Catalan Company
TheGrand Catalan Company(Catalan:Companyia Catalana d'Orient), officially theMagna Societas Catalanorum,and widely known as theCatalan Company,was a free company ofmercenariesfounded byRoger de Florin the early 14th century.
History
[change|change source]De Flor recruited soldiers left unemployed with thePeace of Caltabellottain 1302 by theCrown of Aragon,who opposed theFrenchdynasty ofAnjou.
In 1303 de Flor offered the services of his Company to theByzantine emperorAndronicus II Palaeologusand his son the BasileusMichael IX Palaeologus.The OrthodoxByzantine Empirewas under threat by theTurks,who were invadingAnatoliaand established the mightySultanate of Rum,whose name expressed succeeding to the '[Eastern] Roman' empire.
Roger de Flor's offer was accepted by both Byzantium and by theCrown of Aragon,rulers in Sicily and southernItaly,who were quite eager to rid themselves of unemployed and unruly soldiers. Roger de Flor departed with 39galleysandtransportscarrying around 1,500knightsand 4,000Almogavars,special foot soldiers employed mainly serving the kingdom's interests in the Mediterranean Sea, especially fromCatalonia,ValenciaandAragon.
Roger de Flor arrived inConstantinoplewith the help of kingFrederick III of Sicilyin 1303, and married the niece of Andronicus, daughter of theTsarofBulgaria,and was namedMegas Doux('Great Dux', i.e. head of the fleet). Roger de Flor campaigned with his Company inAnatolia,defeating theTurksbut also engaging in widespread violence and looting of the Byzantine inhabitants. By this point, the Catalans, were considered by the Byzantines to be little better than brigands and freebooters.
End of Roger de Flor
[change|change source]This put him at odds with the Byzantine Emperor, and the indiscipline of the Almogavars marked the end of Roger de Flor. On 30 April 1305, he was slain along with 300 cavalry and 1,000 infantry by theAlans,another group of foreign mercenaries at the service of the Emperor.
The Company proceeded to devastate the Balkanic regions ofThraceandMacedoniafor the next two years, including an attack onThessalonicaby land and sea, and raids against the monasteries onMount Athos.Until recently no Catalans were allowed on the Athos peninsula by the Athonite monks.The struggle ended with the departure of both the Infante and Ferran, and with Bernat de Rocafort becoming leader of the Company.
Bernat de Rocafort offered the Company's services toCharles of Valoisto strengthen his claim to the Byzantine Empire and whom theCount of Barcelonahad expelled from Sicily before founding the Company in a dynastic war for theCrown of Aragon.In 1309, Charles of Valois' deputyThibault de Chepoyended the leadership of Rocafort, arresting him and sending him toNapleswhere he died of hunger the same year.
In 1318 the Company expanded its power intoThessaly,taking control of theDuchy of Neopatria.
End of the Company
[change|change source]The Catalan rule was to last until 1388–1390, when they were defeated by theNavarrese CompanyunderPedro de San Superano,Juan de Urtubia,and allied with theFlorentinesunderNerio I AcciaioliofCorinth.His descendants controlled them until 1456 when they were conquered by theOttoman Empire.By that time, like many military enterprises, the Great Company had faded out of history.
Chronicle of muntaner
[change|change source]The early history of the Catalan Company was chronicled byRamon Muntaner,a former member of the company, in hisCrònica.
Sources and references
[change|change source]- Goodenough, Lady (1920).Chronicle of Muntaner.Hakluyt Society - Vol.1.
- Goodenough, Lady (1921).Chronicle of Muntaner.Hakluyt Society - Vol.2.
- Catalan Company (1302-1388 AD)Archived2009-02-08 at theWayback Machine,by David Kuijt and Chris Brantley
- History (14th century). Aragon