LXX. 66 CHAP. city on foot, a single viator, or beadle, attended the exercise of their office. The Gracchi would have frowned or smiled, could they have read the sonorous titles and epithets of their successor, NICHOLAS, SEVERE AND MERCIFUL; DELIVERER OF ROME; DEFENDER OF ITA"LY34; FRIEND OF MANKIND, AND OF LIBERTY, PEACE, "AND JUSTICE; TRIBUNE AUGUST:" his theatrical pageants had prepared the revolution; but Rienzi abused, in luxury and pride, the political maxim of speaking to the eyes, as well as the understanding, of the multitude. From nature he had received the gift of an handsome person, till it was swelled and disfigured by intemperance; and his propensity to laughter was corrected in the magistrate by the affectation of gravity and sternness. He was clothed, at least on public occasions, in a party coloured robe of velvet or satin, lined with fur, and embroidered with gold: the rod of justice, which he carried in his hand, was a sceptre of polished steel, crowned with a globe and cross of gold, and inclosing a small fragment of the true and holy wood. In his civil and religious processions through the city, he rode on a white steed, the symbol of royalty: the great banner of the republic, a sun with a circle of stars, a dove with an olive branch, was displayed over his head; a shower of gold and silver was scattered among the populace; fifty guards with halberds encompassed his person; a troop of horse preceded his march; and their tymbals and trumpets were of massy silver. The pomp of his 36 The ambition of the honours of chivalry betrayed the meanness of his birth, and degraded the importance hood, of his office; and the equestrian tribune was not less knight A. D.1347, August 1; have imbibed the same modest doctrines from their favourite Latins, Livy and Valerius Maximus. 34 I could not express in English the forcible, though barbarous, title of Zelator Italiæ, which Rienzi assumed. 35 Era bell' homo (1. ii. c. 1. p. 399.) It is remarkable, that the riso sarcastico of the Bracciano edition is wanting in the Roman MS. from which Muratori has given the text. In his second reign, when he is painted almost as a monster, Rienzi travea una ventresca tonna trionfale, a modo de uno Abbate Asiano, or Asinino (1. iii. c. 18. p. 523.) 36 Strange as it may seem, this festival was not without a precedent. In the year 1327, two barons, a Colonna, and an Ursini, the usual balance, were created knights by the Roman people: their bath was of rose water, their beds were decked with royal magnificence, and they were served at St. Maria of Araceli in the Capitol, by the twenty-eight buoni huomini. They afterwards received from Robert king of Naples the sword of chivalry (Hist. Rom. 1. i. c. 2. p. 259.) LXX. odious to the nobles, whom he adopted, than to the ple- CHAP. beians, whom he deserted. All that yet remained of treasure, or luxury, or art, was exhausted on that solemn day. Rienzi led the procession from the Capitol to the Lateran; the tediousness of the way was relieved with decorations and games; the ecclesiastical, civil, and military, orders, marched under their various banners; the Roman ladies attended his wife; and the ambassadors of Italy might loudly applaud, or secretly deride, the novelty of the pomp. In the evening, when they had reached the church and palace of Constantine, he thanked and dismissed the numerous assembly, with an invitation to the festival of the ensuing day. From the hands of a venerable knight he received the order of the Holy Ghost; the purification of the bath was a previous ceremony; but in no step of his life did Rienzi excite such scandal and censure as by the profane use of the porphyry vase, in which Constantine (a foolish legend) had been healed of his leprosy by pope Sylvester". With equal presumption the tribune watched or reposed within the consecrated precincts of the baptistery; and the failure of his state-bed was interpreted as an omen of his approaching downfal. At the hour of worship he shewed himself to the returning crowds in a majestic attitude, with a robe of purple, his sword, and gilt spurs; but the holy rites were soon interrupted by his levity and insolence. Rising from his throne, and advancing towards the congregation, he proclaimed in a loud voice: "We summon to our tribunal pope Clement; and com"mand him to reside in his diocese of Rome: we also "summon the sacred college of cardinals. We again "summon the two pretenders, Charles of Bohemia and "Lewis of Bavaria, who style themselves emperors: we "likewise summon all the electors of Germany, to in"form us on what pretence they have usurped the ina"lienable right of the Roman people, the ancient and 37 All parties believed in the leprosy and bath of Constantine (Petrarch, Epist. Fam. vi. 2.), and Rienzi justified his own conduct by observing to the court of Avignon, that a vase which had been used by a Pagan. could not be profaned by a pious Christian. Yet this crime is specified in the bull of excommunication (Hocsemius, apud du Cerceau, p. 189, 190.) 38 This verbal summons of pope Clement VI which rests on the authority of the Roman historian and a Vatican MS. is disputed by the biographer of Petrarch (tom. ii. not. p 70-76) with arguments rather of decency than of weight. The court of Avignon might not choose to agitate this delicate question. LXX. CHAP. lawful sovereigns of the empire." Unsheathing his maiden-sword, he thrice brandished it to the three parts of the world, and thrice repeated the extravagant decla ration, "And this too is mine!" The pope's vicar, the bishop of Orvieto, attempted to check this career of folly; but his feeble protest was silenced by martial music; and instead of withdrawing from the assembly, he consented to dine with his brother tribune, at a table which had hitherto been reserved for the supreme pontiff. A banquet, such as the Cæsars had given, was prepared for the Romans. The apartments, porticoes, and courts, of the Lateran were spread with innumerable tables for either sex, and every condition; a stream of wine flowed from the nostrils of Constantine's brazen horse; no complaint, except of the scarcity of water, could be heard: and the licentiousness of the multitude and coro- was curbed by discipline and fear. A subsequent day was appointed for the coronation of Rienzi; seven crowns of different leaves or metals were successively placed on his head by the most eminent of the Roman clergy; they represented the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost; and he still professed to imitate the example of the ancient tribunes. These extraordinary spectacles might deceive or flatter the people; and their own vani. ty was gratified in the vanity of their leader. But in his private life he soon deviated from the strict rule of fru gality and abstinence; and the plebeians, who were awed by the splendour of the nobles, were provoked by the luxury of their equal. His wife, his son, his uncle (a barber in name and profession), exposed the contrast of vulgar manners and princely expense; and without acquiring the majesty, Rienzi degenerated into the vices, of a king. nation. Fear and hatred of A simple citizen describes with pity, or perhaps with the nobles pleasure, the humiliation of the barons of Rome. "Bareof Rome."headed, their hands crossed on their breast, they stood "with downcast looks in the presence of the tribune; "and they trembled, good God how they trembled"!" 39 The summons of the two rival emperors, a monument of freedom and folly, is extant in Ilocsemius (Cerceau, p. 163-166.) 40 It is singular, that the Roman historian should have overlooked this sevenfold coronation, which is sufficiently proved by internal evidence, and the testimony of Hocsemius, and even of Rienzi (Cerceau, p. 167-170.229.) 41 Puoi se saceva stare dedante a se, mentre sedeva, li baroni tutti in diedi LXX. As long as the yoke of Rienzi was that of justice and CHAP. their country, their conscience forced them to esteem the man, whom pride and interest provoked them to hate his extravagant conduct soon fortified their hatred by contempt; and they conceived the hope of subverting a power which was no longer so deeply rooted in the public confidence. The old animosity of the Colonna and Ursini was suspended for a moment by their common disgrace; they associated their wishes, and perhaps their designs; an assassin was seized and tortured; he accused the nobles; and as soon as Rienzi deserved the fate, he adopted the suspicions and maxims, of a tyrant. On the same day, under various pretences, he invited to the Capitol his principal enemies, among whom were five members of the Ursini and three of the Colonna name. But instead of a council or a banquet, they found themselves prisoners under the sword of despotism or justice; and the consciousness of innocence or guilt might inspire them with equal apprehensions of danger. At the sound of the great bell the people assembled they were arraigned for a conspiracy against the tribune's life; and though some might sympathise in their distress, not a hand, nor a voice, was raised to rescue the first of the nobility from their impending doom. Their apparent boldness was prompted by despair; they passed in separate chambers a sleepless and painful night; and the venerable hero, Stephen Colonna, striking against the door of his prison, repeatedly urged his guards to deliver him by a speedy death from such ignominious servitude. In the morning they un derstood their sentence from the visit of a confessor and the tolling of the bell. The great hall of the Capitol had been decorated for the bloody scene with red and white hangings: the countenance of the tribune was dark and severe; the swords of the executioners were unsheathed, and the barons were interrupted in their dying speeches by the sound of trumpets. But in this decisive moment, Rienzi, was not less anxious or apprehensive than his captives: he dreaded the splendour of their names, their surviving kinsmen, the inconstancy of the people, the reproaches of the world: and, after rashly offering a mortal injury, he vainly presumed ritti co le vraccia piecate, e co li capucci tratti. Deh como stavano paurosi! (Hist. Rom. 1. ii. c. 20. p. 439). He saw them, and we see them. CHAP. that, if he could forgive, he might himself be forgiven. LXX. His elaborate oration was that of a Christian and a They op. zi in arms. 66 suppliant; and, as the humble minister of the commons, he entreated his masters to pardon these noble criminals, for whose repentance and future service he pledged his faith and authority. "If you are spared." said the tribune, by the mercy of the Romans, will you not "promise to support the good estate with your lives "and fortunes?" Astonished by this marvellous elemency, the barons bowed their heads; and, while they devoutly repeated the oath of allegiance, might whisper a secret, and more sincere, assurance of revenge. A priest, in the name of the people, pronounced their absolution they received the communion with the tribune, assisted at the banquet, followed the procession; and, after every spiritual and temporal sign of reconciliation, were dismissed in safety to their respective homes, with the new honours and titles of generals, consuls, and patricians. During some weeks they were checked by the mepose Rien mory of their danger, rather than of their deliverance, till the most powerful of the Ursini, escaping with the Colonna from the city, erected at Marino the standard of rebellion. The fortifications of the castle were instantly restored; the vassals attended their lord; the outlaws armed against the magistrate; the flocks and herds, the harvests and vineyards, from Marino to the gates of Rome, were swept away or destroyed; and the people arraigned Rienzi as the author of the calamities which his government had taught them to forget. In the camp, Rienzi appeared to less advantage than in the rostrum and he neglected the progress of the rebel barons till their numbers were strong, and their castles impregnable. From the pages of Livy he had not imbibed the art, or even the courage, of a general: an army of twenty thousand Romans returned without honour or effect from the attack of Marino: and his vengeance was amused by painting his enemies, their heads downwards, and drowning two dogs (at least they should have been bears) as the representatives of the Ursini. The belief of his incapacity encouraged their operations: they were invited by their secret 42 The original letter, in which Rienzi justifies his treatment of the CoJonna (Hocsemius, apud Cerceau, p. 222-229), displays, in genuine colours, the mixture of the knave and the madman. |