Second Italian War
99-712: Italian Wars of 1499–1504 War of the League of Cambrai Italian War of 1521–1526 Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (c. 1476 – 30 April 1524) was a French knight and military leader at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance , generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard . Throughout the centuries since his death, he has been known as "the knight without fear and beyond reproach" ( le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche ). He himself preferred
198-581: A French knight, Charles de la Motte, was captured by Spanish forces and later used as a hostage after declaring his famous Challenge of Barletta on 13 February 1503. Chronic in-fighting between the Italian and French knights, as well as a better supply-line guaranteed by the Spanish navy, gave Cordoba and his Spanish army the upper hand against the French, who were defeated at Cerignola on 28 April 1503. At
297-638: A Spanish army during the War of the Polish Succession in 1734, and Charles, Duke of Parma , a younger son of King Philip V of Spain , the first member of the French House of Bourbon to rule in Spain, was installed as King of Naples and Sicily from 1735. When Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV . Despite
396-407: A child, grew considerably during adolescence; this is supported by modern studies of his skull which hypothesize that he had reached 1.8 meters (5 foot 11 inches), an above-average height for his time. The French historian Aymar du Rivail described him as "courteous, cheerful; not proud, indeed modest". For the investiture as a knight that he received in battle, Bayard always felt deeply linked to
495-524: A church where he began to pray on his knees for the soul of the dead. In 1502 Bayard was wounded at Canossa . In the autumn of 1503, the French army moved towards Naples and in November reached the Garigliano river; there, sentinels sighted the Spanish troops commanded by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba , a general who months earlier had inflicted a heavy defeat on the French near Cerignola . Because
594-509: A duel to the death. Bayard suffered at that time from serious attacks of malaria that weakened him physically and, as a sick person, he had the right to be represented by another. His friend Bellabre immediately volunteered in his place, but Bayard refused, saying he wanted to defend his own honor. On the day of the duel he had just recovered from the last attack of fever; after lying on the ground and having entrusted his soul to God, he went down to wait for his adversary. Sotomayor made him wait
693-450: A fierce and feared fighter in battle. He knew no mercy either towards his enemies or towards himself, and in this way he did not enter into contradiction with the vivid religious faith that he had nourished since childhood. God had wanted him to be a knight and he limited himself to fulfilling God's will; he always placed himself in God's hands immediately before every battle. The descendant of
792-723: A key role that year in rescuing the French vanguard at the Battle of Agnadello , on 14 May 1509 against the Venetian forces led by Bartolomeo d'Alviano . Later that year, Bayard was among the French forces under Jacques de La Palice sent to join their German ally, the Emperor Maximilian I at the Siege of Padua . Though the siege ultimately failed, what early success the allies enjoyed was largely due to Bayard's combination of cool-headed leadership and dashing bravado. Following
891-531: A long time in armor under the sun with the intent to tire him and weaken him further. La Palice , worried about the delay, went to urge the Spaniard to present himself on the field. However, Sotomayor now placed a condition on the duel: as the challenged party, it was up to him to choose the weapons to be used. He declared that he wanted to fight on foot with a sword and a dagger . In this way, thanks to his build, he would have outreached his opponent. The request
990-558: A noble family with a military tradition – three generations of Terrail ancestors had fallen in battle successively from 1356 to 1465 – Bayard was born at the Château Bayard , Dauphiné (near Pontcharra , Isère ) in southern France . He served as a page to the young Duke Charles I of Savoy until March 1490, when the Duke died of an illness. At age thirteen he came to the attention of King Charles VIII of France when he put on
1089-490: A nobleman, whose wife and daughters he protected from threatened insult. Bayard was charmed by the young daughters, who sang to him nightly. Before his wound was healed, he learned that battle was imminent at Ravenna, and he hurried to depart to rejoin his comrades. He endowed the two daughters with a thousand gold ducats each, the money the lady of the house had paid him as ransom for her family. Bayard joined his commander and friend, Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours , in time for
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#17327915578931188-519: A nun in the Abbey des Ayes [ fr ] . Since Terrail is never referred to as a "bastard" but always as a "daughter" and since Bayard would refuse in the future the marriage proposed to him by Queen Anne, it is believed that he had married the girl's mother. Various hypotheses have been made about the identity of the mother: numerous clues lead to Bianca di Monferrato , the Duchess of Savoy , who
1287-400: A remarkable display of horsemanship for the Duke of Savoy that earned him the nickname " piquet " (spur). In 1490 Bayard took service as a man-at-arms in the household of Louis de Luxembourg, the seigneur de Ligny (November 1490) and a favorite of King Charles VIII of France . As a youth, Bayard was distinguished by his looks, charming manner, and skill in the tiltyard . On 20 July 1494
1386-618: A result, the Great Council was open to an alliance with France to remove Ludovico, although some members disagreed, including Agostino Barbarigo , the current Doge of Venice . In their initial talks, the Venetians demanded lands on both sides of the Adda river, which Louis considered excessive, while Venice rejected a French request for a subsidy of 100,000 ducats . Under a deal brokered by Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara , Venice
1485-479: A standard. Shortly afterward, entering Milan alone in pursuit of the enemy, he was taken prisoner, but was set free without a ransom by Ludovico Sforza . What first made Bayard truly famous in Italy, was an episode that took place in 1502, when a Gascon named Gaspar took prisoner Alonso de Sotomayor, a Spanish knight of gigantic stature and endowed with Herculean strength, while he was on his way to Rome. While Gaspar
1584-504: A third of the military expenditures accruing to the Spanish controlled Duchy of Milan and paid for the Spanish garrisons in Tuscany. This cost the kingdom 800,000 ducats annually, or about a third of the kingdom's revenues; moreover, the public debt also had a military origin, and interest payments on it devoured 40 percent of all tax income. Naples was rich enough to redeem the debt and pay an attractive ten percent in full to lenders. While
1683-571: A tourney was held in Lyons, attended by the king and his court. Though not yet eighteen, Bayard won the highest honors, again coming to the attention of the king. In 1494 Bayard accompanied Charles VIII's expedition into Italy to seize the Kingdom of Naples . This campaign is now known as the Italian War of 1494–1498 . Bayard was knighted after the 1495 Battle of Fornovo , in which he captured
1782-415: A wedge of dismounted men-at-arms against the defenders, himself at its tip. Several times the French assault was thrown back. Each time Bayard rallied the French forces and led them in renewed attacks. His boldness at last resulted in a severe wound to the thigh, but not before the defenses were breached and the French entered the town. The soldiers carried Bayard into a neighbouring mansion, the residence of
1881-431: Is reported to have said "Ah! Monsieur de Bayard... I am very sad to see you in this state; you who were such a virtuous knight!" Bayard answered, Sir, there is no need to pity me. I die as a man of honour ought, doing my duty; but I pity you, because you are fighting against your king, your country, and your oath. His body was restored to his friends and interred at Saint-Martin-d'Hères . In 1822 his remains were buried in
1980-455: The Angevin claim to the Kingdom of Naples as a pretext. This in turn was driven by the intense rivalry between Ludovico's wife, Beatrice d'Este , and that of his nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza , son of Isabella of Aragon . Despite being the hereditary Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo had been sidelined by his uncle in 1481 and exiled to Pavia . Both women wanted to ensure their children inherited
2079-605: The Church State over the Kingdom. After Constance, Queen of Sicily married Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor , the region was inherited by their son Frederick II , as King of Sicily. The region that later became the separate Kingdom of Naples under the Angevins formed part of the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily and Apulia . Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily (Charles of Anjou)
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#17327915578932178-600: The Collegiate Church of Saint-André, Grenoble . Jacques de Maille reports that for many years – one can say throughout his life, if one excludes his first youthful platonic love – Bayard loved a woman whose identity he never revealed. Bayard's only child was born in Cantù , in 1501: Jeanne Terrail. Since he could not take care of her, engaged as he was in campaigning, Bayard had her raised in France by his sister Jeanne,
2277-596: The Discorso di Logrogno (1512) that the partition of the Mezzogiorno between the houses of Aragon and Orléans neglected to take into account the economic system of a region dominated by sheep-rearing and its concomitant transhumance . Within two years, differences over the allocation of the disputed areas led to war between the two powers. When the conflict broke out again in the second half of 1502, Spanish General Gonzalo de Cordoba lacked numeric superiority, but
2376-599: The League of Cambrai was formed between France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and the Papacy in an effort to wrest from Venice its territorial empire in northeastern Italy. For this campaign, the king commissioned Bayard to raise a company of horse and foot. Until that time, French infantry had been a despised rabble. Bayard's company became a model of discipline, high morale, and battlefield effectiveness, and played
2475-525: The Order of Saint Michael and commander in his own name of 100 gens d'armes , an honour until then reserved for princes of the blood. After allaying a revolt at Genoa, and striving with the greatest assiduity to check a pestilence in Dauphiné, Bayard was sent into Italy with Admiral Bonnivet , who, being defeated at Robecco and wounded in a combat during his retreat, implored Bayard to assume command and save
2574-648: The Second Italian War (1499–1501), sometimes known as Louis XII's Italian War , and the Third Italian War (1502–1504) or War over Naples . The first phase was fought for control of the Duchy of Milan by an alliance of Louis XII of France and the Republic of Venice against Ludovico Sforza , the second between Louis and Ferdinand II of Aragon for possession of the Kingdom of Naples . In
2673-567: The Strait of Messina . The peninsular kingdom was known as Sicily citra Farum or al di qua del Faro ('on this side of Faro'), and the island kingdom was known as Sicily ultra Farum or di la del Faro (on the other side of Faro). When both kingdoms came under the rule of Alfonso the Magnanimous in 1442, this usage became official, although Ferdinand I (1458–94) preferred the simple title King of Sicily ( Rex Sicilie ). In
2772-551: The Viceroyalty of Auxonne , Auxerrois , Mâconnais and Bar-sur-Seine. Conflict would not leave Italy for long; the next phase of the Italian Wars, the War of the League of Cambrai would erupt in 1508 over grievances between Venice and the many other regional powers. Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( Latin : Regnum Neapolitanum ; Italian : Regno di Napoli ; Neapolitan : Regno 'e Napule )
2871-477: The 18th century, the Neapolitan intellectual Giuseppe Maria Galanti argued that Apulia was the true "national" name of the kingdom. By the time of Alfonso the Magnanimous, the two kingdoms were sufficiently distinct that they were no longer seen as divisions of a single kingdom. Despite being repeatedly in personal union , they remained administratively separate. In 1816, the two kingdoms finally merged to form
2970-562: The Angevin family competed for the Kingdom of Naples in the late 14th century, which resulted in the death of Joanna I by Charles III of Naples . Charles' daughter Joanna II adopted King Alfonso V of Aragon as heir, who would then unite Naples into his Aragonese dominions in 1442. As part of the Italian Wars , France briefly ruled the territory in 1494 and at the beginning of the 16th century; it then went to war with Spain over
3069-674: The Austrian Habsburgs. However, Naples and Sicily were conquered by Charles, Duke of Parma (of the Spanish Bourbons) during the War of the Polish Succession in 1734, he was then installed as King of Naples and Sicily from 1735. In 1816, Naples formally unified with the island of Sicily to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . The Kingdom of Naples was one of the largest and most important Italian states throughout all its history. Its territory corresponded to
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3168-578: The Austrians was short, ending with a decisive victory for the Austrian forces at the Battle of Tolentino . Murat was forced to flee, and Ferdinand IV was restored to the throne of Naples. Murat would attempt to regain his throne but was quickly captured and executed by firing squad in Pizzo, Calabria . The next year, 1816, finally saw the formal union of the Kingdom of Naples with the Kingdom of Sicily into
3267-697: The Duchy and when Isabella's father became Alfonso II of Naples in January 1494, she asked for his help in securing their rights. In September Charles invaded the peninsula, which he justified by claiming he wanted to use Naples as a base for a crusade against the Ottoman Turks . Although Charles conquered Naples with relative ease, after his return to France, Ferdinand II of Naples quickly regained his kingdom. He did so with support from his distant Trastamaran relative Ferdinand II of Aragon , who as ruler of
3366-522: The French army and gave them time to place the artillery to be ready to face the Spaniards and start the counterattack. This feat, cloaked in legend, contributed significantly to his fame as a knight "without spot and without fear", so much so that Pope Julius II himself tried in vain to secure his services. Despite the value of Bayard, the French still had the worst on the Garigliano: their army
3465-592: The French by the Treaty of Florence , which reinforced France's position as the dominant power in mainland Italy. Ferdinand's decision to ally with the Third Coalition against Napoleon in 1805 proved more damaging. In 1806, following decisive victories over the allied armies at Austerlitz and over the Neapolitans at Campo Tenese , Napoleon installed his brother, Joseph as King of Naples, he conferred
3564-462: The French contingent sent to garrison and aid the city and its Duke, Alfonso d'Este . During his eight-month stay, Bayard won the admiration of the duke and his wife, the lady Lucrezia Borgia . According to his biographer, "The Loyal Servant" (likely Bayard's archer and lifelong secretary, Jacques de Mailles), Bayard fully reciprocated Lucrezia's admiration, considering her "a pearl" among women. He returned to Ferrara on other occasions to pay homage to
3663-444: The French on 21 March. However, his inability to pay his troops meant this success proved short-lived and on April 10 Ludovico's army was annihilated at the Battle of Novara . Despite disguising himself as a Swiss pikeman to evade imprisonment by the French, Sforza was betrayed by his own men and turned over to the French on April 15 and sent into captivity at Lys-Saint-Georges , remaining in French dungeons until his death in 1508. For
3762-618: The French since it had been founded by their ancestors the Gauls , as stated by Roman historian Livy . Louis now approached the Republic of Venice , then the leading military power in Northern Italy . Venice had been financing Pisa in its fight for independence from Florence , which was supported by Milan. Doing so had proved extremely expensive while Venice was also concerned by the Ottoman threat to their maritime possessions. As
3861-660: The Holy Roman Empire, as well as Spain and ultimately the Swiss Confederation. In various skirmishes with papal troops around Ferrara, Bayard continued to win renown. In one instance, he very nearly captured the Pope himself. About this time, the Duke Alphonso and Bayard found themselves under papal interdict. How long Bayard's period of excommunication lasted is unclear. At the Siege of Brescia in 1512, Bayard led
3960-712: The King and army into the territory of Milan, control of which was challenged by the Swiss. At the Battle of Marignano the opposing armies engaged in a protracted and bloody struggle which the French won largely because of the valour of Bayard, King Francis, and the French gendarmes (armored lancers). After the battle, Bayard had the honour of conferring knighthood on his youthful sovereign. When war again broke out between Francis I and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , Bayard, with 1000 men, held Mézières, which had been declared untenable, against an army of 35,000, and after six weeks compelled
4059-574: The King of Spain Fernando II of Aragon . Bayard took part in the capture of the castle of Tiebas and the failed assault on Pamplona (27 November 1512.) In 1513, when Henry VIII of England routed the French at the Battle of the Spurs (Guinegate, where Bayard's father had received a lifelong injury in a battle of 1479), Bayard, trying to rally his countrymen, found his escape cut off. Unwilling to surrender, he rode suddenly up to an English officer who
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4158-608: The Kingdom of Naples. As the most populous holding of the Spanish Empire outside of Castile itself (with 3 million inhabitants in 1600), Naples remained an important source of economic and military power for the Spanish. Heavy taxation was levied upon the kingdom to pay for Spain's wars, especially after 1580. Beyond dispatching troops to fight the Eighty Years' War in the Low Countries, Naples also disbursed
4257-487: The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Naples, which was the capital of the Duchy of Naples since the 7th century , surrendered to Roger II of Sicily in 1137, and was annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily . The Normans were the first to bring political unity to southern Italy in the centuries after the failure of the Byzantine effort to reconquer Italy. The Normans established a kingdom that included southern mainland Italy and
4356-718: The Sforza arms at the Castello Sforzesco , while portraits of French kings replaced those of the Sforza family in the library at Pavia . However, tensions soon emerged within the Franco-Venetian alliance over Pisa; while the Venetians preferred an independent Pisa as a way to weaken Florence, Louis needed Florentine support for his attack on Naples. With help from Emperor Maximilian, Ludovico recruited an army of 20,000 mercenaries and retook Milan on 5 February 1500; his army then moved north and captured Novara from
4455-604: The aftermath of the Italian War of 1494–1498 , Louis was determined to pursue French claims to Milan and Naples and in October 1499 he captured Milan , which remained in French hands for the next thirteen years. His invasion of Naples in 1501 eventually led to war with Ferdinand of Aragon, who expelled the French in 1504. This is an overview of notable events including battles during the wars. The Italian War of 1494–1498 began when Ludovico Sforza , then Regent of Milan , invited Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using
4554-407: The army. He repulsed the foremost pursuers, but in guarding the rear at the passage of the river Sesia between the towns of Romagnano Sesia and Gattinara , was mortally wounded by an arquebus ball on 30 April 1524. He died in the midst of the enemy, attended by Pescara , the Spanish commander, and by his old comrade, Charles, duc de Bourbon , who was now fighting on the opposite side. Charles
4653-414: The chivalric code of honor. Absolute loyalty even towards enemies, charity and help were his rules of life, in fact he did his utmost for the recovery of prostitutes and personally assisted the sick of the plague. While his fellow countrymen indulged in violence and raids, Bayard always remained respectful towards the weak and the vanquished, doing his utmost for their defense, and burned with furious anger in
4752-437: The current Italian regions of Campania , Calabria , Apulia , Basilicata , Abruzzo , Molise , and also included some areas of today's southern and eastern Lazio . The term "Kingdom of Naples" is in near-universal use among historians, but it was not used officially by the government. Since the Angevins remained in power on the Italian peninsula, they kept the original name of the Kingdom of Sicily ( Regnum Siciliae ). At
4851-538: The deal quickly fall through, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom in 1502. The Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia , led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova , invaded and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The resulting Aragonese victory left Ferdinand in full control of the kingdom by 1504 and Naples became a constituent kingdom of the Crown of Aragon . The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that
4950-629: The end of the War of the Vespers, the Peace of Caltabellotta (1302) provided that the name of the kingdom would be the Kingdom of Sicily Citra Farum had become known colloquially as the Kingdom of Naples ( Regnum Neapolitanum or Regno di Napoli ). In the late Middle Ages, it was common to distinguish the two Sicilies by noting its location relative to the rest of Italy and the Punta del Faro , i.e.,
5049-403: The face of all cruelty and injustice. He even used to pay out of his own pocket for the goods he requisitioned for the need for provisions, while his fellow countrymen used to simply snatch them from the peasants with violence. Since he usually led the vanguard in the advances and passed to the rearguard in the retreats, he ordered his men to extinguish the fires that his colleagues had set in
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#17327915578935148-419: The fateful Battle of Ravenna (1512) . Bayard's gallantry and the French cavalry under de Foix carried the day, but the duke was killed in the final hour, rendering the battle a strategic loss for the French and a personal tragedy for Bayard. Bayard was sent to Navarre with La Palice to support John III of Navarre and his co-monarch Catherine , who wanted to recover their kingdom , which had been conquered by
5247-404: The first battle of Garigliano on November 8, a superior French force beat back the Spanish but in a second battle on 29 December, the Spanish prevailed. Attacking the French army that was still resting and relaxing after their Christmas festivities from the north at the village of Sujo, the Spanish scored a decisive and war-ending victory. The French army under Italian ally, Francesco de Gonzaga
5346-409: The fourth time that the tactic was repeated, Bayard took advantage of the opportunity, threw himself forward and with the tip of the sword skewered from below the uncovered throat of the Spaniard, then finished him by planting the dagger in one eye. The French celebrated him exultantly with drums and piffari , but Bayard ordered them to be silent, since he did not want death to be celebrated. He went to
5445-555: The furious charge of Bayard and the French gendarmes . Genoa subsequently fell, and Bayard entered the city in triumph behind his king. In June of that year, Louis XII played host to the Spanish king, Ferdinand. Weeks of festivities followed, including tourneys, banquets, and balls. Bayard was the champion of the first, and at the last became reacquainted with his former opponent at the Garigliano, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba , El Gran Capitán ("The Great Captain") of Spain. In 1509,
5544-403: The imperial generals to raise the siege. This stubborn resistance saved central France from invasion, as the king did not have sufficient forces to withstand the Holy Roman Empire. All France celebrated the achievement, and Francis gained time to collect the royal army, which drove out the invaders in 1521. The parlement thanked Bayard as the saviour of his country; the king made him a knight of
5643-446: The intentions of newly unified Spain as he moved further into Italy, drawing his forces eastward. The Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were known to be fearful of a new rapprochement between Louis XII and the Italian powers. They might invade France from the west, while Louis XII had his armies in Italy, and thus involve Louis in a war on two fronts. In the Treaty of Granada , signed by Louis and Ferdinand on 11 November 1500,
5742-541: The invasion of Milan in exchange for the French backing Cesare Borgia 's campaign in Romagna . Louis hired a strong force of Swiss mercenaries and led by Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , his troops quickly over-ran the duchy. Ludovico and his children took refuge in Germany with Emperor Maximilian , while the French entered Milan on 6 October 1499. Following his victory, Louis' Franco-Visconti heraldry and name were painted over
5841-581: The island of Sicily, which was primarily ruled from Palermo. The title of King of Sicily was established by the Antipope Anacletus II as early as 1130 and subsequently legitimized, in 1139, by Pope Innocent II . Since the royal titles over the State had been assigned to the Normans by Innocent II, the popes, in particular Pope Innocent III and Pope Innocent IV , claimed the feudal rights of
5940-401: The junior Angevin line, and he succeeded her in 1435. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines. In 1442, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon . At his death in 1458, the War of the Neapolitan Succession (1458–1462) erupted, after which the kingdom was again separated and Naples
6039-463: The kingdom in 1502, a conflict that ended in a victory for Ferdinand II , who was in full control of the kingdom by 1504. The Spanish held control of Naples throughout the 17th century where it remained an important source of economic and military power for the Spanish Crown. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, the possession of the kingdom again changed hands; the 1714 Treaty of Rastatt saw Naples given to Charles VI of
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#17327915578936138-403: The lady, once in the company of Gaston de Foix, duc de Nemours , just months before the Battle of Ravenna, where the Duke lost his life. By 1511 the League of Cambrai had collapsed due to papal fears of the growing power of France in Italy. To counter this, Pope Julius II declared the formation of the Holy League . This alliance put France at odds with not only the papacy but its erstwhile ally,
6237-412: The lifting of the siege by the Emperor, Bayard and a force of 300 men-at-arms retired into garrison at Verona. Bayard successfully carried out a series of raids and ambushes against Venetian forces in the vicinity, proving himself a master of "small war", and adept at the leading of what today would be called "special operations". In 1510 the Duchy of Ferrara joined the alliance. Bayard was co-commander of
6336-406: The middle of the bridge, challenging alone about 300 or 400 Spaniards who, though numerous, could not even make him retreat. Around the knight rained arrows, spears, and spades, but he, dodging them, continued to repel all who climbed the bridge to face him, until his friend Bellabre rushed to pull him away from there to take him to safety. Bayard's intervention made it possible to cover the retreat of
6435-437: The name given him by his contemporaries for his gaiety and kindness, "le bon chevalier" ("the good knight"). In his portrait by Jacques de Mailles, his squire and biographer , Bayard appears as man with a sharp and pale face, with brown hair, a long nose and two attentive and bright eyes. According to a DNA study of Bayard's skull, he had brown eyes, brownish hair and pale skin. Jacques writes that Bayard, small in stature as
6534-462: The neighbouring Kingdom of Sicily viewed French expansion in Southern Italy as a threat. In September 1496, Ferdinand of Naples was succeeded by his uncle Frederick . Charles VIII died on 7 April 1498 and was succeeded by his second cousin Louis XII of France , who inherited the Angevin claim to Naples while also claiming the Duchy of Milan through his grandmother Valentina Visconti . His lawyers also asserted that Milan naturally belonged to
6633-402: The next several decades, but French efforts to gain control of it became feebler as Habsburg power grew, and never genuinely endangered Spanish control. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. In the Treaty of London (1557), five cities on the coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi ( State of the Presidi ), and part of
6732-446: The next thirteen years, French possession of Milan gave them a base form which to intervene directly in Italy. Despite defeating Ludovico, Louis XII viewed his brief but violent restoration as inspired by Pope Alexander VI and led him to deeply distrust the Holy See end up with France openly hostile and attempting to depose the next pope, Julius II . As the summer campaign season of the year 1500 neared, Louis XII became worried about
6831-419: The north be ensured. Fernández de Córdoba agreed. In 1508, Bayard accompanied King Louis XII against rebellious Genoa . In the battle that broke the back of the rebellion, Bayard played the role of champion and spearhead in the French assault, a breakneck cavalry charge up a mountain slope against a seemingly impregnable barricade defended by a pike-phalanx of Genoese militia. The Genoese broke and fled before
6930-482: The other powers, particularly Britain, hostile towards him and dependent on the uncertain support of Austria, Murat's position became less and less secure. Therefore, when Napoleon returned to France for the Hundred Days in 1815, Murat once again sided with him. Realising the Austrians would soon attempt to remove him, Murat gave the Rimini Proclamation hoping to save his kingdom by allying himself with Italian nationalists. The ensuing Neapolitan War between Murat and
7029-517: The people of Naples rose in revolt in 1647, forming the Neapolitan Republic with French assistance. The revolt was suppressed later that year by Spanish troops. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, possession of the kingdom again changed hands. Under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI , the Holy Roman Emperor . He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long. Both Naples and Sicily were conquered by
7128-533: The proposed marriage between Charles of the House of Habsburg , the future Charles V , and Claude of France , daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany . If the King Louis XII were to die without producing a male heir, Charles of the House of Habsburg would receive as dowry the Duchy of Milan, Genoa and its dependencies, the Duchy of Brittany , the counties of Asti and Blois , the Duchy of Burgundy ,
7227-570: The public debt quintupled, and 57 percent of the kingdom's revenue was devoted to interest payments. Spain's wars crushed the Neapolitan economy. Furthermore, 90 percent of taxes were collected by state creditors, meaning the state paid an effective interest rate of 70 percent annually on the money it borrowed to fight the war. The kingdom started selling state assets to anyone willing to buy them, which usually ended up being barons; these assets included prisons, forests, buildings, and even royal fortresses, as well as titles. Due to this excessive taxation
7326-555: The remainder of the war but despite the Kingdom of Sicily nominally being part of the Fourth , Fifth and Sixth Coalitions against Napoleon, Ferdinand and the British were unable to ever challenge French control of the Italian mainland. After Napoleon's defeat in 1814, Murat reached an agreement with Austria and was allowed to retain the throne of Naples, despite the lobbying efforts of Ferdinand and his supporters. However, with most of
7425-446: The river was in flood, the French threw a bridge of boats across it, covered by artillery fire that prevented the Spaniards from disturbing the operation. Having established the bridge, the French made camp, preferring to postpone the advance towards Naples to the following Spring. The army, too numerous to stay in the same camp, was divided and several battalions were dispersed in the surrounding villages. The Spaniards, taking advantage of
7524-466: The same time by Castile , which had a population twice the size. Naples provided and paid for 10,000 troops and 1,000 horses annually from 1630 to 1643, on top of a 1 million ducat annual subsidy for the war effort and more funds and soldiers for the kingdom's garrisons and navy. The kingdom was increasingly forced to revert to borrowing to finance the war as it went on, which it could do due to its good credit. From 1612 to 1646, Neapolitan taxes tripled and
7623-704: The senior line. This led to Joan I's murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, and his seizing of the throne as Charles III of Naples . The two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. In 1389 Louis II of Anjou son of Louis I managed to seize the throne from Ladislas of Naples son of Charles III, but was expelled by Ladislas in 1399. Charles III's daughter Joanna II (r. 1414–1435) adopted Alfonso V of Aragon (whom she later repudiated) and Louis III of Anjou as heirs alternately, finally settling succession on Louis' brother René of Anjou of
7722-479: The soldiers of Naples were under the command of the Spanish viceroy, Neapolitan nobles enjoyed ascendancy in the assemblies and committees that financed and administered the army. The kingdom suffered a heavy burden from the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) . From 1631 to 1636 alone, Naples sent 53,500 soldiers and 3.5 million scudi to support the Spanish king. This was actually more than was raised in
7821-428: The title "Prince of Naples" to be hereditary on his children and grandchildren. When Joseph was sent off to Spain two years later, he was replaced by Napoleon's sister Caroline and his brother-in-law Marshal Joachim Murat , as King of the Two Sicilies . Meanwhile, Ferdinand had fled to Sicily, where he retained his throne, despite successive attempts by Murat to invade the island. The British would defend Sicily for
7920-409: The title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinand's grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor . Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered the legitimate heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples (Alfonso V of Aragon) and also to the former Kingdom of Sicily ( Regnum Utriusque Siciliae ). The kingdom continued to be disputed between France and Spain for
8019-608: The two Kingdoms being in a personal union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon , Ferdinand IV was a natural opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon . On 29 November 1798, he effectively started the War of the Second Coalition by briefly occupying Rome, but was expelled from it by French Revolutionary forces within
8118-499: The two agreed Louis would become King of Naples and gain control of Naples , Terra di Lavoro , and Abruzzi while Ferdinand was made Duke of Calabria and Apulia ; the territories between were to be shared along with their revenue. On 25 June 1500, these terms were approved by Pope Alexander VI , nominal overlord of the Kingdom of Naples. On 25 July 1501, Frederick IV of Naples abdicated in favour of Louis and died in French captivity in 1504; Francesco Guicciardini points out in
8217-418: The villages, and placed sentinels in defense of the churches and monasteries to prevent the looting and rape of women who had taken refuge there. Such was the fame of the magnanimity of Bayard that the people of Italy , who fled into the woods and mountains when armed men arrived, instead came running to meet his troops, loudly acclaiming his name and offering him gifts. This did not prevent him from becoming
8316-537: The winter mists and the division of the French army, on 28 December, on the advice of Bartolomeo d'Alviano , threw another bridge of boats across the river and seized the unguarded and poorly defended camp. The rout that followed was catastrophic for the army of Louis XII: the sentinels noticed the attack too late and the commanders, caught off guard, did not have time to organize an effective defense and so turned to flight, pressed hard by Italian and Spanish cavalry. Bayard, armed with sword and spear, then placed himself in
8415-413: The year and safely returned home. Soon afterwards, on 23 December 1798, Ferdinand fled Naples to Palermo as a French army closed in. In January 1799, the French armies installed a Parthenopaean Republic , but this proved short-lived, and a peasant counter-revolution inspired by the clergy allowed Ferdinand to return to his capital. However, in 1801 Ferdinand was compelled to make important concessions to
8514-545: Was R1b-M269 . As a soldier, Bayard was considered the epitome of chivalry and one of the most skillful commanders of the age. He was noted for the exactitude and completeness of his information on the enemy's movements, which he obtained by careful reconnaissance and a well-arranged system of espionage. Italian Wars of 1499%E2%80%931504 Second Italian War Third Italian War : War over Naples Third Italian War : War over Naples The Italian Wars of 1499–1504 are divided into two connected, but distinct phases:
8613-627: Was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302), when the island of Sicily revolted and was conquered by the Crown of Aragon , becoming a separate kingdom also called the Kingdom of Sicily . This left the Neapolitan mainland under the possession of Charles of Anjou . Later, two competing lines of
8712-495: Was able to apply the lessons learned in 1495 against the Swiss infantry that France employed; moreover, the Spanish tercios , accustomed to close combat after the Reconquista , redressed some of the imbalance in arms the Spanish had with the French. Cordoba avoided encounter with the enemy at first, hoping to lure the French into complacency. Later, the conflict became characterized by short skirmishes. During this campaign,
8811-521: Was contested by Louis the Great , the Angevin King of Hungary , who captured the kingdom several times (1348–1352) . Queen Joan I also played a part in the ultimate demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. As she was childless, she adopted Louis I, Duke of Anjou , as her heir, in spite of the claims of her cousin, the Prince of Durazzo, effectively setting up a junior Angevin line in competition with
8910-750: Was destroyed, with about 4,000 of just over 15,000 soldiers killed at Garigliano, leaving Louis XII forced to abandon his current ambitions in Naples and, on 2 January 1504, the king withdrew to Lombardy . The Treaty of Lyon was signed on 31 January 1504 between Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Based on the terms of the treaty, France ceded Naples to the Hispanic Monarchy. Moreover, France and Spain defined their respective control of Italian territories. France controlled northern Italy from Milan and Spain controlled Sicily and southern Italy. The Treaty of Blois of 22 September 1504 concerned
9009-417: Was disconcerting, as knights always clashed on horseback with lance and sword. He hoped that Bayard would be pushed by his friends to call off the duel. Instead, Bayard dismounted and the duel began. Sotomayor initially feinted at Bayard, still trying to tire his opponent. Several times he repeated the same move: to raise the sword with two hands to lower it on the head of Bayard, who always dodged him. At
9108-483: Was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragon 's troops. Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the "Kingdom of Naples ", after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, when Queen Joan I of Naples formally renounced the claim by the Treaty of Villeneuve . Joan's reign
9207-566: Was granted Cremona along with lands on the eastern bank of the Adda, and agreed to pay part of Louis' expenses. They would also supply 1,500 cavalry and 4,000 infantry for an attack on Milan from the east and allow Louis to capture Genoa . In return, France promised to provide military support if the Ottomans attacked Venice while they were at war with Milan. The Treaty of Blois was signed on 9 February 1499, while Pope Alexander VI approved
9306-429: Was inherited by Ferdinand I , Alfonso's illegitimate son. When Ferdinand I died in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy, using as a pretext the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples, which his father had inherited in 1481 on the will of Charles IV of Anjou , nephew and heir of King René who had no surviving son. This began the Italian Wars . Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, but
9405-501: Was nearly annihilated; according to Bartolomeo d'Alviano, the main architect of the resounding Spanish victory, the army of Louis XII counted 1,500 spears, 3,400 cavalrymen, and 8,000 infantry that after the battle had been reduced to just 200 spears, 150 cavalrymen, and 600 infantry. These troops barricaded themselves in Gaeta, where a few days later they negotiated the surrender, but demanded that all prisoners be released and that transit to
9504-469: Was resting unarmed, and summoned him to yield; the knight complying, Bayard in turn gave himself up to his prisoner. He was taken into the English camp, but his gallantry impressed Henry as it had Ludovico, and the king released him without ransom, merely exacting his word not to serve for six weeks. On the accession of Francis I in 1515, Bayard was made lieutenant-general of Dauphiné, but soon accompanied
9603-548: Was soon forced to withdraw due to the support of Ferdinand II of Aragon for his cousin, Alfonso II's son Ferrantino . Ferrantino was restored to the throne but died in 1496 and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV . Charles VIII's successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim. In 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. However, disputes over ownership of key Neapolitan territories made
9702-405: Was waiting for the ransom due, Bayard took over the prisoner to prevent him from suffering ill-treatment, welcomed him into his home and treated him with all the respect and honor that he granted to his friends. However, the Spaniard, after gaining his freedom, accused Bayard of mistreating him and of having suffered terrible pains. As soon as he learned of this, the indignant Bayard challenged him to
9801-457: Was widowed when very young. This is supported by Bayard's presence at that time in Piedmont and his statement that the child was noble and the daughter of a lady of great house. The hypothesis is strongly supported by Paul Ballaguy, while Camille Monnet categorically rejects it. A 2017 research paper by Gérard Lucotte verified that Bayard's mtDNA haplogroup was H10E and his YDNA haplogroup
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