BOOK THE SEVENTH.

Ch. I.—How Duke René of Lorraine came into France to demand the Duchy of Bar and the County of Provence, which King Charles had in his Possession; and how he failed to obtain the Kingdom of Naples, to which he laid Claim as well as the King; and what Right each had thereto—1484-6.

To continue these Memoirs, which were begun by me, Philip de Commines, concerning the exploits and reign of our late king, Louis XI. (whom God absolve!), I will now give you an account how it came to pass that his son, Charles VIII., undertook his expedition into Italy, in which I was engaged. The king set out from Vienne⁠[190], in Dauphiny, on the 23rd of August, 1494, and returned into his kingdom in October of the year 1495. Before he undertook this enterprise, it was warmly debated whether he should go or not, for by all persons of experience and wisdom it was looked upon as a very dangerous undertaking; nor indeed was anybody in favour of it but himself, and one Stephen de Vers, a native of Languedoc, a man of mean extraction, and who had never seen or had the least knowledge of military affairs. It was also promoted at first by one Brissonet⁠[191], who was one of the generals of the finances, but his heart soon failed him. However, this expedition turned much to his advantage afterwards, for he obtained great preferment in the church, was made a cardinal, and was endowed with several benefices. De Vers had acquired a plentiful estate before, and was seneschal of Beaucaire, and president of the accounts at Paris, for he had served the King in his youth faithfully, in quality of gentleman of the bed-chamber; and, by his persuasion, Monsieur Brissonet was brought over to his party, so that they two were the chief promoters of this expedition, for which few persons praised them, and many censured them; because not only were all things necessary for so great an enterprise wanting, but the king was young, foolish, and obstinate, without either money, officers, or wise councillors. So that before he began his march he was forced to borrow a hundred thousand francs from the bank of Soly at Genoa⁠[192] at an extravagant interest, and from mart to mart, besides what he collected in other places, as you shall hear hereafter. They had neither tents nor pavilions, though it was winter when the army entered into Lombardy: one thing, indeed, was very handsome, and that was a brigade of young gentlemen, who were lively and brisk, but under little command or discipline. So that we may conclude this whole expedition, both going and coming, was conducted purely by God; for, as I said before, the wisdom of the contrivers of this scheme contributed but little. However, they may boast of this, that they were the occasion of highly advancing the honour and glory of their king.

As soon as the King was fourteen or fifteen years old, at which age he was crowned⁠[193], the Duke of Lorraine⁠[194] came to him to demand the duchy of Bar, which King Louis XI. had kept from him, and the county of Provence, which King Charles of Anjou, his cousin-german, dying without issue, left to Louis XI. by his last will and testament.⁠[195] The Duke of Lorraine laid claim to it, as being son to the daughter of René, King of Sicily, Duke of Anjou, and Count of Provence, and alleged that the King of Sicily had highly injured him, for that the said Charles of Anjou was but his nephew, son of his brother, the Count du Maine, whereas he was descended from his daughter. But King Charles pretended that Provence could not be transferred by will to a daughter. The conclusion of this affair was, Bar was restored for a sum of money, which the king demanded; and the Duke of Lorraine being in great favour, and having many friends at court (especially John, Duke of Bourbon, who was old, and desirous to marry his sister⁠[196]), had a lucrative post⁠[197] and the command of a hundred lances given him by the king, and a pension of thirty-six thousand francs for four years⁠[198], during which time his title to Provence was to be examined into. I was one of the council⁠[199] which was chosen for this purpose, partly by the King’s relations, and partly by the three Estates of the kingdom. Stephen de Vers, whom I mentioned before, and who had got some estate in Provence, and who had in his head the expedition to Naples, persuaded the King, young as he was, to declare (in the presence of his sister, the Duchess of Bourbon⁠[200]) to the Count de Comminges, the Lord du Lau (who were both likewise of the council), and myself, that we should have a care he did not lose the county of Provence; and this was done before the above-mentioned agreement was made.

Before the expiration of the four years, some clerks of Provence produced a new will of King Charles I.⁠[201], brother to St. Louis, and the wills of other kings of Sicily of the house of France. By these it was pretended, that not only the county of Provence belonged to the king, but the kingdom of Sicily also, and other places possessed by the house of Anjou, and that the Duke of Lorraine had no title to any of them (which other people denied). And those who were against the Duke of Lorraine’s title, addressed themselves to this Stephen de Vers, who persuaded his master that the last King Charles, Count of Provence, son of Charles of Anjou, Count du Maine, and nephew to King René, had left it to him by his will; for King René had made him his heir before he died, and preferred him before the Duke of Lorraine, who was his daughter’s son; and this, they urged, was done by King René, in consideration of the wills of Charles I. and his wife, the Countess of Provence, by which they had enjoined that that kingdom and the county of Provence should not be separated, nor descend to a daughter, whilst there was a son living of their line. And they affirmed that the wills of their immediate successors, and particularly the will of Charles II.⁠[202], were to the same effect.

During these four years, they that had the management of the king (who were the Duke and Duchess of Bourbon, and a chamberlain named the Lord of Graville⁠[203], and other lords of his bed-chamber, who at that time had great power) sent for the Duke of Lorraine to court, and put him into places of great trust and authority, in order that, as he was a person of a more enterprising temper than most of the courtiers, he might aid and assist them in their undertakings⁠[204]; besides, they questioned not to find a way to get rid of him when they had no further need of him, as they did afterwards, when they found they were strong enough to manage affairs by themselves, and that the power of the Duke of Orleans⁠[205] and the rest of the nobility in his faction was weakened. But after the expiration of the four years, the Duke of Lorraine refused to stay any longer at court, unless they would either put him into possession of the county of Provence, or secure it to him in writing at a fixed time, and meanwhile continue his pension of thirty-six thousand francs: to which they would not agree; so the Duke of Lorraine left court, highly disgusted with their conduct.

Four or five months before his leaving the court, a very lucky adventure happened to him, if he had known how to make use of it. The whole kingdom of Naples rebelled⁠[206] against King Ferrand⁠[207], for his and his son’s tyranny; and all the barons, and three parts of the kingdom, submitted themselves to the Church. But King Ferrand, with the assistance of the Florentines, pressed them very hard; upon which the Pope⁠[208] and the rebel lords of the kingdom sent to the Duke of Lorraine, to make him king; and they were so far in earnest in the matter, that their galleys, and the Cardinal of Saint Peter ad Vincula⁠[209], waited for him a long time at Genoa, whilst he was quarrelling at the French court, though ambassadors from all the nobility of Naples were with him, pressing him daily to depart.

The result of all was, the king and his council expressed great readiness to assist him. He was promised sixty thousand francs, and received twenty thousand of them; the rest he lost. He had leave to carry his hundred lances along with him, and was told that the king would send ambassadors to foreign courts in his favour. However, though the king was now nineteen years of age, yet he was still governed by the persons above-named, who were always telling him of his undoubted title to the kingdom of Naples (which I insert the rather, because persons of little consideration are often capable of raising great troubles), as I learned from several of the Duke of Lorraine’s ambassadors to Rome, Florence, Genoa, and elsewhere, and also from the duke himself as he passed by Moulins, where I then resided with John Duke of Bourbon, upon account of a dispute with the court. At that time the Duke of Lorraine’s opportunity was half lost already by his own delay; however, I went out to meet him, though I had no obligation to do so, for he was partly the occasion of my being driven from court, and had given me very abusive language. But nobody was now so dear to him as I; he caressed me at a most extravagant rate, and complained heavily of those who had the present administration of affairs. He continued two days with John Duke of Bourbon, and then he set out for Lyons.

In short, his friends were so weary and tired with waiting, that both Pope and barons came to an accommodation⁠[210] with King Ferrand; in reliance upon which, when the barons ventured to Naples, they were all seized and imprisoned⁠[211], though the Pope, the Venetians, the King of Spain, and the Florentines, had all of them guaranteed the observance of the peace, and had promised and sworn to secure their safety. The Prince of Salerno⁠[212] escaped into France, refusing to be comprehended in the treaty of accommodation, as he knew the revengeful temper of King Ferrand; and the Duke of Lorraine returned with great shame and dishonour into his own country. He never afterwards had any credit with our king, who took away his lances, stopped his pension of thirty-six thousand francs for the county of Provence; and in that condition he stands to this very day; which is the year 1497.

Ch. II.—How the Prince of Salerno, a Neapolitan by Birth, came into France; and the Endeavours that were used by him and Ludovic Sforza, surnamed the Moor, to persuade the King to make War upon the King of Naples; and the Occasion of it.—1486-92.

The Prince of Salerno with three of his nephews, sons to the Prince of Bisignan⁠[213], fled to Venice, where he had great acquaintance. Their business was to consult the senate (as the prince told me himself), to know what prince they should address themselves to, whether to the Duke of Lorraine, the King of France, or the King of Spain. He told me their answer was, that the Duke of Lorraine was a dead man, and it was impossible for him ever to relieve them; that the King of Spain would be too powerful if he had the kingdom of Naples in addition to the isle of Sicily and what he possessed already in the Gulf of Venice; and that his strength at sea was very considerable: but they would rather advise them to apply to the King of France, for with the Kings of France who formerly reigned in Naples, the Venetians had held very good friendship and amity; and this I believe was spoken without any anticipation of what happened afterwards. The conclusion of all was that these barons came into France, where they were well received, but indifferently supplied. They solicited very hard for two years together; and all their applications were made to Stephen de Vers, at that time seneschal of Beaucaire, and chamberlain to the king.

One day they were in hopes, another in despair. However, their friends were active in Italy, especially in Milan, where John Galeas⁠[214] was duke; not the great Galeas⁠[215], who is buried in the Chartreux at Pavia, but the son of Duke Galeas⁠[216] and the Duchess Bona⁠[217], a daughter of the House of Savoy; which duke being a weak prince, the Duchess had the education of her children; and I saw her (when she was a widow) in great authority, but managed by one of her secretaries called Cico⁠[218], who had been a long time in that family, and had banished or imprisoned all the brothers⁠[219] of this Duke Galeas, in order to secure the duchess and her children. Among the rest he banished one Ludovic⁠[220] (who has since become Duke of Milan), whom she afterwards recalled, though he was her enemy, and actually in arms against her; as she did also the Lord Robert di St. Severino⁠[221], a valiant captain whom this Cico had likewise banished.

At last, by the persuasion of one Anthony Tassini⁠[222], who was her carver (a native of Ferrara, and of mean extraction), she recalled them very indiscreetly; presuming that, according to their oaths and promises, they would do no harm to Cico. But the third day after their return they took Cico, put him in a tub, and carried him through the town of Milan; for he was allied by marriage with one of the family of the Visconti, and had he been in the way, it is said they would not have dared to seize Cico; and the Lord Ludovic contrived that Robert di St. Severino, who was to pass that way, might have the pleasure of meeting him in that posture, for he knew he abhorred him: after which Cico was conducted to the castle of Pavia, where he died a prisoner.

They paid the lady all possible respect, and, as she thought, complied with her wishes in everything; but they held private councils among themselves, and never communicated anything to her but what they pleased; and she took it for the greatest kindness in them not to trouble her with anything. They gave her leave to give Anthony Tassini what presents she pleased: they assigned him an apartment near her own, and permitted him to carry her on horseback behind him through the town; and nothing but feasting and dancing went on in her palace. This way of living did not continue long, scarce half a year, during which time she made him many rich presents, and all packets were directed to him, which rendered him odious to the Lord Ludovic (uncle to the two children⁠[223]), who intended to make himself sovereign, as he did afterwards. One morning⁠[224] the children were both taken from their mother, and carried to a castle called “The Rock;” where they were confined by the appointment of the Lord Ludovic, Robert di St. Severino, one Pallevoisin⁠[225] (the young duke’s governor), and the captain of the castle⁠[226], who, since the death of Duke Galeas, had never stirred out of it, nor did he for a long time after; till at length he was taken by the circumvention of Ludovic, and the folly of his master, who took after his mother, and was far from wise.

When these persons had secured the children in the castle, they seized upon the treasury (which at that time was the richest in Christendom), and took an account of it; after which they caused three keys to be made, of which the duchess had one, but she never touched one farthing of the money afterwards. They made her renounce the guardianship of her son⁠[227], and the Lord Ludovic was appointed in her place; besides which they wrote letters to several places, and particularly into France, which I saw, and which contained severe remarks on her conduct, in relation to her favourite Anthony Tassini; yet they sent him away without any other punishment, for the Lord Robert was his friend, and would not suffer either his person or his estate to be touched. But these two great men could not as yet get admittance into the castle when they pleased; for the captain had a brother in it, and near a hundred and fifty men; and he always ordered the gate to be very strictly guarded when they entered, and would not suffer above one or two to come in with them; and this caution was used for a long time.

In the meanwhile a great dispute arose between the Lord Ludovic and Robert di St. Severino, as is usual, for it is impossible for two persons in authority to agree long together; but Ludovic getting the upper hand, the other quitted Milan, and went into the Venetian service.⁠[228] Yet since that time, two of his sons, the Lord Galeas⁠[229] and the Count di Cajazzo⁠[230], came back into the service of the Lord Ludovic, and the state of Milan; some say they came with their father’s consent, others say not: be it which it will, Ludovic entertained them very kindly, and they did, and do still⁠[231], serve him very faithfully. You must know that the Lord Robert, their father, was of the house of St. Severino⁠[232], but by a natural daughter, which in Italy is no great matter; for a natural daughter with them is as good as one lawfully begotten. I mention this because they assisted us in our enterprise in Italy, in favour of the Prince of Salerno (who is chief of the house of St. Severino), and for other reasons, which you shall hear afterwards.

The Lord Ludovic began presently to make it appear that he was resolved to establish his authority; and he caused money to be coined with the Duke’s effigy on one side, and his own on the other, which caused abundance of the people of Milan to murmur. The duke was married to the Duke of Calabria’s daughter⁠[233], who, after the death of his father, Ferrand King of Naples, became king himself by the name of Alphonso; the young lady was very courageous, and would fain have stimulated her husband to vindicate his authority; but he was a weak prince, and merely disclosed all she said. The captain of the castle maintained his reputation for a long while, and never stirred from his fortress; for suspicions began now to arise, so that both the sons never went abroad together, but when one went forth the other stayed at home. In short, about a year or two before our expedition into Italy, this Lord Ludovic, having been abroad with the young duke, waited on him back to the castle, to receive homage of his subjects. The captain as usual ordered the drawbridge to be let down, and advanced a little way upon it with some of his officers to receive the duke and kiss his hand, according to the usual custom; the duke being at some distance from the bridge, the captain was forced to step forward a pace or two; upon which the two sons of St. Severino, and others that were with them, seized on him and secured him. Those of the castle pulled up the drawbridge, upon which Ludovic, causing the end of a candle to be lighted, swore he would cut off their heads if they did not surrender the castle before the candle was burnt out; upon which they submitted, and he fortified the castle, and put a strong garrison in it for himself, though all was done in the duke’s name. Ludovic also caused a charge to be made against the captain, upon pretence that he intended to deliver up the castle to the emperor, and he seized upon several Germans, who (as he gave out) were agents in the business, but discharged them again; and he beheaded one of his secretaries⁠[234] as having been a principal manager of that affair, and another for carrying messages betwixt them. Ludovic kept the captain a long while in prison, but at last he released him, stating that, when the Duchess Bona of Milan had once upon a time corrupted one of the captain’s brothers, and hired him to kill him as he was entering into the castle, the captain had prevented it; and upon that account he now spared his life.⁠[235] Yet I am of opinion, had he been guilty of a design of delivering that castle to the emperor (who had a double title to it both as emperor⁠[236] and as Duke of Austria, which family claims it likewise), he would scarce have pardoned him, for it would have produced great disturbance in Italy, and the whole state of Milan would have revolted in a day; for whilst they were under the dominion of the emperors, they paid only half a ducat taxes; but now, both clergy, nobility, and people are cruelly oppressed, and are, to speak the truth, under a perfect tyranny.

Ch. III.—How the Duchy of Milan is one of the finest and most valuable Territories in the World, if relieved from the heavy Tribute which oppresses it.—1492-3.

The Lord Ludovic, being in possession of this castle, and finding all the soldiers belonging to the family devoted to his service, resolved to proceed; for he that is master of Milan has the whole government and signory at his mercy; because the principal senators, and those who have the charge of other places in that government, have their residence in that city. And, for the size of it, I never saw a richer or finer country than the duchy of Milan: and if the prince could content himself with a yearly revenue of five hundred thousand ducats, the subjects would grow only too wealthy, and the prince would be secure; but he raises six hundred and fifty or seven hundred thousand ducats every year, which is absolute tyranny, and makes the people prone to revolutions. Finding himself so near the completion of his wishes, as has been said before, the Lord Ludovic (who was married to the Duke of Ferrara’s daughter⁠[237], by whom he had several children) took measures to strengthen himself with friends, both in Italy and abroad. He first entered into an alliance (for mutual preservation) with the Venetians⁠[238], to whom he was a great friend, to the prejudice of his father-in-law, from whom, not long before, the Venetians had taken a small territory called the Polesan⁠[239], encompassed entirely with water, and wonderfully fruitful; which place (though but half a league distant from Ferrara) the Venetians keep to this day, and in it there are two pretty towns, Rovigo and Labadio⁠[240], which I have seen. This country was lost when the Duke of Ferrara made war upon the Venetians at first by himself; but before the end of the war Alfonso, Duke of Calabria (whilst his father Ferrand was alive), Count Ludovic with the forces of Milan, the Florentines, the Pope⁠[241], and the city of Bologna, came in to his assistance: yet, when the Venetians were almost conquered, or at least very low, with their treasury exhausted, and several of their towns lost, Ludovic made an honourable and advantageous peace for them, by which all was to be restored to everybody but the poor Duke of Ferrara, who had begun the war at the instigation of Ludovic and Ferrand, whose daughter he had married; and the Duke of Ferrara was forced to let the Polesan remain in the hands of the Venetians, who keep it to this day. It was reported that Ludovic had sixty thousand ducats for his pains; whether this be true or false I cannot state; but I know the Duke of Ferrara was of that opinion himself. Ludovic at this time was not married to his daughter; and therefore the friendship between him and the Venetians subsisted.

None of all the subjects or relations of John Galeas, Duke of Milan, gave the Lord Ludovic the least disturbance in his designs upon the duchy except the young duchess, who was a wise lady, daughter to Alphonso, Duke of Calabria (as I said before), eldest son to Ferrand, King of Naples. In the year 1493 the Lord Ludovic began to solicit King Charles VIII., now reigning in France, to undertake an expedition into Italy, to conquer the kingdom of Naples, and to supplant and exterminate those who possessed it; for, whilst they were in force and authority, Ludovic durst not attempt what he did afterwards; for at that time Ferrand, King of Sicily, and Alphonso his son, were both very rich, of great experience in war, and had the reputation of being very valiant princes, though it appeared otherwise afterwards.⁠[242] This Ludovic was a wise man, but very timorous and humble where he was in awe, and false and deceitful when it was for his advantage; and this I do not speak by hearsay, but as one that knew him well, and had many transactions with him. But to proceed, in the year 1493 he began to tickle King Charles (who was but twenty-two years of age) with the vanities and glories of Italy, remonstrating (as is reported) the right which he had to the fine kingdom of Naples, which he knew well enough how to blazon and display. He addressed himself in everything to Stephen de Vers (who was now become seneschal of Beaucaire, and was much enriched, though not yet to the full height of his ambitious desires) and to General Brissonet, who was rich and well skilled in the management of the finances, and a great friend of the seneschal of Beaucaire, by whose means the Lord Ludovic persuaded Brissonet to turn priest, and he would make him a cardinal; but the seneschal was to have a duchy.

For the better management of these affairs, the Lord Ludovic, in the year 1493, sent a great embassy to the king at Paris. The chief of the embassy was the Count di Cajazzo, eldest son of Robert di St. Severino (whom I mentioned before). At Paris the Count di Cajazzo met the Prince of Salerno, who was his cousin, and chief of the house of St. Severino, and who, having been banished his own country by King Ferrand, was then in France, pressing and soliciting our king to an enterprise against Naples. With the Count di Cajazzo came also Count Charles de Bellejoyeuse⁠[243], and the Lord Galeas Visconti⁠[244] of Milan: both of them were well attended, and in great splendour; but their discourse was only in public, and then in general terms by the way of compliment and visitation; and this was the first solemn embassy that ever Ludovic sent to the king. He had formerly sent one of his secretaries to endeavour to procure that his nephew, the Duke of Milan, might be permitted to do homage for Genoa, by proxy, which was granted against all reason. It is true, the king was at liberty to do him that favour, and depute some person or other to receive his homage; for, when he was under the guardianship of his mother, I (being then ambassador at Milan for the late King Louis XI.) received it by commission from the king in the castle of Milan; but then Genoa was out of his hands, and in the possession of Baptista di Campoforgoso⁠[245], and now the Lord Ludovic had recovered it, and gave eight thousand ducats (to some chamberlains of the king) to have the investiture of it. But they did their master a mighty injury thereby, for they might have had Genoa for him if they had wished; or, if it must be sold, why for so little; as Duke Galeas paid my master, King Louis, fifty thousand ducats at one payment, of which sum I had thirty thousand crowns given me by his majesty, whom may God pardon! and yet they pretended they received the eight thousand ducats by the king’s consent. Stephen de Vers was one of the number of those that received the money, and I think he beat down the price to prepare and oblige Ludovic to back his interest, when his design should be fit for execution.

The ambassadors having arrived at Paris (as I said before), and having had their public audience, the king took the Count di Cajazzo into his closet, and had a private conference with him for some time. This Count di Cajazzo was in great reputation in Milan, and his brother Galeas di St. Severino was in greater credit, especially in military affairs; and he began to make large offers of his service and assistance to the king, both in men and money; for his master had already as absolute a command of the state of Milan as if it had been his own, and could dispose of it as he pleased. He represented the business very easy to the king, and a few days after, he and the Lord Galeas took their leave of his majesty and departed; but Count Charles de Bellejoyeuse remained behind, to promote the business, and immediately after they were gone, he dressed himself in the French habit, and managed the affair so dexterously, that several of the courtiers began to approve of the design. The king sent into Italy one Peron de Bashe⁠[246] (educated in the family of Anjou, under John, Duke of Calabria) as his ambassador to Pope Innocent, the Venetians, and the Florentines. These embassies from one court to another, and secret negotiations, continued seven or eight months, and among those who were privy to it, the enterprise was talked of in several ways; but none of them ever imagined that the king designed to go himself in person.

Ch. IV.—How King Charles VIII. made Peace with the King of the Romans and the Archduke of Austria; and returned the Lady Margaret of Flanders to them, before his Expedition to Naples.—1493.

During this suspension of affairs, a peace was negotiated at Senlis⁠[247] betwixt the king and the Archduke of Austria, heir to the house of Burgundy, for, though a truce was already concluded⁠[248], yet new occasion of difference had arisen; for the king forsook the daughter of the King of the Romans, and sister to the archduke (upon account of her being too young⁠[249]), and married the daughter⁠[250] of Francis, Duke of Bretagne, that he might keep that duchy peaceably; the greatest part of it at the time of the treaty was in his possession, except the town of Rennes, where the young lady lived, under the guardianship of her uncle, the Prince of Orange, who had been instrumental in making the match between her and the King of the Romans, and married her by proxy publicly in the church, about the year 1492. In favour of the archduke, the Emperor Frederick sent a solemn embassy, and offered his mediation. The King of the Romans, the Count Palatine, and the Swiss did the like, in order to compose this difference; for they all were of opinion great disputes would arise⁠[251], and that the King of the Romans had had very great injury done him; not only to take from him a person whom he thought was his wife, but to send back his daughter who had been lawfully Queen of France for several years together.

In the end, a peace was concluded; for everybody was weary of war, especially Archduke Philip’s subjects, who had suffered so much both by their wars with the king and their distractions and divisions at home, that they were not able to carry it on any longer. The peace was made only for four years, to give some repose; and Maximilian’s daughter was to be sent back, though with some difficulty; for there were some persons about both the king and the lady who strenuously opposed it. I was present at this treaty myself, with the rest of the commissioners, who were Peter, Duke of Bourbon, the Prince of Orange, the Lord des Cordes, and several other persons of quality. It was concluded, that all the king was possessed of in the province of Artois should be restored to Duke Philip, according to the agreement made in the treaty of marriage in 1482, that if that marriage were not accomplished, then all the lands which went in dower with the daughter, should be restored, either to her or Duke Philip. But the archduke’s subjects had already taken Arras and St. Omers⁠[252], so that there remained nothing to be restored but Hesdin, Aire, and Bethune; the revenue and lordship of which places were immediately delivered to the archduke’s envoys, and they put in what officers they pleased, only the king was to remain in possession of the castles for the term of four years; during which time he might put what garrisons he pleased into them; but at the end of four years, which were to expire on St. John’s Day, 1498, the king was obliged, both by oath and promise, to restore them to the archduke.

Whether these changes of marriages were according to the laws and canons of the church or not, I cannot resolve, and, therefore, shall leave it without any determination; for I find the theological doctors divided about this point, and some have told me they were not lawful, but others have maintained that they were. Be it which way it will, the ladies were all unfortunate in their children. Our queen had three sons⁠[253] successively in four years, but all of them died, though one lived to be three years old. The Lady Margaret of Austria was married to the Prince of Castile⁠[254], only son to the King and Queen of Castile and several other kingdoms; which prince died in the first year of his marriage, (which was in the year 1487), leaving his princess with child, and she miscarried of a son not long after his death, to the unspeakable affliction of the King and Queen of Castile, and the whole kingdom.

Presently after these changes, the King of the Romans married the daughter⁠[255] of Galeas, Duke of Milan, sister to the above-mentioned Duke John Galeas; which marriage was contracted by the Lord Ludovic, highly to the dissatisfaction of the princes of the empire, and several other of the King of the Romans’ friends, who looked upon the lady as not of an extraction illustrious enough for him. For, as for the Visconti, from whom the present Dukes of Milan are descended, there is no great matter of nobility among them, and less among the Sforzi; for the first of that house was Duke Francis, whose father was a shoemaker⁠[256] in a little town called Cotignole; but he was a brave and magnificent person, and his son was even greater; for he made himself Duke of Milan, by the assistance and management of his wife⁠[257] (who was the natural daughter of Duke Philip Maria) conquered it, and possessed it, not as a tyrant, but as a good and lawful prince; being equal in virtue and goodness with most (and those of the best) princes of his time. Thus much I have written that I might show what has already been the consequence of these changes of marriages; nor can I tell what there is still remaining behind.

A Treaty of Peace between King Charles VIII. and Maximilian I., King of the Romans, and his Son, Philip, Archduke of Austria, concluded at Senlis, May 23. 1493.

1. A good peace, firm friendship, and perpetual alliance, is and shall ever remain between the most Christian king, the dauphin, their kingdom, territories, and subjects, and the King of the Romans, and Archduke Philip his son, as well in their own name, as in the name of the Lady Margaret of Austria, the said king’s daughter, and the archduke’s sister, for themselves, their countries, territories, subjects, &c., laying aside all malevolence, and forgetting all past injuries.

2. Seeing that the most Christian king, after his marriage to the queen, hath notified by his ambassadors to the King of the Romans and the archduke, his desire to send back the said Lady Margaret, and to have her conducted suitably to her quality, to any place agreed on, and for this end hath sent her as far as Amiens; he does still offer, at his own charge, to conduct her suitably to her quality, from the town of Meaux, where she now resides, before the 3rd of June next, to St. Quentin, and to put her from thenceforward into the hands of the ambassadors of the King of the Romans and the archduke.

3. Upon such a delivery of the said lady into the hands of the commissioners appointed by the King of the Romans and the archduke, the said princes shall give proper instruments to the king, freeing him from all obligations of marriage with her, and he shall also do the same by her.

4. The most Christian king and the archduke reserve to themselves the liberty of recovering any rights in an amicable way, and by course of law, to such matters as are not adjusted by this peace.

5. The counties of Burgundy, Artois, and Charolois, and the lordship of Noyers, with all their appurtenances, shall be delivered up to the King of the Romans, as guardian to his son the archduke; and also the towns and castles of Hesdin, Aire, and Bethune, now in possession of the King of France, shall be deposited in the hands of the Marshal des Querdes, who shall keep them without any charge to the archduke, save the usual profits taken by the commanders of the said places; and he shall take an oath to both the king and archduke for the due maintenance of their several rights, and shall keep no guard therein, that may be prejudicial to either party; who shall engage not to force him thereunto on either side: and if they do, he shall then be discharged of all his oaths, till the archduke shall arrive at the age of twenty, which will be on St. John Baptist’s Eve, in 1498.

6. The archduke, after he is of age, having done homage to the king in due form, those towns and places shall be given up to him by the marshal or others appointed to do it, and to have the command therein.

7. The officers shall continue in their places, having commissions from the archduke till he comes of age and does homage.

8. As to the city of Arras, its revenue and temporalities, it shall be deposited in the hands of the bishop and chapter, to whom it belongs, under the ordinary jurisdiction of the bailiwick of Amiens, in the usual manner; and as to the captainship, which is in the king’s disposal, he shall be content to appoint the person that now is, or shall be, nominated by the archduke till of age, under the usual obligations; but the city shall be entirely in the king’s power, when the archduke comes of age.

9. The houses of Flanders, Artois, and Conflans, in and near Paris, shall be delivered to the archduke.

10. The archduke shall not be obliged to do homage till he is of age; but the king shall, at the same time, enjoy his usual rights and prerogatives.

11. The counties of Maconnois, Auxerrois, and Bar-sur-Seine, shall be enjoyed by the king, till the pretensions of the claimants are decided.

12. Whatever rights the archduke pretends to have acquired by the treaty of 1482, shall remain in being, and the king shall be free to controvert the same.

13. The ecclesiastical preferments conferred by the king in Artois, Burgundy, Charolois, and Noyers, shall remain as they are.

14. Free commerce shall be restored both by sea and land, and on fresh waters, paying the usual customs due before the breaking out of the war.

15. The cities, towns, and villages of Tournay, Tournesis, Mortagne, St. Amand, &c., as the king’s subjects, are expressly comprehended in this peace; so are the allies of both parties.

16. Cambray and the Cambresis, with all its inhabitants, are, by common consent, included in the peace, and maintained in all their rights under either prince to whom they belong; and infractors on either side shall be punished by the conservators of the peace.

17. A general act of indemnity shall be granted by both parties, to all who have taken up arms, for the contrary side, no process being ever to be brought against them: and to those who have a mind to sue out a pardon, it shall be freely granted.

18. All persons, as well ecclesiastics as laymen, shall, by this peace, return to the peaceable possession of their dignities, benefices, and inheritances, wherever situated, on either side, and be kept in the peaceable possession of the same, notwithstanding any declarations, confiscations, sentences, and decrees to the contrary; and the judges, magistrates, &c., shall be obliged to assist herein.

19. Under this article of returning to their estates and rights are comprehended the old servants of the late Dukes Philip and Charles, who, after the death of Duke Charles, went over to the king; by virtue of this peace, they shall enjoy their pensions assigned them in his lifetime, upon the demesnes of the counties of Artois and Burgundy.

20. If any inheritance have been sold for contumacy, or on the account of personal debts owing, the debtors shall, within a year after the proclaiming of the peace, return to their possessions, paying the said debts, &c.

21. As to the rents, profits, and incomes of those inheritances, granted in a way of reward, or the like, by either party, all that has been done of that kind since 1470, to the present peace, shall never be accounted for; but yet with an exception to any inheritances that, in due course of law, have been adjudged to creditors for arrearages of rents, which arrearages have been given away or remitted, such gifts or releasements shall not take place, but only for such arrearages as have escheated in time of war.

22. As to moveables which have not been made away, but are found upon the premises which the subjects of either party shall return to, the debts and arrearages that have not been given away nor adjudged by law, shall belong to the said subjects, and not to those who have a general list of their moveables.

23. The enjoyment of dignities, benefices, inheritances, &c., by the subjects of either party, shall not oblige them to reside where those possessions are; neither are they thereby bound to take an oath to the prince in whose dominions they are situated, unless they are fiefs, and their vassals.

24. Those who shall return to their estates by virtue of this peace, shall not be prosecuted for rent charges escheated during the war; and those lands which lay waste and uncultivated during the war, shall be liable to the payment of no rents.

25. No reprisals shall be made after the peace, upon the account of damages sustained by the subjects of either party, nor any letters of mart, contramart, or the like granted.

26. By this peace all the people of Arras, of whatever condition, that have absented themselves since the surprise of that city, wherever they are, are free to return and traffic there, notwithstanding any promises or otherwise to the contrary. And whether they do return or not, they shall, as much as any of the other subjects, enjoy their estates, rights, benefices, moveables, and utensils yet in being, without any molestation whatsoever.

27. In like manner the people of St. Omer, of what calling or quality soever, who resided therein while it was neutral, and afterwards by reason of the taking and retaking of it, absented themselves from it, shall, notwithstanding any interdiction or sentence against them, return, and enjoy their estates, benefices, &c., without any manner of molestation; and all offences and injuries shall be entirely remitted.

28. The Lady Margaret, widow of Charles, late Duke of Burgundy, is comprehended in this treaty. The king consents that she shall enjoy the lands and signories of Chauchnis and la Perrière, with all their appurtenances in the viscounty of Auxonne, in the same manner as the late Duchess Isabella, the mother of Duke Charles, enjoyed them, upon the payment of twenty thousand crowns in gold.

29. The most Christian king names for his allies, his imperial majesty, the kings of Castile, England, Scotland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Navarre, the Duke of Bavaria, the Count Palatine, and all the dukes and branches of the house of Bavaria, the electors of the Holy Empire, the duke and house of Savoy, the duke and house of Milan, the doge and republic of Venice, the Duke of Lorraine, the Duke of Guelderland, the marquis and house of Montferrat, the bishop and city of Liege, the Swiss Cantons, the commonwealths of Florence and Genoa. And, on the part of the said King of the Romans and archduke, his most sacred imperial majesty, the kings of Castile, Hungary, Portugal, Denmark, England, and Scotland, the electors of the Holy Roman Empire, as the king of Bohemia, and others, the marquis and house of Montferrat, the bishop and city of Liege, and all the princes of the empire, the Swiss Cantons, cities and communities of the empire are comprehended.

30. In this peace are also compreheded the king’s counsellor William de Haraucourt, bishop and count of Verdun, as well in his own person as for his bishopric and county of Verdun, lordships, subjects, &c. So are also, by the consent of the said princes, the archbishop, and all the inhabitants of Briançon.

31. The respective parties oblige themselves, in the most solemn manner, to the observance of this treaty; so they do also their subjects, vassals, &c.

32. Any contravention which may happen of this treaty on either side, shall be repaired at farthest in the space of six weeks.

33. For the greater confirmation of this peace, the King of France will procure for the King of the Romans and the archduke, the instruments and seals of the dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, Nemours; the counts of Angoulème, Montpensier, and Vendôme; of the Prince of Orange; of the marshals and admirals of France: and of the cities, towns, and communities, of Paris, Rouen, Lyons, Poitiers, Tours, Angers, Orleans, Amiens, and Tournay. And the King of the Romans and archduke engage to procure those of the Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Baden, the Lord of Ravestein, Counts Nassau and Zollern, the Prince of Chimay, and the Lords de Bevres, Egmont, Fiennes, Chievres, Walhain, Molembais, du Fay, Fresnoy, the great bailiff of Hainault, and the towns and communities of Louvain, Brussels, Antwerp, Boisleduc, Ghent, Bruges, Lisle, Douay, Arras, St. Omer, Mons, Valenciennes, Dort, Middleburg, and Namur. And if any shall contravene this treaty, without making reparation in six weeks, these guarantees shall be obliged to leave the contravener, and give assistance to the injured party, and be discharged of their oaths.

34. The instruments on both sides shall be registered and verified in the most regular and authentic manner.

35. The conservators of this peace for the marches on the side of the country of Burgundy, on the king’s part, are, the Prince of Orange, M. de Baudricourt, governor of Burgundy, and the bailiffs of Dijon, Chalons, Autun, and Maçon, or their lieutenants. For the marches of Champagne and Rhetelois, M. de Orvat, governor of Champagne, the bailiffs of St. Peter le Moustier, Troyes, and Vitry, or their lieutenants; and for the marches of Picardy, the Marshal des Querdes, the bailiffs of Amiens and Vermandois, the seneschals of Ponthieu and Boulonnois, and the governors of Montdidier and Roye, or their lieutenants; and for the sea, the admiral, &c. The conservators on the King of the Romans and the archduke’s part, for the marches of Flanders and Artois, are, M. de Nassau, with the governors of Lisle, Arras, and the bailiffs of the said countries respectively; for the marches of Hainault, the princes of Chimay, and the grand bailiff of Hainault; for Luxemburg, the Margrave of Baden; for Burgundy, the governor of the county of Burgundy, and the bailiffs of Damont, Daval, and Dole; and for the sea, Monsieur de Braves, admiral, &c.

36. No manner of protection or shelter shall be given to vagrants, thieves, and robbers, on either side; but they shall be banished, or otherwise brought to condign punishment, wherever they are found.

37. The same thing is to be done in respect to rovers, or pirates by sea.

38. Neither party shall receive or support those who shall in any way contravene this peace; but they shall be punished for the infractions they make; but the peace at the same time shall not be held to be violated.

39. The said princes and their officers shall assist one another against all those who shall delay or refuse to keep this peace; and they shall on both sides be taken for common enemies; and those who shall in any way assist or favour them, shall in like manner be answerable for the mischiefs done by them, and be punished as violators of the peace.

Ch. V.—How the King sent to the Venetians, in order to induce them to enter into an Alliance with him, before undertaking his Expedition to Naples; and of the Preparations in order to it.—1493.

To return to our principal matter: you have already been informed how the Count di Cajazzo, and the other ambassadors, took their leave of the king at Paris; how several secret negotiations were carried on in Italy; and how the heart of our king (though he was very young) was strangely bent upon this expedition; which, however, he discovered to none but the two persons⁠[258] above-mentioned. His request to the Venetians was that they would give him their assistance and counsel in his expedition; and they returned this answer: That he should be very welcome in Italy, but that they were wholly incapable of assisting him, upon account of their continual apprehensions of the Turk⁠[259] (though at that time they were at peace with him); and to undertake to advise so wise a king, who had so grave a council, would savour of too much presumption on their part; but they would rather assist than disturb him in his designs.

This they believed a very discreet answer, and truly so it was; and I am of opinion that their affairs are managed with more prudence and discretion at this day, than the affairs of any other princes or states in the world: but God will still have us know, that the wisdom and policy of man is of no avail where He pleases to interpose; for He orders things many times quite otherwise than were expected. The Venetians did not imagine that the king would come in person, and (whatever they pretended) they had no apprehension of the Turk; for the Turk who then reigned was a man of no courage nor activity. But their design was to be revenged upon the House of Arragon, both father and son, for whom they had a mortal hatred, because (as they said) it was at their instigation that the Turk fell upon them at Scutari.⁠[260] I mean the father of this present Turk, called Mahomet Ottoman, who conquered Constantinople, and did abundance of mischief besides to the Venetians. They had several complaints also against Alphonso, Duke of Calabria, and, among the rest, they said that he had been the occasion of the war which the Duke of Ferrara had made upon them, which was very expensive, and had like to have proved their ruin. They complained also that he had sent a man to Venice, expressly to poison their cisterns, at least such as he could come at; for some are kept under lock and key. In that city they use no other water (for they are wholly surrounded by the sea); but that water is very good, and I drank of it eight months together, in my first embassy thither (for I have been there once since). But these were not the true reasons of their animosity to the House of Arragon; the real occasion was, because the father and son restrained them, and kept them from extending their conquests both in Italy and Greece; for their eyes were upon them on every side, and yet, without any title or pretence, they had lately subdued the kingdom of Cyprus.⁠[261] Upon these considerations the Venetians thought it would be highly for their advantage if a war should be begun between our king and the House of Arragon; hoping it would not be brought to a conclusion so soon as it was, and that it would only weaken the power of their enemies and not utterly destroy them: and then (let what would happen) one side or the other would give them towns in Apulia (which borders upon their gulf) in order to have their assistance: and so it happened⁠[262], but they had like to have been mistaken in their reckoning. Besides, they thought to have transacted affairs so secretly, that nobody could have accused them of inviting our king into Italy, since they had neither given him counsel nor assistance, as appeared to the world by their answer to Peron de Basche.

In the year 1493, the king advanced to Lyons, to examine into his affairs; but nobody ever imagined he would have passed the mountains himself. He was met there by the Lord Galeas di St. Severino, brother to the Count di Cajazzo, with a numerous retinue, on the part of the Lord Ludovic, whose lieutenant and chief minister he was. He brought with him arms, and abundance of fine horses trained on purpose for tournaments. He tilted very well himself, for he was young and a fine gentleman; and the king entertained him with great honour and good cheer, and made him a knight of his own order; after which he returned into Italy, but the Count de Bellejoyeuse still stayed with the king to promote his expedition. By this time a great army was preparing at Genoa, where the Lord d’Urfé, master of the horse, and several others, were negotiating the king’s affairs. At length, about the beginning of August, in that year, the king removed to Vienne in Dauphiny, and the nobility of Genoa resorted to him daily. The king also sent to Genoa at that time Louis, Duke of Orleans, now King of France, a young prince, and very handsome, but much addicted to his pleasures: of him enough has been said in these Memoirs. It was the opinion of everybody at that time, that he was to conduct the army by sea; and that it was to be embarked and landed in the kingdom of Naples, by the assistance and direction of the banished princes of Salerno and Bisignano, whom we have mentioned before. They had gotten fourteen great ships, besides several galleys and galleons, ready at Genoa; and the king was as much obeyed in those parts as at Paris, for the city belonged to the state of Milan, where the Lord Ludovic governed, without any competitor but the duke his nephew’s wife, daughter to King Alphonso (for at that time his father King Ferrand was dead). But the poor lady had no great power, since the king’s army was ready to march, and her husband was a weak prince, and discovered whatever she said to his uncle, who had already caused a messenger to be drowned whom she had sent to her father.

The equipping of this fleet was very expensive, and I believe cost no less than three hundred thousand francs, which quite exhausted the king’s treasury; and yet it did him no great service after all, for, as I observed before, neither his exchequer, his understanding, nor his preparations were sufficient for such an important enterprise, and yet he succeeded in it by the mere favour of Providence, as was visibly manifest to all the world. I do not say that the king wanted wisdom, considering his age; but he was but two-and-twenty years old⁠[263], and not as yet capable of understanding state affairs. Those who were the chief managers of this affair (I mean Stephen de Vers, seneschal of Beaucaire, and Monsieur Brissonet, at present cardinal of St. Malo) were two persons of indifferent fortune, and less experience, which made the power of God more conspicuous, for our enemies were reputed wise, warlike, and rich, well furnished with good counsellors and officers, and in possession of the whole kingdom; I speak of Alphonso of Arragon (newly crowned by Pope Alexander⁠[264]), who was supported by both the Florentines and the Turks. King Alphonso had a son called Don Ferrand, a hopeful gentleman of about two or three-and-twenty years old, who wore his harness very well, and was extremely beloved in that kingdom; and a brother called Don Frederic (who was king after the death of Ferrand), a wise prince, and admiral of their fleet, who was educated a long time in our country, and whom you, my Lord of Vienne, have often (by your skill in astrology) assured me would be king; and he promised me (upon my telling him of it) a pension of four thousand livres, if it proved true, as it did twenty years afterwards.

But to proceed. The king changed his resolution, being prevailed upon by the Duke of Milan’s letters, and by the importunity of Charles de Bellejoyeuse, his ambassador, and of the two ministers above-mentioned; but by degrees Brissonet’s courage began to fail him, finding that all sober and rational persons condemned the expedition, as it was to begin in August, without money, tents, and everything else that was necessary to carry it on; so that the seneschal was the only man that was consulted; for the king looked coldly upon Monsieur Brissonet for three or four days, but was reconciled to him afterwards. About this time one of the seneschal’s servants died, it was said, of the plague, and he durst not appear at court; which was a great mortification to him, for there was nobody else to carry on the design. The Duke and Duchess of Bourbon were with the king, and used all their interest to hinder this expedition, and Monsieur Brissonet did the same; so that one day it was laid aside, and the next revived. At last the king resolved to march, and, thinking to pass the mountains more commodiously in small bodies, I mounted on horseback, and advanced before; but I was countermanded, and assured that the design was given over. The same day fifty thousand ducats were borrowed of a merchant of Milan, but the Lord Ludovic was the real lender. I was surety for six thousand ducats, and others for the rest; but it was borrowed without interest. Before that, we had borrowed of the bank of Soly, in Genoa, a hundred thousand francs, the interest of which in four months amounted to fourteen thousand francs; but some people said the persons above mentioned kept part of the money for their own private use.

Ch. VI.—How King Charles set out from Vienne, in Dauphiny, to conquer Naples in Person; and the Action that was performed by his Fleet, under the Command of the Duke of Orleans.—1494.

In short, the King, on the 23rd of August, 1494, set out from Vienne, and marched straight towards Asti.⁠[265] At Suza the Lord Galeas di St. Severino came post to meet his majesty, who advanced from thence to Turin⁠[266], where he borrowed the jewels of Madame de Savoy⁠[267], daughter to the late William, Marquis of Montferrat⁠[268], and widow to Charles Duke of Savoy. Having pawned them for twelve thousand ducats, he removed a few days after to Casale⁠[269], the residence of the Marchioness of Montferrat⁠[270], widow of the late Marquis of Montferrat, a young and prudent lady, and daughter to the King of Servia. The Turk having overrun her country, the emperor (in respect of the relation betwixt them) took care of her, and married her there. She also lent the king her jewels, and they also were pawned for twelve thousand ducats; by which you may see what an unprosperous beginning there was of this war, had not God himself directed the enterprise.

The king continued at Asti for some time. The wines in Italy were sour this year, and therefore not at all agreeable to the French, any more than the excessive heat of the atmosphere. The Lord Ludovic and his wife came with a numerous retinue to wait on his majesty; they staid there two days, and then removed to a castle called Annone, about a league from Asti, belonging to the duchy of Milan, to which place the king’s council resorted to him daily.

King Alphonso had two armies in the field, one in Romagna, towards Ferrara, under the command of his son; who was attended by the Lord Virgil Ursini⁠[271], the Count de Pittelhane⁠[272], and the Lord John James di Trivulce⁠[273], who at this time is in our interest. To face this body of forces, there was the Lord d’Aubigny⁠[274] on the king’s side, a wise man and a brave officer, and with him at least two hundred French men-at-arms, and five hundred Italians in the king’s service, commanded by the Count di Cajazzo above-mentioned, as an officer under the Lord Ludovic: he was in great alarm for this brigade, for if it had been defeated, we should have retired, and have left him to shift for himself; and the enemy had a strong party in the duchy of Milan.

The other army, which was commanded by Don Frederick, King Alphonso’s brother, was at sea, and the fleet that had this body of forces on board lay off Pisa and Leghorn (for the Florentines espoused their interest), and with it a certain number of galleys, commanded by Breto di Flisco⁠[275], and other officers of Genoa, by whose assistance they were in hopes of making themselves masters of that city; and they missed it but narrowly. They landed some thousand men at Specie and Rapalo⁠[276], and had they not met with a timely opposition, it is probable they would have carried their point; but that very day, or the next, the Duke of Orleans arrived there with some ships, a good number of galleys, and one great galeass, which was mine, and commanded by Albert Mely. The duke and chief persons of the army were on board my galeass, with several great pieces of cannon (for she was very strong); and getting as near the shore as possible, they cannonaded the enemy so briskly with their great guns (which till that time were unknown in Italy), that they beat them from their post, and landed what soldiers they had in their ships. And from Genoa, where the whole army lay, there came by land a considerable body of Swiss, commanded by the bailiff of Dijon.⁠[277] There were other reinforcements also sent from the Duke of Milan, under the command of Lord John Lewis di Flisco⁠[278], brother to the above-mentioned Breto, and the Lord John Adorni⁠[279]; but these were not in the engagement, yet they did their duty, and held several passes with great courage and resolution. In short, when joined by these reinforcements, our army attacked and utterly defeated the enemy, of whom about a hundred or six-score were killed in the pursuit, and about eight or ten taken prisoners; among whom there was one Signor Forgosa⁠[280], son to the Cardinal of Genoa.⁠[281] Those who were taken were stripped to their shirts by the Duke of Milan’s soldiers, and dismissed without other injury! for in Italy that is the law of arms. I had a sight of all the letters which brought an account of this victory to the king and the Duke of Milan; and after this manner was the army defeated, and never after durst approach us. Upon our return to Genoa the citizens began to rise in arms, and slew several Germans, that were in the city; but the tumult was soon appeased, after some of the ring-leaders of the insurrection were killed.

Something must now be said of the Florentines, who sent two embassies to the king of France before his setting out upon this expedition; but their design was only to dissemble with him. The first time the seneschal of Beaucaire, Monsieur Brissonet, and myself were deputed to treat with their ambassadors, who were the Bishop of Arezzo⁠[282] and one Peter Soderini.⁠[283] Our demands were only that they should grant us passage for our troops, and a hundred men-at-arms, to be paid by them after the Italian rate (which is but ten thousand ducats a year). The ambassadors replied according to the instructions that were given them by Peter de Medicis, a young man of no extraordinary parts, son of Laurence de Medicis, lately deceased, who had been one of the wisest men of his time, governed the city almost as a prince, and left it in the same condition to his son. Their family had been of about two generations, Peter, the father of this Laurence, and Cosmo who founded it, and was worthy to be reckoned among the chief of that age: indeed, considering their profession (which was merchandising), I think this family was the greatest in the world; for their factors and agents had so much reputation upon their account, that it is scarce credible. I have seen the effect of it in England and Flanders: I saw one Gerard Quanvese, who kept King Edward IV. upon his throne, almost upon his own credit, during the time of the civil wars in that kingdom; for he furnished the king at different times with more than six-score thousand crowns, but not at all to his master’s advantage, though at length he got his money back again. I knew also another, named Thomas Portunay⁠[284], who was security between King Edward and Charles Duke of Burgundy, for fifty thousand crowns, and at another time for eighty thousand. I cannot commend merchants for doing so; but it is highly commendable in a prince to be punctual with them, and keep his promise exactly; for he knows not how soon he may want their assistance, and certainly a little money at a critical juncture of affairs does great service.

This family of Medicis was thought to be in a declining condition (as is the case with all kingdoms and governments), for the authority of his predecessors was a great prejudice to Peter; though indeed Cosmo, the first of the family, was mild and gentle in his administration, and behaved himself as he ought to do in a free city. Laurence, the father of Peter (of whom we are now speaking), upon occasion of the difference betwixt him and the Pisans⁠[285], mentioned in a former part of this book (in which several of them were hanged), had a guard of twenty soldiers assigned him, for the security of his person, by an order from the Signory, which at that time did nothing without his direction and approbation. However, he governed very moderately; for (as I said before) he was a wise man; but his son Peter thought it his due, and employed his guards to the terror and vexation of his people, committing great injuries and insolencies by them in the night, and invading the common treasure, which his father indeed had done before him; but he managed it so prudently, that the people were almost satisfied with his proceedings.

The second time Peter sent, as his ambassadors to Lyon, Peter Caponi⁠[286] and others, excusing himself, as he had done before, on the ground that King Louis XI. had commanded the Florentines to make a league with King Ferrand, in the time of John Duke of Anjou, and to forsake the alliance of the said duke; and alleging that, since it was by command of the late King of France that they had entered into alliance with the House of Arragon, and the term of the said alliance was not to expire for some years⁠[287], they could not in justice desert it: however, if his majesty entered their territories, they would be of service to him; but they no more thought he would come in person than the Venetians did. In both these embassies there was always somebody who was an enemy to the Medicis, and at this time more particularly Peter Caponi, who often informed us secretly what measures were to be taken in order to make the city of Florence revolt from Peter de Medicis, traducing him more sharply than he really deserved: indeed, he advised the king to banish all Florentines out of our kingdom, which he did. I mentioned this particular, that you may more easily understand the sequel of these Memoirs; for the king had conceived a great enmity against Peter de Medicis; and the Seneschal and Monsieur Brissonet held great intelligence with his enemies in the city, especially with this Caponi, and with two of Peter’s cousins-german, who bore his own name.

Ch. VII.—How the King, being at Asti, resolved to go in Person into the Kingdom of Naples, by the Persuasion and Advice of Ludovic Sforza: how Philip de Commines was sent on an Embassy to Venice: and of the Duke of Milan’s Death.—1494.

I have already given an account of the naval engagement off Rapalo. Don Frederic (upon this defeat) retired to Pisa and Leghorn, without staying for the forces which he had put on shore; at which the Florentines were highly disgusted, as they were always in their own minds more inclinable to favour the French than the house of Arragon: and our army in Romagna, though the weaker of the two, yet had better fortune than the other, and forced the Duke of Calabria to give ground by degrees; which the king observing, he took a resolution to march forward, being solicited to do so by the Lord Ludovic and others whom I have mentioned before; and at his arrival, Ludovic saluted him after this manner:—

“Sir, do not fear for the success of this enterprise; Italy consists but of three powers that are at all considerable: Milan, which is one of them, is yours already; the Venetians are neutral; and you will therefore have to deal only with Naples. When we were united, and joined together in a mutual alliance, several of your predecessors have been too powerful for us. If you will be ruled by me, I will assist in making you greater than Charlemagne; for, when you have conquered the kingdom of Naples, we will easily drive the Turk out of the empire of Constantinople.” If he meant the Turk who now reigns⁠[288], it was likely enough; but to insure success, affairs on our side needed to have been managed more wisely. Upon this the king began to be wholly governed by the Lord Ludovic, which highly displeased some of our courtiers, among whom there was one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber, and I know not who besides; but their resentment was to no purpose, for the king could not do without him, and what they did was but in complaisance to the Duke of Orleans, who pretended to the duchy of Milan.⁠[289] But, above all, none was so much disgusted as Monsieur Brissonet, who now began to look upon himself as a considerable person, and was become the seneschal’s rival in power; and Ludovic having proposed to the king and the seneschal to leave him behind, he was highly incensed against him, and endeavoured to persuade all people that he meant to leave them in the lurch. It had been more wise in him to have been silent; but he was never employed in, nor indeed was he fit for, any affairs of state; for he had not the command of his tongue, though otherwise he was very well affected to his master. The conclusion of all was, that several ambassadors should be sent; and I, among the rest, was sent to Venice.

I put off my journey for some days, because the king was fallen sick of the small-pox, and being taken with a high fever besides, was thought to be in danger; but it lasted not above five or six days, so that I went upon my journey, and others went to other places. I left the king at Asti, not suspecting in the least that he would have proceeded any farther. In six days’ time I arrived, with my mules and train, at Venice; for the road was the best in the world. I was very unwilling to depart, fearing the king would go back; but God had otherwise appointed. The king marched directly for Pavia⁠[290], by the way of Casale, where he visited the Marchioness of Montferrat, a lady much in our interest, but a great enemy to Lord Ludovic, and he hated her also. The king was no sooner at Pavia, than suspicions began to arise; they would have had the king to lodge in the town, and not in the castle; but nothing would serve his turn but the castle, and lie there he did, and his guards were doubled that night, as some have told me since, who were then with him. The Lord Ludovic was much surprised at it, and questioned the king about it, asking whether he was suspicious of him. In short, things were so carried on both sides, that amity was not like to last long: but our people were the most indiscreet in their language; not the king, but some of his nearest relations. In this Castle of Pavia there was at that time John Galeas, Duke of Milan (whom I have mentioned before), and his wife, the daughter of King Alphonso. The duchess looked very melancholy; for her husband was dangerously sick, and kept in that castle under guard with herself, her son, and one or two of her daughters. Her son is still living, and was then about five years of age. Nobody might see the duke, but any one might see the child. I passed that way three days before the king, but was unable to see the duke, and was told he was very ill indeed. However, the king visited him when he came, for he was his cousin-german. His majesty told me afterwards, the subject of their discourse was only in general terms, for he was unwilling to offend Count Ludovic in anything; yet he had a great mind (as he said) to have given him notice of the designs against him. At the same time the duchess threw herself at Ludovic’s feet, and begged of him to have compassion on her father and brother; he replied it was not in his power; but she had more reason to have petitioned for her husband and herself, for she was still young and very beautiful.

From thence the king marched to Placentia⁠[291], where Ludovic was informed that his nephew, the Duke of Milan, lay a dying; so he took his leave of the king, and, being pressed to return, he promised faithfully to do so. Before he reached Pavia the duke was dead⁠[292], upon which he went post immediately to Milan. This I saw in a letter which the Venetian ambassador that was with him wrote to Venice, assuring the Signory of his design to make himself duke. And it is certain both the Doge of Venice and the Signory were much against it, and asked me if the king my master would not espouse the young duke’s interest. Though the thing was but reasonable, yet knowing how necessary Ludovic’s interest and assistance were to the king’s designs, my answer was in doubtful terms.

Ch. VIII.—How and by what Means the Lord Ludovic seized and usurped the Lordship and Duchy of Milan, and was received by the Milanese as their Sovereign.—1494.

In short, he made himself Duke of Milan, and, as many affirmed, that was his design in inviting and drawing us into Italy. He was charged also with the death of his nephew, whose friends and relations put themselves in a condition to wrest the government out of his hands; and they might easily have done it, had it not been for his alliance with our king; for they had already assembled their forces in Romagna, as you have heard; but the Count di Cajazzo, and Monsieur d’Aubigny made them retire. For when Monsieur d’Aubigny, with about a hundred and fifty or two hundred French men-at-arms and a good body of Swiss, advanced upon them, Don Ferrand retreated towards his friends, keeping about half a day’s march before us towards Forli⁠[293], which belonged to a lady⁠[294] that was a bastard of the house of Milan, and widow of Count Hieronimo, who was, or said he was, a nephew to Pope Sixtus. It was reported that she favoured their party, but our men battered a small town⁠[295] of hers for half a day, and took it by storm; upon which and the inclination she had to us before, she came over to our side. The people of Italy began generally to assume new courage, and be desirous of change; for they saw a thing that they had never seen before, and that was the use of great guns, which had never been so well understood in France till then. Don Ferrand retreated towards his own kingdom, and marched for Cesenna⁠[296], a strong city of the pope’s, in the marquisate of Ancona; but the people stripped and plundered all the stragglers they could meet with, for they were disposed all over Italy to revolt, had things been managed wisely on our part, without violence and plunder. But all was done quite contrary, at which I was extremely concerned, for, by this way of proceeding, we lost all the honour and renown that the French nation might otherwise have gained in that expedition. At our first entrance into Italy we were regarded like saints, and everybody thought us people of the greatest goodness and sincerity in the world; but that opinion lasted not long, for our own disorders, and the false reports of our enemies, quickly convinced them of the contrary; for they accused us of all imaginable rapacity, plundering and robbing their houses, and ravishing their wives and daughters, whenever they fell into our hands. Nor could they have invented anything to render us more odious, for the people of Italy are the most jealous and avaricious of any in Europe. As to our ravishing of the women they wronged us; but for the rest, there was too much truth in what they said.

Ch. IX.—How Peter de Medicis put Four of his strongest Garrisons into the King’s Possession; and how the King restored Pisa, which was one of them, to its ancient Liberty.—1494.

The king, as you have heard, was at Placentia, where he ordered a solemn funeral service to be performed for his cousin-german the Duke of Milan; and indeed he knew not how else to spend his time, since Ludovic, the new Duke of Milan, had left him. Those who had an opportunity of being well acquainted with these affairs have told me, that the whole army, understanding how ill they were provided with everything necessary for such an expedition, had a great inclination to return home; and that those who were the chief promoters of it at first, began now to condemn it; as, for instance, the Lord d’Urfé, master of the horse, (though he was at that time sick at Genoa), for he wrote a letter upon some intelligence that he pretended to receive, which increased and heightened their former fears and apprehensions. But God, as I said before, conducted this enterprise, for the king suddenly received news that the new Duke of Milan was upon his return, and that the Florentines were disposed to an alliance with us, in opposition to Peter de Medicis, who played the tyrant amongst them, to the great dissatisfaction of his nearest relations, and other considerable families in that city, as the Capponi, Soderini, and Nerli, and almost the whole town; upon which the king left Placentia, and marched towards the territories of the Florentines, to force them to declare for him, or to seize upon their towns, which were but in an ill posture of defence, and take up his winter-quarters in them, as the cold weather had already begun. Several small places received him very readily, and so did the city of Lucca, which at that time was at war with Florence. The Duke of Milan had always advised the king to take up his quarters in those parts, and advance no farther that winter, in hopes, by the king’s interest and favour, to get into his own possession Pisa, a strong and fair city, Sarzana, and Pietrasanta, for the two last had belonged lately to Genoa, and had been taken from them by the Florentines, in the time of Laurence de Medicis.

The king marched by Pontremoli, which belongs to the duchy of Milan, and besieged Sarzana, the strongest castle the Florentines had, but ill provided, by reason of their divisions; and, to say truly, the Florentines never fight willingly against the French, for they have been always faithful and serviceable to them, in respect of their trade and interest in France, and also upon account of their being Guelphs.⁠[297] Had Sarzana been furnished as it ought to have been, the king’s army had certainly been ruined in besieging it, for the country is mountainous and barren, full of snow, and not able to supply us with provisions. The king lay before it but three days, and the Duke of Milan came to him before any composition was made. Having passed through Pontremoli, the citizens and garrison fell out with our Germans, who were commanded by one Buser, and in the dispute some of our Germans were slain. I was not present at this action myself, but I was informed of it both by the king, the duke, and several others that were there; and this accident produced great inconveniences, as you will find hereafter. Our affairs went smoothly on at Florence, and were brought to that height, that fifteen or sixteen persons were deputed to attend the king, as the citizens publicly declared they would not expose themselves to the displeasure of the king and the Duke of Milan, who had a resident ambassador in Florence; and Peter de Medicis was forced to concur in this embassy, for, as matters then stood, he knew not how to avoid it, and to have done otherwise would have ruined them, considering how ill they were both provided and disciplined. Upon the arrival of their ambassadors, they offered to receive the king into Florence, and what other places his majesty pleased; but the designs of most of them were fixed upon his journey to Florence, which they thought would conduce to the expulsion of Peter de Medicis, and they pressed it very earnestly by means of those who then conducted the king’s affairs, whom I have often mentioned before.

On the other hand, Peter de Medicis managed his affairs as diligently, by means of one Laurence Spinoli, his factor, who governed his bank at Lyons, and was a man of integrity, and had lived a considerable time in France; but he could get no intelligence of the secret affairs of our court, nor indeed could those who lived constantly in it rely positively upon anything, their counsels were so various. However, Spinoli practised with those who had authority there, such as the Lord de Bresse (who has since become Duke of Savoy,) and the Lord de Myolans, who was chamberlain to the king. As soon as the Florentine ambassadors were returned, Peter de Medicis, and some of his friends, waited on the king, with their answers to what had been demanded. They perceived that their inevitable ruin in the city would be the consequence of disputing anything the king thought fit to require; wherefore they resolved to gain his favour, by doing something extraordinary, beyond what the rest had done.

Upon the news of his approach, the Lord de Piennes, a native of Flanders, and chamberlain to the king, and Monsieur Brissonet (whom I have so often mentioned before), were sent to meet him. They proposed the surrender of Sarzana to Peter de Medicis, which was immediately done. They demanded farther, that he would give the king possession of Pisa, Leghorn, Pietrasanta, and Librefatta, and he granted it, without communicating with his colleagues, who were told, that the king was to be received into Pisa, and stay there some time to refresh his troops; but they never thought those places were to be left in his hands. However, their whole power and strength were put into our hands. Those who managed this treaty with Peter de Medicis have often told me and other people, with smiles and laughter, of his condescensions; for they were astonished at them, and he made several concessions, which they had scarce the confidence to demand. In short, the king entered Pisa⁠[298]; and the ambassadors returned to Florence, where Peter de Medicis ordered lodgings to be prepared for the king in his own house, which is the fairest and best furnished house for a merchant and man of his quality that I have ever seen.

We must now say something of the Duke of Milan, who was already grown weary of the king, and heartily wished him out of Italy, so that he might keep in possession of such places as had been delivered up by the Florentines. He pressed the king very hard to have Sarzana and Pietrasanta, which, he said, belonged to the Genoese, and, at the same time, he lent the king thirty thousand ducats, upon which (as he told me, and several others afterwards) he was promised that he should have them; but, finding he could not get them, he was highly disgusted, and pretending his affairs required him at home, he left the king, who never saw him afterwards. But he ordered the Lord Galeas di St. Severino to stay with the king, giving him instructions that he should be present in all councils with the Count Charles de Bellejoyeuse, whom I have mentioned before. During the king’s stay at Pisa, the said Lord Galeas, at his master’s instigation, invited several of the chief citizens of the town to his lodging, and advised them to rebel against the Florentines, and petition the king to restore them to their liberty; hoping, by this means, that the city would fall again into the Duke of Milan’s hands, as had formerly⁠[299] been the case in the time of Duke John Galeas, the first Duke of Milan of that name; which John was a great and wicked tyrant, but lived very honourably. His body lies in the Chartreux at Pavia, not far from the park, and is laid much higher than the altar; the monks showed it me, or, at least, his bones (and I mounted a ladder to see them), which were no sweeter than nature permitted. One of the monks, who was born at Bourges, in discourse, called him a saint; I whispered him in the ear, and asked him why he gave him the title of Saint; for one might see, painted about him, the arms of several cities which he had wrongfully usurped; besides which, his horse and himself, carved in fine marble, were placed above the altar, and his body lay under the feet of his horse. He answered me softly, “In this country we call all saints who do us any good; and he built us this church;” which is of fair marble, and, indeed, the handsomest I ever saw in my life of that kind.

But to proceed: this Galeas di St. Severino had an ambition to be a great man, and Ludovic, Duke of Milan (whose bastard daughter he had married), seemed ambitious of making him so, and took as much interest in him as if he had been his son, for his own children were not of age as yet. The Pisans had been cruelly treated by the Florentines, who used them as their slaves; for they had been conquered by them about one hundred years⁠[300], much about the same time as the Venetians subdued Padua⁠[301], which was their first acquisition upon the main land. These two cities were much alike; they had been long enemies to those who had the government of them; they were almost equal in power, and it was a great while before they could be conquered. The Pisans now called a council, and, finding themselves encouraged by so great a person, and being naturally desirous of liberty, as the king was going to mass, a great number of men and women cried out to him, “Liberty, Liberty,” begging of him, with tears in their eyes, that he would vouchsafe to restore it to them. There was at that time one Rabot⁠[302] a counsellor of the parliament of Dauphiny, and then either actually Master of the Requests, or executing that office for somebody else, who (having promised to do so, or not well understanding the nature of their demands) acquainted the king (as he was walking before him) with the deplorable condition of the Pisans, and told his majesty he ought in pity to redress their wrongs, for never people had been so tyrannically dealt with. The king not understanding what they meant by that word liberty, and beginning to commiserate the afflictions of Italy, and the miseries the poor subjects endured, both under princes and commonwealths, replied, he was willing it should be so; though (to speak truth) he had no authority to grant it, for the town was not his own, and he was received into it only in friendship, and to relieve him in his great necessities. Monsieur Rabot told them the king’s answer, and the people began immediately to fill the streets with acclamations of joy; and running to the end of the bridge upon the River Arno, they pulled down a great lion, called Marzocchi, which stood upon a marble pillar, and represented the government of Florence, and threw it into the river. When they had so done, they caused a statue of the King of France to be set on the pillar, with his sword in his hand, and the Marzocchi, or lion, under his horse’s feet. After that, when the King of the Romans came to that town⁠[303], they served the King of France’s statue as they had served the lion; for it is the nature of the Italians to side always with the strongest; but these Pisans were, and are still, so barbarously treated, that they ought to be excused for what they did.

Ch. X.—How the King departed from Pisa to go to Florence; and of the Flight and Destruction of Peter de Medicis.—1494.

The king stayed not long there⁠[304], but departed for Florence; where they complained to him of the injury he had done to the Florentines, and that it was contrary to his promise, to restore the Pisans to their liberty. Those whom he appointed to answer their complaint, excused his conduct in the best manner they could; alleging, that his majesty had not been rightly informed, and they entered into another agreement, of which I shall say something hereafter. But, in the first place, I must speak of the fate of Peter de Medicis, and of the king’s entrance into Florence, and of the garrisons that his majesty left in Pisa and other places, which the Florentines had lent him.

After Peter de Medicis, by the consent of some few of his colleagues, had delivered up the above-mentioned towns to the king, he returned to Florence, where the people supposed the king would not keep them, but that after he had refreshed himself for three or four days, and had left Pisa, they would be delivered up again. I am of opinion that, had the king proposed to them to remain there the whole winter, they would easily have consented to it; though Pisa, except in the numbers of the people, and the richness of their furniture, is of greater value and importance to them than Florence itself. However, Peter de Medicis, upon his return to Florence, was but coldly received by the people, who looked discontentedly upon him, and not without reason; for he had disarmed them of all their power and authority, and robbed them of all the conquests they had gained for a hundred years before; so that their hearts seemed to presage the calamities which have happened to them since. For this cause (which I believe was the principal, though they never declared it), for the hatred they bore him (as I have said before), and for the recovery of their liberties, of which they believed themselves deprived (without any respect to the services done them by Cosmo and Laurence his predecessors), they resolved to drive him out of the town. Peter de Medicis having some suspicion, but no certain knowledge, of their designs, went to the palace to announce the king’s approach, who was within three miles of the city; but coming, according to his usual custom, with his guards, and knocking boldly at the palace gate, he was denied entrance by one of the Nerli⁠[305] (of whom there were several brothers, with whom I was well acquainted, and also with their father, all very wealthy people), who told him he might enter alone if he pleased, but otherwise not; and he that gave him this answer was armed. Upon which Peter de Medicis returned at once to his house, put himself and his retainers in arms, and sent word to one Paul Ursini⁠[306], who was in the Florentine service; for by his mother’s side Peter de Medicis was akin to the Ursini, and both his father and himself had always had several of that family in their service; and he resolved to stand upon his guard, and oppose any insurrection that might happen in the city. But, not long after, hearing a great cry of “Liberty, Liberty,” and seeing the people assembled in arms, he left the city according to the prudent advice that was given him by Ursini; but it was a sad parting for him, for in power and riches he and his predecessors, since the time of Cosmo, had been equal to the greatest princes, and on that day fortune began to be adverse, and he lost both authority and estate. I was at Venice myself, but the news was communicated to me by the Florentine ambassador, who was there, and I was extremely concerned at it; for I had a great affection for his father. Had this Peter believed me formerly, he had not then been in that condition; for upon my first arrival at Venice I wrote to him, and offered to make his peace with the king, and it was in my power to have done it; for I had verbal commission, from both the Seneschal of Beaucaire and Brissonet, to do it, and the king would have been contented with passage for his troops, or, at the worst, to have had Leghorn put into his hands, in return for which, he would have done whatever Peter could have desired; but, by the persuasion and ill counsel of Peter Capponi, whom I have mentioned before, he did but laugh at me for the offer I made him.