So far as regards brigandage, Italy, especially in the more fortunate
provinces, such as Tuscany, was certainly not more, and probably less,
troubled than the countries of the North. But the figures which do meet
us are characteristic of the country. It would be hard, for instance,
to find elsewhere the case of a priest, gradually driven by passion
from one excess to another, till at last he came to head a band of
robbers. That age offers us this example among others. On August 12,
1495, the priest Don Niccolo de' Pelagati of Figarolo was shut up in an
iron cage outside the tower of San Giuliano at Ferrara. He had twice
celebrated his first mass; the first time he had the same day committed
murder, but afterwards received absolution at Rome; he then killed four
people and married two wives, with whom he travelled about. He
afterwards took part in many assassinations, violated women, carried
others away by force, plundered far and wide, and infested the
territory of Ferrara with a band of followers in uniform, extorting
food and shelter by every sort of violence. When we think of what all
this implies, the mass of guilt on the head of this one man is
something tremendous. The clergy and monks had many privileges and
little supervision, and among them were doubtless plenty of murderers
and other malefactors--but hardly a second Pelagati.
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