Blood and Steel: How One Mercenary Captain Silenced Accusations of Cowardice
GUIDO D’ASCIANO (Guido Guidi, Guido da Siena, Guido da Sano). From Asciano.
Death: 1410 ca.
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1376 | |||||
| July | Florence | Church | Emilia | Fights the pontificals in the War of the Eight Saints. He is besieged in Bologna by the company of Bretons commanded by Giovanni di Maléstroit, Silvestro di Budes and Bernardon de la Salle (Bernardo della Sala). | |
| Aug. | Emilia | He distinguishes himself with Betto Biffoli in a duel with two Breton knights who have accused the Florentines of cowardice. Biffoli throws his adversary to the ground; Guido d’Asciano and his Breton rival both fall to the ground after a clash with lances. The Italian is the first to get up, while the Breton lies on the ground half dead. The adversaries are thus defeated. Asciano returns to Bologna. | |||
| ………….. | Serves in the Company of San Giorgio of Alberico da Barbiano. | ||||
| 1379 | |||||
| Apr. | Church | Antipope | Lazio | Participates in the battle of Marino. | |
| 1382 | |||||
| …………. | Comp. ventura | Siena | Tuscany | Allies with Boldrino da Panicale and Bartolomeo da Pietramala to harass the Sienese. In his action he is favored by the lord of Cortona Uguccione Casali. | |
| Dec. | Siena | Antipope Vico | 800 horses | Lazio | Attacks the lands of Francesco di Vico; reaches as far as Acquapendente. |
| 1383 | |||||
| Mar. | 800 horses | Tuscany and Lazio | He is granted a command of 800 horses and a monthly provision of 300 florins. At his side also fight the Englishman Roger Baker (20 lances and 22 archers) and the Hungarian Peter Binda (20 archers). He operates in Val di Chiana; near Chiusi he surprises Giovanni Acuto (John Hawkwood). The two companies face each other in various skirmishes without particular relevance. He is given the task of opposing the company of Bretons of Bernardo della Sala and Guglielmetto della Sala who, with Francesco di Vico, are devastating the Maremma. Upon their withdrawal he enters Corneto (Tarquinia) where he has been called by the inhabitants. | ||
| Apr. | Lazio | The Sienese force him to return Tarquinia to the pontificals represented by the rector and captain of the Patrimony Simonetto da Castel di Piero. In continuing the campaign he makes a raid to the gates of Viterbo: he brings with him to Val di Chiana the rustled livestock and 300 prisoners; he takes possession of Monte San Savino. He defeats Francesco di Vico at Acquapendente and punishes all the partisans of the prefect of Rome. In the combat Ludovico di Vico, uncle of Francesco, is among others captured. He will be put to death at Acquapendente. | |||
| May | Lazio | He joins with Niccolò Malatesta (200 lances), again assaults Francesco di Vico in the Viterbo area and takes possession of the castle of San Lorenzo alle Grotte (San Lorenzo Nuovo). | |||
| June | Lazio | He occupies Acquapendente and Gradoli. He camps between San Lorenzo Nuovo and Lake Bolsena in a position valid from a defensive point of view, but completely lacking water. He is assaulted by adversaries. The Sienese army finds itself surrounded, lacking everything. There is only one entrance to his camp, excellent for defense, but terrible for trying to exit in search of supplies. The soldiers, desperate, hungry, thirsty assault the camp of Giovanni Acuto, Francesco di Vico, the Bretons. The Sienese are defeated, killed or taken prisoner. The adversaries seize 2000 mounts. All the war supplies of the commune of Siena, worth 200,000 florins, fall into enemy hands. Niccolò Malatesta is captured; Guido d’Asciano manages to save himself with few men to San Lorenzo Nuovo. To recover from the damages suffered he drives out the inhabitants from the fortress. Siena must recognize 953 florins to him as compensation for the mounts lost in the clash. | |||
| 1384 | |||||
| Oct. | Florence | Siena | 1000 horses | Tuscany | He is employed for two months with a monthly salary of 3000 florins. He transits with his men in the Sienese territory to plunder such territory. After a few days the command is increased by another 500 horses with a proportional adjustment in salary. |
| Nov. | Florence | Urbino | Marche | He is sent with Anderlino Trotti (1200 horses) against Antonio da Montefeltro: the count of Urbino is saved by the intervention of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. | |
| Dec. | Florence | Siena | Umbria and Tuscany | With Ugolotto Biancardo and Trotti he moves from the Perugian area to enter hostilely into the Sienese territory. He stops at San Galgano; he is defeated and wounded in combat by Boldrino da Panicale. He retreats toward Monte San Savino and to Berardenga. | |
| 1385 | |||||
| Jan. | Tuscany | He returns to Florence. He is received by the authorities in the Palazzo della Signoria. | |||
| July | Comp. ventura | Emilia | He allies in the Modenese area with Boldrino da Panicale. | ||
| …………. | Naples | Angevin | He fights with Alberico da Barbiano in favor of the pretender to the kingdom of Naples Carlo di Durazzo (Charles of Durazzo). | ||
| 1387 | |||||
| Jan. | Comp. ventura | Bologna | Emilia | He joins with Lutz von Landau (Lucio) and Konrad Von Weitingen (Corrado Lando) with the purpose of devastating the territory of Bologna. | |
| Feb. | Bologna | Comp. ventura | Romagna | He is confronted at Castrocaro Terme by Cecco and Pino Ordelaffi who put him to flight. Approached by the Bolognese, he passes to their pay to face Lucio Lando in the Ravenna area. The adversaries are routed. | |
| Sept. | Comp. ventura | Urbino, Città di Castello, Perugia | Umbria | He forms a company with Rinaldo Orsini, Everardo della Campana and Bernardo della Sala; with 1000 horses he runs without obstacles through the counties of Gubbio and Città di Castello. He conquers Cannara with della Campana and enters the Chiugi; he touches with the usual devastations Panicale, Fontignano, San Martino dei Colli and Torgiano. He brings the booty to Cannara and cedes, shortly after, the locality for 17,000 florins. | |
| Oct. | Milan | Ravenna | 800 horses and foot soldiers | Romagna and Umbria | A treaty is organized in Ravenna in favor of Gian Galeazzo Visconti; this has no effect. Guido d’Asciano assaults the city several times; he is repelled both by the valor of the defenders and by the lack of crossbowmen under his orders. He plunders the territory and returns to the county of Gubbio, where he again allies with Bernardo della Sala and Everardo delle Campane. |
| Nov. | Comp. ventura | Perugia | Umbria | He again harasses the Perugian area. Confronted by 200 lances of Boldrino da Panicale, he moves to the territories of Gubbio and Città di Castello. | |
| Dec. | Comp. ventura | Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Florence | Tuscany | He accompanies Bernardo della Sala, Everardo della Campana and Corrado Lando; he takes the road to Casoli and Volterra and places his encampments in the Pisan area at Bagno ad Acqua taking prisoners men and women, plundering livestock of every type. He descends the Valdarno to San Casciano dei Bagni, San Savino, Sant’Agostino and San Giusto alle Monache. Through Piero Gaetani, who serves in his company, he obtains from the Pisans 8000 florins (of which 4000 in pieces of velvet). This does not prevent him from continuing to raid livestock (more than 1000 head) and to take prisoner more than 100 men. He leaves Cascina and Bagno ad Acqua. The Sienese recognize 9000 florins to the company (actually 6000 because Guido d’Asciano renounces his part); the Lucchese 4000 and the Florentines another 7000, which are delivered to the mercenaries at Peccioli. He commits not to cause damage for fourteen months to the county of Florence. At the end of December he takes the road to Fabbrica. He arrives at Laiatico and Volterra. | |
| 1388 | |||||
| Jan. | Tuscany and Umbria | He stops some days at Colle Val d’Elsa. He plunders the Arezzo area and from here continues toward Perugia with Bernardo della Sala and Everardo della Campana. | |||
| Feb.-Mar. | Comp. ventura | Perugia, Church | Umbria | With Bernardo della Sala, Everardo della Campana and Corrado Lando he harasses the lands of Fontignano and Castiglion Fosco, touches Spello and pushes his raids as far as Assisi. To defend itself Perugia hires 400 lances and also enlists Giovanni Ordelaffi. The lord of Foligno, Ugolino Trinci, also moves to help the Perugians with 100 lances. | |
| Apr. | Umbria | 400 pontifical lances captained by Ugolino Trinci come against him. He is forced to abandon Umbria. | |||
| May | Comp. ventura | Siena, Pisa | Tuscany | Despite the pressure exerted on him by the Florentines, he returns to Tuscany with Bertoldo Inglese, della Sala and della Campana at the head of 2000 men between horses and foot soldiers. He levies a tax of 12,000 florins from the Sienese; by the road of Volterra he penetrates into the Pisan area. Having left Laiatico and Fabbrica, he camps between Lavaiano and Perignano. Driven by the lack of supplies he sacks the two localities and imprisons all the inhabitants with the exception of women and children under five years. He obtains the castle of Ponsacco where five hundred head of livestock are found; he has many houses burned there. The Pisans send to meet him Corrado Lando and Vanni d’Appiano who convince him to withdraw behind the delivery of 12,500 florins in cash plus another 500 with goods of equal value (650 florins immediately, three installments with balance in Siena within ten days. The remaining 6000 to be disbursed by letter of exchange). He touches Fabbrica and Siena. The damages caused to the county of Pisa are valued at more than 3000 florins. | |
| June | Comp. ventura | Lucca | Tuscany and Umbria | He returns to Fabbrica and heads toward Siena. Having received 9000 florins from the Lucchese, he returns to the Perugian area; he arrives at Cannara and is hired by Pope Urban VI. | |
| July | Church | Antipope | 1000 horses | Umbria | |
| Aug. | Umbria | He departs from Perugia with John Beltoft and Gherardo Aldighieri; he defeats in the plain of Orvieto the company of Bretons which is forced to retreat to Rocca Ripesena; he reaches Narni where a dispute arises between the pontiff and Beltoft. The latter abandons the field to transfer to Tuscany. With the men who remain to him and Aldighieri, Asciano takes part in the siege of Orvieto. After two days he decides to withdraw. | |||
| Nov. | Comp. ventura | Perugia | Umbria | With Everardo della Campana and Bernardo della Sala he is forced to abandon Cannara following the action of John Beltoft and Corrado Lando. | |
| 1390 | |||||
| ………….. | Lazio | The new Pope Boniface IX names him captain of the Patrimony. With many exiles from Viterbo he runs through the territories between Vallerano, Carbognano and Casamala. | |||
| June | Lazio | He has the task of stipulating a truce with Viterbo. Still in the Viterbo area, he opposes the remnants of the company of Bretons who continue to desolate the surroundings with their raids. | |||
| Sept. | Lazio | A borough of Viterbo rebels against the pontificals; Guido d’Asciano goes with many armed men to the plain of San Faustino; he is driven back to San Francesco. He enters the communal square and in the evening returns to San Francesco. The following day the entire city rises against the state of the Church. | |||
| Oct. | Lazio | He is obliged to leave Viterbo. | |||
| 1391 | |||||
| Oct. | Tuscany | In bad straits also in the Sienese territory. | |||
| 1394 | |||||
| May | Montemarte | Orvieto | 200 horses | Umbria | He supports Ranuccio da Montemarte in order to oppose in Orvieto the party of the muffati or beffati. He causes damage to Castel Viscardo and San Vito in the Terni area. |
| 1395 | Siena | Pitigliano | 1000 horses | Tuscany | He gathers 1000 horses and places himself at the service of the Sienese to face Bertoldo Orsini. He sacks the counties of Saturnia, Montevitozzo and Montorio. |
| 1396 | |||||
| Jan. | Milan | Florence | Umbria and Tuscany | He leaves the Perugian area with Ottobono Terzi and Ceccolino dei Michelotti and intervenes in the Pisan area where the Florentines are raging with the companies of Bartolomeo Boccanera, Ludovico Gabriotto Cantelli and Antonio degli Obizzi. He is reported at Capannoli, Cevoli, Lari and Crespina. | |
| July | Tuscany | He enters the defense of Pisa with 40 horses preceding the entrance of Giovanni da Barbiano and a nephew of Biordo dei Michelotti (2000 horses). | |||
| 1409 | Naples | Florence, Siena | Tuscany | ||
| 1410 | He dies. |
Sources
-Con Filippino dal Verme “Fortes Duces.” G. ROSSI
-“Capitano di chiara fama del secolo XIV.” BOSI
-Con Betto Biffoli “Betto Biffoli e Guido d’Asciano iniziano valorosamente la lunga serie di duelli tra italiani e stranieri; a questi ultimi, in questo secolo e nei secoli seguenti, i primi devono mostrare quanto valga una lama di spada impugnata da una mano italiana quando questa sia mossa da amor di patria e tenda ad abbassar l’alterigia dei forestieri baldanzosi.” BASSETTI
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