ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE FRENCH FROM ITALY, THE SWISS TAKE THE TOWN OF MILAN AND OTHER PLACES HELD BY THE KING OF FRANCE.
After this battle of Ravenna, where, as well as in the preceding ones, great quantities of human blood were shed, principally of the Italians and their allies,—but also of the French, and of some of the noblest families, by which many ladies and damsels in France became widows and orphans. The generals, or at least those who had the management of the finances for the army, imagined that, by the happy event of this battle, all Italy was subdued, as far as Rome, if not farther, and disbanded great bodies of infantry at the very time when they should have sought reinforcements, to garrison the towns and castles that had been lately conquered.
When this conduct was noticed by certain bloodsuckers and turbulent spirits, they collected troops in divers parts, to endeavour to regain honour by attacking the French; for, seeing them dispersed in their garrisons, they were aware that courage, when disunited, is not so much to be dreaded as when in a collective body. The holy father the pope, smarting from the losses he had suffered from the French, three times excited the Swiss-cantons to rise in arms against them, for they had of late been neglected by the king of France. They chiefly depend, for their maintenance, on pensions from kings and princes,—and the pope having made the bishop of Sion a cardinal, he was an active and able tool, by his public preachings and intrigues, to prevail on them to comply with the wishes of his holiness. Maximilian also, having turned his coat, was to allow them an entrance to Italy through his territories of the Veronese and elsewhere. The Spaniards likewise assembled from various parts of Italy; and they all advanced toward Milan, whence the government had been withdrawn to France, so that the poor Milanese were in despair, and knew not how to act. However, the French having left them, they, as usual, fell in with the strongest, and the enemy was admitted into the town. The castle was held by the French, under the command of the lord de Louvain; and other castles were also in their possession: that of Brescia was held by the lord d'Aubigny.
When the French were returning from Italy, a sharp skirmish took place at a bridge near to Pavia, between a small body of french adventurers and the enemy, and they were inhumanly treated by the townsmen. Among others of their villanous acts, I shall mention one. A Frenchman, unable to keep up with the rest, was met by an inhabitant of Pavia, who said to him, 'My friend, I love the french nation: come, I beg of you, to my house, and I will save you from being killed.' The poor adventurer, confiding in his fair words, followed him; but he was no sooner within his doors than he treated him most brutally, cut off his private parts, and thrust him into the street in his shirt, bawling aloud, 'Here is another Frenchman!' on which numbers rushed out of their doors, and hacked him to pieces with their swords.
There was another inhabitant of Pavia who had even devoured the heart of a Frenchman, by way of revenge.
I am persuaded that all the evils that have befallen Italy have been caused by their wickedness, and infamous practices similar to those of Sodom and Gomorrah. The air would be infected, were I to recite them. May God amend them, and all others! On the other hand, the French have a shameful custom (which was increased when in Italy) of blaspheming our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Lady, with divers indecent oaths, in which they seem to take pleasure. God may, perhaps, have been angered by such detestable blasphemies, and by that great vanity with which the French are always filled, and suffered them to experience the late unfortunate reverses, to show that from Him alone come victories and good fortune.
The French, on leaving Italy, were in a great alarm,—and they were so rejoiced when returned to France, they attributed it to the favour of Heaven. Such are the chances of this world.
In this year of 1512, pope Julius, returning evil for good, was violently animated against the French; and having partly accomplished his wish of being the chief cause of their expulsion from Italy, died at Rome in the ninth year of his pontificate. May God pardon him!
About this time, a truce was concluded between the kings of France and of Arragon, for a certain space of time. Leo X. was now the reigning pope: he was consecrated at Rome the successor of pope Julius II. Leo was a native of Florence, of very wealthy, and renowned parents. His father was Lorenzo de Medici, to whose family Louis XI., king of France, had granted permission to add the three flowers de luce to their armorial bearings[45].