Under The Green Claws

Ivo Ragazzini

Under the Green Claws

The last of the Ghibellines

An historical account

Original title:

Sotto le Branche Verdi -- Gli Ultimi Ghibellini

Translated by: Rosemary Dawn Allison

Original title: Sotto le Branche Verdi -- Gli Ultimi Ghibellini

English translation by Rosemary Dawn Allison

Under the Green Claws -- The Last of the Ghibellines

© Ivo Ragazzini

All rights reserved

First edition in Italian 2013 -- MJM Edizioni

Second edition in Italian © Ivo Ragazzini -- 2021

Cover:

Patalakha Sergii/Shutterstock.com

The Ordelaffi Coat of Arms the "Green Claws" degli Ordelaffi

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Preface

In 1282, after a long series of hostilities between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, an army, organized by Pope Martin IV, composed of eighteen thousand French and Italian Guelph soldiers, was sent to Romagna to defeat once and for all the last of the Ghibellines who had gathered in Forlì to defend the land, which they considered to be their imperial dominion.

The last of the Italian Ghibellines, who were still faithful to the dictates of Emperor Frederick II, who had been dead for thirty years, converged from all sides to help the people of Forli, who still proudly carried the black imperial eagles on a field of gold, which Frederick II himself had personally given them.

The subject of this book is how things turned out and why this situation evolved.

This book is also about what Romagna represented in ancient times. Romagna is a land rich with traditions and history that have been handed down over the centuries.

It is not that difficult to find out how this land was created and what Romagna was at the time of the Rome Empire, and in fact you will see that this story will investigate a few of these themes.

Sooner or later I'll write a detailed historical account of Romagna, but the real purpose of this book is, and remains, the siege and battle, which involved the last of the Italian Ghibellines and took place in Forlì towards the end of the thirteenth century.

So, as this story will inevitably recount, for the first time ever, much of the information about the true origins of Forlì, the monuments and imperial traditions it inherited and why it became the last stronghold of the Ghibellines.

The book will explain who the Ordelaffi really were, and about the many other forgotten historical figures, such as the astrologer Guido Bonatti and the fighting friar Geremia Gotto, who were then also present among the ranks of the Ghibelline.

Of course it will also tell you the details of how the Ghibellines, commanded by Guido da Montefeltro, an unrivalled Italian captain at the time, defeated and massacred, in one day and one night, a French army of eighteen thousand French and Italian Guelphs who had put siege to them to force their submission to the church.

This historical account is thus dedicated to the honor and pride of the last of the Italian Ghibellines who, refusing to surrender to force of arms, and against all the odds, attacked and defeated the thousands of soldiers who had besieged them for a year. I conclude by telling you that this book will inevitably lead you to discover many other things that history has forgotten, and I gladly offer them for your perusal.

Enjoy this rediscovery.

I.R.

-- Part one --

1. Introduction

Inscription on an old tombstone dated 1282 set into the facade of an ancient funeral monument that was once placed in the center of Piazza Maggiore in Forlì, and had vanished for centuries.1

PER IL CAPRICCIO DEL ROMANO PONTEFICE MARTINO IIII, GIOVANNI D'APPIA DUCE DELL'ESERCITO FRANCESE IN ITALIA, E I SOLDATI FORLIVESI, SI DIEDERO BATTAGLIA DA ENTRAMBE LE PARTI NEL LUOGO DOVE TI TROVI.

BEN PRESTO DAL POPOLO DIFENSORE FURONO RESPINTI, E TUTTI GLI OTTOMILA COMBATTENTI DISPERSI.

CON ESSI PERSERO LA LORO VITA DUE MILA SOLDATI SCELTI CHE QUI GIACCIONO.

IL DUCE FORLIVESE GUIDO FELTRANO, CALENDIMAGGIO MCCLXXXII (1282).

(On the whim of the Roman pontiff Martin IIII, Giovanni d'Appia duke of the French army in Italy, and the soldiers from Forlì, both parties were in combat in the place you stand.

The defending populace quickly repulsed them, and all eight thousand fighters were killed.

With those who lost their lives were two thousand select soldiers who lie here.

The Forlivese duke Guido Feltrano, May Day MCCLXXXII [1282])2

This plaque was dedicated specifically to the victims of a violent battle that was fought hand to hand, street by street, by the Forlì Ghibellines, inside the walls of their town, against an army made up of French and Italian Guelphs that had been sent by Pope Martin IV.

This plaque and the monument, which at the time proudly indicated the exact place in Piazza Maggiore where the Ghibellines and Guelphs battled for a day and a night and how it ended.

This tombstone is no longer present and these events are recalled by Dante in a few poetic lines.3

But what happened to lead to such a slaughter of citizens?

2. Perugia, town hall in 1281

Pope Martin IV had recently been elected in Viterbo but had been crowned in Orvieto on 23 March 1281 and, because of the serious riots that had broken out on his election, he had recently moved to Perugia.

After a series of long battles fought by the Ghibellines against the Bolognese, the Guelphs of Bologna quickly turned to the new pope to send a French army against the Forlì Ghibellines to punish them.

A group of Bolognese Guelphs received a Ghibelline delegation from Forlì in a crowded room standing before the papal officials.

Present are a legate and a few papal officials, plus several Guelph allies and the powerful Bolognese Guelph faction of the Geremei.

For the Ghibellines there are representatives from the Ordelaffi, the Orgogliosi and the Bolognese Lambertazzi families, a large Ghibelline faction that had been expelled from Bologna and were being hosted by the Forlivese.

The atmosphere immediately becomes agitated and heated:

"We want you to withdraw the request you made to the pope, who is sending a French army against us, and find an honorable and dignified agreement that respects our land and finds a dignified solution for the Lambertazzi who were unjustly expelled from their homes in Bologna several times only because they are Ghibellines," said the head of the Ghibelline delegation Guido Bonatti.4

"The Lambertazzi were expelled from Bologna only because of their violent acts and the daily crimes they have committed against our Guelph families, and you have helped them and share their responsibility. If you don't drive them from your land, you will answer for what happens to them, to you and to your people," a Guelph representative of the Geremei quickly answered.

"Our land is imperial. It is illegal to attack a sovereign state only because it grants asylum to people who have been expelled from Bolognese land, all the more so by the Church, which should have received from God the faculty of guaranteeing people the right to land."

"This is false. That land no longer belongs to you. Your emperor Rudolph of Habsburg, the legitimate heir of Frederick II and his dynasty, gave them to us in exchange for his being crowned King of the Romans by Pope Nicholas III5 a few years ago, and you should have given them to us some time ago and put yourself at our service. Furthermore, the right to land can only be granted to baptized Christians and not to apostates as are so many Ghibellines," answered a papal legate.

"The gift Rudolf made is not valid, since he never came to claim and take possession of our land as emperor, after the death of Frederick II. Nor did he ever come to Italy to be crowned King of the Romans, so the land does not belong to him. That land was given to us by Frederick II, which means it is ours, we governed and defended the land of the empire and since then it has belonged to us and we intend to defend it," replied the delegation from Forlì.

"That gift, on the other hand, is valid and legitimate since Rudolf gave that land to the pope. If he abandoned you it is not our fault and you should blame him, not us," replied the papal legate.

"How things really went, and what the truth was, is not your unique privilege to show here. You tried to fight us because you are faithful to the empire and we attempted to defend ourselves according to our inherited imperial military traditions, not to fear and never give up in front of the enemy and now, after we have beaten the Bolognese repeatedly and faithfully in all places in Romagna, you have been forced to turn to the King of France to send an army of fanatics to destroy us as they did the Albigensian heretics. This does you no honor," replied the Ghibelline Guido Bonatti.

"This is false, we were defeated because we were betrayed by the Lambertazzi, who made secret agreements with you while they were in Bologna and that is why we chased them from our city and now we will pursue you and them off the land as well. The land belongs to us because it was a gift from Rudolf I Habsburg," replied an angry Guelph noble from the Geremei family.

"You speak with hatred of people who were defeated in battle. You tried to attack us on the plains and in the mountains, you were defeated repeatedly and now you are here requesting assistance from the Pope and the French, thinking you will intimidate us, but you have underestimated our imperial military traditions and the skills of our captain Guido da Montefeltro, which date back to the old military school of Frederick II. We only ask to speak with the pope to halt this army, make peace with Bologna, permit the Lambertazzi to return again to their rightful city and prevent the spilling of more blood on both sides," replied Guido Bonatti.

Voices and whispers of dissent rose instantly from the Bolognese delegation.

"We have already defeated your imperial military traditions in Tagliacozzo and Benevento.6 As for you, you have only barbarously attacked and razed the castle of Calboli7 to the ground, after they requested a truce in Romagna, and I see no great military traditions in this. As for the Lambertazzi, they will never return to Bologna. And you who protect them only want a safe place to go because you will be banished and banned together with them," replied the noble Guelph of the Geremei.

"You shouldn't believe all the nonsense the losers tell you. The Calboli had requested a truce only after they had failed to hand Romagna over to you. I repeat that you are speaking out of anger and defeat as you were not able to conquer our land, but we are here to resolve these issues. If necessary, we will not give up even in front of the French, but first we want to talk to the new pope so as to prevent more bloodshed and to tell him not to listen to the complaints of defeated people who have no other way to fight us," replied Guido Bonatti firmly.

"No. You won't speak to the pope. The pope, like his predecessor, is tired of hearing your speeches and explanations. You have damaged and destroyed the castle of the Calboli in Romagna, caused the fall of Cesena and Ravenna with your terror, and you have already been excommunicated and banned by the bishop of Ravenna. And now you must submit and expel all the Lambertazzies and Ghibellines from your land, who fervently hate the Guelphs and the church," replied the Geremei noble.

"You have banished the Lambertazzi from everywhere you reign and even if we wished it, we could not send them anywhere that they have not been banned and excommunicated by you. Recognize Forlì to be a free Ghibelline city and we will have lasting peace between us. Let us talk about this with the pope immediately," stated Guido Bonatti resolutely.

"No. Pope Martin has already left for Avignon and your emperor Rudolph of Habsburg gave us that land and therefore it already belongs to us.

If you really want peace, give yourselves up to us and expel the Lambertazzi and all the tumultuous Ghibellines from your land," concluded the Geremei noble with the consent of the papal legate.

3. Pagan Romagna

Avignon 1281. Pope Martin IV and his military and papal legates speak of the papacy's plans for expansion in Romagna.

A legate told the Pope, "Excellence. It is extraordinary that more than thirty years after the death of Frederick II there are still places in Italy where pagan traditions are being followed that prevent Christian expansion and subjugation."

"Where are you talking about?" asked the Pope.

"About Foro Livii and Romandiola.8 Not only do they claim the land is theirs, the site of the ancient Roman Empire, but they also believe they were founded by a famous pagan priestess and still celebrate festivals in her honor that seem more pagan than Christian," replied the legate.

"What kind of celebrations do they perform?" asked the Pope.

The legate attempted to explain as best he could, "They have a kind of festival where a woman is dressed as the queen of fire, amidst lights and flames of all kinds."

"Are you talking about a woman or a fiend?" asked the Pope a little surprised.

"No, wait, Your Holiness. Perhaps it will be best if I explain everything," intervened a pontifical historian who was present at the meeting.

"Tell us about this," said the Pope.

"They celebrate a kind of golden calends,9 that is amburbal festivities,10 which are secretly dedicated to an ancient Roman priestess who was patron of that location, where they toast loaves of millet and spelt with grains of sacred salt, which come from the nearby Cervia11 saltpans, complete with rites and fires along the roads that lead to Forum Livii, while the sacred salt is carried by," explained the papal historian.

"I've heard of something like this before. In various places the golden calends are still celebrated, but I did not know of this story of the spelt and salt loaves," said the Pope.

"In fact, there are many other cities and places that still celebrate the golden calends, and it will not be difficult to transform these feasts into Candlemas dedicated to Our Most Holy Mother," the papal legate suggested to the pope.

"That's true!" As far as I remember, the golden calends are celebrated in several places even in France. For example, in various locations they toast crêpes and savory griddle cakes instead of loaves of spelt and salt," said the French pope.

"Why do you think they still do these things?" asked the historian.

"As far as we know, it was handed down from Pope Gelasius in the distant fifth century, the golden calends were celebrated during the first days of February with fires and lights in the streets, which were usually celebrations dedicated to a priestess or goddess who had been elected patron or protector of a site at the time of Rome and the Caesars. Then someone tried to transform them into Candlemas or the feast of illuminated candles," replied the papal historian.

"Female pagan patrons?" asked the Pope in surprise.

"Yes, your Eminence. You are French and unfamiliar with Italian traditions, but they were usually priestesses, wives or daughters of high Roman officials who inaugurated12 or became patrons of an Italic site complete with a sacred ceremony13 to found it and ensure it was sacred and loyal to Rome."

"And how can we fight these heresies?" asked the pope.

"After so many centuries none should believe in these heresies anymore, Eminence, but traditions and superstitions that are rooted in the population cannot be eradicated with arguments of faith or reason. Many Christians, including priests and bishops, bless them and still celebrate them as Christian holidays without knowing anything about their true origins," said the historian.

"And how do you fight these things then, if someone wanted to fight them?" the pope asked again.

"It is possible to deviate, or rather, gradually pilot their false pagan festivals and traditions towards other similar Christian festivals and traditions, as has already been done in the past with other places and personalities, to the point of completely replacing them with ceremonies that are more suited to Christian peoples as has been done with Candlemas, which is also known as the feast of the candles of our Most Holy Virgin Mother."

The pope cut him short, "So let it take root in Forolivii and in Romandiola, and then baptize all of them and establish papal legates to whom allegiance can be sworn, since that land has been ceded to us by the Emperor Rudolph of Alemania14 and is now ours."

"The question is a little more complex, Eminence..." said the historian.

"Explain this to me."

"They, unlike others, have already refused to elect the Most Holy Virgin Mary of Candlemas as their patron, claiming their patron to be an ancient priestess called Livia Drusilla, Diva Augusta15 and protector of these sites and they do the same in the salt pans of Cervia, when they transport the sacred salt they produce in that place, to celebrate this Roman patroness."

"Sacred salt? Diva Augusta?"

"Yes, Eminence, those saltpans were founded by Livio Salinatore, an ancient ancestor of this Livia Drusilla, and still today they send salt from there, during a sacred procession to that city for the feasts to honor her."

"And how can they still believe these things after centuries?" the pope laughed quietly.

"Well, Eminence, you should know that this Livia Drusilla was not a common priestess but the wife of Octavian Augustus and, in Forolivia, some still wish to remember her as such and to keep her as protector, even if it is partially hidden by them, replied the papal historian.

"How do you know all this?"

"I learned everything from a friar of a particular religious order that was founded in Ravenna by Emperor Otto III two hundred years ago, a very good friend of Geremia Gotto and Guido Bonatti."

"Geremia Gotto and Guido Bonatti? The armed patarines16 who claim to be four hundred years old and Frederick II's Ghibelline astrologer?" exclaimed the pope.

"In person, Excellency, and they are both in Forlì among the ranks of the Ghibelline in the service of Guido da Montefeltro."

"Oh dear, the excommunicated captain of the Ghibellines?"

"Yes, Excellency!"

"But are they all that mad!"

"Indeed, Excellency, they are a little peculiar."

"You also spoke of a religious order founded by Emperor Otto III in Ravenna. What religious order are you talking about?" asked the pope.

"In Ravenna, Otto III founded a religious group with all practices and beliefs that still seem to be extant today."

"What practices and beliefs do they follow?"

"They seem to affirm the reincarnation and pre-existence of souls."

"Oh, there you are. Gnostic heresy.17 Is that why they say he is four hundred years old?"

"That may be so, Otto III was that young emperor who two centuries ago claimed to have been Charlemagne and appointed an antipope named Sylvester II to be re-elected as Constantine the Great, the legitimate heir of the Roman Empire," replied the historian.

"Charlemagne, Constantine? Would you like to explain better what he did?" asked the pope.

"Certainly, Excellency. Otto III, around the year 1000, entered the Aachen cathedral, marked a point on the floor, then took a pickaxe, began to break through the floor and found the body of Charlemagne underground, it was still intact sitting on a throne, adorned and all decked out as a bishop, holding the Gospel in one hand and the staff of command in the other."

"And why did he do this?"

"Because he said he was his reincarnation and that he had returned to take his place as Holy Roman Emperor."

"And then?"

"He took the bishop's tiara that Charlemagne had on his head and put it on his own, then took Charlemagne's staff of command and said he had returned to rule."

"And then?" the pope asked more and more incredulously.

"Then, still not happy, he went to Ravenna and founded this particular religious group and appointed the bishop of Ravenna antipope, with the name of Sylvester II, to crown him emperor, exactly as Pope Sylvester had crowned Constantine emperor of the Christians, seven centuries earlier, at the time of ancient Rome," explained the historian.

"And why did he create this final scene?"

"To make everyone believe he was also the reincarnation of Constantine and to take back what he considered to be his property, that is the territories the church was trying to take from him, the empire, thanks to the gift of Constantine."

"And so he said he was the reincarnation of Charlemagne and Constantine to take the land back from the Holy Roman Empire?" exclaimed the pope.

"Those, Your Holiness."

"Those who?"

"Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II also exhumed the body of Charlemagne and proclaimed something like this. And I would bet that this tradition has also been handed down to the astrologer Guido Bonatti and to Friar Geremia Gotto."18

"But these are all crazy."

"I told you, Excellency, that they were a little particular," concluded the historian.

4. Confrontations between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Romagna

But why did the Church want Romagna?

What had happened between the papacy and emperors in those times?

Let's go back a few decades and take a look at a chronicle of the time.

Romagna in 1200

Although Pepin King of the Franks19 had given Romagna to the Church almost five centuries earlier, it was never perfectly under its possession. Often, therefore, many places in Romagna almost always joined the empire and towards the mid 1200s Gregory IX tried to take it back by force of arms. Because of the disagreements between Emperor Frederick II and the Church,20 the people of Romagna were also split between the Ghibellines and Guelphs as happened with many other peoples in Italy.

The residents of Forlì continued to obey the laws of the empire, while the residents of Faenza and Ravenna obeyed those of the Church.

Forlì, formerly named Forum Livii, in particular, was one of the most Ghibelline city in Italy and it was not a coincidence that Guido Bonatti, one of the best astrologers of his time, despite being born in Florence, requested and obtained citizenship of Forlì, believing that location to be the final place left in the world that maintained imperial traditions after the fall of the ancient empire of Rome, for reasons that you will soon discover for yourself.

In 1240, when Pietro Traversari died, who was the leader of the Guelphs of Romagna and lord of Ravenna,21 Ravenna and Faenza were conquered by Frederick II who went to Romagna and one after the other put siege to them.

In less than a week Ravenna fell and surrendered.

Now it was Faenza's turn to surrender, but the city, believing that Frederick II's forces were insufficient to cause it to capitulate, did not surrender and the emperor placed it under siege.