I N T R O D U C T I O N

THESEarethememoirsoftheBeatoGiuliano,brotheroftheOrderofStFrancisofAssisi,knowninhisworldlylifeasFilippoBrandoliniofwhichfamilyI,GiuloBrandolini,amthelastdescendant.OnthedeathofFraGiulianothemanuscriptwasgiventohisnephewLeonello,onwhomtheestatesdevolvedandhassincebeenhandeddownfromfathertoson,astherelicofamemberofthefamilywhosepietyandgoodworksstillshedlustreonthenameofBrandolini. Itisperhapsnecessarytoexplainhowtheresolutiontogivethesememoirstotheworldhaseventuallybeenarrivedat.Formypart,Ishouldhaveallowedthemtoremainamongtheotherpapersofthefamilybutmywifewishedotherwise.WhenshedesertedherhomeintheNewWorldtobecometheCountessBrandolini,shewasverynaturallyinterestedatfindingamongmyancestorsamanwhohaddistinguishedhimselfingoodworks,soastobegrantedbythePopethetitleofBeatus,whichwasacquiredforhimbytheinfluenceofhisgreat-nephewnotverylongafterhisdeathand,indeed,hadourhouseretainedtheprosperitywhichitenjoyedduringthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,hewouldundoubtedlyhavebeencanonised,foritwasawellcertifiedfactthatthenecessarymiracleshadbeenperformedbyh