"And for the increasing of the infelicities of Italy, he whose coming brought all these calamities, was void of almost all the gifts of nature and the mind. For it is most certaine that King Charles from his infancie was of complexion very delicate and of body unsound and diseased, of small stature, and of face, if the aspect and dignitie of his eyes had been taken away, foule and deformed, his other members bearing such equal proportion that he seemed more a monster than a man. He was not only without all knowledge of good sciences, but scarcely he knew the distinct characters of letters; his mind desirous to command, but more proper to any other thing, for that being environed alwayes with his familiars and favourites, he retained with them no majestie or authoritie; he rejected all affaires and businesse, and yet if he did debate and consider in any he showed a weak discretion and judgment. And if he had anything in him that carried appearance of merite of praise, yet being thoroughly weighed and sounded, it was found farther off from vertue than vice. He had an inclination to glory, but it was tempered more with rashness and fury than with moderation and counsell: his liberalities were without discretion, measure, or distinction, immoveable oftentimes in his purposes, but that was rather an ill-grounded obstinacy than constancie, and that which many call bountie deserved more reasonably in his the name of coldnesse and slacknesse of spirit."[54]
The splendours of the court of Milan, and more especially the toilettes of the Duchess Beatrice and her ladies, amazed the French chroniclers, who have left us a graphic description of the scene at the castle of Annona. The poet André de la Vigne, in his rhyming chronicle "Le Vergier d'honneur," describes Beatrice's sumptuous apparel in the following lines:—
"Avecques luy fist venir sa partie
Qui de Ferrare fille du duc estait;
De fin drap d'or en tout ou en partie
De jour en jour volontiers se vestait
Chaines, colliers, affiquetz, pierrerie,
Ainsi qu'on dit en ung commun proverbe,
Tant en avait que c'etait diablerie.
Brief mieulx valait le lyen que le gerbe.
Autour du col bagues, joyaulx carcaus,
Et pour son chief de richesse estoffer,
Bordures d'or, devises et brocans."
And in his "Histoire de Charles VIII." (1684) Godefroy quotes the following letter, written by an eye-witness from the French camp to the king's sister, Anne Duchess of Bourbon, for whose benefit Charles had Beatrice's portrait painted by Jean Perréal and sent to Moulins:—
"People crowd to meet and welcome the king from all parts, princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses. Only this morning a new one has arrived, the description of whose dress will, I am sure, please you. First of all, when she arrived she was on a horse with trappings of gold and crimson velvet, and she herself wore a robe of gold and green brocade, and a fine linen gorgerette turned back over it, and her head was richly adorned with pearls, and her hair hung down behind in one long coil with a silk ribbon twisted round it. She wore a crimson silk hat, made very much like our own, with five or six red and grey feathers, and with all that on her head, sat up on horseback as straight as if she had been a man. And with her came the wife of Seigneur Galeaz' and many other ladies, as many as twenty-two, all riding handsome and richly apparelled horses, and six chariots hung with cloth of gold and green velvet, all full of ladies. They had intended to visit the king in his lodgings, but this he would not allow, and, in order to appear gracious, said that he would visit them, but he did not go to their lodgings that day, feeling unwell. The next day, after dinner, he went to see this lady, whom he found magnificently arrayed, after the fashion of the country, in a green satin robe. The bodice of her gown was loaded with diamonds, pearls, and rubies, both in front and behind, and the sleeves were made very tight and slashed so as to show the white chemise underneath, and tied up with a wide grey silk ribbon, which hung almost down to the ground. Her throat was bare and adorned with a necklace of very large pearls, with a ruby as big as your 'Grand Valloy,' and her head was dressed just the same as yesterday, only that instead of a hat she wore a velvet cap with an aigrette of feathers fastened with a clasp made of two rubies, a diamond, and a pear-shaped pearl, like your own, only larger. After that the king had paid her a visit, he returned to his house, but first he had some conversation with her, and made her dance in the French fashion, with some of her ladies. And I can assure you, madame, that she danced wonderfully well in the French fashion, although she said she had never danced in this manner before. If the king were not going to send you her picture, to show you the fashion of her dress, I would have endeavoured to obtain one to send you myself."
A grand fête was arranged for the following day, but the king fell suddenly ill of small-pox, and had to call in Messer Ambrogio da Rosate to attend him. All his plans were altered, and more than a fortnight elapsed before he was able to leave his room. This delay discouraged the French, who suffered from the great heat, and complained, as Commines tells us, of the sourness of the country wine, the last vintage having been a bad one. All Lodovico's smooth words and tact were needed to keep the leaders in good humour in these trying circumstances. On the other hand, Alfonso of Naples, taking courage, boldly announced that the approach of winter and want of pay would force the French to retreat, and Piero de' Medici sent a troop of Florentine soldiers to join the Duke of Calabria in Romagna. But their triumph was of short duration. On the 6th of October the king had recovered sufficiently to leave Asti, and while most of his army marched direct to Piacenza, he himself travelled by Casale and through the dominions of his ally, the young Marquis of Montferrat, to Vigevano. Here Lodovico and Beatrice once more gave their royal guest a splendid reception, and held a banquet and boar-hunt in his honour during the next two days. The beauty of the palace, and the wealth and magnificence displayed on all sides, filled the French with wonder; but although Charles took Lodovico's advice on all points, and was apparently on the most cordial terms with his host, he asked for the keys of the castle at night, and desired his guards to keep strict watch at the gates. "The fashion of their friendship was such," says Commines, "that it could not last long. But for the present the king could not do without Lodovico."
On the 13th, Charles slept at the Sforzesca and visited Lodovico's famous farm of La Pecorara, or Les Granges, as the French chroniclers termed this vast farm, where agricultural industries were cultivated on such a splendid scale. They saw the spacious buildings, the stables with their noble columns and separate accommodation for mares and stallions, and the superb breed of horses which were reared under Messer Galeazzo's care; the pastures with their 14,000 buffaloes, oxen, and cows, and as many sheep and goats; and the large dairies, where butter and cheese were made on the most approved system, and marvelled afresh at the industry of the Milanese farmers and the wealth and fertility of this wonderful land. The next day the king went on to Pavia, where triumphal arches had been prepared for his reception, and the clergy and professors of the university hailed his presence in long harangues and complimentary speeches. At first lodgings had been prepared for him in the city, but, according to Commines, some of the king's followers had inspired him with fears of foul play, and he preferred to take up his abode in the Castello itself. Lodovico himself showed him the library and other treasures of his ancestral palace, and took him out hunting in the park. On the 15th, he visited the Duomo and Arca di S. Agostino, and on the 16th, rode out to the Certosa, where the monks entertained both princes at a grand banquet in a house outside the cloister precincts. In the evenings, comedies were acted or musical entertainments given in the Castello for the king's amusement.
At the time of Charles's visit to Pavia, the Duke and Duchess of Milan and their children were occupying their rooms in the Castello, but during the last few weeks Giangaleazzo had become seriously ill and was unable to leave his bed. Both his wife and his mother Bona were assiduous in their attentions to the sick prince, and Isabella hardly ever left his bedside. The chronicler Godefroy, who has left us so faithful and accurate an account of Charles VIII.'s expedition, describes the splendid fêtes given to the king at Pavia, and says that the Duchess Isabella, with her young son Francesco, herself received him at the portico of the Castello, but does not mention his visit to the sick duke. Another trustworthy authority, Corio, tells us that Charles with great thoughtfulness paid a visit to his cousin, who was suffering from an incurable disease, and growing visibly worse, and that the unfortunate duke recommended his wife and children to the king's care. Commines, who was at Pavia three days before Charles, on his way to Venice, says that he saw the little four-year-old prince Francesco, but not the duke, since he was very ill and his wife very sorrowful, watching by his bedside. "However," he adds, "the king spoke with him, and told me their words, which only related to general subjects, for he feared to displease Lodovico; all the same, he told me afterwards that he would have willingly given him a warning. And the duchess threw herself on her knees before Lodovico, begging him to have pity upon her father and brother. To which he replied that he could do nothing, and told her to pray rather for her husband and for herself, who was still so young and fair a lady."
The Venetian chronicler, Marino Sanuto, gives a more sensational account of the interview. According to him, Isabella absolutely refused to see the king, and, seizing a dagger, declared she would stab herself rather than meet her father's mortal enemy. Lodovico, however, in the end induced her to receive the king, upon which she threw herself in tears at the feet of Charles VIII., and implored him to spare her father and brother and the house of Aragon. The king's kindly heart was touched with compassion at the grief of the unhappy princess, but he only spoke a few consoling words, and promised that her son should be as dear to him as if he were his own son. When Isabella renewed her earnest entreaties on her father's behalf, he replied that it was too late for him to give up the expedition, which had already cost him so much trouble and money, and which was now so far advanced that he could not retire with honour. On the 17th of October, Charles, after assisting at mass in the chapel of the Castello, left Pavia for Piacenza, where he joined the French army and prepared to enter Tuscan territory. Here he learnt that the Duke of Calabria had been worsted in two engagements by the forces of the Count of Caiazzo and the French under d'Aubigny, and was in full retreat. And here on the 20th, a courier from Pavia arrived, bringing Lodovico word that his nephew was dying. He set out at once for Pavia, and met another messenger on the way who told him that the duke was already dead. Two days after Charles VIII.'s departure from Pavia, Giangaleazzo became suddenly worse. A fresh attack of fever was brought on by his own folly in drinking large quantities of wine and eating pears and apples contrary to his doctor's express orders, in spite of the continual sickness from which he suffered. The next day he was rather better, and in the evening of the 20th, the four doctors who were attending him sent Lodovico an improved account, saying that the duke had slept for some hours, and had afterwards been able to take some chicken-broth, raw eggs, and wine. Now he had fallen asleep again. He was certainly no worse, they added, although still very weak and by no means out of danger. That same evening he spoke cheerfully to his trusted servant, Dionigi Confanerio, and asked to see two horses which Lodovico had sent him, and which were brought into the hall adjoining his rooms for his inspection. Afterwards he spoke affectionately of his uncle, and said he was sure that Lodovico would have come to see him if he had not been obliged to wait upon the French king. And he asked Dionigi in a confidential tone if he thought that Lodovico loved him and was sorry to see him so ill, and seemed quite satisfied with his attendant's assurances on the subject. A former prior of Vigevano, who had known the dying prince from his childhood, and had been summoned to Pavia by the duchess, now paid the duke a visit and heard his confession, after which Giangaleazzo asked to see his greyhounds, which were brought to his bedside, and spoke cheerfully of his speedy recovery before he fell asleep. Early the next morning he died in the presence of his wife and mother and the doctors who had attended him during the last few weeks.
A few hours later Lodovico reached Pavia, and without a moment's delay hastened on to Milan, giving orders that the duke's body should be removed as soon as possible to the Duomo of Milan. There during the next three days the dead prince lay before the high altar, clad in the ducal cap and robes, with his sword and sceptre at his side, and his white face exposed to view. Meanwhile Lodovico had lost no time. His first act, on his arrival in the Castello, was to summon the councillors, magistrates, and chief citizens of Milan to a meeting on the following day, but even before these dignitaries could be assembled, he called together a few of his immediate friends and courtiers in the great hall of the Rocchetta, and after informing them of his nephew's premature and lamentable end, proposed that his son Francesco should be proclaimed duke in his father's place. Upon this, Antonio da Landriano, prefect of the Treasury, responded in an eloquent speech, dwelling on the danger in these troublous times of placing the helm of the state in the hands of a four-year-old child, and calling on Lodovico, for the sake of the people whom he had hitherto ruled so well and wisely in his nephew's name, to undertake the burden of sovereignty and ascend the ducal throne. "Since the death of Giangaleazzo's father," he said, "we have had no duke but you; you alone among our princes can grasp the ducal sceptre with a firm hand." These last words were hailed with loud applause by the Moro's friends, and when Landriano had ended his speech, Galeazzo Visconti Baldassare Pusterla, the able lawyer Andrea Cagnola, and several other councillors, well known for their devotion to the Moro, all spoke in the same strain.