An ancient portrait of Castruccio Castracani.

Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–September 3, 1328) was an Italian condottiero and duke of Lucca. Image File history File links Castrucciocastracani. ... Image File history File links Castrucciocastracani. ... For broader historical context, see 1280s and 13th century. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... Events Augustiner brew Munich May 1 - Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton - England recognises Scotland as an independent nation after the Wars of Scottish Independence May 12 - Nicholas V is consecrated at St Peters Basilica in Rome by the bishop of Venice. ... Condottieri (singular condottiero) were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century. ... Lucca (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ...

Biography

Castracani was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Andelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the Guelphs "Black" party, then in the ascendant. At nineteen he became orphaned, and subsequently served as a condottiero under Philip IV of France in Flanders, then with the Visconti in Lombardy, and in 1313 under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola, lord of Pisa, in central Italy. Lucca (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... Events Beginning of the Renaissance. ... Guelph has several meanings: Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada. ... Philippe IV, recumbent statue on his tomb, Royal Necropolis, Saint Denis Basilica Philip IV the Fair (French: Philippe IV le Bel) (1268 – November 29, 1314) was King of France from 1285 until his death. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming)) has two main designations: a geographical region in the north of Belgium, corresponding to the Flemish Region, a consituent part of the federal Belgian state. ... Visconti was a noble family that ruled Milan during the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance period. ... Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po river valley. ... Events Siege of Rostock ends Births June 16 - Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (died 1375) August 1 - Emperor Kogon of Japan (died 1364) August 13 - Aradia de Toscano, female messianic figure in Italian witchcraft Bartolus de Saxoferrato, Italian law professor (died 1357) Deaths August 24 - Henry VII, Emperor of the Holy... Uguccione della Faggiuola (born ~1250, Massa Trabaria, Tuscany (Italy); died November 1, 1319, Vicenza) was chief magistrate of Pisa, Lucca and Forlì (1297). ... Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ...

He assisted Uguccione in many enterprises, including the capture of Lucca (1314) and the Battle of Montecatini (1315), in which he was the main protagonist of the victory over the Guelph League led by the Florentines. However, due to his growing popularity, Uguccione had him jailed and condemned to death. An insurrection of the Lucchese having led to the expulsion of Uguccione and his party, Castruccio regained his freedom and his position, and the Ghibelline triumph was presently assured. Events June 24 - Battle of Bannockburn. ... The Battle of Montecatini was fought on August 29, 1315 between the city of Pisa, and the forces of both Naples and Florence. ... Events August 13 - Louis X of France marries Clemence dAnjou. ... Florence (Italian, Firenze) is a city in the center of Tuscany, in central Italy, on the Arno River, with a population of around 400,000, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000. ...

Elected lord (as lifelong consul) of Lucca on June 12, 1316, he warred incessantly against the Florentines, and was at first the faithful adviser and staunch supporter of Frederick of Austria, who made him imperial vicar of Lucca, Lunigiana and Val di Nievole in 1320. After the Battle of Mühldorf he went over to the emperor Louis the Bavarian, whom he served for many years. In 1325 he defeated the Florentines at Altopascio, and was appointed by the emperor duke of Lucca, Pistoia, Volterra and Luni, and two years later he captured Pisa, of which he was made imperial vicar. But, subsequently, his relations with Louis seem to have grown less friendly and he was afterwards excommunicated by the papal legate in the interests of the Guelphs (1327). Consul (abbrev. ... Lucca (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... Events Pope John XXII elected to the papacy. ... Frederick the Handsome (born 1286; died January 13, 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria as Frederick I and King of the Romans as Frederick (III). ... In the broadest sense, a vicar (from the Latin vicarius) is anyone acting as a substitute or agent for a superior (compare vicarious). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. ... Lucca (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... Lunigiana is an historical region of Italy, in the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara, in Tuscany and Liguria. ... Events January 20 - Dante - Quaestio de Aqua et Terra January 20 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland April 6 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. ... The Battle of Mühldorf was fought on September 28, 1322 between Bavaria and Austria. ... Louis IV of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach, born 1282, was duke of Bavaria from 1294, duke of the Palatinate from 1329 and, after 1314, Holy Roman Emperor. ... Events Muhammed Tughlaq succeeds his father Ghiyas al-Din Tughlaq as Sultan of Delhi. ... Altopascio is famous for the battle in 1325 where Castruccio Castracani defeated the Florentines and thanks this, he became duke of Lucca. ... Lucca (population 90,000) is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... Pistoia (ancient Pistoria) is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km (18 mi) west and north of Florence. ... Volterra is a town in the Tuscany region, Italy. ... The Luni is a river of western Rajasthan state, India. ... Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... Events January 25 - Edward III becomes King of England. ...

At his death in 1328 the fortunes of his young children were wrecked in the Guelphic triumph. Events Augustiner brew Munich May 1 - Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton - England recognises Scotland as an independent nation after the Wars of Scottish Independence May 12 - Nicholas V is consecrated at St Peters Basilica in Rome by the bishop of Venice. ...

Niccolo Machiavelli's Life of Castruccio is a mere romance. Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469—June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher during the Renaissance. ...

References

• Niccolo Negrini, Vita di Castruccio (Modena, 1496).
• Claudio Rendina, I Capitani di Ventura (Rome, 1994).
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.