Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian

condottiero 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 ...

and duke of

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

Biography

Castruccio was born in

, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300, he was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

s "Black" party, then in the ascendant. At nineteen, he became orphaned and subsequently served as a

under

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, then with the Visconti in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, and in 1313, under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola, lord of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, in central Italy. He assisted Uguccione in many enterprises, including the capture of Lucca (1314), and the Battle of Montecatini (1315), in which he was the main protagonist of the victory over the Guelph League led by the Florentines. However, due to his growing popularity, Uguccione had him jailed and condemned to death. An insurrection of the Lucchesi having led to the expulsion of Uguccione and his party, Castruccio regained his freedom and his position, and the Ghibelline triumph was presently assured. Elected lord (as lifelong

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

) of Lucca on 12 June 1316, he warred incessantly against the Florentines, though at home he renovated the Ponte della Maddalena, spanning the River Serchio. At first, he was the faithful adviser and staunch supporter of Frederick of Austria, who made him imperial

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Lucca,

Lunigiana The Lunigiana () or Lunesana is a historical territory of Italy that today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, ...

and Val di Nievole in 1320. After the

Battle of Mühldorf The Battle of Mühldorf (also known as the Battle of Ampfing) was fought near Mühldorf am Inn on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and the Archduchy of Austria. The Bavarians were led by German King Louis of Wittelsbach ...

, he went over to the emperor

Louis the Bavarian Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...

, whom he served for many years. In 1325, he defeated the Florentines at the Battle of Altopascio, and was appointed by the emperor duke of Lucca,

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

and Luni; two years later he captured Pisa, of which he was made imperial vicar. His relations with Louis seemed to have grown less friendly and he was afterwards

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

by the papal legate in the interests of the Guelphs (1327). At his death in 1328, the fortunes of his young children were wrecked in the Guelph triumph.

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...

wrote a '' Life of Castruccio Castracani''. It is understood to be fictional in many places, and based upon classical aphorisms. It was made later in his life than some of Machiavelli's more well-known works and is thought by some commentators such as

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...

to be significant for the understanding of Machiavelli's political philosophy.

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's novel '' Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca'', published in 1823, is based on the life of Castruccio Castracani, though the dates are slightly changed.

, Preface to '' Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca'', ed. Stuart Curran (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 5–6, .

References

External links

Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550: Castruccio Castracani

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070423132127/http://www.liberliber.it/biblioteca/m/machiavelli/index.htm Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli: ''Vita di Castruccio''

Costanza Moscheni: Castruccio - poema epico (1811)

Domenico Luigi Moscheni: Notizie istoriche intorno la vita di Castruccio degli Antelminelli Castracani (1811)

* ttp://www2.shu.ac.uk/corvey/cw3journal/Issue%20one/lillacrusifilla.html Lilla Maria Crisafulli: Letitia Elizabeth Landon's ''Castruccio Castrucani'': Gender Through History
Full Text of Machiavelli's ''Life of Castruccio Castracani'' in Italian, Bibliotheca Philosophica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castracani, Castruccio 1281 births 1328 deaths People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from Lucca 14th-century Italian nobility 14th-century condottieri Imperial vicars

Biography

References

Further reading

External links