On this day, the 24th of Iunius in the year of our Lord 1400, I, Limo di Giovanni de' Medici, am grieved to announce that my father, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici has died.

Giovanni was a man great in stature, great in wealth, great in piety, and great in love. I am honored to have been his son.

He was the son of a miller, but great in intellect. He quickly rose and made a name for himself, from the squalor of the Florence during the terrors of the Black Death and the reign of the Albizzi, to join the Priori of the Signoria, and found the great bank that I now head.

Though he had little interest in politics in the beginning of his life, he had a head for them. He became the Banker to the Pope, and balanced his rivals. He defeated the devilish Albizzi, and brought Florence to the cusp of a new era. An era of art, and enlightenment, and one of great faith. He trained myself and my two beloved brothers Cosimo and Lorenzo in his ways, so that we may too have the honor and privilege of ushering Florence into this new age.

Though we will not be without enemies, and we will not be without hardships, we are Florentines. And for that, I promise to you this: Our home will always be Florence. As I rise to the ranks of this congress of Priori, I solemnly swear that I and my brothers will strive to do everything that Giovanni dreamt would become of Florence. All men will know great prosperity, all men will know great piety, and all men will know great art.

I, Limo di Giovanni de' Medici, am now gran maestro of the Medici Bank, its accounts, its debts, and all of its responsibility. I inherit this weight from my father, and I shall bear it with the same dignity that he did. And with it, I have vows to make:

I vow to be a patron.

I vow to be a saint.

I vow to be the best man I can be.

I vow to use my position for the betterment of this great city for as long as I live.

Of this, I solemnly swear before this Signoria,

and before the Lord.