Ludovico Sforza

Ludovico Sforza by Francesco Napoletano, around 1494 (detail from the Sforza altar, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan)

Signature of
Ludovico Sforza

Portrait of Ludovico from 1496/1499 as book illumination in the Milan manuscript, Biblioteca Trivulziana, Ms. 2167, fol. 54r

Ludovico Maria Sforza (called il Moro ; * July 27, 1452 in Vigevano ; † May 27, 1508 in Loches ) was Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1499 and 1500 and famous as a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists. He lost the duchy to the French in 1500 and died as their prisoner.

His nickname il Moro is often translated as "the dark one" and related to his supposedly particularly dark skin or hair color. Alternatively, it is partly attributed to the fact that his middle name was Maurus. However, it is probably derived from the Italian mora ( mulberry tree ), Ludovico's coat of arms , which among other things also symbolized his promotion of the cultivation of mulberry trees for silk production .

origin

He came from the Sforza family , the 1441 marriage of his father, the famous condottiere Francesco I. Sforza (1401-1466), with Bianca Maria Visconti (1425-1468), the heiress of the Duchy of Milan, from the small nobility to one of the most powerful princely families in Italy, as Francesco I became Duke of Milan in 1450.

Life

Ludovico was the fourth son of his parents, so initially had no prospect of succession to the throne. After the murder of his older brother Duke Galeazzo Maria in 1476, his seven-year-old son Gian Galeazzo Sforza succeeded the Milanese throne . Ludovico retained the reign of Milan during Gian Galeazzo's minority, although several attempts were made to evict him.

When Gian Galeazzo died on October 22nd, 1494, Ludovico received the ducal crown from the Milanese nobility. In the same year he encouraged Charles VIII of France (reign 1483–1498) to get involved in Italy . However, when he saw his own position in danger from French politics, he joined the alliance against Charles VIII, married his niece Bianca Maria Sforza to the German King Maximilian I (reign 1493-1519) and received an investiture in return in Milan by the emperor.

In 1495 he defeated the army of the French king in the battle of Fornovo , for which he had weapons forged from 70 tons of bronze , which were actually provided for the equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza designed by Leonardo da Vinci , but was in 1499 by Louis XII. (ruled 1498–1515) expelled from Milan. Ludovico brokered peace in Basel and on February 5, 1500, briefly retook Milan with the help of Swiss mercenaries, but was then handed over to the French by one of them in the betrayal of Novara in April 1500. He died on May 27, 1508 as a prisoner in Loches Castle .

Francesco Sforza, the son of Gian Galeazzo, was also from Louis XII. brought to France, where he became the abbot of Marmoutier . He died in 1511.

Sforza Altar (around 1494) with Ludovico Sforza (kneeling on the left) and Beatrice d'Este (kneeling on the right)

progeny

Ludovico Sforza married on January 18, 1491 Beatrice d'Este (1475-1497), a daughter of Ercole I. d'Este , Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio († 1505) and the Eleonora Infanta of Aragón († 1493). He had two children with her:

Massimiliano Sforza (1493–1530), Duke of Milan 1512–1515
Francesco II. Sforza (1495–1535), Duke of Milan 1521–1535

He had other offspring from his numerous love affairs : Bianca Giovanna (1483–1496), who was married to Galéas de Saint-Séverin , is known. This daughter was probably portrayed with the portrait of La Bella Principessa .

literature

Benno Kindt: The Ludovico Moros disaster in Novara in April 1500. A source-critical investigation. Greifswald 1890, (Greifswald, University, dissertation, 1890; digitized version ).
Peter Schmid: SFORZA, Ludovico Maria. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 9, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-058-1 , Sp. 1583-1586. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Ludovico Sforza - collection of images, videos and audio files

Literature by and about Ludovico Sforza in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

↑ For example John E. Morby: The Sobriquets of Medieval European Princes. In: Canadian Journal of History. Volume 13, number 1, 1978, pp. 1-16, here p. 13, doi : 10.3138 / cjh.13.1.1 .

↑ Patricia Trutty-Coohill: Leonardo's Sala delle Asse and Sullivan's Organic Architecture. In: Analecta Husserliana. Yearbook of Phenomenological Research. Volume 66, 2000, pp. 19-34, here p. 25 ( online ).

^ P. Miller-Wald: Contributions to the knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci , in the yearbook of the Prussian art collections , 1897, volume XVII, page 78

↑ Broadcast on Arte on March 30, 2019: Leonardo da Vinci: The Secret of the Beautiful Princess ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2019 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

predecessor	Office	successor
Gian Galeazzo Sforza Louis XII.	Duke of Milan 1494–1499 1500	Louis XII. Louis XII.

personal data
SURNAME	Sforza, Ludovico
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ludovico il Moro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Duke of Milan from the Sforza family
DATE OF BIRTH	July 27, 1452
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vigevano
DATE OF DEATH	May 27, 1508
Place of death	Loches

[1] For example John E. Morby: The Sobriquets of Medieval European Princes. In: Canadian Journal of History. Volume 13, number 1, 1978, pp. 1-16, here p. 13, doi : 10.3138 / cjh.13.1.1 .

[2] Patricia Trutty-Coohill: Leonardo's Sala delle Asse and Sullivan's Organic Architecture. In: Analecta Husserliana. Yearbook of Phenomenological Research. Volume 66, 2000, pp. 19-34, here p. 25 ( online ).

[3] P. Miller-Wald: Contributions to the knowledge of Leonardo da Vinci , in the yearbook of the Prussian art collections , 1897, volume XVII, page 78