Toynbee "Focaccia"

Focaccia was guilty of murdering (Oct. 1293), not his uncle, as almost all the early commentators say, but a cousin of his father's by the name of Detto di Sinibaldo Cancellieri. [See L. Zdekauer, Studi pistoiesi, (Siena, 1889), i, 1-16; BSDI, iv (1897), 51; and M. Barbi, PCD, i, pp. 299-300.]

In fact, there remains a judicial sentence of 1293 against 'dominus Sclata domini Raynerii de Cancelleriis et dominus meus domini Raynerii de Cancelleriis'; 'Fugaciam' is specifically mentioned in the charge:

. . . de presenti mense octubris consenserunt maleficio commisso de presenti mense octubris in personam domini Detti domini Sinibaldi quondam qui mortuus et interfectus fuit contra Deum et iusticiam per quosdam malefactores, scilicet Fugaciam et alios consocios suos, alias condempnatos, in cappella sancti Pauli in appotheca Soldani posita penes Umbroncellum.

This sentence is confirmed by the record of the Storie pistoresi (3):

. . . uno di venendo messer Detto alla ditta piazza [de' Lazzari], e entrando in una bottega d'uno che li facea uno farsetto di zendado presso a casa de' figliuoli di messer Ranieri, lo Focaccia e Freduccio [Vergiolesi] con certa quantità di fanti entrarono nella ditta bottega e quivi l'uccisono, e partironsi. [Edited by S. A. Barbi, in RIS, XI, v (Città di Castello 1927), p. 10.]

The whole story, as told in the Pistoian chronicle, is briefly as follows. Focaccia, one of the Cancellieri Bianchi, being a notorious brawler and man of blood, the Cancellieri Neri determined to make an end of him:

In quello tempo era nella casa de' Canciglieri della parte bianca uno giovane che avea nome Focaccia, figliuolo di Bertacca di messer Ranieri, il quale era prode e gagliardo molto di sua persona, del quale forte temeano quelli della parte nera per la sua perversità, perchè none attendea ad altro che a uccisioni e ferite. Vedendo quelli della parte nera l'operazioni di costui, ordinarono che si levassono alcuni della loro parte, li quali dovessino mettere il freno al ditto Focaccia. [p. 8.]

Accordingly, three youths, one of whom was the notorious Vanni Fucci, were told to engage him and bring him to account. F., however, managed to evade them, excusing himself to his friends for his cautious tactics by saying it was better the Neri should boast of Focaccia's flight than of his death.

. . .[Questi tre giovani] acompagnati di buona brigata di fanti, andorono spesso cercando di trovarsi col ditto Focaccia. Ed elli, come persona che non credea con loro guadagnare niente, li andava sempre schifando . . . ed essendo ripreso più volte da quelli della parte bianca del fuggire che facea rispondea che meglio era dire 'quinci fuggio il Focaccia' che 'quivi fue morto il Focaccia'. [p. 8.]

Failing in their object of making away with F., the Cancellieri Neri struck terror into the Bianchi by killing M. Bertino de' Vergiolesi, one of the most prominent members of their party. F., whose wife was a relative of the murdered man, avenged his death by treacherously slaying one of the leaders of the Neri (his kinsman, Detto di Sinibaldo Cancellieri). These vindictive murders led to reprisals, and at length the city of Pistoia was reduced to such a state of disorder that the podestà, finding himself powerless, threw up his office and quitted the city. Taking advantage of the confusion, F. proceeded further to avenge the death of Bertino by treacherously killing one of his actual murderers, who had been also one of the three deputed to put himself out of the way. This fresh outrage was the signal for a general uprising on both sides, and at last, in despair, the Pistoian authorities called in the aid of the Florentines with the well-known disastrous result to the latter that the bloodfeud was imported with all its terrible consequences into the city of Florence. [Bianchi: Cancellieri.] [See R. Piattoli, 'Vanni Fucci e Focaccia de' Cancellieri', Arch. stor. ital., xxi (1934), 100-105]