Philippe Marie Visconti

Philippe Marie Visconti , in Italian Filippo Maria Visconti , was a noble Italian born in Italy the September 23rd 1392 and dead the August 13rd 1447 in Milan. It was the 3rd duke of Milan in 1412.

Biography

As of childhood, the existence of Philippe Marie was marked by many physical problems. Well before his/her older brother Jean Marie is not designed, Catherine, their mother, undergoes several miscarriages which must be probably allotted to the endogame report/ratio of the ducal couple: Jean Galéas and Catherine was indeed first cousins. Fearing to be able to have descent - problematic case for reasons as well of appropriateness as prestige political - the couple made wish offer to the Madone her futures wire. Catherine became pregnant elder Jean in 1388 and, in 1392, it was the Philippe junior. On both, one imposed the second first name of Marie to thank the Vierge for the received grace. Although they were declared healthy and robust - probably to satisfy the parents -, the small Philippe Marie suffered as of his first years from Rachitisme what prevented it, even adult, to walk or to be held upright a long time. In 1402, Jean Galéas died, who seven years before, in 1395, had obtained rise with the row in duke in Milan. The title and the seigniory of the vast possessions Visconti ennes passed to elder the Jean Marie : being hardly thirteen years old, the supervision was entrusted to the Catherine mother, was named regent. The small Philippe Marie, on the other hand, was sent to Pavia whose territory had assigned to him like county by the will of the father.

The government of Jean Marie was heavily marked by the conflicts between the opposing political factions which then sought the prevalence in the ex-duchy of Jean Galéas. During the fight, supremacy returned to the Condottiere Facino Cane which succeeds in fomenting a competition between the young duke and the regent. Determined to achieve its goal, he saw his action concretizing in 1404 when Jean Marie made stop and lock up his mother in the castle of Monza. Irony of fate, this castle was that which had offered to him, the day of its weddings, his/her husband Jean Galéas, twenty-four years earlier. After approximately two months of captivity, Catherine died, in the indifference of the great political tumults. Only, Philippe Marie had been concerned with it, but without being able to make large - thing: cut off behind the walls from the castle of Pavia, it attended impotent the crumbling of the state created by his father and his ancestors, while his/her older brother scrambled himself always more with the Milanese Aristocratie and people. Contrary to his mother, Jean Marie did not reserve for his young brother same the traitement : twelve years old, the junior was an adversary - at least for the moment - little of weight because of his fragile health and few means with which it passed his existence pavesane. Existence which, starting from 1410, was put still more outstanding , since, this year, Facino Cane succeeds in occupying the city.

For Philippe Marie, the great change arrived in 1412, when, in the space of a few days, Facino Cane and Jean Marie died. From both, Philippe Marie accepted important heritages: of the condottiere Facino Cane, its wife old Béatrice Lascaris de Tende forty-two years that Facino had entrusted to Philippe Marie at the same time as a considerable dowry, in exchange of the promise to bring it to the furnace bridge and to make its conjointe&thinsp of it; ; of the brother Jean Marie, on the other hand, the ducal title and the seigniory of the territories fixed in Milan. Heritage undoubtedly more difficult to manage, for Philippe Marie, than the first, since the state Visconti in was in a situation of deep political crisis and economic.

Philippe Marie, character paranoiac, superstitious but however without prejudices and cynical, made watch of a considerable political address. He married Béatrice, marriage supported by the Archevêque of Milan Bartolomeo Capra, and, with the economic and military resources brought in dowry by his wife, he succeeds in rectifying the state partially. When his wife showed herself too interested in the political events, it made it decapitate in 1418 close to the castle of Binasco at the same time as a man with whom she was allegedly shown of adultery.

Philippe Marie was suspected of behavior luxurieux : whereas at its court it had been surrounded by pages which followed it everywhere, it in addition maintained a stable relationship with Agnès Maine, girl of the Count Palatine Ambrogio and probably lady's companion of his wife. In 1425, from this relation was born Blanche Marie, single natural girl of Philippe Marie.

In 1423, with died of Georgio Ordelaffi, lord of Forlì, whereas his/her son Tebaldo Ordelaffi was still small, Philippe Marie, as a tutor of Tebaldo named by Georgio, seizes the occasion to try the conquest of the Romagna. A war burst then with Florence firmly decided to oppose its ambitions.

Venice, after some reversals of the florentins and convinced by the count de Carmagnola, decided to intervene in 1425 in their favor. The war moved in Lombardy and, in March 1426, Carmagnola fomented the revolt of Brescia which it itself had conquered for Visconti five years before. After a long seat and the destruction of the ducal fleet which brought vivres to the besieged city, Venice conquered Brescia and the Eastern shore of the Lake Garda. Philippe Marie asked unnecessarily of the assistance the Empereur Sigismond and, in 1426, was constrained to accept peace in the conditions suggested by the pope Martin V, the transfer of Brescia and the restitution with Carmagnola of all his remained assets with Milan.

Peace was badly accepted and by the Milanese population and the emperor and the reprimands of this last gave to Philippe Marie a pretext to start again the hostilities which brought however to the defeat of Maclodio (October 12th 1427) quoted by Alessandro Manzoni. This defeat was followed of a new peace concluded to Ferrare with the mediation from Nicolas III of Este which comprised for the Duché of Milan the final loss of Bergamo and of Brescia.

In 1431, was elected the new pope, Eugene IV, Venetian and, so hostile in Visconti.

Philippe Marie Visconti also yielded to the pope Forlì and Imola, when leagued against him Ferrare, Mantoue, the Montferrat and the Savoy.

In 1428, being in a political dead end, it made very to be combined with the duke of Savoy and married his/her daughter Marie of Savoy ; in the urgency of the events, it ignored the dowry and, later, it transferred on the young woman aggressiveness for the situation in which it had come from there to be.

Towards the end of spring 1446, because of the aggravation of its conditions of health, Philippe Marie was concerned with safety of its heart by charging a group with theologists with slicing debate to know if a “signore temporal if salvare appresso Iddio posed” (temporal lord could be saved after God) . Reassured verdict of the college of the specialists who invited it, for the peace of the state, to think of the succession, it tried a bringing together between François Sforza and its daughter Blanche Marie. Holding of Sforza at the court of Philippe saw as a White Marie, and thus in her husband, the natural successor and especially that which it would have defended them of Venetian greed.

Francois, with which them sudden changes of mood of the father-in-law from now on was notified, hesitated and pushed back his return to Milan, by asking for security in exchange of the promises of the father-in-law. The negotiations were prolonged and undergone a stop because of the excessive enthusiasm with which Sforza was awaited Milan. The May 5th 1447 the spokesperson sforzien in Milan écrivit : “the duke entered in great jealousy and its spirit is not sincere” .

The anguish of Philippe Marie unchained the race with the succession. The will of Jean Galéas Visconti laid out that in the event of lack of male descent, the line of succession was to be that of his/her daughter Valentine. The French, forts so asserted the duchy for Charles of Orleans. On another side, the Spanish supported that the will of Philippe Marie was in favor of Alphonse V of Aragon. Among the Italy NS, in addition to Sforza, Louis I {{er}} of Savoy, brother of the duchess, asserted the title, contrary to skilful lawyers, among whom Piccolomini, which supported that the title was to be returned with the Emperor.

Only which could have made the light was Philippe Marie himself which, however, had lost any interest for the government of the duchy and, with the questions worry concerning the succession, answered that “after him, all would go to the ruin” , anticipating most famous “After me the flood” of Louis XV.

The August 6th, it renonça with the care and the 11, its state worsened. In the night of the 12 to the August 13rd, he asked to be turned in his bed with the face vis-a-vis the wall and, a little later he died, insulated and made indignant as he had lived.

A group of noble and lawyers of the Université of Pavia founded, with his death, a republican government which was named République Ambrosienne ( Aurea Repubblica Ambrosiana ).

The historical character

As a Philippe Marie Visconti, the vein of madness which crossed the generations of the dynasty Visconti did not appear through the attitudes perversely cruel and bloodthirsty men which had characterized his brother Jean Marie and some predecessors but rather with a paranoiac misanthropy who led it to live completely isolated in the fortress from the Giovia Door and to weave his screens, surrounded by an small group of very faithful.

Hypochondriac and maniaquement suspicious even with respect to the familiar ones which was constantly supervised by a network of spies which extended to the confessors from his wife and her lover bringing back each mot. to him.

Philippe Marie was moreover more extremely superstitious, it was surrounded astrologers charged to indicate to him the most favourable place and the moment for each action. In spite of that, it had a large political address and the capacity to choose and carry out excellent condottieres (Carmagnola, Sforza, Piccinino) who allowed him to return to the duchy of Milan the prestige of which it enjoyed the time of Jean Galéas Visconti.

Descent

First marriage Beatrice Lascaris without descent
Second marriage Marie of Savoy without descent
illegitimate Children with Agnes of Maine

Catherine Marie, shortly after dead the birth
White Marie Visconti which married, in 1441, François Sforza and became thus duchess.

See too

Family Visconti
List of the sovereigns of Milan

External bond

Euweb.cz : Philippe Marie in the genealogy of Visconti

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