War of the Eight Saints

, papal condottiere in Gregory XI's wars against Milan The causes of the war were rooted in interrelated issues, Florentine opposition to the expansion of the Papal States in central Italy (which the Avignon Popes had set as a condition for their return), and antipathy toward the Parte Guelfa in Florence. Specifically, Florence feared in the autumn of 1372 that Gregory XI intended to reoccupy a strip of territory near Lunigiana, which Florence had conquered from Bernabò Visconti, and that the Ubaldini might switch from Florentine to Papal allegiance. Gregory XI also harbored various grievances against Florence for their refusal to aid him directly in his war against the Visconti of Milan. Hawkwood also received a 600-florin annual salary for the next five years and a lifetime annual pension of 1,200 florins. The transalpine mercenaries employed by Gregory XI against Milan, now unemployed, were often a source of friction and conflict in papal towns. ==War==

, Chancellor of Florence during the war Florence formed an alliance with Milan in July 1375, immediately prior to the outbreak of the war, and the prosecution of the war was entirely delegated to an eight-member committee appointed by the Signoria of Florence: the Otto della Guerra. of Florentines and the confiscation of their property throughout Europe. However, in October 1377, the government of Florence forced the clergy to resume religious services causing Angelo Ricasoli, Bishop of Florence, and Neri Corsini, Bishop of Fiesole, to flee Florentine territory. As a result of Gregory XI's economic sanctions, merchants of the Florentine "diaspora" were hurt economically throughout Europe, particularly the Alberti bankers in Avignon, although the interdict was ignored by many, including Charles V of France. In the spring of 1377, papal mercenaries recaptured Bologna, which up until that point had been a key Florentine ally. In 1377, Cardinal Robert of Geneva (future Avignon Pope Clement VII) led the army of Gregory XI in an attempt to quell the revolt, and Gregory XI himself returned to Italy to secure his Roman possessions, de facto ending the Avignon Papacy. Gregory XI arrived in Rome in January 1377, after a difficult journey (including shipwreck), and died there in March 1378. ==Resolution==

A peace conference met in Sarzana in February–March 1378 under the mediation of Bernabò Visconti. Besides the warring parties, the Holy Roman Empire and the kingdoms of France, Hungary, Spain and Naples sent representatives. Peace terms had been tentatively agreed when, on 31 March, the conference learned that Gregory XI had died. Visconti nonetheless transmitted the terms to the principal parties, but the conference broke up. A peace treaty was finally concluded at Tivoli in July 1378, negotiated with Pope Urban VI. ==Eight Saints==

's bull of excommunication referred to the "Eight Saints" as the "Eight of Priests". The Eight Saints () may refer to one, or both, of two eight-member Balìa appointed by the Signoria of Florence during the war. When Florence arranged a nonaggression pact with Hawkwood at a cost of 130,000 florins, a special commission of eight citizens was created to levy a one-year, forced loan on the clergy of Florence and Fiesole to cover the sum. A second council of eight men was later created to make the military and diplomatic arrangements necessary to carry on a war against the Pope. which ensued immediately after the War of the Eight Saints—to the Otto della Guerra. In contrast, the moniker is used in the March 31, 1376 bull of excommunication to refer to the Otto dei Preti (the levy committee, literally meaning "Eight of Priests"). The Otto dei Preti, appointed July 7, 1375 to carry out the taxation of the clergy for the nonaggression pact included: • Matteo Malefici • Antonio di Forese Sacchetti • Bardo di Guglielmo Altoviti • Salvi Filippo Salvi • Giovanni d'Angiolo Capponi • Antonio di Filippo Tolosini • Recco di Guido Guaza • Michele di Puccio The Otto della Guerra (war council) were appointed August 14, 1376 and consisted of four guild representatives and four members of the nobility. ;Major guild representatives • Giovanni Dini – Spices • Guccio Gucci – Woollen-cloth manufacturing ;Minor guild representatives • Matteo Soldi – Wine retail • Giovanni di Mone – Grain manufacturing ;Members of elite Florentine families • Alessandro de' Bardi • Giovanni Magalotti • Andrea Salvati • Tommaso Strozzi ==References==