Battle of Giglio

Last updated
Battle of Giglio
Part of Guelphs and Ghibellines
and Genoese-Pisan Wars
Seeschlacht Friedrichs II..jpg
Miniature depicting the battle of Giglio
Nuova Cronica Vatican Library Chig.L.VIII.296
Date3 May 1241
Location
Isle of Giglio, Tyrrhenian Sea
42°20′30″N10°35′00″E / 42.34167°N 10.58333°E / 42.34167; 10.58333
Result Imperial victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
 Giacobo Malocello
Strength
  • 27 Sicilian galleys
  • 40 Pisan galleys
 27 Genoese galleys
Casualties and losses
  • 2,000 killed [1] [2]
  • 1 archbishop killed
  • 4,000 captured [1] [2]
  • 18 prelates captured
  • 3 galleys sunk [3] [4]
  • 22 galleys captured [3] [4]

The naval Battle of Giglio or Montecristo was a military clash between a fleet of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and a fleet of the Republic of Genoa in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It took place on Friday, May 3, 1241 between the islands of Montecristo and Giglio in the Tuscan Archipelago and ended with the victory of the Imperial fleet.

Contents

The target of the Imperial fleet was to intercept a delegation of high-ranking prelates from France, Spain, England and northern Italy which were traveling with the Genoese fleet en route to Rome where Gregory IX had summoned a council.

Prelude

After Frederick's victory at the Battle of Cortenuova in 1237 a conflict erupted in the spring of 1239 between the Pope and the Emperor concerning the question of the Imperial claim to rule over the cities of the Lombard League, an open conflict that culminated in the second excommunication of the Emperor on March 20, 1239. [5] From then on both sides not prepared to compromise carried the military conflict against each other, where the Emperor achieved a victory in the Papal States at the Siege of Faenza, which increasingly threatened the position of the Pope. [1]

In the fall of 1240 the Pope issued to the Church dignitaries of Italy, Sicily, Germany, France, Spain and Hungary, the invitation to a council which should be addressed at Easter 1241 in Rome consulting the next steps of the church against the Emperor. [4] In his capacity as King of Sicily Frederick II could easily suppress participation of the Sicilian prelates, but the clergy of the other countries gathered in the following months in order to travel on to Rome.

Battle

The battle of Giglio depicted in the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris (1259) ChronicaMajora-Giglio1241-MatthewParis-HenryIII(1259).PNG
The battle of Giglio depicted in the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris (1259)

The Emperor controlled the land route through central Italy and thus Rome was cut off by land from northern Italy. [5] The council gathered in Nice, where they were first transported by a fleet of the Maritime Republic of Genoa, which was led by a Guelph (Pope loyal) Government in its port. [2] The two legates James of Palestrina and Otto of San Nicola negotiated with the Genoese for 32 armed galleys for the further transport by sea to Rome, and as soon as the embassies of the Lombard cities had embarked the journey should be started. When Frederick II learned of this project he ordered in March 1241 his in Lombardy prevailing vicars, Marino di Ebulo and Oberto Pallavicini, to attack Genoa by land. [1]

The Emperor had to upgrade his Sicilian fleet to put the Genoese under pressure from the sea. The Emperor had 27 galleys armed [2] under the command of his son Enzio, along with admiral Ansaldo de Mari, a genoese noble of the ghibelline party.. [3] This contingent then sailed to the Republic of Pisa, which was the arch rival of Genoa and staunchly Ghibelline (Emperor loyal). The Pisan fleet of 40 galleys stood under the command of Ugolino Buzaccherini. [3]

On April 25, the Genoese fleet set sail from Genoa, but first headed to Portofino [6] where they were anchored there for one or two days. When the crews learned of an attack by Oberto Pallavicino on the town of Zolasco, they intended to come to the rescue, but the two legates prevented it by successfully pushing for a quick drive to Rome. In another stopover in Porto Venere [6] they learned of the union between the Sicilian fleet and that of the Pisan fleet and thus now had an enemy between them and their destination. They managed to sail past Pisa, but not unnoticed since the Imperial fleet was already emerging between the islands of Montecristo and Giglio.

Of the battle Matthew Paris recorded: [7]

A most bloody fight then ensued at sea between the Pisans ... and the Genoese in which the Genoese were defeated, and the prelates and legates were made prisoners, with the exception of some who were slain or drowned

In the following engagement the Imperial fleet proved superior over that of the Genoese, especially since the numerous passengers and their luggage disabled the Genoese in the adequate defense of their ships, which could therefore provide only weak resistance to escape the threat of sinking. [1] The Imperial side succeeded in sinking 3 and hijacking 22 galleys, [4] killing 2,000 soldiers, sailors, and priests, [2] [8] and capturing the notable prelates as well as the treasuries and correspondence. [3]

Aftermath

The hijacking of the Genoese fleet was a great success for the Emperor Frederick II. Almost all the high dignitaries of the council got into his captivity. These included the three Papal legates; the archbishops of Rouen, Bordeaux and Auch; the bishops of Carcassonne, Agde, Nîmes, Tortona, Asti and Pavia; the abbots of Cîteaux, Clairvaux, Cluny, Fécamp, Merci-Dieu  [ fr ] and Foix  [ fr ]. [1] [2] They were first brought to Pisa and San Miniato, and were then transferred to custody in Naples and other fortresses in the south. On the ships that saved themselves and were able to escape capture were mainly the prelates of the Spain and Arles. Emperor Frederick II proclaimed his victory to be God's judgment and a symbol against the illegality of his persecution by the Pope Gregory IX. The comune of Pisa was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX and the interdict lasted until 1257. [9]

Only with the surprisingly fast death of Pope Gregory IX in August 1241 did the situation seemed to relax at first. As a sign of good will Frederick II had the legates released in order to make way for the election of a new Pope. The newly elected Pope Innocent IV, however, should prove to be an equally intransigent opponent as his predecessor. In 1244 he took his exile seat in safe Lyon, where this time the convocation of the First Council of Lyons was achieved, which formally deposed the Emperor.

Ansaldo da Mare took advantage of the fortune resulting from this victory to acquire the lordship north of the Corsican cape. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisa</span> Comune in Tuscany, Italy

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 its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guelphs and Ghibellines</span> Rival political factions in medieval Italy

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting respectively the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between these two parties dominated political life across medieval Italy. The struggle for power between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire arose with the Investiture Controversy, which began in 1075 and ended with the Concordat of Worms in 1122.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Genoa</span> Italian maritime republic (1099–1797)

The Republic of Genoa was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centres in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cortenuova</span> Battle in 1237 in Italy

The Battle of Cortenuova was fought on 27 November 1237 in the course of the Guelphs and Ghibellines Wars: in it, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II defeated the Second Lombard League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enzo of Sardinia</span> King of Sardinia

Enzo was an illegitimate son of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II, who appointed him 'King of Sardinia' in 1238. He played a major role in the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines in the Imperial kingdom of Italy, and was captured by his enemies in 1249. He remained imprisoned in Bologna until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Curzola</span> 1298 naval battle between the fleets of Genoa and Venice

The Battle of Curzola was a naval battle fought on 9 September 1298 between the Genoese and Venetian navies. It was a disaster for Venice, a major setback among the many battles fought in the 13th and 14th centuries between Pisa, Genoa, and Venice in a long series of wars for the control of Mediterranean and Levantine trade.

The siege of Faenza occurred from August 1240 to April 14, 1241, during the course of the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. In this military confrontation, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II aggressively laid siege to the town of Faenza and successfully captured the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Meloria (1284)</span> Naval battle between Pisa and Genoa; decisive Genoan victory

The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisan fleet marked the decline of the Republic of Pisa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime republics</span> Sea-based city-states on the Italian peninsula and Dalmatia during the Middle Ages

The maritime republics, also called merchant republics, were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The term, coined during the 19th century, generally refers to four Italian cities, whose coats of arms have been shown since 1947 on the flags of the Italian Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona, Gaeta, Noli, and, in Dalmatia, Ragusa, are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of the better known cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval Corsica</span>

The history of Corsica in the medieval period begins with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of various Germanic peoples in the fifth century AD, and ends with the complete subjection of the island to the authority of the Bank of San Giorgio in 1511.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto of Tonengo</span> Italian diplomat and cardinal

Otto of Tonengo was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244.

The 1241 papal election saw the election of Cardinal Goffredo da Castiglione as Pope Celestine IV. The election took place during the first of many protracted sede vacantes of the Middle Ages, and like many of them was characterized by disputes between popes and the Holy Roman Emperor. Specifically, the election took place during the war between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and the Lombard League and deceased pontiff, Pope Gregory IX, with Italy divided between pro-Papal and pro-Imperial factions known as the Guelphs and Ghibellines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ponza (1435)</span> Naval battle in 1435

The naval battle of Ponza was fought in early August 1435, when the Duke of Milan dispatched the Genoese navy to relieve the besieged town of Gaeta, which was currently under threat from the King of Aragon.

An incomplete list of events in Italy in 1241:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal Navy</span> Navy of the Papal States

The Papal Navy was the maritime force of the Papal States. Loosely constituted, it was sporadically extant from approximately the Battle of Ostia (849) during the pontificate of Leo IV until the ascension of Pope Leo XIII in 1878, when he sold the last remaining Papal warship, the Immacolata Concezione.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mujahid's invasion of Sardinia</span> Early 11th-century military expedition

In 1015 and again in 1016, the forces of Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī from the taifa of Denia and the Balearics, in the east of Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), attacked Sardinia and attempted to establish control over it. In both these years joint expeditions from the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa repelled the invaders. These Pisan–Genoese expeditions to Sardinia were approved and supported by the Papacy in aid of the sovereign Sardinian medieval kingdoms, known as Judicates, which resisted autonomously after the collapse of the Byzantine rule on the island. Modern historians often see them as proto-Crusades. After their victory, the Italian cities turned on each other. For this reason, the Christian sources for the expedition are primarily from Pisa, which celebrated its double victory over the Muslims and the Genoese with an inscription on the walls of its Duomo.

Alamanno da Costa was a Genoese admiral. He became the count of Syracuse in the Kingdom of Sicily, and led naval expeditions throughout the eastern Mediterranean. He was an important figure in Genoa's longstanding conflict with Pisa and in the origin of its conflict with Venice. The historian Ernst Kantorowicz called him a "famous prince of pirates".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genoese navy</span> Military unit

The Genoese navy was the naval contingent of the Republic of Genoa's military. From the 11th century onward the Genoese navy protected the interests of the republic and projected its power throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It played a crucial role in the history of the republic as a thalassocracy and a maritime trading power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James of Pecorara</span> Italian monk and diplomat

James of Pecorara or Giacomo da Pecorara was an Italian monk, cardinal and diplomat.

Simone Guercio was a Genoese noble and military commander and official in the service of the Republic of Genoa during the third quarter of the 13th century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kington Oliphant, T. L. (1862). History of Frederick the Second. Vol. II. Cambridge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ full citation needed ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Graf zu Stolberg, Friedrich Leopold (1864). Geschichte der Religion Jesu Christi. Mainz.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ full citation needed ]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Münch, Ernst (1841). König Enzio. Stuttgart.[ full citation needed ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 Milman, Henry (1857). History of Latin Christianity. Vol. IV. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ full citation needed ]
  5. 1 2 Böhmer, Johann Friedrich (1849). Regesta Imperii. Stuttgart.[ full citation needed ]
  6. 1 2 Canale, Michel-Giuseppe (1860). Nuova istoria della Repubblica di Genova. Florence.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ↑ Lewis, Suzanne (1987). The Art of Matthew Paris in the Chronica Majora. University of California Press. ISBN   9780859677332.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ full citation needed ]
  8. ↑ Dittmar, Heinrich (1880). Die Deutsche Geschichte. Heidelberg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ full citation needed ]
  9. ↑ Brooke, Rosalind (2006). The Image of St Francis. Cambridge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ Cunferenza - L'empire maritime catalan dans la géopolitique méditerranéenne XIIIème – XVème siècles, 15 April 2021, retrieved 2023-09-17
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.