Service under the papacy, the House of Este, and the English crown
A native of Lucca. Knight of the Order of the Garter.
Death: 1408 ca.
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1346 | |||||
| Oct. | England | Scotland | Great Britain | In the service of the king of England Edward III (Edoardo III) against the Scots of David Bruce. Takes part in the Battle of Neville’s Cross, in which the king of Scotland is captured after being wounded in the face by two arrows. | |
| ………… | Great Britain | He is the first Italian condottiero to be awarded the Order of the Garter (Ordine della Giarrettiera) by the English sovereign. Only after more than one hundred years is the same honor granted to another Italian, the Duke of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro. | |||
| 1354 | Tuscany | Having returned to Italy, he is reported in Lucca in the service of Emperor Charles IV (Carlo di Boemia). | |||
| 1368 | |||||
| Mar. | Church | Milan | 25 cavalry | Romagna | Serves under the pay of Pope Urban V (papa Urbano V). He confronts the Visconti forces in Romagna. |
| June | Church | Perugia | Tuscany | With 3000 cavalry and many infantry, he ambushes near Arezzo the company of John Hawkwood (Giovanni Acuto) (6000 cavalry); he captures the English captain after a four-hour battle. Pope Urban V (Urbano V) frees Hawkwood but does not acknowledge the merits of Tommaso degli Obizzi on this occasion. Offended, the condottiero moves back to England. | |
| 1370 | Tuscany | He is readmitted to Lucca. | |||
| 1371 | |||||
| Feb. | France | He is part of a delegation sent by the commune of Lucca to Avignon to offer congratulations for the appointment of Pope Gregory XI (Gregorio XI). | |||
| ………….. | Church | Captain General | He obtains command of the papal troops in Italy. | ||
| ………….. | Tuscany | Together with Niccolò Diversi, he becomes guarantor in Lucca for Giovanni degli Obizzi, who has been sentenced by the city authorities to exile, with a penalty of 10,000 florins. The relative does not comply with the injunction, and Obizzi must contribute with Niccolò Diversi to the payment of the entire sum. | |||
| 1372 | |||||
| Oct. | Naples | Abruzzi | In the service of the queen of Naples Joanna I of Naples (Giovanna d’Angiò). He is appointed captain of L’Aquila in place of Giovanni Malatacca. | ||
| 1376 | |||||
| Mar. | Church | Florence | Romagna | He fights for the papal forces in the War of the Eight Saints (guerra degli Otto Santi). He obstructs Astorre Manfredi, who has taken Granarolo. | |
| May | Emilia and Romagna | He is in Bologna when the city rebels against the papal forces. He is present at the sack of Faenza carried out by the Company of the Bretons. | |||
| 1377 | |||||
| ………….. | Naples | Abruzzi | He returns to the Kingdom of Naples. He once again holds the position of captain of L’Aquila, replacing his relative Giovanni degli Obizzi. | ||
| Nov. | Naples | Church | Abruzzi and Emilia | In the conflict between the supporters of Antipope Clement VII (Clemente VII) and those of Pope Urban VI (Urbano VI), he supports the former against the latter. When Cecco Antonio dell’Aquila enters L’Aquila at night through the Porta di Bagno, Obizzi confronts the adversary. Forced at first to take refuge in the palace, he eventually overcomes him. The action ends with the looting of the neighborhoods near the gate. He returns to Emilia and sells Bagnacavallo to Niccolò d’Este on behalf of the papal forces. | |
| 1378 | Verona | Milan | Captain General | He faces the troops of the Count of Virtue Gian Galeazzo Visconti. | |
| ………….. | Emilia | He retires to private life in Ferrara. He holds the position of advisor to Marquis Alberto d’Este. | |||
| 1386 | Verona | Captain General | Veneto | Antonio della Scala entrusts him with command of the Scaliger troops. | |
| 1393 | |||||
| July | Ferrara | Emilia | Marquis Alberto d’Este, before dying, knights his ten-year-old son Niccolò III (Niccolò III d’Este). On this occasion, Filippo and Cabrino Roberti fasten the spurs on the new marquis, while Tommaso degli Obizzi attaches his sword. The condottiero is appointed, together with Alberto Roberti, Bartolomeo della Mela, and Giovanni di Sala, to the council of state. Fearing possible aggression against the Este state by Azzo d’Este, the Venetians send 400 crossbowmen for its defense; the lord of Padua, Francesco Novello da Carrara, as well as the Bolognese, each dispatch 50 lances and 100 infantry. | ||
| 1395 | |||||
| Jan. | Emilia | Following threats by Azzo d’Este and his followers to the Este states, he strengthens the garrison of Modena and the nearby castles. | |||
| Nov. | Emilia | He subdues an accidental fire that breaks out in the court palace where he is lodged. | |||
| 1397 | |||||
| Jan. | Emilia | He announces to the people the news of the marriage of Niccolò III d’Este with Gigliola da Carrara. | |||
| …………. | Ferrara | Milan | Emilia | He confronts the Visconti in the Mantuan territory. Together with Ugo di Monforte, he opposes Jacopo dal Verme’s advance in the Serraglio. | |
| 1398 | |||||
| July | Emilia | Together with Niccolò Roberti, he is replaced in the regency council by Francesco Novello da Carrara, father-in-law of Niccolò d’Este. He is confined in the territory of Ferrara. | |||
| 1406 | |||||
| Sept. | Emilia | Still in Ferrara. Together with Filippo da Pisa, he is present at the baptism of Leonello d’Este. | |||
| 1408 | He dies. He is portrayed in a hall of the Catajo Castle in Battaglia Terme, near Padua, depicting the deeds of some members of the Obizzi family. He is mentioned in the letters of Coluccio Salutati. |
Sources
-“Fu tra i più rinomati generali del suo tempo… Il suo valore ed i suoi saggi consigli portarono alla vittoria gli inglesi, che fecero prigioniero il re David di Scozia. In ricompensa il re lo creò cavaliere della Giarrettiera, grado rarissimo ed unicamente destinato ai principi del sangue.” ARGEGNI
-“Gran guerriero in quei dì.” DALLA CORTE
-“Egregium copiarum ducem.” PLATINA
-“Huomo in que’ tempi nella militia famoso.” PELLINI
-“Fu non solo il primo soggetto di casa sua, ma maggior caporale dell’età sua.” ZABARELLA
-“Costui non fue il maggior huomo della casa, ma il maggior Capitano de tempi suoi.” SANSOVINO
-Al governo dell’Aquila al posto di Giovanni Malatacca “Poiché questo se partì madama (la regina di Napoli Giovanna d’Angiò) vi mandone/ Misser Tomasso degli Obisi per ella data ne fone,/ E fo valeroso cavalier, el bene retornone,/ Signiorione tre anni, e bene ne governone.” (Combatte il duca d’Andria Francesco del Balzo) “Anche sopra Caramanico missere Tomasso fone,/ Ch’era nostro capitano, e in quello campo andone,/ E ad illu se arenero, e li stagi (ostaggi) menone;/ Pure el comuno de Aquila questo onore portone.” (Sostituito nel suo incarico da Giovanni degli Obizzi) “Missere Tomasso de Lucca plù co noi si stava/ Tanto li era lu utile, che mai se ne non satiava;/ La mollie, e li soi fili ecco se remenava,/ Che starese bene ad asiu el palazo acconzava./ Et anche per questo capetano una nobile cosa fatta fone,/ Lu orlogio, che l’ore a tutti insegnione;/ Jaque quistu orlogio centunara trididi de florini;/ Diu lu lasse mantenere alli nostri cittadini./ Missere Tomasso de Lucca allora da noi se partiu,/ E dal nostro comuno granne onore portò./ Colla corona in testa ch’el comuno li donò; E bene lu servio, e da noi se ne andò.” A. DI BUCCIO
.”Les fresques du XVIe siécles réalisé par Giambattista Zelotti au chareau Catajo nous apprennent que Tommaso degli Obizzi participe en tant que commandant militaire à la guerre contre E’douard III, guerre au cours de laquelle il fait prisonnier le roi d’Ecosse. Pour ce fait d’armes, le roi d’Angleterre lui décerne l’ordre de la Giarrettiera.” M. CONTI
