ABSTRACT
To those planning and making preparations for the French descent into Italy, and to those preparing to oppose it, securing the services of the Roman barons appeared to be of prime importance. As condottieri, as the possessors of estates well-endowed with fortresses which encircled Rome and extended down to the Neapolitan border, and as leaders of the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Rome and the surrounding provinces of the Papal States, the barons, it was believed, held the keys to the defence not only of Rome but of the kingdom of Naples as well. They and their estates could constitute either forward bastions of defence for the kingdom, or crucial stepping-stones to ease the advance of the French. Both sides considered that the support of one or other of the two leading clans, the Orsini or the Colonna, was also an essential instrument in their efforts to secure the adherence of the pope. The barons, well aware of the value placed on their services, were able to command large and valuable condotte, but they had to make careful political calculations about the risks they would run if war came with the French to the region around Rome.
