Francesco Balbi di Correggio

First edition of Balbi's report on the siege of Malta, printed in Alcalá de Henares in 1567 .

Francesco Balbi di Correggio (* probably March 16, 1505 in Correggio , Reggio Emilia province ; † December 12, 1589 ) was an Italian poet, writer and mercenary who served as an arquebusier in the Spanish contingent during the siege of Malta (1565) .

life and work

Not much is known about Balbi, apart from the fact that he was the only chronicler of the Battle of Malta who - still at the age of 60 - personally took part in the fighting - he was part of the Senglea crew - and thus an eyewitness to the events was throughout the siege. The history of the siege, which he wrote, appeared in Spanish two years after the events (1567), an improved and expanded new edition in 1568.

Almost all works written since then that deal with the Turkish siege of Malta have obtained their basic data from the work written by Balbi. Balbi also lists the names of all the knights who took part during the siege, broken down according to fallen and survivors.

evaluation

"... Balbi [is] very careful in most of his statements and his whole report sober and conscientious ... Balbi [is] by far the best - the simple, unvarnished account of a fighting soldier"; Bradford, Siege 1961, note on Chapter 8 and Chapter 27.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Balbi / Rostock, Siege, Foreword
2. ^ Balbi / Rostock, Siege, Foreword; Bradford, Siege 1961, note on chapter 5
3. ↑ "The only other eyewitness ... was Antonfrancesco Cirni Corso , a Corsican cleric ... [he] saw ... only the very last phase of the campaign"; Bradford, Siege 1961, note on chapter 5

Work editions

• La verdadera relacion de todo lo q [ue] este año de MDLXV ha sucedido en la Isla de Malta, dende antes que la armada del gran turco Soliman llegasse sobre ella, hasta la llegada del socorro postrero del poderosissimo y catholico Rey de España don Phelipe nuestro señor segūdo deste nombre, recogida por Francisco Balbi de Correggio en todo el sitio Soldado ... Alcalá de Henares: Iuan de Villanueua 1567. - Second revised and expanded edition Barcelona: Reigner 1568.
• The Siege of Malta 1565 . Translated from Spanish by Henry Alexander Balbi. With a foreword by Harry Luke. Copenhagen: Ole Rostock 1961. Unabridged translation.
• The Siege of Malta, 1565. Translated from the Spanish edition of 1568 by Ernle Bradford . London: Folio Society 1965 (abridged and revised).

literature

• Ernle Bradford: The Great Siege . London: Hodder and Stoughton 1961. German under the title The Shield of Europe. The Battle of the Knights of St. John against the Turks, Malta 1565 . Tübingen: Wunderlich 1961. - Fußt u. a. on Balbi's report.