and people, and they represented that of necessity it behoved to send a host to Siena to strengthen Montalcino, greater than the one sent in May last to Santa Petronella. The nobles of the great Guelf houses of Florence, and Count Guido Guerra, which was with them, not knowing of the pretended plot, and knowing more of war than the popolani did, being aware of the new body of German troops which was come to Siena, and of the sorry show which the people made at Santa Petronella when the hundred Germans attacked them, considered the enterprise not to be without great peril. And also esteeming the citizens to be divided in mind, and ill disposed to raise another host, they gave wise counsel, that it were best that the host should not go forth at present, for the reasons aforesaid; and also they showed how for little cost Montalcino could be fortified, and how the men of Orvieto were prepared to fortify it, and alleged that the said Germans had pay only for three months, and had already served for half the time, and by giving them play enough, without raising a host, shortly they would be scattered, and would return into Apulia; and the Sienese and the Florentine refugees would be left in worse plight than they were before. And the spokesman for them all was M. Tegghiaio Aldobrandi degli Adimari, a wise knight and valiant in arms, and of great authority, and he counselled the better course in full. His counsel ended, the aforesaid Spedito, the Ancient, a very presumptuous man, rudely replied, bidding him to look to his breeches if he was afraid; and M. Tegghiaio replied that at the pinch he would not dare to follow him into the battle where he would lead; and these words ended, next uprose M. Cece de Gherardini to say the same that Messer Tegghiaio had said. The Ancients commanded him not to speak, and the penalty was 100 pounds if any one held forth contrary to the command of the Ancients. The knight was willing to pay it, so that he might oppose the going; but the Ancients would not have it, rather they made the penalty double; again he desired to pay, and so it reached 300 pounds; and when he yet wanted to speak and to pay, the command was that his head should be forfeit; and there it stopped. But, through the proud and heedless people, the worse counsel won the day, that the said host should proceed immediately and without delay. Sec. 78.--_How the Florentines raised an army to fortify Montalcino, and were discomfited by Count Giordano and by the Sienese at Montaperti._ [Sidenote: 1260 A.D.]