A translation of Conrad FerdinandMeyer's Die Hochzeit des Mönchs

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Krebs, Victor Hans, 1926-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this materialis made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona.Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such aspublic display or performance) of protected items is prohibitedexcept with permission of the author.

Download date 14/06/2018 07:40:50

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/318898

it TRMSLATIOI. OF GOIMD EERDHAID HEIEB” S" ' c e . "

. : ' "DIB EOGHZBIT DBS #WOH3* : ■

' by

v;: - ' ¥ie to r ’Krebs V, .

A fhe s is ' Submitted, to . the Faculty of the

DEPARTIffiHT OF GSMM

Ih P a r t ia l Fulfillm ent of the Requirements

- . _ : : , - { : Fbr th e Degree Of

MiSTSR OF "ARTS.

In the Graduate College

' \ ' THE m m B S IT I OF ARI2CM .

1 9 6 2

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This th e s is has been submitted in p artia l fu lf illm e n t of requirements for an advanced degree at The University o f Arizona and i s deposited in The U niversity Library to be made available to borrowers under ru les of the Library.

B rief quotations from th is th e s is are allowable without specia l permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source i s made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of th is manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in th e ir judgment the proposed use of the m aterial i s in the in te r e sts of scholarship. In a l l other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author.

/ . <SIGNED:

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

This th e s is has been approved on the date shown below:

ociate Professor of GermanJEAN" R. becKR. BECK Dslate

I1TR0DUCTI0I

wthere: was in H orenee (among o th e rs) o f the m ightie F am ilies $

Snondelmonti, and I b e r t i ; nex t unto them were th e im ldei and D onati. In

the house o f Ib n a t i was a Gentlewoman9 a widow and rich , who having one

onely daughter, a maiden o f much beau t i e , whom w ith in her s e l f e , shee

determ ined t© m arrie un to Buondelmonti a young Gentleman9 and the ch iefe

of h is houseo This her i n t e n t 8 ey ther through negligence o r d e lay o f

tim e (none bdeing made p r iu ie th e reo f) was d e fe rre d so lo n g , th a t. Buon=>

delmomti was co n trac ted to th e daughter o f Amideis wherwith .she g re a tly

d isco n ten ted , and supposing i t were p o ssib le w ith th e b eau tie o f h e r

daughter to s tay the m arriage, b efo re th e same should be solemnized?

one day, seeing Buondelmonti comming towards h er house, came downe, h er

daughter fo llow ing ; and m eeting him a t th e g a te , s a id , I am very g lad

th a t you a re now become m arried , y e t was i t my meaning you should have

had th i s my daughter, and w ith those words (she opened the g a te ) and

shewed h e r unto him« She Gentleman beholding th e b eau tie o f th e maiden

(which indeed was r a re ) and therew ith considering th a t h er paren tage and

p o rtio n was no t in f e r io r to h e rs , whom he had a lre a d ie talcehi' became

exceedingly desirous to have h e r . Then, n o t re sp e c tin g h is f a i th a lre a d ie

given, nor the in ju r i e he d id in breaking th e same, no t y e t th e income

venienee th a t m ig h t. ensue th e re o f , said?- S ith i t h a th p leased you to

re se rv e your daughter fo r me, I should bee u n th an k fu ll (beeing y e t a l l

in tim e) to re fu se h e r . A fte r speaking o f th ese words (w ithout fu r th e r

d e lay ) hee m arried h e r . This m arriage beeing knowen, h igh ly offended

a l l the Fam ille of im id e ic and D hartis who were by h is f i r s t m arriage :

a llie d o then assem bling themselves,, and consu lting to g e th e r , in th e ende

eonelndedo th a t sueh an in ju r ie m ight n o t bee borne w ithou t shame; nor

th e revenge thereun to dae, eould bee o th e r than the death o f Buondelmontio

in d a lb e i t some d id fo re~ east the inconveniences th a t m ight follow e such

an Actions y e t Hoseha Lambert! sayde, th a t who so ever c a s te th a l l doubts 6

should never re so lv e an ie th ing ; a llead g in g th e au neien t Proverbe, A th ing

once done, i s p a s t remedie« Then gave they the charge o f th is m urther

to bee performed by Moseha, S t i a t t a , U b erti, Lambertueeio, Amidei, Odor=

igo F ifan tio These men in the morning o f E a ste r day, a t th e Houre o f

R esu rrec tio n , assembled them selves in th e house o f the Amidei; by which

s t r e e te , Buondelmnnti passed the b ridge upon a w hite horses and supposing

(as i t seemeth) th a t i t had bene a th in g as e a s ie to fo rg e t an in ju r ie ,

as renounce a m arriage, was a t th e foo te ©f th e b ridge mhde an Image o f

Mars (which th e re i s stand ing) a ssau lted and s la in e . This m urther d iv­

ided th e whole C it ie , the one h a lfe tooke p a r t w ith Buondelmonti, th e

o th e r w ith U b e rti« These F am ilies, by reason they were stro n g in houses,

tow ers, and men, fought manie y ea re s , b e fo re the one could, chase the

o th e r out of th e C ittie?- ... t i l l a t len g th (w ithout an ie f im e peace made)

a tra c e was taken , which according unto occasion, was sometimes k ep t,

and sometimes broken,

"Florence- continued in these tro u b le s , t i l l th e tim e o f Federigo

th e seconds who .being a lso King o f l a p o l i , was pergwaded hee might

encrease h is dominion a g a in s t th e Church= And to make h i s a u th o r it ie

more assured in Toscana, he favoured the U berti and th e i r fo llow ers, who

thereby drave ou t th e Buondelmontis and so our C i t t i e ( l ik e unto o th er

'' : , . ' , :: i l l - "

Tomes of I t a ly ) became d iv ided in to G uelfi and G hibilinio® x

Tiais qmaint account from M aeh iavelli0 s B lo ren tine H isto ry pro­

vided Co Fo Meyer w ith th e h i s to r ic a l s e t t in g fo r h is no v e i l a « His

f i r s t re a c tio n to M aeh iav e lli1' s s to ry m a te r ia liz e d in a b a lla d „ Mars

von FLorenZo which he w rote as e a r ly as 1867. In th i s b a lla d he drama­

tiz e d th e love o f Buondelmonte de 9 Buondelmonti and h is young w ife and

th e i r a s sa s s in a tio n a t th e Ponte Vecchio c lo se by the p i l a s t e r which

bore th e image o f Mars c . •

In 1883 Meyer decided to use th e same m otif in h is n o v e lla . Die

Hoehzelt des MBnehs» He searched fo r a n a r ra to r and f in a l ly chose Dante,

He and h is s i s t e r Betsy had been fa m ilia r w ith the g rea t ep ic poet from

childhood on, •Besides, had no t Dante in h i s Divine Comedy re fe r re d tw ice

to th i s a n c ie n t fam ily feud which le d to th e famous G h ib e llin e and Guelf

p a r t ie s in I t a ly , once in the tw enty^eighth canto o f h is In fe rn o and

again in th e s ix te e n th canto of th e P arad iso f Had he n o t m arried Gemma

Bomati, a descendemt of one of the fa m ilie s involved in t h i s feud? But

most im p o rtan t, Dante was a F lo ren tin e and an arden t G h ib e llin e»

Once th e choice o f th e n a r ra to r was made, i t became only n a tu ra l

t o p lace the s to ry o f the Rabmen a t th e co u rt o f the S c a lig e rs , Dante

had enjoyed th e h o s p i ta l i ty o f Bartolomeo d e l la S cala as e a r ly as 1303»

and, when Florence in 1315 pronounced a new death sentence upon the

G hibelline e x i le , he again sought re fu g e in Verona, th i s tim e w ith th e

son o f h is f i r s t p a tro n , th e then tw enty-four y ear old Gan Grande to

whom he d ed ica ted h is P arad iso and whom he l a t e r im m ortalized in the

Seventeenth canto o f the l a s t p a r t of h is t r i lo g y .

% icho lo M aeh iavelli, The F lo ren tin e H is to r ie , t r a n s , Thomas Bedingfeld (Londons David Mutt, 1905), P« 73=?h«

Dante0 s l i f e a t th e co u rt o f Gan Grande was n o t w ithou t hum ilia­

tio n s i f we are to b e liev e Gian Francesco E oggie .S taS gio lin ii, the

n a r ra to r o f Meyer0 s P lau tu s its H onnenklostero This I t a l i a n humanist

had m arried a t the age of f i f t y . f i v e th e eighteen.y@ ar o ld Yaggia Buon-

delmontig another d i r e c t deseendent o f the feuding f a m il ie s « In one of

h is f a c e t ia e , Eesponsio B a n tis , he described how u n d ig n ified Dante0s

l i f e had been a t th e co u rt o f Gan Grandeg how the Yeronese podesta used

to la v is h h is fav o rs upon a F lo ren tin e j e s t e r who scorned and envied the

poet and who m issed no opportun ity to g lo a t over him. Dante responded

by t e l l in g him th a t p rin c es are wont to favor those who resem ble them

and th a t he had never been ab le to f in d a congenial p a tro n . Meyer, who

must have, read th i s f a c e t ia , t r e a t s th i s anim osity between poet and j e s t e r

as w ell as Dante0s contempt fo r Can Grande0s base t a s t e in h i s Rahmen.

roEs 1 s t dmrehaus undenkbar, dass e in so e rn s te r und u rsp r in g lie h e d le r

G eist wie E zzelin Barren g e f l t t e r t und s ich an Disem BISdsinn e rg b tz t

habe«m Meyer con tin u es, “Diesen geraden B tie h 'fE h rte d e r 'F lo re n tin e r

gegen se inen G astfround, au f dessen Mantel G o c c io la s a s s s den D iehter

angrinsendo 88 H is n a r ra t iv e a lso co n ta in s a j e s t e r whom Meyer d ep ic ts

w ith ac id sarcasm. This probably .induced him to use the name and appear­

ance of Dante0s l i s t e n e r s again in the n a r ra tio n .

The id ea to l e t Dante develops h is s to ry from an ep itap h , .which

he had found in a remote nook o f a m onastic garden and which could only

be read by the novices i f they c re p t on hands and knees to avoid the th o rn s

o f a th ic k rosebush covering the in s c r ip t io n , a lso goes back to Poggio.

This famous hum anist devoted h is e n t i r e l i f e to the r e s u s c i ta t io n of

V

c la s s ic a l l i t e r a t u r e . He explored the l i b r a r i e s of Swiss and Swabian znon«=

a s te r ie s re s to r in g numerous l o s t m asterp ieees o f Latin, l i t e r a t u r e . He was

so ard en t in h is search th a t i f a codex proved u n a tta in a b le by f a i r means

he was ready to use frauds, as when he b rib ed a monk a t th e monastery l ib »

ra ry o f H erafie ld in o rder to ob ta in a Livy and an im in ianus. Burckhardt,

whom Meyer knew w e ll„ t e l l s in h is KmMmr d e r Renaissance how Pogglo.

w hile traeing- the h is t@ ^ of an c ien t Home o ©nee crawled through a th ic k e t •

in o rder to reach an in s c r ip t io n covered by v eg e ta tio n .

; Meyer0 s l o w fo r h i s to r ic a l re sea rch was a h e ritag e - f r o i h is

fa th e r , Ferdinand Meyer, an ou tstand ing Swiss h is to r ia n whose m ajor work,

{jeschichte: d e r evangeliaehen Gemeinde in Loearno (which caused the dni=

v e r s i ty of ZSrieh to bestow upon Mm the degree of docto r honoris causa),

was even . commended by Ranlce, Ferdinand Meyer0 s id o l . The in flu en ce of

th e fa th e r i s e a s i ly d isc e rn ib le when we regard th e f i r s t th re e p o e tic

works o f th e son, H uttens le ta e Taae. Das im u le tt and Jtmg Jen a tsch , a l l

o f which have th e i r s e tt in g in the same period of the Counter Reformation

which was so dear to Ferdinand Meyer. But although Meyer d id ex tensive

h i s to r ic a l research which rendered M s environments so a u th e n tic th a t

Eugene Bambert c a lle d him am homme de haute c u l tu re . he never made the

attem pt to w rite h i s to r ic a l ly . He f r e e ly d ev ia ted from h is to ry whenever

and wherever i t p leased him and m erely used h is to r ic a l even ts to enhance

th e .c o lo ra tio n of h is n a r ra t iv e s .

The p lans f o r The Monk°s Wedding d a te back as f a r as 18?6. The

name was to be GBtz d er MBnch. and the n o v e lla was to take p lace f i r s t

in Avignon and then in Hdmberg during th e tim e of B arbarossa. But the

longer he occupied h im self w ith the n a r ra t iv e , the c le a re r i t became to

Mm th a t t h i s p assio n a te fa b le belonged under a southern sky and he

£ in a lly : ©hose th e © sp lo siw a i r o f Padua under the . te r r ib le Eeeelino da

Eomano (aeebrding to Burekhardt the e r a e le s t ty ra n t in th e h is to ry o f

the I ta l ia n , e i ty s ta te s ') o' This I s the - p e rio d w ith which th e : G hibelline ■

Meyer i s most f a m il ia r» low th e ro le o f Buondelmonti i s p layed by th e

monk A storre ?ieedom inis the daughter of ite id e i i s transform ed in to the

au s te re Diana Ito b e rti8 th e r ic h widow Donati i s changed in to th e . insane

widow Oanossa and Moseha beeomes Gemano W bertio 3he s tag e . is set®

;■ Another reason why th i s period was chosen i s Meyer0 s love fo r

th e l a s t S ta u fe r, F rederick 11, wham Burekhardt c a lle d th e f i r s t modern

man on the th rone , and whom Meyer0 s Aseanio somewhat ex u b eran tly e n t i t l e s, - ■ ' ' 2""the most consummate o f k n ig h ts and th e most unprejudiced of. men®,

, . ’ I t was a t t h i s co u rt,, however, a s Dante .pointed o u t, where • ■,

I ta l i a n p o e try had i t s ’ beginning, abd P ie r d e l la Vigna w rote the f i r s t

sonnet th e re b e fo ie th e once, a l l powerful f a v o r ite and m in is te r was

accused o f tre a so n ' and disgracedo-- 2 h© wm©st consummate of k n ig h ts”

had him b lin d ed and in ra g s he was dragged in the emperor0 s t r a in , l ik e

one o f the anim als o f F rederiok 0 s m enagerie, u n t i l in d e sp a ir he dashed

out h is b ra in s , F red erick 0 s remarks in th e n o v e lla regard ing the

three, ch arla tans,. Moses,-. M ohamet and' C h r is t , are .h is to r ic a l , and

he was excommunicated th re e tim es in th e Course of h is s tru g g le w ith th e

More o b jec tiv e h is to r ia n s a re a p t to f in d seme flaw s in th e .descrip tion o f . th i s - s tran g e , b u t c o lo rfu l em peror'a t whose c o u rt science and a r t f lo u rish e d b esid e extreme c ru e lty and o r ie n ta l l ic e n tio u sn e s s , F rederick even m ain ta in ed :a complete harem a t Lmeera, and eunuchs were a prominent fe a tu re o f h i s household, .

The Monk0 s Wedding was to be th e f i r s t o f th re e K aisernovellen 9

Die H ochzeit des MBnchs, Die RiohteriB^ and Pet m s de Vinea: th e l a t t e r

remained a fragment* Aocording to Betsyg th e p o e t”s s i s t e r , S za e lin 0 s

ro le was i n i t i a l l y in tended fo r F rederick II* But a lthough Meyer never

wrote th e n o v e lla o r tragedy about F rederick I I , he n ev e rth e le ss c rea ted

a s e r ie s o f poems to g lo r i fy h is ido l* He was possessed w ith th e p lans

fo r a novel which would b rin g ou t th e r e la t io n s h ip o f F rederick and h is

c h a n c e llo r , P ie r d e l l a Vigna, whose s tran g e su ic id e so aroused h is p o e tic

im agination th a t he perm itted h im self to in te r ru p t h i s Monk w ith a long

d iscu ss io n between Cangrande and Dante about the g u i l t o r innocence of

Frederick6s m in is te r , which has no r e a l p lace in the n a r ra t iv e and which

im pairs th e coherence o f the s to ry * .

Eccelino da Romano, Meyer”s E zze lin , the G h ib e llin e le a d e r and

F red erick 0 s most lo y a l supporter, was th e descendent o f a German fam ily

which had s e t t le d in I t a ly in the f i r s t h a l f o f the 11th century* They

were lo rd s o f Romano, n ear Padua* In 1238 he became th e emperor0 s son-

in-law by m arrying Selvaggia, one o f F red erick ” s i l l e g i t im a te children*

His c r u e l t ie s - th e I ta l i a n s re fe r re d to him as the ty ra n t - le d to

h is excommunication by Gregory IX and l a t e r by Alexander IF, who went so

f a r a s to proclaim a crusade a g a in s t him which was le d by P h ilip , arch­

bishop of Ravenna* In 1259 E ccelino was wounded and taken prisoner*

' legend afte rw ards tra n s fe rre d to B arbarossa, th e o r ig in a l emperor in GItz der Mteeh* re la te d how th e red h a ire d emperor s a t in a cavern o f the KyffhSusen befo re a stone ta b le through which h is beard had grown, w a itin g fo r the r ig h t time to r e s to re th e empire to i t s o r ig in a l g lo ry .

He was so enraged a t h is c a p tiv i ty th a t he to re o f f M s bandages s re=

fused food, and. d ied at., Soneino on October 7 o f the same year« His

excessive c ru e lty gained him a p lace in Dante6s In fe rn o , and E iehendorff

made him th e su b jec t of- h i s dramas G r tf in Romana.

B esides th e h i s to r i c a l S eee lin q Baron B ettlo n E ie a s o l is the. '

81 Iron Baron19 a s he was c a lle d by h is contem poraries because o f h is r ig id

au s te rity ;, a l s o served as ■ Meyer6.® model fo r Bzselirioo Meyer had made

th e acquaintance of R iea so li long b efo re th e l a t t e r had succeeded Gavour

to th e prem iership in 1 8 6 1 « .th e ir f r ie n d sh ip da tes as f a r back as 18#9

when the baron v is i te d h is heme in Z@rich» Judging from the. in tim a tio n s

o f Meyer® s b io g rap h ers th e re must have e x is te d a p i a to n ic lo v e a f f a i r

between th e baron and B etsy« At th a t tim e Meyer considered him a r ig id

id e a l is t* b u t h is opinion changed when he V is ited him in I t a ly in 18 5 8 0

The poet and h is s i s t e r 1 were guests- i n h i s c a s t le Brolio* and Meyer was

deeply im pressed by th e a u s te re and unbending p e rso n a lity o f the "Iron

Baron89 =. Bszelin® s morbid fa sc in a tio n w ith fu n e ra ls and h is p e c u lia r love

to c lo se th e eyes of th e deceased goes; back to R iea so li, who had a pre= ;.

dU eetiom fo r fu n e ra l p rocessions and who y ie ld e d to t h i s fu n eb rea l fond­

ness by p e rso n a lly p la c in g h is own w ife in to h er casket* The choice o f th e

"Iron Baron88 as a model fo r h is E zzelin becomes even more comprehensible

when we remember th a t Meyer0 s Eceelino was no c ru e l ty ra n t; h i s c ru e lty

was j u s t beginning, and he i s po rtrayed throughout th e s to ry as a j u s t r u le r ,

although h is p re te n tio u s show of benevolence during the t r i a l i s d e lib e ra te ly

unconvincing. Only when E zzelin b rin g s the news of the acc id en t on the

. Bremta to the o ld fieed sm in i, do we get' a f i r s t glim pse o f h i s bleod<=

s ta in ed reigno The o ld mans overeome by h is g r ie f , fo rg e ts a l l cau tio n

and rages h y s te r ic a lly s

S eh ieksa l mnd Sternguclcerei and. BesehwSrungen mnd ?erschwBrangen und Bnthauptungen, Ton dier 2 inne a u f das

" P i la s te r s ieh werfende Weiber tmd hundert p fe ild u ro h b o h rte Jdnglinge vom Rosse sinkend in deinen verm eh ten waghal- sigen Sehlaohten, das 1 s t deine Z e it und Regierung$ E zse lin , du i re r l lu e h te r und f erdaimater i »o«,

B iis outbreak was provoked by E zze lin ’ s oasual manner in which

he rep o rted th e t r a g ic acc id en t and h i s exp lanation was c h a ra c te r is t ic s

Fate.. He was h im self extrem ely f a t a l i s t i c which i s b rought out when he

exp la in s to Ascanio th e f u t i l i t y o f attem pting to save A sto rre from

German©0s sword« His b e l i e f in a s tro lo g y , which ex p la in s in p a r t h is

grandiose fa ta lism , as w ell as h is. two a s tro lo g e rs , Guido B o n a tti and .

Paul von Bagdad, a re h i s t o r i c a l » So i s h is unswerving lo y a l ty to Fred­

e r ic k I I , which co n tra s ted favorab ly w ith many o f h is contem poraries,

and which even extended, to F rederick 0 s son, Conrad IF , who succeeded to

the throne In 1250.

Another h i s to r i c a l ly accu ra te d e se rip ie n i s found in h is h a lf

Saracen, h a l f German guard, which was an im ita tio n o f th e im peria l guardo

And th i s i s th e p o in t where h i s to r i c i t y ends« The p lo t o f th e

n o v e lla b ears no f a r th e r resemblance to ' h is to ry and i s c h a ra c te r is t ic

o f Meyer0 s eventual usage of h is to r ic a l ev en ts . H is to ry spurs the imag­

in a tio n o f the po et; i t p rovides the ch a ra c te rs who w i l l l a t e r be moulded

aGOording to the p o e t0s im agination; i t a s s i s t s in the choice of time

and p lace b e s t su ite d fo r th e in tended n a r ra tiv e and i t e f f o r t le s s ly

t r a n s f e r s the poet as w ell as the re a d e r in to th e d e s ire d atmosphere.

ieh der Z eile £rtth eiatspsang. =• Mir g r a u t 9 wie lang d e r L uther drinnen

rangaw ©xelaims h is Huttene, l.gain and again he i s drawn th i s theme.

In Enge lb e rt,, in J e m ts e h 0 in Sehnss von d e r Kanae.1 „ l a Per H eilig e and

in P lau tus im Monnenkloster the P ro te s ta n t Meyer examines th e problem atic

n a tu re o f monasfieisBn The young c l e r i c » one of Dante0 s l i s t e n e r s » poses ■

th e . q u estio n , wMuss es denn Iberhampt MBnche, gebenf91' Jhad when Bante

attem pts t o j u s t i f y the ■ th re e vowsg he i s countered by th e agnostic c l e r i c

w ith the question# roG ibt es aber n ic h t mehr seh leeh te MBnche a ls g a te t” .

Dante" s s c h o la s tic rep ly borders on n a iv e te and leav es th e author® s opin*

io n unchallengedo . -

But th e re i s ano ther reason why Meyer converted th e ir re sp o n s ib le

young Buondelmonti in to the sh e lte re d #. w eak-w illed monk» Besides adding

to th e dram atic q uali'^ r o f the transform ation# i t renders A s to rre 0 s a c tio n

more .'p lau sib le . This is . why Aseanio warns h i s regained f r ie n d #.86« . .gib ;

ach tj ieh b i t t e dich# A storre# dass du den Mensehen aus dem MBnehe en«=

tw ie k e ls t g ohne den gaten Gesehmack' zu be le id igenV 6 He ad v ises him to

v i s i t the im p eria l co u rt in o rder to acquain t h im self w ith toth e ways o f

th e world00» to in h a le th e c u l tu ra l atmosphere which p re v a ile d in P a lem o g

to le a rn to regard th e opposite sex ob jec tive ly# and to p a r t ic ip a te in

a campaign in o rder to a d ju s t t@: th e mannerisms o f n o b i l i ty <, But th e

Paduans were c o rre c t i n t h e i r ; p e rs is te n c e to r e f e r to him a s ' - th e monk06

long a f t e r h is s e c u la r iz a t io n » A storre remained a monk a t heart* He

.covered h i s face n o t to p ro te c t i t from th e -burning sun ray s b u t to ; •-

adhere to an old hab it? he had never been ab le to accustom h im self to the

r e a l iz a t io n th a t he was: a w ealthy Vicedomini? he evaded th e o s te n ta tio u s

chambers o f h is bornes amd th e f i r s t of. gold which he handled in

v io la tio n o f h is seeond., m onastic vow contained the money which he used ,

fo r the purchase o f Diana0 s wedding bando And when Amtiope Gamossa, th e* ' ■ '■ ' ■ v .. ■

«.ove of h is youths re e n te rs h is l i f e , he i s unprepared to quench th e

: passion which a r is e s w ith in him* This re c k le ss behavior a t th e hour o f

d ec is io n confirm s the j u s t i f i c a t io n o f A scanio 0 s apprehensions * ■ And •_

t h i s ir re sp o n s ib le re a c tio n o f the u n so p h is tic a te d , weak youth a ffo rd s

Meyer th e form ulation o f th e main theme o f h is n o v e lla $, which l i l y

Sohenstein expressed adm irably in h er biography ? "Sin -Sehieksal, das

m it deBt wehrlosem Mensehen s p ie l t und iiam dennoeh d ie in n ere ?eran.t=' 4 ' • ' ; • ' , . ‘ ' .. ' ■ - '

v wortung S b e r lts s to M

. : Weddi ng o f .the Monk i s a ; complement to .Leiden e ln e s Knaben

which i s by Meyer” s own admission la rg e ly au to b io g ra p h ic a l» and whidi

id' the- Monk in the same vear»^ ‘ ' ■

; v:■ % i ly H tiienstein». Conrad Ferdinand MeVer (Bonn? Athenlum=¥erlag<, ; 1957)o P o .265° Prom h e re on 8 t h i s work w i l l 'b e re fe r re d t o . as 8hohens t e in w«

. ^K ejer0s in n a te re lu c tan ce to bare h is sou l to . h is .r e a d e rs as ; K e lle r 'had done -in h i s Per sr@he H ein rich compelled him to d e p ic t h is f a t e . a s i f i t were th e r e s u l t o f a chain o f h is to r ic a l events* The Leiden •e in e s Knaben contains, th e su ffe rin g of a young boy who was depressed by

■ c o n s ta n t fe e lin g s o f in f e r io r i ty . Although th e p lo t of th e novella b e a rs . no resemblance to Meyer® s l i f e 9 th e s u ffe r in g -o f young J u lia n in th e J e s u i t school i s th e su ffe rin g o f Conrad under the tu te la g e of a re l ig io u s ly f a n a t ic m other who s t i f l e d a l l h is a ttem pts a t s e lf -e x p re ss io n by admen- ' ■ish in g \h e r ®”po@r Oonrad® to r e f r a in from vanity* H erse lf a n e u ro tic , she ' was eohvineed th a t h e r son” s p o e tic a s p ira tio n s 9 ,IIE l te lk e i t s in f a l l e w as .she c a lle d them $ were psychopathic symptoms« i n a l e t t e r to Dro .B o rre la who had t re a te d le y e r a t th e insane asylum» she w rote, 8”Dass d e r ¥ahnB e r •sei su :& usserordentliehem :berufene.des Sohne.s Unglick i s t , uhd dass e r beSsef tS te 0 S chreiner zn werden^ a l s si'eh- w eite rh in au ss ieh ts lo sen H irnge- sp in s ten hinsugeben*" • (Hoh8 nste in„ p*: 39)* A fter Meyer had tra n s la te d th e R e e lts des Temos M erovingiens bv th e French h is to r ia n T h ie rry <> he planned to w r i t e s French d is s e r ta t io n * He mentioned' h is p lans to h is mother in the hope o f meeting w ith some encouragemento Her advice to him i s re~ ' peated in a l e t t e r to h e r daugh ter0 m?o r e in paar Tagen spraeh e r w ieder

I f lu l ia n i s th e “poor Conrad®^ then A storre i s th e mature Conrad

Ferdinand Meyer (Meyer added h i s f a th e r 0 s name to h is in o rder to p rev en t ’

being eonfhsed w ith a contemporary Swiss W rite r bearing th e same name),

: , w ho 'at th e ;ag e of f i f t y m arried the w ealthy Dulse Z ieg le r , relinqm ishing , ■

h is "robe® fo r the f i r s t tim e. . , . • '

I t i s n o t su rp r is in g th a t a boy sub jec ted to sach a mother should

grow mp shy and extrem ely reserv ed . - l e had p erio d s in h is childhood ,

when he would n o t e n te r th e s t r e e t s dmring day tim e. H is only r e a l f r ie n d s

w ere . Gonrad - ISseMLer and h i s beloved s i s t e r Betsy who a s s i s te d him a ll. h e r

■ l i f e . : At th e age of twenty-one he used to v i s i t a fr ie n d in the K irehgasse.

Von e in e r franzB sisehen iibhandlungs d ie e r sehrelben w o lle , %m einen lamen - zu bekommen. Das suehe ich ihm freu n d lich aber bestimmt anszureden<, L iebes das Bpste i s t s man empfehle nnsern Gonrad dem Herrn, dam it e r weise werde zmr S e l ig k e i t . . . Unangenehmes kburnt swisehen deinem anaen Bruder und.mir n ie h t vor. D ie s .r a r Berahigung von d e in e r znfriedenen M atter^" (H ohenstein„ p . 109)1 . In ano ther l e t t e r to Betsy she w r i te s 3 "Heute i s deines nnver- g esslich en V aters lodestag I Wie wdrde e r s ie h fTeuen, wenn e r sShe8 was aus d i r geworden and was du m ir geworden b i s t i Aber aueh d e r arme Kmri t u t mm, was e r nach seinen sehwachen KrSften vem ag und a r b e i te t an s e in e r ■nenen Bbersettnme^# v lie .. G uizot0 s amour dans l e M ariaes) 6 . '

' Meyer su ffe red immensely mnder h e r .& eti@ tic b ig o try / more so because he h im se lf had long begun to doubt h is po e tic c a l l in g . This p e r­e n n ia l m aternal sermon o f hum ility to which he was in c e s sa n tly ' subjected had a trau m atic © ffeet and i s d o u b tle ss ly a t l e a s t p a r t i a l l y responsib le fo r h is ;a3Mbstfpathdl@gieally;:slow'. a r t i iS ^ d " ''^ a ^ ra t i 0 hvv;bHe:-lacked th e

: s tre n g th to ignore h e r r e l e n t le s s refusal to recognize and encourage him.One o f h is l e t t e r s to Betsy shows h is .s tr iv in g to im press h is m other and th e f r a n t ic attem pt o f a fa th e r le s s boy to gain her ap p roval. “A lles f t r d ie liebe.M utters,® h e w r i te s , "das andere i s t Break . 88 (H ohenstein, p . 109)° By 1852 he.had•developed a l l the symptoms o f n eu ro tic dep ression ; he even showed s u ic id a l ten d en c ie s . Before going on h is long n ig h tly swims he would toy w ith w eights so t h a t both mother and s i s t e r aw aited h is r e ­tu rn w ith extreme an x ie ty . In June of t h a t y ear h is mother succeeded in persuading him to e n te r th e insane asylum P re fa rg ie r« Following h is

• m other0s w ishes he remained a t P re fa rg ie r u n t i l January, 1853 a lth o u g h . . •Dr. B orrel had advised h is re le a se a s e a r ly as O ctober, 1852. Three y ea rs- l a t e r h is. m other en tered the g a tes o f th e same asylum n ev er- i© leave them ag a in .' Oh September 27, 1 8 5 6 she threw h e r s e l f from a b rid g e in to th e r iv e r "Zihl. ' ./ ' . / 'b y . ■ >' ' •; ; ;y - .

From th e window he observed a-young g ir l , , Marie B urkhardt, w ith whom

he f e l l vehemently in lo v e , "’Sehw inlein 06 he c a lle d h e r in h is dreams^

b u t n o t once d id he speak to- hero Mh.en he was twenty=»eight y ea rs o ld

he wrote a r a th e r c h ild ish l e t t e r to h is mother who had urged him to

seek a p o s itio n 'in l i f e , o.o-Eiae. S te ll;e ; ; w: i 1 : 1 ie h wegen n e ih er

Ehreg aber e in e k le in e g und keine Frau, weder eine g rosse noeh eine- : ; ' : ■ ; . , . > ■ v" ; j. '

k le in e 8 und am w enigsten e ine reieheo® : $@t, when he f in a l ly d id g e t

m arried a t the l a t e age o f f i f t y , he m arried a very w ealthy woman. .

K e lle r summarized somewhat m a lic io u sly 2 i r ie h ° s p u b lic ©pinion in a

l e t t e r to Paul Heyse, ” «. .d a s s Betsy, des' Binders.. l e i r a t m it einem

re iehen l l t l i e h e n FrEuleiB zmsrege gebraeh t habe»”

In The M©nk°s Wedding Asoanio f l i r t s w ith the gardener’ s

daughter. A sto rre i s so shocked a t t h i s "’fr iv o lo u s 119 d is p la y th a t he

f r ig h te n s th e g i r l in to running away. This in d ig n a tio n o f th e monk

A sto rre b ears a p e c u lia r resemblance to th e b igo ted g e n e ra liz a tio n s

o f th e monkish Gonrad in P a ris where he .wrote to h is s i s t e r , "Man

sa g t, d ie X ta lien e r se ien n ie h ts w ert, aber d ie I ta lie n e r in n e n se ien

guti h ie r seh e in t es a i r hmgekehrt. Die Franzosen s in d wohl so Ib e l

n ie h t , aber d ie FranzBsinnen, naeh Theater und B ffen tlieh en Spazier=

glngen zu u r te i l e n , w iderstehen m ir a i t ihrem herzlosen Laehen> dem

L e ich ts in n , m it dem s ie a l l e s zeigen; b e i allem diesem Schmeicheln

und'SehBntun b l ic k t ihnen d ie k l l t e s t e Bereehnung aus den verdreh ten

Augen. Sehlangen.P

' This astoB ish ing re a e tio n t© th e e n t i r e female popu la tion of

a c i ty h a iled fo r th e charm o f ,i t s womanhood appears r a th e r strange 0

and w hile i t reminds the read er of the sour grapes 3# th e f a b l e r - i t

i s a lso -an in d ic a tio n o f Meyer0 s extreme shyness as reg ard s th e oppo«?

s i t e sex» t i l y Hohenstein r e f e r s to him throughout h e r biography as

th e monk w ith th e same consistency w ith which h is mother had c a lle d

him mder arae Conrad68*.

A s to r re 's im m aturity and h is in a b i l i ty to cope w ith th e harsh

r e a l i t i e s , o f h is world, the s in i s t e r n a tu re o f which he grasped fo r

the f i r s t time when he began to comprehend th e c ru e l n a tu re o f the

ty ra n t whom he had h i th e r to regarded as ju s t i c e p e rso n if ie d , corre=»

spends to Meyer0 s. own inexperience in th e face o f ereryday problems«

"’iangeo■ lan g @ » 60 ’ he remarked once to Adolf l f e y g “war m ir a l l e s t was -. ’ ' ' : ' , ' • 9

W irk lieh k e it h e is s tv so , s w id e r wie • mBglich<=.to . ■;

Such withdrawal i s c h a ra c te r is t ic o f any youth w ith marked

' n eu ro tic ten d en c ies , and 1 i t i s not. su rp r is in g th a t “poor Conrad66

showed so l i t t l e promise in school th a t Sauppe, one o f h is te ach e rs ,

was u t t e r ly amaaed when he iea raed th a t one o f h is form er p u p ils had

become a famous p o e t. He did n o t even remember him, although i t was

Conrad who had been chosen to hand him a s i lv e r cup when he departed

from, f f r i c h . ‘ \ ’ / . -

Merke (S tu t tg a r t s i . G.: G otta 0 sehe Buehhandling la e h fo lg e re 1900), Gol.BoH., p . 96. ' ; .

The absence of an exclam ation mark a f te r “SchLangen" sem s to in d ic a te th e au th o r 0 s a ttem pt to sound as o b jec tiv e a s p o ss ib le .

' 9 F ieyp p . 299» . . ’

..: 1 v: .V'toyer;” s :smeees§^^ . o:' late:::,|m :ii£e that he used to '

console h tsiie lf with Cervantes.;: ; ,'

M4Ich b in f a s t v ie rz ig . Jah re a l t , 0 s a g t Meyer im GefEhl se in e r

G.elEhmtheit zum Freund8 aund habe e lg e n tl ie h n ie h ts g e le i s t e t ; aber M ir

fM lit 'o f t GeW antes eln,: d e r ' e r s t .nach^'':# seC hziger' Jahren ber@hmt -mirde,/ f:: : ^

d,as t rB s te t michs • ie h habe a lso noch Z e ito 0M ; , ;

Laly Hohenstein, h is most accu ra te b iographeri d e sc rib e s him a t

; \ V ierzig Jah re x s t e r a l t ; der Lohn u n en d lich er Mthegf ,w i l l ig gebeugter Geduld aber 1 s t e in sehmales BSndehen B alladene

■ da s . is^hon,'yergesseh :::i s t 8^-uhdeinev^Mappe; r o l l u n v o llen d e te r ' ■ G edichte, d ie e r v ie l l e ie h t n ie .zur “'G e s ta lt” l& u tern d a r f . . .

,,... Die Nervenlcraft , d ie andere zu r B atf a l tang ih r e r Anlagen nutzen , . d lr fe n a musste e r in unfruehtb .arer "Verteidigung verschwenden 0 . • ■

und e r h a t dam it e in e ohnehin z a r te Gesundheit, v i e l l e i e h t „ u n terg rabeno ; GroshVater und M utter waren nerveticratik, = m u s s n ie h t auch e r diesem Slueh d er G enerationen v e rfa lle n T »«» . ; t

Frey" ex p la in s th e poet®s slow m atu ra tion s im ila r ly :

. ; ■' . . > : Die Kinder schwSehlicher odor doch h e u ra # W n isc h e r ,li te rn - ; wie der R egierungsrat Ferdinand Meyer und se ine Frau

. ’Betsy; waren 9 zumal: d ie . Kinder aus a l te n Fam ilien, le id e n h tu f ig ■'- ’ . - : tm te 'r 'e in e r Belas^^^

q u ile r is e h e B elbestbetraG htung, ta u s e n d f l l t ig e R eflex ion , Mangel • an. Energie und L ebensk raft9 Unentschiedenheit,, Seheu vor dem

Leben und der T a t, o f t GnfUhigkeit zur A rb e it,So war Meyers Anlage im Grunde, und daraus e rk lS r t

' s ich se ine ungewbhnlich spSthf s in ih re r A rt e in z ig e Entwieiklung, Er se lb e r s c h ild e r te d ie Empfindung jen e r Z e it d e r Hemmung und :des Gebundenseinss . i " : r ':’. .. ■ . ■ '

; ' •. : . v : Ich war von einem schweren Bann gebunden, . _Ich le b te h ich t» Ich la g im Traum e r s t a r r t , * 2

^A1 fred ROchats B rivatdozen t a t : th e U n iv ersity o f ZlrieK,'

^ 'H ohenstein , p<=157» ;

■^Frey, p^' 2 $6 ,' ; . ,x ; ' . v

Meyer su ffe red g re a tly from Mis in a b i l i ty to produce» Convinced

o f the r e a l i ty o f h is p o e tic ca llim g , he could no t b rin g h im self to s t r iv e

se r io u s ly f o r a p o s itio n which could have r e h a b i l i ta te d him am idst h is

f r ie n d s and neighbors, who d id th e i r b e s t to prove to him th a t a former

m ental ease w ithou t c iv ic r e s p o n s ib i l i t ie s had no s ta tu s in so c ie ty » He

w ell remembered "A ll d ie Z E rtlieh k e iten m einer M tp i lg e r 81 (younger people

who would make i t a p o in t to e n te r befo re him, in q u ir ie s regard ing h is

health , questio n s about h is vocation) <■ A ll t h i s em bitte red him to such

an e x te n t th a t h@ accepted V uiliem i0 s adv ise to make h im self a name

by tra n s la tin g o But he cringed e v e ry :tim e when h is p a te rn a l f r ie n d

p ro u d ly in tro d u c ed -him as B iie r ry 8 s t r a n s la to r and he never once: signed

h is t r a n s la t io n s which the poet in him d esp ised . He even accepted an

. unpaid p o s itio n a t th e Lausanne i n s t i t u t e fo r th e B lind where he taugh t . :

Swiss h is to ry , which, was to prepare him fo r a p o ss ib le p o s itio n as l e c t ­

u re r a t th e U n iv ersity o f ZErich, a goal which he never reached® In

the l i g h t o f these f a i lu r e s and h u m ilia tio n s we can understand h is en- ' ■

thuslasm when he rece ived h is f i r s t se lf-e a rn e d fees "Es i s t n a t f r l i e h ,

dass d ie Amkunft des beseheidenen Honorars aus E lb e rfe ld den dauernd

pidagogiseh GedemStigten in eine solehe 0 Extase® v e r s e t s t , 8 das's e r

wie ein- Kind auf und davon und zn Onkel Wilhelra l l u f t , um ihm seinen ;

Schatz au zeigen ® 0 So e in d eu tig 1 s t ihm klargem aeht worden, dass in

d er s o e ie te nur e in Menseh, ■ d er G eld. v e rd ie n t,. le b e n s re e h t b e s itz t® " ^

Only a poet w ith Meyer0 s background could convincingly p o rtray

th e ab ru p t change in A sto rre°s character® Before th i s v io le n t

^^H ohenstein,' p® 109® v .

transform ation: w© see a youth who: appears to be a paragon o f v irtue,,

'-a su sp ic io u s ly tr a c ta b le boy who never questioned h i s f a th e r 0s d ec is io n s

and Who became a monk follow ing an o ld fam ily t r a d i t io n » Once ©rdaihed

he found i t easy, as he explained to S z z e lin , to obey h i s m onastic vows.

He seems to have no w il l o f h is own and proves incapable of. denyirig h i s

f a th e r 0 s l a s t req u es t to re lin q u is h h i s robe and to m arry a woman he does

h o t lo v e . He behaves so p a ss iv e ly th a t no one suspects the volcanic

p assions w ith in him. g which break fo r th w ith o u t warning when he f in a l ly

runs amuck.

: ' m e same t r n o ta b i l i ty can be . observed w ith "poor Conrad” who : .

re p lie d to ^ i s m other who urged Mm to e n te r the asylum a t P re fa rg ie r ,

®Ja0 d i r zu lieb e w i l l ie h es tmn.66'® i . t th e age o f tw enty-seven he

f in a l ly had th e courage to ask h is mother to be allowed to pay h is own

b i l l s , and d e sp ite Frau Bet^y®s b ig o ted domination o f h i s l i f e , he

never ceased in h i s a ttem pts to p lease h e r . How many tim es must he

have f e l t th e -d e s ire to reb e l as the monk had done. But p o e tic imagin­

a tio n i s ab le to sublim ate aggressive ten dencies . . Meyer’s " re b e llio n 68

r e s u l t s in The Monk0 s Wedding, and L ily Hohenstein th e re fo re c a l l s t h i s

work rep e a te d ly the “Kulm inationspunkt se in e s L ebensw illens.”

How was t h i s "Kulm inatlonspunkt*of Meyer’ s W b e n s w il le # re» , .

eeivedf In 1883 The Monk® s Wedding appeared fo r the f i r s t time in the

December is s u e o f the Rundschau. The g re a te s t amount o f e r i t is is r a i s

M ree ted a g a in s t th e com plicated fo ra o f th e n o v e lla . Paul Heyse’ s

l e t t e r i s e h a r a e te r is t le o f the o b jec tio n s which many o f h i s frien d s ■

^ H o h en ste in , p . 55= . . . . V

x S ± ii

ra ised s

Es sind MSehst n eu a rtig e Motive und d ie Figuren von Ihrem e igensten GeprEge, d ie ?ersehlingung d er L eidenschaften u n en trin n b a r 0 d ie Farben ganz g e s l t t i g t m it sEdlichem Gold xmd Feuer,, Dass ie b 0 s aber o ffen heramesagei in d ie Fom habe ieh mich n ic h t h ineingefunden. Sehon im Leiden e in es Knaben schien m ir d ie Aufgabe,, aus dem Munde e in es A rztes d ie Be t a i l s zu vernehiaens k a m g E n s tig f§ r

\ d ie U rm itte lb a rk e it des l^n d raek s, abgesehen von d e r Uber- s t i l i s i r u n g dureh das mBaro9 das d i e s e m- K6 n ige doeh a n s tb s s ig e r a l s irgend einem se in m usste. Hun haben S ie es sogar getfagt, den g rb ssten E piker zum Irz E h le r zu w ihlen, dessen ¥ e is e uns so v e r t ra u t und doeh ewig fremd i s t , und la s se n ihn neben a re h a is tis c h e n ¥endungen s ieh der m odem sten Palet= tenktinste bedienen 8 wihrend w ir in der v i t a n u o v a e in Exempel haben„ w i e e r und se in e Zeitgenossen s ie h betrugen, wenn s ie m it d er d e u tlie h ausgesproehenen Absichtg zu erzSh=. l e n $ an eine G eschichte gingeno Ieh wEre seh r b e g ie r ig , zu hQren, was S i e .zu dem baroeken Bahmen um das gew altige B ild v e rfE h rt hatj, was m it dem r t t s e lh a f te n Sober z d er g leiehen Hameng#mg - in BUd und Bahmen - bezweckt i s t , und warum Ihnen Sberhaupt d e r d ire ck te V ortrag n ic h t angemessener schieng da j a e ine p e e r s B n 1 i e h e BezMhung gerade d i e s e s E rzShlers zu dem S to ffe n ic h t e in leu ch ten w ill =

. MBnehen, 10. XI. 84 - Paul le y se .

Meyer responded im mediately in an, in te re s t in g l e t t e r which a t ­

tempts to j u s t i f y h is choice o f Dante a s th e n a r ra to r o f h i s n o v e lla ,

b u t which agrees w ith the j u s t . c r itic ism ' o f the somewhat confusing fo ra

of h is work. -

o. .Und j e t z t zmr einfaehen Beantwortuttg I h r e r Frages Mein Dante am Horde i s t n ic h t von fe rn e d er grosse I^ c h te r , welehen ic h in E hrfu rch t ungerShrt l a s s e , sondern e ine ty p iseh e F igur und b ed eu te t e in fachs M i t t e l a 1 t e r . Er d ie n t , den Leser m it einem Sehlage in e in e fremde Welt zu: v e rse tzen , wo e in Minch z . B. etwas ganz anderes v o r s t e l l t a ls in l e tz te n Jah rhundert. l r d ie n t fe rn e r dazu» das Thema h e r r i s e h

^ A d o lf Frey, B rie fe Conrad Ferdinand Mevers (L eipzig : H= H aesselV erlag, 1908), v o l. I I , p . 341. -

... .' , ' v ; - : : > ■ : ' :: ' ■ ■ ■ ; - x lx ■’ '

zu. fo m u lie ren ,, woran Bilrg d ie se s Mai6 liegeia amsste» Venn m n eSner ans Bantes Bede aaeh noeh eine Wartmng an E zzelin Tor A stro io g ie und Grausasikeit und se in e r k le in en Freundin .

:: . Tor; ^ tia lag o ie r Stook t e z W s I d . e s t : s te h t :es- l l s i f re i»' Binem persB nliehen a lte n Q eflb les Dante h&be se in Elor-enz . ■ Sber das Mass grausam behandelt,, L u ft m maehen» verffih rte

dana d ie^G elegenheit. ... ■Ub@r d ie ' "modernstem P a le tten ib in ste to9 l ie b e r Fremnd,

Mbe. ie h a n f r ie h t ig h ie r oben in E H ehberg-ein bissefaen g e la c h t 6

feti wem h i t t e i@h das 'b is^ to imelaer S b ll ie g e le r n t lDie lexgung zim Bahmen dam 1 s t b e i a i r ganz to s tln k tix r , •

leh halt© a i r den Gegenstand gam e vom Leibe oder r ie h t ig e r gerne so B e lt a l s mBglieh vem Auge und dann w i l l a i r seheinen,

. : .. das In d ire k te der Eraihlnng Xnnd s e lb s t d ie Untarbrechnngen)m ildern d ie HSrte der Fabelo .Hier. f r a i l i c h w ird 'd e r ?ersohlin=. : ' : gung von Fabel tind. HSrer zu v ie l , d ie Saehe w ird en tsehieden zu mEhsamg e in n o n p i u. s u l t r a I M0 e n t o i 1 a, •

■' g n e r i i ■■ ' - .'; S ie sehen 9 ieh werde gegen.metoe Gewohnheit e if r ig » ,

Es 1 s t aber anch ganz M bseh, von . Panl Heyse, s a r Bede g e s ta ll t . ..■ ■ 'to 'se rd eB j ■ ' . ' ■ ;' .' ' H erzlieh .

- E il’ehberg 1 2 HoVo 188b 0 . F, Meyer

v-.- E e l le ^ s - ’r e a b t io n .a l^ v e d l a t e and th e b re v ity o f h i s p o li te

p ra ise a s w ell as th e eomplete absence o f any s p e c if ic c r i t ic is m re v e a l

h is d isapprovals 81 Bur eh w iederholtesg wean aaeh n ie h t. sehweres Unwohlsetoe,

b in ie h abgehalten worden 0 Ihnen in h B flieh er i l ' i s t f i r Die Hoehzeit

des EBnches zu danken, Gelesen habe ie h todessen das Verk au f der S te l le

w ieder und mieh au fs neue d er e r re ie h te n StylhBhe gefreuti, sowie des In=

h a lts ,., chne. dass i e h S ie w e ite r m it mehr a l s etoem a u fr ie h tig e n GlSek^ .

wunsch b eh e llig en w iU « «oro .

" Meyer was .qu ite aware e f some o f th e shortcomings o f h is no v e lla . .

a s many o f h is l e t t e r s in d ic a te o In a l e t t e r to F r ie d r ic h von Vyss, th e

1 v lrey 1 1 , p» '340=

^ F r e y .I , p . 30b.

3QC

proitilnent le g a l h is to r ia n 8 be remarked g wl&n MBneh w ir s t dm etwas reh

f ia d e n ," . W riting to S ra s t l^ e k e lb e rg » a p a in te r ' frcmi B ase l» he oon*

fessesg m2Dle melnige (Die H ochzeit des lteehs)'w m rde g e s te rn f e r t i g 8

aa m einm eigenen lrseh reek ea tmd l r g e r n i s s e s -ein bissehem a la H ak art.”^

To h is ed ito re Hermann H aesse l0 he mentioned th ree d e fee tss ,

Der'HSaehg dessen im' V orrat gedraekte Ed« 2 (v ice V ertrag) mieh e in b issehen e rseh re ck te 9 h a t d re i Klippens .

1o Seine seheinbare F^eehheit s tB ss t d ie M itteXsehiehteno

2« D as'anfs lu s s e r s te (sa tfe it) g e tr ie b en e Ineinahderseh lingen von EraShlung and H B rerkreis e rs e h e in t r a f f in ie r t . and s tre n g t

- za selar ano . . 2£.: - . .• ' 3» Der S ty l i s t zu epigraromatiseho =.» , . .

• Yet. The Wedding o f the Monk was a l i t e r a r y success and one o f

Meyer0s ou tstand ing works= I t was t r a n s la te d in to se v e ra l languages

and only th re e y ea rs a f t e r i t s appearance KXughardt w rote a four a e t

opera, jYLe H ochzeit de.s MBnches, based upon the n o v e lla = Although

K lughardt0 s opera was soon fo rg o tten „ Meyer0 s work i s w idely read to

# i s day a : ' . ■

1SErey :I 0 p= 90 r '

19ib id ». p . # 2 . V

20Frey I I , pp. 120-121.

THE 10EC 8 'S iJEDDBIG

I t was in Teronao ■ Before a la rg e fir® which f i l l e d a

spaeibus h e a r th , a grctep o f young c o u r t ie r s ©£ both sexes re c lin e d ,

in the-m ost com fortable p o s itio n s which decorum would perm it 0 about

a you th fu l p re fe c t and two b e a u tifu l women. The e n t i r e assemblage

formed a q u a r te r c i r c le so th a t one s id e o f th e f ir e p la c e was l e f t

e n t i r e ly open, as was th e custom .of th e c o u r t= ; The r u le r was the

S e a lig e r , Gangrande . 8 Of th e women between whom he s a t , th e one

re c lin in g in sem i-darkness next t o ; th e h ea rth was probably h i s w ife ,

w hile the o th e r , who was f u l ly illu m in a ted by the flam es, may hawe

been a r e la t iv e o r f r ie n d . The assembly was engaged in t e l l in g

s to r ie d which evoked meaningful R an ees and suppressed la u g h te r . -

Bow a grave man, whose la rg e fe a tu re s and flow ing robes

seemed to stem from a d i f f e r e n t w orld, approached th i s g e n ia l and

c ap ric io u s group. . MS ireo eir sa id t h i s odd a p p a ritio n h a l f solemnly,

h a l f d is d a in fu l ly , 68X have come t o ■ warn m yself a t your h e a r th . 68

He f a i le d t© add th a t the la x servan ts had,: d e sp ite th e f ro s ty .

Hovember evening, fo rg o tte n o r n eg lected to k in d le a f i f e in h is .

u p s ta i r s .ehataber. ;. ' ; ' ; _ , .. . ; ;

' 68S i t down b esid e me, dear Dante , 88 re p lie d Cangrande, “but

i f you want to warm y o u rse lf s o c ia lly , then do no t look m utely in to

the flam es, a s i s ,your h a b i t , We.are t e l l i h g s to r i e s , and th e hand

which today has forged ter%a=rlma = = ascending to ray a s tro lo g ic a l

chamber, I overheard in yours th e m uffled chant o f v e rses being ‘.>1 .’

scanned ~ t h i s fb rc e fa l hand cannot T efase te tak e between i t s .

f in g e rs such a t r i v i a l , toy as an e n te r ta in in g ta le w ithon t breaking

ito Dismiss, th e goddesses fo r a w hile ■= =. he probably meant the

mmses ^ « and. tak e p leasu re in th ese b e a u t i fu l m orta ls.“ With a

s l ig h t g es tu re o f h i s hand th e S ea lig e r showed, h is g u es t th e two

women <» fiie t a l l e r one» who s a t a p a th e t ic a l ly in th e shadows i, gave

no in d ic a tio n o f moving a s id e , w hile th e sm aller, a l e r t one cheer?

fu l ly made room fo r th e ZLorentine. He, however, ignored th e

in v i ta t io n of h is h o s t and proudly chose th e l a s t s e a t a t th e end

o f the c irc leo He was e i th e r d isp leased by th e bigamous d isp lay of

the p r in c e , a lthough th i s may have been th e mere whim o f an evening,

or perhaps he f e l t re p e lle d by th e J e s te r who sprawled b esid e h is

m aster on the p r in c e ly cloak , which had f a l le n to th e f lo o r . This

o ld , to o th le s s creature, w ith p ro tru d in g eyes and a f l a c c i d , ' f l ip p a n t ,

greedy mouth = » b es id e s Dante, th e only one o f advanced age in the

company = <= was c a lle d G oeeiola, or d ro p le t, because o f h is ; habit-

o f quaffing th e l a s t s tic k y drops from the emptied g la s s e s . , He hated

th e s tran g e r w ith i n f a n t i l e m alice , fo r he regarded Dante as a r iv a l

fo r th e fav o rs • o f h is r a th e r m ndiserim inating m aste r<= He made a '

face ,, then grinn ing d e r is iv e ly , he in so le n tly d ire c te d th e a t te n tio n

o f the p r e t ty neighbour on h i s l e f t to th e illu m in a ted c e i l in g o f '

th e high room which showed d i s t in c t ly . th e shadow o f the p o e t 0 s pro=»

f i l e . D an te 's s i lh o u e tte resembled a g ig a n tic woman w ith th e long,

curved nose and the drooping lower l i p Of a P area. The v ivacious

g i r l suppressed a c h i ld l ik e laugh . Her neighbour, an in t e l l ig e n t

looking youth by th e name o f Aseanio, a s s is te d her by tu rn in g to

Bant© w ith th a t measured re sp e e t w ith which the l a t t e r enj oyed being

addressedo ' , ■ . _ v: ■■■"'' ,

^Bo n o t be d isd a in fu l o f jo in in g : eu r harm less gamefl you , ■

Htimer and ? i r g i l o f I t a l y s 88 he im plored = “Descend to u s 9 R as te r , and ,

In s te ad o f s in g in g , speak t o tis«w : ' '

6l,1S at i s your, to p ie t 68 r e to r te d Bante, who was l e s s .a lo o f ;'

than in the" beginning b u t s t i l l q u ite dll<=hwored» “ • .

i: ‘ ' . “Sudden voca tio n a l changes»” answered th e youth su c c in c tly , , 1

"w ith good, bad, o r lu d ic ro u s outcome,.8* '

' : ■ Dante reflected® His melancholy eyes, regarded th e company9

the. make-up o f w hich.d id n o t a t a l l seem to d isp lease him , fo r in i t

. he d e tec ted some lo f ty minds. “Has- anyone. among you d iscussed ■' th e '

unfrocked monk?08; he u t te re d in somewhat g e n tle r to n e s«

:. , ' :, ■"Certainly,; B anteiM re jo in e d a.,';staunch-looking .so id ie r , ;■ .

pronouncing h is I t a l i a n w ith a s l ig h t German accen t» H is name was

Germane, and’ he wore ehain=mail and a. long droopy m ustache, " I my-,

s e l f to ld about young ManueciOo who climbed the w alls o f h is convent

in o rder t o ' becm© a s o ld ie r ." /';:■' ■ ■■ ; ■,

; . 88He was r ig h t in doing so ," dec lared Dante. "He had ■

; dcccirbd h im self about h i s own p ro p e n s i t ie s ^ 88 . , . . y

. ' A p e r t , somewhat buxom Paduan named I s o t ta c h a tte re d , " I , . .

M aster, have to ld th e s to ry of Helena Manente, who had J u s t saorf*

f ie e d th e f i r s t lo ck to the cohsecrated s c is s o rs , when, among the

crowd in th e nave o f th e church, she d iscovered h e r lo v e r , who had

been c a r r i e d " in to B erberian s lav e ry and la te r " m iracu lously saved» She

qu ick ly covered her- rem aining c u r ls w ith bo th hands and suppressed h er

. vdWg when she spied him hanging h is loosened f e t t e r s *11 = = she meant

to say ©n t h e - w a l l b u t Dante in te rru p te d h er p r a t t l i n g e ' ;

•’She acted honorably 3 " he sa id ; ’’fo r th i s was in aeeord

w ith the; d ic ta te s ©f h e r lo v e . But here we a re concerned w ith q u ite

a d i f f e r e n t e a se . Let us assume th a t a monk, not im p elled by a

personal d r iv e , urged n e i th e r by an awakening w o rld lin e ss , nor a

b e la te d re co g n itio n o f h is t ru e n a tu re , under th e p ressu re o f an ■

o u tsid e w i l l , and perhaps even m otivated by th e sacred d ic ta te s of ,

p ie ty , bu t fo r someone e l s e 9 s 's a k e , becomes' even more u n fa ith fu l to

h im self than to the church and e a s ts away th e h a b it which covered h is '

body w ithout oppressing ■ him. ' Has t h i s been' to ld a lread y f Mo? Then

I s h a ll do so . But t e l l me, how must such a s to ry end, my pa tron and

p ro te e to r f ’9 /H e had turned; to Gangrandeo

’’N ecessarily b a d ly ,” answered th e l a t t e r w ithout h e s ita t io n .

’’He who jumps f r e e l y , . jumps w e ll ; and he who i s pushed, jumps badlyo”

’’You speak th e t r u th , S i r e ,” confirmed Bante, ’’and the.

A postle , i f I understand him, means th e same when he w rite ss ®Sin i s

th a t Which does not, 'o r ig in a te from' f a i t h , 8 th a t i s to say, from the

conv iction and t r u th o f our n a tu re .” / ’ J

; toM ust. th e re be monks a t a l l I ” chuckled, a m uffled voice out.,

o f th e sem i-darkness, as i f he meant to imply th a t any l ib e r a t io n from

an u n n a tu ra l s ta te c o n s titu te d a boon. , , . . ' ■.

fh is audacious an d h e re t ic a l u tte ra n c e aroused no anger

her©, fo r a t t h i s co u rt th e bo ldest, remarks regarding r e l ig io u s a f f a i r s

were to le ra te d , even rece ived w ith a sm ile , w hile a f r e e o r m erely

c a re le s s word about th e - jra ie r , h is person o r h is p o l ic ie s eomld prove

d es trac tiv eo \ ; :

' Dante°s eyes sought th e speaker and discovered him to be a

d is tin g u ish ed young cX erio„ whose f in g e rs played w ith th e p recious

c re ss which he wore o u ts id e h is cassocko

■ .. ' ' ,”i o t so f a r as I am concerned 8M answered the F lorentine,

th o u g h tfu lly » “May monks become e x t in c t a s soon a s a g en era tio n i s

born .which le a rn s to u n i te . ju s t ic e ,and compassion„ th e . two. h ig h est

fo rces of th e human so u l0 which seem to be m utually ex c lu s iv e » U ntil

■that la te , hour in w orld .,evolution^, l e t th e s ta te ad m in iste r th e one6

th e church th e o th e r» S in ce 9 .however, th e -p rac tic e , o f compassion

presupposes am e n t i r e ly s e l f le s s so u l, th e th re e m onastic vows are

ju s t i f i e d , fo r i t i s l e s s d i f f i c u l t , as experience t e a c h e s t o give

up a l l d e s ire than to renounce i t m erely in p a rt.'" , '

“But a te th e re n o t more bad monks than good ones ! 66 con=>

tin u ed th e e c c le s ia s t ic a l s c e p t ic . ,' . , , '

“Mo," a lleg ed Dante, “no t i f we consider human f ra .i l ty .

th e re would th en have to be m ore.u n ju s t judges than j u s t ones, more

cowardly s o ld ie rs than courageous ones1, more' bad men than good men.w

“And i s n o t th a t th e c a se f 88 whispered th e c l e r i c .

"Mo, 08 decided Dante, and a d iv in e ecs tasy ^ illum ina ted h is

severe f e a tu re s . “Does n o t our p h ilo so p ^r in q u ire and .in v estig a te

1 how e v il en te red th i s w orld! Were th e bad ones in th e m a jo rity , we

would ask? how d id v ir tu e come in to th e worldo“

: ■ These proud and obscure se n te n ce s ' impressed th e company,

b u t a lso k ind led th e apprehension th a t th e F lo ren tin e m ight lo se

<s

him self 1 m h is s c h o la s tic philosophy r a t h e r .than in h is s to ry .

Gangrande saw how M s young f r ie n d smppressed a p r e t ty

yax*m« Under such circm staD .ee s he f e l t obliged to in te r r u p t and ■

in q u ired , M¥ i l l you t e l l us a tru e s to ry , dear Dante, according to

documents, p r a popular legend , o r an inven tion o f your lo f ty mindf68

Dante answered w ith d e lib e ra te em phasis, 08X s h a ll develop

my s to ry from an e p ita p h » 88

■ ■ 88From an ep itap h ? 88 . : i ,

' 88From an ep itap h which I read y ea rs ago in a F raneisean

monastery a t Padua« The stone which bore the in s c r ip t io n stood in

a nook o f the m onastery garden, and, / although concealed beneath w ild

rose bushes, i t was s t i l l a cce ss ib le to th e novices, i f they c rep t

on a l l fo u rs and were w ill in g - to d is re g a rd a scra tched cheek, . 1 ; .

commanded th e p r io r = = I mean I inveighed upon him =' = to t ra n s fe r

the stone to th e l ib r a r y and to p lace i t under the p ro te c tio n of th e

old e a re ta k e r ='88 . .

^How did th e ep itap h re a d t80 asked the w ife o f th e Prince

in d o le n tly , - , ' • : V: '

88The in s c r ip t io n , 88 re p lie d Bahte, "was in L a tin and reads

Ulc:-■•iacet menacfaas A sto rre cum uxore Antiopeo S ep e lieb a t A zzolim iso88

"And what does th a t meant88 asked the lady cu rio u s ly ,

Gangrande tra n s la te d H uen tly s "Here r e s t s the monk A sto rre

beside h is w ife A ntiope, Both were b u ried by E a ze lin ,"

"The hideous ty ra n t 188 exclaimed th e im pressionable young g i r l

a t h is s id e , "He undoubtedly had th e two buried a l iv e because they

loved each o th e r and he in s is te d upon mocking h is v ic tim s even in

h er gpaW by , c a l l lag h er th e vd.fe o f themonko The f ie n d ! 68 .

wB ard lyIIM reniarked. Damte. "T his, aeeording to h is to ry , i s

h ig h ly im probable9 amd th e s to ry , in my mind a t l e a s t , has taken q u ite

a d i f f e r e n t turno For Egzelin would have p re fe rre d th e breach o f a

s p i r i tu a l vow to e c c l e s i a s t i c ^ obedience.. I suspect t h a t 8 s e p e lie b a t 0

was meant in an a a iea b le senses he provided them w ith . a b u r ia l«ei

' "G orrectg" exclaimed Gangrande gayly, "you th in k as l do.

Egzeline was' domineering and somewhat coarse and v io le n t , b u t ninef= •

te n th s o f h is a t r o c i t i e s have been imputed to him by th e church and

by th e im agination o f th e ■■ people . 66 •' ■ . 1 ' ' ' v :' : : , : t V: ^

C9!rhat m ight be so 9w sighed Dante. "Moreover, he i s no t y e t

th e m onster which th e ehroniele- ju s t ly o r u n ju s tly d e sc rib e s , when he •

makes h is appearance in my s to ry , bu t h is c r u e l t y i s only beginning

to appear in a c e r ta in expression about th e mouth, so to speak = .

commanding figure,® Gangrande completed th e p ic tu re

f e rv id ly , • "w ith b r i s t l in g b lack h a i r , as you p a in t him in your tw e lf th .

canto as an in h a b ita n t o f h e l l « . Where d id you rece iv e th e idea fo r

such a head?®

" I t i s y o u r s r e p l i e d Bante. b o ld ly , and Gangrande f e l t •

f l a t t e r e d . ’ ■...................... '.... / ■

As he turned to th e company, he continued w ith a th re a te n in g

sm ile , " I f you perm it me, I s h a ll take th e remaining C haracters from

your m idst and s h a ll give them yomr names: th e in n er man I s h a ll ‘ ;■

leav e untouched s in ce I am unable to read th e r e in .m .

" I su rrender my mien t e you , 18 sa id th e p r in c e ss magnamihously,

\ as her in d iffe re n c e began to y ie ld . ' ' ' : ' ■ ■, - ■. '■>. > v-/.; d :: ■■ . ■ " d ; ■ . • :- - - rd . ; . ^ - d d f Y ' x , : . \ :

A-'-surmur o f th e h ig h est excitem ent ran through th e audience,

and e Iomr s to ry , Dante, , your s to ry 8 was whispered " f r * a l l s id e s »

• ■ On a b e a u tifu l summer day, a fl©w@r~bedeeked barque, teeming

w ith f e s t iv e ly c lad people, g lided to th e muted sounds o f f lu te s over ■

th e rap id bu t q u ie t w aters o f the B ren ta , The barque was en tering th e •

g racefu l curve which th e r iv e f d esc rib es as i t approaches th e c i ty o f

Padua, I t was th e b r id a l p rocession of Emberto Vicedomini and h is b e tro th e d ,

Diana P iazaguerra , The Paduan had fe tch ed h is b rid e from a convent

s i tu a te d along th e upper course o f th e r iv e r . According to an o ld lo c a l

custom, g i r l s o f p o s itio n were in th e h a b it of r e t i r in g to t h i s convent

fo r the purpose o f pious m ed ita tion befo re m arriage. The b rid e s a t in

th e cen te r o f th e barque upon a pu rp le cushion between th e bridegroom

and th e th re e handsome youths who were th e is su e o f h is f i r s t m arriage.

Five y ears ago, Umberto Vicedomini had b u ried the w ife o f h is youth

w hile th e plague raged in Padua, and, although he stood in the prime o f

h is manhood, i t was only w ith re lu c tan ce and d i f f i c u l ty th a t he had f in a l ly

acceded to the d a ily e n tre a tie s o f h is aged and a i l in g fa th e r and decided

in favor o f a second m arriage.

The barque d r i f te d in th e c u rre n t o f th e r iv e r . S oftly , chant­

in g , the oarsmen accompanied the g e n tle m usic, Then everyth ing became

s i l e n t . A ll eyes tu rned toward th e r ig h t bank o f th e stream where a t a l l

kn igh t re s tra in e d h is s ta l l i o n as he waved: toward th e barque w ith a

sweeping g e s tu re , A shy murmur ran through the passengers. The oarsmen

h a s t i ly doffed th e i r red caps, and th e e n t i r e p a r ty , inc lud ing the b r id e ­

groom, Diana and th e 'b o y s ro se in fe a r and re sp e c t. With: subserv ien t

gestures.g, wavlBg arms and ha lf= b en t knees, they tu rn ed toward the, beaeh

w ith such impetuousness and v io lence o f m otion th a t th e barque, i t s

.equilibria® u p se t, leaned to the r ig h t and suddenly capsized-. There

was a ,sh r ie k o f t e r r o r , a w ild ly spinning whirlpools, then momentary . ;

s ile n c e which was soon s h a tte re d by th e screams o f th e s ink ing and

emerging v ic tim s who s tru g g led among th e w reaths o f th e capsized barque.' ' v

Help: w as 'n o t long in coming,. fo r a l i t t l e fa r th e r downstream la y a ham let

in h ab ited by f is h e r s and ferrymen. Here a lso stood th e horses and

l i t t e r s which were to have taken the company now drowning in the r iv e r

the rem ainder o f , th e way to . Padma. ■ • , • . • ; v. ;

The f i r s t two rescue b o ats approached each o th e r from opposite

banks. In th e one, beside a b r is tly -b e a rd e d old ferrym an, stood ;

E z z e l in , . th e .ty r a n t ©f Padua and the innocent cause o f th e d is a s te r ; , •

in th e o th e r were a young monk and h is boatman Who had been pushing h is

dusty fe r ry ac ro ss th e r iv e r j u s t a t th e tim e o f th e ac c id en t. The two

boats reached each o th e r . In the. w ater between them f lo a te d ah abundance .

o f heavy blonde h a ir , which the kneeling monk se ized r e s o lu te ly w ith

o u ts tre tc h e d hands, w hile h is ferryman lean ed w ith a l l h i s w eight toward

the opposite s id e o f th e b o a t. Grasping th e th ick h a ir th e monk l i f t e d

from th e c u rre n t th e head o f a woman whose eyes were c lo sed . Then ,w ith • ; ■"

th e help of E zzelin who had come up b esid e him he drew up th e body which

had increased in w eight because o f th e drenched c lo th e s , The ty ra n t

le a p t from h is boat in to th e 'O th e r ahd regarded the l i f e l e s s head, which

bore an expression o f d efiance and su ffe rin g , alm ost benevo len tly , as i f

he were s t i r r e d by th e ;p ie a s in g fe a tu re s o r perhqps by th e presence o f

.death, : b-. -. . - , 1 1 : , '

' "’So know h e r 9 A sto rre f ® he asked th e monko Since th e . '

l a t t e r shook h is head, he ee& tim ed, ”L@cfc» -.it- i s 'y o u r b ro ther" s w ife . ®

The monk e a s t a shy*, compassionate glance upon th e womanj, who

slow ly opened her eyeso . ,

- "Take her to th e beaeh , , 88 ordered Eg s e l i n « However 0 th e monk

l e f t her to h is boatman. ®I want to search fo r my b ro th e ra® he exclaimed

®mntil 1 f in d him.® ■ . • -

®I s h a il help' yon 0 monk,® sa id th e ty ra n t, '“b u t I doubt th a t ,

we s h a l l . save him o I saw him being born down in to the depth of th e r iv e r

a s he embraced h i s boys ow

Meanwhileg the B renta was te a a in g w ith v esse ls^ They f ish ed

w ith p o le s» hooks„ rods and n e ts and w ith in th e ra p id ly changing scene

th e r n l e r s f ig n re seemed to be nbiquitom s among the search ers and th e

resemedo;", ; ; :i : v ■ ■ . - ' •

, ®G0 me»/monk9® he s a id finally® . "You'can no lo n g e r help here® ’

Umberto and h is boys have been ly in g a t th e bottom of th e r iv e r too long

to r e tu rn to l i f e =. The c u rren t has c a r r ie d them o f f » I t . w il l s e t them

ashore once i t t i r e s o f them®. But do you see the te n ts there!® A number

of them had been e rec ted on th e beach o f th e Brenta fo r th e recep tio n o f

the wedding barque® Bow they contained th e deceased and th e seemingly

dead and were surrounded by w ailing r e la t iv e s and se rv an ts who had

h u rried h i th e r from near-by Padua® roTheree monk[, do what your o f f ic e

d ic ta te s? works o f c h a r ity 1 Console th e living® Bury th e dead®68

The monk stepped ashore and l o s t s ig h t o f th e prefect.® % t

o f th e m u ltitu d e„ Diana9 h is b ro th e r 9 S b r id e and widow, stepped toward

him d isc o n so la te ly b u t again in f u l l p o ssessio n o f herself® D roplets

o f w ater were s t i l l t r ie k l in g from h er heavy h a ir upon a new garmerit whieh

she had rece ived from, a eompassionate 'fisherwesian whog in re tu rn g had

taken possession o f her preoious wedding gown. “Pious brother,, she

addressed A s to r r e , .“I have been abandoned. In th e odnfusion, someone .

, els®o' a l iv e o r dead, has,, re tu rn ed to; town in the l i t t e r in tended fo r my '

use . Aeeompany me to th e house o f my father= in= law .who. i s your f a th e r ."

Tne young widow deceived h e r s e l f . The se rv an ts o f th e o ld

.. fieedom ini had ■ n o t abaBdoned; her; in confusion a n d . co n s te rn a tio n b u t • ;

because o f cowardice and s u p e rs t i t io n . They were too f r ig h te n e d to face

t h e i r i r a s c ib le m aster w ith a widow in s te a d o f a b r id e and to d e liv e r

the tid in g s 'of. th e d is a s te r which had b e fa lle n the fam ily . : .

, The monk y ie ld ed to th e req u e s t s ince he saw many o th ers o f h is

k ind busying them selves w ith c h a r ita b le works among th e te n ts and. in th e

open. ■ ’ :0'l© f ms go 0 lil1' he (said and eondueted th e young woman to the s t r e e t \

le ad in g to th e ,p ity whose s p ire s and cupolas seemed to grow ou t of th e

b lu e sky. The road was crowded by hundreds o f people who were hurrying

to th e beach. Or' re tu rn in g from i t . . The two walked in th e m iddle, o f t h e . ; .. . . . . . ■ •, . -. '. X;- . ■ v : - t ' t ■

s t r e e t w ithout conversing 9 o ften separa ted bu t always fin d in g each o th er

again , and by now they had a lready passed through -the suburb which was

in h ab ited by th e g u ild s . Loudly c h a t t in g -o r whispering groups stood

about everywhere => «. th e acc id en t a t th e Brent a had excited ; th e e n t i re

populace => - regard ing w ith commiserative c u r io s ity the un fb rtu n a te

couple.ywhlch had l o s t bridegroom.' and b ro th e r . ' ■ ; t .

• 3 The monk and Biana were -figu res which every c h ild ih .Padua

knew. 'A sto rre 9 although he was no t considered a s a in t , s t i l l had the

re p u ta tio n o f a model ,,#pnk. The people, were ao proud o f him and ' .

esteemed him so much th a t he eould have been ca lle d th e monk o f Padua.

12

And r ig h t ly so 0 fo r he had b ravely and ch e e rfu lly renounced th e p r iv i ­

leg es and the immeasurable possessions which were connected w ith h is

noble descent and’ o ffe red h is l i f e w ill in g ly to th e low est and poorest

in tim es o f plague and o th e r p u b l ic .em ergencies» In ad d itio n j he was: :■ ' ' . ' :: ■ ’ ' ' ' ' I

a g racefu l man, as people loVS .th e ir b a in ts , w ith h is chestnut-brow n

h a irP h i s warm eyes, and h is noble b ea rin g « , • . /: .. ' ,

In h e r own way, l ia n a was no l e s s prominent due to h er

junonian s ta tu r e , something which l e s s e r fo lk fin d more appealing than

th e .sub tle en ticem ents» Her mother had been a German, a descendant o f

th e Hohenstaufen dynasty , as some a lle g e d , a lthough only according to

blood and no t l e g a l ly , Germany and I ta ly had combined th e i r e f fo r ts

as good s i s t e r s to c re a te th i s imposing f ig u re , ■

So m atte r how s t r i c t and a u s te re she was in d ea lin g w ith her

p ee rs , she was a f fa b le to the common people, l is te n e d to t h e i r d i f f i ­

c u l t ie s , answered them b r ie f ly bu t d i s t in c t ly and k issed the most ragged

c h ild re n . She donated and co n trib u ted w ithout h e s i ta t io n ; perhaps

because h er fa th e r , th e o ld P iazaguerra , a f t e r Vieedomini, th e w ea lth ies t.

Paduan, ims th e v i l e s t m iser, and she . f e l t hum ilia ted by th e p a te rn a l

v ice ,, -■ ■ ;; - . .

Thus, th e people, whose a f fe c t io n she h e ld , made Diana th e

o b jec t o f th e i r d a ily gossip and m arried h er monthly to somp d is tin g u ish ed

Paduan, although r e a l i ty f a i le d to reward th ese pious d e s ire s . Three

o b s tac le s com plicated h e r b e tro th a l $ B iana1' s proud and o fte n au s te re *

bearing , th e closed f i s t o f her fa th e r and h er b ro th e r’ s b lin d a f fe c tio n

fo r th e ty ra n t, whose p o ss ib le overthrow would cause th e downfall o f

h is f a i th f u l fo llow ers as w e ll ,. thus endangering th e e n t i r e fam ily.

> ; : : ; ' ; \ ::. ' ; 13 .

F ir ia l i j j Umberto Vieedominiti who now la y a t th e bottom of the B rentag

en tered in to a lo v e le s s -b e tro th a l w ith - h e r , a s ta te o f a f f a i r s known t©

the; i n t i r e e i t j= ' ' ' . - ;

■The yomng eoaple was so steeped in ju s t i f i a b l e sorrow th a t

they e i th e r did no t hear the. eager p r a t t l e which followed t | iw o r e lse

paid l i t t l e a t te n t io n to i to The people took no umbrage a t seeing the

monk and th e woman w a lk in g 's id e by sideo I t was in o rd e r, sinee i t was

a monk0§ c a l l in g to o f fe r conso la tion and s in ce , a s the n e a re s t and most

. obvious b e a re rs o f the bad t id in g s e both had the same d e s tin a tio n s , the

house o f th p o ld Yieedomimi,

, ' ; The women b@mdaBed:- Biana° s fateg. complaining th a t she had been

com pelled. to marry a man who had m erely accepted her as a s u b s t i tu te fo r

h is belovedo deceased w ife i bew ailing in the same b rea th th e lo s s of

th is man ieven b efo re her m arriage. ' ' ’ . , .

The men, on th e o th er hand, d e lib e ra te d w ith im portant g e s t i -

e u la tio n s and c le v e re s t miens a burning question which had a r ise n because

o f th e drowning o f th e fo u r h e ir s o f th e most prom inent.fam ily in Padua»

The head o f th e f a m ily , , a s . en e rg e tic as he was cunning „ had managed to

r m a in a t peace w ith both th e Tyrant o f Padua and th e Church, although

.the ' la t te r ;w a s h e ld in contempt by E sse lin since she had placed him :

under a f iv e -fo ld ban."' For a l i f e t im e he had remained a lo o f from p u b lic

a f f a i r s , concen tra ting h is e n t i re being and h is sp lend id w ill-pow er upon /

one aims .the w ealth and p ro sp e r ity o f h is fam ily» low a l l th i s Was .

destroyedo H is o ld e s t son and h is g randch ild ren la y a t th e bottom o f

the-Brentao- His second and th i rd sons had d ied th is same f a t a l y ear,

th e one two, th e o th e r th ree, months ago» . The o ld e r one had- been w asted .

1 4

and abandoned during one o f th e t y r a n t s w ild b a t t l e s <> fhe o th e rD

ifhbm the unprejudieed f a th e r had tmrned in to a sp lend id Venetian

m erchant9 had b led to death on. seme o r ie n ta l shore, a f t e r having been

n a ile d to th e cross by p ira te s who had f a i le d to re c e iv e t h e i r ransom

in tim e o The fo u rth i .s to r r e 0 th e monko The ra p id ly c a lc u la tin g

Paduans never doubted fo r a moment th a t h is fa th e r would f r a n t ic a l ly

attem pt to 'compel th i s one to break h is m onastic vows«, Mhether he ,

would .succeed, and whether th e monk would; agree to th i s was now th e

argument Of th e ex c ited erowd= And they debated in th e end ' so loud ly

and vehemently th a t even th e mourning monk h im self could no-longer

remain in doubt as to who was meant by th e ® gli°s and e l la ° s which

sounded from th e v ario u s groups» BiuSg. more fo r his-'companion0 s sake

than fo r h is own, he turned in to a shady®, grass; covered a l le y , which

was, w ell known to h is , fo r i t le d a longside the w eathered w a lls o f

h is m onastery. Here, i t was alm ost c h i l ly , b u t th e news which f i l l e d

a l l o f Padua w ith t e r r o r , had reached even th ese shadows. From th e

open Windows o f th e re fe c to ry , which was- b u i l t in to th e th ic k w all, v

where th e monks gathered around the d inner, ta b le much l a t e r than usual '

th e ca tas tro p h e on th e B renta had u p se t th e schedule o f th e e n t ire

town « » came th e sounds o f a conversation so querulous and p ie rc in g ,

so f a l l o f ° in ib u s and ° a tib u s = = l a t i n was th e v e h ic le o f d iscu ss io n «’ «=■;

so f i l l e d w ith d e c re ta l q u o ta tio n s, th a t th e monk, could e a s i ly d isce rn

t h a t th e '.same dilemma d iscussed in th e s t r e e t was under d isp u te here

a ls o . And although he d id no t ask h im se lf What was sa id , he n ev e rth e le ss

knew who was a t is s u e . However, what he did not d iscover were = =

15

In th e course o f h is n a r ra tio n Dante’ s eyes had searched fo r

t h e ■distinguished^ c le r ic who;had concealed M feself behind h is neighbor«

= = two bttrnings hollow eyes which gased a t him and th e

woman a t h is s id e through a gap in th e w a ll« These eyes belonged to an

u n fo rtu n a te c re a tu re » a l o s t monk, named Serapion, who consumed h im se lfg

body and soul j, in th e monastery® With h is p r e c ip i ta te im agination , he

grasped in s ta n t ly th a t h is fe llow monk, A sto rre , had hungered and fa s te d

f o r the l a s t ■ time according to th e ru le ' o f J t o,; F rancis „■ and: he envied ;■ ' v

him in te n se ly the se cu la r possession o f w ealth and joys e a s t h is way by

a whim o f d e a th » He la y in w ait fo r th e re tu rn in g monk in order to

s c ru tin iz e h is , fe a tu re s / so th a t he. m ight read th e re in what I s to r r e had ;.

reso lv ed to do . about h im se lf« S is eyes devoured th e woman and f ix e d ,

them selves on her fo o ts te p s «

A storre d ire c te d h is s tep s tow ard;a sm all square formed by

fou r mansions and en te red th e arched ga te .of the most im pressive one® ,■

Upon a stone bench in th e courtyard , he beheld two re c l in in g fig u ress

an extrem ely young German in f a l l armour and an aged S aracen» The ■

German slumbered s tre tc h e d across th e bench, h is red d ish blond lo ck s ■ I . :

in th e la p o f th e s i t t i n g in f id e l w ith a snow-=white beard who was lik e =

wise drowsing and whose head nodded p a te rn a l ly » • The two belonged, to .

E zze lin ’ s guard, which was composed o f an equal number o f Germans and

Saracens in im ita tio n o f ■th e im perial guard o f h is ■ b ro th e r- in -law , the

.Ikperor F redericks The ty ra n t was w ith in th e p a lace . He may have

considered i t h is du ty to v i s i t the o ld Tieedcmini® From the s p ir a l :

s ta i r c a s e , A storre ' and Diana co u ld ' indeed hear a conversation in which.' ' '

1 6

E zzelin conducted him self ealmly and su c c in c tly w hile th e o ld man, who

seemed ; eom pletely beside h im se lf „ . screamed and clamoured. The monk and

th e woman stopped a t th e en trance o f the h a l l among th e se rv an ts , who

were trem bling from head to to e . T heir m aster had showered them . with

th e most vehement m aled ic tions and then chased them away w ith Clenched

f i s t s because they had been so l a t e in b ring ing the news from th e beach

and h a d .s tu t te re d w ith f e a r , hard ly daring to p ro n o u n ce 'th e ir message.

In a d d itio n , th e se se rv an ts were p e t r i f i e d by the fearned presence, o f

the. ty ran to . To announce him was forb idden on pain o f d ea th . He en te red

the houses o f Padua as u n re s tra in e d ly as a -ghost.

"'And t h i s you r e la te so calm ly, you f ie n d ," raged the o ld man .

in- h is ' d e sp a ir, was i f you re p o rte d :ihe lo s s ©f a hdrse.,o r a h arv est 1

You have k i l l e d th e se fo u r, nobody b u t you. Ihy did you have to r id e

to th e beach a t p re c ise ly th a t hourf %hy d id you have to wave at. th e

barque? You have done th i s to me. Do you h e a r t '0

" F a te ,” r e to r te d E z se lin .

•' " P a te l 00 exclaimed: the Vicedozainio "Fate and' astromaney,

in c a n ta tio n s and c o n sp ira c ie s , d e c a p ita tio n s and women h u rlin g them-

se lv es from th e b a ttlem en ts .an d hundreds o f young men sink ing from

th e i r h o rses , p ie rced by h o s t i le arrows during your foolhardy and

infamous b a t t l e s . That i s your e ra , your re ig n , E zze lin , you accursed

ty ra n t . You drag u s a l l along in you r gory wake. A ll- l iv in g and dying

becomes v io le n t and unnatu ra l in your p resence, and nobody meets h is

. death any lo n g er in bed as a . rep en tan t C h r is tia n . 011 - /

.- "You do me an in ju s t i c e , 80 r e p l ie d E zzelin . MI have, indeed,

no more dea lings w ith th e Church. She leav es me co ld . But I have ,

1 ?

never prevented you and your k ind from remaining in Her fo ld . This

you know9 o therw ise you would no t possess th e boldness to correspond

w ith th e Holy See. What i s th a t which you tw is t in your hands, a ttem pt­

ing to h ide th e papal s e a l . Am indulgence^ A b revef Give i t here-L

Indeed i t i s a breve t Hay I redd i t ? You. perm it? Your p a tro n , the ,

Holy F a ther, w rite s th a t , should your l i n e o f descent become extin ct

w ith th e exception of your fo u rth and l a s t son, th e monk, th i s one

should ioso fac to be freed o f h is vows, provided th a t he re tu rn s to th e

world v o lu n ta r i ly and follow ing h i s own re so lv e , You cunning fox, how

many ounces: of gold did th i s parehmeBt. c o s t you ?'ro ; , : ■ :

611 Are you mocking me? 18 howled th e old man. "What o ther course

was l e f t f o r me a f t e r th e death o f my second and th i rd son. For whom

, did I hoard and save? For the worms.? . For you? Do you want to rob me? :

So? Then he lp me, you, my son8s g o d -fa th e r8* « - E sg e lin , befo re h is

excommunication, had l i f t e d Fie®domini°s th i rd boy out o f th e fo n t, th e

same one who had s a c r i f ic e d h im self fo r him on the b a t t l e f i e l d - >

’’help me to p re v a il over the monk, so th a t he may become w orld ly again

and take a w ife . Command him, you omnipotent r u le r , g ive him to me fo r

th e son whom you have s lau g h te red . A ss is t me, i f you lo v e mei81

MThat i s no t my concern , 81 r e p l ie d the ty ra n t w ithou t the

s l ig h te s t a g i ta t io n . 88i® must decide th a t h im se lf . 8 V o lu n ta rily 8, says

th e b reve. Why should he re lin q u ish h is c a ll in g i f he i s a devout monk,

as I b e lie v e he is ? So th a t th e b lood o f the: Vieedomini may no t run

dry? I s th a t a p re re q u is i te fo r th e continuance o f th i s world? Are the

Vieedomini a n e c e s s ity ? 88

1 8

■ ", Die o ld man - sh rieked w ith ftary 8 ggTou v i l l a i n g yon m urderer

o f my sons 8 I see through yon» Yon want to become my h e ir and conduct

yomr insame eampaigns w ith my money» ; A t th a t moment he pere eived h is

daughter®iMLawy who e n te re d ' the roomg: le a v in g : the h e s i ta n t monk, and '

th e se rv an ts a t ' th e th re sh o ld ' B esp ite M s, physica l weakness y he

staggered h u rr ie d ly toward hers grasped 'h e r■by th e hands0 and drew h e r .

forw ard, as i f to c a l l h e r to account fo r th e mishap which had b e fa lle n

’’’tihat have you done w ith my son, Diana?" he panted .

"He l i e s a t th e bottom of th e B ren ta ," she r e p l ie d sad ly , and

h er b lue eyes darkened. ■- ; ' '

"Where a re my th re e grandsons?" . . .

■. ■; .. ; - " i t t h e bottom o f th e B re n ta /’ she rep ea ted . . ■ '

"And you b rin g y o u rse lf h e re a s a p resen t to met You I r e ta in ? Si

. laughed the old:mam d isc o rd a n tly . t . , , .

'Would to God," she sa id slow ly, " the waves had dragged me

down, and th e o th e rs could s tan d here in my s tea d ."

She f e l l s i l e n t . Then sudden anger se iaed h e r . " I f my

presence in s u l ts and d is tu rb s you, then blame him; he to r e me back to

l i f e by the h a i r , when 1 had- a lready d ie d ." t .

Mow th e o ld man n o ticed t h e monk, h is son, and he gathered h is

s p i r i t s w ith a s tren g th and speed which sorrow, seemed to have increased

r a th e r than decreased .

"Truly? This one saved you from the Bren t a t Bmi P e c u lia r . ■

How wondrous a re God's ways." He grasped th e monk's arm and shoulder

as i f he wanted to possess h im self o f th e la tte r® s body and soul and

dragged h im self toward the s ick bed upon which he f e l l , w ithout re lax in g

th e p ressu re on the arm ©f h is : sen, who f o i l owed w ithout re s is ta n c e . ; /

Diana followed and k n e lt w ith : hanging a m s and folded hands on the o th er

s id e o f th e bed, le an in g h e r head on i t s edge so th a t only the knot of

h er blonde h a ir remained v i s i b l e <, S a se lin s a t opposite th e group 'w ith .

h is r ig h t hand propped upon th e ,r o l le d up breve as i f i t were a m arshal0 s

baton . ' ' — -

"Son, son ," whimpered the o ld man w ith an a ffe c tio n oomposed

o f t r u th and cunning, "my l a s t , only co n so la tio n . You a re the s t a f f

o f my old age and w iU n o t break between these trem bling hands. You

r e a l i z e , " he continued a lread y adopting a more p r a c t ic a l tone of vo ice ,

" th a t under th e p re v a ilin g cond itions you can no longer remain in: the

m onastery. I t i s canonical:, . i s i t ■ n o t,, son, th a t a monk whose fa th e r :

becomes i l l o r im poverished, i s given leave ' by h is p r io r to t i l l the.

s o i l and to care fo r th e author o f h ie ex is ten c e ., 1 , however, need you

much more u rg e n tly . Your b ro th e rs and nephews a re gone, and i t i s you :

who b e a rs the l i f e ^ to r c h o f our house. You are a flame which I have-

ig n ite d , and i t does me l i t t l e good i f i t should cease glowing and go

up in smoke in some m onastic c e l l . Know one th in g ," = = he had read

s in c e re compassion in the wara brown eyes above him, and th e re v e re n tia l

a t t i tu d e o f th e monk seemed to. promise b lin d obedience = = " I am more

se rio u s ly i l l than you th in k . 1m I n o t, Isaschar?" He tu rned to face

a narrow f ig u re which had en tered through avside^door, bearing seme

f la s k s and a spoon, and which had stepped s o f t ly behind th e sick-bed ,

nodding a p a le head a ffirm a tiv e ly , “ l .am leav in g th i s w orld, b u t I

t e l l you, A sto rre , i f you, f a i l to g ra n t lay req u est, then your fa th e r '

w ill re fu se to s t e p in to th e barque o f death and w il l continue to

cower on th e beach o f tw ilig h to w

The monk stroked th e fe v e rish hand o f h is o ld f a th e r a f fe c t io n -

a te ly and calmly u tte re d th e two words? "My vows2 “ • .

I z z e l in u n ro lled the breve*

"Your v o w s8m coaxed th e o ld Vieedominio "Loose bonds„ broken

f e t te rs * Make one move and they w i l l . f a l l - The Holy. Churchg to which

you owe reverence and obedience, has d ec la red them n u ll and void . There

i f stands w r i tte n o'* His th in - f in g e r in d ica ted th e parchment w ith the

papal sea l o

The monk approached the r u le r r e s p e c tfu l ly 9 took th e document

and read under th e observance of two p a ir s of eyes» D iz z ily s he took -

a s tep backwards as i f he had been s tand ing upon a h igh tower and had

seen th e r a i l in g suddenly recede ov

E zzelin se ized th e re e lin g monk by the arm and asked him

su c c in c tly , "To whom d id you make your vows, Monk, to y o u rse lf o r to

the Church?”

"N atu ra lly to b o th ,n y e lle d th e old man a n g r ily . **Iou and

your accursed so p h is tr ie s* Beware o f him , sont He wants to pauperize •

us Viceddmlnlso" .

W ithout anger E zzelin p laced h is r ig h t hand upon h is beard

and swore, "Should Ticedomini d ie , the monk here , h is son, w il l be h is

h e ir and w il l donate = > should th e lin e a g e exp ire w ith him, and i f he

loves me and th e c i ty o f h is b i r th - <= a h o sp ita l o f such s iz e and

splendor th a t we s h a ll be th e envy o f th e Hundred C itie s " » = he meant

th e c i t i e s o f I t a ly , "And now;, ay f r ie n d , s ince I have rendered m yself

ir rep ro ac h a b le ,, may I d i r e c t a few q u estio n s 'to the monk? You p e m i t f ”

low th e o ld man f e l l in to smeh a .rag e th a t he was se iaed by

crampso S t i l l he d id n o t re le a se th e BLorik s a m , which he had grasped

anew. .

; • Isa seh a r oam tiously approached th e pale" l i p s w ith a spoon

■which was f i l l e d w ith a s tro n g -sm ellin g essen eeo The torm ented o ld

man turned h is head away w ith an e f f o r t » wL et me b e ,* he groanedv “you

are a lso th e p r e fe c t’ s d octor,*" and he closed h is eyes.

The Jew tu rned h is eyes, which were gleaming b lack and very

i n t e l l i g e n t 8 toward th e ty ra n t as i f im ploring fo rg iv e n e ss■fo r th is

suspicions _ ' : ; ‘ : ; v ' ; '

“M ill he reg a in eonsclousnessf® asked E zzelin .

*1 b e liev e so ,* re p lie d th e Jewv "He i s s t i l l a l iv e and w il l

awaken again , b u t n o t fo r long 9. I f e a r . He w ill n o t see t h i s sun

descend . 18 The ty r a n t msed th e o pportun ity to ta lk to A s to rre , who

b asied h im se lf about h is ttneonseious fa t iie r . -

’’Explain t o me. Monk, 11 - sa id .E sse lin and combed - ■=> h is; f a v o r i t e ,

g e s tu re « =■ w ith th e sp read f in g e r s ' o f h is r ig h t hand through h is f u l l

beard . 11 How much d id th e th re e vows- c o s t you which you swore some t e n .

y ea rs agof You must be about t h i r t y y ea rs o ld . 11 The monk nodded_=

A sto rre ra ise d h is c le a r eyes and re p lie d w ith o u t h e s i ta t io n ,

’’Poverty and obedience, no th ing . I have no mind fo r possessions and I

obey e a s i ly . " He h e s ita te d and, blushed., ;t . -

The ty ra n t was p leased by t h i s manly c h a s t i ty . ’’Did someone

fo rce o r persuade you to adopt-your c a ll in g ? ” he changed th e su b je c t.

2 2 : :

MN o/r d ec lared th e monko MOur genealogy re v e a ls th a t i t i s

a lo ng -stand ing custom th a t o f th re e or four sons e the l a s t one e n te rs

the c le rg y , perhaps in o rder to guard th e h e rita g e and the. power of the

fam ily , or to possess thereby an in term ediary fo r th e Vicedomin! = -

be th i s as i t may, the custom i s o ld and d ig n ified » 1 knew my l o t from

childhood ,on w ithout d is l ik in g it* There was no co e rc io n ."

"And th e th ird ? " sa id Ezzelim, re tu rn in g to th e o r ig in a l

q u estio n , and r e fe r r in g to th e th i rd vow» A storre understood him.

Blushing anew, b u t le s s in te n se ly th is tim e, he responded,

" I t has n o t been easy fo r me, b u t X succeeded as o th e r monks do who a re

w ell advisedo And th a t I was by Sto Anthony,H he added w ith reverence.

"This m erito rio u s s a in t , as you know, la d ie s and gentlemen,

had l iv e d fo r some y ears w ith th e F ranciscans in Padua," explained Dante

"How should we n o t know?" b an tered one o f th e l i s t e n e r s .

"Have we n o t worshipped the r e l i c which swims about in the

pond o f th e monastery th ere? I mean th e pike which once attended th e

sermon o f the s a in t , repen ted , denounced meat, and has continued s tead ­

f a s t ly to th i s day, a t h is advanced age, as a s t r i c t v eg e ta r ia n = - "

he suppressed th e r e s t o f h is prank fo r Dante had turned to him w ith a

frown. , ': ,

"And what was h is advice?" in q u ired E zzelin .

"To fo llo w my c a l l in g sim ply '^nd rig h teo u s ly , " re la te d th e

m onk ,:"like a punctual s e rv ic e , somewhat l ik e the se rv ice of the s o ld ie r

whieh demands obedient sm seles and p r iv a tio n s B which an honest w arrio r

. i s mot even p e ra i t te d to regard as suehz to t i l l th e , s o i l w ith 'sw ea t '

o f my b r o w t o e a t m oderately , to f a s t m oderately, to h ear the confessions

of n e ith e r g i r l s nor young womene to walk in the face of God8 and n o t

to p ray to h i s mother more a rd e n tly thah th e b re v ia ry p re sc r ib e s » 61 . .

. t The ty ra n t smiled = Then he .- .extended h is r ig h t hand as i f to '

admonish or b le s s , and s a id , e?Fortunate one, yon have a s ta r I Tour .

today a r i s e s e a s i ly ou t o f your yeste rd ay and i s transform ed unawares

in to your tomorrow8 You a re something, and nothing low ly; fo r you

„ p ra c tic e th e o f f ic e of compassion, which I r e c o g n iz e ,;although I hold

a d i f f e r e n t one, The world follow s i t s own. law s, M d i f you were to

e n te r i t now, i t would be too l a t e fo r you to le a r n them. Then your •

c le a r s ta r would tu rn in to a f a r c ic a l w i l l -o ’- th e -w isp which would

b u rs t h is s in g ly tinder th e d e r is io n o f heaven a f t e r a few grotesque

l eaps - ; -' ; . . ■ ' ■ ' f t ' i ':' '

j ”One more th in g , ;and th i s I say as th e r u l e r of Padua 0 Tour '

l i f e was an e d if ic a t io n to my people, an example o f ren u n c ia tio n . The

: p o o rest f e l t eohsoled w ith h is fru g a l meal and h is hard work When you

shared them w ith him. I f you were to throw away your robe and pay

. c o u r t, as. a nohleBian, to r a' nob le woman and spend w ith f u l l hands from

th e w ealth o f your house, then you would ro b your people who have ta k e n .

p o ssess io n o f you as one o f th e i r s s you w il l c re a te d isco n ten t and

greed , and 1 should no t wonder i f your s tep brought fo r th anger, d is ­

obedience, and re b e ll io n . Such th in g s c o n c a te n a te ir •

■ HI and Padua cannot spare you» The people a re a t t r a c te d by

your handsome and noble appearance, b e s id e s , you. d isp lay f a r more

fo r titu d e , than your r u s t l e b ro th e rs » I f th e people in th e i r f r a n t ic :

ways want to murder th i s one here - ” he poin ted to th e Jew = - ”be»

cause he wants to a s s i s t them, which alm ost happened to him during th e

l a s t plague o who w il l defend him a g a in s t th e raving mob u n til. I a r r iv e

to 're s to re o r d e r \ '

E zze lin tu rned to th e p hysic ian w ith a c ru e l sm ile<> ei,I s a s c h a r 9

h e lp me to convince th e monk th a t even fo r your sake he should no t dis=

card h is ro b e ." ■

. / " S ir /* l i s p e d l s a s c h a r / " th e I rre sp o n s ib le scene which you

punished so h a rsh ly , although ju s tly * w i l l hard ly re c u r under your

sc e p te r . And, s in ce my f a i th values th e continuance o f th e fam ily as

G o d 's"h ig h es t'b le ss in g , h is lo rd sh ip " - = he a lread y addressed the monk

thus ra th e r than w ith th e e c c le s ia s t ic a l "your reverence” =’ =■ Mshould

no t remain unm arried fo r my sake."

B zzelin smiled a t the s u b tle ty o f the Jew. "And w hither wander

your thoughtsg Monkf" he a sk e d ..

" , "They stan d and p e r s is t! 1 w ish, however, - - may God fo rg iv e

me th i s s in - - ay fa th e r would no t awaken again , so th a t I w il l no t have

to be harsh to him. I f only he had rece iv ed the v iaticum a lrea d y 8M" He

vehemently k isse d th e cheek o f h is unconscious f a th e r » who consequently

regained h is senses. ' , 1 •;

The rev ived old man sighed h ea v ily , r a is e d h i s t i r e d e y e lid s ,

and viewed th e monk beseechingly through bushy, grey brows., "How does

i t s t a n d h e in q u ired . "What fa te have you decided fo r me', beloved

son, heaven o r h e l l ■

M"Fatherg” im plored A sto rre» h is voice rev ea lin g M s emotions

’’your tim e i s up! Yomr hour has come. Renomnee a l l w orld ly thoughts

and sorrow s« Think o f your so u l» Behold 0 your p r ie s t s ” <= = he meant

those o f th e p a r r is h church = - . “a re gathered in th e n ex t room and w a it

w ith the ho ly saGramentso” . '

And so i t whso The door of th e ad jo in ing ohamber was opened

c a u tio u s ly » and one could see th e shimmering of a weak eandle=>flame

hard ly v is ib le in the d a y lig h t» A ch o ir hummed s o f t ly and th e th in

trem ble o f a sm all b e l l became a u d ib le „ ■

Sow the o ld man9 who a lread y f e l t the cold f lo o d s o f Lethe a t

h is knee's9 c lasped th e monk as S t. P e te r had once c lasped C h ris t on

the, Sea o f G a lile e . "You w i l l do i t fo r me,” he babbled, , :

’’i f only 1 could 9 i f only 1 m ight Ito sighed th e monk» "By a l l

th e sa in tso f a th e r 0 th in k o f e te rn i ty ! R elinquish th a t which i s tem poral!

Your hour i s h e re !” ■ Vv: ■ ' ' , : ;

This v e ile d re fu s a ltra n s fo rm e d "iieedomini0s l a s t spark o f l i f e

in to a b laz in g fLame* “In g ra te ! In g ra te I“ he raged . ; '

A sto rre waved to the p r i e s t s . Vv ‘ |

“By- a l l d e v ils 9 68 raved th e old man, “l e t me alone w ith your

kneading and annointingo I have nothing to lo se ; I am a lread y damned

and would remain damned in the cen te r o f a heavenly chorus as long as

my son rep u d ia te s me and wantonly d es tro y s the gefte ©f my l i f e ! ” ;

• ' . The t e r r i f i e d monk, s t i r r e d i© th e depth o f h is soul-, by th ese

g h as tly blasphem ies, saw h is fa th e r f a l l i n g irrev o cab ly in to e te rn a l

damnation. Thus he opined and was thoroughly convinced9 as I myself

would have been in h is s te a d . Ih d eep est d esp a ir he f e l l on h is knees

b efo re th e dying. mamc beseeeM ng hiaa iti tea rse i'S i r {, I im plore you9

have mercy on y o u rse lf and mei01

“Let the cunning schemer go h is way," whispered th e ty ra n t»

The monk d id n o t hear him.

Again he gave a s ig n a l to th e aston ished p r ie s t s and the l i t a n y

was about to commence.

Bat th e o ld man drew in to h im self l ik e a d e f ia n t c h ild and

shook h is grey head. ■ '

" l e t th e s ly t r i c k s t e r go h is way," warned Ezzelim lo u d er.

"F a th er, F a th e r ," sobbed th e monk, and h is soul m elted w ith

compassion. ' . : . : ■ ; '■

"Tour lo rd sh ip and G h ris tian b ro th e r ," asked one of the p r ie s t s

now, h is voice trem bling , " a re you in the frame of mind in which you can

rece iv e your c re a to r and sav io r?" The' o ld man . remained s i l e n t =>

"Are you firm in your b e l ie f in th e Holy T rin ity ? Answer, me.

S ir*" in q u ired th e clergyman another tim e and turned p a le as a sh ee t,

fo r ; "Be i t denied and r e v i le d ,1® shouted th e dying man in a loud -vo ice ,

" re v ile d and - » M ■ ' y .

"Ho more , 00 exclaimed th e monk springing to h is f e e t . " I am

a t your command, S i r ; do w ith me as you choose a s long as you do no t

throw y o u rse lf in to th e flames 8 M

The o ld man sighed as a f t e r a heavy s t r a in . Then.; he looked :

about him, re lie v e d « - I alm ost sa id m e rr ily . His groping hand seized

Diana0s blonde h a i r in an attem pt to l i f t the kneeling woman, who rose

befo re him. Taking h er hand, which she did not re fu se him, he opened

th e clenched f i s t o f h is son■and jo ined th e two hands. '

. . . ■ ; »

w V alid I Before th e holy sacrament t 1,8 he ex u lted and b lessed

th e cdupleo- The monk d id no t p r o te s t 9 and Diana c losed h er eyes

"’low q u ick ly c reverend F a th e rs 0 th e re i s l i t t l e tim e; I th ink

1 am now in a C h ris tia n frame of mindoB

’ : The monk and h is b r id e wanted to step behind th e p r ie s t ly

groupo wStay:»" Htim nred1 th e dying mans, 1,8stays so th a t my consoled

eyes: may see you to g e th e r , u n t i l they grow dlau" A sto rre and Diana 9

withdrawing a few s te p s , had to w a it, hands u n ited , b efo re th e dimming

eyes o f th e o b s tin a te o ld mano , :v , ,

He murmured a sh o rt confession , received the v iaticum and

expired , w hile they annointed h is so le s and the p r i e s t c a lle d in to th e

a lready deafened e a rs th a t m agn ificen t, “depart C h r is tia n so u l/" ' The

dead fe a tu re s bore th e d i s t in c t Expression o f trium phant s ly n ess ,

i ih ile everybody around him kneeled , the ty ra n t regained sea ted

and observed th e sacred r i t e w ith calm a tte n tiv e n e s s , as one might

regard a s tran g e custom o r l ik e a s c i e n t i s t who examines a sarcophagus,

d ep ic tin g th e s a c r i f i c i a l r i t e s o f an an c ien t'race ," He approached the; ,

bed and closed th e dead man0 s eyes. !i

Then he tu rned toward Dianao “lo b le . lad y ,^ he s a id , MI th in k ,

we s h a ll r e tu rn home. Your p a r e n ts , : although in fo raed o f your d e liv e ra n ce ,

w ill be anxious about you. Also .you a re wearing a low ly garment which <

does no t behoove yo u .“

“P rin ce , I thank and fo llow yo u ,ro re p lie d -Diana, f a i l in g , •

however, to re le a se th e hand o f th e monk whose eyes she had thus fa r .

evaded, low' she tu rn ed h e r . ga&e. com pletely upon her b e tro th ed and spoke

in a low b u t sonorous vo ice , w hile a deep glow suffused h er cheeks s

t0% : lo rd .and m astery -we eould n o t allow :oar fa th e r° s soul to perlsho

Thtts I became years. Be more f a i th f u l to me than yon have been to the

monastery. Tour b ro th e r d id n o t lo v e me. • Forgive me, when X speak in

th is manner. I am te l l i n g you th e p la in t r u th . You w il l possess in me

a good and obedient w ife . There are two t r a i t s of mine# howevers which

you mnst to le ra te ,. . I am ir a s c ib le when my r ig h ts o r my honor a re ; a t

s ta k e p and I abhor. broken prom ises. Even as ' a ; c h ild X b o re these:, e i th e r

w ith d i f f i e u l ty o r n o t a t a l l . X am e a s i ly contented and demand nothing

out o f th e o rd inary i but, when something has been shown and promised to

me, 1 re q u ire fu lf i l lm e n t , o r I lo se f a i t h and g rie v e a t th e in ju s t ic e

more in te n se ly than o th e r women. ' But how can I a c co s t you th u s , my lo rd

and; Biaster, whom I sca ree ly know,f L e t me be s i l e n t now. Fare w e ll, my ■

husband, and give me n ine days to mourn your b ro th e r ." Sow she slowly

withdrew her hand from h is and disappeared w ith th e ty ra n t .

In th e meantime, the p r ie s t s had removed th e body to the fam ily

chapel in order to la y i t in s ta te an d .to consecrate i t .

; A sto rre stood alone in h is f o r f e i te d robe which covered a ch es t

f i l l e d ' w ith c o n tr i t io n . A host Of se rv a n ts , having ■ overheard and under­

stood th e s tran g e in c id e n t, approached,the new m aster obsequiously and

w ith f e a r fu l g e s tu re s . They were perp lexed and in tim id a ted le s s ,b y th e -

change o f m asters than by th e apparen t sa c rile g e o f th e broken vows

and th e s e c u la r is a tio n o f th e re v e re n t monk.: The s o f t ly read words o f

th e papal breve had n o t reached th e i r e a rs . The l a t t e r sought i n vain

t© mourn fo r h is f a th e r . Having regained h is reasoning power,, he was

aware o f :a susp ic ion ; X should shy he was overcome by th e vexing ;

c e r ta in ty th a t h is dying fa th e r had deceived h is good f a i th and abused

I.

V'; V/ . v'v;; ;; - ' ^ /. / ' ; '■■; 29

h is eompassiono In th e d esp a ir o f th e o ld man, he d e te c ted the ru se

of cuhnirig and, ■ in ' the v io len t, blasphemies 0 a ca lcu la te d game a t the ' ; '

th re sh o ld o f deatho R e lu c tan tly , alm ost w ith h o s t i l i t y , h i s thoughts

turned to h is newly gained w ife »;■ He .was tempted by th e s ly monkish

thought to love her. no t w ith h i s . h e a r t „ bu t merely as a s u b s ti tu te ' ’

fo r h is deceased bro thero His sound judgement, however, and h is honest

mind r e je c te d such a d isg rac e fu l su b te rfu g e« Since he now regarded

her as h is w ife , he could not ward o f f a c e r ta in astonishm ent th a t

h is spouse had confronted him w ith such a p e r tin e n t address and such

harsh frankness, and th a t she had so soberly expounded h er views w ith^

ou t v e i l o r c loud» She was a much h a rd ie r and more r e a l f ig u re th an ..

th e g en tle ap p a ritio n s o f legend. He had imagined women to be g e n tle r«

. .' / ' low he■ suddenly . perceived, h is robe and th e d iscrepancy ^; ; ■

between i t and h is emotions and refL eetionso He f e l t shamed by th e

garment which began to vex him. ’“Bring me w orldly garm ents,M he

demandedo He was im m ediately-surrounded by busy se rv a n ts , from whose .

m idst he soon emerged in . th e garb of h is drowned b ro th e r who was ’

approxim ately o f th e same heighto . : ; ■ f . ■ : ,

At t h i s moment .h is f a th e r 0 s 3 e s t e r , who was c a l l e d .G o c e io la ,, ■ y

f e l l on h is knees befo re him and payed him homage, n o t to request

.eontinsahee o f h is se rv ice as th e o th e r se rv an ts had done, b u t to beg .

perm ission to change h is ca llingo He claim ed to be t i r e d o f the

worlds h is h a ir was g rey in g ,' he remarked, and i t would behoove him i l l ‘

to e n t e r . th e beyond w ith cap and, bells®. With th ese ■ whining words, he , •

possessed h im self o f the d iscarded robe which th e o th e r servan ts had

n o t dared to touch. But h is befuddled b ra in turned a som ersault and ■ ;

30

he, added l ie e n tio u s ly » “Oaly oaee more, should 1 l ik e to e a t am arelles

b e fo re I b id fa rew ell to th e world and I t s delti.sions=, .A wedding appears

to be Imminent,, 1 believeo.” He lic k e d th e borners o f His month w ith

h is g rey ish tongue, 'Then he bowed b e fo re th e monk, shook h is b e l ls and

le a p t away dragging th e robe behind himo ' ' . : . . .. .

,sA m arelle0 or am are," explained Dante, Mi s th e name of the

Paduan wedding p a s try , so ca lled ,b ecau se o f i t s b i t t e r almond ta s te

and a t th e same time a llu d in g g ra c e fu lly to the verb ©f th e f i r s t eoB~

jmgabionow. Here the n a r ra to r paused,, shaded h is forehead and eyes w ith

h is hand:and pondered th e co n tin u a tio n o f h is fableo

Meanwhile0 th e maj or=d©mo of, th e p r in c e c an-'A lsatian named

Bureardo, approached Gangrande w ith measured s te p s , awkward bows and

ram bling apo log ies regard ing h i s in te r ru p tio n o f th e en terta inm en t and

;asked fo r o rders concerning seme dom estic a f f a i r . Germans were in

those days no ra re s ig h t a t th e O h ib e llin ie co u rts o f I ta ly ? indeed

they were in g re a t demand and tfere p re fe r re d to th e n a tiv e s because o f

th e i r honesty and th e i r in n a te t a le n t fo r eeraaonies and customso

• Mhen Dante r a is e d .h is head again , he perceived th e A lsa tian

and l i s te n e d to h is I ta lia n o Buroardo^s stubborn confusion of th e

hard and s o f t sounds d e lig h ted the c o u rt b u t offended th e s e a s itiy e c e a r ,

o f th e poet in te n s e ly . Then h is eyes r e s te d with v is ib le p leasu re

upon th e two young men, Aseanio and th e armor=clad w a rrio r . F in a lly :

he contem plated th e two women, Diana, th e lad y of th e house, who had

become more v iv id and whose marble cheeks had reddened s l ig h t ly , and

Antlbpe, :Gangrande° s coneuM ne6 a p r e t ty and n a tu ra l ereatareo Then

fee continued* ;

: Befeind th e mansi©n o f the 'licedom ini a broad areari s tre tch ed

to th e base o f th e c i ty w a lls « How th a t th e i l l u s t r i o u s fam ily has •

long been extinct*, th e e n t i r e p lace i@ .changed.; So ex ten siv e was t h i s

a re a th a t i t contained grazing lan d s fo r herds o f c a t t l e , , ' game enclose

uresg ponds abounding w ith f i s h , deep shadowy woods and sunny v ine-

covered a rb o rs .

On a b r ig h t morning 9 seven days a f te r th e . fu n e ra l» the monk

A sto rre => =• he had re ta in e d th is , name among the Paduans9 although he

had forsaken th e c lo th during h is sh o rt s ta y on th i s e a r th - - s a t in

th e b lack shadow o f a cedarv h is back a g a in s t t h e .trunk* and stre tched ,

; th e buckles o f h is shoes in to the burning su n lig h t, fee in g a fo u n ta in

whieh.gushed a cool flood through th e iiouth o f an unconcerned miisk*

he s a t or la y near a stone bench, having p re fe rre d th e s o f t cushion o f

th e lu x u ria n t grasso . :

'Ifeile he was m ed ita ting o r daydreaming, I know n o t which, two

young men sprang from d u st covered ho rses onto th e s u n l i t square befo re

th e mansion. One was clad in armour; th e o th e r, although in. h is t r a v e l -

ing h a b it, was m eticu lo u sly dressed L The r id e rs were Aseani 0 and Germane

th e r u l e r 0 s fa v o r i te s and a lso th e monk0 s form er playm ates, w ith whom

he had s tu d ied and fro lic k e d u n t i l h is f i f te e n th year B th e beginning

Of h is n o v i t ia te . B sae lin had s e n t .them to h is b ro th e r- in -la w , th e

.Bsperor: fe e d e rie k . ' ■ 1 - ■ i,- ' :

3 2

: Dante paused andbowed befo re th e g rea t a p p a r it io n »

The two were reim rning t© th e ty ra n t earry ing im peria l

© r% rs a#.'.weli a s .the mews ©f th# days a copy from th e im perial '

ehaneery ©f a p a s to ra l l e t t e r addressed to th e C h ris tia n e le rg y 6 in

which the Holy Father abeused th e keen=w itted eziiperor„ b efo re th e eyes

o f th e w orld, :©f t i t t e r god lessness» : ’ ■, V / ' V v.

M thotigh p ressed fo r time and e n tm sted w ith im portant

o rders and the forem entioned minoms doeument,, th e two eonld not

b ring 'them selves to ga llo p p a s t th e home o f th e playmate, o f th e i r : ;

youth, l a th e l a s t in n befo re Padua 9 where they had fed and watered

th e i r ho rses w ithou t dism ounting 3 they le a rn e d from th e gossip ing lan d ­

lo rd about th e grave aee id en t which had b e fa lle n .the e ity , and the even

g re a te r sean d a le about th e eapsiaed wedding barque and the-d iaearded

robe o f th e monk. They had lea rn ed o f alm ost every d e ta i l w ith the

exception o f th e union o f A storre and D ia n a w h ic h had n o t as y e t been

made p u b lic . X n d estrae tib le bonds which t i e u s t o th e playm ates of our

youthI S truck by A sto rre0© strange f a t e 3 th e two could n o t 'f in d r e s t

. u n t i l they had seen th e i r regained, f r ie n d w ith th e i r own eyes. For . -

years they had only occasio n a lly eneountered the monk in th e 's t r e e ts

and g ree ted him in a f r ie n d ly fa sh io n » although they had beeeme some-

what estranged due to th e ir ;.s in c e re reverence fo r h is c a l l in g .

"• , '■ / In the comrtyard o f the p a lace they met GoeeioXa* who s a t ,

with dangling le g s , upon a low w all and gnawed on a b u n .' He l e d them

in to th e garden. Waddling ahead, th e j e s t e r made no mention o f the

t r a g ic f a te which had b e fa lle n h is ’: m aste ras house. In s tea d j he informed

33

th e youths of h is ora a f f a i r s g whieh to him seemed fa r more s ig n i f ic a n t«

He d ise lo sed h is a rd en t d e s ire fo r a b le sse d end and alm ost su ffoea ted

when he swallowed th e rem ainder o f h is bun w ithout making use o f h is.

decaying teeth .. The f r a n t ic grimaces o f th e j e s t e r and th e lu d ic ro u s

asp ec t o f the l a t t e r 0s m onastic a s p ira tio n s evoked a pea l of .la u g h te re

so gay th a t even th e b r i l l i a n c e o f the sun seemed in te n s if ie d o

Hoping to r id h im self o f th e im portunate company, Aseanio

proceeded to ch aff the “Sroplet®” "You u n fo rtu n a te inretchp you w ill

never reach your c e l l because my u n c le » th e ty ra n t, has come to regard

you w ith covetous eyes. He has four j e s t e r s , whom he calls';the S to ic a

the Epicurean, th e K L atonist, and the S eep tie . These fo u r, when th e

ty ra n t w ishes to b a n te r , must p lace them selves in the co rners o f "a h a l l

w ith a vau lted c e il in g which d e p ic ts the. p lan e ts an d .th e various :

c o n s te lla t io n s . Then, my uncle ,-C lad i n 'h i s ro b e , . s tep s in to the

center. M aps h is hands, and the ph ilosophers le a p from -corner to

co rn er. Two days ago th e S to ic d ied howling and whining because the

in s a t ia b le fo o l had devoured pounds o f noodles. My u n cle in tim ated

to me in passing th a t he in ten d s to rep lace him, by req u estin g you,

G oeeiola, as h is share o f your m aster°s in h e r ita n c e . E sse lin covets

you. #hd knows, he -might be standing behind you th i s very,moment.®

. This was an a llu s io n to th e ty ra n t° s u b iq u ity , which kep t th e Paduans .

trem bling in co n stan t f e a r . Goeeiola shrieked and tu rned around as i f

he. f e l t th e t y r a n t 's hand upon h is shou lder, and although th e re was ,

nothing behind him except h is shadow, he f le d w ith c h a tte r in g te e th ;

to th e n e a re s t h id ing p la ce .

34

6,I s h a ll c ro ss omt the . j e s t e r s sw Dante in te r ru p te d M assifs,

motioriiag w ith h is hand as i f he were w ritin g h is t a l e in s te a d of

r e la t in g i to "This in c id e n t , although Aseanio was ly in g , i s s t i l l

unnatu ra l = I t i s e n t i r e ly "unthinkable th a t smeh a grave and b a s ic a lly

noble mind as E sse lin should have fed noodles to j e s t e r s and d e lig h te d

in t h e i r i d i o c i e s T h i s d i r e c t th ru s t was aimed a t h i s host* upon

whose co a t Goeciola was s i t t i n g g r i n n i n g a t the p o e t»

Cangrande d id n o t p a rry » He promised h im self t a c i t l y c how=

ever, to repay th i s deb t w ith i n t e r e s t a t th e f i r s t o p p o rtu n ity e

" :, : ■ ■ C ontentedlya - alm ost g a ily , Sant© eontinued h i s n a r ra t iv e «

■ F in a lly , the ttfo d iscovered the- s e c u la rised monkj i# o ,..a s . - v

I sa id b e fo re , was le m tiig w ith h is back ag a in s t th e tru n k o f a p in e

. ’"Against th e trank ©f a eedaPg D ante,” .c o rre c ted the p rin c e ss ,

whose a t te n t io n had been capturedo ; .

. A gainst th e trunk of. a ced ar. He was-so engrossed in h is

daydreams th a t 'he did n o t n o tic e .-the two -as. they approached him. Aseanio

qu ick ly plucked a b lade o f g rass w ith which he p la y fu lly t ic k le d th e

monk's nose, causing him to sneeae v io le n t ly th re e tim es<> A storre

c o rd ia l ly -grasped' th e hands ©f h is. form er . playmates - and p u lled them ■ ’ " %

down b eside him onto th e lawn. "What do you th ink o f my predicam entfM ,

he in q u ired in a ton® o f voice which sotinded more tim id than d e f ia n t .

wF i r s t „ my s in c e re prais® to yomr p r io r and yomr monastery* *’

je s te d Aseanio» wfb.ey have sh ie ld ed yon sueeessfm llyo You look younger

than ' both o f us * although, perhaps th e c lo se f i t t i n g g a rb a n d b eard less

chin may have enhanced th e y o u th fu ln ess o f your appearane@e1 You are

handsome* You a re ly in g under th is g ia n t cedar* resem bling the f i r s t

man* whoa Godp i f we a re to. believe- the. scholars* c rea ted as a t h i r t y

year b id .^ P erceiv ing th a t h is p lay fu ln e ss caused th e monk to blush*

he adopted an innocent expression and continued* 111 And I am t r u ly the

l a s t , one to- reproach you fo r having d iscarded your robe* fo r to per=

p e tu a te one0-s l in e a g e i s th e d e s ire ©f a l l m o rta ls » 01

" I t was n e i th e r my wish nor my voluntazy reso lve*" confessed

the mOnk tru th fu lly o “R elu c tan tly I aeeeeded to th e w i l l o f my dying

.fa th e r ." ; ' . . " / : :

"H dhestlyf68 sm iled 'Aseanioo " f e l l . t h i s to no one b u t us who _

love you* A sto rre ; O thers would scorn o r r id ic u le th i s dependence=

' And s ih ee - w e' a re .mentioning r id ic u le * I beg o f you * A sto rre * pay heed ■.

th a t you achieve th e transfo rm ation from monk to man w ithou t giving

o ffense to good t a s t e . This p recario u s transm utation re q u ire s u t t e r

caution'- and can on ly be accomplished g rad u a lly . Accept my advice.

Spend* fo r example* a sh o rt y e a r ' a t the emperor0 s court* whence-mess-

engers t r a v e l c o n s ta n tly to Padua and back. Have S a ze lin send you to

Palermo«. .There* b es id e th e most eminent kn ig h ts and th e m esf un­

p re ju d iced o f men == < I am' r e fe r r in g to F rederick I I = = you w ill

a lso come to understand women, fhus you w i l l vanquish th e monk* who.

i s s t i l l wont to e i th e r id o liz e , o r scorn them, th e emperor0 s pervading:

s p i r i t has l e f t ' i t s . h u e upon c o u r t .a n d 'c i ty , fhe wild* tu rb u len t.an d

3 6

ex iravagan t l i f e which e x is ts h e r e ■in Padua'tinder my unele th e ty r a n t , ■

presifn ts y©m w ith an erroneems p ic tu re o f t t i i s world. Palermo o f fe r s ,

a t r u e r ®n@> There» under th e most humane of a l l r u le r s , g a ie ty and

g ra v ity , v ir tu e and l u s t , lo y a lty and ineonsfaney 8 f a i t h and in tp llig e m t

scep tic ism a re blended in th e proper p roportions.» There you can

squander th e course o f a y ea r w ith th e opposite or.opposing sex in :

perm issible o r pardonable fash ion =■ = th e monk frowned ■= p a f t io ip a te

in a campaign only to le a rn onee more how to handle sword and - s h ie ld ,"

w ithout re c k le s s ly exposing y o u rse lf to danger - = remember your d es tin y

and r e tu rn to us as a man who. is . in command of h im self as w ell as of

otherso liitis you w il l ; r e ta in the ch ee rfu l expression ' 'of your brown eyes,

which,by Aurora* s to rc h , sh ine and sp a rk le since you have l e f t the

“He must m arry a Swabian g i r l a t the emperor0 s , c o u r t , w

advised Germane goodnaturedly» “They a r e - mere pious and .'more depend­

ab le than otir. women o M ’ ' 1 - .

“Be s i l e n t , M th rea ten ed AscaniOo “Do no t remind me of those

ted io u s damsels w ith th e i r blonde b ra id sa" But th e monk' responded by

p ress in g Germane0s r ig h t hand which he s t i l l held in h is ©who

“Frankly, Geman©, w hat. do you think'?"

“Of what?" asked 'the l a t t e r b rusquely« . \

- “Of my new s ta t io n , “ : : : v : . ' v

. “A sto rre , my f r ie n d ,“ re p lie d th e bearded w a r r io r , somewhat

embarrassed, “once a s tep has been taken , th e re i s no more need fo r

fu r th e r judgement o r ad v ice , You then a s s e r t y o u rse lf wherever you

stan d . Yet, i f you must know my op in ion , A sto rre , lack, o f lo y a lty .

3?

a broken vow,, desertiong etcs® # a re i l l regarded in Germania. lo u r

ease , however„ because of your dying f a th e r 3 i s q u ite d i f f e r e n t^ There

i s ho p a ra l le ls Astorr-e 9 my dear frie n d e jo u r d ec is io n was q u ite

• ju s tif ie d , although th e rev e rse would have been more commendable. Such

i s my opinion»,e he concluded, can d id ly .r . .

"Then had you been p re se n ts you would have re fu sed me your

s i s t e r 0s hand9■ Gemanof1® : : ■ ' . ‘ V ; ■ a..'-

' The l a t t e r was u t t e r l y ' astounded, ”My s i s t e r 0s hand?• Diana8

who i s mourning your b ro th e r ? ’0

“The same; we a re bet r ot hed. 1® ■ i \

iraExcell@ nt9gl exclaimed the so p h is tic a te d AseaniOg; and 01 P ine8 6f\

added Germano. “Let me embratie you, b ro th e r- in -la w !64, ib is iro n clad

w arrio r was urbane d e sp ite h is s tra ig h t-fo rw ard n a tu re . But he sup­

pressed a : s ig h . As much as he esteemed h is au s te re s i s t e r 8,he found

i t d i f f i c u l t to v isu a liz e h er as th e w ife of the monk who s a t a t h is

s id e . : ' - a ' .. ■, . ■ ■ . V ;

. B e-tw irled h is mustache th o u g h tfu lly w hile A seanio . changed

/th e su b jec t.' “F i r s t „ A sto rre , we must become reaeq u a in ted 9 “ he ch a tted .

g a ily . "Mo le s s than f i f te e n of your y ears spent in p ious contem plation

sep ara te our childhood from the p re se n t. They may n o t have a lte re d o u r ;

being e s s e n t ia l ly . lo th in g does.. Yet, .we have m atured. .Germano, fo r

example9 has acquired g re a t m il i ta ry fame, b u t I have t o 'accuse him of^^ ; -

having become h a l f Germah. He - - Aseanio bent h is am % i f d rink ing

from a gob le t - - and afterw ards he becomes melancholy or quarrelsom e.

He a l s o •scorns our .sweet I t a i l a n . 91 s h a ll speak tb you in Germang 9

he b o a s ts , g rum bling ;like a b ea r in th i s inhuman tongue. Then h is ..

se rv an ts tu rn p a le , h is c re d ito rs f le e , And our Paduan g i r l s tu rn

th e i r s ta te ly backs on himo Therefore, he may have remained as v irg in a l '.

ab yoht, A storre,," in fe r re d Aseanio9 c o rd ia l ly p lac in g h is hand upon th e

monk®s shouldero

. ■ Germano laughed h e a r t i ly and r e p l ie d „ p o in tin g a t AseaniOo

"And he has found h is d e s tin y by becoming the eonsummate e o u r t ie r i8g

"There you err* Gezmanb/" eo n trad ie ted Ezselin® s f a v o r i te » •

"My d e s tin y i s to enjoy l i f e c h e e rfu lly and graciouslyo" Be proceeded

to prove h is a s s e r t io n and in ' an a u th o r ita t iv e y e t f r ie n d ly voice, he : '

c a lle d th e gardener® s c h ild whom he saw a t some ■ distance.. as she s to le 1

p a s t them w hile g lancing fu r t iv e ly at. h e r new m aste r, The p re t ty lass-*

who appeared more roguish than tim id , c a r r ie d upon her. head a basket

brimming w ith grapes and’f i g s " W h i l e tak in g a grape, out o f th e basket

w ith h is r ig h t hand, Ascani© placed h is l e f t around th e g i r l 0 s s len d er

waisto At th e same time h is mouth sought h e r f u l l l i p s , WI am t h i r s t y , "

he s a id o The young maid feigned bashfuLness b u t h e ld , s t i l l l e a t h er ' /

basket overturno G rossly, th e monk tu rn ed h is back on th e friv o lo u s

d isp la y , and th e f r ig h te n ed g i r l , upon; seeing th i s h arsh monkish g e s tu re ,

f le d , strewing' h e r p a th w ith ro l l in g f ru its= Aseanio, s t i l l holding

the '.g rape, - picked up two more and o ffe red one to Gemanos who, p refer=

r in g th i s f r u i t ferm ented, flung i t s c o rn fu lly in to th e g ra s s , Aseanio

handed th e o th e r to th e monk, who a t f i r s t l e f t i t untouched, although ■

' h e t f i n a l l y - f a s t e d ^ i t o , ^ ; ' - ' ■ 1 ' ' .i-,- '; -

Aseanio, who was amused a t th e squeamishness o f th e t h i r t y

year o ld monk, threw h im self down b esid e him on th e lawn® '"G ourtierspf ■'

he continued, ®do no t b e liev e th a t , A storre? q u ite th e rev e rse i s true®. -

I am th e only one who exhorts my uncle , g en tly though in te l l ig ib ly .

39

no t to become unm erciful and to rem ain .a human being»«

$6He i s only j u s t and tru e to h im self P8 remarked Gemano.

: “J u s t ic e ! ” complained A seaniog “lo g ic I Padua i s an im perial

f ie f . / . .Eszelin i s i t s p re fe c t . Those whom he d is l ik e s he considers •

re b e ls ag a in s t th e em pire. High tre aso n i s punished by09 => = he could

. not; b r in g 'h im se lf to continue, h is sen ten ce . “D e te s ta b le , 00 he murmured.

01 And why should we Paduans-be prevented from lead ing a l i f e o f our own

beneath t h i s ra d ia n t sky, why th i s nebulous phantom of; an empire which

impedes our very b re a th f I do no t speak in my b e h a lf . 1 am chained

to my u n cle . I f th e emperor d ie s , God'p ro te c t him, a l l o f I t a l y w il l

h u r l i t s e l f upon my uncle w ith cu rses and im precations, and s tra n g le

the nephew in th e p ro c e ss ." Aseanio regarded the c lo u d less sky above

th e lu x u ria n t s o i l and s ighed . .

; "Both o f u s / 8 complemented Gemano eo ld ly . - :“But th a t w ill

w a it. Eagelin has obtained a d e f in i te prophecy. Paul o f Bagdad, who

sweeps th e d u st o f Padua9 s narrow s t r e e t s w ith h is long beard , and

Guido B o n a tti, although these two envious pundits u su a lly c o n tra d ic t

each o th e r, have unanimously un ridd led a new and s tran g e co n s te lla tio n s

sooner o r l a t e r a son o f th e pen insu la w i l l acquire I t a l y 9s undivided

crown With the a s s is ta n c e o f a Geraanie emperor, who, f o r h is p a r t ,

- w i l l 'u n i te a l l Gemans beyond th e Alps in to one s tro n g n a tio n . I s

F rederick th i s emperorf I s E sse lin t h i s k ingf Only God in h is ©Shi*-

science knows th e answer, b u t, on th e s tre n g th of th i s prophecy, th e

ty ra n t h a s 's ta k e d h is g lo ry and bur heads."

V t V ' . ^ C h S m e r a s i ^ ' - u t t ^ y s d . ' . A s e ^ i . o . ' . a n g r i l y , w hile th e monk marveled

a t the might o f the s ta r s , th e fa r-re ach in g am bition o f r u le r s , and th e

maelstrom o f the; worldo l e t he was frig h ten ed by th e spectre of. th e

ty r a n t0s in e ip ie n t e ra e l ty fo r he had been wont to esteem E sze lin as

j t is i i t ie :ln@ arnate» : : ;v"

Aseanio answered h is S ile n t donbts by e o n tim in g P 63May both

meet w ith a bad end* th e frowning Guido and the bearded pagan. They

induce my uncle to y ie ld to h is whims and d e s ire s by persuading him

th a t he i s only doing th a t which i s necessary . Have you ever observed

him during -his frugal, m eal9. Germanof He uses the th re e o r four drops

o f th e S ic i l ia n wine which he perm its h im self to co lo r th e w ater in

h is tra n sp a re n t c ry s ta l g o b le t, ' Then h is a t te n t iv e gaze pursues th ese

'symbols- df blood as they spread, g rad u a lly clouding th e p u r ity of th e

w ater, : And so much does he love,' to c lo se the ey e lid s o f th e deceased

th a f i t has become a m atte r o f courtesy to leave th i s sad performance

to him and to in v i te the p re fe c t to th e various obsequies as i f they

were banquets, E zze lin , my p rin c e , do n o t become c r u e l , 68 exclaimed th e

youth overwhelmed by h is emotions,

"Tear n o t, Hephew, 68 sounded a vo ice behind him. I t was

E zze lin , who had approached them unnoticed , and although he had not

been eavesdropping, he had overheard A seanio8s l a s t Woeful ou tery .

The th re e youths ro se qu ick ly and greeted th e r u le r , who

seated h im self on th e bench. His face was as calm as th e mask o f th e

fo u n ta in ,

: He c a lle d Aseanio and Germamo to accou t, “How d id i t occur •

th a t you as my messengers v is i te d him06 => >- he nodded s l ig h t ly toward

th e monk = = "befo re me#" '

"He i s our o ld fr ie n d and has met w ith a s tran g e f a te ,"

41

apologised h is nephewg,' and l e t i t p a ss» With a l o ¥ b o w 9

Aso&nio hakided th e parchments to h is uncle a who depo s i te d everyth ing ■

in h is pocket w ith th e exception of th e papal bullo

"See th e r e / ' he s a id , % he l a t e s t news. Bead i t g Aseanioo

lo u r eyes a re younger than mine o68 Aseanio re c i te d th e a p o s to lic b r i e f »

w hile E zse lin s tro k ed h is beard and l i s te n e d w ith d ia b o l ic a l p le a su re =

• : : The trip le -c ro w n ed author o f th e l e t t e r commenced by c a llin g

the emperor an ap o ca ly p tic egre o WI hdve heard th a t b e fo re « I t i s '

ab su rd ^9 in te rru p te d th e ty r a n t» ■ “The p o n t i f f lab e lle d - me w ith the

same immoderation u n t i l I exhorted him to chide me, Eszelxn th e Roman9

hencefo rth in th e language o f th e c la ss ic s« What does he c a l l me th is

tim e? I am cu rio u s. There must be some passage„ Aseanio* where he

reproaches my fa th e r- in - la w fo r h is e v i l a s so c ia tio n w ith me. Hand

me th e b r i e f . w , He took th e b u ll and soon found what he expected.

"H ere' th e pope accuses th e emperor of lo v in g the. husband o f 1 h is d au g h te r0

Ezzelino da Romano, th e v i l e s t m alefac to r on th i s e a r th . Quite c o r r e c t , i'

commended ls s e lln > - re tu rn in g th e l e t t e r to Aseanio. "low l e t us hear .

of th e emperor6 s godlessness* nephewi>w he sm iled.

Aseanio read th a t according to F rederick only two tru e gods

e x is t in th i s insane worlds n a tu re and reason . E zzelin shrugged h is

sh o u ld ers . / ' . ' . : 1 . . ■ :V-

, Aseanio con tinued 8 F rederic was a lso supposed to have sa id , ■ .

“ th re e ■ ch a rla tan s * Moses, Mohammed, and = «=” he h e s ita te d = =* “had de- ;

ceived th e w orld .w “S u p e r f ic ia lsw reproved E zzelin . “They followed

t h e i r s ta rs? b u t s a id o r not* the arrow w il l f in d i t s mark, and i t

w i l l gain th e p o n t i f f an am y. and a f l e e t . Proceed . 88

Next followed a emrioms ta le 's Fp@d©rie9. r id in g through a

r ip p lin g wheat-fiaLd, was supposed to have ban tered w ith h is re tin u e

, and to have improvised a verse which blasphemously a llu d ed to the

sacram ental h o s t»

;So v ie le Aehren$ so v ie le QBtter s in d e

S ie seh ie ssen empor in d er Sonne gesehwind : :

. Und wiegen. d ie goldenen Haupter im Wind « =«,

& s:e lin pondered* “Strange, * ' he' whispered. 891 remember

th i s l i t t l e verse* I t was q u ite au then tic* !he emperor r e c i te d i t

c h e e rfu lly a s we rode p a s t th e temple ru in s o f Snna through those :

lu x u ria n t f ie ld s w ith 'w hich Geres has b le s s e d . th e .S ic i l ia n .s o i l* I

. remember i t w ith th e same c l a r i ty which p rev a iled on th a t day on t h e .

. island* I d id hot acquain t the pope w ith th i s gay l i t t l e epigram* I

- am too s ta id fo r that* Mho d id f I ask you to pass judgement* -There

were th re e o f us r id in g , and 1 re c a ll , d i s t in c t ly th a t th e th i r d one

.was P e te r-d e Vineag the emperor0s in sep a rab le companion* Did the pious

c h an ce llo r fe a r fo r h is soul a n d ,re lie v e h is conscience w ith a l e t t e r

to; fiomef. Is one of th e Saracens leav in g fo r th e c a p i ta l today! Yes!

# ie k iy * Aseanio, I s h a ll d ic ta te a few l in e s to you* 88

• AseaniO produced a s ty lu s and,a small ti-a te , and w rote, kneel­

ing on h is r ig h t knee w hile balancing th e s la te on h is le f t*

“I l lu s t r io u s Sires, and beloved fa th e r-in -law s A b r ie f note*

. The l i t t l e verse in th e b u l l , = - you a re too w itty to re p e a t y o u rse lf

= - was heard by only two persons 0 m yself and your Peter* 1 was on th e

is la n d a year ago, you had summoned me to your c o u r t and we were r id in g

through the wheat f ie ld s o f Snna* Remember the ro o s te r in th e gospel

who confirmed P e te r .0 s b e tr a y a l» For your own sake and min© , S i r e t e s t

yonr Ghan.eellor, w ith a po in ted question.,^ . , ; - _':.v '

v ' V - I ; re fu se to w rite th i s I My/very hand

tre m b le s /’ exclaimed Ascanio, tin n in g p a le » 081 s h a ll n o t p lace tiie: ■

chancello r on the ra c k / 1 and he threw down h is s ty lu s „

. " I t i s a q u estio n of d u ty / ’ remarked Gemano d ry ly „ l i f t e d up

the s ty lu s and concluded the note which he p laced under h is helm et. " I t

w ill be d ispatched to d ay ," he s a id , 081 have never l ik e d th e Gapuan, h is

eyes a re ev as iv e ," , '

i s t o r r e sh iyered d e sp ite the warning rays o f th e noonday sun.

For the f i r s t time s ince he had abandoned th e sh e lte re d l i f e o f , the

m onastery; th e monk vaguely b@gaa to grasp th e envy and treach ery o f th i s

world. Bising, from th e stone bench g B sse lin accosted him w ith s e v e rity

. and; awakened him frpm h is 'brooding, ■'

/’’Speaks Monks why do you h ide in the seclusion* o f your hornet

You have no t l e f t i t s ince you donned secular, garb . Do you shun p u b lic

opinion? Confront i t b ravely and i t w il l recede 0 b u t move in f l ig h t

and i t w il l f ix i t s ^ f to your tra c k s l i k e a pack o f howling dogs. Have

you c a lle d on your b r id e .Diana? The week- of mourning i s p a s t , I adv ise

you to in v i te your r e la t io n s and wed Diana th is very day.™

.. ’’And then qu ick ly away to your rem otest e a s t l d / ’ concluded .

- Aseanio, ' ' ‘

"That i s n o t my ad v ise / 1 forbade, th e ty ra n t, " io f e a r . Ho

f l i g h t . Today th e wedding, tomorrow th e masquerade, V a le te l ” He

departed , beckoning Gemano to . fo llow him,. :

^May I in te r ru p t j,* in q u ired Gangrand©g who had been courteous

enough' to aw ait a. n a tu ra l pause in th e inarr’ationb

' seI t I s your p r iv i l e g e /8, r e to r te d th e F lo ren tin e m orosely»

"Do you b e liev e th e immortal w p e ro r capable o f th a t saying

concerning th e th re e g re a t e h a r la ta n s f 69

, ” 1 meana according to your innerm ost e o n v ic tio n sf 69

, Dante answered I n the negative by shaking h is head em phatically

88And s t i l l , you condemned him as godless and banned him to th e

.six th c i r c le o f y o u r .h e l l t If6 w could youf J u s t i fy y o u rse lfo ” .. ■

V " S ire / 1 r e p l ie d the F lo ren tin e % 08 the Comedy add resses my own

a g e w h i c h i, r ig h t ly o r wrongly, a s c r ib e s th e most a tro c io u s blasphem ies

t© th i s august mind, I am im potent in th e face o f such b ig o try , Pes*

t e r i t y perhaps w ill , ju d g e /d if fe re n tly o99'

"Dante , 69 questioned Gangrande once more, “do you b e liev e P e tru s

de Vinea innocent o f tre a so n f 86 ■ , . . . 1

'"I'mean',' according to y o u r 'ip a e rm o st 'e n n v ie tio n s f 99

'Dante shook h is head again ,

"And you perm it th e t r a i t o r in your Comedy to a s s e r t h is

innocencef™ . 'y -

The F lo ren tin e v in d ica ted h im se lf , "S ire , should -1, in the

absence o f d e c is iv e evidence, accuse a son of th e p en in su la of tre a so n ,

when so much d e c e it and g u ile dwell in our m idst? 66

V ; "Dante, oh D ante," exclaimed th e p re fe c t , "you condemn where

you smpeet innocence and acq u it where you surm ise g u i l t , 19 Then he

continued th e n a r ra t iv e p la y fu lly s

; ."’The monk andi Aseattio. als©. l e f t th e garden, and. e n te re d : the .;

h a l l o 111 But in terposed? • , l: . -

l o t a t a lio In stead they ascended th e tower, and en tered th e

same chamber which A sto rre had occupied as a-youth b e fo re h is n o v i t ia te «

He. s t i l l avoided th e la rg e and o s te n ta tio u s chambers o f th e palace which

he had no t a s y e t come to reg ard as h i s own p ro p erty » H eith er had he

touched' th e gold which h is fa th e r had bequeathed to him° Obeying

As'cani© 0 s beckoningg the Majordoiao Burcardo „ s tif f le g g e d and s u lle n „

fo llo w ed 'a t. a d lso re e t distanoe'o - ' ■ . ' •

Gangrande's majordomo, who bore th e same name» had, a f te r th e

: a c q u i t ta l o f seme domestie duty , re tu rn ed to the h a l l and l is te n e d

o u rio u s ly d f o r he had n o tic ed th a t th e s to ry d e a lt w ith well-known ■,';

personageso "When he heard h is own name mentioned and found him self

unexpectedly p a r t ic ip a t in g in th e events o f the Novell®, he considered

th i s .abuse of h is honorable person audacious and u t t e r ly unseemly,

e s p e c ia lly s ince i t came from th i s s c h o la r r th i s to le ra te d e x i le „ who .

m erely enjoyed the h o s p i ta l i ty o f h is m aste r« Had he n o t prepared fo r

..Mat the most modest room in th e upper s to ry of the p a lace a f t e r due and

j u s t co n s id e ra tio n o f th e circum stances and h is so c ia l standing?, l h a t

th e o th e rs had sm ilin g ly accepted ran k led hinn He frowned and ro l le d

h is eyes. The F lo ren tin e w as. amused by th e serio u s face and the indigo

n a tio n o f th e pedant and continued h is s to ry unperturbed o

4 6

• ’’Honorable S i r 0M Ascanio asked th e siajordonio •= <= d id I mention

ttia t: he was an A lsa tian by b i r th = ■- ‘86How does one wed in Paduaf yv, ■ v

A storre - and' I a re as inexperienced a s : ch ild re n in th i s sc ience o'5

: The majordomo s tra ck a s t i f f pose and s ta re d a t h i s m aster • '

■ 'w ith o it s© mueh as g lancing a t Ascanios w ho/in h is opinion had no ,

r ig h t to eoanaand him in any wayo

"Distinenendnm e s t -.” ' he sa id solem nly. MI t i s to be d is tin g u ish ed

between co n rtsh ip , n n p tia ls and wedding oeremony»" , ■ , / '

wWhere i s th a t w r i t te n tOT ban te red Ascanioo

■ ' MEcce »* r e p lie d tha majordomo, opening a la rg e book which- he

c a rr ie d a t a l l t im e s« '-.’“H eret0* He p o in ted w ith th e o u ts tre tc h e d f in g e r

o f h is l e f t hand to th e t i t l e , which read : The Geremo n ies o f Padova„

Compi le d t hroagh M eticn ions Research fo r th e B enefit o f A ll Honorable

Persons, by Messer Godoscaleo.Bureardoo He le a fe d through the volume

- a n d r e a d 9 “Section onec the cou rt ship* Paragraph ones A’A; s in ce re :

. s u i to r i s accompanied by a f r ie n d o f equal so c ia l s ta n d in g v who serves

- as a v a lid w ltneds = =4 ,» - i , / : ' ' % ' ; . - \

-v i . : ■ 39For the sake o f my unavailing p a tro n / 1 in te r ru p te d Aseanio : •

im p a tie n tly . ^ l e t us alone w ith an te and •post„ w ith co u rtsh ip and

wedding ceremonya and en lig h ten us w ith regard to th e n u p t ia ls ."

^In B atova," crowed th e i r r i t a t e d A lsa tia n , whose a g ita te d -

frame o f mind in te n s if ie d h is barbarous p ronounciation„ "in. Batovae '

. the bridegroom 6 s Biajordomo, accompanied by s ix s e rv a n ts 9 in v i te s th e

twelve noble fa m ilie s ® he enumerated them from memory » •=- " te n days

b efo re the weddingt, no t e a r l ie r ;n o r l a t e r . In the presence o f th i s . •

august assembly th e r in g s are exchanged„ and Gybrian wine and am arelles»

the wedding t a r t s , a re served . 86

: ■ "May heaven p ro te c t our t h r o a t s l a u g h e d A seanio 9 and

snatch ing th e book from th e majordomo0s hands1) he perused th e l i s t

and found th e names o f s ix o f the tw elve p a tre s fa m ilia s erased , as

w ell as th e . names o f some o f th e younger fam ily members ° These might

have p e rish ed beeause they had become involved in some conspiracy

a g a in s t th e tyrant®

"Seed well,, o ld man/ 8 commanded. A scanlos speaking fo r th e monk,

who» re c lin in g in an arm chair and absorbed in thought, su ffe red Aseanio®;

w ell-m eant tu te lag e® . “You a re to c a ll ' upon these, s ix id l e r s th is very .

hour, im m ediately» without, delay , you under s ta n d i I n v i te them fo r th i s

a f te rn o o n ." ;. t : '

. "Ten days b e fo re 9" r e i te r a te d Burcardo m a je s t ic a l ly , as i f

prom ulgating some im peria l decree.

“Today, fo r today, you p ed an t!9’

, “Im p o ss ib le /’ r e to r te d the majordome calm ly, "do.you a l t e r the

course o f th e p la n e ts f 66

“Are you defying met • Does your neck i t c h , o ld man?” warned

i s c a n io ; w ith an-odd .sm ile. ' ■ - ,

l h a t was su ffic ien t" . Bureardo understood in s ta n t ly . E zzelin

had commanded, and th e most obstinate: pedant subm itted w ithou t mumbling

under th e iro n scep te r o f the ty ra n t.

“Do n o t in v i te Olympia and Antiope Canossa / 6

”# iy no t those two?” asked th e monk suddenly as i f aroused by

magical power.

He s ta re d f ix e d ly and h is m ental eye reproduced a v is io n which

cap tiv a ted h i s very so u l. -

;^BeeMs@ ■ the Countess Olympia i s b e r e f t o f reaso n , Astorr©*

Don’ t you know th e s to ry ©f th e u n fo rtu n a te woman? In those days you

were s t i l l in swaddling c lo th e s , I mean in your robe«, I t was th ree

years' ago in th e £ a ll = m : . . ^

"In the summer, Ascanio, p re c is e ly th ree y ea rs ago," contra®

d ie te d th e monk. •

■' "You are r ig h t ; • then you a re fa m ilia r w ith t h i s s to ry f But '

how could you b e t At th a t time Count Ganbssa conspired w ith th e papal

le g a te 8 was .found o u t, a rre s te d and sentenced to death . The countess

beseeebed toy uncle on bended knees» b u t he wrapped h im self in s ile n c e „

She was then deceived in th e v i l e s t manner by a greedy chamberlain

who, seeking a reward, l e d her to b e lie v e th a t the count would rece ive

a l a s t minute pardon. This d id n o t occur, and when they p resen ted the

d ecap ita ted body to th e countess, thus h u rlin g h e r from hope to u t t e r

d esp a ir, she le a p t from h er window. M iraculously; she w as,no t in ju red

i f we d isreg a rd a sp rained ank le . But from th a t day on, h e r reason .

w as-sh a tte red . Normal emotions succeed each o th e r im percep tib ly as ,

the ditotoing l ig h t , b lends w ith th e approaching dusk. Hers a l te rn a te a t

' a b rea th tak in g = pace f ro m 'lig h t to dark twelve tim es in tw elve hours ° ;

Spurred by' constan t r e s t le s s n e s s , the wretched woman h as ten s from her

d eso la te d palace in t h e - c i ty to h e r mansion in th e country , and back

to the c i ty on an e te rn a l,, sense less e rran d . Today she w ishes to see

her c h ild m arried to th e son o f a te n a n t, since only low ness o f b i r th

a ffo rd s p ro te c tio n and peace; tomorrow no s u ito r i s noble enough fo r

her d au g h ter. N eedless to say, h er presence d iscourages a l l cou rtsh ip

> Had Ascanio during h is n a r ra tio n so much as glanced ,a t the monks

he would have d e s is te d in astonishm ent, fo r th e monk0 s countenance.had

become tra n s f ig u re d ir ith compassion and p ity ,, v <

H eedlessly Ascanio continued, ieiihen the try a n t passes Olympia® s

house bn h is way to th e hunt, she rushes to the window, expecting him

to dismount b efo re h e r th reshho ld in o rder to re tu rn h e r to h is cou rt

and to end h er d isg race and a f f l ie t io n o S u ffice i t to mention th a t th is"

i s f u r th e s t from h is mindo She env isions h e rse lf impoversihed through :

the c o n fisca tio n o f h e r possessions which B zzelin has never touched»

Thus, she f r a n t ic a l ly a l te rn a te s between extreme h o t and excessive co ld .

Not only i s she in san e , b u t the id eas which she drags;s in to the maelstrom

o f h er mind a re a lso in san e« Since she has sporadic moments of lu c id i ty , :

during which in te rv a ls she can. express h e r s e l f q u ite w i t t i l y and p e r- ,

t in e n t ly , she i s a t tim es taken s e r io u s ly , which perm its h e r to cause : :

tro u b le wherever she goes» To in v ite h e r to th e c e le b ra tio n i s out o f

th e q u es tio n . I t i s a m irac le th a t h e r c h ild Antiope, whom she id o liz e s

and whose m arriage c o n s ti tu te s the fo ca l p o in t o f h er im agination , can

r e ta in her s a n ity under such try in g co n d itio n s. But th e g i r l , . who i s

j u s t reaching m a tu rity and who i s to le ra b ly p re t ty , has a strong c o n s ti­

tu t io n . and in t h i s fash ion Ascanio continued. • ,

• ■ A s to r re , however, was absorbed in h i s dream. This I say b e - • ■

cause th e p a s t i s a dream. The monk saw what he had experienced th re e .

y ears ago s a b lock , b es id e i t the execu tioner and h im se lf . He had

taken th e p lace o f a s ick colleague and expected to g ive s p i r i tu a l

comfort to the condemned man. The Count Canossa appeared in chains.

He s tru g g led , e i th e r because he believed the pardon to be imminent,.

5 0

sin'de he XLready confronted th e bloekg o r beeause he. simply loved l i f e

and abhorred the graveo He t r e a te d .th e monk c ro ss ly and re je c te d h is

prayers, contem ptuously« A t e r r i b l e s tru g g le had to ensue i f he con­

tin u ed to s t r a in and to r e s i s t H e he ld th e hand of h is daughter9 who,

unnoticed by the guards „ had ru sh ed . toward him, and was now f r a n t ic a l ly

c lin g in g to h e r fa th e r w hile she fix ed h e r exp ressive eyes beseeehihglfc

upon th e monko The count p ressed the g i r l firm ly to h i s ch es t as i f

t h i s young l i f e could sh ie ld him a g a in s t d e s tru c tio n ,, b u t th e execu tioner

forced h is head down upon th e b lo ck = Then the c h ild p laced h er head

beside th a t o f her f a th e r . Did she in te n d to arouse th e ex ecu tio n er0 s

compassion? Did-she want to encourage h e r f a t h e r to s u f f e r the in e v i t ­

able? Did she want to murmur th e name p f some s a in t in to th e ear o f

h e r unreconciled f a th e r! Mas th i s unbelievab le a c t th e r e s u l t o f her .

overflowing f i l i a l love o r a mere em otional Im pulie? Did she simply

;want to d ie w ith himtV . '

. , low th e v is io n became • so lu o id t h a t the monk perceived immediate­

ly b efo re him the sunburnt neck o f th e count beside th e c h i ld 0s snow

white heck , which was covered by downy .brown-gold c u r ls . The l i t t l e -

g i r l 0s g racefu l neck was o f excep tional beau ty . The monk shuddered,

expecting th e f a l l in g b lade to m iss 8 and he experienced th e same in te n se

em otional s t r a in as th e f i r s t t im e , except th a t now he remained conscious,

ilhen the t e r r i b l e scene had a c tu a lly occurred , he had fa in te d and d id

not reg a in h is senses u n t i l a l l was over.

The ja r r in g voice o f th e majordemo awakened him from h is tr a n c e ,

""Does my m aster have any o rders fo r me? 50 he in q u ired , fo r he bore

Ascanio0s commands only w ith g re a t d i f f i c u l t y , ■

MBureardo „ 98 r e p lie d Astorr© g e n tly 9 ogd© n o t fo rg e t to in v ite

th e two la d ie s Caaossa, both "mother and daughter» I t s h a l l no t be sa id

th a t th e monk r e je c ts those who are shunned by the w orld. I honor th e

r ig h t o f th e u n fo rtu n a te to be in v ite d and received by m e . H e r e the

majordomo ag reed / eag erly nodding h is head. “I t would g riev e them

b i t t e r l y in th e i r p re sen t s ta te were I to omit them." ; ■ :

; , : v “By no meansi” .warned Ascanio. ■ “Don’t do th is ,, ! beg you.-. t.

Tour b e tro th a l i s adventurous enough as i t i s , and adventures In sp ire

those who a re m en tally i l l . Her kind w i l l undertake something u n believ ­

a b le . She w il l h u rl some erased in v ec tiv e in to th e c e le b ra tio n which

has a lread y a g ita te d a l l of Padua.M

• According. to Bureardo, however0 a Canossa, sane o r insane. Was

e n t i t le d to assemble w ith th e tw elve. And since he b e liev ed th a t he

owed obedience only. to th e Yieedominii, he bowed deeply b e fo re the monk .

and sa id , "Your L ordship .alone I obey." Mith th a t -h e departed .

690 monkg monk S86 exclaimed Ascanio. ,eTou ca rry .compassion in to

a world whiqh sc a rc e ly le a v e s kindness unpunished.**

“That i s human natu reg 63 added Dante, “Often a p rophetic l i g h t

shows us the. edge o f an abyss» b u t then comes th e mind and s u b ti l iz e s ■

, and sm iles and minimihes 'th e - d a n g e r ■ ' +

Ascanio a lso ra t io n a liz e d to calm h is eonseienee. l h a t r e la ­

tio n sh ip e x is ts between the insane wman and the monk in whose l i f e

she played ho t even th e s lig h tes t^ ro le f And in th e end i f she gives

' r i s e to la u g h te r„ i t w il l sp ice the. am are lles. He was w holly unaware

5 2

o f what went through A s to rre”s mind, and even i f he had guessed and

: probed» j 6he monk would tibt have re lin q u ish ed h is chaste s e c re t ,

: \ .Thus Aseanlo l e t i t r e s t 9 and remembering the ty ra n t* s order

to end th e monk°s se c lu s io n 9 he asked m errily p % re th e r in g s taken

care o f » A sto rre f For i t i s W it te n in the Ceremonies 9 se c tio n two, ,

paragraph so and sos th e r in g s a re to be exchanged , 81 The monk answered

in d if f e r e n t ly th a t such could probably be found among th e fam ily •

J e w e U . : : ' : :

"Not so-i,.88 r e to r te d Ascanio, 88I f you take my ad v ice , you w il l

buy Diana- a new one, iiho knows what s to r ie s adhere to th e used ones.

Throw th e p a s t behind you. I t i s a lso q u ite f i t t i n g . You w ill buy a

r in g from th e F lo ren tin e on the b rid g e . Do you know th e maxif But how

should youf L is te n »; when re tu rn in g w ith German©, to th e c i ty th is .

morning, we w ere■compelled to dismount when we a rriv ed a t th e bridge ;'

because i t was teeming w ith people. There on the w eather-beaten p ile=

head o f th e only b ridge lead in g acro ss th e canal, a goldsm ith had

opened,his shop and a l l o f Padua haggled and b a r te re d in f ro n t of i t ,

Why on the narrow b rid g e , A sto rre , when th e re are so many other; lo c a ­

tio n s? Because in F lorence you w il l f in d the j ewelry s to re s on th e

Arno, b rid g e . Because, and you can ap p rec ia te here th e lo g ic o f fash ion ,

where does one buy f in e jew elry , b u t from a F lo ren tin e , and where does

a; F lo ren tin e e x h ib it h is wares, i f no t upon a b ridge? He would no t have

i t o therw ise. Otherwise h is m erchandise would be coarse , and he him­

s e lf would no t be a genuine F lo re n tin e , This one, however, i s genuine«

Above h is booth you can read in g ig a n tic l e t t e r s $ Niecolo Lippo de i

l i p p i , th e Goldsmithj S a iled from h i s Hqmeland because o f a Corrupt

and' U njust Sentence,, Follow me to th e b rid g e , i s to r p e - ,69 /'

./;/:: ;/;^e; ffienk''didl no t re fuse , s ince he h im self might have f e l t the :

need to tra n sg re ss the self-im posed boundaries o f h is e s ta te , which he '

had no t l e f t s in ce he d iscarded h is robe, .

MDid you take money along. Honk,n bantered Aseanio. 16Your tow

of poverty has become in v a lid , and the F lo ren tin e w i l l overcharge you , 68

He. tapped a t th e sm all s lid in g g la ss window of th e steward"s: o f f ic e ,

which was s i tu a te d on th e dow nstairs c o rr id o r through which they were

s tr id in g o A w ily , w rinkled face appeared, and w ith a fawning bow the

?ieedom ini°s stew ard, a Genoese, i f I am c o rre c tly inform ed, handed h is

m aster a pouch f i l l e d w ith Byzantine gold c o in s , , T h en .a 'se rv an t helped

the.monk in to one o f the com fortable Paduan summer c lo a k s» In the

s t r e e t A sto rre covered h is face w ith th e hood of th e c lo ak , not to

p ro te c t h im self a g a in s t th e burning ray s o f the sun b u t m erely obeying

an old h a b it . He tu rned to h is companion, ""Ascani© , 68 he sa id in a

f r ie n d ly tone o f voiceg MI s h a ll go on th i s errand alone- The purchase

of a simple gold r in g does ho t transcend my monkish m en ta lity - You can

r e ly upon me- I s h a ll see you a t my wedding th is a fte rn o o n -" Aseanio

departed , c a l l in g over h is shou lder, 88One,: no t two. Diana w il l give

you ;yours a rernember t h a t , A s to rre«w This was one of th e numerous , .: • • ’:

s u b tle tie s , which Aseanio was Woit' to u t t e r in the course o f a: day-- ,

■ . I f you ask me why th e monk. d ism issed h is f r ie n d , th e answer i s

he d id not want to .mar th e d iv ine in s p ira t io n which th e young m artyress

of: f i l i a l - lo v e had awakened w ith in him.

54

A sterre had. reaetied th e b ridge which d e sp ite th e glowing sun

was crowded w ith throngs o f people approaching th e shop o f th e Floren=

t in e from both bankso Bae monk remained unrecognized under h is hood,

although th e uncovered p a r t o f h is countenance was the o b jec t o f

■v. occasional. I n q u is i t iv e ' g lan ces . N o b ility and e i t iz e n ry a l ik e sought,' ' :

access to the store:.. D istinguished la d ie s descended from th e i r l i t t e r s

and perm itted them selves to be pushed and p ressed in o rder to purchase

a few b ra c e le ts or a f i l l e t Of the newest fash ion . The F lo ren tin e had

annomneed throughout th e c i ty th a t he would close h is b usiness today

follow ing th e Ave M aria. He had no such in te n tio n , b u t a l i e comes

easy'-to' a ,F lo re n tin e .i: ^

: F in a lly , the: monks wedged in by th e m ultitude,, stood befo re

the shop, fhe hard -p ressed m erchant, who was reaping te n fo ld p r o f i t s ,

regarded him w ith cunning, immediately recognizing th e n o v ice . '%kat

can I do fo r h is lo rd sh ip " s d is tin g u ish ed ta s te i* he in q u ired , "d ive

me a Simple gold r in g ," re p lie d th e monk. The merchant reached fo r a

gob le t which, according to F lo ren tin e a r t and custom, bore.some e lab o ra te

design . He shook th e cup, which contained hundreds o f r in g s , and o ffe red

. i t to A sto rre .

jBie monk became v is ib ly em barrassed. -.He d id n o t know th e s iz e

" o f th e f in g e r w hich:he was to adorn With, a wedding band and „ tak ing out ;

s ev e ra l, he h e s ita te d p e rc e p tib ly in h is choice o f a la r g e r and sm aller

one. . The F lo ren tin e Could no t suppress h is d e r is io n , s in ce on the Arno

i l l-c o n c e a le d r a i l l e r y seems an in h e ren t p a r t of. th e speech of the

people. " I s th e gentleman u n fam ilia r w ith th e f in g e r which he c e r ta in ­

ly must have carressed freq u en tly enoughf" he asked w ith an innocent

■ fa.ee o Canny: as he was 0 he immediately co rrec ted h im se lf s being se tire tly

o f th e opinion th a t th e susp ic ion o f c h a s t i ty c o n s titu te d an in s u l t ,

/w hile i t was f l a t t e r in g to be suspected o f ■ im m orality o He handed

A storre two r in g s » one la rg e r and one sm a lle rs which he s lip p ed a d ro it ly

in to th e mpnk^s.handv. 83For the two lo v es o f your g r a c e /8 he w hispered, ■

bowing obsequiouslyo

Before th e monk was ab le to take umbrage a t t h i s ; f r iv o lo u s '

remark a he received a vehement blow. He had been h i t by th e am our

p la te of a s teed so v io le n t ly , th a t he dropped th e sm aller o f th e two

rings.. At the same moment the deafening b la re o f e ig h t tubas resoundedo

B ight members o f th e p r e fe e t0s German body guard rode in two rows acro ss

the b r id g e , fo rc in g th e crowd ag a in s t th e stone ra ilin g =

As soon as they had passed , th e monk» concealing the la rg e r

r in g under h is cloak $ rushed a f te r the sm aller one which had ro lle d

through th e hoofs o f th e mounts. 1 1 ■ ; / . :; .

fhe cen te r o f the o ld b ridge was hollowed by co n stan t wear, thus

th e r in g ro lle d downhill and gained s u f f ic ie n t speed to reach the oppo­

s i t e s id e . Here a young la d y 8s maid, named I s o t ta , o r , as they shorten

th e name in Padua, S o tte , had caught th e shining o b jec t a t the r is k o f

being tram pled to death by th e h o rses . "A lucky r in g t" re jo ic e d the •

imprudent girls, and w ith c h ild ish g a ie ty she slipped h e r , f in d on th e

fo u rth f in g e r o f the l e f t hand o f h er m is tre s s . In Padua, as w ell as : ?.

in Verona, i f I remember c o r re c t ly , th e wedding rin g i s worn on th e l e f t

hand. : '

Her m is tre ss was both annoyed and amused taS tthe maid0 s prank.

She endeavored in va in to p u ll the t ig h t ly f i t t i n g band from her f in g e r .

Suddenly th e monk confronted her r a is in g both arms in joyous -amaze- '

.merit..' He was deeply touched when he recognized in th e matured young

woman befo re 'h im th e same c h ild whose s lender neck he had onee seen ©n

the b lo ck . ■ - . ' ■

I h l l e the g ir l .0 s question ing eyes regarded him w ith dismay,

he was h e s i ta n t to ask her fo r th e r in g which she s tru g g le d to remove

from h er ''f in g e r. Yet i t had to be. ■’ He was about to address her when,

two arm our-clad arms p u lled him upward. In an in s ta n t he f e l t h im self

being l i f t e d onto a stamping s te e d .: He heard good-natured la u g h te r .

“Let us see i f you can s t i l l r id e =16 I t was Germane» He had been '

commanded to le a d the German guard to a near-by f ie ld where they Were '

to be reviewed by th e p re fe c t , i& en.he had unexpectedly perceived h is

f r ie n d and b ro th e r- in -la w on the b rid g e , he perm itted h im self the

Innocent joke o f l i f t i n g him onto one o f th e ho rses from which a young

Swabian had qu ick ly dismounted. The f ie r y s teed , re sen tin g the new ;■

r id e r , re a re d in s ta n tly ;: the o th er ho rses shied on th e narrow b ridge ,

and A s to rre , s tru g g lin g to remain in th e sad d le , l o s t h i s hood and was

recognized '/ by. th e crowd, ' which receded 'in , t e r r o r . "The monk! The

monki16 they shouted, p o in tin g a t him from a l l s id e s , b u t the small

m a r tia l troop had a lread y l e f t th e b rid g e and disappeared around th e

n ex t co rner. The unpaid jew eler ran a f te r , the monk, b u t he soon h a lte d

in fe a r fo r h is m erchandise, which was guarded only by. a young la d .

Soon, however, he was informed by the crowd th a t h is customer had

been a well-known personage whom he would be ab le to co n tac t w ith o u t,

d i f f i c u l ty . He was to ld how he could f in d .th e palace o f the Yioedomini'

where he l a t e r went th re e times to c o l le c t h is money. The f i r s t two

tim es he was unsuccessfu l because o f th e confusion which p rev a iled

th e re . The th ird tim e he, found th e ty r a n t ’s sea l a f f ix e d to the locked

g a te . . Sitiee he was un w illin g to deal w ith the l a t t e r , he renouneed h is

money . " • " ; ' ' ' , - ■ ; : . ,.

V;.; ; ' The two young women walking in th e opposite d ire e t io n o f t h e ; :

r id e r s were now jo in ed by a th i r d one who had been sep ara ted from them

by th e crowd. The l a t t e r , an odd look ing , prem aturely aged woman, w ith

deep w rin k les, grey unkempt h a i r , and a g ita te d fe a tu re s , c a re le s s ly

dragged the t r a in o f h er d ress through th e dust o f th e s t r e e t .

• This o ld woman, apparen tly th e mother o f the young g i r l , ■

l i s te n e d eagerly to S o tte ”s fo o lish account o f what had Occurred on

th e .bridge, , A sto rre ~ she had heard h is name in th e shouts of th e

m u ltitu d e - - A s to rre , th e monk, who, as th e e n t i r e c i ty knew, was

compelled to seek a w ife , had fu r t iv e ly ro l le d a wedding band toward

A ntiope. She, S o tte , understanding the gestu re of providence;and th e

cunning o f th e monk had s lip p ed i t on th e dear g i r l 0s f in g e r . Then,

when th e monk approached A ntiope, she had ch aste ly d e s ire d fo .re tu rn

. th e r in g . , : : ; - ' ■ ■

; V Here, a t l a s t , th e aston ished Antiope was ab le to in te r ru p t

and to im plore h e r mother n o t to heed I s o t t e ” s s i l l y g o s s ip .: But in , . ' ;

v a in , Th th e m iddle of th e s t r e e t Olympia ra ise d h er arms toward the

sky, thanking S t . Anthony fo r having g ran ted her d a ily p ray ers and fo r

having exceeded a l l h er expecta tions by p resen tin g h e r d a rlin g w ith '

such a v irtu o u s nobleman, one o f h is own sons. Her u n in h ib ited conduct

caused passersby to laugh ahd to p o in t to th e i r fo reh ead s . The bew ild­

ered Antiope made .evezy e f f o r t to d issuade3 her mother from believ in g

such b la ta n t exaggerations, bu t the o ld woman would n o t l i s t e n and con­

tinued to b u ild h e r c a s t le in th e a i r .

Thus.th e women reached the ga te o f th e mansion o f th e Canossas

where they met a m eticu lously dressed majordomo follow ed b jr s ix e labor­

a te ly e lad se rv an ts <> Bmreard© stepped back re s p e c tfu l ly , p erm ittin g

Olympia to aseend th e ■ s ta irc a se - before him o’. Having arrived- in a gloomy '

h a l l , he s t i l t e d l y bowed th r ic e and spoke slow ly and. solem nly, s Tour

Ladyship, I am se n t by A sto rre fieedbm ini to re s p e c tfu lly in v i te you

to h is wedding which w il l tak e p la c e »«, . t h i s afternoon - I t pained

him no t to ab le to say " in ten days".

He, however, - >> she im ita ted him - - had p laced h is l e f t

hand above-.his h e a r t while: r a is in g h i s r ig h t w ith a. g e s tu re which

meant in a l l o f I t a ly i keep i t beloved«

Bante paused»■ He pondered th e continuance of h is n a r ra tiv e ,

h is d is c ip lin e d mind s i f t i n g and s im p lify in g » A fte r a w hile Qangrande

addressed him,

: "Bante,:^ he commenced, " I .. am astounded how h a rsh ly and c a u s t ic - ,

a l ly you d ep ic ted th e F lo re n tin e » l i c e ©1© d ie L ippi i s e x ile d as th e

r e s u l t o f an o b e d ie n t and u n ju s t sen ten ce» But he i s a u s u re r , a

f l a t t e r e r j a l i a r , a cyn ic , a s lip p e ry and effem inate coward, a 0genuine

F lo re n tin e 0 $ And th i s i s only a t in y spark as compared w ith th e volcano

o f im precations which you shower upon J 1 orenee, m erely a feeb le innuendo

in c b n tra s t to the. v iru le n t and .acrimonious te rz a rim a which you forged

in your Comedy to decry th e c i ty of your b i r th . L et me remind you th a t

i t i s ignoble to r e v i le one0 s c rad le and to shame one0 s m other. I t i s

unbecomingS B elieve me, i t provokes resentm ent.

"D antev I s h a ll t e l l you o f a puppet show which I a ttended

re c e n tly w hile s t r o l l in g through the c i ty in d isguise* During id le

hours I am ab le to enjoy puppets and j e s t e r s 0 although I know th a t you

frown upon such la ck o f ta s te * n ev e rth e le ss t, aecompany me to the s ta g e -

Hhat do you see th e re ! A husband and w ife quarreling* She i s beaten

and weeps* A neighbor lo o k s i n D rem onstra tes and c h a s t is e s D meddling

in th e i r d ispute* And beh o ld 8 th e brave woman tu rn s a g a in s t th e in=

t ra d e r and ta k e s h er husband0s side* ^Bmt i t p leases me to be b ea ten 0,

she cries*

MIn l ik e mannera. Dante,, speaks a man o f f o r t i tu d e who i s being

m altrea ted by th e c i ty o f h is f a th e r s 8 w il l s u f fe r th e punishment0 *"

Many a sharp young eye turned to th e ELorentine* He merely

hung h is head s ile n tly * Mhat he thought no one-knew* Mien he ra ise d

h i s head again', h i s nose ■■-seemed more elongated , h is mouth more em b itte red ,

and h is forehead more ruefu l* '

Dante barkened* The wind w h is tled around th e co rn e rs of th e

c a s t le and to re open a c a re le s s ly c losed shu tter* Mount Bald© had sen t

i t s f i r s t snow f lu r r y . One could see th e f la k e s dance and w h ir l , Hlum«=.

in a te d by th e b laz in g flam es o f th e hearth* The poet regarded the snow­

storm and through a re d , f lu c tu a tin g haze which c o n tra s te d w ith the

w hite f lu r r y o u ts id e , he perceived h is d ec lin in g days sk ipp ing away

from him* He shuddered w ith co ld .

H is s e n s i t iv e l i s t e n e r s shared w ith him th e b i t te r n e s s o f a

f a te which forced him to depend no t upon h is own h e a r th , b u t r a th e r upon

th e f ic k le grace o f p a tro n s to s h e l te r him ag a in s t th e h arsh w in ter

which covered f ie ld s and fo re s ts w ith a heavy b lan k e t o f snow* Everyone

became aware o f t h i s , and Gangrande, who possessed a noble mind, was th e

60

f i r s t one to f u l l y eemprehend th e d e sp a ir o f th e e x i le «

IMe p rin e e roseo shaking th e j e s t e r from h is e loak as i f he were

a fe a th e r and approached ' th e banished poeto He took him by th e hand and

le d him to M s own s e a t near th e f i r e . Bante did no t o b je c t . Here he

eould e a s i ly observe th e two women between whom he s a t . in th e l i g h t o f

th e b ia s in g flam es« he eontinued h is n a r ra tio n :

I h i l e th e sm aller b e l l s rang fo r vespers g th e rem aining members

o f th e tw elve fa m ilie s assembled beneath th e cedar beams o f th e resplen«=

dent h a l l o f th e ?ieedom ini°s c a s t le aw aiting the en tran ce o f th e i r h o s t.

Diana stood c lo se ly b esid e h e r . f a th e r and b ro th e r. There was a low mur-

mar o f vo ices . The men d iscussed g rav ely and thoroughly th e p o l i t i c a l

a sp e c ts o f th e union o f two g re a t lo c a l fa m ilie s . The young men joked

s o f t ly about th e monk and h i s m arriage. D espite th e breve 8 th e women

shuddered a t th e imminent s a c r i le g e . Only those who had daughters o f

marriagegSste age regarded th e wedding l e s s c r i t i c a l l y and excused i t by

mphasissiBg th e fo rce ©f circum stances and th e k indheartedness o f th e

monk. The g i r l s were f i l l e d w ith ex p ec ta tio n .

The presence o f Olympia Ganossa aroused astonishm ent and u n re s tg

fo r she was conspicuously<, alm ost ro y a lly „ a t t i r e d » as i f expecting to

p lay a m ajor r o le during;: th e c e le b ra tio n . She ta lk e d to in t io p e w ith

uncanny v o lu b i l i ty 9 and th e frig h ten ed g i r l im ploring ly w hispered back

in an attem pt to appease h e r d is tra u g h t m other. Olympia had a lready been

incensed when she ascended th e s t a i r s and was g reeted by Soeeiola» who

he ld in h is hand a new crimson cap w ith s i lv e r b e l l s $ in s te a d of by

Bureard© who was j u s t welcoming two o th e r a r r iv a ls . Having jo ined th e

61

assembly in th e h a l l , she annoyed and frig h ten ed th e g a e s ts w ith h er

u n in h ib ite d g es tu res .. Everyone ta rned to look a t h e r0 I©body would

have 'in v ite d h e r to his. wedding and they a l l expected h e r to abuse h er

h o s t, - ’ •

Bureardo announced A sto rre , The monk had im mediately l e f t

German© and h is r id e r s and h a s t i ly re tu rn ed to the b rid g e a rr iv in g too

l a t e to f in d e i th e r th e r in g o r th e l a d ie s . Although innocen t, he re^.i'

preached h im self and re so lv ed , during th e remaining h a l f hour before

vespers i, to a c t in th e fu tu re according to th e .d ic ta te s of prudence„

With th i s thought in mimd, he en te red th e h a l l and jo in ed h is guests ,

k palpab le p ressu re seemed to emanate from th e a t te n t io n he a t t r a c te d

and made-him in c re a s in g ly aware o f th e p o s tu la te s o f so c ie ty which abhor

frankness and p r e f e r - a v e ile d form o f expression covering th e u g lin ess

of r e a l i ty w ith a p ro te c tiv e p a tin a . Thus, in s t in c t iv e ly hovering

between t r u th and p re ten se , he expressed . h im self f la w le s s ly v

■' ’" lad ies and gentlem en,m. h e . began, ■ ®Beath has reaped a r ic h

h a rv e s t among th e fieedom in i. As 1 s tand here befo re you, d ressed in

b lack , I am mourning my f a th e r , th re e b ro th e rs , and th re e nephews.

Bowing to. th e wish o f my dying fa th e r , I d iscarded my robe, a f te r

se rio u s co n s id e ra tio n and =■ -= here h is voice became v e ile d =» > scrupulous

d e lib e ra tio n b efo re God, This each o f y o u 'w ill judge d i f f e r e n t ly , ap= •

proving or reprehending according to th e d ic ta te s o f your conscience.

In co n sid e ra tio n of my p a s t , however, a l l o f you w i l l ag ree th a t i t

would have been in bad ta s te to h e s i ta te and to choose when th e re was

only one choice p leasin g to God, Sh© s tan d s c lo se r to my h e a r t than

th i s v irg in a l widow who mourns 'With me th e death of my l a s t b ro th e r!

62

Biusg w ith th e b le ss in g o f ay dying fa th e r I chose t h i s hando low I am

holding i t again to adorn i t w ith a wedding bando66 W ith th ese words he

le d h e r to th e ce n te r o f th e h a l l where they exchanged r in g s . Ihen Diana

placed h e r r in g on h is f in g e r „ she; s a id » "’i t belonged to my mothers, an

honest and v irtu o u s woman. This r in g i s a tru e symbol o f f id e lity .®

The g u ests murmured c o n g ra tu la tio n s and the solemn a c t was completed.

Jazzaguerra wept the customary te a r s = He was s t i l l a vigorous man s in ce

a v a rice i s a h ea lth y v ice which f a i l s to in te r f e r e w ith o ld age„

Olympia saw the c a s t le o f h er dreams b u rs t in to b laz in g flames

and co llap se b efo re h e r w ith crash ing p i l l a r s . She took one s tep fo r?

ward as i f d i s t r u s t f u l o f h e r own eyes. Her gray h a i r b r i s t l i n g , she

advanced s t i l l f a r th e r u n t i l she stood face to face w ith Diana and A sto rre .

faming w ith rag e , she b u rs t in to a. to r r e n t o f im precations.

wW retch,M she sh rieked . 68This r in g i s con tested by ano ther r in g

which was given f i r s t . 68 She he ld up th e hand of h e r f r ig h te n e d daughter

who followed, h e r apprehensively , endeavoring to appease h e r mother0s rag e .

"Hot an hour ago you purchased th i s r in g from the H o re n t in e on th e b rid g e

and gave i t to my c h i ld .18 Thus her Im agination had d is to r te d the even t.

"V illa in ! A dulterous monk! Does n e t th e e a r th open to devour you?

Hanged be the b ro th e r turnkey who snored drunkenly w hile you crawled

from your c e l l ! You want to pander to your lu s t , b u t why must you choose

an u n ju s t ly p e rsecu ted , h e lp le s s widow.and h e r d e fen se less orphan?”

The m arble f lo o r d id h o t b u rs t asunder to engu lf th e monk. The

wretched woman, who was unaware o f the vehemence o f h e r exp ressions,

m erely f e l t she was venting the j u s t i f i e d anger o f a lo v in g mother whose

daugh ter had met w ith abuseo She was s u rp r ise d , th e re fo re , to encounter

contempt where she had hoped to f in d compassion. Behind h e r she d i s t in c t ly

6 3

heard the whispered word, " F o o l/9 and h e r rage changed. to fren zied

laughtero "Behold th i s d u l l a r d /8 she laughed d e ris iv e ly ^ "eh o Q sin g so

absurd ly between th ese two«; 1 ask you gentlem ens a n d .a l l who ean s e e 6

to judge fo r yourselveso Here, t h i s charming face , t h i s blossoming

youth ~ =ro The rem ainder I have fo rg o tte n , bu t one th in g I knows a l l

th e young men in the h a l l o f the Vieedomini, and more than one of them

m ight have been wanting in v ir tu e , tu rn ed away th e i r eyes' and closed

th e i r ea rs to th e d isg ra c e fu l u tte ra n c e s and g es tu res o f a mother who

tram pled c h a s t i ty and p ro p rie ty under fo o t befo re h e r own c h ild by

p ra is in g h e r l i k e .a p ro cu ress .

Everyone p re se n t f e l t compassion fo r A ntiope. Only Diana, as

l i t t l e as she doubted th e f id e l i t y o f th e monk, f e l t a vague grudge a t

t h i s impudent d isp la y o f beauty befo re h e r bridegroom o

I t might have been Antiope9s f a u l t fo r having k ep t th e r in g on

h e r f in g e r«, Perhaps she was a f r a id to provoke h er p e tu la n t mother any

fu r th e r , hoping th a t , d ish ea rten ed by r e a l i t y , she would la p se from

excitem ent to apathy as she u su a lly d id , d isca rd in g th e whole in c id en t

w ith upturned eyes and a few mumbled words V For a b r i e f in s ta n t A nti ope

h e r s e l f m ight have succumbed to the I l lu s io n , Was no t t h e i r meeting on

th e b rid g e m iraculous f Was the f a te which freed him from h is vows le s s

s trange th an a p o ss ib le union between them?

Sow she was su ffe r in g c ru e l punishment. Her m other°s u n in h ib ited

lau d a tio n made h e r f e e l so ile d ,

: Her neck and forehead turned crimson. Then she broke the s ile n c e •

about h e r , b u rs tin g lo u d ly in to b i t t e r te a r s .

Even the gray=>haired maenad was taken aback. Then a t e r r ib l e

pain d is to r te d h e r fe a tu re s and h e r rage doubled, ?,And th e o ther one,®

she shrieked s p o in tin g to Diana, '“f h is u n fin ish ed block o f marble I B iis .

Clawed g ia n te s s whom God th e F ather bungled when he was s t i l l an ap p ren tice

le a rn in g how to knead! F ie upon th a t coarse body w ithou t l i f e or soul!

And who could have given h e r a so ttlf Her b a s ta rd m otherf The s tup id

OrsolaT Or t h a t skinny m iser over th e re $ Only r e lu c ta n t ly d id he dole

out a'm ere p it ta n c e o f a s o u l i ; :

The o ld P izzaguerra remained calm. With the acumen o f the niggard

he never once fo rg o t w ith whom he was d ea lin g . His daugh ter, however,

d id fo rg e t. Aroused by th e crude r id ic u le o f h er body and soul she

frowned and clenched h e r f i s t in in d ig n a tio n ., And now, when th i s insane

woman slandered h e r p a re n ts , cu rsin g h e r m other in h e r g rave, and p u b lic ­

ly exposing h e r f a th e r , she l o s t c o n tro l o f h e r s e lf and was overcome by

a pa le rag e .

“Bitch!® she shouted an d .s tru ck - » Antiope9s fa c e , fo r the

d e sp a irin g ;b u t courageous g i r l had thrown h e r s e lf in f ro n t o f h er m other.

Antiope em itted a groan which s t i r r e d every h e a r t .

. How th e crazed o ld woman broke down com pletely. Her rage changed

to in e f fa b le sorrow. “They s tru c k my child!® she moaned, f e l l on h e r

knees, and sobbed. " I s th e re no God in heavenf68

This f i l l e d th e cup to th e brim . I t would have ru n over b e fo re ,

b u t the f a t e f u l event occurred f a s t e r than I can r e la te i t - h e r e , so f a s t

th a t n e i th e r th e monk nor German©* had been ab le to in te rc e p t Diana^s

ra is e d arm,

Aseanio and one o f th e guests se ized Olympia by the, arms and le g s ,

and she h ard ly r e s i s te d as they c a r r ie d h e r to h er l i t t e r and took h e r

home. '

65

Diana and in t io p e were s t i l l fac in g each ©titer, one p a le r than

th e othero Diana, h er rage having vanished In s ta n tly , was c o n tr i te and

rem orseful w hile In tio p e moved h er l i p s , v a in ly groping fo r words«

When th e monk took In tio p e 0 s hand in order to accompany the g i r l

Who had been m is tre a te d by h is b r id e , he m erely obeyed th e d ic ta te s o f

c h iv a lry and h o s p i t a l i ty » So one expected anything else* Diana above •

a l l must have wished to have th i s v ic tim o f h er v io lence removed from

h er sight* Then she too l e f t w ith h e r fa th e r and h e r b ro ther* The g u ests

d is c re e t ly h a s te n e d . from the h a ll*

There was a t in k lin g o f b e l l s under the credence which was lad en

w ith am arelles and, Cyprian wine* A fo o l9s cap appeared and Goeeiola

c re p t on a l l fo u rs from h is w e ll- chosen h id in g place* • In h is opinion

every th ing had gone splendidly* low, he Was free to n ib b le am arelles and .

to q u a ff g la ss a f t e r g lass* Thus he amused h im self fo r a w hile u n t i l he

heard fo o ts te p s approaching* He meant to s l i p away, b u t a f t e r a grumpy

look a t th e in tru d e r , he considered f l i g h t unnecessary* I t was the monk

who had re tu rn e d , and th e monk was j u s t a s ex a lted and in e b r ia te d as hef

f o r th e monk = ~ ", , : y.

“Had f a l le n in love w ith A ntiope, 68 in te rru p te d Cangrande® s young

f r ie n d , laughing convulsively* . '

■ “You a re r ig h t , m istress? he was in love w ith A n tiope ,m repea ted

.Dante in ' a t r a g ic to n e o f voice*

Ml a t u r a l l y i $l'' “How else1?w “I t had to be 8 80 “Such a re the ways

o f l e v e l ire sounded front'’a l l sides*

66

•"GarefaXa® p ro te s ted Dante» wHo9 such a re n o t th e ways of lo v e .

B© you th ink th a t a lo v e which in c lu d es th e complete devotion of l i f e and.

sou l i s something ord inary? You even seem to b e lie v e th a t you yourselves

have loved o r been loved w ith such a rd o r» You deceive y o u rse lv es . Hany

speak of g hosts , b u t few have seen any. I ; s h a ll b rin g you i r r e f u ta b le

evidenceo Somewhere in .th e pa lace i s an old book o f leg en d s. Leafing

cau tio u s ly th e r e in 9 I found one tru e saying among a g re a t d ea l o f ru b b ish . ■

0L©vei,0 itpcomUneeSi, ° is r a re and m ostly comes to a bad end.® This he

spoke g ravely . Mlowe however,68 he b an te red , 66since a l l o f you are so

f a m il ia r .w ith th e n a tu re o f lo v e , and s in ce i t behooves me i l l a t my age

to speak l ik e a youth overwhelmed by p a ss io n , I omit the rev ea lin g so li~

loquy o f - the re tu rn in g A sto rre and say b r ie f ly s when the sen s ib le Aseanio

eavesdropped, he was shocked and preached reason to th e monk.68

Cangrandets ex c ited young f r ie n d ra is e d h e r hands beseechingly

toward th e F lo ren tin e and exclaim ed, ""Dante,, you a re n o t going to maim

' your s to ry so c ru e lly ? Let th e monk speak, so th a t we may le a rn how he

tu rn s away from a crude woman to a g e n tle one, from a co ld soul to a

s e n s it iv e one, frem a stone h e a r t to a: throbbing h e a r t . . o 66 ■ ;■

88Yes, F lo re n tin e ,88 in te rru p te d Gangrande°s w ife , deeply s t i r r e d ,

h e r countenance glowing w ith excitem ent, “l e t the monk speak so th a t

we may hear w ith astonishm ent how i t could occur th a t A s to rre , as in=

experienced and credulous as he was, b etrayed a noble woman fo r a s ly

o n e . , Save you n o t n o ticed , Dante, t h a t Antiope i s s ly ? L i t t l e do you

know women. J t t e l l you t r u th f u l ly , 1 a lso would have s tru c k , no t th e

u n fo rtu n a te m other, b u t th e w ily g i r l who meant to a t t r a c t th e monk's

a t te n t io n a t any p r ic e .68 She ra ise d h e r strong a ra and clenching h er

f i s t she im ita te d the blow. The younger one shuddered s lig h tly *

Gangrande s te a d ily contem plated th e two women opposite him,

adm iring h is -p r in c e s s , whose fervour p leased him* At t h i s moment he

considered h e r incomparably more b e a u tifu l than the sm alle r, f r a i l

r iv a l w ith whom he had p resen ted herV fo r the h ig h es t and low est emotions,

f in d expression only in a strong body and a strong soul* ,

Dante, however, sm iled fo r the f i r s t and l a s t tim e on th i s eve­

ning when he saw the two women so in te n se ly aroused by h is story* He

even brought h im self to j e s t , “L adies9W he sa id , "what do you demand o f

me? S oliloquy i s unreasonable i Has a wise man ever spoken to him self?"

A rogu ish lo o k in g , cu rly -h a ired page, who m ight have been crouch­

ing behind some arm chair emerged from th e darkness o f h is h id in g -p lace

and shouted b o ld ly , "G reat m aster, how. l i t t l e you know o r p re tend to-

know y o u rse lf 1 I assu re you, Dante, no one converses more f lu e n tly w ith

h im self than you, to such an ex ten t th a t you no t only ignore us ig n o ran t

pages b u t a lso perm it beau ty to pass c lo se by you w ithou t heeding i t »®

"Indeed ," sa id Dante* “Hhere was th a t? ilhere and when?" ■

’ “W ell, y es te rd ay on th e Etseh b r id g e ," sm iled th e boy* "'You „

were lean in g a g a in s t th e r a i l in g when th e g racefu l lu e r e s ia l a n i : passed

you, alm ost touching your toga? We boys followed h e r , adm iring h er .

beau ty , and two enamored s o ld ie rs advanced toward h e r , seeking t o catch

a glance from h er g en tle eyes*; She, however, searched fo r yourss n o t

everybody has been ab le to promenade through h e l l uninjured* You,

m aster, were murmuring something w hile regard ing a gushing wave in the

middle o f th e Etseh r iv e r* " '

"1 was g ree tin g th e ocean* The wave was more b e a u tifu l than th e

g ir l* But now l e t Us re tu rn to the two young fools* Hark, they speak

68

to each, o th e r». And by a l l th e musesg from here on l e t no one in te r ru p t

again l e s t we be ga thered around, th i s h e a rth t i l l Bildnigiit»

Having taken A nti ope homey th e monk re -e n te red , th e h a H , I f o r -

got to m ention th a t on h is way back he f a i le d to meet A seanioD although

th e l a t t e r had aeeompanied Qlympia9s l i t t e r o . A fte r le a v in g the d evasta ted

o ld woman in the ear© o f h e r se rv a n ts , th e nephew hastened to h is u n c le ,

th e ty ra n t . He wished to t e l l E zzelin about the scan d a l, p re fe rr in g ,

th i s to b rin g in g th e news o f some consp iracy .

I do n o t knew whether the monk was as comely as th e s c o ffe r

Ascanio had c a lle d him . But I see him s t r id in g l ik e an Adonisi h is

winged f e e t h a rd ly touch th e f lo o r , as i f he were c a r r ie d by fip h y r o r

le d by I r i s . His eyes glow, and he murmurs e c s ta t ic a l ly . S oceio la ,

who had consumed g re a t q u a n ti t ie s o f Cyprian wine a lso f e l t bold and

re ju v en a ted . The m arble f lo o r beneath him seemed to t ra a s fh m i t s b l f

in to a c loud . He f e l t an i r r e s i s t i b l e d e s ire to harken to the mumbling

o f . th e a g i ta te d monk who. was pacing the h a l l . A lte rn a te ly s t r u t t in g and

hopping, h is fo o l9s scep te r under h is a m , he jo in ed A sto rre who was

pacing th e h a l l .

8,The devoted c h ild , once w illin g to d ie fo r h e r f a th e r , now

s a c r if ic e d h e r s e l f f o r th e mother a ls o . The shamed enei How she blushed I

The m is tre a te d one I How she su ffe red i The beaten onei How she c r ie d

o u ti Has she ever l e f t me s in ce I saw h e r head on th e ex ecu tio n er0 s

■ b lo ck t She l iv e d in my mind; she absorbed my every thought? she was

u b iq u ito u s even in a y prayers? - she dw elt i n my ce ll? she shared my p illo w 8

Bid n o t th e d e l ic a te head w ith th e w h ite , s len d e r, l i t t l e neck l i e s id e

by s id e w ith St» Fault®

'V ith S te Paul?1® chuekled Qoeeiola=

toWltb Sto Paul;, as be i s d ep le ted on our a l t a r p ie e e : =>

®¥ith th e b laek ea r ls and red iieek on the massiTe b lo ek g the

axe o f the execu tioner above him!06 G oeeiola sometimes a ttended se rv ice

■with th e Franeiseamso

The monk nodded <, “Looking a t i t c lo se ly 0 I would see the f la s h

of th e axes, and I shuddered w ith f e a r . Have X no t confessed i t to th e

P r io r? 68

68And W a t d id th e P r io r say?”-' in te rro g a te d G oeeiola.

.66:0iSong'® be saidg °Xou beheld a lamb of God, d e s tin e d to .precede

th e trium phal day ©£ re su r re c tio n . Fear n o t. io harm w i l l b e f a l l the

ten d er c h i ld .068 ' '

“Butg86 prompted th e s p i te f u l j e s te r 0 116the c h ild has grown g so

t a l l , ” . He r a is e d h i s hand. Then he lowered i t alm ost touching the f lo o r .

68And th e robe o f your g racee06 he grinned , ®has sunk so lo w .86

Vilemess could no t touch th e monk. A c re a tiv e spark had passed

from A ntiope0s hand in to h is v e in s . Although m erely sm oldering a t f i r s t g

i t soon b u rs t in to b ia s in g flam es, ra g in g . through h is blood l ik e an all=-

consuming f i r e . ^P raised be God th e F a th e r ,08 he re jo ic e d suddenly, 83who

crea ted man and woman.68

68Eve?w asked th e j e s t e r . . V:

. v 8t,Antiope Sn r e to r te d thp monk. ' ' . ' '

80And th e o ther? The t a l l one? l h a t w il l you do w ith her? M ill

you send h e r begging?08 Goeeiola wiped h i s eyes.

00Hhieh o th e r -one?86 in q u ired th e monk b “I s th e re a woman besid es

Antiope?68

70

This even s ta r t l e d th e j e s t e r = Frightened and goggle-eyed„ he

s ta re d a t A storre» ..But a hand se ized him by the c o lla rs dragged , him

toward th e e x i t and s e t him on th e ground <, I t was Aseanio,. who now .placed

h is hand upon :Ast6rr@0s shoulder 0 - ' . •<

roAwal£eng dreamer,** he shoutedc fo r he had overheard the l a s t

e c s ta t ic rem ark» P u llin g the entranced monk toward a w indow sills he

looked a t him in te n t ly u n t i l t h e i r eyes m et. "Astcrr©/* he said,, "you

have l o s t your - sensesow '

The monk evaded Idie s c ru tin iz in g ey es, a t f i r s t , a s ,1£ dazzled .

Then, h is eyes s t i l l ju b i la n t , he looked Ascanio f u l l in the face . Sudden­

l y , he lowered h is eyes shy ly . ^Boes i t su rp r ise yomfro he re p lie d .

®As l i t t l e as the .b laz ing o f a flame,®* r e to r te d Ascanio. “But

s ince you a re no t a b lin d elem ent, b u t a r a t io n a l b e in g , ex tin g u ish t h i s

flame b efo re i t consumes you and a l l o f Padua. Must a layman preach

d iv in e and secu la r law to you? You a re b e tro th ed . The r in g on your

f in g e r a t t e s t s t h i s . I f now you break your promise as you broke your

vows, you break custom, du ty , honor and th e peace o f the c i t y . I f you

do n o t p u ll Cupid0s arrow quickly, and h e ro ic a l ly ou t o f your h e a r t , i t

w il l murder you. Ant lope , and perhaps many o th e rs . A sto rre ! A s to rre lw

Ascanio h im self was astounded a t th e lo f ty and grave words which

th e fe a r in h i s h e a r t had caused him to speak. MYour name, Astorre,® he

s a id h a l f jo k in g ly , " b la re s l i k e ' a tuba c a l l in g you to b a t t l e ag a in st

yourself.®

-A s to rre regained h is courage. ®I have been given a p h i l t r e ," he

exclaim ed. " I am rav in g , I am insaneI Ascanio, I give you power over

me. Bind me.®

’’’I s h a ll b ind yom to D ianah8 sa id AseaniOo Follow me, we s h a ll

- seek h e r«16 ■ :

“Was i t n o t Diana'who stru ck A ntiopef" asked the monk <>

“You dreamt t h a t , yon dreamt ev ery th in g « You l o s t possession o f

your senseso Gome, I im plore you, : I command you, I s e is e and le a d y o u ,”

ls c a n io ss a ttem pt to ignore r e a l i t y was brought to nought by th e

approach of German© whose clanking spurs could be heard in the h a l l ,

Diana8s b ro ther, confronted th e monk and gesbed h is hand r e s o lu te ly , : mk

ru ined c e le b ra tio n , b ro ther-in -law ,® he s a id , MMy s i s t e r sen t me = -

I am ly in g she d id n o t send me. She locked h e r s e l f in her chamber,

weeping and cu rsing h e r tem per= today we drown in th e te a r s of women.

She lo v es you, only she cannot b rin g h e r s e l f to say i t - « i t i s in th e

fa m ily :! I cannot e i th e r . You, she never doubted fo r an in s ta n t . I t i s

obvious s you; l o s t a r in g some p lace - -• i f i t was ycters which the l i t t l e ,

g i r l - = what was h e r name? - - t h a t 8 s r i g h t , Antiope - - wore on h er

fingero the fo o lis h mother found i t and spun her t a l e , A ntiope, o f '

course, i s as innocent as a new-born c h ild ~ = anybody d isag ree in g w il l

have to answer to me,® :

®Hot II® exclaimed A sto rre , ®Antiope i s as pure a s heavenl ;

Providence d ire c te d th e ring,® And he r e la te d the in c id e n t h a s t i ly ,

®But you must n o t blame my s i s t e r e ith er,® a lle g e d Grermano, ®She

l o s t h er tempers she d id n o t see w ith whom she was d e a lin g . She meant

to s t r ik e th e erased old woman who was d isg rac ing h er p a re n ts and h i t

th e innocent daughter in s te a d , A ntiope, however, has to be r e h a b i l i ta te d

b efo re God .and-man. L et th a t be my r e s p o n s ib i l i ty , b ro th e r- in -la w « I

am. the b ro th e r , Hy duty i s apparent,®

fYom ra n t on and ong s t i l l th e meaning of your words remains

obscure9 Germane« What i s your in te n tio n f ■ How w il l you repay the un­

fo rtu n a te g i r l ? 89 inqm ired AseaniOo

66My duty ig ap p aren ti,eg repeated Germane <. WI s h a ll o f fe r Antiope

Ganossa ay- band i n m a r r i a g e : : ■: ' ' '

■ : [ksesmlo covered h is fo rehead . t h i s .decision stunned him* A fte r

having glanced anxiously a t th e monk,, he qa iek ly em posed h im self however

and soon conceded the m e r it o f th i s h e ro ic solution* A s to rre 9 having

regained h is e q u a n im ity ,l is te n e d .a tte n tiv e ly w ithout u t te r in g a word*;,

A manly sense o f honor began to burgeon in th e b leakness o f h is soul*

"Thus I k i l l two f l i e s w ith one blow, b ro th e r- in - la w ,M ex­

p la in ed GermanOo " th e g i r l ° s honor i s re s to re d =, • 1 should l i k e to see

the one who would dare to h is s in s in u a tio n s about h e r behind my back»

:F u rthem ore0 1 re s to re the peace between you and my s i s t e r . Diana need

no longer be ashamed, b e fo re you or h e r s e l f and w ill qu ick ly be cured of

h e r bad- tem per. I t e H you she i s a lread y cured, fo r the rem ainder o f '

'yher :.iifeoy; ':;;: ;/. l ' :y : V '-yvi:"' ) : v * S ' l Q . V / -i ;:

- ' A sto rre shook, h is hand * "Tom a re r ig h t ," he s a i d . . The w ill to

suppress h is heavenly or. e a r th ly d e s ire s courageously grew w ith in him.

But th i s w i l l was no t f re e , and th i s v i r tu e no t s e l f l e s s , fo r i t adhered

to a dangerous so p h ism s■ a s I s h a ll embrace a woman w ithout loving her,,

A sto rre consoled h im se lf , so w il l Antiope su ffe r th e embrace of a man

who m erely seeks h e r hand to make amends fo r a grave in ju s t i c e « We a l l

renounce. , Renunciation and penance in th e world as in th e m onastery.

- "Let us no t postpone what must b@ done, m urged Sernano. ^Other­

wise she w i l l to s s and tu rn w ithout a. wink o f s le e p ." I do n o t know

w hether he meant Diana o r Antiope. "B ro th er-in -law , you w i l l accompany

me as my w itness s I s h a ll observe the r a le s o f decorumo61

"So, -Bot“ exclaimed Asoanio f r ig h te n e d « Ml o t A sto rre i Take meSM

Gemano shook h is head. mAseanio» my f r ie n d a" he s a id , “for, t h i s

you are n o t s u ite d . You a re no se rio u s w itness in m atrim onial m a tte rs .

B esides, my b ro th e r A sto rre w i l l want to a id in th i s c o u rtsh ip . I t i s

to a -great ex te n t h is r e s p o n s ib i l i ty . I s i t n o t, A s to rre f”® The l a t t e r

nodded. “Then prepare y o u rs e lf , b ro th e r- in -la w . Dress fo r th e occasion=w

Aseaaio a f fe c te d a laugh , “And when you pass through the co u rt­

yard , d ip your head in th e w e ll. But you, Germano, w earing armour? So

m il i ta n t? Does th is become a s u i t o r f “ :

“I have not worn anything e ls e fo r a long tim e; i t i s q u ite

e f fe c t iv e . But why do you .look a t me so in te n t ly , Asoanio?"

“I am asking m yself, whence th i s w arrio r takes th e assurance

. th a t he and h is s e a lin g la d d e r w il l no t be hurled i n t o .th e tre n c h .“

“That i s out o f th e q u e s tio n ,“ re jo in e d German©: calm ly. “Would

a hum ilia ted and beaten g i r l re fu se a kn igh t? She would th en be more

fo o lis h than h e r m other. That i s s e lf -e v id e n t, Aseanio, Gome, A s to rre .”

. . V : While h is . f r ie n d s walked the, s h o r t d is tan ce to the palace o f •

Ganossa, Aseanio crossed h is arms and pondered the new tu rn o f even ts,

no t knowing whether i t would r e s u l t in a happy or a gloomy outcome.

The: deep b lue o f th e c loud less sky changed to a ra d ia n t go ld ,

and hark,, th e b e l l s rang th e Aye. The monk re c i te d the t r a d i t io n a l

p rayers in h is mind. The b e l l s o f th e m onastery, uneon tested by the

b e l l s o f th e c i ty below, prolonged the fa m ilia r h inging w ith a few

. p la in t iv e chimes. The monk a lso shared in the peace which p rev a iled

about him.

fhen he turned to f ix h is eyes upon Geraamo°s w eathered f e a tu re s «. - * ' ' ' ■ - . 1 :

They were b r ig h t and cheerfulg d o u b tle ss ly th e r e s u l t o f a duty w ell

fu lf i l le d a b u t a lso from an unebnseiotis happiness a t th e p rospec t of

reach ing a b l i s s f u l haven under the c o lo rs o f rig h teo u sn ess» 68The sweet

young maid 9 68 sighed th e w a rr io r=

Im stantlyg he perceived th a t Diama8s b ro th e r deceived h im self •

by co n sid e rin g h is a c tio n u n s e lf ish , th a t Germane was f a l l i n g in love

w ith Antiope and th a t he had become h i s r i v a l » He f e l t an acu te pain

in h is c h e s t, then ano ther so in ten se th a t he wanted to c ry out® And .

now h is bosom was teeming w ith grim and v in d ic tiv e ad d ers« Hay God

p ro te c t a l l o f u s , men and women, from jea lo u sy . From i t accrue the

most torm enting p a in s , and he who su ffe rs from i t i s more un fo rtu n a te

than a l l the condemned so u ls in my Comedy.

The monk, w ith d is to r te d face and heavy h e a r t , follow ed the

s e lf -a ssu re d s u i to r who ascended the s ta i r c a s e o f the p a la c e . The

c a s t le seemed b leak and d e so la te . Olympia may have locked h e r s e lf in

h e r ream. There were no .se rv an ts , and most o f th e doors were open.

Unannounced, they walked through a number o f semi-dark chambers. At

th e th re sh o ld o f th e l a s t room, they h a lte d , fo r A ntiope s a t a t the

window.'

R eflec tin g th e glow of th e evening sun, the lea f-sh ap ed window

described a ra d ia n t curve which framed th e contours o f h e r g racefu l pro­

f i l e w ith lam bent fLames. Her d isheveled h a i r resem bled a crown o f th o rn s ,

and h er l i p s were p a rted in ec s ta sy . T ired , the c r e s t f a l le n g i r l s a t

w earily in h er c h a ir , h e r eyes closed, and h e r arms lan g u id = Yet in the

depth o f h er h e a r t she e x a lte d , g lo ry ing in h er d isg ra c e , fo r i t had

u n ite d h e r w ith A sto rre fo re v e r .

Had mot eom pission dhariged to lo v e b e fo re f Mho can r e s i s t th e

s ig h t o f beauty su ffe rin g u n ju s tly ? I know the d iffe re n c e and do no t

mean to b la s p h e m e b u t d iv in ity , a lso was smitten,, and we k i s s the s t r ip e s

and woundso "" ' -

Antiope d id n o t d e l ib e ra te as to whether o r n o t A sto rre loved

here, She knew 'it« ; & ere was no doubto This conv ic tion she f e l t rriofe

s tro n g ly than the throbbing o f h e r h e a r t <, They had n o t exchanged a

s in g le word when he accompanied h er to her hcae.'; The c la sp o f th e i r hands

had n o t tig h te n e d g y e t t h e i r hands seemed l ik e one. They seemed e th e re a le

alm ost weightles'St, yet^ when i t was tim e to ;l#ave„ th e i r f in g e rs p a rted <

re lm efan tly l ik e in te rtw in ed ro o ts .

Antio'pe robbed Diana alm ost in innocence, fo r a t th is- mment she

possessed n e ith e r eanseiehee nor eonseiousnesgo ■ Padua w ith i t s s te e p le s , :

h e r m other, th e monk°s b e t r o th a l , l ia n a , th e e n t i re w orld sem ed o b lit~

e ra te d . There was no th ing b u t th e g a te s o f heaven r e p le te w ith rad iance

and lo v e r , ; . ' . - v:. ' . :

A sto rre had. s tru g g le d w ith h im se lf from the f i r s t to th e l a s t s te p

o f th e s ta i r c a s e and deemed h im self v ic to r io u s . " I s h a ll make the s a c r i ­

f ic e and a id German© in h i s c o u r ts h ip ,0 he boasted to h im se lf . On th e .

l a s t s tep he appealed once more t© a l l th e s a in ts 9 beginning w ith S t . .

F ran c is , th e m aster o f se lf-ab n e g a tio n . He f e l t he had th e s tren g th o f :

H ercules and b e liev ed th a t w ith the a id o f heaven he had s la in the snakes

in h is bosom o But th e pa tron w ith th e fo u r stigm ata had-tu rned away '

from the u n fa i th fu l d is c ip le who had: r e je c te d h is cord and robe.

Meanwhile, German© pondered th e wording o f h is p ro p o sa l, r e i t e r a t ­

ing: W h i s mind the Same two arguments which he; had advanced from th e ■ ■

beginning <. I ja c id e n ta lljg . he was q u ite co n fid en t« He had o ften addressed

h is r id e r s in b a t t l e and was never d i f f id e n t in the presence o f a g i r l .

But de lay he could endure n e ith e r in war nor in co u rtsh ip . S o f tly „ he '

clanged h is sword a g a in s t h is am our.

A ntiope s ta r t e d 9 looked up» and ro se q u ick ly . Her countenance

;darkened as she turned from th e window and confronted the-tw o men bowing

befo re h e r . ■ " '

cl,Be o f good cheer 0 Antiope Ganossa, Gemano addressed h er.

Mi ' have. brought - A sferre ¥ieedoiain.iwhom, t h e y : C a ll" th e monk ? th e husband

o f my s i s t e r Dianas, as a v a l id w itn ess . Beeaise o f your m other0s eon=

d i t io n and s in ce you have no fa th e r , 1 have come to ask you fo r your

hand i n m a rr ia g e .. My s i s t e r has'wronged you.® He re fra in e d from using

a h a rsh e r word to ' spare h is s i s t e r ;whom he adored. "As h e r b ro th e r, I .;

have erne to make amends. With Diana m arried to A sto rre and you to me,

you two women can a r r iv e a t an u n d erstan d in g .38

’ih e s e n s it iv e monk became in d ig n an t a t th is crude eq u a lisa tio n

o f aggression and su ffe rin g = '<* o r d id he f e e l the fangs o f a v iper?

"This i s no way to c o u r t!80 he w hispered to Gemano.

; The l a t t e r heard. I t , and,/ since; Antiope remained s i l e n t , he- f e l t

anger. He knew, th a t he should be g e n tle r , and y e t he spoke more h a rsh ly

s t i l l . “W ithout a f a th e r and w ith such a m other,w he rep ea ted , “you

need the p ro te c tio n o f a man. Today0 s occur mice should have taugh t you

th a t , A ntiope. le v e r again w all you be s tr ic k e n and h m il ,ia te d before

a l l ©f Padua. Give y o u rse lf to me, as you a re , and X s h a l l p ro te c t you

from head to to e ,18 Gemano was th in k in g o f h is am o u r.

A sto rre was in d ig n an t at the harshness of th i s co u r t sh ip . Xt A;;;;

seemed to him th a t Gemano was t r e a t in g A ntiope l ik e one o f h is c a p tiv e s .

\ ' . 7?

Or was th i s another snake h is s in g in h is bosom I wI h is i s m>W80l,ib eo u rt, ”

he groanedo Germane h a l f tu rn ed , " I f you can do b e t t e r ,E he s a id a n g rily ,

"then you co u rt fo r me, Brother^in-lawo® He stepped aside°

Then A sto rre approached» He b en t h is knee, he ra is e d h is hands

beseechingly , and h is tim id eyes questioned the d e l ic a te countenance

framed by the fad ing gold o f th e s e tt in g sun. wBoes lo v e f in d words?w

be stammered. There was a long s ile n c e .

f in a l ly M tio p e l is p e d , CfF©r whcaa a re you co u rtin g , A sto rre f’5

“For my b ro th e r Germane, “ he forced h im se lf to say. A ntiope covered

h e r fa ce .

Mow German© l o s t h is p a tien ce , “I s h a ll speak sim ply w ith her,**

he erup ted $ “in a word, A ntiope Canossa,68 he sa id vehemently, “w il l you

beocme my w ife o r not!**

D espite th e growing darkness, he could see how she shook h er

head slow ly b u t d i s t in c t ly . “I have my refhsal,** Oeraano sa id d ry ly .

“Gome, B ro th e r-in -law ,M .and he l e f t the. h a l l as r e s o lu te ly as he had

en te red . The monk, however, d id no t fo llow .

A sto rre remained on h is knees. Then, trem bling h im se lf , he

se ized Antiope*s trem bling hands and withdrew them from h e r countenance.

Suddenly, th e i r l ip s , m et, .. Sho :succumbed f i r s t , I do n o t know, fo r by

now th e chamber was enveloped in com plete-darkness.

I t became so s t i l l , th a t , had n o t th e i r e a rs been f i l l e d w ith

th e loud re jo ic in g o f heavenly c h o irs , th e lo v e rs could e a s i ly have

heard th e sound o f murmured p rayers in the ad jo in ing chapel where a

p r ie s t was p rep arin g th e m idnight mass which was to be read fo r t h e .

Count Ganossa in the presence o f the widow and h e r c h i ld . I t was th e

• ■ ■ _ 78

th i rd ann iversary o f h is d e a th »

H either did the couple perce ive th e sh u ff lin g o f Olympiads s lip p e rs

She had come to seek her- damghter and was now q u ie tly and a t te n t iv e ly ob­

serv ing th e lo v e rs by the dim l i g h t o f a sm all lamp which she earredo

She was no t su rp rise d to see the b o ld e s t l i e of an ex travagan t im agination

m a te r ia liz e d b e fo re h e r very eye's* And to h e r c r e d i t i t must be conceded

th a t she d id no t harbour , any thoughts o f f u l f i l l e d revenges g lo a tin g

over the b i t t e r sorrow th i s love ■ would cause the u n fo rtu n a te Diana o . There

w as.only th e uncom plicated joy. o f a m other Who sees h er c h ild valued,

d e s ired , and loved .

■ Hhen a l i g h t ray from h er lamp caused the two to look up in a s to n ­

ishm ent, she asked w ith a gen tle and normal vo ice, "A storre Vicedomini,

a re 'y o u -in lo v e w ith A ntiope eanossaf8’ - : .

"Above every th ing , Madonna," r e p lie d th e monk»

"W ill you defend h e rf"

"A gainst the whole w orld!" exclaimed A storre b o ld ly .

"Well s a id ," she re jo in e d approvingly , "and you w i n be tru e to

h e r , w i l l you n o t! Tom w il l mot r e j e e t h e r , as you d id Dianaf You w i l l

n o t deceive met You w il l n o t aggrieve an o ld , insane woman, as they c a l l

met You w i l l n o t perm it my c h ild to f a l l in to - d isg race ag a in f You w il l

n o t seek sub terfuges and d e lay s! W in you convince us as a devout C h r is t­

ian and honest nobleman by lead in g Antiope to the a l t a r now! You need

n o t go f a r to fin d a p r i e s t . Do you hear th e murmuring? There i s a p r ie s t

■in th e chapel below .” • ’

She opened a sm all door and po in ted a t a few s tee p s tep s which

le d to the chapel. A sto rre looked.flown. Under the crudely vau lted c e i l in g

7 9

before a sm all' a l t a r a monk grayed by th e f lic k e r in g l i g h t of a candle =

He wore th e robe o f the F ranciscans and resembled A sto rre in age and

appearance. .. : ' - ■ . .

1 b e lie v e th a t th i s Franciscan „ kneeling here in prayer,, was

se n t by d iv in e providence to .warn and admonish A ste rre fo r the l a s t tim e

But in the: v e in s o f th e impassioned monk th e m edicine tu rned to poison.

Upon viewing t h i s embodiment o f h is m onastic l i f e , th e d e f ia n t assurance

o f th e blasphemer took possession o f him. 1181 broke my f i r s t vow, 88 he

. laughed, °%hy no t th e seeondf My s a in ts and patrons have forsaken me.

Perhaps th e y ,w ill , save and p ro te c t the s in n e r .” Y ielding more .and more

to h is p assio n s , he seized Antiope and h a l f c a r r ie d her in to th e chapel.

Madonna Olympia, however, whose mind, a f t e r a sh o rt lu c id moment„ lap sed

again in to darkness, slammed th e heavy iro n door behind th e eouplee as

i f securing a valuab le p r is e and l i s te n e d a t the keyhole.

S hat . she h eard fem ains u n c e r ta in . Aeeording to th e people,

A sto rre was supposed to have th rea ten ed th e monk in to submission a t th e

point- of h is sword. This i s im possib le , fo r A s to rre , the man, never ;

wore a sword. I r e g re t to say th i s , b u t i t . i s more probable th a t th e

monk was co rru p t and ac cep ted 'a b r ib e , perhaps the same pouch which

. A storre had p rev io u sly in ten d ed . fo r th e purchase o f Diana6s wedding

band. - : - ■ ■; . ..

That in th e beginning the p r ie s t re fu sed , th a t th e two monks

s tru g g led , th a t th e v au lted c e i l in g concealed an u g ly scene, -== a l l t h i s

X read in Olympia0 s f r ig h te n e d and d is to r te d fe a tu re s => The old .woman

grasped in s ta n t ly th a t a s a c r ile g e was being committed in h er chapel,

t h a t , as in s t ig a to r and accesso ry , she was mow su b jee t to the se v e rity

o f th e law and th e revenge o f the b e trayed fam ily . And s ince i t was

80

th e an n iv ersa ry o f h er husband0s execu tion 3 she b e liev ed h e r own head

th rea ten ed by the ax@« Her fren z ied mind perceived the approaching s te p s

of th e ty r a n t . She f le d scream ing, “Help, murderSM

The torm ented woman rushed in to th e h a l l and to th e window over=

looking th e narrow in n e r cou rtyard . MHy mule, my l i t t e r $ M she shouted.

Laughing lo u d ly a t th e nonsensica l order => = th e mule was fo r the country ,

th e l i t t e r fo r th e c i ty = ■= the se rv an ts ro se slow ly and le i s u r e ly from • ■

a corner where by the l i g h t o f a pumpkin ia n te r n they had been d rink ing

and gambling. An o ld s tab le -k e ep e r , th e only one s t i l l f a i th f u l to h is

u n fo rtu n a te m is tre s s , obeyed sad ly and saddled two m ules, lead in g them

through th e gate o f th e in n e r co u rt to th e main en trance of th e manor-

house. He had a lready accompanied Donna Olympia on many fo o l0s e rrands.

The o th e rs fo llow ed, b earin g th e l i t t e r . a n d joking lo u d ly .

The frig h te n e d woman, im pelled by the d riv e o f s e lf -p re s e rv a t io n ,

which caused h e r to fo rg e t .h e r own c h i ld , hastened down th e s ta i r s o f th e

p a la c e , where she encountered Aseanio. Anxious fo r news and deeply

w orried , he had come to f in d A s to rre .

■ ' . ’’’I h a t has happened» S ig n o ra ,w he asked h u rr ie d ly . ' ' :

MA d is a s te r gM she croaked, ran down the s t a i r s , mounted and,

spurring h e r mule madly, she d isappeared in to th e darkness.

Aseanio searched th e dark chambers o f the pa lace u n t i l he a r r iv e d

in Antiope° s room which was s t i l l illu m in a te d by th e la n te rn which Olympia

had l e f t behind. As he looked about, th e door o f th e chapel opened and .

two b e a u tifu l ap p a r itio n s ascended from th e d e p th , Aseanio began to

trem ble. "A storre;you have wed heriP The sonorous name b la re d in the

vau lted chamber l ik e a tuba on judgement day. "And you a re s t i l l wearing

81

Diana”s r in g l”

A sto rre to re i t o f f and h u rled i t through th e open easement»

Asdanio ru sh e d .toward th e window* / " I t s lip p ed in to a gap be­

tween two fre e s to n e s , ”” sounded a voiee from below„ Aseani© d isee raed

tu rbans and helmetSo I t was E zze lin ”$ guard making the rounds*

'^Seme in fo r a moment, Abu Mohammedgto he ealled„ qmiekly eomposed*

wTbur w ish i s my command 0 61 an o ld w hite-bearded w a rrio r re p lie d

co u rteo u sly , as he en te red th e gate ©f th e palace w ith two o th e r Saracens

and one German* -

Abu Eohammed-al-fabib not only guarded the safety-:®£ the s t r e e t s

b u t a lso en te red the houses o f t r a i t o r s ~ - a s th e p re fe c t c a lle d them - -

in o rder to 1 make a r r e s t s * The emperor had given him to h is son-in-law 8

th e ty r a n tp to r e c r u i t and command a Saracen guard a t E z se lin ”s court*

Abu Mohammed was a man o f d is tin g u ish ed appearance and in g ra t ia t in g man­

ners* He' sym pathised With th e fam ily whose member he was compelled to

lead to th e dungeon or to th e ex ecu tio n er0 s b lock 0 o f fe r in g co nso la tion

by quoting 'A rab ic poets in broken I ta lia n * ;I presume t h a t ’although he .

may have possessed seme' su rg ic a l knowledges he owed h is by-name». 66a l

Tabib1”, Which means physicians to c e r ta in m edical mannerismss such

encouraging g es tu re s and appeasing words asa th i s does n o t hurta ® o r

wi t w i l l see® p a s s » 88 w ith which the d is c ip le s of Galen a re wont to in t r o ­

duce a p a in fu l o p e ra tio n * In s h o r tB Abu Mohammed ac ted g en tly in th e

face o f trag ed y and was n o t a-hated person in Padua a t . th e ; tM e 'o f my

n a rra tio n s d e sp ite th e severe and odious n a tu re o f h is o ffice* hate„

when the ty ra n t began to tak e p leasu re in to r tu r in g human b e in g ss a f a c t

which you, Camgrande, re fu se to b e lie v e , Abu Mohammed l e f t him and re ­

turned to h is k indhearted aaperor * . ,

82

On th e th re sh o ld of. the chamber Abu Mohammed beckoned h is th re e

companions to h a l t . The German who c a r r ie d th e to rch , a d e f ia n t looking .

fe llow , d id no t ta r ry lo n g . .This very afternoon, he had accompanied

; Gemano;, to the- palace, o f the' - i^eeddffliM-^ - and th e l a t t e r ':ha?d -ca lled to \

him 'ja u n ti ly , “Here we p a r t . I must a tte n d th e b e tro th a l o f my. l i t t l e

s i s t e r and th e monk. 55 The German knew h is captain®s s is te r and s e c re tly

admired h e r t a l l form and the frankness o f .h e r eyes. This noon he had

ridden w ith th e monk, and now he saw hi®, standing hand in hand , w ith a

s®:a31 s len d e r woman who, compared w ith th e t a l l Diana, appeared to him

a mere puppet. Sensing a d u lte ry , he became enraged, h u rled th e b laz in g

to rch to th e m arble f lo o r from whence one o f the Saracens r e tr ie v e d ' i t ,

and hastened away to re p o rt th e monk0 s b e tra y a l to German©.

Ascanio, who guessed th e German0 s in te n tio n , asked Abu Hohammed

to r e c a l l him. But th e l a t t e r re fu sed . 55He would n o t obey , 55 he sa id

g en tly , 55and would k i l l two o r th ree of. my men. How e ls e can I be o f

se rv ice .to youf • Ms. I to ,-a r re s t this,;y©img eoup le l65,. •

"A sto rre , they mean to separate , u s ,” screamed Antiope and sought

p ro te c tio n in th e arms o f th e monk. With the sa c rile g e a t the; a l t a r she

had l o s t th e p u r ity o f h e r soul as weH a s h er n a tu ra l f o r t i tu d e . The

monk, on the o th e r hand, f e l t encouraged and inspired , by h i s gm ilf. Un­

expectedly he stepped forward and to re th e Saracen’ s sword from i t s

shea th . mG arefa l, my boy, you' could c u t y o u rse lf , 55 warned th e l a t t e r -

goodnaturedlyo ' ‘ - V: . ;:v . p '

toLet me ex p la in to you, Abu.Mohammed, th is mad=man i s the com­

panion o f my youth and Was fo r a long tim e the monk, A s to rre , whom you

must have o f te n seen in th e s t r e e t s o f Badua. His own fa th e r forced him

8 3

to fo rsake h is tows and b e tro th ed him to a w ife he d id n o t lore.-'- Only

a few hours ago he exchanged r in g s w ith h e r , and now, as you see him

h ere , he i s the husband o f A ntiope » ,6

" F a t e l 08 Judged the Saracen m ild ly =

^ind th e be trayed woman,® A seaniO:eontinned, " i s Diana P iz 2 a~

g uerra , Gemano°s sister.o You know Germane. He i s t r u s t in g , b u t when he

r e a l iz e s th a t he has been b e tray ed , h i s w rath f la r e s and he k i l l s th e

t r a i t o r , w

®You are r i g h t , re affirm ed Abu Mohammed. mH is m other was a German

and they are the c h ild re n o f f a i th fu ln e s s <>58

.. • ' . . , ■■ ' ' j . : . ■ " . . . ; : i ' - ' . ■

■ 8”Advise me, S aracen . I can th in k o f b u t one s o lu t io n , perhaps

a d e liv eran ce . %e submit th e s ia tte r to th e p re fe c t . L e t S zz e lin judge.

Meanwhile your men s h a l l guard th e monk in h is own p a lace . I s h a ll h asten

to my u n d e . The g i r l , however, Abu‘Mohammed, you s h a ll tak e to the

Margravine Gunizza, th e p re fe c t° s s i s t e r , th e pious and g e n tle domina,

who fo r the l a s t few weeks has e s ta b lish e d h e r co u rt h ere in Padua. : Take

the p r e t ty s in n e r . ' ; I e n tru s t h e r to -your care.® “You can rely•upon me,® .

Abu Mohammed assured him. .

Antiope clung to th e monk cry ing more d esp e ra te ly than b efo re ,

"They want to sep a ra te u s . D on 't le av e me, A sto rre . Mot fo r an hour,

n o t fo r a s in g le moment, or I s h a l l die?® • The monk ra is e d h i s : sword.

Aseanio who abhorred a l l v io lence looked q u e s tie n in g ly a t the

Saracen . The l a t t e r regarded the cotiple p a te rn a lly . “S u ffe r th e sha<=

dows to embrace,® he re le n te d . i E ith e r he was a ph ilo sopher to whca

l i f e c o n s titu te d a mere i l lu s io n , o r he meant to says perhaps I z z e l in

w il l sen tence them to death by tomorrow; do n o t begrudge th e enamoured

84

p a i r t h i s houro ' ; . . : _

: Aseanio did. n o t doubt th e r e a l i ty o f l i f e ; he was more in c lin ed

t© fe a r the ty ra n t 0 s sentenee,, l o t simply because he was prone t© take "

m atte rs l i g h t l y » b a t a lso because he was k iad and humane 9 he h e s ita te d

to sep ara te th e lovers®

"’Astorre'i,® he. asked, wdo you" reoognize met”

: “You were my f r ie n d / 5 re p lie d th e monko ;

: : 8CAnd I s t H l am, Yoa have non© more devoted =" ‘ ' : v.,, -V

. . M0s, do no t tak e h e r from melw the monk Im plored» The tome o f

h is voice was so s t i r r i n g th a t A seanio coaid. no t r e s i s t » S3Reaiain to ­

g e th e r / ' he s a id s ■ “a n t i l you face yoar judge=M He w hispered w ith Aba ,

Heharoiedo: : ; ■

,■: ■ ;. -v , th e ' l a t t e r approached; the monk and g en tly e x tr ic a te d th e ' sword :

from h is eramped fingers= Sheathing i t , he stepped to th e window, and

motioned to h i s men to tak e th e l i t t e r which Olympia la d l e f t a t the

entrance^ . - . . '

, : Quickly th e p rocession moved through a narrow dark aH ey i f i r s t ,

A n tio p e .ca rried by fo u r ■ Saracens,' a t h e r .s id e :the monk and Aseanio, th e n ,

th e rem ainder o f the Saracens and f in a l ly Abu Mohammed»

Hurrying p a s t th e l ig h te d windows o f a church, th e group crossed

a small square« E n tering the co n tin u a tio n o f the narrow s t r e e t , they

: c o llid e d w ith ano ther p rocession which was accompanied by a la rg e number

o f people, A .v io len t q u a rre l a ro se « ; % ake w ay-for the S posina ,” ,ela= ■

mored th e crowd. Choirboys rushed from the church, p ro te c tin g the '

f l ic k e r in g flam es o f long candles w ith cupped hands. The yellow sheen

illu m in a ted a tU te d l i t t e r and an overtu rned b ie r , l a Sposina was a

c o m m o n e r i s deceased, young b rid e who was being c a r r ie d to h e r grave, ; Her

■ ; ■■ . ^ ■ ■■ 85

body remained r ig id as i t was rep laced on the b ie r from which i t had

f a l le n . The m u ltitu d e „ h o w e v e rb e h e ld th e monk as he p ro te c tiv e ly em~

braced Antiope who had sprang from th e l i t t e r „ and th ey a l l knew th a t

only today the monk had been b e tro th e d to Diana P i 2 zaguerra° Abu Mohara=

med re s to re d o rd er. W ithout fu r th e r in c id e n ts they reached th e p a lace .

A sto rre and Antiope were rece iv ed by aston ished and bew ildered

, se rv an ts o The two disappeared through the g a te w ithout tak in g leave . ' \

o f Aseanib and Abu Mohammed =. The former enveloped h im self in h is cloak

and accompanied th e Saracen. Mohammed walked around th e mansion which

he was to guard counting th e gates' and m easuring th e h e ig h t o f the w a lls

: w ith h ie @y®s. . ' : . ; 1

, “An ev en tfu l day / 8 s a id 'Ageani©. d ■ -

roA b e a u tifu l n i g h t / ” r e p lie d th e Saraceh regard ing the s t a r l i t

sky. The e te rn a l l i g h t s » whether o r n o t th ey ru le oar f a t e , followed

th e i r immutable course u n t i l th e d iv in e to rc h announced a new day? the

' l a s t ' f o r A storrey 'aM : A ntiope. ; ; ■ ; 1 ■., V

. During the e a r ly morning o f th i s day the tyrant, and .h is nephew

l is te n e d a t a sm all Besmanesque window o f h i s c i ty tow er. The square

below was f i l l e d by an ex c ited crowds t h e i r murmurs waxed louder and

lo u d e r» soon resem bling the rushing of th e s u r f . . • ; , : :

The tu rm oil o f th e n ig h t b e fo re , caused by th e c o l l i s io n o f th e

l i t t e r and th e b ie r had ra p id ly spread throughout th e c i t y . A ll minds,,

dreaming o r waking, occupied them selves w ith nothing e ls e b u t the monk

and h is. wedding. ' This p ro f l ig a te , , i t was s a id , had n o t m erely broken , •

h i s vows to heaven, b u t had a lso b e tray ed h is b rid e here on e a r th . He '

had h u rled away h is r in g , and then, w ith insane abandon, h is passion

■- ■ : ' : . ; '■ - 8 6 :

a b la z e g he had wedded a new wife,, a f i f t e e n y ea r o ld g i r l I n th e flow er

o f h e r l i f e , . The d iscarded robe had bared a rapacious b e a s t of prey.

But th e j u s t ty ra n t who was n© re sp e c te r o f persons had p laced the house

which concealed th e two c rim in a ls under guard. He would today, soon,

perhaps even now, in v e s t ig a te th e crime o f th e two nob les = - fo r the

young Antidpe was a Ganossa, He would make amends fo r th e b e tra y a l o f

th e chaste Diana and would h u r l th e b leed ing heads o f th e c u lp r i t s

through the window to appease h is v irtu o u s su b je c ts , who had been of­

fended by th e bad example s e t by h is n o b i l i ty , .

While observing the see th ing 'c row d , the ty ra n t l i s t e n e d . to

Aseanio°s re p o r t o f th e even ts o f th e previous day. He was untouched

by th e lo v e o f th e young couple and m erely d isp layed a momentary in te r e s t

in •the l o s t r in g as a novel device o f 'p rov idence, e,I reprim and you fo r

n o t having separa ted them fo rc ib ly y e s te rd a y , M he s a id , ®X Commend you

fo r having p laced them under guard, Diana" s b e tro th a l must b e recogn-

n ized . O btaining the sacram ents a t sword p o in t o r by b r ib e ry renders

them void. The contem ptible p r ie s t who p e m it te d h im self to be bought

o r in tim id a ted deserves th e gallows and s h a ll hang i f he i s apprehended.

But agains why d id you n o t s tep between th e f le d g lin g and the in fa n t?

.May d id you no t te a r th e rav ing monk from th e arms o f th e in fa tu a te d

g i r l? You gave h e r to him, low they a re husband and w ife , 18

Aseanio,, who a f t e r a n ig h t 0 s r e s t had regained h i s o ld s p i r i t ,

concealed a sm ile , ®You Epicureant® . scolded B zzelin , A seanio, howeverg

sa id eoaxingly , " I t has happened0 Uncle, I f you assume ju r is d ic t io n ,

every th ing w i l l be saved, I have summoned bo th p a r t ie s f o r th e n in th

hour to h ear your sen tence , 66 .Just then a campanile o p posite them stru ck

th e n in th hour. "You m erely need to w ish, E sze lin , and your f i m and

av arice knows no honor =, The in fa tu a te d • monk w i l l agree • aiyr desiand

e f th e v i l e n iggard , our honorable P izaaguerra , Geraano w i l l undoubt­

edly draw h is w o rd , b u t you w i l l command him to a b s ta in from violence.,

He i s in your service® He w il l gnash h is te e th , b u t he wi l l obeyow

. ' *1 am asking m y se lf ,16' s a id Ezzelim , '"’whether I am r ig h t in pro­

te c t in g the monk from. German©0s sword® Should A storre be perm itted to

l i v e t Gan he continue t© l iv e ? A fter having forsaken h is robe he has

now besmirched h is c r e s t as w e ll, so th a t th e Cantus F tra a s o f the monk

has been converted in to a p ie rc in g s t r e e t song® I , fo r my p a r t , w i l l

spare th e l i f e of th e w orth less and f ic k le monk® However, 1 am unable

to co n tro l fate® I f A sto rre i s d es tin ed to . d ie by German®0s sword, then

I s h a ll command th e l a t t e r in vain to sp a re him® The monk h im self w il l

seek and f in d the deadly blade® I know this® I have experienced it® ”

And he grew pensive® . , . - v ■ '

Aseanio glanced as id e shyly® He remembered a c ru e l story®

Once th e ty ra n t had conquered a f o r t r e s s and had sentenced th e

re b e ll io u s defenders to d ie by the sWord® One o f h is s o ld ie r s was to

be th e executioner® A handsome youth whose fe a tu re s c a p tiv a ted th e

ty ra n t k n e lt to rece iv e the death-blow® E zzelin b e liev ed th a t th ese

fe a tu re s resem bled h is own and questioned th e young man about h is descent®

He was th e son o f a woman whom E zzelin in h is youth had loved in sin®

He pardoned th e condemned man® The l a t t e r , spurred by h is own c u r io s i ty

and th e envious in s in u a tio n s o f those whose sons o r r e la t iv e s had no t

been pardoned, d id n o t r e s t u n t i l he had solved the r id d le o f th is

leniency® He to re the w retched s e c re t from h is mother a t th e p o in t o f

88

h is daggero fh e knowledge o f h is s in f u l b i r t h poisoned h is young so u l.

Again he conspired a g a in s t th e ty ra n t, ambushed him in th e s t r e e t and

was k i l l e d by th e same s o ld ie r who had been the execu tioner a t the

re b e llio n s f o r t r e s s and who perchance was th e f i r s t to come to E zse lin 6 s

aido :

B zzelin covered h i s countenance w ith h is r ig h t hand and re liv e d

th e death o f h is son* Ihen he ra is e d h i s head slowly and in q u ired , "W hat:

shall'becom e of DianaT"

Ascanio shrugged h is sh o u ld ers . 10Diana l iv e s under an u n fo rtu n a te

s ta r . She has l o s t two men, one to th e B renta, th e o th e r to a lo v e l ie r

womano In ad d itio n th e re i s her n ig g ard ly fa th e r . She w i l l e n te r a

convent, l h a t e ls e rem ains fo r h er?8e

Sow they h eard menacing vo ices in the square below shouting

im precations and th r e a ts , " "K ill the monkl85 y e lle d sev e ra l vo ices, b u t

th e moment th i s c ry was in every mouth, th e rage o f th e people changed

ab ru p tly to amazement and adm ira tion , “How lo v e ly she i s 8 86 sounded

everywhere. The ty ra n t and Ascanio, could observe the whole scene through

th e window. The Saracens, on th e i r beau tifu l; chargers , e n c irc le d th e

monk and h is young w ife who rode on m ules. The new ficedom ini was

v e i le d , But when thousands o f clenched f i s t s th rea ten ed h e r husband,

she: threw h e r s e l f p a s s io n a te ly .b e fo re ’ him. Her v e i l was to rn by th is ,

g es tu re o f lo v e . The m u ltitu d e , which experienced today what the monk

had f e l t y e s te rd ay , was n o t disarmed and in sp ired by th e charm o f h e r .

countenance o r her y o u th fu l appearance a lone, b u t a lso by th e d isp lay

of h e r soul and h e r in te n se love which seemed revealed in h e r every

b re a th . The monk rode a t the Side of h is impassioned ca p tiv e l ik e a

trium phant v ie.tor w ithou t th e s l ig h te s t £ e a r 0 fo r he b e liev ed h im self

to he seemre aad in v in e ib leo ; . ' ,

E gselin pegardeS th i s v ie te z^ o f beau ty ^ s io s t With ©oatmpte

But he glanced w ith compassion a t a second, p rocession which approached.

th e square from another street® Three n o b les» a lso accompanied by a

la rg e fo llow ings .sought a path through the m u ltitu d e o In th e c e n te r

walked th e o ld Pizzagm erra whose snow=white h a i r enhanced h is d ig n if ie d .

appearance o T© h is l e f t was Semanoi. The previous day th e l a t t e r had '

been in fu r ia te d when the - German brought him th e news o f th e b e tra y a l and

. had charged • fo rth" in s ta n t ly t o .seek revenge ®;;. But ’he . was h indered by th e '

Saracen who summoned himo h is s i s t e r and h is - f a th e r to th e c i ty tower fo r

th e nex t morning» Therefore, he was com pelled to re v e a l to h is s i s t e r ;

the monk0 s wanton offence which he had in tended to keep s e c re t u n t i l h is

revenge was aeeemplished* and he had been aston ished a t h e r calm recep tio n

o f the, news® Diana rode a t h e r f a th e r 9 s - s id e and appeared no d i f f e r e n t ,

th an usualp although h e r head seemed ..-slightly bowed by sorrow® Sbd crowdp

s t i l l dazzled by the beauty of.A ntiope and beginning to eomprehehd’ the

. . monk0:s a c t io n s .murmured9 “U nfortunate g i r l 9 always s a c r i f ic e d , ' 8 although

e a r l i e r i t would have g re e ted th e m istrea ted , g i r l w ith an impassioned

ovation® ■ - . , V/,;

low the f iv e en te red the empty h a l l where th e ty ra n t was seated

on a.dais® Before him the accusers and .the accused faced each o th e r ; : here

th e two P izzaguerras w ith -Diana stand ing somewhat a s id e s th e r e , the monk .

and Antiope hand in hand, a l l o f them in awe o f th e ty r a n t= Aseanio •

. ieaaed a g a in s t th e ty r a n t 0 s a rm ch a ir: a s i f t o emphasise h i s im p a r t ia l i ty

by stand ing between th e two companions o f h is youth®

. “Ladies and gentlem en, “ began .E szelins “I s h a ll t r e a t yomr ease

as a pardonable fam ily m a tte r , n o t as an a f f a i r o f s ta t e , .where d is lo y a l ty

i s tre a so n , and tre aso n i s an offense a g a in s t the sovereign . Indeed the

blood o f the P izzag u e rra s 9 the Yacedorainis and the Canossas i s as noble

as my own, b u t th e august Baperor has made me th e i r p r e fe c t in these

t h e i r landso 611 E zzelin in c lin e d h is head as he re fe r re d to h is sovereign;

he could n o t b are h is head s ince he was no t wearing h is helm et, and be=

cause, l i k e th e a n c ie n ts , he nerer wore a h a t reg a rd le ss , o f w eather, “Thus

th e twelve fa m ilie s form one la rg e fam ily to which I too am re la te d

tiirough one of my an ces to rs = But how we have decreased in nsimber because

some among us have b lin d ly and w retchedly conspired a g a in s t th e h ig h es t

se cu la r au th o rity ? I f you b e liev e in me, we s h a ll make every e f fo r t to

spare those who a re l e f t . With th i s in mind I s h a ll p rev en t th e Pizza™

guerras from r e t a l i a t i n g 1 a g a in s t A sto rre Yicedomini, a lthough , under the

c ircum stances, I consider t h e i r quest fo r revenge j u s t i f i a b l e . J I f ' yon

a re in disagreem ent w ith my benevolence,® he turned to th e th re e P izza-

g u erras , “th en h ea r me ou t and co n sid e r one f a c t . I , E zzelino da Romano,

b ear th e f i r s t , and th e re fo re , th e main g u i l t . Had I n o t ex erc ised my

h o rse a t . the. B renta on a c e r ta in day , Diana would be m arried according

to h e r s ta t io n , and. th e monk here would be mumbling h is b re v ia ry . Had -

I n o t commanded an in sp e c tio n Of my Germans On a c e r ta in day and a t a

c e r ta in hour, then my Germane would n o t have l i f t e d th e monk upon a

horse a t such an untim ely moment, and A sto rre could have taken the r in g

from th e woman, whose hand he i s now hold ing and who rece iv ed i t as a

p re sen t f rd a h is e v i l s p ir i t .® .

“From my good one,® ex u lted th e monk.

91

ltjEhusg la d ie s and gentlem eng do me th e kindness and a s s i s t me i n

my attem pt to u n tang le th i s com plicated problem, fo r were you to i n s i s t

upon s e v e r i ty , 1 should haye to sentence m yself b efo re anyone e lse I^

This ex trao rd in a ry speech d id n o t u p se t th e old P izzaguerra in

any way, and when the ty ra n t addressed him saying , 68I t i s your r ig h t to

s ta te your acc u sa tio n s , 59 he sa id b r ie f ly and la c o n ic a lly , "Your Grace,

A sto rre fieedom ini was b e tro th e d to my daughter Biana p u b lic ly and

according to custom .. Then, however, a lthough Diana committed no wrong,

he broke h i s engagement- w ithou t cause, i l l e g a l ly ; s a c r i le g io u s ly <> This

deed weighs h eav ily and demands, i f no t b lood, which Your Grace does

n o t wish to see shed, a t l e a s t a grave penance, f and he made a gestu re

l ik e a p e d d le r ' p lac in g w eight a f t e r w eight upon, h is s c a le o

"Biana committed no wongf® repeated th e ty ra n t , "Methinks she

d id . Bid she no t confron t a demented woman? Yet, Biana r a i l s and

s t r ik e s . For Biana i s unreasonable and quick to anger when she b e lie v e s, y , . ' y ■ . ■ ;

h e r s e l f wronged." - ' ’ . ,

.Here Biana nodded and s a id , . 6?You speak th e t r u th , S z ze lin ,"

"This i s a lso th e rea so n ," continued the ty ra n t , " w h y A sto rre°s

h e a r t tu rned from her? he saw in h e r a b a rb a ria n ."

: "So, 'S ire , 66 .co n trad ic ted the monk, in s u lt in g th e b etrayed g i r l

anew, " I never looked a t Biana, in s te a d I regarded th e sweet countenance

which had been sm itten , and my s o u li was s t i r r e d to compassion= 66

The ty ra n t shrugged h is shou lders. - "You see , P izzag u erra ," he

sm iled, "The monk resem bles a v ir tu o u s maiden who t a s te s a strong wine

fo r the f i r s t tim e and: who r e a c ts a c c o rd in g ly ,. . We, however, a re o ld B

sober men. l e t us d e lib e ra te how to d ea l w ith th i s m a tte r ."

/ w ; . X ^ ' . . : : 9 2

f ig sa g a e rra rep lied ,, “I should never h e s i ta te to d© yon a favour

because ©£ th e .s e rv ic e s you have rendered Padua. T e t/ can in su lte d fam ily

honor be avenged o th e r than by th e swordf5* liana® s f a th e r accompanied

h is words a noble g es tu re which' degenerated^ howevers in to a. s tr ik in g

resem blance to a beggar®s o u ts tre tch ed hand. ■ . '

■' ^Make an o f f e r „ A s to rre »m sa id th e p re fe c t ambiguously. “O ffer

your hand-or o f fe r money and p o ssess io n s . 85

She monk faced th e ty ra n t w ith frankness and n o b il i ty ,; ' “Sire# -1 .

f e e l no a n g e r■toward you should you - consider me d is s o lu te and b e re f t o f

my sen ses» fo r a mighty god wh®i 1. denied, s inee I could n o t have known

o f h is e x is te n c e a wrought h is vengeance and subdued me. Even now h is

fu ry i s unabated = I f I must pay w ith my l i f e fo r my happiness = =>■ what

a feeb le word, what an inadequate language = = fo r the apex o f ray l i f e „

1 deem th e p r ic e low. however, i f I may l iv e , : may l i v e w ith h e r, then

. 1 : s h a ll n o t hagg le . 66 He smiled h ap p ily . 60lake my possessions,, P isza-

®I s h a ll a c t as th e guardian o f t h i s ex travagan t you th . B ego tia te

w ith me3 P izzaguerra . As you h eard 9 I possess ex tensive a u th o r ity , i h a t

do-yoa.vthChk o f th e mines ©f th e fieedominif®! ■ ,5- - ;

Si© honorable old - man remained s i l e n t 8 bu t h is eyes' sparkled l i k e ,

two diamonds. - ■ ■ .

“Take my p e a r l f is h e r ie s as w e l l , “.- exclaimed A sto rre s bu t Aseanio

qu ick ly descended th e s t a i r s and p laced h is hand over th e monk®s mouth.

..', ■ wI© ble iP iazaguerracy urged- B zze lin , “take th e m ines. : % know: t h a t

you esteem th e honor o f your house vabeve evezyth ing: and th a t i t .has no .

p r ic e , ' b u t I a lso know th a t you a re a good Paduan who v a lu es the peace . '

o f th e c i ty . . - , ' . '

9 3

ffie old man remained o b s tin a te ly s i l e n t , \

"Take the lo d e s love be bestowed , , 80 repeated E zzelin who loved a .

rhyme. ■ v: , Vl'C: ■ ' ■ ';" v' - .

"''The mines and th e p e a r l f i s h e r ie s f w Inquired th e o ld man as i f .

iae were hard o f h earin g . :

^toe mlnesg I s a id s and th a t i s a l l . They w i l l y ie ld thousands

o f pounds = I f yon were to demand more, P Iszag u erra 0 I should have m is-

jmdged your eonvietionsg and you. would r i s k being suspected o f bargain ing

f o r y©mr honor . 08 v-' .

Since the n iggard feared the ty r a n t 9 and s in ce he could o b ta in

no more, he suppressed h is anger and o ffe red the monk h is sh riv e led hand,

f i n w ritinga to guard a g a in s t th e p o s s ib i l i ty of deatho 98 he sa id , took

t h e : p en c il - and notebook from, a pocket ef^M e sash, drew up th e document. ■:

w ith trem bling hands coram domino A zzolino and had th e monk sign i t .

Thereupon he bowed b efo re th e p re fe c t and, although he was one o f the

tw elve, he asked to be excused from a tten d in g the monk0 s wedding because

o f h is age. ^

: ' .. Throughout the t r i a l German© had been standing b esid e h is fa th e r

suppressing h is .rage w ith d i f f i c u l ty . low he unfastened one of h is iro n

g lo v es. He would have h u rle d i t in to th e monk®s fa c e , had n o t an im­

perious g es tu re o f th e ty ra n t preven ted ' t h i s . ' •

toSon0 do you want to break th e peace o f th e e i t y , ro admonished th e

o ld P izzag aerra . “My word in c ludes yours and i s b ind ing upon you. Obey,

O r .I 's h a l l - curse you, d i s in h e r i t you,® th rea ten ed th e o ld man.

Gezmano la u g h e d .. "Concern y o u rse lf w ith your d i r ty b arg a in s.

F a th e r , 99 he remarked sc o rn fu lly . MIo r should you, E zze lin , r u le r o f

' ' V ■-' ■... ■ •' : ■ • . . ■■ ^

Pad.uag fo rb id siy reveageo I t i s a /man6 s r ig h t and a p r iv a te a f f a i r « I f

I were to re fu se .o b ed ien ce to th e emperor o r to you, h i s p re fe c t , decap­

i t a t e me; b u t, as j u s t a s you a re , you w i l l n o t p rev en t me from s tra n g lin g

th i s h y p o c r itic a l monk who has deceived my s i s t e r and me. There i s n o t

enough room oh th i s e a r th fo r the monk and m yself» t h i s even he w il l

comprehend when he reg a in s h is reason ^ 61

■ . 6CGemano , 08 commanded E zzelin , 881 am your lie g e - lo rd o tomorrow

th e tuba may c a l l you. You do n o t own y o u rse lf , you belong to the T k p ire .w

Germane d id no t r e p ly . He fa s te n ed h is g love. MFormerly» 18 he

sa id then , "among the b lin d heathens, th e re e x is ted a god who avenged

breaches o f f a i th , th i s could no t have been Changed by th e angelus. To

th i s god I e n tru s t cause ." ' He ra is e d h is hand. ■ ■ . . .

" th a t i s b e t t e r ," sm iled E zze lin . " to n ig h t, in the palaee o f the

Vicedomlni, we s h a ll c e le b ra te th e wedding w ith masks, q u ite according

to custom. I s h a l l give the c e le b ra tio n , and I am in v it in g , you, Germano

and Diana. W ithout armour, Germane; sh o rt sword o n ly ." , :

"C ruelty1 16 moaned the w a r r io r . ; "Gome, ■ F ather, how ■ can you pro­

long the sp e c ta c le o f our d isg ra c e ." . He l e f t , dragging th e old man w ith '

Mm. • ■ ■ • ■ : ■ . , ■ '

"And you, Diana?" in q u ired E zze lin , perce iv in g th a t only she and

th e newly wedded couple were s t i l l p re se n t; "are you n o t going to - accom­

pany your f a th e r and b ro th e r?"

v;: " I f you p erm it. S ire ," : she s a id , " I sh a ll have a word w ith Antiope

Vieedomini." Looking p a s t th e morik, she fix ed h e r g lance upon Anfiope.-

The l a t t e r , who s t i l l stood hand in hand w ith A s to rre , had s u f fe r ­

ed throughout the proceedings and was deeply aroused by th e ty ra n t 0 s

deeisio i'u Torsi between lo v e and g u i l t „ she a l te rn a te ly b lushed and , V

paled as a&e recogn ized» d e sp ite B zzeiin0s benevolent smllie,, th e time

n a tu re o f Mis sen tenceg which condemned h e r . One moment she experienced

th e e x u lta tio n o f a c h ild who has escaped punishment. then again she Was

' s t i r r e d by a new sen se of se lf-a ssu ra n c e as th e w ife o f a Vioedomimi°

low, being addressed by Dianaj, she appeared both sh y . and h o s t i le = .. ■

. ■- : But th e l a t t e r remained dsroertmrbed by her a t t i t u d e . , 61Look9

in tio p e g " she sa id , ^here*' 1% £itigerto '<=• =■ she held out h er hand - ^

Wbears th e r in g o f your husband. This r in g you must n o t fo rg e t . I am

mb more s u p e rs t it io u s than others^ b u t i f 1 were in your p l a c e , . X should

f e e l w orried . You have sinned ag a in s t me g riev o u sly 3 y e t I s h a l l be '

k ind and fo rg iv in g . Tonight, as, eusfcxn demands, you w i l l c e le b ra te

your wedding w ith m asks.: I s h a ll be p re se n t. . Approach me e e n tr i te ly \

and humbi^r and take th i s r in g f r m my f in g e r o® .

Ahtiope clung to her. husband and em itted a c ry o f f e a r . Then,

fe e lin g secure in h is embrace i, she answered w ith vehemence, $,I am to

humble m yself? I h a t do you command, A s to rre f % honor i s your honor.

I am nothing b u t youir p ossession , your h e a r tb e a t, your very b rea th and

so u l. Only i f you w i l l and command i t , -sha ll I eonsento 015 ■ ■ , ■ ..

' ; . . A s to rre 9 w hile com forting h is .wife a f fe c t io n a te ly , turned to

l ia n a , ’“She w i l l dp i t . May h er h u m ility and mine c o n c il ia te you. Be

my g u est to n ig h t and remain ■ a fr ie n d o f my house. ” Turning to B zzelin ,

.he thanked him fo r h i s benevolen t judgement, bowed and l e f t w ith h is w ife .

A t th e th re sh o ld he faced Diana once more and in q u ired , 9-And in what

costume w i l l you appear' in eur .m idst, so th a t We s h a ll be ab le to reeog-

Diana sm iled seom £ully.° Aga-iia she addressed Antiope 9 BX s h a ll

appear as th e one whose name I b ea r, f o r I am Diana, th e im o e e n t v irg in ,

she sa id proudly <, Then she rep ea ted » 8rEemember9 A nti ope 9 c o n tr i te and

humbleo^. . ... . ... .

“Are jo u being s in ce re s Bianaf :You have n© e r i l d e s ig n s f 09 sa id

th e ty ra n t dombtangly as he faced h e r alone now®

Mlo n e 6to she rep liedg d isd a in in g any a ssev e ra tio n .

“And what s h a ll become o f you 0 Dianaf16 he asked»

wE sz e lin !,M she r e to r te d w ith b it te rn e s s^ “b efo re yonr tr ib u n a l

my fa th e r haggled away th e honor and revenge o f h is daughter fo r a few

lumps o f ore o I am n o t worthy o f enjoying the • l i g h t o f th e sun 0 For

such a woman only th e convent remainso68 And she l e f t th e h a llo

“H ost ■ e x c e lle n t Uncle!“ exu lted AscaniOo 98You make p o ss ib le the

m arriage o f the h a p p ie s t couple in Padua and tu rn a p e r ilo u s s to ry in to

a cham ing f a iry - ta le * w ith which I s h a l l some day* as a d ig n if ie d old

man* d e l ig h t my grandchildren* as they g a th e r around th e f i r e - p la c e .B

“ I d y l l i c nephew,w sa id the ty ra n t mockingly. He stepped to th e

window and looked down a t th e square, where, w ith fe v e r is h c u r io s i ty

th e crowd p e r s is te d . E sse lin had given o rd ers to re le a se bo th p a r t ie s

through a t e a r door. ■ , ., , .

“Paduans , 81 he addressed the crowd w ith h is pow erful v o ice , and

thousands f e l l s i l e n t . “I have in v e s tig a te d the case . I t was involved,

and th ere was g u i l t on bo th s id e s . I forgave 1 fo r I am always in c lin e d

to be benevolent as long as th e m ajesty o f th e realm i s n o t involved.

Tonight, A sto rre Vieedomini and Antiope Ganossa w il l c e le b ra te th e i r

wedding w ith masks. I , E zze lin , s h a ll g ive the c e le b ra tio n , and 1 am

; ■■■ . . ; 9?

In v it ia g a l l o f yom. S a t and d rin k h e a r t i ly 9 fo r I am th e h o s t . To you

belong th e tav ern s and s t r e e t s » But none of you i s to e n te r o r endanger

th e p a lace o f the ficedom inisc O therw ise,, by my honor 8 - = and now

everyone r e tu rn to h is home calm ly, i f you love me."

A vague murmur became aud ib le and then t r ic k le d in to s ile n c e .

.' wHosr they lo v e you!'w ban tered Ascanio.. . - , ,’ \ : .

Dante took a deep b re a th . Then he concluded in rap id sen tences.

Toward noon, a f t e r the tr ib u n a l , th e ty ra n t rode ou t to one o f

h is c a s t le s to superv ise co n s tru c tio n . He d es ired to r e tu rn to Padua

in tim e to. w itness A ntiope0 s h u m ilia tio n .

Bat d e sp ite th i s in te n tio n he was to be d e ta ined a t th e c a s t le

which was s itu a te d sev e ra l m iles from th e c i ty . He was follow ed thence

by a dust, covered Saracen, who handed him a personal l e t t e r from the Em­

pero r which demanded an immediate re p ly . The m atte r was o f im portance,

E sze lin had re c e n tly made a n ig h t a tta c k on an im peria l c a s t le in F e rra ra .

He had captured i t and had im prisoned the treaOterous im p eria l commander,

a S ic i l ia n , whom he had suspected o f . tre a so n . low th e S ta u fe r c a lle d him

to account fo r t h i s p ruden t, b u t audacious u su rp a tio n o f h i s sphere o f

in flu en ce . Supporting h is forehead w ith h i s l e f t hand, he began - to w r ite

and became so engrossed an h is l e t t e r , th a t he l e t h is mind wander from

su b jec t to su b je c t. He thoroughly d iscu ssed w ith h is august f a th e r - in -

law th e p o s s ib i l i t i e s and goals of an impending or a t l e a s t in tended

campaign. Thus hour a f t e r hour e lapsed , l o t u n t i l he s a t in h is saddle

d id he recognize by the p o sitio n , of the s t a r s . - t h e y sp a rk led in f a l l

e l a r i ty = th a t he woald h a rd ly reaeh- Padma b efo re m idn igh t. Fast as a

ghost, he galloped ac ro ss th e no c tn rn a l p la in , leay ing h is re tin u e f a r '

behindo Bat he chose h is way c au tio u s ly , -even evading a shallow d itc h

which th e bold r id e r would have crossed p la y fu lly on any o th e r day = He

prevented f a te from causing h i s s ta l l io n to f a l l and from endangering h is

r id e . Again h is steed, seemed to devour space„ bu t Padma0s l ig h t s would

no t come in to s ig h t .

There, b efo re th e spacioms mansion o f the ¥ieedom ini, which was

tm m ing dark i n th e ra p id ly approaching dusk, a drunken crowd gathered ,

l ic e n tio u sn e s s and d ro lle ry p re v a ile d in th e r e la t iv e ly sm all square, ',

The crowded m u ltitu d e was overcome by a w ild and angry l u s t , a bacchanal­

ian frenzy , t© which the fro licsom e u n iv e rs i ty s tu d e n ts added an element

■.©f mockery and :w it, . . . :r ' ; . -i

How the sound o f a slow can t in e a became audib le , in th e s ty le , o f •

a l i t a n y as our countrymen a re wont to s in g . I f was a p rocession of

■ p easan ts , o ld and young, from one ©f. th e 'numerous v i l la g e s belonging to • ■

the V iced m in i, These poor people who, because o f th e i r rem oteness, had

lea rn ed nothing o f the s e c u la r is a tio n o f th e monk and m erely knew, vaguely

' o f th e m arriage o f the h e i r had s e t fo r th b e fo re dawn carry in g the .cmstom-

ary wedding g i f t s and Were now reaching th e i r d e s tin a tio n a f t e r a long •'

p ilgrim age through th e d u s t o f the highway. They tim id ly huddled to g e th e r

advancing slowly acro ss the s e rr ie d square, h e re a c u rly h a ire d 'la d e alm ost

a c h i ld , holding a golden honeycomba . th e re a :d i f f id e n t , prbttd ydung g i r l

ca rry in g a b le a tin g , beribboned lamb, They a l l yearned to see the count=

- eaance o f th e i r new m aster, ; - -y' 1 : .-'-.ri.V:; .. .. -

low they g radually disappeared through the v au lted g a te , both

s id es o f which were i l lu B ia a te d by b ia s in g to rches which opposed the l a s t

remnant o f d a y lig h t. In th e gateway stood Aseanio who was in charge o f

the 'f e s t iv i t ie s o fhe o therw ise so amiable youth was y e l l in g commands

in a s h r i l l and i r r i t a t e d vo ice .

The m alice o f th e crowd grew h o u rly , and, when th e d is tin g u ish ed

g u ests a rr iv e d , they were shoved from a l l s id e s , The mob se ized the

to rc h es c a rr ie d by the se rv a n ts and h u rle d them to th e ground. The la d ie s

were sep ara ted from th e i r male e sc o rts and were chaffed wantonly, unreveng­

ed by th e sword which on any o th e r evening would have punished th is in ­

solence in s ta n t ly .

A t a l l woman in the costume o f Diana s to o d .a t th e palace g a te ,

s tru g g lin g w ith a g roup 'o f c le r ic s and s tu d en ts o f th e low est o rd er, k

haggard in d iv id u a l d isp lay ed h is knowledge o f mythology. toXou are n o t

Diana , 18 he b le a te d amorously, "you are an o th er. I recognize: you. Here

s i t s your l i t t l e p igeon!ro and he po in ted to th e s i lv e r c re sc e n t above th e

fbrefaead o f the goddess. The l a t t e r , however, did n o t show h e r s e l f g en tle

l ik e A phrodite, b u t raged l ik e Artem is, "Away you sw ine," she scolded. " I

am a pure goddess and I d e te s t c l e r i c s . 86 "Coo, coo ," gurgled the bean­

pole groping w ith h is bony hands. Suddenly he em itted a p ie rc in g scream.

The whining w retch ra ise d h is in ju re d hand which was p ie rce d through and

through. Blood gushed from th e wound. .

The--enraged • g ir l had reached fo r h e r quiver - = h e r b ro th e r 0 s

hun ting quiver = => and had p ie rced the rep u ls iv e hand w ith a sharply

po in ted arrow. \ ■ '

Soon a new, eq u a lly c ru e l, b u t b lo o d less scene d iv e rte d the

100

v aft© ntion/© f’-tfee , A ch ao tic sm sio» r e p le te w ith p ie rc in g dissonance

and resem bling th e rav ing q u a rre l of the damned in h e l l „ broke through

th e stunned and d e lig h ted crowd® The b a s e s t , w orst ra b b le , pickpoOketsg

p ro cu re rs , p r o s t i tu te s and beggars blew,' scratched,, banged, w h is tled ,

- squealed, b le a ted and gran ted before and behind a b ig a r re couplet A t a l l ,

depraved woman o f faded beau ty walked am in arm w ith a drunken monk in

a t a t te r e d robe® The l a t t e r was Serapion, who a week ago had f le d from

:r h i s c e l l by n ig h t, spurred by A sto rre9s example, and had been debauching.

h im self in the g u tte r ever since „ ' : ■ ; . I ' l : \ ' :f ;t t : . : . ' J

The horde h a lte d b efo re a l ig h te d tu r r e t room which protruded ,

from th e dark w a ll, and th e woman y e lle d w ith a s h r i l l vo ice and the

•gestures o f a. town c r i e r , “Hear ye , hear y e , .la d ie s and. gentlemen, the-:

monk As to r re w i l l soon slumber b esid e h i s Spouse An tiop©oee B oisterous ,

la u g h te r accompanied th i s prom ulgation» " ■ :

How Goeei©la°s t in k lin g cap and b e l l s nodded from th e narrow

arched window, as h is melancholy ©yes viewed the s t r e e t «,

''-• % e s t j l l , good woman,” he complained w hin ing ly , “you im pair my

m o ra lity and o ffend my chastity® to . . :

. “Dear j e s t e r , “ re p lie d the shameless w retch, “don81 take umbrage®

We m erely c a l l by name what th e nobles-do® We pu t th e la b e ls on the v ia l s

. .of th e apo thecary ®.40 : ' ; 1 . ' -r: -/

“By my m orta l s in s , “ e x a l te d . S erap ion , “th a t we0l l do® U ntil

m idnight th e announcement o f th e wedding Of my l i t t l e b ro th e r s h a ll r in g

out in every square in Padua® Forward march, hey, heyh 8 As he ra ise d '•

- ;h i s .sandaled fo o t h i s b are ■ le g showedthrough": th e , hangihg rags o f - h i s 1 -

s u l l ie d rbbe®l . . ,:-v : \ v''; ' ' V. :

101

The fren z ie d applause o f the mob re v e rb e ra ted from the steep w a lls

o f th e dark p a la c e =

Most o f th e windows o f the p a lace overlooked th e in n e r courtyards

In a q u ie t secluded room Antiope was being d ressed by h e r maids $ S b tte

and another g i r l s w hile A s to rre s s tand ing a t the top %of %th e s ta ir c a s e ,

g ree ted the end less flow o f guests° She looked a t th e r e f le c t io n o f her

anxious eyes in a s i lv e r m irro r . Which was held by an envious maid w ith

brazen , bare axms.- ' ; '

.roS o t te , lir whispered th e young woman to th e maid who % raided h er

h a i r , wyou resem ble me in face and f ig u re = Change c lo th e s w ith me i f

you lo v e me. Go and take the r in g from h e r f in g e r« C o n tr ite ly and humbly.

With crossed arms bow b efo re th e P izzaguerra l ik e the lo w est s lav e . F a ll

on your knees. B oll on th e ground. Throw y o u rse lf a t h e r mercy. Only

take th e r in g from h e r . I s h a l l reward you royally,** and, n o tic in g

S o tte 0 s h e s i ta t io n , she im plored, "take and keep a l l th e f in e ry I wear, w

and th e vain S o tte could no t r e s i s t t h i s tem ptation .

. A sto rre , who neg lec ted h is d u tie s a s h o st fo r a moment in o rder

to v i s i t h is beloved , en tered the room and found the two women exchanging

c lo th e s . He guessed th e t r u th . mlo , A ntiope, M he fo rbade . "Do n o t evade ;

your r e s p o n s ib i l i ty . You must keep your word. I. demand i t o f your lo v e .

X ebmmahd you ." He k is se d h e r beloved neck and changed th e harsh words

in to a c a re s s . He was in te r ru p te d by Aseanio who dragged him from the

room exp la in ing th a t th e peasan ts d e s ire d to p resen t t h e i r g i f t s w ith o u t -

delay so th a t they could leave fo r home during the cool hours of th e n ig h t .

When Antiope tu rned to respond to A s to rre 0 s c a re s s , her: husband had a lread y

l e f t . ’ . . . .• ' .

102

Mow she had h e r s e l f d ressed h u r r ie d ly » Bven th e f r iv o lo u s S o tte

was alarmed a t th e p a len ess o f h e r m is tre s s 0 comntenaneeo Sothing seemed

a liv e in th i s face b u t th e f e a r in h e r eyes and the gleam o f h e r elenehed

te e th . Her w hite forehead was marred by a red mark where Diana had s tru ck

h e r.

Her t o i l e t concluded, A sto rre0s w ife a ro se . With hammering p u lse

and throbbing tem ples she l e f t th e s e c u r ity o f h er chamber and hastened

through the h a l l s in search o f Diana. She was driven by th e courage ©f .

d e sp a ir . A fte r regain ing the r in g , she in tended to h as ten ju b i la n t ly to

h e r husband, hoping to spare him the s ig h t o f h er h u m ilia tio n .

. Soon she recogn ised the t a l l goddess o f th e hunt among the masks,

and, perce iv in g in h e r th e enemy, she follow ed h e r m um uring angry words

through trem bling l i p s . Diana strode slow ly from th e main h a l l and gra­

c io u sly en te red one o f th e dimly l i t ;s id e chambers. The goddess seemed

to p re fe r h u m ility o f th e h e a r t to p u b lic h u m ilia tio n .

low in the sem i-darkness Antiope bowed b efo re D iana.

"Give me the ring,® she sa id through clenched te e th , groping fo r

D iana 's s trong f in g e r . . ' . • .

"Humbly and co n trite ly !® asked Diana.

"How e ls e . M istress,® re p lie d th e un fo rtu n ate g i r l fe v e rish ly .

"Bat you a re toying w ith me c ru e lly . You a re bending your f in g e r , mow

you a re c u r lin g i t 8 " ' '

• Bid Anfiope m erely imagine i t ! Did Diana r e a l ly p lay th is game

w ith h e r ! How in s ig n if ic a n t i s a cu rled finger!. G.amgrande, you have

accused me o f I n ju s t ic e . I sh a ll n o t decide .

■ ; , ■ ' . V '■ . . " ■■ ■ ; 103

Enought, th e Vieedomini s tra ig h ten ed h er supple body and fix ed

h e r b laz in g eyes mpoa:Blana8s -.severe • countenance. “Are you try in g th e

pa tien ce o f a woman» g i r l ? 60 Again she b en t attem pting to te a r the r in g

f ra a Diana0s f in g e r w ith bo th hands» Then a f la sh sh o t through, h e r« ,

Diana, d isreg ard in g A ntiope°s ho ld o f h e r l e f t haiid, had used her r ig h t

to take an arrow from the qu iver and had k i l l e d h er r i v a l , The l a t t e r

sank to her: l e f t and then ter her r ig h t hand, turned and la y on her s id e

w ith th e arrow in h e r neck.

The monk, having dism issed h is r u s t i c g u es ts , hastened back to

search fo r h i s w ife . He found h er dead. With a m uffled cry he threw

h im self beside h e r and p u lle d the arrow -.from h er neck, A j e t o f : blood

gushed fo r th . A sto rre f a in te d . g ■ r ' > . ; ' ; •

When he regained consciousness. Germane stood b e fo re him w ith

h is arms c ro ssed . 68Are you the m urderer? 60 asked th e monk. , .

■ . ”1 murder no women,to re p lie d Geraano sad ly . 86I t was my s i s t e r , ,

who sought j u s t i c e . " . . ■

A storre groped fo r th e arrow and. found i t . He le a p t up, and in

a b lin d rage he a ttack ed the companion.of’h is youth. He h and led .the long

arrow w ith the bloody p o in t l i k e a sword. The s o ld ie r shuddered s l ig h t ly

a t th e s ig h t o f th e p a le ghost in b lack w ith h is h a i r s tand ing on end

and the arrow i n h is f i s t . • ;

He receded one s te p . Drawing h i s sh o rt sword, h is only weapon,

he p a rr ie d th e arrow and s a id com passionately, ’’Return to your monastery,.

A sto rre . You should never have l e f t i t .® : ■

Suddenly he perceived the ty ra n t who stepped through the door

d i r e c t ly ac ro ss th e room. E azelin was follow ed by a l l th e g u ests , who

' ■ ; , ‘ . ■' 10% V

"had rashed to th e gate to meet him,

German© re s p e c tfu l ly lowered the sword before h is lo rd who com­

manded peace by ra is in g h is r ig h t h a n d The raving monk, se ized th is

opportun ity and plunged th e arrow in to German© 0 s c h e s t» But he a lso was

m o rta lly wounded, p ie rced by Germanovs sword, which th e l a t t e r had r a is e d

again a t th e l a s t in s ta n to ; ' . ' . -

German© co llap sed m utely» The monk, supported by A seanio 9 stum­

b led toward h is w ife , and 0 a s s is te d by h is f r ie n d s , he l a y down beside h e r

and p laced h is l i p s on herso . ' ' '

The guests surrounded th e couple, E zzelin viewed th e presence

o f deatho Afterwards he k n e lt to c lo se f i r s t Antiope®s and then A sto rre 0 s

eyes. The s t i l l n e s s was broken by d isco rd an t sounds from the o u ts id e «

Sow the words could be understood in the dark room, "Sow the monk A sto rre

Slumbers b eside h is spouse A ntiope," Remote la u g h te r , '

Dante ro se , roI have p a id fo r my s e a t a t the f i r e , ® he s a id „ "and

s h a ll seek the happiness o f s le e p . May th e lo r d of Peace p r o te c t us a l l . "

He tu rned and s tro d e through th e door, which a page had opened fo r him.

A ll eyes followed him as he slow ly ascended the t o r c h - l i t s ta i r c a s e .

BIBLIOGMPHI

A lig h ie r i . Danteo The' Divine Comely» T ranslated by C harles KLiotHorton-, Chicagot, London» Toronto? W illiam Benton8 P u b lish er; Encyclopaedia B ritannicat, Ine.o 8. no d» f

Frey, Adolfo B rie fe Conrad Ferdinand Meyer» Yolo 11° L e ip z ig ;' Ho H aessel Werlag, 1908>:' . ; • '

o Conrad Ferdinand Meyer„ Sein Leben and se ine Werkeo V o l.I , S tu t tg a r t i lo Go C o tta0sche Buchhandlung N achfolgerc 1900<,

H ohenstein 0 L ily . Conrad Ferdinand Meyer» Bonn: AthenIum="Verlags 1957»

Lindens Bro Walthero Conrad Ferdinand Meyero Vol. V ~ Flo B erlin , Leip= gigs D eutsches Ferlagshaus Bong & Co. „ n= do.

o Conrad Ferdinand. Mtnchens G, Ho Beck0sche ferlagsbueh- handlung Oskar Beck, 1922<.

M aehiavellig lieh o lo o The F lo ren tin e H is to r ie . T ran sla ted by Thomas Bedingfeldo Londons Ifevid l u t t , 1905.

Maync 9 H arry. Conrad Ferdinand Meyer and se in Werko Frauenfeld (Schweiz) and L eipz ig : Huber & Co», 1925»