Malatesta

Piero della Francesca, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, 1451

EGRADMENT li antichi cavaler romanj
davano fed a quisti annutii
And he put us under the chiefs,
and the chiefs went back to their squadrons:
Bernardo Reggio, Nic Benzo, Giovan Nestorno,
Paulo Viterbo, Buardino of Brescia,
Cetho Brandolino,
And Simone Malespina, Petracco Saint Archangelo,
Rioberto da Canossa,
And for the tenth Agniolo da Roma
And that gay bird Piero della Bella,
And to the eleventh Roberto,
And the papishes were three thousand on horses,
dilly cavalli tre milia,
And a thousand on foot,
And the Lord Sigismundo had but mille tre cento cavalli
And hardly 5oo fanti (and one spingard),
And we beat the papishes and fought
them back through the tents
And he came up to the dyke again
And fought through the dyke-gate
And it went on from dawn to sunset
And we broke them and took their baggage
and mille cinquecento cavalli
E li homini di Messire Sigismundo
non furono che mille trecento

Ezra Pound, The Cantos, “canto XI”

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