Professor Biondelli 5 describes the foregoing various types, and says that there are two opinions as to their meaning; the one that they allude to the contests St. Ambrose had with the Arians and Jews of his day, and the other that they originated with the battle of Parabiago in 1339, when Lodrisio Visconti was defeated and taken prisoner by his cousin, Duke Azzo, with the assistance of St. Ambrose, whose miraculous appearance in the sky during the battle, on horseback, and fighting with his whip on the side of the Duke, contributed to the victory.

In commemoration of this a decree was made by the city of Milan, that St. Ambrose was for ever after to be represented armed with his whip."

Some sculptures on the now demolished Porta di Romano at Milan, said to have been executed a century and a-half before the battle of Parabiago, and which are said to have shown St. Ambrose armed with his whip, are mentioned as evidence of the Arian theory.

M. Cahier, in his Caractéristiques des Saints, vol. ii. p. 430, has an illustration somewhat similar to my Fig. 6 (only the figures are turned to the left instead of the right), which he says is copied from a small picture of the fifteenth century, numbered 203 in the catalogue of the Musée Napoleon III., and described as—“ A holy bishop on horseback armed with stirrup leathers," and he quotes from Verri, "The Milanese relate that St. Ambrose appeared thus at the battle of Parabiago in 1339, to save his people in a conflict where they ran great risk; in commemoration of this a festival was established by the city to be celebrated annually."

5 Le Moneti di Milano, F. and E. Gnecchi. Prefazione lxvii. Donati Bossi, Cronaca.

7 Verri, Storia di Milano, t. I. cap. xi.

To recapitulate-There does not appear to be any authentic coin-representation of St. Ambrose armed with the whip earlier than Fig. 3, struck between 1354 and 1378, twenty years after the battle of Parabiago; and the earliest representation of his fighting with the so-called Arians, is in Figs. 4 and 5, struck between 1466 and 1478, one hundred and thirty years after that battle.

I am therefore inclined to believe, that the representation of the saint on horseback fighting with soldiers, occurring as it does, not only on coins, but also in contemporary paintings, must have been the embodiment of a tradition probably originating with the battle of Parabiago, poetically viewed through a vista of four generations; perhaps the simpler type, Fig. 3, may have existed previous to its occurrence on the coins, and it may have had the meaning assigned to it by the advocates of the Arian theory, but there is no satisfactory evidence of it.

The "rider," representing the sovereign on horseback, was a favourite mediæval type, and occurs in the Scottish, French, Flemish, Neapolitan, and other series. Fig. 7 is an example struck by Filippo Maria Sforza, 1412-1447, and the subsequent representations of St. Ambrose, as on Figs. 5 and 8, appear to be an adaptation of this type.

Fig. 8 is a testone, struck for Milan by Louis XII. of France, who was Duke from 1500 to 1512, by right of his grandmother, Valentina Visconti ; the figure represents St. Ambrose, and coins with the same type were struck by the Emperor Charles V. and also by Philip II.

A remarkable type, representing the saint enthroned in the clouds, with some allegorical figures prostrate at his feet, and suggestive of the Arian theory, was struck by the last-mentioned sovereign. Maria Theresa, 17401780, struck a zecchino, with the bishop represented in

VOL. VII. THIRD SERIES.

I I

the act of benediction, and this was the last appearance of St. Ambrose on the coins of Milan.

Fig. 9 is a grosso of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 14661476; on the obverse are three firebrands, from each of which are suspended two water buckets. This type was first used by Galeazzo II. Visconti, 1354-1378, and various interpretations of its meaning have been attempted. One is that it was acquired by Galeazzo in the Holy Land, but this is improbable, the last of the crusades having terminated with the end of the previous century; it might, however, have been true of a previous Visconti. It has also been suggested that, by these emblems of fire and water, the forces of inflaming and quenching were intended to be typified. Its meaning remains obscure, and the design being inelegant was soon discontinued.

The contrary is the case as regards the reverse type of No. 9, the crowned snake, which perhaps, on account of its gracefulness, has been longer and more frequently used than any other type in the series, for after the extinction of the Viscontis it was adopted as one of the bearings in the arms of Milan.

It first occurred on the coins of Azzo and Luchino Visconti, 1329-1349, only as a mint-mark, but on those of Galeazzo II. and Barnabo, 1354-1378, it became fully developed; about the same time the dragon's head erazed was introduced; it appears to be an enlarged detail of the snake type, for at first they are both represented in the act of swallowing a human figure. a human figure. A variety of this

type is shown on the reverse of Fig. 7.

The origin of the snake type is said to have been the destruction, in the vicinity of Milan, by Ugo Visconti, of some obnoxious reptile, whose pestilential breath was fatal to human life, but this should probably be taken in

a figurative sense, and as another instance of a myth which originated in the earliest ages, and is met with in almost every country.

JOHN G. HALL.

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COINS REFERRED TO IN THE FOREGOING PAPER, AND ILLUSTRATED IN PLATE VIII.

HENRY VII. OF GERMANY.

1. Obv. HENRICVS REX.

trefoils.

1311-1312.

Cross cantonned with four

Rev.-MEDIOLANVM. St. Ambrose seated, with right hand raised in the act of benediction. Grosso. R. 59 grains. Gnecchi, iv. 13.

2. Obv.-HNRIC IPAT vertically, between SS. Gervasius and Protasius; in the margin, S. PROTASI . S . GERVASI.

Rev.-S. AMBROSI. MEDIOLANVM. St. Ambrose seated, with right hand raised in the act of benediction. Grosso. R. 70 grains. Gnecchi, iv. 10.

3. Obv. BERNABOS. Z. GALEAZ. VICECOMITES. In field the Visconti snake, with B. 6. above an eagle; the whole surrounded by a quatrefoil, with trefoils in the spandrils.

Rev.--S. AMBROSI. MEDIOLANV. St. Ambrose seated, holding in his right hand a whip with triple thong. Pegione. R. 36 grains. Gnecchi, vi. 11.

GALEAZZO MARIA SFORZA. 1466-1476.

4. Obv.-Snake

GALEAZ.MA. SF. VICECOS. DVX. MELI. V. Bareheaded bust of Duke in armour to right. In field 6Z. M.

Rev.-S. AMBROSI. The saint attacking with his whip a soldier whom he holds with his left hand. Grosso. 36 grains. Gnecchi, xiv. 5.

5. Obv.-Snake. GALEAZ. MA. SF. VICECOS. DVX. MELI. V. Bareheaded bust of the Duke in armour to right.

Rev.-S. AMBROSI. MELI. St. Ambrose on horseback galloping to right, attacking with his whip some soldiers, one of whom has fallen under the horse's feet. Grosso. R. 56 grains. Gnecchi, xiv. 4.

6. Sketch of painting attributed to Giovenone of Vercelli. Size of panel, 30 in. x 17 in.

FILIPPO MARIA VISCONTI. 1412-1447.

7. Obv.- FILIPV. MARIA. ANGLV. The Duke on horsebask galloping to right.

Rev. DVX. MEDIOLANI. Z. C. The ducal crest surmounted by the dragon's head; below, shield with snake. In field, FI. MA. crowned, the whole enclosed within a quatrefoiled square. Fiorino d'oro. 54 grains. Gnecchi, x. 6.

LOUIS XII. OF FRANCE, DUKE OF MILAN.

8. Obv.

1500-1512.

LVDOVICVS. D. G. FRANCORVM. REX. Bust of the King to right, wearing biretta and surrounded by fleur de lis.

Rev.-MEDIOLANI. DVX. St. Ambrose on horseback

galloping to right, with whip upraised. Beneath, the escutcheon of France, crowned.

140 grains. Gnecchi, xix. 1.

Testone.

GALEAZZO MARIA SFORZA. 1458-1476.

R.

9. Obv.-In margin, small head of St. Ambrose. 6Z. M.SF. VICECOS. DVX. MELI. V. Three firebrands with two water buckets suspended from each.

Rev.-Head as on obverse. PP. ANGLE. Q . CO. AC. JANVE. D. Crowned snake flanked by the letters 6. M. also crowned. Grosso. R. 34 grains. Gnecchi, xiv. 6.