Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar (born March 16, 1453 in Montilla near Córdoba , † December 2, 1515 in Granada ) was a Spanish general and statesman in the service of the " Catholic Kings ".
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He was an Andalusian nobleman from the Fernández de Córdoba family , son of the noble knight Don Pedro Fernández de Córdoba, 5th lord of Aguilar de la Frontera in the Kingdom of Cordoba and husband of the noble lady Doña Elvira de Herrera y Enríquez (great-granddaughter of the Infante Don Fadrique Alfonso of Castile). Because of his military and diplomatic successes (especially in the war against Granada and the negotiations with the last Granadin Emir Boabdil ) he earned the title of "Gran Capitán".
Life
Gonzalo was the second son of Don Pedro Fernandez de Córdoba, Count of Aguilar, and his wife Elvira de Herrera, who came from the Enríquez family, the hereditary admirals of Castile , a branch line of the royal family .
Gonzalo was born on March 16, 1453 in Montilla near Córdoba. The father died when Gonzalo and his older brother Alonso were almost children. The Counts of Aguilar had a hereditary feud with the Cabra. Gonzalo and his brother were drawn into the fighting between rival parties. As a younger son, Gonzalo was forced to make his own fortune, although he was generously supported by his extremely wealthy brother Alonso. Military service and service at the royal court were - outside of the church - the only career opportunities for a nobleman of his class.
He first served in the entourage of Don Alfonsus , the king's brother . After his sudden death in 1468 he placed himself in the service of Isabella , the future queen.
During the civil war and the conflict with Portugal that overshadowed Isabella's first reign, Fernández fought under Alonso de Cárdenas , the last maestre (master of the order ) of the Order of Santiago . After the victorious Battle of Albuera, the Grand Master praised him and said he had always seen him in the front line because he was a striking figure because of his splendid armor. In fact, Fernández, who as a general always acted wisely and prudently, seems to have attracted attention as a young man for his impetuous daring. He seems to have had a keen sense that his reputation of fearlessness, bountiful abundance, and splendid appearance would secure the loyalty and affection of his soldiers.
Fernández completed his training in the craft of war during the ten years of the Reconquista (retaking) of Granada under his brother, the Count of Aguilar, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, and Íñigo López de Mendoza y Quiñones , the Count of Tendilla, whom he always as his tutors has designated. This war was primarily a guerrilla war, consisting of surprise attacks, battles for cities and castles, skirmishes and ambushes in the mountains. A war that required military technicians and guerrilla leaders alike. Gonzalo's greatest personal heroism was the defense of the advanced post Illora . He also commanded the queen's escort on their way through Granada and repulsed a command from the Moors before their eyes. When Granada surrendered, he was one of the officers chosen to lead the peace negotiations. After the peace agreement he received a piece of land as an award.
Gonzalo was previously known only as a gifted officer in subordinate commands, but his skills did not go unnoticed by Isabella, who also valued his chivalrous mixture of devotion and respect for her as wife and queen. When the Catholic kings raised an army in 1495 to support the Aragonese royal house of Naples against Charles VIII of France , Fernández was appointed commander-in-chief of the Spanish expeditionary army at the request of the queen to help King Ferrandino of Naples regain his kingdom. He landed at Reggio Calabria and quickly expelled the French from southern Italy, for which he was nicknamed El Gran Capitán ("the great captain") and was made Duke of Sant 'Angelo by King Frederick of Naples. After Guicciardini , he received the title because of the well-known pride of the Spaniards, but the designation quickly caught on among soldiers of the most varied of nations, who probably considered it appropriate. According to another thesis, it was a reverse translation of his actual military rank ( capitan general in 1496), which came back into Spanish via the French variant grand-capitaine .
Then when King Ludwig XII. France made new attacks on Naples in 1500 in conjunction with Spain, the Spanish fleet under Gonzalo was sent into Italian waters to conquer Naples for the allies. The real purpose was hidden by a short expedition against the Turks; But in 1501 Gonzalo Fernández turned to southern Italy, subjugated the same and included Taranto , which capitulated on March 1, 1502. Soon, however, a dispute arose between the French and Spanish over the division of the conquered Naples. For a time the war was waged like a knightly tournament for Barletta , where Gonzalo had gone; In January 1503, however, the Duke of Nemours , who commanded the French, was forced to retreat at great cost and was completely defeated at Cerignola on April 28, 1503, whereupon he himself fell. Gonzalo Fernández made a brilliant entry into Naples, and the whole kingdom except Gaeta recognized Spanish rule. The war then continued on the Garigliano in the autumn of 1503: It moved the crossing over the river and let the French army ruin for weeks under heavy rain. At the end of December, after a bypass movement, he put them to battle , smashed them and later also forced Gaeta to surrender. Gonzalo was now appointed Viceroy of Naples , but aroused the jealousy of King Ferdinand, who called him back to Spain in 1506 with outward distinctions, where he lived withdrawn from the court due to the great popularity he gained through prudent and prudent administration. He died of malaria on December 2, 1515 in his villa near Granada. He was survived by his daughter Elvira Fernández de Córdoba y Manrique.
Individual evidence
literature
- Hernando del Pulgar : Cronica del gran capitan Goncalo Hernandez de Cordova y Aguilar. Andrea Pescioni, Seville 1582.
- Jean Nicolas Duponcet: Histoire De Consalve De Cordoue, Umgebung Le Grand Capitaine. 2 volumes. Mariette, Paris 1714.
Web links
- Manuel José Quintana: El Gran Capitán . In: Vidas de los españoles célebres . Madrid 1879 (Spanish, cervantesvirtual.com [accessed March 31, 2016] Servicio de Información Bibliográfica y Documental de la Universidad de Alicante).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar, Gonzalo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gran Capitán |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish general and statesman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 16, 1453 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Montilla near Cordoba |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 2, 1515 |
| Place of death | Granada |