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Condottieri
Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the Italian word ''condotta''—the contract under which they served a Italian city-states, city-state or lord. The word ''condottiero'' thus meant 'contractor'. Over time, however, in Italian usage, ''condottiero'' came to mean any 'commander' or 'military leader'. Mercenary captains Background In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Italian city-states of Republic of Venice, Venice, Republic of Florence, Florence, and republic of Genoa, Genoa were very rich from their trade with the Levant, yet possessed woefully small armies. In the event that foreign powers and envious neighbours attacked, the ruling nobles hired foreign mercenaries to fight for them. The military-service terms and conditions were stipulated in a (contract) between the city ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hawkwood
Sir John Hawkwood ( 1323 – 17 March 1394) was an English soldier who served as a mercenary leader or ''condottiero'' in Italy. As his name was difficult to pronounce for non-English-speaking contemporaries, there are many variations of it in the historical record. He often referred to himself as ''Haukevvod'' and in Italy, he was known as Giovanni Acuto, literally meaning "John Sharp" (or "John the Astute") in reference to his "cleverness or cunning". His name was Latinised as ''Johannes Acutus'' ("John Sharp"). Other recorded forms are ''Aucgunctur'', ''Haughd'', ''Hauvod'', ''Hankelvode'', ''Augudh'', ''Auchevud'', ''Haukwode'' and ''Haucod''. His exploits made him a man shrouded in myth in both England and Italy. Much of his enduring fame results from the surviving large and prominent fresco portrait of him in the Duomo, Florence, made in 1436 by Paolo Uccello, seen every year by 4½ million tourists. Early life Hawkwood is believed to have been born in about 1323 at S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Facino Cane
Facino Cane. Facino Cane da Casale (1360 – 16 May 1412), born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero. Biography Facino Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family that produced a number of military captains and administrators. His father was Manuele, the son of Enrico Cane. Facino had younger brothers named Filippino and Marcolo. Most of the family abandoned the service of the Marquess of Montferrat for the Visconti of Milan in the early 1360s. Facino trained in the military arts by fighting under Otto of Brunswick against Charles of Durazzo, in 1381. Taken captive, he passed into the service of Charles of Durazzo (now King Charles III of Naples), fighting against his rival, Duke Louis I of Anjou in 1382. When Charles left for Hungary in 1385, Facino returned to Northern Italy. At the age of 26, in 1386, he became condottiero for the Scaliger lord of Verona in a conflict against Padua. Taken captive by the enemy in 1387, Facino was released and entered into t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercenary
A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protection by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. International and national laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Article 47 of the protocol provides the most widely accepted international definition of a mercenary, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alberico Da Barbiano
Alberico da Barbiano (c. 1344 – 1409) was a condottieri. His master in military matters was the English mercenary John Hawkwood, known in Italy as Giovanni Acuto. Alberico's ''compagnia'' fought under the banner of Saint George, as the '' compagnia San Giorgio''. . Biography
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Konrad Von Landau
Konrad Wirtinger von Landau (died 22 April 1363), known in Italy as Conte Lando, was a German military adventurer and condottiero who was active in north and central Italy. He was born the eldest son of Count Eberardo III in the ancient Swabian village of Burg Landau near Ertingen in present-day Württemberg and held the title of Konrad II, Count of Landau. He went to Italy in 1338, entered the service of the Lords of Venice and fought against the army of Verona led by Mastino II della Scala. In 1339 he joined the Compagnia di San Giorgio of Lodrisio Visconti to attack Milan, then under the control of Lodrisio's estranged brothers. After initial success, their company was defeated at the Battle of Parabiago. In 1346, fighting for Venice against Milan, he was again on the losing side. In 1347, in the service of the Marquis of Saluzzo, when attempting to counter the attack by the Milanese and the Marquis of Montferrat, he was forced to surrender to the enemy. In 1348 he joined t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Company (German)
The Great Company was a group of mercenaries, chiefly of German origin but operating in the Italian peninsula, who flourished in the mid-14th century. At its height, the company numbered approximately 10,000-12,000 men, chiefly armored cavalry. The Great Company's power set the pattern for later condottieri who came to dominate Renaissance Italian warfare. History 1340s The company was founded in 1342 by Werner von Urslingen, whose reputed motto was "Enemy of God, Enemy of Piety, Enemy of Pity", with some writers even reporting the phrase inscribed on his breastplate. Urslingen was inspired by Lodrisio Visconti's Compagnia di San Giorgio, under which he had fought in the battle of Parabiago. Commanders included his brother Reinhardt, Ettore da Panigo, Konrad von Landau and Francesco II Ordelaffi. The strength of the company at this point was recorded as 3,000 men-at-arms. In autumn 1342, the company was dissolved and Urslingen and many of his German followers returned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luchino Visconti (died 1349)
Luchino Visconti (also spelled Lucchino, 1287 or 1292 – 24 January 1349) was lord of Milan from 1339 to 1349. He was also a condottiero, and lord of Pavia. Biography Ruler of Pavia from 1315, five years later he was ''podestà'' of Vigevano, where he erected the castle that is still visible. In 1323, along with all his family, he was excommunicated with the charge of heresy. The charges of heresy and excommunication were later withdrawn "Lucchino made peace with the church in 1341, bought Parma from Obizzo d'Este and made Pisa dependent on Milan. Although he showed ability as general and governor, he was jealous and cruel, and was poisoned in 1349 by his wife Isabella Fieschi." and he became a Papal Vicar in 1341. He co-ruled in Milan with his nephew Azzone Visconti and his brother Giovanni, until Azzones's death in 1339. He also took part in the victorious battle of Parabiago against his other nephew, Lodrisio, who had set a mercenary army to capture Milan. With an army ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werner Von Urslingen
Werner von Urslingen (Werner of Urslingen in English, called in Italian: Guarnieri d'Urslingen or Duca Guarnieri; c. 1308 – 1354) from German-speaking origins in the Holy Roman Empire was a mercenary serving mostly in Italy, and also known as the founder of the Great Company. Biography Werner was born at Irslingen, in Irslingen Swabia, a member of the family of the dukes of Urslingen, and probably a descendant of the dukes of Spoleto. In 1338 he fought in the Scaliger War for the Republic of Venice against Mastino II della Scala of Verona. After the end of that conflict, he entered the Compagnia di San Giorgio, financed by the Veronese and led by Lodrisio Visconti, and took part in the battle of Parabiago. In 1342 Werner joined the service of the Republic of Pisa in its war against Florence, whose troops were led by Malatesta III Malatesta. After that war he collected a troop of adventurers under the name '' Great Company'', with which he plundered rural Tuscany, Umbria, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Of Bohemia
John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting in the Battle of Crécy at age 50, after having been blind for a decade. In his home country of Luxembourg, he is considered a national hero. Comparatively, in the Czech Republic (anciently the Kingdom of Bohemia), Jan Lucemburský is often recognized for his role as the father of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, one of the more significant King of Bohemia, Kings of Bohemia and one of the leading Holy Roman Emperors. Early life John was the eldest son of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant, who was the daughter of John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders, Duchess of Brabant, Margaret of Flanders. Born in Bock (Luxembourg), Luxembourg and raised in Paris, John was French by education but deeply involved in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clement VII
Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of the popes", Clement VII's reign was marked by a rapid succession of political, military, and religious struggles—many long in the making—which had far-reaching consequences for Christianity and world politics. Elected in 1523 at the end of the Italian Renaissance, Clement came to the papacy with a high reputation as a statesman. He had served with distinction as chief advisor to Pope Leo X (1513–1521, his cousin), Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523), and commendably as gran maestro of Florence (1519–1523). Assuming leadership at a time of crisis, with the Protestant Reformation spreading, the Church nearing bankruptcy, and large foreign armies invading Italy, Clement initially tried to unite Christendom by making peace among the many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breton People
The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century (most heavily from 450 to 600) to Armorica. The region was subsequently named after them, as were the inhabitants of Armorica as a whole. The main traditional language of Brittany is Breton (''Brezhoneg''), spoken in Lower Brittany (i.e., the western part of the peninsula). Breton is spoken by around 206,000 people as of 2013. The other principal minority language of Brittany is Gallo; Gallo is spoken only in Upper Brittany, where Breton used to be spoken as well but it has seen a decline and has been less dominant in Upper Brittany since around the year 900. Currently, most Bretons' native language is standard French. Historically, Brittany a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
