Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
A study drawing by Leonardo for The Battle of Anghiari
Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
Rubens‘s copy of Leonardo da Vinci‘s The Battle of Anghiari. Allegedly from left to right is Francesco Piccinino; Niccolò Piccinino; Ludovico Trevisan; Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini
Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
Rubens‘s copy of Leonardo da Vinci‘s The Battle of Anghiari. Allegedly from left to right is Francesco Piccinino; Niccolò Piccinino; Ludovico Trevisan; Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini
Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
La chapelle de la victoire (plaine d’Anghiari)
| Date | 29 juin1440 |
|---|---|
| Lieu | Anghiari |
| Issue | Victoire des Florentins |
 Florentins |
Milanais |
| Micheletto Attendolo et Pietro Giampaolo Orsini | Niccolò Piccinino |
| 4300 | 6700 |
Notes
selon les sources, de 1 à 900 morts
Batailles
La bataille d’Anghiarientre les Milanais et les Florentins (vainqueurs) eut lieu le près d’Anghiarien Toscane.
Une bataille aussi impressionnante que décisive
La renommée d’Anghiari en Toscane provient principalement du fait d’avoir été, le mercredi 29 juin 1440, le théâtre d’une bataille qui vit la victoire des Florentins guidés par le condottiereMicheletto Attendolo(de la famille Sforza), alliés aux troupes papales sous le commandement d’un autre mercenaire, Pietro Giampaolo Orsini, et à un détachement de cavalerie vénitienne, sur les Milanais menés par Niccolò Piccinino, envoyé par le duc Philippe Marie Visconti pour créer une diversion dans son conflit principal avec Venise.
Les troupes de Piccinino, supérieures en nombre et à l’offensive, furent attendues de l’autre côté d’un pont par celles des Florentins et leurs alliés. Les adversaires réussirent plusieurs fois à passer le pont, sans toutefois réussir à s’imposer de l’autre côté. La bataille consista principalement en un affrontement de cavalerie, dans l’espace restreint du pont, l’infanterie intervenant quand un groupe avait réussi à passer.
La controverse sur les pertes
Machiavel parle de cette bataille sur un ton ironique : « dans un combat si acharné qu’il dura quatre heures entières, il n’y eut de tué qu’un seul homme, qui, encore, ne périt pas par le fer ennemi ou par aucun coup honorable, mais qui tomba de cheval et fut foulé aux pieds des chevaux1 ». Cependant, comme l’écrit Franco Cardini
« la foi excessive que nous autres modernes avons eue dans les jugements de Pétrarque puis de Machiavel a été un écran pour comprendre la vérité historique. Le cas limite reste la peu meurtrière bataille d’Anghiari qui opposa Sforza [Micheletto Attendolo] et Piccinino en 1440 où, sur les onze mille combattants, il en serait tombé seulement deux, selon Machiavel, tandis que, selon l’estimation bien plus fiable de Flavio Biondo, on déplorerait une soixantaine de morts et quatre cents blessés2. »
Machiavel, écrivant quatre-vingt ans après les faits, consacre en effet le fonds son discours à mettre en garde ses contemporains contre l’usage des mercenaires, qui, explique-t-il, font la guerre à leur propre profit, et non selon l’intérêt de leurs commanditaires.
Une bataille décisive
Cependant, Piero Bargellini(it)3 rappelle que si le bilan militaire s’est révélé modeste, le bilan politique de la bataille d’Anghiari ne le fut pas, car les Florentins célébrèrent cette bataille comme une grande et décisive victoire. Machiavel souligne, cette fois avec plus de profondeur historique, que « … la victoire fut beaucoup plus utile pour la Toscane que nuisible pour le duc de Milan. En effet, si les Florentins avaient perdu lors de cette journée, la Toscane lui appartenait, et en perdant lors de cette même journée, il n’a rien perdu d’autre que les armes et les chevaux de son armée que l’on peut récupérer avec assez peu d’argent… »4. La puissance des Medicis, patrons de Machiavel à Florence, se trouva également confortée par la retraite des Milanais.
Si les conséquences d’une défaite sur Florence eussent été catastrophiques, on doit aussi considérer les effets sur l’allié des Florentins, le pape Eugène IV, qui se trouvait exilé de Rome depuis neuf ans, et put y revenir en 1440, tandis que l’antipapeFélix V, soutenu par le duc de Milan, finit, en 1449, par se soumettre au pape Nicolas V.
Léonard de Vinci entre en scène
La bataille aurait sûrement été oubliée si, soixante ans plus tard, les magistrats de Florence, pour décorer la Salle des Cinq-Cents du Palazzo Vecchioavec des œuvres rappelant les principales actions de la République, n’avaient confié à Léonard de Vincile soin de peindre la « Bataille d’Anghiari ». Après la réalisation des esquisses, la partie centrale, c’est-à-dire le combat autour du drapeau, fut posée au mur.
Bibliographie
- (it) Massimo Predonzani, Anghiari 29 giugno 1440. La battaglia, l’iconografa, le compagnie di ventura, l’araldica, Rimini, Il Cerchio, (ISBN 9788884742506)
- (it) Niccolò Capponi, La battaglia di Anghiari. Il giorno che salvò il Rinascimento, Milan, Il Saggiatore, (ISBN 9788842815860)
Sources primaires
- Flavio Biondo, Le decadi (Historiarum ab inclinatione romanorum decades), 1483, 32 volumes, trad. it. par Achille Crespi, Forli, 1963, p. 906-909. Texte latin sur Gallica [archive], III decade lib. XI [archive].
- (it) Niccolò Machiavelli, Istorie fiorentine, , livre : 5 ; chapitre : 33 (wikisource)
Notes et références
- Nicolas Machiavel (trad. J.-A.-C. Buchon), Œuvres complètes : Histoire de Florence, (lire en ligne [archive]), p. 130, Livre V, chap. 33.
- Franco Cardini (trad. Angélique Lévi), La culture de la guerre[« Quell’antica festa crudelle »], Paris, NRF-Gallimard, (1re éd. 1982), p. 77.
- (it) Piero Bargellini, Dal duca d’Atene a Cosimo I. 3. Da capitale di granducato a capitale di regno, Vallecchi, , p. 89
- Machiavel, Histoire de Florence, livre V, chapitre 33.
Battle of Anghiari
| Battle of Anghiari
Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Peter Paul Rubens‘s copy of Leonardo da Vinci‘s The Battle of Anghiari. Allegedly from left to right is Francesco Piccinino; Niccolò Piccinino; Ludovico Trevisan; Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Italian League Republic of Florence Papal States Republic of Venice |
Duchy of Milan | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ludovico Trevisan Micheletto Attendolo Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini |
Niccolò Piccinino | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Light [1] | Light [1] | ||||||
The Battle of Anghiari was fought on 29 June 1440, between the forces of Milan and those of the Italian League led by the Republic of Florence in the course of the Wars in Lombardy. The battle was a victory for the Florentines, securing Florentine domination of central Italy.
The battle is well known for its depiction in a now-lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It is also remarkable for the fact that though the battle lasted all day, involving several thousand troops, it was said that only one soldier was killed. According to Niccolò Machiavelliafter four hours of skirmishing the single death occurred « when a soldier fell off his horse ».[2]
Battle
The League’s army concentrated on Anghiari, a small centre of Tuscany, and comprised: 4,000 Papal troops, under Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan; a Florentine contingent of around the same size, and a company of 300 men-at-arms (knights) from Venice, led by Micheletto Attendolo. Other men joined for the occasion from Anghiari itself.
The numerically superior Milanese force was led by the famous condottieroNiccolò Piccinino in the name of Duke Filippo Maria Viscontiand reached the area on the night of 28 June. Some 2,000 men from the nearby town of Sansepolcro joined the Milanese. Confident in his superior manpower, and on the element of surprise Piccinino ordered an attack in the afternoon of the following day. However, the dust lifted by the Milanese on the Sansepolcro-Anghiari road was noticed by Micheletto and the League’s forces were made ready for battle.
Micheletto’s Venetian knights blocked the Milanese vanguard on the only bridge over the channel protecting the League’s camp. Micheletto and the Venetians held the bridge allowing the greater part of the League’s army to form for battle but were eventually pushed back by Milanese reinforcements led by the two captains Francesco Piccinino and Astorre II Manfredi. The Milanese advanced but their right flank was soon ferociously engaged by the Papal troops and were obliged to retreat to the bridge. The battle continued for four hours, until a surrounding manoeuvre managed to cut off a third of the Milanese on the League side of the channel. The battle continued into the night but ended with a victory for the League army.[3]
Casualties
The battle was described in histories written by Leonardo Bruni (1370–1444) and Flavio Biondo (1392–1463), both of whom concentrate on the actions of individuals, though there is some discussion of equipment and tactics.[3]Machiavelli, in contrast, gives a detailed account of the strategy and tactics used by both sides, but presents the battle as « a striking example of the wretched state of military discipline in those times », arguing that the mercenary knights who ran the armies of the day had no motive to fight for victory.[4]
Nor was there ever an instance of wars being carried on in an enemy’s country with less injury to the assailants than at this; for in so great a defeat, and in a battle which continued four hours, only one man died, and he, not from wounds inflicted by hostile weapons, or any honorable means, but, having fallen from his horse, was trampled to death. Combatants then engaged with little danger; being nearly all mounted, covered with armor, and preserved from death whenever they chose to surrender, there was no necessity for risking their lives; while fighting, their armor defended them, and when they could resist no longer, they yielded and were safe.[4]
Machiavelli adds that « This victory was much more advantageous to the Florentines than injurious to the duke; for, had they been conquered, Tuscany would have been his own; but he, by his defeat, only lost the horses and accoutrements of his army, which could be replaced without any very serious expense ».[4]
Whether or not the claimed single death is an exaggeration is not known. Hans Delbrück argues that,
The great historians of the Renaissance, Machiavelli, Guicciardini, and Jovius, were agreed in stating that the condottieri waged war simply as a game and not in bloody earnest. It was their judgment that these men, guided by self-interest, in order to extend the war as long as possible so that they might obtain the most possible pay, did not seek a decision in battle. On the contrary, they avoided that, and when it did finally come down to a battle, the men on both sides, who regarded themselves mutually as comrades, spared one another and shed no blood. In the battle of Anghiari in 1440, for example, it is reported that one man died, to be sure, but he was not struck down but drowned in a swamp. Later scholars have no doubt characterized this kind of warfare as having raised war to a work of art, that is, the skill of maneuver, through the efforts of these condottieri.[5]
Delbrück says that « close examination of the contemporary reports has shown that there is not a true word in this entire description ». However, it is true that the warfare of the period was far less brutal than that of the later period in which Machiavelli wrote, as knights could indeed expect to surrender for ransom.[5] While it is possible that only one mounted knight died at Anghiari, foot-soldiers are unlikely to have been as lucky. Frances S. Saunders says that « as many as 900 » soldiers may in fact have died in the battle.[1]
Cultural depictions
Giacobbe Giusti, Battle of Anghiari
According to Pia F. Cuneo, « Anghiari is one of the most frequently represented battles of the era ».[3]The earliest known image, painted within a decade of the battle is a cassone panel by an unknown artist known as the Anghiari Master, which emphasises the tournament-like nature of the conflict, with banners and ritual engagements.
More than seven decades later, the battle was the subject of a now-lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci, known through copies of the central scene made by other artists. The known portion of the painting depicted a battle over a standard between knights on opposing sides. The picture was commissioned to occupy one of the walls of the council chamber of the Florentine republic in the Palazzo Vecchio. The other wall was to have a painting by Michelangelo depicting an earlier Florentine victory at the Battle of Cascina in 1364.
A 1687 relief sculpture depicting the battle by Baroque artist Giovanni Battista Foggini in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence depicts Saint Andrew Corsini guiding the Florentine forces to victory.
References
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Frances S. Saunders, Hawkwood « Diabolical Englishman », 2004, p.93
- Jump up^ The Battle of Anghiari
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Pia F. Cuneo, Artful Armies, Beautiful Battles: Art and Warfare in Early Modern Europe, Brill, Boston, 2002, p.18.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Niccolo Machiavelli, History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Walter Dunne: 1901. p.253
- ^ Jump up to:a b Hans Delbrück (trans. Walter J. Renfroe Jr.), History of the Art of War: Within the Framework of Political History. Volume: 4.: Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.: 1985, p.17
アンギアーリの戦い
| アンギアーリの戦い | |
|---|---|
 ダ・ヴィンチ画『アンギアーリの戦い』 （ルーベンスによる模写） |
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| 戦争：Wars in Lombardy | |
| 年月日：1440年6月29日 | |
場所： トスカーナのアンギアーリ |
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| 結果：フィレンツェの勝利 | |
| 交戦勢力 | |
 フィレンツェ共和国 |
 ミラノ公国 |
アンギアーリの戦い（アンギアーリのたたかい、イタリア語: Battaglia di Anghiari）は、15世紀半ばのイタリアはトスカーナ地方のアンギアーリにて、フィレンツェ共和国軍とミラノ公国軍の間で行われた戦いである。
概要
絵画
脚注・出典
関連項目
Битва при Ангиари
| Битва при Ангиари | |||
| Основной конфликт: Войны в Ломбардии | |||
Питер Пауль Рубенс. Копия фрески Леонардо да Винчи Битва при Ангиари. Как утверждают, слева направо изображены: Франческо Пиччинино, Никколо Пиччинино, Людовико Тревизан, Джованни Антонио Орсини дель Бальцо. |
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| Дата | 29 июня 1440 года | ||
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| Место | Ангиари, Ареццо, Тоскана, Италия | ||
| Итог | Победа Итальянской лиги | ||
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Битва при Ангиари — сражение между Миланом и Итальянской лигой, возглавляемой Флорентийской республикой, произошедшее 29 июня 1440 года у города Ангиари в ходе Ломбардских войн и окончившееся победой лиги.
Ход событий
Войска лиги сосредоточились у Ангиари, маленького центра в Тоскане, и состояли из 4 тысяч папских войск во главе с кардиналом Людовико Тревизаном, флорентийского контингента примерно такой же численности и 300 всадников из Венеции во главе с Микелетто Аттендоло. По этому случаю на сторону лиги стали также некоторые мужчины из самого Ангиари.
Численно превосходившая миланская армия, возглавляемая знаменитым кондотьером Никколо Пиччининоот имени герцога Филиппо Мария Висконти, достигла места битвы 28 июня. К войскам миланцев присоединились 2 тысячи мужчин из близлежащего Сансеполькро. Уверенный в своём превосходстве и полагаясь на эффект неожиданности, Пиччинино приказал атаковать во второй половине следующего дня. Однако по дороге из Сансеполькро в Ангиари миланцы подняли такую пыль, что Микелетто Аттендоло заметил её, и вскоре войска лиги были приведены в боевую готовность.
Венецианские всадники Микелетто заблокировали миланский авангард на единственном мосту через канал, защищавший лагерь лиги. Они удерживали мост, сдерживая натиск врага и давая основной части войск лиги время подготовиться к бою, но в конечном счёте они были оттеснены миланским подкреплением во главе с капитанами Франческо Пиччинино и Асторре II Манфреди. Миланцы наступали, однако вскоре их правый фланг вступил в бой с папскими войсками и был вынужден отступить к мосту. Битва длилась четыре часа вплоть до проведения окружающего манёвра, целью которого было отрезать треть миланской армии, находившейся на стороне канала, занятого лигой. Сражение продолжалось и ночью, однако закончилось победой армии лиги.
В искусстве
Спустя больше чем семьдесят лет битва при Ангиари стала сюжетом ныне утраченной фрески Леонардо да Винчи, известной благодаря копиям других художников[1].
Изменников, повешенных после битвы, изобразил на несохранившейся фреске флорентийский художник Андреа дель Кастаньо[2].
Giacobbe Giusti 