Chapter X: 548 (4)

[270] Here is an instance extracted from a law of 1284: "Item quod nullus presumat consulere, vel arengare super aliquo quod non sit principaliter propositum per dominum Potestatem, vel aliquem loco sui. Et qui contrafacerit, in soldos sexaginta florenorum parvorum vice qualibet puniatur, et plus et minus ad voluntatem domini Potestatis. Et quicquid dictum vel consultum contra propositionem, non valeat, nec teneat." "Consigli Maggiori, Provvisioni e Registri," i., sheets 12 _retro._ Archivio di Stato, Florence.

[271] Too coarse to be translated.--_Translator's note._

[272] Villani, vi. 78.

[273] Aldobrandini, "Chroniche," p. 9; Paoli, "La battaglia di Montaperti," p. 46.

[274] In the cathedral of Sienna certain poles are shown traditionally believed to have belonged to the Florentine _Carroccio_. But Siennese scholars now justly maintain that these poles formed part of their own _Carroccio_ instead.

[275] Paoli, op. cit., p. 58.

[276] Sismondi, after comparison of the chroniclers' accounts, raises the number of killed to 10,000 and the wounded to the same figure.

[277] VI. 19.

[278] Lord of the Castle of Poppi in the Casentino. He had separated from the other Counts Guidi, who were Guelphs.

[279] All this is narrated by Villani and other chroniclers, and is likewise recorded by Dante in the "Divina Commedia." A few writers have tried to throw doubt on the incident, but, as Dr. Hartwig justly observes, it is difficult to suppose that Guelph chroniclers would have invented a legend so entirely favourable to the Ghibelline chief.

[280] Prof. Del Lungo gives a full account of these demolitions in his paper, "Una vendetta in Firenze," in the "Arch. Stor. It.," Series iv. vol. 18, p. 355 and fol.

[281] P. Ildefonso, "Delizie," &c., vol. ix. p. 19 and fol.

[282] Machiavelli, "Storie," lib. i. p. 37.

[283] It is said that Manfred, on witnessing their attack, showed his admiration for their courage by exclaiming, "Whoever may win the victory, these Guelphs will not lose it."

[284] Dante (Purgatorio, iii. 121-32). The poet places Manfred in purgatory, although at the period he was classed as a heretic together with the Emperor Frederic, Farinata, and many other Ghibellines:

"Orribili furon li peccati miei,
Ma la bontà infinita ha si gran braccia
Che prende ciò che si rivolve a lei.
Se il pastor di Cosenza, che alla caccia
Di me fu messo per Clemente, allora
Avesse in Dio ben letta questa faccia,
L'ossa del corpo mio sarieno ancora
In co' del ponte presso a Benevento,
Sotto la guardia della grave mora.
Or le bagna la pioggia e move il vento,
Di fuor del Regno, quasi lungo il Verde,
Ove le trasmutò a lume spento."

[285] Machiavelli, "Storie," lib. ii. p. 73.

[286] This result had come to pass at a much earlier period, was of frequent occurrence in Florentine history, and was now more assured than at any previous time. Malespini's Chronicle, chap. 104, even before the coronation of Frederic II., refers to certain families who "were beginning to be prominent, although too obscure to be mentioned a short while ago.... The Mozzi, Bardi, Jacopi detti Rossi, Frescobaldi, all these were of recent creation, inasmuch as they were still merchants and of petty origin: likewise the Tornaquinci and Cavalcanti, also traders, were of petty origin, and the same may be said of the Cerchi, who shortly began to rise higher than the aforesaid."

[287] Most of these letters are given in Martène, others are published by Del Giudice in his "Codice diplomatico di Carlo I. and Carlo II d'Angiò."

[288] Machiavelli, "Storie," lib. ii. p. 75.

[289] "Il Codice diplomatico di Carlo I. e II. d'Angiò," published by Del Giudice, in Naples, serves to rectify many blunders made by the chroniclers on this point.

[290] "The citizens of ancient times being either entirely extinguished, or, at least decayed by age, another race began to spring up, as it were, in a new city." Ammirato, "Storie."

[291] There are so many discrepancies among Florentine authorities regarding this question that, after careful study and comparison of the different accounts given by the chroniclers, we have chosen Villani as our guide. He is the most celebrated of the old writers and the nearest to the times described. On close consideration of his words (_vide_ Villani, lib. vii. chap. xvi.) we see that the councils are to be specified as those of the Twelve, of the Captain and of the Podestà. But reference to the State Archives, the _Consulte_, or first volume of _Provvisioni_--dated a few years after the reform of which we speak--will serve to prove that sometimes the Council of One Hundred was assembled; at others both the special council of the Captain and his council-general and special were summoned; sometimes again the Podestà's special council--likewise styled the Council of Ninety--with his council-general and special, amounting in all to 390 members (300 + 90). We also find that admittance to these four last-mentioned councils was usually granted to the seven masters (_capitudini_) of the greater guilds, and that in course of time the number of the masters increased, and that they were sometimes summoned to meet as a separate council. By studying the number of votes given at the councils, we find sufficient proof of the accuracy of Villani's statements. In special councils the voting was done with black and white balls, a record being kept of their respective numbers. But at that period general councils only signified their verdict by standing up or remaining seated, and the votes were not recorded in writing. But regarding these points the rules changed as circumstances required, for the magistrates were frequently authorised to consult _whichever councils they preferred_.

In affairs of the highest importance, and in discussions carried on in a strictly legal way, every measure proposed had to be first approved by the twelve worthies, who were likewise allowed to ask the advice of confidential private persons, afterwards denominated _advisers_ (_richiesti_). The proposal was next submitted to the One Hundred, then to the Captain's two councils, and finally to those of the Podestà. All these details are confirmed by the documents in the Archives; and as a more easily verified instance, although of later date than the period now described, we may quote the opening sentence of the "Statuto dell' Esecutore di Giustizia," given in the Appendix to Signor Giudici's "Storia de' Municipi Italiani," p. 402 (1st edition). "In the name of God, _Amen_. In the year of His Holy Incarnation, 1306, &c., firstly, in the Council of One Hundred, and subsequently in the council and through the special council of _Messere lo Capitano_ and the masters of the twelve greater guilds (these having already increased in number) ... and farthermore, at once, without delay, in the council and through the general and special council of _Messere lo Capitano_ and of the people of Florence, and of the masters of the guilds ... done, confirmed, and carried the vote by sitting and rising, as prescribed by the same Statutes.... Likewise after these proceedings, in the same year, same '_indiction_' and day, in the council and by the general council of three hundred and special council of ninety men of the Florentine Commune, with the aforesaid guild-masters, by order of the noble gentleman, Messere Count Gabrielli d'Agobbio of the same city and Commune of Florence, Podestà, &c." Here it should also be noted that although in this case the councils of the Podestà assembled on the same day as those of the captain, yet according to law and usage the former should not have been convoked until one or two days had elapsed.

[292] _Vide_ "Delizie degli eruditi Toscani," by P. Ildefonso, vol. vii. pp. 203-286.

[293] Del Lungo "Una Vendetta," in "Firenze Arch. Stor. It.," Series iv. vol. xviii. p. 354 and fol.

[294] The _Giornale Storico degli Archivi Toscani_, anno i., No. 1, contains "Lo Statuto di Parte Guelfa," of 1335, edited by Bonaini, whose learned commentary on the same appeared in subsequent numbers. Villani tells us (vii. 17) that, "by mandate from the Pope and the king, the said Guelphs _nominated three_ knights as rectors of the party." But this must be a blunder, since, according to the statutes of the party, three knights and three men of the people were named to the office. A document dated December 12, 1268, appended to Del Lungo's "Una Vendetta in Firenze," mentions, "_Unus de sex Capitaneis Partis Guelforum_." Villani, in the same chap. xvii., confuses Pope Clement with Pope Urban, deceased in 1264. The statute of 1335 adds a third council, of one hundred, to the others, and this probably served the same purpose with regard to the councils as that fulfilled by the parliament to the Republic.

[295] The English word "milliner" is derived from _Milan_.

[296] The term _calimala_ seems to have been taken from the name of the street in which the guild was situated. The street led to a house of ill-fame, hence the name _Calis malus_, in the sense of _Via mala_--evil road or lane.

[297] A statute of the Calimala Guild, dated 1332, is given in the appendix of Giudici's "Storia dei Municipi Italiani." Another, dated 1301-2, has been published, with a commentary by Dr. Filippi, "Il più antico Statuto dell' Arte di Calimala." Turin: Bocca, 1889. The statutes formulated regulations already long in vigour by means of special laws.

[298] All these details of the Calimala Guild are to be found in the statutes cited above. We have quoted from the earliest statutes.

[299] Originally published in the Milan _Politecnico_, Nos. for November and December, 1867.

[300] Ammirato (ed. of 1846; Florence, Batelli), i. 248.

[301] The chroniclers say Guy de Montfort, but the latter only came in 1269. _Vide_ Del Giudice, Cod. Dipl. ii. 23.

[302] Villani, vii. 19. The frequent mention of eight hundred knights by the chroniclers of this period excites doubts as to their accuracy. It is never safe to accept their statements regarding the number of this or that army. Probably eight hundred horse was a species of regulation number, signifying a squadron of French men-at-arms.

[303] Villani, vii. 19; Marchionne Stefani, rubric 138; Ammirato, lib. iii.

[304] Gregorovius, vol. v. chap. 8: Cherrier, "Storia della lotta dei Papi e degli Imperatori di Casa Sveva," lib. x.

[305] Ammirato, i. 262; "Delizie degli Eruditi," vol. ix. p. 41.

[306] Machiavelli, "Storie," vol. i. p. 77. Italy, 1813.

[307] "Ipsas petitiones benigne accessimus et audivimus cum effectu, primo de conservando iure et honore Comunis Florentie; contra Pisanos et Senenses invasores et Gibellinos et exiticios terre vestra et infideles Podiibonizi proditores nostros proponimus, cum Dei auxilio atque vestro, facere vivam guerram, donec peniteant de commissis, et vos de factis vestris habeatis comodum et honorem.... Vicarium Ytalicum virum providum discretum et fidelem, cuius devotionem, fidem et probitatem in magnis factis nostris cognovimus, firmiter et ab experto vobis concessimus secundum quod vestra postulatio continebat, et volumus quod sit contentus salario et expensis et emendis, prout in ipsius Civitatis statutis continetur, nec ultra aliquid exigat." Del Giudice, "Codice Diplomatico," ii. 116-17.

We find that several Italian Podestà were afterwards appointed in Florence by Charles.

[308] Villani, vii. 54.

[309] Raynaldi, anno 1278; Sismondi, vol. ii. chap. vii.

[310] Villani, vii. 56.

[311] Ammirato, vol. i. p. 274.

[312] Ammirato the younger was the first writer to give an exact report of this agreement, with minute details derived from State papers, in his additions to the elder Ammirato's "History" (Anno 1279 and 1280). Several documents are given in the "Delizie degli Eruditi Toscani," by Padre Ildefonso, vol. ix. p. 63 and fol. Still ampler details are given by Bonaini ("Della Parte Guelfa in Firenze") in the _Giornale Storico degli Archivi Toscani_, vol. iii. p. 167 and fol. _Vide_ also A. Gherardi's recent and very important work, "Le Consulte della Repubblica Fiorentina" (Firenze, Sansoni). The original document of the Peace is to be found (mutilated) in the State Archives of Florence.

[313] The Fourteen are mentioned together with the Twelve in the cardinal's treaty of peace, and for some time later both bodies are simultaneously mentioned in the "Consulte," according to the usual Florentine custom of enumerating the old as well as the new magistrates. Subsequently the Fourteen alone are recorded, and the Twelve disappear entirely.

[314] Villani, vii. 56; Ammirato (Florentine edition of 1846), lib. iii. p. 275, &c.

[315] The old chronicles contain indications of these particulars, but for the minute description of them, corroborated by documentary evidence, _vide_ Ammirato the younger, in his appendices to the "Storie" of Ammirato the elder.

[316] Dr. Hartwig, who first called attention to this point, also remarked that the office of _Defensor_ is first recorded in the "Consulte," in November, 1282, and that the first Defender mentioned by name is Bernardino della Porta. "Consulte," pp. 116, 132, 133, 140, from November 6, 1282 to February 6, 1283.

[317] Dr. Hartwig also ascertained that in the "Consulte" the first mention of the priors occurs on June 26, 1282. Their names are recorded after those of the Fourteen; on April 24, 1283, they are given precedence over the latter; and from December forwards they are mentioned alone, without the Fourteen.

[318] Bk. i. p. 25 and fol. (the Del Lungo edition).

[319] Villani, vii, 79; Ammirato, iii. pp. 288-90.

[320] Villani says (vii. 89) that this "was the most noble and renowned _court_ ever held in the city of Florence."

[321] "Consulte," vol. i. pp. 169-70.

[322] Hartwig, "Ein menschenalter florentinische Geschichte" (1250-93). Freiburgi B., 1889-91, p. 111.

[323] Ammirato gives full details of this treaty. A summary of the original document was afterwards included by Canale, in his "Nuova Istoria della Repubblica di Genova" (the Le Monnier edition), vol. iii. p. 34.

[324] Villani, vii. 98; Malespini, ccxliii.

[325] Some of the chroniclers assert that the archbishop hoped to extract large sums of money from his captives before making an end of them.

[326] For details of the Pisan war with Genoa and Florence, _vide_ "Storie e Cronache Pisane," edited by Bonaini and others in vol. vi. (pts. i. and ii.) of the "Archivio Storico Italiano"; Canale, "Nuova Istoria della Repubblica di Genova"; Villani; Flaminio dal Borgo; Muratori Script., vol. xv.; Sismondi; "Hist. des Rep. It.," T. ii. chap. 8.

[327] An order of knighthood limited to the nobility.

[328] G. Villani, Dino Compagni, and the other Florentine chroniclers.

[329] Villani, Compagni, Ammirato, and the Pisan historians previously quoted.

[330] Villani, vii. 99; Vasari, "Vita di Arnolfo"; Ammirato (Florence: Batelli and Co., 1846), vol. i. pp. 310-11.

[331] Ammirato, vol. i. p. 337.

[332] _Vide_ Note A at the end of this chapter.

[333] Prof. P. Santini has treated of this question in his article entitled "Condizione personale degli abitanti del contado nel secolo xiii.," "Arch. Stor. It." (Series iv. vol. xvii. p. 178 and fol.). He justly remarks that there is no basis of comparison between the Bolognese law of 1256 and the Florentine law of 1289, seeing that they relate to persons of a different class and to two different periods of the movement set on foot in every commune for ameliorating the conditions of the inhabitants of the _contado_ (p. 188 and fol.).

[334] Villani, vii. 132.

[335] Ammirato, bk. iii. _ad annum_.

[336] _Vide_ Note B at the end of this chapter.

[337] _Vide_ Note C at the end of this chapter.

[338] Originally published in the _Politecnico_ of Milan; Nos. for June and July, 1867.

[339] _Vide_ the Florentine edition of 1755, p. 133.

[340] This anecdote is related by the Friar of St. Gall, "De rebus bellicis Caroli Magni." _Vide_ Muratori, Dissertazione xxv.

[341] Muratori, Dissertazione xxv. _Vide_ likewise Pignotti, "Storia della Toscana," vol. iv. Saggio iii. Florence, 1824.

[342] We have already mentioned the probable derivation of this term.

[343] _Vide_ Pagnini, "Della Decima," vol. ii. sec. 4 and 5.

[344] Pagnini, "Della Decima," ibid.

[345] Villani, lib. xi. chap. 94.

[346] Villani, lib. xi. chap. 94.

[347] It would seem that the Guild of Por' Santa Maria originally traded in Florentine woollen stuffs, and that the silk merchants formed a secondary and separate branch. Gradually, however, they became amalgamated with the guild (early in the thirteenth century), and then became its principal components, until at last the Silk Guild and Por' Santa Maria were entirely fused in one.

[348] _Vide_ the "Cronaca" of Benedetto Dei (1470-92), preserved among the MSS. of the Magliabecchian Library. Many interesting portions of this "Cronaca" have been published in the appendix to vol. ii. of Pagnini's "Decima."

[349] _Vide_ the same "Cronaca" of Dei.

[350] "Again, a law was passed in 1371, inasmuch as many men traded the shares of the Monte in this wise: One said to another: 'the shares of the Monte are at thirty; I wish to do some business with you to-day. This time next year I'll sell to you, or you to me, at what price shall we say?' At thirty-one the share [of one hundred]? 'What premium do you ask for this?' So they bargained, and the terms were fixed. When shares fell, the merchant bought, if they rose, he sold out, and the stock changed hands twenty times in the year. Accordingly a tax was charged of two florins in the hundred for every transfer." Marchionne di Coppo Stefani, vol. viii. p. 97, in the "Delizie degli Eruditi Toscani," vol. xiv.

[351] Vettori, "Il Fiorino d'oro"; Orsini, "Storia delle Monete." Florence, 1760.

[352] Pagnini, "Della Decima," vol. ii. sec. iii. chaps. i.-iv. Other details are supplied by Ammirato, Dei, and more especially by Villani (xi. 88, and xii. 55).

[353] G. Villani, xl. 54.

[354] Ammirato, lib. 18, _ad annum_.

[355] "Cronaca" of Benedetto Dei, given in Pagnini.

[356] Ibid., vol. ii. p. 275.

[357] Ammirato, _ad annum_; Pagnini, loc. cit.

[358] This led some writers to believe that slavery still existed in Italy many centuries after it had disappeared. A praiseworthy article on this theme, by Signor Salvatore Bongi, was published in the _Nuova Antologia_, anno I. No. 6.

[359] _Vide_ the Speech of Tommaso Mocenigo, so often reproduced by chroniclers and historians; Pagnini, "Della Decima," vol. ii. p. 7 and fol.; Romanin, "Storia documentata di Venezia," vol. ii. pp. 156-7.

[360] Urghanj, the chief city of Khwarezm, the country now called Khiva. New Urghanj, the present commercial capital of Khiva, is sixty miles from the ancient city.

[361] Balducci Pegolotti, in Pagnini's book. Colonel H. Yule's "Cathay, and the Way Thither, being a Collection of Mediæval Notices of China" (London, printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1866), is a very important work, includes a series of documents translated by the author, and is prefaced by a learned dissertation from his pen.

[362] Pagnini, vol. ii. sec. i. K. Sieveking, "Geschichte von Florenz." This very brief but excellent work was published anonymously at Hamburg in 1844. It has furnished many of the details given in this chapter.

[363] The first five were frequently joined to the greater guilds, which were then increased to twelve.

[364] "Inferno," Canto x.

[365] Franco Sacchetti tells us that while he was a member of the government the magistrates of the Republic never succeeded in enforcing the laws against luxury. One of them, having been severely reprimanded on this score and threatened with dismissal from office, gives the following account of the devices by which Florentine women evaded the regulations established by law:

"_Signori miei_,--All my life I have sought to acquire reason; and now, when methought I knew something, I find I know nothing; inasmuch as when searching for forbidden ornaments, according to your orders, the women bring forward arguments of a kind never found by me in any law; and among others I will quote these: There comes a woman with an embroidered trimming turned down over her hood, and the notary says, 'Give me your name, since you wear an embroidered trimming.' The good woman takes off this trimming, which is fastened to the hood by a pin, and, holding it in her hand, declares it is a garland. He goes to another woman and says, 'I find you have too many buttons on the front of your gown; you must not wear those buttons.' But she replies, 'Yes, Messere, I can, for these are not buttons, but bosses; and if you do not believe me, see, they have no shanks, and neither are there button-holes.' The notary passes on to another woman wearing ermine fur, saying to himself, 'What excuse can she allege for that? You wear ermine,' and he begins to write her name. The woman says, 'Do not write me down, for this is not ermine, but _lattizzi_ fur.' Says the notary, 'What are these _lattizzi_?' 'They are animals....' One of the magistrates says, 'We are trying to fight against a wall.' And another remarks, 'It were better to attend to affairs of more importance!'" (Novella, 137.)

[366] Guicciardini, "Considerazioni sui Discorsi del Machiavelli" (Opere inedite, vol. i., Barbéra, Florence). Full confirmation of the above statements are to be found in this work. In treating of chap. xii. bk. i., where Machiavelli charges the Popes with having prevented the unity of Italy, the author qualifies his approval of the remark by adding: "But I feel uncertain whether it were a good or an ill chance for this province to escape being absorbed in a kingdom; for although to be subject to a republic might prove a glory to the name of Italy and a happiness to the dominant city, it could only bring calamity to all other cities, seeing that, oppressed by the latter's shadow, they were unable to rise to any greatness, it being the wont of republics 'to give no share of the fruits of their independence and power to any save their own citizens.... This reason does not hold good in a monarchy wherein all subjects enjoy more equality, and therefore we behold France and many other provinces living contentedly under a king.'"

[367] Originally published in the Milan Politecnico, July and August, 1868.

[368] To avoid the addition of too many notes to a chapter treating of the general course of events, and only purposing to throw some light on the political conditions of our communes, more especially of Florence, I may say once for all, that besides the statutes, quoted in due place, the authorities most frequently referred to are: Savigny, "Storia del Diritto Romano nel Medio Evo"; Francesco Forti, "Istituzioni Civili e Trattati inediti di giurisprudenza"; Gans, "Il Diritto di Successione nella Storia Italiana," translated by A. Torchiarulo: Naples (Pedone, Lauriel, 1853); Gide, "Etude sur la condition privée de la femme": Paris, 1868; Schupfer, "La Famiglia Longobarda," in the Law Archives of Bologna, Nos. 1, 2. At this date it is scarcely necessary to remark that since 1868 these studies have made enormous progress in Italy, and that many works of signal importance have been produced which were naturally unknown to me while engaged on these pages, only intended--at the moment--to assist my pupils to a clearer comprehension of the Florentine revolution of 1293, and the "Ordinamenti di Giustizia," which were its inevitable and long needed results.

[369] _Translator's note to Chapter VII._--With regard to this chapter, I am greatly indebted to the kindness of my learned friend Mr. Ninian Thompson, late judge at Calcutta, since without his skilled collaboration and revision it would have been impossible to cope with the legal technicalities of the text. My thanks are also due to Signor Del Vecchio, Professor of Jurisprudence, for his valuable explanation of ancient terminology.--LINDA VILLARI.

[370] Gaius, i. pp. 890-2.

[371] Comitis Gabriellis Verri, "De ortu et progressu iuris mediolanensis," &c. In Book I. of this work we find, among others, the following words: "Quæ omnia manifeste demonstrant, maiores nostros maximum atque perpetuum studium, contulisse ad agnationem conservandam pro veteri xii. tabularum iure, a Justiniano postea immutato, quo certe nihil ad servandum augendumque familiarum splendorem ... utilius, commodius, aptius, commendabilius potuit afferri."

Another of those old writers on law who steadfastly maintain this view is Cardinal De Luca, who, in his "Theatrum veritatis et iustitiæ," makes a singularly angry attack upon Justinian and all agreeing with his views on the subject of agnation. According to De Luca, the Italians never accepted the reforms, or, rather, as he calls them, the _destructions and corruptions_, favoured by Justinian.

Even Giannone, in his "Storia Civile del Regno di Napoli" (bk. iii. paragraph v.), says that Justinian's works met with no favour among us. "They found no acceptance either in Italy or in our provinces, nor could they be planted and strike deep roots here, as on foreign soil; on the contrary, the ancient books of the juris-consults were retained, and the code of Theodosius lost neither its reputation nor its authority."

Here it may be well to remark that the persistence of the Roman law in Italy during the Middle Ages, maintained by Savigny, but combated by others, is now admitted on all hands.

[372] Dr. J. Ficker, "Forschungen zur Reichs und Rechtgeschicte Italiens," 4 vols. Innsbruck, 1868-74.

[373] Gans, while accepting the ideas of Savigny as to the diffusion of the Justinian law in Italy, also takes this view, which is in accordance with his own theory that the new forms of the Italian law were derived from the laws of the Longobards.

[374] Baudi de Vesme, in his notes on the Longobard laws, repeatedly remarks: "Theodosiani juris vestigia hic agnoscere mihi vedetur." Del Giudice has recently proved that certain passages are taken from the Justinian law and others from the Theodosian code.

[375] This discussion may now be considered superfluous, it being generally acknowledged at the present day, that even subsequently to Justinian's constitution, the Theodosian code continued in force. In this way the Justinian and pre-Justinian forms had a contemporaneous existence, only the Pandects were longer neglected.

[376] According to Savigny, the school of Guarnerius was already flourishing in 1113-18. It is now well ascertained that this school was preceded by others adhering far less closely to Justinian forms.

[377] The ancient statute of Giacomo Tiepolo, of which the MS. is extant in the Archives of the Frari, in Venice, and which has been frequently printed, concludes its first prologue with these words: "Et se alguna fiada occorresse cosse che per quelli statuti non fossero ordinade, perchè l'è de plui i facti che li statuti, s'el occorresse question stranie, et in quele alcuna cossa simela se trovasse, de simel cosse a simele è da proceder. Aver, secondo la consuetudine approvada, oltremente, se al tuto sia diverso, over si facta consuetudine non se trovase, despona i nostri iudexi come zusto et raxionevole a la so providentia apparèrà, habiendo Dio avanti i ochi de la soa mente, si fatamente che, al di del zudixio, de la streta examination davanti el tremante (_tremendo_) Iudexe render possa degna raxione."

[378] Many examples to this effect will be found in the volumes of "Provvisioni" in the Florence Archives.

[379] "Statuta Romæ," Romæ, 1519, ii. 110, 111, and iii. 17.

[380] "Statuta Pisauri, noviter impressa," 1531, ii. 79, 84, 106, 107.

[381] "Statuta Pisauri, noviter impressa," 1531, ii. 79, 84, 106, 107.

[382] "Etiam nullis probationibus, _quia volumus quod_ nuda patris assertio plenam probationem faciat." _Vide_ "Statuta Civitatis Lucensis," 1539, ii. 66, 67, 68.

[383] "Statuta Civitatis Urbini, impressa, Pisauri," 1519, vi. 30. _Quod pater pro filis, dominus pro famulo teneatur in damnis datis._

[384] "Statuta Florentiæ" (edition dated from Friburg), ii. 110.

[385] "Statuta Florentiæ" (edition dated from Friburg), ii. 110.

[386] _Vide_ "Statuti Pisani," edited by Bonaini.

[387] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 61, 62, 63.

[388] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 64.

[389] Ibid. ii. 65. _Vide_ also the statutes of 1324 (ii. 36 and 74) and of 1355 (ii. 39) in the State Archives.

[390] "Nisi promiserit de continuo habitando in dicta civitate, vel comitatu Urbini" ("Statuta Urbini," Pisauri, 1519, ii. 54).

[391] "Liber juris civilis urbis Veronæ," chap. xliv. Verona, 1728.

[392] See Gans, _op. cit._ This author made a very careful examination of the Pisan law in the statutes (then unpublished) contained in a MS. Codex at Berlin.

[393] _Vide_ the "Consuetudini della città d'Amalfi," edited and annotated by Scipione Volpicella, p. 22; and the "Consuetudini della città di Napoli," under the heading, "De successionibus ab intestato." The same provisions are found also in the "Consuetudini Sorrentine." See also Dr. Otto Hartwig's work, "Codex iuris municipalis Siciliæ." Heft 1, "Das Stadtrecht von Messina." Cassel und Göttingen, 1867.

[394] "Statuta Comunis Mantuæ," Rubric li., "De successionibus ab intestato." _Cod._ MS. F. T., 1, fourteenth century, Mantua Archives. Similar terms are used in the Veronese statutes ("Statuta Veronæ." Veronæ, 1588, bk. ii. chap. 82). "_Ut bona parentum in filios masculos et cæteros per lineam masculinam descendentes conserventur_, pro conservandis domibus et oneribus Communis Veronæ sustinendis, _statuimus_," &c.

[395] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 130.

[396] Statutes 4 (of 1324), ii. 70, and 9 (of 1355), ii. 73, in the State Archives, declare in fact that when there are no surviving sons, but only brothers or their sons, the woman is entitled to have the usufruct of her father's, grandfather's, or great-grandfather's estate: "Tunc ipsa mulier habeat usufructum omnium bonorum talis patris, avi, vel proavi defuncti." This is the usufruct for which alimony is afterwards substituted.

[397] State Archives, "Statuti," 4, bk. ii. 50, and 9, bk. ii. 51.

[398] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 32.

[399] Ibid. ii. 130.

[400] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 126.

[401] Ibid. ii. 129.

[402] "Constitutiones Marchiæ Anconitanæ." Forolivii, 1507.

[403] "Statuti della honoranda Universitate deli Mercanti de la Citade di Bologna," 1530, file 98 and following.

[404] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 51.

[405] Ibid. ii. 76.

[406] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 75.

[407] Ibid. ii. 77.

[408] Ibid. ii. 108.

[409] Ibid. ii. 109.

[410] The frequent repetition of this phrase is worthy of note, since it enables us to understand the manner in which associations were usually constituted.

[411] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 66.

[412] State Archives, "Statuti" 9, ii. 30. The same provision is found in the statutes of 1324 (ii. 87), and was already comprised in those of Pistoia dated 1296 (ii. 6), having been copied from another Florentine statute of earlier date.

[413] The _Mezzeria_ system obtains not only throughout Tuscany and Lucca, but over a considerable part of Romagna. But the terms and contracts most favourable to the peasantry are to be found near Florence and in the Pistoian district. Contracts implying a system of _Mezzeria_ more or less rudimentary, and dating from about the close of the twelfth century, are still extant.

[414] Two of 1250 and 1251, in the Florentine territory, have been edited by Ruhmor (_vide_ also Capei in the "Atti dei Georgofili," vol. xiv. p. 228); other hardly less ancient examples have been found at Cortona by the Notary L. Ticciati, and published by him in the "Archivio Storico Italiano," Series v., vol. x., No. 4, 1892. Nevertheless, contracts on the true _Mezzeria_ system cannot have been in general use earlier than the commencement of the fourteenth century. A common contract drawn up in 1331 on Siennese territory was communicated by Prof. C. Paoli to Baron S. Sonnino, and published by the latter in 1875 Florence, in his work "Sulla Mezzeria in Toscana." In a review, entitled "L'Agricoltura Italiana," nineteenth year (1893), Nos. 274-5, Marquis L. Ridolfi justly remarks that the difficulty in finding old _Mezzeria_ contracts in the Florentine territory proceeds from the custom prevailing there of seldom referring to a public notary for the purpose. As a rule, the parties concerned merely exchange written copies of the agreement.

[415] "Statuta Florentiæ," ii. 18.

[416] Ibid. ii. 21.

[417] Ibid. ii. 23. _Vide_, on this subject, Salvetti, "Antiquitates Florentinæ."

[418] "Nuova Antologia," Florence, July, 1869.

[419] G. Villani, "Cronica," xi. 96.

[420] P. E. Giudici, "Storia dei Comuni Italiani," bk. vi., paragraphs 53 and 54. Florence, Le Monnier, 1866. Vannucci, "I primi tempi della libertà fiorentina," chap. iv. p. 161 and fol. Florence, Le Monnier, 1861. Napier's "Florentine History," vol. i. chap. xiii. p. 342. London, 1846. T. A. Trollope, "A History of the Commonwealth of Florence," bk. ii. chap. iii. p. 212. London, 1865. It should be noted that although Mr. Trollope failed to overcome every difficulty, he was enabled to avoid various blunders on this head by merely translating certain parts of the enactments without explaining the more obscure items. Mons. Perrens, in a recent work, written after the first publication of this chapter, has generally accepted its conclusions and corroborated them by fresh researches of his own.

[421] _Vide_ chaps. v. and vi. of the present work.

[422] It is impossible to believe that there were no duties of any kind. Villani himself (bk. xi. chap. xcii.) enumerates a great many imposed between 1336 and 1338, and certain of these were unquestionably of earlier origin. Perhaps he meant to express that the duties were few and slight.

[423] "Per non mettere gravezza." Whenever taxes were imposed on the property of citizens, an estimate was made of it, as the tax in question was paid in _lire_ or _libbre_, the term _far libbra, allibbrare_, was often used to signify making valuations of property as well as the imposition of taxes.

[424] G. Villani, viii. 2.

[425] _Vide_ the preceding chapter.

[426] Dino Compagni, bk. ii. p. 201, the Del Lungo edition. I quote from this edition, as being far more correct than the others, although it was only published in 1879, ten years after the first appearance of this chapter in the form of a separate essay.

[427] _Vide_ in Padre Ildefonso's "Delizie degli Eruditi Toscani," the document appended to vol. viii. It consists of a petition presented by certain inhabitants of Castelnuovo after having been attacked by the Pazzi and others, _armata manu, cum militibus et peditibus_, who had burnt their houses, killed several persons, and compelled others to sign a contract, under false pretence of a law suit, that had never occurred, _et scribi faciendo litem contra eos esse super renovationem servitiorum_.

[428] G. Villani, vii. 16.

[429] _Vide_ the "Statuto della Parte Guelfa," chap. xxxix. It may be found in vol. i. (1857) of the "Giornale storico degli Archivi Toscani," that was published for some years jointly with the "Arch. Stor. It." This statute of 1355 (edited by Bonaini) is the earliest known statute of the _Parte Guelfa_, but does not appear to be the first that was compiled. In the above-mentioned "Giornale," vol. iii. (1859), Bonaini began a monograph, entitled, "Della Parte Guelfa in Firenze," which was continued in several numbers, but then left incomplete. _Vide_ also G. Villani, vii. 17, describing the original formation of the Society. Its precise condition in 1293 is as yet imperfectly known, but this may be inferred from what it was shortly before and after that period.

[430] G. Villani, viii. 1.

[431] The first of these laws, already known to the public, and the others which were then inedited, have been fully examined in chap. v. of this work and are printed in the appendix to the same.

[432] In fact the "Ordinamenti" (rubric xviii. of the Bonaini edition) refer to this law, dated October 2, 1286 ("Provvisioni," i. 27), and comprised in the statute. Both the rubric and title are quoted in the "Ordinamenti." A _Consulta_ (or decree) of March 20, 1280 (81), given in Gherardi's collection, p. 33, had also cited a similar and still older law: "De securitatibus prestandis a magnatibus," which was afterwards amended by that of 1286.

[433] Ammirato, at commencement of bk. iv.; also in "Provvisioni," ii. 72, Florentine Archives.

[434] Dino Compagni, bk. i. p. 56.

[435] G. Villani, viii. 8.

[436] Ammirato, bk. iv. p. 348.

[437] In fact, many neglected to give surety (_sodare_), and several laws were framed to compel the contumacious to obey.

[438] This is known from the terms of the debate, which has been published by Bonaini in the "Arch. Stor. It.," New Series, vol. i. p. 78, document B.

[439] At the period there were twelve Greater and nine Lesser Guilds.

[440] Many historians assert that he was among the priors when the "Ordinamenti" were compiled. But these are officially dated the 18th of January, and Compagni states that Giano entered the Signory on the 15th of February. This statement is supported by the list of priors given by Coppo Stefani, in his "Delizie degli Eruditi Toscani," and likewise by documentary evidence.

[441] Another inedited compilation also exists in the Florence Archives. Certain new rubrics were inserted in this at a later date, and even, as we shall show further on, among the first twenty-eight.

[442] Dr. K. Hegel, "Die Ordnungen der Gerechtigheit," Erlangen, 1867. This is a _Prolusion_, in which the learned author of the "Storia della Costituzione dei Municipi Italiani," very carefully examines the code edited by Bonaini, and compares it with others. But he does not investigate the value or intrinsic importance of the enactments, and merely gives a brief summary of them.

[443] "Arch. Stor. It.," New Series, vol. i. (1855) p. 38, note 1.

[444] Until this draft was published, we could only refer to posterior compilations, and had no means of ascertaining to what extent they differed from the law in its original form. Although Bonaini had failed to discover the original document of the law as approved, his publication of the first draft brings us very near to the real thing. And this is a point of no small importance, seeing that the laws of the Florentine Republic underwent such radical changes from one day to another, that a compilation, dated only two or three years after the original law, might be very different from it. For instance, Document A, published by Bonaini ("Arch. Stor. It.," New Series, vol. i. p. 72), contains a rider or addendum to the Ordinamenti passed on the 9th and 10th of April, 1293. This was inserted as part of the original law in the compilations edited by Fineschi and Giudici.

In the following bibliographical notices I shall be obliged, for the sake of greater clearness, to occasionally repeat or sum up previously related facts.

1. Of the various compilations of the enactments, that included among the printed statutes was the first to be published.

2. P. F. Vincenzo Fineschi published a second compilation in his "Memorie storiche, che possono servire alle vite degli uomini illustri di Santa Maria Novella," &c., Florence, 1790.

3. The third published compilation was given by Prof. P. E. Giudici in the appendix to his "Storia dei Municipi Italiani," Florence, Poligrafia italiana, 1853; reprinted in 3 vols., Florence, Le Monnier, 1864-66. The Italian compilation, divided in 118 rubrics, the last of which is mutilated, was published from a codex in the State Archives of Florence ("Statuti," No. 8). By some oversight the author chanced to omit the three concluding rubrics.

4. The last published compilation is that brought out by Bonaini in the "Arch. Stor. It.," New Series, vol. i, No. 1, 1855, of which we have already spoken, and shall have to mention again farther on.

5. Another compilation, to which previous allusion has been made (p. 89, note 92), is also deserving of notice. It is among the MSS. of the Florence Archives (ch. ii., dist. i., No. 1), and is still inedited. Padre Ildefonso published certain fragments of it, however, in vol. ix. of the "Delizie degli Eruditi Toscani," and Bonaini published an index of its rubrics, 134 in number.

6. In conclusion, we may mention the Miscellany or "Zibaldone," likewise referred to before, which in addition to many decrees issued between 1274 and 1465, some of which augment the force of the enactments, also includes a petition presented by the people of Florence in June, 1378--namely, the year in which the Revolt of the Ciompi occurred, imploring that the Enactments of Justice should be again enforced, the which request was granted. This codex is also a useful contribution to the history of the enactments.

Recently both Prof. Del Lungo (_vide_ "Bullettino della Società Dantesca," Nos. 10, 11, of July, 1892) and Sig. G. Salvemini, undergraduate of the Instituto Superior, Florence (_vide_ "Arch. Stor. It.," Series v., vol. x. 1892), have published the provision of July 6, 1295, introducing several modifications and mitigations in the enactments. Although this provision was already known to the world, by Prof. Del Lungo's previous careful examination of it in his work on "Dino Compagni" (vol i., 1078-80), Salvemini's clever commentary has gleaned fresh information from it. This provision includes all the modifications made in the enactments in 1295, and often gives fragments of the law as it previously stood, together with the changes then introduced. Hegel, having examined all the documents edited in his day, was the first to prove, on assured evidence, that the rough draft edited by Bonaini, although, as he thinks, omitting certain rubrics and comprising some disparities, mostly of form, contained the real gist of the original enactments. This in itself was an important result. Regarding the disparities noted by Hegel, and the missing rubrics, Salvemini was enabled, by studying the document of July 6, 1295, to make some novel remarks, to which we shall refer later on.

[445] Rubric iii. of the draft states that "De prudentioribus, melioribus et legalioribus artificibus civitatis Florentiæ, continue artem exercentibus, dummodo non sint milites." Also farther on: "Aliquis qui continue artem non exerceat, vel aliquis miles non possit nec debeat modo aliqui eligi, vel esse in dicto officio Prioratus." "Arch. Stor. It.," New Series, vol. i. pp. 44, 45. Rubric xviii., p. 66, enumerates the persons bound to give guaranty as nobles, although exercising a trade, "non obstante quod ipsi vel aliquis eorum de dictis domibus et casatis ... sint artifices vel artem seu mercantiam exerceant."

[446] _Vide_ on this point a document of 1287 appended to this chapter. It proves that the practical exercise of a trade or craft was held indispensable before 1293, and shows what precautions were required to prevent the law from being easily evaded.

[447] Rubric iii., G. We generally quote from Giudici's Italian compilation as being more widely known than the others. But we are careful to collate it with the versions of Fineschi and Bonaini, taking note of significant divergences. The letters B. G. F. are used to indicate the respective editions of Bonaini, Giudici, and Fineschi.

[448] Mons. Perrens (vol. ii. p. 385, note 2) doubts this fact, and states that it only occurred in 1305. It is certain that the Gonfalonier's function was to enforce the enactments, and that when released from this duty by the creation of an "Executor" in 1306, he then began to be more specially considered as the chief of the Signory; but it is none the less certain, that among seven magistrates, all of the same legal standing, the one possessed from the first of loftier attributes and more direct command of the army, was virtually, if not nominally, their president and chief.

[449] Rubric iv., G. and F. We should note that the Latin draft reduces the Gonfalonier's interval of ineligibility to one year only, while the other compilations extend it to two years, as in the case of the Priors and as subsequently enforced. We have followed the Latin draft, for the additional reason that, in the law of 1293, edited by Bonaini (Doc. A. at p. 74), we find it ordained that Priors and Gonfalonier should share the same benefits and privileges, "salvo et excepto quod quæ in Ordinamento iustitie, loquente de electione Vexilliferi, continentur circa devetum et tempus deveti ipsius Vexilliferi, et circa alia omnia in ipso ordinamento descripta, in sua permaneant firmitate." This is repeated even under rubric xxxi., G. and F., whence we are forced to conclude that the prescribed interval before re-election to the Gonfaloniership was originally different from that established with regard to the Priorate, and only equalised with the latter at a subsequent time. Besides, in Compilations F. and G. no thought was given to correcting the rule laid down in rubric xxxi., where it is taken for granted that the original diversity was still in force. Florentine laws were always made and amended bit by bit. All doubts, however, are solved by the document from which we have quoted, dated July 6, 1295, extending the term of prohibition, as regarded the Gonfalonier, from one to two years. Salvemini has found proofs in the "Provvisioni" and "Consulte" that this rule had been already applied in December, 1294.

[450] As we shall see farther on, Dr. Lastig was the first writer to point this out.

[451] Rubrics i. and ii. in Compilations B., F., and G.

[452] Rubrics lxiii.-lxv., which, as we have noted, were added by another hand in 1297, to the codex edited by Fineschi, and correspond with rubrics lxxxii.-lxxxiv. of the codex edited by Giudici, there is renewed reference to the tricks employed in order to avoid giving guarantees or nullifying their effect. When a noble committed a crime and refused to pay the prescribed fine, his nearest relation was legally bound to pay it in his stead. But in this case the said relation frequently made declaration, "that the guilty person who had either failed to give guarantees or offered pledges unsuited to the case, possessed one or more legitimate or natural children, aged one year, or more or less; and that for this reason the next of kin, or those supposed to be responsible in virtue of the said enactment, are exempt from the penalty prescribed by the same." (Rubric lxxxii., G., lxv., F.)

[453] Rubric xvii., G. The law quoted here is of October 2, 1286 ("Provvisioni," i. 27).

[454] Rubric xvii., B., F., G. The two later compilations have an addition tacked on at the end, that is not included in Compilation B. In the Italian codex (G.) this addition is undated, but in the Fineschi compilation is dated July 6, 1295. Its purpose is that of attenuating the law by declaring that all omitted from the list of nobles in the statute, or who have changed their name, and are known by another, are not to be considered nobles. This addition was contemporaneous with the extension of the legal number of witnesses from two to three.

[455] Rubrics xviii. and xix., F., G. These and rubric xx. also are not in the Latin draft, as we shall have again to remark farther on.

[456] Compagni, i. 11; Villani, viii. 1.

[457] "Storie," bk. ii. p. 80, Italy, 1813.

[458] viii. 1.

[459] The nobles frequently employed friends or dependents to execute their deeds of vengeance or assault--hence the enactments nearly always refer to authors of crime in the plural as those chiefly charged with the deed. The law of the 6th of July, 1295, was attenuated on this point, as we shall see, by its recognition of a single leader or "captain" of the crime, the others being only punished as accessories.

[460] Rubric vi., F. G. and V. B.

[461] This is derived both from the terms of the enactments and from the chroniclers. According to the latter, criminals occasionally obtained partial compensation because the destruction of their property had been carried too far.

[462] Rubric xii., F. G., vii., B.

[463] Rubric xiii., F. G. This being a codicil added in 1295, it is not comprised in Compilation B.

[464] Rubrics vi., vii., F. and G. Not comprised in B, having been added in 1295. It should be remarked that in the legal phraseology of the time "common law" signified Roman law; the law as prescribed by the statutes being held almost in the light of a special or exceptional code. But as the enactments constituted in themselves an exception, with regard to the statutes, the latter are referred to wherever _common law_ is mentioned. When the question was of two municipalities, one of which was subject to the other, the subject municipality was always allowed (excepting in political concerns) to retain its own statutes; but in cases where these proved insufficient, it had recourse to those of the dominant city, as though these constituted the common law.

[465] Rubric ix., F. G., and vi., B. In this case two witnesses were always needed to prove the offence, and on this point all the compilations, including the rough draft, are agreed. Regarding the other cases, Compilation B (rubric v.) only says _per testes_, meaning more than one, that is, two or three. On the 6th of July, 1295, _per testes_ was changed to _per tres testes_, and so it stands also in rubric vi., F. and G.

It should be remarked that in the Italian compilation this rubric ix. has a codicil that is neither comprised in the draft nor even in Fineschi's compilation, and this is an additional proof that the Italian compilation was of later date than the Latin text, of which it is generally the faithful translation. The codicil decrees that the fine is to be paid to the Commune either by the offending party himself or his nearest relation.

Rubric xi., F. and G., answering to rubric xvi., B., treats of the rights acquired by nobles over real property appertaining to the people, and alludes in this connection to the _associates_ or _relatives of the popolani_. This proves that the custom of joining in associations was very general at the time, and likewise shows how nearly the ties of association resembled ties of relationship.

[466] Rubric xvi., F. and G., rubric ix., B.

[467] Rubric xxvi., G., xxi., B.

[468] This "Conclusion" is mutilated in the xxii. and final rubric of Compilation B. It exists in full in rubric xxvii., F., and rubric xxv., G.

It should be noted at this point that, leaving aside other partial disparities, those rubrics, included in Compilations G. and F., and entirely omitted from Compilation B. (whether as the results of later decrees, or actually passed at the time when the draft was engrossed in its definite official shape, we have no means of really ascertaining), were those indicated in Compilations G. and F. by the numbers xviii., xix., and xx.

[469] This law, drawn up in full official form, is contained in Document A. of the Bonaini Compilation, but still as a separate law. On the other hand, in Compilations F. and G. we find it incorporated with the enactments it was designed to strengthen. In Compilation G. it is dated April 10, 1293, so also in the Latin Codex, but is undated in Compilation G. We should remark in this connection that the law edited by Bonaini is not only incorporated with the enactments in Compilations F. and G., but in both comprises codicils of a later date--such, for instance, as giving power to call nearly the whole of the city and territory to arms, up to the number of 12,200 men. Had this clause been passed in Giano's time, the chroniclers could not have failed to record it. Villani states that at first one thousand men only were enrolled--that is, the same number authorised by the earlier enactments; the number was afterwards raised to two thousand, as enjoined by the new law, and later still to four thousand (viii. 1). Therefore, even according to Villani, the number was progressively enlarged.

[470] Villani, viii. 8.

[471] After Villani, Ammirato wrote: "For in addition to the measures ordained, Giano had deprived the Captains of the Society of their seal; and had provided that the funds of the said Society, which amounted to a large sum, should be consigned to the Commune" (vol i. bk. iv. p. 346, Batelli edition, Florence, 1846-49).

[472] Villani, viii. 2.

[473] Villani, viii. 2; Ammirato, _ad annum_, vol. i. pp. 339.

[474] Ibid. viii. 2; Ammirato, vol. i. pp. 340, 341.

[475] Villani, viii. 2; and "Cronica" of the pseudo B. Latini, _ad annum_.

[476] Ibid. viii. 1. Compagni gives a different version in vol. i. 12. He relates that the offenders were of the Galigai family, and that he, being Gonfalonier at the time, had to demolish their dwellings. We have adhered to Villani, who states the fact to have occurred under the first Gonfalonier, Baldo Ruffoli (in office from February 15th to April 15th), whereas Compagni held the Gonfaloniership from June 15th to August 15, 1293, and it is scarcely probable this could have been the first occasion on which the enactments were enforced. It is known that Compagni's Chronicle is only extant in copies dated after his time, and therefore probably containing blunders, alterations, and additions made by its transcribers. Compagni's chronology is often extremely vague. While Gonfalonier he may have undoubtedly seen some sentences executed; but the first sentence on the nobles seems to have been carried out as related by Villani, and also corroborated by Coppo Stefani, bk. iii., rubric 198, Ammirato, vol. i. p. 338, and other historians of weight. Some years after the first publication of this essay, Professor Scheffer Boichorst produced the famous work (_vide_ "Historische Zeitschrift," xxiv. p. 313, 1870) that raised the very heated controversy as to the authenticity of Dino Compagni's Chronicle. At a later period Professor Del Lungo's learned volumes induced the German scholar to cede many of the points in dispute. Accordingly we may still continue to refer to Dino Compagni, although not without careful sifting and discrimination.

[477] Compagni, i. 12, p. 55.

[478] _Vide_ chap. vi. of this work.

[479] Jean of Châlons in Burgundy.

[480] It is known that the Podestà, Captain, and many other magistrates were subjected to an investigation or _sindacato_, on retiring from office.

[481] Dino Compagni, i. 13; Villani, viii. 10.