VII. A. Et. 28. CHAP. other for the due observance of the stipu lated terms. After the Italian combatants A. D. 1503. had attended the celebration of the mass, Gonsalvo encouraged them by an oration, the tenor of which has been preserved by one of his countrymen, in Spanish verse.(a) They then partook of a moderate collation, after which they proceeded to the field of battle, their horses ready caparisoned being led by thirteen captains of infantry. The combatants followed on horseback in complete armour, except their helmets, which, together with their lances were carried by thirteen gentlemen. Being arrived within a mile of the field they were met by the four Italian judges, who informed them that they had been with the four judges appointed by the French and had marked out the space for the combat. The Italians were the first in the field, when their leader, Hettora Fieramosca, availed himself of the opportunity of addressing his associates in a speech which the Neapolitan historian, Summonte, has also thought proper to preserve. In a short time the French combatants also made (a) Summonte, Storia di Napoli, lib. vi. z. iii. p. 542. (corr. 609.) .VI. A. Et. 28. made their appearance in great pomp and with CHAP. numerous attendants. The adverse parties then quitting their horses and mounting the A. D. 1509. steels prepared for them, arrayed themselves in oder, and giving their coursers the reins rushed against each other at full speed. A few lances were broken in the shock, without much injury to either party'; but it was ob▾ served that the Italians remained firmly united, whilst the French seemed to be dispersed and in some disorder. The combatants then dismounting, attacked each other with swords and battle-axes, and a contest ensued in which both parties displayed great courage, strength, and dexterity, but the result of which was a complete victory to the Italians; the French being all either wounded or made prisoners.(a) The ransom of one hundred crowns not being found upon (a) Lilio Gregorio Giraldi (de Poet. suor. tempor. dialog. 1.) informs us, that the celebrated Girolamo Vida wrote a Latin poem on this event; entitled xiii. Italorum pugilum cum totidem Gallis certamen, which he inscribed to Baldassare Castiglione; but this earnest of the future talents of its author, has not been preserved to the present times, v. Vida op. Testimon. 161. Piero Summonte of Naples, the friend of Sanazzaro, also wrote a copy of Latin verses, addressed to Hettore Fieramosca, which merit perusal. v. Appendix, No. LII. СНАР. VII. A. Et. 28. upon the persons of the vanquished, the conquerors by the directions of the judges reA. D. 1503. tained their adversaries in custody, and carried them into the town of Barletta, where Gonsalvo out of his own purse generously paid their ransom and restored them to liberty.(a) Amidst the defeats and humiliations which the Italians had experienced, it is not surpri sing that their historians have dwelt upon this incident with peculiar complacency, as tending to shew that under equal circumstances, their countrymen were not inferior either in conduct or courage to their invaders. And although a French writer has endeavoured to invalidate some of the facts before related, it cannot be doubted that the Italians were justly entitled to the honour of the victory.(b) Unimportant (a) Guicciardini and Muratori assert, that one of the French combatants, and several of the horses, were killed on the field; but I have preferred the narrative of Summonte, who seems to have been more fully informed of the particulars of this transaction than any other writer. (b) "Monsignor di Belcaire Vescovo di Metz si credette "di poter sminuire la riputazion de gli Italiani, adducendo "alcune particolarità toccate dal Sabellico intorno a quel "duello, quasichè la frode, e non la virtù, avesse guadag"nata la pugna. Ma quel prelato non s'intendeva del mes"tiere dell' armi; e per la gloria degli Italiani altro non "'occorre About VII. A. Et. 28. Gonsalve defeats the French, and effects the Unimportant as this event was in itself, it CHAP. seems to have changed the fortune of the war, and to have led the way to the numerous de- A. D. 1508. feats and disasters which the French soon afterwards experienced. Gonsalvo, quitting his intrenchments at Barletta assaulted and captured the town of Rufo; taking prisoner the French commander de Pelisse. the same time d'Aubigny was attacked' and defeated in Calabria by the Spanish general, Ugo Da Cardona, and was himself severely wounded. A more decisive victory was soon afterwards obtained by the Spaniards in Ap- Naples. pulia; nor did the duke of Nemours long survive his defeat. In consequence of these rapid successes, Gonsalvo found himself in possession of the chief part of the kingdom. Distressed by continual tumults and exhausted by famine, the cities of Capua, Aversa, and even Naples, sent deputies to him to testify their obedience, and request his presence. On the fourteenth day of May 1503, Gonsalvo with his victorious army entered the city conquest of 66 occorre rispondergli, se non che i Giudici deputati a quel "conflitto, dichiararono legitima la vittoria; nè mai i vinti "oilor compagni pretesero di darle taccia alcuna." Murat. Ann. d'Ital. vol. x. p. 22. CHAP city of Naples, to the great joy of the inha VII. A. Et. 28 bitants; against whom he vigilantly restrained A. D. 150 his soldiery from committing the slightest outrage; and from this period the crown of Naples has been invariably united with that of Spain, under the government of the legitimate branch of the house of Aragon. Commoti ons in Rome. Cæsar Bor gia quits the city. At the time of the death of Alexander VI. his son, Cæsar Borgia, was labouring under a severe disorder, occasioned, as has generally been believed, by that poison which he had prepared for others, but which had been inadvertently administered to himself. He was not, however, inactive at this critical period, against which he had endeavoured to provide by all the precautions in his power; nor was there any circumstance other than his unexpected malady to which his foresight had not suggested a remedy.(a) No sooner was he informed of the death of the pontiff, than he dispatched his confidential adherent Don Michele, with several attendants, to close the gates of the palace. One of these partizans meeting with the cardinal Casanuova, threatened to strangle him and throw him (a) Machiav. lib. del Principe. cap. vii. p. 18. |