may well be imagined that Naples at this time presented a most
picturesque appearance, for there was a Babel of tongues and a mixture
of nationalities which was quite unusual. After the native Neapolitans,
dark-eyed and swarthy, there were countless Greeks and Saracens of
somewhat fairer hue, and over them all were the fierce Normans,
strangers from a northern clime, who were lording it in most masterful
fashion. The effect of this overlordship, which they held from the pope
as their feudal head, was to give to this portion of Italy certain
characteristics which are almost entirely lacking in the other parts of
Italy. Here there was no free city, here there was no republic, but,
instead, a feudal court which followed the best models of the continent
and in its time became famed for its brilliancy and elegance. Without
dallying by the way to explain when battles were fought and kings were
crowned, suffice it to say that, early in the fourteenth century, Robert
of Taranto, an Angevine prince, ascended the throne of Naples, and by
his wisdom and goodness and by his great interest in art and literature
made his capital the centre of a culture and refinement which were rare
at that time. This was a day of almost constant warfare, when the din of
battle and the clash of armor were silencing the sound of the harp and
the music of the poet, but Robert--_Il buon Re Roberto_, as he was
called--loved peace and hated war and ever strove to make his court a
place of brightness and joy, wherein the arts and sciences might
flourish without let or hindrance.

These centuries of feudal rule had, perhaps, given the people of Naples
a somewhat different temper from that possessed by the people in other
parts of Italy. There had been a firm centre of authority, and, in spite
of the troubles which had rent the kingdom, the people in the main had
been little concerned with them. They had been taught to obey, and
generally their rights had been respected. Now, under King Robert, the
populace was enjoying one long holiday, the like of which could have
been seen in no other part of Italy at that time. The natural languor of
the climate and their intuitive appreciation of the lazy man's proverb,
_Dolce far niente_, made it easy for them to give themselves up to the
pleasures of the moment. All was splendor and feasting at the court, and
the castle Nuovo, where the king resided, was ever filled with a goodly
company. So the people took life easil