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ITALY.

of a less suspicious character. The celebrated Aliprando Visconti, the soil of Obizzo, wasmade general of militia by the Archbishop Gribert, and at the head of his little banddefied for many months the whole strength of the imperial forces under Conrad II ,Eight thousand Germans fell beneath the swords of the Milanese on that occasion, andAliprando himself, not content with the general triumph of his arms, challenged to singlecombat a German of extraordinary strength and stature, named Bavers, and who wasnephew to the emperor. The conflict took place under the walls of the city, and, comingto swords, Aliprando speedily despatched his enemy, after which he cut off his head andcarried it with his armour in triumph into Milan , where he was hailed as the father ofhis country.

The son of this prince inherited his valour, and was chosen, on account of this and hisother virtues, to lead the seven thousand Milanese who had taken the vows of crusadersto the Holy Land. Some time after the arrival of the army before Jerusalem , and whilethey were preparing for the siege, a Saracen of gigantic form was seen to cross theJordan, and defy any of the Christian soldiers to single combat. The strength of thiswarrior, it appears, had become a theme of common conversation among the faithful, andno one seemed willing to accept the challenge, till the son of Aliprando stepped forth andoffered to support the honour of the Christian army against the taunts of the infidel.The combat was long and fierce, but the ardour of the Milanese lord prevailed, and theSaracen fell dead beneath his sword. The fame of this and other similar deeds raised theheroes of Milan to the highest rank among the warriors of Italy , and poetry andromance uniting their efforts with signorial vanity, it became an easy matter for thelords of later days to decorate their genealogies, as they chose.

When Italy was overrun by the barbarians, in the fifth and sixth centuries, Milan wasnearly ruined. In the year 538, it was taken and destroyed by the Burgundians, but itrevived in about thirty years. When, in 898, Bcrengarius established his sovereignty overthe Milanese, he fixed his court at Pavia. In the following century, Milan first fell underthe power of the German emperors, being taken by Otho I..; but it afterwards recovered itsindependence under its archbishop, or Italian princes of its own election ; and when theEmperor Henry IV., in 1110, invaded Italy , it refused its homage, and successfully defiedthe conqueror. When, however, in 1158, the infamous Frederick Barbarossa invested thecity, it was compelled to capitulate, and to submit to the loss of its independence. In11G2, its citizens having incurred that emperor’s displeasure, Milan was besieged, andon being taken, is said to have been totally destroyed, with the exception of the sacrededifices. A few years afterwards, the scattered population, on the withdrawment of theimperial army, returned, and rebuilt the city, repairing the fortifications; and Milan ,with all the cities of the north of Italy, except Pavia , entered into a league against theirruthless oppressor, known under the name of the “ Lombard League.” A signal victorygained over the imperial army, May 29, 117G, completely re-established the Milanesepower. The state continued, however, to acknowledge the supremacy of the emperor.

In the thirteenth century the city was governed by a podeda, a sort of mayor, investedwith absolute authority, but whose reign lasted only for a year. The title of captain-general was subsequently assumed by the powerful chiefs who obtained the nominationto this high office, and the period was extended to five years. The Visconti and theTorriani long struggled for the ascendancy. At length, the former obtained the completesovereignty as lords of Milan, with the office of imperial vicar in Milan and Lombardy .Of twelve sovereigns of this house, the last three only reigned under the title of Duke ofMilan. The house of Sforza succeeded to the dukedom in 1450, in virtue of a marriagealliance, and it was the fourth duke of this family who was deprived of his possessionsand his liberty by Louis XII .

He was not, strictly speaking, the last duke, for Maximilian Sforza was installed by