Francisco de Medici Timeline and Summary

•  Back
• More 

• Francisco chastises Brachiano for trying to cheat on Isabella, abandoning her for Vittoria. They threaten war against one another, but then calm down once Giovanni shows up.
• He tries to calm the tensions between Isabella and Brachiano but to no effect. He also gives advice to Camillo on his marriage, and discusses events with Cardinal Monticelso.
• After the murders of Camillo, Francisco—who doesn't know his sister is dead yet—acts as a restraining influence on Monticelso at the trial (since Monticelso seems too bitter). Francisco says its not clear Vittoria was guilty of plotting her husband's murder, though she seems guilty of adultery. She's sentenced to a "house of penitent whores."
• When Francisco hears about his sister's death, he is deeply grieved. He starts to plot revenge with Monticelso.
• He writes a fake love-letter to Vittoria, intending it to fall into Brachiano's hands (which it does). But Brachiano gets over his jealousy, and escapes with Vittoria to Padua.
• Francisco disguises himself as a Moor named Mulinassar and infiltrates Brachiano's court—pretending he'll help Brachiano fight against Francisco's own army. He brings his hired assassins, Lodovico and Gasparo, disguised as Capuchin monks.
• He gets intel from Vittoria's smitten maid, Zanche, indicating definitively that Brachiano and Flamineo were guilty of murder (Francisco may have had sex with Zanche in order to obtain this info—at any rate, he was "bold" with her). This comes as a relief, since he now knows that he's pursuing revenge for the right reasons.
• Francisco survives the action of the play—Lodovico and Gasparo commit the final revenge killings of Vittoria and Flamineo.