Massimiliano Sforza

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Portrait of Massimiliano as illumination in a Latin school book made for him in 1496/1499, the grammar (Ars minor) of Aelius Donatus . Manuscript Milan, Biblioteca Trivulziana, Ms. 2167, fol. 1v
Massimiliano Sforza as a pupil with his tutor Gian Antonio Secco (left). Illumination by Giovanni Pietro da Birago in the copy of Donatus' grammar made for Massimiliano. Manuscript Milan, Biblioteca Trivulziana, Ms. 2167, fol. 13v

Massimiliano Sforza (German Maximilian Sforza ; born January 25, 1493 in Milan , † June 4, 1530 in Paris ) was a member of the Sforza family and from 1512 to 1515 Duke of Milan . He lost the duchy to the French King Francis I in 1515 .

Life

Origin and youth

The young Massimiliano Sforza meets Maximilian I. Illustration from the Livre de Jésus , Castello Sforzesco , Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan

Massimiliano, whose original baptismal name was Ercole, was the eldest son of Ludovico Sforza , called "il Moro", the de facto ruling Duke of Milan, and his wife Beatrice d'Este , a daughter of Duke Ercole I d'Este of Ferrara .

Since the death of his brother Galeazzo Maria († 1476) Ludovico il Moro led the business of government in the Duchy of Milan on behalf of his underage nephew Gian Galeazzo (1469-1494). However, he was not ready to let his nephew rule over Milan when he was of age. In doing so he jeopardized the political balance that had existed in Italy since the Peace of Lodi (1454). King Ferrante I of Naples , whose granddaughter Isabella of Aragón (1470-1524) was married to Gian Galeazzo Sforza, armored diplomatically and militarily against Ludovico, who as Duke of Bari was also a vassal of the Neapolitan king. In this difficult situation for him, Ludovico turned to both the French King Charles VIII and Maximilian , the son of Emperor Frederick III. († 1493). The German heir to the throne appreciated the offer made by the Milanese regent, as it offered him the opportunity to pursue Habsburg and imperial interests in northern Italy, and it brought him a financially strong ally. On the other hand, for Ludovico, the alliance with Maximilian meant diplomatic recognition of his dynasty as dukes of Milan. The marriage between Maximilian I and Bianca Maria Sforza , a niece of Ludovico and sister of Gian Galeazzo, which was not concluded until 1494 , was also intended to strengthen the new alliance.

As early as 1493, the Duke of Milan had his eldest son renamed Massimiliano (Maximilian) in honor of his new ally. But just a year later, Ludovico moved to the camp of French King Charles VIII, who took the conflict between Milan and Naples and Ludovico's appeal for help as an opportunity to invade Italy with his army.

The conquest of the Duchy of Milan by troops of the French King Louis XII. led to the fall of the Sforza dynasty in 1499 and 1500. Ludovico il Moro was captured by the French and imprisoned in Loches , where he died in 1508. His underage sons Massimiliano and Francesco , whose mother Beatrice d'Este had died in 1497, were brought to safety at the court of Maximilian I in Innsbruck . A party of exiled Milanese was formed there, the aim of which was to recapture Milan immediately. They therefore tried to win Bianca Maria, Massimiliano and Francesco Sforza for their goals and machinations. This led to violent quarrels and conflicts between Maximilian I and the Milanese exiles.

Duke of Milan

The political cooperation of the Holy League under Pope Julius II. And Matthäus Schiner , Cardinal Bishop of Sion ( Sion ), weakened by the lost battle of Ravenna , made it possible for his Swiss mercenaries to conquer northern Italian cities, which then made immense compensation payments in order not to be plundered had to afford.

Thereupon, on June 20, 1512, the Milanese assured the Holy League and the rightful heir of the duchy, Massimiliano Sforza, of their loyalty and solidarity. The actual ruler - Cardinal Schiner - appointed Ottaviano Sforza (1475–1545), Bishop of Lodi , as regent of Milan, his brother Alessandro (1465–1523) as governor of Cremona and Giovanni Sforza, a stepbrother of Ludovico, as regent in Pavia .

Emperor Maximilian I tried to prevent the new duke from returning to Milan. However , on December 15, 1512, the Swiss forced the Sforza to enter Milan and officially installed him as Duke on December 29, 1512. In return, he had to cede the Confederates Lugano , Locarno , Mendrisio , the Val Maggio and the domination of Domodossola . The Bündner demanded and received the Valtellina , the county of Cläven ( Chiavenna ) and the rule of Worms ( Bormio ). Furthermore, the Swiss demanded a one-off payment of 200,000 ducats and then annual payments of 40,000 ducats. The emperor also insisted on the payment of 120,000 ducats and the pope had Parma and Piacenza occupied under the pretext of old feudal rights .

Massimiliano Sforza, acting as a puppet of the Swiss in the significantly reduced Duchy of Milan, had to pledge his tax receipts for two years and tolerate the associated reduction in his income. For a successful restoration of the Sforza rule in Milan he was unsuitable due to unfavorable character traits, he was considered high-flying and reckless. In addition, the young ruler at Maximilian I's court had not been adequately prepared for his political task. His education was inadequate, he could hardly read or write, had to rely on the advice of others for his decisions, and because of his education abroad, Massimiliano appeared coarse and unpolished at the highly cultivated Milanese court. Despite the financial misery of his state, the twenty-year-old was soon celebrating lavish parties, for example in January 1513 when his aunt Isabella d'Este , Margravine of Mantua , whom he adored and loved , came to the carnival in Milan with her ladies-in-waiting and with her lavish and easy-going one Wake caused resentment among the Milanese people.

Shortly after the death of Pope Julius II († February 21, 1513) the French and Venetians forged a new alliance. Soon afterwards, French troops under Gian Giacomo Trivulzio and Louis II. De La Trémoille moved from the west and Venetian troops under Bartolomeo d'Alviano (1455–1515) from the east towards Milan. Massimiliano Sforza was supported by the Swiss, by Spanish troops under Ramon de Cardona (1446–1513) and by papal troops under Prospero Colonna , in whose army German mercenaries fought under the command of Georg von Frundsberg . The French were finally defeated on June 6, 1513 in the Battle of Novara , the Venetians on October 7, 1513 in the Battle of Creazzo, not far from Verona. The rule of the Sforza over the Duchy of Milan seemed secure for the time being.

In 1515 the new French King Franz I , who was a direct descendant of Valentina Visconti and derived his claims to rule over Milan, insisted on the handover of the duchy by the Swiss. Instead, these should be settled with a million ducats and the area around Bellinzona . Massimiliano Sforza was to be compensated with the French Duchy of Nemours , an annual pension of 12,000 francs and a French princess of blood as a wife. The Swiss, convinced of their unbeatability, however, turned down the offer of the French ruler. Thereupon the French army occupied Lombardy and the army fighting under the command of Francis I defeated on 13/14. September 1515 in the battle of Marignano the Swiss and their allies. In the subsequent negotiations between the French, Swiss and Milanese, the Milanese Chancellor Geronimo de Morone played a double game, so that Massimiliano Sforza had to abdicate as Duke on October 5, 1515 and go into French exile. There he received an annual pension of 30,000 ducats. Francis I took over the rule of the Duchy of Milan and entrusted the Connétable de Bourbon with the reign.

Massimiliano Sforza was no longer politically active in French exile. He officially died in Paris on June 4, 1530. It is possible that his death was only faked and he lived on as a monk Celestino da Olgiato in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés , where he should have died in 1552.

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Muzio Attendolo Sforza (1369-1424)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Francesco I. Sforza (1401–1466)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lucia of Torsano (Terzano)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ludovico Sforza (1452–1508)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Filippo Maria Visconti (1392–1447)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bianca Maria Visconti (1425–1468)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Agnes del Maino († after 1447)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Massimiliano Sforza
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Niccolò III. d'Este (1383–1441)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ercole I. d'Este (1431–1505)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ricarda di Saluzzo († 1474)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beatrice d'Este (1475-1497)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ferrante I of Naples (1424–1494)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Eleonora of Aragon (1450-1493)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Isabella of Clermont († 1465)
 
 
 
 
 
 

literature

  • Klaus Schelle; The Sforza. Peasants - Condottieri - Dukes. History of a renaissance family ; Magnus Verlag Essen, with the kind permission of Seewaldverlag, Stuttgart
  • Chronicle of Switzerland ; Chronik-Verlag in the Harenberg Kommunikation Verlags- und Mediengesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Dortmund ( ISBN 3-611-00031-0 ) and Ex Libris Verlag, Zurich ( ISBN 3-7178-0026-4 ); 1987
  • Leopold von Ranke ; History of the Germanic peoples. Princes and peoples. The history of the Germanic and Romanic peoples from 1494–1514 ; edited by Prof. Dr. Willy Andreas; Emil Vollmer Verlag; ISBN 3-88851-185-2

Web links

Commons : Massimiliano Sforza  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. Maximilian's father, Emperor Friedrich III, refused to accept Francesco Sforza and his sons as dukes of Milan. For him, the Sforzas were only condottieri who usurped the duchy .
  2. Pavia 40,000 ducats, Cremona 40,000 ducats, Lodi 30,000 ducats, Milan 60,000 ducats, Parma 20,000 ducats, Piacenza 20,000 ducats
  3. Massimiliano's claim to the Duchy of Milan was undisputed after the death of Gian Galeazzo's son Francesco (* 1491; † January 17, 1512), known as "il ducchetto" - the little duke.
  4. ↑ In 1545 Pope Paul III transferred these areas to his son Pier Luigi II Farnese , whose descendants ruled the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza until 1731. Via the female line of succession ( Elisabetta Farnese ) the duchy came to the House of Bourbon-Parma .
  5. cf. French Wikipedia
predecessor Office successor
Louis XII. Duke of Milan
1512–1515
Franz I.