Giovanni Moriale d'Albarno, also known as Fra' Moriale (French: Jean Montreal du Bar; 1303–1354) was a French mercenary and condottiero.

Born at Narbonne

Narbonne

Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

, he was a friar in the Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

. He arrived in Italy around 1345, and fought for Louis I of Hungary in the succession wars for the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. In 1349 he joined Werner von Urslingen's Great Company. Later he was hired by the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

, but he abandoned them due to insufficient payment.

In 1352, Galeotto I Malatesta

Galeotto I Malatesta

Galeotto I Malatesta was an Italian condottiero, who was lord of Rimini, Fano, Ascoli Piceno, Cesena and Fossombrone.-Biography:Born in Rimini, he the son of Pandolfo I Malatesta and the brother of Malatesta II Malatesta. In 1333 he was captured while besieging Ferrara, but was soon freed and...

 besieged him in Aversa

Aversa

Aversa is a town and comune in the Province of Caserta in Campania southern Italy, about 15 kilometres north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the agro aversano, producing wine and cheese...

, where Moriale had amassed a large treasures during years of pillages. Forced to surrender, he was allowed to escape alive in exchange of all his wealth. After von Urslingen's death, he refounded the Great Company with German, Italian and Provençal

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

 mercenaries. Together with his kinman Bertrand de la Motte, he fought in Tuscany and Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

 with the aim to cut off a state for himself.

In an attempt to rescue his brothers and condottieri Annebald and Breton, who had got entangled in quarrels at Rome

History of Rome

The history of Rome spans 2,800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the centre of a vast civilisation that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries. Its political power was eventually replaced by that of peoples of mostly...

, he was arrested by order of tribune Cola di Rienzo

Cola di Rienzo

Cola di Rienzo was an Italian medieval politician and popular leader, tribune of the Roman people in the mid-14th century.-Early career:Cola was born in Rome of humble origins...

 and condemned to death. He was beheaded in the Capitol Hill square on 29 August 1354, and buried in the nearby church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Santa Maria in Aracoeli

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus...

.

Sources