Battle of Canturino explained

Date:22 April 1363
Place:Bridge of Canturino, Romagnano Sesia, Piedmont
Coordinates:45.63°N 8.38°W
Result:Montferrat victory
Combatant1:Marquisate of Montferrat
Combatant2:Duchy of Milan
Commander1:Albert Sterz
John Hawkwood
Commander2:Konrad von Landau
Units1:White Company
Units2:Great Company
Strength1:Unknown but included English, German, Hungarian and Genoese troops
Strength2:Unknown but included German and Hungarian troops
Casualties1:Unknown
Casualties2:Unknown

The Battle of Canturino (22 April 1363) was a clash of two condottiere companies, the long-established Great Company under Konrad von Landau and the newer White Company under Albert Sterz and John Hawkwood near Novara, north-west of Milan.[1]

The battle

The exact details of the battle are unknown. The men-at-arms of both sides are said to have dismounted to fight. The battle was swayed by two events. The Hungarians in the Great Company refused to fight their fellow countrymen in the White Company and left the field, leaving the Great Company at a disadvantage. Shortly after this, Konrad von Landau was hit in the face by a rock which broke the nosepiece of his helmet, partly incapacitating him. The loss of their leader and part of their army undermined the Great Company and they fled. Konrad von Landau was captured alive but he had been further wounded in the melee and died shortly afterwards.[2]

Aftermath

The Battle of Canturino led to a truce but had no other significant result other than the death of Landau and the demise of the Great Company. It was, however, the first field action fought by the White Company and the beginning of their rise to prominence. In July 1363, after a bidding war for its services between Pisa and Florence, the company entered Pisan employ.[3]

References

  1. Book: Caferro, William . John Hawkwood: An English Mercenary in Fourteenth Century Italy . 2006 . Johns Hopkins Press. Baltimore . 0-8018-8323-7 . 59–60.
  2. Caferro (2006), p.59
  3. Caferro (2006), p.60