The arms of Guido da Polenta, Lord of Ravenna, Dante’s friend, and father (or nephew) of Francesca da Rimini, were an eagle half white in a field of azure, and half red in a field of gold. Cervia is a small town some twelve miles from Ravenna. ↩

The city of Forlì, where Guido da Montefeltro defeated and slaughtered the French in 1282. See note 299 . ↩

A Green Lion was the coat of arms of the Ordelaffi, then Lords of Forli. ↩

Malatesta, father and son, tyrants of Rimini, who murdered Montagna, a Ghibelline leader. Verrucchio was their castle, near the city. Of this family were the husband and lover of Francesca. Dante calls them mastiffs, because of their fierceness, making “wimbles of their teeth” in tearing and devouring. ↩