CHAPTER X.

Charles viii.

The Italian States confront the Great Nations of Europe—­Policy of Louis xi. of France—­Character of Charles viii.—­Preparations for the Invasion of Italy—­Position of Lodovico Sforza—­Diplomatic Difficulties in Italy after the Death of Lorenzo de’ Medici—­Weakness of the Republics—­Il Moro—­The year 1494—–­Alfonso of Naples—­Inefficiency of the Allies to cope with France—­Charles at Lyons is stirred up to the Invasion of Italy by Giuliano della Rovere—­Charles at Asti and Pavia—­Murder of Gian Galeazzo Sforza—­Mistrust in the French Army—­Rapallo and Fivizzano—­The Entrance into Tuscany—­Part played by Piero de’ Medici—­Charles at Pisa—­His Entrance into Florence—­Piero Capponi—­The March on Rome—­Entry into Rome—­Panic of Alexander vi.—­The March on Naples—­The Spanish Dynasty:  Alfonso and Ferdinand—­Alfonso ii. escapes to Sicily—­Ferdinand ii. takes Refuge in Ischia—­Charles at Naples—­The League against the French—­De Comines at Venice—­Charles makes his Retreat by Rome, Siena, Pisa, and Pontremoli—­The Battle of Fornovo—­Charles reaches Asti and returns to France—­Italy becomes the Prize to be fought for by France, Spain, and Germany—­Importance of the Expedition of Charles viii.  P. 537.

* * * * *

Appendices.

No.  I.—­The Blood-madness of Tyrants 589

No.  II.—­Translations of Nardi, ‘Istorie di Firenze,’ lib. l. cap. 4;
  and of Varchi, ‘Storia Fiorentina,’ lib. iii. caps. 20,
  21, 22; lib. ix. caps. 48, 49, 46 592

No.  III.—­The Character of Alexander vi., from Guicciardini’s
  ‘Storia Fiorentina,’ cap. 27 603

No.  IV.—­Religious Revivals in Mediaeval Italy 606

No.  V.—­The ‘Sommario della Storia d’ Italia dal 1511 al 1527,
  by Francesco Vettori 624

RENAISSANCE IN ITALY.

CHAPTER I.

THE SPIRIT OF THE RENAISSANCE.

Difficulty of fixing Date—­Meaning of Word Renaissance—­The Emancipation of the Reason—­Relation of Feudalism to the Renaissance—­Mediaeval Warnings of the Renaissance—­Abelard, Bacon, Joachim of Flora, the Provencals, the Heretics, Frederick ii.—­Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio—­Physical Energy of the Italians—­The Revival of Learning—­The Double Discovery of the World and of Man—­Exploration of the Universe and of the Globe—­Science—­The Fine Arts and Scholarship—­Art Humanizes the Conceptions of the Church—­Three Stages in the History of Scholarship—­The Age of Desire—­The Age of Acquisition—­The Legend of Julia’s Corpse—­The Age of the Printers and Critics—­The Emancipation of the Conscience—­The Reformation and the Modern Critical Spirit—­Mechanical Inventions—­The Place of Italy in the Renaissance.