[78]L. Pélissier,op. cit.
[78]L. Pélissier,op. cit.
Louis XII. in Milan—Hatred of the French rule—Return of Duke Lodovico—His march to Como and triumphal entry into Milan—Trivulzio and the French retire to Mortara—Surrender of the Castello of Milan, of Pavia and Novara, to the Moro—His want of men and money—Arrival of La Trémouille's army—Lodovico besieged in Novara and betrayed to the French king by the Swiss—Rejoicings at Rome and Venice—Triumph of the Borgias—Sufferings of the Milanese—Leonardo's letter.
Louis XII. in Milan—Hatred of the French rule—Return of Duke Lodovico—His march to Como and triumphal entry into Milan—Trivulzio and the French retire to Mortara—Surrender of the Castello of Milan, of Pavia and Novara, to the Moro—His want of men and money—Arrival of La Trémouille's army—Lodovico besieged in Novara and betrayed to the French king by the Swiss—Rejoicings at Rome and Venice—Triumph of the Borgias—Sufferings of the Milanese—Leonardo's letter.
During the next month Louis XII. remained in the Castello of Milan, joining in hunting-parties with his guests, the Duke of Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua, and being royally entertained at banquets by the Viscontis and Borromeos and Giangiacomo Trivulzio. Isabella d'Este, eager to ingratiate herself with the French, invited Ligny to visit her, and sent dogs and falcons, as well as trout from Garda, to the king, who told La Trémouille that he had never tasted better fish. And when Cardinal d'Amboise expressed his admiration for Andrea Mantegna's art and told the marquis that in his opinion he was the first master in the world, Isabella hastened to promise him a picture by the great Paduan's hand.
It was a sad time for the followers of Lodovico. The faithful servants who had followed him into exile, saw their lands and houses confiscated and divided among the victors. The Count of Ligny's mother occupied the Marchesino Stanga's house, and Trivulzio's triumph over his rivals was complete when he received the Moro's palace of Vigevano and Messer Galeazzo's fair domain of Castel Novo as his share of thespoils. But no one suffered more keenly or shed more bitter tears than Giangaleazzo's widow, Duchess Isabella. She had unwisely declined Lodovico's advice to leave Milan when the war broke out, and take refuge on her uncle Frederic's galleys at Genoa. Instead of this, she remained in Milan and sent her son, a child of eight, whom contemporaries describe as beautiful as a cherub, but weak in mind, like his father, to meet Louis XII. on his arrival at the Castello. But, to her dismay, the king refused to allow the young prince to return to his mother, and when he left Milan on the 7th of November, he took the boy with him to France, and made him Abbot of Noirmoutiers, where he lived in retirement until, twelve years later, he broke his neck out hunting. After her son's departure, the unhappy mother, who signed herself "Ysabella de Aragonia Sforcia unica in disgrazia" in letters of this period, finally left Milan. Early in 1500 she paid a visit to Isabella d'Este at Mantua, and then travelled by sea from Genoa to Naples, and spent the rest of her life in her principality of Bari. One of her daughters died as a child; the other, Bona, was betrothed to her cousin, Maximilian Sforza, when, in 1512, he was restored to his father's throne. It was Isabella's cherished dream that her last remaining child should reign over the duchy of Milan, where, after all, her own brightest days had been spent; but before the marriage could take place, the young duke had been compelled to abdicate his throne and taken captive to France. His betrothed bride, Princess Bona, married Sigismund, King of Poland, in 1518, and six years later her mother died at Naples.
After Louis XII. left Milan, the severity of Trivulzio's rule, and the violence and rapacity of the French soldiery, led to increasing discontent among the people, who sighed for the good old days of Duke Lodovico, when at least their life and property, and the honour of their wives and daughters, were safe. Even on the day of the French king's entry, Marino Sanuto remarks that Louis was displeased to find how few of the people cried "France!" while the Venetians were greeted with shouts of "Dogs!" and hardly dared show themselves in the streets. "We have given the king his dinner," said a Milanese citizen; "you will be served up for his supper!" Already, on the 21stof September, the annalist of Ferrara wrote: "The French are hated in Milan for their rudeness and arrogance." And a private letter, written by a Venetian from Milan, in October, confirms Castiglione's account of the confusion and disorder that reigned in the Castello.
"The French are dirty people. The king goes to hear mass without a single candle, and eats alone, in the eyes of all the people. In the Castello there is nothing but foulness and dirt, such as Signor Lodovico would not have allowed for the whole world! The French captains spit upon the floor of the rooms, and the soldiers outrage women in the streets. The Ducheto has been taken from his mother, who weeps all day long. Galeazzo is with Lodovico, Caiazzo with King Louis, Fracassa and Antonio Maria are at Ferrara, and keep up an active correspondence with Lodovico and Galeazzo."[79]
Meanwhile, at Innsbrück, the exiled duke was anxiously watching the course of events, and awaiting a favourable moment to return and claim his own. "I will beat the drum in winter and dance all the summer," was the motto which he adopted, together with the device of a tambourine, in reference to his future hopes. A letter which the well-known preacher, Celso Maffei of Verona, addressed to him, moralizing over the causes of his fall, and exhorting him to observe the laws of public and private justice, gave Lodovico an opportunity of issuing a manifesto to his adherents. In this curious document he defends his conduct, and declares that he has no reason to reproach himself for anything in his past life. He has always led a Christian life, given abundant alms, listened to frequent masses, and said many prayers, especially since the death of his dear wife Beatrice. He has ever had a strict regard for justice, no complaint of his subjects has ever been left unheard, and since his fall, no one has ever reproached him with injustice excepting the Borromeos, whose alleged wrongs he explains, in a manner to justify his own action. His whole desire has been to love his subjects as his own children, and seek peace and prosperity for his realm. If he raised heavy taxes, it was only in order to defend his people from their enemies, and he never waged war excepting to resist the invasion of hostile armies. Whatevermistakes he may have made, the Milanese have never had reason to complain of him, and have proved this by their fidelity, only a few captains having sold the fortresses in their charge and joined the French. And in conclusion he appeals to his old subjects to restore him once more to the throne of his ancestors.
His appeal was not in vain. Niccolo della Bussola and the architect Jacopo da Ferrara, Leonardo's friend, arrived at Innsbrück in December, bringing the duke word of the disaffection that reigned in Milan, and of the prayers that were daily offered up for his return. Cheered by these tidings, Lodovico determined to leave nothing undone on his part. He pawned his jewels and began to raise forces both in the Tyrol and Switzerland. In his eagerness to find allies, he applied to Henry VII. of England, and even invited the Turks to attack the Venetians in Friuli. Maximilian helped him with men and money, as far as his slender resources would allow, and summoned the German Diet to meet at Augsburg in February, in the hope of obtaining support from the electors. But the Moro's impatience could brook no delay. At Christmas he came to Brixen, and there succeeded in collecting a force of eight or ten thousand Swiss and GermanLandsknechten, supported by a body of Stradiots and his own Milanese horse. At the head of this little army, Lodovico left Brixen on the 24th of January, and set out on his gallant but ill-fated attempt to recover his dominions.
Meanwhile Girolamo Landriano, the General of the Umiliati, who had been the first to yield Milan to the French, was actively engaged in plotting the restoration of Lodovico, with the help of the leading ecclesiastics in the city. "To say the truth," writes Jean d'Auton, "the whole duchy of Milan was secretly in favour of Lodovico, and all the Lombards were swollen with poison, and ready like vipers to shoot out the deadly venom of their treason." A general rising was fixed for Candlemas Day, but so well was the secret kept, that not a whisper reached the vigilant ears of Trivulzio, and all remained quiet until the last few days of January. On the 24th, a band of children at play, engaged in a mimic fight between the supposed French and Milanese armies, ending with the rout of the French and aprocession in which the effigy of King Louis was dragged through the streets tied to a donkey's tail. Some French soldiers, who witnessed the scene, fired on the children, killing one and wounding others, upon which the citizens rose in arms, and drove the foreigners back into the Castello. This was followed by a more serious riot on the 31st of January, and Trivulzio gave orders for a general disarming of the people, which, however, he was unable to enforce. Already news had reached Como that the Moro had crossed the Alps, and was on his way to Milan.
The course of Lodovico's victorious march is best described in a letter which he addressed to his sister-in-law, Isabella d'Este, on the day after his triumphal entry into his old capital.
"Illustrious Lady and dearest Sister,
"On the 24th of last month we left Brixen by the grace of God, and crossed Monte Braulio into the Valtellina with a body ofLandsknechten. Monsignore the Vice-chancellor, Messer Galeaz, and Messer Visconti, went on before with the Swiss and Grison infantry, by way of Coire and Chiavenna, and reached the lake of Como on the 30th. Here M. Galeaz fitted out eleven ships, with which he attacked and put to flight the enemy's fleet, and took a fortress occupied by the French. Both the Castle of Bellagio and the town of Torno surrendered to His Reverence, who pushed on with his troops to Como, where he met Monsignore Sanseverino arriving from the Valtellina, and the two cardinals together did the rest. Monsieur de Ligny and the Count of Musocho"—Trivulzio's son—"who held the town with 1500 horse, fled at the approach of the two Monsignori, knowing the feeling of the people, and his Eminence entered Como amidst the greatest rejoicing in the world. M. Galeaz and his light horse pursued the enemy, and Monsignore pushed on towards Milan, hearing from our friends there that his arrival was impatiently desired. On Friday, the last of January, some of the people rose in arms, and M. Gian Giacomo fortified the Corte Vecchia and the Duomo, and, with 2000 infantry, marched through the streets of the armourers, the builders, and the hatters, to make a public demonstration.But our friends waited, knowing that the right moment had not yet come. On Sunday, the 2nd, the French captains, hearing of the cardinals' approach, and knowing the strong feeling in the city, assembled their troops early on the Piazza of the Castello. Our friends were well prepared, and at the same moment all the bells rang, and the whole city rose in arms. More than 60,000 people attacked the French, and drove them back into the Castello, where they spent the night, without forage for their horses, and on Monday morning, the day before yesterday, they fled from Milan in terror. The bridges had been broken down to hinder their passage, but, luckily for them, the Ticino was low, and they crossed the bed of the river, and retired to Gaiata in safety. And on Monday the Vice-chancellor entered Milan, amidst universal rejoicing, and endeavoured to give chase to the French army, but had not a sufficient number of horse to effect his object.
"On Monday morning we reached Como, after taking possession of the castle on the rock of Musso, and were joyfully received all along the lake, by the chief citizens and gentlemen of the district, who came out in boats to meet us. At the gates of the city, the whole population received us with incredible rejoicing and loud acclamations. Yesterday we slept at Mirabello, a house of the Landriani, about a mile out of Milan. All the way from Como crowds of gentlemen and citizens streamed out to meet us on foot or on horseback, in continually increasing numbers, and cries ofMoro! Moro!and shouts of joy greeted our steps, whichever way we turned. This morning at sunrise we left Mirabello, and entered the suburb of the Porta Nova, at the hour indicated by our astrologer, but alighted at Gian Francesco da Vimercato's garden, and waited there a little while, to give the gentlemen time to meet us, and enter the city.
"The two cardinals rode out to meet us, and Messer Galeaz and many gentlemen, with a great number of men-at-arms on foot and horseback, and we marched all through the city and up to the Duomo. All the streets and windows and roofs were thronged with people shouting our name, with such rapture that it would be a thing almost incredible if we had not seen it ourselves. And so with universal rejoicing we have returned here,by the grace of God, and already we hear that Lodi, Piacenza, Pavia, Tortona, and Alessandria have driven out the French, and returned of their own free will to our allegiance. The castle of Trezzo has surrendered, and that of Cassano has been fortified in our name by the Marchesino, and all the towns on the Venetian frontier have declared for us, and before long we hope to have recovered the whole state. The Castello here is still held by 300 French soldiers, but it is badly provided with victuals and fuel, and although they have saltpetre, there is no charcoal to make gunpowder, so we are in good hope of recovering the place, but do not mean to let this delay us for a moment in pursuing our victorious course. The enemy is in full retreat, and we mean to drive them back to the mountain passes, and have already sent M. Galeaz early this morning with the infantry, and all the horse that we have, in their pursuit. Monsignore Sanseverino is gone to-day, and we follow to-morrow with all the horse we can collect and a good number of infantry, the better to carry out our plans. We hear that the soldiers, which were in Romagna, to the number of 250 lances, besides infantry, have been recalled, and have reached Parma, and feel sure that your lord, the Marquis of Mantua, and our other allies will pursue them, and with their help, and the general rising of the people, we trust to obtain complete victory. We tell your Highness these things the more gladly because we feel sure that you have been grieved for our trouble, and will rejoice with us at these fortunate successes. You will forgive me for not writing in my own hand, because of pressing engagements.
Lodovicus Maria Sfortia,,Anglus Dux Mediolani, etc., B. Chalcus.
Milan, February 5, 1500."[80]
At the same time Lodovico wrote to Francesco Gonzaga—
"This morning we entered Milan, and it would be impossible to describe the immense jubilation of the whole city and all classes of people, or the extraordinary demonstrations of affection and good-will that we have received on all sides. Our intention is to follow up our victory with the utmost speed, to effect the complete destruction of our enemies, and secure the passesneglecting no precaution. To-day we have sent Monsignore Sanseverino on with ten thousand Germans, and intend to follow with the remaining forces ourselves to-morrow. I hope your Highness will attack and destroy the troops on their way from Romagna, and if they are already gone, join with the forces of our allies and the men of the country in their pursuit, according to the orders that we have already issued."
This sudden revolution took all Italy by surprise. When couriers arrived in Mantua and Ferrara, saying that Duke Lodovico had that day entered Milan in triumph, people refused to believe the news. But it was true. "The Moro has returned," wrote Jean d'Auton, "and has entered Milan, where he has been received as if he were a God from heaven, great and small shoutingMoro!with one accord. Verily these Lombards seem to adore him. One and all implore him to drive out the French and become their prince again." When the people saw the well-known form of their old duke riding through the streets, clad in rich crimson damask, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. The two cardinals were at his side, and Messer Galeazzo rode behind him, in a suit of glittering brocade, with tall white plumes in his cap and white shoes, "better fitted," remarks the chronicler, "for the service of Venus than for that of Mars." They took up their abode in the old palace of the Corte Vecchia, near the Duomo, since the Castello was in the hands of the enemy, and the duke issued a proclamation, calling on all loyal subjects to restore the pictures, hangings, and other rare and precious objects, which had been taken from the Castello. The wealthy citizens parted freely with their gold and jewels, the Prior and friars of S. Maria delle Grazie melted down their sumptuous altar-plate, and the canons of the Duomo brought the duke those costly gifts which he had made them in his days of prosperity. Having thus succeeded in raising 100,000 ducats, Lodovico assembled the councillors, and harangued them in eloquent language, reminding them of all they had suffered from the French tyranny, and calling on them to join him in delivering their land from this intolerable yoke. "I, too, have been guilty of mistakes and faults in the past," he added, "but I will repair them. All I ask is to be your captain, not your lord. Help me to drive out the stranger."
Before the week was over, Jacopo Andrea and his friends had succeeded in obtaining the capitulation of the French garrison, and the Castello was occupied by Cardinal Ascanio, whom Lodovico left with a small force at Milan, while he himself went on to Pavia. It was on one of the few days which he spent in Milan that his meeting with the Chevalier Bayard took place, as recorded in the joyous chronicle of the loyal servant. After a skirmish with some of Messer Galeazzo's horse at Binasco, the young French knight who had been too eager in the pursuit of his foes was taken prisoner, and brought before the duke at Milan. Lodovico, wondering at his youth, asked him what brought him in such hurried guise to Milan, and ended by restoring his sword and horse, and sending him back to his friends under the escort of a herald, to tell Ligny of the courteous treatment which he had received from the Moro, and to say what a gallant gentleman Duke Lodovico was—"qui pour peu de chose n'est pas aisé à étonner."
At Pavia the Moro was received with the same enthusiastic joy, and during the fortnight that he remained there the Castello was bombarded and taken by his artillery. The next week his native town of Vigevano welcomed him with open arms, and the French garrison was forced to quit the citadel. But the Venetians held Lodi and Piacenza, and the Duke of Ferrara and Marquis of Mantua, however much they wished their kinsman well, and secretly disliked the French, did not dare to incur their vengeance by any rash action. In vain the Moro wrote passionate appeals to Francesco Gonzaga from Pavia and Vigevano, urging him to come to his help before it was too late, and pointing out how the safety and well-being of Mantua depended upon that of Milan. All the marquis ventured to do was to send his brother Giovanni, with a troop of horse, to help Lodovico in the siege of Novara, which he now attacked with the aid of fifty pieces of artillery sent from Innsbrück.
Meanwhile his foes were every day gaining strength. King Louis had hastily collected a large army of French lances and Swiss mercenaries under La Trémouille at Asti, who entered Lombardy, and marched to relieve Trivulzio and Ligny at Mortara. On the other hand, the French troops who had gonewith Yves d'Allégre to assist Cæsar Borgia in the siege of Forli and conquest of Romagna, speedily retraced their steps to relieve the garrison of Novara. But they could not hold out against the furious assaults of the Germans and Burgundians, and on the 21st of March the castle surrendered, and the garrison marched out with the honours of war. Two days afterwards La Trémouille reached Vercelli at the head of his powerful army, and succeeded in effecting a junction with Trivulzio's forces. This put an end to the Moro's brilliant successes, and it became evident to all that the unequal contest could not be maintained much longer. Seeing himself outnumbered and surrounded on all sides, Lodovico threw himself into Novara, and early in April was besieged there in his turn. But the Swiss, who formed the bulk of his force, murmured because they were not allowed to pillage the towns, and began to communicate secretly with their comrades in the hostile camp. The Moro had sent Galeazzo Visconti to Berne, and at his request the Helvetian Diet issued orders to the Swiss in both armies, forbidding them to fight against their comrades. But the French envoy, Antoine de Bussy, bribed the herald who bore the message to Novara, and only the Swiss in the Moro's service received orders to lay down their arms. The result was that when Lodovico's captains led them out to meet the enemy, they refused to fight, and withdrew in confusion into the city. In vain the duke offered them his silver plate and jewels, till he could obtain money from Milan, and begged them to return to the battle. In vain Galeazzo, at the head of his Lombards, charged the foe gallantly, killing many of them with his artillery and putting the others to flight. He and his brothers fought desperately, till the sword was broken in Galeazzo's hands and Fracassa was badly wounded. But all their heroism was of no avail. Trivulzio was already in secret treaty with the Swiss, who sent a deputy to the French camp, asking for leave to lay down their arms and return to their own country.
Antonio Grumello, who was in Novara at the time, describes how late one evening, when the duke sat playing chess with Fracassa in the bishop's palace, where he lodged, a spy was led in, who told him that Trivulzio had boasted that the Morowould be his captive in less than a fortnight. "What do you say?" asked Lodovico of Almodoro, the astrologer, who had followed him into exile. But Almodoro shook his head. It was impossible; no planet foretold such a disaster; on the contrary, all the signs were propitious, and he spoke confidently of coming victory. "On Wednesday in Holy Week," continued the chronicler, "the betrayal of Judas began." That day, as Galeazzo was preparing for another sally, the Swiss came to him in a body and laid down their arms, saying they would not fight against their comrades in the other camp. Already one of the gates had been treacherously opened, and the French were in the city. In this extremity an Albanian captain offered the duke a fleet Arab horse and begged him to escape. But Lodovico refused to desert his friends, and would only accept the proposal of the Swiss captains that he and his companions should assume the garb of common soldiers and mingle in the ranks. He covered his crimson silk vest and scarlet hose, hid his long hair under a tight cap, and took a halberd in his hand. In this disguise he was preparing to file out of the camp in the ranks of the Grison troops, when a Swiss captain named Turman, and called Soprasasso by the Italians, betrayed him to the French. The Swiss, it is said, received 30,000 ducats as the price of blood from Trivulzio, but were discontented with the sum, and quarrelled violently over the gold among themselves; while the traitor had his head cut off on his return home, and such were the execrations heaped upon him by his comrades, that his wife and children were forced to change their name. "E lo quello"—"There he is"—were the words in which Turman pointed Lodovico out to a French captain, who immediately laid his hand on the duke's arm and arrested him in the name of King Louis. "Son contento," replied Lodovico, calmly; and made no further resistance. "I surrender," he said afterwards, "to my kinsman, Monsignore de Ligny." Accordingly he was delivered to Ligny, who treated him with all respect, and provided him with a horse and apparel suited to his rank.
It is said that at first he declined to meet Trivulzio, but the chronicler Prato describes an interview which took place between the duke and his former captain soon afterwards. Trivulzio, inwhose heart the old wrong still rankled, greeted his captive with the words, "It is you, Lodovico Sforza, who drove me out for the sake of a stranger, and, not content with this, have stirred the Milanese to rebellion." Lodovico merely shrugged his shoulders, and replied quietly, "Who among us can tell the reason why we love one man and hate another?"
"And so," adds Grumello, "poor Lodovico was taken captive, and with him Galeazzo and Fracassa; but Galeazzo became the prisoner of the Swiss, and was led away by these Helvetians on a black horse without a saddle, riding on a sack. And I saw this with my own eyes."
All three of the Sanseverini brothers were claimed by the Bailiff of Dijon as his prisoners, but Antonio Maria managed to escape from their hands, and both Fracassa and Galeazzo were ransomed by their relatives for one thousand ducats a-piece at the end of a few weeks. Fracassa sought his wife at Ferrara, and Galeazzo took refuge with the other Milanese exiles at Innsbrück. The Marchesino Stanga, who was also taken captive at Novara, was imprisoned in the Castello of Milan, and died there before the end of the year.
On the evening of his capture, Wednesday, the 10th of April, Lodovico was taken to the citadel of Novara, where he remained for a week. His faithful friends, the good friars of S. Maria delle Grazie, supplied their illustrious patron with a set of silk and gold and silver brocade vests, hats and shoes to match, scarlet hose, and fine Reims linen shirts. All Lodovico himself asked for was a copy of Dante's "Divina Commedia," that he might study it during his captivity. On the 17th he was conducted by La Trémouille, accompanied by four servants and two pages, to Susa, where he became so ill that he was unable to continue the journey. After a few days' rest he recovered, and was taken over the mountains to Lyons, in charge of M. de Crussol and the king's band of archers.
Great were the rejoicings among the Moro's enemies when the news of his capture was made known. King Louis ordered solemnTe Deumsto be chanted in Notre Dame of Paris, and himself went in state to give thanks in the church of Our Ladyof Comfort at Lyons, while he extolled La Trémouille as another Clovis or Charles Martel in his despatches. The Pope gave the messenger who brought the news a gift of a hundred ducats, for joy, he said, that the traitor-brood was annihilated. The Orsini lighted bonfires, and the jubilee rejoicings waxed louder and longer through the night. Cardinal Ascanio's palace, with all his treasures of art, was seized by Alexander VI., and his benefices were divided among the pontiff's creatures. In Venice the Piazza was illuminated and all the bells rung, while the children and boatmen sang—
"Ora il Moro fa la danza,Viva Marco e 'l re di Franza!"
"Ora il Moro fa la danza,Viva Marco e 'l re di Franza!"
and dancing and pageants celebrated the downfall of the Republic's most dreaded foe. Even in Florence the citizens rejoiced over the fall of another tyrant, and raised a crucifix at the doors of the Palazzo Pubblico to commemorate the victory of freedom. Had they known it, they were in reality celebrating the loss of national independence, the beginning of a long reign of slavery and foreign rule. Seldom has the cause of freedom and civilization suffered a worse blow than this betrayal of the Moro at Novara, which left the Milanese a prey to French invaders, and planted the yoke of the stranger firmly on the neck of Northern Italy.
At the news of his brother's capture, Ascanio Sforza left Milan to seek refuge across the Alps, but was himself taken prisoner, with his nephew Ermes, at the Castle of Rivolta, near Piacenza, by the Venetians, who delivered them up to the French king. Both were taken to France, and the cardinal was detained in honourable captivity in the citadel of Bourges, until, in January, 1502, he was released to take part in the conclave that elected Pius III. With Trivulzio's return to Milan a reign of terror began. The city was heavily fined, the partisans of the Sforza were exiled or imprisoned, Niccolo da Bussola and Leonardo's beloved friend, Jacopo Andrea, were hung, and their limbs drawn and quartered and exposed to view on the battlements of the Castello, in spite of Duke Ercole's intercession on behalf of the distinguished architect. Pavia was sacked by the French, andLombardy paid with tears and blood for its loyalty to the race of Sforza. The period of anarchy and confusion which followed is described in mournful language by the Milanese chroniclers. During the next forty years, the city was continually taken and sacked by contending armies, her fair parks and gardens were trampled underfoot by foreign soldiery, and her beautiful churches and palaces destroyed by shells and cannon-balls. French and German ruffians tore the clothes off the backs of the poor, and snatched the bread from the lips of starving children. People were everywhere seen dying of hunger and the grass growing in the squares. There were no voices in the streets, often no services in the churches. Silence and desolation reigned throughout the unhappy city. "Blessed indeed," sighs the writer, "were those who were able to seek shelter in flight." Beyond the borders of Lombardy, there were others who grieved over the Moro's fall. In Mantua and Ferrara his friends shed secret tears over his fate. "Duke Ercole is very sad," writes our friend the annalist, "for his son-in-law's sake, and so are all the people." And Caterina Sforza, in her lonely captivity within the walls of the Castel' Sant' Angelo, wept over her uncle's ruin and the downfall of her race. Far away in Florence, one artist, who had lived in close intimacy with the Moro for many a long year, who had discussed a hundred problems and planned all manner of mighty works with him, heard the news with a pang of regret. Leonardo had been in Venice with Lorenzo da Pavia, the great organ-master, when the wonderful tidings of the duke's return had come. He and Lorenzo must have smiled when they saw the long faces and sinister air of the grave Venetian senators at this unexpected turn of affairs. Eagerly they watched and waited and wondered if these things could be really true, and if the Moro were to reign once more on his fathers' throne, and carry out all the great dreams of his soul. And now it was all over, and the French were supreme in Milan, and the great horse on which the master had spent the best years of his life was used as a target for the arrows of Gascon archers. The duke and Messer Galeaz were captives, Sforzas and Viscontis were in prison or exile, and Jacopo Andrea had died a cruel death. On Leonardo the blow fell with crushing force; but heheld his peace, and only the few broken sentences in his notebook remain to tell of his shattered hopes and of his inconsolable regrets.
"The Saletta above ... (left unfinished).
"Bramante's buildings ... (left undone).
"The Castellano a prisoner ...
"Visconti in prison—his son dead.
"Gian della Rosa's revenues seized.
"Bergonzio"—the duke's treasurer—"deprived of his fortune.
"The duke has lost state, fortune, and liberty, and not one of his works has been completed."
In these last melancholy words we read Lodovico Sforza's epitaph, pronounced over him by Leonardo the Florentine.
[79]M. Sanuto,Diarii, iii.
[79]M. Sanuto,Diarii, iii.
[80]Luzio-Renier,op. cit., p. 672.
[80]Luzio-Renier,op. cit., p. 672.
Lodovico Sforza enters Lyons as a captive—His imprisonment at Pierre-Encise and Lys Saint-Georges—Laments over Il Moro in the popular poetry of France and Italy—Efforts of the Emperor Maximilian to obtain his release—Ascanio and Ermes Sforza released—Lodovico removed to Loches—Paolo Giovio's account of his captivity—His attempt to escape—Dungeon at Loches—Death of Lodovico Sforza—His burial in S. Maria delle Grazie.
Lodovico Sforza enters Lyons as a captive—His imprisonment at Pierre-Encise and Lys Saint-Georges—Laments over Il Moro in the popular poetry of France and Italy—Efforts of the Emperor Maximilian to obtain his release—Ascanio and Ermes Sforza released—Lodovico removed to Loches—Paolo Giovio's account of his captivity—His attempt to escape—Dungeon at Loches—Death of Lodovico Sforza—His burial in S. Maria delle Grazie.
On the 2nd of May, 1500, barely a month after Lodovico Sforza's triumphant return to Milan, the ancient city of Lyons witnessed a strange and mournful procession, in which he was again the central figure. That day the King of France's captive was led along the banks of the swift Rhone and through the Grande Rue up to the fortress of Pierre-Encise, on the top of the steep hill that crowns the old Roman city. The scene has been described in a well-known letter by an eye-witness, the Venetian ambassador Benedetto Trevisano, one of the envoys who had been sent, three years before, to meet the emperor on his descent into Italy, and whom the Duke of Milan had entertained royally at Vigevano. The fierce and vindictive tone of the writer, the exultant spirit in which he triumphs over the fallen foe, is another proof of the terror and hatred which the Moro inspired in Venice. Trevisano's letter was written on the evening of the 2nd of May, and addressed to the Doge.
"To-day, before two o'clock, Signor Lodovico was brought into the city. The following was the order of the procession: first came twelve officers of the city guard, to restrain the people who thronged the streets from shouting. Then came the Governorof Lyons and Provost of Justice on horseback, and then the said Signor Lodovico, clad in a black camlet vest with black hose and riding-boots, and a black clothberretta, which he held most of the time in his hand. He looked about him as if determined to hide his feelings in this great change of fortune, but his face was very pale and he looked very ill, although he had been shaved this morning, and his arms trembled and he shook all over. Close beside him rode the captain of the king's archers, followed by a hundred of his men. In this order they led him all through the town, up to the castle on the hill, where he will be well guarded for the next week, until the iron cage is ready, which will be his room both by night and day. The cage, I hear, is very strong, and made of iron framed in wood, in such a manner that the iron bars, instead of breaking under a file or any other instrument, would throw out sparks of fire. One thing I must not forget to tell you. The ambassador of Spain and I were together at a window when Signor Lodovico passed, and when the Spaniard was pointed out to him, he took off his hat and bowed. And being told that I was the ambassador of your Serene Highness, he stopped, and seemed about to speak. But I did not move, and the captain of the archers, who rode by him, said, 'Go on—go on!' Afterwards the captain mentioned this to the king, who said, 'Do you mean that he refused to pay you any reverence?' adding that such men as this who do not keep faith are bad, and so on. And I replied that I should have felt shame rather than honour if I had received any sign of courtesy from a person of this kind. The king was in his palace, and had seen Signor Lodovico pass, and with him were many other lords and gentlemen, who spoke much of the Moro. His Christian Majesty said that he had decided not to send him to Loches as he had intended, because at certain seasons of the year he himself goes there with his court for his amusement, and would rather not be there with him, as he does not wish to see him. So he has decided to send him to Lys in Berry, two leagues from the city of Bourges, where the king has a very strong castle with trenches wider than those of the Castello of Milan, full of water. This place is in the centre of France, and is kept by a gentleman, who was captain of the archers when his Majesty was Duke ofOrleans, and had a body of tried guards who were trained by the king himself. When the Moro alighted from the mule which he rode, he was carried into the castle, and is, I am told, so weak that he cannot walk a step without help. From this I judge that his days will be few. I commend myself humbly to your Serene Highness.
Benedictus Trevisanus.[81]Eques. Orator."
Fortunately, the iron cage seems to have been a fable invented by the Venetian ambassador, and from all accounts the prisoner was well and honourably treated, although the king absolutely refused his request to see him during the fortnight that he remained in the fortress at Lyons. He received visits, however, from several of the king's ministers, who all remarked that if he had been guilty of some foolish actions his words were remarkably wise—"toutefois moult sagement parloit." Anger gave place to pity at the sight of this victim who had suffered so terrible a reverse of fortune, and the Benedictine chronicler, Jean d'Auton, deplores the sad fate of this unfortunate prince, who, after many golden days of wealth and prosperity, was doomed to end his life in weary and lonely captivity far from house and friends: "Somme, si le pauvre Seigneur captif, de deuil inconsolable avoit le cœur serrè a nul devoit sembler merveilles." The sorrowful destiny of the "infelice Duca," who had once boasted himself to be the favourite of fortune—"Il Figlio della Fortuna"—became the burden of popular poetry, alike in France and Italy. Jean d'Auton himself gives vent to his feelings in an elegy on the vanity of earthly glories—
"Si Ludovic, qui jadys pleine cacqueHeut de ducatz et pouvoir magnifique,Est en exil, sans targe, escu ne placque,Captif, afflict, plus mausain que cung heticque,Et que, de main hostile et inimique,Malheur le fiere rudement et estocque—Gloire mondaine est fragile et caducque."
"Si Ludovic, qui jadys pleine cacqueHeut de ducatz et pouvoir magnifique,Est en exil, sans targe, escu ne placque,Captif, afflict, plus mausain que cung heticque,Et que, de main hostile et inimique,Malheur le fiere rudement et estocque—Gloire mondaine est fragile et caducque."
The grief of the Milanese bards for their duke's cruel fate found utterance in the following lament:
Son quel duca in MilanoChe compianto sto in dolore ...Io diceva che un sel DioEra in cielo e un Moro in terra—E secondo il mio disioIo faveva pace e guerraSon quel duca di Milano," etc.
Son quel duca in MilanoChe compianto sto in dolore ...Io diceva che un sel DioEra in cielo e un Moro in terra—E secondo il mio disioIo faveva pace e guerraSon quel duca di Milano," etc.
Fausto Andrelino wrote a Latin poem beginning with the lines—
"Ille ego sum Maurus, franco qui captus ab hosteExemplum instabilis non leve sortis eo;"
"Ille ego sum Maurus, franco qui captus ab hosteExemplum instabilis non leve sortis eo;"
and Jean Marot found inspiration in a Venetian song—"Ogni fumo viene al basso"—which he rendered in the following lines, alluding to the legend of the Moro's fresco in the Castello of Milan:—
"Jadiz fist paindre une dame, embelliePar sur sa robe, des villes d'YtalieEt luy au près tenant des epoussetes,Voullant dire, par superbe follie,Que l'Ytalie estoit toute sonillieEt qu'il voulloit faire les villes nettes.Le roi Loys, voulant ravoir ses mettes,Par bonne guerre luy a fait tel ennuyQue l'Ytalie est nettoyé de lui!Chose usurpée legier est consommée,Comme argent vif qui retourne en fumée."
"Jadiz fist paindre une dame, embelliePar sur sa robe, des villes d'YtalieEt luy au près tenant des epoussetes,Voullant dire, par superbe follie,Que l'Ytalie estoit toute sonillieEt qu'il voulloit faire les villes nettes.Le roi Loys, voulant ravoir ses mettes,Par bonne guerre luy a fait tel ennuyQue l'Ytalie est nettoyé de lui!Chose usurpée legier est consommée,Comme argent vif qui retourne en fumée."
From Lyons the captive duke was removed to Lys Saint-Georges in Berry, where he remained during the next four years in the charge of Gilbert Bertrand, the king's old captain of the guard. He was allowed to take exercise in the precincts of the castle and to fish in the moat. According to Sanuto, he was not wholly cut off from his friends. "Since he likes to know what is happening in the world outside, the king allows him to receive letters and to hear the news." But his health suffered from the confinement, and in the summer of 1501, he became so ill that Louis XII., who was hunting in the neighbourhood, sent his doctor, Maitre Salomon, to see him. The physician was shocked at the prisoner's altered appearance; his long hair, as welearn from a contemporary miniature, had turned entirely white, and there were black circles round his eyes. He sighed constantly, complained of the faithless subjects who had caused his ruin, and asked eagerly for the latest news of the treaty with the King of the Romans. Maitre Salomon told the king that he believed Signor Lodovico was losing his reason, and his account moved Louis so much that he sent to Milan for one of the duke's favourite dwarfs, in order to beguile the weary hours of captivity. Meanwhile, in justice to Maximilian, it must be said that he was untiring in his efforts to obtain the release of his friend and kinsman. For many years he steadily refused to grant Louis XII. the investiture of Milan, unless Lodovico was set at liberty, and repeated his solicitations to this effect with the most unwearied pertinacity. On this point, however, the French king was inexorable. He knew the hold which the Moro had retained on the hearts of his subjects, and would not run the risk of another rebellion by allowing Lodovico to join his children at Innsbrück. At the prayer of the Empress Bianca, he released her brother, Ermes Sforza, in 1502, and a year later allowed Ascanio Sforza to return to Rome, at the request of Cardinal d'Amboise, and give his vote in the papal conclave. After the accession of his old enemy, Giuliano della Rovere, to the papal throne, Cardinal Sforza once more attained a high degree of honour and prosperity, and when he died, in 1505, Julius II. raised the magnificent monument in the church of S. Maria del Popolo to his memory. In February, 1504, the German ambassador made another strong appeal to the king on his master's behalf for Lodovico's release, but the only concession that he could obtain was some relaxation in the rigour of his treatment. The duke was removed to the château of Loches in Touraine, a healthy and beautiful spot, on the summit of a lofty hill, and was allowed greater liberty and more society.
All contemporary writers agree that he bore his long and tedious captivity with remarkable patience and fortitude. "I have heard," writes the Como historian, Paolo Giovio, "from Pier Francesco da Pontremoli, who was the duke's faithful companion and servant during his captivity, that he bore his miserable condition with pious resignation and sweetness, often sayingthat God had sent him these tribulations as a punishment for the sins of his youth, since nothing but the sudden might of destiny could have subverted the counsels of human wisdom."
Early in the spring of 1508, the Moro seems to have made a desperate attempt to escape. According to the Milanese chronicler Prato, he bribed one of his guardians, with gold supplied, as we learn, from Padre Gattico, by the friars of S. Maria delle Grazie, and succeeded in making his way out of the castle gates hidden in a waggon load of straw. But he lost his way in the woods that surround Loches, and after wandering all night in search of the road to Germany, he was discovered on the following day by blood-hounds, who were put upon his track. After this, his captivity became more severe. He was deprived of books and writing materials and cut off from intercourse with the outer world. It was then, too, in all likelihood, that he was confined in the subterranean dungeon, still shown as the Moro's prison. The cell, as visitors to Loches remember, is cut out of the solid rock, and light and air can only penetrate by one narrow loophole. There, tradition says, Leonardo's patron, the great duke who had once reigned over Milan, beguiled the weary hours of his captivity by painting red and blue devices and mottoes on his prison walls. Among these rude attempts at decoration we may still discover traces of a portrait of himself in casque and armour, and a sun-dial roughly scratched on the stone opposite the slit in the rock. And there, too, half effaced by the damp, are fragments of inscriptions, which tell the same piteous tale of regret for vanished days and weary longings for the end that would not come.