Sigismund came, on the first
occasion at least (1414), with the good intention of persuading John
XXIII to take part in his council; it was on that journey, when Pope
and Emperor were gazing from the lofty tower of Cremona on the panorama
of Lombardy, that their host, the tyrant Gabrino Fondolo, was seized
with the desire to throw them both over. On his second visit Sigismund
came as a mere adventurer; for more than half a year he remained shut
up in Siena, like a debtor in gaol, and only with difficulty, and at a
later period, succeeded in being crowned in Rome. And what can be
thought of Frederick III? His journeys to Italy have the air of
holiday-trips or pleasure-tours made at the expense of those who wanted
him to confirm their prerogatives, or whose vanity is flattered to
entertain an emperor. The latter was the case with Alfonso of Naples,
who paid 150,000 florins for the honour of an imperial visit. At
Ferrara, on his second return from Rome (1469), Frederick spent a whole
day without leaving his chamber, distributing no less than eighty
titles; he created knights, counts, doctors. notaries--counts, indeed,
of different degrees, as, for instance, counts palatine, counts with
the right to create doctors up to the number of five, counts with the
rights to legitimatize bastards, to appoint notaries, and so forth.
Pages:
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39