[*131]It is the work of Lorenzo Laurana.
[*131]It is the work of Lorenzo Laurana.
[132]The kindness of Mr. F.C. Brooke, of Ufford Place, Suffolk, enables me to supplement from his note-book this imperfect mention of the most interesting feature of the palace. "The small cabinet has shared a better fate than that of the remainder of the apartments, and requires little else than cleaning up to restore it to its original state. The ceiling is divided into several scanty compartments, of octangular form and relieved with gold, while the wainscoted walls are inlaid withtarsia, representing bookcases, or rather cupboards, with their contents, amongst which are a ship, a tambourine, military weapons, a cage with a parrot in it, and, as if for the sake of variety only, a few volumes of books, over one of which, containing music, with the word 'Rosabella' inscribed on its pages, is suspended a crucifix. On the central case opposite to the window, and occupying as it were the post of honour, is the Garter, with its motto, 'Honi soit q mal i pense'; a device which has been sculptured on the exterior of the stone architrave of the door of this apartment. It appears again intarsiain the recess of the window, where may also be seen, within circles, 'G. Ubaldo Dx.' and 'Fe Dux.' On the frieze, and in a single line interrupted only by the spaces occupied by the door and window, is the following inscription intarsia:—"'Aspicis æternos venerandæ matris alumnos,Doctrina excelsos ingenioque viros.Vi nuda cervice cadant ante........genu.Justiciam pietas vincit reverenda, nec ullumPœnitet ultrici succubuisse suæ.'"I might also have mentioned as amongst the devices, the crane standing on one leg, and holding, with the foot of the other which is raised, the stone he is to drop as a signal of alarm for his companions. Among other feigned contents of a bookcase are an hour-glass, guitar, and pair of compasses; in another are seen a dagger, dried fruits in a small basket made of thin wood, and a tankard; while in a third is represented an open book surmounted with the name of Guidobaldo, who probably made the description inscribed on the two pages of the volume, comprising verses 457 to 491 of the tenthÆneid."It is unnecessary here to introduce this long quotation; for the last combat and death of Pallas by the spear of Turnus, however happily described by Virgil, bear no traceable analogy to incidents in the Montefeltrian family. Mr. Brooke conjectures that it was recommended by the passage,—"Stat sua cuique dies; breve et irreparabile tempusOmnibus est vitæ; sed famam extendere factis,Hoc Virtutis opus:"a sentiment equally beautiful in itself, and appropriate to the fortunes of Guidobaldo; yet why not have given point to the epigram by isolating it from the inappropriate context?
[132]The kindness of Mr. F.C. Brooke, of Ufford Place, Suffolk, enables me to supplement from his note-book this imperfect mention of the most interesting feature of the palace. "The small cabinet has shared a better fate than that of the remainder of the apartments, and requires little else than cleaning up to restore it to its original state. The ceiling is divided into several scanty compartments, of octangular form and relieved with gold, while the wainscoted walls are inlaid withtarsia, representing bookcases, or rather cupboards, with their contents, amongst which are a ship, a tambourine, military weapons, a cage with a parrot in it, and, as if for the sake of variety only, a few volumes of books, over one of which, containing music, with the word 'Rosabella' inscribed on its pages, is suspended a crucifix. On the central case opposite to the window, and occupying as it were the post of honour, is the Garter, with its motto, 'Honi soit q mal i pense'; a device which has been sculptured on the exterior of the stone architrave of the door of this apartment. It appears again intarsiain the recess of the window, where may also be seen, within circles, 'G. Ubaldo Dx.' and 'Fe Dux.' On the frieze, and in a single line interrupted only by the spaces occupied by the door and window, is the following inscription intarsia:—
"I might also have mentioned as amongst the devices, the crane standing on one leg, and holding, with the foot of the other which is raised, the stone he is to drop as a signal of alarm for his companions. Among other feigned contents of a bookcase are an hour-glass, guitar, and pair of compasses; in another are seen a dagger, dried fruits in a small basket made of thin wood, and a tankard; while in a third is represented an open book surmounted with the name of Guidobaldo, who probably made the description inscribed on the two pages of the volume, comprising verses 457 to 491 of the tenthÆneid."
It is unnecessary here to introduce this long quotation; for the last combat and death of Pallas by the spear of Turnus, however happily described by Virgil, bear no traceable analogy to incidents in the Montefeltrian family. Mr. Brooke conjectures that it was recommended by the passage,—
a sentiment equally beautiful in itself, and appropriate to the fortunes of Guidobaldo; yet why not have given point to the epigram by isolating it from the inappropriate context?
[133]We have very few notices of his sporting tastes; but the Vatican collection of his letters includes one of the King of France, on sending, at his request, a brace of dogs.
[133]We have very few notices of his sporting tastes; but the Vatican collection of his letters includes one of the King of France, on sending, at his request, a brace of dogs.
[*134]The palace of Urbino was indeed the wonder of the age. Dennistoun, however, tells us little or nothing about Federigo's villas. The gardens of Lorenzo de' Medici at Poggio a Caiano were provided with every vegetable, both for ornament and use, which the most diligent search could supply. Indeed, his was one of the first collections of plants made in Europe. Alessandro Braccio, in a Latin poem addressed to Bernardo Bembo, gives a graphic account of it. Laurentian Library, Plut. LXXXVI., sup. cod. 41. Band. Cat., III., 787. The poem is given by Roscoe,Lorenzo de' Medici, App. XXV.
[*134]The palace of Urbino was indeed the wonder of the age. Dennistoun, however, tells us little or nothing about Federigo's villas. The gardens of Lorenzo de' Medici at Poggio a Caiano were provided with every vegetable, both for ornament and use, which the most diligent search could supply. Indeed, his was one of the first collections of plants made in Europe. Alessandro Braccio, in a Latin poem addressed to Bernardo Bembo, gives a graphic account of it. Laurentian Library, Plut. LXXXVI., sup. cod. 41. Band. Cat., III., 787. The poem is given by Roscoe,Lorenzo de' Medici, App. XXV.
[135]"Nunc ager Umbreni sub nomine, nuper OfelliDictus; erat nulli proprius, sed cedit in usumNunc mihi, nunc aliis."Horace,Sat., ii. 2.
[135]
[136]See, as to later statistics of the duchy, the Appendix to Vol. III.
[136]See, as to later statistics of the duchy, the Appendix to Vol. III.
[137]Sismondi says the 14th; Harris Nicolas the 15th or 16th; Baldi mentions the morrow of the Assumption, which would be the 16th; but Berni specifies the fourth hour, or midnight of Tuesday the 14th, which corresponds with the calendar of that year.
[137]Sismondi says the 14th; Harris Nicolas the 15th or 16th; Baldi mentions the morrow of the Assumption, which would be the 16th; but Berni specifies the fourth hour, or midnight of Tuesday the 14th, which corresponds with the calendar of that year.
[138]Gonfaloniere, originally signifying standard-bearer, was the title of supreme command in the papal armies, and is so used throughout these volumes when applied to the dukes of Urbino. In Florence, and other old republics, it meant the chief magistrate for the time, and it is still employed in the same sense throughout many towns, especially in the ecclesiastical states. The gonfalone, or banner of the Church, was and is now white, with the golden cross-keys, surmounted by the umbrella-shapedbaldachino, or canopy, usually carried over the Pope in processions. This device was borne on the armorial shields of the Gonfalonieri, impaled between their proper quarterings, as seen on the stamp outside of these volumes. The golden keys surmounted by a triple tiara is another common pontifical device, used in place of a crest.
[138]Gonfaloniere, originally signifying standard-bearer, was the title of supreme command in the papal armies, and is so used throughout these volumes when applied to the dukes of Urbino. In Florence, and other old republics, it meant the chief magistrate for the time, and it is still employed in the same sense throughout many towns, especially in the ecclesiastical states. The gonfalone, or banner of the Church, was and is now white, with the golden cross-keys, surmounted by the umbrella-shapedbaldachino, or canopy, usually carried over the Pope in processions. This device was borne on the armorial shields of the Gonfalonieri, impaled between their proper quarterings, as seen on the stamp outside of these volumes. The golden keys surmounted by a triple tiara is another common pontifical device, used in place of a crest.
[139]Muzio, p. 389.
[139]Muzio, p. 389.
[140]Ricotti(Storia delle Compagnie di Ventura in Italia, 1844, vol. III., pp. 191-201) ably reviews the evidence on both sides, and satisfactorily disposes of an error which had been received during three centuries and a half.[*D]
[140]Ricotti(Storia delle Compagnie di Ventura in Italia, 1844, vol. III., pp. 191-201) ably reviews the evidence on both sides, and satisfactorily disposes of an error which had been received during three centuries and a half.[*D]
[*D]Cf. alsoC.M. Ady,op. cit., p. 78, for a well-argued defence of Sforza.
[*D]Cf. alsoC.M. Ady,op. cit., p. 78, for a well-argued defence of Sforza.
[141]These intrigues are most succinctly explained by Pignotti, but Machiavelli and Sismondi may be consulted, as well asRoscoe'sLife of Lorenzo de' Medici, ch. II.
[141]These intrigues are most succinctly explained by Pignotti, but Machiavelli and Sismondi may be consulted, as well asRoscoe'sLife of Lorenzo de' Medici, ch. II.
[142]Machiavelli speaks as if Bartolomeo continued in the Venetian service, and Roscoe appears to adopt this view; but the best authorities bear out Sismondi's statement, which I have followed.
[142]Machiavelli speaks as if Bartolomeo continued in the Venetian service, and Roscoe appears to adopt this view; but the best authorities bear out Sismondi's statement, which I have followed.
[143]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 941, printed in theSpecilegium Romanumof Cardinal Mai, I., 94.—Archivio Diplomatico di Firenze, May 15, 1467.
[143]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 941, printed in theSpecilegium Romanumof Cardinal Mai, I., 94.—Archivio Diplomatico di Firenze, May 15, 1467.
[144]Ricotti, III., p. 208, quotes these authorities. Our account of the battle endeavours to reconcile the Urbino writers with the generally received facts. Muzio says above 40,000 men were engaged in it. Berni estimates the Count's force at eighty-three squadrons of horse and two thousand foot against ninety-six squadrons and thrice as many infantry; the killed he states at 500, and the wounded at the same number, chiefly on the side of Colleoni. The Ferrarese diarist, speaking of an engagement fought close to his capital, may be preferred to Machiavelli. He considers the loss on both sides at 500 killed, and 1000 mortally wounded, besides "above 1000 horses ripped up;" and mentions Saturday, the 23rd of July, as the date of the battle. Roscoe, in a succinct account of the campaign, cites three authorities for his facts, but two of these refer to points of unimportant detail (one of them quoting a recent writer, whose information is at second hand), while the third establishes a view entirely passed by in the text. I mention this in no spirit of cavilling, but to show the inutility of a system of copious and indiscriminate reference by foot-notes, which, without pretending to establish every momentous statement, constantly distracts attention from the continuous narrative. Corio, a contemporary at the court of Milan, has, by confusing his master's two visits to Florence, misrepresented this engagement as fought in 1471. He mentions some incidents of it, one of which, whether accurate or not, is characteristic of such battles. Federigo, towards the close of the conflict, meeting Alessandro Sforza, whose daughter he had married, but who then fought against him, exclaimed, "Oh, my lord and father! we have already done enough;" to which Sforza replied, "This I leave you to determine;" whereupon both commanders called off their troops. Another anecdote represents Galeazzo Maria as severely blaming the Count of Urbino for not securing a decided victory by a more vigorous onset; to which the latter replied he was nowise to blame, and would leave it to any one cognisant of the art of war to say if he had not proceeded after the rules of military tactics. But so little was the Duke satisfied with this plea, that, when the Count went afterwards to visit him at Milan, he threatened to decapitate him, and would have done so but for the intervention of his secretary Simonetta, a personal friend of Federigo. The latter, taking the hint, soon retired, and made the best of his way home. Notwithstanding Corio's authority, and Galeazzo Maria's impetuous temper, this story appears apocryphal: see our immediate context,p. 189.
[144]Ricotti, III., p. 208, quotes these authorities. Our account of the battle endeavours to reconcile the Urbino writers with the generally received facts. Muzio says above 40,000 men were engaged in it. Berni estimates the Count's force at eighty-three squadrons of horse and two thousand foot against ninety-six squadrons and thrice as many infantry; the killed he states at 500, and the wounded at the same number, chiefly on the side of Colleoni. The Ferrarese diarist, speaking of an engagement fought close to his capital, may be preferred to Machiavelli. He considers the loss on both sides at 500 killed, and 1000 mortally wounded, besides "above 1000 horses ripped up;" and mentions Saturday, the 23rd of July, as the date of the battle. Roscoe, in a succinct account of the campaign, cites three authorities for his facts, but two of these refer to points of unimportant detail (one of them quoting a recent writer, whose information is at second hand), while the third establishes a view entirely passed by in the text. I mention this in no spirit of cavilling, but to show the inutility of a system of copious and indiscriminate reference by foot-notes, which, without pretending to establish every momentous statement, constantly distracts attention from the continuous narrative. Corio, a contemporary at the court of Milan, has, by confusing his master's two visits to Florence, misrepresented this engagement as fought in 1471. He mentions some incidents of it, one of which, whether accurate or not, is characteristic of such battles. Federigo, towards the close of the conflict, meeting Alessandro Sforza, whose daughter he had married, but who then fought against him, exclaimed, "Oh, my lord and father! we have already done enough;" to which Sforza replied, "This I leave you to determine;" whereupon both commanders called off their troops. Another anecdote represents Galeazzo Maria as severely blaming the Count of Urbino for not securing a decided victory by a more vigorous onset; to which the latter replied he was nowise to blame, and would leave it to any one cognisant of the art of war to say if he had not proceeded after the rules of military tactics. But so little was the Duke satisfied with this plea, that, when the Count went afterwards to visit him at Milan, he threatened to decapitate him, and would have done so but for the intervention of his secretary Simonetta, a personal friend of Federigo. The latter, taking the hint, soon retired, and made the best of his way home. Notwithstanding Corio's authority, and Galeazzo Maria's impetuous temper, this story appears apocryphal: see our immediate context,p. 189.
[145]So described by Ricotti, who apparently has declined reducing this measurement to an intelligible quantity. The cubit of Vitruvius was of six, sixteen, or thirty-six palms, a Roman palm being nine inches and a half. Dr. Johnson defines the cubit as eighteen or twenty-one Paris inches. Such want of precision in weights, measures, and money, occasions constant and often inextricable embarrassment in mediæval history.
[145]So described by Ricotti, who apparently has declined reducing this measurement to an intelligible quantity. The cubit of Vitruvius was of six, sixteen, or thirty-six palms, a Roman palm being nine inches and a half. Dr. Johnson defines the cubit as eighteen or twenty-one Paris inches. Such want of precision in weights, measures, and money, occasions constant and often inextricable embarrassment in mediæval history.
[146]Such, at least, is the key afforded by Sansovino to the obscure couplet inscribed on his tomb in his great edifice of S. Francesco:—"Porto le corna ch'ogn'uno le vede,E tal le porta che non se lo crede."Baldi asserts for all his wives an unblemished reputation, and charges him with the murder of but two of them. Mazzuchelli alleges that he jilted or repudiated the first, and made away with the next two.
[146]Such, at least, is the key afforded by Sansovino to the obscure couplet inscribed on his tomb in his great edifice of S. Francesco:—
Baldi asserts for all his wives an unblemished reputation, and charges him with the murder of but two of them. Mazzuchelli alleges that he jilted or repudiated the first, and made away with the next two.
[*147]It is perhaps needless to assert the partiality of this verdict on the life and character of Sigismondo Malatesta. That, after a considerable study of all the available sources of his life and times, I have come to a very different conclusion regarding him, it is perhaps not altogether egotistical to point out. If I send the reader, then, to my own work on this extraordinary man (Sigismondo Malatesta, byEdward Hutton, Dent, 1906), it is that there is no other work concerned with him in the English language. As for Dennistoun, most of what he says, even though it were just in its conclusions, is inaccurate in detail. To begin with, Sigismondo was only "detested" by his enemies; the people of Rimini appear to have loved him, supporting him in his troubles, and loyally standing by his wife Isotta after his death. His bravery is sufficiently proved by a thousand encounters, notably that (described at page 150 of my book) when he outwitted his captors and spent the whole night in a marsh up to his neck in water; or that in which he set out to kill the Pope in the Vatican, and would have done so but that he found him surrounded by cardinals, armed. That his domestic morals were bad, "even in that age of laxity," I am not eager to deny; but no single crime of this sort laid at his door, chiefly by his bitterest enemy Pio II., who in his relations with Sigismondo always seems least himself, can be proved—I have tried to prove them—and all can be very easily denied. As for his three wives, which, according to Dennistoun, he "sacrificed to jealousy or vengeance," it will be sufficient to say that the first Madonna Ginevra d'Este appears to have died of fever at Villa Scolca while Sigismondo was besieging Forlimpopoli, and in any case the d'Este remained his close friends after her death. Neither Clementini (op. cit.) nor Battaglini (op. cit.) nor Broglio, in his unpublished life, know anything of the supposed murder, which, so far as I know, was first laid at Sigismondo's door by Pio II., who hated him for his treachery to Siena. Sigismondo's second wife was Madonna Polissena, daughter of Francesco Sforza. Again, when she died of plague in Rimini, Sigismondo was absent in Lombardy. (Cf.Clementini,op. cit.II., 363, who accuses Pio II. of this second libel also.) As for his third wife Isotta, who had been his mistress, she outlived him, and was killed at last, as is supposed, by her stepson Roberto, in the service of Pope Paul II., who coveted Rimini, and would have had it but that Roberto outwitted him. What motive Sigismondo can have had in murdering his two wives, both daughters of powerful houses, does not appear. To Dennistoun "the sole redeeming trait" in his character was his love of Isotta; but we, less strict perhaps than in middle Victorian times, shall always love and honour him as one of the earliest and most sincere of Italian humanists and patrons of learning and art, a true lover of beauty and a protector of scholars and poets. As for the "deification of his paramour" (p. 194), I do not know what it means; but if it refers to the "Divine" Isotta, it was a common mode of address in that age: and for the decoration of the Tempio, they are not pagan gods (alas!), but the planets we see there; they illustrate a poem Sigismondo wrote in his youth. Dennistoun (note, p. 194) insists that Sigismondo had three wives before Isotta, though Sismondi would have put him right there. He has been misled probably by an early betrothal of Sigismondo to the daughter of Carmagnuola, who, on her father's execution by the Venetians, was repudiated.
[*147]It is perhaps needless to assert the partiality of this verdict on the life and character of Sigismondo Malatesta. That, after a considerable study of all the available sources of his life and times, I have come to a very different conclusion regarding him, it is perhaps not altogether egotistical to point out. If I send the reader, then, to my own work on this extraordinary man (Sigismondo Malatesta, byEdward Hutton, Dent, 1906), it is that there is no other work concerned with him in the English language. As for Dennistoun, most of what he says, even though it were just in its conclusions, is inaccurate in detail. To begin with, Sigismondo was only "detested" by his enemies; the people of Rimini appear to have loved him, supporting him in his troubles, and loyally standing by his wife Isotta after his death. His bravery is sufficiently proved by a thousand encounters, notably that (described at page 150 of my book) when he outwitted his captors and spent the whole night in a marsh up to his neck in water; or that in which he set out to kill the Pope in the Vatican, and would have done so but that he found him surrounded by cardinals, armed. That his domestic morals were bad, "even in that age of laxity," I am not eager to deny; but no single crime of this sort laid at his door, chiefly by his bitterest enemy Pio II., who in his relations with Sigismondo always seems least himself, can be proved—I have tried to prove them—and all can be very easily denied. As for his three wives, which, according to Dennistoun, he "sacrificed to jealousy or vengeance," it will be sufficient to say that the first Madonna Ginevra d'Este appears to have died of fever at Villa Scolca while Sigismondo was besieging Forlimpopoli, and in any case the d'Este remained his close friends after her death. Neither Clementini (op. cit.) nor Battaglini (op. cit.) nor Broglio, in his unpublished life, know anything of the supposed murder, which, so far as I know, was first laid at Sigismondo's door by Pio II., who hated him for his treachery to Siena. Sigismondo's second wife was Madonna Polissena, daughter of Francesco Sforza. Again, when she died of plague in Rimini, Sigismondo was absent in Lombardy. (Cf.Clementini,op. cit.II., 363, who accuses Pio II. of this second libel also.) As for his third wife Isotta, who had been his mistress, she outlived him, and was killed at last, as is supposed, by her stepson Roberto, in the service of Pope Paul II., who coveted Rimini, and would have had it but that Roberto outwitted him. What motive Sigismondo can have had in murdering his two wives, both daughters of powerful houses, does not appear. To Dennistoun "the sole redeeming trait" in his character was his love of Isotta; but we, less strict perhaps than in middle Victorian times, shall always love and honour him as one of the earliest and most sincere of Italian humanists and patrons of learning and art, a true lover of beauty and a protector of scholars and poets. As for the "deification of his paramour" (p. 194), I do not know what it means; but if it refers to the "Divine" Isotta, it was a common mode of address in that age: and for the decoration of the Tempio, they are not pagan gods (alas!), but the planets we see there; they illustrate a poem Sigismondo wrote in his youth. Dennistoun (note, p. 194) insists that Sigismondo had three wives before Isotta, though Sismondi would have put him right there. He has been misled probably by an early betrothal of Sigismondo to the daughter of Carmagnuola, who, on her father's execution by the Venetians, was repudiated.
[148]According to his epitaph, on the 7th ides, being the 9th of October, 1468. Sismondi, chap. lxxxi., says on the 13th; calls him father-in-law of Count Federigo; and speaks of his having but two wives besides Isotta. He certainly had three; while his connection with the house of Urbino arose from his brother Domenico having married the sister of Federigo, and his son Roberto espousing a daughter of that Count. Nothing can be more terse and graphic than the sketch of his character by Pius II. in hisCommentaries, book II., p. 51.
[148]According to his epitaph, on the 7th ides, being the 9th of October, 1468. Sismondi, chap. lxxxi., says on the 13th; calls him father-in-law of Count Federigo; and speaks of his having but two wives besides Isotta. He certainly had three; while his connection with the house of Urbino arose from his brother Domenico having married the sister of Federigo, and his son Roberto espousing a daughter of that Count. Nothing can be more terse and graphic than the sketch of his character by Pius II. in hisCommentaries, book II., p. 51.
[*149]Roberto murdered Isotta. With the assistance of the Pope and Federigo of Urbino he had set out to win Rimini—for himself, as it proved. Once within the walls he first befriended Isotta, finding her too strong in the affections of the people to oppose openly. On August 8, 1470, Sallustio was found dead in a well belonging to the Marcheselli in Rimini, and within the year Isotta died also, of poison, as was believed, for Valerio, her second son, was openly slain by Roberto not long after.
[*149]Roberto murdered Isotta. With the assistance of the Pope and Federigo of Urbino he had set out to win Rimini—for himself, as it proved. Once within the walls he first befriended Isotta, finding her too strong in the affections of the people to oppose openly. On August 8, 1470, Sallustio was found dead in a well belonging to the Marcheselli in Rimini, and within the year Isotta died also, of poison, as was believed, for Valerio, her second son, was openly slain by Roberto not long after.
[150]The following dispatch by the Count to the priors of Siena, from Urbino, the 27th of July, before the confederates had appeared, proves how unimportant were the proceedings of the siege. "Since I last wrote your lordships, nothing new has occurred beyond some attempts by the besiegers of Rimini, to which those of the town offered such resistance that they proved fruitless, indeed, rather detrimental. It also happened, by a sudden and unexpected chance, that the barks and armed vessels which blockaded the town were dispersed and scattered; one if not two of them are known to have foundered, but nothing further has yet been heard of their fate."—Archiv. Diplom. at Siena.
[150]The following dispatch by the Count to the priors of Siena, from Urbino, the 27th of July, before the confederates had appeared, proves how unimportant were the proceedings of the siege. "Since I last wrote your lordships, nothing new has occurred beyond some attempts by the besiegers of Rimini, to which those of the town offered such resistance that they proved fruitless, indeed, rather detrimental. It also happened, by a sudden and unexpected chance, that the barks and armed vessels which blockaded the town were dispersed and scattered; one if not two of them are known to have foundered, but nothing further has yet been heard of their fate."—Archiv. Diplom. at Siena.
[151]We have spared our readers the numerous orations with which Baldi, emulating the style of Livy, has interpolated his narrative. This one is taken from Muzio, and may be a fair specimen of the eloquence then in use on similar occasions.
[151]We have spared our readers the numerous orations with which Baldi, emulating the style of Livy, has interpolated his narrative. This one is taken from Muzio, and may be a fair specimen of the eloquence then in use on similar occasions.
[152]From the original in Italian in the Archivio Diplomatico at Siena.
[152]From the original in Italian in the Archivio Diplomatico at Siena.
[153]Her mother having been then married but eleven years, Berni is palpably wrong in calling the bride nineteen. Three years appear to have intervened between this betrothal and the nuptials, that the bride might attain the age of puberty. Roberto Malatesta had from his contemporaries the appellation of Magnifico, in common with others of like station. The authorities quoted by Roscoe (ch. ii., note 49), as proving this distinction to have been special to Lorenzo de' Medici, are comparatively modern, and do not countervail repeated instances of its adoption by personages of much less mark. Neither is Sismondi correct in considering it a generic title of such princes as possessed no other.
[153]Her mother having been then married but eleven years, Berni is palpably wrong in calling the bride nineteen. Three years appear to have intervened between this betrothal and the nuptials, that the bride might attain the age of puberty. Roberto Malatesta had from his contemporaries the appellation of Magnifico, in common with others of like station. The authorities quoted by Roscoe (ch. ii., note 49), as proving this distinction to have been special to Lorenzo de' Medici, are comparatively modern, and do not countervail repeated instances of its adoption by personages of much less mark. Neither is Sismondi correct in considering it a generic title of such princes as possessed no other.
[154]Letter of Matteo Bosso, quoted by Riposati, I., 409.
[154]Letter of Matteo Bosso, quoted by Riposati, I., 409.
[155]So written by Pietro Bizarro, whoseHistoria Rerum Persicarumis our chief authority for these circumstances. The letter of Federigo (Urb. Vat. MSS. No. 1198) has Asanbech Kan; it is also written Uzun Hassan Bey. The picture is mentioned inPungileone,Elogio di Giovanni Santi, pp. 11 and 64.
[155]So written by Pietro Bizarro, whoseHistoria Rerum Persicarumis our chief authority for these circumstances. The letter of Federigo (Urb. Vat. MSS. No. 1198) has Asanbech Kan; it is also written Uzun Hassan Bey. The picture is mentioned inPungileone,Elogio di Giovanni Santi, pp. 11 and 64.
[*156]The picture is now in the Pinacoteca.
[*156]The picture is now in the Pinacoteca.
[*157]I am in some doubt here. Guerriero says (seeop. cit. supra, p. 21) that on 27 April, 1472, the Cardinal [Bessarione] Niceno, called the Cardinal Greco, came to Gubbio on his way into France as Legate. "Fo de lunedì. Foli facto grande honore. Stecto in Ugubio tucto el martedì et in quello dì cresimò el figliolo piccino del Signor Conte con grande festa, el mercoledì partì ... laso ... certe indulgentie al sepulcro novamente facto in la fraternità di Bianchi in Ugubio." As to Pietro Riario, I can find nothing; but it may well have been as Dennistoun says.
[*157]I am in some doubt here. Guerriero says (seeop. cit. supra, p. 21) that on 27 April, 1472, the Cardinal [Bessarione] Niceno, called the Cardinal Greco, came to Gubbio on his way into France as Legate. "Fo de lunedì. Foli facto grande honore. Stecto in Ugubio tucto el martedì et in quello dì cresimò el figliolo piccino del Signor Conte con grande festa, el mercoledì partì ... laso ... certe indulgentie al sepulcro novamente facto in la fraternità di Bianchi in Ugubio." As to Pietro Riario, I can find nothing; but it may well have been as Dennistoun says.
[158]Bembi,Opera, I., p. 588. The portentous tale is gravely repeated byBaldiin hisLife of Duke Guidobaldo; and as an instance of the twaddle of Italian biographies, we may translate literally the reverend abbot's exposition of the exertions through which the Count and Countess at length obtained a male heir: "Meanwhile, being both of them resolved to leave nothing untried, they, under the direction of prudent physicians, unceasingly employed potent remedies, calculated to invigorate them, and, in as far as practicable, to supply by artificial means the defects of nature. Aware more especially of the efficacy of pious works, accompanied by righteous and fervent prayers to the Most High, they distributed vast alms, aiding them with vows and with public and private prayers." After this sample, we need not dwell upon the prodigies preceding, nor the astrological calculations occasioned by the appearance of thedieu-donné.
[158]Bembi,Opera, I., p. 588. The portentous tale is gravely repeated byBaldiin hisLife of Duke Guidobaldo; and as an instance of the twaddle of Italian biographies, we may translate literally the reverend abbot's exposition of the exertions through which the Count and Countess at length obtained a male heir: "Meanwhile, being both of them resolved to leave nothing untried, they, under the direction of prudent physicians, unceasingly employed potent remedies, calculated to invigorate them, and, in as far as practicable, to supply by artificial means the defects of nature. Aware more especially of the efficacy of pious works, accompanied by righteous and fervent prayers to the Most High, they distributed vast alms, aiding them with vows and with public and private prayers." After this sample, we need not dwell upon the prodigies preceding, nor the astrological calculations occasioned by the appearance of thedieu-donné.
[*159]24 January, 1472. Cf.Ugolini,op. cit., vol. I., p. 497. Cf.infra,p. 282.
[*159]24 January, 1472. Cf.Ugolini,op. cit., vol. I., p. 497. Cf.infra,p. 282.
[160]Berni, the annalist of Gubbio, says the names were Ubaldo Girolamo Vincenzio.
[160]Berni, the annalist of Gubbio, says the names were Ubaldo Girolamo Vincenzio.
[161]The tract by Ivano (? Hyvanus), printed in vol. XXXIII. of Muratori, is diffuse and unsatisfactory, although he was an official of Volterra. I prefer the contemporary narratives of Porcellio and Vespasiano, Vat. Urb. MSS. Nos. 373 and 941. I have also consulted the epics of Sanzi and Naldo, Rinuccini'sRicordi, and a number of unimportant narratives and documents in the public library of Volterra, as well as the standard Italian histories.
[161]The tract by Ivano (? Hyvanus), printed in vol. XXXIII. of Muratori, is diffuse and unsatisfactory, although he was an official of Volterra. I prefer the contemporary narratives of Porcellio and Vespasiano, Vat. Urb. MSS. Nos. 373 and 941. I have also consulted the epics of Sanzi and Naldo, Rinuccini'sRicordi, and a number of unimportant narratives and documents in the public library of Volterra, as well as the standard Italian histories.
[162]There is in the Albani library at Rome a MS. by Giunta, where I found it stated that the Count asked and obtained this Bible of the magistracy, in exchange for the standards taken at Volterra.
[162]There is in the Albani library at Rome a MS. by Giunta, where I found it stated that the Count asked and obtained this Bible of the magistracy, in exchange for the standards taken at Volterra.
[163]Sanzi tells us its crest was Hercules trampling on a griffin (the device of Volterra), which lay wounded, plucked of its pinions, and chained by the neck. How often has it happened that art, capable of ennobling the meanest materials, is lost to the world from being employed on those whose intrinsic value is a temptation to ignorant cupidity. This helmet might now bring tenfold the price for which it probably was broken up!
[163]Sanzi tells us its crest was Hercules trampling on a griffin (the device of Volterra), which lay wounded, plucked of its pinions, and chained by the neck. How often has it happened that art, capable of ennobling the meanest materials, is lost to the world from being employed on those whose intrinsic value is a temptation to ignorant cupidity. This helmet might now bring tenfold the price for which it probably was broken up!
[164]It may not be inappropriate here to glance at the territorial limits which, under him, were erected into the duchy of Urbino, and their gradual increment from the petty holding of Montefeltro, which was at first narrow in extent and poor in all but defence. Lying in the furthest highlands of Umbria, its soil and climate yielded nature's bounties but sparingly, though its fastnesses bred bold hearts and stout sinews. The township of Urbino, over which its counts extended their authority, added little to their limited territory. Those of Gubbio, Cagli, and Cantiano, which next came under their rule, lay many miles from their mountain home, separated by an Apennine rampart, and the valleys of the Foglia and Metauro, as well as by the Brancaleoni fiefs. These scattered domains were concentrated by Federigo's first marriage, which gave him all Massa Trabaria from the Foglia to the Cantiano. His purchase of Fossombrone and his conquests from the Malatesta extended his frontier to the Vicariat of Sinigaglia, which he lived to see conferred on his daughter's husband. His long struggles with Sigismondo Pandolfo were further compensated by Tavoleto, Sassocorbaro, S. Leo, Sta. Agata, and Castel d'Elce, establishing his sway over what had been hitherto at best debatable land, to the extreme northern boundary of the state. Although precise limits cannot now be defined, it would seem that Count Federigo nearly trebled the territory which had obeyed his brother, and the only important addition subsequently made consisted of the sea-board brought to it by his grandson Francesco Maria I.
[164]It may not be inappropriate here to glance at the territorial limits which, under him, were erected into the duchy of Urbino, and their gradual increment from the petty holding of Montefeltro, which was at first narrow in extent and poor in all but defence. Lying in the furthest highlands of Umbria, its soil and climate yielded nature's bounties but sparingly, though its fastnesses bred bold hearts and stout sinews. The township of Urbino, over which its counts extended their authority, added little to their limited territory. Those of Gubbio, Cagli, and Cantiano, which next came under their rule, lay many miles from their mountain home, separated by an Apennine rampart, and the valleys of the Foglia and Metauro, as well as by the Brancaleoni fiefs. These scattered domains were concentrated by Federigo's first marriage, which gave him all Massa Trabaria from the Foglia to the Cantiano. His purchase of Fossombrone and his conquests from the Malatesta extended his frontier to the Vicariat of Sinigaglia, which he lived to see conferred on his daughter's husband. His long struggles with Sigismondo Pandolfo were further compensated by Tavoleto, Sassocorbaro, S. Leo, Sta. Agata, and Castel d'Elce, establishing his sway over what had been hitherto at best debatable land, to the extreme northern boundary of the state. Although precise limits cannot now be defined, it would seem that Count Federigo nearly trebled the territory which had obeyed his brother, and the only important addition subsequently made consisted of the sea-board brought to it by his grandson Francesco Maria I.
[165]The first of the letters here introduced was addressed to his allies, the magistrates of Siena, in the archives of which city I found the Italian original. The next, without address, but probably for the King of Naples or the Duke of Milan, and the two following extracts, are copied from the volume of his Latin letters already quoted. Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198. Muzio and Baldi by mistake place Battista's death in 1474.
[165]The first of the letters here introduced was addressed to his allies, the magistrates of Siena, in the archives of which city I found the Italian original. The next, without address, but probably for the King of Naples or the Duke of Milan, and the two following extracts, are copied from the volume of his Latin letters already quoted. Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198. Muzio and Baldi by mistake place Battista's death in 1474.
[166]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 324, 373, 727, 1193, 1236, 1272.
[166]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 324, 373, 727, 1193, 1236, 1272.
[167]Seeante,p. 39, for Battista the elder.
[167]Seeante,p. 39, for Battista the elder.
[168]A relic of like strange perversion of childhood still obtains at Rome, in the displays at the Aracœli Church from Christmas to Epiphany, where girls of five years old are elevated on a table and spout to assembled crowds the events of the Nativity.
[168]A relic of like strange perversion of childhood still obtains at Rome, in the displays at the Aracœli Church from Christmas to Epiphany, where girls of five years old are elevated on a table and spout to assembled crowds the events of the Nativity.
[169]Campano's funeral oration, Vat. Ottob. MSS., No. 3135, f. 274.
[169]Campano's funeral oration, Vat. Ottob. MSS., No. 3135, f. 274.
[170]Porcellio, in his Feltria, Vat. Urb. MSS. 710, describes his emotions in these rough lines:—"Ipse domum rediens primum vacua atria lustrat,Mox semota petens, clausis de more fenestris,In luctu et lacrymis, nigraque in veste sedebat.Pullati incedunt comites, famulique minores,Ac nigra sunt mensi mantilia, nigra supellex,Et thalamum infaustum velamina nigra tegebant."
[170]Porcellio, in his Feltria, Vat. Urb. MSS. 710, describes his emotions in these rough lines:—
[171]Its form somewhat resembled an heraldic cap of maintenance; but on this occasion Baldi says the older shape was retained, with large ears hanging down at the sides. The sceptre was of silver gilt, nearly two feet in length.
[171]Its form somewhat resembled an heraldic cap of maintenance; but on this occasion Baldi says the older shape was retained, with large ears hanging down at the sides. The sceptre was of silver gilt, nearly two feet in length.
[172]The details of these ceremonials by Baldi are partly taken from the narrative of Cardinal Arrivabene, in No. 568 ofEpistolæ Card. Papiensis, p. 832. Some writers mention his also obtaining the Golden Rose, which usually accompanied the papal gift of the Sword to sovereigns whom the Church delighted to honour. Sismondi says the dukedom was conferred on the 21st of August, but we prefer the date given by Baldi. The latter assigns the Golden Rose and Giovanni della Rovere's marriage to the year 1475, after the affair of Città di Castello; we, however, in these follow an unedited history of Sinigaglia, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 819, f. 208. Volterrano's Diary is confused as to dates, and would seem to place Giovanni's betrothal and his princely investiture in May, 1473. The latter, he says, "was considered a pernicious example of [partiality to] flesh and blood;" but a still more serious scandal arose in the sacred college from the special mark of favour conferred by Sixtus in placing the Lord of Urbino immediately beneath the cardinals in chapel, a seat privileged for heirs apparent of royalty, against which several of these dignitaries vainly remonstrated, reminding his Holiness of the few years that had elapsed since that Duke successfully defied the papal banner under the walls of Rimini.—Murat.,Scriptor., XXIII., 95. This annalist unfortunately passes over Federigo's investitures with his new honours. Not so Porcellio in his Feltria, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 710; but a brief sample of his rude rhythm may suffice. Describing the Pope's appearance, he says:—"Aurea vestis erat, lato circundato limbo,In medio effulget latus sub pectore clavus,Statque ingens diamas majoris sideris instar,Et nitidus media radiens de nocte pyropus,Purpureusque lapis, viridesque in margine gemmæ,Adde quod et triplices gemmarum ardore coronæFulgebant capiti fusis per serta lapillis."
[172]The details of these ceremonials by Baldi are partly taken from the narrative of Cardinal Arrivabene, in No. 568 ofEpistolæ Card. Papiensis, p. 832. Some writers mention his also obtaining the Golden Rose, which usually accompanied the papal gift of the Sword to sovereigns whom the Church delighted to honour. Sismondi says the dukedom was conferred on the 21st of August, but we prefer the date given by Baldi. The latter assigns the Golden Rose and Giovanni della Rovere's marriage to the year 1475, after the affair of Città di Castello; we, however, in these follow an unedited history of Sinigaglia, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 819, f. 208. Volterrano's Diary is confused as to dates, and would seem to place Giovanni's betrothal and his princely investiture in May, 1473. The latter, he says, "was considered a pernicious example of [partiality to] flesh and blood;" but a still more serious scandal arose in the sacred college from the special mark of favour conferred by Sixtus in placing the Lord of Urbino immediately beneath the cardinals in chapel, a seat privileged for heirs apparent of royalty, against which several of these dignitaries vainly remonstrated, reminding his Holiness of the few years that had elapsed since that Duke successfully defied the papal banner under the walls of Rimini.—Murat.,Scriptor., XXIII., 95. This annalist unfortunately passes over Federigo's investitures with his new honours. Not so Porcellio in his Feltria, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 710; but a brief sample of his rude rhythm may suffice. Describing the Pope's appearance, he says:—
[173]Seep. 216.
[173]Seep. 216.
[174]There was an idea that the ermine would submit to be taken rather than soil its coat, and hence the legends of this order wereMalo mori quam fœdari, orNunquam.
[174]There was an idea that the ermine would submit to be taken rather than soil its coat, and hence the legends of this order wereMalo mori quam fœdari, orNunquam.
[175]Baldi has unquestionably fallen into error in fixing 1476 as the date of this event.
[175]Baldi has unquestionably fallen into error in fixing 1476 as the date of this event.
[*176]Dennistoun does not seem to be acquainted with theOde lirica a Federigo di Montefeltro(Per Nozze. Roma Tip. della Camera dei Dep., 1899), which Francesco Filarete wrote to him after the conquest of Volterra in 1472. It was possibly spoken at Florence in 1474, when Federigo became Duke. It speaks (strofe 14) of Federigo's early campaigns with Nicolò Piccinino, without hiding (strofe 16) the disaster of Monteluro and the rout of Montelocco (strofe 17), and goes on to tell of the Tuscan campaign of King Alfonso and the retaking of Fossombrone (strofe 26), and so forth.
[*176]Dennistoun does not seem to be acquainted with theOde lirica a Federigo di Montefeltro(Per Nozze. Roma Tip. della Camera dei Dep., 1899), which Francesco Filarete wrote to him after the conquest of Volterra in 1472. It was possibly spoken at Florence in 1474, when Federigo became Duke. It speaks (strofe 14) of Federigo's early campaigns with Nicolò Piccinino, without hiding (strofe 16) the disaster of Monteluro and the rout of Montelocco (strofe 17), and goes on to tell of the Tuscan campaign of King Alfonso and the retaking of Fossombrone (strofe 26), and so forth.
[177]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198.
[177]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198.
[178]Several of these MSS. I have found in the Laurentian library at Florence.
[178]Several of these MSS. I have found in the Laurentian library at Florence.
[179]Bib. Laurent, plut. 90, Cod. sup. No. 36. The rubric mentions Abbot Jerome as author of this letter. Gambino appears to have offered the incense of a poem in praise of Federigo, and is mentioned by Quadri as author of some fugitive and forgotten verses of local interest.
[179]Bib. Laurent, plut. 90, Cod. sup. No. 36. The rubric mentions Abbot Jerome as author of this letter. Gambino appears to have offered the incense of a poem in praise of Federigo, and is mentioned by Quadri as author of some fugitive and forgotten verses of local interest.
[180]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 941.
[180]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 941.
[*181]For Federigo's intercourse with Campano, cf.G. Zannoni,Federigo di Montefeltro e G.A. Campano, inAtti della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, vol. XXXVIII. (Torino).
[*181]For Federigo's intercourse with Campano, cf.G. Zannoni,Federigo di Montefeltro e G.A. Campano, inAtti della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, vol. XXXVIII. (Torino).
[182]This painter was Justus of Ghent, mentioned atp. 205. To the subject of art at Urbino we shall return in ch. xxvii.
[182]This painter was Justus of Ghent, mentioned atp. 205. To the subject of art at Urbino we shall return in ch. xxvii.
[183]We need not quote the many authorities, but inMuratori,Script., XXIII., pp. 268 and 777, will be found the Duke's good and evil qualities fairly balanced, and frightful details of the brutal licentiousness which he made his pastime.
[183]We need not quote the many authorities, but inMuratori,Script., XXIII., pp. 268 and 777, will be found the Duke's good and evil qualities fairly balanced, and frightful details of the brutal licentiousness which he made his pastime.
[*184]Murder in church was a crime peculiar to that time. It might seem that the "tyrants" were so well guarded that it was impossible to lay hands on them save at mass; for on no other occasion was the whole family gathered together. To say nothing of the clergy and the Pope who murdered Giuliano and tried to murder Lorenzo de' Medici in S. Maria del Fiore, it was in church the Fabrianesi murdered their Signori the Chiavistelli (1435), the Milanesi Duke Giovan Maria Visconti (1412), and Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1476). Ludovico Sforza only escaped the same end because by chance he entered S. Ambrogio by a door that was not watched. For the whole subject seeReumont,Lorenzo de' Medici, pp. 387-97, especially 396, andBurckhardt,The Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance(trs. Middlemore, 1878), vol. I., p. 79.
[*184]Murder in church was a crime peculiar to that time. It might seem that the "tyrants" were so well guarded that it was impossible to lay hands on them save at mass; for on no other occasion was the whole family gathered together. To say nothing of the clergy and the Pope who murdered Giuliano and tried to murder Lorenzo de' Medici in S. Maria del Fiore, it was in church the Fabrianesi murdered their Signori the Chiavistelli (1435), the Milanesi Duke Giovan Maria Visconti (1412), and Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1476). Ludovico Sforza only escaped the same end because by chance he entered S. Ambrogio by a door that was not watched. For the whole subject seeReumont,Lorenzo de' Medici, pp. 387-97, especially 396, andBurckhardt,The Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance(trs. Middlemore, 1878), vol. I., p. 79.
[185]It is painful to find an author of our age, and especially one of Sismondi's merited reputation and influence, so warped by anti-despotic feelings as to become the apologist of assassination. The phrase we use is startling, but surely not misapplied to those passages in vol. XI., pp. 44 to 47, and p. 114, where, by innuendo, if not by argument, motives which led to the murder of Galeazzo Maria, and two years later to that of Giuliano de' Medici, are shielded from infamy by ingenious special-pleading, worthy the pen of Machiavelli or the morality of Loyola. I refer to the comments of Roscoe in his volume of Additional Illustrations to hisLorenzo de' Medici, pp. 114 to 119.
[185]It is painful to find an author of our age, and especially one of Sismondi's merited reputation and influence, so warped by anti-despotic feelings as to become the apologist of assassination. The phrase we use is startling, but surely not misapplied to those passages in vol. XI., pp. 44 to 47, and p. 114, where, by innuendo, if not by argument, motives which led to the murder of Galeazzo Maria, and two years later to that of Giuliano de' Medici, are shielded from infamy by ingenious special-pleading, worthy the pen of Machiavelli or the morality of Loyola. I refer to the comments of Roscoe in his volume of Additional Illustrations to hisLorenzo de' Medici, pp. 114 to 119.
[186]The convention of Galeazzo Maria with Taddeo Manfredi, and the bull investing Riario, explain this transaction more fully than the authorities quoted by Sismondi, ch. lxxxiii. They are printed in vol. III. ofBurriel'selaborateLife of Caterina Riario Sforza.
[186]The convention of Galeazzo Maria with Taddeo Manfredi, and the bull investing Riario, explain this transaction more fully than the authorities quoted by Sismondi, ch. lxxxiii. They are printed in vol. III. ofBurriel'selaborateLife of Caterina Riario Sforza.
[187]On the 15th of November, 1848, Count Rossi was assassinated on entering the Chamber of Deputies at its first sitting. No effort was made by the bystanders or Assembly to seize the culprit. At night the streets rang with the chorus—"Benedetta quella manoChe il tiranno pugnalò!"It has been our study to exclude from these pages all allusion to modern politics, or to events as yet untested by time. But when outrages such as this are perpetrated in broad day, and applauded by a people, it becomes all men to protest against lessons calculated to annihilate civilisation, and to reproduce the worst features of the dark ages.
[187]On the 15th of November, 1848, Count Rossi was assassinated on entering the Chamber of Deputies at its first sitting. No effort was made by the bystanders or Assembly to seize the culprit. At night the streets rang with the chorus—
It has been our study to exclude from these pages all allusion to modern politics, or to events as yet untested by time. But when outrages such as this are perpetrated in broad day, and applauded by a people, it becomes all men to protest against lessons calculated to annihilate civilisation, and to reproduce the worst features of the dark ages.
[188]See also inFabronio,Laurentii Medicis Vita, ch. ii., p. 130, a letter from Sixtus to Duke Federigo, explanatory of his policy, but curious rather from the eccentricity of its illiterate style, in which barbarous Latin forms a strange medley with uncultivated Italian. Likewise, at p. 136, a protest of the Florentine clergy to the Pope.
[188]See also inFabronio,Laurentii Medicis Vita, ch. ii., p. 130, a letter from Sixtus to Duke Federigo, explanatory of his policy, but curious rather from the eccentricity of its illiterate style, in which barbarous Latin forms a strange medley with uncultivated Italian. Likewise, at p. 136, a protest of the Florentine clergy to the Pope.
[189]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198.
[189]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198.
[190]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198. In this collection of Federigo's letters are other proofs of his intimacy with the accomplished Sovereign of Hungary. In 1476 he entertained at Urbino the ambassadors sent by that monarch to negotiate his marriage with Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand of Naples; and having received, through the physician Fontana, an invitation to the nuptials, the Duke wrote to King Matthew that, though most willing to attend, this must depend on the pleasure of his Holiness and Ferdinand, adding that he had been the servant of his affianced bride from her tender years.
[190]Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1198. In this collection of Federigo's letters are other proofs of his intimacy with the accomplished Sovereign of Hungary. In 1476 he entertained at Urbino the ambassadors sent by that monarch to negotiate his marriage with Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand of Naples; and having received, through the physician Fontana, an invitation to the nuptials, the Duke wrote to King Matthew that, though most willing to attend, this must depend on the pleasure of his Holiness and Ferdinand, adding that he had been the servant of his affianced bride from her tender years.
[*191]For an account of the Duke's connection with San Marino, cf. G.G.,Tre Documenti inediti risguardanti la Rep. di S. Marino(Pesaro, 1888). The first document refers to Federigo in 1461, the others to 1502 and 1560.
[*191]For an account of the Duke's connection with San Marino, cf. G.G.,Tre Documenti inediti risguardanti la Rep. di S. Marino(Pesaro, 1888). The first document refers to Federigo in 1461, the others to 1502 and 1560.
[*192]Allegretti,Diario Senese, inMuratori,R.I.S., vol. XXIV.Tonini,Storia di Rimini(Rimini), vol. IV., p. 163, tells us that "Furono comprato nove palle di ferro del total peso libbre 33, pro 9 pallottis bombatarum pond. 33 libr...."
[*192]Allegretti,Diario Senese, inMuratori,R.I.S., vol. XXIV.Tonini,Storia di Rimini(Rimini), vol. IV., p. 163, tells us that "Furono comprato nove palle di ferro del total peso libbre 33, pro 9 pallottis bombatarum pond. 33 libr...."
[193]It was usual to bind the annual fiscal accounts of Siena in wooden boards, on which some historical or domestic incident was painted. Many of thesebicherneremain, curious memorials of manners and of art. I found at p. 210 of Pecci's Iscrizioni, MSS. in the public library there, a notice of one representing the siege of Colle, which would valuably illustrate these observations, could it be recovered.
[193]It was usual to bind the annual fiscal accounts of Siena in wooden boards, on which some historical or domestic incident was painted. Many of thesebicherneremain, curious memorials of manners and of art. I found at p. 210 of Pecci's Iscrizioni, MSS. in the public library there, a notice of one representing the siege of Colle, which would valuably illustrate these observations, could it be recovered.
[194]Volterrano gives a curious account of this function,R.I.S., XXIII., 114.
[194]Volterrano gives a curious account of this function,R.I.S., XXIII., 114.
[195]This condotta is preserved in the Oliveriana MSS. The diary of Duke Francesco Maria II. gives a slightly varied version of the engagement, and explains that, of the gross allowance, 45,000 ducats in war and 25,000 in peace were the general's personal pay. The war of Ferrara is minutely detailed by Sanuto; in the Scriptores, xxii. 1215; and in a volume of Commentaries privately printed at Venice, in 1829; also by Cyrneo, in Scriptores, xii., 1189. Sanzi's chronicle supplies very ample particulars, as does Vespasiano.
[195]This condotta is preserved in the Oliveriana MSS. The diary of Duke Francesco Maria II. gives a slightly varied version of the engagement, and explains that, of the gross allowance, 45,000 ducats in war and 25,000 in peace were the general's personal pay. The war of Ferrara is minutely detailed by Sanuto; in the Scriptores, xxii. 1215; and in a volume of Commentaries privately printed at Venice, in 1829; also by Cyrneo, in Scriptores, xii., 1189. Sanzi's chronicle supplies very ample particulars, as does Vespasiano.
[196]This letter by no means bears out the allegation in support of which it has been referred to by Roscoe,—that the preparation and direction of this war chiefly rested on Lorenzo de' Medici, and that on his activity and prudence the allies mainly relied. There is no evidence whether he fully carried out the suggestions here made, but it is quite clear that Federigo received from none of his confederates adequate support during the campaign.
[196]This letter by no means bears out the allegation in support of which it has been referred to by Roscoe,—that the preparation and direction of this war chiefly rested on Lorenzo de' Medici, and that on his activity and prudence the allies mainly relied. There is no evidence whether he fully carried out the suggestions here made, but it is quite clear that Federigo received from none of his confederates adequate support during the campaign.
[197]See ch. xxviii. and Appendix to vol. II.
[197]See ch. xxviii. and Appendix to vol. II.