Blood Feuds and Bannerets: The Lords of Montone

Genesis and Rise of a Dynasty of Warriors

The first signs of the existence of the Fortebracci family (the lineage’s true name) date back to the year 1200, when two brothers (Fortebraccio and Oddone) applied for citizenship in the commune of Perugia. In accepting the application, the presiding authorities knighted them along with all other members of the house. So begins the story. In the fragmented and violent landscape of late-medieval and Renaissance Italy, few family consortia managed to embody the spirit of condottierismo—and its evolution—with the same political and military incisiveness as the Fortebracci.

The analysis of historiographical sources allows us to reconstruct the evolution of the profession of arms on the peninsula. Over time, with the strengthening of regional states, the scene shifted from the 14th-century communal phase—dominated by figures of magistrate-warriors like the podestà and the capitani del popolo—to the wandering mercenary companies (compagnie di ventura) that characterized much of the 15th century with raids, skirmishes, and sieges, rather than open-field battles. As time passed and regional states grew stronger, it became increasingly difficult for a condottiero to establish himself as a lord of a territory. Gradually, the perspective of joining standing armies was accepted, where, in exchange for service, the granting of fiefs and other stipends was provided.

The history of the Fortebracci family began in the village of Montone, located in Upper Umbria, near the wealthy city of Perugia. It was in this geographical theater that the family’s identification with their place of origin, the castle of Montone, took place. Due to their noble status, the Fortebracci were necessarily involved in the internal feuds in Perugia between the Beccherini (nobles) and the Raspanti (commoners). Despite the defeat of their faction, the house did not vanish; instead, thanks to Braccio di Montone, it displayed remarkable resilience, expressed in a great capacity to face and overcome traumatic events such as exile and the confiscation of assets. Another achievement of Braccio was the creation of a school of war (the Braccesca) founded on rapid maneuver and infantry aggressiveness, in opposition to the Sforzesca school of Muzio Attendolo Sforza. The members of the house often proved skilled at surviving exiles, confiscations, and military disasters, constantly regenerating themselves through mercenary service. This monographic report analyzes the lives and works of ten key members of the family. Examining their deeds outlines a parabola spanning more than two centuries of Italian history, marked at times by alliances and at others by clashes with neighboring dynasties such as the Montefeltro of Urbino, the Malatesta of Rimini, and the da Varano of Camerino—always involved as protagonists in endemic conflicts affecting the Papal States and other regional powers.

Magistrates and Men-at-Arms

1. Francesco di Montone (Francesco Fortebracci), 1308 – 1355 ca.

The roots of the Fortebracci power were firmly planted in the 14th century. The figure of Francesco di Montone, active in the first half of the 1300s, represents the archetype of the noble official, whose personal prestige served as a guarantee for the administration of justice and command in important communes far from his homeland (Siena, Florence, and Orvieto). Sources show a framework in which Francesco’s military activity was linked to civil and political assignments, particularly the role of podestà. In communal Italy of that period, this office was entrusted for short periods (generally six months) to foreigners expert in law and arms to manage administration, justice, and military command; the mandate, upon completion, was always subject to a final audit. These magistrates came from other cities (of the same political color, whether Guelph or Ghibelline) to ensure impartiality and non-involvement in the struggles between local families. Being chosen for such a role demonstrates that, by the early 14th century, the Fortebracci enjoyed a consolidated reputation extending well beyond the borders of Perugia. Francesco di Montone died around 1355.

2. Oddo di Montone (Oddo Fortebracci “The Elder”), m. 1392

An excellent soldier and a valid legal scholar, he was described as a man of haughty and impetuous character. With Oddo di Montone, the historical narrative of the house sheds its purely administrative garments to don the more martial attire of factional struggles. Oddo was the catalyst for the misfortunes and ambitions that forged his son, the famous Braccio. His biography is a raw testimony to the political violence that tore Perugia apart in the second half of the 14th century. In the first phase of his life, Oddo followed in the footsteps of his ancestor Francesco, exporting his command and legal expertise to Tuscany. In 1372, he was recorded in Florence as capitano del popolo. This was a magistracy instituted in the Commune to balance the power of the nobles through the command of armed militias. This new role, which often opposed that of the podestà, revealed not so much a maturation of the family’s military skills, but the transition from a magistracy above the parties to one defending the interests of a city faction: specifically the noble party against the so-called popular party (the bourgeoisie).

For Oddo, the bond with the land of Montone strengthened in 1377 when he was tasked by the Perugians, who controlled the area, to oversee the reconstruction and strengthening of the local fortress. However, his career took a dramatic turn the following year with a violent clash in Montone against the rival Olivi family. In response to these disturbances, Palla Strozzi, then capitano del popolo of Perugia, issued a decree against Oddo, exiling him from Montone; Oddo had already faced similar punishments for numerous acts of violence. The management of this exile reveals a complex network of noble solidarity in his favor: the decree was revoked after a few months thanks to the intervention of Perugian magistrates and, above all, the guarantee provided by his brother-in-law Tiveri da Montemelini. The price for Oddo was a payment of 500 florins to the commune for the repair of the same fortress he had fortified the previous year. In 1381, the political polarization in Perugia between the noble party (to which Oddo belonged) and the popular party reached a breaking point. In January 1382, he was officially declared a rebel and all his assets were confiscated. His death in 1392 left his son Braccio not wealth, but the status of a rebel and a network of noble alliances cemented in the blood of exile.

3. Braccio di Montone (Andrea Fortebracci), 1368 – 1424

R. Valentini wrote in the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: “Braccio is a figure of high importance in 15th-century Italian history. And if his state, lacking the virtue that had united it, dissolved with his death, there remained of Braccio a school of military art that took his name and continued his deeds.” L.A. Muratori emphasized in the 18th century that he was “the greatest general of the Army that Italy then had”; and in the 19th century, Sismondi wrote: “He knew and foresaw all the movements of his enemies while his own were unknown to them; it seemed that he saw everything without being seen.” Tanzini noted: “Braccio’s story appears marked by misfortunes and failures, giving his figure a dark and cursed character, which reproduced in the human story of his successors, weighing down the name of the ‘Bracceschi’ with a mysterious aura of misfortune.”

In this case, the references to the subsequent events of his nephew Niccolò Fortebraccio and his sons Oddo and Carlo, as well as Carlo’s son Bernardino, are clear. On the page dedicated to this condottiero on this site, there are no fewer than 115 citations from various authors praising or criticizing Braccio di Montone’s work. From their reading, it appears that more than 60% of these authors (76 to be exact) treat the condottiero with praise, considering him a brave, bold man of great fame; about 20% (23) extol his military skills for the renewal he brought to the art of war (often examined in contrast to the strategies of his rival Muzio Attendolo Sforza); 18 focus on his behavior, sometimes marked by acts of gratuitous cruelty; and 14 focus on other aspects of his personality such as ambition, greed for money, glory, and power. Finally, other judgments (5 each) concern his atheism and the love shown to him by the soldiers of his companies.

From the set of evaluations, the largest number obviously focuses on his qualities as a warrior; conversely, compared to many other condottieri of his time, an aspect is highlighted that goes beyond personal valor: his contribution to 15th-century warfare strategies. Braccio was primarily an innovator of new combat tactics, which always included a significant role for heavy cavalry, but also paired this with small squads of mobile infantry, lightly armed with shield and sword, which alternated during the battle, confusing the enemy and depriving them of reference points. Consequently, Braccio was not only the most illustrious member of his house but a figure who redefined the way of fighting at the beginning of the Renaissance. His was the epic of a man who, starting from the indigence of exile, came to control a large part of central Italy, openly challenging the temporal power of the Popes. Unlike many other captains of the time, whose only goal was robbery and loot, Braccio presented himself above all as a mercenary bound by a visceral love for his city (Perugia), the permanent object of his ambition. Braccio, at the start of his career, did not inherit an army; his first company consisted of only 9 horses. He worked his way up. In his early years, he also paid a very high physical price, with serious wounds to his chest and the back of his neck, including an injury that left him with a permanent disability in his left foot. His rise was slow and marked by moments of profound crisis and spectacular recoveries. (July 1368 – June 1424).

4. Niccolò Fortebraccio (Niccolò della Stella), 1389 – 1435

If Braccio embodied the strategic greatness of the house, his nephew Niccolò Fortebraccio (son of his sister Stella and a gentleman from Sant’Angelo in Vado) represented its most fierce and predatory side. Also known as Niccolò della Stella, his career was a succession of unscrupulous wars and acts of extreme cruelty. Although considered a brave and intrepid commander in misfortune, he left behind the image of a sinister character: arrogant, murderous, cruel, pitiless, and beastly are the common epithets that marked his personality. For Giovanni Cavalcanti, he was a commander who loved “toil for evil more than rest for good.” His ego seemed satisfied only by raids, looting, and setting castles and villages on fire. Even in death, he wanted to imitate his uncle Braccio; defeated, he refused to give his victors any satisfaction through silence. Wounded by a sword stroke between his nose and cheeks, he remained motionless and allowed no one to help him. He died after two or three hours, full of rage and without uttering a word, just like his uncle following the defeat at the Battle of L’Aquila. “Both brave and intrepid, both occupied Rome, both died excommunicated by the Pope, without having heirs to whom they could pass their valor or dominion” (ASCANI). It is said that the body of Niccolò Fortebraccio was hacked to pieces by Perugian exiles and later placed in a sack. (1389 – August 1435).

5. Oddo di Montone (Oddo Fortebracci “The Younger”), 1409 – 1425

The figure of Oddo di Montone (the Younger), natural son of Braccio da Montone, illustrates the fragility of the states created by condottieri—ephemeral entities held together only by the founder’s charisma. Upon Braccio’s death in June 1424, Oddo was acclaimed lord of Perugia and Assisi and desperately tried to maintain the cohesion of his father’s domain with the help of a council of nobles. Military pressure from the Papal States and internal political weakness immediately made his position untenable, forcing him to hand over the keys of Perugia to the papal army after just one month of rule. Retiring to the stronghold of Montone, Oddo returned to the mercenary profession and was immediately hired by Florence as captain general (August) to operate jointly with Niccolò Piccinino. His end came early in February of the following year during a winter campaign in Romagna in the Val di Lamone. Having besieged the castles of Tredozio and Rocca San Casciano, his column fell into a violent ambush set by the inhabitants of Marradi and Visconti troops. Oddo fought bravely but was ultimately overwhelmed and killed. Malevolent chronicles suggested that Piccinino deliberately delayed coming to his aid out of command jealousy. (February 1409 – August 1425).

6. Carlo di Montone (Carlo Fortebracci), 1421 – 1479

“He is the splendor in the Militia,” so Cambino Aretino celebrated this condottiero in an ode in his honor. A brave captain, Carlo di Montone was an old-style commander; he knew how to restrain his men but, above all, he knew how vital good relations with the Venetians were for him. His father Braccio and his brother Oddo had been lords of Perugia: this was the obsession that drove him to try to repeat the same feat. Times had changed, and the number of “Bracceschi” in the Umbrian capital was not very high. In 1479, while still in the service of the Serenissima, he was involved in the conflict in Tuscany opposing Visconti, Venetians, and Florentines against Aragonese and Papal forces. In that campaign, he carried out a maneuver that had all the potential to be a decisive action. He entered the Perugian territory and approached the capital, always hoping for supporters of his house within the city. Within a few days, about twenty castles surrendered to him without a shot being fired. He destroyed mills, houses, and palaces, raided livestock, and took numerous “high-value” prisoners. However, his days were numbered: the plague was raging in Umbria. Having taken refuge in Cortona for treatment, he died there in mid-June. It is claimed that he was poisoned by one of his captains, Andrea Corso, at the instigation of the Papal forces behind the promis of 6000 ducats as a pay in wartime and 4000 in peacetime. Five years later, the latter commander fought for the Papal States against the Florentines. Captured by his opponents at San Martino Delfico, just outside Perugia, he was hanged by Carlo’s son, Bernardino di Montone, to avenge his father’s death. (September 1421 – June 1479).

7. Braccio Vecchio di Montone, d. 1467

Son of Niccolò Fortebraccio, Braccio Vecchio di Montone carried on the mercenary tradition in an era of transition that saw the gradual shift from companies of fortune to the creation of permanent standing armies by regional states (Milan, Venice, Kingdom of Naples). His biography is a litmus test for the many conflicts that afflicted Italy in the 15th century: in 1447 he fought for the Florentines; between 1448 and 1452 he moved to the service of the Venetians, often operating with his cousin Carlo di Montone. In 1460 we find him in Romagna and Abruzzo in the service of the Prince of Rossano, Marino di Marzano, allied with the claimant to the throne of Naples, Giovanni d’Angiò. He fought the Aragonese of King Ferrante and took part in the Battle of San Flaviano. Returning to the payroll of the Serenissima, his destiny was fulfilled in 1467 at the Battle of Molinella (or Riccardina), famous because it was the first time in Italy that artillery pieces were used as weapons to strike opponents and not just to batter the walls of a castle or city. Under the command of Bartolomeo Colleoni, Braccio Vecchio was mortally struck by a javelin that pierced his humerus. He died in July 1467.

8. Bernardino di Montone (Bernardino Fortebracci), 1441 – 1531

A brave captain, known above all for his loyalty to the Republic of Saint Mark; loved and esteemed by his men. He had the opportunity to showcase his skills in the wars conducted in Italy by King Charles VIII of France for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples. Bernardino di Montone, son of Carlo, took part in the Battle of Fornovo where he commanded the second wave of the army of the Italian League. Throwing himself into the fray, he soon found himself isolated among the French troops because the stradiotti (Venetian light cavalry) broke ranks to charge at the baggage train, which the retreating enemies had left clearly visible. Even the reserve troops did not intervene to support Montone. Struck several times by mace and spear blows, totaling twelve wounds (seven to the head, three to the throat, and two to the shoulders), he was unhorsed. Many men-at-arms in his company were killed. One of his soldiers dragged him into a ditch and hid him among the vegetation, saving his life. He was treated in Parma (Fornovo is near there) at the expense of the Serenissima, which sent surgeons from Padua, Verona, and Bologna to assist him. Three fragments of bone were removed from his head, so that part of his skull remained exposed. Once recovered, he returned to service after nearly a year. The Venetians continued to utilize his experience and valor with important command assignments. Bernardino di Montone, however, was no longer the commander he once was. Venice honored him with a knighthood at the hands of Doge Leonardo Loredan. He ended his life in Padua, where he died at the age of ninety. (1441 – May 1531).

9. Braccio di Montone (Braccio of Perugia “The Younger”), d. 1525 ca.

Brother of Bernardino, this second Braccio di Montone often worked in the shadow of his older brother without achieving the same prominence. He followed in his footsteps, also serving the Venetians. In the final years of his long career, he was entrusted with the custody of the castle of Padua. He held this role until 1517, when he was replaced due to advanced age. He died in 1525, after expressing a final surge of pride by asking in vain to return to combat against the Imperial forces. (+1525).

10. Carlo di Montone (Son of Bernardino)

The last character of the house is Carlo di Montone, son of Bernardino. He represented the third generation of the Montone family in the service of the Venetians. His activity was brief, spanning only a few years from 1508 to 1513. An anecdote from October of the latter year reveals his chivalrous spirit. In the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, lots were drawn among the various commanders for the front-row positions to face the Imperial troops in upcoming battles. His name was chosen to lead the first assault. To avoid giving up this honor, he refused an offer of 500 ducats from Giulio Manfrone, and another of 600 from Pietro da Longhena, both of whom wanted to replace him in the task. In the same month, under the command of Bartolomeo d’Alviano, he took part in the Battle of Creazzo. He was killed in combat: according to one source, after being hit in the neck by a spear and in the side by an arquebus ball. According to other sources, he was taken prisoner by a Spaniard during the clash; some Germans intervened to claim the capture (and the relative ransom). He was killed by the latter during the subsequent brawl. (+ October 1513).