The same night that the Emperor Frederick died, the Podestà who ruled for him in Florence, died also, who was named Messer Rinieri di Montemerlo; for, as he slept in his bed, there fell upon him of the vaulting from the roof of the chamber, which was in the house of the Abati. And this was a sure sign that in the city of Florence his lordship was to be ended, and this came to pass very soon; for the common people having risen in Florence against the violence and outrages of the Ghibelline nobles, as we have said, and tidings coming to Florence of the death of the said Frederick, a few days after, the people of Florence recalled and restored to Florence the party of the Guelfs who had been banished thence, causing them to make peace with Cf. Inf. x. 49, 50. the Ghibellines, and this was the seventh day of January, year of Christ 1250.

§ 43.—How at the time of the said Popolo the Florentines discomfited the men of Pistoia, and afterwards banished certain families of the Ghibellines from Florence.

Greatly did the party for the Church and the Guelf party rejoice throughout all Italy at the death of the Emperor; and the party for the Empire, and the Ghibellines were brought low, inasmuch as Pope Innocent returned from beyond the mountains with his court to Rome, bringing aid to the faithful followers of the Church. It came to pass that in the month of July, in the year of Christ 1251, the people and commonwealth of Florence gathered a host against the city of Pistoia, which had rebelled against them, and fought with the said inhabitants of Pistoia, and discomfited them at Mount Robolini with great loss in slain and prisoners of the men of Pistoia. And at that time Messer Uberto da Mandella of Milan was Podestà of Florence. And because the government of the Popolo was not pleasing to the greater part of the Ghibelline families in Florence, forasmuch as it seemed to them that they favoured the Guelfs more than was pleasing to them, and as in past times they were used to do violence, and to be tyrannical, relying on the Emperor, therefore they were even now unwilling to follow the people and the commonwealth on the said expedition against Pistoia, rather did they both in word and in deed oppose it through factious hatred; forasmuch as Pistoia was ruled in those days by the Ghibelline party; whereby was caused so great mistrust, that when the host returned victorious from Pistoia, the said Ghibelline families in Florence were banished and sent forth from the city by the people of Florence, the said month of July, 1251. And the heads of the Ghibellines in Florence being banished, the people and the Guelfs who remained in the lordship of Florence, changed the arms of the commonwealth of Florence; and whereas of old they bore the field red and the lily white, they now made on the contrary the field white and Par. xvi. 151-154. the lily red; and the Ghibellines retained the former standard, but the ancient standard of the commonwealth dimidiated white and red, to wit, the standard that went with the host upon the carroccio, never was changed. We will leave for a while the doings of the Florentines, and we will tell somewhat of the coming of King Conrad, son of the Emperor Frederick.

§ 44.—How King Conrad, son of Frederick the Emperor, came from Germany into Apulia, and had the lordship over the realm of Sicily, and how he died.

When King Conrad of Germany heard of the death of the Emperor Frederick, his father, he prepared with a great company to pass into Apulia and Sicily, to take possession of the said Kingdom, of the which Manfred, his bastard brother, had become vicar-general, and was ruling it altogether, save only the cities of Naples and of Capua, the which had rebelled after the death of Frederick, and were returned to obedience to the Church; as also many cities of Lombardy and Tuscany, on occasion of the death of the said Frederick, had changed their government and returned to the obedience of the Church. The said Conrad would not adventure himself to come by land, but being arrived in the Trevisan March, he caused a great fleet to be equipped by the Venetians, and from thence by sea with all his people came to Apulia the year of Christ 1251. And albeit Manfred was wrath at his coming, forasmuch as he had purposed to be lord of the said kingdom, he made a great welcome to Conrad, his brother, rendering him much honour and reverence, and when he was in Apulia he led a host against the city of Naples, the which before had been five times attacked and besieged by Manfred, prince of Salerno, and he had not been able to conquer it; but Conrad, with his great host after a long siege, gained the city by surrender, on condition that he should neither slay the defenders nor dismantle the place. But Conrad did not abide by the pact, but so soon as he was in Naples he caused the walls and all the fortresses of Naples to be destroyed; and the like did he to the city of Capua, which had rebelled; and in a short space he had restored all the Kingdom to his lordship, casting down every rebel, or whosoever was a friend or follower of Holy Church; and not only the laity but the monks and holy persons he caused to die by torments, robbing the churches, and subduing whosoever was not in obedience to him, and appointing to benefices, as if he were Pope; so that if Frederick, his 1252 a.d. father, was a persecutor of Holy Church, this Conrad, if he had lived longer, would have been worse; but as it pleased God, a little time after, he was smitten with a grievous sickness, but not mortal, and as he was being tended by leeches and physicians, Manfred, his brother, to remain in power, caused the said leeches for money and Cf. Purg. iii. 121. great promises to poison him by a clyster. By such a judgment of God, by his brother's deed, of such a death did he die without repentance and excommunicated, the year of Christ 1252. And he left behind him in Germany a young son who was named Conradino, whose mother was daughter to the duke of Bavaria.

§ 45.—How Manfred, natural son of Frederick, took the lordship of the kingdom of Sicily and of Apulia, and caused himself to be crowned.

Conrad, called king of Germany, being dead, Manfred remained lord and governor of Sicily and of the Kingdom, albeit through the death of Conrad, some cities of the Kingdom rebelled, and Pope Innocent IV., with a great host of the Church, entered into the Kingdom to regain the lands which Manfred was holding against the will of the Church, and under sentence of excommunication; and when the said host of the Church had entered into the Kingdom, all the cities and villages as far as Naples surrendered themselves to the said Pope; but he had sojourned but a short time in Naples ere he fell sick, and passed from this life the year of Christ 1252, and was buried in the city of Naples. Wherefore by the death of the said Pope, and by the vacancy which the Church had after him, which for more than two years abode without pastors, Manfred regained all the Kingdom, and his strength increased greatly both far and near; and with great care he allied himself with all the cities of Italy which were Ghibelline and faithful to the Empire, and aided them by his German knights, making a 1254 a.d. league and alliance with them in Tuscany and in Lombardy. And when the said Manfred saw himself in glory and state, he thought to have himself made king of Sicily and of Apulia, and to the end this might come to pass, he sought for the friendship of the greatest barons of the Kingdom, with monies and gifts and promises and offices. And knowing that King Conrad, his brother, had left a son named Conradino, the which was by law the rightful heir to the realm of Sicily, and was in Germany under the guardianship of his mother, he devised guileful practices whereby to become king; wherefore he gathered together all the barons of the Kingdom, and took counsel with them what should be done with the lordship, forasmuch as he had received tidings that his nephew Conradino was grievously sick, and could never rule over a realm; wherefore it was counselled by his barons that he should send his ambassadors into Germany to learn of the state of Conradino, and if he were dead or ill; and meanwhile they counselled that Manfred should be made king. To this Manfred agreed, seeing it was he which had falsely arranged it all, and he sent the said ambassadors to Conradino and to his mother with rich presents and great offers. The which ambassadors being come to Suabia, found the boy whom his mother guarded most carefully, and with him she kept many other boys of gentle birth clothed in his garments; and when the said ambassadors asked for Conradino, his mother being in dread of Manfred, showed to them one of the said children, and they with rich presents, offered him gifts and reverence, among the which gifts were poisoned comfits from Apulia, and the boy having eaten of them, straightway died. Purg. iii. 121.
1255 a.d. They, believing Conradino to be dead by poison, departed from Germany, and when they had returned to Venice, they caused sails of black cloth to be made to their galley and all the rigging to be black, and they were attired in black, and when they were come into Apulia, they made a show of great grief, as they had been instructed by Manfred. And having reported to Manfred, and to the German barons, and to those of the Kingdom how Conradino was dead, and Manfred having made show of deep affliction, by the call of his friends and of all the people (as he had arranged), he was elected king of Sicily and of Apulia, and at Monreale, in Sicily, caused himself to be crowned, the year of Christ 1255.

§ 46.—Of the war between Pope Alexander and King Manfred.

After the death of Pope Innocent, and the vacancy which followed, there was elected Pope Alexander IV., born in the city of Alagna, in Campagna, the year of Christ 1255, and he sat on the papal throne seven years, and certain months and days. The which Pope Alexander, hearing how Manfred had caused himself to be crowned king of Sicily against the will of Holy Church, by the said Pope Manfred was required to abandon the lordship of the Kingdom and of Sicily, the which he would neither hearken to, nor obey; for the which thing the said Pope first excommunicated and deprived him, and then sent against him Otho, the cardinal legate, with a great host of the Church, and he took many places on the coasts of Apulia; to wit, the city of Sipanto, and Mount Santagnolo, and Barletta and Bari, as far as Otranto in Calabria; but afterwards the said host, by reason of the death of the said legate, returned with labour lost, and Manfred took back and regained all, and 1256 a.d. this was the year of Christ 1256. The said King Manfred was son of a beautiful lady, of the family of the Marquises of Lancia in Lombardy, of whom the Emperor Frederick was enamoured, and he was beautiful in Purg. iii. 107. person, and, like his father, but even more, dissolute in every fashion; a musician he was, and singer, and loved to see around him buffoons and minstrels, and beautiful concubines, and was always clad in green raiment; very liberal was he, and courteous, and gracious, so Cf. De V.E. i. 12, 21 sqq. that he was much loved and in great favour; but all his way of life was epicurean, caring neither for God nor the saints, but only for bodily delights. An enemy he was to Holy Church, and to priests and monks, occupying the churches as his father had done, and was a very rich lord, alike from the treasure bequeathed to him by the Emperor and by King Conrad, his brother, and from his kingdom, which was rich and fruitful; and, for all the wars that he had with the Church, he kept it in good state so long as he lived, so that he increased much in riches and in power by sea and by land. For wife he took the daughter of the despot of Romagna, by whom he had sons and daughters. The arms which he took and bore were those of the Empire, save where the Emperor, his father, bore the gold field and the black eagle, he bore the silver field and the black eagle. This Manfred caused the city of Sipanto in Apulia to be destroyed, forasmuch as through the marshes around it was not healthy, and it had no harbour; and by its citizens, at two miles distance upon the rock, and in a place where there might be a good harbour, he caused a city to be founded, which after his name was called Manfredonia, the which has now the best harbour that there is between Venice and Brindisi. And of that city was Manfred Bonetta, count chamberlain of the said King Manfred, a delightsome man, a musician and singer, who caused the great bell of Manfredonia to be made in his memory, the which is the largest that can be found for size, and because of its size cannot be rung. We will now leave speaking of Manfred until fit place and time, and will return where we left off in our subject, namely to the doings of Florence and of Tuscany and of Lombardy, albeit they were much mixed up with the doings of the said King Manfred in many things.

§ 47.—How the Florentines discomfited the Ubaldini in Mugello. 1251 a.d. § 48.—How the Florentines took Montaia and routed the troops of the Sienese and the Pisans. § 49.—How the Florentines took Tizzano and 1252 a.d. then routed the Pisans at Pontadera, the Pisans having routed the Lucchese.

§ 50.—How the bridge Santa Trinita was built.

§ 51.—How the Florentines took the fortress of Fegghine. 1252 a.d. Cf. Par. xvi. 50.

§ 52.—How the Sienese were routed by the Florentines at Montalcino.

§ 53.—How the golden florins were first made in Florence.

The host of the Florentines having returned, and being at rest after the victories aforesaid, the city increased greatly in state and in riches and lordship and in great quietness; for the which thing the merchants of Florence, for the honour of the commonwealth, ordained with the people and commonwealth that golden coins should be struck at Florence; and they promised to furnish the gold, for before the custom was to strike silver coins of 12 pence the piece. And then began the good coins of gold, 24 carats fine, the which are called golden florins, and each was worth 20 soldi. And this was in the time of the said M. Filippo degli Ugoni of Brescia, in the month of November, the year of Christ 1252. The which florins weighed eight to the ounce, and on one side was the stamp of the lily and on the other of S. John. By Cf. Par. xviii. 133-136. reason of the said new money of the golden florin there fell out a pretty story, and worth narrating. The said new florins having begun to circulate through the world, they were carried to Tunis in Barbary; and being brought before the king of Tunis, which was a worthy and wise lord, they pleased him much, and he caused them to be tried; and finding them to be of fine gold, he much commended them, and having caused his interpreters to interpret the imprint and legend on the florin, he found that it said: S. John the Baptist, and on the side of the lily, Florence. Perceiving it to be Christian money, he sent to the Pisan merchants who were then free of the city and were much with the king (and even the Florentines traded in Tunis through the Pisans), and asked them what manner of city among Christians was this Florence which made the said florins. The Pisans answered spitefully through envy, saying: "They are our inland Arabs": which is to say, "our mountain rustics." Then answered the king wisely: "It does not seem to me the money of Arabs. O you Pisans, what manner of golden money is yours?" Then were they confused, and knew not how to answer. He asked if there were among them any one from Florence, and there was found there a merchant from Oltrarno, by name Pera Balducci, discreet and wise. The king asked him of the state and condition of Florence, whom the Pisans called their Arabs; the which answered wisely, showing the power and magnificence of Florence, and how Pisa in comparison was neither in power nor in inhabitants the half of Florence, and that they had no golden money, and that the florin was the fruit of many victories gained by the Florentines over them. For the which cause the Pisans were shamed, and the king, by reason of the florin and by the words of our wise fellow-citizen, made the Florentines free of the city, and allowed them a place of habitation and a church in Tunis, and he gave them the same privileges as the Pisans. And this we knew to be true from the said Pera, a man worthy of faith, for we were among his colleagues in the office of prior.

§ 54.—How the Florentines marched upon Pistoia and took it, and then 1253 a.d. upon Siena and took many of their fortresses.

§ 55.—How the Florentines marched against Siena, and the Sienese came to terms with them, and there was peace between them.

The next year, 1254, Messer Guiscardo da Pietrasanta, of Milan, being Podestà of Florence, the Florentines marched against the city of Siena and encamped against the castle of Montereggioni and laid siege to it, Cf. Inf. xxxi. 40, 41. and of a surety they would have taken it, for the German garrison was in treaty to surrender it for 50,000 lire of 20 soldi to the gold florin; and in one single night the Ancients found twenty citizens each of whom offered a thousand of them, without counting smaller sums, so well disposed for the good of the commonwealth were the citizens of those days. But the Sienese, for fear of losing Montereggioni, agreed to the terms of the Florentines, and peace was made between them and the Sienese, and they completely surrendered the castle of Montalcino to the Florentines.

§ 56.—How the Florentines seized the fortress of Poggibonizzi and that of Mortennana. § 57.—How the Florentines routed them of Volterra and took their city in the fight. § 58.—How the 1254 a.d. Florentines marched against Pisa, and the Pisans submitted to their terms. § 59.—How the great Khan of the Tartars became a Christian, and sent his army, under his own brother, against the Saracens of Syria. § 60.—How the first war arose between the Genoese and the 1260 a.d.
1256 a.d. Venetians. § 61.—How the Count Guido Guerra expelled the Ghibelline party from Arezzo, and how the Florentines reinstated it. § 62.—How the Pisans broke the peace, and how the Florentines routed them at the bridge over the Serchio. § 63.—How the Florentines destroyed the castle of Poggibonizzi the first time. § 64.—Incident telling of a great miracle concerning the body of Christ which came to pass in the city of Paris.

§ 65.—How the Popolo of Florence drave out the Ghibellines for the first time from Florence, and the reason why.

In the year of Christ 1258, when Messer Jacopo Bernardi di Porco was Podestà of Florence, at the end of the month of July they of the house of the Uberti, with their Ghibelline allies, incited thereto by Manfred, purposed to break up the Popolo of Florence, forasmuch as it seemed to them to lean towards the Guelf party. When the said plot was discovered by the Popolo, and they who had made it were summoned and cited to appear before the magistrates, they would not appear nor come before them, but the staff of the Podestà were grievously wounded and smitten by them; for the which thing the people ran to arms, and ran in fury to the houses of the Uberti, where is now the piazza of the palace of the people and of the priors, and there they slew Schiattuzzo degli Uberti and many of the followers and retainers of the Uberti, and they took Uberto Caini degli Uberti and Mangia degli Infangati, which when they had confessed the conspiracy in parliament were beheaded in Orto San Michele; and the rest of the family of the Uberti, with many other Ghibelline families, left Florence. The names of the Ghibelline families of renown which left Florence were these: the Uberti, the Fifanti, the Guidi, the Amidei, the Lamberti, the Scolari, and part of the Abati, Caponsacchi, Migliorelli, Soldanieri, Par. xvi. Infangati, Ubriachi, Tedaldini, Galigari, the della Pressa, Amieri, they of Cersino, the Razzanti, and many other houses and families of the popolari and of decayed magnates, which cannot all be named, and other families of nobles in the country; and they went to Siena, which was governed in the Ghibelline interest, and was hostile to the Florentines; and their palaces and strongholds were destroyed, whereof there were many, and with the stones thereof they built the walls of San Giorgio Oltrarno, which the Popolo of Florence caused to be begun in those times by reason of the war with the Sienese. And afterwards, in the following September of the said year, the Popolo of Florence seized the abbot of Vallombrosa, which was a gentleman of the lords of Inf. xxxii. 118, 119. Beccheria of Pavia in Lombardy, for they had been told that at the petition of the Ghibelline refugees from Florence he was plotting treason; and this by torture they made him confess, and wickedly in the piazza of Santo Apollinare by the outcry of the people they beheaded him, not regarding his dignity nor his holy orders; for the which thing the commonwealth of Florence and the Florentines were excommunicated by the Pope; and from the commonwealth of Pavia, whence came the said abbot, and from his kinsfolk, the Florentines which passed through Lombardy received much hurt and molestation. And truly it was said that the holy man was not guilty, albeit by his lineage he was a distinguished Ghibelline. For the which sin, and for many other deeds done by the wicked people, it was said by many wise men that God by Divine judgment permitted vengeance to come upon the said people in the battle and defeat of Montaperti, as hereafter we shall make mention. The said Popolo of Florence which ruled the city in these times was very proud and of high and great enterprises, and in many things was very arrogant; but one thing their rulers had, they were very loyal and true to the commonwealth, and when one which was an Ancient took and sent to his villa a grating which had belonged to the lion's den, and was now lying about in the mud of the piazza of S. Giovanni, he was condemned therefor to a fine of 1,000 lire for embezzling the goods of the commonwealth.

§ 66.—How the Aretines took and destroyed Cortona. § 67.—How the 1259 a.d.
Cf. Inf. xxii. 40-60. Florentines took and destroyed the castle of Gressa. § 68.—How the people of Florence took the castles of Vernia and of Mangona.

§ 69.—Incidents of the doings that were in Florence at the time of the Popolo.

In the time of the said Popolo in Florence it came to pass that there was presented to the commonwealth a very fine and strong lion, the which was in a den in the piazza of San Giovanni. It came to pass that by lack of care on the part of the keeper, the said lion escaped from its den, running through the streets, whence all the city was moved with fear. It came to a stand at Orto San Michele, and there caught hold of a boy and held him between its paws. The mother, whose only child he was, and not born till after his father's death, on hearing what had chanced, ran up to the lion in desperation, shrieking aloud and with dishevelled hair, and snatched the child from between its paws, and the lion did no hurt either to the woman or to the child, but only gazed steadfastly and kept still. Now the question was what was the cause of this, whether the nobility of the nature of the lion, or that fortune preserved the life of the said child, to the end he might avenge his father, the which he did, and was afterwards called Orlanduccio of the lion, of Calfette. And note, that at the time of the said Popolo, and before and afterwards for a long time, the citizens of Florence lived soberly, and on coarse food, and with Par. xv. 97-99. little spending, and in manners and graces were in many respects coarse and rude; and both they and their wives were clad in coarse garments, and many wore skins without lining, and caps on their heads, Par. xv. 112, 113. and all wore leather boots on their feet, and the Florentine ladies wore boots without ornaments, and the greatest were contented with one Par. xv. 101.
Par. xv. 102, 103. close-fitting gown of scarlet serge or camlet, girt with a leathern girdle after the ancient fashion, with a hooded cloak lined with miniver, which hood they wore on their head; and the common women were clad in coarse green cambric after the same fashion; and 100 lire was the common dowry for wives, and 200 or 300 lire was, in those times, held to be excessive; and the most of the maidens were twenty or more Par. xv. 103-105. years old before they were wedded. After such habits and plain customs then lived the Florentines, but they were true and trustworthy to one another and to their commonwealth, and with their simple life and poverty they did greater and more virtuous things than are done in our times with more luxury and with more riches.

§ 70.—How Paleologus, emperor of the Greeks, took Constantinople 1259 a.d.
1260 a.d. from the French and the Venetians. § 71.—Of a very sore battle which was between the king of Hungary and the king of Bohemia.

§ 72.—How the great tyrant, Ezzelino da Romano, was defeated by the Cremonese and died in prison.

In the said year 1260, Ezzelino of Romano, which is a Trevisan castle, was defeated and wounded and taken prisoner by the Marquis Pallavicino, and by the Cremonese in the country around Milan, near to the bridge of Casciano over the river Adda, as he was on his way to seize Milan, having with him more than 1,500 horsemen; from the which wounds he died in prison, and was buried with honour in the village of Solcino. He knew by augury that he should die in a village of the country of Padua, which was called Basciano, and he would not enter therein; and when he felt himself wounded he asked what the place was called, and they answered, "Casciano"; then he said, "Casciano and Basciano are all the same," and he gave himself up for dead. This Ezzelino was the most cruel and redoubtable tyrant that ever was among Christians, and ruled by his force and tyranny (being by birth a gentleman of the house of Romano), long time the Trevisan March and the city of Padua, and a great part of Lombardy; and he brought to an end a very great part of the citizens of Padua, and blinded great numbers of the best and most noble, taking their possessions, and sending them begging through the world, and many others he put to death by divers sufferings and torments, and burnt at one time 11,000 Paduans; and by reason of their innocent blood, by miracle, no grass grew there again for evermore. And under semblance of a rugged and cruel justice he did much evil, and was a great scourge in his time in the Trevisan March and in Lombardy, to punish them for the sin of ingratitude. At last, as it pleased God, by less powerful men than his own he was vilely defeated and slain, and all his followers were dispersed and his family and his rule came to nought.

§ 73.—How both the king of Castille and Richard, earl of Cornwall, were elected king of the Romans.

§ 74.—How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence, sent into Apulia to King Manfred for succour.

In these times the Ghibelline refugees from Florence (who being in the city of Siena were ill-supported against the Florentines by the Sienese, forasmuch as they had no forces to bring against their host) took counsel amongst themselves to send their ambassadors into Apulia, to King Manfred, for succour. And when they were come thither, albeit they were of the best and chiefest of the band, much time elapsed, and Manfred did not dispatch their affair, nor give audience to their request, by reason of the manifold businesses he had to do. And when at last they had a mind to depart, and took their leave of him very ill-content, Manfred promised them 100 German horsemen for their aid. Whereon the said ambassadors were troubled at this his first offer, and were minded to make their reply in the way of refusing so sorry an aid, for they were ashamed to return to Siena, inasmuch as they had hoped for more than 1,500 horsemen. But hereon Messer Farinata degli Uberti said, "Be not dismayed, neither refuse Inf. x. 32. any aid of his, be it never so small. Let us have grace of him to send his standard with them, and when it be come to Siena we will set it in such a place that he must needs send us further succour." And so it came to pass; and following the wise counsel of the knight, they accepted Manfred's offer, praying him as a grace to give his own standard to their captain, and so he did. And when they returned to Siena with so poor an aid, great scorn was made thereof by the Sienese, and great dismay came upon the Florentine refugees, which had looked for aid and support from Manfred beyond measure greater.

§ 75.—How the commonwealth and people of Florence led a great host up to the gates of Siena with the carroccio.

It happened in the year of Christ 1260, in the month of May, that the people and commonwealth of Florence gathered a general host against the city of Siena and led thither the carroccio. And note, that the carroccio, which was led by the commonwealth and people of Florence, was a chariot on four wheels, all painted red, and two tall red masts stood up together thereupon, whereon was fastened and waved the great standard of the arms of the commune, which was dimidiated white and red, and still may be seen to-day in S. Giovanni. And it was drawn by a great pair of oxen covered with red cloth, which were set apart solely for this, and belonged to the Hospitallers of Pinti, and he who drove them was a freeman of the commonwealth. This carroccio was used by our forefathers in triumphs and solemnities, and when they went out with the host, the neighbouring counts and knights brought it from the armoury of S. Giovanni and conducted it to the piazza of the Mercato Nuovo, and having halted by a landmark, which is still there, in the form of a stone carved like a chariot, they committed it to the keeping of the people, and it was led by popolani in the expeditions of war, and to guard it were chosen the best and strongest and most virtuous among the foot soldiers of the popolani, and round it gathered all the force of the people. And when the host was to be assembled, a month before the time when they were to set forth, a bell was hung upon the arch of Porte Sante Marie, which was at the head of the Mercato Nuovo, and there was rung by day and by night without ceasing. And this they did in their pride, to give opportunity to the enemy, against whom the host should go forth, to prepare themselves. And some called it Martinella, and some the Asses' Bell. And when the Florentine host went forth, they took down the bell from the arch and put it into a wooden tower upon a car, and the sound thereof guided the host. By these two pomps of the carroccio and of the bell was maintained the lordly pride of the people of old and of our forefathers in their expeditions. We will leave this and will turn to the Florentines, how they made war against the Sienese, and took the castle of Vicchio, and that of Mezzano, and Casciole, which pertained to the Sienese, and encamped themselves against Siena, hard by the entrance gate by the monastery of S. Petronella; and there they had brought to them, upon a knoll which could be seen from the city, a tower wherein they kept their bell; and in contempt of the Sienese, and as a record of their victory, they filled it with earth and planted an olive tree in it, the which, until our own days, was still there. It fell out at that siege that one day the Florentine refugees gave a feast to Manfred's German soldiers, and having plied them with wine till they were drunk, in the uproar they incited them to arm themselves and mount on horseback to assail the host of the Florentines, promising them large gifts and double pay; and this was done craftily by the wise, in pursuance of the counsel of Farinata degli Uberti which he had given in Apulia. The Germans, beside themselves and hot with wine, sallied forth from Siena and vigorously assailed the camp of the Florentines, and because they were unprepared and off their guard, holding as nought the force of the enemy, the Germans, albeit they were but few folk, did great hurt to the host in that assault, and many of the people and of the horsemen made a sorry show in that sudden assault, and fled in terror, supposing that the assailants were more in number. But in the end, perceiving their error, they took to arms, and defended themselves against the Germans, and of all those who sallied forth from Siena not one escaped alive, for they were all slain and beaten down, and the standard was taken and dragged through the camp and carried to Florence; and this done, shortly afterwards the Florentine host returned to Florence.

§ 76.—How King Manfred sent Count Giordano with 800 Germans to succour the Sienese and the Ghibelline refugees from Florence.

The Sienese and the Florentine refugees, perceiving how ill the Florentines had fared in the assault of so small a number of German horsemen, considered that if they had a greater number thereof, they would be victorious in the war. Immediately they provided themselves with money, procuring from the company of the Salimbeni, which were merchants of those days, 20,000 florins of gold, and gave them in pledge the fortress of Tentennana and several more castles of the commonwealth, and sent their ambassadors again into Apulia with the said money to King Manfred, saying how his few German followers by their great vigour and valour had undertaken to assail the whole host of the Florentines, and had turned a great part thereof to flight; but if they had been more, they would have had the victory; but by reason of their small number, they had all been left upon the field, and his standard had been dragged about and insulted in the camp and in Florence and round about. And beside this they plied the best reasons they knew to move Manfred, who, having heard the tidings, was wrath, and with the money of the Sienese, who paid half the charges for three months, and at his own cost, sent into Tuscany Count Giordano, his marshal, with 800 German horsemen, to go with the said ambassadors; who reached Siena in the end of July, the year of Christ 1260, and by the Sienese were received with great rejoicing, and they and all the Ghibellines of Tuscany drew thence great vigour and courage. And when they were come to Siena, immediately the Sienese sent forth their host against the castle of Montalcino, which was under the commands of the commonwealth of Florence, and sent for aid to the Pisans and to all the Ghibellines of Tuscany, so that, what with the horsemen of Siena and the Florentine refugees, and the Germans and their allies, there were found 1,800 horsemen in Siena, whereof the greater part were Germans.

§ 77.—How the Ghibelline refugees from Florence prepared to deceive the commonwealth and people of Florence, and cause them to be betrayed.

The Florentine refugees, by whose embassy and deed King Manfred had sent Count Giordano with 800 German horsemen, thought within themselves that they had done nothing if they could not draw the Florentines out into the field, inasmuch as the aforesaid Germans were not paid save for three months, and already more than one month and a half of this had passed, since their coming, nor had they more money wherewith to pay them, nor did they look for any from Manfred; and should the time for which they had been paid pass by without having done aught, they would return into Apulia, to the great peril of the state. They reasoned that this could not be contrived without skill and subtlety of war, which business was committed to M. Farinata degli Uberti and M. Gherardo Ciccia de' Lamberti. These subtly chose out two wise minor friars as their messengers to the people of Florence, and first caused them to confer with nine of the most powerful men of Siena, who made endless show to the said friars that the government of Messer Provenzano Salvani was displeasing to them, who was the greatest of the citizens of Siena, and that they would willingly yield Purg. xi. 109-142. up the city to the Florentines in return for 10,000 florins of gold, and that they were to come with a great host, under guise of fortifying Montalcino, as far as the river Arbia; and then they with their own forces, and with those of their followers, would give up to the Florentines the gate of Santo Vito, which is on the road to Arezzo. The friars, under this deceit and treachery, came to Florence with letters and seals from the aforesaid, and were brought before the Ancients of the people, and proposed to them means whereby they might do great things for the honour of the people and commonwealth of Florence; but the thing was so secret that it must under oath be revealed to but few. Then the Ancients chose from among themselves Spedito di Porte San Piero, a man of great vigour and boldness, and one of the principal leaders of the people, and with him Messer Gianni Calcagni, of Vacchereccia; and when they had sworn upon the altar, the friars unfolded the said plot, and showed the said letters. The said two Ancients, who showed more eagerness than judgment, gave faith to the plot; and immediately the said 10,000 golden florins were procured, and were deposited, and a council was assembled of magnates and people, and they represented that of necessity it behoved to send a host to Siena to strengthen Montalcino, greater than the one sent in May last to Santa Petronella. The nobles of the great Guelf houses of Florence, and Count Guido Guerra, which was with them, not knowing of the pretended plot, and knowing more of war than the popolani did, being aware of the new body of German troops which was come to Siena, and of the sorry show which the people made at Santa Petronella when the hundred Germans attacked them, considered the enterprise not to be without great peril. And also esteeming the citizens to be divided in mind, and ill disposed to raise another host, they gave wise counsel, that it were best that the host should not go forth at present, for the reasons aforesaid; and also they showed how for little cost Montalcino could be fortified, and how the men of Orvieto were prepared to fortify it, and alleged that the said Germans had pay only for three months, and had already served for half the time, and by giving them play enough, without raising a host, shortly they would be scattered, and would return into Apulia; and the Sienese and the Florentine refugees would be left in worse plight than they were before. And the spokesman for them all was M. Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli Adimari, a wise knight and valiant in arms, and of great Inf. vi. 79. xvi. 40-42. authority, and he counselled the better course in full. His counsel ended, the aforesaid Spedito, the Ancient, a very presumptuous man, rudely replied, bidding him to look to his breeches if he was afraid; and M. Tegghiaio replied that at the pinch he would not dare to follow him into the battle where he would lead; and these words ended, next uprose M. Cece de Gherardini to say the same that Messer Tegghiaio had said. The Ancients commanded him not to speak, and the penalty was 100 pounds if any one held forth contrary to the command of the Ancients. The knight was willing to pay it, so that he might oppose the going; but the Ancients would not have it, rather they made the penalty double; again he desired to pay, and so it reached 300 pounds; and when he yet wanted to speak and to pay, the command was that his head should be forfeit; and there it stopped. But, through the proud and heedless people, the worse counsel won the day, that the said host should proceed immediately and without delay.

§ 78.—How the Florentines raised an army to fortify Montalcino, and were discomfited by Count Giordano and by the Sienese at Montaperti.

The people of Florence having taken the ill resolve to raise an army, craved assistance from their friends, which came with foot soldiers and with horse, from Lucca, and Bologna, and Pistoia, and Prato, and Volterra, and Samminiato, and Sangimignano, and from Colle di Valdelsa, which were in league with the commonwealth and people of Florence; and in Florence there were 800 horsemen of the citizens and more than 500 mercenaries. And the said people being assembled in Florence, the host set forth in the end of August, and for pomp and display they led out the carroccio, and a bell, which they called Martinella, on a car with a wooden tower on wheels, and there went out nearly all the people with the banners of the guilds, and there did not remain a house or a family in Florence which went not forth on foot or on horseback, at least one for each house, and for some two or more, according to their power. And when they found themselves in the territory of Siena, at the place agreed upon, on the river Arbia, at the place called Montaperti, with the men of Perugia and of Orvieto, which there joined with the Florentines, there were gathered together more than 3,000 horse and more than 30,000 foot. And whilst the host of the Florentines was thus preparing, the aforesaid framers of the plot, which were in Siena, in order that it might be the more fully accomplished, sent to Florence certain other friars to hatch treason with certain Ghibelline magnates and popolani which had not been exiled from Florence, and would therefore have to join the general muster of the army. With these, then, they plotted that when they were drawn up for battle, they should from divers quarters flee from their companies, and repair to their own party, to confound the Florentine army. And this plot they made because they seemed to themselves to be but few in comparison with the Florentines; and so it was done.

Now it happened that when the said host was on the hills of Montaperti, those sage Ancients who were leading the host, and had managed the negotiations, were awaiting the opening of the promised gate by the traitors from within. A magnate from among the people, a Florentine from the gate of S. Piero, which was a Ghibelline, and was named Razzante, having heard something of the expectation of the Florentine host, was commissioned by consent of the Ghibellines in the camp which were meditating the treason, to enter Siena; whereupon he fled on horseback from the camp to make known to the Florentine refugees how the city of Siena was to be betrayed, and how the Florentines were well equipped, and with great strength of horse and foot, and to urge those within not to advise battle. And when he was come unto Siena, and these things had been disclosed to the said M. Farinata and M. Gherardo, the plotters, they said thus to him: "Thou wilt slay us, if thou spreadest this news throughout Siena, inasmuch as fear will fall upon every man, but we desire that thou shouldest say the contrary; for if we do not fight while we have these Germans we are dead men, and shall never return to Florence, and for us death and defeat would be better than to crawl about the world any longer:" and their counsel was to try the fortune of battle. Razzante, instructed by these two aforesaid, determined and promised to speak thus; and with a garland on his head, on horseback with the said two, showing great gladness, he came to the parliament to the palace where were all the people of Siena and the Germans and other allies; and then, with a joyful countenance, he told great news from the Ghibelline party and the traitors in camp, how the host was ill-ordered and ill-led, and disunited, and that if they attacked them boldly, they would certainly be discomfited. And Razzante having made his false report, at the cry of the people they all moved to arms, calling out: "Battle, battle." The Germans demanded a promise of double pay, and this was given them; and their troop led the attack from the gate of San Vito, which was to have been given over to the Florentines; and the other horse and foot sallied out after them. When those among the host which were expecting that the gate should be given to them saw the Germans and the other horse and foot sally forth towards them from Siena in battle array, they marvelled greatly, and were sore dismayed, seeing their sudden approach and unlooked-for attack; and they were the more dismayed that many Ghibellines who were in the host, both on horse and foot, beholding the enemy's troops approaching, fled from divers quarters, as the treason had been ordered; and among them were the della Pressa and they of the Abati, and many others. But the Florentines and their allies did not on this account neglect to array their troops, and await the battle; and when the German troop violently charged the troop of Florentine horse (where was the standard of the cavalry of the commonwealth, which was borne by M. Jacopo del Nacca, a man of great valour, of the house of the Pazzi in Florence), that traitor of a M. Bocca degli Abati, which Inf. xxxii. 78-111. was in his troop and near to him, struck the said M. Jacopo with his sword, and cut off the hand with which he held the standard, and immediately he died. And this done, the horsemen and people, beholding the standard fallen, and that there were traitors among them, and that they were so strongly assailed by the Germans, in a short time were put to flight. But because the horsemen of Florence first perceived the treason, there were but thirty-six men of name of the cavalry slain and taken. But the great mortality and capture was of the foot soldiers of Florence, and of Lucca, and of Orvieto, because they shut themselves up in the castle of Montaperti, and were all taken; but more than 2,500 of them were left dead upon the field, and more than Inf. x. 85-87. 1,500 were taken captive of the best of the people of Florence, from every house, and of Lucca, and of the other allies which were in the said battle. And thus was abased the arrogance of the ungrateful and proud people of Florence. And this was on a Tuesday, the 4th day of September, in the year of Christ 1260; and there was left the carroccio and the bell called Martinella, with an untold amount of booty, of the baggage pertaining to the Florentines and their allies. And thus was routed and destroyed the ancient Popolo of Florence, which had continued in so many victories and in great lordship and state for ten years.

§ 79.—How the Guelfs of Florence, after the said discomfiture, departed from Florence and went to Lucca.