BOHN'S STANDARD LIBRARY.
RANEE'S LATIN AND TEUTONIC
NATIONS.
1494-1514.
HISTORY OF THE
LATIN AND TEUTONIC
NATIONS
FROM 1494 TO 1514.
BY LEOPOLD VON RANKE.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
BT
PHILIP A. ASHWOKTH,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER- AT-LAW.
Translator of Gneist's Constitutional History of England.
LONDON: GEOKGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET,
. COVENT GARDEN.
1887.
[Authorized translation.]
CHISWICK PRESS I C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT,
CHANCERY LANE.
D
PREFACE.
IT has been my privilege, not only to have been entrusted
by the world-renowned historian with the task of trans-
lating this work, but also, in personal interviews, to have
been instructed by him how to proceed, in order to meet
his views and wishes.
His demand, that I should adhere literally to the text,
could not be disregarded. Therefore, in presenting this
translation to the public, I have confidence that the sacrifice
of literary style to scrupulous fidelity will not be imputed
to me as a fault.
For myself, I modestly claim that my rendering of this
work into English is, with all its blemishes, a fairly faithful
reproduction of the author's words and meaning.
Few men, and still fewer historians, have been permitted
to draw the space of seventy years within the range of their
practical experience ; Leopold von Ranke was allowed to
see his nation, whose life and struggles at the com-
mencement of the sixteenth century he has so vividly and
realistically depicted, raise itself from abasement to a first
and foremost position among the Latino-Teutonic nations.
Possibly it was the resuscitation of the feeling of German
unity, after the close of the Napoleonic wars, which awoke
in him the desire to show how the energy and independence
of the German national character asserted themselves in
the middle ages.
The third edition of the original (1885) lacks any
sj n-vial introduction by the author; but I cannot omit re-
producing here a sentence contained in the preface to the
first edition (1824), which clearly shows the historian's
as to the treatment of histor :
VI PREFACE.
" A strict representation of facts, be it ever so narrow
and unpoetical, is, beyond doubt, the first law."
During an interview I had the pleasure to have with him
a few weeks previous to his death, the historian made some
observations of such interest that I should be unwilling to
withhold them from publication. The conversation turned
upon the sources of his historical information, when Pro-
fessor von Eanke, in effect, said as follows : " Great as
is the respect and veneration in which I hold Sir Walter
Scott, I cannot help regretting that he was not more avail-
able for the purposes of a historian than he is. If fiction
must be built upon facts, facts should never be contorted
to meet the ends of the novelist. What valuable lessons
were not to be drawn from facts to which the great English
novelist had the key ; yet, by reason of the fault to which
I have referred, I have been unable to illustrate many of
my assertions by reference to him."
This statement, read together with the passage from
the preface to the first edition of the original, shows the
fears entertained by Professor von Ranke, that history
might suffer at the hands of the novelist, and, at the same
time, contains an expression of hope that it may be seriously
used by posterity as a valuable storehouse for practical
advantage, and never treated as fictitious matter.
It were presumptuous in me to attempt any comment
upon the work now set before the English public. I shall
be content if I have been able to make plain the meaning
of the most distinguished historian of our era.
P. A. ASHWORTH.
TEMPLE,
November, 1886.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Introduction. Outlines of a treatise upon the Unity of the Latin
and German Nations, and their common development . . 1
BOOK I.
Chapter I. The relations of France and Italy. Expedition of
Charles VIII. to Naples . . 20
Chapter II. Spain and Liga in war with Charles VIII. . . 61
Chapter III. Maximilian of Austria and the Empire . . . .93
Chapter IV. The fall of the House of Sforza and Aragou . .132
BOOK II.
Introduction 182
Chapter I. The War in Naples and Romagna . . . .187
Chapter II. Variances between the Houses of Spain and Austria 214
Chapter III. Of Venice and Julius II 248
Chapter IV. The rise of the Austro-Spanish House to almost
the highest power in Europe 316
ATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
INTRODUCTION.
OUTLINES OP A TREATISE UPON THE UNITY OF THE
LATIN AND GERMAN NATIONS, AND THEIR COMMON
DEVELOPMENT.
AT the beginning of his fortune, and not long after the
migration of nations had commenced, Ataiilf , King of
the Visigoths, conceived the idea of gothicisiiig the Roman
world, and making himself the Csesar of all ; he would
maintain the Roman laws. 1 If we understand him aright,
he first intended to combine the Romans of the West in
a new unity with the German races, though they were
sprung of many and diverse tribes, but had, after a union
that had lasted for centuries, at length become one realm
and one people.
He later despaired of being able to effect this ; but the
collective German nations at last brought it about, and in
a still wider sense than he had dreamt of. No long time
elapsed, and Lugdunesian Gaul did not, it is true, become a
Gothland, but a Lugdunesian Germania. 2 Eventually
the purple of a Caesar passed to the German houses in the
person of Charlemagne. At length these likewise adopted
the Roman law. In this combination six great nations were
>rmed three in which the Latin element predominated,
., the French, the Spanish, and the Italian; and three in
1 Orosius, vii. 34. Cf. Mascow. Geschichte der Deutschen bis zur
ikischen Monarchie.
a Sidonius Apollinaris in Mascow, 480.
2 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
which the Teutonic element was conspicuous, viz., the
G-erman, the English, and the Scandinavian.
Wherein can the unity of these six nationalities be mani-
fested and perceived ? Each is again resolvable into various
units, which never constituted a separate nation, and which
were almost always in feud with each other. They are all
sprung from the same or a closely allied stock ; are alike in
manners, and similar in many of their institutions : their
internal histories precisely coincide, and certain great enter-
prises are common to all.
The following historical work, which is based upon this
conception, would be unintelligible, were not the latter ex-
plained by a short survey of those external enterprises which,
arising as they do from the same mental reason, form a
progressive development of the Latin and Teutonic life from
the first beginning until now. Such are ihe migration of
nations, the Crusades, and the colonization of foreign
"countries.^
1.
The migration of nations originated the unity of which
we speak. The actual event, the movement itself, pro-
ceeded from, the Germans ; but the Latin countries were
not merely passive. In exchange for the arms and the
new public life which they received, they communicated to
the victors their religion and their language. Reccared
had, indeed, to become a Catholic before mutual inter-
marriage between the Visigoths and the Latin peoples could
be legally permitted in Spain. 1 But, after this, the races and
their languages became completely blended. In Italy the
communities of Lombard and Roman extraction, in spite
of their original separation, became so closely intertwined
that it is almost impossible to distinguish the component
elements of each. It is clear what great influence the
bishops exercised upon the founding of France ; and yet
they were at first purely of Latin origin. It is not until the
1 Lex Flavii Reccaredi Regis, ut tarn Romano, etc., in Leges Yisi-
gothorum, iii. 1, 1 Hispan. Illustr. iii. 88. Also in Mascow and Montes
quieu, de 1'Esprit des Lois, xxviii. 27.
INTRODUCTION. 3
year 566 A.D. that we meet with a Frankish bishop in
Paris. 1
Now, although in these nations we find that both
elements in a short time became welded and blended
together, the case was very different with the Anglo-
Saxons, the implacable foes of the Britons, from whom
they adopted neither religion nor language, as well as
with the other Teutons in their German and Scandinavian
home. Yet even these were not finally able to resist the
Latin Christianity and a great part of the Latin culture.
Between both divisions of this conglomeration of peoples
there became formed a close community of kindred blood,
kindred religion, institutions, manners, and modes of
thought. They successfully resisted the influence of foreign
races. Among those nations which besides them had taken
part in the migration of peoples, it was chiefly the Arabs,
Hungarians, and Slavs that threatened to disturb, if not to
annihilate them. But the Arabs were averted by the com-
plete incompatibility of their religion; the Hungarians
were beaten back within their own borders, and the neigh-
bouring Slavs were at last annihilated or subjected.
What can knit together individuals or nations into closer .
relationship than a participation in the same destiny, and I
a common history ? Among the internal and external oc- /
currences of these earliest times, th unity of one single
event can be almost perceived. The Teutonic nations,
possessors from time immemorial of a great country, take
the field, conquer the Roman empire of the West, and,
more than this, keep what they have gotten. About the
year 530 we find them in possession of all the countries,
exii-ndiiig from the cataracts of the Danube to the mouth
of the Rhine and even to the Tweed, as well as of all the
high country from Heligoland to that Bsetica, from which
ike Vandals take their name, and across the sea, until
where the Atlas range sinks down into the desert. As
long as they were united, no one was able to wrest these
territories from them; but the dismemberment of the
Vandals, and the contrasts of Arian and Catholic doctrines,
was the first beginning of their ruin. The loss that was
1 Plank. Gesellschafts-verfassung der christlichen Kische, ii. 96.
4 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
caused by the fall of the Ostrogothic empire was to a cer-
tain extent retrieved by the Lombards when they occupied
Italy yet not entirely, for never at any time were they
complete masters of Italy, to say nothing of Sicily or
Illyria, 1 as the Goths were ; but it was owing to these
Lombards, who at first destroyed Herulei and Gepidse, but
thereupon left their hereditary and their conquered settle-
ments to a Sarmatian people, 2 that the Danube was lost
almost up to its sources. A fresh loss was the destruction
of the Thuringian empire. The irruption of the Slavs far
into the country lying to the west of the Elbe is probably
not unconnected with this. But the greatest danger was
threatened by the Arabs. They took Spain at a dash ;
invaded France and Italy; and, had they won a single
battle more, at least the Latin portion of our nations
might have been doomed. What could be expected when
Franks and Lombards, Franks and Saxons, Angles and
Danes lived in deadly enmity ? Let us not forget that the
founding of the Papacy and the Empire warded off this
danger.
If I may be allowed to state my own convictions, the real
power of the Papacy that which was really durable was
not established before the seventh century. It was not
until then that the Anglo-Saxons recognized in the Pope,
from whom their conversion immediately proceeded, their
true patriarch, took to them a primate of his appointment,
and paid him tribute. 3 It was from England, that Boniface,
the apostle to the Germans, went forth. Not only on being
raised to the episcopal chair at Mayence, did he swear
allegiance, sincere devotion, and assistance to St. Peter and
his successors, but the other bishops also swore to remain
until death subject to the Eoman Church, and to keep the
ordinances of Peter's successors. He did yet more. For
a hundred years before his day not a single letter can be
found from the Pope of Rome, addressed to the Frankish
clergy, so independent were the latter. Boniface, on Pipiii's
incentive, brought them also into subjection; and the
metropolitan bishops whom he instituted took the Pallium
1 Manso. Geschichte der Ostgothen in Italien, v. 321.
- Paulus Diaconus, de rebus Gestis Longobardorum, ii. c. 7.
3 Schrockh. Kirehengeschichte, xix. i. 35.
INTRODUCTION. 5
from Rome. 1 Those were the three nations in which, with
the Lombards, Christendom consisted in the West after the
{Spanish disaster. Charlemagne also freed the Pope from
the enmity of the Lombards ; he made him the Frankish
Patricius, so that he ceased dating his bulls by the
years of the reigns of the Greek emperors, and drew him
completely into the sphere of the newly founded world.
Thus did the Pope become the ecclesiastical head of the
Latino-Teutonic nations. He became so in those very
days in which the Arabs became powerful and advanced ;
his new dignity assuaged the enmity of the hostile races,
and effected a material reconciliation between them. But
they were only able to cope with the enemy, when relying
on the power of the Pepins and the empire of Charlemagne.
Merit is due to Charlemagne for having united all the
Latino-Germanic nations of the Continent, in so far as they
were Christians, or were becoming so. Egbert, moreover,
who made the heptarchy of the Angles a single monarchy,
was his disciple for having given them a constitution suited
alike for war and peace, and for having taught them to ad-
vance again against their enemies along the Danube, to the
east of the Saale and Elbe, and across the Pyrenees. But
all had not yet been done. There appeared on one side
the Hungarians, irresistible at all points, with their fleet
horses and their arrows ; and simultaneously on the other,
on all coasts, the Normans, Vikings, and Askemans, alike
daring by sea and land. But at this very time the sovereign
rule of Charlemagne perished through the mistakes made
by his successors, who only received nicknames for their
follies, so that the danger was renewed. It may be said
that the migration of nations did not cease before these
movements calmed down. The Hungarians were driven
back, and became Christians ; and at the same time the
contiguous Slavish nations became Christian also. One^
and other of them long vacillated between the Romish and i
the Greek form of worship before and this is doubtlessly I
due to the influence of the German emperors they decided |
for the former. It will not be said that these peoples
belong also to the unity of our nations ; their manners and
their constitution have ever severed them from it. At
1 Notes in Plank, vol. ii. 680 seq.
6 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
that time they never exercised any independent influences,
they only appear either subservient or antagonistic ; the
waves of the general movements sometimes reach them,
and, so to say, die away there. But the Normans of
German origin were drawn into the circle of the other
nations, and established themselves in France and England.
They retaliated by carrying German life in the eleventh
century across to Naples and Sicily. Their kindred at
home had also meantime become Christians, and, saving
an insignificant remnant, completely entered into the circle
to which they naturally belonged.
Here, then, in the middle of the eleventh century, the
movements of the migration of nations ended. The future
development of the European languages, an intellectual
fruit of these stormy centuries, had now been laid in all
its unity and diversity. If we glance at the French form
of oath prescribed at Strasburg, we fancy we find therein
traces of the Italian, French, and Spanish dialects all at
, once. As this points to the unity of the Latin dialects,
so does the fact that they have been recently combined in
a single grammar bear still greater testimony to the unity
of the Germanic dialects. The foundations of all modern
s* kingdoms and their constitutions had been laid. Empire
\ and Papacy were held in universal regard ; the former
\ represented the Teutonic, the latter the Latin principle of
the great union of nations ; the one supported the other.
2.
After this, the original migratory impulse took a different
turn, owing to the fact that it coalesced with a complete
I devotion to Christianity. The Crusades may almost be
/ regarded as a continuation^ the migration of nations.
* The same people that had concluded it, viz., the^N'orinans,
took, of all concerned, a most vigorous part in the first
Crusade. In this they were not only led by three eminent
princes, namely, Eobert of Normandy, whom the old
chroniclers place above the supreme commander in point
of nobility, wealth, and even intellectual excellence, 1 Bohe-
1 Passage from Radulfus Cadomensis in Wilken Kreuzziige, i. 80.
INTRODUCTION. 7
mund of Tarento, whose participation contemporaries
rightly connected with his operations against the Greeks
and Tancred, but by so many more, 1 that a war, that was
then being waged, had to be brought to a close, owing to
dearth of warriors. It may perchance be a Norwegian, St.
Olaf, who was the first to adopt the cross both for himself
and his army, when engaging in war.*
The great armed pilgrimages to Jerusalem in the
eleventh century appear to have originated with the Nor-
mans ; the successful issue of them is at all events
ascribed to them before all others by Roger Hoveden. 3
All the Latino-Germanic nations shared in this new enthu-
siasm. In the first expedition we find Spaniards, the
counts of Cerdan and Caret. 4 Lopez de Vega has left us
a grand poem, immortalizing the meritorious services of
the Castilians in the Holy Land. As early as the year
1121, Sigurd of Norway earned the name of Jorsalafar
(pilgrim to Jerusalem) ; of the other nations it is known
that they also took part in it. Never did a foreign nation,
and only on one occasion did a foreign prince, Andrew of
Hungary, participate therein, and he only did so as being
the leader of an upper German expedition, and he was,
besides, the son of a French mother. The Crusades are
in the main entirely and solely undertakings of the Latin
and German nations.
Now let us observe how these Crusades caused our
nations to extend on all sides and in all directions. Their
goal was, it is true, the Holy Land, yet they went to the
coast of the Mediterranean besides, and not to that land
alone. The Latin Empire at Constantinople would, had
it longer existed, have turned the whole Greek Empire into
a Latino-German one.
Had it not been for St. Louis' ill-luck, Egypt would
have become a colony of France ; and there appeared at
that time a sensible, and beyond all doubt instructive
book upon the relations between the East and the West,
1 Gaufredus Monachus de acquisitione iSiciliae, iv. 24.
a Gebhardi. Geschichte von Norwegen und Danemark, i. 380.
3 In Hugo Grotius. Prolegomena ad histor. Gothorum, p. 60.
1 Mariana, Hist. Hisp. x. c. 3. Oapmany, antiqua Marina de
Cataluna, i. 124.
8 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
written with the express intention of inciting to renewed
operations against Egypt. 1 In the year 1150 King Eoger
of Sicily known as Rogier Jarl the Rich among his old
countrymen had possession of the coasts of Africa from
Tunis to Tripolis, and occupied Mahadia.* But the most
important and permanent achievements in the southern
world were, without doubt, due to the Spaniards. Their
Carnpeador, the Cid, lived to see the Crusades. In those
selfsame times they first succeeded in holding Toledo and
the valley of the Tagus, which Aldefons imperator had just
conquered, against the violent attack of the Alinoravides, and
then advanced under Alonso Ramon and took the valley of
the Guadiana ; (at the extreme limit of his actual conquests,
for all the rest were again lost, under a widespreading oak
upon the Muratal Mountains, Alonso breathed his last). In
the same period they gained under Alonso the Noble the
great battle of Navas de Tolosa, and set foot 011 the Guadal-
quivir. 3 And finally, at that very time, shortly before the
first Crusade of St. Louis, St. Ferdinand subdued Jaen,
Cordova, and Seville, and as Granada paid him tribute, the
whole of Andalusia also, whilst, shortly before the second
Crusade, Alonso the Wise subjected Murcia. In these
days Portugal was founded and established as a kingdom.
The union of Aragon and Catalonia, the conquest of
Valencia, and the exploits of the Conquistador Jayme fall
also into this period.
And all this is closely connected with the expeditions to
the Holy Land. The Archbishop Richard of Toledo, who
came to Rome with a host of Crusaders, was sent back
again by the Pope, because both he and they were more
indispensable at home ; and instead of leading them against
Jerusalem he now led them against Alcala. 4 We know
that it was chiefly Low-Germans, English, and Flemish,
who, proceeding on a Crusade, conquered his capital for
the prince, who first called himself King of Portugal ; 5
and that seventy years later Alfonso II.'s most brilliant
1 Marini Sanuti liber Secretorum fidelium Crucis in Bongars.
3 Raumer, Geschichte der Hohenstaufen, i. 557.
3 All taken from Rodericus Toletanus, de rebus Hispanise.
4 Rodericus, vi. 26.
5 Dodechini Appendix ad Marianum Scotum. Pistor. i. 676.
INTRODUCTION.
conquest was only effected by the same assistance. 1 In
short, the conquest of the peninsula was only achieved by
the co-operation of kindred races. Out of the plunder of
Alraeria, Alonso Ramon gave a splendid jewel to the
Genoese as a thankoffering for their services. In the
battle of Navas de Tolosa many thousands from beyond
the Pyrenees a fought in the army of Alonso the Noble.
Concurrently with these operations and progressive ad-
vances of our nations on the coasts of the Mediterranean
and in the South generally, there were others being carried
on hi the North which were prompted by the same spirit.
Sigur Jorsalafar, whom we have referred to, made it his
first business, after his return, to land at Calmar and to
coerce the Smalandic heathen, man by man, to embrace
Christianity. With the same object in view Eric the Holy
led the Swedes against the Finns. He shed tears on
seeing the battle, but did not stay his hand until he had
baptized the Finns in the springs of Lupisala. On the
occasion of the second Crusade, on the receipt of a bull
from Pope Eugene, the Danes, Saxons, and Westphalians
leagued together to make a common expedition against
the neighbouring Slavs, resolved either to convert them
to Christianity, or else to exterminate them.'' Not long
after this, Bishop Meinhard came with traders and artisans
from Wisby to Estonia to preach there. These three
undertakings led, if not immediately, at all events by
degrees, to a brilliant success. On our side of the Oder the
Slavs were, by the times of the Crusades, as good as
perfectly exterminated. German nobility, German citizens
and peasants were the real stock of the new inhabitants of
Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. Since
that time the Eastern Pomeranians have not been called
by the Western aught else than Saxons. 4
At last, in the year 1248, after long struggles, Finnland
became entirely Christian and Swedish. 5 Since that date
1 Gotefridi Monachi Annales, 284.
a Epistola Alfonsi VIII. ad pontificem de belis, etc. in. Continual,
belii sancti, Basle, 1549, p. 246.
1 Ansel rri Gerablacensis Abbatis Chronicon. Pistor, i. 965.
* K;ui/.o\\ . Pomerania, i. 216.
8 Schoning in Schlozers Allgem. nord, Geschichte, 474.
10 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
Swedes dwell along the whole coast, and in the strong-
holds there. Proceeding from the unpretentious colony,
Yxkull, the German rule extended over all Estonia,
Livonia, and Courland ; nay, when the " Knights of the
Sword," who had been established there, despaired of
being able to defend a certain fortress against the Prus-
sians, 1 in spite of a great display of bravery, they were
instrumental in bringing the " German Knights " to their
assistance, who then made the land of the Letti a German
country. A short time longer, and the joint possessions of
both orders extended from Danzig to Narva. Here they
met the Pomeranians, who were now either entirely
germanized or partially so, owing to their subjection under
Emperor and Empire. Here, on the Gulf of Finland, they
became neighbours of the Swedes. The German name
embraced the whole Belt.
To the sphere of these events belong the operations of
Henry Plantagenet in Ireland. He brought it to pass that
thenceforth two nations co-existed in Ireland the native
Irish, the subjected, and the Anglo-Germanic, the domi-
nant, which latter, if it was not actually planted, was yet
settled and established there by him. 2 At that time Venice
taught the Dalmatians to speak Italian. This event must
also be comprehended in our survey, for it is a new ex-
tension of our nations ; and the Pope likewise instigated
the attack upon Ireland, because that land would never
obey him.
Yet, in order not to depart from the principle we have
laid down, both those undertakings must be principally kept
in view, viz., the Northern and the Southern, both which
were sprung of the same tendency, and were carried out
by the same arms, under the same symbols, and often with
the assistance of the same men. They show the unity of
our nations in idea, in action, and in development.
But this principle is most clearly visible in the Crusades
of the South and the North. This stirring energy, the
result of an intellectual impulse, expanding in all direc-
tions, found a fitting expression in those noble institutions
1 Dusburg in Script, rer. Pruss. i. 35.
2 Hume's Hist, of England, i. c. ix. p. 281.
INTRODUCTION. 11
and creations which belong to it, and belong to it
exclusively.
Two alone we will dwell on. War may arouse every
brutal passion in our nature, but it is the province of
chivalry to save the true man, to soften force by manners,
and the elevating influence of women, and to refine strength
by pointing it to what is divine. Its origin, in this sense,
is coeval with the formation of the two first ecclesiastical
orders of knighthood, and the zenith of its bloom coincides
beyond doubt with the foundation of the third. After the
Crusades had passed by, it did not die out, but took
another development which was different in different lands.
It never spread to other nations. Even the Johannites
and Templars never owned a province in any other nation,
at most a few possessions. The " German Knights " stood
in constant contrast to the Letti and the Slavs. One noble
blossom of chivalry is the poetry of these times. If it is
true, as seems to be the case, that the story of Bechadas,
by Godfrey de Bouillon, was the first novel, 1 and if the
cycle of tales of Charlemagne and Arthur are, as appears
very probable, immediately connected therewith, it is evident
what a great share the Crusades have had in the founda-
tion of modern poetry. It binds all our nations exclusively
together. The prefaces to the "Wilkina," and the
Niflungasaga, confess that these were fashioned in Iceland
after German models. 2 No other people had any share
in it.
But war was not waged by knights alone, the freedom of
the towns was also warlike. Their origin, in the case of all
our nations, dates from the same, that is this time. The
first consuls of the Italian communities, chosen by them-
selves, and upon the selection of whom their whole freedom
depended, appear contemporaneously with the first Crusade,
in the year 1100. Beyond all question, we meet with them
first in Genoa on the occasion of an expedition to the Holy
Land.
In the course of our period they procured for themselves
1 Passage from Gottfried de Bigeois by Kichhorn, Gesch. der Cultur
und Literatur d. neuern Europe, i. p. 82.
2 Proemium. quoted in Eichhorn. Geschichte der Cultur. Erlauter-
ungen, p. 125.
12 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
the full powers of the old royal counts. 1 As early as the
year 1112, we meet with the same institutions in France,
free communities under magistrates and majores of their
own election. In the same way as the king under the
oriflamb, the standard of St. Denis a device which appears
to be the true origin of this imperial banner so do all the
communes, each under the standard of its local saint, take
the field with him. 2 The cities in Castilia, because of their
martial ardour, were, in the year 1169, given a seat in the
Cortes ; and in the battle of Navas their assistance does
not appear to have been the most insignificant. The
German cities, in the course of the same period, by freeing
themselves from their bailiffs, developed to independent
unions. 3 During the reign of Henry in. the English towns
were summoned to Parliament. 4 It was in Grottland, upon
Swedish soil, that Wisby flourished. Enough ; hand in
hand with chivalry and the crusades, cities developed both
in freedom and importance throughout the Latin- G-emianic
nations from north to south. In the same way as the
peculiarities of our poetry are due to chivalry, so does our
peculiar architectural style appear to be due to the cities.
In this self -same period it developed from the flat roof
and the semi-circle to those beautiful symmetrical pro-
portions we admire in the facade of the cathedral at
Strasburg, in the choir at Cologne, in the spire of Freiburg,
and in the whole edifice at Marburg of the year 1235 as
well as in the cathedrals of Sienna, Koueii, and Burgos.
Neither in chivalry nor yet in the development of the
cities have other nations had a share. As late as the year
1501, the Eussians of Moscow begged that a knight, an
iron man, as they expressed it, should be sent them, and
marvelled at him as a wonder. The gates of the cathedral
at Novgorod are the work of Magdeburg craftsmen.
Let us dwell yet upon another phenomenon. In the same
way that the migration of nations was accompanied by the
establishment of the Empire and the Papacy, did the struggle
1 Savigny, Geschichte des Romischen Kechts im Mittelalter, iii. 100-
121. Sismondi, Histoire des republ. ital. i. 373, from Caffaro.
2 Orderieus Vitalis in Du Cange, sub Commune. Velli, Hist, de
France, iii. 93.
3 Document of the year 1255 in Vogt's Kheinische Gescbichte, i. 426.
4 Woltmann, Englische Geschichte, ii. 121.
INTRODUCTION. 13
between these twain forces arise out of the Crusades. It is
not merely a struggle between the Emperor and the Pope ;
its relations to all those confessing the Roman faith are
patent and evident. The quarrel between Henry II. of
England and Thomas a Becket is quite analogous to it,
both in respect of the interests the combatants had at
stake, as well as in the kind of weapons they employed.
The two princes and the two ecclesiastics were allied ; this
quarrel concerns moreover all our nations. Frederick I.
had Swedes in the army with which he invaded Italy in
1158 ; l it was mainly English gold that supported the
popes in their struggles at Naples. The internal affairs of
Castile act and react upon the history of Conradin. 2
Charles of Anjou, who brought these wars to a close, was
the brother of the French king. It could not but be that
internal dissensions influenced external. It was natural
that in the midst of his Italian wars he should sigh for
Asia, where the strength and energy he lavished upon
them would have guaranteed him more genuine glory and
more perfect happiness. 3 But also the internal forces
destroyed themselves. The Papacy was in error in be-
lieving that it had gained in strength by the fall of the
Hohenstaufen. Conradin had not yet been forty years
dead, when it fell into the captivity of the French kings.
Since that time it has never again been the old Papacy.
Which of our nations could say that it has not been un-
affected by this ?
We may distinguish two periods, in respect of these ex-
ternal enterprises ; the first is that, when they begin in
all their first freshness and when they fill all thoughts and
hearts. The second period is that of their continuation,
their effects and results. If this strikes the professional
eye at the first glance in the migration of nations, it is
almost even more striking in the case of the Crusades.
After the decay and fall of the two great powers, and
when the universal interest in external operations had, in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, gradually cooled
1 Dalin, Schwedische Geschichte, ii. 88.
a Raumer, Hohenstaufen, iv. 586.
3 Raumer from Rieobald, ii. 411.
14 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
down, there arose in the heart of our nations, so to say, a
universal war of all against all. It was those that be-
longed most closely together that quarrelled most violently.
The Proven9als and Catalan are of one stock ; but, owing
to the pretentious claims of their princes, the houses
of Anjou and Barcelona, to Naples, they at that time
fell into an enmity that lasted for centuries. It was in
this struggle that Naples and Sicily became sundered.
Portugal was originally a fief of the crown of Castile.
After this feudal bond had become severed, the pride of
both nations caused a deadly hatred to take root in them.
Moreover, the party of the Nunez and G-amboa pervaded
the whole of Spain. Civil wars were only now and again
interrupted by a campaign against the Moors, at other
times it was the reverse. In Italy G-uelphs and G-ibellines,
whose names scarcely existed before the commencement of
the thirteenth century, 1 nursed and fostered a feud that
divided up the whole land, town from town, and almost
house from house. Owing to the strife between their royal
houses, not, as was formerly the case, for a few fiefs, but
for the crown itself, France and England became locked
in deadly wars. At first it was France that was con-
vulsed by English arms and a great English party ; and
then England itself was torn by the wars of the white and
the red rose. In Germany, races and families fought to-
gether no less ; Suabians and Swiss are both Alemaiis, but
they now fell into deadly feud. Austrians and Bavarians
are the same race ; the battle of Miihldorf shows how little
they regarded it. Franconia became split up into the
opposing factors of knightly and ecclesiastical possessions.
Wars of succession, wars of children against their fathers,
and wars between brothers, laid waste Thuringia and
Meissen. Brandenburg and Pomerania were both peopled
by Saxon colonists ; but the pretentious claims of the
Brandenburg princes to the country of the Pomeranians
became a great offence between them, and in Pomeranian
chronicles the people of the Mark are always mentioned
with dislike. Besides this, we have the rising of princes
against the sovereign power, and of freeholders against the
1 Muratori de Guelfis et Gibellinis, Antiquitat. Ital. iv. 607, 608.
INTRODUCTION. 15
princes ; and, in cases where they were immediate subjects
of the Empire, a rising of the knights against the cities ;
whilst in the cities the guilds rose against the families.
Frequently, also, the crown was the object of contention.
And it is not alone nations and races, states and cabinets,
that regulate public affairs, but families, corporations, and
individuals, everyone in each matter for himself as best as
he may.
In this state of things it might be thought it were
scarcely possible that the unity of an empire, let alone the
collective body of our nations, could have been preserved.
The partv divides, but it also unites. It is mainly the
Anglo-French wars that act and re-act upon the rest of the
European complications, and bind them all together. What
could appear to be wider apart than the rebellion of
oppressed Scots against the English, and the struggle of
Albert and Adolph for the crown of Germany ? The
battle of Cainbus Kennet, in which the English were
defeated, and that of Hasenbiihel, in which Adolphus fell,
both in the year 1298, are all the same intimately con-
nected. Albert was allied with the French, and through
them with the Scots, Adolph -with the English. The
English party in Europe was defeated in both battles.
The quarrel between Louis of Bavaria and Charles of
Luxemburg for the same crown of Germany was decided
not so much in Germany, as by the battle of Cressy.
Shortly before it took place, Charles had been raised
with all pomp to the regal chair by four Electors ; im-
mediately after it his party, the French, had lost we
see him hurrying back to Bohemia reft of dignity and
power; but Louis sends and solemnly receives English
embassies. 1
In the interest of these two parties, and mainly with
their assistance, Peter the Cruel and Henry of Trastamar
waged their war for the crown of Castile. Peter's avarice
having driven the Black Prince, who had assisted him, to
the " Foagium," and the " Foagium " having goaded the
latter' s vassals to discontent," which resulted in the decay
of the English power in France, while Henry, on the
1 Albertus Argentinensis apuH Urstisium, ii. 139.
2 Le premier volume de Messire Jehan Froissart, f. 136.
16 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
other hand, conquered with the French in Spain, it may be
said that the English power had begun to wane in Spain.
Other threads connect these events with affairs in Holland
and Guelders, in Aragon and Sardinia, and in Venice and
Genoa ; hence, not much credence can be placed in the
assertion, so often made, that the' nations in the Middle
Ages were isolated from each other. Even great intellec-
tual movements pass through them all, and testify to their
internal unity. About the year 1350 we find, almost as in
these times in which we live, a general tendency to re-
generate constitutions. Let us remark that it was then
(1347) that Cola Eienzi, the Italian zealot, actually restored
the good old state of things, as he called it that is, a kind
of republican form of government at Rome ; further, that
in those times (1356) plebeians and doge of Venice leagued
together against the nobles, in order, in one murderous
night, to restore their old rights ; and that, at the same
time (1355), in France, a first assembly of estates of the
realm promised both to live and to die with the king, but
did not a little curtail his rights ; a second demanded
reforms and presented a list of twenty-two high persons
who were to be deposed from office ; whilst a third finally
ushered in a complete revolution, and forced the dauphin
to don their red and green cap. 1 These movements were
illegal and transitory. Others, at the self-same time, con-
fined themselves within narrower limits and had more
durable results. In Aragon, in 1348, in the place of the
violent power of the union, the lawful influence of a
Justicia became established. 2 For the first time in their
history (under Edward III.) the Commons of England in-
sisted upon the responsibility of the King's council ; and,
perhaps in Germany also, it was similar intellectual move-
ments which, in 1356, caused Charles IV. to grant the
" Golden Bull," that fundamental law of the German
Empire for centuries to come. At all events, the first
union of the provinces into estates, in Brunswick, in
Saxony (1350) and in other countries, took place at the
same time. 3 Is it possible that this coincidence is acci-
1 Villaret, Histoire de France, vol. ix. from page 147 on.
2 Hieronymi Blancse rerum Aragon Commentarii, p. 810.
3 Eichhorn, Deutsche Staats-und Rechtsgeschichte, iii. sec. 424 note.
INTRODUCTION. 17
dental? The common development of our nations will
necessarily have produced the same ideas in all.
In the midst of these movements, in the same way as the
after effects of the old feud between Emperor and Pope
made themselves occasionally felt, the minds of men turned
ever and anon towards the East and a common expedition
against the Infidels. The Pope frequently encouraged the
enterprise. In novels, tales, and popular books, the general
tendency was at once ventilated and nourished. In the four-
teenth century the Pastoureaux in France and in England
believed that the conquest of the Holy Land was to be the
work of the shepherds and peasants, and set out with this
end in view. 1 As late as the end of the fifteenth century, in
the year 1480, many of the citizens of Parma fastened a red
cross upon their shoulder, and pledged themselves to fight
against the Infidels. 2 It was chiefly in Spain and Portugal,
where the Moorish campaign was continued at intervals, and
finally led to an attack upon Africa, that the crusading
spirit was kept alive.
A
/ It was this crusading spirit that gave birth to colonisa-
I tion, TlTe following book will show us how the first dis-
\ coveries and colonies are in a twofold manner connected
with the Moorish war ; firstly, by expeditions against
Africa, whence proceeded the scheme for the conquest of
India, and secondly, by the idea of defending and extending
Christendom.
The intentions of the Portuguese were immediately
directed at the heart of the Arabian faith. They desired
to avenge Jerusalem upon Mecca. Their victories are
once again fought and won in the enthusiasm of Crusaders. 3
The Spanish operations, on the other hand, being directed,
as they were, against heathen, and not against Moham-
medans, renewed rather the idea of the Northern Crusades.
A gift of the Pope, a proclamation that " the enemy must
be converted to Christianity or utterly destroyed," con-
1 This work, p. 43.
2 Diarium Parmense in Muratori Scrip. Rerum Ital. xxii. 349.
3 Chronicon Monspeliense in Du Cange sub Pastorelli.
C
18 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
tains all the right to this proceeding. 1 The peasants
too, whom Bartholomew de Las Casas intended to lead
upon a more peaceful expedition to Cumana, wore each a
red cross. 2
As a fact, in both Spain and Portugal, migration of
peoples, crusades, and colonisation form only one single and
connected event. The " poblaciones," which moved from
the Asturian hills to the coasts of Andalusia and Africa,
and which were established as early as 1507 in Alnieria,
and in 1512 in Oran, now begin on the other shore of the
Atlantic Ocean. 3 The Spaniards pride themselves on no-
thing so much as that they planted there, instead of bar-
barian peoples, as they say. the sons and descendants of
illustrious Castilian families. 4 The five million white,
men, who are to be found there, are real Spaniards. A
million Portuguese dwell in Brazil. An almost equal
number, although degenerated, may be distinguished on
the coasts of Africa, and in the East Indies. Colonisation
on such a great scale may be regarded as migrations.
Another idea that animates colonisations, and which they
have in common with the Crusades, is the propagation of
Christianity. A third that is peculiar to and characteristic
of them, is the idea of the discovery of the world, of
itself one of the greatest a scheme embracing the human
race and the whole earth. It was promoted and fostered
by greed for the spices of India, for the gold of America,
and for the pearls of the unknown seas, as well as by the
interests of trade. 5
It is not necessary to describe the gradual participa-
tion of our peoples in these events (at least the share
the Italians had in these discoveries) ; and it is unneces-
sary to prove at length, that they are exclusively peculiar
to them. Other nations now and again took part in these
movements, but, as a matter of fact, pursued other aims.
The unity of a people cannot be better seen than in a
1 Hoieda's proclamation in Robertson's Hist, of America, i. p. 516.
2 Oviedo, delF historic dell' Indie, vol. xix.
3 Oviedo, Historia de la Conquista y poblacion de Venezuela. Cf.
Schaffer, Brasilien, p. 32.
4 Sandoval, Historia del Emperador Carlos I. 189.
* Sandoval, Historia del Emperador Carlos I. 189.
INTRODUCTION. 19
common undertaking ; and wherein can the unity and the
cohesion of several nations, like ours, be better demon-
strated ? The undertakings which we have here referred
to, although continued through many centuries, are
common to them all. They connect both the times and
the peoples. They are, if I may so say, three great respi-
rations of this incomparable union.
BOOK I.
FIRST CHAPTER.
THE RELATIONS OF FRANCE AND ITALY. EXPEDITION OF
CHARLES VIII. TO NAPLES.
1. France and Charles VIII.
r I "WICE during the Middle Ages did the Capets conquer
-L France. They went forth from their dukedom France,
encountered the Eudons of Blois and the Plantagenets of
Anjou, and were once cut off on all sides from the sea-coast.
But Philip Augustus possessed himself of the provinces of
North France, and St. Louis of Provence, whilst Philip the
Fair subjected the Pope to his crown. This is the first con-
quest : by the direct line of Hugo Capet. After his line
had become extinct, the kingdom was the bone of contention
between his male descendants, the Valois, and the female
line, the kings of England. King Edward III. of England
once held half France ; on another occasion, one of his suc-
cessors, Henry V., was in possession of Paris, and even of
the crown. It may be described as being a second con-
quest, when Charles VII. of Valois again got the upper
hand of the English. It was the Maid of Orleans that
opened him the gate to victory. She restored to him the
Champagne province ; but he owes the recovery of his capital,
of Normandy, Guyenne, and the complete mastery over the
country to the Dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne.
Yet the assistance rendered by the great vassals entailed
the consequence, that the king was after all not completely
sovereign. Louis XL, who was made to feel this he had
CH. I.] PEANCE AND CHARLES VIII. 21
one day to come and implore peace of the armed barons,
determined to put himself into full possession of the sove-
reign power. He was very suspicious, very shrewd, and
discerning enough besides. Yet these qualities would not
have enabled him to attain his object, had not, as though
by a providential intervention, the Dukes of Berry, Bur-
gundy, Anjou, and Bretagne all deceased without leaving
sons. The first-named, his brother, he succeeded without
any opposition. In the case of the heiress of the second, her
husband, Maximilian of Austria, failed to uphold her claim
to Burgundy and the cities on the Somme. In order to
have peace, he was besides obliged to consent to the mar-
riage of his daughter, Margaret, with the Dauphin, and
to assign to the French Artois and the free county as her
dowry. The third, however, Rene of Anjou, who styled
himself king of three kingdoms, duke of three duchies,
and count of three counties, 1 might have made over the
countries that he actually possessed, and his rights to the
rest, to his grandson, Rene of Lorraine ; but he himself was
not in favour of such a course. He had hoped one day to
be able to bring Lorraine to Anjou ; and only because he
had been taken prisoner had he acquiesced in that mar-
riage of his daughter, of which his grandson was the issue.
Should he, then, now go so far as to allow his hereditary
lands to pass to Lorraine ? The young prince would not
even agree to exchange his arms of Lorraine for those of
Anjou. 2 Hi-pleased at this, Rene appointed his nephew
Charles, bearing the name and the arms of Anjou, as his
heir. 3 The latter, who was also not blessed with issue, seven
years later doth, as the chronicle says, for the sake of God,
and the love which he bears King Louis, the son of his
father's sister, assign to him the inheritance of all his king-
doms, possessions, and rights: 4 thus the territories of Pro-
vence and Anjou came directly to the Crown.
It may be regarded as an historical event, that the great
feudal countries in the South and East, in contrast to the
neighbouring princes who belonged to the German Empire,
1 Pasquier, Recherches de la France, vi. p. 557.
a Gamier, Histoire de France, vol. 18, p. 462, from Le Grand MS.
3 Testament in the Preuvres to Comines, ii. 1 18.
1 Kxtraits du Testament, in the same, 182.
22 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
were united with the French Crown. Bretagne alone re-
mained ; but Louis had already purchased for his family
the rights of the Penthievre in the country, rights that had
already once partly caused a great English war. 1
But, in order to defend this last bulwark of the vassal-
power, Louis of Orleans, the nearest agnate of King
Charles, who was still a minor, leagued himself with the
Bretons and all the King's domestic and external foes.
But at St. Aubin he lost the day, and now sat in captivity
at Bourges. Things were now in this position. The re-
bellion was hushed, yet not suppressed. Bretagne was,
it is true, conquered, but yet ever ready to appeal afresh
to arms, and was besides allied with the three most power-
ful neighbours of the French, England, the Netherlands,
and Spain, when Charles attained the age of nineteen
years (1491), and began to take heart, and to be desirous
of becoming his own master. He signalized his assump-
tion of the reins of government by a grand and unexpected
action. One evening he rode off from Plessis to the tower
of Bo urges. He went to release the imprisoned duke, re-
gardless of the fact that he had waged war upon him. He
took him away with him. 2 They conversed and laughed
together at table, and slept the night in the same bed. 3
He had well considered this, " He would be called a good
prince, and would have faithful servants." And by this
act he put an end to the old feud between the barons and
the Crown. Immediately thereafter, Orleans, the Conne-
table, and many notables banded together, no longer, as was
formerly the case, for the public, that is, the well-being of
the vassals, but to obey and serve the King. That opened
the way for Charles to effect the conquest of Bretagne.
Dunois and other friends of the released Louis went to Or-
leans, and addressed themselves to Anna, the heiress of
Bretagne, who was betrothed to Maximilian, and already
called herself Queen of the Eomans. 4
They represented to her that " Since Maximilian's first
1 Gamier, from Le Grand MS., xviii. 452.
2 Extrait d'une histoire de France up to 1510, by Th. Godefroy,
Charles VIII., p. 165.
3 Extrait d'une histoire de Louys, by Godefroy, p. 375.
4 MS. of Brienne in Daniel, H. d. F. iv. 478.
CH. I.] FRANCE AND CHARLES VIII. 23
marriage with Marie of Burgundy her country had not
enjoyed a single day's peace ; that its wealth had become
the prey of the G-ermans ; and that a still greater disaster
was in store for Bretagne, because of the distance at which
it lay." They brought it about, that Anna came to Charles'
court at Langeais, and signed the document by which, for the
preservation of an eternal alliance and peace between Crown
and Duchy, she assigned to him all her rights in the latter,
and he all his to her.
By her marriage with the King she became Queen of
France. 1 The day on which this took place, and before it
was known abroad, it is told how Margaret, hitherto
Charles' affianced bride, was seen walking sadly in the gar-
den at Amboise. She told her attendant maidens she had
dreamt she had lost a very brilliant and large jewel ; 2 and
it was certainly her great misfortune, when it turned
out that the jewel imported the crown of France. But
what cared the Council of France for this, when it found
that it was upon Charles' marriage, not with her, but with
Anna, that the domestic peace of the realm depended?
Personal obligations retired when the consolidation of the
French realm and its unity was at stake. The inj tired neigh-
bours took no steps against it. 3 The renewed idea of the
unity of France was even in a certain way favourable to
them. Maximilian concluded his peace at Senlis, recovering
Artois an3 tEe^tree county, together with his daughter.
HY'iiry VII., satisfied with a sum of money, returned to -
England. When too King Ferdinand of Spain had got
"back Rousillion out of "pledge for Charles, mindful, pro-
bably, of St. Louis, would not be burthened with foreign
property and had thereupon promised neither to ally his
house with Henry, nor with Maximilian, nor yet with the
Neapolitans, 4 and in nowise reserving the rights of the
Church, to lend the latter his support ; when the old alli-
ance between Castile and France had become renewed, king
1 Contrat du manage in the Preuves of Comines.
2 Fasquier, Recherches, p. 586.
3 The political relations, as they obtained in the summer of 1492,
have been sketched in the oldest Venetian story of Zaccaria Contarini.
Cf. S. W. vol. xii. p. 34 (note of the new edition).
* Zurita, Historia del Key Don Hernando, f. 6, 13, 18.
24 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
with king, country with country, and man with man ; !
then, and then only did the French again enjoy perfect
peace. It may be said that only now had the second con-
quest of the whole land by the Yalois been accomplished.
Then did Charles journey in joy through the villages,
which rose out of desolated places, to the towns, that now
once more dared extend beyond their walls. During the
next thirty years after Louis XL, almost a third of the
houses in the realm were rebuilt and fitted with contrivances
for trade. 2 The poor peasant, who in the midst of such
great fertility could not obtain high prices for his produce,
could scarcely, it is true, when the tax-gatherer came, find
the money at which he was assessed ; 3 yet he needed no
longer, as formerly, to fear either the English or the armed
French, to hurry his goods and chattels into the church,
and to leave his village. The King vouchsafed to them law
and right. He himself lived with the nobles in his service,
the heads of the great houses, who had been brought up at
Court. 4 With them frequently were associated the second
sons of the lower nobility, such as had neither inherited pro-
perty nor had wished to enter the Church, 5 and who had
learnt in a more illustrious house than their own, perhaps
with a trusty knight whom they had themselves chosen, or
with a captain, to whom they had been assigned by the King
not the sciences that they did not esteem, but how to run,
wrestle, throw, ride, and shoot with the bow, in one word,
the use of arms. 6 In them this free chivalry became de-
veloped into a regular, quasi military service. We find
them mainly in the frontier towns, in corps of thirty, fifty,
and a hundred men, under a prince or lord who could afford
the expense, and who, although he received some pay, de-
voted as a rule his whole fortune to the service. Each had
two archers, a young lad, who was trained up under him,
1 Comines, Memoires ann. 1682, i. p. 581. Corio, Hist, of Milan,
p. 899.
2 Claude Seyssel. Louanges du bon Roy Louys XII., p. 128.
3 Continuation of the Monstrelet, iii. p. 249. Macchiavell, Kitratti
della Francia, p. 161.
4 Tremouille's instance in the Memoirs, p. 121.
5 Bayard's instance in the loyal serviteur, ch. 2.
6 Chartier PEsperance, p. 316. Notes to Trem. Memoires, p. 265,
and Castiglione Cortegiano, ed. Venet. 1587, i. 81.
CH. I.] FRANCE AND CHARLES VIII. 25
and a servant. They all went together on the campaign. 1
They were called Homines d'Armes. In times of peace one
of them, in honour of his lady, would often institute a prize
and invite all his neighbours to a tournament. In these
they preferred to engage in masses rather than singly.
Umpires sat, and after the dance in the evening, and the
mass the next morning, the prize was awarded. Others
wandered through Spain and Portugal, through England
and Scotland, to try the prowess of their neighbours. They
imagined themselves a Lancelot or a Tristran with whom
they were well acquainted; their king was to them an
Arthur, or the great Charles of story. 2 This intellectual and
vigorous movement gave new life to the French nobility.
With them their King rode from tournament to tourna-
ment. To humour them he called his son Roland; and
when they all had inclination for fresh enterprises and he
with them, an expedition to Naples began to be talked of. 3
Now Charles had from his youth up both heard and
believed that Naples, which through the adoption of both
Johannas had become an hereditary portion of the House
of Anjou, had devolved legally upon him with Provence.
At the time of which we speak, all doubt upon this point
was removed by the will of the younger Johanna, which a
Genoese of the name of Calvo, a servant of the Queen,
brought to his Court, having found it, as he alleged, among
the papers of his deceased father. 4 Several members of Par-
liament and several doctors of laws appeared before a full
assembly of the princes of the blood royal and notables of
the realm, and confirmed its validity. 5 The bastard of the
Conqueror of Aragon, who occupied the throne of Naples,
was declared an usurper. Prince Antonello of Salerno, a
fugitive from Naples, had for a long time been the mouth-
piece of many other fugitives at the Court of France ; did
he now but tell the truth, how cruel and detested the
1 Principal passages in Marineus Siculus, vol. 13, p. 428, and in
Monstrelet, iii. 32.
8 Instances in Bayard and Expilly's Supplement a Phistoire du
Chevalier, p. 443.
3 Histoire de Charles VIII., by Godefroy, 172.
4 Senarega, Annales Genuenses in Muratori, xxiv. p. 537.
5 Carl Balbiano to Lodovico in Kosmini. Vita di Gian Giacomo
Trivulzio, 1815, vol. ii. Monumenti inediti, p. 194.
26 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
Aragon was, that was sure to move the young King to pity
and to rouse his hopes. For some time past, the Cardinal
Julian Rovere, who had fled from the Pope and the Ara-
gons, and who had still fortresses and adherents in the
States of the Church, also resided at the court. He like-
wise urged the young King to undertake an expedition
against Naples. The messengers and letters of Lodovico
the Moor, Administrator of Milan, decided the matter.
" How long wilt thou," he wrote, 1 " leave the inheritance of
thy Crown a booty in a foreign land, and the name of
France in contempt ? Thy people at Naples are oppressed
and appeal to thee ; I will assist thee with money and
arms, with man and horse. Half Italy is with thee, and
G-od himself. Gird thyself, delay is ever hurtful. And
thinkest thou never, Charles, on thy great forefather, who
advised that a war against the Turks should be begun
from this kingdom ? Sail from Brindisi to Avlona ; and
thou crushest the Turks, who are at present engaging
in battle against the Hungarians, before they are aware
of thy coming. Thou wilt conquer the holy lands,
where thy forefathers were once triumphant, and restore
Jerusalem itself to Christendom and thy realm. Thou
fillest the earth and the sea, yea, and heaven also with thy
name."
What Charles of Anjou had, in the thirteenth century,
undertaken with no small prospects of success, appeared
capable of being carried out by his successor, who had at
his disposal the martial forces of France, and was ani-
mated by the like chivalrous spirit. The throne of Naples,
to which the title and right of Jerusalem belonged, once
taken, and Charles VIII. would by the course of these
events, the excitement of men's minds, as well as by right
and power, become the chosen champion of Christianity
against the common foe. Andre de la Vigne wrote a
poem ; in it Christianity came flying across Mont Cenis
into the garden of honour, where she found Charles and his
nobles, complained to him of her sufferings, and renewed
the prophecy of a young Charles, who had been crowned in
his thirteenth year, and who again would crown her with
1 Literse Ludovici in Corso, 891.
CH. I.] FRANCE AND CHARLES VIII. 27
everlasting praise. 1 To the same effect were the visions of
the monk Spagnuoli and the physician Jean Michel. 2
Master Guilloche, of Bordeaux, went still further. In his
twenty-fourth year, Charles would have subjected Naples,
and, in his thirty-third, the whole of Italy ; he would then
cross the sea, be called King of Greece, and at last enter
Jerusalem, and ascend the Mount of Olives. 3 The old
dreams of Christianity, of an Eastern and a Western po-
tentate, who should make all the world believers, had not
yet been forgotten those dreams which the Germans
interpreted as applying to the last Roman king : after his
victory over the enemies of the faith, he would lay down
his crown on Golgotha before the crucifix there appearing
to him, and would die; whereupon, with the advent of
the Antichrist and Enoch and Elijah, the end of all
things would be accomplished. 4 The Italians referred
that prophecy to the Bang of France; in Jerusalem he
would lay down his crown, and in death ascend up to
Heaven. 5
Charles was susceptible by nature to such ideas. In
quite early years, when he was received in Troyes with the
mystery of Goliath and David, he saw therein typified
his war against the Turks ; he adopted the titles of Naples
and Jerusalem " especially the latter appeared to him the
fairest prognosticon ; " 6 and forthwith, as though he meant
to establish the Latin kingdom in the East, he had all the
1 Andre de la Vigne in the Vergier d'honneur ; after Foncemagne's
extract.
a Foncemagne in Histoire de PAcademie des inscriptions, xvi. p.
246, and Memoirs, xvii. 548. This prophecy is also given, though in
an incomplete form, by Pilorgerie, Campagne et bulletins de la grande
arm6e d'ltalie, commandee par Charles huit, p. 431 ; la vision divine
rvelee & Jehan Michiel tres-humble prophete de la prosperite' du tres-
crestien roy de France, Charles VIII., de la nouvelle re'formation du
siecle et la recuperation de Hierusaleme a lui destinee, et qu'il sera de
tous les roys de terre le souverain et dominateur sur tous les dominants
et unique monarchie du monde.
' Foncemagne in the Memoirs of the Academic, xvii. 845.
4 Sebastianus Brandt, Revelatio Methodii, Basle, 1516. Preface of
1497.
5 Alexandro Benedetto. Biarium Expeditionis by Eckardus. vol.
Script. Medii Aevi, ii. p. 1579.
6 Balbian to Lodovico in Rosmini, ii. 194.
28 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
rights of the Paleologers to Constantinople and Trapezunt
ceded to him. 1 Tidings of the approaching expedition, for
which all France was preparing, reached the Italian courts
and cities. The army that Charles VIII. equipped did not
consist alone of his French and the Italian refugees, but
many comrades from other countries also joined the expe-
dition. Robert d' Aubigny, the brother of Matthew Stuart,
who had shortly before taken part in the war against
James IV. of Scotland, 2 and Scotch archers also arrived.
The Hoks from the Netherlands, Philip of Ravenstein, who
had just lost Sluys, and Engelbert of Cleve, who had lost
Utrecht to Maximilian, 3 brought Flemish gunners 4 and
German infantry. 5 The bailiff of Dijon brought Rudolph
Schwend of Zurich 6 and several thousand Swiss with him.
At the foot of the Pyrenees the Gascons collected in their
numbers, whilst horses came from the coasts of Bretagne
and from Portugal. 7 Ships were turned out of the dock-
yards of Marseilles and Genoa, and mounted guns, which,
as was said of the Charlotte, " sung accord out of hell." '
The King meantime amused himself in Lyons. Good and
generous towards everyone ; pious to the extent that only
in trivial matters 9 would he take an oath upon himself, he
lived entirely in youthful dreams of great exploits, and of
eternal fame won in the battle field. Whenever he busied
himself with these plans, his forehead appeared high, his
eye large and fiery, and his brows lifted. 10 But showing
himself ignorant of the complications of the world, many
attribute what he resolved and achieved to his servants. 11
In personal appearance he was thin and malformed, 12 but
1 Tractat in Foncemagne, Memoirs de 1'Academie, xvii. 572-578.
2 Buchananus Rerum Scoticarum hist. lib. 13, p. 457, ed. of 1624.
3 Wagenaar, allgem. Geschichte der Niederlande, ii. 265.
4 Willeneufve, Memoirs, vol. xvi.
5 Ferronus, Rerum Gallicarum, lib. i. p. 20.
6 Stumpf-Schweizer Chronik, iii. 256.
7 Corio, p. 899.
8 Vergier d'honneur in Foncemagne, p. 588. Georgius Floras.
9 Bayard, p. 14. Symphorian Champier in Godefroy, p. 314.
10 Prophetie du Roi Charles in Foncemagne, Hist. xvi. 245. Bran-
tome after the testimony of a lady, Eloge, p. 22.
11 Comines, Guicciardini, Andre.
12 Passero, Giornale, p. 72.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 29
was at the same time very keen for all sorts of knightly
games and military duties. Sometimes he hunted with his
sparrow-hawk ; l and then it might happen that he saw a
stripling exercising himself in a meadow, who was there-
upon brought into his service. He made presents to the
knights, who on their side again were liberal, and took
part in the martial games which were held in the streets ;
whilst at the corners the women sat upon benches and
stages, exactly like what is told in knights' tales of King
Arthur at Caerleon. 2
In Italy, meanwhile, many did vows and prayers for his
coming; 3 they loved to call him the most Christian Monarch,
and said, " Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the
Lord ! "
2. The Situation in Italy.
For about the last fifty years, two houses, which, owing
to intermarriage, were almost one, had ruled over the
greater part of Italy to wit, the Sforza at Milan and the
Aragon at Naples. Alfonso of Aragon and Francis Sforza
had both simultaneously risen to fame in Italy. The first-
named had not been long in possession of Naples when
the latter seized Milan. Since that event their families
had become allied, and spread in manifold affinities
throughout Italy. The Este at Ferrara, the Gonzaga at
Mantua, 4 the brothers Bentivogli, the princes of Urbino,
Pesaro, Forli, almost all the heads of the States of the
Church, and even some Neapolitan barons, 5 were among
their connections. The power of the Aragons, which had
been founded by Alfonso I., was shrewdly and rigorously
swayed by his natural son, Ferrante. Once, when the
great barons called in John of Anjou, and delivered to
him the whole country, save the capital, the House of
1 Zurita, Historia del Key Hernando, f. 90.
a St. Gelais, Louis XII., p. 79. Histoire de Charles in Godefroy,
p. 172.
3 Benedictus in Eckardus, ii. p. 1579.
4 Diario Ferrarese in Muratori, xxiv. p. 253, 279.
5 Porzio, Congiura dei Baroni di Napoli, p. 29.
30 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
Aragon seemed to be lost. At that time the Queen once
found herself compelled to sit with her little children at
the convent of St. Piero at Naples with an alms-box before
her, and to beg the labourers to do her voluntary work, and
implore of other citizens a loan. 1 The dynasty and throne
were only saved by the great barons again returning to
their allegiance. The most distinguished of them was Fer-
rante's brother-in-law, Count Marsico Sanseverino, whom
the King in his compact styled the illustrious, the most
powerful, and his saviour from the deepest misery ; he made
over to him Salerno, with all the rights of the fiscus and
coinage. 2 Sanseverino' s example was followed by the
others, but they in no wise succeeded in gaining the
King's favour. Of some of his confidantes, who were
instrumental in beginning the rebellion, as, for instance,
his brother-in-law, Balzo of Tarento, he ridded himself by
force. 3
King Ferrante, once more firmly on his throne, thought
to secure it mainly by foreign alliances. His son Alfonso
he married to the daughter of Francis Sforza ; the Popes
Pius and Sixtus he gained over to him by enfeofiing, the
nephew of the one with Anialfi, and that of the other with
Sora. 4 Two men, who were invaluable to him, were
entrusted with the conduct of home affairs, viz., Antonello
Petrucci, and Francis Coppola. The former was his most
intimate counsellor, to whom he was wont to refer every
one. This man was often obliged to come out to him when
on the chase, and then return in dust and dirt to the council
in the city ; sometimes he had hardly crossed his threshold,
when fresh messengers would summon him back, although
it was night. In return for his services, two of his sons
were made counts and another an archbishop. Petrucci
himself, though originally quite poor, was at last enabled
to build churches and castles.
With the other, Francis Coppola, a merchant, the King
entered into partnership. By allowing no one to buy, unless
1 Pontanus, de bello Neapolitano, Haganoae, fol. v. 4, S. 2.
2 Pontanus, ibid. Dd. 4. Gg. 2.
3 According to a document in Angelo di Costanzo, Istoria di Napoli,
xix. 440, 467. 4 Costanzo. 466.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 31
Francis had already done so, and by permitting no trading
ship to come into port, unless it had previously sold its
cargo, as well as by treating the oil and wine market
almost as a monopoly, he increased his gains to an extra-
ordinary extent. Francis had in a short time a county,
and an arsenal for his own ships. 1 By their advice and
his own perseverance, the King became completely master
of the country. The barons were obliged to maintain his
stables. To his falconer he gave an abbey, and to the son
of a Jew, in return for a sum of money, a bishopric. 2 The
land was quite subject to him. He waged the wars of
Italy. His power was steadily on the increase.
Brought up in the atmosphere of Ferrante's covert
shrewdness, his son Alfonso developed into a totally dif-
ferent character, and one quite peculiar to the Italian
princes of those times. They considered cruelty and licen-
tiousness lawful things. To appear always in pomp to
hunt with hawks and falcons, which bore their arms in
velvet and gold aloft into the air ; at home to be seen in
gorgeous apartments, surrounded by savants, musicians,
and artists of all kinds ; in public among the people to
wear an imperious mien, and to be decorated with jewels ;
to be witty and eloquent ; to command a goodly troop of
soldiery, to perceive danger and to avert it : this appeared
to them to be glorious and worth living for. There was no
trace in them of the good qualities of human nature.
They were unrighteous, and of true princely dignity they
knew nothing ; justice they considered bondage. 3
This ideal, which instead of the strength and power
that it intends, seizes only their shadow and their sem-
blance, Alfonso followed; and whilst the others must be
called generous, he was nothing less than niggardly. 4
He showed that he considered Petrucci's and Coppola's
wealth to belong to the royal house. Petrucci only
shrugged his shoulders when he heard of it, and tried to
1 Caracciolus, de varietate fortunae in Muratori, Scriptores R. I.
xxiv. p. 69.
2 Comines, vi. eh. xi. Porzio, Congiura, 116.
3 Corio, p. 839. Castiglione Cortegiano, p. 388, and in other places.
1 Laurentii Medicei Epistola apud Fabroniurn, ii. 269.
32 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
pacify the King by making him New Year's presents. 1
But Coppola was differently minded. 2 He leagued him-
self with the most powerful of the barons, Sanseverino of
Salerno, who also felt himself in danger. Alfonso had
been heard to say that Sanseverino looked almost like
Balzo of Tarento. They met together by night in solitary
places, devised plans for their protection, and gained over
others also. 3 For all the barons began to fear Alfonso, as
he threatened all who had not been zealous enough in
assisting him in his military expeditions.
They leagued themselves with Pope Innocent VIII., who
would rather have been possessor of Naples than only its
feudal lord, and for the second time arrayed themselves in
open war against the House of Aragon. Three Sanseverinos,
two princes and a count, three Balzos, two counts and a
prince, were the conspirators. 4 Many others, among them
Caracciolo of Melfi, gradually joined them. They pro-
mised one another, with solemn vows, the Sacrament in
their hands, to hold out together. But they were weak and
undecided. After the first unfavourable issue they showed
themselves inclined to come to terms ; 5 when fortune
favoured them, they again took up arms. Their achieve-
ments were insignificant. When Alfonso had defeated the
Pope and had laid siege to the city of Aquila, which
adhered to the baronial party and was their chief hope,
and was at the same time advancing in the kingdom, they
forgot their vows, promised one after the other what was
demanded of them, and surrendered. 7
The Aragons had now asserted their superiority in a still
more decisive manner than heretofore, and with their own
forces. They next, father and son, resolved to wreak ven-
geance on their enemies.
Coppola and Petrucci had only taken a very doubtful r
and at all events a very insignificant, part in the war ; but
they were the first victims of the peace. Ferrante pro-
1 Caracciolus, p. 28. 2 Porzio, Congiura, p. 28.
3 Porzio, Congiura, pp. 39-49.
4 Lodovico de Raimi, Annales Neapolitan!, in Muratori, 23, 231.
5 Macchiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, viii. 343. Pontanus, bellum
Neapol. H. h. .
6 Porzio. 80, 90. 7 Porzio, 186.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 33
mised to marry one of his nieces to one of Coppola's sons,
and to celebrate the marriage in the new castle. Coppola
and Petrucci rode up thither, each on a perfumed mule,
and in all gala pomp ; but as soon as they arrived both
they and their sons were seized. They were all put to
death. 1 The rest of the barons would have had time to
escape on two barks, 2 and the Princess of Bisignan advised
this course ; but one was hindered in this way and another
in that, and so remaining they were all taken on a single
day, 3 three Sanseverinos, three Balzos, and a Carac-
ciolo. The people saw their food taken to them every day
into the prison ; but when the hangman was seen with
the chain of the Prince of Bisignan, it was seen to have
been all deception. In the church of St. Leonard, the
patron saint of the captive, the Duke persuaded his father
to commit the murder, and this executioner, or a slave, a
Moor, did the deed. 4 Ferrante would scarcely listen to the
expostulations of the Papal Nuntius on this matter.
" Did not Pope Sixtus do with his rebels what he pleased ?
I shall also do the same with mine." This was the whole
of his answer. Having delivered himself of it, he ordered
the horns to be wound, and rode to the chase. 5 But what
he had devised for his security threatened to become his
ruin. Many had fled to Rome, and now sent messages to
Spain and to France to implore help. In France, Prince
Antonello of Salerno, who had escaped from his clutches,
aroused his real enemy. Those who still remained in the
country only waited for the day when they could again
take up arms against him. His first care was to provide
that they never should find an opportunity of doing so.
Such was the position of the Aragons in Naples. Lodo-
dovico, the Moor of Milan, also owed to them his present
position.
After the eldest son of Francis Sforza, Galeazzo Maria,
Duke of Milan and Lord of Genoa, had been murdered, his
widow, the Duchess Buona, took quiet possession of his
1 Caraccinhift, 1, Raemi, 239.
- Liter Lutotii de Nasis in Fabionii Vita Laur. Med. ii. 352.
3 Passero, Giornale Napolitano, p. 50.
4 Angelo di Costanzo, 479.
5 Infessura, Diarium Romanum, p. 1980.
D
34 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
lands and cities in the name of her son, John Graleazzo,
who was still a minor. This was very displeasing to Lodo-
vico, G-aleazzo 's brother, who, when sitting in the Corte
dell' Arengha with the Municipal Council, had to take his
orders from the Castle and the Council of State, and none
the less so to the third brother, Ascanio. 1 But as soon as
they agitated against it they were driven out. But a war
which Ferrante began at that time with Florence, with
which city Buona was allied, as well as Ferrante' s assis-
tance, enabled these two fugitives to show themselves on the
frontier, and to stir up valley after valley in revolt, until
they came to Dertona ; 2 whereupon, in a single day, forty-
seven castles belonging to the discontents went over to them.
The Borromei, Pusterli, Marliani, and all G-hibellines, rose
in their favour. The disaffection spread even to Buona's
Court. Whilst this confusion was at its height, Lodovico re-
turned, 3 and took upon himself the conduct of affairs. But
the attitude which he now adopted was quite unexpected.
Although supported by the Grhibellines and in good under-
standing with the Guelphs, he would neither be dependent
upon the one nor the other, nor consent to see the heads of
these families, his rivals, in power. The G-hibellines, owing
to whom the power of the Visconti had been established in
all the cities, which Corio emphatically styles " ducal," he
deprived of their weapons and of their head, his brother
Ascanio ; 4 he did not even spare those who had supported
him in his flight ; nay, he surrounded himself with Biragi,
Terzagi, and Trivulzi, who had retained their G-uelphish
proclivities through centuries, and to their party he granted
his favour and his castles. 5 Yet this was not done exclu-
sively enough to gain to his side the whole party : its most
distinguished head, John Jacob Trivulzio, was forced to
seek safety in flight. With the House of Aragon he entered
into the closest dynastic alliance. Of this house came the
wife of his nephew, in whose name he governed, More-
over, he attached the Pope Sixtus to his house by giving to
1 Corio, Istoria di Milano, p. 840.
2 Diarium Parrnense in Muratori, 22, p. 319.
3 Diarium Parmense. p. 351. Corio, p. 850. Macchiavelli, Istor.
Fiorent. viii.
4 Corio, p. 848. Diarium Parmense, p. 354. 5 Corio, 869.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 35
his nephew, G-irolaino, Catherine Sforza to wife. He pro-
cured the peace of Bagnulo for the republic of Venice, when
all Italy was against her, by which event he increased her
power and made her well disposed towards him. Upon this
league he relied : for his power had sprung up externally.
Under its protection he advanced step by step to the
supreme power within. At first, Buona's favourite merely
came into the Council of State in order to carry some point
or other, and would say, " Her Serene Highness the Duchess
will so and so." 1 On Lodovico's initiative the twelve-year-
old Duke went one day into the castle, had the drawbridge
,pulled up, and the favourite made a prisoner. " I will
fule myself," he said, " and my mother may look after her
! widowhood." 2
After this, Lodovico shared the sovereign power for a
time with Eustachio, the commander of the castle. After
tin- Venetian war, the young Duke helped his uncle, into
(Whose power he had entirely given himself, 3 to get rid
Jof him also. Having thus acquired the sovereign power,
GLodovico showed himself kind and affable towards every-
one, and perhaps the use he made of his power caused
the way in which it had been obtained to be forgotten.
He provided for the building of hospitals, the digging of
canals, the foundation of churches and monasteries, and
tin- protection of the country from robberies and famine.
In accordance with the taste of the time, he fostered art
and science. He summoned Leonardo da Vinci to Milan to
be the instructor of the young nobles, 4 and gave him a
salary. He was the first to have music publicly taught. 5
Jusou de Maino, in Alciat's opinion one of the five
first jurists of the Middle Ages, lectured in Pavia upon law
to 3,000 students. Lodovico also honoured the gram-
marians. Demetrius Chalkondylas, who saw his auditorium
in Pisa grow empty owing to Politian's more brilliant
lei -t vires, repaired with his Florentine wife and his favourite
1 Diarium Parmense in Muratori, p. 351.
* Rid.
S.-narega, Annales Genuenses, p. 523. Comines, Corio.
1 Vasari, Vita di Leonardo da Vinci, iii. 21.
1 Jagemann, Geschichte der Kunste und Wissenschaften in Italien,
iii. 650.
36 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
pupil, Johanu Reuchlin, the teacher of the teacher of Ger-
many, to his Court. 1 It cannot be said that the Prince laid
out badly the 650,000 ducats which the country gave him.
Bellizona's fetes and entertainments, in which the people
fancied to perceive the hand of the Prince himself, enlivened
his Court, as did also Gaspar Visconti, who was considered
equal to Petrarch. 2 His farm at Vigevene was a chef
d'ceuvre of rural economy. Here once had grown not even
provender enough for the cattle, and no plant would
flourish ; only wild animals made their lairs in the low
brushwood. Lodovico, who was first carried thither in the
chase, cut dykes, and thus made meadows for the cattle,
and then, by bringing manure upon it, produced tillage
land that vied with any other. 3 This done, he planted
mulberry trees in long avenues, and lastly built spacious
and cleanly stables with columns to hold 1,800 head of cattle
and 14,000 sheep, and others for the stallions and mares. 4
In this castle a son was born to him ; here woods were pre-
served for the chase and hawking. 5 The bounteousness of
peace rested on the land. Every day saw new fashions and.
amusements, jousts and balls. 6 It was of the utmost im-
portance for him, so long as his rule was tolerated, to
maintain the peace and the status quo in Italy, seeing that,
were it disturbed, his ruin might easily ensue. But the
present conditions depended, before all else, upon whether
Lorenzo de Medici, the head of the Florentines, lived on
the best of terms with the King of Naples and the ruler in
Milan, or not.
Francis Sforza, principally owing to the assistance of
Cosimo di Medici, had iw become Lord of Milan, and, to
the vexation of Venice, the Medici and Sforza had since
then been the best of friends. When, after Galeazzo's
death, the above-mentioned difference in the Sforza family
arose, Lorenzo made cause with Buona; but the Milanese
brothers and Ferrante attacked him, and succeeded so well
1 Jovius, Vitse Vivorum, D.D., p. 37. Reucblini Praefat. ad Gv.
Hebr.
2 Bouterwek, Italien, Literatur, i. 339. Koscoe, Life of Leo X., 113.
3 Carpesanus, Commentarii suorum temporum, ix. 1363.
4 Desrey on Monstrelet, 239.
5 Comines, Me'moires, p. 507. 6 Corio, last book. Beginning.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 37
that he made his resolve, went forth, came to Naples, and
entered into friendship witjj thrift. 1 kince then, the King"
was ln's nearest ally, and Lodovico his second ; in conjunc-
tion with both he fostered a very dangerous feud against
Ferrara, and eventually aided "the King in the second
Neapolitan war, which we have noticed. After it was over,
Ferrante said, "I saved him, and he has now done the
same for me." 2
Pope Innocent VIII., who had espoused the cause of the
barons and had been defeated, was at first highly dis-
satisfied with this arrangement. He even protested in his
secret garden at the palace, saying, " he did not recognize
Ferrante as king, even though he called him such." 3 He
exclaimed, " I will put him under ban. If the Italians
will not then assist me, I will cross the mountains, like the
Popes did in the days of old, and appeal to those dwelling on
the other side, and I know I shall stop their feuds and that
they will help me." 4 Lorenzo undertook to pacify him, in
which he was successful, by giving his daughter to the
Pope's son, Francheschetto Cibo, to wife. 5 Hereupon a
thorough change supervened. His old friends, Julian della
Eovera and the Colonna, fell into disfavour with Innocent,
who inclined to the Orsini, Lorenzo's relations and his old
enemies. At last the Neapolitan complications were settled,
and the King confessed that in everything he perceived
Lorenzo's faithfulness and goodness. 6 We see how it is that
Lorenzo, owing to his position, became the mediator of Italy ;
upon it was founded the subsequent greatness of his house,
for, owing to the co-operation of the three, his son John
was made abbot of Miramondo in the province of Milan, of
Cassino in the kingdom, and a cardinal of the church. 7
And thus they all lived in peace together ; all of them,
except the Pope, in usurped lordships, each menaced by his
subjects, and only careful that they did not anywhere find
1 Macchiavelli, viii. Diarium Parmense, p. 335.
2 Fabronii Vita Laurentii Medicis, ii. p. 369.
* Literae Petri Victorii, ap. Fabrouium, ii. p. 344.
Literse Philippi Pandolphini, ibid., p. 353.
s Ibid., p. 313. Letters and documents.
8 Ibid., p. 351.
7 Ibid., p. 374, and in Roscoe, Leo X., the letters in Appendix, from
p. 486 on.
38 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
assistance in any neighbour : each supporting the other.
They are neither nations nor races ; neither cities nor king-
doms ; they are the first States of the world, and their origin
is as follows.
The appellation of " State " was originally given to the
friends most nearly devoted to a single family ; and we
find Folingno dei Medici complaining that their " State "
had decreased, only numbering fifty men instead of a
hundred, and these ill provided with children. 1 The most
illustrious members of the State, who came to Lorenzo
with the deputies of the city, in order, as he says, to entrust
to his care the public duties, were not from the country
for this is called " Dominio " and has not the slightest
influence but they were the friends, the old State, without
which Lorenzo declared it difficult to live in Florence. 2
Now, as the party united with these " nearest friends," and
the party was master of the city, and the city of the land,
the name of the original unit became applied to the whole.
Nowhere did real liberty exist. Whence, then, springs the
lively impulse to perpetuate the "beautiful," through
which this people at this time became the envy of and the
model for all later peoples ; whence came the semblance,
yes, the effect of liberty ? It is the prime result of the"
antagonism of parties, ever covertly or openly existing, of"
faie vigilance of all human forces engaged in conflict, of
universal jealousy, which applies itself to art, energy,
science, and antiquity, and of the reverence in which the
savants are therefore held. Since the era of the migra-
tion of nations, Italy now for the first time stood inde-
pendent, and displayed the greatest diversity in ideal unity.
These States, though based upon violence and faction,
entertained notwithstanding the most universal relations.
Venice was built upon commerce, Florence upon indus-
trial art and manufactures, the kingdom of Naples uppi
the givat European balance of power, which had now
found a moment of rest, the duchy of Milan upon the__
trade of war as it was followed by the Condottieri, and
1 Foligno dei Medici, Notizia in Fabroni, ii, p. 7.
8 Lorenzo dei Medici, Ricordi, ibid., p. 42. A further proof is con-
tained in Varchi, storia Fiorentina, ii. p. 8 : andavano cercando clie lo
stato si ristringesse e a minore numero si riducesse.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 39
the State of the Church upon the idea of the supreme
hierarchy: The nation was at the zenith ot" its culturer
"Would if not have been possible for it to have progressed
and developed further in the same way, and so have exer-
cised in later times more influence than it had to accept of
others ?
But this retired and peculiar world was convulsed by a
great and violent movement. The sea is calm, and reflects
the sky ; then comes a storm : when it is past and gone,
the sea is the same as before. If a movement and a storm,
comes into the hearts of men, there will also return a day
of calm : but meanwhile the world has altered.
In the year 1480 Ferrante had two grand-daughters at
his Court, who, it might be, often quarrelled when playing
at his feet : Isabella, ten years of age, the child of his son
Alfonso, and Beatrice, aged seven years, his daughter
Leonora's child by her marriage with Ercole d'Este. 1 At
the beginning of his career Lodovico betrothed the elder of
these two to his nephew, John (raleazzo, who would one
day be duke, and himself to the younger. Some time
passed, and Isabella was taken to Milan : but while there
was forced to see how the uncle governed her husband like
a boy, and neither allowed him nor herself the least power ;
she endured it all the same. But the time too came for
Beatrice to go as a bride to Milan, 2 and as Lodovico was
actually prince, Beatrice and not Isabella was honoured as
princess. Here, then, we see the younger girl with every
wish in the pleasures of youth gratified, full of hopes, some-
times sitting as mistress at the games and tournaments in
Milan, and anon at Genoa whither she had come secretly
to enjoy herself so soon as discovered, the recipient of
princely honours amid the gorgeous pomp of the mer-
chants ; 3 anon driving to her father at Ferrara with her
ladies attendant, with many coaches and mules, the streets
covered with carpets and green boughs, whilst the populace
shouted her husband's name. 4 The elder, meanwhile, who
was the lawful duchess, had the pain of being fettered to
1 Diarium Parmense, p. 311. Diarium Ferrarense, p. 254.
' 2 Diarium Ferrarenae, p. 279.
3 Folieta, Historia Genuensis, lib. xi.
4 Diarium Ferrarense, p. 283.
40 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
a man, who was a mere nobody, and who even repeated to
his uncle what she confided to him, and she had little
prospect either for her own future or that of her children ;
for Lodovico now declared, that the sovereignty belonged
to him, who was born whilst his father was reigning duke,
rather than to the son of one who was born before, 1 and
entered into negotiations to procure his investiture. A
heart perceiving danger threatening its whole house and
enduring in silence, were nothing less than divine. Isabella
acted like a mortal in not tolerating this treatment ; at
first she complained in Milan, then threatened, 2 and finally
appealed for assistance to her father in Naples. 3 She
wrote, " Whilst his newly-born infant is designed to be
Count of Pavia, we and ours are ever held in contempt,
and are even in peril of our lives ; and I am like a widow,
a helpless woman. We have courage and understanding,
and the people are favourable and pitying. Hast thou,
then, the heart of a father, and love and generosity, and art
touched by tears. Save us."
" We ought to help them," said Alfonso, " even if they
were strangers to us." He consulted with his old father, and
with his grown-up son. He then called upon Lodovico to
crown his noble actions by the most noble of all, and to
retire from the government in favour of his nephew. He
received no answer. But in this silence lay the breach
of friendship and peace between them ; nay, the peace of
Italy itself. 4 Alfonso's friends said Lodovico must be
content to be "Podesta" in Milan; they wagered that he
would not exist one month longer.' But he, on his side,
thought that he possessed the means of securing his rule,
and at the same time of endangering the existence of his
enemy.
Now, Lorenzo dei Medici and Innocent VIII. at this time
died in quick succession, and Alfonso as well as Lodovico
had to cast about to gain the favour of their successors.
Lorenzo's son, Piero, was heart and soul devoted to the
Aragons, from whom, in the great hall at a splendid
1 Comines and Georgius Floras, p. 3.
2 Marcus de la Cruce to Trivulzio in Rosmini, ii. 192.
3 Literaj Isabella. Given word for word in Corio, p. 884.
4 All in Corio. 5 Cruce to Trivulzio, 191.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 41
festival, he had received his wife, Alfonsina Orsina. 1 But
the successor of Pope Innocent was of entirely opposite
feelings.
Amidst the universal corruption, it was a universal
calamity, and discreditable to the whole human race, that,
in the retired cells of the Conclave assembled to elect a
Pope, amid high and holy ceremonies, and among men
who had no further wants, and no one to provide for, it
was not the weal of Christendom, so sorely in need, that
determined the election, nor that of a nation no, nor
even genuine affections and emotions. The highest dignity
in the Church was regarded as the inheritance of all car-
dinals ; given, because alas ! it was indivisible, to the one
who promised the others most. Brother Albus of Venice,
ninety -five years of age, who could scarcely talk any
longer, and always nodded his head, still took 5,000 ducats. 2
He received them from Roderick Borgia (Borja) of Xativa
in Valencia, and the others took like presents. The re-
venues he received from three cathedrals and several
monasteries, whose head he was ; the income derived from
the vice-chancellorship that he held, as well as numerous
alliances with foreign princes, furnished him with the
means of making these bribes. 3 Ascanio Sf orza and Julian ,
^della Eovera still resisted him ; but the former gave up
^nis opposition when .Borgia sent him four mules laden
with silver into his house, and promised him the vice-
chancellorship. The latter would not receive anything,
kept complaining that the Italians were excluded, only at
last to give in himself. 4 Calamity was expected to result
from the election. Sinibald de Sinibaldis died of grief
occasioned by it. It is said that a tear was seen in the eye
of the old Fen-ante, whose rule, established by so many
misdeeds, was threatened with utter ruin by this election. 5
1 Oricellarius in Fabroni, ii. 316. a Infessura, Diarium, p. 2007.
3 Jacob Volaterranus, Rom. Diarium, p. 130.
4 Infessura, p. 3008, and Corio.
5 Infessura, 3009. Zurita, i. 15. In the Codice Aragonese of
Trinchera this tradition is referred to Guicciardini, and denied, with-
out mention being made of the reliable authors. The account which
follows, however, records the hostile relations between the new Pope
and the King of Naples, which immediately showed themselves. ;< Sap-
piate," it runs in a letter of the King, of 7 June, 1493. addressed to
42 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
The great Popes of early days provided, after their lights,
for the Church; the later ones had nephews to provide
for ; and in these days even sons Borgia, who called him-
self Alexander IV., had three of them, Juan and Joffred of
the secular, and Cesar of the clerical profession, as well as
one married daughter, Lucrezia. 1 Men said, " This man,
who when Cardinal, made his son Duke of G-andia, what
will he do now he is Pope ? " The Sforza gained him over
to them by giving John Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, to his
daughter for a husband ; he dissolved the marriage with
her former husband, whom he satisfied with money. In
the presence of one hundred and fifty Roman ladies, whom
these clerics in frivolous play pelted with sweetmeats served
up in more than a hundred silver dishes, the new betrothal
was celebrated. 2 Hereupon the Pope nominated three
Cardinals in the interest of the Sforza. 3 After that, he
endeavoured to separate King Wladislaw of Hungary from
Ferrante's daughter, in order that he might wed a Sforza ;
and, as Lodovico was allied with all his relations at Fer-
rara, Mantua, Forli, Pesaro, and Bologna, and had even
gained over Venice, 4 and despatched his envoys and his
letter to Charles VIII., Alexander entered into a league
with him. Their plan was to put an army into the field
under a joint commander. The Pope approved Lodovico' s
proposals that he should invest Charles, 5 and thereupon
invited him to come. 6
Antonio d'Alessandro (Cod. ii. 2, 43), " che '1 pontifice succedendo in
pontificate, con la majore pace in tutta Italia : et con lo majore reposo
che mai altro pontifice : stando tutti li potentati in summa amicitia :
ipso pontifice non guardando al ben publico, ma sequendo el suo
naturale." (Cf. Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom., vol. vii. p. 329.)
The accounts given in the Codice are of great moment for the epoch
1493-1494 ; yet they go so deeply into the details of the intricate and
vacillating policy of those times, that their contents can on no account
be inserted in this place ; the general view here given will not be affected
by this.
1 Vannozza de Cattanei was the mother of Cesar, Juan, Joffred, and
Lucrezia. Her monument stands in Santa Maria del popolo. Petro
Luis, Duke of Gandia, was born of another alliance. Cf. Reumont,
Gesch. von Rom. iii. 2, p. 838.
2 Infessura, 2010, 2011.
3 Senarega, Annales Genuens. in Muratori, 24, p. 534.
4 Alegretto, Alegretti, Diarj sanesi, p. 827.
5 Zurita, i. 26. 6 Infessura, Diarium, p. 1016.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 43
That the adherents of the Aragon dynasty did not de-
spair in the face of such dangers, was owing to their reliance
upon the tried shrewdness of their old king, Ferrante.
But he now appeared to have lost all the elasticity of life.
He cared neither for the chase nor for games, and would
even scarcely take food. No one could please him in ren-
dering the small services of everyday life. 1 He was bowed
down by the weight of years and the dread of this third
war, by far the most dangerous of all, as the King of France
was taking part in it ; and he was moreover harassed by
his barons. It was said that an ancient work had been
found in Tarento, addressed to the King alone and his most
intimate adherents. The people believed that therein was
prophesied the destruction of Ferrante' s race and dynasty. 2
Yet he did not abandon the cause as lost. He thought of
paying tribute to Charles as his vassal, but his envoys re-
turned with the presents he had sent. He next thought of
securing Alfonso by a Spanish marriage, but King Ferdi-
nand evaded it. His sole safety he now saw in going to
Milan, and taking Isabella back home with him. But grief
and fear, as well as the recollection of what he had done,
broke his heart. At great festivals he was heard to give
vent to frequent and deep sighs ; in the midst of a conver-
sation he would utter meaningless words, which, however,
had reference to his danger. 3 In this state he died, two
days after his return to the city, on the 25th January, 1494.
When Alfonso mounted at once his black steed, and,
riding through the streets with a bold air, received the
ovations of the people, there were still some who hoped.
But the tradition goes that many were obliged to join in
the acclamations under the point of drawn swords ; and
meanwhile the old Queen sat with her daughter Johanna
in a dark room. They lamented : " Wisdom is dead, and
light is extinguished. In what plight has he left us
behind, and to whom ? All power is gone : the realm is
helpless and lost ! " Alfonso came to them, and said : " I
shall uphold the kingdom as well as did my father." But
1 Caracciolus, de varietate fortunte, p. 72.
2 Giacomo, Cronica di Napoli, p. 173.
3 Senarega, Annales Genuenses, p. 538, and Caracciolus, de varietate
fbrtUTKl'.
44 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
they were afraid of his cruelty, and only implored him to
spare the people. 1
Alfonso's first care was to gain over the Pope Alexander,
in which endeavour he was in so far supported by the
King of Spain, as that he married Enrique Enriquez, his
uncle's daughter, to Juan Borgia. 2 Alfonso promised the
latter an estate of 12,000, the younger son Joft'red one of
10,000 ducats, in addition to his daughter Sancia ; so that
the Borgia were thus received into relationship with the
genuine as well as with the spurious House of Aragon. For
the sake of these great advantages, Alexander forgot his
former engagements, did not heed the protestations of the
Consistorium, and sided with Alfonso; 3 an alliance that first
caused alarm to the Cardinal Julian. On a former occa-
sion, he had once invited the Pope to Magliano. The Pope
came ; but on hearing a chance shot fired, he feared it
was a signal meant for him, and returned without tasting
food. 4 Since then Julian had banded himself with the
discontents in Ostia.
Now, when the Orsini were also reconciled with the Pope,
he sailed with two " caravellas " through the pirate ships
of Villamarmo across to France, came into his legation at
Avignon, and leagued himself with Charles. 3 Immediately
hereupon, the Colonna, under their own standards, as well
as those of Eovere and France, occupied Ostia, closed the
Tiber, cared not that their houses were destroyed, and
awaited the coming of the King. 6
Alfonso was crowned on the 8th May. His coro-
nation apparel was valued at more than a million and a
half of ducats ; yet, amidst all the pomp and splendour, he
looked sad and brooding. 7 On this very day he heard cer-
tain tidings of the approaching French expedition. His
silver shield could not gladden his heart, for he needed an
iron one. Yet he did not think of awaiting the attack, as
1 Zurita and Passero, Giornale, p. 57.
2 Zurita, i. 29, 34.
3 Diarium Burcardi in Eccardus, 2036, 2040.
4 Infessura, 2010.
5 Senarega, Annales, p. 539. Zurita, 34. Infessura, 2016.
6 Burcardtis, p. 2048.
7 Fassero, 61. Caracciolus de varietate fortunse, 43. Diurnale di
Giacomo Gallo, 7.
CH. I.] THE SITUATION IN ITALY. 45
his father had advised. " Shall I hide," he said, " like a
stag in the wood?" After he had got in the presents
made him at his coronation, a whole year's income from
landowners, and his tithes ; and after the foals from his
studs had been trained for military service, and his ships
equipped with the latest inventions in bombs, he had an
interview with Alexander at Vicovaro. In accord with the
latter, he resolved to attack Lodovico on two sides l with
his fleet in G-enoa, and by land in his own country of
Milan. In view of the operations against Genoa, two
exiles, Cardinal Fregoso and Obietto Fiesco, offered their
services. They had been expelled in order that the city
might obey Lodovico, and they now placed their hopes
in the King of France. 2 He hoped to effect an entrance
into Milan through the instrumentality of the Papal
vassals, who were pledged to obey their suzerain ; the
upper hand he hoped to gain through the Guelphs, whose
head, Trivulzio, marched with him ; whilst the complete
victory should be his through the devotion of the people to
their own prince, John Galeazzo. In August, 1494, thirty-
eight squadrons of horse started from the Abruzzi moun-
tains ; they were to take their way through the Romagna,
in order to set free the young Duke of Milan. 3 Infantry
they had none ; but they had sergeants with them to recruit
them. The land army was led by Ferrantino, the son of
Alfonso ; whilst the fleet, which put to sea at the same
time, was commanded by Federigo, Alfonso's brother. Thus
did the war in Italy break out.
Lodovico did not await the coming of his enemies with-
out French help ; he was to be aided against the landing
troops, which the Neapolitan fleet had on board, by Duke
Louis of Orleans, who had come to Genoa with a few com-
panies of Swiss.
At last the beacon-fires flashed from cape to cape ; the
enemy was approaching. The Aragons then effected a
landing on the Eiviera, and occupied Rapallo 4 with their
1 Benedict! Diarinm. Corio, 919. Oricellarius, de bello Italico,
p. 10.
2 Senarega, Annales, 520, Folieta, 263.
' Emilia Pia to Gibert Pio, in Rosmini, 202.
4 Georgius Florus, de bello Italico 7. St. Gelais, Louis XII., p. 82.
46 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
troops. But what availed these troops, which were neither
picked nor disciplined to-day recruited, and to-morrow
disorganized troops whose highest aim it was to scurry
about and shout the name of their lord l who had hired
them ; what availed they against the Swiss battle array ?
They could not hold their position ; Aubigny and one of the
Sanseverin from the borders of Ferrara offered resistance
to the troops advancing by land. Ferrantino, at all events,
was warded off.
3. Charles VIII. in Italy.
Whilst the Italian League, as now constituted, was
attacking Genoa and Milan by land and sea, King Charles
was ordering processions to be held, and prayers offered
up in all churches, in celebration of his victory over the
Saracens. 2 After the old custom of French kings, he had
the corpses of St. Denis and his companions brought up
into the church from the vaults. 3 On the 29th of August,
1494, he attended mass at Grenoble, took leave of the
Queen, and started for Italy. He had arranged who, in his
absence, should govern the kingdom, and who rule each
duchy. He had borrowed 100,000 ducats from the house
of Sauli in Genoa ; 4 the chamberlains had arranged his
journey, and so, with high expectations, he proceeded from
Brian9on across Mont Genevre, down the valley of Cesamie,
and through the valleys of the Waldenses to Turin ; mules
brought up the baggage in the rear. At the gates of Turin
they were received by Blanca, the lady of Savoy, seated on
her palfrey, and by the young Duke, still a child, but who
had been taught to express himself in graceful language ;
for close relationship and frequent appeals for their deci-
sion in disputes touching wardships, had procured for the
French kings the reputation of real suzerains in Piedmont.
To the music of clarions and trumpets, the cavalcade
passed through the streets, where Charlemagne's wondrous
1 Nardi, Vita di Tebalducci.
2 Baudequin MS. in Foncemagne, Memoiren der Acad. 17, p. 572.
3 Desrey on Mostrelet, p. 228.
4 Desrey, 214, 215. 5 Georgius Florus, 6.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 47
exploits were represented in devices. 1 The Princess gave
her ornaments in pledge for a small loan. Philip de Bresse,
the uncle of the Duke, joined the expedition ; with a light
heart they marched upon Asti, on the borders of Milan. 2
Here Lodovico met the King. " In Italy," said he, " we
have three great powers. One you have on your side,
Milan ; another sits quiet, Venice. How should Naples
single-handed oppose him, whose forefathers have con-
quered us all together ? Only follow me, and I will make
you greater than Charlemagne was. We wilL drive these
Turks out of Constantinople ere we nnisn~7' :
Uei'ore ever ihey had come up wiih the enemy, Lodo-
vico took complete possession of Milan. John Galeazzo
was sick unto death ; but Lodovico had received the in- .
vestiture with the dukedom from the King of Rome, 4 who x
had a few months previously wedded his niece. Now if
Galeazzo were to die whilst the French army was in the
country, who should then stand in his way ? In Pavia
Charles saw the sick man, whose mother had been the
sister of his own, and who apologized even then for not
having come to meet him, for he was too ill ; but he offered
him himself and his children. 5 A Pavian physician, who
accompanied the King, assured Eucellai that it was evident
he had been poisoned. However, Charles bade him be of
good heart, took his chain from his neck and hung it on
him. He had scarcely reached Piacenza, when he heard of
the young man's death. 7 Sympathy with the innocent
victim was universal, as was the horror felt of him who
was considered to be the murderer. Whilst the King in-
vited the citizens to the funeral and gave presents to the
poor, Lodovico hurried to Milan, assembled the Council of
1 Philiberti Pignoni Chronicon August?? Taurinorum, p. 41.
' 2 Comines and Desry, 2, 6. On the 1st September Charles arrived
at Brian9on, on the 5th at Turin, and on the 9th at Asti.
:1 Comines, p. 444.
4 Documents in Corio, 900, 912, 935.
5 Georgius Florus de expeditione Caroli, p. 9 (note in 3rd edition).
Marino Sanuto, La Spedizione di Carolo ottavo in Italia, pubblicata per
cura di Rinaldo Fulin. p. 671. Charles started from Asti on the 7th of
October, and arrived in Pavia on the 14th.
' ( )ricellarius, de bello Italico, p. 33.
7 Desry, 218. On October 18 Charles arrived at Piacenza: and on
the 21st John Galeazzo died.
48 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
State, and proposed the son of the deceased as his suc-
cessor. 1 " We need a man, and not a child," the Treasurer
Marliano replied. All the members were of one opinion,
that Lodovico must be their duke ; they handed him the
sceptre, a garment of gold stuff was brought and put on him ;
he then rode, accompanied by the notables of the city, to
St. Ambrosio, and was there proclaimed duke by popular
acclamation. 2 If Isabella had felt that her letter had
caused her father a most perilous war, and her husband
his death, what must her feelings have been now, when she
heard that Lodovico was duke, and her children were with-
out hope and robbed ! The first she had endured, but this
crushed her to the earth. 3
The King stood on the borders of the Florentine and
Roman territory. In Piacenza two Medicis came to him,
Piero's cousins of the younger branch, yet more generous,
more affable, more endeared to the people, and not less
rich than him, but exiles, because, when at play with
Piero, they had quarrelled with him and evinced French
sentiments. 4 They told the King he need only advance
into Tuscany, for he had friends in Florence. Among the
old adherents of the Medici, there were many who were
discontented with Piero. His father had once written to
him, " Though thou art my son, thou art all the same
no more than a citizen of Florence, like myself." 5 But
the son of an Orsina, whose brother was Cardinal, whose
father had been the mediator of Italy, and who felt him-
self even superior to the latter in point of physical strength ,
handsomeness, and graceful deportment, and, it might be,
his superior in classical education for he expounded
Virgil to his brother, and could improvise cleverly 6 -
might easily forget this warning. Like many others did,
he forgot, over external show, what was really deserving
of praise. He had no liking for agriculture and commerce,
as his father had, but only taste for hunting, hawking,
Florus Navagero in Muratori, 23, 201.
Corio, p. 936 ; Lodovico to Aubigny in Rosmini, Trivulzio, iL
206.
Petrus Martyr; Epistol. xi. 193.
Corio and Comines.
Literae Laurentii in Fabroni, Vita, p. 264.
Literse Petri in Fabr., Vita Laur., p. 298.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 49
and Tuscan games with hand and foot, brilliant cavalcades by
day, and nightly carouses. 1 He had a portrait taken of him-
self in a coat of mail. 2 In civic business, on the other hand,
he approved what his counsellor, Bibbiena, proposed. It was
not until Charles had crossed the high mountains and had
arrived at Pontremoli, that Piero perceived how little the
Florentines were inclined to support him against the King.
" I never dreamt I should come into these straits," he
wrote ; " never have I mistrusted such great friends of this
city, but I am forsaken by all, and have neither money, credit,
nor repute, so as to be able to sustain the war." 3 This he
wrote when already on the road to Pisa to meet Charles,
to deliver himself unconditionally into his hands. 4 Only
with the King's help was it possible for him to maintain
himself in the city. 5 The course he pursued was not so ill-
advised as has been asserted, 6 that of granting the King all
1 Nardi, Istorie Florentine, p. 9.
2 Jovii Elogia virorum illustrium, p. 187.
3 His letter to Bibbiena in Fabroni, Leo X., p. 262.
4 Second letter in same work. On 23rd October Charles left Piacenza,
and arrived on the 29th at Pontremoli. On the 26th Piero started from
Florence.
5 Georgius Florus, p. 9. Nerli Commentarj, p. 61.
6 In modern writings there has been attributed to Piero, una stoltezzu
veramente incredibile (Villari, storia di Girolamo Savonarola). We
must not forthwith presuppose such a quality in a Florentine, a
Mediccan. All was antagonism of parties, more or less false calcula-
tion, and agitation of the moment. Extremely worthy of note are
letters of the time of the crisis given in the collection of Desjardins,
Ne"gociations diplomatiques de la France avec la Toscane. We can per-
ceive that Piero was at variance with his State in Florence, in consequence
of his alliance with Alfonso, and his general attitude. For the Floren-
tines were at heart well inclined towards France ; they perceived the
danger that threatened them from France with all the greater ill-hum* mr
as it was not the policy of the Commonwealth, but merely a per-
sonal one of the head of their republic, that implicated them in it.
Florence itself could not be defended against the superior forces of th.-
French that threatened it from the sea side. Coerced by Ins opnonents
within, and menaced from without, Piero resolved to .se k in person the
favour of the King of France. He did this not without anxiety on hi
own account, and before setting out implored his fellow ,
provide for his family, in case any disaster befell him. Hut us he we?>
to the French camp in the double capacity of head of the Republic, a-t
its envoy, his opponents in the city bestirred thems. ,|,|, ,j n tid
an embassage, which should either in conjunction with 1 tn*ed
him, enter into negotiations with Charles VIII. They were also re)ut
50 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
he wished, the fortresses of Sarzana, Sarzanella, Pietra-
santa, Pisa, and Livorno, which command the mountain-
road and the coast from the Magra to the mouth of the
Arno. 1 He meant by this means to estrange him from his
friends, and to gain him for himself. But he was far from
being sure of this when he learnt that his action was
condemned at home. He hurried back to Florence. In
order to assert the sovereign power, he massed his troops
under Pagolo Orsino, and proceeded it was on the 9th of
November, 1494, a Sunday evening with an armed re-
tinue to the palace. The assembled Signori were not in
accord. One of them, of the name of Lorini, ushered in
Piero, and refused to give up the key to the bell, with
which the others intended to call together the people.
But the latter had the upper hand. A Nerli and a Gualte-
rotti, both sprung of families formerly Medicean to the
core, stepped towards Piero, as he entered, exclaiming,
" Alone and unarmed, otherwise he does not enter here."
Others opened the bell-tower. 2 With Piero had returned
one Francis Valori, hitherto envoy to King Charles, and
convinced that he would not support Piero Medici. 3 This
to meet the French demands. Meanwhile, it had not cost Piero much
difficulty to open negotiations with the French. He was really of
opinion that he was doing his old ally, Alfonso, the best service, by
throwing himself entirely into the arms of France. ' He did not hesitate
tci deliver into their hands the fortresses which the French coveted,
utitil their business with Naples was settled. He at once issued orders
to 1 Pisa and Florence to receive the King of France in a manner worthy
of \his dignity and the old connection with him. The new envoys had
not received any orders that were exactly contradictory ; they only laid
stress upon the authority of the Republic as such. Every minute the
opp osition to Piero in the city itself waxed stronger. He considered it
wis&r to return to Florence, in order to keep master of the city. But
he Was not quite assured of the protection of France ; in the French
camp it was, on the other hand, perfectly well known that he and not
the Signoria, was the real enemy of France. One of the civic envoys,
Valoiri, came back from the King, convinced that he would leave the
internal affairs of the Republic to its own management. Thus it came
bout that Piero, whilst thinking to gain possession of the palace, met
&ith opposition, and the population rose up against him. The moment
^of the greatest importance ; it was really decisive for the later times
is Tu.scany.
of Comines, 449. 2 Nerli, i. i. Nardi, p. 13.
T he alleged bulletins of Charles VIII. 's army (Pilorgerie, Campagne
ull itins de la grande armee d'ltalie commandee par Charles VIII.),
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 51
man mounted his horse, summoned the people to liberty,
and increased their confidence.
Hieronymus Savonarola had for the last four years
preached to the same people : "A king will come across
the hills, a great king, sent of God to punish the evil, and
to regenerate the Church." l This king seemed now to
have come. As Piero went across the square, he saw
stones flying about him, and the people at the sound of
the bell running together towards the palace, and disarm-
ing his myrmidons. He saw these weapons of slavery,
the few that had escaped his control, brandished for the
emancipation from his own yoke. 2 Giovanni, his brother,
shouted in the street, "Palle!" (Their watchword was
Bullets.) They endeavoured to rouse their partisans in the
suburb of St. Gallo ; but no one stirred, and Pagolo's
troops were afraid. Thus the Medici, Lorenzo's sons,
left Florence without saving anything; their treasures,
their jewels, those cups of sardonyx, the most precious
antiquities, the 3,000 medallions, the manuscripts and
books, which it was their pride to show strangers, 3 the
gardens, in which the Torrigiani and Michel Angelos were
brought up, all were left to the people to pillage. They
yielded up the power which their fathers had possessed
for sixty years and fled, for they durst not turn their steps
to Charles, but they crossed the Apennines to Bologna.
The advent of him, in whom the prophets foretold a
Saviour, and whom people loved to address as " Holy
Crown," set also Pisa free on the same Sunday. How that
can if about is not without uncertainty. One historian
relates much about Simon Orlando, who exercised great
influence upon both people and prince. 4 On the way back
from mass, or on the way thither, it is recorded how
the people of Pisa, young and old, prostrated themselves
before the King, complained to him of the great oppression
are worthy ot* note, in so far as they explain the political negotiations
that accompanied the expedition of the King, and his intentions : they
are, however, of little value for the internal Italian movements.
1 From Savonarola's discourses in Fabroni, Vita Leonis X.
2 Nardi, Nerli, Guicciardini.
3 Comines, p. 451, 455. Vasari, Vita di Torrigiano, v. d. P. iii.
p. 136.
1 Jovius, Historian sui temporis, fol. 19.
52 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
which they had suffered for the last eighty- seven years at
the hands of the Florentines, 1 and said that they wished to
be free and under his rule. Hereupon the monarch, who
had a tender heart and hated all unfairness, at once threw
an inquiring glance at one of his counsellors, who accom-
panied him, his master of petitions, Jean Rabot, and when
the latter had judged that they were right, and when all
his knights showed their sympathy, he nodded to them and
promised to maintain them in good freedom. Hereupon
the people, shouting " Franza ! " " Liberta ! " and " Joy ! "
threw the Florentine lion into the Arno, and expelled the
Florentine commander. 2 They add, that two strangers
had a share in this ; a Milanese, because of certain preten-
sions of the Sforza, called Galeazzo Sanseverino, and a
Sienese for the sake of the Tuscan liberty, named Bartholo-
mew Sozzini, a teacher of law at Pisa, and who had for a
long time been a prisoner in Florence. 3
So much for the story told by the Florentines and
French. Since the day of its enslavement there have never
been any Year-books in Pisa. 4 Charles intended to wrest
this city from Piero ; but as yet he could not know how
the latter stood with the Florentines.
Those against whom he now advanced were partly his
enemies, for their head had waged war against him, and
partly his friends, in that they had expelled this their head.
Upon the hills before Signa, with the unprotected plain of
the city before him, negotiations were opened. Since
Lucca, that was in nowise under an obligation to him, 4
had received him with offerings in its best palace, he
now demanded the same of Florence, viz., perfect confi-
dence and unconditional surrender to his good- will. 5 The
Florentines appeared ready to accede to his terms, and
brought him (on the 17th of November) the keys of the
gates. Youths in French garments bore a Baldachin over
his head and conducted him, all in arms, just as he was,
past the mystery of the Annunciation to their cathedral,
1 Desry, p. 219. Nardi, 12. 2 Comines, 452. Ferronus, p. 10.
3 Alegretto Alegretti, p. 836.
4 Sismondi, note to p. 1406.
5 Chronicon Venetum in Murat, 24, p. 8.
6 Negotiations in Ovicellarius, de bello Italico.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 53
and to the houses of the Medici. 1 But the subsequent nego-
tiations did not proceed so smoothly. Can it be true, as
is said, that Piero Capponi seriously challenged the French
inside the city to fight a battle that his party had not
dared to accept outside ? Certain it is, at any rate, that the
citizens and the French did not agree well together, 2 that
the King feared treachery, and the town pillage. ' At last
an understanding was arrived at. The principal point of
dispute concerned the House of Medici, which the King
wished to have restored. However, he only so far attained
his point, that the most rigorous edicts that had been
launched against the Medici, their lives, and their house,
were withdrawn. All else was left for the future. Pisa,
Livorno, and the fortresses ceded by Piero were to remain
in French hands until the conclusion of the expedition
against Naples. The French reserved to themselves a great
influence,' in respect of both policy and arms. After this
had been ratified, the bells were rung, and " feux de
joie " were kindled in the streets and squares. The king
caused messages of peace, favourable to the renewal of
liberty, to be affixed to the walls ; and then prepared to
continue his expedition to Rome and Naples. 5 Savona-
rola came and warned him to lose no time ; G-od had sent
him, of this he was assured, but he conjured him not to
allow the insolence of his soldiery to bring to nought the
accomplishment of his object. 6 Charles VIII. issued a
1 Desry, 219. Nardi, 15.
a Macchiavelli, Decennale. Oricellarius.
3 Macchiavelli, Clizia Commedia. Alto i. Sc. i.
4 A very vivid picture of the mistrust existing between the French
and the Florentines may be found in the Diario Fiorentino dal 1450 al
1516, by Luca Landucci, edited in the year 1883 by Jodoco del Badia.
Therein we read under date of the 24th October (p. 85) : Che ognuno
attese a riempiere le case di pane e d' arme e di scessi e aftbr/arsi in casa
(juanto era possibile, con propositi e animi ognuno volere morire lo
1 arme in mano e ammazzare ognuno, se bisognassi, al modo del Vespro
Siciliano. (Note to 3rd Edition.)
5 Petrus Parenting, Daybook in Fabroni, Leo 263 (note to 2nd ed.).
LYsjardins, Negociations, i. p. 601. The text of the treaty has been pub-
lished by Gino Capponi in the Archivio Storico Italiano, Ser. i. vol. i.
pp. 362-375.
6 Petri Criniti Carmen, cum Carolus ad urbem tenderet, in Roscoe,
Life of Leo, i. Appendix, 510. 8 Nardi.
54 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
kind of manifesto, to the effect that he had left his wife,
his Dauphin and only son, and his realm ; that he was
not come to injure anyone, but to take Naples, that had
been assured both to his forefathers and to himself by
twenty-four investitures of Roman Popes and holy coun-
cils, and whose harbours and seaboard afforded him the
best base of operations for attacking the Infidels. He
demanded a free passage, otherwise he would proceed by
force.
Florence having been metamorphosed by his advent, he
next advanced against his second foe. 1 Pope Alexander
was thrown more into perplexity than into fear. He said
to Rudolph of Anhalt, who was at that time in Rome:
" This King will demand the name of emperor, as he
does the sovereign power. But assure Maximilian that I
would rather have a sword at my throat than agree to it." '"
Ferrantino was advancing on the one side towards Rome ;
he had been long since forsaken by the Florentines, and
then by the princes Urbino and Pesaro, 3 and by Catharina
Sforza also, now that he had showed himself incapable of
resisting Aubigny. The people declared they did not
desire war with the French ; 4 they even showed themselves
hostile to him and barred his way. Without divesting
himself of his armour, 5 he took the Roman road through
the Romagna. The Pope seriously believed that, with the
assistance of the Neapolitans, he would be able to with-
stand the King of France advancing from Tuscany. 6 He
did not listen to the assurances of the Sforza and their
adherents. Charles VIII. entered Siena through g air-
landed gates ; 7 he there proclaimed his ban against those
that had been expelled, and left some soldiers behind him.
In Casciano he received the youth of Pisa, who brought
him an offering of roes, hares, and all other fruits of the
chase. 8 Thus did Charles VUI. arrive within the territory
1 Charles left Florence on the 28th November.
2 Burcardus, Diarium, p. 2050.
3 Balir Guidobaldo, p. 135.
4 Passero, Giornale, p. 63. 5 Zurita, f. 52.
6 Burcardus 2053, and Zurita, p. 50.
7 Desry, 218 (note to 3rd ed.). Sanuto, Spedizione di Carolo, viii.
p. 144.
8 Alegretto Alegretti. 835-837.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 55
of the Church. 1 The Cardinal Perrault persuaded the in-
habitants of Montefiascone to receive the King peacefully ;
for so had been the old and real promise of the Pope. As
early as the 10th December he was praying before the
relics of St. Rosa in Viterbo ; 2 and there even an Orsino,
whose family was closely allied with Piero and Alfonso,
surrendered to him all his castles and supplies. On all
sides, even on the Tiber, the enemy appeared ; Comines
narrates that it was an undoubted fact, that a portion of
the city wall had fallen. 3 Ferrantino, on hearing of the
King's superior force, quitted Rome. Then the Pope sent
his master of the ceremonies, to escort the King into the
city. 4 On the 31st December, 1494, he made his entrance
by torchlight through illuminated streets, received by the
ovations of the people. 5 It could not be Charles' intention
to bring about a reformation of the Church by force, or
to seize the imperial power ; purposing, as he did, to attack
the enemies of Christianity, he dared not stir up the whole
of Christendom against himself. 6 But if he had Caesar,
Alexander's son, as a hostage in his train, he was assured
of the Pope. If he occupied Terracina and Civita Vecchia,
the chief harbours from the French to the Neapolitan coast
would be in his hand.
There was at this time in Alexander's keeping a certain
Zjemi, the brother of Bajazeth, who had fled from the
latter to the Christians, but yet had many adherents
among the Turks ; a man of resolute principles, who would
only kiss the Pope's arm, and not his feet. Charles, by
taking this man with him, considered himself as good as
1 Burcardus, Diarium, 2051.
2 Desry, fol. 220. On the 22nd December Charles started from
Viterbo.
3 Comines, 462 (note of 3rd Ed.). That is also narrated by Sanuto,
a.a. O., p. 163.
4 Burcardus on the 31st December.
5 Tremouille's Memoirs, 147, 148.
6 By a letter of the Archbishop of St. Malo to Queen Anne, we
definitely learn that the deposition of the Pope Alexander, and a
thorough ecclesiastical reform was talked of. " Si nostre roy eust voulu
obtemp^rer a la plupart des Messeigneurs les Cardinaulx ilz eussent fait
ung autre pappe en intention de refformer 1'eglise ainsi qu'ilz disaient.
Le roy desire bien la reformation, mais ne veult point entreprandre de
sadepposicion. Vide Filorgerie, 1.1. p. 135. N.B. Note to new edition.
56 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. JJBK. I.
assured of success against the Turks. 1 Having obtained
these advantages, which were moderate, though important,
he said, standing on the steps of the papal throne, " Holy
Father, I have come to make my obeisance, as my fore-
fathers did." 2 He was present at the ceremony of the
universal Indulgence, received the blessing, and quitted
Kome on the 28th of January, 1495. 3
Now only Alfonso was left to deal with. Whilst in
Borne he had entered into negotiations with the King
through the Pope. He had offered him large sums of
money ; a million ducats down and 100,000 ducats annually
as a kind of tribute. The Venetian Eepublic and the King
of Spain were to guarantee the payment. But, certain of
his hereditary right, and filled with his plans against the
Turks, Charles VIII. rejected all his overtures. 4 Even then
Alfonso did not abandon all hope. Charles would not, he
conceived, be able to advance upon Naples before the
spring ; meanwhile he would fortify his frontiers, and
succour would arrive. 5 He expected such aid from the
King of Spain, who, on a proposal being made him for his
youngest daughter for Ferrantino, had shown himself in-
clined to accede to the request. He had offered, through
Earn Escriva, 500 lancers, and even a large army under a
grandee, under certain conditions. It was known of Baja-
zeth, against whom the French expedition was so publicly
proclaimed, that he was fitting out a great number of gal-
leys for sea in Constantinople, and had others on the stocks,
and further that the Natolian army had received orders to
cross the strait by the first of March, and the Greek fleet
orders to get ready without delay. 6 His envoy accompanied
Alfonso from the army to the capital. 7
But this winter was just like spring ; no rain fell, and
even in Lombardy there was no snow ; the French expedi-
tion met with not the slightest inconvenience. 8 Nowhere
1 Infessura, 2060. Alexander to Maximilian in Datt, Wormser
Acten, p. 852.
2 Desry, 220. 3 Burcardus, 2064.
4 Letter of the Archbishop of St. Malo to Queen Anne in Pilorgerie,
p. 138 (note to new edition).
5 Zurita, f. 49, f. 50.
6 Chronicon Venetum, p. 11.
7 Passero, p. 63. * Diarium Ferrarense, p. 290.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 57
did it meet with resistance ; Aquila surrendered as soon
as the French showed themselves. The Neapolitans began
to inquire of one another whence all this success came.
Many said, " It is a secret of God ; " others, " Their Latin
and Greek made them cowards." '
Alfonso himself was at length startled at the universal
despondency. And as, in addition, the people rose up in
tumult the reason whereof was not known and it was
only Ferrantino's presence that calmed them, 2 Alfonso
perceived that he could not stand his ground, and remem-
bered the prophecies which had been foretold of him. He
hid himself for three whole days ; the consciousness of his
wickedness paralyzed his energies. But when the people
again rose with the cry, " The King must be dead, for who
has seen him alive? " and he saw that all was lost as regards
himself, feeling that he was loathed and hated with just
cause, but that his son, innocent, uncontaminated, young,
and brave, the darling of the people, would assert himself,
Alfonso renounced the realm. 3 They all wept when Jovian
Pontan drew up the document. 4 Alfonso bade his son
mount a horse and ride through the city in company with
his uncle Federigo. Even then, the horror did not leave
him ; the spectres of his innocent victims visited him by
night ; upon his conscience lay the warning of his father,
after whose death, people believed all was going to de-
struction : " crime entices thee as with an alluring face,
before thou hast committed it ; afterwards, when it is
done and a calamity has happened, it still retains its fea-
tures ; but they are now a hideous picture ; for hairs it has
snakes ; it is a veritable Medusa's head." " We will
away from here," said Alfonso to his stepmother, and when
sjie desired to wait a little longer, exclaimed, " I will throw
myself from the window. Dost thou not hear how they
all shout the name of the French ? " He tarried no longer,
but fled to Mazzara into a monastery of the Olivetans. 5
1 Romoneine, Tesoro politico, in Vecchione, p. 107.
2 Passero, 64.
3 Passero (note to new edition). Gallo, 8. Cronica di Napoli di
Notar Giacomo, 185.
4 Bembus, 32, 33.
5 Comines, 462-467. Tranchedin to Lodovico in Rosraini, 207.
58 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
With the intention not to yield, Ferrantino meanwhile
joined his army at the pass of St. Gennano. With the
same intent, Alfonso Davalos held in front of him the rock
of St. John, which was considered unsurmountable. 1 If they
could only hold out for a while on the frontier, the people
might be gained over, they thought, and succour arrive.
But they could not hold their ground. One day, after the
midday meal, Charles arrived from Banco before St. John
and ordered it to be stormed. He did not require to repeat
his order, for one and all were determined to gain honour
in his eyes. 2 On renewing their onslaught for the third
time for they met with staunch opposition they gained
the rock, and spared no one ; they showed great cruelty.
But Charles was at Garigliano. 3 The rapidity and fury of
this conquest inspired terror into Ferrantino' s friends and
roused the courage of his enemies.
The citizens of St. Germane were no more for resistance.
At Teano one night Messere Eenaudo came to Ferrantino :
" Sire," he cried, " away hence, else you are delivered over
to the enemy by your own camp." 4 No hope remained, save
in the citizens of Capua and Neapolis. On the 16th of
February, Ferrantino felt himself sure of the Capuans ;
he thereupon hurried to the Neapolitans to gain these also
over ; he called a gathering of them in St. Chiara. " Ye
Sirs, my fathers and brethren," he said, "do ye know me?
Among you I grew up and was reared. Now that all for-
sakes me, and I have no one I can trust, will ye also forsake
me ? Yet not now ! Only not for fourteen days. If I have
then received no help, do as ye list." He stood before them
in tears ; they were silent, for many loved him. " Our lord,"
said a nobleman, " we have neither provisions nor guns."
Ferrantino replied, " There are the keys of the new castle, go
and take what you need ; there are a whole year's supplies
for the whole of Naples there." He was still speaking, when a
messenger came with the tidings that the enemy was attack-
ing Capua ; in despair he rushed away and took the road
thither. 5 On his arrival at Aversa, he learnt that of his
1 Passero, 65. 2 Villeneufve, Memoires, p. 4.
3 Chronicon Venetum, p. 13. Desry.
4 Passero. Martinellus to Ascanio in Rosmini, 208.
5 Passero, 66 (note to new edition). Giacomo, 185.
CH. I.] CHARLES VIII. IN ITALY. 59
three first captains, Trivulzio had gone over to Charles with
his whole army, which had been kept so long in pay for
him. This he did on the very first day that he had an
opportunity of reciprocating this outlay with his service. 1
The other two had fled, and the citizens, if not on the 1 6th,
at all events on the 17th, had sent envoys to Charles, who
begged for mercy with folded hands. 2 All the same, it is
said, he ventured up to the walls of Capua ; but here he
was met by the Germans, who had alone remained faithful to
him, by Caspar's and Gottfried's companies ; they had made
a sortie against the enemy on the other side, but had been
abandoned by the Italians. They had hardly been per-
mitted to withdraw through the town in parties of ten men
each. 3 It was now evident that all was lost. Perhaps
Ferrantino when he turned round to go back to Naples, still
hoped, for had not his grandfather here resisted all his
enemies ? But he had to see that the nobles, instead of
equipping themselves for battle, were plundering the Jews,
and that the populace, when he went into the stables to
give horses to his servants, ran after him and stole them.
Now all was over ; he felt that the hatred cherished to-
wards his father and grandfather was now turned against
himself. Full of despair, he drew his sword and turned
about with the words, " What have I done unto your chil-
dren ? " But a faithful servant led him away to his castle
out of the throng, for he had otherwise been murdered. 4
Whilst, then, Alfonso Davalos held the castle with 400
Germans, whilst the houses round about the arsenal and
some ships were being burnt down, 5 and whilst the old Queen
lamented, " O fate, no lance has been broken, and thou
dost ruin this kingdom ! " and all were on shipboard, she,
her daughter and the young King, in order to escape to
Ischia, Jacob Caracciolo, without asking leave, opened the
gate to the French herald, and shouted " Franza ! " Here-
upon, twenty deputies of the Neapolitans advanced to meet
1 Florus, as against which Rebucco in Rosmini, Trivulzio, i. 227, is
improbable.
2 Desry.
3 Jovius, Historiae sui temporis, fol. 30.
4 Passero. Johann. Juvenis, de fortuna Tarentinorum, p. 127.
5 Chronicon Venetum, p. 13. Navagero, p. 1202.
60 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
Charles, with the words, "Holy Crown, thou hast been
awaited these hundred years in Naples. Now thou art
come. Enter as our King and Master ! " l and Charles,
whose success had been most brilliant, and who now saw
this kingdom like the French duchies, united to his crown,
entered as the rightful heir. Yet in Capua he fancied
himself wonderfully reminded of his expedition against the
Turks ; Zjemi still lived. It was said that the prestige of
the French had prevented the Bassa of Avlona from cross-
ing, and had scared away the Turks from many islands,
and even from Negropont they were flying to Constanti-
nople. When Grimani with Venetians passed by Lepanto,
they thought it was the French, and retired from the castle
and the shore. The peninsula and the mainland gathered
fresh hope. 2
1 Diarium Ferrarense, p. 294.
2 Corio, 939. Bembus, 346. Benedictus, p. 1583. Chronicon Vene-
tum, p. 8.
CHAPTER H.
SPAIN AND LIGA IN WAR WITH CHARLES VIII.
14951496.
1. United Spain.
T this time Spain was first heard and spoken of ; this
country had a short time previously become consolidated
into a united and powerful kingdom out of two disunited
and feeble principalities, Castile and Aragon. With re-
spect to Castile, the autograph of Alonso de Palenzia records
that there existed a law of Henry of Trastamar to the
effect that, " without permission of the King of France, no
Englishman should go to Castile, nor a Castilian to Eng-
land." Such a disgraceful compact was actually kept by these
weak monarchs. 1 John I. relied in battle even more upon
the French than upon his Castilian s ; John H. appeared to
many to be almost bewitched by his favourite Alvar de
Luna ; 2 the Portuguese, Pacheco and G-iron, after overthrow-
ing Alvar, lorded it over Henry IV. Henry, though a
huntsman, and an enemy of baths and wine, but deprived of
noble indignation and manly strength by early profligacy, 3
had scarcely turned away from them not to be his own
master, but to take another favourite when they revolted,
and with them all the nobles. They declared his daughter
Joana to be illegitimate, and favoured his brother's succes-
sion, and, when he died, that of his sister Isabella ; but she
did not desire to be called queen, and was content that the
succession should be assured to her issue. 4
1 Ferrera's Spanish History from this Manuscript, vii. B. p. 47.
3 Rodericus Santius, Historia Hispanica, iv. c. 31.
3 Hernando Pulgar, Claros Varones, p. 4.
4 Antonius Nebrisscnsis, Kerum a Fernando et Elisabe gestarum
Decades, p. 801.
62 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
Near relatives of this family ruled in Aragon, yet with
no better fortune, in spite of their having inherited from
Ferdinand I. a crown adjudged him by the three counties
of which Aragon consisted, great estates in Castile, and
valid claims to Naples. These claims Alfonso took over
from his son, and succeeded in establishing them ; yet he
afterwards gave Naples to his illegitimate son, and sepa-
rated it from Aragon. The estates in Castile devolved upon
Henry ; but at Olmedo, where he fought against John II.,
and was defeated, they were lost to the house, and came
into the hands of those Portuguese favourites. Even the
crown was in danger, when John of Aragon, to whom it
had passed, was attacked by his eldest son, and by all the
Catalans.
Let us now represent to ourselves how the union and the
consolidation of these kingdoms was brought about. The
same men who had seized the Aragon estates had procured
for Isabella the succession in Castile. Now, when John's
enemies were dead and he triumphant, and they now began
to feel alarmed, Isabella betrothed herself with the man whom
they dreaded most, with Ferdinand, the youngest son of
John, and his heir. Seated on a mule, in disguise, Ferdi-
nand came to Valladolid to celebrate the nuptials j 1 then
they did not hesitate to swear allegiance to Joana, and to
offer her hand and realm to the King of Portugal. 2 This
was the origin of the war, a war that was waged on all
points between Fuenterrabia and Gibraltar at the same
time : a war in which John Ulloa strove against Roderich
Ulloa, 3 his brother, Peter Zuniga against his father, 4 and
the Count of Salinas against his sister, 5 and the cities that
sided with Aragon, and their castles, that favoured Por-
tugal, also strove together. But at last Ferdinand and
Isabella were victorious at Toro, and succeeded in rid-
ding the country of the enemy. They founded the
monastery of St. Francis in Toledo, and proceeded in two
directions to pacify the country the Queen to the Anda-
lusian cities, and the King to the castles on the Duero.
Against the castles for, as a fact, the country had been
1 Ferdinand himself in Zurita. 2 Antonius Nebriss, p. 802.
3 Antonius Nebriss, p. 821. 4 Idem, 835.
5 Idem, 895.
CH. II.] UNITED SPAIN. 63
pillaged, and all robbers had sheltered themselves in them
he was assisted by the cities and their Hermandad, who,
in order to punish robberies and murders in the streets,
squares, and houses, maintained 2,000 horsemen and a pro-
portionate strength of infantry. 1 They lent their assis-
tance, as though their sole aim was the general peace, yet
their object was also a political one in the interest of
Ferdinand. He wrested the castles from his enemies.
Isabella, meanwhile, presided at tribunals of justice at
Seville every Friday, surrounded by bishops and lawyers, and
with clerks before her. But here, where the Duke Medina
Sidonia and John de Cordova were of her party, and the
Marques of Cadiz and Alonso d'Aghilar against her, and
where the enmity of the old Christians, the new converts, the
Jews, and the neighbouring Moors, divided streets and fami-
lies, 2 her rigour was ineffectual. She resolved to pardon all
offences, save and except heresy. This latter, with which
the judgment hall of the Hermandad was as incompetent to
deal as the Dominican inquisition, which had been long
since abolished, was reserved for another tribunal.
In September, 1478, she quitted Seville ; on the 1st of
November, Sixtus IV., who at the same time revoked
the dispensation granted to the King of Portugal to
marry Joana, 1 gave the Kings (under which title Ferdi-
nand and Isabella were now known) the right to appoint
inquisitors against heretics, apostates, and their patrons. 4
Unexceptionable accounts testify 5 to the fact, that it was
the representations of Thomas Torquemadas, a prior of
the Holy Cross, who declared that " those who had been
converted, went by night into the synagogue, kept the
sabbath and the Jewish Easter, and celebrated, barefooted,
the day of Remembrance," that primarily caused the
institution of this tribunal ; a lamentable fatality, if true
what Pulgar states, that the Torquemadas were also ori-
ginally Jews ; and that it was a quarrel between the con-
verted and the unconverted Jews that brought the In-
. quisition upon the people of Castile and Aragon. But if
1 Antonius, 851. 2 Antonius, 861.
3 Ferrera ? s Hist, of Spain. Vol. xi. sec. 235.
4 Llorente, Histoire de PInquisition. Vol. i. p. 145.
8 Marineus Siculus, p. 481. 6 Claros Varones, p. 24.
64 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
we remember that the influence of the Jews over the
grandees, due to their farming their revenues, their afflu-
ence, and their relationship to them, conflicted secretly
and at all points with the King's interests, 1 that the first
order of the Inquisitors threatened the Marques of Cadiz,
an opponent of the monarch's, in case he sheltered the
fugitive Jews, and that it was a Jewish book against the
Government that brought matters to a crisis, 2 we have a
consecutive account before our eyes. The Inquisition har-
monized with the Hermandad in form for they each had
originally two judges and a fiscal as also mainly in scope;
viz., the completion of this war and the consolidation of
the royal power, under the cover of a far wider plan;
yet the ecclesiastical power of the one was far more
arbitrary than the civil power of the other. After some
hesitation, Isabella had the Quemadero erected on the
plain before Seville, between the four prophets ; 3 the
monastery of the Dominicans in the city was soon too
small to hold the accused, 4 and 5,000 houses in Anda-
lusia were empty. 5 But they began to obey. So
soon as Pacheco consented to resign a great part of his
estates, and the King of Portugal to renounce his claims,
and when everybody surrendered, the civil war came to a
close, and the royal power was at the same time re-estab-
lished. Yet these institutions still continued under the
pretence of general policy, and others were added to them.
When the grand masters of two of the Spanish orders
of knighthood had died, and the third was inclined to
retire, Ferdinand undertook to manage all three. In
truth a goodly power ; for the order of St. lago alone
could put 1,000 heavy cavalry into the field ; and a
table of the fifteenth * century ranks its grand masters
among the princes and independent heads of Europe. 6
Further, since the Pope had given way in the matter of
1 Caracciolus, Epistola de Inquisitione, in Muratori, Ser. 22, 97
(note to new ed.). Cf. as to the condition of the Jews, Reyes Catolicos in
Prescott, " Hist, of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic,"
i. p. 243.
2 Llorente, pp. 148, 149. 3 Llorente, p. 152 and fol.
4 Ferrera, xi. sec. 320. 5 Marineus Siculus, p. 483.
6 In Sanuto's Venetian history in Muratori, xxii. 963.
CH. II.] UNITED SPAIN. 65
some disputes touching the episcopal chairs of Saragossa,
Cuenca, and Tarragona, the rule was established that no
one could be raised to the rank of bishop upon whom the
King had not previously declared his willingness to confer
this dignity. 1
Let us now observe : the Hennandad was the reflex of
a former independent coalition of the citizens against the
nobles, and it now committed the civic power into the
hands of the King. The Grandmaster ships, through the
Encomiendas, bound the knights who had received of
them, as well as all noble families, out of gratefulness or
expectation of future favours, to the King. The latter, by
his Inquisition and the election of bishops became almost
the head of the clergy. We perceive that it was not so
much that Ferdinand and Isabella extended the royal
power handed down to them from their ancestors, as that
they gave it a new basis; they placed themselves at the
head of the estates who might have resisted them, and
who resisted their forefathers, and, concentrating their
powers in their own persons, became their real chiefs. In
all this the Church, by supplying them with the Inqui-
sition and Mayorazgen, and by gradually making over to
them for ever the Tercias of the ecclesiastical tithes, ren-
dered them the greatest service, and they had no more
dangerous foes than the enemies and apostates of the
Church of Rome. The traditional liberties still continued ;
even in Castile the noble might surrender his fief back,
into the King's hand, 2 and retract his allegiance, whilst
the citizen might shut his house against the royal oflicer ; 3
but obedience to duty became established. The rigorous
Isabella, she who rode in person after the son of the Almi-
rante, Fadrique, who had broken her safe-conduct and fled,
that Isabella who had the Alcadian, who had killed a royal
servant, hanged on the very spot where he had committed
the deed, and who ordered the hand of the other, the Great
Alcaldian Villenas, to be cut off for allowing it, 4 soon
1 Mariana, dc rebus Hispanic, xxiv. c. 16.
2 Mariana, xiii. p. 599.
3 Hallam from Marino, Ensayo critico, in The State of Europe during
the Middle Ages, i. p. 762.
4 Ferrera, viii. p. 92.
F
66 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
brought it about that travellers from Spain told it as being
one of the wonders of that land, that there no wrong was
done, not even by the authorities themselves, but that
speedy retribution followed. 1 There sat Isabella (before
her her escutcheon quartered with a castle, a staff, a lion,
and an eagle), amongst the images of the saints in her
chapel; Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Orators, on
the one side, and the Connetable, Almirante, Dukes,
Marques, and Counts, on the other, the priests in full
canonicals before her, all awaiting her sign. 2 Her diplomacy
aimed at absolute power over an orthodox kingdom.
Now that the internal disorders had ceased, and the con-
stitution was in process of development, the kings turned
their eyes unceasingly towards the outer world, the Christian
world, too, but principally the infidel. According to the
example of their forefathers, Ferdinand the great and the
holy, the four Alfonsos, the Emperador, Ramon the noble,
and the eleventh, who ventured not to wage war with the
Moors until they had first been victorious in a civil one,
but who engaged in the former as soon as they had suc-
ceeded in the latter. Thus did they, under the standard
of the Cross, each division under a crucifix, as the song
goes, invade the plain of Granada. 3 They swore not to
leave it until they had taken the city ; they centred the
attention and the obedience of the whole nation upon this
point, and at last conquered it. But as the different king-
doms had always been in the habit of dividing beforehand
what they intended to conquer, and were hardly less jealous
of what they coveted than of what they had already taken,
so at the present time did they claim the African king-
doms of Oran and Tlemsan for the crown of Aragon, and
for Sicily, Tunis, and the eastern slope of the Atlas. These
claims were also confirmed by the Pope, and they hoped
to push on in an easterly direction to Egypt, and to come
as far as Jerusalem. In the West, Castile claimed all that
had formerly been Mauritania and Tingitana. This led to
a war with Portugal. At last they agreed together, that,
with the exception of Melita and Ca9a9a, Portugal should
1 Senarega, Annales Genuenses, in Muratori, xxiv. p. 534.
2 Marineus Siculus, p. 506.
3 Guerras Civiles de Granada, by Perez de Vita, torn. iii. p. 145.
CH. II.] UNITED SPAIN. 67
be at liberty to conquer the whole of Fez. But this was
of minor importance. Those maritime expeditions, in
which the Portuguese, planting their standard ever further
and further afield, had learnt of an eastern and Christian
monarch, the King of Abyssinia, 1 and by which they hoped
for already someone had been in Goa and had discovered
the Cape to find this potentate, and by his help, proceed-
ing along the coast, 2 to arrive at India, and the land of the
spices, were endangered ; for Pope Alexander had promised
the conquest of the whole of Africa to the united crowns.
But, finally, the old treaties remained valid ; the right of
navigating to Guinea and the coast downwards was assigned
to the Portuguese, 3 and they needed not allow another to
sail the same way. ~But Providence willed that something
unexpected should result from these differences ; and what
actually happened far surpassed human calculations. In
Lisbon there often sat together two brothers from Genoa,
Bartholomew Colon, who drew maps for the use of sailors, 4
and Christopher, the elder, who had navigated with vary-
ing fortune the inner sea, and the outer from the Canaries
to Iceland. 5 These two discussed together what was well
known, and became convinced that the safest plan to dis-
r that land of precious stones, pearls, and spices, 6 that
Syj tango of which Marco Polo had written, 7 a land into
which Christianity could be introduced, would be, not by
voyaging along the coast of Africa, but by sailing ever
westward, and thus circumnavigating the globe. But no
King, no Duke, and no Signorie, would believe the
brothers. At length the two Kings, in their joy over the
victory of Granada, being at Santafe three months later,
took the advice of the above-named Alonso Quintanilla,
he who first invented the new Hermandad, 8 and hazarded
1 Barros, Asia, iii. c. 2, 3, 4.
a Sommario Pietro Martir's in Ramusio, 3, 1.
3 Mariana, xxiv. c. 10.
4 Antonius Gallus, Commentariolus de navigatione Colombi, p.
300.
5 Jagemann, Geschichte der ital. Literatur, iii. iii.
6 Petrus Martyr, decas Oceanea, i. f. 1.
7 Barros, Asia, iii. c. 9.
Kiedo, Sommario, in Ramusio, iii. f. 80, compared with Antonius
Nebrissensis, p. 847.
68 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
this venture. They put three Caravellas (small ships) at
the disposal of the elder Colon, and had them manned
for the most part by sailors from the vicinity of Palos. 1
Tradition goes, that these coast seamen, after spending
week by week between heaven and water, only gazing
upon seaweed, and seeing no land, threatened to murder
their captain. The captain the while, working by day
with the lead, and by night keeping his eye intent upon
the fixed stars, and even in his dreams full of visions of
success, remained firm of purpose, and managed to curb
all opposition ; until at last looming clouds inspired hopes,
and in the night a sailor shouted, " light and land ; "
when day broke, hills, high trees, and green land were
discovered; he shed tears, and falling on his knees, said
the " Te Deum Laudamus." They erected on the coast
an enormous cross, heard the notes of the first nightingale,
saw the timid good people, 2 and returned to tell their
king of the country they had taken possession of in his
name. 3
G-od's gift and the discovery this excellent man had
made primarily led to the continuation of the Castilian-
Portuguese differences. The wind drove the returning
party to Lisbon. As soon as the King of Portugal saw
that the natives, who had been brought back, looked like
the Indians, as they had been described to him, and heard
from Colon, that he had there been told of a land called
Sybang, 4 he began to be afraid that his scheme had been
anticipated. He requested the Kings to sail, not south-
wards but, northwards, according to the old compact. 5
They believed him to be right, and that they had come to
the point where east and west touched ; they little knew
the size of the world ; they bargained long together, and
1 Oviedo, p. 81, and Dillon's Journey to Spain, ii. 102.
2 All taken from the " Sommarios" of Pietro and Oviedo, p. 16, p.
810, and from the Decas, i. 1 (note to new edition). It is evident that
in this short mention of the great event neither its worldwide importance
could be enlarged upon, nor its course critically examined; it appears
only to be treated in its local origin with reference to the undertakings
which at that time proceeded from the Iberian peninsula.
3 Christophori Columbi Epistola in Hisp. Illustr. ii. 1282.
4 Barros, Asia, iii. 9.
6 Zurita, Historia del Rey Hernando, i. f. 30, 31.
CH. II.] ALLIANCE BETWEEN SPAIN AND ITALY. 69
finally offered a prize to him, who, starting 370 leagues
from the Canary Islands, should discover Portugal towards
the east, and Castile towards the west. 1 This was quite a
different matter from their Fez and their Tingitana ; but
they still went on in the old fashion.
Such were the operations of the united kingdoms against
the Infidels, and, if the conquest of Granada was celebrated
in all Christian lands with feasting and games, how much
more did not the report of a new earth and a new mankind
ring throughout Europe! These kingdoms now turned
their eyes again towards the interior of Christendom.
The grandees had delivered up those crown estates to
which they could show no legal title, and which were, at
the lowest estimate, computed to be worth nearly thirty
million maravedi. Cadiz and the Isla had been recovered
from the Ponce, and Roussillon had been given up.
The time had come, in which the idea of a united Spain
for the first time asserted itself. The Pope initiated
the title " Serene Kings of Spain," seeing that European,
Baetic, and a portion of Lusitanian Spain had become
united in the sense in which the title " Catholic King " is
said to have been originally framed. 2 In the same way as
the regenerated unity of the French realm impelled
Charles VIII., so did the unity of Spain, asserting itself
now for the first time, induce Ferdinand and Isabella to
look towards Naples. The rights of the one clashed with
those of the other.
2. Alliance between Spain and Italy.
The two Sicilies had from time immemorial been the source
of strife between the Spanish and French houses, a strife
which began with the death of the last Hohenstaufen, and
had not as yet been fought out. It was on the point of
being taken up on both sides by third houses. At first it
had been carried on between the Barcelonian House of
Aragon, the heirs of Conradin, and the Anjous, who had
1 Zurita, f. 36.
a Marineus Siculus, p. 164. Francis Tarapha, de Regibus Hispaniae.
Hispan. Illustr. i. p. 567.
70 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
been called in by the Pope, that is, between the Proven9als
and the Catalans, who are in reality one race, of the same
origin, and speaking the same language. The former took
Naples, the latter Sicily, and ever since they had been in
feud with each other.
Secondly, this long-standing dispute devolved upon Al-
fonso I. of the House of Castile, and the younger branch of
the Anjous. Alfonso with the Catalans was victorious, and
gained possession of Naples. Although before the people
he took his stand upon the new right of a certain adop-
tion, although it had been revoked, yet he confessed after
the victory that his greatest joy was, that he had regained
the possession of his ancestors. 1 From this dates the war
of Ferrante with John of Anjou.
Thirdly, when the rights of the Anjous had at length
passed to the crown of Paris, the united kingdoms, in oppo-
sition, felt themselves pledged to protect the interests of
Catalan. Ferdinand had ofttimes been urged by the barons
to make war on Ferrante, but had always answered, " He
is my brother-in-law." 2 But now if Charles was victorious,
he would lose one prospect, viz., his rights, and saw even
Sicily threatened. The Kings of Spain were bound by the
treaty of Roussillon, but had never approved the enterprises
of Charles Vm.
While Charles was making his preparations, they pro-
posed to him an expedition against Africa with their rights
to support him ; when he was already in the Alps, they
equipped a fleet in Viscaya ; when he turned against Tus-
cany, they endeavoured to rouse Lodovico's ambition by
offering him an alliance with their house and a royal
title. Charles arrived at Florence ; they then despatched
Lorenzo Figueroan to Venice, in order, it may be, without
any declaration, to arrange an alliance. 3 But when the
French King was in arms at Eome, and had already occu-
pied the cities of the Church, they laid hold of a clause
in their treaty, " reserving the rights of the Church" a
clause which Charles agreed to, as long as Alexander was
Sf orzian and belonged to his party. Ferdinand was the first
1 Marineus Siculus, de Vita Alfonsi, v.
2 Zurita, " Casado con su hermana."
3 Zurita, f. 38, 41, 46, 47.
CH. II.] ALLIANCE BETWEEN SPAIN AND ITALY. 71
to make it important by helping to win over the Pope.
Whenever the Catholic Kings bestowed any care upon
Christendom, it was agreeably to their own interests.
Relying on this clause, their envoys, 1 one for Aragon and
one for Castile, betook themselves to the States of the
Church, met Charles near Rome, and, on his refusal to
accede to their demand that he should restore the cities
and uphold the treaty, tore up the document embody,
ing it. It cannot be exactly called faithlessness, but a
faithful observance of treaties it certainly was not. Fer-
dinand and Isabella then took under their protection
Alexander, whose son had long since fled from the French
King, and Ferrantino, who had betrothed himself with
their niece Joana, and had fled with her from Naples, and
promised them certain Neapolitan castles as security for
their war expenses. They were now in a position to form
a new league against Charles.
Now after Charles had left Lodovico the Moor, dif-
ferences arose between them on account of some trans-
actions in Tuscany, Rome, and Naples. Serezana and
Serezanella, which had been objects of contention between
the Genoese and Florentines until Charles's arrival, Lodo-
vico had vainly hoped to obtain from the latter for his city.
He found fault with the peace concluded with Alexander,
because he found himself not sufficiently benefited by it. 2
He was vexed on seeing his rebels, the Milanese Trivulzio,
and the Genoese Fregoso and Fiesco taken into Charles's
service at Naples, and in consequence refused to allow
French ships to anchor at Genoa. 3 Meanwhile a danger
threatened him nearer home. Duke Louis d'Orleans, upon
whom there had devolved, through a legitimate daughter
of the House of Visconti, better claims to Milan 4 than
those were which the Sforzas deduced from an illegitimate
offspring, was at Asti, as though only waiting for a favour-
able opportunity to assert his rights. His servants openly
declared that he would soon be Duke of Milan; and as
1 Argensola, Annales, p. 50. Florus, p. 15.
a Lodovico to Aseanio in Rosmini, ii. 208.
3 Lodovk-o to Charles in Kosm., 213.
4 Extrait d'un discours, touchant le droit sur le Duche de Milan, by
Tillet. Comines, Preuves, ii. 321.
72 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
he was collecting troops, and had at least no resistance to
fear from Charles, Lodovico began to tremble for his own
power. 1 He addressed himself first of all to Maximilian,
who had only a short time previously solemnly conferred
upon him the investiture, 2 and who, among all princes,
was almost his nearest relative. Maximilian, too, had re-
ceived Alexander's message, and might well be anxious
for the imperial dignity. His envoys throughout Italy
also complained when they saw lilies where the eagle
should be, for the suzerainty belonged to the German
King. 3 Yet most of all was he moved by this, and was
ever repeating it to the princes of the land : Charles was
threatening Genoa, and Louis Milan, so that it was impera-
tive to take immediate steps against them. But the need
of the Venetians was more urgent than Maximilian's, and
quite as sore as Lodovico' s. They feared for their own
existence, now that Aubigny had penetrated as far as
Forli. They raised money when Charles was in Florence ;
directly he reached Borne, without meeting with resis-
tance, they gathered a force of several thousand light Al-
banian cavalry, their Stradiotti ; 4 and now that he had
Naples, and the castles had fallen into his hands, and they
had heard of Louis' plans, they were seized with the
utmost fear. One morning they were sitting together, as
was their wont, sixty or seventy in number, in the Doge's
chamber, when the French ambassador entered. They sat,
with their eyes fixed on the ground, and their heads
resting on their hands. No one broke silence, no one
looked at him. The Doge then spoke : " Your master has
the castles of Naples, will he remain our friend ? " The
envoy assured them that such would be the case. 5 What
troubled them was not exactly the destruction of the unity
of Italy alone, but their own danger. For we must
remember that Louis d' Orleans' pretensions to Milan
might also be extended to a great part of the Venetian
possessions, which once had been in the power of John
1 Instructio Casati in Rosmini.
2 Sanseverin to Lodovico in Rosmini.
3 Allegretto Allegretti, Diarj di Siena, p. 838.
4 Chronicon Venetum in Muratori, xxiv. p. 8, 9, seq.
5 Comines.
CH. II.] ALLIANCE BETWEEN SPAIN AND ITALY. 73
Galeazzo Visconti, his ancestor, and which were later con-
quered by the Republic. If the one were taken, there was
certainly reason to fear for the other.
We see that Maximilian, Lodovico, and Venice were
natural allies. It was to Ferdinand's advantage to join
this league, not by himself, but with his allies Ferrantino
and the Pope. But could Lodovico trust Alexander, who
had only shortly before this broken faith with him ?
Suarez insisted ; it was not his power, but his name that
was wanted. 1 Should they, moreover, receive into the
league Ferrantino, who no longer possessed anything or
could afford any assistance? Yet, all the same, his
ambassadors went to Worms and appeared before the
German King, praying to be included in the alliance. 2 At
length, on the 29th March, 1495, after frequent negotia-
tions had been carried in secret, even by night, an
understanding was arrived at. Suarez exclaimed, "Charles
made the wound, and we have found its cure." 3 The
Venetians now invited the French ambassador again.
" We have concluded an alliance," said the Doge, " against
the Turks for the peace of Italy and the security of our
possessions." A hundred nobili were there, holding their
heads high, bold and joyous, for they knew that an army
of more than 50,000 men would take the field against
Charles. 4
The ambassador departed, as is said, surprised and per-
plexed. On the stairs Spinello, the Neapolitan envoy,
met him with a beaming face and in a fine new dress.
Coining down, he begged the secretary who accompanied him
to repeat to him what the Doge had said. 5 It is Comines
of whom that is related ; he himself will not confess to it ;
he asserts that he knew all. In the afternoon the envoys
of the allies, to the number of fifty, were conveyed in
pleasure barks, decorated with the arms and ensigns of
their respective masters, to the strains of music and song,
through the Grand Canal, between the marble halls on
1 Zurita, f. 61. 2 Datt, de pace publica, p. 523.
3 Peter Justinianus, Historica Veneta, from Hieron. Donatus,
Apologia, p. 148.
1 Comines, Memoires, i. p. 490.
5 Bembus, Historic Venetae, p. 34-36.
74 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
either side. They passed under the windows of Comines,
and the Milanese envoy, at all events, pretended not to
know him. In the evening, torches, cannon, and illumina-
tions proclaimed the new league. 1 Ten days later, Venice
had 21,000 men in the field ; on Palm Sunday the league
was proclaimed in the countries of the respective allies.
Comines and Louis d'Orleans wrote six times within six
days to France that fresh troops were needed. King Charles
was informed of the danger that was approaching.
3. Retreat of Charles VIII.
It is both the life and the fortune of the Grermano-
Latin nations that they never become united. These
negotiations and these preparations, with which the real
struggle of the Spaniards and French began, were the
beginning of a thorough and wearisome grouping of fac-
tions that completely altered the face and form of Europe.
In the first instance, when Charles's expedition threatened
danger to the Turks, they were advantageous to the latter.
Zjemi was now dead. There have been preserved to us an
instruction sent by Alexander to his Turkish ambassador,
and letters of Bajazeth to the Pope, of perfectly horrible
contents: "The Pope might be pleased to raise Zjemi
from the troubles of this world into another, where he
might enjoy greater repose ; in return for which he, Sultan
Bajazeth Chan, would pay him 300,000 ducats." 5 And
it is well that we have reason to doubt the genuine-
ness of the letter. However, Zjemi died suddenly; and
whilst the Christian writers speak of poison, the Turkish
annals 3 contain this passage : " Mustapha Bey killed
Zjemi with the help of the Pope." Little blame is due
to Charles for not having actually embarked on the ex-
pedition he had intended to make, and on which he had
already despatched the Bishop of Durazzo and the Despots
1 Comines. Carraciolus, Vita Spinelli, Cariati Comitis, p. 43.
2 Burcardi Diarium, p. 2056.
3 Leonclavii Annales Turcici, p. 154. Daru, Histoire de Venise, iii.
164, from Saadud-Din-Mehemed-Hassan.
CH. II.] RETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 75
of Morea.' He would gladly have concluded a treaty with
Ferrantino. Federigo, too, before the Liga was formed,
came once more, found the King sitting under an olive tree
near the new castle, and begged an estate for Ferrantino,
and the title of King; but Charles cautiously answered,
" Not here, but in France;" and thereupon they separated. 2
He contented himself with bringing nobles, citizens, and
people of Naples into peace and harmony. All the barons
came to pay allegiance to him, and received back their
estates, which they had lost through the Aragons. With
the exception of a few, who still held out, all cities
sent their syndics with the keys, and received favours, 3
Tarento, for instance, permission to select its syndic from
among the middle class of citizens, the Onorats, 4 and
the Neapolitans a like permission to elect an Eletto, with a
council of twelve from their midst. 5 He remitted the
propertied classes 200,000 ducats of their annual dues, and
to those who had nothing he promised 12,000 ducats as an
annual present. He fed the poorest on Maunday Thurs-
day. 6 How could he fail to feel contented and happy when
he visited the wonders of the land the grotto of Posilippo,
which he was told was the artificial work of Virgil, the
wondrous springs, the chasms in the earth, full of hot
wind 7 and gazed on the fatness of the land in spring ?
1 Oricellarius, p. 66.
a Desry, 223. Passero, 70. (Note to new edition.) Giacomo, 188.
The negotiations can be followed in a letter of the King, dated 28 March,
1495, to Bourbon, which contains this passage : " Frede'ric (Federigo)
me supplia et requist, que je voulasse bien laisser a sou nepveu
(Ferrantin) le tiltre du royaume et quelque pension pour vivre telle qu'il
me plairoit adviser." The king replied, before his departure his right
and title to the kingdom had been investigated in France and solemnly
recognized, and then further, " Je n'estois point delibere de riens laisser
ni quitta de mon heritage et dudit tiltre que s'il s'en vouloit venir en
France, je luy donneroye pour son etat xxx mille livres de rente et xxx
mille livres de pension chacun an, et des gend'armes, avecques ce que je
le Maryerois en quelque lieu de mon royaume de manire qu'il auroit
cause de se contenter " (Pilorgerie, Campagne et Bulletins, p. 212).
:! Passero, 7.
1 Joh. Juvenis, de fortuna Tarentinorum, p. 127.
5 (Note to new edition.) Giacomo, 204. Gallo, 67. Cf. Reumont,
die Caraffa von Maddaloni, i. p. 124.
6 Lettre a la Duchesse de Bourbon in Godefroy, 739.
" Desry, 224.
76 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
And when he sat at the tournament, and saw how French
and Italians tilted in the ring together, and how the
Princess of Melfi rode as straight as a knight on her horse,
the red and white feathers waving from, her hat, her hair
floating in dainty tresses about her frill and the knightly
tunic of green- gold embroidery ; l these amusements
made his heart glad. With satisfaction he noted in his
letters the restoration of good order and justice in the land
hitherto so oppressed, and the homage paid him on all sides
in consequence. They evince the feeling that he had
happily accomplished a great undertaking. In the midst
of these pleasures, the news of the Liga and its preparations
reached him. The restoration of Eoussillon and Artois
had been in vain. How would his powerful foes in his
rear at Milan, Venice, and Borne have permitted a Turkish
campaign ? In order not to be cut off from France, he
must of necessity return thither. Once more he entered
the city, with a crown on his head and an orb in his
hand, to make and to receive the vow. 2 The citizens lifted
up their sons of five, ten, and twelve years of age to him, in
order that he should dub them knights. 3 He appointed
Bourbon Montpensier viceroy, lord, and commander of the
kingdom, took one half of his troops with him, and returned
on the road by which he had come. 4 He hurried, in order
not to be overtaken by the heat.
The Pope fled before him from Rome to a stronghold ; 5
those who are well-informed assert, that Charles would other-
wise have takenf urther steps against him. 6 In Siena he heard
the complaints of the reformers against the Nove that is, the
factions of the city, and took the part of the complainers,
who called him their king and lord. He left a garrison
behind him there. 7 On the first day of his arrival at Pisa,
the children greeted him, all dressed in white silk, em-
broidered with lilies ; and, on the next day, the men they
desired to be his subjects; on the third, the ladies and
1 Lettre, ibid. 2 (Note to new edition.) Giacomo, 190.
3 Andre de la Vigne, Histoire du voyage de Naples, in Godefroy,
p. 200.
4 Idem, and Desry, p. 2246.
5 Navagero, Historia Veneta, p. 1204.
6 Oricellarius, de bello Italico, p. 68. 7 Allegretto Allegretti.
CH. II.] RETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 77
citizens' wives, but these barefooted and in mourning,
praying : " he might see fit to take them under his pro-
tection." ' These good people had scarcely a piece of fine
cloth left in their shops that they did not give to the com-
manders of the army. 2 Particularly they gained over the
Swiss, who appeared before the King at the play with axes
at their necks, and begged him to guarantee the freedom
of the city. Charles so far agreed as to say that he would
act so that everyone should be contented. 3 And there he
stood again at the foot of the Apennines, where, from the
Magra across to the Taro, a pass that the Longobards
deemed right to fortify with castles and strongholds 4 sepa-
rates Tuscany from Lombardy. In Naples the Liga had
been ridiculed in a comedy ; 5 and as yet Charles had seen
no enemy, nor feared any. But Savonarola had told him
that the God who had brought him in would surely lead
him out ; but, because he had not ameliorated the condi-
tion of his Church, he would be scourged.
The Liga had already actually occupied Naples, that he
had only just quitted, as well as the territory of Milan
that lay before him. There there appeared under Gonzal
d'Aghilar Ferdinand's Viscayans, Galicians, and horsemen.
Gaeta revolted, and Ferrantino pushed forward into Cala-
bria. This first attack was repulsed by the French, who took
Gaeta, not even sparing those who clutched the crucifix
for their protection, 6 and drove Ferrantino back. Only one
Neapolitan, of the name of John Altavilla, comported him-
self bravely. Seeing the King fall with his horse, he dis-
mounted, gave him up his own, and with a soldier's death
gained the eternal glory of fidelity. 7 All the rest fled.
But now Otranto, of its own accord, raised the Aragon cry
of " Fierro ;" 8 and in Naples, when two persons met in the
street, they asked, "Brother, when comes the Sponsor?"
meaning Ferrantino. The decisive issue was expected in a
1 Andr6 de la Vigne, 204, 205, 206. 2 Nardi, p. 24.
3 Comines, 501.
4 Paulus Diaconus, v. 27, vi. 58.
3 Burcardus, Diarium Koman., p. 2067.
Passero, 74.
7 Jovii historia sui temporis, 48.
8 Galateus, de situ Japygise, p. 14.
78 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
short time. On the 4th of July the beacons of Capri
announced that he was really coming. 1 Lombardy was in
great commotion on both sides. The Duke of Orleans,
immediately on the outbreak of hostilities, took the field
forthwith with his lancers, G-ascons, and Swiss, which
were sent to the King's assistance. 2 He was invited
to go to Milan and Pavia, for the new taxes that Lodo-
vico had. imposed had excited the populace. Following
the two Opizi, he had been received in Novara, and pro-
claimed Duke. Immediately on the receipt of this news,
Lodovico betook himself to the Venetian envoy, to en-
treat his good services with the Republic ; he pressed a
valuable emerald into his hand. 3 He himself collected all
his energies to rid himself of the enemy. Venice bestirred
itself in real earnest. In spite of its strong army in the
field, it issued orders throughout the province that one man
of every family should equip himself for active service. 4
The allies at once invested Novara, and intercepted Charles's
retreat. It was improbable that he would advance by
way of Bologna ; yet all the same they prepared to meet
him there. He must either take the road from Parina or
from G-enoa. Early in June, a strong force was in position
in the Parmese mountains ; and Lodovico wrote to Genoa,
" We are ready ; get ready also." On receipt of this mes-
sage, Conradin Stanga made every preparation for resis-
tance. 5 If Charles took the road by the Riviera, Louis of
Orleans would be isolated ; but, on the other hand, did he
take his old road across the mountains, he would be obliged
to forego all hopes of conquering Genoa, his fief, that
Lodovico had now forfeited. He chose the more difficult
of the two ; he chose to march across the mountains, 6
whilst Fregoso, Julian, and Philip de Bresse made an
attack upon Genoa. On his road he was continually re-
minded that he had Swiss with him. This soldiery had
1 Passero, 72, 76.
2 St. Gelais, Extraict d'une histoire in Godefroy, p. 180 (note to new
edition). His feelings are shown by a letter of 23rd April, given by
Cherrier, Histoire du Charles VIII., vol. ii. p. 491 : " Je pense faire
ung tel service au roi, que en long temps en ira parle."
3 Corio, 941, and Jovius, 38.
4 Chronicon Venetum, p. 23. 5 Chronicon Venetum, p. 23.
6 Chronicon Venetum, p. 21. Comines.
CH. II.] EETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 79
always caused him much trouble. At the very outset, on
the expedition to Naples, their sacking of Rapallo roused
almost the whole of Genoa to arms against them. In
Siena their bad discipline again made itself felt. In
Koine it was within an ace that an open battle took place
between them and the Spaniards ; and in Naples, on one
occasion, the shops had to be closed in consequence of their
tumultuous behaviour. 1 And now, on the retreat, they fell
upon the city of Pontremoli with pillage and murder, in
spite of the assurances of the commanders to the con-
trary, because they thought that they had something still
to avenge from their previous march through. 2 Their
exuberance of health and physical strength incited them to
take disproportionate vengeance for every little insult.
The same exuberance of health and vigour, however, ren-
dered them amenable to every good impression. In the
same way as they had formerly offered to forego the pay
for which they had undertaken to serve, on condition that
Charles would promise to guarantee the liberty of Pisa, so
now did they soon repent that they had destroyed supplies
that were urgently needed, and represented to the King
that if he would forgive them they would harness them-
selves to 3 the cannon that he was at a loss how to trans-
port across the mountains. A brave knight of the King's
retinue, of the name of De la Tremouille, undertook to
lead them. He once, while still a boy, and Louis XI.
was fighting with the barons, in childish earnestness took
the side of the King, and in his early youth rode away from
his parents to serve King Charles. He now threw off his
upper garments ; and when the Swiss, in gangs of one hun-
d n I to two hundred men, attached themselves to a cannon,
and, pulling all together, dragged it forward a distance,
then to be relieved by a fresh relay, he would himself
lend a hand, and address them with words of encourage-
ment. He had trumpets and clarions sounded until they
were over the summit, and down at the bottom of the
st.-.-p hill, where men and horses rested. He then ap-
peared, black from the intense heat of the sun, before
1 Floras, Allegretti, Bureardus, and Passero.
- (Jomines. Spazzarini, Framenti Storici, in Rosmini, ii. 217.
3 Comines, 508.
80 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
the King, who said, " You have done like Hannibal did ;
I will so reward you that also others shall gladly serve
me." 1
With difficulty they made their way from the source of
the Magra, that flows to the one sea, to hard by the springs
of the Taro, that flows to the other. At length the last
summit was gained. There they saw before them Lom-
bardy, covered with ripe waving corn and fruit and grapes,
dight with smiling villages, and intersected with streams.
But in the foreground, not far from the foot of the range,
they descried countless tents, and the standards of Venice
and Milan an army of nearly 40,000 men. But un-
molested they pursued their way down, and on the 5th
July the King took his repast at Fornovo. 2
He was resolved not to make terms, but to accept battle.
On both sides of the Taro the valley of Vergerra broadens
out down towards the Po, surrounded by hills. On the
right bank, the Lombards had taken up their position.
What can have been the reason that they did not occupy
both banks, and so directly face the enemy ? They mainly
wished to protect the Milanese territory and Parma, which
was always in a state of sedition, against attack ; Lodo-
vico himself was strongly opposed to a battle. 3 They
were drawn up in nine divisions and 140 squadrons ; for
their wont in battle, as in more serious tournaments, was
as follows : the greater number remained in camp and
looked on, whilst the divisions one after another succes-
sively attacked, fought, and relieved each other. 4 Although
under arms, they allowed Charles's army to occupy the left
bank of the shallow river. Forthwith the 3000 Swiss
kissed the earth, placed themselves with Engilbert's
Germans and the King's gigantic marksmen in the van-
guard, and advanced against the enemy. The rearguard
and the " Bataille," with the great standard surrounding the
King, consisted of the hommes d'armes. 5 The latter made
1 Jean Bouchet, Histoire de Mons. de la Tremouille, in the Mention
xiv. p. 150. 2 Desry, 225.
3 Benedictus, Diarium, p. 1589. Bait. Visconti to Lodovico in
Rosmini, ii. 218. Carpesanus, Commentarii, 1213.
4 Excurs in Porzio, Congiura dei Baroni di Napoli.
5 Comities, 521. Desry, 226.
CH. II.] RETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 81
the sign of the cross on their foreheads and thirsted for the
fray. The King sat on his one-eyed black charger, Savoye,
a splendid beast. The colours of France and Brittany
waved in the plume of his helmet ; the crosses of Jerusalem
adorned his tabard ; to-day his forehead, his eyes, and
his whole visage flashed war. He spoke : " What say ye,
sirs? Will ye live and die with me? Be not afraid,
though they are ten times our numbers. G-od has led us
hither, and he will lead us home." l Whilst he was
creating new knights, some shots were fired, and three
divisions of the enemy, in a storm of rain, dashed across
the river ; the Milanese against the vanguard. When the
Milanese saw the lowered spears of the Germans and
Swiss, they hesitated to attack. The Venetians under Gon-
zaga, mounted upon great horses in full cuirass, even better
harnessed than the French, were in splendid array. The
Stradiotti, who were destined to fall upon the flank of the
royal army, 2 shouted " Marco Victoria." a An actual colli-
sion took place only between the regular cavalry of the
Venetians and that of the French. When the first
advanced to the charge, the French sentinels cried, " The
enemy is there ! " Someone said to the King, " Forward,
Sire ! " He drew the centre and the rearguard together,
faced about, came close to the enemy, and met his first
onslaught. 4 The charge was directed against his right
wing, and was dangerous so long as lances were being used,
for those of the Italians were longer. As soon as swords
were resorted to, the left wing of the King's army, the
twenty shields under the standard of Aymar de Prie, the
noblemen of his house, and some valiant Germans, 5 fell upon
Gonzaga's flank, which tapered off to a thin end, and
afforded no broad front, as was their habit. When at
length the Milanese, who had lost courage, were broken
and hurried down the banks with drawn swords, Gonzaga
himself turned towards the river. A real melee took
1 Andr de la Vigne, p. 209.
2 Comines, whence Guicciardini. Oricellarius, p. 70.
3 Navagero, Storia Venet., p. 1206.
4 Symphorian Champier, Trophseum Gallicum in Godefroy, 306.
Graville to Bonchage in Kosmini, 218.
5 Memoires of de la Tremouille, p. 153. 6 Benedictus, p. 1597.
a
82 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. JJBK. I.
place, in which even the French baggage boys surrounded
the cuirassiers, four or five round each, and with their
mattocks drove holes through their armour. But an
Italian squadron charged once again, and penetrated as far
as the King. 1 But he warded off the onslaught with his
right hand and by the aid of his horse. The royal army
was beyond doubt in advantage ; yet it was no decisive
one. Pitiglian, who escaped from French captivity, and
rode back into the Italian camp, kept shouting, " You have
conquered," until they halted; and, as the French saw
many lances held aloft, they did not venture to follow
up their victory. 2 The Taro flowed with blood. Trivulzio
had a bottle of water fetched therefrom for his little son,
who was thirsty, as though it were red wine. 3 The boy
said, " How salty is this wine ! " " My son," answered the
father, "there is no other in this country."
The French had repulsed an attack that was never very
seriously meant. They had not gained any real victory, but
they were enabled to continue their march. The battle took
place on the 6th July ; on the 7th, before daybreak, whilst
mass was being sung and the watch-fires were still burn-
ing, the King arose, without sound of trumpet or war-cry,
and took a way, along which all the fortresses were occupied
and shut their gates against him, so that his knights often
came with a handful of hay for they had not more
wherewith to feed their horses and the army marched
from early morn until late at night, ofttimes so thirsty,
that wherever there was a pond or a pool they jumped
in up to their middle. 4 Along the whole line of march
1 According to an account of Gilbert Pointet, the intention of the
allies was to take the King prisoner (Pilorgerie, Campagne et bulletins,
p. 356) : " Nous rompre et prendre ledit seigneur aussi h'erement que
vindrent lesdits ennemis, aussi fierement furent-ils recueilliz, tellement
que quasi tous furent tuez." But he distinguishes from this the charge
upon the King, who had only three warriors about him: "II avait
son espee traicte combattant centre les ennemys." (Note to new
edition.)
2 Bembus, p. 44. Jovius, 43. Corio, 949. Nicole Gilles, Chroniques
de France, f. 117.
3 Rebucco in Rosmiui, i. 268.
4 Comines. 537. Vimercatus to Lodovico in Rosmini, ii. 221.
Gilles.
CH. II.] RETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 83
they left fresh graves behind them. In the same days
two other battles were fought.
On the 6th July, Julian advanced towards the French into
the plain of St. Spirito, to attack G-enoa. The Spinola
and Adomi made a sortie, 1 which was repulsed ; but on
the 7th the Genoese assaulted Rapallo, which was in the
occupation of the French, and made a simultaneous attack
upon their ships in the bay both with good success,
so that Julian lost courage, and took the road 2 upon which
the King had proceeded. The most important event of all
took place at Naples. On the 6th July, Ferrantino ap-
peared with sixty-nine sail in the Gulf of Naples ; but he
showed himself neither resolute nor quick. But, on the
morning of the 7th, as he was sailing past Naples from
Torre, as if bound for Puzzuolo, he suddenly heard from
within seditious cries, stopped, and approached. He saw
the flag of Aragon flying upon the bell-tower of Carmelo ;
and then heard the loud pealing of bells. Then a bark
shot up to him, whence came shouts of " Lord King, the
city is yours." ; A certain Merculian, so Jovius narrates, 4
the previous day crept stealthily in from the fleet and
assembled the friends. When they were about to lay hands
on him, the tumult burst forth someone having produced
an Aragon flag from under his coat ; hereupon general
shouting, waving of flags, and ringing of bells. Some
ran to Maddalenna, where the King had alighted, fell at
his feet, and brought him a horse. He rode to the gates
between Alonso Pescara and his private secretary Chariteo, 5
who was making Prove^al poems the while. The whole
populace came out of their houses. They caught hold of
his sword, and did not heed being wounded so long as
they could kiss his hand or his coat; and ever and anon
they shouted " Fierro " so loudly, that he turned to Chariteo
and quoted from Juvenal, " It is iron, that they love." So
they came into the city, whence the French were flying
1 Senarega, 553.
* Folieta, p. 270. Senarega, 554.
3 Passero, 75.
4 Historia sui temporis, f. 49, 50.
Ktlictum Friderici in Vecchioni to Passero, p. 106.
' Passero, 77. Juvenalis, vi. 112.
84 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
and were being robbed or slain. 1 Gaetanians were seen
with a Frenchman's heart between their teeth. Jean
Eabot, who lived in luxury and opulence, scarcely saved
the most indispensable clothing of his household. 2 But the
people kissed the King's feet, the ladies wiped the sweat
from his brow, and maidens threw garlands in his way ;
all cried, " Long live our true sovereign." At the same
time the Venetians fell upon Monopoli and took it, and
Federigo captured the city, court, and castle of Trani, and
threw its captain, who defended himself with only eight
others, into the hold of his galley. In the whole kingdom
the Aragon party was astir and doing. 3 After these events,
having at last arrived at Asti across the dyke of Tortona,
Charles could no longer dream of conquering he must
confine himself to rescuing the Duke of Orleans, who had
meantime been shut in Novara, and was in great distress.
By permission of Maximilian, Friedrich Cappeler of
Pfirt and G-eorg von Wolkenstein had brought 10,000
Germans, probably Tyrolese and Suabians, across the
Alps ; 4 and these, after having been reviewed by Lodovico
and his wife, lay with the Venetians in one camp, living
in tents full of abundance (there being before the door of
almost each one a spring of water), well paid and contented. 5
In order to procure suitable troops for the French, where-
with to oppose this force, the Bailiff of Dijon repaired to
Switzerland. On the 24th of August he was seen on large
ships, with music, drums, and joyous cries, sailing up the
lake towards Lucerne from the Cantons, where he had
been well received. 6 In Lucerne he feasted daily with his
friends, was lavish with his money, and was regarded as
a prince. The latest decrees prohibiting foreign expeditions
were not heeded. Where the magistracy insisted on their
observance, the young men climbed over the walls. Where
it was permitted, the flags floated on the gates and were put
up on the conduits. Even old men, who had seen the
1 Villeneufve, Memoires, p. 13.
2 Lettre in Godefroy, p. 717. 3 Villeneufve, p. 873.
4 Acta of Worms in Datt, 873.
5 Benedictus, Diarium.
6 Ludwig von Diesbach's letter to Lucerne in Glutzblotzheim,
Schweizer Geschichte, p. 516.
CH. II.] RETREAT OF CHARLES VIII. 85
Duke Charles at Nancy, went also. And so they marched,
troop by troop, from Martinach, across the mountains, and
down to Ivrea. On the 7th of September, the first detach-
ment, all grand, martial fellows, appeared before the King
in Moncagliere. 1 And none too early ; for Duke Louis in
Novara, who, although suffering from intermittent fever,
was yet obliged to visit the guard every day, and his brave
companions-in-arms, ill from bread made of hand- ground
coarse meal from unripe corn, 2 signalled their great distress
by three times lowering and raising their torches each night
on the highest towers. Even this flour was exhausted, and
in the streets there were dead and dying to be seen. 3
Charles now despatched some Swiss to Provence, to cross
thence to Naples ; but the greater part of them he kept in
his camp at Vercelli. Their numbers increased daily, and
made the enemy fear for the result of a battle, and there-
fore more inclined to make terms.* An arrangement be-
tween Charles VIII. and Lodovico had been already mooted.
The first opportunity for the opening of overtures was
made by the death of the Marquise of Montferrat, when
Charles, on the occasion of settling her inheritance, sent a
message to G-onzaga, expressing his sympathy. This led
to the envoys of both parties incidentally talking of peace.
At first, heralds went over, and concluded a truce, by virtue
of which the Duke of Orleans was permitted to leave Novara,
and received food for his troops. Hereupon negotiations
were opened as to the peace itself. There sat in Lodovico' s
chamber, himself, his wife, and the envoys of the League,
on one side of the table, and on the other the French ; at the
end were two secretaries for the two parties and the two
languages, and the negotiations were carried on between
them. Frequently, when one, two, or three Frenchmen all
began talking at once, Lodovico interrupted them with
" Ho, ho ! one at a time ; " and thereupon himself carried on
the conversation. He brought it about, that at the expira-
tion of fourteen days, on the 9th of October, all parties
1 Tsehudi Supplementum MS. In Fuchs, Maylandische Feldziige,
i. p. 212. Stettler, Schweizer Chronik, 325.
3 Benedict! Diarium, 1603. Notizie di Novara in Rosmini, 222.
3 Benedictus, 1619.
1 Andre de la Vigne, 226.
86 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
were agreed. 1 He promised to support the French from
Genoa, as it was a fief of Charles, against Naples, as soon
as his country belonged entirely to him again. Upon these
conditions peace was concluded. Early on the morning of
the 10th, the Venetians burnt their camp, and inarched
away. 2 How could it, as Bembo says was the case, have
been so disagreeable to them, when the danger that they
had dreaded was removed, and the expense that they so
unwillingly bore was at an end ? The treaty moreover was
concluded under their very eyes. The Duke of Orleans, a
part of the French nobility the numbers of his adherents
are reckoned at about 800 lances and the Swiss, who had
joined the expedition in order to enrich themselves, sub-
mitted but unwillingly to the arrangement. But Charles
VIII. kept saying, " I have sworn to it, and I will keep it."
His intention was to pacify Upper Italy, in order to save
Naples for himself. 3 He now carne to Lyons, paid his vow
in St. Denis, and found France just as he had left it ; yet
the movement that he had begun in Italy was still stirring. 4
Scarcely ever has a military expedition been undertaken,
that, after such a brilliant beginning, resulted in fewer
immediate consequences, and which was yet indirectly of
the greatest influence upon the world. Charles's expedition
may be regarded as the last enterprise undertaken in the
chivalrous spirit of the Crusades. This spirit now dis-
appeared. But from this expedition sprang that great
rivalry between the Spanish and French monarchies that
from this time forth filled the world, whilst Italy was at
the same time broken up.
The ideal unity of the peninsula we have traced above
has never been re-established. Italy became the battlefield
of neighbouring nations, and the sovereignty over it the
prize for which they continuously strove. Also in the
Germans the Eoman expeditions, which appeared to have
been almost forgotten, revived.
1 Comines, 553-557.
2 Andr de la Vigne, 227. Benedictus, 1622-1624.
3 Comines, 553-557. 4 Desrey, 227-228.
CH. II.] WAR IN NAPLES. 87
4. War in Naples, 1495-1496.
In Naples the war still continued. Its object was the
possession of the city. This was gained by the favour of
the populace, who drove the enemy into his castles, and
who, each placing as much as he could give into a collec-
tion box, paid 500 men for their King, and who even
marched against the Swiss at Sarno, and repulsed them.
It succeeded further, because the enemy in his castles
despaired of all help. After the peace of Novara, two
Genoese ships arrived, and the French hoped that Lodovico
had sent them to their assistance. 1 But Lodovico had
never intended any such thing. When the Venetians
called out to the Genoe.se sailors, " Qui vive ? " the latter
replied, "St. George and Fierro ! Fierro ! " Hereupon in
the city, trumpets, flying flags, and congratulations on the
part of the Sopracomiti ; in the castles, sheer despair. 2
The castles surrendered. Capua, Nola, and the greater
part of the west coast, followed their example ; and follow-
ing the Colonna, who had gone over, Aquila and a part of
the Abruzzi did the same.
Gonzal had also advanced from Reggio. The whole
southern tableland of Calabria, and SHa, which was con-
quered by the ambushes, stratagems, and surprises his
soldiers had learnt in the Alpuj arras, in a northerly direc-
tion as far as the foot of the mountain range, where a
steep road, in winter quite impracticable, hewn in the solid
rock, leads from Rotigliano to the Cosentian villages all
this, together with the places lying on both sides, he had
taken either by force or faction. Here he stopped. 3 It
was now December. In spite of their sudden change of
feeling, it is not quite correct to complain of the incon-
stancy of this people. Whenever a party which has re-
ceived its affections with its birth, and which has seen it-
self the victim of sudden oppression, becomes roused at
the first opportunity, this must be called obstinacy rather
1 Passero, 78-90. 2 Villeneufve, 43-45.
:) Zurita, f. 72, compared with Sejours d'un officier en Calabre, 1821.
Geographically better than Bartels.
88 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
than inconstancy. We will suppose two almost equal
parties, united not only by disposition, but also by property ;
for the one has often lost its goods to the other, or wrested
them from it in return. In their case, a successful cam-
paign and battle won, or favourable tidings, may help up
the one, whilst a chance accident, and the crime of an in-
dividual, may oppress and dishearten the other ; so that,
in order not to subject itself, but to await another oppor-
tunity, it hastes to secure itself on this occasion as far as
possible by making terms. No one will accuse the English
of natural cowardice, but in those days they acted in the
same manner, and for the same identical reasons. Where
relationships are sundered by disunion, by an enmity which
only aims at the recognition of a privilege, or a superiority
of the one and not the complete destruction of the other,
in proportion as hatred is weakened, is martial ardour di-
minished. Often, when they had already taken the field
in order to fight, the Aragons thought of the losses of their
Anjou relatives, would not engage and were considered
cowardly. 1 Under such circumstances, the war could not
be brought to a close in a moment.
From the west he turned eastwards across the hills.
Here there stretches away the well- watered plain of
Apulia, arid notwithstanding, on which, at all events in
those days, not a single tree grew, and where fennel stalks
served as fuel. Upon this plain there was no village, but
at harvest time the respective owners of the soil came from
their towns and castles with waggons and oxen, remained
all night in the open, and only returned when they had
finished their work. At times, there grazed upon the
royal meads of Tavoliera, sixty miles in extent, a strange
herd of cattle. 2 For towards the winter there came down
from the Abruzzian mountains, passing by Serra Capreola,
several hundred thousand sheep, goats, and beeves, who
remained there until the early spring, when they returned
to the fresh herbage of their hills. In those days they
were the King's best source of revenue in Foggia, as they
once were of the Roman Republic, bringing in lt)0,000
ducats. In order to collect this revenue, there hurried
1 Zurita, f. 86, 96. 2 Leander Albert!, Descriptio Italiae.
CH. II.] WAR IN NAPLES. 89
across it in February, 1496 Ferrantino to Foggia and
Montpensier to St. Severo. In the little guerilla warfare
which they began there a marvellous deed is recorded.
About 700 Germans under Ferrantino, who had taken
the road from Troja to Foggia, were suddenly surrounded
and attacked by several thousand French. At once
forming a ring, they beat off the enemy with their mus-
kets ; and then, for they wished to proceed on their
way, they opened their ranks, and 200 of them dashed
ahead to clear the road. But their captain, Hederlin, had
fallen ; they bound his corpse on a horse, took it in their
midst, and pushed forward. They would then have re-
mained unharmed, had they not had to cross a river. In
so doing they divided their forces, which made it easy for
the enemy "to attack them. Over the whole field of
Marsaria, and along the road, lay corpses, just as life and
blood had left them. They all died. Italians and
Spaniards have sung their praises once or twice since then ;
but never a G-erman. 1 This deed is remarkable not for
its success, but for the prowess displayed. Yet Ferrantino
immediately after had the advantage again. He had
pledged five places in Apulia, the best situated in the
country, to the Signorie of Venice for their war expenses,
and pledging was almost tantamount to selling. The Stra-
diotti, who in return for this transaction joined him, even
took the cattle away from the French, which were being
driven for them to St. Severo. 2 Here, there, and every-
where, always attacking and never awaiting the enemy's
attack, they made the King master of the plain, so that
both Lodovico in the west and Venice in the east aided
Ferrantino to victory ; yet the Republic afforded by far
the greatest assistance. In the south, Gonzal, as early as
February, had mounted up to the Cosentian villages on
the hills, had subjected Cosenza, except its castle, and all
the fortresses of the Crato valley, whether they would or
no, as well as the whole mountain chain as far as the second
passes, where it slopes down from Castrovillare to Campo
Temesse, and had instituted everywhere Aragon judges. 3
1 Jovius, 71. Passero, p. 97. Zurita, 73.
3 Bembus, 57. Also Guicciardini, ii. 149.
3 Zurita. 84, 96.
90 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
The Colonna had possession of the Abruzzi in the north,
the western and eastern slope of the hills were Aragon ; l
and so the French were obliged to pass through their midst
into the province of Molise, although they were disunited,
without money, and ignorant of hill-warfare. Ferrantino
immediately went in search of them there. At Morcone
they both again faced each other ; at Frangete only a ditch
parted them. A collision appeared to be inevitable. In
Naples, processions were held for two days, because the
King would have to fight at Benevento. In Calabria, too,
he was not quite safe. In Laino were gathered the barons
that had fled before G-onzal, and who now cherished
the plan of joining Aubigny, who was still at Tropea,
in order with united forces to relieve Cosenza. Before
they could make up their minds, 2 G-onzal sallied forth at
night, seized the passes, occupied the bridge between the
city and castle of Laino, possessed himself of both, and
took fourteen barons and many knights prisoners. 3 Whilst
he was coming up from the south, Ferrantino drove the
enemy before him from the north, by way of Ariano and
Jesualdo, from place to place, until he caught him up in
Atella. 4 Here he occupied the hills, covered with woods and
vineyards, which surround the valley on three sides. He
only left the road from Venosa open. This road GTonzal
blocked. 5 When now the French made an attempt to
break through, Ferrantino was the first to break his lance
upon them ; and when his knights said to him, " Sir, how
dare you expose yourself so much?" he replied, "It is
my affair also." In this way he fired the zeal of his troops,
and soon drove the enemy back. 6 The latter hoped against
hope in their King, but he was too far away, and they were
perishing from hunger. They accordingly begged for a
thirty days' truce ; if at the expiration of it they were then
unable to take the field, they pledged themselves to leave
the kingdom and surrender their strongholds. The days
passed ; succour did not arrive, and at length they were all
Tarfia, Historic Cupersanenses, in Grsevius. Ital. Thes., ix. p. 48.
Passero, 100.
Jovius, Vita Consalvi Magni, p. 220.
Baldi Gundubaldo, p. 156. 5 Zurita, 91-95.
Passero, 101. Unrest, Oesterreichische Chronik, p. 798.
CH. II.] WAR IN NAPLES. 91
for Aubigny had also surrendered conducted to the
coast. Here, heat, hunger, and dire diseases left only 1,500
men out of 6,000, and these took ship in such an exhausted
condition that they had almost to be lifted on shore,
if they were ever to breathe the air of the land again. 1
Others came into captivity, sat behind wooden and iron
gratings in dark cells, where they saw no living creature,
except perhaps the Moor who brought them their food. 2 At
last they were set free. These fugitives might be seen, with
the iron chains of their captivity still about their necks,
betaking themselves to holy places and to the court of the
King. They were contented to see his face once more ;
they took his presents, and wished him long life. 3
After this great victory over the French, on the 5th
October, 1496, Ferrantino returned with his young wife
to Naples. 4 The people, whom he had allowed to choose
a fuller as their Eletto, who was permitted to carry the
Mappa 5 on Corpus Christi day, which had been a privilege
of the nobles and who, if he lived, might hope for many
other favours at his hand loved him from the bottom of
their hearts. Many of them imitated him, how he raised
and bowed his head, and they believed they had a hero in
him. And now he came back to them ; but he was sick
to death. The people spent the whole night before the
saints on their knees. Early in the morning, they carried
a wonder-working image of Mary through the streets, and
brought it to him ; in the evening there followed in grand
procession, clerics and laymen, men and women, and even
the nobles, behind the head and blood of St. Januarius,
which their Archbishop carried before them through the
streets, until they were come to the gate of the palace.
Here the old Queen knelt down, and the people cried,
" Misericordia." He spoke to them, and said, " Finish
your prayers; God will do as seeineth him best," and
then died. " O our master," they said, " wherefore hast
Schodeler in Fuchs, iii. Anshelm.
Villeneufve, M6m., p. 74.
Villeneufve, Mem., p. 87.
Passero, 105, 107. (Note to new edition.) Giacomo, 205.
Passero, 101, 102. Giacomo, 209.
Cortegiano, from Castiglione, vol. i.
92 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
thou left us so soon ? Thy prowess, thy prowess in battle,
equalled by no hero of old, where is it now? By thy
death it is gone." Another said, " How shall I now live,
O my master, I that have borne so many hardships to
earn thy favour ? " Some reminded that he had often
been in danger of poison ; but he had escaped such a death,
and now he had passed away gently at the goal of his
victories. 1 Federigo, his uncle, succeeded to the throne in
his stead.
And now it almost appeared as though Charles's expe-
dition, which certainly never vanquished the Turks or took
Jerusalem, was not even productive of any lasting effects
upon Italy Lodovico and Federigo were even reconciled.
Yet it was not so in reality. The Florentine Popolares, the
Orsini, who now opposed the Pope instead of the Colonna,
as well as the unconquered cities in the kingdom, Tarentum,
Bitonto, Sora, Boca Gruilielma, formed a strong party, and
every day Charles, their suzerain, thought of returning to
them again. These were confronted by the Liga. The
Italian members of it would have been quite contented
with a victory over their enemies in Italy. The foreign
members desired more. Ferdinand was thinking of his
claims to Naples, and made inquiries of the Pope in re-
spect thereof. 2 Maximilian hoped, with the assistance of
this Liga, to strike a blow at France itself.
1 Passero, 107-110.
2 Zurita, i. 101-103, whence Mariana, 26, 14.
CHAPTEE in.
1. Maximilian of Austria and the Empire.
IN reality Maximilian wished first of all to aid the Liga
to conquer in Italy, and then to place himself at its
head, and attack France.
He was lord of Austria and the Netherlands. It
might have been about 600 years previously that, between
the Alps and the Bohemian frontier, the mark Austria
was first founded round and about the castles of Krems
and Melk. 1 Since then, beginning first in the valley towards
Bavaria and Hungary, and coming to the House of Habs-
burg, it had extended across the whole of the northern
slope of the Alps until where the Slavish, Italian, and
German tongues part, and over to Alsace ; thus becoming
an archduchy from a mark. On all sides the Archdukes
had claims; on the German side to Switzerland, on the
Italian to the Venetian possessions, and on the Slavish to
Bohemia and Hungary.
To such a pitch of greatness had Maximilian by his
marriage with Maria of Burgundy brought the heritage re-
ceived from Charles the Bold. True to the Netherlander 's
greeting, in the inscription over their gates, " Thou art
our Duke, fight our battle for us," war was from the first
his handicraft. He adopted Charles the Bold's hostile
attitude 1 towards France ; he saved the greatest part of
his inheritance from the schemes of Louis XI. Day and
night it was his whole thought, to conquer it entirely.
But after Maria of Burgundy's premature death, revo-
lution followed revolution, and his father Frederick being
too old to protect himself, it came about that in the year
1488 he was ousted from Austria by the Hungarians,
1 Kurz, Beitrgge zur Geschichte von Oesterreich, iii. 226 (note to new
edition). Cf. Budinger, Oesterreich. Geschichte, i. p. 167.
94 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
whilst his son was kept a prisoner in Bruges by the
citizens, and they had even to fear the estrangement of the
Tyrol. Yet they did not lose courage. At this very time
the father denoted with the vowels A. E. I. O. TL (" Alles
Erdreich ist Oesterreich unterthan " all the earth is sub-
ject to Austria), the extent of his hopes. In the same
year, the son negotiated for a Spanish alliance. Their real
strength lay in the imperial dignity of Frederick, and in
the royal dignity of Maximilian, which they had from the
German Empire. As soon as it began to bestir itself,
Maximilian was set at liberty ; as soon as it supported
him in the persons of only a few princes of the Empire,
he became lord in his Netherlands. The standard of the
Kennemer, with its device of bread and cheese, floated
before Leyden for the last time, and the last Hok, Philip
of Ravenstein, surrendered Sluys to him. 1 It was the
same help that secured him the Tyrol, and which enabled
him to reconquer Austria. 2
Since then, his plans were directed against Hungary and
Burgundy. In Hungary, he could gain nothing except secur-
ing the succession to his house. 3 But never, frequently as
he concluded peace, did he give up his intentions upon Bur-
gundy. He might have hoped to compass them if Anna
of Brittany had only been his wife. On the day that he
learned that she was not to become so, he threw himself
in a fit of bitter disappointment into the saddle, and
appeared again and again on the race ground. 4 But on
this occasion the German Empire took no account of his
indignation. But now that he had allied himself with a
Sforza, and had joined the Liga, now that his father was
dead, and the Empire was pledged to follow him across
the mountains, and now, too, that the Italian complica-
tions were threatening Charles, he took fresh hope, and
in this hope he summoned a Diet at Worms.
Maximilian was a prince of whom, although many por-
1 Pontus Heuterus, Kerum Austriac. Hermann! bellum Gelricum,
530.
2 Speech of Berthold of Mayence of the year 1492 in Miiller's Reichs-
tagstheatrum.
3 Document in Sambucus, Appendix ad Bonfinium.
4 Ehrenspiegel, p. 1368.
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 95
traits have been drawn, yet there is scarcely one that
resembles another, so easily and so entirely did he suit
himself to circumstances, so little was he controlled by
one occupation or one inclination, a prince of whose
character his contemporaries have left behind them
detailed descriptions, yet not a single satisfactory his-
tory. His soul is full of motion, of joy in things, and
of plans. There is scarcely anything that he is not
capable of doing. In his mines he is a good screener,
in his armoury the best plater, capable of instructing
others in new inventions. With musket in hand, he de-
feats his best marksman, George Purkhard ; with heavy
cannon, which he has shown how to cast, and has placed
on wheels, he comes as a rule nearest the mark. 1 He
commands seven captains in their seven several tongues ;
he himself chooses and mixes his food and medicines. 2
In the open country, he feels himself happiest. He rides
by copses listening for the nightingale, it may be to
the forests of Brabant, to hunt the boar, to the Tyrol
mountains, where he has forbidden the hunting of the
chamois because firearms have left so few remaining/ 1
Here he leaves his horse behind, and in pursuit of them
climbs the steep rocks where, if he makes a false step,
he may fall four hundred to five hundred fathoms, and
where sometimes, when the climbing iron has given way,
a bush or projecting stone alone has saved him from
destruction, and where, on one occasion, in the Hallthal,
he heard the avalanche thunder at his back. 4 The com-
mon people tell stories of how he was once let down by
strong ropes from the heights into the valley beneath, and
on another occasion, when this was impracticable, and
a crucifix was already raised towards him from the valley
as though to receive his dying prayer, an angel rescued
him from the Martinswand. 5 On his return from such
an expedition, his fowler brings him all manner of singing
Weiskunig, 83, 90, 99.
Griinbeck, Historia Friedrichs und Maximilians, p. 84. Cuspini-
s, Maximilian! in Vita? Imperatorum, p. G13.
Weiskunig, 91.
Griinbeck, Ehrenspiegel, 1381.
Pontus Heuterus, 343, and the legends.
96 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
birds into his chamber, who drown his very voice in their
melody. Or, again, he goes to one of his servants'
weddings, or listens confidentially to the prayers of his
subjects, or it may be relates a story to his counsellors
and secretaries. Sometimes he dictates a piece from his
enigmatical and almost unfathomable works, 1 a note for his
diary, as, for instance, how priest Lasla is to compile the
Chronicles, 2 or one of his very exact instructions as, for in-
stance, how itwere possible with a makeshift musket to shoot
across into the kitchen 3 at Beutelstein, or perhaps a letter.
Such is his character. But this has little to do with history.
What really distinguishes his public life is that presenti-
ment of the future greatness of his dynasty which he has
inherited of his father, and the restless striving to attain
all that devolved upon him from the House of Bur-
gundy. All his policy and all his schemes were concen-
trated, not upon his Empire, for the real needs of which he
evinced little real care, and not immediately upon the
welfare of his hereditary lands, but upon the realization
of that sole idea. Of it all his letters and speeches are
full. Yet each individual plan he keeps extremely secret.
There are projects that he communicates to none of his
counsellors. 4 At such times he places the foreign em-
bassies in positions where they learn nothing, and from
which they cannot escape. Then he sends his cook only
an hour in advance of himself, when he intends to take
a journey. 5 Whenever he fancies his plans are discerned,
the veins in his neck swell, and he becomes wroth. 6 It
will sometimes happen that the matter upon which he
is bent, after he has undertaken it, presents difficulties
for which he is not prepared, 7 but, as he has always
other schemes, which lead to the same end, he soon
forgets his failures. Thus, in such matters, he behaves
like a huntsman, who is bent upon climbing a very steep
1 Griinbeck, 90. Henric. Pantaleon, de Viris illustribus, p. 1. Roo,
Annales rerum ab Austriacis principibus gestarum, 316.
2 A passage therefrom in Hormayr's Oesterr. Plutarch, v. 159.
3 Instruction in Gbblers Chronika der Kriegshandel, f. 1.
4 Macchiavelli, Principe, c. 23, p. 60, out of the mouth of Pre Luca.
5 Macchiavelli, Legazione alia corte di Massimiliano, p. 193.
6 Hubertus Thomas Leodius, Vita Friderici Palatini, lib. iii. No. 7.
7 Histoire de Bayard, 179.
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 97
hill, first by this path and then by that, and if he fails,
attempts another and yet another way without losing
patience ; for it is now quite early in the day, and he
gradually mounts higher and higher, his sole care being
to hide himself from the wild animal he pursues.
In March, 1495, Maximilian caine to the Diet at Worms.
He showed himself in his full chivalrous bearing, when
he himself entered the lists with a Frenchman, who had
come to challenge all the Germans, and conquered him. He
appeared in the full glory of his regal dignity, when he
sat in public between the archbishops and his chancellors.
On such occasions, the Count Palatine sat on his right and
held his orb, on his left stood the Duke of Saxony and
held his sword ; before him, facing him, stood the envoy of
Brandenburg with the sceptre, and behind him, instead
of Bohemia, the hereditary cupbearer of Limburg, with the
crown ; and grouped round him were the rest of the forty
princes, sixty-seven counts and lords, as many as had come,
and the ambassadors of the cities, and others, all in their
order. 1 Then a prince would come before him, lower his
colours before the royal throne, and receive enfeoffment.
One could not perceive that this mode of enfeoffment in-
volved any compulsion upon the King, or that the insignia
of royal power resided in the hands of the princes.
At this Reichstag the King gained two momentous
prospects. In Wurtemberg there had sprung of two lines
two counts of quite opposite characters. The elder was
kind-hearted, tender, always resolute, and dared " sleep
in the lap of any one of his subjects." " The younger,
volatile, unsteady, violent, and always repentant of what he
had done. 3 Both were named Eberhard, but the elder, by
special favour of the Imperial Court, also governed the land
of the younger. In return for this, he furnished 400
horse for the Hungarian war, and despatched aid against
Flanders. With the elder, Maximilian now entered
1 Bernh. Herzog, Elsasser Chronik,ii. f. 150. in Datt, de pace publica,
613. Lintnrius, Appendix ad Rotewinkii Fascicul. temper, in Pistorius,
Scrijitt. Germ. ii. 594.
Pfister, Eberhard in Bart, p. 60.
Ulrich's lamentations in Sattler, iv., and in Spittler's Geschichte
von Wiirttemberg, 46.
H
98 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
into a compact. Wurtemberg was to be raised to a duke-
dom an elevation which excluded the female line from
the succession and, in the event of the stock failing, was
to be a " widow's portion " of the realm to the use of the
Imperial Chamber. 1 Now, as the sole hopes of this family
centred in a weakling of a boy, this arrangement held out
to Maximilian and his successors the prospect of acquiring
a splendid country. Yet this was the smaller of his two
successes. The greater was the espousal of his children,
Philip and Margaret, with the two children of Ferdinand
the Catholic, Juana and Juan, which was here settled. 2
This opened to his house still greater expectations, it
brought him at once into the most intimate alliance with
the Kings of Spain.
These matters might possibly, however, have been ar-
ranged elsewhere. What Maximilian really wanted in the
E/eichstag at Worms was the assistance of the Empire
against the French, with its world-renowned and much-
envied soldiery.
For at that time in all the wars of Europe, German
auxiliaries were decisive. The troops upon which Wasil-
jewitsch depended when he led his Muscovites against
the Poles, 3 and those who subjected Sweden to the Union, 4
were German, as were also those which died in England
for the cause of the Yorks on the place 5 where they had
awaited the battle. Those who made the possession of
Brittany by the crown of France uncertain, as well as those
who conquered it, were also Germans ; 6 the defenders as
well as the conquerors of Naples ; the subduers of Hun-
gary, as long as it suited them, as also those who saved
it in going home with their booty, 7 all were Germans.
But "these were the quarrelsome, wandering portion of
the nation, those hirelings against whom the peace pro-
clamations were directed. In Germany there still lived
peasants, like the Ditmarses, who awaited a victorious
Pfister, 27 1,297.
Zurita, f. 79. Petrus Martyr, Epp. 96.
Letter in Raynaldus, Annal. Eccles. xx. 141.
Kranz, Vandalia, xiv. 27.
Polydorus Virgilius, Historia Anglica, 26, 729.
Miiller, Schweizer Geschichte, v. 318.
7 Maximilian's proclamation in Datt, 496.
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 99
army, under a ting of three realms, behind their walls, and
defeated it, and who hanged the Danebrog in a village
church. In the cities there dwelt behind their impreg-
nable walls and their cannon, citizens versed in the use
of arms, who practised their good arts and games until
irritated by an enemy, when they met him, as the Stras-
burgers did Charles the Bold before Nancy. 1 Less secure
were perhaps princes and lords, yet these had castles to pro-
tect them against the first attack, and feudal tenants and
faithful subjects ever about them. If Maximilian had
united the whole of this power in his hand, neither
Europe nor Asia would have been able to withstand him.
But God disposed that it should rather be employed in
the cause of freedom than for oppression. What an Em-
pire was that which in spite of its vast strength allowed its
Emperor to be expelled from his heritage, and did not for
a long time take steps to bring him back again ?
If we examine the constitution of the Empire, not as we
should picture it to ourselves in Henry IIL's time, but as
it had at length become the legal independence of the
several estates, the emptiness of the imperial dignity,
the electiveness of a head, that afterwards exercised cer-
tain rights over the electors, we are led to inquire not
so much into the causes of its disintegration, for this
concerns us little, as into the way in which it was held
together.
What welded it together, and preserved it, would
(leaving tradition and the Pope out of the question) appear,
before all else, to have been the rights of individuals, the
unions of neighbours, and the social regulations which
universally obtained. Such were those rights and privileges
that not only protected the citizen, his guild, and his
quarter of the town against his neighbours and more
powerful men than himself, but which also endowed him
with an inner independence; those rights and privileges
that secured his rightful possessions to the greatest, and his
existence to the least ; a legacy left by each generation to
the succeeding, unalterable either by emperor or empire
who had confirmed them, but which were without them
1 Konigshofer, Strassburger Chronik, 379.
100 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
a mere nothing. Next, the unions of neighbours. These
were not only leagues of cities and peasantries, ex-
panded from ancient fraternities for who can tell the
origin of the Hansa, or the earliest treaty between Uri and
Schwyz? into large associations, or of knights, who
strengthened a really insignificant power by confedera-
tions of neighbours, but also of the princes, who were
bound together by joint inheritances, mutual expectancies,
and the ties of blood, which in some cases were very close.
This ramification, dependent upon a supreme power and
confirmed by it, bound neighbour to neighbour ; and, whilst
securing to each his privilege and his liberty, blended to-
gether all countries of Germany in legal bonds of union.
But it is only in the social regulations that the unity
was really perceivable. Only as long as the Empire was
an actual reality, could the supreme power of the Electors,
each with his own special rights, be maintained ; only so
long could dukes and princes, bishops and abbots hold
their neighbours in due respect, and through court offices
or hereditary services, through fiefs and the dignity of
their independent position, give their vassals a peculiar
position to the whole. Only so long could the cities
enjoying immediateness under the Empire, carefully
divided into free and imperial cities, be not merely
protected, but also assured of a participation in the
government of the whole. Under this sanctified and tradi-
tional system of suzerainty and vassalage all were happy
and contented, and bore a love to it such as is cherished
towards a native town or a father's house.
For some time past, the House of Austria had enjoyed
the foremost position. It also had a union, and, more-
over, a great faction on its side. The union was the
Suabian League. Old Suabia was divided into three
leagues the league of the peasantry (the origin of Swit-
zerland) ; the league of the knights in the Black Forest,
on the Kocher, the Neckar, and the Danube ; and the
league of the cities.
The peasantry were from the first hostile to Austria.
The Emperor Frederick brought it to pass that the cities
and knights, that had from time out of mind lived in feud,
bound themselves together with several princes, and formed,
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 101
under his protection, the league of the land of Suabia.
But the party was scattered throughout the whole Empire.
In almost every German house was a division into
an elder and a younger line ; and, as though fated, it
happened that one, generally the younger, clave to the
Emperor. Of the Bavarian House, it was at last that of
Munich ; of the Palatinate, that of Veldenz ; of the Wur-
temherg House, the Urach line ; of the Saxon, the Dresden ;
of the Hessian, the Marburg ; and of the Guelph, the
Brunswick. Most friendly to the Imperial House were
the Houses of Brandenburg and Baden, which were for a
long time undivided ; the most hostile to him, since Frede-
rick the Victorious, the Palatinate. He who takes in
hand all historical documents, especially the electoral rolls
of the ecclesiastical princes, and narrowly scrutinizes
these dry historical details, will be able to discover, from
Frederick II.' s time, a new history, unlike Hiiberlin's,
founded upon persons and living actions.
But it is not that upon which the Emperor's hallowed
position in the nation reposed. This was based before all
else upon his dignity, the sublimest in Christendom, the
keystone of that social order, and upon the custody of
trad itional rights a custody, so to speak, of times past
for times to come, which lay in his hand, and which
"was bound up with the distribution of new rights through
tlu medium of privileges and fiefs. His position was
based, moreover, upon the universal judicial office he
filled, as well as upon the great influence he exercised
upon public matters by his motions, proposals, and party
in the " Reichstag." " His name is great," says a papal
deputy ; " in a land of factions he can do much. Every-
one looks to him ; and without him nothing can be
<lone." ' In this respect there were, however, great defi-
f i. ii,-ies. Freedoms were often bestowed out of mere per-
sonal considerations, and to the prejudice of others ; judicial
business was frequently kept in arrear, if the parties did
not come to court with sufficient money ; domestic matters
often made affairs of general policy, and real
needs neglected. The princes complained that the Em-
1 Cumpanus ad Cardinalem Tapiensem in Freherus, ii. 148.
102 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
.peror did not consult them, but his counsellors. Much
arbitrariness, the taking as much as one can get, on the
one side, and uncomplaisancy and unwillingness, doing as
little as need be, on the other, were observable in his
regime.
Maximilian had first intended to remain fourteen days
at Worms ; and, before Charles had returned from Naples,
with the help of the vassals of the realm, to undertake an
expedition against him. Yet his proposal did not express
this intention. It was as follows : "Whereas the Turk twice
each year assailed Christendom; and whereas the King
of France threatened to bring the prerogatives of the Em-
pire and the Church into his power, a speedy and, more than,
this for they had equipped themselves for a long cam-
paign, a continuous aid for ten to twelve years was
needed." l
But here lay the chief difficulty, to induce a constitu-
tion only framed for peace, or at most fitted to carry on a
short war, to undertake a protracted campaign at a dis-
tance. To this end either the dormant military power of
the vassals, princes, knights, citizens, and peasants could
be utilized, or else the lansquenets, who were always ready
to serve for pay. But the feudal system had fallen into
decay, owing no less to the Emperor, who left the indivi-
dual unaided, than to the individuals who did not, on their
part, support him. It still lived on only in respect of
" Mine and Thine," and not with any view to war ; it existed
more in claims and in parchments than in actual fact. It
was impossible to unite the first in military obedience for
any length of time, so as to undertake a real campaign.
Maximilian's intention, therefore, was to raise money
through his claims upon them, and with this money to form,
an army of lansquenets. This was the tenour of his pro-
posal.
This proposal was received by the estates at Worms in
full assembly at the city hall. Hereupon they with-
drew the Electors into one chamber, the princes into
a second, and the emissaries of the cities into a third,
and began to examine article after article. The printed
1 Reichstags acta von Worms, 13.
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 103
records do not quite disclose the relations of the princes to
the electors ; but of the cities thus much we know, that
their commission was, to agree to what the gracious lords
resolved, and only to protect the interests of each individual
city. They would not, even when asked, make known their
opinion until the princes had declared theirs. They often
learnt from the Elector of Mayence what had been proposed
to them, and what they had determined upon. In case they
had any scruples they sent, perchance after their meal,
to him direct. The King when confronted by the full
assembly appeared at a great disadvantage. In case he
desired a rapid decision, he was even obliged to go out
whilst they were deliberating, and await outside the result.
These estates, then, that have in their hereditary in-
dependence as little in common with the representative
estates of a military monarchy, as the Empire of those
days with a political state, answered the King, that, before
all else, order in the Empire must be secured. When, in
1486, Frederick pressed them for assistance against the
Hungarians, they cast in his teeth complaints as to his
judicial conduct ; and when, in 1492, he proposed a French
campaign, they replied, following the example of Berthold
von Mainz : "It was an evil innovation, the reckoning of
assistance in money. Many were excused the contribu-
tion ; many paid only half ; many, again, too late ; those
that paid it were ruined; and, finally, it was spent for
different objects than it had been granted for." All the
same, they did not declare themselves against pecuniary
assistance, but they wished to counteract those two evils
by the aid of the tribunals, and by assisting in the appro-
priation of the moneys voted.
At the present moment, both parties, they and the
King, pursued their own ends. On three occasions, Maxi-
milian was particularly pressing. The first occasion was
in April, when the preparations of the Duke of Orleans
threatened Milan, and Charles's retreat menaced the Pope
and Genoa, and he could still hope to find him in the
field, far away from his country. But the princes took
upon themselves to propose to him a Council of State,
with him as president, but which should contain six-
teen members, composed of the Electors, the four arch-
104) LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
bishoprics, the four countries and the cities, and which
should, in reality, exercise all internal power. In this
first dispute Maximilian gained the day. Berthold von
Mainz said, " They did not wish to mortgage the King's
person for this assistance they voted him; they would
acquiesce in his wishes and trust him." Acting upon this
sentiment, they promised him that, although he rejected
their Council of State, they would, within six weeks, raise
100,000 guilders from the estates ; 50,000 he should raise
himself, and both sums should be covered by a general
tax levied on the country ; only he should not leave the
land before peace, right, and a tolerable state of order was
established. This was the first time. 1
The peace was not established, the money was not paid,
and the six weeks had long passed by.
On the second occasion, when Charles was in the Floren-
tine country, and messengers announced that Milan was in
danger, he declared as follows : " For two days, from eight
o'clock in the morning until eight at night, he had busied him-
self with the peace project ; in two days he hoped to have
settled it ; in the meanwhile they should be good enough
to vote him the money." Many were opposed to this,
especially the cities. But he prevailed upon some princes
to grant him the money ; and Berthold induced the repre-
sentatives of the cities to write, at all events, to their
respective homes. He was successful on this occasion also.
It was in July. 2
After this, at the beginning of August, when Novara was
being besieged, and a victory of the Swiss was apprehended,
in case the lansquenets, who had been sent thither, were
not regularly paid, he made fresh demands. But on this
occasion he could prevail upon nobody. On the afternoon
of the 4th of August he adopted the plans provisionally,
and on the 7th definitively, and received on the 9th a fresh
vote of 150,000 guilders. 3
What can it then have been that the King was unwilling
1 Acta, 25. Muller's Reichstagsstaat, p. 11. Besserer's letter to
Esslinger in Datt, de pace publica, 521.
2 Acta 47, 55, 56.
3 Acta 69-74, in Datt, de pace publica, pp. 873-883. Cf. Ullmann,
Kaiser Maximilian, i. p. 374.
CH. III.] MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA AND THE EMPIRE. 105
to face ? Certainly not the public peace, that had been so
often proclaimed, but the Supreme Court of Judicature, a
Court constituted with the advice and consent of the Diet,
and which, moreover, as was plainly evidenced by later
references to the events of this day, was composed in the
way in which it was intended to compose the Council of
State, so that hereby a great part of his absolute judicial
power was taken from him. Yet in the matter nearest
his heart still greater difficulties presented themselves.
It was resolved to raise an universal "pfennig" tax no
small contribution, as it would amount to the thousandth
part of the property of the public, and in many districts,
taxes and assessments were at this time unknown. 1 The
object would have been to bring every individual in all
Germany immediately under the central imperial govern-
ment, and always to keep a good sum in reserve for public
matters.
This " pfennig " was for the King, but it was not pro-
posed to leave it to his absolute control. Seven imperial
treasurers should be told off to raise, it, and an annual diet
appointed to keep watch over its application. On the evening
before the "Feast of the Purification" in each year, King,
princes, and all estates should assemble, and remain a
whole month together to deal with the public peace and law.
This assembly could not do aught but diminish the King's
independence and his whole prestige. What availed him
the money, when another could determine how it should
be employed ? But on this occasion it could not be avoided.
With but few knights, without any reception, Maximilian
arrived in Frankfort. On the great Braunfels there, he
delivered the simple red judge's staff with its black handle
to the first justiciary, Eitel Frederick von Zollern, and
then, in disgust that his chief object had been defeated, be-
took himself to the Tyrol. Charles was home again ; in
Milan peace prevailed, and all his plans had been bridled. 2
1 Kanzow, Pomerania, ii. xiv. 414.
2 57. 7. Datt, de pace publica, 606, 717. Vogt, Kheinische Ge-
sohichtrn, iii. xiv. :!ti"). MS. of Latom in Lersner'sChronik von Frank-
furt a/M., 128.
106 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
2. Maximilian's First Expedition to Italy.
In the Tyrol, Maximilian was visited by the ambassadors
of Italy ; they represented to him that " the King of France
was every day threatening to return. The Popolares at
Florence, his keenest partisans, had been bold enough to
attack Pisa. Against the former, as also against these latter,
they prayed him to come and wage war, and not, when they
had so great need of him, to be again thwarted by a Reichs-
tag." Maximilian turned his attention entirely to Italian
affairs, and inclined to the hope that he would be able,
even without material assistance from Germany, to carry
one of his plans.
The condition of things in Pisa and Florence was now as
follows. When King Charles took Pisa under his protection,
he forgot that it had ever been Ghibelline, had declared
against the Anjous and against his rights, and that its last
action had been to hoist the Burgundian colours. 1 Later,
he came to terms with Florence, and only insisted upon an
amnesty for Pisa. Relying upon this, the Florentines
commenced the war. The castles upon the heights of Eva
and Elsa, originally belonging to Pisa, and not far from
the coast, were soon taken. Livorno surrendered to them,
and Charles gave orders to his captain in the castle of Pisa
to surrender this also. 2 But the captain acted contrary to
expectations. Whether or not it was compassion, bribe, or,
as is said, a lady of Pisa, who pleased him but too well,
he disregarded his sovereign's commands. When the
Florentines, upon his invitation, rushed through suburbs,
fortifications, and across the Arno, in order to take the
city and to receive the castle from him, he fired amongst
them and hurled them back. He was the first to make the
people of Pisa perfectly free, by surrendering to them their
castle. 3
But what sort of liberty is that, which from the first outset
hesitates to protect itself ? It was enough for the people
1 Sismondi, Histoire des Republic Ital., viii. 152.
2 Nardi, Istorie della citta, 26. Guicciardini, ii. 121. Jovius, Historise
sui temporis, 56. 3 Comines, viii. 567.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 107
of Pisa not to be subjected to their old enemies. And he
who protected them against their foes was also acceptable
to them as their lord and master.
When, then, on the occasion of the renewed attacks made
upon it by Florence, Lodovico and the Venetians took the
part of Pisa, they may, perhaps, have intended to injure
the French party ; certain it is that Lodovico reflected, that
the city formerly belonged to the Visconti, and that it was
favourably situated for both Genoa and Milan ; and certain
it is that the latter considered what an excellent acquisition
Pisa would be to the Apulian cities which were already
theirs, and to Tarento, which had just raised the cry of
" St. Marco," and how it would enable them to plant their
standards on the Tyrrhenian sea. At first, as though no
one knew the others' thoughts, they held together ; but
every day Lodovico became more jealous. He retired.
His general, on being invited to advance, once answered
that he must first take his breakfast. But matters did
not come much further in this way. 1 It was a very bril-
liant idea of his to help to pass on this war to the German
King, his nearest relative, who was an enemy of the Popo-
lares, and no friend of Venice.
When, in May, 1496, Trivulzio came across the hills, for-
tified Asti, and spread the report that close behind him
were coming the Duke of Orleans, and after him the King,
with 2,000 hommes d'armes, and 10,000 Gascons and
Swiss ; this induced the Venetians for Charles threatened
to avenge their attack upon Fornovo to agree to Lodo-
vico' s proposal. 2
Accordingly, in July, 1496, Lodovico set out with his court
and journeyed to Valtellino, and thence by way of Bormio
across the Umbrail to Minister, there to await Maximilian.
The next morning, before daybreak, the Emperor arrived
attired in a black hunting costume, at his side the golden
bugle-horn, and accompanied by 200 huntsmen with the
long poles, with which they clamber from rock to rock,
and by many nobles all decorated with the Burgundian
Cross of St. Andrew. After the meeting was over, he might
1 Chronicon Venetum, 36. Bembus, Historia Veneta, 66. Bursellis,
Chronieon Bononiense, 914.
a Ebel, Anleitung, die Schweiz zu hereisen, iv. 510.
108 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
have been seen following the chase on the highest peaks of
the Umbrail Joch merely to gaze up at which made the
spectator dizzy his feet shod with climbing irons, where
the cleft rocks ran sheer down into the abyss beneath.
Meanwhile, the Duchess sat in a small hut, and chamois
were driven down from the ravines and round the jagged
rocks, and the sport went on before her eyes. In this way
they amused themselves. The most important event, how-
ever, was, that Maximilian entertained the proposals of the
Italian envoys : " they should pay him 40,000 ducats every
three months, and he would then come and wage their war
for them." ] But first he must return to Germany.
In his ill-humour he had dropped all the resolutions
of the Diet. At all events, he ought, by his presence in the
first assembly, to have inaugurated the new constitution ;
but when the Day of Purification had arrived, he said that
in Worms he had been treated as no city treated its
mayor, and thereupon remained away. A few plenipo-
tentiaries came, but in a short time everyone went home.
In the meanwhile, the " Pfennig " had been raised ; abbots
and ecclesiastics paid it, and the cities also paid it into the
hand of their parsons. But as the assembly, which should
determine how the contribution should be expended, had
broken up, how was it likely that any should show great
eagerness, especially as all were unaccustomed to these pro-
ceedings, and annoyed at their property being investigated ?
Maximilian, accordingly, at Whitsuntide, 1496, wrote :
" Each one should appear at Lindau with his soldiers all
ready equipped, and with the money that had been raised
by tax to pay them." Immediately afterwards, just as if
nothing had been pre-arranged and pre-determined, he de-
manded that, " eight days after St. John's Day, the summer
solstice, the strength of the nation should accompany him
across the mountains, for King Charles was already on the
march ; " 2 and in August he wrote that he was full of great
hopes for the success of his Roman campaign ; the country
1 Ghilinus, de adventu Maximilian! in Italiam, ap. Freherum, iii. 82.
Navagero, Stor. Venet., 1207.
2 Letter of the Esslinger in Datt, de pace publica, p. 550. Maxi-
milian's proclamation, ibid. 544, 546. Trithemius, Chronicon Hirsan-
giense ad annum 1496.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 109'
should support him at once with loans and the " pfennig "
tax. 1
But how was the campaign to be begun, without the fiat
of the Empire ? That it did not come to this in no way
disheartened him. The princes of his party afforded him
some assistance, namely, those princes that at that time
were living at his Court at Innsbruck. The deputies of
a few Swiss cities accompanied him. Yet his real army
was to be provided by Italy. In Linz he took counsel with
his son Philip. Philip, who now ruled the Netherlands,
came merrily, sometimes taking part in the " bird- shoot-
ing" of respectable burghers, and sometimes joining in
the patrician dances. At the manor-house at Augsburg,
where they made a pile of maypoles and garlands forty-five
feet high for the St. John's Day bonfire, the fairest damsel
with a wax taper in her hand kindled it with him in the
dance, whilst the trumpets, cornets, and kettledrums all
brayed to the fire and the dance. 2 In Linz his father
disclosed to him his bold plans. He hoped to keep the
French back from Italy and Livorno ; Florence would then
league itself with him ; nay more, aid him to cross over
in Rene's interest from Tuscany into Provence. This
done, Philip should invade France from the Netherlands
and Ferdinand from Roussillon. In Lyons, they might
all three meet, and then Burgundy would be won. 3
With these hopes, in August, he took the 200 horse
that he had equipped, and induced Albrecht of Saxony
to follow him with some infantry ; and in the hamlet
of Meda, beyond Valtellina and Morbegno, between houses
and gardens, he met the envoy of the Pope and Lodovico.
In Vigevano they took counsel together. 4 A few days.
1 A letter of Maximilian of the 29th August from Carimate (read
instead of Calmia) in Datt, p. 552 seq.
2 Pontus Heuterus, Rerum Aust. i. 15, p. 230. Gassers, Augsb.
Chronik, 257. Cursius, Ann. Suevici. 3 Zurita, i. 98.
4 Maximilian proceeded from Augsburg, where he had resided for
two months, about the middle of June, 1496, to Innsbruck, by way of
Landsberg. Here he remained from the 27th of June to the 5th of July
(Reports of the Venetian envoy, Francesco Foscarin, in the Achiviu
storico Italiano, t. vii. p. 734, 749). Thence he journeyed by Imst
(10th July), Pfunds (13), and Nauders to Mais, where he arrived oir
July 17. On the 20th the meeting with Lodovico took place at Mtinster..
Maximilian escorted Lodovico on the same day as far as Mais. From
110 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
later, the Venetian envoys arrived. The first danger, the
arrival of the French, was past. In France, Louis
d' Orleans, when his baggage was already on the road and
he was about to start between evening and morning,
suddenly changed his mind, and Charles did not wish to
compel him. It would have been all the easier to have
attacked Asti, but the Venetians would not give it up to
the man who had refused them Pisa. An immediate attack
upon Florence was concerted. In a short time Maximilian
stood before the towers of Livorno, in order to first wrest
this city from it full of schemes for the future. 1
The Florentines at that time owned sway over 800 walled
towns, consisting partly of such as were closed in the even-
ing and opened in the morning the half at least with a
market as well as over 12,000 open hamlets. One hundred
and thirty towns brought them every St. John's Day a
taper or a piece of cloth, and owned the city as their pro-
tectress. 2 Such was the power they exercised over Pistoja
and Volterra by party influence, by their commerce and
money over Arezzo, which they had purchased from Courcy
Mais, which he left on the 26th July, he returned to Imst, where he
arrived on the 2nd August (not on the 28th July, as Ullmann, Kaiser
Maximilian, i. p. 447, states ; or in Foscari's report in the Arch. stor.
Ital., vii. p. 790, " Jeri Giunsi in questo loco dove si trova 1'Arciduca
Filippo e nel quale S. M. arrivo il di precedente j " by jeri, seeing that
the letter was dated 4th August, the 3rd is meant, and accordingly by
" il di precedente " the 2nd August is denoted in the " Itinerarium
Maximilians," by Stalin, Forschungen, i. p. 355, Imst does not occur),
and had an interview with his son Philip. On the 4th August Maxi-
milian again left Imst, and proceeded by Landeck, Prutz, Pfunds, and
Nauders to Mais, which he reached on the 13th. Thence he set out on
the 15th, and betook himself by Bormio, Tirano, Sondrio, and Carimate,
to Meda, where he met on the 31st August the envoy and Lodovico.
On the 1st September Maximilian went back to Vigevano (Vigevene),
where he arrived on the 2nd, and Lodovico and the papal legate on
the 3rd of September (Sanuto in Arch, stor., vii. p. 946). (Note to 3rd
edition.) On the 13th September (Foscari's Report in Arch. stor. Ital.,
vii. 865, Sanuto Diarii, i. p. 304 ; cf. Rawdon, Brown, Ragguagli sulla
vita e sulla opere di Marin Sanuto, pp. 35, 40).
1 Senarega, Annales Genuenses, 560. Burcardus, Diarium, 2075.
Ghilinus, 88. Comines, 576. On the 23rd of September Maximilian
started from Vigevano, and proceeded by way of Tortsea (Foscari, a. a.
O. p. 886) to Genoa, which he reached on the 27th. Here he embarked
on the 8th October.
2 Benedetto Dei, in Varchi, Istorie Florentine, 262.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. Ill
d'Enguerrand, 1 over Cortona, that had surrendered to King
Ladislaw and had been bargained by him to them, over
Pisa, that had on one occasion been betrayed and sold to
them by Gabriel Visconti, and on another by the head of
the exiles, then the head of the city for the city had re-
sisted and had called back its exiles into it and, finally,
over Livorno, which Thomas Fregoso had made over to
them for 100,000 ducats. 2
Now we must remember that not all the 10,000 fathers
of families at that time in Florence belonged to the ruling
classes, for the most of them were burghers without the
rights of citizens. The benefit of the city, as it was called,
was shared in by only 576 houses of the greater, and
by 220 of the lesser, trades, but never by more than 2,000
citizens. They had also private property ; and the 800
palaces and the 32,000 estates in the vicinity of the city
were for the most part in their hands. It was these
2,000 against whom Maximilian waged war. 3
In spite of their great affluence and power, they had
not as yet forsaken their original employment, trade, nor
abated "their innate severity of life. They had 270 woollen
factories which imported wool from France, Catalonia,
and the best that England could produce, and exported
cloth to South Italy, to Constantinople, and by way of
Brusa to the whole of the East. They had eighty-three
manufactories for silk, brocade, and damask, for which
their own ships fetched the silk from the East, and
which found their chief markets in Lyons, Barcelona,
Seville, London, and Antwerp. 4 The East sent them
silk, and the Western world wool ; they manufactured both,
and exported their silk stuffs to the West and their woollens
to the East, and thus ministered to the wants of the world.
Hence it came that their first " Signori " were cloth and
silk merchants, and the third a banker. 5 Their thirty-
three banks, for instance, having agencies in all parts,
1 Sismondi, Histoire des Republ. Ital., vi. 407, vii. 287.
a Belius, Historia Patriae in Graevius, v. 27, 42, 90.
3 Varchi, Digressione intorno il governo di Firenze in the Istorie, ii.
65. Istorie, 208.
4 Benedetto Dei in Fabroni, Vita Laurent ii Medici, ii. 337.
" Neumann, Introd. to Aretinus, Staatsverf. von Florenz, 39.
112 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
did perhaps the best business of all, they founded the
fortune of the Medici. 1
The first business of such a Florentine was to go to
early Mass. This done, in summer clothed in black
Lucco, frilled round the neck, and a black silken cap
with a long point, and in winter in black mantle and
cowl, 2 he walked through the streets to his business in the
market or in the palace. At midday, after dinner,
he saw his children and related to them a new or an old
story. 3 He then arranged his papers, or went to the
Loggias that the patricians had at their houses. They
always addressed each other as "thou;" and only a knight,
a doctor, or an uncle was called " you " and " sir." Almost
everyone bore the nickname that had been given him by his
playfellows in his youth. The beautiful language that the
whole of Italy learnt from them was formed in their
society. At Ave Maria they were all at home. In winter,
they stood with wife and child for a while around the fire ;
and whilst the lower orders, and those that lived by the
sweat of their brow, made good cheer in the inns, they
themselves partook of a frugal meal at home at three
o'clock at night. Many stayed up half the night with
their silks and before their " Caviglia." *
Among these rich, influential, educated, and solemn
people, a Dominican monk of Ferrara, one Hieronymus
Savonarola, had succeeded in making himself universally
esteemed. He was, it is true, strict with himself and others,
a solitary walker, a monk by inclination, and a man who
also knew how to control his rough voice. He admonished
his monasterial brethren to give up all their property. He
spared no one, not one of his fellow- citizens, the Brescians or
the Florentines, nor his liege lords, the Pope and Lorenzo
di Medici, and all this could not help securing him a certain
influence. But what made him really powerful were, before
all else, his doctrines and his prophetic gifts.
Now his doctrines are really worth examining : " Like
a piece of iron between two magnets, so does the human
1 Roscoe, Lorenzo's Life, from his Ricordi, 120. Benedetto Dei.
2 Varchi, Storie, p. 265.
3 Macchiavelli's comedy, Clitia, act ii. sc. iv. p. 141.
4 Varchi, 261,267.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 113
soul waver between divine and earthly things, and between
belief and feeling. Its purity consists solely in withdraw-
ing itself from the love of things earthly, and in volun-
tary flight to God. Sacrament and prayer lead to him ;
his nature it is that draws it heavenwards to participate
in its goodness. 1 But the soul has a domestic enemy, an
adversary in the form of a friend, the flesh, that rebels
against it, and oppresses it to sin. With its help the
devil lays snares for it, like the vulture after the heart of
its prey. Since the world began he has deceived and de-
voured it a thousand thousand times, yea, a number with-
out end and count, and is not yet satiated, but still lurks
and waits like a hungry wolf. The world accordingly is
divided between two banners, of Christ and the devil, a
black and a white one.
"Now the sinner is like a dead man, reft of life. His
face is dark, he durst not open his eyes. God hates him.
A man may pour bad wine from his golden vessel and keep
the vessel; but God breaks both, sin and the vessel of sin.
And no one begs for mercy of God, as in Florence no one
dares to entreat for an exile. 2
"The faithful, on the other hand, when he bows his
knee, when he follows the commands of Love, when he dis-
regards all things earthly, and only aims at being merged
into God, feels God and is illuminated by him. In this
way, a simple man and a maiden of low estate come
further than Plato and Pythagoras came. But he who
is by nature inclined, and who is quite free of earthly
care, by constant habit, and watchful carefulness attains
in his old age the greatest bliss, he sees God. Such a
man communes with angels and saints ; and the devil has
no power over him, but he over the devil. 3
" When the wicked man's day is done, where is then his
pomp ? His journeying and his riding ? His hurrying and
scurrying, and his golden ornaments ? Down, down, where
1 Savonarola de simplicitate Christiana, 80, 18, 78. Edition of 1615.
Triumphus Crucis, i. c. 12.
3 Seven consoling sermons by Hieronymus Savonarola in Latin.
3 De Simplicitate, 13, 41, de divisione omnium scientarum, edition of
1594, p. 793. Dialogus, solatium itineris mei, ed. of 1633, p. 165, 228.
Expositio orationis dominion, edition of 1615. p. 190.
I
114 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. JJBK. I.
his body is food for worms. But the soul is free, begins to
think of itself and to lament : woe ! who hath soiled my
vesture, which by baptism was made whiter than snow, and
made it now more filthy than pitch ? Satan then comes to it
and says : ' My playmate, stand up, I have done it. For
thou hast followed my advice and worked faithfully with
me. Come, follow me into my kingdom. There is hunger
without meat, thirst without drink, there is an unquench-
able, dull, violent, smoking fire, and by the side of it, cold
without measure and remedy. Come with me. The devils
are coming to meet thee with their song of lamentation.' l
" But on the other side, the joy of the elect cannot be
described in language. It will be splendid and clear, like
the sheen of the sun, quick like the ray of light that in
one moment gleams from east to west. Being with Grod
he will know all things, present, past, and future ; he
will wish for nothing that he cannot obtain ; there will be
a life and existence in constant admiration, in sweet delight,
in ecstatic love, in the ceaseless singing of praises, in bliss
and triumph, without ending for evermore." '"
When Savonarola enunciated this doctrine, with an
eloquence that often appeared like a jubilant cry and
shout of triumph, 3 and especially when he corroborated it
out of the Holy Writ, the Florentines, as he himself has
said, stood and gazed at him like marble pillars, with their
faces turned to his. 4 It was all the more impressive, this
doctrine, because it distinguished good and evil, like in
their city GibeUines and G-uelphs, Bianchi and Neri, had
often been contrasted. Besides, they considered him a
prophet. He had foretold the advent and the victory
of Charles, and had prophesied in unmistakable language
the expulsion of the Medici. 5 The majority believed him
perfectly. He was master of their minds, and in the
new order of things in Florence he attained the greatest
influence.
It was Piero's nearest relatives and friends that had
1 Sixth Sermon. Solatium itineris mei, lib. vi. de vita futura, p. 250.
a Seventh Sermon. Solatium, 254-263.
3 For instance, Sermo in vigilia nativitatis Christi.
4 Triumphus Crucis, p. 100.
5 Fabronius, vita Laurentii Medici, ii. 291.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 115
summoned his enemy to Tuscany, that had expelled
him from the Signorie, and overthrown him. Not as
though they were minded to share their government with
the populace when would this ever occur to the ruling
party in any city? but, because Piero intended to be
prince, they hated him. They hoped under Lorenzino and
the junior line of this house to attain to greater influence.
With this idea, immediately after Piero' s flight, they
summoned a parliament. They called it a parliament,
when they collected the people together on the square by
the sound of a bell, placed armed youths at all the en-
trances, who thrust back everyone that was displeasing
to them, and then, finally, allowed the collected throng to
vote by acclamation. Such a parliament, on this occasion,
by loud consentient voices, entrusted the conduct of public
affairs to a Balia of twenty men, that is, the supreme
government. l
Savonarola, whose theory based the right of government
purely upon agreement, 2 opposed them, and preached his
principle that all true citizens ought to participate in the
sovereign power. He even convinced some of the leading
men. Antonio Soderini publicly professed his views ;
others visited him at night. Owing to this, differences
and regular dissensions gradually arose, which were
followed at last by a peaceable and complete dissolution of
the Balia. 3
The new order of things was framed in accordance with
Savonarola's principles. All those who enjoyed the benefit
of the city, that is all whose fathers and grandfathers had,
since the political government of the Medici, been adopted
into the three dignities of Signori, G-onfalonieri, and " good
men," that is chosen, were declared eligible, and entered
into the government under the name of the great Con-
siglio. Such an arrangement is far from being an exposi-
tion of the rights of man ; for Savonarola conceived of
social distinctions and grades to have been original and
given by God : 4 to many it will appear to have been no-
1 Nerli, Istorie Florentine, 58, 63. Cf. Sismondi, Histoire des Repub-
liques Ital. xii. 233. 2 Savonarola, del Governo.
J Nardi, Le Storie della citta, 23. Corio, Istor. di Mil. 966.
4 Savonarola, de simplicitate vita? Christians, 65,70, 85, 90.
116 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
thing more nor less than an enlarged aristocracy. Only
inside the Consiglio no privilege should be tolerated. It
received a thoroughly democratic constitution. Just as
in Venice there were Doge, Consiglieri, and Pregadi above
the Great Council, so here also the Gonfalonieri had the
administration of justice, and the eight Signori and the
Council of Eighty the essential attributes of government.
In Venice the greater part of the dignities were conferred for
life, but, in this case, for two months and not by a regular
election. Only after certain names in respective quarters
of the city had been proposed by chance, by lot, did
voting take place upon them. The elections were rather
committees and commissions, than official elections in our
sense of the term. "A city is well governed," says
Savonarola, "when the magistracy have short notice
given them of the day when their stewardship shall be
inquired into. What otherwise is the meaning of free
election? for everyone will only be obedient to the
best." l For this assembly a hall was at once built. It
was the largest in Italy, and yet was finished in a mar-
vellously short time. It was approached by broad steps.
The middle was occupied by long and cross benches
for the burghers, on each side upon a raised dais three
yards high and broad were seats for the Eighty. At
the east end, the Gonfalonieri and Signori had their places,
and here two doors led into the chambers set apart for
secret deliberation, and for the registry of taxes ; at the
west end there stood a tribune and an altar, with a picture
of Fra Bartholomew, at which mass was held. The hall
had also an ecclesiastical appearance, and Savonarola said:
"the angels have assisted in the work." 2
This constitution was in full operation when Maximilian
was investing Livorno. There was no demand now for
brocade or cloth ; the Stradiotti laid waste the country
estates ; there was no importation either by sea or land,
for Siena also was hostile, but that made little impression
upon the citizens. They came in such numbers to hear
Savonarola's sermons, that, in spite of its great size,.
1 Nerli, 44, 66. Varchi, Digressione intorno il governo, 67 ; Savona-
rola, del Governo.
2 Vasari, Vita di Simone Cronaca, iii. 253.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 117
galleries had to be built at the entrance of the Church of
Maria del Fiore opposite the pulpit, as in a theatre. The
fasts were most strictly observed. The games that the
monk condemned were abandoned ; and, in view of the
approaching war, they awaited the arrival of the fleet that
Charles was fitting out in Marseilles. But soon they had
to learn that this fleet had been wrecked in a storm.
Weiskunig narrates that Maximilian saw the French fleet
arriving ; and hereupon, as soon as he had weighed anchor
and spread his sails, there came first a cloud, and from
it wind, and then more clouds, and thereout there arose
such a storm, that the enemy's ships were driven with
him into the harbour, and part in battle and part in
storm were wrecked and lost. Where was now their
hope and the promise of God's immediate help that the
Dominican brother had made them ? Yet they retained
sufficient courage, even at this critical moment, to receive
within their walls a host of fugitives, who had been
beggared by the war. They could not do aught else but
carry the image of the Virgin through the streets, followed
by all men and women, clerics and children, with psalni-
singing, prayers and lamentations. They had just arrived
with their tabernacle at St. Mary's Gate, when they per-
ceived a messenger on a mare careering across the Trinity
Bridge, and waving an olive-branch from afar. They
stopped and listened ; some ships fitted out by their
merchants, which had long struggled with the same storm,
had at last, owing to the wind having unexpectedly
shifted, been driven right past Maximilian into the harbour,
and so to Livorno. The news was true. They seized the
horse's reins ; everyone wanted to hear it for himself from
the mouth of the messenger. The historians do not
record it, but we may imagine how fervently they thanked
God. the God of their prayers, for these tidings. 1
What saved them, thwarted Maximilian's plans. And
now the Florentines would not entertain the idea more of
being separated from Charles VIII., of whose return
Savonarola had always reminded them. Livorno was held
for them by Swiss legions. Moreover, the south-west wind
1 Nardi, 29-32. Weiskunig, 201, and in other passages. Ghilinus,
90.
118 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
levelled their enemy's tents on land, and scattered his
ships on the sea. Maximilian, meanwhile, saw the months,
within which the money was promised him, draw to a
close ; the Marchesci and Sf orza party were already at vari-
ance as to which should hold the harbour when they took
it ; and he heard of letters from Venice itself, written with
the object of inciting the army against him. Overcome by
the feeling of the impossibility of being able to achieve
anything under such circumstances, he said, " No ! against
the will of God and men, he would not wage this war."
He turned towards Pisa, arrived at Vico, appeared as if he
intended to do something, but did nothing, and, though
invited to the chase, hurried away to Pavia and home
to Germany. 1
Since then the Florentines cherished no doubt of Savona-
rola's prophetic mission. At Christmas, 1496, 1,300 chil-
dren under eighteen years for only with their eighteenth
year were they wont to adopt the "Lucco," and to rank as
young men partook of the Sacrament with the priest.
On the ensuing fasts the children of every quarter went to
the houses and begged for the " Anathem," that is " things
damnable." Their distribution into companies, their
processions, and songs at vespers under conductors were
familiar. 1 The men gave them cards, dice, and dice-boards,
the women false hair, paint, and perfumed waters. Many
produced their Morgante, Boccaccio, and indelicate pictures ;
some sacrificed their harps, remembering perhaps for what
purposes they had used them. Bartholomew Baccio took
the naked figures for they should not be where young
maidens congregated from his work shop and offered them.
On the market-place was raised a scaffold in the form of a
pyramid with many steps mounting up to it, and upon this
all these things were piled. On the day of the Carnival,
1 Jovius, Historiae sui temporis, 83. Navagero, Storia Venez., 1207.
Zurita, 108, and Coccinius, de bellis Italicis, 277. Macchiavelli, Lega-
zione a Pisa. The French ships put into the harbour of'Livorno on the
29th Oct. (Foscari in the Arch. Stor. ital. vii. p. 938. Sanuto, Diarii, i.
p. 373) ; about the middle of November Maximilian raised the siege. On
the 16th Nov. he was in Vicopisano, on the 2nd Dec. in Pavia, on the
26th in Mais ; at the commencement of the year 1497 he returned thence
to Innsbruck.
2 Varchi, 259, 265.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 119
the whole people came together, and the Signori were
seated. Then came the children from the mass all dressed
in white, with olive-branches round their heads and red
crosses in their hands, and sang Italian hymns of praise.
Four advanced to the Signori, received from them burning
torches and lighted the pyramid, which blazed up amid
the blare of trumpets. The while alms were collected for
the indigent poor. 1
The severe religious tendency of this city forms a
material link in the struggle between the Liga and the
French party. By declaring against the Pope, who re-
garded himself as the head of the Liga, it gave the quarrel
a new phase.
In Ferrara, Savonarola's native place, we remark a
similar condition of things. Frequent fasting was ob-
served, blasphemy was punished, and swearing was pro-
hibited. "Massari" were sent through the streets to
report on everything. There is no doubt what was the
object of all this. The inhabitants of Ferrara, who. had
but little sympathy with the Liga, because it united both
their natural enemies, Venice and the Pope being, as
they were, of French sympathies, even to wearing French
dresses and shoes endeavoured to counteract the Pope's
influence by still deeper piety. 2 In spite of the great
perils surrounding them, they made processions every
third day. In the King of France, Charles VIII., we
remark a kindred tendency. He asked his doctors whether
or not the Pope was not bound to hold a Concilium every
ten years, and whether, in case he neglected to do so, the
princes were not entitled to hold it ; and further, in case all
the others neglected this duty, whether the "King of France
alone could not hold it. He made known his intention of
restoring the order of Benedict to its original form, and
of permitting no bishop to absent himself from his
church. 3 Savonarola was the head of all enemies of the
Liga and the Pope. He condemned the wealth and the
pomp of the clergy, for thereby the barrier was broken
which separated Church and world. By this means the
1 Nardi. Vasari, Vita del Fra Bartolommeo, t. iii.
2 Diarinm Ferrarense, 320, 323, 386.
3 Questions in Gamier, xx. 519. Brantome, 39. Comines, 592.
120 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
children of the world had entered into God's vineyard.
But God's Word still endured, and by no means were they
bound to trust a prelate as much as it. Nay, no one
should sit on an ecclesiastical chair except so long as his
works were not prejudicial to the operation of the
doctrine. Acting in accordance with these principles, he
invited Charles orally, and the German and the Spanish
King in writing, to undertake the reformation of the
Church. But it could not but be that he roused this
hierarchical antipathy against himself. A man named
Mariano de Ghinazzano, who had once preached at his
side in Florence to the admiration of the classical scholars,
hurried to Borne to the Pope, and there began one of his
sermons with, " Cut this monster off from the Church,
holy Father ! " l
Whilst Pope Alexander at that very time gave dispen-
sation from oaths, in order that his enemies might die in
prison, 2 he resolved at the same time to use his ecclesiastical
weapons against Savonarola and his adherents, as being
heretics. But before this, he had another battle to fight
out with the partisans of the Liga in his own land, the
Orsini.
The Orsini were no despicable foes. They had defeated
his son, the Duke of Gandia, to whom he had committed
the staff of the Church to war against them. He was obliged
to call Gonzal to his aid. Gonzal had first taken Taranto,
that had in vain flouted the colours of the Marchesci for
the Liga would not allow Venice to take its side 3 and
had subjected Sora to Federigo. He now vanquished a
pirate, who had taken Ostia and threatened to starve out
Eome, and compelled the Orsini to make peace. Willa-
marino's ships at that time flew the Neapolitan, Papal, and
Spanish flags all at once. They were now victorious
everywhere. Even Cardinal Julian entered into a compact. 4
1 Meditatioues in Psttlmos, Lugduni, 1633, p. 128. Von Gewalt und
Ausehn, B. 7. Letters in Mansi, Nardi.
2 Zurila, i. 97.
3 Johannes Juvenis, de fortuna Tarentinorum, vii. 3. Navagero,
Stor. Ven. 1209.
4 Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi, 220. Arnold von Harve, Eeise im Conver-
sationsblatt of 1823, No. 2. Burcardus, 2080.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 121
After this, when the Pope had now leisure to turn his
attention to Savonarola, it happened that a factious rising
in Florence aided him, and he it. The leading Floren-
tines could not forget the power they had enjoyed under
the Medici in former days, and their sons would not sub-
mit to the rigorous discipline of the monk. Probably
under the impression that Piero would now have learnt to
know them better, they allied themselves with his pro-
fessed adherents, the Bigi (they called themselves the
Arrabiati), in order to effect his recall. They were not
successful. Benivieni, whom the Signori in their alarm
sent to Savonarola, often related how he found the
brother reading in a book ; he looked up and said : " O ye
of little faith, G-od is with you ! Mark ye, Piero will
come as far as the gates and will then turn back." Nardi
adds : " And so it really happened. One of them that
had been seized by the Medici, having escaped, came before
daybreak to the gate in order to close it, whereupon Piero
having found it closed and all quiet, returned." But how
fierce and violent must this faction in the city have been,
to bring such an excellent and pious man, as the monk
was, from his path. 1 To him especially is due the law
that where anyone is accused of a political crime, he shall
not be judged by Signori, or a Commission as a court of
last instance, but shall be allowed to appeal to the Consiglio.
This law mitigated the Italian usage, that every victor
should, as of right and under certain legal formulas, be
able to decide the question of life and death in the case of
his adversaries. But in August, 1497, when it was
believed to have been discovered who had taken Piero's
part, Savonarola allowed his good law to be infringed,
and the accused were denied the right of appeal. His
opponents became, in consequence, only more violent and
mysterious."
The Pope now sided with them. The Tuscan Dominicans,
whom Savonarola had separated from the Lombards, the
Pope ordered again to unite, interdicted him from preach-
! Nerli, 71. Nardi, 36. Jovius, Vita Leonis, 19. Cf. also Matthias
Doringii Continuatio Chronici Engethustani in Mencken, Seriptores
Rerum Saxonirarum, ii. 53.
2 Macehiavelli, Discorsi, sopra la prima deca di Livio, c. 44.
122 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
ing, summoned him to Rome, and appointed the Loin-
bardian Vicar of the Dominican order as his judge.
But Savonarola continued preaching, took daily more
brothers into his convents, and refused to recognize his
judge, saying " he could not come to Rome on account of
his enemies." It availed him nothing that in Florence
signatures were collected attesting the fact that his
doctrine was sound and productive of good fruit. In
spite of all he was placed under ban. 1 Since then, his
life depended upon the fact, that his party never allowed
its enemies to become strong, for, by the then existing
law, he could be at once put to death. The Pope only
required the secular arm.
In Florence, however, towards the close of the year
1497, open dissensions burst out. Some of the clergy
condemned the processions of others, some the Com-
munion that others celebrated, and some again, as in an
heretical city, desired not to perform divine service any
longer. The Franciscans, the old opponents of the Do-
minicans, joined the party of the Arrabiati and the Pope.
Sometimes the brother found his pulpit soiled. On one
occasion some young men lifted a heavy money-box during
his sermon, let it fall and fled. He was escorted to
church by armed men, and whilst he was preaching one
stood by him with a halberd. But sometimes, when some
of the Arrabiati joined the Signori, and the others were
timid, he remained in his convent. 2
Yet he did not lose courage. The moral of his teach-
ing was that a pious and learned man must not give way
to a wicked and ignorant Pope. 3 He comforted himself
in his convent with his successes. " Every day a greater
number, out of yearning for a more perfect life, forsake
parents, friends, and goods, and betake themselves where
each must do or not do as his superior wills ; where no one
has anything except what he absolutely needs, and
where he can for a time be deprived by his superior even
of that. But here everyone becomes daily calmer, and
1 Alexander Papa priori, etc. Kesponsio fratris Hieronyrai in Bur-
eardus, and in Gordon, Vie d' Alexandra, Appendix ii. 488. Epistolse
Petri Martyris xi. 191.
2 Nardi and Nerli. 3 Von Gewalt und Obrigkeit. G. 3.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S* EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 123
confesses that Christ is his only joy. Only he who prays
without ceasing attains to a holiness, from whose rays his
face beams with rapture." l He found himself in the midst
of the struggle between " Popolares " and " Arrabiati,"
the Liga and its enemies, the true and the K-oinan Church,
between heaven and hell. He openly interpreted those
two flags, the black and the white, in this sense. He felt
certain of victory. At Christmas he published his book
on the " Triumph of the Cross." Therein he represented
Christ upon a triumphal car, above his head the gleaming
ball of the Trinity, in his left hand the Cross, in his
right the Old and the New Testaments ; further below, the
Virgin Mary ; before the car, patriarchs, prophets, apostles,
and preachers ; on either side the martyrs and the doctors
with opened books ; behind him, all the converts ; at a
further distance the innumerable crowd of enemies, em-
perors, powerful rulers, philosophers, and heretics, all
vanquished, their idols destroyed, and their books burnt. 2
But the longer it lasted, the more furious waxed the
conflict. At Shrovetide, 1498, his children desired to
repeat the celebration of the previous year ; but the
torches were torn out of their hands. At first, the children,
and then even the men, stoned each other. A significant
instance of the extent of the feud was afforded by the
action of the painters, Baccio and Albertinelli. They had
always worked together, and had had all things in
common. They now left their workshop. The former
went into a convent, the other became innkeeper. 3 How
was it possible that these differences could be settled
but by force ? When, at last, a Franciscan monk pre-
sumed to declare that he would prove in the fire that
certain doctrines of the Dominicans were erroneous, it
appeared also to the latter that they had found another
and the true decision the ordeal. The Franciscans argued
thus. If Savonarola would allow their monk to perish in
the fire, he was no saint ; and upon this they built. The
others, who were half mad, who indulged sometimes in the
1 Triumphus Crucis, 121, 195, 114.
2 Triumphus Crucis, p. 11. Macchiavelli Lettere, torn. vi. ed. 1783,
p. 6.
3 Vasari, Vita del Mariotto Albertinelli in the Vite, iii.
124 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
market places in round dances to the accompaniment of an
ecclesiastical ballad, and who had chosen for their war cry
" Viva Cristo," hoped to conquer by the truth of their
faith. During the sermon, hundreds cried, " Look ! look !
I will go for thy doctrine, Lord, into the fire." Accord-
ingly two piles of oak logs and brushwood, well saturated
with pitch and oil, were built up side by side, 40 feet in
length, leaving a very narrow passage between them, and
on the 7th of April the Signori, on this occasion only
Arrabiati, sat awaiting the trial. 1
The Franciscans came quietly, the Dominicans with
burning torches, red crosses, and loud hymn, preceded
by Savonarola. The monks approached the pyre, the
Dominican seized the host. At this moment the crisis
arrived. The Franciscans would not permit him to have
the host, as this was a trial of the whole Christian faith,
but he would not be prevented. Hereupon ensued a
quarrel, confusion, a rain of missiles, and a general stam-
pede. Some rushed into the convent, others resorted to
arms. It now came to scenes of violence, and the Arra-
biati were not for allowing the favour of the Signorie and
the propitious moment to pass by without taking advan-
tage of it. They attacked the Popolares in the streets
and in their convent ; and, although they did not take the
convent by storm, they remained masters of the situation.
Savonarola did not take part in it. At first he exhorted
his followers from the pulpit, afterwards he prostrated
himself in the choir of the church and prayed. When all
was quiet, he went out, and delivered himself up to his
enemies. 2
This occurrence undoubtedly made the Liga victorious
in Italy : the Arrabiati were as devoted to it as the Popo-
lares were to the French. On the 7th of April the Arra-
biati asserted their supremacy in Florence ; on the 8th,
Charles died, and the Liga was victorious even in France.
Charles was at last busied with the internal affairs of his
1 Nardi and Nerli, Declaratio fratris Hieronymi, in Burcardus, 6.
Eccardus 2090.
3 Nardi and Nerli. Burcardi Diarium 2087, 209-4. Excerpta ex
Monacho Pirnensi, probably a pamphlet, mentioned by Trithemius in
Mencken ii. 1518.
CH. in.] MAXIMILIAN'S EXPEDITION TO ITALY. 125-
realm. Of his Great Council he formed an ordinary Court
of Judicature, consisting of seventeen members, something
similar to the later " Keichshofrath " of the Germans ; in
all Coinmanderies he had a general book of customs com-
piled ; he intended to live upon his demesnes, and twice
every week he sat to hear the complaints of the poor.
Having made all these arrangements, and equipped with
better alliances, he was again about to attempt to assert
his right to Naples. Savonarola, too, had always referred
to his return. But on the 8th of that month, whilst on his,
way to a gallery to look at a game of ball, he suddenly fell
down, and, though a moment before in perfect health, was.
in a few minutes a corpse. 1
Many are of opinion that this event first determined
Savonarola's fate. Many accusations had been brought up
against him ; and as often as the scourge was inflicted,
he confessed all that was wanted. But as soon as he
came to himself again, he denied everything, saying that
"on the rack he would certainly confess to it again."
Meanwhile his soul searched its own heart. His pride
was broken ; if he ever had thought himself holy, this feel-
ing was now passed. It often seemed to him as if Despair,
with a strong army with lances and swords, with the stan-
dard of Justice before it, and surrounded by instruments-
of torture, appeared in the town, called him from afar, and,
coming nearer, whispered into his ear all his sins ; and then
again Hope, shining with the light of heaven, would com-
fort him. He spoke to himself thus : " Thou hast loved
the Lord many years, and hast wrought out of love to*
him; then didst thou exalt thy heart; then didst thou
follow thine own thoughts, and live in the vanity of thy
mind ; then did the Lord take his hand from thee, and thou
art like a sinner plunged into the depths of the sea." He
had only just arrived at this holy self -enlightenment, when
he was doomed to die ; his body was consigned to the fire. 2
1 Gamier from the Lettres patentes, 515, and a letter of Charles there
cited. Comines, 591. St. Gelais, 120. Bayard, 56. Brantome, 44.
2 Meditatio in 1'salmum ; " In te Domine speravi," i. " Quam morte-
pneeeptus absolvere non potuit," 84, 97. (Note to 2nd Edition.) The
history of Savonarola has since then commanded the greatest attention
in all civilized countries, and has been the subject of various treatises..
The account that I have recorded here as the result of former studies, I
126 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
With his death the essence of his doctrine and his in-
fluence in no wise died out. Simon Cronaca, a good master,
honoured him whilst he was alive, and spoke of him now
that he was dead. Even at the expiration of thirty years,
the accomplishment of his most famous prophecies was ex-
pected to take place. But at that time, as we have said,
the Arrabiati attained the first offices. They did not now
consider the recall of Piero necessary for their safety.
They were so devoted to the Liga, that all its members,
except the Venetians, considered it better to restore Pisa
to them. 1
3. Extension and Ascendency of the Liga.
Thus the object of the Liga was attained, and Italy sub-
jected to its views. But the extension and the ascendency
of the Liga is fraught with other consequences for the
whole of Europe, and later times. The alliance of the
Houses of Hapsburg and Aragon is one result of the
conditions which obtained during these years. Ferdinand
knew how to draw the princes of the outer sea into the
sphere of his alliances, and among them first Don Manuel
of Portugal. He had protected him whilst he was still
Duke, and had made military preparations in his favour
when he inherited the throne after John's death. 2 But
Don Jorgan, John's natural son, of whom all were afraid,
was led by Jacob Almeida before the King to kiss hands, J
and war was dispensed with. Ferdinand promised his
daughter Isabella to this Manuel. Isabella, who considered
a second marriage a bad thing, demanded that Manuel
should at all events expel from Portugal the Jews and
all those whom the Inquisition had condemned. She
would not consent to be his wife until he had pro-
could not alter by the light of them, although on the occasion of a
lengthened visit to Florence I have not neglected to make researches. I
still hope to be able to publish in a later volume the results of my labours
at that time, that have especial regard to the history of Florence in the
first epoch of the Medici.
1 Vasari, Vita di Simone, detto il Cronaca. Zurita i. 143.
2 Zurita, 78.
3 Hieronymi Osorii re rebus Manuelis libri, xii., lib. i. 3, a.
CH. III.] EXTENSION AND ASCENDENCY OF THE LIGA. 127
mised her this. 1 After that day, peace and union sub-
sisted between Portugal and Spain for a century and a
half.
At the same period, in August, 1497, and ever since
the alliance with Bretagne, Ferdinand negotiated with
Henry VII. of England. If Spain and France quarrel,
England must take part in it. In June, 1496, Henry
joined the Liga; 2 -he received hat and sword from the
Pope, and received the envoys of all the allies. 3 His
counsellors asserted that this was tantamount to bring-
ing the war to England ; but this monarch, who never
cared about taking the field, except it might be against
a rebel, well knew what he was about, and that he was
working at the iron wall, with which, as he said, he in-
tended to gird his realm. 4 But, at present, great dangers
threatened him from without : in Flanders, from Margaret
of York, widow of Charles the Bold, who, if she did not
actually incite his first rebel, Lambert Simmel, who de-
clared himself to be Edward Warwick, she, at all events,
aided by 2,000 Germans, whom she found means to send to
his assistance, raised him to certain importance. 6 It was
not doubted, that the second rebel, Perkin Osbek, who
called himself Richard Plantagenet, was also really her
creature. His most reliable support the latter found in the
Scots, where King and nation united in their eagerness to
cross the Tweed. James IV. allied Perkin with his house,
brought him across the borders, ravaged the country, and
was alternately in his palace and on the frontier ; 7 whilst
the people, whenever a truce was made, broke it on their
own responsibility. The proposed marriage of Catherine
of Spain with Arthur, Prince of Wales, could not fail to
affect both sides, both Flanders and Scotland. Ferdinand
was thus enabled to render the King of England secure on
either side. At first, through the Austrian alliance, the
Zurita, f. 124. Osorius i. p. 14.
Burcardus, 2067 (note to 2nd edition). Cf. Brown Calendar of
St ite Tapers, i. 247.
Cbronicon Venetum, p. 41.
Baco, Historia Henrici Septimi, p. 300.
Polydorus Virgilius, Historia Anglica, lib. 26, p. 730.
Baco, p. 194.
Buchananus, Rerum Scoticarum, lib. xiii. 460, 465.
128 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
treaty of general intercourse between England and Flanders
was renewed, "rebels were to be extradited, including
Margaret's territory." l The English merchants came in
triumph to Antwerp, and Maximilian, though hesita-
tingly, promised to ignore the so-called York. 2 In
Scotland, Peter Ayala was plying his negotiations with
sly circumspection, in order to draw the King into the
great political league. He understood how to persuade
Perkin and this appears to have escaped the notice of
the English historians 3 that the Kings of England and
Scotland were already agreed, and that there was there-
fore nothing left to him but to flee ; and when Perkin, on
the ship of a Spaniard of St. Sebastian, had joined the
rebels of Cornwallis, he persuaded King James not to
undertake the invasion of England just at that moment, 4
upon which Perkin fell into Henry's power. King James
then married Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., 5 whence
resulted a long peace between the Scots and the English, and
finally the union of both kingdoms. The close relation-
ship in which James stood to John of Denmark, who
possessed Norway and claimed Sweden, cemented the
peace which Danes and English had, after a long war,
recently concluded.
The chief members of this League were Ferdinand, Henry,
and Maximilian, the old allies of Bretagne, yet now united,
not merely by their advantage, but by the blood of their
children.
All that now remained was that, if not Henry, at all
events Ferdinand and Maximilian should, as they had
agreed, invade France. But this scheme was confronted
by the consideration that hereby Ferdinand had sorne-
1 Baco, p. 268. Treaty in Rymer. Wagenaar, Allgem. Gesch. ii. 269.
2 Zurita, pp. 88, 99.
3 Hume and Rapin, besides Baco and Polydorus Virgilius, the source
of all.
4 Zurita, p. 134.
5 Buchanan 488 (note to new edition). From the information given
by Bergenroth, " Calendar of State Papers," i. p. 97, it is plain that the
chief impetus to this alliance was given by the Catholic kings, who only
regretted that they had not two daughters to dispose of, so as to be able
to marry one to the King of England and the other to the King of the
Scots, and therefore counselled that a marriage should be arranged
between the latter and the daughter of the former.
CH. III.] EXTENSION AND ASCENDENCY OF THE LIGA. 129
thing to lose, whilst Maximilian would gain. Between
Aragon and France there lay certain frontiers, where
ravaging was so regular, that whenever anyone went on
a pilgrimage, or took to him a wife, he had to submit to
a good rifling at the hands of both parties. Thus in this
war also, Enrique Enriquez crossed the frontier, and
pillaged for three days and three nights on the other
side; thereupon well-armed Gascons, Swiss and French,
appeared, and the French succeeded in surprising the
Castle of Saulses ; and hereupon, out of apprehension for
Roussillon, Ferdinand concluded a truce. 1 Maximilian was
discontented with these doings. Not only the death of
Charles, but a new phase of German politics, aroused him
to fresh hopes.
After his return from Italy, his prestige in the Empire
was at first at a low ebb. The Elector of the Palatinate was
on good terms with Charlefe, sent knights into his pay,
entreated a good reception for his merchants, and delegates
of both sides held meetings. 2
The setting aside of the Decrees of Worms made the
Elector of Mayence extremely discontented. He openly
complained of Maximilian: "From above to below there
was little trace of earnestness ; contrary to their resolutions
Milan and Savoy had been regranted ; he was ill pleased
to find that ordinances were made and sealed, and yet not
adhered to ; in this way the Empire could not possibly
maintain its position." a Maximilian also perceived that
he could not undertake anything, until he had gained over
both Electors and the Chancellor of Mayence, Doctor
Stiirzler. He never put in an appearance at any meeting
of the Diet. However, in consequence of the death of the
elder Eberhard of Wurtemberg, he effected a change. For
the former, whilst appointing for his cousin and heir a
council of twelve men, four from each estate, without
whom he could do nothing, but who without him could
1 Hubert Thomas Leodius, Vita Frederici Palatini, ii. No. 45.
Comines, 581. Zurita, 79, 114.
2 Epistolae Galliae Regis Caroli et Philippi Archipalatini, in Ludewig ;
Reliqnitt Manuscriptormn , vi. 96.
: Muller, Reichstagstheatrum, ii. 144. Also k in Hegewisch. Leben
Maximilians, i. 144, and in Menzel.
K
130 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
discharge the daily business of the State, and perform
even the most important functions, if he did not accept
their invitation to appear, 1 had entrusted to this Govern-
ment his principles, and his devotion to the Emperor.
But was it likely that the younger Eberhard would follow
his cousin after his death, seeing that he never cared to
follow him in his lifetime ? Immediately after his arrival,
he dismissed the old Councillors, took a prisoner, a Doctor
Holzinger, out of gaol, and made him Chancellor. There-
upon Hug von Werdenberg refused to be Chamberlain
longer ; the twelve complained that Eberhard intended to
surrender the estates to the Count Palatine; but the
estates were not minded to agree to that. They took
his servant prisoner, and seized his cities. He escaped
with silver and jewels to Ulm. The Estates, the new
Chamberlain, the Councillors, the Chancery, the officials
and the courtiers turned against him, and renounced their
allegiance. 2 Maximilian, alarmed for the estrangement
of the country, hurried thither, and heard both sides.
But for what purpose ? It seems that he had previously
decided upon his verdict, " that both land and Councillors
had acted aright ; the young Ulrich should be Duke under
the guardianship of the twelve, and later should receive
Sabina, the King's niece, to wife ; but that the country
should not, as was formerly determined, pass to the
Empire, but fall to Austria." 3
Eberhard renounced his duchy, repented of his action,
fled to the Count Palatine, assigned to him his silver
plate and all right and title to his land, repented of that
also, and was imprisoned in Lindenfels until his death.
But Wurtemberg was devoted to the King. 4
In the new prestige that the treaty with Wurtemberg
had gained for him, Maximilian appeared in June, 1498, 5 in
the Eeichstag at Freiburg, which had eight months pre-
viously commenced. On this occasion he received from the
1 Esslinger, treaty of Eisenbach ; Geschichte Ulrichs von Wurtem-
berg.
2 Ufkiindigung der Pflicht, in Sattler, i., Suppl. No. 12. Document
A., p. 157. Naucleri Chronographia, at end.
3 Battler's Geschichten, p. 32. Mandat Liinig, ii. 722.
4 Sattler, 33. Eisenbach.
4 Neidhart's letter to the Keichstag, in Datt, p. 594.
CH. III.] EXTENSION AND ASCENDENCY OF THE LIGA. 131
estates 70,000 guilders, without reckoning what had been
received by the "pfennig " tax in his hereditary lands. 1 It
appeared now possible for him to acquire Burgundy, if not
Bretagne. With this hope he let his army advance to
the frontiers of Burgundy. The bold lansquenets boasted
that if the victory was this time theirs, France and Swit-
zerland also would be in their power. 2
1 Datt, p. 904.
2 Hugi, Vogt zu Domeck, in Glutzblotzheim.
CHAPTER IV.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SFORZA AND AEAGON.
1. Louis XII. and Venice against Milan.
THE situation was now as follows. The attacks of the
French upon Naples and Milan had leagued the King
of Spain and the Pope with Ferraiitino, and Venice and
Maximilian with Lodovico. Ferrantino had mainly been
saved by Ferdinand, whilst Lodovico owed his safety prin-
cipally to Venice. In the midst of the dissensions that
Charles's advent had produced in Mid-Italy, a Spanish
general from the one side and Maximilian himself from
the other had taken the field against the French party.
This party had been completely defeated. Round and
about France itself there had become formed, in the in-
terest of the League, an alliance of all potentates.
Relying upon this, Maximilian, in the summer of 1498,
undertook a three-fold attack upon France. He sent one
corps against Langres, 1 a second against Chalons, 2 and a
third, under the command of his Marshal of the free
county, G-uillaume de Vergy, against Dijon and Burgundy. 3
Three thousand Swiss were in his pay. He expected the
help of the Liga, and considered himself assured of success.
But the first corps was weakened and lamed in its move-
ments by the heat, which suffocated the horsemen in
armour, and also by a want of provisions, which was in-
creased by the soldiers, who, impatient to see fire, pre-
ferred to burn down the rich villages to plundering them.
The second was driven back by the rains. The third saw the
enemy approach and retire, but concluded a treaty. 4 This
1 Life of Gotz von Berlichingen, p. 7.
2 Zurita, f. 152.
3 Fugger's MS. in Kurzbeck's notes to Weiskunig.
4 Weiskunig, 260.
CH. IV.] LOUIS XII. AND VENICE AGAINST MILAN. 133
campaign was crowned with so little success, that it has
been overlooked by all later historians.
These failures were due to the fact that the Liga at this
precise moment had ceased to exist. Ferrantino was now
dead, and his successor was hated by the King of Spain.
Venice was in feud and almost in open war with Lodovico
on account of Pisa. But the new King of France suc-
ceeded in gaining for himself those who had defended
Milan, as also him who had defended Naples. He drew
the Pope to his side, and repulsed the attacks of Maxi-
milian. He made matters look at the moment as though
there never had been a Liga. It is our acquaintance, the
Duke of Orleans, now King Louis XII.
He was standing, the story goes, at his window, with-
out knowing that Charles was dead or even ill, when the
royal bodyguard drew up before him, and shouted " Vivats "
to their new Lord and King. 1 On this he spoke, as well
as he knew how, in terms of laudation of Charles VIH.,
sprinkled his body with holy water, 2 and received the fealty
of the Grandees.
Louis was a perfectly developed man, more in the apogee
than in the perigee of life, and already a little afflicted
with the gout. 3 That wildness of his early youth, when
his chamberlains dared not chastise him unless disguised
for fear he should revenge himself that impetuous-
ness of later days, disclosed at revelries, tournaments, and
in domestic wars, were passed and gone. 4 Still he was
more vigorous than any other prince, and chivalrous to boot.
The first thing he conceived he ought to guard was his
honour. Whoever attacked him, or accused him of the
smallest breach of faith, would be contradicted with the
sword. After that, his lands and his rights were nearest to
his heart. " I will endure everything," said he, " save where
my honour and my lands are concerned." 5 He had not such
bold plans as had Charles, and had not Maximilian's love
of conquest. Only his rights he was resolved to assert,
1 Corio, Storia di Milano, 967.
a Extrait d'une histoire in Godefroy, 198.
1 Maximilian to Esslingen, in Datt, 564.
4 Extrait de Thistoire de Louis, 337.
5 Zurita. Macchiavelli, Legazione, v. 355.
134 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
and therefore did not select a " Plus Ultra/*' but a por-
cupine for a symbol. It was lie who was the author of
that grand saying, " The King does not avenge what has
been done to the Duke." He preferred to sell his de-
mesnes for the purpose of carrying on his wars, to ex-
hausting his poor subjects with taxes. 1 The same feeling
made him forbearing and kind towards others. But in-
creasing years made him more saving every day. His
first action was to defray the expense of his predecessor's
interment at Blois out of the savings of his own private
exchequer. 2
The internal government he committed from the first
into the hands of the Archbishop of Rouen, George
d'Amboise. When at the Court of Louis XI., George had
taken the side of the present King, even in opposition to
his own brother. For his sake he had suffered imprison-
ment, for endeavouring to advantage him at the expense
of Charles VIII. They were only three years apart in
respect of age, and devoted one to the other with perfect
confidence ; and, especially since Dunois' decease, George
was entirely in the confidence of his master. 3
The first duty of the King and his Archbishop was to
provide that the internal peace was perfectly assured.
Charles's sister, Anna of Bourbon, demanded, at all events,
a compensation for the increment her grandfather, her
father, and brother, had acquired for the Crown. She was
content when her daughter Susanna was guaranteed an
almost relinquished right of succession in all the possessions
of her house. 4 The Prince of Orange regained his sove-
reignty. As many of them as had been afraid of Louis,
because they had offended him whilst Duke, perhaps
in his feud with the Queen Eegent, were comforted,
when he showed a mark of favour to the brave Tre-
mouille, who had formerly taken him prisoner, and
marked the names of the others with the red cross of
pardon. 5 Only he would not brook any limitation of the
1 Monstrelet, 249.
2 Histoire de Charles in Godefroy, 169.
3 Le Gendre : Vie d'Amboise, 12, 27, 39.
4 Zurita. Garnier, Hist, de France, torn. xxi.
5 Vie et gestes de la Tremouille, 158.
CH. IV.] LOUIS XII. AND VENICE AGAINST MILAN. 135
rights of the Crown. A new tribunal decided against Rene's
claims to Provence. The weightiest question that he
had to determine concerned Bretagne, which by Charles's
marriage with Anna had become attached to the Crown,
but which, owing to his death, had now become separated
from it again. Louis XII. did not scruple to divorce his
wife Johanna, 1 in order to re-marry with his predecessor's
heiress, Anna. Johanna was certainly not beautiful,
neither had she borne him children. She now betook her-
self to Bourges, where she entered with some sisters into
the order of the Annunciation, was most charitable to the
poor, and was reverenced as a saint 2 by the people, who
always remained attached to her.
Anna made it a condition that Bretagne should neither
pay taxes, nor have officials appointed in it, nor be called
upon to make war, without her special permission. Louis
blended on his coins the arms of Bretagne and France. 3
Upon other coins, as soon as he had entered Paris, he
styled himself King of Naples and Milan. 4 He was certain
of his rights to these countries, he had fought for both ;
and he now wished to enforce them. It was a great ad-
vantage to him that the Liga collapsed, nay, that one-half
even took his side. After Enrique Enriquez had been
killed in a revolution at Perpignan, and Roussillon was
threatened by the French, and was not minded to defend
itself, Ferdinand concluded a treaty with Louis, securing
his own interests and the possessions of the House of Bur-
gundy ; yet it did not include Federigo. 5 The Pope hoped
to obtain from Louis so many advantages for his house,
that he was quite ready to pronounce the divorce from
Johanna. The Venetians sent him sixty falcons from
Candia and two hundred valuable furs, as a coronation
present. 6
The successive enterprises of Louis with the Venetians,
with the Pope, and with Ferdinand, are distinguished
more by unity of event than by unity of action. Never
1 Decret in Nicole Gilles, Chroniques de France, 118.
2 Hottingeri Historia Ecclesiastica.
3 Coins in Daniel, Hist, de France, iv. 596.
4 Coin in Daniel, 597.
5 Zurita, 140.
Petrus Justinianus, Historic Venetee, 359.
136 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
more than one of his allies was engaged at a time ; they
appear as so many distinct and different enterprises.
The first was the expedition against Milan. It was
supported by the feud between Venice and Lodovico.
After Savonarola's death, when the Florentines again
attacked Pisa, Lodovico took the side of the assailants,
for it belonged to them ; Venice sided with the attacked,
for a man ought to keep his word of honour. Hereupon,
the Venetians won over Pitigliano, and Lodovico the
Marchese of Mantua. The former threatened a French
alliance, the latter replied that such would be to their
own damage. In the Council of the Pregadi conflicting
opinions were expressed ; some old fathers could not con-
ceal their apprehensions ; others were for combating Lodo-
vico unaided. Others again, those who detested him to
the bottom of their hearts : for if ever they had a
secret plan would he not at once adopt public measures
to thwart it, and a neighbour, served by their traitors,
was the most intolerable of all: this third party pro-
posed an alliance with France. 1 How could Lodovico
believe that they, who had waged a great war against a
man, because they would not have him for a neighbour
when Duke, would call him in, after he had become King ?
He never apprehended this. He continued his hostile
operations against Pisa, without paying any attention to
the Venetians, who supplied it with both money and
men.
In this quarrel he really retained the upper hand.
Paolo Vitelli was entrusted by him with the command
of the Florentines, and, with his assistance, he succeeded,
between June and October, 1498, in taking castle after
castle round about Pisa, as well as Vico and Librafatta,
and in reducing the city to extremities. Against him
the Venetians tried first of all their own resources. They
knew that they were deceived by the lords in the Eo-
magna, and yet they enlisted them. Thus they were
enabled to place a large body of cavalry in the field,
though not without the heaviest expense; 16,600 horse
in all. They then, now by Bologna and now by Perugia
1 Chronicon Ve net urn, 53-57.
CH. IV.] LOUIS XII. AND VENICE AGAINST MILAN. 137
and now again by Siena, attempted to threaten Florence
itself which lay on the other side of the Apennines. On
one occasion Alvian succeeded in crossing over, and stood
against Paolo Vitelli. 1 But though their men hurried by
day and night to his succour through the Ferrarian land,
no less did the Sanseverins, Lodovico's cavalry, spur their
horses, and ride day and night to come to Vitelli' s aid at
Forli, Imola, and Faenza. At last great detachments, as
many as 300 men at once, deserted from the Venetian
camp, which was shut up in the hills, " for they had neither
straw, nor money, nor bread." Others dashed after them
to take from them the recruiting-money, until the whole
army became disbanded ; so that this undertaking resulted
in failure for Venice. 2 In their indignation at this ill-fortune,
" for which Lodovico was alone to blame," they resolved
on a campaign against him himself. They left Ercole of
Ferrare, who was not even their particular friend, to settle
the Pisa affair. Meanwhile, they made a proposal to King
Louis : they offered to assist him with 6,000 horse in an ex-
pedition against Milan, on condition that he would guarantee
them a portion of the territory of Cremona and Ghiara
d'Adda. The King no sooner saw the conditions than he
acceded. On the 10th of February the agreement was
arrived at. He that had attacked Lodovico, and the city
that had mainly defended him, were now both leagued to-
gether against him. 3 Lodovico was not dismayed. He con-
sidered himself the most sagacious man in Italy. On one
occasion, when the papal master of the ceremonies wished
to explain to him how to address a cardinal, he answered,
" Have you ever seen a Duke of Milan who has done what
I have done ? I shall know also how to act on this occa-
sion." 4 In Milan there might often be seen a painting
of a rose branch, with the motto, "With time," or a
painter's brush, with the motto, "With merit and time." 5
The mulberry tree, " that only shoots forth its leaves when
1 Nardi, Istorie Fiorent. Nardi, Vita di Tebalducci, 57, 63. Bembus,
Histor. Venet. 87.
2 Diarium Ferrarense, 355, 357.
3 (Jhronicon Venetum, 67-72. Bembus, 93.
4 Burcardi Diarium, viii. 63.
* Leunclavius, Fandecue Historiae Turcicae, 103.
138 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
spring is at hand, and then quicker than all other trees,"
he may perhaps have regarded as the emblem of his clever-
ness. 1 He said, " In one hand he had peace, and in the
other war ; but even in war a quill pen could do more than
the sword." 2
Time was the only thing his shrewdness took into calcula-
tion, in other respects it employed the boldest schemes and
the most dangerous means. Alfonso of Calabria assisted
him against Venice, and Venice against Alfonso. His
country was on one occasion defended for him by the Duke
of Orleans, notwithstanding he desired it for himself,
and on another by Maximilian, to whom it belonged of
right. His cavalry had emblazoned on their standard a
Moor with his right hand holding back an eagle's wing,
and with the left strangling a dragon. Lodovico was a
gambler, who staked the whole of his existence upon a
throw of the dice ; for he knew the dice belonged to him.
He only accepted advice from the stars. He never con-
cluded a truce, even for three days, without consulting his
astrologer. 3
I cannot say what his astrologer may have told him on
this occasion ; but, as things were, he needed not to be
much alarmed. His brother Ascanio a man ever full of
schemes and secrets, and untiring 4 was with him, and
kept the Gibellines, as he did the G-uelphs, on his side ;
under these circumstances, he was justified in feeling
assured of his country. Should he then fear an attack
on the part of Venice ? In the Turks he could arouse an
enemy to that city, who would keep it sufficiently em-
ployed. Or should the lances of the French strike terror
into his breast? He had other and stronger fortresses
to throw in their way. More dangerous it would be if
Louis enlisted Swiss ; for no Italian infantry could cope
with these. But Lodovico also was firmly allied with
Schwyz and Unterwalden, and with Berne and Lucerne ; 5
and in case these could not prevent an enlistment being
1 Jovius, Elogia Virorum bellica virtute illustrium, 196.
; Chronicon Venetum, 53.
3 Benedicti Diarium, 1611, 1623.
4 Arluni, de bello Veneto, i. 22.
5 Tschudi MS. in Fuchs, Mailandische Feldzuge, i. 234.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 139
made by the French, they could, at all events, easily pro-
vide him with an equal number of their men, whom he
could lead against the King. In this way he was on an
equal footing with his enemies. Through his alliance with
Maximilian, and through the lansquenets who, in conse-
quence, were at his disposal, he was even superior to them.
Besides, it did not so much depend upon the collective
strength of the States, as upon how much money each could
employ. Lodovico was thus of good heart. Three years
previously he had had coins struck, one of which had
a device of a snake, his emblem, guarding a lily, and an-
other that of a snake bending down the cup of a lily, a
sign of his power over France: 1 at this time he had
a picture in his hall of an Italy full of cocks, hens, and
chickens intended to represent Gauls and French and
in the midst of them a Moor sweeping them out with a
broom. 2
2. Sides and Suabians implicated in the War.
Maximilian was as much interested in this struggle as
Lodovico.
Valentina, Louis' grandmother, had a hundred years pre-
viously helped to kindle the deadly enmity between Bur-
gundy and Orleans. An Orleans was now reigning in France,
and possessed even Burgundy ; and the head of the House
of Burgundy was King of the Germans, and demanded
Burgundy back. The Sforza, whom the former attacked
for his grandmother's sake, the latter was bound to
defend for the sake of his wife. The Duke of Guelders,
who was related to Louis, Maximilian plotted to destroy
for being a rebel to him ; so that they were enemies on
three accounts.
Although Maximilian's son, Philip, had been obliged to
promise never to attempt to take Burgundy by force of
arms, and moreover to serve King Louis against every
1 In Rosmini, Trivulzio, i. 255 (engraving of).
2 Nnrdi, Istorie, viii. 63.
140 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
-soul without any exception, 1 yet lie was never inclined
for peace : " peace was like corn that had been harvested
while yet unripe ; by peace he would never conquer his
land." In vain Kene and Frederick the Wise endea-
voured to mediate. 2 Forthwith in the country of the
Duke of G-uelders, who had received French aid, the war
was continued which had been already waged at Livorno,
and on the Saone.
It is evident how closely Lodovico and Maximilian were
allied. Lodovico desired no treaty with France, if the
German King had none, for he cared not to sever himself
from him. 3 Maximilian repeated: "the Duke would be
able to defend himself without foreign aid; but, in case
he could not do so, he would in person come to his assis-
tance with the whole strength of the Holy Empire, and
protect Milan as well as the Tyrol." 4
As, owing to this alliance, the balance of power was in
Lodovico' s favour, it was important for the French King-
to try to occupy the German King in another way. He
could cause him trouble in Germany, and there are letters
extant, wherein he reminds the Count Palatine of the
century -long alliance of their dynasties, and promises
one of his sons a pension at his Court, and to another
high ecclesiastical dignities. 5 But how, if he found ways
and means of attaching the Swiss to himself, so as to be
enabled to avail himself of their infantry ; to ally them so
closely with himself that Lodovico would receive no assis-
tance from them, and at the same time to involve them in
war with Maximilian, so that he would have to fear for
himself, and would not dare to come to the assistance of
another ?
Without any action on his part, the desired opportunity
arose. The incident that in the year 1498, George Gos-
senbrod von Augsburg, Koyal Councillor of Tyrol, journeyed
with his wife to the watering-place of Pfaffers," and there
1 Jean Amis, Proces Verbal, in Gamier, xxi. 108.
2 Zurita, f. 121. Spalatin, Life ot'Frederic the Wise, 78.
3 Lodovico to Brascha in Rosraini, ii. 256.
4 Somentius to Lodovico in Rosmini, 258.
5 Instruction of Mathieu Pelleyt in Ludewig, Reliquiae, vi. 117.
6 Stettler, Chronik des Uechtlandes, p. 329.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND 8FABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 141
met an enemy, Count Jorg von Sargans, 1 and that the latter
tried to take him prisoner, was ordained to determine the
course of public affairs, and bring this great struggle to a
head.
Count Jorg had once schemed to bring the Tyrol to-
the crown of Bavaria, and on that account had been out-
lawed by the King. 2 Unconcerned thereat, he lived with
only one cook in the castle of Ortenstein by selling his
estates, and slept in the tower, where his bed may still be
seen ; for he was on terms of friendship with the monks
of Chur, and made common cause with them. The Abbot
in Pfaffers, to whom Gossenbrod thanked his preservation
and who was also a friend of Maximilian the latter con-
fided to him his schemes and successes was forced by
Jorg to leave his monastery. Now between Chur and the
Tyrol there had existed, since time out of mind, differences,
which had lately been revived. These differences affected
the Engadin as far as Pontalt, where their frontiers touched
the jurisdiction of the Minster in the Miinsterthal, to
which both laid claim, as also the hereditary office of cup-
bearer, which Maximilian declined to receive, as former
Counts had done, as a fief from Chur. 3 Gossenbrod availed
himself of this feud to take revenge. He mocked the
monks of Chur and encouraged the Tyrolese, until the
latter, who had been posted by him in strong detachments
on the border, 4 invaded and took the Miinsterthal; the
others at once sallied out and recovered it. Upon this, both
appealed to their allies ; the monks summoned to their
aid the " Upper League " and the ten tribunals, with which
they formed the " Grey League," and the people of Uri, with
six other Swiss towns, with whom they had allied themselves,
since 1497, and " until the end of all things " ; 5 and these all
called in all the others who were members of the federation.
The Tyrol called to its assistance the princes, lords, and
cities of the Suabian Confederation. 6 In a trice the whole
frontier bristled with arms ; on the one side the Swiss, and
Mullet's Schweizer Geschichte, v. p. 322.
Muller, p. 190. 3 Miinster, Cosmographie, p. 763.
Pirkheimer, de bello Helvetico, p. 13.
Simleri Respublica Helvetiorum, p. 36.
Gasser, Augsburger Chronik, p. 258.
142 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
on the other the lansquenets ; each waited to see what the
other would do.
This was not a plot of the King of France, yet the event
relieved him of perplexity. It was, as yet, doubtful
whether there would be war or not, for Maximilian could
not be anxious for it, and, moreover, on the 5th February,
1499, the decree l of Lucerne declared that terms had
been arrived at, and that it was doubtful whether the
places that favoured Milan would join the others. It
came to pass quite spontaneously. In German countries
it frequently happens that between neighbouring hides
and marks, but most especially on the border, there arises
an enmity engendered of boasting, scoffing, and claims ; a
hatred such as exists between two brothers who have
quarrelled, and which is the more intense in proportion
as its cause is less recent. The least occasion arouses
it. So here, when the Swiss, thinking peace was assured,
retired from their frontier and passed through Gutenberg,
the German lansquenets crept on all fours over the
walls and lowed at one another like cows. Where the
Ehine separated the two peoples, the Germans dressed up
a cow, danced with it and cried that they had the bride,
and the others should send them the bridegroom. In
Bendre they christened a calf "Amman Eeding;" 2 and
amused themselves at Constance, Dieffenhofen, and else-
where with variations of the same joke. Enraged thereat,
some Zurichers and Zugers crossed the Ehine on the 6th
of February, routed the enemy, and ran across hedge and
ditch away to the Lake of Constance, where they again
defeated the lansquenets, whose leaders had become de-
sponding and wished to return, with such onslaught, that
they drove some of them into the ditches, where they
were drowned, others into the morasses, where they died
of cold, others fled before them to Ulm and Augsburg,
where they told their tale of terror. 3
This event made war a certainty and united the Swiss.
Schwyz and Unterwalden-in-the-forest, Lucerne and Berne
had already joined the Liga; and Glarus wanted to
1 Abschied in Glutzblotzheim, p. 77.
2 Stettler, 331. Edlibach and Tschudi in Glutzblotzheim.
3 Pirkheimer, de bello Helvetico, p. 14. Tschudi.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 143
be the fifth canton to do so. 1 They had joined it in
Maximilian's interest, who, owing to this, had Swiss envoys
with him on his Livorno expedition, and Swiss soldiers
in his expedition against Burgundy. The same cantons
were allies of Lodovico. But now this League, if not
expressly opposed to Lodovico, was certainly in arms
against Maximilian, by whose counsellors the feud had
been caused, and whose lansquenets had made it burst
forth. The confederation held better together than did
the Liga ; all the cantons united for war. Louis saw it,
and being himself on good terms with Venice and the Pope,
and as in the interior of Germany, the Houses of the
Palatinate and Bavaria-Landshut, both opposed to the
Austrians, were most closely allied, he offered the Swiss
his alliance. 2 Although Lodovico let it be known that he
" had never supported the Suabians, and he desired to be
mediator between them and the Swiss," 3 for he too saw
the danger, and although there were many among the
Swiss who were opposed to a war with Austria, yet the
contrary opinion was the prevailing one : " for what had
the House of Austria ever done for them, save abuse in
words and war in deed ; but that was the way to bring
its plans to nought." On the 21st March, 1499, they all
concluded a treaty in these terms : 4 " The King promises
to assist them in their wars with men and money, and to
give in peace, besides, to every canton 2,000 Rhenish
guilders annually, in return for which they concede to him
free enlistment, and to no one else in opposition to him ; " 3
and appended their ten seals to the document. They then
emblazoned the Crucifixion on their standards and guarded
their frontiers. 8
High among the mountains, where spring the sources of
the Inn and the Etsch, along the Rhine valley lying be-
tween the Senniwald of Appenzell and the red wall of the
Vorarlberg, on both shores of the Lake of Constance, down
1 Stettler, 325-328. a Tschudi in Fuchs, p. 239.
3 From Lodovico's letter, p. 240.
4 Stettler, 337. Glbl., p. 93.
5 Anshelm Berner Chronik, ii. p. 360 (note to new edition).
6 Unrest, Oesterreichische Chronik in Hahn, collectio monumentorum,
torn. i. p. 803.
144 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
to where the Khine has finished his course and leaps down-
wards to the plain, they stood ; " Grey Leaguers " against
Tyrolese, Appenzeller, and St. Gallers against the King's
lansquenets and countrymen, the nine cantons in Thurgau
against Constance, and the cities of the Suabian League,
with Zurich and Solothurn, against the nobles of Sundgau
and Hegau. Between them flowed the Khine and adorned
both its banks with the gorgeous mantle of spring. But
among them many a Suabian might have been heard to
boast, how he would fire and burn in the enemy's country,
that St. Peter would not for the very smoke be able to find
the gate of heaven ; and, should he die, his comrades
were conjured to crush his bones to make powder where-
with to exterminate the foe. 1 The Swiss, on their side,
swore by the saints that they would take no prisoners,
but slay all their enemies, as their fathers had done before
them. 2 The former only wished to vent their hatred, the
latter to protect their freedom that was threatened ; and
thus they waged their war.
At the same time, the confederates on one occasion
crossed the Rhine to attack the Wallgauers, whilst the
Leaguers crossed the bridge of Constance against the
Schwaderloch. Hereupon the " Landsturm " was called
out; on the Suabian side, by the firing of shots, and
on the Swiss side by smoke, and the people ran to
their places of rendezvous. Thurgauans, Bischofzellers,
and St. G-allers assembled at the Schwaderloch to the
assistance of the whole League, and sallied forth to find
the lansquenets. These were already on their way
home, their waggons full of corn, 3 and their muskets
and field-pieces hung with pans, kettles, and all manner
of pillage. But their enemies, by taking shorter roads
through the woods, caught them up and engaged them in
bloody encounters, and only when the leader of the infan-
try, Burkard von Eandeck, who was considered the bit-
terest foe of the Swiss, had fallen, and the leader of the
horse, Wolf von Fiirstenberg, had taken flight after a
1 Stettler, p. 331 (note to new edition), Anshelm, ii. p. 302.
2 Proclamation of llth March and a Military Ordinance in Glutz-
blotzheim, p. 86.
3 Tschudi in GItzbl., p. 103.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND 8FABIAN8 INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 145
chivalrous struggle, the lansquenets left both their mus-
kets and booty behind, and fled towards the city-bridge,
and to the ships in the lake. 1 This was the battle of
Schwaderloch.
Meanwhile Allgauer, Etschlander, and Suabians col-
lected at Frastenz. The miners came out of their pits,
arrayed themselves in steel, vaunted themselves greatly,
and came to the battle. They did not dare to follow up
their enemy, but entrenched themselves behind ramparts,
and so awaited his onslaught. Above them, on the top of
the Lanzengast were posted 300 rifles, and at its foot the
miners. 2 The Swiss advanced against them in two divi-
sions ; a compact body against the rampart in the valley,
whilst sharpshooters to the number of 2,000 scaled the
Lanzengast. Heini Wolleb rode at head of the first
detachment of the 2,000 ; he then dismounted, ordered
them to kneel, and said the Lord's prayer : he cried, " in
God's name follow me." He led them through the ravines,
where each one had to draw up his fellow by his lance, 3
first into the fire of the rifles, and then into close quarters
with them, until they were routed ; this done, they
attacked the miners, and drove their first and second line
behind their entrenchments ; and here, already victorious,
he met with the main body. 4 With united forces, they
scaled the great barricade, and saw the enemy drawn up in
three bodies, in act of preparing his guns for action. For
one moment they threw themselves flat on the ground, until
the shots had passed over their heads : they then wanted
to rise up. " Not yet, confederates ! " cried Heini, " wait
for another salvo, and then at them." They all knelt
down except himself. He, a tall, powerful man, stood up
in the midst of all to maintain discipline ; careful for all,
but fearless for himself. The bullets flew again, but all
missed save one, and this laid him low. " Lay me by and
attack them," he cried. 5 Within two hours the Suabians
had been driven from their camp. The corpses with their
red crosses floated down to Feldkirch. The Wallgauer
1 Pirkheimer, p. 15. 8 Stettler, p. 341.
3 Tschudi in Gltzbl., p. 99.
1 Hauptman uml Ffihndrich an Luzern, Glutzblotzheim, p. 522.
5 Stettler, 342.
L
146 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
came even upon the battle-field to the victors with the sacra-
ment, priests, women, and children, and begged for mercy. 1
The Suabians took comfort and said, " Where is now your
Wolleb ? " The Swiss replied, " He is playing dice with
Eandeck."
The Swiss were everywhere in advantage. From Thien-
gen the lansquenets retired before them in their shirts,
a white staff and a piece of bread in their hands.'
The lady of Blumeneck carried her husband away from the
castle as the dearest treasure that she was allowed to take.
On the Malsian heath the three bands of the Tyrolese
fled before the "Grey Leaguers" when the horn of Uri
echoed from afar. 3 The King's troops, on the other hand,
climbed the topmost hills commanding the Engadine, and
pursued the enemy down the side. But when they had
reached the valley, they found the bridges, across which
they had to go, on fire, villages, in which they intended to
pass the night, in flames, and stores that they wanted
to eat, all destroyed. They, the plunderers, had to pluck
grass to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and were half mad
from want ; the fresh waters of these mountains were their
sole comfort. 4
Such was the character of this war : on neither side was
the motive love of conquest. No ! it was merely defence
and revenge. They entrench themselves, sally forth,
pillage, plunder, burn, and return home again. The neigh-
bouring cities might easily, at that time, have joined the
League of the Confederates (but these were as cruel as their
enemies), and throughout the whole of Suabia, on every
Wednesday and Saturday, after the sermon, they prayed
for the League, the widows and orphans, and the general
peace. 5 Conquest was not the intention of the Swiss either ;
their war served no one save the King of France.
And so it came about that Maximilian became in-
volved in a desperate struggle. Lodovico had to forego
all assistance from him, and found himself, as he was
1 Minister, Cosmographie, p. 631.
2 Stettler, 343. Tschudi and Anshelm in Gltzbl.
3 Stettler, 345.
4 Pirkheimer, 19-21.
5 Crusii Annales Suevorum, i. 513.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND 8UABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 147
his ally, even deprived of Swiss aid. Danger threatened
him, if the French succeeded at the same time in leading
Swiss against Milan. To effect an arrangement with the
Swiss, Lodovico sent Galeazzo Visconti with thirty horses
across Wallis to Berne. Schwyz, at all events, declared for
him, but all to no purpose : he could not bring about any
arrangement. 1 There was only one way of escape, viz., if
Maximilian were to engage the Swiss in such a conflict,
that they would forget to lend their aid to others.
In July, 1499, Maximilian came upon the scene. The
daily invitations addressed to him by his people had at
last induced him to leave those enemies in Gruelders he
was for ever pursuing, and never catching. In an open
letter to the estates of the realm he enumerated the crimes
the Confederates had committed against the Empire and
Austria ; and he succeeded in raising a considerable
number to assist him. In a short time, a strong army of
the Empire and the League was assembled at Constance.
The soldiers of Guelders and Burgundy were at Dorneck
under thecommand of Count Fiirstenberg, He felt sure
of success. 2 If the Swiss ever really offered him, as is
related, that they would serve the Empire, and wage his
wars against the Turks, it must have been on this
occasion. 3
He threw them into great alarn\ and trepidation, yet did
not succeed in preventing them from joining the French.
Yet when Louis XII. made them a proposal in these
terms, " He was taking the field, in order to take his
hereditary land of Milan ; how if his allies showed them-
selves on the hills with only three thousand men?", the
Cantons refused him this request ; but a few thousand in-
dividuals were induced by his pay for their Fatherland
had nothing to give them to forget their country, and, in
spite of all, to join the King's hommes d'armes, who were
collecting at Asti. 4
The issue to be fought out by both sides lay alone in
1 Fuchs, 242. Weiskunig, 271.
3 Weiskunig, 261. A letter in the Swiss Museum and in Glutz-
blotzheira, 113.
3 Unrest, Oesterreich, Chronikin Hahn, Collect. Monument., i. 803.
4 Tschudi MS. in Fuchs. Proclamation of 22 June.
148 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
arms and open war. If only Maximilian was victorious
over the Swiss, Lodovico could join the Suabian League, and
this might come to protect Milan. 1
On the 13th July, 1499, with his artillery, and accom-
panied by knights in coats of mail and waving plumes,
Maximilian advanced over the bridge of Constance against
the Schwaderloch. Scarcely recognizable in his old green
tunic and his great hat, he rode about and gave his com-
mands. The Eagle of the Empire waved in the hand of
the Schenk of Limburg. The astrologers prophesied
success. He waited for the enemies to come down from the
mountains ; but they did not come. He therefore re-
solved to Imnt them out in their native hills ; and many of
his followers expected, as he himself did, to strike a grand
blow. But his nobles remembered Sempach and Charles
the Bold. Should they spill their noble blood upon
peasants? 2 The captains of his Wurtembergers declared
that, " they were tired out with marching, and must wait
for the strength of the whole Confederation to come up."
They would not follow him. The King threw away his
glove, and rode off ; they returned hastily to the city. 3
After this, Count Fiirstenberg, at all events, resolved to
make a raid from Dorneck. One day a provost of the
Cathedral at Bale had a banquet prepared in the Cathe-
dral tower, in order, with his friends, to look out upon
Dorneck in flames. The same day, Nicholas Conrad, bailiff
of Solothurn, sat at table at Liechstall, when he learnt
that the castle was threatened. He did not wait for the
other Federals to come up, but with his own followers
mounted the heights above the enemy's camp. The horse-
men were scattered about the villages; the lansquenets
were drinking and dancing, or else shouting and quarrelling,
their captains made themselves comfortable in long cloth-
ing. Upon this camp the bailiff fell, and the Bernese and
Zurichers followed him. At first it looked as if they must
succeed without more ado. 4 But when the disciplined
1 Lodovico to Stanga in Rosmini, ii. 261.
2 Gotz von Berlichingen Leben, 19. Miinster, Cosmographie, 632.
* Coccinus, de bellis Italicis, ap. Freherum, ii. 278. Tschudi.
4 Dornecker, Song and Letter of the Bernese Captains in the Ap-
pendix to Glutzblotzheim, 524, 526. Stettler, 352.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 149
lansquenets had drawn themselves up in line, and
were supported by their cavalry, it was doubtful, and
some Swiss fled into the woods near the Scharfenflue. All
at once horns and shouts and the sound of feet. Both
sides looked up to see who was coming, and which party's
lot was to be victory and life, and whose defeat and
death. There appeared a flag, folded like a banner; it
was the flag of Lucerne. The brave fellows, the Lucerners
and Zugers, had been informed of the battle that was
raging and had seen the fugitives in the wood; they
forthwith hung up their knapsacks on a great pear tree, 1
came, and fell upon the enemy. The Federals, thereupon,
took courage, and the lansquenets lost heart. Count
Heinrich fell, and four thousand men with him. Maximi-
lian's hopes were over. At first he shut himself up in his
castle at Lindau, and would not admit any of the princes ;
but soon he composed himself. In the evening he opened
his door, and dined in public; he then gazed from his
window at the stars, and spoke of their nature. 2 He was
inclined for peace; accepted Guleazzo's mediation, and con-
sulted with him at Schaffhausen. But before any terms
were arrived at nay, even before any regular meetings
had taken place, even whilst fighting was going on in
Hegau, and Lauf enberg was being threatened, the French
threw themselves upon Lodovico.
Lodovico saw his fate approaching. Against him was
arrayed, on the one side, the same Trivulzio whom only
three years previously he had publicly denounced with the
words'that " a halter awaited him as soon as caught;" the
same Trivulzio, against whom he had roused warrior upon
warrior to prove to him his treachery and cowardice ; that
Trivulzio, of whom he had at last had a picture exhibited
in all his cities, representing him as hanging by the legs, 3
hud now 1,500 lances and 15,000 men on foot under his
command. On the other side, the Venetians were arming
ust him. He had hoped for assistance from the Swiss,
but they were leagued with his enemies. He had hoped
in the Germans, but they were engaged in war with the
1 Inscription by Gerber, ride Glutzblotzheim, p. 134.
- Pirkheimer, p. 24.
3 Documents in Hosmini, ii. 224, 244 ; i. 276, 299.
150 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
Swiss. He had hoped even a little in the Arrabiati at
Florence ; but they were engaged on a campaign against
Pisa. Finally, he had relied upon Bajazeth ; but how
could Bajazeth help him ? for Venice was fitting out two
armies, one against the Turks, and one against him. 1
At this critical moment, all his foreign alliances, that had
made him what he was, failed. The pen availed him
nothing; the sword could alone decide. He still relied
upon his castles, and those favourites in them, whom he had
from the first honoured more than his party ; he still hoped
in his two armies on his two frontiers, who were not to
engage the enemy in open battle, but to come to the
assistance of the menaced castles ; he hoped, finally, in the
fidelity of his Milanese, whose beneficent lord he had ever
been.
But even this calculation proved false. For castle after
castle surrendered as soon as Trivulzio showed himself.
Those favourites of Lodovico were Guelphs, and their head,
Trivulzio, was more to them than he was. The garrison of
Valenza had just prepared itself to give the enemy battle
outside the walls, and awaited his attack, when the com-
mander, Donato, let him in through the castle, and they
saw themselves taken in the rear. At one stroke, Dertona,
Voghera, and the whole country across the Po was lost. It
is said that Trivulzio had brought with him 300,000 escus
for the commanders; that Donato received 5, 000; and that
there was no custos, and no official in any castle in the
Milanese land, that had not been bribed. 2
Everything now depended upon the saving of Alessandria,
and into it Galeazzo Sanseverino threw himself with one of
the two armies. Lodovico meant to exert all his strength
to keep it. He summoned Francis Sanseverino, who was in
command of the other army, to come to the aid of his
brother. 3 But many energetic warnings were addressed to
him, and this commander's name was mentioned to him
among fifteen others suspected of treason. " Whom shall
I trust if not Francis ? " he exclaimed. He had loaded
1 Chronicon Venetum, 96.
2 Corio, 969. Jusmondus to Lodovico in Rosmini, ii. 271. Antonius
Ex Marchionibus in Rosm.
3 Nardi, iii. 62. Senarega. 568. St. Gelais, 147.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND 8UABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 151
him with favours, and had treated him as a son. Yet,
when Francis had arrived at the Tessin he refused to cross
and come to his brother's assistance. Lodovico persuaded
himself of his inability to do so without risking a battle,
and this must, under all circumstances, be avoided ; but
everybody else said, Francis' treachery is patent. 1
In this strait, Galeazzo thought also on self-preservation.
He saw his walls crumbling under the enemy's fire and his
foes making ready to storm his citadel. He would not
surrender, and neither would he defend himself to the last
push. He arranged with Constantin de Montferrat, one
of the leaders of the enemy, for permission to march off
privily : and, accordingly, on the 28th August, 1499, be-
tween the third and fourth hour of the night, Galeazzo
and his hommes d'armes took to flight. They took diffe-
rent roads ; some the direction of the Po, in order to
gain the main road, others the road to Montferrat, to
reach Milan by way of Genoa. They were four hours
gone, when the reveille sounded in the French camp, and
the pursuit of the fugitives began. Galeazzo, two Sforza,
the Count of Melzo, and Luzio Malvezzo escaped across
the Po. 2 But in Montferrat, Constantin could not keep
his plighted word ; the hommes d'armes were deprived of
their horses and weapons.
The city had fallen ; the country was defenceless ; and
Galeazzo's army was annihilated. " Haste," wrote Lodovico
to Visconti : " Quick, haste to his Imperial Majesty ; announce
to him this calamity. Kneel before him and implore him
not to allow us to perish, but to come at once to our aid
with as great an army as he can muster. In this citadel
we will shut ourselves up and wait until His Majesty
comes to deliver us." That was Lodovico's first resolve,
and he still relied upon the Milanese, whom he considered
faithful to him, and whom he had already organized into
companies. But their feelings towards him proved unre-
liable ; they were willing to remain faithful to their lord,
but it should, if possible, be to their advantage, and cer-
tainly not to their harm. To risk life for him, life that
1 Lodovico to Somentius. Corio, 971.
2 Lodovico, Commissione ad Ambrogio et Martino, Corio, 979.
3 Lodovico's Letter in Rosmini, i. 322.
152 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
was to them the greatest of all goods, never entered into
their calculations. 1 When the Venetians were come across
the Oglio and would entertain no new proposals, Guelphs
and French sympathizers showed themselves even in the
capital. On the 30th August, the Treasurer, Landriano, was
attacked on his way to the palace by an insolent fellow, who
had twelve horsemen in his pay, and was thrown wounded
under his horse. This occurrence showed Lodovico plainly
that he could not count upon the Milanese, and could
not trust himself and his family to them. 2 On the follow-
ing day he lifted up his sons, Maximilian, aged nine,
and Francis, seven years, kissed them, gave them into his
brother's keeping, and sent them with his treasure to
Germany. This done, on the 1st September he chose four
men ; these again co-optated eight others from the first
families, all Ghibellines. He granted each of them an
estate, and committed the government into their hands. 3
He too intended to cross the mountains. After having
committed his castle and his jewels 4 to the keeping of
Bernardino da Corte, whom he had brought up and raised
from the dust, and had received the kiss of fealty from
him, all was arranged, and he said to his companions,
" God be with you." He then went forth alone to the
Church of the Madonna delle Grazie. His wife, Beatrice,
the companion of his prosperity, with whom his luck had
died, lay here entombed. Here Leonardo da Yinci had
painted them both, him with the elder child on his lap, 5
and her with the younger. The beams of the setting sun
slanted through the windows. He stood at the foot of her
grave. The brothers of the convent escorted him out of
the church. He looked once more around. What a close
texture of coloured threads, and how unchangeably inter-
woven, happiness and fortune, guilt and calamity, is this
mortal life ! He burst into a flood of tears. Thrice he
turned round, and then stood long lapsed in thought and
motionless, with his head bowed to the earth. 6 In the
1 Chronicon Venetum, p. 93.
2 Corio, 973. 3 Corio, 973.
4 Burcardus, Diarium Rom., 2103. Commissione, 980.
5 Vasari, Vita di Leonardo da Vinci, in vol. iii.
6 Histoire MS. de la Conquete de Milan in Daru, Histoire de Venise,
iii. 221.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND ST7ABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 153
castle yard, meanwhile, the bustle of horses and men, who
were to escort him on his way, was heard. The next
morning, at break of day, they all took the road to Como.
Of all other cities the people of Como were the most
Gibelline and ducal in their sympathies. Once again did
they welcome in their Prince, and give him quarters in the
episcopal palace. The following morning they came to-
gether at his command in the garden by the lake. He
stood amongst them on arising knoll and addressed them. 1
" Citizens, my most faithful subjects ! My fortune stood
high, but now it has changed. I have spared neither
energy, nor friends, nor strength. Yet all in vain; no
one can resist treachery. I will now give way a little
to fate, and will not struggle against God, will not de-
stroy so many peoples, and still save my own. I go to
my nephew, the serene King of the Komans ; I go to
him, and hope, with his assistance, in a short time to re-
turn as conqueror. Follow, then, my advice. When the
French come, do not oppose them, but obey them. But
preserve your allegiance to me, so that when I come I may
not be received as an enemy, but as your true and best
lord and master. If I can do you any favour, tell it me,
for I am still among you." Codito, a citizen, answered
him in these words. " With thy departure, Prince, we
pass from day to night. If thou wilt still do us a favour,
relieve us of toll for ten years, so that we may each day
praise thy generosity, and deliver the citadel into our keep-
ing." He did not hesitate to grant the first request, but at
the second he showed some hesitation. They shouted loud :
" Go not away from us, Prince ! we will have no other
prince but thee. But if thou wilt go, give into our hands the
castle, wherein is our safety and our destruction." Whilst
he was granting this petition, a cry was raised that the
enemy was already in the Borgo. He instantly embarked,
and sailed up the lake to Valtellina. Having arrived at the
baths of Borniio, at the foot of the Umbrail, on the frontier
of his land, he rested once more, and then crossed over
into Germany. 2
1 Corio, 976. Paulus Jovius, Elogia.
2 Corio, 977. Senarega, 567.
3 Chronicun Venetum, 102, 108, 122. Bembus, 98.
154 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
Venice had avenged and, at the same time, compensated
itself for the loss of Pisa : for Cremona surrendered, and
in the cathedral there an altar was raised to St. Marco.
Louis XII. had acquired the inheritance of Valentine.
Bernardino da Corte in the castle quieted his scruples,
on the King making him rich presents and a yearly allow-
ance, and assigning to him the treasures and the artillery of
the fugitives. 1 He kindled no torch and waved no flag, as
he had promised his lord to do, to announce good or bad
tidings. Unattacked by the enemy, he surrendered to them,
the impregnable fortress, the sole refuge of his benefactors.
By this treachery he drew down upon himself the contempt
of the one side and the curses of the other. But he could
not endure it long ; he went forth and hanged himself. 2
The King now came into his new country. Attired in a
white mantle and turban, he rode through the white
draped streets of the city : and some were heard to call him
the Great King, their deliverer. 3 In order to win the most
influential classes over to him, he allowed the nobles to
hunt the big game, gave the professors greater incomes,
and made the appointments of officials permanent. He
then caused it to be publicly announced in the open squares
and streets of Milan, that tolls upon wine, wheat, corn,
millet and nuts, should from thenceforth be no more
levied in the town and suburbs, or within the ecclesiastical
district of Milan, whilst other burdens should be removed
in the whole dukedom. He lowered the taxes, moreover,
to 622,000 livres ; 4 he thought thus to satisfy everybody.
Genoa, too, recognized his suzerainty. After Corradin
Stanga had been recalled, and the Adorni showed them-
selves more and more violent, many became averse to
Lodovico. Now that he had fled away, the Adorni were
also obliged to abandon their castles, and to fly. When
the King arrived, the city sent twenty -four men to him,
who arranged a capitulation, and thereupon received the
oath of the new governor, Philip of Eavenstein, to it. He
1 Burcardus, 2103. Ferronus, p. 48.
2 Tschudi in Glutzblotzheim, 188.
3 Chronicon Venetum, 119, 120. Burcardus, 2107.
4 Ferronus, iii. 49. Forma Cridae in Rosmini, ii. 278. Gilles,
Chroniques de France, f. 120.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 155
now ruled as far as Lesbos, as far as where the Genoese had
formerly swayed. 1 The less powerful princes joined him.
The Marchese of Mantua entered into his service, 2 and
Ercole of Ferrara, whose falcons and leopards he had had
brought to him at Milan, put himself under his protection
and claimed his friendship. 3 The Popolares at Florence
approached him by sending an embassy. When it came
to war, the young Arrabiati chose them a leader, whom
they called " Duke," and the Popolares another, whom
they called " King," and they both gave performances in
the market-place, displaying their respective tendencies. 4
The party of the Popolares, owing to Lodo vice's fall, gained
the upper hand, and came to renew their old relations to
France. Venice is Leonardo's lion, whose breast opens
and is full of lilies. 5 As the Pope also was dependent upon
the assistance which the French rendered him against the
Sforza of Romagna, and as the Anjous in Naples longed
for the arrival of the King, he, hitherto only Lord of Asti,
had suddenly become by far the most powerful potentate
in Italy. Having happily accomplished all these things,
he returned to France.
The quarrel at Milan had not, however, as yet been
finally disposed of.
Lodovico, far from giving up his cause for lost, thought
of Ferrantino ; how he once had fled away and had
returned to his own, chiefly owing to the people of Naples
and the favour of the Milanese. As late as November, the
King heard in Milan the cry of " Duke and Moor ! " and,
in December, a coin was seen bearing the device of a Moor
and a Turk, with the motto: " In winter we will fiddle ; in
summer we will dance." l Here also public opinion was
manifested in play; when the boys, representing the
two parties of the King and the Duke respectively, played
together, the Duke's adherents were always the conquerors,
and brought the leader of the royalists, who played King,
Senarega, 563-570. Folieta, 272.
Chronic-oil Venetum, 122.
Diarium Ferrarense, 370.
Filippo Nerli, Commentary, p. 80.
Vasari, Vita di Leonardo da Vinci., torn. iii. p. 25.
Diurium Ferrarense, p. 375, 377.
156 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
back to the city dishonoured, tied to the tail of an ass. 1
Lodovico considered himself sure of Milan. In Switzer-
land, G-aleazzo Visconti negotiated, to his advantage, 2 a
peace with the neighbouring Germans. Lodovico himself
was obliged to pay the fine levied upon Wallgau and Bre-
genzerwald, and undertake to pay the 20,000 ducats, with-
out which Constance would not cede the provincial Court
of Justice in the Thurgau to the Seven Cantons, which
demanded it. It was only after this was arranged, that
the other differences were on the 22nd of September sub-
mitted to arbitrators at Bale ; where a thanksgiving service
was held in the cathedral and the peace ratified. 3
On the conclusion of peace, the Swiss Cantons again
-evinced their old tendencies and dissensions. Lodovico
had also here a faction favourable to his cause, and, as he
could again avail himself of the lansquenets, he determined
to dare a second struggle.
In the green Alpine valleys, on either side of the St.
Ootthard, dwelt the Ursers and Levantines ; the latter con-
sisting of eight Italian communes, originally connected
with the cathedral and the leading houses of Milan, and
the former, a G-erman settlement, ruled by the people of Uri.
The valleys were perpetually in feud, usually about the
pasturage, and each called its patron to its aid. But,
sometimes, when the people of Uri drove their oxen through
Levantina to the market of Varese, they themselves were
insulted, and became thus the more enraged. On such
an occasion, in 1402, Levantina was forced to acknow-
ledge the protection of Uri. That was no sufficient ad-
vantage for the people of Uri. The pass of Bellenz is so
narrow that the town, with its three gates, could entirely
close it. They also acquired Bellenz, partly by force and
partly by purchase. Since then they had, on this account,
fought many a battle with Milan. There was a time when
they had given up both. Francis Sforza had restored
Levantina to them (and " in gratitude for this they had
to bring every August four falcons and a new crossbow to
Milan "), but not Bellenz. 4 They conceived that they had
1 Chronicon Venetum, p. 137. 2 Pirkheimer, p. 27.
3 Document in Fuchs, p. '269.
4 Simler, Respublica Helvetica, p. 43. The rest MUller and Ebel.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 157"
an established right to this place also, and followed the
Duke of Orleans to Novara : they were always on his side,
because he had promised it them. But now that the
Duke no longer thought himself bound by his promise,
which was made under other circumstances, Lodovico, who
had changed sides with them, was inclined to promise
them something. 1 Like the oxen of Uri, the horses of
the Yalais had also their market in Milan; thence the
" Grey Leaguers" procured certain tuns of corn and wine.
They could not live without the Dukedom, and enjoyed
old privileges from the Sforza. Lodovico knew how to-
turn all these conditions to his account.
First of all, as it appears, he availed himself of the state
of affairs in Uri. For at the self-same time, in October,
1499, he promised Bellenz and Val Bregna to the people
of Uri, 2 and Galeazzo collected some troops for an incur-
sion into Vatellina. 3 But on this occasion for the Bailiff
was also at this moment enlisting troops, and the cantons
called back their sons who had gone away ; and the
King promised the people of Uri various possessions the
troops were disbanded as soon as collected. 4 But one
advantage accrued to Lodovico therefrom. The Bailiff dis-
missed many in the midst of winter without pay, and some
were frozen to death on the tops of the mountains. By
these doings he made himself and the King enemies enough.
These enemies, the universal dissatisfaction, and the rela-
tions subsisting between the Grey Leaguers and the Valais,
Galeazzo availed himself of to make a second attempt..
The Valais declared that the King was an intolerable
neighbour ; 5 2,000 Grey Leaguers enrolled themselves at
Chur under his standard. All whom the Bailiff had
wronged or rejected he welcomed to it. In January, 1500,
he was enabled to venture over the mountains between the
Engadine and Valtellina. 8 His advent was victory. At the
first cry, Chiavenna opened its gates ; the Gibellines of
1 Lodovico's Capitulation in Miiller, v. a Fuchs, 274.
3 Stettler, 361.
4 Tschudi in Glutzblotzheim and the proclamation of Lucerne of the
7th January, 1501, in Glutzblotzheim, p. 532.
5 Hans Krebs in Fuchs, 171.
6 Benedictus Corius, Historia Novocomensis, 58.
158 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
Lugano and Locarno rose ; the people of Bellinzona recon-
quered their castle for the Duke. The French fled from
Como, in dread of Ascanio's arrival. John Orelli marched
into Pavia, and, as there was a lack of corn, provisioned it
with chestnuts. 1 All depended upon whether the Duke's
party in Milan would be able to hold that city.
In Milan, the Gibelline families, the Landrians, Mar-
lians, Yisconti, Cribelli, and especially some ecclesiastics
amongst them, would never obey Trivulzio. On one occa-
sion, even, they made common cause with the French
prefect against him. 2 Between the Gibellines and Guelphs
there existed an open feud. Sometimes no one dared to
speak of terms. Sometimes the leaders had a conference
and concluded a formal peace. Trivulzio, who behaved
himself as these party leaders were wont to do when they
were victorious, ever kept alive the arrogance of the rest.
When then, on the 1st February, 1500, the tidings arrived
that the Sforza were there, both rushed at once to arms.
Trivulzio, with his G-uelphs, was the first to occupy the
square between the cathedral and the palace. The Gibel-
lines showed courage, and surrounded him and his men.
The two parties kept up a contest of words. As long as
Trivulzio was honey- tongued, saying that : " he desired no
better luck than to share Milan's fate ; he was willing to
die for his country, but that they must be faithful, and
that then they would obtain great liberties," his opponents
only replied with mockery ; " was he not the same person,
who had always sought his own advantage in his country's
calamities? Was he not the old fox that had ever
deceived them ? He was only now making them promises
that he would never be able to keep." But when he began
to command them to lay down their arms, threatening
that the King would destroy the city, they also became
violent. " If Guelphs could carry arms, Gibellines could
do the same ; instead of giving orders, he would now have
to receive them ; but why was he still allowed to live ? If
his life was the ruin, his death would be the saving, of his
1 Bened. Jovius, Historia Novcom., 60. Zurita, i. 176. Life of
Aloysius Orelli, 40.
3 Arluni, de bello Veneto, i. 7. Andrea da Prato, Cronaca. in Ros-
mini, i. 337.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 159
country." One Gibelline or other was for ever shouting
these words ; each hour that the Sforza drew nearer, their
courage waxed stronger. The next morning, Trivulzio
retired to the park and the castle. In the city nothing
was heard but " Duke and Moor, and death to the
Guelphs." All the shops were closed, and the streets
barricaded ; Trivulzio saw that the city was lost, provided
for the castle and fled to the Tessin. 1
These tidings, with the invitations from his party,
reached Lodovico in Innsbruck. He was not yet ready,
he had not lansquenets enough, and Maximilian did not
approve of his starting at that moment ; 2 but Lodovico
could not be restrained. He took Claude de Vaudrei's
Burgundian horse, lansquenets as many as he had, and
crossed the Alps. 3 They came from the villages and towns
to meet him, saying, " All hail, Lodovico our prince ! " The
people of Como brought him in triumph into their church.
All the nobles in a body met him before the gates of Milan.
As a sign of his mercy, he carried a green ensign, upon it
embroidered a Moor, dressed in gold, touching the shoul-
ders of four barons kneeling before him. Thus did he
enter the city. 4 After this, the people of Cremona only
waited for an occasion to revolt from Venice, and in Genoa
the rulers did not dare to commit the watch to any Italian,
for the city was full of the report that, " John Adorno had
written and was on the march with succour from Naples." '
In Ferrara itself three hundred boys followed the drum of
a Servite monk ; they thundered at the door of the Vene-
tian Visdomino, and shouted " Moor ! " The whole
country would at one stroke have coine into Lodovico' s
hand, had not the unfaithful surrendered their castles ;
these must be retaken, were he to assert his supremacy.
He raised his army, in spite of their small pay, to 12,000
men and 2,500 horses ; his brother Thomas followed him
with the guns that he had just had cast in G-ermany. He
1 Epistola Hieronymi Moroni ad Varadeum in Rosmini, ii. 280.
Chronicon Venetum, 137.
a Maximilian's letter of complaint of the year 1507, in Fuchs, ii. 91.
3 Benedictus Jovius, 61.
4 Ibid., and Ferronus, iii. 51.
5 Senarega, 571. 6 Diarium Terrarense.
160 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
said to the people, " I will be your prince and will be your
brother ; but you must help me with money." Now,
although many thought that they had made sacrifices
enough for him, and others did not believe that they could
rely upon his good fortune, most of them perceived that
his need was their need, and assisted him. Hereupon
Ascanio besieged the castle at Milan, and he that at
Novara.
Trivulzio, in the face of this movement, had retired
upon roads which the peasants endeavoured to render im-
passable by trees and stones, in return for which he left
their villages desolated in his track, and proceeded despon-
dently for his own party upbraided him past Pavia to
Mortara and Vercelli. Thither the King despatched La
Tremouille to take the supreme command; thither also
came a few Swiss, who had been in the pay of Cesar
Borgia. 1 But to withstand an army as great as that which
Lodovico had with him, fresh recruiting must be resorted
to. For this the Florentines and Venetians gave money,
and the Archbishop of Sens and the Bailiff started at once
for Switzerland to effect this.
The Swiss of those days were bold in the face of steel,
but weak in the presence of money. They were united as
soon as they had an enemy before them ; but before that
disunited, as also in negotiations. As they have no great
general interests to consult, they blindly follow each special
and momentary advantage. If those who joined Lodo-
vico' s colours remained faithful to his cause, whilst others
were allowed to give their oath of allegiance to the Bailiff
representing the opposite side, the murder of relatives by
relatives, and a domestic war, terminating with the break-
up of the federation, might ensue. It was, perhaps, owing to
these apprehensions that they did not agree to the first
offer of the Bailiff on the 21st February : " The King,"
they said, " should first of all pay up all arrears and con-
firm the terms ;" and so, grumbling to himself : " it will
be a matter of crowns, and so I suppose I shall have to
open the purse," he left the assembly, and went through
place after place. 2 On the llth March they again asseni-
1 Moronus ad Varadeum, 285. Chronic. Venet., 143. Ferron.
2 Anshelm and Tschudi in Glutzblotzheim, p. 171.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 161
bled. Maximilian represented to them that : "in their
terms with the French King, the Empire was excepted
from those countries against which they were to lend
assistance ; but Milan was now a crown land, and Lodovico
a subject, a vassal, of the Empire." That was at that time
no unfounded assertion, as Lodovico had completely allied
himself to the Romo-German King ; but now that they
had received their money, they would not listen to any
counter reasons. 1 The Zurichers chose a captain and
" Venner " for their companies ; the Freiburgers sent their
counsellors with them. Although the enlistment was at
once prohibited in Berne, 2 the people, in spite of the pro-
hibition, followed the drum. They marched, some up the
Soane and across the Bernhardin and the three Cantons
over the St. Gothard, and came to Vercelli. They did not
know what they were doing. Many a one had a brother, a
brother-in-law, or a father opposed to him in Novara.
Either the oath would have to be broken, or the fede-
ration was at an end.
Lodovico still called his camp the most happy ; 3 he
still hoped to draw all those who had crossed over the hills
to his standard. He thought to make use of the people of
Uri, and sent a message to the Swiss to this effect :
" Bellenz, Mendris, Lugano, Locarno, and Val Maggia he
would cede to them, give them 40,000 ducats at once, and
pay a yearly sum of 24,000, if they would only rid him
of the King." 4 Thereupon, the common people of Berne,
in both city and land, having, as they probably had,
relations on both sides, implored their counsellor, their
Bailiff, to see that peace was made. This counsellor
proposed 5 to the federals to dissuade both princes and
both lords from using the sword, else great damage and
great strife was unavoidable ; and in this direction the
German envoys likewise exerted their influence. As a
matter of fact, a resolution was arrived at on the 31st
March, such as Lodovico desired : " On the 8th of April
two deputies from each canton should meet in the inn at
1 From Tschudi in Fuchs, p. 287.
2 Berne to Maximilian, p. 299.
3 Lodovico's signature in Fuchs, p. 304.
4 Stettler, 364. 5 Letter of Berne, 298 and 302.
M
162 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
Uri, and thence haste, in God's name, to bring the two
princes to an understanding." l
But before the decree was made, the French sallied
out. Lodovico was bold enough to oppose himself outside
the walls to a threefold stronger army than his, and to
draw up Swiss to face Swiss. But botli stopped ; they re-
fused to fight each other. 2 He retired to Novara, his
enemies after him. He awaited, it appears to me, the
decree, from which he hoped everything, and that suc-
cour, which on the 9th of April had arrived at Conio. 3
At length the decree arrived; but it was not so un-
equivocal that the French could not make use of it. People
were not in Lucerne quite at one in the matter ; the ducal
party had gained something, but not everything, and the
essence of the decree was quite contradictory in terms :
" The soldiers should be warned by both sides to return
home, or, at all events, to go over to one side. 4 It is evident
that this determined the matter. The French could rely
upon faithful men ; Lodovico had to deal with captains
who defrauded him of 500 guilders in a single levy. 5
These latter went over into the enemy's camp, and let the
enemy into theirs. The two became almost one. It was
soon resolved to interpret the resolution in favour of the
French. The cry was raised, " It is all over with the Duke." B
The French then came so close to him that they might
almost have taken him prisoner in a room. 7 When he
complained of the conduct of his captains, they answered :
" When did they ever promise to fight against federals :
if he only wanted counsel, he should apply to his wise
counsellors ; but if he looked to them for advice, theirs
was that he should mount a good horse, and ride off to
Bellenz or Eschenthal." * In this state of perplexity, he
entered into negotiations with the leaders of the French,
1 Resolution in Fuchs, p. 292 ; in Glutzblotzheim, p. 174.
2 Kergicht Meyers in Gl., 175.
3 Benedictus Jovius, Hist. Nbvocom., p. 61.
4 Resolution in Glutzbl.
5 Resolution in GL, p. 532.
6 Anselm in Fuchs, 309.
7 Tapfer vogts Vergicht in Fuchs, 321.
8 Pfisters and Zehwegers Vergicht in Fuchs, Glutzb.,and in Aloysius
Orelli's life, p. 54.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 163
and Ligny was for allowing him to escape ; but the others
opposed this, and Trivulzio said : " He is as good as ours." l
The enemy without, treachery within ; for his Italians also
became weary and drew back. There was only one way of
escape, namely, that which JSmilius Paulus advised to
Perseus, and of which Cato gave an example to the great
Eomans the last expedient in the struggle with fate,
before one succumbs. But Lodovico was not the man to
perceive it or seize it.
On Friday morning, the 10th April, 1500, Lodovico
Maria Sforza, called the Moor, sat in his room at Novara,
read, and appeared to pray. Galeazzo Sanseverino entered
and said : "he had only looked for two hundred Swiss
to give him an armed escort, but had not found a single
one." Then came certain Swiss captains and said: "they
were obliged to go. Would he venture to escape in their
midst, he should disguise himself and come." He hardly
heard them, but went on reading. 2 They came again to
him. "All is ready," they said. They found him still
hesitating. So throwing a Swiss blouse over his scarlet
skirts, 3 they sat him, partly by force and partly with his
will, upon a horse, put a halberd in his hand, concealed
him in their thickest company, and rode out of the gate.
The French stood on both sides with lowered spears, and
with guns ready pointed, so as to find him and not
allow him to escape. 4 Some of them fell upon the lans-
quenets, and upon the Burgundians, and took Jacob von
Ems prisoner. 5 Others rode up to the Swiss : " they had
him, and for dear life they should surrender him. Did
they not point him out, they were undone." ' The caval-
<;i'l<- stopped. The Duke, now a Minorite, and now a
Swiss trooper with a halberd, once taken, but again let
go, as he was not recognized, was here, there, and every-
where, and few knew him. At last the Bailiff rode up
and offered 500 ducats to him who would point him
Morone to Varadeus.
The same, Vergieht in Fuchs, 331.
Anton, p. 110.
Ziramermann's Vergieht, 323.
Bebelii Epitome laudum Suevorum, p. 141.
Briichli Scherers, Tapfervogts Vergieht.
164 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
out. 1 Thereupon a man of TJri, by name Turmann, who
was standing behind him a man of whom nothing evil
had ever been known before was allured by the proffered
lucre, and lifting up his hand, said in a low tone, " There ! " 2
No one resisted. The Bailiff seized and recognized the
Duke, and struck him with the flat of his sword across
the shoulders. Trivulzio stept up to him and said,
" Sforza, you have your reward." 3
At the first report, the Milanese rushed terrified from
their houses to the palace. Ascanio went out to them
and said, " The Moor is a prisoner." He said nothing
more. He had forgotten his eloquence. He thought
only of his own escape. 4 Francis Sforza had had five
sons, all excellently endowed by nature and well brought
up by their wise mother ; but the first was murdered
by conspirators; the second fled away from his sister-
in-law and was drowned ; the third died in exile. The
fourth was Lodovico, and Ascanio, too, the fifth, did not
escape the fate of the others. He fell into the capti-
vity of Venice. No city was able to defend itself. They
came out everywhere to meet the victors with olive
branches. 5 But the victors treated them as great crimi-
nals. The Vogheresi also waited for Ligny, their lord,
but he rode by them, as though he did not see them.
They began to entreat him, but he would not hear until
Louis d'Ars interceded for them. They brought him
1 Paulus Jovius, Epitome Historiarum, p. 87.
2 Scherer's Vergicht, 322.
3 Anton, p. 110. Ferronus, 52. Monstrelet, 230. In the " Anzeiger
fur Schweizerische Geschichte" for 1884, No. 80, p. 279, is published a
letter of Geoffrey Carles (of the 15th April, 1500), who belonged to the
French, who, at the revolt of Milan, in January, 1500, had retired into
the citadel, and in which is also stated that Lodovico had endeavoured to
escape among the Swiss, to whom he made great promises. The French
let the Swiss file by man by man. They recognized Lodovico also by
the fact that he could not speak German (Cognitus pour ce qu'il ne sceut
respondre Alemand). The treachery of Turmann is not mentioned.
Everything is attributed to the work of the French commander. So,
also, in Trivulzio's letter to the Signorie (in Sanuto, Diarii iii., p. 226).
But we must, after all, take our stand upon what the Swiss accounts tell
us. (Note to 3rd edition.)
4 Arluni, de bello Veneto, i. 2.
5 Chronicon Venetum, 151.
CH. IV.] SWISS AND SUABIANS INVOLVED IN THE WAR. 165
silver plate, and he gave it at once to Bayard. 1 The latter
said: "G-od forbid that the gifts of such wicked people
should come into my hand," and distributed it among
others. "He will become the most perfect man, I say," said
Ligny. In this way they took possession of the country.
In Milan the heads of the leading Gibellines were impaled
at the palace gates, the rest were spared. 2 But the two
Sforza were sent to France. Bourges and Loches lie not
far apart on the left bank of the Loire, Bourges with its
round high tower, commanding the country for miles
round ; 3 thither came Ascanio ; Loches with its towers
and bastions built on a steep rock, and surrounded by such
deep moats that the English declared it to be impreg-
nable. 4 Here Lodovico was interned. Here he often
spoke with his servant from Pontremoli of his sins and his
fate. 5 "That is the star of Francis Sforza," said the
astrologers in Italy ; " it means fortune for one man, but
disaster for his descendants." fl
As Maximilian was engaged in this war, he was also
affected by this disaster. On that same momentous
10th of April on which Lodovico was taken prisoner, he
opened a Diet at Augsburg. His prestige in his Em-
pire did not alone depend upon internal development,
it depended almost still more upon his war and peace, and
upon his extraneous successes. Now that, since the diet of
Freiburg, the four military enterprises in which he had been
engaged had failed, viz., in Burgundy, in Gruelders, in
Switzerland, and Milan, he was forced to acquiesce in
a Government, such as had already been proposed at
Worms. It consisted of twenty members, an elector, a
spiritual and a temporal prince, a count, a prelate, and
fifteen deputies, These twenty had the right of summon-
ing the princes in small numbers or collectively, of deciding
upon war, of recruiting infantry and horse for the
" pfennig " impost, that they were to administer, even of
1 Bayard, p. 84.
a Chronicon Venetum, 162. Seyssel, Louanges du bon Roi, p. 48.
Supplement to Monstrelet.
3 Andre du Chesne, Antiquites, p. 482.
1 Ibid., p. 520.
5 Paul Jovius, Elogia, p. 200. 6 Arluni, de bello Veneto, i. 24.
166 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
resolving upon the conquest, which might perhaps succeed,
and finally, of making peace again. 1 What then remained
of the royal dignity ? " They would have liked to depose
us," said Maximilian, " but a certain person required time
and leisure." On the 2nd of July, 1500, this Government
was resolved upon. As early as the 21st, Louis XII. went
to meet an embassy sent by it ; he had to expect more
assistance from it than resistance to his plans. He had
gained a complete victory over Maximilian. 2
3. Pope Alexander VI. and Ms Son against the Vassals of
the Church.
Had it really been so with Francis Sforza's star, as was
said, its pernicious effect would have extended to the whole
of the Sforzian-Aragon dynasty. It turned out to his ruin
that the Pope had entered into a league with Louis XII.
But, in order to make clear to ourselves how the Pope was
situated, it is necessary to begin with a general sketch.
Laws and customs, representing the unity of society in
each individual member, do not merely exist for the pur-
pose of protecting others against you, or you against
others, but also for the purpose of protecting you against
yourself. Moderation and self-restriction, the neglect of
which entails self-destruction, and which inclination and
arrogance will notwithstanding never tolerate, become by
means of them a habit, and lead him, who submits to
them, unharmed and peacefully through all the days of
his life. Yet, as the human race ever needs new laws,
some one must be raised up to originate and guard them,
and over such a one their restrictive force cannot have
power.
A great danger this, and yet one which high and low
ever vie with each other in arrogating to themselves,
and which the Germano-Christian nations, while yet united,
reposed in a single individual, a greyhead chosen by grey-
1 Gasser, Augsburger Chronik, 258. Regiments -ordnung in Mtiller's
Reichstags- staat, 25-48.
2 Maximilian. Kurzer Begriff Seiner Reichs-verwaltung, p. 120. Mon-
strelet.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 167
heads ; a man who, with the exception of his name, had
given up all connection with the world, and whom they
believed God's Spirit did not allow to go astray. But in-
clinations are exceedingly deep-rooted and obstinate, even
in old men ; and who is there that could be dead to the
world and yet rule it ? It was fortunate that the Popes
were not entirely without fear, neither when they fought
with the Emperors, nor when the G-ibelline party was at
its height, nor when they were at Avignon in the power of
the French kings. After this, they were held in check by
the schism, the fear of a fresh schism, or by the proximity
of the Turks.
It was only when they had become accustomed to this
constant fear, and when, in the whole of the Western
world, there was none who could withstand the coalition
even of the few that the Pope could always command, that
he became quite fearless. Two things tended to make this
a particular misfortune ; corrupt election, and the prevail-
ing infidelity. Would a strong man, whose mind in the
course of a long life had become impure by sensuality,
greed, and all the vices of the world, on having attained
this position, be more likely to employ it to a good or an
evil end? A fear of Him, of whose being he knew nothing
for certain, could not restrain him. Alexander every
Maundy-Thursday imitated the Author of the faith by
washing the feet of twelve poor men ; but the feet had
first to stand in a golden basin full of perfumed herbs,
and a Cardinal had first to pour water over them out of a
golden vessel, and not until then did he touch them. 1
Reliable diaries accuse him of a sensuality that found its
gratification even in that of others, of a cruelty that em-
ployed murderers 2 by day and night, and of a villainy so
elaborated, as by means of promises to induce a man, good in
other respects, to confess to something that he had not com-
mitted, and then to punish him as if he had been guilty of it. 3
A man who had once spoken ill of his son, he punished by
cutting off his hand and the tip of the tongue, and caus-
1 Anton Harve, Reise 3.
8 Raphael Voleterranus, Vitee Paparum, p. 167. Burcardus, Vale-
rianus de infelicitate literatorum, p. 272.
1 Burcardus, 2085.
168 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
ing the latter to be exhibited stuck on the tip of the little
finger. 1
Through his son Don Juan, to whom Federigo had pro-
mised a principality in return for his enfeoffnient, this Alex-
ander had become closely connected with both Federigo
and all the Sforza and Aragons. But, in consequence of
Juan's sudden death his body was found in the Tiber 2
this connection began to be severed. Juan, as the German
chronicles relate, was Alexander's joy, and his soul was
wrapped up in him. He now sat from Thursday to Sunday
shut up in his chamber, without eating and sleeping, and
always in tears, and thought of abdicating ; for his wicked-
ness was the cause of his son's death. 3 On Sunday he came
forth, went on foot to St. Peter's, ordered five cardinals
to re-arrange his Court, and bade his children leave it. 4
But his children controlled him. All his passions were
in still greater intensity found in his son Cesar: sen-
suality, thirst for power, bloody revenge, also the power
of concentrating all his mental forces upon a single object,
and his open-handed and apparently generous and princely
bearing. Cesar was an active, well-grown man, skilled
at throwing, riding, and at slaying the bull when running
with a single blow ; his dark-red face was full of pimples,
that readily festered, and gave to his eye keenness and
brilliancy and a snake-like movement, which he only re-
strained a little in the presence of women. 6 After his
brother's death, which was attributed to him himself, his
tastes were all for arms and princely honours. Instead of
removing from the Court, he proposed to his father to
relieve him from the office and dignity of Cardinal, and
to endow him with a principality. 7 The Church is built up
upon the inextinguishable character of the priestly state,
and it was quite without precedent that the highest rank
in it should be given up. Yet this objection did not
1 Buvcardus, 2137.
2 Burcardus, Diarium, 2082. Zurita, f. 125. Mariana, xxxi. p. 169.
Guicciardini, iii. 182.
3 Matthias Doring, Continuatio chron. Engelbusi, Ap. Menken, iii.
4 Nardi, ii. 42. Burcardus.
5 Petrus Martyr, Epistolae xv. 143.
6 Jovius, Elogia virorum bellica virtute clarorum, 201-203.
7 Burcardus, also in Gordon's Appendix, 57.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 169
trouble the Pope much, and, as a matter of fact, he proposed
to Federigo that he should give his eldest daughter and Don
Juan's possessions to Cesar. 1 Now Joffred Borgia and Lu-
cretia Borgia, the latter of whom had been torn away from
the side of John Sforza of Pesaro and married to Alonso of
Bisceglia, were already allied to the Aragon house by mar-
riage. But Federigo knew Cesar. A quiet, moral, noble gen-
tleman as he was, and a father who loved his daughter so
tenderly, could not sanction this. The Sforza plied him with
entreaties upon entreaties, representing to him that the Pope
would otherwise take other steps for the destruction of Italy.
But his reply was that : " nothing in the world should induce
him ; rather would he die a poor nobleman, and endure all
the ills of the world, than do this. They should not mention
it again." From that time Alexander began to enter into
serious negotiations with France. After Louis XII. had pro-
mised Valentinois to Cesar, the latter came into the Con-
sistory of Cardinals : "in spite of always having been
addicted to the world, he had ever been raised to spiri-
tual dignities and benefices. His propensities would not
be curbed. He now gave back his benefices, and begged
to be relieved of his office." 2 How could he be refused
what had long since been determined and settled? In
short, in Oct., 1498, he made his public entrance as Prince
into Chinon, where Louis was holding his Court. Sixty-
six laden mules preceded him ; he himself rode in, covered
from his hat, in which gleamed ten rubies, down to his
boots, with precious stones. His horse was shod with silver
shoes; and behind him there came twenty-four mules
caparisoned in red velvet. 3 The Pope was at one time
heard to say that, "he would give a fourth part of his
papacy if only Cesar would not return ; " and at another
for he believed himself offended " If only Cesar were
there, he would act differently ; " 4 and hence we can per-
ceive how completely he was in Cesar's power. In France,
Cesar received Valentinois, the bishop of which styled
himself Count, as a Dukedom, and in May, 1499, Charlotte,
Alain d'Alibret's daughter, to wife. 5 Through this mar-
1 Bercardus, 2098. 2 Burcardus, 2096.
3 Brantome, Capitains Strangers, from an original.
4 Zurita, 159, 160. 5 Fleuranges, p. 12. Ferronus, p. 48.
170 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
riage he became related to the King of Navarre and
France. He next schemed to attain a larger lordship. If
Louis attacked the Sforza in Milan, he, on his part, would
ruin the Romagnan vassals, and all the vassals of the Church.
In September, 1490, Lodovico fled for the first time.
In November, the Pope declared the nephews of the former
to have forfeited Imola and Forli. 1 Cesar did not re-
collect that their father, Girolamo Riario, after having
risen to power, lived like he did, and what his end was.
With French and Swiss assistance, Cesar made war upon
Catharine, Lodovico' s sister and Girolamo' s widow. The
lady had no support. Florence and Milan had formerly
been allies. The former favoured her, because her Court
was full of Florentines ; 2 besides, her third husband, Gio-
vanni di Pier Francesco dei Medici, had come from Florence,
and her son at times enjoyed the emoluments of office
there. 3 The latter city was so devoted to her that, for
a time, Giovanni da Casale, Lodovico' s agent, had the
whole government in his hands, and was present at her
most secret audiences. 4 Aided by both, she had in the
previous year resisted the Venetians, and in this had
supported both, especially Lodovico, with troops. 5 But
now Lodovico was an exile, and her enemy was lord of
Milan. Now, too, in Florence, instead of the notables, who
were her friends, and the friends of her late husband, Gio-
vanni Medici, and of her child, the Popolares were supreme ;
and although she went thither saying, " the holy evening of
the Florentines was her festival also," they still considered
it dangerous to resist the French and Cesar. In conse-
quence of this state of things, Imola, both city and
citadel, was soon lost, and the nobles welcomed the enemy
into the city of Forli. 6 The citadel of Forli, that had
been so strongly fortified by Pino Ordelaffi as to appear
impregnable, still held out. Catherine, who, since her
husband's death, had withstood all her enemies, herself
commanded it, went about on the walls, and was not
Burcardus, 2107.
Macchiavelli, Lega/ione alia Contessa Caterina Sforza, lett. iv. p. 16.
Commissione a Macchiavelli, p. 1.
Macchiavelli, Legatione, lett. ii. 7.
Ibid.,?. 17. u Nardi, ii. 61.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 171
daunted. 1 In order to compass her rescue, a musician took
a poisoned letter to Rome, and desired an audience of the
Pope. His chamberlain was a native of Forli, and with
this chamberlain's help he thought he would be able to
succeed. Yet he betrayed him. "Didst thou think to
escape, in the event of succeeding ? " " At all events,"
was the answer, " I should have saved my Princess ; she
reared me up, and I would suffer a thousand deaths for
her." a Cesar had promised 10,000 ducats to whomsoever
would bring her to him alive ; but amongst such faithful
adherents he could not hope to find a traitor. She took no
notice of the Pope' s promise to grant her an annual allowance ;
she met Cesar's attacks with energy. At last the wall was
pierced by 400 shot, and was scaled. She defended herself
to the last ; but at last she was taken, and brought before
Cesar. The French captain demanded the 10,000 ducats ;
Cesar then spoke of 2,000. " Wilt thou break thy word ? '"
answered the former, and was on the point of killing her. 3
After this she enjoyed many long years and much honour
in Florence. Lodovico's return delayed this undertaking,
for, on account of it, French and Swiss had to turn towards
Milan.
After a while a messenger brought the tidings of Lodo-
vico's captivity. The Pope gave him 100 ducats. The
Romans shouted "Orso and Franzia" in the streets. 4
Cesar, who had since received the mantle, hat, and
staff of " Gonfaloniere " of the Church, advanced against
John Sforza at Pesaro. 5 John relied upon his people,
upon Venice, and Urbino. In his hall, the nobles and
citizens at his request had promised him allegiance and
assistance; immediately afterwards he discovered a con-
spiracy. He hurried to Venice, that had always protected
him ; but on this occasion he remembered how he had re-
ceived Turkish ambassadors. The Duke of Urbino gave
him poor encouragement, saying he ought to keep himself
for a better opportunity. 6 When Cesar approached, he
fled, and abandoned to him both city and country.
Pandolf Malatesta would not await him at Rimini. Be-
1 Chronicon Venetum, p. 128. 2 Burcardus ii. 61.
3 Chronicon Venetum, 135. 4 Burcardus, 2116.
6 Burcardus, 2114. 6 Baldi Guidubaldo, 215.
172 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. I.
fore that year, Venice had sent a Proveditor to protect
him, so that Cesar had to return, whilst he hurried to
the feet of the Signorie, 1 to express his gratitude. But
now Venice had declared for the Pope, who had granted to
her ecclesiastical revenues wherewith to fight the Turks ;
his people hated him, and so he also fled. Hereupon, now
that everything appeared to succeed, in November, 1500,
Oesar advanced against Faenza.
The Faentines were distinguished among all the Komag-
nans for their harmony and their industrial cleverness ;
their linen was the whitest ; their potteries had acquired a
reputation; and they had, moreover, been renowned for
their loyalty, ever since they had defended Bolgheri against
Frederick II.'s superior force, and had saved them from
harm. 2 At the time of which we speak, there lived two
youths, descendants of their old princes, the Manfreddi, of
whom the elder, Astorre, aged fifteen years, was an angel
in cleverness and beauty. Their sole ally was the winter ;
but they made such good use of it that Cesar retired on
the tenth day. In April, 1501, he came again. They
killed 1,000 of his men to sixty citizens on their side ;
1,400 they blew up in a bastion. 3 The Pope sometimes,
out of ill-humour, did not go to chapel. But Cesar
was not weakened by his losses, as the charitable offerings
of piety were at his disposal; but they were ruined by
their success. At last, utterly exhausted by three succes-
sive attacks, they surrendered, after Cesar had guaranteed
them safety, and liberty to their princes. 4 Since that time
Cesar was called Duke of Romagna, and up to this point
Louis suffered his undertakings. But when he threatened
Bologna, John Bentivoglio, under French protection, re-
sisted him, and escaped with a few fines. 5 When after
this he made an irruption into the Florentine land, as
though intending to restore the Medici, the King and his
own father warned him to depart ; and he was obliged to
content himself with money and a " Condotta." e When
1 Chronicon Venetura, 241.
2 Leander Albert!, Descriptio Italia?.
3 Zurita, i. 209. 4 Diarium Ferrarense, 393, 395.
5 Nardi, 70.
6 Nardi. Nerli, v. 86. Macchiavelli, Discorsi, i. 38.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON.
he made a descent upon Appiano of Piombino, the
would not have been displeased had Genoa previously ac
quired the fine fresh-water harbour by purchase. But Cesar
was too quick ; and having Elba and Pianosa, its Prince was-
obliged to relinquish to him Piombino, and take refuge in
the Scrivia Valley, on the estate of a Spinola. 1 Even
Alfonso of Ferrara was not strong enough to resist him, and
was obliged to make terms, by marriage with this family.
Cesar is like a wolf in the fold, that has made friends-
with the shepherd. His soldiers wore a sword belt from
the right shoulder to the left thigh, representing a scaly-
snake, picked out in gold and colours, darting downwards
with its seven heads. 2 But what symbol could express the
damnation of a man who, during these struggles, came
once to Rome, caused the St. Peter street to be closed,
and six human beings brought out, and hunted with arrows,
whilst he stood by and shot them until they died like
hunted game ; 3 who promised Astorre his liberty, and
then outraged this innocent boy, this noble blood, in an
unnatural manner ; and, still fearing him, at last caused
him to be thrown with his brother into the Tiber, 4 a stone
attached to his neck.
God's judgment was over Italy. Destruction was
abroad, and stalked from one palace to the other. Only
the real Aragons, Federigo and his house, still survived ,-
but destruction was in their wake. At the first attack
upon the Sforza, Alfonso da Bisceglia, Alexander's Aragon
son-in-law, fled from Rome. If he had only not returned ?
But now, when crossing the square of St. Peter in broad
daylight, 5 he was attacked by murderous bands, and, thrice
wounded, was carried off to his house ; but, as he did not
succumb at once to his wounds, Cesar employed his execu-
tioner, Michelotto. to despatch him in bed. Beatrice,.
1 Senarega Annales. 2 Baldi Guidubaldo, p. 216.
3 Burcardus, 2121. 4 Nardi, iv. 71. Burcardus, 2138.
5 Burcardus, 2123.
6 Passero, 123 (note to 2nd edit.). Cf. Romische Papste, vol. xxxviL
p. 33, and Paolo Capello's account in the appendix to 3rd vol., No. 3.
Peculiar are the ten Neapolitan accounts, from the reports which reached
the Court of King Federigo, for instance, in Giacomo, who describes very
exactly the wounds inflicted, p. 235 : " Una alabardata alia spalla, una~
ferita dereto la testa et una stocchata in li fianchi."
174 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
daughter of Ferrante the elder, and wife of King Wladis-
law, was far away in Hungary. After losing a better
husband, she had brought the crown to this one. But
Wladislaw was long since tired of her. Alexander, who
had always hitherto been prevented by some consideration
or other, now pronounced his divorce from her. Anna of
Candale, of the royal house of France, took her place. 1 In
Federigo himself, the life of this dynasty was threatened.
When Milan was for the first time conquered, the French
volunteers boasted, "they were now in the midst of a
hundred years' war without a day's peace; 2 they had still
to war against the Turks, and to cross the Alps, but first
of all to Naples." Federigo had sometimes attempted to
negotiate, but he only found himself dallied with. In April,
1501, the preparations were no longer a secret ; and, in
May, Louis communicated his intention to the G-erman
council of the realm, which had concluded a truce with
him until the 1st of July, and had tied Maximilian's
hands. 3 In June, the army advanced into the Florentine
country ; and in Eome arbours were made for the men,
and cribs for the horses, whilst a residence was prepared
for the King. 4 Many thought then how closely Ferdinand
was related to Federigo, and how the former, even in
breach of his treaty, had come to the aid of Ferrantino,
and saved him, and how G-onzal was in Messina ready for
action. A long war possibly a reversal of the whole of
the French successes might be expected. Federigo had
asked G-onzal if he could depend upon him, and he
answered : "my master is your friend."
Yet it was not so. Ferrantino would scarcely have been
so energetically supported had he not been married with
Joana, Ferdinand's niece. For the old kinship, from the
time of the first Alfonso, was hateful to him, as it had ousted
his line from Naples. Federigo, also, had looked for a new
alliance and had begged for Ferdinand's youngest daughter,
or his niece Joana, for his son ; 5 but he refused the first
proposal and for the second demanded an exorbitant dowry.
1 Burcardus, 2116. Zurita, 180. Petrus M., epist. xi. 190.
2 Burcardus.
3 Altobosto's statement in Miiller's Keichstags staat.
4 Burcardus. 5 Passero, p. 120.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 175
He now began to think of his own claims. He had formerly
negotiated with Charles VIII. upon the matter of compen-
sation for his pretensions to Naples, in case Charles should
invade it, to take the form either of Calabria, which should
be detached from the kingdom, or of a partition of the whole
of Italy between the French King, the German, and him-
self the Spanish King. 1 Charles was dead. Next, in the
early commencement of Louis XII. 's reign he concluded a
treaty with him, without, however, including Federigo. 2
When then this King was making ready for his cam-
paign, Mosen G-ralla, Ferdinand's ambassador, visited the
Cardinal of Amboise, and said to him, as though only ex-
pressing his own ideas : " how if you were to come to some
arrangement with us respecting Naples, as you did with
Venice regarding Milan;" Arnboise had always feared the
Spanish pretensions, and so replied, " We two shall have to
keep up the friendship between our kingdoms." 3 But
Gralla had long since received his instructions from his
master. On the 22nd September, 1500, a real treaty was
arrived at, in these terms ; " The territory of Naples to be
divided into two halves ; one half, comprising the Abruzzi
and Lavoro with the title of kingdom, to belong to Louis,
the other, consisting of Apulia and Calabria, as a dukedom,
to Ferdinand. A further arrangement especially respect-
ing the Dogana to be come to after the conquest." 4 This
treaty was still unknown when the French entered the
Florentine territory. But on St. Peter's day, 1501, both
envoys submitted it to the Pope, who at once enfeoffed both
princes. 5 This was the first tidings that Federigo received
of what was proceeding against him. Thereupon Gouzal
sent him a message to the effect that : " he renounced his
fief in Naples, for that he was obliged to renounce G the
oath he had taken in respect of it." Glad of heart
was the Pope when he saw the French army, 2,000 horse
and 12,000 infantry strong, with 42 guns, file past in the
garden of the Castel St. Angelo on its way to the Neapo-
litan frontier. 7
1 Zurita, 132-138. Comines, end. 2 Zurita, f. 140.
3 Zurita, f. 168. 4 Zurita, f. 192.
5 Guiceiardini, iv. 266. 6 Zurita, f. 212.
7 Burcardus, 2131.
176 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
When Federigo looked about him, he found nothing upon
which he could rely. The east coast was in the hand of
Venice, and the strongholds, by virtue of old treaties, in
those of Spain. Should he trust in his barons, who would
not even all be present at his coronation, 1 who outlawed
in their respective territories all who adhered to hini r
and whom he could only possibly have subjected with
G-onzal's assistance. 2 The Colonna alone were faithful,
but these alone were of no account, entrusting, as they did,
their estates in the State of the Church to the cardinals.
Their stewards were compelled to swear allegiance to the
Pope, and an assembly of Roman citizens resolved to de-
stroy their Marino. 3 Federigo' s sole hope lay in the cities,
and he had their walls repaired and hand-mills provided,
whilst the peasants were driven in and located in barns. 4
There is no spectacle more depressing than a country
which allows itself to be subjected without drawing the
sword. G-onzal was master of fifteen towns, without tran-
sporting a single horse thither. After Capua had held
out for a moment, thanks to German mercenaries, the
Count of Polenta rode out, as though he wished to see how
things stood with the enemy, and, whilst doing so, surren-
dered a gate. 5 The city fell. Now Federigo lost all hope
of being able to resist. The two great kings were his
enemies, and on the march against him ; the Pope was
leagued with them, and his vassals were in revolt. He now
only thought of how he should be able to save himself and
his family, and avoid his country being given up to the
ravages of war. Before the gate of the Arsenal in Naples,
the King assembled his citizens and nobles and addressed
them : " since fate was driving him away, he released them
from their oath." 6 He himself came to the following
arrangement with the French : " if within six months he
could not appear at the head of an army, he should retire
to France upon estates which should be assigned him, and
thither should bring also his treasures, his acquaintances
and friends." 7 Hereupon he betook himself to Ischia,
Thither came also Beatrice of Hungary, and Isabella of
1 Zurita, f. 126. 2 Zurita, 130, 132.
3 Burcardus, 2129. 4 Caracciolus, \ 7 'ita Spinelli, p. 47.
5 Arluni, i. 17. Zurita, 215. 6 Passero, p. 125.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 177
Milan, his whole family and the few that still remained
faithful to him. He never again was able to show himself
with an army in the field, and so remained in France. How
different were his expectations and how different all anti-
cipations thirty years previously, when, in the flower of
youth and hoping for the hand of the daughter of Charles
the Bold, he passed through Rome ! l He was neither
king nor heir to the throne, but the cardinals strove
together as to which should be the first to welcome him.
In him the whole of the dynasty of the Aragons was ex-
tinguished, as well as that of the Sforza ; both of which a
short time previously had flourished before all others in
Italy. If we inquire what they achieved, the answer is
that it was owing to them that, almost for the first time in
their history, the Italians remained for a while free from
the influence of foreign nations. If Francis Sforza had
not become Lord of Lombardy, the French would have
been it : had Alfonso not given Naples to a spurious son,
a Spanish viceroy had been already established there. It
was due to this assertion of their independence, that the
Italians, untrammelled by foreign influence, and in pro-
gressive movement and rivalry within, were enabled within
a somewhat limited sphere to develop their intellectual
energies to a degree that the Germanic-Latin nations have
ever regarded as the highest perfection of culture they ever
attained. They acknowledge the fact that every new
science and art traces its birth to this era. These two
families had to separate, chiefly on account of two women ;
the one called in the French, the other the Spaniards :
after they had weakened each other, union availed them
nothing. The two invoked friends joined hands, and
destroyed both. They both sprang up together, flourished
together, perished together.
After this event, it was possible to journey under the
French flag from the Pyrenees to Naples. The Spaniards
advanced further at the foot of Italy. In order not to be
completely ruined by this powerful enemy, Maximilian was
obliged at Trent to promise the King of France the fief
of Milan. 2 Three independent and pre-eminently active
1 Jacob Volaterranus, Diarium Romanum, xxii. 95.
- Dumont, iv. 1, 16.
178 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. I.
members of Christendom were now annihilated, and only
three large States still existed in Italy. That was the result
of Charles VIII. 's movements. But we have deeply to
regret it. We always regret it, whenever a peculiar exis-
tence, one of God's own creations, perishes. But one con-
sideration may tend to calm our feelings.
Do we but remember that Otranto was once in the
hand of the Turks, and that a certain Boccalin, on an-
other occasion, ceded to them Osimo, that sometimes the
kings and at others the barons of Naples summoned them
to their aid ; do we, moreover, reflect that their agents
were well received at Pesaro in the Papal State, and that,
on Lodovico Sforza's invitation, they made an incursion
into Frioli ; do we remember how unanimous and powerful
they always were or soon became, and how disunited
and weak the Italians showed themselves, we cannot
deny that Home might just as readily have fallen into
their hands as Constantinople, and that the same fate
which befell the Hungarians might easily have over-
whelmed all Italy, and primarily Naples, to which the
Turks already raised pretensions. But now more power-
ful neighbours occupied the frontiers, and offered them
resistance.
The Turks themselves, and almost the whole Moham-
medan world were involved in this war.
Abuayazid, whom we know as Bajazeth, induced by
the messages of Lodovico the Moor, considered that
Louis XII. after conquering Italy would probably realize
the other plans of his ancestors, that it was an insult
to him that Venice forced the Turkish ships to salute
theirs, and that now that he had remained five years
quietly in Stambul, the day had at last arrived when he
could take Inebecht, that is Lepanto. 1 Entertaining this
idea, he gave Andrea Zancani, who entreated peace of him,
only an Italian letter of compact, which he did not consider
binding, and not a Turkish. 2 Whilst Andrea went joy-
fully on his way home, thinking that " the Othman of
the Othmanis, the Grand Turk, had assured him of all
1 Leunclavii, Annales Turcorum, p. 35. Ejusdem Pandectse Historise
Turcicae, p. 192.
2 Bembus, Histor. Venetum, 9 la, 92a.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 179
good will," the latter equipped 270 ships for sea in the
Hellespont, collected 250,000 horses in Adrianople, and
despatched them in June, 1499, to pillage Zara. 1 But in
August they set out, he by land, and his fleet by sea, both
bound for Lepanto. Antonio G-rimani awaited the fleet at
Sapienza. Antonio, from being a prosperous merchant,
in whose hands earth appeared to turn into gold, had be-
come supreme commander of the Venetian forces, and they
believed they had in him an Alexander or a Caesar. 2 He
had kept back in harbour a ship of pilgrims about to sail
for Jerusalem for this holiest deed, namely, to do battle
against the Infidel ; he had already issued his orders to
the effect that : " he would, with God's assistance, attack
the enemy," but when the Turks sailed out from Porto-
lungo, and the Christians from Sapienza, both sides
showed themselves but little inclined for the combat,
and, after manoeuvring about, turned back. At length
both sides became more resolute. The largest Turkish ship
put out for action. Two other Christian ships had just
made ready to engage her, when there came from Corfu
that valiant hero Andrea Loredano and joined the fleet.
The crew shouted their acclamations, and after having
asked the general whither he wished him to go, embarked
on one of the ships. They put out and 'grappled the
Turk. All three caught fire. Whilst the Turks hastened
to rescue their men in boats, the Christians stood thunder-
struck. Loredano made no attempt to escape, he said:
" under this flag I was born, and under this flag will I
die," and threw himself into the flames. The rest jumped
into the water, and were taken prisoners. Thus was this
battle lost. 3 Grimani retreated ; the Turks came before
Lepanto both by land and sea, and took it. 1 Two thousand
others pillaged in Frioli, so that in Treviso, and even in
Mestre, the inhabitants dared not to open their gates. Zan-
cani who was sent against them dared not venture out of
Oradisca. 5
Zancani was banished; Grimani was exiled also. In
1 Chronicon Veuetum, 74.
a Chronicon Venetum, 125, 126. Jovius, Elogia, p. 300.
3 Chrouicon Venetum, 86, 96, 109. Petrus Justinianus, p. 354.
4 Annales Turaici. 5 Bembus, 105, 106.
180 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. \JBK. I.
the following year, Melchior Trevisano, Grimani's most
bitter enemy, went against the Turks, but neither was he
able to capture Cephalogna, nor relieve Modon, but Abua-
yazid took Coron, Modon, 1 and Navarino. We must
remark that at the same time the Moors of Granada rose
against the kings of Spain. Ximenes, Archbishop of
Toledo, had softened the hearts of some Alfaquins by
gifts of silk dresses and red hats, and a Zegri by imprison-
ment and presents, and then baptized them, as well as a
large number of others from Albayzin. But when he had
burnt upon a pile nearly five thousand of their books, all
beautifully wrought in gold and silver and artistically de-
corated, the people revolted, killed his servants, and
scarcely spared him. The King came sorrowfully to the
Queen: "their monk had undone all their conquest." 2
Three days later, the Moors living in the city recollected
themselves ; 3 in order to escape punishment they allowed
pictures to be hung in their mosques and submitted to
baptism. But the Moors of the mountains, who dwelt upon
the impracticable peaks of the Alpuj arras and of the red,
white, and snow-bound Sierra, could not be pacified.
Two brothers, D'Aghilar by name, took the field against
Moors and Turks. The elder, Alfonso, against the Moors,
and he was slain. Since a great number would by no means
become Christians, they retired to Africa, and every day
their foists went backwards and forwards to transport them
thither. 4 In order to hold the remainder in check, soldiers
were left there. The younger brother, G-onzal, the great
captain, went to the assistance of the Venetians, and his
advent brought them good fortune. Abuayazid, who was
lamed by gout, had returned to his palace to study the
Averroes, and Trivisano had just returned from his pursuit,
full of pride that within sight of Europe and Asia he had
succeeded in hanging some of his enemies on the gallows. 5
Gonzal combined forces with him in order to capture the
castle of Cephalogna ; he sent in word to the Turkish com-
mander Gisdar : " that it was the victors of Granada who
were attacking him." The Turk answered, " Has not each of
1 Petrus Martyr, xiii. 217. 2 Gomez, Vita Ximenis, 958-961.
3 Zurita, 172. * Zurita, 202, 203.
5 Zurita, 195.
CH. IV.] POPE ALEXANDER VI. AND HIS SON. 181
us seven bows and seven thousand arrows ? besides, the day
of our death is from the first written on our brow," l and
in the sense in which he spoke, he defended himself with his
accustomed weapons. The Viscayans withstood all his
arrows, scaled his castle, and killed him. This done, Gonzal
turned towards Sicily and Naples. But afterwards Portu-
guese ships and even papal troops came and took part in the
Turkish war. The French troops stormed Mitylene eigh-
teen times. The Christians did not succeed further than
to surprise Santa Maura, and even this they were obliged
to restore as the price of the peace. What Venice had
lost remained lost ; it had but little advantage from
Cremona, and Lodovico comforted himself in his prison
with the reflection that, at all events, one ally had not
broken faith with him.
1 Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi.
BOOK II.
INTKODUCTION.
THE position of the Latin and Teutonic nations at this
time may be briefly summarized as follows :
Italy had been visited by a great disaster ; it was not
political unity, which the country had really never pos-
sessed, that was imperilled, but that internal accord and
that independence in dealing with foreign countries, which
stood in its stead. These were lost and gone, and this
result had been effected, not so much by Charles VIII. 's
expedition, and its immediate consequences, as by the feud
between Venice and Milan, and the Pope and Naples. The
papal authority, which lorded it over Naples, was mainly
instrumental to this end.
Alexander VI. cannot aptly be compared with the Popes
of the thirteenth century, who, when hard pressed by the
enmity of the Hohenstaufens, appealed to the French for
aid to rid themselves of them ; in his case, the marriage
of his infamous son, an alliance supported by the one and
opposed by the other side, was the motive for delivering
Naples at once into the hands of the French and Spaniards.
The after-consequences of this step swayed the destinies
of Italy in the ensuing centuries.
Of all princes of those days, Louis XII. was the most
powerful. Of all the ordinances by which he guaranteed
the French an appropriate constitution, and gained for
himself in their esteem a place between St. Louis and
Henry IV., the following is, perchance, the most charac-
teristic : " A judicial post should never be venal : in the
event of his commanding such a thing, the Chancellor
should not seal it ; and, in the event of his having sealed
it, neither Bailiff nor Seneschal should obey." Such was
INTRODUCTION. 183
the ordinance which by the King's unbiassed will placed
law above arbitrariness. 1 In this way he kept his people
well inclined towards him. Not merely his own subjects
in Italy flocked to his- Court, but the deputies of the
several independent States in almost still greater numbers.
Every day there arrived mounted couriers bearing letters,
instructions, and money ; everyone was desirous of curry-
ing favour with a member of the King's Council. No
prince or city in Italy felt themselves secure without
being first assured of French protection. Florence was
itself powerful, yet was not in a better position than the
rest. 2 In addition to politics, the daily occupations of
Louis were hunting and hawking. With the month of May,
the huntsmen made their appearance at the Court all
dressed in green, and with horns and hounds. In Septem-
ber, when the stag-hunt was over, the falconers appeared
in their cocked hats, and took the place of the others. 3
Louis followed them both, through field and through wood.
His principal allies were Alexander VI., the kings of
Denmark and Scotland, and certain German princes.
Alexander had assigned the legation at the Court of
France, the most important office the Pope had to bestow,
to the Cardinal Georges d'Amboise for life ; and this was
considered such an extraordinary act of favour, that the
University of Paris opposed it. The neighbours and vassals
who enjoyed Louis' protection, were taken likewise by the
Pope under his. The Duke of Urbino allowed exiles and
refugees free asylum and social intercourse at his Court ;
Alexander had guaranteed him his nephew's succession.
John Bentivoglio relied upon his new treaty with Cesar,
founded ironworks in the mountains near to Bologna, and
cut canals in the plain ; believing it was for his children.
The Baglioni, Vitelli, and Orsini, were in Cesar's pay.
Pandolfo Petrucci was the head of the Nove, and being,
through the three privy councillors, chief of the whole
municipality of Siena, became also, in the persons of these
his friends, allied with the Pope. Ercole of Ferrara pro-
1 Ordonnance of 1499. Article 40 in Roderen, Memoire pour servir
a 1'histoire de Louis XII. Paris, 1822, p. 255.
- Macchiavclli, Legazione alia corte di Francia, iii. 64, 66, 80.
:1 Fleuranges, M6moires, 19.
184 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS.
ceeded to build palaces, to ride behind processions, and
to live carelessly in theatrical pleasures ; his son was married
in the Lent of 1502 to Lucrezia Borgia. Alexander re-
mained the devoted friend of the King. 1
James IY. of Scotland, who, since his marriage with the
daughter of Henry VII., had forgotten his English wars,
was building in Falkirk, celebrating tournaments at Stirling,
and receiving constant visits from French knights. 2 Both
expeditions of the King of Denmark were unsuccess-
ful ; that against the Ditmarshes, whom he, in league
with France, had attacked against Maximilian's wish, at
the time of the Milanese War, 3 failed, by reason of the
enemy's bravery ; that against Sweden was completely
foiled by Sten Sture, and in 1502 he was forced to rest.
Several German princes maintained an open understanding
with France ; since the treaty of Trent, they paused in
their opposition to Maximilian.
This combination was confronted by another, a genuine
family union, formed by the house of the Catholic Kings',
and cemented not only by league, but by blood-relationship.
In the year 1497, all the children of Ferdinand the Catholic
were together, with the exception of Juana. Juan, with
his consort, Margaret, was destined for the Spanish throne;
Isabella for the Portuguese, Catharine for the English,
and Maria for some other throne, which was at present
the object of negotiation. At the Court all was still ; all
who desired to gain favour, went about with downcast
eyes and modest paces ; the royal pair had prescribed the
strictest ceremonial, extending even to the interchange of
kisses on hand and mouth, between the ladies of the
Court. 4 But here changes were taking place, which were
of great import for the State then existent, and of the
greatest for posterity.
Just as all had begun to hope that the unity of Spain
under a native sovereign had, in the person of Juan's son,
1 Castiglione, Cortegiano. Baldi, Vita di Guidubaldo, vi. 223. Bur-
sellis, Chronicon Bononiense, 912. Allegretti, Ephemerides Seneuses,
in Muratori, 23, p. 763. Diarium Ferrarense, 325, 358, 276.
2 Buchananus, Rerum Scoticarum, lib. xiii. p. 468, ed. Francf. 1624.
3 Geppardi, Hist, of Denmark and Norway, ii. 41. Note 2.
4 Zurita, i. 118. Petrus Martyr, p. 99. Murineus Siculus, 567.
INTRODUCTION. 185
been now for ever established, Juan died. He had been
the hope of the realm. A prince by birth, and a gracious
and good prince, is a great blessing. But now black
flags floated over the walls of the city, and for forty days
all business ceased. All the inhabitants were dressed in
black. If a grandee rode out, it was only his horses' eyes
that were undraped. The child, too, of which Margaret
was delivered after Juan's decease, died as soon as born. 1
Hereupon Isabella, who had since become Queen of
Portugal, returned with her husband, and after receiving
at Toledo the allegiance of the Castilians, as successor to
the throne, she came to Saragossa, in order to obtain it
likewise from the refractory Aragons. The whole penin-
sula would in course of time have thus become united ;
but whilst at Saragossa Isabella also died, and her son
Miguel shortly after her. 2
Thus the succession devolved upon Juana, the consort
of the Archduke Philip, and passed to the house of Haps-
burg with all the greater certainty, since on St. Matthew's
day, 1500, she gave birth at Ghent to a son, Charles.
" The lot fell upon Matthew," said the old Queen of
Castile, and rightly, for round the life of this child was
centred the greatest combination our nations have for cen-
turies known. In the year 1502, Philip and Juana were in
Spain ; now received by the Commanders of Orders, so
gorgeously attired that even their stirrups were of gold,
and anon welcomed by that Biscayan nobility, who begged
for a bounty in order to be able to celebrate high festival.
And then the succession was assured them ; in Toledo by
the prelates, grandees, and procurators of the cities of
Castile ; in Saragossa, by the bishops, by the thirty-two
Kicoshombros, and the deputies of the Cavalleros and
Infanzones ; in Aragon by the Jurada of the city. 3
Meanwhile, Catharine had gone to wed herself with Ar-
thur, Prince of Wales ; Maria to marry with Manuel of Por-
tugal, and Margaret, Juan's widow, with the Duke of Savoy. 4
All these houses formed a natural union. The French
1 Comines. Petrus Martyr, p. 100, 106.
a Osorius, de rebus gestis Emanuelis, i. 19. Zurita, 139.
3 Hubert Thomas Leodius, Vita Friderii-i Puhitini, lib. ii. Zurita,
227. 4 Treaty in Dumont, iv. 1, 15.
186 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
League and the family of the Spanish Kings, confronted
each other face to face. Philip, at once vassal of France
and heir to the throne of Spain, made a compact with
Louis to the effect that their children, Charles and Claudia,
who were both as yet in the cradle, should one day marry,
and thus became the mediator between both parties. This
induced Maximilian to abandon completely the interests of
the Sforza, and, in October, 1501, to promise the King of
France to invest him with the fief of Milan. Philip
journeyed through France on his way to Spain, sat among
the peers in the justice hall, came before the King, and
readily comported himself as a vassal. Juana, on her
part, gave Claudia a large diamond, in testimony of the new
alliance. Philip also prepared to return through France. 1
At this time our nations ruled over hardly a single
foreigner, and were subjected to none. We find even the
Grand Master of Prussia now refusing allegiance to the
King of Poland, and this action of his found the support
of many G-erman princes. Iwan Wasiljewitsch's attack upon
Livonia in the year 1501 was repulsed by the general,
Walter von Plettenberg, in two great battles ; peace for
fifty years being thus secured. At this juncture a general
campaign against the Turks, who were now engaged in
war with Venice, would have been a feasible undertaking.
Immediately after the treaty with Maximilian, and when
Christendom was enjoying universal peace, Louis pro-
claimed this crusade. 2 For this, both France and Italy,
and upper and lower Germany, but especially the latter,
had been prepared by a marvellous apparition of certain
coloured crosses, which were said to have suddenly made
their appearance everywhere, upon linen and wool, and
upon dresses and all manner of cloths. Maximilian, in
anticipation of this war, founded a special order of knight-
hood. 3 But, as yet, Italian affairs, as well as those of the
usurping powers, were not so firmly established as not to
engender a fresh quarrel, a quarrel destined to become
even yet more wide- spreading than the former.
1 Pontus Heuterus, Rerum Austriac. libri. From the MS. of Lailaing,
Philip's fellow traveller, p. 259. 2 Appendix to Monstrelet, 247.
3 Job. Francisci Pici Mirandulini Staurostichon. Carmen ad Maxi-
milianum. Apud Freherum Rer. Germ. torn. ii.
CHAPTER I.
1. The War in Naples and Romagna.
IN Naples a fresh war broke out between the Spaniards
and the French. The immediate cause was the treaty
of partition, which they had concluded together. In this
partition, Lavoro and the Abruzzi were guaranteed to the
French, and Apulia and Calabria to the Spaniards, whilst
four smaller provinces, the two Principati, Basilicata and
Capitanata had not been expressly divided. Now, seeing
that, according to the fundamental institutions of these
countries, institutions inaugurated by the Emperor Fried-
rich II., the Principati shared their court of justice with
Lavoro, whilst the other two had one in common with
Apulia, 1 a little good- will especially now that the Dogana
question had been settled between them would have
sufficed to settle this dispute also, had not there been
other motives for quarrelling, notably, the internal fac-
tiousness of the country. The Colonna, whose posses-
sions lay in the French share, placed themselves under the
protection of Spain, whilst several towns in Apulia raised
the French banner. The Angio vines summoned the French
to Calabria, whilst the Aragons called Gonzal to the
Abruzzi. The self-same factions were already engaged in
fighting for Manfredonia and Alramura. J It turned out,
that, live in whatever division they might, the one party
would only obey the French and the other only the
Spaniards, whilst these powers were always ready to help
them to gain the ascendency. The attitude of their re-
spective armies was decisive for the issue. When, on one
1 Lebret, History of Italy, iii. 166. From Matthaeus Afflictus.
a Zurita, 231, 219. Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi, 230.
188 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. II.
occasion, the Spaniards had made an incursion as far as
the springs of Troja, and a skirmish was the result, Ive
d'Allegre sent a message to Mendoza, inquiring, " Whether
this meant an open breach, and was intended to rouse
them from their tranquillity ; if so, he was ready to give
satisfaction." Mendoza replied, " We came to Italy, I and
my army, not for peace, but for war. We would gladly
engage, even without orders." And this was the feeling
of the most. At this time the two commanders, G-onzal
and Nemours, who had advanced close to each other, the
first to Atella, and the latter to Melfi, often met at the
high altar of a chapel dedicated to St. Antony, situate on
the ridge of the Apennine chain which lay between them.
But, in spite of all their orders to the contrary, the
struggle broke out quite spontaneously. 1
On the 12th July, 1502, when the Spaniards forcibly
entered Tripalda alleging it was a widow's portion, belong-
ing to Juana, the sister of their King and when Aubigny
set forth from Naples to recover it holding it belonged
to the French share open war could 110 longer be avoided. 2
G-onzal, who had under his orders but few of his 5,000
men for he had brought so many with him was at once
obliged to fall back. In his Apulia lay one of the four
castles, which were considered the strongest in the whole
of Italy, 3 viz., Barletta, and thither he proceeded. The
French pursued him. They forced Pedro Navarra to
retire from Canossa, though with honours. 4 In August
they took Quadrata and Bisceglia ; and by September they
had all the Sanseverins of Bisignan, Bitonto, Melito,
Capocho and Acquaviva di Conversano for them. Of the
whole of Apulia they left the Spaniards nothing but Bari,
Barletta, and some surrounding places. These districts
also were attacked by the French, and first and foremost
Barletta, " for the honour of their chivalry;" 5 for Bari was
being defended by a woman, Isabella, the widow of John
Galeazzo.
1 Zurita, 238, 240.
2 Passero, Giornale Napolitano, 129.
3 Leander Alberti, Descriptio Italise, p. 369.
4 Petrus Martyr, 15, 140.
5 Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi, 235. Zurita.
CH. I.] THE WAR IN NAPLES AND ROMAGNA. 189*
" We are still six miles away," wrote Nemours on the*
19th November, " and keep the enemy shut in ; the King
shall see that we defend his rights staunchly, and that
everything is going from good to better." l In December,
Aubigny advanced to Calabria. He fell upon the Spaniards,
they being here also much too weak at the very
moment they were in the act of retreating across the
Aspromonte and through the passes upon Retromarina.
They managed, however, to make good their escape ; but
the whole of Calabria, with the exception of a few castles
on the sea-board, was lost to them. They held their
ground in Gerace and in the Motta.
The rest of the Spanish possessions (like the plank of a
ship fought for by drowning men) was the object of a
chivalrous war, waged with good weapons. Here were the
heroes whom Ariosto had seen when he began to sing of
his Riidigers and Einaldos. In Calabria we meet with that
Imbercourt to whom, whenever there was a battle to fight,
the heat of an Italian noontide seemed like the cool of
morning, and with that Aubigny who, in order to ransom
him, although he had been preferred before him, sacrificed
even his silver plate. 2 Before Barletta were the discreet
La Palice, to whom the enemy first gave the title of " Mar-
1," and Montoison, who, though bowed down by weight
of years, was still, when on horseback, the falcon of the
fray ; there, too, was Fontrailles, called the " Fearless," as
well as many others of those who, if there was a battle to
fight, and they happened to be on shipboard, contending
with contrary winds, would land, and march one hundred
leagues in three days. 3 Of their number was also that
Bayard who, from the very hour when his mother came
down from the tower to give him her small purse at part-
ing, and to commend to him four virtues the fear of God,
truth, an obliging and a generous disposition had never
neglected a single day to practise them. He always
prayed, before leaving his chamber, and no one ever heard
him praise himself. Once when he had captured 15,000
1 Lettera del duca di Nemorsa a Ciamonte in Macchiavelli, Legazione-
al duca Valentino, 222.
a Brantume and Gamier, from Anton's MS., 362.
3 Brantome, 115, 116. Anton, Histoire de Louys XII., p. 159.
190 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
ducats, and another, though he had no claim, demanded
them of him, he first of all established his legal right ;
this done, as soon as the money had been paid down, and
his adversary remarked, " I should be happy for all the
rest of my life if I only had the half of it," he replied,
" Then I will give you just half ;" and thereupon gave
him the one half and his followers the other. "O, my
lord, my friend," cried the other, upon his knees, " no Alex-
ander was ever so generous." ' Bayard's life is as clear as
crystal, his heart ready in every danger, and his soul mild
and gentle. The Spaniards resemble the French ; but the
resemblance is that between the Moorish and Christian
knights of Ariosto. Among them was the small, thin
Pedro Navarra, who had raised himself from a common
soldier to the dignity of Count ; no rock was so hard that
he could not mine it ; his mouth tightly closed, his nose
pointed and severe ; a thick and pointed beard fell from
his chin. 2 There, too, was Pedro de Paz, who, when
mounted, could scarcely be seen above the head of his
horse ; a squinting, withered, and deformed dwarf, yet the
boldest heart in the world. He, accompanied only by
his Moor, each with a torch, he himself with a naked
sword in hand, ventured into the ill-famed grottoes of the
G-aurus, in order to dig out hidden treasure ; for he recked
ghosts as little as he did the enemy in the battle. 3 Their
leader was Gonzal Fernandez Aghilar de Cordova, whose
plumed crest had, in his first battle, been seen thick in the
midst of the fray, now a real captain. He never interfered
when Spaniards, who made disgraceful conditions, were
slain by their fellows for degenerate conduct ; but that an
enemy retiring under treaty should be robbed of a gold
chain, this he never tolerated, and even himself pursued
the robber even into the sea. He said, " I would rather tame
lions than these Asturians ;" but yet he tamed them.
His infantry consisted of those whom the Spanish soil
1 Histoire du bon chevalier Bayard, commencement, 407, 113. Bran-
tome. Pasquier, Recherches de la France, from the Histoire.
2 Jovii Elogium Navarrae. Vita Alfonsi Estensis, 171. Fleuranges,
Memoires, 84.
3 Histoire de Bayard, 114. Passero, Giornale, 151.
CH. I.] THE WAB IN NAPLES AND ROMAGNA. 191
would no longer tolerate, on account of their crimes ;
but he made them all loyal to his King, ambitious, untiring
in besieging and defending, and dauntless in the battle. 1
He was the first to combine in a single corps Spanish,
Italian, and German soldiers, an organization that proved
irresistible for a century and a half. At the head of men
like Leyva, Pescara, Alva, Farnese, and many other famous
leaders, who for one hundred and fifty years hardly ever
quitted the field with that army whose nucleus he had
first formed, he may fairly be considered as being the great
captain of all.
These, now, and their comrades, fought, not merely for
victory but, for the prize of strength, dexterity, and
chivalrous bearing. Sometimes individuals would engage
in a single-handed combat; they first knelt down and
prayed to God, threw themselves flat upon the ground,
and kissed it, and then appealed to the sword. 2 It
might happen that the French would announce that on
the morrow they would prove that their hommes d'armes
were superior to the Spanish ; whereupon the Spaniards
would come in like numbers to the appointed place, in
order, as they said, to fight for their King's, their
country's, and their own honour. 3 Or both sides, the one
coming from Eubo and the other from Barletta, charged
each other on horses with iron masks about their heads,
and plates on their breasts and shoulders, and struggled
together until one side was exhausted and gave way. Or
they would have recourse to stratagem in order to gain the
advantage ; the French, for instance, would fly, but only
to the ambush which they had laid, whereupon the
Spaniards on their part would retire also, but only behind
their ambush, so that the French were again compelled to
fall back, yet not unwillingly, for they had still a third
ambush in reserve, and this was their last, enabling them
to remain the victors. 4 In this chivalrous rivalry the
Italians also joined. In Barletta, which Gonzal defended
1 Jovii, Vita Gonsalvi, 206 ; further Castiglione, Cortegiano, iii. 287.
2 Histoire de Bayard, 103.
3 Zurita, 249.
4 Ferronus, Rerum Gallicarum, lib. iii. p. 59.
192 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
against the besiegers with his Spaniards and Italians, a
French prisoner once observed to a Spaniard, that the
Italians were cowards by nature, and their allegiance but
empty air. " Were ye not there, we should extinguish
them as water extinguishes fire." Tins roused the
Italians to challenge the French to a duel of thirteen to
thirteen on the plain lying between Andria and Barletta.
This duel took place on the 13th February. The Italian
historians and poets have graphically described it ; how
that both sides confronted each other like two high forests,
between which flowed a small brook, and how that the
French attacked the others in vain for Ferramosca re-
strained the ardour of his Italians and how that the
latter at length made their onslaught, like a subterranean
mine, that seethes internally until at length it bursts it
bonds and sends rock and castle into the air, 2 and con-
quered, driving twelve before them, and taking them,
prisoners (the thirteenth was slain) ; whereupon they
were received with the ringing of bells and salvos of
artillery, and with the cry of Italia and Hispania. 3
Thus was the war protracted from June, 1502, until
February, 1503. The Spanish were at a disadvantage, but
they held their ground. During precisely the same months,
Alexander also warred in the K-ornagna in the self -same
cause, yet in how different a manner and degree ! He well
knew that the King, if not requiring his help, needed at
all events his sanction, and he knew how to gain both
sanction and help.
Cesar renewed his campaign in the Bomagna with insa-
tiable greed, duplicity, and violence. In June, 1502, he
planned an expedition against the Varani of Camerino, and
borrowed for this purpose G-uidubaldo of Urbino's artil-
lery. G-uidubaldo had, besides, made him a present of
a few thousand men and a horse splendidly caparisoned,
Cesar, in return, saluted him as the best brother he had in
Italy, yet he did not long rejoice in this name, for this
1 Passero, 133. Jovius, Vita Gonsalri.
2 Marie Hieronymi Vitse, 13. Pugilum certamen, Milano, 1818, vs.
316 and 390.
3 Jovius. Guicciardini. Sabellicus. Carpesanus, 1250. Brantome y
106, wrong.
CH. I.] THE WAR IN NAPLES AND ROMAGNA. 193
expedition was primarily directed against him. On the
20th of June he was sitting at supper in the shady vale of
Zoccolanti, when at sunset a messenger appeared and an-
nounced that "Cesar's Cavalry was advancing upon his city
Fossombrone." l He struck on the table and sprang up ;
he felt he was deceived. At that instant other messengers
arrived with the news that : " the enemy had been seen in
the vicinity of Marino and San Leo, and that Cesar himself
was advancing upon Cagli." G-uidubuldo saw that he was
defenceless, and caught in a net. He assembled the citi-
zens of TJrbino and addressed them. "A year has 365
days, and a day twenty-four hours. Of these days one,
and of these hours one will be auspicious for my return."
Thereupon he took flight. On the mountain roads on
which he sped, hired peasants shouted after him the mur-
derers' war-cry of " Carne Ammazza." Soon he heard
bells ringing, the firing of shots, and the crackling of fire
all around, intended to rouse the whole country to find
him. On one occasion he was only saved by a girl, who
was coming from market and gave him some information ;
but yet he succeeded at last in eluding the enemy. 2 His
country, his city, and his library, in which he frequently
studied with his tutor Odasio, fell into Cesar's hands.
In July Cesar also took Cainerino. Old Julius Varano,
who has been compared to Priam, because he only saved
one son in a foreign country, he allured with all his other
sons by specious promises, and then caused them all to be
strangled. 3 In August he allied himself afresh with
Louis XII. ; which done, in order both to make Bologna
the capital of his duchy, as also to give his father the
glory of having in his day conquered a city, that no former
Pope had been able to conquer, 4 he turned against the
Bentivogli.
For these ends he made use of the Baglioni of Perugia,
the Vitelli in Citta di Castello, of Oliverotto da Fermo,
1 Baldi, Vita di Guidubaldo, duca d'Urbino VI., 234. Nardi,Istorie
Florentine, iv. 78. Burcardus, 2138. Raphael Volaterranus, Vita
Alexandri, 166.
51 Letters del duca Guidubaldo, in Leoni, Vita di Francesca Maria,
p. 15-21, in documentary form in Baldi's excerpts.
3 Baldi, Vita, 253.
4 Macchiavelli, Legazione al duca Valentino, 200.
O
194 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
and of all the Orsini. All these were warriors by inclina-
tion and profession. Of the first named, it was said that
they were born with the sword at their side ; the second
had been the first to introduce Swiss arms into Italy.
They pursued each their own aims and ends, as, for in-
stance, Oliverotto, who, by murdering seven leading citizens
of Fermo, who were related to him and had brought him
up, made himself master of the city. Thus acted the
others also, who were desirous of restoring the Medici to
Florence. Cesar indulged them in this. 1 But now that
he had allied himself with the King, and had begun to
oppose their enterprises and to attack the Bentivogli,
whose case was almost like theirs, they were filled with
apprehension that, " the ruin of all the lords in the State
of the Church had been resolved on." They thereupon
sent envoys and assembled. They entered into a close
alliance with Petrucci and Bentivoglio, and at last in Ma-
gione decided to make war upon Cesar. 2
They resolved the war, and the Urbinati commenced
it. The signal for its outbreak was given on the 5th
October by a carpenter, who let a beam, which he was
instructed to convey to the castle of San Leo, fall upon
the drawbridge there. 3 Thereupon, in an instant, armed
men rushed across the bridge and took the castle. Thence
the cry of " Feltre and Duke " spread through the whole
duchy, and stirred it up in revolt. In the city the
peasants, who had come to market, first seized the cannon,
and then gained the castle. Guidubaldo returned, and
even those who only saw him lying on a bed for he was
at that time suffering from his malady, the gout went
away satisfied. Camerino summoned the last of the
Yarani. 4
But what could have been the reason that the allies of
Magione, menaced as they were and warlike as they were,
did not attack Cesar, who was all defenceless at Iinola ?
1 Leander Albert!, Descriptio, 125. Maccbiavelli, Principe. 8.
Nardi, 81.
2 Macchiavelli, descrizione del modo tenuto dal duca Valentino nell'
Ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, etc., 92. Nardi, 83.
3 Cesar's own story in Macchiavelli, Legazione, p. 130.
4 Baldi, Vita di Guidubaldo, vii. 7 f.
CH. I.] THE WAR IN NAPLES AND ROMAGNA. 195
They did not wish to destroy him ; they only were for
showing him how indispensable they were to him. Cesar
knew that full well. " They wished to secure themselves,
and nothing further," said he. He sent and asked them
why they had deserted him, urging that only the title be-
longed to him, and that theirs was the possession of all his
conquests, both those of the past and those to come : " he
sent them a blank sheet of paper with his signature, and
only waited for their conditions." And now that Alexander
had remarked to Cardinal Orsino that he would perhaps
resign his papal chair in his favour, they believed that they
had attained what they wished. The Cardinal smiled and
said : " The Pope needs me, we are always good friends." '
On the 25th October, Paolo Orsino went to Cesar about the
matter of the treaty. Cesar now said : " They are ogling
me ; I will abide my time." 2
In Imola he received not only the assurances of King
Louis, the proposals of the Florentine Popolares, and money
from his father, but in June he gathered round him 230
French lancers, 2,500 soldiers, half French and half Ger-
man, 2,500 Italian soldiers, a Bolognian refugee with
mounted riflemen, and some Albanians ; all in his pay.
Meanwhile, Paolo journeyed with the draft of the peace
proposed from Imola to Perugia, and thence to Magione
and the camps of his friends, and minded no trouble, con-
vincing one after the other, and although Vitellozzo Vitelli
remained a long time obdurate, he also was at last over-
persuaded, and signed it. 3
On the 2nd December the following treaty was agreed
to : " Cesar to receive back Camerino and Urbino, but to
give a pledge to the Bentivogli by arranging a matrimonial
alliance between their respective houses, and to use the old
weapons again." < Hereupon Cesar ordered the barons to
take the field against the revolted districts and against
Sinigaglia ; he himself remained with his army at Imola.
He only gave audience to very few, and only then to those
from whom he expected to hear important news ; he only
1 Burcardi, Diarium, 2142.
a Macchiavelli, Legazione, 161.
3 Macchiavelli. Legazione, 145, 156, 174, 183. Del modo Tenuto, 94.
4 Zurita, 261.
196 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
admitted three or four servants to his presence, and never
left a certain chamber before nightfall. 1 It was never
possible to learn from him what his purposes were ; but
his confidantes said, " We have been wounded with daggers
and we are now to be healed with words : Even children
would laugh at such terms." 2
The treaty with the Orsini restored forthwith to Cesar
both Canierino and Urbino, but only under the condition
that the people and G-uidubaldo's private possessions
should be protected. Sinigaglia was next prevailed upon
by four heads of the Orsini, namely, Paolo, Vitellozzo,
Oliverotto, and the Duke of Gravina, to promise to sur-
render its castle, but only to Cesar himself.
The time he had longed for had at length arrived. On
the 31st December, 1502, he advanced with his army upon
Sinigaglia. Vitellozzo was not for awaiting his coming :
but as the others trusted Cesar, and Paolo coaxed him to
remain, he did not care to break the league. Unarmed,
and attired in his citizen's cap with its green lining, he
mounted his mule and rode forth to meet him. Their
troops were quartered in the outlying villages, with the
exception of Oliverotto' s companies ; and these latter dis-
persed at Cesar's request, "for fear they might otherwise
quarrel with his troops about their quarters." The four
chiefs escorted him to the lodging prepared for his recep-
tion. He would not part from them, " as he had something
to say to them." Full of apprehension but they could
no longer refuse they entered his apartments with him.
Now he had them in his clutches. 3 His principles were :
"He who does not avenge himself, deserves to be in-
sulted." He said, it is right to deceive those who are
experts in all treachery and treason. 4 He had always con-
spired not merely against lands, but against the head of
their sovereign lord as well. When the door was closed
behind them, Michelott, the privy executor of all Cesar's
murders, stepped forward with a few armed men. Each
1 Macchiavelli, Legazione, 250 f.
2 Macchiavelli, Legazione, Celt., 23, p. 215.
3 Macchiavelli, del modo tenuto nell' Ammazzar, 95, 36. Nardi, 85.
Guicciardini, Book v. 290.
4 Macchiavelli, Legazione, 266, 268.
CH. I.] THE WAR IN NAPLES AND ROMAONA. 197
of them was addressed with, " Sir, your are a prisoner,"
and forthwith they were thrown into prison. Their troops
were surprised and slain. Cesar, talkative and vivacious
once more, rode through the streets.
The work begun by the son was continued by the father.
He invited the Cardinal Orsino to him, as if to narrate to
him the story of the fall of Sinigaglia ; but on the Cardinal
looking down into the courtyard from the room into which
he had been shown, he saw his mule being unsaddled and
led off into the papal stables. He and all his friends with
him were captives also. 1
And now for murder and conquest, and the final accom-
plishment of these schemes and undertakings. Oliverotto
and Vitellozzo, bound back to back, the former accusing
the latter it was the anniversary of the death of the
Seven of Fermo, and the latter praying for the spiritual
blessing of the same Pope who had condemned him to
die, were, on the first night of their captivity, strangled with
one rope; the other two suffered shortly after. The
Cardinal's mistress, in male attire, brought the Pope a
valuable pearl, his mother sent a sum of money, and the
Cardinal promised a still more considerable sum. But all
these endeavours could only attain a momentary alleviation
of his lot. His life could not be saved. When he died, all
the world was convinced that he had been poisoned by
order of the Pope. Their houses in Rome were pulled
down ; and an Orsina of eighty years of age was compelled
to seek shelter under a public archway. Almost all their
castles, the cities of Perugia and Cittii di Castello, as well
as many towns, fell into the hands of the Pope. Cesar
compelled the Sienese to expel Petrucci. 2 Never in history
had the State of the Church known a Pope so powerful as
Alexander. Both factions of barons had been expelled, if
not utterly annihilated ; there was now not a lord in the
land, save his son and his son's family for the Bentivogli
and the Esti had been received into it Siena was con-
quered, Florence friendly, all successfully accomplished.
It was primarily the name and assistance of France
1 Burcardus, 2148.
2 Maechiavelli, in both passages. Burcardus, 2150. Carpesanus,
Historiae, p. 1248.
198 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
that achieved this result. When Cesar was in peril, Louis
said : " Whoever helped Caesar he would love the more the
quicker he did it ; he would give the Pope and his son the
wholg of the State of the Church." T As the Orsini were in
negotiation with the Spaniards, 2 their destruction re-
dounded likewise to Louis' advantage. It was expected
that Cesar's troops would come to the aid of the French in
Naples.
The Decision in Naples.
In February, 1503, Gonzal, now shut up in Barletta,
appeared to be in a sorry plight. Neither the German nor
yet the Spanish troops, for which he had written, made
their appearance. The transport of supplies was im-
possible so long as the French galleys under Prejean held
the sea ; and yet troops and supplies were both urgently
needed. 3
A change for the better began when, before the very
eyes of the Venetians, some Spanish sloops and galleys
succeeded in becoming master of so much extent of coast,
that Prejean hurriedly threw his guns overboard, set free
his slaves, forsook his ships, and escaped by land. Six
days later, Gonzal dared once more leave Barletta.
Whilst Nemours was gone to subdue a revolted town, he
himself succeeded, after storming for seven hours, in
reducing Rubo, and taking many brave men prisoners, and
among them Palice. His courage increased, but as yet
he was much too weak to make an attack in full force.
But lack of provisions impelled him to risk it, and he
was preparing to try his luck in a sortie on the following
ing day, when a Venetian ship laden with wheat, and im-
mediately afterwards a Sicilian corn ship, put into harbour.
Three others brought 7,000 tumbanos of corn with them. 4
He was thus enabled to wait for reinforcements. On
the 8th March, the Spaniards arrived at Eeggio 5 with
1 From Louis' letters in Macchiavelli, Legaz., 156.
2 Zurita, 261.
3 Caracciolus, Vita Spinelli, in Muratori, xxii. p. 50.
4 Zurita, 266, 267. Jovius, 245. 5 Zurita, 256.
CH. I.] THE DECISION IN NAPLES. 199
3,000 Catalonian, Galician, and Asturian infantry, and
300 heavy and 400 light cavalry. On the 10th April, the
2,500 Q-ermans the contingent Maximilian had promised, 1
and Joan Manuel had paid at length arrived in Man-
fredonia, under the command of Hans von Eavenstein.
Now the Spaniards were equal, if not superior, to the
French in numbers. They were in a position to carry on
the war in earnest. Serious encounters had already taken
place in Calabria. Near Terranuova, the Spaniards from
G-erace and Eeggio were collected under the joint com-
mand of Andrada Caravajal, Benavides, and Antonio
Leyva. In the plain below, but across the river which
intersects it, Aubigny showed himself, and sent his herald
Ferracut up into the Spanish camp : " They should come
down into the valley where he had once vanquished the
bravest king." The Spaniards gave the herald a silver
dish and a golden goblet, replying : " They would come."
They then came down, and, the infantry covered by
the cavalry, crossed the stream in the plain. At this
moment Aubigny attacked Benavides.- In Ubeda and
Baeza the lion of the Benavides and the black standard of
the Caravajals had often met in conflict. 3 But now Cara-
vajal forgot the old feud, and with his Ginetse made an
onslaught upon Aubigny 's rear. The French were de-
feated. Aubigny, surrounded by his body guard of Scots,
escaped to Gioia.
This took place on the 20th April. On the 27th of the
same month Gonzal left Barletta with all his forces also
to do battle. 4 The French, stationed at Canossa, saw him
depart and likewise set out, but neither side very willingly.
Gonzal had received provisions, but no money ; he scarcely
succeeded in quieting his Spaniards with promises of rich
booty and with the small sum of six carlins 5 for nine
months' pay. The French had received express orders
from their king to finish the business forthwith, otherwise
1 Vide also Viti Prioris Eberspergensis Chronica Bavarorum, in (Efele,
ii. 739.
2 Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi, 251. Zurita, 278.
3 Molina, Nobleza del Andaluzia, Sevilla, 1518, fol. 217 and 222.
1 Petrus Martyr, 16, 147.
5 Zurita, f. 330.
200 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. II.
he would summon them home again to their wives, and
send other Hommes d'Armes in their stead.
Here stretched away the treeless plain of Apulia, and the
month of April always scorches there. Of Gonzal it is
told how his Germans in early morning licked the dew-
drops from the high fennel stalks, and for very thirst fell
down exhausted at noon ; how he refreshed them with
the last drain of Ofanto water the bottles contained ; and
how at last he let the most weary mount behind the
horsemen. Nemours will have had to contend with no
lesser difficulties on his march. Yet, after ten months of
weary waiting, the satisfaction of at length finding them-
selves face to face with the enemy enabled them to endure
their hardships, and, on the 28th April towards evening,
both arrived in extreme exhaustion before Cerignola. The
Spaniards, who were the first to arrive, threw up light
entrenchments in a vineyard. 1 But as soon as the French
came up, and both armies saw each other, they forgot
exhaustion and thirst the soul conceals within it secret
wells of ever revigorating refreshment and the armies pre-
pared for battle. On either side, the infantry was in the
centre, and the cavalry on the flanks. Nemours was by
no means inclined to risk the attack ; but was compelled
to it by the pressure of Ive d'Allegre and the other
captains. In order to show, as he said, who he was,
he dashed at the trench behind which the Germans were
posted. He came up to it, wheeled about, came up to
it again and cried, "We must over this blunt wall."
Whilst dashing at it in full career, a German gun laid
him low, 2 and his comrades, who met with an equally
hot reception, began to retire. Further to the left, the
Swiss attacked, though somewhat later; but as soon as
they perceived their commander, recognizable in his white
plume, and at the same moment many others also, laid
low by the Galician bullets and javelins, they likewise
turned and fled. Allegre, who led the left wing and
was furthest in the rear, dared not then attempt aught
further. The Spaniards were left victors on the field, and
passed the night in the French bivouac. Nothing further
1 Jovius, Vita Gonsalvi, 254.
2 Ferronus, Rerum Gallic., vol. iii. p. 66.
CH. I.] THE DECISION IN NAPLES. 201
was now needed to give the Spaniards the upper hand in
this kingdom, rent and torn as it was by factions. The
understandings which Gonzal had maintained from the
Abruzzian Mountains as far as Castel a Mar awoke to
life and energy. On a single day he took thirty castles,
and on the 13th May with the cry of " Spagna," " Spagna,"
the Count of Tramontane opened to him the gates of
Naples. Inigo Davalos brought the keys of the castle of
Ischia. Eocca G-uilielma, that since Charles VIII.'s ex-
pedition had held for the French, fell in June. Mean-
while, Andrada took stronghold after stronghold in Cala-
bria, and at length Aubigny himself surrendered to him.
With the exception of Gaeta, whither the French army
had fled, almost the whole kingdom was now in the hands
of the Spaniards. At the end of July Navarra went to
that stronghold, in order to try the same means as had
opened to him the fortress of Naples. 1
We shall now consider the great change which was
brought about by the death of Alexander VI., which took
place in August of this year. During the agitation for the
election of his successor, French and Spaniards fought
together. In Rome, even the troops were on one occa-
sion arrayed against each other. This event, however, exer-
cised no immediate influence upon the war in Naples. The
decision there depended solely upon the superiority of
arms.
In October, 1503, a fresh French army, under the Mar-
quis Gonzaga, made its appearance on the Gariglian, in
order to invade the lost provinces. The Spaniards were
resolved to prevent their crossing the river. Accordingly,
both armies marched backwards and forwards for a while,
intently observing each other, until Gonzal threw a bridge
across at Sessa, and, under cover of his guns, which
mounted on barks swept the river, actually succeeded in
gaining the opposite bank. As soon as he had crossed, a
battle began, in which Gonzal fought on foot, and a
Spanish ensign who had lost his right arm exclaimed :
" Have I not still the left ? " and again seized the standard.
In this encounter the French held the bridge and
1 Passero, Giornale, 138. Jovius, 258. Zurita, 291.
202 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
the head of the bridge, but they never advanced a step
further. 1
But the opposing armies were not kept apart so much
by the river, although it actually separated their camps, as
by the bog on either bank for the season was very wet, and
the country as far as Montdragon almost one great
morass. Some of the Spaniards kept the outer lines of
the trench they had dug ; the rest were encamped under
oaken huts. 2 The French endeavoured to find shelter
in the neighbouring villages, at all events for their horses ;
the Swiss companies lay alternately in the camp and in the
same villages. Both armies were in need of provisions,
money, and clothes. 3 This depressing state of things re-
sulted in the very reverse of the merry war before Bar-
letta. Words of abuse were heard more than ring of
arms. The Spaniards were abused for their stealing and
hanging proclivities ; the French were called drunkards ;
the Swiss were called cattle-vultures, and the Ger-
mans " Schmocher ; " whilst the Italians were called
" Bougres." 4
The question was, which of the two would hold out the
longer. G-onzaga hearing himself called " Bougre " by his
own French, and all disaster attributed to him, would
no longer tolerate this want of discipline, and so drew up
an account of his operations, and after having it signed by
his captains, left the army. G-onzal, on the other hand,
who was beset by his bravest officers, stating that they
could and would not endure this state of affairs any
longer, replied : " Rather a step forward to encounter
death, than one back to victory," and so held out." t
At length the enemy crossed over and attacked. On the
29th December, 1503, Gronzal made an onslaught upon the
French bridge, and a simultaneous attack upon their camp
with his main army, which, with Alvian's assistance, he
had been enabled to bring across the river. This battle
1 Jorii Gonsalvus, 263. Petrus Martyr, 261. Zurita, 313 f.
Passero, 141.
2 Macchiavelli, Legaz. a. c. d. R., 316, 342, 382.
3 Caracciolus, Vita Spinelli, 52.
* Zurita.
5 Ferronus, Rerum Gallic., vol. iii. pp. 70, 71.
CH. I.] THE DECISION IN NAPLES. 203
decided the fate of the kingdom. Bayard fought like a
hero, but all in vain ; the French disorganization was too
great, and the onslaught of the Spaniards overwhelming.
Gonzal was victorious on both banks. In G-aeta, too,
whither the French had fled, the Spanish standard was
flying on the 3rd January, 1504. The French were
obliged to retreat homewards ; many by sea the ships
set sail as soon as they were filled, none waited for the
other the rest by land ; the latter said to Gonzal : "Give
us strong horses to bring us back again." ]
Yet this favour was not to be theirs so readily. The
superiority of the Spaniards was due to their greater
proximity, owing to the possession of Sicily, between
which and Naples subsisted an old natural alliance, as
well as to the prudent and cautious treatment of the fac-
tions opposing one another in the south of Italy ; for
this was Gonzal' s peculiar merit, that of controlling diffe-
rent factions and nations by the exercise of his ascendency,
as might be seen in the manner in which he succeeded in
uniting Colonni and Orsini in one and the same camp.
He did not spare his enemy. The remainder of the Anjou
army was vanquished in the Abruzzian mountains, and in
Otranto by Morgan and Pedro de Paz ; the Marquisates
of Bitonto and Salerno were seized, and many barons
dispossessed. 2 Gonzal rewarded his captains and those of
the Orsini clan amongst them, with the estates of those
thus expelled, and ruled the kingdom entirely in the spirit
of the Aragon party.
At the same time, the French and Spanish forces were
opposing each other, not only on the Neapolitan frontier,
but also on the borders of Koussillon. 3 Here Ferdinand,
in person, protected those garrisons, that wrote to him
saying : " they were ready to die, only he should see that
he did not lose many brave men," as well as the frontiers
of his own empire. On showing himself on French soil
with 20,000 infantry and 8,000 lances, he obtained in
November a truce for Roussillon.*
1 Sabellicus, Euneades, 12, 2. Bayard, Guicciardini, 330. Jovii
Gonsalvus, 267. Zurita, 315-317.
2 Treaty in Dumont, iv. 1, 52. Zurita, 321.
3 Appendix to Monstrelet, 236. * Petrus Martyr, Epistolae, 151, 2.
204 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
In the February following their reverse, this truce was
-also extended to Naples, where the French still enter-
tained the greatest hopes.
A Change in the Papacy.
The former good understanding between the French and
the Pope did not long endure. The French complained
that he had appropriated the purchases of supplies made
by their commissioners in the State of the Church, 1 and con-
sequently, that their troops had been compelled to fight at
an inconvenient season ; that he had despatched troops to
Aquila, but only for the purpose of seizing it for himself ;
and, finally, that he had taken good care that Cesar's
army should not support the French. 2 If we inquire
what it was that could have estranged him from the
French alliance, to which he owed all his successes, we find
the reason in the state of affairs in Tuscany. Cesar had
twice threatened to attack Florence, and on each occasion
Louis XII. had dissuaded him. Louis had granted all
that he was capable of granting. His most faithful allies,
the Popolares at Florence, could not possibly be sacrificed
to the Borgia. But this very city of Florence, on the
other hand, Ferdinand the Catholic was ready to leave to
the Pope. He had long since proposed to the G-erman
King to make Cesar King of Tuscany. 3 Here we can per-
ceive how great the prestige of this Pope was. The King
of France was desirous of making his son lord of the Mark
and of Romagna, whilst the King of Spain was even for
making him King of Tuscany. For the struggle between
the two princes it was of vital moment to which side the
Pope would incline. Hitherto he had been regarded as
a supporter of the French. But now, when a French
envoy could be attacked and almost slain in the streets of
Home, now that envoys from Pisa, who had long since
offered their city to Cesar, and enemies of the Florentines
1 Gamier, 399. From Anton's MS. compared with Monstrelet and
Gilles. Chroniques de France. 121.
2 Carpesanus, 1254. 3 Zurita.
CH. I.] A CHANGE IN THE PAPACY. 205
had the entree of the Court, and now that the Pope most
energetically opposed the union of Florence and Siena,
which Louis XII. exerted himself to compass by the resto-
ration of Petrucci, 1 it was palpable that the Pope was
abandoning the French cause, in order primarily to con-
quer Pisa, Siena, and Florence. When Francis Trocces, the
favourite of the Pope and his privy chamberlain, at-
tempted flight, and was seized and put to death the same
night, this act was ascribed to the suspicion that Trocces
communicated to the French the plot that was being
hatched against them. 2 We have it from the most unim-
peachable source, that in March, 1503, Alexander proposed
to the Catholic King to enter into a league with Venice in
order to expel the French from Italy. 3
Thus the whole success of his campaign in Romagna.
would have been turned against Louis, and a league
formed against him, like as against Charles VIII. In
the same way as when in league with the French Alexander-
had conquered the State of the Church, would he now,
deserting his former allies, have conquered Tuscany in.
league with the Spaniards. He would have become master
of central Italy, and a powerful arbiter between the great
powers.
Everything bearing on these undertakings had been well
weighed and considered, save and except one thing, and
this occurred. Alexander died, and Cesar at the same
time fell dangerously ill. 4
Alexander also had been ill for a few days previously ta
his decease, but little more was known in the palace about-
his state of health than that he was ill of a fever. But,
after his death, which took place on the 17th August, the-
sight of his corpse, with the face black as coal, and the-
tongue so swollen that the mouth would not close, a sight
more ghastly than had ever been observed in other dead
bodies, gave rise to sinister reports. 5 It was said that the
1 Cardinal Soderini in Macehiavelli, Legazione alia corte di Roma iv^
Titzio in debret a. p. a, 544.
a Carpesanus, 1255. Biagio Buonaccorsi, Diar. Fiorent., 78.
3 Zurita, f. 270.
4 Macehiavelli, Principe, c. 7.
5 Burcardus in Brequigny, Extraits et Notices, 66, 67.
206 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
Pope one evening went to a banquet in the vineyard be-
longing to the Cardinal Adrian of Corneto, at which he
intended to poison several rich cardinals ; being thirsty, he
called for wine to drink and by mistake drank of the wine
which Cesar had told his servant was the best, but which
had been really poisoned for the purpose of murdering the
guests. Cesar also partook of the wine, and both he and
his father were carried off half dead. Cesar was sewn up
in the reeking hide of a mule, and escaped death, but
Alexander died. 1 The Cardinal of Corneto told the histo-
rian, Giovio, that the poison, which carried off the Pope
was intended for him among others, and that he narrowly
escaped. 2 * Others added that Alexander had forgotten
the sacred host that he was in the habit of carrying
about with him for protection; others, again, that the
compact he had sealed with the Devil had expired, and his
Satanic majesty had come in the form of a courier to fetch
him away. 3
At all events, in the midst of his greatest expectations,
his career was cut short.
It has been said, that the Pope had sometimes been
warned, as though by God, in the midst of his crimes.
For instance, by a flash of lightning that once struck
the ground before him, just as he had persuaded the
Archbishop of Cosenza to accuse himself guiltlessly, 4
by a popular tumult, from which he barely escaped with
his life into a church, 5 immediately after he had caused
Alonso da Bisceglia to be put to death and he likewise
received the express warning of the astrologers that he
would die for his son's sake. 6 There never was a Pope,
who so completely postponed all ecclesiastical considera-
tions to secular interests, and still less was there ever one,
who strove to compass his ends by such terrible means. No
acquisition of land has ever been stained with so much blood
1 Guicciardini, iv. 314. Petrus Martyr, 269. Mariana, 222.
2 Jovii Vita Gonsalvi, 260 (note to new ed.). I have given in my
History of the Popes the results of certain later investigations. In my
opinion they place the matter beyond all dispute. Cf. S. W., vol. 37, p.
35, and the Appendix in vol. 39.
3 Tommaso Tommasi in Gordon, Vie d'Alexandre II., 298.
4 Burcardus in Eccard, ii. 2085.
5 Zurita, i. f. 186. 6 Ibid.
CH. I.] A CHANGE IN THE PAPACY. 207
and cruelty, as was his foundation of the papal territory
by stamping out all its small potentates. But this appro-
priation was not after all intended for the papacy, a single
despot was to unite it all in his hand, and this despot
none other than the Pope's own son. What a check
would not such a principality exercise upon future popes !
After Alexander's decease, Rome and Romagna became
involved in the greatest confusion. In Rome, Cesar was
master of the Monte d'Angelo ; he had a large body of
men under his command and, moreover, his father's
treasure stored in two large chests, which he had removed
from the palace. 1 But since he lay sick, the cardinals were
not prevented from enlisting troops, the Orsini now too
ventured again to make their appearance. It is related of
Fabio Orsino that he slew one of Cesar's attendants and
washed his mouth and hands in the blood. The citizens
often closed the streets and shops because of the tumult of
the fighting parties. 2
In Romagna, the authorities, Cesar's adherents, fled, and
the lords of the land returned. When Guidubaldo came
back to TJrbino, even the patrician ladies under captains
followed the drum through the streets in the evening, to
show that they also were ready to fight for him. 3 In Citta di
Castello a golden calf was carried through the streets as a
device of the Vitelli. Sinigaglia, headed by the Rovere,
flew to arms at the bidding of the Cardinal Julian. Griam-
paolo Baglione returned to Perugia under French protec-
tion. The others likewise returned from their several
asylums. 4
But how matters would develop depended entirely upon
the election of the new pope.
The cardinals hastened to meet. Ascanio Sforza was
once more released from his tower at Bourges, in order
that he might give his vote for the French candidate. John
Colonna came from Sicily, where he had been living upon
an annual allowance from the Catholic King. He was
1 Burcard in Brequigny, 67, 68. Victorellus ad liacconiura, 1356.
a Sismondi, xii. 289, from Ulloa. Raphael Volaterranus, Vifce
Paparum, 167.
3 Baldi, Vita di Guidubaldo, ix. 115.
4 Baldi, viii. 108, ix. 116-122.
208 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. II.
entirely Spanish in his leanings. 1 As soon as the French
forces occupied Nepi, the Spanish advanced under Mendoza
to Marino, both places being in close proximity to the city.
Under the protection of the French party, both in the con-
clave and in the field, Georges d' Amboise publicly aspired to-
the highest dignity in Christendom. Gronzal was not less
open in his counter-declaration : " If the Holy G-host would
choose another than Caravajal, the Spanish party would
not oppose the choice." 2 But neither Amboise nor Cara-
vajal were elected. Both parties were finally agreed in the
choice of one Piccolhomini, of Siena ; in him, sitting as
Pius III., the Spaniards fancied they saw a friend, whilst
the French saw only in him an enemy, as Pius II. Piccol-
homini had been their foe. 3 The Spaniards appeared to
triumph. But Pius had scarcely taken possession of the
Vatican, and had not even entered St. John Lateran,
when he died, and the struggle between the rival parties,
began afresh. Baglione and Alvian once more entered
Rome with their troops ; the former with his French on
the right bank of the Tiber, and the latter with his Spanish
on the left. Immediately the cardinals met in conclave,,
both sides retired. 4
Now at this time, Julian della Rovere, who had always
proved the boldest in opposing three popes, 5 a man whom
even Alexander admitted was a man of his word, the
same man, who had just directed the defence of the Castle
of Sinigaglia, enjoyed the greatest esteem of all the cardinal
body. He was a native of Savona, and might be considered
a French subject. He had always favoured the party of
the Colonna, and was not altogether unacceptable to the
Spaniards. Now that Amboise despaired of becoming pope
himself, and Ferdinand of placing a Spaniard in the chair,
both parties were unanimous in favour of this Julian. He
had always been well disposed towards the Venetians, and
he now promised security for Cesar. And so it came to pass
1 Zurita, 299. Arluni, de bello Veneto, i. 21.
2 Zurita, 329.
3 Epistola Francisci Cardinalis Senensis in Ciacconius, 1356. Gilles,,
Chroniques de France, 121.
4 Macchiavelli, Legazione alia corte di Roma, 285.
5 Infessura, 1977. Jacobi Volat. Diarium.
CH. I.] A CHANGE IN THE PAPACY. 209
that, within an hour after the close of the Conclave, he was
sitting at a separate table as pope, signing the contract of
his appointment by the cardinals, and placing on his finger
the papal ring that had already been engraven with his
monogram. 1 He styled himself, slightly changing his bap-
tismal name, Julius II. In this choice the French believed
they had gained a victory such as the Spaniards had vaunted
in the case of Pius. At all events, Amboise, who, in addi-
tion to the French legation, received also that of Avignon,
and whose nephew was the first cardinal, lived harmo-
niously together with him in the palace and assisted at his
most privy councils. 2 The next difficulty to be encountered
was the state of things in the Romagna, which became
more and more complicated. On the part of Tuscany,
there offered their services to Gronzal, Aretins and Pisanese,
with Pandulf Petrucci and Julian Medici ; on the part of
Genoa, both French and Adorni ; and on the part of Loni-
bardy 600 nobles and Ascanio Sforza with them.
For, precisely at the time that Julius became pope, the
Venetians invaded the Romagna. They occupied the
country round about Imola, purchased Rimini from the
Malatesta, and threatened Faenza. 3 But as this country
owned Cesar as its suzerain, and since Julius, though
promising to let him remain so, had not undertaken to
defend him, this invasion, consequently, resolved itself into
a war between the Venetians and Cesar.
Therefore, when the Pope upbraided them for their con-
duct, asking, " Whether he had done them so few services,
that they had resolved to rob the Church during his ponti-
ficate," they replied : " it was a robber, and not the Church
that they were attacking : and that they were ready to pay
their contribution." Whereupon the Pope replied : that
" though he wanted lords over his cities, he only wished for
such as he could control," and held frequent counsel. 4
Although Cesar was not exactly an acceptable personage
1 Mairhiavelli, Legazkme alia corte di Roma, 287-293. Zurita, 330.
Burcardus in Eccard, 2159, in Brequigny and in Kainaldus, Annales
Ecclesiastic!, vol. xx. p. 2.
a Macchiavelli, Legazione, 361, and in many passages.
3 Bembus, Historic Venefce, 145-147. Sansovino Urig. 79.
4 Macchiavelli, Legazione a. c. d. R. 300, 305, 320.
P
210 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
for how could he possibly trust him ? the Venetians were
even less desirable.
Since his father's death, Cesar appeared to have lost all
confidence, boldness, and decision. He even vacillated in
the papal election; to-day concluding a treaty with
Amboise and on the morrow with the Colonna ; to-day
promising to join one army, and then on the morrow be-
taking himself to the other. But, as soon as the first in-
telligence of the Venetian operations reached him, he com-
pletely lost his senses. Men said of him : " The strokes
of adverse fortune have stunned him, and he no longer
knows what he wants." Where we see men displaying
energy as soon as disaster befalls them, we shall always
find them at the bottom to be good and noble natures ;
those, on the contrary, who are not such only appear
strong for so long as they are in good fortune and no longer.
In order to invalidate the excuse advanced by the Vene-
tians, Cesar expressed his readiness to surrender for a
time all his castles and towns to Pope Julius. But the
latter, apprehensive lest it might be difficult for him to
restore them again, refused the offer. 2 He considered it
to be best for Cesar to proceed by sea to Spezzia, and
thence to go by way of Ferrara, whilst the army advanced
against Imola through the Tuscan and Perugian territory.
Cesar was neither supported by Florence, nor yet by
Baglione ; but he made the venture. On the 19th No-
vember, 1503, he despatched his army through Tuscany,
whilst he himself went to Ostia, to take ship. He still
hoped that the star of his fortune would return ; but
all the world mocked at him : " Whither," said they,
" will the wind waft him, where will he meet with
his troops again ? " Everything depended upon his re-
lations to the new Pope, and upon the latter' s good- will
towards him. 4
1 Soderini, in Macchiavelli, Legazione, 319.
2 Macchiavelli, Legazione, 337.
3 MacchiavelliJ Legazione, 332. Burcardus, 2139.
4 The divergent opinions that have been expressed about this event
cause me to reproduce here, more in detail than I have done in the text,
the account given by Zurita, who utilized the intelligence received by
King Ferdinand. According to Zurita, the proposal to deliver over his
castles to the Pope proceeded from Cesar himself. He wished to secure
CH. I.] A CHANGE IN THE PAPACY. 211
He was but two days gone, when Julius received
tidings, that Faenza was in the greatest danger of being
taken by the Venetians, and that it was open to doubt
whether Cesar would arrive quickly enough, and with
sufficient forces, to be able to take energetic measures.
These tidings deprived the Pope of sleep, and in the night
of the 22nd November he resolved to risk it and to accept
Cesar's strongholds for the time being. In the morning
he summoned Cardinal Soderini to him ; but he still kept
them from Venice, that would recoil in terror before the name of the
Church. Soon after he repented of his offer, and was kept under restraint
until he had performed his promise. He was taken to Ostia, with the ex-
press assurance that he should enjoy complete liberty as soon as the strong-
holds had been given up. He was under the care of the Cardinal de Santa
Crux. Two galleys were put at the latter's disposal, in order to release
Cesar, as soon as he had kept his word. The Cardinal was invested with
full powers to this end not only by the Pope, but also by the College of
Cardinals, and it actually came so far that of the three castles in question,
two were surrendered, and a money security given in the case of the third,
so that the Cardinal set him at liberty. At this moment the war be-
tween the French and Spaniards that had been interrupted by a truce
threatened to burst out afresh. Cesar, who was still well furnished
with money and accustomed to pay his soldiers well, and who was fawned
on as their lord and master by those insolent characters who are charmed
by wild and cruel deeds, and being, as he was, thoroughly well acquainted
with the internal relations of the various Italian factions, and accustomed
to turn them to his own account, would have been welcome as an ally
either to the French or Spaniards. Gonsalvo sent a message to the
Cardinal of Santa Cruz to the effect that he would oblige the King of
Spain if he would contrive that Cesar joined his side (seria gran beneficio
de toda la Christiandad divitirle de otras empressas : y que no se diesse
lugar que veniesse a Francia) ; which now comes to pass. Cesar came
with a strong escort to Naples, but it was not his intention to remain
long quietly here. His first idea was to prevent the surrender of Forli
to the Pope, which had not yet taken place, to revive the war in the
Homagna, and to retake Urbino and the other cities, which had been
lost to him. He was desirous, for this purpose, of employing the
Spanish and Italian infantry, with which Gonzal had gained his victories,
(ionzal quickly perceived that Cesar was influencing his troops, and
being moreover informed that he was in communication with Forli, began
to be apprehensive lest he was plotting, not merely to renew the war in
Italy, but to weaken him (Gonzal) so much that Naples would be forced
to fall into French hands. Thereupon he resolved to make sure of this
dangerous personage: the King approved his conduct. (Zurita, 324.)
Mariana has borrowed his remarks from Zurita. and has not made them
clearer, though he has lent them a classic colouring. (Note to 2nd
Edit.)
212 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [fiK. II.
his own counsel, for he wished not to do wrong, and did
not confide to him his resolve. Towards evening he again
sent for him, told him, and sent him after Cesar. But
now the latter refused. On the 29th, he was brought to
Kome by the papal guards ; when there, he was sometimes
to be found in Magliana, and sometimes in the treasurer's
apartments, or in Amboise's lodging. He there heard
how Baglione had surprised and annihilated his army ;
and so, at length, he consented to surrender the signs
of power, to which the governors of his castles were
pledged. 1 But they delayed and made fresh difficulties.
It was not until April, 1504, that the castles were de-
livered to the Pope, and Cesar again enjoyed full liberty
in Ostia.
Thus it came to pass that Julius II. interfered against
Venice on the part of Cesena, lino la, and Forli, as now
being their immediate lord, and defended these cities
against attack. But, meanwhile, Faenza was lost. We
shall next see what important events resulted from its
fall.
In Ostia, Cesar had a fresh seizure of his old vacillation.
His father had first of all been French in his sympathies,
and then Spanish, and then again French, only to end
with being Spanish once more. Lezcan, and the Marquis
of Final, both set out at the same time to Cesar, the latter
offering French aid, and the former a Spanish escort.
What should he do ? Louis was a relation, and always
kept his promise. Ferdinand had the reputation of being
faithless, and the Aragon escorts were well known, as was
also the fact that, a short time previously, Federigo's son
had been allured to avail himself of them, and had been made
prisoner, and carried oft* to Spain. But was he still capable
at that time of making a choice ? It might be said that
his fate was upon him. Lezcan was the first to come, and
Cesar followed him. In the same way as Michelott stepped
up to his prisoners, so did at last Runno de Ocampo
address Cesar with the words : " Sir, you are a prisoner."
Cesar drew a deep sigh, surrendered himself, and was in-
1 Macchiavelli, Legaz., 347-339, 355, 366, 373. Baldi, Guidubaldo,.
147. Burcardus and Nardi.
CH. I.] A CHANGE IN THE PAPACY. 213
terned in a castle in Spain. This firebrand, the Spaniards
said, was safe in no other hands but in theirs. 1
Later, Cesar escaped from the Castle and reached
Navarre once more, but was slain, shortly after his flight,
in a skirmish.
1 Zurita, 328. Jovii Gonsalvus, 274. Mariana, 233. Guicciardini,
vi. 339.
CHAPTEE II.
VARIANCES BETWEEN THE HOUSES OP SPAIN AND AUSTRIA.
THESE Neapolitan affairs are intimately connected with
a quarrel between Spain and Austria, which broke out
even before their negotiations had been concluded.
When, for instance, Philip, in the early part of the year
1503, set out 011 his return journey to the Netherlands
through France, the Spanish cause at Naples was in a
sorry plight, and Philip believed himself commissioned to
conclude a treaty with Louis. He had arrived at his Court
in Lyons, 1 and, on the 5th of April, had just agreed upon
a peace with the King, a peace, of course, most advanta-
geous to him and to this effect : " That Naples should be
governed in the name of Charles and Claudia, but with his
co-operation, and should at a future day devolve upon
them," when the prospects of the Spaniards at Naples
improved. They now entertained hopes of victory, and
Ferdinand ordered his Commander-in-Chief to disregard
any orders he might receive from Philip. 2 In vain his
heralds came and departed ; instead of the peace, the
battle of Cerignola took place. Philip had long been on
bad terms with his father-in-law ; the latter had refused
him the appanage of a prince, had, in Eoussillon, pro-
hibited his attendants being provided with horses, and
had given orders to have all the cannon at Salsas ready for
action whenever he visited that fortress. 3 Both foresaw
Isabella's death, and that they would then have to fight
for the succession in Castile. This Neapolitan affair fur-
ther fanned this misunderstanding. The quarrel with
Ferdinand's envoys, who denied that Philip had been com-
1 Hubert Thomas Leodius, de vita Friderici Palatini, p. 41.
2 Zurita, 259, 260. 3 Zurita, 258.
CH. II.] SPAIN AND AUSTRIA AT VARIANCE. 215
missioned to conclude a peace, at first deprived this young
and noble prince who was ill of consciousness. 1 But he
soon recovered. In his own name he now concluded an
alliance with Louis, which was proclaimed in Lyons in
August. It was aimed immediately at Ferdinand. Louis
promised the Archduke 1,000 lances for the conquest
of Castile, as he knew that he would need them. 2 Philip
then induced his father, who was always in accord with
his son, to join this alliance and to reiterate his promise
touching the Milanese fiefs, which had not yet been be-
stowed ; and to this step Maximilian was also induced by
the state of affairs in Germany.
1. Maximilian, through the influence of the French Alliance,
Victor and Lord in Germany.
It is worthy of remark how intimately connected Ger-
man domestic affairs were with French war and peace.
The council of the realm, which had been constituted
after Louis' victory over the Sforza and Maximilian,
passed, as early as September, 1501, independent resolutions
of its own. But owing to Maximilian having, on the
3rd of October following, entered with Louis into the
league of Trent, not one of its resolutions was put
into force ; nay, from that hour it entirely fell to pieces. 3
For a whole six months neither " Kammergericht " nor
" Hofgericht " was held throughout the Empire, the estates
lost prestige, there was no prospect of a Diet, and public
peace was not to be dreamt of. In spite of this, the
Neapolitan war of Ferdinand and Maximilian against
Louis was, as we have seen, allowed to break out in June,
1502, before any steps were taken. In July, the electors
assembled at Gelnhausen, to inaugurate yearly meetings,
to which they proposed to summon all classes, each bringing
his neighbours, in case the King himself did not appoint
any day and place of assembling.
The intention was the same as that with which certain
1 Pontus Heuterus from Lalaing's MS. as it appears.
- Znrita, i. 289 ; ii. 9.
1 Miiller; Reichstagsstaat, i. c. 21, sec. 3; c. 23.
216 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
days in the year were set apart at Worms, and a committee
of the realm appointed at Augsburg ; namely, to deliberate
upon such subjects as war with the Turks, the public peace,
the high court of justice, and all internal matters. Such
meetings were actually held. 1 To these the Electors referred
everything that Maximilian demanded of them individually ;
and when he summoned any of their number before his
Court they flatly contradicted him. 2 All the decreeing
power now left to the King was the right of reversing
appeals, and the bestowal of expectancies. 3 During the
months in which the French were victorious in Italy, the
disunion was most strongly marked. Maximilian loudly
complained of Berthold von Mainz, stating that : " he was
most vexed with him, because he had not followed his sug-
gestions in the Reichstag at Worms ; and had, moreover,
always hindered him in his endeavours for the prosperity
of the realm and Christendom." 4 In February, 1503, he
would gladly have made common cause with the Swiss, who
crossed the St. G-othard to defend Bellinzona, and would
with them have entered Milan, in order to settle the Nea-
politan question, had it not been that the situation at home
tied his hands. To enable him to engage in the slightest
enterprise, he needed a certain tranquillity on the part of
the German princes, and, for this, peace with France. 5
Thus it was that, in concluding this treaty, his son's ad-
vantage coincided well with his own.
It will scarcely have been by corruption that Louis con-
trived to keep the princes on his side ; the power of the
princes was also enhanced when the French gave the
G-erman King plenty of trouble; they needed not then
fear him for themselves. However that might be, after the
reconciliation between Louis and the House of Austria, in
November, 1503, the electors excused themselves apologeti-
cally for their previous conduct, and resolved only to meet
once every two years. 6 These meetings never took place
1 Miiller ; Reichsstagstaat, book ii. p. 248, 260, and cap. iii. sec. 8.
2 Miiller, ii. cap. 5.
3 Haberlin, Reichs historie, ix. 229, from the documents.
4 Correspondence in Gudenus, Codex Diplomaticus Moguntinus, iv.
547, 551.
5 Weiskunig, 278.
6 Documents in Miiller 5 Reichsstagstaat, ii. viii. pp. 276, 287.
CH. II.] SPAIN AND AUSTRIA AT VARIANCE. 217
again. This opposition was now virtually at an end.
But at that very time Maximilian found an opportunity of
destroying another older and more deeply rooted combina-
tion, which even foreigners class among the great factions
of Europe, viz., the opposition of the Palatinate.
Forty years previously, Frederick, " Arrogator" of the
Palatinate, in league with Bavaria-Landshut, victoriously
resisted the grand attack of the Emperor and his whole
party. We have seen the correspondence in which the then
Elector of the Palatinate engaged with Charles VIII. and
Louis XII. In the days when Louis concluded the Swiss
treaty against Maximilian, the Elector married his son
Euprecht to the only daughter of George of Landshut.
Those who forty years before had fought together were now
dead ; but the old hate and the old leanings still survived
and lived on in their children.
It happened that Duke George of Landshut, when
about to proceed in his carriage, accompanied by four
physicians, to Wildbad, at Michaelmas, 1505, was suddenly
taken so ill on the road that he could only reach his castle
at Ingolstadt, so sick was he. 1 Should he allow his country
to pass to Duke Albrecht of Munich, his old enemy, and
Maximilian's brother-in-law, in spite of his being his rightful
heir, according to the feudal law of descent ? In order to
pass it to Euprecht, his sister's son, and his son-in-law, he
committed to him his fortresses and his treasure, and
called together the Estates for the 10th December. But
he died before they convened ; and this last scion of the
House of Bavaria-Landshut, was borne to the grave by
mere foreign knights, save one only, whom he had summoned
to protect his son-in-law. -
The young Euprecht was the first to appear before the
Estates, with his knights and yeomen. " How," he ex-
claimed, " could anyone wish to defraud the grandchildren
of Duke George, who were males, and of his own flesh and
blood ? The whole lineage of the House of Burgundy had
descended through a woman, Bavarian blood also coursed
through his veins." Then appeared Albrecht' s envoys:
1 Zayneri, de bcllo Bavarico liber Memorialis in Oefele, Rerum Boi-
carum, torn. ii. p. 350.
a Zayner, 363.
218 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
" The land was entailed upon a man, and, further, Albrecht
was in the fourth, whilst Ruprecht was only in the eighth
degree from George." l The Estates did not seem able to
arrive at a solution, and so declared their readiness to
submit to Maximilian's arbitration ; yet this was also a
decision, for the King had long since taken a side. 2
The King thought first on his own advantage. He had
three schemes. The first was for Albrecht, his sister's hus-
band, in whose company he entered Augsburg, on the 30
January, 1504, to assist at the " Reichstag." His second
was for certain districts of Land shut ; and the third was
the humiliation of the Palatinate, which he wished to de-
prive of the Landgraviate of Hagenau. 3 His mediatory pro-
posal : " that that part of Bavaria lying across the Danube
should be assigned to Euprecht, and all the rest to belong
to Albrecht," as well as others of a like nature, were
rejected now by one party and now by the other. At
last, on Easter Day, after the Dukes of Munich had held
two hours' private conversation with him, he announced
the same evening to the Estates of Landshut, in a garden
at Augsburg, that " the war must unfortunately take
its course." 4 His final decision gave the whole country
to the Munich line. On the 29th of April, Euprecht's
consort took possession of the city and of a large por-
tion of the Landshut territory. 5 Forthwith all the old
enemies of 1461 rose up in arms. Wurtemberg, Veldenz,
and Hessen against the Palatinate ; the Munich House,
with the assistance of Brandenburg, Saxony, and Suabia
and the city of Nuremberg against Landshut. The war
began.
But how about the French alliance of the old Count
Palatine ? His followers wore white crosses like the French ;
he sent his son repeatedly to Louis. 6 But all to no pur-
pose ; the new alliance with Maximilian prevented the
1 " Handlung Zwischen Herzog Rupreeht und gemeine Landschaft,"
in Zayner, 370.
2 Maximilian's Letter in Miiller's Reichstagsstaat.
3 "Der Echte Fugger" in Oefele's manuscript, ii. 471.
4 "Handlung zu Augsburg von gemeine Landschaft wegen," in
Zayner, 392. Especially p. 401.
6 Proclamation when Landshut was taken, vide Zayner, 438.
Zayner, Preface ; and Zurita.
CH. II.] SPAIN AND AUSTRIA AT VARIANCE. 219
French King from listening to him. The Count Palatine
resolved to only keep the fortress garrisoned, and to
maintain two armies in the field, one in Heidelberg, and
another in Landshut, with the view either to prevent or to
requite pillage and plunder. The enemy, he reflected, was
not so rich as he was, and would be first exhausted. 1
The Palatinate itself was assailed on three sides. On
the east of the Rhine, Ulrich von Wurtemberg made the
attack. He took Maulbronn, and 2,000 balls discharged
from the Niederberg forced the cantons of Besigheim,
Walheim, and Weinsberg to accept him in their sanctuary
as their lord and master. Bretten alone was defended by
the good pieces of ordnance that George Schwarzerd had
cast, and by a company of Swiss from Thurgau. 2
West of the Rhine, Alexander der Schwarze of Veldenz
drove off herds of oxen and swine, levied contributions,
and allowed his soldiers to cut up the silk altar-hangings
to make jerkins, or to send them home to their wives. In
Sonwald we find him lying in wait for the cattle to be
driven out of a castle, so as to surprise the open gate.
But now and again John Landschad would march against
him from Kreuznach with better men, and deal with him
likewise. 3
William of Hessen with his fire wardens now ravaged
the Bergstrasse lying to the right of the Rhine, and
now the Alzheimer Guu, on the left; and it was only
the peasantry of Ingelheim in their monastery, and
the garrison of Caub, that offered him any formidable
resistance. 5
Whilst all this robbing, murdering, and pillaging was
taking place for we cannot call it regular warfare
the archives were ransacked for evidence of the King's
claim to the " Landvogtei," and this, with Hagenau and
Orjenau, passed into his hand. 5 Overjoyed at his success,
which had been achieved without heeding the mediation
1 Vendii Ephemerides belli Palatine- Boici, Ex Kolneri libris tribus
concinnata? in Oefele, ii. 480.
a Saltier, Eisenbach, Stettler. Crusii Annales Suevici, 525.
3 Trithenius, Chronieon Hirsangiense, 608-613.
4 Trithenius, 613-623. Miinster, Kosmographie.
5 Haberlins, note from a document in Lunig, ix. 278.
"220 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
-of any of the Electors, 1 by merely confirming the enemies
of the Palatinate in the possession of what they had con-
quered, he proceeded to Bavaria, where some of his coun-
sellors kept a vigilant watch over Kufstein, and others
over Weissenhorn, to both of which he laid claim.
He arrived just in time. There also the war was being
waged more with fire than with sword. Now it was the
-country about Munich itself, and anon the neighbourhood
of Landshut, that was ravaged. The sentries of the towns
and train-bands came into collision. One or the other fled.
There were no deeds of valour worthy the name, and con-
sequently no results were achieved. 2 Just as some Suabian
and Brandenburg soldiery had retired before the Munichers,
and the Landshut side now appeared to have gained the
upper hand by dint of their 2,500 Bohemians, the King
arrived on the scene. Four miles from the city of Eegeiis-
burg, whence peals of bells, inviting to processions and
prayers, accompanied him into the field, surrounded by his
knights, he charged the Bohemians in person. He fell
upon them, though entrenched behind a triple barricade
And long stockades made of iron spikes driven into the
ground, firmly bound together with chains, and although
once unhorsed by a pike his life was only saved by
Erich von Braunschweig's devotion at last succeeded
in mastering them. This done, he marched into Regens-
burg, with music playing and drums beating, standards
and the prisoners he had taken preceding him. 3 He had
now gained the upper hand, and took for himself Weissen-
horn, Mauerstiitten, and Kufstein.
Now when the old Count Palatine looked about him, and
saw both countries ravaged, and partly in the enemy's
hand ; when he found himself reft of his son Ruprecht, as
well as of his daughter-in-law, both of whom had died
during the war ; when he saw too the Electoral Confederacy
broken up, France leagued with Maximilian, his enemies
unbroken, and no hope left, his courage sank, and he had
recourse to entreaties. Maximilian, at length in possession
1 Muller's, Beichstagsstaat, 406.
2 Life of Gbtz von Berlichingen, published by Hagen, p. 41. f.
3 "Die Regensburger Chronik," vol. iv. part i., Regensburg, 1822,
p. 84.
CH. II.] SPAIN AND AUSTRIA AT VARIANCE. 221
of what he had coveted, able to boast that he had it in his
power to utterly crush the Palatinate, and mindful that
Munich also had not always favoured Austria, was prudent
and forbearing enough not to desire its destruction, and so,
in September, commanded a truce. 1 He then, in accor-
dance with his original proposal, founded the younger
Palatinate, on the other side the Danube, for the chil-
dren of Ruprecht and George's grandchildren. After this
triumphant victory, whom need the King fear in Germany ?
Berthold von Mainz, the life and soul of all the opposi-
tion he had hitherto met with, died in December, 1504, and
the King had long since taken into his service his chancellor,
Stiirzler. 2 In May, 1505, he again held a Reichstag at
Cologne, where he had always wished it to meet, but
the princes of his realm would never consent. We must
especially lament that there was no one in those days
who had either the opportunity to study, or the will and
skill to chronicle, the active participation of the princes-
and their counsellors in public business. Such a one
would tell us how the great ideas of a universal participa-
tion of the Estates in internal government, of the contri-
bution of all Germans towards the common burdens, and
of a real unity of the nation in opposition to the imperial
power, were all born of the three attempts to frame a
constitution by Estates, namely, the yearly Assembly, the
Committee of the Realm, and the Confederation of the
Electors, and how that, after attaining a certain develop-
ment, they all perished at Cologne.
To live on in the memory of posterity is one half of life ;
but these attempts have almost been forgotten. 3 In Co-
logne those ideas were relinquished, and the constitution
began to return to its old groove. The Emperor was
guaranteed for a year a force larger than ever before. This
force was raised by a census of the Estates, and was no longer
computed according to parishes and population ; was fixed
1 Hubert us, Thomas Leodius, Vita Friderici, Palatini ii., No. 42,.
No. 47, and Zurita.
2 Haberlin, ii. 283. Trithenius, Der Echte Fugger, i. 1.
3 (Note to new ed.) This remark is responsible ibr my later investi-
gations, which I have published to the world in the first volume of my
" Deutsche Geschichte."
222 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
at 1,000 horse and 3,000 foot soldiers, the pay of the
former being reckoned at ten, and that of the latter at four
guilders a month ; this force was, moreover, to be equipped
by the Estates. 1 No government cared how it was to be
employed. The high Court of Justice, which was left to
him to pay, thus passed into his hands. He was powerful
enough to carry out his plans.
2. Maximilian's Comprehensive Schemes. Philip of Castile.
These successes were entirely due to the French alliance,
and the same alliance was the basis of all new schemes and
projects.
After negotiating in France during the whole Bavarian
war, and after Ferdinand had appeared willing to assign
Naples to the joint names of Charles and Claudia, and
had ended in August by flatly refusing, 2 on the 22nd
September, ten days after the battle of Regensburg, Maxi-
milian, Philip, and Louis united in the most intimate
league : " they would be one soul in three bodies, each
be the friend of the other's friends, and the enemy of their
enemies, and would intermarry their children. Louis
would pledge his governors in Milan, G-enoa, Asti, Bretagne,
Blois, and Burgundy, all which provinces had been de-
tached from the Crown, to deliver them all over into the
hand of Charles and Claudia, in the event of his dying
without male heirs of his body." 3 We do not find any
having reference to Naples ; but yet Ferdinand complaine'd
that it had been dealt with at Blois, as if it had been the
Tyrol. 4
Hereupon, in April, 1505, in Hagenau, that had just
been taken, Amboise received not only for Louis but for
Charles and Claudia as well, the fiefs of Milan, Pa via, and
Anghiera, whilst Philip received for himself and his son
1 Miiller, Eeichstagsstaat, ii. 441. Imperial decree in Miiller, 509.
2 Lettresdu Roi Louis XII., vol. i. 1-7.
3 In Dumont, iv. 1, 55.
4 Zurita, 343.
CH. ii.] MAXIMILIAN'S COMPREHENSIVE SCHEMES. 223
the fiefs of G-uelders. 1 In July, 1505, the Duke of G-uel-
ders, stripped of all French assistance, and forsaken of his
barons, Wisch, Bronchorst, and Batenburg, actually threw
himself at Philip's feet in Rosendaal, gave up the greatest
part of his country, and entered into his suite. 2
After this, greater enterprises were undertaken. In
November, 1504, Isabella, Queen of Castile, and Philip's
mother-in-law, died. 3 Philip, without delay, took the
royal sword and the royal title instead of the ducal hat, and
was bent upon becoming her heir. 4 But the old Ferdinand
was no less determined to remain the real King of the
Castilian kingdoms, under the title of a " Gobernador."
Hence the schism in the Austro-Spanish house, and
Philip made preparations to drive his father-in-law from
Castile.
Maximilian turned his eyes towards Hungary, with a
view of securing the disputed succession, and for this pur-
pose the Empire had voted him supplies.
Immediately both these objects were attained, he could
turn his attention to Italy. The treaty of Blois planned a
general war upon Venice. Naples was demanded be-
cause it belonged to Castile. If we survey this general
state of things, and reflect that, after Ferdinand's death,
all the Aragon possessions, and, after Louis' death, all
the rest of Italy together with a third of France would
fall to the same great heir, these plans must be regarded
as jeopardizing European liberty. But Maximilian dreamt
of an universal monarchy over all the Latin-Teutonic
nations. In the year 1505 he proposed to the King of
France to repeal the Salic law, in order that Charles
and Claudia might succeed him on the throne of France. 5
In the year 1506, he declared Schwente Nielsen, Eric
Johannsen, and other Commissioners of Sweden, who
would not recognize the union nor the King of Denmark,
under the ban of the Empire in the words : " their
1 Acte de foi, in Dumont, 60. Pontus Heuterus.
2 Barlandus, Duces Brabantiae, 137. Teschenmacherus, Annales
Geldrise in Annal. Cliviae, &c., p. 527. Heuterus, 274.
3 Luc. Marineus Siculus, 512. Petrus Martyr, Epist., 270.
4 Heuter., 270. Wagenaar, History of the Netherlands, ii. 281.
5 Zurita, ii. f. 152.
224 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
goods belonged to the first comer." l He declared that
through his mother he had as good a claim to the king-
dom of Portugal as King Manuel. He had the preten-
sions of a fugitive York to the crown of England trans-
ferred to himself. 2
But God willed it that this should not happen. The de-
velopment of the Romano-Germanic nation that had just
begun, would have been interrupted and hindered thereby.
When Louis XII., in the spring of 1505, fell dangerously
sick, all patriots who desired to see the kingdom in a state
of union, as well as all friends of the royal dynasty, which
had been only consolidated by so much blood, began to
dread that in a short time the realm would become
divided, and the old domestic war revive. 3 It was pri-
marily the partisans of Louisa of Savoy, the mother of the
heir presumptive to the throne, Francis of Angouleme,
who opposed it. The King himself repented his alliance
of Blois. Did he not swear at his coronation at Reims
never to suffer the realm to be diminished ? It was Queen.
Anna who specially favoured the betrothal of Claudia and
Charles, seeing, as she did, that the latter was destined to
attain the highest dignity in our nations. She even did
not spare a considerable sum of money, in order to degrade
and dismiss from court Marshal Gie, who, during a
former weakness of the King, had dared to counteract her
schemes. 4 She was heart and soul in favour of the league.
But the King being so sorely sick, the wife was fain to
concede to the husband, what as Queen she refused to the
King, and Anna at length gave way, forgot her difference
with Louise, 5 and consented that Claudia should be be-
trothed to Francis of Angouleme, instead of to Charles.
Amboise and the high dignitaries at court swore to further
these ends. It was as yet kept a secret. But the league
of Blois, and the schemes of the Austrian house had been
broken in the chief .point upon which they were based,
Louis gradually recovered.
1 Extract from Dalin, Swedish History, ii. 665.
2 Zurita and Wagenaar, from the Chartr. van Brabant, Laye. Engle-
terre, ii. 269. Cf. Hormayr, Oesterrich, Plutarch, v. 178.
3 Gamier, Histoire de France, xxi. 3-8. St. Gelais, 225 sq.
4 Garnier, from Gie's trial, xxi. 463, 476.
5 Fleuranges, Memoires, 154.
CH. II.] PHILIP OF CASTILE. 225
Not long afterwards, the Inquisitor of Catalonia, Frater
John Enquerra, repaired to the French court, in order to
investigate the ground. 1 He was despatched thither by
Ferdinand the Catholic, who was primarily threatened by
Maximilian's plans, and was therefore desirous of entering
into an alliance with France.
Should he cease to be King of Castile and the head
of the European political world, and return to the insig-
nificant position enjoyed by his ancestors? Isabella,
by her last will, left him a few estates and rights in
Castile. The succession she devised to her daughter Juana,
decreeing at the same time that, " previous to her arrival,
all Cortes should be prohibited, and only, should it be
subsequently proved that she was either incapable or un-
willing to conduct the government, a peaceful administra-
tion should be provided." '" But Ferdinand was not con-
tent with this, but assumed the title of " G-obernador,"
and summoned the Cortes without delay. The Grandees,
whose independence he had broken, were against him ;
notably Pacheco of Villena, who, . at the beginning of
Ferdinand's reign had lost his estates, his share of the
Aragon plunder ; and Manrique, of Najara, who saw his
nephew prejudiced by Aguilar ; their complaint was that,
" he tempted the notables in the cities, and the Alcades
in the castles, with presents, and was even bent upon re-
viving the long-forgotten case of Juana, Henry IV.' s
daughter, thinking to marry her, only Manuel of Portugal
would not give her to him ; he was illegally striving to
become lord of Castile." They did not appear in the
Cortes. 3 The procurators of the seventeen cities, on the
other hand for Ferdinand had once, aided by the Her-
mandad of the cities, overcome the nobles, and the cities
favoured him appeared, declared themselves the repre-
sentatives of the united kingdoms of Castile, recognized
him as administrator in the room f his daughter, and
received from him the oath. 4
1 Cf. also Nardi, Istorie Fiorent., p. 110.
2 Zurita, i. 349. Gomez, Vita Ximenes, 981. Petrus Martyr, 279.
Mariana, 278.
3 Zurita, ii. 12. Carta in Zurita, ii. 22, 23.
4 Zurita, ii. f. 6.
Q
226 LATIN AND TEUTONIC NATIONS. [BK. II.
In spite of all this, Ferdinand could not possibly hold
his ground, were Philip, strengthened by the league of
Blois, to arrive in Castile, and the Grandees there were to
declare for him. Nothing but a reconciliation with Louis
promised him security.
Now that Isabella was dead, Ferdinand also could adopt
Louis's maxim, a maxim which he used against every pro-
posal advocating terms respecting Naples, and from which
proceeded the intention to marry Charles and Claudia to-
gether, namely, that, " it was incompatible with his honour
and conscience alike to sell his good rights to strangers."
In October, 1505, Louis assigned his Neapolitan rights to
his niece, G-ermana de Foix. Ferdinand promised to marry
her, to pay a million of good gold within ten years, and to
restore all the Angevins to their estates. 1 lii addition to
this, the two Kings promised each other mutual help
against all enemies. Almazan, Ferdinand's other self, con-
fided to some, that nothing would come of the prospective
marriage between Charles and Claudia. 2
The schemes of Maximilian and Philip, who after meet-
ing in Brabant, in December, 1505, separated, the father
to look after his Hungarian, and the son after his Casti-
lian, affairs, were thwarted by the alliance Louis had con-
tracted, not with them, as he had promised, but with their
enemies. But the two former gained another in lieu
thereof. When Aragon and Castile were at variance, it
frequently had happened that England had allied itself
with the one and France with the other. This natural
state of things, and accident, procured an English alliance
for the Austrian house.
In January, 1506, Philip had provided the expenses of his
voyage by the sale of his desmesnes, and the enforced im-
post of the sixteenth pfennig. Four hundred nobles, with
several thousand lansquenets, Flemings and Swiss, 3 em-
barked on board his fleet, fifty sail strong, and Philip
himself on the ship of two brothers Huybert. The squadron
steered through the Bay of Biscay, making for a Spanish
1 Documents in Dutnont, iv. i. 72. Extract in Guicciardini, iv. 357.
2 Baco, Historia Henrici, vii. p. 369.
3 Wagenaar, ii, 281. Ehrenspiegel, 1165. Nardi, Istorie Fiorent,
iv. 111.
CH. II.] PHILIP OF CASTILE. 227
port, not far from Cordova, when the wind suddenly
changed, and a storm arose. In the stress of weather, the
Huyberts, though Philip vainly bade them " Watch," l
could devise no other means of safety than running for the
English coast. At length, escaping through the race off
Portland's chalk cliffs, they landed on the quay of Wey-
mouth. 2 Here Philip was received as a most welcome guest,
and not like a shipwrecked man, and was escorted with
all pomp and ceremony to Windsor, a castle of the King
Henry VII. Yet not for nought. Here in his most private
chamber, Henry placed his hand upon his guest's shoulder,
and said, " You have been saved on my coasts, and should
then I suffer shipwreck on yours ; I mean Suffolk, give him
up to me." Philip had still a York, Edmund de la Pole
of Suffolk, in his keeping, and much as he resisted : " for
he would appear to be acting under compulsion," he was
obliged at last to surrender him. 3 This done, Henry swore
upon a portion of the true Cross, to come to the aid of his
guest, in defence of his kingdoms, either such as he now
possessed or should possess, against everyone who should
attack him in them. 4 And thus strengthened, almost
against his will, with a new ally, in April, 1506, Philip
embarked for Corunna.
He arrived. " Now that he was come, the Galician and
Castilian nobles should prove their promised allegiance."
The Duke of Najara was already equipped : should he not
receive the new prince in the same manner as the old?
Not only Villena, but Benavente, who through the Aragons
had lost his " messe " of Medina del Campo, Giron, of
the oppressed house of Portugal, Garcilasso de la Wega,
who hoped to be able to revive with Philip the influence
he had enjoyed with Isabella, the Duke of Bejar, the
Marquises of Astorga and Aquilar, and many others accom-
puiiied him. 5 They complained that, "the old Ferdinand
wished to merge Castile into Aragon; the Jurado of
1 Bayle, Dictionnaire, vide sub Huybert, from a " Memoire Commu-
nique au libraire."
- Petrus Martyr, Epist. 296. Polydorus, Virgilius, Historia Anglica,
' Baco, Vita Henrici Septimi, p. 336, 370.
1 In Dumont, iv. 1, 77.
Zurita, ii. 47-55.
228 LATI 
