Pippo Spano
Pippo Spano | |
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Székesfehérvár Basilica | |
Noble family | Buondelmonti degli Scolari |
Occupation | Hungarian magnate, general; Italian condottiere. |
Filippo Buondelmonti degli Scolari (1369 – December 1426), known as Pippo Spano,
Early career
Filippo, the son of a destitute Florentine nobleman, was born at Tizzano, near Florence. He is first mentioned in Hungary around 1382, when he entered the service of Sigismund's treasurer and was awarded the castle in Simontornya (Simonsthurm).
Further services to the Crown, such as providing resources to fight the
He took part in the unfortunate anti-Ottoman final Crusade of September 1396 at Nicopolis in Bulgaria, and, unlike most on the Christian side, managed to flee after the defeat. He, the King, and a number of high dignitaries sailed a small boat up the Danube, all the way to Hungarian and Croatian lands.
He married Barbara, daughter and heir of Andrew of Ozora, in 1398.
During the new period of trouble with the claim to the throne of Charles II's son Ladislaus of Naples, Lo Scolari exposed acts of treason on the part of some noblemen. He was however forced to give in to most of their demands, as the King was taken prisoner in Visegrád Castle (1401).
After Sigismund reasserted control briefly, the nobles openly recognized Ladislaus as King. The forces of the Kingdom of Naples took Zadar in 1403, and Pippo had to retreat; the same year, he regained Veszprém and, in September, took Esztergom and again raided Bosnia - breaking up contacts between Sicilian and rebel armies and forcing the invaders to flee. He persuaded the rebels to seek Sigismund's pardon.
While in
In Italy
In 1408, Pippo became the
As part of the anti-Venetian campaign of 1411, Lo Scolari entered Friuli at the head of an army, conquered Aquileia and, in December, he took Udine and several fortresses in Romagna, then Vittorio Veneto - capturing a high official from the Barbarigo family. In January 1412, the renewed attack ensured Pippo a supply of high-ranking Venetian prisoners, whom he ordered mutilated to avenge a Hungarian killed by the enemy.
He suffered a major defeat at the
Lo Scolari returned to Friuli in September, in order to aid Florence against Ladislaus' troops. At Lodi (in Lombardy), he attended the meeting between Sigismund and the ruler of the city, Giovanni da Vignate.
Later assignments
Pippo took part in the March 1414 initial proceedings of the Council of Constance, where the Emperor King charged him with guarding John XXIII - an assignment he did not fully accomplish, as the Antipope soon managed to flee. In 1415, the Count of Temesvár witnessed the rebel Jan Hus' execution in Konstanz.
He fought the Turks again in 1417 in
The rumor that Pippo had been killed in Bohemia led to an Ottoman attack in Wallachia against his ally
Legacy
He was enumerated in South Slavic epic poetry, known as "Filip the Magyar (
: Филип Маджарин).Annotations
References
Sources
- Domenico Mellini (1570). Vita Di Filippo Scolari, Volgarmente Chiamato Pippo Spano. Sermartelli.
- Domenico Mellini (1606). Vita del capitano Filippo Scolari ... chiamato Pippo Spano conte di Temesvar ... riveduta et accresciuta dal autore. - Firenze, Sermartelli 1606. Nella Stamperia del Sermartelli.
- Gizella Nemeth; Gizella Nemeth Papo; Adriano Papo (2006). Pippo Spano: un eroe antiturco antesignano del Rinascimento. Edizioni della Laguna. ISBN 978-88-8345-219-2.
External links
- (in Hungarian) Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
- (in Italian) Note biografiche
- (in Italian) Il Castello di Arzignano: Pippo Spano, tra leggenda e realtà