THE great and hori­ble earthquakes, the excessiue and vnrecouerable losses, withe the great mortalitie and death of peo­ple, the ruine and ouerthrowe of an infinite number of Monasteries, Pallaces, and other howses, and the destruction of his graces excellencies Lastell, haue altogether amased with feare, impouerished, afflicted, and astoined the har­tes of the poore people: in such wise, that the death wold be more agreable vnto thē, then the expecta­tion of the like scourge to come againe. The which made vs all thinke for a certaintye, that thende of the world was at hand. You shall therfore vnder­stande, that on thursday the xi. day at x. of the clock in the night there happened an earthquake whiche endured the space of an Aue Marie (as the Italian phrase is) whereby manye Chymneyes of howses fell down. And within a litle while after another earthquake was heard. In y^e whole vntill ij. a cloc­ke in the morninge there happened xiiij. earthqua­kes wherewith many howses were ouerthrowen. The frydaye folowinge which was the xvij. of the [Page]fayde moneth the earth quaked all the whole daye. If it had bene but thrise in one houre. What a noi­se and dreadfull feare with lammentable waylings might it haue made thinke you: But in dede al tho­se were none in comparison of that whiche happe­ned in the night at iii. of the clocke: whereby y^e skie or elem ēt became obscure & darke: There rose a vehement & great windes at iiij. of the clocke, the cle­ment was cleare, & the moue rose & appeared with a comete ioyned to it, hauing a tayle two fadomes longe to mens iudgement, & within an houre after which was at v. of the clocke: suche obscuritie and darkenes was in the element that one man coulde not see an other. And sodenlye arose diuers earth­quakes. Of whiche one continued the space of an houre & then fell the Castle & the Bishops howse, and the Palace de la Ragion, xij. Monasteries, S Paule with diuers churches and palaices, & an in­finite number of houses, O God what a lamenta­ble thinge was this, what ruinous ouerthrowes & terrible dreades happened. The Duke & the Du­ches went spedelie to a garden of theirs withoute Ferara. And caused a Pauiliō to be pytched, wher­in they remayned: three of his graces pages & iiij. of y^e Duchesses were slayne with the houses of the Castell y^t fell vpō them, & many other officers that could not escape away in tyme. I my self at y^t instāt was in my chamber sitting at the table which was [Page]raised vp a fadom in height, & I fell downe & per­ceyued the toppe of the house fallen and the [...]ou [...] rent & breake in peeces: wherewith being astoyned I lept out at the window in a maner a pikes lēgth to the ground, & withdrew my selfe into the new [...] market place whiche is greate withoute measure. I lefte my golde and syluer behinde me, thin­kinge my self happie to haue saued my life. I foūd in the sayde newe market place more then v. thou­sand persons men and woman whiche had the is children in their armes making suche a lamentable noise that it was heard (as certen countreymen re­ported) x. Italian miles of. we were all on oure knees prayinge & sayinge many prayers on eache parte y^t it was merueilous to heare. And no doubt but that any stonye harte would haue bene moued to pytie & compassion thereby. And being on oure knees, aboue vi. tymes we fell on the ground mer­uelouslye shaken & tossed with y^e earthquakes. And continued so vntyll saterdaye at x. of the clocke in the night and two a clocke in the morninge. I lea­ue the consideration of the pytyfull lamentacion of noble gentlewomen & others, & the clamorous cri­inge out of the people with execrable cursinge of the Duke, seing their houses abound & flowe with wyne & corne and all thinges appertayning to the state (I saye) of gentill and honorable, and in one houre to be depryued and bereft of all and impo­uerished [Page]altogether. They are in dede matters worthie to be remēbred and noted of vs. The pry­son fell down & the prisoners escaped: wherefore y^e gates were shutte, & none could yssue out, manye leaped ouer the walles, and by the meanes saued thēselues. At my comming I shall recoumpt euery thing to you at large: But fyue shetes of paper wil not suffice to write the whole matter. The Duke gaue commaundemente, that euerye man mighte bake breade in their howses, whiche was a token that he began to remember his couetous & gready errour. In dede his eruell tyrannyes were the oc­casion of all these ruynes. Do not you thinke it a great matter that he had solde all the taxes or tri­butes vnto a Venetian gentleman of his name Il Sforza. And none afore could bake any breade vpō a great payne without his commission: Also if one dyd we are a payre of newe shoes without paying tare or tribute he lost L d. Italian, & should suffer three pulles with the cord afterward, was not this a rauenous suckinge of the cōmon peoples bloude Marke whether God reuealed not these things to come by the Dukes Secretarye named M. Iohn Baptist Pigna a very learned man, a great Philo­sopher, and braue & conninge Astrologier: who the sondaye before whiche was the xij. of this presente moneth framed these woordes vnto the Duke his Maister, My Lord I perceyue, that the people do [Page]greatly murmure against your grace which if you redresse not I doubt (no I am very sure) that this weeke will not be ended before you shall see very [...] earthlye and heauenlye tokens as might be earth­quakes: The Duke aunswered, it was tolde me that there should haue bene earthquakes in Maye past, and yet there was none sene. M. Secretarye without other Replie sayde, God graunte there happen none. And the Secretary the day before the earthquake, went from Ferrara and caried all hys stuffe with him and all that was in hys house, ha­uing builte a goodly Palaice a little while before, the which was also ouerthrown. The earthquakes are numbred to haue bene a hundred and foure in xl. houres. Yet for all these, they ceased not, but on Twesdaye the xxi. of the moneth in the mornyng, there were iiij. other greate earthequakes, where­with many houses that stoode not ouerthrowne, thoughe shaken and torne, fell to the ground. And it is sayd, y^t this earthquake shall endure xl. dayes. To morrow I take my iourney towarde you, and then will reporte you thereof at large. This Citie is smothe like a rased or shauen table, a man can not walke by the streates, halfe the houses are fal­len downe, the rest haue bene shaken likewise. And if the earthquake do continue, you may read what will come thereof. The Duke and Duches make their aboade as yet vnder the pauilion, the reporte [Page]goeth, that they will come and lie at Mantua. Loo­ke for me to morowe, for I am in dread that of ne­uer so litle a puffe of winde will growe an earth­quake. The iuste number of the people that be slayne is not knowen. It is thoughte to be aboute. 2000.