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FRANCESCO FOSCARI, DOGE OF VENICE, TREVISO, ETC. 
A.l). 1423-57. 



{From Nani, Serie de* Dogi.) 



HISTORY 



07 THK 



VENETIAN EEPFBLIC: 



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BY W. CAREW HAZLITT, 

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VOL. rv. 



LONDON: 
SMITH, ELDER & CO., 65, CORNHILL. 

1860. 



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UNIVERSITY 
LIBRARY 



CONTENTS OF VOL. lY. 



CHAPTEB XXIL 

A.D. 1414-1431. 

Tommuo Mocenigo, Doge (Jan. 7, 1414) — ^Anecdote of Paolo Gin- 
liani— Pacific Policy of Venicfr—Coundl of Constance— Election of 
Martin Y. (Nov. 1417)— Anecdote of his Holiness— War wiih 
Turkey (1416)^ Battle of Gallipoli —Peace with the Sultan 
(Aug. 8, 1416) — Situation of Italy — Ambition of Filippo-Maria 
Yisoonti — Amicable Relations between Venice, Florence, and 
Naples — Death of Carlo Zeno (May 8, 1418) — Travels of 
his brothers Nicolo and Antonio — Their Stay at Shetland — 
Fresh Bupture with Sigismund — Conniyance of the Decern* 
Tirs at an Attempt to Assawrinate him (July 3, 141S) — Success of 
tiie Venetian Arms— Acquisition of Friuli, Istria, and Dahnatia . 
(1418-20) — ^And of a portion of Albaniar-Becovery of Scutari 
and other points— Acquisition of Corinth (1422) — ^The Count of 
Gkxrida becomes the Vassal of the Republic (1424) — ^Negotiations 
between Venice and Florence — Rqjection by tiie former of tiie 
proposed AlUanoe against Filippo-Maria Visconti — Financial 
Statements of Mocenigo— His last Words— Death of the Doge 
(April 4, 1423)— Virtual Extinction of the Popular Assembly, 
and other Constitutional Changes— Election of Francesco Foscari 
(April 15) — ^Festiyities — Anecdote of Mocenigo — Acquisition 
of Thessalonica (Saloniki) — The Lazaretti and Board of Health- 
Renewed Appeal of Florence— Its Bejection— Succesrive Defeats 
of the Florentines by the Milanese— Fresh Appeal to the Signory 
— Fbahcxsco ni Caemaqhola, his Birth and Fortunes — He 
Enters the Venetian Service — ^Negotiations with Milan on behalf 
of the Florentines — Growing Tendency to War — Speech of the 
Doge Foscaxi— League between Florence and the Bepublic (1425) 
— ^Attempt of Visconti to avert the Danger — ^Fall of Brescia — 
Operations on the Po— Liberal Ofi^ of the Senate to Carmagnola 
—Peace, and Cesrion of Brescia and its Territoxy to the Bepublic 



iy CONTENTS. 

VAffil 

(1426) — SuspidoTis Conduct of Caimagnolur— Second War against 
Milan (1427) — ^Misbehayioiir of Cannagnolar— Battle of Macalo— 
Peace (1428) — Cession of Bergamo, the Bergamasqne, and a 
Portion of the Cremonese to Venice — Generosity of the Senate 
to Carmagnola— Venetian Government of Bergamo— Anecdote of 
Leonardo Giustiniani — Revolutions of Bologna (1270-1428) — 
Venice declines successively Bologna and Lucca — Violations of 
the Treaty of 1428, and Third War agamst Milan (1481)— Costty 
Preparations of Venice •«•••• 1 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

A J). 1481-1441. 

Stofy of Fraocesoo Carmagnola— His Treachery, his Arrest, and 
his Execution (May, 1482) — ^Favourable Results of the Change in 
the Pontifical Government (1481) — ^Peace between Venice and 
Milan (1483)— Story of Giorgio Comaro— The Doge Foscari 
tenders his Resignation, which is not Accepted (1483) — ^The 
Republic Supports Eugenius IV.— Cosimo de' Medici at Venice — 
Source of the Venetian Power— Venice addresses a Ph>test to 
Europe against the Patriarch of Aquileiar— Fourth War against 
Visconti (1434)— Fall of the Last of the Carrara (1435)— Livesti- 
ture of the Doge with the Ph>vinces of Terra-Ferma (1437) — 
Difficult Situation of the Republic — Mantuan Duplicity Chastized 
— ^The Retreat of Gattamelata — Story of the Si^e and Defence 
of Brescia — Francesco Sforza becomes Captain-General of the 
Venetian Forces (1439)— His Successes (1440)— Peace of 1441— 
Its Advantageous Character— Marriage of Jacopo Foscari, the 
Doge's Son, with Lucrezia Contarini (January, 1441) -* The 
January FStes— Marriage of Sforza with Bianca Visconti— Venice 
acquires Riva di Lago, Lonato, Vall^gio, Asola, and Peschiera — 
Embodiment of Ravenna and the Ravennate with the Venetian 
Dominions, and Extinction of the House of Polenta (1441) — 
Festivities at Venice on the Return of Peace — Sforza and his 
Bride are Invited to the Capital. . . . . .100 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

A.D. 1441-1457. 

Venetian Affidrs ftom 1441 to 1447— Venetian Policy during that 
Period— Death of Filippo-Maria (Aug. 1447)— His Person and 
Character— His Four Will»— War of the Sucoeseioa— Sforza*9 



CONTENTS. V 

Faztime»— Sfivza, Duke of Milan (March, 1460) — ^League be- 
tween Yeniee and Naples against Sfona and Florence (1452)— 
Desoltoiy Nature of Operation»— Atten^pt on the Life of ^e Duke 
under the Sanction of the Ten— Treaty of Lodi (April, 1454)— 
Conquest of Constantinople by the Turks (1453) — Treaty between 
Venice and Mohammed 11. (April, 1454) — Great Italian League 
of 1455 — ^Review of Venetian Progress and Civilization — Story of 
the Two Foflcari (1445-56)— Deposition and Death of the Doge 
(Oct.-NoT. 1457)— Foscari and his Times • • .170 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Venetian Commerce — Its -Threefold Character — Maritime Com- 
meroe — ^River, or Inland Commerce — The Canying Trade — 
Trading Caravans— Venetian Relations with Great Britain— The 
Dogate — ^Peculiar Character of the Ducal Palace — ^Privy-Purse 
Expenses, and Domestic Establishment of the Doge — ^The Corie 
Ducale, or Doge*s Court, its Attributes and Jurisdiction— The 
Excusati Del Ducato— Everyday Life of the Doge— Costume — 
Inner Life of Venice — ^Pious and Charitable Institutions — Manu* 
fictnxes — ^Brass and Iron Foundries — Bells and Organs — Tnide»^ 
State of the Iron Trade — ^Houses — Chimneys and Windows — 
Gardens — ^Dress — ^Its Religious Character— The Venetian Colour 
— ^Venetian Ladies — Gloves— Method of Eating— -Meals— Even- 
ing Amusements .••.•.. 281 



CHAPTER XXVL 

Spirit and Character of the Laws — The Statuto — ^Analysis of the 
Statuto— Laws agamst Usury and Bigamy— Law of Debtor and 
Creditor — ^Form of Procedure in Actions for Debt — ^Law of Evi- 
dence and Examination of Witnesses — ^Promission Del Malefido 
— Character of the Criminal Laws — Forgery and Coining — Theft 
and Larceny — Burglary, Rape, Adultery — Various Classes of 
Punishment — Varieties of Capital Punishment — Torture — The 
Cajatulaie Nauticum — Organization of the Early Venetian Navy 
— ^Naval Discipline— Enormous Expenditure upon the Navy- 
Venetian Police— The Chiefi of the Wards and Streets— Pecu- 
liarity of the Early Venetian Constitution— Venetian Population— 
Rent-Roll»— Value of Houses — The Funds and their Fluctuations 
— ^Venetian Names and Venetian Language — ^Traces of the Feudal 
System — ^Venetian Ser&— Their Necromantic Practices— Agricul- 
ti]ie-"Character of the Early Venetians— Medieval Venice-^His- 



Ti CONTENTa 

PAOI 

toxical AflBOciatioxi8--The Boyhood of Marco Polo— Arts and 
Sciences — Geography and Nayigation— Charts — Knowledge of 
the Magnet and its Variations — ^Mechanical Sciences — ^Hydraulics 
— Clocks — ^The Lever — Medicine — ^Doctors*— Medical Academy — 
Education — Theology — Writers on Theology — Natural Fhilo« 
sophy — ^Writers — ^The Four TrcTisani — ^Botany — Francesco Bar- 
baro, Fietro Loredano, and Carlo Zeno — Logic and Ethics — 
Geometry and Arithmetic — Schools — ^The Dead Languages — 
Poetry — ^Venetian Poets— Giovanni Quirini, the Friend of Dante 
— Reform in Venetian Poetry — Bartolomeo Giorgio — Sacred 
Poetry — Lorenzo and Leonardo Giustiniani — Qther Litenuy 
Members of the Giustiniani Family — The Venetian Drama — 
Gr^orio Corraro and his /Vcgne — Other Works of Corraro — 
The Sister-Arts— History and Music— Bibliography and Biblio* 
maniar— Saint Mark's Library-— Its Growth — ^Bequest of Cardinal 
Bessarion (1468)— And other»— Its Incorporation with the Medi* 
cean Library— Introduction of Printing (1469) — John and Vin- 
delin da Spira and Nicholas Jenson — ^The First Cicero and the 
First Pliny (1469) — ^Marino Sanudo the Elder — ^Some Account 
of his Personal History and of his Writings . . . 292 



DOCUMENTS. 



L Letter of Casnodonifl, the Fnetorian Fuefect of Theodoric» 
the Great Kingjof the Goths, to the MaTitimft Tiihimei of 

Yenioe. aj>. 523 885 

n. The Will of Fortunato, Patriarch of Giado. aj>. 825 . 886 

m. Coronation Oath of the Doge Arrigo Dandolo. a.i>. 1192 . 390 
lY. Commercial Friyil^;e8 granted to the Y enetiana hy Leo L, 
King of Armenia, at the request of the Doge Enrico Dan- 
dolo, and of the Yenetian Ambaasador, Jacopo Badoara 
Aj>. 1201 . . .... 392 

Y. Treaty between Baldwin, Count of Flanders, Thihanlt, Count 

of Champagne, and Louis, Count of Blois, on the one hand, 

and Arrigo Dandolo, Doge of Yenice, on the other, £ir the 

passsge of the Crusaders to the Holy Land . . 395 

YL Coronation Oath of the Doge Giaoomo Tiepolo. aj>. 1229 . 399 

YQ. Letter of the Emperor Rodolph of Hapsbuig to the Dqge 

Jacopo Contarini (1277) .409 

Ym. Treaty with Ancona. March, 1281 . .410 

IX. Bent-Roll of the Houses in Yenice. a.i>. 1367 .414 

X. Sumptuary Law of 1360 .... .415 

XL Commission of Antonio Bembo, Yenetian Ambassador to 

London. aj>. 1409 ..... 419 

Xn. Treaty of Peace with Mohammed II. April 18, 1454 .423 
XTTT. CommisBon of Mafieo Lioni. July 19, 1466 . 430 
XIY. Ruticulars of a Sale of Galleys by Anetimi. aj>. 1832 . 431 
XY. Frivileges granted by the Emperor of TrebisBond to the 
Yenetians, at the request of the Doge Giovanni Sonmso, 
and of the Yenetian Ambassador Fantaleone Michidi. 
AJ>. 1319 432 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



VOL. I. 

PAOI 

The Lagoons in the Middle Ages {Froniupieee) 

Venetian Fenny, probably prior to a j>. 829 . • » 90 

Facsimileof«Poge*8 Autograph' . • • • 306 

Seal of Arrigo Danddo, aj>. 1192 • • • • 444 

VOL. n. 

Map of the City in the twelfth century {FrofUUpiece) 

First Gold Ducat, a.d. 1284 335 

VOL. m. 

Portrait of Andrea Dandolo (Frontispiece) 

Venetian ship of 1366 ...... 213 

Statueof VettorePisani, A.D. 1380 .... 324 

A Companion of the Stocking ..... 382 

A Second Figure . ••.... 384 

Gold Ducat of Michde Steno ..... 448 

Column commemorating the diisgrace of Bajamonte Tiepolo, 

A.D. 1310 ••...•• 450 



VOL. IV. 

Portrait of Francesco Foscari (Frontispiece) 

Bust of Carlo Zeno . 

An Antient Doge (fourteenth centuiy) . 

An Antient Senator „ „ 

A Venetian Lady (thirteenth century) . 

Another Figure (fourteenth century) . 



14 
262 
280 

284 
284 



'Ego Ordelaf Faledro Dd gratift Dux manu meft scripsL** 



HISTORY OF VENICE. 



CHAPTER XXIL 

A.D. 1414 to A.D. 1431. 



if- 



Tommaao Mocenigo, Doge (Jan. 7, 1414) — ^Anecdote of Paolo Giuliani — 
Fidfie Policy of Venice — Council of Constance — Election of 
Martin V. (Not. 1417)— Anecdote of his Holiness— War with 
Turkey (1416) — Battle of Gallipoli — Peace with the Sultan 
(Aug. 8, 1416) — Situation of Italy — Ambition of Filippo-Maria 
Visconti — Amicable Relations between Venice, -Florence, and 
Naples — Death of Carlo Zeno (May 8, 1418) — Trayds of 
his brothos Nioolo and Antonio — Their Stay at Shetland — 
Fresh Bupture with Sigismund — Connivance of the Decem- 
yirs at an Attempt to Assassinate him (July 3, 1415) — Success of 
the Venetian Arms — ^Acquisition of Friuli, Istria, and Dalmatia 
(1418-20) — ^And of a portion of Albania-^Recovexy of Scutari and 
other points — Acquisition of Corinth (1422) — The Count of Qoricia 
becomes the Vassal of the Republic (1424) — ^Negotiations between 
Venice and Florence — Rejection by the former of the proposed 
Alliance against Filippo-Maria Visconti — ^Financial Statements of 
Mocenigo— His last Words— Death of the Doge (April 4, 1423)— 
Virtual Extinction of the Popular Assembly, and other Constitu- 
tional Changes— Election of Francesco Foscari (April 15) — ^Fes- 
tivities — Anecdote of Mocenigo — Acquisition of Thesaalonica 
(Saloniki)— The Lazaretti and Board of Health — ^Renewed Appeal 
of Florence — ^Its Rejection — SuccesslYe Defeats of the Florentines by 
the Milanese — Fresh Appeal to the Signory — Fbancbsco di 
CAmMAGROLA, his Birth and Fortunes — He Enters the Venetian 
Service — ^Negotiations with Milan on behalf of the Florentines — 
Growing Tendency to War— Speech of the Doge Foscari — League 
between Florence and the Republic (1425)— Attempt of Visconti to 

VOL. IV. 30 



2 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxu. 

avert the Paiiger— Fall of Brescia— Operations on the Po— Liberal 
Offer of the Senate to Carmagnola — ^Peace, and Cession of Brescia 
and its Territory to the Republic (1426) — Suspicious Conduct of 
Carmagnola — Second War against Milan (1427) — ^Misbehaviour of 
Carmagnola — ^Battle of Macalo — Peace (1428) — Cession of Bergamo, 
the Bergamasque, and a Portion of the Ciiemonese to Yeidce — 
Generosity of the Senate to Carmagnola — ^Venetian Crovemment of 
Bergamo — ^Anecdote of Leonardo Giustiniani—Revolutionsof Bologna 
(1270-1428) — ^Venice declines successively Bologna and Lucca — 
Yioktions of the Treaty of 1428, and Third War against Mihin 
(1431) — Costly Preparations of Venice. 

The constitutional point agitated for the first time in 
1410 in respect to the relations under certain circmn- 
stances between the Crown and the Avogaria, and 
conceded from deference to his great age, his sad 
infirmities and his extraordinary services, in &yoiir of 
Steno, was soon permanently set at rest by the inser- 
tion of a declaratory clause in the Promission, which 
restrained his successors from following a course which 
had been allowed as an indulgence in a particular 
instance. The new Doge, elected on the 7th January, 
1414, was Tommaso Mocenigo, Procurator of Saint 
Mark, and one of the diplomatists at Castelletto. His 
brother Leonardo and himself were the two sons of 
Pietro Mocenigo, a respectable senator, who also 
attained in his time the procuratorial dignity. It 
was Leonardo Mocenigo, of whom Carlo Zeno spoke 
so highly in his Modon despatch of October, 1403. 
So far back as 1379, Tommaso, then the Sopra-Comito 
of a galley, was employed by Vettore Pisani to convey 
to the Government of the day the disastrous result 
of the Battle of Pola. At the period of his election, 
Mocenigo was at Lodi on an embassy to the Emperor, 



Aj». 1414.] PAOLO GIULUNI. 3 

Twelye oratore, accompanied by a secretary, were 
appointed to invite him to Venice, where he arriyed 
on the 27th of the month. 

So much as eleven days elapsed between the decease 
of Steno and the nomination of his successor ; and 
it i^pears that this unusual delay arose from a some- 
what droll incident. At first the Forty-one had been 
inclined to ^another candidate, Paolo Giuliani, one 
of themselves, and a grave and experienced person- 
age, who had recently declined the Procuratorship ; 
and this gentleman received a certain proportion of 
votes. But it was objected to Giuliani that he was 
no speaker, and the objection having been put in 
writing was handed to him, that he might say what 
he chose in his defence. " Thank God ! my Lords," 
cried the Elector, ** that you have nothing more to 
lay to my charge than this. Now, Messer Antonio 
Veniero, when he became Doge, was even less of an 
orator than myself. But when they made him Doge, 
he learned to talk ; if you make me Doge, so will 
I ! " The conclave, however, hesitated on considera- 
tion to try the experiment, and Mocenigo obtained 
six-and-twenty suffrages. * 

Venice now seemed content to repose on her con- 
quests ; and the accession of Mocenigo promised, so 
fiur as Italian affairs were concerned, to inaugurate a 
neutral policy. The war, indeed, had left its traces 
behind it. The finances were in a totally disordered 
state. The comparatively meagre resources, which a 
' Sanudo (fol. 887). 

30— a 



4 HISTORY OF VENICE. [ciiAr. xxn. 

faulty method of taxation placed at the disposal of 
the Executive, were exhausted. It was to remedy 
these evils, that a committee was organized almost 
immediately after the truce of April, 1413, to alleviate 
the pressure imposed on the people by the extraordi- 
nary duties on many of the necessaries of life, and to 
balance the PubHc Accounts.^ 

The Council, which met at Pisa in 1409, added to 
the two existing Pontiflfs (Benedict XIII. and Gre- 
gory Xn.) a third, Alexander V. ; and the Church lost 
more than she gained by the change. Christianity 
only beheld a severer struggle and a graver scandal. 
Alexander, who was said to have been formerly a 
beggar, did not long continue, however, to wear the 
tiara: in 1410 he was replaced by John XXIII., a 
friend of Leonard Aretin, and a man of energetic 
character, but who in earlier Ufe had been a pirate.^ 
After his elevation to the Papal Chair, John drew 
still closer to Aretin, whose advice he was fond of 
asking on all weighty matters,' and he was frequently 
in consultation with him whole hours together. 

In concert with John, Sigismund, elected a few 
months later ^ to the Imperial throne at Frankfort- 
on-the-Maine, applied himself to the laudable scheme 
of healing the wounds of the Church ; and a second 
Council was appointed to meet at Constance in the 
winter of 1414. To that convocation were accredited 

' Romanin (iy. 63). 

' See, respecting this Fontiff, Arch, Star. Ital iv. 433. 

' Aretini Commentariiu tuorum Temporum (Murat ziz. 928). 

* Muratori (iliuui/t, ix. 57). 



Aj>. 1414-17.] A SCENE AT A CONGRESS. B 

the three Venetian Cardinals, Giovanni Barbarigo, 
Antonio Oondobniero and Fietro Morosini; and the 
Bepnblic pledged herself to abide reUgionsly by its 
judgment* Gregory sent one of his Cardinals and 
Giovanni Contarini, Patriarch of Constantinople. 
Benedict and John were also represented. The pro- 
ceedings were opened on the 5th November ; and they 
were of the most boisterous and unseemly character. 
Words having risen between the Archbishop of Milan 
and the Archbishop of Pisa, those two dignitaries 
sprang from their seats, closed like wild beasts, and 
nearly throttled each other.^ The confusion was scan- 
dalous; and many, trembling for their Uves, actually 
jumped out of window. The end was, that Gregory 
resigned, and that after a lengthened delay Benedict 
and John were formally deposed. It was not till 
November, 1417, that the votes of the College of 
Cardinals centred in Ottone Colonna, who chose to 
style himself Martin V.* 

Martin V. directed his exertions with unparalleled 
zeal and success to the extinction of the schism ; and 
he shewed himself a man of superior courage and 
abilities to the majority of his predecessors. Never- 
theless he had his enemies, and none more bitter 
than Braccio di Montone, Lord of Perugia. On 
one occasion/ }u» Holiness was at Florence when 
Braccio happened to pay a visit to that City; and 

' SamidoCfol. 911). 

* Muntori (Ann. ix. 841); Delia UobhitLiVUadiBartohmmeo Valori; 
Arch. Sior. Ital. iv. 263). 
' Muratori (uc. 103). 



6 mSTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxxu 

the following of the Lord of Perugia exhibited their 
rancour and ingenuity by composing ballads in praise 
of their master, and in disparagement of the Pontiff, 
which were sung by the Uttle boys in the streets. One 
of the ballads began : — 

^^ Braodo ralente 
Che Tince ogni gente : 
Papa Martino 
Non Tale un qaattrino." ^ 

The Signory was not suffered to preserve for any 
length of time her pacific attitude. The constant 
colUsions between her Mediterranean feudatories and 
the Turks, in which the former, from an intemperate 
and intolerant zeal, were as often the aggressors as 
otherwise, compelled her reluctantly to measure her 
strength for the first time with the naral forces of 
the Sultan, with whom indeed she was at peace. In 
the early part of 1416, a powerful, though small fleet 
was fitted out with this view. It was considered, 
that the War had arisen from the indiscreet ardour 
of the Colonies, and that the Colomes might therefore 
be fairly asked to contribute to its expenses. Venice 
herself gave fire galleys : the remainder were frimished 
by Candia, Negropont, Andros, Corfu ; and the com- 
mand of the Squadron, reaching in the aggregate 

' See also J. A. Campanus, Vita Brachii Penuini (Muiat xix. 566). 
Campanua gives two of the lines in a Latin Yezsion of his own, as I 
suspect:^ 

^* Brachius invictus onmem debeUat gentem ; 
Papa Martinus non valet quadrantem.** 

DeUa Robbia (Vita di Sariolommeo Vatari^ Arch. Stor. Bai. iv. 266). 
and Leonard! Aretini Rerum sua Tempore (137S-1440) getktrum Com" 
mentttriua (Murat. ziz. 931). 



AJ>. 1416.] LOREDANO AT GALUPOU. 7 

fifteen sail^ was confided to Pietro Loredano, an officer 
of great promise, with the title of Captain-Qeneral 
and with a Staff of four ProTeditors. The instractions 
of Loredano were to avoid an encounter, until he had 
eome to a parley with the Turk, and had endeayoured 
to arrange the difficulty in an amicable manner/ The 
fleet was detained at Tenedos by contrary winds till 
the 24th May, 1416. On the 26th, it reached the 
Dardanelles, and on the following day the Captain- 
General found himself within ten miles of Gallipoli. 
On the morning of the 28th, at sunrise, he was 
proceeding to reconnoitre that place» wh^ thirty-two 
Tessels debouched firom the Port. A conference between 
the two commanders succeeded, and the negotiation 
was progressing fayourably, when the chase of a Gtenpese 
galley, which the Turks mistook for one of their own, 
by a Venetian, brought it to an abrupt close (May 29). 
The Turkish Admiral, CiaU-Beg, had the adyantage of 
numbers, and he therefore gaye battle with confidence* 
The conflict occupied seyeral hours. The Moham- 
medans, with whom were many Catalans, Sicilians^ 
Proyen^als, and Candiots, fought with desperate re- 
solution. But they were thoroughly beaten, and 
sustained a heayy loss. The Venetian figures were 

' Letter of P, Loredano to the Doge, June 2, 1416 (Murat. xxii. 
901-9). The s«me year was ftmous for the great battle between the 
Eiylidi and the Genoese fighting under French colours off the coast of 
France. " Also in the iiii. yere of Kynge Henrye (V.) the Duke of Bedforde 
and the Erie of Marche had a great battell upon the see with a flote of 
Januaya, and the Englyeshsmen had the victoiye, and toke iii. of the 
greattest of theyr caryckes.*"— Rastell*8 Chronicle, 1529, p. 250. See also 
Nicolas {Hist, of the Navy, ii. 420). 



8 UISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

S40 wounded more or less severely, and twelve killed. 
^'By the galley of my brother, Ser Giorgio Loredano/' 
writes the Captain in a Beport which he addresses to 
the Doge from Tenedos, under date of the 2nd June, 
** were captured four galleys of twenty-two banks of 
oars, and two of twenty only. By Ser Jacopo Bar- 
barigo were taken two, one of twenty-three, the other 
of nineteen banks, in all of which were Catalans, 
Sicilians, and other renegades, of whom the greater 
part had been already cut to pieces in the battle. 
The residue I have treated similarly, and the Comiti 
also I put to the sword, so that the Tur^ have no 
more captains ; and among them was Georgius Calergi 
of Candia, a rebel, whom I caused to be cut to pieces 
on the poop of my galley, which punishment will be 
a warning to these caitiff Christians not to take pay 
from these infidels ! " Loredano inclosed in his 
despatch a letter from the Sultan, which he had 
ordered to be translated from Greek into Latin, and 
he begged his Serenity to send him money to pay 
his men, as well as gunpowder and bomb-stones, of 
all of which he was sadly in want. 

The vessel which conveyed the Beport of Loredano 
started from Tenedos on the 2nd June,^ reached 
Modon on the 19th, and arrived at its destination 
on the 80th, after a passage of eight-and-twenty days» 
The intelligence was of momentous interest. The 
check which had thus been given to the arms of the 
Crescent was the second, which they had received 

> Sanudo (fol. 901). 



Aa>. 1416-19.] PEACE WITH TURKEY. 9 

since the beginning of the century ; and the Venetian 
Government wrote to all the leading European Powers, 
apprising them of the glorious victory of GallipoU. 

On the 8th August following, the first prelimi- 
naries of peace between Turkey and the Signory were 
arranged ; but the conclusion of a definite treaty was 
an operation which lingered over several years.* The 
final result was extremely advantageous to the Vene- 
tians. The interests of their commerce were greatly 
promoted. Additional guarantees for its security j^ere 
conceded by the Sultan. The BepubUc was left at 
liberty to clear the Dardanelles and the Archipelago of 
the Turkish corsairs, who infested those waters. The 
prisoners were exchanged (1416-19) . 

At the same time, the condition of Italy was be- 
coming more and more favourable to any ulterior 
projects of annexation or territorial extension, which 
Venice might entertain. Various in their character, 
but all terrible, were the revolutions, which shook the 
Peninsula from one extremity to .the other; and a 
principle of absorption was again in active operation, 
fatal to the independent existence of those petty States 
to which the death of the Count of Vertus in 1402, or 
other causes, had afforded a transient enjoyment of 
freedom and importance. Of so many boroughs and 
municipalities, which had flourished in the preceding 
century, four only retained their glory and their power 
— ^Venice, Milan, Florence, and Naples. 

The fortunes of the House of Visconti were now 

' Romanin (iv. 74-5). 



10 HISTOBT OP VENICE. [chap. xm. 

watched with deep interest and anxiety by Italy and 
the world. Of the three children of Giovanni-Galeazzo, 
one alone, Filippo-Maria, now remained. Gabriello 
sold Pisa to the Florentines in 1406/ and perished at 
Genoa in 1408. In 1412, Giovanni-Maria, the eldest, 
was assassinated by Filippo. The latter, who thns 
succeeded to the whole patrimony, joined less than his 
fE^ther's astuteness and force of character to all his 
callousness, all his dread of the touch of cold steel or 
the sight of a red coat, and all his ambition. The 
object, which the Duke of Milan proposed to himself, 
was the recovery of the various cities which had been 
wrested from his family during the Begency, and the 
restoration of the Milanese empire to its pristine gran- 
deur. At Cesena, at Rimini, at Pesaro, at Bergamo, 
at Brescia, Filippo-Maria beheld a Malatesta wielding 
the sovereignty. Parma, Beggio, and Modena were 
incorporated with the estates of the House of Este. 
Florence had annexed Pisa, and menaced the Luc- 
chese. Bologna belonged to the Church. Siena 
acknowledged no yoke. The master of Crema was a 
Benzoni; of Lodi, a Vignate;* of Cremona, a Fon- 
dulo. The Arcelli were Lords of Piacenza ; Andrea 
Braccio di Montone was Lord of Perugia. Lastly, 
Padua, Verona, Yicenza, Feltre, Belluno, belonged to 

* Set CapUoli delT Acquisto di Pisa dai FiorenUni nel 1406: Arch. 
Star, Ital vi. part. 2 ; MaUhm Palmerii FhretUini de CapHvitate Pisa- 
runiy sen de Bella contra Pisas a Florentinis gesto anno 1406, Coni' 
mentarius. Marat, xix. 

''^ II Conte Francesco di Carmagnola^ Memorie Storico-Critiche, con 
Document Inediti^ da Francesco Berlan Veneziano : Torino, 1855; 
Cagnola iStoria di Milano ; Arch. Stor. Ital. iii. 29). 



Aa». 1414-16.] PUJPPO-MARIA VISCONTI. 11 

Venice. To win back gradually these dismembered 
poBsesedons, was the aim of the Duke; and his insa« 
tiable thirst for power and dominion soon renewed the 
apprehensions which at the death of his father had 
momentarily subsided. 

The narrow jealousy reigning among the numerous 
towns, which had thus secured for themselres an 
ephemeral independence, was admirably &yourable to 
the gigantic projects of FUippo-Maria, whose agents 
studiously fomented their dissensions. Another cause, 
which conlaibuted to a similar result, lay in the enter- 
prising character and military genius of the Lord of 
Perugia. By continual aggressions upon his neigh- 
bours and by ceaseless quarrels with the Malatesti, 
Bracdo weakened both himself and his enemies, 
and played into the hands of an enemy far more 
formidable. 

Happily for the Malatesti and other minor States of 
the like origin, a Power even greater than Milan was 
at present interested in their preservation. Conscious 
of the dangerous character of the Duke on the one 
hand, and aware of the hostile intentions of Sigismund 
on the other, the Venetians addressed themselves with 
energy to the creation of a barrier against the former, 
who was, at all events, the less pressing; and in 
December, 1414, an aUiance was negotiated, under 
their auspices and guarantee, between Fihppo-Maria 
and the petty Lombard Princes. With Florence the 
Signoiy was on sufficiently amicable terms; and in 
July, 1416, a defensive treaty was concluded by the 



12 HISTORY OF VEXICE. [ciiAr. xxir. 

Doge with Joan II. of Naples. These measures left 
Venice in an infinitely better position to cope with 
Sigismund, and to carry out the ambitious designs 
which, notwithstanding the earnest dissuasion of a 
certain party in her Councils, she still persisted in 
cherishing. 

Several efforts had been made, during some years 
passed, without result to induce Sigismund to Usten to 
a compromise; and the Bepublic even undertook to 
hold Dahnatia by a nominal tribute of 7,000 ducats. 
It appears that in July, 1415, a proposition was con- 
veyed to the Ten, by whom the diplomatic arrange- 
ments were being superintended, on the part of some 
fellow whose name has not survived, to despatch tlie 
Emperor and the two Scaligers by poison, and that 
the Council had the baseness, not uncommon in those 
days, nor unknown to later times, to countenance the 
attempt. But the attempt did not succeed.* War 
became inevitable. 

The RepubUc, continually menaced by Sigismund, 
and compelled to number among contingencies a new 
war in the Frioul, had long felt an ardent desire to 
strengthen herself on the threatened points. With 
such an object in view, she had been negotiating with 
the Captain of Trento and the Court of Vienna itself, 
which was at present on cool terms with his Majesty, 
since the summer of 1415, for the cession, among 
other places, of Boveredo, a stronghold on the east side 
of the Adige, ten miles south of Trento. The Lord 

' Ronianin (iv. 77). 



A.i>. 141G-18.] VENICE DESPOILS AUSTRIA. 13 

of Roveredo, Aldrigetto di Lizana, had been formerly 
under Venetian protection ; but, subsequently espousing 
the cause of Sigismund, he had afforded shelter to the 
outlawed or rebel subjects of the Signory, had impeded 
the navigation of the river, which flowed through his 
lands, by the levy of arbitrary dues, and had per- 
petrated other grave infractions of international right. 
Reprisal was at length made on the offender by the 
sack of portions of his territory (1416) ; he was finally 
obliged to seek the intercession of the Duke of Austria ; 
and through that channel an arrangement was con- 
cluded, by which the Castle was consigned, during a 
certain period, to the Venetians as a material gua- 
rantee. Lizana, however, broke faith shortly after- 
ward by intriguing with the Emperor against Venice ; 
and the Government of the Doge, armed with this 
ample pretext, at once entered into complete posses- 
sion of the fortress, and (August 23, 1418^) set a price 
upon the head of Aldrigetto. 

Meanwhile, an occurrence of a very different com- 
plexion threw the Venetian capital into mourning, and 
saddened the heart of every one who bore the Venetian 
name throughout the world. On the 8th May, 1418, 
in his 84th year, died one of the most illustrious men 
whom the Repubhc had yet produced. Outliving by 
eight-and-thirty years Pisani, his companion in arms 
and partner in glory, Cablo Zeno survived to witness 
the resurrection of Venetian freedom and the apparent 
approach to its zenith of Venetian greatness. His 

* Romanin (iv. 73). 



14 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxu. 

exequies, like those of Pisani, were attended by the 
Doge, the Privy Council, the Ten, and all the other 
great officers of State ; and the weatiier-beaten 
veterans, who had fought under him in a hundred 
battles, and who had bled with him at Zonchio, were 
the carriers of his bier. All Venice poured forth to 
behold with moistened eyes the committal to the earth 
of the perishable remains of the great soldier, of that 
poor human tenement, where many an arrow and bullet 
had left their trace in forty scars ; and a declamatory 
but eloquent oration was pronounced over the grave of 
Zeno by his friend Leonardo Giustiniani. 

Since his release from confinement in 1407, Zeno 
had passed his time chiefly at Venice, in contemplative 
seclusion and the society of learned persons. The 
relish which this gifted and truly admirable man had 
imbibed in his boyhood for the pursuits of literature, 
his conversance with the classics, both Latin and 
Greek, and his proficiency in several branches of 
science, were exceeded only by his transcendent genius 
as a general, as a naval commander, and as a diplo- 
matist. He was one of those spirits, rare in any age, 
especially rare in one when Uberal knowledge was 
sparsely diffused, and in a profession from which such 
knowledge was too often accounted alien, who aimed 
at something beyond the mastery of mathematics and 
trigonometry. It is alleged by his descendant. Pier 
Angelo Zeno, that the hero left behind him a col- 
lection of his speeches on various occasions.* His 

I Memorie, 1662, 12^ in voce Zeno. 




CARLO ZENO. 
B. 1334 : D. 1418. 



{From Vita Caboli Zesi : Murat XIX.) 



AJ>. 1418.] THE TWO ZENI. 16 

nephew and biographer,^ the Bishop of Feltre and 
Bellono, says that his ancestor preserved his eyesight 
to the last day of his life, and *^ never wore spectacles/' 
The fortunes of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, the 
brothers of Carlo, were remarkable. After the War of 
Chioggia, the former equipped a vessel, and embarked 
on a voyage of discovery round the French and English 
coasts. But having been overtaken by a tempest, he 
was thrown upon one of the Shetland Isles, where he 
was hospitably received by a local potentate, whom he 
calls Zimchni.^ Prince Zimchni invited his guest to 
remain with him ; and the Venetian was subsequently 
joined by his brother. Antonio, however, did not 
long outHve his arrival in Shetland. After his death, 
Nicolo remained in the service of the Prince; and, 
treading in the footsteps of the Norman pioneers, he 
extended his explorations westward so far as New- 
foundland. Zeno saw Iceland and Greenland, and 
touched the eastern point of Labrador. It was in the 
winter season that he reached Newfoundland (Terra- 
Nw>f^) ; and in the spring he had proposed to pursue 
his travels. But his crew mutinied, and he was obliged 
to abandon his plan. A chart of the route which 
Nicolo Zeno took was prepared by the two brothers, in 
all likelihood before their departure ; and so recently 
as the sixteenth century, at least, this precious relic 
was in existence. In 1558, it was published by 



* Jacobus Zeniu (Fite C. Z. ; Munt. ziz.) 

' Caterino Zeno, Dello Scoprimento del Jiole Frialande^ jrc, da due 
Fratelli Zeni (at the end of the Viaggi in Fersia : 1558, S""). 



16 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

Caterino Zeno, in an appendix to his own " Travels in 
Persia ; " and it bears date 1380. It mnst be feared, 
that the origmal has now been irrecoverably lost. 

In the same year in which Zeno died, a new Hnnga- 
rian army entered the Frioul. Two distinct political 
parties now divided that Proyince. One, headed by 
Tristano Savorgnano of Udine, fiekvonred the Venetians. 
The other, led by the Patriarch of Aqnileia, a German, 
supported the Imperial canse. It was the aim of the 
Signoiy to localize the War, and by the rapidity of 
her movements to preclude the enemy from advancing 
into the Trevisan. In this object she succeeded ; and 
the Aquileian territory was violated indeed, before the 
five years' truce of April, 1413, had quite expired. 
The Venetian forces were again intrusted to Pandolfo 
Malatesta, under whom served Savorgnano, Filippo Ar- 
celli of Piacenza, and several other renowned captains. 

It was difficult, after all, to know how the Bepublic 
could have embarked in her fresh struggle against the 
Emperor at a more fortunate moment or under brighter 
auspices. Sigismund, in truth, was thrown completely 
out of his calculations. His attention was unexpect- 
edly diverted from Italian affairs to those of Germany, 
The Hussites were convulsing Bohemia. The Turks 
were invading the Hungarian frontier. He was obliged 
to employ in those two provinces the troops, which he 
had hoped to be able to concentrate in the Frioul; 
and the path which lay before the Signory was conse- 
quently smooth enough. The rebelUon of the Bohemian 
heretics and the difficulties in Hungary were concurrent 



A.D. 1418-20.] THE PROGRESS OF CONQUEST. 17 

circumstances of a sufficiently striking character to 
justify a suspicion that some secret collusion existed 
between the Sultan and the Govemment of Mocenigo, 
and that some broad pieces of Venetian coinage found 
their way to Prague. 

The embarrassment of Sigismund was so unequivocal 
that that Prince even now evinced a disposition to treat ; 
and the Signorjr renewed (October — ^November, 1418) 
her offer of 7,000 ducats a year as a tribute for Dal- 
matian But his Majesty, embittered, perhaps, against 
the Venetians by the recollections of 1415, and insti- 
gated by his minion De Tech, the German patriarch 
of Aquileia, remained stubbornly impracticable ; and 
Malatesta opened hostilities without farther delay. 

A series of triumphs such as she had never yet 
known was in store for the Bepublic. The Patriarch 
of Aquileia, Louis de Tech, whom the Court of Ger- 
many had elected in 1408 to the prejudice of Antonio 
Panciera,* a Churchman of Venetian sympathies, was 
her sole opponent; and the resistance of De Tech 
was promptly crushed. Sacile surrendered* The 
example was imitated by Cividale, Prata, Portogruaro, 
and other places. Arcelli rendered himself master 
(April — May, 1420) of Feltre and Belluno, beating 
the troops of Sigismund from all their positions. On 
the 19th June, Udine capitulated ; and this important 
event prepared the way to other conquests. On the 

* Dei huoni uffizi delta Repubblica di Venezia afavore del Cardinale 
Antonio Pondera^ Patriarca d'AquUeia, Studio Storico sopro documenti 
inediti (di Evgenio Bono) : Venezia, 1857, 8^. 

VOL. IV. 81 



18 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

5th Angnst, Aquileia saccumbed, and De Tech was 
bitterly hmniliated. It was in Yain that the Holy 
See attempted to intercede for the fallen Chnrchman. 
The Venetian Senate replied, " that if the expenses of 
the war were paid by the Patriarch, the Province 
should be restored." De Tech was ultimately con- 
strained to accept an annuity of 8,600 ducats, with 
a limited jurisdiction over the City of Aquileia and 
the small domains of San Daniello and San Yito ; ^ 
and the district was saved from pillage by the payment 
of a black-mail of 80,000 ducats. 

In the wake of these achievements followed the 
recovery of Istria and Dahnatia. On the 12th May, 
1^20,' the Hero of Gallipoli, Pietro Loredano, again 
commissioned as Captain-General, sailed from Venice 
with a squadron of fifteen galleys, and received the sub- 
mission of Ahnissa, Brassa, Lesina, Curzola, Spalatro, 
and Budua (May — September, 1420) « Oattaro also 
tendered its allegiance, on the understanding that its 
transfer by the Eepublic to any other Power would 
be tantamount to a dissolution of the mutual tie.' 
At Trau, a vigorous defence was offered by the Hun- 
garian garrison, but that place was finally reduced 
on the 27th June, a week later than the cession of 
Udine. 

At the same time, the Signory carried her* uncon- 

' Muratori (Annali, ix. 107). See also Sanudo (fol. 933 and 939). 
' Bomanin (iv. 85). 

' Dupr6 {Essai Hutarique et Commercial sur let bouckee de Cattaro) 
quoted by Dani (ii. 278). 
« Sanudo (fol. 938). 



AJ>. 1420.] THE FROGBESS OF CONQUEST. 19 

querable and paralyiBng amis into Albania, and regained 
Scntari, Driyasto, Dnlcigna, Antiyari, and other points 
along that littoral, which the Emperor yainly sought 
to wrest from her grasp.^ In 1422, Centurion Zaccaria, 
Lord of Corinthi ceded that beautiful city and highly 
yaluable position to Venice. Lastiy, in 1424, the 
Count of Ooricia, oyerawed by the prodigious result 
of the war, consented to become the yassal of the 
Bepublic, 

Thus hardly half a century had passed since the 
Treaty of Turin, and the Venetians found themselyes, 
by what might ahnost seem a caprice of fortune, yet 
which was to a large extent the force of their oyer- 
mastenng energy and adyanced ciyilization, the rulers 
of Padua, Verona, Vicenza and its adjuncts, Treyiso, 
the Frioul, Istria, Cadore, Dalmatia, a portion of 
Albania, some of the Ionian Islands, and Candia. 

In the late war, the Bepublic lost one of her Gene- 
rals, FiUppo Arcelli, Lord of Piacenza. His death was 
deeply regretted. He was a braye soldier, and a 
master of his profession. But he is said to haye 
been an ill-Uyer and outrageously addicted to profane 
swearing. Some years before, when Fiacenza was 
taken by the Lieutenant of the Duke of Milan, Arcelli, 
finding himself unable to make any farther resistance, 
fled to Padua, where he was seized by illness. Imaguiing 
that he was on the point of death, he exclaimed on one 
occasion — "Alas me! I bequeath my body to the 
Venetians, my property to my children, and my soul 

' Muratori (Ann, iz. 107). 

81— « 



20 mSTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. xxii. 

to the Devil of Hell ! " ^ A grimmer and more insane 
blasphemy it is hard to conceiye. 

The constitution of the Frioul, which was abready 
composed of three distinct estates — ^the City of Udine, 
the Parliament, and the Contadinanza* — and which 
appeared sufficiently well adapted to the wants of the 
Province, did not suflTer any change under the Venetian 
sway beyond that which the Statutes of Terona and 
the other Lombard conquests had undergone. The 
Republic confirmed the Statutes, left all civil juris- 
diction to her new subjects, and preserved in its full 
integrity their administrative system, so far as it 
affected details of fiscal economy. To herself she 
reserved the faculty of appointing a Lieutenant, control 
over the prosecutions in criminal cases, and appellate, 
power in the last resort. 

The proceedings relative to the appointment of a 
Lieutenant of the Frioul took place in the Pregadi on 
the 20th June, 1420.* It was proposed by Giovanni 
Navagiero, one of the Privy Council, that the new 
functionary should be elected by four hands, that his 
salaty should b^ 1,500 ducats, that he should have 
a deputy at 100 a month, and should be required 
to keep twelve servants and twelve horses. The motion 
of Navagiero was carried without amendment ; but it 
was not found easy to persuade any one to accept a 

' Cagnola (^Stor. di Milano^ lib. ii. ; Arch, Star, ItaL iii.) 

* Sandi (iStorta, lib. vi. cap. 5). The CaruHhtiioni del Patria de 

Fritde : Udine, 1484, 4^, is said to have been the first book printed in 

the Frioul. 
' Sanudo (fol. 934). 



AJ>. 1420.] CONSTITUTION OF THE FRIOlJL. 21 

post which seemed to involye great responsibility 
without corresponding emolument. Fantino Michieli 
was chosen in the first instance, but declined. The 
next was Albano Badoer; Badoer also excused himself. 
The third person who was named, however, was more 
amenable. It was Roberto Morosini.^ 

In Udine itself, the Nobles and the People formed 
two Councils, the Greater Council and the Convocation^ 
which managed conjointly all internal afifairs, nomi- 
nated to all subordinate posts under Govemment, 
and deliberated on concerns coming within their 
cognizance. 

The Greater Council consisted of 154 Nobles and 
eighty Commoners (popolani)^ who sat on separate 
benches and balloted separately ; the Councillors held 
their seats for life ; no family was permitted to send 
more than one representative; and members were 
not qualified, until they had reached their thirtieth 
year, and unless they were residents of Udine. 

The Convocation, or Minor Council^ counted fifteen 
Nobles and two popolani ; and its functions were execu- 
tive. Subsequently to the embodiment of the Frioul 
with the Venetian dominions, its weight was greatly 
increased by the presence of the Lieutenant, who 
became its President, and took the chair at evety 
sitting. 

The Parliament was the general Legislative Body 
for the whole Province. Upon its benches sat the 
Archbishops, Bishops, and other clerical dignitaries 

' Sandi (lib. yi. cap. 5), 



22 HISTORT OF VENICE. [chap. xni. 

representing the Chnrch^ the Castellans in the feudal 
interest, and the Delegates of the Cities. The Parlia- 
ment was viewed as the High Court of Judicature, 
hoth in civil and criminal pleas. But an appeal lay 
from its decisions to the Lieutenant, and from the 
Lieutenant in certain cases to the Signory. In short, 
it is easy to perceive how, under the semblance of 
extreme moderation, the College grasped with an 
extremely firm and tight hand the reins of govern- 
ment in the Frioul. 

Thirdly, the Contadinanza (corpo villatico) repre- 
sented all the towns, which contributed to the central 
exchequer of Udine. It was composed of eight Syndics, 
who were elected by the urban deputies in the presence 
of the governor of each district.* 

Filippo-Maria Visconti was now recovering by rapid 
strides the vast dominions of his father. His prodi- 
gality and the genius of his general, Francesco Bus- 
sone,* carried all before them. Monza, Como, Lodi, 
Trezzo, Martenengo, and many other places,' fell suc- 
cessively into his hands. Piacenza cost hiTn 7,000 
ducats; Brescia, 80,000. By his marriage with 
Beatrice Tenda, widow and heiress of Facino Cane, he 
acquired Alessandria, Pavia, and Novara.* 

In a gallant defence which he made at Piacenza, 
Filippo Arcelli had sought or accepted the assistance 



* Sandi (lib. yi. cap. 5). 

' Memorie Sionco-CHHche di Carmagnola, p. 9. 

• Mnratori (Arm. ix. 89, 127).' 
« Ibid. iAnnali, iz. 19, 27, 61). 



AJ>. 1420-2.] DANGEROUS AMBITION OF MILAN. 23 

of the Genoese. Than this circmnstance Yisconti 
could desire no better pretext for directing his arms 
against that Power, newly released from the tyranny 
of Boncicault; Carmagnola marched npon Genoa; 
and after a spasm of liberty, the Bepublic relapsed 
into servitude on the 2nd November, 1421. The 
Doge or Governor, Tommaso Campo-Pregoso, who 
had connived at the project, was suffered for the 
present to retam the petty sovereignty of Sarzana, 
and received 80,000 florins for his services. At the 
same time, the Duke purchased of his brother Spineta 
Pregoso for a moiety of the amount the City of 
Savona. ^ 

Of all the great Italian States, Florence had the 
clearest and strongest grounds for dreading this reflux 
of Milanese conquest. Naples, rent by the contest 
for the succession between the rival Houses of Arragon 
and Anjou, was too much occupied by her own affairs 
to take any deep or useful interest in Italian politics. 
Venice herself, although she was equally distrustful of 
the Duke, entertained no immediate apprehensions 
from that source, and resisted all the efforts which 
were made to mduce her to come to an open rupture 
with Pilippo-Maria. The Bepublic was at present 
indeed more solicitous of courting his alliance against 
Sigismund than of converting him into an enemy who 
might coalesce with the Emperor against herself; and 
in the February of 1422, Visconti having yielded to 
the Signory certain points on which she insisted, a 

S . .11 

> Mnratori iArmali, iz. 107). 



24 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

defensive alliance for ten years ^ was concluded between 
the Powers. 

But whatever his ulterior plans might be, Filippo- 
Maria was not yet prepared to make any overt attack 
on the liberties of Tuscany. His Lombard schemes 
were engrossing his attention ; and it suited his con- 
venience to disguise the cordial grudge, which he 
nourished toward the country of the Medici for the 
purchase of Leghorn from the Genoese.* So lately 
as 1420 (February 8^), the Florentines, cajoled by 
his specious professions of justice, amity, and modera- 
tion, had become parties to a time-serving treaty with 
that consummate hypocrite. 

The acquisition of Genoa and Savona in 1421, and 
of ForH in 1422, soon awakened the Florentines from 
their momentary dream of security. They demanded 
of the Duke by letter an explanation of his purpose ; 
but nothing beyond shuffling protests of friendship, 
and a vague ofifer to submit to the arbitration of the 
Pope and the Signoiy, could be elicited from a dis- 
sembler, in comparison with whom the Count of Vertus 
was an upright and unsophisticated politician. The 
efifort was renewed. An embassy, consisting of Bar- 
tolomeo Yalori and Nello da San Geminiano, both 
citizens of high standing, was sent to Milan. But, 
from a report that the pestilence had manifested itself 
in the locality from which they came, permission was 

* Romanin (iv. 88). 

• Diedo (Stor, di Venezia, lib. ix.) 

' Istorie di Fircnze ananime^ 140^8 (Murat xix. 965). 



A.©. 1422.] FLORENTrSTE APPEALS TO VENICE. 25 

denied to Yalori and his colleague to enter Milan; 
and the delegates consequently returned home, having 
declined, out of regard to the dignity of their City,* 
to transact business with the Secretary, whom the 
Duke had despatched to meet them with that object. 
At the same time, the Government of Florence con- 
ceived the situation of affairs to be so critical, that it 
secretly requested the Marquis of Mantua to intimate 
to the Doge on its behalf its desire to enter into a 
defensive league with the Signoty (May 17, 1422). 
His Serenity replied that the matter was assuredly of 
the utmost gravity, and that he would lay the papers 
before the Senate. But the Florentines, observing no 
progress made toward a decision, solicited an answer. 
Mocenigo stated thereupon that if they were really 
desirous of adopting such a step, he would accredit 
some person clothed with suitable powers to treat. 

A second pause ensued. At last, on the 30th 
March, 1423, a despatch arrived, of which the sub* 
stance was that, as the Florentines understood the 
confederacy of February, 1422, between Venice and 
Milan to have had principally in view the hostile 
attitude of the Emperor, they might tender their 
mediation, and thus supersede the necessity for the 
alliance. 

The question was carried to the Fregadi; and the 
Doge, though severely indisposed, harangued that Body 
at some length in the interest of peace. His chief 
opponent and the leading advocate of the Florentine 

> DeQa Robbia iVUa di Valoris Arch. Star. Ital iv. 272). 



26 mSTORT OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

proposition was Francesco Foscari, Procurator of Saint 
Mark, and a distingnished diplomatist. It was against 
Foscari that Mocenigo directed a portion of his 
argument. 

"Young Procurator," began his Serenity, addressing 
Foscari, whose years he was apt, as one who remem- 
bered him as a child, to overlook, "what happened 
to Troy, will happen to Florence, and will happen to 
you. By wars the Trojans were weakened and en- 
slaved; by wars Florence is destroying herself, and 
we shall do the like, if we take counsel with our young 
Procurator. It is to the arts of peace that our City 
owes all her prosperity ; it is to them that she is in- 
debted for her riches, the increase of her population, 
and her houses. Pisa aggrandized herself by similar 
means, and by her good government. She plunged 
into war, impoverished herself, was lost. So it will 
be with us, if we listen to our young Procurator. Let 
me recommend you, Ser Francesco, not to come to 
hasty conclusions on this matter. Bemember that 
Florence is not the Port of Venice, either by land or 
water: for her sea is removed from our boundaries 
five days' journey. Our Passes are the Veronese. 
The Duke of Milan is the Prince whose territory is 
contiguous to our own ; and he must be kept in check, 
since it is scarcely a day's march to his City of Brescia, 
which lies close to Verona and Cremona. Genoa, 
again, has sufficient maritime power under the Ducal 
rule to do us harm ; with her we should endeavour 
to stand well ; and if the Genoese are guilty of any 



AJ>. 1428.3 MOCENIGO*S ORATIONS. 27 

excesses^ we shall have jnstioe on our sidoi and we can 
defend ourselves with faimesSi both agamst them and 
the Doke. The monntains of the Veronese are our 
barrier against Yisconti. 

" If the Duke should get Florence, the Florentines, who 
are accustomed to Bepublican institutions, will evacuate 
their City dovhtUsSy will emigrate hither, and will bring 
with them their trade in silk and wool, so that that 
coxmtry will remam destitute of industrial resources : 
while Venice, on the contrary, wiU multiply and thrive, 
just as it happened in the case of Lucca, when that 
citizen (Castruccio) made himself master there. The 
trade of Lucca and her wealth were transferred to 
Venice, and Lucca became poor and thinly populated. 
Therefore preserve peace. 

" Ser Francesco, I pray you resolve me this. Sup- 
pose you had a garden, which was furnishing suste- 
nance to 600 persons and to spare, and which cost 
you nothing ; and suppose again, that robbers were to 
threaten this garden, and you in its defence were 
obliged to hire so many men with the gold which 
you had collected in your coffers! Is not our case, 
then, parallel ? By virtue of a resolution passed in 
Oouncil, we have ascertamed the extent of our com- 
merce at the present period : — 

Dncats. 

Every week we recdye from Milaii, fbr our 

goods, between 17,000 and 18,000 ducats^ 

which amount by the year to . . 900,000 

FromMonza . . 1,000 . . 52,000 

Como, . . 2,000 . . . 104,000 



Gained forward « , , 1,056,000 



28 



HISTORY OP VENICE, [cnAP.xxn, 






Ducats. 


Brought 


forward 


1,056,000 


From Alessandria 


1,000 


• 52,000 


Tortona and NoTara 2,000 


. 104,000 


Favia 


2,000 


• 104,000 


Cremona, • 


2,000 


. 104,000 


Bergamo, • 


1,600 


. 78,000 


Parma • 


2,000 


. 104,000 




1,000 


. 52,000 



1,654,000 

Onr Bankers report that, on the whole, the Milanese 
pay US annually 1,612,000 ducats. Prythee, teU me, 
if you do not think that this is a fine and noble 
garden, which costs Venice nothing ! 
<^ Again: — 



Tortona and Norara employ every year 6,000 
pieces of our doth, at 15 ducats the piece, 
which make 

Pavia . . 3,000 pieces at 15 ducats 



Milan . . 4,000 


t9 


30 


Como . 12,000 


» 


15 


Monza. . 6,000 


f» 


15 


Brescia . 5,000 


»f 


15 


Bergamo 10,000 


<f 


7 


Cremona 4,000 


n 


4* 


Parma . 4,000 


n 


15 



Ducats. 



90,000 
45,000 
120,000 
180,000 
90,000 
75,000 
70,000 
17,000 
60,000 



90,000 900,000 

'^ In the aggregate, the commerce with Lomhardy 
alone is worth 28,800,000 ducats a year. Tell me, 
if you do not think that Venice has here a veiy fine 
garden indeed ! 



MoreoTcr, the Canepitu^ represent 
Ck)ttons 

Carried forward 



Ducats. 
100,000 
280,000 

380,000 



' I understand this word to signify pieces of hemp, or perhaps 
sailcloth. See Ducange in voce Canebrinus. 



AJ>. 1423.] MOCENIGO'S STATEMENT. 29 

Ducats. 

Brought forward . . 380,000 

French and Catalan wools • . . 240,000 

Cloths of gold and silk .... 250,000 

Pepper ...... 300,000 

Sugar-canes ..... 64,000 

Sugar ...... 95,000 

Ginger ...... 8,000 

Green ginger . • . . • — 

Other miscellaneous articles . . 30,000 

Brazil-wood ..... 120,000 

Cochineal and JSndlacAt * .... 50,000 

Soap 250,000 

Slaves ...... 30,000 

Freights, &c., at 2| and 3 per cent. . . 600,000 

2,571,000 
[And this is ezdusiTely of the salt which is sold 
every year ..... 1,000,000] 

3,571,000 

" Such is the produce of your garden. Shall we 
destroy it ? By no means. 

Every year Verona hnys of cloths of gold, silver or silk, 200 pieces. 

Yicenza 120 

Padua . . . . .200 

Treviso . . . . .120 

TheFrioul . . . .50 

Fdtre and Cividal di Belluno , . 12 

702 

''In our time, we have seen Giovanni-Galeazzo, 
Duke of Milan, who conquered all Lombardy, save 
FlorencCi the Bomagna, and the Campagna di Boma, 
reduced to such straits by his expenses that he was 
obliged to remam quiet during five years ; and it was 
with much ado then that he paid his troops. So it 
happens to all. If you preserve peace, you will amass 
so much money, that all the world will hold you in 

' A species of logwood. 



80 HISTOBT OF VENICE. [chap. zxn. 

awe. My Lords, you see how, year by year, in conse- 
quence of the troubles of Italy, fiunilies migrate hither, 
and help to swell our population. If the Florentines 
give themselves to the Duke, so much the worse for 
them who interfere ! Justice is with us. They have 
spent everything, and are in debt. We have a capital 
of 10,000,000, on which we gain 4,000,000. Live in 
peace, fear nothing, and trust not the Florentines! 
Your College has desired to be informed of the revenue, 
which we derive from the territory between Verona 
and Mestre ; it is 464,000 ducats. On the other 
hand, it has desired to know the expenditure. But 
with the best peace in the world, the expenditure must 
go fax to swallow up the receipts. My Lords, I am 
not saying these things to glorify myself. But in 
truth, you hear our Captains at Aiguesmortes and 
Flanders, our Ambassadors, our Consuls, our Mer- 
chants, telling you with one accord : ^ My Lords of 
Venice, you have a virtuous and good prince, who 
has kept you in tranquillity ; you are the only Power 
who traverse the sea and the land ; you are the foun- 
tain of trade and the purveyors of the world ; you are 
welcome everywhere I ' On the contrary, around you is 
nought but war, flame, tribulation. Italy, France, 
Spain, Catalonia, England, Burgundy, Persia, Bussia, 
Hungary, all are at war. We wage battle against the 
Infidels only ; and great are the praise and glory which 
we reap. So long as I live, my Lords, I will main- 
tain those principles which I have hitherto followed, 
and which consist in living at peace I " 



AJD. 1428.] LAST WOJ&DS OF THE DOGE. 81 

The weighty financial Btatementi^ which had been 
prepared by the proper Departments for the informa- 
tion and use of the College, and which was delivered by 
the Doge himself m spite of his weak condition, ad- 
mirably answered its object. Mocenigo was authorized 
*'to thank the Florentine Executive for its offers, and 
to regret that its friendly offices could not be accepted, 
inasmuch as several fruitless efforts of the same kind 
had already been made, and the federation with the 
Duke was concluded from an anxious regard to the 
eommon safety of Italy/' ^ 

A day or two only after these important and interest- 
ing proceedings in the Pregadi, the old Doge, who was 
now in his 80th year, felt the presentiment strengthen- 
ing in his mind of his approaching end ; and summon- 
ing to his bedside the principal senators and ministers, 
he tendered to them, in the following terms,' the advice 
of a dying man : — 

<< My Lords, from the infirm state in which I find 
myself, I judge that I am drawing near the close of 
my career ; and the obligations under which I lie to a 
country, which has not only bred me, but has per- 
mitted me to attain such lofty prominence, and has 
showered upon me so many honours, have prompted 

■ In the p«gea of Sanudo (fol. 946-58), which furnish all the foregoing 
particalars, there are numerous anachronisms, and other inaccuracies, which 
seem to prove the text very corrupt The Doge is made to shew in 
flerenl instances an inconceiYahle ignorance of the histoiy of his own 
times, and to allude to occurrences which did not take place till after his 
death. * Romanin (iy. 92). 

' I hare preferred the version of Romanin (iv. 93) to that of Sanudo, 
^Hueh I flospect of having come doim to ns in a oonrapt shape. 



32 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

me to call you together around me, in order that I 
may conmxend to your care this Christian City, and 
persuade you to live in concord with your neighbours, 
and to preserve this City, as I have done to the best of 
my ability. In my time, 4,000,000 of the Public Debt 
have been paid off, though 6,000,000 more remain, 
the latter of which were contracted for the war of 
Padua, Vicenza, and Verona. We have regularly paid 
the half-yearly interest on the Funds and the salaries 
of the Public Offices. Our City at present sends 
abroad for purposes of trade in various parts of the 
world 10,000,000 ducats a year, of which the interest 
is not less than 2,000,000. In this City there are 
8,000 vessels of smaller burden, which carry 17,000 
seamen; 800 large ships, carrying 8,000 seamen; 
five-and-forty galleys and dromons constantly in com- 
mission for the protection of conmxerce, which employ 
11,000 seamen, 8,000 carpenters, 8,000 caulkers. Of 
silk-clothworkers there are 8,000 ; of manufiEu^turers 
of fustian, 16,000. The Bent-Boll is estimated at 
7,050,000 ducats. The income arising from let houses 
is 150,000. We find 1,000 gentlemen * with means 
varying between 700 and 4,000 ducats a year. If you 
continue to prosper in this manner, you will become 
masters of all the gold in Christendom. But, I be- 
seech you, keep your fingers from your neighbours, as 
you would keep them out of the fire, and engage in 
no unjust wars : for in such errors God will not sup- 
port princes! Everybody knows that the Turkish 

^ t.e., of course, of the middle cImb. 



A.D. 1423.] MOCENIGO'S DYING WORDS. 33 

War has rendered you expert and brave in maritime 
enterprises. You have six able Captains, competent 
to command large fleets. You have many persons 
well versed in diplomacy and in the government of 
Gitira, who are ambassadors of perfect experience. 
You have numerous Doctors in different sciences, and 
especially in the Law, who enjoy high credit for their 
learning among strangers. Your Mint coins annually 
1,000,000 ducats of gold and 200,000 ducats of 
silver, of minor pieces, 800,000. Of this sum, 
500,000 go to Syria, 100,000 to the Terra-Ferma, 
100,000' to various other places, 100,000 to England. 
The remainder is used at home. You are aware that 
the Florentines send here every year 16,000 pieces of 
fine cloth, of which we dispose in Barbary, Egypt, Syria, 
Cyprus, Bhodes, Bomania, the Morea and Istria, and 
that they bring to our City monthly 60,000 (70,000 ?) 
ducats' worth of merchandize, amounting annually to 
840,000 or more, and in exchange purchase our goods 
to our great advantage. Therefore, it behoves you to 
beware, lest this City decline. It behoves you to exer- 
cise extreme caution in the choice of my successor, in 

WHOSE POWEH IT WILL BE, TO A CONSIDERABLE EXTENT, 
TO OOVEBN THE BePUBLIC FOR GOOD OB FOR EVIL. 

Many of you lean to Messer Marino Caravello, who is 
a worthy man, and deserves that position from his 
eminent quaUties. Messer Francesco Bembo is a good 
man. So is Messer Giacomo Trevisano, and likewise 
Messer Kero Loredano. Messer Antonio Contarini, 

> Sanudo (fol. 960) 

VOL. IV. 82 



84 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

M. Fantino Michieli, M. Albano Badoer, all these have 
recommendations* Many again are inclined to Messer 
Francesco Foscari, and do not, I apprehend, suffi- 
ciently know his impetuous character, and proud, 
supercilious disposition. Abbrazia molto e poco stringe. 
If he is made Doge, you will be at war continually. 
Those who now possess 10,000 ducats, will have only 
1,000. Those who possess ten houses will be proprietors 
of one, and those who own ten coats will be reduced to 
a single coat I * You will lose your money and your 
reputation. You will be at the mercy of a soldiery ! 
I have found it impossible to forbear expressing to you 
thus my opinion. May God help you to make the wisest 
choice ! May He rule your hearts to preserve peace I " * 

Such were the last words of a great and prophetic 
statesman. The glaze of death was soon upon those 
eyes. Those lips were soon mute. On the 4th April,^ 
1423, Tommaso Mocenigo expired, leaving his country 
more prosperous and opulent than she had ever yet 
been. Her treasury was full. Her debt was consi- 
derably reduced. The statistics of her taxation and 
expenditure exhibited a surplus of a million a year. 
Her home and foreign trade was flourishing beyond 
any precedent. No European Power was more highly 
respected, and the alliance of none was more eagerly 
sought and cultivated. 

The foregoing details afford a vivid picture of the 
commerce of Venice in the first half of the fifteenth 

* Sanudo (fol. 959). 

* Ibid. (fd. 968) ; Chramche Veneziane, ii. 899 (Add. MSS. 8579). 



Aj>. 1423.] TAXATION AND EXPENDITURE. 



35 



oentiuy. A correct view of the taxation and expen- 
diture of the Bepnblic at the same epoch, which is 
already stated to have left an annual balance in favour 
of the Exchequer of one million ducats, is subjoined in 
detaU.' 







Deduction 


Net 




Keceipts. 


Conecting, 


Income. 




Dacftts. 


Ducats. 


Ducats. 


ThcFrioul 


7,500 


6,330 


1,170 


Treriflo and its District ... 


40,000 


10,100 


29,900 


Padua ... ... 


65,500 


14,000 


51,500 


▼ icQica ••• ... ... 


84,500 


7,600 


26,900 


Verona 


52,500 


18,000 


34,500 


Venice : — 








Salt Department, ... 165,000 ) 








Profits of the Loan ( 
Chamber ... ... 150,000 ( 


698,000 


99,780 


598,720 


Other Receipts ... 383,000 j 








Colonial Taxes ... 


180,000 


... 


180,000 


Other extraordinary Receipts 


25,000 


6,000 


19,000 


Loans on Demand 


15,000 


7,500 


7,500 


Property out of the Dogado 
(Honses, &c.) 


5,000 




5,000 


The Clergy 


22,000 


2,000 


20,000 


The Jews 


600 


... 


600 


Commercial Tenths 


16,000 


6,000 


10,000 


Freights, &c ... 


6,000 


4,000 


2,000 


Excnange (Duty) 


20,000 


12,000 


8,000 


Total... 


1,187,600 


193,310 


996,290 



The practical argmnents of Mocenigo for the preser- 
Tation of peace had proved themselves for the moment 
at least irresistihle ; but his comisel touching the 
appointment of a successor did not carry like weight. 
In anticipation of the event which had now taken 
place, ^* Ser Francesco " had during some time passed 
been actively engaged in propitiating by various means 

* Dam (ii. 286), corrected from Sanudo (fol. 963). 

82—2 



36 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

those whom he conceived to be the most probable 
arbiters of the forthcoming election ; his micle Fran- 
cescoi or Franzi, the Senior Privy Conncillor : Albano 
Badoer, one of the Chiefis of the Ten : several members 
of the noble Houses of Nani, Priuli, Ginstinianiy 
Donate, Buzzini, with whom his own family had inter- 
married, were in his confidence and interest ; and from 
a manifest wish to cnrry £a.vonr with a certain class, 
he had in his capacity as one of the Procurators of 
Saint Mark distributed 30,000 ducats of the public 
money in judicious dowers and charities.^ Francesco 
was one of the three sons of Nicolo Foscari, a brother 
of Paolo, Bishop of Venice, who had earned an unen- 
viable and damaging notoriety in the preceding centuiy 
by his diflference with the Government of Andrea 
Oontarini on the subject of mortuaries. Bishop Paolo 
not only lost his cause, but sadly impoverished his 
family; Nicolo was a sufferer among the rest; and 
this gentleman fell into so much odium, and became 
so reduced in circumstances, that he spent a good deal 
of the later portion of his life abroad.^ The fortunes 
of the family, however, were retrieved by his son 
Francesco, who at an unusually early age discovered 
abilities of the highest order, and rose to deserved 
emiuence as a minister of State and diplomatist. In 
1401, he was a Chief of the Forty; and in that 
capacity he became one of the warmest advocates of 

> Sanudo (fol. 968). 

* Litta {Celebri Famiglie lialiane, in voce Foscari). The pedigree of the 
Doge, corrected bj Berlan, is subjoined. 



A.D. 1423.] FOSCARI AND HIS ANCESTOB& 



87 



•< 

o 

O 

» 

o 
o 

W 
H 

P^ 
O 

o 
I— t 

p 



O 

•a 

I 



.1 .. 

I * -i § 
^ -pi 

o 

b 



I 



n 

i 



-I 



4 



i • 
Jl 









-I— nil . 



e 






^«-5 II 1^ 



S 

— 08 

I 



IT 

'fl 

1 4 



O 

b 



5 



-8 



,<2 



i 
p4 



g 

• I 

• 8 



Cm 



88 raSTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

the war against Francesco Novello. He had filled 
several embassies between 1405 and 1420. He had 
been three several times a Chief of the Ten. In 
1410, 1412, 1415, 1417, and 1418, he is found 
officiating as Avogador of the Commune. In Sep- 
tember, 1413, and in August, 1416, he served for a 
short time aa Inquisitor of the Ten.^ 

The candidates for the vacant dignity had already 
been indicated by Mocenigo. They were no fewer 
than six : Marino Caravello, Procurator ; the Chevalier 
Bembo; Antonio Contarini, Procurator; Leonardo 
Mocenigo, Procurator, the brother of Tommaso ; Pietro 
Loredano, Procurator; and Francesco Foscari, the 
youngest of the number. Foscari was bom in 1373, 
and was consequently fifty-one. 

The Forty-one assembled on the 10th April. There 
was none of the competitors, to whom some exception 
was not taken. Caravello was superannuated.^ Bembo 
limped in his gait, and was otherwise ill-qualified. 
Mocenigo was the brother of the late Most Serene 
Tommaso. Contarini had too many children. To 
Loredano it was not equally easy to raise a valid 
objection; Badoer, the fiiend of Foscari, however, 
brought forward the feeble plea, that his services as 
Captain-General were indispensable to the Kepublic, 
and that *' he was young enough to wait ! " This quibble 
was more than the hot-headed Admiral could bear. 
He started to his feet, and vindicated his claim with 

» Berlan, I Due Foscari, 1852, p. 200-1. 
• Sanudo (foL 967). 



AJ>. 1423.] AN ELECTIONEERING TRICE. 39 

a warmth which made his case only worse, to the 
inexpressible glee of Foscari ! 

The turn of Foscari, however, came next ; and he 
was attacked by Hetro Orio, a supporter of Loredano. 
Orio declared, that the candidate for office was still 
young, had married a second time,^ had a large and 
increasing family, his wife bringing him a child every 
year, and possessed a scanty fortune. At the same 
time, he reiterated the warning of Tommaso Moce- 
nigo that, ^'if he was made Doge, Venice would be 
perpetually at war." On the other hand, he was 
defended by Bulgaro Yitturi, who denied that he 
was a poor man, as his estate was worth 150,000 
ducats. Bernardo Pisani and Paolo Oomaro also 
spoke in his favour. Foscari himself made an able 
speech. 

The Conclave sat five days. There were eight 
scrutinies. At the eighth Loredano still had the 
largest number of votes ; there were only eleven for 
Foscari. The ninth examination of the ballot-box 
gave Foscari seventeen^ but his opponent had even now 
slightly the advantage. A tenth was demanded; 
Foscari was announced to have twenty-six ; and Lore- 
dano was beaten! This result was due to a well- 
played trick. The &ct was that in order to throw 

* His first yn& was Maria, the daughter of Andrea Friuli Del Banco. 
By this lady — ^whom he married in 1395 — ^he had had several sons, of 
whom only three surviyed, and five daughters, all of whom were 
married. His second nuptials were with Maria, the daughter of Barto- 
lomeo Nani, in 1415. See litta in voce Foscari; Berlan (/ Due Foscari, 
p. 200) ; and P. Moroaini (lib. xix. p. 404). 



40 HISTORY OF VENICE. [ciup. xxii. 

the supporters of Loredano out of their reckoning, 
a certain proportion of the opposite party forbore to 
declare themselves till the last moment, and that just 
when the chances appeared to be eminently favonrable 
to Loredano, the nine voters in reserve recorded their 
snflBrages, and thus procured a majority. 

It was already late on the evening of the 15th April, 
when the College, after one of the most closely-con- 
tested elections which had ever been known, arrived 
at a decision ; and the announcement was therefore 
deferred till the next day. The antient formula which 
came into fashion in 1173 — This is your Doge^ if it be 
agreeable to you — ^had remained in use down to the 
present date. But, in the course of the labours of 
the Correctors of the Ducal Promission, some one ^ 
remarked drily — "And if it should not be agreeable 
to them, what then ? " The suggestion was forcible ; 
the qualifying and subjunctive clause was omitted; 
and Albano Badoer, the eldest of the Forty-one, made 
known to the multitude congregated in Saint Mark's 
Church on the morning of the 16th April, the issue 
of their deliberations in the unconditional sentence — 
This is your Doge ! The successful candidate, having 
made his entry on the same day into the Palace, 
harangued the assembly outside from one of the 
balconies in a well-worded speech; and at the close 

* By Daru (ii. 317), the observation is attributed to Francesco della 
Sega, Grand Chancellor. The Liber Ursus^ quoted by Sanudo (foL 418), 
and by Romanip (iv. 97), shews that Sega did not become Chancellor till 
the 8th November, 1439 ! I 



AJ». 1423.] POPULA.R ASSEMBLY ABOLISHED. 41 

of the discourse his Serenity was greeted on all sides 
by cries of Sia ! Sia ! * 

By such means, then, the political friends of the 
Ftocnrator Foscari obtained his elevation to power; 
and under snch circumstances it was that the old 
National Convention designated the Arrengo was not 
only virtually, but constitutionally and specifically 
abolished. On the 7th April, during the interregnum, 
the Correctors inserted in the Oath, submitted to 
their revision, a paragraph which declared : ^< all and 
every such resolutions as shaU have been taken here- 
tofore in the Great Council, in which it is found 
recited that they are put in Arrengo^ likewise such 
as shall have been taken during this vacancy of the 
Crown, shall upon their adoption by the Great Council 
acquire the same force and validity as if they had 
been published in Arrengo.*' Farthermore, it was 
added : '' these resolutions shall not again at any 
fature time be pubUshed in Arrengo, and the Arrengo 
shall not be convoked, save at the election of our 
lord the Doge, when it shall be summoned, and the 
said election be promulgated according to practice ! " * 
The remaining innovations were of a less important 
and essential description.* They referred to the prompt 
and unbiassed dispensation of justice without respect 
of persons. They prescribed, that the Doge should 
be required to fimd all his property with a reserve 

of 20,000 ducats' worth of silver plate, that his 

" Sanudo (foL 969) : " Let it be so ; let it be so." 
« Bomanin (iy. 97). » Sanudo (fol. 968). 



42 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

servants should receive at his expense two nev7 Uveries 
a year, and that the ceremony hitherto observed 
at Ducal obsequies of carrying the shield of Saint 
Mark reversed should be discontinued, ^' as derogatory 
to the Patron EvangeUstI" A similar prohibition 
was extended to any object whatever, which bore his 

effigy* 

The sUghtly morbid craving of the Venetian lower 
classes for pomp and pageantry was abundantly, and 
even cloyingly, gratified at the solemn investiture of 
Francesco Foscari and the triumphal progress to the 
Palace of his Dogaressa, the Lady Maria ; and the 
organic and radical change, artfully vnrought in the 
practice of the Ducal elections, was speedily committed 
to obUvion amid a splendid series of festivities. Like 
the pubUc entertainments of 1401, the tournaments 
and other spectacles celebrated in 1423 spread, not 
undesignedly, over the greater part of a twelvemonth. 

It is related of the illustrious Mocenigo as a charac- 
teristic trait, that, the Old Hall (Sala Yecchia) of the 
Great Council having been destroyed by fire at a 
season of financial embarrassment, and a decree 
having consequently passed that any one suggesting 
its restoration should incur a heavy penalty, the Doge 
paid the fine, and proposed the measure, which was 
carried.^ The Saja Nuova, or the New Saloon, was 
now at length completed ; and it was inaugurated on 
the 23rd April (1423 ^) , when the Marquis of Mantua, 
having been introduced, was sworn a Venetian citizen, 

* SabeUico (Dec. ii. lib. ix.) * Sanudo (fol. 968). 



AJ>. 1423.] ACQUISITION OF SALONIKI. 48 

and took his seat on the benches. The House being 
coontedi 911 members^ were returned as present. A 
fresh acquisition of some consequence marked the 
commencement of the Foscari Administration. It was 
that of Thessalonica, or Saloniki, at one period the 
heritage of the House of Monte-ferrato. The inhabi- 
tants of Saloniki, dreading the yicinity of the Turks, 
who were occupying portions of Albania and the Morea, 
and were again threatening Constantinople, renounced 
their allegiance to their despot Andronicus PalaBologus, 
brother of the Emperor Johannes, and offered their 
city and themselves to Venice. The proposal was 
accepted ; but the step inyolved two disastrous conse- 
quences. The cession of Saloniki, on which the Sultan 
Amurath had been casting a longing eye, threw Venice 
into hostile collision with Turkey; and her ambas- 
sador, Nicolo Giorgio, who was sent to accommodate 
the matter, foxmd himself the inmate of a dungeon. 
At the same time, the communication with the East 
brought the seeds of pestilence to the shores of the 
Adriatic, and the ravages of the epidemic swept away 
between 15,000 and 16,000 persons. The lesson, 
however, was not lost upon the Republic. To guard 
against a recurrence of such an evil, the Govern- 
ment of the Doge established at Santa Maria di 
Nazaret*the famous Lazaretto or Pest-House; it was 
the first institution of the kind which had been seen 
in Europe. Some years later, the Board of Health, 
or Magistrate alia Sanita, which originated in 1469, 

* Sanudo, itbi supra. 



44 HISTORY OP VENICE. [cuap. xxii. 

evinced still farther the anxiety of a highly civiUzed 
Power to protect that population, which it regarded 
as one of the sources of its industrial wealth, and to 
diminish by precautionary measures the periodical 
sacrifice of human life. 

The acquisition of Saloniki was not diplomatically 
completed till the month of April, 1426.* The govern- 
ment was confided to two Proveditors, and Venetian 
courts of civil and criminal procedure were established. 
To mollify so far as possible the anger of Amurath, 
permission was given to his subjects to erect an inde- 
pendent tribunal, which might take cognizance of suits 
for debt and other pecuniary transactions among 
themselves; Turkish merchants and caravans were 
suffered to trade at the Port under the same conditions 
as heretofore; and the allowance of 10,000 aspri a year 
out of the Revenue, made by the late despot PalaBologus 
to the Sultan, was not at present discontinued. 

The accession of Francesco Foscari * naturally gave 
new hope to the Tuscans, whom the aggressive projects 
and unprincipled cupidity of the Duke of Milan were 
inspiring with the gravest inquietude. Surpassing in 
the magnitude of his schemes even his father the 
Count of Vertus, Filippo-Maria, having with the aid 
of Carmagnola made himself master of Genoa and 
Brescia, carried his arms into the Bomagna, tb which 

' Romanin (^Stor, Doc, iv. 100). 

' A general account of the traneacf ions of the Signory irom 1423 to 
1433 wOl be found in Historia Veneta Secreta, pp. 170-2 (Add. MSS. 
Brit. Mu8. 8580). 



A.D. 14-23.] VENICE AND FLORENCE. 45 

Gioyanni-Galeazzo had never extended his conquests, 
and seized Imola and Faenza. The Florentines now 
conceived that they could no longer, consistently with 
their own safety, delay to draw the sword; on the 
24th November, 1423, the Council of War (Died delta 
Balia) was organized ; ^ prompt measures were taken 
to obtain troops from the Riviera of Genoa and else- 
where; and Binaldo degli Albizzi was despatched to 
Venice to beg that Government to reconsider its deter- 
mination, and to make common cause with Tuscany. 
Admitted to the bar of the Senate, Albizzi repre- 
sented' in fulfilment of his instructions that, the Duke 
being manifestly bent upon crushing the freedom of 
Florence, the latter had resolved to run the hazard 
of war in defence of Italy and for her own security. 
He besought the Republic to open her eyes, and, as 
the principal Power in the Peninsula, to co-operate 
in providing for the general safeguard. He pointed 
out, that the arms of Florence, properly seconded, 
could impose a curb on the ambition of Visconti. 
He exhorted the Signory at least to exhibit a favour- 
able leaning to the just cause by closing against the 
Milanese the Passes of the Po ; and the Ambassador 
concluded by declaring that his countrymen, rather 
than tolerate any longer the arrogance of the Duke, 
would call to their aid all the Powers of the world. 
The answer of the Senate was delivered on the 

» Delia Robbia {Vita di Bariohmeo Vahri; Arch. Star. I(al. iy. 277). 
Yalori was one of the Died. 
* Bomanin (It. 101). 



46 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxii, 

18th May, 1424,* That Body *< regrets profoundly 
the fresh disagreements which have arisen to disturb 
the peace of the Peninsula; on its part it desires 
nothing so ardently as repose^ and in that interest 
the Bepublic has invariably exerted herself. There 
are excellent reasons which preclude Venice from 
acceding to the proposal for a League. In regard 
to the Passes of the Po, the Florentines ought to 
be aware that the Senate is in no position to close 
them ; but the Republic is prepared to deny the 
Milanese any passage through Ferrara." " Besides " 
(continued the Senate) , ^^ such is the wisdom and 
dexterity of the Florentines, that it entertains no 
doubt that they will concert among themselves the 
measures most conducive to their welfare and great- 
ness : to speak frankly, the Venetians, having fsdled 
in repeated efforts to make peace with the King of 
the Bomans (Sigismund) , have been under the neces- 
sity of contracting an offensive and defensive alliance 
with the Duke ; ^ and the consequence is that if the 
King is invited (by Florence) into Italy, we are bound 
to unite against his Majesty with Filippo-Maria ! " 

This second rebuff was supremely vexatious and 
perplexing. But, whatever scruples the Florentines 
might have conceived on the score of prudence, they 
were conscious that they had now gone too far to 
draw back ; Carlo Malatesta and his brother Pandolfo 

^ Romanin, tibi ntprd, 

* In 1421, for ten years. Vide suprd^ and Bisticci {Vita di Lorenzo 
Ridolfi; Arch. Sior. Ital. iv, 317-18). 



A.». 1424.] DIFFICULTIES OF THE FLORENTIXES. 47 

were already in the Bomagna with 10,000 men ; and 
a collision with the Milanese nnder the redoubtable 
Carmagnola was ahnost daily to be expected. The 
only course which remained open was to seek other 
external support; and notwithstanding the implied 
menace of the Signory, letters were written to the 
Emperor, the Duke of Savoy, and the Swiss, in a 
supplicatoiy tone. Sigismund, more particularly, was 
implored to hasten into Italy ^' to confound the enemies 
and rebels of his Crown« and to help his devoted 
servants." 

Carmagnola and the two Malatesta encountered 
each other at Zagognara,^ in the Faenzan territory, 
on the 27th July, 1424, and fortune was unkind to 
the Tuscans, who were deplorably beaten. In her 
despair, the discomfited Power made a fresh appeal 
to the Bepublic.^ An embassy, consisting of Palla 
Strozzi and Giovanni de' Medici, the latter a member 
of the Florentine Company of Venice, waited on the 
Doge in the first week of October. But the attempt 
met with no better success than its predecessors ; and 
although Foscari, from vanity, perhaps, as much as 
from conviction, was personally inclined to the course 
which he had advocated so warmly before his accession, 
the Senate and the Ten were equally averse from com- 
mitting the country to a policy, of which they found 
themselves unable to foresee with sufficient clearness 
the bearings and issue. At this stage, the Holy See 

^ Paolo Morodni (lib. zix. p. 407). 

' P. Moroani ( JfafK?rta iatomo alia Repubbliea di Venezia^ zzii.) 



48 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

having interposed, the Florentine ambassadors officially 
intimated to the Senate that it was the desire and aim 
of the Pontiff Martin to make peace between their 
Government and Filippo-Maria, and to frame a defen- 
sive alliance among the Italian States against the 
Emperor. The Senate replied: — **We rejoice to 
receive this intelligence. The Bepublic will be very 
glad to give her adhesion to any Confederacy of the 
kind indicated, and Cardinal Lando, our Ambassador 
at Eome, has been instructed to support the measure 
so far as lies in his power." ^ But the proposed 
ItaUan League with the Pope at its head eventually 
fell to the ground ; and the Government of the Doge 
contented itself with sending Andrea Mocenigo to 
Milan in December (1424), to "pray" the Duke to 
refrain from molesting the Lord of Ferrara, whom the 
Venetians had taken under their protection. "Your 
Signory," drily but caustically observed Visconti to 
Mocenigo, " prays me indeed, but her prayers are ever 
commands I " * 

A second reverse, which soon befel the Tuscans at 
Val di Lamona, slightly shook, however, the composure 
of the Bepublic ; and on the 17th February, 1425, a 
secretary, Francesco della Sega, was ordered to set 
out for Milan, to endeavour to open some negotiation, 
and to lay before Visconti at the same time certain 
demands preferred by Venice on her own account. 
The Ducal Government " prayed " that the Lord of 
Bavenna, " whom it had taken under its protection," 

* Komanin (iv. 103). * Navagiero (Starioy 1086), 



AJ>. 1424.] CARMAGNOLA. 49 

might be indemnified for the sacrifices to which he 
had been put daring the last war; that the Venetian 
subjects at Casahnaggiore, Brescella, and Tonicella 
might be left undisturbed; that the Genoese might 
not be debarred from remitting to the Signoiy the 
compensatory payments iae for former losses; and 
that the tolls, illegally exacted from the Venetian 
citizen, Bettino da Uberti, by the Milan Custom^housCi 
might be reimbursed. It was only five days after 
the deUveiy of his commission to Secretary Sega, that 
an unexpected occurrence gave a somewhat new turn 
and complexion to the question. 

Francesco Bussone was a natiye of the small village 
of Camiagnola, in the district of Turin. He was bom 
about 1390 ; his father was named Bartolomeo.^ The 
race from which the boy sprang was extremely humble 
and obscure; the elder Bussone is reported to have been 
a poor rustic ; and it is said, that in his younger days 
Francesco was accustomed to tend sheep. His miUtary 
tastes and talents were developed, however, at a pre- 
cocious age; and his crook was, at any rate, soon 
exchanged for a sword. His first patron was Facino 
Cane, one of the most powerful Princes in Italy, and 
the greatest general of his time. 'At the death of Cane, 
in 1412, FiUppo-Maria Visconti, then in the beginning 
of his career and master of Pavia only, married his 
widow Beatrice Tenda, and extended his patronage 
to Francesco di Cabmagnola; upon this point the 

* Franoesoo Berlan (II CarUe Francesco di Carmagnola^ 1855, p. 9, 
etseq.) 

VOL. rv. 33 



50 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

dastiny of Cannagnola and his employer equally 
turned ; and the History of Lombardy may be read 
for some time in the Fast^ of a Turinese hind. 
Having by a happy recognition of rare merit promote^ 
the young soldier of Cane from the ranks to the he«d 
of his army, Filippo-Maria succeeded in the course 
of ten years not only in recovering, but in ampli- 
fying, the Dukedom of Milan; Carmagnola himself 
amassed a fortune of between 70,000 aud 80,000 ducats, 
of which he had the prudence to invest 30,000 in the 
Venetian Funds ; ^ his services were speedily requited 
with the Countship of Castehiuovo (1416) and with 
the hand of a daughter of the House of Yisconti 
(1417 ') ; and, that he might have a residence suitable 
to his position and dignity, he laid the foundations 
of the beautiful Palace of Broletto-Nuovo at Milan* 
In 1421 and 1422, the exploits of the hero culmi- 
nated in the successive conquest of Brescia, 0enoa, 
and Forli ; and in the latter year he was made 
Governor of Genoa. Si^ch was the rise of the son 
of the peasant Bartqlomeo Bussone. In person» the 
Count of Castelnuovo was square-set, powerfully built, 
and robust; his frame was symmetrical; his com- 
plexion was ruddy; and his hair and eyes were of the 
same chesnut-brown tint.' 

It was impossible, that so brilliant a reputation should 
long remain unenvied or unslandered. The Court of 

* The requisite permisaion was only given on a second application by 
the special authority of the Great Council (May 21, 1421). 

• Berlan, p. 9. » Ibid. 



AJ). 1424-5.] FORTUNES OF OARMAGNOLA. 61 

Milan was as rich as any other in mediocrity of talent, 
aad Carmagnola counted nuinerous rivals who, enraged 
at finding themiselyes eclipsed and superseded by an 
alien interloper, breathed into the ear of Yisconti 
sospicions of the ulterior plans of his fayourite captain. 
The astrologers, a singularly powerful body in those 
days, were on their side ; and the selfish pusillanimity 
of the Duke YfBfi not inaccessible to the whispers of 
calumny. Filippo-Maria became more and more dis- 
trustful of the Governor of Genoa, and he secretly 
meditated his ruin at the earliest opportunity. This 
change of feeling capie to the knowledge of Carmagnola 
in due course, and he hastened ^om his seat of govern- 
ment to confront himself with his accusers, and to 
refute their paltry insinuations. The Duke^ however, 
dreading the possibility that his intended victin^ nught 
have penetrated his design, denied him an audience, 
and ^ept studiously out of his sight ; and the injured 
man, quite aware of the easy doctrine of his employer 
on the removal of political obstacles, consulted his 
personal safety by a sudden and rapid flight from the 
capital. Milanese troopers were instantly put upon 
his track, but he outstripped all his pursuer9, and 
reached without impediment the Savoyard frontier. 
The baffled Vipconti vented his wrath by sequestrating 
aU the property possessed by the fugitive within his 
reach, amounting to 40,000 ducats, and by commit- 
ting his wife and children, who had been instructed 
to follow him, to close custody. 
Amadeus, Puke of Savoy, received his distinguished 

83—2 



52 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxh. 

visitor with nrbane kindnessi and extended to him all 
the offices of hospitaUty. Bat he naturally shrank 
from acceding to the warlike projects against Milan 
which the General sketched out, and politely declined 
to become a tool in the hands of the Count of Castel- 
nuovo for wreaking his vengeance on his enemies. 

Carmagnola did not yet despond. He knew, that 
there was one Power greater than Milan and greater 
than Savoy, to which he might appeal with some 
prospect of success. In 1421, he had been permitted, 
as a high mark of favour, to invest a part of his 
fortune in the Venetian Chamber of Loans; those 
30,000 ducats were now all that remained to him; 
and he determined, after the failure of his overtures 
to Amadeus, to repair to the Lagoon, and to offer 
his services to the Republic. The Count arrived at 
his new destination, accompanied by eighty men-at- 
arms, on the 23rd February, 1425, in the same week 
in which Secretary Sega had departed for Milan with 
his weighty budget of demands. 

Among other personages of note who hastened to 
pay their respects to the noble stranger, was a certain 
Andrea Contarini, who appeared to throw himself a 
good deal in the way of Coxmt Francesco, and to 
cultivate his acquaintance with an unusual degree of 
assiduity. To Contarini, in truth, the Government 
had secretly confided the task of sounding Carmagnola; 
and it was not the object of Carmagnola to be myste- 
rious. The General unfolded his views frankly and 
without constraint ; he disclosed many points of 



A.D. 1425.] CARMAGNOLA AT VENICE. 53 

Milanese policy not generally known^ and he finished 
by conveying to his questioner a desire to be employed 
by the Signory. Contarini reported to the Govern- 
ment all the facts which he had collected; an audience 
of the Doge Foscari was arranged ; and on the 2nd of 
March, a week only after his arrival, his services were 
secured at a Uberal scale of remuneration, but without 
any spQcific commission. Until he was absolutely 
required to take command in the field, it was intimated 
to him that he might retire to Treviso, and there await 
orders. 

It was during the stay of Carmagnola at Treviso, 
and in the month of August, 1425, that two persons, 
named Gherardo da Bubiera and Giovanni degli AU- 
prandi, were arrested by the Local Government, on 
suspicion of being concerned in an attempt upon his 
life.^ It transpired in the confessions of Bubiera and 
Aliprandi under torture that they had been hired by 
Yisconti for the express purpose of despatching tlie 
General by poison or otherwise, that they had several 
accomplices, and that it formed part of their plan 
to excite on the spot a spirit of disafiecticm to the 
Signory. The two principals were summarily exe- 
cuted ; in regard to the treatment of their accessories, 
the Senate thought proper to lodge a discretionary 
power in the Podesta and Captain of Treviso, Nicolo 
Priuli. But, in a letter which was addressed to Priuli 
on the subject, that Body, earnestly soUcitous to post- 
pone any collision with Filippo-Maria, at all events 

■ Andrew Billii HiHoria, lib. v. 



64 fflSTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxit. 

until a better opportunity, added this passage r " You 
will be careful, in the legal documents and in the pro- 
ceedings taken in connexion with the present affair, 
to avoid an personal allusion to the Duke, and we 
recommend you to state on paper simply that the 
intended assassins came from Milan ! " 

The mission of Francesco della Sega was, so far as 
the Florentines were concerned, entirely ineffectual. 
The Duke announced that, if he treated with Florence, 
it would be without the mediation of the Holy See, 
the Signory, or any third Power; nor had the sub- 
sequent embassy of Paolo Corraro a happier result. 
On the return of the latter, Lorenzo Bidolfl, the 
Tuscan ambassador, urged the Senate more warmly 
and importunately than ever to embrace the cause of 
his countrymen (May, 1426). But that circumspect 
and wary Assembly wagi still inclined to temporize. It 
alleged that, although Visconti had declined her inter- 
cession, he had expressed tlie utmost reverence for the 
BepubUc, and his readiness to reconsider the question. 
On such an errand Sega was once more employed; 
but the reverence of the Duke did not make itself 
particularly manifest, and the friendly offices of Venice 
remained unappreciated. Bidolfi and his colleague, 
PaUa Strozzi, were in absolute despair ; at the close of 
an audience, which had been accorded to them by the 
Senate, the latter^ exclaimed, with passionate emotion : 
** My Lords of Venice, it appears to me that you wish 
to see FiUppo King of Lombardy. If you make him 

* Redudo de Quero, contemp., Chronicon Tarvisinum, 854 (Murat. xix.) 



AJ}. 1425.] VENICE BEGINS TO RELENT. 55 

King, we, who have withstood his ambition hitherto, 
will make him Emperor ! You shall judge ! '* 

The pithy and sententious declaration of Strozzi, 
which in all probability had not been hastily uttered, 
slightly deranged the equanimity of the Signory. A 
little while afterward, a member of the Government 
took an opportunity of speaking to him on the subject. 
" The fiact is," he wajs told, ** our Navy is dispersed in 
sundry directions ; the winter is at hand ; and there 
are several reasons which render it undesirable to 
launch out into hostilities. But, at the same time, we 
beg you to accept an assurance, that Venice will never 
view with indifference or apathy any serious encroach- 
ment on Italian Uberties ! " 

The sally of the Florentine Envoy was indeed a 
good deal more than a mere rhetorical commoti-place. 
The withdrawal of Carmagnola from the service of 
Filippo-Maria had not ameliorated the prospects of the 
other belligerent. The Tuscan arms were exposed to 
a series of humiUating reverses at the hands of the 
new lieutenants of Yisconti, Nicolo Piccinino and 
Francesco Sforza ; and the situation of Florence was 
becoming alarmingly critical. The triumphal progress 
of the Duke, with the occurrences at Treviso in the 
summer, which furnished an ample source of irritation, 
operated more potently than any other agency in per- 
suading Venice to relent ; and the consecutive defeats 
of the Florentines in the course of a single week 
(Oct. 9-17, 1425) at Anghiari and Faggiuolo, warned 
the Signory that the time was at hand for throwing 



56 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

her own mighty sword into the scale against Yisconti. 
This warlike tendency was strengthened and fostered 
by a voice from the throne. In the course of November, 
1425, a spirited speech to the following effect was 
deUvered in the Senate by the Doge Foscari : — 

" Many resolutions have been proposed, Conscript 
Fathers, which, being of a contradictory kind, breed 
confiision, and tend to mislead our judgment. Decipi- 
mur specie recti. There are two things, which in this 
our Republic are thought exceedingly pleasant, but 
which nevertheless have involved States oftentimes in 
troubles : they are, peace and frugaUty. While men 
cling to repose too fondly, and shew themselves too 
greedy of gain, grave perils beset their path. Of this 
we have examples numerous enough in antient and in 
modem days. Have we not one under our own 
eyes ? Behold the fate of the Florentines who, having 
neglected to bridle the power of Filippo- Maria, while 
it was still insignificant, are now in imminent danger 
of falling under a Milanese yoke ! But what am I 
saying ? Is it not our place to help the distressed and 
jeopardized Power ? Shall we suffer Filippo to lay a 
finger on the Uberties of Florence? That insensate 
tyrant (if he be not checked) will be pursuing his 
conquests unmolested, until he has overrun the whole 
Peninsula; and when he has got Florence, he will 
ATTACK us NEXT.* That is the grand object of his 
machinations ; that is his only thought. Therefore I 

1 See Bisticci iVUa di L. Ridolfii Arch, Star. Ital iv. 318). 



kJ>. 1425.] THE SPEECH FROM THE THRONE. 57 

have wondered mnch when I have heard it said, that it 
is not for ns to interfere in this matter. Really, most 
excellent Fathers, I am of decided opinion that our 
interest and duty lie in that very direction ; I am of 
opinion that the [Venetian] Empire ought not to remain 
a passive spectator of the present contest. I must 
remind you that the Florentines, though weakened 
indeed, are not so utterly exhausted that they cannot 
fiunish their share of troops. By Carmagnola we 
have been assured that ^ the power of the Duke is not so 
great as it is reputed to be ;' and under such a leader 
who, eyen in our age so prolific in military talent, has 
no equal, we may sanguinely look for a prosperous 
result and for an extension of frontier. All these 
circumstances are calculated to induce us to engage in 
the war — a necessary war, I must call it — against the 
common foe who, contemning all laws, human and 
divine, appropriates, by fraudulent and nefGurious arts, 
the possessions of his neighbours, and who is aspiring 
to the Italian throne. For such reasons, I repeat, let 
us undertake the struggle with good courage ; and in 
crushing this enemy, let us secure for the Peninsula 
the blessing of tranquillity ! " 

The Ducal address, supported by more than colla- 
teral circumstance, influenced Yehice in favour of the 
propositions brought by Bidolfi and Strozzi. On the 
23rd November, the Senate decreed the acceptance of 
the League with Florence ; and from that point the 
conduct of the whole affair, with the management of all 
details, was allowed to devolve on the Ten. The treaty 



68 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. rxrt. 

vrM signed on the 8rd December, and it was to have a 
duration of five years from this date. 

The stipulations were — that each of the contracting 
parties shall send into the field 8,000 horse and 
8,000 foot. 2. That a naval squadron for the pro- 
tection of the Po shall be raised at the common 
expense. 3. That it shall be competent for the 
Republic to control absolutely the movements of the 
combined armies, to conclude peace at her pleasure^ and 
to make any incidental arrangements which she 
thinks beneficial to the mutual interest. 4. That the 
conquests of the League in Tuscany and Romagna 
shall belong to Florence, those in Lombardy to 
Venice, and Lucca and Parma to Ferrara. 6. That 
Genoa shall be restored to independence. 6. That 
either party shall be at liberty to include in the 
present Treaty its allies and adherents, provided that 
they are Italian. 7. That the Confederacy shall be 
regarded as framed against Austria, Hungary, and 
Germany, or any other Power whom the Duke of 
Milan may enlist in his cause, and that the faculty 
of disposing of the Malatesta Estates, if that family 
espouse the side of Yisconti, shall remain in the 
hands of the Venetians. 

The Republic at once wrote to her ambassador at 
Rome, instructing him to use his best influence in 
procuring the cohesion of Martin V. ; and overtures 
were addressed to Switzerland and Savoy for the pur- 
pose of creating a favourable diversion in that quarter. 
On the 21st December, the number bf the Pregadi 



AJ>. 1«6.] THfi tEA&tfB A&AttrST MILAN. 59 

was carried to 100;^ and that Council was constitnted 
a tribunal for the management of the War. On the 
18th Jannary, 1426, the Chevalier Bembo was named 
Captain of the Po ; and on the 21st, the League was 
published. But it was not till the 19tti February that 
the commission of Captain-General of all the Land- 
Forces was delivered to Francesco di Carmagnola. 

On the first report of the existence of A Coalition, 
FiIip|>o-Maria had despatched an ambassador, Fran- 
chino da Castiglione, to Venice to expostulate with 
that Government in a friendly spirit ; and it happened^ 
that Castiglione arrived on the same day, on which 
the important instrument was proclaimed (January 21). 
He intimated to the Signory, that his master had re- 
ceived the last news with a feeling of inteni§e astonish- 
ment ; he spoke of the excellent terms, on which the 
Venetians had always stood with the predecessors of 
Visconti ; and he averred that the latter, having ever 
proved himself, and wishing to be still, " a dutiful son 
of the BepubUc," was quite at a loss to understand, 
how Venice could have been led to range herself 
among his enemies. To this flimsy protest a cate- 
gorical answer was given. The Doge confessed, that 
the most affectionate relations had subsisted between 
his country and the Dukes of Milan ; '^ and," he said, 
" it is on that very ground, that we have learned with 
peculiar pain the differences of Milan and Florence. 
We have, it is well known, spared no labour to fe- 
estabUsh peace. We have watched with patience and 

' Nayagiero (fol. 1087) ; Paolo Morosim (lib. xiz. p. 412). 



60 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

solicitude the e£forts made by the Marquis of Ferrara 
and by the Florentine Ambassador at Milan toward the 
settlement of the difficulty ; and we at length volun- 
teered our own mediatorial offices. But every attempt 
has failed. Our pacific sentiments and desires have 
found no reciprocity on the part of the Duke. We 
deny that, by the proposed federation with Tuscany, 
the Republic violates the Treaty of 1421, or absolves 
Filippo-Maria from any obUgations in respect to it. 
For that treaty aimed simply and purely at provid- 
ing a common safeguard against the Emperor. Even 
granting it to be true, that the Republic has been 
guilty of such a breach of faith, the Duke ought to be 
reminded that he took the initiative by attacking the 
Malatesti, who are under our protection, and by con- 
tracting alliances with several States contrary to his 
engagements, thus in strictness nullifying the compact 
in question. Your master mentions guarantees ! The 
best guarantee which Venice can have is peace ; but 
that does not appear to be contemplated by the Duke ! " 
"The truth is," concluded his Serenity, "that we 
have determined to adhere to the League for ten years. 
If FiUppo-Maria choose even now to propose the me- 
diation of Ferrara or Mantua, we are content : only, if 
Florence be attacked, we shall help her. On the other 
hand, should the Duke come to terms, he may join the 
League with us against other enemies, if he thinks 
proper to do so." 

Nothing farther was heard of CastigUone; and it 
was suspected that the astrologers, who exerted a 



A.i>. 1426.] MILANESE FRONTIER CROSSED. 61 

tyrannical influence over the mind of Filippo-Maria, 
were persoading him that it would not, after all, be quite 
a hopeless task to grapple with these Venetians, whose 
aggrandizement in the last century at his &ther's 
expense and his own deeply rankled in his bosom/ 
" There was between the Duke and Venice," explicitly 
states the biographer of Acciaiuolo, ^' a natural hatred 
on account of his lands, which are occupied by the 
Republic." *' Filippo," he adds, in another place, 
'* refused an audience to the Venetian ambassador, 
because he detested the parade and circumlocution, 
which the Venetians employ, who are excessively cere- 
monious and verbose !"* 

Carmagnola having been commissioned as Captain- 
General on the 19th February, 1426, Nicolo Contarini 
was sent to Florence to concert a plan of operations 
with the War Department (Dieci della BaUa^) ; and 
hostilities were opened forthwith. At the end of the 
month, the Venetians and Tuscans entered the Milanese 
territory from opposite points ; and on the 3rd March, 
the Allies, 7,000 or 8,000 strong, were in front of 
Brescia. The acquisition of the Guelph and other 
Quarters, into which the City was divided,* was 
achieved with comparative ease. By collusion be- 
tween Carmagnola and the Avogadri and other 
Guelph families,^ with whom he was intimate, the 



■ Bisticd (Vita di Agnolo Acciaiuolo; Arch, Star. Ital, iv. 848). 

* Bisticd, vhi supra. ' Navagiero (foL 1087). 
Galibert, ch. yi. 

* Sabellico (Dec. ii. lib. x.) ; Muratori (Annali, 1426). 



62 HISTORY OP VENICE, [chap. xxii. 

gates were thrown open to the Confederates on the 
night ^ of the 7th ; and the Milanese troops^ who were 
few in number and iU-victaalled, retired without op- 
position into the citadels. The latter, known as the 
Castello Vecchio and the Gastello Nrnvo^ were situated 
on the brow of a hill commanding the City, with which 
they communicated by a high and massive wall mi- 
ning the whole length of the sloping elevation into 
the plain on which Brescia is built.* The bombard- 
ment of the Old and New Castles was an undertaking 
of a &r more arduous kind ; and the difficulties, with 
which it was fraught, allowed the generals of Filippo- 
Maria time to improve and increase their resources. 
On the other hand, the arrival of Nicolo da Tolentino, 
the Florentine commander, placed at the disposal of 
Carmagnola the talents of the most celebrated engi- 
neer of the day; and the siege was immediately formed. 
The enemy had not yet come up. 

The Tusco-Yenetian Alliance soon produced im- 
portant results of a collateral kind. In May, 1426, 
a truce was negotiated by the Florentines between 
Venice and the Emperor, on condition that the 
Signory should lend maritime aid to Sigismund in 
his Turkish war; and in July following,* the Duke 
of Savoy, yielding to Venetian pressure, came to the 
resolution of acceding to the League, and was guaran- 
teed in the possession of all the conquests hereafter 
to be made beyond the Ticiuo toward Piedmont and 

* Andreee Billii Historia, lib. v. • Diedo {Storieu, lib. ix.) 

' Istorie di Firenze (Murat. jxx. 973). 



▲j>. 1426.] FR0GBES8 OF T^£ LEAGUE. 68 

the Gennan MonntainSy together with Asti, Tortona, 
Yoghera, Yercellii Novara, a^d Milan itself. Alessan- 
dria was likewise appointed to fall to the share of 
AmadeoSi unless the Marquis of Monteferrato became, 
within a reasonable space of time, a member of the 
Coalition^ in which c^e that City and its environs 
were to be allotted to the Marquis. 

The execution of that clause of the Treaty of 
December last, which referred to Genoa, was confided 
to the author of the Trepisan Chronicle. It had been 
understood that Florence should anp, at her own cost, 
1,600 horse and 2,000 foot in the cnuse of Geooese 
independence. <^ I was sent," Bedusio himself tells 
us,^ ^^to the Florentines in the neighbourhood of 
Genoa, and, among others, to Tommaso Campo* 
Fregoso, late Doge and Goyemor of the City, who 
was now Lord of 8arzana, and to Giovanni-Luigi da 
Fieschi, residing at Pontremolo, by both of whom I 
was warmly welcomed. Nevertheless, the Florentines 
did not pexfonn their engagements." 

One contingency, for which Venice provided in the 
December Treaty, was speedily realised. Carlo Mala* 
testa elected in ihe new contest to take part with 
Filippo-Maria, whose generosity after the battle of 
San Egidio' in 1416 had completely captivated his 
heart ; and in the early part of April he was conse- 
quently proscribed by the Hundred. On the 17th of 

> Mont. (zix. 864). 

' The picture on this subject by Paolo Uccello is well known. It may 
be seen in the National Gallexy at London. 



64 raSTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

the month, Malatesta addressed an epistle to that 
Connelly conched in terms of snrprise und remon- 
strance, and demanding to know ^' whether the report 
which had reached his ears was correct?" The answer 
was prompt and pointed : it bore date the 19th April. 
** We have received your letter of the 17th," wrote 
the Hundred, ^^ and we heg to inform you, that it is 
quite true that we have published such a proclamation 
as that to which you allude; and a copy is herewith 
inclosed to your Magnificence. It is equally true, that 
your magnificent progenitors have rendered to us the 
services which you specify, and many more indeed; 
and that is precisely the reason why we extended our 
friendship and kindness to your Magnificence and to 
your brothers, and why we made you our captain, 
pensioned you, and conferred citizenship upon you. 
But your Magnificence and your brothers, deviating 
from the path of your fore&thers, and forgetful of 
benefits received, have leagued yourselves with our 
foes, and have paid no heed to our protests and re- 
monstrances. Whether your conduct has been honour- 
able and fair, we must leave you to judge. We, at 
any rate, considering the course which you have so 
unworthily pursued toward our Republic, have issued 
the present proscription ; and what we have begun, we 
mean to carry through ! " * 

Meanwhile, the operations before Brescia were pro- 
gressing favourably, though slowly. Under the super- 
intendence of Tolentino, trenches and other siege 

» Berlan (cap. 27). 



▲j>. 1426.] FALL OF BRESCIA. 65 

works had been constructed on a large scale; both 
citadels were invested; and provisions were already 
running short in the garrison. In Angnst, Carma- 
gnola made himself master of the Pile Gate of the Old 
Castle, and a few weeks afterward, the Garzetta Gate, 
in the Boigo of San Alessandro/ fell into his hands. 
On the 16th September, the Proveditors, Hetro Lore- 
dano and Fantino Michieli, wrote to the Hundred 
from the Camp as follows : — " The troops of the Duke, 
to the number of 7,000, having presented themselves 
here and offered battle, the Venetians, with 6,000 
horse and 1,000 foot, formed in excellent order, and 
came to an engagement with the enemy. The fighting 
lasted three hours, when the Milanese were compelled 
to retire with the provisions they had brought to 
relieve the fortresses ; and the Venetians then entered 
the Old Castle. The New still holds out ; but, with 
the Divine aid, we look for its speedy submission. 
The bombards are already planted agamst the walls." 
The defenders of the New Castle, however, con- 
tinued to make a resolute stand, until the pressure 
of hunger was no longer endurable. On the 10th 
November, the Milanese commander capitulated, sub- 
ject to an understanding that, if reUef arrived within 
ten days,' the instrument should be annulled ; but the 
20th came without bringing any reinforcement or 
hope; and on that day, therefore, the keys were 
delivered, and the confederates gained absolute pos- 
session of Brescia. 

1 Berlan (cap. 41). * Diedo (Storia, lib. iz.) 

VOL. IV. 84 



66 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

At the same time, the Captain of the Po/ having, 
in pnrsnanoe of his instructions (May, 1426), ascended 
that river so . far as Cremona, sailed into the Adda, 
took two forts along its banks, and penetrated to the 
veiy walls of Pavia, which he treated with insulting 
defiance. Filippo-Maria, exasperated to the highest 
pitch by the blow inflicted on his arms and fortunes, 
now had recourse to all sorts of expedients for weaken- 
ing and distracting his new antagonist. At his insti- 
gation, the Hmigarians created a diversion in the 
Frioul; and in July, the BepubUo was obliged to 
despatch a body of troops to that coast under the 
Proveditor Marco Miani. A wretch, named Arrigo 
di Brabante,^ was employed by the Duke ahnost 
simultaneously to set fire to the Venetian Arsenal; 
but the iniquitous scheme was happily revealed prior 
to its execution, and the intended incendiary, sen- 
tenced to be quartered alive, died amid excruciating 
torments. 

From an intelligible reluctance to augment the 
national burdens and to injure commercial interests, 
the Signory had paused, before she finally committed 
herself to war ; but her poUcy was now thorough. On 
her own material resources she had reason to place 
the ftdlest reliance; and Carmagnola was honoured 
by the manifestation on her part of unbounded con* 
fidence in his integrity no less than in his genius. 
On the 7th May,^ civic honours had been accorded to 

» Diedo CStoria, Ub. ix.) » Sanudo (fol. 987). 

» Ibid. (p. 433). 



A.i>. I486.] CABMAONOLA AND THE 8I6N0RY. 67 

him, and the Great Council had enrolled him among 
its members. A few days later (May 11 ^), the Senate 
signified to him its readiness to fonn a State for his 
fiunily on whieh side of the Adda he might prefer, so 
soon as his efforts were crowned by victory. On the 
28th of the same month, pacific overtures having been 
initiated by Filippo-Maria through two esquires of the 
body to Oannagnola, who had been taken prisoners,* 
the Signoiy declared that she was willing to intrust 
the negotiation to the Captain-General, <^who could 
fight and treat at the same time } " and Carmagnola 
was *' recommended " by his employers to treat with 
Filippo '^in such honourable and dexterous manner 
as may seem to his Magnificence most meet."^ But 
he was earnestly exhorted not to allow mere empty 
phrases to interfere with the active prosecution of 
the War. 

Almost firom the outset, to say the truth, the Count 
of Castelnuovo had rendered himself somewhat trouble- 
some. So &r back as the beginning of April, he 
begged leave, as a means of recruiting his health 
whieh was not particularly good, to quit the camp for 
a certain term, and to proceed to the Baths of Abano. 
The Hundred, having taken the opinion of the highest 
medical authorities at Venice and Padua,^ offered no 
direct opposition to his wishes ; but he was prayed 
not to absent himself at present, unless it was abso- 
lutely necessary, and the Council recommended him 

^ Bomaiiia (iTt oap. 5). * BerUn (cap. 41). 

* Berlan (cap. 41). ' Ibid. (cap. 21). 

34—2 



68 fflSTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxu. 

to try an aperient. The hint was not appreciated ; the 
visit to the Baths was paid; and the conunand-in- 
chief was proYisionally conferred upon the Lord of 
Mantua. The request/ to which the Govemment had 
thus yielded, was repeated, however, at intervals ; and 
the Proveditors had the utmost difficulty in keeping 
him at his post. At length, in the middle of October,^ 
while the conquest of Brescia was still imperfect, his 
importunacy was triumphant, and he started on a 
second trip ; nor did he return till the 14th November, 
four days after the signature of the capitulating articles. 
The conduct of Carmagnola was fairly open to ani- 
madversion and blame. His employers had every 
reason to view such behaviour with displeasure ; and 
he was scarcely entitled to complain, if it excited some 
slight degree of distrust. 

The fall of Brescia on the 20th November, the 
threatening posture of Savoy, Switzerland, and Arra- 
gon,' and the undisguised tendency of many of the 
Lombard States to side with the victorious League, 
gravely puzzled Yisconti. The cold season was now 
at hand, and it was tolerably certain that the activity 
of his opponents would be suspended during the 
winter. The Duke, who was bitterly disappointed by 
the rout before Brescia of the troops expressly sum* 
moned from the Romagna to its reUef,' saw no alter- 
native but to seize the present opportunity; and the 
Pontiflf Martin, whom he had propitiated by the recent 

' Berlan (cap. 45). > Redusio (Chranicon Tarvisinum, 855). 

» Ibid. (856). 



A.D. 1426.] VENICE MAKES A TREATY. 69 

cession of Forii and Imola to the Churchy was easily 
persuaded to intercede for him with the Venetians. 
The Goyemment of Foscari informed the Nnncio who 
was sent on this business to Venice, '^ that the Signory 
is &x fonder of peace than of war, and that she accepts 
with pleasmre the mediatorial offices of his Holiness/' 
The initiative having been thus taken, and the Re- 
public having an undoubted right, under the Treaty 
of December, 1425, to terminate hostilities at plea- 
sure,^ certain preliminaries were arranged; a safe- 
conduct was granted to the former ambassador Cas- 
tiglione and two other plenipotentiaries deputed to 
represent the Duke; and after a delay, which the 
nature of the conditions makes intelligible, a treaty 
was signed between Milan and the League on the 
30th December, in the antient monastery of San 
Giorgio Maggiore.* No conquests had hitherto been 
effected in the direction of Tuscany or Piedmont, and 
consequently neither Florence nor Savoy was a gainer 
iu point of territoiy. But the latter acquired important 
commercial advantages in being placed on the same 
footing in the capital of the Bepublic with the German 
Guild:' while the Florentines were allowed to export 
English and French goods from Genoa in their own 
instead of in Genoese bottoms.^ To Venice, Brescia 
and the Bresciano,^ with Casalmaggiore, Valcamonica, 



■ See abo Navagiero (1093). ' Romanin (iv. cap. v.) 

» Saiiizdo (p. 992). * Napier (lib. i, c 80) 

* Aodree Billii HUioria (lib. y.); Leonardi Aretini Smrum Tent' 
parum Cammentarius (Murat. xix. 934). 



70 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

and a portion of the Cremonese,* were reluctantly sur- 
rendered. The fortress of Montecchio was transferred 
to Ferrara. The House of Malatesta was emancipated 
£rom its obligations to Yisconti. The i^lease of the 
wife and children of Oarmagnola, and the restitution 
of his property, werd guaranteed at Venetian dicta- 
tion.* Several other points of minor consequencd wete 



The Brescians had no cause to regret their change 
of rulers. Their Constitution^ which was assimilated, 
with some difference in the details, to that introduced 
into Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Padua, and the other 
Provinces of the Terra-Ferma, was framed in a liberal 
spirit and on wisely moderate principles. The taxes 
underwent little or no alteration. The courts of law 
were improved ; ^ and the administration of justice was 
rendered prompter and mc^re effective^ The acquisi* 
tion, at the same time, was more advantageous to the 
Signory, in a financial point of view, than any other 
of her conquests, Padua not excepted : lor, while the 
expenditure was calculated at 16,000 ducats a year 
only, the revenues of the Bresciano were found to 
reach ^ 75,500, a surplus thus remaining of nearly 
60,000. 

The first Podesta of Brescia was Fantino Dandolo, 
son of the Doge Andrea, cmd a man of equal piety 

» Berlan (cap. 47). 

' Foggio Braeciolini {HistoriOy lib. v.; Murat. zx. 353); Romanin, 
11^' supra. 
» Sandi {Storia Civile Vtneziana, lib. vii. t, 1). 
« Sanudo (p. 965). 



^jk. 1426-7.] EPHEMERAL DURATION OF THE PEACE. 71 

and enidition ; and the appointment of Captain of the 
City ima bestowed upon Nicolo Malipiero. The post 
of Castellan of one of the Citadels deyolved upon the 
Anihor of the celebrated Chronicle of Treviso^ a subject 
and tried servant of the Bepublic. *^ While the cession 
of the place (Brescia) was still pending," this writer 
observesi^ ** the Senate of Venice sent for mey Andrea 
Bednsio of Qnero, Citizen and Chancellor of the Com- 
mnne of Trevisoi and told me, that I must go as 
Castellan to Casale-Majas with a proper garrison ; and 
my pay was to be 200 gold ducats a year. So I pro- 
ceeded in compliance with this bidding ; and I entered 
upon my duties on the 10th Januaryi 1427." 

It soon became convincingly apparent, that the new 
Treaty was no more than an armistice of the most 
ephemeral character; the lieutenants of the Duke in 
the Bresciano refosed, for the most part, to fulfil the 
agreement by delivering the keys of the fortresses to 
the Venetian delegates; and so early as the 3rd 
February, 1427, the Captain-General was invited to 
repair to the capital, in order that he might assist 
the Qovenunent in laying down the plan of a fresh 
campaign. On the 24th March, the Countess Car- 
magnola-Visconti, who had been liberated in pur- 
suance of one of the articles of December, joined her 
husband ; and she experienced at the hands of the 
Signory a goigeous reception. Neither trouble nor 
cost was spared in doing honour to that favoured 
individual, to whom a great people were content, so 

> Muiat. (ziz. 8(^8). 



72 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

long as he was true to their interest and to his own, 
to commit their fortunes in trust ; and under such 
auspices, while the personal prospects of Carmagnola 
became enviably brilliant, his employers were at liberty 
to promise themselves the realization of their proudest 
dreams. 

The Florentine connexion had proved itself ahnost 
throughout of very Uttle utihty ; and a portion only of 
the stipulated contingents had ever been forthcoming. 
The Tuscan Commonwealth speedily discovered, that it 
had committed itself to a contest, which was calculated 
to tiy severely its resources.^ Although, at the mo- 
ment when it embraced the Venetian alliance, the 
question of aggrandizement was kept quite out of sight 
by the more vital one of independent existence, a 
few months sufficed to change Florentine views ; that 
Power began to think, that the results obtained hardly 
warranted an outlay of 2,600,000 florins, which it 
was alleged at least to have incurred;^ and the Re- 
public foresaw pretty clearly that, in the second stage 
of the struggle which was impending, she would be 
obliged to fight almost single-handed. Her levies and 
preparations were of commensurate magnitude. 36,000 
men, of whom 8,000 only^ were mercenaries, were 
received into her pay ; and although 4,000,000 (due.) 
had already been added to the National Debt since 
the beginning of the reign, Venice returned to the 
field with energy and cheerfulness. She had been 
the last to draw the sword ; it now seemed probable 

» Napier (iii. 87). ■ Ibid. » Diedo {Stona, lib. ix.) 



A.D. 1427.] RENEWAL OP THE WAR. 73 

that she would be the last to sheathe it; and the 
integrity of the Florentine Constitution was perhaps 
not the only problem, which was to be worked out by 
the sword of Carmagnola. 

Their recent humiliation was not without the effect 
of stinging the pride of the Milanese aristocracy, and 
of awakening in their breast a powerful impulse of 
patriotism. The Duke was implored not to submit 
tamely to the dismemberment of his possessions in the 
loss of one of the most important dependencies of his 
Grown. The utmost devotion was manifested. As 
the price of a few privileges, of a little liberty, the 
Nobles of Milan declared themselves ready to make 
any sacrifices. Yisconti acted in this instance with 
the egregious duplicity and fiaJsehood which belonged 
to him. With outspread hands he received the con- 
tributions offered on all sides to his acceptance ; and 
he dismissed the deluded petitioners for reform with 
professions, which were of the sUghtest possible 
value. 

The first blow was struck by the Duke, whose troops 
under Nicolo Piccinino and Angelo della Pergola, after 
taking TorriceUi in the Parmesan territory, and over- 
running the Bresciano, formally assaulted Casalmag- 
giore. The Venetian Commandant, Fantino Pisani, 
defended his trust with great intrepidity, until succour, 
for which he had promptly appUed to Venice, to the 
new Captain of the Po, Stefano Contarini, and to Car- 
magnola himself, could arrive. The naval forces ^f 
Filippo-Maria, which were stationed in the immediate 



74 HISTOBT OF VENICE. [chai^.zzu. 

neighbourhood of Pavia under Enstachio Paccino, were 
vastly superior to those at the disposal of Contarini ; 
they consisted of not fewer than one-and-forty sail ; and 
the Captain vaUdly pleaded his inability to respond 
to the appeal. The Captain-General, whose head- 
quarters were near Casalsecco, sent only lame and 
shallow excuses. The Hundred desired him, intreated 
him, to hasten to the relief of Pisani ; but he did not 
stir an inch. On the 27th April, he wrote: **My 
horses are without forage, and I can do nothing." 
The answer of the Hundred was : ** To raise your 
camp, change your positions, and plant yourself else- 
where, is not the work of a moment, and before you 
stand in need of it, the grass will have had time to 
grow ! " ^ Next he was short of money, and begged a 
remittance ; he was told, that the remittance was on 
its way. Still he did not move, and when an explana- 
tion was asked, he had the portentous effironteiy to 
allege, '^ that he was too weak to hazard a rescue/' 
although it was an ascertained fact that he had with 
him 16,000 cavalry. ' Under these circumstances, 
Casalmaggiore succumbed on the 1st May, 1427. 
Piccinino and his colleague, emboldened by their suc- 
cess, pushed forward to Brescello, which had been 
already blockaded by Paccino. ' Nevertheless, so 
soon as the distress of Brescello was made known to 
the Ducal Government, two men-of-war, from the 

poops of which were seen to float the united colours 

-• ' ^ 

» Berlan (cap. 48). « Ibid. 

* Andieae Billii Hittoria, lib. vi. 



AJ>. 1487.] DEFEAT OF THE MILANESE FLEET. 75 

of Yenice, Florence, and Savoy,^ were despatched^ 
until more effectual relief was at hand^ to create a 
diTereion^ and^ if it was found possible, to cover the 
place. 

At the same time, explicit instractions were ^received 
by the Cheralier Bembo, commissioned, during thd 
temporary absence of Oontarini, as Lieutenant of ihi 
POf to raise the blockade of Brescello on the riyer-^ 
side by bringing Pacdno to action. Bembo, who had 
under him, inclusive of pi^esent reinforcements, be^ 
tween thirty and five^and-thirty vessels, mounting 
10,000 men,' hastened accordingly to complete his 
dispositions ; and his opponent, confident enough in 
his own strength, did not scruple to abandon Brescello 
for the purpose of courting the engagement*' It was 
also the object of Paccino, in shifting his ground so 
promptly, to take the enemy by surprise, and to 
manoeuvre in sudx a manner as to envelop the op« 
posed squadron* But he had to deal with a master-^ 
spirit ;^ Bembo was thoroughly cool and collected ; and 
after a furious combat, the Milanese flotilla, though 
assisted by Piccinino who opened a heavy fire upon 
the Venetians fix)m the shore, was repulsed with great 
slaughter and hopelessly scattered/ It was the 21st 



' Bonuuiin (iy. cap. 5). 

* Sabellico (Dw. ii. lib. z.) $ Diedo {Siona, lib. iz.) 
' Diedo, ubi tuprd, 

* Andreie Billii Hittarioj lib. Ti.; Rediisio, Chronican^ SS9 (Murat 
ziz.) 

* Betnu Cftndidtls Decembritn, VUa di Nieoh PkehMM (Mmt. xz. 
1055). 



76 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxn. 

May, 1427.^ Bembo, seeking to pnrsae his advan- 
tage, ascended the river, passed Brescello now partially 
relieved, pierced two consecutive lines of palisades 
drawn from bank to bank, and at length appeared in 
sight of Pavia. It was only the want of a proper 
force to effect a landing, which deterred the victor 
from carrying the terror of his arms into the antient 
capital of Lombardy. 

Meanwhile, the Captain-General, yielding to the 
reiterated appeals of the Centnmvirate, advanced at a 
leisnrely pace against Piccinino with at least the 
ostensible design of completing the undertaking, to 
which Bembo had already contributed so important 
a share. But Carmagnola, even before he reached 
Gottelengo, fell, on Ascension-day,' into an ambus- 
cade prepared by Piccinino, and did not extricate him- 
self without incurring severe loss in horses. The 
Signoiy immediately wrote him a letter (June 20*), in 
which his exertions were warmly applauded! But no 
stress was laid on the late misadventure ; and in com- 
pliance with his request, 1,000 ducats of gold were 
privately remitted to his Magnificence for distribution 
among such of his cavalry as had been dismounted, 
with a suggestion that '^ as compensation of this kind 
is not usual, you will deal out the money as if it 
came from your private purse, and will refrain from 
mentioning that it is given by the Bepublic." His 



* Murmtori (Amia/i, ix. 131) ; Billios and Sabellioo, lods supra ciiatis. 

* fierlan (cap. 49). ' Ibid. 



AJ>. 1427.] CASALSECCO CAMP. 77 

Magnificence was urged once more, however, to dis- 
regard the hollow and deceitfol proposals of Yisconti 
and his creatures, to cross the Adda, and iQvade 
the Milanese. ^ He was begged, above eveiything, to 
beware of one Enrico de Colombiers, a renegade 
Savoyard, who was reported to be always at his elbow 
with some new programme, ^'and whose astuteness 
and cunning," said the Signoiy, ^* render him of as 
much use to his master the Duke as any 500 lances 
in his pay!"' This exhortation was not altogether 
lost upon Cannagnola; and having shifted his quarters, 
he found himself in] the early days of July at Casal- 
secco itself. The enemy, under Piccinino and Fran- 
cesco Sforza, were at no great distance ; and a collision 
was therefore shortly to be expected. The Venetian 
position at Casalsecco was not intrenched ; but it was 
protected by a ditch and by strong palings ; and the 
military carts and waggons were drawn up in a line 
round the encampment, in the Boman &8hion, as an 
additional defence.' 

But the generalissimo, having perfunctorily exe- 
cuted the desire of the Bepublic, relapsed almost 
instantiy into that languid indifference, which seemed 
to have become a part of his nature ; and it was a 
sheer impossibility to rouse him to activity. He did 
not appear to be labouring under any illness. Of 
unjust or distrustful treatment he had not an atom of 
right to complain. For from the middle of May^ the 

1 Berlaa (cap. 50). ^ Ibid, ubi supra. 

' Diedo iStoriOj lib. ix.) * Berlan (cap. 48). 



78 mSTOEY OF VENICE. [csAP.nn. 

Proveditors had been under a strict injunction **to 
abstain from meddling unduly or unnecessarily with 
his Magnificence." 

It was now the height of summer. The weather 
was exceedingly sultry, and in the open countiy the 
dust was blinding. It was hard to distinguish even 
near olyects. On the 12th July,^ the enemy seized 
the opportunity, crossed the moat, broke through the 
palisade and the line of waggons, and surprised the 
Camp« There was indescribable confusion. There 
was a rush to arms and to horse. Friends and foes 
were mistaken for each other. The General him- 
self was pitched violently from his saddle, and was 
nearly killed. Gonzaga of Mantua, who was serving 
under him, was discovered in the midst of the Milan- 
ese ; Bforza, misled by the whirlwind of dust ploughed 
up by the hoofs of the horses, plunged into the thick 
of the hostile encampment ; and both had the narrow- 
est escape from being made prisoners. Ultimately, 
the aggressors beat a retreat; and no advantage 
remained with either side. After this discreditable 
affair, the Captain-General, possibly a Uttle ashamed 
of himself, shewed some symptoms of reviving energy. 
Taking advantage of the disunion imderstood to pre- 
vail in the Milanese camp, and of the valuable diver- 
sion created by other members of the League in the 
direction of Monteferrato, Savoy, and Switzerland, < 
Carmagnola proceeded to occupy Binate' and San 

1 Muratori (^nna/t, ix. 131). * Ibid, 132. 

' Sabellico (Dec. ii. lib. x) 



Aj>. i4«r.] AcnvrPT op VBincE. 79 

OiovBimi-a-Groce ; and, finally, he recovered Casal- 
ma^^ore. 

It soon appeared that Cannagnola had pledged him- 
self, ipdthout consulting his employers, to restore the 
prisoners taken at Casalmaggiore. The Hundred 
pointed out to him, in their despatch, that the Yene* 
tians who had fallen into the hands of the Duke were 
still detained, and that his own shonld therefore have 
heen kept back with a view to an exchange ; ** bnt," 
concluded the Council, ''as you have made the 
engagement in our name, you must fulfil it." At the 
same time, he was emphatically urged not to relax in 
his efforts, to persevere in his enterprise, and to cross 
the Adda. Two Nobles of illustrious name, Leonardo 
Mocenigo and Fantino Michieli, were even appointed 
to wait upon his Magnificence, on the part of the Doge 
Foscari, to inculcate for the third or fourth time the 
importance '' of doing something decisive, and at 
once : " while Oiacomo Contarini was sent to Florence 
for the purpose of stimulating that Power to the pro- 
secution of her plans for emancipating Genoa from 
Milanese thraldom. For it was the fear of Venice, that 
the maritime strength of her old rival might otherwise 
be reorganized by Yisconti, and that the Republic 
might thus find it necessary to commence naval 
annaments upon a grand and costly scale at a moment 
when the monthly expenditure upon the Army alone 
was not less than 60,000 ducats. 

The pace of operations remained, notwithstanding, 
dolefully languid ; and about the middle of August the 



80 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxii. 

posture of a£fairs was so stagnant, that several mem- 
bers of the Hundred openly complained from their 
seats of the miserable progress of the War, and sug- 
gested the propriety of intimating to his Magnific^ice 
in some stronger terms than heretofore the repeatedly 
declared wishes of the Signoiy. But the hope was 
not yet forsaken that affairs might soon improve, and 
the motion consequently dropped.^ Toward the end 
of September, indeed, headquarters were shifted to 
the neighbourhood of the Lago d'Iseo, and siege was 
laid to Montechiaro. But no result of any conse- 
quence attended the change. At the same time, Car- 
magnola was not insensible to the ill-disguised sneers 
and disparaging strictures of those about him, more 
especially of the Proveditors of Brescia ; the complaint 
and ridicule were too just not to be excessively galling; 
and in the beginning of October he addressed to the 
Doge a letter couched in the most indignant and 
resentful language. He denounced with bitter em- 
phasis all meddlesome and self-sufficient civilians who, 
quitting their counting-house, came to teach war to 
" the Child of War ; " and he threw out a hint of no 
ambiguous sort about unappreciated services and more 
discerning employers. The tone which he used excited 
some alarm. His genius was at present indispen- 
sable; his anger was not to be treated with levity ; and, 
stifling its instinctive desire of counter-remonstrance, 
the Government acted upon the necessity of meeting 
the Condottiero in a conciliatory spirit. On the 6th 

* Berlan (cap. 51). 



A-D. 1427.] A VISITOR AT THE CAMP. 81 

of the month, the Noble Andrea Morosini was charged 
by the Doge to proceed with all possible despatch to 
headquarters, to intimate the sorrow of the Republic 
at the discord and bad feeling which seemed to reign 
in the Camp, to remind him that the mildness of 
Venetian institutions permitted a Uberty of speech to 
which he was perhaps unaccustomed, to suggest that 
the idle rumours which were constantly circulating 
abroad ought to be beneath his notice, to afford the 
strongest assurance of unabated and cordial friendship, 
and to pray him to display the utmost activity in the 
execution of the high task confided to his talents. 
Morosini was farther instructed to reprimand the Pro- 
veditors at Brescia ; and those indiscreet functionaries 
were accordingly summoned to his presence. ^' Have 
you,*' the Ducal Envoy inquired, ** in public or other- 
wise, spoken disrespectfully of the Captain-General ? " 
" If. you have," he continued, " the Government 
greatly wonders that personages so vdse should not 
have foreseen the pernicious operation of such a pro- 
ceeding on the mind of his Magnificence. Even if 
you had perfect reason, you ought not to have done 
80. Far he has our State in his power.'' ^ It may be 
judged that the circumstances were deemed cogent, 
which persuaded the Doge to whisper into the ears 
even of his confidential Ministers a confession so 
startling, though partaking of the nature of a hyper- 
bole. 

Nevertheless, the animadversions of which he had 

^ Berlan (cap. 56). 

VOL. IV. 35 



82 HISTORY OF VENICaS. [chaf. xxn. 

become the object were not without the fialntary effect 
of awakening Carmagnola from his lethaigy; and, 
having left Montechiaro, which he had taken after a 
month's siege/ in his rear, he pnshed forward' to 
Macalo/ near the Oglio, abont seven miles from 
Cremona, and not more than three from the Milanese 
quarters. The voice of detraction and satire appeared 
to be now exercising an influence so long desired, by 
stimulating his Magnificence to increased exertions* 
By the suggestion of a doubt of his abiUties, and even 
of his courage, his pride was wounded, and the inmost 
nature of the man was touched. His old spirit lived 
in him again. Upon his arrival at Macalo,^ he hastened 
to reconnoitre positions, and to measure distances. 
He went over the ground with minute care, exhibiting 
an anxiety to make himself acquainted with every 
curve and slope ; and the smallest details were not 
too small to receive his personal superintendence. It 
was clear that some great design was in his thoughts ; 
and Venice had reason to beUeve that that turn in 
the war was at hand, of which she had been content 
hitherto, though not without a hard trial of patience 
and temper, to feed herself with the bare expecta- 
tion. 

The Milanese army had, down to the present time, 
suffered materially from the absence of a Captain- 
General; the divisions among its numerous leaders 
formed a source of weakness and confusion; and 

* Redusio (Chron. Tarv., 863). • Sabellico (Dec. ii. lib. x.) 

' Kno¥rn at a later period as Maclodio. * Rcdu^io (Murat. xix. 8C3). 



AJ^. 1427.] THE DAY OF MACALO. 88 

Filippo-Maria, observing how ill his a£fairs prospered, 
at length came to the resolution of conferring the post 
of Generalissimo on Carlo Malatesta/ The fiame of 
the yonng Lord of Pesaro had been within the last 
few years tarnished by more than one military blander, 
and he was naturally impatient to redeem his character 
by some striking and brilliant exploit. Malatesta pos« 
sessed considerable abilities ; but he was rash, and he 
was also unfortunate. The two forces were separated 
by a swamp, which was traversed by a narrow cause- 
way ; the country abounded in brakes and thickets. 
Malatesta, eager to engage his adversary, crossed the 
bog, and found himself in close • contact with the 
Allies, who were drawn up in admirable order to 
receive him, and who did not give him time to com- 
mence the attack. It was the 11th October, 1427.* 
Carmagnola had made his dispositions with great care ; 
he had directed Nicolo Tolentino, with 2,000 horse,' 
to plant himself behind some adjacent copses, and at 
the appointed signal to take the enemy in rear, while 
the main body assailed them in front. Malatesta fell 
into the snare prepared for him. He was unexpectedly 
hemmed in on both sides. The movements of his 
cavalry were cramped by the nature of the ground, on 
which they had incautiously allowed themselves to be 
forced ; the feet of his horses became entangled in the 
underwood, and the bellies of the animals were stung 
by the nettles. The strength of the Allies lay in their 

* Candidiu Decembrius, Vita di N. Piccinino (Murat. xx. 1056). 
« Muratoii {Annali, ix. 132). ' Diedo (^Storia, lib. ix.) 

35—2 



84 HISTORY OP VENICE, [chap. xxii. 

centre, and ifs onset was perfectly irresistible. Mala- 
testa, whose impetuosity was threatened with a sadly 
disastrous issue, soon despaired of success, and yielded 
up his sword to Gonzaga of Mantua, his brother- 
in-law.^ The day was lost to the Duke of Milan ; 
8,000 cuirassiers, all the baggage, and an immense 
booty were secured by Carmagnola * after the victory 
of Macalo. 

This splendid achievement thoroughly retrieved the 
reputation of the Commander-in-Chief; and on the 
arrival of the news at Venice on the 16th,' a feeling 
of exuberant satisfsu^tion was produced. A letter, 
superscribed by the Doge, was written to him on the 
following day, fiiU of the warmest eulogy and the 
most flattering protestations. From a politic wish to 
convince him that old impressions were forgotten, the 
Signoiy lavished upon the hero the most elaborate 
compliments and the most munificent rewards. A 
house in the capital at San Eustachio, which Venetian 
gratitude had once awarded to Fandolfo Malatesta,^ 
with the fief of Castenedolo in the Bresciano for 
himself and his heirs, was assigned to the successful 
General. Giorgio Comaro and Santo Veniero were 
deputed to present to him the thanks of the Bepublic. 
He was exhorted to look upon Macalo as the first of a 
series of triumphs equally splendid and equally within 
his reach. The Hundred signified an opinion that 

' Andreae Billii Historia (lib. vi.) 

' Foggio Bracciolini (Historia Florenitna^ lib. y.) 

» Sanudo (Ftte, p. 997). * Berlan (cap. 58). . 



ij>. 1427.] MORE MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT. 85 

the moment had come forjpassing the Adda, and for 
putting an end to the War by a glorious victory and an 
honourable peace.^ 

There was a common feeling in Italy, that it was 
now quite open to Carmagnola, by bridging the Adda 
and marching rapidly on Milan, to shatter at a single 
blow the power of Filippo-Maria, and to hoist the 
Lion of Saint Mark upon the ramparts of his Capital. 
But his Magnificence, who did not conceive it to be 
his interest that the War should be so soon finished, 
or that his former employer should be totally crushed, 
had no intention of doing anything of the kind pro- 
posed ; and instead of responding to the appeal of the 
Signory, he frittered away the remainder of the year 
in insignificant achievements, and then demanded per- 
mission to go to the Baths! The Proveditors, who 
were enjoined to divert him by all means from his 
purpose, had no light or enviable task ; but for the 
moment their representations prevailed. Of these 
idle subterfdges the Eepublic was growing a little 
weary ; and even if her suspicions of his good faith 
began just now to strengthen, it was hardly wonderful 1 • 
For it was notorious that his opponents were no match 
for him, either in ability or in material strength ; and 
the common supposition in the Milanese camp was 
that his inaction proceeded rather from a contemptuous 
confidence, than from any other motive,' 

The Duke, however, had during some time been 

* Berlan (cap. 59). ' Nayagiero (Storia, 1092-3). 

* Candido Decembrio (Fito di If» Piccinitio, 1056). 



86 HISTORY OF VENICE. [cn.vr. xxii. 

seriously revolving in his mind the expediency of pro*^ 
curing at least a suspension of hostiUties. The pro- 
gress of his old Lieutenant, though to a certain extent 
neutralized by causes of which he was possibly not 
altogether ignorant, excited his fears, and rendered 
him anxious to witness the return of peace. With 
this object, his invaluable ally, the Pontiff Martin, was 
again required to furnish a proof of his love of concord 
and devotion to the House of Yisconti ; and so early 
as September, the Cardinal of Santa-Croce began to 
feel the temper of the Ducal Government.^ The 
Battle of Macalo naturally gave a potent stimulus to 
such a movement; and after a delay, which partly 
arose from the presence of the plague of Venice, and 
partly from an accident which befel one of the Venetian 
ambassadors on the road,^ a Congress met at Ferrara 
on the 8rd November. The grand obstacle to any 
settlement lay in the lofty pretensions of Venice.' In 
addition to Brescia and its territory already ceded, the 
BepubUc claimed the City and Province of Bergamo, 
Palazzolo, Martinengo, and Iseo I The Duke made a 
vigorous attempt to obtain a modification; but the 
Hundred, famiUar with his embarrassed and helpless 
condition, shewed themselves inexorable ; and it was 
only at the earnest desire of the Florentines that the 
immediate restoration of Genoa to freedom, on which 

* Candido Dccembrio, Vita Philippi'Maria VicecomiUs (Murat. xx. 
091). 

• LeUers of Palla Strozzi to the Died di Balia at Florence (Cevalcanti, 
Istorie FiorenHne^ ii. Document!). 

' Letter of Strozzi (Dec. 29, 1427), loco citato. 



A.0. 1427], ANOTHER TRIP TO THE BATHS. 87 

the Venetians had at first insbted, was waived.' Yis- 
conti neglected no expedient for improving his situa- 
tion and for gaining time : for he was aware that the 
war had also reduced his opponents to serious financial 
straits ; and Florence alone was represented to have 
spent 3,500^000 florins. He intrigued and dallied 
with Gannagnola. He adroitly detached Savoy firom 
the League by marrying the daughter of Amadous. 
The Congress was deluded and duped with propositions 
and counter-propositions, till the spring had fairly set 
in, and Venetian patience was utterly exhausted. The 
Signory then recommended Oarmagnola to resume the 
offSdnsive; but this mysterious trifler sent back word 
that his health was remarkably delicate, and that he 
wished to recruit his strength at the Baths! The 
Government replied : " We are really very much sur- 
prised at such a request on the part of your Magnifi- 
cence at this season of the year, when it has become 
of such consequence to take the field;" but, neverthe- 
less, Pietro Loredano, the bearer of the answer, was 
secretly instructed to yield, if the General insisted, 
and to assume the Command-in-Chief during his 
absence. On the 18th March, the Count duly made 
his appearance, and was received by the Doge and the 
other members of the Executive with ceremonious 
pomp. After a short stay in the capital, and a few con- 
ferences with the Signory, he left for Abano, But the 
conmiission of Vice-Captain-General, given to Loredano 
(February 23) who had earned a classic reputation 

' StrozzCs Letters (Jonuaiy 6 and April 5, 1428). 



88 HISTORY OP VEKICE. [chap. xxu. 

by his feats of arms at Motta and Gallipoli, afforded a 
convincing proof that, whatever might be the cost, the 
BepubUc was prepared to maintain an nncompromising 
straggle ; and, after a pamfdl conflict with his pride 
and ambition, the Duke elected to acquiesce in the 
terms dictated by Venice. On this basis, peace was 
signed on the 19th April, 1428 ; and it was published 
on the 16th of the following month. ^ The enormous 
aggrandizement, which the new Treaty brought to the 
Signoiy, powerfully contrasted with the meagre advan- 
tages derived by Florence. A clause, seeming to bear 
a covert meaning, but partly declaratory, was inserted 
at the desire of the Venetians, by which the House 
of Malatesta was withdi*awn from Milanese jurisdiction 
or protection; both the contracting parties pledged 
themselves to abstain from interference in the affairs 
of Bomagna, Bologna, and Tuscany; a few minor 
points were submitted to Papal arbitration ; and fresh 
guarantees were exacted by Venice in favour of the 
undeserving, but indispensable Carmagnola.^ 

Bergamo, after much demur, was consigned to the 
Venetian Proveditors on the 8th May. The Duke 
announced at the last moment that he would rather 
give up Cremona ; but the Signoiy declined to make 
the exchange. The government of the new district 
differed in some respects from that established in the 
other dominions of Venice on the mainland ; and the 

' Istorie di Firenze, 073 (Murat. xiz.) 

' Letter of Palla Strozzi to his Oovemment (Florence), March 10, 1428 
(Caralcanti, Documenti). 



AJ>. 142S.] CONSTITUTION OP BERGAMO. 89 

citizenB and provincial population had the best reason 
to congratulate themselves on their transfer from the 
atrocions despotism of Yisconti to the more enlightened 
institations of the Bepubhc. At the head of the 
administration, as elsewhere, was a Podesta, who held 
office for a year, and who, upon entering on his fane- 
tions, swore before the Arts, representatives of the 
people, to observe the laws and the privileges. of the 
mmiicipality, and to rule uprightly and impartially. 
The popular representatives composed the lower 
House of Parliament ; the Upper House consisted of 
the Nobles ; and it was called the Great CounciL ^ 
Every year in December, this assembly, in concert 
with the Podesta, chose out of its own ranks a body 
of seventy-two persons, who were denominated the 
AntientSf and of whom a conclave of twelve sat once a 
week in bi-monthly rotation, to represent and watch 
the Communal interests. At these conclaves the 
Podesta was entitled to preside. The Bench formed 
in itself a separate and distinct jurisdiction, termed the 
College of Judges ; and it was before this tribunal that 
all appeals were brought, as well as pleas and criminal 
ioformations. The balance of revenue and expenditure 
in Bergamo and the Bergamasque yielded a yearly 
surplus of 16,000 ducats. The income was 25,500 : 
while the expenses of administration did not exceed 
9,600.* The first Podesta was Leonardo Giustiniani;' 



' Sandi Qih. vii. cap. 1) ; Romanin (iv. 227). 

' Sanudo(Fi7e, 06d). 

* Sandi, tf^' svpra ; Diedo {Storia^ lib. iz.) 



90 HISTORY OP VENICE- [chap. xxn. 

a nobleman of antient fEunily, and an ornament of 
contemporary literature. He was one of the sons of 
Bernardo Giustiniani, an early Venetian historian. 
Yisconti cordially hated him. "That fellow/' the 
Duke used to say, " has made more war upon me with 
his head than any 10|000 horse of the Signory ; *' and 
Fietro Avogadro of Brescia once observed : " If the 
Signory had such a man in her other cities, all Lorn- 
bardy might soon be hers ! "^ 

The Bepnblic had emerged with glory and advantage 
from her contest against the Doke of Milan ; and she 
was now left in the enjoyment of repose. The ambi- 
tion and cupidity of Turkey kept her cruisers con- 
stantly on the alert, and exposed her trade to heavy 
losses at intervals; but there was no European Power 
with whom she was actually at war ; and she was at 
last in a position to lay down her arms, and to bestow 
closer attention on her commercial interests. Venice 
was thankful for this rest, even if it was not to be a 
very lengthened one ; she was glad to be spared for a 
moment the costly necessity of conquering. For, in the 
present state of Italy, no combination was apparently 
possible, which could withstand the genius of Car- 
magnola, seconded by the prudence of the BepubHc, 
her heroism, and her gold. 

In the revolutionary annals of the Peninsula, few 
more remarkable episodes are to be found than the 
vicissitudes of Bologna. Originally governed by its 
own Dukes, that City hastened, at the era of the Lom- 

> Santtdo(Fifte, p. 1002). 



AJ>. 1428,] REVOLUTIONS OP BOLOGNA. 91 

bard League, to embrace republican institutioiis ; and 
in the following centuiy, it found itself engaged in a 
losing contest witii the Venetians on the question of 
the Gulf-Dues. In 1402, after several revolutions, 
the Bolognese were incorporated with the Dukedom of 
Milan. After the death of Giovanni-Galeazzo Yisconti, 
they became the subjects of the Church, and tolerated 
the odious i^anny of the Pope till 1411, when they 
rebelled against his government, and returned to a 
short enjoyment of freedom. In 1412, by the con- 
nivance of some of the Nobles, the Pontifical yoke was 
riveted with stronger links to their necks; and be- 
tween that and the present time, although several 
violent and convulsive changes were wrought in the 
Bolognese Constitution, the Commune groaned, for 
the most part, under Papal aggression. 

At length, on the 1st August, 1428,^ the cry of 
Long live the Arts and Liberty I which had not been 
heard since 1411, rose once more in the streets; a 
large number of Nobles assembled on the Piazza ; the 
doors of the Palace were wrenched from their hinges ; 
the Cardinal-Legate was obliged to flee ; and the old 
Constitution, with its Standard-Bearer and its Council 
o/AfUientSf was triumphantly proclaimed. The Holy 
See, however, was too fond of its temporalities to 
surrender tamely so important a possession. It was 
known that the Legate was already engaged in collect- 
ing a powerful force to assert the authority of his 

■ Murmtori {Amudij ix. 6-134) ; Pugliola, Cronica diBologna (Murat. 
xriii.) 



92 mSTORT OP VENICE. [chap, xxu, 

master; from the vengeance of such a Government 
everything was to be dreaded; and the Antients, 
alarmed by the prospect of a bloody retribution and 
aggravated servitude, sought the offices of the Signoiy 
as an intercessor, determining, if that expedient failed, 
to implore her mighty protection. 

The answer of the Senate to the Envoys of the 
distressed Commune was delivered on the 27th 
August ; it was as follows : * — " The Republic has 
always valued the friendship of the Bolognese, and has 
wished them well. They may rely upon the exertion 
of her utmost influence with the Apostolic See ; but 
she is precluded by recent treaties' from direct or 
active interference. At the same time, we pray that 
the Bolognese Condottiero Sanseverino, whose services 
she has engaged, and who has been paid in advance, 
may be desired to proceed to his destination without 
delay." 

But the situation of Bologna grew from day to day 
more critical. Menaced by the troops of Lucca and 
Bome, the City renewed its appeal to the Venetians, 
and volunteered to place itself entirely at their dis- 
posal ; but the opinion of the Senate underwent no 
change : that Body contented itself with reiterating 
its previous declaration, accompanied by an expression 
** of sorrow for the dilemma in which the Bolognese 
were placed." Apart from other motives, the behaviour 
of the Duke of Milan rendered Venice reluctant to take 

' Roxnanin (iv. cap. 5). 

• Letters of Palla Strozzi, No. 22 (^;>rt7 3, 1428). 



4J>. 1428.] A SHORT REFOSE. 98 

any course, which was apt to inyolve her in a s6riond 
dispute with Martin Y. 

Before any considerable interval had elapeied, the 
provisions of the Treaty of 1428 were grossly infiinged 
by attacks on the princes, of whose estates that com- 
pact expressly guaranteed the integrity and freedom 
from spoliation.^ On the 25th October, 1428, Giorgio 
Comaro was sent to Milan to lay these grounds of 
complaint before Filippo-Maria. But no satisfSaction 
was afforded ; and on the 12th of the following 
Januaiy (1429^) the Signoiy wrote to Fantino Dan- 
dolo, her ambassador at Florence : ^^ Fihppo continues 
to be quite the same as ever, molesting tjie Fregosi 
(of Genoa) and. their Allies, the Marquis of Monte- 
ferrato, (Orlando) Fallayicini, the sons o^ (Filippo) 
ArceUijf fortifying boundaries and collecting troops ; 
and therefore the League must be persevered in." 

Two days before (January 10), a letter had arrived 
from Carmagnola, in which he tendered his resignation 
of the post of Captain-General : it was not accepted. 
His employers, however, knowing the desire of the 
Duke to regain his former lieutenant, resolved to thwart 
the intrigue, which was more than suspected to be in 
progress, by outbidding him; and, in the middle of 
February, a fresh arrangement was concluded with the 
Generalissimo, framed on a scale of unprecedented 
hberality. The supreme and exclusive command of 
all the armies of the Republic in Lombardy was con- 

> Letters of PaUa Sirozzi, No. 21 {March 23, 1428). 
' Romanin (iv. 135, note). 



94 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, wm. 

ferred npon the Count. It ttes agreed that, whether 
Venice went to war or remained at peace, he shoold 
be paid at the uniform rate of 1,000 ducats a month ; 
and during actual hostilities, all ransoms and other 
prize-money, to whatever amount, were to be allotted 
to him. 

The anxiety of the Signory to secure the services 
of CarmagQola, even at so dear a rate, soon beciEune 
intelligible enough. The Milanese difficulty was 
acquiring from day to day additional complication. 
The Florentines, emboldened by the unwarlike cha- 
racter of Paolo Guinigi, Lord of Lucca, whose patri- 
mony had at one time formed part of their own 
dominions, declared war against that State in the 
course of December, 1429 ; ^ and the victims of this 
unprincipled aggression, having first made a manful 
stand against the invaders, followed the example set 
by Bologna, and sought to throw themselves into the 
arms of Venice.' To the present offer an objection 
existed in the eyes of the Senate analogous to that 
raised against its predecessor ; and that august Body 
returned a substantially similar reply. It thanked 
Lucca and her Lord for the flattering proposal, and 
regretted that the alliance between Florence and the 
Bepublic was of such a nature as to preclude accept- 
ance.' The Treaty of 1428 equally debarred the 

* Muratori (iinna/t, ix. 138). 

' InstructionB given to the Sienese Ambassador at Florence, Dec. 6 
(1429) ; Commissionof the Sienese Ambassador sent to Venice, Dec. 24, 
(Cavalcanti, ii. Documenti), 

* Romanin (iv. 136-7). 



AJ». 1^90 STATE OP TUSCANY. 95 

Duke of Milan from meddling in the affairs of Tuscany; 
but that prince, who contemplated a rich prize in the 
perspectiye, derided all delicate scruples. Filippo- 
Maria was not one, who allowed the most sacred and 
solenm engagements to weigh a feather in the balance 
against his blind cupidity : his powerfdl assistance was 
lent to Lucca, and the sword of his general, Francesco 
Sforza, speedily turned the scale. The Lucchese beheld 
themselyes liberated for a moment from their ambitious 
neighbours ; ^ but they were by no means out of danger.* 
Florence, having been a slight gainer from the Vene- 
tian alliance, appeared to be possessed by a resolution 
to conquer something for herself; and, on the other 
hand, the appetite of Yisconti for dominion was already 
whetted. The countrymen of Guinigi thus stood be- 
tween two formidable enemies. Their sole hope lay 
in the renewal of the War between the Duke and the 
League ; and for such a hope there was only too good 
a foundation. At the same time, the unequal contest 
which the Florentines were maintaining with Lucca, 
was not without the effect of kindling a strong spirit 
of animosity against the former throughout Tuscany, 
especially at Siena ; and in the instructions^ given to 
its ambassador at Perugia, that Government was sin- 
gularly blunt and outspoken. '' It is very clear to us," 
were its words, ^'that the Florentines meditate by 
some means or other to absorb this poor Tuscan soil. 



* Muratori (Annali, ix. 139-40-1). 

■ Cavalcanti (Isiarie FioreiiHne^ lib. xi.) 

* Ibid. (Documenii), 



96 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. xxii. 

and to swallow up all their neighbours ! " Even some 
Venetian statesman, addressing the Florentine Envoy, 
had been heard to exclaim in a moment of excite- 
ment: ** You Florentines want your own Pope; you 
want your own Council ; you want Lucca ; the whole 
world would not satisfy you ! " But the Sienese were 
hardly less bitter against Venice herself. '^ It is neces- 
sary for us," they wrote to the Perugians, "to look 
after our own interests: for it is tolerably manifest 
that the Venetians do not care much what becomes of 
us, and would tacitly permit our spoliation ! "^ 

The path of the Republic, however, was beset by 
two impediments of no ordinary kind: the futhless 
variability of the Duke, who secretly exulted at the 
idea of being able to beat the Venetians, while the 
affairs of Lucca were engrossing the attention of their 
Allies, * and the collusive inaction of Cannagnola. 
The dishonesty of the latter was becoming more and 
more palpable daily : yet the Signory, furnished with 
no convicting proofs, was reluctant to compromise the 
Count and herself by a hasty step; and not a breath of 
suspicion was allowed to transpire. In July, 1429, 
his Magnificence incidentally remarked, in a letter to 
the Government: '^Filippo has indirectly intimated 
to me that I am mistrusted and watched." In reply, 
the Senate said: ''We are excessively surprised at 
any such insinuation, since we have furnished no 
motive whatever for any notion of the kind ; and we 

' Cavalcanti {Documenti, tdn iupra). 
■ Cavalcanti (lib. xi. c. 2). 



A.D. 1430-1.] DUPLICITY OP CARMAGNOLA. D7 

exhort you once more to beware of the plausible and 
mendadons character of Filippo, and ever * to go buckler 
on ann/'' Still the General persisted in corresponding 
with the Duke ; and the Duke stated that he was pre- 
pared to leave everything in respect to a negotiation 
to Carmagnola, *' in whose judgment I have implicit 
confidence." 

During all this time, Yisconti was not ceasing to 
display his thorough contempt for the Treaty of 1428 
in every possible way. Those articles, which acknow- 
ledged the title of the League to take under its pro- 
tection the Marquis of Monteferrato, Orlando Pala- 
vicini, the ArceUi, and several other princes, were 
unblushingly set at nought. The Venetian possessions 
in the Veronese and Bresciano were occupied by 
Kccinino. The custom's tariff on the Po was altered 
and augmented in the most outrageous manner.^ 
Every opportunity was seized of embittering and 
annoying the Bepubhc. Her motives were miscon- 
strued; her acts were distorted; her couriers were 
arrested by the Milanese authorities without a shadow 
of reason or right. No contrivance was omitted for 
exhausting the forbearance of Venice, and drawing her 
into war. 

In January, 1480, Andrea Contarini had been sent 
to Milan to make a final effort in the direction of 
peace. In one of his earliest despatches to his 
Government, Contarini stated: "Between the copy 
of the protocol deUvered to me by the Ducal Chan- 

* Cayalcanti (/«tori>, lib. xi.) 

VOL. IV. 36 



98 HISTORY OF YENICB. [chap. xxii. 

cellor and the original, I have discovered that im- 
portant discrepancies exist, and both differ from the 
oral declaration of the Milanese ambassadors."^ In 
the event of the failure of other expedients, the Yene* 
tian Envoy was authorized to announce that his 
country, in its unwillingness to disturb the harmony 
of relations, did not object to accept even the Pontiff 
himself (the particular ally of Filippo) as an umpire 
in the question of the territory unfairly occupied by 
Milanese troops, and would abide rehgiously by the 
award of his Holiness. This concession was to be the 
ultimatum; and, the Duke failing to respond to it, 
Contarini, in obedience to his instructions, took his 
leave. War was now the alternative. 

On the 17th August, Carmagnola was summoned to 
the Capital to concert arrangements for resuming the 
offensive as soon as possible. The BepubUc had been 
availing herself of the temporary suspension of arms 
to recruit her finances, which had necessarily suffered 
from an extraordinary monthly expenditure of 60,000 
or 70,000 ducats;' and it was her present determina- 
tion to return to the struggle in earnest. 

Fietro Loredano was again named Captain-General 
of the Forces on the Sea, consisting of two-and-twenty 
sail,' and Stefano Contarini had the first offer of the 
Captaincy of the Po, where a new fleet, organized at 
an outlay of 800,000 ducats or upward, was in course 
of being launched. But Contarini, who had been 

» Romanin (iv. lib. v.) • Ranudo (Vite, p. 1015). 

' Nayagiero (Storia^ p. 1096). 



A.D. 1481.] NEW MILANESE WAB. 99 

badly wounded in the last war, excused himself, and 
the appointment was given to Nicolo Trevisano. The 
flotilla on the Po was composed of thirty-seven galleys 
and forty-eight smaller craft,^ mounting 10,000 men, 
exclusively of rowers. In order to isolate the Duke, 
and to simplify the contest, Marco Zeno was accredited 
to the Court of Turin, to detail the reasons which had 
led to a revival of the quarrel, and to solicit the 
neutrality of Amadeus ; and on the 23rd Febmary, 
1431, directions were transmitted to the Captain- 
General to negotiate the cession of the Yaltelline. 
As the reward of victory, an entire City was'promised 
to Carmagnola (September 1, 1430);* while the im- 
portance was inculcated upon him more forcibly and 
emphatically than ever of spuming all insidious over- 
tures and of declining to receive any more Milanese 
emissaries. ^' If the Duke," the Senate told him, 
^'has anything to say, we shall be glad enough to 
listen ; but his course will be to put it in writing, and 
to forward it for our consideration." 

> Sanudo and Diedo (lib. x.) 
* Romanin (iy. lib. y.) 



36—2 



100 



CHAPTEB XXIIL 

A.D. 1431-1441. 

Stoiy of Franeesco Cannaguola — ^His Treachery, his Arrest, and his 
Execution (May, 1432) — ^Favourable Results of the Change in the 
Pontifical Government (1431) — ^Feace between Venice and Milan 
(1433) — Story of Giorgio Comaro— The Doge Foscari tenders his 
Resignation, which is not Accepted (1433) — ^The Republic Supports 
Eugenius IV. — Cosimo de' Medici at Venice — Source of the Venetian 
Power — Venice addresses a Protest to Europe against the Patriarch 
of Aquileia— Fourth War against Visconti (1434)— Fall of the Last of 
the Carrara (143^)— Investiture of the Doge with the Provinces of 
Terra-Ferma (1437)— Difficult Situation of the Republic— Mantuan 
Duplicity Chastized — The Retreat of Gattamekta^Story of the 
Siege and Defence of Brescia — ^Francesco Sforza becomes* Captain- 
General of the Venetian Forces (1439)— His Successes (1440)— 
Peace of 1441 — ^Its Advantageous Character— Marriage of Jacopo 
Foscari, the Doge*8 Son, with Lucrezia Contarini (January, 1441) 
-^The January Fetes— Marriage of Sforza with Bianca Visconti — 
Venice acquires Riva di Lago, Lonato, Vall^gio, Asola, and 
Peschiera — ^Embodiment of Ravenna and the Ravennate widi the 
Venetian Dominions, and Extinction of the House of Polenta (1441) 
— Festivities at Venice on the Return of Peace — Sf<»n and his 
Bride are Invited to the Capital. 

True to her maxims, to her professions, and to her 
real interests, the Bepubhc had hitherto earnestly 
laboured to induce Filippo-Maria to respect the Treaty 
of Ferrara. The neglect and consequent damage 
Tvhich trade had suffered during the protracted struggle 
against the Buke of Milan, and the desolating inroads 
of the Turks on her estabhshments both in Europe 
and Asia, in defiance of the most elaborate and costly 



A^. 1431.] STORY OF PBANCESCO CARMAGNOLA. 101 

precautions/ rendered her rulers strongly desirous of 
procuring as long a respite as possible from Italian 
Wars. It was not more than eight years since the 
Doge Mocenigo had foretold on his death-bed that, if his 
country adopted an aggressive pohcy, that commerce, 
which he likened to a garden bringing forth sponta- 
neous fruits, would decline, ''and she would place 
herself at the mercy of a soldiery." These words 
seemed to be speedily approaching frilfilment. The 
destinies of Venice were for good or for evil all but 
in the hands of one whose fiither was a poor shepherd 
and an ignorant villager, and who himself was reputed 
to have begun life as a herd-boy. 

But, all their efforts in the direction of peace having 
fiuled, the Venetians prepared to resume the offensive 
with the utmost vigour and promptitude, and to place 
at the disposal of Carmagnola such resources as might 
insure an honourable and glorious termination of the 
contest. Twelve thousand four hundred and fifty-four* 
men were now under the Generalissimo in the field, 
and ten thousand were on the Po under Trevisano. 
To these forces the army of Piccinino and Sforza, 
with the Squadron of Paccino and his colleague, 
Giovanni Grimaldi, was fully equal in point of number 
and discipline. In the present struggle Pisa, Volterra, 
Siena, Lucca, Genoa, and Piombino, favoured the Duke ; . 
while the exertions of the League were seconded more 
or less powerfully, and more or less heartily, by Mantua, 
Ferrara, Monteferrato, the Palavicini, and the Arcelli. 

' Sanado (Kite, 1008). " IWd. (1015-16). 



102 mSTORT OF VENICE. [chap, xsluu 

There was an event of recent occurrence which gaye 
peculiar courage to the Venetians. It was the decease, 
quite in the beginning^ of 1431, of Martin V., the 
ally of the House of Yisconti, and the succession of 
a Venetian, the Cardinal Gabriello Condolmiero, to 
the Papal Chair under the appellation of Eugenius IV. 
The moral weight, which the support and good wiU of 
the Head of the Church lent to the cause of his 
countrymen, was highly valuable and highly oppor- 
tune, and it afforded corresponding gratification. " On 
the 7th March," writes Sanudo, * ** three couriers 
arrived one after the other, bringing letters from 
Borne to state how the Cardinals in conclave have 
created as Supreme Pontiff a Venetian Cardinal, called 
Messer Gubriello Condolmiero. So, in the course of 
eight-and-twenty years, there have been three Venetian 
Popes — Pope Gregory, of the House of Corraro, Pope 
Alexander, a Minorite of Candia, and this one of the 
House of Condolmiero. ... On the 9th, the Pregadi 
resolved that eight solemn ambassadors shall be sent 
to offer the congratulations of the Signory, who may be 
furnished with one mantle of crimson velvet bordered 
with miniver a-piece, and among them may have one 
hundred and twenty horses." 

Still, success depended largely upon the behaviour of 
Carmagnola, and it remained at present to see, how 
far the latitude and indulgence given to that capricious 
and self-willed adventurer would have the desired effect 
of imparting a healthy stimulus to his zeal. 

* Muratori (Annuli^ ix. 142). • Vile, p. 1012. 



AJ>. 1481.] STORY OF CARAiAGNOLA. 103 

It was to little pnrpose, however, that Venice had 
striyen to secure by concessions a change for the 
better in the General-in-Chief. The misconduct of 
the Count became as outrageous as before, and his 
neglect as glarmg; the Senate is soon found employing 
again the language of expostulation; and we must 
listen to the same remonstrances and intreaties on the 
part of his employers, with the same evasive responses 
on the part of Carmagnola. ^^ The Emperor is coming 
into Italy,'' he announced to the Government in the 
first week of June (1431)j ^'and had I not better 
break up the Camp ? " ^ '^ Have no fear," imswered 
the Senate (June 13), ^' the Emperor is in Germany, 
where the Hussites are affording him plenty to do. 
If you have heard otherwise, beUeve that it is a false 
rumour merely ; and be assured that on the unceasmg 
watchfulness of this Government you may always rely ! " 
Besides the cost of preparations, the current expendi- 
ture upon the Army was enormous ; the terms granted 
to the Count were so ample, that they created universal 
astonishment ; and the results realised had absolutely 
amounted to nothing. In an endeavour to surprise 
Soncino, Carmagnola was sharply repulsed. An attempt 
against Lodi was a dismal failure. Yet, as it appeared, 
by the report of the Podesta of Brescia, that in the 
latter case the Count was not altogether in fault, the 
Senate wrote to him, warmly eulogizing his zeal, and 
wishing him and the BepubUc happier fortune next time. 
But the next enterprise directed against Cremona by 

* Romanin (ir. 142). 



104 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxiu. 

CavalcabOi one of his sabordinates, miscarried purely 
in consequence of the disgraceful remissness of the 
generalissimo. The Senate observed silence ; but its 
indignation was bitter and deep. Toward the close 
of May, 1431, the Milanese Commanders on the Fo, 
Eustachio Paccino of Pavia and Gioyanni Grimaldi 
of Genoa, forced Nicolo Trevisano to a battle at a 
point on the river about three miles from Cremona, 
The action, which lasted with intermissions two whole 
days (May 22-23), is described by an eye-witness* 
as one of the most terrible and bloody ever fought 
in that locahty. Trevisano made an heroic defence. 
But the enemy, though not superior in number, were 
superior in position. The army under Piccinino and 
Sforza lined the banks, and importantly aided the 
movements of Paccino and his colleague. Trevisano 
sent letter after letter to the Captain-General, beseech- 
ing him to come up and create a diversion;' but 
Carmagnola alleged, ^^ that he was afraid to leave the 
Camp,'' and bantered Trevisano on his '* pusillanimity." 
The consequence was that the latter, unable to make 
head against two overwhelming forces, was Uterally 
crushed.^ The Captain of the Po and his fellow- 
officers were, for this supposed misconduct, aiTested 
and imprisoned. In one of his despatches to the 
Government, the Count exonerated himself from any 
charge of negligence. The Senate repUed : ** We are 

' Fugliola, Cronica di BoU^^na (Murat. xriii.) 
' Muratori {Annali ix. 145). 

^ Candido {Vita di Piccinino^ 1060); Cagnola {Slor, di Milano^ 40-1). 
F. Morosini (lib. xix.) 



A.i>, 1431.] STORY OP CARMAGNOLA. 105 

quite persuaded of your innocence, knowing ^ell with 
whom the blame rests;" and that Body took the 
opportunity to repeat its former exhortations (Jnne 
28-30, 1431).^ 

The Commander-in-Chief, however, with strange and 
deplorable &tnity, still remamed motionless. Jmie, 
July, August, September, passed away ; and no news 
of consequence came from the Camp. But the arrival 
of letters from the Mediterranean, announcing a great 
naval victory at Bapallo over the Genoese by the 
illustrious Loredano (August 27) i brought a little 
comfort to the Bepublic.^ 

At length, on the 13th October, a member of the 
Senate rose from his seat, and proposed, ^^ As we 
cannot continue any longer in this course of fruit- 
less exertion and expense;' that steps be taken forth- 
with for treating secretly of the ^ Carmagnola * affair : " 
but on a counter proposition from another Senator, 
Troilo Marcello, '^that all deliberation on this point 
be deferred," the first motion was negatived. On 
the 2nd November, it was decided that the effect 
should be tried of removing the Count so far as 
possible beyond the range of improper influences 
by employing him provisionaUy in the Frioul, where 
the Emperor Sigismund, at the instigation of Yisconti, 
was again seeking to create a military diversion. 

' Romanin (iy. 144). 

" Letter of Loredano to the Doge (Murat. xxii. 1024-5) ; and of 
Giorgio Dolfino at Venice to hie brother Oiovanni at Treviao (Sept. 5) ) 
Murat. xxii. 1019-21-22. 

' RcMiiaiiin (It. 145-6). 



106 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. xxiii. 

Apposite instxactions were forwarded to Carmagnola. 
The O^nendi instead of yielding compliancei wrote 
back: ** Atioiher messenger from Filippo has just made 
his appearance^ bringing assurances of the goodwill 
and integrity of his master. The Duke reminds us 
that he is an Italian, and desires to prove himself 
such, that, as it is credibly reported that the King 
of the Bomans (Sigismund) is coming here, he wishes 
to make common cause against him with you and the 
Florentines ; and he begs me to arrange the prelimi- 
naries of a League." ^ The Senate informed his 
Magnificence (November 9) as follows: ^^ After all 
the idle and insincere professions of Filippo, it is no 
longer compatible with our dignity to hearken to his 
lies. If the Duke be really soUcitous to treat, he 
can communicate directly with the Signory. But we 
command you to join without fiEurther delay the Army 
of the Frioul." 

The letter of the 9th November had a certain effect. 
Carmagnola started for his new destination ; and his 
triumphant success, more damning to his character 
than the worst defeats, proved that it was only when 
his sword was drawn against one individual, that his 
unconquerable spirit forsook him. The enemy fled 
before him like sheep. They were discomfited and 
scattered at all points. At Bosazzo, the Hungarian 
army was all but destroyed. After these noble exploits, 
the Count begged and obtained leave to pay a visit 
to Venice; during his stay, he had more than one 

' Romanin (iv. 146). 



A.D. 1431-2.] STORY OF CARMAGNOLA. 107 

interview with the Govemment ; and in the middle of 
December he retamed to his old quarters at Brescia. 

The gratifying operations in the FriotQ^ combined 
with the miscarriage of an attempt to despatch the Dnke 
by poison, made by a person named Micheletto Maazzo, 
and countenanced by the Ten (October 10 *) , induced 
the Senate to resort to an experiment of a different 
kind. On the 28th December, it was moved that 
''the Lordship of Milan be offered to his Magnifi- 
cence upon the contingency of the total destruction of 
Pilippo's power;" but an amendment was brought 
forward '^ that this be reserved as a final resource ; " 
and the latter was carried. On the following day, how- 
ever, it was resolved that, '' as it is of high moment 
to have somebody of trust at all times near the 
person of his Magnificence, the noble Giorgio Oomaro 
do proceed to the Camp immediately as Froveditor- 
General with instiiictions to promise e^ liberal scale 
of recompense to the Condottieri, to urge the prompt 
passage of the Adda — ^the Governor of Bergamo having 
written to say ' that matters are in excellent train at 
Lodi and Crema,' and to distribute the pay to the 
heads of Companies, so soon as the Camp is shifted." 
But Carmagnola was superior to persuasion; and about 
the middle of January ' (1432) the unpleasant news 
was brought to Venice, that her ally, the Marquis of 
Monteferrato, pressed by the Savoyards, had effected a 
reconcihation with the Duke of Milan. 

The Yenetian Government entertained a reasonable 

» Romanin (iv. 14e-7). ■ Ibid. (iy. 14«). 



108 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxui. 

expectation that, at least as the spring approached, 
the Couunander-in-Ohief would submit for its approval 
some scheme for the campaign of 1432. But the 
Genend did nothing of the kind; and with audacious 
assurance he merely continued to transmit accounts of 
his correspondence with the Duke. The Senate was 
furious. On the 21st Februaiy (1432)i it addressed 
to him the following letter: — 

^^ Francesco Foscari, by the grace of God, &c. 

'^We have seen and read your letter with its 
inclosures, sent to you by Cristoforo Gilino.^ We 
reply to your Magnificence that, considering the small 
fruit which has been hitherto derived from the visits of 
this Cristoforo and so many others, continually accre- 
dited to you by the Duke on different pretences, it does 
not appear to us expedient, and we do not choose that 
either he or any other emissary whosoever shall be 
received henceforth, being perfectly convinced that 
there is nothing in the proposals which they bring but 
the wonted tricks and deceptions of the Duke/' 

Notwithstanding this studiously temperate but 
suggestive message, worded by the Government, and 
formally superscribed by the Doge, the attitude of 
affairs remained absolutely stationary, until Venetian 
patience was fairly worn out. On the 28th March, 
Foscari, in concert with all the members of the Privy 
Council, proposed, at a meeting of the College, ^'that 
the Pregadi be dissolved, and that the Ten do take the 
matter into their own hands/' The three Chiefs of the 

^ His agent. . 



A.©. 1432.] STOEY OF CAEMAGNOLA. 109 

Teix^ proposed as an amendmenty that ^Hhis Body 
be not dissolved until the present business be ont of 
hand/' Bat, on a division, the first motion was carried 
by a majority of two ; and the dissolution was decreed, 
the Decemvirs resolving to deal with the matter before 
them " circumspectly, but vigorously," In considera- 
tion of the gravity of the question, the tribunal de- 
manded the assistance of a Giunta of twenty Senators; 
and these supplemental members, with the Doge and 
the Privy Council, raised the number to seven-and- 
thirty.* When the organization of the Conclave was 
nearly complete, a technical irregularity having been 
discovered, the whole process was cancelled ; and the 
point, having been again submitted with all the pre- 
vious forms, was again solemnly confirmed. The 
Senate was charged, upon pain of forfeiture of goods 
and heads, to abstain from divulging any of these 
transactions, and to keep the decemviral Decree of the 
28th a profound secret.^ 

On the following day, Giovanni da Impero, Secretary 
of the Ten, a person of discreet character, and, accord- 
ing to the historian Sanudo,^ ^^ with a face as pale as a 
ghost," was furnished with the ensuing written instruct* 
tions : * — 

"Giovanni:^ — 

*^ We, Marco Barbarigo, Lorenzo Capello, and 

' Romanin (iv. cap. 6). 

* Paolo Morosini (Hutorioy lib. xix. p. 439). 
' Bomanin, ubi supra. * P. 1028. 

* See Historia Veneta Secreta, p. 172 (Add. MSS. Br. Mas. 8580). 

* Romaoin (iv. 6). 



110 HISTORY OF VENICE, [chaf. xxiii. 

Lorenzo Donato, Chiefis of the Coancil of Ten, and 
Tommaso Michieli and Francesco Loredanoi Ayo- 
gadors of the Communei with onr Cionnoil of Ten, 
command thee to repair forthwith to Brescia, to Cionnt 
Carmagnola, our Captain-General, to whom, after the 
customary salutations, you will say that, it being now 
full time that something should be done for the honour 
and glozy of our State, various plans have suggested 
themselves to us for a sxunmer campaign.' Much 
difference of opinion existing, and the Count enjoying 
peculiarly intimate conversance with Lombardy on 
either side of the Po, we recommend and pray him to 
come here so soon as may be, to consult with us 
and the Lord of Mantua ; and if he consent to come 
accordingly, you will ascertain and apprise us on what 
day he may be expected. But should he decline to 
comply, you will with the utmost secrecy conununicate 
to our captains at Brescia and to our Froveditor- 
General our resolution to have the said Count Car- 
magnola arrested; and you will concert with them 
the best means for carrying out this our will, and for 
securing his person in our fortress of Brescia. We 
also desire that, when the Count himself shall have 
been safely lodged, the Countess his wife be similarly 
detained, and that all documents, money, and other 
property, be seized, and an inventory thereof taken. 
Above all, we wish and charge thee, before seeking an 
interview with the Count, to disclose confidentially 
to the authorities at Brescia and to the Proveditor- 

1 See Hittoria Secreta (Add. MSS. Br. Mu8. 84f80). 



A.D. 1432.] STOEY OF CARMAGNOLA. Ill 

GeAeral the nature of these presents (since we our- 
selyes have not oonmmnicated with them), enjoining 
them, under pain of their goods and heads, in case 
the Count be contumacious, to execute our behests." 

On the 30th, in consequence of an afterthought that 
Carmagnola might penetrate the plans of the Signory, 
and endeavour to escape, the necessaiy orders were 
forwarded to the GoYemors and Captains of the Be- 
public to second Da Impero, and if the General fled 
to any spot within their jurisdiction, to detain him till 
farther notice ; and a circular, superscribed by the 
Doge, was sent to all the officers serving immediately 
under Carmagnola, bidding them not be surprised at 
these proceedings, assuring them of the earnest good- 
will of the Government, and soliciting their implicit 
obedience to the directions, which they might receive 
through the authorities at Brescia and the Froveditor- 
General, Francesco Garzoni, Comaro's successor. 

Having arrived at his destination, Secretary Da 
Impero closeted himself in the first instance with the 
Podesta of Brescia and the Froveditor-General, and 
afterward proceeded to the quarters of the Count at or 
near Tercera. ^ * ^' After the customary salutations,'' 
he presented his credentials, which were as follow : — 

"To the Magnificent Count Carmagnola^ Captain- 
General. 

** The prudent and circumspect person Giovanni da 

' Chr<miche Veneziane, p. 426 (Add. MSS. 8^79). 



112 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxni. 

Impero, our Secretary, has been charged by us {i. e., 
the Ten) to speak about certain matters to your Mag- 
nificence, wherefore be pleased to repose in him the 
faith you would give to ourselves."* 

Carmagnola, too glad to have an excuse for quit- 
tmg Camp, blindly fell into the snare, and immediately 
started with the Secretary of the Ten for Venice. At 
Padua, he was received with military honours by the 
local authorities; and he passed one night there, sharing 
the bed of Federigo Contarini, Captain of Padua, ^' his 
very good friend." • On the 7th April, he reached the 
Capital. A deputation of eight Nobles was in waiting 
to receive him. At the entrance of the Palace, Da 
Impero vanished, and the personal followers of the 
Count were turned back with an announcement that 
** their master will dine with the Doge, and will 
come home after dinner." But his other companions 
remained, and ushered him into the Hall of Samt 
Marks. As he passed through, the General observed 
that the doors closed behind him. He at once inquired 
where the Doge was, declaring his wish to have an 
audience, ^' as he had much to say to his Serenity." 
Leonardo Mocenigo, one of the Sages of the Council, 
stepped up to him, and told him that Foscari, having 
had an accident in descending the staircase, was con- 
fii^ to his room, and could not receive him till to- 
morrow ! Carmagnola then turned with a gesture of 
impatience on his heel, and prepared to retrace his 

' Romanin (iv. 155). 

• Sanudo (Ftte, 1028) ; Chran. Venez., uhi tuprd. 



AJ>. 1432.] STORY OF CAEMAGNOLA. 113 

steps^ remarking : '< the hour is late, and it is time 
for me to go home."* When he arrived at the cor- 
ridor which led to the. Orba Prison,* however, one 
of the Nobles in attendance gently arrested his pro- 
gress, with, " This way, my Lord." " Bnt that is not 
the right way," retorted the Count hurriedly. " Yes, 
yes, it is perfectly so," was the answer given. * At this 
moment, guards appeared, surrounded Cannagnola, 
and pushed him into the corridor. The last words 
which he was heard to utter were : '^ I am lost ! " and, 
as he spoke, a deep-drawn sigh escaped from him.' 
During two days, he refused to take any kind of 
nourishment.^ The Trial began on the 9th April with 
all the forms recognised and required in criminal pro- 
cedure by the Constitution ; the examination was con- 
ducted by a Special Committee of nine persons — ^Luca 
Mocenigo, Privy Councillor; Antonio Barbarigo, Barto- 
lomeo Morosini and Marino Lando, Chiefs of the Ten ; 
Daniele Yetturi, Marco Barbarigo, and Luigi Yeniero, 
Inquisitors of the Ten ; and Faustino Yiaro and Fran- 
cesco Loredano, Avogadors of the Commune.^ On 
the 11th, the accused, having declined to make any 
answers,^ was put to the question. It happened that 
one of his arms had been fractured in the service of 
the Bepubhc ; and the Committee consequently objected 
to the use of the estrapade. But a confession was 

* * Chronxche Veneziane^ 426 (Add. MSS. 8579); Paolo Morosini 
{HidoriOj lib. zz.) 

• ChratL Venez. vM supra. * Sanudo (Fife, 1028). 
^ Chr. Venez, ubi supra. ' Romanin (iv. 158). 

• Ckron. Venez. vbi supra* 

VOL. IV. 87 



114 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxiu, 

wrung from him by the application of the brazier.^ 
Daring Lent, the process was suspended. At its re- 
commencement, a mass of documents were submitted for 
inyestigation ; and numerous witnesses were summoned. 
Independently of the confession, which was possibly 
of indifferent value, damning evidences of treasonable 
coimivance with Visconti were adduced. On the pro- 
priety of conviction there was perfect unanimity ; but 
in regard to the nature of the sentence opinions were 
divided. The Doge himself and three of the Privy 
Council proposed perpetual imprisonment. The three 
Chiefs of the Ten, and the Avogadors of the Conmiune 
were, under all the circumstances of aggravated guilt, 
in favour of capital punishment. A resort was had to 
the ballot ; and, of seven-and-twenty persons entitled 
to vote, nineteen voted for death. On the 6th May, 
1482, Francesco di Carmagnola was led as a public 
traitor to the common place of execution. He wore a 
scarlet vest with sleeves, a crimson mantie, scarlet 
stockings, and a velvet cap alia Carmagnoln; a gag 
was iQ his mouth ; his hands were pinioned behind 
him according to usage ; and there between the Bed 
Columns, in the sight of all Venice, his head was 
severed from his body at the third stroke of the axe.^ 
Thus fell, in the prime of life, the victim of his own 
blind and perverse folly, a man of the first order of 
talents, and within whose reach the most splendid 
opportunities had so recently been. The Government 
of Venice had tolerated his errors, until his criminahty 

» Paolo Morosim (lib. xx.) * Sanudo (Fife, 1029). 



A^. 1432.] STORY OF CABMAGNOLA. 115 

was beyond a doubt. When his death was decreed, his 
coiraption and treason were akeady sufficiently glazing. 
Yet there were subsequent discoyeries, which made his 
ease infinitely worse, and which procured an instant 
mitigation of the penalty against Nicolo Trevisano and 
the other officers concerned in the loss of the Battle 
of the Po ; and some justice, howeyer tardy and in- 
adequate, was rendered to the sufferers by the open 
declaration of a member of the Signozy in the Great 
Council ^' that, if the Goyemment had at the time 
been in possession of that exact information which was 
now in its hands, its treatment of Treyisano and his 
comrades would haye been yeiy different."^ It is well 
put by a modem writer,^ that ^' Carmagnola seems to 
haye acted in so equiyocal a manner as would haye 
made him amenable to any court-martial with little 
chance of absolution." 

The remains of Carmagnola were conyeyed by four- 
and-twenty bearers to the Church of San Francesco 
della Yigna. But, when the burial-seryice had aheady 
commenced, the friar, who had shriyen the departed, 
made his appearance to state, that the Count had, in 
his last moments, expressed a desire to lie at Santa 
Maria Gloriosa dei Frari ; and the wishes of the dead 
were respected. 

On the 7th May, two days after the tragedy, a Chief 
of the Ten and an Ayogador of the Commune waited 
on the Countess Carmagnola, to mal^e known to her 
the &te of her husband, and to offer their condolences. 

* Romanin (iv. 161-2). » Napier {Fhreniine History^ iii. 191). 

37—2 



116 fflSTORY OP VENICE. [chap, jooiu 

The Conntess and her two sons were now pensioned 
conditionally upon residing within the Venetian fron- 
tier ; but such of the property of the traitor, as remained 
after the liquidation of his large incumbrances, reverted 
to the Power, which had formerly lavished it upon him 
with its proverbial munificence ; and all his titles and 
dignities suffered attainder. 

In the course of April and May, despatches were 
forwarded to all the leading Italian States, to the 
Podesta of Treviso, the Podesta of Vicenza, the Lieu- 
tenant of the Frioul and other Governors of Provinces, 
and to the Legation at Ferrara, apprising them of the 
steps taken in regard to Carmagnola, and detailing the 
causes which justified the Signory in proceeding to 
extremities. Already, on the 8th of the former month, 
Marco Dandolo and Giorgio Comaro had been sent to 
headquarters to assume till farther orders joint com- 
mand of the Army. 

The devolution of the Pontifical tiara, in March, 
1431, upon the Venetian Gabriello Condolmiero was 
fraught with the best results. Eugenius IV. at once 
espoused with ardour the cause of his countrymen, 
and Visconti lost his most valuable ally. Under the 
new auspices, the Venetian army, commanded by 
Dandolo and Comaro, conquered successively Bordel- 
lano, Eomanengo, Pontanella, Soncino ; and it was on 
the point of penetrating into the Valtelline when, in a 
severe defeat by Piccinino, which cost the Bepubhc 
about 1,200 troops,* Comaro had the misfortune to be 

» Sanudo(Ft/e, 1031-2). 



A.B. 1432.] MILAN DEMANDS PEACE. 117 

taken prisoner.* He was sent to Milan (November 27, 
1432). The Proveditor was a nephew of the Doge 
Marco Comaro^ and was a person of considerable 
weight and inflnence in the councils of the Signory. 
Upon receipt of notice of his capture, the Government 
hastened to supply the vacancy created by the death • 
of Cannagnola ; and in the beginning of the new 
year the post of Captain-General was conferred upon 
Giovanni-Francesco Gonzaga, Lord of Mantua. The 
troops confided to Gonzaga amounted, according to 
official returns, to 12,000 horse, 8,000 foot, and 11,000 
Cermde ; and a promise was given to the generaUssimo 
that, if his exertions were attended by fau: success, the 
Doge would grant him investiture of Guastalla, Miran- 
dola, Crema and the Cremasque, Caravaggio, and 
Triviglio. The operations of the Lord of Mantua 
afforded the highest satisfaction. In a short time, he 
rendered himself master of the Valtelline and of Val- 
camonica ; and the Duke was awed by his triumphant 
progress into taking the initiative in demanding peace. 
The Florentines, who had aggrandized themselves to 
a much larger extent than they could have expected 
in Tuscany, insisted at first (March 20, 1433), upon a 
continuation of the War, until the Province of Pisa was 
entirely in their hands. But the Signory overruled 
this objection; and peace was signed on the 26th 
April, 1483, the Marquises of Este and Salluzzo 
mediating. The new treaty gave the whole of Pisa, 

* Candido, Vita di N. Piccinino (Murat. xzi. 1062-3) ; I)iodo (Storia, 
lib. X.) « 



118 mSTORT OP VENICE. [chap. xxni. 

excepting the disputed ground of Pontremolo, to 
Florence. Venice herself, whom the triumphs of 
Gonzaga had placed in a position to dictate conditions, 
was left in possession of Bergamo and all her other 
acquisitions on the Terra-Ferma. Lucca, whose 
loathing to the Florentines was frantically violent,' 
recovered her freedom. The Dukes of Milan and 
Savoy were pledged to the restitution of all the terri- 
tory which they had usurped in Monteferrato and 
elsewhere. A complete exchange of prisoners was 
appointed to take place, and an amnesty was pro- 
claimed. 

The execution of the clause affecting the reciprocal 
adjustment of territory led to an angry correspondence 
between Venice and Savoy,* the latter demurring in 
the first instance to the restoration of certain lands 
belonging to Monteferrato; and the article touching 
the exchange of prisoners occasioned a singular revela- 
tion. When the Government demanded in due course 
the release of Giorgio Comaro, the Duke sent word to 
say that he was dead ; and his family accordingly went 
into mourning.' The statement of Filippo-Maria, how- 
ever, was an audacious falsehood : for the Proveditor 
was still alive, and in one of the dungeons at Monza. 
It had been correctly supposed by the Duke, that an 
oflScer, who had filled such a variety of confidential 
stations, could not be otherwise than well-informed on 

* CaTalcanti (Jstorie Florentine^ lib. xi.) 

' The Doge*8 letter to the Duke of Savoy will be found printed in the 
Arch. Stor. Ital. 
' Sanndo(Ft<0, 1032). 



A.1I. 1433.] STORY OP GIORGIO CORNARO. 119 

the affair of Carmagnola, in whose fate Visconti dis- 
covered a lively and suspicious interest ; and no labour 
was spared to elicit £i*om the prisoner all the facts of a 
transaction still imperfectly known at Milan. He was 
asked : ** Who were the accusers of the General ? 
Who were his judges ? Who are advocates of War at 
Venice ? What are the ulterior views of the Republic ? 
What are her resources ? " In the attempt to obtain 
answers to these interrogatories, the creatures of 
Filippo- Maria subjected the Venetian to the most 
hideous and brutal torments. When they desired him 
to denounce the members of the War-Party, Comaroi 
in a moment of excruciating agony, muttered a few 
namesi which rose mechanically to his lips ; but they 
gave no clue. At another time, he said : ^' I am not 
aware that any particular person accused Carmagnola ; 
the latter, by his egregious dereliction of duiy, exposed 
himself to universal censure and distrust, especially 
when the letter had come from Brescia,^ shewing how 
he neglected to occupy Soncioo, although he might 
have done so with the utmost facility. So far as I 
know, there was no betrayal, no conspiracy. Venice 
loves peace; but when she is driven into war, she 
deems no sacrifices too great. If hereafter she be 
assailed in her lagoons, she will make the assailant 
rue his act." Such are the words which appear in the 
personal narrative left by Comaro. The unhappy man 
was detained at Monza, notwithstanding all the protests 
of the Bepublic, several years ; and when he at length 

' Romanin (iv. 166). 



120 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

returned home, in October, 1439, he was no longer 
himself. His frame was emaciated and disfigured ; his 
face was haggard ; his eyes were smiken ; and his 
beard was long and matted. His constitution was 
hopelessly shattered. His health was never re-estab- 
lished; and his spirits never rallied. In less than 
three months, he pined away, and he died, in the De- 
cember of that year, a miserable wreiek. His country- 
men did not fail to pay the last tribute of sympathy 
and respect to the nephew of the Doge Marco. All 
Venice followed his remains to San ApostoU. 

Exactly a decade had passed away, since Francesco 
Foscari ascended the throne of Venice; and in that 
interval many events had occurred which were calcu- 
lated to shed lustre upon the throne. At the same 
time, there was more than one circumstance which 
tended to sour his spirit and to cast a gloom over 
his life. In 1430, a noble, Andrea Contarini of San 
ApostoU,^ probably not the same whom Carmagnola 
had met on his first coming to Venice in 1425, was 
unsuccessful in his appUcation for the vacant post of 
Captain of the Gulf, for which he was declared scarcely 
competent; in thwarting him in the favourite object 
of his ambition, Contarini chose to conceive that the 
Doge himself was principally instrumental ; ^ and at 
one of the public receptions (March 11) he thrust 
himself in the way of Foscari, and made a plunge in 
the direction of his nose' with a dagger. The blow 
had been dealt somewhat at random ; and the wound 

* Saaudo (Fife, 1007). » Ibid. • Ibid. 



A.D. 1433.] THE DOGE FOSCARI. 121 

which the weapon inflicted was happily veiy slight. 
The assassin was arrested. His friends pleaded in 
extennation his insanity. But no adequate proofe of 
aberration or weakness of intellect were found ; and, 
after examination before a Special Committee, the 
unfortunate man was sentenced to lose his right 
hand, and afterward to be hanged between the Bed 
Columns. 

In 1432, Foscari was not a little mortified by the 
departure of the Ten from his wishes, in regard to 
Count Carmagnola, of whose death the Doge, in 
common with seven or eight other members of the 
Gt>Temment, was anxious, under every curcumstance 
of provocation, to spare the Bepublic the infallible 
odium* In the beginning of the following year, 
thirty-seven Nobles were denounced by name to the 
Decemvirs as concerned in a nefiEurious scheme for 
balloting to each other by collusion the more lucrative 
offices under Government; and the offenders were 
condemned to various terms of imprisonment or exile. 
Among the number was Pietro Buzzini, a connexion 
of the Doge by marriage ; Buzzini was excluded for 
three years from the Great Council. In addition to 
these sources of vexation, many domestic troubles had 
fallen to his share. Since 1423, all his sons, excepting 
Giacdmo, had died. On several questions of Home 
and Foreign poUcy he differed from his advisers ; and 
the rejection of his views severely tried his proud 
temper. The pecuniary difficulties arising from a pro- 
longed series of costly wars, to which he had lent his 



122 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxiu. 

Banction, harassed his mind. He was haunted by the 
prospect, absolutely agonizing to so trae a pattioti of 
a fatnre fall of embarrassment, possibly not free from 
disgrace. 

All these considerations made the post gI Foscari 
peculiarly irksome to him, and inspired him with 
disgust for that power, in the attainment of which 
the young Procurator of 1423 had not hesitated to 
employ the most illicit artifices. At length, the feeling 
of lassitude and repugnance became so strong that, 
without consulting any one, he took a decisive step. 
On the 27th June, 1433, a month after the conclusion 
of peace, the Doge told his Privy Council that he 
desired to resign, and that it would be better for 
them to see about the appointment of a successor.^ 
But the Privy Council, having asked time to consider, 
at length informed his Serenity ** that they were 
unable to come to any accord," and so ' the matter 
dropped there and then without reference to the Great 
Council.* 

The consequences of the change of 1431 in the 
Pontifical Government had been hitherto felt only to 
a partial extent. The accession of the Cardinal 
Condolmiero to the Papal Chair wrought a complete 
revolution in the relations of the Italian Powers, and 
induced Venice herself to enter upon an entirely new 
hne of foreign policy. The Florentine connexion was 
of equivocal utiUty at present. Florence, absorbed 

' Sanudo (Fife, 1032). • ZTbi suprd, 

' Paolo Morosiiii {iHaHoy lib. zz). 



A.i>. 1433.] COUNCIL OF BASLE. 123 

by her Tascon projects, and offended by the sapport 
which the Signory had lent to Lucca, began to shew 
symptoms of coohiess ; and the Government of the 
Doge hailed with satisfaction the. advent of a stead&st 
ally m the Head of the Church. 

In the July following the election of Eugenius, a 
new (General Council met at Basle with his concurrence 
to seek the accomplishment of the grand aim, in which 
that of Pisa in 1409, and that of Constance in 1414, 
had so deplorably fidled. The BepubUc was repre- 
sented by her own Ambassadors, and delegates were 
sent from all quarters to be present at the deliberations. 
In sanctioning the choice of a German city as the seat 
of the Conference, the Pope discovered, when it was 
too late, that he had committed an egregious blunder. 
The Assembly, removed beyond the range of his 
influence, soon proved itself unruly and contumacious. 
His Holiness was in a perfect phrenzy. He inveighed 
against its insolence. He hesitated not to declare his 
resolution to dissolve it ; and it was with the utmost 
diiBiculiy, that Venice restrained him from setting out 
for Basle and leaving Bome at the mercy of the 
opposite faction* The imperious and violent character 
of Condolmiero bred a good deal of ill-will, and created 
him many enemies. But his own countrymen espoused 
his pretensions with undiminished warmth, and Venice 
alone was powerful enough to protect him. Andrea 
Mocenigo, Ambassador at the Court of Prague, was 
instructed (if he judged fit) to make known to his 
Majesty that the Government of the Doge treated 



124 mSTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. xxui. 

EngenioB as the only trae Supreme PontifiTi and gave 
him its hearty support. 

In his Lombard wars, the Duke of Milan was not 
entitled to expect any longer the smiles of the Papacy; 
all the moral weight which the favour and fidendship 
of the Vatican carried with them, was now transferred 
to Venice. But the BepubUc had also improved the 
state of her relations with the Emperor Sigismund. 
By a Treaty concluded in 1428, and recently renewed 
(June 14, 1432), all apprehensions on the side of 
Dabnatia and the Frioul were at all events postponed, 
and Venice derived from the successful mediation of 
the Pope a prodigious accession of confidence and 
strength. The treaty of 1432 contained one provision 
which did not occur in its predecessors, and which 
accorded to Sigismund free Hberty to make war upon 
his enemies in the Peninsula, always excepting Ferrara, 
Mantua, Monteferrato, and Bavenna, ^* which enjoyed 
the special protection of the Signory." In diplomatic 
language, the Venetians intimated that, the defensive 
League between the Duke of Milan and their own 
Government having expired in February twelvemonth, 
they should not feel themselves at all pledged to inter- 
fere, whenever it might suit the convenience and taste 
of his Majesty to attack Filippo-Maria Visconti. After 
his coronation by the Pontiff at Bome, Sigismund pro- 
ceeded to Basle, carrying with him 10,000 gold ducats, 
which the Bepublic had given to him at his own desire 
to enable him to advocate the cause of Eugenius.^ 

* Sanado(Ftto, 1033). 



AJ>. 1433-4.] VENICE AND HER ITALIAN POLITICS. 125 

« The Emperor/' comments Leonard Aretin,^ '^ came 
into Italy with every prepossession in favonr of Yisconti, 
and he leaves it with every prepossession in &voiir of 
the Venetians." 

His Holiness, howeveri was so far from heing out of 
danger, that his troubles could not be said to have 
yet fedrly begun. The Duke, incensed at a turn of 
fortune which weakened so much his own power, and 
more than proportionately strengthened his opponents, 
indulged his anger and spleen by pouring a large body 
of troops under Francesco Sforza and Nicolo Forte- 
braccio into the Ecclesiastical States. The Pope tried 
to divide his enemies by offering to invest Sforza with 
the March of Ancona. But the Duke retaliated by 
inciting the Bomans to revolt ; and his Holiness, 
besieged in the Castle of San Giovanni Grisogono, 
escaped with difficulty from the hands of the insur- 
gents. His track was happily undiscovered. The 
fugitive reached Leghorn in safety on the 12th June ; 
and on the 22nd he arrived at Florence, where he met 
a joyous reception.^ 

After the lengthened maintenance of a neutral atti- 
tude toward the Church, Venice again found herself 
assuming the old character of her champion. Into 
this poUcy the chivalric element entered perhaps more 
or less largely : yet none was more excellently calcu- 
lated to advance the views which the Bepubhc was 
known to entertain on the mainland ; and the present 

' Leonardi Aretini Suorum Temporum Commentarius (Murat. x\4ii. 
936). 

' Isiarie di Firenze (Murat. xix. 975). 



126 fflSTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxin. 

situation of Condolmiero engaged therefore the gravest 
attention and most anxions thoughts of the Signoiy. 
It had become clear, that the outbreak of a fresh War 
with Milan was merely a question of time ; and, although 
there might be every disposition on the part of the 
Venetians to postpone hostihties, circumstances were 
daily arising which rendered such a course by no 
means easy. As a temporary measure, an ambassador 
was sent to Bologna to exhort that City to preser?e 
its allegiance to Home, while a second proceeded to 
Florence with instructions to suggest the immediate 
leTy of 3,000 men (of whom the Signory oflTered to 
contribute two-thirds) , to shield the Holy Father from 
his persecutors, and to maintain in its integrity the 
Patrimony of Saint Peter. The afiGsurs of the Church 
were in this distressing posture, when the struggle for 
political supremacy between the Florentine Houses 
of Medici and Albizzi terminated in the defeat and 
banishment of Cosimo de' Medici. The wealthiest 
man in his own great city, and the head of one of 
the principal banking Firms in Europe, Medici counted 
many friends in the influential circles of Venice. The 
Signory, having little faith in the stabiUty of the 
Albizzi administration, instructed her ministers on the 
Terra-Ferma to receive the exile with full honours; 
and at her intercession the Florentine Government 
was even induced to sanction the residence of Cosimo 
and his family in various parts of the Venetian Empire. 
The banker himself fixed his abode in the capital. 
He was a man of a refined mind and liberal tastes ; 



A.©. 1433-4.] VENICE AND HEE ITALIAN POLITICS. 127 

and doling his stay he spent laarge stuns in amplifyiing 
the old Library at San Giorgio Maggiore, and in en- 
riching the institation with the choicest works of art. 

While the hcentious element, which had imper- 
ceptibly crept into the freedom of the majority of 
Italian cities in the first half of the fifteenth century, 
was corraptiQg its character and sapping its founda- 
tions, the new principles of government and the new 
constitntional maxims, upon which the Venetian admi- 
nistration was conducted, carried with them an over- 
mastering and irresistible force. While other States 
were the dupes of wretched superstitions or the victims 
of an abject tyranny, to behold a Power maintaining 
religious tolerance and equality of civil rights, was 
a novelty in Europe; and herein, even more than 
in her commercial prosperity, lay the cause of the 
greatness which Venice had attained, and of the 
malevolence with which she was regarded. The Re- 
public was doomed henceforward to be perpetually at 
war with one Power or the other : with Milan, with 
France, or with Germany; with Europeans or with 
Asiatics. The motto of her Empire was Peace ; but 
its upholder was the sword. To her ambition she 
had sacrificed for ever her repose. Her interests 
were identified and bound up to an extent which she 
perfectly appreciated with those of Tuscany and Naples ; 
and her quarrels were Italian quarrels. On the other 
hand, the Dukedom of Milan was dangerous and 
detrimental to her ; the power of Visconti was anta- 
gonistic to her power ; his ambition was as insatiable 



128 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxiu. 

08 her own ; and she therefore observed ^ih pleasure 
any tendency on the part of Sigismnnd to attempt 
the destruction of the Milanese dominion. 

The Bepublic professed indeed the utmost modera- 
tion and forbearance, and declared that her rule was 
pacific. But the condition of the peninsula remained so 
ominously unsettled, that it was impossible to foretell, 
how far the influence of circumstances, if no other 
agency, might constrain her to return to that policy, 
which pointed as its ultimate object to nothing less than 
the absorption of Lombardy. The side, which Venice 
and Milan were taking in the religious contention of 
the day, was so opposite, that the relations between 
the two Powers necessarily assumed a veiy precarious 
aspect ; and the prospect was rendered still less tranquil 
by the intrigues and troublesome conduct of the Patri- 
arch of Aquileia, Louis de Teck, the creature of Sigis- 
mnnd. Before the Council of Basle, De Teck laid a 
formal complaint of the usurpation of the Frioul by 
the Signory. The Venetian orators, in accordance with 
their instructions, proposed that their countiy should 
hold the Province as a material guarantee, ** until the 
expenses of the Friulan war were paid," as originally 
stipulated, and that if, when the pecuniary claim was 
satisfied, the BepubUc considered the cession at vari- 
ance with her interests, the question should be sub- 
mitted to arbitration. The Patriarch, however, not 
only spumed the suggestion, but launched a Monitory 
against Venice. That strong measure necessitated the 
transmission of fresh, directions to Basle ; and on the 



A.D. 1435-4-5.] PROTEST OP VENICE TO EUUOPE. 129 

13th October, 1434, the Senate met together to de- 
Uberate. It was resolved^ that ^^onr orators be 
desired, in omitting no opportunity of coming to terms, 
to seek in no wise any relaxation of the Monitory, 
since 'the more unjust it is, the less weight it will 
cany ; ' that, if it be found impossible to accommodate 
matters, they shall leave Basle, and, preparatory to 
doing so, call upon the representatives of all the 
Powers there assembled, to explain clearly how the 
case stands — ^how, whereas formerly, the Patriarch 
declining the friendship of the Signoiy, and stirring 
up enemies against her, the latter had recourse to 
Martin V. ; how his Holiness, having vainly prayed 
the Patriarch to desist, at last consented to the War 
waged in the Frioul (1420-1) , a War undertaken in 
her own defence, and for her own security; a War 
welcomed by the population, to which the despotism 
of the Patriarch had become insupportable. In what 
manner, they shall inquire, can Venice be justly called 
a despoiler of the Church ? They shall point out hoW 
a number of petty tyrants have usurped lands belong- 
ing to their country, and have enjoyed them unmo- 
lested ; but they shall urge warmly, that against the 
Venetians, who never usurped the property of any, 
but who only studied the welfare of their subjects, a 
charge of wrongful occupation is surely unfedr ! " 

The government of the Doge subsequently (January, 
1435) aimed at improving its position by taking the 

' These particulars are derived, for the most part, from Komauin 
(^Sior. DoeumeHtatOf iv. 177, et seq.) 

VOL. IV. 88 



130 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxm. 

opinion of the University of Padua on the point of 
territorial right. The Tiews of the Doctors were 
fiEtvourable, as might have been anticipated ; and copies 
of the report made to the Signory on the subject were 
transmitted to all the European Powers, with which 
Venice had relations. 

At the same time, the threatening complexion of 
Italian affairs persuaded the BepubUc to draw nearer 
to Naples and the Emperor. Aheadjin the beginning 
of the year (1484) , the Ambassador at the Court of 
Joan II. had been instructed to solicit the Queen to 
join in protecting the Papal States, and to sound her 
Majesty touching a Venetian alliance ; and efforts 
were almost simultaneously made to convert the exist- 
ing truce with Sigismund into an offensive and defen- 
sive League. The fidendship of Venice was of more 
value to the Emperor just now than that of any other 
Power ; and the Signoiy consequently thought her- 
self strong enough to stipulate on her own behalf for 
the boundary of the Adda, leaving her ally at Uberty 
to appropriate all the territory on the Milanese side of 
that river, while she demanded at the Imperial hands 
formal investiture with her acquisitions on the Terra- 
Ferma. 

The Venetian calculations respecting a revulsion of 
feeling at Florence were speedily verified by the recal 
of Cosimo de' Medici and his restoration to office; 
and the nearly concurrent death of Joan 11. in Feb- 
ruaiy, 1436, led, after a severe contest between the 
French and Spanish claimants, to the union in the 



Aj>. 1495-6.] THE LAST OF THE GARRABA. 181 

person of Alfonso Y. of the crowns of Axragon and 
Naples. 

Meanwhile, the War in Lombardy was recommencing 
with the seiznre of Lnola by a Milanese force in con- 
travention of the Treaty of 1433. But the progress 
of hostilities was remarkably languid, victory inclining 
rather to Yisconti. The Bepublici however, laboured 
nnder great disadvantages. Her alliance with the 
Emperor, which had bred such hopeful expectations, 
did not add a soldier to the League. Florence, still 
fostering her old Lucchese recollections, and more bent 
on pushing her own fortunes in Tuscany than on ful- 
filling her contract, lent the Venetians no hearty or 
continuous support. Eugenius, intimidated by the 
menaces of Yisconti, went over to his side. The suc- 
cessor of Carmagnola, Gonzaga of Mantua, began to 
follow his example, and to grow indolent and listless. 
Under such circumstances, the tide of war exhibited 
frightful fluctuations. In the course of these years, 
the Republic preserved with difficulty the Bresciano, 
the Bergamasque and the Yeronese. Yerona itself 
was lost and recovered. The enemy beleaguered 
Bresda. But the Yenetian Government did not relax 
its activity for a moment. On the 17th March, 1436, 
a project was communicated by the authorities at 
Padua to the Ten for introducing Marsilio, the only 
surviving son of Francesco Novello, into that Oity in 
the disguise of a merchant.^ The dexterity and close- 
ness, with which the plans of Yisconti and his minion 

* Kavagiero {Storia, 1099); and Komanin (iv. 179). 

88—2 



132 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

were laid, were Buch that the conspiracy was only dis- 
covered when it was ahnost matured. The informant 
of the local government was a peasant ; the man stated 
that the execution was fixed for the 19th. Marsilio 
was arrested in the territory of Trento on his way to 
Padua. Conducted to Venice, he was brought before 
the Decemvirs, to whom he disclosed, under torture, 
all the details of the scheme ; ^ and on the 20th March, 
he was beheaded between the Columns.' All his ac- 
compUces, whose guilt could be estabUshed, were sent 
to the gibbet. 

The league with Sigismund, although it did not 
yield those practical advantages which had been so 
sanguinely anticipated, was not altogether without its 
use. One of the conditions had been, that the Emperor 
should grant the Doge formal investiture of the pro- 
vinces added more or less recently to the Venetian 
dominion; and that interesting ceremony, perfectly 
consonant with the feudal theories which the Bepublic 
then found in force, took place at length, on the 16th 
August, 1487, on the Great Square at Prague. Marco 
Dandolo represented Francesco Poscari and the Sig- 
nory. A platform was erected on the open space, 
surmounted by a dais, on which sat the Emperor, 
surrounded by his peers and councillors. An enormous 
crowd filled the square. So soon as Dandolo ap- 
proached, two hundred gentlemen, magnificently 
habited, advanced to meet him, and conducted him 
with every mark of honour to the platform. The 

■ Sanudo (FtYf, 1040), * Paolo Morosim (lib. xx. 445). 



A.D. 1437.] THE PRAGUE CEREMONIAL. 133 

ambasBadori who appeiEu*ed in a splendid suit of cloth- 
of-gold| walked in front of his retinue to the foot of 
the throne, and then sank on his knees. The Em- 
peror instantly begged him to rise, and desired to be 
acquainted with the nature of his commission. Dan-: 
dolo repUed: '^I am charged by the Venetian Be- 
public to obtain investiture of the States which belong 
to her on the Terra-Ferma : " whereupon he displayed 
his credentials. Sigismund signified his complaisance; 
and in imitation of his example, all rose, and pro-: 
ceeded in order to the Cathedral, where mass was 
performed. On the return to the Square, the diploma 
was read, by which Francesco Foscari was declared 
" Doge of Treviso, Feltre, Belluno, Ceneda, Padua, 
Brescia, Bergamo, Casalmaggiore, Soncino, Platina, 
San Giovanni-a-Croce, and all the Castles and places 
in ^e Cremonese territory and in the rest of Lom- 
bardy on this (the Venetian) side of the Adda." At 
the conclusion, Dandolo took an oath of fealty, and 
engaged, that all the successors of Foscari should 
repeat the ceremony, and should transmit a yearly 
tribute of 1,000 sequins in the shape of a cloak of 
cloth-of-gold or otherwise, as his Majesty might bo 
pleased to direct. Sigismund brought the proceedings 
to a close by conferring the honour of knighthood upon 
the ambassador, and by pronouncing in his presence 
a glowing panegyric on the BepubUc. The diploma 
was dated the 20th July, 1437 ; and it was proclaimed 
by Ducal manifesto at Venice on the 20th November ^ 

f Romamn (iv. 187). 



134 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

following. Both the tribute and the investiitira were 
of course the purest formalities. The former vaB 
never sent ; the latter was never renewed. 

Thus the eonstitutional figment, forming part of the 
received notion of tenure under the feudal system, wit- 
nessed a revival in the pompous Prague ceremonial ; 
and the title which the Yisconti, captains and arch- 
bishops of Milan, had borne in the preceding century, 
was allowed to devolve upon Francesco Foscari. Fob- 
cari became Doge of Venice and a moiety of Lombardy, 
and Imperial Vicar. The diploma of 1437 had its 
moral utility in legitiniizing the Italian conquests of 
YenicO) and in lending an approved sanction to her 
territorial claims: while the Yicariat was the most 
nominal and shadowy species of dependence, and the 
dimmest of unreaUties. 

Venice had seldom been in more u^nt need c^ all 
the courage and strength, which it was in the power of 
collateral incidents to afford her. The Bepublic, in 
the prosecution of her war agamst Yisconti, still 
laboured under numerous drawbacks. Above all, the 
Ducal Fisc was deeply and alanningly embarrassed by 
the expenses of a struggle, which had lasted with few 
interruptions since 1424; and a pernicious anomaly 
had crept into practice, by which a portion of the 
Bevenue was collected in advance. The consequences 
of the systematic adoption of such a principle were 
speedily felt ; in less than twelve years 7,000,000 of 
fresh debt had accumulated. The Funds which, at 
the death of the Doge Mocenigo, amounted only to 



AJK 1437.] VENETIAN DIFFICULTIES. 185 

6,000,000 (ducats), had already reached 13,000,000. 
Francesco Sforza and his Free Lances were no longer 
in the pay of the Duke; but the Florentines monopo- 
lized their services, and Florence continued to aggran- 
dize herself in Tuscany, and to resent the Lucchese 
policy of Venice by estrangement.^ The troops in 
the Venetian pay were insufficient to cope with the 
Milanese, even if the Signory had been more than 
commonly fortunate in her Captain-General, while the 
reverse was the truth. The Lord of Mantua mani- 
fested all the sluggishness and all the caprice of 
Cannagnola, without any marked indications of Car- 
magnola's genius ; and his blunders and shortcomings 
beeamfi at last so flagrant, that his employers con- 
ceived a suspicion of his honesty.' The Polesine of 
Bovigo remained in the hands of Venice ostensibly in 
pledge for the payment of an old debt due to her from 
Ferrara ; and the Marquis of Este, disgusted by the 
retention of his province, and emboldened by the fiim 
attitude of the Milanese under Piccinino, began to 
listeH to the proposals of the Duke, and to waver in 
his friendship for the Bepublic. Thus, the Floren- 
tine connexion continued to be excessively precarious ; 
neither Mantua nor Ferrara was to be trusted; and 
the Government of the Doge was expecting from week 
to week to be apprised of the reconcihation of the 
Duke of Milan with his intended son-in-law over 



' CftTalcanti (Istorie Fiarentine^ lib. zii. cap. 1). 
' Soldo, Memorit delie Ouerre contro la Signoria di Venezia (Murat. 
izL 789). 



136 . HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

the joined hands of Bianca Yisconti and Francesco 
Sforza. 

Sorronnded by these difficulties, added to her finan- 
cial embarrassmenti Venice felt that she had no easy 
part to play ; and it was with a sensation akin to reUef 
that she viewed the resignation of Gonzaga in No- 
vember, 1437. '*0n the 26th (Nov.)," Sanudo 
reports, ''the Pregadi held a meeting, because the 
Lord of Mantua had sent the Signory word, that after 
the end of the month he did not wish to retain the 
command, but desired to return home. Wherefore 
it was decided that Gattamelata should be made 
Governor of the Army." It was the latter, whose 
talents, energy and devotion had more than once 
saved the cause which he was serving from ruin ; and 
the hope was cherished that, under his immediate 
auspices, the exertions of the troops would develope 
important and happy results. 

Gonzaga had no sooner quitted the service, than he 
unmasked himself, and went over to the Duke, with 
whom he secretly planned a partition of the Venetian 
dominions on the Terra-Ferma, Yerona and Yicenza 
falling to the share of Mantua,^ Brescia and Bergamo, 
to that of Milan. His conduct, which had during 
Bome time been exciting mistrust, was now at once 
explained. His duplicity, and its tardy detection, 
enraged beyond measure his former employers; and 
reprisal was made by seizing the persons and property 

* Simoncta ( Vita FrcmcUd Sfortiay lib. vi.) ; Soldo {Afemorye^ 809). 



AD. 14»7.] GATTAMELATA DE' NARNL 137 

of the MantUaQ residents at Venice, and by inflicting 
every possible damage on the commerce and territory 
of the traitor. His successor did not disappoint the 
proud expectations which had been formed of his 
genius and capabihties. The new General-jn-Chief 
threw into the work before him an honest heart and 
splendid faculties; and all that it was humanly pos- 
^ble to do with the limited force at his disposal/ 
Gattamelata performed with equal courage, fidelity* 
and zeal. 

Gattamelata had not only to contend against supe- 
rior numbers, but he had to deal with a master-spirit. 
The Duke still employed the great soldier Nicolo 
Piccinino, the most distinguished disciple of the school 
of strategics, founded in Italy by Andrea Braccio of 
Montone. Hccinino carried all before him.* The 
Veronese, Viceixtind, Bresciano, and Bergamasque^ 
with the important exception of Montechiaro^ the 
Orci, Falazzolo and some other first-class fortresses,^ 
were overrun by the Milanese. The fortune of war 
threatened to wrest those valuable provinces altogether 
firom the BepubUc. 

The Venetian Government neglected no precaution 
for preserving its possessions and for protecting its 
subjects. The veteran Pietro Loredanb was [sent with 
a strong flotilla to the Po, to create a diversion in the 
direction of Mantua, and to compel Gonzaga to pro- 

' Annales Bomncowtrii^ 148 (Murat. xx.) ; Soldo {Memorie^ 789--90-1); 
Simoncta (Ftte S/ortia, lib. T.) ; Cavalcanti {Istorie FiorentinCf lib. x). 
' Soldo (794> 



138 HISTORY OF VENICE. [cuf. xxm. 

Tide for the defence of his own estates.^ By oppor- 
timely relaxing her grasp of Bovigo, over irbich she 
claimed no pennanent jurisdiction, the Signoryremoyed 
a larking sense of wrong from the breast of the Marqnis 
of Este, and secured a free passage for her iaroops 
through the Feirarese territory. A renewed attempt was 
made to obtain the services of Sforza, still detained by 
HorencCi with a yiew to his coaUtion with Qttttamelata. 

Piccinino, having made himself master of Casal- 
maggiore, crossed the Oglio, carried his arms into 
the Bresciano, and, marching in the direction of the 
Lago di Garda, took Rivoltella, Chiari, Pontoglio and 
Soncino; and, notwithstanding a severe check from 
the Venetian commander at Bosato, he advanced upon 
Brescia itself. That stronghold which, in the earlier 
part of the century, had actually connived at its 
reduction to the Venetian rule, evinced its predilection 
for the mildest and most constitutional of medieval 
governments by a noble and grand defence. A militia 
of 6,000 citizens formed the garrison ; and the entire 
population, banishing, at the summons of the Com- 
mandant Francesco Barbaro, all party differences, 
united in the common cause. 

The General-in-Chief had marched with a littie too 
much boldness into the Bresciano. He soon found that 
Piccinino's superiority of force threatened him, if he 
continued to advance, with the loss of his communica* 
tions with Venice, and that such a course was calculated 
to expose the Bepublic to danger; and Gattamelata, who 

* riatiniit Historia Mantuana (Murat. xviii. 817)t 



M^. 1438.] RETREAT OF GATTAMBLATA. 139 

had <nLl7 3,000 horse and 2,000 foot nnder him/ was 
obliged to reconcile himself to the idea of fiBdling back 
on the Veronese. In September, 1488, he began his 
retreat. The snow already mantled the Alpine peaks 
and ridges ; the mountain-streams were swollen by the 
hea^ antnmnal rains ; the roads were terribly out of 
repair ; almost all the bridges had been washed away ; 
and scarcely a ford was available. The Army was 
exceedingly short of provisions; and the rear was 
harassed by the troops of the Bishop of Trento, an 
ally of Milan. Every&ing depended on the exercise 
of unanimity, discipline and fortitude. But the men 
and their officers were devoted to Gattamelata ; and the 
retrograde movement was conducted by the Captain- 
General, in such circomstances, with admirable skill 
and coolness. The' torrents^ gullies and ravines were 
Imdged. The roads were levelled and repaired, or, 
where they were too bad, new causeways were con- 
structed; and at the end of the month, after inde- 
scribable trials and hardships, and an unbroken series 
of forced marches, the Yenetians debouched through 
Val-CSaprino into the wide plain, on which Verona 
stands.^ The Milanese were thus baffled in their 
more than suspected design of throwing themselves 
between Venice and her little Army, and oi penetrating 
through the March of Padua {MarcaPatavina) into the 
Dogadot The rekeat of Gattamelata was deservedly 
regarded by the tacticians of his day as a masterpiece 

I rlatiiia {Hia. MmU. 816) $ Cftralcanti (lib. zii. c. 1). 
* Navngiero {SioHa, 1102). 



140 mSTOBT OF VENICE. [chap. mu. 

of strategy; But that retreat, while it saved the Vene- 
tians from the ultimate ignominy of a surrender, 
necessarily reduced the Brescians to great straits. 
The inhabitants displayed in the presence of such a 
crisis a giant heroism.^ Every sacrifice and privation 
were cheerfully borne.' The conduct of Barbaro exacted 
applause from his enemies themselves.' The two 
leading families, the Martdnengri and the Avogadri, 
forgot their rivahy, and fought side by side. The 
garrison behaved with a gallantry which filled the 
besiegers with wonder and respect. Of the population 
generally, such was the enthusiastic loyalty, such was 
the fervent affection for Venice and detestation of 
Milanese sway, that not only women but children 
were seen to join in repelling assaults and in working 
at the breaches. The execution of the enemy's guns, 
of which the smaller threw 8001b. stones, was 
frightful. One shot blew to pieces seven men, and 
scattJBred their limbs so confusedly, that it was impos- 
sible to collect them for burial.^ 

The Milanese main body, 20,000 strong, with 
between eighty and one hundred guns of the largest 
bore, was now concentrated before Brescid, the pos- 
session of which Visconti particularly coveted. At 
the same time, detachments of the enemy were pene- 
trating to the banks of the Adige : while the Veronese 



' Candido (Ftto di Piceinvno (1074). 

' Id. {Vita Philippi'Maria VieecomiHi^ 991). 

• Platina (816) ; Candido iVUa di Piecinino, 1073). 

* Candido {Vita di iV. Piceinino, 1073-4). 



A.D. 1438.] STOEY OP BEESCIA. 141 

March was swept and laid under contribntions hj the 
Lord of Mantua.^ For these evils there was, under 
existing circninstances, and nntil the arrival of Sforza, 
no apparent remedy. But there was one object, which 
seemed to be in the power of the Ducal Govenunent, 
and which it determined to accompUsh at every cost 
and hazard; and this object was the reUef of the 
fiedthful and suffering Brescians. The eastern shore 
of the Lago di Garda, by which the City is approached, 
was still open to the Bepublic; but on that lake, 
unfortunately, she did not possess a: single raft. In 
such a dilemma, the Senate entertained a proposal, 
which had been submitted to the Government some 
time since by two foreign engineers, Blasio de Arbo- 
ribus* and Nicolo Sorbolo, for conveying a flotilla 
across, the Tyrolese Mountains on carriages drawn by 
men and oxen, into the Lago di San Andrea,' and 
from the latter across Monte-Baldo into the Lago di 
Garda itself. The distance to be tra>versed was about 
200 miles, and the outlay was computed at 15,000 
ducats or upward. It was the depth of winter, and a 
deep snow overspread the ground. Still the Signory, 
"who," to borrow the expriession of a contemporary 
memoir-writisr,* " could not sleep until Brescia had 
been relieved/' did not shrink from the undertaking. 
For it was confidently calculated that it would develope 



» Platina (Hist. Mont 816-17) ; Candido (1071). 

• Romanin (iv. 196). 

' Hisioria Veneta Secreta, 27 (Add. MSS. 85^0). 

* Soldo {MemorU, 808). 



142 mSTOBY OF YBMICE. [cuap. xzni. 

one of two eontiageneies. By leamg the movement 
unopposed, the MUaoese would enable the Republic 
to victual the place; by opposing it in force, they 
would leave the road from Brescia to Yerona suffi- 
ciently unguarded to facilitate the transmission of 
supplies from that quarter. Immediate steps were 
therefore taken to carry out the scheme. 

The flotilla consisted of five-and-twenty barks and 
six galleys; it was under the care of Pietro Zeno. 
Zeno proceeded by water from the mouth of the Adige 
up to Boveredo ; from that point the passage to the 
summit of Monte-Baldo, over an artificial causeway of 
boughs, stones and other rough materiab, running 
along ththedof a precipitous fall^ furnished a spectacle 
which none could witness and forget. Yet the greatest 
difficulty even then remained to be overcome. The 
descent from Monte-Baldo was a perfect prodigy of 
mechanical skill. The whole process, which demanded 
an iron will and unflinching nerve on the part of those 
engaged in its execution, was conducted through the 
medium of huge ropes securely fastened to each vessel, 
before it was launched from the almost perpendicular 
dedivity on the other side. The galleys and barks, 
thus guided and checked, were allowed to slide down 
the mountain ; and the ropes were slackened little 
and little by pulleys and windlasses, until the ship 
reached the bottom. From the foot of Monte-Baldo 
to Torbole, the nearest point of the lake, was between 
twelve and fifteen miles; and after stupendous toil, 
and amid almost insurmountable obstacles, the Fleet 



AJ>. 1439.] STOBT OF BRESCIA. 143 

was at last iset afloat on the Lago di Gbrdai in the 
course of Fefaniaiy, 1489.^ 

This overland transport from the Adige, accom- 
plished by a process of which modem history furnished 
no second example,* and in comparison with which 
the celebrated Passage of Hannibal dwindles into 
insignificance, was after all something like a waste of 
time and money. On their arrival at Torbole, where 
they were obliged to constract a haven ^ with such 
materials as they could command within the shortest 
possible time, Zeno and his companions found them- 
selves confronted with a greatly superior naval force 
under Yitaliano and Giovanni Gonzaga.^ Piccinino 
had collected their purpose, and had forestalled them ; 
and the Venetian commander, after reconnoitring the 
enemy, had no alternative but to retire upon Torbole, 
and to throw out lines of palisades to save his little 
squadron from destruction. 

The triumphs, which had down to the present time 
attended the Milanese arms, were undoubtedly owing 
in some measure to the masterly dispositions and 
nnwearied activity of Piccinino, but they proceeded 
even to a larger extent from the faulty tactics of the 
Allies themselves. While the lieutenant of Yisconti 
had wisely concentrated his strength on the Venetian 
Provinces of the Terra-Perma with the evident design 

» Candido (Ftto di N, Piccinino^ 1076-7). 

* See Flatiiia, HUtoria Mantuana (Murat. zz. 823) ; CavalcBnti 
(iHorie Florentine^ lib. xii. cap. 6). 

' Soldo, contemp., Memarie^ 808 (Mnrat. xzi.) 

* Platina, tUn supra. 



144 HISTORY^ OP VENICE. [ciup. xxiii. 

and expectation of beating his adversaries in detail, 
the forces of the League were foolishly divided between 
Tuscany and the Marches ; and it was a circumstance 
of a highly suspicious character that, although the 
interests of the Coalition no longer required the 
presence of any large body of men on the Tuscan 
frontier, where a separate peace between Milan and 
the Medici Government had temporarily suspended 
hostilities/ the bulk of the confederated army under 
Sforza was still retained by the Florentines, and Lom- 
bardy, the principal, if not the only seat of war» was 
almost denuded of troops ! The Venetian Government, 
haunted by misgivings of the integrity of Cosimo de' 
Medici and his countrymen, and deeply anxious on 
financial grounds to witness the return of peace, now 
made an earnest and emphatic appeal to Sforza in 
person ;* and at length, in the latter half of June, 
1439, that General appeared on the plains of Lom- 
hardy. The Signory was delighted at his arrival. 
On the 23rd, the united colours of Venice, Florence 
and Genoa, were forwarded to him as an emblem of 
his mission. 

The motive of the Marquis of Ancona in taking 
part with the BepubU&s against the father of Bianca 
Visconti was sufficiently transparent. None mider- 
stood better than Sforza the fickle and pusillanimous 
character of the man with whom he had to deal, 
and the cowardly heart which was masked by those 

* Simoneta (Vita Francisci SforiuB^ lib. v.) 
' PUtina {Hist Mant. 825). 



4jr. 1439.] VENICE AND SFOBZA. 145 

hardened lineaments ; and he had began to persuade 
himself that^ if his dearest wish was to be accom-' 
plished at all, its accomplishment was to be procured 
by intimidation more surely than by any other method. 
On repeated occasions, Filippo-Maria had behaved to 
his future son-in-law with the most flagrant bad foith. 
In one instance, the marriage was actually fixed, and 
the guests were even invitedj^ when, on some frivolous 
pretext, the ceremony was indefinitely postponed. 
During the somewhat lengthened stay of Sforza in 
the Florentine service, the preponderance of Picdnino 
had increased to a dangerous extent, and the new 
Captain-General of the League secretly exulted in the 
prospect of making himself of importance in the eyes 
of the Biike, as well as in those of the Signoiy, by 
damaging the reputation and influence of his great 
military rival. 

Venice and Sforza had thus become necessary to 
each other. By the fresh compact, dated so far back 
as the 19th February, 1439,' into which the General 
had entered with the two great Powers, the salaiy 
payable to him and his companies (in equal propor- 
tions) reached the exorbitant sum of 18,000 ducats 
a month; and the Republic herself, elated by the 
satisfactoiy aspect of affairs, is found repeating the 
alluring proposals which she had formerly addressed 
to Carmagnola. '^ So soon as you become master of 
tiie territory of Gonzaga," the Senate writes on the 

' Simoneta (lib. v.) 

' This agreement wiU be found in exlenso in Arch, Sior. ItaL xy. 146. 

VOL. IV. 39 



146 HISTORY OP VENICE. [cbaf. xxm. 

80th July, ^' we will recognise yon as Loid of Mantua ; 
if you do not happen to succeed in this object, we 
will consent to your occupation of Cremona and the 
Cremonese. Bnt if yon cross the Adda, the Duke- 
dom of Milan itself shall, to the exclusion of the 
actual holder, be your reward ; and we will acknow- 
ledge your title." ^ 

The junction so long and fondly desired between 
Sforza and Gattamelata, now second in command, 
having been effected at the end of June, the Captain- 
General found, by a return taken at Montagnano on 
the 25th, that he had 14,000 horse under his orders, 
with the best part of the year before him;* and he 
soon shewed a determination to make the fullest use 
of his time. The Yicentino had been so incompletely 
conquered by Piccinino, that in a few days it was 
completely recovered by the Allies; and the enemy, 
apprehensive of being taken in rear, repassed the 
Adda.' The theatre of war was now transfezred to 
the vicinity of the Lago di Garda, and the Com- 
mander-in-Chief was urged by the Signory to apply 
himself without delay to the object which she con- 
tinued to have most at heart — ^the relief of Brescia. 
The march of the Army across the Tyrolese moun- 
tains in the footsteps of Zeno began in August, and 
the process occupied considerably more than two 
months. It was not till the second week in November, 
that Sforza arrived at the defiles conducting to the 
Fortress of Tenna ; and here he found the Milanese 

* Bomanin (iv. 198). * Nayagiero (5/orta, 1102). 

' Candido, Vita di N. Piccinino, 1077 (Murat. xzi.) 



AJ>. 148d.] A NOTE FROM '< ABOO** CAMP. 147 

and Mantnans under Picdnino in person drawn np in 
readiness to dispute the passage. With the aid of 
the Brescians, a lai^e body of whom suddenly ap- 
peared on the heights and rolled down huge. crags 
on the enemy in the gorge beneath, the Captain- 
General gained the day (November 9) , and the position 
was triumphantly carried. A special messenger was 
despatched on that yeiy evening from the field of 
battle with a note indorsed : ^ ^^ To the Most Serene 
and Excellent Prince and Lord our Singular Good 
Lord, Lord Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice.'' 
" Most Serene Prince,—- 
*^ This is to apprise your most Ulustiious Lord- 
ship that Nicolo Piccinino, being in force here to 
contest certain of the Passes of Tenna, we hastened 
to give the order to carry the said Passes. We sent 
for troc^s from Brescia ; we charged the enemy, and 
scattered them. My Lord Carlo, son of the Lord of 
Muitua, has been taken; Nicolo Piccinino escaped. 
Our men are still in pursuit. We believe that a 
great many cavalry and also foot are in our hands. 
We write this to you in order that you may be in 
possession of the facts as soon as possible. We will 
shortly communicate with the most illustrious Signory 
more in full. 

« From your most auspicious Camp at Arco, Novem- 
ber 9, 1489. — ^Your Serenity's servants, 

^^Fbancesco Sfobza, Count. 

" Gattamelata db' Narni." 

* SMiiido(Ft/«, 1083). 

39—2 



148 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxm. 

At the moment when he wrote or dictated these 
hurried lines, Oomit Francesco was not aware of the 
manner in which Ficcinino had dipped through his 
hands. The latter, when he saw that affairs were quite 
desperate, threw himself in the first instance into 
Tenna ; but from an impression that he would be un- 
able to maintain that position, he almost immediately 
afterward quitted the stronghold, tied up in a sack half 
filled with rags J and was carried through the hostile camp to 
Biva di Lago on the shoulders of one of his orderlies, a 
brawny Teuton of gigantic stature/ The feat amounted 
to a miracle : for Ficcinino himself was a taU, burly 
man; and even to the huge, stalwart fellow whose back 
he turned to such good purpose, the load was a severe 
strain of muscle and sinew. A belief prevailed at the 
time in some quarters that the Venetian Froyeditor, 
Giovanni-Jacopo Marcello, knew thoroughly well the 
contents of the sack, and conniyed at the trick. But 
this was so far from being the truth, that the Venetian 
Govenunent offered a reward of 4,000 ducats to any 
one who should bring Ficcinino dead or alive.' 

No news came of Ficcinino during a fdw days,^ and 
Sforza proceeded to sit down before Tenna. But the 
astounding intelligence was soon brought that the 
Milanese general had surprised Verona, and was 
already master of the principal portion of the fortress ! 
Sforza raised forthwith the siege of Tenna, and 
hastened to the relief of a place, the safety of which 

> Soldo {Memorie, 814-1/S). ' Sanudo (JiU^ 1083). 

' Mvmtori {Amali^ ix. 183). 



A.D. 1439.] STATE OF BRESCIA. 149 

was of infinitely superior consequence to that of Brescia 
itself. For there was room to belieye that the enemy 
designed to follow up the reduction of Verona by an 
invasion of the March of Padua. ^ 

The position of Brescia was so bad that it could 
hardly be worse. The pressure of the siege was mo- 
mentarily removed ; but the distress was becoming 
perfectly insupportable ; and deliverance once more 
p<Mttponed, at the very moment when it had been 
thought to be indeed at hand, by the diversion into 
the Veronese, was to many patient and longing hearts, 
in the most loyal of Oities, a blow too bitter and heavy 
to bear. ** Every day," records an eye-witness, "we 
have letters here, saying that Count Francesco has 
arrived, now in the Padovano, now in the Veronese ; 
now telling us that he has beaten Piccinino; then 
that he had driven him beyond the Adige. In these 
reports there is a good deal that is true enough, 
and a good deal that is not. One thing is certain : 
the League has been renewed. Disease and hunger 
are at their height here. It seems to me, that people 
are getting quite weary of life. Such is their sad 
condition, that it is only because they dread coming 
again under the rule of that Dvke of MilaUf that they 
hold out."* "Affairs," the author of the same 
Menumah tells us in August, 1439, "have ne^yrly 
reached a climax. The pestilence is most terrible^ 
the scarcity hardly less so. Between forty-five and 
fifty are perishing daily: yet, under the hope that 

> Caodido (JUa di N. Piccmmo, 1077). ' Soldo ^Memorief a09). 



150 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

Connt Francesco will soon be crossing the IGncio, we 
foiget onr troubles in the absorbing idea of the arrival 
of the Connt."* 

In the ensuing month, a fiightfdl calamity befel the 
Bepublic and her faithfol subjects. The flotilla on the 
Lago di Gurda under Pietro Zeno, having left its 
tolerably secure anchorage at Torbole, was surprised 
by the enemy on the 26th September,* and was abso- 
lutely annihilated t But Venice did not allow herself 
to be disheartened by the loss ; the Senate directed 
the organization on the spot of one far more numerous 
and powerful ; and of the feverish anxiety with which 
each vessel was watched in its progress toward com- 
pletion a graphic and animated picture survives.' 

Some sort of help, however, was approaching at 
length. Sforza, having recovered Verona,^ and having 
thwarted his adversary in his plan for carrying the War 
into the Padovano by compelling him to retreat,^ re- 
traced his steps by a series of rapid countermarches, 
and succeeded, in spite of Piccinino, in throwing 
victuals and reinforcements into Brescia. But the 
season was now very advanced ; the weather began to 
grow excessively cold and inclement ; and the Captain- 
General had scarcely afforded the sufferers this partial 
relief, when he found it necessaiy to withdraw into 
winter quarters. His example was imitated by the 



' Soldo (812). ^ » Ibid. (813). ' Ibid. (815-16). 

^ Cftndido, Vita PhUtpfn^MaruB Vicecomitis (Murat. xx. 993) ; Antonio 
de Ripalta, contemp., Annates Placentini (Murat zz. 876). 
« Cuidido (Fffa di N. Piccinino, 1077). 



JLD. 14S9-40.] MORE ABOUT BRESCIA. 151 

laeatenant of Visconti ; and thns ended the year 1439, 
in which Venice had completely won back her Provinces 
of ^^cenza and Verona. 

The supplies brought by Sforza to the Brescians 
furnished only a respite* Under date of the 10th 
April, 1440, we have the following : — ** Bread is fright- 
folly dear; people are living on grass, snails, horse- 
fledi, rats, mice, dogs, and other loathsome food* 
Ton may see, day after day, three hundred, four hun- 
dred, yea more, children on the Piazza, crying aloud : 
— < bread, bread, for the love of God ! ' There is no 
bom creature so cruel that it would not melt his heart 
to witness such a spectacle. I believe that, unless 
Divine Providence were watching over us, we should, 
before this, have surrendered, or every soul of us must 
have died 1'^' 

Till the arrival of Sforza in the summer of 1439, 
and his assumption of the Captaincy-General, both the 
military and naval operations of the Bepublic had 
prospered exceedingly ill ; even the fleet on the Poi 
commanded by the illustrious Loredano, was obliged 
by a diversion of the river from its natural channel to 
return home without striking a blow ; and Venice 
beheld a noble old man, whose earlier and happier 
years had been employed under the pacific reign of 
Mocenigo, fret to death at the troubles and disgraces 
of his country, and sink to his grave broken-hearted. 
The campaign of 1489 exhibited a favourable turn, 
and was on the whole as productive as could have been 

> Soldo (820). 



152 mSTOBY OP VENICE. [otaf. xxni. 

expected : yet the loss of the Lago di Garda squadron 
was a severe misfortnnei while the fate of the Bresciano 
and the Bergamasque still hung in the balance. 

In the campaign of 1440, ahready near at hand, 
the Dnke of Milan was reconunended by Binaldo 
degli Albizzi, leader of the Anti-Medicean faction at 
Florence, and by Piccinino himself to attempt, in the 
difficult circumstances in which he was placed, the 
diversion of Sforza from Lombardy by carrying the 
War into La Marca, and thence by the Maradi route 
into Tuscany. By this plan it was reckoned that 
Count Francesco, on the one hand, would be forced 
to provide for the safety of Ancona ; while the Floren- 
tines, on their part, reduced to the necessity of watch- 
ing their own separate interests, would throw the 
BepubUc on her own resources, and leave the Pro- 
vinces of the Terra-Ferma at the mercy of Filippo- 
Maria. The Duke, therefore, accepted the strategical 
programme drawn out for him, and his lieutenant 
quitted his winter-quarters in February at the head of 
6,000 horse. On the 4th March, ^ the Milanese reached 
Bologna ;' Piccinino, having been reinforced by Ostasio 
da Polenta of Bavenna, Malatesta of Bimini, and other 
minor potentates, who gave their adhesion to Filippo 
under stress of intimidation, successively overcame the 
resistance of Oriolo, Modigiana, and Maradi ; and from 
the last point pursuing his course, he crossed the 
Tuscan frontier, and occupied Bibbiena and Bomena.' 

> Fugliok, Cronka di Bologna, 664 (Murat. xviii.) 

■ Muratori (AtmaH, ix. 186). . » Cavalcanti (lib.xiy. caps. 2 and 8). 



A.i>. 1440.] ALARM OF FLORENCE. 168 

But Afitorre, Lord of Faenza, &ther-m4aw of Polenta, 
whom he had es^cted to join him with a powerful 
contingent, failed to make his appearance. 

So fiEur hack as Fehraary, 1440, Florence, viewing 
with well-founded uneasiness the mysterious policy 
and &thomless amhition of Yisconti, who had so long 
heen a standing menace to Italy, sent Neri da Oapponi 
and another citizen to Venice, with the object of con- 
certing measures with the Republic for the common 
security; and on that occasion the Foscari Ministry 
had afforded the warmest assurances of friendship and 
support, even asserting ^* that the Bepublic would do 
her best that Florence should receive no harm ! " The 
seizure of Maradi, which was shamefully deserted * by 
its defenders, and the violation of their frontier in the 
same summer, inspired the Florentines with renewed 
and increased anxiety ; and a requisition was made, 
on the plea of cogent and momentous necessity, for 
Sforza and his Companies. The Captain-General, 
whose personal aim was rather to weaken and terrify 
the Duke than to destroy him, seconded the demand. 
"The Count," says Capponi,* "comes to Vebice in 
person, and at great length demonstrates that his 
going into Tuscany will be useful to the League, 
alleging that Nicolo Ficcinino has no one to resist 
him either in La Marca or in Tuscany, and that if he 
be not opposed he wiU make himself Lord of La Marca 
and Perugia, and will increase in &me and strength. 

' Napier (Florentine History^ iii. 255). 
' CommaUarii (Mont. zym. 1192). 



154 HKTORT OF VENICE. [chap. xxni. 

The Florentines, he states, have no means of with- 
standing the enemy ; unless help arrive soon, one of 
two things will happen : they most come to terms, or 
be crashed I " But the Signoiy knew better. '' The 
Doge," pursues the commentator, << assures Sforza, 
in answer, and proves it to him very clearly that if he 
(the Captain-General) crosses the Po, the Venetian 
provinces of Terra-Ferma are lost. His Serenity de- 
clares that the Duke, once conquered in Lombardy, 
is conquered elsewhere; and he protests that, if the 
Count has absolutely determined to go, they (the 
Venetians) have determined to abandon the Terra- 
Ferma , and to spend no more money I "* The result was 
that, upon an understanding that he should be provided 
with funds sufficient to enable him to raise such a 
force as might compel the Duke to recaU his lieu- 
tenant, Sforza yielded. The Signory, after some 
demur, promised him for this purpose 81,000 ducats ; 
and under such a stimulus his genius and perseverance 
soon won fresh and more splendid triumphs for the 
cause, which it just now suited him to serve. On the 
10th April, Stefano Contarini, Captain of the new 
flotilla on the Lago di Garda, inaugurated the cam- 
paign by shattering that of the enemy ; and Sforza 
hastened to turn that brilliant advantage to the best 
account. On the 8rd of June, the Captain-General 
made the passage of the Mincio ; Bivoltella, Lonato, 
Salo and other places, submitted to him; and he 
continued to advance until, on the 14th of the month, 

' Oftpponi (as above)* 



AM. 1440.] VENETIAN TRIUMPHS. 165 

he encountered Piccinino between the Orci-Nnovi and 
Soncmo. A battle took place, in which the Milanese 
were ntterly beaten ; and thus Brescia, after a three 
years' siege, and the endurance of incredible hardships, 
was finaDy relieved. The loss of life on either side 
was very trifling ; bat Piccinino was once more nearly 
d^tored. The old general contriyed to elude pursuit, 
and, collecting a portion of his scattered troops, he 
marched with his usual rapidity against the Florentine 
position at Angbiari^ on the Tiber, four miles from 
Borgo di San-Sepolcro. It was his hope that he 
might thus retrieve his fortune, and at the same time 
preclude the intended junction of the AUies* The 
Milanese, however, harassed by excessive fatigue, and 
obliged to fight with a blinding dust in their faces, 
experienced (June 29) a second defeat; and their 
commander had another hair's breadth escape from 
becoming a prisoner of war/ These successes spurred 
the Count to additional exertions ; and the perfidy of 
Gonzaga of Mantua was punished by the loss of Yal- 
leggio, Asola, and Peschiera. ^^ I have seen written 
with a piece of charcoal in the hand of Count Frau- 
cesco," writes one,' who visited the spot about forty 
years after the event, ** behind the gate of that Rock 
(Peschiera) these words : Onthe... day of August y 
1440, J, Gaunt Francesco^ Altered this Rock in the name 
of the Signory of Venice." The Marquis of Ferrara, 
who had long been a trimmer, now knit himself once 

> Sanndo (Fife, 1096-^9). ' Soldo (Memarie, 828). 

• Saiiiido (Viiey 1100). 



156 mSTOEY OF VENICE. [chap. xzm. 

more in close alliance with Venice; Bimini^ and 
Bavenna,* abandoning the Duke, again came over to 
the other side ; and the year 1440 beheld the Lion 
of Saint Mark floating over the greater part of the 
fortresses of the YicentinOi Veronese, Bresciano, and 
Bergamasqae. Trevi, Caravaggio, Soncino, Orci- 
Nuovi and Vecchiij Chiari and Monte-Chiari, and many 
other points, were in the hands of Sforza. Opposite 
Milan, he halted, and signified an inclination, perhaps 
a feigned one, to cross the Adda, and occupy the 
Capital itself.' 

Piccinino retraced his steps, disconraged and moody. 
Taking adyantage of the unprepared state of the Allies 
at the outset, he had made a few trifling conquests ; 
but, with those exceptions, the result of the campaign 
had been singularly unpropitious to him ; and 
" owing," as Cayalcanti will have it,* " to the bestial 
contumacy and stubbornness of Astorre of Faenza, his 
good fortune had turned to an evil one." The word 
bestial is one on which the Florentine historian literally 
doats. The Lord of Faenza is bestial. Filippo-Maria 
is bestial. Li one or two places, Sforza is bestial. On 
the ^^ bestiality" of this or that proceeding the writer 
insists with amusing emphasis, and dwells with evident 
relish. 

The brilliant, though somewhat short, campaign of 
1440 was virtually brought to an end by the setting-in 
of the heavy autumnal rains ; all the real fighting had 

' CApponi (1197). ' Romanin (iv. 208). 

* Cspponi, as above. * IsUnit Fiorentme^ lib. Jdv. cap. 2. 



Aj>. 1440.] COUNT SFOBZA AT VENICE. 167 

been done between Apiil and Jnly. Sforza looked 
upon his achieyements with pardonable complacency : 
for he had not merely gained precious triumphs for 
the Bepublic, and surrounded with glory the flag of 
Saint Mark, but he had improved in a wonderful 
measure his own private prospects by making the 
Duke tremble on his very throne. The two consecu- 
tive checks given to Piccinino seriously frightened his 
master, and the thoughts of the latter began to stray 
once more in the direction of peace. For this purpose 
the Marquis of Ferrara exerted his rare eloquence and 
address.^ A coaxing message was conveyed to the 
General in strict confidence. ^^ His darling wish shall 
be gratified now without delay ; Bianca shall be his ; 
they shall be married directly ; Cremona is to be her 
dower. But, per contrdy a treaty must be arranged; 
Francesco shall have the management of the whole 
thing ; Fraucesco shall mediate ! " The Venetian 
Government, on . its own part, entertained no sort 
of objection to peace on a satisfactory basis, and a 
negotiation commenced accordingly, which lingered 
through the winter months, and came after all to 
nothing. Perhaps the Signory was too exacting.^ 
Perhaps it is that Count Francesco, not feeling any 
strong confidence in the man who has duped him so 
often before, has not the matter much at heart/ and 
prefers to kill the idle hours with the bewitching 
pleasures of the Venetian capital. *^ Count Francesco," 
notes Soldo in his Diary ^ ''is spending his time at 

> Muratori (AnnaU, ix. 191). * Ibid. 



158 mSTOBY OF VENICE. [chap. zzni. 

feasts and dances, while Piccinino is spending it in 
slmnber 1 " Some excuse, however, is to be found for 
Bforza. When he was at Venice, the City was extra- 
ordinarily gay and seductive* In Januaiy, 1441, 
Jacopo Foscari, ihe Doge's only surviying son by 
Maria Friull del Banco, his first wife, married Lucrezia, 
daughter of the patrician Leonardo Contarini.^ The 
ceremony was privately performed at the Palace in 
the presence of his Serenity, the Dogaressa, and a 
few relatives and intimate Mends. Speaking of the 
subsequent rejoicings, Giacomo Contarini, the bride's 
brother, writes under date of the 29th January to 
brother Andrea at Constantinople : — ^' This morning 
all assembled at Marangona — ^there were eighteen of 
us, dressed uniformly — at the house of the * Master 
of the Feast.' We wore the stocking of ^the Company 
(Delia Calza), ' mantles of Alexandrine velvet brocaded 
with silver, doublets of crimson velvet with open 
sleeves, zones of the same colour, and squirrel-fur 
linings, on our heads caps alia Sforzesca.^ We had 
two servants apiece in eur own Uvery, and four in 
the livery of the Company ; everybody was provided 
with a charger caparisoned in green velvet and silver ; 
and, mounted on our beautiful and stately beasts, we 
looked as grand as any cavalry. Besides our grooms, 
we had other attendants dressed in silk, and men- 
at-arms, too, so that altogether there were not fewer 
than two hundred and fifty horses. I must tell you 

> Sanudo (Ftte, 10d9). 

' Morelli {DeUe Solenmia e P&mpe NuxiaU, 1798). 



Aj>. 1441.] MAERIA6E OF THE D06E*S SON. 150 

that the Master was costumed very much like onr^ 
selves, excepting that his vest was a trauii and that his 
cap was of crimson velvet. His lordship had twenty 
horses, and Messer Giacomo (i.e. himself) twenty-five. 
We started from the house in this order. In front 
marched some of the trumpets and fifes ; then the 
youngsters in silk. Next came our horses covered 
with their trappings, followed hy half the Company 
of the Stocking ; then the rest of the trumpeters and 
fifers; then 'My Lord of the Feast;' then the other 
Companions of the Stocking; finally, all our remaining 
servants." 

The procession, having made the circuit of the 
Piazza and of the Palace-Court, proceeded from San 
Samuele^ over a bridge of boats thrown across the 
Grand Canal to San Bamaba, where the bride resided. 
The lady Lucrezia came out of the Palazzo Contarini 
to meet us, walking between two Procurators of Saint 
Mark, and attended by sixty maids of honour ; and 
all went to Saint Barnabas', close by, and heard mass. 
After mass, an oration was delivered on the open and 
densely crowded space in front of the sacred building, 
and in the presence of the Doge and the Court, com- 
memorative of the virtues of the fair Contarini, and of 
the great actions of her progenitors. Upon its termi- 
nation, Lucrezia re-entered her father's house, while 
the Companions of the Stocking, again taking horse, 
rode through the various quarters of the City, gallantly 
curvetting and prancing over the Campo di San Luca, the 

> SaiiQdo (FiYe, 1099). 



160 HIBTOBY OF VENICE. [chap. xzni« 

Campo di Santa Maiia FoimoBa, and the Piazza itself, 
and occasionally indulging in mock-battles and playfdl 
skinnishes. In the aftemooni a splendid banquet was 
given at the Palace, after which one hundred and fifty 
ladies, sumptuously attired, mounted the Bucentaur, 
and agam repaired, accompanied by numberless boats 
and by a band of musicians, to the Palazzo Contaiini. 
Here Lucrezia was in readiness with one hundred 
other ladies to join them ; and from the mansion of 
the Senator Leonardo the huge baige moved forward 
in the direction of the Palazzo Sforza, where the 
whole party landed. The bride entered the building 
between Count Francesco and the Florentine Ambas- 
sador. The visit was one of the stiffest formality ; 
the procession soon re-embarked, and returned to the 
Pucal residence. On the Piazza, Lucrezia was met 
by the Doge, for whom room was found between his 
daughter-in-law and Count Sforza; and, on the stair- 
case of Saint Mark's, the Dogaressa, with a train of 
fifty superbly-habited ladies, was prepared to welcome 
her. Dancing commenced almost immediately after 
the arrival of the guests ; in the course of the evening, 
a princely collation was served on the tables; and 
after supper the ball was continued to a late hour. 
- The fetes commenced on Monday, the 30th January. 
The principal event of that day was a toumay among 
forty persons for a prize given by Count Sforza of a 
piece of cloth-of-gold valued at 120 ducats ; and the 
claims of two of the candidates, Taliano Furlono, an 
officer in the Milanese army, and of a soldier in 



AJ>. 1441.] THE JANUARY F^TES. 161 

Sforza's companies^ were bo equal that the meed of 
Yaldnr was divided between them. A grand ball was 
announced at the Palace in the evening, and the 
Companions of the Stocking provided a supper. 

The next day was very wet in the earlier part of 
the morning ; but at a later hour the weather improved, 
and in the afternoon a regatta was held. On Wednes- 
day, the jousts recommenced ; and during a week or 
ten days, Venice continued to present a scene of revel 
and ovation. All the shops and merchants' offices 
were closed, and upward of 80,000 persons regularly 
congregated on the Piazza to witness the sports and 
pastimes. The same general routine was observed 
tliroughout, with some variations in the details.^ . The 
day was occupied with tournaments and every other 
sort of diyersion. At night came the balls, masques 
and serenades ; and after dusk the Piazza was lighted 
with white wax torches. The whole capital whirled 
with excitement. Count Sforza joined with hearty 
zest and glee in everything. His mornings were spent 
m the lists, and his evenings in the saloons. Such 
was the pomp which attended the nuptials of the fair 
Contarini with the Doge's son; it is said to have 
afforded a spectacle to which Italy had never beheld 
anything at all approaching in magnificence and cost- 
liness. 

During all this time, Picdnino was very quiet, but 
not quite so fjAst asleep as some supposed. At all 
events, before December (1440) was far advanced, he 

' Sanudo {Viie^ llCO-1); and Morelli, ttbi supra. 
VOL. IV. • 40 



162 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. xxiii. 

had been Awake and tetir ; and during that and the 
ensnmg month he wad busily engaged in preparationB 
for the Beemingly unavoidable renewal of the straggle. 
He took the field so early as February ; Count Sforza 
was nowhere visible; and his opponent seized the 
occasion to spread a report, ** that he had perished in 
a mysterious manner at Venice." ^ The truth was, 
that the Contarini Pageant and other attractions of 
the Venetian capital possessed for him an irresistible 
charm ; and the Count was stiU to be seen tilting and 
pirouetting, while his troops were anxiously awaiting 
his presence, until they were obUged at last to re- 
linquish the field, and to fiJl back on their fortresses. 

The Venetian commander was superior in point of 
number to his adversary; but it did not answer the 
purpose of the Captain-General to press Piccinino too 
closely, or to damage the Milanese power to any 
irretrievable extent. It was not till June, that Sforza 
joined head-quarters; and even then nothing of con- 
sequence was undertaken. On the other hand^ how- 
ever, Filippo-Maria, growing disgusted and alarmed 
at the preposterous demands of his captains, who 
wished him, in the absence of direct heirs, to appor- 
tion his dominions among them, had been, during 
some time, in constant communication with Sforza, 
through his private Secretary and other confidential 
agents, at one moment hinting at some arrangement 
for the re-establishment of peace : while at another 
he darkly insinuated, ^' that a fate similar to that of 

* Sanudo (Fite, 1101). 



A.D. 1441.] nBAGE OF GATBIANA. 163 

Gannagnola was in etore for his saccessor, and that 
the MSanese service was safer and more rantinera*- 
tive/' Sforza, if he estimated the innuendoes of the 
Dnke and his creatures at their true yaLoe, was in a 
position to enjoy a laugh at their expense ; yet the 
admonition^ perhaps, was not without its use and 
profit. It taught him to be discreet and ingenuous; 
it seasonably impressed him with the folly and danger 
of employing a shuffling policy, or of behaving toward 
the GoTemment of Venice with the same dishonesty, 
which had cost Oarmagnola his head ; and, at each sue* 
cessive stage of the negotiation, the precise attitude of 
affairs with the exact progress made toward the desired 
result was faithftdly and minutely reported to the 
Signory. At length, Sforza forwarded for approval 
a protocol, which he was authorized by a decree of 
the Senate (August 6 ^) to accept ; and, having signed 
on his own responsibility' an armistice for a fortnight, 
he proceeded to Venice to receive certain necessary 
instructions. It had been, in the first instance, the 
wish of the Bepublic, that the representatives should 
assemble at her own capital ; but the Duke declared 
his preference for some neutral ground, and the point 
was waived in favour of Cavriana in the Cremonese. 
To this place came, in the latter half of September,' 
Paolo Trono and Francesco Barbarigo, the Plenipo- 
tentiaries of the Doge ; the Venetians were content to 
relinquish the right of choosing the seat of the con- 

> Bomanin (ir. 201). ' Kavagiero (StoriOy 1107). 

' Romanin, ubi supra. 

40—2 



164 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, xxiii. 

fereneei 80 long as they were left at liberty to dictate 
the terms ; and the nature of those terms makes it an 
allowable hypothesis that they were, to fk large extent, 
of their own authorship. Count Sforza, familiar with 
the slippeiy character of his intended father-in-law, 
insisted upon, being invested with the sovereignty of 
Cremona, and upon biemg united to Bianca, prepara- 
tory to the definitive signature of the Treaty;, this 
step, to which Trono and his colleague did not think it 
worth while to raise any objection, involved great 
delay; and the Treaty of Cavriana was not published 
till the 20th November, 1441/ 

By the new instrument, the boundary of the Adda 
was restored as the frontier-line between the territories 
of Milan and Venice. The clauses in regard to ex- 
change of prisoners and other details of a like kind, 
found in the Treaty of 1488, were reproduced without 
alteration. lUva di Lago was transferred . &om the 
Duke to the Signoiy ; and the former also lost Imola 
and Bologna, which returned under pontifical rule, 
and Genoa, which regained her independence. The 
Lord of Mantua relaxed his grasp of Porto, Legnago, 
and other Venetian possessions, which he had seized 
in the course of the War : while he ceded to the Ee- 
pubhc Lonato, Valleggio, Asola, and Peschiera.* The 
rights of Venice over Ravenna, which had been in her 
occupation since February of the present year, were 
confirmed ; and Cremona had already become the 
marriage-portion of Bianca-Sforza-Visconti. 

' Navagiero {Storia^ 1107-8); Romaoin, ubi supra, * Romamn (iv. 205). 



A.D. 1441.] ACQUISITION OP RAVENNA. 165 

A fair statement of the chain of circumstances, mider 
which the antient House of Polenta was deprived of its 
patrimony in Bavenna, is calculated perhaps to exone- 
rate the BepubHc from a charge of direct usurpation. 
So far back as 1406, Obizzo da Polenta, then master 
of this principality, finding himself reduced by the 
ambition of his brother-in-law the Lord of Faenza, 
the Lord of Forli, and other neighbours to a position 
of grave peril, sohcited and secured the protection of 
Venice. A Venetian podesta was sent to Bavenna to 
superintend the government : but the Polenta family 
still retained the sovereignty in its own hands, although 
the limit indicating where the authority of the podesta 
ceased, and where that of Obizzo began, was not 
perhaps very accurately defined. The conquests of 
Venice on the Terra-Ferma at that period, her wars 
with Hungary from 1410 to 1416, and her acquisitions 
in Istria, Dalmatia, the Frioul, Greece, Albania, and 
elsewhere between 1416 and 1424 absorbed the atten- 
tion of her rulers ; and a£fairs at Bavenna remained 
with little or no alteration till 1430, when Obizzo died, 
naming the Bepublic the executress of his will, the 
guardian of his son Ostasio, a minor, and, if that son 
died childless, Ostasio's successor. Upon the attam- 
ment of his majority, ' Ostasio exhibited a tyrannical 
and overbearing character; and by his excesses, which 
Venetian organs probably did not omit to exaggerate, 
he incurred great odium, and made many enemies 
among the better classes of society at Bavenna. Li 
the fourth war between the Signory and Filippo-Maria 



166 HISTORY OP VENICE. [cHAr.xxni. 

Yiscontiy Polentai who happened to be redding at 
Treviso at that jonctore, thought proper^ to desert 
the cause of the Bepublici and to go over to the 
Duke; but after the successes of the Army of the 
League under Sforza (1440) , he forsook the Milanese 
connexion, and a Proveditor was sent to concert with 
him and his wife, ^^ on the best means of preserving 
the devotion of Bavenna to the Bepublic/' A crisis 
was at hand : yet Ostasio was blind to its approach. 
On the 24th October, 1440, a letter is written in the 
name of the Doge Foscari to Captain Jacopo-Antonio 
Marcello, stationed in the Garrison, as follows : '' Ad- 
vices have been received here, which give the Gk>vem- 
ment to xmderstand, that Hesser Sigismondo Malatesta 
(Lord of Bimini) came to the Legate, in company with 
two citizens of Bavenna, and told him that the inhabi- 
tants do not choose to remain any longer under the 
sway of the Polenta, who governs them despotically. 
As the BepubUc holds this City sufficiently dear (assai 
cara) , and cannot suffer it to fail into the hands of 
others, we desire you to proceed thither with troops, 
which you can procure from the Condottiero Michele 
Cotignola; the Proveditor Giovanni Leoni may act 
provisionally as Podesta, and preside over the adminis- 
tration of justice ; and you yourself will take charge of 
the gates* It must be ascertained whether it is really 
true, that the people are hostile to Polenta ; and, if so, 
the facts can be represented to his lordship, who may 
then be invited to pay a visit to Venice, until matters 

* Roasi {HUtana Bavemi, lib. tM.) 



Aj>. 1441.] ACQUISITION OF BAYfiNNA. 167 

are smoother. On the other hand, if the presence of 
Polenta be not thought prejndiciali he maj be allowed 
to remain where he is/' 

In pniBuance of these instroetions, Maroello marehes 
upon Bavenna, at the head of 2,000 foot ; and Ostaaioi 
abandoning his patrimony, repairs of his own aqeord 
to the Lagoons. It is Saint Matthew's day when 
the Venetian officer arrives at his destination. The 
citizens and the people rise in arms against their 
oppressors, and with joyous shouts proclaim Saint 
Mark and the Venetian Senate.^ An embassy is sent 
to Venice, to make known the wishes of the inhabi- 
tants; and on the 21st Februaiy, 1441, the Senate 
decrees '^that the submission of Bavenna may be 
accepted," and proper steps be taken to suppress any 
revolutionary movements on the part of the Polenta 
faction. Ostasio, his wife, and his child are relegated 
to Candia, where the two latter die in the course of the 
same year.' The archiepiscopal see is preserved; 
but the salterns in the neighbourhood, which are 
said to be injurious to the health of the localitt/f are 
destroyed.' 

The conclusion of peace was welcomed at Venice 
with processions, joy-bells, and thanksgivings. Count 
Sforza and his bride were invited to the capital ; and 
the Princess Bianca was, upon her disembarkation, 
received with all imaginable pomp in the Merceria. 
Accompanied by the Doge, Bianca paid visits to the 

' Rossi (HUtaria RaveruL lib. yii.); Simoneta (Vita SforHm^ lib. T.) 
' Rossi, H^t npra. ' Id. 



168 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap.xxui. 

Arsenal and other public establishments, and was very 
mnch delighted with everything, especially when his 
Serenity takes her mto Saint Mark's Treasniy, and 
selects a gem worth 1,000 ducats of gold, which he 
presents to this charming young lady of seventeen 
years ^ next birthday, as a slight token of regard on 
the part of the Bepublie. Bianca is the daughter of a 
prince who nourishes toward the Venetians a deep- 
rooted and deadly hatred ; and she has not improbably 
been educated in the belief that Venice is the high- 
place of wickedness, and a nest of assassins in figured 
velvet and embroidered lace. Perhaps this visit will 
help to disabuse her mind of such an impression, and 
will make her think nothing the worse of the people, 
whose hospitality her husband and herself are enjoying 
for a little time. As she peers, on the morning after 
her arrival, out of the window-casement of the palace, 
the Countess beholds a scene pretty similar to that 
which delighted and astonished Petrarch nearly one 
hundred years before her time: ships, as tall as 
houses, riding proudly on the cahn surface of the 
Grand Canal, manned by oak-hearted and iron-thewed 
sailors who have visited every part of the worid : 
crowded wharves and busy quays, where all the lan- 
guages of Europe are spoken, and where every variety 
of dress is observable. In the forenoon, Bianca 
becomes a spectatress in the Lists on the Piazza, on 
the Campo di San Luca or di San Polo, where Vene- 
tian gentlemen vie in knightly prowess and equestrian 

' Cagnola {Storia di Mlano^ 67; Arch, Stor. ItuL iii.) 



AJ>. 1441.] BIANCA'S IMPRESSIONS OF VENICE. 169 

skill mth the finest lances and horsemen of the Con- 
tinent. At a later honr^ the saloons of the Ducal 
Palace throw open to her a spectacle to which no 
other City can furnish a counterpart : three hundred 
ladiesi regally apparelled, behaving with a grace 
liralled only by their decorum, and in whose veins 
flows blood £ar older than that of Plantagenet or 
Courtenay; and when she withdraws to her own 
apartments, she hears not the screech of the owl or 
the baying of the hounds, to which she has been 
fieaniliar from her girlhood in the cheerless palace at 
Milan ; but all is quiet, except when the still air is 
broken for a moment by some church-clock close by, 
striking another hour ! 



170 



CHAPTEB XXIV. 

A.D. 1441 to A.D. 1457. 

Yenetiaii Affiun from 1441 to 1447— Venetian Policy during that Period 
— ^Death of Filippo-Maria (Aug. 1447) — ^His Person and Character 
— His Four Wills— War of the Succession — Sfbrza's Fortunes— 
Sforsa, Duke of Milan (March, 1450) — ^League between Venice and 
Naples against Sforza and Florence (1452) — ^Desultory Nature of 
Operations— Attempt on the Life of the Duke under the Sanction of 
the Ten— Treaty of Lodi (April, 1454)— (Conquest of Constantinople 
by the Turks (1453) — Treaty between Venice and Mohammed n. 
(April, 1454) — Great Italian League of 1455 — ^Review of Venetian 
Progress and Ciriliation— Story of the Two Foscari (1445-^)— 
Deposition and Death of the Doge (Oct.-Noy. 1457)— Foscari and 
his Times. 

Fbom the date of the conclusion of the Fourth War 
a.gamst Filippo-rMaria Yiscontiy which had borne some 
resemblance to an extended duel between the two 
commanders, till 1447| in which year that prince 
died, Italian politics continued to present a precarious 
and fluctuating aspect. The goyeming aim of Yisconti 
in these later years of his life was to alienate Sforza 
from his employers by alternate threats and caresses, 
by insinuations against Venetian honour and mag- 
nificent proposals. Such a purpose, if realised, was 
infallibly fraught with extreme peril, and the Bepubhc 
strove energetically to thwart it. Venice, while she 
judiciously reframed from hurrying into a war in the 
absence of any serious aggression upon Italian liberty, 
gave the Bolognese and Florentines assurances of her 



Aa». 1441-7.] DOUBLE-DEALING OF SFORZA. 171 

intention to support them in case of necessity ; and in 
the antonm of 1443, a defensiye leagae against Milan 
for fiye years was sabscrihed by Florence, Genoa, 
Bologna, and the Signory, the last Power oflfering to 
place 2,000 horse at the disposal of Ooont Francesco, 
shonld he be attacked. In 1445, by a treaty between 
the Dncal Goyenunent and the Patriarch of Aquileia, 
the Venetian difficulties in that quarter were amicably 
solyed, and all apprehension on the side of the Frioul 
was ten^rarily remoyed. The amis of Yisconti, who 
had now (1444) lost the rare talents of Nicolo Hcci- 
nino, suffered constant reyerses ; but his secret nego- 
tiations with his son-in-law were more successful* 
Sforza, placed between two patrons, was during all 
this time in a state of sore perplexity. On the one 
hand, the Duke was for eyer importuning him to 
espouse his cause ; and his wife, probably, teased him 
to giye way, and go to Milan. On the other side, the 
Venetians, who had laid him under obligations of 
gratitude, shewed themselyes anxious to retain his 
services and his friendship. Thus two lines of con- 
duct seemed open to the husband of Bianca, eith^ of 
which he might, perhaps, haye adopted without much 
hazard or injury to his character. But he chose to 
take a middle course, and to temporize with the 
Bignory, while he was in treaty with Milan. Such a 
policy was hi^y profligate and unprincipled ; and the 
Venetian Goyeznment, seeing through his duplicity, 
was emphatic in its expression of resentment. Pas- 
quale Malipiero, one of the Procurators of Saint 



172 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf.xxiv. 

Mark, was sent to expostulate with the Count on his 
abominable behaviour; and the rebuke of Malipiero was 
hearty and outspoken.^ In April, 1447, the Senate ^ 
decreed the stoppage of his pay, the confiscation of 
the residences which the gratitude of the Republic had 
bestowed upon him, and his proclamation as a rebel ; 
and troops were sent from Florence and Venice to 
close against Sforza all the passes of Lombardy. The 
alliance between the Pope and Alfonso of Naples had 
ahready had the e£fect of restoring La Marca to the 
former ; ' Jesi alone remained in the hands of Count 
Francesco ; ^ and the Count was already beginning to 
feel himself in a critical dilemma, when the Duke, 
terrified by the ill-success of his mihtary enterprises, 
disgusted at the mediocrity of Francesco Ficdnino, a 
son of Nicolo, and distrustful of many of his other 
captains, sent a private secretary to head-quarters, 
urgently soliciting his son-in-law to come with his 
wife to Milan* Alfonso and his ally, rejoicing at the 
prospect of getting rid of Sforza and of obtaining 
Jesi, proposed at the same time to pay 85,000 florins 
6f gold in consideration of his complete surrender to 
the Church of all rights over La Marca ; and Sforza, 
'^ only anxious," as he said, '* to study and obey the 
wishes of his father," took the money, and set out 
with Bianca and his companions on the 9th August. 
He had only reached Cotignola, his native village, 

' Cavalcanti, contemp. {Istorie FiorenHne, lib. xiy. c. 56). 

• Navagiero {Storia, 1111). 

• Birticci (Vita del Re Alfonso; Arch, Star. Ital iv. 398). 

• Cagnola {Star, di Milano ; A, S. L iii. 72-^). 



A.D. 1447.] DEATH OP FILIPPO-MABIA. 178 

however, where he was haltmg to give his men rest, 
when the news came, that the Dnke was no more ! 
Filippoi after a few days' indisposition, had breathed 
his last at the Castle of Porta-Zobbia/ on the 13th of 
the month. It was characteristic of him, that his 
physicians were strictly forbidden to allow the least 
suspicion of his danger to transpire; and when his 
decease was at length announced, the greatest sur- 
prise was felt in Milanese circles as well as through- 
out Italy. Yisconti carried with him to the grave the 
reputation of having been the most astute and wily 
prince of his time. It might have been added, that he 
was the most finished hypocrite and the most artistic 
dissembler. 

The character of Filippo-Maria was altogether one 
of the most singular, which has appeared in any age or 
country. Even to those who conceived they knew 
him best, he was a riddle and enigma. He was the 
Sphynx of Milan, ever undeciphered and unsolved. 
For genius and disposition he stood quite alone. He 
was not the type of any class. He belonged to no 
school. 

The late Duke had never been handsome or winning 
in his appearance. He could never be persuaded to 
have his portrait painted; but a contemporary' has 
preserved a graphic picture of his person, his cha- 
racter, and his manners. In stature, he was con- 
siderably above the common height, though, from his 

■ Muratori (^nno/t, ix. 219). 

' Fetrus Candidus, Vita PhUippi'Maria Vicecomiiit (Murat. xxi.) 



174 HISTQBY OF VENICE* [chap. xxiv. 

habit of stooinngy he seldom looked tall. As a boy » hia 
figoie yras remembered to have been fiiiigalarly laiik and 
ungainly, his frame then being spare ahnost to emacia* 
tion :^ but gross indulgence and unrestrained sensualiiy 
soon destroyed every trace of symmetry or comeliness ; 
and long before the Duke reached middle life he grew 
monstrously corpulent. From a deformity in his feet, 
his legs had always been weak; and in later years the 
feebleness of his lower extremities increased so de- 
plorably that he was obliged to support himselfi when- 
ever he rose from his seat, on a stout cane, or to 
lean on the shoulder of a page ; but his biographer 
relates that, throughout his reign, he was never seen 
to stir abroad alone. Large, rolling eyes of a fierce, 
wandering expression, with pupils of a yellowish tint ; 
projecting brows ; a snub nose ; a receding chin, on 
which the razor seldom intruded^ high cheek-bones; 
a head which could only be described as an oblong ; 
black hair, worn off the £Etce, and combed and brushed 
as rarely as possible ; a bull-neck, on which the fiat 
literally lay in folds; and short hands with dumpy 
fingers, made his physiognomy by no means classical 
or fiascinating. 

Before his death, his eyesight had so entirely fiBdled 
him, that he was nearly stone-blind. On this point he 
was so sensitive that the utmost care was taken to 
keep strangers in ignorance of the affliction, by warn- 
ing him of their approach. The favourite diet of the 
Duke was quails, liver, and turnips. Occasionally, he 

> Candidus (cap. 66). 



A.i>. 1447.] THE DUK£*S FEBSON AND CHABACTEB. 175 

woke in the middle of the night, ordered a calf 8 liver 
to be dressedi and until the meal was ready, paced the 
room with his attendants. His slmnber was gene- 
rally yery broken and feverish ; he often changed his 
conch as many as three times in a night; and he 
invariably slept in his clothes, and lay across the bed, 
instead of lengthmsCi ^^ which is a &8hion/' remarks 
CandidnSy '* I have never noted in anybody else." In 
his walks, it was his custom to mumble his prayers 
uninterruptedly, and to count his devotions on his 
fingers. His physiciana were in constant attendance ; 
and such was his dread of death, that he followed the 
most absurd prescriptions in the minutest particular. 

There was no one who had been, instrumental in 
the destruction of so many of his fellow-creatures as 
Yisconti: yet it was more than any one dared to 
mention the word death, or to broach the subject in 
his presence ; and the sight of a naked blade was 
enough to make him scream with terror. Though 
loathsomely filthy in his person, he was fond of gay 
clothes to a weakness: yet he strictly prohibited 
those about him from appearing in any but the plainest 
and most sombre attire. During a reign of more than 
thirty years, he was perpetually engaged in wars : yet 
he had never been present at a single battle, or seen 
a single siege ; and he probably knew no difference 
between a trench and a counterscarp. He treated his 
nearest relations with a barbarity, which exposed ^i"i 
to universal execration : while he observed toward his 
prisoners of war, with few exceptions, a treatment 



176 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chat. xxiy. 

which many better and more mercifbl men ridiculed as 
childishly generous* When he was not sleeping x>t 
eating, or if no business was before him, he occupied 
himself with a book (his favourite authors were LiTy, 
Dante, and Petrarch), or with muttering paternosters 
and aves, or with a puppet-show, which he kept in his 
bedroom, and for which he had given several hundred 
florins! 

Yisconti was of a saturnine and gloomy tempera- 
ment ; in his dealings with the members of his own 
household, his manners were morose ; and in himself 
he was supremely wretched* Nobody enjoyed his con- 
fidence or his friendship ; and hardly anything afforded 
him amusement. Yet, almost down to the last, he 
had discovered a certain lingering interest in his old 
passion for horses and dogs. His stud and kennel 
were by far the finest in Italy* On these pet subjects 
his memoiy never strayed; he knew all the animals 
which were at any time in his possession ; and, before 
he was seized with blindness, he was able to tell at a 
glance the breed of a puppy or a foal* 

In common with the majority of his contemporaries, 
the Duke was a firm beUever in astrology and divina- 
tion; he was also a fataUst; and the latter circmn- 
stance helps to explain the recklessness which some- 
times marked his public conduct. To a more sceptical 
generation, some of his superstitious foibles cannot fail 
to present a ludicrous and contemptible aspect.^ He 
was terribly afraid of lightning; and the room in 

' Candidus (cap. 67). 



Aj>. 1447.] THE DUKE'S PERSON AND CHARACTER. 177 

which he slept had a double wall, to exclude the 
electric fluid I When it thundered, he used to creep 
into a comer of his bed beneath the clotheSi and 
desire his servants to surround him that he might be 
hidden 1 He viewed it as a circumstance of sinister 
omen, if his right foot was accidentally put into his 
left shoe. On Fridays, he shrank from contact with a 
bird, or with a person who had forgotten to shave him- 
self ! On the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, he 
could not be persuaded to get on horseback; and it 
was a part of his religion to wear no colour but green 
on the 1st May I 

Filippo had been through life in perpetual dread of 
the dagger and the poison-cup; he was painfully aware, 
how universally he was an object of hatred and fear ; 
and he always remained secluded and inaccessible. 
Even the Emperor Sigismund, whom he had expressly 
invited to Milan in 1433 to assume the Iron Crown, 
was denied an audience I For, at the last moment, 
the Duke changed his mind, and shut himself up 
in his private apartments ; to induce him to see his 
visitor was perfectly impossible ; and, to the infinite 
glee of the Venetians, a breach was thus created be- 
tween the two Princes, which was never dosed. Yet 
to such few as were fortunate enough to win his good 
opinion, and to gain admittance to his person, no one 
could be more a£hble, gracious, and kind. Alfonso of 
Arragon, whom the chances of war once threw into his 
hands, was treated in a manner so considerate and 
liberal, that he was overpowered by astonishment; 

VOL. IV, 41 



178 HISTOKT OP VBNICaS. [cHAP.xxiT. 

and Qxe geneiosity of the Duke to Gado Malatesta, 
after the &tal battle of Sant' Egidio, belongs to the 
romance of history. If the Duke had not been by 
nature morbidly timid, it might have been imagined 
that his idiosyncrasy proceeded from a keen conscions- 
ness of his ill-fiEtYonred exterior, and from a desire to 
contradict the first impression of a stranger, that he 
beheld before him the ugliest man in Europe. But the 
fact was that, if there was any point in which this 
unhappy Prince was less variable and inconstant than 
another, it was in his fidelity to his early friends and 
to his old servants. 

Filippo left behind him four wills, made at different 
periods and under various influences. By the first in 
date he named his cousin Antonio, by the second, a 
distant relative, Jacopo Yisconti, his successor. The 
third left Bianca sole heiress : while the last, drawn 
up shortly before his decease, at the moment when 
Sforza was led by the behaviour and professions of 
the testator to believe himself in the highest &vour, 
and signed by a dying man, annulled all its prede- 
cessors, and bequeathed the Dukedom of Milan to 
Alfonso, King of Arragon and the Two Sicilies I 

The Bepublic who, apart from her weIl*founded 
resentment against Sforza, had no desire to witness 
a new dynasty established on the vacant throne, and 
who saw that, at all events, it was essential to oppose 
the pretensions of Alfonso, despatched on receipt of 
intelligence of the Duke's death (August 17) the 
Secretary Bertucci Nigro, to offer Milan her support 



Aji. 1447.] CONSBQUENCj:S OP FIUPPO'S DEATH. 179 

.in ite retnm to popular inBtitTjtiQns, aad to convince 
the Milanese that, in waging war against tbem, she 
had been solely actuated by a sense of the necessity 
of curbing the ambition of their late ruler. Con- 
formably with Venetian counsels, the subjects of the 
Duke, boldly taking advantage of the uncertainty and 
confusion in which his testamentary dispositions had 
involved his a£fairs, came to the resolution of ignoring 
oil the instruments ; and a Bepublic was proclaimed 
at Milan itself, Como, Alessandria, and Novara. 

Had not Visconti made a fourth will, the extreme 
probability is that his son-in-law would have succeeded 
without any dispute to his possessions, and that all 
the Italian Powers would have haatened to recognise 
him, and court his alliance, even the Signory, perhaps, 
not excepted. As the case stood, the Count felt that 
he had never been in so trying a situation in the 
whole course of his life ; he seemed to have arrived 
at that point of his career, on which his future destiny 
must turn. La Marca was in the hands of the Church, 
with which he was at variance. Bologna and many 
other places had returned to independence. Lodi 
and Fiacenza had spontaneously accepted Venetian 
governor^. Venice viewed him with any but friendly 
sentiments. Florence had neither the inclination nor 
the ability to serve him. In Naples, he had a com- 
petitor whose cupidity was equal to his own, and 
whose title was superior. Moreover, Frederic III. 
claimed Milan as a fief of the Empire : while another 
pretender appeared in the person of Charles, Duke 

41—2 



180 mSTOBY OP VENICE, . [chap. xxiv. 

of OrleaiiB, son and representative of. Yalentina 
Visconti. 

From motives of the clearest pradence^ Venice ob- 
jected almost in equal measure to Sforza and Alfonso. 
It was her desire to see Filippo-Maria without an heir, 
and Milan self-governed under her avspices. But Milan 
was too weak to protect itself without external support, 
and too proud to listen to the somewhat hard terms 
offered to its acceptance by the Signory. The Vene- 
tians, if they aided the Commune in the recovery of 
Pavia and the remainder of the old territory belonging 
to it, demanded for themselves '^ Crema and the 
Cremasque, Cremona and the Cremonese, with the 
city of Lodi." To such a proposal no disposition 
was evinced to accede ; the Milanese, on the contrary, 
insisted on the restitution of Lodi and Ghiaradda 
(September 25, 1447). The Ducal Government 
pointed out, that these towns had voluntarily placed 
tKemselves under Venetian protection ; and Milan was 
required to deliver an ultimatum before a specified 
day. That decision being in the negative, the BepubUc 
wrote to several Powers, justifying the approaching 
suspension of her relations with the municipality, and 
invited Charles of Orleans to advance his pretensions, 
with the promise of her countenance and help (May, 

14480. 

Venice was perfectly at liberty to dispose on paper 
of the Visconti inheritance ; but there was a person, 
who conceived not improperly that he had some right 

' Romanin (iy. 216), 



AJ>. 1448.] SFORZA AND TH£ MILANESE. 181 

to be consulted on such a question ; and that person 
was SfoTza. It was not to be expected that a soldier 
of fortune, no stranger to the darker side of life, and 
who in his time had suflfered every species of vicis- 
situde, would tamely submit to the loss of so rich a 
prize as that in prospect. The Count was sensible 
that he was surrounded by difficulties of a formidable 
kind; but his genius rose with the occasion; and 
while others were negotiating, he prepared to fight. 
After all, the . point at issue was not whether Milan 
should accept or decline a yoke, but whether that 
yoke was to be an Italian, a Spanish, or a French 
one. Again, even if Charles of Orleans and the King 
of Naples had not been claimants, there was the 
certainty that some other adventurer — a Piccinino or a 
Coleoni — ^would come forward as a rival ; and the only 
course, therefore, which remained to the husband of 
Bianca was to clear a path for himself with his sword. 
An impression had now for some time been gaining 
ground at Venice itself, that the Milanese Bevolution 
could not possibly be accomplished without bloodshed, 
and might be attended by immediate danger to the 
BepubUc. Peace was manifestly a condition of things, 
on the duration of which it was delusive and hazardous 
to reckon ; and the Foscari Government appreciated 
the necessity, while it was treating with Milan, of 
forearming itself against Sforza. The pestilence had 
again made its appearance in the Capital, and had 
committed horrible ravages ; but amid all their distress 
householders and tax-payers responded cheerfully to 



182 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxiv. 

the call for new aids; and a considerable som was 
collected in Yolnntaty contributions alone.^ An attempt 
also commenced to reduce the National Debt, and to 
place the Finances on a satisfactoiy footing. A large 
draught of troops was sent to garrison '^ our City of 
Bavenna.'' Every soldier who could be spared from 
the tranquil Provinces of Terra-Ferma was forwarded 
to the head-quarters of the new Commander-in-Chief, 
Michele Attendolo, a kinsman of the Lord of La Marca, 
but an officer of very inferior capacity. A powerful 
flotilla under Andrea Quirini was stationed in the Po. 

All eyes were now turned upon one object. Circum- 
stances had changed, and with them had changed the 
interests and views of Count Sforza. That great man 
was no longer a suitor in suspense and an heir in 
expectancy; he was a successful suitor and an heir 
robbed of his rights. Li 1440, the Count had fought 
with wonderful results beneath the Flag of Saint 
Mark; in 1447 he found himself directing all the 
force of his talents against the Bepublic. Meeting 
with no opponent capable of resisting his arms, he 
added conquest to conquest. The Orleanists were 
worsted at Bosco, in the territory of Alessandria. 
Piacenza was taken and sacked. The Bresciano and 
Bergamasque (1448) were once more overrun by 
hostile legionaries; and in July the Captain of the 
Po, attacked simultaneously by the Milanese army and 
flotilla, and unsupported by Attendolo, was obliged to 
save his squadron by committing the vessels to the 

> Diedo {Storia, lib. z.) 



A.0. 144S.] VENETIAN TACTICS. 183 

flames.^ Qairini/who had retired with his crews and 
men into Casahnaggiore on the night of the surprise, 
retained to Venice, where he was punished for his 
imprudence. 

The successful movements of the enemy induced 
the Senate to test the result of shifting its ground, 
and abandoning the Milanese republicans; and on 
the 16th August that Body resolved ** that Sforza be 
offered the lordship of Milan, upon the cession of 
Cremona only to the BepubUc/' The Count replied by 
fresh progresses and fresh triumphs ; at Caravaggio, the 
Venetians under Attendolo were severely discomfited ; 
and the victor prepared to march upon Brescia. 

Since the rejection of the terms offered by the 
Senate in August, the Bepublic, displaying that 
wonderful fortitude which belonged to her, had been 
straming eveiy nerve to check the ambition of Sforza. 
The Captain of the Lago di Gtarda, Maffeo Contarini 
the Squinter,' was reinforced. Attendolo was put 
under arrest, and closely confined at Conegliano, on 
a charge of gross dereliction of duty. Pasquale 
Malipiero, Procurator of Saint Mark, and Jacopo An- 
tonio Marcello proceeded to Caravaggio to reorganize 
the Army. Venice was unable just at this moment 
to command the services of a Gattamelata ; but she 
was proudly conscious of the possession of boundless 
resources, of indomitable courage, and of an iron will 1 
Sforza was slightly awed by the new preparations, 
which were being set on foot at Venice, and by the 

' Romanin (iy. 216). ' Romanin (iy. 218). 



184 HISTORY OP VENICE, [chaf. jout. 

resolute temper of the Signoiy. In the conrse of 
September, Angelo Simoneta, his confidential minister, 
with his knowledge and silent concurrence, took advan- 
tage of a momentary estrangement between his master 
and the democrats of Milan to open proposals to the 
Proveditor Malipiero ; and those proposals ripened into 
the outline of a Treaty (October 18, 1448), by which 
the Venetians consented to aid the adopted son of the 
late Duke to recover the dominion of Milan, and to 
pay him till the completion of the arrangement thirteen 
thovsand gold ducats a months provided that Crema and 
Ghiaradda were ceded to them, in addition to the terri- 
tory guaranteed under the Treaty of 1441. A fortnight 
after the conclusion of this convention at Rivolteila, 
an envoy arrived from Milan with enlarged powers, 
and, as it was beUeved, ' ampler concessions to the 
BepubUc. To his surprise, he was informed (Novem- 
ber 3) : ** The Senate is no longer in a position to 
receive you, as it has already made terms with Fran- 
cesco Sforza." 

It seems rather doubtful, whether the Treaty of 
Bivoltella was ever signed, or even whether it was put 
into writing. The new understanding, however, be- 
tween Sforza and Venice served as a temptation to the 
former, coerced by the clamours of his mercenaries, to 
march upon Milan, and to essay the reduction of the 
capital by famine. The inhabitants determined to 
exert every effort to withstand, if not to repel him. 
All the Free-Lances, whose services happened to be 
disengaged, were enlisted in their pay. Francesco 



AJ>. 1418-9.] MILANESE BEYOLUTION. 185 

Piccinmo, a member of the fieimily most bitterly at 
Yariance with the Attendoli^ was appointed Gene- 
ralissimo. The chaise of the garrison was confided 
to Carlo Gonzaga, son of the Marqnis of Mantua. 
Letters were written to the King of Naples, the Duke 
of Savoy, Charles VIE. of France, the Dauphin, and 
the Duke of Burgundy, imploring succour. 

There was an influential and somewhat large class 
at Milan, comprising the Ghibellines and certain other 
Nobles, who were secretly favourable to the pretensions 
of Bianca and her husband; and a correspondence 
was at an early stage opened between the Count and 
his partizans on the subject of a surrender. But 
unluckily some of the papers connected with this 
treasonable transaction fell into the hands of Gon- 
zaga ; and the latter, from a desire to make himself 
popular, revealed the plot. The Guelphs, and the 
people generally, were furious. Their antipathy to 
Sforza increased tenfold. ** Bather," they cried, 
'^ than have him, we will send for the Grand Siguier, 
or for the Devil of HeU I" 

The bold attitude of the citizens of Milan was 
doubly damaging to the Count. Whilst the impedi- 
ments, which he was experiencing, injured his mili- 
tary £ame, and disappointed his financial calculations, 
an important change became observable in the tone 
and temper of the Bepublic; and the Senate, seeing 
the unexpected course of events, began to regret its 
premature generosity. The present exigencies of the 
Counti and his passed successes, which gave severe 



186 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. xxiv. 

umbrage to Venicei coupled with the risk which the 
Signoiy incurred, by espousing his cause, of involTing 
herself in hostilities with Naples, were coincidences 
claiming attention ; and the Senate thought itself at 
liberty to reconsider its decision. The subsidy from 
Venice gradually ceased. The pecuniary aid which 
Florence had hitherto afforded was, manifestly at 
Venetian instigation, withdrawn. It was known that a 
Milanese emissary had been admitted to an audience 
of the Ducal Government. These were sufficient in- 
dications, that a change was impending in the policy 
of the Signory ; and all the facts quickly tranq)ired. 
In the beginning of October (1449), at the moment 
when victory was within his grasp, and the enemy 
was reduced to the last stage of misery, the Proveditor 
Malipiero, accompanied by Orsatto Giustiniani, waited 
upon Sforza at head-quarters, and signified to his 
Magnificence : ** That the Bepubhc, on account of the 
heavy outlay arising from a long series of wars, and 
of the prejudice, which the declaration of war received 
(July 8) from Naples, brought to her commercial 
interests, was obliged, on the 24:th of last motUk, to 
effect a reconciliation with Milan;" and they cor- 
dially invited his Magnificence to vouchsafe his co- 
hesion. The newest of new arrangements gave Crema 
and the Cremasque to Venice : to Milan, Lodi and 
Como, with their respective territory ; while Cremona, 
Pavia, Hacenza and Parma were assigned to Sforzai 
as well as all his possessions beyond the Po and the 
Ticino, subject to the condition that, within six days. 



A.0. 1449.] MILANESE REYOLUTIOlSr. 187 

he should send m his nltimattim, and that withm three 
weeks the lands helonging to the Milanese should be 
evacnated. The Count was, besides, to be indemnified 
for the expenses he had incurred in acquiring those 
places, which he would now be under an obligation to 
cede ; and it was stipulated that any differences, which 
might hereafter arise between the Milanese and him- 
self, should be submitted to Venetian arbitration. 

Sforza announced his readiness to acquiesce; and 
his brother Alessandro actually proceeded to Venice 
to conduct the Treaty. But, the twenty days' grace 
having expired, and the evacuation of the Milanese 
not having commenced, the Venetian commander, 
Sigismondo Malatesta, had orders to march upon 
Milan, and to attempt its relief. This plan not 
having succeeded from the strictness of the blockade, 
Malatesta directed Bartolomeo Coleoni to endeavour 
to open the Passes by crossing the Adda, and advanc- 
ing on Oomo. At that point, Ooleoni effected a junc- 
tion with one of the Milanese generals, Giacomo 
Kccinino. 

Meanwhile, Milan presented an awful spectacle of 
anarchy and disorder. The garrison and the popula- 
tion were famishing. Accents of distress were audible 
in every thoroughfare. A crisis was unmistakeably 
approaching. It was the 25th February, 1450, when 
a variety of discordant cries was heard in the streets. 
Some were declaring that they would have the Vene- 
tians ; some were for the Duke of Savoy, some for 
the King of Naples^ Others shouted the names of 



188 HISTORY OF YENICE. [chaf. xxit. 

Charles of Orleans or of the Pope. Such was the state 
of feeling, when Gaspare of Yimercate, an old gossip 
and companion-in-arms of Count Francesco, spoke a 
few words well and wisely for his Mend. ''All those 
you mention/' cried Yimercatei in a public address, 
'' are too distant, or, if not too distant, are too weak 
to help you. Your only means of extricating your- 
selves from famine and war is to submit to Sforza ! 
In him you wiU find every good quality. He is just, 
merciful and kind. The best thing you can do is to 
recognise the son-in-law and adopted child of the late 
Duke, as the legitimate successor of Filippo ! " This 
advice, adroitly deKvered when everybody was in a 
condition of total bewilderment, and on the brink of 
starvation, was applauded and embraced. In the first 
week of March, a deputation waited upon his Magnifi- 
cence, preparatory to his admission into the City, 
with a constitutional Capitulary, which he signed ; 
and on the 25th, the Count made his solemn entry 
into the capital, and was borne in triumph to the 
Church of Our Lady, where a thanksgiving was cele- 
brated for the happy event. A distribution of bread 
took place on the same day. On the 26th, Francesco, 
having presented himself in the principal square, was 
proclaimed with the customary forms Pbinge and 
Duke of Milan.^ 

The Milanese hastened to drown the remembrance 
of passed griefs and hardships in every species of 
rejoicing ; and congratulatory addresses were offered 

> Romanin (iy. 222). 



ju>. 1450-2.] SFOBZA, DUKE OF MILAN. 189 

to their new ruler by all the Italian PowerB, except 
Venice and Naples. The Florentines hailed with 
delight an occnrrence calculated to bridle Venetian 
ambition; no State, perhaps, was so prodigal of its 
compliments and eulogy; and the breach, already 
existing between the Government of Cosimo de' Medici 
and that of the Doge, perceptibly grew wider. The 
BepubUc was naturally indignant at the pusillanimity 
and equivocal honesty of the Guelphs in succumbing 
to Sforza, when succour and deliverance were so near ; 
and the Milanese Bevolution of 1450, which unavoid- 
ably produced an organic change in Italian politics, 
and created a variety of new interests, had the effect 
of drawing two Powers, liitherto estranged by a cool- 
ness amounting to hostility, closer to each other. It 
was possible, that the Venetians had neither the desire 
nor the intention of promoting Neapolitan projects of 
aggrandizement; but they were aware of no better, 
or rather of no other, instrument for carrying out 
their resentment against Sforza. The Signoiy veiy 
probably cherished an idea that, with the assistance of 
Alfonso, the partition of the dominions of Filippo- 
Maria might be accomplished, instead of their dan- 
gerous reunion in the person of his representative. 
Under the influence of such considerations, the 
Government of Francesco Foscari entered, at the 
beginning of 1462, into an offensive and defensive 
let^e, for ten years, with the Neapolitan Prince 
against Florence and Milan. All Florentine subjects 
were ordered to quit the Kepublic (May 16) and ** the 



190 . HISTOBY OP VENICE. [cuap, xxit. 

JKingdom" (June 11); and a war, in whichVenice, 
Ifaples, Monteferrato and Siena, found tbemselyee 
Arrayed against the Milanese and Florentines, com- 
menced late in the same summer. 

The League, which the Signory had organized, and 
of which she had placed herself at the head, soon 
proved itself no contemptible combination. The 
Venetian Army was divided into two sections, of which 
one imder Gentili de Lionessa, after seizing the 
enemy's camp at Isola, crossed the Adda, and occu- 
pied Soncino and other points of the Milanese : while 
.the second portion, led by Carlo Fortebraccio, a son 
of the famous Braccio da Montone, penetrated into 
the Lodesan. At the same time, the Marquis of 
Monteferrato, having ravaged the districts of Ales- 
sandria, Tortona, and Pavia, advanced unopposed to 
the very precincts of Milan ; and Alfonso threatened 
Florence. The most curious circumstance was, thai the 
troops of Sforza did not encounter those of the Con- 
federacy in a single instance. In the early days of 
November, the Venetians and Sforzescans were once 
for a short period in presence on the Plain of Monte- 
-Chiaro. But an impenetrable fog enveloped both forces ; 
and even when the weather improved, the two com- 
manders were so forcibly impressed by the magnitude 
of the interests at stake, that they separated without 
striking a blow ! The heavy expense incidental to a 
campaign which had been totally without result, added 
to the mingled dread and detestation in which the 
present Duke of Milan was now held at Venice, 



Aj>. 1452.] VENETUN POLITICAL MORALITY. 191 

tempted the Council of Ten to assent to a scheme of 
assaaaination laid before it by some peison unnamed. 
Bnt the project was either abandoned at the last 
moment, or it was carried out, and did not answer 
expectations. The Decemyirs had probably bound 
oyer their anonymous correspondent to secrecy; and 
the Duke remamed till his dying day, perhaps, in 
ignorance of the danger which had at one moment 
hung over him. 

A step, which was in perfect keeping with the spirit 
of the times, cannot in fiBumess be ascribed to the 
peculiar turpitude of the Ten. It is fruitless and 
unjust to depreciate the civilization of the fifteenth 
century by forcing it into contrast with that of the 
.nineteenth. It is more profitable to endeavour to 
ascertain, what relation the morality of the Venice of 
Francesco Foscari had to the morality of Florence 
under its '^Balia," and of Milan under its Dukes! 
The Signory will not shrink from the comparison. 
Venice was surrounded on all sides by neighbours 
jealous of her power and her grandeur; and those 
neighbours freely taunted her with her pride and her 
ambition, as if she alone had been proud or ambitious! 
But none soberly pretended, that her political prin- 
ciples breathed a low tone of morality, or that her 
statesmen allowed themselves to be guided in their 
public conduct by doctrines revolting to the delicacy 
of such men as Cosimo de' Medici and Filippo-Maria 
himself I At the same time, the attempt upon Sforza's 
life was such a measure as neither the Senate nor the 



192 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf, xxit. 

Great Gonncil would have Banctioned, and even such 
an one as the Ten themselves would scarcely perhaps 
have initiated. But it is ea^ to understand how a 
small conclave of men, acting imder severe provoca- 
tion, reconciled themselves to a proceeding, upon which 
they were taught to look as little more than the removal 
of a nuisance and an obstacle. 

The Duke of Milan, destitute of money and allies, 
and harassed by the concurrent attacks of so many 
enemies, was already inclining to peace, when the 
final collapse of the Greek Empire, and the conquest 
of Constantinople by Mohammed 11. (1453), struck 
aU Christendom with dismay. That catastrophe, which 
had been foreshadowed during many years passed, 
taught Italy, at least, a lesson of concord and union. 
The Bepublic herself, though triumphant down to this 
point, was reluctant to prosecute a contest in which, 
looking at the pecuniary resources of her confederates, 
there was fiiU ground for behoving that she would be 
left at no distant date single-handed ; and the prof- 
fered intercession of the Patriarch of Venice, Lorenzo 
Giustiniani, was accepted no less readily by his own 
countrymen than by the enemy. The negotiations, 
however, dragged so slowly along, and acquired so 
strong a resemblance to a temporizing manoeuvre, that 
the Senate wrote (December 11, 1453) to Francesco 
Yeniero, resident ambassador at Turin, and desired him 
to seek once more the aid of France against the Duke, 
promising Venetian favour and support to Charles of 
Orleans in any conquests which **his Excellency" 



A.D. 1454.] TEEATY OF LODI. 198 

may attempt beyond the' Fo and Ticin6, and .on the 
Milanese, side of the AddaJ^ It id hard to guess what 
the consequences might have been of a coalition be- 
tween Venice and Prance for the partition of Lombardy, 
if such a plan had been actually accomplished. But 
the distinguished philosopher, Fra Simone da Came-* 
rino, who had devoted the best part of a life to the 
acquisition of knowledge, and whose learning and 
virtue procured him great influence over Sforza, suc- 
ceeded, after many journeys from Venice to Milan, 
in prevailing on. the Duke to disarm the resentment 
of the Signory, by assenting to an immediate pacifica- 
tion ; and the consequence was that, on the 9th April, 
1454, the Treaty of Lodi was signed. Under its pro- 
visions the Republic retained all her conquests on the 
Terra-Ferma, and acquired in addition Crema and the 
Cremasque, with Caravaggio, Vailate, Brignano, and 
Bivolta. The Duke engaged to refrain from in^osing 
any tolls on the navigation of the Adda at its con- 
fluence with the Serio, to demolish the Fortress of 
Cereti, and to exchange his prisoners. Naples^ 
Florence, Savoy, Monteferrato, Siena, and Mantua 
were included in the operation of the compact; and 
Genoa was left at liberty to give her adhesion. 

Although the King of Naples was included in the 
treaty, the treaty had been signed entirely without 
his knowledge ; and his Majesty was deeply hurt and 
exceedingly wrathful. The Venetian ambassador, Gio- 
vanni Moro, however, smoothed away the difficulty 

» Romanin (iv. 225). 

VOL. rv^. 42 



194 raSTORT OP VENICE. [chap. xxit. 

with great adroitness, assuring the King that there 
had been no wish to offend or insult him ; and after 
a good deal of demur and parade, Alfonso ftoffered 
himself to be mollified (Jan. 26, 1455). 

Venice was the only Power, which had exerted itself 
with any strenuousness to avert the Byzantine Revo- 
lution of 1463, and Venetian resistance was excluayely 
maritime, and wholly ineffectual.^ But the transfer 
of the seat of Mohammed's Empire did not perma- 
nently or even long affect the relations between the 
Turkish and Venetian Govemments. From a sense 
of political duty, the Republic had essayed to stem the 
tide of infidel conquest, and to extricate Constantinople 
from its danger ; but when the catastrophe was accom- 
plished, and the evil was inevitable, a sense of com- 
mercial interest prompted her to be' foremost in 
ingratiating herself with the new master of the Gold^i 
Horn; and on the 18th April, 1454, the Sultan, 
harassed by a Venetian fleet under Jacopo Loredano,' 
accorded to the Signory a charter for the securiiy of 
her subjects and the protection of her trade. 

While Venice, yielding to the force of events, wag 
thus striking out into an heretical policy, and was 
taking the initiative in recognifiong the Ottoman Porte 
as an European Power, her rulers did not enter with 
less warmth and avidity into a proposal emanating 
from the Duke of Milan, and seconded by the Medici 

' Ruposta al Legato papale venutoper eccUare eorUro il Tureo; 1 8 Luglio, 

1453 (Romanin, iv. Doc, No. 6). 

* Traitato di Pace con Mohammed I^ 18 Apr. 1454 (Rom.iv. Doc. 7). 
» Commissione a Jacopo Loredano di operare contra i Turchi^ Feb. 22, 

1454 (Romaniiif iy. Doc, 5). 



Aj>. 1455.] THE 6BBAT ITALUN LEAGUE. 195 

of Ilorencd and oihers, for a great Italian Oonfedera- 
tioQ against Germany and France. The ambition of 
fereigneiti had always presented a sonrce of danger 
and alann to the Free Goyemments of the Peninsula ; 
and both the danger and the alann had increased 
tenfold since a Spanish i»jnce took possesion of 
the throne of the Two Sicilies, and established 
a claim to that of Milan. It was impossible to view 
withont terror the prospect of a War of Succession in 
tiie *' Kingdom '' between France and Spain, and of a 
second in the Milanese, between Spain and the Em- 
peror. The death of Alfonso was capable of kindling 
the one, the death of Sforza the other. To meet such 
a contingency it was that, on the 80th August, 1455, a 
Uttle more than a twelvemonth after the Treaty of Lodi| 
a defensive league for five-and-twenty years was made 
between the Duke of Milan, the Florentines, and the 
Signoiy, against any Power or Powers which might 
hereafter attempt to disturb the tranquillity of Italy t 
The League of 1455, which Genoa itnd Modena were 
left at liberty to join, if they thought fit,^ deserves to 
be regarded as a landmark in the hist<»7 (d those 
troubled times and of that unhappy country. It was a 
glorious bond of strength, union, and peace. 

The poli<7 of Venice had long become systemati- 
cally encroaching and absorptive. To swallow up all 
the petty States of the Peninsula was an aim on her 
part which, notwithstanding repeated disavowals, it 
was impossible to disguise. The path, which she trod, 

> Rcnnaiiin (iy. 226). 

42—2 



106 HISTORY OF VENICE. [otap. «iy. 

was not always perhaps of her own creation, or of her 
own choice.. She often found herself linger the irresis* 
tible influence of external agencies, somethnes even an 
involuntary assailant in self-defence. She yielded to 
the. course of eventSi when she gratified the dictates 
of ambition. It is commonly alleged that, in setting 
foot on the Terra-Ferma, the Bepublic took a Mse step ; 
but, whether false or otherwise, the step was taken, 
and it was unavpidable. The appearance of Venice 
on the mamland in the character of a conqueror was 
to be accepted as a political necessity. The aggran^ 
dizement of Milan, apd the decline of many of the 
free Municipalities between Milan and the Lagoon, 
left her scarcely any option. If she had been less 
grasping, none would have gained by her moderation. 
It Would have cost herself greater sacrifices, and what 
wafl actually a struggle for glory or honour, would 
have grown in a few years into a struggle for existence ! 
The storms, which were perpetually rising in Italy, 
would have burst over her with tenfold violence. Not 
a single drop of blood, not a single ducat, would have 
been saved : while the Mvectives and reproaches, which 
envious neighbours were fond of showering on her, 
and which have been too frequently mistaken for 
History, would have fallen equally to her lot 1 

The eleven Provinces,^ which formed the Venetian 
Empire on the Terra-Ferma, exclusively of the posses- 
sions of the Bepublic in Istria, Dahnatia, Servia, Aus- 

' F&dua, Ravenna, Verona, Treviso; Yicenza and the Seven Communea, 
Brescia, Beiigamo, Feltre, Belluno, Ciemai and the Frioul, 



Aj>. 1455.] VENETIAN POWER AND CXVILIZATION. tdf 

tnsky Albania, Greecd, Syria, and the Meditelranean, - 
represented the accumulations of fifty years (1404-54) . 
The Patriarch of Aquileia had been dispossessed of the 
Frioul, Roveredo had been wrested from Austria. 
Hungary had been compelled to abandon Zarisi and the 
other Colonies on that coast. The Count of Goricia had 
numbered himself since 1424 among the vassals of 
the Signory. The daring and successful genius of 
Sforza alone prevented the fulfilment oiF a scheme, 
which had more than once betrayed itself, for annexing 
Milan and the Milanese to the Dogado; and that 
scheme was postponed, not forsaken. 

Venice had acquitted herself with high credit of 
her Thirty Years' War (1425-54) against the Duke 
of Milan and his Allies, in spite of a few reverses 
aknost inseparable from a struggle maintained, often 
at great odds and under grave disadvantages, with 
professedly miUtary States; and she now occupied 
indisputably the first rank among Italian Powers! 
The Venetian Empire was the most extensive, and 
promised to be the most durable^ which had been 
formed on any constitutional principles since the days 
of the Bomans. The Venetian Senate was the most 
august assembly in the world. The Venetian Navy 
was the finest which Europe had ever Been. During 
war, Venice employed, even at an exorbitant stipend, 
the best troops to be procured and the ablest generals 
of the age ; and among her Captains of Companies, 
it was not unusual to find Hereditary Princes. Her 
patricians, so far from being purely political in their 



19& HISTORY OF VBNIOB, [chap. xxit. 

edaotttioiij at sordid in tiieiif testes, prided thenutelTes 
on the extent and versatility of their acqtdremente. 
They excelled in all manly exerdsea and in all «- 
lightened pursuits. Not content with reading eon^ 
temporary histoiy, with mastering the intricacies of 
diplomacy, or with attaining the highest hoiiotira in 
the military profession, they studied the language 
which Cicero spoke, the language of the Anabasis, and 
the language of Holy Writ. They applied themselves 
to the liberal, mechanical and occult sciences, and 
to the Fine Arts. They became diligent scholiasts. 
They searched for MSS. with an avidity, eclipsing that 
of De Bure« They formed libraries, some of which 
were far larger than the Public Collections at Oxford 
or Paris. Some gave gratuitous instruction in the 
Elements of Euclid; others lectured on Ethics o)r 
Metaphysics^ A Trevisano devoted ten years to the 
composition of a single Treatise, which he never lived 
to finish. A Giorgio naturalized among his country* 
men the literature of the Troubadours and the songs 
of Provence. To a Polo, scientific men were indebted 
for the first Book of Travels in China, Eamtschatka, 
and Japan. A Pisani filled Europe with the fame of her 
beauty and her genius ; and four nations competed for 
the privilege of doing her honour ! She chose France, 
and Erance was flattered by the choice. 

" D*ayoir le prix en science et en doctrine^ 
Bien merita de Pisan la Christine, 
Dtirant sea jours/*' 

' Clement Marot (^Euvres^ ii. 380 : edit. 1731). See also Memoires de 
lAtademie dei Iw&eriptUms^ ii. 764, tt 9eq, 



JLD. 1445.] STOEY OJP TflB TWO FOSOARI. 199 

Over Bach a State and such a people it had been 
the fortune of Francesco Foscari to preside during 
one-aAd-thirty years. But the splendour of rank and 
power did not in Foscari's case confer happiness or 
content ; and the lot of the Doge was far from being 
an enviable one. The young Procurator of 1423 was 
now bending beneath the weight of fourscore years : 
yet the infirmities of age lay much more lightly on 
his head than the domestic afflictions, which had beset 
his path, and embittered his later days. It will readily 
be brought to mind that Jacopo, the Doge's only sur- 
viving son by his first wife, Maria Priuli, married in 
1441 Lucrezia Contarinii and that the nuptials were 
solenmized at Venice with extraordinary magnificence. 
The younger Foscari was wanting in none of the 
accomplishments, which belonged to his station. His 
manners were elegant. He was well versed iu clas^ 
sical literature, a distinguished and ardent Hellenist,^ 
and moreover, a discerning collector of MSS. But 
he was, unhappily, a person of weak character and 
loose principles; and his unsteadiness of conduct 
formed a continual source of pam and anxiety to his 
connexions. The conspicuous position, in which the 
husband of Lucrezia stood, rendered the slightest 
departure from propriety a theme for grave scandal ; 
but the fietults of Jacopo were not always confined to 
venial levities* From vanity, and partly perhaps from 
the pecuniaiy consequences of reckless extravagance, 

* Carreipondence of Francesco Barbara and Poggio Bracciolini with 
/. F. (Bcrlan, pp. 131-5). 



200 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap.xxit. 

Foscari at length permitted himself to become the 
vehicle for political corruption ; and in the beginning 
of 1445 it came to light, that he had accepted l^ribes 
from certain placemen for the favourable exertion of 
his influence over the Doge. A denunciation was 
carried by some one — a Florentine exile, it is said — ^to 
the Advocates of the Oonmiune, who in their turn laid 
the charge before the Ten. On the 17th February, the 
latter, finding the matter within their own cognizance, 
and judging it to be of high moment, procured in 
conformity with usage a Giunta of ten Nobles, and 
imposed on all an oath of inviolable secrecy. On the 
same day, a German, named Oaspar, one of Foscari's 
servants, and several others, were taken into custody, 
on suspicion of being concerned in the charges pre- 
ferred agamst their master. But the business, whether 
intentionally or not, was so clumsily performed, that 
Jacopo received warning of his danger ; and when the 
order for his arrest was signed on the 18th, he was 
nowhere to be seen. It was not yet known that, on 
the earliest alarm, the culprit had filled his pockets 
with all the ready money at his command, and had 
escaped to Trieste ; and the fear, lest he might take 
refuge in some foreign country,^ led the T^n to issue 
directions next day (February 19) , that the fugitive 
should be captured wherever he was found. They also 
decreed, '*that neither the Doge nor his kindred 
shall be allowed to preside judicially how or here- 
after in any case affecting those who constitute part 

* Berlan {I Due Foscari^ Memorie Storko-CriHche^ p. 69). 



AJ>. 144^.] STORY OP THE TWO POSGARI. 201 

of the Conncil itself or the Giuhta, and that for the 
future, when it happens that this affair is in process of 
discussion, his Serenity and all other members of the 
fSunily shall be peremptorily excluded from the sitting, 
^ m order that all may speak their mind without con- 
straint I ' " These measures, which indicated the im- 
portance attached to the subject in hand, were followed 
on the 20th by the grant of licences to wear arms to 
all members of the Committee of Inquiry. On that day 
(Febmaiy 20), Giovanni Memo and Ermolao Donate, 
two of the three chiefs of the Ten, moved as follows : — 

<< Considering t&e base, disgraceful and abominable 
excesses committed by Jacopo Foscari, son of our 
lord the Doge, against the honour and dignity of our 
State and Government, be it resolved that proceedings 
be opened against him (by default), in accordance 
with what has been said and read." 

The resolution was carried; and numerous wit- 
nesses, including Andrea Dandolo, Priamo Contarini, 
and Natale Yeniero, were examined in consequence. 
At a later hour, it was proposed by the remaining 
Chief, Francesco Loredano, 'Hhat the College be 
doubled, and that resort be had to torture to extract 
the truth more fully from the parties implicated ; " 
but such conclusive proofs of criminality were thought 
to exist already, that the amendment fell to the 
ground, receiving only half a dozen votes;* and the 
sentence, that the accused should be banished for 
life to Nauplia, obtaiued an overwhelming majority 

• Berlan (p. 72). 



20a HISTOKT OF YENIGB. [chaf. var. 

of 8u£Erag6S. AU the accomplices of Jaoopo were 
tried and convicted. The decision on his own case 
was read in the Great Council for the general infor- 
mation; the Dogaressa, who preferred her request 
through his Serenity, was refused permission to proceed 
to Trieste, and take a last feurewell of her child. 

The sentence pronounced agamst Jacopo Foscari 
was marked by a severity proportionate to the declared 
heinousness of his offence; but no disposition was 
manifested by the Ten to enforce that sentence with 
rigour, or to lay themselves open to any charge of 
malignant persecution. On the contrary, this Body 
behaved toward the noble culprit with a tenderness, 
which positively amounted to a mockezy of justice! 
Marco ^ Trevisano, the captain of the galley, which 
had been sent on the 26th Februaiy to transport 
the exile to his destination, wrote to his employers 
ahnost immediately after his arrival at Trieste, stating : 
<<I have seen my lord Jacopo, and my lord treats 
the Ducal warrant with contemptuous levity, and 
declines to accompany me ! '' In the decemviral decree 
of the 20th, death had been made the penalty of 
disobedience: yet the Ten, unwilling to insist upon 
this cruel alternative, contented themselves with send- 
ing a temperately worded message to his Serenity 
(March 11), in which '^he was prayed to persuade 
his son to respect the law, and to spare the BepuUic 
the scandal of a resistance to their commands.'" All 
representations and intreaties, however, were lost 

• Berlan (p. 77). 



A j>. 1445^.] 8T0B7 OF THE TWO F08CABI. 203 

VEpoEt fhe jodbger Fdscari; and hd waij accordingly 
treated as a rebel. On the 7th April, his goods were 
declared confiscated;' the sentence upon him was 
solemnly confirmed ; and it was decreed ^' that no one 
shall at any time under any pretence seek to obtain 
grace for the recusant." 

Still the same delicacy remamed apparent on the 
part of the Decemvirs in pushing the matter to ez- 
tremitiesi and the same reluctance to exhibit un- 
neeeeeary harshness toward the representative of the 
Most Serene Prince. The tribunal treated the offender 
with studied forbearancci and refrained under every 
provocation from chastizing his insol^it conduct, look- 
ing upon him rather as a spoiled and refipactory diild 
than as a contumacious citizen. Months sUpped away, 
and Jacopo still lingered at Trieste, where he spent 
his time as pleasantly as his somewhat ailing health 
would permit. Nothing shook or roused the ostensible 
apathy of the Ten in this respect. Constant revela- 
tions of firesh delinquencies on the part of the Doge's 
son wrought no change. On one occasion (June 22, 
1446) a Decemvir, scandalized and irritated by the 
languid indifibrence of his colleagues, laid on the table 
a motion complaining that ** although so many pro- 
positions have been submitted to this Council, at 
present nothing whatever has been done, to the dis- 
credit assuredly of the said Council ; " and a Select 
Committee was then appointed to report on the subject. 
But no practical results followed. Another term of 

' Berkn (pp. 88-9). 



ad^- HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap, xxxt^ 

five monihd elapsed ; Trevi^aixo died ; and Foscari him- 
self fell so seriously ill, that he kept his bed/ Both 
these circnmstances were taken by the Great Conncil 
into mercifdl consideration; and in a House of nine 
hunjdred and eight members, a resolution passed 
(November 25, 1446) authorizing the Ten in concert 
urith the Giunta and the Privy Council " to deliberate 
and decide on the propriety of mitigating or remitting 
the sentence of Ser Jacopo Foscari." On the 28th, 
accordingly, at the motion of the six Privy Councillors, 
it was resolved by the Ten, considering the infirm state 
of health of Jacopo Foscari, and the death of Marco 
Trevisaho, who was charged to convey him to his 
place of banishment, that, *^ aU laws, all equity, justice 
and humanity requiring that, in extraordinary and 
unforeseen cases, against which it is impossible to 
guard, allowances shall be made for every one; it 
not being our desire to gainsay the Divine Will ; and 
Providence being more potent than any laws.: the 
excuses of the said Jacopo Foscari be accepted in the 
name of Jesus Christ, and the cause which prevents 
him from proceeding to his destination, be treated as 
legitimate, sufficient, and honourable/' A Privy Coun- 
cillor, Marino Soranzo,* proposed that the words " in 
the name of Jesus Christ " be omitted, and the phrase 
^^by grace'' be put instead; but the amendment, 
not receiving more than two votes,' was negatived; 
and the original motion passed with fifteen suffrages. 
On the same day, the place of exile was changed from 

» Berlan (pp. 85-7). • Ibid. (p. S5): » Ibid. (p. 87)- 



Aa>. 1446-7.] STOBY OP THE TWO POSCARL 205 

Naaplia to the Trevidan} and Jacopd obtained the 
piiTilege of an inyalid, in being allowed to riBside ajb 
hiB own honse in' the cpnntiy, bo long as he refrained 
from infringing his parol. 

Shortly after the transfer of Foscari to one of the 
suburbs of Treyiso, an accident led to the discovery in 
one of the closets at Saint Mark's of a chest contain- 
ing 2|040 ducats or thereabout ; and from the stater 
ment of Angelo Siinoneta, Secretary to Francesco 
Sforza/ Lord of La Marca, it was at once ascertained 
that the money had been sent by his master as a 
present to Ser Jacopo. Upon this disdosm^e, slade 
April 5, 14479 Andrea Quirini^ one of the Chiefis. of the 
Ten, Giovanni Malipiero^ Inquisitor, and Giovanni 
Giustiniani, Miles, were commissioned to repair to the 
Palace, and to claim the box, the contents of which 
were forfeited to the Commune. But so little did a 
spirit of vindictiveness really enter into the prose- 
cution, that the Council with consistent indulgence 
neglected to attach any penal consequences to the 
equally illegal and xmconstitutional act. On the 
<;ontrary, hardly more than five months had passed 
since the revelations respecting tlie secret-service 
money, when the old Doge, having addressed a suppli- 
catory and touching appeal to the Ten, succeeded in 
obtaining at their hands a fpH pardon for his unhappy 
child ! On the 18th September (1447), the very day 
on which the Ducal petition was presented, it was 
moved as follows : — 

' ' ' B^lan (p. 89). '. [ ^ 



206 HISTORY OP 7ENICB. [chap. xnr. 

^'Chiefii: Mareo Longo; Matteo Yettorij Yeiitore 
Capello. 

<' Whereas our most serene Loid the Doge hath 
cansed a petition to be made to this Conncil that grace 
be shown to his son Jaeopo, confined at Tre^iso, as is 
set forth in the memorial laid before the Gooncil, and 
(whereas) » considering the condition of the times and 
the grave matters which occupy onr State^ it is neces- 
sary to hare a Prince whose mind is esej and free 
from sofferingy which cannot happen so long as his 
only son remains in exile, nnsonnd in body and mind, 
as is &miliar to all ; and (whereas) it is an act of 
piety to exhibit toward our Lord the Doge himself, in 
this case of his son, that hmnanity and ^!ace which 
this Government has been wont to use toward its other 
Nobles and snlgects, in the times in which Onr Lord 
God has vouchsafed to extend and amplify the dominion 
of this City; taking into account likewise, that the 
deserts of the Lord Doge demand a gracious hearing, 
and that it is his only son, for whom he pleads ; be it 
resolved and ordered that, for all and every the reasons 
and respects aforesaid, the said Jacopo may freely 
return to Venice. 

" Ayes, 19 : Noes, 1 : Not sincere, 8." 

The motion was consequently carried ; and Jacopo 
was restored to his family. 

For upward of three years, neither the Archives 
nor the Chronicles bear any allusion to the hero of the 
foregoing story. Sobered a little by bitter experience 
and by the increased delicacy of his health, Jacopo 



Aj>. 1450.] STORY OP THE TWO POSCARL 207 

was probablj during all that time in the tranquil 
enjoyment of conjugal happiness* But fresh and 
greater troubles ^were in store for the Ducal family. 

On the evening of the 6th Novemberi 1460, the 
patrician Eimolao Donate, as he was leaving the 
Palace, after attendance at a sitting of the Pregadi, 
on his return to his own residence at Santa-Maria- 
Fonnosa, was stabbed by an unseen hand ; the blow 
did not prove immediately fatal ; and Donate, having 
been carried home, survived till the 7th, The mur- 
dered man had filled at different periods some of the 
highest offices in the State ; and during the months 
of January and February, 1446, when the crimes of 
Foscari were first divulged, Francesco Loredano, Gio- 
vanni Memo and himself were the three Chiefs of the 
Ten/ On the following morning, the Decemvirs met, 
at the summons of their Chiefs, Ermolao Valaresso, 
Giovanni Giustiniani and Andrea Marcello, to inquire 
into ^'the horrible violence and detestable iniquity 
committed last mght on the person of the noble 
Ermolao Donate, our citizen ; " and a Giunta of ten 
Nobles was formed as in the previous case. The 
mystery, which hung over the authorship of the 
tragedy, remained, however, unsolved* Exorbitant 
rewards were proclaimed to tempt those, who might 
be in possession of the secret; but no information 
transpired. On the 27th, one Luchino Zeno was 
arrested on suspicion ; but his innocence was satis- 
£Eu;torily established, and after a short incarceration 

* Berlan (p. 67, etseq.) ; Romanin (iv. 273). 



208 HISTORY OP VENICE. [ciup.xxit. 

he was* set at liberty. . On the 9th December, a new 
proclamation was published, and fresh inqnifiition was 
made. But no clue could be obtained. At length, on 
the 2nd Januaryi 1451, on the information of Antonio 
Yeniero, a Noble, an order was signed for the anrest of 
Jacopo Foscari and of several others, his accomphces ! ! 
The i]£iembers of the Council and of the Giunta were 
forbidden under pain of death to communicate to any 
one the informer Yeniero's name. 

Yeniero alleged rather lamely, in support of his 
denunciation, that on the 6th November last Oliviero 
Sguri, one of Foscari's servants, happened to meet 
Benedetto Gritti at Mestra, a few miles out of Yenice, 
and gave him fall particulars of the murder which had 
been perpetrated near Saint Mark's the night before. 
The deponent also asserted that on the 6th, at the 
hour when the Pregadi usually dispersed, Sguri had 
been seen sauntering about the corridor leading to the 
Pregadi Saloon, as though he was waiting for some- 
body. The testimony of Yeniero was not very lucid 
or convincing. There was no reason why the intel- 
ligence, which Sguri had imparted to Gritti of Mestra 
the day after the occurrence, might not have been 
imparted by my other traveller from the Capital ; and 
unless it was to be shown that the object of Sguri and 
his employer was to throw the Government off its 
guard, it was obvious that silence would in such a 
case have been a surer indication of guilt than the 
apparently uninvited reference of Master Oliver to 
Donato's tragical end. At the same time, several 



AJ>. 1451.] STOEY OF THE TWO FOSCARI. 209 

points were adduced which, taken together, repre- 
sented something approaching a connected chain of 
indirect evidence. Although Donato had explicitly 
declared on his deathbed, that he did not know who 
was his murderer, it was established that a personal 
enmity of the most violent description had subsisted 
between the younger Foscari and his supposed victim 
since February, 1445, when, as one of the Chiefis of 
the Ten, it became Donato's duty to pronounce the 
sentence of the 20th; and, arguing by a negative 
process, it was exceedingly natural to identify Jacopo's 
confidential servant — ^the only person who was observed 
loitering about the scene of the murder at the moment 
— as the author of the crime. The proposition of 
Luca da Legge, Privy Councillor (February 6, 1451) , 
and also one of the Giunta, *^ that the proceedings 
shall be suspended and the charge dismissed, on 
the ground that the conduct of Yeniero springs from 
the most mercenary motives, and that his denunciation 
is a piece of glaring perjury," was therefore nega- 
tived with some reason as at any rate too hasty ; and 
a motion was substituted, directing the College, to 
whom the Ten had delegated the task of investigation, 
to prosecute their labours with all possible diligence. 
The members of this Special Committee were — ^Luca 
da Legge, Privy Councillor ; Paolo Barbo, one of the 
Chiefs of the Ten; Dolfino Veniero, Avogador of 
the Commune; Paolo Trono, Procurator of Saint 
Mark ; Andrea Morosini, Cristoforo Moro, and Marino 
Soranzo. 
VOL. IV. 43 



210 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxiy. 

The Committee sat during the remainder of Febmaay 
and through the greater part of March. Andrea 
DonatOi brother of the deceased, was asked to state 
*^ whether Ser Ermolao had let any expressions drop 
in articulo mortis^ which tended to crimmate Jacopo 
Foscari?" But Andrea could merely say that his 
kinsman in his last moments emphatically declared 
"that he freely forgave his unknown assassin ! " Seyeral 
other witnesses were called. Numerous documents 
and oral affidavits were received and submitted to con- 
sideration. Sguri and Jacopo himself were examined 
under torture. From Foscari's lips no confession was 
obtained : for he merely muttered a few unintelligible 
sentences between his teeth, while his limbs were 
wrenched by the cord. On the whole, the result was 
not very satisfieu^tory ; and the proceedings still exhibited 
a very faint prospect of termination when, on the 26th 
of March, it was resolved : — 

" That it is necessary to bring to a close this trial, 
which has during so protracted a period been engaging 
the undivided attention of the Council I " ^ 

It was then proposed to the Ten by two of the 
Chiefs, Carlo Marin and Paolo Barbo, that sentence 
should be entered on the Minutes as follows : ' — 

*' Whereas, on the 3rd January last (1461), on 
account of the violent death of Ser Ermolao Donato, 
Jacopo Foscari was detained and examined, and whereas 
by the evidence, oral and written, which has appeared 
against him, it is shown that he is clearly guilty of 

» Romanin (iv. 279). ' Berlan (pp. 106-7). 



A.D. 1451.] STOBY OP THE TWO FOSCABI. 211 

the aforesaid crimei although he obstinately refuses 
to confess it, be it resolved that, for the aforesaid 
reason, the said Jacopo be relegated to the City of 
Caneai in our island of Crete, in such manner as 
to the Chiefs of this Council shall seem good, and 
shall be obliged to present himself once a day to 
the Government of Crete, not breaking his parol; 
and if he escape, and should at any time hereafter 
fiedl into the hands of our Government, his head shall 
be severed from his shoulders, and all his property 
sequestrated. 

" Ayes, 17 : Noes, 7 : Not sincere, 4." 

It was then moved : — 

''That Jacopo Foscari be treated as a private citizen, 
and not as the son of the Boge ; that the sentence be 
published at the next meeting of the Great Council, 
for the information of all ; and that despatches be sent 
to the Podesta of Canea and to the three Governments 
of Candia, Bettimo, and Sitia, apprising them of the 
fEu^t, and desiring them to proclaunthe decree through- 
out their respective jurisdictions. 

" Ayes, 26 : Noes, 1 : Not sincere, 2." 

Also: — 

'' That the ChiefiB of the Council shall repair imme- 
diately to the presence of the Most Serene Prince, to 
notify to him the sentence pronounced against Jacopo 
his son, and to exhort him to exercise good patience ; 
and that this Council shall not separate, until the 
Chiefs return. 

** Ayes, 26: Noes, 6." 

43—2 



212 HISTORY OF VENICE, [chap. xxit. 

Also: — 

^' That the obligation of preserving silence in respect 
to this affair be removed, excepting as regards the names 
of the informers and other third parties (tertiarum), 

**Ayes, 18: Noes, 6." 

Both the original resolution and the supplements 
thus became law. At that time the Chiefs of the 
Ten were Francesco Giorgio, Carlo Marin, and Paolo 
Barbo.^ 

On the 29th of the month, the Lords of the Night 
(Signori di Notte) conducted the exile from the Palace 
to the ship of Master Luca Mantello, which was 
employed to forward him to his destination ; and in 
Mantello's hands their lordships placed the following 
warrant: — 

** Francesco Foscari, by the Grace of God, Doge of 
Venice, Treviso, &c. 

" Luca : 
<* We intrast to thy ship Jacopo Foscari Our son, 
who will be consigned to thee by the noble gentlemen 
Our Lords of the Night ; and We, with Our Council 
of Ten and the Giunta, do charge thee to keep close 
ward over the same Jacopo, and to deUver him to 
Our Government of Crete, together with the letter 
which We have caused to be given into thy hands, 
directed to the said Government, according to thy 
own discretion. And so soon as the said Jacopo 
shall have embarked, We, with the said Council, 
command thee on no account to permit the said Jacopo 

» Berlan (pp. 106-8). 



JLD. 1451-3.] STORY OF THE TWO FOSCARI. 213 

to quit thy ship, bat to watch him vigilantly, and at 
thy speedy departore hence, to pursue with all diligence 
and care thy voyage into Crete. 

« Given on the 29th March, 1451." ' 

There was the strongest presumption of guilt against 
Jacopo Foscari. In the decree of the 26th March, his 
criminality was even said to have been clearly estab- 
lished I Yet of direct or circumstantial evidence there 
was absolutely none ; and the Decemvirs, not feeling 
justified in proceeding to the harsher measures, which 
a second offence of so black a dye might have other- 
wise required, contented themselves, in concert with 
the Giunta and the Privy Council, with banishing the 
accused to a spot, where the climate was delightful, 
the society excellent, where no restraint was to be 
placed on his movements, provided that he observed 
his parol, or on his correspondence. There was an 
almost universal conviction that Jacopo was fsdrly 
punished ; but there was simultaneously every desire 
to believe him innocent. By the terms of their decree, 
the Ten laid themselves tmder a disability from pro- 
posing at any future date a repeal or even a mitigation 
of the penalty imposed : yet it was no sooner intimated 
(August 1st, 1453) , that somebody was prepared to 
dehver certain depositions, helping to shed new light on 
the unhappy affair, than the Chiefs of the Council got 
leave to entertain the matter by special motion. No 
revelations, however, followed of any great relevancy, 

' Berlan (p. 112). The superscription of this letter was the only 
portion really written by the Doge. The body of the composition was 
entirely framed by the Ten. Sec vol. iii. cap. 17. 



214 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxir. 

or at least of a kind which might have thrown a doubi 
into the scale on the side of mercy ; and Foscari ac- 
cordingly continued to reside at his villa in Canea in 
the enjoyment of personal liberty and of many indnl- 
gences, but removed some hundred leagues from those 
most dear to him, and nominally, at least, obliged to 
report himself to the Governor every day. To the 
son of the Doge of Venice, to a husband and a 
father, who could say that this bereavement was not 
sufficiently cruel, or that that humiliation was not 
sufficiently keen ? 

Still the temper of the Government did not cease to 
lean in the direction of clemency ; and there was the 
utmost probabihty that grace would have been extended 
to him, so soon as the flagitious nature of the crime 
brought home to him rendered his recal expedient, 
when his prospects were damaged to an almost irre- 
trievable extent by his own blind and desperate reck- 
lessness. 

It is on the 4th June, 1456, that one Luigi 
Bocchetta, called Ballottim^ presents himself unex- 
pectedly at Venice, with despatches from the Govern- 
ment of Canea respecting Jacopo Foscari. On the 
7th, these papers are laid before the Ten, the Ghiefis 
now being Luca Pesaro, Jacopo Loredano, and Leone 
Duodo ; and they are declared to be of such gravity 
and moment, that the Council demands the associa- 
tion of a Giunta of twenty Nobles. The closest secrecy 
is prescribed ; but members of the new College are 
allowed to speak to each other unreservedly on the 



AJ>. 1456.] STORY OP THE TWO FOSCARL 215 

subject in hand. It is collected from the parcel of 
documents brought by Bollottino, of which some are 
in cypher, that Foscari has been urging the Duke of 
Milan (Sforza) to intercede on his behalf with the 
Signoiy, and that, not even satisfied with this mis- 
conduct, he has actually addressed a letter to the Sultan^ 
in which he implores him to send a vessel to Crete^ and 
to convey him secretly from the Island. To the letters in 
cypher, which the courier delivers, the key is miss- 
ing, and the worst suspicions as to their contents 
are aroused. It is stated that the intrigue with the 
Turkish Court has been conducted through the medium 
of one Jacopo (riustiniani, and of a certain Battista, 
both Genoese, and the latter of whom was asked to 
put the addresses on Foscari's letters to Constanti- 
nople. Giustiniani and Battista are able, it is 
imagined, to famish a good deal of information con- 
c^ning the correspondence. Upon this suggestion, 
the Ten determine to act; and on the 12th June, 
the following despatch is sent by that tribunal, in the 
Doge's name, to the Governor of Canea: — 
'^ Francesco Foscari, &c. 
'< On the 4th inst., we are in receipt from Luigi 
Bocchetta detto Ballottino of your letter, and of 
notes of the proceedings initiated by you on the 
declarations of Giovanni Bosso of Treviso, with the 
result of the examination of the said Luigi (Bocchetta), 
and a copy of the letter in the handwriting of Jacopo 
Foscari received by him. On the day after (June 5) , 
we had your other letter, through your messenger 



216 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxiv. 

Gioyanni Mnsso, on the same subject, together mth 
the authentic letter in Jacopo's hand, and the leaves 
in cypher. We commend you for what you have done, 
and for the judicious manner in which you have made 
us acquamted with everything. Among other points, 
we observe that, within the last month, some (Genoese 
escaped from shipwreck, landing at a place called 
Chisamo, repaired to the house of Ser Jacopo Qiusti- 
niani, a Genoese resident of Canea ; and one of them 
was a certain Battista, with whom Jacopo Foscari 
contracted a close intimacy, conversing with him daily, 
and giving him an account of his own affairs. Among 
other things, he (Foscari) begged him to address a 
certain letter, which he desired to send to the Emperor 
of the Turks, with the object of removing him from 
Canea, and of withdrawing him in such manner from 
his exile. All which facts must be familiar to the said 
Jacopo Giustiniani, since they were settled in his own 
house ; and you also inform us that the letter in ques- 
tion was positively consigned to the said Battista^ who 
undertook to dehver it safely, and to get an answer. 
We wish, then, and with our Council of Ten and the 
Giunta, we command you to summon to your pres«ace 
the said Jacopo (Giustiniani) and to call upon him 
to say on oath whatever he knows on the subject; 
whether Foscari had a reply from Turkey ; and, if so, 
whether he had it through Battista ; and all other 
details explanatory of the steps adopted by him to 
violate his parol against the honour of our Govern- 
ment, and to the prejudice of our State. You will 



AJ>. 1456.] STORY OF THE TWO POSCARI. 217 

transmit the depositions of this Ser Jacopo with your 
own despatches under seal to our Council of Ten. 

" Given on the 12th June, 1456." 

Notwithstanding the treasonably unconstitutional 
nature of the charges against Foscari, two of the 
Privy Council, desiring that his '< thoughtless and 
giddy" disposition should be suffered to plead in his 
behalf, had aheady, in their capacity as members of 
the College, moved (June 8 *) : — 

'^ That it seems to this Council, that instructions 
should be sent to the Governor of Canea to send for 
Jacopo, to administer to him a stem rebuke, and to 
signify to him that, if the offence be repeated, he will 
have reason to be sorry for it." 

But so mild an expedient did not meet with general 
approval, and it was ruled instead : — 

^' That he shall be brought under suitable escort 
from Crete, and shall be put upon his trial on the high 
misdemeanors, of which he is arraigned." 

The articles of impeachment were framed by a 
Special and Select Committee, appointed on the 14th 
July, and consisting of Zaccaria Valaresso, Privy 
Councillor ; Marco Comaro, Chief of the Ten ; and 
Zaccaria Trevisano, Advocate of the Commtme, Doctor 
of Laws, and an eminent literary man. Foscari 
arrived on the 21st. He avowed the whole affair 
unreservedly; and it therefore became a question, 
whether it was necessary ** to proceed." On the 

' All these statements are founded oh the documents printed hy Berlan 
in I Due Foicar% 1852, carefully collated ivith Romanin. 



218 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxiv. 

23rd| this point was balloted. The Ayes were 19 ; 
the Noes, 11: Majority, 8. The process, however, 
was so much simplified by the confession of the ac- 
cused, that the discussion on the sentence began on 
the next day, when the College was in full attendance. 
The Body was composed of the Privy Council, the 
Ten, the Giunta (twenty), and the Avogadors (three). 
Opinions were various. Lorenzo Loredano, Yettore 
Capello, Paolo Barbo, Hieronimo Bonato, and Bene- 
detto Barozzi, Privy Councillors ; Orsatto Giustiniani, 
Chief of the Ten ; and the three Avogadors joined in 
thinking that the ends of justice would be served by 
remanding Foscari to his place of banishment, with a 
warning that, '^ on the next conviction, he would be 
imprisoned for life." Yalaresso, the remaining Coun- 
cillor, added a twelvemonth's confinement at Canea. 
Comaro, another Chief of the Ten, was in fietvour of 
sending back the exile without any additional penalties. 
On the other hand, Jacopo Loredano, the third Chief, 
considering the grave importance of the charge, voted 
for capital punishment. These several propositions 
were successively balloted. The first obtained twelve 
supporters ; the second, being merely the first with an 
amendment appended, two-and-twenty. The third, 
that of Comaro, had only two ; and the most severe, 
the fourth, not more than seven. The consequence 
was, that the original proposal, as amended by Yala- 
resso, was carried (July 24) . 

Between the 24th July, the day of the condemna- 
tion, and the 29th, the day on which the Ducal com- 



A.©. 1456.] STORY OF THE TWO FOSCARI. 219 

mission ^ was handed to Captain Maffeo Lioni, master 
of the galley selected to carry the exile back to Crete, 
Foscari was lodged in one of the airy and commodious 
chambers of the TorriceUa State-Prison at the Palace 
itself; and there he was permitted to receive visits 
from all the members of his family. The spectacle 
was highly affecting. The agonized countenances, 
the tears, the sobs, were absolutely melting ; and the 
final meeting between ** the Two Foscari" is described 
by Giorgio DoMno,' a kinsman of his Serenity and 
an eye-witness, as having been sublimely pathetic. 
** Father," cried Jacopo, ** I beseech thee to procure 
me leave to return to my house ! " " Jacopo," re- 
joined the other, '' go, obey the will of the country 
(La Terra) J and seek nothing beyond." But the 
painful exertion, which it had cost the old Doge to 
command his feelings, had a quick reaction. So soon 
as Jacopo had left the ante-chamber, where this last 
interview was suffered to take place, his parent sank 
faintly back on the nearest chair, and, the inflection of 
his voice betraying his intense anguish, faltered out, 
** pieta grande 1 " 

Alter the departure of his beloved offspring on the 
29th July, 1456, Foscari neglected no opportunity of 
advocating his cause, and appUed all the family 
influence to this cherished object. Vettore Capello, 
one of the Privy Council, Paolo Barbo and Orsatto 
Giustiniani, two of the Chiefs of the Ten, and many 

' Preserved entire in Berlan (p. 130). 

* Cronica MS. in the Aiarcian Museum, quoted by Romanin. 



220 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxit. 

otherSi sympathized with his grief, and strennoiiBly 
interested themselves on his behalf; and the canyass 
among the leading members of the Executive was pro- 
gressing favourably/ when news came that death had 
done its work, and that the unfortunate man was no 
more ! A marginal note is found to one of the Decem- 
viral Minutes of the 24th July ; it is to the following 
purport : — 

''He (Jacopo) died on the 12th January, 1456 
(i.e. 1457), as appears by a letter of the Government 
ofCanea."^ 

This stunning blow paralysed all the remaming 
energy of the Doge. Surrendering himself to sorrow, 
he remained secluded in his own suite of apartments, 
absented himself from every Council, and not only 
declined to take any part in public affairs, but refused 
to see any one on business. Such a determination 
was calculated of course to throw the whole machinery 
of the Government into disorder, and to lead to the 
most serious inconvenience. There were cases in 
which constitutional usage rendered the Doge's pre- 
sence or his signature indispensable ; and the complete 
withdrawal of Foscari from his duties became therefore 
a source of almost daily embarrassment. On the 
18th June, 1457, the Decemvirs assembled to discuss 
the question : the Chiefe for the time were Andrea 
Foscolo, Andrea Contarini, and Matteo Yetturi. The 
Privy Councillors were also invited to be present; but, 
as the meeting was of a strictiy confidential character, 

• F. Comaro (^Quatuor Opuscuia: 1755). • Bcrlan (p. 127). 



A.i>. 14570 STOBY OF THE TWO FOSCAEI. 221 

they were ^joined not to reveal the subject of the 
debate, '^ at the peril of their life/' to anybody whomso- 
ever. The Conncil separated, however, after all, with- 
out arriving at any definitive resolution ; and the matter 
was not again broached till late in the autumn. On 
the 19th October, the Chiefs of the Ten then being 
Jacopo Loredano, Hieronimo Donate, and Hieronimo 
Barbarigo, the assent of the tribunal was obtained to 
the peculiar gravity of the circumstances, and to the 
propriety of sanctioning the formation of a Giunta or 
Additio of five-and-twenty Nobles, to deliberate upon 
the course of action most fitting to be pursued. On 
the same day, the exclusion of Leonardo Contarini, 
a member of the Ten, and of David Contarini, Privy- 
Councillor, both relations of the Ducal femily by mar- 
riage, was decreed ; and on the 21st, in the presence 
of the Ten, the Privy Council, and the Giunta, making 
an aggregate of forty persons,^ the ensuing Part was 
submitted for approval : — 

'^ There is no one,^ who does not thoroughly com- 
prehend, how useful and altogether how. essential to 
our State and to our affairs is the presence of a Prince, 
without which, as becomes manifest from the results, 
the greatest inconvenience and detriment are apt to 
arise to our State which, since it has, by the infinite 
clemency of our Creator, been bequeathed to us by 
our forefathers hereditary and fair to look upon, we 
are bound to preserve with all our power, and to hold 

' The Giunta was eventually limited to twenty-four. — Bcrlan (p. 184). 
* Berlan (p. 185). " Nemo est, qui optimc non intelligat," &c. 



222 HISTORY OP VBNICaS. [chap. KIT. 

dearer to us than our yery life; and although this our 
City is famished with holy laws and ordinances, it is 
of Ettle avail and profit if they be not execntedi if the 
observance of the same be relaxed. The presence of 
the Prince, besides, in the Conncils, at audiences, in 
the transaction of affairs of State, how desirable it is, 
how glorious it is, it would be superfluous to point 
out. All are aware that our most illustrious Prince 
has vacated his dignity for a great length of time ; 
and from his advanced age it is not at all to be 
expected that he will be able to return to the exercise 
of the functions appertaining thereto. How pernicious 
his absence and incompetence are, is more easily 
understood than explained. Wherefore 

^^ It is proposed that, by the authority of this most 
excellent Council with the Giunta {cmi Additione), 
the resolution be agreed to, that the Privy Councillors 
and the Chie& of this Council shall repair to the pre- 
sence of the most illustrious Prince, and declare to 
him our opinion, * that the government of our City and 
State (which, as his Highness knows veiy well, is 
excessively arduous) cannot be carried on without the 
constant presence and co-operation of a Prince ; also, 
considering how long his Excellency has, for personal 
reasons, renounced all share in this government, and 
that there is no hope that he will be able at any time 
hereafter to discharge his duties according to the 
exigencies of this State; and (considering) that his 
absence is threatening to involve consequences such as 
we are assured, from his affectionate patriotism, he can 



A.D. 1457.] STORY OP THE TWO FOSCARI. 223 

never desire to witness : — on these grounds, which his 
Excellency, in his supreme wisdom, will readily appre- 
ciate, we (i.e. the Privy Cotmcil) , with the aforesaid 
Council of Ten and the Ginnta, have decided upon 
exhorting and requesting his Serenity, for the evident 
and necessary welfEire of our State — ^his native land — 
freely and spontaneously to abdicate, which on many 
accounts he ought to do, as a good Prince and a true 
foiher of his country, and especially as we provide, that 
he shall have for his support and proper maintenance 
from our Office of Salt 1,600 gold ducats a year for 
life, as well as the residue of his salaiy due to the 
present day. 

''Also, that if it happen that the same most illus- 
trious Prince, on this declaration being made known 
to him, shall demand time to consider, he may be 
told, that we are content to wait for such answer till 
to-morrow at the hour of tierce. 

"Ayes, 29: Noes, 8." 

The Chiefs and the Councillors proceeded accordingly 
to present themselves to Foscari. Jacopo Loredano, 
being the most eloquent, spoke for the rest, and 
delivered the message of which they were the bearers. 
Loredano employed those expressions, which were 
least apt to give umbrage. He declared that the very 
great age of his Serenity was the sole motive for 
objecting to his continuance in office ; his Highness's 
passed life, he said, had been an honour to his 
country ; and he concluded ^ by asking pardon of the 

' Giorgio Dolfino, contemp., quoted bj Romanin (iy. 290). 



224 HISTORY OF VENICE. [cbaf. xxiy. 

Doge for the liberty which he had taken. FoBcari 
repUed at considerable lengthy justifying his condact, 
and intimating, that the course adopted was at variance 
with the Constitution! which required in a similar case 
the concurrence of the Great Council. He finished by 
saying : " I will not decide * yea ' or ^ nay,' but will 
reserve my freedom of action I " 

The constitutional question raised by the Doge was 
by no means without its importance in the eyes of the 
Ten. On the 22nd, the point was formally put to 
the ballot, ** whether the matter in hand ought to be 
settled in this Council or in the Great." At the 
first scrutiny, nineteen votes were in favour of ad- 
herence to the present method of proceeding, sixteen 
in fSEirVour of transfer to the Great Council. The 
second and third scrutinies exhibited no alteration. 
On the fourth trial, the figures were twenty-one and 
fourteen, or a majority of seven against any change, 
three remaining neuter, or as the phrase was, not 
sincere. The Capi and the Privy Councillors paid 
therefore on that day a second visit to the Doge; 
but Foscari merely recapitulated what he had already 
said. The Chiefs and their companions then retraced 
their steps, and laid before the Committee, still sitting, 
a report of their continued ill-success. An animated 
controversy ensued. There was much diversity of 
sentiment on the course which it might be best to 
pursue. Hieronimo Barbarigo, one of the Capi,^ 
represented the serious evils which were produced 

» Berlan (p. 157). 



AJ). 1457.] STORY OF THE TWO FOSCARI. 225 

by the absence of his Serenity from the Councils. 
** It is notorious," remarked Barbarigo, ^^ that Messer 
lo Doxe far four years passed has not only kept away 
from the College and from the Councils, but has 
refrised admittance to the Privy Councillors and the 
Sages of Council, who came to consult him in 
his own apartments." On the contrary, Andrea 
Bernardo, one of the Giunta, spoke warmly and with 
striking eloquence on the Doge's behalf; and many 
others imitated his example, pleading for those white 
hairs and for those matchless services. But Barbarigo 
was ultimately permitted to cany a motion, ^'that 
his Serenity shall be required to retire within eight 
days upon the stipulated pension, with an intimation 
that by disobedience he will only incur in addition 
the penalty of forfeiture." Before the labours of the 
Ten and the Giunta were brought to a close, it was 
already eight o'clock in the evening ; and his Serenity, 
whose frame was no longer equal to much fieitigue, 
was announced to have already retired. It conse- 
quently became necessary to defer till the 23rd any 
conmiunication with him on the subject. On Sunday 
morning, the former deputation sought an audience, 
and signified the nature of the resolution at which 
ihey had arrived on the preceding night, and the 
old man perceived the futility of farther resistance. 
He drew the Ducal ring from his finger, and saw it 
broken in his presence ; and he was afterward un- 
crowned. As the deputies left the room, Foscari 
observed, that Jacopo Memo, a Chief of the Forty, 
VOL. IV. 44 



226 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. xxiv. 

and acting Privy Councillor, lingered behind the others, 
and gazed fixedly at him with an air of respectfdl 
compassion. The Doge beckoned him to his side, 
and inquired of him — ** Whose son art thou ? *' The 
Minister said — ** I am the son of Marino Memo/' 
" He is my very attached friend," answered Foscari, 
with a slight smile of gratification; ''tell him from 
me that I shall take it kindly if he will come and 
see me, so that he may accompany me in the gondola 
home ; and then we will go and visit the monasteries 
together I " * The venerable person who uttered these 
words was verging on eighty-five ; and during half a 
century of that period he had been a public man. 
Among his contemporaries he counted, indeed, many 
distinguished in all the paths of life, who had filled 
the highest embassies and the most conspicuous com- 
mands, who had discharged the most important trusts, 
and achieved by land and by sea triumphs which made 
their names £amous throughout the civilized globe; 
but there was none who could point to such a career 
as his own 1 

On the 24th October, Foscari prepared, in deference 
to a stem necessity, to quit the Palatial abode which 
he had long learned to regard as his home, and where 
he had transacted a leading share in so many scenes 
of lofty and sometimes painful interest. He was 
attended by his brother Marco, one of the Ten, his 
old friend Marino Memo, and a few other connexions. 

* Gioigio Dolfino {Cranica MS, in the Marcian Museum)^ quoted by 
Ronumin (iy. 294). 



A.i>. 1457.} STORY OP THE TWO FOISCARI. 227 

The Boge declined any rapport but the waUdng-stick 
on which he leaned. He was directing his steps 
toward the Grand Staircade to descend into the Piazza^ 
when Marco said, "Most Serene, were it not well to 
go to onr gondola by the other stairs, which are 
covered?" Francesco quickly replied, *^*I wish to 
return by that stcurcase by which I mounted to the 
Dogate!"* 

The Electoral Chamber, which had met to deliberate 
upon the raccessibn, arrived at no decision till Sunday, 
Che last day but one of October; and in the inter- 
vening time, Orio Pasqualigo, Senior Privy Councillor, 
officiated as Vicegerent. On the afternoon of the 
80th, at half-past three, Pasquale Malipiero, one of 
the Procurators of Samt Mark, was pronounced the 
fortunate candidate, the right to assume the Ducal 
insignia being reserved, from respect to Foscari, till 
his decease. Malipiero took possession of the Palace 
on the same evening at ten o'clock. When Foscari 
learned the news, h6 declared (according to report) 
his approval of the selection, and his satisfaction 
<( that the choice of the Forty had fallen on so 
worthy a nobleman." The 81st October passed 
without any fresh incident. On the 1st of the 
new month, *' the Doge Malipiero,'' says Giorgio 
Dolfino, <*was attending mass in the Cathedral, when 
Andrea Donate came up to him, and told him 
that Foscari had expired at one o'clock on that 
morning." ' It was supposed, that the immediate 

> G. Dolfino, as aboye. ' Ibid. 

44—2 



228 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. xxnr. 

cause of death was a sudden and violent hemorrhage 
from a cancer formed on the tongue/ Malipiero and 
those with him were struck' mute ; they seemed to 
have been deprived of all power of speech ; and their 
looks indicated remorse for the harshness, with which 
the old man had been treated. His Serenity at once 
returned to the Palace, and the Oouncil of Ten was 
convoked for the forenoon. It was ordered ** that 
the lying-in-state and rites of sepulture shall be 
performed in the same manner as if the departed 
had died in office." The Dogaressa Nani, who at 
first demurred, saying, ^* this was a tardy atonement 
for passed wrongs, and that she had determined to 
bury her husband at her own expense, even if she 
should sell a portion of her dower to defray the cost," 
was obliged to submit, and to surrender the remams. 
On the 3rd November, the corpse, enveloped in the 
Ducal robes, was followed to its resting-place at the 
Minorites by the Doge Malipiero in the simple costume 
of a Senator, by all the public Bodies, the Clergy, and 
the Arts. The bier was supported by mariners under 
a canopy of cloth-of-gold ; and the funeral oration 
was delivered by Bernardo Giustiniani, the Historian. 
The magnificent mausoleum subsequently erected to 
Foscari in the Church of the Frari* still remams; 
but of the group from the chisel of Bartolomeo 
Buono, in which the Doge is represented praying 

' Berlan. 

' This monument, executed by the Kiza, is copied in Litta in voce 
Foscari, 



AJ>. 1457.] STORY OP THE TWO FOSCARI. 229 

before the Lion of Saint Mark, a fragment only/ 
the head and shoulders of the principal figure, has 
onthved the French Bevolation. 

The Doge Foscari belonged to a family which was 
among the poorest as well as the most antient in Venice. 
The successor of Mocenigo had raised himself by his 
own merits from comparative obscurity to the throne ; 
and during five-and-thirty years it was his destiny to 
remain First Magistrate of the Fust Commonwealth 
in the world. Circumstances unhappily rendered that 
distmction ' scarcely an enviable one. The Bepublic 
was doomed to experience in his time every species of 
calamity. The pacific policy which she had previously 
pursued was in an evil hour abandoned ; and her pros- 
perity suffered an instantaneous and continual decline. 
Trade languished; great firms collapsed; celebrated 
banks broke. Among other commercial disasters, 
Andrea Priuli, his Serenity's father-in-law, fedled for 
24,000 ducats. The Funds which, at the commence- 
ment of the Milanese War, stood at 59 or 60, had 
sunk before its conclusion to 18^ ! In 1453, Constan- 
tinople had been taken by Mohammed 11., and Venice 
was a loser to the extent of 800,000 ducats. The 
domestic troubles of Foscari, and the sad end of his 
beloved son Jacopo in 1451, brought his misery almost 
to a climax. This bereavement, coupled with the 
painful circumstances attending his abdication, probably 

' Kow, or tOl lately, in the Marcian Museum. The bust of the Doge 
was to be engraved for Berlan*8 Two Foscari^ 1852 ; but, so fiir as the 
Author knows, it never appeared 



230 



HISTOBT OF VBNIOB. 



[chap. zzit. 



produced the hemorrhage, which proved fiatal on that 
November morning I 



A Tabulae View of the Income and Eeperditueb in 1454, in Nine 
of the Thirteen Provinces of the Venetian Empire ' on the Terra- 
Penna. 







Dednetfon 


Met 




Becdpts. 


Ibr 

CoUecting, 

4ke. 


Inoome. 




Docftts. 


Dncati. 


Dodita. 


TheFrioul 


7,500 


6,330 


1,170 


Treyiso and its District ... 


40,000 


10,100 


29,900 


Padua 


65,500 


14,000 


51,500 


Viccnza .*• ..• ••• 


34,500 


7,600 


26,900 


Verona •*. ••• ••• 


52,500 


18,000 


34,500 


Brescia 


75,500 


16,000 


59,500 


Bergamo ... ••• ••• 


25,500 


9,500 


16,000 


Ravenna 


9,000 


2,770 


6,230 


Urema ••• ••• ••• 


7,400 


3,900 


8^500 


Venice : — 








Salt Department, ... 165,000 ) 








ProfiU of Loan Chamber 150,000 } 


698,000 


99,780 


598,720 


Other Receipts ... 383,000 ) 








Colonial Taxes... 


180/)00 


••• 


180,000 


Other extraordinary Receipts 


25,000 


6,000 


19,000 


Loans on Demand 


15,000 


7,500 


7,500 


Property out of Dogado (Houses, &c.) 


5,000 


... 


5,000 


The Clergy ... 


22,000 


2,000 


20,000 


The Jews 


600 


••• 


600 


Commercial Tenths 


16,000 


6,000 


10,000 


FreightSi &c. ••• ••• ..» 

Exchange (Duty) 


6,000 


4,000 


2,000 


20,000 


12,000 


8,000 


Total... 


1,305,000 


225,480 


1.081,520 



* Sanudo {Vite, 964). Feltre, Belluno, Istria and Dalmatia are not 
here included. No statistics respecting them for this period are known. 



281 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Venciiaii Commerce— Its Threefold Churacter-— Maritime Commerce — 
Riyer, or Inland Commerce — The Canying Trade — Trading 
Carayans — ^Venetian Relations with Great Britain--The Dogate — 
Pecnliar Character of the Ducal Palace — ^Privy-Purse Expenses, and 
Domestic Establishment of the Doge— The Carte Dncale, or Doge*B 
Court, its Attribates and Jurisdiction — ^The Excusati Del Ducato — 
Eveiyday Life of the Doge — Costume — Inner life of Venice — 
Pious and Charitable Institutions— Manu&ctures — ^Brass and Iron 
Foundries— Bells and Organs — ^Trades — State of the Iron Trade — 
Houses — Chimneys and Windows — Gardens — ^Dress — ^Its Religious 
Character — The Venetian Colour — Venetian Ladies — Gloves-* 
Method of Eating— Meals — Evening Amusements. 

The commerce of the Bepnblic is^ susceptible of 
a distribntion into three sections: — ^I. Maritime. 
n. River, or Inland. HI, The Carrying Trade. 
The origm of the latter, which is unquestionably to be 
viewed as the most antient, is fixed by a passage in the 
well-known Letter of Cassiodorus, the PrflBtorian Prefect, 
to some epoch slightly anterior to 628, in which year 
the Venetian Tribunes (Tribuni Maritimorutn) receive 

' "L'Europa ahbisognava di nayigatori, che kproTidessero delle merci 
d*Oriente, il cui uso eras! del tutto perduto nel mezzo all* imizioni de* 
Baihari. Li presentarono i Venezianl ; ed in breve tutto 11 commerdo 
dell* Occidente concentrossi nelle loro mani. Tutti i mari iurono frequentati 
dai loro vascelli, e nel giro di pochi secoli la loro republica divenne la piii 
forte potenza maritima nell* Europa. Furono si rapidi i loro progread, 
che gl* Imperatori d*Oriente si yidero coetretti ad implorame Tassistenza 
fortificandosi colla loro alleanza. I Venezianl purgavano i mari dai 
Pirati, combatterano i nimid dell* Impero in ogni mare, e godevano in 
premio d*una illimita liberty di commerdo in tutti i porti dd Medi- 
terraneo e del Mar Nero." — Farmaleanu 



232 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

a charge to use all possible despatch in transportmg 
certain quantities of wine, oil, and other produce from 
divers points on the Istrian coast to the royal palace 
at Bavenna. This traffic as it existed in the time 
of the GothSi represents the mercantile transactions 
of the Islanders in their rudest aspect and their 
earliest stage of development. The carrying trade, 
like every other branch of Venetian commerce, even- 
tually received enormous extension. The Venetians 
became the Carriers of the World, During the medi- 
eval period, the postal service which was performed by 
captains of Venetian argosies or transports, formed the 
sole channel of communication between the Courts of 
Germany and Constantinople. 

Between the plan which was pursued by the Vene- 
tians in the middle ages in regard to the transmission 
of letters and that which prevails at the present day, 
some important points of discrepancy existed. The 
Foreign Post necessarily depended, in the absence of 
modem appliances, upon sailing vessels. The move- 
ments of the Letter-Carrier, who was obliged to make 
his circuit in a gondola, were regulated to a large 
extent by the state of the winds and the currents; 
and in tempestuous weather, the correspondence 
between Grado and Cavarzero was subject to long and 
constant interruptions. In the tenth and eleventh 
centuries, a merchant residing at Venice, who might 
be desirous of communicating with his agent or with 
another merchant at Constantinople, never expected 
to receive an answer in much less iheui fifty days. 



xxT.] VENETIAN COMMERCE— THE POST. 233 

A third respect, in which the old Venetian Postal 
System differed from that in present use was not less 
cnrious, though it was of a less essential character. 
Instead of levying the charge on a stamp, impressed 
with the head of the reigning Sovereign, it was there 
the practice to levy it on the seal. To superintend the 
''Sealing Department/' certain officers denominated 
Bullatofi (Sealers) existed at Venice at least as early 
as the reign of Pietro Ziani (1205-29) ; these fdnction- 
aries were appointed by the Government, and were 
tmder its immediate control; and from a passage in the 
Coronation-Oath of Ziani's successor, Giacomo Tiepolo, 
it appears that, so far as the circulation of letters in the 
Dogado itself was concerned, two tariffs were then in 
force, of which one was for foreigners, and the other 
for subjects of the Republic. The former was fixed at 
twelve Danari Grandij or three Soldi; the latter did not 
exceed half that sum.^ It was not competent for the 
Bullator to exact any higher Yate without special 
authorization from the Doge in CouncU. The price 
demanded for the postage of a letter to a distant 
station, such, for instance, as Constantinople or Saint 
Jean d'Acre, where the difficulty of communication 
was so great, and the intermediate passage occupied 
so long a space, was probably considerable. 

It can hardly be a source of surprise that the 

' ''De SigiUaturft literarum non faciemus toUi nisi deiuuios xii. par- 
Tuloe, et a ibrinseco soldos tree (sive denarios xii. grandes), salvo quod, 
si bullata fuerit litera aliqua alicujos magni negotii, nostri Consiliarii 
possint licentiare biillatorem amplius toUendi, ut nobis et eis videbitar.** 
— (presBO Romanin, DocumenH), 



284 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

Maritime Commerce shonld have dxperienoed an early 
and rapid expansion. Assuredly, if a State ever 
existed whichi in a higher degree than any other, 
received a spur to industry and enterprise, if one was 
to be named to which had been given, more distinctly 
than to any other, a Mission of Commerce, that State 
was Venice/ When the natives of the Terra-Ferma 
sought shelter in the marshes of Adria in the fifth 
century, two courses were open to their adoption. 
On the one hand, they were at Uberty to await the 
moment when the affairs of the Peninsula should be 
more settled, and then to return to the homes which 
they had abandoned; on the other, it was placed 
within their power to retain their independence, to 
develope their naval and mercantile resources, to 
render their country a cradle of the Arts, and to 
become the greatest people in Europe I 

Even in the eighth century, the Venetian relations 
with many distant * regions were established on a 
tolerably sound footing. At that period the Bepublic 
maintained more or less constant communication with 
France, Turkey, and Egypt; and with intermediate 

' "Aquileia, Opitergio (Odcrzo), Altino, Padova, Ateste, YiceDza, 
Verona, tutte Taltrc citta, quante se y^erano nel paeae de VeneU, ftutm 
prose, saccheggiate, desolate, arse, e rovinate dai fbndamenti ; gli abitanti 
infclici scnza tetto e scnza speranza di risorgere, col terrore alle spolle pre- 
cipitaroDsi in folia ncgli angasti anili delle lagune; apportandovi le 
ricchezze sottratte alia rapina, la naturale loro industria, i lore sag^ 
costiimi, e la loro religione ; e su questi fundamcnti stabilirono una nuoTk 
Republica, segricati in tal guisa dalle Italiane nazioni, clrcondati da 
sempre miori ncmici, assediati dai bisogni, non restava loro per patri- 
monio che 11 mare." — See Formalconi (Nnvigazione degli Antichi nel 
Mar Nero, ii. 20-1). 



1 VBNETIAIT COMMERCE WITH FRANCE. 285 

points it may be fairly assumed that she was at least 
equally &miliar. In 827, an edict was published by 
the Boge Giustiniani Badoer/ in which all trans-* 
actions with Mohammedan countries were temporarily 
inhibited; and it was in direct violation of this law that 
the two Venetian traders, who transferred the remains 
of Saint Mark to Venice two years afterward, were 
bartering their goods with the Misbelievers on the quay 
of Alexandria. In 940, a contemporary writer tells us,* 
that the floWer of the Greek imperial marine was com- 
posed of Venetian and Amalfitan sailors. Thirty-seven 
years later (977), a colony of Venetians established 
itself at Limoges, in the department of Haute- 
Viemief and the street, where the new-comers were 
located, soon became known as the Rue des Veniciens*^ 
But it was not till the close of the following century, 
at least, that the Islanders succeeded in planting 
similar settlements in the south of France, at Mar- 
seilles,^ at Aiguemortes, at Toulouse, and elsewhere. 

During the reign of Orseolo II. (991-1008), the 
feudal annexation of a large portion of the Dalmatian 
coast opened a new field to Venetian enterprise ; the 
Islanders, who had already formed emporiums and 
i^encies at Zara, Capo d' Istria, and other leading 
points, were not remiss in emending and enlarging 



■ Filitfli (Memorie, v. 25). 

' Liatprand, L^atio ad Nicephorum Phocam, a.d. 940 (Muratori, 
ii. 416.) 

' Allou {MonuMenidetDiffh^eiu Agetobterth dam la HoMte^Vienme^ 
p. 12). 

* Filiasi {Ricerche^ 86, et $eq.) 



236 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

their transactions with the newly acquired conntiy; 
and the impulse thns given was considerably strength- 
ened by the simultaneous establishment of a closer 
and more intelligible connexion with the Mahom- 
medans of Syria, Egypt, and Barbary, with the petty 
rulers of the Crimea, and even with Persia. 

The precise character of external relations at this 
distant date constitutes, however, a point on which it 
is impossible to speak with certainty; and such a 
circumstance is the more perhaps to be regretted, 
since, had information been ampler in these respects, 
it might have been easier to judge how far the earlier 
Venetian navigators are entitled to the credit of having 
prepared the way for the more important and notable 
discoveries of the Zeni and the Poli. 

The Biver, or Inland Commerce became at a very 
early period, extensive and valuable.* The Po, the 
Tagliamento, the Adige, the Brenta, and other streams, 
by which the peninsula was watered and fertilized, were 
soon covered with their cargoes. During the reign of 
Maurizio Galbaio (764-87), a fair was instituted at 
Pavia, of which the Venetians enjoyed all but the 
exclusive benefit. Thither the Lombards of all classes 
resorted in large numbers. There the courtiers of 
Charlemagne might often be seen buying mantles of 
the same hue and pattern which their great master 
delighted to wear ; and there the ladies of Pavia were 

> *^ Accedit etiam commodis vestris," writes Cassiodoras (523), ^^quod 
Yobis aliud iter aperitur, perpetuA securitate tranquiUum : nam cum, 
yentis sseyientibua, mare fuerit clausum, via vobis panditur per azDoenis- 
rima fluyiomm.**— (Opera, i. 187, edit. 1729.) 



.] VENETIAN COMMERCE— CARAVANS. 237 

sore of meetmg with gowns of the newest fashion and 
of the finest texture.^ The trade in dresses of silk 
and cloth-of-gold was abnost a monopoly. It was 
restricted to three markets, Pavia, Olivolo and San 
Martinoy near Malamocco.' 

At a later epoch (998) , the goyemment of Orseolo 
n. entered into treaties with various Powers, by yirtae 
of which several ports in the Peninsula were opened 
to Venetian traders on highly advantageous terms to 
the ezchision of any other Flag. Such became the 
character of the relations with Gruaro on the Livenza, 
and with San Michele Del Quarto on the Silis. With 
Aquileia, Perrara (1102), Treviso (998), Verona, 
(1193) , and other places, the commercial intercourse 
of the Bepublic subsisted on a general footing of per- 
manence and security. In fact, it would be difficult 
to name any quarter of the Peninsula, into which the 
Venetians had not penetrated before the end of the 
twelfth century, and where Venetian imports and 
manufactures were not admitted under more fiEivourable 
conditions than those of contemporary mercantile 
communities. 

The unsettled state of Europe in the middle ages, 
and the scanty respect which was paid to principles of 
Maritime Law, even where such principles had been 
introduced, necessitated the establishment by the 
Venetians, in common with other Commercial Powers, 
of a system of Annual Trading Caravans. These 
periodical expeditions, which left Venice between 

> Filian {Ricerehe^ 23). ' Sagominns (,Chr. 122-^). 



238 msTOKY OP Venice. [chap. 

Jannaiy and September^ were under the protection 
of armed escorts. Their route was laid down with 
the utmost precision and strictness ; and no departure 
from the sailing instructions was permitted in the 
absence of an express authorization from the Govern- 
ment. The number of caravans, which were fitted out 
in the course of a year, depended, however, on cir- 
cumstances. In times of war and pestilence, it was 
restricted ; at seasons of abundance, when peace 
prevailed, it exceeded the average. The most cele- 
brated were the "Flanders Galleys," which traded 
between Bruges and the seaports of France, Spain, 
Portugal and England ; the <* Romania Galleys ; " 
the Galleys of Armenia, which visited Aias on the 
Gulf of Alexandretta ; the Galleys of Tana or Azoph, 
which confined themselves to the commerce of the 
Euxine, the Sea of Azoph, and the Crimea ; and the 
Galleys of Cyprus and Egypt, whose general destina- 
tion was Alexandria and Cairo/ 

It is strange that, while more or less light is thrown 
by Arnold's Chronicle, or the Customs of London^ written 
about 1490, and printed about 1500, as well as by the 
Fsedera, the Bolls of Parliament, and the Statutes,* 
on the early relations of Lombardy,' Hungary, Hol- 
land, Flanders, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, 
Norway, and even Genoa* with Great Britain,^ the 

' Marin (v. lib. ii. c. 3) ; Depping (^Commerce du Levant^ i, 156, et seq.) 

• Statutes at Large; edit. 1769: vol. i.; Rymer, rol. i. part 2: edit 
1816 ; Roils of Parliament, ii. 32 ; iii. 48, 159, 429, &e. 

• Statntes, i. 529, et alibi. * See also Rastell*8 Chronicle : 1529 ; p. 219. 

• Am. Chr., pp. 6, 101, 111, 117, 189 : edit 1811. 



xxT.] EARLY RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 289 

Yenetians are not expressly mentioned in that work 
in any single instance. It is incontestable, neverthe-. 
less, that from the reign of John, at least, the inter- 
conrse of the Bepnblic with those islands was regular 
and large. Even before the close of the eleventh 
century, Otho degli Gherardini, a Florentine, settled 
in England, and became the proprietor of lands in 
BO fewer than eight comities ; and it was from this 
gentleman, that sprang the ancestors of the noble 
House of Fitzgerald.^ In 1167, Frederic Barbarossa 
obtained from Henry TL. a mercantile charter;* and 
in 1200, King John declared that ** all merchants, of 
what nation soever, should, with their merchandize, 
have safe-conduct to pass into England, and to repass 
thence, and to enjoy in that country the same peace 
and security as the merchants of England were allowed 
in the countries from which such merchants came.'' ^ 
In 1245, according to the testimony of Walsingham,^ 
England began to swarm with Italian placemen, just as 
in a former age she had swarmed with Norman inter- 
lopers ; and bitter and loud was the complaint that the 
foreigners were even absorbing all the richest benefices 
in the Church. The 17 Edw. I. (1289 ),« which pro- 
vided for the transport of merchandize out of Ireland 
into England and Wales, by merchants, aUens, and 

' 7^ Earls ofKildare and their Ancestors^ by the Marqiiis of Eildare : 
1858; p. 2. This work affords some curious insight into the early 
relations of England with Ireland and Wales. 

* Sir H. Nicolas {Hist, of the Royal (Eng.) Nam/, I 74). 
» IWd. i. 167-8. 

* Ypodygma Neustria, 1574; p. 60. 

* Stat, sub anno: edit 1769 ; yol. i. 



240 HISTORY OP VENICE. [otaf, 

oihers, seems to point to theVenetiaiis without naming 
them. 

The first direct and explicit allosion to Venice in 
the Public Kecords of England occurs in 1201/ on 
the 18th of January in which year King John granted 
to Johannes, the son of Leonardus Sucubus of Venice, 
and to his heirs, certain commercial priTileges of high 
importance. ^^ Johannes de Venetia" and his succes- 
sors, in the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth 
centuries, rose to great note and affluence in the 
island, and acquired, probably by lapse of mortgages, 
estates in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, 
Hampshire, and Wiltshire, a few of which they appear 
to have held of the Crown in capite, some by seigeanty, 
and the rest in the more usual method. Among these 
lands are named Westham in Essex, Estwoldham in 
Hampshire, and Draycot in Wiltshire, for the last of 
which they paid annually seven pounds and seven 
shillings to the Eing.^ During the reign of Edward HI., 
other instances are known of Venetians becoming 
landed proprietors in England ; and it is consequently 
matter of some surprise, that the earliest example 
found of naturalization happened only in 1480, when 
Gabriel Corbet, a Venetian, and of Southampton, 
mariner, was admitted to the rights of a denizen of that 
place, on payment of a reasonable fine into Chancery.^ 

' Rolls of Charters in the Tower of London^ vol. i. part 1. 

• Rotulorum Orig. Abbrev^ I 192; ii, 2, 145, 198; RoUs of the 
Hundreds, i. 152; Calendar of Patent Rolls, 41 Hen. III.; Pipe RoUs of 
the Exch., 3 John ; Chancery Roll, 3 John. 

' RoUs of Parliament, iy. 886. 



.] EARLY RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 241 

The treaties of commerce between the Plantagenets 
and the Signory date so tsiX back as 1304; and 
firom that epoch the intimacy sensibly increased. The 
" Flanders Galleys/' on their homeward route/ came 
to London, Dartmouth, Plymouth/ Sandwich, South* 
ampton, Bye, and Lynn, and exchanged alum, glass. 
Bilk, drapery, sugar, wines, confectionery, and, even 
wood for tin, wool, iron,' hides, and other staples. 
Li 1472, an Act of Parliament (12 Edward lY.), 
which was most probably a simple reproduction of a 
much older measure, compelled the Venetian mer- 
chants to bring with each butt of wine, containing 
from 126 to 140 gallons, ^' four good bowstaves" gra- 
tuitously, under penalty of 65. 8d. for all butts sought 
to be imported without such staves; and this trade, 
indeed, was so profitable to the BepubHc that her sub- 
jects consented at an early date to accept as payment 
one-third in cash, and two-thirds in cloth. But the 
foreigners soon discovered that, while they were giving 
their customers 135 or 140 gallons to the butt, instead 
of 126,^ the English were cheating them outrageously, 
and were palming on them, ^^ cloths of the which a 
great part be broken, broused, and not agreeing in the 
colour, neither be according to breadth, nor in no 
manner to the part of the same cloths shewed out- 
wards, but be falsely wrought with divers wools to the 
great deceit, loss, and damage of the people, in so 

* Ifuintctiansfar Ae Flanders ChUeys^ 1337-8 : MisH Senato (quoted 
at length by Romanin, iii. 376-84). 

■ Proceedings of ike Privy Council of England^ i. 120. 

' BolU of Parliament^ iii 48. * Statutee at Large, I Riclh HI. 

VOL. IV. 45 



242 mSTOBY OF VENIGE. [chap. 

much that the merchants that buy the same doths, 
and carry them out of the reahn to sell to strangersi 
be many times in danger to be slain 1" Of this gross 
and abominable fraud the sufferers were not slow to 
complain to the Grown ; and in 1889 (13 Bichard n)« 
an Act appeared, by which ^^ it was ordained and as* 
sented, that no plain clothi tacked nor folded» shall be 
set to sale within the Counties of Somerset, Dorset, 
Bristol^ and Gloucester, but that they be opened, upon 
pain to forfeit them, so that the buyers may see them, 
and know them, as it is used in the County of Essex; 
and that the workers, weavers, and fullers shall put 
their seals to every cloth that they shall work, upon 
a certain pain, to be limited by the justices of the 
peace." This legislation by no means extinguished the 
grievance ; declaratory statutes were made from time to 
time, but without effect ; and at length, the Venetians 
declined to give any bonusi or take the bad doth oi 
England, in payment for their own genuine import/ 

In 1819,^ an Ambassador was, by virtue of a decree 
of the Pregadi, despatched to London, to demand re* 

' The paasion of the Duke of Clarence for Malmsey is weU known. It 
is mentioned in two passages in Richard III. : — 

^^First Murd.^^TBke him over the costard with the hilts of thy 
sword ; and then throw him into the malmsey bntt in the next room. 

** Second Murd. — excellent deyice I and make a sop of him.** 

(Act i. 80. 4.) 

"Ftr^^ilfttrd— Take that, and that. If all this will not do, 

m drown you in the malmsey butt within.** 

In the second part of Hen,IV^ Act ii. so. 1, iheHatiess cBJlBBardc^k 
a "malmsey-nose knave ;*' and in Zave*i Labour LoU^ y. 2 (edit Hailitt), 
malmsey is mentioned as a table-wine. 

' Marin (y. 804), and vide ntprd^ cap. 17. 



zzY.] EARLY BELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 248 

dresB for certain damage inflicted upon two Venetian 
galleons on the high seae by English cruisers; and 
letters sealed with wax were issued shortly afterward 
by Edward n. for the security of the << Flander's 
Galleys t " ^ Among other points, the syndic accredited 
to the Court of Edward was directed to propose the 
establishment of a Oonsulate in the British metropolis ; 
and eyen if such an object was not immediately achievedi 
it is indisputable that such an institution was in ex- 
istence at no distant period. 

In 1871f Edward m., at the prayer of the Doge 
Andrea Contarini, accorded a safe-conduct to all Vene- 
tian subjects in the English and Flemish seas." In 
1400, some merchants of Venice were charged with 
an attempt to pass their money at a higher rate than 
was legal ; the King, who was from London, minuted 
to the Friyy Oouncil, ** that the merchants should be 
treated with gentleness, but that the law must be 
enforced." * 

During the War of Chioggia, William Gould, William 
Cook, John Berkit, an indiyidual, whose baptismal 
name we find distorted into Cantaletto, and two knights. 
Sir Walter and Sir Benedict, were among those who 
entered the service of the Signory.^ With the excep- 
tion of Gould, they distinguished themselves by their 
blustering and litigious disposition, no less than by 
their great courage ; and, on one occasion, the Doge 

* Mazin (y. 818). * Paient Rolls, 44 Edw. m. 

* JhveeedingB and Ordintmut of the Privy Council o/Engkmd^ 1 120. 
^ Bomanin (lii. 288-92). 

45—2 



244 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

was obliged to snmmon them to the deck of his galley, 
and to harangae them/ Gould's share of spoil after 
the recovery of Chioggia which the comitrymen of 
CantalettOf retaliating upon the Bepublic, corrupted into 
Chose,'' amounted to 500 ducats of gold.' In 1892/ 
Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derbyi passed through 
Venice on his way to Jerusalem, and was honourably 
entertained by the Doge Antonio Veniero, who went 
some distance by water to meet the Earl ; and it is 
related by Bastell, in the Chronicle which was printed 
by his brotheri or himself, in 1529,^ how the Dukes of 
Norfolk and Hertford in the last year of Eichard TL. 
(1399) were expelled from the realm, and how Mow- 
bray, the " banish'd Norfolk" of Shakspeare — 

" retired himself 
To Italy, and there, at Yenioe, gaye 
His body to that pleasant conntzy's earth.*' * 

In October of the same year, the Duke of Lancaster, 
on his accession to the throne of England as Henry 
lY., hastened to notify the auspicious eyent to the 
reigning Doge Antonio Veniero in a letter, dated the 
4th of the month, and to offer sundry preferential 
exemptions to Venetian traders J The first European 
prince who, after the Battle of Bosworth, offered his 
congratulations to the Earl of Bichmond, was the 
Doge Agostino Barbarigo. 

' Romanin (iii. 288-92). 

" Pylgrymage of Sir Eichard Guylforde, A J>. 1506, p. 6. 

* Bomanin (iii. 292). 

* Capgrave (Xwe* of the lUusHous Henries, Latin orig., p. 100). 

* Reprint, p. 237. • Rich. IL, Act lY. scene 1 : edit Haditt, 
: Romanin (iiL 334). 



xxT.] EARLY RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 245 

In 1408, three Venetian galleys, haTing neglected ^ 
to discharge arrears of fiscal duties, were, after a 
certain term of grace, forfeited to the King ; and the 
owners were compelled to redeem their property with 
a fine of 2,000 marks. Of this proceeding the 
defaulters addressed a complaint to their Goyem- 
ment ; and the latter sent Fra Hieronimo, and sub- 
sequently Antonio Bembo Miles, to London, to inves- 
tigate the matter, and, if the circumstances warranted 
such a course, to require satisfaction. The commission 
of Bembo was dated the 80th April, 1409.« The 
instructions of the Envoy were, upon his arrival in 
London, to call upon the Vice-Gonsul there (de inde), 
and to assemble at his house the Committee of Mer- 
chants, to whom he was to explain the motive of his 
journey, and to take counsel as to the ways and means 
to be pursued in seeking an audience of his Majesty. 
Li case our Lord the King happened to be from 
London, the Committee had power to determine the 
number of horses and servants which should be 

' AnIieiU Kalendars and Inventories of the Exchequer^ ii. 77-8 ; Issues 
of (he Exchequer for 1409 (Lond. 1837: 4*»). "To Hugh Helwya, a 
notaiy public. In money paid to his own hands by consideration of the 
Treasurer and the Chamberlain for making and writing out ^ instrument 
made between our Lord the King (Henry lY.) and three owners and 
other good merchants belonging to three Venetian galleys, which arrived 
at the Fort of London in the tenth year (1409),** &c. A nearly similar 
case occurred 3 Hen. YI. {Inventories of the Exchequer ^ ii. 122). 

* Commissione tTAmbasciata di Antonio Bembo a Londroy Aprilis die 
ult. 1409 (presso Romanin, Documenti^ iii. No. 8). " We, Michele Steno, 
by the Grace of God, Doge of Venice, &c.', commit to you, the noble 
Antonio Bembo JIft/ite, our well-beloyed fellow-citizen, the task of going 
as our solemn Orator and Vice-Captain of our Galleys, to London, to the 
presence of the Most Serene Lord the Eang of Enghmd.** 



246 HISTOBT pF VENICE. [chaf. 

aecorded to his Excellence; ''but/' says the Doge, 
in 80 many words, '' yon shall not take with yon more 
than ten horses. For onr purpose is, that all the 
outlay to which you may be put, in excess of your 
salary and a certain limited expenditure, shall be 
placed to the account of the merchandize which is 
taken to Bruges and London, and from London and 
Bruges to Venice." His Excellence was also reminded 
that it might possibly occur that the points, which he 
had it in charge to bring under the royal notice, would 
be referred to the General Parliament, ''which Par* 
liament," it is said, "meets about the middle of 
September;" and in such an event he was enjoined 
to consult the Committee upon his stay in the capital. 
" That you may be in a better position to attain your 
object in the Parliament or otherwise," continued the 
Doge, "you ought to employ some one good and 
efficient lawyer, to whom you must pay such fees as 
are just and reasonable. After the delivery of your 
credentials, you will call to the mind of his Majesty, 
how in the year just passed (1408) , on the occasion 
of an innovation (novitatia) put into practice against 
our galleys, and merchants, and merchandize in the 
port of London, we sent to his Palace the most 
reverend father Era Hieronimo, professor of divinity, 
as our ambassador for the redress of our complaints 
and the restitution of our property, from whose report 
we feel assured that the King's Majesty is, as he ever 
was, benignly disposed toward us, our merchants, 
and subjects. We charge you to make terms with 



XXV-] EARLY RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 247 

Richard Stile, the cnBtomer (coBtom-honse officer), 
because we are informed that, if the difference with 
him were settled, it would facilitate the adjustment 
of the difficulty. You will demand reparation for 
the noble Giovanni Zane, in such manner as shall 
appear to you most expedient. You will tiy to 
procure an understanding that, if any of our citizens, 
subjects, or lieges, receive from any subjects of the 
King in London or (other parts of) England, goods 
for which he may omit to pay, our other citizens shall 
not on this account be molested, seeing that it is 
unjust that one should suffer for another.^ We have 
confided to your care some donations for the most 
Serene King, and certain other English noblemen, 
which you will be so good as to present forthwith 
upon your arrival in London. Your allowance for 
this yoxur embassy and vice-captaincy will be 400 
ducats, of which the Masters of Galleys will contri- 
bute 100, and our Conmiune 100, and of which the 
remainder will be defrayed out of the London Trade 
Account; and you will be our Vice-Captain, in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as our 
other Vice-Captains at London (in former times) ; and 
it shall be lawM for you neither to engage in mercan- 
tile transactions at London, nor to employ any one to 
do so on your behalf." Such was the commission 
directed by the Doge Steno to his "well-beloved" 
Antonio Bembo Miles. 

It is to be collected that Fra Hieronimo had already 

'. It wae <xmtnry to 27 Edw. m. c. 17. 



248 HISTORT OP VENICE. [cbaf. 

contrived to put the matter in good train, when his 
successor reached the Thames about the first week in 
June, 1409/ It was reserved for Bembo to complete 
a negotiation which was evidently proceeding with a 
haltmg pace, to impart stability to the relations 
between the two Powers, and to obtain guarantees 
for the future ; and it is highly probable that, even 
in the absence of any other motives, the vital interest 
which the English, and the town of Southampton 
especially, had in the uninterrupted maintenance of 
the Venetian trade with their ports, was instrumental 
in securing a compliance with the wishes of the 
Bepublic. In 1412, the Venetian Company of Lon- 
don lent the King 2002. toward the outlay attendant 
upon his expedition for the recovery of Guienne; 
and 200 marks were given in the same year for a 
similar purpose.' In 1415, when Henry V« was 
preparing to invade France, he had recourse, among 
other expedients, to pecuniary loans on the part of 
towns and private individuals; and among the royal 
creditors were Nicolo Molini and his Venetian fra- 
ternity who, under the pressure of a threat that, if 
they were contumacious, his Majesty would commit 
them to the Fleet, till *' he heard a different account/'' 
advanced Henry 1,000Z. On the same occasion, the 
Genoese contributed 1,2007., and those of Lucca, 2002/ 

> Sir Richard Guildford tells us in his Pilgrimage^ 1506, that he was 
five weeks and three days sailing from England to Venice (p. 81) ; and 
'* from Englonde to Venyce," he says (p. 82), " is vii. c. myle." 

■ Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England^ ii. S2. 

* Ibid. (ii. 214). « n)id (ii 165-6). 



xxT.] EABLY RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. 249 

There is, perhaps, no passage in antient English 
literature which illustrates so well the history of 
medieyal Maritune WarfiEure, or establishes more tri- 
mnphantly the early origin of the connexion between 
the British Isles and Lombardy, including Venice, 
than one which is fonnd in Arnold's Chronicle: — 
<< Of Marchauntis Aliens : 

"Ale marchanntisi but yf they wer openly afore 
forboden, shall have sauf and suer conduyte to goo fro 
Englad, and to com into England, and dwell, and goo 
bi England as wel bi lande as by water to bey and to 
Belle without aH evil toUis, and by olde and right 
nsagis ; an take (save) that i tyme of waire, and yf 
(they) be of lande of warre ageinst us, and such be 
founde in our land in the begynnynge of warre, (they 
shall) be atached without harme of body or goodis, 
til it be known of us, or of our chief iustices, how y 
marchantis be entreted the whiche be founde in the 
lande, and agenst us in the lande of warre ; and yf 
our folke be sauf there, sauf be other in our lande t " 

At the same time, although Shakspeare, through 
the mouth of the Duke of York,^ speaks — 

** Of fiuhions of proud Italy, 
Whose manners still our tardy apirii nation 
Limps after in base imitation — ** 

England had no particular reason to gaze with envy 
on the prosperity of the Great EepubUc. The house- 
hold books and rolls of the thirteenth and fourteenth 

■ Rich. IL^ Act ii. sc. 1 : edit. Hazlitt. 



260 mSTOBT OF VENICE. [csat. 

centuries clearly shew that the position of the wealthier 
classes in that country was then remarkahly opnlent/ 
An old poem hy Eichard of Maidstone, who died in 
1896, commemorates the profase ezpenditorei smnp* 
tnons habits, and rich costume of the Londoners of 
that period.* An Italian of rank, who visited London, 
as well as Oxford and other towns both in England 
and Scotland, about 1500, has lefk a graphic and 
glowing account of the condition of the metropolis it- 
self in the days of Henry YII/ Li the Strand alone, 
he assures us that there were fifly-two goldsmiths' 
shops, so rich and full of silver vessels, great and 
small, that <' in all the shops of Milan, Rome, Venice, 
and Florence put together, there were not so many 1 *' ^ 
'* There is no small innkeeper," he continues, ^^Juno- 
ever poor and humble he may be, who does not serve his 
table with silver dishes and drinking cups, and no one 
who has not in his house silver plate to the amount of 
1001. sterling, which is equivalent to 600 gold crowns 
among us/''^ In 1607, the daughter of Henry YII., 



' Boll of the Household Expenses of Richard de SwmfieU Bishop of 
Hereford, 1289-90 (Camden Soc., 1854); Liber QuoHdiamts Edwardi 
Primi, 1769 : 4*^ ; Maimers and Household Expenses in England in the 
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (Bozb. Club, 1841); Privy Purse 
Expenses of Edward IV. and Elizabeth of Yorh: Lond^ 1830; $">; Cam- 
den Miscellany t vol. ill. 

' Ricardi Maydiston, Concordia inter Reg, Ricard. IL et Civitatem 
London, (Camd Soc. 3, 1838). 

* Relation of the Island of England (Camd. Soc. 37). 

* Page 42-3. He speaks of the riches of England as greater than 
those of any other country in Europe ; and as arising, to a large extent, 
from her enonnous trade in tin and wool. 

« Page 28-9 



zzr.] EABLY BELATIONB WITH ENGLAND. 261 

the Lady Maiy^ was married to the Prince of Oastile, 
Arohdnke of Austria; and the splendid ** Solemnities 
and Trinmphs" celebrated on tiiat occasion are de- 
scribed in a tract which was printed in the same year/ 
The English experiences of Sebastiano Giustiniani, 
whose embassy extended from 1616 to 1619, have 
been published; and it was only in 1620 that the 
pageant of ''the Field of Cloth-of-Gold " gave the 
Venetian ambassadors, who accompanied the King 
with twenty-three servants and eleven horses,' so 
exalted a conception of the magnificence of the Court 
of Henry VIII, 

Prior to the institution of the Dogate, the Venetian 
islands formed a Federative State, united by the 
memory of a common origin and the sense of a 
common interest; the Arrengo, which met, at irre« 
gular intervals, to deliberate on matters of public 
concern, was too numerous and too schismatical to 
exercise immediate control over the nation ; and each 
island was consequently governed, in the name of the 
people, by a gastaldo or tribune, whose power, nomi- 
nally limited, was virtually absolute. This adminis- 
tration lasted nearly two centuries and a half, during 
which period Venice passed through a cruel ordeal of 
anarchy, oppression, and bloodshed. The tribunes 
conspired against each other; the people rebelled 
against the tribunes. Family rose against fieunily, sect 

* London^ by Bichard Flnson: 4^ (reprinted for the Boxboigh Clabi 
1818: 4*»). 

* RuOmd Piq)er9, p. 83: Londn 1842; 4« (Camd. Soo.) 



252 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

against sect ; and the spirit of partisanship soon grew 
stronger than the spirit of patriotism. In conrse of 
time, every man became less a Venetian than an 
Heraclian or an Eqnilese; and he learned to think 
that it was less disgracefiil to betray his country, 
than to desert his faction. In spite, howeyer, of its 
feeble and despotic nature, the power of the Gastaldi 
flonrished till the close of the seventh century ; and 
the first measure, tending to impair their influence, 
was adopted only in 697, in which year, the people, 
thinking perhaps that it was less difficult to bear, as 
well as more easy to punish, the tyranny of one than 
the tyranny of many, assembled at HeracUa on the 
invitation of the Patriarch of Grado, and elected Paolo 
Luca Anafesto, a citizen of that place. Chief of the 
Tribunes, and Doge of Venice. 

Subsequently to 697, it was usual for each house- 
holder in Venice to set apart, for the use of the State, 
the tithe of his income ; and this contribution consist- 
ing, if in kind, of honey, oil, wine, salt, fish, poultry, 
and other useful commodities, was consigned to the 
Ducal fisc, which formed, in that primitive age, the 
sole pubKc treasury.^ The revenue, which the Chief 
Magistrate derived from the payment of tithes, was, 
however, scanty and precarious; the citizens often 
neglected to discharge, the early Doges sometimes felt 
it injudicious, sometimes they found it impracticable, 
to enforce the demands of the assessors; and the 
necessity consequently arose of having recourse to a 

> Chramca deUa Magnifica Citta di VeneziOj fol. 25 (Kiiig*8 MSS. 150). 



zxv.] EARLY STBUGGLES OF THE VENETIANS. 253 

private trade in time of peace, and to a volantary or 
even compulsory loan in time of war. It seems im- 
possible to contemplate without interest a community 
originally so rude, so deficient in any system of finan- 
cial or political economy, so ignorant of constitutional 
principles, yet working out with such indefiatigable 
assiduity the twin problems of European civilization 
and its own greatness. Venice began to labour in 
the solitary paths of commerce, while a fog still 
enveloped the unregenerated earth ; she toiled in the 
darkness, unobserved, with keen instincts, and lofty if 
not noble aspirations. She had a soul, which thirsted 
for gain, and panted for knowledge ; a heart which 
was steeled against adversity and disappointment ; her 
sons ploughed unknown seas, and penetrated into 
unexplored regions, in the pursuit of wealth and the 
means of wealth; and when the night at length 
passed away, and the morning broke in dazzling 
radiance, men witnessed the transformation of a few 
scattered villages into a great City, and of a humble 
commonwealth of coasting traders into a cosmopolitan 
society of merchant-princes ! 

War, however, was a rare contingency. The 
Venetians quickly discovered, how imperative it was 
upon a mercantile community to exhibit a placable 
spirit in their intercourse with strangers: nor were 
the islanders unsuccessfdl in general in maintaining 
relations of amity with the Lombard Kings, the Free 
Towns on the Gulf, and with the petty princes of 
' Dalmatia and Croatia. 



264 HISTOBY OF YESICB. [cbaf. 

In the Bame manner as the abode of the Ohief 
Magistrate in many other countries during the middle 
ages, the Ducal Palace was one of the leading institu- 
tions of the Bepublic. In the Palace, the confines of 
which were protected by a rude mural fortification, 
was transacted, under ordinary circumstances, all the 
business of the State. It was the residence of the 
Doge, the radiating point round which the whole 
machinery of the Venetian government oentrifhgally 
revolved. In its apartments, imperfectiy furnished 
and imperfectly ventilated, ambassadors and deputa* 
tions were received; firom it all treaties and solemn 
instruments were usually dated. The Palace had its 
own Oourt, which was the highest judicial tribunal 
known to the law ; and its own Fisc, which remained, 
during many centuries, the national exchequer. 
Special by-laws regulated its internal economy, and 
took cognizance of offences perpetrated within its 
precincts. To its use a special gondola service was 
appropriated. Here the Ducal Notary, in an illiterate 
age a functionary of considerable eminence: the Chan- 
cellor of the Ducal Hall, to whom was confided the 
custody of the principal seal of the Doge ; and the 
privileged body of Militia, the Excusati del DucatOf had 
their peculiar seat. Under the same roof was a Chapel, 
where religious worship was daily celebrated before the 
Ducal family and establishment; a kitchen, with all 
its appurtenances ; a well, an armoury, and a' store 
magazine. Thus the low and irregular pile of build- 
ings, which became known toward the tenth or 



anr.] A SMALL CITT WTTHIN A GREATER. 265 

eleventh eentiU!y as Saint Mark'Si almost conBtituted 
antiently a small city within a greater ; and hence it 
arose that, in the frequent political conyulsions by 
which Venice was torn in the early period of her 
history, the Ducal residence occupied so prominent a 
place, and that so much stress was laid by the revolu- 
tionists on the mastery of that situation. Hence, too, 
proceeded the statute of 976, which punished with no 
ordinary severity the authors of riots and disturbances 
in Saint Mark's, and which sought to provide a season-* 
able remedy for the evil, which had already come to so 
rank a growth in the Palace-Bevolutions of medieval 
France. 

The establishment of fixed principles for the regula- 
tion of the Household and Privy-Purse expenses of 
the Doge, cannot be referred with safety to a period 
anterior to the thirteenth century. But, neverthe-* 
less, there can be little hesitation in behoving that 
the supersession of the primitive method of sup- 
porting the dignity of the Crown, which prevailed in 
the time of Paolo Luca Anafesto and his immediate 
successors, occurred much earlier. At a later epoch, it 
became the practice to allow out of the Fisc a sum of 
8,000 lire (librce), per mensem, for the purpose of 
meetiDg the ordinary current expenditure of the 
Crown (1262). This money was placed in the office 
of the Procuratie of Saint Mark to the credit of the 
Doge and his Privy Council, who were authorized 
to draw upon this fond as occasion might require. 
Under ordinaiy circumstances, it was usual to prepare 



256 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf, xxv. 

a monthlyi or at least quarterly schednlei shewing in 
detail the items of expenditure, with the difference or 
excess ; and there is some reason to believe that this 
branch of the public accounts was regnlady audited 
at intervals of three months. During the reign of 
Beniero Zeno, therefore (1262-68), the total annual 
grant for a service which has been termed elsewhere, 
in a somewhat more extended sense, the Civil list, 
was 86,000 lire — a much smaller amount than the hire 
of the vessels which conveyed Saint Louis to Africa in 
1268 ; and a similar estimate might not improbably 
be found to apply in an equal degree to any given year 
of the thirteenth century. 

The jurisdiction of the Doge's Court (Carte Ducale)^ 
in which his Serenity himself, by a mere legal fiction, 
perhaps, officiated as President, and which had its 
sittings in the Palace, was not less extensive at and 
long after its foundation than the old English Curia 
orAida Regis^ which it resembled in another particular, 
namely, its liability to follow the Doge from one 
residence to another. Like all institutions of the kind 
in the middle ages, this Court united in its attributes 
the judicial and legislative capacities ; and the neces- 
sary consequence was, that a vast and indeed undefined 
authority was vested in that tribunal. Gradually, 
however, it lost this moveable quality, and its multi- 
fJEudous fdnctions were diverted into other channels by 
the creation of distinct and stationary Courts of Law. 
The office of Judex Communis^ or Judge of the Com- 
mune, was one of considerable antiquity. The name 



xxy.] EARLY HISTORY OP THE COMMON LAW. 267 

occurs SO Sbix back as the eighth centtuy ; and it is by 
no means unlikely that this magistrate was, among the 
Venetians of that day, the interpreter of a Common 
Law compounded, on the same principle as elsewhere, 
of immemorial customs and usages derived, for the 
most part, from those of the Yeneti, the Goths, and 
the Lombards : while, on the other hand, they were 
in a few instances nothing more than dormant or un- 
reclaimed portions of the Civil Law itself. At a com- 
paratively early date, a Criminal Court was established 
in the capital of the Republic, consisting of forty 
persons (who sat perhaps alternately or by rotation), 
and thence designated the Quarantu. Nor is it 
possible to believe that a State with a daily-increasing 
population, and a peculiarly deep interest in the 
prompt and effectual administration of justice, re- 
mained long without certain tribunals for the redress 
of civil injuries, defective as those tribunals were apt 
to be at the outset. As the aristocratic jealousy of the 
monarchical power of the Crown became in course of 
time more and more strong, the decline of the Ducal 
Court, and the gradual loss of many of the high and 
dangerous attributes with which it had been clothed in 
the first instance, would naturally be viewed by the Vene- 
tian Nobles, as a class, with more than complacency. 
The epoch in the Venetian annals, which witnessed 
the decay of the ambulatory Curia Duds and the 
partition of its more leading functions among several 
distinct and stationary tribunals, bears some analogy 
to that epoch in the history of English progress, which 
VOL. IV* 46 



268 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chat. 

i;ntnessed the establishment of the Common Pleas at 
Westminster; and it is instractiYe to contrast the 
different influence which the same conrt exercised in 
the two comitries. In England, it favoured the first 
growth of popular institutions. At Venice, it laid the 
first foundation of the patrician and oligarchical 
government I 

While the Ducal Court still continued to be a Court 
of Circuit, the practice was, that his Serenity or his 
representatives should make a progress through the 
Dogado at stated intervals by water, and should dis- 
embark at the dwelling of any citizen, where previous 
notice had been given of a wish to go to law on some 
civil question. If it was summer, the case was heard 
under the portico of the mansion; in the colder seasoUt 
the Court probably adjourned to one of the apartments. 
After the Eevolution of 1172, an usage arose that, 
whenever the Doge presided in person, a fine should 
be paid into Court by one or both of the litigants, as 
a guarantee against bad faith, and that the amount 
should be recoverable by appeal to the Great Council. 
The violent end of Michieli HE., and the perturbed 
condition of the Bepublic at that period, will explain 
such a custom. 

The Domestic Establishment, which the Doge was 
expected to maintain, was not framed in the first 
instance on a veiy large or expensive scale. It con- 
sisted of a staff of twenty servants (sem), inclusively 
of those who were employed in the culinary depart- 
ment. It is illustrative of the minute detail to which 



xrr.] EAELY CONSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION. 259 

the early Venetian Constitution descended, that 
whenever a domestic quitted the service, it was one 
of the minor obligations^ imposed on the Doge by 
his Coronation-Oath, not to leave the place mi- 
sapplied beyond a month from the creation of the 
vacancy. 

A privileged Body, denominated the Exousati del 
DucATO,* whose origin was probably coeval with the 
Dogate itself, attended the First Magistrate on all 
occasions of public solemnity ; they formed his retinue 
and guard of honour. The number of the Excusati 
exceeded not 200, of whom 180 were ordinarily on duty 
in the interior of the Palace ;^ and the division of the 
body into Maggwri and Minori implied a claim, on 
its part, to certain valuable franchises, among which 
were included a partial exemption from the payment of 
tithes, and a free grant of land. 

' Si qpjis (servufi) defecerit yel Fecesserit a nostzo seryitio bonft fide sine 
fraude, aUum suo loco infrft unum meDsem recuperare debemiu — Pro' 
mission of (he Doge Oiacomo Tiepolo^ A.i>. 1229 (presso Romanin). 

* The Ezciuati (ezeosed) of the Bepnblic, bore some likenesB to the 
Excusadi of Spain ; the Scotiah Archers of Louis XI. ; the Y arangians of 
Ckmstantinople ; and the Yeomen of the Gnard of Henry VII. of 
England. 

» " TroTO," says Sansovino {VeneHa DescnttOf vi. 242 : ed. 1668, 4<>), 
^ in una antica scrittnra queste rubiiche : 

Excosati de Muriano'et eormn nomina, et Bont 44 
Excusati de Mazzorbo et isti sunt de 
Majoribus (Maggiori) ... ... et sunt 23 

Excusati de Torcello etsunt 9 

Excusati de Ck)8tanciaco etsunt 19 

Excusati de Priorattl LoToli etsunt 19 

Haec sunt nomina Excusatorum, qui ser- 

viunt in Falatio ... ••• ... et sunt 124 

Nomina EzcQsatonnn Nostril Palatii ... etsunt 198 

46—2 



260 HISTOEY OP VENICE. [chap. 

By his Coronation-Oath his Serenity was specially 
bound to hold in respect the privileges and immnnities 
of the Excusati; to refrain^ unless sufficient canse 
conld be shown to the contraiy, from hindering the 
members of the Corps in the exercise of any Trade or 
Art J to which they might have been called ; and not 
to exact from them any service whatever beyond such 
as. was prescribed by the laws and traditional usages of 
the Dogado/ 

Each Island was required to provide a fixed number 
of barks and gondoUers, for the service of the Doge, 
who employed them in the transport of merchandize 
from one point to another, or as a means of convey- 
ance, whenever he might feel disposed to proceed on 
a visit to an adjoining island. 

The Doge used to rise early. His first duty was 
attendance at the service of Mass, which was performed 
eveiy morning m his own private chapel; and he 
afterward proceeded to apply his attention to his 
magisterial functions. Accompanied by his notary 
who, in those unlettered ages, was ahnost invariably 
a churchman, he either presided over his own Court 
at the Palace, or, if no cases of importance happened 
to be pending there, he was present at the sittings of 
one of the other tribunals, or of the Pladtum Publicunit 



* De Ezcusatis Nostri Ducatus nullum fiervitium amplius inquircre 
debeftmu8| nisi quantum Nostris predecessoribus per bonam consuc- 
tudinem in Nostro Palatio fecerunt ; et quandocumque peigere yoluerint 
ad negociandum negocia sua, absque omni contradictione peigere debeant, 
nisi per Nos remanserit, et per miyorem partem Concilii' Nostri aut per 
publicam interdictum.— iVi^m. of Tiepohj 1229 (presso Bomanin). 



XXV.] THE DOGE AND HIS ATTRIBUTES. 261 

which used to be held like that of the Bomans and 
Lombards under the open sky. It was a characteristic 
which the Doge had in common with the Rulers of all 
nascent States, that he combined in his own person 
the chief judicial with the chief executiye and even 
legislatiye authority. From time to time, he was in 
the habit of paying a visit of inspection and inquiry 
to the several islands, which lay around the capital, in 
order that he might be in a position to check abuses, 
and to prevent any arbitrary stretches of power on the 
part of the Tribunes and other subordinate members 
of the Government. Occasionally it was his practice 
to shew himself formally in public, and to give his 
benediction to the assembled people; and when it 
happened that the fulfilment of his multifarious 
avocations admitted relaxation and mental repose, 
his Serenity sometimes took gondola, and followed 
the chase in the woods of Loredo. 

In the infancy of the Bepublic, the Doge was held 
to be the Fountain and Mirror of Justice; and not 
only was any question, which a Judge of the Com- 
mune might feel himself incompetent to decide, refera- 
ble in the last resort to the Throne, but in all instances, 
where a suitor or a prisoner might have reasonable 
grounds for disputing a judicial award, aright of appeal 
lay in the same quarter. An exception, indeed, cannot 
but seem to have existed to the general rule in the 
case of the Judges of the Palace who, forming the 
Gorte Ducale, or Curia Ducis, over which his Serenity 
himself was in the habit of presiding, were necessarily 



262 mSTOET OF VENICE. [CHAF. 

final in their judgments. There conld hardly be an 
appeal to the Doge from the Doge. It was from the 
Curia Duels that flowed for the most part the legal 
and judicial doctrines, which constituted the Common 
Law of Venice. 

Even in the earliest times, the Ducal costume^ was 
not without splendour. The Berretta (Beretum) or 
Bonnet, which seems to have borne a close resemblance 
to the diadem of the Kings of antient Phiygia, was a 
high round cap, of conical form, not nnflimilar to the 
episcopal mitre : it was composed of rich materials, 
most frequently of crimson or purple yelvet ; the apex 
was studded with pearls or precious stones, and it was 
surmounted by a plain rim of gdd.^ Underneath the 
Berretta, the chief magistrate wore a white linen coif, 
in order that, as a mark of the peculiarly exalted 
dignity of his office, his head might remam covered, 
when the bonnet itself was removed. A doublet of red 
velvet, with straight sleeves tapering toward the wrist, 
and a high collar, was in part hidden by an outer 
mantle sometimes curiously figured, which descended 
almost to the feet, with a border of gold fringe and a 
small circular clasp of gold. A sable cape, red stock- 
ings, and shoes of a somewhat primitive pattern, com- 
pleted his attire. In the drawing from which the 
present description is borrowed, the hands are not 

^ The drawing of An Antient Doge is copied from Mutinelli {Del 
K'hstume Veneziano : 1831). 

* The Berretta was at last made so weighty, that the Doge seldom wore 
it. Toward the middle of the fourteenth centuiy, the Frocoraton of 
Saint Mark were chai^ to remedy this evil. 




A DOQE OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 
(^From MuTiNELLi.) 



XEY.-] THE DOGE— ms COSTUME. 268 

gloved. On festivals and solemn occasions, the Doge 
was even more magnificentiy clad. His brows were 
encircled by a gold crown blazing with jewels. His 
donblet and cloak were of cloth-of-gold. Before him 
a page carried a cushion of the same material^ and a 
Venetian of gentle blood bore the Sword of State.^ 

Subsequently to the twelfth century, the whole 
costume, and the form of the Berretta or Oobno 
especially, underwent several variations; and, so far as 
the headdress itself was concerned, those variations 
were, to some extent, symbolical of the changes which, 
at successive periods, affected the authority of the 
Chief Magistrate. As the personal power and influ- 
ence of the latter gradually suffered a decline, the 
Crown gradually lost that conical form and that 
sacred type, which it possessed in the primitive times, 
when Venice boasted some similitude to a patriarchal 
government, and her Doge was the Father of the 
People!* 

S6 littie is known of the Badoer and Sanudo 
dynasties of Venetian Doges, that they seem to belong 
to at! Age of Fable rather than to an Age of Histoiy. 
They are nearly as legendary as the monarchs of the 
early Anglo-Saxon period. Their existence is airy 
and incorporeal. They come and depart like phan- 
toms. Their antecedents and character are equally 

* M. da Canale, Cronaca Veneta (seritta 1267) ; Arch, Stor, Ital. yiii. 
278. 

* Fietro Giostmiani (Istorie^ lib. i. edit. 1560) ; Retpublicm CansiUuHoy 
fol. 29 (Harl. MSS. 4743) ; Sansovino ( Venetia DescrUta^ lib. zi paasim) ; 
Filiad {Menwrie Stonche^ T. 180, 190, 301). 



264 HISTORY OP VENICE, [chaf. 

hidden from onr knowledge ; and their portraits/ which 
have been handed down, are probably no less apociy- 
phal than those of the first line of Scotish Kings. 
They enter the stage, clothed with all the virtues which 
should adorn their exalted station, live their day, and 
after a certain lapse of time, retire into a convent, or 
succnmb to a faction. Thus they leave no enduring 
impression behind them; and the attempt to know 
something more of these mythical and shadowy per- 
sonages than their warlike achievements, to acquire 
an insight into their eveiy-day life, and to obtain a 
glimpse of their human instincts and sympathies, must 
be abandoned from a sheer conviction of its hopeless- 
ness. We seek living men, and we find statues ! 

Venice was almost from the beginning a place of 
universal resort, the Goshen of Italy. At Venice was to 
be purchased every article of use, luxury, or omamoit. 
Here might be found shopkeepers, manu£Eu^urers and 
contractors of every class, who were ready to execute 
orders of any description. On her quays, captains of 
vessels were continually waiting to receive cargoes and 
passengers. In those streets, sailors and mechanics, 
the workmen at the glass-fdmaces, and the operatives 
at the Arsenal, busy townfolk, and curious strangers, 
were to be seen at all times hurrying to and fro in a 



> Serie de' Dogi di Ven&xiauUagUad m rame da Antonio Nam; Yeoeaa, 
1840f foL The portraits of the Doges, fix>m Anafesto downward, are also 
found in Fougasse (Oeneral HiUorie of the Magmficeni State of Vemce; 
Englished by W, Shute: Lond., 6. £ld^ 1612, foL 2 yols.); and in 
Yianoli (Historia Veneta; 1680-1: 2 yols.) Upon the latter, Nani 
professes to haye partly based his work. 



xxT.] MEDIEVAL VENICE— HER HOTELS. 265 

confiised throng from the break of day, when the Bell 
at the Campanile (beneath which were the comiters 
of the money-changers) Bnmmoned the artificers in 
the employment of Goyemment to their laboniBi till 
sonset. 

The floating population of such a City was of course 
enormous. Multitudes were constantly arriying or^ on 
their departure.^ Whether the visitor to Venice was a 
pilgrim, who desired to take his passage in a vessel 
bound for the Holy Land, or a foreign merchant, who 
had come to attend the Fair at Murano, or some devout 
person, who wished to join in the celebration of the 
Feast of Corpus-Christi, it mattered little. On land- 
ing at the Piazza of Saint Mark, he was sure of 
meeting with one of the Commissaries (Sensali or 
Messeti^)^ who were bound to be in constant attend- 
ance on that spot, and whom he engaged to provide 
him with a lodging, to change his money, and to 
perform any other service which he might require. 
It was the business of the Commissary to protect his 
employer against fraudulent innkeepers, and to caution 
him against the deceitfrd practices of sea-captains : if 
he was detected in an act of dishonesty, or in a dere- 
liction of his duty, or if he was charged with a misde- 
meanor of any kind, the Messeto was liable to a penalty 
of not less than half a ducat. It was the province of a 
particular department of the Public Service (Messet- 

' Saniido Tonello. (LeUer to the ArchbUhop of Ravenna^ March, 1326 ; 
G. D. per Francos, ii. 804). 
* Marin (r. 181). 



266 mSTOEY OP VENICE. [chap. 

aria^) to take cognizance of the proceedings of this 
body of officials, as well as to examine and regulate 
the charges of hostehies, and, generally, to see that no 
imposition was practised with impunity on nnsnspecting 
travellers. The Commissary was under oath to accept 
or solicit employment only at the hands of strangers, 
or of members of the Venetian clergy and nobility. 

The Venetian Hotels were very antient and veiy 
celebrated. The leading estabUshments of this kind 
in the fourteenth century were the Moon, the White 
Lmif and the Wild Savage. The first-named was 
flourishing in 1819, the second, in 1324; and the 
*<Wild Savage" was a famous resort for travellers, 
who could afford to pay well, in the time of the Doge 
Andrea Contarini (1368). In the following century, 
the Pilgrim^ the Little Horsey the Capello, and the 
Bizza, are mentioned in the Books of the Procuratie 
of Saint Mark. In 1484, the concourse of strangers 
at a tournament, held in that year, was so vast, that 
all the hotels were filled, and permission was given to 
private householders to let their apartments furnished. 
After 1280, and perhaps earUer, it became the business 
of the FoHce to take care by personal inspection that 
hotel-keepers provided proper beds and clean sheets 
and coverlets, and duly attended to the comforts of 
their visitors.^ 

There were many posts which were less lucrative 



^ The Buperviedon of aU mercantile contracts likewise came within the 
cognizance of this Department. — Marin (v. 181). 
' Bomanin (iy. 492). 



xxT.] MEDIEVAL yENIGE--H£R FAIRS. 267 

than that of Sensale. Not a single day elapsed without 
witnessiiig the landing of a large number of persons at 
the Piazza on business of various kinds. Sometimes 
it happened that an ambassador and his suite came, 
and wished to secure berths in a vessel about to 
leave for Constantinople. From time to time, a Boyal 
or Pontifical visit, or a Coronation, or Ducal wedding, 
was the means of providing profitable employment for 
every Commissary in the City. But the cause, which 
more than any other contributed to swell the fioatmg 
population, was the periodical recurrence of Fairs and 
Holy Festivals, when the gathering of strangers from 
every part of the adjoining Terra-Ferma was beyond all 
beUef. One year, during the reign of Pietro Tradenigo 
(860), was recollected, when the frost was so severe, 
that the visitors to the annual fairs were able to cross on 
foot, or come in carriages, instead of employing boats. 
From those twin scourges of the Middle Ages, 
Plague and Famine, which were largely due to an 
ignorance of agriculture, to the slowness of inter- 
communication, and to the stagnation of trade, even 
Venice herself enjoyed not an exemption. Her expe- 
riences of them, though less severe, were &r from 
being uncommon. It was only as the ^irit of com- 
mercial enterprise, which the Italian Republics fos- 
tered, and to which the Crusades gave an undoubted 
stimulus, was gradually developed in Europe, that 
those frightfdl visitations of pestilence and hunger, 
with the recitals of which the pages of Eadmer and 
Gleber abound, when men forgot their humanity and 



268 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

blasphemed their Creator^ sensibly diminished in fre- 
quency and horror. 

The Goyemment was perpetually adopting some 
fresh precaution against epidemics. During the 
Plague of 1348, a Committee of three Sages had been 
deputed to concert all necessary and possible measures 
for arresting the evil; and in 1423 the first Lazza- 
retto was established. The successive developments, 
which this novel and admirable Institution received, 
greatly helped to improve the health of the Capital, 
and to diminish the rate of mortaUty. In 1467, 
larger accommodation for a£Biicted persons having been 
demanded, a Hospital with 100 wards was built at 
the public expense, in a vineyard belonging to the 
Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore; and this building 
became known as the New Lazzaretto.^ In the same 
spirit, every species of conunercial roguery was brought 
within the pale of the law. A heavy penalty attended 
the exposure for sale, or even the attempted introduc- 
tion into the City, of meat unfit for human food; justice 
had its terrors for the vintner, who endeavoured to 
pahn upon his customers some nondescript compound 
as the finest growth of the Marches or as undoubted 
Malvasia (Malmsey) ; and it went hard with any con- 
fectioner, who was detected in putting chalk into his 
sugarplums, or adulterating his maraschino. Of her 
project of sanitary reform the Signory never allowed 
herself to lose sight. In 1459, the Board of Health, 
which had been already organized from time to time, 

' Romanin (ir. cap. 6). 



xxY.] MEDIEVAL VENICE— THE FLAGUE. 269 

as occasion required, was rendered virtually' a per- 
manent branch of the administration ; and somewhat 
later, a species of Highway and General PoUce-Act, 
in the shape of Begolations for keeping the streets and 
thoronghbres in a state of cleanliness, for the clear- 
ance of all offal, putrefying substances and rubbish 
from the footpaths, was promulgated. These regula- 
tions were framed with such extraordinary attention 
to the minutest and most trifling details, that they 
acquired in process of time European celebrity, and 
furnished a model so recently as the eighteenth century 
for the Dutch Bepublic. 

One of the most memorable visitations of the pesti- 
lence, subsequently to the *^ Black Death" of 1348, was 
that which was experienced at Venice in 1447. So power- 
ful was the dread of contagion, that altars were erected 
in the streets, and mass was celebrated in the open air. 
Fires were kept continually burning to purify the atmo- 
sphere; braziers of scented woods were employed with a 
similar object; processions were made in eveiy quarter; 
every effort was used to deprecate the supposed wrath 
of the Almighty ; and a hymn was composed, which the 
people sang aloud in the streets and on the Canals : — 

'* Alto Re della gloria, 
Cazad via sta* moria; 
Per la yostra Fassione, 
Abbiane miaericordia I " ' 

' It was not formally declared to be aach till 1485. See Domenigo 
Malipiero {Anmli Veneti, 055). The printed copy {Arch. Stor, Ital. 
yiL 137) was abridged, and there the passage does not occur. 

* t>. queita, 

' Cronica Erizzo^ MS. in the Marcian Museum, quoted by Bomanin 
(iY.482)- 



270 mSTORT OP VENICE. [CHAP. 

No expedient was neglected, which tended to add to 
the general safety and comfort. During the prevalence 
of an epidemic in the neighbouring citieSi no meat, 
fish or wine was admitted into Venice, until it had 
undergone a regular process of disinfection. The 
most anxious care was exhibited to secure for metro- 
politan use the sweetest and most wholesome water ; 
and subsequently to the fifteenth century the entire 
supply was derived fi*om the Brenta. The highways 
were preserved in a &ultless condition ; no impurities 
were suffered to offend the eye or the nose ; smoky 
chimneys, as well as noxious smells, were pro- 
hibited ; and it was illegal to pollute the Canals, 
which were periodically dredged to check the stealthy 
accretion of mud and slime firom the continuous 
deposits of the Brenta, the Adige, the Have and the 
Po itself. 

From the opening of her independent career, Venice 
abounded with pious and jcharitable institutions. By 
his will, made in 977, Orseolo the Holy left funds for 
the erection of a Hospital. The Doge Marino Giorgio 
founded an asylum for outcast or destitute children. 
A surgeon, named Gualtieri, established a Befuge for 
the indigent, and a Home for disabled or superan- 
nuated sailors ; a building, known as the Misericordia, 
was endowed by Giacomo More for poor women ; and 
a Magdalen at Saint Christopher-the-Martyr, by Bar- 
tolomeo Verde, for penitent females. During the reign 
of Bartolomeo Gradenigo (1339-42) , the Foundling, 
or The PietUf had its rise; and in 1349, an Orphan 



xxT.] MEDIEVAL VENICE— HER HOSPITALS. 271 

Honsd was to be seen at San Gianbattista, at the 
Gindecca. Moreover, periodical distributions of alms 
and poor-relief took place, both on the part of the 
GoTemment and on that of individuals. Among the 
aims of Venetian benevolence and philanthropy, the 
exertions, which were constantly made to alleviate the 
sufferings of prisoners of war, must always be remem- 
bered. At the same time, by a law of the Great Coun- 
cil, passed in 1800, street-begging was interdicted; the 
officers of the Signori di Notte were ordered to take all 
mendicants, and to convey them to the Hospitals. 

In a mercantile City, of which the houses were con- 
structed for the most part exclusively of timber, the Car- 
penters necessarily formed one of the most numerous 
and important classes of mechanics at Venice ; in point 
of fact, they enjoyed a pre-eminence in both these re- 
spects. Of the followers of this calling, there existed 
^thin the Dogado two separate and distinct bodies ; 
the one was composed of those who confined their 
attention to the ordinary duties of the trade ; the other 
consisted of such as were employed in the Public 
Arsenal and Dockyard, in the capacity of shipwrights. 
The latter occupied, of course, the higher and more 
eligible position. 

Until the period arrived, when wood fell into disuse 
for purposes of building, and a demand was made for 
less rude^ and less inflammable material, Bricklayers 
and Stonemasons were in little request ; and indeed 
till the commencement of the twelfth century they 
were rarely employed except in the construction of 



272 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

cathedral churches or edifices of great pretension. In 
827| when one of the Byzantine Emperors restored in 
stone, at his own expense, the Chnrch of San Zaccaiia 
which had been accidentally destroyed by fire, he sent 
from Constantinople an architect and a body of opera- 
tives, most probably from a desire to adopt in the new 
structure a style of architecture, with which the Greeks 
were more familiar than the Venetians. 

One of the points, to which the Venetians directed 
their earliest attention, was the institution of Oigan 
Manufactories, which were known before the close of 
the eighth centuiy,^ and the establishment of Brass 
and Iron Foundries. The introduction of the former 
was due to a certam priest Gregorio, who is said to 
have brought the knowledge of the mode of construc- 
tion from Constantinople, where the art of organ- 
building was then in high repute. *^ About the same 
time," writes the diy but accurate Dandolo (880-1), 
<Uhe Doge Orso Badoer (Badoer IV.) was made a 
Protospatarius by the Greek Emperor ; and in recog- 
nition of the honour which he had just received, he 
sent to Constantinople, as a gift to BasiHus, twelve 
large bells, and from that time forth the Greeks used 
bells!"' This passage satisfactorily establishes the 
existence at Venice of Brass or Iron Foundries, or 



> A.D. 826. " With Baldrico," says Eginard {Opera, i. 382), " there 
came hither a certain priest of Venice, named George, who said that he 
knew how to constmct an oigan ; and the Emperor (Louis the Fiona) 
sent him to Aix-k-Chapelle, and desired that aU the necessaiy materials 
should he given to him.** — Vita Caroli Magni, 

* Blondus {De Origwe et OesHi Venetarum^ 7 edit. 1481). 



XXV.] IROXFOUNDERS AND IRONTOUNDRIES. 273 

both, during the reign of Badoer IV. ; and it is highly 
probable that their first introduction into the Bepublic 
was an event of prior date. Nor, indeed, viewed in 
connexion with the extensive and increasing demand 
for iron itself in its wrought and manufactured state, 
which the Venetians had, so far back as the reign of 
Badoer I. (809-27) and his son Giustmiani (827-9), 
firom many foreign countries, more especially from the 
Saracens and other warlike nations, as well as with 
the manifold uses to which the article might be made 
applicable at home, will the antiquity thus claimed for 
the Venetian Foundries appear unreasonable. In later 
times, the Corporation of Ironfounders acquired social 
influence and note by its importance and number. 
It had its peculiar franchises and its own Prefect or 
Gastaldo. The historian Sagominus, who flourished 
under the reigns of Ottone Orseolo, Pietro Barbolano, 
and Domenigo Flabenigo (1008-43), was a Master of 
this Craft ; and in the precious Memorials of his own 
Times ^ which he has left behind him, he has inserted 
a passage which conclusively shews that the members 
of the Guild were bound to work so much iron 
annually as their contribution to the support of the 
Ducal Fisc, which is known to have been the fond 
from which all the expenses of the Government used 
to be defrayed. 

Comparatively speaking, the Iron Trade opened 
to the BepubUc during the middle ages the same 
source of profit as it at present affords to the English 

> Sagorniniu {Chr.: edit. 1765). 
VOL. IV. 47 



274 HISTOBT OP VENICE. [chat. 

nation. But, apart from any relative increase in 
the demand for the article and the supply, a wide 
discrepancy existed between the position of the two 
conntries in this respect. At Yenicei iron was simply 
a manufacturei not a product ; and the Venetians did 
not possess facilities for converting the trade into a 
monopoly. The probability is, that when the present 
of twelve bells was made to the Byzantine Court in 
880-1, the art was in a somewhat advanced stage of 
improvement ; it was only a few years later that the 
general structure of the celebrated Campanile was 
brought to completion (888-900), and that the Tower 
was made ready to receive the Great Bell. The latter, 
the metal of which was expressly cast for the purpose, 
was of stupendous bulk and diameter in the estimation 
of that age ; and there can be no doubt that it long 
continued to be accounted one of the wonders of the 
City. It was viewed by the saunterers on the Eialto 
in the days of Ketro Tribune (888-912) with intelli- 
gible feelings of pride and admiration. 

Of manufactures, those of glass,^ and cloths-of-gold 
and purple dye, were at once the most antient, the 
most extensive, and the most celebrated. The trade 
in cloths-of-gold in the form of manties or PaUi^ 
for either sex, was prodigious ; and the profit arising 
to the Venetians from this source alone were incalcu- 
lably large. The Courts of France and Germany, and 

' It seems to be supposed that the cracifix painted on glass, and bearing 
the date 1177, in the Church of the Dominicans at Treviso, is of 
Venetian manufacture. 



xxvO HOUSES. 275 

more particnlarly the former^ were among the best 
customers of the Bepnblic« Charlemagne himgelf was 
seldom seen without a robe of Venetian pattern and 
teztnre; and the constant intercourse which the 
Patriarch Fortunato maintained with the son of 
Pepiiii had at least the good effect of spreading the 
knowledge and appreciation of the manufactures of 
his country to the banks of the Seine and the Loire. 
It was a point of policy which the Bepublic steadily 
observed from the begimiing, to make every extension 
of t^ritory, every treaty of peace^ beneficial to her 
mterests as a mercantile Power. 

The houses of the early Venetians exhibited some 
points of resemblance to the Boman buildings at 
Pompeii. They were constructed, howeveri for the 
most part of wood; and fir, larch, and elder were the 
three descriptions of timber in principal use. The 
house, which was not uncommonly one-storied,' seldom 
exceeded two stories exclusively of the Liago or 
Heliacofii a terrace or balcony at the top of the build- 
ing, where the imnates were accustomed to resort in 
the evening, namely, the basement, or Terreno, on which 
were the kitchen o£Sces and the Armoury, and the upper 
story, which contained the sleeping and sitting apart* 
menfs.' Every establishment of any pretension was 
provided with a well, an oven and a bakeiy. The 
supply of fresh water to the metropolis was obtained 
from the Brenta, and was at that time abundant ; the 

' Zanetti (Deir Origine di aJcune Artipreuo U Venitziani, 78^). 
* Mttiinelli (Atmalij p. 12); id. {Costume Venexiano, p. 49). 

47—2 



270 HISTORY OF VENICE, [chap- 

well from which it was raised was sunk, as at Pompeii, 
in the outer court ; and near at hand was a cistern, 
where a sufficient quantity of rain was usually pre- 
served for the use of the family. The water from 
the latter was allowed to filter into the well, it heing 
thought that filtered rain-water was an improving 
ingredient in that which was drawn from the river. 

On entering a house of the better class through the 
ample portico, the first object which met the eye was 
an outer court, leading into a vestibule, from which a 
staircase Conducted to the second story. The latter, 
in addition to the dormitories, contained the principal 
sitting-room, along the walls of which were ranged 
curiosities of art, armour, weapons, and other funily 
relics — ^the sword which a Michieli used at Jaffa, or 
the spurs which a Dandolo wore at Constantinople. 
It was a large quadrangular apartment, of which the 
sides were covered with leather, embossed with gilt 
arabesques ; or, if the family was particularly wealthy 
and extravagant, with silken tapestry, brocaded with 
silver. 

From the sitting and sleeping apartments you 
ascended to the LiagOj which was closed on three sides, 
and open only on that which had a southern aspect, 
and enjoyed the morning sun. The roof was flat, and 
composed of rafters, instead of being vaulted like that 
of the Boman edifices. 

In the dwellings of the poor, the floor of the room 
consisted of common paving-stones, strown with sand 
or with rushes, as elsewhere ; but the remains which 



Kv,] HOUSES— CHDINETS. 277 

have been exhumed of cement pavement^ shew that 
that material was ofben applied to a similar object in 
more fashionable residences; and marble was occa- 
sionally employed. 

It is capable of proof that chimneys were by no 
means uncommon during the reign of Domenigo 
Contarini (1043-71) even in the habitations of the 
middle classes,* The earthquake of 1282, which com- 
mitted the most terrible damage in many quarters of 
Venice, was fatal to a very large proportion of those 
in the metropolis. The Venetian Gamminij which 
were generally in the kitchen' of the residence, were 
in the first instance of the rudest possible structure, 
especially in the humbler abodes, the inmates of which 
contented themselves with the hollowed trunk of a 
tree, or even with a bamboo, as a conductor for the 
smoke. Nevertheless their simple existence must be 
treated as one of the marks of the superior civiliza- 
tion of medieval Venice. For elsewhere such appli- 
ances, in any form or aspect, continued till the four- 
teenth century to be of the rarest occurrence;^ and it 
is hardly an exaggeration to say that during a very 
long course of years a larger number of chimneys 
might have been counted in the Dogado than in the 
whole remainder of Italy. It was to the faulty struc- 
ture and inflammable material of the Cammino which, 
like every other portion of the house, was formed prior 
to the Great Fire of 1106 entirely of timber or bark, 

* Filiasi (JRicerche^ p. 163). ' Zanetti {Origine di alcune Arti, 78). 
' 2^etti (p. 79). They were not introduoed into Rome tiU 1368. 



278 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

that the origin was tmdonbtedly due of many of the 
Innumerable conflagrations which desolated the metro- 
polis between the fifth and twelfth centuries. 

It is believed that the Veneti Primi carried with 
them into the Lagoons a knowledge of the manu- 
facture of glass, with which both the Greeks and 
Bomans were conversant. It is well known that 
glazed windows, although far from common, and 
regarded as a luxurious trait, were well known at 
Pompeii. From the wording of a decree, which passed 
the Legislature on the 17th October, 1276, the two- 
fold inference may be drawn that the manufacture was 
at that time in a flourishing condition, and that the 
BepubUc felt an anxiety to convert it, so far as might 
be practicable, into a monopoly ; and it is to be recol- 
lected that, among the Companies which joined in the 
Procession of the Trades at the Coronation of Lorenzo 
Tiepolo (1268) the Glass-Blowers occupied a pro- 
minent place. The professors of this Art were at first 
sufiered to fix themselves in any part of the City, for 
which they might feel a preference, or which was most 
suitable to their purpose ; and the earliest measure, 
having a tendency to change the practice, was in 1297, 
in which year appeared a species of manifratto against 
the continuance of glass-furnaces in the metropolis 
itself. But, that this prohibition was not strictly 
regarded, is sufficiently shown by the fact that, in 
1821 a celebrated Minorite, Fra Paolino,^ still pos- 

■ Author of a Treatise written in 1814, or thereaboat, entitled De 
Recto Begimine. V. v^fira^ chap. xxvL 



XXV.] GLASS-FURNACES— GARDENS. 279 

Bessed a property of that kind in Bialto ; and it was 
not until the latter part of the fourteenth century that 
the whole collection of scattered furnaces was trans- 
ferred to Murano, and that the latter place became the 
exclusiye seat of the manufacture. The institution 
of the commercial faiTi which was held at Murano 
for the mutual convenience of buyers and sellerSi 
was a custom, however, which was probably in force 
long before. 

Amid their graver callings, the Venetians were dis- 
tinguished by a passion for three objects — music, 
birds, and flowers ; and few houses were without a 
garden and an aviary, in the former of which flower- 
beds and avenues of fruit-trees were agreeably diversi- 
fied with shrubberies of cedar, cypress and laurel. In- 
the gardens which belonged to the wealthier class, 
exotic plants became not uncommon, when the Cru- 
sades had rendered Europeans fiamiliar with Oriental 
botany ; and a crystal fountain, which sometimes wad to 
be seen playing in the centre, completed the picturesque 
effect of the landscape. The orchard of San Giorgio 
Maggiore, the vineyard of San Zaccaria, the olive-yards 
of Amiano, and the aviary of San Job, enjoyed during 
the middle ages peculiar celebrity. Among private 
grounds, those of Tribuno Memo, at San Marcuola, in 
the ward of Oanal-reggio, were most famous at the 
dose of the tenth century ; and it is possible that if 
the noble owner had had the wisdom to keep aloof 
from poUtics, and to have spent his time in grafting 
his roses and pruning his apple-trees, his contempo- 



280 HISTORY OF VENICE, [chat, 

raries would have been contented with applauding his 
elegant taste as an amateur horticulturist, and Memo, 
instead of taking refuge in a cloister, might have closed 
his eyes among the flowers and verdure which he loved 
so much. 

It is the remark of Sansovino, that in times of the 
highest antiquity the citizens of the BepubUc judici- 
ously adopted a style of attire, which harmonized with 
the simplicity of their manners and the soberness of 
their carriage. ^* Originally/' he continues, *'ihe 
Fathers (i Padn)^ being strongly attached to religion, 
on which they based all their actions, and anxious to 
educate their children in the observance of virtue, the 
true foundation of all human affairs, as well as in the 
love of peace, had recourse to a species of costume 
suitable to their gravity, and such as might indicate 
modesty and respect. They were filled by a solicitude 
to do no wrong to any man, and to Hve in quiet with 
all ; and they desired to make this solicitude apparent 
not in their manner only, but in their garb also ! " 

The dress of the men among the common classes 
was merely a sky-blue frock with narrow sleeves con- 
fined at the wrist; and their headgear with the rest 
of their habiliments was probably of a no less simple 
character, and subject to Uttle variation. 

The senators^ usually appeared in a long robe 
with ample folds, and furnished with open sleeves. 



' Fabio Mutinelli (Del CoHume Veneziano^ Saggio^ 1831); Sanflovino 
( Venetia Descritta^ lib. x.) The drawing of an AnUeni Senator is copied 
from Mutinelli. 




A SENATOR OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 
{From MuxnfELLi.) 



XXV.] DRESS— ITS RELIGIOUS SPIRIT. 281 

which were variously termed Dogaline and Ducali; 
the colonr chosen, if not black, was azure (turchino) , 
of which the Venetians were passionately fond. In 
wet or cold weather it was customary to fasten the 
large sleeves round the wrist with strings, which was 
called wearing them a Gomeo; but the younger men 
who disdained this effeminate precaution perhaps, and 
never used strings, were said to wear them a Dogalina. 
The sleeve was generally ornamented with a double 
row of buttons, one of which, running in a transverse 
direction, made with the other a species of Cross. 
The cap, which was most frequently composed of black 
or red velvet, was in form triangular, with two silken 
fillets as strings, meeting cruciformally in front across 
the forehead. 

There was a certain religious spirit entering into 
the costume of those early times. Not satisfied with 
raising memorials of the Crucifixion in their churches 
and their dwellings, the Venetians carried such memo- 
rials also on their persons ; they symbolized the Pas- 
sion in the sleeves of their dresses and the ribbons of 
their hats. Even their choice of colour discovered 
the same tendency and principle. For they gave 
the preference to that hue, which resembled the 
blue vault above them, and the blue expanse around 
them I This predilection seems to have grown pro- 
verbial, and the cerulean tint, which the ocean pre- 
sents in its shallower parts, acquired the name of the 
Venetian colour.^ 

' Diswrtazumc EpUtolare sapra il Veneto Colore : Yen. 1772 ; 12^. 



282 msTORT OF Venice. [chap. 

Above the inner robe was ordinarily thrown a long 
mantle or oloak, which descended nearly to the feet. 
To this cloak was in most cases attached a hood^ 
which might be drawn at pleasure over the head, 
or allowed to hang down the back or over one 
shoulder. The waist was commonly encircled by a 
wide band of velvet or other material (in mourning 
black velvet always) » which served the twofold purpose 
of a girdle for the dress, and a belt for the weapon 
which then formed an indispensable part of the cos- 
tume. High leathern shoes, which Obnspired with the 
flowing vest to hide the red stockings, complete the 
description of a Venetian Senator or Nobleman of the 
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 

The dress varied according to the seasons/ as well 
as the personal taste of the wearer. But, at the same 
time, the mantle was very seldom seen without a fur* 
lining : in summer, ermine, iu winter, furs of fox and 
squirrel, were preferred ; and the number of skins of 
animals of this kind, preserved m the dwellings of 
the rich, was barely credible. 

'The ladies were distinguished by the intelligence 
of their character, the sprightliness and vivacity of 
their wit, their fondness for music, their talkative* 
ness, their coaxing ways, and their love of spruce 
clothes. *^ Ladies of Venice," says Gianni Alfani, a 
poet of the thirteenth century,* " I wish to sing with 

1 See Fulgore da San Geminiano, a.d. 1260 (SonetHde' Men; PoeH 
del Prvmo Secohy ii. 172, Oewutio), 
* Poeii del Primo Secolo deUa Lingua ItaHanOt ii 420. 



zxT.] VENETIAN LADIES. . 288 

you of my mistreBSi because she is adorned by eveiy 
Yirtae and chann, which are resplendent m you I" 
Their extrayagance in dress necessitated the promul- 
gation of a series of somptnary edicts, commencing at 
least so far back as the year 1803.' But these edicts 
were of small efficacy. By one, which passed in 1860, 
matrons were restricted to sixty pounds' worth of 
ornaments, and unmarried women to a moiety of that 
amount. Yet hi 1428, at a Ball giyen in honour of 
Don Pedro of Portugal, then at Venice, there were 
120 ladies enturely enveloped in robes of cloth-of-gold, 
blazing with jewels, and 180 others attired in crimson 
sOk studded with pearls and precious stones. ^* The 
Yenetiaa private houses," says a writer of the four<> 
teenih century, <' are not like the dwellings of citizens, 
but like the Palaces of Princes and Kings t "* 

In person the ladies were graceful and comely, 
though rather low in stature and with a slight inclina- 
tion to fulness of bust. They are said by Sansovino 
to have ei^oyed a pre^ixiinence among the Italian 
women for the whiteness of their linen, and for theur 
skill in sewing and embroidery. Their costume under- 
went numberless changes at successive periods.' Origi- 
nally it consisted of a robe of gay colour, generally 
blue, unless in mourning, and of simple pattern, 
descending in loose folds to the instep, and a 
mantle of azure tint, which could be thrown across 
the shoulders or be drawn close to the person by a 

* BuKBOTino, loco citato. ' Quoted by Mutlnelli, uhi supra. 

» Filiasi (^Ricercke, 144). 



284 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

clasp, at the wearer's option. In the accompanying 
drawing, which probably belongs to the thirte^th 
century, appears a Venetian lady in this kind of 
drapery with those peculiar shoes, resembling pat- 
tens, then in vogue, and with a small cap, perhaps 
of velvet, from which her hair escapes in careless 
ringlets down her back. Her sleeves are straight 
and fitted tightly to the wrist. The outer garment 
seems to be lined with a warm material, and the 
whole aspect of the figure indicates that it is de- 
signed to represent a female of the better class in 
the winter garb of the period. A second drawing,* 
which is ascribed to the fourteenth century, exhibits 
a lady who, from her mien and deportment, may be 
pronounced without much hazard to be a member 
of the aristocracy, in in-door, and, perhaps, evening 
apparel. Her hair is elaborately arranged and parted, 
and is combed off her brow; her head-dress is a 
species of turban. The robe which, though a high 
body, leaves the neck exposed, is confined at the 
waist with a narrow zone; the sleeves are of the 
simplest description. The hand which is not con- 
cealed by the drapery is gloveless; the arms are 
bare considerably above the elbow; and a bracelet 
encircles the right wrist. The feet are quite hidden 
from sight, and the curious pattens displayed in the 
present illustration were merely the covering which 
was employed in traversing the kennels and alleys, 

• * These two woodcuts are copied from Mutinelli (Del Costume Vene* 
ziano: 1831; S^). 




VENETUN LADY OF THE XmRTEENTH CENTUBT. 
{From MuTiNELU.) 




VENETIAN LADY OF THE FOUUTEENTU CENTUKV. 
{From MuTiNELLi.) 



zzT.] FEMALE DRESS AKD MANNERS. 285 

and which was replaced in the house by easy sUp- 
pers, or on formal occasions by shoes of more elegant 
workmanship. When Pietro Casola, the author of 
A Journey to Jerusalem, was at Venice in 1498, the 
pattens or zilvej as they were called, were worn so 
monstrously high, that ladies in the streets were 
obliged to save themselves from tumbling by leaning 
on the shoulders of their lacqueys ! ^ 

The same writer describes the lying-in chamber of 
a member of the Ducal House of Dolfino. The room, 
says Casola, was not at all large, yet the ornaments 
alone were worth 2,000 sequins. The ceiling was 
gold fretwork and ultramarine; the walls were superbly 
carved and decorated. One bedstead had cost 500 
ducats, and the rest of the furniture was in keeping. 
Five-and-twenty ladies, in sumptuous raiment, were in 
attendance upon the wife of the Patrician. There was 
far more grandeur and luxury here than in the Palace 
of the Duchess of Milan ! 

This observant traveller continues to give an account 
of the life of the period. He tells us that the elderly 
ladies and the young matrons used in his time to 
walk abroad closely veiled, but that the unmarried 
women were, on the contrary, Uberal rather to excess 
in the display of their charms, and painted a good 
deal. Perhaps the latter practice was followed to 
hide their bad complexions, which it was the opinion 
of a contemporary of Casola, Marino Sanudo the 

^ Quoted by Romanin (iv. 496). His journey was printed fi>r the first 
time in 18^5 ; but a few copies only were struck off. . 



286 mSTO&Y OF VENICE. [CBAP. 

yonnger/ that they spoiled hy theur artificial way of 
living. 

Gloves had been introduced into France at a period 
of high antiqnityi and were in common nse in that 
kingdom in the beginning of the ninth century (814). 
To the Greeks this article of apparel was familiar 
at a prior epochi it being extremely probable that 
then* knowledge of it had been transmitted to them 
through the Romans from the antient Athenians ; and 
it therefore seems perfectly irrational to suppose that 
the BepubhCi which traded with both countries at 
least so far back as the Age of the Antenori (804-0)9 
and which had ahready become the great vehicle of 
communication between the eastern and western worlds, 
was otherwise than conversant with an usage, which 
she was perhaps the first to introduce to the latter. 
It is a well-authenticated fact, that the Government 
of Obelerio di Antenori and his brothers was fortuit- 
ously instrumental in improving to a material extent 
the commercial relations of Venice with the two 
leading European Powers of the day ; the conspiracy 
of the Patriarch Fortunato and Obelerio's French 
marriage on the one hand, and the embassy of Beato 
to Constantinople on the other, promoted such an 
object in a manner which is apt to be insuffici- 
ently appreciated ; even in the time of Charlemagne 
(774-814), Yenetian fashions had found their way 
into the imperial palace no less than into the man- 

> EdifieazionB deUa CUta di Venezia (Cioogna MSS. 920), quoted by 
Romanin ubi supra. 



xxT.] GLOVEa 287 

dons of the nobility; and it is bo far from being 
likely that the Venetians of the age of Angelo Badoer 
(809-27) were strangers to the practice of covering 
the handy that the probability rather is, that the great 
annnal Fair at Pavia,^ which was freqnented almost 
exclosiyely by Venetian traders, formed the sole mart 
for the gloves, which are represented to have been 
worn to snch a pitch of extravagance by the subjects 
of Lonis le Debonnaire I 

The entertaining narrative of Petras Damianus bears, 
however, the earliest allnsion of an explicit nature to 
the employment of gloves among the Venetians ; and 
if the evidence just adduced was not strongly contra* 
dictory of such an hypothesis, it might have been 
supposed that the fashion in question was much rarer 
than it is proved to have been at that time (1071), 
and that the Dogaressa Selvo was guilty of innovating 
upon the manners of the period to an extent, which 
Damianus thought highly censurable. 

Austerely simple in their manners, and in their 
toilet studying splendour rather than finery, the 
Venetians, according to the testimony of the often- 
quoted Sansovino, who had many sources of informa- 
tion at the time of his writing, which have long 
ceased to be accessible, were frequent in their ablutions 
and cleanly in their linen* In every house there was 
a weU, supplied with fresh water from the Brenta, 
and a reservoir of rain-water. At the tables of the 
common people, the method of eating employed was 

> Filiad (Ricerche, 23). 



288 HISTORY OF VENICE. {[chap. 

primitive enough, in all likelihood, in those days, but 
among the better classes the food was conveyed to 
the mouth by a fork with one prong. Double-pronged 
forks long continued to be rare luxuries ; and even at 
the close of the eleventh century it was enumerated 
by Damiahus among the fastidious notions of the 
Dogaressa Selvo, that that lady was in the habit of 
making use of a gold implement of this kind. 

Two meals in the course of the day ordinarily 
Bufficed. The first, called diimer {prandium or 
pranzo)f was taken at or about noon. The other, 
a lighter repast, was taken at an early hour in the 
evening. At the Palace, the dinner was served in 
the principal Hall ; and the Doge, and his Ministers 
who resided with him, ate in public. His Serenity 
Bupped in his own apartments. In Venetian cookery, 
garlic, onions and all sorts of spices, were used; 
eggs were plentiful enough; beans, peas, cabbages, 
and other kind of vegetables were well known ; and 
after the first course of meat, wine and confections,^ 
of which the ladies were excessively fond, were fire- 
quently introduced at the tables of the more affluent. 
Pigeons and other birds were common. Bologna 
sausages were even then in vogue. All kinds of 
game, peacocks, pheasants, partridges, hares, were 
eaten, either roast or boiled. In fish, salmon,' 
lampreys, eels and trout, were among the delicacies 

1 Sagominus, Da Canale, Chinazzo, &c., locis supra citaHs. 
* Sanetd di F. da San Oeminiano^ A.i>. 1260 (JPoeH del Primo Secola^ 
ii. 168: Fir. 1816; 8*'). 



zxtO meals— anusements. 289 

known at this time. Wheaten bread was almost 
nniversal even among the poorer classes; but millet 
was occasionally employed. During the War of 1418, 
persons of narrow means were obliged by the pressure 
of high taxes to submit to such a diet^ but it was 
deemed a sore hardship. The Bepublic procured her 
wheat for the most part from Apulia and the Levant, 
from Egypt and from Barbary. In the Famine of 
1268 her ships penetrated as far as the Crimea in 
search of grain. 

The evening amusements were varied enough. There 
was dancing and singing ; and for those who did not 
dance or sing there was instrumental music, and for 
such as did not care for the viol, or the guitar, or the 
cittern, there was a chess-table. To many of the 
pastimes by which the wealthier Italians beguiled their 
leisure, a nation of islanders was necessarily to some 
extent a stranger : nor is it known that the Venetians 
were partial to the winter diversion of snowballing 
the ladies, which was so much in vogue on the 
Terra-Ferma. But convivial meetings, concerts, and 
serenades were soon introduced into the Bepublic. 
The musical instruments chiefly preferred came from 
Germany. In the words of the old Sienese poet, 
Fulgore da San Geminiano, who admirably paints in 
his Sonnets the life of his day, — 

** Cantar, danzar alia proTcnsalesca 
Con istromenti noyi d'Alemagna.**^ 

In the later part of the thuieenth century, Bartolomeo 

* SonetH de* Mesi^ ubi guprd^ ii. 175. 

VOL. IV. 48 



290 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. 

Giorgioi a Yenetiaiii naturalized the Provencal song, 
and created a notable reform in Venetian Foetrji which 
had hitherto consisted of little more than popular 
ballads and snatches. Ban Geminiano relates that 
in his own town Monday was the day for serenades, 
and Wednesday for receptions and balls, — 

" Ogni Mercoledi corrido grande 
Di lepri, Btame, ftgiani, e paoni, 
£ cotte manxe, ed arrosti capponi, 
£ quante son ddioate yiyande 



Yin greco di Riviera e di yemaccid, 
Fnitta, ooD&tti, quaati 11 e talento 



£ donceletmi gioreni gai^tii 
Servir, portando amoroae ghirlande 1 " 

This pictnrei which refers more immediately to the 
manners of Siena, may by analogy afford some insight 
into the contemporary aspect of Venetian society^ of 
which it is to be lamented that no similarly graphic 
illustrations exist. An Arezzan poet who flourished 
concurrently with San GeminianOi Cene dalla Chitarrat 
has also left Sonnets of the Months. They shew that 
the life of Arezzo, Ancona, Florence, and other places 
had many features in common with that of Siena. 
The verses of Cene of the Guitar are indeed less rich 
in colour than those of his fellow-bard. But this 
circumstance may be partly explained by the fact that 
one was an advocate of abstinence, while the other 
was not only fond of his glass of wine, but even 
counsels intoxication : — 

*< Bevete del mosto, e inebriate ( 
Che non d ha miglior vita in veritate) 
£ questo e vero come il fiorin g^allo.** ' 

1 " The flonn of goldr^Poeti del Pnmo Secoh, ii. 181, 196, d 9eq. 



XXV.] VENETIAN MANNERS. 291 

Speaking of his mistresSi Albertnccio della Viola, a 
third poet of the same epoch, writes : — 

'* Alia danza la vidi danzare, 
L'Amorofia, che mi fa allegrare. 
Ck)8i, come danzaya, mi ferio— 
Vestut* era d*un drappo di Soiia, 
La Donna mia, e stavale bene I ** 



48—2 



292 



CHAPTER XXVL 

Spirit and Character of the Lawa— The StahUa^AjoalytaB of the Statnto 
— Laws against Usniy and Bigamy — Law of Debtor and Creditor 
— ^Form of Proeedore in Actions for Debt— Law of Evidence and 
Examination of Witnesses — ^Promission Del Malefido — Character 
of the Criminal Laws — ^Foigery and Coining — ^Theft and Larceny — 
Boiglary, Bape, Adultery — ^Various Classes of Punishment — ^Varie- 
ties of Cajntal Punishment — ^Torture — ^The Capitulare Nandcnm — 
Oiganization of the Early Venetian Navy — Naval Discipline — 
Enormous Expenditure upon the Navy — ^Venetian Police — The 
Chiefi of the Wards and Streets— Peculiarity of the Eariy Venetian 
Constitution — Venetian Population — ^Bent-KoUs — ^Value of Houses 
— ^The Funds and their Fluctuations — Venetian Names and Vene- 
tian Language — ^Traces of the Feudal System — ^Venetian Serfi — 
Their Necromantic Practices — ^Agriculture— Character of the Early 
Venetians — ^Medieval Venice — Historical Associations — ^The Boy- 
hood of Marco Polo — ^Arts and Sciences — Geography and Naviga- 
tion — Charts — Eoiowledge of the Magnet and its Variations — 
Mechanical Sciences — Hydraulics — Clocks — ^The Lever — ^Medicine — 
Doctors — Medical Academy — Education — Theology— ^Writers on 
Theology— Natural Philosophy— Writers— The Four Trevisani — 
Botany — ^Francesco Barbaro, Pietro Loredano, and Carlo Zeno — 
Logic and Ethics — Geometry and Arithmetic— Schools — ^The Dead 
Languages — ^Poetry — ^Venetian Poets — Giovanni Quirini, the Friend 
of Dante — Befi>rm in Venetian Poetry — Bartolomeo Giorgio- 
Sacred Poetry — ^Lorenzo and Leonardo Giustiniani — Other Literary 
Members of the Giustiniani Family — ^The Venetian Drama — Gre- 
gorio Corraro and his Progne — Other Works of Corraro — The 
Sister- Arts — ^History and Music — ^Bibliography and Bibliomania — 
Saint Mark*8 Library — ^Its Growth — ^Bequest of Cardinal Bessarion 
(1468) — And others — ^Its Incorporation with the Medicean Library 
— ^Litroduction of Printing (1469) — John and Vindelin da Spira 
and NichoUu Jenson— The First Cicero and the First Pliny (1469) 
— Marino Sanudo the Elder — Some Account of his Personal Histoiy 
and of his Writings. 

Insepabablt connected with any inquiry into the Bise 
and Progress of Venetian Civilization^ most be the 



cnAF. XXVI.] THE VENETIAN LAWS. 293 

spirit and character of the Laws. Of those remark- 
able institutions, which were framed for the most part 
daring the period comprehended between the beginning 
of the sixth and the close of the fourteenth century, a 
brief outline was given in a former page,^ and at the 
same time an attempt was made to shew how, in 
the course of the administration of Giacomo Tiepolo 
(1229-49) the written code was divided into three 
leading and principal branches, namely: the Statuto^ 
the Tromission Del Maleficio, and the Capitulare Nauti- 
cum.^ A theme of such pecuUar importance deserves 
to be subjected to closer analysis/ 

The change, which was wrought in the aspect of 
jurisprudence toward the middle of the thirteenth 
century, preceded by nearly two hundred years the 
accidental discoveiy at Amalfi, in 1416, of the cele- 
brated Code of Justinian ; and any features of resem- 
blance or points of identity between the latter and 
the Statute of 1242 are, therefore, apt to create an 
impression, that the old Customs on which the 
Statute was unquestionably based in considerable 
measure, were neither more nor less than detached 
fragments of Boman jurisprudence, of which all 
record had been lost in the e£9uxion of time. The 
course of procedure, which was pursued at Venice in 
civil actions in conformity with the letter of the 
Statute, distinctly reveals indeed a Eoman prototype. 



• Viifc wtpro, vol. ii. p. 191-4. 

* StahiH et Ordmi di Venetia ; Yenetiu, 1477, folio. This was the 
second edition. The former appeared in 1475, 4^. 



294 HISTOBY OF VENICE. [chap. 

As at Borne it had been cuBtomaiy for the plaintiff in 
the first instance to apply to the King or Consnl for a 
license to appear in jure, and for the issne of a writ 
of summons against the defendant, so at Venice it was 
usual to address a similar prayer to the Doge ; but it 
may be treated as a material variation that, while among 
the Bomans the practice was to make in each case a 
special and temporary appointment of a Judex, whose 
authority expired with the termination of the suit, a 
Venetian trial was sustained before the permanent 
tribunal of the Judges of the PalacCi or before a Judge 
of the Commune, or, as at Verona and elsewhere, in 
the presence of the Chief Magistrate himself, sitting 
in Public Placit (Publico Placito*), 

By the principles estabUshed in 1242, the Statute 
was divided into Five Books, and the latter were sub- 
divided into two hundred and three chapters. 

The first Book, which extended to one-and-twenty 
chaptersi set forth — I. The form of appeal in civil 
actions and actions for debt, JQ. Certain regulations 
for the non*alienation of church temporaUties, which 
could not be accomplished in the case of Bishops 
without the consent of their clergy, or by the Metro- 
poUtan without the sanction of the episcopal bench, 
in. The Law of Evidence; 2. The different classes 
of evidence, and to what extent, as well as in what 
manner, each was admissible; 3. The amount of 



* Sabellico the Historian, in bis treatise De Pratorii Officio^ printed 
with his other minor works in 1488, has a chapter De CalUdd Jwis 
IrUerpretatione EvUanda, 



xxviO THE VENETIAN LAWS. 295 

proofi which was necessary under various circum- 
stances; 4. The examination of witnesses, and the 
competence of the sitting Judge to compel the at- 
tendance of any person, whose testimony might be 
supposed relevant to the point at issue ;^ 5. The 
acceptance or refusal of Bail. lY. The Law of Mar- 
riage : 1. The regulations connected with the Settle- 
ment of the Dower, and its treatment ; 2. The share 
of the wife in the estate of her husband during the 
coverture, and her claim after his decease, over and 
above the dower, to the free and absolute use of any 
property, which might have been left intestate. V. The 
Law of Inheritance,' which contained provision for 
cases, where the departed left behind him sons only, 
or daughters only; 2. Or both; 3. Or neither, in which 
instance, if no heir-apparent appeared within a stated 
time, it was the practice to purchase the estate in 
the name of the Oommune, and afterward to sell it by 
auction ; 8. the rule for the partition of any property, 
which might have been left to several persons in 
common, and which one of the co-heirs might wish to 
distribute; 4. The two principles that in default of 
other issue, children bom out of wedlock might succeed 
to possession, wherever it could be shown that the 
parents had at a subsequent period, and prior to the pre- 
paration of the will, been lawfiiUy united ; and secondly, 
that no testament or codicil could be pronounced valid, * 
by which a chUd, whether legitimate or otherwise, was 

> StaiuH di VeneHa: edit 1477, cap. 2^. 
' Stahiti, lib. iv. cap. 24-7. 



296 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

totally disinherited.^ YI. The Law of Probate and 
Testamentary Jurisdiction, wherebyi among other 
points, sach as had taken the cowl or the veil, being 
accounted civilly dead, were declared incompetent to 
make wills/ to succeed to property, or to administor 
the property of others. VIE. The Law of Insolvency, 
exhibiting the relations between Debtor and Creditor, 
in which respect the Venetian practice, though un- 
doubtedly marked by severity, was a considerable modi- 
fication of the Boman Law. 

The Second Book of the Statute, embracing fifteen 
chapters only, treated — I. of the appointment of 
Guardians and Trustees to the estates of Minors.' 
and Lunatics, of the necessity of bringing forward 
competent and proper witnesses to prove in the latter 
case, that the patient was of unsound mind, and 
unable to manage his own affairs ; 2. The disposition 
of the property of the insane person; 3. The right 
of his or her heir or heirs to succeed to possession 
in due course, and to make wills ; 4. The obligation 
imposed on the Trustee to surrender his charge, and 
to give an account of its administration, in the event 
of the lunatic dying, or recovering the use of his 
faculties. 



* In this particular, among others, the Venetian Law followed the 
Civil Law. 

' StatuH di VeneHa : edit. 1477; cap. 28. 

• In the Codex Publieorum^ quoted by Filiasi {EicerckCy 138), appears 
the petition of one of the Gelsi fiunilj for the restitution of certain pro- 
perty, which had been unjustly taken from him during his minority, his 
parents or guardians having died abroad. 



XXVI.] THE VENETIAN LAWS. 297 

The Third and Fourth Divisions, consisting of sixty- 
three and thirty-six chapters respectively, bore — I. 
Upon the Law of Partnership. 11. Upon the Law 
of Landlord and Tenant, among the articles of the 
latter of which appears a provision for the omission 
to pay rent, and similar contingencies, m. Upon the 
Law of Possession. 

The Fifth and closing Section, which was limited to 
eighteen chapters, was of a somewhat miscellaneous 
nature. It contained several isolated clauses respect- 
ing the possession and descent of property, and the 
character of Title-Deeds, which were valid only, when 
they bore the signature of two, at least, of the Ex- 
aminers (Esaminadon) . This Book likewise consti- 
tuted a receptacle for one of the stray articles on the 
Law of Lisolvency, which belonged strictly to the 
first division, but which were scattered through the 
whole body of the collection without much regard 
to order or perspicuity^ This absence of method, 
notwithstanding the vigorous attempt which had 
been made to digest and classify the contents of the 
Statute, still continued to be a leading blemish in a 
system, which was, on the whole, entitled to the highest 
encomium. , 

About the time of Beniero Zeno ^ (1252-68) , the 

* Noviuimum StatiUorum ac Venetarum Legum Volumen duabus in 
parUbus dimwm : Yenetiu, 1729. It was 8 practice of which the origin is 
referable to the middle of the twelfth century, and even, perhaps, &rther 
back, to register the proceedings by resolution of the Great Council, 
Council of Forty, and other bodies, on their respective Minutes; and this 
coUectimi of minutes, which was carefully preserved, became in time one 
of the most important branches, if not the most important, of the 



298 HISTOBY OP VENICE. [chap. 

practice of nstuy was asBuming dangerous proportions ; 
the followers of the calling, both Venetians and 
foreigners, were extraordinarily numerous; and the 
rates of interest, which they had grown into the 
habit of exacting, were exorbitant and ruinous. It 
was thought necessary to check the progress of the 
evil ; and in the third year of Zeno's adnunistration, 
a resolution, which passed into law, was carried (June 
10, 1254) by the Great Council, to the effisct that it 
should hereafter be unlawful for any person, whether 
a bom subject of the Republic or an alien, to put out 
money to usury, or to cause it to be put out to usury, 
in any manner or wise, at home or abroad, under 
penalty, for the first offence, of the forfeiture of the 
whole amount so invested and a pecuniaiy mulct, and 
on the second conviction, of undergoing a similar 
punishment in addition, if a Venetian, to being pub-' 
licly branded as a money-lender, if a foreigner, to 
being expelled from the Dogado. It seems likely that 
the Great Council Minute of the 10th June, 1254, 
ought to be construed in a restricted sense, and that it 
by no means contemplated the legitimate four or five 

National Archives. Inasmuch, howeyer, as the latter must have been 
repefitedly destroyed in the successive conflagrations which ooDfomed 
their repositories, a conclusion may be safely formed that posterity is 
indebted for a knowledge of the contents of these r^iisters to the 
foresight of the Government of the day in multiplying copies ; and it 
is more than probable that the Liber Albm^ Liber Xuna, Liber Cerbenu^ 
Liber Auri Cancelktria^ Liber Pilonu Avogaria^ Liber Rigina^ and 
others, £rom which Sandi quotes so largely in his elaborate and well- 
known work, existed, even in his time, as they had long ejusted, only in 
the transcripts of originals which had perished many ages Ufor^ the 
Author of the Venetian Civil History was bom. 



XXVI.] USURY AND BIGAMT. 299 

per cent., which was then the ordinary price of 
money on the Exchange; and it may be suspected, 
moreoveri that it was directed principally against the 
Jews for whom, although there might be a larger 
sympathy at Venice than elsewhere, there was no 
willing toleration, and who may haye aheady begun, 
about this period, to render themselves troublesome 
and obnoxious. There is also some room for an 
hypothesis, that this Usury Act of 1254 originated 
among the greater Venetian capitalists, and that the 
measure was therefore founded on a shrewd calcula- 
tion that, in its practical operation, it would entail 
inconyenience and loss only on the smaller traders and 
Jew brokers, by whom the former were suppUed with 
money on certain conditions. 

In 1288,^ a statute was enacted for the first time in 
the Great Council (September 27) against the crime 
of Bigamy. It was prescribed by this law, that the 
offender, whether a Venetian or a foreigner, resident 
in Venice, should be required to make restitution of 
any property which he might have received with his 
second wife, and if no such property existed, or in 
other words, if money had not formed the inducement 
to the transaction, he should be adjudged to pay to 
the aggrieved party, that is to say, the woman whom 
he might have inveigled into marriage by misrepre- 
senting his existing engagements, an indemnity of 100 
lire within a stated time, or in de&ult, to undergo a 
twelvemonth's imprisonment. 

^ Leggi Criminati del Serenissimo Daminio Veneto, 1761. 



800 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

In the laws of a City, where monetary transactions 
were necessarily so constant and extensive, it was 
natural to attach special weight to such as affected the 
relations between Debtor and Creditor, and laid down 
the principle of operation in the recoveiy of dauns, 
and in the prosecution of fraudulent insolvents. On 
these points, therefore, it is not astonishing to find 
the Statute more than usually explicit. Whenever one 
Venetian desired to open a civil action agamst another, 
it was necessary for him to present himself in the first 
instance before the Doge in PlacitOy and there to pray 
for a Ministeinal or license injure, with an order to the 
defendant to appear on a certain day in answer to the 
charge. If the ground of complaint seemed good and 
sufficient, the prayer of the plaintiff was allowed ; and 
the summons was left by an officer of the Court at the 
dwelling of the defendant, whose absence from home 
was not admissible, under ordinary circumstances, as a 
plea of ignorance. If at the appointed time the defen- 
dant appeared, a space of four days from the date of 
the summons was granted to him for the purpose of 
obtaining counsel ; and on the expiration of that term, 
legal proceedings were suffered to commence. In 
difficult and complicated cases, the Bench often found 
itself unable to arrive at an immediate decision on the 
facts before it; and in such circumstances sentence 
was necessarily deferred. In this manner suits and 
litigations were sometimes prolonged over several 
years ; instances were known in which their duration 
exhausted several lives. 



zxvi.] LAW OF DEBTOR AND CREDITOR. 301 

When it happened, on the other hand^ that the 
defendant neglected to reply to the sonunons either in 
person or by proxy, and the suit of the plaintiff 
appeared to be just, the law provided that the Judge 
should grant an order, Ne exeat Ducatu (as it were) , 
which forbade the recusant, at his peril, to leave the 
Dogado, unless some third person was found at the 
last moment prepared to come forward as his proxy, 
or unless the defendant himself or his friends were in a 
position to offer sufficient bail. 

The judicial writ remained in force during a twelve- 
month, when a second and definitive summons was 
issued by the Court on the same understanding as 
regarded the choice of counsel, as in the preceding 
instance. If the defendant still continued to be a 
defiftulter, no farther grace was extended to him; 
and after receiving on oath the evidence of the 
plaintiff and his witnesses, judgment was recorded 
against the absentee. Such was the form of proce- 
dure, in actions for debt and other civil suits when the 
amount involved upward of fifty lire, in the bishoprics 
of Caorlo, Malamocco and Torcello. In the other 
dioceses, or in cases where the debt or other claim 
fell below such an amount, the Court decUned to 
grant a second summons. 

Than the adoption for political purposes of the 
ecclesiastical divisions of a State, nothing was more 
common at that time ; but the origin of the inequahty 
of civU rights lay in some antient franchise accorded 
to the favoured locaUties at a period, when the Bepublic 



302 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

was alternately swayed by the contending factions of 
Malamocco and Heraclia. It was one of the prin- 
ciples laid down in the Statute, that neither the 
prosecutor nor his counsel should be suffered to cross- 
question or interrogate the opposite party in a vexatious 
spirit or from an unfair motive. The acceptance or 
refusal of bail was at the discretion of the Bench. 

The writ Ne exeat DucatUf which the Judge was 
enjoined on no account to sign without mature con- 
sideration, affected the personalty of an insolvent, as 
well as his freedom. In case of default, or inability to 
satisfy the demands of the plaintiff, a distraint was 
usually made on his goods and chattels, and he was 
committed to prison until some satis£Etctoiy arrange- 
ment could be concluded. It was necessary, however, 
that the complainant should be able and willing to 
produce, if required, his legal authorization for pro- 
ceeding to extremities : for his omission or refusal at 
once, and ipso facto^ destroyed the validity of his claim ; 
and the action thereby lapsed. 

In receiving evidence, considerable caution was ob- 
served.^ The witnesses, who might have been brought 
forward on either side, were severally and separately 
subjected by the Bench, prior to the commencement 
of the trial, to a searching examination ; and if it 
became apparent, from their conflicting and contra- 
dictory statements, that they had been corrupted or 

' StaHUi di Venetia: 1477, cap. 26. At cap. SO, it is stated that 
affidavits made at Constantinople are inyalid, unless signed by the Yene- 
tian-Podesta. 



DTI.] THE OLD TRIAL BY JURY. 808 

sabomed, their testimony was rejected as worthless. 
It waSi moreoTer^ in the competence of a judge to call 
on any person who was, or even who was supposed to 
boi in possession of information of a relevant kind, to 
attend the trial ; and if such person omitted to respond 
to the summons without assigning an adequate reason 
for his conducti the judge had farther the power to 
inflict a penalty of three lire for contempt of the 
Oourt. 

The preliminary examination of witnesses before 
the judge on oath may seem to have entitled the 
procedure of which It constituted part to the appella- 
tion, in literal strictness, of Trial by Jury. The 
jurymen were not then understood to be twelve indi- 
viduals, empannelled and removed from external 
influences for the purpose of deciding points of fact ; 
but they were such persons merely as were ascer- 
tained, after due inquiry, to be best acquainted with 
the character of the accused, and to be most com- 
petent to give evidence on the charge under con^ 
sideration, or on the case at issue. They were the 
neighbours, perhaps, of the defendant, or his gossips, 
or his acquaintances. They were those with whom he 
had been last seen walking, or with whom he had last 
had money transactions. Their sole function was to 
make depositions ; the Bench was the judge of ques- 
tions of fsyd as well as of questions of law. The 
medieval jury was as totally distinct from the modem 
jury as the statesmanship of the age of Petrarch waa 
distinct from that of the nineteenth century. 



804 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

The pages of the PronUssion of Crime are not xm- 
stained by that barbarous spirit, which has charac* 
terized the criminal legislation of all ages and of 
almost eveiy people down to comparatively recent 
times. Yet there were some respects, in which the 
Venetian laws of the thirteenth century exhibited a 
greater degree of mildness than the laws of other 
conntries in the eighteenth centnry. Such was the 
case with regard to bigamy, coining, and forgery, 
the last of which was naturally viewed in a less 
grave aspect at a period, when the system of Paper- 
Currency was hardly known. It is obvious, at the 
same time, that some margin is to be allowed for the 
discrepancy which invariably exists between the letter 
of a law and its practical application ; and it must 
also be borne in mind that in a mass of unconsoUdated 
legislation, a more or less considerable number of 
enactments dating from remote epochs, or owing their 
origin to peculiar circumstances, will always be found 
which, though nominally and strictiy enforceable, have 
long grown out of practice or memory. At Venice, as 
elsewhere, the Bench had the express power of miti- 
gating ^ the statutoiy penalty, or of recommending to 
mercy; and it may be fiedrer to look upon the prin- 
ciples laid down in the Promission as exhibiting the 
extreme point of rigour to which justice might be 
stretched, than the ordinary character of its administra- 
tion in the Dogado. 

Theft and larceny were the offences with which the 

' Statuti di Venetia: 2iid edit. 1477, cap. 23, ei aUhL 



xxvx.] TORGERY AlfD OTHER CRIMES. 805 

Venetian lawgivers dealed most severely. In cases 
where the amount, or the value of the property 
abstracted, exceeded not ten soldi, and where the 
delinquent had not been previously charged with a 
similar offence, he or she was allowed to escape with 
a flogging. But on a second conviction the sentence 
was more than proportionably heavy ; and according 
to the heinousness of the crime and the character of 
the offender, it ascended in a graduating scale to 
capital punishment, which was awarded in those in- 
stances where the amount was upward of forty lire. 
If the condemned person was a man, he was hanged 
between the Bed Columns ; if a woman, she was put 
to death in such manner as the judge might think 
proper to direct. 

Forgers and coiners were adjudged to lose one hand. 
Burglary with violence, rape, and adultery, were 
punished with the mutilation of a hand and exocula- 
tion, unless, in the two latter cases, the culprit was in 
a position to offer a suitable and sufficient indemnity 
to the injured party. Simple burglary was treated as 
theft. 

On conviction, a prisoner was sentenced to impri- 
sonment; to mutilation by the loss of one or more 
limbs, according to the nature of the offence and the 
frequency with which it had been committed ; or to 
death. Of capital punishment there were four kinds : 
starvation, decapitation, strangulation, and hanging. 
The first was accounted the most cruel; the second 
was generally adopted by preference in cases of political 

VOL. IV. 49 



306 BISTORT OF VENICE. [ciuf. 

conspiracy; the third wm the rarest and the least 
ignominious } and the fourth was the common method 
of disposing of ordinary malefactors who were doomed 
to suffer the e:!(trem6 penalty of the law. 

In the starving process/ the condemned^ having 
been led to the Oampanile^ was there inclosed in a 
large wooden cage vnth iron bars, suspended by a 
strong chain from a pole attached to the building; 
and he was fed on a fJiminishing scale with bread and 
water which he received by letting down a cord (so 
strong is the loye of life I) , until the unfortunate 
wretch, exposed to eyeiy weather, perished of cold, 
hunger and misery. Such was a method of punish- 
ment in extreme cases, which is known to have pre- 
vailed largely in the Peninsula during the dark ages, 
and to the invention of which the Venetians are not 
believed to be entitled. 

Torture (Marturatio) was seldom applied, except in 
cases of treason, where it was found impracticable to 
elicit the truth from a prisoner by gentler means ; and 
the law directed that under no circumstances should 
any person be subjected to the process, unless a oer- 
tain number of the Privy Council and the Forty were 
present to take depositions, and to observe that no 
undue cruelty was exercised. 

The Nautical Capitulary appeared for the first time 
during the administration of Hetro Ziani, and it was 
reproduced thirty years later in an enlarged form 
under the auspices of the Doge Zeno. An unique 

> GhOliciom (^Memarie, Ub. i. c. 8). 



xxTi.] THE NAUTICAL CAPITULARY. 307 

copy of the Capitnlary of 1255 was among the Qoirini 
MSS., where it had lain neglected and forgotten 
during many centnries, when it was transcribed by 
Cancianns, and included by him in his collection of 
the Leges Barbarorum Antiques^ This existence of the 
Quirini MS. appears to have been unsuspected by 
Sandi and the writers who preceded him : yet, without 
a knowledge of its contents, it would be impossible to 
arriye at a proper appreciation of Venetian Maritime 
Law. 

The whole Capitulary is conceived in a sensible and 
judicious spirit ; the wording of every article is lucid 
and unequivocal; and the minuteness, with which 
every point touching the tonnage, rigging and equip- 
ment of a vessel is treated in detail, is highly admir- 
able. It serves to indicate the degree of importance, 
which the Republic attached to the preservation of her 
Mercantile Marine in a due state of efficiency. 

The Capitulare Nauticum' is divided into 128 
chapters ; but its contents may be classified under 
certain heads. 1. 1, The Poundage of vessels; 2, the 
method of selecting the crew, and the number of 
anchors to be carried which, as well as the comple- 
ment of seamen, was proportionable to the actual 
burden of a ship. 11. 1, The reciprocal obligations of 
the seaman and his employer; 2, the signature of 
articles ; 3, the payment of wages to the crew, with the 

' Barbarorum Leges aniiqtUB, cum Noiu et GlouariU collegit F, P. 
Candams: Yenetiis, 1792, folio, 5 vols. 

* See StaiuH et Ordinii di Venetia : 2nd edition, 1477, sign, k *, et seq. 

49—2 



308 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap, 

penalty of omission or refdsal ; 4, the punishment of 
desertion. III. 1, The Arming and Yictnalling of ships ; 
2, the allowance of wine, water^ flonr and biscuit ; 3, 
the weight of metal, in the form of baUstsB and other 
projectiles, as well as the description of side-arms and 
pikes with which vessels should be famished according 
to their poundage/ IV. 1, The Lading of vessels, and 
the measurement of the cargo, which was to be taken 
at a port by the local authorities, as a precaution 
against the practice of excessive lading;^ 2, the penalty 
attached to the infringement of the prescribed stand- 
ard, which was a fine amounting to double the value 
of the goods found on board beyond the legitimate 
quantity. V. 1, The disposition of the cargo ;* 2, the 
obhgation of the consignee or consignees to remove 
his or their property, upon due notice being given, 
within two days after arrival, or in de&ult to forfeit 
two lire a day, until the law was compUed with, saving 
always those cases in which sufficient cause could be 
shown for the delay or neglect; 3, the illegaUty of 

' Yenetian vessels were reckoned by tke pound, not by the ton. The 
Miliarium was 1,000 pounds. In the twelfth and thirteenth centories, 
hardly any vessels were found to exceed 1,000, or 1,050 miliaria^ ue^ 
about 400 tons. The utmost length was 200 feet at the keeL 

' All Venetian ships were marked at a certain point on one or both 
sides as a water-line, with the Figure of the Cross. During the first five 
years of service, the owner was at liberty to lade two feet and a quarter 
above this point. In the sixth year, the standard fell to two &et, and 
subsequently to the seventh, not more than a foot and a half of water 
beyond the Cross was permissible. The character of the penalty is 
recorded above, and it may here be added that the Government reserved 
to itself the right of levying on the most valuable portion of the caigo. 

* This word, as Mr. Eawdon Brown points out, is the Yenetian fimn 
of Carico^ and has been adopted by the English without alteration. 



xxTi.] THE NAUTICAL CAPITULARY. 309 

stowing goods between decks. VI. 1, The expenses of 
Pilotage, which devolved on the owner. VIE. 1, The 
appointment of Ship's Clerks ; 2, their fdnctions, and 
the character of the articles which they were required 
to sign. VEH. The repair of Damage and Loss, 
which might accrae to vessels from various causes. 
IX. The duties and obligations of the Padrono, whether 
he was both the owner and captain of the ship, or 
merely the latter. X. The relative authority of the 
Padrone and the local Representatives of the Venetian 
Government on home and foreign stations. 

The maritime greatness of the Venetians in a 
certain sense had its source in the ever-recurring 
necessity of protecting the commerce of the Bepubhc 
against the inroads and attacks of the Saracens, who 
had successively gained possession of Syria, Egypt, 
Barbaiy, Spain, Sicily, Southern Italy, Cyprus, and 
Candia, and who sought to support and extend those 
conquests by the study of navigation and the main- 
tenance of well-appointed fleets. To oppose these 
formidable antagonists, to repress their piratical ex- 
cursions, and to render the ocean an open field to 
trade and enterprise, became thus the interest and 
aim of the Venetians; and in following them to 
their attainment, the Islanders insensibly acquired 
that naval predominance, which ultimately won for 
them the Empire of the Waves. 

When the faulty organization of the Navy, and 
the vicious system under which the Signory, influ- 
enced by an unwise jealousy of her servants, allowed 



310 HISTORY OP VENICE- [chap. 

the management of that force to fall^ are considered, 
it will cease to be surpriBing that the Yenetians occa- 
sionally sustained severe reverses, and it will become a 
source of astonishment rather, that their arms were 
attended by such a large measure of success. When- 
ever a fleet was to be despatched on any distant or 
important undertaking, the first care was to provide a 
suitable number of captains of galleys, two or three 
Froveditors of tried experience, and lastly, an admiral 
or general officer of lower rank, to whom the supreme 
charge of the armament might be intrusted with safety 
and confidence. The next object of solicitude was the 
appomtment of a Council of Civilians (ConsUiatores 
Stolt)^ which, though not strictly limited, rarely ex- 
ceeded four. These Councillors were not furnished 
with any authority to interfere in matters of mere 
general discipline and detail; but it was their pro- 
vince to tender their advice to the naval commander 
in all difficult points of judgment on which a divided 
opinion might exist, to impose a veto on any intended 
step on his part, which they might conscientiously 
consider disadvantageous to the pubUc service, and to 
decide any question of moment which might arise in 
the course of the expedition by a plurality of votes. 
This extremely mischievous principle, the origin of 
which appears to have been purely pohtical, and which 
was subsequently introduced with the most unhappy 
results into the Dutch Republic, was adopted by the 
Venetians at least so early as the twelfth century ; it 
was one which, while it seldom exercised a salutaiy 



wtri.] ORGAinZATION OF THE NAVY. 311 

inflaoncef was fireqnentlj productiye of the most on* 
fortunate, and more than onoe of &tal| oonseqnencea ; 
and among other illnBtrations which might be cited^ 
the moit signal was the loss of the Battle of Curzola, 
fonght between the naval forces of Venice and Genoa 
in 12989 which was wholly to be ascribed to this cause. 

Subordinate in rank to the Oommander-in-Ohiefy 
were the Froveditors, who seem to have corresponded 
to the Q^neralB of Division of the other Service, and 
below the Proveditors were the Captains of Galleys 
(Capitanei Qalearum) or Comitif whose authority, 
originally large and too loosely defined, was gradually 
circumscribed, as experience pointed out from time to 
time the cogent necessity for the improvement of 
naval strategy. In 1293, a decree passed the great 
Council (August 10^) by which it was rendered a 
capital offence on the part of Captains of Galleys to 
desert the main squadron, or to detach themselves 
from it without due authority; and, already during 
the short administration of Giacomo Contarini,* a 
reformation* had appeared, which exposed any captain, 
returning from a mission or voyage under circum-* 
stances of ignominy, to a penalty of 100 marks of 
silver. Subsequently to 1295^ (February 2), the 
election of Captains or Counts of Galleys was made by 
ballot in the Great Council. 

A Ganuranusy or Treasurer, was appointed to every 
squadron ; in his hands were lodged the ftmds, from 

> Marin (v. 322). • Md. (v. 199). 

' Among the Yenetiam, this term was equivalent to the Bill in Eng- 
land, and die Prqjet de Lot in Fnince. * Marin (y. 199). 



312 HISTORY OP VENICE. [ckaf. 

which monthly payments were made to the officers 
and men. The Captain generally receiyed fifteen 
soldi grossiy per mensem ; the engineers, of whom 
on an ordinary galley of war there were two, ten 
soldi; the archers and crossbowmen, five; the cook, 
four ; the ship's clerks, of whom there were four, 
seven and a-half ; the steersmen, of whom there were 
often as many as eight, seven and a half; the com- 
mon oarsmen, four; and others in proportion. The 
entire complement of the vessel reached fix)m 260 
to 280 hands, exclusively of troops : and the 
monthly expenditure upon each such equipage, inde- 
pendently of the pay of the soldiers, fell very little 
short of 2,500 soldi. If this calculation be carried 
somewhat farther, it follows that the mere working 
crew of a squadron of fifty sail cost the Bepublic for 
six months (the usual term of a campaign) in bare 
wages without rations, no less a sum than 760,000 
soldi! 

Two Judices Stolid or Judges of the Meet, accom- 
panied any flotilla of importance. The office of these 
magistrates, which was probably filled in most cases 
by members of the judicial bench at home, was purely 
temporary, and their jurisdiction was strictly local« 

The interchangeable quality of the Marine has 
been already incidentally noticed. Down to the 
middle of the fourteenth century, the Bepublic does 
not seem to have possessed what could be strictly 
termed a Navy. Whenever a war broke out, or it 
became necessary to act on the defensive against the 



XXVI.] NAVAL ORGANIZATION AND ECONOMY. 313 

sea-robbers of Barbary or Dalmatian the usual practice 
was to impress and fit out the requisite number of 
merchant vessels, for which a stipulated price was 
sometimes given, but which were often obtained gra- 
tuitously ; and a Chamber of the Armament (Camera 
del Armamento) existed, where seamen were required 
to register their names, with that of the ship on which 
they desired to serve. At the close of hostilities, the 
vessels were released from their obUgations ; and any 
which the Government might have purchased, or have 
built for the express occasion, were generally sold by 
auction,^ and appUed or reconverted to the uses of trade 
by the buyers. But the rule was never probably very 
strict in this respect ; the principle of voluntary sub- 
sidies and contributions was carried at Venice to such 
an extent, that the State was not unfrequently relieved 
from the burdens, which weighed upon it in other 
countries ; the munificence of private individuals spared 
not merely the expense of chartering galleys, but in 
some measure, of taking mariners into pay ; and the 
modes of conducting a War were so various, and so 
manifold in points of detail, that it was impossible to 
arrive at any uniformity of custom. 

The preservation of the Public Peace devolved in 
the first instance on the Capi de' Sestieri or Chiefs of 
tlu WardSf under whom were the Capi de* Contradi, or 
Chiefs of the Streets; and subordinated to the latter 
again was a certain Staff of Officials, denominated 

' See Documents at the end of the present volume, No. 14. 



314 HISTORY OF VENICE. [ciu». 

Gustodij or Watchmen. In their character, and 
in the two classei of duties which they habitoally 
performed, the Watchmen united the Baili£f with 
the Oonstable. They arrested persons who were 
charged with debt, and who declined to answer the 
summons of the Courts, or to submit to their award ; 
but their more usual occupation consisted in patrolling 
the streets, and in taking into custody any refractory 
vagrants or troublesome passengers, and reporting 
them to their immediate Capo who, in his turn, sub- 
mitted the circumstances to the consideration of his 
chief, the Capo Del Sestiero. The latter, who was a 
species of stipendiary magistrate, possessed the power 
of disposing of petty offences, or of inflicting summaiy 
penalties of a Ught nature, and short terms of im- 
prisonment. But in cases, where the delinquency 
happened to be of a graver complexion, the Chief of 
the Ward simply committed the prisoner for trial 
before the Judges of the Palace or other tribunal, or 
when that Board had been established, handed him 
over to the Signobi di Notte. 

There can be little doubt that the Chiefs of the Wards, 
the Chiefs of the Streets, and the Watchmen, who 
have been introduced to notice in the preceding para- 
graph, and whose graduated functions there has been 
an attempt to explain, represent the first germ of a 
system, which was afterward carried to much higher 
perfection, and which terminated, as it might have 
been expected to terminate under a government with 
such tendencies, in the conversion of these Officers of 



xxTi.] THE VENETIAN POLICE. 816 

the Feaoe into a Political Organ and a Beeret^Servioe. 
Such is the sole solution, of which the problem seems 
to be susceptible ; and snch is the origin, which may 
be unhesitatingly clauned for the Venetian Police. 
In a metropoUs, where civil tumults long continued 
to be so frequent, and where private plots and assassi- 
nations were so common, the existence of a numerous 
and efficient body of watchmen became a point of the 
utmost consequence, and it is probable that such flagi- 
tious crimes as the murder of the Doge Tradenigo, 
and the Tragedy of Domenigo Morosini, were power- 
fully instrumental in producing the development and 
extension of the system^ 

There are some missing links between the Police of 
the thirteenth and the Police of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries, which it is not easy to supply. 
In the gradual transition which the office of Gustode 
underwent from that of a public watchman to that of a 
secret spy, it was necessarily divested of that sim- 
plicity, which originally belonged to it. The Bepublic 
was in this respect far from being in the rear of her 
neighbours and contemporaries, and it may be sur- 
mised that the Venetian constable of the thirteenth 
and fourteenth centuries was at least as efficient a 
guardian of the Peace ''of my Lord the Doge,'' as 
the English sixteenth-century character, which Shak- 
speare has immortalized in Dogberry. 

The celebrated conspiracy which was formed against 
Venice, in 1871, by Francesco Novello, Lord of Padua, 
furnishes the first direct clue to the existence of the 



816 HISTOEY OF VENICE. [chap. 

social evil in the Bepnblic. From the details of that 
movement it is collected, that in the time of Andrea 
Contarini, a house of ill-repute was kept in the Capital 
by a procuress known as La Gobba (the Hunchhack) , 
who was not very fastidious in the choice of her 
visitors. On this particular occasion the house was 
found, upon being searched by the police, to contain 
several dangerous poUtical characters, who had come 
from Padua with a diabolical project in contemplation, 
and who were betrayed at the last moment by two 
courtezans. It may be conjectured that the Gobba 
estabUshment was only one among many, which were 
to be seen in various districts. 

To check the progress of the evil, and to diminish 
the chances of contamination, as well as the scandal 
of a system of prostitution, formed the stead&st aim 
of Venetian legislation. In the earlier part of the 
fifteenth centuiy, a law passed, which prescribed that 
all the stews of the metropolis should be concentrated 
in a single quarter, and that the women, who belonged 
to them, should wear a dress of a motiey pattern pecu- 
Uar to themselves ; and such a measure, to whatever 
extent it was mistaken in principle and practically in- 
operative, was meant to be a step in the right direc- 
tion. A late experiment of a different kind, by which 
the brothels were suppressed, was still less feUcitous ; it 
was a remedy worse than the evil against which it pro- 
vided; and a short trial sufficed to establish its futility. 

One of the most remarkable features in the early 
Constitution, was the prominence and distinctness. 



XXVI.] PECULIARITY OP THE CONSTITUTION. 817 

which it allowed from the first both in religion and 
politics to private enterprise and liberality; and this 
was a feature, which grew down to a certain point 
with the growth of Venice herself. Works, which 
were undertaken elsewhere by the Government, were 
here undertaken by one or more individuals. Chari- 
ties, endowments, and other institutions of various 
kinds, which were founded elsewhere by the nation at 
large, were founded here by an Orseolo or a Badoer. 
What in other States were general burdens, at Venice 
were class-burdens. An antient and perhaps imme- 
morial usage, prescribing that all the great Venetian 
families should maintain in their domestic establish- 
ments an Armoury, from which they might at any 
time be compellable, on due summons from the 
Ghiefe of the Wards, to contribute their quota of 
weapons of offence and other necessaries to the support 
of a War, manifestly sprang from this fundamental 
theoiy ; and the same bearing is observable in the 
obligation, which was recognised on the part of those 
families, under similar circumstances, to furnish the 
Administration with ships, an obUgation which was 
occasionally commuted for ship-money. In truth, 
while the Venetian nobiHty sought from the earliest 
times to be exclusive in the enjoyment of political 
power, it courted rather than evaded the responsi- 
bilities of such power; and whatever might be the vices 
of the system of government, which it established, 
neither excessive taxation, nor arbitrary levies, nor 
oppressive imposts, were often to be reckoned among 



318 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

them. To one class indeed the Republic was made to 
owe her greatness ; and the debt was more than ftilly 
repaid. Venice was the creature and the victim of a 
party. 

Two oircumstancesi which supplied an indication of 
the growing prosperity of Venice at the dose of the 
fourteenth and commencement of the fifteenth centuiy, 
were the increase in the population, and the rising 
value of house property. It is supposed that, in 
the age of Sebastiano Ziani (1173-8) the population 
of the whole Dogado, inclusively of persons in holy 
orders, did not exceed 70,000; but the difficulties 
which necessarily waited upon the verification of a 
census in a City, where the absentees were constantly 
numerous, warn us against the reception of this class 
of statistics in too exact or literal a sense. In 1336, 
the official returns shewed 40,100 males between 
twenty and sixty, representing by comparison with 
other tables an aggregate of nearly 150,000. In the 
last decade of that century, the numbers fell little 
short of a quarter of a million ; and by a census, taken 
in 1867, it is established that the heads of noble 
Houses in that year were no fewer than 204.* 

The practice of framing Bent-BoUs was familiar to 
the Venetians in the early part of the fourteenth 
century. In the days of Marco Comaro, who ascended 
the throne in 1865, the old Bent Boll, or Catastero 
VecchiOf had been rendered by the enormous expansion 

> Romanm (ilL 347) 



xxn.] 



RENT-BOLLS. 



819 



of ihe National wealth entirely obsolete and unservice- 
able! and in 1867 a fresh fsxarrey was authorized. 

The Catastero Yecohio was thus silently superseded. 
Its successori the Catastero Nuovo^ exhibited the results 
which follow : 



Ward. 


No. of 


Total Rental in 


Parishes. 


Gold Ducats. 


San Marco 


16 


799,180 


Castdlo . 


12 


456,960 


Caaareggio 


12 


485,230 


San Polo 


8 


490,270 


Santa Crooe 


9 


281,280 


DonoduTo 


11 


868,800 



In this Tabular statement a few trifling inaccuracies 
ezistf which it is no longer possible to rectify. The 
correct total for the six Wards is 2,880,818 ducats of 
gold,^ or, in lire grosse, a tithe of that sum. 

Another, perhaps the next, Survey, was made in 
1425 ; and the Boll of 1867 became in its turn the 
Old Roll. It is said' that the new survey exhibited a 
total of 8,258,042 ducats of gold, being in excess of 
the former by 872,224 ducats. The gold ducat was 
equivalent to a tenth of a lira grossa, and represented 
in English money fourteen shillings and a fraction. 
The silver ducat was only a fourth of this amount. 
But for the silver ducat there were two tariffs, the 
sterling and the current. The current silver ducat 
did not represent more than half-a-crown in EngUsh 
money. The latter was used exclusively in trade. 
In the affairs of the administration, the sterling rate 

' Bomanin (iii. DocumenH^ No. 5, EsHma deU$ Case di Vsmtia net 
1867), from the Cronaea Magna, 
* Romanin (iy. 500). 



320 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

was invariably understood. When it was first stmck 
in 1284, in apparent supersession of the old Bedondo of 
BadoerVn. (939-42), the ducat of gold was estunated 
as equal to two lire piccolo ; but such was the purity 
and fine grain of the metal, and so undeyiating the 
uniformity of the weight, that it continued to rise in 
value. In 1400, it was equal to 4 lire piccolo 18 soldi, 
or 5 lire — 2 soldi. In 1450, its worth had more 
than trebled ; it was equal to 6 lire 4 soldi. In the 
course of a few centuries, it rose to 22 lire, or eleven 
times its original mint price.* 

The mansions, which studded the Grand Canal and 
other leading thoroughfares, fetched enormous sums. 
The possessor of a fortune which certainly did not 
exceed 150,000 ducats, Francesco Foscari was ac- 
counted, relatively speaking, a needy man; and his 
expensiye habits and large family conspired to make 
him still poorer : yet the Palace, in which the Doge 
liyed before his accession to power, and also for a 
few days in October, 1457, after his retirement, cost 
him 20,000 ducats. A large number of residences 
on or near the Bialto were estimated at 10,000 and 
15,000 ducats, and 5,000 or 6,000 ducats was quite 
an ordinary figure. The house, which was purchased 
by the Commune so far back as 1348 for Jacopo 
da Carrara, grandfather of Francesco Novello, cost 
5,000 ducats. In 1413, among the rewards of Pan- 
dolfo Malatesta, Captain-General of Venice in the 
Hungarian War, was a dwelling, for which the Pro- 

1 Romanin (iii. 342). 



xrri.] HOUSES AND THEIR RENTS. 821 

curators of Saint Mark's paid 6,000 ducats ; and in 
1429 the Palazzo Giustiniani at San Pantaleone was 
bonght for the Lord of Mantua, ex-Captain-General 
of the Signory, for the sum of 6,500 ducats. In the 
same year, the Government, desirous of doing honour 
to the Waiwode of Albania, a Venetian citizen, pro- 
cured for him the house of the patrician Nicolo 
Morosini at an outlay of only D. 3,000. The prices 
demanded for shops in the choicer and more fashion- 
able localities at the same time was exorbitant. The 
smallest counter on the Bialto itself did not let for less 
than 100 ducats a year, and for the Bell Hotel at the 
P^cheria, with a frontage of little shops, the Sanudo 
fSEunily received annually 800 ducats.^ Tenements 
which, at the beginning of the fourteenth centuiy, 
used to let for fifteen or twenty ducats, had become in 
the fifteenth worth, according to their situation and 
their proximity to the Ducal Besidence, six, eight, ten, 
or even twelve times as much 1 In the more sumptuous 
of the private edifices in and about the Foscari period 
(1423-57) , there were not unfrequently single apart- 
ments upon the decoration of which 800, 1,000, or 
even 2,000 ducats had been expended by the pro- 
prietor, principally in gilding, mosaic or other carving, 
marble, and glass. Of the celebrated Furnaces at 
Murano the richer classes were munificent patrons ; so 
laige was the demand for the article in the metro- 
polis alone, that in all the better neighbourhoods every 
street had its own glass warehouse, which depended 

* Bomanin {SUnia Doaanentata, ir. cap. 6). 
VOL. IV. 60 



822 msTOBY OF Venice. [ghaf. 

exclusively for support upon the tenants of the few 
mansions spread along on each side of it. 

In the latter half of the twelfth century, the 
Government borrowed of half-a-dozen merchants the 
sum of 160,000 silver marks ^ 800,000/. at least.' 
From this transaction dated their origin the National 
Debt and the MorUe-Vecchio. It was not tiU twelve 
or thirteen years later, that a Chamber of Loans 
(Camera degV Imprestidi) , with its staff of fonctionaries 
(Gamerlenghi) , was called into existence, and that the 
Funding System was made a branch of the political 
economy of the State. The confidence which was 
felt almost universally in the stability and good fiaith 
of Venice, encouraged an extensive resort to the 
Monte-Vecchio and afterward to the Monte-Nuovo. 
Foreign princes and capitalists deposited their money 
in the Funds as the securest investment which could 
be made ; the right to hold Venetian scrip was a privi- 
lege which could not be obtained without legislatiye 
sanction ; and the sums registered in 1428 represented 
an aggregate of 9,000,000 ducats of gold,* the interest 
upon which, paid half-yearly at Lady-day and Michael- 
mas, was 180,000 ducats. The subjoined Table shews 
the fluctuations in the interest paid upon the Debt 
during twelve years from 1886 to 1898. 

Year Amount. 

^^' Ducats. 

1386 146,690 

1387 239,830 

* Romanin (iy. 94). 

> Galliciolli (lib. i. e. 13). In twenty yean from that time it had neen 
to thirteen millions. 



zxTi.] THE FUNDS AND THEIB FLUCTUATIONS. 828 

v^- Amount 

*®"- Ducats. 

1388 228,180 

1389 220,870 

1390 211,480 

1391 238,230 

1392 218,000 

1393 241,190 

1394 193,589 

1395 217,660 

1396 197,310 

1397 188,950 

1398 195,500 > 

The marketable value of the Funds was liable to 
rapid vaiiations. At one time (1440) they were as 
low as 18^. So far as can be ascertained they were 
never higher than 69, at which figure they stood 
during a few months in 1409 ; but before the end 
of the year they had sunk to 45. In 1425, they were 
again at 68. It can scarcely be matter of surprise 
that the fluctuations were so frequent and so violent, 
when each ship which entered the Lagoons brought 
tidings of the prospect of a new war with Milan or 
Hunary,g or a report of a fresh revolution at Genoa 
or Bologna. Our astonishment must be rather that, 
at such an epoch and such a cycle of the world, 
any State should have succeeded even imperfectly in 
establishing a Funding system, and in imparting to 
it a moderate degree of equilibrium. 

A subject more apposite and cognate than it may 
at first appear to the question of Population, is the 
question of Names. The Venetian families, apart 
from political distinctions, were of two classes: — 

* GallidoUi, u^' supra. 

60—2 



324 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

1. Those which merely migrated into the islaiids; 
and 2. Those which were of a porely insular origin, 
and were founded subsequently to the rise of the 
Bepublic. 

Infinitely numerous were the localities from which 
the immigrants came. The Orseoli, Quirini, Comari 
(Comelii), Marcelli, Yalieri (Yalerii), and MichieH, 
pointed to the Eternal City as the cradle of their 
race. Yicenza gave the Grimani, Capua the Capelli, 
Candia the Calergi and the Gezi, Pavia the Badoeri, 
Altmo the Dandoli, and Messina the Foscari. The 
Grittii the Zeni, the Tiepoli, sprang from a Greek 
stock. In the veins of the Giustiniani flowed the 
blood of the Heraclian Dynasty. The progenitors of 
Yettore Pisani were ApuUan Counts. The ancestry 
of the Contarmi are said to have been Lombard 



The fSajmlies which belonged to the second category, 
and which may be described as indigenous, were those 
of Da Canale, Da Ponte, Da Biya, Spazza-Canale, 
Dalle Fomaci, Dalle Contrade, Molino, Tagliapietra, 
Tribune, Ducato, Yeneto, MaUpiero, Engegniere, Ma- 
rini, Premarino, and others. 

But the population of Yenice long remained in- 
contestably scanty, as it has been already observed. 
The periodical ravages of epidemics, coupled with 
the roving propensities of the people, were op- 
posed to its rapid increase. It is true that in the 
course of time natives of all countries from Brittany 
to Bohemia settled in the City, and acquired by the 



xxn.] VENETIAN NAMES AND DIALECT. 825 

prescribed tiine of residencei yarying from ten to 
fifteen yearsi the enjoyment of civic rights. Bnt it 
is nnhkely, that any of these distant emigrations 
were accompUshed till the twelfth centnry. It was 
not till after the events of 1204, that a Calergi of 
Crete and a Lippomano of Negropont made the Be- 
pnbHc their adopted conntiy. It was only about one 
hundred years before, that the family of Polo quitted 
Dalmatia, and sought a new home on the opposite 
coast. The influx of Greeks from Constantinople 
is commonly assigned to the reign of Michieli III. 
(1170): nor can the establishment of the Brici of 
Saint Jean d'Acre and other Orientals be referred with 
much probability to an epoch anterior to the first 
Crusade (1099). 

It was the genius and attribute of the Venetian 
Dialect to transform names for the most part into 
its own idiom. Giustiniani, Zeno, Badoario, Sanuto, 
Polani, Maestro-Pietro, Greeco, Basilioi became Zus- 
tignaUi Zen, Badoer, Zanutti, Boldu, Malipiero, Gritti, 
Baseio. Giovanni was corrupted into Zuanne. Enrico, 
Theofiloi Angelo, Dominico,yittorio, were Yenetianized 
into Arrigo, Fiofio, Anzolo, Domenigo, Yettore. For 
Messire il Doge we find substituted in the same 
manner, Messer lo Doxe ; for Giudecca, Zuecca ; for 
Gemelli, Zimole ; for Carico, Cargo ; for Giunta, 
Zonta; for Maggiore Consiglio, Mazor Conseio; for 
AwocatOi Avogador; for Yenezia itself, Yinegia; and 
instances of this kind are too numerous to be particu- 
larized. In the comparatively early decree, by which 



826 mSTOEY OF VENICE. [chap. 

it was ordered that all legal and legislatiye proceedings 
should be conducted in the Venetian tongue^ the solici- 
tude of the Republic was apparent not only to remove 
the inconvenience of a Latin jargon, but to give dignity 
to her peculiar patois. The latter was not merely the 
language of ballads and pasquinades, of street-ciies 
and popular songs, but it was, after a certain period, 
the language which was spoken from the Bench and 
in the Senate. Nevertheless, by the better historical 
writers it was largely, if not altogether, eschewed. It 
is well known that the more antient historians com- 
posed their works like Sagominus in Latin, or like 
Da Canale in Norman-French. 

The Christian names were borrowed principally from 
the Scriptures and the Martyrology. The passion of 
the Venetians for this class of appellation occasioned 
the speedy transfer td theilr baptismal nomenclature of 
such names as Zacchaiy, Luke, John, Faul, Timothy, 
Matthew, Noello, Pasquale, Vitali, Theodore, Mark, 
Thomas, and James. A love of Roman prototypes 
gradually naturalized Amulius, Ascanius, Priam, Hector, 
Troilus, ComeUuel, Lucretius, Camillus, Fabius, Octa- 
vian, Justinian, ^milius, Valerius, Fabricius, and 
Livius. Among women, Felicia, Buona, CHara, Agnes, 
Joan, Lucretia, Margaret, Maiy, Anne, Catherine, 
Justina, Benedicta, Julia, Constance, Bomanai were 
favourites. After the Lombard Conquest of 568, 
Henry, Froiba, Archielda, and many names, found 
neither in the Pentateuch, nor in Eusebius, nor in 
Dion CasBius, were of more or less frequent. occur^. 



XXVI.] VENETIAN NAMES-GOD'S-GIFT. 827 

rence. Subsequently to the rise of the Norman 
power, it was not unnsual to meet with Robert, 
Bohemond, and Godfiried. A not uncommon name 
during the earKer centuries was Deus-Dedit (Diodato) , 
or God's-gift ; the second Doge of the family of Orso, 
who reigned from 742 to 755, was thus christened. 
It was, perhaps, merely given under the peculiar cir- 
cumstances of an unexpected blessing ; and if it was 
80, it seems natural that these Venetians, devout 
worshippers of Christ's Cross, and steadfiast believers 
in an all-ruling Providence, should have loved to bestow 
on the autumn blossoms of the life-tree an appellation 
which Hiight serve as a lasting record and perpetual 
testimony of the bounty of God. 

The territorial insignificance of Venice itself, and 
the necessarily confined extent to which agriculture 
was practised within her own boundaries, will explain 
why the Feudal System made no enduring impression, 
and left few, if any, permanent traces on the soil of the 
Dogado. The spirit of the Constitution was diametri- 
cally opposed to the formation of a Landed Interest, 
and the growth of military tenures. Nevertheless, in 
early times, while the population remained excessively 
scanty, and many of the Islands continued to be wholly 
tminhabited, the Ducal Government learned to make 
it a point of policy to bring these waste lands under 
culture by granting them out on easy terms to the 
servants and dependents of the first magistrate, and to 
others; and it becomes worthy of note that such 
grants were invariably founded on a strictly feudal basis. 



328 mSTOBY OP VENICE. [chap. 

In 864^^ daring the interregnum which followed the 
assassination of the Doge Tradenigo, the Provisional 
Execntiye was induced to accord to the domestics and 
other attendants of the deceased a free settlement on 
the then desert island of Poveja, with the fEumliy of 
electing their own municipal magistrates (Gastaldi), 
under the simple stipulation that they and their heirs 
should transmit to the Palace at Bialto, on the first 
Friday of each succeeding November for ever, as a mark 
of fealty J a tribute of fish through their Gastaldo and 
seven of their oldest townsmen, the reigning Doge 
being pledged to provide their deputies on every 
anniversary of the custom with a public dinner« 

About 880,' Orso Badoer, Tradenigo's successor, 
observing that, in consequence of the once constant 
incursions of Pirates and Freebooters, the islands of 
Dorso-Duro, Olivolo, San Nicolo, and Murano, which 
lay in a peculiarly exposed situation, had been hitherto 
comparatively neglected, was led by financial reasons 
of a temporary character to concede to a tolerably 
large number of his retainers the property in question 
on the express condition, that the new tenants and 
their heirs should do service as Excusati, or Body- 
guards, to him and his successors in the Ducal Palace 
in perpetuity, and in the second place should render 
to the Fisc an annual payment amounting to a tithe of 
their income. 

A third trace of feudalism once existed in the old 
Priory of Lovoli, which lay under a singular obligation 

■ Vide mpra, yol. i. p. 104. * Vide svpra^ L 133. 



xxTi.] VENICE AND THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 829 

to contribnte nineteen men to the Excnsati* If snch 
obligation, of which no other instance can be disco- 
vered, could be proved to be, what it most probably 
was, nothing more than a homage on the part of a 
Corporation for its lands, an illustration would at once 
be presented of the familiarity of the Venetians with 
the antient and honourable tenure by Free Socage,^ of 
which perhaps the case of the Tenantry of Poveja may 
not unfairly be admitted as a second example. 

Tenure by Enight- Service, which prevailed in Colonia 
Yenetorum (Candia), as well as in Corfu, was alto- 
gether unknown to the Parent-City, from which the 
whole system of Fees or Feuds was, with a few inci- 
dental exceptions, excluded by a cause abready brought 
under notice. 

Of the two kinds of Vilains or Vileins (Villani)^ 
known to the feudal law, namely: — 1, Vilains 
Regardant or Attendant : 2, Vilains in Gross : the 
latter alone, who were with stricter propriety denomi- 
nated Servij seem to have existed under the early 
Constitution. The frequent allusions to Servi, which 
are found in the annals of the Bepublic from the 
eighth to the fifteenth century, must lead to an 
inevitable conclusion, that this class of persons was 
proportionally not less numerous at Venice than in 
other parts of Medieval Europe; and in a treaty 



' The definition of this word as tenure of lands by inferior Bervices of 
buslwndTy, appears to be at least incomplete. *^ The term,** as Mr. Kerr 
{Blackttone'i Commentaries, ii. 79) observes, "^ is more [properly derived 
by Somnq^ from «oc, liberty or privilege, than from soca, a plough." 



880 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

<^ncliid6d in 996^ between the Doge Orseolo n. 
and the Emperor Otho IE., a clause is found inserted 
for the extradition of fagitire serfs from the territories 
of the latter. At the same time, there is no apparent 
authority for the supposition, that the Venetian Ser& 
were employed otherwise than in a menial capacity. 

From a very early date, however, the Constitution 
recognised on the part of Masters a right of exclusiye 
and uncontrolled property in their Serfs. Among 
the Archives of the Monastery of San Girolamo,' ap- 
pears an instrument, under which one of the Brethren 
cedes and sells to another for fifty-two lire (of silver) a 
Russian female slave, aged thirty-three, sound in limb 
and understanding, according to the custom and usage 
of the country, and because he had in the Serf in 
question an undivided and unquestioned property. By 
the will which he made in 1328, Marco Polo manu- 
mitted and restored unconditionally to Uberty one 
of his servants. During the War of Chioggia in 
1379-^0, Masters were required to pay an extraordi- 
nary tax of three silver lire a month for ^very serf in 
their hands.^ In 1410, a singularly curious law was 
enacted, to impose a check on a practice then too 
common among the serfe of both sexes in Venice, 
of dabbling in the mysteries of the Black-Art, as an 
expedient for gaining the affections of their employers I 

At the same time, the Signory afforded, throughout 
her ample dominions on the Terra-Fenna, the utmost 
stimulus and encouragement to agriculturists and 

' > 7. ni;>r^ i. 211. ' Fmad (Rieerehe, 27-8-9)! 



XXV1.J AGEIOULTURE. 831 

iarmers ; and npon the extension of the Venetian role 
over Treviso and the contigaons ProvinceSy landowners 
were placed in possession of facilities, never before 
known, for the improyement of their estates, and for 
the cultivation of the soil.^ Drainage by hydraulic 
pressore, artificial mannringi and other inventions 
were patronized and fostered. In the poorer localities, 
proprietors were indulged by a partial exemption from 
taxes ; and after a War, the districts which had formed 
the seat of hostilities were compensated for their 
losses, so far as possible, by a liberal distribution of 
relief in kind. Pawnbrokers and money-lenders were 
forbidden to receive in pledge oxen or other animals 
used at the plough. To promote the interests of the 
same class it was, that many rivers in the Peninsula 
were for the first time made thoroughly navigable, and 
that ecclesiastical corporations were recommended to 
grant leases of their temporalities, instead of allowing 
them to lie fallow. In Dahnatia, the people were 
left at liberty to navigate all the rivers in their own 
bottoms without constraint for commercial and agri- 
cultural purposes. In this, as in other respects, 
wherever the Republic extended her jurisdiction, she 
carried with her the same paternal solicitude for the 
wel&re of her subjects, for tiie alleviation of their 
burdens, and for their material prosperity ; and 
nothing can be more scandalously untrue than the 
too generally received notion that, In pursuing hei" 

' Andrea Gloria (Intomo alia Storia e CoUezione deUe L^gi rtferibili 
aXC AgricoUiKra MPodawmo. Arch, Star. ItaL Nuava iSsrif, iy. pt 1.) 



832 HISTORY OF VENICE, [chaf, 

conquests, Venice obeyed merely the instincts of a blind 
and selfish ambition. The Venetians had in common 
yptii their neighbours Italian blood, the Italian name, 
an Italian soil and sky ; but it was a very broad 
constitutional line, which separated them from Home 
under the Colonna, or Milan under the Visconti. In 
social refinement, in moral and intellectual culture, 
and in general civilization, Venice stood on an unap- 
proachable eminence. 

Many features appear to have belonged to the early 
Venetians, which are opposed altogether to the modem 
conception of their character. They were in truth at 
the outset of their career a sober, earnest and thought- 
ful people ; courteous, affable, and even jocund in their 
maimers, but somewhat distrustful and circumspect ; 
strict in their religious observances, and in the offices 
of charity and piety unsparingly liberal ; not averse 
from show and pomp; costly and splendid in their 
dress, but neither motley nor garish in their tastes ; in 
their choice of attire displaying a conservative spirit in 
keeping with the conservatism of their later policy ; 
little tolerant of profane pleasures or of frivolous 
amusements, and chiefly bent on the more practical 
pursuits and severer duties of life : yet turning aside 
with no reluctant heart, when the hour called to holy 
worship or innocent recreation. Such were the Venetian 
merchants of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 
" The City of Venice," writes Ferretus of Vicenza,* 
" deserves to be called free : for it is governed by the 

' Rerum in liaLid gestarum ab 1150 ad 1318 HiHaria (Mont iz.) 



xxn.] OPINIONS OP FOREIGNERS ON VENICE. 883 

connsels of good citizenSi and not by the dictates of an 
absolute King ! '* Nicholas Bonotriensis, who accom- 
panied Henry YII. of Gennany during his Italian 
journey in the second decade of the fourteenth century, 
complains of the discontented and restless spirit of the 
Venetians of his time. ** They wiU have," says the 
Bishop, *^ neither God, nor the Church, nor the Em- 
peror. Neither the land, nor the sea satisfies them I " ^ 
A similar stricture is passed by Froissart on the Lom- 
bards generally. In the Chronicle of Muazzo the 
Islanders are accused of being incurable ramblers. 
" The villas, the gardens, the castles of the Venetians," 
remarks this writer, '^ are Dahnatia, Albania, Romania, 
Greece, Trebizond, Syria, Armenia, Egypt, ^Cyprus, 
Candia, Apulia, Sicily, and other countries, where 
they find adyantage, recreation and security, and 
where they stay ten years at a time with their sons 
and their nephews." * 

" I have considered," writes the shrewd and lively 
Casola in 1498,^ ''the quality of these Venetian gentle- 
men, who are for the most part persons of fair and 
comely presence, astute, and in their dealings very 
subtle, so that it is needful in your transactions with 
them to keep your eyes and ears open. They are proud ; 
it is, I conceiye, firom the great empire which belongs 
to them ; and when a son is bom to a Venetian, the 
saying is : ' a lord is bom into the world.' In their 

' Iter Italicum Henrici Septimi^ ▲.!>. 1310-13, Auctore Nxcokto Epi* 
scopo Bonotriensi (Marat, iij S95), 

* Filiasi, tdn supra, 

* Journey to Jerusalem^ ^.d. 1498: edit. 18^. 



884 mSTOBY OF VENIGE, Ccbap. 

houses they are yery thrifty and modest ; ont of doors, 
they are exceedingly generous. Thd Citj of Venice 
retains the old way of dressing, and never changes it^ 
that is to say, the long mantle, the colour being optional 
and a matter of taste, though most frequently blacks 
Nobody stirs abroad in any other costume ; it is a style 
certainly yery suited to grave persons. They all look 
like Doctors of Laws ; but, if any one were to appear 
in the street without his toga, he would be taken for a 
madman I ** 

. Let the mind's eye conceive a ruder Amsterdam, 
a City permeated by canals, and divided into deep 
water-streets of low wooden tenements interspersed, 
even somewhat thickly in the leading thorough* 
fares, with dwellings of greater pretension built on a 
better model and of a more durable material, and 
studded in every quarter with Christian Temples for 
the most part of the plainest architecture, not a few 
on the other hand possessing considerable beauty of 
structure, though more remarkable for the richness of 
their ornamentation than for the regularity of their 
design. Let us present to our fancy a few hundred 
lamps fed with olive-oil, distributed through the streets 
and alleys, commencing at the Sacred Niche at the 
comer, and renewed at each third or fourth door, 
shedding over the surrounding space a light, a little 
more powerfdl indeed but far less brilliant, than that 
which is emitted by the glow-worm. Imagine thorough- 
fares similar to those in the Dutch Capital, sometimes 
finding their termination in the Lagoon, more fre- 



uvx] MEDIEVAL VENICE. 880 

quently abutting upon squares skirted on three sides by 
pubHo or private edifices, and on the remaining side 
opening from a wharf-lined quay to the sea. Picture 
those quays and squares a scene of perpetual bustle 
and excitement, the theatre of an uninterrupted pro- 
cession of men. On one spot, a group of sailors, 
loosely dressed in jackets and caps, are quarrelling 
perhaps about their last wager. Within a stone's 
throw of the place, where these men are standing, 
is a decently attired female, who is kneeling in an 
attitude of devotion before an image of the Virgin, 
enclosed in a recess at the angle of the nearest 
street. At another point, two persons who, if a judg- 
ment may be formed from their exterior, belong to a 
much higher class of society, are conversing together 
in a subdued tone. The elder of the two, a Yenetiiui 
patrician, is drawing the attention of his visitor, a 
gentleman of Verona, to a large house of the Lorn-* 
bardic type immediately before, them on the right 
hand ; there, said the Venetian, had lived in former 
times a celebrated member of his fiEunily, and there 
was his memory still cherished by his descendants. 
A little farther onward to the left, he points out a 
second building of equal pretension, where the exis- 
tence of a terrible plot, he whispered, had of late been 
discovered by the Government. After a short pause, 
the two passengers proceed on their way, warned of 
the approach of the hour of vespers by the bells of 
many churches, which are mingling their chimes in 
the stillness of a summer evening. 



886 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

A little beyond the busy and crowded metropolis lay 
a region more sparsely populated, where the eye is 
relieved by patches of verdure and strips of meadow- 
land, as well as occasional plots of ground laid out in 
gardens and planted enclosures still consecrated to 
the vine and the olive, and still unaffected by the in- 
creasing demand for building space in a rising City. 
Here and there, too, may be observed Fish-Fonds 
(Piscine)^ stagnant and miasmatic. 

Such was the Venice which Arrigo Dandolo knew, 
where Marco Polo drew his first breath, in which 
Marino Faliero passed his youth. 

Before the close of the thirteenth century, there 
were several places which had acquired historical 
celebrity, and which were pointed out to visitors 
as objects of various interest and curiosity. In one 
quarter was shown a Church, in which an Emperor 
had suffered humiliation, and in which a Pope had 
preached the Gospel. In another was the scene of a 
battle of former days, on the issue of which had been 
staked the national existence. Here, perhaps, was 
the spot where the Head of the Government had fiJlen 
by the hand of an assassin. A little farther onward 
was the window, from which a pious Doge of other 
tunes was seen to converse with an unknown and 
mysterious stranger. On his right hand, the guide 
indicated the precise locality, where not long since had 
stood the oldest glass-furnace in Venice ; on his left, 
he drew attention to a house partly in ruins, yet still 
famous as the birth-place of one, to whom the adven- 



xxn.] HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 337 

titions means of living in affluence and splendour had 
offered no temptation to ignoble repose, and who, after 
signalizing himself by great actions, had at length died 
for the Bepnblic, leaving to his descendants the golden 
legacy of an immortal name. 

In the Parish of San Agostino, in the Ward of San 
Polo, was the mansion which had been occupied by 
cdx generations of Tiepoli : Bartolo Tiepolo the Pro- 
curator;^ his son Marco; Giacomo Tiepolo, the son 
of Marco ; Lorenzo, the son of Giacomo ; Giacomo 
Tiepolo the Younger^ the child and grandchild of a 
Doge ; and lastly,. Bajamonte, the " Great Chevaher.'* 
In the Sestiero of San Marco, in the Parish of San 
Luca, on the margin of the Grand Canal, stood, till 
I78I9 the house in which Arrigo Dandolo was bom. 

During the reign of Marino Morosini (1249-52), 
a spacious edifice existed in the Parish of San Giovanni 
Grisostomo, in the Ward of Canal-Beggio. It was the 
property of a Venetian gentleman of good family and 
handsome fortune, who had been absent for some time 
on a distant voyage. At present, the sole occupants of 
the building were his wife and her servants; and here, in 
the course of 1250 or the following year, this lady gave 
birth to a son, whose life she purchased with her own. 
The child inherited from his father a sound constitu- 
tion and a vigorous mind ; and as he grew up, the love 
of adventure and the spirit of discovery, by which the 
former was animated, he was found to possess even in 
a superior degree. On his return, the traveller was 

' Litta in voce Tiepolo, 
VOL. IV. 51 



338 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

inexpresBibly grieved at the change which had taken 
place, during his absence, in his domestic circom- 
stances; as a distraction from the afflicting scene 
which his home presented, he soon determined to 
undertake a new voyage to the East ; and he thought 
that he could not better consult the mterests of his 
son, now a youth of eighteen, than by making him his 
companion. He was desirous of famUiariziag him 
with the dangers of the sea, and of initiating him into 
the laws of navigation ; it was his wish to inspire a 
son, who was dear to him by a double tie, with a taste 
for those pursuits by which he himself had risen to 
fame and affluence; and he even proposed, if he 
extended his travels so far, to introduce the lad at the 
Court of the Grand Ehan. Such was the outset of 
the life of the greatest of Venetian navigators, and 
such was the opening of the career of Mabco Polo. 

In the same Ward of Canal-Beggio, in the street of 
San Apostoli, was the dwelling of Arrigo Zeno, where 
the Great Fire of 1106 first broke out ; and in the 
immediate neighbourhood lived the Mkei of Marino 
FaUero, who was bom there in 1274. 

In the Ward of Castello, in the Parish of Santa 
Giustina, was the palace in which Sebastiano Ziani 
fixed his residence after his return from Armenia* 
From this house he was called in 1173, at the sugges- 
tion of his friend MaUpiero, to assume the government 
of his country. It was here also that his son Pietro, 
who in his time enjoyed the reputation of being the 
wealthiest nobleman in Venice, received a similar sum- 



xxvij HISTORICAL ASSOCUTIONS. 889 

mons two-and-thirty years later ; and to the same roof 
the latter retired in 1229, when he was an old and 
wearjr man, to close his eyes in peace. 

In that Sestiero, a little out of the City and in the 
district of Gumbarere, stood the famous and venerable 
abbey of San Zaccaria, founded in the first days of the 
Bepublic, and restored in the early part of the ninth 
century at the expense of the Byzantine Emperor 
Leo IV. Connected with this wealthy institution for 
the reception of ladies, who desired to dedicate their 
lives to Heaven, was more than one interesting and 
important episode. 

It was at the water-gate of San Zaccaria that in 
982 the remains of Domenigo Morosini were found in 
an open boat, ^^hich had drifted down the current, and 
that the consequent discovery was made of the murder, 
which led, by a singular concatenation of events, to 
the deposition of the Doge Memo. On his way 
from the Palace to this point, Michieli m. was 
overtaken and mortally wounded by Marco Casiolo. 
It was there, too, that the celebrated interview had 
taken place between Pietro Tradenigo and the Abbess 
Morosini (855), when the latter presented to his 
Serenity, in the name of the Sisterhood, the famous 
jewelled Diadem. 

In the street of San Filippo e Giacomo, once lived 
Orseolo the Holy. Here, while the Ducal Palace was 
still a wrecks that prince transacted the business of 
the State, and here in 961, while Sanudo IV. was 
still on the throne, his wife Felicita (Malipiero) had 

61—2 



340 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

borne him a son/ who was heir to his fisither's name, 
and to more than his father's genius. It was to the 
same spot that the eyes of all Venice were turned, on 
a certain morning in the month of September, 977, 
by the circulation of a rumour that the mansion had 
been searched, and that the Doge was nowhere to be 
found. But it was not till afterward, that the mystery 
of Orseolo's departure was satis&ctorily unravelled. 

Between the streets of San Filippo e Giacomo and 
the Biva degH Schiavoni, was the Calle delle Basse. 
Here once stood the stone structure, now no longer 
visible even in its ruins, where dwelled Marco Casiolo or 
Casuol;^ and it was in front of this house, that the 
wretched man met his fate in 1172. 

At Venice, the arts and sciences were sedulously 
and affectionately cultivated. Those, to which the 
Bepublic directed herself with the greatest earnestness 
perhaps, were mathematics, trigonometry, chemistry, 
alchemy, physics and metaphysics. The two former 
were of essential service in the study, of geography and 
navigation. 

The standard of geographical knowledge was not 
higher in any part of the world than here. The 
discoveries of the three Poll' in Tartary, China, and 
the East Indies ; of Marino Sanudo, detto TorseUo,^ 
their contemporary, and the author of Secreta Fidelium 
Crucis written in 1806, in Armenia, Palestine, and 

^ Ck>unt Litta {Celehri Famiglie Italiane^ in voce Orseolo). 

* Cronaca AUhuUejuxta Codicem Dresdensem, 

* Mawden's JforcoPofo; edit. 1818; 4°. 

* Oe8ta Dei per Francos^ vol. ii. : Hanoyiie, 1611 ; fd. 



XXVI.] THE AETS AND SCIENCES. 841 

Egypt ;^ of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno in Iceland, 
Norway, Greenland, and toward Labrador and New* 
fonndland;* of Ga da Mosto, on the African Gon- 
tinent; and of many others whose names and nar- 
ratives have alike perished, were continually swelling 
the stock of information. The charts which were 
published at intervals helped importantly the same 
object. It is scarcely susceptible of doubt that on his 
return from his travels in 1297, Marco Polo brought 
with him a plan more or less perfect and accurate of 
the latitudes which he had visited. In 1321,' the 
scarcely less illustrious Marino Sanudo Torsello pre- 
sented to the reigning Pontiff his celebrated hook on the 
Faithful of the Gross, with four maps or charts of his 
voyages in the Mediterranean, Egypt, Armenia, Arabia 
Felix, and the Holy Land ; copies were subsequently 
given to the King of France and the Gount of 
Claremont.^ In 1351, a traveller, supposed from 
internal evidence to have been a Genoese, designed a 
chart of the Black Sea.^ The production is jejune 
and meagre enough, but it is valuable and interesting 
as the most antient delineation of that region and 

I See also Filiasi (fiicerche, 137) ; Fladdo Zurla (Dt Marco Polo e 
degli aUri Viaggiaiori Veneziani, 1818: 2 vols.; 4^) ; Foscarini (p. 497 : 
edit. 1854) ; and Morelli (OperetU, ii.) 

' Gaterino Zeno {Commeniarii del Viaggio in Persicu, col scoprimento 
del hole Friskmde, ^c, da due fratelli Zeni, col disegno ; Yin^iia, 1558 : 
8*^. The DUegno is entitled Carta da Navegar de Nicolo et Antonio 
Zeni tfurono m TramofnJUxna VAno 1380. 

' CfeOa Dei per Francos^ ii.: Han., 1611. 

* Marino Sanndo Tonello {Oestaj M euprS). 

* Semstori (IHustrazione di una Carta del Mar NerOj aj). 1351 : 
Fiiense, 1856 ; 8''). 



842 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

littoral. In 1357, a map of the world, perhaps based on 
that of Sanndoy was made by Francesco and Domenigo 
Pizzagano of Venice ; ^ and other contributions to nau- 
tical science appeared in 1368, 1380, 1426, and 1436.' 
The last, which proceeded from the pencil of Andrea 
Bianco of Venice, was the most perfect which had 
hitherto been seen. But not eyen the degrees of 
latitude were marked upon it. About the same time. 
Bianco produced a Planisphere,' which preceded by 
some years that which the celebrated Fra Mauro 
prepared by commission for Alfbnso IV. of Portugal, 
and which was transmitted to Lisbon in 1469.^ Some 
of the details are sufficiently grotesque, and the designs 
of men and places are primitively quaint. But on the 
whole it is executed with an elaborate skill and with a 
delicacy of manipulation, which entitle Bianco to the 
warmest eulogy. It is a masterpiece and a work of 
high art for the epoch, and it is easy to conceive that 
it procured the draughtsman no common applause. 

The small folio volume, in which the Planisphere 
of 1436 was originally discovered, belongs to the library 
of Saint Mark. It contains eight other drawings, which 
merit a passing notice. There were formerly, in all 
appearance, as many as thirteen charts and maps in 
the collection ; but the first, second and fifth have 



' Romanin (iii. 366). 

' Jacopo Morelli {Dissertazione intomo adakmn Viaggiatori Venezuad 
erttditipoco noti; Operetiej i.) 

' Formaleoni (Saggio suUa NcaOica aniica de* Veneziani^ 178S, p. 16, 
et »eq,) 

* Foflcarini (Lett. Vetu, 445, n. 2: ed. 1854). 



xxn.-] THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 848 

disappeared, and the last is nothing more than an 
illustration of the Geography of Ptolemy. ^ 

The first chart in the present order, or No. 8, 
consists merely of a series of mathematical designs, 
demonstrating the laws of the winds and the phe- 
nomena of the tides, with a catalogue of instructions to 
navigators, and a table for measuring distances at sea. 

No. 4 represents with striking precision and accu- 
racy the Euxine, the Crimea, the Sea of Azoph, and 
the adjacent parts. No. 6 is deyoted to the eastern 
section of the Mediterranean, and includes the Archi- 
pelago. In No. 7 and No. 8 the remaining sections of 
that sea are given. No. 9 exhibits the shores of 
France and Germany, and comprehends the Scotish 
and Irish littorals. In No. 10 we see the Baltic, the 
Gulf of Bothnia, Norway, Iceland, Friesland, and 
(under the name of Stockfish conjecturally) New- 
foundland. No. 11 is simply the reproduction of some 
of its predecessors in miniature ; and lastly, at No. 12 
we find the Planisphere of Bianco.^ 

It is indisputable that the medieval Venetians were 
conversant with the polarity of the needle, and it is 
even 'probable that they were aware of its liability to 
declination. In a monograph on Antient Marinej^ the 

' Formaleoni {Illustrazume di Due Carte Antiche nella Bihlioteca dt 
San Marco: 1783); -Zurla (Dt Marco Polo e degli aUri Viaggiatori 
Veneziani: 1818). 

' Formaleoni, ubi iuprd. 

' Formaleoni {Saggio sulla Nautica antica de' Veneziani: Yen., 1783 ; 
8®). Nicolas, in his History of the English Navy, i., cites passages from 
two poems g£ the beginning of the fouteenth century, in which the 
loadstone is mentioned. 



844 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

author justly ridicules and ably confutes the super* 
ficial prejudice respecting the insignificance of the old 
Venetian Na^y, and he claims for his countrymen with 
some reason not only the honour of having been the 
first to apply trigonometry to nautical science, but of 
having developed the theory of tangents, and the 
decimal division of the radius. Marino Sanudo the 
Elder, who was a contemporary of the Doge Giovanni 
Dandolo (1280), confidently speaks of the compass 
as in use at that period. It is an ascertained fSEust that 
the Venetians, in and before the thirteenth century, 
employed a chart of Navigation, and were acquainted 
with a fixed system (Martelojo) of sailing tactics; and 
it seems to be one of those points which are self- 
evident, that a people who visited Egypt, the Euxine, 
and even the Sea of Azoph, so far back as the ninth 
century, could not have remained ignorant till the 
twelfth or thirteenth of the properties of the magnet. 
The mechanical sciences were principally directed 
to hydrauUc purposes,^ to the manufacture of Gocks, 
and to the development of the powers of the Lever. 
The traditions are familiar enough which carry back 
the invention of water-clocks, or clypsedrcef to the third 
century of the Christian era, and of instruments with 
metallic works, and an index or hand acting on a 

* Fasflixig from the subject of clocks, Romanin (iu. 349) says : "Noa 
minor cura esigeyano t lavori idrauUci pel r^golamento de* fiumi, pd 
ripoii del lidi, per lo scavamento dei pprti e del canali. Le spese per 
questi ultimi crano d*ordinario sostennte nn terzo dagli abitanti lungo 
il canale o rio ch' era a scayarsi da mia parte e un teno da quella dall* 
altra, un terso dal comune *' (aj>. 1318-28). 



XXVI.] ARTS AND SCIENCE&-CJLOCKS. 345 

BtriMng-bell to the eleventh if not to the ninth. 
Horology, which properly ranked among the dis- 
coTeries of the admirable Archimedes, was speedily re* 
gained' in the renascence of civilization ; but it was 
brought to perfection by the modems very slowly and 
gradually. The clocks^ which existed in England, 
France, Germany and Italy in the first moiety of the 
fourteenth centuiy, were sufficiently primitive in their 
mechanism. They seem to have been uniformly 
diurnal, to have had one hand only, and to have 
Bounded the hours through the medium of the bell, 
but neither the halves nor the quarters. 

The timepiece, which was to be seen at Padua in 
1344, was probably not importantly dissimilar from 
those which belonged at the same period to Dover 
Castle, Westminster Hall, and Peterborough Cathe- 
dral in England, or which were set up at Bologna in 
1356, and at Paris in 1364. They were all automa- 
tons; but they demanded unceasing attention, were 
perpetually out of repair, and entailed incredible 
expense. The French King instituted, after 1364, 
a special office for the superintendence of the Horologe ; 
and the holder was styled "the Governor of our Palace- 
Clock at Paris." 

The absence of any specific testimony of the ex- 
istence of timepieces anterior to 1310 cannot be 
accepted for a moment as a proof of an ignorance 
of the art. On the contrary, taken in connexion 

> Encydopfledia Britaimica in voce^ ediUo v2Hma. 



846 fflSTORY OP VENICE. [chaf- 

with the advanced state of Venetian civilization in 
other respects, it indicates that the invention was too 
fisuniliar and of too antient date to become subject of 
particular record. On the institution of the Decem- 
viral Council in 1310, one of the earliest decrees 
promulgated by that tribunal was directed against the 
practice of traversing the streets by night, which the 
recent Quirini-Tiepolo Conspiracy had rendered sus- 
picious; and it was ordered, "That no person who- 
soever shall be suffered, without special licence, to 
walk abroad after the third bell of the night/' ^ 
This edict undoubtedly alluded to the bell which 
formed, in the in&ncy of horology, a substitute for 
the striking pendulum, and which in the medieval 
clocks of larger size, adapted for churches and other 
public buildings, was of corresponding dimensions and 
compass* 

It is documentarily established that, prior to 1893, 
a magistracy resembling that at Paris existed here, 
and that large sums were expended on the construc- 
tion and repair of chronometrical instroments. In 
the year mentioned, a report was addressed to the 
Government on the state of the old clock of San 
Giacomo Di lUalto. It appeared^ that this timepiece, 
weighing six hundred pounds, was clumsy, ponderous 
and unserviceable ; that its bell, from some flaw in 
the action of the hand, emitted a sound which was 
barely audible, and that it was, at the same time, a 
great charge upon the Ducal Fisc. Under these cir- 

» Vide present work, vol. iii. p. 25. ■ Romanin (iii. 349). 



XXVI.] CLOCKa-THB LEVER— MEDICINE. 847 

cmnstances, a proposal was laid before the Procnra- 
torial Department by a mechanical engineer of the 
day to replace the instrument by a new one, which 
should be of lighter materials, on an improyed modeli 
and of three times the compass as regarded the tone 
of the bell. The project was sanctioned. How far it 
answered expectations we are left uninformed. 

The knowledge of the Leyer was introduced by 
the Lombard ^ Nicolo Barattiero who, under the reign 
of Sebastiano Ziani (1178-8) , was inyited to super- 
intend yarious works of drainage and architectural 
improyementy and who, at his own suggestioni per- 
formed the feat of raising on the Piazza of Saint 
Mark the two monoliths subsequently so notorious as 
the Bed Columns. There can be no hesitation in 
concluding, that the Venetians themselyes soon suc- 
cessfiQly exerted their imitatiye talents in emulating 
the ingenuity of the Lombard: nor is it easy to 
belieye, that so great a commercial people remained 
long in ignorance of the use of Cranes. 

The study of Medicine, though confined to a limited 
class, was diUgently prosecuted. It formed almost 
one of the occult sciences. Its professors occu- 
pied a high social position, and enjoyed many rare 
piiyileges. They were lightly taxed. They carried 
themselyes like lords. They were permitted to dress 
themselyes as they pleased,' and to wear as many 



> Vide nprd, i. c. 6. 

* Legge ml luuo, May 21, 1360 (Avogaria di Comune); Romanin 
(OL DocmnenH^ 6). 



848 HISTORY OP VENICE, [chap. 

rings on their fingers as suited their taste. They 
were at liberty to order of their tailor pantaloons of 
Alexandrian velvet ; to use white silk stockings and 
shoes of morocco leather, with gold buckles and 
jewelled points ; to trim their coat-sleeves with Valen- 
ciennes lace, and cover the garment itself with rich 
brocade; and to buy hat and gloves in keeping. If 
he was skilful, he was handsomely remunerated ; if he 
proved himself a quack, he was not allowed to practise. 
No sumptuary law touched the Doctor. No luxuries 
were denied to him. The best March wine and 
the maraschino of Zara were to be seen at his table. 
There was no dainty which he could not command. 
He was in a position to eat his dinner with a double- 
pronged fork. 

The Bepublic originally retained in her pay twelve 
general practitioners and twelve surgeons, at a salary 
of twelve lire grosse each, or 120 sequins (1324). In 
1310, if not earlier, a free residence was assigned to 
these functionaries at the Office of the Chamberlain 
of the Commune. In 1368, was instituted an Academy 
of Medicine. At this important and learned Society 
monthly meetings were appointed, at which all pro- 
fessional persons were invited to be present, and to 
lay on the table, or deliver orally, reports of all the 
remarkable cases which had come under their notice 
since the previous assembly. The examination of 
medical students was confided to the new Academy, 
which seems to have wholly superseded the old Hall 
of Physicians, established earlier in the century; and 



xxTi.] MEDICINE— EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. 849 

any foreigner, who might be desirons of practising at 
Venice, applied to it for his diploma. At San Gio- 
Tanni dall' Orio was a School of Anatomy ; and at 
San Giovanni Bragola, the College of the Liberal and 
Physical Sciences, upon which, in 1470, Pope Paul DI. 
(Pietro Barbo, a Venetian, and a native of the parish 
of San Gio. Bragola) conferred the privileges of an 
University.* In the Provinces of the Terra-Ferma, 
and wherever the Venetians extended their beneficent 
and humanizing sway, institutions similar to these, 
and endowed for the most part with similar privi- 
leges, were founded in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries.* 

The system of education consisted of three divi- 
sions: the seminary, the finishing-school, and the 
university. There were pedagogues to whom boys 
were sent when they had learned their alphabets at 
home, to acquire a knowledge of arithmetic, grammar, 
writing, and psalmody, as well as, if the pupil was of 
a good family, an elementary acquaintance with the 
classics. Such was the master who taught little 
Carlo Zeno his first lessons in Latin and Greek, and 
who put into his hands the Book of David the King, 
which delighted the child so much. There were other 
masters, generally barristers or advocates of standing, 
who undertook to prepare the sons of the nobiUty for 
college, and who initiated them in the principles of 
law and jurisprudence, without which the education of 

' Romanin (iv. 500). 

' At Zara, so early as 1409. See Romanin (iv. 500--1, note 5). 



860 mSTOBY OP VENICE. [chap. 

no Venetian gentleman was deemed complete. Such 
was that Biccardo Malhombra, who directed the 
studies of Andrea Dandolo ; in the following century, 
Giorgio Alessandrino and Benedetto Brognolo pre- 
pared students for the bar, and gave lectures at the 
public expense on forensic eloquence, as well as on 
poetry.^ 

In Theology, the Venetians were quite on a leyel 
with their contemporaries. Already, in the eleventh 
century, San Gherardo Sagredo, Bishop of Morissena, 
and subsequently a martyr, produced a Commentary 
on the Hymn of the Three Children^ the Praises of the 
Blessed Virgin, Quadragesimal Sermons, and Homilies.^ 
The first, which is divided into eight books, is a 
folio MS. on parchment, said to be still preserved 
in the Library of Frisingen,* During the reign of 
Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1811) flourished Bartolomeo 
FaUero, Patriarch of Constantinople, who wrote on 
the Merits of the Holy and Immaculate Virgin, on the 
Celebration of Saints' Days, and several orations. 
About 1321, Teodoro Memo, a Franciscan, compiled 
biographies of Saint Francis and of Saint Clara 
d'Assisi. In the latter half of the fourteenth century, 
Domenigo Leoni was a voluminous writer of glosses on 
the Scriptures and on pro&ne authors. In 1872, Nicolo 
Muzio, of the Order of Preachers, dedicated an edition 



* Romanin (iv. 600). 

• Pier ABgdo Zeno (Memorie degli Scrittori Veneti Pairizi; Ven^ 
1662, 12«', in voce Sagredo), 

' Agostini (Natisie degli Scrittori Vinizianiy yol. L ; Pre/agione). 



XXVI.] LITERATURE—THEOLOGY. 851 

of the Works of Saint Gregory to the reigning Pontiff, 
Gregory XI. ; and (it is alleged) the MS. is still 
to be seen in the Pablio Collection at Toledo. Angelo 
Coiraro or Correr, afterward Gregory XII.* (1406), 
and Gabriello Condolmiero, afterward Engenius IV. 
(1481),' the latter of whom penned a phiUppio against 
the Hussites,' were both persons of admirable eradition 
in Sacred Writ. It was to Engenius,^ that Blondns 
of Forli dedicated, aboat 1450, his Italia Hlustrata. 
Contemporaneous with these distinguished Churchmen 
were Marco Giorgio, the author of two tracts, one 
upon Ecclesiastical Liberty, the other against Simo- 
niacs ; Alberto Alberti (1881), who left to posterity a 
yolume of Divers Orations; Tommaso Strozzi, who 
gave to the world an Exposition of the Apocalypse, 
the Psalms, and the Gospel of Saint Mark ; Domenigo 
BoUani, who composed a disquisition on the Purity of 
the Virgin ; Luigi Bollani, who annotated the Epistles 
of Saint Paul ; and Andrea Trevisano, a metaphysician, 
who commented upon Genesis. Somewhat later, Fan- 
tino Dandolo, a grandson of the Doge Andrea, and 
Archbishop of Candia, compiled for the use of the 
Clergy a Manual of Sacerdotal Discipline and Instruc- 
tion,^ Dandolo died in 1459, in his eightieth year ; 

' Muratori (Amaii, ix. 34). ' Ibid. (142). 

* Pier Ang. Zeno (Memoricy 1662). 

* Blondus (Italia Ulustrata; edit. 1481). The Bame writer inseribed 
his Origo et Gesta Venetorum to the Doge Foscari. 

* P. A. Zeno (Memorie, 1662). 

' **Incipit Compendium Bererendisdmi in Christo patris Domini 
Fantini Dandolo Archiepiscopi Cretenms pro Catholice fidei instroetionQ i 
nneuMnotft: 8^'* 



352 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chaf. 

his performance has been printed. A collection of 
129 sermons, yarions letters, a pamphlet on benefices, 
and other pieces of current interest are also ascribed 
to this learned divine, who eyentnally became Bishop 
of Padna/ Abont the same period (1400), Nicolo 
Condolmiero, not improbably a relative of Engenins, 
contributed to Philology Observations on the Meaning 
of WordSf and to Miscellaneous Literature a volume 
entitled Consilia.^ 

In Natural Philosophy, the most eminent name vras 
that of Bernardo D'Iseo, who in his seclusion at San 
Francesco della Vigna consumed the better part of 
his life and his entire patrimony in chemical and 
alchemical experiments. Fortune, however, was kind 
to him at last. He made money by his researches, 
and, having quitted his countiy when his purse became 
low and Mends were lukewarm, he spent his declining 
days abroad, and died a German Count. His book 
on alchemy is still extant, and it concludes with the 
words, '^Here ends the book and treatise composed 
by Master Bernard, Count of Tervisiai who acquired 
the Countship and jurisdiction of Niege, in Germany, 
by this precious and noble art." ^ Iseo was followed 

' 1. Semumet Fantini Danduli Protonotarii ApoHolicij pottea Arch 
Cretentis, 
2. CoMtUuiionei Sancta Synodi eelehrata, Apr. 27, 1457 : editse, &c. 
8. Font, DanduU Epistoht (sex.) 

4. F. D. de Beneficm. 

5. Fjuidem responsio qwBdam Juridico,'^Agoeitaxa (i. 84, et teq.') 
* P. A. Zeno (Memorie, 1662). 

> •< Hie finit liber et tractatos oompositiis per Magistmm Benuadimi 
eomitem Teryiflianum, qid aquiBsiyit comitatam et ditionem de Ni^ge in 
Germaoift per banc artem pretioeam et nobilem.**—- Bomanin (liL 867). 



sam.] LITERATURE— ALCHEMY AND BOTANY. 863 

by Bernardo TreTisano, who^ flourished about 1366/ 
aad who was accounted one of the leading chemists 
of the age. Bernardo composed a Treatise on the 
Transmutation of Metals, which has been more than 
once printed.' 

Three other members of the Trevisano family attained 
celebrity in other walks of literature and learning. 
Marco of the Parish of San Marziale wrote for the 
edification of his son Luigi an elaborate dissertation 
called by him MacrocosmoSj seu de Majori Mundo. 
It appears that this gentleman was engaged' in his 
labour during the last ten years of his life : yet at 
his death in 1378 he left it unfinished. Andrea 
Treyisano, of the Order of Servi, occupied during 
three years the Chair of Metaphysics at Tubinga. 
Zaccaria, the fourth Trevisano, bom in 1370, and 
who died in 1413 in the flower of manhood/ was 
one of the most accomplished men of his time, as 
an orator, a scholar, a poHtician, and a soldier. Of 
his orations only three are extant.^ 

In Botany, Venice boasts the distinguished physician 
and philosopher Benedetto Binio. In the Marcian 



1 Apostolo Zeno (Lettere, i. 189-4-6). * Ronumin (iii. 367-8). 

' A. Zeno, ti^* gupra, 

^ Blondiu of Forli (Jto/ta Ilhutrata^ sign, h 1) ; Agoetiiii (L 310, 
etseq.) 

* 1. ZaccharuB TVemiom de VenetiiSj Oratorii Ubutriuimi DuccdU 
Dominu Veneiiarum ad Oregarium XIL PonHf, pro wiione Ecclesia 
Oratio; 1407. 

2. Ejugdem ad Domvmm Arimineniem pro integratione JSceUsia; 
1409. 

3. Ejtudem m refiUaOone officii Capitanue alma civitaiis Padua: 1406. 

VOL. IV. 52 



864 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

MuBemn may be seen at the present day the original 
MS« of his Book of Simples (lAbro de' Sempltci)f 
illastrated with 443 drawings of plants, with their 
names beneath in several languages. Those drawings 
were made probably from specimens furnished by the 
author to the painter Andrea Amadioi and they bear 
the date of 1416. 

To the first moiety of the fifteenth century belong 
three other names, those of Francesco Barbaro,^ the 
defender of Brescia, and illustrious alike in letters and 
in war; of Pietro Loredano, the hero of Motta and 
Qallipoli, the Venetian Marcellus, a gentleman not 
less renowned for his cultivated taste and his literary 
acquirements than for his feats of arms ; and of the 
immortal ZenOi soldier, sailor, scholar, oratori diplo- 
matist, the Bcipio and Camillus of a second Eternal 
City, the prototype of the Baleighs of a later age. 

It was about this date, that Domenigo de' Domenichi 
expounded the principles of Logic at the University of 
Padua, where the patricians Lauro Quirini, Ermolao 
Barbaro, Francesco Contarini, and Antonio Oomaro, 
as well as Nicolo Leonico, successively taught Ethics. 
The Morals of Aristotle was the favourite text-book ; 
fmd it is said to have been Leonico who first re- 
deemed the writings of the Stagyrite from the inter- 
polations of Averroes and others. The testimony of 
Petrarch may warrant the deduction that in his time 
scepticism and free-thought had made considerable 

* A treatise by Barbaro, De Re Uxarid, is weU known, and obtained 
at tbe period of its first appearance a wide reputation. 



XXVI.] LITERATURE— FBEE-THOUGHT. 865 

ground in the Bepnblio ; and the famous adventtire of 
the poet with an atheist shews that among a certain 
class, probably not very numerous, that deplorable 
afifectation was in vogue. The Aristotelian theoriesi 
seen through a false and misleading medium^ were the 
great deHght of the young Venetian collegians down 
to the age of the erudite Leonico. It was impossible, 
Petrarch tells us, to Usten to these silly wranglers 
without a sensation of nausea. His feelings may be 
imagined when a knot of these exquisite coxcombs 
constituted themselves a jury upon his hterary merits, 
and concluded by pronouncing him a gentleman of 
upright purpose enough, but of shockingly neglected 
education I 

A work upon Ethics, entitled Bettor, seu de Becto 
Reffiminet^ Was dedicated about 1314 by Fra PaolinOi a 
Minorite, to Marino Badoer, Duke of Candia." It was 
written in the Venetian dialect,' and its purpose was 
to demonstrate the four cardinal virtues which help to 
form the perfect Buler. The reUc still survives. 

Among the earUest teachers of geometry were two 
contemporaries, Marco Sanudo and Fra Luca Pacioloi 
a Minorite. The latter was the author of A Summary 
of Geometrical Arithmetic^ which he editedi perhaps, 
merely for the use of his own pupils. In 1449, Paolo 



' Romanin (iii. 367). 

* Badoer was Duke of Candia from 1313 to 1313.-^€ornaro {Creia 
Sacra, ii. 307). 

* The Venetian dialect leceiyed Taluable illustrmtion from Gamba, who 
in 1817 published a ooUection of the best poetical writers in that idiom in 
fourteen yolumes. 

62—2 



856 mSTOBY OP VENICE. [chap. 

della Pergola kept a school of instruction in philosophy, 
geometry and arithmetic ; and at his death his chair 
was assumed by Domenigo Bragadino, a Venetian 
patrician. Near the Church of San Giovanni Evan- 
gelista, in Bialto, stood about the same period a 
house where, every morning and aftemooui public 
lecturers, salaried by the Government, delivered read- 
ings in philosophy and theology. One of the most 
distinguished lecturers was the noble Antonio Conaro, 
whose love of hterature and intellectual attainments 
gave him the highest reputation in his own time. 
At Saint Mark's, in the immediate neighbourhood 
of the Campanile, there was a school or Academy, 
where Humanity was taught without any fees ; among 
the earHest professors at that establishment were 
Giorgio Valla and the historiographer Sabellico. 

From the twelfth century, the more highly educated 
Venetians were usually masters of Latin and Greek. 
In 1170, Pasquale,* Bishop of Equilo, was chosen by 
Michieli III. as one of his ambassadors to the Byzan- 
tine Court, on account of his pecuhar conversance 
with Greek; and this circumstance, while it may 
indicate the rarity of the accomplishment, establishes 
its existence. The language generally employed was 
Latin, and among the lower orders, a dialect composed 
of words borrowed from the Latin, Norman, and 
Bomanesque. The ignorance of Hebrew necessitated 
the perusal of the Scriptures in the Vulgate ; and it 
was this necessity more than any other cause, perhaps, 

* Vide supra, yd. i. c. 7. 



XXVI.] LITERATURE— LANGUAGES—POETRY. 357 

which led to the acquisition of the former. In the 
first half of the fifteenth centniy there were several 
8cholarS| among whom occur the names of Marco 
liippomano' and Daniello Beniero, who were com- 
petent to read the Bible in the origiaal. 

A department in which the Venetians pecuharly 
shone was Poetry;' and it is to be regretted that 
the nmnerons works of this kind which do or did 
exist in the Hbraries of Italy,' have been suffered to 
remain so widely diffused and so inaccessible. An 
antient poem, entitled Leandreis, on the mythological 
loves of Hero and Leander, by an anonymous Venetian 
coeval with Petrarch,* introduces Dante speaking of 
the Venetian bards of his day : 

" Dirove alquante nobele persone, 
E primo e Zuan Querin, che mifo amicho 
Li vita; e Taltro, che appo lui si pone, 
Zuan Foscharen " * 

Qnirini, whom Dante here claims as his fiiend, 
addressed a madrigal to Matteo Mattivilla of Bologna,^ 

■ Blondus {Italia lUusbratOy sig. h 2). 

' Morelli (JHuerUuwne vdla CuUura della Poesiapresso li Veneziani; 
Ven^ 1796). 

' In the Poeti del Primo Secolo della Lingua Italiana (Firenze, 1816, 
8^, 2 Yols.), there is not a single Venetian poem. The Editor has not 
even included the Sonnet of Antonio Cocco to Sacchetti, which is found 
in AUacci (^Antichi Poeti; edit. Napoli, 1661), and of which the first 
stanza is here given : — 

** Ame e gran gratia, Francho, arer udito 
La fiuna, che di yoi nd mondo corre ; 
E questa e stata fondamento e dorre 
A diurmi qui sanz* aver altro invito."— (ADacd, Opere citato.) 

♦ Moreili {Opere citato), * Agostini {Pre/az. xy.) 

* Morelli {Opere citato). 



358 rasTORY OP Venice. [chap. 

an acquaintancey in which he begs the latter to transmit 
to him a copy of the Acerba of Cecco d'Ascoli, con- 
taining Btrictures on the Divina Comedia, and declares 
himself prepared to vindicate Dante. 

A production, belonging (if genuine) to an earlier 
epoch than the Leandreisj and equally anonymous, is 
called A lament for the absence of a husband at the 
Crusade in the East. The author, who was perhaps 
a lady, may be no other than "Dona Frisa" herself: 

*' Besponder voi a Dona Frisa, 
Che me conseia en la soa goisa. 
E dis cb* eo lasse ogni grameza, 
Yezando me senza alegrezza; 
Che me mario se n* e andao, 
Ch*el me cor cimi lui a portao ; 
Et eo cmn ti me Deo comfortare, 
Fin ch'd stara de la da t"»'*» " ' 



Besides Giovanni Quirini,' and Giovaoni Foscarini, 
the names are commemorated in the Leandreis of 
Bernardo Foscarini, and of a second Quixini, Nicolo, 
Bector of San Basso, and a participator in the Quixini- 
Tiepolo Conspiracy of 1310,* some of whose eflfusions 
are iu the Barberina collection at Bome. 

So far back as 1268, the Merchant-Tailors had 
recited in the streets of the Capital in honour of the 
accession of the new Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo * ballads 

* Gramba (RaccoUa di Poesie in DialeUo VenezianOj pp. 1-2 : Yen^ 
1845; 8*»). 

' This poet must not be confoimded with another of the same name 
who wrote in the sixteenth century, and some of whose pieces are pre- 
served by Gamba. 

' V, suprct, V. iii. c. 16; and AUacci (Aniichi Poeti^ Indice; Nap^ 
1661; 8*»). 

* V. 9uprdj vol. ii. c. 12. 



XXVI.] POETRY.— BABTOLOMEO GIOBGIO. 869 

and scraps of roundelays, either extemporized or com- 
mitted to memory. It is not hazardous to conclude 
that these melodies belonged to the rudest school of 
composition. There is some reason to suppose^ 
that the silk-weavers of Lucca, when they forsook 
their native looms, and fled &om the hand of perse- 
cution to Venice between 1315 and 1820,' introduced 
to their adopted countrymen the ditties which they 
had loved so much in happier days, and that this 
event, while it was fraught with utility to the Eepublic 
in a commercial respect, was also instrumental in im- 
parting to Venetian poetry a certain Tuscan element. 
But it is certain that, long before the Lucchese trans- 
migration, a great reform was wrought in poetry by 
Bartolomeo Giorgio, a patrician, and almost a con- 
temporary of Tiepolo. By profession Giorgio was a 
merchant, and his taste for the lyric muse was acquired 
during a residence which he had made at the Court 
of the Count of Provence,' where he tells us, that 
many other Italians had congregated for the purpose 
of studying the literature of the jongleurs and Trouba- 
dours. On his return home, the Venetian composed 
certain songs or canzonetth similar to those which he 
had heard in Provence ; and a revolution was gradually 
operated in this branch of the liberal arts. The bard 
had subsequently, and in every probability during 



* Canli del popolo Veneziano raccoUi (per la prima voUa) da N, 
Tonuuseo, 1848, p. 8. 

* F. suprd^ V. iii. c. 18. 

' FoBCarini (LeUeratura^ 50, v, 2). 



860 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

the arduous straggle between his own country and 
Genoa, the misfortune to be taken prisoner by the 
enemyi and it seems that he remtuned in their hands 
seven years, during which space he possibly wrote 
many pieces now lost. At all events, of his Canzone 
or Serventesif seventeen ^ only survive in the Vatican ; 
of these five were rendered into prose by the Abbe 
Millott, who was tolerably feUcitous in retaining the 
spirit of the original. 

In the latter moiety of the fourteenth century, 
flourished Marino Dandolo, Gabriello Bernardo, Mafieo 
Pesaro, Antonio Cocco, of whom a sonnet to Franco 
Sacchetti has been discovered in the Barberina, and 
been printed by Allacci, Marco Kacentino of whose 
metrical trifles some are in existence, and Filippo 
Barbarigo, an imitator of Petrarch. During the reign 
of Andrea Contarini, Pietro da Natali, Bishop of 
Equilo, composed in terza rima the Visit of Ale^jcander 
III. to Venice (in 1177) * which has escaped the 
ravages of time, and about 1381 Marco Giorgio the 
theologian finished a Life of the Blessed Felix Benci 
of Florence, in heroic verse.' In the succeeding 
reign, Lorenzo de Monacis, better known as an 
historian, dedicated to Mary, Queen of Hungary, the 
consort of Sigismund,* a Poem on Charles II. of 
Hungary^ called the Little, with a pious description of 
the miserable haps of the Illustrious Queens of Hungary. 

* Foscarini, ubi supra. ' Morelli (DuserL) 

* P. A. Zeno (Memorie, 1662). 

* Mary died in 1392, according to Bonfinius (Rea Ungarica^ 383). 



xxn.] POETRY— PROPANE AND SACRED. 361 

This performance, printed in 1758^ for the first 
time, is supposed to have seen the light abont 1385- 
1386. Toward the end of the century, it is said 
that an Olivetan monk, Matteo Bonto, was engaged 
in tnming the Divine Comedy into heroic verse ; but 
it seems to be doubtful, whether the achievement 
was ever completed.* A few decades posterior to 
BoutOy Maffeo Pisani, a priest, produced (1453) a 
Lament for Constantinople in verse, still preserved in 
print.* 

Nor was it long before Sacred Poetry grew into 
fashion. The famous Minorite, Fra Jacopino da Todi, 
foxmd zealous disciples in Jacopo Yalaresso and Leo- 
nardo Pisani,^ both of whom, under the Contarini and 
Veniero administrations (1368-1400) occupied their 
leisure with spiritual offerings to the Muse. In or 
about 1399,^ the Chevalier Jacopo Gradenigo, Podesta 
of Padua, whose family had intermarried with the House 
of Carrara,^ put a finishing hand to A Concordance of 
the Four Gospels, in terza rima, of which a transcript 
was among the MSS. treasures of an eminent anti- 
quary and scholar of the last century.^ A Uttle later, 
the two sons of Bernardo Giustiniani® trod worthily in 



* It wiU be found at the end of Flaminio Comaro^s edition of the 
Chronicle of Be Monads: Ven. 1758. 

* MoreUi {Opere citato). 

* n Lamento di Constantinopoli (presa dai Turchi) 4^. At the end 
occur the words Deo Oration^ and the name of the Author. See Cigogna 
(^Bibliografia Veneziana^ 1847). 

* Agostini (Pre/azione). * Morclli (Opere citato). 

* V. supra, vol. iii. c. 16. ' Apostolo Zeno (Lettere; edit 1785). 

* Agoatini (i. 135). 



362 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

the footsteps of Valaresso and Pisaai, the pnpils of 
Da Todi. The elder, Lorenzo, successiyely Prior of 
San Giorgio in Alga, Bishop of Castello, and Patriarch 
of Venice^ comprised, among the thirty-six works an 
various subjects which proceeded from his prolific pen,* 
a small garland of Spiritual BhymesJ^ The future 
MetropoUtan, who was subsequently canonized, was 
bom in 1880 ; ^ and the composition of these rhymes 
may be therefore assigned without particular hazard to 
some period between 1400 and 1410. 

Leonardo, who was the junior of San Lorenzo by 
about eight years, and who pronounced in 1418 the 
funeral oration on his friend^ Carlo Zeno,^ had written 
in his younger days a volume of Poesie Volgarif of a 
profSane cast : ^ but at the persuasion of his brother, 
he eventually abandoned this school of poetry, and 
became the author of Laudi Spiritualif which were 
received with applause, and were printed at Venice in 
1474.® Li the following year, they were reproduced at 



> Agostmi (i 135). He waa the first who bore this tide. The 
metropolitanate was translated from Grado to the Capital in 1451, after 
floorishing in the former city nine Christian centuries (583-1451). See 
Tol. i. c 4 of this History. 

* F. A. Zeno {Memorie, 1662, 12<», in voce). 

» Ibid. * Agostini (i. 136). 

' Bernardo Ginstiniani, writing to Giacomo iSeno, the nephew of Carlo, 
says : — " Yetus ilia necessitudo et amicitia, quas inter pnadarum yirum 
Carolmn ayum tumn Leonardimique patrem meum frdt.** 

* Viri Pairicii LeonartU Justiniani Veneii OraHo habita ta Jumere 
Caroli Zeni concivU tui; presso Epistole di Bernardo ChutUakmo (no 

figlio\ Ven., 1492, folio ; and frequently reprinted. 
^ Blondus {Italia Ilhutraia^ sig. h 1). 

* ** Incomindano le devotissime et sanctissime Laude le quale compose 
el Nobele e Magnifico Messer Leonardo Giustiniano.** 



xxYi.] POETRT.— THE GroSTINIANL 868 

Vicenza ; and such was their popularity, or rather their 
reputation, that the printer, Leonard of Basle, yen*- 
tured to take off 1,000 copies I ^ 

The family of Giustiniani was rarely gifted, and 
boasted the heraldry of genius as well as of birth. 
The celebrated Ciriaco De Pizzecolli of Ancona, 
addressing Leonardo in a sonnet, which was printed 
for the first time by Agostini, says : — 

*' Se Btende fino al Ciel con caze piume 
La JAvntL del valor Jastiniaiio.** ' 

According to the testimony of a contemporary/ this 
gentleman was not only one of the most conspicuous 
orators of the age, but a passionate musician. After 
filling several responsible posts under the Govemment^ 
and attaining the Procuratorial dignityi he died in 
1446, in his 68th or 69th year. His Poesie Volgari 
were still in MS., when the Laudi were given to the 
press in 1474 ; but the former also appeared in 1482, 
and were republished a few years later, with additions.^ 
The metre of the Canzonetti is irregular, and occasion- 
ally rugged and inharmonious. 

To miscellaneous literature, Leonardo Giustiniani 
contributed translations^ firom Plutarch of the bio- 

' AgoBtini (i. 165). • Vol. i. p. 154. 

* Blondiu (/to/. lUusir. sig. h 1). 

* Comnicio il Fiore delle elegantissime Cancianete dil nobile Messere 
Leonardo Justiniano, The colophon is : II fine delle elegcmUesime cati" 
eianette di Meesere Leonardo JusHniano quivi in Venetia eon ogni 
diligentia impreese per Antonio di Strata a di nave Mono MCCCCLXZxn* 
m4^ 

* Canzoneite e Strambotti d'amore compoite per el Magnifioo JMher 
Leonardo ZusHgnano di Venetia, — ^Impreflsiim Venetiis per Johannem 
Baptistam Seasa, anno Domini mcgcc(c). die yero ziiii. Aprilia, in 4**. 



364 msTORT OF Venice. [chaf. 

graphies of Cimoiii Lncnllas and Phocion, a life oi 
Saint Nicholas the Confessor, Bishop of Myra/ con- 
taining a prefatory dedication to his brother Lorenzo, 
then Bishop of Castello, at whose suggestion he had 
undertaken the labonr; numerous letters, printed in 
1492 ; some elegiac verses on the death of Victorino 
of Feltre; and a book, entitled Liber PhilologicuSf of 
which little seems to be known, except that it was seen 
by Montfiaucon in the choice library of a private Vene- 
tian collector.' 

In 1409, the wife of Leonardo, reputed to have 
been Maria Quirini,' bore her husband a son, who was 
christened Bernardo after his grandfieither. This Ber- 
nardo was destined to attain the highest distinction 
as an orator and historian. He was thirty-seven when 
his illustrious parent died; and he was inconsolable 
for the loss. He immediately called on his uncle 
Lorenzo, the Bishop, who told him to be of good 
cheer : '*for," said he, "your father is in the path of 
salvation." ** How can you tell that ? " responded the 
young man. "Never mind," persisted the other; 
"be assured that he is on his way to heaven, and for 
the rest do not concern yourself! "* After the death 
of San Lorenzo, his nephew became his biographer ; 

' Vita Sanetissimi eon/essoriM Nicolai cognomenio Magni, ae Myrentu 
AntUaUit admxrandi e Onsco {Metaphrastu et aliorum) in LaHamm 
tramlata a Leonardo Justiniano Patritio Veneto^ cum prafaHone ad 
Laurentium efus Fratrem Urbis VeneHarum Episcopum. (Printed by 
Aldus, with other opuscoli, in 1502, 4^.) 

' Agostini (i. 174-5). The owner was Bernardo Treyisano. 

• Agostini (i. 36). * Ibid. (i. 162). 



xxYi.] THE GIUSTmiANI AND THEIR WORKS. 865 

and the Life of the blessed Patriarch was among the 
earliest productions of the Venetian press. It ap- 
peared in 1475 ; ^ and it was prefixed to the Works of 
the Saint published at Brescia in 1505. The other 
performances of the same writer are a funeral oration, 
which he delivered in 1457, on the Doge Foscari,' and 
a History of the Origin of Venice (De Urhis Venetiarum 
Origine), bringmg down the annals to the year 809 ; 
both in Latin. In the latter, which was translated 
into the vernacular by Lodovico Domenichi, and 
printed in 1545, Giustiniani has introduced a variety 
of interesting particulars, not seen elsewhere : and the 
genuineness of the narrative is largely established by 
the circumstance, that it is expressly stated to have 
been partially founded on the Chronicle of Zeno, 
Abbot of San Nicolo del Lido* from 1070 to 1100. 
Bernardo, whose life has been written by Antonio 
Stella, a Venetian priest,' and published in 1553,^ 
left a son Pancrazio, who in his turn won literary 
renown.* 

It is singular enough, that the Father of the Venetian 



' FoBcarini (Xetf. Venez>, 824, h 1). • Ibid. p. 816. 

' " Fu2t** flays Giniitmiani, ** Chranicon perveiustam apud SancU 
Nicohn (sic) db abate Zenone ean/ectam" It can be proved by existing 
documents that this Zeno was Abbot in 1072, and that he was still 
occupying that position in 1100. Giustiniani himself has found a waim 
paneg^rrist in Romanin. See iv. 502-3. 

* Bemardi JusHniam Patritii Venetiy tenatorii, equestris, proctiratani'' 
que ordinu viri ampliuimi Ftto, Antonio Stella clerieo Veneto anthore : 
Yenetiis, 1553, 8«>. 

* PancratU Jueihuani patritii Venetiy eenatorii equestrisque ordiniSy et 
ComiHe Palatinij deprmelarie Veneta arisiocratia geetie (1006*1454) liber 
(with two other tracU) : Yenetiis, 1527, 4''.' 



866 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chap. 

Drama was a boy of eighteen. In his college days, 
Gregorio, the son of Giovanni Oorraro by Oecilia Con- 
tarini his wife, and the grandnephew of the Cardinal 
Angeloi founded on the Ovidian tale of Terens and 
Philomela a tragedy which he called Progne* Corraro 
was bom in 1411, or thereabout. Progne appeared 
in 1429 or 1480. In a letter written to a noble 
lady of his acquaintance, he says that he shewed his 
achievement to his schoolmaster Messer Yictorino 
da Feltre, who kept a seminary at Mantua, and 
that Messer Yictorino, when he saw it, did not quite 
despair of him ; and he adds, that he (Corraro) was 
so strongly affected by the pathos of the story, that 
hot tears rolled down his cheeks, while he was 
recitmg it.^ 

Progne was printed anonymously in 1558 by the 
Academia della Fama^^ and again at Bome in 1688/ 
A MS. copy, bearing the title of Teremf one of the 
interlocutors, and belonging to the fifteenth century, 
was discovered at a later period in Germany, and was 
put in type in 1790/ The merit of the treatment 
rendered the subject popular. In 1661, that is three 
years only after the appearance of the original Vene- 
tian edition, Lodovico Domenichi pubHshed at Flo- 
rence a drama purporting to be of his own con- 
ception, and abounding in plagiarisms, entitled Progne 

' MoreUi (^Dissert. Star. euUa CuUura della Poesiapreuo U Venexiam^ 
1796). 
' Progne Tragadia, nuncprimum edita : In Academi& Faflue, 4*. 
' Progne Tragadia, nmc iterum edita; Romse, 1638, 4^. 
* Tragtedia vetus Latina Teretu: Annabeigse, 1790, 4^. 



sm.] EARLY DBAMA. 867 

Tragoedia^ The subjoined extracts may not be VLa* 
acceptable : — 

CoBBABo. — (Diomedes is speaking). 

" Lucos et omnes desero infemi Joyis : 
Ad astia mittor supera convexi poll. 
Neque enim inter umbras noxius vistis faror 
Est ullus fleque: Thracia, heul solus potest 
Ezplere fliriis corda Diomedes : ne&s 
Odisse liceat: orimini datum est satis 
Satisque sceleri : deprecor sontis plagas : 
Amare liceat: Addite ad poenas meas, 
Bi quid potestis, dlra Furiarum agmina I 
Titana pubes exuat yinclis manus 
Ccelo rebeUes: seneis nodis prematur." 

DOMENICHI. 

" Id ne me yengo da Toscure grotte 
De Tempio Re de le perdute genti, 
JSt i&n mandato a riveder le stelle, 
Et Taer Tostro luminoso : poi 
Che fra Tambrai infernal non s' h veduto 
Altro cosi maligno empio ilirore : 
Et i Thracii cuor pub Diamede solo 
Empierey oime, di ftuie e di veleno. 
Lecito sia quel che non lice odiare : 
Che si son viste assai colpe, e delittl : 
Et oome reo mi prego ogni gastigo. 
LecUo sia che «* ami ognipeccaJto. 
Et voi di Furie ahominosa schiera^ 
S* alcuna e in voi possanza^ a le mie pene 
Aggivgnetemi pur pena e tormento, 
Sciolga le mani loro al Ciel rubelU 
L'empie stuol di giganti '* * 

But Progru was only one of the numerous works, 
which are ascribed on good authority to Qregorio 

^ Progna Tragedia di M. LodovicQ Domenichi: In Fiorenzai appresso 
i Giunti, UDLXi. 8®. 
' Agostini (i. 128-9). 



868 msTOBY OP Venice. [chap. 

Corraro. The dramatist dedicated to his grand-unde, 
Filippo the Procurator, a translation of fifty-three of 
the Fables of ^sop and others from Grreek into 
Latin; to his brother Andrea, in 1466/ a didactic 
poem on the Education of Youth ; ' and to his old 
schoolmaster, Yictorino da Feltre, a volume of satires.' 
Sundry odes, epigrams, miscellaneous lyrics, and let- 
ters ; ^ an Oration deUvered before the Emperor Sigis- 
mund, at the Council of Basle, in 1433;^ and a 
Letter to Saint Cecilia,^ are also known; but all remain 
in MS. 

The BepubHc produced two female writers of cele- 
brity, neither of whom, however, was strictly a Venetian. 
One, Cristina Ksani, or " Christine of Kse," was 
bom at Venice in 1363, of Bolognese parents. Her 

> Agostini (i. 14^-^2). 

' Quomodo educari debeant pueri et erudiri, Liber didascaUcus, 

' The contents of this collection are: — (i.) Satire shewing why the 
Author adopted this class of writing to the ezdnsion of erery other, 
(ii.) Satire against avarice, (iii.) Satire shewing that men are led by 
yedal &ults to great vices, (i v.) Satire to his friend on the fear of death, 
(v.) Satire shewing that a virtuous life alone can stop the tongues of the 
vulgar, (vi.) Satire upon himself and his servant David. 

^ These are asfollow : — (i.) A book of Epigrams, dedicated to Martin V., 
the reigning Pontiff (who died in 1431). (ii.) A Pastoral, entitled Lyddas^ 
and commencing : — 

^^Pastoris Licids dum (nos P) referamus amores.** 
(iii.) An Ode in imitation of Horace, called Dicolos tetnutyehot, (iv.) A 
Hymn to Boys and Virgins, (v.) A Sapphic Ode against the Turks, 
(vi.) An Epigram on the Tomb of Gr^;ory XII. (vii.) An Epigram to a 
Friend, (viii.) Two Epigrams and a Distich to Antonio Ricchi 
Sculptor, (ix.) A Letter to a Garthuoan Noviciate on the advantages of 
a regular life, (x.) Letters, (zi.) A Soliloquy on the Life and Death of 
Antonio, Bishop of Ostia, of blessed memory. 

' Oratio Oregorii Corrarii Veneti Bonutna EceUtuB ProUmMarii ad 
SigUmundum Imperatarem pro Caneilio Bcuiliensi, 

^ £pi9iola eftudem ad CaciHam Virginem de/vgiendo HfctUo, 



Mvi.] CRISTINA PISANI— CASSANDRA FEDELI. 869 

fitther, Tommaso Ksani, a renowned astrologer of his 
day, left the city in 1368, and settled in France with 
his wife and daughter, the latter of whom never 
revisited the spot of her nativity. All her productions 
are in French. The principal are: — 1. The Life of 
Charles the Wise, King of France^ her father's patron, 
written on commission for Phihp the Good, Duke of 
Burgundy; 2. The Fails of Armes and Chivalry, a 
compilation from Vegetius De Be Militari, printed by 
Caxton at Westminster, in 1489 ; 8. The Booh of the 
City of Ladies, translated by Bryan Ansley or Annesley, 
and printed at London, in 1521 ; 4. The Moral Pro- 
verbs of Cristine, translated by Anthony Widville, Earl 
Rivers, and printed by Caxton at Westminster, in 
1478; 5. a volume of Amatory Poems, printed at 
Paris in 1529. Many of her compositions remain 
in MS., and are scattered over the public hbraries 
of England and the Continent. Pisani is said to 
have died in or about 1420. The most complete 
account of her life and writings is that famished in 
the second volume of the Memoires de VAcademie des 
Inscriptions. 

The second lady, who belongs to the end of the 
fifteenth century, was Cassandra Fedeli, a Venetian 
subject, but merely a native of the Terra-Ferma. 
FedeU enjoyed the esteem of many of her learned 
contemporaries. In 1488, on graduating as doctor at 
Padua, she deUvered before the university a Latin speech 
of her own composition, which was warmly admired.^ 

' See Agoetim {Notizie degli ScrUtori Viniziam^ iL 477-8, 485, 601). 

VOL. rv. 53 



870 HISTORY OP VENICE. [chaf. 

The siBter-arts^ Histoiy, Mnsic, Painting, and 
Architeoture, were not less dear to the Bepnblio, and 
were pursued not less ardently or profitably. Here, 
too, typography and bibliography were honoured with 
steady and splendid patronage. Of Martino da Canale 
and the other independent writers who are not included 
in the series of historiographers, and who appeared at 
successive periods, mention has been made in another 
place. . Bibliomania, the passion for collecting books, 
dated from a very remote period. Anrispa, the Vene- 
tian De Bnre, possessed a library of 288 MSS., 
among which were the works of Plato, Ptocopius, and 
Oallimachus. 

The Public Library, which is most £amiliarly known 
under the designation of Saint Mark's Library^ was 
originally a very small collection, and boasted, per- 
haps, little more than the few volumes bequeathed by 
Petrarch in 1362, with some later additions, until it 
was enriched, in 1468,^ by a donation of the literary 
treasures of Cardinal Bessarion, acquired at a cost 
of 30,000 sequins. It was then that by the Grimani 
Bequest^ (1506), by an amalgamation with the old 
library of San Giorgio Maggiore, which had been 
enlarged under the reign of the Doge Foscari by 
Cosimb de' Medici, and was thence called the Medi- 
cean, and by private gifks, the National Institution 
gradually received that enormous development, which 
conferred upon it European celebrity. 

> Romanin (iy. 501). 

' Sanudo, Diarii^ yL 281, Giugno 26, 1506 (quoted by Bomimixi, ir. 510). 



xxTi.] MUSIC— BIBLIOGRAPHY. 871 

The culture of Music appearSi from an allusion 
in the Chronicles of San Giorgio Maggiore under the 
date of 790, to have found affectionate promoters 
among the members of this holy fraternity at that 
epoch. The knowledge of instrumental harmony 
made such rapid progress that a Venetian priest 
(Fra Gregorio) was invited into France, about 826, 
to superintend the construction of an hydraulic organ 
for the Boyal Family. In the beginning of the 
fourteenth century, one Mister Zuchetto (Venetid, 
Mistro) is mentioned as filling the appointment 
of organist to the Chapel of Samt Mark; but it 
is not to be supposed for an instant, that Mister 
Zuchetto was the first who had served in that 
capacity. 

The ardour of bibliographical research, the earnest 
spirit of literary inquiry, and the desire to become 
acquainted with the best classic models, which began 
toward the middle of the fifteenth century to animate 
her patricians and merchant-princes, had the natural 
effect of securing to Venice the finest and largest 
collection of MSB. in the world. Many other private 
individuals followed the example of the enthusiast 
Aurispa, and formed similarly choice and precious 
cabinets. The Venetians became the highest bidders 
for autograph or unique codices. Bibliomania was 
here seen in its healthiest aspect ; and the passion, so 
far from being pernicious, was productive of the most 
salutary results. But the generous thirst for know- 
ledge, and the widening appreciation of the master- 

63—2 



872 HISTORY OF VENICE. [cnAr. 

pieces of the antients, soon led to an increased demand 
for those compositions which rank among the noblest 
efforts of hnman genins; and a gigantic revolation 
was wrought in coarse of time in the character of 
literature and the history of books. The Bepnblic, 
though not the cradle of typography, shewed herself 
ahnost at the outset one of its most magnificent 
patronesses. On the 18th September, 1469, the 
Senate, seeing '' that this peculiar invention of our 
time, altogether unknown to those former (ages), is 
in every way to be fostered and advanced,"^ ac- 
corded to John da Spira, for five years, the right of 
printing books. In the same twelvemonth, Spira pro- 
duced the Familiar Letters of Cicero and the Natural 
History of Pliny ; and of the latter, at least, if not of 
both, a few copies were struck off on vellum. The 
privilege granted to John da Spira, and afterward to 
his brother Vindelin, did not, however, long remain 
exclusive. In 1470, the monopoly was broken by 
Nicholas Jenson, a Dutchman, who had, on his way 
through Venice to France, as it is said, been tempted 
by the Signory to remain in the Bepublic. The work 
of Pliny was at this period so popular, that in 1476 
the new-comer printed an Italian version in a large 
folio volume, which is still of common occurrence ; a 
few years ago, the Bibbia Yolgare, which proceeded 
£rom the same press in 1471, was reproduced at Turin; 
and these two publications only form a very small part 

' Bomanin (iv. 510). 



XXVI.] MARINO SANUDO TORSELLO. 873 

of that long and numerous series which entitle Jensen 
to rank high among the early masters of the typo- 
graphical art. 

Under the administration of seven Doges^ and con- 
temporary with Marco Polo, a gentleman of Ducal 
and Tribunitial family dwelled at Venice in the street 
of San Severo Confessore, who was ennobled by his 
contributions to literature and science as well as by 
his extraction. His name was Marino Sanudo Torsello. 
He was one of the four sons of Marco Sanudo Torsello 
by his wife Maria ; * his brothers were Filippo, Tom- 
maso and Giovanni; and it seems that he was con- 
nected by the ties of consanguinity with Nicolo, the 
son of Guglielmo, the son of Marco Sanudo, first duke 
of Andros/ and nephew of Arrigo Dandolo. It is sur- 
mised that the Sanudi and the Torselli, who were more 
antiently known as the Basaniti,^ had intermarried, and 
that thence arose the hereditary cognomen, which was 
common to all the children of Marco. The precise date 
of the birth of Marino has not been ascertained; but he 
was probably the junior of Polo by some years ; and 
the event maybe assigned without the chance of serious 
error to 1260. From his youth an ardent enthusiasm 
for the diminution of Turkish preponderance shared 

' SEFULTVBA I>. MABCI SANUDO TOXSBLLO BT 
B. MABUB TXOBIS BJV8 BT HBBEDVM BB CON- 
FINIO 8 SBYBBI. IN QYA BBQYIB8CIT JOAN- 
NB8 FBBATE EOBVM FIUVS. GVJT8 ANUCA 
BBQVIB8CAT IN FACB. AMBN. OBATB FBO XO. 

The foregoing inscription is reported by Agostini (i. 441). 

' EpUtohB M. Sanudi Torselli; Oesta Dei per Francos^ pamm, 
* Andrea Dandolo (lib. yii. p. 156). 



874 msTOEY OF Venice. [chap. 

with a thiTBt for geographical discoveiy his iime and 
attention. The rank, talents, and affluent circum- 
stances of the Venetian gradually procured for him 
the acquaintance and esteem of many distinguished 
personages of the age, and of more than one crowned 
Head ; and of his access to the French Court especially 
he availed himself unceasingly to urge the organization 
of a fresh crusade against the Ottoman. If his counsel 
had been followed, it is scarcely too much to assert 
that the destiny of Europe would have been changed, 
and that neither NicopoUs nor Lepanto would have 
been fought. 

In an undated memorial to the King of France^ 
written in French, and assignable to 1321, Sanudo 
demonstrates that it wiU only cost his Majesty or 
Christendom ten galleys, carrying 2,600 men, 300 
horse, and 1,000 infantry to guard Armenia.* He 
reconmiends him to seek the concurrence of the Pope, 
and the friendship of the Venetians, and to appoint 
some competent person Captain of the Host ; and if 
he does these things, he makes no doubt that other 
European Powers will co-operate.* 

' Ramemhrame a la Royale MaiesU faite humblemetU et devoiement 
par Marin Sanudy did Torzel^ de Venise, Sec, — Oesta Dei per Francos^ 
ii.5. 

' In another place he says : '* If any one were to ask me, how many 
men, &c., I answer reverently, I, Marinus Sanutos, dictus TorseUos, that 
with 300 horse, 1,000 foot, and 10 galleys, well armed, not only Armenia, 
but Romania itself conld be protected." — O. D.per F.y p. 7. 

• "Et si vostre hanlte Seigneurie fidct ceste chose, je ne donbte pas, 
avec layde de Dieu, que le Roy Robert, le Roy Frederic de Seeille, ct 
TEmpereur de Constantinople, seront obeissants a tous en toutea choses, 
qui seront ndonnables.** 



xxYi.] SANUDO— HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. 875 

Like the majority of his oompatiiotSi Sanudo was a 
cosmopolite. The greater part of his active and usefdl 
life was spent in foreign comitries. His travels, which 
were chiefly prosecuted between 1800 and 1820, ex- 
tended over the whole coast of the Mediterranean, 
Egypt, the Holy Land, Armenia, and Arabia Felix. 
In one passage which, it must be premised, is not 
free from the suspicion of being an interpolation in 
the MS.^ he speaks of the smaller Islands lying about 
England, Scotland, and Ireland, *^ the names of which 
are unknown to me ; " and it is clear at least that he 
is not to be understood to have visited personally the 
northern latitudes, but simply to be quoting some 
other traveller, who may have forestalled not only the 
two Zeni, but the Normans,' in their discovery of 
Friesland, Greenland and Newfoundland. 

In March, 1806, we at last find Sanudo at home, in 
the street of San Severo in Bialto ; he had returned 
from some of his Oriental voyages ; and in that year 
and month' he began to commit to writing the fruits 
of his labour and experience. The first Book only of 
the Work so celebrated as The Secrets of the Faithful 
of the Crossj was finished at that time and place. In 
this division,^ which comprises five parts, he demon- 



' Secreta, p. 287. 

* Raib (Dicmtfierte de rAmSriquepar lea Normanda^ 1854). 

* ^* Anno a nstiyitate D. N. J. C. 1306, mense Martii, inceptum est hoc 
opoi, quod per Dei gntuun Marinus Sanudo aliter diotua Tonelliui, filins 
D. Mard Sanndo,** Sec, — Secreta^ P* 31. 

* " Indpit Liber Primus Operis Teme Sanctae, oontinens diapooitionein 
ac praparationem ad Terram Sanctaza reouperandam*** 



876 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

strates the method, by which in his opimon it was 
possible to compass the destruction of the infidels ; and 
in fact it is nothing more than the Memorial sabse- 
quentlj sent to Paris in a more elaborate form. The 
second book of the Secrets, composed at Clarence in 
1312^ and 1313, enters into statistical and arithmetical 
detail touching the recovery of Palestine ; his estimates 
for manning and victualling fleets and armies are 
curious, but rather prolix ; and he lays peculiar stress 
on the preparatory conquest of Armenia. Of the third 
and concluding section, which is devoted to a specula- 
tion on the means of preserving the Holy Places, when 
they should have been won back,* and which is partly 
occupied by genealogical trees of Noah, and other not 
less extraneous topics, the chronology is obscure ; but 
it was certainly posterior to 1324, and as certainly 
antecedent to 1326 when, in a letter to the Duke of 
Lotharingia,' he expressly says: "Your Highness 
must be aware that from my infancy I have (neglecting 
all other business) devoted myself to the advancement 
of the glory of Christ, to the service of the Faithfd, 
and to the extinction of the Pagans; and in order 
that my labours might be made known to Kings and 
Princes, and might not pass into obhvion, I have 
digested into one volume the work of which the title is 



* Secreta, p. 34. *' I began to write it in the month of December, 
1312, at Oarence." 

* ^'Indpit liiber Tertios ejusdem Operis, continens in&Uibilem et 
yeram doctrinam conservandi ac tenendi ac posaidendi Sanctam Teiram 
Fromissionis.** 

» Letters^ No. 14. O. D. per F. ii. 303. 



xm.] SANUDO'S LIFE AND WEITINGS. 877 

'' Secrets of the Faithfdl of the Cross/' being not only 
for the preservation of the Faithfdl, but for the con- 
version or annihilation of the MisbeUevers, and for the 
safe holding of the Holy Land and many other conn- 
tries.^ That book I have presented to onr Lord the 
Fonti£f, to the Kings of France, England, and Sicily, 
to the Cardinals and many other Prelates, to the Count 
of Hanover, and to several of the French Counts ; and 
seeing that your progenitors, in whose happy footsteps 
you are beginning to tread, strenuously bestirred them- 
selves in the affairs of the Holy Land I send 

you with these presents the Prologue, Rubrics, and 
Chapters of the aforesaid book, and some other 
matters. I am ready to transmit to you the whole 
work, with the maps of the world, should you express 
a desire to possess it." Of such a performance, 
exhibiting his skill at once as an hydrographer and 
geographer, the author had just cause to be proud. 
It was welcomed with applause; and by competent 
judges it was warmly approved. Sanudo must be 
allowed to speak once more for himself: ' — 

^' On the 24th September, 1321, 1, Marino Sanudo, 
called Torsello, of Venice, had an audience of the 
Pope, to whose Holiness I presented two books on 
the recovery and preservation of the Holy Land, one 
of which was bound in red, and the other in yellow. 
I presented to the same four maps, the first being 

' "£t teneadam Terrain Sanctam et alias multas terras.** — £pi$t 
vbi wprd. 
' SecretOj p. 1 et seg. 



378 HISTORY OF VENICaS. [chap. 

of the Mediterranean, the second of the Sea and the 
Terra-Feima, the third of the Holy Land, and the 
fonrth of Egypt. The Father benignly accepted all 
these things ; and he ordered some of the Prologne, 
some of the Bubrics, and other portions besides, to be 
read in my presence. From time to time he put ques* 
tions to me, which I answered. At length he said, 
^ I wish to have these books examined ; ' to which I 
replied, that ' I shonld be very happy, provided that 
the persons were trustworthy.' * Have no donbt of 
that,' he rejoined. He then sent for the under- 
mentioned Frati : Fra Boentio di Asti, of the Order of 
Preachers, Vicar of Armenia; Fra Jacopo de Cam- 
merino, a Minorite, who wears a beard, and who had 
come to the See on behalf of his brethren in Persia ; 
Fra Matteo of Cyprus, and Fra PaoUno of V^ce : ^ 
and he gaye them the volume bound in yellow, and 
desired them to look into it, and to report to him their 
opinion. The said Frati hereupon withdrew into the 
house of Fra PaoUno, and diligently and fEiithfully 
investigated the Book; and they were unanimous in 
its favour. On the thirtieth day after the commence- 
ment of the examination — ^it was on a Saturday even- 
ing — ^he (the Pope) , who was most aflfable to me, 
inquired of the Frati repeatedly, when we were to- 
gether, whether they were of accord ; and they assured 
him that they were. Other remarks were made on 



• ' This was perhaps the same who wrote the Treatise De Beeto Regi- 
mtne^ dedicated to the Duke of Candia in 1313, or the following year. 
Vids supra. 



nn.] SANU1W8 UFB AND WBITINGS. 879 

both sides. At last the Pope observed : < The hour is 
late ; yon will be so good as to leave the report in 
writing with me, and I will inspeot it, and afterward 
send for yon/ And so," concludes Sanndo, **the 
book and the report remained in his possession." 

The letters of this benevolent and enlightened Vene- 
tian, of which all that are known, being two-and- 
twenty, were printed as a supplement to the Secreta in 
1611,^ abound with interesting matter, and occasion- 
ally contam curious scraps of gossip. They purport 
to have been written at Venice, and range in date 
from December, 1324, to October, 1829. It is ob- 
vious that they represent only a fragment of his 
correspondence. 

Of these epistles considerable use has been made in 
illustrating the Venetian Annals from 1820 to 1829 ; 
and it is unnecessary to give them any &rther 
attention. 

There is no more remarkable fact connected with 
the Life of the Author of the Secreta, than the 

1 Skcreia^ 889-^16. (i ) To the Pope John XXH^ Deo. 1824« (ii.) 
To tlie Caidiiuilf. (iii.) To the Archbishop of Capua, Chancellor of 
Sicily. (It.) To the Bishop of Mimes, (y.) Ad dirersos. (ri.) To 
Leo, King of Annenia. (tU.) To And. FaUeolognsi Emp. of Constanti- 
nople. (Tlii) To the Bishop of Caiaphas. (ix.) To And. Falseologus, 
Emp. of Constantinople, (z.) To Ste&nos Simpolos, Turcoman of the 
nme. (zL) To the Archbishop of Capua, (xii.) To And. Falssologns. 
(xiiL) To Stephanos Simpolos. (ziv.) To the Duke of Lotharingia. 
(xv.) To the Archbishop of Ravenna, (xvi.) Ad diversos. (xyH.) 
To tbe Cardinal Legate, (xriii.) To the Archbishop of Capua, 
(zlz.) To the Cardinal Legate, (zz.) To the Archbishop of Capua et 
alteram, (zzi.) To Fietro do U Via, the Fope*s nephew, (zzii) Ad 



380 HISTORY OF VENICE. [chap. 

circumstance that he does not seem either to have been 
personally known to Marco Polo, who was liTing in 
a street adjoining San Severo after 1801, the date 
of his release from the Genoese dungeon, or to have 
inspected any of the nmnerous transcripts of the 
autograph of Eustichelli of the Yoyages in Tartary, 
China and Thibet, which are known to have been 
circulating in Europe even prior to 1300. In those 
parts of his own narrative, where he has occasion to 
treat more or less at large of the latitudes visited by 
Polo, Sanudo, overlooking the more recent authority, 
falls back on preceding and probably tax less accurate 
observers: nor is Polo among those who are men- 
tioned as recipients of presentation -copies of the 
Secreta. We must not be too certain that the latter 
had not omitted, from inadvertence perhaps, to send 
Torsello a transcript of his dictated original, which he 
distributed liberally in other quarters, and that the 
neglect did not breed a coolness, which was carried 
to mischievous consequences.^ 

The sketch which precedes of the state of literature 
and science in the Bepublic from the eleventh to the 
fifteenth century-, carries its own moral. It shews 
conclusively that it is not by their feats of diplomacy 
and arms so much that the Venetian people have 
earned a title to admiration and respect, as by their 



' Pier Angelo Zeno, in his Memorie d£ Ven/^ ScriUori Patizi^ 1662, 
12^, attributes to Torsello, besides his Secreta and a Booh of Lettere^ a 
HUtory of the Morean Possibly the last has perished : for only one copy 
of the others is known to exist. 



XXVI.] CONCLUSION. 881 

mental cnltiire, their love of learning, and their thirst 
for knowledge ; and it shews that any one who may 
desire to make himself acquainted with their history 
must seek it in the pages of the admirable Foscarini, 
as well as in the Journals of the Decemvirs. 



885 



No. I. 

Lbttkb of CAfisiODORUS, Hit PriBtorian Prefect of Theodobic 
the Great, King of the Goths, to the Maritime Tribunes 
of Vemee. iuD. 523. 

Tribunis Marltimoramj Senator Praafectas Prsstorio. 

Datft pridem jussione censuimus^ nt Istria vini, et olei 
species^ quamm prsBsenti anno copia indalta perfiruitor^ ad 
Ravennatem feliciter dirigeret mansionem. Sed vos^ qui innu- veneium 
merosa navigia in ejus confinio possidetis^ pari devotionis ^' 
gratia providete^ nt, quod ilia parata est nobis tradere^ yos 
studeatis sab celeritate portare. Similis erit qnippe ntrisque 
gratia perfectionis, quando unnm ex bis dissociatum impleri 
non permittit effectom. Estote ergo promptissimi ad vicina, 
qui saepe spatia transcurritis infinita> per bospitia qaodammodo 
yestra discorritis^ qui per patriam navigatis. Accedit etiam inianatiade. 
commodis vestrisj quod vobis aliud iter aperi^ir perpetu& se- 
cnritate tranqoiilam : nam cnnij v entis ssBvientibus, mare f uerit 
claosom, via yobis panditor per amoenissima fluyionmu Carinsd 
yestraa per flatus asperos non payescunt. Terram cum summ& 
felicitate attinguntj et perire nesciunt^ quaa frequenter impin- 
guat. Putatur eminus quasi per prata ferri, cum eorum con- 
tigit alyeum non yideri. Tractss funibus ambulant^ quaa stare 
rudentibus consueyerunt, et> conductione mutatft^ pedibus ju- 
yant homines nayes suas ; yectrices sine labore trahunt^ et pro 
fayore yelorum utuntur passu prosperioro Aautarum. Juyat 
referre, quemadmodum habitationes yestras sitas esse prospex- 
imus, YenetisD prsedicabiles quondam plens nobilibus ab neMripiton 
Austro Rayennam Padum-que contingunt ; ab Oriente ju- 
cnnditate lonii litoris perfruuntur^ ubi altemus sestus ^e- 
diens modo clauditj modo aperit faciem reciproc& inundatione 

VOL. IV. 64 



886 



DOCTJMENT& 



Amphibioas 
cxlatenoe. 



Dykes and 
fiudnea. 



SocUa 
equality. 



Salt trade. 



Money. 



camponim. Hie yobis aquatillum aviam more domus est: 
nam^ qui nunc terrestris, modo cemitur insularis, ut illic magis 
existimes esse Ciclades^ ubi subito locorum facies respicis im- 
mutatas ; earum quippe solitudine per SBquora longe patentia 
domicilia videntur sparsa, qusB non natura protulit^ sed homi- 
num cura fundavit Yiminibus enim flexilibus illigatis^ ter- 
rena illis soliditaa aggregatar, et marino fluetol tapi fra^a 
iBunitio non dubitatur opponL Scilicet quando vadosum litus 
moles arcere nescit undarum^ et sine viribua fertor quod alti- 
tudinis auxilxo non juvatur. Habitatoribus igitur una copia est^ 
ut solis piscibus expleantur. Paupertas ibi cum divitibus sub 
sequalitate conyivit ; unus oibus omnes reficit ; babitatio ainulis 
nniyersii concludit ; nesciunt de penatibua inyideroj et sub h&c 
mensurft degentes eyadunt yitium^ cum mundupi constat esse 
obDoxium* In salinis autem exercendis tota oontentio est 
Fro aratris^ pro falcibus cilindroa yolyitis. Inde yobia froctns 
omnis enascituTj quando in ipsis et qu® non facitia possidetis. 
Moneta quodammodo illio percutitur yictpalisi arti yestr» 
omnis fractus additua est Potest aurum aliqnia qiuarere, 
iiemo estj qui non salem desideret inyeiure; merito, quando 
isti debetur omnis cibus, qui potest esse gratissimus; proinde 
nayesj quasj more animalium^ yestris parietis illigftstia, diligeiiti 
eur& reficitCji ut« pum yos yir expertissimus Laurentiusj qui ad 
prociu'anda4 spes (opes ?) directus est^ commonere tentayerit, 
festinatis excurreroi quatenus expeiisas necessarias nulld. dif- 
ficultate tardetisj qui pro qualitate aerip compendium yobis 
eligere potes^ia itine^is. 



No.n. 

Tk0 Will of Fobttoato, Pairiareh of Grado. A.D, 825. 

Qu8B legavit, et fecit Fortunatus, Patriarcha Ecclesiae su», 

Inprimis altare S. Euphemise cum auro, et arg^ito, et 
desuper duos Damaschinos> et unam purpuiam, et unum 



DOCUMENTa 887 

iiindulum, et uniun latoriale cam iatoria de epifania, lineas 
duas oortinaa historialea, quae oircusdant tota aedilia^ undo 
misi .... velo majore ante regea^ que emi de Ghristophoro 
episcopo mancosoa viginti^ et alia. Uno Venedo majore miai 
tabulatam in ambaa acolaa de eccleaiaa S. Euphemiad^ duaa 
coronas argenteaa majorea ; in un& ardet cesendelli centum. 
In ali& ecoleaift feci tales coronas^ qualea in Italid. non annt- 
Torres majorea duaa patenaa^ qualea in ipsft eccleaitl multas 

foere; coronas aoreaa habuimua turribulo parvo de 

auro solidi auri mancoaoa xxx. et n. Feci majore 

similiter de argento pergula ante altare majore. Item omnia 

vasa deaurata et deargentata fronte, quae mihi dedit, 

yalentift R[omanato8] 70. Cortinam^ quam mUu donavit so- 
oera Pasaibo^ quam ego volui comparare de ill& li, 40; 
tamen non minus illi merui ad sedem S. Maroi pedam unam, 
quae fuit oomparata l[ibras] zy. Oortinas lineas duas» una de 
cubltis L. et Y; aliam de 30. lUas tulit dericiator in anft mer^ 
cede ; fecit ezinde camiaias et bragas ad sues dericos. Duas 

cortinas chore paratas cum brandeo yelo, id eat ante 

cancellos de seeretorio. Ad corpora beatissimorum martyrum 
fabricavi altaria de auro et de argento in longitudine pedes xy., 
et in latitudine tres et semisse ; et post ipaum altare alium 
parietem deauratum et deargentatum aimiliter longitudine pe- 
dum xy.» et in altitudine pedes 4 ; et super ipso pariete arcus 
Tolutiles de argento, et super ipsos arous imagines de auro et 
de argento, et super ipsa corpora peccias 8, quod ego miai • 

et de ipaa fedmua et in drcuitu per cancellos ad ipsa 

corpora yelo majore unum istoriale ante regias S. Quirini ; et 
dedi Mauriano magistro argentum ad facere Templos nesoio 
aut tres aut quatuor • . • • . et feci ibi altare imum. Tulit 
ipsos templos olericus ad ordinem Mauriano, et destruxit ipsum 
altare, et fecit exinde illos templos de S. Quirino ; et medium 
parietem in longitudine de illo altari, quod tulit de ecclesi& S. 
Pantaleonis de Noy& Civitate ; et super ipsa corpora misi pec- 
cias tres ante regias S. Marci yelum i., in circuitu altaris 
quadrabulum L, super altare similiter capaa, quao yenit co m 

64—2 



388 DOCUMENTS. 

parata de Constantinopoli^ libras x. ; et altare, et super altare, 
et in circuitu altaris^ pecciam nnam. hx oratorio ante cor- 
pora S. Qairini tria sadificavi altaria : nnum in honorem S. 
Michaelis^ aliud S. Paali, tertium S. Benedict : et ipsa in dr- 
cuitu et desapcr honorlfice coperui : in S. Laurentio blata L^ 
et desuper Macioda una: ad S. Paulum in circuitu altaris 
quadrabulum 1.5 et desuper similiter : ad fontes S. Johannis 

in circuitu quadrabulum unum^ et desuper fundi in 

circuitu fontis velum lineum unum. In Ecclesift S. Marias 

altare^ et in circuitu fundato majore i. et nnum 

damaschinum, et unum frodatum album, et de van- 

dum jam libras xu., et, si Deo placuerit, adimplere cupio, et 
credo in Deo, et vos nolite dubitare, quod dice, Deo jubenie 
sic facio; ct coperui ipsam ecclesiam de plumbo de dono 
sancti imperii, et de meo certamine ; et stravi ipsum porticum 
cum lapide usque in plateam publicam. In S. Zenone, in cir- 
cuitu altaris, et desuper, palcbum unum* Ad S. Pancratium 
similiter. Ecclesia S. Agatss, ubi requiescunt 40 et duo mar- 
tyres, erat in minis posita ; et quando impetus maris veniebat, 
usque ad ipsa corpora ambulabat, sed tanta erat Dei miseri- 
cordia, quod ipsa aqiia feriebat parietes longe de ipsa corpora 
pedes 5, quod plures nostri sacerdotes viderunt. Ego autem 
cum Dei misericordi& re-edificavi eam a fundamentis in alti- 
tudinem et longitudinem, ubi impetus maris accedere nun- 
quam potest; et super ipsa feci arcus volutiles et super 
ipses alios arcus volutiles; et feci ibi altare in honorem 
SS. Felicis et Fortunati paratum cum auro et argento, et 

ante ipsa corpora subter similiter altare paratum 

cum auro et argento ; et desuper capsam, quse empta fiiit in 
Constantinopoli libras xv. ; et super ipso arcu volutili, qui est 
super altare SS. Felicis et Fortunati edificavi altaria rr., S. 
Cecilia), S. Eugeniae, S. Agneti, et S. Felicitati. Et post cor- 
pora beatissimorum martyrum in iU& absift edificavi altare S. 
Lucise, laus Deo Omnipotenti ! ilia altaria de palliis et lin- 
teaminibus bonorifice co-operta sunt ; et dedi ibi patenas et 
calices de argento, et unum casale in Pencircus cum vineis, et 



DOCUMENTS. 389 

terris^ et olivetis^ quse ego emi (empsi) de filiis Badoario. Et 
non recordo aut unnm aut duos casales^ qui pertinent de jure 
S. EcclesisB nostrsB ; et dedi ibi argentum libras x. in manum 
Agno Corepiscopo. Et omnem consuetudinem de S. Ecclesid. 
sic prendat, sicut archipresbyter, aut arcliidiaconus ; et dedi ibi 
unam casam prope ipsam ecclesiam^ quam emi (empsi) de homi- 
nibus de Bevaziano. Ecclesiam autem S. Peregrini, quam 
Gradisiani (Gradenses) in illorum peccato fundamenta ever- 
terunt pro timore Franchorum^ nos^ Deo jubente^ a ftmdamentis 
re-edificavimus : et scolas^ mansiones^ et porticos in hooiore edi- 
ficavimus. Ecclesia autem S. Joannis major (majoris) tota 
erat vasta (vastata), et scola in ruinis posita ; quare et ego, ncc 

alii introire ante habuit traves 18. Ego autem feci 

venire magistros de Francis : misi ibi traves • . • 

Desunt hie mtdta 
Monasterio S. Dei Genitricis M arise in insult Barbinio dedi 
argenti libras 30; navem cum armatur& su&, grani media 
centum :. misimus ibi presbyteros et clericos, qui ibi Deum 
cceli quotidie laudant Monasterium S. Juliani in insult 
... .4 quod in ruinis positum erat, edificavimus; misimus 
ibi presbyteros, et dedi illi argenti libras 2, ut ibi diu noctu- 
que officium faciant. In sanct& Ecclesid. majori dedi per 

sacerdotes inter et sericos planetas xvi. credo et 

amplius ; Dalmaticos ix. ; septem sunt : et de unft fecit sibi 
Diaconus Venerius (Veniero) tunicam, et de alifl. Mamicius, 
qui in perditione ambulavit, tunicas sericas octo de bono lin- 
teamine ad omne subdiacono ; et acolytes, de alio linteamine 
per sanctas Ecclesias intus et foras credo quod intuere non 
possum. Dimisi per illas insulas cavallos xii.: Deus scit, 
meliores fnere de quinquagenos vel sexagenos mancosos ; arma, 
lino, lana, canabe, coria, filtros, strumas, Ursinas, scrineas 
ferro amplius valentes quam centum libras ; vini amphoras 
amplius quam ducentum, sine alias causas quod ego non pos- 
sum recordare xvm. Caldarias majores comparavi de illos 
missos, qui illos rame de cas& .... magistro milite tulerat. 
Breve in dome S. HermagoraB iuveni : in primis. 



890 DOCUMENTS. 

grani modia X7., vini amphoras 9^ auri facti pe$ani4 man- 
coBos XXX. et m. ; aigenti facti de mesa libras 71. Ego iiide 
habeo hie ad me bo[nas] libras 21. Sio perpensiquod in domo 
remansitj si plus invenis inter ista^ quae ego habeo, et illa^ tone 
sciatis quod demptom de meo de certamine est ; et si minus 
inyenis, si Deo placuerit, ego ilia habeo restanrare de toto isto 
per viventem in secola non yoto me habere, sed omnia revertar 
in sanctft Ecclesift. Laudo ego Deo de meo habeo completa 
missa, quod ad me habeam, thesaurus S. EcdesiflB omnia sains 
est| quo^ibi inveni certe fuit unus calix parvulus et non bene- 
factus, per yiventem in secula non pensavit amplius hhm 114, 
ad augen[dum] 4 mancosos transmisi in Franchiam, et bonas 
gemmas adamantinas et jaguntos, ut faceret meliore et majore, 
si sanus est et vivus Ludovicus (Louis the Pious). Ego credo 
quod S. Ecclesia ilium perdere non habet, et si aliquid «... 
venit, confide in Deo. Non vado de ist& luce, antequam ego 
restanrare credite ; non propheta sum, nee filius prophets^, nam 
promissa a Deo, sio erit^ quod in magno honore, et gratia 
S. Imperii in S. me& £cclesi& reverse (reversus) in pace et 
tranquillitate vobiscum diebus vite me» gaudebo^ {Cas^iod. 
Op. L 187). 



No. m. 

Coronation Oath of tlie Doge Abbiqo Dandolo. a.d. 1192. 

Ista suntqnsB obsenrare tenemusnosHenricusDandolusDei 

gratia dux usque dum vixerimus in ducatu. Regimen [patrise] 

Dhrematton faciomus [ct Bta]tum observabimus bona fide. Et studios! 

^ ^' erimus ad rationem et justitiam omnibus qui eam queesierint 

ct quseri fecerint cxhibendam [sine dila]cione aliqua, bona 

fide, sine fraude, nisi remanserit per majorem partem consilii 

sive sub districtione s ad complendas leges et justitias 

Fieu. quie judicio judicum fuerint promulgatSB, studiosi erimus bona 

fide, [sine fraude, ducere ad complemontum. De] placitis 



DOCUMENTS. 39l 

qui ante nos venerint nullnm per fratidem allquam dilatabi- 
muB* 8i vero jadices nostri in proferenda lege discordes 
[aliquandd] partterintj unde nos legem dicere debeamus^ in common- 
meliorem partem qusB nobis videbitur^ secundum usum [nos Eq^tj. 
ponemuB]i Ubi [yero usus] nobis defecerit, dicemus secun- 
dum nosiram conscientiam^ sine fraude^ Nullum servicium 
toUemus nee tolli [faciemus ad juvandum] aut nocendum obugauons 
aliquam partem yel ullum hominem. Et si per nos aliquis 
senricium inde tulerit^ [ex quo nobis notum fuerit, faciemus] 
reddi bona fide^ sine firaude. Nullum quoque seryici[um 
toUjismus Uec tolli faciemus de aliquo f » • i • • ye nee circa 
comune Veneciarum. Honorem autem et proficuum Veneci* 
amm consiliabimus^ tractabimus et operabimus [bona fide^ 
sine fraude. Omnia quoque] secreta consilia quse nos cum 
majori parte consilii teneri jusserimus, secrete fteryabimus ^^^^ 
[sectmdum ordittem quem nos percipiemus]. Et si in tem- Pwnamcnt 
pore nostro alicui personaa yel personis de habere yel possessio- 
ntbus aut redditibus [comnnls Veneciarum aliquid datum yel 
colIauda]tum fuerit^ dationem yel collaudationem illam fir- 
mam non habebimuB, nisi pritis per majorem partem [consilii 
consiliata fiierit et confir]mata. De rebus quae per majorem 
partem consilii erunt [yeti]tse» sigillum nulli personsB dabi- 
mus, [nisi per majorem partem consiliariorum] fuerit collau- Fabe 
datum. De uniyersis chartulis falsis qu£e nobis ostensas 
fueiint studiosi erimus [ad earum exceptionem] faciendam^ Election of 
secundum usum patriss nostree. Si patriarchalis nostra utanB; ' 
Grradensis mater ecclesia inordinata [remanserit^ electio noyi] 
patriarchae in imiyerso cetu cleri nostri et populi dimittemuSj of Bishops. 
unde nullum seryicium ex[quirere debemus. Electionem 
episcoporum in suorum] filiorum cleri et populi similiter 
potestatd relinquemus, sine exactione servicii; electionem 
[monasteriorum sibi suffra]gantium in ipsorum congrega- Tithes and 
tionibus cum suis episcopis, simili mode, absque servicio. De 
quadrages[imo et aliis rationibus quas yicedomini nostri] 
comunis toUere consueyerunt et de illo quod peryenit de 
marchia Wamerii, exceptis pomis [quideLombardiayenerint^ 



392 DOCUMENTS, 

habere] debemus duas partes^ et vicedomini tertiam. Nos 
intromittere non debemus neque de [quinio quod per mare 
intrat neque de Castello] novo per nos^ hoc est per propriam 
utHitatem^ neque de datione sigUli salis quod apud Caput 

[aggeris toUebatur] Decern naves bellicas armatas nos 

de toto expendio faciemus^ quadragesim et sagitta- 

riorum* Legationes et epistolas ad Romanum Pontificem et 
^^S^°' ad imperatores et reges sine [majori parte consilii] non 
ofNotaitaB. mittemus. Judices in palatio nostro sine electione non 
faciemus. Notarios sine majori [parte consilii et collauda- 
tione] populi non faciemus. De nulla offensione adversum 
nos facta, sine judicio judicum, aliquam inquis[itionem non 
faciemus. De] comunibus quidem negotiis servabimus ea 
quse per majorem partem consilii erunt ordinata, ex quo [nobis 
dicta fuerint per sacramenti] districtionem. De facto quod 
pertinuerit specialiter ad ducatum ea servabimus undo omnes 
consi[liarii minoris consilii erunt] Concordes cum majori 
parte consilii majoris, ex quo nobis dicta fuerint per sacra- 
menti districtionem^ [dum tamen antequam] 8ententietur« si 
fuerit aliquis in consilio qui nobis non sit debito fidelitatis 
astrictus, et requisitus a nobis [tunc cum habebitur de ipso] 
facto tractatus, nobis fidelitatem juraverit Hsec onmia quam 
singula quae superius dicta sunt bona fide sine fraude [serva- 
bimus dum] vixerimus in nostro ducatu^ excepto quod si quis 

nobis non erit fidelitate astrictus am et eam facere 

nobis noluerit. — (From Arch Star. ItaL torn. ix. pp. 327-9.) 



No. IV. 

CoMMBBCiAL PiiiviLEGES granted to the Venetians 8y Leo I., 
King of Armenia^ at the reqtiest of the Doge Enbico 
Dandolo, and of the Venetian Ambassador, Jacopo 
Badoabo. A.D. 1201. 

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sanctis amen. 

Notum sit omnibus hominibus presentibus et futuris^ quod 



DOCUMENTS. 893 

ego Leo filius Stephani de potenti genero Bupinornmj Dei 
gratia Rex Armeniorum^ tarn pro parte omnium heredum et 
saccessorum meomm quam mea, dono et concedo per privi- 
leginm firmam mandatum a modo in perpetuum nobili 
Henrico Dandalo^ illustri Duci Venetie, Dalmacie et Croacie^ 
et omnibus Veneticis, super hoc quod a me requirit per laco* 
bum Baduarium, filium loannis Badoarii militis, proyidum^ 
discretum nuncinm et concivem suum^ scilicet licenciam et 
securitatem salvo eundi et redeundi omni terra mea« et per 
totam terram meam^ quam modo habeo^ et quam Deo dante 
acquisiturus sum. Ex regali itaque munificentia mea^ ipsius 
requisitioned dono et concedo plenius ei, onmibusque succes- 
soribus 8uis> et onmibus Yeneticis, amore et honore suo, 
omniumque Venetorum, sicut continetur. iui presenti privi- 
legio^ libertatem per terram et per mare- in civitatibus, in 
portibus, in pontisj eundi et redeundi cum quibuslibet mer- 
cimoniis, intrandi et exeundi cum quibuslibet mercimoniis ; et 
habeant potestatem plenam vendendi et .emendi quelibet 
mercimonia per totam terram meam^ et'extrahendi de tota 
terra mea, salve, secure, libere, quiete, ;si|ie omni servitio, 
sine omni drictura, sine omni angaria, et sine omni passagio: 
excepto quod Yenetici habitantes semper in eis marinis par- 
tibus, et transierint per portellam, teneantur ibi persolvere 
dricturam, sicut solitum est ab omnibus Ghristianis transeun- 
tibus et retranseuntibus persolvere; et excepto quod omnes 
Yenetici qui adduxerint aurum et argentum, et bisancios sen 
monetas, nisi fecerint vel operati fuerint in terra mea, hii 
teneantur persolvere dricturam, sicut persolverint hii qui 
bisancios sen monetas operantur in Acconensibus partibus: 
quod si bisancios seu monetas non operati fuerint, nullatenus 
persolvere dricturam teneantur. Corpora, res et mercimonia 
Yenetorum sint salva et secura ab omnibus hominibus qui 
sunt et qui erunt sub potestate ct dominio meo. Concedo etiam 
et volo, ut si quilibet vasellum Yenetorum passum fuerit nau- 
fragium vel rupturam in toto littore regni mei, omnes hii qui 
evaserint de periculo illo sint salvi et securi. Corpora, res et 



394 DOCUMENTS. 

metcimonia eorum sint salva et secnra et libera ab ottmibaa 
hominibus qui sunt et qui erunt sub potestate et dominio meo. 
Bxcepto quod si quis intersit qui non sit Veneticus, ipsius res 
omties potestati curie mee subiaceant Et si navis seu yassel- 
lum alianim gentium periclitata fiierit vel fractain toto littore 
regni meii et interfuerit Yeneticus aliquis^ res et omnia bona 
ipsius lint salva et seoura et libera ab omnibus hominibus qui 
sunt et qui erunt sub potestate et dominio meo. Concedo 
insuper et volo^ ut si aliquis Yenedcus mercator Yoluerit 
peragrare per terram meam in aliam terram seu Chris- 
tianorum seu Sarracenorum ubi pacem et treugas habeam, 
sine contradictione aliqua oum quibuslibet mercimoniis vadat 
quando Yoluerit et redeat ; et si aliquod dampnum in ipso 
itinerej Yenetico viatori evenerit^ ad restituenda ablata, tan- 
quam nlea propria^ operam dare et studium conceda Con- 
cedo similiter et volo^ ut [si] aliquis Yeneticus aliqua 
predestinatlone in terra mea morte preocupatus fuerit, et 
bonorum suorum ordinationem fecerit, ipsamque in manibus 
Yenetioi seu cuiuslibet comiseritj et fuerit mortuusi ordinatio 
ipsa Utabilis sit et firma ; et si sine ordinatione fiusta subito 
mortuus fuerit^ et aliquis Yeneticus interfuerit^ res et bona 
mortui in manibus ipsius adstantis Yenetici, quicumque sit, 
sine contradictione aliqua deveniant ; et si aliquis Yeneticns 
non interfueritj et cum ordinatione seu sine ordinatione 
facta subito mortuus Aierit^ omnia bona ipsius in manibus 
domini lohannis venerabilis Sisoisis Archiepiscopi^ illustris 
Regis Arm^ie Gancellarii^ seu successoram suorum archi- 
episcoponim^ sine aliqua contradictione deveniant; que 
tamdiu sub ctlstodia habeat^ quousque ex mandate illustris 
Ducis Yenecie^ Dalmacie et Oroacie^ recipiat per litteras 
tamen sigillo suo sigillatas^ cui ilia tradere et assignare de- 
beat, seu quid super his facturum sit; et secundum tenorem 
ipsarum litterarum, predicti ducis mandatum de rebus mortui 
sine aliqua contradictione adimpleatur. Concedo preterea et 
voloj ut si aliqua contentio vel discordia in terra mea inter 
Yenetos emerserit^ ut per Yenetos, si interfuerint, emendetor: 



DOCUMBNTS. 896 

qui si absentes fumnt, in presentia predict! venerabilis archi- 
epiioopi, t&re snccessoram saoram archiepisooporum^ previa 
ratione^ emendetur. Et Bi aliqua contentio vel discordia 
mortalis inter VenetoB et qnascumque gentes emerserit^ et 
mors hominis subito irruerit, in regali coria mea per iuBtlcie 
sentenciam decidator ; et si aliqua alia contentio yd disoordia 
inter Yenetoa et quaBcumque gentes emerseriti similiter in 
regali curia meA per iudicii sentenciam finiettun Omne ius 
Veneticorum tanqnam meum proprium observabo et maxlU'^ 
teneboj et a creditoribus suis hominibus meis eis iusticiam 
plenam exiberi faciam. Ooncedo denique et dono^ pro salute 
anime mee predecessorumque meorum^ Yeneticis in civitate 
Mamistei ecclesiam, et victualia pro sacerdote et derico 
ecclesie servientibus^ et fundicutn ad ponenda res et merci'^ 
monia sua^ et locum bd hedificandam domum. Ut autem 
presens privilegium firmum permaneat et inconvulBum> pro« 
pria manu rubris litteris armenicis illud signavii et regali sigillo 
auri illud muniri et corroborari feci^ et subscriptorum testium 
aprobatione confirmari. Concedo et volo^ ut omnis Yeneticus 
habeat potestatem standi salvo^ secure, cum omnibus bonis 
suis, quamdiu voluerit in omni terra mea, et per totam t^^ram 
meam. Factum est hoc privilegium et datum per manus 
domini lohannis venerabilis Arohiepiscopi Sisensis, illustris 
Armenie Cancellarii. Anno Dominice iiicarnationis millesimo 
ducentesimo primo, mense Decembris. — {From Areh, Stor. 
lial. IX. pp. 361-4.) 



No.V. 

TfiBATT between Baldwin, Count of Flandere^ ThibAULT, Couni 
of Champagne^ and Loms, Count of Blois^ on the one 
hands ond Arrioo Dandolo, Doge of Venice^ on the 
other; for the Passage of the Crusaders to the Holy 
Land. 

Frequently hath it happened to our knowledge, that the 
territory of Jerusalem hath been taken by the Pagans, and 



896 DOCUMENTS. 

that it hath been rescued out of their hands, as it pleased the 
Lord, and redounded to His honour and glory. But, in these 
our times, matters have come to such a pass that the enemies 
of the Cross have been enabled to give their wicked designs 
full accomplishment Jerusalem, in which the Holy Body 
reposed, hath been taken ; other cities and strongholds have 
met a like fate ; and few places remain, indeed, which have 
not fallen into their power. And this evil do we attribute 
rather to the iniquities of the people than to the unjust wrath 
of the Judge ; since, when the people were converted to the 
Lord, wc find that one man was able to persecute a thousand, 
and two to bring back ten thousand to the faith. Had it 
been His will, the Lord would have avenged His wrong with 
His inimitable justice. But, perchance. He wished to make 
trial, and to see if any one among the Christians, seeking 
Him, would embrace the opportunity offered for contrition and 
repentance, and cheerfully take up sword and shield in His 
service. And although many princes, — the Roman Emperor, 
the Kings of France and England, Dukes, Marquises, Counts, 
and Barons, in great numbers, and others girded with the 
sword of might,— did hasten, in truth, to the rescue of the 
Holy Land; yet, since these were not unanimous in their 
exertions, they accomplished little. 

Now hath it pleased the Lord, in these times, to inspire 
the most illustrious princes, Baldwin, Count of Flanders, 
Thibault, Count of Champagne, and Louis, Count of Blois 
and Clermont, and other men of high blood, with the desire 
of taking the Cross, and of enlisting themselves in the service 
of God against the Heathen. Wherefore, after due and 
proper deliberation, and considering that there could be no 
moment more opportune than the present for such an under- 
taking, and that you could not better do than contract an 
alliance with us, in order that we might, under God, perform 
this service together. And whereas you have accredited to 
us the noble gentlemen, Conon de Bethune, Geoffrey the Mar- 
shal, Jean de Fraise, Alard de Maqueraux, Miles de Brabant, 



DOCUMENTS. 397 

and Graatier de Gondonyille, earnestly soliciting us, for the 
sake of the divine mercy, to give you our counsel and aid in 
this affair, placing every trust in our discretion, and express- 
ing your willingness to abide by our decision in all things 
which might have to be done ; and which being made known 
to ns by the ambassadors, and by the letters presented by 
them to us on your behalf, the which we received with all 
due speed. Therefore we, Arrigo Dandolo, by the grace of 
God Doge of Venice, Dalmatia, and Croatia, rejoicing in- 
wardly in our heart when we recall the memory of our prede- 
cessors who lent their assistance, in due course, to the kingdom 
of Jerusalem, whence they, by the will of God, acquired 
honour and glory; and considering the exhortations of the 
High Pontiff, who hath frequently admonished us to take 
this step ; and because we do not doubt that you are sincere 
in your intentions and labour at this in all purity of heart — 
have, in honour of the Lord, granted your desires with all 
cordiality and goodwill. 

As the persons above enumerated have besought us, we 
will give you, then, ships for the passage of 4,500 well-armed 
soldiers, and as many horses ; 9,000 esquires (you always 
paying us, any change or deficiency in the number, notwith- 
standing) ; and 20,000 foot soldiers ; with provisions for one 
year, which we have promised to fiimish. And the allowances 
to each man shall be as follows: six setters (seventy-two 
bushels) of com, wheat, and vegetables, and half an amphora 
(four gallons) of wme. For each horse the allowance shall 
be three bushels of com, Venetian measure, and water at will. 
To transport the horses, we bind ourselves to provide as many 
uscieri as shall appear necessary ; and for the passage of the 
men, ships according to our discretion, and as the Barons shall 
keep faith with us. And this fleet shall remain at your dis- 
posal from the Feast-day of the blessed AposUes Paul and 
Peter, instant, for the honour of God, of the blessed Evangelist 
Mark, and of Christendom, for the term of one twelvemonth, 
if it should meet with your approbation, and unless it should 



898 POCUMIiNTS. 

ooBtinae longer by our eommon eooient Fardiennore, we, 
of Qor own free wfllj do hereby offer fifty galleya, duly armed 
and eqnippedj to the service of the Lord ; and these galleys 
shall remain afloat for a like term, if such an arrangement be 
approvedj and tmlesaj as before, by our common consent, they 
continue longer« In consideration of which, we shall rooeiye 
from you 83,000 marks of pure silver (weight of Colc^e), 
such as is current iu our country ; of which you shall, between 
this (April) and the I st of August, pay 15,000 marks ; between 
the 1st of August and the 1st November, 10,000 ; and between 
the Ist of November and the 2nd of February another 10,000 
marks* The remainder we shall expect to receive in the 
course of April, during which month all things, which may 
be necessary, shall be provided, to go and remain in the ser- 
vice of God, for the term of one year, if such an arrangement 
be ratified, or unless we afterwards agree to the extensicm of 
such term. It is also to be bgrne in mind, that you must 
abstain from procuring provisions (of any kind) fix>m Cremona, 
Bologna» Emolfitt or Faenza» except it be with our knowledge 
and oonsent^ and that, on the contrary, you will enter into 
firm alliance with us, so that we may act justly towaid each 
other. And if, by the favour of God, we shall, conjointly or 
separately, acquire, by force or treaty, any new possessions, 
they shall be divided between us in two equal portions. All 
which things above recited, your ambassadors aforementioned 
have sworn, on the Holy Gospel, on your behalf, to obseiwe 
and fulfil} and, if it shall be possible, you shall cause the 
jECing of France to swear in like manner. And we, on our 
part, have sworn, and do swear, to observe and fulfil these 
things (always on condition, that those engagements to which 
you» on your part, have pledged yourselves, shall be so 
observed and fulfilled). And we ourselves, if it doth happen 
that we go with that army, do swear to adhere to those con- 
ditions which (your masters) the Barons have subscribed; 
but, should we not accompany the aforesaid army, then shall 
those who do so accompany it be caused to swear in such 



DOOUMENTa 899 

wise. And it is decided by oqb oommop qonsentj that ai^ 
peraons sball be chosen on either side^ in prder th^ts if any 
dispute (which God forefeqd I) shall arise between yoqr people 
and onr people, it may be settled and adjusted by them)i Apd 
you shall caDse the treaty, when it shall have been approved 
apd sanctioned by the Lord Pontiff^ to be poade known and 
puhlisbedj to the end that, if either party depart ft^om the 
letter of this treaty, it may be on their proper responsibility. 
And that the present instrnmait may receive greater credit 
and weight, we have caused it to het sealed with mv leaden 
aeal. 

Done at Venice, in Rialto, at the Ducal Palace. Olven in 
the hand of Andrea Oorrado, our Ohancellor, in the 
year of the Incarnation of the Lord, 1201, in the 
month of April, and in the tenth year of the reign of 
Arrigo Dandolo. {A. Danduli Chron. ; Murat xn.) 



No. VI. 

CJoBONATiON Oath of the Doge Qucomo Tiepolo. a.d. 1229. 

Incipit prologns promissionis illustris don^ini Jacobi TeupoU, 
Dei gratia Ducis Venetie, Dalmatie atque Croatisa, et dominus 
dimidiia et quarts partis totiu9 imperii Rpma^i^dj quam fecit 
pq>ulo Venetiamm pro Ducatu. 

Jn nomine Peou^i Dei Salvatoris nostri Jeim Gbristi, anno 
Domini millesimo duc^ntesimo vigesimo nonoj mensis Martii 
di^ sexto intrtmtea {ndictione secunda; Rivoalti, 

Cum non de nostra, fortitudine et prudential sed de sola 
processit dementia Oreatoris, in cigus arbitr[i]o et yoluntate 
universa sunt posita, quod ad ducalis oulmen pervenerimns 
dignitatis, vos hactenus in ecclesia beati Marci Bvangelistce, 
domini gloriosi, qui patronus noster et signifer est in ommbus, 
flggregati, quantam erga nos habueriUa dulcedinem charitatis, 
manif^ti^ ibi ag perfeptii^k demo»str(lstisi cum ad prgla* 



400 DOCUMENTS. 

tionem eligentium nos vice vestra et nomine^ in ocelam mani* 
bos elevatisy Deum nnanimiter glorificastis in voce laudis 
magnifica et exultationis, quoniam per intercessionem glo- 
rioaissimi Evangelistce sui Marci nos in ducem vobis dederat 
et rectorem^ nnde super his gratias quas possnmus omnimodas 
persolventes. Altissimo, cuius magnitudinis non est finis, et 
Evangelistsd suo gubematori nostro^ et vobis quoque super 
letitia magna, quam de promotione nostra gerids et habetis 
grates referentes uberes, notum vobis fieri cupimus per pre- 
sentis scripti confinentiam, quia studiosos nos tanto ezhibere 
volumus ampliufl et attentos ex cordis intimo, prout de jure 
debemusj super rationibus et justitia &ciendisj et super ve»- 
tris quoque negotiis omnibus diligentius promovendis, quoad 
utilitatem vobis pariter et proficuum cum honore patris 
valeant melius pervenire. Et quanto per nos, auctore Deo, 
super his major nobis attributa est facultas et coUata tarn 
gloriosa dignitas, ac nimis prsecelsa, vol^ntes igitur quod in 
voluntate super his gerimus in opere apertius dedarare, Nos 
Jacobus Teupolo, Dei gratia Venetiar^m, Dalmatic atque 
CroatiaB dux, dominus quoque quarts partis et dimidise totins 
imperii Romaniss, promittentes promiitimus vobis, universo 
populo Venetiarum, majoribus et minoribus, et vestris here- 
dibus, quod a modo in antea cunctis diebus, quibus Dominus 
in corpore nobis vitam habere concesserit, in Ducatus nostri 
regimine Venetiarum regimen faciemus et statum observabimus 
bona fide, sicut nostri observaverunt predecessores. 

i>i!ipoiiwtion Studiosi erimus ad rationem et justitiam omnibus, qui earn 
qusssierint et qnsm fecerint, exhibendam sine dilatione aliqua, 
bona fide, sine fi:aude ; et ad leges et justitias complendas 
secundum usum factum et confirmatum olim, et de caetero con- 
firmandum, qusD judicio judicum fiierint promulgatse. Studiosi 
erimus bona fide similiter, sine fraude, et nullum amicum vel 
inimicum juvabimus vel nocebimus in fraudem. 

Picas. De placitis autem illis, qusB ante nos venerint, nullum per 

fraudem aliquam dilatabimus ; et si judices inproferenda lege 
discordes aliquando apparuerint, unde nos legem dicere do* 



of Justice. 



DOCUMENTS. 401 

beamus, in ineliorem partem, quad nobis videbitur secundum 
nsmn, nos ponemus^ et ubi nsus nobis defecerit, dicemos 
secnndum nostram consciendam, sine fraude. 

Nuliom servitium toUemoSj nee tolli faciemus ; et si per nos 
aUqnis servitiam tulerit, ex quo nobis notum fiierit, faciemus 
ipsum reddi bona fide, sine fraude. 

Honorem autem et proficuum VenetiaB consiliabimus, trac- 
tabimus, et operabimus bona fide, sine fraude. Et iUam partem 
in consilio capiemus, quad nobis magis rationabilis apparebit 
Omnia quoque consilia secreta, quad Nos cum majori parte 
consiliariorum nostrorum teneri jusserimus, secrete tenebimus 
secundum ordinem, quem nos precipiemus. Et si in nostro 
tempore alicui personaB, vel personis, de habere, vel posses- 
sionibus, aut redditibus Communis Venetiarum, aliquid datum, 
vel coUandatum fuerit, dationem iUam, vel coUaudationem 
illam, firmam non babebimus, nisi prius pro majori parte Con- 
cilii majoris et minoris consiliata fuerit et confirmata. 

De rebus, quae per majorem partem Concilii erunt vetitae, 
sigillum nulli personse dabimus, nisi per majorem partem 
consiliariorum nobis laudatum fherit 

De nniversis cartulis falsis, quae nobis ostensas fuerint, 
stndiosi erimus ad fistciendam inde jnstltiam et fieri iaciendam, 
secundum usum patriae nostrae factum vel confirmatum olim, 
vel de caetero confirmandum. 

Si patriarchalis nostra sancta Gradensis mater Ecclesia 
inordinata remanserit, electio nostri patriarchae in universo 
ccetu cleri nostri et populi permaneat, nisi aliter per majorem 
partem nostri Concilii fuerit collaudatum, undo nullum servi- 
tium ezquirere debeamus, nee recipi faciamus ; et si aliquid 
prae nobis receptum esse sciverimus, illud citius quam poteri- 
mus reddi faciemus. 

Electio universorum nostrorum episcoporum vacantium, in 
suorum filiomm, cleri et populi, potestatc consistat, et electio 
monasteriorum sibi suffragantium in ipsorum congregationibus, 
cum suis episcopis, absque ullius servitii exactione, simili modo 
permaneat, unde nos intromittere non debemus nisi cum 

yoL, IV. 65 



402 DOCUMENTS. 

vdnntate majoris partia nostri oonailii. Jam dictaa autem 
patriarchaioB cum omnibus pertinentiia suia in patariaichae 
potestate, episcopatos yero in potestate epiaoopomm, com sols 
omnibus intus et extra debeant permanere. 

De quadragesimo octuagesuno^ et aliis rationibus, quas 
Hcedomini communis nostri toUere consueverunt, et de illo, 
quod provenit de Marchia Wamerii^ exceptis pomis, qui de 
Lombardia veniunt unde habere debemus duas partes et vice- 
domini^ tertiam« neque de quinto quod per mare intrat, neque 
de Castello novo intromittere nos debemus, nee de sigillo 
majori salis^neque de datione minoris, quee apud Caput Aggeris 
toUebatur, nee de piscaria, nee de beccaria, salva tamen bono* 
rificentia nostrsa curise, qus8 in die Jovis de camis privio omni 
anno habere debemus. De aliis vero quadrageaimisy tam de 
Tarvisio, quam de aliis partibus, et de caratico Yerome^ et de 
arboratico Anconitanorum, quod nostri predecessores tolle- 
banty et de bannis omnibus, qui a nostris predecessoribus 
toUebantur, intromittere nos non debemus, exceptis datione 
gambarorum quam totam sumus habituri, et exceptis datione 
ceresiarum, qu» portabuntur de Taryisana, quarum duas partes 
habere debemus, donee colligentur, et habebuntur per Yene- 
tias, et ille qui coUegit, tertiam. 

De facto OlugisB intromittere nos non debemus sine migori 
parte Concilii nostri, exceptis gundula, fieno et vino et omni 
honorificentia receptionis nostras et nunciorum nostrorum, et 
excepto eo, quod nobis debet fieri, quando volumus ire vena- 
tum aut mittere, exceptis etiam appellationibus et interdicds, 
quflB ad nos factss fuerint, secundum oonsuetudinem olim habi- 
tam, et exceptis poenis, quas licet nobis CluglensibuB imponere, 
si ea nobis non facerent qusa continentur, superius exceptata, 
secundum oonsuetudinem olim habitam. In potestate autem 
Communis nostri remaneat dare potestatem Clugiensibus, rel 
Oastaldionem &cere, et habere ripaticum et bannam ocdsionis 
et percussionis, et alia, quad duces habebant, exceptis his> qu» 
sunt superius denotata. ' 

Quapropter Commune Yenetiarum omnes expensas fisicere 



DOCUMENTS. 403 

debet^ qnas praedecessores nostri et nostrum Commune facere 
solebant pro facto Communis^ tam in legationibus ubique 
mittendisj quam in omnibus aliis^ et In omnibus exercitibus^ 
excepto quod quotiescumque iverimus pro facto nostri Com- 
munis per nostrum Ducatum a Grado u. z. usque Lauretum 
et Caput Aggeris, nostris propriis expensis ire debemus. 

Verumtamen Nos tam de averatico (avetaticof), sive de ^^pJJf,J" 
imprestito, pro Communi Venetiarum faciendo, tenemur facere '-<>^- 
de nostro habere^ sicut ordinabitur per majorem partem con- 
cilii, quod fieri debeat 

Preterea debemus facere ea omnia^ quse omnes predecessores 
nostri ecdesiis Venetiarum facere consueverunt, salvo tamen 
quod, si inde aliam habuerimus conscientiam quam nostri con- 
siliariij quod acquiescere debeamus in voluntate majoris partis 
nostri concilii, excepto de facto ecdesiae beati Marci, in quft 
observare debemus, prout juravimus. 

Legationes autem et epistolas ad summum Pontificem et Embassies 

^3 r ^ and Foreign 

Imperatorem ac reges, et aliquam personam pro commum neapatcbes, 
nostro sine major! parte concilii nostri mittere non debemus, 
exceptis litteris rationis, quas nobis licet facere fieri Yenetis ; 
et si littersB nobis mandabuntur a summo Fontifice, vel Impe- 
ratore, vel aliquo rege, eas tenemur demonstrare majori parti 
nostri concilii. 

Judices quoque in nostro palatio absque electione facere Jjjg^®' 
non debemus; et redditus, quos judices de proprio nostri 
palatii soliti sunt habere, dari consentiemus illis, nee eis inde 
contradicere debemus. Yerum tenemur omni anno dare cui- 
libet eorum amphoras quatuor vini de vineis nostri ducatus, 
quse sunt de Clugia de Camanzo specialiter ; et si (quod absit I) 
vineae ipsae tempestate forent (destructaB ?) sic quod non possent 
dari, faciemus dare eis, ut dictum est, de alio opportuno vino 
Clugiae ; et similiter eis tenemur facere dare annuatim omnes 
alias honorificentias, quas more solito habuerunt Judices 
Proprii. 

Notaries vero sine majori parte Concilii et coUaudatione Notwies. 
populi facere non debemus, neque ab eis aliquid toUi faciemus : 

56—2 



404 DOCUMENXa 

imo remaneat in potestate nostri Communis id quod soliti sunt 
dare predecessoribus nostris^ 

soqucstrt- NuIIius autem mansionem sine judicio judicum, vel con- 
sensu majoris partis Concilii publicabimus ; quod si fecerimus, 
nos illisy quibus hoc eveneritj damna omnia debeamus in 
duplum restaurarc. 

Schools. De universis scholis laboratoriis terrse nostras nihil amplias 

servitii inquirere debeamus, excepto cum voluntatc majoris 
partis Concilii, nisi quantum prawlecessoribus nostris et in 
nostro palatio usas sunt 

Mnsteraof Gastaldioues, qui per diversas Artes erunt ordinal!, etiam 
in scholis suis permanentes, ita ordinare debemus, sicnt praede- 
ccssores nostri facere consueverunt 

Ducal De excusatis nostri ducatus nullum servitium amplius in- 

quirere debeamus, nisi quantum nostris praedecessoribus per 
bonam consuetudinem in nostro palatio fecerunt ; et qoando- 
cumque pergere voluerint ad negociandum negocia sua, absque 
omni contradictione pergere debeant, nisi per Nos remanserit, 
et per majorem partem Concilii nostri, aut per publicum in- 
terdictum. XJnde nullum quadragesimum, vd servitium, eis 
inquirere debeamus. Ad partes universas, ad quas negociandi 
causa ire voluerint,- secundum quod eorum parentes facere usi 
fuerint, ita et ipsi agere debeant, nisi remanserit per Nos, et 
majorem partem concilii nostri. 

Honcr. Nostram monetam, sicut fuerit inventum de major! parte 

concilii nostri, semper recuperare debeamus, nisi postmodum 
per majorem partem concilii nostri remanserit Cunctis diebus 
yitsi nostrse, electionem alterius Duels non faciemus. 

ncMTtionof Nulla dona, nee prassens aliquod, aliquo modo vel ingenio 
ab aliqu& person& recipiemus, vel recipi faciemus, exceptis 
aqua rosata, foliis, floribus, et herbis odoriferis, et balsamo, 
quod nobis et nostris (nuntiis 7) recipiere licet ; quod si nobis 
fiierit factum, vel alicui personam causa nostri, aliquod donum, 
vel praesens, praeter illud, quod est exceptuatum, illud infra 
tertium diem, postquam sciverimus, dari vel reddi faciemus in 
manu camerarii nostri Communis Yenetiarum. Yorumtamen, 



prvMmts. 



DOCUMENTS. 405 

81 aliquod donum vel prsesens nobis pro Commnni datum fiierit, 
vel alicui pro nobis, recipiemus et recipi faciemus, et dabimnsj 
vel dari faciemus, infra tertiuin diem, postquam sciverimus, 
Camerario nostri Communis, eo salvo, quod nobis et nostris 
nontiis licet recipere quicquid nobis vel nuntiis nostris dabitur ^^*",* 
in victualibns coctis et iialibus vini, et omnibus bestiis syl- JJJJ**j^ 
vestri[ba]s, recipiendo bestiam unam in quolibet die semel a 
quocnmque portabitur, et in volatilibus sylvestri[bu]8 usque 
ad decem paria, quolibet die similiter a quocumque portabitur, 
dummodo quod aliquid ex dictis donis, vel pra^sentibus, quic- 
quam recipere non debeamus, nee facere recipi ab aliqu& 
personft, vel ejus nuntio, quam credamus, vel sciamus, a Nobis, 
vel nostro Communi in Curia, velle aliquod servitium impe- 
trare, salvis odoriferis praxlictis floribus et foliis et berbis, 
aqua rosata et balsamo, quibus non tenemur quin recipere 
valemus sine conditione; et omnia recipere possumus, quas 
nobis pro nostro Ducatu accipere spectant, secundum morem 
consuetum, a Patriarcha Aquileiensi et ejus Patriarchatu, et 
monasteriis nostris. 

Tenemur autem facere jurare scientibus nostris conciliariis, tJ^^^ ^ 
cum voluerint,no8tram Ducissam, et quemlibet nostrum filium ^^<«»'***- 
setatem habentem, vel statim cum ad setatem pervenerit, de 
nullo servitio, vel done, aut praesente recipiendo, ultra quam 
dictum est de nobis. 

Si vero nuptias fecerimus in nostro palatio, pro Nobis vel MarHaKiH) m 

^,.. . 1 /»!. 1 1 ., • M the Ducal 

filus nostns, vel nliabus, vel neptibus, sive nepotibus, aut Family. 
quando nostram Ducissam in palatium duxerimus, licet nobis 
recipere, quicquid nobis vel nostris nuntiis fuerit datum, vel 
presentatum, in victualibus, qualiscunque maneriei fuerint. 

Onmes autem homines Venetian, majores et minores asqua* 
liter tractabimus in ratione et justitift, et in offensionibus, tam 
in exitu coram de Yenetiis, quam in eorum introitu, et in 
omnibus factis aliis, in bona fide, sine fraude, exceptis illis, 
qui calumniati sunt, vel erunt, de factis quas pertinent vel per- 
tinebunt ad Commune Venetiae ab illis u. z. hominibus, qui 
modo sunt, vel erunt in antea pro Commune Venetiarum, aut 



406 



DOCUMENTS. 



Sbipwrecka. 



Various 
obligations 
to tlio 
GoQ^titution. 



per majorem partem ipsorum. De ipsis hominibod operam 
et forciam dabimas bona fide^ sine fraude^ quod ad finem 
deyeniant. 

Flegium vel pacatorem ad CTommune Yenetiaram Nos pro 
allqaa persona alicujus fact! occasioned quod habeat com Com- 
mune Yenetiaram^ non constituemus. 

Studiosi erimus de navibos, quad sostinebant nanfiragium 
a Gradu usque Lauretum, ad faciendam rationem et justitiamj 
quod homines ipsarum navium recuperare valeant bona sua. 

Similiter studiosi erimus ad excutiendum bona et habere 
nostri Communis et habere hominum Yenetianmij quo<l r^codi 
debet foris YenetiaB ; studemus cum bono Yeneti^B ad resoo- 
dendum ipsum. 

Illud veroj quod nobis consultum Aierit per majorem partem 
nostri concilii^ studiosi erimus ducere ad complementum, nisi 
remanserit per majorem partem concilii nostrL 

Partes illas omnes^ quad captas fiierint in majori consilio, 
studiosi erimus ducere ad effectum, nisi per consilium revocata 
remanserint, excepto de facto ecclesise sancti Marci. 

Nos habere debemus annuatim post nostrum introitum in 
Ducatum^ a nostris Camerariis nostri Communis, summam 
librarum duarum millia octi[n]gentarum denariorum Yeneto- 
rum quousque in Ducatu steterimus, scilicet per tres quoslibet 
menses librarum denariorum Yenetorum septingentas, et 
habere debemus 350 romanatos de redditu comitatus YegUas, 
et pro regalia ejusdem comitatus alios romanatos 60 eo tem- 
pore annuatim, quo continetur in promissionibua illis, quas 
Joannes Yido et Henricus, comites Yeglias, fecerunt praode- 
cessori nostro bonaa memoriaa, Henrico Dandulo, et Communi 
Yenetiarum. De pannis vero ad anrum, qui solent dari nostro 
praedecessori et Beato Marco a dominatoribus Negropontis, 
debemus habere in nobis medietatem per partitionem, et 
S. Marcus aliam medietatem s. z. dum poterunt haberi ; et 
habere debemus regalia tarn Chersi et Auseri, quam comitatus 
Arbas et Ragusii et Sansegi, et honorificentias omnes Histrias, 
ut habuerunt praodecessores nostri. 



DOCUMENTS. 407 

De facto vero^ quod perdnuerit ad Ducatum ea Bervabimus^ 
unde omnes consiliarii minoris Concilii eront Concordes cum 
majore parte Consilii majoris^ ex quo Nobis data fuerint per 
sacramenti distinctionem ; dum tamen antequam sententietur^ 
si erit aliquis in minori Consilio, qui non sit nobis fidelitatis 
astrictus et requisitus a Nobis^ tunc cum habebitur de ipso 
facto tractatus^ Nobis fidelitatem juraverit. 

Hsec omnia, quaa suprascripta sunt, bona fide, sine fraude, 
promittimus Nob, usque dum in Ducatu vixerimus, servaturos, 
cxceptb ezpensis, quas in regimine Yenetiarum facere non de- 
bemus^nisi sicut superius continetur, et excepto, si erit aliquis, 
qui Nobis fidelitate non teneatur ; cui, si requisitus eam non 
fecerit, rationem facere non teneamur. 

Non prastermittendum est, quod novem marcas argenti dare 
debemus, ut ex ipsis fabricentur tres tubsB, quse ad honorem 
ecdesisB beat! Marci post nostrum decessum apud procuratorem 
operis ipsius eccIesisB remaneant commendatsB. 

In nostra potestate remanet dandum, cui yoluerimus, came- 
ras nostri palatii, quad babent hostia de foris ; et Nos debemus 
facere cooperiri totum palatium nostrum nostris expensis, ubi, 
et quando necesse fuerit, salvo quod, si tales personsQ ibi 
starent, qusB nostro consilio non placerent, eis tenemus dare 
comiatum in voluntate concilii nostri, et locare in ipsis illos, 
quos Toluerit major pars nostri conciliL 

Et debemus dare infra annum unum post introitum nostri 
regiminis beato Marco, nostro apostolo et evangelistsB, unum 
pannum laboratum ad aurum, valoris a libris denariorum 
Veneciarum xxv. supra. 

Item etiam tenemur dare operam, sicut modo tenentur con- 
siliarii nostri, aut de csetero tenebuntur alii consiliarii nostri, 
qui in tempore nostri regiminis de csBtero intrabunt, quod 
mille media firumenti in Yenetiam faciemus venire per mare 
cum bono Yenetise bona fide, sine firaude, et alia mille media 
frumenti modo consimili, nisi remanserit per nos et majorem 
partem Concilii majoris et minoris et Quadraginta. DomeBtic 

Preterea tenere debemus nobiscum servitores viginti, com- moS!^' 



408 DOCUMENTS, 

putati in ipsis ministrantibua ad coquinam^ quorum viginti, 
si quis defecerit vel recesserit a nostro seryitio, bona fide, 
sine fraude^ alium suo loco infra unum mensem recuperare 
debemus. 

Doge*8ie«i. Bullam nostri Ducatus non consentiemus serrandum et 
ezercendam^ nisi uni ex nostris servitoribus, qnem ex legali- 
oribus nostxis crederemus esse. 

The poit. j)q sigillatura litterarum a Yenetico non &ciemus toUij nisi 

denarios xu. parvulos^ et a forinseco soldos tres^ salvo quod, 
si bullata fuerit littera aliqua alicujus magni negotii^ quod 
nostri consiliarii possint licentiare bullatorem amplius toUendi, 
ut nobis et eis videbitur. Ilium autem, quem careens cus- 
todem ponemusj et cui claves carceris dabimus^ constituemus 
honum et legalem, secundum conscientiam nostram. 

"^tiou"' De petitionibus audiendis omne die Veneris, secundum quod 
stattttum est, sic tenebimur a modo, quemadmodum tenentur 
consiliarii, qui nunc sunt et erunt per tempera. 

Hs8c omnia, qusB supra sunt, juravimus ad Dei Evangelia 
servaturos nos bona fide, sine iraude, nisi remanserit per 
majorem partem Consilii minorjs et majoris et Capitum Con- 
tratarum, et per majorem partem de Quadraginta, qui sunt, 
vel erunt per tempera, et per coUaudationem populi Yene- 
tiarum. 

Si igitur uUo tempore contra banc promissionis cartam ire 
temptaverimus, non observantes ea, quae continentur in ipsa, 
et erit clare factum, componere promittimus cum nostris here- 
dibus vobis et vestris heredibus auri obrizi libras centum, ut 
haec promissionis carta in sua permaneat firmitate. 

•]« Ego Jacobus Teupulo, Dei gratia, Dux Yenetiarum 
manu mea scripsi, •]• Ego Petrus Barbo Testis. 
•I- Ego Bencdictus Faletro Testis. •!• Ego Nicolaus 
Girardi presbiter, plebanus ccclesise sancti Moisi 
notarius, ducalis aulas cancellarius, complevi et ro- 
boravi. 



DOCUMENTS. 409 



No.vn. 

Letteb of the Emperor Rodolfh of Hapshurg to iJie Doge 
Jacopo Contakini (1277). 

RodnlphaS; Dei gratia Romanomm rex, semper Augustus, 
Magnifico viro (Jacobo Contareno) Duci Venetorum, amico 
suo sincer» dilectionis salutem, cum regise benigmtati[s] 
affectu. Quantis opprobriis et probrosis injuriis indesinentibus 
reipublicaB disturbator, quidam Atto, rex Boemorum, illam 
I>ost pacis foedera, post fidelitatis debitse nobis per ipsum pres- 
tita sacramenta, nos impulerit, ut ad [ejus] conatus nefarios 
refirenandas potentiae nostras bracbium levaremus, omnes 
minores cum majoribus saepe videnmt apertus, qui conspi- 
rationes> quas idem rex adversus nostram salutem fecerat, 
insidiarum jacula, qui tetenderat, laqueos quos absconderat, 
non ignorant, et quoniam de regalium successorum precor- 
diorum nostrorum injuria credimus in gaudio redundare 
sinceritati vestras, ea quad omnipotentis Dei gratift, quae 
[qui] causas justas dirigit, et detestat iniquas, in nobis ot 
imperio resplenduit his diebus tenore praesentium duximus 
declaranda. Sciat itaque Vestra Providentia, quod nos 
feria quanta proxima post festum BarthoIomaBi eo loco loca- 
vimus castra nostra, quod a territoriis dicti regis Boemorum 
vix ad spatium dimidii miliaris Teutonic! distabaru. Mane 
vero sextas ferise subsequentis, un& cum dilecto filio et amico 
nostro carissimo illo rege HungariaB procedentes cunctos 
acciarum [acierum ?] nostrarum adjunximus stationibus hos- 
tium, sic quod [sicut] hor& diei quasi sextA inter nos gravis 
pugna committitur, in quft dictus rex Boemorum, more 
strenui pugilis civiliter [viriliter?] se defendens, tandem de- 
victus accubit, non a nostra virtute prostratus, sed eo potiore 
impugnante contra rempublicam defendente colHsus ; in quo 
etiam bello nobiles regni BoemiaB, et alii, qui cum ipso rege 
venerant potiores, aut mortui gladio ceciderunt, aut victo 



410 DOCUMENTa 

(vlcti) certamine^ dum ad fugae prsBsidium se converterent, 
ab insequentibus sunt detenti. Yeram, cum ex yeris et certis 
inditiis Celsitudini nostraa constet^ quod non nostraj sed Bommi 
Dei salutem nostram in tanto discrimine misericorditer 
protegentis^ potentia triumphavit ; prsesentem preclaram vio 
toriam lUius titulis et honori adscimus. Qui ad nostras hami- 
litatis angustias finiendas immenssd Suae dementUB mise- 
ricordes oculos tantum misericorditer indinavit, dum extremse 
necessitatis periculum imminebat Yos, igitur> amicorom 
sincerissimorum qusesumus grates Altisimo referatis, et in 
gloriosaa MagnificentisB YestrsB laudes^ quorum presidiis vita 
nostra^ morti proxima^ salva subsistitj et Romani imperii cel- 
situdo mirabiliter incurvata respiravit virtute mirabili vestri 
cordis intima resolvatis. 

Datum in Castris apud Yelsperg (Wurtzborg) sexto 

Kalendas Septemb£r]is regni nostri anno quinto (1277). 

— {From Bomanm)* 



No. vm. 

Tbeatt with Anoona. March, 1281. 

In Dei nomine^ amen. Anno nativitatis Ejus milleaimo 
ducentesimo octogesimo primo^ indictione nona, die tertia 
mensis Martii^ tempore, quo fama erat de domino Sjmone 
Turonensi, electo in summum Pontificem. Dominus Petrus 
de Cusentia^ nuntius, procurator et sjndicus domini Johannis 
Danduli, Dei gratia Yenetise, Dalmatiffi atque Croatias ducis, 
domini quartsa partis et dimidisd totius imperii RomanisB, ma- 
jorIs> minoris et generalis conciliorum et communis YenetiaB» 
ad infrascripta constitutus, sicut patet, publico instrumento 
syndicatus eidem scripto manu Rustichini Benintendi, notarii, 
syndicario et procuratorio nomine, praedicti domini duds, 
conciliorum et communis Yenetise ex una parte, et dominus 
Angelus domini Giraldi judicis, nuntius, procurator et sjn* 
dicus nobilis viri domini Turalati de Petramala, generalis 
concilii et communis AnconsB, ex altera parte. Praesentibus 



DOCUMENTS. 411 

religiosis viris, Fratre Daniele de Agusta^ priori conventus 

fratrom Frsedicatoram de V enetiis» et Fratre Rogerio de Monte 

Rubiano, priori conyeDtos fratrum Prsodicatoram de Paduft, 

mediatoriboB pacis inter pradicta communia Venetian et An- 

conae^de gaerris et discordiia inter eos habitis^ convenerunt ad 

infrascripta promittenda et facienda. Videlicet, quod dictua 

dominasPetroa de Casentia, procuratorlo et syndicario nomine 

snprascripti domini ducia, concilii et commoma Veneciaram 

per ipaum dominum ducem et Commune Venetiaram, et con- 

cives et fidelea eoram, fecit et promiait communis civibna et 

sequacibna civitatia Ancona), et aubacripto domino Angeloj 

syndico et procuratori, recipienti et atipulanti vice ac nomine 

ipaorum communia, civium et aequiicium dictSB civitatia An- 

conas, puram, firmam et perpetuam pacem. Et promiait eiadem, 

quod deincepa nee moleatiam, nee injuriam, nee Isaionem 

aliquam, aeu damnum fadent communi civitatia AnconsB, nee 

civibuBj nee aequacibua auia. Et remiait omnem injuriam et 

offenaum et damnum, datum per commune et aingularea per- 

aonaa de Ancona communi et aingularibua peraonia de Yenetiia, 

et fidelibua auia, a die inceptSB guerrsB uaque ad diem fftctad 

pacia. Excepto, quod reatituantur domino Duci et Communi 

Venetiarum, vel eorum ayndico, omnia apparentia (apperti- 

iientia), quaa inventa fuerint in poteatate communia Anconae, 

vel alicujua civia Anconaa, aeu aequacia eorum ; et reatituantur 

eiadem domino Duci et Communi Venetiarum, vel eorum 

syndico, omnia apparentia (appertinentia), quae inventa fuerint 

in poteatate communia Anconae, aive fuerint Communia Vene* 

tiarum, aive alicujua aingularia peraonao de Venetiia, vel fide* 

Hum snorum. Quad apparentia (appertinentia) declarari debent 

a praxiicto syndico civitatia Anconae aub fide preatiti aacra- 

menti de pace et firmitate pacia inter Yenetoa et Anconitanoa. 

Et promiait, nomine domini Ducia et Communia Veneciarum, 

eos ease contentoa, per ae et civea et fidelea auos, et ae ipaum 

nomine domini Ducia, Conciliorum et Communia Yenetiarum, 

de predicta declaratione facta per dictum syndicum de Ancona^ 

et nihil amplius petere. Et promiait inauper nomine quo 



412 DOCUMENTS. 

Bopra, dicto syndico et procnratorl dominl potestatis et com- 
mmiisy Ancona recipient! et stipulanti per dominmn potes- 
tatem et commnnem AnconaB^ qaod> hac pace facta, Dominus 
Dux et Commune Venetiarum relaxari fadent, et reddi pris- 
tine libertati, omnes captivos ipsorom communis, civium et 
sequacium de Ancona, qui sunt vel foerint in potestate domini 
Ducis, Communis, vel alicujus civis, de Yenetiis, vel fidelis 
eomm. Insuper dictus syndicus et procurator Domini Ducb et 
Conmiunis Veneciarum juravit ad sancta Dei Evangelia, tactis 
sacrosanctis Evangeliis, in anima ipsius Domini Ducis, et in 
animabus hominum, Conciiiorum et Communis Venetiarum, 
quod praedicta omnia firmitate observabunt Et, versa vice, 
suprascriptus dominus Ai^lus, syndicus et procurator Domini 
Potestatis, Concilii et Communis Anconae, syndicario et pro- 
cnratorio nomine prasdictomm domini Potestatis^ genendis 
Concilii et Communis Anconae, per ipsum Dominum Potes- 
tatem. Concilium [et] Commime de Ancon&, et cives et con- 
cives et sequaces eorum, fecit et promisit Domino Daci [et] 
Communi Venetiarum, concivibus et fidelibus eorum^ et supra 
scripto domino Petro de Cusentia, syndico et procuratori, 
recipienti et stipulanti vice ac nomine praedictorum Domini 
Ducis et Communis Venetiarum, et concivium et fidelium 
eorum, puram, firmam, et perpetuam pacem. Et promisit 
eisdem quod deinceps nee molestiam, nee injuriam, nee kc- 
sionem diquam sen damnum facient domino Duci [et] Com- 
muni Venetiarum, nee civibus [et] fidelibus snis. Et remisit 
omnem injuriam et offensionem, et danmum, datum per Com- 
mune et singulares personas de Veneti& [et] cives et fideles 
eorum, Communi et singularibus personis de Ancon& et eorum 
sequacibus, a die inceptae guerraa usque ad diem factad pacis. 
Et promisit insuper, nomine quo supra, dicto syndico Domini 
Ducis et Communis Venetiarum, recipienti et stipulanti pro 
ipso Domino Duce et Communi Venetiarum quod, Mc pace 
fact&, Dominus Potestas et Commune Anconas restituent eis, 
scu eorum syndico, et reddent pristinas libertati omnes cap- 
tivos ipsorum Ducis et Communis Venetiarum, vel fideUum 



DOCUMENTS. 413 

eorum, qui sunt, vel faerint, in potestate communis Anconae, 
vel alicujus civis sen sequacis Anconaa. Et etiam restituent 
syndico et procuratori Domini Dacis et Communis Venetia- 
ram appertinentia, quse inventa fuerint in potestate Communis 
AnconaB> sive faerint Communis Venetiarum^ sive aKcujus 
singularis personse de Yenetiis, vel fidelium suorum. Quaa 
appertinentia declarari debeant ab eodem syndico civitatis 
AnconaB sub fide prestiti sacramenti de pace et firmitate pacis 
servandU inter Yenetos et Anconitanos. Insuper dictus syn- 
dicus et procurator Domini Potestatis, Concilii, et Communis 
AnconsB juravit ad sancta Dei Evangelia^ tactis sacrosanctis 
Evangeliis in anim& dicti Domini Potestatis^ et in anim&bus 
hominum Concilii et Communis Anconae, quod praedicta omnia 
firmitate observabunt Et declaravit dictus syndicus sub fide 
prestiti sacramenti haBC appertinentia. Et dictus syndicus 
domini ducis et Communis Yenetiarum fuit contentus de pre- 
dict& dedaratione, et proraisit nomine quo supra (dicto) nihil 
amplius petere. Unde ad futuram memoriam^ et robur per-* 
petud yaliturum de promissis omnibus^ rogatu praedictorum 
syndicorum facta sunt duo publica et similia instrumental 
quorum unum scripsi ego Petrus Symi [Symon] de Pulverisio, 
notaYi5 et publicavi. In quo se subscripsit Rustichinus Benin- 
tendi notarius. Et aliud scripsit et publicavit idem Rusti-' 
chinus notarius, in quo ego praescriptus Petrus sic subscripsi, 
quorum unum uni parti^ et alteram alterij ad cautelam est 
traditum conservandum. 

Actum Ravennae apud locum Fratrum Praedicatorum. 
Praesentibus Yenerabilibus viris dominis Michaele 
Archidiacono, Presbytero Henrico Cardinal! Amatere 
et Johannino, Cantatoribus Ecclesiae Ravennatis. Et 
nobilibus viris dominis Lisio Domini Stoldi Jacopi 
de Florentia Potestate Ravennae ; Guidone Minori de 
Pulenta ; Thomasi de Ghezus (Tomaso Ghisi ?), XJgo- 
lino de Corbis ; Jacomatio Domini Jacopi de Corrado, 
&c. Anno^ mense^ die, et indictione premissis. — {From 
Romafiin.) 



414 DOCUMENTS. 



No. IX. 

Rent Roll of iht Houses m Venice. a.d. 1367. 

I. El sestier de s. Marco fo stimk due. 799,180 v. z. 

S. Marchoduc. 35,600. — S. Zuminian vescovo due. 45,150. 
— S. Maria Zubenigo 42,570. — S. Maurizio martire 19,620. 
— S. Anzolo 73,160. — S. Samuel profeta due. 48,900. — S. 
Vidal 36,000.— S. Fantin vescL 29,800.— S. Mois^ profeta 
due. 820,420.— S. Beneto abade due. 15,700.— S. Patcmian 
due. 38,270. — S. Lucha evang. due. 48,010. — S. Bortolomeo 
ap. due. 90,210.— S. Salvador due. 80,690. — S. Zulian mart 
due. 94,840. — S. Basso vesc. due. 28,440. 

XL El sestier de Gastello fo stim& due. 456,960 v. z. 

S. Piero ap. due. 29,730.— S. Biasio vesch. 8,250. — S. 
Zan in Bragola due. 27,460. — S. Martin veseh. 27,86a — 
S. Temita due. 33,140. — S. M. Formosa e S. Justina 
due. 120,140. — S. Marina yerg. due. 53,700. — S. Lio papa 
due. 37,460. — S. Zuane novo evangelista due. 44,260. — 
S. Proeulo vesc. 18,000.— S. Severe ves. due. 39,320.-8. 
Antonin. due. 17,640. 

in. El sestier de Canaregio fo stim& due. 485,230 v. z. 

S. Geremia pro£ due. 54,960. — S. Lunardo due. 11,050. 
— S. Ermaeora patr. due. 59,830. — S. M. Madalena due. 
11,300.— S. Marcilian vesc. due. 39,500.— S. Fosca verg. 
due. 33,050.— S. Felice due. 53,720.— S. Sofia due. 41,660. 
— ^. Apostoli due. 64,950. — S. Cancian vesc. due. 55,260. 
— S. Maria nova. due. 29,800. — S. Zuan Grisostomo 
due. 30,150. 

IV. El sestier de s. Polo fo stimk due. 490,270 v. z. 

S. Polo apost. due. 22,950.— S. Thomk ap. due. 36,690. 
— S. Stephano dito s. Stin due. 19,400. — S. Augustin vescov. 
due. 18,850.— S. Agata dito s. Boldo due. 16,450.— S. Apoli- 
nare vesc. due. 65,660. — S. Silvestro papa due. 12,820. — S. 
Jac. et Mat. et Zuane due. 19,252. 



DOCUMENTS. 415 

y. El Bestier de a. Groxe fo Btimk dac. 281^80 v. z. 

S. Crose due 14,510. — S. Simeon apostolo dua 8,600. — 
S. Simeon pro£ due 36,270.— S. Znan degolado due. 19,100. 
— S. Jacop. apoBt due 47,120.— S- Stai due. 48,730.— S. 
Maria Mater D'ni due 31,950.— S. Cassan due 68,110.— S. 
Lutia verg. in Ganareg. due 6,890. 

YL El aestier de Dorsoduro fo stimk due 369,890 t. z. 

S. Nicold vese due 20,070.— S. Raphael arcK due 28,760. 
— S. Pantalon medico due 62,170. — S. Margarita verg. e 
mart, due 55,480.-^. Basegio vese due 15,430.— S. Oer- 
vasio e Protaaio due 46,400. — S. Bamaba ap. due 30,090. 
— S. Agnese verg. due 24,640.— S. Vido mart 18,980. IS^^"^' 
— S. Gregnol papa 30,770. — S. Eufemia verg. alia Zudecha ^uv^^d 



J /»o ii/\ the flnmcijil 

due Od,liU. Btotementof 

Snma tuto due domilion otocento otantado milia e otocento Mwenigo in 
e disdote* — (From Bomanin, vol. HL part 3, Doc. v., p. 384). h«niiy be 

pointed oat. 
Ste Chapter 

«_^_^._^.^--_--___^_ XXII. 

I rather sus- 
pect amis- 
^Y ^* print in the 

JNO. A. oration 

- ascribed t 



SUMFTUAKT LaW of 1360. 



the Doge. 



Milleaimo tricentesimo sessagesimo, indictione XIIL die 21 
madij capta. 

Quod de cetero nullua habitator Yenecijs modo aliquo vel Limitation of 
ingenio possit per se vel alium dare in corredis donis vel aUqua Fiesents. 
alia re pro donis occasione matrimonij aliquo modo vel ingenio 
ultra valorem librarum XL. grossorum in pena librarum ^ 
parvorum et perdendi illud plus. Et quod quicumque dabunt 
in dote libras XXX** grossorum vel inde supra teneantur ire 
ante trasductionem vel octo diebus post advocarie communis. 
Et jurare quod in totum observabunt vel jam observaverunt 
ea que dicta sunt superius sub pena librarum C. parvorum pro 
quolilibet principali autore matrimonij. Et nichilominus 
officiales teneantur inquirere contra omnes qui fuerunt denuuf- 
tiad snspecti eia contrafedsse istis nostris ordinibus. Et con- 



416 



DOCUMENTS. 



reraonal 
decoration. 



Girls. 



Ladies. 



Spinsters. 



Married 
wonira. 



trafacientes cadant ad penam suprascriptam. De parte-22-9. 
de non-11, non sinceri-8-6.- 

Item quod novicius nee alias pro eo modo aliqno rel ingenio 
poBsIt sponse facere aliquam vestem fomitam nee aliad oma- 
mentum tarn a capite quam a latere nee in annnlis tempore 
nnptianim nee annis quattnor postqaam fherit trasducti nltra 
valorem librarum triginta grossoram inter omnia in penam 
librarum ^ et perditionis totias plnris. 

Item qnod aliqna pnella ab annis Y III. eompletis infra modo 
aliqno vel ingenio non possit portare anrmn nee argentom 
perlas yel margarltas nee aliqnod aliud joeale pannum ad 
aurom nee vellntom salvo maspiles tarn argentei vel aurati 
qni vadant XY. pro nncia vel inde supra ad vestes et pro 
ornamento capilis in totnm ad valorem X. ducatorom et non 
ultra. Et boe in pena librarum C. parvorum et perditionis 
totius pluris. 

Quod aliqua dom'na alieuius eondieionis habitatrix Yenecijs 
non possit portare nee babere pro suo usu bocbetam vel bo- 
chetas aliquas vel aliqua alia joealia similia et loco bocbetamm 
nee etiam cbgulum vel ceniram aliquam nee bnrsam supm 
qua sint perle vel margarite nee centuram aliquam argenti que 
exeedat valorem ducatorum XX. nee eultelinos qui cum 
vagina et eatenella exeedat valorem ducatorum X. nee a manu 
axolas que exeedant valorem ducatorum X. pro qualibet 
cavezadura a manu. Et similiter non possit portare vel 
babere duplonos de quibus valor unlus raube exeedat valorem 
ducatorum sex. Et boe in pena perdendi ilia vamimenta et 
fornimenta in quibus fuerit contra&etum. 

Quod aliqua dom'na alieuius eondieionis que non sit mari« 
tata non possit uti nee pro suo babere in omnibus pannis et 
omamentis suis et tam de capite quam de latere ultra valorem 
librarum XXX. grossorum deelarando quod in predictis non 
intelligatur drezatores qui ex toto sint sibi vetiti in pena per- 
dendi totum illud in quo fuerit eontrafactum et librarum C. 
ultra illud. 

Quod aliqua dom'na alieuius eondieionis habens xnaritmn 



DOCUMENTS. 417 

non possit habere pro suo usu in omnibus suis pannis et 
oniamentia ulira valorem librarom LXX. grossortun sub 
dicta pena. 

Item quod aliqaa dom'na alicuios condicionis tam maritata 
qnam non que non fert conceriam auri vel argenti perlarmn 
yel margaritamm super pannos non intelligendo maspilea 
argenteos vel auratos nee dnplonos, non possit habere pro suo 
usu in omnibus pannis et omamentis suis ultra valorem libra- 
ram quadraginta grossorum. Intelligendo quod modo aliquo 
non possit habere ultra IIIL capita de velluto vel panno sirico 
sub pena supradicta non intelligendo cendatum. 

Si vero forent aliqui vel alique qui ad presens contrasissent 
nuptias vel matrimonium secundum modemas consuetudines 
videlicet quod promisissent ultra numerum repromisse correda 
et vestes ultra quantitate librarum XL. grossorum, si nundum 
dicta correda et vestes fuerint facte non fiant ultra quanti- 
tatem predictam sub pannis supradictis. Ita tamen quod 
quolibet pretium in eorum pactis possit et valeat eorum sequi 
jura sua in illo precium dummodo in nichilo non oontrafaciat 
ordinibus supradictis per ilium modum qui melius eis placebit 
Intelligendo tantum de nuptijs et matrimonijs qui ad presens 
sunt formati et nundum transducta. 

Alie vero que fierent de cetero fiant et in totum intelli«« 
gantur ad stricturas et ordinamenta supradicta et si forent 
alique quibus per testamentum vel legata rerum foret dimissa 
aliqua quantitas pecunie pro corredis ultra quantitatem libra- 
rum XL. grossorum non possit uti de dictis corredis ultra 
quantitate librarum XL. grossorum modo aliquo vel ingenio 
in pena librarum ^ parvorum et perditionis totius pluris. Et 
de cetero addatur in capitulari notariorum Venecijs quod 
teneantur et debeant quando accipiunt preces alicui testi re- 
cordari testatori et testatrici quod non dimittatur suis filiabus 
in corredis ultra ordinem predictum librarum XL. grossorum. 

Quia non minus decet masculos ire honestos quam feminas 
vadit pars. Quod aliquis puer masculus alicuius condicionis 
civis et habitator Venecijs ab annis XII. completis infra modo 

VOL. TV. 66 



418 DOOUMXNTa 

aliqno rd ingmio non pouit portare anrnm vel aigentam 
perlaa vel margaritaa neo vellatum in pena perdendi totum 
illad in quo foerit contrafactom* Pelles varias armelinaa et 
griaaaa aub aliqno eiiu vamimento in pena perdendi Taini- 
monta ip«a sad lioeat eis portare solum xnaspileos argenteoa yel 
anratoB qui yadant XIL pro nnoia et non minua aab dicta ; 
pena ab annia XIL aupra non poaait portare lupra aliqna eina 
veatimenta tain de oapite qaam de doaao aurum vel aigentom 
perlaa vel margaritaa in pena perdendi ea vestimeiita com 
omamentia earam aed liceat ei portare tamen maipileoa argen- 
teos vel auratoa ad omne annm beneplacitom, eentoram yd 
cingolom alicuioa nomlnis vel condioionia que exoedat valorem 
dacatorum XXV • non poaait portare in pena perdendi earn ; 
ab annia XIL usque XXV. modo aliquo'vel ingenio non poaait 
portare sub allqna damide oapa vel Riaalio vel aliqua alia 
mantadura aolum pdlem aliquam variam grisaam vd armdi- 
nam in pena perdendi dicta vamimenta de panno ad anrnm 
vel velluto pro elus uau non poasint habere ultra tria capita 
non intdligendo de tOia ctun alija pannla de lana de quibua 
habere poaaint alia tria capita et non ultra in pena perdendi 
totum plua. 

Item quod pueri et puelle ab annia octo completia infra non 
posaint ire ad convivium prandij vd cene puptiarum vel 
marcanun in pena librarum X. parvoriim pro quolibet contra- 
fadente et qualibet vice aalvo ad nuptiaa fratria vd aororia. 

Et de omnibua et ahiguUa penis supradictia teneantor viri 
pro uxoribua, pater pro fiUjs et flliabus, nepotibua et neptibua et 
pro neptibua et nuribua aula que eaaent in sua poteatatew Et 
similiter mater vidua pro predictis qui esaent in sua potestate. 

Quoniam pro honore ducatus dominua dux et domina du* 
cissa cum omnibus eorum filijs nepotibua pronepotibua nuribua 
et tam femine quam masculi posaint uti et portare qulcquid 
voluerint donee habltavcrint in pdatia 

Item licet cuilibet militi5 iudici vel medico oonventato posse 
portare quicquid voluerint in suia per^onia proprija.— {/Vom 
Romanin, N<k 6, pp. 386-9.) 



DOCUMENTa 419 



No, XI. 

CoHHiBSiON of Antonio Bbhbo^ Ventfian Ambassador to 
London. A.D. 1409. 

Q. fiat comiflsio nob. viro ser Antonio Bembo militi itaro 
oratori ad regiam maiestatem Angliae. 

Nob Michael Steno Dei gratia dux Venetiar. etc comitti- 
mtis tibi nob. viro Antonio Bembo militi^ dilecto civ. n'ro. q. 
in bona gratia ire debeas noster solennis Orator et etiam vice 
capitaneus galear. n'rar. Londre ad psentiam Serenissim. d'ni 
Regis Angliae et alior. dn'or. qnib. p'ntatis n'ris literis creden- 
cialib. et fiicta devota salutatione et oblatione cum verbis 
ptinentibus et decentibus prout cognoveris fore honoris dicti 
Sml d'ni Regis et alior. dnor. quib. tibi fieri fecimus literas 
credulitatis ac nri dominii. 

Subsequenter expones maiestati sue qualiter anno elapso^ 
occasione novitatis facte contra galeas et mercatores ac merca- 
tiones in partib. Londre^ misimus ad p'ntiam suam Reveren- 
dissim. patrem, Fratrem Jeronimum sacre pagine pfessorem, in 
nr'um ambasiatorem pro reformatione rextitutione et emenda 
fienda n'ris mcatorib. et civibus danna passisj p. cuius relatio- 
nem sentimus maiestatem regiam esse sicut semper fuit^ ad 
comoda n'ror. mercantor* m'cantiar. subditor. et fidelium 
benigne dispositam. Et ideo pro ostendendo amorem, devo- 
tionem et caritatem quam semper habuimus habemus et habere 
intendimus erga serenitatem suam^ d'nos et regnicolas sues ut 
toti mondo constat, q. inter maiestatem suam nos n'rumq. 
dominium nunq. fiierit aliqua causa rancoris, misimus te ad 
pn'tiam suae [majestatis, quam n'ri parte instare rogare et 
solicitare debeas q. dignetur velle condescendere ad requisi- 
tiones n'ras alias sibi factas p. d'cm Fratrem Jeronimum 
ambasciatorem ; et ut hoc melius facere possis, fecimus tibi 

56—2 



420 DOCUMENTS. 

dare copiam comissionis^ qnam alias dedimus dicto magistro 
Jeronimo, volentes et sic tibi mandamoa q. eflfectum ejus 
debea3 solicite procurarCj apud tarn d'nm regem prdctum^ 
qaam apud alios d'nos apud quos erit necesst. procurare. 

Et ut omnia pdicta cum bona et deliberata terminatione 
facere possis, volumus q« subito cum applicneris in Londra 
debeas esse cum vicecunsule nVo de inde et ibi vocare con- 
silium n'rum de inde in quo consilio exponere debeas causam 
ambasiate tuae et i}^ termihari debeat per dictum consilium^ 
modus et via^ quern habebis observare in petendo et solid- 
tando obtinere tibi comissa^ tam in eundo ad p'ntiam dicti dni 
regis/ quam alior.' domnor. et a quib. primo incipere habebis 
et sicut per dictum consilium fuerit terminatum, item debeas 
executioni mandare. Yerum si dictus d'ns rex esset distans a 
civitate Londre volumus q. dictum consilium terminet cum 
quot equis et fiunulis ire debetis pro honore nri dnii et sicut 
fuerit terminatum ita debeas observare^ non possendo ducere 
tecum eundo .'ad pntiam dicti d'ni regis ultra numer.' equor. 
decern. Nam nra intencio est q. omnis espensa que fiet p. te, 
idtra salarium et expensam tibi limitatam vadat ad vaream 
omnium mercationum que conducentur ad partes Brazes et 
Londre et de Londra et Bruzos conducentur Yenetias. 

Et quia certi reddimus q. ante recessum galear. n'rar. de 
inde fueris de omnib. tibi comissis expeditus, tamen quia 
posset ocurrere q. non fuisses expeditus^ quia d'ns rex seu alii 
suo nomine, dicerent tibi q. oporteret petita p. nos diffiniri et 
terminari in general! parlamento, quod parlamentum, ut 
dicitur, congregatur circa medium ms. septembris, volumus 
q. ocurrente casu pdicto ante recessum dictar. galear. debeas 
vocare consilium de inde per quod terminari debeat si re- 
manere debebis de inde ad procurandum tibi comissa, vel ne, 
et si terminabitur q. remanere debeas, tminari debeat tempus, 
quo remanere debebis, licet n'ra intentio sit, quod non possis 
stare nisi uno mense in partibus de inde post recessum galear. 
n'rar. ad procurandum obtinere ea que tibi comittiinus, sed 
minori Ipre sit, p. quod consilium terminetor cum quanta 



DOCUMENTS, 421 

familia remanere debebis de inde et qaod facere habebis et 
procurare in parlamento predicto. Et iit melius hoc obtinere 
possis^ samus contenti q. accipere debcas unam bonam et 
safficiehtem advocatum, cu> solvi debeat id quod erit justum 
et terminatum per dictum consilium q. expense yadant ad 
yaream ut superius continetur^i declarando nicbilominus quod 
patroni galear. solvant illud quod tenentur in casu quo venires 
p. terram et omnem aliam expensam quam faceres in veniendo 
p. terram ultra tibi limitatam^ vadat ad vaream ut superius 
continetur et veniendo Yenet p. terram non possis conducere 
nisi equoB quatuor et unam guidam, 

Yerum qui sumus informati q. si diferentia Rizardi Stil 
captaretur esset forte causa dandi materiam de rehabendo 
emendam dannor. illator. et faciendi in futur. bene tractare 
n'ros mVatores et subditos5 quia idem Rizardus est costu- 
merius de inde5 propterea tibi comittimus q. esse debeas cum 
viceconsule et consilio n'ro de inde et p. ilium meliorem 
modum qui dicto consilio videbitur, debeatis providere de 
essendo in concordio cum Rizardo pdict05 et id quod expen- 
detur occasione pdicta, vadat ad vaream omnium mercaniionum 
que ibunt ad partes Bruzes et Lohdra et Bruzos Yenetias 
conducentur^ declarando q. ob banc causam non possit ex- 
pendere ultra ducatos trecentos et ab inde infra5 qr. idem 
Rizardus habuit suum capitale et ultra. 

Comittimus etiam q. procurare debeatis satisfactionem et 
emendam denarior. quos habere debet nob. vir s. Johannes 
Zane in partibus Angliae prout tibi ordinate dabit in 8criptis5 
cum illis verbb et rationibus que tue sapientie videbunt ut ad 
satis&ctionem debitam valeat pvenire. 

It comittimus q. toto posse tuo procurare debeas de ha- 
bendo mandatum in bona et sufficienti forma, q. si aliquis 
noster civis subditus vel fidelis in partibus Londre et Anglie 
accipiet in credencia aliquas mercationes ab aliquib. subditis 
dni regis Anglie et dictus talis non faceret solutiones suas, 
quod alii nri cives non molestentur ob hoc, quia iniustum est, 
q. unus pro alio debeat pati pena, quia sic observatur in 



422 DOCUMENTS, 

omnib. partib. mondi^ et q. idem dns rex dignetor facere 
publice prodamari [in locis snis golitis q. si aliqnis sabditnfl 
Buus dabit mercationes suas in credencia alicui yeneio yel 
subdito co'is Yenetiar. et dictos talis non solveret, q. dicto tali 
subdito regio occasione pdicta non ministrabitur juBtitiam c'ra 
aliquem venetum nee subditum co'is Yenetiar. sed solam 
contra debitorem et bona sna. 

It quia babes deinde certa taa negotia expedire volmnus 
et sic espresso yobis comittimns q. sab debito sacramenti et 
sab pena incurrendi indignationem nVi dnii^ nullo modo 
debcas procurare negotia tua propria, nisi prios yideiis con- 
clusionem negotion nror. tibi comissor. ; facta autem conclu- 
sione sup. negotiis tibi comissis, sumns content! et sic p. p'ntes 
tibi concedimus q. ultra terminum superius limitatam possis 
store ad solicitandum et procurandom negotia tua diebus octo 
et non idtra. 

Fecimus tibi consignari aliqua exenia portanda s^nissimo 
d'no regi et certis aliis dnis Anglie et ppterea tibi mandamus 
quat dicta exenia tarn dicto d'no regi quam aliis dnis pdictis 
presentare sea presentari facere debeas n'ro nomine sabito 
cam in Londra applicueris. 

Et quia quedam nayis cuius erat patronus Antonius Faxolo 
ciyis n'r in qua eraint onuste alique mercationes n'ror dyinm 
ex'ns in porto Melacii regie majestatis Sicilie, fuit p. quamdam 
galeam ex'ntem ad seryicia S'nissimi dni regis Ludoyici, que 
in dicto portu erat, hostiliter capta, cum auxilio unhis coche 
de Messana que ibi erat, et ultra hoc permisit res et merca- 
tiones depredatas yendi in Messana prout p. continentlam 
literar. n'rar. quas d'no rege Sicilie et suo straticho Messane 
Bcribimus, et ear. cojxam tibi dedimus, yidebis distinctius con- 
tineri et pptea tib. oomitdmus quod cum applicueris Messanam 
cum nris Uteris credulitatis, comparere debeas coram dicto 
straticho Messane et ei exponere noyitatem pdictam ac osten-> 
dere cum illis yerbis, que tue sapiencie yidebnntur, quantum 
dicta yiolentia et preda fnerit et sit nobis displidbilis el 
molesta et p. omnem modnm et yjam possibilem procurabia 



DOCUMEirrs. 423 

apud Btraticho pdicttim de habendo Batisfailonem et reatitu- 
tionem danni pdicti et id quod habebis debeaa nobis per tuas 
literal denotare. 

Similiter q. damnificattis fuit iam duob. a'niB elapsis Nicole- 
tufl Lombardo civis n'n patrotius tmias navia p« quamdam 
galeam smisMini dni regit Sicilie et idem d'nu^ rex promisit 
Bolrere prcmt p. literaa Buas apparet^ debeas nichilominuB de 
dicto dano iioticiam dare dicto straticho et rogare q. procuret 
Batisfactiottem et emendam danni pdicti et nt de eo sis plene 
infbrmatuB fedmns tibi dare oopia litere nre qnam BcribimuB 
d'co d'no regL 

Habere debea de aalario pro ista tna ambasiata et vicecapl'* 
taneria ducatos quadrigentoB quon centum solvere debent 
patroni galear* et centum n'rum comune^ alii autem ducentl 
ire debent ad vaream omnium mercantionum que de omnibus 
galeis discaricabimtur in Londra et que in Londra carica- 
buntur super ipsis galeis et ducere debet duos fiunulos tuis 
Balario et ezps. Yerum de quanto steteris in mari sup. dictis 
galeis eundo et redeundo habere debes expensas oris p« te et 
dictis duobtts fiunuUs a galeis pdiotis* Unum autem tercium 
famulum ducere debeas omnibs« tuis expensis* Et debes esse 
vicecapitan« galear. Londre cum illis modis et conditionib. 
cum quib. soliti sunt esse alii n'ri vicecapitanei galear. Londre 
et cum Ubertate fiidendi fieri pagam zurmis dictar. galear. 
quam liabet capitaneus et non potes fiicere nee fieri £ioere de 
mercattonibui in Londra.-^/Vo9n Bamanin, vol in. part 8, 
pp. S91*-(l.) 



No. xn. 

TaxAxr OF Peace vnth Mohahhed IL April 18, 1454. 

llhfi gmm Signer et grande Amira Soldam Mabamet Bey 
flo fo del gram Segnor et gram Amira Morat bey Jure in Dio 
(ffeat<>r del Oido et dela terra et in el gram propheta Maba* 



424 DOCUMENTS. 

met et in li VII Musaphy che tegnimo et confessemo nuj 
Musnlmani et in li XXIY"^ propheti de dio o pid o meno et 
in la fede cbe mi credo et confesso et in I'anima de mio padre, 
et in Tanima mia et in la spada che me zenzo (etit^o). Con- 
ciosia che la mia Segnoria havesse per avanti paxe et amicitia 
cam la lUnstrissima et Excellentissima deta Signoria de 
Yenexia et habiano voluto far nuovo Sagram^ito com la mia 
Signoria a confermation dela prima paxe confermada adi X del 
mese de septembrio in I'anno 6960 indictione XV* in Adrinopoli 
per la vegnnda del spectabel misier Lorenzo Moro honoieyole 
Ambassador dela prefata lUnstrissima deta Signoria. Et 
habiano mundato el glorioso et nobelissimo et honorado 
zentilhomo Ambassador degno dela pre&ta lUnstrissima deta 
Signoria de Yenexia misier Bartholomeo MarceUo per con- 
firmation et reformation dela dita paxe ac etiam de certe 
dechiaratfon de nuovo contrato como aparerk in U sotoscripti 
Capiix>U oltra la forma de la predita prima paxe reformadi et 
conclusi infra la mia Signoria et la prefata lUostrissima deta 
Signoria, Perho io gram Segnor et gram amira soldam Ma- 
hamet bey prometo per li soprascripti sagramenti che de sopra 
ho zurado che come era la paxe et amicitia per avanti enm la 
prelibata lUnstrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia com U zentil- 
homeni soi picoU et grandi et cum tuti altri suo subditi et 
colegadi ho fato et faso fedel bona e dreta et pnra paxe et 
senza dolo per mar et per terra citade terre et Ixole et Inogi 
che lievano el confalon de San Marco et quante levarano 
dancft (da oggi) inavanti et in le cosse che i possied^io al dl 
dancuo et queUe che i possiederano in el tempo ha a vegnir la 
prelibata lUustrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia. 

Capkoli dela prima paxe. 

Prime : niuno deli subditi et homeni che siano sugeti et che 
se sotometesse ala mia Segnoria faza algun danno ne che mi 
mel meta pur in el animo ne consentir che el se faza algun 
danno over impazo per comandamento et voluntade dela mia 
Segnoria. E per alguna caxon alcun cativo homo dela mia 



DOCUMENTS. 425 

Segnoria non debia far danno over impazo al comaa de 
Yenexia. Et se per questo vegnisse algnna notitia over 
rechiamo ala mia Segnoria^ lo lo debia castigar condecente- 
mente segondo el suo delicto per exempio de altri che se 
regaardino de far algnn daimo over molestia ala niastrissima 
deta Signoria de Yenexia et nuoxer a qnelli cbe sera sta 
principio del mal^ possando qnelli castigar e correzer ; simel- 
mente debia far la Illustrissiina deta Signoria de Yenexia 
yerso la mia Segnoria et verso tnti i mie Inogi, 

Item se per algnna caxon se atrovasse homo over homeni i 
qnali avesse fato tratado over tradimento contra la Illnstrissima 
deta Signoria de Yenexia per tradir cittade terre castelle caxal 
o ixola overo algnn altro Inogo ala mia Segnoria over a homo 
dela mia Segnoria5 debia comandar la mia Segnoria che la 
rcstituisca indriedo et le cosse che fosseno sta tolte dal di dan- 
chno debia comandar che se renda salve cum integritade alia 
Illnstrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia. Simelmente debia far 
la Illnstrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia. 

Item se homo che fosse subdito dela mia Signoria scampasse 
per fnrto over tratado et tolesse roba de Mnsulmani et fugisse 
in Inogo de Yenitiani et trovassesse, debiasse restitnir la roba 
insieme cum lo homo. Simelmente la granda mia Segnoria 
debia far verso la Illnstrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia. 

Tnti i mercadanti et subditi della Illustrissima deta Signoria 
de Yenexia cum le sue robe et cum z6 che haverano^ navilij, 
navi^ fuste grande et picole habiano libertji d'intrar et insir 
(useir) vender et comprar per tutti i luogi della mia Segnoria 
e quante volte i vorano et in li luogi dei homeni nostri suzeti 
(soggeitC) et sotoposti ala mia Segnoria como era consueto in 
prima in la prima et bona paxe5 siano salvi in mare et in terra 
como era nxado avanti in el tempo de mio padre. 

Simelmente debia far la Illustrissima deta Signoria de 
Yenexia. 

Dele galee et fuste armade che insir& de Oalipoli et altri 
luogi dela mia Segnoria et de quele che se trovasseno fuora 
del streto se fasi la usanza che fora primai 



426 DOGfUUENTS. 

El Daca ofe Nkia et suo fradellh Item li Zentilhoi&cail sol 
et homeni loro cum i sao luogi et cnm quel che i bino, 
naviliJ5 galie et fkute cum le sao robe uano in la paxe. £t 
che non aiano obligadi de tribute over algun altro lervixio 
ak mia Bignoria. Ma aia in la ■ubiection de la Segnoria de 
Venexia come ion stati da prima. E debiano passar per 
homeni Yenetiani. 

Quante galie et navilg nave et ftuite grande et picde mer* 
chadantesche dela mia Segnoria che iuiira fiiora del Streto de 
Oalipoli et daltri luogi dela mia Segnoria dove che se troraise 
debiano haver da Yenetiani bona compagnia et paxe. Bimel- 
m^ite queUe de Yenetiani per quanto fiegnorizaa la mia Seg* 
noria in terra et in mar siano Bimelmenti salvL 

Debiano dar ala mia Segnoria per Nepanto al anno del 
mexe de ievrer lo limitado segohdo lo consueto, che sono ducati 
100 dele intrade de Nepanto como daxevano a mio padre. E 
per le ierre che tieno in lo confine dela mia Segnoria in 
TAlbania, in lo luogo del Balsa, Scutari, Alexio et Drivasto 
per i qual daxevano a mio padre ducati 200. Et habiando 
tolto dele man dela Segnoria Drivasto debiano dar per Scutari 
et Alexio ducati Yenetiani 136 che suma in tuto ducati 236 
al meze de fevrer e ohe sia tegnudo el Bajulo che sera 
in Costantinopoli numdar alia mia Segnoria ducati Yene* 
tiani236. 

Item tuti li mercadanti Yenetiani et che per Yenetiani sono 
reputadi dove che sieno per tuto el luogo dela mia Segnoria 
stando andando venendo mescolandose cum Yenetiani in com- 
prar et vender, et algum rumpesse over fiu^esse alcuna altra 
cativitade, che non sia tenudo ne impedito I'uno per Faltro. 
Simelmente li mei mercadanti in li luogi de Yenitianj* 

Item se per algum oaxo scbiavo over sehiava de Ym&dsa^ 
per alguna caxon che se fosse se atrovasse in luogo dda mia 
Segnoria e che el fosse fiigido e che homo lo avesse involado 
che sia subdito dela mia Signoria e fosse deventa Musulman 
debia dar per ogni schiavo aspri mille moneda dela mia Seg^ 
noria* Yeramente se el fosse Cristiam qudlo debo rendtf in 



DOCUMENTS. 427 

dredo senza algona reeusatioiL Simelmente i Yenitiaai alia 
mia Segnoria. 

CapitoK da nuovo contractL 

Qnesti sono certi Capitoli dannovo contract! et reformadl 
et conclnsi cum lo Illustrlssimo gram Segnor Turcho per el 
mezo del spectabel Misler Bartholamio Marcello dignissimo 
Orator della lUustrissima et Excellentissima deta Signoria de 
Venexia oltra la confirmation dela avanti scripta prima paxe« 
Et prima: 

Che cadaum Yenetiam e clie per Yenetiam sono reputadi 
In cliadamn luogo del prefato Illustrissimo Segnor et specialiter 
qui in Constantlnopolii cussi quelli sono reputadi Yenetiani de 
presente como in lo avegnir possino star yegnir, et partir cum 
le suo fameie senza algum timer et Impedimento liberamente 
si per mar come per terra cum suo galie et nave et navilij et 
suo mercadantie condur et vender et comprar^ siando tegnudi 
pagar el comerchio solamente detuto quelle I venderano 2 per 
cento. E de quelle non ser& yendudo possino trar liberamente 
per dove I vorano senza pagar algun comerchio. 

Item tute Mercadantie clie se trazerano per investida paga 
do per cento. 

Item che tute galie et nave et navillj de ognl sorta che pas- 
serano per questo luogo si in lo andar como in lo vegnir debiano 
Borzer in el porto de Constantinopoll solamente et tuor quello 
II piaxer^ et partirse liberamente. 

Item tute teste che serano condute de mar mazor siando 
de nation chiistiana se possi condur etiam per dove li piaxera 
liberamente. Et se alguna ne fosse venduda pagar se debia do 
per cento dechiarando chel non se possi condur dd dlto luogo 
alguna testa Musulmana et essendo conduta sia presa senza 
refar algum pagamento. 

Item tuti mercadanti Yenetiani che dele parti da basso 
condurano cum lor a suo servitij algun fameio o servo o liberoj 
et sia de che condition se voia non li si possi dar algun 
Impedimento over molestia e questo ancora se int^de ai Mar- 
cadanti sono de presente in questo luogo. 



428 DOCUMENTS. 

Item non voiando el dito lUoBtrlssImo Segnor che ninm de 
Pera che fosse debitor a Yenetianj pagasse, pur ha contentii 
che tuti Zenovexi possino esser astreti a pagar i lor debiti ex- 
cepto quelle o la valuta che el dito segnor Turcho hayesse &t5 
tuor per forza che fosse sta roba de quello Yenetian crededon 

Item che le intrade che havea el Patriarcha de Constant!- 
nopoli in tuti i luogi dela JHustrissima deta Signoria de Venexia 
in tempo del Lnperador de Gonstantinopoli cussi haver le debia 
de presente. 

Item che tuti li Mercadanti delo illustrissimo segnor Tur- 
cho andarano cum suo mercadantia in li luogi dela Illnstrissima 
deta Segnoria de Venexia non debia pagar de piii de oomei^ 
chio de quello fano Yenetianj in li luogi del dito Illustrissimo 
Segnorj ma cussi debbiano pagar. 

Item tuti i navilj de Mercadantia de i subditi dell' illustris- 
simo Segnor che fosseno incalzadi sopra algum porto dela 
Ulustrissima deta Segnoria de Yenexia dove sera citji over 
castello over altra forteza si chel se possi defender che la pre- 
fata deta Ulustrissima Signoria de Yenexia sia tegnuda suo 
posse a farli defender come suo proprij. £ lo simile e tegnudo 
a far el dito Illustrissimo Segnor. 

Item tuti i parichi del dito Segnor che fugirano et vadino 
entro i luogi dela illnstrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia quella 
sia tegnuda £Eu:li restituir de presente, Et sia de che con- 
dition se y oia : E per lo simel se debia observar per lo predito 
illustre Segnor. 

Item occorando caxo rumpesse over pericolasse algnna 
galia over nave et de ogni altra condition navilio dei subditi 
dela Ulustrissima deta Signoria de Yenexia in tuti i luogi 
sottoposti al dito Illustrissimo Segnor chel sia tegnudo ed 
obligado far far cum integritade satisfiition del haver et homeni 
et navilio a chi i partegnissi de tuto quello fosse scapolado (sal- 
vato) e liberado senza algun impedimento liberamente. Et lo 
simile se debia observar per la IlluBtrissima deta Segnoria de 
Yenexia. 

Item tuti quelli Yenetianj over reputadi Yenetianj che 



DOCUMENTS. 429 

iiianclier& over morirJi in tuti i laogi sotoposti al dito Illas- 
trissimo segnor Turcho senza testamento over idonea ordina- 
tion et senza herede, chel non sia del suo algona cossa tocado 
ma sia fato far per el Baiulo et chadi et subassi del luogo uno 
vero inventario del tnto el suo debiando restar tato in desposito 
in le man de misier lo baiulo. Et sel fosse in luogo dove non 
fosse Baiulo et fosse algun Venetian restar debia in le man de 
quelle per lo mode dito per fin atanto chel sia produte lettere 
dela Olustrissinxa deta Segnoria de Yenexia che dechiari et 
comandi a chi dar se dover& tute cosse. 

Item che a tuti i nimici del dito Illustrissimo Segnor la 
prefata Illustrissima deta Segnoria de Venexia non debia ne 
possi dare algun subsidio ne adiutorio de galie nave ne de 
alguna altra sorta navilij ne per via de false nolizamento over 
per algun altro mode ne anme ne vituarie ne adiutorio de 
homeni ne de danari ' voiando vegnir contra el State del dito 
Segnor over suo lubgi et subditi. E questo medemo observar 
dh lo dito Illustrissimo Segnor verso la Illustrissima deta 
Segnoria de Yenexia. 

Item tuti i castelli citade forteze che la Blustrissima deta 
Segnoria de Yenexia ha in Romam'a et Albania non debian 
aceptar algun inimigo over traditor del dito Illustrissimo 
Segnor ne darli subsidio ne passo ne per mar ne per terra. 
Et se cussl la prefata Illustrissima deta Segnoria non observer^ 
el sia in libertJi del dito BluBtrissimo Segnor contra quelle tal 
terre et castellj far quello li parerk. Et niente meno la paxe 
non interrupta ne violada se intenda* E lo simel observar se 
dh per lo prefato Illustrissimo Segnor verso la Illustrissima 
deta Segnoria de Yenexia. 

Item la Illustrissima deta Segnoria de Yenexia possi et 
voglia ad ogni suo buon piaxer mandar in Constantinopoli 
Baiulo cum la suo fameia segondo sua uxanza el qual habia 
liberty in Civil rezer et govemar et justttia administrar infra 
8U0 Venetiani de ogni condition obligandosse el dito Segnor far 
chel suo subassi dar& ogni favor al dito Baiulo sempre che per 
lui sera rechiesto bixonandoli per far lo officio suoliberamente. 



480 DOCUMENTS. 

Item tati i danni che sono stati fati avanti el caxo do Cod- 
stantmopoU per i subditi del Segnor a tati Venetiani si in 
haver come in persona provando idoneamente^ el dito Segnor 
h contento ot cnasi se obliga ohe tati siano restanradi Integra- 
mente. E simelmente sia tegnuda la lUoatriasima Segnoria 
de Yeneada observar de converse. 

Item cbe Yenetiai^ possi condnr cam lor galie et nave ogni 
aorta argenti in piatine et altro mode et lavoradi et roti et de 
tuti li posai vender et navegar et in ogni Inogo del dito Blns- 
trissimo Segnor comprar trar et remeter dove li parerii et 
piaicer& liberamente senza pagar algan comerchio dechiarando 
che tati qaelli arzenti non lavoradi et roti ma altri si i skxto 
tegnudi qai a presentarli a quello deU Zecha e qaelli farii 
bollar, £t possi disponer qaello i pareri^ et piaxer& at sapra. 

Item che coasi como qaelli de Constantinopoli non deno ne 
voiasse i sieno astreti che per el simel i nostri de simel condi- 
tion non siano constreti si che non si possi adimandar Ton al 
altro de debiti creadi fin al caxo del dito Inogo. 

Le qoal tute cosse si naove como vechie che a noi parse 
&r et Bcriver havemo fato et scripto et compido et per tato^ 
aurado e fermade et statoide et ordenade et finniter per nai 
tennte et observade firmiter et veraoiter per tati li sapracripti 
jaramenti scripti et zuradi volemo haver fermo et rate sempre 
per fin che qaello observer^ et fermo haver& la prelibata Illas- 
trissima deta Segnoria de Yenexia. B per fermeza ho &(o 
lo presente zaramento et scripto. 

Datam a creatione mundi 6962 adi 18 Aprile Indictione II 
in Constantinopoli. — {From JRamaninp vol iv. part iv. pj>. 
628-35.) 



No. xm. 

ComossiOH or Maffeo Lionl July 29^ 1456. 

Franoiscas Foscari Dei gratia dax Yenetiamm^ etc 
Oometemo a ti nobel homo Mafio Lion^ sovraoomito de la 
galia del oblfo, cam el nostro Oonseio di X com la sonta che 



DOOUHENTS. 481 

oum 1ft galia a tl eomefsa ta debi Jaoomo, flol noBtro, el qaal 
ntii ta ayemo fato coniignar^ condur a la Oania^ el qual ta 
debi ben goardar^ e comignar al rezimento de la Oania, eanii 
le letere directive al dito reaimentOj le qnali nui te avemo fato 
confligQar; comandandote cum el dito OonseiQ di X com la 
zonta, che^ levado del porto nostro do san NicoI6j tu drezi la 
via toa a la Caniai oum ogni diligentia e solicitudene a ti 
poiaibele, Bolioitando la to viai non tochando alctin Inogo, noma 
constretto de necessitiij che altramente tu non podesti far^ e 
tochando alcun Inogo n<m debi desmontar de galia per alcnn 
muodo, mo a la guardia del dito Jacomo com diligentia tu 
debi attender e vigilar^ in modo che tu '1 condugi a la Oania> 
e consegni al dito rezimento como 6 prediotOj govemandote 
per mnodoj che de la toa diligentia et execution del presente 
nostro oomandamento apresBo de nui e '1 dito Conseio merita- 
mente tu possi esser laudado e comendado. "E, consignado el 
dito Jacomo al predicto rezimento de la Cania, non bavendo 
altro comandamentOj debi subito drezar la to via a trovar el 
to capetanio^ el qual die esser ne le aoque de Modon^ o dove 
el fiMse. Se altro comandamento te fose dado^ quelle tu debi 
observar (?) Azochi per oomandamento tu non resti de partir 
del nostro porto de san Nicol6 sabado proximo ultimo del 
presente, loto pena de la desgratia del Conseio di Diexe.— 
Die 29 iulii U66.—{Fr<m Berlan,p. 130.) 



No.xrv. 

Pabticuuks of a Sau of Oaust8 by Auction. kJ>. 1332. 

Die XXnn. martij incantate fherunt in Rivoalto per Con- 
siliarios et capita infrascripte galee Maria maioria et infra- 
scriptifl date: 

In primia habuit unam galeam a. (aer) Zanetus Gontarenna 
filiua 8. Michaalia pro libria LXXXL grossomm ; plegiua 8» 
Fantinua Gontarenna. 



432 DOCUMENTS. 

Item habnit Becundam galeam & Andreolns Mauroceniis 
filioB 8. Marini sancte Marie Fonnose pro libris LXXV. 
grossorom; plegius s. Nicoletus Maurocenus Gabosca. 

It^n habuit tertiam galeam s. Joannes Micbael Scazo pro 
libris LXV* grossormn; plegius s. Zanetos Superantins 
domini Thome die 23 Aprilis. 

Item habuit quartam galeam s. Nicoletus Gradonico pro 
libris LXYIIL grossorum; plegius s. Nicoletus Barbadicus. 

Item habuit quintam galeam s. Marcus Bragadeno pro 
libris LXX. grossorum; plegius s. Nicoletus Bragadenus 
frater ejus. 

Item habuit sextam galeam s. Zifredus Maurocenus pro 
libris LXXI. grossorum; plegius s. Nicoletus Maurocenus. 

Item habuit septimam galeam s. Bertucius Pisani sancti 
Simeonis pro libris LXXIL grossorum; plegius s. Marcus de 
Molino. 

Item habuit octavam galeam s. Zanetas Superantius filins 
Tome pro libris LXXII. grossorum; plegius s. Joannes 
Michael Scazo die 23 Aprilis. 

Item habuit nonam galeam s. Marcus de Molino q"^ Azonis 
pro libris LXXY. grossorum; plegius s. Bertucius PisanL 

Item habuit decimam galeam s. Andreolus Justinianus pro 
libris LXXV. grossorum ; plegius s. Bemardus Justiniana^— 
(From Ramanin, iv. 375-6.) 



No. XV- 

PfiiYiLEaES granted by the Emperor of Tebbizonb to iha 
Venetians^ at the request of the Doge Gioyakni Sorahzo, 
and of the Venetian Ambassador, PAKTALEomB Michiell 
A.I). 1319. 

Lnperium meum gratia Dei a principio usque ad presens 
semper habuit et dilexit pacem cum onmibus^ et ad presens 
diligit et habet ut convenit: non solum cum circa vicinis 
nostris diligit imperium meum et habet pacem, sed etiam cum 



DOCUMENTS. 488 

omnibus a longe morantibns. Postqnam nobilissimuB et sa- 
pientissimus vir dommns loannes Snperantio Dox, et coram 
amicis intimis imperii meij cum nobilibus dominis terre sue, 
misit ad imperium meimi nobilem virum, scilicet Pantaleonem 
Michel, in suum ambaxiatorem, petentem ex parte dicti domini 
Ducis pacem et concordiam legitimam cum imperio meo, et 
qnod possit dictus dominus Dux facere scalam in Trapesonda 
sicttt fiidunt lanuenses ; illam ambaxatam dicti domini Ducis 
et nobilem terre sue libenter accepimus et intelleximus : pre- 
dicto domino Pantaleoni ambaxatori dantes presens Privi- 
legium, continens quod a modo nobiles et fideles Yenetiarum, 
tam parvi quam magni, babebunt acceptationem benignam 
imperii mei, eundi et redeundi per imperium meum secure 
sine aliqua molestia, sive impedimento in omnibus partibus 
imperii mei, tam civitatibus quam castris, adhuc quod dicti 
nobiles et fideles Yenetiarum, tam parvi quam magni, possint 
secure ad civitates et portus imperii mei yenire, stare et rece- 
dere, sine molestia aliqua imperii mei, et nobilium yirorum 
meorum et capitaneorum, et etiam navium et gallearum 
mearum, et omnium navigiorum meorum ; &cientes in 
omnibus partibus supradictis mercrmonia et negotia sua 
omnia, tam ipsi Yeneti, quam procuratores et nuntii ipsorum, 
tam per terram quam per mare, ad eorum voluntatem, 
solvendo tamen comercium solitum. Postquam ergo quod 
dictus dominus Dux et nobiles Yenetiarum rogaverunt im- 
perium meum, et intentionem suam et securitatem posuerunt 
super me, et ostenderunt se esse servitores imperii mei; 
precipit imperiimi meimi, et denuntiat per presens privilegium, 
quod dicti de Yenetiis debeant solvere rectum comercium 
sicut lanuenses solvunt, neque plus neque minus. Et ad hoc 
ut ipsi sciant comercium quod debent solvere, precipimus sic : 
quod solvant de qualibet sauma mercimoniorum quam appor- 
tabunt per mare, et vellent ipsam per terram extrahere occa- 
sione vendendi, viginti aspros monete imperii mei. Item, de 
omnibus mercationibus erunt ponderabiles, solvant venditores 
tria pro centenario, et pro pensatura unum cum dimidio pro 
centenario, et emptores solvant secundum consuetndinem ; et 

VOL. IV. 67 



484 DOCUHENIB. 

81 mereatioDfis mm enmt pcmderabilesy aolvsuii venditores iaria 
pio oenteoario tantanou Si rendiiores et emptores enmt 
▼enetiy efc meicatioaes enmt ponderifly aolYant yenditoies 
otram cam dimidio pro centenario, et emptores totidem ; efc 
si mercationes non enmt ponderis, et emptoies et yenditores 
ermit reneti, nihil solvant £t hoc sciatiir et cognoscatnr^ 
quod Samoa mereatiomimqiie non disligabitmr et non portabitnr 
extra imperimn memn pro vendendo, ymo redaoetnr retro, 
non solvat aliqnid; et si disligabitmr et visa fuerit et non 
empta a mercatoribns, et retro portabitmr per possessores 
ipsios sine aliqoa yenditione, similiter nihil solyat Item 
aomm et argentmn, margarite, centmre et alia similia possint 
apportari per Yenetos, et yendi in partibos mei imperii, sine 
aliqno commercio, et extrahi, salyo commercio snpradicto 
yiginti aspromm pro saoma, quod debet solyi, ut snpra dicitor. 
Onmes aatem mercatores. yenientes per terram in imperimn 
meom sint ad similem conditionem ad quam snnt yenientes 
per mare; yidelicet, salyi et secnri at snpra continetar, salyo 
qnod debeant solyere de nnaqoaque saama mercationnm, in 
introita dicti imperii mei, aspros duodecim, et de toto illo 
qood yendent solyant imam pro centenario ; et si Venetos 
yendet Veneto ant emet ab eo pannos aoreos yel de serico, 
ant bocaran yel similia, solyent unom pro centenario: et hoc 
esse debet secandom consaetadinem lanaensiam* Si yero 
forenses yenirent cam Venetis in partibos imperii mei, tracta- 
bantar et solyent at forenses ; et sapradictam comerdom 
totam exigetar per yistiariam meam, et non per aliam per- 
sonam, nisi imperiam de hoc concordaret secnm. Yobis 
Yenetis ad hoc denimtiat imperiam meam, qaod Yeneti 
debeant habere balanciam, palmum et metassarios Yenetos, 
sicat habent lanaenses. Item dictas ambaxator, ex parte 
dicti domlni Dacis, reqaisiyit terram et certam locam pro 
habitatione saa ab imperio meo ; et imperiam meam cogno- 
scens et yidens banc petitionem esse iastam, precipit et denon- 
tiat per dictam priyilegiam, qaod a loco yocato Ganita per 
mediam Bondo C^tri, et a magazeno Sancti Eogenii yersas 
occidans, at capit et girat sic^ hoc est incipit ab eoclesia Sancte 



DOCUMENTS. 435 

Margharite, et tendit usque caput vie Maitamu, et per viam 
orientis firmat in quodam riacello^ et inde girat totum pre- 
dictum riacellunij usque ad marinam^ et postea redit versus 
occidens, et girat et ascendit versus montem, et firmat in 
Petra Nigra, et inde redit versus oriens, firmans apud domes 
superioresy et firmat in veteri bagno, et vadit usque ad eccle- 
siam a qua incepimus; qui locus summat passus ducentos 
viginti septem, de decern palmis pro quolibet passu. Et in 
toto isto loco debent Yeneti edificare ecclesiam, et ponere 
presbjteros vel fratres ad eorum voluntatem; et edificare 
domes et lobiam, et facere creari Baiulrun qui teneat rationem 
Venetisj et habeat precones sues, et habeat etiam nobiles in 
sua sotietate, et domicellos secundum consuetudinem Romanie ; 
et [sicut] Bajulusfacit in Romania, ita faciat etiam in imperio 
meo, videlicet in manutenendo rationem et in dispiciendo 
contrarium, ut amat et diligit imperium meum. Adbuc 
precipit imperium meum, quod concordia que est inter vos et 
imperium meum sit cum hac conditione : quod navigia uni- 
versa tam parva quam magna imperii mei debeant esse et 
stare cimi omnibus navigiis vestns in omni bono, pace et 
concordia, in unitate : quod erit placibile amicis omnibus 
nostris et displicibile inimicis. Adhuc imperium meum per 
presens privilegium precipit, quod supradicta omnia obser- 
ventur inviolabiliter in perpetuum. Et si quis de hominibus 
imperii mei contra predicta ire presumpserit, tam in faciendo 
contra predicta, quam etiam in aliquibus violentiis faciendo 
hominibus Yenetb, maledictionem et correctionem imperii 
mei habebit, tamquam infedelis imperii mei, presente privi- 
legio testante, ut imperium meum confirmavit secundum con- 
suetudinem. Scriptum in mense iulii secunde indictionis, in 
sexto milleno octavo centeno vigesimo septimo. 



THE END. 



LOin>OIf : 

PRINTBD BT SMITH, £LDKR AND CO., 

LITTLE ORSEN Al^CB COUBT, OLD BAILET, E.C. 



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WAv. 



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