Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

PESCARA, FERNANDO FRANCESCO DAVALOS, ...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 282 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

PESCARA, FERNANDO See also:FRANCESCO DAVALOS, See also:MARQUIS OF (1489-1525) , See also:Italian See also:condottiere, was See also:born at See also:Naples, his See also:family being of See also:Spanish origin. Rodrigo (Ruy) See also:Lopez Davalos, his See also:great-grandfather, a See also:noble of See also:Toledo, who had taken an active See also:part in the See also:civil See also:wars of See also:Castile in the reign of See also:John II. (1407-1454), had been driven into See also:exile, and died at See also:Valencia. Ingo (See also:Ignatius), his son, entered the service of See also:Alphonso of See also:Aragon and Naples, followed his See also:master to See also:Italy, and there, making an advantageous See also:marriage with a See also:lady of the family of See also:Aquino, was created marquis of Pescara. His son Alphonso, who succeeded him in the marquisate, married a lady of the Sicilian See also:branch of the Spanish family of See also:Cardona, and when he was treacherously killed, during a See also:French invasion of Naples, his only son Fernando, or Ferrante, was a See also:child in arms. At the See also:age of six the boy was betrothed to See also:Vittoria See also:Colonna (q.v.), daughter of the See also:general Fabrizio Colonna, and the marriage was celebrated in n 5og. His position as a noble of the Aragonese party in Naples made it See also:incumbent on him to support See also:Ferdinand the See also:Catholic in his Italian wars. In 1512 he commanded a See also:body of See also:light See also:cavalry at the See also:battle of See also:Ravenna, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the French. Thanks to the intervention of one of the foremost of the French generals, the Italian J. J. Trivulzio, who was his connexion by marriage, he was allowed to See also:ransom himself for 6000 ducats. He commanded the Spanish See also:infantry at the battle of La Morta, or See also:Vicenza, on the 7th of See also:October 1513.

It was on this occasion that he called his men before the See also:

charge to take care to step on him before the enemy did if he See also:fell. From the battle of Vicenza in 1513, down to the battle of La Bicocca on the 29th of See also:April 1522, he continued to serve in command of the Spaniards and as the colleague rather than the subordinate of Prosper Colonna. It was only by the See also:accident of his See also:birth at Naples that Pescara was an Italian. He considered himself a Spaniard, spoke Spanish at all times, even to his wife, and was always surrounded by Spanish soldiers and See also:officers. His See also:opinion of the Italians as fighting men was unfavourable and was openly expressed. After the battle of La Bicocca See also:Charles V. appointed Prosper Colonna See also:commander-in-See also:chief. Pescara, who considered himself aggrieved, made a See also:journey to See also:Valladolid in See also:Spain, where the See also:emperor then was, to See also:state his own claims. Charles V., with whom he had See also:long and confidential interviews, persuaded him to submit for the See also:time to the superiority of Colonna. But in these meetings he gained the confidence of Charles V. His Spanish descent and sympathies marked him out as a safer commander of the imperial troops in Italy than an Italian could have been. When See also:Francis I. invaded Italy in 1524 Pescara was appointed as lieu-See also:tenant of the emperor to repel the invasion. The difficulties of his position were very great, for there was much discontent in the See also:army, which was very See also:ill paid.

The tenacity, See also:

patience and tact of Pescara triumphed over all obstacles. His See also:influence over the See also:veteran Spanish troops and the See also:German mercenaries kept them loyal during the long See also:siege of See also:Pavia. On the 24th of See also:February 1525 he defeated and took prisoner Francis I. by a brilliant attack. Pescara's See also:plan was remarkable for its audacity and for the skill he showed in destroying the See also:superior French heavy cavalry by assailing them in flank with a mixed force of harquebusiers and light See also:horse. It was believed that he was dissatisfied with the treatment he had received from the emperor; and See also:Girolamo See also:Morone, secretary to the See also:duke of See also:Milan, approached him with a See also:scheme for expelling French, Spaniards and Germans alike from Italy, and for gaining a See also:throne for himself. Pescara may have listened to the tempter, but in See also:act he was loyal. He reported the offer to Charles V. and put Morone into See also:prison. His See also:health however had begun to giveway under the See also:strain of wounds and exposure; and he died at Milan on the 4th of See also:November 1525. Pescara had no See also:children; his See also:title descended to his See also:cousin the marquis del See also:Vasto, also a distinguished imperial general.

End of Article: PESCARA, FERNANDO FRANCESCO DAVALOS, MARQUIS OF (1489-1525)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
PESCARA 		[next]
PESCHIERA SUL GARDA

Site © 2006 - Net Industries