[1341-1342 A.D.]
In order somewhat to console the Florentines for these calamities, a very respectable embassy arrived from Rome. This city, in the absence of the pontiff, had been agitated by political convulsions, originating in the discord of the nobility, it having been reported that the Florentines had, in a great measure, suppressed their own discords by depriving the nobility of every share in the government. Roman ambassadors came to make themselves acquainted with the Florentine constitution, and with the means to prevent the great from disturbing the public tranquillity. But while the Romans were coming to learn the manner of living peaceably from the Florentines, domestic broils were upon the eve of recommencing in Florence. Andrea Bardi and Bardo Frescobaldi had been very much aggrieved by Jacopo Gabrielli, of Gubbio, lately created captain of the guard, and the executor of the despotic orders of those few who wished for the exclusive government in their own hands, from which both the nobility and the common people were entirely removed, as well as many of their own order. To these two, smarting under the pains of recent injuries, were united many others from the great who were deprived by law of any share in the government; together with others from the people, who, by an overbearing preponderance, were kept at a distance from it; and a conspiracy was planned to change the government. Their foreign friends, the Pazzi, Tarlati, Guidi, and Ubertini, etc., were to come to Florence, and on the 2nd of November the whole city was to rise and overturn the constitution. The conspiracy was discovered the day before its execution, by Andrea Bardi, who, either through fear or remorse, revealed the correspondence to Jacopo Alberti, one of the heads of the government. The latter, assembling, and there being no time to lose, ordered the public alarm-bell to be rung; and the people throughout the city took up arms against the traitors, whose succours had not yet arrived; hence those who were on the right bank of the Arno did not move; on the other side, too, arms were immediately taken up, and they endeavoured to defend themselves in the street called Bardi. Surrounded on every side by the armed people, they were about coming to blows, when the mayor Matteo of Ponte, a native of Brescia, a venerable man, interposed; and setting before the Bardi and Frescobaldi the imminent danger of being slaughtered with their families, he persuaded them to lay down their arms, promising them that the conspirators should leave Florence, out of which city he himself accompanied them in the night.
Fortune appeared to be playing with the Florentines, by offering and taking away from them, at the same time, the city of Lucca, always annoying them, whether they aimed at obtaining it by arms or by money. Mastino Scala, after the loss of Parma, which had been taken away from him by Azzo Correggio, seeing himself unable any longer to maintain Lucca, offered it to the Florentines for the sum of 250,000 florins in gold; the latter consented; but before it came to their hands, they were obliged to contend with the Pisans, who thought they would no longer be enabled to maintain their liberty if Lucca belonged to the Florentines. They would have been better pleased, as they were not able to conquer the Florentines by money, had Lucca remained free; various councils were held in which it was finally determined they should take up arms and contend for the possession of Lucca with the Florentines, and after some fruitless treaty with Mastino they laid siege to it. They had collected many troops both from the Tuscan Ghibellines and the lords of Lombardy, particularly from Lucchino Visconti, whose friendship they had purchased with treachery.
One of the first Milanese citizens, Francis of Postierla, had married a near relative of Lucchino, the beautiful and virtuous Margaret Visconti who had rejected Lucchino when he fell in love with her. His ill will being made known to the husband, induced him to frame a conspiracy; upon the discovery of which Francis fled to Avignon, whence he was attracted by Lucchino to Pisa by the most insidious artifices. In spite of a safe passage, of which the rulers of Pisa had assured him, he was taken and consigned to Lucchino; who, in order to crown his barbarous brutality, ordered him to be beheaded, together with his beloved and unfortunate consort. For this act of perfidy the Pisans received powerful assistance from Lucchino, and were enabled to maintain their position in front of the Florentines.
The viceroy of Mastino was treating at the same time with the Pisans and putting up Lucca at auction. After various altercations about the payment of the money, the people of the Florentines were finally introduced into Lucca; but two strong places belonging to the Lucchese, the Cerruglio and Montechiaro, still remained in the hands of the Pisans, for which 70,000 florins in gold were deducted. The Pisans, however, would not depart; and remaining immovable in the plain of Lucca, the Florentines would have shown their sense by standing upon the defensive, and either by occupying important posts prevented the transport of provisions to the Pisan army, or harassed their country with inroads; but they were ashamed of leaving them quiet; and approaching the enemy, they offered them battle near the Ghiaia, which the Pisans did not refuse; and they fought with varying fortune. The victory inclined in the beginning in favour of the Florentines, and Giovanni Visconti son of Lucchino was made prisoner; but falling into disorder, in following up the enemy, they were routed and put to flight by a band which remained in guard of the camp. The archers took a great part in this victory, amongst whom were many Genoese, greatly renowned in this manner of warfare. The cavalry of the Florentines, so much more numerous than that of the Pisans, was in a great measure disabled for action by the arrows. The loss of the Florentines, in killed and prisoners, was not less than two thousand men. The Pisans, taking courage at this advantage, again surrounded Lucca. It was singular enough to behold the ambassadors of King Robert, appearing at this moment, demanding the possession of Lucca from the Florentines, as his own property, telling them Lucca had been given over to his hands since the year 1313, when it was taken from them by Uguccione dà Faggiuola. The prompt consent of the Florentines, however, did not occasion less astonishment, who thus lost a city they had so much desired and had purchased with so much treasure and blood.
The same ambassadors, having taken possession, went to Pisa, and intimated to that republic to raise the siege of a city which belonged to the king of Naples; but the Pisans, not yielding so easily, proposed rather to send ambassadors to the king. It may be conjectured that the king, as an ancient friend of the Florentines, acted in concert with them to make the Pisans retreat as the latter really suspected. Malatesta had been made general of the Florentines, and marched in order to raise the siege of Lucca; he was however artfully held at bay by the captain of the Pisans who, not having sufficient people to cope with the Florentines, and knowing how greatly Lucca was deficient in provisions, chose to fight by temporising. The duke of Athens arrived at the Florentine army with one hundred French horse; and other reinforcements coming up, various operations took place upon the Serchio, where the Pisans, although inferior in number, made a brave defence; Malatesta, superior in force, could never dislodge them or force them to battle; and, after many attempts to relieve Lucca, he was obliged to retreat. The Lucchese, thus abandoned, were forced to come to terms with the Pisans, which were very moderate; since (having given time for the Florentines who were in it to retire) they were content to keep a garrison for fifteen years in the castle of Lucca, called Dell’Agosta in Ponte Tetto, and in the tower of Montuolo—which was to be paid, however, by the Lucchese; in all other respects they were free. Thus, after the waste of so much treasure and blood, Lucca, which had been so greatly desired, was held for a moment and again lost.
THE DUKE OF ATHENS MADE PROTECTOR OF FLORENCE
These unsuccessful events had, as usual, excited hatred against the rulers of the Florentine Republic. The latter, in order to cover themselves and distract the enemies’ attention and fury elsewhere, elected as governor and protector of the city and its states, Walter, duke of Athens and count of Brienne, of French extraction but brought up in Greece and Apulia. Since he had fulfilled the duties of the duke of Calabria in Florence, this man had acquired great reputation for wisdom and justice; and after the expiration of the period of Malatesta’s government was elected general and protector, with the most extensive power of administering justice within and without Florence. The duke was a man of vast ambition, and possessed sufficient talent to profit by the circumstances in which the city was placed, divided as it was into three orders of persons, the nobility, the rich middle class, and the common people. The government was entirely in the hands of the second; the other two orders, therefore, were necessarily discontented; and adding their old wrongs to the misfortunes which had happened to the republic from the improvident administration of those who governed, their complaints became more frequent and daring; but those most irritated, and probably with the most reason, were the nobility. The people, not content with having deprived them of every share in the government, would not even administer justice to them; they caused the laws to be put in force against them in the severest manner, which laws were silent for the most part in favour of the class that governed; and thus, even in the latter order, persons were not wanting to whom the government became odious, since the most important offices were concentrated in the hands of a few.
All these discontented persons united themselves with the duke, urgently beseeching him to make himself absolute master of the city, and promised to support him; thus preferring the slavery of their native country to a free but aristocratic government, in which they had no share. The duke both supported and fomented this good disposition towards him; and by some acts of vigour, which bore the colour of the most scrupulous justice, he drew upon himself the applauses of the discontented, and struck terror into the people, having brought to justice and made some of those persons feel the rigour of the laws, who, from being in the number who divided the principal offices amongst themselves, went unpunished and were consequently odious to the rest. Giovanni de’ Medici, among the most powerful, had been captain of Lucca. When arrested, he confessed under torture that he had permitted Tarlati to escape from the camp (although fame reported he was guilty only of bad custody), and his head was taken off. William Altoviti, accused of barter, met with the same fate. Rosso Ricci and Naldo Rucellai were also arrested; the former had appropriated to himself the pay of the soldiers; the latter had received money from the Pisans in order to second their interests. The duke did not choose to punish them with death, fearful that too much blood might disgust the people; they were therefore first sentenced to the payment of a sum of money, Ricci to perpetual imprisonment, and Rucellai was banished to the confines of Perugia. These chastisements in four of the principal families, which had been accustomed to go unpunished, and were odious to the people and the nobility, drew down great applause upon the duke, who, considering his design already mature for making himself absolute master, and conscious he possessed the power, chose nevertheless to ask the government from the gonfalonier and the priors, who denied it him with modest but firm remonstrances.
