man, and Ludovic, Duke of Milan (whose bastard daughter he had married),
seemed ambitious of making him so, and took as much interest in him as
if he had been his son, for his own children were not of age as yet.
The Pisans had been cruelly treated by the Florentines, who used them
as their slaves; for they had been conquered by them about one hundred
years[300], much about the same time as the Venetians subdued Padua[301],
which was their first acquisition upon the main land. These two cities
were much alike; they had been long enemies to those who had the
government of them; they were almost equal in power, and it was a great
while before they could be conquered. The Pisans now called a council,
and, finding themselves encouraged by so great a person, and being
naturally desirous of liberty, as the king was going to mass, a great
number of men and women cried out to him, “Liberty, Liberty,” begging
of him, with tears in their eyes, that he would vouchsafe to restore
it to them. There was at that time one Rabot[302] a counsellor of the
parliament of Dauphiny, and then either actually Master of the Requests,
or executing that office for somebody else, who (having promised to do
so, or not well understanding the nature of their demands) acquainted
the king (as he was walking before him) with the deplorable condition
of the Pisans, and told his majesty he ought in pity to redress their
wrongs, for never people had been so tyrannically dealt with. The king
not understanding what they meant by that word liberty, and beginning to
commiserate the afflictions of Italy, and the miseries the poor subjects
endured, both under princes and commonwealths, replied, he was willing
it should be so; though (to speak truth) he had no authority to grant
it, for the town was not his own, and he was received into it only in
friendship, and to relieve him in his great necessities. Monsieur Rabot
told them the king’s answer, and the people began immediately to fill the
streets with acclamations of joy; and running to the end of the bridge
upon the River Arno, they pulled down a great lion, called Marzocchi,
which stood upon a marble pillar, and represented the government of
Florence, and threw it into the river. When they had so done, they caused
a statue of the King of France to be set on the pillar, with his sword in
his hand, and the Marzocchi, or lion, under his horse’s feet. After that,
when the King of the Romans came to that town[303], they served the King
of France’s statue as they had served the lion; for it is the nature of
the Italians to side always with the strongest; but these Pisans were,
and are still, so barbarously treated, that they ought to be excused for
what they did.
CH. X.—How the King departed from Pisa to go to Florence; and of the
Flight and Destruction of Peter de Medicis.—1494.
The king stayed not long there[304], but departed for Florence; where
they complained to him of the injury he had done to the Florentines,
and that it was contrary to his promise, to restore the Pisans to their
liberty. Those whom he appointed to answer their complaint, excused his
conduct in the best manner they could; alleging, that his majesty had not
been rightly informed, and they entered into another agreement, of which
I shall say something hereafter. But, in the first place, I must speak of
the fate of Peter de Medicis, and of the king’s entrance into Florence,
and of the garrisons that his majesty left in Pisa and other places,
which the Florentines had lent him.
After Peter de Medicis, by the consent of some few of his colleagues,
had delivered up the above-mentioned towns to the king, he returned to
Florence, where the people supposed the king would not keep them, but
that after he had refreshed himself for three or four days, and had
left Pisa, they would be delivered up again. I am of opinion that, had
the king proposed to them to remain there the whole winter, they would
easily have consented to it; though Pisa, except in the numbers of the
people, and the richness of their furniture, is of greater value and
importance to them than Florence itself. However, Peter de Medicis,
upon his return to Florence, was but coldly received by the people,
who looked discontentedly upon him, and not without reason; for he had
disarmed them of all their power and authority, and robbed them of
all the conquests they had gained for a hundred years before; so that
their hearts seemed to presage the calamities which have happened to
them since. For this cause (which I believe was the principal, though
they never declared it), for the hatred they bore him (as I have said
before), and for the recovery of their liberties, of which they believed
themselves deprived (without any respect to the services done them by
Cosmo and Laurence his predecessors), they resolved to drive him out
of the town. Peter de Medicis having some suspicion, but no certain
knowledge, of their designs, went to the palace to announce the king’s
approach, who was within three miles of the city; but coming, according
to his usual custom, with his guards, and knocking boldly at the palace
gate, he was denied entrance by one of the Nerli[305] (of whom there were
several brothers, with whom I was well acquainted, and also with their
father, all very wealthy people), who told him he might enter alone if he
pleased, but otherwise not; and he that gave him this answer was armed.
Upon which Peter de Medicis returned at once to his house, put himself
and his retainers in arms, and sent word to one Paul Ursini[306], who
was in the Florentine service; for by his mother’s side Peter de Medicis
was akin to the Ursini, and both his father and himself had always had
several of that family in their service; and he resolved to stand upon
his guard, and oppose any insurrection that might happen in the city.
But, not long after, hearing a great cry of “Liberty, Liberty,” and
seeing the people assembled in arms, he left the city according to the
prudent advice that was given him by Ursini; but it was a sad parting for
him, for in power and riches he and his predecessors, since the time of
Cosmo, had been equal to the greatest princes, and on that day fortune
began to be adverse, and he lost both authority and estate. I was at
Venice myself, but the news was communicated to me by the Florentine
ambassador, who was there, and I was extremely concerned at it; for I had
a great affection for his father. Had this Peter believed me formerly, he
had not then been in that condition; for upon my first arrival at Venice
I wrote to him, and offered to make his peace with the king, and it was
in my power to have done it; for I had verbal commission, from both the
Seneschal of Beaucaire and Brissonet, to do it, and the king would have
been contented with passage for his troops, or, at the worst, to have
had Leghorn put into his hands, in return for which, he would have done
whatever Peter could have desired; but, by the persuasion and ill counsel
of Peter Capponi, whom I have mentioned before, he did but laugh at me
for the offer I made him.
The next morning the Florentine ambassador delivered a letter to the
Signory of Venice, importing that Peter de Medicis was banished from
Florence for endeavouring to make himself sovereign of that city, by
the assistance of the Ursini, and of the house of Arragon; with other
complaints besides against him, which were not true. But such are the
accidents of this world; he who is beaten and flies, is not only sure to
be pursued by his enemies, but is forsaken, and perhaps persecuted by his
friends; as was too visible in the behaviour of this ambassador, Paul
Anthony Soderini[307] (one of the wisest statesmen in all Italy). The day
before the delivery of this letter he mentioned Peter de Medicis to me
with the respect due to his sovereign lord, but now he declared himself
his enemy by order from the State; but, to do him justice, he said
nothing of his own feelings. The next day I was informed that Peter de
Medicis was coming to Venice, that the king had made his triumphal entry
into Florence, and that the senate had recalled their ambassador, telling
him, that “he must sail with that wind.” I saw their letter myself, for
he showed it me upon his leaving Venice. Two days after his departure,
Peter de Medicis arrived at Venice, in the disguise of a servant in
livery. The Venetians were at a loss how to behave themselves towards
him; they were afraid of disobliging the king, and yet they could not in
reason refuse to give him protection; however, they made him wait outside
the town for two days, and desired to know of me how my master would take
it: I had never received any orders from the king to resent it, and,
being willing to serve him, I answered, “That I supposed his flight was
for fear of the people, not of the king.” Upon which he was received, and
the next day after his appearance before the Signory I made him a visit.
The Signory ordered a handsome apartment for him, permitted him and about
twenty of his retinue to wear their swords, and showed him a great deal
of honour and respect; for, though his grandfather Cosmo had formerly
hindered them from making themselves masters of Milan[308], yet they had
a reverence for the honour of his family, which had been so renowned and
triumphant all over Christendom.
When I came into his presence, methought he seemed not to answer my
expectation. He gave me a long narrative of his misfortunes, and I gave
him the best consolation I could. Among the rest of his complaints, he
told me he had lost all; but that which made the deepest impression on
his spirits was, that, having written to his factor in that town to
furnish him with cloth for himself and his brother, though only to the
value of a hundred ducats, he had been refused. Not long after he had
good news from the Lord de Bresse, who has since become Duke of Savoy;
and the king wrote to him to come to him. However, the king left Florence
about the same time, as you will find hereafter; but I was forced to say
something of this Peter de Medicis, for he was a great man, considering
his estate and authority, which his family had enjoyed in its fullest
extent for threescore years.
CH. XI.—How the King made his Entrance into Florence, and what other
Towns he passed through in his March to Rome.—1494.
The next day the king made his entrance into the city of Florence, where
Peter de Medicis had prepared apartments for him in his own palace, and
appointed the Lord de Ballassat to attend him; but, as soon as that
nobleman was informed of the flight of Peter de Medicis, he fell to
rifling the palace, upon pretence that the bank of Lyons was in arrear
to him for a considerable sum of money; and among other things he seized
upon a whole unicorn’s horn[309], valued at six or seven thousand ducats,
besides two great pieces of another, and several other things; and other
people followed his example. The best of his furniture had been conveyed
into another house in the city; but the mob plundered it. The Signory
got part of his richest jewels, twenty thousand ducats in ready money,
that he had in his bank in the city; several fine agate cups, besides
an incredible number of cameos admirably well cut, which I had formerly
seen, and three thousand medals of gold and silver, weighing near forty
pounds’ weight, and I believe there were not so many fine medals in all
Italy besides: so that his losses in the city that day might be computed
at a hundred thousand crowns, if not more.
But the king being arrived in the city of Florence, a treaty[310] was
made between him and the Florentines, and I am of opinion the citizens
embraced it very heartily. They gave the king sixscore thousand ducats,
of which they paid him fifty thousand down, and the rest in two short
payments afterward. They lent him all the above-mentioned fortresses, and
changed their arms, which were the red fleur-de-lis, and adopted those of
the king, who took them under his protection, and swore upon the altar
of St. John to restore the towns which they had put into his possession,
within four months after his arrival at Naples, or sooner, if he should
return to France; but matters happened otherwise, as you will find in the
sequel of these Memoirs.
The king made but a short stay at Florence; but advanced with his army to
Sienna, where he was well received; thence he advanced to Viterbo[311],
where the enemy (Don Ferrand), having retreated towards Rome, designed
to post and fortify themselves, and fight, if they saw an advantageous
opportunity, as King Alphonso’s and the Pope’s ambassadors at Venice
told me; and truly I expected the arrival of King Alphonso in person
there (for he had the reputation of being a man of courage), and that
he would have left his son in the kingdom of Naples to manage affairs
in his absence. According to my judgment the place would have been most
advantageous for him; for he would have had his own kingdom and the
States of the Church, and the towns and places belonging to the Ursini
behind him. And I was extremely surprised to receive letters from the
king announcing that he was at Viterbo, and that one of the commanders
had delivered up the castle upon the intercession of the Cardinal of St.
Peter ad Vincula (who was governor of it) and of the Colonne. I fancied
then that God would put an end to this affair, and began to repent of
having advised and written to the king to come to an accommodation; for
they offered him very fair terms. Aquapendente, Montefiascone, and all
the adjacent towns, were delivered up before the surrender of Viterbo,
as I was informed by letters from the king and the Signory of Venice,
who had daily intelligence of what passed from their ambassadors, which
they either showed me, or else ordered their secretaries to give me an
account. From Viterbo the king marched towards Rome, and thence through
the dominions of the Ursini, which were all surrendered to him by the
Lord Charles Ursini[312], who pretended that he had orders from his
father to do so (who was still in Alphonso’s service), and said that,
whilst Don Ferrand was entertained in the territories of the Church, so
long would he wait on the king, and no longer. This was exactly according
to the custom in Italy, both among princes and captains, and all persons;
for there they carry fair with their very enemies, for fear it should
be their misfortune to be of the weakest side. The king was accordingly
received into Bracciano, the chief place belonging to Virgil Ursini; it
was a strong and beautiful castle, and well furnished with provisions.
I have heard the king often commend the place, and the entertainment he
met with there; for at that time his army was in great distress for want
of provision, and indeed they could hardly have been in greater want; so
that, if we do but consider how often this army was inclined to disband
since its first arrival at Vienne in Dauphiny, and the many unexpected
accidents by which it was supplied and advanced, it must of necessity be
acknowledged that God Almighty conducted the enterprise.
CH. XII.—How the King sent the Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula (who was
afterwards Pope, by the name of Julius II.) to Ostia; what the Pope did
at Rome in the Meantime; and how the King entered Rome, notwithstanding
all the Endeavours of his Enemies to the contrary; and of the Factions
between the Ursini and the Colonne in Rome.—1494.
From Bracciano the king sent the Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula to
Ostia, of which he was bishop. Ostia is a town of great importance,
possessed by the Colonne, who had taken it formerly from the Pope; but
not long before, it had been recovered from the said cardinal by the
forces of the Church.[313] It is a town of no great strength, and yet
it kept Rome in subjection a long time afterwards, by means of the said
cardinal, who was a great friend to the Colonne, which family embraced
our interest, at the instigation of Cardinal Ascanio[314] (the Duke of
Milan’s brother, and vice-chancellor to the Pope), and in opposition to
the Ursini, with whom they have been always at difference. The faction
of these two houses has occasioned as great troubles in the states of
the Church as the animosity betwixt the Luce and Grandmont families have
been to us, or the Houcs and Caballans to the Dutch[315]; and were it
not for this dissension, the territories of the Church would be one of
the best habitations for subjects in the world; for they pay no taxes,
their duties are few, and they would be sure to be well governed, for the
popes are always wise, and have good councillors about them. But because
of these emulations, they are subject to many calamities, as murders and
plundering, of which we have seen frequent examples within these last
four years; for since that time[316] the Colonne have been our enemies,
much to their loss, for the king had given them estates of twenty
thousand ducats a year and more in the kingdom of Naples, such as the
county of Tagliacozzo, and other places (which were formerly the estates
of the Ursini), besides whatever else they demanded, whether in men or
money; so that what they did was done treacherously and unhandsomely,
without any manner of provocation; but they had been always for the house
of Arragon against the French, as being Ghibellines, and the Ursini
(being Guelphs) were always on our side with the Florentines.
The king sent with the Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula to Ostia, Peron
de Basche, the steward of his household, who three days before had
brought the king twenty thousand ducats by sea, which was part of the
money lent him by the Duke of Milan. This Peron de Basche landed at
Piombino, and left the fleet (which was but small) under the command of
the Prince of Salerno, and the Baron of Sernon[317] in Provence; but
being overtaken suddenly by a storm, their ship was much shattered, and
driven upon the coast of Sardinia, where they lay a long time without
doing us any service till they could be repaired, though they cost us a
vast expense, and came not to us till the king was in Naples.
There were with the Cardinal at Ostia about five hundred men-at-arms,
and two thousand Swiss under the command of the Count de Ligny[318] (the
king’s cousin-german by his mother’s side), the Lord of Allegre[319],
and others. Their design was to have passed the Tiber, and enclosed Don
Ferrand in Rome, by the favour and assistance of the Colonne, of whom the
chief were Prospero and Fabritio Colonna, and the Cardinal Colonna[320],
who had two thousand foot under their command, to pay whom the king
remitted money by Peron de Basche, though they had raised and mustered
them at their own pleasure at Sansonna[321], a town belonging to them.
We must here observe that several affairs are coincident in this place,
and of every one of them something must be said. Before the king had made
his entrance into Viterbo, he had sent the Lord de la Tremouille[322],
his chamberlain, the President of Gannay[323], who had the seal, and
Monsieur Bidaut[324], to Rome, to treat with the Pope, who was never
without some underhand practices, according to the mode of the Italians.
While they were at Rome, the Pope in the night received Don Ferrand and
his whole army into the town, so that our people were seized for a short
time, but dismissed the same day by the Pope; only the Cardinal Ascanio,
vice-chancellor and brother to the Duke of Milan, and Prospero Colonna,
were detained (some say by their own consent). I had news of all this
immediately, by letters from the king, and the Signory of Venice had
a more ample account of it from their agents; and it happened before
the king got into Viterbo, for he never stayed above two days in any
place, and all things succeeded better for our interest than we could
have expected or hoped, and no wonder, for God’s providence appeared so
visibly for our assistance, that nobody could deny it.
The badness of the weather had rendered the army in Ostia utterly
unserviceable. But you must understand that the forces under the command
of the Lord d’Aubigny had been marched back, and he himself had no
further employment there. The Italians were likewise dismissed, who had
been raised in Romagna, and brought to the army by Count Rodolph of
Mantua[325], the Lord Galeot de la Mirandola[326], and Fracasse[327],
brother to Galeas di St. Severino; who were well paid by the king, and
were in all about five hundred men. At his departure from Viterbo the
king advanced to Naples[328] of which the Cardinal Ascanio was then
governor. And it it is most certain that, whilst our forces were in
Ostia, twenty fathoms of the wall fell down at Rome, on that side where
we designed to enter.
The Pope, observing this young prince advance so briskly, and with such
unexpected success, consented to receive him into Rome (and to speak
truth he could not help it), upon condition he would give safe conduct
under his hand and seal to Don Ferrand, Duke of Calabria, and only son
to Alphonso; but Ferrand marched away in the night towards Naples, and
the Cardinal Ascanio conducted him to the very gate. The king entered
Rome[329] in arms, as a prince who had authority to do what he pleased
wherever he came. There came out to meet him several cardinals, and the
governors and senators of the town, who attended him to his lodgings in
the palace of St. Mark (which belonged to the Colonne, who were then his
servants and friends); and the Pope himself retired to his castle of St.
Angelo.
CH. XIII.—How King Alphonso caused his Son Ferrand to be crowned King;
his Flight into Sicily; and of the evil Life his Father (old Ferrand) and
he had led during their Reigns.—1495.
Could any man have imagined that so imperious a prince as Alphonso,
inured all his lifetime to wars, and his son and the Ursini, who had so
great a party in Rome, should have been afraid to make a stand there?
Especially when they perceived the Duke of Milan and the Venetians
wavering, and a secret alliance on foot, which would certainly have been
concluded, had any resistance been made, either at Viterbo or Rome,
that might have stopped the progress of the king’s arms, though but for
three or four days. But God was willing to demonstrate to the world that
all these things were beyond the contrivance and comprehension of human
wisdom; and, as we said before, that above twenty fathoms of the city
wall fell down, so now there fell down above fifteen fathoms of the outer
wall of the castle of St. Angelo, as I have been told by several persons,
and particularly by two cardinals who were there. But now we must say
something of King Alphonso.
As soon as the Duke of Calabria, called the young Ferrand (whom we have
already often mentioned), was returned to Naples, his father, King
Alphonso, abdicated the crown, thinking himself unworthy of it on account
of the mischiefs and cruelties he had committed against several princes
and lords who had trusted to his and his father’s honour, causing them
to be put to death (to the number of four-and-twenty), after the decease
of his father, who had kept them alive for some time after their wars
against him. Two more he also caused to be executed, who had surrendered
upon his father’s security; one was the Prince of Rossano, Duke of
Sessa[330], a person of great authority. This Prince of Rossano had
married King Ferrand’s sister, and had by her a son[331] of very great
parts and understanding. To make sure of him, he had been married to a
daughter of King Ferrand (for the Prince of Rossano had been engaged
in a most abominable treason against his king, and had deserved the
worst punishment that could have been inflicted, had he not surrendered
himself upon assurance of a pardon). As soon as he had surrendered, the
king ordered him to be closely confined in a stinking prison, where he
continued for the space of four-and-twenty years, and whither his son
was sent, when he was about fifteen or sixteen years old, to bear him
company. Alphonso, immediately upon his accession to the throne, ordered
all the prisoners to be removed to a small island not far from Naples,
called Ischia (of which you shall hear further hereafter), and put
all of them to death after a most barbarous and inhuman manner, except
Rossano’s son and the noble Count of Popoli[332], whom he still kept
prisoners in the castle of Naples.
I inquired very carefully how they were so cruelly murdered (because
many people believed them alive when the king entered Naples), and I was
told by their principal servants that they were horribly and villanously
knocked on the head by a Moor of Africa, who, immediately after their
execution, was dispatched into Barbary, that no notice might be taken of
it. I was informed he did not even spare those ancient princes, some of
whom had been kept in prison for four or five-and-thirty years. Never
was any prince more bloody, wicked, inhuman, lascivious, or gluttonous
than he. Yet his father was more dangerous, because no man knew when
he was angry or pleased; for he would betray men in the midst of his
entertainments and caresses, as he betrayed Count James[333], whom he
caused on a sudden to be apprehended, and put to a horrible death,
though he was in the quality of an ambassador at his court from Francis,
Duke of Milan, whose natural daughter he had married; but to that
barbarous action Francis was consenting, for they were both afraid of
his courage and interest with the Bracci[334], for he was son to Nicolo
Piccinino.[335] In the same manner (as report goes) he served several
others; for this Ferrand had nothing of tenderness or compassion in him,
as I have been informed by his nearest friends and relations, nor was
he ever known to take the least pity of his own necessitous subjects
in relation to their taxes. The whole trade of buying and selling he
engrossed to himself all through his kingdom. He delivered hogs to his
people to feed, and required them to make them fat, that they might fetch
a good price; and if any of them chanced to die, the people were forced
to pay for them. In Apulia and other countries which are plentiful in
olives, he and his son bought up all the oil, almost at their own price;
the same they did with their corn, buying it at a cheap rate before it
was ripe, and then selling it again as dear as they could; but if the
price of any of their commodities happened to fall in the meantime, they
obliged the people to take them off their hands; and whilst they were
disposed to sell, nobody durst buy of any one else.
If a baron, or the lord of any country, was a thrifty man, and saved
anything out of his revenue by management and industry, they sent
presently to borrow it, and the owners were forced to comply with their
unreasonable demands. They also took away their breed of horses (of
which in those parts there are several), and caused them to be managed
and trained for them and their use; so that they had in horses, mares,
and colts many thousands, which they sent up and down the kingdom to be
kept for them, to the great detriment of the masters. Both father and
son had ravished several women; they made no conscience of sacrilege,
nor did they retain the least respect or obedience for the church. They
sold their bishoprics, as that of Tarento, which the father sold for
thirteen thousand ducats to a Jew for his son, who the Jew pretended was
a Christian. He gave abbeys to falconers and others for their children,
telling them, “You shall keep me so many hawks, and mew them, and keep
me such a number of soldiers at your expense.” The son never kept Lent
in his life, nor so much as pretended to do it; and for many years he
never was at confession, nor ever received the Sacrament of the Lord’s
Supper. In short, it is scarce possible that any prince could be guilty
of greater villanies than they were. Some will have the young Ferrand to
be the worst of the two; though at his death he grew humble and civil,
but then indeed he was in distress.
CH. XIV.—How King Alphonso fled into Castile, and did Penance.—1495.
Perhaps the reader may think that what I have written of these two
princes proceeds from some particular pique against them; but upon my
conscience that is not the motive that induces me to do it; for I have
given you this history of their lives, only to continue my Memoirs,
in the beginning of which I freely declared my opinion that I thought
it impossible for those who had the management of our affairs to
have carried on this expedition so prosperously, had not God himself
undertaken to conduct it for our young king, whom he supplied with
provisions in the extremity of his wants, that he might make him his
instrument to scourge and chastise these Italian princes, who were wise,
rich, powerful, and experienced in the affairs of the world: had wise
and able ministers to defend and take care of their dominions, and were
supported by powerful alliances; and, though they beheld the storm afar
off, yet had they not courage or wisdom enough at that time either to
resist or avoid it. For, except the castle of Naples, there was not one
place which stopped the progress of the king’s arms for a day, which
occasioned Pope Alexander VI. to say that the French came into Naples
with wooden spurs, and chalk in their harbingers’ hands to mark out their
lodgings, which they took up without any more trouble. The wooden spurs
he mentioned because it was the custom at that time, when young gentlemen
rode about the streets, for their pages to put a sharp piece of wood into
the heels of their shoes, with which they pricked their mules forward. In
short, this expedition into Italy was performed with so much ease, and
so little resistance, that our soldiers scarce ever put on their armour
during the whole expedition, and the king marched with his army from
Asti to Naples in four months and nineteen days; an ambassador with his
retinue could hardly have got thither sooner.
I conclude, therefore, with several pious and religious men, and
the general voice of the people (which is the voice of God), that
God intended to make an example of these princes, that by their
chastisement others might be excited to conform their lives according
to his commandments. For these princes of Arragon lost their honour,
their kingdom, and their treasure, besides their rich furniture of all
sorts, which has been so strangely dispersed, it is hardly to be known
what is become of it; and, finally, they died themselves, three in one
year[336], or a little more; but I hope their souls are in paradise. For
King Ferrand, who was natural son to Alphonso the Great[337] (a wise,
good, and honourable prince), was highly concerned to see his kingdoms
invaded with such a powerful army, and to find himself not in a condition
to oppose it. He was also sensible of the notoriously bad lives that
he and his son had led, and that they had become odious to the people.
And besides, in the pulling down of a chapel (as I have been assured
by several of his nearest relations), there was a book found with this
title, _Truth, with its secret Counsel_[338], in which (it is said)
was contained a full prophecy of his misfortunes; but there were only
three persons who had a sight of it, for as soon as he had read it, he
committed it to the flames.
Another thing that troubled him was, that neither his son Alphonso, nor
his grandson Ferdinand, could be persuaded of the king’s coming into
Italy; but they talked arrogantly and contemptuously of him, hectoring
and threatening that they would go as far as the mountains to meet him.
But some were so wise as to make it their solemn petition to God Almighty
that a king of France might never come into Italy; for they had only
seen a poor indigent prince of the family of Anjou, who had troubled
all Italy before it could get rid of him, namely, Duke John, King
René’s son. Ferrand laboured hard, by means of his ambassador Camillo
Pandone[339], to stop the king’s expedition into Italy before he left
France, offering him a tribute of fifty thousand ducats a year, and to
do him homage for his kingdom. But finding he could neither purchase
his peace with the King of France, nor compose the differences of the
city of Milan, he fell sick, confessed his sins, and died[340], and, I
hope, repented of his wickedness. His son Alphonso, who was so cruel and
terrible, and in such reputation for his experience in military affairs
before the King of France’s departure from Rome, renounced the crown,
and was seized with such a panic fear, that in the night he would cry
out he heard the French, and that the stones and trees shouted, “France,
France.” Nor durst he ever stir boldly out of Naples; but upon his son’s
return from Rome he resigned the government of his kingdom to him, and
caused him to be crowned, and carried on horseback through the streets of
Naples, attended by the chief persons of the city, to wit, his brother
Don Frederic, and the Cardinal of Genoa (between whom the new king rode),
and all the foreign ambassadors that were there; and after all this pomp
and solemnity was performed, Alphonso himself fled into Sicily, and took
with him the queen his mother-in-law[341] (sister to Ferrand, King of
Castile, who is now reigning, and heir to the kingdom of Sicily), to a
place[342] where she had a strong garrison.
This was looked upon as a very surprising turn of affairs all over
Europe, but especially at Venice, where I was then as the king’s
ambassador. Some said he had retired to the Turkish court, others that
his resignation was only in favour of his son, who was less odious to
the people; but I was always of opinion it proceeded from nothing but
real cowardice; for no person that was cruel was ever courageous, as
all histories inform us; for so Nero and several other tyrants perished
in despair. In short, Alphonso was in so great a consternation, that (as
I was informed by some who were about him) he told his mother-in-law,
on the very day of their departure, that if she would not go he would
leave her behind; and when she entreated him to put off his departure
for three days longer, that it might be said she had been a whole year
in his kingdom, he replied that, rather than not go then, he would throw
himself out of the window; “For do not you hear (saith he), how everybody
cries out, ‘France, France?’” Upon which they immediately went on board
their galleys. He took along with him all sorts of wines (which he loved
above all things), and seeds for his gardens, without taking any care of
his property or furniture, which was left mostly in the castle of Naples;
some jewels and a little money he carried with him besides, and away
they sailed for Sicily, to the place above mentioned; and from thence
to Messina, where he sent for and carried along with him certain monks,
to whom he pretended and swore he would have no further conversation
with the world. Among the rest, he took a particular fancy to the monks
of Mount Olivet, whose habit is white (as they told me at Venice, where
the body of St. Helena is deposited in their monastery), and with them
he lived a most strict and austere life, serving God at all hours both
of the day and night, as the monks did in their convents, spending his
time in prayers, fasting, and alms; by which austerity and severe way
of living he contracted a sad distemper of excoriation and gravel; and
the monks told me they never saw any man suffer greater misery, and yet
he endured it with abundance of patience, having resolved to spend the
remainder of his days in a monastery at Valentia, and to take upon him
the monkish habit; but he was surprised with a violent illness, and
died in a short time after. If we may judge from the greatness of his
penitence, we may conclude his soul is glorious in paradise. His son
outlived him not long, for he died of a fever and a flux, and I hope they
are better where they are, than they were in this world. To conclude,
in less than two years’ time there were five kings crowned in Naples;
the three I have mentioned before, Charles VIII. of France, and Don
Frederic[343], Alphonso’s brother, who now reigns.
CH. XV.—How, after Ferrand the Younger was crowned King of Naples he
encamped with his Forces at St. Germain, in order to oppose King Charles;
and of the Agreement King Charles made with the Pope during his stay at
Rome.—1495.
Now for the better understanding of all these affairs, you must know
that King Ferrand, after his coronation was over, became a new man,
supposing all the odium and resentment of past injuries were buried in
oblivion upon his father’s abdicating the throne. He assembled all the
forces he could raise, both of horse and foot, and marched with them to
St. Germain[344], which is a strong place, and easy to defend (though
the French passed it twice), upon the frontiers of his kingdom. Having
encamped there, and put a strong garrison, with all manner of provisions,
into the town, his friends began to take heart. The town is defended in
two ways, by a small river[345] that is fordable sometimes, and by a
great mountain which seems to hang over it.
The king in the meantime was at Rome, and continued there about twenty
days, during which time several affairs of importance were transacted.
There were with him about eighteen cardinals, and others from various
parts; among whom there were the Lord Ascanio, vice-chancellor and
brother to the Duke of Milan, and the Cardinal of St. Peter ad
Vincula (great foes to one another, but mortal enemies to the Pope),
the Cardinals of Gurce[346], St. Dennis[347], St. Severino[348],
Savelly[349], Colonna, and others; all of them earnest for a new
election, and that the Pope might be deposed, who was then in his
castle. Twice our great guns were made ready to fire (as I have been
told by several persons of quality); but both times the king in his
mercy opposed it. The place is not defensible, being built upon a small
hill, and that merely artificial. It was alleged that the walls had
fallen down by miracle, and they charged his Holiness with having given
money for the papacy, and they said the truth; but Cardinal Ascanio
was the principal merchant, for it was he that drove the bargain and
received most of the money, besides the house in which the Pope lived
when he was vice-chancellor, with all the rich furniture, and his
vice-chancellorship, and several other places of St. Peter’s patrimony
besides; for they two were competitors for the popedom. However, I am
of opinion they would both have consented to a new election at the
king’s pleasure, though it had been to choose a Frenchman. I will not
pretend to say whether the king acted well or ill, but I think his best
way was to compose matters amicably, as he did; for he was a young man,
and incapable of performing so important a work as the reformation of
the Church, though, perhaps, his strength might have been sufficient.
Could he have undertaken and gone through with it, I question not but
all men of wisdom and reason would have acknowledged it to have been a
good, great, and holy work; but great mystery would have been necessary.
However, the king’s intentions were good, and are so still, if he were
vigorously assisted.
The king took another course, and came to an accommodation[350] with
the Pope, which could not possibly last long, for it was too violent in
some points, and there was great talk of making an alliance, of which
we shall speak more hereafter. By this agreement there was to be peace
between the Pope and his cardinals; and the said cardinals were to
receive all the rights and perquisites belonging to their dignities,
as well absent as present; and the Pope was to deliver four towns to
the king, Terracina, Civita Vecchia, Viterbo (which was in his hands
already), and Spoleto; but this last he never delivered, notwithstanding
his promise. All these towns were to be restored to the Pope upon the
king’s return out of Naples, which was performed on the king’s part,
though the Pope had not dealt fairly with him. By this agreement he
also delivered the Grand Seignior’s brother[351] to the king, for whom
he received constantly every year of the Great Turk forty-five thousand
ducats, for he was greatly afraid of him. He further promised not to put
a legate into any place under the jurisdiction of the Church without the
king’s approbation. There were other articles relating to the consistory,
for which and the rest, his son the cardinal of Valentia[352] was given
in hostage, who attended the king instead of a legate. The king on his
part did his filial obedience with all imaginable humility, and the Pope
created two cardinals at his request; one was Monsieur Brissonet, who
had before been made Bishop of St. Malo; the other was the Bishop of
Mans[353], of the house of Luxembourg, and then resident in France.
CH. XVI.—How the King departed from Rome to Naples; of the Transactions
in that Kingdom in the Meantime; and an Account of the Places the King of
France passed through in his March.—1495.
Matters being adjusted after this manner, the king left Rome[354]
seemingly in great friendship with the Pope, but eight cardinals left
the town in a rage, of whom six were partisans of the vice-chancellor
and the cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula, though it was supposed this
was only a feint of Ascanio’s, and that at bottom he was agreed with the
Pope; but his brother[355] had not then declared himself our enemy. The
king marched with his army to Genzano, and from thence to Velitri, where
the Cardinal of Valentia gave him the slip.
The next morning the king took Monte-fortino by storm, and put the
garrison to the sword. The place belonged to James Visconti, who had
entered into the king’s service, and afterwards deserted him; for
the Visconti are of the faction of the Ursini. From thence the king
marched to Valmontone, which belonged to the Colonne, and thence
advanced to within four miles of Mount St. John, a strong place, which
he battered seven or eight hours with his heavy cannon, and then took
it by storm[356], and put all or nearly all the garrison to the sword.
It was church land, and belonged to the Marquis di Pescara[357]; and
there our whole army joined. From thence the king marched about sixteen
miles to St. Germain, where the new King Ferrand was encamped, as I said
before, with all the forces he was able to assemble. There was now no
remedy; this was the place for him to fight in or not at all, for it
was the entrance into his kingdom, and he was advantageously posted,
both in respect of the river and the mountain. He had also sent a strong
detachment to secure the pass at Cancello, which is in the mountains,
about six miles from St. Germain; but before the king’s approach,
Ferrand retired with great precipitation, and abandoned both the town
and the pass. Monsieur de Guise[358] commanded the van that day, and
the Lord de Rieux[359] was ordered to take the pass at Cancello, which
the Arragonians ought to have defended; but they also abandoned their
post, so that the king entered St. Germain[360] without any resistance.
King Ferrand retreated to Capua, where they received him and some few of
his retinue, but refused to admit his whole army. He made no long stay
among them at that time, but only entreated them to continue faithful
to him, promising to return the next day; and away he posted to Naples,
suspecting the rebellion which afterwards happened there. The greater
part of his army he left behind, and commanded them to attend him at
Capua; but when he came back the next day they were all fled. Virgil
Ursini, and his cousin the Count de Pettilane, went to Nola, where they
and their party were taken by our men. They affirmed that they had a
safe-conduct, and that we did them wrong; and it was true enough, but
their passport had not yet come to their hands; however, they paid
nothing for their ransom, only they were plundered, and, to speak the
truth, their loss was very considerable.
From St. Germain the king marched to Mignano and Teano, and encamped at
Calvi, two miles from Capua, where the inhabitants of that city came
to treat with him, and the king entered it with his whole army.[361]
From Capua he marched the next day to Aversa, midway between Capua and
Naples, about five miles distant from both. The chief of the Neapolitans
waited on his majesty there, and they came to an accommodation, by which
their ancient liberties and privileges were secured to them. The king
sent thither before him the Marshal de Gié, the Seneschal of Beaucaire,
the President Gannay, who kept the seals, and his secretaries. King
Ferrand, finding how matters went, and seeing the people and nobility
in arms against him, and his great stables plundered before his face,
got immediately aboard a galley, and made the best of his way to Ischia,
which is a small island about eighteen miles from Naples. And the King
of France was received into the city of Naples with great solemnity
and joy[362]; all the people came out to meet him, and those who were
under the greatest obligation to the house of Arragon came first, as
particularly the family of the Caraffi, who had at that time from
the house of Arragon above forty thousand ducats a year, in lands and
employments; for the kings in that country can dispose of their own
demesnes, as well as other people’s; and I am of opinion there are not
three considerable estates in the whole kingdom which are not held of the
crown or other persons.
Never people expressed so great zeal and affection to any king or nation
as they did to ours; for they supposed themselves delivered from all
tyranny, so that everywhere they willingly submitted to us. The whole
country of Calabria yielded, and the Lord d’Aubigny and Peron de Basche
were sent to command them, without any forces of their own. The Abruzzi
revolted of their own accord, and the town of Aquila, which was always
in the French interest, set them an example. In Apulia they did the
same, all but the castle of Brindisi, which is strong and well-manned,
and the town of Gallipoli, which had also a strong garrison in it, or
else the inhabitants would have revolted. In Calabria there were three
places which held out for King Ferrand; two of them were Amantea and
Tropea, anciently devoted to the house of Anjou, and they at first set
up the arms of France; but, because the king had given them to Monsieur
de Persi[363], and would not make them part of his own demesnes, they
pulled down his arms, and erected the banners of Arragon. The third
place was the castle of Reggio, which continued firm to the house of
Arragon; but all that stood out did so for want of being summoned to
surrender; for there was not a sufficient body of troops sent into Apulia
and Calabria to have kept one castle for the king. Tarento voluntarily
surrendered both castle and town, and so did Otranto, Monopoli, Trani,
Manfredonia, Barletta, and all but those places which I excepted before.
They came three days’ journey to meet our army, and begged of us to
receive their respective cities into our protection. They sent likewise
all of them to Naples, and all the princes and great lords of the kingdom
came thither to do homage to our king, except the Marquis de Pescara,
but his brothers and nephews came. The Count d’Acri and the Marquis de
Squillazzo fled into Sicily, because our king had given their estates
to the Lord d’Aubigny. There also arrived at Naples the Prince of
Salerno, newly come from sea; but he had done nothing considerable. His
cousin, the Prince of Bisignano, was there also with his brothers, and
the Dukes of Melfi[364] and Gravina[365], and the old Duke of Sora, who
heretofore had sold his duchy to the Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula,
whose brother[366] enjoys it at this day. The Counts of Monterio, Fondi,
Tripalda, and Celano (which last had been banished a long time, and was
returned with the king) came also to Naples. The Count de Troye, a young
Scottish gentleman, but educated in France, was there also, and the
Count de Popoli, whom we found prisoner in Naples. The young Prince of
Rossano, who, as I said before, was long a prisoner with his father, who
had been confined thirty-four years, was released, and accompanied King
Ferrand to Ischia. There came also to Naples the Marquis de Venafro, all
the Caldoresques[367], the Count de Matalon, and the Count de Merillano,
whose predecessors had always governed the house of Arragon; and, in
short, all the nobility of that kingdom, except the three persons whom I
mentioned before.
CH. XVII.—How King Charles was crowned King of Naples; the Errors he
committed in his Government of that Kingdom; and of the Discovery of a
Design in his Favour against the Turks by the Venetians.—1495.
King Ferrand, when he fled from Naples, left the Marquis of Pescara and
some Germans in the castle, and sailed himself into Sicily to demand
succour of his father. Don Frederic still kept at sea with some few
galleys, and came twice (with a passport) to treat with our king. His
demands were, that some part of the kingdom should be left to his nephew,
with the title of king; and that he should himself enjoy all the lands
which belonged to him and his wife. His request was not unreasonable,
for his own estate was but small: the king offered to give both him and
his nephew an equivalent in France; and I am of opinion his majesty
would have given them some considerable duchy, but they did not think
fit to accept it; besides, there was no trusting them in the kingdom
of Naples; for they would have observed no articles of agreement any
longer than it had been for their advantage. So we erected our batteries
against the castle of Naples, and began to fire upon it. The Marquis
de Pescara was gone out of it, and there were only a few Germans in
it. Had we sent but four of our great guns into the island, we had
certainly carried it; but from thenceforward our misfortunes returned.
For all the rest of the towns (which were not above four or five) would
have fallen into our hands of course; but we spent our time in gaiety,
entertainments, dancing, and tournaments, and grew so insolent and vain,
we scarce considered the Italians to be men. Our king was crowned,
and had his lodgings in the castle of Capoana, and sometimes went to
Mont-Imperial[368]: to the subjects of that kingdom he did many good
acts, and abated their taxes; so that I believe the people would never
have rebelled of themselves (though they are naturally inconstant),
had we but obliged some few of the nobility; but they were slighted,
and treated uncivilly at the very gates. Those of the house of Caraffa
(though friends to the house of Arragon) were used the best; yet they
escaped not quite without loss. Every one else was deprived of his
offices and estate; and the partisans of the house of Anjou fared a
great deal worse than the friends of Arragon. Orders were sent into the
county of Merillano, and the President Gannay and the seneschal (lately
made Duke of Nola, and grand chamberlain of the kingdom) were suspected
to have taken money for obtaining them: by those orders every one was
to be confirmed in his possessions, only the partisans of the house of
Anjou were to be excluded from their estates, unless they could make good
their titles by law; and for such as had entered of their own accord
(as the Count di Celano) they were to be ejected by force. All estates
and offices were conferred upon two or three Frenchmen, and all the
stores of provision in the castle of Naples (which were found to be very
considerable upon the taking of it) were given to any man that asked,
with the king’s knowledge and consent.
During these transactions the Germans capitulated, and delivered up the
castle, keeping all the goods that were in it (to a vast value) for
themselves. Another castle, called Castel del Ovo, was taken by storm;
by which it may be perceived that what was done was not done so much by
the conduct or dexterity of the agents, as by the providence of God; but
the great faults that were committed were the works of men puffed up by
vain glory, and unwilling to acknowledge from whence their success and
honour proceeded; and their misfortune was the pure product of their own
depraved nature and experience: so that their fortune changed as suddenly
and visibly as the day rises in Norway or Iceland, where the days in
summer are longer than in other parts, and one day is scarce ended until
within a quarter of an hour before the next begins to dawn. In the same
manner a wise man might have observed the face of their good fortune
after, and that enterprise miscarry (which, if had been ascribed to the
true manager of it), would have contributed mightily to the honour and
advantage of all Christendom. For the Turkish empire would have been as
easily shaken as Alphonso’s kingdom; for the emperor is still alive, and
is a man of no reputation or courage, and his brother was in our king’s
hands (though he lived but a few days after the Cardinal of Valentia
made his escape, and was supposed to have been poisoned), and the sultan
dreaded him above all persons in the world. Besides, in the very heart
of his empire there were thousands of Christians ready to take up arms;
and from Otranto to Valona[369] is not above sixty miles, and from
Valona to Constantinople about eighteen days’ journey, as I have been
informed by men who have often travelled between those places, and in all
the way there are not above two or three strong towns, the rest having
been dismantled. The countries that lie between are Albania, Sclavonia,
and Greece, all of them very populous, and acquainted with the fame and
character of our king by their correspondents in Venice and Apulia, to
whom they wrote constantly, and awaited only their directions to rebel.
The king sent thither to them the Archbishop of Durazzo[370], who was
an Albanian born; and, discoursing with multitudes of the children and
grandchildren of several great lords, descendants of Scanderbeg[371],
one son of the Emperor of Constantinople[372] several of the nephews of
the Lord Constantine[373] (at present Governor of Montferrat), and some
nephews or cousins to the King of Servia, he found them all inclinable
to revolt. In Thessaly above five thousand men would have appeared,
and Scutari and Croia would have been surprised by means of the Lord
Constantine, who lay concealed several days in my house at Venice; for
Macedonia and Thessaly, which formerly belonged to Alexander the Great,
were his inheritance. Valona is situated in them; Scutari and Croia
are not far off; but in his time his father or uncle[374] mortgaged
them to the Venetians, who lost Croia, and Scutari was surrendered to
the Turk upon articles of peace[375]. The said Lord Constantine was at
that time within three leagues of them; and the enterprise would have
been executed, had not the Archbishop of Durazzo stayed at Venice some
time after Constantine’s departure. I pressed him hard to depart, for
I thought him a person that could not keep a secret long; and he went
up and down boasting that he was about an affair which would make him
celebrated all over Christendom. By ill fortune, on the very day that the
Venetians had news of the death of the Turk’s brother, whom the Pope had
delivered to our king, they resolved to give notice of it to the Sultan
by one of their secretaries; and being assured that whoever brought the
first news would be certain of a great reward, they ordered that no
vessel should pass between the two castles in the night (which castles
command the entrance of the gulf of Venice); to prevent which they posted
guards at both of them, being fearful of nothing so much as the small
vessels and grips[376], as they call them, of which there are great
numbers in the ports of Albania, and their islands in Greece.
The poor archbishop happened that very night to set out upon the Lord
Constantine’s enterprise, and carrying along with him abundance of
swords, bucklers, and javelins, for the use of his confederates who
wanted them; as he passed between the two castles he was stopped and
taken, and himself and servants secured in one of them; but the vessels
had leave to go on. They searched him, and found letters about him that
discovered the whole plot; and the Lord Constantine has told me since
that the Venetians sent immediate notice to all the Turkish garrisons
that were near, and an express to the Grand Signor himself; so that, had
it not been for the grip which they suffer to pass (whose master was an
Albanian who gave him notice), the Lord Constantine had been taken; but
he escaped by sea, and got away into Apulia.
CH. XVIII.—A Digression or Discourse, by no Means unconnected with the
main Subject, in which Philip de Commines, Author of this present Book,
speaks at some Length of the State and Government of the Signory of
Venice, and of what he saw, and what was done, while he was Ambassador
from the King of France in the City of Venice.—1495.
It is now high time for me to say something of the Venetians, and of
the occasion of my being sent thither in an embassy while the king
was employed in his affairs at Naples. I was sent from Asti to return
them thanks for the civil and obliging answers they had given to two
former ambassadors from his majesty, and to endeavour, if possible, to
continue them in his friendship, and to cultivate a good understanding
with them; for he saw their power, wisdom, and conduct was more like to
disturb him than any other state in Italy. The Duke of Milan hastened my
despatch, and wrote to his resident there (where he constantly had one)
to assist me, and give me instructions to whom I should apply myself.
His ambassador had an allowance from the Signory of a hundred ducats
a month, his lodgings well furnished, and three gondolas to carry him
about the town without expense; and the Venetian ambassador has the
same at Milan, excepting the boats; for there they go on horseback, and
at Venice in boats. In my journey thither I passed by several of their
cities, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and other places. I was treated
very civilly wherever I came, in honour to the monarch who sent me,
and the people came out to meet me in great bodies, with their Podestà
or captain[377]; both of them never came out together, but the captain
met me at the gate. When I had entered the town I was conducted to my
lodgings; the master of the house was commanded that I should want
nothing, and my whole charges were borne, and mighty good words given me
into the bargain; yet, if you compute what must necessarily be given to
the drums, trumpets, and officers in those ceremonies, an ambassador will
be found to save but little; however, my reception was most honourable.
The day that I made my entry into Venice they sent to meet me as far as
Fusina, which is five miles from Venice; there you leave the boats which
bring you down the river[378] from Padua, and get into little boats
covered with tapestry and very neat, with fair carpets within, and velvet
cushions to sit upon. To this place you come from Venice by sea, as it is
the next place to Venice upon _terra firma_; but the sea (unless agitated
by some storm) is very calm, which is the reason of the great abundance
of all sorts of fish. I was extremely surprised at the situation of this
city, to see so many churches, monasteries, and houses, and all in the
water; and the people have no other passage up and down the streets but
in boats, of which, I believe, they have near thirty thousand, but they
are very small. About the city, within less than the compass of half
a French league, there are seventy religious houses both of men and
women, all situated in little islands, very beautiful and magnificent
both in building and furniture, with fair gardens belonging to them;
without reckoning those in the city, where there are the four orders of
mendicants, and seventy-two parishes, besides several fraternities; and,
indeed, it is most strange to behold so many stately churches in the sea.
I was met and complimented at Fusina by five and twenty gentlemen,
richly dressed in silks and scarlets; they welcomed me with abundance
of civility, and conducted me to St. Andrew’s church, which was near
the town, where as many other gentlemen met and complimented me. These
were accompanied by the ambassadors of Milan and Ferrara; and after
they had made another speech to me I was conducted into other larger
boats, which they called Plats, two of which were covered with crimson
satin, and spread with tapestry at the bottom, big enough to hold forty
persons; and placing me between the two ambassadors (the middle being the
most honourable place in Italy), I was conducted through the principal
street, which they call the Grand Canal, and it is so wide that galleys
frequently cross one another; indeed I have seen vessels of four hundred
tons or more ride at anchor just by the houses. It is the fairest and
best-built street, I think, in the world, and goes quite through the
city; the houses are very large and lofty, and built of stone; the
old ones are all painted; those of about a hundred years standing are
faced with white marble from Istria (which is about a hundred miles from
Venice), and inlaid with porphyry and serpentine. Within they have,
most of them, two chambers at least adorned with gilt ceilings, rich
marble chimney-pieces, bedsteads of gold colour, their portals of the
same, and most gloriously furnished. In short, it is the most triumphant
city that I have ever seen, the most respectful to all ambassadors and
strangers, governed with the greatest wisdom, and serving God with the
most solemnity; so that, though in other things they might be faulty, I
believe God blesses them for the reverence they show in the service of
the church.
In the company of these fifty gentlemen I was conveyed to St. George’s
(which is an abbey of reformed black friars), where I had an apartment
prepared for me. The next morning they came to wait on me again, and
conducted me to the Signory, where I delivered my credentials to the
Doge[379], who presides in all their councils, and is honoured as a king.
All letters are addressed to him, but of himself he cannot do much; yet
this one had greater authority than any of his predecessors, for he
had been Doge for above twelve years; and I found him a prudent man,
of great experience in the affairs of Italy, and civil and courteous
in his person. The first day of my arrival was spent in receiving
their compliments, and viewing three or four chambers in the duke’s
palace; in which the ceilings, beds, and portals were all richly gilt;
the apartments are very fine, but the court is not large. The palace
is splendid and rich in all it contains, being built of finely carved
marble, and the whole front and facings are of stone, gilt an inch thick;
and there are in this palace four handsome saloons, richly gilt, and very
spacious. The Doge from his own chamber can hear mass at the high altar
in the chapel of St. Mark, which, for a chapel, is the most magnificent
piece of building in the universe, being built of mosaic work in every
part, of which they pretend to be the inventors; and, indeed, it is a
great trade amongst them, as I have seen.
In this chapel their treasure (of which so much is said) is kept, and
intended only for the decoration of their churches; there are twelve
or fourteen rubies, the largest I ever saw; one of them weighs seven,
the other eight hundred carats, but both of them are unpolished; there
are twelve other stones in cases of gold, with the edges and forepart
set richly with very fine jewels. There are also twelve crowns of gold,
wherewith, anciently, upon certain festivals in the year, twelve women
of the city were crowned; and being styled and attended as queens, they
passed in great pomp and solemnity through all the churches and islands.
But, at length, certain robbers from Istria and Friuli (which are not far
off), concealed about those islands, took their opportunity and surprised
a number of the women of the city. Their husbands pursued, overtook, and
recovered them; upon which they offered up their crowns to St. Mark, and
founded a chapel, to which the Signory repairs every year upon the day
of their victory. There is also great store of rich ornaments for the
church, with several fair pieces of gold, many fine amethysts and agates,
and some small emeralds. But this is not a treasure of equal value with
ready money, and, indeed, they have not much of that kind of treasure;
for the Doge told me in the Senate-house that it is a capital crime
among them to suggest collecting a treasure of that nature; and they are
right, for it might cause dissension among them. After they had shown me
their treasure I was carried to see their arsenal, where their galleys
are equipped, and all things necessary provided for their navies; which,
perhaps, is even now the finest in the world, and was formerly under
better order and regulation.
In short, I resided there eight months at their expense, and all the
other ambassadors who were there had the same treatment; in which time I
can assure you I found them so wise, and so intent upon enlarging their
territories, that, if it be not prevented in time, all the neighbouring
States may lament it too late. For since our king’s expedition into
Italy they have been much more dexterous and skilful in attacking and
defending themselves than formerly; for they are still at war with him,
and yet they have extended their dominions, and lent money upon the
security of seven or eight cities in Apulia, which I am not sure will
ever be restored.[380] Besides, at the king’s first coming into Italy
they did not imagine towns could have been taken so easily (contrary to
their custom), nor in so short a time; but since they have been better
instructed in the art of war, they have fortified their towns very
strongly, and other commonwealths have done the same. It is not to be
expected that they should attain to the perfection and grandeur of the
old Romans, for their bodies are not so able to bear the fatigues of war,
neither are they of such a martial genius; for they never make war upon
the continent in their own persons, as the Romans did; but they send
their Proveditori and other officers, with their general, to furnish
his army with provisions, and assist him in his councils of war. But
their naval expeditions are wholly managed by their own people; their
fleet, both galleys and ships, being manned with their own subjects, and
commanded by their own nobility. Another great advantage they have by
not going in person to the wars upon _terra firma_, and that is, there
is no man among them of that boldness or interest as to dare to make any
attempt to seize the government, as they did in Rome; which is great
wisdom, and prevents many civil contentions, against which they have
provided in several ways, and all very wisely. They have no tribunes of
the people, as they had in Rome (and those tribunes were in part the
cause of its destruction); the people among them are of no authority,
are consulted in no affair of state, and are incapable of bearing any
office; for all their officers, except the secretaries, are chosen out of
the gentry; and thus the greater part of the people have no share in the
government. Titus Livius has acquainted them perfectly with the defects
of the Roman government, and they have his history in great esteem, and
his bones are preserved in their palace at Padua; so that, for these and
many other reasons which I observed amongst them, I do once more affirm
that they are in a fair way to be a very powerful people hereafter.
CH. XIX.—What were the Subjects of the Embassy of the Lord of Argenton to
the Republic of Venice.—1495.
But to come to the business of my embassy: it was to thank the Venetians
for their civil answers which they had given to two of our king’s
ambassadors who had been sent to them before; by which answers he was
encouraged to proceed boldly in his enterprise; and all this passed
before his majesty left Asti.[381] I gave them a large discourse of the
old alliances between the kings of France and their republic, and offered
them Brindisi and Otranto, upon condition they would engage to restore
them, when my master should deliver them two better towns in Greece.
They spoke very honourably both of the king and his affairs; for they
did not imagine he would proceed very far. As to the offer which I made
them, they replied that they were his friends and servants, and would
not permit him to purchase their alliance (for our king had not yet
these towns in his power); and that they were not altogether unprovided
for war, if they thought fit to engage in it; but they were resolved
not to do it, though the Neapolitan ambassadors solicited them daily,
and offered them very advantageous terms. And King Alphonso (who then
reigned) confessed he had behaved himself very ill towards them, and laid
before them the ill consequences which would accrue to them if our master
succeeded in his designs.
The Turk, on the other hand, sent an ambassador immediately to them
(and I saw him several times), who, at the Pope’s request, threatened
them heavily if they did not declare war against our king. They gave
fair answers to all the ambassadors; for they had no apprehension of us
at that time, and did but laugh at our expedition. For indeed the Duke
of Milan had told them, by his ambassador, that they need not concern
themselves in this affair, for he knew how to send our king back again,
without having got any footing in Italy; and he sent the same message
to Peter de Medicis, who told me of it afterwards. But when they and
the Duke of Milan saw the king had got those towns of the Florentines
in his possession, and especially Pisa, they began to grow afraid of
his designs, and to contrive how they might hinder him from advancing
farther; but their consultations were tedious, and in the meantime his
majesty’s affairs went prosperously on. However, messengers passed
constantly from one to the other, and the King of Spain began to be
afraid for his isles of Sicily and Sardinia. The King of the Romans began
also to be jealous of the imperial crown, upon which he was persuaded by
some persons that our king had a design, and that he had requested it of
the Pope; but this was not true.
For these reasons the two kings sent formal ambassadors to Venice during
my residence there. The King of the Romans, being their neighbour, first
sent the Bishop of Trent[382] as the chief in that embassy, and with him
two gentlemen and a doctor-at-law; they were received with great ceremony
and respect, entertained as handsomely as myself, had ten ducats a day
allowed them for their expense, and the charge of their horses (which
were left at Treviso) was borne besides. Not long after this there
arrived a person of quality[383] from Spain, with a numerous retinue, and
in a very splendid equipage, who was received as honorably as the other,
and his charges also borne. The Duke of Milan, besides the ambassador he
had there already, sent the Bishop of Como[384], and Signor Francisco
Bernardino Visconti.[385] They began to have private conferences in
the night, at first by means of their secretaries; for they durst not
declare publicly against the king (especially the Duke of Milan and the
Venetians), not knowing what the success of this confederacy might be.
The Duke of Milan’s ambassadors made me a visit, brought me letters from
their master, and told me their coming was in return for the visit of
two ambassadors whom the Venetians had sent to Milan; whereas the custom
was only to have one resident there, and at last they had no more. But
all this was but artifice and deception; for they all came on purpose
to make an alliance against our good king, and so many secret cabals
could not be carried on long without becoming known. They next asked me
if I did not know what was the cause of the coming of the ambassadors
from Spain and the King of the Romans, that they might give their master
an account of it. But I was informed before (by the servants of the
ambassadors and others) that the Spanish ambassador had passed through
Milan in disguise, and that the Germans were wholly managed by the
duke. Besides, I had notice that the Neapolitan ambassadors delivered
several packets of letters hourly from their master (for all this was
before our king’s departure from Florence). I was at some expense for my
intelligence, but what I had I could depend on. I had immediate notice
of the treaty that was on foot, and what were the first proposals that
were made, but not agreed to; for in such consultations the Venetians
are very long. For these reasons, and seeing the alliance near its
conclusion, I would not pretend ignorance, but answered the Milanese
ambassador that, since they carried things so strangely, I would let them
know that my master would not lose the friendship of the Duke of Milan
if there was a possibility of preserving it, and that I would acquit
myself as an ambassador, and excuse whatever ill reports might have been
made to the Duke of Milan against my master. The duke, I presumed, was
misinformed, and I said that he would do well to consider (before he
lost the recompense of so great a service as he had already done the
king) that the kings of France did not use to be ungrateful, and that
a rash or inconsiderate word ought not to break a friendship that was
of such importance to both of them; and then I desired that they would
inform me of their grievances, that I might acquaint my master with them
before they proceeded any further. They swore to me all of them, with
many imprecations, that they had no such thoughts; but they did but
equivocate, for they came thither on purpose to negotiate this alliance.
The next morning I went to the Signory to expostulate with them about it,
and to say what I thought proper in the affair; among other things I told
them, that by their alliance with my master, and their former alliance
with his father, it was mutually provided that neither should support
the enemies of the other; and that therefore this new league that was so
much talked of could not be entertained by them without infraction of
their promises. I was desired to withdraw, and, being called in again
by and by, the Doge told me that I ought not to believe all the flying
reports of the town; for in Venice all people had the liberty of saying
what they pleased. However, he assured me they never had any thoughts of
entering into an alliance against the king, nor ever had heard of it;
but that their designs were quite contrary, and rather to make a league
between my master, the two other kings, and all Italy, against the Turk,
and that each should bear his proportion in the charge of the war; and
that if in Italy there should be any State or prince that refused to pay
his share, the king and they together should compel him to do it. As to
the war in which my master was at present engaged, they told me that
they would endeavour to make an honourable peace for him; and the terms
which they proposed were, that my master should accept of a good sum of
ready money, which they would advance upon the caution of certain towns
in Apulia (which are now in their possession); and that the kingdom of
Naples should be held of him by the Pope’s consent, and pay him an annual
tribute; and that my master should keep three towns in his hands as a
security. I wish to God he had accepted those advantageous offers.
I replied that I had no instructions to enter into any such treaty;
and I desired that they would not be overhasty in the conclusion of
their alliance, that I might have time to acquaint my master with
their proceedings, requesting them (as I had done the others), that
they would acquaint me with their grievances, and not conceal them as
the ambassadors of Milan had done. Then they plainly told me that they
were not pleased with the king’s having seized upon the Pope’s towns,
much less with what he had taken from the Florentines, and particularly
Pisa; alleging that my master had written to several princes, and to
them among the rest, that he would meddle with nothing in Italy but the
kingdom of Naples, and that, having conquered that, he would undertake an
expedition against the Turk; but that, nevertheless, he seemed desirous
to get all he could conquer in Italy, and not meddle with the Turk at
all. They told me also that the Duke of Orleans’ continuance at Asti was
a great terror to the Duke of Milan, and that the ministers of the Duke
of Orleans had threatened him highly. However, they promised to conclude
nothing before I had an answer from my master, or at least before a
convenient time to receive it was past; and they showed me more respect
than the Duke of Milan. I acquainted his majesty with every particular,
but his answer was unsatisfactory; after which they had conferences every
day, for they knew their designs were discovered. The King of France
was at Florence in the meantime; and if he had met with any opposition
at Viterbo, as was expected, they would have sent forces to Rome; and
they would have done the same if King Ferrand had continued at Rome, for
they could not imagine he would have abandoned the city; but, when they
saw he was retired, they began to be afraid. Yet the ambassadors from
the two kings pressed them hard to come to some resolution, declaring
they would otherwise be gone; for they had been there four months, every
day soliciting the Signory; and I was as diligent in making an interest
against them.
CH. XX.—How the Lord of Argenton was informed that the King had gained
Possession of Naples and the Places round about; at which the Venetians
were displeased.—1495.
When the Venetians understood that several towns in Italy had
surrendered, and were informed of the king’s being at Naples, they sent
for me to tell me the news, and pretended to be extremely pleased with
it; yet they gave me to understand that the castle held out still against
him; that there was a strong garrison in it, and provided with every
thing necessary for its defence; and I could perceive they had great
hopes it would never be taken. Upon which ground they had consented that
the Neapolitan ambassador should raise forces in Venice to be sent to
Brindisi, and were just upon the conclusion of their league, when their
ambassadors acquainted them by letter of the surrender of the castle of
Naples.[386] They sent for me again one morning and I found about fifty
or sixty of them assembled in their Doge’s chamber, who was at that
time ill of the cholic. The Doge, with a composed countenance, rather
inclining to joy, told me the news; but there was none in all the company
could counterfeit so well as himself. Some of them sate upon low seats,
with their elbows upon their knees, and their heads between their hands;
others in other postures, but all expressing great sorrow at heart; and I
believe after the battle of Cannæ there was not more terror felt by the
senators of Rome; for not one of them had courage enough to look upon me
or speak to me but the Doge himself, which I thought was very strange.
The Doge asked me whether the king my master would now perform what he
had always promised, and I had always told them. I assured them he would,
and promised them to use my utmost endeavours, by way of mediation, in
hopes by this means to pacify their fears and jealousies; and then I took
my leave of them.
Their league as yet was neither broken off nor concluded; but the Germans
were dissatisfied, and wished to be gone. The Duke of Milan would not
consent to some of the articles; but at length he sent instructions
to his ambassadors to dispatch, and in a short time the league was
concluded. Whilst this affair was in agitation I wrote constantly to our
king, advising him to make peace, or else to continue in that kingdom,
and provide himself better with men and money; but, if he did not
approve of my advice, that he would be pleased to make good his retreat
towards France, and put strong garrisons into the chief towns, before
the confederates had assembled their forces. I wrote also to the Duke of
Orleans, who was at Asti, but attended by his own domestics only (for
his forces were with the king), and advised him to throw more men into
that town, assuring him that he would suddenly be besieged in it. I sent
likewise to the Duke of Bourbon (whom the king had left as his lieutenant
in France) to send what forces he could spare to reinforce the garrison
of Asti; for if that town were lost, no supplies could be sent to the
king. I also gave notice to the Marchioness of Montferrat (who was true
to the French, and a great enemy to the Duke of Milan), that she might be
ready to assist the Duke of Orleans with her forces, if there should be
occasion; for the taking of Asti would entail on her the loss of the two
marquisates of Montferrat and Saluzzo.
The league was concluded one night very late[387]; the next morning I
was sent for by the Signory somewhat earlier than usual. As soon as I
came thither, and had taken my seat, the Doge told me, that in honour
to the Holy Trinity they had entered into an alliance with our Holy
Father the Pope, the Kings of the Romans and of Castile, and the Duke
of Milan, for three principal objects: one was to defend Christendom
against the Turk; the second was the defence of Italy; and the third the
preservation of their territories, which they desired I would notify to
the king my master. They were in all about a hundred or more, looked
very gay, and held their heads high, and there was no such sadness in
their countenances as upon the day when they heard of the surrender of
the castle of Naples. They also told me that they had written to their
ambassadors, who were attending on our king, to take their leave, and
return to Venice. One of their ambassadors was Dominico Loredano, and
the other Dominico Trevisano. I was extremely troubled and concerned for
my master’s person, as I feared that he and his whole army were in great
danger; for I thought the confederates were much forwarder than they were
(as they also thought themselves), and that some German troops had been
near at hand. If it had been so, the king could never have got out of
Italy. I had resolved within myself to speak little in my passion; but
they provoked me beyond the bounds I had set myself. I told them that
the night before I had sent my master notice of their alliance (as I had
done often), and that he had written me word he had news of it, both from
Milan and Rome. The Doge seemed to be surprised to hear I had written
concerning the alliance on the night before; for there are no people in
the world so jealous, nor who keep their counsels so secret as they; and
upon bare suspicion they many times imprison their dearest friends. Upon
that consideration I told them further, that I had written to the Dukes
of Orleans and Bourbon to take care to reinforce the garrison of Asti;
and I said this in hopes to discourage them from attempting to surprise
it, which they might certainly have done, had they been as ready as they
pretended; for it was in a weak posture of defence a long time after.
They replied that they had no hostile intentions against the king; that
what they had done, or should do, would be only in defence of themselves;
and they could not suffer that my master should amuse all Europe with
his fair words, as he had done, saying that he wanted nothing but the
kingdom of Naples, and would next turn his arms against the Turk; and
that then he should falsify his word, act quite contrary, possess himself
of what he could in the territories both of the Florentines and the Pope,
and endeavour to destroy the Duke of Milan. To which I answered, that
the kings of France had been so far from defrauding the Church of any
of its revenues, that, on the contrary, they had always augmented them,
and defended its rights; that those could not be the reasons for their
league, as they pretended, but that they had a desire to involve Italy
in new troubles, to make their advantage out of them, and that I thought
they intended to do it. They resented that expression of mine, as I was
informed afterwards; however, it proved true, as appeared by the towns
which King Ferrand pledged to them in Apulia to induce them to assist him
against us. I rose up to take leave, but they made me sit down again; and
the Doge asked me if I had any overtures of peace to make, because on
the day before I had said something to that purpose; but that was only
offered in case they would have protracted the conclusion of the league
for fifteen days longer, that I might have had time to write to his
majesty, and receive his answer.
After this I retired to my lodgings, and they sent for the rest of the
ambassadors one after another. At my coming out of the council I met
the Neapolitan ambassador in a fine new gown, and very gay; and indeed
he had reason to be so, for this was a lucky turn of affairs for him.
After dinner all the ambassadors of the league met together in boats
upon the water (which in Venice is their chief recreation); the whole
number of their boats (which are provided at the charge of the Signory,
and proportioned to every man’s retinue) was about forty, every one of
them adorned with the arms of their respective masters; and in this pomp
they passed under my windows with their trumpets and other instruments
of music. The ambassadors of Milan (at least one of them), who had kept
me company for many months, would take no manner of notice of me now.
For three days together I and my domestics kept within doors; though
indeed I cannot say either they or I were affronted all the while. At
night there were extraordinary fire-works upon the turrets, steeples, and
tops of the ambassadors’ houses, multitudes of bonfires were lighted,
and the cannon all round the city were fired. I was in a covered boat,
rowing by the wharves to see this triumphal sight, about ten o’clock at
night, especially before the ambassadors’ houses, where there was great
banqueting.
But this was not the day on which the league was proclaimed; for the
Pope had sent to them to defer it for some days, till Palm-Sunday,
at which time he had ordered that every prince in whose dominions it
was published, and all the ambassadors then with him, should carry an
olive-branch in their hand, in token of their alliance and peace; and
that upon the same day it should be published both in Germany and Spain.
At Venice they made a gallery of wood a good height above the ground (as
they are wont to do at the inauguration of their Doges), which reached
from the palace to the end of the piazza of St. Mark; upon which (after
mass had been sung by the Pope’s nuncio, who absolved all people who were
present at the solemnity) they marched in procession; the Signory and
the ambassadors all very splendidly dressed, several of them in crimson
velvet gowns which the Signory had presented to them, at least to the
Germans; and all their retinue in new gowns, but these were a little of
the shortest. After the procession was ended, a great many pageants and
mysteries were exhibited to the people: first of all, Italy, and then
the allied kings and princes, and the Queen of Spain. At their return,
at a porphyry stone, where such things are usually done, proclamation
was made, and the alliance published. There was at that time a Turkish
ambassador, who looked privately through a window and saw this solemnity.
He had taken leave, but was asked to stay to see this festival; and at
night, by the assistance of a Greek, he paid me a visit, and stayed four
hours in my chamber; and his great desire was to cultivate a friendship
betwixt his master and mine. I was twice invited to this feast, but
desired to be excused; yet I stayed nearly a month after in the town,
and was all the while as civilly entertained as before the publication
of this alliance. At length I was recalled; and, having had an audience
of leave, they gave me a passport, and conducted me safely to Ferrara
at their own expense. The Duke of Ferrara came in person to meet me,
and entertained me two days very handsomely at his own charge. The same
civility I received at Bologna from Prince John Bentivoglio; and, being
sent for to Florence, I continued there in expectation of my master’s
coming, with the relation of whose affairs I shall now proceed.