Strange as it may seem, this festival was not
without a precedent. In the year 1327, two barons, a
Colonna and an Ursini, the usual balance, were created
knights by the Roman people: their bath was of rose- water,
their beds were decked with royal magnificence, and they
were served at St. Maria of Araceli in the Capitol, by the
twenty-eight buoni huomini. They afterwards received from
Robert, king of Naples, the sword of chivalry (Hist. Rom.
l. i. c. 2, p. 259.)