Dino Rapondi

Dino Rapondi (Lucques, towards 1350 - Bruges, 1416) was one of the principal bankers and merchants of the 14th century.

It will choose as it was often the case to francize its name in Raponde Dyne and sign of this name in Paris in 1374. It was also called Digne Responde, merchant of Lucques.

Biography

Dino Rapondi was the son of Guido Rapondi of a very former lucquoise family whose trace goes up with 1207 with the mention of Andreotto di Rapondo present at San Martino. They were signori della Torre and appear on the round of applause of 1308 among the exiled families of the city.

Arrived young person to France, it practiced the general trade through its counters of Paris installed street of the Old Currency, Bruges, Antwerp, Avignon, Venice and Montpellier.

The branch of Montpellier was the base of its maritime trade with its correspondents of Italy and of Raising.

He was not only the leading vendor of the courses of cloth France and Burgundy of gold and silk, furs of jewels, the precious substances like amber and the ivory and curiosities. The Rapondi-Cenami company had also contacts in Avignon near the pontifical court where Clément VI ordered to them luxurious tapestries for the vault of the castle.

It made also the trade of the noble metals, the exchange and the bank and became the principal banker of these two courses.

Dice 1369, it lent money to Philippe II of Burgundy when it married Marguerite III of Flanders.

In 1389 it accompanied Charles VI at the time of his voyage in the south of France and made carry out with Avignon where the king was sick an ex-voto which was placed on the tomb of the happy Pierre of Luxembourg to obtain the cure of the king.

The family members bought the middle-class of Paris in 1383. Its fortune was quite higher than that of any other Italian merchant.

In 1396, Dino, lends to Philippe Bold the 200.000 guilders required by the sultan Bayezid Ier for the release of his/her son Jean Without Peur makes captive when the crusaders were demolished with the Bataille of Nicopolis thanks to its correspondents génois.

When Philippe the Bold one succumbed on April 27th, 1404 to a violent fever, in his castle of Hal in Hainaut, Dino was in charge of the funeral transport of Market until the Chartreuse de Champmol with Dijon where it was buried. All along the course the churches were decorated of cloth of black gold Lucques, embroidered.

Jean without Peur, which succeeded his/her father, also regarded it as a friend.

In 1405, Amédée VIII of Savoy gives order to Pierre Andrenet, his lord of the manor of Beugei and Pont of Calves to pay the sum of 1.400 francs gold in Dine Raponde commercial on Paris, which he discharges on July 6th, 1405 (Files of state of Turin).

Among the organizers of the assassination Louis Ier of Orleans, on November 24th, 1407 would have appeared Dino, which would have supported the slow decline of the fortune of Rapondi.

The will of Dino makes in Paris on February 24th, 1412 appears in the files of the Parliament of Paris and it left important money sums to a dozen churches of this city.

He died in Bruges and was buried with the church Saint Donnat where its family had a vault.

In the burial of the dukes of Burgundy until 1725 a statue of a man was knelt representative Dino Rapondi.

His/her brothers

Filippo (death towards 1431 Bruges) his/her brother was also an important banker. With died of Dino, he became the adviser of Jean without Peur of which he obtained the establishment of a special tax on the fabrics that he yielded to his two Catarina daughters marries of Michele Burlamacchi and Luisa marries of Lorenzo wire of Matteo Trenta. It was also charged to recover the taxes in Flandres to restore finances of the duchy what it did with all the more zeal that he perceived a commission of 38%.

Jacopo (1350-1432), his/her other brother, was also a commercial rich person of luxury items (jewels, furs, and silk of Lucques) but also an expert in manuscripts which it collected and in particular he was the silent partner of famous the legend of the Voult Saint carried out in France about 1410-1415 by Flemish artists, and today with the Vaticane Library which includes/understands a miniature where the silent partners appear, probably Dine and Jacques Raponde in prayer in front of the Voult Saint as well as the weapons of Rapondi

It also provides many manuscripts to the court of Burgundy initially with Philippe the Bold one then to his son, Jean without Peur, as has Jean Ier de Berry large collector, brother of Philippe the Bold one (Very Rich Hours of the duke of Berry).

In 1399, it sells to the duke for 500 ecus a gilded Légende and delivers also a Tite-Live. In 1403, the duke pays him 300 pounds for a book of Jean Mansel the Fleur of the stories of the ground of the East which it passes to his brother (B.Nal). May 22nd, 1407 it is refunded paid sums with three artists for illuminations of a Bible commissioned by Philippe the Bold one. In 1405 it delivers Lancelot of the Lake

In the general accounts of the Burgundian state also the gift by Jacques appears, for the New Year's gifts in 1402, of a translation of Boccace Of the cleres and noble women :

“ has Jaques Raponde, going bourgois of Paris, to which my known as lord of grace especial gave the sum of IIIc frans so much for and in récompensacion of a book as a François of several stories of women of good renomméee that it gave him with the estraines New Year's Day derrenierement last, as for the good services that it him faiz chascun day and hopes that face or time future, so as it Appert more has lime pit by the obvious letres known as lord on this faictes, given has Paris XXIe day of January the year millet CCCC and two cy returned with quictance. For this IIIc frans . ” (Dijon, ADCO B1532 F 156r- 156v).

In 1432, when the last of the Rapondi brothers died, Jean without fear made sing a mass in their memory.

Blazon

Weapons: of azure to six pairs of centauries (turnip stems) of gold leant two to two laid out three, two, a

Rapondi : large turnip probably speaking weapons. The turnip into heraldic Italian is the symbol of the human benevolence. In addition the blazon is described in the new General Biography of Dr. Hoefer- 1862 like flowers of centaury called also rhubarb of the monks and in Italian rapontico.

Random links: