The Cardinal, the duke and the princesses had severally marked him out by special tokens of esteem.

In return they expected from him the honors of his now immortal epic.

That he should desert them and transfer the dedication of the _Gerusalemme_ to the Medici, would have been nothing short of an insult; for it was notorious that the Estensi and the Medici were bitter foes, not only on account of domestic disagreements and political jealousies, but also because of the dispute about precedence in their titles which had agitated Italian society for some time past.

In his impatience to leave Ferrara, Tasso cast prudence to the winds, and entered into negotiations with the Cardinal de'Medici in Rome.

When he traveled northwards at the beginning of 1576, he betook himself to Florence.