ENDNOTES

^*Jacopo IV. d’ Appiano, Lord of Piombino, like all the petty lords of his time, sold his sword to whoever paid him best; and thus, after having for some time served the Pisans, he turned against them and engaged in the service of the Florentine republic. His condotta dates from 26 August, 1498, and was made jointly by the Florentine republic and the Duke of Milan. It was for two years, with the option on the part of the Condottiere to extend it for a third year. D’ Appiano was to bring with him two hundred men-at-arms, and was to receive as his pay 22,400 florins for each year of service, with the customary reservation of seven per cent. The Condottiere had obligated himself to be ready with his men within fifteen days of the first payment in advance, or anticipation, as it was then called. But he was not true to the sworn terms of the agreement, and delayed his departure for the camp until the last days of the following February. And hardly had he reached Pontedera when he demanded an increase of compensation. It is to this point that the mission of Machiavelli has reference; but being so near the city of Florence there was no correspondence on the subject. The result, however, is known from later documents, which show that the Florentine secretary succeeded in making the Lord of Piombino abandon his pretension to higher pay; but not the augmentation of his force by forty men-at-arms, which was conceded to him with the consent of the Duke of Milan in the latter part of May, with a corresponding increase of compensation.

^*The Florentine republic, having resolved in 1498 to terminate the war against Pisa, not only made great efforts to collect a numerous army, and engaged in their pay the most renowned and powerful Condottieri of Italy, but they acted with the greater energy in this, as there was a probability of their being obliged to fight against the Venetians, who had declared in favor of Pisa. Amongst the captains thus taken into their pay by the Florentines was Ottaviano Riario, Lord of Furli; a young man of only nineteen years at the time. His mother, the Countess Catharine, was the natural daughter of the Count Francesco Sforza, who afterwards became Duke of Milan. Her first husband was the Count Girolamo Riario, Lord of Furli and Imola; after his death she married Feo di Savona; and after him Giovanni de’ Medici, son of Piero Francesco, who died at Furli, 14 September, 1498, and by whom she had a son called Giovanni Lodovico, who afterwards became celebrated as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, and who was the father of the Grand Duke Cosimo I. It was on account of her alliance with the Medici family that she showed herself friendly to the Florentines; and at the request of Andrea de’ Pazzi, Florentine commissioner in the Romagna, she permitted Ottaviano, her young son by her first marriage with Girolamo Riario, to enter the service of the Florentine republic; and on the 9th of June, 1498, the agreement for his condotta was duly signed at Florence by Sir Filippo Roffia da San Miniato as procurator for the young Count Ottaviano Riario; the engagement being for one year, with the option on the part of the Florentine republic of extending it for another year, and was to begin in the month of June, 1498. The Signor Ottaviano was to furnish one hundred men-at-arms and one hundred light horse, and was to receive fifteen thousand florins, which was to cover all provisions, etc., with the customary reservation of seven per cent, and four months’ notice in advance in case the Florentine Signoria wished to extend the condotta for a second year. The stipulations of the agreement were faithfully carried out by the Florentine government; and towards the end of January, 1499, they notified the Signor Ottaviano that they desired to continue the condotta for another year. The Signor Ottaviano, however, declined this, on the ground that the Florentines had not observed the stipulations of the agreement, inasmuch as he had already served eight months and had not yet received the advance pay to which he was entitled, and that therefore he did not consider himself bound to serve for a second year.

The Ten of Liberty dropped the negotiation, but not so the Lady Catharine of Furli, who, when she found that Cesar Borgia was about to make war upon the despots of the Romagna, and to begin it with an attack upon Furli, felt the necessity of surrounding herself with powerful allies, and therefore herself asked of the republic that which she had refused six months before; pretending that she had been called upon by her uncle Lodovico il Moro to aid him, he being seriously threatened by the army of King Louis XII. of France. She accordingly addressed a letter to the Florentine Signoria, stating that her uncle, the Duke of Milan, had applied to her for fifty men-at-arms, and a like number of mounted crossbowmen, but being under an engagement to serve the Florentine republic another year, if they required it, she begged them to inform her of their final intentions, etc.

Immediately upon receipt of this letter the Signoria resolved to send Niccolo Machiavelli as ambassador to the Countess Catharine to bring this matter to a conclusion, and for that purpose gave him theabove instructions.

Machiavelli had scarcely started from Florence when the Priors of Liberty, etc. sent an express messenger after him, with the following additional instructions: —

Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

Julii 1499
Ex Palatio nostro
“Priores Libertatis et Vexillifer Justitiæ Populi Florentini. “Spectabilis Vir, etc.: —

“In passing by Castrocaro you will have sent here, in accordance with our instructions, all the powder that may be there; and should this not already have been done, we desire you to have it done immediately. And then by way of securing an abundance of powder you will request the most illustrious Lady Catharine of Furli to let us have ten or twelve thousand pounds of powder, either as a loan or as a purchase, as may seem best to her Excellency. And furthermore, as we have lately had the news from the camp of the last reduction in the number of the infantry, and seeing that we have always been well served by the men from that country, you will make known to her Excellency that we desire that she should select five hundred good infantry under good captains, and with the pay lately agreed upon of fourteen lire and seventeen soldi, to be at our camp on the 28th of the present month, where they will receive their pay. These last two commissions respecting the powder and the infantry, you will treat in such manner as will carry them in the earliest and best way into effect. But should any difficulty arise on the subject, you will write to us immediately by the same courier that brings you this. Et bene vale!

“Marcellus Virgilius.
“Ex Palatio nostro
die Julii 1499.
”

^*After the departure of Machiavelli, the Lady Catharine sent an envoy to Florence with the following credentials: —

Catharine Sforza
Sforza, Catharine
3 August, 1499
Furli

TO:
Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

“To the Illustrious and Magnificent Lords, Priors, etc., etc.: —

“In compliance with the promise given to your commissioner, Messer Niccolo Machiavelli, I send to your Lordships the worthy Messer Joanni, my auditor, who is to explain to your Lordships the matter with which he is charged in my name. I beg your Lordships will deign to accord to him your confidence, the same as you would do to me were I personally in presence of your Lordships, to whom I do not cease to recommend myself.

“Catharine Sforza,
Countess of Riario, Furli, and Imola.
“Furli,
3 August, 1499.
”

^*On the refusal of the Pisans to accept the decision given by the Duke of Ferrara as umpire in the peace negotiations between the Venetian and Florentine republics, the Signoria of Florence determined to resume the war with increased vigor, so as to bring these rebellious subjects once for all to submission. They therefore engaged fresh troops, and gave the supreme command of them to Paolo Vitelli, and the principal charges to his brother Vitellozzo and the Count Rinuccio da Marciano. As Vitelli had proposed to begin this enterprise with the capture of Cascina, the Signoria convoked the Council to hear their opinions and then to decide upon the matter. The Council approved the plan proposed by Vitelli, and twelve days after the meeting of the Council Cascina was recovered by the Florentines. This enabled the army to advance and approach the walls of Pisa, after having assaulted and taken the castle of Stampace. But Paolo Vitelli, who commanded the expedition, did not know how to take advantage of the terror of the enemy, and permitted the victory, which he held in his hands, to escape him; for Pisa would undoubtedly have been taken if Paolo had dared to push forward. But by his temporizing he afforded the Pisans the opportunity to recover their courage, so that they obliged him to abandon the castle of Stampace, and to withdraw from before the walls of Pisa; for it was not long before, aided by sickness produced by the malaria, the Pisans had the satisfaction of seeing Vitelli raise the siege of their city. The Signoria suspecting their commander of treason, had him arrested at Cascina, and thence brought to Florence, where after two days he was beheaded. Thus terminated the discreditable campaign of 1499; but it was resolved to resume the war in the following year under better auspices. The Signoria, anxious to secure the help of powerful allies, sent Pietro Soderini as ambassador to Georges d’Amboise, Cardinal of Rouen and governor of Milan for Louis XII., king of France, requesting him to let them have a portion of his troops to aid them in recovering Pisa. D’Amboise yielded to their request, and agreed to send them five thousand Swiss infantry and five hundred lances, the latter to be paid by the king, and the former by the Florentines, who were also to supply the artillery and whatever else might be necessary for a siege. The Seigneur de Beaumont was appointed captain of this force, at the request of the republic, who had on former occasions experienced his friendship. This auxiliary corps lost much precious time on the road to Pisa; and no sooner had they arrived at the Florentine camp than difficulties arose between these troops and the Florentine commissioners, Giovan Battista Ridolfi and Luca degli Albizzi, to whom Machiavelli had been sent as an adjunct in the beginning of June. The Gascons mutinied, and the Swiss insulted Commissioner Luca degli Albizzi, held him prisoner, and under false pretences extorted from him the sum of thirteen hundred ducats; and the whole expedition proved a complete failure.

The letters to the Florentine government in relation to this mission were written in part by the commissioners, and in part by Machiavelli.

^*Besides the letters which we have given above, there exist a great many others that have reference to these events, and particularly to the measures to which the republic of Florence had to resort, not so much for the purpose of reestablishing their forces before Pisa (for they had decided not to avail themselves any longer of the French army) as for the protection of her own territory against any attempt on the part of the mutinous troops. But we forbear from publishing them, as they do not appertain directly to Machiavelli’s commission.

Nevertheless, we give the letter from the king of France to the Florentines, which shows the real disposition of that monarch on hearing of the unworthy conduct of his troops. This good feeling was afterwards changed by the false and evil reports of his agents, which gave rise to the subsequent mission of Machiavelli to the Court of France. The original of this letter has not been found. The one we give is the translation which exists in the Archivi delle Riformazione.

^*Duplessis, Seigneur de Courçon.

^*This mission had its cause in the events referred to in this commission. Buonaccorsi refers to it on page 34 of his Diary; and the account he gives of it merits being reproduced here, on account of the light it throws upon the whole affair: —

“After the occurrences at Pisa which we have related, the republic was advised to send messengers to the king for the purpose of explaining to him that it was not the fault of the republic that the troops had not persisted in the enterprise against Pisa; for these troops had left the camp in a manner so discreditable to the honor of the king, that it was to be apprehended that their commander and captains would throw the blame of it upon the republic of Florence, as in fact they did. Francesco della Casa and Niccolo Machiavelli were therefore appointed for that purpose, as they had been personally witnesses of the occurrences. They were kindly received by the king, who replied to their address, that he would show how greatly he was displeased at such conduct on the part of his troops; and for this purpose he resolved to send one of his Major-domos, called M. de Corcou, to investigate the affair on the spot, and to make full report to him of the same. The said M. de Corcou came and wanted the troops to return to camp before Pisa, and to carry on the war effectually. But this was refused, although he maintained that that was the only way to press the Pisans and oblige them to surrender. This refusal was caused by the fears which everybody entertained in consequence of the previous conduct of the French troops. M. Corcou left Florence most unfavorably disposed towards that republic; he reported such a mass of falsehoods to his Majesty the king, as to arouse his indignation against the Florentines to the highest degree; so that he sent for the two envoys on the 15th of October, and complained bitterly to them at having been thus dishonored. He asked them what course he ought to pursue in their judgment; for having been obliged to pay a considerable sum of money to the Swiss to make them return to their own country without robbing the Florentine merchants, he demanded the reimbursement of this sum anyhow. For this purpose the king wanted to send one of his chamberlains, named Edouard Buliot, to the Signoria, to come to some understanding on these matters. All the replies and arguments of the Florentine envoys were of no use, for his Majesty remained firm in his demands. The envoys wrote to the Signoria of the king’s displeasure, and, seeing no way of avoiding it, the Signoria assumed this expense, and sent a new ambassador, which was Pier Francesco Tosinghi.”

^*The treaty with the king of France was concluded at Milan, 12 October, 1499, by Monsignore Cosimo de’ Pazzi, Bishop of Arezzo, and Pietro Soderini, who afterwards became perpetual Gonfalonier. The republic of Florence obligated herself by this treaty to defend the French possessions in Italy, with four hundred men-at-arms and three thousand infantry; also to aid the king of France in the conquest of Naples with five hundred men-at-arms and a subsidy of fifty thousand florins. And the king of France, on his part, bound himself to defend the Florentines, against whoever might attack them, with six hundred lances and four thousand infantry; and to put them in possession of Pisa again, and all the other places which they had lost by the coming of Charles VIII. into Italy, excepting such as were held by the Genoese.

^*This was the Archduke Philip, nephew of the Emperor Maximilian, and father of Charles of Austria, afterwards the Emperor Charles V.

^*This Ginori had been taken prisoner and plundered by the Count de Ligny in Savoy, whilst going from Naples to France on commercial business.

^*Alluding to the expression applied to the descent of Charles VIII. into Italy, that he conquered it with a piece of chalk; that is, sending his quartermaster ahead, who merely marked with a piece of chalk the houses where the French troops were to be quartered.

^*This Marquis was the Signor Alberico Malaspina, Marquis of Massa, who, in virtue of the conventions or agreements concluded at Milan on the 12th of October, 1499, was on the following 17th of February proclaimed amongst the allies and confederates of the republic of Florence, together with Jacopo IV. d’Appiani, Lord of Piombino, and Morello Malaspina, Marquis of Treschietto.

The French on their passage through Lunigiana, when on the way to the siege of Pisa, had spoliated him of part of his possessions, in disregard of the above-named conventions. Buonaccorsi speaks of this fact in his Diary, on page 31, in the following terms: “Giovanni Battista Ridolfi and Luca di Antonio degli Albizzi were sent to encounter these troops, who had halted at Massa in the Lunigiana territory, and had already spoliated this poor Marquis, who was an ally and confederate of the republic, of two of his properties, at the instigation of his brother, the Marquis Gabriello, who was his enemy, and to whom these estates had been given. This proceeding caused the worst apprehensions, seeing that even on their very first arrival the French began to offend their friends.”

^*This was Giovanni della Rovere, Prefect of Rome and Lord of Sinigaglia. In virtue of the fifteenth article of the treaty with the king of France, mentioned elsewhere, this Prefect was to be Captain-General of the Florentine forces. This article was inserted into the treaty at the instance of the Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, brother of the Prefect, and generally called the Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincola, and who afterwards became Pope, under the name of Julius II.

^*“It is true you say so, but we shall be dead before these ambassadors come; we will endeavor, however, that others shall die before.”

^*The Signor Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and surnamed “Il Moro,” had loaned certain sums of money to the republic of Florence to enable them to carry on the war against Pisa. According to Article 14 of the treaty concluded at Milan in 1499, the Florentines promised to pay to the king of France whatever amount they might owe at the time to the deposed Duke Lodovico.

^*Federigo di San Severino of Milan, with the title of Cardinale di San Teodore.

^*This letter is directed to “The Ten of Liberty and Peace,” who had been re-established, as stated elsewhere.

^*Messer Agapito de’ Gherardi da Amelia, several times mentioned in these despatches, was one of the principal secretaries of the Duke Valentino.

^*This refers to the election of Pietro Soderini as perpetual Gonfalonier, which took place on the 20th of September, 1502.

^*This refers to the Cardinal Hippolite d’Este. The following trait is related of him by Guicciardini in his History of Italy, and illustrates the manners of the times: “This Prelate passionately loved one of his female relatives, who with an equal passion loved Don Giulio, the Cardinal’s natural brother. The lady, by way of ridding herself of the Cardinal’s importunities, avowed to him her love for Giulio, and that it was his beautiful eyes that had fascinated her. Hippolite, infuriated by this confession, availed himself of the opportunity whilst his brother was hunting to have him surrounded by his followers; and forcing him to dismount from his horse, he had his eyes torn out of his head, as being the cause of the love he had inspired.”

This is the same Cardinal Hippolite d’Este to whom Ariosto dedicated his “Orlando Furioso.”

^*This refers to Paolo Vitelli, Captain-General of the Florentines, who at thesiege of Pisa became suspected of treason, and was taken to Florence and beheaded. Buonaccorsi, p. 25.

^*Or rather d’Alibret (d’Abret). This Monseigneur de Vanne was brother-in-law to the Duke Valentino, who had married one of his sisters.

^*This letter, here referred to as having been written from Pesaro on the 29th of December, is missing, the original probably being lost.

^*The capture and death of these corresponds with what Machiavelli himself states in his description of the proceedings adopted by the Duke Valentino in putting to death of Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Paolo and the Duca di Gravina Orsini. Burchard in his well-known Diary says: “The Duke Valentino had written to the Pope to hold the Cardinal Orsino. When Adriano Castellense da Corneto, the Pope’s secretary and treasurer, had read this letter of the Duke Valentino to the Pope, he would not leave the Pope’s chamber that night, lest he should be inculpated if ever the Cardinal Orsino should get a hint of it. The Pope thereupon had the Cardinal Orsino and Jacopo da S. Croce informed that the Duke had taken the castle of Sinigaglia. That Cardinal thereupon rode, on the 3d of January, 1503, to the pontifical palace to congratulate the Pope. With him was the Governor, who feigned to accompany him by chance. When the Cardinal had dismounted and had entered the palace, his horses and mules were taken to the Papal stables. The Cardinal had scarcely entered the chamber of the Parrot, when he found himself surrounded by armed men and became alarmed. He was conducted to prison, and after him the Protonotario Orsino, Jacopo da S. Croce, and Bernardino, Abbot of Alviano, where they were all confined.”

At the same time the Duke Valentino had Vitellozzo Vitelli, Paolo and the Duca di Gravina Orsini, and Oliverotto da Fermo made prisoners; and afterwards he had Vitellozzo and Liverotto strangled, and the others were kept in custody.

^*This postscript has never been found.

^*“On the 23d of January it was said that within the past few days the Duke had taken the cities of Chiusi and Pienza; also Sarteano, Castel della Pieve, and San Quirico, where he found only two old men and nine old women. These were hung up by their arms with fire under their feet, so as to force them to confess where the treasure was concealed. These people, either unwilling to confess, or really not knowing where the money could be found, all died under this torture. The Duke’s troops also sacked Acquapendente, Monteflascone, and other places.” — Memoirs of Burchard.

^*“On the last day of January it was said that Pandolfo Petrucci was to have left Sienna on Friday night, the 23d, to go to Lucca, or wherever he might choose to go; and that the Duke was to return to Rome.” — Memoirs of Burchard.

Pandolfo in fact left Sienna and went to take refuge in Lucca, having special letters of recommendation from the Duke Valentino, who however, a few days afterwards, sent fifty horsemen after Pandolfo to kill him. This attempt failed because these men were detained some days by the Florentine commissioner at Cascina. Pandolfo Petrucci, having escaped this danger, arranged his affairs, and through the intervention of the king of France, as also with the consent of the Florentines, re-entered Sienna on the 29th of March, 1503, having obligated himself to restore Montepulciano to the Florentine republic. All this will serve to explain the several missions of Machiavelli to Sienna.

^*Machiavelli returned immediately to Florence, without writing any letters from Sienna.

^*Pope Alexander VI. died August 18th, 1503, and on the 22d of September of the same year Francesco Piccolomini was chosen his successor, who took the name of Pius III. He died on the 18th of October, after having held the Pontificate only twenty-six days.On the 1st of November of the same year Giuliano della Rovere, Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincola, was elected Pope, taking the name of Julius II. In the interval whilst the Papal chair was vacant in consequence of the death of Pius III., Machiavelli was sent to Rome, chiefly to the Cardinal Francesco Soderini, to whom he presented the following credentials, in the original on parchment: —

Marcellus Virgilius
Virgilius, Marcellus

23 Octobris MDIII

TO:
Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

“Reverendissime in Christo Pater, etc. Reddet Reverendiss: D. V. literas has nostras, Nicolaus Machiavellus, civis et secretarius noster: sub fide quarum nonnulla explicabit quæ nos illi mandavimus. Precamur ob id Reverendissimam D. V. fidem illi habere certissimam in omnibus quæ nostro nomine referet. Quæ felicissime valeat.

“Ex Palatio Nostro die 1503-10-23.
“Priores Libertatis
et Vexillifer Iustitiæ Populi Florentini.
“Marcellus.”

^*The Cardinal Rouen was Georges d’Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen; the Cardinal San Giorgio was Raffaello Riario di Savona; San Severino was the Cardinal Federigo San Severino of Milan, with the title of San Teodoro; the Cardinal Ascanio was Maria Sforza, son of the Duke of Milan, with the title of Cardinale dei SS. Tito e Modesto Martiri; Cardinale Giuliano della Rovere had the title of San Pietro in Vincola; Antonio Pallavicini of Genoa was Cardinale di Santa Prassede.

^*The ambassadors appointed on the election of Pius III. were Messer Cosimo de’ Pazzi, Bishop of Arezzo; Messer Antonio Maligonella, Messer Francesco Pepi, Matteo di Lorenzo Strozzi, and Tommaso Paolo Antonio Soderini.

^*This was the Cardinal Francesco Soderini of Florence, Bishop of Volterra, with the title of Santa Susanna.

^*This first despatch is missing.

^*This “Little Prefect” (Prefettino) was Maria della Rovere, son of Giovanni, Duke of Urbino, and Joanna Montefeltro. Immediately on his father’s death at Sinigaglia, in 1501, he succeeded at the age of eleven years, under the guardianship of his mother and his uncles, the then Cardinal Giuliano (now Pope Julius II.) and the Duke Guido, not only to the lordship of Sinigaglia and to that of other states, but also to the Prefecture of Rome. He married Eleanor, the daughter of the Marquis Francesco Gonzaga; he was general in the service of the Church, of the Florentines, and of the Venetians, and died in the year 1558.

^*This passage, and others in the subsequent letters included within quotation marks, are supposed to have been written in cipher.

^*The following is the letter of recommendation addressed by the Cardinal Soderini in favor of Messer Ennio to the Illustrious Signoria of the Republic of Florence: —

F. de Soderini
de Soderini, F.
20 November, 1508
Bome

TO:
Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

Magnificent Signori: —

The bearer of this is Messer Ennio, Bishop of Veroli, and ambassador of his Excellency the Duke Valentino, who sends him to you to negotiate and conclude an arrangement with your Lordships, for which purpose he has been furnished with the most ample powers. I have deemed it my duty to give him this letter, not only because of his own personal qualities, but also because his Excellency the Duke has again requested me to beg you to concede free passage through your territory for his men-at-arms, who have started three days ago on the road to Florence; and that your Lordships will also send a safe-conduct for his Excellency’s own person. The Duke is at this moment at Ostia, but as the weather is favorable this morning, it is possible that he may have sailed for Spezzia; but Messer Ennio will be able to give you more particular information upon this point.

I recommend myself to your Lordships, quæ bene valeant.

F. de Soderini,
Cardinal of Volterra.
Bome,
20 November, 1508.

^*The above letter and the following one were taken from a manuscript of Giuliano de’ Ricci, who says that he copied them thus imperfectly because they were written on a piece of paper that was all torn and spoiled. The next letter, No. XLII., was directed to one of the principal citizens of Florence, probably the Gonfaloniere Pietro Soderini.

^*This Cardinal was Giovanni Michele, from Venice, nephew of Paul II. It was said that Pope Alexander VI. had him poisoned by his cook, Ezzelino da Furli.

^*The following is the letter referred to: —

Vincenzo di Laudato
di Laudato, Vincenzo
10 December, 1503
Gaeta

TO:
Piero Cavalcanti
Cavalcanti, Piero

Copy of an extract from a letter dated at Gaeta, 10 December, 1503, and written by Vincenzo di Laudato to Piero Cavalcanti at Rome.

The nature of things has produced its effects. You must know that the Spanish camp which was established on the Garigliano has been broken up; the troops being unable any longer to endure the privations they were suffering, and because their number had been greatly reduced by want. It is said that the troops have gone into quarters at Trani, Sessa, Carinola, and Capua. This has induced our forces to advance to Sessa. I trust they may meet with no difficulties, for those who were on the other side have entirely disappeared, and it would be a mere chance if they could bring more than eight Zarli together. This province will now be able to breathe freely, and it really seems as though we were released from prison. You must know that Louis d’Ars has behaved like a valiant captain; with his army, composed of about three thousand infantry and six hundred Stradiote cavalry and two hundred men-at-arms, he has reduced all the towns of Puglia to submission, and finally, has taken Troja and Sansovero, and may now, if he chooses, go as far as Tripalda. I think the enemy in finding himself thus between two armies, must suffer much anxiety, and what is worse for him, he has not one cursed carline, whilst here gold is flung about in abundance. May God put an end to so many afflictions!

^*After this letter, Machiavelli returned to Florence, as appears from the following letter from the Cardinal of Volterra, Soderini: —

V. tanquam
tanquam, V.
F. F. de Soderinis
de Soderinis, F. F.

TO:
Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

Magnificent Signori: —

My last was of the 15th, and to-day I have yours of the 14th, which demands but a brief reply, seeing that I have attended to all that your Lordships have directed me to do.

You will also have the verbal report of Niccolo Machiavelli, who goes to Florence per post, in obedience to your orders, anxious to do his utmost, notwithstanding his indisposition, and contrary to my wishes. For, as I have several times written to your Lordships, I was desirous that there should be some accredited agent here, there being many matters here which it is not suitable for me to attend to or to speak about; nor can I go to many places where a minister can go with entire propriety. I beg your Lordships therefore to provide for this, as it is greatly needed in this place.

Niccolo will report particularly upon all other matters; and your Lordships ought to hold him very dear, for his fidelity, zeal, and prudence leave nothing to wish for in him. You will hear fully about Citerna matters, and about the business of those Roman gentlemen, which ought to be attended to and provided for. They are of importance now, and may be much more so hereafter, as similar instances have proved. Et bene valete DD. VV. quibus me commendo.

V. tanquam F. F. de Soderinis
Cardinalis Vulterranus.

^*Niccolo Machiavelli was sent to France, where Niccolo Valori was the ambassador of the Florentine republic, in consequence of the apprehensions conceived by the Florentine government lest Gonsalvo de Cordova, after having defeated the French on the Garigliano, and captured Gaeta, and after having assured to his Catholic Majesty of Spain the possession of the kingdom of Naples, should move upon Florence for the purpose of changing its government, re-establish the Sforzas in Milan, and thus utterly destroy the power of the French in Italy. The result of this mission was the assurance that Florence should be withdrawn from the treaty existing between France and Spain, in which the Florentines were specially named and comprised by the king of France as his allies and adherents. See the Diary of Buonaccorsi, p. 35, and Guicciardini, Lib. VI.

^*This was the military engagement (condotta) of Giovanpaolo Baglioni, made by the Florentines in their name, but for account of King Louis XII. of France, of which mention is made in the preceding Mission to Rome.

^*Nearly all the letters of this Legation were written by Niccolo Valori, who was Florentine Ambassador at the Court of France. It has been supposed, nevertheless, that it would be acceptable to the reader to have them printed, partly because they throw much light upon the state of things at the Court of France at that time, and partly because they were in substance concerted with Machiavelli and written (perhaps?) jointly with him; although in point of style they lack the terseness and lucid compactness of Machiavelli’s despatches.

^*Datary, an officer of the Chancery at Rome, who affixes the “datum Romæ,” etc. to the Pope’s Bulls.

^*The truce between the Spanish and the French was concluded for three years, with the agreement that each party was to name their friends and adherents within the space of three months. The Florentines were named by the French.

^*The Venetians were proposed by the king of Spain, but the French refused to accept them, because of their hostility to the Church; and thus they were not named.

^*Monseigneur d’Aubigny had been taken prisoner by the Spaniards in Calabria, but was released on the surrender of Gaeta.

^*This was Pierre de Rohan, Maréchal di Gié, to whom the Florentine Signoria had promised a bronze statue of David, which had been ordered of Michel Angelo, 12th August, 1502. The Maréchal, however, having fallen into disgrace with the king, the David was sent as a present to the treasurer, Florimonde de Robertet, who placed it in the court-yard of his palace at Blois. The palace still exists, but the bronze David is no longer there.

^*Buonaccorsi, p. 100 of his Journal, gives the following account of the circumstances that occasioned this mission: “It was decided to collect all the men-at-arms, and to send them to the camp before Pisa. To accomplish this, their pay was sent to each, and all who were subject to being called upon to fulfil their annual engagement were required to do so. Amongst these was Gianpaolo Baglioni, who had accepted and ratified his engagement; but when his pay was sent to him, the same as to the others, he declined to accept it, alleging that he could not leave his home on account of his enemies, who, he said, were planning to attack his possessions. And as his engagement, together with that of his son, was for 135 men-at-arms, which in fact constituted the bulk of the men-at-arms of the republic, his refusal was regarded as a most important matter, etc. The Signoria could not believe that Gianpaolo would break his faith in so gross a manner, and therefore sent a confidential agent to him, who however made the same report; namely, that Gianpaolo refused, being unable to leave home on account of his enemies, but that in all other respects he professed to be a faithful servant of the republic. This agent, however, found out during his brief stay at Perugia that there was an understanding between Gianpaolo and the house of Orsini, Pandolpho Petrucci, Gonsalvo Fernando, Bartolommeo d’Alviano, and all the rest of their faction. He had intended to remain longer, so as to find out a little more as to Baglioni’s real intentions; but when his pay was sent him, he was obliged either to accept it and serve, or openly declare his intention not to do so, as in fact he did.”

^*Gente d’ Arme. Men-at-arms were gentlemen who fought on horseback. Every man-at-arms had with him five persons; namely, three archers, one equerry, and a page or varlet. When Charles VII. began to organize the French nobility into a regular body of cavalry, he formed them into fifteen companies, called Compagnies d’Ordonnance; and as each man-at-arms had five other men in his suite, each company consisted of six hundred men. There were besides a great number of volunteers who followed these companies at their own expense, in the hope of being admitted as a man-at-arms. See Artaud, Machiavel, Tom. I. pp. 127.

^*In a collection of original letters addressed to Niccolo Machiavelli and belonging to a Florentine patrician family, there is one from Boscherino, captain of a squadron of Gianpaolo’s, dated April 16, 1505, from which can be inferred what relations Machiavelli had with this captain in connection with this mission; and as it throws some light upon this business, the letter is here given.

Boscherino
Boscherino

TO:
Niccolo Machiavelli
Machiavelli, Niccolo

Nobilis Vir, et mi observandiss., etc.: —

When you left, it was agreed that, in case the Lord Gianpaolo did not accept the engagement, your Nobility would inform me, or that you would procure me a position with some other Condottiere, equal to what I hold here. And as I am extremely anxious not to remain without employment, I make bold to trouble you in this matter; but feel assured that your humanity will excuse me, and that you will try to satisfy my earnest wishes in the manner I desire, and as agreed between us. And although I am not able in whole or in part to compensate your Nobility, yet the Almighty and your humanity will supply my insufficiency, and to these I cease not to recommend myself, which is all I have to say excepting ever to recommend myself, etc., etc.

Your servant,
Boscherino,
Captain of Squadron of the Lord Giovanpaolo Baglioni.

^*The refusal of Gianpaolo Baglioni to continue his engagement (Condotta) with the Florentine republic induced the latter to take the Marquis of Mantua into their pay, whom they engaged with three hundred men-at-arms and the title of Captain-General. Before the final ratification of the agreement difficulties arose, the principal one of which had its origin in an article demanded by the Marquis, that the whole should be subject to the decision of the king of France. The Florentines were unwilling to concede this to its full extent, and Machiavelli was sent to Mantua to conclude and ratify the agreement on suitable conditions. This ratification, however, was not effected, owing to new difficulties that were constantly interposed on account of the above article. Vide Buonaccorsi’s Journal, p. 103.

^*This mission to Sienna has reference to the attempt made by Bartolommeo d’ Alviano, a Condottiere in the service of Spain, to assail the Florentine dominions and to furnish help to the Pisans. Pandolfo Petrucci, who was in secret understanding with D’ Alviano, had advised the Florentine government of this movement, for the purpose of deceiving them, and with the view of getting some military engagement from them. No such engagement, however, was made with him, as his duplicity and hostility to the republic were well known. Bartolommeo d’ Alviano was subsequently defeated at Torre di S. Vincenzio in the Maremma, on the 17th of August, by the Florentines, under command of Antonio Giacomini. Vide Buonaccorsi’s Journal, pp. 107-115, where he gives all the details of this affair.

^*An Italian proverb, which means to sell to any one what belongs to everybody.

^*After the defeat of Bartolommeo d’ Alviano, mentioned in the note to the preceding Mission, the Florentines imagined that they ought to take advantage of the ardor created by that victory, and attempt the conquest of Pisa. Great preparations were made for this purpose, and pressing orders were sent to Antonio Giacomini, the Commissioner at the camp, to lead the army immediately before the walls of that city. Machiavelli was sent to the camp to concert with Giacomini all necessary preparations and provisions for this enterprise, which, however, proved a failure, in consequence of the cowardice of the troops, as related by Buonaccorsi, p. 115. We give some of the letters that speak of the measures taken by the republic of Florence, and of the orders given; as also of the mission of Machiavelli.