Age of the Condottieri: A Short History of Mediaeval Italy from 1409-1530, The by Oscar Browning (18
by Mentor New York
July 16, 2023 9:30 pm
Italy from 1409 to 1530 is synonymous with the Renaissance, but this was also the age of the condottieri, Italian captains of mercenary companies and multinational armies who fought in the service of city states, monarchs, and the Pope. Some like Ludovico Sforza in Milan seized power and founded dynasties in their own right. The merchant princes of the Medici family reached their apogee in Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence, but faltered in the Papacy; Leo X proved no match for Martin Luther and Clement VII was powerless to avert the sack of Rome in 1527. Venice lost her overseas empire to the Turks, while proud King Francis I, defeated by the Emperor Charles and a prisoner in Madrid, was eventually forced to relinquish all hope of Italian conquest.
Recent Episodes
Ch. 1: Retrospect and Prospect, Pt. 1
2 years agoCh. 1: Retrospect and Prospect, Pt. 2
2 years agoCh. 2: Joanna of Naples--Muzio Sforza--Braccio da Montone and Carmagnola, Pt. 1
2 years agoCh. 2: Joanna of Naples--Muzio Sforza--Braccio da Montone and Carmagnola, Pt. 2
2 years agoCh. 3: The Emperor Sigismund--Pope Eugenius IV--The Rise of the Medici--Alfonso of Arragon, Pt. 1
2 years agoCh. 3: The Emperor Sigismund--Pope Eugenius IV--The Rise of the Medici--Alfonso of Arragon, Pt. 2
2 years agoCh. 4: Francesco Sforza--Frederick III--Pius II, Pt. 1
2 years agoCh. 4: Francesco Sforza--Frederick III--Pius II, Pt. 2
2 years agoCh. 4: Francesco Sforza--Frederick III--Pius II, Pt. 3
2 years agoCh. 5: Cosimo dei Medici--Paul II, Pt. 1
2 years ago