Villani's Chronicle: Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni VillaniVillani, Giovanni
History
Villani's Chronicle: Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the Croniche Fiorentine of Giovanni Villani
Villani, Giovanni
Florence (Italy) -- History
But now the said Emperor sent ambassadors and letters to the
family of the Uberti, which were heads of his party, and their allies
which were called Ghibellines, inviting them to drive their enemies,
which were called Guelfs, from the city, and offering them aid of his
horsemen; and this caused the Uberti to begin dissension and civil
strife in Florence, whence the city began to be disordered, and the
nobles and all the people to be divided, some holding to one party,
and some to the other; and in divers parts of the city there was
fighting long time. Among the other places, the chief was at the
houses of the Uberti, which were where the great palace of the people
now is. They gathered there with their allies, and fought against the
Guelfs of the sesto of San Piero Scheraggio, whereof were leaders the
family dal Bagno, called Bagnesi, and the Pulci, and the Guidalotti,
and all the allies of the Guelfs of that sesto; and also the Guelfs of
Oltrarno passing over the mill-dams, came to succour them when they
were attacked by the Uberti. The second place of combat was in the
Porte San Piero, where the leaders of the Ghibellines were the
Tedaldini, forasmuch as they had the strongest dwellings in palaces
and towers, and with them held the Caponsacchi, the Lisei, the Giuochi
and Abati, and Galigari, and the fighting was against the house of the
Donati, and the Visdomini, and Pazzi, and Adimari. And the third place
of combat was in Porte del Duomo, at the tower of Messer Lancia of the
Cattani of Castiglione, and of Cersino, to whom belonged the heads of
the Ghibellines, with the Agolanti and Brunelleschi, and many popolari
of their party, against the Tosinghi, Agli and Arrigucci. And the
fourth combat and battle was in San Brancazio, whereof the leaders for
the Ghibellines were the Lamberti, and Toschi, Amieri, Cipriani, and
Migliorelli, with many followers of the Popolo, against the
Tornaquinci, and Vecchietti, and Pigli, albeit part of the Pigli were
Ghibellines. And the Ghibellines drew up in San Brancazio at the tower
of the Scarafaggio [Scarabaeus] of the Soldanieri, and from that tower
an arrow struck M. Rustico Marignolli in the face (who was bearing the
Guelf standard, to wit, a crimson lily on a white field), whence he
died; and the very day that the Guelfs were expelled, and before they
departed, they came in arms to bury him in San Lorenzo; and when the
Guelfs were departed, the canons of San Lorenzo carried away the body,
to the end that the Ghibellines might not unbury it and do it outrage,
forasmuch as he was a great leader of the Guelf party. And the next
force of the Ghibellines was in the Borgo, whereof the leaders were
the Scolari, and Soldanieri, and Guidi, against the Bondelmonti,
Giandonati, Bostichi and Cavalcanti, Scali and Gianfigliazzi. In
Oltrarno it was the Ubbriachi and the Mannelli (and there were no
other nobles of renown, but families of the popolari) against the
Rossi and the Nerli.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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