In October, 1278, however, both parties having grown weary of strife, Pope Nicholas III. was requested to mediate between them, and accordingly dispatched Cardinal Latino to represent him, with the result that peace was concluded, and from henceforth the name of Ghibelline is but little heard in the annals of Florence. Then began a period of extraordinary prosperity ; arts and industries flourished to a surprising extent, and Florence took the first place among all the Tuscan communes. Florentine merchants enjoyed the highest reputation for integrity throughout not only Italy, but the entire world. Magnificent buildings were erected by order of the commune, and also by private enterprise, while architecture, literature, and art were represented by such men as Arnolfo di Cambio, Dante, and Cimabue. After the death of Frederick II., in December, 1250, an interregnum had occurred in the Imperial succession, and when, in 1281, Rudolph of Hapsburgh endeavored to recall the Tuscan communes to their allegiance, it was found that they had grown completely beyond the Imperial control, while the Guelph party being preeminent, the support of the Pope could be, relied upon.

In 1282 an important change was made in the form of government. Among other means taken by Cardinal Latino to establish a lasting peace between the factions had been the substitution of a body composed of fourteen citizens-----eight Guelphs and six Ghibellines for the Anziani. It was now enacted that Priori delle Arti should be selected, one by each guild, to be its president, and that three of these, that is, one from each of the three powerful Guilds of the Calimala, the money -changers, and the woollen-cloth merchants, should be appointed to be at the head of the Government. Before long the "fourteen" were abolished altogether and the priors increased to the number of six. The council thus formed was the nucleus of the celebrated body of the Signoria, the office of Gonfaloniere being created in 1293.

In 1289 a great battle was fought at Campaldino, in which Florence and the Guelph Government achieved a signal victory over the Aretines, aided by exiled Ghibellines. Dante, then about twenty-four, took part in this battle, and Vieri de' Cerchi behaved with great gallantry.

The peace which now seemed to be so firmly established was, however, destined to be of short duration, and before long the old quarrel broke out with increased violence under new party names.

The most powerful family of Pistoia was at this time the Cancellieri, but these numerous descendants of a common ancestor, who had had two wives, had quarrelled among themselves. The whole city was divided, those espousing one side taking the name of -Bianchi, after one wife, and the others styling themselves Neri.

In 1300 Florence, thinking to mend matters, took the government of the distracted city into her own hands, and conceived the unfortunate idea of banishing the chiefs of both factions to Florence, with the result that all the friends and connections of the Bianchi, with Vieri de' Cerchi at their head, at once espoused their cause, while the Neri had as powerful a following, with Corso Donati for their leader. Thus was Florence once more torn by internal discord, the old Guelph party siding for the most part with the Neri, and the Ghibellines with the Bianchi. The former, fearing that the others were getting things too much into their own hands, determined to apply to Pope Boniface VIII. to settle the dispute. He accordin1gly summoned Vieri de' Cerchi to Rome, counselled him to become reconciled with his enemies, Messer Corso Donati in particular and promised him his favor and protection if he would do so. But Vieri would have none of it, declared that he was not at enmity with anyone, and returned to Florence, leaving the Pope greatly greatly incensed against him and his party. The so-called " Ordinances of Justice," instituted in 1293 by Giano della Bella, a powerful Guelph leader, only served to arouse opposition and discontent, being drastic measures directed chiefly against the nobles of whatever party. The office of Gonfaloniere was created at the same time, as one of the means of enforcing the "ordinances."

A skirmish that occurred during the popular festivities on May Day, 1300, between the youths of both factions, set the whole, city in an uproar. The Guelphs again applied to the Pope for aid, and Cardinal Acquasparta was sent to Florence in the quality of Papal Legate. In June, as the city guilds were going in procession, headed by their consuls, to the church of San Giovanni,-it being the eve of the festival of that saint, a party of nobles belonging to the Neri suddenly attacked them, shouting, " We are the ones who gained the victory at Canipaldino, and you are keeping us out of all the offices and emoluments of our city !" In order to quell the disturbances the Priors Dante being one at that time decided to banish for a certain period some of the leaders of each party. The. Bianchi left at once, but the Neri resisted, and a plot was formed, with the connivance of the Legate, to introduce an armed force from Lucca into the city. The Signory, however, getting wind of it, put a stop to the whole thing, and forced the conspirators to leave. Whereupon the Legate, seeing no hope of establishing certain " reforms " in the government of the Republic, upon which he had set his heart, departed in dudgeon, and Florence was placed under a Papal interdict.

The Emperor Henry VII died in 1313, but notwithstanding this severe blow the Ghibelline party, under Uguccione dell' Fagginola won the battle of Montecatini against the Florentines in 1315, and were again victorious in 1325 at Altopascio, under the notorious Castruccio Castracane of Lucca.

In 1342 the Florentines, feeling that affairs were in a very bad way indeed in their city, invited Gaulthier de Brienne styled Duke of Athens by reason of some shadowy claim to that title to hold the office of Captain and Protector of the People for one year, and also to be Captain-General. The duke was given the same salary, privileges, and authority as his predecessor, but showed himself to be such a tyrant and despot that before many weeks had elapsed the Florentines were anxious to be rid of him. This, however, proved no easy matter, and it was not until he had held office nearly a year and a number of plots against his life had been defeated that he and his supporters were finally driven out.

The absence of any one holding supreme authority led to a renewal of popular agitation, and the form of government was continually changing, first the people, and then the nobles getting the upper hand the Grandi and the Popolani, or the Popolo grasso and the popolo minuto.

In the midst of all these troubles a terrible scourge fell upon Florence. In 1348 the plague coming from the East ravaged the city, destroying, according to Machiavelli, a hundred thousand persons, and indirectly inspiring Boccaccio with a work which is generally looked upon as his masterpiece. A body called the " Capitani di Parte Guelfa " had been instituted in 1267, and had gradually come to wield an almost unlimited power, two leading families, the Albizzi and the Ricci, being rivals for the foremost places in it ; and we find Salvestro de' Medici now appearing in the office of Gonfalonier, and as the favorite and leader of the people.

By the spring of 1378 the tyranny of the rulers had become intolerable, the popular discontent waxed greater and greater, finally culminating in the outbreak termed the " Ciompi Revolution," in allusion to the ciompi wooden shoes worn by the, artisans who took part in it. Before the close of July the people had gained their ends. Michele di Lando, a wool comber, who for about the space of twenty-four hours had absolute control of the Government, used his authority to hold an election of members for a new Signory, and enforce other measures by which order was restored.

The fifty years that elapsed between these events and the rise of the Medici family to power were at once stormy and brilliant. When the inevitable reaction against the popular government came, the Albizzi succeeded in obtaining the ascendency, and in 1382 their long oligarchical government began. There was, as a matter of course, plenty of civil strife, but with it all Florence succeeded in carrying on foreign wars of aggression, in enlarging her territory, and in increasing her commerce. The prevailing system of taxation was, however, a cause of great discontent, especially among the lower classes, on whom it bore most heavily. When at last, through the efforts of Giovanni de' Medici, a reform was effected in 1427 the gratitude of the people knew no bounds, and the foundation was laid of that influence and popularity upon which the Medici family afterwards built up their enormous power.

From the death of Giovanni, which occurred in February, 1429, up to within a few years of the fall of the Republic a period covering about a hundred years the history of Florence is practically the history of the Medici family, which I am about to trace, from its origin to the height of its greatness, and its decline.