This Guelf piece dates from the time of Frederick II’s eight-month siege of Faenza, undertaken to secure the passage between his Italian and German states, which began at the end of August 1240 and ended on 13 April 1241. Notable defenders of the city were Guido Guerra, who played a prominent part in the struggle against the Empire before and after Frederick’s death; Miquel Morezi (Michele Morosini), a Venetian podestà of Pisa in 1240; and Bernardino di Fosco, podestà of Pisa in 1248 and Siena in 1249 (vv. 3-4). Sier Ugoli is perhaps to be identified with Ugolino dei Fantonlini di Cerfugnano, praised by Dante in Purg., XIV, 121. For further details see Zingarelli, pp. 3-5, Jeanroy-Salverda de Grave, pp. 158-59, De Bartholomaeis, p. 154. From the references to Raymond VII of Toulouse Zingarelli (pp. 13-14) concludes that the song was composed at the end of 1240 or the beginning of 1241, before Raymond VII of Toulouse abandoned his allegiance to Frederick and agreed to support the papal party. The count had lost nearly the whole of the Languedoc after Louis VIII’s expedition of 1226. In his peace treaty of 1229 with Louis IX he recovered parts of it, and some others later, but never regained Avignon, Nîmes, Uzès and Gourdon (vv. 17-21; Zingarelli, p. 7; Jeanroy-Salverda de Grave, p. 158). He had been an ally of Frederick II in 1240 but at the beginning of 1241 he changed his mind and wrote to the pope on 1 March 1241 to say he had decided to help him against the emperor (Zingarelli, pp. 7-8). In November 1240 the pope sent frequent messages to press the besieged to resist, and Zingarelli (p. 14) suggests that this might well have been the moment for Uc to add his voice to these.