Dante Alighieri Page 3

  On the death of the Emperor Frederick (13 December, 1250) the Guelfs were allowed to return to Florence, and a pacification between the two parties took place.

  “On the very night,” says Villani, “that the Emperor died, the Podestà who held for him in Florence, as he was sleeping in his bed in the house of the Abati, was killed by the fall of the vaulting of his chamber. And this was a sure sign that the Emperor’s power was to come to an end in Florence; and so it came to pass very soon, for there being a rising among the people by reason of the violence and excesses of the Ghibelline nobles, and the news of the Emperor’s death reaching Florence, a few days afterwards the people recalled and restored the Guelfs who had been driven out, and made them make their peace with the Ghibellines. And this took place on the seventh day of January, in the year of Christ 1250.” 10

  THE CITY OF FLORENCE

  * * *

  1 May, 1265.

  2 Dante: An Essay. By R. W. Church.

  3 O. Browning, in Guelfs and Ghibellines.

  4 The Podestà was the chief magistrate of the city, who was appointed for one year. With a view to securing impartiality in the administration of justice the office of Podestà was always held by a stranger—never by a native of Florence.

  5 Villani, bk. v. ch. 38.

  6 Villani, bk. vi. ch. 33.

  7 According to Vasari, this method of throwing down high towers, which is employed to this day for the demolition of disused factory-chimneys, was invented by the famous architect, Niccola Pisano. He is said to have contrived it on this very occasion of the destruction of the Guardamorto tower, which he was commissioned to carry out. There is a tradition that what Villani attributes to a miracle was in reality due to design on the part of Niccola, who, wishing to spare the Baptistery, purposely contrived that the tower should fall wide of it.

  8 Villani, bk. vi. ch. 65.

  9 Villani, bk. viii. ch. 26; Vasari, Vita di Arnolfo di Lapo.

  10 Villani, bk. vi. ch. 42.

  CHAPTER II

  1251–1260

  Renewed hostilities—Adoption of distinctive banners by the two parties in Florence—The Ghibellines intrigue with Manfred and are forced to leave Florence—They retire to Siena and persuade Manfred to send them help—Great Ghibelline victory at Montaperti.

  THE peace concluded between the Guelfs and Ghibellines in Florence after the Emperor Frederick’s death was not fated to be of long duration. Already in the very next year several prominent Ghibelline families were expelled from the city on account of their opposition to a Florentine expedition against the neighbouring Ghibelline stronghold of Pistoja. The Pistojans were defeated, and on their return the Florentines, flushed with victory, turned upon their factious opponents at home, and drove them into banishment (July, 1251). It was at this time that the two parties definitely adopted distinctive standards, and thus openly ranged themselves in opposite camps, as Villani relates.

  “After the banishment of the Ghibelline leaders, the people and the Guelfs who remained masters of Florence changed the arms of the commonwealth of Florence; and whereas of old they bore a white lily on a red field, they now reversed them, making the field white and the lily red; and the Ghibellines retained the former ensign. But the ancient ensign of the commonwealth, half white, half red, that is the standard which went to battle on the Carroccio,1 was never changed.”2

  Six or seven years later than this (in 1258) the Florentines found it necessary to expel the rest of the important Ghibelline families, in consequence of their having entered into a conspiracy, at the head of which were the Uberti, the Ghibelline leaders, with the aid of Manfred, son of the Emperor Frederick, to break up the popular government of Florence, which was essentially Guelf.

  “When this plot was discovered,” writes the Florentine chronicler, “the Uberti and their Ghibelline following were summoned to appear before the magistrates, but they refused to obey, and violently assaulted and wounded the retinue of the Podestà; for which cause the people rose in arms and in fury made for the houses of the Uberti, where is now the Piazza of the Palace of the People and of the Priors, and slew there one of the Uberti family and several of their retainers ; and another of the Uberti and one of the Infangati were taken and, after they had confessed as to the conspiracy, were beheaded in Orto San Michele. And the rest of the Uberti, together with the leading Ghibelline families, fled from Florence, and went to Siena, which was under a Ghibelline Government, and was hostile to Florence; and their palaces and towers, which were many in number, were destroyed, and with the stones were built the walls of San Giorgio beyond Arno, which were begun at this time on account of war with Siena.”3

  In illustration of the temper of the Government at this time, and of their loyalty and uprightness towards the commonwealth, Villani relates how one of their number, who appropriated and sent to his country house a grating which had belonged to the lion’s den, and was lying in the mud in the Piazzi of San Giovanni, was fined a thousand lire, as having defrauded the State.4

  The exiled Ghibellines, who had taken refuge in Siena, without loss of time made preparations for an attempt to win their way back to Florence. Failing to obtain the necessary support from the Sienese, they determined to apply for help to Manfred, who was now King of Sicily, and they sent envoys to the king in Apulia for that purpose. “And when the envoys arrived, being the best captains and leaders among them, there was a long delay, for Manfred neither despatched the business, nor gave audience to their request, on account of the many affairs he had on hand. At last when, being anxious to depart, they took leave of him very ill-content, Manfred promised to furnish them a hundred German horsemen for their aid. The envoys, much disturbed at this offer, withdrew to take counsel as to their answer, being minded to refuse such a sorry aid, and ashamed to return to Siena, for they had hoped that Manfred would give them a force of at least fifteen hundred horsemen. But Farinata degli Uberti said: Be not dismayed, let us not refuse his aid in any wise, be it never so little; but let us beg as a favour that he send with them his standard, and when they are come to Siena we will set it in such a place that he will needs have to send us more men. And so it came to pass that following Farinata’s wise counsel they accepted Manfred’s offer, and prayed him as a favour to send his standard to be at their head; and he did so. And when they returned to Siena with this scanty force, there was great scorn among the Sienese, and great dismay among the Florentine exiles, who had looked for much greater help and support from King Manfred.”5

  An opportunity for carrying out Farinata’s scheme soon offered itself, for in May, 1260, the Florentines fitted out a great host and advanced against Siena, with their standard flying from the Carroccio, and their great war-bell tolling. Villani takes occasion in his account of this expedition to give a full description of the pomp observed by the Florentines when they went to war in those days.

  “The people and commons of Florence gathered a general host against the city of Siena, and led out the Carroccio. And you must know that the Carroccio which the Florentines led out to war was a car upon four wheels all painted red, and on it were raised two great masts also red, upon which was spread to the wind the great standard with the arms of the commonwealth, half white and half red, as is to be seen to this day in San Giovanni; and it was drawn by a pair of oxen of great size, covered with cloth of red, which were kept solely for this purpose, and the driver was a freeman of the commonwealth. This Carroccio was used by our forefathers in triumphal processions and on high occasions; and when it went out with the host, the lords and counts of the country round, and the noble knights of the city, fetched it from its quarters in San Giovanni, and brought it on to the Piazza of the Mercato Nuovo; and having stationed it beside a boundary-stone, carved like the Carroccio, which is still there, they handed it over to the keeping of the people. And it was escorted to the field of battle by the best and bravest and strongest of the foot-soldiers of the people of the city, who were chosen to guard it, and round it was mustered t
he whole force of the people. And when war was declared, a month before they were to set out, a bell was hung on the archway of the gate of Santa Maria, which was at the end of the Mercato Nuovo, and it was rung without ceasing night and day; and this was done out of pride, in order that the enemy against whom war was declared might have time to prepare himself. And this bell was called by some the Martinella, and by others the Asses’ Bell.6 And when the Florentine host set out, the bell was taken down from the archway and was hung in a wooden tower on a waggon, and the toll of it guided the host on its march. And by this pomp of the Carroccio and the bell was maintained the masterful pride of the people of old and of our forefathers when they went to battle.

  “And now we will leave that matter and will return to the Florentines and their expedition against Siena. After they had taken three castles of the Sienese, they sat down before the city, hard by the entrance-gate to the monastery of Santa Petronella, and there on a high mound which could be seen from the city they erected a tower, wherein they kept their bell. And in contempt of the Sienese, and as a record of victory, they filled it with earth, and planted an olive tree in it, which was still there down to our days.”7

  It was in the course of these operations before Siena that Farinata’s scheme for forcing Manfred to send further assistance to the Ghibelline exiles was put into execution.

  “It came to pass during the siege of Siena that one day the exiled Florentines gave a feast to King Manfred’s German horsemen, and having plied them well with wine till they were drunk, they raised a shout and instantly urged them to arm and get to horse and attack the Florentine host, promising them large gifts and double pay; and this was craftily devised in accordance with the counsel given by M. Farinata degli Uberti when in Apulia. The Germans, flushed with wine and excitement, sallied out from Siena, and made a vigorous attack on the camp of the Florentines, who were unprepared, and had only a small guard, as they made little account of the enemy’s forces; and the Germans, though they were only few in number, in their sudden assault wrought great havoc among the Florentines, numbers of whom, both horse and foot, behaved very ill, and fled in a panic, supposing their assailants to be in much greater force. But presently, seeing their mistake, they took to their arms, and made a stand against the Germans, and of all who came out from Siena not a single one escaped alive, for they overpowered and slew them every one; and King Manfred’s standard was captured and dragged through the camp, and taken to Florence; and shortly afterwards the Florentine host returned to Florence.”8

  The Ghibellines lost no time in sending the news to Manfred of how his Germans had nearly put to flight the whole Florentine army, and they represented that if there had been more of them they would undoubtedly have been victorious; owing, however, to their small number they had all been left dead upon the field, and the royal standard had been captured, and insulted, and dragged in the mire through the Florentine camp, and afterwards in the streets of Florence. In this manner they used the arguments which they knew would most strongly appeal to Manfred, who, now that his honour was involved, engaged to send into Tuscany, under the command of Count Giordano, 800 more of his German horsemen, their services to be at the disposal of the Ghibellines for the space of three months, the cost being borne half by Manfred and half by the Sienese and their allies. This force reached Siena at the end of July, 1260, and was welcomed with great rejoicings not only by the Sienese and the Florentine exiles, but by the whole of the Ghibellines throughout Tuscany. “And when they were come to Siena, immediately the Sienese sent out an expedition against the castle of Montalcino, which was subject to the commonwealth of Florence, and they sent for aid to the Pisans and to all the Ghibellines of Tuscany, so that what with the horsemen of Siena, and the exiles from Florence, together with the Germans, and their other allies, they had eighteen hundred horsemen in Siena, of whom the Germans were the best part.”9

  The great anxiety of the Sienese and their allies now was to draw the Florentines into the field, before the three months expired during which the services of King Manfred’s Germans were at their disposal. Farinata degli Uberti, therefore, with the connivance of the Sienese, entered into secret negotiations with the Florentines, pretending that the exiled Ghibellines were dissatisfied with the Sienese, and longed for peace, and that many of the Sienese themselves were anxious to shake off the government of their arrogant leader, Provenzano Salvani. He consequently proposed to the Florentines that, under pretext of relieving Montalcino, which was being besieged by the Sienese, they should despatch a strong force to the Arbia, in readiness for an attack on Siena, one of the gates of which he promised should be opened to them. The majority of the Florentines, completely deceived, were for accepting Farinata’s proposal, and acting on it without delay. But the wiser heads among them were not so sanguine. The great Guelf nobles, with the renowned Guido Guerra 10 at their head, and with Tegghiaio Aldobrandi11 as their spokesman, knowing more of the conditions of warfare, and being aware that their enemies had been reinforced by a body of German mercenaries, looked upon the undertaking with grave misgivings, and counselled delay, until the Germans, whose term of three months had already half expired, should be disbanded. But the minds of the others were made up, and they obstinately refused to listen to reason—one of them even going so far as to taunt Tegghiaio, who was acknowledged as a brave and valiant knight, with cowardice, to which he replied by challenging his opponent to adventure himself on the day of battle wherever he himself should go.

  “And so, through the proud and headstrong people, the worse counsel prevailed, namely, that the host should set forth immediately and without delay. And the people of Florence having taken the ill resolve to send the expedition, asked their allies for help; and there came foot and horse from Lucca, and Bologna, and Pistoja, and Prato, and Volterra, and San Miniato, and San Gemignano, and from Colle in the Valdelsa, all of which were in league with the commonwealth and people of Florence ; and in Florence there were eight hundred horsemen belonging to the city, and more than five hundred mercenaries. And when all these were assembled in Florence, the host set out at the end of August, with the Carroccio and the bell called Martinella, and with them went out nearly all the people, with the banners of the guilds, and there was scarce a house or a family in Florence which did not send, on foot or mounted, at least one, or two, or more, according as they were able.

  “And when they arrived in the Sienese territory, at the place agreed upon on the Arbia, called Montaperti,12 together with the men of Perugia and of Orvieto, who there joined the Florentines, there were in all assembled more than three thousand horsemen, and more than thirty thousand foot.

  “And while the Florentine host was thus making ready, the Ghibelline conspirators in Siena, to make sure of the success of their plot, sent other messengers to Florence to concert treason with certain of the Ghibellines who had not been exiled from Florence, and who were obliged to join in the common muster of the Florentines. With these it was agreed that, when they were drawn up for battle, they should desert from their companies in every quarter, and come over to the other side, so as to throw the Florentines into a panic; for to the Ghibellines their own force appeared to be small compared with that of the Florentines. And this was agreed upon. Meanwhile the Florentine host was on the hills of Montaperti, and the leaders who had entered into the secret negotiations with M. Farinata degli Uberti, as has already been told, were waiting for the traitors within Siena to open one of the gates to them, as had been promised.

  “And one of the Ghibellines in the Florentine host, named Razzante, having got wind of what the Florentines were waiting for, with the consent of the Ghibellines in the camp who were meditating treason, galloped out from the camp into Siena, in order to make known to the Florentine exiles how the city of Siena was to be betrayed, and how the Florentine host was well equipped, with great force of horse and foot, and to urge those inside not to hazard battle. And when he was come into Siena and had laid these things before M. Farinata
and the others who were in the secret, they said to him: It will be the death of us if you spread this news abroad in Siena, inasmuch as every one will be panic-struck; but do you say the contrary, for if we do not fight while we have these Germans, we are all dead men, and shall never see Florence again; death and defeat would be better for us, than to go moping about the world any longer. And they decided to adventure the fortune of battle.

  “So Razzante, being primed by them, promised to speak after their mind; and with a garland on his head, and with great show of joy, accompanied on horseback by M. Farinata and M. Gherardo de’ Lamberti, he came to the assembly in the palace where were all the people of Siena, with the Germans, and their other allies. And here, with a joyful countenance, he told great news from the Ghibellines and traitors in the enemy’s camp, how the Florentine host was ill-ordered, and badly led, and disunited ; and how, if they were boldly attacked, they would of a certainty be routed. Having heard this false account from Razzante, at the cry of the people they all rushed to arms, shouting: To battle, to battle. And the Germans demanded a promise of double pay, which was granted; and their troop led the way to the attack by the gate of San Vito, which was to have been given over to the Florentines; and the rest of the horse and foot marched out behind them.

  “When those among the Florentine host who were waiting for the gate to be opened to them, saw the Germans and the rest of the horse and foot coming out from Siena against them, as for battle, they wondered greatly, and were in no small alarm, at the sight of their sudden advance and unexpected attack; and they were still further dismayed, when a number of the Ghibellines who were in their camp, both on horse and on foot, seeing the enemy’s troops advance, treacherously deserted to the other side, as had been previously arranged. Nevertheless the Florentines and their allies did not neglect to draw up their ranks and await the onset.