Loyalty to the Church, Loyalty to the Duke: Conflicts of Power in Late Medieval Ferrara

In 1479 Folco d'Este, rector of the church of S. Romano and son of Rinaldo d'Este, took part in the unrest that accompanied the election of the rector of the university's law students. In exercising governmental duties, the duke gave alms to churches and monasteries, received requests for help and, without being expressly invited, intervened even in ecclesiastical matters. For example, on 10 January 1476, Duke Hercules asked the rector of Modena to convince a Franciscan friar who was preaching in the city to use less violent tones against the Jews. A benefice was associated with the Church of Fossa d'Albero, under the patronage of the dukes. In the same years in which Bartolomeo and Giovanni Caleffini wrote their complaints, Duke Hercules presented himself on the Italian and European scene as protector of the clergy, model of piety, and founder of churches and monasteries.