others. This Cardinal Niccolo, of the
city of Prato, was a preaching friar, very wise in learning, and of
natural intelligence, subtle and sagacious, and cautious, and very
experienced; and by descent he was of the Ghibellines, and it was
afterwards seen that he favoured them greatly; albeit at the first he
showed good and impartial intentions. When he was in Florence, in a
public sermon and discourse in the piazza of San Giovanni, he showed
forth his privileges as legate, and made manifest his intention, by
command of the Pope, of setting the Florentines at peace one with
another. The good popolani which ruled the city, seeing themselves in
evil estate by reason of the disturbances and riots and strifes,
brought about in those times by the magnates against the people to
abase and undo them, took part with the cardinal in the desire for
peace; and by way of reconstruction of the Occasional Councils, they
gave him full and free right to set the citizens at peace one with
another within the city, and with their exiles without, and to
appoint the priors and gonfaloniers and rulers of the city at his
pleasure. And this done, he gave his mind to making peace among the
citizens, and renewed the order of the nineteen gonfaloniers of the
companies after the fashion of the ancient Popolo of old, and he
summoned the gonfaloniers and gave them the banners after the fashion
and devices that still are, save that they bore not the label of the
arms of the king in chief. And by reason of these reforms of the
cardinal the people were much heartened and strengthened, and the
magnates were brought low, so that they never ceased trying to bring
about changes and to hinder the cardinal to the end they might disturb
the peace, that the Whites and the Ghibellines might not have state
nor power to return to Florence, and that they themselves might enjoy
their goods which had been confiscated as of rebels, both in the city
and in the country. For all this the cardinal did not cease from
pursuing peace, with the aid and favour of the people, and he caused
twelve plenipotentiaries of the exiles to come into Florence, two for
each sesto, one from amongst the chief Whites and one Ghibelline; and
he had them to sojourn in the Borgo di San Niccolo, and the legate
sojourned in the palaces of the Mozzi of S. Gregorio, and often he had
them to take counsel with the leaders of the Guelfs and of the Blacks
in Florence to find out means and security of pea