Selected quad for the lemma: prince_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A36100
|
A Discourse of the dukedom of Modena containing the origine, antiquity, government, manners and qualities of the people : as also the temperature of the climate, with the nature and fertility of the soil.
|
|
1674
(1674)
|
Wing D1603; ESTC R890
|
14,787
|
34
|
Atestini did exercise this Magistracie there And this the Inscription of an old Stone doth sufficiently prove which to this day is preserv'd by these Princes This C. Atius had two sons Aurelius and Flavius Ateste being thus built and the Metropolis of Venetia was called afterwards Esté and had four Gates oppos'd to the four quarters of the heaven the Black the White the Triumphal and the Capitoline Gate in the Romilian Tribe saith the Author It was founded by the Atii ruin'd by Acarinus and restor'd by Aldoardus and then 't was made an Earldome afterwards created a Marquisate and enlarged besieged by the Paduans taken by Ezelinus recovered by Azo burnt by Ezelinus possess'd by those of Padoa and then restor'd to Azo and afterwards to Albertus Thus you have in short a brief Narrative of the ancient Atii the original of the Atestini or Estenses as our Modern Authors write them which is the most known name and they are usually call'd the Dukes of Esté The Family d'Esté at present Dukes of Modena which are accounted in the number of the 7 Great Princes of Italy according to the ancient Division which are the Pope King of Spain Duke of Savoy Toscany Modena Parma and Montoa they derive their Pedegree from Allo Marquess of Esté who took upon him the Surname which the Family is known by to this day of the Citie Esté and still appertains to them de jure He married Alda daughter to the Emperour Otho the first which happened an 1000. and he had with her for Dower Modena and Reggio Theobaldo d'Esté Otho's Grandchilde was seized of Ferrara in the year 1055 from Pope John the 12 but they were disseiz'd and absolutely dispossest of it by Clement the 8 anno 1598 after the decease of Alfonso the second for want of lawful Issue male yet Caesar d'Esté was then in being who was son of Alfonso by Laura Ferraress and he offered to clear it by manifest proof that his father was lawfully married to his mother and he the legitimate Heir But the Pope was too hard for him being surely possest of that which he so greedily thirsted after And that Family still lays claim to it by a legal pretension B ut the holy Father and he you know is infallible will prove him to be a natural son Yet maugre all this opposition the Duke is still in possession of the Dukedoms of Modena and Reggio the Principalities of Carpi and Correggio the Earldom of Roli and the Lordships of Sassevil Garfagna and Frignano by the late Treaty of Pisa Here was indeed a dispute between him and the Papal Crown about the Valleys of Comachio but this was not so hot b ut it cool'd at length and was decided upon these Conditions The Prince being to receive 400000 Crowns for them which were accordingly paid and 40000 more for damages and some other advantageous terms These Lands which we have before specified together with those which he possesseth in the Dukedome of Ferrara yield him annually full 500000 Crowns All his Dominions are contiguous and joining close one to the other which renders him more considerable and his strength and force consists in the number of his people Carfagnana alone being a Province belonging to him is reported to have fourscore and odde places well wall'd about besides several other Strong-holds He is able upon urgent occasions to lead into the Field 20000 of the Infantry and 1000 of the Cavalry well arm'd and accoutred And farther he can without any inconveniencie whatsoever maintain and keep half of that number His His Country t is true and cannot be denied lies open to several bordering Princes not for want of good places and well-fortified Castles for he hath many seated at a very convenient distance but the reason is because his Terroir or Land lies level and upon even ground The Princes of Modena follow the general Maximes of their Neighbours viz. to keep a good correspondence with Venice which was always reputed the Protectress of Italian Libertie but since the loss of Ferrara they kept close to the Spaniard till their Interest of late wrought a change upon their inclinations For Duke Francis was in the late Italian Wars made General of the French and Mazarine's Neece married to Prince Almerigo his son who hath left a young son to succeed him All things at present are managed by the advice of Cardinal d'Esté Protector of the French Interest at Rome and the sole Promoter of the late Union of his House to the French Crown He is Uncle to the now Duke of Modena a very active and stirring person and hath made the world speak honourably of him for his actions both in Peace and War He is extraordinarily well skill'd in the art of concealing his resentments and understands the old Motto Qui nescit dissimulare c. At Rome he keeps his Palace with more pomp and splendour than any of the Cardinalate and though 't is very much frequented by the Nobility and a numerous train of people yet they are all constantly and well paid He is a Zealot in the French Cause by whose friendship his Family is enriched and well moneyed by reason of the late Generalship as also the Country for the Souldiers took up their Winter-quarters in Modena which occasioned a great resort of the chief Officers as well as inferiour persons and this did help the poor Populace to pay the Gabels with which they are heavily burthen'd At present there is one of the Name and Relation Carlo d'Esté a Knight of the Order of the Fleece who attended on the Empress The Duke of Modena hath this advantage beyond most Italian Princes that some of his Subjects have Feifs of the Empire There are many great Families as the rich Earls di San Paolo the Bentivogli Rangoni Buoncompagni the Marquesses Spilimberto Peppoli Gualengo di Vignola and Gualteri the Earls Caprari San Martino di Molsa di Malvisia Montecuculi Tassoni Ferrareze di Conoscia and some others But all Princes and Republicks in Italy the Venetian solely excepted do homage or pay Tribute to the Pope or Emperour and the Duke of Modena among the rest does Homage to the Emperour for his whole State Ranuccio the Duke of Parma was married to the sister of the late Duke she being his second Wife his former dying without Issue The present Duke of Modena Francis the second is very young so that we have nothing to mention of his Person and if he were of years we must say of him as of other Princes of Italy They are extremely reserv'd live very retiredly cautiously receiving Forreigners so that strangers rarely have admission into their Courts or free access to their Persons for any continuance They live a kinde of recluse and private life affording no matter of observation to the inquisitive that visit forraign Countries JOSEPHA-MARIA d'Esté at present the Illustrious Dutchess of York is Sister to the above-mentioned Francis Duke of Modena and daughter of Laura Martinozza the now Dutchess Dowager by whom she was accompanied to Dover where her Nuptials were solemnly celebrated being Married by the Reverend Dr. Crew Bishop of Oxford to the most Illustrious Prince his Royal Highness JAMES Duke of York whom God preserve To conclude all The Arms of the House of Esté the present Duke of Modena being of that Noble and Illustrious Family is a Coat for its strangeness much taken notice of and is thus Blazon'd The Arms are Palewise of three Pieces First Partie per Fess in the Chief Or an Eagle displayed Sables membred langued and crowned Gules and in base Azure three Flowers de Lis within a Bordure indented Or and Gules Secondly Gules two Keys in Saltier the one Or the other Argent charged in Fess with an Escutcheon of pretence Azure supporting an Eagle of the third membred and crowned of the second over all in Chief a Papal Crown Or garnished with sundry Gems Azure and Purple Thirdly The third as the first counterplaced Now this Coat upon the failer of the House of Ferrara belongs to the Family d'Esté since Dukes of Modena and Reggio FINIS
and adorned with several fair Towns and Villages than delicious Wines and Fruit-trees Towards Parma you may take a view of a Castle strengthned by its site where Mathilde the Countess preserv'd Pope Gregory the seventh from the snares and ambushes prepared for him by the Emperour Henry the fourth an enemy to the Church of Rome but afterwards he being a tender-conscienc'd Religioso repented of this imaginary and supposititious Crime and was led a Royal dance by his Confessor bare-foot and bare-headed in the midst of Winter through Ice and Snow from this place to the said Pope to implore a Pardon for this his Peccadillo and obtained it with a courteous reception A remarkable Instance and notorious Precedent of the Tyranny Haughtiness and Vain-glory of his Ironical nick-nam'd Holiness who dares presume so proudly and imperiously to insult over nay buffoon a puissant Potentate making him foot it bare in the depth of a hard Winter to the Idolatrous Citie of his residence and thereby run the risque of losing his life to gain a fruitless and insignificant Pardon But this he must do or forfeit all his Regalia and be daily menaced with that silly Scar-crow the Thunder of Excommunication Thus Monarchy grows consumptive hangs the head droops and dwindles away to nothing and so expires King is a meer empty name or the more glorious synonyma of Vassals and Prince the more splendid name of Slave Thus the Scepter warps to the Crosier the Emperours Hat vails to the Bishops Mitre and the single does obeysance to the triple Crown Thus Regal Authority whose tender neck was ever unaccustomed to the burden of a tame condescention puts on the heavie Yoke of Pontifical rigorous imposition Thus here you see the great most Christian Ring crouch to Antichrist or being Crown-fallen as well as Crest-fallen Thus Majestie it self inclines the reverend head stoops low with a reverential bow to kiss that vulgarly-ador'd Pantofle which frequently proves but the gaudy covering of a Gowty toe At this day the most Noble Family of the Canossae are Lords of this Castle and the rest that encircle it and a small distance from this stand the Castles and other places that belong to the Signori Manfredi Keeping the way on the Mountains you come to Graffignana where Castelnuovo is to be seen which in times of yore was the Birth-place of many Illustrious persons and in this our modern age of Giulio Vrbano Doctor and Apostolick Prothonotary who liv'd in great repute and esteem among Princes Popishly inclin'd and was highly applauded by the Fry of the Septuagint of Cardinals that pay homage to and revere the pretended and triple-Crown'd Successor of the Fisherman who did a long time officiate as Vicar-general in lieu of the Miter'd Cardinal Linga Carnaro Bishop of Padua and in that quality died anno 1592. May the same mortality and good fortune in God's due time attend the whole Conclave that 's my Litany His brother Vrban was Captain of the Venetian Militia and Filippo Vrbano their Nephew In your return to the Aemilian way occurs the Castle of Scandiano dignified with the Title of a Marquisate subject to the Signori Feni noble and renown'd Vicentines On the left hand lies the Castle Roldo belonging to the House of the Sessi a Feudatory of the Emperour with San Martino Gonzaga the most splendid Village belonging to the Gonzagae Princes of Mantua and Muvilara Between Modena and Reggio Correggio appears not far from the River Lenza a noble Castle well govern'd and as well peopled it was called a citie of the Empire and appertains to the most Illustrious Family of the Correggii and where the River Lecchia dichotomizeth the Via Aemilia stands a very strong Castle call'd Ruberia or Rubiera by the Learned Herberia erected as some conjecture by the Boiardi and as others imagine by the Rubrii of Parma which had serveral Masters till the year 1523 and then it fell into the hands of the Dukes of Ferrara and was made famous by the birth of Antonius Codrus a most polite Grecian and expert Latinist being a man of great Learning and vast Parts This Castle is strongly fortified with a well-made Bulwark or Rampart and surrounded with many Hills which adde much grace and beauty to its situation and renders the prospect very delightful From hence you pass into a spacious and good Road very commodious for all Travellers that steer their course that way and designe to arrive at the capital Citie Modena of which we have already given you a large and exact description In this Tract there are four Apennine hills and as many Cities which are indebted to the Countess Mathilde for their foundation viz. Bibianello Castelvitreo Monte Zano and Monte Luzco all under the command and jurisdiction of the Earls of Canossae Having given you a court and true account of the Government Riches Force Religion Manners and Qualifications of the People of this ancient and illustrious Dukedom as also the nature and quality of the Soyl and Climate I shall by way of Corollary close all with a short relation of the Original Antiquity and Genealogie of the Dukes of the House of Esté and bring them down by descent to the most Illustrious person who at present is the undoubted and lawful Prince of the Dukedom of Modena The Princes of the House of Esté have been so considerable and so much taken notice of both in Peace and War that John Baptista Pigna hath with much industry and learning composed eight Books of the original noble exploits and transactions of this Princely Family in Italy and other countries As to their original he saith that Ateste Commander of the Heneti now Venetians after the sacking and destruction of Troy was driven into these parts with a considerable Navie and built the Citie Atestia or Ateste of his own name and he called the whole Tract of ground Venetia but the Latine degenerating by degrees from its purity the Citie lost the primitive e name of Atestia and sensibly shrunk into that of Esté This Atestes descended from the Atii of the Poblilian Tribe in Rome who because they did espouse the Quarrel of the Caesars did obtain so much grace and favour as to be Lords not onely of their own Country but also of all the Territories of Venice And here the Atestini for so they were call'd of old began to b e in reputation and these Princes do produce their Chronologie of 1200 years to manifest and testifie their Grandeur in a continued Series down to this present Age. Thus the Atii became Masters of a great part of Venice when Ateste was their capital Citie of Residence and the Romane Caesars being then accustomed to create a Magistracie consisting of eleven of the chief Citizens and sometimes a greater number who were also called Decuriones because at the first institution ten onely were requir'd Atius the son of C. of the last Race and the first Author of the Family of the