“Meanwhile the city of Rome was in agony. It had no rulers; men fought every day; robbers were everywhere; nuns were insulted; there was no refuge; little girls were assaulted and taken away to dishonour; wives were taken from their husbands in their very beds; farmhands going out to work were robbed in the very gates of Rome; pilgrims, who had come to Rome for the good of their souls, were not protected, but were murdered and robbed; even the priests were criminals. Everywhere lust, everywhere evil, no justice, no law; there was no longer any escape; everyone was dying; the man who was strongest with the sword was most in the right. A person's only hope was to defend himself with the help of his relatives and friends; every day groups of armed men were formed.”
(An Anonymous Contemporary Chronicler)
