Company of Death
Encyclopedia
The Company of Death is the name used in the historical literature of English language for two related chosen tactical corps, two selected bands of warriors, entrusted to guarantee the cohesiveness and efficiency in battle of both the Milanese and Lombard League
's militias through their bound by oath to the defence of the Milanese Carroccio
, the wagon on which the standard of the Lombard allies stood.
They fought in the Battle of Legnano
(29 May 1176) against the imperial army of Frederick I Barbarossa
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
, in his 5th Italian
Campaign, and were determinant in his decisive defeat.
The two corps who formed the Company of Death were the Company of the Carroccio, an infantry unit of 300 men, and the real and effective Company of Death, a cavalry unit of 900 men, commanded according to tradition by Alberto da Giussano
.
The mention of the "battle wagons" is very probably an anachronism, they were employed, without any success, years before the Battle of Legnano
of 1176 took place, by a Mastro Guitelmo a milanese Guild-master and magistrate in a previous battle fought in the lands between Rho
and Legnano
in 1160 AD. It is possible that the chronicler was mixing facts as their effective use at Legnano isn't mentioned elsewhere, it may also be a rhetorical device intended by him to recreate the appearance of the traditional trinitarian model of a "Holy Venture".
. They fought as phalanx in a Sheltron formation around their "Sacred
wagon", armed with a large shield and a lanzalonga.
. It had a great importance during the Battle of Legnano
(29 May 1176) where it defended the Carroccio
of the Lombard League
against the imperial army of Frederick I Barbarossa.
The company was assembled in haste, depriving the Lombard infantry of the valuable support of enough heavy cavalry
, "horse" were recruited by Alberto da Giussano around Brescia
, and in other eastern areas of Lombardy
that had contributed less in infantry and trails to the League. The knights would not be understood in the medieval and romantic sense, but as mere "mounted on horseback
" or also "light cavalry
". They were very probably particularly cruel and fierce "professional, or semi-professional, fighter
s" , apt at wreaking havoc in the enemy ranks.
According to Milanese chronicler Galvano Fiamma
it was composed of 900 men at arms but other sources and modern scholars reduce that number to 300 or, more probably, 500.
According to tradition they wore a sort of dark suit (black and gray, cut vertically) connected at the sides, to cover the armour
, with probably the symbol of the skull on the traditional small pointed wooden shields.
Their motto or battle cry
could have been, accordingly to poorly documented but reliable sources, "Ambroeus!" (Which is however in stark contrast with the origin of many of them, allegedly Brescia).
As a demonstration of the Company's rapid formation and specific use and role during the Battle of Legnano, after the battle there is no further information about its continued existence.
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
's militias through their bound by oath to the defence of the Milanese Carroccio
Carroccio
A Carroccio was a four-wheeled war altar, mounting a large vexillum standard, drawn by oxen, used by the medieval republics of Italy. It was a rectangular platform on which the standard of the city and an altar were erected; priests held services on the altar before the battle, and the trumpeters...
, the wagon on which the standard of the Lombard allies stood.
They fought in the Battle of Legnano
Battle of Legnano
The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29, 1176, between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the Lombard League.-The Lombard League:...
(29 May 1176) against the imperial army of Frederick I Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, in his 5th Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Campaign, and were determinant in his decisive defeat.
The two corps who formed the Company of Death were the Company of the Carroccio, an infantry unit of 300 men, and the real and effective Company of Death, a cavalry unit of 900 men, commanded according to tradition by Alberto da Giussano
Alberto da Giussano
Alberto da Giussano was an Italian legendary Guelph warrior during the wars of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century...
.
The Chronicles
Saputo dell' arrivo dell'imperatore, i Milanesi ordinarono di preparare le armi per poter resistere. E viene fatta una società di novecento uomini eletti che combattevano su grandi cavalli i quali giurano che nessuno sarebbe fuggito dal campo di battaglia per paura della morte e non avrebbero permesso che nessuno tradisse il comune di Milano; e inoltre giurarono che sarebbero scesi in campo a combattere contro l'imperatore ogni giorno. A quel punto la comunità scelse le armi e il vessillo e ad ognuno venne dato un anello in mano; e vennero reclutati come cavalieri al soldo del comune così che, se qualcuno fosse fuggito, sarebbe stato ucciso. Capo di questa società era Alberto da Giussano che aveva il vessillo del comune. Poi venne fatta un'altra società di fanti scelti per la custodia del carroccio, i quali tutti giurarono di preferire morire che fuggire dal campo di battaglia. E vengono fatte trecento navi a forma di triangolo e sotto ad ognuna c'erano sei cavalli coperti, così da non essere visti, che trascinavano le navi. In ogni nave vi erano dieci uomini che muovevano falci per tagliare l'erba dei prati come i marinai muovono i remi: era una costruzione terribile contro i nemici (Galvano Fiamma Galvano Fiamma Galvano Fiamma was an Italian Domincan and chronicler of Milan.He was chaplain to the Milanese lord Galeazzo II Visconti.He wrote several chronicles dealing with the history of Milan and exalting the Visconti, who by his day had in effect become its ruling dynasty.His numerous historical writings... , Chronica Galvanica cap. 291 f. 81v). |
Informed of the Emperor's coming, the Milanese Milanese Milanese is the central variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the city and province of Milan.... (authorities) commanded to prepare the weapons to resist him. And a company ("societas") is made of nine hundred chosen men, fighting on great horses, who swear that no one would have fled from the battlefield for fear of death and they would not allow anyone to betray the Municipality Municipality A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district... of Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,... , and also they swore that they would have taken every day to the battlefield to fight against the Emperor Emperor An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right... . At that point, the Municipality chose the weapons and the banner, and a ring was given in hand to each one of these men and they were recruited as knights in the pay of the City City A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S... , so that if anyone had fled he would rightly have been killed. Head of this company was Alberto da Giussano Alberto da Giussano Alberto da Giussano was an Italian legendary Guelph warrior during the wars of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century... , who carried the banner of the City. Then came another company made of chosen soldiers on foot, for the custody of the Carroccio Carroccio A Carroccio was a four-wheeled war altar, mounting a large vexillum standard, drawn by oxen, used by the medieval republics of Italy. It was a rectangular platform on which the standard of the city and an altar were erected; priests held services on the altar before the battle, and the trumpeters... , and all of them swore they would rather die than flee from the battlefield. And three hundred battle wagons ("vessels") are manufactured and for each one there were six horses covered (by armour), dragging the vehicle. In every wagon there were ten men moving sickles to cut grass meadows, to cut hostiles as sailors move the oars: it was a terrible equipment against the enemies. (Galvano Fiamma Galvano Fiamma Galvano Fiamma was an Italian Domincan and chronicler of Milan.He was chaplain to the Milanese lord Galeazzo II Visconti.He wrote several chronicles dealing with the history of Milan and exalting the Visconti, who by his day had in effect become its ruling dynasty.His numerous historical writings... , Chronica Galvanica cap. 291 f. 81v). |
The mention of the "battle wagons" is very probably an anachronism, they were employed, without any success, years before the Battle of Legnano
Battle of Legnano
The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29, 1176, between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the Lombard League.-The Lombard League:...
of 1176 took place, by a Mastro Guitelmo a milanese Guild-master and magistrate in a previous battle fought in the lands between Rho
Rho
Rho is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 100. It is derived from Semitic resh "head"...
and Legnano
Legnano
Legnano is an Italian town and comune with 59.147 inhabitants in the province of Milan, about from Milan.It's crossed by the river Olona, and it's the 13th town for inhabitants in Lombardy....
in 1160 AD. It is possible that the chronicler was mixing facts as their effective use at Legnano isn't mentioned elsewhere, it may also be a rhetorical device intended by him to recreate the appearance of the traditional trinitarian model of a "Holy Venture".
The Company of the Carroccio
The Company of the Carroccio, was an infantry unit of 300 men, all of them young volunteers (forming a societas) and Milanese, sworn by oath to die in defence of the Milanese CarroccioCarroccio
A Carroccio was a four-wheeled war altar, mounting a large vexillum standard, drawn by oxen, used by the medieval republics of Italy. It was a rectangular platform on which the standard of the city and an altar were erected; priests held services on the altar before the battle, and the trumpeters...
. They fought as phalanx in a Sheltron formation around their "Sacred
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
wagon", armed with a large shield and a lanzalonga.
The Knights of Death
The Company of Death, also known in some sources till the late 19th century as the Knights of Death, is the name of a temporary military association of medieval knights (a temporary societas), not historically well documented, which according to tradition was organized and equipped by a leader known as Alberto da GiussanoAlberto da Giussano
Alberto da Giussano was an Italian legendary Guelph warrior during the wars of the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century...
. It had a great importance during the Battle of Legnano
Battle of Legnano
The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29, 1176, between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the Lombard League.-The Lombard League:...
(29 May 1176) where it defended the Carroccio
Carroccio
A Carroccio was a four-wheeled war altar, mounting a large vexillum standard, drawn by oxen, used by the medieval republics of Italy. It was a rectangular platform on which the standard of the city and an altar were erected; priests held services on the altar before the battle, and the trumpeters...
of the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
against the imperial army of Frederick I Barbarossa.
The company was assembled in haste, depriving the Lombard infantry of the valuable support of enough heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
, "horse" were recruited by Alberto da Giussano around Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, and in other eastern areas of Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
that had contributed less in infantry and trails to the League. The knights would not be understood in the medieval and romantic sense, but as mere "mounted on horseback
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
" or also "light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
". They were very probably particularly cruel and fierce "professional, or semi-professional, fighter
Fighter
Fighter or The Fighter may refer to:*Warrior, a person skilled in combat*Soldier, someone in the army*Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplanes in air-to-air combatFilms...
s" , apt at wreaking havoc in the enemy ranks.
According to Milanese chronicler Galvano Fiamma
Galvano Fiamma
Galvano Fiamma was an Italian Domincan and chronicler of Milan.He was chaplain to the Milanese lord Galeazzo II Visconti.He wrote several chronicles dealing with the history of Milan and exalting the Visconti, who by his day had in effect become its ruling dynasty.His numerous historical writings...
it was composed of 900 men at arms but other sources and modern scholars reduce that number to 300 or, more probably, 500.
According to tradition they wore a sort of dark suit (black and gray, cut vertically) connected at the sides, to cover the armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
, with probably the symbol of the skull on the traditional small pointed wooden shields.
Their motto or battle cry
Battle cry
A battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same military unit.Battle cries are not necessarily articulate, although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment....
could have been, accordingly to poorly documented but reliable sources, "Ambroeus!" (Which is however in stark contrast with the origin of many of them, allegedly Brescia).
As a demonstration of the Company's rapid formation and specific use and role during the Battle of Legnano, after the battle there is no further information about its continued existence.
External links
- Company of Death (book), published by Legano
- Sword of War (film), 2009, at IMDB