Rienzi by Edward Bulwer-lytton — Read

Giles, (or Egidio, (Egidio is the proper Italian equivalent to the / French name Gilles, -- but the Cardinal is generally called, by the / writers of that day, Gilio d'Albornoz.)) Cardinal d'Albornoz, was one of / the most remarkable men of that remarkable time, so prodigal of genius. / Boasting his descent from the royal houses of Aragon and Leon, he / had early entered the church, and yet almost a youth, attained the / archbishopric of Toledo. But no peaceful career, however brilliant, / sufficed to his ambition. He could not content himself with the honours / of the church, unless they were the honours of a church militant. In / the war against the Moors, no Spaniard had more highly distinguished / himself; and Alphonso XI. king of Castile, had insisted on receiving / from the hand of the martial priest the badge of knighthood. After the / death of Alphonso, who was strongly attached to him, Albornoz repaired / to Avignon, and obtained from Clement VI. the cardinal's hat. With / Innocent he continued in high favour, and now, constantly in the / councils of the Pope, rumours of warlike preparation, under the banners / of Albornoz, for the recovery of the papal dominions from the various / tyrants that usurped them, were already circulated through the court. / (It is a characteristic anecdote of this bold Churchman, that Urban V. / one day demanded an account of the sums spent in his military expedition / against the Italian tyrants. The Cardinal presented to the Pope a wagon, / filled with the keys of the cities and fortresses he had taken. "This is / my account," said he; "you perceive how I have invested your money. " The / Pope embraced him, and gave him no further trouble about his accounts.) / Bold, sagacious, enterprising, and cold-hearted, -- with the valour of the / knight, and the cunning of the priest, -- such was the character of Giles, / Cardinal d'Albornoz.

Leaving his attendant gentlemen in the antechamber, Albornoz was ushered / into the apartment of the Signora Cesarini. In person, the Cardinal / was about the middle height; the dark complexion of Spain had faded by / thought, and the wear of ambitious schemes, into a sallow but hardy hue; / his brow was deeply furrowed, and though not yet passed the prime of / life, Albornoz might seem to have entered age, but for the firmness / of his step, the slender elasticity of his frame, and an eye which had / acquired calmness and depth from thought, without losing any of the / brilliancy of youth.