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Condottieri were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other European monarchs during the Italian Wars of the Renaissance and the European Wars of Religion. Notable condottieri include Prospero Colonna, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Cesare Borgia, the Marquis of Pescara, Andrea Doria, and the Duke of Parma.
The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
Muzio Attendolo Sforza, was an Italian condottiero. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio.
Braccio da Montone, born Andrea Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.
Werner von Urslingen was a mercenary of German-speaking origins in the Holy Roman Empire. He is also known as Werner of Urslingen.
Alberico da Barbiano was the first of the Italian 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 compagnia San Giorgio.
Astorre Manfredi was an Italian condottiero. He was the son of Giovanni Manfredi, who had been lord of Faenza and other castles in the area before the Papal reconquest. Astorre lived for a while in Pistoia after his father had lost his last possession in Romagna; three years after the latter's death, in 1375, he managed to recover Granarolo.
Carlo I Malatesta was an Italian condottiero during the Wars in Lombardy and lord of Rimini, Fano, Cesena and Pesaro. He was a member of the powerful House of Malatesta. Carlo's wife was Elisabetta Gonzaga; they were married in November 1386. Francesco I Gonzaga married Carlo's sister Margherita Malatesta in 1393, cementing ties between the families. Carlo was the brother of Pandolfo III and Andrea Malatesta, with whom he fought in numerous occasions.
The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near Parabiago, in Lombardy, northern Italy, between the Milanese army and the St. George's Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti. A renowned condottiero, the latter was an exiled member of the Visconti family then in power in Milan with a kind of triumvirate formed by Azzone and his uncles, Luchino and Archbishop Giovanni Visconti. Aiming to return victoriously to his city, he hired some 2,500 knights, mainly from Germany, and 1,000 Swiss infantry which had fought in the unsuccessful war of Mastino II della Scala for the hegemony in northern Italy. These units were led by Werner von Urslingen and Konrad von Landau.
The Battle of Zagonara was fought on 28 July 1424 at Zagonara between the armies of the Republic of Florence and that of Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, an episode of the Wars in Lombardy. A number of famous Italian condottieri of the 15th century took part in the battle. The only condottiero who died in the battle was Lodovico degli Obizzi, who fell off his horse and suffocated in the mud.
Lodrisio Visconti was an Italian condottiero.
The Great Company was a group of mercenaries, chiefly of German origin but operating in the Italian peninsula, who flourished in the mid-14th century. At its height, the company numbered approximately 10,000-12,000 men, chiefly armored cavalry. The Great Company's power set the pattern for later condottieri who came to dominate Renaissance Italian warfare.
A free company was an army of mercenaries between the 12th and 14th centuries recruited by private employers during wars. They acted independently of any government, and were thus "free". They regularly made a living by plunder when they were not employed; in France they were called routiers and écorcheurs and operated outside the highly structured law of arms. The term "free company" is most often applied to those companies of soldiers which formed after the Peace of Brétigny during the Hundred Years' War and were active mainly in France, but it has been applied to other companies, such as the Catalan Company and companies that operated elsewhere, such as in Italy and the Holy Roman Empire.
The La Compagnia della Stella was the name of two separate companies of mercenary soldiers which operated in northern Italy at different times in the 14th century.
Konrad Wirtinger von Landau, known in Italy as Conte Lando, was a German military adventurer and condottiero who was active in north and central Italy.
Giovanni da Barbiano was an Italian condottiero, the leader of a force of mercenary soldiers. He was a brother or nephew of the condottiero Alberico da Barbiano.
The Visconti Castle of Crenna is a castle of mediaeval origin located in Crenna, frazione of Gallarate, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is linked to the fame of Lodrisio Visconti, who raised against and then reconciled with the members of the family of his cousin Matteo Visconti, Lord of Milan. In the 14th century, the castle underwent expansion and destruction according to the alternative fortunes of Lodrisio.
Paolo Savelli was an Italian condottiero who served under Alberico da Barbiano in the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, before entering the service of the Duchy of Milan in its wars with Florence. He finally served the Republic of Venice as its commander-in-chief during the War of Padua, dying of the plague during the final siege of Padua.
Rinaldo Giver, better known as Malerba, died 1345, was a German condottiero.
References
- 1 2 Axelrod, Alan (2014). Mercenaries: A Guide to Private Armies and Private Military Companies. CQ Press. p. 30. ISBN 9781483364667.