Chapter VII: Introduction (5)

[112] The relations of the bishops of Trent with the counts of Tirol, which resulted in the _quasi_ subjection of the first named, had been embroiled by disputes over the right of taxation which the counts of Tirol claimed over Church property in Trent ever since the twelfth century. Cardinal Madruccio held the see from 1567 to 1600. He was a member of an illustrious family of the city.

[113] Probably Castel Beseno, a notable stronghold in these times. Or it might have been Castelbarco, afterwards a Venetian frontier fortress.

[114] Roveredo. It had formerly been Venetian, but was now under Tirol as a fee of the bishop of Trent.

[115] In the _Essais_, iii. 13, Montaigne writes of his horror of dew and vapours.

[116] Another instance of his love of German customs.

[117] Garda has always been famous for its fish, and the fishing industry gave its name to the town at the outlet, Peschiera. Cardan (_De Vita Prop._, c. xxx.) tells of a mighty pike he ate at Sirmio after a narrow escape from drowning in the lake. In Coryat’s time it was celebrated for its abundance of “Carpes, Troutes, and Eeles.”

[118] Now an important town at the head of the lake.

[119] In describing this excursion the secretary uses sometimes the first and sometimes the third person plural, but this sentence seems to show that he did not accompany the others, and on leaving Roveredo he went to Verona on a raft in charge of the luggage.

[120] Borghetto.

Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

Italics are represented thus _italic_, superscripts are represented thus y^n.