316

THE DECLINE AND FALL

CHAP.

LXIX.

Their he-reditaryfeudi.

ambitious for their sake to solicit the alliance ofmonarchs; to found new kingdoms in Lom-bardy and Tuscany ; and to invest them withthe perpetual office of senators of Rome . Allthat has been observed of the greatness of theColonna, will likewise redound to the glory ofthe Ursini, their constant and equal antagonistsin the long hereditary feud, which distractedabove two hundred and fifty years the ecclesias-tical state. The jealousy of pre-eminence andpower was the true ground of their quarrel; butas a specious badge of distinction, the Colonnaembraced the name of Ghibelines and the partyof the empire; the Ursini espoused the title ofGuelphs and the cause of the church. Theeagle and the keys were displayed in their ad-verse banners; and the two factions of Italy mostfuriously raged when the origin and nature ofthe dispute were long since forgotten. p Afterthe retreat of the popes to Avignon , they dis-puted in arms the vacant republic; and the mis-chiefs of discord were perpetuated by the wretch-ed compromise of electing each year two rivalsenators. By their private hostilities, the cityand country were desolated, and the fluctuatingbalance inclined with their alternate success.But none of either family had fallen by thesword, till the most renowned champion of theUrsini was surprised and slain by the youngerStephen Colonna. q His triumph is stained with

p In liis fifty-first Dissertation on the Italian Antiquities, Muratoriexplains the factions of the Guelphs and Ghihelines.

i Petrarch (tom. i, p. 222-230) has celebrated this victory according