ANCIS PETRARCH great poet
and historian, and for a special mark of his quality of poet we have
placed with our hands on his head a _crown of laurel_, granting to him,
by the tenor of these presents, and by the authority of King Robert, of
the senate and the people of Rome, in the poetic, as well as in the
historic art, and generally in whatever relates to the said arts, as
well in this holy city as elsewhere, the free and entire power of
reading, disputing, and interpreting all ancient books, to make new
ones, and compose poems, which, God assisting, shall endure from age to
age."

In Italy, these honours did not long flourish; although Tasso dignified
the laurel crown by his acceptance of it. Many got crowned who were
unworthy of the distinction. The laurel was even bestowed on QUERNO,
whose character is given in the Dunciad:--

Not with more glee, by hands pontific crown'd,
With scarlet hats wide-waving circled round,
Rome in her capitol saw _Querno_ sit,
Thron'd on seven hills, the Antichrist of wit.

CANTO II.

This man was made laureat, for the joke's sake; his poetry was inspired
by his cups, a kind of poet who came in with the dessert; and he recited
twenty thousand verses. He was rather the _arch-buffoon_ than the
_arch-poet_ of Leo. X. though honoured with the latter title. They
invented for him a new kind of laureated honour, and in the intermixture
of the foliage raised to Apollo, slily inserted the vine and the cabbage
leaves, which he evidently deserved, from his extreme dexterity in
clearing the pontiff's dishes and emptying his goblets.

Urban VIII. had a juster and more elevated idea of the children of
Fancy. It appears that he possessed much poetic sensibility. Of him it
is recorded, that he wrote a letter to Chiabrera to felicitate him on
the success of his poetry: letters written by a pope were then an honour
only paid to crowned heads. One is pleased also with another testimony
of his elegant dispositions. Charmed with a poem which Bracciolini
presented to him, he gave him the surname of DELLE-APE, of the bees,
which were the arms of this amiable pope. He, however, never crowned
these favourite bards with the laurel, which, probably, he deemed
unworthy of them.

In Germany, the laureat honours flourished under the reign of Maximilian
the First. He founded, in 1504, a Poetical College at Vienna; reserving
to himself and the regent the power