The Life of Flavio Portenicci Dinochi Francisco

Each year Flavio Francisco traveled many times from Florence to London, selling and purchasing products. Every year he took his sturdy ship, laden with the finest goods from Italy, and sailed around France and then traveled north to England. Flavio's ship carried fine silk, cheeses, oils, and leather goods. Flavio would sell his goods, purchase the wool of England, which was renowned for its texture and beauty, and then return to Florence and sell it, making a tidy profit on each trip. The weavers who bought the wool would then turn it into cloth, and sell it to make dresses and shirts for the nobility of Florence. It seemed a simple system to the common eye, but there were many problems in Flavio's life. He did not simply attend to his own affairs and ignore problems that arose within Florence. In order for Flavio to sell any of his wool, he had to belong to the "Company of the Merchants of Florence." [1]

 The Company was, in fact, a group of merchants who joined together to help provide a more stable economy in Florence. The Company, or guild, regulated the prices and quality of products that each merchant sold. By regulating prices, the company insured that all the citizens of Florence would be buying the same quality of goods for the same price. The company also owned houses in many of the major ports of trade, so that when merchants arrived, they had a place to stay. [2] All of these benefits did not come cheaply, though. Each merchant had to pay an annual fee for membership in the company. If the merchant did not pay, he was excluded from the company. Merchants who did not belong to a guild were often expelled from town.[3]

 One year, Flavio Francisco became very close to being kicked out of Florence himself. It all started because of a late payment by one of the merchants to whom Flavio had sold his goods when he went to London. Each time Flavio sold something in London, he was given a note that credited him for a payment when he returned. [4] Flavio needed a note of credit because many times merchants did not have enough cash on hand to pay him. So, first they sold the goods Flavio had sold them, and then they paid Flavio. Since it usually took a fairly long time for the merchants to sell their goods, Flavio collected his money on the following return trip. The same procedure was followed when Flavio sold wool to the weavers of Florence.

 Flavio arrived in England in late August to collect his notes of credit from the various merchants who owed him. He traveled from shop to shop along the alleys of London, buying and collecting. When Flavio entered the shop of Franklin, the silk merchant, he immediately detected a sense of urgency. Franklin turned to Flavio and put on a saddened look. "Mr. Francisco, please, have a seat," Franklin said.

 "Thanks, Frankie," Flavio said as he pulled out his note of credit. "Now, it says right here," Flavio said pointing to the note and placing it right under Franklin's nose, "it says, 500 pounds are due to me."

 "Well, Mr. Francisco. I um. . .see. . .ah. . .well. . .uh. . . I sort of ran into a problem."

 "Oh did you? I can't wait to hear about it; why don't you tell me about it?" Flavio was smiling now-, looking at Franklin expectantly. He looked cordial on the outside, but on the inside, Flavio was thinking of the many tortures that Franklin would go through when he was finished telling his story. Flavio desperately needed the money Franklin owed him. The guild payments were due at the conclusion of his trip, and ends were not meeting for Flavio this year. He had had many problematic experiences in England. Many of Flavio's business partners had fallen ill, or had problems of their own. The problems ranged from being hit by a horse and buggy, to marrying the daughter of the Prince of Wales. Flavio felt that he was going through his mid life crisis right then and there. He was getting desperate. The consequences for not paying dues to the guild were severe. Flavio did not want to lose his house. He didn't want to leave the town he had grown up in.

 " Well, you see, that beautiful yellow silk you gave me, you know, the one I paid so much for? Well, um, it sort of didn't sell very well. I still have over 50% of it in the back room. Yellow has suddenly gone very out of style with the women. I think they believe it scares away would be suitors and admirers. It is indeed a very stunning color. I thought it would sell well," he insisted. "The beauty and texture was beyond belief. I thought the women would be kissing my feet for just a few inches. Instead they walked in, took one look at the silk, and turned and walked away. It was like I smelled bad and nobody wanted to get near me. I had to go see a doctor about it, to make sure I was all right."

 "You're perfectly fine," Flavio snapped. "The only one in this whole damn city that is not fine is me! I need that money, Franklin. I'm expected to pay dues at the end of this trip. If I don't get the money, you'll be in serious trouble. You can find me at the company's house. You know where it is. I expect to see you soon." And with that, Flavio got up, turned towards the door, walked out, and slammed the door behind him, leaving Franklin, the London silk merchant, cowering behind his counter.

 It only took three days for Franklin the merchant to summon up enough courage to see Flavio again. He entered the company house and looked around. In the entry room were many rough looking men. Franklin knew that these men helped each merchant from the guild load and unload their ships when they docked. They were not the type of men Franklin would want to even begin to know. Most of them, he had always thought, were murderers and thieves, and so he gave each of them a very wide berth. Actually, though, most of the men had never been involved in criminal activities. Skirting around the "hoodlums", Franklin reached a desk in which an old lady sat. She looked up at him, squinting. "You Franklin?" she asked.

 "Yes. I'm here to see Mr. Francisco. Is he in?"

 "Wait right here." The old lady got up and walked through a door in the back of the room.

 The company house itself was not very large, but it was modestly equipped with all the appliances and furniture that a merchant needed to sustain himself for a day or two. Franklin assumed that there were a few rooms upstairs, each equipped with a desk, chair and bed in which the merchants could sleep and work for a few days. Franklin could see a set of stairs leading up to the second floor which the old lady began to go up very slowly. Franklin turned and sat down, his back against the wall, surveying the room. As he waited, he formulated the explanation he would give to Mr. Francisco. "Well, Mr. Francisco. You see, I ran into a little more trouble acquiring your money. There is no possible way that I could get you your money; I have no stock to sell and there is no moneylender in town who will lend me money. My credibility rating is zero!"

 "Franklin, Franklin, Franklin. Giving me no money is not an option. You say you sold 50% of the yellow silk, correct?"

 " Yes sir."

 "I want the money you made from selling that silk."

 "I can't do that, sir."

 "Why in Hell not? I needed that money to pay off some of my debt to my moneylender."

 " But that money is mine, not the moneylender's ! You had no right to do that. Get out of here! ! !"

 The discussion was short but sweet. It produced answers to two of Flavio's questions. For one, he now knew that Franklin was not going to pay him, and this meant trouble. Franklin also, though, was presented with the idea of asking a moneylender for the needed amount. Flavio had never used a moneylender before, and he didn't want to talk to one now, but he had no choice. He knew of a very wealthy and secure lender who lived in Florence. Flavio would sail home and talk to the man. Hopefully he would be able to help him. As Flavio watched Franklin walk out, he turned to one of the men resting on a chair in the room. "I want you to find someone to ruff up Franklin a little," Flavio told the man.

 "I don't do that stuff, mate."

 "I know you don't. Go down to the docks and find someone. I don't want Franklin to miss another payment." Flavio slipped the man five pounds, an adequate sum to do the job.

 "Thanks, guv'nor. I'll see that the job's done by the proper people."

 Hans and Frans were twin bone breakers who worked for the local troublemaker in Franklin's district. Mostly, they broke the bones of people who did not pay their bosses girls enough money, but sometimes Hans and Frans were found doing something for a little extra.

 Hans and Frans's story is slightly unique. They were born in Germany to Weinart Goesher, a strongman in one of the courts of Germany. Weinart was an entertainer of the lord, and he was often found lifting sheep and small cows as well as men to demonstrate his strength to the lord. Well, when Weinart told the King that his wife was to have a child, the lord became very annoyed. "Weinart, now that you are to have a child, I must raise your pay so you can accommodate this child. I am right, no?" And Weinart, being the very agreeable strongman that he was, agreed readily with the lord.

 "Yes, oh noble one, I would be much obliged if you were to raise my pay." And so the Lord raised Weinart's pay so that he could begin to accommodate for the child. However, when Weinart's wife went into labor, much to the surprise of the whole Kingdom, not one child came out but two! ! The Lord was flabbergasted and he was very angry.

 "Weinart," he yelled after the babies had arrived. "I have raised your pay for one baby, but certainly not for two! I will not allow this to happen in my court. I refuse to raise your pay again. You must deal with the two children by yourself."

 And Weinart, using the common sense he had bestowed upon him, said to the lord, "Yes, oh lord, you are right. I shall send my sons away when they are but 10 years old. Then they will be by themselves, for I will not, with my soon to be old age, be able to provide for them."

 And so, Hand and Frans arrived in England aboard a merchant ship, and proceeded to begin their life of earning easy money by terrorizing weak merchants and men such as Franklin.

 In the case of Franklin, Hans and Frans were approached by the man Flavio had talked to earlier in the day. He gave them four and a half shillings, and kept five shillings for himself as payment for helping Flavio. Hans and Frans were given their assignment and left to go about their business.

 When Hans stepped into Franklin's shop, there were no customers in it. Franklin immediately knew that this man was not in his shop to buy silks, and so he began to retreat towards the back of the shop. "What do you want?" Franklin asked shakily.

 "I supposed to warn you that you not miss payment next time for Mr. Flavio. You un'stand?"

 "Yes I do," Franklin looked as if he was going to break out any second.

 "Good. Frans! In!" Frans entered with a piece of hardwood. He proceeded to break the glass in the front windows of Franklin's shop, as Franklin began to cry uncontrollably. Both of the brothers laughed in Franklin's face, watching him curl up on the floor crying and saying softly, "Please don't hurt me." After they had had their kicks out of watching Franklin, the brothers exited the store, stepping through the window frame and onto the street.

 Flavio left the dock area after paying what he could to his crew, and then he started his search for Mr. Havocci, the resident moneylender, or, as he liked to call himself, the resident banker of Florence. It didn't take long for Flavio to find Havocci; after all, he was one of the richest men in Italy. His wealth was beyond comprehensible.

 Flavio entered the Bank of Havocci, and approached an assistant of Mr. Havocci. "Hi, my name is Flavio Francisco. May I speak to Mr. Havocci, please. It's regarding a loan."

 "Hold one moment please." The clerk went through a door into a rather spacious back office and spoke to someone Flavio could not see. He returned a few moment later, and admitted Flavio in through the door.

 Mr. Havocci was a rather old man. He was balding and had deep crow's feet around his eyes. His brow was wrinkled beyond belief, probably due to his many years of counting his money in deep concentration. Flavio held the typical view of the time towards men like Havocci: that such people were out to get Flavio's money. He held them in much contempt, and approached Havocci warily. "Ah, Mr. Flavio, nice to see you. How may I be of service?" Havocci talked as if Flavio and he were good friends, which annoyed Flavio very much. He didn't know this man, and he didn't want to know him. "I'm here about a," Flavio looked around to see if anyone else was in the room,"loan."

 "Yes, and how much would this loan be for?"

 "Two hundred pounds, which I need for my Company as well as for my house and family," Flavio replied."

 "You know of our terms, yes?" Havocci said referring to his terms specifically.

 "No, but please, anytime you wish to inform me, go ahead and do so."

 "Ah, I see. Well. Here are the terms of agreement: one, the interest is a flat eight percent. Two, it must be payable by the end of twelve months. Three, if you can't pay, I will take your belongings."

 "That's it?" Flavio said sarcastically. "You mean, if I don't pay off this loan, all you're going to do is take my entire life success away from me?"

 "Those are the terms, Mr. Francisco. Take them or leave."

 "Oh damn," Flavio thought. "I have to do what I have to do." "All right, agreed upon."

 Havocci and Flavio stood up and shook hands. "Mr. Rizzoti outside will give you the required cash and you will sign a note of credit."

 "O'K, I'll do that," Flavio said. He walked put the door and was presented with the paper and a pen to sign.[5] After he had signed, Flavio was presented with a thick waterproof pouch.

 "Thank you, sir," Rizzoti said, "I'll see you soon again."

 Later in life, Flavio was able to relay his experiences to his son, who in turn, told them to his son. That is how the story of Flavio Francisco appeared on this paper.