Dedication.

Contents.

The Beguines and the Weaving Brothers. [1]

The Convent of Helfta.

The Attraction of the Abyss.

The Schism.

Valentine Visconti.

The Claim of the House of Orleans to Milan.

The Malatestas of Rimini.

The Ladies of Milan.

The Flight of Piero de' Medici.

The French at Pisa.

Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any issues encountered during its preparation.

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Footnotes have been gathered at the end of each chapter, and are linked for easy reference.

A cover image has been prepared, based on the title page and is added to the public domain.