Thanks, that is a big improvement.
"Alifante" ("lo standardo del alifante") is the expression, which is used in 1409 by the father of Sigismondo Pandolfo. "Alfil" is the common impression for the chessfigure of the Elefant (at the place of the Europeon bishop), which was common in old asiatic chess versions.
The Malatesta have a chessboard design in their heraldry, that gives the Alfil some plausibility.
Pandolfo III Malatesta has an interesting biography.
Pandolfo III. Malatesta
Lord of Fano, Brescia and Bergamo / from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rimini
Pesaro
condottiere
Pandolfo III. Malatesta (January 2, 1370 – October 3, 1427) was lord of Fano, Brescia and Bergamo and an important condottiere with pronounced cultural interests.
Family and Youth
Tomb of Pandolfo III. Malatesta in the Church of San Francesco in Fano (photo by Paolo Monti, 1972)
Pandolfo III. Malatesta's parents were the Condottiere and Signore of Rimini Galeotto I Malatesta (around 1300-1385) and Gentile Da Varano, daughter of Rodolfo II Da Varano (?-1384), Condottiere and Lord of Camerino and Camilla Chiavelli from Fabriano. He had numerous siblings, several of whom had careers as brilliant as Pandolfo III. himself. Of particular note are Carlo I Malatesta (1368–1429), lord of Rimini, Andrea Malatesta (1373–1416), lord of Cesena, and Galeotto Novello (called “Galeotto Belfiore”, 1377–1400); Lord of Cervia, Meldola, Sansepolcro, Sestino, Sassofeltrio and Montefiore. Almost all of his sisters and half-sisters were married to the region's ruling potentates: the Gonzaga of Mantua, the Pepoli of Bologna, the Manfredi of Faenza and the Montefeltro of Urbino.
Pandolfo III. Malatesta grew up at the Malatesta court in Rimini and received an excellent education, e.g. by the famous humanist Giacomo Allegretti. In addition to Italian, he also spoke Latin, French and Provençal and wrote Latin verses. He also played the lute and harp. After the death of his first wife (1398) he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1399.
In the generation of Pandolfo III. the Malatesta reached the peak of their power. On the one hand, they benefited from the Great Schism (1378–1417) with the competing papal claims in Rome and Avignon, and ruled large parts of Romagna and the Marches, areas that actually belonged to the ailing Papal States. On the other hand, they took advantage of the decades of turmoil in Lombardy by making themselves indispensable as condottieri for the political forces in Upper and Central Italy and by being able to massively expand their own dominions. Pandolfo III. From 1402 Malatesta consistently used his position in the regency council of Gian Galeazzo Visconti's widow for his own interests. In the obvious attempt to create his own territorial state in Lombardy, he seized control of Brescia (1404-1421), Bergamo (1407-1419) and Lecco (1408-1418) with the active support of his brother Carlo I Malatesta. He lost Bergamo and Lecco in the summer of 1419, Brescia after the Battle of Montichiari (October 8, 1420), which he lost to the Milanese troops under Carmagnola, the peace treaty between Milan and Venice of February 24, 1421, and Carmagnola's entry into Brescia on August 21, 1421. March 1421. For giving up the rule in Brescia Pandolfo III. Malatesta compensated by the Visconti with 34,000 guilders. He retired to the remaining Signoria of Fano (province of Pesaro and Urbino).
Condottiere
Pandolfo III. Malatesta began his military career at a young age and fought, often with his brothers Carlo I and Andrea Malatesta, in countless skirmishes and small wars in the service of the Papal States or with his own troops against rival dynasties of the region such as the Balacchi (Santarcangelo), the Da Polenta from Ravenna, the Montefeltro from Urbino, the Ordelaffi from Forlì. Unlike condottieri such as Facino Cane, Carmagnola, Muzio Attendolo Sforza, Angelo della Pergola or Niccolò Piccinino, he did not have to work his way up the ranks, but as a member of a famous noble family with his own dominion he assumed military leadership functions from the very beginning. Already in 1389, not even 20 years old, he and his brother Carlo led for Pope Urban VI. 2,000 riders in the field. Significant for his reputation as a condottiere was his participation in the victory of the anti-Milan league at Govèrnolo in 1397 over Jacopo dal Verme and Giovanni da Barbiano. In the same year he was appointed Capitano generale of the papal troops. From 1401 (until 1412) he was in the service of the Duchy of Milan, where he was one of the most important exponents of the Guelph party. After the assassination of Giovanni Maria Visconti in 1412 he fought in the war of the Republic of Venice against Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary, who claimed possession of Friuli and Istria. In September 1412 he replaced his brother Carlo I as supreme commander of the Venetian troops and put up vigorous resistance to the Hungarian general Filippo Scolari and Pippo Spano. After numerous battles and unsuccessful sieges, he had to retreat to Friuli and later to Hungary in the spring of 1413. For this success Pandolfo III was. Malatesta richly rewarded by Venice. He received a mercenary service contract for 1,000 men, which was endowed with 48,000 ducats annually, an annual life annuity of 1,000 ducats and a palazzo on the Grand Canal Pandolfo III was also appointed. Malatesta accepted into the Venetian nobility.
In the years that followed, relations with Filippo Maria Visconti deteriorated. Despite mediation efforts by the Republic of Venice and later by Martin V, a military confrontation was inevitable. On July 24, 1419 Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola conquered Bergamo and on October 8, 1420 Pandolfo III lost. Malatesta against the same opponent the Battle of Montichiari. Now he was looking for a peace agreement that was as advantageous as possible. In March 1421 he ceded Brescia to the Duke of Milan, giving up Lombard rule forever and returning to Romagna. In the following years he was again in the service of the Pope and the Republic of Florence as Capitano generale. He fought his last major battle on July 28, 1424 against the Milanese troops under the condottieri Angelo della Pergola, Secco da Montagnana and Guido Torelli. The Battaglia di Zagonara ended in a heavy defeat for the Florentine troops and Pandolfo's brother Carlo Malatesta was taken prisoner.
The courts of Fano and Brescia
Pandolfo III. Malatesta took over the dominion of Fano, inherited from his father, on his death in 1385. His small state was organized in a very complex way, had a central administration at court in Fano and a large number of officials (chancellor, judges, clerks, notaries, castellans, etc.). Governors were appointed in numerous cities to exercise government power. As the surviving files show, the Signoria of Fano was tightly organized, administrative actions and accounting were already written down to a large extent. There were also diverse forms of communal self-government and village autonomy with countless privileges and special rights that were often newly granted or confirmed. This sophisticated administrative and accounting system was also used in the seignories of Brescia and Bergamo in 1404 and 1408 respectively. Interestingly, Pandolfo III recruited Malatesta chose his key figures for the administration of the northern Italian dominions from among the experienced officials in Romagna and the Marches. These covered an area of several thousand square kilometers, where more than half a million subjects lived.
Condottiere
Pandolfo III. Malatesta began his military career at a young age and fought, often with his brothers Carlo I and Andrea Malatesta, in countless skirmishes and small wars in the service of the Papal States or with his own troops against rival dynasties of the region such as the Balacchi (Santarcangelo), the Da Polenta from Ravenna, the Montefeltro from Urbino, the Ordelaffi from Forlì. Unlike condottieri such as Facino Cane, Carmagnola, Muzio Attendolo Sforza, Angelo della Pergola or Niccolò Piccinino, he did not have to work his way up the ranks, but as a member of a famous noble family with his own dominion he assumed military leadership functions from the very beginning. Already in 1389, not even 20 years old, he and his brother Carlo led for Pope Urban VI. 2,000 riders in the field. Significant for his reputation as a condottiere was his participation in the victory of the anti-Milan league at Govèrnolo in 1397 over Jacopo dal Verme and Giovanni da Barbiano. In the same year he was appointed Capitano generale of the papal troops. From 1401 (until 1412) he was in the service of the Duchy of Milan, where he was one of the most important exponents of the Guelph party. After the assassination of Giovanni Maria Visconti in 1412 he fought in the war of the Republic of Venice against Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary, who claimed possession of Friuli and Istria. In September 1412 he replaced his brother Carlo I as supreme commander of the Venetian troops and put up vigorous resistance to the Hungarian general Filippo Scolari and Pippo Spano. After numerous battles and unsuccessful sieges, he had to retreat to Friuli and later to Hungary in the spring of 1413. For this success Pandolfo III was. Malatesta richly rewarded by Venice. He received a mercenary service contract for 1,000 men, which was endowed with 48,000 ducats annually, an annual life annuity of 1,000 ducats and a palazzo on the Grand Canal Pandolfo III was also appointed. Malatesta accepted into the Venetian nobility.
In the years that followed, relations with Filippo Maria Visconti deteriorated. Despite mediation efforts by the Republic of Venice and later by Martin V, a military confrontation was inevitable. On July 24, 1419 Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola conquered Bergamo and on October 8, 1420 Pandolfo III lost. Malatesta against the same opponent the Battle of Montichiari. Now he was looking for a peace agreement that was as advantageous as possible. In March 1421 he ceded Brescia to the Duke of Milan, giving up Lombard rule forever and returning to Romagna. In the following years he was again in the service of the Pope and the Republic of Florence as Capitano generale. He fought his last major battle on July 28, 1424 against the Milanese troops under the condottieri Angelo della Pergola, Secco da Montagnana and Guido Torelli. The Battaglia di Zagonara ended in a heavy defeat for the Florentine troops and Pandolfo's brother Carlo Malatesta was taken prisoner.
The courts of Fano and Brescia
Pandolfo III. Malatesta took over the dominion of Fano, inherited from his father, on his death in 1385. His small state was organized in a very complex way, had a central administration at court in Fano and a large number of officials (chancellor, judges, clerks, notaries, castellans, etc.). Governors were appointed in numerous cities to exercise government power. As the surviving files show, the Signoria of Fano was tightly organized, administrative actions and accounting were already written down to a large extent. There were also diverse forms of communal self-government and village autonomy with countless privileges and special rights that were often newly granted or confirmed. This sophisticated administrative and accounting system was also used in the seignories of Brescia and Bergamo in 1404 and 1408 respectively. Interestingly, Pandolfo III recruited Malatesta chose his key figures for the administration of the northern Italian dominions from among the experienced officials in Romagna and the Marches. These covered an area of several thousand square kilometers, where more than half a million subjects lived.
At his courts, Pandolfo III unfolded. Malatesta an artistically ambitious patronage, which also included extensive building activity and need not fear comparison with the courts of the Gonzaga in Mantua or the d'Este in Ferrara. This is particularly true of Brescia in the years 1404-1421, where Pandolfo III. exercised a far-reaching reign "in which elegance, generosity and love of art were expressed". Pandolfo III. Malatesta lived in Brescia's municipal government palace, the Broletto, which he had enlarged with a portico with cross vaults. For the cappella Palatina del Broletto he commissioned Gentile da Fabriano to create a cycle of paintings that had been forgotten in the 17th century but was rediscovered in the 1980s and fragments have survived. Many other painters received commissions, such as Andrea Bembo, Antonino and Bartolomeo Bonardi, Giovanni da Milano, Giovannino de Nova, Guglielmo and Giorgio Zoncacci, as well as Bartolomeo Testorino and Ottaviano Prandino from Brescia. In addition, Pandolfo III was interested. for literary life, assembled a respectable library and supported the small but important group of poets around Jacopo Malvezzi and Giovanni da Borgo San Donnino.
Above all, his support of music was significant. The court in Brescia employed numerous singers and musicians and was one of the major musical centers of the early 15th century. Between 1404 and 1421 more than forty musicians, singers and instrumentalists were active in Brescia. The most famous among them were Beltrame Feragut (French composer from Avignon), Nicolaus de Burgundia (singer in the service of Gregory XII), Bertoldus Dance (bandmaster to Pope Martin V) and Leonardo Tedesco (later lutenist at the court of Este in Ferrara and probably the teacher of the famous Pietrobono del Chitarino (around 1417–1497)). The industrious building activity should also serve to consolidate rulership. Numerous impressive buildings were built in a short time, some of which served military purposes, such as the Rocca Malatestiana in Fano, or housed the courts and administrative units of the Signoria. On the other hand, the building activity should also promote the prestige of the ruler. In Brescia, in addition to the extensions in the Broletto Palace, he had numerous representative buildings built or substantially rebuilt, in addition to various palaces, the Ospedale di San Cristoforo, the monasteries of Sant'Eufemia (today: Sant'Angela Merici) and Santa Maria di Pace, or the churches of Sant'Agata, Santa Maria del Carmine, San Tommaso, San Pietro Martire and San Francesco d'Assisi.
In 1406 a mint was established and Pandolfo III. Malatesta promoted arms production. In Iseo he set up a shipyard that built warships for naval and river battles. A 50-strong municipal law enforcement corps was created to improve public safety. During the Malatesta Seignory period, Brescia prospered and the population increased. Pandolfo III. Malatesta was a dynamic ruler. At the same time, he was ruthless and no less cruel than other condottieri. He suppressed protests and uprisings with an iron fist.
Progeny
Pandolfo III. Malatesta was married three times: in 1388 he married Paola Bianca Malatesta (–1399), daughter of Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Pesaro. She was his cousin, first married (1379) to Sinibaldo Ordelaffi (1336-1386), Signore of Forlì. For Paola Bianca Malatesta Pandolfo III. build a still existing tomb in the church of San Francesco in Fano by Filippo di Domenico. The second marriage he concluded in 1421 with Ansovina da Varano (?-1423), daughter of Rodolfo da Varano, lord of Camerino. Finally, in 1427, he entered into a third marriage with the very young Margherita Anna Guidi, daughter of Francesco Guidi, Count of Poppi. All three marriages remained childless. On the other hand, he had descendants with two women from Brescia: Allegra de Mori and Antonia da Barignano (1399-1471), daughter of Giacomino da Barignano and Giacomina Celeri. Galeotto Roberto Malatesta came from the first union, the other two sons from the second:
* Galeotto Roberto Malatesta (1411–1432), legitimized 1428. He grew up at court in Rimini and was brought up by his childless aunt Elisabetta Gonzaga. In 1427 he married Margherita d'Este, daughter of Niccolò II d'Este (1338-1388), Margrave of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. Galeotto Roberto Malatesta was Lord of Rimini from 1429 to 1432, abdicated in 1432 in favor of his half-brother Sigismondo Pandolfo and spent the last months of his life in the Franciscan monastery of Santarcangelo di Romagna.
* Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417–1468), Signor of Rimini from 1432, Condottiere
* Domenico (called: Novello) Malatesta (1418–1465), legitimized 1428; married to Violante da Montefeltro (1430-1493), daughter of Guidantonio da Montefeltro Signore von Cesena, the towns of Bertinoro, Meldola, Sarsina, Roncofreddo and the area around Sestino also belonged to his dominion. In Cesena he unfolded an intensive building activity that characterizes the townscape to this day. The showpiece among the numerous public buildings is the unique Biblioteca Malatestiana.
* Giacoma Malatesta emerged from an unknown connection. She was married to Giacomo Gonzaga, an illegitimate son of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga.