On the Late Massacre in Piedmont

Their martyred blood and ashes sow O'er all th' Italian fields where still doth sway The triple tyrant; that from these may grow A hundredfold, who having learnt thy way Early may fly the Babylonian woe.

Also known as Milton’s “Sonnet 18,” “On the Late Massacre at Piedmont” has been described by the famous essayist William Hazlitt as filled with “prophetic fury.” In 1487, shortly after the Crusades in Southern France, Pope Innocent VIII turned his focus to the Waldensians in Northern Italy.

Word of the killings spread quickly throughout Europe and great efforts were made to remove any survivors from the area and bring them to safety.

The clear example of vengeance in the poem is the first line of “Avenge, O Lord,” which could be a reference to Luke 18:7, a Bible verse that speaks about vengeance, or to Revelation 6:9-10, a verse depicting the souls of martyrs crying out “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”.

An example of regeneration is the lines “grow/ A hundredfold” and “Mother with Infant.” Several symbolic references to the Reformation era Protestant view of the Papacy appear in this poem.