one accustomed to the pedantic allusiveness
of the age; and it is moreover guaranteed by the annotator of the
Laurentian MS., thought by many to be Boccaccio himself. It will be
seen, therefore, from the study of the concluding pages of this
volume, that when Johannes addressed Dante (after the appearance of
the _Inferno_ and the _Purgatorio_, but before that of the _Paradiso_)
Henry VII. had died (A.D. 1313), Can Grande had defeated the Paduans
(A.D. 1314 and 1317), Uguccione had defeated the Florentines (A.D.
1315), and Robert had collected his fleet to relieve Genoa (February,
1319). It also seems highly probable that Can Grande had not yet
suffered his reverses at the siege of Padua (August, 1320). This is
perhaps the one unassailable datum for the chronology of Dante's
works, and we have therefore included in our selections so much as was
needed to establish it. Our readers will perhaps forgive us for having
then left the fate of Genoa hanging in the balance, for as Villani
says: "Who could write the unbroken history of the dire siege of
Genoa, and the marvellous exploits achieved by the exiles and their
allies? Verily, it is the opinion of the wise that the siege of Troy
itself, in comparison therewith, shewed no greater and more continuous
battling, both by sea and land."

Sec. 4. _The Historical Value of Villani's Chronicle._

An adequate edition of Villani would have to examine his statements in
detail, and, where necessary, to correct them. Such a task, however,
would be alike beyond our powers, and foreign to our immediate
purpose. These selections are intended to illustrate the text of
Dante; and for that purpose it is of more consequence to know what
were the "horrible crimes" of which Dante supposed Manfred to be
guilty, than to enquire whether or no he was really guilty of them. To
know whether Constance was fifty-two, or only thirty, when she married
Henry VI., and whether he took her from a convent or a palace is of
less immediate consequence to the student of Dante than to be
acquainted with the Guelf tradition as to these circumstances.

At the same time, the reader may reasonably ask for some guidance as
to the point at which the authentic history of Florence disengages
itself from the legend, and, further, as to the general degree of
reliance he is justified in placing on the details supplied by
Villani.

On the first point very few words will suffice. There was probably a
Fiesolan mart on th