Berrovieri, on the Communal Italian List

[David Kush]

What do the Berrovieri (LH) look like, and how are they armed in the late 12th century Communal Italian List.
Thanks for any help.
-David

[Duncan Head]

Not much information, apparently. Discussion on the dbmmlist turned up this:

The useful (and hitherto unpublished) essay on berrovieri shows that this word was employed for lightly armed cavalry before coming to denote police

from a review of Comuni in guerra. Armi ed eserciti nell'Italia delle citta by Aldo A. Settia in English Historical Review, Feb. 1996.

David Nicolle's Italian Medieval Armies 100-1300 Osprey, which includes Settia in the bibliography, says:

A new feature of 13th century Italian armies were the berrovieri. At first they fought both on foot and on horseback, but they gradually evolved into lightly armoured professional cavalry each with two horses, generally grouped into "fifties" under their own captains. Many seem to have been drawn from rural regions, some stemming from minor knightly families and others being described as 'the sons of wealthy farmers'.

Elsewhere:

There is a reference in the Book of Montaperti that on March 2, 1260 Arrigo Maldure together with the notary Rustichino were send by the Commune of Florence in Romagna to engage companies of berrovieri each company being of 100 men including one gonfaloniere and a captain every 50 men.

Francois Perrens' "Histoire de Florence" has references to them in its appendix on salaries, in the very late 13th to very early 14th C.:

"Berrioveri du potestat et du capitaine" (1290)
"Berrioveri et sergents a pied de la seigneurie enroles a San Miniato" (1294)
"Berrioveri du potestat" (1307)

Andrea Zorzi, in Trevor Dean's book on crime and law in Renaissance Italy, says that the Berrovieri were a product of increased law and order in Florence in the 13th and 14th Cs -- in the late 13th the podesta and the capitano del popolo had contingents of 12-30 running around Florence. By the late 14th century, those contingents had roughly quadrupled in size, and many other officials had their own, rather large, berrovieri contingents as well to keep the peace.

At one point I think the DBM lists referred to them as armed with "swords and a few crossbows", but when we discussed the DBMM lists, nobody seemed to know where this bit came from - possibly Settia's article? DBMM now says something like "Berrovieri and other mounted crossbowmen...".

[David Kush]

Thanks- Mr Head

[Patrick Waterson]

Duncan is usually pretty good on this sort of thing, where people like myself simply would not have a clue.

[Swampster]

This is the Libro di Montapeti reference
https://archive.org/stream/illibrodimontape00libruoft#page/380/mode/2up/search/berrovieri (Italian summary)
With my very poor understanding of Italian, I think there are two 100 man companies of berrovieri - one Lombard, one from the Romagna, and then there is a reference to the officials assigned to them.
Later, it seems that they are given a mule.
This is the latin reference
https://archive.org/stream/illibrodimontape00libruoft#page/38/mode/2up (detailed Latin)
Seems to be one gonfalonier and _two_ captains per 50 men.
Page 39 & 40 seem to give something about the role of the berrovieri but I can only identify the odd word. Something about the enemies of the Commune, I think - 'to capture the enemies of the Commune' perhaps. Also seems to say they are to serve under the flag of the Commune - perhaps literally but maybe only figuratively. Could be to emphasise that they are employees of the Commune rather than an individual.
I think they have a single horse, (apart from the officers) which implies they are lighter cavalry. A different document mentions what seems to be an escort which includes 5 berrovieri and 2 (fully) armoured horsemen which supports this and the other things Duncan mentions.
Beroerios gives some google hits but mostly a single reference from 1325 - something about berrovieri and the podesta of Padua.

[Patrick Waterson]

Peter is excellent on this period and culture.

[Duncan Head]

Thread resurrection:

In the Osprey Armies of the Medieval Italian Wars 1125–1325, Plate C3 is a  berroviere from the March of Treviso, c.1220-1250, one of Ezzelino da Romano's men, shown as a (dismounted) unarmoured cavalryman with hunting-spear, sword, shield and light helmet. No indication of what sources there might be for the armament.

[manomano]

In Italian military terminology change meaning in the time in negative.
There are several instances of this.

For example:
"scherano"in origin was a man who fight in a rank, after a "irregular raider"
"masnadiero" a servant in personal service of the leader, after "rascal"
"brigante" a man who fight in a brigade, after "bandit"
"latro" a soldier of greek origin, after"thief"

"berroviere" was a pubblic or court officer who follow the "priore" in several instances ,
after so became "birro" o "sbirro": a negative and scornful term for a policeman.
But in origin the word have a different meaning because it's not a italian word but Provenzal:
"berruier" ( from Treccani encyclopedia):
"a brave horseman" perhaps from the regione of Berry in France, so a selected soldier probably a cavalry explorer.

[Duncan Head]

Thanks, Mariano. I hadn't seen the Provencal etymology before.

Prompted by this thread, I see that amazon.it has available the Aldo Settia book I mentioned in post 2 of this thread, for only €22.10 ...

[Erpingham]

"brigante" a man who fight in a brigade, after "bandit"

Interestingly, the OED derives brigand ultimately from Italian brigare - to fight, brawl - via French in 14th century.  It also derives brigade from this.

Mariano is right to see the soldier first, the criminal second.  The distinction was probably weakened by the activities of the Free Companies.  Telling the difference between an irregular soldier involved in rape, loot, pillage and extortion and a criminal doing the same was, I guess, rather hard.

[Duncan Head]

My copy of Settia's Comuni in guerra arrived to day and I had a quick preliminary look at what he says about armament of the berrovieri. There are at least a few explicit references to them carrying lances, and the only mention of a crossbow is one passage in which Settia thinks that the crossbow has been associated with the berrovieri in error. Perhaps some other historian's interpretation of this passage may have been the source for the DB* suggestion that they used crossbows, which now looks to have been mistaken. As lightly armoured lancers it looks as if they should really be LH(O) or even Cv in DBM/MM, not LH(I).

[manomano]

"Berrovieri" word in present italian language have not significate.
I am more interested in italian warfare of the previous century
( I am working on Legnano campaign and battle)  and in 1176 berrovieri were unknow.

Serchingh, I find this book:

CONVENZIONI E STATUTI PER L' ESTIRPAZIONE DEI BERROVIERI E DE' LADRI NEI SECOLI XLIII E X.IV-----
A. BERTOLOTTI Torino 1871

It can be find free here:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=mBNCAQAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA13

My copy of Settia's book is on the way, I think I can read it tomorrow.
I am sure that the book of Bertolotti  is present in the bibliography.


Berrovieri were mercenary:

At first the personal retainers of the  litte nobility  ( cops) probably of french origin.
After, many unemployed men becomed outlaws. (I dont' know this aspect)
Finally they were the origin of free companies.

I agree with Mr. Head for their troops classification, I have only  some doubts about their dismounted role.
I think they can be better then Auxilia (I)

Follow an abstract of the book of bertolotti ( the translation is by Google)

------------------------------------------------------------------
Berrovieri
E oramai tempo che ci occupiamo dei berrovieri, scopo principale delle convenzioni, di cui abbiamo fatto cenno, poiché adesso conosciamo i convenzionanti. Ducange_segna nel suo Glossarium : Baruderìus per sicarius, sceleratus, preda, citando gli statuti di Vercelli in appoggio; poi alla parola Berroerii in italiano Berrovieri ripete qua vox interdum sicarios, sceleratos et rupiuarios sonat, notando che il Villani si serve di berrovieri per birri e sbirri, ed alla voce Barderium aveva portata: ribaldi gens nempe audacissima sine ordine in prelia ruens et praecurrens acies ad bellum, in francese berrzg'er. _ Abbiamo notato come il potere esecutivo nei comuni insieme col giudiziale stesse nel podestà, il quale coman dava l'esercito, presiedeva a'- consigli, amministrando da per sè e per mezzo de' suoi seguaci la giustizia civile o criminale. Seguivanlo in signoria, cioè al suo of?cio, giu dici, cavalieri, fanti e servienti, da lui radunati con proprio denaro e talvolta secondo le convenzioni con tutto od in parte quello pubblico. Aveva diritto di assoldar fanti, quanti credeva necessarii al suo officio, epperciò in alcuni luoghi fu vista una turba di questi far corteggio al po destà. Essi erano detti berrovieri, il qual nome passò a noi in birri o sbirri o sbirraglia, per chi addetto alle questure, alle giudicature ed al servizio de' municipi. Se il podestà si muniva di berrovieri, i capitani del
popolo di maggior numero di essi abbisognavano; così il mestiere di berroviere si moltiplicò in modo straordi nario ed il nome si fece comune ad ogni soldato a piedi. E noto come la carica di podestà ed anche quella di capitano di popolo fosse temporanea, da due a tre o cinque anni al più; ne accadeva pertanto che gli assoldati berrovieri si trovavano licenziati , senza pane quando il podestà o capitan del popolo moriva o non avesse trovato nuovo of?cio in altro comune o quando il successore si fosse valso di altri fidi. Fu allora che cdminciamnsi a formare bande di essi sotto il loro capo, detto in qualche città bargello, e talvolta poteva esser il podestà od il Capitano, disimpiegati: se trovavano a vender il loro braccio e la loro lancia bene, altrimenti con facilità si davano alle scorrerie , al saccheggio, agli assalti sulle strade, e perciò non fa meraviglia che il nome di berroviere abbia avuto per sinonimi sicarii, malandrini, ribaldi ecc. Ad ingrossar le loro schiere si prestavan molto i tempi belligeri e le discordie civili. I numerosissimi fuorusciti, che dovevan vagar lungi della patria, se in alcuna volta rifugiandosi in ameni o forti siti se ne fabbricarono altra, come ci dimostrano le origini di Cuneo, Mondovì, Cherasco nel secolo xm, sovente per odio si assoldavano presso chi aveva guerra con la loro patria sperando in tal modo di riPorvi piede e qualche volta, astretti dalla miseria, dalla fame, erano spinti a gettarsi fra i berrovieri. La moltitudine degli esuli, dei banditi ove avrebbe avuto più comodo asilo se non fra i berrovieri, quando la cagione del loro esiglio e bando erano il malvivere, gli stravizzi, i delitti, le vendette? Gli statuti municipali condannavano i rei al taglio del naso, delle orecchie, di una mano, di un piede; a tali svergognati moncherini resi inabili al lavoro, che restava non géttandosi corpo ed anima alle bande berrovieresche? Il continuo battagliarsi, le scorrerie, le rappresaglie tra città e città , villaggio e villaggio, avevano desolato gli agri, cosi il colono vedendosi ridotto a morir di stenti sul suolo davasi alla vagabondaggine o seguiva le com pagnie di berrovieri o formava fra le patrie montagne delle masnade, viventi sull'assassinio e furto. La battaglia di Legnano aveva fatto quasi scomparire nelle milizie la fanteria servile dei ribaldi, donzelli, co terelli , brabanzoni , ruttarii, avendone preso il posto i cittadini stessi, le discordie, la creazione dei podestà, dei capitani del popolo fecero risorgere i prezzolati fanti, .i berrovieri, che poi originarono le compagnie di ventura (1). Gli Imperatori, non potendopiù contare sopra i vassalli, per forza dovevano ricorrere a venturieri tirandone dalla Germania, dall'Ungheria ecc.: cosi aveva fatto F ederigo Il nel 1238; Corrado e Manfredi seguirono l'esempio, e con promesse e doppie paghe avevano invaso varie parti d'Italia di gentame straniero, fra cui anche barbari Saraceni. La persecuzione degli Albigesi e di altri settari aveva pure gettato sulla strada molta gente, che oppressa e trattata come belve a sua volta diventava feroce , vi vendo di rapina, o come mercenarii servivano chiunque loro desse pane. L'avarizia, l'ingordigia, i balzelli feudali fomentavarro la diserzione dei sudditi, de' servi; e tal gente doveva cercare il sostentamento nel pugnale del berroviero o nella daga del mercenario. F rotte di giullari, ciurmatori, istrioni e mille farabutti, alimentati all'ozio ed al fasto feudale, aggiravansi di qua
e di là pescando volentieri nel torbido; il fanatismo re ligioso, che radunava miriadi di pellegrini di crociati, fra cui il malfattore poteva facilmente nascondersi ed in esso mutarsi il bacchettone, dava buon contingente alla ber rovaglia. A tutte queste sorgenti generali, inerenti al secolo xm, in cui i popoli erano portati alla vita errabonda, in cerca di avventure , devonsi aggiugnere alcune nate proprio nell'anno stesso e poco tempo prima delle convenzioni tra Vercelli, Monferrato, Pavia, Ivrea e conti canavesani per estirpare i berrovieri , ed alcune affatto speciali ai luoghi suddetti. Nel 1243 Vercelli aveva dichiarato Pietro Bicchieri e tutti i suoi aderenti ghibellini per malexar'di , o ribelli alla patria, bandendoli da questa ed ordinando la distru zione delle loro case. Vari altri fuorusciti avevano le città vicine, che tutti frementi si univano a chiunque purché si trattasse di danneggiare la fazione nemica. Nel 1260 tutt' in un momento vi fu un commovimento religioso: romiti usciti dalle spelonche furono visti per l'Italia settentrionale chiamar il popolo alla penitenza; caterve di credenti li seguivano, seminudi, ?agellandosi. Le camificine, le vendette civili, le stragi frequenti, che i più avevano sulla coscienza facilmente in età supersti ziose movevano il rimorso, e perciò ingente era la mol titudine di questi battuti vaganti nel ratio: il Muratori nota ao,ooo Bolognesi; molti Vercellesi stessi si porta rono in processione ad Asti, seminudi o vestiti di sacco. Il rimorso , la mal'intesa divozione non toglievan la fame alla turba di costoro , che raminghi e pezzenti fi nivano di procurarsi il sostentamento col furto, special mente quando non erano soccorsi da limosine o trova vano gente come il Pelavicino, che non li lasciò entrare le porte in faccia. Sopravvenne nel 126r un freddo rigidissimo: la maggior parte dei peregrinanti, lontana dai patrii lari, fini male, passando in buon numero alle bande de' malfattori. Al guerreggiare di Tommaso di Savoia con Asti, alle zuffe di Vercelli con le vicine città era nel 126r suc ceduta una breve tregua, cosi le bande di berrovieri non trovando più chi servire ed alcune avendo perduto il capo ne' cimenti andarono disperse: soltanto nelle rapine, ne' ladronecci stava il loro vivere, e ad essi davansi ovunque. Il Canavese e dintorni avevano ereditato dai Salassi le rappresaglie; la valle di Montalto era irta di castel lacci sul coccuzzolo di monti, ove dimoravano baroni veri capi di masnadieri. I signori di Castruzzone , di Castel letto, di Settimo Vittone, di Montestrutto pretendevano un diritto di passaggio da chi transitava per la vallata recandosi in quella di Aosta e di quivi all'estero. Più volte Vercelli dovè venir a patti con detti signori onde aver salvi i suoi mercanti e , per aver pietre da macina; felloni talora, furono scomunicati i baroni sud detti, i quali 0 capitanavano eglino stessi o spalleggiavano masnade irruenti sui passeggeri e sulle compagnie di traffico , benché talvolta queste avessero avuto carta di salvaguardia, pagando loro grosse somme. Nel basso Canavese la nobiltà opprimeva le popolazioni, cosi che i disertori erano molti e vivevano sull'agguato, sulla rapacità. Gente irascibile per natura, pronta di mano. allorché ribellata diventava doppiamente pericolosa.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now that we are dealing with berrovieri, the main purpose of the conventions, which we have mentioned, since we now know the contractors. Ducange_segna in its Glossarium: Baruderìus per sicarius, sceleratus, prey, citing the statutes of Vercelli in support; then to the word Berroerii in Italian Berrovieri repeats here vox interdum sicarios, sceleratos et rupiuarios sonat, noting that Villani uses berrovieri for beer and cops, and to the voice Barderium had scope: ribaldi gens nempe audacissima sine ordine in prelia ruens et praecurrens acies ad bellum, in French berruyer. _ We have noted how the executive power in the communes together with the judiciary themselves in the podestà, who gave the commandthe army presided over councils, administering civil or criminal justice for itself and through its followers. He followed it in lordship, that is, to his office, to say, knights, infantrymen and servants, gathered by him with his own money and sometimes according to the conventions with all or part of the public one. He had the right to hire infantrymen, those who he believed were necessary for his office, and in a few places he was seen as a mob of these to do courting to the po destà. They were called berrovieri, which name passed to us in beers or cops or cops, for those assigned to the police headquarters, the judiciary and the service of the municipalities.
people of more than they needed; so the trade of berroviere multiplied in an extraordinary way and the name became common to every soldier on foot. It is known that the office of podestà and also that of captain of the people was temporary, from two to three or five years at the most; therefore it happened that the hired berroviers found themselves fired, without bread when the mayor or captain of the people died or had not found a new office in another municipality or when his successor had availed himself of other fidi. It was then that cdminciamnsi to form bands of them under their head, said in some bargello city, and sometimes it could be the podestà or the Captain, disused:if they found their arm and their spear sold well, otherwise they easily turned to raids, looting, assaults on the roads, and so it is not surprising that the name of berroviere was synonymous with sicarii, malandrini, ribaldi, etc. Their ranks and civil disagreements were very important for their ranks. The numerous exiles, who had to wander far from their homeland, if at any time they took refuge in pleasant or strong sites, other ones were built, as the origins of Cuneo, Mondovì, Cherasco in the Xm century demonstrate, often because of hatred they were hired by those who had war with their homeland hoping in this way to stand again and sometimes, abstracted frommisery, from hunger, they were driven to throw themselves among the berrovieri. The multitude of exiles, of bandits where it would have been more comfortable asylum if not among the berrovieri, when the cause of their exile and banishment were the malvivere, the extravagances, the crimes, the revenge? The municipal statutes condemned the offenders to the cutting of the nose, ears, hand, foot; to such shameless stumps rendered incapable of work, which remained unadulterated body and soul to the Berrovian gangs? The constant battle, the raids, the reprisals between city and city, village and village, had desolated the agri, so the colonist seeing himself reduced to die of starvation on the ground from the vagabond orhe followed the comrades of berrovieri or formed among the homelands mountains of the masnade, living on murder and theft. The battle of Legnano had almost disappeared in the militia the servile infantry of the ribalds, damsels, co-terelli, brabanzoni, ruttarii, having taken their place the citizens themselves, the discord, the creation of the podestàs, of the captains of the people they made resurrect the hired fanti ,. the berrovieri, who then created the companies of fortune (1). The Emperors, since they could no longer count on the vassals, had to resort to venturiers by dragging them from Germany, Hungary, etc .: thus did F ederigo Il in 1238; Corrado and Manfredi followed the example, with promises anddouble wages had invaded various parts of Italy of foreign gentes, including barbarian Saracens. The persecution of the Albigenses and other sectarians had also thrown many people onto the road, who, oppressed and treated as a beast, in turn became ferocious, I sell you in robbery, or as mercenaries they served anyone who gave them bread. The avarice, the greed, the feudal heavy taxes fomented the desertion of the subjects, of the servants; and such people had to seek sustenance in the berrovier's dagger or in the mercenary's dagger. F jester's routes, mobsters, histrionics and a thousand scoundrels, fed by idleness and feudal pomp, wandered here (I) Ricotti - The companies of fortune.
and from there fishing with pleasure in the mud; the religious king fanaticism, which gathered myriads of pilgrims of crusaders, among whom the evildoer could easily hide himself and in it change his staff, gave good contingent to the ruin. To all these general sources, inherent to the Xth century, in which the peoples were brought to the errant life, in search of adventures, we must add some born precisely in the same year and shortly before the conventions between Vercelli, Monferrato, Pavia, Ivrea and Canavese accounts to eradicate the berrovieri, and some very special to the aforementioned places. In 1243 Vercelli had declared Pietro Bicchieri and all his Ghibelline adherents to malexar'di, or rebels to their homeland,banning them from this and ordering the destruction of their homes. Several other exiles had nearby cities, which all quivered and joined anyone as long as it was a matter of damaging the enemy faction. In 1260 at one time there was a religious movement: the hermitages coming out of the caves were seen for northern Italy calling the people to repentance; hoards of believers followed them, half-naked, fluttering. The little girls, the civil vengeance, the frequent massacres, which most people had on their conscience easily in supernatural ages, moved remorse, and so the great number of these wandering beatings in ratio was: the Muratori note ao, ooo Bolognesi; many Vercellesi themselvesthey carried in procession to Asti, half-naked or dressed in sackcloth. Remorse, misunderstood devotion did not deprive them of their hunger at the mob, that they wailed and beggars began to procure sustenance with theft, especially when they were not rescued by alms or found people like the Pelavicino, who did not leave them enter the doors in the face. A very cold weather occurred in the cold: most of the pilgrims, far from patriots, ended badly, passing in good numbers to the gangs of criminals. At the war of Tommaso di Savoia with Asti, the short-lived truce of the Vercelli gangs with the nearby cities was lost, so the gangs of berrovieri could no longer findwho to serve and some having lost their heads in the trials went missing: only in robberies, in the thieves were their living, and to them were everywhere. The Canavese and surroundings had inherited the reprisals from the Salassians; the valley of Montalto was bristling with castel laces on the coccuzzolo of mountains, where barons of masnadieri lived as barons. The lords of Castruzzone, of Castel read, of Settimo Vittone, of Montestrutto demanded a right of passage from those who passed through the valley going to that of Aosta and abroad there. Several times Vercelli had to come to terms with these gentlemen in order to have saved his merchants and, to have millstones; sometimes felons were excommunicated isaid southern barons, who either led themselves or backed heavy troops on the passengers and on the traffic companies, although sometimes they had had a safeguard card, paying them large sums. In the lower Canavese the nobility oppressed the populations, so that the deserters were many and lived on the ambush, on the rapacity. Irascible people by nature, ready to hand. when it rebelled it became doubly dangerous.

[manomano]

I have just read Settia's book : dispersive , no synthesis.
Esposito's work is , on the contrary, approximate.
From a historical and professional writer I need a concise and precise  work and a full bibliografy.

D.Nicolle is better.

376- Men at  Arms
25-Warrior

Best buy.

[Duncan Head]

Perhaps. But Settia is the only one who makes it clear what their armament was, and more importantly quotes the sources for it. While Nicolle says nothing about armament (IIRC) and Esposito illustrates a hunting-spear but gives no hints of where he got that from, Settia's giving the text of mediaeval documents that list equipment, such as lances and light armour and so on. That's what I need. A concise synthesis is no good if you don't know whether you can believe it.

[manomano]

In 376 Men at Arms there is a precise  and good bibliografy. ( pages 41-43)
I like Nicolle,
I have read this  book only on the  14th of March with Settia'work and confirm my personal reaserch on berrovieri.
I have started only with this word.
I think we have to reaserch further and investigate on the  possible influence of the Albigesian Crusade of 1209 on
"berrovieri" name and role.
At present I find too little, only that soldiers from "Berry" take part in the struggle.
Searching in medieval french language it's not easy !