346 



ITALY.. 



Iliitory. 



A.D. 



Battle of 

 Fosulta. 

 2Sth May, 

 1849. 



A.D. 1250. 



Death of 

 Frederic II. 

 A. D. 1250. 



A.D.12S3. 



fortune, and the defeat of his son Conrad in Germa- 

 ny, the spirit of the emperor remained undaunted. 

 l.ii-n the intercession of St. Louis had failed in mitiga- 

 ting the rancour of Innocent ; and, aware that no re- 

 conciliation could now be effected, Frederic continued 

 the war with unabated vigour. Having sent his son, 

 Frederic of Antiooh, to the assistance of the Ghibelines 

 at Florence, the Guelphs were at length expelled from 

 the city, and many of their castles in the country were 

 compelled to surrender. In Romagna, success attend- 

 ed the opposite party. The Bolognese, under the com- 

 mand of L'baldini, the papal legate, succeeded in redu- 

 cing to obedience the principal cities ; and at length 

 ventured to attack the imperial army under Henzius, 

 king of Sardinia, at Fossalta, a place two miles from 

 Modena. The battle was carried on, during the day, 

 with equal success;, but, at night, the Bolognese re- 

 newing their attack, the Ghibeline army was thrown 

 into confusion, and Henzius hinjself taken prisoner. 

 All the attempts of the emperor to prevail on the Bo- 

 lognese to accept a ransom for his son were unavail- 

 ing ; and Henzius remained at Bologna in a state of 

 honourable captivity till his death in the year 1271. 



The consequence of the victory at Fossalta was the 

 accession of Modena to the Guelph alliance. On the 

 other hand, at Verona, and Padua, and the surround- 

 ing territory, Eccelino, as chief of the Ghibelines, exer- 

 cised a power now almost independent of the emperor ; 

 and the annals of these cities, during his long reign of 

 blood, exhibit only scenes of diabolical cruelty, into 

 the details of which we rejoice that the limits of this 

 .historical sketch preclude us from entering. Frederic 

 had now retired into Apulia, from whence he sent con- 

 siderable supplies to the army of St. Louis, then in the 

 isle of Cyprus, and made a last and unavailing attempt 

 to reconcile himself to the pope. On the 13th of Dec. 

 he died of a dysentery at Florentine, aged 56 ; having 

 reigned 31 years as emperor, 38 as king of Germany, 

 and 52 as king of the Sicilies. 



The death of Frederic was followed by an entire 

 change of the state of affairs in Italy. The crown of 

 Germany, after the death of his son Conrad, was con- 

 tested, for more than 20 years, by many princes of dif- 

 ferent families ; and when Rodolph of Hapsburg (an- 

 cestor of the house of Austria), was at length elected, 

 neither that prince, nor his successors, Adolphus of 

 Nassau, and Albert of Austria, felt themselves suffi- 

 ciently masters of their German dominions to interfere 

 in the affairs of Italy. Sixty years, therefore, elapsed 

 after the death of Frederic II. before the imperial dig- 

 nity was conferred on any individual ; while the ties, 

 which had so long connected the Italian states with 

 the empire, were almost completely broken, and the 

 authority of the German Caesar no longer either dread- 

 ed or revered. 



The pope, now released from his apprehensions, re- 

 turned through Genoa and Lombardy to Perugia, be- 

 ing received with the greatest respect, even by the 

 Ghibeline cities ; while, at Milan and other states at- 

 tached to his party, his return resembled a triumphal 

 procession. But Innocent's ungrateful behaviour to 

 the people of Milan soon alienated their affections ; and 

 their choice of the Marquess Lancia of Montferrat, a 

 zealous Ghibeline, for their captain-general, proved their 

 indifference for the papal party. Indeed, though the 

 names of the factious continued the same, the interest 

 of the pope, or the emperor, was but little considered 

 by either side. The real contest was between the no- 

 bles and the people ; and where the former were of the 



one party, the latter inclined to the other. At Milan, History. 

 for example, the people were Guelph, the nobles Ghi- '~~~Y~*** 

 beline at Placentia the reverse; and the state incli- 

 ned to one side or other, as either parfcof the commu- 

 nity acquired the preponderance. This circumstance 

 serves to explain the sudden and otherwise unaccount- 

 able changes in the policy of the Italian republics. 



In the meantime, Conrad, king of the Romans, the 

 emperor's eldes't surviving son, had entered Apulia, 

 which had been governed by his natural brother, Man- 

 fred, prince of Tarento, where his authority was ac- 

 knowledged, except in Naples and Capua, which had 

 been excited to rebellion by the pope. These cities, A.D. 12SS. 

 however, were soon forced to surrender, and Conrad A D 1254 

 remained master of the kingdom ; which he did not 

 long enjoy, being suddenly cut off by a fever at Lavel- Death of 

 lo, in the 26th year of his age, leaving his infant son, Conrad of 

 Conradin, to the care of Manfred, and the regency to N *P les - 

 Berthold, margrave of Hoemburg, general of the Ger- 

 man troops. The first act of these guardians was to 

 solicit the protection of Innocent for their ward, who 

 was innocent of the offences committed by his ances- 

 tors, and whose helpless condition ought to recommend 

 him to the papal compassion. But the pontiff, who 

 had not forgiven the house of Suabia, and, in the life- 

 time of Conrad, had endeavoured to raise competitors . 

 against him, now demanded, in his own name, the im- 

 mediate surrender of the kingdom, promising, at the 

 same time, to bestow it on Conradin when he arrived 

 at the years of puberty, if he could shew any title to 

 it. To these terms, Manfred and Berthold found them- 

 selves obliged to submit ; and the pope, at the head of 

 an army, and accompanied by the Guelph nobles, who 

 had been exiled by Frederic, entered Apulia. His first 

 act was to deprive Manfred of part of his domains, 

 which he bestowed on Borello d'Ariglone, his personal 

 enemy, who immediately set out to take possession. 

 In his way, however, he was accidentally met by Man- 

 fred ; and a skirmish having ensued, Borello was slain. 

 Innocent immediately cited him to appear and stand 

 trial for this murder ; and Manfred, finding that Ber- 

 thold and his friends were unable or unwilling to pro- 

 tect him, after a long flight through a country entirely 

 occupied by the troops of his enemies, at length was 

 received by the Saracen troops at Luceria, who, not- 

 withstanding the opposition of the governor, were de- 

 termined to shew their respect and affection to the son 

 of their deceased commander. Putting himself at the 

 head of these troops, he immediately attacked the army 

 of the pope, commanded by Cardinal William Fiesco, 

 his nephew ; and, having been successful in a skirmish, 

 inspired them with such a panic, that they fled with 

 precipitation. But Manfred derived still greater ad- 

 vantages from the death of Innocent IV., wliich was 7th Dec. 

 followed by repeated defeats of his troops ; and, in less 1254. 

 than two years, Manfred recovered the whole king- 

 dom, which he continued to govern as regent for Con. 

 radin. 



In the mean time, considerable changes had also ta- 

 ken place in the Tuscan states. At Florence, the peo- 

 ple attached to the Guelph party, had revolted against 

 the Ghibeline nobles, to whom Frederic II. had en- 

 trusted the government, and recalled the exiles of the 

 opposite faction. Not content with this domestic vic- 

 tory, they proceeded to attack their Ghibeline neigh- 

 bours-, the Pisans, and their allies. Their endeavours 

 were crowned with success: Pistoia first submitted, 

 and received a Florentine garrison ; Sienna was next 

 compelled to join their league ; Volterra, one of the 



