FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33  
34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   >>   >|  
pened to all comers. Messer Sozzo, father of the novice, went, attended by his guests, to hear high mass in the cathedral; and there upon the marble pulpit, which the Pisans carved, the ceremony was completed. Tommaso di Nello bore his sword and cap and spurs before him upon horseback. Messer Sozzo girded the sword upon the loins of Messer Francesco, his son aforesaid. Messer Pietro Ridolfi, of Rome, who was the first vicar that came to Siena, and the Duke of Calabria buckled on his right spur. The Captain of the People buckled on his left. The Count Simone da Battifolle then undid his sword and placed it in the hands of Messer Giovanni di Messer Bartolo de' Fibenzi da Rodi, who handed it to Messer Sozzo, the which sword had previously been girded by the father on his son. After this follows a list of the illustrious guests, and an inventory of the presents made to them by Messer Francesco. We find among these 'a robe of silken cloth and gold, skirt, and fur, and cap lined with vair, with a silken cord.' The description of the many costly dresses is minute; but I find no mention of armour. The singers received golden florins, and the players upon instruments 'good store of money.' A certain Salamone was presented with the clothes which the novice doffed before he took the ceremonial bath. The whole catalogue concludes with Messer Francesco's furniture and outfit. This, besides a large wardrobe of rich clothes and furs, contains armour and the trappings for charger and palfrey. The _Corte Bandita_, or open house held upon this occasion, lasted for eight days, and the charges on the Bandinelli estates must have been considerable. Knights so made were called in Italy _Cavalieri Addobbati_, or _di Corredo_, probably because the expense of costly furniture was borne by them--_addobbo_ having become a name for decorative trappings, and _Corredo_ for equipment. The latter is still in use for a bride's trousseau. The former has the same Teutonic root as our verb 'to dub.' But the Italians recognised three other kinds of knights, the _Cavalieri Bagnati_, _Cavalieri di Scudo_, and _Cavalieri d'Arme_. Of the four sorts Sacchetti writes in one of his novels:--'Knights of the Bath are made with the greatest ceremonies, and it behoves them to be bathed and washed of all impurity. Knights of Equipment are those who take the order with a mantle of dark green and the gilded garland. Knights of the Shield are such as are made knights
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33  
34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Messer

 
Cavalieri
 
Knights
 

Francesco

 
girded
 
father
 
armour
 

furniture

 

buckled

 

knights


costly
 
silken
 

Corredo

 
clothes
 
trappings
 

guests

 
novice
 

expense

 

Addobbati

 

addobbo


called

 

occasion

 

charger

 

palfrey

 

wardrobe

 

outfit

 

Bandita

 
Bandinelli
 
charges
 

estates


lasted

 

considerable

 
ceremonies
 

greatest

 

behoves

 

bathed

 

novels

 

Sacchetti

 

writes

 
washed

impurity

 

gilded

 

garland

 

Shield

 
mantle
 

Equipment

 

trousseau

 

decorative

 

equipment

 

Teutonic