196 POLITICAL HERESY. — THE CHURCH. ent, wearied with his prize, made it over to Sancha, wife of Robert of Xaples. The Gascon garrison excited the hatred of the people, who in 1317 invited Azzo, son of Francesco, to come to their re- lief. After a stubborn resistance the Gascons surrendered on promise of life, but the fury of the people would not be restrained, and they were slain to the last man. From this brief episode in the history of an Italian city we can conceive what was the in- fluence of papal ambition stimulated by the facility with which its opponents could be condemned as heretics and armies be raised at will to defend the faith." John XXII. was not a pope to allow the spiritual sword to rust in the sheath, and we have seen incidentally the use which he made of the charge of heresy in his mortal combat with Louis of Bavaria. Still more characteristic were his proceedings against the Yisconti of Milan. On his accession in August, 1316, his first thought was to unite Italy under his overlordship, and to keep the empire beyond the Alps, for which the contested election of Louis of Bavaria and Frederic of Austria seemed to offer full op- portunity. Early in December he despatched Bernard Gui, the Inquisitor of Toulouse, and Bertrand, Franciscan Minister of Aqui- taine, as nuncios to effect that purpose. Neither Guelfs nor Ghib- elhnes were inclined to accept his views — the Ferrarese troubles, not as yet concluded, were full of pregnant warnings. Especially
- Barbarano de 1 Mironi, Hist. Eccles. di Vicenza II. 153-4. — Regest. Clement.
PP. V. T. III. pp. 354 sqq. ; T. IV. pp. 426 sqq., pp. 459 sqq. ; T. V.p. 412. (Ed. Benedictin., Romas, 1886-7).— Chron. Estense ann. 1309-17 (Muratori S. R. I. XV. 364-82).— FerretiVincentini Hist. Lib. in. (lb. IX. 1037-47).— Cronica di Bologna, ann. 1309-10 (lb. XVIII. 320-1).— Campi, Dell 1 Histor. Eccles. di Ferrara, P. in. p. 40. Even the pious and temperate Muratori cannot restrain himsell from describ- ing Clement's bull against the Venetians as " la piu tei'ribile ed ingiusta Bolla che si sia mai udita" (Annal. ann. 1309). We have seen in the case of Florence what control such measures enabled the papacy to exercise over the commercial re- publics of Italy. The confiscation threatened in the sentence of excommunica- tion was no idle menace. When, in 1281, Martin IV. quarrelled with the city of Forliand excommunicated it he ordered, under pain of excommunication not re- movable even on the death-bed, all who owed money to the citizens to declare the debts to his representatives and pay them over, and he thus collected many thousand lire of his enemies' substance. — Chron. Parmeus. ann. 1281 (Muratori S. R. I. IX. 797)
