FR ANC ES CA D I R I M I NI

’ IN LEGEND 69 IN HISTO RY

A D AP TED F R OM THE FR EN CH OF

C HA R L ES Y RIART E

B Y

ARNO L D HARRIS M AT HEW

(de ju re EAR L OF L AND AFF ) “ "“ UT HO R O F WOM N S UF F R GE T HE F E O F A A A , "“ LI S I R T O B E M AT T HEW A N I NT RO D UCT I O N I , ”

T O EN H TER T U R E ET . G S C ETC . LI LI A ,

L O ND O N

DA D NUTT - LO N A R E VI , 5 7 59 G C

1 908 P ri n te NT Y N H O N (5 ° d b B E N S CO . y ALLA , A At h e allant n r ss Edi nb u r h t B y e P e , g . P R E FAC E

I T is perhaps wo rthy o f note that in spite o f Dante’s great fame early in the fourteenth

’ ’ ' D z vi n a Comm eaza century , his did not supply subjects to contemporary artists . Even the great painters of the Renaissance ignored of it , and at the present time the tragedy Francesca di Rimini is found among N the works exhibited in the ational Gallery .

’ Dante s treatment of the story has usually been regarded as entirely fanciful , and the narrative itself as mere legend and romance .

It is , however, in its main features , historical , though the historian may find difficulty in determining with precision where it becomes necessary to disentangle fiction from fact . This I have endeavoured to do in the follow ing brief account of that pathetic tragedy

I n erno which Dante has immortalised in the f , and which was destined to be te -enacted upon the dramatic and the lyric stage for all time . Of the contemporary representatives o f the f Polenta and Malatesta amilies , all that is known concerning them will be found in

t hese pages . Whilst I have generally followed in the

’ o f h footsteps Francesca s talented biograp er ,

Yriarte Monsieur C . , I have also , to some

o f extent , supplemented his account her .

AR NOLD ' HAR R IS MATHEW

HE F E D "ENT LS I L . C , C O NTENTS

P R EFACE

CHAPTER I O R I G I N O F THE P O LENTA AN D M AL ATES TA F AM I L I ES

' — P olz tz cal con di ti ons Establi shmen t of tile re ’ ' pu bli es T/ze Con aotti eri Tlz ez rf ou n dati on o d n asti es f y .

CHAPTER II D I VI N E CO M ED Y — — F ran cesca [fie Hu n elz baek P aolo i l B ella TIze lti stori eal descripti on s qf t/ze m u rderer a n d o th e tra ed f g y .

CHAPTER III DANTE AN D F R ANC ES CA — Con temporary wi tn esses M u m t/ze legen d — T/ze relati on s between P aolo and F ran

cesea . Vi i i Contents

CH APTER IV S I TE O F THE TRAG EDY

' Was i t at R i mi n i P esaro or S an t A rean elo , , g — Exa mi n ati on of the ev i den ce as to each Th e opi n i ons of Ton i n i an d M on sign or M a ri n a M a ri n i — Con c u si on l .

CHAPTER V R ES UM E O F THE HI S TO R I CAL EVID ENCE — S igi smon do P an dolfo M a la testa D an te i s th e — repu ted hi stori an of th e tragedy Hi s legen d com ared wi th au then ti c hi stor p y . FR ANCESCA DI R IM INI

C HAP TER I

O RIG IN OF THE POLENTA AND MAL ATES TA FAMI LI ES — P oli ti cal con di ti on s Establi shmentof th e repu bli cs Th e C ndotti eri Th ei r ou ndati on o d nasti es o f f y .

IT would be interesting to attempt to throw some light upon the historic event which has

so aroused much discussion , and upon which the famous episode of the fifth canto of the ’ ” I n erno of f Dante s Divine Comedy is based ,

vi z o f . the murder Francesca di Rimini and b f Paolo Malatesta y Giovanni, the husband o f All Francesca and brother o Paolo . that h as

i s been done , hitherto, , that a great many documents have been published b y Italian of old scholars , the text the chronicles has

been criticised , and statements which appeared A 2 Francesca di Rimini to be of much too well-established a kind to be subjected to the affront of analysis have

No w been called in question . , what we want

is to systematise all this material , to realise the

actors , and to place them against their proper — historical background , and this is the most — essential point to trust only the most trust

of so worthy sources information , that we may be able to disentangle the thread of historical o W rom fact , and the individuality le en that has crystallised round them ; thg ’ g d ’ o f for Dante s legend has , by virtue his genius , become a more living thing than the historical

fact . The day of large historical compositions is

too old over , and gone is the broad treatment “ ” o f epochs , where the philosophy of history is emphasised by focussing the light o n the highways and chief events , while the byways and individual actions are lost in Obscurity.

The modern method is , in the phrase o f the

to reconstruct day , a figure ; that is to say , by a accumul ting detail round a single point , a P olenta and M alatesta Families 3 “ figure that h ad hitherto been but a walking ” personage in the crowded stage of history is brought into prominence . The proportion of the legendary to the ’ historical element in Dante s episode i s the At problem we have to consider . Sienna the Maremma is associated with Pia di Tolo mmei A e at Pisa J . J . mp re wished actually to touch with his hand the ruined stonework o f ’ U oli no s g monument , in which Rossini saw the remains o f the Hunger Tower ; and how many have followed in the footsteps of

Francesca and Paolo , and Giovanni Malatesta

A see at Rimini , Pesaro , and San rcangelo , to if there are any records o r monuments to their existence "The history of these periods is extremely obscure , but there are a certain number o f historical Circumstances which are capable of documentary proof, and which make us a of realise the true n ture the event , and enable us to form some idea of what seems , at first sight , a legend , floating upon the “ ” as two sad S stream Of history , those pirits , 4 Francesco di Rimini who will never be separated , float upon the “ air malign of the second circle of the f In erno . If we consider the story in its relation to V history , we find that both ictims and their murderer belonged to those powerful and dominant families which , later, founded ruling dynasties in some of the cities of Northern

o n of A Italy the shores the driatic . The Polentas and the Malatestas are already called “ ” lords of Rimini and Ravenna , and they lords o f become , later , in the full sense the f term . Our period is the second half o the of thirteenth century , and the epoch the dawn o f the Italian republics ; but later an important

n of cha ge takes place , which , in course time , f tends to the formation o local dynasties . These dynasties hand down their power regu l rl a y for many centuries , and some of them , Of like the family of Montefeltro , Dukes Urbino ,

the Polentas , and the Malatestas , will become

of famous in history . It is also the period the

of n dawn municipal liberty , and we shall ot Polenta and M alatesta Fa milies 5 fully understand the progress of events unless W we realise how , upon the ruins of the estern i Emp re , new powers were set up , which were virtually independent , although they never denied the nominal temporal supremacy or

z of su erainty the Pope , nor that of the Emperor who succeeded to Charlemagne’s of W Empire the est .

Th e P oli ti cal S tate of th e Country at th e time of th e Assassi nati on

At o f the close the ninth century , the breaking up of the Carolingian monarchy had brought in its train the division of Italy into

n o f o f an infi ite number petty powers , none

o f which were theoretically, but the majority i which were virtually , ndependent . This con dition of anarchy was a step towards the

setting up of the feudal system . Everywhere

there were centres of power, which were , in

themselves , the germs of authority ; and , by a

of sort political atavism , the new feudal divi 6 Francesca cli Rimini

— as sions that arose such Duchies , Marquisates , and Counties— corresponded almost exactly to the territorial divisions of the old Roman A th provinces . t e head of these divisions were Dukes , Marquises , and Counts , while the secondary cities were governed by their

n deputies . The clergy were by o means ex cluded from temporal power in cities , and , indeed , they often assumed both the civil and religious government o f them - they were

o r counts in their palaces , bishops archbishops at the cathedral , and generals in the field , and were all -powerful in every sphere ; while obedience was more readily tendered to a S piritual authority with an army at its back .

i m ts Italian in language , nte s , and politics ; o n the bishops , the other hand , were almost o f or all them Italians , but clerical lay , each of the chiefs , in their several duchies , marquisates , and counties , had full governing powers , and B formed the upper class of feudal society . e Polenta and M alatesta Families 7 neath them came their deputies in town and

ac country , vassals more or less submissive ,

cording to their power and importance , and h olding the fortified castles within the cities ,

castelli or the in villages o n the country side . Beneath them again stood an urban and a rural d feu al nobility , the former with their palaces in the towns , the latter with their castles , which were Often fortified , if they stood in a dan

erou s . g position , or were liable to attacks The f labouring Class were ser s , but in the towns there was growing up a class , remarkable for t its industry , morali y , and feeling for personal dignity , which became known , later , as the

o f Burgess , or middle class . From the time the Romans this class had al ways had its own b special governing body , called , y a very natural

of consulate association ideas , the , and from the eleventh century the Burgess class had its o wn municipal magistrates , the consuls .

This immense feudal fabric , in Italy , owed — allegiance at any rate in theory — to a W supreme head , the Emperor of the est , the 8 Francesca di Rimini

successor to Charlemagne ; and the Emperor

z considered himself its su erain . But there was a germ of weakness in this relation from the

very beginning , owing to the fact that this

authority was not always well defined , and that

e LJNas o ff the Ei ng m a long way , and them sometimes held him in check ; and between the rival powers there had arisen various new

of W centres power . hile the feudal hierarchy

o f dukes , marquises , and counts were each struggling to augment their powers at the ex

pense of the others , feudalism became dis

as organised , armies w ted away in their disputes , and dukes , marquises , and counts disappeared , while the urban and provincial governors were only tolerated if their government had been clement to the lower classes . This was the of a b cause a very gre t change , y which the

municipal authority, from its humble beginning of to Consuls and Rectors , gradually grew be a governing power able to keep that o f the nobles f " e o of in ch ck . The overlordship the ing the of W Romans , the Emperor the est , still existed ,

’ I o Francesca ai Rimini

nobility were united by a common bond , as were the intermediary and the lowest classes . Only the people who lived in the country , isolated in

o n the valleys or the mountain slopes , and

o n scattered here and there the plains , were ff bound to su er in the struggle . The massing of troops in the towns soon became a source of danger to the feudal nobility and their

z e su erains , and as each party wanted a support r in the bitter struggle which was to ensue , the feudal party leaned to the side of the Emperor , while the civic party Inclined to that of the

P o f n ope . Such was the origin that imme se conflict which spread over Italy, and which brought in its train the deposition of popes — and the excommunication of emperors a struggle known to history as the war of the

Guelfs and the Ghibellines .

of The two heads western Christendom ,

Henry IV. and Pope Gregory VII . , who took - opposite sides in a single handed duel , gave an added intensity to the struggle b y their Em action in the war of Investitures . The Polenta and M alatesta Families I I

pe tor had the support of the majority o f the

o n feudal chiefs , while the Pope had his side the dukes and counts who had long since

o ff shaken the imperial yoke . His principal

of support , however , lay in the higher class

the towns , and the wealthy owners of palaces

within the town walls , who were neither counts

no r dukes . The quarrel between the Pope and

the Emperor ended in a compromise , but the principal towns of Northern and Central Italy

o ff shook the yoke of feudalism , and formed

themselves into independent republics . In each of these republics the government was f at first carried on by o ficers called consuls , who were always Chosen from noble and r influential families , o from those who had

or become enriched by commerce industry .

To control the power of the consuls , a council ,

and Often a senate , was appointed , which was also a reminiscence o f the ancient Roman

forms of government . This state of things

lasted for fifty years , and during this period the theoretical rights of the Emperor were not ’ I 2 Francesca ai Rimini disputed , though they were consistently ignored .

Later , Frederick Barbarossa struggled for thirty years to bring the towns back to their feudal allegiance under the government o f the fe nda tories he had appointed . Thus the Pope , the

o f rival power, and the supporter the autonomy

of the towns under his authority , represented

o f the cause Italian liberty, while the Emperor

to stood for subjection a foreign yoke . In 1 1 8 3 the treaty which led to th e Peace o f Constance defined the rights of the Emperor

o f and the Italian communes . The influence

Roman tradition , the needs and requirements f i o the day , had changed the condit on of

Northern Italy , and this was legally recognised ,

while , in return , the republics ratified certain — conditions homages , tributes , and obligations

which they considered of little practical import ,

and which they would repudiate , if need be ,

was at the earliest opportunity . Such the origin of the Italian republics ; and we shall also indicate here the rise o f the Imperial

vicars , for while the Polentas are styled in Polenta and M alatesta Families 1 3 their genealogies consuls and rectors , the early Malatestas are given the title o f Imperial vicars . Towards the close of the twelfth century the now enfranchised communes were constantly torn by party strife within their walls , and very frequently engaged in struggles with the neighbouring republics , which happened to w be swayed by the opposing faction , hether

r A o . o n Ghibelline Guelf bout this time , the death of the last king of Naples of the

N i nco n orman race, the popes somewhat si stently called the son of their old enemy

Barbarossa, Henry VI . , to the throne . The latter, who was at war with three successive popes , made a determined stand against the communes , and supported the feudal lords against their oppressed and revolting subjects , thus putting all his strength into the side Of

the scale of petty local tyrannies . The de sce n dants o f the early dukes and counts of

German descent were exhausted , but during of the gradual and painful birth local liberties , ’ a e a ai I 4. Fr nc sc Rimini and in th e slow transformation of th e power of w feudalism into the po er of the communes , there had arisen certain active and powerful personalities , whose political talents were further enhanced by unquestioned military skill ; the

‘ Co n dotti eri to Class , the , which both the Mala to testa and Polenta families belonged , began

o f old z take the place the feudal su erains ,

o f and founded local dynasties , some which were still in existence towards the sixteenth century . The palace of the Polentas at Ravenna is - A o n fa ade severe and prison like . tablet its e “ fu u n P le ntani tells us , Questa casa tempo dei o ch e ebbero la gloria di accogliere ospitalmente A ” Dante lighieri . ’ It is interesting to find that Dante s daugh

fo r ter , Beatrice , lived many years at Ravenna . An inscription o n the convent of Santo Stefano states that she devoted herself to God , being “ ’ wroth with the world s wickedness , having seen her father through the evil dissension of z e citi ens cond mned to a perpetual exile , P olenta and M alatesta Families I 5 and to be come a beggar for the bread of strangers . “ ’ They will show you in the Pineta Dante s ” - walk beside the canal under the stone pines , “ ” the gentle and windless shade o f which he writes . He doubtless knew the church of

Santa Maria in Porto Fuori , and possibly watched the painting o f the frescoes executed there about this time , but now faded to the colour of ashes and roses . The fresco re an old one presents woman , and young and

out of beautiful , looking a window, which , in

of i ts rc ai c spite a h characteristics , aroused the “ enthusiasm o f Arthur Symons "it is the calm

e o n long neck , th l g sensitive hands , the long straight line ofM dJ Drebeau nd the wide eyes looking_d_9wn from an Open window ” as of 1 if for the first sight Paolo .

1 Th e R omance o f h Vill h am ne t e talian as E C . I , . p y C HAP TER II

THE D IVINE COMEDY

F rancesca Th e Hu nchbach—P aolo i l B ello Th e h i sto

ri cal descri ti on s ( th e mu rderer and o th t p f f e ragedy .

UR I G T N N a moment from history to fiction , let us take the account Dante gives in his Divine Comedy 1

nd I be an "0 P oet wi lli n A g , gly S eah w ou ld 1 to th ose two w h o o to eth er p , g g , ” A nd seem u on th e wi nd to be so li h t p g . ’ A nd h e to me Th ou lt marh wh en th e sh all be , y N earer to us ; and th en do th ou i mplore th em

B lov e whi ch leadeth th em a nd th e wi l com . y , y l e S oon as th e wi nd i n ou r di recti on sw a s th em y , M v oi ce u l t I e wear s s " y p if 0 y y oul ” Come s eak to us i no one i n terdi ct i t p , f . As tu rtle dov es called on w ard b desi re , y , Wi th open and steady wi ngs to the sw eet n est th rou h th e ai r b h ei r v ti on b ne F ly g y t oli or , came th e rom th e land wh ere D i do i s S o y f ,

1 — ’ I n ern o canto v . li nes 1 2 Lon fello w s f , , 73 4 ( g l i n trans at o ) .

I 8 Francesca di Rimini

How man leasan t th ou h ts h ow m uch desi re y p g , , -" M em oamass . “ Tm a ma7 s ate mfi p , A nd I be an Th i ne a oni es F rancesca g g , , S ad and compassi onate to w eepi ng mah e me B u t tell me at th e ti me o th ose s w eet si h s , f g , By wh a t and i n wh at man ner L ov e conceded ” Th a t ou sh ou ld h now on d ous desi res ? y g g- ubi A n d sh e to m e Th ere i s no grea ter sorrow Th an to be mi ndfu l of th e h appy ti me I n mi ser and th a t th each er h n s T ow . y , y B u t i to reco n i se th e earli est root , f g O love i n us th ou h ast so reat desi re f g , I wi ll do even as h e w h o w ee s and s eahs p p . One day w e readi ng w ere for ou r deligh t

O L aun celot h ow ov e di d h i m en th r . f , L all

A lon e w e w ere an d wi th ou t an ear. , y f F u ll many a ti me ou r ey es togeth er drew Th at readi n a drove th e colour rom ou r g, nd f

’ B u t on e poi nt only w as i t th at o ercame u s — Wh en as w e read of th e m uch -longedf or smi le B ei n b su ch a noble lo er hi ssed g y v , Th i s be di v i d de ,

a cotto as th e boo d h e wh o w rote i t. ” da at n o arth er dz w e read th erei n . The Divine Comedy I 9

A nd all th e wh i le one s i ri t u ttered thi s p , Th e oth er one di d w ee so th at or i t p , f p y , I swooned awa as i I h ad been d i n y f y g,

A nd ll even as a dead bod alls . fe , y f

Such is the episode of the fifth canto o f the “ I n erno A e i f , and as mp re has sa d , There is nothing in all poetry simpler and yet more

profound ; more pitiful , yet more restrained ;

purer , and at the same time more passionate , W than this story . hat Dante has told us we

may look upon as additional historical matter,

n t t At and o mere poe ic fiction . first the poet “ ” does not name the two ; they are sad spirits

floating in the air , yet , as he has implored in “ ” o f the name Love which leadeth them , the

Of woman answers , and the mere relation her birthplace , her love and her death , are enough to unveil her identity to Dante , who now calls “ h er her by name, Francesca was widely k n own throughout Italy at the time

o n he wrote , and Dante , as we shall see later , “ had good cause to be made sad and co m ” passionate to weeping by her relation . 2 0 Francesca di Rimini Francesca was the daughter of Guido di

Lamberto di Polenta , lord of Ravenna, who was known as i t Mi nore to distinguish him from

i i o Guido t Vecch . Polenta is the name of an ancient fortress in the territory of Ravenna , near

Bertinoro , which gives its name to the family .

o n Later the Polenta family, which had become wealthy, made its home at Ravenna, and took its place among the urban feudal nobility , who held the castelli within the City walls under their of feudal lords . The first Polenta whom his tory makes mention is a certain Geremia who

1 1 6 A appears about 9 . century later , Guido gives his daughter in marriage to Giovanni di

so n of Malatesta , Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of o f of Rimini . The real title Guido was that of A Viscount the rchbishopric , which shows that in the middle of the thirteenth century the a turbulent and ambitious QW f

5 15 ne1 h bou r§ th €Cb unts of g Bagnacavallo , was The Divine Comedy 2 1

W e an adherent of the Pope . hen the Emp rors

of Germany were in power , he quitted Ravenna

with his men , and took refuge in some fortress or town swayed by the Guelf faction to which id he belonged . He not actually become — ~n d —M w Em m l

of ci t Po e Hapsburg , ceded the y to p Gregory , w hose ri gh t to it he had previ oul dIst ed.

Guido appears first as consul , then as rector ;

1 2 i s i ri in 5 9 he podestaat Cesena , and again

1 2 6 At 1 th 4 . the battle of Trentola ( 3 June 1 2 7 5 ) he behaved with such gallantry in m marching to occupy Cervia , that he sen to hold the highest His mission there was to drive out the faction of

Traversari the , and from that time onwards his

To position was unquestioned . this period must be assigned the marriage of his daughter with a son o f Malatesta da Verucchio of

firm Ri i i . d m n Guido , who was consi ered a

of supporter the Church , fought successfully against Montefeltro and the Ghibellines in

1 2 8 2 . , and the Pope , Martin IV , still further 2 2 Francesca di Rimini increased his possessions by conferring o n him all the confiscated property of the rebels of

Bertinoro . He retired from public life in

1 2 99, leaving the supremacy Of his family assured , and his power to his son . But he kept his vote in council , it appears , for his signature

1 is found appended to an Act dated 3 0 6 . Why Guido di Lamberto da Polenta married his daughter Francesca to Giovanni Malatesta,

i t S ci ancato son surnamed , of his neighbour

m em Malatesta o , lord of Rimini , is a T moot point . Luigi onini of Rimini , a dis ti n ui sh ed g scholar and historian , who has collected and compared a great nu mber o f

o f documents , and a mass historical evidence

h as relating to the marriage and the murder, been unable to come to any conclusion as to the real object o f the marriage . About this

. h as there are two theories The first , which the

o f sanction Muratori and Clementini , and is drawn from the chroniclers of the fourteenth

o f century, is that Guido called in the aid was Malatesta da Verucchio , who the most The Divine Comedy 2 3

o f powerful Guelf chief the province , in order o t make himself supreme at Ravenna . Mala

testa, then Captain of the People at Bologna ,

son sent his Giovanni, and with his aid

wo n Trav r Guido his victory over the ersa i . b Francesca , y this theory , is the reward for ' w Giovanni s services . The second theory, hich

di cts W this , is that Malatesta was

the leader of the Opposite faction at Trentola , and that the marriage was a pledge of the re

conciliation o f the two families . Boccaccio

supports this theory ; but , unfortunately , he is

not a contemporary authority . M n th ere neve r were any differences w M between Guido and alatesta , because both - HO a W s me party , the Guelfs . But ,

even in this case, local hostilities were always

possible , and rivalry between neighbouring A powers was frequent during the Middle ges .

Tonini , as we have said , comes to no definite

conclusion , but he states that there is no trace of any hostility between the two houses in first d han documents ; while Litta , in his valuable 2 a e a 4. Fr nc sc di Rimmi

historical work on the genealogies of Italian “ families , says that if the theory be true , and

was that it a pledge of reconciliation , the mar riage must have taken place after the battle

o f Trentola . In any case , whether it was a

or as ai d p ledge for_the future , a reward for p i Trave rsari e no against the , ther is doubt about th e marriage itself, which must have taken place between 1 2 7 5 and There was

indeed a second link between the two families ,

fo r see o f we by the will Malatesta da Verucchio , of father Giovanni (quoted by Tonini) , that ’ Bernar Maddalena , Giovanni s sister , married

U nfo r dino da Polenta, brother of Francesca . tunately the will does not give the date o f this e second marriag , but it must be later, and must have taken place some time between ’ — Francesca s marriage and her death probably

1 2 1 2 8 0 to between 7 5 and ; for , according ’ n Litta s genealogies , Bernardino is the you gest

1 Th e re i s no reason why th e auth ors of th e lib re tto o f ' th e QBQL EZQHQQQQQfi i mi ni (b y Amb roi se Th omas) la ed th acti n i n 1 1 0 sh ould have p c e o 7 .

2 6 Francesca di Rimini

th e testa , original manuscript of which is still in existence in the Gambalunga Library at

Rimini . The whole Malatesta family 5 oisoned L . 1 . p

- race is a curious study . The first of the i —— family named after Hugo , the head of the

1 1 2 — race who appears in 3 is Giovanni , who

P Mo ntefeltri no lived at enna Billi in the , and

1 1 0 z f who in 5 received the citi enship o Rimini . son His , who had the same name , was the man whose evil and violent humours wo n for

o f Malatesta him the ominous surname . In 1 1 97 the Malatesta appear as making amends “ ” for wrongs done to their mother country . At this period they were lords of the castle of Verucchio . They gradually gathered force and following ; for the city was constantly at

o r war with its neighbours , taking part in the eternal struggles between the P ope and the

1 2 i t Vecch i o Emperor . In 3 9 Malatesta mar M M Land hi s son da Ve p p e I i o of , Malatesta ~ g L , was the father

a z ca o o f Giov nni l fi ci an t . The name Malatesta The Divine Comedy 2 7

recalls the passage in the I nferno (canto xxvu . ) in which Dante describes the lord of Rimini as th e old mastifi

’ ’ Veru cch i o s anci en t mastifi and th e n ew Wh o made s ad di osal o M on ta na u ch b sp f g , Wh ere th e are w on t mah e w i mbles o th ei r y , f

1 2 1 2 Malatesta da Verucchio was born in , and

married three times . He had eight children

by these marriages , and by his second wife ,

p i M e g i g, he had three sons , Giovanni , Paolo , M l a ate s o . and ji g Malatesta da Verucchio , at

the time of the Polenta marriage , was the vir

o f no t as tual master Rimini , though he was f o n yet o ficially recognised . Later , however ,

the family founded a dynasty , and remained in for of a power many years , with the title Vic rs of Hol _Chu rch of y_ in the cities Rimini , Pesaro , n Fa o , and Fossombrone . In 1 2 7 the marriage o f Giovanni with F e . Giovanni

was so n o f , as we said , the eldest Malatesta da 2 8 Francesca di Rimini

of h i s Verucchio , and though the correct date

o f birth is not given , that the birth of his younger brother Paolo (1 2 5 2 ) is established by a legal document , and his age may be guessed from the date of his tenure of Office as podesta. He was rugged and deformed in person , and lame from a malformation of

o f i t the hip , whence his name Giovanni “ S ci ancato ( john the he was also A known as Gianciotto and Lanciotto . man e of daring courage and swift decision , implacabl of in his hates , he had already , at the age twenty , won a reputation as a soldier , and was considered as the natural successor to Mala testa da Verucchio, who was , even at that e tim , aged , but who survived him , and lived to be a hundred years old . He took his share in the party warfare of the day , and when his father was busy with other schemes , and unable to hi s own defend possessions , it was Giovanni wh o e took the field , and very often succeed d in h i s enterprises . It was a common thing at this time to The Divine Comedy 2 9 entrust a stranger— a soldier or politician with the government of the towns of the Italian

o f a republics , under the title podest , and from 1 2 78 until 1 3 0 4 Giovanni constantly appears

o de stét 01 11 z P as p at F , at Faen a , and at esaro

f re and , confirmed in his tenure of o fice , he turned three times running to his post in the towns of the Romagna . From the fact that 1 2 8 he was podesta in 7 , we can guess his age , for no o ne was eligible for that office unless he was thirty years old . Giovanni was therefore

1 2 8 born in , if not before , 4 , and might be nearly thirty at the time of his marriage with

Francesca . In 1 2 7 5 he proved so useful to Guido da Polenta in helping him to drive o u t the Trave rsari from Ravenna as to win in reward We the hand of Francesca . shall see , from

the only records that we have , that Francesca

was suspected , and proved to have deceived

h i s 1 2 8 him , and died by hand , about 5 . By

Francesca he had one daughter , Concordia , to ’ whom he had given his mother s name . She 3 0 Francesca di Rimini appears in the will of the centenarian Mala t tes a da Verucchio , who advises his grand children not to trouble i t S ci ancato about the

o f dowry of Francesca di Polenta , the mother

A o f Concordia . fter the murder Francesca ,

Z amb rasi n a Of Giovanni married , daughter

’ Ti b aldello Z amb rasi e z dei di Fa n a , the widow, ’ i n 1 2 8 2 , of Tino d Ugolino Fantolini , who

‘ lI F o r . met his death at By his second wife ,

Giovanni had three sons , Tino , Guido , and

r Ramberto and two daughte s , Margherita and R n ardu i n 1 2 e g cc a. I 95 Giovanni was already established at Rimini , and was virtually master o f there during the lifetime his father . In 1 2 94 he built the famous fortress known as the R occa Ma latesti ana to overawe his new

1 0 vassals , and in 3 4 he died at Rimini and disappeared from history . It will be remem bered that he is only indirectly and allusively mentioned by Dante in the line

Cai n o a tten de ch i ci v i ta spense

The circle of Cain waits for him wh o quenched The Divine Comedy 3 I

” o u r life ; the word Ca zno being an allusion to e the relationship b tween him and Paolo .

P aolo i l B ella

“ Paolo , the third actor in this drama , This ’ one who ne er from me shall be divided , as

o f Francesca says , was the younger brother

so n Giovanni , and of the centenarian Mala testa da Verucchio . He was known , from his i l b beauty , as Paolo Bello , and though y some ’ years Giovanni s junior , he married earlier .

W old hen only seventeen years he was married ,

1 2 6 O rab ile in 9, to Beatrice , daughter and of e Chi a i olo heiress Ub rto , Count of gg , then

o f . only fifteen years age This county , which

usercolo Val o ndi included C , p , Segano , and other places of minor importance , was entirely dependent upon the su z erainty o f the Church at of Ravenna , and was included in the diocese of o n Sarsina . On the death Uberto , March 1 1 2 0 5 , 3 , Malatesta da Verucchio stepped into

Orab ile his place , thus depriving Beatrice of 3 2 Francesca di Rimini

. wh o her rights Her uncle by marriage , hap pened to be also a bitter enemy of the Mala

o f testas , Guido , Count Montefeltro , a member of u that noble ho se , afterwards famous in the

of annals Pesaro and Urbino , loudly protested A . o n against the injustice of this ccordingly ,

2 8 th A 1 2 6 f ugust 9, the dif erence was arranged

0 9 Orab ile by the union , and the 223 q w and

betrothal took place at Urbino , in the church of O rabile Santa Croce , where signed a docu

ment renouncing her claim to her inheritance,

-i n - thus leaving her father law , Malatesta da

. o n Verucchio , in possession He , his side , agreed to give his daughter -i n -law a dowry o f “ ” 6 2 0 A 5 lire of Ravenna and ncona . This o f deed gives the age the bride as fifteen years .

The original of the document , which is printed

Batta h i ni A by the Count g , is in the rchivio i Brandolini at Forl . It is written in Latin , and is transcribed in the Appendix o f the S elva Genealogi ca of Brancaleone at the Gam balunga Library at Rimini ; and Tonini also i n e t nso quotes it x e . The importance o f

3 4 Francesca di Rimini natural impulse was to compass the death of the young Uberto as promptly as possible , and this he is said to have done in a particularly

r i pe fid ou s and atrocious manner . He caused

two Uberto to be enticed to a banquet , where ’ of Gianci otto s bastard sons suddenly sprang to upon him like tigers , and stabbed him the heart with their stilettos . C HAPTER III

DANTE AND F RANCES CA

Con tem orar wi tnesses—B occac l end Th e p y ew dthea eg l n c "re ati ons between P aolo a d F ran ces a . TA I NG the central fact of the murder as ou r

- starting point , let us consider how it struck

o f f o n the imagination the time , and its ef ect

no t those who , if contemporary , were very nearly so ; the direction that public opinion took in the district where the murder took h place ; and w at influenced Dante _to make u e of tlm _ §_ take it as to m material , or did he wish

brand a Guelf leader as a murderer, and what was the connection between him and the Polenta family ? ’ If Francesca s guilt is once admitted , there is some justification for the action of h e r husband

— an our action which , even under modern a laws , c rries with it no disgrace for the mur ” “" th - e derer . ill the woman is well known 3 5 3 6 Francesca di R i mini

of remedy a French dramatic author , and

Giovanni did not hesitate to sacrifice two lives . But as no extenuating circumstances are eve n ” i n hinted at in the Divine Comedy , we are cli ned two th e to pity the , who would appear in l l e e state ments o L an enea o ui j , impl m L g gy as g y to on and that with every reason check them , the downward paths of passion .

DZnt As was e was a contemporary . he

1 2 6 was a born at Florence in 5 , he ten ye rs ’ ol of d at the time Francesca s marriage , and he had grown to manhood , and had also written some poetry , when the murder took place . It th e is impossible that poet, with his tempera of h i s own ment , and conscious passion , which h as a i n become immortal , should h ve been “ ff o f di erent to the pity the story . He must a of h ve had full knowledge it . He had friends

‘ Fo rlI at Pesaro , at , and at Ravenna he might 1 8 2 have known Paolo Malatesta in a , at

ca i tano d lo Florence , when Paolo was p eLpgpu . The memory of Francesca must have be en kept alive by a more personal and intimate Dante and Francesca 3 7

o u tie, for , after her history had become a p p “ ” ol -off lar legend , an d, unhappy , far thing ,

- Dante, grief stricken , and with his career as a “ soldier and ambassador ended , came to eat ” of the bread exile at Ravenna , in the very house where she was born , and which was of N a then the home Guido ovello da Polent ,

of lord Ravenna, a poet like Dante , and a son of Ostasi o distinguished soldier , the di ’ of Polenta, a grandson Francesca s father , il Guido Minore . Dante ’s presence at Ravenna was not the of or of result accident , the caprice of the

- poet prince ; it was his second visit , and it is

e so possible that h re, in a place nearly asso ciate d with her, he may have been able to gather together the threads of the unhappy story . A proof that his connection with the

t o Polen a family w new one , is to be found N in the dedication to Guido ovello , at the head o f the canz one on the death o f Henry e VII . It has sometimes b en stated that Dante wrote the episode of Paolo and Francesca in 3 8 Francesca di Rimini

of return for the hospitality the Polentas , but ,

o f as a comparison dates shows , it is a Polenta who proves his gratitude to Dante by offering

u nfla i n him an unfailing and gg g protection , which is an honour to his memory and to the

town of Ravenna . “ th e Of the Divine Comedy , first five cantos A were certainly written at Rome , about pril 1 0 0 D " 3 . ante was ambassador of the Floren

(the republic when Boniface VIII . proclaimed

It was here , and in a mood of l religious contemp ation , that he wrote the

I n erno first cantos of the f , and among them W the fifth , which contains the episode . riting

thus , he was only separated by fifteen years from the event ; and fifteen years are but a short space in the life of a story which has

become immortal .

1 0 From the year 3 7 onwards , Dantewandered

here and there in the Romagna, and it was not until 1 3 1 7 that he accepted the hospitality of N Guido ovello , at whose court he remained

n 1 1 2 1 until his death o 4 th September 3 . Dante and Francesca 3 9

His country was his no longer ; for he had made the “great renunciation ” in the famous

th e of letter in which , with all fire a poet and a patriot , he refuses to stoop to pass under the w - ’ re . low gate ay , to enter Florence Guido s hospitality was prompted by two motives of family feeling , and the respect a poet for

of the greatest poet the day ; for Dante , by

o f idealising the frailty Francesca in his poem , had thrown a veil o f pity upon her story and ’ her sin . On Dante s death , Guido paid him the last honours . He had the body carried to San Pier Maggiore (later San Francesco) b y

z the first citi ens of Ravenna , he ordered public mourning for him , and read a funeral oration o f o wn his composition , in which he praised Dante for having used Italian instead of Latin ’ in his poems . He publicly placed the poet s ’ laurel on Dante s tomb , and was about to raise a monument to him which should be of worthy his memory, when he was forced , by political troubles , to leave his dominions

a of It was Bembo , Pr etor Ravenna for Venice , 40 Francesca di Rimini

o f wh o and father the famous cardinal , at last ’ provided a final resting-place for the poet s re

o ne of mains , and commissioned the greatest artists in Venice in the fifteenth century , Pietro 1 Lombardi to design his tomb .

The Evidence of Contemporary or Early Wri ters

Let us no w consider the value o f the various authorities which may aid us in the task o f separating the actual from the legendary story . “ ” As , however , we are still in the dark ages of not history, and do know the real truth

of about the more important events the day , it may be doubted whether we can hope to

o f reconstruct , with any semblance truth , a minor episode in the history of a little town o n of A f the shores the driatic , at the close o

1 S ignor Gasparo M arti netti Cardoni o f Rave nna h ad ub li sh e d a b ook D an te Ali h i eri i n R aven n a mem p , g , ori e t r i che con docu men ti contai ni n docum nts re la i n s o , g e t g to ’ Dante s sta i n R avenna and th e si n ular fate o f hi y , g s

remai ns.

4 2 Francesca di Rimini

B occacci o and th e L egend

1 of In 3 73 , fifty years after the death Dante , and duri n g a lull in the political storms of

e nth usi the day , there arose a sudden and asti c cult for him ; Florence decided to pay an annual sum of o ne hundred flori ns to a lector publi cus whose duty it was to explain

M u f Dante . Boccaccio was the first P ov iz i on f to fill the chair . The r v e o the

1 2 th A Republic is dated ugust , and on 3 rd October Boccaccio gave a lecture in the

hall of a monastery near San Stefano , not far from the Ponte Vecchio he continued

h i s 1 his lectures until death in 3 7 5 , and the

year before it his commentaries appeared ,

and have often been reprinted since then .

Pisa followed suit ; then Bologna , where the famous Benvenuto da Imola was appointed

1 8 z z z lecturer ; and in 3 9 Piacen a, where Galea o All Visconti filled the chair . Italy , indeed , was bent on doing honour to the poet ’s Dante and Francesca 4 3

memory , and the commentators became so ’ numerous that the elucidation of Dante s text “ brought with it no light , but rather dark ” lec ness visible . This commentating and turing still goes o n ; and the bibliography of Dante fills several volumes The farther we go from the thirteenth ce n

ffic it e tury , the more di ult b comes to throw new light upon the question . Some important pieces o f evidence had been discovered from manuscripts , monastic registers , legal docu

&c ments , . , but all the best historians , from

G ui cciardi ni , Rossi , Clementini , Marco Bat of taglia , and a host others , down to those o f a more recent period , used the same materials , until modern writers introduced the principle of working only from original

first- and hand documents , for which they have searched religious houses , palaces , public

n Two repositories , and municipal buildi gs . modern scholars , Luigi Tonini , the historian of M n si n o r imini , and g g Marino Marini , “ h —m “ R h e . h ’ the historian o f Sant Arcange lorprefe c t o f 44 Francesca di Rimini

of o n the archives the Vatican , working this of system , have collected a certain number

documents from local sources , but without attempting to work them up into a complete

picture . The former, whose history of Rimini was was unfortunately never finished , per

suaded that the murder took place at Rimini , ’ while the latter is in favour of Sant Arcangelo .

We o n will consider their theories later , but ’ let us first take Boccaccio s commentary , which is what he delivered as a lecture in Florence

r h i s in 3 73 . It was translated from com “ mentary by Leigh Hunt , in Stories from P A the Italian oets , ppendix II “ Yo u must know that this lady , Madonna

o f Francesca , was daughter Messer Guido

o f the Elder , lord of Ravenna and Cervia , and that a long and grievous war having been waged between him and the lords Malatesta o f

Rimini , a treaty of peace by certain mediators was at length concluded between them ; the

to which , the end that it might be the more e to firmly established , it pleased both parti s Dante and Francesca 45

to desire fortify, by relationship ; and the f e matter o this relationship was so discours d , that the said Messer Guido agreed to give his young and fair daughter in marriage to

son of . Gianciotto , the Messer Malatesta Now e to o f , this b ing made known certain

of one o f the friends Messer Guido , them said to him ‘ Take care what yo u do ; for

no t if you contrive matters discreetly, such Y relationship will beget scandal . o u know

i s what manner of person your daughter , and of h ow lofty a Spirit ; and if she see

Gianciotto before the bond is tied , neither you nor any o ne else will have power to e to p rsuade her marry him ; therefore , if it so ou please y , it seems to me that "it would be good to conduct the matter thus namely , that Gianciotto should not come hither him

to of self marry her, but that a brother his ’ h i s should come and espouse her in name .

of S Gianciotto was a man great pirit , and ’ to hoped , after his father s death , become lord of Rimini ; in the contemplation of which 46 Francesca di Rimini

was event , albeit he rude in appearance and a

S ci ancato cripple ( ) , Messer Guido desired him -i n - o ne h i s for a son law above any of brothers . f Discerning , therefore , the reasonableness o what his friend counselled, he secretly disposed matters according to his device ; and a day

of being appointed , Paolo , a brother Gian ciotto , came to Ravenna with full authority to espouse Madonna Francesca . Paolo was a a of h ndsome man , very pleasant , and a courteous breeding ; and passing with other gentlemen over the courtyard of the palace of Messer

Guido , a damsel who knew him pointed him

ut t o o Madonna Francesca , through an open th e ease ment ‘ ing in , saying, That is he that ’ i s to be your husband ; and so indeed the poor lady believed , and incontinently placed in him her whole affection ; and the ceremony of the marriage having been thus brought about (e fatto poi artifi ci osamente i t contratto delle

’ s onsali z ze p ) and the lady conveyed to Rimini , of she became not aware the deceit , till the

sh e morning ensuing the marriage , when beheld Dante and Francesca 47

Gianciotto rise from her side ; the which dis

v r c o e y moved her to such disdain , that she became not a whit the less rooted in her love N for Paolo . evertheless, that it grew to be

unlawful I never heard , except in what is

b D ante written y this author ( ) , and possibly it might have so become ; albeit I take what

to o n he says have been an invention , framed

the possibility, rather than anything which he

wn knew of his o knowledge . Be this as it

may , Paolo and Madonna Francesca living in

the same house , and Gianciotto being gone into a certain neighbouring district as gover

nor f , they ell into great companionship with one another , suspecting nothing but a servant ’ of Gi anci o tto s to , noting it, went his master and told him how matters looked ; with the

which , Gianciotto being fiercely moved , secretly returned to R i mi n i ; and seeing Paolo enter

the room of Madonna Francesca , the while he himself was arriving , went straight to the door , t and, finding it locked inside , called o his lady to come out ; for Madonna Francesca and 48 Francesca di Rimini

Paolo having descried him , Paolo thought to escape suddenly through an opening in the o f wall , by means which there was a descent to into another room ; and therefore , thinking

a o r conce l his fault either wholly in part , he l threw himself into the opening , telling the ady to go and open the door . But his hope did not turn o u t as he expected ; for the hem of a

o n mantle which he had , caught upon a nail , th e and the lady opening door meantime , in e of the b lief that all would be well, by reason ’ not Paolo s being there , Gianciotto caught sight of Paolo as h e was detained by the hem o f th e mantle , and straightway ran with his dagger in his hand to kill him whereupon the

to lady, prevent it , ran between them ; but

Gianciotto , having lifted the dagger , and put of the whole force his arm into the blow, there came to pass what he had not desired namely , that he struck the dagger into the bosom of the lady before it could reach Paolo ;

one wh o by which accident , being as loved th w e lady better than himself, he withdre the

5 0 Francesca di Rimini

first chapter of his Commentaries , which proves that while preparing his lectures he had taken

trouble to investigate facts about Dante , before

o r writing publicly commenting upon him . He says that he had wished to speak of the event with a brave man , Ser Piero di Messer

o ne o f Gardino da Ravenna , who had been ’ Dante s most intimate friends and servants in ” this town .

If, then , we have not the exact truth , we h ave something very like it ; at the very least ,

Boccaccio , in explaining the episode in the

of I n erno fifth canto the f in a public lecture ,

must have echoed local traditions faithfully .

It should be noticed , however , that there is a misstatement contained in the very first line , for Francesca was not the daughter of Guido l of il h i Vecchio , but Guido Minore ; but t e real relationships have only been established

of recently , by the patient researches modern genealogists . Boccaccio gives no proofs , but he is decided in his view of the understanding between Paolo and Francesca "though a poet Dante and Francesca 5 I and raconteur a himself, he almost accuses Dante “ of having exaggerated by an invention the f ’ degree o Francesca s guilt . He is very ex

li cit u o f p upon the circ mstances the marriage , and states that the deformed Gianciotto was e i l substituted for his broth r , Paolo Bello , by a trick , in the dark . He briefly indicates the high

S of pirit the young girl , the unprepossessing

o f appearance and deformity the husband , and by the contrast of the beauty and amiability of

of - Paolo , the natural result such an ill assorted marriage is hinted at . The trickery used is an added provocation , and is quite in keeping

too with the times . It corresponds , , with what we have already said of the habit of those nobles of forming political alliances , without any c o n

of sideration for the feelings their children . In a writer who usually has no objection to a risky situation , Boccaccio is curiously cautious and restrained in his account . He does not accuse Francesca , and he even suspects Dante of having made her fault greater than it really w s a a . He takes her p rt from the moment 5 2 Francesca di Rimini that the lady showed her from the window ” E cosi si credea her husband that was to be .

mmi na Di ch e M adonna F rancesca la b uona f e . ’ ’ t n t i n Int uose tani mo t amor suo i ncon ane e p e l . She incontinently placed in him her whole f af ection ; he is young and handsome , her

b uona em ideal takes actual shape , and the f mi n a v sh e ows her love to the man had seen .

The deceit , which has not been disproved by any documentary evidence , is also clearly

’ of Ch zose stated by Boccaccio . The author sopra D ante (which was once attributed to

Boccaccio) , and the historians Rossi and

Clementina , state that Francesca was first

. i m betrothed to Paolo This , however, is six possible , since Paolo was married years 1 We before his elder brother . may conclude from Boccaccio’s story that a substitution di d

hi s take place , and that if we take account

1 Th ough th e auth ors o f th e lib retto o f F raneoi se de mi n i di d no t ch oose to fo llow hi sto r i n th ei r ficti on R i y , o e d th i th e r Th e stor Boccacci o tells th ey h ave ad pt s o y . y

would h ave made a far fine r drama. Dante and Francesca 5 3 quite literally , Giovanni introduced himself by night , when the lady was conveyed to Rimini . “ ” The morning ensuing the marriage , when it was light , he must have risen from her side there is n o doubt about the meaning o f the text ’ Non s avvi de ri mo dello i n anno ch e assa vide p g , la mati na se uente al di delle noz z e levar da lato g , a se Gi anci otto . Boccaccio’s account is consistent he admits the deceit , and shows the natural consequences f o it . The discovery moved her to such dis sh e dain , that became not a whit the less rooted in her love for Paolo . He admits that they “fell into great companionship ” dimesti ch ez z a ; but , as we have seen , when it comes to the point of telling us how far the

to so lovers went , he refuses do , and says that he is inclined to believe that Dante’s “ account is an invention framed o n a pos sib ili ty rather than o n anything he knew o f — h i s own knowledge P i uttosto fie i on formata so ra uello ch e era ossi bi le ad essere avenuto p q , p , ’ i r do u l autore sa esse ch e cosi osse. ch e o non c e , q e p f o 5 4 Francesca di Rimini

We may notice , by the way , an expression used in th e account o f the servant who de

n un — sa eva o ce s them ci t) ch e delle bi sogne p . Perhaps this is only an ordinary use o f the

te bi so ne = matters f word ( g , af airs) , but only those who have studied fourteenth-century Italian can tell if there is any analogy in

la beson ne meaning between this word and g , as Montaigne understood it . ’ In continuing Boccaccio s account , we may notice the rock upon which two distinguished S “ historians have plit . Gianciotto had gone into a certain neighbouring district as gover nor (podesta) ; the two lovers saw each other freely , the servant betrayed them , and the ” Now husband secretly returned to Rimini . , if Boccaccio ’s evidence is accepted as trust

i t see worthy , is impossible to why Mon

o f signor Marini , prefect of the archives the

ri ti ch e i ntorno Vatican , in his Osservaz i one c a Francesca da R i mi n i to , should have tried prove that th e murder did not take place at ’ A Rimini , but at Sant rcangelo , a small place Dante and Francesca 5 5 about six miles from Rimini ; which many persons have visited , to see if there were any ruins of a fortress o r palace of the thirteenth century , which might have belonged to the

Malatesta family , and where the murder might have taken place . Let us continue our examination of Boc ’ cacci o s e story . The two lovers are discover d together , and they are killed ; but Boccaccio states quite clearly that the death of Francesca i s f the result o an accident . Gianciotto was about to strike his brother , but Francesca

“ ' o ff i nto wh i ch tried to ward the blow , he had put the whole force of his arm -avv eva

i a a lz ato i t b racci o on to tocco i n mano e g c s , tutto i ravava so r l o f s g p a i l co p . Be ore it could reach Paolo , the dagger struck into the bosom of Francesca "pri ma passo lo stocco i t petto della donna ch e e li a i u nesse a P aolo , g gg g , and “ a - e Gianciotto is he rt broken , b ing as one w ” h o loved the lady be tter than himself. He

h i s withdraws dagger , and strikes and kills his ’ brother . Thus in Boccaccio s version there 5 6 Francesca di Rimini are many extenuating circumstances fo r the murder . The first fatal blow is an accident , as Boccaccio says , and the second is struck ’ o f iancio tto s after the death G first victim , whom he passionately loved . He leaves the two office lying dead , and returns to his an for a important point , he was podest , and o desté as p he was prevented by law, and

of by the custom the time , from taking his wife with him to th e place where he held f o fice . He must have thus left his post to ’ o r to th e revenge himself, ascertain lovers — if guilt they were indeed guilty. The bodies

' m — con moltz are taken up , and with any tears lacrime— e are buried in the same grav . This

i s last circumstance curious , and though only i s a minor detail, it possible to draw conclu

of sions from it . The burial the lovers in the same grave is a point upon which every o ne i s a agreed , and we might even quote curious

of h as document in support it , which been

as considered by some conclusive . That such a burial was possible in th e case of these

5 8 Francesca az Rimini

of lets fall that saddest utterances , which A lfred de Musset thought a blasphemy , and which he did not expect to hear from Fran ’ cesca s lips

’ ’ ‘ D ante our uoi di s-tn u i l n est i re mi sere , p q g p ’ Qu u n souveni r h eu reu x dans les jou rs de dou leur ? ’ ’ uel ch a ri n t a di cte cette ar le amere Q g p o ,

' Cette mf ense au malh eur 9 She tells him

S i tteth th e ci ty wh erei n I was born Upon th e seash ore wh ere th e P o descends t ” To rest i n peace wi th all h i s re i nue.

And all who have seen the mouths of the P o, a very retinue of rivers and rivulets th e Te sseno A , the dda , the Olio , the Mincio , Barmida th e the Trebbia , the , and Taro losing themselves in the sand where they

sea . enter the , have recognised Ravenna She can confesses her love , and the strictest find nothing to object to in her short relation , i s which perfect and complete in its way , and one that artists for many ce nturies have Dante and Francesca 5 9

to tried paint , without ever succeeding in attaining Dante ’s poetic level

One day w e readi ng w ere f or our deligh t

L a uncelot h ow L ov e di d h i m en th rall. Of , M v e e er an t t an a o d w w e d wi h ou e r . , y f F u ll many a ti me our ey es togeth er drew Th at readi n and dr v e th e c lou r rom our g , o o f

’ s B u t one poi n t on ly w as i t th at o er came u . Wh en as we rea d of th e m u ch -longed-f or smi le ei n b su ch a n oble lov er hi ssed B g y , ’ Th i s one wh o n e er rom m e sh a ll be di v i ded , f ,

"i sed m u on th e li s all a l i ta i n . s e p p p p t g

Galeotto w as th e booh and h e wh o w rote i t. ” a o a h d i Th at d y n f rt er i d w e read th ere n .

o f o ne a That book , which p ssage only over “ of came them , is The Romance Launcelot ” "of of the Lake , night the Round Table , an o ld was o ne e French classic . There , at tim , a great deal of mistaken ingenuity lavished o n the verse

Gale tto i l i br e h l s i s o f u l o c i o cr s e.

i s The meaning , however , quite unmistakable, 6 0 Francesca di Rimini and this is the passage which overcame the two lovers Why sho uld I cause my seif to b e entreated ’ m v n mor wi lli n than ou . I a e e e quoth she g y .

Then the three went apart, and seemed to

saw take counsel together . Then the Queen to that the knight dared no more , and took h i m b y the chin , and gave him a long kiss in ” f ll h u t the presence o G a e a . The passage

Galeottof u i l li bro e chi lo scri sse is explained by what we know of the plot of

Galleh aut the story . It is who pushes the Queen into the arms of Launcelot it is Galle ’ a h ut who , by saying that that knight s valiant deeds were only undertaken to please the e Qu en , with whom Launcelot is passionately

o in love , makes himself the medium and g be tween in their love-affairs ; and asks that the Queen should give her knight a kiss , as a

- fo r . o reward his service The g between , in the

of case Francesca and Paolo , is The Romance ” a of th e of L uncelot Lake , whose most moving Dante and Francesca 6 I

sat passage they read , as they together and “ so the Romance , and he who wrote it , was ll h to them another Ga e aut. It is interesting to find that before I 3 0 0 the old French chivalric romances were widely known in Italy, where they were read in

P roven al e , in French , and in Latin . It is impossible to say whether the lovers were actually reading when Gianciotto surprised them , but the fact that Dante places the book in their hands is a proof of the far-reaching influences of the earliest French literature upon

A u n the other side of the lps . It is most ’ likely that Dante s account is purely fictional , and one is inclined to believe that there must

-auth e nti have been some account , some well cated o n tradition , which his version is based .

o f The lips the lovers meet , and the curtain

e of falls upon th m , with that line supreme reserve

” Th at da arth er di d w e read th erei n y nof .

o ne This reserve , however , does not satisfy every , 6 2 Francesca di Rimini and many chroniclers and commentators prefer to believe that it was not at this psychological

moment , but somewhat later , that Gianciotto

of Gattolo knocked loudly at the door the .

Th e R elati ons b etween P aolo and F rancesca

Our personal conviction , for reasons already ’ stated , is that Boccaccio s commentary is the

o n most trustworthy authority the subject .

as His evidence , we have seen , has been e qu stioned , not only by a few Italian , but

by some French commentators , and by some

modern historians . To take their criticisms

o ne one by , it has been denied that there was any hostility o r actual strife between the

Malatesta and Polenta families at this time . th This is really only a minor point , for e marriage might equally well have been the of ff result an o ensive and defensive alliance , or o f the gratitude of Guido da Polenta to Malatesta da Verucchio for his services in helping him to drive out the Traversari from

Ravenna . In the second place , Monsignor Dante and Francesca 6 3 Marino Marini thought that Rimini was not of the scene the murder . He was thus obliged to set aside Boccaccio , who clearly states that Gianciotto was podesta at a neigh bo uri n return to g town , and that he had to Rimi n i to find out the truth and discover

i el f . Fau r the o fenders , who was the first 1 professor o f foreign literature at the Univer si t of o n y Paris , and who lectured the Divine ” ’ Comedy , represented Boccaccio s story as the

o f work of a writer romances , who had the knack of disposing and touching up his origi nals f - in the most ef ective and life like manner .

He does not , however , give any good reason for this opinion of his , and we are thus led to inquire if there is any evidence more con ’ ’ e or e or lusive than Dante s Boccaccio s , befor wh o after their day . The chroniclers mention

not the story, however, are contemporary , but i belong to the period immed ately following . of The Latin chronicle Marco Battaglia, pub

‘ li sh e d by Muratori under the title of Anony nn

1 d Foun ed 1 5 3 1 . 6 4 Francesca di Rimini

I tali Hi stori a 1 to , and whose date is from 3 5 4 1 8 f l 3 5 , records the murder incidentally as o lows "P aulus autem fui t m ortuus per f ratrem suumjoannem Z octum en causa luxuri ce commi ssce cum F ranci sca Gui doni s li a di P olenta uxore fi ,

ratri s ermani P auli cum ua P aulus assus f g , q p est mortem . This is evidence that the murder an really happened , but does not throw y light upon the details . The original manuscript commentary by

Venetii s illumi Jacobus Gradenigo de , with nate d of miniatures , once in the possession Cardinal Garampi and n o w in the Gambalunga

for Library at Rimini , is a copy , almost word c word , of another and earlier ommentary , that o f Van elin Giacopo della Lena , published by d . The handwriting of the manuscript shows that it was written towards the end of the fourteenth

1 8 1 century , between 3 9 and 3 99 . It is thus later in date than Boccaccio , but Giacopo della — Lena is earlier . Gradenigo and therefore — Della Lena go much further than Boccaccio

e a e e on th in th ir st t ments . Before comm nting e

6 6 Francesca di Rimini

quoted , but there are none earlier than this . wh o There is Fra Giovanni da Serravalle , in 1 4 1 6 wrote a Latin commentary by order of the Fathers of the Council of Constance and

though Gradenigo is explicit enough , Serra

’ valle s Latin may be found more convincing .

- He describes the already often quoted episode , ” mentions the Lancelot , and after an allusion

to its most moving passage , expresses himself as follows "Hoc tecto P aulus Franci scam i n tui las fu i t et i n tali i ntui tu palluerunt ambo et

r t tandem ab u runt r m im l Unus rub ne un h e e s u . ex ami li a Gansch i atti Gi anci otto h oc vi di t et f ( ) , revelavi t domi no suo ui osui t se i n i nsi di i s , q p , et brevi ter ambos u num super ali um amplexatos i nteijfeci t A point to be noticed is that in Boccaccio and in the commentators , Giovanni enters and takes o n his revenge at once ; here , the other hand , some time elapses between the sin and its

A fif nt punishment . paragraph from the tee h

Croni ca P esarese Di lova century , by Tommaso p

z v ta io , places the e ent first at Pesaro , then at Dante and Francesca 6 7

R b e imini , and descri es it in thes words Hoc anno (1 2 96 ) ferun t joannem S ancatum potestatem et capi taneum P i sanri domi nam F ranci scarn fili am domi ni Gui doni s de P olenta

R avennce Domi ni e us uxorem ladi o con , j , g fodi sse i nventam i n adulteri o cum P aulo B el/o fratre di ci tjoanni s .

Di lo vataz i o p will be considered later , when

of we discuss the place , and the date the th e murder , for date he gives is not a possible

one .

Next comes Baldo di Branchi , whose chron

l i s 1 Hi s i e e . , written in Italian , dated 4 5 4 “ i s " account , translated , as follows In this month (September 1 2 8 7) a strange thing of happened in the house Malatesta . The aforesaid Malatesta ‘ h ad some years ago mar ried his son Giovanni to a noble lady of a Ravenna , by name Francesc , who was a very

beautiful person , and it is said for some years

lei e P aolo usanno i nsi eme past . Gianciotto ,

act suso i l atto who discovered them in the ( f ) ,

slew them both . 6 8 Francesca di Rimini

Teofilo Delti os Betti , whose unpublished c e

P esarese f is later , has a delightful description o

o f o f the scene , but in spite the refinement his of language , his morality is none the strictest Og nuno sa ch e furono ambedue trafi tti da Gi o vanni i t q uale li sorprese nella pi ui n teressante e deli z i osa operaz i one ch e la natura i nspi ra ai

T o fil mortali . e o This Betti , who throws such a poetical light upon their sin , gives first

Rimini, then Pesaro , as the scene of the event . Gattolo o f th e o r He names the Malatestas , the Tingoli palace in the market -place at

Rimini , and at Pesaro , the building where the “ ” Salara is to-day ; but in both cases h e merely echoes the traditions current in his days . We have quoted the more important chron i clers from the thirteenth to the fifteenth

of fol century . Those the sixteenth and the lowing cen"turies , and the national historians , old have only worked up the chroniclers , and b have repeated what the others have said , e cause they have all had access to the sources Dante and Francesca 6 9

h as e we have quoted . It b en the work of

i o f - wr ters to day , and their immediate pre de ces ors s , to throw new light upon the actual

of scene and date the event , by searching

Archi vi o Notari le through the documents of the , the papal briefs , the documents relative to the “ of o r emancipation minors , wills , provisions

o f decisions the rectors , consuls , and podestas ’ A of . Rimini , Pesaro , and Sant rcangelo But though they have succeeded in gaining more “ “ ” as precise information to place and time , they have not superseded o r disproved the

of accounts the chroniclers . Boccaccio had said that Giovanni was podesta, and the place where he held office has been discovered ; the date of his absence has been verified , in order to find out that of his return ; the murder was

f of h as an established act , and the scene it e of been discov red . The ages the husband , the wife , and the lover have been inquired into ; whether Paolo was married and had

hi too any c ldren ; whether Francesca , , left any descendants ; whether Paolo was older or 7 0 Francesca dz Rimini younger than his brother , and why, in this latter case , was he married before his elder brother P All questions that seem of little interest o r importance- and are so to a poet

but which are interesting to the historian ,

o and give an air f reality to the story . Such a question was at the bottom of the violent discussion be tween Tonini and Monsignor

Marino Marini , who were both agreed upon ff the main facts , but di ered upon the questions of time and place . C HAPTER IV

THE S ITE O F THE TRAGEDY

’ at imi n i P esaro or S an t Arcan elo Was i t R , , g — Exam i n ati on of th e ev i dence as to each Th e opi n i on s of Ton i n i an d M on sign or M ari no M ar i n i

Con clu si on .

AFTER sifting the evidence of chroniclers and i s commentators upon Dante , the next thing to see if there are at Ravenna o r Rimini any o f as those mute witnesses to history , such monuments or inscriptions , contemporary with the Polenta and Malatesta families . Francesca has told u s that she was born ”— by the sea-shore su la mari na ; and her ancestors must have lived in the seigneurial f o r a o . palace, c stle , Ravenna In the very of 1 2 i n year her marriage, 7 5 , her father is f vested by the Pope , and the Polenta amily

1 1 begin their reign , which lasts until 44 7 2 Francesca di Rimini in all more than a century and a half of

power .

Both at Ravenna and Rimini , which are places where the water-marks of successive

o f c n invasions , and the history the first e

turies o f i n the Christian era , are written in

delible characters , we find traces of the visits of A every sovereign , from ugustus to the last

o f o r i nscri the papal legates , in buildings p has- of A tions . The five reliefs the potheosis of A a ugustus , with C esar and Livia in San

of of Vitale , the Port Classis , the mires

a C esarea are all eloquent of the Roman period ,

and its four centuries of prosperity . The

A of A rch ugustus at Rimini , and the pedestal of ae of Julius C sar, are full associations with

the emperors , and, from the military harbour

o f Classis , where Strabo tells us two hundred

of and fifty ships war rode at anchor , the

Roman fleet could , at a word from the master, se t E A sail for pirus , Macedonia , chaia, the

Propontis , Crete, and their colonies in th e

East .

74 Francesca di Rimini

can palace , be traced a few steps from the ’ th e Basilica o f Sant Apollinare Nuovo . On entry of Belisarius into Ravenna , the Bar b arians z were worsted , and the By antine period succeeds the Gothic . The wonderful Basilicas are a testimony to the two centuries of Byz an

o f tine rule . Here the epitaphs the Exarchs

o n o n may be read their tombs , and the walls of San Vitale, which shine with brilliant

o f mosaics , representing great personages the Byz antine Court the Emperor Justinian A followed by the rchbishop Maximilian , and opposite to him Theodora, surrounded by her court ladies in brilliant costumes , the actress ,

o f and Empress the East , drawn from the

o f scum the circus , a fit Empress of the

sh e Lower Empire , as appeared to the artists in mosaic of "the sixth century , a brilliant , -out painted , tricked wanton . The Lombards and Charlemagne left no

e of monum nts , but marks their passage in the destruction and ruin they left behind them ; and if we remember the spoils which Charle The Site of the Tragedy 7 5

Aix magne carried off from Ravenna , to enrich - la Chapelle , this period will not seem without i ts distinguishing note . The pe riod between the Lombards and the rule of the Polenta is o ne of darkness and dis

th e order , during which Otho the Great, Holy

Roman Emperor, was crowned at Pavia , with the famous iron crown which is still preserved among the treasures o f Monz a ; and the struggle In which the imperial power was exchanged for

two . the feudal , lasted for centuries and a half

o f It is a period storm and stress , in which the arts of peace had no breathing- space but we may find in the church of Sant ’ Apollinare of in Classe , a monument the date , erected in commemoration o f the repentance o f Otho

III . , the young emperor whose short life was stained by so many crimes he was only

of — a twenty years age who c me here barefoot ,

humbled and penitent , after having put John "VI . to the torture and treacherously exe

cu te d re scenti us C , whom he had besieged in f the Mole o Hadrian . 7 6 Francesca di Rimini A lthough , when the feudal power rose upon W the ashes of the estern Empire , the Imperial vicars became the virtual masters of Ravenna , not a stone , contemporary with their earliest period , survives to bear witness to their rule .

We can now see the corroded box , in the

fo r museum at Ravenna , which many centuries held the bones of Dante ; we can kneel before

B racci ofo rte the tomb of , and admire the light and graceful faeades and the magnificent Clois ters of the palaces built by the Proveditore of Venice ; and read the inscription near San

of Vitale , that tells the murder of Cardinal

Alidosi o by the Duke of Urbino , in the pre

o f sence the Pope , his uncle ; we may make

Colonna dei F rancesi a pilgrimage to the , that marks the spot where Gaston de Foix, the hero

old h is only twenty years , fell , in the hour of

- e triumph , laurel crown d ; even papal legates ,

e Lord Byron , the Gambas , the Countess Gui cioli so an c , names which recur often in the e

o f h dotal history more recent times , ave left

not a i s their memories , but single ray of light The Site qf the Tragedy 7 7 thrown by the monuments contemporaneous with the Polentas upon the subject o f ou r inquiry . It is a singular thing that there

should be such a blank in the , record , and that the Polentas , who are , historically , such vivid personalities , should be the only people who have not left their stamp upon the city where they ruled for more than a hundred and fifty years . We have been more successful in fixing the actual date of the murder . The evidence rests

of upon a single stone , which is a proof the occasional importance of such seemingly unim “ ” portant documents in an historical inquiry . In 1 8 5 6 there was discovered in the fortress of Pesaro a fragment of the older portion of the

i n building, bear g the following inscription ° Anno D omi n i "M i llesi mo ° Lxxxv In C C z di cti on " m or e "Te i b us D omi n i r III p Hono n

P a ce "Esi stente "P otestat o an p IIII e J h ne

Nato Ma n ci vi ri D omi n i M alatestce g ifl .

Now 1 2 8 , in 5 Honorius IV . was Pope ; the dates are in harmony , and the inscription 7 8 Francesca di Rimini

proves conclusively that in 1 2 8 5 Giovanni il

a e sté Scianc to was pod at Pesaro . There is no doubt that it was from P esaro that he hastened t o . surprise Paolo and Francesca It is possible , o f a course , that he had been podest for some f time , and that he had filled the o fice several

times over , but this record is against Mon ’ signor Marino Marini s theory ; for if Giovanni was podesta at Pesaro at the time of the i t murder , would have been impossible for his im wife to have been with him , just as it is possible fo r an admiral or a captain of a ship to have his wife o n board during his naval

law n expeditions . The is quite clear o this point , and even if there were no law , the custom was invariable in Italy . ’ Brunetto Latini , Dante s schoolmaster , de of o de sté fines the necessary qualifications a p , ‘ esoro ode stei in his T . The p had to be a

z of stranger, not a citi en the town in which he was to hold office ; and a man of noble family and a distinguished and successful soldier was usually chosen . He had to be at The Site of the Tragedy 7 9

o f n least thirty years age , and to belo g to the not party in power in the district . He was W allowed to bring his ife with him , and , at the same time , he was obliged to keep up a little court , with his notaries , lawyers , registrars , and h i s o f military following knights , squires , and pages . Unless the town had in its service a some famous condottiere , the podest took

o f over the command the army , and became the political and military head of the State . The name survives in most o f the towns o f N orthern Italy , and in all the Venetian

o n A f - colonies the driatic, but the o fice to day is by no means important , and corresponds to

f o r a-s n that o a syndic mayor (Podest y daco) . Some of these early podestas were chosen fo r i l fe , and the palaces where they resided , in t as the hirteenth century, remain memorials of of the political conditions the time . Rugged , of strengthened with iron , massive blocks masonry , they still look impregnable in many

th e cases , and able to endure longest sieges f and most o them have done so . The Bar 8 0 Francesca di Rimini gello at Florence is a curious example of this o f kind architecture , which was closely in sympathy with the needs and manners of the day ; and most o f the towns on the coast of the Adriatic have interesting ruins of such buildings , too often disfigured by a mistaken

o f policy restoration .

We 1 2 8 may assume that it was in 5 , when

was a Giovanni podest at Pesaro , that he hur ried back to Rimi ni to surprise Francesca and Paolo . This is in agreement with Boc ’ cacc i o s not statement , but with Monsignor ’ Marino Marini s theory . In the thirteenth century a disagreement between th e bishops ’ of Sant Arcangelo and the republic of Rimini resulted in a war between the two towns ; and he believes that the Malatestas attacked Poggio ’ A di Sant rcangelo , and that Giovanni and Paolo Malatesta held the fortress in 1 2 8 8 and

1 2 8 . 9 If, he thinks , they had continued to occupy it for so long a period , Giovanni would e have had his wife with him , and the discov ry and the murder would have taken place at

8 2 Francesca di Rimini was born at Ravenna , she is universally known o R i mi ni as Francesca f , for it was at Rimini sh o f that e lived , and paid the penalty her

or at sh e weakness , her sin , and Rimini that was buried .

too Then , , if we sum up the accounts of

see the chroniclers and historians , we that the majority tacitly suppose that th e scene i s laid at Rimini ; they do not even think o f suggesting any other theory. This negative kind o f proof can be drawn from the accounts o f Marco Battaglia, Benvenuto da Imola, Fra

Giovanni da Serravalle, and Baldo di Branchi while Giacopo della Lena, Gradenigo , and

Boccaccio mention it as the place . Later

Pe F rancesca again , when Silvio llico wrote his di R i mi n i he had no hesitation in placing the scene o f his tragedy in the city of the Mala

of testas , and the same might be said Count

Odoardo Fabri and Lord Byron , if he had carried o ut his unfinished sketch which we

of h i s read in letters to Murray . Francesca

sh e was Francesca da Ravenna is , and always The Site of the Tragedy 8 3 will be , Francesca di Rimini , a living portion ’ of o r Rimini s history legend , and eternally associated with its memories , whatever new documents may be discovered in record -office s and libraries . A nother theory , which has the authority of

Croni ca P esarese Ali ui di cunt u i sse the , states q f Ari mi n i i n domo magna guo est i n capi te P latece m n a ee . We g do not believe , however , that the large house at the entrance of the P iaz z a

Maggiore belongs to this period . The build “ ing , which is called the house of Julius ” a s t C esar from the pedestal , a little pillar e up by Sigismondo Malatesta to commemorate ’ a i n C esar s crossing the Rubicon , bears an scription claiming that Caesar stood o n it to harangue his troops , and was restored in

1 6 0 5 . The house passed , through the Tingoli

ff o f and the Ru o families , into the possession z i ste rni Count Carlo Gra iani C , and must have been built o n the site of the earlier house the chronicler mentions .

i s e It a curious thing that the middl class , 84 Francesca di Rimini which is indifferent to the methods o f exact o f inquiry, is in favour this theory . There is also a tradition that the sons of Malatesta ’ u da Ver cchio lived , during their father s life ’ i n h o ld time, a ouse near the Porta di Sant A ndrea . This house , however , which belonged in the eighteenth century to th e Graz iani ll too . A family , is much modern this shows h ow difficult it is to come to a definite con e lusron to , but I am inclined agree , with

G attolo Tonini , that the di San Colomba

o n o f at Rimini , which stood the site the fortress known to- day as the Avanz i della

o f Rocca , was probably the scene the tragedy . i s In its present state it impossible , owing to di s the alterations that have been made , to f 1 cover the remains o the earlier building .

n In conclusio , here is a curious extract

e 1 8 1 from a book print d at Rimini in 5 , by

1 l a o r f rtr i now muti Th e Caste Malatest , o ess, s Th late d o r di sfigured b y unsigh tly b arracks. e ro se d ele h ant are still traceab le on i ts walls wi th th e an p , 1 date 445 . The Site q/ the Tragedy 8 5

' S i mb ni I l Vermi cello della S eta e . , entitled The author is Giovanni Andrea Co nsucci da

S ascorb aro , and it is quoted by Tonini “ ’ A of few days ago , in the church Sant A e gostino , th re were found in a marble tomb

of Paolo Malatesta and Francesca , daughter

o f Guido da Polenta , lord Ravenna , who L anc elotto so n o f were put to death by , the of of Malatesta , lord Rimini and brother the i n said Paolo . These two were discovered a adultery , and slain by a blow with a d gger

‘ as Petrarch says in the Triumph of Love . of Their clothes were silk , and though enclosed

so for many years in the tomb , they were found f ” in a perfect state o preservation . ’ It is impossible to say what S ascorb aro s story is based o n . Certainly Boccaccio and most of the chroniclers say that the bodies of

two the lovers were buried in the same grave , ’ — and S ascorb aro s story which we give for what — it is worth is in agreement with their accounts . e Howev r this may be , Rimini believes firmly nd e in its legend , a in the Gambalunga Palac , 8 6 Francesca di Rimini o n w of the alls the town library may be seen , in a frame , a piece of silk woven with gold , which is believed by the ordinary visitor to be a genuine relic of the garments o f Francesca and Paolo . C HAP TER V

RES UME OF THE HIS TORICAL EVI DENCE — S igi smon do P andoifo M alatesta D ante i s th e repu ted — ' h i stori an of th e tragedy [1 1s legen d compared w i th au then ti c h i stor y .

F R OM this mass o f doubtful and conflicting evidence a few facts stand o ut clearly and of prominently , and give some air relief to so -off a At far an historic l event . first there was a school which saw in Francesca a sacrifice to paternal ambition , and poets and painters , sculptors and musicians , represented her as a

t wh o creature full of youth , grace, and beau y , , after the cruel deception which substituted il il Giovanni Sciancato for Paolo Bello , fell an easy victim to the man who had gone

of through the ceremony marriage with her .

i se t o n Later on , a react on in , the dis 8 7 8 8 Francesca di Rimini co ve r of y some new materials , and this was strengthened by the opinions of the first people wh o took the trouble to work o n th e

A so to subject . cynical poet went far as

of suggest that , at the time her death , Francesca

’ N av ai t lus tou t-d- ai t la rai ch eur da mati n p f f a and another school arose who saw in h er a married woman , who was no longer young, — yet in love with a mere boy a no t uncommon occurrence . a two The truth re lly lies between the .

Francesca was beautiful , and both proud “ ” of wh o i s so and lofty spirit , for Dante ,

o f sparing of details , gives proof the energy

f i s sh e o her character . It who answers

can sh e wh o him , while Paolo only weep , and

of brands her husband with the name Cain . Francesca must have been about eighteen

old sh e 1 2 years when married in 7 5 , and at sh e was - her death about twenty eight . There i s no reason to doubt that she was married

90 Francesca di Rimini tati ve of two o f his race . He poisoned his wives , and remained the devoted lover, till his o f of death , his mistress , Isotta Rimini (after wards his third wife) , who was celebrated by f t the poets o h e fifteenth century . Paolo is Paolo il Bello ; and even in the

of legal documents and papal briefs the day ,

so . he is entitled There is , however , a stain of six e upon the history his love , for y ars before he saw Francesca he had married

Orab ile Beatrice , and by her in the first year of son their marriage he had a , Uberto di

no t Paolo ; and long afterwards a daughter ,

Margherita . Paolo has the reputation of a beautiful but ”

was . insipid person , whose only art love It “ was said o f him that he loved the amuse ” of o f ments peace better than the toils war,

o ne of and Benvenuto da Imola , the earliest

o n h as commentators Dante , given him a bad

i nc n . o character Francesca , by a strange sistency that h as been observed before in won history , must have been by his horseman ’ ’ R esume of Historical Ev iaence 9 1

ship , his white skin , and his curly hair ; it is evident that he was attractive to women . But , in common justice , we must admit that if he

i t S ci ancato S ce ione was not a soldier like , p

A of mmirato , an historian in the pay the early

Medici , has proved that Paolo took some

1 2 8 share in political life, and that in 3 he

ca i tano l o olo was p de p p at Florence . It is true

o n I st of that , the of February the same year , he states that he has serious business which calls him to Rimini , and asks for leave , which li cenz a di andarsene a casa is given him ( ) . “ ” Some wh o wish to point the moral have chosen to conclude that it was no t hi s wife

rabile h i s O he was anxious to rejoin , but

’ to brother s wife , who was far more dear him . It has been supposed that he is to be met with again in history , skirmishing round the Poggio ’ A first- di Sant rcangelo , but in hand documents there i s no sign of him from the (conjectured) of e date the murd r, while his brother can be

1 0 traced as late as 3 4 . When he made his first and fateful appear 92 Francesca di Rimini

P - — h e ance , aolo is twenty three was born in — 1 2 5 2 h e is surrounded by an atmosphere o f love until his death , at the age of thirty four . Anything beyond these few facts is c o n

ectural j ; and it is impossible to reconstruct , in all its details , a minor episode which hap

1 2 8 pened so long ago as 5 . But there seems to be no doubt , from the evidence of the chroniclers , that these few facts are established o n a firm footing .

In conclusion , we shall not insist upon their guilt , for human nature is generous in its judg

o n ments such historic frailties , and it is per haps absurd to take what is largely legend or tradition too seriously . However, we prefer ’ Boccaccio s account , even as a subject for an O A pera, to the fiction about which mbroise

h i s F ran oi se di R i mi ni Thomas wrote c . In the historical account there were all the nece s sary elements , war and love , dramatic possi

ti s and b ili e background , everything that goes

94 Francesca di Rimini

o n new creation that lives to all eternity , while every detail that we would add only i detracts from the vividness , the real ty, the “ wonderful life -i n -death of the two sad Spirits ” indivisible .

THE END

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