The Banquet 73 



of Clarence were bestowed seventy-six^*' horses. All these were 

 presented by the magnificent and noble lord Galeazzo Visconti, 

 who was the steward of the feast, and who was accompanied 

 throughout by twelve knights.^^ 



Aliprando adds that after the ladies and gentlemen had washed, 

 wines and confections were served; that Bernabo distinguished 

 himself by his liberality, so that a song was made upon it ; and 

 that Galeazzo distributed robes, and Bernabo money, to the 

 mountebanks, minstrels, and acrobats. 



The Chronicle of Montferrat proceeds to detail the gifts made 

 to seven of the chief men of the retinue, ending with the state- 

 ment that the other seventy fared similarly. 



The seven men were Sir Edward Despenser (called the Senes- 

 chal), Sir Edward Contenaim, Lord Bassett, Sir Hugh Despenser, 

 Sir Thomas Granson, Sir Robert Assheton, and Sir John of Brom- 

 wych (Broncio). The typical gifts — one to each man — were 

 (i) silver belts, gilded and enameled^^; (2) pieces of cloth of 

 gold; (3) jousting-steeds; (4) coursers. Individuals were dis- 

 tinguished by additional articles, or by more than one of a 

 kind. Thus Edward Despenser^^ had two coursers, instead of 

 one, and two pieces of gold brocade, with two pieces of silk 

 brocade of Bagdad {baldachino hrocato), instead of one piece 

 of cloth of gold. Contenaim had one piece of gold brocade, and 

 his cloth of gold (three and a half ells) was wrought with 

 coronets, besides which he had three and a half ells of woolen 

 cloth, W'rought with the arms of Bavaria. Bassett, who was, 

 next to Bromwych, the most shabbily treated of those named, 

 had the belt, the cloth of gold, and a beautiful and valuable 

 courser. Hugh Despenser's^"** cloth of gold was like Contenaim's, 

 and he had three and a half ells of woolen cloth {de Baucia, 



""So Corio; Crou. Monf.; but Annal. Med.: 77. Jovius (p. 60) has 

 the round number, seventy, and Aliprando a hundred and fifty, besides 

 robes and jewels according to the rank of each. Cf. Hist. Backgroundj 

 p. 185. 



"Corio; Annal. Med. 



°* See Encyc. Brit., nth ed., 7. 238. Devon (Issues of the E.vchequer, 

 p. 170) mentions a belt garnished v^'ith rubies, emeralds, and pearls, for 

 which £18 (=$1350) was paid (July 6, 1359). 



^ See pp. 104 ff. 



^'^ Hugh Despenser and Lionel were brothers-in-law, having married two 

 daughters of Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, Lionel the first, and Despenser 

 the second (Knighton 2. 31). 



