human
A most extraordinary deluge, accompanied by signs and prodigies, happened a few years afterwards. 'On that night,' says Giovanni Villani (xi. 2.), 'a hermit, being at prayer in his hermitage above Vallambrosa, heard a furious trampling as of many horses; and crossing himself and hurrying to the wicket, saw a multitude of infernal horsemen, all black and terrible, riding by at full speed. When, in the name of God, he demanded their purpose, one replied, We are going, if it be His pleasure, to drown the city of Florence for its wickedness. This account,' he adds, 'was given me by the Abbot of Vallambrosa, who had questioned the holy man himself.'