Thirty years of service under Padua, Milan and Venice, followed month by month
UGOLOTTO BIANCARDO (Brancardo, Brancardi, Ugolino Bianco, Ugolotto Bianchi, Ugolotto Erculeo) of Parma. Guelph and Ghibelline. Lord of Castelbaldo and of Casale di Scodosia. Nephew of Bonifacio Lupo.
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1363 | |||||
| Mar. | Veneto | A cleric, since he is destined for an ecclesiastical career, he is in Padua when his uncle, the canon Giovanni Lupo, renounces in his favor the benefice of Saints Simon and Jude of Villatuma into the hands of the city’s bishop Pileo da Prata. | |||
| 1378 | |||||
| …………….. | He takes up the profession of arms. He serves in the companies of Alberico da Barbiano. | ||||
| Aug. | Milan | Verona | Veneto | ||
| Dec. | Venice | Padua | Lombardy | In the Mantuan territory, together with other captains of the company, he ratifies the contract with the Venetians. | |
| 1379 | |||||
| Jan. | Mercenary company | Bologna | Emilia | ||
| Feb. | Mercenary company | Florence | Tuscany | ||
| 1380 | |||||
| Spring | Church | Antipope | 60 lances | Umbria | Garrisoned at Orvieto. The papal rector Guglielmo Maramaldo has some members of the Muffati faction imprisoned. |
| May | Umbria | Rinaldo Orsini leaves Bolsena and attacks Biancardo in Orvieto with the Breton company. He is besieged in the fortress and within a few days is forced to surrender. | |||
| 1384 | |||||
| Dec. | Mercenary company | Siena, Cortona | Umbria and Tuscany | With Guido d’Asciano and Anderlino Trotti he moves from the Perugia area to enter Sienese territory as an enemy. He halts at San Galgano; defeated by Boldrino da Panicale, he heads toward Monte San Savino and the Berardenga. He has contacts with the Florentines. | |
| 1385 | Lombardy | He earns a good reputation in the wars fought in Lombardy. | |||
| 1386 | |||||
| Jan. | His uncle Bonifacio Lupo, by a formal notarial deed, leaves him his own crest as an inheritance. | ||||
| …………….. | Padua | Verona | 800 horsemen | Friuli and Veneto | In the pay of the lord of Padua, Francesco da Carrara. He fights first in Friuli, then in the Veronese and Vicentine territories. Wherever he is, Ugolotto Biancardo causes immense damage. |
| June | Veneto | He crosses the Brenta and puts the districts of Costozza and Nanto to fire and sword. He is, however, driven back from the Covolo di Costozza. | |||
| …………….. | Veneto | He plunders the territory of Barbarano Vicentino and that of other villages, also in the Vicentine area. | |||
| Nov. | Veneto | He joins forces with Giovanni degli Ubaldini, Pagano da Rho, Bernardo Scolari and Ugolino Ghislieri (1000 lances); moving by night, he comes to the relief of the towers of Novaglia, which are about to fall into the hands of the Scaligeri. He brings weapons and infantry into the fortresses. | |||
| 1387 | |||||
| Feb. | Veneto | At Cerea with Giovanni Acuto and Giovanni degli Ubaldini for a council of war. | |||
| Mar. | Veneto | He takes part in the battle of Castelbaldo, in which he is placed in the third line, which also includes Francesco Novello da Carrara, Antonio Balestrazzo, Ceccolo Broglia, Brandolino Brandolini, Biordo dei Michelotti, Giacomo and Conte da Carrara and Bernardo Scolari (1400 horsemen). He positions himself behind a ditch, with the stipendiaries of Cermisone da Parma at his side; he is assaulted by the troops of Ostasio da Polenta and Benedetto da Malcesine. This action is followed by a counterattack of the Carrara forces and a new Scaligeri offensive led by Giovanni Ordelaffi: together with Conte da Carrara, Biancardo contains the fury of the adversaries. | |||
| Apr. | Padua, Milan | Verona | Veneto | After the victory he is sent to the aid of the Visconti forces, who contribute 50% of the payment of his contract. | |
| May | Veneto | In the middle of the month he leaves Padua with Conte da Carrara and a great multitude of sappers. He reaches Castelletto, crosses the Bacchiglione at Longare, builds a bridge there and assaults the towers of Novaglia in order to control the hydraulic regime of the river, which is returned to its natural bed. First he carries out a ruinous raid as far as Campello, near Vicenza, while part of the army builds a strong bastion near the towers. With Conte da Carrara he drains the ditches in front of the bastions that defend Novaglia; he attacks the enemy positions with bombards (333 stone balls). The Scaligeri spike the “Trevisana” for him with a sortie; in the end the enemy surrender and he sets their fortifications on fire. | |||
| June | Veneto | He besieges Vicenza from the side of Porta Berica. | |||
| July | Veneto | He withdraws from Vicenza after some unsuccessful attacks, also because of the plague. He passes through Lonigo, Bagnolo, Verona (the Porta di San Felice) and Poggiana, always continuing his policy of systematic devastation. He attacks Montegalda in vain, where he suffers considerable losses (200 dead). | |||
| Aug. | Veneto | Francesco Novello da Carrara decides to assault Vicenza at Porta Nuova. Ugolotto Biancardo repels the sorties led by Guido da Savona and places his quarters on the Bacchiglione, awaiting possible disorder inside the city. The ditches are filled with fascines and the ladders are brought up to the walls: Guido da Savona sallies out and the Carraresi are thrown back. Biancardo is gravely wounded and is taken to Padua to be treated. | |||
| Oct. | Milan, Padua | Verona | Veneto | He is now directly in the pay of the lord of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti. He enters Verona with the Visconti forces through the Porta di San Massimo, which is opened to him from inside; with Otto da Mandello and Guglielmo Bevilacqua he accepts the surrender of the city in the name of the Count of Virtue Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The lord of Padua then expects to receive Vicenza from the Visconti as agreed the previous April. Francesco da Carrara sends his son Conte to take possession of the city: contrary to all expectations he is rebuffed. Once again Gian Galeazzo Visconti has shown himself a master of double-dealing. | |
| 1388 | |||||
| …………….. | Milan | Veneto | He is appointed captain of Verona. | ||
| June | Milan | Padua | Veneto | Before the official declaration of war between the Visconti and the Carraresi he has secret contacts with Albertino da Peraga, field marshal of the Paduan army. Ugolotto Biancardo supports Jacopo dal Verme in his offensive. | |
| July | 300 lances | Veneto | He leaves Bassano del Grappa, overcomes the defenses placed at the abbey of Sant’Eufemia at Villa del Conte and crosses the Brenta at Limena. He seizes a bridge on the Brentelle and sets up camp below Padua between the canal and the Bacchiglione. | ||
| Sept. | Veneto | He opens new negotiations with Albertino da Peraga, who commits to letting him into the district of Ognissanti. He assaults the towers of Novaglia: after fifteen days of bombardment, Rigo Trapolino and Tommasino da Parma are forced to surrender on terms. Immediately afterward Ugolotto Biancardo returns to Padua and diverts the waters of the Bacchiglione toward the city. | |||
| Nov. | Veneto | Francesco Novello da Carrara surrenders at Codevigo; Biancardo enters the citadel of Padua with 100 lances and sacks the city. He goes to Treviso, which has rebelled against Francesco da Carrara, with the aim of preventing the town from falling into the hands of the Venetians: the people cut the bridges, barricade the streets and obstruct his plans. | |||
| Dec. | Veneto and Lombardy | He returns to Treviso with Spinello dei Tolomei (400 lances) to obtain from Francesco da Carrara the execution of the agreed terms. He meets the former lord of Padua, apologizes for the war he brought upon him and obtains possession of the city and control of the castle. | |||
| 1389 | |||||
| Sept. | Milan | Florence, Bologna | Tuscany, Umbria and Marche | On the Visconti’s mandate he goes to Siena to recruit troops with the treasurer Giovanni della Porta and the Sienese ambassador Battista Piccolomini. Joined by 100 lances, he turns toward Perugia and recruits in the March of Ancona Ceccolo Broglia and Brandolini with 200 lances, Giovanni Tedesco da Pietramala with 100 and Boldrino da Panicale with another 200. | |
| Oct., Nov. | Emilia | Fights against the Bolognese. | |||
| 1390 | |||||
| June | Milan | Padua, Florence | Emilia and Veneto | He confronts and defeats 800 lances of the adversaries in the Bolognese territory; he is recalled to the Veneto after Francesco Novello da Carrara has managed to recover Padua. Biancardo crosses the Po at Ostiglia with 700/800 lances; at Peschiera del Garda he is surprised by the news of the revolt of Verona in favor of the Scaligeri. He appears suddenly on the bank of the Adige and enters that city by night through the Porta di Santa Croce of the citadel with 400 lances and 1300 infantrymen (many of whom are supplied by Francesco Gonzaga), while the remaining men are sent toward Padua. The following day he heads for the city raising the banner of the Carraresi. A gate is opened to him. He bursts into Verona with his squadrons and many inhabitants who favor the Visconti, with the aim of assaulting the population. In three days 1500 people of every age and sex are slaughtered: the Veronese are forced to abandon their homes and to take refuge, aided by darkness, across the Adige. Caterina Visconti, wife of Gian Galeazzo, has to intervene to stop the massacre. The booty is huge; much of it is sold. He immediately sets out toward Padua with the same intentions. | |
| July | Veneto | He enters the citadel of Padua with many wagons of provisions; he leaves it for a sortie but is driven back by the Carraresi. From the Torlonga (the future Specola) he watches the enemy army parade, and so he loses all hope of a quick success. He returns to Vicenza to await reinforcements; at the end of the month he heads again toward Padua with provisions and munitions for the besieged in the citadel. | |||
| Aug. | Veneto | He crosses the Brenta and at Limena is opposed by Conte da Carrara: after a few hours he is forced to fall back; he leaves 300 men in enemy hands and loses 40 wagons of flour, 20 of salted meat, 30 of wine, 10 of munitions and 200 head of cattle. | |||
| ……………. | Veneto | He is entrusted with the government of Verona. As his first act he expels all dissidents from the city. | |||
| Nov. | Milan | Padua, della Scala | Veneto | He resumes the war against the Carraresi. | |
| 1391 | |||||
| Jan. | He is assaulted in Verona by Giovanni Acuto and by the supporters of Cansignorio della Scala. | ||||
| June | Lombardy | He is defeated on the Oglio, at Rudiano, by Giovanni Acuto, whom he tried to prevent from crossing the river with 700 horsemen. | |||
| July | Lombardy | He has to leave Soresina and withdraw beyond the Serio under pressure from the Florentines and the Carraresi. He supports Jacopo dal Verme at Castellazzo, where the French of Giovanni d’Armagnac are routed. Again with dal Verme he forces the troops of Acuto to fall back from the Adda and blocks the adversaries in the Cremonese; he is beaten at Paterno. | |||
| Sept. | Lombardy and Veneto | With Antonio Porro and Antonio Balestrazzo he shadows the adversaries in their retreat toward the Veronese and Paduan territories; at the head of 300 horsemen he seizes the bridge of the Brentelle near Padua; he takes many prisoners there, who are taken to Vicenza. | |||
| Oct. | Veneto | He assaults Castelbaldo with Antonio Porro and begins the construction of two bastions there. On the announcement of the arrival of Conte da Carrara he decides to turn back by night: he is, however, intercepted and the Carraresi seize 280 wagons of provisions and munitions, 22 boats, 12 bombards, and other material. | |||
| 1393 | Veneto | Captain of Vicenza. | |||
| 1394 | Veneto | He is again offered the post of governor of Verona. | |||
| 1395 | |||||
| Jan., Feb. | Milan | Padua | Veneto | He concentrates his troops at Verona and Vicenza. He threatens to invade the Paduan territory. | |
| Sept. | Lombardy | In May Gian Galeazzo Visconti obtains from the emperor Wenceslaus of Bohemia, at a cost of 100000 florins, the title of Duke of Milan. In September, with Paolo Savelli, at the head of 500 lances, Ugolotto Biancardo ensures that nothing happens during the coronation ceremony, which takes place in Milan in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio. On that occasion the Milanese swear an oath of loyalty to the Visconti. | |||
| …………….. | Emilia | He is appointed vicar of Soragna. | |||
| 1397 | |||||
| Mar. | Milan | Mantua | Veneto and Lombardy | He has the task of assaulting the Mantuan territory from the Veronese. He passes through San Martino Buon Albergo, Pontepossero and Erbé and crosses the Mincio. He heads for Ostiglia. Under the orders of Jacopo dal Verme he plunders a large part of the Mantuan territory and approaches the capital. He prevents Andrea Malatesta from crossing the Mincio; by this action he contributes to the defeat of the enemy captain near Mantua. | |
| Apr. | Lombardy | He takes possession of the fortress of Melara. He occupies Marcaria. | |||
| June | Lombardy | He is re-elected captain of Verona. The podestà of the city is Spinetta Spinola. He returns to the camp. | |||
| July | Lombardy | He is at Governolo, at the confluence of the Mincio with the Po: the defense of the place is in the hands of Bartolomeo Gonzaga, Marsilio and Guido Torelli. He builds a bastion on a small island and begins to besiege this center. He sets out for Castelletto to raid the countryside near Mantua; from Governolo Guido Torelli comes out with 200 horsemen and 100 infantrymen; he forces Biancardo to fall back and captures 100 horses from him. Irritated, he orders many boats to be brought onto the Mincio: the enemy come out of the enclosure and seize 30 boats, which are carried to the capital. He heads for Ostiglia and provides supplies for the Visconti army. He learns of a raid by Carlo Malatesta; he has the harvested wheat deposited in the warehouses of Isola della Scala and attacks the troops of the league who are returning to the Mantuan territory laden with plunder. He joins with dal Verme and besieges Borgoforte. | |||
| Aug. | Lombardy | He is routed by Carlo Malatesta at Borgoforte, where he commands the fourth line of 1000 horsemen: he throws himself into the melee with Facino Cane. Against him, Pandolfo Malatesta and Giovanni da Barbiano intervene to restore the balance of the fight. He is wounded and unhorsed by Carlo Malatesta, abandons the bridge he is guarding and withdraws. Immediately afterward he besieges Antonio degli Obizzi in Cavriana; Ugo di Monforte relieves the defenders and captures 300 horses from him. | |||
| Oct. | Lombardy | He moves toward Marcaria and Alberone, penetrates the enclosure and provokes the Gonzaga supporters at the gates of Mantua (Porta Molino). | |||
| Oct. | Lombardy | He remains in the Mantuan territory until the end of the conflict. His soldiers capture Ugo di Monforte nearby in a skirmish. | |||
| 1398 | |||||
| 1399 | |||||
| …………….. | Veneto | At Verona. He buys the castle of Gallinella in the Cremonese from Maffeo Petronio. | |||
| 1401 | |||||
| June | Veneto | He continues to hold the post of captain at Verona. | |||
| Sept. | Veneto | He sends garrisons to guard Belluno and Feltre. | |||
| 1402 | |||||
| Mar. | Milan | Bologna | Emilia | He has a serious quarrel with Ottobono Terzi; the two companies clash in combat (180/200 dead among his men and 150/200 among those of Terzi, who is wounded). | |
| Sept. | Lombardy | He is present in the Milan cathedral at the funeral of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. He is called to join the regency council. He is also appointed, with Manfredo Barbavara, governor of the Count of Pavia Filippo Maria Visconti; he is soon dismissed. | |||
| 1403 | |||||
| Apr. | Milan | Veneto | He goes to the Belluno area. He seeks timber to be transported by river, on the Piave, for use in the cities of the plain. | ||
| Aug., Sept. | Milan | Padua, Ferrara | Veneto | He fails to prevent Niccolò d’Este from crossing the Adige at Castelbaldo. In early September Brunoro della Scala, son of Guglielmo, bursts into the Veronese territory. Biancardo leaves Verona at the head of numerous troops and enters Legnago (he seizes the fortress) and Porto. | |
| Oct. | Veneto | He meets at San Martino Buon Albergo with the ambassadors of Francesco Novello da Carrara, Rigo Galletto and Luca Lion: the negotiations have no result. | |||
| Nov. | Veneto | The conflict with the Carraresi resumes. | |||
| Dec. | Veneto | He assaults, without success, the two bastions of Albaredo d’Adige and Porcile (Belfiore), whose defense is in the hands of Tommasino da Parma. | |||
| 1404 | |||||
| Jan. | Veneto | He leaves Legnago and attacks the adversaries again at Albaredo d’Adige; repulsed, he shuts himself in Verona and takes up its defense with Bartolomeo Gonzaga. He opposes Filippo da Pisa, who has his operational base at Albaredo d’Adige and Belfiore: he cannot prevent Francesco Novello da Carrara from carrying his raids right up to Verona, at Porta Vescovo, the Campo di Marte and the Porta dei Calzari. | |||
| Feb. | Veneto | He forbids the troops of Facino Cane and Pandolfo Malatesta, sent to his aid by the Duchess of Milan, from entering Verona, fearing some rash act on their part in the city. He accompanies Facino Cane on his march toward Padua and tries with him to destroy the bastion that defends the bridge of Belfiore, guarded by Filippo da Pisa. | |||
| Apr. | Veneto | He is forced to return to Verona because of the mutiny of the troops caused by the delay in pay. | |||
| May | Veneto and Lombardy | The Vicentines grant him their citizenship. He is attacked by night in Verona by Francesco Novello da Carrara, by Niccolò d’Este, and by Guglielmo, Brunoro and Antonio della Scala. He rushes with Galeazzo da Mantova and the cavalry to divert the adversaries from the assault on the walls: the crossbowmen who are in the city rise up in favor of the della Scala. The captain, because of the darkness, cannot see the actual number of the enemy and is struck by crossbow bolts. Meanwhile the Carraresi breach the city wall in two places and the captain of the Paduan stipendiaries enters Verona. Biancardo tries everything with Bartolomeo Gonzaga; he goes to Piazza Bra and sets fire to the houses inside and outside the walls, especially in the borough of San Zeno, whose inhabitants have joined the attackers. The fighting lasts until dawn, when he is obliged to take refuge with Gonzaga first at the Campo di Marte, then in the citadel with 200 lances and many infantrymen. Within a few days the Carraresi seize the Porta della Vittoria; Biancardo does not even succeed in bringing relief to Giovanni Dente, who defends the Ponte delle Navi on the Adige. Besieged in the citadel, following new Scaligeri assaults launched at the Porta della Paglia, he is forced to come to terms: he hands over some hostages and promises to surrender the fortifications still in his possession (the citadel and the castle of San Martino Acquario, i.e. Castelvecchio) if no reinforcements arrive in his favor within six days. When that deadline expires he leaves Verona with his troops and goes to Mantua: from there he arranges for Vicenza to give itself to the Venetians rather than to the Carraresi. | |||
| ……………. | Emilia | He returns to the Parma area. | |||
| Aug. | Emilia | He recovers the castle of Madregolo, which had fallen the previous March into the hands of the Rossi. | |||
| Oct. | Venice | Padua | Veneto | Alongside Ottobono Terzi and Galeazzo da Mantova against the Carraresi. | |
| Nov. | Veneto | He encamps at Bussolengo, from where he blocks all the passes of the Valpolicella in order to cut the supply lines of the Carraresi. | |||
| Dec. | Emilia | He returns to Madregolo. | |||
| 1405 | |||||
| Autumn | Emilia | He presses Ottobono Terzi to have the defamatory painting removed from the Palazzo dei Notari in Parma, which depicts Pietro dei Rossi and his brother Giacomo hanged by one foot. | |||
| 1406 | |||||
| Dec. | Emilia | On Christmas Day he is in Parma for the baptism of Ottobono Terzi‘s firstborn, Niccolò Carlo. | |||
| 1408 | |||||
| Feb. | Emilia | He dies in his castle of Madregolo at the end of the month. He makes a will in favor of 4 natural daughters, all legitimized. His executors are Jacopo Terzi and Carlo da Fogliano. |
Sources
-“Capitano di ventura, che si era acquistato buon nome, verso la seconda metà del secolo XIV, come uomo d’arme, non certo rispettoso dei beni e delle terre altrui.” ARGEGNI
-“Unus ex belli ducibus, vir pace, ac bello prudentiae singularis.” BRACCIOLINI
-“Celebre capitano del secolo XIV.” BOSI
-“Erat..irae impatiens.” PLATINA
-“Tanta quidem constantissimi pectore ducis (Gian Galeazzo Visconti) fidutia in militia inhumani Herculis habita, ut gladio eius impio Cismintiana regis sub ipsius ducis imperio subageretur: nec ipse princeps et aliorum magister adiscebat ficti amoris odium nature lubrice fidelitatis operam facere..Nichil violentia, nichil proditione ceudelius.” MARZAGAIA
-“Feroce ma abile condottiero visconteo.” SIMEONI
-“Homo in pace et in guerra prudentissimo.” PORRO LAMBERTENGHI
-“Degnamente annoverar si debbe tra i restauratori dell’onore italiano nel fatto della guerra..Quanto era prode il Biancardo, tanto era fermo al mandare senza umano rispetto in esecuzione tutto che parevagli conferire a confermar la possanza del suo signore (Gian Galeazzo Visconti). Lodevoli erano in lui la fedeltà e la costanza; da lasciarsi ai Brettoni le ferine crudeltà.” PEZZANA
-Con Ottobono Terzi, Antonio Balestrazzo e Gherardo Aldighieri ” Tre Capitan Parma ha, l’un messer Otto,/ Antonio l’avol mio, il Balestraccio,/ Rardo Aldighier, e Biancardo Ugolotto.” CORNAZZANO
-“Fu Ugolotto celeberrimo soldato, e le storie nostre lo commendano alcune volte con somma lode.” AFFO’
-“Celebre condottiero, allievo di Alberico da Barbiano.” SOMMI PICENARDI
-“Milletrecento novanta si choria/ Veronesi al Bison (Biscione, simbolo dei Visconti) si ribeloe/ la città de Verona per lor talia/ Uguloto Bianchardo col Bison stasia/ per la cittadella in Verona entrava/ Francisco Gonzaga sucorso li davia./ Ducento provigionati li mandava/ introno dentro, Verona ricoprono;/ a sachomano tutta la roba andava.” ALIPRANDI
-Con Niccolò Terzi, Raimondo Lupo, Bonifacio Lupo, Simone Lupo, Antonio Lupo, Cermisone da Parma, Ottobono Terzi, Ludovico Gabriotto Cantelli “Fra ‘ restauratori della fama militare Italiana, o fra i loro più prodi cooperatori.” PEZZANA
-Con Jacopo dal Verme, Cortesia da Serego, Galeazzo Porro “Si acquistavano buon nome nelle guerre di Lombardia.” RICOTTI
-“Biancardo non era sprovvisto di cultura; contava fra i suoi amici l’umanista vicentino Antonio Loschi e a Verona, discutendo col Marzagaia di lettere, si professava ammiratore di Apuleio.” SARTORE
-“Valente capitano.” LOMBARDI
-“Feroce capitano visconteo.” CIPOLLA
Featured image: wikipedia
