manfred, and his children and his sister, who were in Nocera of\nthe Saracens in Apulia, were delivered as prisoners to King Charles,\nand they afterwards died in his prison. And without doubt there came\nupon Manfred and his heirs the malediction of God, and right clearly\nwas shown the judgment of God upon him because he was excommunicated,\nand the enemy and persecutor of Holy Church. At his end, search was\nmade for Manfred for more than three days, and he could not be found,\nand it was not known if he was slain, or taken, or escaped, because he\nhad not borne royal insignia in the battle; at last he was recognised\nby one of his own camp-followers by sundry marks on his person, in the\nmidst of the battle-field; and his body being found by the said\ncamp-follower, he threw it across an ass he had and went his way\ncrying, \"Who buys Manfred? Who buys Manfred?\" And one of the king's\nbarons chastised this fellow and brought the body of Manfred before\nthe king, who caused all the barons which had been taken prisoners to\ncome together, and having asked each one if it was Manfred, they all\ntimidly said Yes. When Count Giordano came, he smote his hands against\nhis face, weeping and crying: \"Alas, alas, my lord,\" wherefor he was\ncommended by the French; and some of the barons prayed the king that\nhe would give Manfred the honour of sepulture; but the king made\nanswer: \"_Je le fairois volontiers, s'il ne f\u00fbt excommuni\u00e9_\"; but\nforasmuch as he was excommunicated, King Charles would not have him\nlaid in a holy place; but at the foot of the bridge of Benivento he\nwas buried, and upon his grave each one of the host threw a stone;\nwhence there arose a great heap of stones. But by some it was said\nthat afterwards, by command of the Pope, the bishop of Cosenza had him\ntaken from that sepulchre, and sent him forth from the Kingdom which\nwas Church land, and he was buried beside the river of Verde\n[Garigliano], on the borders of the Kingdom and Campagna; this,\nhowever, we do not affirm. This battle and defeat was on a Friday, the\nlast day of February, in the year of Christ 1265.\n[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]\n\u00a7 10.--_How King Charles had the lordship of the Kingdom and of\nSicily, and how Don Henry of Spain came to him._ \u00a7 11.--_How the\nSaracens of Berber passed into Spain, and how they were there routed._\n\u00a7 12.--_How the Florentine Ghibellines laid siege to Castelnuovo in\nValdarno, and how they departed thence worsted._\n\u00a7 13.--_How the Thirty-six were established in Florence, and how the\nGuilds of Arts were formed and standards given thereto._\n[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxiii. 103-108.]\nWhen the news came to Florence and to Tuscany of the discomfiture of\nManfred, the Ghibellines and the Germans began to be discouraged and\nto fear in all places; and the Guelf refugees from Florence, which\nwere in rebellion, and those who were under bounds in the territory,\nand in many places, began to be strengthened and to take heart and\ncourage, and coming nearer to the city, plotted changes and mutations\nwithin the city, by compacts with their friends within, which had\nunderstanding with them, and they came as far as to the Servi of S.\nMaria to take counsel, having hope from their people which had been at\nthe victory with King Charles, from whom with his French folk they\nwere expecting aid; wherefore the people of Florence, which were at\nheart more Guelf than Ghibelline, through the losses they had\nreceived, one of his father, another of his son, a third of his\nbrothers, at the defeat of Montaperti, likewise began to take\ncourage, and to murmur and to talk through the city, complaining of\nthe spendings and the outrageous burdens which they endured from Count\nGuido Novello, and from the others which were ruling the city; whence\nthose which were ruling the city of Florence for the Ghibelline party,\nhearing in the city the said tumult and murmuring, and fearing lest\nthe people should rebel against them, by a sort of half measure, and\nto content the people, chose two knights of the Jovial Friars of\nBologna as Podest\u00e0s of Florence, of which one was named M. Catalano of\nthe Malavolti, and the other M. Roderigo of Landolo, one held to be of\nthe party of the Guelfs, to wit, M. Catalano, and the other of the\nparty of the Ghibellines. And note that Jovial Friars was the name of\nthe Knights of S. Mary, and they became knights when they took that\nhabit, for they wore a white gown and a grey mantle; and for arms, a\nwhite field with a red cross and two stars; and they were bound to\ndefend widows, and children under ward, and to be peace makers; and\nother ordinances they had, as religious persons. And the said M.\nRoderigo was the beginner of this Order; but it endured but a short\nwhile, for the fact followed the name, to wit, they gave themselves\nmore to joviality than to aught else. These two friars were brought\nthither by the people of Florence, and they put them in the People's\nPalace over against the Badia, believing that by virtue of their habit\nthey would be impartial, and would guard the commonwealth from\nextravagant spendings; the which, albeit in heart they were of diverse\nparties, under cover of false hypocrisy were at one, more for their\nown gain than for the public weal; and they ordained thirty-six good\nmen, merchants and artificers of the greatest and best which there\nwere in the city, the which were to give counsel to the said two\nPodest\u00e0s, and were to provide for the spendings of the commonwealth;\nand of this number were both Guelfs and Ghibellines, popolani and\nmagnates which were to be trusted, which had remained in Florence at\nthe banishment of the Guelfs. And the said thirty-six met together\nevery day to take counsel as to the common well-being of the city, in\nthe shop and court of the consuls of Calimala, which was at the foot\nof the house of the Cavalcanti in the Mercato Nuovo; the which made\nmany good ordinances for the common weal of the city, among which they\ndecreed that each one of the seven principal Arts in Florence should\nhave a college of consuls, and each should have its ensign and\nstandard, to the intent that, if any one in the city rose with force\nof arms, they might under their ensigns stand for the defence of the\npeople and of the commonwealth. And the ensigns of the seven greater\nArts were these: the judges and notaries, an azure field charged with\na large golden star; the merchants of Calimala, to wit, of French\ncloths, a red field with a golden eagle on a white globe; money\nchangers, a red field sewn with golden florins; wool merchants, a red\nfield charged with a white sheep; physicians and apothecaries, a red\nfield, thereupon S. Mary with her son Christ in her arms; silk\nmerchants and mercers, a white field charged with a red gate, from the\ntitle of Porta Sante Marie; furriers, arms vair, and in one corner an\nAgnus Dei upon an azure field. The next five, following upon the\ngreater arts, were regulated afterwards when the office of Priors of\nthe Arts was created, as in time hereafter we shall make mention; and\nthey had assigned to them after a similar fashion to the seven Arts,\nstandards and arms: to wit, the Baldrigari (that is, retail merchants\nof Florentine cloths, of stockings, of linen cloths, and hucksters),\nwhite and red standard; butchers, a yellow field with a black goat;\nshoemakers, the transverse stripes, white and black, known as the\npezza gagliarda [gallant piece]; workers in stone and in timber, a red\nfield charged with the saw, and the axe, and the hatchet, and the\npick-axe; smiths and iron workers, a white field charged with large\nblack pincers.\n\u00a7 14.--_How the second Popolo rose in Florence, for the which cause\nCount Guido Novello, with the Ghibelline leaders, left Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 121.]\nBy reason of the said doings in Florence by the said two Podest\u00e0s and\nthe Thirty-six, the Ghibelline magnates in Florence, such as the\nUberti, the Fifanti, and Lamberti, and Scolari, and the others of the\ngreat Ghibelline houses, began to have their factious fears raised,\nfor it seemed to them that the said Thirty-six supported and favoured\nthe Guelf popolani which had remained in Florence, and that every\nchange was against their party. Through this jealousy, and because of\nthe news of the victory of King Charles, Count Guido Novello sent for\nhelp to all the neighbouring allies, such as were the Pisans, Sienese,\nAretines, Pistoians, and them of Prato, of Volterra, Colle, and\nSangimignano, so that with 600 Germans which he had, his horsemen in\nFlorence numbered 1,500. It came to pass that in order to pay the\nGerman troops, which were with Count Guido Novello, captain of the\nleague, he required that an impost of 10 per cent. should be levied;\nand the said Thirty-six sought some other method of finding the money,\nless burdensome to the people. For this cause, when they delayed some\ndays longer than appeared fitting to the Count and to the other great\nGhibellines of Florence, by reason of the suspicion which they felt\nconcerning the ordinances made by the Popolo, the said nobles\ndetermined to put the town in an uproar, and destroy the office of the\nsaid Thirty-six, with the help of the great body of horse which the\nvicar had in Florence; and when they were armed, the first that began\nwere the Lamberti, which with their armed troops sallied forth from\ntheir houses in Calimala, saying, \"Where are these thieving\nThirty-six, that we may cut them all in pieces?\" which Thirty-six were\nthen taking counsel together in the shop where the consuls of Calimala\nadministered justice, under the house of the Cavalcanti in the Mercato\nNuovo. When the Thirty-six heard this they broke up the council, and\nstraightway the town rose in uproar, and the shops were closed, and\nevery man flew to arms. The people all gathered in the wide street of\nSanta Trinita, and Messer Gianni de' Soldanieri made himself head of\nthe people to the end he might rise in estate, not considering the\nend, that it must bring about loss to the Ghibelline party, and damage\nto himself, which seems always to have happened in Florence to\nwhomsoever becomes head of the people; and thus armed, at the foot of\nthe house of the Soldanieri, the popolani gathered in very great\nnumbers and put up barricades at the foot of the tower of the\nGirolami. Count Guido Novello, with all the horsemen and with the\nGhibelline magnates of Florence, was in arms and mounted in the piazza\nof S. Giovanni; and they advanced against the people, and drew up\nbefore the barricade on the ruins of the houses of the Tornaquinci,\nand made some show and attempt at fighting, and some mounted Germans\npassed within the barricade; the people defended it boldly with\ncrossbows and by hurling missiles from the towers and houses. When the\nCount saw that they could not dislodge the people, he reversed the\nbanners and returned with all the horsemen to the piazza of S.\nGiovanni, and then came to the palace on the piazza of S. Apollinari,\nwhere were the two Podest\u00e0s, M. Catalano and M. Roderigo, the Jovial\nFriars; the horsemen meanwhile having command of the city from Porte\nSan Piero as far as San Firenze. The Count demanded the keys of the\ngates of the city to depart from the town; and for fear missiles\nshould be hurled at him from the houses, he had for his safety on one\nside of him Uberto de' Pucci, and on the other Cerchio dei Cerchi, and\nbehind him Guidingo Savorigi, which were of the said Thirty-six, and\namong the greatest in the town. The said two friars were crying from\nthe palace, demanding with loud voices that the said Uberto and\nCerchio should come to them, to the end they might pray the Count to\nreturn to his house and not depart; and they themselves would quiet\nthe people, and see that the soldiers were paid. The Count being in\ngreater suspicion and fear of the people than was called for, would\nnot wait, but would only have the keys of the gate; and this showed\nthat it was more the work of God than any other cause; for that great\nand puissant body of horse had not been opposed nor driven out, nor\ndismissed, nor was there any force of enemies against them; for albeit\nthe people were armed and gathered together, this was more from fear\nthan to oppose the Count and his horsemen, and they would soon have\nbeen quieted, and have returned to their houses, and laid down their\narms. But when the judgment of God is ripe, the occasion is ever at\nhand. When the Count had gotten the keys, during a great silence, he\ncaused a cry to be made whether all the Germans were there; he was\ntold that they were. Then the same was asked concerning the Pisans,\nand likewise concerning all the cities of the league; and when he knew\nthat all were there, he gave orders to his standard-bearer to advance\nwith banners, and this was done; and they took the wide road of San\nFirenze, and behind San Pietro Scheraggio and San Romeo to the old Ox\nGate, and when this was opened, the Count, with all his horsemen,\nsallied forth, and held on by the moats behind San Jacopo, and by the\npiazza of Santa Croce, where as yet there were no houses, and along\nthe Borgo di Pinti; and there stones were cast upon them; and they\nturned by Cafaggio, and in the evening went to Prato; and this was on\nS. Martin's Day, the 11th day of November, in the year of Christ 1266.\n\u00a7 15.--_How the Popolo restored the Guelfs to Florence, and how they\nafterwards drave out the Ghibellines._\n[Sidenote: 1266 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Vita Nuova iii. 96-104; xxiv. 18, 19; xxv. 111-113; xxxi.\n21-24; xxxiii. 2-4. Sonnet xxxiii. 1. De Vulg. El. i. 13: 36; ii. 6:\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 51.]\nWhen Count Guido Novello, with all his horsemen and with many\nGhibelline leaders of Florence, reached Prato, they perceived that\nthey had done very foolishly in departing from the city of Florence,\nwithout stroke of sword and not driven thence, and they perceived that\nthey had done ill, and took counsel to return to Florence the\nfollowing morning; and this they did; and they came all armed and in\nbattle array at the hour of tierce to the gate of the Carraia Bridge,\nwhere is now the borough of Ognissanti, but there were no houses then;\nand they demanded that the gate should be opened to them. The people\nof Florence were in arms, and for fear lest the Count, returning with\nhis horsemen into Florence, might take vengeance upon them and\ndevastate the city, agreed together not to open the gate, but to\ndefend the city, which was very strong, with walls and with moats full\nof water around the second circle; and when they would have made a\ndash for the gate, they were shot at and wounded; and there they abode\nuntil after noon, and neither by persuasions nor by threats were they\nallowed to enter in. They returned to Prato gloomy and shamed, and as\nthey were returning, being angry, they attacked the fortress of\nCapalle, but did not take it. And when they came to Prato they\nbitterly reproached each other; but after a thing ill-judged, and\nworse carried out, repentance is in vain. The Florentines which were\nleft reorganized the town, and dismissed the said two Podest\u00e0s, the\nJovial Friars of Bologna, and sent to Orvieto for aid in soldiers, and\nfor a Podest\u00e0 and Captain, which Orvietans sent 100 horsemen to guard\nthe city, and M. Ormanno Monaldeschi was Podest\u00e0, and another\ngentleman of Orvieto was the Captain of the People. And by a treaty of\npeace, the following January the Popolo restored to Florence both\nGuelfs and Ghibellines, and caused many marriages and alliances to be\nmade between them, among the which these were the chief: that M.\nBonaccorso Bellincioni degli Adimari gave for wife to M. Forese, his\nson, the daughter of Count Guido Novello, and M. Bindo, his brother,\ntook one of the Ubaldini; and M. Cavalcante, of the Cavalcanti, gave\nfor wife to his son Guido the daughter of M. Farinata degli Uberti;\nand M. Simone Donati gave his daughter to M. Azzolino, son of M.\nFarinata degli Uberti; for the which alliances the other Guelfs of\nFlorence distrusted their loyalty to the party; and for the said\nreason the said peace endured but a little while; for when the said\nGuelfs had returned to Florence, feeling themselves stronger and\nemboldened by the victory which they had gained over Manfred, with\nKing Charles, they sent secretly into Apulia to the said King Charles\nfor soldiers, and for a captain, and he sent Count Guy of Montfort,\nwith 800 French horsemen, and he came to Florence on Easter Day of the\nResurrection in the year of Christ 1267. And when the Ghibellines\nheard of his coming, the night before they departed from Florence\nwithout stroke of sword, and some went to Siena, and some to Pisa, and\nto other places. The Florentine Guelfs gave the lordship over the city\nto King Charles for ten years, and when they sent him their free and\nfull election by solemn embassy, with authority over life and death\nand in lesser judgments, the king answered that he desired from the\nFlorentines their love and good-will and no other jurisdiction;\nnevertheless, at the prayer of the commonwealth he accepted it simply,\nand sent thither year by year his vicars; and he appointed twelve good\ncitizens to rule the city with the vicar. And it may be noted\nconcerning this banishment of the Ghibellines, that it was on the same\nday, Easter Day of the Resurrection, whereon they had committed the\nmurder of M. Bondelmonte de' Bondelmonti, whence the factions in\nFlorence broke out, and the city was laid waste; and it seemed like a\njudgment from God, for never afterwards did they return to their\nestate.\n\u00a7 16.--_How, after the Ghibellines had been driven from Florence, the\nordinances and councils of the city were reorganized._\n[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]\nWhen the Guelf party had returned to Florence, and the vicar or\nPodest\u00e0 was come from King Charles (the first of them being M. . . .),\nand after twelve good men had been appointed, as of old the Ancients,\nto rule the republic, the council was re-made of 100 good men of the\npeople, without whose deliberation no great thing or cost could be\ncarried out; and after any measure had been passed in this council, it\nwas put to the vote in the council of the colleges of consuls of the\ngreater Arts, and the council of the credenza [privy council of the\nCaptain of the People] of eighty. These councillors, which, when\nunited with the general council, numbered 300, were all popolani and\nGuelfs. After measures had been passed in the said councils, the\nfollowing day the same proposals were brought before the councils of\nthe Podest\u00e0, first before the council of ninety, including both\nmagnates and popolani (and with them associated yet again the colleges\nof consuls of the Arts), and then before the general council, which\nwas of 300 men of every condition; and these were called the\noccasional councils; and they had in their gift governorships of\nfortresses, and dignities, and small and great offices. And this\nordered, they appointed revisors, and corrected all statutes and\nordinances, and ordered that they should be issued each year. In this\nmanner was ordered the state and course of the commonwealth and of the\npeople of Florence at the return of the Guelfs; and the chancellors of\nfinance were the monks of Settimo and of Ognissanti on alternate\nhalf-years.\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Guelfs of Florence instituted the Ordinances of the\nParty._\n[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 120.]\nIn these times, when the Ghibellines had been driven out from\nFlorence, the Guelfs which had returned thither being at strife\nconcerning the goods of the Ghibelline rebels, sent their ambassadors\nto the court, to Pope Urban and to King Charles, to order their\naffairs, which Pope Urban and King Charles for their estate and peace\nordered them in this manner, that the goods should be divided into\nthree parts--one part to be given to the commonwealth, the second to\nbe awarded in compensation to the Guelfs which had been ruined and\nexiled, the third to be awarded for a certain time to the \"Guelf\nParty\"; but afterwards all the said goods fell to the Party, whence\nthey formed a fund, and increased it every day, as a reserve against\nthe day of need of the Party; concerning which fund, when the Cardinal\nOttaviano degli Ubaldini heard thereof, he said, \"Since the Guelfs of\nFlorence are funding a reserve, the Ghibellines will never return\nthither.\" And by the command of the Pope and the king, the said Guelfs\nmade three knights heads of the Party, and called them at first\nconsuls of the knights, and afterwards they called them Captains of\nthe Party, and they held office for two months, the sesti electing\nthem alternately, three and three; and they gathered to their councils\nin the new church of Santa Maria Sopra Porta, being the most central\nplace in the city, and where there are most Guelf houses around; and\ntheir privy council consisted of fourteen, and their larger council of\nsixty magnates and popolani, by whose vote were elected the Captains\nof the Party and other officers. And they called three magnates and\nthree popolani Priors of the Party, to whom were committed the order\nand care of the money of the Party; and also one to hold the seal, and\na syndic to prosecute the Ghibellines. And all their secret documents\nthey deposited in the church of the Servi Sancte Marie. After like\nmanner the Ghibelline refugees made ordinances and captains. We have\nsaid enough of the Ordinances of the Party, and we will return to the\ngeneral events, and to other things.\n\u00a7 18.--_How the soldan of the Saracens took Antioch._ \u00a7 19.--_How the\nGuelfs of Florence took the castle of Santellero, with many Ghibelline\nrebels._ \u00a7 20.--_How many cities and towns of Tuscany went over to the\nGuelf party._ \u00a7 21.--_How King Charles's marshal advanced upon Siena\nwith the Florentines, and how the king came to Florence and took\nPoggibonizzi._ \u00a7 22.--_How King Charles with the Florentines marched\nupon the city of Pisa._\n\u00a7 23.--_How the young Conradino, son of King Conrad, came from Germany\ninto Italy against King Charles._\n[Sidenote: 1267 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\nKing Charles being in Tuscany, the Ghibelline refugees from Florence\nformed themselves into a league and company with the Pisans and\nSienese, and came to an agreement with Don Henry of Spain, which was\nRoman senator, and already at enmity with King Charles, his cousin.\nTherefore, with certain barons of Apulia and Sicily, he made oath and\nconspiracy to make certain towns in Sicily and in Apulia to rebel, and\nto send into Germany, and to stir up Conradino, which was the son of\nConrad, the son of the Emperor Frederick, to cross into Italy to take\naway Sicily and the Kingdom from King Charles. And so it was done; for\nimmediately in Apulia there rose in rebellion Nocera of the Saracens,\nand Aversa in Terra di Lavoro, and many places in Calabria, and almost\nall in Abruzzi, if we except Aquila, and in Sicily almost all, or a\ngreat part of the island of Sicily, if we except Messina and Palermo;\nand Don Henry caused Rome to rebel, and all Campagna and the country\naround; and the Pisans and the Sienese and the other Ghibelline cities\nsent of their money 100,000 golden florins to stir up the said\nConradino, who being very young, sixteen years old, set forth from\nGermany, against his mother's will, who was daughter of the duke of\nAustria, and who was not willing for him to depart because of his\nyouth. And he came to Verona in the month of February, in the year of\nChrist 1267, with many barons and good men-at-arms from Germany in his\ntrain; and it is said that there followed him as far as Verona nigh\nupon 10,000 men on horses or ponies, but through lack of means a great\npart returned to Germany, yet there remained of the best 3,500 German\ncavalry. And from Verona he passed through Lombardy, and by the way of\nPavia he came to the coast of Genoa, and arrived beyond Saona at the\nshores of Varagine, and there put out to sea, and by means of the\nforces of the Genoese, with their fleet of twenty-five galleys, came\nby sea to Pisa, and arrived there in May in 1268, and by the Pisans\nand by all the Ghibellines of Italy was received with great honour,\nalmost as if he had been Emperor. His cavalry came by land, crossing\nthe mountains of Pontremoli, and arrived at Serrazzano, which was held\nby the Pisans, and then took the way of the seacoast with an escort as\nfar as Pisa. King Charles, hearing how Conradino was come into Italy,\nand hearing of the rebellion of his cities in Sicily and Apulia,\ncaused by the treacherous barons of the Kingdom (the most of whom he\nhad released from prison), and by Don Henry of Spain, immediately\ndeparted from Tuscany, and by hasty marches came into Apulia, and left\nin Tuscany M. William di Belselve, his marshal, and with him M.\nWilliam, the standard-bearer, with 800 French and Proven\u00e7al horsemen\nto keep the cities of Tuscany for his party, and to oppose Conradino\nso that he should not be able to pass. And Pope Clement, hearing of\nthe coming of Conradino, sent to him his messengers and legates,\ncommanding him, under pain of excommunication, not to go forward, nor\nto oppose King Charles, the champion and vicar of Holy Church. But\nConradino did not by reason of this abandon his enterprise, nor would\nhe obey the commands of the Pope, forasmuch as he believed that his\ncause was just, and that the Kingdom and Sicily were his, and of his\npatrimony, and therefore he fell under sentence of excommunication\nfrom the Church, which he despised and cared little for; but being in\nPisa, he collected money and people, and all the Ghibellines and\nwhosoever belonged to the imperial party, gathered themselves to him,\nwhence his force grew greatly. And being in Pisa, his host marched\nagainst the city of Lucca, which was held for the party of Holy\nChurch, and within it were the marshal of King Charles with his\npeople, and the legate of the Pope and of the Church, with the forces\nof the Florentines and of the other Guelfs of Tuscany, and with many\nwho had taken the cross, and through proclamations and indulgences and\npardons given by the Pope and by his legates, had come against\nConradino; and he remained over against Lucca ten days with his host;\nand the two hosts met together to fight at Ponterotto, two miles\ndistant from Lucca, but they did not fight, but each one shunned the\nbattle, and they remained one on each side of the Guiscianella; so\nthey returned, the one part to Pisa, and the other to Lucca.\n\u00a7 24.--_How the marshal of King Charles was defeated at Ponte a Valle\nby Conradino's army._\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\nThen Conradino departed with his followers from Pisa, and came to\nPoggibonizzi, and when the inhabitants thereof heard how Conradino was\ncome to Pisa, they rebelled against King Charles and against the\ncommonwealth of Florence, and sent the keys to Pisa to Conradino. And\nthen from Poggibonizzi he went to Siena, and by the Sienese was\nreceived with great honour; and whilst he sojourned in Siena, the\nmarshal of King Charles, which was called, as we have said, M. William\ndi Belselve, with his people, departed from Florence on S. John's Day\nin June to go to Arezzo to hinder the movements of Conradino; and by\nthe Florentines they were escorted and accompanied as far as\nMontevarchi; and they desired to accompany him till he should be nigh\nunto Arezzo, hearing that the journey was like to be disputed, and\nfearing an ambush in the region round about Arezzo. The said marshal,\nbeing beyond measure confident in his people, would have the\nFlorentines accompany him no further, and in front of the cavalcade he\nset M. William, the standard-bearer, with 300 horsemen well armed and\nin readiness, and he passed on safe and sound. The marshal, with 500\nof his horsemen, not on their guard nor keeping their ranks, and for\nthe most part unarmed, prepared to advance, and when they came to the\nbridge at Valle which crosses the Arno nigh to Laterino, there sallied\nforth upon their rear an ambush of the followers of Conradino, which,\nhearing of the march of the said marshal, had departed from Siena\nunder conduct of the Ubertini and other Ghibelline refugees from\nFlorence; and being come to the said bridge, the French, not being\nprepared, and without much defence, were defeated and slain, and the\ngreater part were taken, and those which fled towards Valdarno to the\nregion round about Florence were taken and spoiled as if they had been\nenemies; and the said M. William, the marshal, and M. Amelio di\nCorbano, and many other barons and knights were taken and brought to\nSiena to Conradino, and this was the day after the Feast of S. John,\nthe 25th day of the month of June, in the year of Christ 1268. At\nwhich defeat and capture the followers of King Charles and all those\nof the Guelf party were much dismayed, and Conradino and his people\nincreased thereupon in great pride and courage, and held the French\nalmost for naught. And this being heard in the Kingdom, many cities\nrebelled against King Charles. And at this time King Charles was at\nthe siege of the city of Nocera of the Saracens in Apulia, which had\nrebelled, to the end that the others on the coast of Apulia, which\nwere all subject to him, might not rebel against him.\n\u00a7 25.--_How Conradino entered into Rome, and afterwards with his host\npassed into the kingdom of Apulia._\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\nConradino, having sojourned somewhat in Siena, departed to Rome, and\nby the Romans and by Don Henry, the senator, was received with great\nhonour, as if he had been Emperor, and in Rome he gathered together\npeople and money, and despoiled the treasures of S. Peter and the\nother churches of Rome to raise monies; and he had in Rome more than\n5,000 horsemen, what with Germans and Italians, together with those\nof the senator, Don Henry, brother of the king of Spain, which had\nwith him full 800 good Spanish horsemen. And Conradino, hearing that\nKing Charles was with his host in Apulia at the city of Nocera, and\nthat many of the cities and barons of the Kingdom had rebelled, and\nthat others were suspected, it seemed to him a convenient time to\nenter into the Kingdom, and he departed from Rome the 10th day of\nAugust, in the year of Christ 1268, with the said Don Henry, and with\nhis company and his barons, and with many Romans; and he did not take\nthe way of Campagna, forasmuch as he knew that the pass of Cepperano\nwas furnished and guarded; wherefore he did not desire to contest it,\nbut took the way of the mountains between the Abruzzi and the Campagna\nby Valle di Celle, where there was no guard nor garrison; and without\nany hindrance he passed on and came into the plain of San Valentino in\nthe country of Tagliacozzo.\n\u00a7 26.--_How the host of Conradino and that of King Charles met in\nbattle at Tagliacozzo._\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 17, 18.]\nKing Charles, hearing how Conradino was departed from Rome with his\nfollowers to enter into the Kingdom, broke up his camp at Nocera, and\nwith all his people came against Conradino by hasty marches, and at\nthe city of Aquila in Abruzzi awaited his followers. And being at\nAquila, he took counsel with the men of the city, exhorting them to be\nleal and true, and to make provision for the host; whereupon a wise\nand ancient inhabitant rose and said: \"King Charles, take no further\ncounsel, and do not avoid a little toil, to the end thou mayest have\ncontinual repose. Delay no longer, but go against the enemy, and let\nhim not gain ground, and we will be leal and true to thee.\" The king,\nhearing such sage counsel, without any delay or further parley,\ndeparted by the road crossing the mountains, and came close to the\nhost of Conradino in the place and plain of San Valentino, and there\nwas nought between them save the river of . . . King Charles had of\nhis people, between Frenchmen and Proven\u00e7als and Italians, less than\n3,000 cavaliers, and seeing that Conradino had many more people than\nhe, he took the counsel of the good M. Alardo di Valleri, a French\nknight of great wisdom and prowess, which at that time had arrived in\nApulia from over seas from the Holy Land, who said to King Charles, if\nhe desired to be victorious it behoved him to use stratagems of war\nrather than force. King Charles, trusting much in the wisdom of the\nsaid M. Alardo, committed to him the entire direction of the host and\nof the battle, who drew up the king's followers in three troops, and\nof one he made captain M. Henry of Cosance, tall in person, and a good\nknight at arms; he was armed with royal insignia in place of the\nking's person, and led Proven\u00e7als and Tuscans and Lombards, and men of\nthe Campagna. The second troop was of Frenchmen, whereof were captains\nM. Jean de Cl\u00e9ry, and M. William, the standard-bearer; and he put the\nProven\u00e7als to guard the bridge over the said river, to the end the\nhost of Conradino might not pass without the disadvantage of combat.\nKing Charles, with the flower of his chivalry and barons, to the\nnumber of 800 cavaliers, he placed in ambush behind a little hill in a\nvalley, and with King Charles there remained the said M. Alardo di\nValleri, with M. William de Ville, and Arduino, prince of the Morea, a\nright valiant knight. Conradino, on the other side, formed his\nfollowers in three troops, one of Germans, whereof he was captain\nwith the duke of Austria, and with many counts and barons; the second\nof Italians, whereof he made captain Count Calvagno, with certain\nGermans; the third was of Spaniards, whereof was captain Don Henry of\nSpain, their lord. In this array, one host over against the other, the\nrebel barons of the Kingdom guilefully, in order to cause dismay to\nKing Charles and his followers, caused false ambassadors to come into\nthe camp of Conradino, in full pomp, with keys in their hands, and\nwith large presents, saying that they were sent from the commonwealth\nof Aquila to give him the keys and the lordship of the city, as his\nmen and faithful subjects, to the end he might deliver them from the\ntyranny of King Charles. For which cause the host of Conradino and he\nhimself, deeming it to be true, rejoiced greatly; and this being heard\nin the host of King Charles caused great dismay, forasmuch as they\nfeared to lose the victual which came to them from that side, and also\nthe aid of the men of Aquila. The king himself, hearing this, was\nseized with so great pangs that in the night season he set forth with\na few of the host in his company, and came to Aquila that same night,\nand causing the guards at the gates to be asked for whom they held the\ncity, they answered, For King Charles: who, having entered in without\ndismounting from his horse, having exhorted them to good watch,\nimmediately returned to the host, and was there early in the morning:\nand because of the weariness of going and returning by night from\nAquila, King Charles laid him down and slept.\n\u00a7 27.--_How Conradino and his people were defeated by King Charles._\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 17, 18.]\nNow Conradino and his host were puffed up with the vain hope that\nAquila had rebelled against King Charles, and therefore, all drawn up\nin battle array, they raised their battle cry, and made a vigorous\nrush to force the passages of the river and engage with King Charles.\nKing Charles, albeit he was reposing, as we have said, hearing the din\nof the enemy, and how they were in arms and ready for battle,\nimmediately caused his followers to arm and array themselves after the\norder and fashion whereof we before made mention. And the troop of the\nProven\u00e7als, which was led by M. Henry of Cosance, being at guard on\nthe bridge to hinder the passing of Don Henry of Spain and his people,\nthe Spaniards set themselves to ford the river, which was not very\ngreat, and began to enclose the troop of Proven\u00e7als which were\ndefending the bridge. Conradino and the rest of his host, seeing the\nSpaniards had crossed, began to pass the river, and with great fury\nassailed the followers of King Charles, and in a short time had routed\nand defeated the Proven\u00e7al troop; and the said M. Henry of Cosance;\nand the standard of King Charles was beaten down, and M. Henry himself\nwas slain. Don Henry and the Germans, believing they had got King\nCharles in person, inasmuch as he wore the royal insignia, all fell\nupon him at once. And the said Proven\u00e7al troop being routed, they\ndealt in like fashion with the French and the Italian troop, which was\nled by M. Jean de Cl\u00e9ry and M. William, the standard-bearer, because\nthe followers of Conradino were two to one against those of King\nCharles, and very fierce and violent in battle; and the followers of\nKing Charles, seeing themselves thus sore bestead, took to flight, and\nabandoned the field. The Germans believed themselves victorious, not\nknowing of King Charles's ambush, and began to scatter themselves over\nthe field, giving their minds to plunder and booty. King Charles was\nupon the little hill above the valley, where was his troop, with M.\nAlardo di Valleri, and with Count Guy of Montfort, beholding the\nbattle; and when he saw his people thus routed, first one troop and\nthen the other thus put to flight, he was deadly grieved, and longed\neven to put in motion his own troop to go to the succour of the\nothers. M. Alardo, which was commander of the host, and wise in war,\nwith great temperance and with wise words much restrained the king,\nsaying that for God's sake he should suffer it a while, if he desired\nthe honour of the victory, because he knew the cupidity of the\nGermans, and how greedy they were for booty; and he must let them\nbreak up more from their troops; and when he saw them well scattered,\nhe said to the king: \"Let the banners set forth, for now it is time;\"\nand so it was done. And when the said troop sallied forth from the\nvalley, neither Conradino nor his followers believed that they were\nenemies, but that they were of their own party; and they were not upon\ntheir guard; and the king, coming with his followers in close ranks,\ncame straight to where was the troop of Conradino, with the chief\namong his barons, and there began fierce and violent combat, albeit it\nendured not long, seeing that the followers of Conradino were faint\nand weary with fighting, and had not near so many horsemen in battle\narray as those of the king, forasmuch as the greater part were\nwandering out of the ranks, some pursuing the enemy and some scattered\nover the field in search of booty and prisoners; and the troop of\nConradino, by reason of the unexpected assault of the enemy, was\ncontinually diminishing, and that of King Charles continually\nincreasing, because his first troops, which had been put to flight\nthrough the first defeat, recognising the royal standard, joined on to\nhis company, insomuch that in a little while Conradino and his\nfollowers were discomfited. And when Conradino perceived that the\nfortunes of war were against him, by the counsel of his greater barons\nhe took to flight, together with the duke of Austria, and Count\nCalvagno, and Count Gualferano, and Count Gherardo da Pisa, and many\nmore. M. Alardo di Valleri, seeing the enemy put to flight, cried\naloud, praying and entreating the king and the captains of the troop\nnot to set forth either in pursuit of the enemy or other prey, fearing\nlest the followers of Conradino should gather together, or should\nsally forth from some ambush, but to abide firm and in order on the\nfield; and so was it done. And this was very fortunate, for Don Henry,\nwith his Spaniards, and other Germans, which had pursued into a valley\nthe Proven\u00e7als and Italians whom they had first discomfited, and which\nhad not seen King Charles offer battle nor the discomfiture of\nConradino, had now gathered his men together, and was returning to the\nfield; and seeing King Charles' troop, he believed them to be\nConradino and his following, so that he came down from the hill where\nhe had assembled his men, to come to his allies; and when he drew nigh\nunto them, he recognised the standards of the enemy, and how much\ndeceived he had been; and he was sore dismayed; but, like the valiant\nlord he was, he rallied and closed up his troop after such a fashion\nthat King Charles and his followers, which were spent by the toils of\nthe combat, did not venture to strike into Don Henry's troop, and to\nthe end they might not risk the game already won, they abode in array\nover against one another a good space. The good M. Alardo, seeing\nthis, said to the king that they must needs make the enemy break their\nranks in order to rout them; whereon the king bade him act after his\nmind. Then he took of the best barons of the king's troop from twenty\nto thirty, and they set forth from the troop, as though they fled for\nfear, as he had instructed them. The Spaniards, seeing how the\nstandard-bearers of sundry of these lords were wheeling round as\nthough in act to flee, with vain hope began to cry: \"They are put to\nflight,\" and began to leave their own ranks, desiring to pursue them.\nKing Charles, seeing gaps and openings in the troop of Spaniards, and\nothers on the German side, began boldly to strike among them, and M.\nAlardo with his men wisely gathered themselves together and returned\nto the troop. Then was the battle fierce and hard; but the Spaniards\nwere well armed, and by stroke of sword might not be struck to the\nground, and continually after their fashion they drew close together.\nThen began the French to cry out wrathfully, and to take hold of them\nby the arms and drag them from their horses after the manner of\ntournaments; and this was done to such good purpose that in a short\ntime they were routed, and defeated, and put to flight, and many of\nthem lay dead on the field. Don Henry, with many of his followers,\nfled to Monte Cascino, and said that King Charles was defeated. The\nabbot, which was lord of those lands, knew Don Henry, and judging by\ndivers signs that they were fugitives, caused him and great part of\nhis people to be seized. King Charles, with all his followers,\nremained upon the field, armed and on horseback, until the night, to\nthe end he might gather together his men, and to be sure of full\nvictory over the enemy; and this defeat was on the vigil of S.\nBartholomew, on the 23rd day of August, in the year of Christ 1268.\nAnd in that place King Charles afterwards caused a rich abbey to be\nbuilt for the souls of his men which had been slain; which is called\nS. Mary of the Victory, in the plain of Tagliacozzo.\n\u00a7 28.--_Of the vision that came to Pope Clement concerning the\ndiscomfiture of Conradino._\n\u00a7 29.--_How Conradino and certain of his barons were taken by King\nCharles, and how he caused their heads to be cut off._\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 68.]\nConradino, with the duke of Austria and with many others, which were\nfled from the field with him, arrived at the beach towards Rome upon\nthe seashore hard by a place which is called Asturi, which pertained\nto the Infragnipani, noblemen of Rome; and when they were come\nthither, they had a pinnace furnished to pass into Sicily, hoping to\nescape from King Charles; and in Sicily, which had almost all rebelled\nagainst the king, to recover state and lordship. They having already\nembarked unrecognised on the said vessel, one of the said Infragnipani\nwhich was in Asturi, seeing that they were in great part Germans, and\nfine men and of noble aspect, and knowing of the defeat, was minded to\ngain riches for himself, and therefore he took the said lords\nprisoners; and having learnt of their conditions, and how Conradino\nwas among them, he led them captive to King Charles, for which cause\nthe king gave him land and lordship at Pilosa, between Naples and\nBenivento. And when the king had Conradino and those lords in his\nhands, he took counsel what he should do. At last he was minded to put\nthem to death, and he caused by way of process an inquisition to be\nmade against them, as against traitors to the Crown and enemies of\nHoly Church, and this was carried out; for on the . . . day were\nbeheaded Conradino, and the duke of Austria, and Count Calvagno, and\nCount Gualferano, and Count Bartolommeo and two of his sons, and Count\nGherardo of the counts of Doneratico of Pisa, on the market place at\nNaples, beside the stream of water which runs over against the church\nof the Carmelite friars; and the king would not suffer them to be\nburied in a sacred place, but under the sand of the market place,\nforasmuch as they were excommunicate. And thus with Conradino ended\nthe line of the house of Suabia, which was so powerful both in\nemperors and in kings, as before we have made mention. But certainly\nwe may see, both by reason and by experience, that whosoever rises\nagainst Holy Church, and is excommunicate, his end must needs be evil\nfor soul and for body; and therefore the sentence of excommunication\nof Holy Church, just or unjust, is always to be feared, for very open\nmiracles have come to pass confirming this, as whoso will may read in\nancient chronicles; as also by this present chronicle it may be seen\nwith regard to the emperors and lords of past times, which were rebels\nand persecutors of Holy Church. Yet because of the said judgment King\nCharles was much blamed by the Pope and by his cardinals, and by all\nwise men, forasmuch as he had taken Conradino and his followers by\nchance of battle, and not by treachery, and it would have been better\nto keep him prisoner than to put him to death. And some said that the\nPope assented thereto; but we do not give faith to this, forasmuch as\nhe was held to be a holy man. And it seems that by reason of\nConradino's innocence, which was of such tender age to be adjudged to\ndeath, God showed forth a miracle against King Charles, for not many\nyears after God sent him great adversities when he thought himself to\nbe in highest state, as hereafter in his history we shall make\nmention. To the judge which condemned Conradino, Robert, son of the\ncount of Flanders, the king's son-in-law, when he had read the\ncondemnation, gave a sword-thrust, saying that it was not lawful for\nhim to sentence to death so great and noble a man, from which blow the\njudge died; and it was in the king's presence, and there was never a\nword said thereof, forasmuch as Robert was very high in the favour of\nthe king, and it seemed to the king and to all the barons that he had\nacted like a worthy lord. Now Don Henry of Spain was likewise in the\nking's prison, but forasmuch as he was his cousin by blood, and\nbecause the abbot of Monte Cascino, which had brought him prisoner to\nthe king, to the end he might not break his rule, had made a compact\nwith him that he should not be put to death, the king would not\ncondemn him to death, but to perpetual imprisonment, and sent him\nprisoner to the fortress in the hill Sanct\u00e6 Mari\u00e6 in Apulia; and many\nother barons of Apulia and of Abruzzi, which had opposed King Charles\nand been rebellious against him, he put to death with divers torments.\n[Sidenote: 1268 A.D.]\n\u00a7 30.--_How King Charles recovered all the lands in Sicily and in\nApulia which had rebelled against him._\n\u00a7 31.--_How the Florentines defeated the Sienese at the foot of Colle\ndi Valdelsa._\n[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xiii. 115-119.]\nIn the year of Christ 1269, in the month of June, the Sienese, whereof\nM. Provenzano Salvani, of Siena, was governor, with Count Guido\nNovello, with the German and Spanish troops, and with the Ghibelline\nrefugees from Florence and from the other cities of Tuscany, and with\nthe forces of the Pisans, to the number of 1,400 horse and 8,000 foot,\nmarched upon the stronghold of Colle di Valdelsa, which was under the\nlordship of the Florentines; and this they did because the Florentines\nhad come in May with an army to destroy Poggibonizzi. And when they\nhad encamped at the abbey of Spugnole, and the news was come to\nFlorence on Friday evening, on Saturday morning M. Giambertaldo, vicar\nof King Charles for the league of Tuscany, departed from Florence with\nhis troops which he then had with him in Florence to wit 400 French\nhorse; and sounding the bell, and being followed by the Guelfs of\nFlorence on horse and on foot, he came with his cavalry to Colle on\nSunday evening, and there were about 800 horsemen or less with but few\nof the people, forasmuch as they could not reach Colle so speedily as\nthe horsemen. It came to pass that on the following Monday morning,\nthe day of S. Barnabas, in June, the Sienese, hearing that the\nhorsemen had come from Florence, broke up their camp near the said\nabbey and withdrew to a safer place. M. Giambertaldo, seeing the camp\nin motion, without awaiting more men passed the bridge with his horse\nand marshalled his troops with the cavalry of Florence and such of the\npeople as had arrived together with them of Colle (who by reason of\nthe sudden coming of the Florentines were not duly arrayed either with\ncaptains of the host or with the standard of the commonwealth); and M.\nGiambertaldo took the standard of the commonwealth of Florence and\nrequested of the horsemen of Florence, amongst whom were\nrepresentatives of all the Guelf houses, that one of them should take\nit; but none advanced to take it, whether through cowardice or through\njealousy, one of the other; and after they had been a long time in\nsuspense, M. Aldobrandini, of the house of Pazzi, boldly stepped\nforward and said: \"I take it to the honour of God and of the victory\nof our commonwealth;\" wherefore he was much commended for his\nboldness; and straightway he advanced, and all the horsemen followed\nhim, and struck boldly into the ranks of the Sienese; and albeit it\nwas not held to be very wise and prudent leadership, yet as it pleased\nGod these bold and courageous folk with good success broke up and\ndefeated the Sienese and their allies, which numbered well-nigh twice\nas many horse and a great number of foot, whereof many were slain and\ntaken; and if on the Florentine side the foot had arrived and had been\nat the battle, scarce one of the Sienese would have escaped. Count\nGuido Novello fled, and M. Provenzano Salvani, lord and commander of\nthe host of the Sienese, was taken prisoner; and they cut off his head\nand carried it through all the camp fixed on a lance. And truly thus\nwas fulfilled the prophecy and revelation made to him by the devil by\nmeans of incantation, though he did not understand it; for having\ninvoked him to learn how he would fare in that expedition, he made a\nlying answer and said, \"Thou wilt go and fight; thou goest to conquer\nnot to die in the battle, and thy head shall be the highest in the\nfield;\" and he, thinking to have the victory from these words, and\nthinking he would remain lord over all, did not put the stop in the\nright place and detect the fraud, where he said, \"Thou goest to\nconquer not, to die,\" etc. And therefore it is great folly to believe\nin such counsel as is that of the devil. This M. Provenzano was a\ngreat man in Siena in his day after the victory which he gained at\nMontaperti, and he ruled all the city; and all the Ghibelline party in\nTuscany made him their head, and he was very presumptuous in will. In\nthis battle the said M. Giambertaldo bore himself like a valiant lord\nin fighting against his enemies, and likewise did his followers and\nall the Guelfs of Florence, making great slaughter of their enemies to\navenge their kinsfolk and friends which were slain at the defeat of\nMontaperti; and none, or scarce any, did they lead to prison, but put\nthem all to death and to the sword; wherefore the city of Siena, in\ncomparison with the number of its inhabitants, suffered greater loss\nof its citizens in this defeat than Florence did on the day of\nMontaperti; and they left on the field all their belongings. For the\nwhich thing a little while after, the Florentines restored the Guelf\nrefugees to Siena and drave out the Ghibellines and made peace between\none commonwealth and the other, remaining ever after friends and\nallies. And in this manner ended the war between the Florentines and\nthe Sienese which had endured so long.\n[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]\n\u00a7 32.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Ostina in Valdarno._ \u00a7\n33.--_How the Florentines, serving for the Lucchese, marched upon\nPisa._\n\u00a7 34.--_How there was a great flood of waters which carried away the\nSanta Trinita Bridge and the Carraia Bridge._\n[Sidenote: 1269 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1269, on the night of the first of October, there was\nso great a flood of rain and waters from heaven, raining down\ncontinually for two nights and one day, that all the rivers of Italy\nincreased more than had ever been known before; and the river of Arno\noverflowed its borders so beyond measure that a great part of the city\nof Florence became a lake, and this was by reason of much wood which\nthe rivers brought down, which was caught and lay across at the foot\nof the Santa Trinita Bridge in such wise, that the water of the river\nwas so stopped up that it spread through the city, whence many persons\nwere drowned and many houses ruined. At last so great was the force of\nthe river that it tore down the said bridge of Santa Trinita, and\nagain by the disgorging thereof the rush of the water and of the\ntimber struck and destroyed the Carraia Bridge; and when they were\ndestroyed and cast down the height of the river, which had been kept\nup by the said retention and damming of the river, went down, and the\nfulness of the water ceased which had spread through the city.\n\u00a7 35.--_How certain rebel nobles in Florence were beheaded._ \u00a7\n36.--_How the Florentines took the stronghold of Piandimezzo in\nValdarno, and how they destroyed Poggibonizzi._\n\u00a7 37.--_-How King Louis of France made an expedition to Tunis, wherein\nhe died._\n[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1270 the good King Louis of France, which was a\nmost Christian man, and of good life and works, not only as becomes a\nman of the world, being king over so great a realm and dominion, but\nalso as becomes a man of religion, ever working for the good of Holy\nChurch and of Christianity, not fearing the great toil and cost which\nhe endured in the expedition over seas when he and his brothers were\ntaken prisoners at Monsura by the Saracens, as we made mention before;\nset his heart, as it pleased God, on going once more against the\nSaracens and the enemies of the Christians; and this he carried out\nwith great zeal and preparation, taking the cross and gathering\ntreasure, and calling upon all his barons and knights and good men of\nhis realm. And this done, he set forth from Paris and came into\nProvence, and from there with a great fleet he set sail from his port\nof Aigues Mortes in Provence with his three sons, Philip and John and\nLouis, and with the king of Navarre, his son-in-law, and with all his\nchief men, counts and dukes and barons of the realm of France, and his\nfriends from without the realm. And on his expedition there afterwards\nfollowed him Edward, son of the king of England, with many Englishmen\nand Scots and Frisians and Germans, more than 5,000 horse; the which\narmy and crusade was an almost innumerable company on horse and on\nfoot, and were reckoned 200,000 fighting men. And believing it to be\nthe better course they determined to go against the kingdom of Tunis,\nthinking that if it could be taken by the Christians they would be in\na very central place whence they could more easily afterwards take the\nkingdom of Egypt, and could cut off and wholly impede the force of the\nSaracens in the realm of Ceuta, and also that of Granada. And the said\nhost with their fleet passed over safe and sound and came to the port\nof the ancient city of Carthage, which is distant from Tunis fifteen\nmiles; the which Carthage, whereof some part had been rebuilt and\nfortified by the Saracens in defence of the port, was very soon\nstormed by the Christians. And when the Christians would have entered\ninto the city of Tunis, as it pleased God, by reason of the sins of\nthe Christians, the air of those shores began to be greatly corrupted,\nand above all in the camp of the Christians, by reason that they were\nnot accustomed to the air, and by reason of their hardships and the\nexcessive crowding of men and of animals, for the which thing there\ndied first John, son of the said King Louis, and then the cardinal of\nAlbano, which was there for the Pope, and afterwards there fell sick\nand died the said good King Louis with a very great number of counts\nand of barons; and an innumerable company of the common folk died\nthere. Wherefore Christendom suffered very great loss, and the said\nhost was well-nigh all dispersed, and came well-nigh to naught without\nstroke of the enemy. And albeit the said King Louis had not had good\nsuccess in his enterprises against the Saracens, yet in his death he\nhad good success for his soul; and the king of Navarre, which was\nthere present, wrote in his letters to the cardinal of Tusculum that\nin his infirmity he did not cease to praise God, continually saying\nthis prayer: \"Cause us, Lord, to hate the prosperity of the world, and\nto fear no adversity.\" Then he prayed for the people which he had\nbrought with him, saying, \"Lord, be Thou the Sanctifier and Guardian\nof Thy people,\" and the other words which follow in the said prayer.\nAnd at last, when he came to die, he lift up his eyes to heaven and\nsaid: \"Introibo in domum tuam, adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum, et\nconfitebor nomini tuo\" [see Ps. v. 7]. And this said he died in\nChrist. And when his host heard of his death they were greatly\ntroubled, and the Saracens greatly rejoiced; but in this sorrow\nPhilip, his son, was made king of France, and King Charles, brother of\nthe said King Louis, which had sent for him before he died, came from\nSicily and arrived in Carthage with a great fleet and with many\nfollowers and reinforcements, whence the Christian host regained great\nvigour, and the Saracens were afraid. And albeit the Saracen host was\nincreased by an innumerable company, for from every place the Arabs\nwere come to succour them, and there were many more of them than of\nthe Christians, yet they never dared to come to a pitched battle with\nthe Christians; but they came with ambushes and with artifices, and\ndid them much hurt; and this was one among others, that the said\ncountry is very sandy, and when it is dry there is very much dust;\nwherefore the Saracens, when the wind was blowing against the\nChristian host, stationed themselves in great numbers upon the hills\nwhere was the said sand, and stirring it up with their horses and with\ntheir feet, set it all in motion, and caused much annoyance and\nvexation to the host; but when water rained down from heaven the said\nplague ceased, and King Charles with the Christians, having prepared\nengines of divers fashions both for sea and land, set himself to\nattack the city of Tunis; and of a truth it is said, if they had gone\non, in a short time they would have taken the city by force, or the\nking of Tunis with his Turks and Arabs would have abandoned it.\n\u00a7 38.--_How King Charles concluded a treaty with the king of Tunis,\nand how the host departed._\n[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]\nThe king of Tunis with his Saracens seeing themselves in evil case,\nand fearing to lose the city and the country round about, sought to\nmake peace with King Charles and with the other lords by free and\nliberal covenants, to which peace King Charles consented and concluded\nit in the following manner: first, that all the Christians which were\nprisoners in Tunis, or in all that realm, should be freed, and that\nmonasteries and churches might be built by the Christians, and therein\nthe sacred office might be celebrated; and that the gospel of Christ\nmight be freely preached by the minor friars and the preaching friars\nand by other ecclesiastical persons; and whatsoever Saracen should\ndesire to be baptized, and turn to the faith of Christ, might freely\nbe allowed so to do; and all the expenses which the said kings had\nincurred were to be fully restored to them; and beyond that the king\nof Tunis was to pay tribute every year to Charles, king of Sicily, of\n20,000 golden pistoles; and there were many other articles which it\nwere long to tell. Concerning this peace some said that King Charles\nand the other lords did for the best, considering their evil state\nfrom the pestilential air and the mortality among the Christians; for\nthe king of Navarre, when King Louis was dead, fell sick and departed\nfrom the host and died in Sicily, and the cardinal legate of the Pope\ndied; and the Church of Rome in those times had no pastor which could\nprovide for all things, and Philip, the new king of France, desired to\ndepart from the host and return to France with his father's body.\nOthers blamed King Charles, saying that he did it through avarice, to\nthe end he might henceforward, by reason of the said peace, always\nreceive tribute from the king of Tunis for his own special benefit;\nfor if the kingdom of Tunis had been conquered by all the host of the\nChristians, it would have afterwards pertained in part to the king of\nFrance, and to the king of England, and to the king of Navarre, and\nto the king of Sicily, and to the Church of Rome, and to divers other\nlords which were at the conquest. And it may have been, both one cause\nand the other; but however that may have been, when the said treaty\nwas concluded the said host departed from Tunis, and when they came\nwith their fleet to the port of Trapali in Sicily, as it pleased God,\nso great a storm overtook them while the fleet was in the said port\nthat without any redemption the greater part perished, and one vessel\nbroke the other, and all the belongings of that host were lost, which\nwere of untold worth, and many folk perished there. And it was said by\nmany that this came to pass by reason of the sins of the Christians,\nand because they had made a covenant with the Saracens through greed\nof money when they could have overcome and conquered Tunis and the\ncountry.\n\u00a7 39.--_How Gregory X. was made pope at Viterbo, and how Henry, son of\nthe king of England, there died._\n[Sidenote: 1272 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 118-120.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 130-132.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 120.]\nWhen the said Christian host was come to Sicily, they abode there\nsometime to recover the sick, and to be refreshed, and to repair their\nfleet; and those kings and lords were held in much honour by Charles,\nking of Sicily; and afterwards they departed from Sicily, and King\nCharles with them, and came into the kingdom of Apulia, and by\nCalabria to Viterbo, where was the papal court without a Pope, and at\nViterbo there tarried the said kings Philip of France, and Charles of\nSicily, and Edward, and Henry his brother, sons of the king of\nEngland, to see that the cardinals, which were in disunion, should\nelect a good pastor to reform the papal chair. And since they were not\nable to agree upon any one of those there present, they elected Pope\nGregory X., of Piacenza, which was cardinal legate of Syria in the\nHoly Land; and when he was elected, and had returned from beyond seas,\nhe was consecrated Pope in the year of Christ 1272. Whilst the\naforesaid lords were in Viterbo, there came to pass a scandalous and\nabominable thing, under the government of King Charles; for Henry,\nbrother of Edward, son of King Richard of England, being in a church\nat Mass, at the hour when the sacrifice of the body of Christ was\nbeing celebrated, Guy, count of Montfort, which was vicar for King\nCharles in Tuscany, having no regard for reverence towards God, nor\ntowards King Charles his lord, stabbed and slew with his own hand the\nsaid Henry in revenge for Count Simon of Montfort, his father, slain,\nthrough his own fault, by the king of England. And of this it is well\nto preserve a notable record. When Henry, father of the good Edward,\nwas reigning in England, he was a man of simple life, so that the\nbarons held him for nought, wherefore he sent for the said Count\nSimon, his kinsman, to guide the realm for him, seeing that Edward was\nbut young. This Simon was much feared and dreaded; and when he saw the\ngovernment of the realm in his hands, as a felon and traitor, he\nfalsely averred that the king had passed certain iniquitous laws\nagainst the people, and he put him and Edward in prison in the castle\nof Dover, and held the realm himself. The queen, . . . Edward's\nmaternal aunt, was desirous of saving him, and knew that Count Simon\ncame every Easter to Dover, and took Edward out of the castle, and\nmade him ride with him; and when he departed he caused him to be again\nimprisoned with strong and strict guard, that he might not so much as\nhave letters. So the wise queen sent to Dover a wise and beautiful\ndamsel, which knew how to work in jewels, purses, and pouches. And\nwhen Edward saw her he loved her, and so wrought with his guards that\nthey brought him the said damsel, and when he would have touched her,\nshe said to him: \"I am here for other matters,\" and she drew forth\nletters sent him by the queen, advising him as to his deliverance and\nwelfare; and therein she advised him that she was sending him one of\nour Florentine horse-dealers, which was named Persona Fulberti, with\nfine steeds, and a small ship equipped with many oars, and advising\nhim what he was to do. Now, after his wont, at Easter, Count Simon\ncame to Dover, and took Edward out of the castle, and while they were\ntrying the steeds of the said dealer, Edward, with the count's\npermission, mounted the best of them, and galloping round in a wide\nsweep, at last took to the field and made off, and came to the port\nand found the bark prepared. Then he left the horse, and embarked, and\ncame to France, and then with aid from the king of France, and\nFlanders, and Brabant, and Germany, with a great host he passed into\nEngland, and fought against Count Simon, and discomfited him, and\nseized him by the scalp, and had him dragged along the ground, and\nthen hung. Then he set his father free; and when he was dead, then was\nEdward crowned king of England with great honour. And now we return to\nour chief subject--how was slain Count Henry, earl of Cornwall,\nbrother of King Edward, in revenge for this, as we said before. The\ncourt was greatly disturbed, giving much blame therefor to King\nCharles, who ought not to have suffered this if he knew thereof, and\nif he did not know it he ought not to have let it go unavenged. But\nthe said Count Guy, being provided with a company of men-at-arms on\nhorse and on foot, was not content only with having done the said\nmurder; forasmuch as a cavalier asked him what he had done, and he\nreplied, \"J'ai fait ma vangeance,\" and that cavalier said, \"Comment?\nVotre p\u00e8re f\u00fbt train\u00e9;\" and immediately he returned to the church, and\ntook Henry by the hair, and dead as he was, he dragged him vilely\nwithout the church; and when he had done the said sacrilege and\nhomicide, he departed from Viterbo, and came safe and sound into\nMaremma to the lands of Count Rosso, his father-in-law. By reason of\nthe death of the said Henry, Edward, his brother, very wrathful and\nindignant against King Charles, departed from Viterbo, and came with\nhis followers through Tuscany, and abode in Florence, and knighted\nmany citizens, giving them horses and all knightly accoutrements very\nnobly, and then he came into England, and set the heart of his said\nbrother in a golden cup upon a pillar at the head of London Bridge\nover the river Thames, to keep the English in mind of the outrage\nsustained. For the which thing, Edward, after he became king, was\nnever friendly towards King Charles, nor to his folk. After like\nmanner, Philip, king of France, departed with his folk, and came and\ndwelt many days in Florence; and when he was come into France, he\nburied the body of the good King Louis, his father, with great honour,\nand had himself crowned with great solemnity at Rheims.\n[Sidenote: 1270 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1271 A.D.]\n\u00a7 40.--_How the Tartars came down into Turkey, and drave thence the\nSaracens._ \u00a7 41.--_How King Enzo, son of the Emperor Frederick, died\nin prison at Bologna._\n\u00a7 42.--_How Pope Gregory came with his court to Florence, and caused\npeace to be made between the Guelfs and Ghibellines._\n[Sidenote: 1272 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 103-105; vii. 91-96; Convivio iv. 3: 37-42.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 97-117.]\n[Sidenote: 1273 A.D.]\nIn the year 1272, Gregory X., of Piacenza, having returned from his\nmission over seas, was consecrated and crowned Pope, and because of\nthe great affection and desire which he had to succour the Holy Land,\nand that a general crusade should set forth over seas, therefore so\nsoon as he was made Pope, he called a general council at\nLyons-on-Rhone in Burgundy, and by his mandate caused the electors of\nthe empire of Germany to elect as king of the Romans, Rudolf, count of\nFriburg, which was a valiant man-at-arms, albeit he was of small\npossessions; but by his prowess he conquered Suabia and Austria; and\nthe duchy of Austria being vacant, since the duke had been slain with\nConradino by King Charles, he made Albert, his son, to be duke. The\naforesaid Pope, the year after his coronation, set forth with his\ncourt from Rome to go to Lyons-on-Rhone to the council which he had\nsummoned, and he entered into Florence with his cardinals, and with\nKing Charles, and with the Emperor Baldwin of Constantinople, which\nwas of the lineage of the chief house of Flanders. This Baldwin was\nson of Henry, the brother of the first Baldwin, which conquered\nConstantinople with the Venetians, as we before made mention. And with\nthe Pope, and with King Charles, there came to Florence many other\nlords and barons, on the 18th day of June, in the year of Christ 1273,\nand were received with honour by the Florentines. And the situation of\nFlorence being pleasing to the Pope, by reason of the convenience of\nthe water, and the pure air, and that the court found much comfort\nthere, he purposed to abide there, and pass the summer in Florence.\nAnd finding that this good city of Florence was being destroyed by\nreason of the parties (the Ghibellines being now in exile), he\ndetermined that they should return to Florence, and should make peace\nwith the Guelfs; and so it came about, and on the 2nd day of July in\nthe said year, the said Pope, with his cardinals, and with King\nCharles, and with the said Emperor Baldwin, and with all the barons\nand gentlemen of the court (the people of Florence being assembled on\nthe sands of the Arno hard by the head of the Rubaconte Bridge, great\nscaffolds of wood having been erected in that place whereon stood the\nsaid lords), gave sentence, under pain of excommunication if it were\ndisobeyed, upon the differences between the Guelf and Ghibelline\nparties, causing the representatives of either party to kiss one\nanother on the mouth, and to make peace, and to give sureties and\nhostages; and all the castles which the Ghibellines held they gave\nback into the hands of King Charles, and the Ghibelline hostages went\ninto Maremma under charge of Count Rosso. The which peace endured but\na short time, as hereafter we shall make mention. And on that day the\nsaid Pope founded the church of San Gregorio, and called it after his\nown name, which church was built by them of the house of Mozzi, which\nwere merchants for the Pope and for the Church, and in a little time\nwere come to great riches and state; and the said Pope dwelt in their\npalaces at the head of the Rubaconte Bridge on the further side of\nArno, whilst he abode in Florence; and King Charles abode in the\ngarden of the Frescobaldi, and the Emperor Baldwin at the Bishop's\nPalace. But on the fourth day thereafter, the Pope departed from\nFlorence, and went to sojourn in Mugello with Cardinal Ottaviano,\nwhich was of the house of the Ubaldini, who were his hosts, and who\ndid him great honour. At the end of the summer, the Pope departed, and\nhis cardinals and King Charles, and went over the mountains to\nLyons-on-Rhone in Burgundy. And the reason why the Pope departed\nsuddenly from Florence was that when he had caused the representatives\nof the Ghibelline party to come to Florence, and to kiss the\nrepresentatives of the Guelfs on the mouth in token of peace, and to\nremain in Florence to complete the treaty of peace, and they returned\nto the place of their sojourn in the house of the Tebalducci in Orto\nSan Michele, it was told them, whether it were true or false, that\nKing Charles' marshal, on the petition of the great Guelfs would cause\nthem to be hewn in pieces if they did not depart from Florence. And\nthat this was the cause we believe by reason of the virulence of the\nfactions. And straightway they left Florence and departed, and the\nsaid peace was broken; wherefore the Pope was sorely disturbed, and\ndeparted from Florence, leaving the city under an interdict, and went,\nas we have said, to Mugello; and for this cause he continued in great\nwrath against King Charles.\n[Sidenote: 1274 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]\n\u00a7 43.--_How Pope Gregory held a council at Lyons on the Rhone._ \u00a7\n44.--_How the Ghibelline party were expelled from Bologna._ \u00a7\n45.--_How the judge of Gallura with certain Guelfs was driven out of\nPisa._ \u00a7 46.--_Of a great miracle which came to pass in Baldacca and\nMansul [Bagdad and Mosul] over seas._ \u00a7 47.--_How Count Ugolino with\nall the remaining Guelfs was driven out of Pisa._ \u00a7 48.--_How the\nBolognese were discomfited at the bridge of San Brocolo by the Count\nof Montefeltro and by the Romagnuoli._ \u00a7 49.--_How the Pisans were\ndiscomfited by the Lucchese at the stronghold of Asciano._\n\u00a7 50.--_Of the death of Pope Gregory, and of three other Popes after\nhim._\n[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1276 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xix. 98-145.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xii. 134, 135.]\n[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 69-87.]\n[Sidenote: 1280 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1275, on the eighteenth day of the month of\nDecember, when Pope Gregory X. was returning from the council at\nLyons-on-Rhone, he arrived in the country of Florence; and forasmuch\nas the city of Florence was under interdict, and her inhabitants\nexcommunicate, because they had not observed the treaty of peace which\nhe had made between the Guelfs and Ghibellines, as was aforesaid, he\nwas not minded to enter into Florence, but by cunning he was led past\nthe old walls, and some said that he could have done no other, because\nthe river Arno was so swollen by rain that he could not cross the\nford, but needs must cross over the Rubaconte Bridge, so that\nunwittingly, and not being able to do otherwise, he entered into\nFlorence; and whilst he was passing over the bridge, and through the\nBorgo San Nicol\u00f2, he took off the interdict, and passed on, blessing\nthe folk; but so soon as he was without he renewed the interdict, and\nexcommunicated the city afresh, with a wrathful mind repeating that\nverse of the Psalter which says: \"In camo et fr\u00e6no maxillas eorum\nconstringe\" [Ps. xxxiii. 9]; wherefore the Guelfs which were governing\nFlorence were in great doubt and fear. And the said Pope departing\nfrom Florence, went to the abbey at Ripole, and from there straightway\nhe departed to Arezzo; and being come to Arezzo, he fell sick, and as\nit pleased God, he passed from this life on the tenth day of the\nfollowing month of January, and was buried in Arezzo with great\nhonour; at whose death the Guelfs of Florence rejoiced greatly, by\nreason of the evil will which the said Pope had towards them. And when\nthe Pope was dead, straightway the cardinals were shut up, and on the\ntwentieth day of the said month of January they proclaimed as Pope,\nInnocent V. a Burgundian, which had been a preaching friar and then a\ncardinal; and he lived as Pope until the following June, so that he\ndid little, and died in the city of Viterbo, and was there buried\nhonourably. And after him, on the twelfth day of July, Cardinal\nOttobuono dal Fiesco, of the city of Genoa, was elected, which lived\nas Pope but twenty-nine days, and was called Pope Adrian V., and was\nburied in Rome. And after him, in the month of September following,\nCardinal Piero Spagnuolo was elected Pope, which was called Pope John\nXXI., and lived as Pope but eight months and some days; for as he was\nsleeping in his room at Viterbo the ceiling fell down upon him and he\ndied; and he was buried at Viterbo on the twentieth day of May, 1277;\nand the chair was vacant six months. And in that same year there was\ngreat scarcity of all victuals, and the bushel of wheat was sold for\nfifteen shillings, of thirty shillings to the florin. And a great and\ntrue vision should be noted concerning the death of the said Pope,\nwhich was seen by one of our Florentine merchants of the Company of\nApothecaries, which was called Berto Forzetti, and it is well that\nthis should be told. The said merchant had a natural infirmity of a\nwandering fancy, so that often when sleeping he would rise and sit\nupon his bed, and speak of strange wonders; and there is yet more, for\nbeing questioned by those around him as to what he was saying, he\nwould answer rationally, and all the time he was sleeping. It came to\npass, on the night when the said Pope died, the said man being in a\nship on the high seas, journeying to Acre, rose and cried out, \"Alas,\nalas!\" His companions awoke, and asked him what ailed him; he replied:\n\"I see a gigantic man in black with a great club in his hand, and he\nis about to break down a pillar, above which is a ceiling.\" And after\na little he cried out again, and said: \"He has broken it down, and he\nis dead.\" He was asked: \"Who?\" He replied: \"The Pope.\" The said\ncompanions wrote down the words, and the night; and when they were\ncome to Acre, a short time after there came to them the news of the\ndeath of the said Pope, which came to pass in that same night. And I,\nthe writer, had testimony of this from those merchants which were\npresent with the said man upon the said ship, and heard the said\nBerto, which were men of great authority, and worthy of belief; and\nthe fame of this spread throughout all our city. Afterwards was\nelected Pope Nicholas III., of the house of the Orsini of Rome, which\nwas called by his proper name, Cardinal Gianni Guatani, which lived as\nPope two years and nine months and a half. We have spoken of the\naforesaid Popes because four Popes died in sixteen months. We will say\nno more, at this present time, of the aforesaid Popes, and we will\nspeak of those things which came to pass in their days in Florence and\nthroughout the world.\n[Sidenote: 1275 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1276 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]\n\u00a7 51.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese defeated the Pisans at the\nmoat called Arnonico._ \u00a7 52.--_How the Della Torre of Milan were\ndefeated._ \u00a7 53.--_How King Philip of France caused all the Italian\nmoney-lenders to be seized._\n\u00a7 54.--_How Nicholas III., of the Orsini, was made Pope, and\nconcerning that which he did in his time._\n[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 52-84.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 98, 99.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xix. 81.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 67.]\nIn the said year, whereof we related somewhat before, M. Gianni\nGuatani was made Pope, a cardinal, of the house of the Orsini of Rome,\nwhich, whilst he was young, as priest and then cardinal, was virtuous\nand of good life, and it is said that he was virgin in his body; but\nafter he was called Pope Nicholas III. he had great schemes, and\nthrough warmth towards his kinsfolk, he undertook many things to make\nthem great, and was among the first, if not the first, of the Popes in\nwhose court simony was openly practised on behalf of his kindred, by\nthe which thing he increased them much in possessions, and in castles,\nand in treasure beyond all the Romans, during the short time that he\nlived. This Pope made seven Roman cardinals, whereof the most part\nwere his kinsfolk; among others, at the prayer of M. Gianni, head of\nthe house of Colonna, his cousin, he made M. Jacopo della Colonna a\ncardinal, to the end the Colonnesi might not lend aid to the\nAnnibaldeschi, enemies of the Orsini, but might rather aid these\nlatter; and this was held a great thing; because the Church had\ndeprived all the Colonnesi, and those of their kindred, of any\necclesiastical benefice, since the time of Pope Alexander III.,\nforasmuch as they had held with the Emperor Frederick I. against the\nChurch. Afterwards the said Pope caused the noble and great papal\npalaces to be built at S. Peter's; then he entered into strife with\nKing Charles by reason that the said Pope had requested King Charles\nto form an alliance with him by marriage, desiring to give one of his\nnieces as wife to a nephew of the King's, to which alliance King\nCharles would not consent, saying, \"Albeit he wears red hose, yet is\nnot his lineage worthy to mate with ours; and his lordship will not be\nhereditary.\" For the which thing the Pope's wrath was kindled against\nhim, and he was no longer his friend, but opposed him secretly in all\nthings, and openly made him renounce the office of Roman senator, and\nof vicar of the Empire, which he held from the Church during the\nimperial vacancy; and he was much against him in all his undertakings,\nand for money which it was said he received from Paleologus, he\nconsented, and gave aid and favour to the plot and rebellion in the\nisland of Sicily, as hereafter we shall narrate; and he took from the\nChurch the castle Santangiolo, and gave it to M. Orso, his nephew.\nAgain the said Pope made Rudolf, king of the Romans, invest him, on\nbehalf of the Church, with the county of Romagna, and the city of\nBologna, by reason that he was debtor to the Church for the fulfilment\nof the promise which he had made to Pope Gregory at the council of\nLyons-on-Rhone, when he confirmed his election, to wit that he would\npass into Italy, and equip the expedition over seas, as we before made\nmention; which thing he had not done by reason of his other\nundertakings and wars in Germany. Now this gift to the Church of the\nprivileges of the country of Romagna and the city of Bologna, neither\ncould nor ought to have been made by right; among other reasons,\nbecause the said Rudolf had not yet attained to the imperial\nbenediction; but that which the clergy take, they are slow in giving\nback. So soon as the said Pope held privilege over Romagna, he made\nBertoldo degli Orsini, his nephew, count thereof, in the Church's\nname, and sent him into Romagna with a company of horsemen and\nmen-at-arms, and with him as legate Brother Latino, of Rome, cardinal\nof Ostia, his nephew, his sister's son, of the family of the\nBrancaleoni, of which was the chancellor of Rome by inheritance; and\nthis he did to take the lordship out of the hand of Guido di\nMontefeltro, which held it and ruled there tyrannically; and this was\ndone in such wise, that in a short time almost all Romagna came under\nthe Church's rule, but not without war and great cost to the Church,\nas hereafter we will tell in due place and time.\n[Sidenote: 1277 A.D.]\n\u00a7 55.--_How King Rudolf of Germany defeated and slew the king of\nBohemia._\n\u00a7 56.--_How the Cardinal Latino, by the Pope's command, made peace\nbetween the Guelfs and Ghibellines of Florence, and composed all the\nother feuds in the city._\n[Sidenote: 1278 A.D.]\nIn these times the Guelf magnates of Florence--having rest from their\nwars without, with victory and honour, and fattening upon the goods of\nthe exiled Ghibellines, and through other gains--by reason of pride\nand envy began to strive among themselves; whence arose in Florence\nmany quarrels and enmities between the citizens, with death and\nwounds. Among the greater of these was the contest between the house\nof the Adimari on the one side, which were very great and powerful,\nand on the other side the Tosinghi, and the house of the Donati, and\nthe Pazzi, all leagued together against the Adimari in such sort that\nalmost all the city was divided, and one held with one side, and one\nwith the other; wherefore the city and the Guelf party were in great\nperil. For the which thing the commonwealth and the Captains of the\nGuelf party sent their solemn ambassadors to the court to Pope\nNicholas, that he should take counsel, and give aid in making peace\namong the Guelfs of Florence; if not, the Guelf party would be broken\nup, and one side would drive out the other. And in like guise the\nGhibelline refugees from Florence sent their ambassadors to the said\nPope, to pray and entreat him to put into execution the treaty of\npeace which Pope Gregory IX. had commanded between them and the Guelfs\nof Florence. For the foregoing reasons the said Pope put forth and\nconfirmed the said treaty, and ordained a mediator and legate, and\ncommitted the said questions to the Cardinal Frate Latino which\nrepresented the Church in Romagna; a man of great authority and\nlearning, and highly considered by the Pope, who, by command of the\nPope, departed from Romagna, and came to Florence with 300 horsemen,\nin service of the Church, on the eighth day of the month of October,\nin the year of Christ 1278, and by the Florentines and the clergy was\nreceived with great honour and with a procession, the carroccio coming\nout to meet him, with many jousters; and afterwards the said legate on\nthe day of S. Luke the Evangelist in that same year and month, founded\nand blest the first stone of the new church of Santa Maria Novella,\nwhich pertained to the Order of Preaching Friars, whereof he was a\nfriar; and in that place of the friars he dealt with and ordained\ngenerally the treaties of peace between all the Guelf citizens, and\nbetween the Guelfs and Ghibellines. And the first was between the\nUberti and the Bondelmonti (and it was the third peace between them),\nsave only that the sons of M. Rinieri Zingane de' Bondelmonte would\nnot consent thereto, and were excommunicated by the legate and\nbanished by the commonwealth. But the peace was not set aside on their\naccount; for afterwards the legate very happily concluded it in the\nmonth of February following, when the people of Florence were\nassembled in parliament on the old piazza of the said church, which\nwas all covered with cloths and with great wooden scaffolds, whereon\nwere the said cardinal, and many bishops, and prelates, and clergy,\nand monks, and the Podest\u00e0, and the Captain, and all the counsellors,\nand the orders of Florence. And at that time a very noble speech was\nmade by the said legate with citation of great and very fine\nauthorities, as behoved the matter, seeing that he was a very\ndexterous and beautiful preacher; and this done, he caused the\nrepresentatives ordained by the Guelfs and Ghibellines to kiss one\nanother on the mouth, making peace with great joy among all the\ncitizens, and there were 150 on either side. And in that place, and at\nthat same time, he gave judgment as to the terms and agreements and\nconditions which were to be observed, both on one side and on the\nother, confirming the said peace with solemn and authentic documents,\nand with all due sureties. And from that time forward the Ghibellines\nand their families were to be allowed to return to Florence; and they\ndid return, and they were free from all sentence of banishment and\ncondemnation; and all the books of condemnation and banishment which\nwere in the chamber were burnt; and the said Ghibellines recovered\ntheir goods and possessions, save that to some of the chief leaders,\nit was commanded for more security of the city that for a certain time\nthey should be under bounds. And when the cardinal legate had done\nthis, he made contracts of peace between single citizens; and the\nfirst was that one where had been greatest discord, to wit, between\nthe Adimari, and the Tosinghi, and Donati, and Pazzi, bringing about\nseveral marriages between them, and in like manner were all the\nagreements made in Florence and in the country round about, some\nwillingly, and some by command of the commonwealth, the cardinal\nhaving pronounced sentence, with good securities and sureties; by\nwhich contracts of peace the said legate won much honour, and\nwell-nigh all of them were observed, and the city of Florence abode\nthereafter long time in peaceful and good and tranquil state. And the\nsaid legate gave and ordained, for the general government of the city,\nfourteen good men, magnates and popolani, whereof eight were Guelfs\nand six Ghibellines, and their term of office endured for two months,\nand there was a certain order in their election; and they assembled in\nthe house of the Badia of Florence, over the gate which goes to Santa\nMargherita, and returned to their homes to eat and to sleep. And this\ndone, the said Cardinal Latino returned to Romagna to his legation\nwith great honour. We will now leave the affairs of Florence for a\nwhile, and we will tell of other things which came to pass in those\ntimes, and especially of the revolt of the island of Sicily against\nKing Charles, which was notable and great, and whence afterwards grew\nmuch ill; and it was a thing well-nigh marvellous and impossible, and\ntherefore we will treat of it more at large.\n[Sidenote: 1279 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1281 A.D.]\n\u00a7 57.--_How there was a treacherous plot to cause the island of Sicily\nto rebel against King Charles._ \u00a7 58.--_How Pope Nicholas III., of the\nOrsini, died, and how Martin of Tours, in France, was made Pope._ \u00a7\n59.--_How Peter, king of Aragon, promised and vowed to Paleologus and\nto the Sicilians, to come into Sicily and take the lordship thereof._\n\u00a7 60.--_How the said king of Aragon set about preparing his armada,\nand how the Pope sent to him and forbade him._\n\u00a7 61.--_How and after what manner the island of Sicily rebelled\nagainst King Charles._\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 75.]\nIn the year of Christ 1282, on Easter Monday of the Resurrection,\nwhich was the 30th day of March, as had been purposed by M. John of\nProcita, all the barons and chiefs which had a hand in the plot were\nin the city of Palermo for Easter, and the inhabitants of Palermo, men\nand women, going in a body, on horse and on foot, to the festival at\nMonreale, three miles outside the city (and as those of Palermo went,\nso also went the Frenchmen, and the captain of King Charles, for their\ndisport), it came to pass, as was purposed by the enemy of God, that a\nFrenchman in his insolence laid hold of a woman of Palermo to do her\nvillainy; she beginning to cry out, and the people being already sore\nand all moved with indignation against the French, the retainers of\nthe barons of the island began to defend the woman, whence arose a\ngreat battle between the French and the Sicilians, and many were\nwounded and slain on either side; but those of Palermo came off worst.\nStraightway, all the people returned in flight to the city, and the\nmen flew to arms, crying, \"Death to the French.\" They gathered\ntogether in the market place, as had been ordained by the leaders of\nthe plot; and the justiciary, which was for the king, fighting at the\ncastle, was taken and slain, and as many Frenchmen as were in the city\nwere slain in the houses and in the churches, without any mercy. And\nthis done, the said barons departed from Palermo, and each one in his\nown city and country did the like, slaying all the Frenchmen which\nwere in the island, save that in Messina they delayed some days before\nrebelling; but through tidings from those in Palermo giving account of\ntheir miseries in a fair epistle, and exhorting them to love liberty\nand freedom and fraternity with them, the men of Messina were so moved\nto rebellion that they afterwards did the like of what they of Palermo\nhad done against the French, and yet more. And there were slain in\nSicily more than 4,000 of them, and no one could save another though\nhe were never so much his friend, no not if he would lay down his life\nfor him; and if he had concealed him, he must needs yield him up or\nslay him. This plague spread through all the island, whence King\nCharles and his people received great hurt both in person and in\ngoods. These adverse and evil tidings the Archbishop of Monreale\nstraightway made known to the Pope and to King Charles by his\nmessengers.\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1281 A.D.]\n\u00a7 62.--_How King Charles complained to the Church, and to the king of\nFrance, and to all his friends, and the aid which he received from\nthem._ \u00a7 63.--_How they of Palermo, and the other Sicilians, sent\ntheir ambassadors to Pope Martin._ \u00a7 64.--_Of the aid which the\ncommonwealth of Florence sent to King Charles._ \u00a7 65.--_How King\nCharles led an expedition against Messina by sea and by land._ \u00a7\n66.--_How the king's forces took Melazzo, and how the Messinese sent\nfor the legate to treat for peace with King Charles._ \u00a7 67.--_How the\ntreaty of peace was broken which the legate had arranged between King\nCharles and the Messinese._ \u00a7 68.--_How Messina was attacked by King\nCharles' forces, and how it was defended._ \u00a7 69.--_How Peter, king of\nAragon, departed from Catalonia and came to Sicily, and how he was\nmade and crowned king by the Sicilians._ \u00a7 70.--_Of the parliament\nwhich the king of Aragon held in Palermo, to succour the city of\nMessina._ \u00a7 71.--_The letter that the king of Aragon sent to King\nCharles._ \u00a7 72.--_How King Charles called his council and answered the\nking of Aragon by his letter._ \u00a7 73.--_What was King Charles' answer\nin his letter to the king of Aragon._ \u00a7 74.--_How the king of Aragon\nsent his admiral to capture the fleet of King Charles._ \u00a7 75.--_How\nKing Charles must needs depart from the siege of Messina, and how he\nreturned into the Kingdom._ \u00a7 76.--_Who was the first Christian king\nof Aragon._ \u00a7 77.--_How the Lucchese burnt and destroyed the city of\nPescia._ \u00a7 78.--_How Rudolf, Emperor elect, sent his vicar into\nTuscany._\n\u00a7 79.--_How the Office of Priors was first created in Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\nIn the year of Christ 1282, the city of Florence being under\ngovernment of the order of the fourteen good men as the Cardinal\nLatino had left it, to wit eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines, as we\nafore made mention, it seemed to the citizens that this government of\nfourteen was too numerous and confused; and to the end so many divided\nhearts might be at one, and, above all, because it was not pleasing to\nthe Guelfs to have the Ghibellines as partners in the government by\nreason of the events which were come to pass (such as the loss which\nKing Charles had already sustained of the island of Sicily, and the\ncoming into Tuscany of the imperial vicar, and likewise the wars begun\nin Romagna by the count of Montefeltro on the Ghibelline side), for\nthe safety and welfare of the city of Florence they annulled the said\noffice of the fourteen and created and made a new office and lordship\nfor the government of the said city of Florence, to wit, the Priors of\nthe Arts; the which name, Priors of the Arts, means to say \"the\nfirst,\" chosen over the others; and it was taken from the Holy Gospel,\nwhere Christ says to His disciples, \"Vos estis priores.\" And this\ninvention and movement began among the consuls and council of the art\nof Calimala, to which pertained the wisest and most powerful citizens\nof Florence, and the most numerous following, both magnates and\npopolani, of those which pursued the calling of merchants, seeing the\nmost part of them greatly loved the Guelf party and Holy Church. And\nthe first priors of the Arts were three, whereof the names were these:\nBartolo di M. Jacopo de' Bardi, for the sesto of Oltrarno and for the\nart of Calimala; Rosso Bacherelli, for the sesto of San Piero\nScheraggio, for the art of the exchangers; Salvi del Chiaro Girolami,\nfor the sesto of San Brancazio and for the woollen art. And their\noffice began in the middle of June of the said year, and lasted for\ntwo months, unto the middle of August, and thus three priors were to\nsucceed every two months, for the three greater Arts. And they were\nshut up to give audience (sleeping and eating at the charges of the\ncommonwealth), in the house of the Badia where formerly, as we have\naforesaid, the Ancients were wont to assemble in the time of the old\nPopolo, and afterwards the fourteen. And there were assigned to the\nsaid priors six constables and six messengers to summon the citizens;\nand these priors, with the Captain of the Popolo, had to determine\nthe great and weighty matters of the commonwealth, and to summon and\nconduct councils and make regulations. And when the office had endured\nthe two months, it was pleasing to the citizens; and for the following\ntwo months they proclaimed six, one for each sesto, and added to the\nsaid three greater Arts the art of the doctors and apothecaries, and\nthe art of the Porta Sant\u00e6 Mari\u00e6, and that of the furriers and\nskin-dressers; and afterwards from time to time all the others were\nadded thereto, to the number of the twelve greater Arts; and there\nwere among them magnates, as well as popolani, great men of good\nrepute and works, and which were artificers or merchants. And thus it\nwent on until the second Popolo was formed in Florence, as hereafter,\nin due time, we shall relate. From thenceforward there were no\nmagnates among them, but there was added thereto the gonfalonier of\njustice. And sometimes there were twelve priors, according to the\nchanges in the condition of the city and special occasions that arose;\nand they were chosen from the number of all the twenty-one Arts, and\nof those which were not themselves artificers, albeit their\nforefathers had been artificers. The election to the said office was\nmade by the old priors with the colleges of consuls of the twelve\ngreater Arts, and with certain others which elected the priors for\neach sesto, by secret votes; and whosoever had most votes the same was\nmade prior; and this election took place in the church of San Piero\nScheraggio; and the Captain of the Popolo was stationed over against\nthe said church in the houses which pertained to the Tizzoni. We have\nsaid so much of the beginning of this office of the priors, forasmuch\nas many and great changes followed therefrom to the city of Florence,\nas hereafter, in due place and time, we shall relate. At present we\nwill leave telling, for a time, of the doings of Florence, and we will\ntell of other events which came to pass in those times.\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n\u00a7 80.--_How Pope Martin sent M. Jean d'Appia into Romagna, and how he\ntook the city of Faenza and besieged Forl\u00ec._\n\u00a7 81.--_How M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was defeated at Forl\u00ec\nby the count of Montefeltro._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 76-78.]\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xx. 118.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 44.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxii. 122.]\nIn the said time, when the said M. Jean d'Appia, count of Romagna, was\nin Faenza, and was making war against the city of Forl\u00ec, he dabbled in\npractices whereby he might gain the said city by treachery; the which\npractices Count Guido of Montefeltro himself, which was lord of the\ncity, had set in motion and floated, as one that was master both of\nplots and of war, and who knew the folly of the French. At last, on\nthe first day of May, in the year of Christ 1282, the said M. Jean\ncame with his forces in the morning very early before day to the city\nof Forl\u00ec, thinking to have it; and as it was ordered by the count of\nMontefeltro, the entrance to one gate was granted him, which he\nentered with part of his followers, and part he left without with the\norders, if need arose, to succour those within, and if things went\nagainst them, to assemble all his forces in a field under a great oak.\nThe French which entered into Forl\u00ec rode through the city without\nmeeting any opposition; and the count of Montefeltro, which knew all\nthe plot, had gone forth from the city with his followers; and it was\nsaid that this same count of Montefeltro was guided by the augury and\ncounsel of one Guido Bonatti, a roof-maker, who had turned astrologer\nor the like, and that it was he who prompted his actions; and for this\nemprise he gave him the standard and said, \"Thou hast it at such a\npitch, that so long as a rag of it hold, wheresoever thou bearest it\nthou shalt be victorious.\" But I more believe that his victories were\nwon by his own wit and mastery of war. And according as he had\nplanned, he charged those without under the tree, and put them to\nrout. They which had entered in, thinking the city was theirs, had\ngiven themselves to plunder and gone into the houses; and as was\nordered by the count of Montefeltro, the citizens had taken off the\nbridles and saddles from the most of their horses; and suddenly the\nsaid count, with part of his followers, entered again into Forl\u00ec by\none of the gates, and overran the city; and part of his horse and foot\nhe left in troops drawn up under the oak, as the French had been. M.\nJean d'Appia and his men, seeing themselves thus handled, when they\nthought they had conquered the city, held themselves for dead and\nbetrayed, and whosoever could recover his horse fled from the city,\nand came to the tree without, thinking to find friends there; and when\nthey came thither they were taken or slain by their enemies, and\nlikewise they which had remained within the city; wherefore the French\nand the followers of the Church suffered great discomfiture and loss,\nand there died there many good French knights, and of the Latin\nleaders, among others, Count Taddeo da Montefeltro, cousin to Count\nGuido, which by reason of disputes concerning his inheritance held\nwith the Church against the said Count Guido; and there died there\nTribaldello de' Manfredi, which had betrayed Faenza, and many others;\nalbeit the count of Romagna, M. Jean d'Appia, escaped with certain\nothers from the said discomfiture, and returned to Faenza.\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1283 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1282 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1283 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]\n\u00a7 82.--_How Forl\u00ec surrendered to the Church, and how there was peace\nin Romagna._ \u00a7 83.--_How the king of Armenia with a great company of\nTartars was defeated at Cammella [Emesa] in Syria by the soldan of\nEgypt._ \u00a7 84.--_How the war between the Genoese and Pisans began._ \u00a7\n85.--_How the prince, son of King Charles, with many barons of France\nand of Provence, came to Florence to march against the Sicilians._ \u00a7\n86.--_How King Charles and King Peter of Aragon engaged to fight in\nsingle combat at Bordeaux, in Gascony, for the possession of Sicily._\n\u00a7 87.--_How on the appointed day, King Peter, of Aragon, failed to\nappear at Bordeaux, wherefore he was excommunicated and deposed by the\nPope._ \u00a7 88.--_How there was in Florence a flood of waters and great\nscarcity of victuals._ \u00a7 89.--_How a noble court and festival was held\nin the city of Florence, whereat all were arrayed in white._ \u00a7\n90.--_How the Genoese did great hurt to the Pisans returning from\nSardinia._ \u00a7 91.--_Still of the doings of the Pisans and the Genoese._\n\u00a7 92.--_How the Genoese discomfited the Pisans at Meloria._ \u00a7\n93.--_How Charles, prince of Salerno, was defeated and taken prisoner\nat sea, by Ruggeri di Loria, with the fleet of the Sicilians._ \u00a7\n94.--_How King Charles arrived at Naples with his fleet, and then made\nready to pass to Sicily._\n\u00a7 95.--_How the good King Charles passed from this life at the city of\nFoggia in Apulia._\n[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 113, 124, 128.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 31, 49-72; ix. 1.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. viii. 82, 83; Purg. xx. 79-84.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 76-84.]\nWhen King Charles had returned with his host to Brindisi, he disbanded\nthem and returned to Naples to make his arrangements, and to furnish\nhimself with money and with men to go again to Sicily the coming\nspring. And like one whose anxious mind could not rest, when\nmid-December was past, he returned into Apulia, to be at Brindisi to\nhasten on his fleet. When he was at Foggia, in Apulia, as it pleased\nGod, he fell sick of a grievous sickness, and passed from this life on\nthe day following the Epiphany, on the 7th day of January, in the year\nof Christ 1284. But before he died, with great contrition taking the\nBody of Christ, he said with great reverence these words: \"Sire Dieu,\ncomme je crois vraiment que vous \u00e9tes mon Sauveur, ainsi je vous prie,\nque vous ayez merci de mon ame; ainsi comme je fis la prise du royaume\nde Cicile plus pour servir sainte Eglise que pour mon profit ou autre\nconvoitise, ainsi vous me pardonniez mes p\u00e9ch\u00e9s;\" and a short time\nafter he passed from this life, and his body was brought to Naples;\nand after great lamentation had been made over his death, he was\nburied at the archbishop's at Naples with great honour. Concerning\nthis death of King Charles there was a great marvel, for the same day\nwhereon he died, the tidings of his death were published by one\nBrother Arlotto, a minister of the Minor Friars, and by M. Giardino da\nCarmignanola, a teacher in the University; and when this came to the\nnotice of the king of France he sent for them to learn whence they\nknew it. They said that they knew his nativity, which was under the\nlordship of Saturn, and by its influence had resulted his exaltations\nand his adversities; and some said that they knew it by revelation of\nsome spirit, for each of them was a great astrologer and necromancer.\nThis Charles was the most feared and redoubted lord, and the most\nvaliant in arms, and of the most lofty designs, of all the kings of\nthe house of France from Charles the Great to his own day, and the\none which most exalted the Church of Rome; and he would have done more\nif, at the end of his life, fortune had not turned against him.\nAfterwards there came as guardian and defender of the kingdom, Robert,\ncount of Artois, cousin of the said king, with many French knights,\nand with the princess, and with the prince's son, grandson to King\nCharles, which was called after him Charles Martel, and which was some\ntwelve or thirteen years old. Of King Charles there remained no other\nheir than Charles II., prince of Salerno, of whom we have made\nmention. And this Charles was comely in person, and gracious and\nliberal, and whilst his father was living and afterwards he had many\nchildren by the princess, his wife, daughter and heiress of the king\nof Hungary. The first was the said Charles Martel, which was\nafterwards king of Hungary; the second was Louis, which became a Minor\nFriar, and afterwards was bishop of Toulouse; the third was Robert,\nduke of Calabria; the fourth was Philip, prince of Taranto; the fifth\nwas Raymond Berenger (count that was to be of Provence); the sixth was\nJohn, prince of Morea; the seventh was Peter, count of Eboli.\n[Sidenote: 1284 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]\n\u00a7 96.--_How the prince, son to King Charles, was condemned to death by\nthe Sicilians, and afterwards was sent prisoner into Catalonia by\nQueen Constance._ \u00a7 97.--_How there was a great flood of waters in\nFlorence, which overwhelmed part of the Poggio de' Magnoli._ \u00a7\n98.--_How the Florentines, with the Genoese and with the Tuscans, made\na league against the Pisans, whereby the Ghibellines were driven out\nof Pisa._ \u00a7 99.--_How the Florentines began the foundation of the\ngates, to build the new walls of the city._ \u00a7 100.--_Of the great\nevents that came to pass among the Tartars of Turigio._ \u00a7 101.--_How\nthe Saracens took and destroyed Margatto in Syria._ \u00a7 102.--_How King\nPhilip of France went with a great army against the king of Aragon._ \u00a7\n103.--_How the king of Aragon was discomfited and wounded by the\nFrench, of the which wound he afterwards died._ \u00a7 104.--_How the king\nof France took the city of Gerona, and how his fleet was discomfited\nat sea._\n\u00a7 105.--_How the king of France departed from Aragon, and died at\nPerpignan._\n[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 105.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vii. 109.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xix. 143-148.]\nKing Philip of France, seeing his fortune so changed and adverse, and\nhis fleet, which was bringing victuals to his host, taken and burnt,\nwas overcome with grief and melancholy in such wise that he fell\ngrievously sick with fever and a flux, wherefore his barons took\ncounsel to depart and return to Toulouse, and of necessity they were\nforced thereto by lack of victuals, and by reason of the adverse\nseason of autumn, and because of the sickness of their king. And thus\nthey departed about the first day of October, carrying their sick king\nin a litter, and they dispersed with but little order, each one\ngetting away as best he could and most quickly; wherefore, when they\nwere crossing the difficult pass of the Schiuse through the great\nmountains of Pirris [? the defiles of the great mountains of Pertus],\nthe Aragonese and Catalans which were at the pass, sought to hinder\nthe passing of the litter wherein the king of France lay sick. And\nwhen the French saw this, they gave battle in despair to them which\nwere at the pass, to the end they might not take the body of the king,\nand by force of arms they broke them up and discomfited them, and\ndrave them from the pass; but many of the French common people on foot\nwere taken and slain, and many mules and horses and much baggage\ndestroyed and taken by the Catalans and Aragonese. And a little while\nafter the departure of the king of France and of his host, the king of\nAragon received Gerona back on conditions. And when the host of the\nking of France in guise as if defeated came to Perpignan, as it\npleased God, King Philip of France passed from this life on the 6th\nday of October, in the year of Christ 1285; and in Perpignan the queen\nof Morea, his wife, with her company made great lamentation and\nsorrow. And afterwards Philip and Charles, his sons, caused the body\nto be brought to Paris, and he was buried at S. Denys with his\npredecessors, with great honour. This enterprise against Aragon was\nattended with greater loss of men and more cost in horses and money,\nthan the realm of France had almost ever suffered in times past; for\nafterwards the king which succeeded the said Philip, and the greater\npart of the barons, were always in debt and ill provided with money.\nAnd after the death of King Philip of France, King Philip the Fair,\nhis eldest son, was made king of France, and crowned king in the city\nof Rheims, with the Queen Joanna of Navarre, his wife, on the day of\nthe Epiphany next following. And note, that in one year or little\nmore, as it pleased God, there died four such great lords of\nChristendom, as were Pope Martin, and the good Charles, king of Sicily\nand of Apulia, and the valiant King Peter of Aragon, and the powerful\nKing Philip of France, of whom we have made mention. This King Philip\nwas a lord of a great heart, and in his life did high emprises; first,\nwhen he went against the king of Spain, and then against the count of\nFoix, and then against the king of Aragon, with greater forces than\never his predecessor had gathered. We will leave now speaking of the\ndoings beyond the mountains, whereof we have said enough for this\ntime, and we will go back to speak of the doings of our Italy which\ncame to pass in the said time.\n[Sidenote: 1285 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 20-24.]\n[Sidenote: 1286 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1287 A.D.]\n\u00a7 106.--_Of the death of Pope Martin IV., and how Honorius de' Savelli\nof Rome was made Pope._ \u00a7 107.--_How a certain Genoese flotilla was\ntaken by the Pisans._ \u00a7 108.--_How Count Guido of Montefeltro, lord of\nRomagna, surrendered to the Church of Rome._ \u00a7 109.--_How Pope\nHonorius changed the habit of the Carmelite Friars._ \u00a7 110.--_How the\nbishop of Arezzo caused Poggio a Santa Cecilia, in the territory of\nSiena, to rebel, and how it was recovered._ \u00a7 111.--_How there was\ngreat scarcity of victual in Italy._ \u00a7 112.--_How M. Prezzivalle dal\nFiesco came into Tuscany as Imperial Vicar._ \u00a7 113.--_How Pope\nHonorius de' Savelli died._\n\u00a7 114.--_Of a notable thing which came to pass in Florence at this\ntime._\n[Sidenote: 1287 A.D.]\nIn the said year, M. Matteo da Fogliano di Reggio, being Podest\u00e0 of\nFlorence, had taken and condemned to be beheaded for murder one Totto\nde' Mazzinghi da Campi, which was a great warrior and leader; and as\nhe was on his way to execution, M. Corso dei Donati with his following\nwould have rescued him from the officers by force; for the which thing\nthe said Podest\u00e0 caused the great bell to be sounded: wherefore all\nthe good people of Florence armed themselves and assembled at the\npalace, some on horse and some on foot, crying: \"Justice, justice.\"\nFor the which thing the said Podest\u00e0 carried out his sentence, but\nwhereas the said Totto should have been beheaded, he caused him to be\ndragged along the ground, and then hung by the neck, and he condemned\nto a fine those who had begun the uproar and impeded justice.\n[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xiii. 120, 121.]\n\u00a7 115.--_How the Guelfs were driven out of Arezzo, whence war arose\nbetween the Florentines and the Aretines._ \u00a7 116.--_Of a great fire\nwhich broke out in Florence._ \u00a7 117.--_How the armada of Charles\nMartel took the city of Agosta in Sicily, and how their armada was\ndefeated at sea by Ruggeri di Loria._ \u00a7 118.--_How a great fire broke\nout in Florence at the houses of the Cerchi._ \u00a7 119.--_Of the calling\nof Pope Nicholas IV., of Ascoli._ \u00a7 120.--_Of a great expedition which\nthe commonwealth of Florence made against the city of Arezzo, and how\nas they departed the Sienese were defeated at the Pieve [parish\nchurch] al Toppo._\n\u00a7 121.--_How the judge of Gallura and the Guelf party were driven from\nPisa, and the Count Ugolino taken prisoner._\n[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. viii. 53.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxiii. 31-33.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xvi. 46.]\nIn the year of Christ 1288, in the month of July, great divisions and\nfactions having arisen in Pisa concerning the government, for of one\nparty Judge Nino di Gallura de' Visconti was head with certain Guelfs,\nand of another Count Ugolino dei Gherardeschi with another party of\nthe Guelfs, and of a third the Archbishop Ruggeri degli Ubaldini with\nthe Lanfranchi, and Gualandi, and Sismondi, with the other Ghibelline\nhouses. And the said Ugolino, in order to gain power, sided with the\narchbishop and his party, and betrayed Judge Nino, not considering\nthat he was his grandson, his daughter's son; and they ordained that\nhe should be driven out of Pisa with his followers, or taken prisoner.\nJudge Nino hearing this, and seeing that he was not well able to\ndefend himself, left the city and went to his castle of Calci, and\nallied himself with the Florentines and Lucchese to make war against\nPisa. Count Ugolino, before the departure of Judge Nino, to the end he\nmight hide his treachery when he had planned the banishment of the\njudge, departed from Pisa, and went to one of his manors in the\ncountry, which was called Settimo. When he heard of the departure of\nJudge Nino, he returned to Pisa with great rejoicing; and the Pisans\nmade him their lord with great rejoicings and festivities; but he\nabode only a short time in the government, for Fortune turned against\nhim, as it pleased God, because of his treacheries and crimes; for of\na truth it was said that he caused Count Anselm of Capraia, his\nnephew, his sister's son, to be poisoned, from envy, and because he\nwas beloved in Pisa, and he feared lest he might rob him of his state.\nAnd that happened to Count Ugolino, which a little while before had\nbeen foretold him by a wise and valiant man of affairs, named Marco\nLombardo; for when the count was called by all lord of Pisa, and when\nhe was in greatest state and happiness, he prepared a rich feast on\nhis birthday, and invited thereto his sons and grandsons, and all his\nlineage and kinsfolk, both men and women, with great pomp in dress and\nornaments, and preparations for a great festival. The count taking the\nsaid Marco, showed him all his grandeur and possessions, and the\npreparations for his feast; and this done, he asked him: \"Marco, what\nthinkest thou of all this?\" The sage answered and said unto him at\nonce: \"You are better prepared for evil fortune than any nobleman of\nItaly.\" And the count fearing these words of Marco's, said: \"Why?\" and\nMarco answered: \"Because the wrath of God is the only thing lacking to\nyou.\" And of a truth the wrath of God soon came upon him, as it\npleased God, because of his treacheries and crimes; for when the\narchbishop of Pisa and his followers had succeeded in driving out Nino\nand his party, by the counsel and treachery of Count Ugolino, the\nforces of the Guelfs were diminished; and then the archbishop took\ncounsel how to betray Count Ugolino, and in a sudden uproar of the\npeople, he was attacked and assaulted at the palace, the archbishop\ngiving the people to understand that he had betrayed Pisa, and given\nup their fortresses to the Florentines and the Lucchese; and being\nwithout any defence, the people having turned against him, he\nsurrendered himself prisoner, and at the said assault one of his\nbastard sons and one of his grandsons were slain, and Count Ugolino\nwas taken, and two of his sons, and three grandsons, his son's\nchildren, and they were put in prison; and his household and\nfollowers, and the Visconti and Ubizinghi, Guatani, and all the other\nGuelf houses were driven out of Pisa. And thus was the traitor\nbetrayed by the traitor; wherefore the Guelf party in Tuscany was\ngreatly cast down, and the Ghibellines greatly exalted because of the\nsaid revolution in Pisa, and because of the force of the Ghibellines\nof Arezzo, and because of the power and victories of Don James of\nAragon, and of the Sicilians against the heirs of King Charles.\n[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]\n\u00a7 122.--_How the Lucchese took the castle of Asciano from the Pisans._\n\u00a7 123.--_How the Pisan mercenaries, coming from Campagna, were routed\nby the Florentine mercenaries in Maremma._ \u00a7 124.--_Of the dash on\nLatterina made by the Florentines as an attack on Arezzo._ \u00a7\n125.--_How Prince Charles was released from the prison of the king of\nAragon._ \u00a7 126.--_Of a great flood of water that was in Florence._ \u00a7\n127.--_How the Aretines came and laid waste the territory of Florence\nas far as San Donato in Collina._\n\u00a7 128.--_How the Pisans chose for captain the count of Montefeltro,\nand how they starved to death Count Ugolino and his sons and\ngrandsons._\n[Sidenote: 1288 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxxiii. 1-90.]\nIn the said year 1288, in the said month of March, the wars in Tuscany\nbetween the Guelfs and Ghibellines becoming hot again (by reason of\nthe war begun by the Florentines and Sienese against the Aretines, and\nby the Florentines and Lucchese against the Pisans), the Pisans chose\nfor their captain of war Count Guido of Montefeltro, giving him wide\njurisdiction and lordship; and he passed the boundaries of Piedmont,\nwithin which he was confined by his terms of surrender to the Church,\nand came to Pisa; for the which thing he and his sons and family, and\nall the commonwealth of Pisa, were excommunicated by the Church of\nRome, as rebels and enemies against Holy Church. And when the said\ncount was come to Pisa in the said month of March, the Pisans which\nhad put in prison Count Ugolino and his two sons, and two sons of\nCount Guelfo, his son, as we before made mention, in a tower on the\nPiazza degli Anziani, caused the door of the said tower to be locked,\nand the keys thrown into the Arno, and refused to the said prisoners\nany food, which in a few days died there of hunger. And albeit first\nthe said count demanded with cries to be shriven; yet did they not\ngrant him a friar or priest to confess him. And when all the five\ndead bodies were taken out of the tower, they were buried without\nhonour; and thenceforward the said prison was called the Tower of\nHunger, and will be always. For this cruelty were the Pisans greatly\nblamed throughout the whole world wherever it was known, not so much\nby reason of the count, which because of his crimes and treacheries\nwas peradventure worthy of such a death, but by reason of his sons and\ngrandsons which were young and innocent boys; and this sin committed\nby the Pisans did not go unpunished, as in due time hereafter may be\nfound. We will leave speaking, for a while, of the affairs of Florence\nand of Tuscany, and will tell of other events which took place in the\nsaid times and came to pass through the whole world.\n\u00a7 129.--_How the Saracens took Tripoli in Syria._\n\u00a7 130.--_Of the coronation of King Charles II., and how he passed\nthrough Florence, and left Messer Amerigo di Nerbona as captain of war\nfor the Florentines._\n[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 2nd day of May, there came to Florence Prince\nCharles, son of the great King Charles, which was returning from\nFrance after he had been loosed from prison, and was going to the\ncourt at Rieti where was the Pope; and he was received by the\nFlorentines with great rejoicing, and the Florentines did him much\nhonour and made him many presents; and having sojourned three days in\nFlorence, he departed on his journey towards Siena. And when he was\ndeparted, tidings came to Florence that the troops of Arezzo were\nmaking ready to go into the country of Siena to hinder or bring shame\nupon the said Prince Charles, which had but a small company of\nmen-at-arms. Straightway the Florentines caused the horsemen of the\ncavalry to ride forth, wherein were all the flower of the best\nfamilies of Florence, together with mercenaries which were in\nFlorence, and they were in number 800 horse, and 3,000 foot, to\naccompany the prince; wherefore the prince took in very good part such\nhonourable service, and speedy and unasked succour of so many good\nmen, though it came not to the pinch of need withal; for the Aretines\nhaving heard of the riding forth of the Florentines, did not venture\nto go out against them; but nevertheless the Florentines accompanied\nthe said prince beyond Bricola to the borders of the territory of\nSiena and of Orvieto. And when the commonwealth of Florence asked of\nthe prince to appoint them a captain of war, and also that he would\ngrant them to carry forth the royal standard with the host, the prince\nallowed it, and knighted Amerigo di Nerbona, a man very noble, and\nbrave and wise in war, and gave him to them for captain; which M.\nAmerigo with his company, about 100 mounted men, came to Florence with\nthe said horse; and the prince came to the court, and was honourably\nreceived by Pope Nicolas IV. and by his cardinals; and the day of\nPentecost following, on the 29th day of May, 1289, in the city of Rome\nthe said Charles was crowned by the said Pope, king of Sicily and of\nApulia, with great honour, solemnity and rejoicing, and many favours\nand grand presents of jewels and of money were made to him by the\nChurch, with subsidies of tithes to aid him in his war in Sicily. And\nthis done, King Charles departed from the court, and went into the\nKingdom.\n\u00a7 131.--_How the Florentines defeated the Aretines at Certomondo in\nCasentino._\n[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 49-51. Purg. xiv. 118, 119.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 65, 94-96.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 82. Cf. Par. iii. 106, 107.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. v. 88-129. Inf. xxvii. 68-129.]\nIn the said year, and month of May, the horsemen of Florence being\nreturned from escorting Prince Charles, with their captain, M. Amerigo\ndi Nerbona, a host was straightway gathered against the city of\nArezzo, by reason of outrages received from the Aretines, and the\nbanners of war were given out on the 13th day of May, and the royal\nstandard was borne by M. Gherardo Ventraia de' Tornaquinci; and so\nsoon as they were given to them, they bore them to the abbey at\nRipoli, as was their wont, and there they left them under guard,\nmaking as though they would march by that road upon the city of\nArezzo. And the allies being come and the host being ordered, by\nsecret counsel they purposed to depart by the way of Casentino, and\nsuddenly, the 2nd day of June, the bells sounding a toll, the\never-prosperous host of the Florentines set forth, and they bore the\nbanners which were at Ripoli across the Arno, and held the way of\nPontassieve, and encamped to await the gathering of forces on Monte al\nPruno; and there were assembled 1,600 horse and 10,000 foot, whereof\n600 were citizens with their horses, the best armed and mounted which\never sallied forth from Florence; and 400 mercenaries, together with\nthe following of the Captain, M. Amerigo, in the pay of the\nFlorentines; and of Lucca there were 150 horsemen; and of Prato, 40\nhorsemen and foot soldiers; of Pistoia, 60 horse and foot; and of\nSiena, 120 horse; and of Volterra, 40 horse; and of Bologna, their\nambassadors with their company; and of Samminiato, and of\nSangimignano, and of Colle, men mounted and on foot from each place;\nand Maghinardo of Susinana, a good and wise captain in war, with his\nRomagnoli. And the said host being assembled, they descended into the\nplain of Casentino, devastating the places of Count Guido Novello, who\nwas Podest\u00e0 of Arezzo. Hearing this, the bishop of Arezzo, with the\nother captains of the Ghibelline party (for there were many men of\nname amongst them), determined to come with all their host to\nBibbiena, to the end it might not be destroyed; and they were 800\nhorse and 8,000 foot, very fine men; and many wise captains of war\nwere among them, for they were the flower of the Ghibellines of\nTuscany, of the March, and of the Duchy, and of Romagna; and all were\nmen experienced in arms and in war; and they desired to give battle to\nthe Florentines, having no fear, albeit the Florentines were two\nhorsemen to one against them; but they despised them, saying that they\nadorned themselves like women, and combed their tresses; and they\nderided them and held them for nought. Truly there was further cause\nwhy the Aretines should declare battle against the Florentines, albeit\ntheir horsemen were two to one against them; for they were in fear of\na plot which the bishop of Arezzo had set on foot with the\nFlorentines, and conducted by M. Marsilio de' Vecchietti, to give over\nto the Florentines Bibbiena, Civitella, and all the castles of his\nsee, and he to have 5,000 golden florins each year of his life, on the\nsecurity of the company of the Cerchi. The progress of this plot was\ninterrupted by M. Guiglielmino Pazzo, his nephew, to the end the\nbishop might not be slain by the Ghibelline leaders; and therefore\nthey hastened the battle, and took thither the said bishop, where he\nwas left dead, together with the rest; and thus was the bishop\npunished for his treason, who at the same time sought to betray both\nthe Florentines and his own Aretines. And the Florentines, having\njoyfully received the gage of battle, arrayed themselves; and the two\nhosts stood over against one another, after more ordered fashion, both\non one side and on the other, than ever in any battle before in Italy,\nin the plain at the foot of Poppi, in the region called Certomondo,\nfor such is the name of the place, and of a church of the Franciscans,\nwhich is near there, and in a plain which is called Campaldino; and\nthis was a Saturday morning, the 11th day of June, the day of S.\nBarnabas the Apostle. M. Amerigo and the other Florentine captains\ndrew up in well-ordered troops, and enrolled 150 forefighters of the\nbest of the host, among the which were twenty new-made knights, who\nthen received their spurs; and M. Vieri de' Cerchi being among the\ncaptains, and being lame in his leg, would not therefore desist from\nbeing among the forefighters; and since it fell to him to make the\nselection for his sesto, he would not lay this service upon any who\ndid not desire to be chosen, but chose himself, and his son and\nnephews; the which thing was counted to him as of great merit; and for\nhis good example and for shame many other noble citizens offered\nthemselves as forefighters. And this done, they flanked them on either\nside by troops of light-armed infantry, and crossbowmen, and unmounted\nlancers. Then, behind the forefighters, came the main body, flanked in\nits turn by footmen, and, behind all, the baggage, so collected as to\nclose up the rear of the main body, outside of which were stationed\ntwo hundred horse and foot of the Lucchese and Pistoians and other\nforeigners, whereof was captain M. Corso Donati, which then was\nPodest\u00e0 of Pistoia; and their orders were to take the enemy in flank,\nshould occasion rise. The Aretines on their part ordered their troops\nwisely, inasmuch as there were, as we have said, good captains of war\namongst them; and they appointed many forefighters, to the number of\n300, among the which were chosen twelve of the chief leaders, who were\ncalled the Twelve Paladins. And each side having given a war-cry to\ntheir host, the Florentines, \"Ho, knights, Nerbona,\" and the Aretines,\n\"Ho, knights, San Donato,\" the forefighters of the Aretines advanced\nwith great courage, and struck spur to smite into the Florentine host;\nand the rest of their troop followed after, save that Count Guido\nNovello, which was with a troop of 150 horse to charge in flank, did\nnot adventure himself into the battle, but drew back, and then fled to\nhis castle. And the movement and assault made upon the Florentines by\nthe Aretines, who esteemed themselves to be valiant men-at-arms, was\nto the end that by their bold attack they might break up the\nFlorentines at the first onset, and put them to flight; and the shock\nwas so great that most of the Florentine forefighters were unhorsed,\nand the main body was driven back a good space, but they were not\ntherefore confounded nor broken up, but received the enemy with\nconstancy and fortitude; and the wings of infantry on either side,\nkeeping their ranks well, enclosed the enemy, and there was hard\nfighting for a good space. And M. Corso Donati, who was apart with the\nmen of Lucca and Pistoia, and had been commanded to stand firm, and\nnot to strike under pain of death, when he saw the battle begun, said,\nlike a valiant man: \"If we lose, I will die in the battle with my\nfellow-citizens; and if we conquer, let him that will, come to us at\nPistoia to exact the penalty\"; and he boldly set his troop in motion,\nand struck the enemy in flank, and was a great cause of their rout.\nAnd this done, as it pleased God, the Florentines had the victory, and\nthe Aretines were routed and discomfited, and between horse and foot\nmore than 1,700 were slain, and more than 2,000 taken, whereof many of\nthe best were smuggled away, some for friendship, some in return for\nransom; but there came of them bound to Florence more than 740. Among\nthe dead left on the field were M. Guiglielmino of the Ubertini,\nbishop of Arezzo, the which was a great warrior, and M. Guiglielmino\nde' Pazzi of Valdarno and his nephews, the which was the best and the\nmost experienced captain of war that there was in Italy in his time;\nand there died there Bonconte, son of Count Guido of Montefeltro, and\nthree of the Uberti, and one of the Abati, and two of the Griffoni of\nFegghine, and many other Florentine refugees, and Guiderello\nd'Alessandro of Orvieto, a renowned captain, who bore the imperial\nstandard, and many others. On the side of the Florentines was slain no\nman of renown save M. Guiglielmo Berardi, bailiff of M. Amerigo da\nNerbona, and M. Bindo del Baschiera de' Tosinghi, and Ticci de'\nVisdomini; but many other citizens and foreigners were wounded. The\nnews of the said victory came to Florence the same day, at the same\nhour that it took place, for after their meal, the Priors being gone\nto sleep and repose, after the care and wakefulness of the past night,\nsuddenly there was a knocking on the chamber door, with the cry:\n\"Arise, for the Aretines are discomfited\"; and having risen and opened\nthe door, they found no one, and their servants without had heard\nnothing, wherefore it was held to be a great and notable marvel,\ninasmuch as no person came from the host with tidings before the hour\nof vespers. And this was the truth, for I heard it and saw it; and all\nthe Florentines marvelled whence this could be, and awaited the issue\nin suspense. But when they arrived which came from the host, and\nreported the tidings in Florence, there was great gladness and\nrejoicing; and there was good cause, for at the said discomfiture were\nslain many captains and valiant men of the Ghibelline party, and\nenemies of the commonwealth of Florence, and there were brought low\nthe arrogance and pride not only of the Aretines, but of the whole\nGhibelline party and of the Empire.\n\u00a7 132.--_How the Florentines besieged the city of Arezzo, and laid\nwaste the region round about._\n[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxii. 4, 5.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 42.]\nAfter the said victory of the commonwealth over the Aretines, the\ntrumpet was sounded for the return from pursuing the fugitives, and\nthe Florentine host was marshalled upon the field; and this done, they\ndeparted to Bibbiena, and took it without any resistance; and having\nplundered and despoiled it of all its wealth and much booty, they\ncaused the walls and the fortified houses to be destroyed to the\nfoundations, and many other villages round about, and they abode there\neight days. Whereas, if on the day following, the Florentine host had\nridden upon Arezzo, without doubt they would have taken the city; but\nduring that sojourn they that had escaped from the battle returned\nthither, and the peasants round about took refuge there, and order was\ntaken for the defence and guard of the city. The host of the\nFlorentines came thither after some days, and laid siege to the city,\ncontinually laying waste the region round about, and taking their\nfortresses, so that they gained them nearly all, some by force, and\nsome on conditions; and the Florentines caused many thereof to be\ndestroyed, but they kept possession of Castiglione of Arezzo, and\nMontecchio, and Rondine, and Civitella, and Laterina, and\nMontesansavino. And with the host there went two of the Priors of\nFlorence as inspectors; and the Sienese came in a body, with much\nforce of horse and foot, after the defeat, to regain their lands taken\nby the Aretines, and they took Lucignano of Arezzo, and Chiusura of\nValdichiane, on conditions. And the said Florentine host being at\nArezzo, in the old palace of the bishops, for twenty days, they laid\nwaste all round about them, and they ran their races there on the\nfeast of S. Giovanni, and erected there many engines, and hurled into\nthe city asses with mitres on their heads, in contempt and reproach of\ntheir bishop, and raised many wooden towers and other works to attack\nthe city; and a fierce battle ensuing, a great part of the palisade\n(for there was not then any other wall in that part) was burnt and\nlaid low; and if the captains of the host had made the besiegers fight\nlustily, they would have taken the city by storm; but where they\nshould have fought, they caused the retreat to be sounded, wherefore\nthey were held in abomination, forasmuch as this was done through\ngreed of gain; for the which cause the people and the combatants,\nlosing heart, were slack in skirmishing and on guard; wherefore the\nnight following they of Arezzo issued forth and set fire to many\nwooden towers, and burnt them, with many other works. And this done,\nthe Florentines lost hope of taking the city by battle, and the better\npart of the host departed, leaving the aforesaid strongholds guarded,\nto the end they might continually harry the city; and the host\nreturned to Florence on the 23rd day of July with great rejoicing and\ntriumph, and there came to meet them the clergy in procession, the men\nof birth jousting, and the populace with the standards and ensigns of\neach of the Arts, with its company; and they set a canopy of cloth of\ngold over the head of M. Amerigo di Nerbona, borne upon pikes by many\nknights, and likewise over M. Ugolino de' Rossi of Parma, which was\nthen Podest\u00e0 of Florence. And note that all the expenses of the said\nhost were furnished by our commonwealth by a tax of six and a quarter\nper cent., which raised more than 36,000 golden florins, so well\nordered were then the registers of the city and country; and the other\naffairs and revenues of the commonwealth were equally well ordered.\nTrue it is that after the return of the said host the popolani began\nto suspect that the magnates, through pride of the said victory, might\nlay burdens on them beyond accustomed usage; and for this cause the\nseven greater Arts drew to themselves the five lesser Arts, and made\nready among themselves arms, and shields, and certain standards, and\nthis was in a sense a beginning of the Popolo, which afterwards took\nthe form of the Popolo of 1292, as hereafter we shall narrate. From\nthe aforesaid victory the city of Florence was much exalted, and rose\nto good and happy state, the best which it had seen until these times,\nand it increased greatly in people and in wealth, for every one was\ngaining by some merchandise, art, or trade; and it continued in\npeaceful and tranquil state for many years after, rising every day.\nAnd by reason of gladness and well-being, every year, on the first day\nof May, they formed bands and companies of gentle youths, clad in new\nraiment, and raised pavilions covered with cloth and silk and with\nwooden walls, in divers parts of the city; and likewise there were\nbands of women and of maidens going through the city dancing in\nordered fashion, and ladies, by two and two, with instruments, and\nwith garlands of flowers on their heads, continuing in pastimes and\njoyance, and at feasts and banquets.\n[Sidenote: 1289 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 64-66.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 136. Convivio iv. 11: 126.]\n\u00a7 133.--_Of a fierce and violent battle between the duke of Brabant\nand the count of Luxemburg._ \u00a7 134.--_How Don James came from Sicily\ninto Calabria with his armada, and there received some loss, and\nafterwards laid siege to Gaeta._ \u00a7 135.--_How Charles Martel was\ncrowned king of Hungary._ \u00a7 136.--_How they of Chiusi were routed, and\nthe Guelf refugees restored._ \u00a7 137.--_How the Lucchese, with the\nforces of Florence, marched upon the city of Pisa._ \u00a7 138.--_Of an\nexpedition that the Florentines made wherein they should have had\nArezzo yielded up to them._ \u00a7 139.--_Of a great fire that broke out in\nFlorence in the house of the Pegolotti._ \u00a7 140.--_How the Florentines\nand their allies made a third expedition against Arezzo._ \u00a7 141.--_How\nPorto Pisano was taken and laid waste by the Florentines and Genoese\nand Lucchese._ \u00a7 142.--_How the marquis of Montferrat was taken\nprisoner by them of Alexandria._ \u00a7 143.--_Of a great miracle that came\nto pass in Paris concerning the body of Christ._ \u00a7 144.--_How they of\nRavenna seized the count of Romagna, who was there to represent the\nChurch._\n\u00a7 145.--_How the soldan of Babylon conquered by force the city of\nAcre, to the great hurt of the Christians._\n[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxvii. 89.]\nIn the year of Christ 1291, in the month of April, the soldan of\nBabylon [Cairo] of Egypt having first garrisoned and provisioned\nSyria, traversed the desert and came into the said Syria with his\nhost, and laid siege to the city of Acre, which of old was called in\nthe Scriptures Ptolemais, and now is called Acon in Latin; and the\nsoldan had with him so much people, both foot and horse, that his host\nstretched over more than twelve miles. But before we tell more of the\nloss of Acre, we will tell the reason why the soldan came to besiege\nit, and took it, as it was related to us by trustworthy\nfellow-citizens of our own, and merchants which were in Acre at that\ntime. It is true that, because the Saracens had in foregoing times\ntaken from the Christians the city of Antioch, and of Tripoli, and of\nTyre, and many other towns which the Christians held on the seashore,\nthe city of Acre had greatly increased, both in folk and in power,\nforasmuch as no other city was held by the Christians in Syria; so\nthat the kings of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus, and the princes of\nAntioch, and of Tyre, and of Tripoli, and the Orders of the Templars\nand the Hospitallers, and other Orders, and the Pope's legates, and\nthey which had gone over seas from the kings of France and of England,\nall gathered at Acre, and there were there seventeen hereditary\nlordships, which was a great confusion. And at that time there was\ntruce between the Christians and the Saracens, and there were there\nmore than 18,000 pilgrims who had taken the cross; and their pay not\nbeing forthcoming, and because they could not get it from the lords\nand states which had sent them forth, part of them, which were wild\nand lawless men, scrupled not to break the truce, and to rob and to\nslay all the Saracens which were in Acre, under the security of the\ntruce, with their merchandise and victuals; and in like manner they\nwent through many villages round about Acre, robbing and slaying the\nSaracens. For the which thing, the soldan holding himself much\naggrieved, sent his ambassadors to Acre to those lords, demanding\ncompensation for the wrongs that had been committed, and that for his\nhonour and the satisfaction of his people, there should be sent to him\nas prisoners some of the chiefs and leaders of them which had broken\nthe truce, to the end that he might execute justice upon them, the\nwhich requests were denied him. Wherefore he came with his army, as we\nhave said, and because of the multitude of his people, by force they\nfilled up part of the moats, which were very deep, and took the outer\ncircle of the walls; and the next circle they caused in part to fall\nby the aid of mines and engines; and they took the great tower, which\nwas called Accursed, because it had been foretold that by it Acre\nshould be lost. But with all this they could not take the city, for\nalbeit the Saracens broke down the walls by day, by night they were\nrepaired and stopped up with planks, or with sacks of wool and of\ncotton, and vigorously defended on the day following, by the wise and\nvaliant brother, Guillaume de Beaujeu, master of the Temple, which was\ncaptain-general of the war and of the defence of the city, and had,\nwith much prowess and foresight and care, vigorously defended the\ncity. But as it pleased God, and to punish the sins of the inhabitants\nof Acre, the said master of the Temple, lifting up his right arm in\nthe combat, was shot by a Saracen with a poisoned arrow, which entered\ninto the joints of his cuirass, by the which wound he shortly after\ndied; and because of his death the whole city was moved and put in\nfear; and by reason of the confusion of so many lords and captains, as\nwe before said, all fell into disorder, and there was discord in the\nguard and defence of the city; and each one who could gave heed to\nhis own safety, taking refuge in ships and in other vessels which were\nin the port. For the which cause the Saracens, continuing the attacks\nby day and by night, entered the city by force and traversed it,\nrobbing everywhere and slaying all who came in their way, and the\nyoung men and maidens they carried off as slaves; and there were of\nslain and prisoners, men, women and children, more than 60,000; and\nthe loss of goods and booty was infinite. And having collected the\nbooty and treasures, and carried away the prisoners out of the city,\nthey broke down the walls and strongholds, and set fire to them, and\ndestroyed all the city, whereby Christendom sustained very great hurt,\nfor by the loss of Acre there remained in the Holy Land no city\npertaining to the Christians; and never again was any one of the good\ntrading cities, which are on our sea-shores and borders, worth\none-half of its former profit in merchandise and arts; because of the\nloss of the city and port of Acre, by reason of its good situation\nright on the brow of our sea, and in the midst of Syria, and well-nigh\nin the midst of the inhabited world, seventy miles distant from\nJerusalem, a magazine and port for all merchandise, both from the East\nand from the West; and all races of men in the world met there to\nbarter merchandise; and there were interpreters there of all the\nlanguages of the world, so that it was like one of the elements of the\nworld. And this disaster was not without the great and just judgment\nof God, for that city was more full of sinful men and of women of\nevery kind of abandoned vice than any other Christian city. When the\nsorrowful tidings came to the West, the Pope proclaimed great\nindulgences and pardons to whosoever should give aid and succour to\nthe Holy Land, sending word to all Christian lords that he purposed a\ngeneral crusade; and he forbade, under pain of severe judgments and\nexcommunications, that any Christian should go to Alexandria or the\nland of Egypt with merchandise, or victuals, or wood, or iron, or\nshould give aid and favour there in any wise.\n\u00a7 146.--_Of the death of King Rudolf of Germany._\n[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 103-105.]\nIn the said year 1291, King Rudolf of Germany died, but he never\nattained to the honours of the Empire, because he was always intent\nupon increasing his state and lordship in Germany, leaving the\nenterprises of Italy that he might increase land and possessions for\nhis sons; who, by his energy and valour, from a small count rose to be\nEmperor, and gained for himself the duchy of Austria, and a great part\nof the duchy of Suabia.\n\u00a7 147.--_How King Philip of France caused all the Italians to be taken\nprisoner, and then ransomed._ \u00a7 148.--_How the Pisans recaptured the\nfortress of Pontadera._\n\u00a7 149.--_How the city of Forl\u00ec in Romagna was taken by Maghinardo da\nSusinana._\n[Sidenote: 1291 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. xxvii. 49-51.]\nIn the said year all the county of Romagna, being obedient to Holy\nChurch, and under the care of the bishop of Arezzo, which was count\nthereof for the Pope, Maghinardo da Susinana, with certain nobles and\ngreat men of Romagna, took the city of Forl\u00ec by theft, and in it they\ntook the Count Aghinolfo of Romena with his sons, which was brother to\nthe said count bishop of Arezzo; and they besieged the said count\nbishop in Cesena; whence arose great war in Romagna. The said\nMaghinardo was a great and wise tyrant, holding many castles between\nCasentino and Romagna, and having many followers; and he was wise in\nwar and very fortunate in many battles, and in his time did great\nthings. He was a Ghibelline by race and by his works, but with the\nFlorentines he was a Guelf and the enemy of all their enemies, whether\nthey were Guelfs or Ghibellines; and in every expedition and battle\nwhich the Florentines undertook, whilst he was alive, he was with his\npeople in their service as a captain; and this was because, when his\nfather died, which was called Piero Pagano, a great nobleman, leaving\nthe said Maghinardo, a young child and with many enemies, to wit, the\nCounts Guidi and the Ubaldini and other lords of Romagna, this said\nfather left him to the care and tutelage of the people and\ncommonwealth of Florence, him and his lands; by the which commonwealth\nhis patrimony was benignly increased and guarded and improved, and for\nthis cause he was grateful and very faithful to the commonwealth of\nFlorence in all its needs.\n[Sidenote: 1292 A.D.]\n\u00a7 150.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Ampinana._ \u00a7\n151.--_How Pope Nicholas, of Ascoli, died._ \u00a7 152.--_How the whole\ncity of Noyon, in France, was burnt._ \u00a7 153.--_How Adolf was elected\nking of the Romans._ \u00a7 154.--_How the Florentines marched upon the\ncity of Pisa._ \u00a7 155.--_Of the miracles which were manifested in\nFlorence by S. Maria d'Orto San Michele._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VII.\nBOOK VIII.\n    _Here begins the Eighth Book. It tells how the second Popolo\n    arose in the city of Florence, and of many great changes\n    which by reason thereof came afterwards to pass in Florence,\n    following on with the other events of those times._\n[Sidenote: 1292 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 131, 132.]\n\u00a7 1.--In the year of Christ 1292, on the 1st day of February, the city\nof Florence being in great and powerful state, and prosperous in all\nthings, and the citizens thereof waxing fat and rich, and by reason of\nexcessive tranquillity, which naturally engenders pride and novelties,\nbeing envious and arrogant among themselves, many murders, and wounds,\nand outrages were done by one citizen upon another; and above all the\nnobles known as magnates and potentates, alike in the country and in\nthe city, wrought upon the people who might not resist them, force and\nviolence both against person and goods, taking possession thereof. For\nthe which thing certain good men, artificers and merchants of\nFlorence, which desired good life, considered how to set a remedy and\ndefence against the said plague, and one of the leaders therein, among\nothers, was a man of worth, an ancient and noble citizen, being one of\nthe popolani, rich and powerful, whose name was Giano della Bella, of\nthe people of S. Martin, with the following and counsel of other wise\nand powerful popolani. And instituting in Florence an order of judges\nto correct the statutes and our laws, as by our ordinances the custom\nwas of old to do, they ordained certain laws and statutes, very strong\nand weighty, against such magnates and men of power as should do wrong\nor violence against the people; increasing the common penalties in\ndivers ways, and enacting that one member of a family of magnates\nshould be held answerable for the others; and two bearing witness to\npublic fame and report should be held to prove such crimes; and the\npublic accounts should be revised. And these laws they called the\nOrdinances of Justice. And to the intent they might be maintained and\nput into execution, it was decreed that beyond the number of six\nPriors which governed the city, there should be a gonfalonier of\njustice appointed by the several sesti in succession, changing every\ntwo months, as do the Priors. And when the bells were set tolling, the\npeople were to rally to the church of San Piero Scheraggio and give\nout the banner of justice, which before was not the custom. And they\ndecreed that not one of the Priors should be of the noble houses\ncalled magnates; for before this good and true merchants had often\nbeen made Priors, albeit they chanced to be of some great and noble\nhouse. And the ensign and standard of the said Popolo was decreed to\nbe a white field with a red cross; and there were chosen 1000\ncitizens, divided according to the sesti, with certain standard-bearers\nfor each region, with fifty footmen to each standard, which were to be\narmed, each one with hauberk and shield marked with the cross; and\nthey were to assemble at every tumult or summons of the gonfalonier,\nat the house or at the palace of the Priors, to do execution against\nthe magnates; and afterwards the number of the chosen footmen\nincreased to 2,000, and then to 4,000. And a like order of men-at-arms\nfor the people, with the said ensign, was enrolled in each country and\ndistrict of Florence, and they were called the Leagues of the People.\nAnd the first of the said gonfaloniers was one Baldo de' Ruffoli of\nthe Porte del Duomo; and in his time the standard sallied forth with\narmed men to destroy the goods of a family named Galli of Porta S.\nMarie, by reason of a murder which one of them had committed in the\nkingdom of France on the person of a popolano. This new decree of the\npeople, and change in the State was of much importance to the city of\nFlorence, and had afterwards many and divers consequences both ill and\ngood to our commonwealth, as hereafter in due time we shall make\nmention. And in this new thing and beginning of the Popolo, the\npopolani would have been hindered by the power of the magnates but\nthat in those times the said magnates of Florence were in greater\nbroils and discords among themselves than ever before since the Guelfs\nreturned to Florence; and there was great war between the Adimari and\nthe Tosinghi, and between the Rossi and the Tornaquinci, and between\nthe Bardi and the Mozzi, and between the Gherardini and the Manieri,\nand between the Cavalcanti and the Bondelmonti, and between certain of\nthe Bondelmonti and the Giandonati, and between the Visdomini and the\nFalconieri, and between the Bostichi and the Foraboschi, and between\nthe Foraboschi and the Malispini, and among the Frescobaldi\nthemselves, and among the family of the Donati themselves, and many\nother noble houses. [And therefore let not the reader marvel because\nwe have put this event at the head of our book, forasmuch as the most\nstrange events arose from this beginning, and not only to our city of\nFlorence, but to all the region of Italy.]\n[Sidenote: 1293 A.D.]\n\u00a7 2.--_How the people of Florence made peace with the Pisans, and many\nother notable things._ \u00a7 3.--_Of a great fire which broke out in\nFlorence in the district of Torcicoda._ \u00a7 4.--_How the war began\nbetween the king of France and the king of England._\n\u00a7 5.--_How Celestine V. was elected and made Pope, and how he\nrenounced the papacy._\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. iii. 58-60; xxvii. 104, 105.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxvii. 41.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. iii. 59, 60.]\nIn the year of Christ 1294, in the month of July, the Church of Rome\nhad been vacant after the death of Pope Nicholas d'Ascoli for more\nthan two years, by reason of the discord of the cardinals, which were\ndivided, each party desiring to make one of themselves Pope. And the\ncardinals being in Perugia and straitly constrained by the Perugians\nto elect a Pope, as it pleased God they were agreed not to name one of\ntheir own college, and they elected a holy man which was called\nBrother Peter of Morrone in Abruzzi. This man was a hermit, and of\naustere life and penitence, and in order to abandon the vanity of the\nworld, after he had ordained many holy monasteries of his Order, he\ndeparted as a penitent into the mountain of Morrone, which is above\nSermona. He, being elected and brought and crowned Pope, made in the\nfollowing September, for the reformation of the Church, twelve\ncardinals, for the most part from beyond the mountains, by the\npetition and after the counsel of King Charles, king of Sicily and of\nApulia. And this done, he departed with the court to Naples, and by\nKing Charles was graciously received and with great honour; but\nbecause he was simple and knew no letters, and did not occupy himself\nwillingly with the pomps of the world, the cardinals held him in small\nesteem, and it seemed to them that they had made an ill choice for the\nwell-being and estate of the Church. The said holy father perceiving\nthis, and not feeling himself sufficient for the government of the\nChurch, as one who more loved the service of God and the weal of his\nsoul than worldly honour, sought every way how he might renounce the\npapacy. Now, among the other cardinals of the court was one M.\nBenedetto Guatani d'Alagna, very learned in books, and in the things\nof the world much practised and sagacious, which had a great desire to\nattain to the papal dignity; and he had laid plans seeking and\nstriving to obtain it by the aid of King Charles and the cardinals,\nand already had the promise from them, which afterwards was fulfilled\nto him. He put it before the holy father, hearing that he was desirous\nto renounce the papacy, that he should make a new decretal, that for\nthe good of his soul any Pope might renounce the papacy, showing him\nthe example of S. Clement, whom, when S. Peter came to die, he desired\nshould be Pope after him; but he, for the good of his soul, would not\nhave it so, and in his room first S. Linus and then S. Cletus was\nPope. And even as the said cardinal gave counsel, Pope Celestine made\nthe said decretal; and this done, the day of S. Lucy in the following\nDecember, in a consistory of all the cardinals, in their presence he\ntook off the crown and papal mantle, and renounced the papacy, and\ndeparted from the court, and returned to his hermit life, and to do\nhis penance. And thus Pope Celestine reigned in the papacy five months\nand nine days. But afterwards it is said, and was true, that his\nsuccessor, M. Benedetto Guatani aforesaid (who was afterwards Pope\nBoniface), caused him to be taken prisoner in the mountains of S.\nAngiolo in Apulia above Bastia, whither he had withdrawn to do\npenance; and some say that he would fain have gone into Slavonia, but\nthe other secretly held him in the fortress of Fummone in Campagna in\nhonourable confinement, to the intent that so long as he lived none\nshould be set up as a rival to his own election, forasmuch as many\nChristians held Celestine to be the right and true Pope,\nnotwithstanding his renunciation, maintaining that such a dignity as\nwas the papacy by no decretal could be renounced; and albeit S.\nClement refused the papacy at the first, the faithful nevertheless\nheld him to be father, and it behoved him to be Pope after S. Cletus.\nBut Celestine being held prisoner, as we have said, in Fummone, lived\nbut a short time in the said place; and dying there, he was buried\npoorly in a little church without Fummone pertaining to the order of\nhis brethren, and put underground more than ten cubits deep, to the\nend his body might not be found. But during his life, and after his\ndeath, God wrought many miracles by him, whence many people held him\nin great reverence; and a certain time afterwards by the Church of\nRome, and by Pope John XXII., he was canonised, and called S. Peter of\nMorrone, as hereafter in due time we shall make mention.\n\u00a7 6.--_How Boniface VIII. was elected and made Pope._\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1294, Cardinal Benedetto Guatani, having by his wit\nand sagacity so wrought that Pope Celestine had renounced the papacy,\nas before in the last chapter we have made mention, followed up his\nenterprise, and wrought upon the cardinals and the support of King\nCharles, which had the friendship of many cardinals, specially of the\ntwelve newly elected by Celestine. And while he was pursuing this\nquest, one evening by night he went secretly with but few companions\nto King Charles, and said to him: \"King, thy Pope Celestine had the\nwill and the means to serve thee in thy Sicilian war, but he had not\nthe knowledge. Now, if thou wilt work with thy friends the cardinals\nthat I may be elected Pope, I shall know, and I shall will, and I\nshall be able,\" promising him by his faith and oath to put thereto all\nthe power of the Church. Then the king, trusting in him, promised him\nand agreed with his twelve cardinals that they should give him their\nvotes; and there being at the election M. Matteo Rosso and M. Jacopo\ndella Colonna, which were the heads of factions among the cardinals,\nthey perceived what was toward, and straightway they too gave him\ntheir votes, but the first to do it was M. Matteo Rosso Orsini. And on\nthis wise he was elected Pope in the city of Naples, the vigil of the\nNativity of Christ in the said year; and immediately when he was\nelected, he willed to depart from Naples with his court, and came to\nRome, and there caused himself to be crowned with great solemnity and\nhonour in the middle of January. And this done, the first act which he\ndid, hearing that great war was begun between King Philip of France\nand King Edward of England on the question of Gascony, was to send\nbeyond the mountains two cardinal legates, to the end they might\nreconcile them together; but they availed little, for the said lords\ncontinued in greater war than before. This Pope Boniface was of the\ncity of Alagna, a very noble man of his city, son of M. Lifredi\nGuatani, a Ghibelline by race, and whilst he was cardinal he was their\nprotector, specially of the Todini; but after he was made Pope he\nbecame a strong Guelf, and did much for King Charles in the war in\nSicily, albeit it is said by many wise men that he broke up the Guelf\nparty, under cover of showing himself a strong Guelf, as hereafter in\nhis actions may be manifestly seen by him who observes closely. A man\nof large schemes was he and lordly, and sought for much honour, and\nwell knew how to maintain and advance the rights of the Church, and by\nreason of his knowledge and power he was much redoubted and feared; he\nwas very rich through making the Church great and his kinsfolk; making\nno scruple of gain, for he said all was lawfully his which was the\nChurch's. And when he was made Pope he annulled all the assignments of\nthe revenues of vacant benefices made by Pope Celestine, except where\none was in possession; and he had his nephew made count of Caserta by\nKing Charles, and two sons of the said nephew, the one count of Fondi,\nand the other count of Palazzo. He bought the military fortress at\nRome, which was the palace of Octavianus the emperor, and caused it to\nbe enlarged and rebuilt at great cost, and other strong and fine\ncastles in Campagna and in Maremma. And always he abode in winter in\nRome, and in summer and spring in Rieti or Orvieto, but afterwards the\nmost in Alagna, to make his city great. We will now leave speaking of\nthe said Pope, following from time to time the things which came to\npass in other parts of the world, and above all those in Florence,\nwhereof the matter increases much.\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\n\u00a7 7.--_When the foundation of the new church of Santa Croce was begun\nin Florence._\n\u00a7 8.--_How the great man of the people, Giano della Bella, was driven\nout of Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1294, in the month of January, when M. Giovanni da\nLucino da Como had lately entered upon the office of Podest\u00e0 of\nFlorence, a cause came for trial before him accusing M. Corso de'\nDonati, a noble and powerful citizen among the best in Florence, of\nhaving slain a popolano, a retainer of his associate M. Simone\nGalastrone, in a scuffle and fray which they had together, and wherein\nthat retainer was slain; for which M. Corso Donati refused to pay the\nfine and bade justice take its course, trusting in the favour of the\nsaid Podest\u00e0, to be granted at the prayers of friends and of the\nlords; whereas the people of Florence looked that the said Podest\u00e0\nshould condemn him; and already the standard of justice had been\nbrought forth to carry the sentence into execution; but he absolved\nhim; for the which thing, when the said declaration of innocence was\nread from the palace of the Podest\u00e0, and M. Simone Galastrone was\ncondemned for having inflicted wounds, the common people cried out:\n\"Death to the Podest\u00e0,\" and sallied forth in haste from the palace,\ncrying, \"To arms! to arms! long live the people!\" and a great number\nof the people flew to arms, and especially of the common people, and\nrushed to the house of Giano della Bella, their chief; and he, it is\nsaid, sent them with his brother to the palace of the Priors to follow\nthe gonfalonier of justice; but this they did not do, but came only to\nthe palace of the Podest\u00e0, and furiously assaulted the said palace\nwith arms and crossbows, and set fire to the gates and burnt them,\nand entered in, and seized and scornfully robbed the said Podest\u00e0 and\nhis staff. But M. Corso in fear of his life fled from the palace over\nthe roofs, for then was it not so walled as it is now. And the tumult\ndispleased the Priors which were very near to the palace of the\nPodest\u00e0, but by reason of the unbridled populace, they were not able\nto hinder it. But some days after, when the uproar had been quieted,\nthe great men could not rest, in their desire to abase Giano della\nBella, forasmuch as he had been among the chiefs and beginners of the\nOrdinances of Justice, and was moreover desirous further to abase the\nmagnates by taking from the Captains of the Guelf Party the seal and\nthe common fund of the Party (which fund was very great), and to give\nthem to the commonwealth; not that he was not a Guelf and of Guelf\nstock, but he would fain diminish the power of the magnates. Wherefore\nthe magnates, seeing themselves thus treated, created a faction\ntogether with the Council of the College of Judges and of Notaries,\nwhich held themselves to be oppressed by him, as we before made\nmention, and with other popolani grassi, friends and kinsmen of the\nmagnates, which loved not that Giano della Bella should be greater in\nthe commonwealth than they. And they determined to elect a body of\nstalwart Priors. And this was done, and they were proclaimed earlier\nthan the wonted time. And this done, when they were in office they\nconferred with the Captain of the People, and set forth a proclamation\nand inquisition against the said Giano della Bella and his other\nconfederates and followers and those which had been leaders in setting\nfire to the gates of the Palace, charging them with having set the\ncity in an uproar, and disturbed the peace of the State, and\nassaulted the Podest\u00e0, against the Ordinances of Justice; for the\nwhich thing the common people was much disturbed, and went to the\nhouse of Giano della Bella, and offered to surround him with arms, to\ndefend him or to attack the city. And his brother bore to Orto San\nMichele a standard with the arms of the people; but Giano was a wise\nman, albeit somewhat presumptuous, and when he saw himself betrayed\nand deceived by the very men which had been with him in making the\nPopolo, and saw that their force together with that of the magnates\nwas very great, and that the Priors were already assembled under arms\nat their house, he would not hazard the chances of civil war; and to\nthe end the city might not be ravaged, and for fear of his person, he\nwould not face the court, but withdrew, and departed from Florence on\nthe 5th day of March, hoping that the people might yet restore him to\nhis state; wherefore by the said accusation or notification he was for\ncontumacy condemned in person and banished, and he died in exile in\nFrance (for he had affairs to attend to there, and was a partner of\nthe Pazzi); and all his goods were destroyed; and certain other\npopolani were accused with him; and he was a great loss to our city,\nand above all to the people, forasmuch as he was the most leal and\nupright popolano, and lover of the common good, of any man in\nFlorence, and one who gave to the commonwealth and took nothing\ntherefrom. He was presumptuous and desired to avenge his wrongs, and\nthis he did somewhat against the Abati, his neighbours, with the arm\nof the commonwealth, and, perhaps for the said sins, he was by his own\nlaws, wrongfully and without guilt, judged by the unjust. And note\nthat this is a great example to those citizens which are to come, to\nbeware of desiring to be lords over their fellow-citizens or too\nambitious; but to be content with the common citizenship. For the very\nmen which had aided him to rise, through envy betrayed him and plotted\nto abase him; and it has been seen and experienced truly in Florence\nin ancient and modern times, that whosoever has become leader of the\npeople and of the masses has been cast down; forasmuch as the\nungrateful people never give men their due reward. From this event\narose great disturbance and change amongst the people and in the city\nof Florence, and from that time forward the artificers and common\npeople possessed little power in the commonwealth, but the government\nremained in the hands of the powerful popolani grassi.\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\n\u00a7 9.--_When the building of the great church of Santa Reparata was\nbegun._\n\u00a7 10.--_How M. Gianni di Celona came into Tuscany as Imperial Vicar._\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 23-120.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xv. 119, 120.]\nIn the said year 1294 there died in Florence a worthy citizen whose\nname was M. Brunetto Latini, who was a great philosopher, and was a\nperfect master in rhetoric, understanding both how to speak well and\nhow to write well. And he it was which commented upon the rhetoric of\nTully, and made the good and useful book called \"The Treasure,\" and\n\"The Little Treasure,\" and \"The Key to the Treasure,\" and many other\nbooks in philosophy, and concerning vices and virtues. And he was\nsecretary of our commonwealth. He was a worldly man, but we have made\nmention of him because it was he who was the beginner and master in\nrefining the Florentines and in teaching them how to speak well, and\nhow to guide and rule our republic according to policy.\n[Sidenote: 1294 A.D.]\n\u00a7 11.--_How S. Louis, king that was of France, was canonised._\n\u00a7 12.--_How the magnates of Florence raised a tumult in the city to\nbreak up the Popolo._\n[Sidenote: 1295 A.D.]\nOn the 6th day of the month of July of the year 1295, the magnates and\ngreat men of the city of Florence, seeing themselves mightily\noppressed by the new Ordinances of Justice made by the people--and\nespecially by that ordinance which declares that one kinsman is to be\nheld to account for another, and that two witnesses establish public\nreport--having their own friends in the priorate, gave themselves to\nbreaking down the ordinances of the people. And first they made up\ntheir great quarrels amongst themselves, especially between the\nAdimari and Tosinghi, and between the Mozzi and the Bardi. And this\ndone, on an appointed day, they made a great gathering of folk, and\npetitioned the Priors to have the said articles amended; whereupon all\nthe people in the city of Florence rose in tumult and rushed to arms;\nthe magnates, on armoured horses themselves, and with their retainers\nfrom the country and other troops on foot in great numbers; and one\nset of them drew up in the piazza of S. Giovanni, over whom M. Forese\ndegli Adimari held the royal ensign; another set assembled at the\nPiazza a Ponte, whose ensign was held by M. Vanni Mozzi; and a third\nset in the Mercato Nuovo, whose standard M. Geri Spini held; with\nintent to overrun the city. The popolani were all in arms, in their\nranks, with ensigns and banners, in great numbers; and they\nbarricaded the streets of the city at sundry points to hinder the\nhorsemen from overrunning the place, and they gathered at the palace\nof the Podest\u00e0, and at the house of the Priors, who at that time abode\nat the house of the Cerchi behind San Brocolo. And the people found\nthemselves in great power and well ordered, with force of arms and\nfolk, and they associated with the Priors, whom they did not trust, a\nnumber of the greatest and most powerful and discreet of the popolani\nof Florence, one for each sesto. Wherefore the magnates had no\nstrength nor power against them, and the people might have overthrown\nthem; but consulting for the best, and to avoid civil battle, by the\nmediation of certain friars between the better sort of either side,\neach party disarmed; and the city returned to peace and quiet without\nany change; the Popolo being left in its state and lordship; save that\nwhereas before the proof of public report was established by two\nwitnesses, it was now laid down that there must be three; and even\nthis was conceded by the Priors against the will of the popolani, and\nshortly afterwards it was revoked and the old order re-established.\nBut for all that this disturbance was the root and beginning of the\ndismal and ill estate of the city of Florence which thereafter\nfollowed, for thenceforth the magnates never ceased to search for\nmeans to beat down the people, to their utmost power; and the leaders\nof the people sought every way of strengthening the people and abasing\nthe magnates by reinforcing the Ordinances of Justice, and they had\nthe great crossbows taken from the magnates and bought up by the\ncommonwealth; and many families which were not tyrannical nor of any\ngreat power they removed from the number of the magnates and added\nthem to the people, to weaken the power of the magnates and increase\nthat of the people; and when the said Priors went out of office they\nwere struck with cudgels behind and had stones flung at them, because\nthey had consented to favour the magnates; and by reason of these\ndisturbances and changes there was a fresh ordering of the people in\nFlorence, whereof the heads were Mancini and Magalotti, Altoviti,\nPeruzzi, Acciaiuoli, Cerretani and many others.\n\u00a7 13.--_How King Charles made peace with King James of Aragon._\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 115-120, iii. 116.]\n[Sidenote: 1295 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. viii. 49-75.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 55.]\nConvivio iv. 6: 180-190. De Vulg. Eloquio i. 12: 15-38.]\nIn the year of Christ 1295 the King Alfonso of Aragon died; by the\nwhich death Don James, his brother, which had been crowned king of\nSicily and held the island, sought to make peace with the Church and\nwith King Charles; and by the hand of Pope Boniface it was done after\nthis manner: that the said Don James should take to wife the daughter\nof King Charles, and should resign the lordship of Sicily, and should\nset the hostages free which King Charles had left in Aragon, to wit\nRobert and Raymond and John, his sons, with other barons and knights\nof Provence. And the Pope, with King Charles, promised that they would\ncause Charles of Valois, brother of the king of France, to renounce\nthe claim which Pope Martin IV. had granted him to the kingdom of\nAragon; and to the end he might consent thereto, King Charles gave him\nthe county of Anjou, and his daughter to wife. And to order this\nmatter King Charles went into France in person, and when he returned\nwith the compact made, and with his sons whom he had set free from\nprison, he came to the city of Florence, whither was already come to\nmeet him Charles Martel, his son, king of Hungary, with his company\nof 200 knights with golden spurs, French and Proven\u00e7al and from the\nKingdom, all young men, invested by the king with habits of scarlet\nand dark green, and all with saddles of one device, with their\npalfreys adorned with silver and gold, with arms quarterly, bearing\ngolden lilies and surrounded by a bordure of red and silver, which are\nthe arms of Hungary. And they appeared the noblest and richest company\na young king ever had with him. And in Florence he abode more than\ntwenty days, awaiting his father, King Charles, and his brothers; and\nthe Florentines did him great honour, and he showed great love to the\nFlorentines, wherefore he was in high favour with them all. And when\nKing Charles was come into Florence, and Robert and Raymond and John,\nhis sons, with the marquis of Montferrat, which was to have for wife\nthe daughter of the king, he made many knights in Florence and\nreceived much honour and many presents from the Florentines; and then\nthe king with all his sons returned to the papal court and afterwards\nto Naples. And this done, and after all the articles of the treaty of\npeace had been fulfilled by the Pope and by King Charles, Don James\ndeparted from Sicily and came into Aragon, and was crowned king over\nthe realm; but whosoever may have been in fault, whether the Pope or\nDon James, King Charles found himself deceived, for when King Charles\nthought to have the island of Sicily again in quiet, after Don James\nhad departed, Frederick, his next brother, became lord thereof, and\ncaused himself to be crowned king by the Sicilians against the will of\nthe Church by the bishop of Cephalonia; wherefore the Pope was much\nangered with the king of Aragon, as well as with Frederick his\nbrother, and caused him to be summoned to court, which King James\ncame thither the following year, as hereafter we shall make mention.\n[Sidenote: 1296 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 49-51.]\n[Sidenote: 1297 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 97.]\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Guelf party were driven by force out of Genoa._ \u00a7\n15.--_The doings of the Tartars of Persia._ \u00a7 16.--_How Maghinardo da\nSusinana defeated the Bolognese and took the city of Imola._ \u00a7\n17.--_How the people of Florence built the cities and strongholds of\nSangiovanni and Castelfranco in Valdarno._ \u00a7 18.--_How King James of\nAragon came to Rome, and Pope Boniface granted him the island of\nSardinia._ \u00a7 19.--_How the counts of Flanders and of Bar rebelled\nagainst the king of France._ \u00a7 20.--_How the count of Artois defeated\nthe Flemings at Furnes, and how the king of England passed into\nFlanders._ \u00a7 21.--_How Pope Boniface deposed from the cardinalate M.\nJacopo and M. Piero della Colonna._ \u00a7 22.--_How Albert of Austria\ndefeated and slew Adolf, king of Germany, and how he was elected king\nof the Romans._\n\u00a7 23.--_How the Colonnesi came to ask pardon of the Pope, and\nafterwards rebelled a second time._\n[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxvii. 67-111.]\nIn the said year, in the month of September, negociations having taken\nplace between Pope Boniface and the Colonnesi, the said Colonnesi,\nboth laymen and clergy, came to Rieti, where the court was, and threw\nthemselves at the feet of the said Pope, asking pardon, who forgave\nthem and absolved them from excommunication, and desired them to\nsurrender the city of Palestrina; and this they did, and he promised\nto restore them to their state and dignity, which promise he did not\nfulfil, but caused the said city of Palestrina to be destroyed from\nthe hill and stronghold where it was, and a new city to be built on\nthe plain, to which the name of the Civita Papale was given; and all\nthis false and fraudulent treaty the Pope made by the counsel of the\ncount of Montefeltro, then a minor friar, when he said the evil word\n\"ample promise and scant fulfilment.\" The said Colonnesi, finding\nthemselves deceived in that which had been promised to them, and the\nnoble fortress of Palestrina destroyed by the said deceit, before the\nyear was ended rebelled against the Pope and the Church; and the Pope\nexcommunicated them again with heavy sentence; wherefore, fearing lest\nthey should be taken or slain through the persecution of the said\nPope, they departed from the city of Rome and were dispersed, some to\nSicily, some to France and to other places, concealing themselves in\none place after another so as not to be recognised, and to the end no\ncertain abiding-place of theirs might be known, especially M. Jacopo\nand M. Piero, which had been cardinals; and thus they continued in\nexile so long as the said Pope lived.\n\u00a7 24.--_How the Genoese defeated the Venetians at sea._ \u00a7 25.--_Of the\ngreat earthquakes that befell in certain cities in Italy._\n\u00a7 26.--_When the palace of the people of Florence was begun, where\ndwell the Priors._\n[Sidenote: 1298 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1298, the commonwealth and people of Florence began\nto build the Palace of the Priors, by reason of the differences\nbetween the people and the magnates, forasmuch as the city was always\nin jealousy and commotion, at the election of the Priors afresh every\ntwo months, by reason of the factions which had already begun; and the\nPriors which ruled the city and all the republic, did not feel\nthemselves secure in their former habitation, which was the house of\nthe White Cerchi behind the church of San Brocolo. And they built the\nsaid palace where had formerly been the houses of the Uberti, rebels\nagainst Florence, and Ghibellines; and on the site of those houses\nthey made a piazza, so that they might never be rebuilt. And they\nbought other houses from citizens, such as the Foraboschi, and there\nbuilt the said palace and the tower of the priors, which was raised\nupon a tower which was more than fifty cubits high, pertaining to the\nForaboschi, and called the Torre della Vacca. And to the end the said\npalace might not stand upon the ground of the said Uberti, they which\nhad the building of it set it up obliquely; but for all that it was a\ngrave loss not to build it four-square, and further removed from the\nchurch of San Piero Scheraggio.\n[Sidenote: 1299 A.D.]\n\u00a7 27.--_How peace was made between the commonwealth of Genoa and that\nof Venice._ \u00a7 28.--_How peace was made between the commonwealth of\nBologna and the marquis of Este and Maghinardo da Sussinana by the\nFlorentines._ \u00a7 29.--_How King James of Aragon with Ruggeri di Loria\nand with the armada of King Charles defeated the Sicilians off Cape\nOrlando._ \u00a7 30.--_How peace was made between the Genoese and Pisans._\n\u00a7 31.--_When the new walls of the city of Florence were begun again._\n\u00a7 32.--_How the king of France by his practices got hold of all\nFlanders, and had the count and his sons in prison._ \u00a7 33.--_How the\nking of France allied himself with King Albert of Germany._ \u00a7\n34.--_How the prince of Taranto was defeated in Sicily._ \u00a7 35.--_How\nGhazan, lord of the Tartars, defeated the soldan of the Saracens, and\ntook the Holy Land in Syria._\n\u00a7 36.--_How Pope Boniface VIII. gave pardons to all Christians which\nshould go to Rome, in the year of the jubilee, 1300._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. ii. 98, 99.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxxi. 104-108.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xviii. 28-33.]\nIn the year of Christ 1300, according to the birth of Christ, inasmuch\nas it was held by many that after every hundred years from the\nnativity of Christ, the Pope which was reigning at the time granted\ngreat indulgences, Pope Boniface VIII., which then occupied the\napostolic chair, in reverence for the nativity of Christ, granted\nsupreme and great indulgence after this manner; that within the whole\ncourse of this said year, to whatsoever Roman should visit\ncontinuously for thirty days the churches of the Blessed Apostles S.\nPeter and S. Paul, and to all other people which were not Romans which\nshould do likewise for fifteen days, there should be granted full and\nentire remission of all their sins, both the guilt and the punishment\nthereof, they having made or to make confession of the same. And for\nconsolation of the Christian pilgrims, every Friday and every solemn\nfeast day, was shown in S. Peter's the Veronica, the true image of\nChrist, on the napkin. For the which thing, a great part of the\nChristians which were living at that time, women as well as men, made\nthe said pilgrimage from distant and divers countries, both from far\nand near. And it was the most marvellous thing that was ever seen, for\nthroughout the year, without break, there were in Rome, besides the\ninhabitants of the city, 200,000 pilgrims, not counting those who were\ncoming and going on their journeys; and all were suitably supplied and\nsatisfied with provisions, horses as well as persons, and all was well\nordered, and without tumult or strife; and I can bear witness to this,\nfor I was present and saw it. And from the offerings made by the\npilgrims much treasure was added to the Church, and all the Romans\nwere enriched by the trade. And I, finding myself on that blessed\npilgrimage in the holy city of Rome, beholding the great and ancient\nthings therein, and reading the stories and the great doings of the\nRomans, written by Virgil, and by Sallust, and by Lucan, and Titus\nLivius, and Valerius, and Paulus Orosius, and other masters of\nhistory, which wrote alike of small things as of great, of the deeds\nand actions of the Romans, and also of foreign nations throughout the\nworld, myself to preserve memorials and give examples to those which\nshould come after took up their style and design, although as a\ndisciple I was not worthy of such a work. But considering that our\ncity of Florence, the daughter and creature of Rome, was rising, and\nhad great things before her, whilst Rome was declining, it seemed to\nme fitting to collect in this volume and new chronicle all the deeds\nand beginnings of the city of Florence, in so far as it has been\npossible for me to find and gather them together, and to follow the\ndoings of the Florentines in detail, and the other notable things of\nthe universe in brief, as long as it shall be God's pleasure; in hope\nof which, rather than in my own poor learning, I undertook, by his\ngrace, the said enterprise; and thus in the year 1300, having returned\nfrom Rome, I began to compile this book, in reverence to God and the\nblessed John, and in commendation of our city of Florence.\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\n\u00a7 37.--_How Count Guido of Flanders and two sons of his surrendered to\nthe king of France, and how they were deceived and cast into prison._\n\u00a7 38.--_How the parties of the Blacks and Whites first began in the\ncity of Pistoia._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\nIn these times the city of Pistoia being in happy and great and good\nestate, among the other citizens there was one family very noble and\npuissant, not however of very ancient lineage, which was called the\nCancellieri, born of one Ser Cancelliere, which was a merchant, and\ngained much wealth, and by his two wives had many sons, which by\nreason of their riches all became knights, and men of worth and\nsubstance, and from them were born many sons and grandsons, so that at\nthis time they numbered more than 100 men in arms, rich and puissant\nand of many affairs, so that not only were they the leading citizens\nof Pistoia, but they were among the most puissant families of Tuscany.\nThere arose among them through their exceeding prosperity, and through\nthe suggestion of the devil, contempt and enmity, between them which\nwere born of one wife against them which were born of the other; and\nthe one part took the name of the Black Cancellieri, and the other of\nthe Whites, and this grew until they fought together, but it was not\nany very great affair. And one of those on the side of the White\nCancellieri having been wounded, they on the side of the Black\nCancellieri, to the end they might be at peace and concord with them,\nsent him which had done the injury and handed him over to the mercy of\nthem which had received it, that they should take amends and vengeance\nfor it at their will; they on the side of the White Cancellieri,\nungrateful and proud, having neither pity nor love, cut off the hand\nof him which had been commended to their mercy on a horse manger. By\nwhich sinful beginning, not only was the house of the Cancellieri\ndivided, but many violent deaths arose therefrom, and all the city of\nPistoia was divided, for some held with one part and some with the\nother, and they called themselves the Whites and the Blacks,\nforgetting among themselves the Guelf and Ghibelline parties; and many\ncivil strifes and much peril and loss of life arose therefrom in\nPistoia; and not only in Pistoia, but afterwards the city of Florence\nand all Italy was contaminated by the said parties, as hereafter we\nshall be able to understand and know. The Florentines, fearing lest\nthe said factions should stir up rebellion in the city to the hurt of\nthe Guelf party, interposed to bring about an atonement between them,\nand took the lordship of the city, and brought both parties of the\nCancellieri from Pistoia, and set them under bounds at Florence. The\nBlack party were kept in the house of the Frescobaldi in Oltrarno, and\nthe White party in the house of the Cerchi in Garbo, through kinship\nwhich there was between them. But like as one sick sheep infects all\nthe flock, thus this accursed seed which came from Pistoia, being in\nFlorence corrupted all the Florentines, and first divided all the\nraces and families of the nobles, one part thereof holding to and\nfavouring one side, and the other the other, and afterwards all the\npopolari. For the which cause and beginning of strife not only were\nthe Cancellieri not reconciled together by the Florentines, but the\nFlorentines by them were divided and broken up, increasing from bad to\nworse, as our treatise will hereafter make manifest.\n\u00a7 39.--_How the city of Florence was divided and brought to shame by\nthe said White and Black parties._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxiv. 22.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xv., xvi.]\n[Sidenote: 1299 A.D.]\nIn the said time, our city of Florence was in the greatest and\nhappiest state which had ever been since it was rebuilt, or before,\nalike in greatness and power and in number of people, forasmuch as\nthere were more than 30,000 citizens in the city, and more than\n70,000 men capable of arms in the country within her territory; and\nshe was great in nobility of good knights, and in free populace, and\nin riches, ruling over the greater part of Tuscany; whereupon the sin\nof ingratitude, with the instigation of the enemy of the human race,\nbrought forth from the said prosperity pride and corruption, which put\nan end to the feasts and joyaunce of the Florentines. For hitherto\nthey had been living in many delights and dainties, and in\ntranquillity and with continual banquets; and every year throughout\nalmost all the city on the first day of May, there were bands and\ncompanies of men and of women, with sports and dances. But now it came\nto pass that through envy there arose factions among the citizens; and\none of the chief and greatest began in the sesto of offence, to wit of\nPorte San Piero, between the house of the Cerchi, and the Donati; on\nthe one side through envy, and on the other through rude\nungraciousness. The head of the family of the Cerchi was one M. Vieri\ndei Cerchi, and he and those of his house were of great affairs, and\npowerful, and with great kinsfolk, and were very rich merchants, so\nthat their company was among the largest in the world; these were\nluxurious, inoffensive, uncultured and ungracious, like folk come in a\nshort time to great estate and power. The head of the family of the\nDonati was M. Corso Donati, and he and those of his house were\ngentlemen and warriors, and of no superabundant riches, but were\ncalled by a gibe the Malefami. Neighbours they were in Florence and in\nthe country, and while the one set was envious the other stood on\ntheir boorish dignity, so that there arose from the clash a fierce\nscorn between them, which was greatly inflamed by the ill seed of the\nWhite and Black parties from Pistoia, as we made mention in the last\nchapter. And the said Cerchi were the heads of the White party in\nFlorence, and with them held almost all the house of the Adimari, save\nthe branch of the Cavicciuli; all the house of the Abati, which was\nthen very powerful, and part of them were Guelf and part were\nGhibelline; a great part of the Tosinghi, specially the branch of\nBaschiera; part of the house of the Bardi, and part of the Rossi, and\nlikewise some of the Frescobaldi, and part of the Nerli and of the\nMannelli, and all the Mozzi, which then were very powerful in riches\nand in estate; all those of the house of the Scali, and the greater\npart of the Gherardini, all the Malispini, and a great part of the\nBostichi and Giandonati, of the Pigli, and of the Vecchietti and\nArrigucci, and almost all the Cavalcanti, which were a great and\npowerful house, and all the Falconieri which were a powerful house of\nthe people. And with them took part many houses and families of\npopolani, and lesser craftsmen, and all the Ghibelline magnates and\npopolani; and by reason of the great following which the Cerchi had,\nthe government of the city was almost all in their power. On the side\nof the Blacks were all they of the house of the Pazzi, who may be\ncounted with the Donati as the chiefs, and all the Visdomini and all\nthe Manieri and Bagnesi, and all the Tornaquinci, and the Spini and\nthe Bondelmonti, and the Gianfigliazzi, Agli, and Brunelleschi, and\nCavicciuli, and the other part of the Tosinghi; all the part that was\nleft of all the Guelf houses named above, for those which were not\nwith the Whites held on the contrary with the Blacks. And thus from\nthe said two parties all the city of Florence and its territory was\ndivided and contaminated. For the which cause, the Guelf party,\nfearing lest the said parties should be turned to account by the\nGhibellines, sent to the court to Pope Boniface, that he might use\nsome remedy. For the which thing the said Pope sent for M. Vieri de'\nCerchi, and when he came before him, he prayed him to make peace with\nM. Corso Donati and with his party, referring their differences to\nhim; and he promised him to put him and his followers into great and\ngood estate, and to grant him such spiritual favours as he might ask\nof him. M. Vieri, albeit he was in other things a sage knight, in this\nwas but little sage, and was too obstinate and capricious, insomuch\nthat he would grant nought of the Pope's request; saying that he was\nat war with no man; wherefore he returned to Florence, and the Pope\nwas moved with indignation against him and against his party. It came\nto pass a little while after that certain both of one party and of the\nother were riding through the city armed and on their guard, and with\nthe party of the young Cerchi was Baldinaccio of the Adimari, and\nBaschiera of the Tosinghi, and Naldo of the Gherardini, and Giovanni\nGiacotti Malispini, with their followers, more than thirty on\nhorseback; and with the young Donati were certain of the Pazzi and of\nthe Spini, and others of their company. On the evening of the first of\nMay, in the year 1300, while they were watching a dance of ladies\nwhich was going forward on the piazza of Santa Trinita, one party\nbegan to scoff at the other, and to urge their horses one against the\nother, whence arose a great conflict and confusion, and many were\nwounded, and, as ill-luck would have it, Ricoverino, son of M.\nRicovero of the Cerchi, had his nose cut off his face; and through the\nsaid scuffle that evening all the city was moved with apprehension and\nflew to arms. This was the beginning of the dissensions and divisions\nin the city of Florence and in the Guelf party, whence many ills and\nperils followed on afterwards, as in due time we shall make mention.\nAnd for this cause we have narrated thus extensively the origin of\nthis beginning of the accursed White and Black parties, for the great\nand evil consequences which followed to the Guelf party, and to the\nGhibellines, and to all the city of Florence, and also to all Italy;\nand like as the death of M. Bondelmonte the elder was the beginning of\nthe Guelf and Ghibelline parties, so this was the beginning of the\ngreat ruin of the Guelf party and of our city. And note, that the year\nbefore these things came to pass, the houses of the commonwealth were\nbuilt, which began at the foot of the old bridge over the Arno, and\nextended towards the fortress of Altafronte, and to do this they\nraised the piles at the foot of the bridge, and they had of necessity\nto move the statue of Mars; and whereas at the first it looked towards\nthe east, it was turned towards the north, wherefore, because of the\naugury of old, folk said: \"May it please God that there come not great\nchanges therefrom to our city.\"\n\u00a7 40.--_How the Cardinal d'Acquasparta came as legate from the Pope to\nmake peace in Florence, and could not do it._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xii. 124.]\nBy reason of the aforesaid events and the factions of the White and\nBlack parties, the captains of the Guelf party and their council were\nfearful lest through the said divisions and strifes the Ghibelline\nparty might rise to more power in Florence, which under the plea of\ngood government already seemed likely; and many Ghibellines held to be\ngood men were beginning to be set in office; and moreover those which\nheld with the Black party, to recover their estate, sent ambassadors\nto the court to Pope Boniface to pray him, for the good of the city\nand for the party of the Church, to take some action. For the which\nthing straightway the Pope appointed as legate to follow up this\nmatter Brother Matteo d'Acquasparta, his cardinal bishop of Porto, of\nthe Order of the Minor Friars, and sent him to Florence, which came\nthere in the month of June following, in the said year 1300, and was\nreceived with great honour by the Florentines. And when he had taken\nsome repose in Florence, he craved jurisdiction from the commonwealth\nto reconcile the Florentines together; and to the end he might take\naway the said White and Black parties he desired to reform the city,\nand to throw the offices open again; and those which were of one part\nand of the other which were worthy to be priors, their names were to\nbe put into a bag together, in each of the sesti, and were to be drawn\nthence every two months, as chance would have it; forasmuch as through\nthe ill-will which had arisen from the factions and divisions, there\nwas never an election of priors by the colleges of Consuls of the Arts\nbut that almost all the city was moved to uproar, and at times with\ngreat preparation of arms. They of the White party which were at the\nhead of the government of the city, through fear of losing their\nestate, and of being deceived by the Pope and the legate by means of\nthe said reformation, took the worse counsel, and would not yield\nobedience; for the which thing the said legate was offended, and\nreturned to court, and left the city of Florence excommunicate and\nunder interdict.\n\u00a7 41.--_Concerning the evils and dangers which followed afterwards to\nour city._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Sonnet xxxii. 1. Vita Nuova 3: 97-100; 24: 19, 45; 25:\nWhen the legate was departed from Florence the city remained in great\nturmoil and in evil state. It came to pass in the month of December\nfollowing that M. Corso Donati went with his followers, and they of\nthe house of the Cerchi with their followers, to the burial of a lady\nof the house of Frescobaldi; and when the two parties came face to\nface, they were minded to assault one another, wherefore all the folk\nwhich were at the burial rose in uproar; and thus every one returned\nin flight to his own house, and all the city flew to arms, and each of\nthe parties gathered a great assembly at their house. M. Gentile dei\nCerchi, Guido Cavalcanti, Baldinaccio and Corso of the Adimari,\nBaschiera della Tosa, and Naldo of the Gherardini, with their\ncompanions and followers on horse and on foot, went in haste to Porte\nSan Piero to the house of the Donati, and not finding them at Porte\nSan Piero, hastened to San Piero Maggiore, where was M. Corso with his\ncompanions and assembly, and by them they were stoutly resisted and\ndriven back and wounded, to the shame and dishonour of the Cerchi and\nof their followers; and for this they were condemned, both the one\nparty and the other, by the commonwealth. A little while after,\ncertain of the Cerchi were in the country at Nepozzano and Pugliano at\ntheir country homes and farms; and as they were returning to Florence,\nthey of the house of the Donati, being assembled with their friends at\nRemole, opposed their path, and there were wounds and assaults both on\none side and on the other; for the which cause both one side and the\nother were accused and condemned for the assemblage and assaults; and\nthe greater part of those of the house of the Donati, not being able\nto pay their fine, chose imprisonment, and were put under confinement.\nThe Cerchi desired to follow their example, for M. Torrigiano dei\nCerchi had said: \"They shall not overcome us in this wise, as they did\nthe Tedaldini, eating them up by fines\"; so he induced his companions\nto choose imprisonment, against the will of M. Vieri dei Cerchi and of\nthe other wise men of his house, which knew the disposition and\nwantonness of their youths; and it came to pass that a certain\naccursed Ser Neri degli Abati, overseer of that prison, eating with\nthem, set before them a present of a poisoned black-pudding, whereof\nthey ate; whence in a little while, after two days, two of the White\nand two of the Black Cerchi died, and Pigello Portinari and Ferraino\ndei Bronci, and for this no vengeance was taken.\n\u00a7 42.--_Of the same._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\nThe city of Florence, being in such heat and dangers from strifes and\nenmities, whence very often the city was in uproar and at arms, M.\nCorso Donati, the Spini, the Pazzi, and some of the Tosinghi and\nCavicciuli, and their followers, both magnates and popolani of their\nfaction of the Black party, with the captains of the Guelf party,\nwhich were then of their mind and purpose, assembled in the church of\nSanta Trinita, and there took counsel and oath together to send\nambassadors to the court to Pope Boniface, to the end he might invite\nsome prince of the house of France, which should restore them to their\nestate, and abase the Popolo and the White party, and for this end to\nspend to their utmost power; and thus they did, wherefore the news\nspreading through the city through some report, the commonwealth and\nthe people were much troubled, and inquisition was made by the\nmagistrates; wherefore M. Corso Donati, which was leader in the\nmatter, was condemned in goods and in person; and the other leaders\nthereof, in more than 20,000 pounds; and they paid them. And this\ndone, there were banished and set under bounds Sinibaldi, brother of\nM. Corso, and some of his family, and M. Rosso, and M. Rossellino\ndella Tosa, and others their companions; and M. Giacchinotto and M.\nPazzino dei Pazzi, and some of the younger members of their families,\nand M. Geri Spini and some of his family, to the village of the Pieve.\nAnd to still all anxiety the people sent the chiefs of the other party\nout of the city and placed them under bounds at Serrezzano; to wit, M.\nGentile, and M. Torrigiano and Carbone of the Cerchi, and some of\ntheir companions, Baschiera della Tosa and some of his family,\nBaldinaccio degli Adimari and some of his family, Naldo dei Gherardini\nand some of his family, Guido Cavalcanti and some of his family, and\nGiovanni Giacotti Malespini. But this party abode less time under\nbounds, forasmuch as they were recalled by reason of the unhealthiness\nof the place, and Guido Cavalcanti returned thence sick, whence he\ndied; and he was a great loss, seeing that he was a philosopher and a\nman accomplished in many things, save only that he was too sensitive\nand passionate. In such fashion was our city guided in the storm.\n\u00a7 43.--_How Pope Boniface sent into France for M. Charles of Valois._\n[Sidenote: 1300 A.D.]\nWhen the legate, Brother Matteo d'Acquasparta, had returned to the\npapal court, he informed Pope Boniface of the evil and uncertain\ncondition of the city of Florence; and afterwards, by reason of the\nthings which came to pass after the departure of the legate, as we\nhave said, and by reason of the importunity and free expenditure of\nthe captains of the Guelf party, and of the aforesaid exiles which\nwere at the village of the Pieve hard by the court, and of M. Geri\nSpini (for he and his company were merchants for Pope Boniface and his\ngeneral advisers), it came to pass that by their zeal and industry,\nand by that of M. Corso Donati, who followed the court wheresoever it\nwent, the said Pope Boniface took counsel to send for M. Charles of\nValois, brother of the king of France, with a double purpose;\nprincipally for the aid of King Charles in his Sicilian war, giving\nthe king of France and the said M. Charles to understand that he would\ncause him to be elected Emperor of the Romans, and confirm the\nelection, or at the least by the authority of the Pope and of Holy\nChurch would make him imperial lieutenant for the Church in virtue of\nthe rights of the Church when the Empire is vacant; and beyond this he\ngave him the title of Peacemaker in Tuscany, to the end he might use\nall his force to bring Florence to his purpose. And when he sent his\nlegate into France for the said M. Charles, the said M. Charles by the\nwill of the king, his brother, came, as we shall hereafter make\nmention, in the hope of being Emperor, because of the promises of the\nPope, as we have said.\n[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]\n\u00a7 44.--_How the Guelfs were driven from Agobbio, and how they\nafterwards recovered the city and drove the Ghibellines thence._\n\u00a7 45.--_How the Black party were driven out of Pistoia._\n[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxiv. 143.]\nIn the year of Christ 1301, in the month of May, the White party in\nPistoia, with the aid and favour of the Whites which were governing\nthe city of Florence, drove thence the Black party and destroyed their\nhouses, palaces and possessions, and among others a strong and rich\npossession of palaces and towers which pertained to the Black\nCancellieri, which was called Damiata.\n[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]\n\u00a7 46.--_How the Interminelli and their followers were driven out of\nLucca._ \u00a7 47.--_How the Guelf refugees from Genoa were peaceably\nrestored._ \u00a7 48.--_How a comet appeared in the heavens._\n\u00a7 49.--_How M. Charles of Valois of France came to Pope Boniface, and\nafterwards came to Florence and drove out the White party._\n[Sidenote: 1301 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 70-78.]\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1301, in the month of September, there came to the\ncity of Alagna, in Campagna, where was Pope Boniface with his court,\nCharles, count of Valois, brother of the king of France, with many\ncounts and barons, and with 500 French horsemen in his company, having\ntaken the way from Lucca to Alagna without entering into Florence for\nlack of trust therein; which M. Charles was received with honour by\nthe Pope and his cardinals; and there came to Alagna King Charles and\nhis sons to speak with him and to do him honour; and the Pope made him\ncount of Romagna. And after they had taken counsel and he had arranged\nwith the Pope and with King Charles the expedition into Sicily in the\nfollowing spring, which was the chief reason why he was come from\nFrance, the Pope, not forgetting the anger he had felt against the\nWhite party in Florence, and desirous that Charles should not pass the\nwinter in vain, gave him the title of Peacemaker in Florence for the\nannoyance of the Guelfs in Florence, and ordained that he should\nreturn to the city of Florence. And thus he did, with his followers\nand with many others, Florentines, Tuscans, and Romagnese, refugees,\nand under bounds from their cities, because they were of the party of\nthe Black Guelfs. And when he was come to Siena, and then to Staggia,\nthey which governed the city of Florence, being fearful of his coming,\nheld long counsel whether to allow him to enter the city or no. And\nthey sent ambassadors to him, and he made answer with fair and\nfriendly words, saying that he was come for their good and well-being,\nand to make peace among them; for the which thing they which ruled the\ncity (who, albeit they were of the White party, called themselves and\ndesired to remain Guelf) determined to allow him to enter. And thus,\non the day of All Saints, 1301, M. Charles entered into Florence with\nhis followers unarmed, and the Florentines did him great honour,\ncoming to meet him in procession with many jousters bearing standards,\nand horses draped in silk. And when he had reposed himself and\nsojourned some days in Florence, he craved from the commonwealth the\nlordship and charge of the city, and authority to make peace among the\nGuelfs. And this was assented to by the commonwealth, on the 5th day\nof November, in the church of Santa Maria Novella, where were\nassembled the Podest\u00e0, and captain, and priors, and all the\ncouncillors and the bishop, and all the good people of Florence; and\nwhen his demand had been made, counsel and deliberation were held\nthereupon, and the lordship and charge of the city was remitted to\nhim. And M. Charles, after his secretary had set the matter forth,\nwith his own mouth accepted it and swore to it, and, as the king's\nson, promised to preserve the city in peaceful and good state; and I,\nthe writer, was present at these things. And straightway the contrary\nwas done by him and by his followers, for, by the counsel of M.\nMusciatto Franzesi, which was come from France as his guide, and by\nagreement with the Black Guelfs, he caused his followers to take arms,\neven before he had returned to his house; for he abode in the house of\nthe Frescobaldi, in Oltrarno. Wherefore, when the citizens saw this\nnew sight of his horsemen in arms, the city was all thrown into\nsuspicion and alarm, and both magnates and popolani took arms, each\none in the house of his friends as best he might, barricading the city\nin divers parts. But in the house of the Priors but few assembled, and\nthe people was as good as without a head, for the priors and they\nwhich ruled the commonwealth saw that they were betrayed and deceived.\nIn the midst of this tumult, M. Corso de' Donati, which was banished\nas a rebel, came that same day from Peretola to Florence by agreement,\nwith some following of certain of his friends and foot-soldiers; and\nwhen the priors and the Cerchi, his enemies, heard of his coming, M.\nSchiatta de' Cancellieri, which was captain of 300 mercenary horsemen\nfor the commonwealth of Florence, came to them and offered to go\nagainst the said M. Corso to take him and to punish him; but M. Vieri,\nhead of the Cerchi, would not consent thereto, saying, \"Let him come,\"\nconfiding in the vain hope that the people would punish him. Wherefore\nthe said M. Corso entered into the suburbs of the city, and finding\nthe gates of the old circle shut, and not being able to enter, he came\nto the postern of the Pinti, which was by the side of San Piero\nMaggiore, between his houses and those of the Uccellini, and finding\nthat shut, he began to beat it down, and in like manner did his\nfriends within, so that without difficulty it was broken down. And\nwhen he had entered in he stood in array upon the piazza of San Piero\nMaggiore, and folk were added to him, with following of his friends,\ncrying, \"Long live M. Corso!\" and \"Long live the baron!\" to wit, M.\nCorso himself, for so they named him; and he, seeing his forces and\nfollowers to have increased, the first thing that he did was to go to\nthe prisons of the commonwealth, which were in the houses of the\nBastari, in the street of the palace, and these he opened by force,\nand set the prisoners free; and this done, he did the like at the\npalace of the Podest\u00e0, and then went on to the Priors, causing them\nfor fear to lay down the government and return to their homes. And\nduring all this destruction of the city M. Charles of Valois and his\npeople gave no counsel nor help, nor did he keep the oath and promise\nmade by him. Wherefore the tyrants and malefactors and banished men\nwhich were in the city took courage, and the city being unguarded and\nwithout government, they began to rob the shops and places of\nmerchandise and the houses which pertained to the White party, or to\nany one that had not the power to resist, slaying and wounding many\npersons, good men of the White party. And this plague endured in the\ncity for five days continually, to the great ruin of the city. And\nafterwards it continued in the country, the troopers going on robbing\nand burning houses for more than eight days, whereby a great number of\nbeautiful and rich possessions were destroyed and burned. And when the\nsaid destruction and burning was ended, M. Charles and his council\nreconstituted the city and elected a government of Priors of the\npopolani of the Black party. And in that same month of November there\ncame to Florence the aforesaid legate of the Pope, Cardinal Matteo\nd'Acquasparta, to make peace among the citizens; and he reconciled the\nhouses of the Cerchi and Adimari and their followers of the White\nparty, and the Donati and Pazzi and their followers of the Black\nparty, arranging marriages between them; and when he desired to divide\nthe offices among them, they of the Black party with the forces of M.\nCharles would not allow it, wherefore the legate was troubled, and\nreturned to court, leaving the city under an interdict. And the said\npeace endured but little, for it came to pass on the ensuing day of\nthe feast of the Nativity, when M. Niccola, of the White Cerchi, was\non his way to his farm and mills with his company on horseback, as\nthey were passing through the piazza of Santa Croce, where preaching\nwas going on, Simone, son of M. Corso Donati, which was sister's son\nto the said M. Niccola, urged and prompted to evil-doing, followed the\nsaid M. Niccola with his companions and troopers on horseback; and\nwhen he came up with him at the Ponte ad Affrico, he assailed him in\ncombat; wherefore the said M. Niccola, without fault or cause, not\nbeing on his guard against his said nephew Simone, was slain and\ndragged from his horse. But, as it pleased God, the punishment was\nprepared for the sin, for the said Simone being struck in the side by\nthe said M. Niccola, died that same night; wherefore, albeit it was a\njust judgment, yet it was held as a great loss, forasmuch as the said\nSimone was the most finished and accomplished youth of Florence, and\nwould have come to greater honour and state, and was all the hope of\nhis father, M. Corso; which, after his joyous return and victory, had,\nin brief space, a sorrowful beginning of his future downfall. And\nshortly after this time the city of Florence, not being able to rest\nby reason of its being big with the poison of the factions of White\nand Black, must needs bring forth a woeful catastrophe; wherefore it\ncame to pass in the following April, by the scheming and plotting of\nthe Blacks, one of M. Charles' barons, which was called Pierre Ferrand\nof Languedoc, fostered a plot with them of the house of Cerchi, and\nwith Baldinaccio of the Adimari, and Baschiera of the Tosinghi, and\nNaldo Gherardini, and others of their followers of the White party, as\nthough, under great promise of moneys, he should go about, with his\nretinue and friends, to restore them to their estate and betray M.\nCharles; concerning which letters were written or forged with their\nseals, which, by the said M. Pierre Ferrand, as had been arranged,\nwere then carried to M. Charles. For which thing the said leaders of\nthe White party, to wit, all of the house of the White Cerchi of Porte\nSan Piero, Baldinaccio and Corso of the Adimari, with almost all the\nBellincioni branch, Naldo of the Gherardini, with his branch of the\nhouse, Baschiera of the Tosinghi, with his branch of the said house,\nsome of the house of the Cavalcanti, Giovanni Giacotto Malispini and\nhis allies, were cited; but they did not appear, either for fear of\nthe wrong deed they had committed, or for fear of losing their persons\nby reason of the said treachery; but they departed from the city, in\ncompany with their [Ghibelline] adversaries; some going to Pisa, and\nsome to Arezzo and Pistoia, consorting with the Ghibellines and the\nenemies of the Florentines. For the which thing they were condemned by\nM. Charles as rebels, and their palaces and goods in the city and in\nthe country destroyed; and the like with many of their followers, both\nmagnates and popolani. And after this fashion was abased and driven\naway the ungrateful and proud party of the Whites, in company of many\nGhibellines of Florence, by M. Charles of Valois of France, by\ncommission of Pope Boniface, on the 4th day of April, 1302, whence\nthere came to our city of Florence much ruin and many perils, as\nhereafter, in due time, we shall, as we read on, be able to\nunderstand.\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\n\u00a7 50.--_How M. Charles of Valois passed into Sicily to make war for\nKing Charles, and made a shameful peace._ \u00a7 51.--_How the band of\nRoumania was formed._ \u00a7 52.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese marched\nupon the city of Pistoia, and how they took the castle of Serravalle\nby siege._ \u00a7 53.--_How the Florentines took the castle of Piantrevigne\nand many other castles that the Whites had caused to rebel._ \u00a7\n54.--_How the island of Ischia belched out a marvellous fire._ \u00a7\n55.--_How the common people of Bruges rebelled against the king of\nFrance and slew the French._ \u00a7 56.--_Of the great and disastrous rout\nof the French by the Flemings at Courtray._ \u00a7 57.--_Of what lineage\nwere the present counts and lords of Flanders._ \u00a7 58.--_How the king\nof France reassembled his host, and with all his forces attacked the\nFlemings, and returned to France with little honour._\n\u00a7 59.--_How Folcieri da Calvoli, Podest\u00e0 of Florence, caused certain\ncitizens of the White party to be beheaded._\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xiv. 58-66.]\nIn the said year 1302, Folcieri da Calvoli of Romagna, a fierce and\ncruel man, had been made Podest\u00e0 of Florence, by the influence of the\nleaders of the Black party. Now the said leaders lived in great\ntrepidation, forasmuch as the White and Ghibelline party was very\npowerful in Florence, and the exiles were plotting every day in\ntreaty with their friends which had remained in Florence. Wherefore\nthe said Folcieri suddenly caused certain citizens of the White party\nand Ghibellines to be taken; which were, M. Betto Gherardini, and\nMasino de' Cavalcanti, and Donato and Tegghia his brother, of the\nFiniguerra da Sammartino, and Nuccio Coderini de' Galigai, which was\nbut half-witted, and Tignoso de' Macci; and at the petition of M.\nMusciatto Franzesi, which was among the lords of the city, there were\nto have been taken certain heads of the house of the Abati his\nenemies, but hearing this they fled and departed from Florence, and\nnever afterwards were citizens thereof. And a certain sexton of the\nCalze was among the prisoners. They were charged with plotting\ntreachery in the city with the exiled Whites; and whether guilty or\nnot, were made to confess under torture that they were going to betray\nthe city, and to give up certain gates to the Whites and Ghibellines;\nbut the said Tignoso de' Macci, through weight of flesh, died under\nthe cord. All the other aforesaid prisoners he judged, and caused them\nto be beheaded, and all of the house of the Abati he condemned as\nrebels, and destroyed their goods, whence the city was greatly\ndisturbed, and there followed many evils and scandals. And in the said\nyear there was much scarcity of victuals, and grain was sold in\nFlorence at twenty-two shillings the bushel, reckoning fifty-one\nshillings to a golden florin.\n\u00a7 60.--_How the White party and the Ghibelline refugees from Florence\ncame to Puliciano and departed thence in discomfiture._\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\nIn the said year, in the month of March, the Ghibelline and White\nrefugees from Florence, with the forces of the Bolognese whose\ngovernment was of the White party, and with the aid of the Ghibellines\nof Romagna and of the Ubaldini, came to Mugello with 800 horse and\n6,000 foot, whereof Scarpetta degli Ordilaffi of Forl\u00ec was captain.\nAnd they took the village and stronghold of Puliciano without\nopposition, and besieged a fortress which was there held by the\nFlorentines, thinking there to make a great head, and gather Mugello\nunder their rule, and afterwards to extend their forces as far as the\ncity of Florence. When the tidings come to Florence, immediately they\nrode to Mugello, gentle and simple, with all the forces of the city;\nand when they were come to the village, and the Lucchese and other\nfriends were come also, they sallied forth in array and order against\nthe enemy; and when the horsemen of Bologna heard of the sudden coming\nof the Florentines, and found themselves deceived by the White\nrefugees from Florence, which had given them to understand that the\nFlorentines for fear of their friends which remained within the city\nwould not venture to sally forth from the city, they held themselves\nto be betrayed, and in great fear without any order they departed from\nPuliciano of Mugello, and came to Bologna; wherefore the White and\nGhibelline refugees were routed and dispersed, and departed by night\nwithout stroke of sword as if defeated, leaving all their harness, and\nmany of them threw away their arms, and some of the best of them were\nslain, or taken by certain scouts which were sent on in advance. Among\nthe other notable and honourable citizens and ancient Guelfs which had\nbecome Whites, there was taken M. Donato Alberti, the judge, and Nanni\nde' Ruffoli of the Porte del Vescovo. After Nanni had been taken, he\nwas slain by one of the Tosinghi; and Donato Alberti had his head cut\noff, by that same law which he had made and introduced into the\nOrdinances of Justice, when he was ruling and was prior. And with the\nsaid M. Donato Alberti were taken prisoner and beheaded two of the\nCaponsacchi, and one of the Scogliari, and Lapo di Cipriani, and Nerlo\ndegli Adimari, and about ten others of little account; by reason of\nwhich rout the White and the Ghibelline refugees were much cast down.\n\u00a7 61.--_Incident, relating how M. Maffeo Visconti was driven from\nMilan._\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. viii. 73-75.]\nIn the said year 1302, on the 16th day of June, M. Maffeo Visconti,\ncaptain of Milan, was driven from his lordship; and this was the\ncause: he and his sons desired to govern Milan entirely, and to give\nno share of honour to M. Piero Visconti, and to others his kinsmen,\nand to other cattani and feudatories. For the which cause scandal\narose in Milan, and the lords della Torre, with the forces of the\npatriarch of Aquilea, came with a great host against Milan, and with\nthem M. Alberto Scotti da Piacenza, and Count Filippone da Pavia, and\nM. Antonio da Foseraco of Lodi. M. Maffeo sallied forth against them,\nbut because of the strife which he had with his kinsmen, he was\nill-supported, and had not sufficient power against his enemies;\nwherefore M. Alberto Scotti undertook the office of mediator to make\npeace, and deceived and betrayed M. Maffeo, who trusted himself to\nhim; for he deposed him from the office of captain, wherefore M.\nMaffeo for shame would not return to Milan; but the lords della Torre\nwere restored to Milan without a battle, and M. Mosca and M. Guidetto\ndi M. Nappo della Torre remained lords of Milan. And M. Mosca dying a\nlittle while after, the said M. Guidetto caused himself to be\nproclaimed captain of Milan, and ruled harshly, and was much dreaded\nand feared, and so persecuted the said M. Maffeo and his sons that he\nbrought them well nigh to nought, and they were fain to go begging\nthrough many places and countries; and in the end for their security\nthey took refuge in a little castle in the territory of Ferrara, which\npertained to the marquises of Este, their kinsfolk, inasmuch as\nGaleasso, son to Maffeo, had for wife the sister of the marquis. And\nwhen M. Guidetto della Torre, which was captain of Milan, and his\nenemy heard this, he desired news of him and of his state, and said to\na wise and clever jongleur: \"If thou desirest to gain a palfrey and a\nmantle of vair, go to the place where M. Maffeo Visconti abides, and\nspy out his state.\" And in mockery of him he said: \"When thou takest\nleave of him, ask him two questions: first, ask him how he fares and\nwhat manner of life is his; secondly, when he thinks to return to\nMilan.\" The minstrel departed and came to M. Maffeo, and found him\nvery meanly furnished, compared with his former state; and on\ndeparting from him, he asked his aid in getting a palfrey and a mantle\nof vair; and he answered, he would aid him gladly, but he might not\nhave them from him, for he had none such. Then he said: \"It is not\nfrom you that I would have them, but answer me two questions which I\nshall put to you\"; and he told the two questions wherewith he had been\ncharged. The wise man understood from whom they came, and straightway\nmade answer very wisely. To the first he said: \"Methinks I fare well,\nforasmuch as I know how to live after the times\"; to the second he\nanswered and said: \"Thou shalt say to thy lord, M. Guidetto, that when\nthe measure of his sins is greater than mine, I will return to\nMilan.\" And when the jongleur was come back to M. Guidetto, and had\nbrought the answer, he said: \"Aye, thou hast earned the palfrey and\nthe mantle, for those are the words of none other than the wise M.\nMaffeo.\"\n\u00a7 62.--_How there arose strife and enmity between Pope Boniface and\nKing Philip of France._\n[Sidenote: 1302 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xxxii. 148-160.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vi. 97-117.]\nIn the said time, albeit some while before the defeat of Courtray, the\nking of France had become angered against Pope Boniface, by reason of\nthe promise which the said Pope had made to the king, and to M.\nCharles of Valois, his brother, to make him Emperor, when he sent for\nhim, as afore we made mention; which thing he did not fulfil, be the\ncause what it might. Nay, rather in the same year he had confirmed as\nking of the Romans Albert of Austria, son of King Rudolf, for the\nwhich thing the king of France held himself to be greatly deceived and\nbetrayed by him, and in his wrath he entertained and did honour to\nStefano della Colonna, his enemy, which was come to France on hearing\nof the discord which had arisen; and the king to the best of his power\nfavoured him and his followers. And beyond this, the king caused the\nbishop of Pamiers, in the district of Carcassone, to be taken prisoner\non charge of being a Paterine; and he spent the revenues of every\nvacant bishopric, and would confer the investitures himself. Wherefore\nPope Boniface, which was proud and disdainful, and bold in doing all\ngreat things, of high purposes and powerful, as he was and as he held\nhimself to be, beholding these outrages on the part of the king, added\nindignation to ill-will, and became wholly an enemy to the king of\nFrance. And at first, to establish his rights, he caused all the\ngreat prelates of France to be invited to his court; but the king of\nFrance opposed them, and would not let them go, wherefore the Pope was\nthe more greatly incensed against the king, and would have it,\naccording to his privilege and decrees, that the king of France, like\nother Christian princes, ought to acknowledge the temporal as well as\nthe spiritual sovereignty of the Apostolic Chair; and for this he sent\ninto France as his legate a Roman priest, archdeacon of Narbonne, that\nhe might protest against and admonish the king under pain of\nexcommunication to comply thereto, and acknowledge him; and if he\nwould not do this, he was to excommunicate him and leave him under an\ninterdict. And when the said legate came to the city of Paris, the\nking would not allow him to publish his letters and privileges, nay\nrather they were taken from him by the king's people, and he himself\nwas dismissed from the realm. And when the said papal letters came\nbefore the king and his barons in the temple, the Count d'Artois,\nwhich was then living, threw them into the fire and burnt them in\ndespite, whence great judgment came upon him; and the king ordered\nthat all the entrances to his kingdom should be guarded, so that no\nmessage nor letter from the Pope should enter into France. When Pope\nBoniface heard this, he pronounced sentence of excommunication against\nthe said Philip, king of France; and the king of France to justify\nhimself, and to make his appeal, summoned in Paris a great council of\nclerics and prelates and of all his barons, excusing himself, and\nbringing many charges against Pope Boniface of heresy, and simony, and\nmurders, and other base crimes, by reason whereof he ought to be\ndeposed from the papacy. But the abbot of Citeaux would not consent\nto the appeal, rather he departed, and returned into Burgundy in\ndespite of the king of France. In such wise began the strife between\nPope Boniface and the king of France, which had afterwards so ill an\nend; whence afterwards arose great strife between them, and much evil\nfollowed thereupon, as hereafter we shall make mention.\nIn these times there came to pass a very notable thing in Florence,\nfor Pope Boniface having presented to the commonwealth of Florence a\nfine young lion, which was confined by a chain in the court of the\npalace of the Priors, there came in thither an ass laden with wood,\nwhich when it saw the said lion, either through the fear he had of him\nor through a miracle, straightway attacked the lion fiercely, and so\nstruck him with his hoofs that he died, notwithstanding the help of\nmany men which were there present. This was held for a sign of great\nchanges to come, and such like, which certainly came to pass to our\ncity in these times. But certain of the learned said that the prophecy\nof the Sibyl was fulfilled where she said: \"When the tame beast shall\nslay the king of beasts, then will begin the destruction of the\nChurch\"; and this was shortly made manifest in Pope Boniface himself,\nas will be found in the chapter following.\n\u00a7 63.--_How the king of France caused Pope Boniface to be seized in\nAnagna by Sciarra della Colonna, whence the said Pope died a few days\nafterwards._\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 85-90.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 52-57.]\nAfter the said strife had arisen between Pope Boniface and King Philip\nof France, each one sought to abase the other by every method and\nguise that was possible: the Pope sought to oppress the king of\nFrance with excommunications and by other means to deprive him of the\nkingdom; and with this he favoured the Flemings, his rebellious\nsubjects, and entered into negotiations with King Albert of Germany,\nencouraging him to come to Rome for the Imperial benediction, and to\ncause the Kingdom to be taken from King Charles, his kinsman, and to\nstir up war against the king of France on the borders of his realm on\nthe side of Germany. The king of France, on the other hand, was not\nasleep, but with great caution, and by the counsel of Stefano della\nColonna and of other sage Italians, and men of his own realm, sent one\nM. William of Nogaret of Provence, a wise and crafty cleric, with M.\nMusciatto Franzesi, into Tuscany, furnished with much ready money, and\nwith drafts on the company of the Peruzzi (which were then his\nmerchants) for as much money as might be needed; the Peruzzi not\nknowing wherefore. And when they were come to the fortress of Staggia,\nwhich pertained to the said M. Musciatto, they abode there long time,\nsending ambassadors and messages and letters; and they caused people\nto come to them in secret, giving out openly that they were there to\ntreat concerning peace between the Pope and the king of France, and\nthat for this cause they had brought the said money; and under this\ncolour they conducted secret negotiations to take Pope Boniface\nprisoner in Anagna, spending thereupon much money, corrupting the\nbarons of the country and the citizens of Anagna; and as it had been\npurposed, so it came to pass; for Pope Boniface being with his\ncardinals, and with all the court, in the city of Anagna, in Campagna,\nwhere he had been born, and was at home, not thinking or knowing of\nthis plot, nor being on his guard, or if he heard anything of it,\nthrough his great courage not heeding it, or perhaps, as it pleased\nGod, by reason of his great sins,--in the month of September, 1303,\nSciarra della Colonna, with his mounted followers, to the number of\n300, and many of his friends on foot, paid by money of the French\nking, with troops of the lords of Ceccano and of Supino, and of other\nbarons of the Campagna, and of the sons of M. Maffio d'Anagna, and, it\nis said, with the consent of some of the cardinals which were in the\nplot, one morning early entered into Anagna, with the ensigns and\nstandards of the king of France, crying: \"Death to Pope Boniface! Long\nlife to the king of France!\" And they rode through the city without\nany hindrance, or rather, well-nigh all the ungrateful people of\nAnagna followed the standards and the rebellion; and when they came to\nthe Papal Palace, they entered without opposition and took the palace,\nforasmuch as the present assault was not expected by the Pope and his\nretainers, and they were not upon their guard. Pope Boniface--hearing\nthe uproar, and seeing himself forsaken by all his cardinals, which\nwere fled and in hiding (whether through fear or through set malice),\nand by the most part of his servants, and seeing that his enemies had\ntaken the city and the palace where he was--gave himself up for lost,\nbut like the high-spirited and valorous man he was, he said: \"Since,\nlike Jesus Christ, I am willing to be taken and needs must die by\ntreachery, at the least I desire to die as Pope\"; and straightway he\ncaused himself to be robed in the mantle of S. Peter, and with the\ncrown of Constantine on his head, and with the keys and the cross in\nhis hand, he seated himself upon the papal chair. And when Sciarra and\nthe others, his enemies, came to him, they mocked at him with vile\nwords, and arrested him and his household which had remained with him;\namong the others, M. William of Nogaret scorned him, which had\nconducted the negotiations for the king of France, whereby he had been\ntaken, and threatened him, saying that he would take him bound to\nLyons on the Rhone, and there in a general council would cause him to\nbe deposed and condemned. The high-spirited Pope answered him, that he\nwas well pleased to be condemned and deposed by Paterines such as he,\nwhose father and mother had been burnt as Paterines; whereat M.\nWilliam was confounded and put to shame. But afterwards, as it pleased\nGod, to preserve the holy dignity of the Popes, no man dared to touch\nhim, nor were they pleased to lay hands on him, but they left him\nrobed under gentle ward, and were minded to rob the treasure of the\nPope and of the Church. In this pain, shame and torment the great Pope\nBoniface abode prisoner among his enemies for three days; but, like as\nChrist rose on the third day, so it pleased Him that Pope Boniface\nshould be set free; for without entreaty or other effort, save the\nDivine aid, the people of Anagna beholding their error, and issuing\nfrom their blind ingratitude, suddenly rose in arms, crying: \"Long\nlive the Pope and his household, and death to the traitors\"; and\nrunning through the city they drove out Sciarra della Colonna and his\nfollowers, with loss to them of prisoners and slain, and freed the\nPope and his household. Pope Boniface, seeing himself free, and his\nenemies driven away, did not therefore rejoice in any wise, forasmuch\nas the pain of his adversity had so entered into his heart and clotted\nthere; wherefore he departed straightway from Anagna with all his\ncourt, and came to Rome to S. Peter's to hold a council, purposing to\ntake the heaviest vengeance for his injury and that of Holy Church\nagainst the king of France, and whosoever had offended him; but, as it\npleased God, the grief which had hardened in the heart of Pope\nBoniface, by reason of the injury which he had received, produced in\nhim, after he was come to Rome, a strange malady so that he gnawed at\nhimself as if he were mad, and in this state he passed from this life\non the 12th day of October in the year of Christ 1303, and in the\nchurch of S. Peter, near the entrance of the doors, in a rich chapel\nwhich was built in his lifetime, he was honourably buried.\n\u00a7 64.--_We will further tell of the ways of Pope Boniface._\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 148.]\nThis Pope Boniface was very wise both in learning and in natural wit,\nand a man very cautious and experienced, and of great knowledge and\nmemory; very haughty he was, and proud, and cruel towards his enemies\nand adversaries, and was of a great heart, and much feared by all\npeople; and he exalted and increased greatly the estate and the rights\nof Holy Church, and he commissioned M. Guglielmo da Bergamo and M.\nRicciardi of Siena, who were cardinals, and M. Dino Rosoni of Mugello,\nall of them supreme masters in laws and in decretals, together with\nhimself, for he too was a great master in divinity and in decretals,\nto draw up the Sixth Book of the Decretals, which is as it were the\nlight of all the laws and the decretals. A man of large schemes was\nhe, and liberal to folk which pleased him, and which were worthy, very\ndesirous of worldly pomp according to his estate, and very desirous\nof wealth, not scrupulous, nor having very great or strict conscience\nabout every gain, to enrich the Church and his nephews. He made many\nof his friends and confidants cardinals in his time, among others two\nvery young nephews, and his uncle, his mother's brother; and twenty of\nhis relations and friends of the little city of Anagna, bishops and\narchbishops of rich benefices; and to another of his nephews and his\nsons, which were counts, as we afore made mention, to them he left\nalmost unbounded riches; and after the death of Pope Boniface, their\nuncle, they were bold and valiant in war, doing vengeance upon all\ntheir neighbours and enemies, which had betrayed and injured Pope\nBoniface, spending largely, and keeping at their own cost 300 good\nCatalan horsemen, by force of which they subdued almost all the\nCampagna and the district of Rome. And if Pope Boniface, while he was\nalive, had believed that they could be thus bold in arms and valorous\nin war, certainly he would have made them kings or great lords. And\nnote, that when Pope Boniface was taken prisoner, tidings thereof were\nsent to the king of France by many couriers in a few days, through\ngreat joy; and when the first couriers arrived at Sion, beyond the\nmountain of Brieg [Sion under Brieg], the bishop of Sion, which then\nwas a man of pure and holy life, when he heard the news was, as it\nwere, amazed, and abode some while in silent contemplation, by reason\nof the wonderment which took him at the capture of the Pope; and\ncoming to himself he said aloud, in the presence of many good folk:\n\"The king of France will rejoice greatly on hearing these tidings, but\nI have it by Divine inspiration, that for this sin he is judged by\nGod, and that great and strange perils and adversities, with shame to\nhim and his lineage, will overtake him very swiftly, and he and his\nsons will be cast out from the inheritance of the realm.\" And this we\nlearned a little while after, when we passed by Sion, from persons\nworthy of belief, which were present to hear. Which sentence was a\nprophecy in all its parts, as afterwards the truth will show, in due\ntime, when we narrate the doings of the said king of France and of his\nsons. And the judgment of God is not to be marvelled at; for, albeit\nPope Boniface was more worldly than was fitting to his dignity, and\nhad done many things displeasing to God, God caused him to be punished\nafter the fashion that we have said, and afterwards He punished the\noffender against him, not so much for the injury against the person of\nPope Boniface, as for the sin committed against the Divine Majesty,\nwhose countenance he represented on earth. We will leave this matter,\nwhich is now ended, and will turn back somewhat to relate of the\ndoings of Florence and of Tuscany, which were very great in those\ntimes.\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n\u00a7 65.--_How the Florentines had the castle of Montale, and how they\nmarched upon Pistoia together with the Lucchese._ \u00a7 66.--_How Benedict\nXI. was elected Pope._\n\u00a7 67.--_How King Edward of England recovered Gascony and defeated the\nScots._\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xix. 121-123.]\nIn this year Edward, king of England, made peace with King Philip of\nFrance, and recovered Gascony, doing homage to him therefor; and to\nthis the king of France consented, by reason of the contest which he\nhad with the Church after the capture which he had made of Pope\nBoniface, and by reason of the war in Flanders, to the intent the said\nking of England might not be against him. And in this same year, the\nsaid King Edward being ill, the Scots marched into England, for which\ncause the king had himself borne in a litter, and went out with the\nhost against the Scots, and defeated them, and became lord over all\nthe lands of Scotland, save only the marshes and rugged mountains,\nwherein the rebel Scots had taken refuge with their king, which was\nnamed Robert Bruce, which, from lowly birth, had risen to be king.\n\u00a7 68.--_How there were in Florence great changes and civic battles\nthrough desire that the accounts of the commonwealth should be\nexamined._\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1303, in the month of February, the Florentines were\nin great discord among themselves, by reason that M. Corso Donati did\nnot consider that he was so great in the commonwealth as he desired,\nand thought himself worthy to be; and the other magnates and powerful\npopolani of his Black party had gotten more authority in the\ncommonwealth than seemed to him good; and being already at enmity with\nthem, either through pride, or through envy, or through desire of\nlordship, he made a new faction, leaguing himself with the Cavalcanti,\nwhereof the most part were Whites, saying that he desired that the\npublic accounts of those which had held office, and had administered\nthe monies of the commonwealth, should be examined; and they made\ntheir head M. Lottieri, bishop of Florence, which was of the family of\nthe Tosa of the White branch, with certain magnates, against the\npriors and the people; and there was fighting in the city in many\nplaces and for many days, and they set engines in many towers and\nstrongholds of the city after the ancient manner, which should hurl\nmissiles and shoot at each other; and upon the towers of the Bishop's\nPalace they raised a mangonel directed against his enemies hard by.\nThe priors strengthened themselves with people and men-at-arms of the\ncity and of the country, and boldly defended the palace, for many\nassaults and attacks were made upon them; and the house of the\nGherardini held with the people, with a great following of their\nfriends from the country; and likewise the house of the Pazzi, and of\nthe Spini and M. Tegghiaio Frescobaldi with his branch of the family,\nwhich were a great aid to the people; and M. Lotteringo de' Gherardini\nwas slain by an arrow in a battle which was fought in Porte Sante\nMarie. Other houses of the magnates did not hold with the people, but\nsome were with the bishop and with M. Corso, and some which liked him\nnot stood apart from the strife. For the which dissension and civil\nfighting much evil was committed in the city and in the country, of\nmurders, and burnings, and robberies, as in a city ungoverned and\ndisordered, without any rule from the government, save that each\nshould do all possible harm to the other; and the city was all full of\nrefugees, and strangers, and folk from the country, each house with\nits own following; and the city would have utterly destroyed itself\nhad not the Lucchese come to Florence at the request of the\ncommonwealth, with great number of foot and horse; who took in hand\nthe matter, and the guardianship of the city, and general authority\nwas of necessity given to them, so that for sixteen days they freely\nruled the city, issuing a proclamation on their own authority. And\nwhen the proclamation was made throughout the city in the name of the\ncommonwealth of Lucca, it seemed evil to many Florentines, and a great\noutrage and wrong; wherefore one Ponciardo de' Ponci di Vacchereccia\nstruck the herald from Lucca in the face with his sword while he was\nreading the proclamation, for which cause afterwards they sent forth\nno more proclamations in their own name; but so wrought that at last\nthey quieted the uproar and caused each party to lay down arms, and\nrestored the city to quiet, calling for new priors to promote peace,\nthe people remaining in its estate and liberty; and they inflicted no\npunishment for misdeeds committed, but whoever had suffered wrong had\nto bear his loss. And in addition to the said plague there was great\nfamine that year, and grain was worth more than twenty-six shillings\nthe bushel, level measure, of fifty-two shillings to the golden\nflorin; and if it had not been that the commonwealth and the rulers in\nthe city had made provision beforehand, and had caused to be brought\nby the hand of the Genoese from Sicily and from Apulia full 26,000\nbushels of grain, the citizens and the country people could not have\nescaped from famine: and this traffic in grain was, with others, one\nof the causes why they desired to examine the accounts of the\ncommonwealth, by reason of all the money which was passing; and\ncertain, whether rightly or wrongly, were spoken evil of and blamed\nthereanent. And this adversity and peril of our city was not without\nthe judgment of God, by reason of many sins committed through the\npride and envy and avarice of our then living citizens, which were\nthen ruling the city, and alike of the rebels therein, as of those\nwhich were governing, for they were great sinners, nor was this the\nend thereof, as hereafter in due time may be seen.\n\u00a7 69.--_How the Pope sent into Florence as legate the Cardinal da\nPrato to make peace, and how he departed thence in shame and\nconfusion._\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Epistola i.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 79-81.]\nDuring the said discord among the Florentines, Pope Benedict, with\ngood intent, sent to Florence the Cardinal da Prato as legate to set\nthe Florentines at peace one with another, and likewise with their\nexiles and all the province of Tuscany; and he came to Florence, on\nthe tenth day of the month of March, 1303, and was received by the\nFlorentines with great honour and with great reverence, as by men who\nfelt themselves to be divided and in evil state; and those which had\nthe disposition and desire to live rightly, loved peace and concord,\nand it was the contrary with the others. This Cardinal Niccolo, of the\ncity of Prato, was a preaching friar, very wise in learning, and of\nnatural intelligence, subtle and sagacious, and cautious, and very\nexperienced; and by descent he was of the Ghibellines, and it was\nafterwards seen that he favoured them greatly; albeit at the first he\nshowed good and impartial intentions. When he was in Florence, in a\npublic sermon and discourse in the piazza of San Giovanni, he showed\nforth his privileges as legate, and made manifest his intention, by\ncommand of the Pope, of setting the Florentines at peace one with\nanother. The good popolani which ruled the city, seeing themselves in\nevil estate by reason of the disturbances and riots and strifes,\nbrought about in those times by the magnates against the people to\nabase and undo them, took part with the cardinal in the desire for\npeace; and by way of reconstruction of the Occasional Councils, they\ngave him full and free right to set the citizens at peace one with\nanother within the city, and with their exiles without, and to\nappoint the priors and gonfaloniers and rulers of the city at his\npleasure. And this done, he gave his mind to making peace among the\ncitizens, and renewed the order of the nineteen gonfaloniers of the\ncompanies after the fashion of the ancient Popolo of old, and he\nsummoned the gonfaloniers and gave them the banners after the fashion\nand devices that still are, save that they bore not the label of the\narms of the king in chief. And by reason of these reforms of the\ncardinal the people were much heartened and strengthened, and the\nmagnates were brought low, so that they never ceased trying to bring\nabout changes and to hinder the cardinal to the end they might disturb\nthe peace, that the Whites and the Ghibellines might not have state\nnor power to return to Florence, and that they themselves might enjoy\ntheir goods which had been confiscated as of rebels, both in the city\nand in the country. For all this the cardinal did not cease from\npursuing peace, with the aid and favour of the people, and he caused\ntwelve plenipotentiaries of the exiles to come into Florence, two for\neach sesto, one from amongst the chief Whites and one Ghibelline; and\nhe had them to sojourn in the Borgo di San Niccolo, and the legate\nsojourned in the palaces of the Mozzi of S. Gregorio, and often he had\nthem to take counsel with the leaders of the Guelfs and of the Blacks\nin Florence to find out means and security of peace, and to order\nalliances between the exiles, and the nobles within. In these\nnegotiations it seemed to the powerful Guelfs and Blacks that the\ncardinal was too much supporting the side of the Whites and of the\nGhibellines, and they took counsel subtly to the end they might\ndisturb the negotiations, to send a counterfeit letter, with the seal\nof the cardinal, to Bologna and into Romagna, to his friends the\nGhibellines and the Whites, that they should, without any hindrance or\ndelay, come to Florence with men in arms on horse and on foot to his\naid; and some say withal that it was true that the cardinal sent it;\nwherefore some of those people came as far as Trespiano and some to\nMugello. By which coming there arose in Florence great murmuring and\nill-feeling, and the legate was much blamed and reproached therefor;\nand he, whether he were guilty or no, denied it to the people. Through\nwhich ill-feeling, and also through fear of suffering harm, the twelve\nWhite and Ghibelline plenipotentiaries departed from Florence and came\nto Arezzo, and the people which had come to the legate, by his command\nreturned to Bologna and to Romagna, and the ill-will was somewhat\nquieted in Florence. Those which were ruling the city counselled the\ncardinal that, to avoid suspicion, he should go to Prato, and should\nreconcile the citizens thereof among themselves, and likewise the\nPistoians, and in the meanwhile in Florence a way might be found of\nmaking general peace with the exiles. The cardinal, not being able to\ndo otherwise, did this, and, whether in good faith or no, went to\nPrato and requested the inhabitants to trust in him, and he would\nreconcile them. Now the leaders of the Black party and of the Guelfs\nof Florence marked the ways of the cardinal, how that he greatly\nfavoured the Ghibellines and Whites and would fain restore them to\nFlorence, and saw likewise that the people followed him; wherefore\nthey feared it might turn out perilous to the Guelf party, and\nordained with the Guazzalotti of Prato, a powerful house of the Black\nparty, and strong Guelfs, to bring to pass in Prato a schism and riot\nagainst the cardinal, and to raise a tumult in the city; wherefore the\ncardinal, seeing the inhabitants of Prato to be ill-disposed, and\nfearing for his person, departed from Prato, and excommunicated the\ninhabitants, and laid the city under interdict, and came to Florence,\nand proclaimed war against Prato, and offered remission of sins and of\npenalties to whosoever would march against Prato; and many citizens\nprepared to go thither on horse and on foot, folk that were, in faith,\nmore Ghibelline than Guelf, and they went as far as Campi. In this\nassembling of the host much folk gathered in Florence of folk from the\ncountry and foreigners, and the fear and jealousy of the Guelfs began\nto increase; wherefore many which at the first had held with the\ncardinal, changed their purpose through the turbulence which they\nobserved; and the magnates of the Black party, and likewise they which\nwere temporising with the cardinal, furnished themselves with arms and\nwith men, and the city was all in disorder, and they were ready to\nfight one another. The cardinal legate, seeing that he could not carry\nout his purpose of leading an army against Prato, and that the city of\nFlorence was disposed to civil strife, and that of those which had\nheld with him, some were now against him, became fearful and uneasy,\nand suddenly departed from Florence on the 4th day of June, 1304,\nsaying to the Florentines: \"Seeing that ye desire to be at war and\nunder a curse, and do not desire to hear or to obey the messenger of\nthe vicar of God, or to have rest or peace among yourselves, abide\nwith the curse of God and of Holy Church\"; thus he excommunicated the\ncitizens, and left the city under an interdict, whence it was held,\nthat by this curse, whether just or unjust, there fell judgment and\ngreat peril on our city through the adversities and perils which came\nto pass therein but a short time after, as hereafter we shall make\nmention.\n\u00a7 70.--_How the bridge of Carraia fell, and how many people died\nthere._\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. vi. 36.]\nIn this same time that the Cardinal da Prato was in Florence, and was\nbeloved by the people and by the citizens, who hoped that he might set\nthem at peace one with another, on the first day of May, 1304, just as\nin the good old times of the tranquil and good estate of Florence, it\nhad been the custom for companies and bands of pleasure-makers to go\nthrough the city rejoicing and making merry, so now again they\nassembled and met in divers parts of the city; and one district vied\nwith the other which could invent and do the best. Among others, as of\nold was the custom, they of Borgo San Friano were wont to devise the\nnewest and most varied pastimes; and they sent forth a proclamation\nthat whosoever desired news of the other world should come on the 1st\nday of May upon the Carraia Bridge, and beside the Arno; and they\nerected upon the Arno a stage upon boats and vessels, and thereupon\nthey made the similitude and figure of hell, with fires and other\npains and sufferings, with men disguised as demons, horrible to\nbehold, and others which had the appearance of naked souls, which\nseemed to be persons, and they were putting them to the said divers\ntorments, with loud cries, and shrieks, and tumult, which seemed\nhateful and fearful to hear and to see; and by reason of this new\npastime there came many citizens to look on, and the Carraia Bridge,\nwhich then was of wood from pile to pile, was so burdened with people\nthat it gave way in many places, and fell with the people which were\nupon it, wherefore many were killed and drowned, and many were maimed;\nso that the pastime from sport became earnest, and, as the\nproclamation had said, many by death went to learn news of the other\nworld, with great lamentation and sorrow to all the city, for each one\nbelieved he must have lost his son or his brother there; and this was\na sign of future ill, which in a short time should come to our city\nthrough the exceeding wickedness of the citizens, as hereafter we\nshall make mention.\n\u00a7 71.--_How Florence was set on fire, and a great part of the city\nburnt._\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 121, 122.]\nWhen the Cardinal da Prato had departed from Florence after the manner\naforesaid, the city was left in evil state and in great confusion; for\nthere was the party which held with the cardinal, whereof were leaders\nthe Cavalcanti and the Gherardini, the Pulci and the White Cerchi of\nthe Garbo, which were merchants of Pope Benedict, with a following of\nmany houses of the people, (which feared the magnates might break up\nthe Popolo if they got the government), from among the leading houses\nand families of the popolani of Florence, such as the Magalotti, and\nMancini, Peruzzi, Antellesi, and Baroncelli, and Acciaiuoli, and\nAlberti, Strozzi, Ricci, and Albizzi, and many others; and they were\nwell provided with foot-soldiers and with men-at-arms. On the contrary\npart, to wit, the Blacks, the leaders were M. Rosso della Tosa, with\nhis branch of Blacks, M. Pazzino de' Pazzi, with all his family, the\npart of the Adimari which were called the Cavicciuli, and M. Geri\nSpini, with his kin, and M. Betto Brunelleschi; M. Corso Donati stood\nneutral, forasmuch as he was ill with the gout, and because he was\nangered with these leaders of the Black party; and almost all the\nother magnates held aloof, and the popolani also, save the Medici and\nthe Giugni, which held strongly with the Blacks. And the fighting\nbegan between the White Cerchi and the Giugni at their houses at the\nGarbo, and they fought there by day and by night. In the end, the\nCerchi defended themselves with the aid of the Cavalcanti and\nAntellesi, and the force of the Cavalcanti and Gherardini so increased\nthat with their followers they rode through the city as far as the\nMercato Vecchio, and from Orto San Michele as far as the piazza of S.\nGiovanni, without any opposition or hindrance whatever, because their\nforces increased both in the city and in the country; forasmuch as the\ngreater part of the people followed them, and the Ghibellines sided\nwith them; and they of Volognano and their friends were coming to\ntheir aid with more than 1,000 foot-soldiers; and were already at\nBisarno; and certainly on that day they would have conquered the city\nand driven out thence the aforesaid leaders of the Blacks and Guelfs,\nwhom they held as their enemies (forasmuch as it was said that they\nhad caused M. Betto Gherardini to be beheaded, and Masino Cavalcanti\nand the others, as we before made mention), save that when they were\nflourishing and victorious in several parts of the city where they\nwere fighting against their enemies, it came to pass, as it pleased\nGod, either to avoid worse ill, or that He permitted it to punish the\nsins of the Florentines, that one, Ser Neri Abati, a clerk and prior\nof San Piero Scheraggio, a worldly and dissolute man, and a rebel\nagainst and enemy of his associates, of purpose set fire first to the\nhouse of his associates in Orto San Michele, and then to the\nFlorentine Calimala at the house of the Caponsacchi, near to the\nentrance of the Mercato Vecchio. And the accursed fire was so furious\nand impetuous, fanned by the north wind, which was blowing strongly,\nthat on that day were burnt the houses of the Abati, and of the Macci,\nand all the loggia of Orto San Michele, and the houses of the Amieri,\nand Toschi, and Cipriani, and Lamberti, and Bachini, and Buiamonti,\nand all Calimala, and the houses of the Cavalcanti, and all around the\nMercato Nuovo and S. Cecilia, and all the street of Porte Sante Marie\nas far as the Ponte Vecchio, and Vacchereccia, and behind San Piero\nScheraggio, and the houses of the Gherardini, and of the Pulci and\nAmidei and Lucardesi, and all the neighbourhood of the said places,\nalmost to the Arno; and, in short, all the marrow and yolk and the\nmost precious places of the city of Florence were burnt, and the\nnumber of the palaces and towers and houses was more than 1,700. The\nloss of stores, and of treasure, and of merchandise was infinite,\nforasmuch as in those places were almost all the merchandise and\nprecious things of Florence, and that which was not burnt was robbed\nby highwaymen as it was being carried away, the city being continually\nat war in divers places, wherefore many companies, and clans, and\nfamilies were ruined and brought to poverty by the said fires and\nrobberies. This plague came upon our city of Florence on the 10th day\nof June, in the year of Christ 1304; and for this cause the leaders of\nthat faction the Cavalcanti, which were among the most powerful houses\nin Florence, both in retainers, and in possessions, and in goods, and\nthe Gherardini, among the greatest in the country, their houses and\nthose of their followers being burnt down, lost their vigour and\nestate, and were driven out of Florence as rebels, and their enemies\nrecovered their estate, and became lords over the city. And then it\nwas verily believed that the magnates would set aside the Ordinances\nof Justice of the Popolo, and this they would have done if it had not\nbeen that through their factions they were themselves at variance one\nwith another, and each party sided with the people to the end they\nmight not lose their estate. We must now go on to tell of the other\nevents which were in many parts in these times, forasmuch as there\narose thence further adverse fortune to our city of Florence.\n\u00a7 72.--_How the Whites and Ghibellines came to the gates of Florence,\nand departed thence in discomfiture._\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\nWhen the Cardinal da Prato had returned to the Pope, which was at\nPerugia with his court, he made many complaints against them which\nwere ruling the city of Florence, and accused them before the Pope and\nthe college of cardinals of many crimes and faults, showing them to be\nsinful men and enemies of God and of Holy Church, and recounting the\ndishonour and treachery which they had done to Holy Church when he had\ndesired to restore them to good and peaceful estate; for the which\nthing the Pope and his cardinals were greatly moved with anger against\nthe Florentines, and by the counsel of the said Cardinal da Prato the\nPope cited twelve of the chief leaders of the Guelf party and of the\nBlacks which were in Florence, which were directing all the state of\nthe city, the names whereof were these: M. Corso Donati, M. Rosso\ndella Tosa, M. Pazzino de' Pazzi, M. Geri Spini, M. Betto\nBrunelleschi. And they were to appear before him under pain of\nexcommunication and deprivation of all their goods; which straightway\ncame obediently thither with a great company of their friends and\nfollowers in great state, for they were more than 150 on horseback, to\ndefend themselves before the Pope against the charges which the\nCardinal da Prato had made against them. And in this summons and\ncitation of so many leaders of Florence, the Cardinal da Prato\ncunningly planned a great treachery against the Florentines,\nstraightway sending letters to Pisa, and to Bologna, and to Romagna,\nto Arezzo, to Pistoia, and to all the leaders of the Ghibelline and\nWhite party in Tuscany and in Romagna, that they should assemble with\nall their forces and those of their friends on foot and on horse, and\non a day named should come in arms to the city of Florence, and take\nthe city, and drive out thence the Blacks and those which had been\nagainst him, saying that this was by the knowledge and will of the\nPope (the which thing was a great falsehood and lie, forasmuch as the\nPope knew nothing thereof), and encouraging each one to come securely,\nforasmuch as the city was weak, and open in many places; and saying\nthat he of his zeal had summoned and caused to appear at the court all\nthe leaders of the Black party, and that within the city there was a\nlarge party which would welcome them and would surrender the city to\nthem; and that they should gather together and come secretly and\nquickly. And when they had received these letters, they rejoiced\ngreatly, and, being encouraged by the favour of the Pope, each one\nfurnished himself according to his power, and moved towards Florence\non the day appointed. And two days before, through their great\neagerness, the Pisans, with their troops and with all the Florentines\nwhich were in Pisa, to the number of 400 horsemen, whereof Count Fazio\nwas captain, came as far as the stronghold of Marti; and all the other\nassembly of Whites and Ghibellines came towards Florence after so\nsecret a fashion that they were at Lastra above Montughi, to the\nnumber of 1,600 horse and 9,000 foot, ere the most could believe it in\nFlorence, forasmuch as they had not allowed any messenger which should\nannounce their coming to find his way to Florence; and if they had\ndescended upon the city one day sooner, without doubt they would have\nhad the city, forasmuch as there was no preparation, nor store of\narms, nor defence. But they abode that night at Lastra and at\nTrespiano, extending as far as Fontebuona, awaiting M. Tolosata degli\nUberti, captain of Pistoia, which was taking the way across the\nmountains with 300 horse, Pistoian and mercenary, and with many on\nfoot; and in the morning, seeing that he did not come, the Florentine\nrefugees determined to come to the city, thinking to have it without\nstroke of sword, and this they did, leaving the Bolognese at Lastra,\nwhich, by reason of their cowardice, or perhaps because of the Guelfs\nwhich were among them, were not in favour of the enterprise; so the\nrest came on, and entered into the suburb of San Gallo without any\nhindrance, for at that time the city had not the circles of the new\nwalls, nor the moats, and the old walls were open and broken down in\nmany places. And when they had entered into the suburbs, they broke\ndown a wooden palisade with a gate leading into the suburb, which was\nabandoned by our citizens without defence; and the Aretines carried\noff the bolt of the said gate, and in contempt of the Florentines took\nit to Arezzo, and set it in their chief church of San Donato. And when\nthe said enemies were come down through the suburbs towards the city,\nthey assembled at Cafaggio, by the side of the Servi, and they were\nmore than 1,200 horsemen, and common folks in numbers, with many folk\nfrom the country following them, and with Ghibellines and Whites from\nwithin, which had come out to their aid. Now this was ill advised on\ntheir part, as we shall tell hereafter, for they had stationed\nthemselves in a place without water; for if they had taken up their\nstand on the piazza of Santa Croce, they would have had the river and\nwater for themselves and for their horses, and the Citt\u00e0 Rossa round\nabout, without the old walls, all which was so built with houses as to\naccommodate an army in safety were it never so large; but to whom God\nwills ill, from him He takes all wit and judgment. When, on the\nevening before, the tidings were brought to Florence, there was great\nfear and suspicion of treachery, and the city was on guard all night;\nbut by reason of fear some went this way, some that, all at random,\neach one removing his goods. And of a truth it was said that the\ngreatest and best houses in Florence, of magnates, and popolani, and\nGuelfs, knew of this purpose, and had promised to surrender the city;\nbut hearing of the great force of the Ghibellines of Tuscany and the\nenemies of our commonwealth which were come with our exiles, they\nfeared greatly for themselves, and that they should be driven away and\nrobbed, and so they changed their purpose, and looked to defend the\ncity together with the rest. Certain of our exiled leaders, with part\nof their followers, departed from Cafaggio from the army, and came to\nthe gate of the Spadari, and this they attacked and conquered, and\nentered in together with their banners as far as the piazza of S.\nGiovanni; and if the larger force which was in Cafaggio had then come\ntowards the city, and attacked some other gate, they would certainly\nnot have been resisted. In the piazza of S. Giovanni were assembled\nall the valiant men and Guelfs which were giving themselves to the\ndefence of the city, not, however, in great numbers (perhaps 200 horse\nand 500 foot), and with the aid of large crossbows they drove back the\nenemy without the gate, with the loss of some taken and slain. The\nnews went to Lastra to the Bolognese by their spies, reporting that\ntheir side had been routed and discomfited, and straightway, without\nlearning the certainty thereof, for it was not true, they departed in\nflight as best they could, and when they met M. Tolosato with his\nfollowers in Mugello, which was advancing with full knowledge of the\ntruth, he would have retained them and caused them to turn back; but\nthis he could not bring about, neither through entreaties nor threats.\nThey of the main body in Cafaggio, when they heard the news from\nLastra how the Bolognese had departed in confusion, as it pleased God,\nstraightway took fear, and through the discomfort of continuing in\narray until after noon in the burning sun,--the heat being great, and\nnot having sufficiency of water for themselves and for their\nhorses,--began to disperse and to depart in flight, throwing away\ntheir arms without assault or pursuit of the citizens, forasmuch as\nthey scarce followed after them at all, save certain troopers of their\nown free will. And thus many of the enemy died, either by the sword or\nfrom exhaustion, and were robbed of arms and of horses; and certain of\nthe prisoners were hanged in the piazza of San Gallo and along the\nroad, on the trees. But verily it was said that, notwithstanding the\ndeparture of the Bolognese, if they had stood firm until the coming of\nM. Tolosato, which they could assuredly have done by reason of the\nsmall number of horse which were defending Florence, they would yet\nhave gained the city. But it seemed to be the work and will of God\nthat they should be bewitched, to the end our city of Florence might\nnot be wholly laid waste, sacked, and destroyed. This unforeseen\nvictory and escape of the city of Florence was on S. Margaret's Day,\nthe 20th of the month of July, the year of Christ 1304. We have made\nsuch an extensive record, forasmuch as we were there present, and by\nreason of the great risk and peril from which God saved the city of\nFlorence, and to the end our descendants may take therefrom example\nand warning.\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1303 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\n\u00a7 73.--_How the Aretines recovered the castle of Laterino which the\nFlorentines held._ \u00a7 74.--_Of certain further things which came to\npass in Florence in the said times._ \u00a7 75.--_How the Florentines went\nout against and took the strongholds of the Stinche and Montecalvi\nwhich were held by the Whites._ \u00a7 76.--_Returns back somewhat to tell\nof the story of the Flemings._ \u00a7 77.--_How Guy of Flanders was routed\nand seized, with his armada, by the admiral of the king of France._ \u00a7\n78.--_How the king of France defeated the Flemings at Mons-en-Puelle._\n\u00a7 79.--_How, shortly after the defeat of Mons-en-Puelle, the Flemings\nreturned to the conflict with the king of France and gained a\nfavourable peace._\n\u00a7 80.--_How Pope Benedict died; and of the new election of Pope\nClement V._\n[Sidenote: 1304 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Epistola viii.]\n[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 82-87. Par. xvii. 82. xxvii. 58, 9. xxx.\nIn the year of Christ 1304, on the 27th day of the month July, Pope\nBenedict died in the city of Perugia, it was said by poison; for when\nhe was eating at his table, there came to him a young man veiled and\nattired in the garb of a woman, as a serving sister of the nuns of S.\nPetronella, in Perugia, with a silver basin wherein were many fine\nripe figs, and he presented them to the Pope from his devout servant,\nthe abbess of that nunnery. The Pope received them with great\npleasure, and forasmuch as he was fond of them, and without any one\ntasting thereof beforehand, seeing that they were presented by a\nwoman, he ate many thereof, whereat he straightway fell ill, and in a\nfew days died, and was buried with great honour at the Preaching\nFriars (for he was of that Order), in San Ercolano, of Perugia. This\nwas a good man, and virtuous and just, and of holy and religious life,\nand desirous to do right in all things; and through the envy of\ncertain of his brother cardinals, it was said, they compassed his\ndeath after the said manner; wherefore God recompensed them, if they\nwere guilty thereof, in a short time, by a very just and open\nvengeance, as will be shown hereafter. For after the death of the said\nPope there arose a schism and a great discord among the college of\ncardinals in electing the Pope; and by reason of their differences\nthey were divided into two almost equal parties; the head of the one\nwas M. Matteo Rosso, of the Orsini, with M. Francesco Guatani, nephew\nthat was of Pope Boniface; and the leaders of the other were M.\nNapoleone, of the Orsini dal Monte, and the Cardinal da Prato, which\nhoped to restore their kinsfolk and friends, the Colonnesi, to their\nestate, and were friends of the king of France, and leaned towards the\nGhibelline side. And when they had been shut up for a period of more\nthan nine months, and were pressed by the Perugians to nominate a\nPope, and could not come to an agreement, at last the Cardinal da\nPrato, finding himself in a secret place with the Cardinal Francesco,\nof the Guatani, said to him, \"We are doing great harm and injury to\nthe Church by not choosing a Pope.\" And M. Francesco said, \"It does\nnot lie with me.\" And the other replied, \"If I could find a good way\nof escape, wouldst thou be content?\" He made answer that he would; and\nthus conversing together they came to this agreement, by the industry\nand sagacity of the Cardinal da Prato, who, treating with the said M.\nFrancesco Guatani, gave him his choice; for it was determined that the\none party, to avoid all suspicion, should choose three men from beyond\nthe Alps suitable for the papacy, whomsoever it pleased them, and the\nother party, within forty days, should take one of the three,\nwhichever they pleased, and that he should be Pope. The party of M.\nFrancesco Guatani preferred to make the first choice, thinking thus to\nhave the advantage, and he elected three archbishops from beyond the\nAlps, made and created by Pope Boniface, his uncle, which were his\ngreat friends and confidants, and enemies of the king of France, their\nadversary, trusting that whichever the other party might take they\nwould have a Pope after their mind, and a friend. Among these three\nthe archbishop of Bordeaux was the one in whom they most trusted. The\nwise and far-seeing Cardinal da Prato thought that their purpose would\nbe better carried out by taking M. Raimond de Goth, archbishop of\nBordeaux, than by taking either of the others; albeit he had been\nappointed by Pope Boniface, and was no friend of the king of France,\nby reason of injuries done to his kinsfolk in the war of Gascony by M.\nCharles of Valois; but knowing him to be a man desirous of honour and\nlordship, and that he was a Gascon, who are by nature covetous, and\nthat he might easily make peace with the king of France, they\nsecretly took counsel, and he and his party in the college took an\noath, and having confirmed with the other part of the college the\ndocuments and papers concerning the said agreements and pacts, by his\nletters, and those of the other cardinals of his party, they wrote to\nthe king of France, and enclosed under their seals the pacts and\nagreements and commissions between themselves and the other part of\nthe college, and by faithful and good couriers ordered by means of\ntheir merchants (the other party knowing nothing of this), they sent\nfrom Perugia to Paris in eleven days, admonishing and praying the king\nof France by the tenor of their letters, that if he wished to recover\nhis estate in Holy Church and relieve his friends, the Colonnesi, he\nshould turn his foe into a friend, to wit M. Raimond de Goth,\narchbishop of Bordeaux, one of the three chosen and most trusted by\nthe other party; seeking and stipulating with him for liberal terms\nfor himself and for his friends, forasmuch as to his hands was\ncommitted the election of the one of those three, whichever he\npleased. The king of France having received the said letters and\ncommissions, rejoiced greatly, and was eager for the undertaking.\nFirst of all he sent friendly letters by messengers into Gascony to M.\nRaimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, that he should come to meet\nhim, for he desired to speak with him; and within the next six days\nthe king came in person with a small company, to a secret conference\nwith the said archbishop of Bordeaux in a forest, at an abbey in the\ndistrict of S. Jean d'Angelus, and when they had heard mass together\nand sworn faith upon the altar, the king parleyed with him with good\nwords to reconcile him with M. Charles; and then he said thus to him,\n\"Behold, archbishop, I have in my hand the power to make thee Pope if\nI will, and for this cause am come to thee; and, therefore, if thou\nwilt promise to grant me six favours which I shall ask of thee, I will\ndo thee this honour, and to the end thou mayest be assured that I have\nthis power,\"--he drew forth and showed him the letters and commissions\nfrom both one part of the college and the other. The Gascon, coveting\nthe papal dignity, and seeing thus suddenly how with the king lay the\npower of making him Pope, as it were stupefied with joy, threw himself\nat his feet, and said, \"My lord, now I know that thou lovest me more\nthan any other man, and wouldst return me good for evil; thou hast to\ncommand and I to obey, and always it shall be so ordered.\" The king\nlifted him up and kissed him on the mouth, and then said to him, \"The\nsix special graces that I ask of thee are these: the first, that thou\nwilt reconcile me perfectly with the Church, and procure my pardon for\nmy misdeed which I committed in the capture of Pope Boniface. The\nsecond, that thou wilt recommunicate me and my followers. The third\narticle, that thou wilt grant me all the tithes of the realm for five\nyears, in aid of my expenses which I have incurred for the war in\nFlanders. The fourth, that thou wilt promise to destroy and annul the\nmemory of Pope Boniface. The fifth, that thou wilt restore the honour\nof the cardinalate to M. Jacopo and M. Piero della Colonna, and\nrestore them to their estate, and together with them wilt make certain\nof my friends cardinals. The sixth grace and promise I reserve till\ndue time and place, for it is secret and great.\" The archbishop\npromised everything on oath upon the body of Christ, and,\nfurthermore, gave him as hostages his brother and two of his nephews;\nand the king swore to him and promised that he should be elected Pope.\nAnd this done, with great love and joy they parted, and the king\nreturned to Paris, taking with him the said hostages under cover of\nlove and of reconciling them with M. Charles; and straightway he wrote\nin answer to the Cardinal da Prato and to the others of his party,\ntelling what he had done, and that they might safely elect as Pope M.\nRaimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux, as a trustworthy and sure\nfriend. And as it pleased God, the matter was so urgently pressed that\nin thirty-five days the answer to the said mandate was come back to\nPerugia with great secrecy. And when the Cardinal da Prato had\nreceived the said answer, he showed it secretly to his party, and\ncraftily summoned the other party, when it should please them to\nassemble together, forasmuch as they desired to observe the agreement,\nand so it was immediately done. And when the said parties were\ngathered together, and it was necessary to ratify and confirm the\norder of the said compacts with authenticated papers and oaths, it was\nsolemnly done. And then the said Cardinal da Prato wisely cited an\nauthority from Holy Scripture which was fitting to the occasion, and\nby the authority committed to him after the said manner, he elected as\nPope the aforesaid M. Raimond de Goth, archbishop of Bordeaux; and\nthis was accepted and confirmed with great joy by both parties, and\nthey sang with a loud voice \"Te Deum Laudamus,\" etc., the party of\nPope Boniface not knowing of the deceit and fraud which had been\ncarried out, rather believing that they had as Pope that man in whom\nthey most trusted; and when the announcements of the election came\nabroad, there was great strife and disturbance between their families,\nforasmuch as each said that he was the friend of their party. And this\ndone, and the cardinals being come forth from their confinement, it\nwas straightway determined to send him the election and decree across\nthe mountains where he was. This election took place on the 5th day of\nJune in the year of Christ 1305, when the apostolic chair had been\nvacant ten months and twenty-eight days. We have made so long a record\nof this election of the Pope, by reason of the subtle and fine deceit\nwhich took place, and for its bearing on the future, forasmuch as\ngreat things followed thereupon, as hereafter we shall relate, during\nthe time of his papacy and of his successor. And this election was the\ncause whereby the papacy reverted to foreigners, and the court went\nbeyond the mountains, so that for the sin committed by the Italian\ncardinals in the death of Pope Benedict, if they were guilty thereof,\nand in the fraudulent election, they were well punished by the\nGascons, as we shall tell hereafter.\n[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]\n\u00a7 81.--_Of the coronation of Pope Clement V. and of the cardinals\nwhich he made._ \u00a7 82.--_How the Florentines and the Lucchese besieged\nand took the city of Pistoia._ \u00a7 83.--_How the cities of Modena and of\nReggio rebelled against the marquis of Este, and how the Whites and\nthe Ghibellines were driven out of Bologna._\n\u00a7 84.--_How there arose in Lombardy one Fra Dolcino with a great\ncompany of heretics, and how they were burnt._\n[Sidenote: 1305 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xxviii. 55-60.]\nIn the said year 1305, in the territory of Novara in Lombardy, there\nwas one Frate Dolcino, which was not a brother of any regular Order,\nbut as it were a monk outside the Orders, and he rose up and led\nastray a great company of heretics, men and women of the country and\nof the mountains, of small account; and the said Fra Dolcino taught\nand preached that he was a true apostle of Christ, and that everything\nought to be held lovingly in common, and women also were to be in\ncommon, and there was no sin in so using them. And many other foul\narticles of heresy he preached, and maintained that the Pope and\ncardinals and the other rulers of Holy Church did not observe their\nduty nor the evangelic life; and that he ought to be made Pope. And\nhe, with a following of more than 3,000 men and women, abode in the\nmountains, living in common after the manner of beasts; and when they\nwanted victuals they took and robbed wherever they could find any; and\nthus he reigned for two years. At last those which followed the said\ndissolute life, becoming weary of it, his sect diminished much, and\nthrough want of victuals and by reason of the snow he was taken by the\nNavarese and burnt, with Margaret his companion, and with many other\nmen and women which with him had been led astray.\n[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]\n\u00a7 85.--_How Pope Clement sent as legate into Italy Cardinal Napoleone\nof the Orsini, and how he was ill received._ \u00a7 86.--_How the\nFlorentines besieged and took the strong castle of Montaccianico and\ndismantled it, and caused Scarperia to be built._ \u00a7 87.--_How the\nFlorentines strengthened the Popolo, and chose the first executor of\nthe Ordinances of Justice._\n\u00a7 88.--_Of the great war which was begun against the marquis of\nFerrara, and how he died._\n[Sidenote: Inf. xii. 112; xviii. 55-57. Purg. v. 73-78. xx. 79-81. De\n[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1306, the Veronese, Mantuans, and Brescians made a\nleague together, and declared a great war against the Marquis Azzo of\nEste, which was lord of Ferrara, because they feared that he was\ndesirous to be lord over Lombardy, forasmuch as he had taken to wife a\ndaughter of King Charles; and they overran his places and took from\nhim some of his strongholds. But the year after, when he had gathered\nhis forces, with the aid of the Piedmontese and of King Charles, he\nmade a great expedition against them, and overran their places and did\nthem much hurt. But a little time after the said marquis fell sick,\nand died in great pain and misery; and he had been the gayest and most\nredoubted and powerful tyrant in Lombardy, and he left no son of\nlawful wedlock, and his lands and lordship became a cause of great\nstrife between his brothers and nephews, and one of his bastard sons,\nwhich was named Francis, whom the Venetians greatly favoured because\nhe was born in Venice; and much strife and war followed therefrom with\nhurt to the Venetians, as hereafter in due time we shall make mention.\n[Sidenote: 1306 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 132.]\n\u00a7 89.--_How M. Napoleone Orsini, the legate, came to Arezzo; and of\nthe expedition which the Florentines made against Gargosa._ \u00a7\n90.--_How the good King Edward of England died._ \u00a7 91.--_How the king\nof France went to Poitiers to Pope Clement, to cause the memory of\nPope Boniface to be condemned._\n\u00a7 92.--_How and after what fashion was destroyed the Order and mansion\nof the Temple of Jerusalem by the machinations of the king of France._\n[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xx. 91-93.]\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1307, before the king of France departed from the\ncourt of Poitiers, he accused and denounced to the Pope, incited\nthereto by his officers and by desire of gain, the master and the\nOrder of the Temple, charging them with certain crimes and errors,\nwhereof as the king had been informed the Templars were guilty. The\nfirst movement came from a prior of the said Order, of Monfaucon in\nthe region of Toulouse, a man of evil life and a heretic, and for his\nfaults condemned to perpetual imprisonment in Paris by the grand\nmaster. And finding himself in prison with one Noffo Dei, of our city\nof Florence, a man full of all vices, these two men, despairing of any\nsalvation, evilly and maliciously invented the said false accusation\nin hope of gain, and of being set free from prison by aid of the king.\nBut each of them a little while after came to a bad end; forasmuch as\nNoffo was hanged and the prior stabbed. To the end they might move the\nking to seek his gain, they brought the accusation before his\nofficers, and the officers brought it before the king; wherefore the\nking was moved by his avarice, and made secret arrangements with the\nPope and caused him to promise to destroy the Order of the Templars,\nlaying to their charge many articles of heresy; but it is said that it\nwas more in hope of extracting great sums of money from them, and by\nreason of offence taken against the master of the Temple and the\nOrder. The Pope, to be rid of the king of France, by reason of the\nrequest which he had made that he would condemn Pope Boniface, as we\nhave before said, whether rightly or wrongly, to please the king\npromised that he would do this; and when the king had departed, on a\nday named in his letters, he caused all the Templars to be seized\nthroughout the whole world, and all their churches and mansions and\npossessions, which were almost innumerable in power and in riches, to\nbe sequestered; and all those in the realm of France the king caused\nto be occupied by his court, and at Paris the master of the Temple was\ntaken, which was named Jacques of the lords of Molay in Burgundy, with\nsixty knights, friars and gentlemen; and they were charged with\ncertain articles of heresy, and certain vile sins against nature which\nthey were said to practise among themselves; and that at their\nprofession they swore to support the Order right or wrong, and that\ntheir worship was idolatrous, and that they spat upon the cross, and\nthat when their master was consecrated it was secretly and in private,\nand none knew the manner; and alleging that their predecessors had\ncaused the Holy Land to be lost by treachery, and King Louis and his\nfollowers to be taken at Monsura. And when sundry proofs had been\ngiven by the king of the truth of these charges, he had them tortured\nwith divers tortures that they might confess, and it was found that\nthey would not confess nor acknowledge anything. And after keeping\nthem a long time in prison in great misery, and not knowing how to put\nan end to their trial, at last outside Paris at S. Antoine (and the\nlike was also done at Senlis in France) in a great park enclosed by\nwood, fifty-six of the said Templars were bound each one to a stake,\nand they began to set fire to their feet and legs little by little,\nadmonishing them one after the other that whosoever of them would\nacknowledge the error and sins wherewith they were charged might\nescape; and during this martyrdom, exhorted by their kinsfolk and\nfriends to confess, and not to allow themselves to be thus vilely\nslain and destroyed, yet would not one of them confess, but with\nweeping and cries they defended themselves as being innocent and\nfaithful Christians, calling upon Christ and S. Mary and the other\nsaints; and by the said martyrdom all burning to ashes they ended\ntheir lives. And the master was reserved, and the brother of the\ndauphin of Auvergne, and Brother Hugh of Peraud, and another of the\nleaders of the Order, which had been officers and treasurers of the\nking of France, and they were brought to Poitiers before the Pope, the\nking of France being present, and they were promised forgiveness if\nthey would acknowledge their error and sin, and it is said that they\nconfessed something thereof; and when they had returned to Paris there\ncame thither two cardinal legates to give sentence and condemn the\nOrder upon the said confession, and to impose some discipline upon the\nsaid master and his companions; and when they had mounted a great\nscaffold, opposite the church of N\u00f4tre Dame, and had read the\nindictment, the said master of the Temple rose to his feet, demanding\nto be heard; and when silence was proclaimed, he denied that ever such\nheresies and sins as they had been charged with had been true, and\nmaintained that the rule of their Order had been holy and just and\ncatholic, but that he certainly was worthy of death, and would endure\nit in peace, forasmuch as through fear of torture and by the\npersuasions of the Pope and of the king, he had by deceit been\npersuaded to confess some part thereof. And the discourse having been\nbroken off, and the sentence not having been fully delivered, the\ncardinals and the other prelates departed from that place. And having\nheld counsel with the king, the said master and his companions, in the\nIsle de Paris and before the hall of the king, were put to martyrdom\nafter the same manner as the rest of their brethren, the master\nburning slowly to death and continually repeating that the Order and\ntheir religion was catholic and righteous, and commending himself to\nGod and S. Mary; and likewise did the brother of the dauphin. Brother\nHugh of Peraud, and the other, through fear of martyrdom, confessed\nand confirmed that which they had said before the Pope and the king,\nand they escaped, but afterwards they died miserably. And by many it\nwas said that they were slain and destroyed wrongly and wickedly, and\nto the end their property might be seized, which afterwards was\ngranted in privilege by the Pope to the Order of the Hospitallers, but\nthey were required to recover and redeem it from the king of France\nand the other princes and lords, and that with so great a sum that,\nwith the interest to be paid thereupon, the Order of the Hospitallers\nwas, and is, poorer than it was before in its property; or perhaps God\nbrought this about by miracle to show how things were. And the king of\nFrance and his sons had afterwards much shame and adversity, both\nbecause of this sin and of the capture of Pope Boniface, as hereafter\nshall be related. And note, that the night after the said master and\nhis companion had been martyred, their ashes and bones were collected\nas sacred relics by friars and other religious persons, and carried\naway to holy places. In this manner was destroyed and brought to\nnought the rich and powerful Order of the Temple at Jerusalem, in the\nyear of Christ 1310. We will now leave the doings in France and return\nto our doings in Italy.\n[Sidenote: 1307 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]\n\u00a7 93.--_Of events and defeats which came to pass in Romagna and in\nLombardy._ \u00a7 94.--_Of the death of King Albert of Germany._ \u00a7\n95.--_How the Podest\u00e0 of Florence fled with the Hercules seal of the\ncommonwealth._\n\u00a7 96.--_How Corso Donati, the great and noble citizen of Florence,\ndied._\n[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 81-87.]\nIn the said year 1308, there being in the city of Florence increasing\nstrife between the nobles and the powerful popolani of the Black party\nwhich were ruling the city, by reason of rivalry for state and\nlordship, which began at the time of the tumult when they demanded to\nsee the accounts, as we have before made mention; this jealous\ndisposition must needs bring forth sorrowful consequences, because\nfrom the sins of pride and envy and avarice, and other vices which\nreigned among them, they were divided into factions; and the leader of\none faction was M. Corso de' Donati, with a following of some nobles,\nand of certain popolani, among others them of the house of Bordoni;\nand of the other party were leaders M. Rosso della Tosa, M. Geri\nSpini, and M. Pazzino dei Pazzi, and M. Betto Brunelleschi, with their\nallies, and with the Cavicciuli, and with many houses of magnates and\npopolani, and the greater part of the good people of the city, which\nhad the offices and the government of the city, and of the people. M.\nCorso and his followers believed themselves to have been ill-treated\nwith regard to offices and honours, whereof they held themselves to be\nmore worthy, forasmuch as they had been the principal restorers of the\nBlacks to their estate, and had driven out the Whites; but by the\nother party it was said that M. Corso desired to be lord over the city\nwith no equal. But whatever may have been the truth or the cause, his\naforesaid opponents and they which ruled the city had hated and\ngreatly feared him, ever since he had allied himself by marriage to\nUguccione della Faggiuola, a Ghibelline, and hostile to the\nFlorentines; and also they feared him because of his ambition and\npower and following, being uncertain whether he would not take their\nstate from them, and drive them from the city, and above all, because\nthey found that the said M. Corso had made a league and covenant with\nthe said Uguccione della Faggiuola, his father-in-law, and had sent\nfor him and his aid. For the which thing, in great jealousy, the city\nsuddenly rose in an uproar, and the priors caused the bells to be\nsounded, and the people and the nobles, on horse and on foot, flew to\narms, and the Catalan troops with the king's marshal, which were at\nthe service of them which ruled the city. And straightway, as had been\nordained by the aforesaid leaders, an inquisition or accusation was\ngiven to the Podest\u00e0, to wit, to M. Piero della Branca d'Agobbio,\nagainst the said M. Corso, charging him with wishing to betray the\npeople, and to overturn the city, by bringing thither Uguccione della\nFaggiuola with the Ghibellines and enemies of the commonwealth. And he\nwas first cited to appear, and then proclamation was made against him,\nand then he was condemned; in less than an hour, without giving any\nlonger time for his trial, M. Corso was condemned as a rebel and\ntraitor to his commonwealth, and straightway the priors set forth with\nthe standard of justice, and the Podest\u00e0, captain and executioner,\nwith their retainers and with the standard-bearers of the companies,\nwith the people in arms, and the troops on horse, amid the\nacclamations of the people, to go to the house where dwelt M. Corso at\nSan Piero Maggiore, to carry out the sentence. When M. Corso, having\nheard of the attack against him (or, as some said, in order to\nstrengthen himself to carry out his purpose, for he was expecting\nUguccione della Faggiuola with a great following which was already\ncome to Remole), had barricaded himself in the road of San Piero\nMaggiore, at the foot of the towers of Cicino, and in Torcicoda, and\nat the entrance of the way which goes towards the Stinche, and at the\nway of San Brocolo, with strong barricades, and with much folk, his\nkinsmen and friends, in arms and with crossbows, enclosed within the\nbarricade, and at his service. The people began to attack the said\nbarricades in divers places, and M. Corso and his friends to defend\nthem boldly; and the battle endured the greater part of the day, and\nwas so strong that, with all the power of the people, if the\nreinforcements of Uguccione's followers and the other friends from the\ncountry invited by M. Corso had joined him in time, the people of\nFlorence would have had enough to do that day; because, albeit they\nwere many, yet were they ill-ordered and not well agreed, forasmuch as\nto part of them the attack was not pleasing. But when Uguccione's\nfollowers heard how M. Corso was attacked by the people, they turned\nback, and the citizens which were within the barricade began to\ndepart, so that he remained very scant of followers, and certain of\nthe people broke down the wall of the orchard over against the\nStinche, and entered in with a great company of men in arms. When M.\nCorso and his followers saw this, and that the aid of Uguccione and of\nhis other friends was belated and had failed them, he abandoned the\nhouses, and fled out of the city, the which houses were straightway\nplundered and destroyed by the people, and M. Corso and his followers\nwere pursued by certain citizens on horse and by certain Catalans,\nsent expressly to take him. And Gherardo Bordoni was overtaken by\nBoccaccio Cavicciuli, at the Affrico, and slain, and his hand was cut\noff and taken to the street of the Adimari, and nailed to the door of\nM. Tedici degli Adimari, his associate, by reason of enmity between\nthem. M. Corso, departing quite alone, was overtaken and captured near\nRovezzano by certain Catalans on horse, and as they were taking him\nprisoner to Florence, when they were hard by San Salvi, he prayed them\nto let him go free, promising them much money if they would let him\nescape, but they held to their purpose of taking him to Florence, as\nhad been commanded them by their lords; then M. Corso, in fear of\ncoming into the hands of his enemies, and of being brought to justice\nby the people, being much afflicted with gout in his hands and feet,\nlet himself fall from his horse. The said Catalans seeing him on the\nground, one of them gave him a thrust with his lance in the throat,\nwhich was a mortal blow, and then left him there for dead; the monks\nof the said convent carried him into the abbey, and some said that\nbefore he died he gave himself into their hands as a penitent, and\nsome said that they found him dead; and the next morning he was buried\nin San Salvi with little honour and but few present, for fear of the\ncommonwealth. This M. Corso Donati was among the most sage, and was a\nvaliant cavalier, and the finest speaker, and most skilled, and of the\ngreatest renown and of the greatest courage and enterprise of any one\nof his time in Italy, and a handsome and gracious cavalier in his\nperson; but he was very worldly, and in his time caused many\nconspiracies and scandals in Florence to gain state and lordship; and\nfor this cause have we made so long a treatise concerning his end,\nforasmuch as it was of great moment to our city, and after his death\nmany things followed thereupon, as may be understood by the\nintelligent, to the end he may be an example to those which come\nafter.\n[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]\n\u00a7 97.--_How the church of the Lateran at Rome was burned._ \u00a7 98.--_How\nthe magnates of Samminiato destroyed their Popolo._ \u00a7 99.--_How the\nTarlati were expelled from Arezzo, and the Guelfs restored._ \u00a7\n100.--_How the Ubaldini returned to submission to the commonwealth of\nFlorence._\n\u00a7 101.--_After what manner Henry, count of Luxemburg, was elected\nemperor of Rome._\n[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1308, the King Albert of Germany being dead, as we\nafore said, by the which death the Empire was left vacant, the\nelectors of Germany were at great discord among themselves concerning\nthe election; and when the king of France heard of the said vacancy,\nhe thought within himself that now his purpose would be carried out\nwith little difficulty, by reason of the sixth promise which Pope\nClement had secretly made to him when he promised to make him Pope, as\nwe afore made mention; and he assembled his secret council with M.\nCharles of Valois, his brother, and there he revealed his intention,\nand the long desire which he had had that the Church of Rome should\nelect as king of the Romans M. Charles of Valois, even while Albert,\nking of Germany, was living, by means of his forces and power and\nmoney, and with the aid of the Pope and the Church; for at other times\nof old the election had passed from the Greeks to the French, and from\nthe French to the Italians, and from the Italians to the Germans. And\nnow much more ought it to come to pass, seeing the Empire was vacant,\nand especially by reason of the said promise and oath, which Pope\nClement had made to him when he had made him Pope. And he revealed all\nthe secret covenant with him, and this done, he asked their counsel\nand made them swear secrecy. To this enterprise the king was\nencouraged by all his counsellors, and that to this end he should use\nall the power of the crown and of his realm, so that it might be\nbrought about, alike for the honour of M. Charles of Valois, who was\nworthy thereof, and that the honour and dignity of the Empire might\nreturn to the French, as it had of old pertained long time to their\nforefathers, Charles the Great and his successors. And when the king\nand M. Charles heard the encouragement and good-will of his council,\nthey rejoiced greatly, and took counsel that without delay the king\nand M. Charles, with a great force of barons and knights in arms,\nshould go to Avignon to the Pope, before the Germans should have made\nany other election, showing and giving out that his going was\nconcerning the petition against the memory of Pope Boniface; and that\nwhen the king came to the court, he should require from the Pope the\nsixth and secret promise,--to wit, the election and confirmation as\nEmperor of Rome of M. Charles of Valois; and he being so strong in\nfollowers, no cardinal nor any one else, not even the Pope, would dare\nto refuse him. And this ordered, the barons and knights were commanded\nto provide themselves with arms and with horses to bear the king\ncompany on his journey to Avignon; and they of the signiory of\nProvence were to make ready, and should number more than 6,000\nknights in arms. But as it pleased God, who willed not that the Church\nof Rome should be wholly subject to the house of France, these\npreparations of the king and his purpose were secretly made known to\nthe Pope by one of the privy council of the king of France. The Pope,\nfearing the coming of the king with so great a force, remembering the\npromise he had made, and perceiving that it was most contrary to the\nliberty of the Church, held secret counsel with M. d'Ostia, Cardinal\nda Prato alone, forasmuch as they were already indignant with the king\nof France, by reason of his inordinate demands, and because, if the\nChurch had condemned the memory of Pope Boniface, that which he had\ndone would have been made null and void, and the Cardinal da Prato had\nbeen made cardinal by Boniface with certain others, as we have said in\nanother place. The said cardinal, hearing that which the Pope had\nlearned of the purpose and of the coming of the king of France, spake\nthus: \"Holy Father, here there is but one remedy, to wit, before the\nking makes his request of thee, thou must secretly and carefully\narrange with the princes of Germany that they complete the election to\nthe Empire.\" This counsel pleased the Pope, but he said: \"Whom do we\nwill to be Emperor?\" Then the cardinal, with much foresight, not only\nto secure the liberty of the Church, but to advance his own interests\nand those of his Ghibelline party, which he would fain exalt in Italy,\nsaid: \"I hear that the count of Luxemburg is to-day the best man in\nGermany, and the most loyal and bold, and the most catholic; and I do\nnot doubt, if by thy means he comes to this dignity, that he will be\nfaithful and obedient to thee and to Holy Church, and a man who will\ncome to great things.\" The Pope was pleased with the good report\nwhich he heard of him, and said: \"How can this election be brought\nabout by us secretly, sending letters under our seal, unknown to the\ncollege of our brother cardinals?\" The cardinal made answer: \"Write\nthy letters to him and to the electors under a small and secret seal,\nand I will write to them in my letters more fully concerning thy\npurpose, and I will send them by my servant\"; and so it was done. And\nas it pleased God, when the messengers were come into Germany, and had\npresented the letters, in eight days the princes of Germany were\nassembled at Middleburg, and there without dissent they elected as\nking of the Romans Henry, count of Luxemburg; and this was from the\nindustry and activity of the said cardinal which wrote these words\namong others to the princes: \"See that ye are united in this matter,\nand without delay; if not, I believe that the election and the\nlordship of the Empire will return to the French.\" This done, the\nelection was straightway made public in France and at the papal court;\nand the king of France, not knowing the manner thereof, and making\npreparations to go to the court, held himself deceived, and was never\nafterwards a friend of the said Pope.\n\u00a7 102.--_How Henry the Emperor was confirmed by the Pope._\n[Sidenote: 1308 A.D.]\nIn the said year, after Henry of Luxemburg had been elected king of\nthe Romans, he sent for his confirmation to Avignon to the court of\nPope Clement the count of Savoy, his kinsman, and M. Guy of Nam\u00fbrs,\nbrother of the count of Flanders, his cousin, which were honourably\nreceived by the Pope and by the cardinals; and in the month of April,\n1308, the said Henry was confirmed as Emperor by the Pope, and it was\nordained that the Cardinal dal Fiesco and the Cardinal da Prato should\nbe legates in Italy, and should bear him company when he should have\ncrossed the mountains, commanding in the Church's name that he should\nbe obeyed by all. Immediately when his ambassadors had returned with\nthe Pope's confirmation, he went to Aix-la-Chapelle in Germany with\nall the barons and prelates of Germany, and there were there the duke\nof Brabant, and the count of Flanders, and the count of Hainault, and\nmore barons of France; and at Aix, by the archbishop of Cologne, he\nwas with honour and without any opposition crowned with the first\ncrown, on the day of the Epiphany, 1308, as king of the Romans.\n\u00a7 103.--_How the Venetians took the city of Ferrara and then lost it\nagain._ \u00a7 104.--_How the master of the Hospital took the island of\nRhodes._ \u00a7 105.--_How the king of Aragon prepared an expedition\nagainst Sardinia._ \u00a7 106.--_How the Guelfs were expelled from Prato,\nand then were reinstated._ \u00a7 107.--_How the Tarlati returned to Arezzo\nand expelled the Guelfs therefrom._ \u00a7 108.--_How King Charles II.\ndied._ \u00a7 109.--_Of the signs that appeared in the air._ \u00a7 110.--_How\nthe Florentines renewed war with Arezzo._ \u00a7 111.--_How the Lucchese\nwould have destroyed Pistoia, and the Florentines opposed them._\n\u00a7 112.--_How Robert was crowned king over the kingdom of Sicily and\nApulia._\n[Sidenote: 1309 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. viii. 76-84.]\nIn the month of June of the year 1309, Duke Robert, now King Charles'\neldest son, went by sea from Naples to Provence, to the court, with a\ngreat fleet of galleys, and a great company, and was crowned king of\nSicily and of Apulia by Pope Clement, on S. Mary's Day in September of\nthe said year, and was entirely acquitted of the loan which the Church\nhad made to his father and grandfather for the war in Sicily, which is\nsaid to have been more than 300,000 ounces of gold. In the said year\nand month the Guelfs were driven out of Amelia by the forces of the\nColonnesi.\n\u00a7 113.--_How they of Ancona were discomfited by Count Frederick._ \u00a7\n114.--_How M. Ubizzino Spinoli was driven out of Genoa and defeated._\n\u00a7 115.--_How the Venetians were defeated at Ferrara._ \u00a7 116.--_Of the\nwar between them of Volterra and them of Sangimignano._ \u00a7 117.--_How\nthe Orsini of Rome were defeated by the Colonnesi._ \u00a7 118.--_How the\nfolk of Arezzo were defeated by the marshal of the Florentines._ \u00a7\n119.--_How the Florentines marched upon Arezzo._\n\u00a7 120.--_How the ambassadors of Henry, king of the Romans, came to\nFlorence._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 3rd day of July, there came to Florence M.\nLouis of Savoy, senator elect of Rome, with two clerics, prelates of\nGermany, and M. Simone Filippi of Pistoia, ambassadors from the\nEmperor, requiring the commonwealth of Florence to prepare to do\nhonour to his coronation, and to send their ambassadors to him to\nLausanne; and they required and commanded that the expedition which\nhad been sent against Arezzo should be withdrawn. A great and fine\ncouncil was held by the Florentines, wherein the ambassadors\ndiscreetly set forth their embassy. M. Betto Brunelleschi was called\nupon to respond for the commonwealth, which at the first made answer\nwith proud and unfitting words, wherefor he was afterwards blamed by\nthe wise; then answer was discreetly made, and courteously, by M.\nUgolino Tornaquinci, whereon they departed, well content, on the 12th\nday of July, and went to the host of the Florentines to Arezzo, and\nmade the like command that the host should depart, which did not\ntherefore depart. The said ambassadors abode in Arezzo, very wrathful\nagainst the Florentines.\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n\u00a7 121.--_Of wondrous folk that went their way through Italy beating\nthemselves._\nEND OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK VIII.\nBOOK IX.\n    _Here begins the Ninth Book. How Henry, count of Luxemburg,\n    was made Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 82, xxx. 133-138. Epistol\u00e6 v. vi. vii.]\n\u00a7 1.--Henry, count of Luxemburg, reigned four years and seven months\nand eighteen days from his first coronation to his end. He was wise\nand just and gracious, valiant and firm in arms, virtuous and\ncatholic; and albeit of low estate according to his lineage, he was\ngreat-hearted, feared and redoubted; and if he had lived longer he\nwould have done the greatest things. This man was elected emperor\nafter the manner aforesaid, and immediately when he had received\nconfirmation from the Pope he caused himself to be crowned king in\nGermany; and afterwards he pacified all the disputes between the\nbarons of Germany, and purposed earnestly to come to Rome for the\nimperial crown, and to pacify Italy from the divers discords and wars\nwhich were therein, and then to carry out the expedition over seas to\nrecover the Holy Land, if God had granted it to him. Whilst he abode\nin Germany to pacify the barons, and to provide himself with money and\nwith followers before crossing the mountains, Wenceslas, king of\nBohemia, died, and left no male heir, but only two daughters, the one\nalready wife of the duke of Carinthia, and the other, by the counsel\nof his barons, Henry gave to wife to John, his son, whom he crowned\nking of Bohemia, and left him in his place in Germany.\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n\u00a7 2.--_How the Guelf party was expelled from Venice._ \u00a7 3.--_Of the\nprophecies of M. Arnaldo da Villanuova._ \u00a7 4.--_How there was a\nconspiracy in Ferrara to make the place rebel against the Church._ \u00a7\n5.--_How they of Todi were routed by them of Perugia._ \u00a7 6.--_How the\nGuelfs were expelled from Spoleto._\n\u00a7 7.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Germany to go into Italy._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 133-141.]\n[Sidenote: Epistola v.]\nIn the said year 1310, the Emperor came to Lausanne with few\nfollowers, awaiting his forces, and the embassies from the cities of\nItaly, and there abode many months. When the Florentines heard this\nthey took counsel to send him a rich embassage, and likewise the\nLucchese, and the Sienese, and the other cities of the Tuscan league;\nand the ambassadors were actually chosen, and the stuffs for their\nrobes prepared, that they might be honourably arrayed. Yet this\njourney was abandoned by reason of certain Guelf magnates of Florence,\nwhich feared lest under pretence of peace the Emperor might restore\nthe banished Ghibellines to Florence, and make them lords thereof;\nwherefore suspicion arose, and afterwards indignation, whence followed\ngreat peril to all Italy, forasmuch as when the ambassadors from Rome,\nand they of Pisa and of the other cities were come to Lausanne in\nSavoy, the Emperor asked why the Florentines were not there. Then\nanswer was made to the lord by the ambassadors of the refugees from\nFlorence, that it was because they were afraid of him. Then said the\nEmperor: \"They have done ill, forasmuch as our desire was to have all\nthe Florentines, and not only a faction, for our faithful subjects,\nand to make that city our treasure and archive house, and the loftiest\nof our empire.\" And it was known of a surety by folk which were near\nto him, that up to that time he had purposed with pure intent to\nmaintain them which were ruling Florence in their estate, which intent\nthe refugees greatly dreaded. But henceforth, by reason of this anger,\nor through evil report of his ambassadors which came to Florence, and\nof the Ghibellines and Pisans, he gave his mind the other way.\nWherefore, in the following August, the Florentines, being alarmed,\nraised 1,000 citizen cavalry, and began to provide themselves with\nsoldiers and with money, and to make a league with King Robert, and\nwith many cities of Tuscany and of Lombardy, to oppose the coming and\nthe coronation of the Emperor; and the Pisans, to the end that he\nmight cross the Alps, sent him 70,000 golden florins, and promised him\nas many more when he should be come to Pisa; and with this aid he set\nforth from Lausanne, forasmuch as he was not himself a lord rich in\nmoney.\n\u00a7 8.--_How King Robert came to Florence as he returned from his\ncoronation._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1310, on the 30th day of September, King Robert came\nto Florence on his way back from his coronation at Avignon, where was\nthe Pope's court; he abode in the house of the Peruzzi dal Parlagio\n[of the Forum], and the Florentines did him much honour, and held\njousts, and gave him large presents of money, and he abode in Florence\nuntil the 24th day of October, to reconcile the Guelfs together, which\nwere divided into factions among themselves, and to treat of warding\noff the Emperor. He could do but little in reconciling them; so much\nhad error increased among them, as before has been narrated.\n\u00a7 9.--_How the Emperor Henry passed into Italy and gained the city of\nMilan._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 26.]\nIn the year 1310, at the end of September, the Emperor departed from\nLausanne with his followers, and crossed the mountains of M. Cenis,\nand at the beginning of October he came to Turin in Piedmont:\nafterwards he came to the city of Asti, the 10th day of October. By\nthe people of Asti he was peaceably received as lord, and they went\nout to meet him, with rejoicing and a great procession, and he\npacified all the disputes among the people of Asti. In Asti he awaited\nhis followers, and before he departed he had nigh upon 2,000 horse\nfrom beyond the mountains. In Asti he abode more than two months,\nforasmuch as at that time M. Guidetto della Torre was ruler in Milan,\na man of great wit and power, which had, between soldiers and\ncitizens, more than 2,000 cavalry, and by his force and tyranny he\nkept out of Milan the Visconti and their Ghibelline party, and also\nhis associate, the archbishop, with many other Guelfs. This M.\nGuidetto was in league with the Florentines and with the other Guelfs\nof Tuscany and of Lombardy, and opposed the coming of the Emperor, and\nwould have succeeded if it had not been that his own associates with\ntheir following led the Emperor to make for Milan, by the counsel of\nthe cardinal of Fiesco, the Pope's legate. M. Guidetto, not being able\nto provide against everything, consented to his coming, against his\nwill; and thus the Emperor entered into Milan on the vigil of the\nFeast of the Nativity, and on the Day of the Epiphany, the 6th of\nJanuary, he was crowned in S. Ambrogio by the archbishop of Milan,\nwith the second crown of iron, with great honour, both he and his\nwife. [And the said crown is in Milan, and is of fine tempered steel\nas for a sword, made in the form of a wreath of laurel, wherein rich\nand precious stones were inlaid, after the fashion of the C\u00e6sars which\nwere crowned with laurel in their triumphs and victories; and it is\nmade of steel by way of a figure and similitude, for like as steel and\niron surpass all other metals, so the C\u00e6sars, triumphing by the force\nof the Romans and Italians, which then were all called Romans,\nsurpassed and subdued to the Empire of Rome all the nations of the\nearth.] And at the said coronation were ambassadors from well-nigh all\nthe cities of Italy save Florence and those of their league. And\nwhilst he abode in Milan he caused all the Milanese to be at peace one\nwith another, and restored M. Maffeo Visconti and his party, and the\narchbishop and his party, and in general every man who was in\nbanishment. And well-nigh all the cities and lords of Lombardy came to\ndo his bidding, and to give him great quantity of money; and he sent\nhis vicar into all the cities save into Bologna and Padua, which were\nagainst him, and were with the league of the Florentines.\n\u00a7 10.--_How the Florentines enclosed the new circle of the city with\nmoats._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Epist. vi.]\nIn the said year, on S. Andrew's Day, the Florentines, through fear of\nthe coming of the Emperor, took counsel to enclose the city with moats\nfrom the Porta San Gallo as far as the Porta Santo Ambrogio, which is\ncalled La Croce a Gorgo, and then as far as the river Arno; and then\nfrom the Porta San Gallo to the Porta dal Prato d'Ognissanti, where\nthe walls were already founded, they were raised eight cubits higher.\nAnd this work was done quickly and in short time, which thing was\nassuredly afterwards the salvation of the city of Florence, as\nhereafter shall be narrated; inasmuch as theretofore the city had been\nall exposed and the old walls in great measure pulled down and sold to\nthe neighbouring inhabitants, to enlarge the old city, and to enclose\nthe suburbs and the new additions.\n\u00a7 11.--_How the della Torre were driven out of Milan._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 11th day of the month of February, M.\nGuidetto della Torre, seeing himself cast out from the lordship of\nMilan, and Maffeo Visconti and his other enemies much in favour with\nthe Emperor, thought to cause the city of Milan to rebel against the\nEmperor, seeing that he had with him but few horse, forasmuch as they\nwere gone away and dispersed throughout the cities of Lombardy; and\nthis would have come to pass, if it had not been that Matteo Visconti\nvery wisely warned the Emperor thereof, and his marshal, and the count\nof Savoy. For the which thing the city rose in arms and uproar, and\nthere was some fighting. Now there were who said that M. Maffeo\nVisconti by his wit and sagacity deceived him to the end he might\nbring him under the Emperor's suspicion, coming to him secretly, and\ncomplaining of the lordship of the Emperor and of the Germans, making\nas though he would better love the freedom of Milan than such\nlordship; and saying to him that he would rather have him for lord\nthan the Emperor, and that he and his followers would give him all aid\nand assistance in driving out the Emperor. To which proposal M.\nGuidetto gave heed, trusting in his former enemy, through desire of\nrecovering his state and lordship; or perhaps it was for his sins, of\nwhich he had many, and was the answer of Maffeo coming true, which he\nhad made to him through the mouth of the jongleur, as we related\nbefore. M. Maffeo under the said promise betrayed him, and revealed\nall to the Emperor and to his council; and this we believe of a\nsurety, because of what we heard thereof afterwards from wise Lombards\nwhich were then in Milan. And for this cause M. Guidetto della Torre\nwas called upon to defend himself, who did not appear, but departed\nwith his followers from Milan, asserting that he was not guilty of\ntreachery, but that his enemies had charged him therewith to bring him\nto nought and drive him out of Milan. But the most believe that he was\nin fault, forasmuch as he was in league with the Florentines and the\nBolognese, and with other Guelf cities, and it was said that he was to\nreceive much money therefor from the Florentines and their league. But\nwhatever might have been the cause, the said intrigues made the city\nof Cremona immediately rebel against the Emperor, on the 20th day of\nFebruary, and this rebellion and others in Lombardy were of a surety\nbrought about by the zeal and the spending of the Florentines, to give\nthe Emperor so much to do in Lombardy that he would not be able to\ncome into Tuscany. At this time the Ghibellines of Brescia drave out\nthe Guelfs, and this likewise came to pass to those of Parma; for the\nwhich thing the Emperor sent his vicar and followers into Brescia, and\ncaused peace to be made, and the Guelfs to return to the city, which a\nshort time afterwards finding themselves strong in the city, and\nseeing that Cremona had rebelled, and being encouraged by the\nFlorentines and the Bolognese with monies and large promises, drave\nout the Ghibellines from Brescia, and altogether rebelled against the\nEmperor, and prepared to make war against him.\n\u00a7 12.--_How there was great scarcity in Florence, and concerning other\nevents._\n[Sidenote: 1310 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1310, from December to the following May, there was\nthe greatest scarcity in Florence, for a bushel of grain cost half a\ngolden florin, and was all mixed with buck-wheat. And the arts and\ntrade had never been worse in Florence than during this time, and the\nexpenses of the commonwealth were very great, and there was much\nill-will and fear concerning the coming of the Emperor. At that time,\nat the end of February, the Donati slew M. Betto Brunelleschi, and a\nlittle while after the said Donati and their kinsfolk and friends\nassembled at San Salvi and disinterred M. Corso Donati, and made great\nlamentation, and held a service as if he were only just dead, showing\nthat by the death of M. Betto vengeance had been done, and that he had\nbeen the counsellor of M. Corso's death, wherefore all the city was as\nit were moved to tumult.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 13.--_How the relics of St. Barnabas came to Florence._\n\u00a7 14.--_How the Emperor besieged Cremona, and his people took\nVicenza._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 76-93. Epistola x. Quest. de Acqua et Terra. \u00a7\nIn the said year, the 12th day of the month of April, the Emperor was\nbesieging Cremona with an host, and he sent the bishop of Geneva, his\ncousin, with 300 horsemen from beyond the mountains, and with the\nforce of M. Cane della Scala of Verona, and suddenly took the city of\nVicenza from the Paduans, and they which were of Padua in the\nfortress, through fear, without defending themselves, abandoned the\nfortress, the which loss caused great dismay to the Paduans, and to\nall their allies; for the which thing, a little while after, the\nPaduans were reconciled to the Emperor, and gave him the lordship of\nPadua, and 100,000 golden florins in divers payments, and they\nreceived his vicar. The said bishop of Geneva went afterwards to\nVenice, and craved aid for the Emperor of the Venetians. The Venetians\ndid him great honour, and gave him to buy precious stones for his\ncrown 1,000 pounds of Venetian grossi; and in Venice from these monies\nand with others was made the crown, and the imperial throne, very rich\nand magnificent, the throne of silver gilt, and the crown with many\nprecious stones.\n\u00a7 15.--_How the Emperor took the city of Cremona._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn 1311, on the 20th of April, the Emperor being with his army at\nCremona, the city being much straitened, forasmuch as they were\nill-provided by reason of their sudden rebellion, they surrendered the\ncity to the Emperor's mercy, through the negotiations of the\narchbishop of Ravenna; and he received them and pardoned them, and\ncaused the walls and all the fortresses of the city to be destroyed,\nand laid a heavy fine upon them. And when he had taken Cremona,\nimmediately he went with his army against the city of Brescia on the\n14th day of May, and there he found himself with larger forces, and\nmore numerous and better cavaliers than he had ever had, for of a\ntruth there were there more than 6,000 good horsemen; 4,000 and more\nGermans, and Frenchmen, and Burgundians, and men of birth; and the\nrest Italians. For after he had taken Milan and then Cremona, many\ngreat lords of Germany and of France came into his service, some for\npay, and many for love. And verily if he had abandoned the enterprise\nof the siege of Brescia, and had come into Tuscany, he would have\nquietly secured Bologna, Florence, and Lucca and Siena, and afterwards\nRome, and the Kingdom of Apulia, and all the lands against him,\nforasmuch as they were not furnished nor provided, and the minds of\nthe people were much at variance, forasmuch as the said Emperor was\nheld to be the most just and benign sovereign. It pleased God that he\nshould abide at Brescia, the which siege cost him much both in people\nand in power, by reason of the great destruction both by death and\npestilence, as hereafter I shall make mention.\n\u00a7 16.--_How the Florentines, by reason of the Emperor's coming,\nrecalled from banishment all the Guelfs._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 26th day of April, the Florentines having\nheard how Vicenza and Cremona had surrendered to the Emperor, and how\nhe was going to the siege of Brescia, in order to strengthen\nthemselves put forth express decree and ordinance, and recalled from\nbanishment all the Guelf citizens and country people under what\nsentence soever they had been banished, on their paying a certain\nsmall toll; and they made many leagues both in the city and in the\ncountry, and with the other Guelf cities of Tuscany.\n\u00a7 17.--_How the Florentines, with all the Guelf cities of Tuscany,\nmade a league together against the Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1311, on the 1st day of June, the Florentines, the\nBolognese, the Lucchese, the Sienese, the Pistoians, and they of\nVolterra, and all the other Guelf cities of Tuscany held a parliament,\nand concluded a league together, and a union of knights, and swore\ntogether to defend one another and oppose the Emperor. And afterwards,\non the 26th day of June, the Florentines sent the king's marshal with\n400 Catalan soldiers which were in their pay, for the defence of\nBologna, and to oppose the Emperor if he should advance from that\nquarter; and in like manner the Sienese and Lucchese sent troops, and\nthey abode there many months in Bologna and in Romagna in the service\nof King Robert.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 18.--_How King Robert caused the Ghibellines of Romagna to be taken\nby craft._ \u00a7 19.--_How the Pope's marquis took Fano and Pesaro._\n\u00a7 20.--_How the Emperor Henry took the city of Brescia by siege._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Epistola vii.]\nIn the said year 1311, the Emperor being with his army before Brescia,\nthere were many assaults made, wherein much people died both within\nand without the city, among which was slain in an assault, by an arrow\nfrom a large crossbow, M. Waleran of Luxemburg, brother in blood and\nmarshal of the Emperor, and many other barons, good knights; whence\ncame great fear to all the host. And encouraged by this, the Brescians\nsallied forth ofttimes to attack the host, and in the month of June\nsome of them were routed and discomfited, and forty of them were taken\nprisoners of the chief of the city, and fully 200 slain, among which\nprisoners was M. Tebaldo Brusciati, which was leader of the people\nwithin the city, a man of great valour, which had been a friend of the\nEmperor, who had restored him to Brescia when the Guelfs had been\ndriven out: wherefore the Emperor caused him to be drawn asunder by\nfour horses as a traitor, and many others he caused to be beheaded,\nwhereby the power of the Brescians was much enfeebled; but for all\nthat they within the city did not abandon the defence of the city. In\nthat siege the air was corrupted by the stench of the horses and the\nlong sojourn of the camp, wherefore there arose much sickness both\nwithin and without, and a great part of them from beyond the mountains\nfell sick, and many great barons died there, and some departed by\nreason of sickness, and afterwards died thereof on the road. Among the\nothers died there the valiant M. Guy of Nam\u00fbrs, brother of the count\nof Flanders, which was leader of the Flemings at the rout of Courtray,\na man of great worth and renown; for which cause most part of the host\ncounselled the Emperor that he should depart. He holding the needs\nwithin the city to be yet greater, alike from sickness and death, and\nfrom lack of victuals, determined not to depart till he should have\ntaken the city. They of Brescia, as food was failing them, by the hand\nof the cardinal of Fiesco surrendered themselves to the mercy of the\nEmperor, on the 16th day of September, in the said year. Who, when he\nhad gotten the city, caused all the walls and strongholds to be\ndestroyed, and exacted a fine of 70,000 golden florins. Thus with\ngreat difficulty, after much time, he gained the city by reason of\ntheir evil estate; and 100 of the best men of the city, both magnates\nand popolari, he sent into banishment, confining them within bounds in\ndivers places. When he had departed from Brescia, with great loss and\nhurt, seeing that not a fourth part of his people were left to him,\nand of these a great part were sick, he held his parliament in\nCremona. There, by the influence and encouragement of the Pisans and\nof the Ghibellines and Whites of Tuscany, he determined to come to\nGenoa, and there re-establish his state, and in Milan he left as vicar\nand captain M. Maffeo Visconti; and in Verona, M. Cane della Scala;\nand in Mantua, M. Passerino de' Bonaposi; and in Parma, M. Ghiberto da\nCorreggia; and all the other cities of Lombardy in like manner he left\nunder tyrants, not being able to do otherwise, through his evil\nestate, and from each one he received much money, and invested them\nwith the privileges of the said lordships.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 21.--_How the Florentines and Lucchese strengthened the frontiers by\nreason of the Emperor's coming._\n\u00a7 22.--_How Pope Clement sent legates to crown the Emperor Henry._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 82.]\nIn the year of Christ 1311, Pope Clement, at the request of the\nEmperor, not being able to come in person to Rome to crown him, by\nreason of the council which had been summoned, sent the bishop of\nOstia, Cardinal da Prato, as legate, with power to act as if he had\nbeen the Pope in person; and he was with him in Genoa in the month of\nOctober; and the said Pope sent as legate into Hungary Cardinal\nGentile da Montefiore to crown Carlo Rimberto, son that was of Charles\nMartel and nephew of King Robert, as king over the realm of Hungary,\nand to give him the aid and favour of the Church. And this the said\ncardinal did, and abode long time in Hungary, until the said Carlo had\nconquered almost all the country, and he had crowned him in peace.\nAnd on the return of the said cardinal to Italy, he received\ncommandment from the Pope to bring to him across the mountains all the\nChurch treasure which was in Rome and in the other cities pertaining\nto the Holy See, and this he brought as far as the city of Lucca.\nBeyond that he could not bring it, neither by land nor by sea, because\nthe coasts of Genoa, both land and sea, were all in commotion of war\nthrough the Guelf and Ghibelline parties, by reason of the Emperor's\ncoming. He left it in Lucca in the sacristy of San Friano, which\ntreasure was afterwards robbed by the Ghibellines; as hereafter we\nshall make mention.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 23.--_How Pope Clement summoned a council at Vienne in Burgundy, and\ncanonised S. Louis, son of King Charles._ \u00a7 24.--_How the Emperor\nHenry came into the city of Genoa._ \u00a7 25.--_How an imperial vicar came\nto Arezzo._\n\u00a7 26.--_How the ambassadors from the Emperor came to Florence, and\nwere driven thence._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year, and month of October, there came to Florence M.\nPandolfo Savelli, of Rome, and other clerks as ambassadors from the\nEmperor. When they were come to Lastra, above Montughi, the priors of\nFlorence sent them word not to enter into Florence, but to depart. The\nsaid ambassadors, not being willing to depart, were robbed by\nFlorentine highwaymen, with the secret consent of the priors; and\nfleeing in peril of their lives, they departed by the way of Mugello\nto Arezzo, and afterwards from Arezzo summoned all the nobles and\nlords and the commonwealths of Tuscany to prepare themselves to come\nto the Emperor's coronation at Rome.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 27.--_How the Florentines sent their troops to Lunigiana to oppose\nthe passage of the Emperor._\n\u00a7 28.--_How the empress died in Genoa._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year, in the month of November, there died in Genoa the\nempress, wife of the Emperor, which was held to be a holy and good\nwoman, and was daughter of the duke of Brabant; and was buried in the\nMinor Friars with great honour.\n\u00a7 29.--_How the Emperor put the Florentines under the ban of the\nEmpire._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year and month the Emperor issued a proclamation from\nGenoa against the Florentines that, if within forty days they did not\nsend him twelve good men with a plenipotentiary and full promise to\nobey him, he would condemn their goods and persons to be forfeit,\nwherever found. The commonwealth of Florence did not send any\nmessengers, but all the Florentine merchants which were in Genoa\nreceived orders to depart thence, and this they did; and after that,\nall merchandise which was found in Genoa in the name of the\nFlorentines was seized by the court of the Emperor.\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\n\u00a7 30.--_Of the scandal which was in Florence among the wool-workers._\n\u00a7 31.--_How King Robert sent men to Florence to oppose the Emperor._\n\u00a7 32.--_How the city of Brescia rebelled against the Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year, in the end of December, the Guelfs of Brescia\nre-entered the city to cause it to rebel against the Emperor. Thither\nrode M. Cane della Scala with his forces, and drave them out thence\nwith great loss. And in the said month of December M. Ghiberto da\nCorreggia, which was holding Parma, rebelled against the lordship of\nthe Emperor, as likewise did they of Reggio; and the Florentines and\nthe rest of the league of the Guelfs of Tuscany sent aid to them of\nman and horse.\n\u00a7 33.--_How there was great tumult in Florence by reason of the death\nof M. Pazzino de' Pazzi._\n\u00a7 34.--_How the city of Cremona rebelled against the Emperor._\nIn the said year 1311, on the 10th day of the said month of January,\nthe Cremonese rebelled against the lordship of the Emperor, and drave\nout his people and his vicar, and this was through the suggestion of\nthe Florentines, which still had their ambassador there to treat of\nthis, promising to the Cremonese much aid in money and in people; but\nthe promise was ill fulfilled to them by the Florentines.\n\u00a7 35.--_How the marshal of the Emperor came to Pisa, and began war\nwith the Florentines._\n[Sidenote: 1311 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 11th of January, Henry of Nam\u00fbrs, brother of\nCount Robert of Flanders, marshal of the Emperor, came by sea to Pisa\nwith but small following, and two days after sallied forth from Pisa\nwith his men, and took station this side Pontadera, and all the goods\nof the Florentines which were coming from Pisa he caused to be\ncaptured and taken back to Pisa; whence the Florentines had great\nloss. For this cause the Florentines sent foot and horse to Samminiato\nand the frontier there.\n\u00a7 36.--_How the Paduans rebelled against the lordship of the Emperor._\nIn the said year, on the 15th of February, the Paduans, with the help\nof the Florentines and of the Bolognese, rebelled against the lordship\nof the Emperor, and drave out his vicar and his followers; and\ntumultuously slew M. Guglielmo Novello, their fellow-citizen and chief\nleader of the Ghibelline party in Padua.\n\u00a7 37.--_How the Emperor Henry came to the city of Pisa._ \u00a7 38.--_How\nthey of Spoleto were defeated by the Perugians._\n\u00a7 39.--_Of the gathering together made by King Robert and the league\nof Tuscany at Rome to oppose the coronation of the Emperor Henry._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. xvi. 42.]\nIn the year 1312, in the month of April, when King Robert heard of the\npreparation which the king of Germany was making in Pisa, to come to\nRome to be crowned, he sent forward to Rome, at the request and with\nthe support of the Orsini, M. John, his brother, with 600 Catalan and\nApulian horsemen, and they came to Rome the 16th day of April; and he\nsent to the Florentines and Lucchese and Sienese, and to the other\ncities of Tuscany which were in league with him, to send their forces\nthere; wherefore there went forth from Florence on the 9th day of May,\n1312, a troop of 200 horsemen of the best citizens, and the marshal of\nKing Robert which was in their pay, with 300 Catalan horse and 1,000\nfoot, very fine soldiers; and the royal standard was borne by M. Berto\ndi M. Pazzino dei Pazzi, a valiant and wise young knight, which died\nat Rome in the service of the king and of the commonwealth of\nFlorence. And from Lucca there went 300 horse and 1,000 foot, and of\nSienese 200 horse and 600 foot, and many other cities of Tuscany and\nof the Roman state sent men thither. Which all were in Rome on the\n21st day of May, 1312, to oppose the coronation of the Emperor; and\nwith the force of the said Orsini, of Rome, and of their followers\nthey took the Capitol, and drave out thence by force M. Louis, of\nSavoy, the senator; and they took the towers and fortresses at the\nfoot of the Capitol, above the market, and fortified Hadrian's Castle,\ncalled S. Angelo, and the church and palaces of S. Peter; and thus\nthey had the lordship and rule over more than the half of Rome, and\nthat, too, the most populous; and all the Transtiberine district. The\nColonnesi and their following, which took the side of the Emperor,\nheld the Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Coliseum, Santa Maria\nRitonda, the Milizie, and Santa Savina; and thus each party was\ndefended by bars and bolts in great strongholds. And as the people of\nFlorence abode there, on S. John Baptist's Day, their principal feast,\nthey ran the races in Rome for their cloth of crimson samite, as they\nwere wont to do on the said day in Florence.\n\u00a7 40.--_How the Emperor Henry departed from Pisa and came to Rome._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. vi. 107.]\n[Sidenote Cf. Par. xv. 109-111.]\nIn the said year, on the 23rd day of April, the king of Germany\ndeparted from Pisa with his people to the number of 2,000 horse and\nmore, and took the way of the Maremma, and then by the country of\nSiena, and by that of Orvieto, without sojourning, and without any\nhindrance he came to Viterbo, and had it without opposition, forasmuch\nas it pertained to the lordship of the Colonnas. And as he passed\nthrough the territory of Orvieto, the Filippeschi of Orvieto, with\ntheir following of Ghibellines, began a strife within the city against\nthe Monaldeschi and the other Guelfs of Orvieto, to give the city to\nthe Emperor. The Guelfs, being strong and well-armed, fought\nvigorously before the Ghibellines could gain the aid of the Emperor's\ntroops, and overcame them, and drave them out of the city with many\nslain and captured. Then the king of Germany abode many days at\nViterbo, not being able to gain admittance by the gate of S. Piero of\nRome; and the Emilian Bridge over the Tiber being fortified and\nguarded by the forces of the Orsini, at last he departed from Viterbo,\nand stayed at Monte Malo; and afterwards by the forces of his\nfollowers from without, and those of the Colonnesi and their party\nwithin, he assailed the fortresses and strongholds of the Emilian\nBridge, and by strength overcame them, and thus he entered into Rome\non the 7th day of May, and came to Santa Savina to sojourn.\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\n\u00a7 41.--_How M. Galeasso Visconti of Milan took the city of Piacenza._\n\u00a7 42.--_How the Florentines drave away the Pisans in discomfiture from\nCerretello._\n\u00a7 43.--_How Henry of Luxemburg was crowned Emperor at Rome._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\nIn the said year, whilst the king of the Romans abode long time in\nRome, till he might come by force to the church of S. Peter to be\ncrowned, his followers had many battles with the opposing forces of\nKing Robert and the Tuscans, and overcame them by force and regained\nthe Capitol, and the fortresses above the market, and the towers of S.\nMark. And verily it seems as if he would have been victorious in large\nmeasure in the strife, save that on one day, the 26th day of May, when\nin a great battle, the bishop of Li\u00e8ge, with many barons of Germany,\nhaving forced the lines, was traversing the city well-nigh to the\nbridge of S. Angelo, King Robert's followers, with the Florentines,\ndeparted from the Campo di Fiore by crossways, and attacked the enemy\nin the flank, and pursued and broke them up; and more than 250\nhorsemen were either slain or taken prisoner, among which the said\nbishop of Li\u00e8ge was taken; and whilst a knight was bringing him behind\nhim disarmed on his horse to M. John, brother of King Robert, a\nCatalan, whose brother had been slain in this pursuit, thrust at him\nin the back with his sword; wherefore, when he came to the castle of\nS. Angelo, in a short time he died; and this was a heavy loss,\nforasmuch as he was a lord of great valour and of great authority. By\nreason of the said loss and discomfiture, King Robert's followers and\ntheir men increased greatly in vigour and audacity, and those of the\nking of Germany the contrary. When he perceived that these conflicts\ndid not make for his good, and that he was losing his men and his\nhonour, having first sent to the Pope to ask that his cardinals might\ncrown him in whatever church of Rome might please them, he determined\nto have himself crowned in S. John Lateran; and there was he crowned\nby the bishop of Ostia, Cardinal da Prato, and by M. Luca dal Fiesco,\nand M. Arnaldo Guasconi, cardinals, the day of S. Peter in Vincola,\nthe 1st of August, 1312, with great honour from those people which\nwere with him, and from those Romans which were on his side. And the\nEmperor Henry having been crowned, a few days after he departed to\nTivoli to sojourn there, and left Rome barricaded and in evil state,\nand each party kept its streets and strongholds fortified and guarded.\nAnd when the coronation was over, there departed of his barons, the\nduke of Bavaria and his people, and other lords of Germany, which had\nserved him, so that he remained with but few foreigners.\n\u00a7 44.--_How the Emperor departed from Rome to go into Tuscany._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\nThen the Emperor departed from Tivoli, and came with his people to\nTodi, and was received honourably by the inhabitants, and as their\nlord, forasmuch as they took his part. The Florentines and the other\nTuscans, hearing that the Emperor had departed from Rome and was\ntaking his way towards Tuscany, straightway sent for their troops\nwhich were at Rome, to the end they might be stronger against his\ncoming. And when the said troops had returned, the Florentines and the\nother cities of Tuscany garrisoned their fortresses with horsemen and\nwith soldiers, to resist the coming of the Emperor, fearing greatly\nhis forces, and confining more straitly the Ghibellines and others\nwhich were suspected; and the Florentines increased the number of\ntheir horsemen to 1,300, and of soldiers they had with the marshal and\nwith others 700, so that they had about 2,000 horsemen; and every\nother town and city of Tuscany in the league of King Robert and of the\nGuelf party, had strengthened itself with soldiers for fear of the\nEmperor.\n\u00a7 45.--_How the Emperor came to the city of Arezzo, and afterwards how\nhe came towards the city of Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\nIn the said month of August, in 1312, the Emperor departed from Todi\nand passed through the region of Perugia, destroying and burning, and\nhis people took by force Castiglione of Chiusi on the lake, and from\nthere he came to Cortona, and then to Arezzo, and was received by the\nAretines with great honour. And in Arezzo he assembled his army to\ncome against the city of Florence, and suddenly he departed from\nArezzo and entered into the territory of Florence on the 12th day of\nSeptember, and there was straightway surrendered to him the fortress\nof Caposelvole upon the Ambra which pertained to the Florentines. And\nthen he pitched his camp before the fortress of Montevarchi, which was\nwell furnished with soldiers, both horse and foot, and with victuals;\nagainst it he ordered many assaults, and caused the moats to be\nemptied of water, and filled up with earth. They within the city,\nseeing that they were so hotly assailed, and that the city had low\nwalls, and that the horsemen of the Emperor fighting on foot, and\nmounting the walls on ladders, did not fear the arrows nor the stones\nwhich were thrown down, were greatly dismayed, and believing that the\nFlorentines would not succour them, surrendered themselves on the\nthird day to the Emperor. And when he had taken Montevarchi, without\ndelay he came with his host to the fortress of Sangiovanni, which in\nlike manner surrendered itself to him, and he took there seventy\nCatalan horsemen, in the service of the Florentines: and thus without\nhindrance he came to the village of Fegghine.\n\u00a7 46.--_How the Florentines were well-nigh discomfited at the fortress\nof Ancisa by the army of the Emperor._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\nWhen the Florentines heard that the Emperor had departed from Arezzo,\nimmediately the people and horsemen of Florence, without awaiting\nother aid, rode to the fortress of Ancisa upon the Arno, and they were\nabout 1,800 horse and many foot, and at Ancisa they encamped to hold\nthe pass against the Emperor. And when he heard this, he came with his\narmy to the plain of Ancisa upon the island of Arno which is called Il\nMezzule, and challenged the Florentines to battle. The Florentines,\nknowing themselves to be in number of their horsemen not much superior\nto those of the Emperor, and being without a captain, did not desire\nto try the fortune of battle, believing that they could hinder the\nEmperor by reason of the difficult pass, so that he could not get\nthrough to Florence. The Emperor seeing that the Florentines were not\nwilling to fight, by counsel of the wise men of war, refugees from\nFlorence, took the way of the hill above Ancisa, and by narrow and\ndifficult ways passed the fortress and came out on the side towards\nFlorence. The host of the Florentines perceiving his movements, and\nfearing lest he should come to the city of Florence, some part of them\nwith the king's marshal and his troops departed from Ancisa, to be\nbefore him in the way. The count of Savoy, and M. Henry of Flanders,\nwhich were come before to take the pass, vigorously attacked them\nwhich were at the frontier under Montelfi, and with the advantage\nwhich they had of the hill, they put them to flight and discomfiture,\nand some pursued them as far as the village of Ancisa. The rout of the\nFlorentines was more through the dismay caused by the sudden assault,\nthan by loss of men; for among them all there were not twenty-five\nhorsemen slain, and less than one hundred footmen; and well-nigh all\nthe foreigners which came in pursuit of them as far as the village\nwere slain. Nevertheless, the followers of the Emperor remained\nvictorious in the combat, and the Florentines were filled with fear;\nand the Emperor spent that night two miles this side of Ancisa on the\nway to Florence. The Florentines remained in the fortress of Ancisa,\nas it were besieged and with but little provision of victuals, so\nthat, if the Emperor had been constant to the siege, the Florentines\nwhich were at Ancisa would have been well-nigh all slain or taken. But\nas it pleased God, the Emperor resolved that night to go direct to the\ncity of Florence, believing that he should take it without opposition;\nand he left the host of the Florentines behind at Ancisa, seeing that\nthey were in a state of siege, and in much fear, and in great\ndisorder.\n\u00a7 47.--_How the Emperor Henry encamped with his host before the city\nof Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vi. 111.]\nAnd thus the day following, the 19th day of September, 1312, the\nEmperor came with his host to the city of Florence, his followers\nsetting fire to everything they came across; and thus he crossed the\nriver Arno, over against where the Mensola enters it, and abode at the\nmonastery of Santo Salvi, with perhaps 1,000 horsemen. The rest of his\nfollowers remained in Valdarno, and part at Todi, which came to him\nafterwards; and as they came through the region of Perugia, they were\nassailed by the Perugians, and defended themselves against them, and\npassed on with loss and shame to the Perugians. And the Emperor came\nthither so suddenly that the most part of the Florentines could not\nbelieve that he was there in person; and they were so dismayed and\nfearful about their horsemen which were left at Ancisa well-nigh\ndiscomfited, that if the Emperor and his followers, upon their sudden\ncoming had advanced to the gates, they would have found them open and\nill-guarded; and it is thought by most that the city would have been\ntaken. The Florentines, however, beholding the burning of the houses\nalong the way, called the people to arms by sound of bell, and with\nthe standards of their companies they came to the piazza of the\nPriors, and the bishop of Florence armed himself, with the horses\nbelonging to the clergy, and hastened to defend the Porta Santo\nAmbrogio and the moats; and all the people on foot were with him; and\nthey barred the gates, and ordered the standard-bearers and their\npeople, at their posts along the moats, to guard the city by day and\nby night. And within the city on that side they pitched a camp with\npavilions, tents, and booths, to the intent the guard might be\nstronger, and made palisades along the moats of all kinds of wood,\nwith portcullises, in a very short time. And thus abode the\nFlorentines in great fear for two days, for their horsemen and their\narmy were returning from Ancisa by divers ways by the vale of\nRobbiano, and from Santa Maria in Pianeta a Montebuoni [Impruneta] in\nthe night season. When they came to Florence, the city was reassured;\nand the Lucchese sent thither in aid and defence of the city 600 horse\nand 3,000 foot, and the Sienese 600 horse and 2,000 foot, and they of\nPistoia 100 horse and 500 foot, and they of Prato 50 horse and 400\nfoot, and they of Volterra 100 horse and 300 foot, and Colle and\nSangimignagno and Samminiato each 50 horse and 200 foot, the Bolognese\n400 horse and 1,000 foot; from Romagna there came, what with Rimini\nand Ravenna and Faenza and Cesena and the other Guelf cities, 300\nhorse and 1,500 foot, and from Agobbio 100 horse, and from the city of\nCastello 50 horse. From Perugia there came no aid, by reason of the\nwar which they had with Todi and Spoleto. And thus within eight days\nof the siege being declared by the Emperor, the Florentines with their\nallies were more than 4,000 horse, and foot without number. The\nEmperor had 1,800 horsemen, whereof 800 were foreigners and 1,000\nItalians, from Rome, from the March, from the Duchy, from Arezzo, and\nfrom Romagna, and from the Counts Guidi, and them of Santafiore, and\nthe Florentine refugees; and much people on foot, forasmuch as the\ncountry people of the region which he was occupying, all followed his\ncamp. And that year was the most fertile and fruitful in all food\nwhich had been for thirty years past. The Emperor abode at the siege\nuntil the last day of the month of October, laying the whole country\nwaste towards the eastern side, and did great hurt to the Florentines\nwithout any attack upon the city, being in hopes of gaining it by\nagreement; and even if he had attacked it, it was so well furnished\nwith horsemen, that there would have been two or more defending the\ncity for every one without, and of foot four to one; and the\nFlorentines were in such good heart that the most part went about\nunarmed, and they kept all the other gates open, save the one on that\nside; and the merchandise came in and went out as if there had been no\nwar. As to the Florentines sallying forth to battle, either by reason\nof cowardice or of prudence in war, or because they had no leader,\nthey would in no wise trust to the fortune of the combat, albeit they\nhad greatly the advantage, had they but had a good captain, and been\nmore united among themselves. Certainly they rode out to Cerretello,\nwhither the Pisans had marched with their army, and they forced them\nto withdraw from it again, as though defeated, in the month of\nOctober. The Emperor lay sick many days at San Salvi, and perceiving\nthat he could not gain the city by agreement, and that the Florentines\nwould not give battle, he departed, not yet recovered. [And whilst he\nwas still at San Salvi, the count of Savoy was discoursing with the\nabbot and certain monks of that place, concerning the Emperor, how he\nhad heard from his astrologers or by some other revelation, that he\nwas to conquer as far as to the world's end; then said the abbot\nsmiling: \"The prophecy is fulfilled, for hard by where you are\ndwelling, there is a road which has no exit, which is called the\nWorld's End\"; wherefore the count and the other barons which heard\nthis were confounded in their vain hope: and for this reason, wise men\nought not to put faith in any prophecy or sayings of astrologers, for\nthey are lies and have a double meaning.]\n\u00a7 48.--_How the Emperor abandoned the siege, and departed from San\nSalvi, and came to San Casciano, and then to Poggibonizzi._\n[Sidenote: 1312 A.D.]\nThe Emperor with his host departed on the night before All Saints, and\nhaving burnt his camp, he passed the Arno by the way which he came,\nand encamped on the plain of Ema, three miles from the city. On his\ngoing the Florentines did not sally forth from the city by night, but\nthey sounded the bells and all men stood to arms; and for this cause,\nas was afterwards known, the followers of the Emperor were in great\ntrepidation about their departure, lest they should be attacked by\nnight either in front or in rear by the Florentines. The morning\nfollowing, a part of the Florentines went to the hill of Santa\nMargherita above the camp of the Emperor, and by way of skirmishes\nthey made many assaults upon them, in the which they had the worse;\nand having tarried there three days in shame, he departed and came\nwith his host to the village of San Casciano, eight miles from the\ncity; wherefore the Florentines caused a trench to be dug round the\nincrease of the sesto of Oltrarno outside the ancient walls, on the\nfirst of December, 1312. And the Emperor being at San Casciano, the\nPisans came thither to his aid with full 500 horse and 3,000 foot, and\n1,000 archers of Genoa, and they arrived the 20th day of November. At\nSan Casciano he abode until the 6th day of January, without making any\nattack upon the Florentines save incursions, and laying waste, and\nburning houses in the region; and he took many strongholds of the\ncountry; nor did the Florentines therefore sally forth to battle, save\nin incursions and skirmishes, wherein now one party and now the other\nsuffered loss, not worthy of much mention, save that at one encounter,\nat Cerbaia in the Val di Pesa our troops were routed by the Germans,\nand one of the Spini was there slain, and one of the Bostichi, and one\nof the Guadagni, because of their boldness at that place; for they\nwere of a company of volunteers, with a captain, their banner bearing\na red stripe on a green field, and they called themselves the\nCavaliers of the Stripe, of the most famous young men of Florence, and\nthey did many feats of arms. But during this time, the Florentines\nparted from a great number of their allies and let them go; and the\nEmperor himself had not many followers; and by reason of his long\nsojourn and by the discomfort of the cold, there began in the camp at\nSan Casciano to be great sickness and mortality among the people,\nwhich greatly infected the country, and reached as far as to Florence;\nfor the which cause the Emperor departed with his host from San\nCasciano and came to Poggibonizzi, and took the strongholds of\nBarberino and of San Donato in Poggio, and many other fortresses; at\nPoggibonizzi he restored the fortress upon the hill, as of old it was\nwont to be, and gave it the name of the Imperial Fortress. There he\nabode until the 6th day of March, and during that sojourn he was in\ngreat need of provision, and suffered much want, he and all his host,\nforasmuch as the Sienese on the one side, and the Florentines on the\nother, between them had closed the roads, and 300 soldiers of King\nRobert were in Colle di Valdelsa, and harassed them continually; and\n200 of the Emperor's horsemen, as they were returning from Casole,\nwere defeated by the king's horsemen which were in Colle, on the 14th\nday of February, 1312. And on the other side, the marshal with the\nsoldiers of Florence, harassed him in Sangimignagno, so that the state\nof the Emperor was much diminished, and there scarce remained to him\n1,000 horse, forasmuch as M. Robert of Flanders had departed with his\nfollowers, and the Florentines took him in flank at Castelfiorentino,\nand a great part of his men were slain or taken, and he fled with a\nfew, albeit he had held the field well, and had given them which\nattacked him much to do, which were four to his one, and were much\nshamed thereby.\n\u00a7 49.--_How the Emperor departed from Poggibonizzi and returned to\nPisa, and issued many bans against the Florentines._\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\nThus the Emperor perceived himself to be brought low in men and in\nvictuals, and also in money, so that nought was left to him to spend,\nsave only that ambassadors from King Frederick of Sicily, which landed\nat Pisa, and came to him to Poggibonizzi to make a league with him\nagainst King Robert, gave him 20,000 golden pistoles. When he had paid\nhis debts with these, he departed from Poggibonizzi, and without\nhalting came to Pisa, on the 9th day of March, 1312, in very evil\nplight, both he and his followers; but the Emperor Henry had this\nsupreme virtue in him, that never in adversity was he as one cast\ndown, nor in prosperity was he vainglorious. When the Emperor had\nreturned to Pisa he proclaimed a great and weighty sentence against\nthe Florentines, taking from them all jurisdiction and honours,\ndisqualifying all the judges and notaries, and condemning the\ncommonwealth of Florence to pay 100,000 marks of silver; and many\ncitizens, both magnates and popolani who were in the government of\nFlorence, he condemned in their money, and persons, and goods; and the\nFlorentines were not to coin money in gold or in silver; and he\ngranted to M. Ubizzino Spinoli of Genoa and to the marquis of\nMontferrat, the privilege of coining florins counterfeited after the\nimpression of those of the Florentines; the which thing, by wise men,\nwas charged against him as a great fault and sin, for however\nindignant and wrathful he might be against the Florentines, he ought\nnever to have granted a privilege to coin false florins.\n\u00a7 50.--_How the Emperor condemned King Robert._\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\nAgainst King Robert he likewise proclaimed a heavy sentence, declaring\nhis realm of Apulia and the county of Provence to be forfeit, and\nhimself and his heirs to be condemned in their persons as traitors\nagainst the Empire; which sentence was afterwards declared null and\nvoid by Pope John XXII. And while the Emperor was in Pisa, M. Henry of\nFlanders, his marshal, rode to Versilia and Lunigiana with 800 horse\nand 6,000 foot, and took Pietrasanta by force on the 28th day of\nMarch, 1313. The Lucchese, which were at Camaiore with the forces of\nthe Florentines, did not venture to oppose him, but returned to Lucca;\nand Serrezzano, which was held by the Lucchese, surrendered to the\nMarquises Malispini, who held with the Emperor.\n\u00a7 51.--_How the Emperor made ready to enter into the Kingdom against\nKing Robert, and departed from Pisa._\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\nThis done, the Emperor took counsel not to encounter the Florentines\nand the other Tuscans (whereby he had little bettered his state, but\nrather made it worse), but to bring matters to a head, and to march\nagainst King Robert with all his force and take the Kingdom from him;\nand if he had done this, it was believed that he would have been\nmaster of all Italy; and certainly this would have come to pass, if\nGod had not averted it, as we shall make mention. He made a league\nwith King Frederick, who held the island of Sicily, and with the\nGenoese, and ordained that each one, on the day named, should put to\nsea with a large fleet of armed galleys; he sent into Germany and into\nLombardy for fresh troops, and made the like demands on all his\nsubjects, and on the Ghibellines of Italy. During this sojourn in\nPisa, he collected much money, and without sleeping, caused his\nmarshal continually to make war against Lucca and Samminiato, though\nhe made but little progress. In the summer of 1313, which he passed in\nPisa, after his forces were come to him, he numbered more than 2,500\nforeign horsemen, for the most part Germans, and of Italians fully\n1,500 horsemen. The Genoese armed at his request seventy galleys,\nwhereof M. Lamba d'Oria was admiral, and he came with the said navy to\nthe port of Pisa, and parleyed with the Emperor; afterwards he\ndeparted towards the kingdom to the island of Ponzo. King Frederick\narmed fifty galleys, and on the day named, the 5th of August, 1313,\nthe Emperor departed from Pisa; and the same day it came to pass that\nKing Frederick departed from Messina with his army, and with 1,000\nhorse, encamped in Calabria, and took the city of Reggio, and many\nother cities.\n\u00a7 52.--_How the Emperor Henry died at Bonconvento, in the country of\nSiena._\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\nWhen the Emperor had departed from Pisa he crossed the Elsa, and\nattacked Castelfiorentino, and could not take it; he went on through\nPoggibonizzi and Colle, as far as Siena alongside the gates. In Siena\nthere were many folk of war, and certain Florentine horsemen sallied\nforth from the Cammollia Gate to skirmish, and were worsted and driven\nback into the city; and Siena was in great fear; and the Emperor\npassed by the city and encamped at Montaperti upon the Arbia; there he\nbegan to be sick, albeit his sickness had made itself felt even from\nhis departure from Pisa; but because he would not fail to depart on\nthe day named, he set forth on his journey. Then he went to the plain\nof Filetta, to bathe in the baths of Macereto, and from there he went\nto the village of Bonconvento, twelve miles beyond Siena. There he\ngrew rapidly worse, and, as it pleased God, he passed from this life\non the day of S. Bartholomew, the 24th day of August, 1313.\n\u00a7 53.--_Relates how, when the Emperor was dead, his host was divided,\nand the barons carried his body to the city of Pisa._\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxx. 133-138.]\nWhen the Emperor Henry was dead, his host, and the Pisans, and all his\nfriends were in great grief thereat, and the Florentines, Sienese and\nLucchese and they of their league rejoiced greatly. And when he was\ndead, straightway the Aretines and the other Ghibellines from the\nMarch and from Romagna departed from the host at Bonconvento, wherein\nwere great numbers of people, both on horse and on foot. His barons\nand the Pisan cavalry, with their followers, without delay passed\nthrough the Maremma with his body, and brought it to Pisa; there, with\ngreat sorrow and also with great honour, they buried it in their\ncathedral. This was the end of the Emperor Henry. And let not the\nreader marvel, that his story has been continued by us without\nrecounting other things and events in Italy and in other provinces and\nrealms; for two reasons, one, because all Christians and also Greeks\nand Saracens were intent upon his doings and fortunes, and therefore\nbut few notable things came to pass in any other place; the other,\nthat by reason of the divers and manifold great fortunes which he met\nwithal in the short time that he lived, it is verily believed by the\nwise, that if death had not come so early to a lord of such valour and\nof such great undertakings as he was, he would have conquered the\nKingdom, and taken it from King Robert, who had made but little\npreparation for its defence. Rather was it said by many, that King\nRobert would not have awaited him, but would have gone by sea to\nProvence; and after he had conquered the Kingdom as he purposed, it\nwould have been very easy for him to conquer all Italy and many of the\nother provinces.\n\u00a7 54.--_How Frederick, the said king of Sicily, came by sea to the\ncity of Pisa._ \u00a7 55.--_How the Count Filipponi of Pavia was defeated\nat Piacenza._\n\u00a7 56.--_How the Florentines gave the lordship of Florence to King\nRobert for five years._\nIn the said year 1313, whilst the Emperor was yet alive, the\nFlorentines finding themselves in evil case, alike from the forces of\nthe Emperor and of their own exiles, and also having dissensions among\nthemselves from the factions which had arisen as to the filling of the\nmagistracies, they gave themselves to King Robert for five years, and\nthen afterwards they renewed it for three, and thus for eight years\nKing Robert had the lordship over them, sending them a vicar every six\nmonths, and the first was M. Giacomo di Cantelmo of Provence, who came\nto Florence in the month of June, 1313. And the Lucchese and the\nPistoians and the men of Prato did the like, in giving the lordship to\nKing Robert. And of a surety this was the salvation of the\nFlorentines, for by reason of the great divisions among the Guelfs, if\nthere had not been this device of the lordship of King Robert they\nwould have been torn to pieces and destroyed by each other, and one\nside or the other cast out.\n[Sidenote: 1313 A.D.]\n\u00a7 57.--_How the Spinoli were expelled from Genoa._ \u00a7 58.--_How\nUguccione da Faggiuola, lord of Pisa, made great war against the\nLucchese, so that they restored the Ghibelline refugees to Lucca under\nenforced terms of peace._\n\u00a7 59.--_Of the death of Pope Clement._\n[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. xix. 82-87. Par. xvii. 82, xxvii. 58-60, xxx. 142-148.\nIn the year 1314, on the 20th day of April, Pope Clement died; he was\non his way to Bordeaux, in Gascony, and when he had passed the Rhone\nat Roquemaure, in Provence, he fell sick and died. This was a man very\ngreedy of money, and a simoniac, which sold in his court every\nbenefice for money, and was licentious; for it was openly said that he\nhad as mistress the countess of Perigord, a most beautiful lady,\ndaughter of the count of Foix. And he bequeathed to his nephews and\nfamily immense and boundless treasure; and it was said that while the\nsaid Pope was yet alive, one of his nephews, a cardinal, died, whom he\ngreatly loved; and he constrained a great master of necromancy to tell\nhim what had become of his nephew's soul. The said master having\nwrought his arts, caused a chaplain of the Pope, a very courageous\nman, to be conducted by the demons, which had him to hell, and showed\nhim visibly a palace wherein was a bed of glowing fire, and thereon\nwas the soul of the said nephew which was dead, and they said to him\nthat for his simony he was thus judged. And he saw in his vision\nanother palace being raised over against the first, which they told\nhim was being prepared for Pope Clement. And the said chaplain brought\nback these tidings to the Pope, which was never afterwards glad, and\nhe lived but a short time longer; and when he was dead, and his body\nhad been left for the night in a church with many lights, his coffin\ncaught fire and was burnt, and his body from the middle downwards.\n\u00a7 60.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola with the Pisans took the city of\nLucca and stole the treasure of the Church._ \u00a7 61.--_How M. Peter,\nbrother of King Robert, came to Florence as lord._ \u00a7 62.--_How King\nRobert went with a great armament against Sicily, and besieged the\ncity of Trapali._\n\u00a7 63.--_How the Paduans were discomfited at Vicenza by M. Cane della\nScala._\n[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 28.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xvii. 76-93.]\nIn the said year 1314, on the 18th day of September, the Paduans went\nin full force to Vicenza, and took the suburbs, and besieged the city;\nbut M. Cane, lord of Verona, suddenly came to Vicenza, and with a few\nfollowers fought against the Paduans; and they being in disorder,\ntrusting in themselves too much after having taken the suburbs, were\ndiscomfited, and many of them were slain and taken prisoner.\n\u00a7 64.--_How the Florentines made peace with the Aretines._ \u00a7 65.--_How\na comet appeared in the heavens._\n\u00a7 66.--_Of the death of Philip, king of France, and of his sons._\n[Sidenote: Par. xix. 118-120.]\n[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Purg. vii. 109, 110.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Par. ix. 1.]\nIn the said year 1314, in the month of November, the King Philip, king\nof France, which had reigned twenty-nine years, died by an\nill-adventure; for, being at a chase, a wild boar ran between the legs\nof the horse whereupon he was riding, and caused him to fall, and\nshortly after he died. He was one of the most comely men in the world,\nand of the tallest in person, and well proportioned in every limb; he\nwas a wise man in himself, and good, after layman's fashion, but by\nreason of pleasure-seeking, especially in the chase, he did not devote\nhis powers to ruling his realm, but rather allowed them to be played\nupon by others, so that he was generally swayed by ill counsel, to\nwhich he lent a too ready credence; whence many perils came to his\nrealm. He left three sons, Louis, king of Navarre; Philip, count of\nPoitou; and Charles, Count de la Marche. All these sons one after\nanother in a short while became kings of France, one succeeding on the\ndeath of another. And a little while before King Philip, their father,\ndied, there fell upon them great and shameful misfortune, for the\nwives of all three were found to be faithless; and each one of the\nhusbands was among the most beauteous Christians in the world. The\nwife of King Louis was daughter of the duke of Burgundy. Louis, when\nhe was king of France, caused her to be strangled with a towel, and\nthen took to wife Queen Clemence, daughter, that was, of Charles\nMartel, the son of Charles II., king of Apulia. The wives of the\nsecond and third sons were sisters, daughters of the count of\nBurgundy, and heiresses of the countess of Artois. Philip, count of\nPoitou, on his wife's denial of the charge, and because he loved her\nmuch, took her again as being good and beautiful; Charles, Count de la\nMarche, never would take his wife back, but kept her in prison. This\nmisfortune, it was said, befell them as a miracle by reason of the sin\nwhich prevailed in that house of taking their kinswomen to wife, not\nregarding degrees, or perchance because of the sin committed by their\nfather in taking Pope Boniface, as the bishop of Sion prophesied, as\nwe have before narrated.\n[Sidenote: 1314 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]\n\u00a7 67.--_Of the election which was made in Germany of two Emperors, one\nthe duke of Bavaria, and the other the duke of Austria._ \u00a7 68.--_How\nUguccione, lord of Pisa, made great war against the neighbouring\nplaces._ \u00a7 69.--_How King Louis of France was crowned, and led an army\nagainst the Flemings, but gained nothing._\n\u00a7 70.--_How Uguccione, lord of Lucca and of Pisa, laid siege to the\ncastle of Montecatini._\nIn the said year, Uguccione da Faggiuola, with his forces of German\ntroops, being lord of all Pisa and of Lucca, having triumphed\nthroughout all Tuscany, brought his host and laid siege to\nMontecatini, in Valdinievole, which was held by the Florentines after\nthe loss of Lucca; and, albeit it was well furnished with good men,\nyet by means of the siege works it was greatly straitened, and in sore\nwant of provisions. The Florentines sent into the Kingdom for M.\nPhilip of Taranto, brother to King Robert, to oppose the fury of\nUguccione, and of the Pisans, and of the Germans; and he came to\nFlorence on the 11th of July with 500 horsemen in the pay of the\nFlorentines, and with his son Charles, against the will of King\nRobert, who knew his brother to be more headstrong than wise, and also\nnot very fortunate in battle, but rather the contrary; and if the\nFlorentines had been willing to tarry longer, King Robert would have\nsent to Florence his son, the duke, with more order and more\npreparation, and a better following: but the haste of the Florentines,\nand the device of hostile fortune, made them desire only the prince,\nwhence came to them thereafter much harm and loss of renown.\n\u00a7 71.--_How, when the prince of Taranto was come to Florence, the\nFlorentines sallied forth with their army to succour Montecatini, and\nwere defeated by Uguccione della Faggiuola._\n[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 27.]\nWhen the prince of Taranto and his son were come to Florence,\nUguccione, with all his forces from Pisa and from Lucca, and those of\nthe bishop of Arezzo, and of the counts of Santafiore, and of all the\nGhibellines of Tuscany and the exiles of Florence, with aid of the\nLombards, under M. Maffeo Visconti and his sons, to the number of\n2,500 and more horse, and a great number of foot, came to besiege the\nstronghold of Montecatini. The Florentines, in order to succour it,\nassembled a great host, and since they invited all their friends,\nthere were there Bolognese, Sienese, men of Perugia and of the city of\nCastello, of Agobbio, and of Romagna, and of Pistoia, of Volterra, and\nof Prato, and of all the other Guelf and friendly cities of Tuscany,\nto the number, with the followers of the prince and of M. Piero, of\n3,200 horse and a very great number of foot; and they departed from\nFlorence on the 6th day of August. And when the said host of the\nFlorentines and of the prince was come to Valdinievole, over against\nthat of Uguccione, many days they abode face to face with the torrent\nof the Nievole between them, and many assaults and skirmishes took\nplace. The Florentines, with many captains and but little order, held\ntheir enemies for nought; Uguccione and his people held theirs in\ngreat fear, and for this cause they kept strict guard and wise\ngeneralship. Uguccione, receiving tidings that the Guelfs of the\nterritory six miles around Lucca, at the instigation of the\nFlorentines, were marching upon Lucca, and had already routed the\nescort and taken possession of the road whereby provisions were\nbrought to his army, took counsel to withdraw from the siege; and by\nnight he gathered his troops and burned his outworks, and came with\nhis followers in battle array to the neutral ground on the plain\ncommanded by both the two hosts, with the intention, if the prince and\nhis host did not stretch out to intercept him, to march through and\nmake for Pisa; and if they desired to fight, he would have the\nadvantage of the field, and would risk the chances of battle. The\nprince and the Florentines and their host, perceiving this, when day\nbroke left the camp, and moved their tents and baggage; and the prince\nbeing ill with ague, they showed but little foresight, nor kept good\norder in the troops, by reason of the sudden and unexpected breaking\nup of the camp, but they confronted the enemy, thinking to turn them\nto flight. Uguccione, perceiving that he could not avoid the battle,\ncaused the outposts of the plain to be assailed (to wit, the Sienese\nand them of Colle and others,) by his forefighters, about 150 horse,\nwhereof were captains with the imperial pennon, M. Giovanni Giacotti\nMalespini, a rebel against Florence, and Uguccione's son; and the\nSienese and men of Colle were without resistance broken up and driven\nback as far as the troop of M. Piero, which was with the Florentine\nhorse. There the said forefighters were checked and well-nigh all cut\noff and slain, and the said M. Giovanni was left there dead, and\nUguccione's son, and their company; and the imperial pennon was cut\ndown, with many good and brave folk.\n\u00a7 72.--_More about the said battle and defeat of the Florentines and\nof the prince._\n[Sidenote: 1315 A.D.]\nWhen the attack was begun, and Uguccione perceived how sorry a figure\nwas made by the Sienese and the men of Colle when they fled by reason\nof the assault of his forefighters, he straightway caused the German\ntroop to strike in, which were 800 horse and more; and they furiously\nattacked the camp and the said ill-ordered host, whereof by reason of\nthe sudden movement a great part of the horse was not fully armed, and\nthe foot so ill ordered, that when the Germans attacked them in flank,\nthe javelin men let their missiles fall upon our own horse, and then\ntook to flight. And this, among others was one great cause of the rout\nof the Florentine host, forasmuch as the said German troop pricking\nforward turned them to flight with little resistance save from the\ntroop of M. Piero and of the Florentines, which endured long, but in\nthe end were discomfited. In this battle there died M. Piero, brother\nof King Robert, and his body was never found; and M. Carlo, son of the\nprince, died there, and Count Charles of Battifolle, and M. Caroccio,\nand M. Brasco of Aragon, constables of the Florentines, men of great\nvalour; and of Florence were left on the field some from well-nigh all\nthe great houses and many magnates of the people, to the number of 114\ncavaliers, between slain and prisoners; and, in like manner, of the\nbest of Siena and Perugia and Bologna, and the other cities of Tuscany\nand of Romagna; in which battle there were slain 2,000 men in all, of\nhorse and foot, and there were 1,500 prisoners. The prince fled with\nall the rest of his followers, some towards Pistoia and some towards\nFucecchio and some by the Cerbaia; wherefore, since numbers were lost\nin the marshes of the Guisciana, many of the aforesaid slain were\ndrowned without stroke of sword. This lamentable discomfiture was on\nthe day of the beheading of S. John, the 29th day of August, 1315.\nAfter the said discomfiture, the stronghold of Montecatini surrendered\nto Uguccione, and the stronghold of Montesommano, which the\nFlorentines held; and they which were within were allowed to go out\nsafe and sound under conditions.\n[Sidenote: 1316 A.D.]\n\u00a7 73.--_How Vinci and Cerretoguidi rebelled against the Florentines._\n\u00a7 74.--_How King Robert sent Count Novello into Florence as captain._\n\u00a7 75.--_How Uguccione beheaded Banduccio Bonconti and his son,\nmagnates of Pisa._ \u00a7 76.--_How the Florentines were divided into\nfactions among themselves, and elected a Bargello._ \u00a7 77.--_How a part\nof the walls of Florence was built, and how bad coins were struck._ \u00a7\n78.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola was expelled from the lordship of\nPisa and of Lucca, and how Castruccio at first had the lordship of\nLucca._ \u00a7 79.--_How the count of Battifolle was vicar in Florence, and\nexpelled the Bargello and changed the state of Florence._ \u00a7\n80.--_Tells of a great famine and mortality beyond the mountains._\n\u00a7 81.--_Of the election of Pope John XXII._\n[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Par. xxvii. 58. Epistola viii.]\nJohn XXII., born in Cahors, of base lineage, occupied the papal chair\nfor 18 years 2 months and 26 days. He was elected on the 7th day of\nAugust, 1316, in Avignon by the cardinals, after a vacancy of two\nyears, and after great discord among themselves, forasmuch as the\nGascon cardinals, which were a large part of the college, desired the\nelection of one of themselves, and the Italian and French and\nProven\u00e7al cardinals would not consent thereto, so much had they\nendured from the Gascon Pope. After long dispute, both one party and\nthe other entrusted their votes to this Cahorsine, as a mediator, the\nGascons believing that he would elect the cardinal of B\u00e9siers, which\nwas of their nation, or Cardinal Pelagr\u00f9. Who, with the consent of the\nother Italians and Proven\u00e7als, and by the device of Cardinal Napoleone\nOrsini, head of the faction against the Gascons, gave the chair to\nhimself, electing himself Pope after the manner ordained according to\nthe Decretals. This man was a poor clerk, and his father was a\ncobbler, and he was brought up by the bishop of Arles, chancellor to\nKing Charles II.; and by reason of his goodness and industry he came\ninto favour with King Charles, who caused him to be educated at his\ncharges, and then the king made him bishop of Frejus; and on the death\nof his master, the archbishop of Arles, to wit M. Piero da Ferriera,\nthe chancellor, King Robert made him chancellor in his stead; and\nafterwards, of his care and sagacity, he sent letters as from King\nRobert to Pope Clement recommending himself, whereof the king, it was\nsaid, knew nothing at all, by reason of which letters he, the said\nbishop of Frejus, was promoted to be bishop of Avignon, and afterwards\ncardinal by reason of his wit and industry; wherefore King Robert,\nbefore he was made cardinal, was wroth with him, and took away the\nseal from him, forasmuch as he had sealed the said letters in his own\nfavour to the said Pope Clement without his knowledge. This Pope John\nwas crowned in Avignon on S. Mary's Day, the 8th day of September,\n1316. Afterwards he was a great friend to King Robert, and he to him;\nand by his means he did great things, as hereafter shall be narrated.\nThis Pope caused the Seventh Book of the Decretals to be completed\nwhich Pope Clement had begun, and set in order the solemnity and\nfestival of the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, with great\nindulgences and pardons to whoso should be at celebration of the\nsacred offices, each hour, and he gave a general pardon of forty days\nto all Christians for every time that they made reverence when the\npriest repeated the name of Jesus Christ; this he did afterwards in\nthe year 1318.\n\u00a7 82.--_How King Robert and the Florentines made peace with the Pisans\nand Lucchese._ \u00a7 83.--_How the Florentines recalled the bad money and\nissued the good money of the \"new Guelf\" mintage._ \u00a7 84.--_How King\nRobert sent his fleet to Sicily and did great damage._ \u00a7 85.--_How\nFerrara rebelled against the Church._\n\u00a7 86.--_How Uguccione da Faggiuola sought to re-enter Pisa, and what\ncame of it in Pisa, and of the Marquis Spinetta._\n[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1317, in the month of August, Uguccione da Faggiuola,\nwith aid from M. Cane of Verona, came suddenly with much people, both\nhorse and foot, into Lunigiana, supported by forces and letters of the\nMarquis Spinetta, who purposed to come to Pisa on the strength of\ncertain negotiations which he had conducted in the city with men of\nhis faction; which plot was discovered, and there was an outcry of the\npeople, whereof Coscetto dal Colle of Pisa made himself the leader;\nand by the counsel of Count Gaddo they rushed in fury to the house of\nthe Lanfranchi, which were in league with Uguccione, and slew four of\nthe chief of the house; and others, together with their followers,\nthey banished and set under bounds. When Uguccione perceived that he\ncould not carry out his enterprise, he returned into Lombardy to\nVerona. Castruccio, lord of Lucca, and Uguccione's enemy, made a\nleague with Count Gaddo and with the Pisans, and with aid of horsemen\nfrom them, he went with his host against the Marquis Spinetti, which\nhad given Uguccione free passage, and took from him Fosdinuovo, a very\nstrong castle, and Veruca and Buosi, and drave him from all his towns;\nand the said Spinetti fled with his family to M. Cane della Scala at\nVerona.\n\u00a7 87.--_How the Ghibelline party left Genoa._\n[Sidenote: 1317 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1317, on the 15th day of September, the city of Genoa\nbeing under popular government, but the Grimaldi and the Fiescadori\nand their Guelf party being stronger than the d'Oria and their\nGhibellines (on the one hand because King Robert favoured the Guelfs,\nand on the other hand because the Spinoli, which were of the\nGhibelline party, and in exile from Genoa, were enemies of the\nd'Oria), certain of the house of the Grimaldi, by reason of enmity\nagainst the d'Oria, reinstated the Spinoli in Genoa, under pretence\nthat they would abide under their command and that of the\ncommonwealth. When they of the house of d'Oria and their friends\nperceived this, they feared greatly to be betrayed by the Guelfs and\nby the Grimaldi; and the city was all in arms and uproar; and the\nd'Oria not finding themselves powerful, by reason of the opposition of\nthe Guelfs, and also of the Ghibelline Spinoli their enemies,\nconcealed themselves and their friends, and showed no force of arms;\nby the which thing the Guelfs were encouraged and took up arms, and\nchose as captains of Genoa, M. Carlo dal Fiesco and M. Guasparre\nGrimaldi, on the 10th day of November, 1317. And when the Spinoli\nwhich were returned to Genoa saw that the city was come altogether to\nthe Guelf party, and knew that this was through the care and industry\nof King Robert, straightway they agreed with the d'Oria and with their\nGhibelline friends, and they all departed from the city together, on\nno other compulsion; whence afterwards ensued great scandal and war,\nas hereafter will be told, forasmuch as the said two houses of the\nd'Oria and the Spinola were the most powerful families of Italy on the\nside of the Ghibellines and the empire.\n\u00a7 88.--_How the Ghibellines of Lombardy besieged Cremona._\n\u00a7 89.--_How M. Cane della Scala led an army against the Paduans, and\ntook many castles from them._\nIn the said year, in the month of December, the said M. Cane with his\nforces led his host against the Paduans, and took Monselici and Esti\nand a great part of their castles, and brought them so low that the\nfollowing February, not being able to oppose him, they made peace\naccording to M. Cane's pleasure, and promised to restore the\nGhibellines to Padua; and this they did.\n\u00a7 90.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the force of the Ghibellines of\nLombardy besieged Genoa._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Convivio iv. 20: 38-41.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. iv. 25. Purg. iii. 49.]\nIn the year 1318, when they of the houses of d'Oria and of Spinola\nwith their following were in banishment from Genoa, and by reason of\ntheir power maintained themselves on the Riviera of Genoa on their\nestates, they sent ambassadors into Lombardy and made a treaty and\nleague with M. Maffeo Visconti, captain of Milan, and with his sons\nand with all the Lombard league which were Imperial and Ghibelline.\nFor the which thing M. Marco Visconti, son of the said Maffeo, came\nfrom Lombardy with a great army of soldiers, Germans and Lombards, on\nhorse and on foot, and with the said exiles from Genoa laid siege to\nthe said city on the side of Co' di Fare and of the suburbs; and this\nwas on the 25th day of March, 1318; and a few days after they of the\nhouse of d'Oria, with the aid of the others, led another army against\nthe city of Albingano, on the Riviera of Genoa, and this they took,\nunder conditions, in a few days. Afterwards, while the said host was\nstill at Genoa, M. Edoardo d'Oria made a compact with the Abao [chief\nmagistrate] of the people of Saona, and entered into the said city of\nSaona by night secretly, and straightway, with the aid of the\nGhibellines of the city (for the greater part thereof were of the\nImperial party), caused the said city to rebel against the\ncommonwealth of Genoa in the month of April; for the which thing the\nforces of the exiles from Genoa increased greatly, so that well-nigh\nall the Western Riviera was under their lordship, save the strongholds\nof Monaco and Ventimiglia and the city of Noli; and in the Eastern\nRiviera they held Lerici.\n\u00a7 91.--_How the Ghibellines of Lombardy took Cremona._\n\u00a7 92.--_How the exiles from Genoa took the suburbs of Prea._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\nIn the said year, at the end of May, the said exiles had besieged the\ncity of Co' di Fare for two months, and it was bravely held by them\nwithin by means of a cunning device of ropes which kept the tower in\ncommunication with a vessel in the port of Genoa, and by this means\nthey were supplied and provisioned in spite of all the host; wherefore\nthe said exiles took counsel how they might dig and cut away the\nground under the said tower. They within, fearing that it might fall,\nsurrendered it on condition that their lives should be spared, and\nsome said for money; and when they had returned into Genoa, they were\ncondemned to death, and were cast down from a height. While the\nrefugees were busied with the said siege, they continually attacked\nthe suburbs of Prea, which are without the Oxen Gate; and fighting\nmanfully, they took the place on the 25th day of June in the said\nyear, whereby they advanced greatly, and the inhabitants of Genoa lost\nin like measure; for the host without increased, and gathered in the\nsuburbs, and took the mountain of Peraldo and of S. Bernardo above\nGenoa, and surrounded the city; and above Bisagno they pitched another\ncamp, so that the city was all besieged by land, and by sea it\nsuffered great persecution from the galleys of Saona, and from the\nexiles, which had the lordship over the sea.\n\u00a7 93.--_How King Robert came by sea to succour Genoa._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1318, the Guelf party being thus besieged in Genoa by\nsea and by land, they sent their ambassadors to Naples to King Robert,\nwho had been the cause of the whole disturbance in Genoa, that he\nshould succour them and aid them without delay; and if he did not do\nthis, they could not hold out, so straitened were they by the siege\nand by want of victuals. For the which thing King Robert straightway\nraised a great fleet of forty-seven transport vessels and twenty-five\nlight galleys, and many other boats and craft laden with provisions;\nand he in person, with the prince of Taranto, and with M. John, prince\nof the Morea, his brothers, and with other barons and with horsemen to\nthe number of 1,200, departed from Naples on the 10th day of July, and\ncame by sea, and entered into Genoa on the 21st day of July, 1318, and\nwas honourably received by the citizens as their lord, and heartened\nthe city, which could scarce hold out for lack of victuals.\nImmediately when the king was come to Genoa, the exiles broke up the\ncamp which they had in Bisagno, and withdrew to the mountains of San\nBernardo and of Peraldo, and to the suburbs of Prea towards the west.\n\u00a7 94.--_How the Genoese gave the lordship of Genoa to King Robert._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\nIn the said year, on the 27th day of July, the captains of Genoa and\nthe Abao of the people, and the Podest\u00e0, in full parliament, renounced\ntheir jurisdiction and lordship, and with the consent of the people\ngave the lordship and care of the city and of the Riviera to Pope John\nand to King Robert for ten years, according to the constitutions of\nGenoa; and King Robert took it for the Pope and for himself, as one\nwho had long desired it, thinking when he should have got the lordship\nof Genoa quietly in his hands, to be able to recover the island of\nSicily, and overcome all his enemies; and it was for this purpose\nthat, long ere this, he had stirred up revolution in the city, so as\nto drive thence the Spinoli and the d'Oria, forasmuch as ofttimes\nwhilst they were lords of Genoa, they had opposed King Robert and King\nCharles, his father, and had helped them of Aragon which held the\nisland of Sicily, as before we have made mention.\n\u00a7 95.--_Of the active war which the exiles of Genoa with the Lombards\nmade against King Robert._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Purg. xiii. 152.]\nThe host without Genoa was not weakened by reason of King Robert's\ncoming, but was largely increased by the aid of the lords of Lombardy,\nwhich held with the Imperial party; and they renewed their league with\nthe emperor of Constantinople, and with King Frederick of Sicily, and\nwith the marquis of Monferrat, and with Castruccio, lord of Lucca, and\nalso secretly with the Pisans. And whilst they were at the siege, they\nwere continually making strong and fierce assaults upon the city,\nhurling things against it from many engines, and attacking it in many\nplaces by day and by night--being men of great vigour--in such wise\nthat King Robert with all his forces could gain nothing against them\nin any part. Rather by digging underground they undermined a great\npiece of the wall of Porta Santa Agnesa, and caused it to fall, and\nsome of them entered by force into the city. Wherefore the king in\nperson armed himself with all his followers, and they met one another\nwith great vigour upon the ruined walls with swords in hand, but the\ngreat barons and knights of the king drove back their enemies with\ngreat loss both to one side and to the other, and they rebuilt the\nwalls with great labour in a short time, working both day and night.\nThe king and his followers being thus besieged and attacked in Genoa,\nsent for aid into Tuscany, and received it from many quarters: from\nthe Florentines, 100 horse and 500 foot, all with lilies for their\ndevice, and the same number from Bologna, and likewise from Romagna,\nand from many other places, and they went to Genoa by sea by the way\nof Talamone; so that when his allies were come to him, the king was\nsupported in Genoa on the first day of November of the said year by\nmore than 2,500 horse, and by footmen without number. Without were\nmore than 1,500 horse, and the captain of the host was M. Marco\nVisconti of Milan, and they held the hill fortresses round about in\nsuch wise that the king could not go afield; and thus abode the said\nhosts in close war and skirmishes, hurling and shooting at one another\nall the said summer, and also the winter, forasmuch as neither one\nside nor the other could get the advantage. And thus abiding, M. Marco\nVisconti was so presumptuous as to request King Robert to fight with\nhim in single combat, and whichever was victorious should be lord,\nwhich put the king into great scorn.\n\u00a7 96.--_How in the city of Siena there was a conspiracy, and uproar,\nand great changes followed thereupon._\n\u00a7 97.--_How King Robert's followers discomfited the exiles from Genoa\nat the village of Sesto, and how they departed from the siege of the\ncity._\n[Sidenote: 1318 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Johannes de Virgilio. Carmen _v._ 29.]\nIn the said year 1318, after that King Robert had been besieged in\nGenoa for more than six months, as already narrated, he bethought him\nthat he could not crush his enemies without unless he could land his\narmy between the suburbs and Saona; and he raised a fleet of sixty\ngalleys and transport vessels, and assembled 850 horse, and of foot\nfull 15,000; and together with them were some Florentines and other\nTuscans, and Bolognese and Romagnese; and they departed from Genoa on\nthe 4th day of February, to bring the said people into the country\naround Sesto. And when the exiles and those without heard this,\nstraightway they sent thither of their people on horse and on foot in\ngreat numbers to dispute the shore with King Robert's host, to the end\nthe king's people might not come to land. Which people arrived on the\n5th day of February, and with great travail, pushing empty casks\nbefore them, fought hand to hand with the enemy, the chief of them\nbeing Florentines and other Tuscans, which first descended from the\ngalleys under the protection of the bowmen of the galleys which were\nby the shore; and by force of arms they landed, and broke up and\ndiscomfited the forces of the exiles upon the shore of Sesto, and many\nthereof were slain and taken prisoners; and they which escaped fled\ninto the suburbs and to Saona, and the night following all the host\nwhich were in the suburbs and in the mountains of Paraldo and of San\nBernardo departed and went towards Lombardy, and left all their\nbaggage without having been pursued, forasmuch as the king would not\nthat his people should follow after them because of the dangers of\nthose mountains. Afterwards they of the city of Genoa recovered the\nsuburbs of Prea and Co' di Fare and all the forts outside the city.\n[Sidenote: 1319 A.D.]\n\u00a7 98.--_How King Robert departed from Genoa and went to the papal\ncourt in Provence._\n\u00a7 99.--_How the exiles from Genoa with the Lombards returned to the\nsiege of Genoa._\n[Sidenote: 1319 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1319, when the exiles from Genoa heard of the\ndeparture of King Robert, they equipped in Saona twenty-eight galleys,\nwhereof M. Conrad d'Oria was admiral, and they sent into Lombardy for\naid, and assembled 1,000 and more horse, whereof the greater part\nwere Germans, and a great number of common folk; and on the 27th day\nof July of the said year they returned with their army to Genoa, and\nset up their camp in Ponzevera, and on the 3rd day of August following\nthey drew nigh to the city, attacking the suburbs in many places by\nland from the side of Bisagno; and the said galleys entered the port\nand strongly attacked the city, but gained nothing. And on the 7th day\nof August following there was a great battle in the plain of Bisagno\nbetween the exiles and those within the city, with great loss both to\nthe one side and to the other, without either party having the honour\nof the victory, for those without retreated to the hill, and those\nwithin returned into the city; and afterwards they fought continually\nby day and by night against the city by sea and by land.\n\u00a7 100.--_How M. Cane della Scala took the suburbs of Padua._\nIn the said year 1319, in August, M. Cane della Scala, with the exiles\nfrom Padua, whom the Paduans would not restore to the city according\nto the compact made by M. Cane, came with an army against Padua, with\n2,000 horse and 10,000 foot, and took the suburbs, and set up there\nthree camps in order the better to besiege it.\n[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]\n\u00a7 101.--_How the Guelfs of Lombardy retook Cremona._ \u00a7 102.--_How M.\nUgo dal Balzo was routed at Alessandria._ \u00a7 103.--_How the refugees\nfrom Genoa retook the suburbs of Genoa._ \u00a7 104.--_How the Ghibellines\ntook Spoleto._ \u00a7 105.--_How the king of Tunis recovered his lordship._\n\u00a7 106.--_How Castruccio, lord of Lucca, broke peace with the\nFlorentines, and began war against them again._ \u00a7 107.--_How folk of\nthe refugees from Genoa were routed at Lerici._ \u00a7 108.--_How the\nGenoese took Bingane._ \u00a7 109.--_How the Pope and the Church invited M.\nPhilip of Valois to come into Lombardy._ \u00a7 110.--_How M. Philip of\nValois returned into France with shame, having gained nothing._ \u00a7\n111.--_How Castruccio marched upon the Genoese Riviera._ \u00a7 112.--_How\nFrederick of Sicily sent his fleet of galleys to besiege Genoa._ \u00a7\n113.--_How King Robert equipped his fleet of galleys to oppose that of\nthe Sicilians, and what it accomplished._ \u00a7 114.--_Of the same._ \u00a7\n115.--_How the Florentines forced Castruccio to return from the siege\nof Genoa._ \u00a7 116.--_Of the assaults which the exiles from Genoa and\nthe Sicilians made upon the city, wherein they were worsted._ \u00a7\n117.--_How the exiles from Genoa laid waste Chiaveri._ \u00a7 118.--_How\nthe exiles from Genoa took Noli, and did divers acts of war._ \u00a7\n119.--_How the king of Spain's brother was routed by the Saracens of\nGranada._ \u00a7 120.--_How the brothers of the Hospital defeated the Turks\nwith their fleet at Rhodes._\n\u00a7 121.--_How M. Cane della Scala being at the siege of Padua, was\ndefeated by the Paduans and by the count of G\u00f6rtz._\n[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]\nIn the said year 1320, M. Cane della Scala, lord of Verona, had\nbesieged the city of Padua with all his forces continually for more\nthan a year, and having taken from that city well-nigh all its\nterritory and strongholds, and having defeated them many times, had so\ncrushed the city that it could hold out no longer, forasmuch as he had\nsurrounded it entirely with ramparts occupied by his men, so that no\nprovisions could enter therein. The said Paduans, well-nigh despairing\nof any escape, turned to the duke of Austria, king elect of the\nRomans, which sent to their succour the count of G\u00f6rtz and the lord of\nVals, with 500 steel-capped horsemen, and they suddenly, and as it\nwere in secret, entered into Padua with these their followers. The\nsaid M. Cane, by reason of his great confidence and pride in his\nvictories, and the great number of horse and of foot which were in his\narmy, cared little for the Paduans, and by reason of the long siege,\nbeing too secure, had his troops in ill order. It came to pass that on\nthe 25th day of August, 1320, the said count of G\u00f6rtz, with his\nFriolese and Germans, and with the Paduans, sallied forth suddenly\nfrom the city, and vigorously assailed the host. M. Cane, with some of\nhis ill-ordered horse, thinking to beat them back, gave battle, and by\nthe count of G\u00f6rtz and the Paduans was discomfited and unhorsed and\nwounded, and scarce came off with his life by the help of his\nfollowers, and escaped on a horse to Monselice; and his host was all\nrouted, and many of his followers were slain or taken prisoners, and\nall their belongings lost; and thus by want of foresight the good\nfortune of this victorious tyrant changed to bad. At this siege of\nPadua died Uguccione della Faggiuola at Cittadella [_al._ In the city\nof Verona] of sickness, being come to aid M. Cane. He was the other\ngreat tyrant, which so persecuted the Florentines and Lucchese, as\nbefore we made mention.\n[Sidenote: 1320 A.D.]\n\u00a7 122.--_How the count Gaddo, lord of Pisa, died; and how the count\nNieri was made lord thereof._ \u00a7 123.--_How peace was made by the king\nof France with the Flemings._ \u00a7 124.--_How there was great dissension\namongst them of the house of Flanders._ \u00a7 125.--_How the Ghibellines\nwere expelled from Rieti._ \u00a7 126.--_How there was a great enrolling\nof armies by two emperors elect of Germany._ \u00a7 127.--_How the Marquis\nSpinetta allied himself with the Florentines against Castruccio, but\nit turned out to the shame of the Florentines._ \u00a7 128.--_How the\noffices were changed in Florence._ \u00a7 129.--_How the Marquis Cavalcab\u00f2,\nwith the league of Tuscany, was routed in Lombardy._ \u00a7 130.--_How M.\nGaleasso of Milan had the city of Cremona._ \u00a7 131.--_How there was an\neclipse of the sun, and the king of France died._ \u00a7 132.--_How the\nBolognese expelled from Bologna Romeo de' Peppoli, the rich man, and\nhis followers._ \u00a7 133.--_How the emperor of Constantinople had war\nwith his sons._ \u00a7 134.--_How Frederick of Sicily was excommunicated,\nand how he had his son crowned over the kingdom._ \u00a7 135.--_How the\nFlorentines sent to Frioli for horsemen._\n\u00a7 136.--_Concerning the poet Dante Alighieri of Florence._\n[Sidenote: 1321 A.D.]\n[Sidenote: Inf. i. 87.]\n[Sidenote: Epistola vii.]\n[Sidenote: viii.]\n[Sidenote: Cf. Canzone, 58-63.]\nIn the said year 1321, in the month of July, Dante Alighieri, of\nFlorence, died in the city of Ravenna, in Romagna, having returned\nfrom an embassy to Venice in the service of the lords of Polenta, with\nwhom he was living; and in Ravenna, before the door of the chief\nchurch, he was buried with great honour, in the garb of a poet and of\na great philosopher. He died in exile from the commonwealth of\nFlorence, at the age of about fifty-six years. This Dante was a\ncitizen of an honourable and ancient family in Florence, of the Porta\nSan Piero, and our neighbour; and his exile from Florence was by\nreason that when M. Charles of Valois, of the House of France, came to\nFlorence in the year 1301 and banished the White party, as has been\nafore mentioned at its due time, the said Dante was among the chief\ngovernors of our city, and pertained to that party, albeit he was a\nGuelf; and, therefore, for no other fault he was driven out and\nbanished from Florence with the White party; and went to the\nuniversity at Bologna, and afterwards at Paris, and in many parts of\nthe world. This man was a great scholar in almost every branch of\nlearning, albeit he was a layman; he was a great poet and philosopher,\nand a perfect rhetorician alike in prose and verse, a very noble\norator in public speaking, supreme in rhyme, with the most polished\nand beautiful style which in our language ever was up to his time and\nbeyond it. In his youth he wrote the book of The New Life, of Love;\nand afterwards, when he was in exile, he wrote about twenty very\nexcellent odes, treating of moral questions and of love; and he wrote\nthree noble letters among others; one he sent to the government of\nFlorence complaining of his undeserved exile; the second he sent to\nthe Emperor Henry when he was besieging Brescia, reproving him for his\ndelay, almost in a prophetic strain; the third to the Italian\ncardinals, at the time of the vacancy after the death of Pope Clement,\npraying them to unite in the election of an Italian Pope; all these in\nLatin in a lofty style, and with excellent purport and authorities,\nand much commended by men of wisdom and insight. And he wrote the\nComedy, wherein, in polished verse, and with great and subtle\nquestions, moral, natural, astrological, philosophical, and\ntheological, with new and beautiful illustrations, comparisons, and\npoetry, he dealt and treated in 100 chapters or songs, of the\nexistence and condition of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise as loftily as\nit were possible to treat of them, as in his said treatise may be seen\nand understood by whoso has subtle intellect. It is true that he in\nthis Comedy delighted to denounce and to cry out after the manner of\npoets, perhaps in certain places more than was fitting; but may be his\nexile was the cause of this. He wrote also The Monarchy, in which he\ntreated of the office of Pope and of Emperor. [And he began a\ncommentary upon fourteen of his afore-named moral odes in the vulgar\ntongue which, in consequence of his death, is only completed as to\nthree of them; the which commentary, judging by what can be seen of\nit, was turning out a lofty, beautiful, subtle, and very great work,\nadorned by lofty style and fine philosophical and astrological\nreasonings. Also he wrote a little book entitled, De Vulgari\nEloquentia, of which he promises to write four books, but of these\nonly two exist, perhaps on account of his untimely death; and here, in\nstrong and ornate Latin and with beautiful reasonings, he reproves all\nthe vernaculars of Italy.] This Dante, because of his knowledge, was\nsomewhat haughty and reserved and disdainful, and after the fashion of\na philosopher, careless of graces and not easy in his converse with\nlaymen; but because of the lofty virtues and knowledge and worth of so\ngreat a citizen, it seems fitting to confer lasting memory upon him in\nthis our chronicle, although, indeed, his noble works, left to us in\nwriting, are the true testimony to him, and are an honourable report\nto our city.\nEND OF THE SELECTIONS FROM BOOK IX.\n               _Grato e lontan digiuno\n     Tratto leggendo nel magno volume_\n     _Soluto hai._\nAbati (family), 125.\n---- Bocca degli, 180.\nAcquasparta, Cardinal, 328, 331.\nAdimari (family), 81, 125.\n---- Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli, 176, 185.\nAdrian I., Pope, 52.\nAlberighi (family), 80.\nAlbert, king of the Romans, 255, 317.\nAlexander III., Pope, 102-106.\nAlibrando, bishop of Florence, 37.\nAlighieri, Dante, 449-450.\nAmidei (family), 121-122, 124.\nAnagna (town), 347-350.\nAnchises, 10-13.\nAntenor of Troy, 9, 10.\nAntenora, 10.\nAntony, Caius, 18-20.\nArbia (river), 177.\nArdinghi (family), 80, 125.\nArius, 39.\nArno, _passim_.\nArrigucci (family), 80, 124.\nArthur, king of Britain, 48.\nAugustus, Octavianus, 17, 31-33.\nBabel, 2, 3.\nBabylon, 3, 4.\nBardi, 123.\nBarucci (family), 124.\nBella, della (family), 71, 82, 125.\nBenivento (battle), 209-217.\nBerenger, Count Raymond, 195-197.\nBerti, Bellincione, 62, 80, 120.\nBianco, Cardinal, 184.\nBonatti, Guido (astrologer), 273.\nBondelmonti (family), 99, 124.\n---- Bondelmonte dei, 121, 122.\nBostichi (family), 82, 124.\nBrunelleschi (family), 124.\nCalvoli, Folcieri da, 339-340.\nCamilla, 16.\nCampaldino (battle), 286-291.\nCancellieri of Pistoia, 322-323.\nCaponsacchi, 81, 125.\nCarthage, 12.\nCatellini (family), 81.\nCatiline, 18-22.\nCavalcanti, 124.\n---- Guido Cavalcante dei, 224, 331.\nCelestine V., Pope, 304-306.\nCepperano, pass of, 206-207.\nCerchi (family), 62, 80, 324.\nCharles I. of Anjou, king of Sicily and Apulia, 192-195, 199, 200-217,\n---- Martel (son of Charles II.), 276, 316.\nChiaramontesi (family), 124.\nColle di Valdelsa (battle), 243-245.\nConstance, Empress, 89-90, 92, 113.\nConstantine, Emperor, 38-39.\nConstantinople, 38-39.\nCreusa, wife of \u00c6neas, 10, 11.\nDardanus (founder of Troy), 6, 7, 8, 9, 18.\nDesiderius, king of the Lombards, 51, 52.\nDolcino, Frate, 375-376.\nEdward I. of England, 247, 251-254.\nElisei (family), 81-125.\nEnzo, bastard son of Frederick II., 129, 131.\nEurope, 4-5.\nEzzelino of Romano, 167-168.\nFaggiuola, Uguccione da, 383, 430-434, 436-437.\nFifanti (family), 82, 124.\nFilippi (family), 82.\nFirenzuola (city), 151.\nFlorence (city), 27-30, 75-78, and _passim_.\nForaboschi (family), 82, 124.\nForl\u00ec (battle), 272-274.\nFrederick I., Barbarossa, Emperor, 101-108, 110-111.\n---- bastard son of Frederick II., 129, 131, 143-144.\n---- of Aragon, king of Sicily, 315-317, 424.\nGalli (family), 82, 124.\nGangalandi (family), 71, 82, 124.\nGemignano, St., 44.\nGherardeschi, Ugolino dei, 280-284.\n_passim_.\nGiandonati (family), 71, 82, 124.\nGianfigliazzi (family), 124.\nGiuochi (family), 80, 125.\nGregory IX., Pope, 131, 132.\nGualandi of Pisa (family), 280.\nGualdrada, wife of Count Guido, 62, 120.\nGualterotti (family), 82, 124.\nGuelf, duke of Suabia, 93, 94.\nHenry, earl of Cornwall, 251 _sqq._\n---- III. of England, 252.\nHospitallers, Order of, 381.\nHugh Capet, 71.\nImportuni (family), 82.\nInfangati (family), 82, 124.\nInnocent IV., Pope, 134-136, 139.\nItalus, 6, 7.\nJames of Aragon, 315-317.\nJohn XXI., Pope, 259.\nLamberti (family), 81, 124.\n---- Mosca dei, 122.\nLandolo, Roderigo di, 218, 222.\nLanfranchi of Pisa (family), 280.\nLatini, Brunetto, 169, 312-313.\nLatinus, king of Italy, 14-16.\nLavinia, daughter of Latinus, 15-16.\nLombardo, Marco, 281-282.\nLombards, 48-54.\nLouis IX. of France, 192-193, 246 _sqq._\nLyons, Council at, 135-137.\nMalavolti, Catalano dei, 218, 222.\nMalespini (family), 124.\nMatilda, Countess, 83, 92-95, 96.\nMiniato, St., 35-37.\nMontaperti (battle), 177-180.\n---- Bonconte di, 290.\nMontemurlo (castle), 116-117.\nMontfort, Guy of, 253-254.\nMozzi (family), 123.\nNerbona, Amerigo di, 285 _sqq._\nNerli (family), 71, 123.\nNicholas III., Pope, 260-263.\nNimrod, 3.\nNineveh, 4.\nNinus, 4.\nOtho III., Emperor, 69, 70.\nPallas, son of Evander, 15.\nPazzi (family), 41, 125.\nPeruzzi (family), 82.\nPhilip III. of France, 249-254, 277-279.\nPigli (family), 81, 124.\nPressa, della (family), 80.\nRobert, duke of Apulia, 85.\nRoger I., king of Sicily, 88, 89.\n---- II., king of Sicily, 89.\nRomeo (pilgrim), 195-197.\nRubaconte (bridge), 140.\nRudolf, king of the Romans, 255, 262, 298.\nSacchetti (family), 82, 124.\nSaladin, 107.\nSalvani, Provenzano, of Siena, 175, 243-245.\nSaturn, 14, 15.\nSemiramis, 4.\nSicanus, 6, 7.\nSicily, Rebellion of, 267-268, 285, and _passim_.\nSismondi of Pisa (family), 280.\nSizii (family), 80, 124.\nSoldanieri (family), 81, 124.\nSusinana, Maghinardo da, 298-299.\nSylvester, Pope, 38-40.\nTagliacozzo (battle), 233-240.\nTancred I., king of Sicily, 89-91.\nTelofre, king of the Lombards, 49-51.\nTemplars, Order of, 377-381.\nTorre, Guidetto della, 342-343, 398-399.\nTotila, king of the Goths, 1, 43-46.\nTrinita, Santa (bridge), 160, 246.\nTurnus, 15.\nUbaldini, Cardinal Ottaviano degli, 184.\n---- Ruggeri degli (Archbishop of Pisa), 280-282.\nUghi (family), 81.\nUrban IV., Pope, 190-192.\nValleri, Alardo di, 234, 237-239.\nVerde (river), 217.\nVigne, Piero dalle, 133, 136, 139.\n---- Nino di Gallura dei, 280.\nVisdomini (family), 80, 125.\nWilliam I., king of Sicily, 89-90, 105-107.\n_The figures within brackets ( ) refer to the pages of this work: all\nother figures refer to cantos, books, or lines in Dante's works._\nDIVINA COMMEDIA.\nINFERNO.\nPURGATORIO.\nPARADISO.\nCANZONI.\nSONNET.\nVITA NUOVA.\nSonnet xxxiii. 1, (225).\nCONVIVIO.\nBOOK II.\nBOOK IV.\nDE MONARCHIA.\nBOOK II.\nBOOK III.\nDE VULGARI ELOQUIO.\nBOOK I.\nBOOK II.\nEPISTOL\u00c6.\nQU\u00c6STIA DE AQUA ET TERRA.\nJOHANNES DE VIRGILIO.\nCarmen.\nButler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.\nTranscriber's Note on Corrected Text\nOn page 22 of the original edition used to prepare this e-book, the\nlast four lines were erroneously duplicated from pages 1-2. The\nincorrect text, between \"city of\" and \"he did,\" was as follows:\n    myself sufficient for such a work, but to give occasion to\n    our successors not to be negligent in preserving records of\n    the notable things which shall happen in the times after us,\n    and to give example to those who shall come\nThe correct text is as follows:\n    Fiesole and the host of the Fiesolans, and of that company he\n    made captain Fiorinus, a noble citizen of Rome of the race of\n    the Fracchi or Floracchi, who was his pr\u00e6tor, which is as\n    much as to say marshal of his host; and Fiorinus, as he was\n    commanded by the consul, so\nThe correct text was acquired from an online edition at", "source_dataset": "gutenberg", "source_dataset_detailed": "gutenberg -  Villani's Chronicle\n"}
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