¹ Sapori, A. has made use of some of these records; Studi di storia economica (secoli XIII-XIV-XV) (3rd ed. Florence 1955) 191–221, 305–52. Of the hundreds of letters collected in the Carte Del Bene, filze 49–55, Sapori has published one, ibid. 146–49; and Novati, F. has printed two; Epistolario di Coluccio Salutati (Rome 1891–99) II 3–7. It is a source of great richness.Google Scholar

² I do not know of any extant private letters written by officials of the Avignon curia. For a collection of letters written by the papal physician, Messer Francesco Casini, to the Sienese government, see Garosci, A., ‘La vita e l'opera di Francesco Casini archiatro di sei papi,’ Bullettino senese di storia patria. new ser. 6 (1935) 311–78. The standard account of the Avignonese papacy is Mollat, G., Les papes d'Avignon (1305–1378) (9th ed. Paris 1949).Google Scholar

³ Epistolario I 42–43. Additional information on Bruni's life and career has been published by Tomaseth, H. ‘Die Register und Secretäre Urbans V. und Gregors XI.,’ Mittheilungen des Instituts für Oesterreichische Geschichtsforschung 19 (1898) 452–63; and by Opitz, G., ‘Die Sekretärsexpedition unter Urban V. und Gregor XI.,’ Quellen und Forschungen aus Italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 33 (1944) 167–70.Google Scholar

⁴ Bruni's interest in intellectual problems was not submerged by his preoccupation with curial administration, as his correspondence with Salutati reveals; Epistolario I 42–48, 53–54, 140–44, 188–90, 263–76, 342–44. For the text of three letters written to Bruni by Petrarch, see Wilkins, E. and Billanovich, G., ‘The Miscellaneous Letters of Petrarch,’ Speculum 37 (1962) 237–39. Bruni took a keen interest in the development of humanistic studies, and this dimension of his activity obviously enhanced his reputation both in Avignon and in Florence. On his relations with Petrarch and Salutati, see Tomaseth 455, 459–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁵ For Bruni's mission to Siena in 1369, see Archivio di Stato di Siena [ASS] Concistoro 1777 no. 63, letter of Ser Guido Fatti in Perugia. The important role which Bruni played in papal diplomacy may be seen from references to him in Sienese diplomatic documents; for example, Garosci 311, 313–14, 317. For other diplomatic activities of the secretary, see Tomaseth 344; Opitz 169. Google Scholar

⁶ For letters of the Florentine Signoria to Bruni, see Canestrini, G., ‘Di alcuni documenti risguardanti le relazioni politiche dei papi d'Avignone coi comuni d'italia,’ Archivio storico italiano. first ser. 7 (1849) no. 84; Filippi, G. ‘Il Comune di Firenze ed il ritorno della Sede, S. in Roma nell'anno 1367,’ Miscellanea di storia italiana 26 (1887) 401–02. In one letter to Bruni of 23 May 1365, the Signoria asked him to obtain information on the imminent journey of Emperor Charles IV to Italy, and to make extracts of pertinent letters; Archivio di Stato di Firenze [ASF] Missive 13 fol. 49^r. The secretary was instructed to pay whatever was necessary to obtain copies of these documents; it is clear that the Signoria expected him to play a spy's role.Google Scholar

⁷ Not all of Bruni's clients were pleased with his fees. On 18 March 1373, Dardo Bonciani wrote a letter to Bene del Bene in Avignon, where he was serving as ambassador to the curia. Bonciani requested Bene's support for a petition to the pope, and he complained that Bruni had charged 25 florins ‘per fatichi e salario’ in preparing the necessary documents. This was ‘una inghorda e sconcia domanda,’ and Bonciani asked Bene to intercede with the secretary to lower his fee; Carte Del Bene 51, no numeration. An Unpublished Source of the Avignonese Papacy Google Scholar

⁸ Bruni's salary in Avignon was 200 fl. per year. The records of forced loans (prestanze) furnish some indication of the growth of Bruni's fortune. In August, 1364, his share of a loan of 94,000 fl. was 28 fl.; ASF Prestanze 119 fol. 99^r. In April, 1378, he was assessed 39 fl. in a prestanza of only 30,000 fl.; Pres. 335 fol. 123^v. In size, his assessment was fourteenth in his quarter of Giovanni, S., of a total of 2,715 levies. Bruni also supplemented his income by participating in commercial ventures; Opitz 169–70.Google Scholar

⁹ For indications of Gregory's high regard for Bruni, see Tomaseth 459, 469. In October 1376, the Florentine government enacted a provision which forbade its citizens to stay in the Roman curia; [ASF] Libri Fabarum 40 fols. 230^r, 23l^r. Bruni's exemption was authorized by the commune in a provision of 13 April 1378: ‘… Quod honorabilis vir Franciscus Bruni civis honorabilis florentinus secretarius Domini summi pontificis posit … libere licite et impune … ire Romam in curiam Romanam … et ibidem stare morari et habitare pro suo libito voluntatis;’ ASF Provvisioni 66 fols. 7^v-8^r. Google Scholar

¹⁰ I Capitoli del Comune di Firenze (ed. C. Guasti and Gherardi, A., Florence 1866–93) II 92.Google Scholar

¹¹ Appendix no. 7. Bruni hinted that Urban VI's negligence of the material welfare of his officials was a factor in his decision to leave the curia. Bruni was still papal secretary in April 1380; Epistolario di Coluccio Salutati I 342. For other factors that may have influenced his decision to resign from papal service, see Tomaseth 462. Google Scholar

¹² Corsini defected from Rome in 1380 and arrived in Avignon in September 1381; Eubel, Hierarchia catholica medii aevi I 21 no. 6. Google Scholar

¹³ Delizie degli eruditi toscani (ed. San Luigi, Florence 1770–89) 16.232. Forty-three votes were cast against Bruni. The first evidence of Bruni's physical presence in Florence is his participation in a council discussion on 6 June 1382; [ASF] Consulte e Pratiche 20 fol. 186^v.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Cronaca fiorentina di Marchionne di Coppo Stefani, RIS² 30.1 (ed. Rodolico, Città di Castello 1903–55) rub. 959. An indication of his political influence is given by the Sienese ambassador in Florence, Paolo di Paolo, who described his interviews with Bruni; [ASS] Concistoro 188 no. 65, 21 October 1383.Google Scholar

¹⁵ The condemnation of Urbano, ‘filium domini Francesci Bruni,’ is in [ASF] Atti del Capitano del Popolo 1635 fols. 120^v-121^r, 28 June 1386. Six months earlier, Urban's brother Giambruno was also convicted of assault; Atti dell'Esecutore degli Ordinamenti della Giustizia 992 fols. 87^r-87^v. Google Scholar

¹⁶ Giambruno's condemnation for assaulting his brother is in [ASF] Atti del Podestà 3297 fols. 104^r-104^v, 14 May 1388. The judgment against his murderer is found ibid. fols. 48^r-50^r, 29 August 1388. The document describes the victim as ‘dominus Gambrinus olim domini Francesci Bruni decretorum doctor.’ Google Scholar

¹⁷ In the scrutiny for the Signoria held in 1391, only one of Bruni's five sons (Urbano) was listed, and he received only 20 votes, of 99 required for nomination; [ASF] Tratte 397 fol. 165^r. Four of Bruni's sons (Giambruno, Urbano, Luigi and Mariotto) obtained either offices in the curia or benefices in Italy; Opitz 167–68. Urbano may have been the only son to renounce his clerical status, and thus become eligible for communal office. Google Scholar

¹⁸ Appendix no. 1. A papal letter of the previous year had ordered the abbot of Trinit, S.à to provide Bene with a canonry in Florence ‘cum reservatione prebende’; Urbain V (1362–1370): Lettres communes (ed. M.-H. Laurent, Paris 1954–58) no. 4162, 4 May 1363. This letter describes Bene as a student of both civil and canon law in the universities of Bologna and Florence.Google Scholar

¹⁹ For a comprehensive analysis of the problem, see Barraclough, G., Papal Provisions (Oxford 1935).Google Scholar

²⁰ On the question of curiales and pluralism, see Barraclough 73–74. Google Scholar

²¹ For the important role of the Alberti company in papal finance, see Renouard, Y., Les relations des Papes d'Avignon et des compagnies commerciales et bancaires de 1316 à 1378 (Paris 1941) 280–87, 415–19.Google Scholar

²² In the decima of 1302–03, the ‘canonica Marie, S. supra Portam’ was assessed 15 lire 10 soldi. Seven other parish churches in the city paid higher amounts; Rationes decimarum Italiae nei secoli XIII e XIV: Tuscia II (Studi e Testi 98; Vatican City 1942) 3–10.Google Scholar

²³ On the contribution of the cardinals to the abuses of pluralism and absenteeism, see Barraclough 74–76. In his study of Cardinal Talleyrand, Zacour, N. makes the following comment: ‘It seems fairly evident that the cardinals were given almost carte blanche in the matter of benefices for themselves, for their relatives, and for their servants….’ Talleyrand: the Cardinal of Perigord (1301–1364) (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new ser. 50.7; Philadelphia 1960) 73. Bruni's letters suggest that the cardinals did not enjoy such license under the later Avignonese popes, since they often quarreled over the same benefices, and the pope was forced to mediate between them.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

²⁴ The Abbati were a Florentine family engaged in banking and commerce in the thirteenth century. Designated as magnates in 1293, they were prominent in the White faction and were exiled from the city in 1302. Some members of the family settled in Arezzo; Davidsohn, Geschichte von Florenz (Berlin 1896–1927) III 218. There in no record of any member of that family returning to Florence in the fourteenth century. Some of the Abbati lived on their estates in the Florentine contado and district; Pirchan, G., Italien und Kaiser Karl IV in der Zeit seiner zweiten Romfahrt (Prague 1930) II 137.Google Scholar

²⁵ Barraclough 188–89 weighed the relative importance of chancery regulations and papal intervention in the award of provisions, and decided that the regulations of the bureaucracy were far more important than the pope's personal influence or decision. The evidence in these letters is not sufficient to alter this judgment, but it suggests the need for further study, and particularly the utilization of source material in local archives. Google Scholar

²⁶ Appendix no. 2. For a definition of the jus quaesitum, Bene's right to the benefice conferred by the provision, see Barraclough 95. Google Scholar

²⁷ The Del Bene were excluded from communal office in 1378, during the purge of the electorate by the ultra-conservative elements in the Parte Guelfa; Brucker, G., Florentine Politics and Society, 1343–1378 (Princeton 1962) 341, 364. Resentment arising from competition over an ecclesiastical benefice may well have alienated some powerful conservative family, and thus contributed to the proscription of the Del Bene. For the incredulous reaction of one prominent Florentine, Donato Acciaiuoli, to the news of these proscriptions see Brucker 341.Google Scholar

²⁸ Tratte 193, no pag. This practice was not uncommon in Florence. The eminent canon lawyer, Lapo da Castiglionchio, also held a benefice until he renounced clerical status for marriage; Brucker 37.Google Scholar

²⁹ The date of Bene's resignation from the benefice is not known. On 27 January 1372, the priorate of Maria, S. sopra Porta was granted to Bruni's son Mariotto, who was a papal scriptor; Opitz 168.Google Scholar

³⁰ Appendix no. 3. The pieve (plebs) was a peculiarly Italian type of church found in rural areas, with a rector and a chapter of canons, exercising authority over the minor chapels in the area. Google Scholar

³¹ The holder of this benefice in 1385 was Manno di Bartolomeo di messer Alamanno de’ Medici, nephew of Salvestro, of Ciompi fame; Catalogo cronologico de’ canonici della chiesa fiorentina compilato l'anno 1751 da Salvino Salvini (Florence 1782) no. 247. It is probable that the Medici candidate for the vacancy in 1373 was Manno, and that he obtained the benefice through Bruni's help. The previous incumbent had also been a Medici, Messer Filippo di Arrigo di Lippo de’ Medici; ASF Atti Notarili G 288, 8 March 1361. Google Scholar

³² Appendix no. 6, letter of 18 August 1373. Bruni was related by marriage to Amari Gianfigliazzi, whom he assisted in obtaining the papal office of operarius monete in Perugia in 1373; Lettres secrètes et curiales du pape Grégoire XI (1370–1378) relatives à la France edd. Mirot, L.-H. Jassemin-J. Vielliard; Paris 1935–57) no. 3009.Google Scholar

³³ On this point, see Barraclough 57–61. The papacy may have been particularly sensitive about Impruneta in 1373, since bitter controversy had resulted from the previous appointment to that benefice. Gregory XI had appointed his chaplain Paolo Gabrielli (later bishop of Lucca) to the pieve of Impruneta, but his possession was contested by a local priest, Ser Piero Casini. The Florentine Signoria had intervened in favor of Casini and had hindered a papal official from taking possession on Gabrielli's behalf. As a result, Florence was placed under interdict which was still in effect in December, 1372; Mirot, L., La politique pontificale et le retour du Saint-Siège à Rome en 1376 (Paris 1899) 30–31. The papal letter to the bishop of Florence describing this incident is in Reg. Vat. 269 fol. 166^r, 20 December 1372. Apparently, the canons of the Impruneta church claimed the right to elect the pievano, subject to papal ratification. In 1385, the famous canon lawyer, Francesco Zabarella, was elected to the benefice by the Impruneta canons, and the Florentine government petitioned Pope Urban VI to ratify this choice: ‘Et quoniam hactenus, quoties per alias provisiones Canonicorum electio fuit explosa, multa fuerunt etiam in nostro populo scandala suscitata, nec non manifestissime videamus, si vir tante excellentie per impetrationem alterius excludatur, cum turbatione cunctorum plurima presentialiter surrectura.’ Statuti della università e studio fiorentino dell'anno MCCCLXXXVII seguiti da un appendice di documenti (ed. Gherardi, A., Florence 1881) 350.Google Scholar

³⁴ The Buondelmonti letter is in Carte Del Bene 51, no pag. The applicant for the benefice, Filippo Gianfigliazzi, was a doctor of canon law who obtained a canonry in the Florentine cathedral church in 1374. At that time he held four other benefices, but not the pieve of Impruneta; Salvini no. 231. Google Scholar

³⁵ Appendix nos. 5 and 6. Google Scholar

³⁶ The precise dates of this embassy are not known. In the Consulte e Pratiche records of January, 1373, there are references to the selection of ambassadors to the curia; [ASF] Consulte e Pratiche 12 fol. 87^r. The embassy was in Avignon in April; ibid. 12 fols. 107^v, 109^v, and returned to Florence in late May to report to the Signoria; ibid. fols. 113^r-113^v. On the general state of Florentine-papal relations in this period, see Brucker, , Florentine Politics 270–82.Google Scholar

³⁷ Mirot, , Politique pontificale 32 has transcribed a papal letter of July 1373, which referred to these rumors: ‘Retulerunt siquidem nobis aliqui ex fratribus nostris Sancte Romane Ecclesie cardinalibus eis fuisse scriptum quod aliqui ex ambaxiatoribus vobis retulerunt nos eisdem dixisse quod volebamus et intendebamus vestre civitatis Florentie dominium obtinere….’Google Scholar

³⁸ Appendix no. 4. Google Scholar

³⁸ Appendix nos. 5 and 6. On the revival in 1372 of the practice of conferring magnate status upon popolani who were adjudged guilty of certain crimes, see Brucker 261–62. Google Scholar

⁴⁰ In the letter of 18 August [1373] appendix no. 6. For a reference to this prelate's role as a translator of Greek in Avignon, see Ullman, B.L., ‘Some Aspects of the Origin of Italian Humanism,’ in his Studies in the Italian Renaissance (Rome 1955) 32. The archbishop translated Plutarch's essay on anger for Cardinal Piero Corsini. The Council of Vienne (1311–1312) had enacted a provision for chairs of Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldean at the studium of the papal curia.Google Scholar

⁴¹ Appendix no. 7. Google Scholar

⁴² The precise meaning of this passage is not clear, and I have translated it literally. The phrase, ‘che io farei tre salti alla mora delle siepi,’ may be a Tuscan idiomatic expression that has passed out of usage. Google Scholar

¹ Johannes de Blandiaco, bishop of Nîmes, created cardinal priest of Marco, S. by Urban V on 17 September 1361; Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I 21.Google Scholar

² A papal letter of 17 November 1364 referred to ‘Nicolaum de Auximo, notarium et secretarium nostrum’; Lettres secrètes et curiales du pape Urbain V (1362–1370) (edd. Lecacheux, P.-G. Mollat; Paris 1902–55) no. 1365. For biographical information on Niccolò see Epistolario di Coluccio Salutati I 92; and Opitz, ‘Sekretärsexpedition’ 161–66.Google Scholar

³ The ‘abate di Fiorenza’ was the abbot of the Badìa, the ancient Benedictine monastery in Florence. I have not identified him. Messer Cerretano was a native of Siena, a papal chaplain and an official of the curia. In January, 1365, Urban V requested the Florentine Signoria to assist Cerretano in obtaining peaceful possession of the plebs of Stefano, S. de Campoli, and of a canonry in the cathedral church to which he had been appointed; Lettres secrètes du pape Urbain V no. 1491.Google Scholar

⁴ Rinaldo Orsini had received the cardinal's hat from Clement VI on 17 December 1350; Eubel I 19. Google Scholar

⁵ Niccolò Capocci, bishop of Urgel, was a Roman; he was promoted to the Sacred College at the same time as Orsini. See Salutati's reference to him; Epistolario I 92–94. Google Scholar

⁶ ‘ Messer di Torriana’ apparently refers to the bishop of Thérouane, Aycelin de Montaigu, a nephew of Clement VI, promoted in September, 1361: Eubel I 20.Google Scholar

⁷ Nicolaus de Bessia, a nephew of Clement VI, promoted on 19 May 1344. Google Scholar

⁸ Salvini listed Ruspi as the incumbent of Maria, S. sopra Porta and a canon of the cathedral church in 1356; Catalogo no. 221. Ruspi's possession of the canonry is confirmed by a papal letter; Urbain V: Lettres communes no. 4668. Perhaps Ruspi relinquished the benefice, and then sought to reacquire it in 1364.Google Scholar

⁹ Anglic Grimoard, appointed bishop of Avignon on 12 December 1362; Eubel I 123. Grimoard was promoted to the Sacred College in 1368. Google Scholar

¹⁰ Petrocino, archbishop of Ravenna, and Marco of Viterbo, the Franciscan general, were then on a legatine mission to central Italy, to arrange a peace settlement between Florence and Pisa; Lettres secrètes … du pape Urbain V nos. 545, 638, 1072, 1147, 1228, 1249, 1365. Since they visited Florence and had contacts with secular and ecclesiastical authorities in the city, they were in a position to write letters of recommendation on Bene's behalf. Google Scholar

¹¹ Messer Riccardo da Saliceto was a Bolognese knight and doctor of law, described in a papal document of October, 1372 as a ‘familiarius papae;’ Lettres secrètes du pape Grégoire XI no. 2692. Google Scholar

¹² I have been unable to identify any of these candidates for the benefice, except Ristoro Canigiani. He was a member of a prominent family, active in the Parte Guelfa, and a strong supporter of the papacy in Florence. On Ristoro, see Brucker, , Florentine Politics 264, 332, 356, 359, 370.Google Scholar

¹³ Messer Giovanni Abati is probably the individual described in a letter of Gregory XI of 1373 as ‘magistrum Johannem de Abbatibus, decretorum doctorem, capellanum Papae et palatii apostolici causarum auditorem,’ Lettres … du pape Grégoire XI no. 2849. Google Scholar

¹⁴ I have found no further trace in published papal correspondence of Messer Paolo da Gubbio. Google Scholar

¹ The bishop of Florence was Piero Corsini, appointed on 1 September 1363, and later (1370) promoted to cardinal; Eubel I 250. Google Scholar

¹ The date of this letter is uncertain. Jacopo del Bene was alive when the papal court was transferred from Avignon to Rome in 1367, so that the letter must have been written after March, 1370, when the curia returned to Avignon. Jacopo was dead by January, 1368, when his name was extracted for a collegiate office; Tratte 214, no pag. The year 1372 seems a likely possibility. It was a year of political crisis in Florence, when the device for designating delinquent popolani as magnates was revived; Brucker, Florentine Politics, 261–62. This may explain Bruni's reference in the letter to the possibility that he would be declared a magnate. Google Scholar

¹ The lacunae in this document are caused by corrosion of the paper. Google Scholar

² There is a single reference in the published papal correspondence to this mission. On 13 December 1373, Gregory wrote to his legate in Perugia, Gerard du Puy, requesting him to grant aid and comfort to the archbishop of Otranto, Jacopo de Itro; Lettres … du pape Grégoire XI no. 3188. Google Scholar

¹ The archbishop of Thebes in 1373 is identified by Eubel I 482 as Simon, a monk of the order of Basil, S., who was made archbishop of Thebes in 1366, and died in 1387.Google Scholar

² Angelo Ricasoli, bishop of Florence from 1370 to 1383. Google Scholar

³ Messer Filippo Gianfigliazzi. Google Scholar

⁴ Petrus Flandrin of Viviers, promoted to the Sacred College in May, 1371; Eubel I 50. Google Scholar

⁵ Giovanni di Amerigo del Bene. Google Scholar

¹ Galeotto Tarlatus de Petramala, made cardinal on 18 September 1378. In 1388, he transferred his obedience from Urban VI to the pope in Avignon, Clement VII. Google Scholar

² Angelo Ricasoli. Google Scholar