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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2012
Several writers have endeavoured to trace the arts in Italy as far back as possible, and they have given us voluminous histories of their artists; but travellers in general attended little to what was produced there, either in painting or sculpture, till the time of Raphael and Michael Angelo, and the succeeding ages, whilst they flourished in their greatest vigour. The ancient pictures were considered as barbarous rude things, whose only merit was their antiquity, and the sculptures were entirely overlooked.
page 187 note a I am aware it may be objected that these are the original arms of Savoy only, and that our heralds always give him, in addition to them, those of Saxony in an escutcheon of pretence. That is, they assign him what are called the ancient arms of Savoy, but we do not find upon what authority. The Earls of Savoy did, it is certain, assume and bear the arms of Saxony in that manner, over their own; till the year 1409, to mark their being descended from that House; but it does not seem to be known when they first did this. One can hardly suppose it could be so early as the 13th century, for it does not appear that escutcheons of pretence were known in heraldry till long afterwards: and unless some well-authenticated instances of such escutcheons, aetually used before the year 1268, could be pointed out, we may fairly conclude these arms were attributed to Peter de Savoy, Earl of Richmond, at hazard, merely as being those of his family in later times. The arms borne by their descendants, it is well known, were ascribed, very commonly, to the founders of religious houses, and others of the ancient nobility, who lived before heraldry was invented, and in fact never had any coat-armour at all.
page 189 note b See the Latin edition by Dr. Richardson, p. 486.
page 189 note c There was also a treaty for a marriage between Lucia, one of his own daughters, and Edmund fifth son of Edward III. according to the Italian historians, but it certainly did not succeed; and his natural daughter Donnina was married to our famous English soldier Sir John Hawkwood.
page 190 note d Gio. Villani tells us that in 1346, when he was writing his Chronicle, Luchino Visconti, then Lord of Milan, had always more than three thousand horse in constant pay, and sometimes four thousand, or five thoisand, or more, which no king in Christendom at that time had.
The standing army of Charles VII, just a hundred years after, which Dr. Robertson calls the first that was established in Europe amounted, according to his account, to no more than nine thousand cavalry and sixteen thousand infantry: and Monstrelet, who speaks from his own knowledge, makes it much less: he says, that after Charles had expelled the English from France, he always kept on foot fifteen hundred lances, and from five to six thousand archers.
page 191 note e See Note 1. (A.) p. 194.
page 192 note e See Torre's Ritratto di Milano, and the Guida di Milano, by the Abate Diansoni.
page 193 note f See Note 2 (E) p.195.