The Compagnia di San Giorgio (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: "Company of Saint George") was the name of several

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, 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 rath ...

in Italy during the 14th century. A first company under this name was founded in 1339 by

Lodrisio Visconti Lodrisio Visconti (c. 1280 – 1364) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful Visconti of Milan, and Antiochia Crivelli. After military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti an ...

, usurper of the title of lord of

Seprio Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern ''comune'' of Castelsepri ...

in northern Italy. It included some 6,500 men. Some were paid by

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his broth ...

, lord of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and hirer of Lodrisio. Others were foreign mercenaries – German knights, Swiss infantry, and men from Graubünden – under the leadership of Germans

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 vi ...

and

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 th ...

. Personnel were also sent by Visconti's allies: Calcino Tornielli, lord of

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

; Louis, son of Aymon of Savoy;

Obizzo III d'Este Obizzo III d'Este (14 July 1294 – 20 March 1352) was the Marquess of Ferrara from 1317 until his death. He was the son of Aldobrandino II d'Este and Alda Rangoni. Life Obizzo was lord of Ferrara with his brothers Rinaldo and Niccolò, and ...

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

;

Ludovico I Gonzaga Ludovico I Gonzaga (1268 – 18 January 1360) was an Italian lord, the founder of the Gonzaga family who was the first capitano del popolo of Mantua and imperial vicar. Biography Born in Mantua, he was the son of Guido Corradi and the grandson of ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

;

Thomas II of Saluzzo Thomas II () (1304 – 18 August 1357) was Marquess of Saluzzo from 1336 to his death. He succeeded his father, Frederick I. His mother Margarete de La Tour du Pin, a daughter of Humbert I de La Tour du Pin, Dauphin de Viennois. His succession ...

; Taddeo Pepoli of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

; and Bertram, Patriarch of Aquileia. Lodrisio and his army were defeated in the

Battle of Parabiago __NOTOC__The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near Parabiago, in Lombardy, northern Italy, between the Milanese army and the Compagnia di San Giorgio, St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti. A renowned condottie ...

; some of the survivors ravaged the area until they were crushed by Lodrisio's victorious uncle,

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

. In 1365 another Visconti, Ambrogio, an illegitimate son of

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he ...

, founded another company with the same name, but it soon vanished. He reformed it in 1372, but two years later it was destroyed in a riot in the Bargamasco, in which Ambrogio himself was killed. In 1377

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 '' co ...

, one of the main Italian

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 ...

, founded the most successful of the three ''Compagnie di San Giorgio''. The company included other famous condottieri, such as

Muzio Attendolo Muzio Attendolo Sforza (28 May 1369 – 4 January 1424) was an Italian condottiero. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio. In his later years, he served Queen Joanna II of Naples and was a ...

, Braccio da Montone, Ugolotto Biancardo,

Jacopo dal Verme Coat of arms of Jacopo Dal Verme. Jacopo Dal Verme (1350 - 12 February 1409) was an Italian condottiero. Biography Born at Verona, he was the son of condottiero Luchino Dal Verme and Jacopa di Bonetto de' Malvesini. He began his military career ...

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. Hi ...

, and Ottobuono de' Terzi. The company's membership was restricted to Italians, a remarkable feature in a time in which most mercenaries in Italy were foreigners. The reason for this decision by Barbiano is not clear, but perhaps it came after he saw the atrocities of foreign mercenaries under

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 ...

during the so-called

Cesena Bloodbath The War of the Eight Saints (1375–1378) was a war between Pope Gregory XI and a coalition of Italian city-states led by republic of Florence, Florence that contributed to the end of the Avignon Papacy. Causes The causes of the war were rooted ...

of 1377. The company helped

Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI (; ; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death, in October 1389. He was the last pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals. His pontificate be ...

against

Antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva (; 1342 – 16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Clement VII () by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election led to the Western Schism. The son of ...

, defeating a Breton mercenary army at Marino in 1379. Later it fought for Charles of Durazzo in his conquest of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

References

Further reading