Pavia to Milan 47 



gathered from the following description of the route (reversed) 

 which travelers followed in the first half of the nineteenth cen- 



Milanese under the Marquis of Montferrat, making their headquarters 

 at Sicciano near Novara. . . . Conte Verde proposed an alliance 

 with Galeazzo Visconti, with the object of driving out the English 

 from their states, and dividing Montferrat between them, but it must 

 be admitted that the undertaking to rout the English seemed very 

 difficult to Visconti, for he was at the same time attempting to make 

 a treaty of peace with them. Albert Sterz feigned to consent, by 

 which means the English succeeded in making a fierce incursion, 

 passing the Ticino, and pushing on to within six miles of ]\Iilan. 

 It was night, and people in the castles and villages were keeping the 

 Xew Year's festivities, while the Milanese nobles were having a 

 merry time, playing at tahulas et scaccos (draughts and chess) unsus- 

 pecting and undefended, so that they were unable to prevent the 

 robbers from taking anything and everything they chose. 

 They made prisoners of over 600 nobles, and would have taken more 

 if ropes and time had not failed them. Some of the gang dragged 

 behind them as many as ten nobles, together with their cattle; they 

 could not save them all, because they were attacked by Visconti's 

 boats in recrossing the Ticino, but it is said that with the money paid 

 for ransoms, they pocketed about 100,000 florins." 

 Among those in attendance on Lionel was very probably the famous 

 condotticre, John Hawkwood, of whom Temple-Leader and Marcotti 

 write (p. 60) : 



'In 1368 he had returned to the pay of Bernabo Visconti, together 



with William Boson [Bosson, R. I. S. 23. 555], conducting four 



thousand Englishmen. His passage into Lombardy was probably 



connected with the arrival there of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, son of 



Edward III of England, who came to celebrate his marriage with 



Violante, daughter of Galeazzo Visconti and niece of Bernabo*; and 



it is very likely that he went to pay homage at the court of his own 



Royal Prince, for we already know that all the English adventurers 



in Italy stipulated a clause in all their contracts affirming their loyalty 



to the King of England.' 



The Diet. Nat. Biog. (25. 237) speaks of Hawkwood as drawn to ]\Iilan 



by the marriage, -and adds : 'Shortly after the ceremony he, with four 



thousand men, entered the service of Bernabo Visconti.' The Milanese 



annalist says (p. 741) that this was in August. We know that Bernabo, 



as soon as Lionel's wedding was over, took some of the latter's men, 



* The Milanese annals say in general terms that Lionel was accom- 

 panied by about 2000 English, amongst whom were many archers. 

 Giovio and Litta positively affirm that Hawkwood was in the Duke's 

 party, and the heraldic book of Samson Lennard, Bluemantle, confirms 

 the fact. 



