Cangrande I. della Scala

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Equestrian statue of Cangrande in the Museum of Castelvecchio, Verona

Cangrande I. della Scala (born March 9, 1291 in Verona , † July 22, 1329 in Treviso ) from the Scaliger family was city lord (Signore) of Verona from 1308 to 1329. Cangrande or Can Grande ( Italian for big dog ) was the war name of Francesco della Scala . He died of digitalis poisoning four days after Treviso's triumphant ingestion .

Life

Francesco della Scala was the son of Alberto I della Scala , Lord of Verona from 1277 to 1301, and the younger brother of Alboino I della Scala , Lord of Verona from 1304 to 1311, who made him co-regent in 1308. Alboino and Cangrande, both of whom were loyal to the emperor, were made imperial vicars of Verona in March 1311 by the Roman-German King Henry VII , who set out for Italy in 1310 to be crowned emperor and at the same time to restore the old imperial rights appointed.

After Alboino's death, Cangrande appointed his son Alberto II della Scala as co-regent. He made a name for himself as a soldier, prince and patron of Dante (who glorified him in the Divine Comedy, Paradise, Song 17), Petrarch and Giotto . By war or treaty he brought the cities of Treviso (1308), Belluno , Bassano , Feltre , Padua (1328) and Vicenza under his control. In 1318 he was elected captain general by the Lombard Ghibelline League.

Cangrande I. della Scala was married to Giovanna di Svevia († December 29,  1352 ), the daughter of Corrado di Antiochia ( Staufer ) and sister of the widow of his brother and predecessor Bartolomeo, who died in 1304 , since 1308 . The couple had no heirs.

The tomb of Cangrande I della Scala is located at the Church of Santa Maria Antica near the Scaliger tombs in Verona.

Death from digitalis poisoning

Tomb of Cangrande I.

In 2014, a team led by Gino Fornaciaria from the University of Pisa carried out an autopsy on the naturally preserved mummy of Cangrande I della Scala. This led, in feces of rectum ( rectum ) pollen from foxglove ( Digitalis sp. ), True chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla ) and black mulberry ( Morus nigra ) are detected. Toxicological analyzes showed increased concentrations of the two digitalis glycosides digoxin and digitoxin in the liver and feces. Cangrande died four days after the triumphant capture of Treviso. His sudden death was accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea and fever. These symptoms are compatible with the early stages of digitalis intoxication . Authors at the time report that he drank from a "contaminated source". Based on these findings, the team, led by Gino Fornaciaria, assumes that Cangrandes was deliberately poisoned by Digitalis.

literature

  • Giovanni G. Orti Manara: Cenni storici e documenti che risguardano Cangrande della Scala signore di Verona. Antonelli, Verona 1853.
  • Carlo Cipolla: Cangrande I della Scala. In: Protomoteca Veronese disegnata dal pittore Giulio Sartori. Litografia Penuti, Verona 1881.
  • Hans Spangenberg : Cangrande I. della Scala. 2 volumes. Gaertners et al., Berlin 1892–1895;
    • Volume 1: 1291-1320 (= historical studies. Vol. 11, 1). 1892;
    • Volume 2: 1321-1329 (= historical studies. Vol. 11, 2). 1895.
  • Carlo Cipolla: Degli atti diplomatici riguardanti il ​​dominio di Cangrande in Padova. Nota. In: Rendiconti della R. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche. Series 5, Vol. 10, 1901, ISSN  0391-8181 , (also special print: R. Accademia dei Lincei, Rome 1901).
  • Rodolfo Benini: Quando nacque Cangrande I della Scala. Nota. In: Rendiconti del R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere. Series 2, Vol. 39, 1906, ZDB -ID 203794-4 , pp. 393-405, (also special reprint: Rebeschini di Turati e c., Milan 1906).
  • Martino Branca: L'epistola a Cangrande. Tipografia G. Gallizzi e C., Sassari 1907.
  • Alice M. Allen: A History of Verona. Methuen & Co., London 1910.
  • Luisa Banal: Cangrande della Scala. GB Paravia, Turin 1934.
  • Mario Carrara: Gli Scaligeri. Dall'Oglio, Varese 1966.
  • Gian Maria Varanini (Ed.): Gli Scaligeri. 1277-1387. Mondadori, Verona 1988.
  • Andrea Castagnetti, Gian Maria Varanini (ed.): Il veneto nel medioevo. Dai Comuni cittadini al predominio scaligero nella Marca. Banca Popolare di Verona, Verona 1991, ISBN 88-04-36999-X .
  • Andrea Castagnetti, Gian Maria Varanini (ed.): Il Veneto nel medioevo. Le signorie trecentesche. Banca Popolare di Verona, Verona 1995.
  • Sergio Marinelli, Giulia Tamanti (ed.): La statua equestre di Cangrande I della Scala. Studi, ricerche, restauro (= Saggi e Studi di Storia dell'Arte. NS Bd. 4). Pozza, Verona 1995, ISBN 88-7305-525-7 .
  • Paolo Marini, Ettore Napione, Gian Maria Varanini, (Eds.): Cangrande Della Scala. La Morte e il corredo funebre di un principe nel medioevo europeo. Marsilio Editori, Venice 2004, ISBN 88-317-8492-7 .
  • Ettore Napione (Ed.): Il Corpo Del Principe. Richerche su Cangrande della Scala. Marsilio Editori, Venice 2006, ISBN 88-317-9024-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Victoria Woollaston: Mystery of the 14th century Lord of Verona's death solved: Autopsy on mummy reveals Cangrande was POISONED with foxgloves. Daily Mail Online, January 7, 2015, accessed January 7, 2015 .
  2. ^ Gino Fornaciaria et al .: A medieval case of digitalis poisoning: the sudden death of Cangrande della Scala, lord of Verona (1291-1329). Science Direct Journal of Archaeological Science Volume 54, February 2015, Pages 162–167, doi : 10.1016 / j.jas.2014.12.005 , February 2015, accessed on January 7, 2015 (English).

Web links

Commons : Cangrande della Scala  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Alboino I. della Scala Lord of Verona
1308-1329 		Alberto II della Scala
Mastino II della Scala
personal data
SURNAME Della Scala, Cangrande I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cangrande; Can Grande; Big dog
BRIEF DESCRIPTION City Lord (Signore) of Verona
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1291
PLACE OF BIRTH Verona
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1329
Place of death Treviso