XIII. CHAP. duke of Savoy should be authorised to inquire and determine whether the Florentines had infringed their treaty with Louis XII. in which case he should impose upon them such penalty as he might think reasonable, the king expressly declaring that this clause was introduced rather to satisfy his own honour than for any other cause. But although these propositions were assented to by Canossa, they were by no means satisfactory to the pope, who had flattered himself with the expectation of retaining the states of Parma and Piacenza; and would gladly have postponed the ratification of the treaty, in the hopes of hearing the determination of the Helvetic diet assembled at Zurich, for the purpose of debating on the expediency of giving fresh succours to the duke of Milan. But Canossa having assured the pope, that the French monarch had already made preparations for attacking the papal dominions in Lombardy and dispatching a body of troops into the Tuscan states, the pope had no alternative but to conclude the treaty. He did not, however, ratify it without some modifications, the principal of which was, that the Florentines should not be subjected to any penalty or inquiry with respect to their pretended breach of faith to Louis XII. It was also expressly agreed that the A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. A. Et. 40. A. Pont. III. king should not protect any feudatory or subject of the ecclesiastical state against the just rights of the Roman see; a stipulation which, A. D. 1515. although expressed as a matter of course, and in such vague and general terms as perhaps not to be fully understood by the king, had objects of no inconsiderable importance in view, which a short time sufficiently disclosed.(a) Francis was well aware that the pope had suffered great mortification in being deprived of the territories of Parma and Piacenza, and he therefore endeavoured to justify himself for CHAP. XIII. (a) Du Mont, Corps Diplomat. tom. iv. par. i. p. 214. The treaty bears date the 13th day of October, 1515. The editor remarks, that it was concluded at a single conference, so greatly was the pope alarmed in consequence of the battle of Marignano; but in this he is mistaken, as the proposed terms gave rise to much negotiation and were considerably modified. It is remarkable, also, that in the title of the treaty, the editor stiles Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino, although he certainly did not obtain that title until the following year. There is reason to suspect that even the treaty as there given is erroneous or imperfect. In the course of the discussion, the pope's envoy Canossa, bishop of Tricarica, hastened to Rome and had an interview with the pope, when some modifications were proposed, and Leo wrote to the king to conciliate his favour. v. App. No. CXXV. XIII. CHAP. for the part which he had acted, by alleging that they were a portion of the states of Milan, which he could not, consistently with his honour, relinquish. In order, however, to reconcile the pope to this sacrifice and to lay the foundation of a lasting amity between them, he requested to be admitted to an interview with him, which on the part of Leo X. was assented to not only with willingness but alacrity. It is not improbable, that on this occasion the pontiff conceived that he might be enabled by his eloquence and personal address to influence the young sovereign to admit of some relaxation in the severity of the terms agreed on; or at least that it might afford him. an opportunity of indemnifying himself for his losses, and providing for the establishment of his family in some other quarter. He did not, however, think it prudent to admit the king into either Rome or Florence, but named for that purpose the city of Bologna, where he promised to meet him as soon as the neces sary arrangements could be made for their reception. A. D. 1515. A. Et 40. A. Pont. III. Venetians to FrancisI. Embassy Encouraged by the success of Francis I. from the the Venetians began to entertain hopes that they should be enabled to recover their continental possessions, of which they had been. dispossessed XIII. dispossessed by the Imperialists and the Spa- CHAP. niards, in consequence of the league of Cambray. They therefore dispatched to the king at Milan an embassy, consisting of four of their most respectable citizens, to congratulate him on his success and to concur with him in such measures as might appear conducive to the mutual interests of himself and the republic. The ambassadors were accompanied by the learned Battista Egnazio, who by his extraordinary acquirements had raised himself from a humble rank to great consideration among his countrymen, and who upon this occasion gave an additional, proof of his talents, in the composition of a Latin panegyric on Francis I. in heroic verse, celebrating his arrival in Italy, and his victory over the Swiss. This poem he soon afterwards published with a dedication to the chancellor du Prat, and the king, as a mark of his approbation, gave the author a medallion of gold with his own portrait.(a) Whilst (a) This piece, which greatly increased the reputation of its author, was again printed in the year 1540, with considerable additions, commemorating the heroic actions of the ancestors of Francis I. against the Saracens and common enemies of the Christian faith; but instead of inscribing this new edition to the chancellor, the author thought proper to dedicate it to the king himself. Agostini, Notizie di Batt. Egnazio, negli Opuscoli di Calogerà, xxxiii. 65. A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. A. Pout. III, CHAP. Whilst the Venetians were thus soliciting the king and preparing their own forces for the recovery of their continental possessions, the A. Pont. III. sudden death of their chief general Bartolom A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. viano. meo D'Alviano, which happened at Gheddi on the first day of October, 1515, retarded for meo D'Al- a while their efforts and dispirited their troops. During twenty-five days, the Venetian soldiers, then proceeding to the attack of Brescia, carried along with them in great pomp the body of their favourite commander, determined to convey it to Venice for interment. Nor would they condescend, to ask a passport from Marc-Antonio Colonna, who then commanded the Imperial troops, it having been gallantly observed by Teodoro Trivulzio son of the marshal, that such a request ought not to be made after his death for a man who whilst living had never feared his enemies.(a) His remains were accordingly interred at Venice, by a decree of the senate, with extraordinary honours. His funeral oration was pronounced by the celebrated Andrea Navagero, then very young, in a strain of eloquence which may be considered as the earnest of his future celebrity. If we assent to the opinion of Guicciardini, Death of Bartolom (a) Guicciard. lib. xii. ii. 106. |