Bellarion the Fortunate · Chapter
XII: Count Spigno explained
Bellarion is freed by Count Spigno, who has come to help him escape.
What happens
Bellarion is freed by Count Spigno, who has come to help him escape. However, Bellarion realizes that Spigno is a key tool in the Marquis Theodore's plot against his nephew, and in a cold-blooded act of calculated murder, he stabs Spigno to death. He then prays for the man's soul before attempting his own escape. He is confronted by Barbaresco and others, but manages to barricade himself in a room and escape through a window, only to be captured by the watch officer Messer Bernabò, who recognizes him.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Identity
Bellarion's escape and murder of Spigno are acts of deception that serve to undermine the conspirators' plot, highlighting the theme of hidden identities and false appearances.
Loyalty and Betrayal
Spigno's betrayal of the conspiracy by freeing Bellarion is met with Bellarion's own betrayal, as he kills Spigno to further his own mission.
Heresy and Morality
Bellarion's internal conflict over killing an unshriven man and his desperate prayer for Spigno's soul reveal the clash between his convent upbringing and the brutal actions he must take.
Characters to notice
- Bellarion
Freed by Spigno, then murders him in cold blood to thwart the conspiracy; prays for Spigno's soul; escapes through a window but is captured by the watch.
- Count Enzo Spigno
Frees Bellarion and is then stabbed to death by him; his death is intended to shatter the Marquis Theodore's plot.
- Messer Barbaresco
Confronts Bellarion during his escape; is wounded in the arm by Bellarion's dagger.
- Casella
Pursues Bellarion down the stairs with sword in hand after the alarm is raised.
- Lungo
Follows Casella in pursuit of Bellarion.
- Bernabò Visconti
Officer of the watch who recognizes and captures Bellarion after his escape.
Key passages
“In slaying Count Spigno, he had performed a necessary act; necessary in the service to which he had dedicated himself.”
Bellarion believed that killing Spigno was required for his mission.
Bellarion justifies his murder as a necessary step in his service to Facino Cane.
“He hoped that the unexpectedness with which Spigno's doom had overtaken him would be weighed in the balance against the sins which death had surprised upon him.”
Bellarion prayed that Spigno's sudden death would mitigate his sins.
Bellarion's convent upbringing leads him to worry about Spigno's soul.
“He thought of the Abbot's valedictory words: 'Pax multa in cella, foris autem plurima bella.'”
He recalled the Abbot's saying that there is peace in the cell but many wars outside.
Bellarion longs for the safety of the convent as he faces danger.