Galéas de Saint-Séverin
Galéas de Saint-Séverin (Italian: Galeazzo da Sanseverino') (c. 1460 – 24 February 1525) was an Italian-French condottiere and Grand Écuyer de France. He was the fourth son of Roberto Sanseverino d'Aragona, first count of Caiazzo (1418-1487), the son of Elisa Sforza, sister of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan.
Galeazzo da Sanseverino Galéas de Saint-Séverin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1460s Lombardy |
| Died | February 24, 1525 Battle of Pavia |
| Allegiance | Duchy of Milan, kingdom of France |
| Years of service | 1495–1525 |
| Rank | Grand écuyer de France |
| Unit | cavalry |
| Commands held | Milanese army (1495–1500); French cavalry (1509–1525) |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Fornoue (1495) Battle of Agnadel (1509) Battle of Pavia (1525) |
| Awards | knight of the Order of Saint Michael |
Young Galeazzo together with his brothers was a courtier of Francesco's son and successor (and thus his first cousin once removed), Ludovico Sforza. He was taught by master-at-arms and scholar Pietro del Monte (1457-1509) and befriended by Leonardo da Vinci, who lived in his house in Milan. He was first married in 1489 to Bianca, illegitimate daughter of Ludovico Sforza. Bianca died six years later, in 1496, from an "affliction of the stomach", while Galeazzo was away campaigning; leading the forces of Ludovico Sforza, he succeeded in tying up the duke of Orléans following the Battle of Fornoue. He was made a knight of the Order of Saint Michael in 1494 on a visit to Lyon.
In 1498, he married secondly to the widow Elisabetta del Carretto (1481-1531). They had a son, Giulio (d. 1528). Galeazzo fell into French captivity, together with his liege, Ludovico Sforza, after the battle of Novara (1500), but unlike Sforza he is released after a few months, upon payment of a ransom by his brothers. He then went to Innsbruck to the court of emperor Maximilian I, followed the court to Nuremberg in 1499, where he befriended Albrecht Dürer.
Due to the intervention of his brothers and of cardinal Federico Sanseverino, he reconciled with Louis XII of France in 1504 and followed him to Naples, receiving the rank of councilor of state, chamberlain of the king and grand écuyer de France. In 1505 Galeazzo is given the castle of Mehun-sur-Yèvre.
In 1517 Galeazzo won a lawsuit against his enemy Jacques de Trivulce, Marshal of France, regaining his properties in Milan which Trivulce had confiscated. He accompanied Francis I of France on his encounter with Henry VIII of England at Calais in 1520. He was made count of Martigues in 1522.
In the service of France, Galeazzo campaigned in the Italian Wars from 1509 until his death in the battle of Pavia in 1525, where the French cavalry was decimated by a force of 1,500 Basque arquebusiers.
References
- Richard Clayton, Translation of Tenhove's Memoirs of the House of Medici, The Monthly Review, 1798, p. 253.
- L'Histoire de la Republique de Venise, vol. 33 of Histoire universelle: depuis le commencement du monde jusqu'a present, Arkstée & Merkus, 1771, 292f.
- Antoine Varillas, Histoire de Charles VIII, 1691.
- Paul L. Jacob, Histoire du XVI siècle en France, 1834.