[APPENDIX XIII]
THE following narrative from Sanuto's Diaries of the Marriage Festivities of the Princess of Ferrara gives an ample idea of the pageants often alluded to in our volumes.
ORDER OF THE POMPS AND SPECTACLES FOR THE MARRIAGE OF THE LADY LUCREZIA BORGIA, ON HER COMING TO HER HUSBAND AT FERRARA, THE LAST DAY OF JANUARY, 1502.
First, the bridegroom Don Alfonso went to meet his bride at Malalbergo. Then, on the 1st of February, the most illustrious Lady Marchioness of Mantua went in the bucentaur, or state-barge, at the fourteenth hour, with her attendants, almost to Malalbergo, where she met the most illustrious bride, who was in a vessel with the most illustrious Duchess of Urbino and a few others. My Lady Marchioness then quitted her bucentaur for the bride's vessel, accompanied by the illustrious Lady Laura di Gonzaga and the Marchioness of Cotrone, when they embraced most courteously and proceeded towards Ferrara. On reaching the moat-tower, they all disembarked, and the bride made her reverence to the Lord Duke, who awaited her on the banks of the Po, with seventy-five mounted bowmen drawn up in file, in red and white uniform. The Duke having kissed her, and the foreign ambassadors with him having touched her hand, all of them embarked on board the bucentaurs, and so they arrived about the twenty-fourth hour at Casale, a possession of Lord Alberto d'Este on the opposite bank of the Po. The bride was received and led to her apartments by the Lady Lucrezia Bentivoglio, with many other noble dames, who all returned to Ferrara, after the steward of Don Alfonso had presented the Lady Teodora and twelve damsels as companions for the bride, all dressed in bodices [camore] of crimson satin and black velvet gowns with black lambskin. She was also complimented with five carriages, the first of which was covered with gold brocade and drawn by four horses, each worth fifty ducats. The next was in black velvet with bay horses, and the others in black satin drawn by horses of different colours. The bride wore a robe of cloth of gold, with tirate and galezoto of crimson satin, the sleeves of her chemise being in the Spanish fashion. Over these was a mantle [albernia] slashed on one side with black satin and trimmed with martens' fur. Her throat was bare, and her sleeves slashed in her own taste. On her neck was a string of large pearls with a garnet pendant pierced with a pearl; on her head a gold cap without any bandlet. The Lady Marchioness wore a robe of green velvet embroidered in gold, and a black velvet gown trimmed with lynx-skin, a cap of gold on her head, and a golden bandlet on her forehead, with a circlet of gold studded with diamonds round her neck. The Lady Duchess of Urbino wore a black velvet robe embroidered with golden ciphers.
Next day, the 2nd of February, the entry was made into Ferrara. First, there came an advanced guard of seventy-five mounted archers of the Duke in long coats [salioni] of white and red cloth, their three officers all differently dressed. Then followed eighty trumpeters, their long coats being half of gold brocade, and half of black and white satin; next to whom twenty-four fifes and trombones; and then the courtiers and nobles of Ferrara indiscriminately, seventy of whom had gold collars, worth one with another 500 ducats, some of them being from 800 to 1200 ducats. Thereafter the Duchess of Urbino's company, in satin and velvet, this division being closed by the Lord Don Alfonso, along with Messer Annibale Bentivoglio; he bestrode a tall bay horse caparisoned in black velvet, with trappings of massive beaten gold, wrought in relief, and a long coat of grey velvet covered with gold scales, the whole equipment being estimated at 6000 ducats. His black velvet cap had a fringe of beaten gold and white plumes. The gaiters [brusadrini] on his legs were of grey sumacho. The attendants at his stirrups were four pages and four tall men in French doublets of gold brocade and black velvet with hose of black and red cloth.
Next came the bride's company, in which were ten couple of Spaniards with gold brocade frocks [saghi], over which they wore velvet tabards lined with brocade or velvet; they had in all twelve gold chains of no great weight. These were followed by the Bishops of Adria, Comacchio, and Cervia with two others sent by the Pope, near whom were the envoys of Lucca, Genoa, Siena, Florence, with two from Venice in long robes of crimson velvet lined with fur, and four from Rome in mantles of gold brocade lined with crimson satin, behind whom were six tambourine players and a couple of running footmen.
Then came the bride, under a canopy of crimson satin borne by the doctors of laws; and in advance of it was led a tall piebald horse given her by the Lord Duke, with crimson velvet housings embroidered with gold, upon which she made her entry as far as the bridge of Castle Tealto, where it started at the discharge of fire-arms, and nearly threw her, but she was supported by eight of her stirrup-men, who were arrayed in long coats of black and yellow satin with hose to match; after which accident she mounted a black mule, with furniture of velvet covered with gold and studded with nails of beaten gold, a most beautiful and rich sight. Her dress was a camora, with wide sleeves in the French mode, of gold tissue and black satin slashed in stripes; over that an albernia of woven gold brocaded in relief, which was open at the side and lined with ermine, as were also the sleeves of her robe. On her throat was a collar of diamonds and rubies, once belonging to our Lady of Ferrara of happy memory, and on her head a jewelled cap (sent her to Rome with that necklace by the Lord Duke), but no coronet. Her mule was led by six chamberlains of Don Alfonso variously arrayed, and all with massive gold collars, and she was attended only by the French ambassador.
The Lord Duke of Ferrara followed, with the Duchess of Urbino on his right. She rode on a black mule, caparisoned in black velvet, embroidered with woven gold. On her camora of black velvet there were certain triangles of beaten gold, being astrological signs; a string of pearls surrounded her neck, and she wore a cap of gold. The Lord Duke bestrode a brown horse, with housings of black velvet, and wore a long cloak [robbone] of black velvet. Then came two noble dames, the Lady Girolama Borgia and one Ursina, in black velvet, behind whom the Lady Adriana, a widow related to the Pope: these were the only ladies on horseback. Next to them was the Lady Lucrezia Bentivoglio, in a carriage covered with gold brocade, followed by twelve others filled with the bride's ladies of Ferrara and Bologna; after whom there were led two of her sumpter mules with black velvet furniture, garnished with beaten silver in various designs; and behind these fifty-six other mules, covered with black and yellow cloth, and twelve more with satin of these liveries brought up the rear.