Guidobaldo (or Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, 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 the

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

from 1482 to 1508.

Biography

Born in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History Prehistory The ol ...

, he succeeded his father Federico da Montefeltro as

in 1482. Guidobaldo married Elisabetta Gonzaga, the sister of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. Guidobaldo was impotent, and they had no children, but Elisabetta refused to divorce him. He fought as one of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

's captains alongside the French troops of King

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

during the latter's invasion of southern Italy; later, he was hired by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

against Charles. In 1496, while fighting for the pope near Bracciano, Guidobaldo was taken prisoner by the Orsini and the Vitelli, being freed the following year. Guidobaldo was forced to flee Urbino in 1502 to escape the armies of

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, but returned after the death of Cesare Borgia's father,

, in 1503. He adopted as his heir Francesco Maria della Rovere, his sister's child and nephew of

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, thus uniting the seigniory of

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

with Urbino. He aided Pope Julius II in reconquering the Romagna. The court of Urbino was at that time one of the most refined and elegant in Italy. Many men of letters met there. The Italo-English historian Polydore Vergil may have worked in the service of Guidobaldo and Elisabetta as well as Baldassare Castiglione, the author of the book ''

The Book of the Courtier ''The Book of the Courtier'' ( ) by Baldassare Castiglione is a lengthy philosophical dialogue on the topic of what constitutes an ideal courtier or (in the third chapter) court lady, worthy to befriend and advise a prince or political leader. ...

'', which describes the court of Urbino. Suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

, Guidobaldo died in Fossombrone at the age of 36, and was succeeded by his nephew.

In popular culture

In 2023, Guidobaldo gained interest on social media when American sports fans noted how he appeared striking similar to NFL quarterback

Trevor Lawrence William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospect ...

of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Notes and references

Sources

* *Pietro Bembo, ''Vita dello illustrissimo s. Guidobaldo duca d'Vrbino. E della illustriss. sig. Helisabetta Gonzaga sua consorte'', Firenze, Lorenzo Torrentino 1555 *P. Giovio. ''Istorie dei suoi tempi'', Venezia 1570 *F. Ugolini. ''Guidobaldo da Montefeltro'' in «Imparziale fiorentino», 1857 *Bernardino Baldi, ''Della vita e de' fatti di Guidobaldo I da Montefeltro, Duca d'Urbino libri dodici'', Milano, Silvestri 1821 *G. Franceschini. ''I Montefeltro'', Milano 1970 *C. H. Clough, A. Conti, ''Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, duca di Urbino: fu mai gonfaloniere di Sancta Romana Ecclesia?'' in «Studi Montefeltrani», n. 27, San Leo 2006

External links

''The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes 1 & 2''
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Montefeltro, Guidobaldo Castiglione 1472 births 1508 deaths People from Gubbio Guidobaldo 15th-century condottieri Knights of the Garter Dukes of Urbino 1500s paintings

Biography

In popular culture

See also

Notes and references

Sources

External links