Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes, Vol. 3 of 3
It is five years after the date of the events I have recorded, and my story conveys us to the Papal Court at Avignon - that tranquil seat of power, to which the successors of St. Peter had transplanted the luxury, the pomp, and the vices, of the Imperial city. Secure from the fraud or violence of a powerful and barbarous nobility, the courtiers of the see surrendered themselves to a holiday of delight - their repose was devoted to enjoyment, and Avignon presented, at that day, perhaps the gayest and most voluptuous society of Europe. The elegance of Clement VI. Had diffused an air of literary refinement over the sensualities 'of the spot, and the penetrative spirit of Petrarch still continued to work its way through the councils of faction, and the orgies of debauch. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
