Chapter 46

CHAPTER II

The duke of Milan becomes lord of Genoa--The king of Naples and
the duke of Milan endeavor to secure their dominions to their
heirs--Jacopo Piccinino honorably received at Milan, and shortly
afterward murdered at Naples--Fruitless endeavors of Pius II. to
excite Christendom against the Turks--Death of Francesco Sforza,
duke of Milan--Perfidious counsel given to Piero de' Medici by
Diotisalvi Neroni--Conspiracy of Diotisalvi and others against
Piero--Futile attempts to appease the disorders--Public spectacles
--Projects of the conspirators against Piero de' Medici--Niccolo
Fedini discloses to Piero the plots of his enemies.

While Florence and Italy were in this condition, Louis XI. of France
was involved in very serious troubles with his barons, who, with the
assistance of Francis, duke of Brittany, and Charles, duke of
Burgundy, were in arms against him. This attack was so serious, that
he was unable to render further assistance to John of Anjou in his
enterprise against Genoa and Naples; and, standing in need of all the
forces he could raise, he gave over Savona (which still remained in
the power of the French) to the duke of Milan, and also intimated,
that if he wished, he had his permission to undertake the conquest of
Genoa. Francesco accepted the proposal, and with the influence
afforded by the king's friendship, and the assistance of the Adorni,
he became lord of Genoa. In acknowledgment of this benefit, he sent
fifteen hundred horse into France for the king's service, under the
command of Galeazzo, his eldest son. Thus Ferrando of Aragon and
Francesco Sforza became, the latter, duke of Lombardy and prince of
Genoa, and the former, sovereign of the whole kingdom of Naples. Their
families being allied by marriage, they thought they might so confirm
their power as to secure to themselves its enjoyment during life, and
at their deaths, its unencumbered reversion to their heirs. To attain
this end, they considered it necessary that the king should remove all
ground of apprehension from those barons who had offended him in the
war of John of Anjou, and that the duke should extirpate the adherents
of the Bracceschi, the natural enemies of his family, who, under
Jacopo Piccinino, had attained the highest reputation. The latter was
now the first general in Italy, and possessing no territory, he
naturally excited the apprehension of all who had dominions, and
especially of the duke, who, conscious of what he had himself done,
thought he could neither enjoy his own estate in safety, nor leave
them with any degree of security to his son during Jacopo's lifetime.
The king, therefore, strenuously endeavored to come to terms with his
barons, and using his utmost ingenuity to secure them,