Lelio Brancaccio
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Lelio Brancaccio (around 1560–1637),
Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
of
Montesilvano Montesilvano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Abruzzo is often called Mare-Monti (Sea-Mountain) region. The name Montesilvano is apparently derived from the Latin which means "woody hill" (" ...
, was a Neapolitan commander of Habsburg armies in Italy, the Low Countries and Catalonia.


Life

Brancaccio was born in Naples around 1560. In 1584 he renounced his inheritance and joined the
Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...
. In 1589 he entered Spanish Habsburg service as captain of an infantry company. Apart from a brief stint as
sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...
of a regiment of Italian infantry in the
Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...
, he served the Habsburgs for the rest of his life. In 1602 he joined the
Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...
, as ''
Maestre de Campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Charles I of Spain, inferior in rank only to the '' capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council of State, and commanded a ''tercio'' ...
'' of an infantry regiment he had raised. Taking ship from Flanders for Spain to convoy Spanish infantry, he was captured en route by an English naval squadron. He was released and returned to Naples in 1603. By 1604 he was back in Flanders, and was appointed to the Council of War in Brussels. After the signing of the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...
between the Habsburgs and the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, he returned to Naples and became a member of the Collateral Council. He wrote a military treatise, ''I Carichi militari'', dedicated to
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria Albert VII (; 13 November 1559 – 13 July 1621) was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had ...
, which was first printed in Antwerp by Joachim Trognaesius (1610), and went through further editions in Milan (1620) and Venice (1641). Brancaccio became an inspector of fortifications for the Viceroy of Naples, the
Duke of Osuna Duke of Osuna is a Spanish noble title that was first awarded in 1562 by King Philip II of Spain to Pedro Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna, Pedro Girón de la Cueva, (Osuna, Seville, 29 July 1537 – 1590). Pedro was also Viceroy of Naples, (1582–15 ...
. With the recommencement of war in Flanders in 1621, Brancaccio returned there. In 1623, in recognition of his services to the Spanish monarchy,
Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...
created him Marquess of Montesilvano. In 1626 he became ''maestro di campo generale'' of the Genoese forces in their conflict with Savoy over the Marquisate of Zuccarello. From 1627 to 1630 he was in Spain as an adviser to the Council of War in Madrid. He returned to Italy in 1630 to command forces in the
War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession, from 1628 to 1631, was caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir from the House of Gonzaga, long-time rulers of Mantua and Montferrat. Their strategic importance led to a proxy war b ...
, and when that war was settled by treaty in 1631 he travelled to Flanders for a fourth time. He commanded the garrison defending Maastricht during the siege of 1632. In that year or the following Philip IV named him a councillor of state. In 1633 he travelled via Lombardy to Barcelona. Given command of the army of
Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...
(then part of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
), he died at Elna in November 1636.


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brancaccio, Lelio 1560s births 1637 deaths Knights of Malta Military personnel of the Eighty Years' War Italian military writers 16th-century Neapolitan people 17th-century Neapolitan people People of the War of the Mantuan Succession