Aimery IV (or Aimeric IV) ( it, Amerigo di Narbona) (c. 1230 – October 1298) was the

Viscount of Narbonne The viscount of Narbonne was the secular ruler of Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Narbonne had been the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania, until the 8th century, after which it became the Carolingian Viscounty of Narbonne. Narbonne was n ...

, an Italian ''

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

'' and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Aimery first entered Italy in the service of

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

, who had been granted the

Sicilian crown The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...

Pope Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

in 1265.

Guiraut Riquier Guiraut Riquier de Narbona ( 1230 in Narbonne – 1292 in Narbonne or Rodez) is among the last of the Occitan troubadours. He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together—the New Grove Encyclopedia c ...

, last of the Occitan troubadours, was employed by Aimery. By 1289, Aimery had so distinguished himself that he was put in command of the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

troops massed to attack the

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. During that campaign, the two armies met at the Battle of Campaldino and Aimery won the victory on which his reputation rests. He conquered most of the Aretine countryside, taking many castles by storm, from to the gates of Arezzo itself. This, however, he failed to take by siege, as the Aretines made several valiant sorties which successfully destroyed his siege engines. The campaign was nevertheless a success and Aimery was received triumphantly upon his return to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where he was the representative of

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...

. Aimery married Joanna, daughter of

Jordan IV of L'Isle-Jourdain Jordan IV (died 1288) was the Lord of L'Isle-Jourdain and a vassal of Alfonso of Poitou. He was a crusader during the Italian crusades of Guelph against Ghibelline. His son-in-law was Aimery IV of Narbonne, who led the armies of Florence and ...

. The Italian form of his name became popular in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

for centuries after his success at Campaldino and it was via a Tuscan named Amerigo Vespucci that two continents—the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

—received their names.

Giovanni Villani Giovanni Villani (; 1276 or 1280 – 1348)Bartlett (1992), 35. was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the ''Nuova Cronica'' (''New Chronicles'') on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman ...

, the Florentine chronicler, calls him "Nerbona" throughout his account.Herbert L. Oerter, "Campaldino, 1289," '' Speculum'', 43:3 (1968), 432.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aimery 04 Of Narbonne 1230s births 1298 deaths 13th-century condottieri Viscounts of Narbonne Generals of former Italian states 13th-century French people 13th-century Italian nobility