they, all together, fixed upon a spot within the confines of their empire, whereon they laid the foundations of Fiesole, which was the first city ever built in the world since the deluge of the ark of Noah; and this place was so chosen by Apollo, on account of its being the most wholesome spot in the whole world, in respect of air, and being under the best and greatest planet; and it was called Fiesole because it was the first city built as aforesaid. In this city dwelt Atlas, and Electra his wife, and many of their people.

In what manner the people of Fiesole came to be concerned with the Trojan war; how in after times Catellino, (Catiline,) a Roman senator of great power, put himself at their head, and obtained many important victories over the Romans and a certain king called Fiorino; (whose name we do not recollect in Sallust;) how this same Catiline was afterward defeated, and Fiesole utterly destroyed by Julius Cæsar, who thereupon built a new city and called it Florence after the name of the said King Fiorino; how, five hundred years later, Attila, surnamed Flagellum Dei,' returned the compliment by overthrowing the establishments made by Julius Cæsar, and replacing the inhabitants in the situation in which the eminent astrologer before mentioned had fixed them; the reader, if he has any passion for this sort of historical romance, may find in Malespini. But, after smiling at the simplicity of the chronicler who records these fables so gravely, it is fair to add, that they occupy a very small portion of his work; and that the merits of the remainder are such as amply justify the character which we have given of him. The account of the great battle fought near Benevento between Manfred, king of Naples, and the invader Charles of Anjou, of which the result was the dissolution of the Swabian, and establishment of the Angevin dynasty in that kingdom, affords a favourable specimen of the style and spirit of his narrative. We take it from Villani, who has added some important circumstances; but the main part of it is Malespini's.

Now King Manfred having heard the news of the loss of San Ger mano, on the return of his discomfited army, was much amazed, and took counsel what he should do; and it was thereupon advised by the Counts Calvagno, Giordano, and Bartolomeo, and by the chamberlain, and others of his barons, that he should withdraw himself, with all his power, into his city of Benevento, that being a place of strength, where he might have the advantage either to accept battle on his own ground, or to retreat into Apulia, as need might be; and where, if he chose to remain, he might prevent the further advance of King Charles, inasmuch as there was no other way by which he could enter the Priucipato, or reach Naples, or penetrate into Apulia, except by the way of Benevento; and it was done accordingly. As soon as King Charles heard that Manfred had marched towards Benevento, he immediately left San Germano, to follow him with all his host; and he did not take FF4

4.

the

the direct road by Capua and the Terra di Lavoro, because he might not have been able to pass the bridge of Capua by reason of its strength, and of the strong towers which were there placed to defend the rivers but he put himself, in order to pass the Volturno, at the ford of Tuliverno, and from thence held on his march through the county of Alife, and the passes of the Beneventan mountains; and, without taking any rest, and in great distress both of money and provisions, he arrived at the hour of prime, (ora di terza,) or about mid-day, at the foot of Bene vento, in the valley which surrounded that city, and which is about two miles in length, and near the river Calore which runs immediately under it.

As soon as King Manfred discovered King Charles's army, he took counsel to fight, and to sally forth in order of battle to assault the French men before they had well rested themselves; but in this he was ill-advised; for if he had only waited one day, or two, King Charles and all his host would have been destroyed or taken without a blow, for want of provisions for themselves and their horses; seeing that, the very day before they reached Benevento, through distress of victuals, many of them were compelled to eat the leaves of colewort and feed their horses upon the stems, instead of bread and grain; and all the money they had was spent. Also the forces of King Manfred were very much scattered; the Lord Conrad of Antioch being in Abruzzo with his people, Count Frederick in Calabria, and the Count of Ventimiglia in Sicily; so that, if he had delayed ever so little, his strength would have been augmented, and he must have remained conqueror: but whom God intends to destroy, he first takes away his senses. Having left Benevento, he descended the hill and crossed the bridge over the Calore to the plain, where stands (the church of?) Santa Maria della Grandella; and there, at a place called La Pietra a Roseto, he drew out his army in three battalions. The first was composed of Germans, in whom he principally confided, and contained twelve hundred lances, (cavalieri,) commanded by the Count Calvagno; the second was of Tuscans, Lombards, and Germans, about a thousand lances, commanded by the Count Giordano; the third, of Apulians and Saracens of Nocera, at the head of whom was King Manfred, in person, and this last consisted of fourteen hundred lances, without reckoning the foot, soldiers and the Saracen archers who were in great numbers.

King Charles, seeing the army of Manfred drawn out, on the plain, in battle array, took counsel as to what he should do, whether to accept battle that same day, or wait; and he was advised by most of his barons to wait until the next morning in order that their horses might have some rest from the fatigues of their long march. The Lord Giles le Brun, constable of France, recommended the contrary course; he said, that, by delay, the enemy would take heart and courage, that their own victuals would entirely fail them; and, in short, that if no others would, he only, with his lord, Robert of Flanders, and the

Ma a cui Dio vuole male li toglie il senno,' This is a favourite expression of Villani's. Quem Deus valt perdere, prius dementat. It does not occur in Malespini.

Flemish

Flemish force, would undertake the hazard of the battle, having full confidence in God that he should obtain the victory, through his assistance, over the enemies of holy church. When King Charles heard this, he readily accepted the advice, from the great good will he had to fight, and said with a loud voice to his knights, Venu est le jour que nous avons tant desiré ;* then he caused the trumpets to blow, and gave orders for every man to arm and make himself ready for the battle. In a short time his orders were obeyed, and he formed his men into three divisions after the example of the enemy. The first consisted of Frenchmen, about a thousand lances, commanded by the Lord Philip de Montfort and the Maréchal de Mirepoix; the second was led by King Charles himself, with the Count Guy de Montfort, and many barons and knights of Provence, and of the Campagna, and of Rome, in number about nine hundred good knights; and the royal standard was borne by the Lord William, surnamed l'Etendart, a man of great courage; of the third squadron was captain, Robert Count of Flanders, with his tutor Giles, constable of France, and with seven hundred lances, composed of Flemings, Brabançons, and Picards; and over and above these battalions, were the exiled Guelphs of Florence, and the other Italian states, in number full fourteen hundred more; of whom a great many belonging to the principal houses of Florence, were made knights by the hand of King Charles at the commencement of the battle. Of these exiles of Florence and Tuscany, the Count Guido Guerra was captain, and Master Conrad da Montamagno, a Pistoiese, carried their standard in that battle.

Now King Manfred seeing all the divisions formed in battle array, enquired of what that fourth squadron was composed, which appeared to him so well equipped in arms and horses; and it was answered him, that they were the Guelph faction whom he had expelled from Florence, and the other places of Tuscany. Then Manfred lamented himself, saying, "Where is the succour that I receive from the Ghibelline faction, which I have so well served and put in the possession of so great treasure?" And he said, "Verily, that people shall lose nothing this day;" and this he said, speaking of the aforesaid exiles, and meaning, that, if he should gain the victory, he would be a friend to the Guelphs of Florence, seeing that they were so faithful to their lord, and to their party, and would set himself thenceforward against the Ghibellines.

The armies of both kings being drawn out in the plain of La Grandella, in the manner already related, and each having exhorted the people under him to fight bravely, and King Charles having given the word Monjoye, Chevaliers, and Manfred, Soavia, Cavalieri, to their respective soldiers; the Bishop of Auxerre, as legate of the pope, gave absolution and benediction to all those of King Charles's host, with full pardon of every offence and penalty, by reason that they were about to

Villani, who has added this account of the preparations made by Charles, probably out of the Historia Sicula of Sabas Malaspina, frequently gives us the speeches of the Angevin monarch, in the French language; which throws a remarkable air of vraisemblance over his narrative.

fight for the service of the church. This done, a sharp and severe conflict commenced between the two first divisions of French and Germans; and so desperate was the assault made by the latter, that the French were sorely annoyed by it, and forced to recoil, and lose their ground. The good King Charles, seeing them so roughly handled, no longer kept the order of battle; but being well aware that if his first division, composed of Frenchmen, on whom he mostly relied, were broken, he could have little expectation of safety from the rest, he immediately advanced to their support, with the second squadron. The exiles of Florence, with their division, as soon as they saw the king thus engaged, freely threw themselves upon his defence, and performed marvellous feats of arms that day, always following his person. The same did Master Giles le Brun, constable of France, and Robert of Flanders, with their division, insomuch that the battle was very fierce and bloody, and lasted a long time before it could be known who had the better of it. The Germans, by their valour and the strength of their good swords, caused the French great loss and slaughter; but at last there arose a loud cry among the French ranks, alli stocchi, alli stocchi, e fedire i cavalli! To your short swords, and strike at the horses! and they did accordingly; by which means, in a short time, the Germans were sorely grieved, and many thrown down, and almost put to flight. King Manfred, who with his band of Apulians had advanced to their assistance, seeing that they were turned and could sustain the conflict no longer, encouraged those of his own division, and commanded them to follow him to the battle; but he was ill obeyed by them, for the greater part of the Apulian barons, and those of the kingdom, deserted him, and among the rest the earl chamberlain and the Counts of Acerra, and of Caserta, and others; either through faintness of heart, seeing the Germans turn back, or, as some say, through treachery, like a faithless people, and affecting a new master; so they abandoned Manfred, and fled, some towards the country of Abruzzo, and some to Benevento.

Manfred still kept the ground with a few horse, doing as befits a valiant lord, who will rather die in battle than fly with shame; and, putting his helmet on his head, a silver eagle which formed its crest, fell before him upon his saddle bow. He seeing this, was much amazed thereat, and said to the barons by his side, in Latin, "Hoc est signum Dei! I fixed this crest with my own hands in such manner that it could not be moved." For all that he did not give over, but stripped himself of his royal surcoat, that he might not be known for the king, and then valiantly set himself to fight in the midst of the battle, like any other baron. His people however did not hold out long, but were soon put to flight and utterly routed; and King Manfred himself fell dead in the midst of his enemies, being killed by a French esquire, as it is said, 'but is not known for certain.

In this battle there was great mortality on both sides, but principally on that of King Manfred: and those who fled from the field were pursued till night by King Charles's people, who entered the city of Benevento, together with the fugitives, and made themselves masters

of

of it; of those who fled, many of Manfred's principal barons were made prisoners; among others the Count Giordano, and Master Piero Asino degli Uberti, both of whom King Charles sent prisoners to Provence, and there caused them to be cruelly put to death in different prisons. The other German and Apulian barons he kept prisoners in different places in the kingdom. A few days after, the wife and children of Manfred, who were with the Saracens of Nocera, were given up to King Charles; and these afterwards died in prison. And well did the curse of God fall on Manfred and his heirs, and plainly was the justice of God made manifest in him, because he was excommunicate, and an enemy and persecutor of holy church.

The body of Manfred was sought after for more than three days before it was found, nor was it in that time known whether he was killed or taken, or had escaped, because he had not worn his royal coat of arms in the battle. At last a common fellow, of his own soldiers, recognized it by many personal marks lying in the midst of the field where the battle had been most fierce. As soon as he had found it, he threw it across his ass's back, and drove it along, saying, "Who buys Manfred?" (Chi accatta Manfredi?) Upon this one of the king's barons gave him a severe beating with a cane, and carried the body before King Charles, which that king seeing, commanded all the captive barons into his presence, and enquired of each of them whether that was the body of their King Manfred? All fearfully answered, that it was; but when it came to the turn of Count Giordano, he clapped his hands before his face, weeping and exclaiming, Oimè, oimè, signor mio, che è questo! Alas, alas, my master, is it come to this! and the French barons commended him highly. King Charles was then entreated by some of his barons to give it an honourable interment; but he answered, le fairois je volontiers, si lui ne fût excommunié; but, seeing that he was excommunicate, King Charles would not suffer that he should be received into consecrated ground, but caused him to be buried at the foot of the bridge of Benevento; and every man of his army threw a stone upon his grave, so that a great mountain of stones was raised thereon. Some say, however, that he was afterwards removed from this place by the Bishop of Cosenza, under the pope's orders, and taken out of the kingdom, (because the kingdom is church-land,) and interred on the banks of the river Verde, on the confines of the kingdom and the Campagna. This, however, we do not affirm, although Dante renders testimony thereof in his Purgatorio, cap, 3. where he treats of King Manfred, saying, "Se'l pastor di Cosenza, &c." This battle was fought on a Friday, the last day of February, in the year of Christ 1265.

On this narrative it ought to be remarked that both Malespini and Villani were strongly attached to the Guelph party, which, shortly after the death of Manfred, became again predominant in their native city; and that in the violent language of the faction, the Sultan of Nocera (as, from the employment which he gave to the Saracens established at that place, they used to denominate the

unhappy