Juan de Urtubia
Encyclopedia
Juan de Urtubia (spelled Durthubie or Durthubia in the Pamplonese
archives and de Ortobia or Ortubia in the Barcelona
n archives of the Crown of Aragon
; sometimes called Joan de Urtúvia in Catalan
; died 1381) was a Navarre
se royal squire
(escudero del Rey in contemporary documents) who led first a contingent of fifty men-at-arms on an expedition to recover the Kingdom of Albania
(1376–1377) and later a large army against Thebes
and Boeotia
, which he conquered in 1379.
, and the custody of the great castle of Rocafort
by Charles II of Navarre
for services rendered. In 1375, Urtubia appears as a recruiter for the Navarrese Company
in Gascony
. He was one of the four original captains of the outfit which went to Albania with Louis of Évreux
. He led the largest single societas (sub-company) of the company, at fifty men; he appears in the enlistment roll of 15 February 1375 as Johanco durtuvia escudero del Rey ordenado por yr en el dicto biage dalbania e sus eill e en sus governamiento L hombres darmas como parece por un otro mandamiento del Rey.
After the successful conquest of Durazzo with Navarrese help, the Company disappears from view until Urtubia is found in the Morea
in April 1378, leading a hundred men or more in the employ of Nerio I Acciajuoli ("Micer Aner" or "Arner"). Urtubia quickly entered into arrangements with the Hospitallers under Juan Fernández de Heredia
and his lieutenant, Gaucher de la Bastide, a Gascon whom Urtubia may have originally met in Gascony a few years prior. Bastide negotiated with Urtubia and another Navarrese captain, Mahiot de Coquerel, leader of a band of fity, for their mercenary services.
, then a possession of another Spanish mercenary company, the Catalan Grand Company, in the spring or early summer of 1379, his army probably numbered much more than one hundred, possibly more than two hundred, which would have been a considerable array in an age "when great organised armies were not known, and often a band of adventurers determined the fate of a country unprepared for war." It is not known why exactly Urtubia attacked Thebes, but it was probably for plunder and power, if not mere adventure. The troops with which Urtubia made his invasion were a remnant of the Navarrese Company which had taken Durazzo, but not the remnant which had retained the structure of the Company, but rather a sort of splinter group composed primarily of the Navarrese complement of the Company, but also comprising Gascons, Italians, Greeks, and disaffected Catalans.
After crossing the territory of his erstwhile employer, Nerio Acciajuoli, Urtubia made for Thebes, the capital of Athens and the chief city of Boeotia. It was a strategic gem, controlling communications between Athens in the south and the Duchy of Neopatria
to the north, another Catalan possession. With the support of Niccolò III dalle Carceri, Duke of the Archipelago on his right and Nerio guarding his rear, Urtubia was secure to besiege Thebes for a long time. From the north, too, Francis Zorzi
, the Margrave of Bodonitsa
, rendered aid against his overlords, the Catalans. The Republic of Venice
, which might have stepped in to stop the overtures of Carceri at least, was too involved in the War of Chioggia
to be of any help to vulnerable Thebes. Within Thebes, too, disaffected Catalans (mostly those who had supported Frederick III of Sicily
against Peter of Aragon in a previous civil war), as well as the majority of Greeks and the archbishop, Simon Atumano
, lent tacit support to the besiegers. Finally, Nerio Acciajuoli also lent aid to Urtubia in hopes that he would also conquer Athens.
Galcerán de Peralta, the Catalan captain, castellan
, and veguer of Athens, however, rushed to the defence of Thebes, but was captured outside its walls in battle. He was still a prisoner a year later, but, At the request of Peter IV of Aragon
, Duke of Athens, the Hospitaller master Heredia secured his release. The city of Thebes not unexpectedly fell to Urtubia in May or June 1379.
, the vicar
of the duchy, attacked Urtubia (1380), but the help of the Hospitallers fended him off. Fadrique refused to make peace with Urtubia, but the Hospitallers constrained him with thinly veiled threats of war on the Navarrese' behalf.
After the fall of Thebes, the Navarrese under Urtubia conquered Livadia
as well (1381). Urtubia, however, disappears from the record in late Fall 1381 and this has been taken to indicate his death. When the Company signed a treaty with Venice on 2 January 1382, Urtubia was not a signatory. By his conquest of Thebes, however, he left his mark on the history of the Catalans in Greece: he brought it to a swift end.
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
archives and de Ortobia or Ortubia in the Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
n archives of the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
; sometimes called Joan de Urtúvia in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
; died 1381) was a Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
se royal squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
(escudero del Rey in contemporary documents) who led first a contingent of fifty men-at-arms on an expedition to recover the Kingdom of Albania
Kingdom of Albania
The Kingdom of Albania, or Regnum Albaniae, was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territory he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus in 1271. He took the title of "King of Albania" in February 1272. The kingdom extended from the region of Durrës south along the coast to Butrint...
(1376–1377) and later a large army against Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
and Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
, which he conquered in 1379.
Albania and Achaea
In January and February 1374, Urtubia was rewarded 1,000 Aragonese gold florins, some mills by the bridge at TudelaTudela, Navarre
Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second city of the autonomous community of Navarre. Its population is around 35,000. Tudela is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electrified railways serve the city and two freeways join close to it...
, and the custody of the great castle of Rocafort
Rocafort
Rocafort is a municipality in the comarca of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain....
by Charles II of Navarre
Charles II of Navarre
Charles II , called "Charles the Bad", was King of Navarre 1349-1387 and Count of Évreux 1343-1387....
for services rendered. In 1375, Urtubia appears as a recruiter for the Navarrese Company
Navarrese Company
The Navarrese Company was a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony, which fought in Greece during the late 14th century and early 15th century, in the twilight of Frankish power in the dwindling remnant of the Latin Empire...
in Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
. He was one of the four original captains of the outfit which went to Albania with Louis of Évreux
Louis, Duke of Durazzo
Louis of Évreux was the youngest son of Philip III of Navarre and Joan II of Navarre. He inherited the county of Beaumont-le-Roger from his father and became Duke of Durazzo in right of his second wife, Joanna, in 1366.Louis's first marriage was to Maria de Lizarazu in 1358...
. He led the largest single societas (sub-company) of the company, at fifty men; he appears in the enlistment roll of 15 February 1375 as Johanco durtuvia escudero del Rey ordenado por yr en el dicto biage dalbania e sus eill e en sus governamiento L hombres darmas como parece por un otro mandamiento del Rey.
After the successful conquest of Durazzo with Navarrese help, the Company disappears from view until Urtubia is found in the Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
in April 1378, leading a hundred men or more in the employ of Nerio I Acciajuoli ("Micer Aner" or "Arner"). Urtubia quickly entered into arrangements with the Hospitallers under Juan Fernández de Heredia
Juan Fernández de Heredia
Juan Fernández de Heredia was the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 24 September 1377 to his death. His tenure was occupied by the "affair of Achaea." He was also a great patron of the translation and composition of historiographical works in the Aragonese language and a counsellor to...
and his lieutenant, Gaucher de la Bastide, a Gascon whom Urtubia may have originally met in Gascony a few years prior. Bastide negotiated with Urtubia and another Navarrese captain, Mahiot de Coquerel, leader of a band of fity, for their mercenary services.
Conquest of Boeotia
When Urtubia invaded Boeotia, which was part of the Duchy of AthensDuchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....
, then a possession of another Spanish mercenary company, the Catalan Grand Company, in the spring or early summer of 1379, his army probably numbered much more than one hundred, possibly more than two hundred, which would have been a considerable array in an age "when great organised armies were not known, and often a band of adventurers determined the fate of a country unprepared for war." It is not known why exactly Urtubia attacked Thebes, but it was probably for plunder and power, if not mere adventure. The troops with which Urtubia made his invasion were a remnant of the Navarrese Company which had taken Durazzo, but not the remnant which had retained the structure of the Company, but rather a sort of splinter group composed primarily of the Navarrese complement of the Company, but also comprising Gascons, Italians, Greeks, and disaffected Catalans.
After crossing the territory of his erstwhile employer, Nerio Acciajuoli, Urtubia made for Thebes, the capital of Athens and the chief city of Boeotia. It was a strategic gem, controlling communications between Athens in the south and the Duchy of Neopatria
Duchy of Neopatria
The Duchy of Neopatria or Neopatras was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade...
to the north, another Catalan possession. With the support of Niccolò III dalle Carceri, Duke of the Archipelago on his right and Nerio guarding his rear, Urtubia was secure to besiege Thebes for a long time. From the north, too, Francis Zorzi
Francis Zorzi
Francis Zorzi , called Marchesotto, was the Margrave of Bodonitsa, a member of the Venetian Zorzi family, from 1345 to his death....
, the Margrave of Bodonitsa
Margrave of Bodonitsa
The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa , today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis , was a Frankish state in Greece following the conquests of the Fourth Crusade. It was originally granted as a margravial holding of Guy Pallavicini by Boniface, first king of Thessalonica, in 1204...
, rendered aid against his overlords, the Catalans. The Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, which might have stepped in to stop the overtures of Carceri at least, was too involved in the War of Chioggia
War of Chioggia
The War of Chioggia was a conflict between Genoa and Venice which lasted from 1378 to 1381, from which Venice emerged triumphant. It was a part of the larger Venetian-Genoese War which began in 1350.-Background:...
to be of any help to vulnerable Thebes. Within Thebes, too, disaffected Catalans (mostly those who had supported Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...
against Peter of Aragon in a previous civil war), as well as the majority of Greeks and the archbishop, Simon Atumano
Simon Atumano
Simon Atumano was the Bishop of Gerace in Calabria from 23 June 1348 until 1366 and the Latin Archbishop of Thebes thereafter until 1380. Born in Constantinople, Atumano was of Greco-Turkish stock, his surname deriving from the word "Ottoman." He was a famous humanist and an influential Greek...
, lent tacit support to the besiegers. Finally, Nerio Acciajuoli also lent aid to Urtubia in hopes that he would also conquer Athens.
Galcerán de Peralta, the Catalan captain, castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
, and veguer of Athens, however, rushed to the defence of Thebes, but was captured outside its walls in battle. He was still a prisoner a year later, but, At the request of Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, , called el Cerimoniós or el del punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, (Balaguer, September 5, 1319 – Barcelona, January 6, 1387), called el Cerimoniós ("the Ceremonious") or el del punyalet ("the one...
, Duke of Athens, the Hospitaller master Heredia secured his release. The city of Thebes not unexpectedly fell to Urtubia in May or June 1379.
After Thebes
After Galcerán's failure, Louis FadriqueLouis Fadrique
Louis Fadrique was the fourth Count of Salona from 1365 and later the Count of Zitouni and Lord of Aegina from 1380...
, the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of the duchy, attacked Urtubia (1380), but the help of the Hospitallers fended him off. Fadrique refused to make peace with Urtubia, but the Hospitallers constrained him with thinly veiled threats of war on the Navarrese' behalf.
After the fall of Thebes, the Navarrese under Urtubia conquered Livadia
Livadia
Livadia can refer to:* Livadiya , a suburb of Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine, where the Livadia Palace is situated.* Livadiya, Primorsky Krai, a suburb of Nakhodka, Russia, near Mount Livadia* Livadeia , a city in Boeotia, Greece....
as well (1381). Urtubia, however, disappears from the record in late Fall 1381 and this has been taken to indicate his death. When the Company signed a treaty with Venice on 2 January 1382, Urtubia was not a signatory. By his conquest of Thebes, however, he left his mark on the history of the Catalans in Greece: he brought it to a swift end.
Sources
- Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Harry W. Hazard, editor. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1975.
- Setton, Kenneth M. Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380. Revised edition. London: Variorum, 1975.
- Setton, Kenneth M. "The Byzantine Background to the Italian Renaissance." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 100, No. 1. (Feb. 24, 1956), pp 1–76.