Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Sep 4, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read Read on X
The symbol of the Veronese Scaligeri family was a ladder, from which their name also comes from (scala=ladder). These are two ancient variants of their coat of arms, the eagle representing their dedication to the Imperial cause, and the other one representing their love for dogs! ImageImage
One of the most famous members of the Scaligeri was Cangrande ("the big dog") della Scala (1291-1329). He was a very ferocious warrior of immense bravery and physical strength, but also a patron of the arts as the leading patron of the famous poet Dante Alighieri! ImageImage
He served the Holy Roman Empire with great conviction and pride and fought for the emperors in Italy. This is Cangrande's sword with which he defended the noble Imperial Ghibelline cause in Italy! Many Guelphs were put to death with this weapon by the great warrior Cangrande! Image
Cangrande was always loyal, he always fought with honor and chivalry. He remained firm supporter of the Imperial cause even after the unworthy pro-French pope John XXII excommunicated him because of his allegiance to the Empire. Image
Cangrande enjoyed a great reputation as a warrior. Dante said about his patron, "even his enemies would be unable to keep silent about him." He represented the height of medieval Veronese splendor and might!

Glory to the Scaligeri /=\ Family! Image

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More from @LandsknechtPike

Jun 18
There are many mysterious legends in the Alps.

People from the village of Gurro believe that they are descendants of Scottish warriors who served the French king at the battle of Pavia in 1525!

It is said that after their retreat the Scots were stuck here due to a blizzard. 🧵

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The village of Gurro is situated in Italy close to the border of Switzerland.

The villagers are said to speak a curious dialect and have distinct traditions which they believe originate from their alleged Scottish ancestors.
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For example the people of Gurro want to say yes they say aye instead of Italian si.

They also claim that the traditional wooden support under the windows is deliberately shaped to resemble St. Andrew's cross.

Traditional clothes resemble Scottish tartan.Image
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Read 21 tweets
May 27
There are many anonymous accounts here on X.

But how did people post anonymously in the past?

16th century Romans developed an interesting tradition of "talking statues", attaching anonymous political commentary on statues.

The Pasquino was the first of such statues.🧵Image
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The Pasquino is an old statue in Rome dating back to Antiquity.

It was one of many random statues in Rome until early 16th century when Cardinal Oliveiro Carafa decorated the statue with Latin epigrams on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Mark.
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The Cardinal's actions unintentionally inspired ordinary Roman people to start writing satirical poems and attaching them to the Pasquino.

It is speculated that these were first only consisting of lowbrow humor, but they soon began including controversial political criticism! Image
Read 22 tweets
May 22
In the Middle Ages there was no word for orange color.

The Westerners only adopted the word for this color in 16th century from the Sanskrit word naranga through Portuguese merchants!

It eventually became associated with the Protestant cause.🧵Image
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The medievals adopted the idea from the ancients that there were only seven colors: white, yellow, red, green, blue, purple and black.

These were also the seven heraldic tinctures which were eligible to be used on the coats of arms.

Medieval nobles could not use orange color! Image
But in late 15th and early 16th century the Portuguese merchants brought first orange trees to Europe from Asia!

Suddenly there were fruits in Europe that were of this color orange, for which there was no name yet. Image
Read 15 tweets
May 15
From 1475 on, the Venetians recruited the stradioti light cavalry from the Balkans as borderland troops in Friuli to defend against Ottoman raids.

These were known for cutting off the heads of dead or captured enemies and wanted to be paid extra for every head they brought back!Image
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In one instance during the Ottoman raid on the town of Spilimbergo in 1499, the stradioti were able to respond quickly enough and in cooperation with local Friulian militias killed around 100 Ottomans whose heads they brought to a Venetian commander, demanding to be paid!
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The territory of Friuli was acquired by Venice relatively late in 1420 following the collapse of the state of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

Friuli would become a troubled borderland of Venice and faced many powerful enemies to the east.

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Read 25 tweets
May 14
I keep thinking about this town of Mahdia in Tunisia.

It used to be an important port but brutal wars through history reduced it to a quiet fishing town.

It's a place of significance for Western history as the first successful crusade-like expedition was launched here in 1087. Image
The Mahdia campaign of 1087 was a huge success for Pope Victor III who was able to rally the rival Italian maritime republics of Pisa, Genoa and Amalfi behind the Christian banner to attack the hated Muslim port of Mahdia from where pirate raids were staged by the Zirids.


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11th century saw the rise of the maritime Republic of Pisa which was punching far above its weight in terms of power.

The Pisans continuously clashed with the Muslims for control of the Mediterranean and were eventually able to bring the war to them, sacking Tunis in 1130. Image
Read 25 tweets
May 14
A donjon was a MASSIVE building that served as the last resort during the defense of the castle.

Basically if everything was lost you retreated into one of these.

This one in Houdan was built in 12th century as part of the castle that is no longer there. It was never conquered. Image
The walls of the donjon have an average thickness of three metres!

This is an absolute unit of a building. Image
The donjon at the castle of Dourdan is solid too.

Built in early 13th century.

It was separated from the rest of the castle by a moat for extra defense. Image
Read 7 tweets

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