XIV. A. Et. 42. A. Pont. V. CHAP. carried by storm and delivered up to be plundered by the Gascons, the papal troops enA. D. 1517. camped before Mondolfo, the strongest fortress in that district. Here an event occurred which had nearly proved fatal to one of the leaders. On planting the artillery for the attack of the place, it appeared that the engineers of the papal army, either through ignorance or negligence, had chosen such a station as exposed the soldiery to the fire of the garrison, in consequence of which one of the captains and several other men were killed. Exasperated at this misconduct, Lorenzo hastened to the spot, contrary to the earnest remonstrances of his officers; where, after having with great labour and perseverance provided for the defence of his followers, he was, when retiring, struck by a ball from the garrison which wounded him on the back part of his head, and not only rendered him incapable for some time of further exertion, but greatly endan-. gered his life. (a) On (a) Ammirato, Ritratti d' Uomini illustri di Casa Medici, in Opusc. iii. 105. Guicciard, lib. xiii. ii. 137. Leoni, in his life of Fr. Maria duke of Urbino, lib. ii. p. 230, informs us, more particularly, that Lorenzo was wounded XIV. A. D. 1517. On the arrival of this information at Rome, CHAP. Leo instantly dispatched the cardinal Giulio de' Medici to take upon him the chief command of the papal army. On his arrival he A. Pont. V. found it in a state of the utmost disorder. The private disputes and personal quarrels of the soldiers of different nations had been espoused by their respective commanders, and the Germans, Spaniards, and Italians, instead of opposing the enemy, had armed against each other; in consequence of which several affrays had taken place, in which some of the parties. had lost their lives. The first measure adopted by the papal legate, was to divide the troops of each nation from those of the others and to order them into separate cantonments. This task, although highly proper, was not carried into effect without considerable personal danger to the cardinal, and gave such dissatisfaction that several considerable bodies of troops quitted wounded by a Spanish soldier, named Robles, who having observed from the garrison, that he frequently visited the artillery without being sufficiently attentive to his safety, took aim at his head, whilst he was stooping to examine a cannon, and struck him between the neck and the shoulder;' to which the author adds, that the wound was thought s dangerous, that Lorenzo was carried, to Ancona, with little hopes of his recovery. T XIV. If, at arms. CHAP. quitted the service of the pontiff, and repaired to the standard of the duke of Urbino. this juncture, the duke had hastened to the attack of his adversaries, he would in all probability have obtained an easy and decisive victory; but if we may judge of the intention of the commanders from a general view of the contest, it seems to have been equally the policy of both these rivals to decline an engagement, and rather to circumvent each other by deceit, than to trust to the open decision of Instead of opposing his enemies in the field, the duke of Urbino, marched towards Perugia, leaving his own territories exposed to the ravages of his adversaries. Having obtained the surrender of this place through the treachery or cowardice of Gian-Paolo Baglioni the Florentine commandant, he began to threaten the states of Tuscany; but on receiving information of the progress of the papal troops in Urbino, he changed his purpose and hastened to the defence of his capital. After an unsuccessful attack on the fortress of Pesaro, he again returned towards the Florentine state and attempted to carry by storm the citadel of Anghiari; but being repulsed by the courage of the garrison rather than by the strength of the place, he withdrew his troops under the Apennines between Borgo and Castello, uncertain what A. D. 1517. A. Æt. 42. C H A P. XIV. what course he should next pursue and exhausted with the expense of a contest, which by one great effort he might have terminated A. D. 1517. both to his honour and advantage. A. Et. 42. A. Pont. V. The duke In the hopeless situation to which the duke was reduced, surrounded by an army clamo- of Urbino resigns his rous for subsistence, and apprehensive at every dominions. moment of being betrayed into the hands of his enemies, he consented, at length, to listen to terms of accommodation. The negotiation was however entered into on his part under the most unfavourable auspices. The sovereigns of Spain and of France had seen with mutual jealousy the commanders and troops of each other employed as auxiliaries in the war, and began to entertain apprehensions that the continuance of this contest might endanger the possessions which they respectively held in Italy. The remonstrances of the pope to those monarchs to recall their subjects from the service of the duke of Urbino were also urged with a degree of earnestness that could no longer be resisted without giving open cause of offence, and Don Ugo de Moncada viceroy of Naples was directed to mediate between the contending parties. His efforts to this effect were seconded by those of the French commander L'Escù, and as the duke appeared unwilling XIV. CHAP. unwilling to submit to the terms proposed; orders were immediately given to the French and Spanish troops, then in his service, to quit his standard and to repair to that of their respective sovereigns. Under these circumstances, the duke was required to relinquish his dominions and accept from the pope a compensation for his claims; but although he was compelled to assent to the former, he rejected the latter with becoming spirit, as a measure that would be subversive of his rights. He stipulated, however, that he and his followers should, on his relinquishing his territories to the pope, be freed from all ecclesiastical censures; that his subjects should not be liable to punishment on account of their adhe-> rence to him; that the dowager duchess and his own wife should be allowed to enjoy their possessions in the state of Urbino, and that he should be at liberty to remove all his furniture, arms, and personal effects, among which, it was expressly agreed, there should be included the celebrated library collected by his grandfather Federigo duke of Urbino. With these terms the pope did not hesitate to comply, and the duke, having been allowed to repair to Urbino for the purpose of carrying into execution the articles agreed to in his favour, there assented A. D. 1517. A. Et. 48. |