The Ledger of the City of Flowers 1433
September 1433, Florence. After the war with Lucca ended in failure, Rinaldo degli Albizzi laid the blame on a banker. You are Cosimo de' Medici, aged 44. This morning the Signoria summoned you to the Palazzo Vecchio.
Historical background
Fifteenth-century Florence was a republic run by its guilds. A Signoria of nine, drawn by lot every two months, governed from the Palazzo Vecchio, but since the Ciompi revolt of 1378 a few great families led by the Albizzi had controlled the bags from which the names were drawn. Cosimo's father, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, built a bank that handled the papacy's money, with branches in Rome, Venice, Geneva and Basel, and left it to his son in 1429. When the war against Lucca that began that year ended in failure, Rinaldo degli Albizzi installed a Signoria under the gonfaloniere Bernardo Guadagni, and on 7 September 1433 Cosimo was locked in the Alberghettino, the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio. Some wanted his death; the sentence was ten years' exile in Padua.
The next September a Signoria with a Medici majority was drawn, and when Rinaldo gathered armed men, Pope Eugenius IV, then living in Florence, stepped in and made him stand down. Cosimo returned on 6 October 1434 and the Albizzi faction was exiled. For the next thirty years he guided Florence while seldom holding office. Brunelleschi's dome of the cathedral was consecrated in 1436, and in 1439 the Byzantine emperor John VIII came to the Council of Florence, which debated the union of the Eastern and Western churches. Florence beat a Milanese army at Anghiari in 1440; in 1450 Francesco Sforza, whom Cosimo financed, became Duke of Milan; and the year after Constantinople fell in 1453, the Peace of Lodi set a balance of power in Italy. When Cosimo died in 1464, the Signoria honoured him with the title "Father of his Country".
Who you are
You begin as Cosimo de' Medici, aged 44, who inherited the Medici bank from his father Giovanni. You are a commoner with neither land nor title, but you hold the papal accounts, branches in many cities, plenty of gold and a sharp wit. Your wife Contessina de' Bardi, your frail eldest son Piero and younger son Giovanni, your brother Lorenzo, who carries half the bank with you, and Rinaldo degli Albizzi, who locked you in the tower, are the people of this life.
Two ways to start
This scenario can be started in two ways. As the character puts you in the place of the person described on this page, to live out their story. At this moment keeps the same year and the same world, but you choose your seat, gender, age and home region yourself; instead of the character's own story events, the great moments of that time reach you in a form that fits the seat you chose.
Seats you can choose “At this moment”
- Clerk of the Medici bank — Ledgers and bills of exchange
- Noble house of the Albizzi faction — The side that drove Cosimo out
- Weaver of the Wool Guild — The memory of the Ciompi
Or start as someone elsewhere and pick your home region yourself.
Turning point: If Cosimo had not returned
The backbone of this scenario is the new turning point "If Cosimo had not returned". Your choices in the tower and the year you spend in exile move the odds between the Medici and the Albizzi, and in 1434 it is decided whether the Medici come home. If they do, the story runs through the Council, Anghiari, the Milanese succession and the Peace of Lodi until you become "Father of his Country"; if they do not, a different branch follows the life of an exile in the Venetian lagoon to its own ending.
Sides you can take
- The Medici party Gather money, friends and votes in the Signoria to return to Florence. This is the road real history took.
- Terms with the Albizzi Ask Rinaldo for reconciliation or accept exile. This road leads to a world where the Medici never came back.
Tips
Questions and answers
How close is this scenario to real history?
Cosimo's arrest and imprisonment in the Alberghettino in 1433, his exile to Padua, his return in October 1434 and the exile of the Albizzi faction, Pope Eugenius IV's stay in Florence, the consecration of the cathedral dome in 1436, the Council of Florence in 1439, the Battle of Anghiari in 1440, the Medici palace and the library of San Marco, Sforza's Milan in 1450, the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Peace of Lodi in 1454, the title "Father of his Country" in 1464 and the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 are historical. The starting map, realms, real historical figures and the major events of the current of history follow actual history. You and the companions, rivals and loves around you are fictional people who could have lived then, and once you start, history may diverge according to your choices and those of the AI rulers.
What station do I start in?
You start as Cosimo de' Medici, a 44-year-old commoner and master of the Medici bank, in the Florentine Republic, which holds Tuscany. You have no land, and your wife, two sons and brother are at your side.
Is it free? Can I play right away?
Yes. Crown & Plough is a free browser game with no account and nothing to install. The "Start in this scene" button on this page opens the scenario's intro screen directly, and progress is saved automatically in your browser. It works on phones too.