Dante Alighieri (5 page)

    
The great anxiety of the Sienese and their allies now was to draw the Florentines into the field, before the three months expired during which the services of King Manfred's Germans were at their disposal. Farinata degli Uberti, therefore, with the connivance of the Sienese, entered into secret negotiations with the Florentines, pretending that the exiled Ghibellines were dissatisfied with the Sienese, and longed for peace, and that many of the Sienese themselves were anxious to shake off the government of their arrogant leader, Provenzano Salvani. He consequently proposed to the Florentines that, under pretext of relieving Montalcino, which was being besieged by the Sienese, they should despatch a strong force to the Arbia, in readiness for an attack on Siena, one of the gates of which he promised should be opened to them. The majority of the Florentines, completely deceived, were for accepting Farinata's proposal, and acting on it without delay. But the wiser heads among them were not so sanguine. The great Guelf nobles, with the renowned
Guido Guerra
¹⁰
at their head, and with Tegghiaio Aldobrandi
¹¹
as their spokesman, knowing more of the conditions of warfare, and being aware that their enemies had been reinforced by a body of German mercenaries, looked upon the undertaking with grave misgivings, and counselled delay, until the Germans, whose term of three months had already half expired, should be disbanded. But the minds of the others were made up, and they obstinately refused to listen to reason—one of them even going so far as to taunt Tegghiaio, who was acknowledged as a brave and valiant knight, with cowardice, to which he replied by challenging his opponent to adventure himself on the day of battle wherever he himself should go.

    
“And so, through the proud and headstrong people, the worse counsel prevailed, namely, that the host should set forth immediately and without delay. And the people of Florence having taken the ill resolve to send the expedition, asked their allies for help; and there came foot and horse from Lucca, and Bologna, and Pistoja, and Prato, and Volterra, and San Miniato, and San Gemignano, and from Colle in the Valdelsa, all of which were in league with the commonwealth and people of Florence ; and in Florence there were eight hundred horsemen belonging to the city, and more than five hundred mercenaries. And when all these were assembled in Florence, the host set out at the end of August, with the Carroccio and the bell called Martinella, and with them went out nearly all the people, with the banners of the guilds, and there was scarce a house or a family in Florence which did not send, on foot or mounted, at least one, or two, or more, according as they were able.

    
“And when they arrived in the Sienese territory, at the
place agreed upon on the Arbia, called Montaperti,
¹²
together with the men of Perugia and of Orvieto, who there joined the Florentines, there were in all assembled more than three thousand horsemen, and more than thirty thousand foot.

    
“And while the Florentine host was thus making ready, the Ghibelline conspirators in Siena, to make sure of the success of their plot, sent other messengers to Florence to concert treason with certain of the Ghibellines who had not been exiled from Florence, and who were obliged to join in the common muster of the Florentines. With these it was agreed that, when they were drawn up for battle, they should desert from their companies in every quarter, and come over to the other side, so as to throw the Florentines into a panic; for to the Ghibellines their own force appeared to be small compared with that of the Florentines. And this was agreed upon. Meanwhile the Florentine host was on the hills of Montaperti, and the leaders who had entered into the secret negotiations with M. Farinata degli Uberti, as has already been told, were waiting for the traitors within Siena to open one of the gates to them, as had been promised.

    
“And one of the Ghibellines in the Florentine host, named Razzante, having got wind of what the Florentines were waiting for, with the consent of the Ghibellines in the camp who were meditating treason, galloped out from the camp into Siena, in order to make known to the Florentine exiles how the city of Siena was to be betrayed, and how the Florentine host was well equipped, with great force of horse and foot, and to urge those inside not to hazard battle. And when he was come into Siena and had laid these things before M. Farinata and the others who were in the secret, they said to him: It will be the
death of us if you spread this news abroad in Siena, inasmuch as every one will be panic-struck; but do you say the contrary, for if we do not fight while we have these Germans, we are all dead men, and shall never see Florence again; death and defeat would be better for us, than to go moping about the world any longer. And they decided to adventure the fortune of battle.

    
“So Razzante, being primed by them, promised to speak after their mind; and with a garland on his head, and with great show of joy, accompanied on horseback by M. Farinata and M. Gherardo de' Lamberti, he came to the assembly in the palace where were all the people of Siena, with the Germans, and their other allies. And here, with a joyful countenance, he told great news from the Ghibellines and traitors in the enemy's camp, how the Florentine host was ill-ordered, and badly led, and disunited ; and how, if they were boldly attacked, they would of a certainty be routed. Having heard this false account from Razzante, at the cry of the people they all rushed to arms, shouting: To battle, to battle. And the Germans demanded a promise of double pay, which was granted; and their troop led the way to the attack by the gate of San Vito, which was to have been given over to the Florentines; and the rest of the horse and foot marched out behind them.

    
“When those among the Florentine host who were waiting for the gate to be opened to them, saw the Germans and the rest of the horse and foot coming out from Siena against them, as for battle, they wondered greatly, and were in no small alarm, at the sight of their sudden advance and unexpected attack; and they were still further dismayed, when a number of the Ghibellines who were in their camp, both on horse and on foot, seeing the enemy's troops advance, treacherously deserted to the
other side, as had been previously arranged. Nevertheless the Florentines and their allies did not neglect to draw up their ranks and await the onset.

    
“And as the troop of Germans charged headlong into the body of Florentine horsemen, where was the standard of the commonwealth cavalry, which was carried by M. Jacopo del Nacca of the Pazzi family of Florence, a man of great valour, the traitor, M. Bocca degli Abati,
¹³
who was in his troop and close to him, struck M. Jacopo with his sword, and cut off the hand with which he was holding the standard. And when this was done, both horse and foot, seeing the standard down, and finding that there were traitors among them, and that they were being furiously attacked by the Germans, very soon turned and fled. But owing to the Florentine horsemen being the first to discover the treachery, there were but thirty-six men of note among them taken or killed. The greatest number of killed and prisoners was among the Florentine foot, and those of Lucca and of Orvieto, inasmuch as they shut themselves up in the castle of Montaperti, and were all taken; but more than two thousand five hundred of them were left dead on the field, and more than fifteen hundred were taken prisoners of the flower of the people of Florence, of every family, and of Lucca, and of the rest of the allies who took part in the battle.

    
“And thus was abased the arrogance of the ungrateful and overbearing people of Florence. And this took place on Tuesday, the fourth of September, in the year of Christ 1260. And there was taken the Carroccio,
¹⁴
and the Martinella, and an immense booty, of the baggage of the Florentines and their allies. And on this day was broken and
destroyed the ancient people of Florence, which had continued in so great power and estate, and with so great victories, for the space of ten years.”
¹⁵

    
The victorious Sienese returned into their city “with great triumph and glory, to the utter shame and disgrace and confusion of the dogs of Florentines,” the procession being headed by the Florentine envoy seated on an ass, with his face to its tail, which he held as a bridle, and dragging behind him in the mud the standard of the commonwealth of Florence.
¹⁶

 

    
¹
The Carroccio was a large waggon drawn by oxen which carried the standard of the Florentines, and usually accompanied them on the field. See Villani's description given below (pp. 17-18).

    
²
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 45.

    
³
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 65.

    
⁴
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 65.

    
⁵
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 74.

    
⁶
This bell was afterwards hung in the campanile of the Palazzo della Signoria, and was used to summon the magistrates and people to meetings.

    
⁷
Villani, bk. vi, ch. 75.

    
⁸
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 75

    
⁹
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 76.

    
¹⁰
Inferno
, xvi. 38.

    
¹¹
Inferno
, vi. 79; xvi. 41-2.

    
¹²
Inferno
, x. 85-6; xxxii. 81.

    
¹³
Inferno
, xxxii. 78-111.

    
¹⁴
Two flagstaffs, said to be those of the Florentine Carroccio captured at Montaperti, are preserved in the Cathedral of Siena.

    
¹⁵
Villani, bk. vi. ch. 78.

    
¹⁶
From a contemporary account by a Sienese chronicler.

    
Flight of the Guelfs from Florence—Farinata degli Uberti saves Florence from destruction—The Ghibellines supreme in Tuscany—Defeat of Manfred at Benevento by Charles of Anjou—Flight of Guido Novello and the Ghibelline allies from Florence—Guy de Montfort arrives in Florence as Charles' vicar—Guelf supremacy finally re-established.

T
HE news of the terrible disaster at Montaperti was received in Florence with the utmost consternation, “and there arose so great a lamentation both of men and women that it reached to the heavens, inasmuch as there was not a house in the city that had not one killed or a prisoner”.
¹
The Guelfs did not wait to be driven out, but hastily fled with their families to Lucca, abandoning the city of Florence to its fate. “And for this desertion the Guelfs were greatly to be blamed, seeing that the city of Florence was strongly fortified with walls and with moats full of water, and might well have been defended and held. But the judgment of God must needs run its course without let in the punishment of wickedness; and to whom God intends ill, him He deprives of wisdom and forethought. And the Guelfs having departed on the Thursday, on the Sunday following, being the sixteenth day of September, the exiles from Florence who had taken part in the battle at Montaperti, together with Count Giordano and his German troops, and the other soldiers of the Tuscan Ghibellines, laden with the spoils of the Florentines and other Guelfs of Tuscany, entered into the city of Florence without hindrance of any kind; and immediately they appointed Guido Novello, of the Counts Guidi, Podestà of Florence for King Manfred, for the term of two years from the following January.”
²

FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI
From the painting by Andrea del Castagno
,
in the Museo Nazionale at Florence

    
The whole of Tuscany, with the exception of Lucca, was now in the hands of the Ghibellines, who proceeded to hold a great council of their party at Empoli, about twenty miles from Florence, for the purpose of establishing a Ghibelline league. At this council it was proposed by the deputies from Siena and Pisa, the two most bitter enemies of Florence, that in order effectually to secure the ascendancy of the Ghibelline party, and to put an end once and for all to the power of the Florentines, the city of Florence should be razed to the ground. To this savage proposal, which was approved by the majority of the assembly, Farinata degli Uberti offered the most determined opposition, declaring that he would defend his native city with his own sword as long as he had breath in his body, even though he should have to do it single-handed.
³
In consequence of this vehement protest the proposal was abandoned, Count Giordano fearing lest Farinata and his following should withdraw from the league and so lead to the break up of the Ghibelline party in Tuscany. “And thus by one good man and citizen,” says Villani, “our city of Florence escaped so great fury, and destruction, and ruin.”
⁴