DURING this while all Rome was in an uproar; for they had observed the
bands of linen fastened to the great keep of the castle, and folk were
running in crowds to behold so extraordinary a thing. The castellan had
gone off into one of his worst fits of frenzy; in spite of all his
servants, he insisted upon taking his flight also from the tower, saying
that no one could recapture me except himself if he were to fly after
me. Messer Ruberto Pucci, the father of Messer Pandolfo, [1] having
heard of the great event, went in person to inspect the place;
afterwards he came to the palace, where he met with Cardinal Cornaro,
who told him exactly what had happened, and how I was lodged in one of
his own chambers, and already in the doctor’s hands. These two worthy
men went together, and threw themselves upon their knees before the
Pope; but he, before they could get a word out, cried aloud: “I know all
that you want of me.” Messer Ruberto Pucci then began: “Most blessed
Father, we beg you for Heaven’s grace to give us up that unfortunate
man; surely his great talents entitle him to exceptional treatment;
moreover, he has displayed such audacity, blent with so much ingenuity,
that his exploit might seem superhuman. We know not for what crimes you
Holiness has kept him so long in prison; however, if those crimes are
too exorbitant, your Holiness is wise and holy, and may your will be
done unquestioned; still, if they are such as can be condoned, we
entreat you to pardon him for our sake.” The Pope, when he heard this,
felt shame, and answered: “I have kept him in prison at the request of
some of my people, since he is a little too violent in his behaviour;
but recognising his talents, and wishing to keep him near our person, we
had intended to treat him so well that he should have no reason to
return to France. I am very sorry to hear of his bad accident; tell him
to mind his health, and when he is recovered, we will make it up to him
for all his troubles.”
Those two excellent men returned and told me the good news they were
bringing from the Pope. Meanwhile the nobility of Rome, young, old, and
all sorts, came to visit me. The castellan, out of his mind as he was,
had himself carried to the Pope; and when he was in the presence of his
Holiness, began to cry out, and to say that if he did not send me back
to prison, he would do him a great wrong. “He escaped under parole which
he gave me; woe is me that he has flown away when he promised not to
fly!” The Pope said, laughing: “Go, go; for I will give him back to you
without fail.” The castellan then added, speaking to the Pope: “Send the
Governor to him to find out who helped him to escape; for if it is one
of my men, I will hang him from the battlement whence Benvenuto leaped.”
On his departure the Pope called the Governor, and said, smiling: “That
is a brave fellow, and his exploit is something marvellous; all the
same, when I was a young man, I also descended from the fortress at that
very spot.” In so saying the Pope spoke the truth: for he had been
imprisoned in the castle for forging a brief at the time when he was
abbreviator 'di Parco Majoris.' [2] Pope Alexander kept him confined for
some length of time; and afterwards, his offence being of too ugly a
nature, had resolved on cutting off his head. He postponed the
execution, however, till after Corpus Domini; and Farnese, getting wind
of the Pope’s will, summoned Pietro Chiavelluzi with a lot of horses,
and managed to corrupt some of the castle guards with money.
Accordingly, upon the day of Corpus Domini, while the Pope was going in
procession, Farnese got into a basket and was let down by a rope to the
ground. At that time the outer walls had not been built around the
castle; only the great central tower existed; so that he had not the
same enormous difficulty that I met with in escaping; moreover, he had
been imprisoned justly, and I against all equity. What he wanted was to
brag before the Governor of having in his youth been spirited and brave;
and it did not occur to him that he was calling attention to his own
huge rogueries. He said then: “Go and tell him to reveal his accomplice
without apprehension to you, be the man who he may be, since I have
pardoned him; and this you may assure him without reservation.”
Note 1. See above, p. 114.
Note 2. The Collegium Abbreviatorum di Parco Majori consisted of
seventy-two members. It was established by Pius II. Onofrio Panvinio
tells this story of Paul III.’s imprisonment and escape, but places it
in the Papacy of Innocent VIII. See 'Vita Pauli' III., in continuation
of Platina.