Girolamo Carafa (or Caraffa), Marquis of Montenegro (

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, 1564 –

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, 1633) was a general in Spanish and Imperial service from Italian descent.

Life

Girolamo was born in the noble Neapolitan Carafa family. His parents were Rainaldo Carafa and Portia Carracciola, daughter of the Duke of Sicignano. At the age of 14, he was sent to Rome to study science under guidance of his uncle Cardinal

Antonio Carafa Antonio Carafa may refer to: *Antonio Malizia Carafa (died 1437) *Antonio Carafa (cardinal) (1538–1591) *Antonio Carafa (general) (1642–1693) *Antonio Carafa (bishop of Ugento) (died 1704) {{hndis, Carafa, Antonio ...

. Girolamo married young with Hippolyta de Lannoy, granddaughter of

Charles de Lannoy Charles de Lannoy ( – 23 September 1527) was a soldier and statesman from the Low Countries in service of the Habsburg Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. Early life He was a member of the noble House of Lannoy. Charles de Lannoy was bo ...

, Spanish

Viceroy of Naples This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples. Following the conquest of Naples by Louis XII of France in 1501, Naples was subject to the rule of the foreign rulers, first for a short time by the King of France and later by Spain and the Hab ...

. In 1587, Girolamo joined the Spanish army, against the will of his family. First he served under Alexander Farnese in the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

. Then he fought against King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

, more specifically at

Ligne The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...

(1590) and

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

(1592). Later he commanded an army unit in

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, Brabant and

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 ...

. In the Franco-Spanish War (1595-1598) he first fought in some smaller battles in the border area. But in 1597, he participated in the

Siege of Amiens Siege of Amiens may refer to: *, between France and Burgundy *Siege of Amiens (1597) The siege of Amiens ( French: Siège d'Amiens) was a siege and battle fought during the Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598), as part of both the French Wars of Rel ...

, where he became leader of the besieged Spanish troops, when General Porto-Carrero was killed. He defended the city with great courage, and was honoured by King Henry IV of France, when he had to surrender the city on September 25. After his return to the Low Countries, he fought in the

Siege of Ostend The siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War (1585), Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish Empire, Spanish force under Archduke Albert (1559–1621), Archduke Albrecht besieg ...

. When Ostend was taken, he was sent to Italy to fight against

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. After peace was concluded, he became commander of the cavalry in Sicily. Here he was contacted by

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

and entered in his service at the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. He played an important role in the victory at the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

, when he prevented the union of the troops of

Gábor Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...

with his Bohemian allies. He also fought near Milan in 1621. After the peace treaty with Gábor Bethlen was signed, Girolamo became Imperial Field Marshal and ''Reichsfürst''. He returned to Spain where he became

Viceroy of Aragon A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. Shortly after, he was sent one more time to the low Countries, but died underway. Carafa was a strict Catholic and was highly educated.

Sources

ADB
* C. A. Schweigerd: ''Österreichs Helden und Heerführer.'' Band 1, Wurzen 1857, S. 644–647 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carafa, Girolamo 16th-century Spanish military personnel Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War 1564 births 1633 deaths Italian people of the Thirty Years' War Italian untitled nobility Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century Spanish military personnel