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123-490: Some authors have described the legendary Alberto da Giussano as the "first condottiero" and Napoleon Bonaparte (in virtue of his Italian origins) as the "last condottiero". According to this view, the condottieri tradition would span a huge diverse period from the Battle of Legnano in 1176 to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Most historians would narrow it down to the years from c.  1350 to c.  1650 , with

246-630: A warrior ethos , knightly piety , and courtly manners , all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility . The term "chivalry" derives from the Old French term chevalerie , which can be translated as " horse soldiery ". Originally, the term referred only to horse-mounted men, from the French word for horse, cheval , but later it became associated with knightly ideals. The French word chevalier originally meant "a man of aristocratic standing, and probably of noble ancestry, who

369-415: A consolidated contract, and, when the ferma (service period) elapsed, the company entered an aspetto (wait) period, wherein the contracting city-state considered its renewal. If the condotta expired definitively, the condottiere could not declare war against the contracting city-state for two years. This military–business custom was respected because professional reputation (business credibility)

492-471: A dispute over the administration of the church-hospital of San Sempliciano (at the time the hospitals were often linked to religious structures). The fact that the name of an Alberto da Giussano appears can give us at least some certainty of existence, precisely in years close to the time of the struggle of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa , of a person of that name, although there

615-547: A groom, and a boy); five lance composed a posta , five poste composed a bandiera (flag). By that time, the campaigning condottieri companies were as much Italian as foreign: the Astorre I Manfredi 's Compagnia della Stella (Company of the Star); a new Compagnia di San Giorgio (Company of St. George) under Ambrogio Visconti; Niccolò da Montefeltro's Compagnia del Cappelletto (Little Hat Company); and

738-405: A more "ordered and peaceful society". The tripartite conception of medieval European society (those who pray, those who fight, and those who work) along with other linked subcategories of monarchy and aristocracy, worked in congruence with knighthood to reform the institution in an effort "to secure public order in a society just coming into its mature formation." Kaeuper says that knighthood and

861-658: A new military ethos based on nationalism rather than "defending the faith against the infidel". Social commentators of the Victorian era advocated for a revival of chivalry in order to remedy the ill effects of the Industrial Revolution . Thomas Carlyle 's " Captains of Industry " were to lead a "Chivalry of Labour", a beneficent form of governance that is hierarchical yet fraternal in nature, rather than materialistic. John Ruskin 's "Ideal Commonwealth" took chivalry as one of its basic characteristics. From

984-693: A part in the foundation of the Scouting movement. The Brownsea Island Scout camp , formed in 1907, began as a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour , southern England, organised by British Army Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys . Boy scouts from different social backgrounds in the U.K. participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping , observation , woodcraft , chivalry, lifesaving , and patriotism . According to William Manchester , General Douglas MacArthur

1107-589: A particular focus on the rise of the commanders of free companies ( capitani di ventura ) and their transformation into captain generals fighting for the major powers during the struggle for political and religious supremacy in Europe. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Italian city-states of Venice , Florence , and Genoa were very rich from their trade with the Levant , yet possessed woefully small armies. In

1230-410: A perceived codified law. The chivalric ideals are based on those of the early medieval warrior class, and martial exercise and military virtue remain integral parts of chivalry until the end of the medieval period, as the reality on the battlefield changed with the development of Early Modern warfare , and increasingly restricted it to the tournament ground and duelling culture. The joust remained

1353-545: A revival and elaboration of chivalric ceremonial and rules of etiquette in the 14th century that was examined by Johan Huizinga in The Waning of the Middle Ages , which dedicates a chapter to "The idea of chivalry". In contrasting the literary standards of chivalry with the actual warfare of the age, the historian finds the imitation of an ideal past illusory; in an aristocratic culture such as Burgundy and France at

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1476-460: A sergeant). The first mercenary company with an Italian as its chief was the "Company of St. George" formed in 1339 and led by Lodrisio Visconti . This company was defeated and destroyed by Luchino Visconti of Milan (another condottiero and uncle of Lodrisio) in April 1339. Later, in 1377, a second "Company of St. George" was formed under the leadership of Alberico da Barbiano , also an Italian and

1599-497: A social, not a military phenomenon, with its key features: generosity, fidelity, liberality, and courtesy. Chivalry was dynamic; it adjusted in response to local situations, and this probably led to its demise. There were many chivalric groups in England as imagined by Sir Thomas Malory when he wrote Le Morte d'Arthur in the late 15th century; perhaps each group created its own chivalric ideology. Malory's perspective reflects

1722-449: A sword, wherewith he sheds blood blamelessly, without becoming thereby a man of blood, and frequently puts men to death without incurring the name or guilt of homicide. From the 12th century onward, chivalry came to be understood as a moral, religious, and social code of knightly conduct. The particulars of the code varied, but codes would emphasise the virtues of courage, honour, and service. Chivalry also came to refer to an idealisation of

1845-594: A way of life in which the military, the nobility, and religion combine. The "code of chivalry" is thus a product of the Late Middle Ages , evolving after the end of the crusades partly from an idealization of the historical knights fighting in the Holy Land and from ideals of courtly love. Pioneering French literary historian Léon Gautier compiled what he called the medieval Ten Commandments of chivalry in his book La Chevalerie (1884): In fact, there

1968-486: Is a legendary character of the 12th century who would have participated, as a protagonist, in the battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176. In reality, according to historians, the actual military leader of the Lombard League in the famous military battle with Frederick Barbarossa was Guido da Landriano . Historical analyses made over time have indeed shown that the figure of Alberto da Giussano never existed. In

2091-426: Is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood , with knights being members of various chivalric orders , and with knights' and gentlemen's behaviours which were governed by chivalrous social codes. The ideals of chivalry were popularized in medieval literature , particularly the literary cycles known as

2214-530: Is capable, if called upon, of equipping himself with a war horse and the arms of heavy cavalryman and who has been through certain rituals that make him what he is." Therefore, during the Middle Ages , the plural chevalerie (transformed in English into the word "chivalry") originally denoted the body of heavy cavalry upon formation in the field. In English, the term appears from 1292 (note that cavalry

2337-466: Is from the Italian form of the same word). The meaning of the term evolved over time into a broader sense, because in the Middle Ages the meaning of chevalier changed from the original concrete military meaning "status or fee associated with a military follower owning a war horse " or "a group of mounted knights" to the ideal of the Christian warrior ethos propagated in the romance genre, which

2460-456: Is no certainty that it was a leader, much less that he was referring to the captain who took part in the battle at the head of the Company of Death . It was then attempted to identify Alberto da Giussano with two historical figures, Albertus de Carathe (Alberto da Carate) and Albertus Longus (Alberto Longo), who are among the signatories, for the municipality of Milan, of the founding pact of

2583-403: Is no such medieval list. Gautier's effort was a series of moral bullet points he abstracted from his broad reading of 12th and 13th century romances. Supporters of chivalry have assumed since the late medieval period that there was a time in the past when chivalry was a living institution, when men acted chivalrously, the imitation of which period would much improve the present. However, with

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2706-452: Is the minister of the common interest and the bond-servant of equity, and he bears the public person in the sense that he punishes the wrongs and injuries of all, and all crimes, with even-handed equity. His rod and staff also, administered with wise moderation, restore irregularities and false departures to the straight path of equity, so that deservedly may the Spirit congratulate the power of

2829-603: Is the same year of the signing of the Peace of Constance (which was signed on 25 June 1183 between Federico Barbarossa and representatives of the Lombard League following the events connected at the Battle of Legnano), as well as documents from 1190, 1199 and 1202. In these documents, however, it is not specified whether he was the brother of Alberto and Rainerio, or of the two brothers who, according to legend, participated in

2952-510: The Compagnia della Rosa (Company of the Rose), commanded by Giovanni da Buscareto and Bartolomeo Gonzaga. From the 15th century hence, most condottieri were landless Italian nobles who had chosen the profession of arms as a livelihood; the most famous of such mercenary captains was the son of Caterina Sforza , Giovanni dalle Bande Nere , from Forlì , known as The Last Condottiere ; his son

3075-407: The preudomme , which can be translated as a wise, honest, and sensible man. This uncodified code—referred to as the noble habitus —is a term for the environment of behavioural and material expectations generated by all societies and classes. As a modern idea, it was pioneered by the French philosopher/sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Maurice Merleau-Ponty , even though a precedent exists for

3198-534: The Anglo-Irish Order of St. Patrick (1783), and numerous dynastic orders of knighthood remain active in countries that retain a tradition of monarchy. At the same time, with the change of courtly ideas during the Baroque period , the ideals of chivalry began to be seen as dated, or "medieval". Don Quixote , published in 1605–15, burlesqued the medieval chivalric novel or romance by ridiculing

3321-608: The Carolingian Empire from the idealisation of the cavalryman —involving military bravery, individual training, and service to others—especially in Francia , among horse soldiers in Charlemagne 's cavalry. Over time, the meaning of chivalry in Europe has been refined to emphasize more general social and moral virtues. The code of chivalry, as it stood by the Late Middle Ages , was a moral system which combined

3444-470: The De Re Militari of Ralph Niger (c. 1187) was written by the young man's former chaplain, in part as a moral defence of the knightly lifestyle. Crouch suggests another reason why chivalry coalesced as a noble code in the late 12th century in his analysis of conduct literature. He suggests that the courtly habitus underwent a crisis as its moral failure became obvious to writers, particularly in

3567-924: The Duchy of Brabant (hence, Brabanzoni ), and from Aragon . The latter were Spanish soldiers who had followed King Peter III of Aragon in the War of the Sicilian Vespers in Italy in October 1282, and, post-war, remained there, seeking military employment. By 1333 other mercenaries had arrived in Italy to fight with John of Bohemia as the Compagnia della Colomba (Company of the Dove) in Perugia 's war against Arezzo . The first well-organised mercenaries in Italy were

3690-484: The High Middle Ages . Christianity had a modifying influence on the classical concept of heroism and virtue, nowadays identified with the virtues of chivalry. The Peace and Truce of God in the 10th century was one such example, which placed limits on knights to protect and honour the weaker members of society and also help the church maintain peace. At the same time the church became more tolerant of war in

3813-613: The Libre del ordre de cavayleria , written by Ramon Llull (1232–1315), from Majorca , whose subject is knighthood; and the Livre de Chevalerie of Geoffroi de Charny (1300–1356), which examines the qualities of knighthood, emphasizing prowess . None of the authors of these three texts knew the other two texts, and the three combine to depict a general concept of chivalry which is not precisely in harmony with any of them. To different degrees and with different details, they speak of chivalry as

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3936-541: The Matter of France , relating to the legendary companions of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms , the paladins , and the Matter of Britain , informed by Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae , written in the 1130s, which popularized the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table . The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries. It arose in

4059-492: The Teutonic Knights , who honored her as their patroness. The medieval development of chivalry, with the concept of the honour of a lady and the ensuing knightly devotion to it, not only derived from the thinking about Mary, but also contributed to it. Although women were at times viewed as the source of evil, it was Mary who as mediator to God was a source of refuge for man. The development of medieval Mariology and

4182-796: The Vatican 's Swiss Guard are the modern remnants of a historically effective mercenary army. The end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and the birth of Westphalian sovereignty diminished Roman Catholic influence in Europe and led to the consolidation of large states, while Italy was fragmented and divided. The condottieri tradition greatly suffered from the political and strategic decline of Italy and never recovered. Alberto da Giussano Alberto da Giussano (in Lombard Albert de Giussan , in Latin Albertus de Gluxano )

4305-469: The battle of Legnano . Alberto da Giussano was described as a knight who distinguished himself, together with his brothers Ottone and Raniero, in the battle of 29 May 1176. According to Galvano Fiamma, he headed the Company of Death , a military association of 900 young knights. The Company of Death owed its name to the oath that made its members, which foresaw the struggle until the last breath without ever lowering its arms. According to Galvano Fiamma,

4428-410: The early modern period , the term gallantry (from galant , the Baroque ideal of refined elegance) rather than chivalry became used for the proper behaviour of upper-class men towards upper-class women. In the 19th century, there were attempts to revive chivalry for the purposes of the gentleman of that time. Kenelm Henry Digby wrote his The Broad-Stone of Honour for this purpose, offering

4551-439: The knight 's character and the chivalric ethos were novel elements: revised social status, innovative military tactics, and fresh literary themes. Chivalric codes encompassed regulations such as pledging loyalty to the overlord and upholding warfare rules. These rules dictated refraining from attacking a defenseless opponent and prioritizing the capture of fellow nobles for later ransom instead of immediate harm, akin to adhering to

4674-590: The "art of war" ( military strategy and tactics ) into military science more than any of their historical military predecessors—fighting indirectly, not directly—thus, only reluctantly endangering themselves and their enlisted men, avoiding battle when possible, also avoiding hard work and winter campaigns, as these all reduced the total number of trained soldiers available, and were detrimental to their political and economic interest. Niccolò Machiavelli even said that condottieri fought each other in grandiose, but often pointless and near-bloodless battles. However, later in

4797-568: The "sword against the enemy". In the 11th century the concept of a "knight of Christ" ( miles Christi ) gained currency in France, Spain, and Italy. These concepts of "religious chivalry" were further elaborated in the era of the Crusades , with the Crusades themselves often seen as a chivalrous enterprise. The military orders of the crusades which developed in this period came to be seen as

4920-522: The 15th century Christine de Pizan combined themes from Vegetius, Bonet, and Frontinus in Livre des faits d'armes et de chevalerie . In the 14th century Jean Froissart wrote his Chronicles which captured much of the Hundred Years' War , including the Battle of Crécy and later the Battle of Poitiers both of which saw the defeat of the French nobility by armies made up largely of common men using longbows . The chivalric tactic employed by

5043-588: The Arabs as antecedents to the depiction of courtly love in medieval European literature. In the works of the Cordoban author Ibn Hazm , for example, "lovers develop passions for slave boys as well as girls, interchangeably, and the slave is recognized as now the master of his beloved." Ibn Hazm's The Ring of the Dove is a noteworthy depiction of a lover's extreme submissiveness. Medieval courtly literature glorifies

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5166-523: The Carroccio was carried out by the municipal infantry, which allowed the remaining part of the army of the Lombard League , actually led by Guido da Landriano , to arrive from Milan and defeat Frederick Barbarossa in the famous battle of Legnano. The Carroccio, in particular, was positioned on the edge of a steep slope flanking the Olona river, so that the imperial cavalry, whose arrival was expected along

5289-569: The Company of Death defended the Carroccio to the extreme and then carried out, in the final stages of the battle of Legnano, a charge against the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa . However, contemporary sources at the battle of Legnano do not mention either the existence of Alberto da Giussano or that of the Company of Death. From an excerpt from the Chronica Galvanica by Galvano Fiamma we can read: [...] Upon hearing of

5412-431: The Company of Death never existed was then confirmed by many historical analyses that took place over time. The reason for the invention of the figure of Alberto da Giussano by Galvano Fiamma probably lies in the attempt to provide the Lombard League with a heroic and prominent figure that would be in contrast to that of Barbarossa. On the other hand, based on historical sources, the heroic and decisive resistance around

5535-454: The Company of Death. In addition it seems strange that the other chronicles of the time do not mention the presence of 300 scythed carts, which would have been a very special event certainly noteworthy, neither Alberto da Giussano, nor the three military companies. Galvano Fiamma, finally, in his writings, as regards the chronicles of the battle, reports the crippled toponym of "Carate" instead of Cairate (where Barbarossa, actually, stayed

5658-646: The Count of Conio, who later taught military science to condottieri such as Braccio da Montone and Giacomuzzo Attendolo Sforza , who also served in the company. Once aware of their military power monopoly in Italy, the condottieri bands became notorious for their capriciousness and soon dictated terms to their ostensible employers. In turn, many condottieri, such as Braccio da Montone and Muzio Sforza, became powerful politicians. As most were educated men acquainted with Roman military science manuals (e.g. Vegetius 's Epitoma rei militarii ), they began viewing warfare from

5781-529: The French armoured nobility, namely bravely charging the opposition in the face of a hail of arrows, failed repeatedly. Froissart noted the subsequent attacks by common English and Welsh archers upon the fallen French knights. Chronicles also captured a series of uprisings by common people against the nobility, such as the Jacquerie and The Peasant's Revolt and the rise of the common man to leadership ranks within armies. Many of these men were promoted during

5904-616: The French king Charles VIII 's royal army invaded the Italian Peninsula, initiating the Italian Wars . The most renowned condottieri fought for foreign powers: Gian Giacomo Trivulzio abandoned Milan for France, while Andrea Doria was Admiral of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V . In the end, failure was political, rather than military, stemming from disunity and political indecision, and, by 1550,

6027-616: The Great Company. On the conclusion (1360) of the Peace of Bretigny between England and France, Sir John Hawkwood led an army of English mercenaries, called the White Company , into Italy, which took a prominent part in the confused wars of the next thirty years. Towards the end of the century, the Italians began to organize armies of the same description. This ended the reign of the purely mercenary company and began that of

6150-528: The Hundred Years' War but were later left in France when the English nobles returned home, and became mercenaries in the Free Companies , for example John Hawkwood , the mercenary leader of The White Company . The rise of effective, paid soldiery replaced noble soldiery during this period, leading to a new class of military leader without any adherence to the chivalric code. Chivalry underwent

6273-468: The Lombard League ( Cremona , March 1167). The most surprising fact, however, remains that the Alberto da Giussano mentioned in the notarial document of the time would have lived near the church-church of San Simpliciano where the legend tells that the three white doves that the fighters would have seen during the battle of Legnano perched on the mast of the Carroccio. The notarial document which contains

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6396-564: The Renaissance the condottieri line of battle still deployed the grand armoured knight and medieval weapons and tactics after most European powers had begun employing professional standing armies of pikemen and musketeers ; this helped to contribute to their eventual decline and destruction. In 1347, Cola di Rienzo (Tribune and effective dictator of the city) had Werner von Urslingen executed in Rome, and Konrad von Landau assumed command of

6519-467: The Ventura Companies of Duke Werner von Urslingen and Count Konrad von Landau . Werner's company differed from other mercenary companies because its code of military justice imposed discipline and an equal division of the contract's income. The Ventura Company increased in number until becoming the fearsome " Great Company " of some 3,000 barbute (each barbuta comprised a knight and

6642-562: The acquisition of either property or safety. The others (those who possessed no state) being bred to arms from their infancy, were acquainted with no other art, and pursued war for emolument, or to confer honour upon themselves. In 1487, at Calliano , the Venetians successfully met and acquitted themselves against the German landsknechte and the Swiss infantry, the best soldiers in Europe at

6765-459: The administration of the church-hospital of San Sempliciano . These, however, are all weak identifications, given that they lack clear and convincing historical confirmation. The name of Alberto da Giussano appeared for the first time in the historical chronicle of the city of Milan written by the Dominican friar Galvano Fiamma in the first half of the 14th century, that is 150 years after

6888-499: The arena of professional infantrymen, with less opportunity for knights to show chivalry. It was the beginning of the demise of the knight. The rank of knight never faded, but Queen Elizabeth I ended the tradition that any knight could create another, making this exclusively the preserve of the monarch. Christopher Wilkins contends that Sir Edward Woodville , who rode from battle to battle across Europe and died in 1488 in Brittany ,

7011-441: The battle causing the escape of Barbarossa. In these chronicles it is also mentioned that the military structures that defended the Carroccio were three. The first was the aforementioned Company of Death, which included 900 knights, each of whom would have been provided with a gold ring. The second company was instead made up of 300 commoners guarding the Carroccio, while the third was made up of 300 scythed carts , each of which

7134-453: The battle of Legnano. The only certain fact is that he was a really wealthy person and that he would certainly have everything to lose with Barbarossa's policy. However, all these identifications of people who actually existed in the Alberto da Giussano captain of the Lombard League are weak, given that they lack clear and convincing historical confirmation. Italian political party Lega Nord makes use of his myth. The electoral emblem of

7257-443: The battlefield. And three hundred triangular-shaped ships are made and under each one there were six horses covered, so as not to be seen, that dragged the ships. In each ship there were ten men who moved sickles to cut the grass of the meadows as the sailors move the oars: it was a terrible construction against the enemies [...] While, on another excerpt of the same work, this time on the battle of Legnano, we can read that: [...] In

7380-521: The benefit of the doubt since in his chronicles there are inaccuracies, inaccuracies and legendary facts. As regards this last aspect, Fiamma declares that a certain "Leone priest" has seen, during the battle of Legnano, three doves coming out of the burials of the saints Sisinnio, Martirio and Alessandro at the basilica of San Simpliciano in Milan. The three birds then leaned on the Carroccio during

7503-602: The best protection in her lance and her sword. The chivalric ideal persisted into the early modern and modern period. The custom of founding chivalric orders by Europe's monarchs and high nobility peaked in the late medieval period, but it persisted during the Renaissance and well into the Baroque and early modern period, with e.g. the Tuscan Order of Saint Stephen (1561), the French Order of Saint Louis (1693) or

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7626-542: The birth of modern historical and literary research, scholars have found that however far back in time "The Age of Chivalry" is searched for, it is always further in the past, even back to the Roman Empire . From Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi : We must not confound chivalry with the feudal system . The feudal system may be called the real life of the period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and inconveniences, its virtues and its vices. Chivalry, on

7749-490: The bourgeoisie were educated at aristocratic courts, where they were trained in the manners of the knightly class. This was a democratisation of chivalry, leading to a new genre called the courtesy book , which were guides to the behaviour of "gentlemen". Thus, the post-medieval gentlemanly code of the value of a man's honour, respect for women, and a concern for those less fortunate, is directly derived from earlier ideals of chivalry and historical forces that created it. Japan

7872-517: The carroccio tree. Realizing this, the emperor fled in terror. Since then, that day became a solemn celebration. The emperor put to flight, the citizens of Milan were greatly enriched with the spoils of war of the Germans. Upon learning of the defeat of the emperor, Pope Alexander greatly rejoiced and wrote many exhortation letters in Milan, because he was more inclined to die than to leave the city of Milan [...] The stories of Fiamma should be taken with

7995-413: The changing attitudes towards women paralleled each other. The works of Roman poets like Ovid and Cicero bore some similarities to the typical depiction of romance in chivalric literature during the Middle Ages. In Ovid's works, lovers "became sleepless, grew pale, and lost their appetite," while Cicero's works celebrated the "ennobling power of love". Some scholars also point to the romantic poetry of

8118-472: The close of the Middle Ages, "to be representative of true culture means to produce by conduct, by customs, by manners, by costume, by deportment, the illusion of a heroic being, full of dignity and honour, of wisdom, and, at all events, of courtesy.... The dream of past perfection ennobles life and its forms, fills them with beauty and fashions them anew as forms of art". In the later Middle Ages, wealthy merchants strove to adopt chivalric attitudes. The sons of

8241-420: The community chose the weapons and the banner and each was given a ring in his hand; and were recruited as knights in the pay of the municipality so that, if someone had fled, he would have been killed. Head of this company was Alberto da Giussano who had the banner of the municipality. Then another company of infantrymen was chosen for the custody of the carroccio, who all swore to prefer to die than to escape from

8364-403: The concept as far back as the works of Aristotle. Crouch in 2019 argued that the habitus on which "the superstructure of chivalry" was built and the preudomme was a part, were recognised by contemporaries as components of courtoisie (from Latin curialitas ) which was defined as superior conduct appropriate to the aristocratic hall ( court or curia ). He saw it as being taught within

8487-557: The condition of 15th-century chivalry. When Le Morte d'Arthur was printed, William Caxton urged knights to read the romance with an expectation that reading about chivalry could unite a community of knights already divided by the Wars of the Roses . During the early Tudor rule in England , some knights still fought according to that ethos. Fewer knights were engaged in active warfare because battlefields during this century were generally

8610-476: The confines of the hall by its senior figures to youths confided to the lord and his household for their social upbringing. Crouch suggested courtliness had existed long before 1100 and preceded the codified medieval noble conduct we call chivalry, which he sees as beginning between 1170 and 1220. The pre-chivalric noble habitus as discovered by Mills and Gautier and elaborated by Stephen Jaeger and David Crouch are as follows: The [warrior-]prince accordingly

8733-424: The contrary, is the ideal world, such as it existed in the imaginations of the romance writers. Its essential character is devotion to woman and to honour. Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about the imaginary Court of King Arthur when taken as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He continues: The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we perceive that

8856-429: The day of the feast of the holy martyrs Sisinno, Alessandro and Martirio. Alberto da Giussano had the banner of the community and with him there were two brothers, very strong giants, namely Ottone and Rainero, who carried the banner for their brother: they were always companions on the right and on the left. When the battle began, three doves were seen rising from the altar of the aforementioned three martyrs and resting on

8979-414: The decline of the condottieri. Although the mercenary forces were among the first to adapt to the emerging technologies on the battlefield, ultimately, the advent of firearms-governed warfare rendered their ceremonial fighting style obsolete. When battlefields shifted from chivalric confrontations characterized by ostentatious displays of power to an everyman's war, they were ill-prepared to adjust. In 1494,

9102-442: The decline of the military ideals of duelling culture and of European aristocracies in general following the catastrophe of World War I , the ideals of chivalry became widely seen as outmoded by the mid-20th century. As a material reflection of this process, the dress sword lost its position as an indispensable part of a gentleman's wardrobe, a development described as an "archaeological terminus" by Ewart Oakeshott , as it concluded

9225-457: The defence of faith, espousing theories of the just war ; and liturgies were introduced which blessed a knight's sword, and a bath of chivalric purification . In the Grail romances and Chevalier au Cygne , it was the ethos of the Christian knighthood that its way of life was to please God, and chivalry was an order of God. Chivalry as a Christian vocation combined Teutonic heroic values with

9348-408: The definition: "Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world." The pronouncedly masculine virtues of chivalry came under attack on the parts of the upper-class suffragettes campaigning for gender equality in the early 20th century, and with

9471-473: The earliest flowering of chivalry, and some of their opponents like Saladin were likewise depicted as chivalrous adversaries. It remains unclear to what extent the notable military figures of this period—such as Saladin, Godfrey of Bouillon , William Marshal , or Bertrand du Guesclin —actually did set new standards of knightly behaviour, or to what extent they merely behaved according to existing models of conduct which came in retrospect to be interpreted along

9594-467: The emperor's arrival, the Milanese ordered them to prepare their weapons in order to resist. And a society of nine hundred elected men was fought who fought on great horses who swear that no one would escape from the battlefield for fear of death and would not allow anyone to betray the Milan municipality; and also swore that they would take to the field to fight against the emperor every day. At that point

9717-530: The escape road blocked by the Olona river, which they had behind. Alberto da Giussano was a name quite in vogue at the time. Historical researches carried out for other purposes by Pio Pecchiai have traced this Alberto da Giussano, Milanese, contemporary to the events mentioned, which is mentioned, in 1196, in an appeal presented to Pope Celestine III by fifty neighbours of the Porta Comasina in Milan for

9840-399: The event that foreign powers and envious neighbours attacked, the ruling nobles hired foreign mercenaries to fight for them. The military-service terms and conditions were stipulated in a condotta (contract) between the city-state and the soldiers (officer and enlisted man), thus, the "contracted" leader, the mercenary captain commanding, was titled the "Condottiere". From the eleventh to

9963-489: The greatest danger in the city's history. In 15th-century Italy, the condottieri were masterful lords of war; during the wars in Lombardy , Machiavelli observed: None of the principal states were armed with their own proper forces. Thus the arms of Italy were either in the hands of the lesser princes, or of men who possessed no state; for the minor princes did not adopt the practice of arms from any desire of glory, but for

10086-402: The itinerant playboy lifestyle of his son to distract him from meddling in his realms, and also to stake a claim to the cultural high ground over the other European princes of the day. Young Henry was nonetheless heavily criticised for his wasteful and hedonistic life, and Crouch finds it significant that the first known work which used the knight as a moral exemplar and as a definitive nobleman,

10209-462: The life and manners of the knight at home in his castle and with his court. The code of chivalry, as it was known during the late Medieval age, developed between 1170 and 1220. Courtliness remained a recognised form of superior conduct in medieval European society throughout the middle ages. Courtly behaviour was expected of all aristocrats and its norms were integrated into chivalric literature. But as Crouch demonstrated courtliness (unlike chivalry)

10332-554: The lines of the "chivalry" ideal of the Late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, chivalry and crusades were not the same thing. While the crusading ideology had largely influenced the ethic of chivalry during its formative times, chivalry itself was related to a whole range of martial activities and aristocratic values which had no necessary linkage with crusading. The Virgin Mary was venerated by multiple chivalric orders, including

10455-758: The long period during which the sword had been a visible attribute of the free man, beginning as early as three millennia ago with the Bronze Age sword . During the 20th century, the chivalrous ideal of protecting women came to be seen as a trope of melodrama (" damsel in distress "). The term chivalry retains a certain currency in sociology, in reference to the general tendency of men, and of society in general, to lend more attention offering protection from harm to women than to men, or in noting gender gaps in life expectancy , health , etc., also expressed in media bias giving significantly more attention to female than to male victims. The promotion of chivalry played

10578-645: The materialism that motivated courtly society. Crouch sees the Roman des Eles of the poet-knight Raoul de Houdenc , as a critique of courtliness and its failures. Raoul's solution is to focus moral eminence on the figure of the knight, who is to be the avatar of a new moral nobility, set above all other males. A knight was to eschew materialism ( envie ) and to embrace noble generosity ( largesce ). In medieval literature , chivalry can be classified into three overlapping areas: Different weight given to different areas produced different strands of chivalry: Emerging with

10701-449: The militant tradition of Old Testament . The first noted support for chivalric vocation, or the establishment of a knightly class to ensure the sanctity and legitimacy of Christianity, was written in 930 by Odo , abbot of Cluny , in the Vita of St. Gerald of Aurillac , which argued that the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of

10824-483: The military service condotta had disappeared, while the term condottiere remained current, denominating the great Italian generals (mainly) fighting for foreign states; men such as Gian Giacomo Medici , Ambrogio Spinola , Alexander Farnese , Marcantonio II Colonna , Raimondo Montecuccoli and Prospero Colonna were prominent into the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. The political practice of hiring foreign mercenaries, however, did not end. For example,

10947-481: The municipality of San Giorgio su Legnano near the Legnano district "Costa of San Giorgio", or on the territory of today San Martino district in Legnano, since it is not possible to identify, in other parts of the area, a depression with these characteristics. The army of Barbarossa then arrived on the opposite side, from Borsano: this forced the municipal infantrymen to resist around the Carroccio, given that they had

11070-521: The night before the battle of Legnano), and asserts that there were two clashes between Barbarossa and the Lombard League: one at "Carate" (1176) and the second between Legnano and Dairago (29 May 1177), thus inventing an elusive battle of "Carate" and moving the battle of Legnano to the following year. This supports the thesis that these facts told in reality are nothing other than the fantasies of Galvano. The fact that Alberto da Giussano and

11193-522: The party features Alberto with an image inspired by the statue of him erected at Legnano in 1900. Also, the infantry brigade Legnano of the Italian Army used the image of this statue as a symbol. Also the Giussano-class cruiser . In the 2009 film Barbarossa , Alberto played by Raz Degan is featured as the protagonist. Chivalry Chivalry , or the chivalric language ,

11316-507: The past, historians, attempting to find a real confirmation, hypothesized the identification of his figure with Albertus de Carathe (Alberto da Carate ) and Albertus Longus (Alberto Longo), both among the Milanese who signed the pact in Cremona in March 1167 which established the Lombard League, or in an Alberto da Giussano mentioned in an appeal of 1196 presented to Pope Celestine III on

11439-481: The people among whom they fought, and their disorderly conduct and rapacity seem often to have exceeded that of medieval armies. They were always ready to change sides at the prospect of higher pay—the enemy of today might be the comrade-in-arms of tomorrow. Further, a prisoner was always more valuable than a dead enemy. As a consequence, their battles were often as bloodless as they were theatrical. The age of firearms and weapons utilizing gunpowder further contributed to

11562-429: The people, we are astonished to find the poets, after a long lapse of time, adorning the very same ages with the most splendid fictions of grace, virtue, and loyalty. The romance writers of the twelfth century placed the age of chivalry in the time of Charlemagne. The period when these writers existed, is the time pointed out by Francis I . At the present day [about 1810], we imagine we can still see chivalry flourishing in

11685-432: The persons of Du Guesclin and Bayard , under Charles V and Francis I. But when we come to examine either the one period or the other, although we find in each some heroic spirits, we are forced to confess that it is necessary to antedate the age of chivalry, at least three or four centuries before any period of authentic history. Prior to codified chivalry, there was the uncodified code of noble conduct that focused on

11808-422: The perspective of military science, rather than as a matter of valour or physical courage—a great, consequential departure from chivalry , the traditional medieval model of soldiering. Consequently, the condottieri fought by outmanoeuvring the opponent and fighting his ability to wage war, rather than risking uncertain fortune—defeat, capture, death—in battlefield combat. The earlier, medieval condottieri developed

11931-525: The primary example of knightly display of martial skill throughout the Renaissance (the last Elizabethan Accession Day tilt was held in 1602). The martial skills of the knight carried over to the practice of the hunt , and hunting expertise became an important aspect of courtly life in the later medieval period (see terms of venery ). Related to chivalry was the practice of heraldry and its elaborate rules of displaying coats of arms as it emerged in

12054-489: The prince with the words, 'Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.' [ Psalm 23:4 ] His shield, too, is strong, but it is a shield for the protection of the weak, and one which wards off powerfully the darts of the wicked from the innocent. Those who derive the greatest advantage from his performance of the duties of his office are those who can do least for themselves, and his power is chiefly exercised against those who desire to do harm. Therefore not without reason he bears

12177-441: The professional horse warrior, the knight. Retained knights were a prominent feature of the households of barons, counts and princes, and were thought to be proper associates of their lords. As such knights adopted the fashions and behaviours of their lords. In many cases knights were often drawn from the younger sons of noble families so they would regard themselves as being noble too, if less noble than their lords. Crouch locates

12300-426: The river, would have been forced to attack the centre of the Lombard League's army going up the escarpment. Barbarossa was therefore forced to attack the municipal army in a situation of disadvantage, given that it would have had to attack from below going up this valley. Considering the phases of the battle, this could mean that the famous battle could have been fought also on part of the territory now belonging to

12423-467: The semi-national mercenary army which endured in Europe till replaced by the national standing army system. In 1363, Count von Landau was betrayed by his Hungarian soldiers, and defeated in combat, by the White Company's more advanced tactics under commanders Albert Sterz and John Hawkwood. Strategically, the barbuta was replaced with the three-soldier, mounted lancia (a capo-lancia ,

12546-591: The stubborn adherence to the chivalric code in the face of the modern world as anachronistic, giving rise to the term Quixotism . Conversely, elements of Romanticism sought to revive such "medieval" ideals or aesthetics in the late 18th and early 19th century. The behavioural code of military officers down to the Napoleonic era , the American Civil War (especially as idealised in the " Lost Cause " mythology), and to some extent even to World War I ,

12669-414: The system of chivalry is an invention almost entirely poetical. It is impossible to distinguish the countries in which it is said to have prevailed. It is always represented as distant from us both in time and place, and whilst the contemporary historians give us a clear, detailed, and complete account of the vices of the court and the great, of the ferocity or corruption of the nobles, and of the servility of

12792-556: The thirteenth century, European soldiers led by professional officers fought against the Muslims in the Crusades (1095–1291). These crusading officers provided large-scale warfare combat experience in the Holy Land. At the Crusades' conclusion, the first masnada (bands of roving soldiers; pl. : masnade ) appeared in Italy. Given the profession, some masnade were less mercenaries than bandits and desperate men. These masnade were not Italian, but (mostly) Flemings , from

12915-401: The time. In time, the financial and political interests of the condottieri proved serious drawbacks to decisive, bloody warfare: the mercenary captains often were treacherous, tending to avoid combat, and "resolve" fights with a bribe—either for the opponent or for themselves. Towards the end of the 15th century, when the large cities had gradually swallowed up the small states, and Italy itself

13038-513: The tipping point of the nobilising of the knight as in the households of the sons of King Henry II of England, and in particular his eldest son, the Henry the Young King (died 1183). Young Henry lived a lavish lifestyle of unprecedented expense focussed on the great northern French tourneying society of the 1170s and 1180s. Since Young Henry had no domains to rule, his father was willing to fund

13161-563: The undated list is in any case attributable to the years 1195–1196, which shows that the "Da Giussano" family is from Milan and also presents its exponents at the top of the municipal institutions of the city. Contemporary to the battle of Legnano is also a certain Ottone da Giussano, who owned property in Arosio (very close to Giussano ) and surroundings. He must have been a rich and remarkable person: his name appears in records of 1183, which

13284-412: The valour, tactics, and ideals of both Moors and ancient Romans. For example, the ancient handbook of warfare written by Vegetius called De re militari was translated into French in the 13th century as L'Art de chevalerie by Jean de Meun . Later writers also drew from Vegetius, such as Honoré Bonet, who wrote the 14th century L'Arbes des batailles , which discussed the morals and laws of war. In

13407-443: The worldview of "those who fight" was pre-Christian in many ways and outside the purview of the church, at least initially. The church saw it as a duty to reform and guide knights in a way that weathered the disorderly, martial, and chauvinistic elements of chivalry. Royalty also clashed with knighthood over the conduct of warfare and personal disputes between knights and other knights (and even between knights and aristocracy). While

13530-685: The worldview of "those who work" (the burgeoning merchant class and bourgeoisie) was still in incubation, Kaeuper states that the social and economic class that would end up defining modernity was fundamentally at odds with knights, and those with chivalrous valor saw the values of commerce as beneath them. Those who engaged in commerce and derived their value system from it could be confronted with violence by knights. According to British historian David Crouch , many early writers on medieval chivalry cannot be trusted as accurate sources, because they sometimes have "polemical purpose which colours their prose". As for Kenelm Henry Digby and Léon Gautier, chivalry

13653-567: The year 1176, regardless of the betrayals and contravening the oath, the emperor wanted the destruction of the city of Milan. After leaving the city of Pavia, enter our territory and reach the village of Carate. Only the Pavesi and the Comaschi were with him among all the Italics. The Chronicle of Leo tells that it arrives between Legnano and Dairago. It was the third day before the calends of June,

13776-402: Was Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany ; besides noblemen, princes also fought as condottieri, given the sizable income to their estates, notably Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta , Lord of Rimini , and Federico da Montefeltro , Duke of Urbino ; despite war-time inflation , soldier's pay was high: The condottieri company commanders selected the soldiers to enlist; the condotta was

13899-543: Was a chivalric warrior who fought a war with the intention to conquer the enemy, eliminating their ability to strike back, then treated them with the understanding and kindness due their honour and courage. One prominent model of his chivalrous conduct was in World War II and his treatment of the Japanese at the end of the war. MacArthur's model provides a way to win a war with as few casualties as possible and how to get

14022-575: Was a means to transform their corrupt and secular worlds. Gautier also emphasized that chivalry originated from the Teutonic forests and was brought up into civilization by the Catholic Church. Charles Mills used chivalry "to demonstrate that the Regency gentleman was the ethical heir of a great moral estate, and to provide an inventory of its treasure". Mills also stated that chivalry was

14145-414: Was becoming popular during the 12th century, and the ideal of courtly love propagated in the contemporary Minnesang and related genres. The ideas of chivalry are summarized in three medieval works: the anonymous poem Ordene de chevalerie , which tells the story of how Hugh II of Tiberias was captured and released upon his agreement to show Saladin (1138–1193) the ritual of Christian knighthood ;

14268-434: Was drawn into the general current of European politics, and became the battlefield of powerful armies—French, Spanish and German—the venture captains, who in the end proved quite unequal to the gendarmerie of France and the improved troops of the Italian states, gradually disappeared. The soldiers of the condottieri were almost entirely heavy armoured cavalry (men-at-arms). Before 1400, they had little or nothing in common with

14391-593: Was everything to the condottieri; a deceived employer was a reputation ruined; likewise, for maritime mercenaries, whose contratto d'assento ( lit.   ' contract of assent ' ) stipulated naval military-service terms and conditions; sea captains and sailors so-contracted were called assentisti . Their principal employers were Genoa and the Papal States , beginning in the fourteenth century, yet Venice considered it humiliating to so employ military sailors, and did not use naval mercenaries, even during

14514-407: Was led by ten soldiers. From these assertions, we can certainly deduce the unreliability of the tales of Galvano. It is indeed unlikely that the battle was won by the Lombard League thanks to three doves that put Barbarossa in flight. Moreover, it seems equally doubtful that Milan, during the situation of economic hardship caused by the war, had supplied as many as 900 gold rings to the knights of

14637-401: Was not confined to noble society. There are examples of servants, merchants, clergy and free peasants being commended for their 'courtly' behaviour in medieval literature. His explanation for the appearance of chivalry as a recognisable and prescriptive code of behaviour is tied into the more exclusive definition of nobility that appears in the late 12th century. This had a particular impact on

14760-571: Was still strongly modelled on the historical ideals, resulting in a pronounced duelling culture, which in some parts of Europe also held sway over the civilian life of the upper classes. With the decline of the Ottoman Empire , however, the military threat from the "infidel" disappeared. The European wars of religion spanned much of the early modern period and consisted of infighting between factions of various Christian denominations. This process of confessionalization ultimately gave rise to

14883-463: Was the last knight errant who witnessed the fall of the Age of Chivalry and the rise of modern European warfare. By the time the Middle Ages came to an end, the code of chivalry was gone. Chivalry!—why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high affection—the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant—Nobility were but an empty name without her, and liberty finds

15006-486: Was the only country that banned the use of firearms completely to maintain ideals of chivalry and acceptable form of combat. In 1543 Japan established a government monopoly on firearms. The Japanese government destroyed firearms and enforced a preference for traditional Japanese weapons. Medieval historian Richard W. Kaeuper saw chivalry as a central focus in the study of the European Middle Ages that

15129-449: Was too often presented as a civilizing and stabilizing influence in the turbulent Middle Ages. On the contrary, Kaueper argues "that in the problem of public order the knights themselves played an ambivalent, problematic role and that the guides to their conduct that chivalry provided were in themselves complex and problematic." Many of the codes and ideals of chivalry were contradictory: when knights did live up to them, they did not lead to

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