to the end their property might be seized, which afterwards was granted in privilege by the Pope to the Order of the Hospitallers, but they were required to recover and redeem it from the king of France and the other princes and lords, and that with so great a sum that, with the interest to be paid thereupon, the Order of the Hospitallers was, and is, poorer than it was before in its property; or perhaps God brought this about by miracle to show how things were. And the king of France and his sons had afterwards much shame and adversity, both because of this sin and of the capture of Pope Boniface, as hereafter shall be related. And note, that the night after the said master and his companion had been martyred, their ashes and bones were collected as sacred relics by friars and other religious persons, and carried away to holy places. In this manner was destroyed and brought to nought the rich and powerful Order of the Temple at Jerusalem, in the year of Christ 1310. We will now leave the doings in France and return to our doings in Italy. [Sidenote: 1307 A.D.] [Sidenote: 1308 A.D.] Sec. 93.--_Of events and defeats which came to pass in Romagna and in Lombardy._ Sec. 94.--_Of the death of King Albert of Germany._ Sec. 95.--_How the Podesta of Florence fled with the Hercules seal of the commonwealth._ Sec. 96.--_How Corso Donati, the great and noble citizen of Florence, died._ [Sidenote: 1308 A.D.] [Sidenote: Purg. xxiv. 81-87.] In the said year 1308, there being in the city of Florence increasing strife between the nobles and the powerful popolani of the Black party which were ruling the city, by reason of rivalry for state and lordship, which began at the time of the tumult when they demanded to see the accounts, as we have before made mention; this jealous disposition must needs bring forth sorrowful consequences, because from the sins of pride and envy and avarice, and other vices which reigned among them, they were divided into factions; and the leader of one faction was M. Corso de' Donati, with a following of some nobles, and of certain popolani, among others them of the house of Bordoni; and of the other party were leaders M. Rosso della Tosa, M. Geri Spini, and M. Pazzino dei Pazzi, and M. Betto Brunelleschi, with their allies, and with the Cavicciuli, and with many houses of magnates and popolani, and the greater part of the good people of the city, which had the offices and the government of the city, and of the people. M. Corso and his followers believed themselves to have been ill-treated with regard to offices and honours, whereof they held themselves to be more worthy, forasmuch as they had been the principal restorers of the Blacks to their estate, and had driven out the Whites; but by the other party it was said that M. Corso desired to be lord over the city with no equal. But whatever may have been the truth or the cause, his aforesaid opponents and they which ruled the city had hated and