ished
families in Florence. Being neighbors, both in the city and the country,
there had arisen between them some slight displeasure, which, however,
had not occasioned an open quarrel, and perhaps never would have
produced any serious effect if the malignant humors had not been
increased by new causes. Among the first families of Pistoia was the
Cancellieri. It happened that Lore, son of Gulielmo, and Geri, son of
Bertacca, both of this family, playing together, and coming to words,
Geri was slightly wounded by Lore. This displeased Gulielmo; and,
designing by a suitable apology to remove all cause of further
animosity, he ordered his son to go to the house of the father of the
youth whom he had wounded and ask pardon. Lore obeyed his father; but
this act of virtue failed to soften the cruel mind of Bertacca, and
having caused Lore to be seized, in order to add the greatest indignity
to his brutal act, he ordered his servants to chop off the youth's hand
upon a block used for cutting meat upon, and then said to him, "Go to
thy father, and tell him that sword wounds are cured with iron and not
with words."

The unfeeling barbarity of this act so greatly exasperated Gulielmo that
he ordered his people to take arms for his revenge. Bertacca prepared
for his defense, and not only that family, but the whole city of
Pistoia, became divided. And as the Cancellieri were descended from
a Cancelliere who had had two wives, of whom one was called Bianca
(white), one party was named by those who were descended from her
BIANCA; and the other, by way of greater distinction, was called NERA
(black). Much and long-continued strife took place between the two,
attended with the death of many men and the destruction of much
property; and not being able to effect a union among themselves, but
weary of the evil, and anxious either to bring it to an end, or, by
engaging others in their quarrel, increase it, they came to Florence,
where the Neri, on account of their familiarity with the Donati, were
favored by Corso, the head of that family; and on this account the
Bianchi, that they might have a powerful head to defend them against the
Donati, had recourse to Veri de Cerchi, a man in no respect inferior to
Corso.

This quarrel, and the parties in it, brought from Pistoia, increased the
old animosity between the Cerchi and the Donati, and it was already
so manifest, that the Priors and all well-disposed men were in hourly
apprehension of