herself at once unarmed, and not having any other source, sought the
assistance of Alfonzo, king of Aragon and Sicily, adopted him as her
son, and engaged Braccio of Montone as her captain, who was of equal
reputation in arms with Sforza, and inimical to the pope, on account of
his having taken possession of Perugia and some other places belonging
to the church. After this, peace was made between the queen and the
pontiff; but King Alfonzo, expecting she would treat him as she had her
husband, endeavored secretly to make himself master of the strongholds;
but, possessing acute observation, she was beforehand with him, and
fortified herself in the castle of Naples. Suspicions increasing between
them, they had recourse to arms, and the queen, with the assistance
of Sforza, who again resumed her service, drove Alfonzo out of Naples,
deprived him of his succession, and adopted Louis of Anjou in his stead.
Hence arose new contests between Braccio, who took the part of Alfonzo,
and Sforza, who defended the cause of the queen. In the course of the
war, Sforza was drowned in endeavoring to pass the river Pescara; the
queen was thus again unarmed, and would have been driven out of the
kingdom, but for the assistance of Filippo Visconti, the duke of Milan,
who compelled Alfonzo to return to Aragon. Braccio, undaunted at the
departure of Alfonzo, continued the enterprise against the queen, and
besieged L'Aquilla; but the pope, thinking the greatness of Braccio
injurious to the church, received into his pay Francesco, the son of
Sforza, who went in pursuit of Braccio to L'Aquilla, where he routed
and slew him. Of Braccio remained Oddo, his son, from whom the pope took
Perugia, and left him the state of Montone alone; but he was shortly
afterward slain in Romagna, in the service of the Florentines; so that
of those who had fought under Braccio, Niccolo Piccinino remained of
greatest reputation.

Having continued our general narration nearly to the period which we at