ays, and was called Pope Adrian V., and was
buried in Rome. And after him, in the month of September following,
Cardinal Piero Spagnuolo was elected Pope, which was called Pope John
XXI., and lived as Pope but eight months and some days; for as he was
sleeping in his room at Viterbo the ceiling fell down upon him and he
died; and he was buried at Viterbo on the twentieth day of May, 1277;
and the chair was vacant six months. And in that same year there was
great scarcity of all victuals, and the bushel of wheat was sold for
fifteen shillings, of thirty shillings to the florin. And a great and
true vision should be noted concerning the death of the said Pope,
which was seen by one of our Florentine merchants of the Company of
Apothecaries, which was called Berto Forzetti, and it is well that
this should be told. The said merchant had a natural infirmity of a
wandering fancy, so that often when sleeping he would rise and sit
upon his bed, and speak of strange wonders; and there is yet more, for
being questioned by those around him as to what he was saying, he
would answer rationally, and all the time he was sleeping. It came to
pass, on the night when the said Pope died, the said man being in a
ship on the high seas, journeying to Acre, rose and cried out, "Alas,
alas!" His companions awoke, and asked him what ailed him; he replied:
"I see a gigantic man in black with a great club in his hand, and he
is about to break down a pillar, above which is a ceiling." And after
a little he cried out again, and said: "He has broken it down, and he
is dead." He was asked: "Who?" He replied: "The Pope." The said
companions wrote down the words, and the night; and when they were
come to Acre, a short time after there came to them the news of the
death of the said Pope, which came to pass in that same night. And I,
the writer, had testimony of this from those merchants which were
present with the said man upon the said ship, and heard the said
Berto, which were men of great authority, and worthy of belief; and
the fame of this spread throughout all our city. Afterwards was
elected Pope Nicholas III., of the house of the Orsini of Rome, which
was called by his proper name, Cardinal Gianni Guatani, which lived as
Pope two years and nine months and a half. We have spoken of the
aforesaid Popes because four Popes died in sixteen months. We will say
no more, at this present time, of the aforesaid Popes, and we will
speak of those things whic