and the duke was in doubt whether he should come forth and meet the
enemy, or defend himself within. On the other hand, the Medici,
Cavicciulli, Rucellai, and other families who had been most injured by
him, fearful that if he came forth, many of those who had taken arms
against him would discover themselves his partisans, in order to
deprive him of the occasion of attacking them and increasing the
number of his friends, took the lead and assailed the palace. Upon
this, those families of the people who had declared for the duke,
seeing themselves boldly attacked, changed their minds, and all took
part with the citizens, except Uguccione Buondelmonti, who retired
into the palace, and Giannozzo Cavalcanti, who having withdrawn with
some of his followers to the new market, mounted upon a bench, and
begged that those who were going in arms to the piazza, would take the
part of the duke. In order to terrify them, he exaggerated the number
of his people and threatened all with death who should obstinately
persevere in their undertaking against their sovereign. But not
finding any one either to follow him, or to chastise his insolence,
and seeing his labor fruitless, he withdrew to his own house.
In the meantime, the contest in the piazza between the people and the
forces of the duke was very great; but although the place served them
for defense, they were overcome, some yielding to the enemy, and
others, quitting their horses, fled within the walls. While this was
going on, Corso and Amerigo Donati, with a part of the people, broke
open the stinche, or prisons; burnt the papers of the provost and of
the public chamber; pillaged the houses of the rectors, and slew all
who had held offices under the duke whom they could find. The duke,
finding the piazza in possession of his enemies, the city opposed to
him, and without any hope of assistance, endeavored by an act of
clemency to recover the favor of the people. Having caused those whom
he had made prisoners to be brought before him, with amiable and
kindly expressions he set them at liberty, and made Antonio Adimari a
knight, although quite against his will. He caused his own arms to be
taken down, and those of the people to be replaced over the palace;
but these things coming out of season, and forced by his necessities,
did him little good. He remained, notwithstanding all he did, besieged
in the palace, and saw that having aimed at too much he had lost all,
and would most likely, after a few days, die either of hunger, or by
the weapons of his enemies. The citizens assembled in the church of
Santa Reparata, to form the new government, and appointed fourteen
citizens, half from the nobility and half from the people, who, with
the archbishop, were invested with full authority to remodel the state
of Florence. They also elected six others to take upon them the duties
of provost, till he who should be finally chosen took office, the
duties of which were usually performed by a subject of some
neighboring state.
Many had come to Florence in defense of the people; among whom were a
party from Sienna, with six ambassadors, men of high consideration in
their own country. These endeavored to bring the people and the duke
to terms; but the former refused to listen to any whatever, unless
Guglielmo da Scesi and his son, with Cerrettieri Bisdomini, were first
given up to them. The duke would not consent to this; but being
threatened by those who were shut up with him, he was forced to
comply. The rage of men is certainly always found greater, and their
revenge more furious upon the recovery of liberty, than when it has
only been defended. Guglielmo and his son were placed among the
thousands of their enemies, and the latter was not yet eighteen years
old; neither his beauty, his innocence, nor his youth, could save him
from the fury of the multitude; but both were instantly slain. Those
who could not wound them while alive, wounded them after they were
dead; and not satisfied with tearing them to pieces, they hewed their
bodies with swords, tore them with their hands, and even with their
teeth. And that every sense might be satiated with vengeance, having
first heard their moans, seen their wounds, and touched their
lacerated bodies, they wished even the stomach to be satisfied, that
having glutted the external senses, the one within might also have its
share. This rabid fury, however hurtful to the father and son, was
favorable to Cerrettieri; for the multitude, wearied with their
cruelty toward the former, quite forgot him, so that he, not being
asked for, remained in the palace, and during night was conveyed
safely away by his friends.
The rage of the multitude being appeased by their blood, an agreement
was made that the duke and his people, with whatever belonged to him,
should quit the city in safety; that he should renounce all claim, of
whatever kind, upon Florence, and that upon his arrival in the
Casentino he should ratify his renunciation. On the sixth of August he
set out, accompanied by many citizens, and having arrived at the
Casentino he ratified the agreement, although unwillingly, and would
not have kept his word if Count Simon had not threatened to take him
back to Florence. This duke, as his proceedings testified, was cruel
and avaricious, difficult to speak with, and haughty in reply. He
desired the service of men, not the cultivation of their better
feelings, and strove rather to inspire them with fear than love. Nor
was his person less despicable than his manners; he was short, his
complexion was black, and he had a long, thin beard. He was thus in
every respect contemptible; and at the end of ten months, his
misconduct deprived him of the sovereignty which the evil counsel of
others had given him.
CHAPTER IX
Many cities and territories, subject to the Florentines, rebel--
Prudent conduct adopted upon this occasion--The city is divided
into quarters--Disputes between the nobility and the people--The
bishop endeavors to reconcile them, but does not succeed--The
government reformed by the people--Riot of Andrea Strozzi--Serious
disagreements between the nobility and the people--They come to
arms, and the nobility are subdued--The plague in Florence of
which Boccaccio speaks.
These events taking place in the city, induced all the dependencies of
the Florentine state to throw off their yoke; so that Arezzo,
Castiglione, Pistoia, Volterra, Colle, and San Gemigniano rebelled.
Thus Florence found herself deprived of both her tyrant and her
dominions at the same moment, and in recovering her liberty, taught
her subjects how they might become free. The duke being expelled and
the territories lost, the fourteen citizens and the bishop thought it
would be better to act kindly toward their subjects in peace, than to
make them enemies by war, and to show a desire that their subjects
should be free as well as themselves. They therefore sent ambassadors
to the people of Arezzo, to renounce all domin
ion over that city, and
to enter into a treaty with them; to the end that as they could not
retain them as subjects, they might make use of them as friends. They
also, in the best manner they were able, agreed with the other places
that they should retain their freedom, and that, being free, they
might mutually assist each other in the preservation of their
liberties. This prudent course was attended with a most favorable
result; for Arezzo, not many years afterward, returned to the
Florentine rule, and the other places, in the course of a few months,
returned to their former obedience. Thus it frequently occurs that we
sooner attain our ends by a seeming indifferent to them, than by more
obstinate pursuit.
Having settled external affairs, they now turned to the consideration
of those within the city; and after some altercation between the
nobility and the people, it was arranged that the nobility should form
one-third of the Signory and fill one-half of the other offices. The
city was, as we have before shown, divided into sixths; and hence
there would be six signors, one for each sixth, except when, from some
more than ordinary cause, there had been twelve or thirteen created;
but when this had occurred they were again soon reduced to six. It now
seemed desirable to make an alteration in this respect, as well
because the sixths were not properly divided, as that, wishing to give
their proportion to the great, it became desirable to increase the
number. They therefore divided the city into quarters, and for each
created three signors. They abolished the office of Gonfalonier of
Justice, and also the Gonfaloniers of the companies of the people; and
instead of the twelve Buonuomini, or good men, created eight
counsellors, four from each party. The government having been
established in this manner, the city might have been in repose if the
great had been content to live in that moderation which civil society
requires. But they produced a contrary result, for those out of office
would not conduct themselves as citizens, and those who were in
government wished to be lords, so that every day furnished some new
instance of their insolence and pride. These things were very grievous
to the people, and they began to regret that for one tyrant put down,
there had sprung up a thousand. The arrogance of one party and the
anger of the other rose to such a degree, that the heads of the people
complained to the bishop of the improper conduct of the nobility, and
what unfit associates they had become for the people; and begged he
would endeavor to induce them to be content with their share of
administration in the other offices, and leave the magistracy of the
Signory wholly to themselves.
The bishop was naturally a well-meaning man, but his want of firmness
rendered him easily influenced. Hence, at the instance of his
associates, he at first favored the duke of Athens, and afterward, by
the advice of other citizens, conspired against him. At the
reformation of the government, he had favored the nobility, and now he
appeared to incline toward the people, moved by the reasons which they
had advanced. Thinking to find in others the same instability of
purpose, he endeavored to effect an amicable arrangement. With this
design he called together the fourteen who were yet in office, and in
the best terms he could imagine advised them to give up the Signory to
the people, in order to secure the peace of the city; and assured them
that if they refused, ruin would most probably be the result.
This discourse excited the anger of the nobility to the highest pitch,
and Ridolfo de' Bardi reproved him in unmeasured terms as a man of
little faith; reminding him of his friendship for the duke, to prove
the duplicity of his present conduct, and saying, that in driving him
away he had acted the part of a traitor. He concluded by telling him,
that the honors they had acquired at their own peril, they would at
their own peril defend. They then left the bishop, and in great wrath,
informed their associates in the government, and all the families of
the nobility, of what had been done. The people also expressed their
thoughts to each other, and as the nobility made preparations for the
defense of their signors, they determined not to wait till they had
perfected their arrangements; and therefore, being armed, hastened to
the palace, shouting, as they went along, that the nobility must give
up their share in the government.
The uproar and excitement were astonishing. The Signors of the
nobility found themselves abandoned; for their friends, seeing all the
people in arms, did not dare to rise in their defense, but each kept
within his own house. The Signors of the people endeavored to abate
the excitement of the multitude, by affirming their associates to be
good and moderate men; but, not succeeding in their attempt, to avoid
a greater evil, sent them home to their houses, whither they were with
difficulty conducted. The nobility having left the palace, the office
of the four councillors was taken from their party, and conferred upon
twelve of the people. To the eight signors who remained, a Gonfalonier
of Justice was added, and sixteen Gonfaloniers of the companies of the
people; and the council was so reformed, that the government remained
wholly in the hands of the popular party.
At the time these events took place there was a great scarcity in the
city, and discontent prevailed both among the highest and the lowest
classes; in the latter for want of food, and in the former from having
lost their power in the state. This circumstance induced Andrea
Strozzi to think of making himself sovereign of the city. Selling his
corn at a lower price than others did, a great many people flocked to
his house; emboldened by the sight of these, he one morning mounted
his horse, and, followed by a considerable number, called the people
to arms, and in a short time drew together about 4,000 men, with whom
he proceeded to the Signory, and demanded that the gates of the palace
should be opened. But the signors, by threats and the force which they
retained in the palace, drove them from the court; and then by
proclamation so terrified them, that they gradually dropped off and
returned to their homes, and Andrea, finding himself alone, with some
difficulty escaped falling into the hands of the magistrates.
This event, although an act of great temerity, and attended with the
result that usually follows such attempts, raised a hope in the minds
of the nobility of overcoming the people, seeing that the lowest of
the plebeians were at enmity with them. And to profit by this
circumstance, they resolved to arm themselves, and with justifiable
force recover those rights of which they had been unjustly deprived.
Their minds acquired such an assurance of success, that they openly
provided themselves with arms, fortified their houses, and even sent
to their friends in Lombardy for assistance. The people and the
Signory made preparation f
or their defense, and requested aid from
Perugia and Sienna, so that the city was filled with the armed
followers of either party. The nobility on this side of the Arno
divided themselves into three parts; the one occupied the houses of
the Cavicciulli, near the church of St. John; another, the houses of
the Pazzi and the Donati, near the great church of St. Peter; and the
third those of the Cavalcanti in the New Market. Those beyond the
river fortified the bridges and the streets in which their houses
stood; the Nerli defended the bridge of the Carraja; the Frescobaldi
and the Manelli, the church of the Holy Trinity; and the Rossi and the
Bardi, the bridge of the Rubaconte and the Old Bridge. The people were
drawn together under the Gonfalon of justice and the ensigns of the
companies of the artisans.
Both sides being thus arranged in order of battle, the people thought
it imprudent to defer the contest, and the attack was commenced by the
Medici and the Rondinelli, who assailed the Cavicciulli, where the
houses of the latter open upon the piazza of St. John. Here both
parties contended with great obstinacy, and were mutually wounded,
from the towers by stones and other missiles, and from below by
arrows. They fought for three hours; but the forces of the people
continuing to increase, and the Cavicciulli finding themselves
overcome by numbers, and hopeless of other assistance, submitted
themselves to the people, who saved their houses and property; and
having disarmed them, ordered them to disperse among their relatives
and friends, and remain unarmed. Being victorious in the first attack,
they easily overpowered the Pazzi and the Donati, whose numbers were
less than those they had subdued; so that there only remained on this
side of the Arno, the Cavalcanti, who were strong both in respect of
the post they had chosen and in their followers. Nevertheless, seeing
all the Gonfalons against them, and that the others had been overcome
by three Gonfalons alone, they yielded without offering much
resistance. Three parts of the city were now in the hands of the
people, and only one in possession of the nobility; but this was the
strongest, as well on account of those who held it, as from its
situation, being defended by the Arno; hence it was first necessary to
force the bridges. The Old Bridge was first assailed and offered a
brave resistance; for the towers were armed, the streets barricaded,
and the barricades defended by the most resolute men; so that the
people were repulsed with great loss. Finding their labor at this
point fruitless, they endeavored to force the Rubaconte Bridge, but no
better success resulting, they left four Gonfalons in charge of the
two bridges, and with the others attacked the bridge of the Carraja.
Here, although the Nerli defended themselves like brave men, they
could not resist the fury of the people; for this bridge, having no
towers, was weaker than the others, and was attacked by the Capponi,
and many families of the people who lived in that vicinity. Being thus
assailed on all sides, they abandoned the barricades and gave way to
the people, who then overcame the Rossi and the Frescobaldi; for all
those beyond the Arno took part with the conquerors.
There was now no resistance made except by the Bardi, who remained
undaunted, notwithstanding the failure of their friends, the union of
the people against them, and the little chance of success which they
seemed to have. They resolved to die fighting, and rather see their
houses burned and plundered, than submit to the power of their
enemies. They defended themselves with such obstinacy, that many
fruitless attempts were made to overcome them, both at the Old Bridge
and the Rubaconte; but their foes were always repulsed with loss.
There had in former times been a street which led between the houses
of the Pitti, from the Roman road to the walls upon Mount St. George.
By this way the people sent six Gonfalons, with orders to assail their