I googled "litore aureo" and Ghana came up.
Enciphered 1424 Milanese Letter
- Thread starter Mark Knowles
- Start date
So it is Dux Mediolani etc Papi[a]e Angleri[a]eque Comes ac Janu[a]e dominus
There is more than one gold coast in the world...
There is more than one gold coast in the world...
Last edited:
The Duke of Milan at that time was Filippo Maria Visconti.
Some background from wikipedia to the 1st War in Lombardy(which is probably unnecessary in translating text):
The first of four campaigns against the territorial ambitions of Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, was connected to the death of the lord of Forlì, Giorgio Ordelaffi. He had named Visconti the trustee of his nine-year-old heir, Teobaldo II. The latter's mother, Lucrezia degli Alidosi, daughter of the lord of Imola, did not agree and assumed the regency for herself. The Forlivesi rebelled and called in the city the Milanese Visconti's condottiero, Agnolo della Pergola (May 14, 1423). Florence reacted by declaring war on Visconti. Its captain Pandolfo Malatesta therefore entered Romagna to help the Alidosi of Imola, but he was defeated and the city stormed on February 14, 1424. The young Luigi degli Alidosi was sent captive to Milan and a few days later the lord of Faenza, Guidantonio Manfredi, joined the Visconti party. The Florentine army, this time commanded by Carlo Malatesta, was again defeated, at the Battle of Zagonara in July; Carlo, taken prisoner, was freed by Visconti and joined him too. Florence thus hired Niccolò Piccinino and Oddo da Montone, but the two were also beaten in Val di Lamone. Oddo was killed but Piccinino was able to convince Manfredi to declare war against Visconti.
After the failure in Romagna, Florence tried to defy the Visconti from the Ligurian side, by allying with the Aragonese of Naples. However, both a fleet of 24 Aragonese galleys sent to Genoa to move it to fight against the Milanese, and a land army, were unsuccessful. In the meantime, Piccinino and the other condottiero Francesco Sforza had been hired by Visconti, who also sent an army to invade Tuscany under Guido Torello. He subsequently defeated the Florentine army at Anghiari and Faggiuola.
The first of four campaigns against the territorial ambitions of Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, was connected to the death of the lord of Forlì, Giorgio Ordelaffi. He had named Visconti the trustee of his nine-year-old heir, Teobaldo II. The latter's mother, Lucrezia degli Alidosi, daughter of the lord of Imola, did not agree and assumed the regency for herself. The Forlivesi rebelled and called in the city the Milanese Visconti's condottiero, Agnolo della Pergola (May 14, 1423). Florence reacted by declaring war on Visconti. Its captain Pandolfo Malatesta therefore entered Romagna to help the Alidosi of Imola, but he was defeated and the city stormed on February 14, 1424. The young Luigi degli Alidosi was sent captive to Milan and a few days later the lord of Faenza, Guidantonio Manfredi, joined the Visconti party. The Florentine army, this time commanded by Carlo Malatesta, was again defeated, at the Battle of Zagonara in July; Carlo, taken prisoner, was freed by Visconti and joined him too. Florence thus hired Niccolò Piccinino and Oddo da Montone, but the two were also beaten in Val di Lamone. Oddo was killed but Piccinino was able to convince Manfredi to declare war against Visconti.
After the failure in Romagna, Florence tried to defy the Visconti from the Ligurian side, by allying with the Aragonese of Naples. However, both a fleet of 24 Aragonese galleys sent to Genoa to move it to fight against the Milanese, and a land army, were unsuccessful. In the meantime, Piccinino and the other condottiero Francesco Sforza had been hired by Visconti, who also sent an army to invade Tuscany under Guido Torello. He subsequently defeated the Florentine army at Anghiari and Faggiuola.
Note that there is no direct reference to the "Ludovico" or "Jacobo" in the text in the account of the war. This shouldn't be a problem as it could easily refer to minor individuals or a specific incident or individuals not named such as the Zaninus and Conradinus referred to in the letters.
Zaninus Riccius was the Ducal Secretary to Filippo Maria Visconti and the head of the Milanese chancellery.
There is a "Jacobo de Vico" who was the last feudal lord of Civitavecchia in the 1420s, so presumably he must be the "Jacobo de Vico" referred to in the letter.
I guess that "Jacobo de Vico" translates to "Giacomo Vico" is Italian.
Giacomo Vico was beheaded in 1435.
I have seen him referred to as Philippus Maria Anglus, which might explain the angelus.
Ianue Dominus I think refers to him being overlord of Genoa.
He certainly was Lord of Genoa at that time, as the Republic of Genoa was in control of the Duchy of Milan.
Philippus Maria Anglus is correct. I tend to use the Italian as I am much more comfortable with Italian than Latin. Generally more modern historical accounts tend to be written in Italian, whilst contemporary historical accounts tend to be written in Latin. So "Iacobo de Vico" becomes "Giacomo de Vico" or "Giacomo Vico", I think, in most modern accounts. Ideally one needs to flip between languages to appreciate all sources.
Giacomo de Vico seemed to be opposed to the Pope as the "de Vico" were in control of the town of Viterbo prior to 1387 when it was taken over by the Papal States. In 1435 Giacomo made a failed attempt to regain Viterbo from the Pope.
It is possible that the intercepted letters were intended for the Pope, as I don't know who the intended recipient was. I just know they were from representatives of the Milanese government. There seem to be references to the Pope in the letters which is hardly surprising as the Papal States were a major political and military force in that part of Italy at that time.
I believe Giacomo de Vico was based in Vetralla.
I wonder if "Ludovicus de Michelatis" was "Ludovico Micheletti di Perugia".
The Pope at that time was Pope Martin V
In some places in documents "Ludovico" is spelled "Lodovico". When dealing with events of this time inconsistent and variable spelling is very common.
I think the following events may be relevant:
A strong coalition of Queen Giovanna, Pope Martin V , the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti and L'Aquila, in the person of Antonuccio Camponeschi, put up resistance to the expansionist aims of Braccio.
Ludovico Micheletti fought in that conflict and was from Aquila.
It seems most likely that the letter refers to this victory and possibly looks towards the battle in the province of Viterbo where Giacomo de Vico was feudal Lord.
A strong coalition of Queen Giovanna, Pope Martin V , the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti and L'Aquila, in the person of Antonuccio Camponeschi, put up resistance to the expansionist aims of Braccio.
Ludovico Micheletti fought in that conflict and was from Aquila.
It seems most likely that the letter refers to this victory and possibly looks towards the battle in the province of Viterbo where Giacomo de Vico was feudal Lord.