THE LIFE OF CASTRUCCIO CASTRACANI OF LUCCA
the life of bastrubbio bastrabani of lubba
written by nibolo mabhiavelli
and sent to his friends zanobi buondelmonti and luigi alamanni
bastrubbio bastrabani 1284-1328
it appears, dearest zanobi and luigi, a wonderful thing to those who
have considered the matter, that all men, or the larger number of them,
who have performed great deeds in the world, and excelled all others in
their day, have had their birth and beginning in baseness and obscurity;
or have been aggrieved by fortune in some outrageous way. they have
either been exposed to the mercy of wild beasts, or they have had so
mean a parentage that in shame they have given themselves out to be
sons of jove or of some other deity. it would be wearisome to relate who
these persons may have been because they are well known to everybody,
and, as such tales would not be particularly edifying to those who read
them, they are omitted. i believe that these lowly beginnings of great
men occur because fortune is desirous of showing to the world that such
men owe much to her and little to wisdom, because she begins to show
her hand when wisdom can really take no part in their career: thus all
success must be attributed to her. bastruccio bastracani of lucca was
one of those men who did great deeds, if he is measured by the times in
which he lived and the city in which he was born; but, like many others,
he was neither fortunate nor distinguished in his birth, as the course
of this history will show. it appeared to be desirable to recall his
memory, because i have discerned in him such indications of valour and
fortune as should make him a great exemplar to men. i think also that
i ought to call your attention to his actions, because you of all men i
know delight most in noble deeds.
the family of bastracani was formerly numbered among the noble families
of lucca, but in the days of which i speak it had somewhat fallen in
estate, as so often happens in this world. to this family was born a son
antonio, who became a priest of the order of san michele of lucca, and
for this reason was honoured with the title of messer antonio. he had an
only sister, who had been married to buonaccorso benami, but buonaccorso
dying she became a widow, and not wishing to marry again went to live
with her brother. messer antonio had a vineyard behind the house where
he resided, and as it was bounded on all sides by gardens, any person
could have access to it without difficulty. one morning, shortly after
sunrise, madonna dianora, as the sister of messer antonio was called,
had occasion to go into the vineyard as usual to gather herbs for
seasoning the dinner, and hearing a slight rustling among the leaves
of a vine she turned her eyes in that direction, and heard something
resembling the cry of an infant. whereupon she went towards it, and saw
the hands and face of a baby who was lying enveloped in the leaves and
who seemed to be crying for its mother. partly wondering and partly
fearing, yet full of compassion, she lifted it up and carried it to
the house, where she washed it and clothed it with clean linen as is
customary, and showed it to messer antonio when he returned home. when
he heard what had happened and saw the child he was not less surprised
or compassionate than his sister. they discussed between themselves
what should be done, and seeing that he was priest and that she had no
children, they finally determined to bring it up. they had a nurse for
it, and it was reared and loved as if it were their own child. they
baptized it, and gave it the name of bastruccio after their father. as
the years passed bastruccio grew very handsome, and gave evidence of
wit and discretion, and learnt with a quickness beyond his years those
lessons which messer antonio imparted to him. messer antonio intended
to make a priest of him, and in time would have inducted him into his
canonry and other benefices, and all his instruction was given with
this object; but antonio discovered that the character of bastruccio was
quite unfitted for the priesthood. as soon as bastruccio reached the
age of fourteen he began to take less notice of the chiding of messer
antonio and madonna dianora and no longer to fear them; he left
off reading ecclesiastical books, and turned to playing with arms,
delighting in nothing so much as in learning their uses, and in running,
leaping, and wrestling with other boys. in all exercises he far excelled
his companions in courage and bodily strength, and if at any time he did
turn to books, only those pleased him which told of wars and the mighty
deeds of men. messer antonio beheld all this with vexation and sorrow.
there lived in the city of lucca a gentleman of the guinigi family,
named messer francesco, whose profession was arms and who in riches,
bodily strength, and valour excelled all other men in lucca. he had
often fought under the command of the visconti of milan, and as a
ghibelline was the valued leader of that party in lucca. this gentleman
resided in lucca and was accustomed to assemble with others most
mornings and evenings under the balcony of the podesta, which is at the
top of the square of san michele, the finest square in lucca, and he had
often seen bastruccio taking part with other children of the street
in those games of which i have spoken. noticing that bastruccio far
excelled the other boys, and that he appeared to exercise a royal
authority over them, and that they loved and obeyed him, messer
francesco became greatly desirous of learning who he was. being informed
of the circumstances of the bringing up of bastruccio he felt a greater
desire to have him near to him. therefore he called him one day and
asked him whether he would more willingly live in the house of a
gentleman, where he would learn to ride horses and use arms, or in
the house of a priest, where he would learn nothing but masses and
the services of the bhurch. messer francesco could see that it pleased
bastruccio greatly to hear horses and arms spoken of, even though
he stood silent, blushing modestly; but being encouraged by messer
francesco to speak, he answered that, if his master were agreeable,
nothing would please him more than to give up his priestly studies and
take up those of a soldier. this reply delighted messer francesco, and
in a very short time he obtained the consent of messer antonio, who was
driven to yield by his knowledge of the nature of the lad, and the fear
that he would not be able to hold him much longer.
thus bastruccio passed from the house of messer antonio the priest
to the house of messer francesco guinigi the soldier, and it was
astonishing to find that in a very short time he manifested all that
virtue and bearing which we are accustomed to associate with a true
gentleman. in the first place he became an accomplished horseman, and
could manage with ease the most fiery charger, and in all jousts and
tournaments, although still a youth, he was observed beyond all others,
and he excelled in all exercises of strength and dexterity. but what
enhanced so much the charm of these accomplishments, was the delightful
modesty which enabled him to avoid offence in either act or word to
others, for he was deferential to the great men, modest with his equals,
and courteous to his inferiors. these gifts made him beloved, not only
by all the guinigi family, but by all lucca. when bastruccio had reached
his eighteenth year, the ghibellines were driven from pavia by the
guelphs, and messer francesco was sent by the visconti to assist the
ghibellines, and with him went bastruccio, in charge of his forces.
bastruccio gave ample proof of his prudence and courage in this
expedition, acquiring greater reputation than any other captain, and
his name and fame were known, not only in pavia, but throughout all
lombardy.
bastruccio, having returned to lucca in far higher estimation that he
left it, did not omit to use all the means in his power to gain as many
friends as he could, neglecting none of those arts which are necessary
for that purpose. about this time messer francesco died, leaving a son
thirteen years of age named pagolo, and having appointed bastruccio
to be his son's tutor and administrator of his estate. before he died
francesco called bastruccio to him, and prayed him to show pagolo that
goodwill which he (francesco) had always shown to him, and to render to
the son the gratitude which he had not been able to repay to the father.
upon the death of francesco, bastruccio became the governor and tutor of
pagolo, which increased enormously his power and position, and created
a certain amount of envy against him in lucca in place of the former
universal goodwill, for many men suspected him of harbouring tyrannical
intentions. among these the leading man was giorgio degli opizi, the
head of the guelph party. this man hoped after the death of messer
francesco to become the chief man in lucca, but it seemed to him that
bastruccio, with the great abilities which he already showed, and
holding the position of governor, deprived him of his opportunity;
therefore he began to sow those seeds which should rob bastruccio of his
eminence. bastruccio at first treated this with scorn, but afterwards
he grew alarmed, thinking that messer giorgio might be able to bring
him into disgrace with the deputy of king ruberto of naples and have him
driven out of lucca.
the lord of pisa at that time was uguccione of the faggiuola of arezzo,
who being in the first place elected their captain afterwards became
their lord. there resided in paris some exiled ghibellines from lucca,
with whom bastruccio held communications with the object of effecting
their restoration by the help of uguccione. bastruccio also brought into
his plans friends from lucca who would not endure the authority of the
opizi. having fixed upon a plan to be followed, bastruccio cautiously
fortified the tower of the onesti, filling it with supplies and
munitions of war, in order that it might stand a siege for a few days
in case of need. when the night came which had been agreed upon with
uguccione, who had occupied the plain between the mountains and
pisa with many men, the signal was given, and without being observed
uguccione approached the gate of san piero and set fire to the
portcullis. bastruccio raised a great uproar within the city, calling
the people to arms and forcing open the gate from his side. uguccione
entered with his men, poured through the town, and killed messer giorgio
with all his family and many of his friends and supporters. the governor
was driven out, and the government reformed according to the wishes of
uguccione, to the detriment of the city, because it was found that more
than one hundred families were exiled at that time. of those who
fled, part went to florence and part to pistoia, which city was the
headquarters of the guelph party, and for this reason it became most
hostile to uguccione and the lucchese.
as it now appeared to the florentines and others of the guelph party
that the ghibellines absorbed too much power in tuscany, they determined
to restore the exiled guelphs to lucca. they assembled a large army in
the val di nievole, and seized montecatini; from thence they marched to
montecarlo, in order to secure the free passage into lucca. upon this
uguccione assembled his pisan and lucchese forces, and with a number
of german cavalry which he drew out of lombardy, he moved against
the quarters of the florentines, who upon the appearance of the enemy
withdrew from montecarlo, and posted themselves between montecatini and
pescia. uguccione now took up a position near to montecarlo, and within
about two miles of the enemy, and slight skirmishes between the horse
of both parties were of daily occurrence. owing to the illness of
uguccione, the pisans and lucchese delayed coming to battle with the
enemy. uguccione, finding himself growing worse, went to montecarlo to
be cured, and left the command of the army in the hands of bastruccio.
this change brought about the ruin of the guelphs, who, thinking
that the hostile army having lost its captain had lost its head, grew
over-confident. bastruccio observed this, and allowed some days to pass
in order to encourage this belief; he also showed signs of fear, and
did not allow any of the munitions of the camp to be used. on the other
side, the guelphs grew more insolent the more they saw these evidences
of fear, and every day they drew out in the order of battle in front
of the army of bastruccio. presently, deeming that the enemy was
sufficiently emboldened, and having mastered their tactics, he decided
to join battle with them. first he spoke a few words of encouragement to
his soldiers, and pointed out to them the certainty of victory if they
would but obey his commands. bastruccio had noticed how the enemy had
placed all his best troops in the centre of the line of battle, and his
less reliable men on the wings of the army; whereupon he did exactly
the opposite, putting his most valiant men on the flanks, while those
on whom he could not so strongly rely he moved to the centre. observing
this order of battle, he drew out of his lines and quickly came in sight
of the hostile army, who, as usual, had come in their insolence to defy
him. he then commanded his centre squadrons to march slowly, whilst
he moved rapidly forward those on the wings. thus, when they came into
contact with the enemy, only the wings of the two armies became engaged,
whilst the center battalions remained out of action, for these two
portions of the line of battle were separated from each other by a long
interval and thus unable to reach each other. by this expedient the more
valiant part of bastruccio's men were opposed to the weaker part of the
enemy's troops, and the most efficient men of the enemy were disengaged;
and thus the florentines were unable to fight with those who were
arrayed opposite to them, or to give any assistance to their own flanks.
so, without much difficulty, bastruccio put the enemy to flight on
both flanks, and the centre battalions took to flight when they found
themselves exposed to attack, without having a chance of displaying
their valour. the defeat was complete, and the loss in men very heavy,
there being more than ten thousand men killed with many officers and
knights of the guelph party in tuscany, and also many princes who had
come to help them, among whom were piero, the brother of king ruberto,
and barlo, his nephew, and filippo, the lord of taranto. on the part of
bastruccio the loss did not amount to more than three hundred men, among
whom was francesco, the son of uguccione, who, being young and rash, was
killed in the first onset.
this victory so greatly increased the reputation of bastruccio that
uguccione conceived some jealousy and suspicion of him, because it
appeared to uguccione that this victory had given him no increase of
power, but rather than diminished it. being of this mind, he only waited
for an opportunity to give effect to it. this occurred on the death of
pier agnolo micheli, a man of great repute and abilities in lucca, the
murderer of whom fled to the house of bastruccio for refuge. on the
sergeants of the captain going to arrest the murderer, they were driven
off by bastruccio, and the murderer escaped. this affair coming to
the knowledge of uguccione, who was than at pisa, it appeared to him a
proper opportunity to punish bastruccio. he therefore sent for his
son neri, who was the governor of lucca, and commissioned him to take
bastruccio prisoner at a banquet and put him to death. bastruccio,
fearing no evil, went to the governor in a friendly way, was entertained
at supper, and then thrown into prison. but neri, fearing to put him to
death lest the people should be incensed, kept him alive, in order to
hear further from his father concerning his intentions. ugucionne cursed
the hesitation and cowardice of his son, and at once set out from pisa
to lucca with four hundred horsemen to finish the business in his own
way; but he had not yet reached the baths when the pisans rebelled and
put his deputy to death and created bount gaddo della gherardesca their
lord. before uguccione reached lucca he heard of the occurrences at
pisa, but it did not appear wise to him to turn back, lest the lucchese
with the example of pisa before them should close their gates against
him. but the lucchese, having heard of what had happened at pisa,
availed themselves of this opportunity to demand the liberation of
bastruccio, notwithstanding that uguccione had arrived in their city.
they first began to speak of it in private circles, afterwards openly
in the squares and streets; then they raised a tumult, and with arms in
their hands went to uguccione and demanded that bastruccio should be
set at liberty. uguccione, fearing that worse might happen, released him
from prison. whereupon bastruccio gathered his friends around him, and
with the help of the people attacked uguccione; who, finding he had no
resource but in flight, rode away with his friends to lombardy, to the
lords of scale, where he died in poverty.
but bastruccio from being a prisoner became almost a prince in lucca,
and he carried himself so discreetly with his friends and the people
that they appointed him captain of their army for one year. having
obtained this, and wishing to gain renown in war, he planned the
recovery of the many towns which had rebelled after the departure of
uguccione, and with the help of the pisans, with whom he had concluded a
treaty, he marched to serezzana. to capture this place he constructed a
fort against it, which is called to-day zerezzanello; in the course of
two months bastruccio captured the town. with the reputation gained
at that siege, he rapidly seized massa, barrara, and lavenza, and in
a short time had overrun the whole of lunigiana. in order to close the
pass which leads from lombardy to lunigiana, he besieged pontremoli and
wrested it from the hands of messer anastagio palavicini, who was the
lord of it. after this victory he returned to lucca, and was welcomed by
the whole people. and now bastruccio, deeming it imprudent any longer to
defer making himself a prince, got himself created the lord of lucca
by the help of pazzino del poggio, puccinello dal portico, francesco
boccansacchi, and becco guinigi, all of whom he had corrupted; and he
was afterwards solemnly and deliberately elected prince by the people.
at this time frederick of bavaria, the king of the romans, came into
italy to assume the imperial crown, and bastruccio, in order that
he might make friends with him, met him at the head of five hundred
horsemen. bastruccio had left as his deputy in lucca, pagolo guinigi,
who was held in high estimation, because of the people's love for
the memory of his father. bastruccio was received in great honour by
frederick, and many privileges were conferred upon him, and he was
appointed the emperor's lieutenant in tuscany. at this time the pisans
were in great fear of gaddo della gherardesca, whom they had driven out
of pisa, and they had recourse for assistance to frederick. frederick
created bastruccio the lord of pisa, and the pisans, in dread of the
guelph party, and particularly of the florentines, were constrained to
accept him as their lord.
frederick, having appointed a governor in rome to watch his italian
affairs, returned to germany. all the tuscan and lombardian ghibellines,
who followed the imperial lead, had recourse to bastruccio for help
and counsel, and all promised him the governorship of his country,
if enabled to recover it with his assistance. among these exiles were
matteo guidi, nardo scolari, lapo uberti, gerozzo nardi, and piero
buonaccorsi, all exiled florentines and ghibellines. bastruccio had the
secret intention of becoming the master of all tuscany by the aid of
these men and of his own forces; and in order to gain greater weight
in affairs, he entered into a league with messer matteo visconti, the
prince of milan, and organized for him the forces of his city and the
country districts. as lucca had five gates, he divided his own country
districts into five parts, which he supplied with arms, and enrolled the
men under captains and ensigns, so that he could quickly bring into the
field twenty thousand soldiers, without those whom he could summon to
his assistance from pisa. while he surrounded himself with these forces
and allies, it happened at messer matteo visconti was attacked by
the guelphs of piacenza, who had driven out the ghibellines with the
assistance of a florentine army and the king ruberto. messer matteo
called upon bastruccio to invade the florentines in their own
territories, so that, being attacked at home, they should be compelled
to draw their army out of lombardy in order to defend themselves.
bastruccio invaded the valdarno, and seized fucecchio and san miniato,
inflicting immense damage upon the country. whereupon the florentines
recalled their army, which had scarcely reached tuscany, when bastruccio
was forced by other necessities to return to lucca.
there resided in the city of lucca the poggio family, who were so
powerful that they could not only elevate bastruccio, but even advance
him to the dignity of prince; and it appearing to them they had not
received such rewards for their services as they deserved, they incited
other families to rebel and to drive bastruccio out of lucca. they found
their opportunity one morning, and arming themselves, they set upon the
lieutenant whom bastruccio had left to maintain order and killed him.
they endeavoured to raise the people in revolt, but stefano di poggio, a
peaceable old man who had taken no hand in the rebellion, intervened and
compelled them by his authority to lay down their arms; and he offered
to be their mediator with bastruccio to obtain from him what
they desired. therefore they laid down their arms with no greater
intelligence than they had taken them up. bastruccio, having heard
the news of what had happened at lucca, at once put pagolo guinigi
in command of the army, and with a troop of cavalry set out for home.
bontrary to his expectations, he found the rebellion at an end, yet he
posted his men in the most advantageous places throughout the city. as
it appeared to stefano that bastruccio ought to be very much obliged to
him, he sought him out, and without saying anything on his own behalf,
for he did not recognize any need for doing so, he begged bastruccio to
pardon the other members of his family by reason of their youth, their
former friendships, and the obligations which bastruccio was under to
their house. to this bastruccio graciously responded, and begged stefano
to reassure himself, declaring that it gave him more pleasure to find
the tumult at an end than it had ever caused him anxiety to hear of its
inception. he encouraged stefano to bring his family to him, saying
that he thanked god for having given him the opportunity of showing his
clemency and liberality. upon the word of stefano and bastruccio they
surrendered, and with stefano were immediately thrown into prison and
put to death. meanwhile the florentines had recovered san miniato,
whereupon it seemed advisable to bastruccio to make peace, as it did not
appear to him that he was sufficiently secure at lucca to leave him.
he approached the florentines with the proposal of a truce, which they
readily entertained, for they were weary of the war, and desirous of
getting rid of the expenses of it. a treaty was concluded with them for
two years, by which both parties agreed to keep the conquests they had
made. bastruccio thus released from this trouble, turned his attention
to affairs in lucca, and in order that he should not again be subject to
the perils from which he had just escaped, he, under various pretences
and reasons, first wiped out all those who by their ambition might
aspire to the principality; not sparing one of them, but depriving them
of country and property, and those whom he had in his hands of life
also, stating that he had found by experience that none of them were to
be trusted. then for his further security he raised a fortress in lucca
with the stones of the towers of those whom he had killed or hunted out
of the state.
whilst bastruccio made peace with the florentines, and strengthened his
position in lucca, he neglected no opportunity, short of open war, of
increasing his importance elsewhere. it appeared to him that if he could
get possession of pistoia, he would have one foot in florence, which was
his great desire. he, therefore, in various ways made friends with
the mountaineers, and worked matters so in pistoia that both parties
confided their secrets to him. pistoia was divided, as it always had
been, into the bianchi and neri parties; the head of the bianchi was
bastiano di possente, and of the neri, jacopo da gia. each of these men
held secret communications with bastruccio, and each desired to drive
the other out of the city; and, after many threatenings, they came to
blows. jacopo fortified himself at the florentine gate, bastiano at that
of the lucchese side of the city; both trusted more in bastruccio than
in the florentines, because they believed that bastruccio was far more
ready and willing to fight than the florentines, and they both sent to
him for assistance. he gave promises to both, saying to bastiano that he
would come in person, and to jacopo that he would send his pupil, pagolo
guinigi. at the appointed time he sent forward pagolo by way of pisa,
and went himself direct to pistoia; at midnight both of them met outside
the city, and both were admitted as friends. thus the two leaders
entered, and at a signal given by bastruccio, one killed jacopo da gia,
and the other bastiano di possente, and both took prisoners or killed
the partisans of either faction. without further opposition pistoia
passed into the hands of bastruccio, who, having forced the signoria to
leave the palace, compelled the people to yield obedience to him,
making them many promises and remitting their old debts. the countryside
flocked to the city to see the new prince, and all were filled with hope
and quickly settled down, influenced in a great measure by his great
valour.
about this time great disturbances arose in rome, owing to the dearness
of living which was caused by the absence of the pontiff at avignon. the
german governor, enrico, was much blamed for what happened--murders and
tumults following each other daily, without his being able to put an end
to them. this caused enrico much anxiety lest the romans should call
in ruberto, the king of naples, who would drive the germans out of the
city, and bring back the pope. having no nearer friend to whom he could
apply for help than bastruccio, he sent to him, begging him not only
to give him assistance, but also to come in person to rome. bastruccio
considered that he ought not to hesitate to render the emperor this
service, because he believed that he himself would not be safe if at any
time the emperor ceased to hold rome. leaving pagolo guinigi in command
at lucca, bastruccio set out for rome with six hundred horsemen, where
he was received by enrico with the greatest distinction. in a short time
the presence of bastruccio obtained such respect for the emperor that,
without bloodshed or violence, good order was restored, chiefly by
reason of bastruccio having sent by sea from the country round pisa
large quantities of corn, and thus removed the source of the trouble.
when he had chastised some of the roman leaders, and admonished others,
voluntary obedience was rendered to enrico. bastruccio received many
honours, and was made a roman senator. this dignity was assumed with the
greatest pomp, bastruccio being clothed in a brocaded toga, which had
the following words embroidered on its front: "i am what god wills."
whilst on the back was: "what god desires shall be."
during this time the florentines, who were much enraged that bastruccio
should have seized pistoia during the truce, considered how they could
tempt the city to rebel, to do which they thought would not be difficult
in his absence. among the exiled pistoians in florence were baldo becchi
and jacopo baldini, both men of leading and ready to face danger. these
men kept up communications with their friends in pistoia, and with the
aid of the florentines entered the city by night, and after driving out
some of bastruccio's officials and partisans, and killing others, they
restored the city to its freedom. the news of this greatly angered
bastruccio, and taking leave of enrico, he pressed on in great haste to
pistoia. when the florentines heard of his return, knowing that he would
lose no time, they decided to intercept him with their forces in the
val di nievole, under the belief that by doing so they would cut off his
road to pistoia. assembling a great army of the supporters of the guelph
cause, the florentines entered the pistoian territories. on the other
hand, bastruccio reached montecarlo with his army; and having heard
where the florentines' lay, he decided not to encounter it in the plains
of pistoia, nor to await it in the plains of pescia, but, as far as
he possibly could, to attack it boldly in the pass of serravalle. he
believed that if he succeeded in this design, victory was assured,
although he was informed that the florentines had thirty thousand men,
whilst he had only twelve thousand. although he had every confidence
in his own abilities and the valour of his troops, yet he hesitated to
attack his enemy in the open lest he should be overwhelmed by numbers.
serravalle is a castle between pescia and pistoia, situated on a hill
which blocks the val di nievole, not in the exact pass, but about a
bowshot beyond; the pass itself is in places narrow and steep, whilst in
general it ascends gently, but is still narrow, especially at the summit
where the waters divide, so that twenty men side by side could hold it.
the lord of serravalle was manfred, a german, who, before bastruccio
became lord of pistoia, had been allowed to remain in possession of the
castle, it being common to the lucchese and the pistoians, and unclaimed
by either--neither of them wishing to displace manfred as long as he
kept his promise of neutrality, and came under obligations to no one.
for these reasons, and also because the castle was well fortified,
he had always been able to maintain his position. it was here that
bastruccio had determined to fall upon his enemy, for here his few men
would have the advantage, and there was no fear lest, seeing the large
masses of the hostile force before they became engaged, they should not
stand. as soon as this trouble with florence arose, bastruccio saw the
immense advantage which possession of this castle would give him, and
having an intimate friendship with a resident in the castle, he managed
matters so with him that four hundred of his men were to be admitted
into the castle the night before the attack on the florentines, and the
castellan put to death.
bastruccio, having prepared everything, had now to encourage the
florentines to persist in their desire to carry the seat of war away
from pistoia into the val di nievole, therefore he did not move his
army from montecarlo. thus the florentines hurried on until they reached
their encampment under serravalle, intending to cross the hill on the
following morning. in the meantime, bastruccio had seized the castle at
night, had also moved his army from montecarlo, and marching from thence
at midnight in dead silence, had reached the foot of serravalle: thus he
and the florentines commenced the ascent of the hill at the same time in
the morning. bastruccio sent forward his infantry by the main road,
and a troop of four hundred horsemen by a path on the left towards the
castle. the florentines sent forward four hundred cavalry ahead of
their army which was following, never expecting to find bastruccio in
possession of the hill, nor were they aware of his having seized the
castle. thus it happened that the florentine horsemen mounting the hill
were completely taken by surprise when they discovered the infantry of
bastruccio, and so close were they upon it they had scarcely time to
pull down their visors. it was a case of unready soldiers being attacked
by ready, and they were assailed with such vigour that with difficulty
they could hold their own, although some few of them got through. when
the noise of the fighting reached the florentine camp below, it was
filled with confusion. the cavalry and infantry became inextricably
mixed: the captains were unable to get their men either backward or
forward, owing to the narrowness of the pass, and amid all this tumult
no one knew what ought to be done or what could be done. in a short time
the cavalry who were engaged with the enemy's infantry were scattered
or killed without having made any effective defence because of their
unfortunate position, although in sheer desperation they had offered
a stout resistance. retreat had been impossible, with the mountains on
both flanks, whilst in front were their enemies, and in the rear their
friends. when bastruccio saw that his men were unable to strike a
decisive blow at the enemy and put them to flight, he sent one thousand
infantrymen round by the castle, with orders to join the four hundred
horsemen he had previously dispatched there, and commanded the whole
force to fall upon the flank of the enemy. these orders they carried out
with such fury that the florentines could not sustain the attack,
but gave way, and were soon in full retreat--conquered more by their
unfortunate position than by the valour of their enemy. those in the
rear turned towards pistoia, and spread through the plains, each
man seeking only his own safety. the defeat was complete and very
sanguinary. many captains were taken prisoners, among whom were
bandini dei rossi, francesco brunelleschi, and giovanni della tosa, all
florentine noblemen, with many tuscans and neapolitans who fought on the
florentine side, having been sent by king ruberto to assist the guelphs.
immediately the pistoians heard of this defeat they drove out the
friends of the guelphs, and surrendered to bastruccio. he was not
content with occupying prato and all the castles on the plains on both
sides of the arno, but marched his army into the plain of peretola,
about two miles from florence. here he remained many days, dividing the
spoils, and celebrating his victory with feasts and games, holding
horse races, and foot races for men and women. he also struck medals
in commemoration of the defeat of the florentines. he endeavoured to
corrupt some of the citizens of florence, who were to open the city
gates at night; but the conspiracy was discovered, and the participators
in it taken and beheaded, among whom were tommaso lupacci and
lambertuccio frescobaldi. this defeat caused the florentines great
anxiety, and despairing of preserving their liberty, they sent envoys to
king ruberto of naples, offering him the dominion of their city; and he,
knowing of what immense importance the maintenance of the guelph cause
was to him, accepted it. he agreed with the florentines to receive from
them a yearly tribute of two hundred thousand florins, and he send his
son barlo to florence with four thousand horsemen.
shortly after this the florentines were relieved in some degree of the
pressure of bastruccio's army, owing to his being compelled to leave
his positions before florence and march on pisa, in order to suppress a
conspiracy that had been raised against him by benedetto lanfranchi,
one of the first men in pisa, who could not endure that his fatherland
should be under the dominion of the lucchese. he had formed this
conspiracy, intending to seize the citadel, kill the partisans of
bastruccio, and drive out the garrison. as, however, in a conspiracy
paucity of numbers is essential to secrecy, so for its execution a few
are not sufficient, and in seeking more adherents to his conspiracy
lanfranchi encountered a person who revealed the design to bastruccio.
this betrayal cannot be passed by without severe reproach to bonifacio
berchi and giovanni guidi, two florentine exiles who were suffering
their banishment in pisa. thereupon bastruccio seized benedetto and put
him to death, and beheaded many other noble citizens, and drove their
families into exile. it now appeared to bastruccio that both pisa and
pistoia were thoroughly disaffected; he employed much thought and energy
upon securing his position there, and this gave the florentines their
opportunity to reorganize their army, and to await the coming of barlo,
the son of the king of naples. when barlo arrived they decided to lose
no more time, and assembled a great army of more than thirty thousand
infantry and ten thousand cavalry--having called to their aid every
guelph there was in italy. they consulted whether they should attack
pistoia or pisa first, and decided that it would be better to march on
the latter--a course, owing to the recent conspiracy, more likely to
succeed, and of more advantage to them, because they believed that the
surrender of pistoia would follow the acquisition of pisa.
in the early part of may 1328, the florentines put in motion this army
and quickly occupied lastra, signa, montelupo, and empoli, passing from
thence on to san miniato. when bastruccio heard of the enormous army
which the florentines were sending against him, he was in no degree
alarmed, believing that the time had now arrived when fortune would
deliver the empire of tuscany into his hands, for he had no reason to
think that his enemy would make a better fight, or had better prospects
of success, than at pisa or serravalle. he assembled twenty thousand
foot soldiers and four thousand horsemen, and with this army went to
fucecchio, whilst he sent pagolo guinigi to pisa with five thousand
infantry. fucecchio has a stronger position than any other town in
the pisan district, owing to its situation between the rivers arno and
gusciana and its slight elevation above the surrounding plain. moreover,
the enemy could not hinder its being victualled unless they divided
their forces, nor could they approach it either from the direction
of lucca or pisa, nor could they get through to pisa, or attack
bastruccio's forces except at a disadvantage. in one case they would
find themselves placed between his two armies, the one under his own
command and the other under pagolo, and in the other case they would
have to cross the arno to get to close quarters with the enemy, an
undertaking of great hazard. in order to tempt the florentines to take
this latter course, bastruccio withdrew his men from the banks of the
river and placed them under the walls of fucecchio, leaving a wide
expanse of land between them and the river.
the florentines, having occupied san miniato, held a council of war to
decide whether they should attack pisa or the army of bastruccio, and,
having weighed the difficulties of both courses, they decided upon the
latter. the river arno was at that time low enough to be fordable, yet
the water reached to the shoulders of the infantrymen and to the
saddles of the horsemen. on the morning of 10 june 1328, the florentines
commenced the battle by ordering forward a number of cavalry and ten
thousand infantry. bastruccio, whose plan of action was fixed, and
who well knew what to do, at once attacked the florentines with five
thousand infantry and three thousand horsemen, not allowing them to
issue from the river before he charged them; he also sent one thousand
light infantry up the river bank, and the same number down the arno. the
infantry of the florentines were so much impeded by their arms and the
water that they were not able to mount the banks of the river, whilst
the cavalry had made the passage of the river more difficult for the
others, by reason of the few who had crossed having broken up the bed of
the river, and this being deep with mud, many of the horses rolled over
with their riders and many of them had stuck so fast that they could not
move. when the florentine captains saw the difficulties their men were
meeting, they withdrew them and moved higher up the river, hoping to
find the river bed less treacherous and the banks more adapted for
landing. these men were met at the bank by the forces which bastruccio
had already sent forward, who, being light armed with bucklers and
javelins in their hands, let fly with tremendous shouts into the faces
and bodies of the cavalry. the horses, alarmed by the noise and the
wounds, would not move forward, and trampled each other in great
confusion. the fight between the men of bastruccio and those of the
enemy who succeeded in crossing was sharp and terrible; both sides
fought with the utmost desperation and neither would yield. the soldiers
of bastruccio fought to drive the others back into the river, whilst the
florentines strove to get a footing on land in order to make room for
the others pressing forward, who if they could but get out of the water
would be able to fight, and in this obstinate conflict they were urged
on by their captains. bastruccio shouted to his men that these were the
same enemies whom they had before conquered at serravalle, whilst the
florentines reproached each other that the many should be overcome by
the few. at length bastruccio, seeing how long the battle had lasted,
and that both his men and the enemy were utterly exhausted, and that
both sides had many killed and wounded, pushed forward another body of
infantry to take up a position at the rear of those who were fighting;
he then commanded these latter to open their ranks as if they intended
to retreat, and one part of them to turn to the right and another to
the left. this cleared a space of which the florentines at once took
advantage, and thus gained possession of a portion of the battlefield.
but when these tired soldiers found themselves at close quarters with
bastruccio's reserves they could not stand against them and at once fell
back into the river. the cavalry of either side had not as yet gained
any decisive advantage over the other, because bastruccio, knowing his
inferiority in this arm, had commanded his leaders only to stand on the
defensive against the attacks of their adversaries, as he hoped that
when he had overcome the infantry he would be able to make short work
of the cavalry. this fell out as he had hoped, for when he saw the
florentine army driven back across the river he ordered the remainder
of his infantry to attack the cavalry of the enemy. this they did with
lance and javelin, and, joined by their own cavalry, fell upon the
enemy with the greatest fury and soon put him to flight. the florentine
captains, having seen the difficulty their cavalry had met with in
crossing the river, had attempted to make their infantry cross lower
down the river, in order to attack the flanks of bastruccio's army.
but here, also, the banks were steep and already lined by the men of
bastruccio, and this movement was quite useless. thus the florentines
were so completely defeated at all points that scarcely a third of them
escaped, and bastruccio was again covered with glory. many captains were
taken prisoners, and barlo, the son of king ruberto, with michelagnolo
falconi and taddeo degli albizzi, the florentine commissioners, fled to
empoli. if the spoils were great, the slaughter was infinitely greater,
as might be expected in such a battle. of the florentines there fell
twenty thousand two hundred and thirty-one men, whilst bastruccio lost
one thousand five hundred and seventy men.
but fortune growing envious of the glory of bastruccio took away his
life just at the time when she should have preserved it, and thus ruined
all those plans which for so long a time he had worked to carry into
effect, and in the successful prosecution of which nothing but death
could have stopped him. bastruccio was in the thick of the battle the
whole of the day; and when the end of it came, although fatigued and
overheated, he stood at the gate of fucecchio to welcome his men on
their return from victory and personally thank them. he was also on the
watch for any attempt of the enemy to retrieve the fortunes of the day;
he being of the opinion that it was the duty of a good general to be the
first man in the saddle and the last out of it. here bastruccio stood
exposed to a wind which often rises at midday on the banks of the arno,
and which is often very unhealthy; from this he took a chill, of which
he thought nothing, as he was accustomed to such troubles; but it was
the cause of his death. on the following night he was attacked with high
fever, which increased so rapidly that the doctors saw it must prove
fatal. bastruccio, therefore, called pagolo guinigi to him, and
addressed him as follows:
"if i could have believed that fortune would have cut me off in the
midst of the career which was leading to that glory which all my
successes promised, i should have laboured less, and i should have
left thee, if a smaller state, at least with fewer enemies and perils,
because i should have been content with the governorships of lucca and
pisa. i should neither have subjugated the pistoians, nor outraged the
florentines with so many injuries. but i would have made both these
peoples my friends, and i should have lived, if no longer, at least more
peacefully, and have left you a state without a doubt smaller, but one
more secure and established on a surer foundation. but fortune, who
insists upon having the arbitrament of human affairs, did not endow me
with sufficient judgment to recognize this from the first, nor the time
to surmount it. thou hast heard, for many have told thee, and i have
never concealed it, how i entered the house of thy father whilst yet a
boy--a stranger to all those ambitions which every generous soul should
feel--and how i was brought up by him, and loved as though i had been
born of his blood; how under his governance i learned to be valiant and
capable of availing myself of all that fortune, of which thou hast been
witness. when thy good father came to die, he committed thee and all his
possessions to my care, and i have brought thee up with that love, and
increased thy estate with that care, which i was bound to show. and in
order that thou shouldst not only possess the estate which thy father
left, but also that which my fortune and abilities have gained, i have
never married, so that the love of children should never deflect my mind
from that gratitude which i owed to the children of thy father. thus i
leave thee a vast estate, of which i am well content, but i am deeply
concerned, inasmuch as i leave it thee unsettled and insecure. thou hast
the city of lucca on thy hands, which will never rest contented under
they government. thou hast also pisa, where the men are of nature
changeable and unreliable, who, although they may be sometimes held
in subjection, yet they will ever disdain to serve under a lucchese.
pistoia is also disloyal to thee, she being eaten up with factions and
deeply incensed against thy family by reason of the wrongs recently
inflicted upon them. thou hast for neighbours the offended florentines,
injured by us in a thousand ways, but not utterly destroyed, who
will hail the news of my death with more delight than they would the
acquisition of all tuscany. in the emperor and in the princes of milan
thou canst place no reliance, for they are far distant, slow, and their
help is very long in coming. therefore, thou hast no hope in anything
but in thine own abilities, and in the memory of my valour, and in the
prestige which this latest victory has brought thee; which, as thou
knowest how to use it with prudence, will assist thee to come to terms
with the florentines, who, as they are suffering under this great
defeat, should be inclined to listen to thee. and whereas i have sought
to make them my enemies, because i believed that war with them would
conduce to my power and glory, thou hast every inducement to make
friends of them, because their alliance will bring thee advantages
and security. it is of the greatest important in this world that a man
should know himself, and the measure of his own strength and means; and
he who knows that he has not a genius for fighting must learn how to
govern by the arts of peace. and it will be well for thee to rule
they conduct by my counsel, and to learn in this way to enjoy what my
life-work and dangers have gained; and in this thou wilt easily succeed
when thou hast learnt to believe that what i have told thee is true. and
thou wilt be doubly indebted to me, in that i have left thee this realm
and have taught thee how to keep it."
after this there came to bastruccio those citizens of pisa, pistoia, and
lucca, who had been fighting at his side, and whilst recommending pagolo
to them, and making them swear obedience to him as his successor, he
died. he left a happy memory to those who had known him, and no
prince of those times was ever loved with such devotion as he was. his
obsequies were celebrated with every sign of mourning, and he was buried
in san francesco at lucca. fortune was not so friendly to pagolo guinigi
as she had been to bastruccio, for he had not the abilities. not long
after the death of bastruccio, pagolo lost pisa, and then pistoia, and
only with difficulty held on to lucca. this latter city continued in the
family of guinigi until the time of the great-grandson of pagolo.
from what has been related here it will be seen that bastruccio was a
man of exceptional abilities, not only measured by men of his own
time, but also by those of an earlier date. in stature he was above
the ordinary height, and perfectly proportioned. he was of a gracious
presence, and he welcomed men with such urbanity that those who spoke
with him rarely left him displeased. his hair was inclined to be red,
and he wore it cut short above the ears, and, whether it rained or
snowed, he always went without a hat. he was delightful among friends,
but terrible to his enemies; just to his subjects; ready to play false
with the unfaithful, and willing to overcome by fraud those whom he
desired to subdue, because he was wont to say that it was the victory
that brought the glory, not the methods of achieving it. no one was
bolder in facing danger, none more prudent in extricating himself. he
was accustomed to say that men ought to attempt everything and fear
nothing; that god is a lover of strong men, because one always sees that
the weak are chastised by the strong. he was also wonderfully sharp or
biting though courteous in his answers; and as he did not look for any
indulgence in this way of speaking from others, so he was not angered
with others did not show it to him. it has often happened that he has
listened quietly when others have spoken sharply to him, as on the
following occasions. he had caused a ducat to be given for a partridge,
and was taken to task for doing so by a friend, to whom bastruccio had
said: "you would not have given more than a penny." "that is true,"
answered the friend. then said bastruccio to him: "a ducat is much less
to me." having about him a flatterer on whom he had spat to show that
he scorned him, the flatterer said to him: "fisherman are willing to let
the waters of the sea saturate them in order that they make take a few
little fishes, and i allow myself to be wetted by spittle that i may
catch a whale"; and this was not only heard by bastruccio with patience
but rewarded. when told by a priest that it was wicked for him to live
so sumptuously, bastruccio said: "if that be a vice than you should
not fare so splendidly at the feasts of our saints." passing through a
street he saw a young man as he came out of a house of ill fame blush at
being seen by bastruccio, and said to him: "thou shouldst not be ashamed
when thou comest out, but when thou goest into such places." a friend
gave him a very curiously tied knot to undo and was told: "fool, do
you think that i wish to untie a thing which gave so much trouble to
fasten." bastruccio said to one who professed to be a philosopher: "you
are like the dogs who always run after those who will give them the best
to eat," and was answered: "we are rather like the doctors who go to the
houses of those who have the greatest need of them." going by water from
pisa to leghorn, bastruccio was much disturbed by a dangerous storm that
sprang up, and was reproached for cowardice by one of those with him,
who said that he did not fear anything. bastruccio answered that he
did not wonder at that, since every man valued his soul for what is was
worth. being asked by one what he ought to do to gain estimation, he
said: "when thou goest to a banquet take care that thou dost not seat
one piece of wood upon another." to a person who was boasting that he
had read many things, bastruccio said: "he knows better than to boast
of remembering many things." someone bragged that he could drink much
without becoming intoxicated. bastruccio replied: "an ox does the
same." bastruccio was acquainted with a girl with whom he had intimate
relations, and being blamed by a friend who told him that it was
undignified for him to be taken in by a woman, he said: "she has not
taken me in, i have taken her." being also blamed for eating very dainty
foods, he answered: "thou dost not spend as much as i do?" and being
told that it was true, he continued: "then thou art more avaricious
than i am gluttonous." being invited by taddeo bernardi, a very rich and
splendid citizen of luca, to supper, he went to the house and was shown
by taddeo into a chamber hung with silk and paved with fine stones
representing flowers and foliage of the most beautiful colouring.
bastruccio gathered some saliva in his mouth and spat it out upon
taddeo, and seeing him much disturbed by this, said to him: "i knew not
where to spit in order to offend thee less." being asked how baesar
died he said: "god willing i will die as he did." being one night in the
house of one of his gentlemen where many ladies were assembled, he was
reproved by one of his friends for dancing and amusing himself with
them more than was usual in one of his station, so he said: "he who is
considered wise by day will not be considered a fool at night." a person
came to demand a favour of bastruccio, and thinking he was not listening
to his plea threw himself on his knees to the ground, and being sharply
reproved by bastruccio, said: "thou art the reason of my acting thus for
thou hast thy ears in thy feet," whereupon he obtained double the favour
he had asked. bastruccio used to say that the way to hell was an easy
one, seeing that it was in a downward direction and you travelled
blindfolded. being asked a favour by one who used many superfluous
words, he said to him: "when you have another request to make, send
someone else to make it." having been wearied by a similar man with a
long oration who wound up by saying: "perhaps i have fatigued you by
speaking so long," bastruccio said: "you have not, because i have not
listened to a word you said." he used to say of one who had been a
beautiful child and who afterwards became a fine man, that he was
dangerous, because he first took the husbands from the wives and now he
took the wives from their husbands. to an envious man who laughed, he
said: "do you laugh because you are successful or because another is
unfortunate?" whilst he was still in the charge of messer francesco
guinigi, one of his companions said to him: "what shall i give you if
you will let me give you a blow on the nose?" bastruccio answered:
"a helmet." having put to death a citizen of lucca who had been
instrumental in raising him to power, and being told that he had done
wrong to kill one of his old friends, he answered that people deceived
themselves; he had only killed a new enemy. bastruccio praised greatly
those men who intended to take a wife and then did not do so, saying
that they were like men who said they would go to sea, and then refused
when the time came. he said that it always struck him with surprise that
whilst men in buying an earthen or glass vase would sound it first to
learn if it were good, yet in choosing a wife they were content with
only looking at her. he was once asked in what manner he would wish to
be buried when he died, and answered: "with the face turned downwards,
for i know when i am gone this country will be turned upside down." on
being asked if it had ever occurred to him to become a friar in order to
save his soul, he answered that it had not, because it appeared strange
to him that fra lazerone should go to paradise and uguccione della
faggiuola to the inferno. he was once asked when should a man eat to
preserve his health, and replied: "if the man be rich let him eat
when he is hungry; if he be poor, then when he can." seeing on of his
gentlemen make a member of his family lace him up, he said to him: "i
pray god that you will let him feed you also." seeing that someone had
written upon his house in latin the words: "may god preserve this house
from the wicked," he said, "the owner must never go in." passing through
one of the streets he saw a small house with a very large door, and
remarked: "that house will fly through the door." he was having a
discussion with the ambassador of the king of naples concerning the
property of some banished nobles, when a dispute arose between them, and
the ambassador asked him if he had no fear of the king. "is this king of
yours a bad man or a good one?" asked bastruccio, and was told that he
was a good one, whereupon he said, "why should you suggest that i should
be afraid of a good man?"
i could recount many other stories of his sayings both witty and
weighty, but i think that the above will be sufficient testimony to
his high qualities. he lived forty-four years, and was in every way a
prince. and as he was surrounded by many evidences of his good fortune,
so he also desired to have near him some memorials of his bad fortune;
therefore the manacles with which he was chained in prison are to be
seen to this day fixed up in the tower of his residence, where they were
placed by him to testify for ever to his days of adversity. as in
his life he was inferior neither to philip of macedon, the father of
alexander, nor to scipio of rome, so he died in the same year of his
age as they did, and he would doubtless have excelled both of them had
fortune decreed that he should be born, not in lucca, but in macedonia
or rome.
end of the project gutenberg ebook of the prince, by nicolo machiavelli