Note 130 — Chapter III

I may refer to the Age of the Despots, 2nd edition, pp. 58-65, for a brief review of the circumstances under which the Nation defined itself against the Church and the Empire—the ecclesiastical and feudal or chivalrous principles—during the Wars of Investiture and Independence. In Carducci's essay Dello Svolgimento delta Letteratura nazionale will be found an eloquent and succinct exposition of the views I have attempted to express in these paragraphs.