CHAPTER I.
THE HOUSE AND FAMILY OF THE MEDICI—DEVELOPMENT OF THE FLORENTINE
DEMOCRACY.
AT the entrance of the Via Larga in Florence there rises to view,
at the corner of one of the cross streets leading to the church
of San Lorenzo, one of the most magnificent palaces of that rich
and beautiful city. The recent enlargement of the passage to the
neighbouring cathedral square—the Via de’ Martelli—has exposed to
view the southern aspect of the palace, and displays the harmony of its
proportions on a side that formerly was not to be seen. The traditions
of mediæval life are still manifest in the building, notwithstanding
the modification introduced by the large windows on the ground-floor,
and by the additional wing that prolongs the façade. Huge blocks of
stone, rough-hewn, with deep incisions, lend to the basement of the
edifice the appearance of a fortress. They recall to mind the fortified
palaces of the ancient nobles who, when transplanted from the country
to the town, found themselves associated, willingly or unwillingly,
with the burghers, and before long under the control of men who vied
with them in the erection of towers and strongholds that overawed
their own. The great town-hall was as solid a structure as any castle,
even at a time when milder manners had subdued, if not the violence of
party spirit, at least the fury of street riots, and had proscribed the
towers which once by hundreds dominated the narrow streets, with their
heavy iron chains ready for a barricade. The progress of civic life
may be traced in other parts of the building—in the bow windows of
the upper stories, divided by slender pilasters, in the _renaissance_
decoration, and in the Corinthian pillars which ornament the quadrangle
of the courtyard. Inscriptions and antiques introduced at a later
period adorn the walls of the portico of the courtyard; but the statue
of David has disappeared from the centre, and although fountains still
exist in the second court—once a garden—the figure of Alessandro de’
Medici, yet visible, indicates a century later. Though much altered
in modern times, the original plan of the interior, which was regular
and commodious, can be traced. Such a design was uncommon in days when
the comparatively small area of the houses made a large suite of rooms
a matter of rare occurrence, and when generally one story rose above
another, with steep stairs and narrow passages into which a scanty
supply of light was admitted from courtyards deep as wells.
The house was built by Michelozzo di Bartolommeo, then forty years old,
for Cosimo de’ Medici, in the first half of the fifteenth century.
Filippo Brunelleschi, the greatest architect of modern Italy, had made
a design for the palace of the rich and art-loving citizen, who was one
of his best friends. It was the plan of a vast building, unenclosed on
all sides, and fronting towards the square of San Lorenzo, where stood
the church, the restoration of which had been begun by the same artist
for Cosimo’s father. But cautious, calculating Cosimo, fearing that
a house on so magnificent a scale as that designed by Brunelleschi,
even if not beyond his means, would exceed the ordinary dimensions
of a citizen’s dwelling, and might excite popular jealousy, gave the
preference to Michelozzo’s more limited design.[1] Brunelleschi took
offence at this neglect of himself, and destroyed his model. Yet
Cosimo acted more prudently than did, at a later period, a countryman
of his, who began to build from the design of the same master the
largest edifice that perhaps a private citizen ever undertook, and who
consequently lost much in public estimation and respect.
In the second half of the fourteenth century the Medici had removed
into the neighbourhood of San Lorenzo’s church, where their residence
occupied the ground adjoining Cosimo’s palace on the north, and
remained in the possession of his brother Lorenzo, the founder of the
subsequent ducal line.[2] Their original dwelling-place was in the
centre of the old town, on the market-place, inside the first wall.
Many of the foremost families were once settled here, and even now the
lover of history and antiquity will find among the damp stalls of the
butcher, fishmonger, and dealer in vegetables, sparse remains of past
and, so far as concerns this part of the town, better days. The little
church of San Tommaso in this place was in the patronage of the Medici
from time immemorial.
The Medici did not belong to the historic families of the city on the
Arno. The first trace of them is to be found about the end of the
twelfth century in Giambuono, of whose extraction nothing is known.
The coat of arms exhibits red balls in a gold field, whose number and
arrangement were different at different times, until, under Cosimo’s
son, the coat of arms assumed the form which it has ever since
retained. From these balls (_palle_) the dependents of the family
bore the name of Palleschi. From whence the Medici came, what was the
meaning of the coat of arms, no one knew. Genealogical dreams have gone
as far back as Perseus and the apples of the Hesperides, whilst modest
historians have contented themselves with the time of Charlemagne, and
the mountainous land north of Florence, known by the name of Mugello,
where the family had always held important possessions, designated as
their home.
The only dispute now is whether they descend from a knight who in days
of yore received on his shield the blows of a giant’s iron flail, or
from a physician who chose for his sign, in his small beginnings, three
pills or cupping-glasses.
Giambuono’s son Chiarissimo sat in the Council of the Commune in 1201,
when an alliance was formed with the town of Siena for the purpose of
attacking the castle Semifonte in the Elsethal, which lay between the
territories of the two towns, and was soon after destroyed. This was
the first step towards the extension of territory and the overthrow
of the landed aristocracy. The thirteenth century, at the beginning
of which the Medici first stand forward in history, was the period in
which the community of Florence, after many vicissitudes, received
its definitive form. Just at the time of the first attempts of the
Florentines to acquire an independent self-government do we meet with
the first of that race which three centuries later strove successfully
to transform what had become a powerful republic into a monarchy.
The province of Tuscany, divided into two duchies, in the time of the
Longobards formed, first under dukes, then under margraves, a part of
the Roman Teutonic kingdom, whose dependence on the later powerful
emperors, and also on margraves ruling over wide stretches of land
to the north of the Apennines, was more nominal than real, yet still
existed according to right.
In the summer of 1115, after the death of the great Countess
Mathilda—daughter and heiress to the last Margrave Bonifacius, who
lived mostly in Lucca—first began the freer movement of the Tuscan
Commune. At this time the men who afterwards attained to the lordship
over the greater part of the country occupied anything but a prominent
position. The great changes in the strength and extent of the imperial
power in Italy as it was under the last of the Franconians, under
Lothair of Saxony, and the two first Hohenstaufen, necessarily affected
the position of these Communes. Their form of government under consuls
changed just as their dependence or independence of the imperial
authority was affected by the prevailing political condition of the
empire. The landed nobility, of Germanic origin for the most part, were
supported by Frederic Barbarossa against the Commune of Florence, with
which several great families, headed by the Uberti, had engaged in a
bloody and protracted feud on account of their claims to an authority
which was not compatible with consular government. Henry VI. exercised
his imperial rights and privileges in Tuscany still more vigorously
than his father had done. His brother Philip, invested with this
province as a dukedom, maintained a command such as, perhaps, no other
vice-emperor had possessed. In a part of the country claimed by the
Popes as the patrimony of Mathilda, Philip’s power overcame the Guelfic
element which was so much opposed to the ‘Imperium,’ and which in most
of the towns was the predominant principle.
Suddenly, however, all was changed, when the Emperor died in the
prime of his manhood, leaving behind him an infant son, three years
old, and a distracted kingdom, which never fully resumed its ancient
greatness. In the Papal chair, on the other hand, sat one of the most
aspiring and successful of the Pontiffs—Innocent III., who at once
assumed that authority in the legations which Henry VI. had taken so
much pains to put down. The Tuscans, however, were not more disposed to
submit patiently to the Papal sovereignty than they had been to that
of the Emperor, and this the Pope was not slow to perceive. But while
he avoided all direct assertions of sovereign power over the towns,
he made use of his influence to form a Tuscan Union, that should be
closely allied with the ecclesiastical government at Rome, and firmly
opposed to the Imperial authority. In 1198 a Union was formed at San
Genesio, which lies at the foot of the hills in the lower valley of
the Arno, and within sight of the venerable towers of San Miniato. The
negotiators on this occasion were two Cardinals representing the Pope
on one side, and on the other deputies elected by the several towns
interested. Pisa, which was Ghibelline, alone of the great towns held
aloof. The federation was intended to form a bulwark against Imperial
encroachments, and all matters of internal administration and municipal
government were left untouched. The supremacy of the Papacy was felt to
be a lighter yoke than that of the Empire.
It is worthy of remark that this practical protest against Imperial
domination should have its starting-point in a spot where the Guelfs,
especially the Florentines, were reminded that their liberties depended
on the pleasure of the Emperors. For the lofty towers that from the
hill of San Miniato look down upon the Val d’Arno, and across the
well-watered plain that stretches to the borders of Lucca, formed part
of the palace of Barbarossa, and from it his high decrees were sent
forth in the name of the Arch-chancellor of the Empire, the Archbishop
of Cologne. Here tarried Henry VI. and Frederick II., and here the
Vicar of the Empire, under Rudolf of Hapsburg, received the oath of
allegiance. At a later period, in March 1355, Charles IV. revived the
ancient dignity by stopping at San Miniato both before and after his
coronation. The deputies of the place, called from these circumstances
San Miniato the German (_al Tedesco_), had gone to Pisa to pay their
obeisance to Charles.
Events like those enumerated above were favourable to the territorial
extension of the Florentine Commune. Their progress would have been
greater, had not an ancient feud among the nobles come to a bloody
outbreak in the second decade of the thirteenth century. The effect of
this factious contest, which was embittered by religious animosity
and the quarrel of Frederic II. with the Pope, was to enfeeble the
nobility, and react mischievously on the people. The murder of Messer
Buondelmonte de’ Buondelmonti at the entrance of the old bridge in
1215 is celebrated in history and poetry as the presumed origin of
the hostile factions of Guelf and Ghibelline. A stone cross in the
small square, called, from the junction of three streets, the Trebbio,
commemorates the victory of the orthodox citizens, led by Peter Martyr
of Verona, against the Patarian heretics. About 1247 the most violent
civil war raged. Although the Ghibelline faction had the upper hand
at first, and Frederick of Antioch, the Emperor’s son and Imperial
Vicar in Tuscany, drove out the Guelf nobility, the tables were turned
when heavy losses overtook Frederick in Lombardy and were followed by
his death. The year of Frederick’s death, 1250, marks the victory of
the Guelfic cause in Florence, for although their adversaries had a
momentary triumph they could not hold out, and the city so famous under
the Salieri for its devotion to the Emperor, became the stronghold of
the Guelfs. This decisive change, which brought constitutional changes
with it, took place towards the end of October 1250, a little before
the Emperor’s death.
Up to that time, from the beginning of the twelfth century, the city
had been governed by a magistracy consisting of first four and then six
consuls, assisted by a council of one hundred good men (_Buonuomini_).
From 1207 the administration was entrusted to a foreign knight, learned
in the law, and called the Podestà. After the fashion of the Lombard
cities, he was elected for six months, then for twelve, and had the
assistance of a general council. Encouraged by the factiousness and
weakness of the nobility, who had till then been supreme in the place,
the citizen class banded together in an organised insurrection,
and initiated great political reforms. The town was divided into
sixths, (_Sestieri_), each sixth into twenty militia companies (the
number being subject to change, under different standard-bearers, or
_gonfaloniers_, each of whom had a distinguishing mark). At the head of
all, in place of the Ghibelline Podestà, who was done away with, was a
captain of the people (_Capitano del Popolo_), assisted by a council
of twelve elders, two for every sixth, and six and thirty corporals.
At a later period these institutions developed into the small and the
great councils. The standard of the people, put into the hands of the
captain, was half red, half white, and was subsequently replaced by
one bearing a red cross on a white ground. The banner of the Commune,
displayed by the Podestà, bore first a white lily on a field of red,
then a red lily on white ground. The civic militia were called to
arms by the tolling of a bell from the Lion’s Tower, which has long
disappeared, but stood probably near the palace of the Capitano, on the
site of which the palace of the Signoria, now the Palazzo Vecchio, was
erected in the sixteenth century. The country districts also received
a military organisation. To the Capitano was attributed authority over
both the civil and criminal administration, with the co-operation
of the elders, but the Podestà subsequently resumed his criminal
jurisdiction. The latter also occupied the palace, built originally
in 1255 as a council-chamber for the Capitano and his assessors, but
much enlarged in the following century. It is still called after the
Podestà, and, restored after long neglect to somewhat of its ancient
dignity, now looks down in lofty grandeur upon the bustle of modern
life going on around its walls.
Though not free from factious disturbance the city continued to prosper
for years after the revolt against the nobility. Its commerce was
extended and its influence over neighbouring communes strengthened
either by treaty or by force of arms. No better witness of this
prosperity can be cited than the number of buildings erected for the
public good about this time. Besides this, many religious houses arose
at the time when the order called the Humiliates were manifesting
extraordinary activity. In the year 1252 also was coined the golden
florin which, exercising a patent influence on the currency of mediæval
and modern times, contributed largely to the influence of Florence
among men of commerce, and shadowed forth her subsequent supremacy.
As yet the two hostile factions of the city, though coming frequently
into jealous collision, dwelt near together. In the summer of 1258
an attempt was made to overthrow the Constitution as settled by the
Guelfs, and bind Florence to the Imperial interests, to which Pisa and
Siena were already attached. The promoters of this revolution were the
family of the Uberti, champions of the Ghibelline cause, in alliance
with King Manfred, the Emperor Frederick’s son.
It was plain that the triumph of the Imperialists in the South of
Italy would be incomplete without the acquisition of Tuscany. The
attempt miscarried and the natural consequences ensued. All the great
Ghibelline families were sent into exile, and they took refuge for
the most part in Siena. The refusal on the part of the conquerors to
respect any obligations that had been previously entered into with the
banished families led to a war in 1260. On September 4 in that year the
Tuscan Guelfs suffered a severe defeat at Montaperti on the Arbia, in
view of the walls of Siena, whose inhabitants, assisted by the horsemen
of Manfred, were the victors. The effect in Florence was instantaneous.
Without waiting for the return of their enemies, the principal Guelf
families, patrician and plebeian, at once quitted the city and sought
shelter in Lucca. The Guelfs of the dependent towns soon followed this
example, and in three days the Ghibellines were installed in Florence,
with Giordano of Anglona, a captain of Manfred’s, at their head, as
the king’s vicegerent. Guido Novello, of the race of the Palsgrave of
Tuscany, assumed the office of Podestà. The Guelfs were compelled to
abandon Lucca and retire to Bologna, leaving the Ghibellines masters of
the whole of Tuscany. Affairs continued in this state for six years,
when King Manfred overthrew at Benevento the army of Charles of Anjou,
Count of Provence, who had been called in by the Pope, and who was
assisted by many Tuscan Guelfs.
An attempt at compromise between the two factions and a settlement of
the differences of the nobility and the burghers was made by appointing
two Knights of the Order of the Virgin Mary to the joint exercise of
the office of Podestà. With these _fratres gaudentes_ was associated a
Council of thirty, selected from the trading classes. The arrangement
was made with the consent of Pope Clement IV., and accepted by the
threatened Ghibellines as an expedient. It was soon discovered,
however, that a real reconciliation was impossible, and that the Pope
was pursuing extensive political schemes that were agreeable to no
party.
On November 11, nearly nine months after the battle of Benevento, an
insurrection against a tax, forced the Ghibellines and Germans to
evacuate Florence. The Knights of Mary were replaced by two knights
from Orvieto, who were respectively appointed Podestà and Capitano.
Again efforts were made at a reconciliation by the recall of the more
moderate among the exiles, and by offers of family alliances, but
without success.
Charles of Anjou, now King of Sicily and Naples, was striving, like
Manfred, to strengthen his influence in Tuscany, and being secretly
incited by Guelf leaders he sent a troop of 800 armed men to Florence,
under Guy de Montfort, in 1267. The Ghibellines proved irreconcileable,
and left the city on the night of Good Friday in that year. Further
endeavours at pacification were alike unavailing. The party spirit was
too strong, and resisted the authority of Pope Gregory X. in the spring
of 1273, as steadily as that of Cardinal Latino Malabranca (a nephew
of Pope Nicholas III.), in February 1279. Nor was the influence of the
two holders of supreme power of much avail even after the accession of
Rudolf of Hapsburg to the throne of Germany had altered the relations
between Church and State.
Meanwhile two changes occurred in the internal government of the city
of great, if unequal, importance. The first was the vice-regency of
foreign princes, who now held in the Commune the position formerly
belonging to the chief of the empire, with this difference, that the
Commune awarded the dignity to foreign princes on certain conditions,
and for a certain number of years. The supremacy of King Manfred was
followed in 1267 by that of Charles of Anjou, which the city bore for
ten years. The authority of these princes and their representatives was
limited. A committee of twelve good men selected from the municipal
nobility sat as assessors to the viceroy. Besides this there were both
the council-boards already named, to which was now added a third body,
the secret council of the Guelf burghers, making together a general or
common council. The statutes introduced by the viceroy were sent to
the united councils as to a court of general jurisdiction, before they
were definitively accepted by the Council of Three Hundred. The limits
of the viceroy’s authority were not easily fixed. In the first half
of the ensuing century, when the city was unable to hold out against
the arms of the Ghibellines without the aid of Charles of Anjou, this
part of the Constitution was remodelled more than once. The Anjou
viceroyalty, in concert with the Guelfs, thoroughly rooted out the
suspected Ghibellines. In 1268-69 some three thousand were banished,
many of whom went to the south of France. Their goods were sold, and
the profits devoted to the interests of the victorious party. A special
Commission was appointed to manage the ‘capitani di parte Guelfa,’ and
was assisted by a committee of the Council, composed of nobles and
burghers. In the course of years this body acquired almost dictatorial
power in the State.
The second fact alluded to above was of far more importance in its
social and political bearing than the position of the vice-kings of
Tuscany. It was the enfranchisement of the lower class of Florentine
citizens. The population of the city was divided into three classes:
1, the feudal nobility; 2, the municipal nobility, or wealthy burgher
families; 3, the common people. The influence of the first, who were
never very numerous, was based on their landed possessions in the
provinces; that of the second on their wealth in money and their trade;
while the third class were held in no consideration, and up to the
middle of the thirteenth century had no share in the government of the
State. When Frederic II. died a democratic spirit manifested itself in
union with the Guelfic feeling of opposition to the Imperial authority,
and made rapid progress. The old and new nobility united to resist the
popular movement; but the people, who had increased in numbers and in
substance by the free exercise of their skill in arts, manufactures,
and commerce, aspired to a share in the civil government, and made an
effort to attain it. The discords of the nobility and the confusion
of the government in 1250 gave the people an opportunity of forming
an independent body, half political, half military. While the Podestà
remained at the head of the administration of justice, the ‘Capitano
del Popolo’ was military chief of the third or lower class, who, set
on securing their own rights, paid little attention to the quarrels of
the factions. After the overthrow of King Manfred and the Ghibelline
party the third class advanced a step forward by the definite formation
of guilds. The object of the organisation of 1250 was mainly military;
the end now in view was to give a more solid form and more popular
character to the civil relations. An excellent means for the attainment
of this was at hand in the corporations, already large, to which
the richest and most respectable members of the third class already
belonged.
The industrial and commercial societies, the origin of which is
traceable to Roman times, kept pace in development with the Commune
of the twelfth century. We shall presently see how, at the end of
this century, their influence extended abroad, and at the beginning
of the next was felt through their delegates in matters of state.
They gave themselves statutes and exercised influence before they
assumed that form which erelong enabled them to take the chief share
in the executive as well as in the legislative power. They consisted
principally of professional men, traders, and the higher class of
artisans, and these represented the whole class of lower citizens.
There were seven guilds: the lawyers, merchants, money-changers,
weavers, silkworkers, doctors and apothecaries, and the furriers. These
were the grand guilds which always retained exceptional privileges.
Each one had a first and a second delegate or consul elected every
four months, and representing severally two quarters of the town.
There was a syndic and other officers with jurisdiction over all the
members of the guild. They bore arms and banners, and were commanded
by a gonfalonier or captain, thus forming a complete society, having
its own residence or guild-hall. Supreme over all the seven guilds
was a proconsul, whose place was among the highest officers of the
Commune, and who was chosen from the first, or lawyer’s guild. He
superintended the general interests of these incorporated societies,
decided questions of competency and the like. The presidents and
officers formed a council, called the ‘Consiglio delle Capitudini delli
Maggiore,’ to which were referred the enactments which had previously
been laid before the ‘Consiglio del Popolo.’ There is still in Florence
much that wears the stamp of the power of these city liveries of the
Middle Ages. The architecture of the guildhalls bears witness to
the greatness of the institution which, soon exceeding its original
purpose, was blended with the powers of the State. Coats of arms and
names of streets and other things give similar testimony. In the course
of sixteen years fourteen guilds—called the smaller—were added to the
original seven; and, with slight modifications, the same number has
been preserved in the same relative position.
It is natural that an institution like this should grow stronger with
the increasing strength of the people and the decay of the nobility. In
1279, when Cardinal Latino first extinguished the strife of the leading
Guelfs, tormented by continual intestine discords, and then reconciled
them to the Ghibellines, a supreme magistracy of fourteen Buonuomini
was instituted, consisting of eight Guelfs and six Ghibellines, both
nobles and citizens. This harmony lasted but a short time. In 1282, the
Sicilian Vespers having given a heavy blow to the house of Anjou, the
Ghibelline party raised its head once more, but was again defeated.
Hereupon the guilds resolved to take the government into their own
hands, and that they were able to do so without serious opposition
shows to what a height their power had risen. The new administration
was styled ‘The Priors of the Guilds,’ the chief being the Captain of
the People, who was called ‘Defender of the Guilds.’ At first three,
then six priors were elected from the Grand Guilds—being one for
every _sestieri_, or sixth part of the city. The term of office was
two months, except for those of the Lawyer Guild, who took part in the
administration in any other way. Subsequent changes made the number
of priors eight, two for each quarter of the city. The magnates, or
_grandi_, as they were called, might belong to the administration if
they became members of a guild. This gave a powerful check to the
popular tendencies which were already so far advanced. The nobility
made no difficulty of entering the guilds; and before long two jealous
classes stood face to face and threatened the destruction of the
government, by corporations which the people had set up as a defence
against the aristocracy.
The reform of 1293, when Guelfism was in the ascendant, was carried by
Prior Giano della Bella, a respected popular tribune, who, with the
consent of his colleagues, and of the higher magistracy, did the work
very thoroughly. It was declared essential to everyone who desired to
take part in the administration that he must really practice the art
or craft of the guild he belonged to. This declaration was tantamount
to an exclusion of the nobles, so tenacious of their dignity, from
all civil offices. Stringent orders, called ‘Orders of Justice,’ were
issued against the noble class,[3] the execution of which was entrusted
to a newly made officer, called the gonfalonier of justice, who, at his
pleasure, could summon to his banner, the red cross on the white field,
1,000 or 2,000 of the popular militia. The office of gonfalonier, who,
in conjunction with the priors, formed the Signoria, afterwards became
the highest in the community. In 1306 the special application of the
penal laws against the aristocrats was committed to the ‘esecutore
degli ordini di giustizia,’ whose attributes resembled those of a Roman
tribune. This new addition to the number of upper magistrates increased
the evils arising from a conflict of jurisdiction, and, like the number
and frequent changes of the larger council-boards, became a source of
confusion and weakness in the State. The age of the gonfalonier was
to be not less than forty-five, that of the prior thirty, the term of
office two months. The elections to the new Signory were originally
left to the retiring members, the president of the guilds, and a
number of deputies, summoned from different parts of the town by the
priors. But electoral practices were subject to change according to the
pleasure of the ruling faction. At the time when the fortune of the
family which deprived the city of its freedom was at the highest the
whole business of the elections was a mere pretext, as only the names
of supporters found their way into the bag, while the drawing by lot
depended on commissaries chosen from among the adherents of the actual
chief of the State. The Signory held its sittings in the beginning,
and for some time after, in the convent (Badia) opposite the palace of
the Podestà. Later on, a magnificent palace was erected, worthy of the
first magistracy of a large community, and with its prominent tower
indicative of a stormy period replete with heroic deeds.
There was vested in the Signory the highest deliberative, legislative,
and executive power, spite of many modifications and changes more
or less illusory. In connexion with the Signory under the name of
Colleges were the gonfaloniers of the militia companies, now sixteen in
number, with the Captain of the People, and after 1312 a magistracy of
twelve Buonuomini, without whom nothing of importance was decided. The
projects of law finally went to the General Council. The exercise of
authority thus came into the hands of the people who formed the great
guilds—the fat people, as they were called—_popolo grasso_. In course
of time, it is true, the latter had to share political power with the
smaller guilds; but the nobility was shut out, as well as the common
people who paid no taxes nor belonged to any guild. Citizens pronounced
guilty of any civil or political offence (_ammoniti_) were excluded
from the franchise and from office for life or for a certain period, as
were also persons marked in the register as negligent in the payment of
dues. This ostracism was a weapon of great power in the hands of the
factions during the fourteenth century, by which they kept the road
to office clear for their own followers. The Balia was another and
effective means to the same end. When a signory or party dreaded any
hostile influence they called the people together by means of a great
bell. Assembled in the square in front of the palace, the signory came
out to them on the tribune, or ringhiera and asked them if they would
like to grant power to a certain number of citizens to change the laws
and constitution. The square being surrounded by armed men a refusal of
this request was not to be expected. The select few, invested thus with
discretionary power, nominated a second group to the task of naming
citizens eligible for office. The privileges of these _accoppiatori_,
as they were called, sometimes lasted for years, so that freedom of
election to the magistracy and other offices became illusory in
respect to many citizens who were eligible. It will presently be seen
what resulted, in the second half of the fourteenth century, from the
abuse of the Ammonire and the Balia. When the citizens of Florence
reformed their constitution they had a twofold object in view. They
wanted first to have the chief power in their own hands, and secondly
to prevent internal dissensions by a wide distribution of places among
the citizens, which was to be effected by short terms of office and
frequent changes. The first of these objects was attained, but the
endeavour to accomplish the second was not successful. The rigour of
the suspensive laws augmented the opposition of the class who suffered
by them, and the Guelf faction shook the city to its very foundations.
The quarrel of the Neri and Bianchi, made famous by the greatest poet
of the Middle Ages, induced consequences that were fatal to the Liberal
and popular party, and restored for a time the nobles to power. But
again the lapse of a few years was sufficient to show their weakness.
This brought disorder and violence into the town, and led to the
recovery of political power by the citizen class at the very moment
when the efforts of the Imperialists to reconquer their old position in
Italy more than ever demanded strength in the popular element of the
governing power.