Villani's Chronicle Part 9

The mother of Countess Matilda is said to have been the daughter of one who reigned as emperor in Constantinople, in whose court was an Italian of distinguished manners and of great race and well nurtured, skilled in arms, expert and endowed with every gift, such as they are in whom n.o.ble blood is wont to declare itself ill.u.s.triously. Now all these things made him to be loved of all men and gave grace to his ways. And he began to turn his eyes upon the emperor's daughter, and was secretly united to her in marriage, and they took such jewels and moneys as they might, and she fled with him into Italy. And they came first to the bishopric of Reggio, in Lombardy. From this lady, then, and from her husband, was born the doughty Countess Matilda. But the father of the lady aforesaid, that is to say the emperor of Constantinople, who had no other daughter, caused great searching to be made, if by any means he might find her; and found she was, by them that were seeking, in the said place; and when they begged of her that she would return to her father, who would marry her again to any prince she might choose, she gave answer that she had chosen to have him she now had above all other, and it were a thing impossible to abandon him and ever be united to another man. And when all this was told again to the emperor, straightway he sent letters and confirmed the marriage, and money without end, with orders to buy fortresses and villages at any price and erect new castles. And they bought in the said place three fortresses, very nigh together, and because of this close neighbourhood, they are commonly called the Tre Castella at Reggio. And not far from the said three fortresses the lady had such a castle built upon a mountain as might never be taken, the which castle was called Canossa, and there the countess afterward founded and endowed a n.o.ble convent of nuns. This was in the mountains; but on the plain she built Guastalla and Sulzariani, and she bought land along the Po and built divers monasteries, and divers n.o.ble bridges did she make across the rivers of Lombardy. And moreover Garf.a.gnana and the greater part of the Erignano, and parts of the see of Modena, are said to have been her possessions, and in the Bolognese district the great and s.p.a.cious towns of Arzellata and Medicina were of her patrimony; and she had many others in Lombardy. And in Tuscany she established fortresses and the turret at Polugiana, within her jurisdiction, and she liberally endowed many n.o.blemen, under fee, and made them her va.s.sals. In divers places she built many monasteries, and endowed many cathedral churches and others. And in the end, when the Countess Matilda's father and mother were dead, and she was their heir, she thought to marry, and having heard of the fame and the person and the other qualities of a native of Suabia, whose name was Guelf, she sent formal messages to him and authorised agents who should establish a contract of marriage between him and her, albeit they were not present in person together, and who should arrange the place where the wedding should take place. The ring was given at the n.o.ble castle of the Conti Ginensi, which is now, however, destroyed. And as Guelf approached the said castle, the Countess Matilda went to meet him with a great cavalcade, and there was held the festival of the wedding right joyously. But soon did sadness follow gladness in that the marriage bond was not consummated, by failure of conception, which is expressly declared to be the purpose of marriage.

The countess then, in silence, fearing deception and being averse to the other burdens of matrimony, pa.s.sed her life in chast.i.ty even to her death, and giving herself to works of piety she built and endowed many churches and monasteries and hospitals. And once and again she came with a great army and mightily interposed in service of Holy Church and succoured her. Once was against the Normans, who had taken away the duchy of Apulia from the Church by violence, and were laying waste the confines of Campagna. Them did the Countess Matilda, devout daughter of S. Peter that she was, together with G.o.dfrey, duke of Spoleto, drive off as far as to Aquino in the time of Alexander II., Pope of Rome. The second time she fought against the Emperor Henry III. of Bavaria, and overcame him. And yet once again she fought for the Church in Lombardy against Henry IV., his son, and overcame him, in the time of Pope Calixtus II. And she made a will and offered up all her patrimony on the altar of S. Peter, and made the Church of Rome heir of it all. And not long after she died in G.o.d, and she is buried in the church of Pisa, which she had largely endowed. It was in the 1115th year of the Nativity that the countess died. We will leave to speak of the Countess Matilda, and will turn back to follow the history of the Emperor Henry III. of Bavaria.

[Sidenote: 1080 A.D.]

[Sidenote: 1089 A.D.]

[Sidenote: 1107 A.D.]

-- 22.--_Again how Henry III. of Bavaria renewed war against the Church._ -- 23.--_How the said Emperor Henry besieged the city of Florence._ -- 24.--_How in these times was the great crusade over seas._ -- 25.--_How the Florentines began to increase their territory._ -- 26.--_How the Florentines conquered and destroyed the fortress of Prato._ -- 27.--_How Henry IV. of Bavaria was elected Emperor, and how he persecuted the Church._ -- 28.--_How at last the said Emperor Henry IV. returned to obedience to Holy Church._

-- 29.--_How the Florentines defeated the Vicar of the Emperor Henry IV._

[Sidenote: 1113 A.D.]

In the year of Christ 1113 the Florentines marched against Montecasciolo, which was making war upon the city, having been stirred to rebellion by M. Ruberto Tedesco, vicar of the Emperor Henry in Tuscany, who was stationed with his troops in Samminiato del Tedesco, so called because the vicars of the Emperors with their troops of Tedeschi [Germans] were stationed in the said fortress to harry the cities and castles of Tuscany that would not obey the Emperors. And this M. Ruberto was routed and slain by the Florentines, and the fortress taken and destroyed.

-- 30.--_How the city of Florence took fire twice, whence a great part of the city was burnt._

[Sidenote: 1115 A.D.]

[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]

[Sidenote: Cf. Inf. x. 13-15.]

[Sidenote: Par. xi. 35-123. Par. xii. 31-111.]

In the year of Christ 1115, in the month of May, fire broke out in the Borgo Santo Apostolo, and was so great and impetuous that a good part of the city was burnt, to the great hurt of the Florentines. And in that selfsame year died the good Countess Matilda. And after, in the year 1117, fire again broke out in Florence, and of a truth that which was not burnt in the first fire was burnt in the second, whence great hurt befell the Florentines, and not without cause and judgment of G.o.d, forasmuch as the city was evilly corrupted by heresy, among others by the sect of the epicureans, through the vice of licentiousness and gluttony, and this over so large a part, that the citizens were fighting among themselves for the faith with arms in their hands in many parts of Florence, and this plague endured long time in Florence till the coming of the holy Religions of St. Francis and of St. Dominic, the which Religions through their holy brothers, the charge of this sin of heresy having been committed to them by the Pope, greatly exterminated it in Florence, and in Milan, and in many other cities of Tuscany and of Lombardy in the time of the blessed Peter Martyr, who was martyred by the Paterines in Milan; and afterwards the other inquisitors wrought the like. And in the flames of the said fires in Florence were burnt many books and chronicles which would more fully have preserved the record of past things in our city of Florence, wherefore few are left remaining; for the which thing it has behoved us to collect from other veracious chronicles of divers cities and countries, great part of those things whereof mention has been made in this treatise.

-- 31.--_How the Pisans took Majorca, and the Florentines protected the city of Pisa._

[Sidenote: 1117 A.D.]

In the year of Christ 1117 the Pisans made a great expedition of galleys and s.h.i.+ps against the island of Majorca, which the Saracens held, and when the said armada had departed from Pisa and was already a.s.sembled at Vada for the voyage, the commonwealth of Lucca marched upon Pisa to seize the city. Hearing this, the Pisans dared not go forward with their expedition for fear that the Lucchese should take possession of their city; and to draw back from their emprise did not seem for their honour in view of the great outlay and preparation which they had made. Wherefore they took counsel to send their amba.s.sadors to the Florentines, for the two commonwealths in those times were close friends. And they begged them that they would be pleased to protect the city, trusting them as their inmost friends and dear brothers. And on this the Florentines undertook to serve them and to protect their city against the Lucchese and all other. Wherefore the commonwealth of Florence sent thither armed folk in abundance, horse and foot, and encamped two miles outside the city, and in respect for their women they would not enter Pisa, and made a proclamation that whosoever should enter the city should answer for it with his person; and one who did enter was accordingly condemned to be hung. And when the old men who had been left in Pisa prayed the Florentines for love of them to pardon him, they would not. But the Pisans still opposed, and begged that at least they would not put him to death in their territory; whereupon the Florentine army secretly purchased a field from a peasant in the name of the commonwealth of Florence, and thereon they raised the gallows and did the execution to maintain their decree. And when the host of the Pisans returned from the conquest of Majorca they gave great thanks to the Florentines, and asked them what memorial they would have of the conquest--the metal gates, or two columns of porphyry which they had taken and brought from Majorca. The Florentines chose the columns, and the Pisans sent them to Florence covered with scarlet cloth, and some said that before they sent them they put them in the fire for envy. And the said columns are those which stand in front of San Giovanni.

-- 32.--_How the Florentines took and destroyed the fortress of Fiesole._

[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]

In the year of Christ 1125, the Florentines came with an army to the fortress of Fiesole, which was still standing and very strong, and it was held by certain gentlemen Cattani, which had been of the city of Fiesole, and thither resorted highwaymen and refugees and evil men, which sometimes infested the roads and country of Florence; and the Florentines carried on the siege so long that for lack of victuals the fortress surrendered, albeit they would never have taken it by storm, and they caused it to be all cast down and destroyed to the foundations, and they made a decree that none should ever dare to build a fortress again at Fiesole.

[Sidenote: 1125 A.D.]

[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]

-- 33.--_From where the miles are measured in the territory of Florence._ -- 34.--_How Roger, duke of Apulia, was at war with the Church, and afterwards was reconciled with the Pope, and how after that there were two Popes in Rome at one time._ -- 35.--_Tells of the second crusade over seas._

-- 36.--_How the Florentines destroyed the fortress of Montebuono._

[Sidenote: 1135 A.D.]

[Sidenote: Par. xvi. 66.]

In the year of Christ 1135 the fortress of Montebuono was standing, which was very strong and pertained to the house of the Bondelmonti, which were Cattani and ancient gentlemen of the country, and from the name of this their castle the house of Bondelmonti took their name; and by reason of its strength, and because the road ran at the foot thereof, therefore they took toll, for the which thing the Florentines did not desire, nor would they have, such a fortress hard by the city; and they went thither with an army in the month of June and took it, on condition that the fortress should be destroyed, and the rest of the possessions should still pertain to the said Cattani, and that they should come and dwell in Florence. And thus the commonwealth of Florence began to grow, and by force, rather than by right, their territory increased, and they subdued to their jurisdiction every n.o.ble of the district, and destroyed the fortresses.

[Sidenote: 1147 A.D.]

[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]

-- 37.--_How the Florentines were discomfited at Montedicroce by the Counts Guidi._ -- 38.--_How they of Prato were discomfited by the Pistoians at Carmignano._

END OF SELECTIONS FROM BOOK IV.

BOOK V.

[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]

_Here begins the Fifth Book: How Frederick I. of Staufen of Suabia was Emperor of Rome, and of his descendants, and concerning the doings of Florence which were in their times, and of all Italy._

[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136. Purg. xviii. 119, 120. Cf. Par.

iii. 119.]

[Sidenote: 1154 A.D.]

[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 137.]

[Sidenote: 1159 A.D.]

[Sidenote: Epist. vi. (5) 136.]

[Sidenote: 1157 A.D.]

[Sidenote: Purg. xviii. 119-120. Epist. vi. (5) 135, 136.]