Angelo Tartaglia

Angelo Tartaglia

Angelo Broglio da Lavello , known as Tartaglia (* 1370 in Lavello ; † October 1421 in Aversa ), was an Italian condottiere , lord of Lavello and Toscanella and owner of various rectorates of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples .

life and work

Little is known about the origin of Tartaglia. The place of birth Lavello in Basilicata and the year of birth 1370 are considered certain. His biological father was Andrea, the lord of Lavello. The Cronaca Malatestina, written by Tartaglia's son Gasparo, reports that he received his first training at the military school of Ceccolo Broglia. He adopted him (hence his surname) and bequeathed his troops and the war banner to him. The explanation of his nickname "Tartaglia" is unfounded, it would come from his stuttering (tartagliare = Italian stammer, stutter). In fact, it is a real family name because several personalities can be identified with this name, all of whom were related to him. There was a Cristofaro da Lavello who, like Tartaglia's half-brother Donato da Lavello, was often called "Tartaglia".

Around 1385 he fought in the army of Alberico da Barbiano , where he probably met Muzio Attendolo Sforza , with whom he initially had a friendship. Together with Sforza he put himself in the service of the Republic of Florence and fought in several battles. Above all the Condottieri Fuzzolino Tedesco, Scorpione and his former employer Barbiano became his enemies, whom he defeated on numerous occasions.

In 1402 the battle of Casalecchio took place between Milan and Bologna, and Florence sent him and Sforza to support Bologna's army. Tartaglia was assigned to secure the bridge over the Reno river because the Florentine supply depot was behind it. However, he left his post to rush into the action with his troops. The enemy used the path that had become free to plunder the camp. This led to the defeat and flight of the Florentines and to the arrest of Tartaglia by the troops of the Duke of Milan .

Florence had to raise the ransom and paid it from the wages that Sforza would have granted, so that the campaign became a financial debacle. When Tartaglia was released from prison two years later, he assumed responsibility, but Sforza's anger was so great that the relationship between the two would never improve. In fact, they became fierce rivals, even if after a few years they fought on their own side.

If he was in the service of Florence until 1407, he fought on the side of Siena until 1409 and then moved to the Neapolitan court, where he became advisor to King Ladislaus . On his behalf he was instrumental in the conquest of Rome on June 18, 1413. In gratitude, the king appointed him rector and governor of Toscanella, where Tartaglia settled and built a fortified palace. From there his future military operations should proceed.

With the death of Ladislaus in 1414 he placed himself in the service of the Pope after he was persuaded by a Florentine embassy to return the cities of Viterbo and Corneto to papal authority. In the period that followed, Tartaglia became the Church's dreaded executor and his army undertook countless raids that terrified potential enemies of the Pope. Several cities in Umbria and Siena then gave him expensive gifts in order to enjoy his favor.

On behalf of the church he besieged the rebellious city of Assisi in 1419 together with Sforza . There were several fights between the two military leaders and their troops. The situation seemed to escalate, which led Pope Martin V to have a real peace treaty drawn up between the two and to seal this with the marriage of Sforza's son, Giovanni, and Tartaglia's daughter, Lavigna. However, this did not prevent Sforza from wanting to murder Tartaglia. In fact, the latter had the two leaders, Farina and Beccarino, behead Brunoro because they supposedly wanted to murder him on behalf of Sforza. His rival Sforza charged him with treason in 1421 and Tartaglia was arrested in his sleep. Under torture he confessed that he had gotten involved with the opponent Condotiere Braccio di Montone and was in contact with the Aragonese royal family.

He was found guilty in the Aversa market square. It is very likely that the Pope was also behind this plot. The military leader was extremely expensive for Martin V and the complaints against Tartaglia grew louder and louder from the communities, including the city of Rome, which suffered from his armed raids. Apart from that, he now concentrated too great a military power that could quickly become dangerous to the Pope.

After his death, the majority of his army defected to Montone's army and fought Sforza and the Pope there.

literature

• Rimini, Bibl. Civica Gambalunga, Cod. 77 Cronaca universale di Gaspare Broglio Tartaglia , ff. 126, 137-154
• Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomineus, De viris illustribus , in the library of the literary association in Stuttgart, I, Stuttgart 1842, pp. 10 s.
• P. Partner, The Papal State under Martin V , London 1958
• A. Esch, Boniface IX. and the Papal States , Tübingen 1969
• Antonio Di Chicco, Il condottiero Angelo Tartaglia di Lavello, nel primo Ventennio del sec. XV , Lavello, Tip. Finiguerra, 1957; nuova edizione TARSIA di Melfi, 1990.
• Patrizia Chiatti, La biografia del condottiero Angelo Tartaglia (1370–1421) , Edizioni Penne & Papiri, Tuscania, 2011.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ His son names Tartaglias the actual father, the Duke of Benevento Raimondo Orsini del Balzo , but he would have become a father at the age of nine.
2. ↑ P. Chiatti, La biografia del condottiero Angelo Tartaglia (1370-1421), Tuscania, 2011, p 30f. His genealogy is on p. 31.
3. ↑ Tartaglia . Website in Italian. Retrieved June 11, 2013

See also

• Condottiere