Battle of Brenta
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The Battle of Brenta was fought between the cavalry of the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...
under king Berengar I and the
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, hired by the East Francian king Arnulf of Carinthia, against him, at an unidentified location in northern Italian Peninsula along the river Brenta on 24 September 899. It was one of the earliest battles of the Hungarian invasions of Europe. The result was a crushing defeat for Berengar I, opening the following raids for the Hungarians against Italy. The Hungarian invasion resulted in the burning of many cities, like Feltre,
Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
, Modena and monasteries like the monastery in Nonantola, and attacking even
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, however without success. In the meantime Berengar's arch enemy, Arnulf of Carinthia died in December 899, as a result the Hungarians, whom he hired against the Italian king, left the kingdom in the next year with all their plunder, not before concluding peace with Berengar, who gave them many hostages and "gifts". On their way home the Hungarians made an "amphibious assault", a unique achievement from an exclusively land army in the pre-modern times, crossing the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
in order to attack
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
. In some historians' opinion the returning army had a role also in the conquering of Pannonia, as part of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, from the Bavarians by the
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
in late 900.


Sources

Many contemporary sources mention this battle, like the ''Chronicon'' of
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum ( la, Regino Prumiensis, german: Regino von Prüm; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm (892–99) and later of Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is an important so ...
, the ''
Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the a ...
'', the ''Chronicon Sagornini'' of John the Deacon, ''Catalogus abbatum nonantulorum'', etc. The most important source is ''Antapodosis, seu rerum per Europam gestarum'', written by
Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
, which gives the most detailed description of the events which led to the battle and battle itself.


Background

At the end of the IX. century the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
of
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
was long gone, in its place remained three kingdoms (
West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
, East Francia,
Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire) The Kingdom of Italy ( la, Regnum Italiae or ''Regnum Italicum''; it, Regno d'Italia; german: Königreich Italien), also called Imperial Italy ( it, Italia Imperiale, german: Reichsitalien, links=no), was one of the constituent kingdoms of the ...
), led by kings of Carolingian bloodline, which disputed the supremacy among them. Arnulf of Carinthia, the son of the East Francian king Carloman, who became German king in 887, wanted to recreate the Carolingian Empire, thus in 894, as result of his Italian campaign, became
King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...
, and in 896 he was even crowned as Holy Roman Emperor at
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
by the pope. To his goals in Italy he was helped by
Berengar of Friuli Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Fri ...
, the great-grandson of Charlemagne, who after 898 started to see himself more worthy for the title of emperor, because he considered himself as a truer Carolingian than Arnulf, considering the latter to be an illegitimate son of Carloman. Berengar was king of Italy from 888 but lost his lands to
Guy III of Spoleto Guy III of Spoleto (german: Wido, it, Guido; died 12 December 894) was the margrave of Camerino from 880 and then duke of Spoleto and duke of Camerino, Camerino from 883. He was crowned king of Italy in 889 and Holy Roman Emperor, emperor in 891. ...
who proclaimed himself king of Italy and emperor. Berengar was saved by the intervention of Arnulf of Carinthia in 894, defeating Guy of Spoleto, who died shortly after. Arnulf in 896, crowned himself as King of Italy (and emperor), but named his illegitimate son Ratold as sub-king of Italy. Ratold and Berengar agreed to divide Italy between themselves, but shortly after they started to fight for supremacy. Ratold died unexpectedly, so Berengar remained as single ruler, and started to aspire for the title of emperor. Aware of this, Arnulf, very ill, could not go personally in campaign in Italy, but concluded an alliance with the leaders of the
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, who in 895-896 occupied the Eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin, convincing them to send an army to attack Berengar. Arnulf was accused by enemies that he concluded the alliance with the Hungarians by cutting a dog and a wolf in two. This was the way of making alliances by the nomadic people, the parties swearing that they will keep the alliance, and cursed themselves to die like the animals they cut in half if they broke their oath. So, probably beside the Christian way, about which the chronicles do not write anything, Arnulf had to conclude this alliance also in the Hungarians "pagan" way. This shows that Arnulf was aware of the Hungarian danger for the Eastern provinces of his realm: mainly the
March of Pannonia The March of Pannonia or Eastern March ( la, marcha orientalis) was a frontier march of the Carolingian Empire, named after the former Roman province of ''Pannonia'' and carved out of the preceding and larger Avar march. It was referred to in s ...
. So with this alliance had two purposes: to punish Berengar and to divert their energies far away from Pannonia,Kristó Gyula: Levedi törzsszövetségétől Szent István Államáig; Magvető Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1980, p. 207 so at least for a while he could be assured that they will not attack him. And of course he may have hoped that these two dangerous neighbours would weaken each other.


Prelude

Hungarian armies had never been to Italy before. Military intelligence was one of the most important features of nomadic warfare.Göckenjan, Hansgerd: Felderítők és kémek. Tanulmány a nomád hadviselés stratégiájáról és taktikájáról (Scouts and spies. A study about the strategy and tactics of the nomadic warfare). In: Nomád népvándorlások, magyar honfoglalás; Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 2001, p. 57-63 (about the Hungarian intelligence: p. 61-63) Starting a war without knowing the enemies power, number of soldiers, will to fight, etc., was unimaginable in the nomadic societies. This is why in late October 898 they sent a light armored, quick moving small unit on reconnaissance, which crossed Pannonia on their way to Northern Italy,Bóna István 2000 p. 31 then arrived in Italy in Friuli. They camped three days with their tents near the river Brenta, sending their scouts in small groups to reconnoitre the land, its wealth, the number and the fighting spirit of the enemy troops, the routes of attack and retreat, the places which can be chosen as battlefields, where the most spoils are to find, the number of the cities, castles and the strength of their defence system.Göckenjan, Hansgerd. 2001, p. 63 It is certain that the place of the future battle was chosen during this minor incursion. We do not know the exact numbers of this scout unit, but according to Marco Polo, in the
Mongolian Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
the reconnaissance units were composed of 200 riders. So we can presume that the Hungarian scout unit, which went in 898 into Italy, had a number around 100-200. After three days the small groups they sent in every direction, returned, analyzed the information they gained, then returned home. As
Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
mentions, after returning home, the Hungarians used the winter to prepare their weapons, sharpen their arrowheads, and to teach to the youth how to fight. Then in 899, a Hungarian army, crossing Pannonia, headed to Italy. The historians do not agree about the road they took.
Gyula Kristó Gyula Kristó (11 July 1939 – 24 January 2004) was a Hungarian historian and medievalist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and pres ...
argues that they bypassed Pannonia, and went westwards following the courses of the rivers
Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
and Drava, and entering Italy near Aquileia, on the road named after them ''Strata Hungarorum'', due to the fact that they used it so often during the next decades and centuries. According to István Bóna, the Hungarian army, with the permission of Arnulf, crossed Pannonia, then headed towards Italy on the ancient road
Via Gemina Via Gemina was the Roman road linking Aquileia and Emona (the modern Ljubljana). It was built in 14 AD by the legio XIII Gemina,. In spite of the name given by its constructors it was said it took its name, the "twin road", from the circumstance ...
, which linked the ancient cities
Celeia ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...
,
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
and Aquileia, arrived in Italy. The historians' opinions differ also about the period of the year in which the Hungarian army arrived to Italy. According to Kristó, basing on the account of Liutprand, they arrived in February–March.Kristó Gyula 1980, p. 208 Bóna believes, according to the account of ''Catalogus abbatum nonantulorum'' that they arrived in August 899. They entered Italy they passed next to the big walls of Aquileia, without attacking it, then scattered in smaller units, spread in many directions, attacking the surroundings of
Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...
,
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...
,
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
,
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
, Bergamo,
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
, destroying Feltre, one of their unit reaching in the West even the
Great St Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref = ...
. Usually the Hungarian nomadic warriors did not attack castles and big cities surrounded by walls, because they were not skilled in sieges and had no siege machinery, so they plundered and burned monasteries, gathering spoils along the way. As Liutprand of Cremona mentions, hearing about the appearance of the Hungarians in his kingdom, Berengar I was very surprised that this army from a nation he had never heard of had appeared so suddenly. Then he sent envoys and letters into every corner of his country ordering his subjects to send their troops to him to fight the Hungarians. After all his troops had gathered, his army was three times the size of the Hungarian army. According to ''Chronicon Sagornini'' of John the Deacon, the Italian army was 15,000 men, so we can infer that the Hungarians numbered about 5,000. This number could be exaggerated, as medieval chroniclers often did with the numbers of armies, but there is no reason not to accepted the claim that the Italians were three times more numerous than the Hungarians, as usually the chroniclers exaggerate the number of the enemy armies and diminish the number of men on their own side, so we can accept that the Italians heavily outnumbered the Hungarians. Noticing his superiority, Berengar started to think too much of himself, and instead of attacking the Hungarian army immediately, he spent his time in a town carousing with his men. This gave time to the Hungarian troops, scattered to plunder every corner of the Italian kingdom, to retreat towards a gathering place, one not precisely specified, on the bank of the river Brenta, which, as shown before, was probably chosen from the beginning to be the place of the battle.Tarján Tamás
899. szeptember 24. A kalandozó magyarok győzelme Berengár fölött
Rubicon
Seeing this, King Berengar thought that they were frightened by the number of his troops and started to pursue them, thinking he had already won. His cavalry even managed to surprise a Hungarian troop and force it to cross the River Adda in haste, thus causing the drowning of many of them. But generally the retreat was a success, as the Hungarians light armor and weapons (the commoners, who usually carried out the pillaging raids, wore no armour except leather, only their officers had
lamellar armour Lamellar armour is a type of body armour, made from small rectangular plates (scales or ''lamellae'') of iron or steel, leather ( rawhide), or bronze laced into horizontal rows. Lamellar armour was used over a wide range of time periods in Centr ...
, and their weapons were always
composite bow A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stre ...
s, the hand-to-hand weapons were
sabre A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
s, and rarely
battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...
s or maces)U. Kőhalmi Katalin: A steppék nomádja lóháton, fegyverben; Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1972, p. 184-195 enabled their horses to be more rapid than the heavy armored and weaponed Carolingian type Italian cavalry. The Hungarians retreated on the old Roman road the
Via Postumia The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus. It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...
towards the future battlefield. The Hungarians retreat also served as part of their
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
, which had the goal of inducing over-confidence in Berengar and the belief that he had already won the war against them, thus lulling his vigilance. To augment this, the Hungarians sent envoys to Berengar, promising that they would give up all their plunder and asking only to be allowed a safe return to their homeland; but the over-confident Berengar and his commanders refused this, believing that it would be an easy task to take them all prisoner. Although the chronicler Liutprand believes that the Hungarians were frightened, hopeless, and just wanted to escape alive, the modern historians consider that this was only a clever role-playing, in order to get the Italians into a mood which would lead to their defeat. The role-playing of the Hungarian army was almost exposed when the Italian vanguard reached the Hungarian rearguard at the "wide fields" of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
and forced it to fight, and the Magyars were forced to defeat the Italians, in order to escape, although probably it was not among the commanders' plans to expose their strength before the final battle. But when Berengar's main forces arrived, the Hungarian rearguard ran away, continuing its retreat. But Berengar did not take this sign too seriously, and continued to chase the fleeing Hungarians. After this long pursuit, on 24 September 899, the Hungarians and the Italians arrived to the river Brenta, after the "most ingenious planned flight of the world history", as István Bóna points. He probably names this retreat so, because of the multiple results it produced: * The Hungarians managed to retreat without great losses, * They concentrated their troops on the place they formerly chose for the battle, * Using the tactics of military deception they misled the enemy commanders about their plans, * With the use of the psychological warfare (persuading the enemy that they are weak, thus making him overconfident) they "prepared" them to be defeated. The nomadic armies used the tactic of
feigned retreat A feigned retreat is a military tactic, a type of feint, whereby a military force pretends to withdraw or to have been routed, in order to lure an enemy into a position of vulnerability. A feigned retreat is one of the more difficult tactics for ...
very often in the ancient and medieval times, and the Hungarians were masters of it, using it in many battles of the period of their
invasions of Europe An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
(899-970).Szabados György: A régi magyar taktika Árpád-kori írott kútfőkben. A steppei eredetű harci műveltség nyomai és megjelenítése a XIII. század végéig (The old Hungarian tactics in the written sources of the Árpád-period. Mentions and traces of the war nomadic civilisation until the end of the XIII. century). In: Hadtörténelmi Közlemények 120 (2007), p. 57-63 (about the Hungarian intelligence: p. 475-476) Liutprand mentions that the horses of the Hungarians were very tired, but they had the strength to cross the river before the Italians arrived, so Brenta separated the two armies from each other. The heavily armored Italians could not pass the river so easily, so they remained on the other side, and both armies assembled their battle lines on the both sides of the river.The Complete Works of Luidprand of Cremona, p. 81. Then the Hungarians again sent envoys to the Italian side, this time with even more alluring propositions for the Italians; in return for their safe return home, they promised to give them everything: prisoners, equipment, weapons, horses, keeping only one for each of them for their homecoming. To show how serious they are about this proposal, they promised that they will never return to Italy, and as guarantees for this, they will send their own sons to the Italians. With these exaggerate but still unacceptable promises (knowing that Berengar will not accept their departure after the destruction they caused, and would want to take them all prisoners), the Hungarians managed to totally convince the king that their fate depends only from his goodwill. So the Italians responded harshly, threatening them, probably wanting their total surrender. The Hungarians waited for this moment. The Italians assembled a fortified camp, which however was not sufficiently guarded, left their guard down, and many of them started to eat and drink, to refresh after the long and exhausting pursuit, waiting the continuation of the negotiations, because Berengar thought that the Magyars are too weak and tired to fight, so they are at his mercy. But at the other side of the Brenta river was probably not only the tired, pursued Magyar army group, but other Hungarian troops too which at the start of the campaign, were sent in other directions to plunder, and in the meantime they returned for the battle, and also those who remained in their permanent camp placed in that very place from the beginning of the campaign, because it was chosen a year ago in their reconnaissance incursion. In their campaigns in Europe, the Hungarians in every country they stayed longer, chose a place to be their permanent camp during their stay in the region (in 926 the
Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...
,Baják lászló: A fejedelmek kora. A korai magyar történet időrendi vázlata. II. rész. 900-1000 ''("The Era of the Princes. The chronological sketch of the early Hungarian history. II. part. 900-1000")''; ÓMT, Budapest, 2000 p. 18 in 937 in France the Abbey of Saint
Basolus Basolus (Basle) (c.555–c.620) was a French Benedictine and hermit. He was born near Limoges, and then became a monk near Verzy Verzy () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Champagne The village's vineyards are l ...
near
Verzy Verzy () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Champagne The village's vineyards are located in the Montagne de Reims subregion of Champagne, and are classified as Grand Cru (100%) in the Champagne vineyard classificati ...
, in the same year the meadows of Galliano near
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...
, where they stood for 12 days), so knowing these, it is highly probable, that the principal camp and the rallying point of the Hungarians was on the meadows near the Brenta river. So, without Berengar's knowledge, on the other side of the river were a great number of fresh troops with fresh horses, which just waited to start the battle.


Battle

When the Italians were totally unaware and relaxed, the Hungarians sent three troops to cross the river on some remote places, and to place themselves on different strategical points around the Italian camp. When these units took their places, the main Hungarian army crossed the river, at an area away from the detection of the Italians, and directly charged the unsuspecting Italians outside the camp, starting a massacre among them. The majority of the Italians were in the fortified camp, eating and drinking, when the three Hungarian units sent in ambush, encircled the camp and started to shoot arrows, and caught the Italians so off guard, that Liutprand writes that many of them still ate in the moment, when the Hungarians arrows, or lances pierced the food in their throats. Of course, Liutprand could be exaggerating when he writes that the Italians were killed with the food in their throats, but nevertheless he expresses with this image the total surprise caused by the Hungarian attack to the Italians. This simultaneous attack on the Italians inside and outside of the camp, prevented them from helping each other. The Hungarians who attacked the camp, destroyed the defences preventing the Italians from barricading themselves in the camp, shot continuously arrows on the Italians trapped in it, and probably waited for the main army to finish the Italians outside, then they stormed together inside the fortified camp, because the Italians, due to their surprise and terror, were in impossibility to organize a defence of it, and started a slaughter. The Italians were totally off guard, and was impossible for them to organize a resistance, being caught in this way, so the only option was to flee. But when some of them arrived to the place where their horses were camped, they saw that it was already taken by Hungarian warriors, so these Italians were massacred by them. Probably one of the three Hungarian units sent before to encircle the Italian camp had the duty to occupy the stables before the battle even started. Some Italians tried to stay away from the little pockets of fight, where groups of their fellows tried to resist, hoping that if they show themselves peaceful and friends to the Hungarians, they will be spared, but they too were massacred. The Hungarians, after crushing all tiny attempts of resistance, showed no mercy to the Italians, who in the course of the days spent in chasing them, then after their arriving to the Brenta river, when they sent their envoys asking for an agreement, insulted them so many times, so they killed even those who wanted to surrender. The number of the Italian losses was huge.
Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the a ...
show the number of the Italians killed as 20,000 men. This is of course an exaggerated number, knowing that the Italian army composed maximum 15,000 men, but shows that the losses were really high. ''Catalogus abbatum nonantulorum'' writes about thousands of Christian deaths, the ''Chronicon'' of
Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum ( la, Regino Prumiensis, german: Regino von Prüm; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm (892–99) and later of Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is an important so ...
writes about the uncountable masses of the people killed with arrows, or ''Chronicon Sagornini'' of John the Deacon points that "few of them he Italiansturned back home".Chronicon Sagornini of John the Deacon. In Györffy György, 2002 p. 205 The Hungarian losses were low, since they encountered almost no resistance. King Berengar managed to escape to
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
, changing his dress with the clothing of one of his soldiers. This battle is a vivid example of the ingenuity and the multitude of methods and strategies which the armies of the nomadic societies used in order to achieve victory including choosing the right battlefield which assured superiority over the enemy days or weeks before the battle, deceiving military moves, psychological warfare, the importance of surprise attacks and preponderance of archery in the battle.


Aftermath

After this victory the whole Italian Kingdom lied on the mercy of the Hungarians. With no Italian army to oppose them, the Hungarians decided to spend the mild winter in Italy, continuing to attack monasteries, castles and cities, trying to conquer them, like they did before they had started to be chased by Berengar's army. On 13 December 899 they attacked
Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
, where the bishop of Vercelli and
archchancellor An archchancellor ( la, archicancellarius, german: Erzkanzler) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the wo ...
of the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
, Liutward, trying to escape them, taking with him his treasures, accidentally stumbled upon them, so he was killed and his treasures taken away.Bóna István 2000 p. 32 On 26 January 900 they conquered Modena, and two days later the Abbey of Nonantola,Szabados György: Magyar államalapítások a IX-XI. században; Szegedi Középkori Könyvtár, Szeged, 2011, p. 139 where they burned the monastery and the church, and killed monks.Bóna István 2000 p. 32 In the meantime, on 8 December 899, emperor Arnulf died in Regensburg, so the alliance between East Francia and the
Principality of Hungary The (Grand) Principality of HungaryS. Wise BauerThe history of the medieval world: from the conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, p. 586George H. HodosThe East-Central European region: an historical outline ...
lost its validity. The Hungarian envoys sent from the new home of the Hungarians, the eastern part of the
Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...
, to negotiate the renewal of the alliance, were seen as spies by the guardian and councillor of the new king, the 6 year old
Louis the Child Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
, Hatto I, Archbishop of Mainz and his advisers, and sent home, having achieved nothing.Bóna István 2000 p. 33 This started a state of war between the two political communities, so the
Principality of Hungary The (Grand) Principality of HungaryS. Wise BauerThe history of the medieval world: from the conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, p. 586George H. HodosThe East-Central European region: an historical outline ...
needed the Hungarian army from Italy, which, because they became an important task in the conquest of Pannonia, which was planned by the Hungarians. They had to attack the Bavarian province from South West in the same time when another Hungarian army attacked it from East.Bóna István 2000 p. 33 Before the Hungarians left Italy, in the spring of 900, they concluded peace with Berengar, who gave them in exchange for they departure hostages, and money for the peace.Kristó Gyula 1980, p. 212 After this defeat, or at the latest from 904, Berengar started to pay them tribute regularly, and until his death in 924, and in exchange the Hungarians helped him against every enemies that he had.Bóna István 2000 p. 43-44 As Liuprand writes, the Hungarians became Berengar's friends. It seems that, in time, some of the Hungarian leaders became his personal friends. On their way back home, the Hungarians accomplished a military performance, which was never even tried by a land army in the history. Having no ships, boats or any kind of
watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...
, on 29 June 900,Bóna István 2000 p. 32 they "embarked" on a sea campaign against
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
. As ''Chronicon Sagornini'' of John the Deacon writes that with their horses and "leather ships" to attack first the cities from the coast, then also the city of Venice itself. The "leather ship" here refer to an animal skin (goat, sheep, maybe cow) tied up to form something like a huge
bota bag A bota bag is a traditional Spanish liquid receptacle, used mainly as a wineskin. It is often made out of leather (when made of goatskin it is known as a goatskin itself), and is typically used to carry wine, although any liquid can be filled i ...
, filled with air, tied on their horses sides, which helped the warrior and his horse to float, with which the Hungarians and the warriors of other nomadic societies usually used to cross rivers.Bóna István 2000 p. 32 They first attacked and burned the coastal towns like Equilio,
Cittanova Cittanova is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Located on the slopes of Aspromonte and facing t ...
, Fine, Capo d'Argine, then tying the filled animal skins to their horses, they crossed the waters of the Lagoon of Venice, and sacked the island town of
Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...
, which was a part of the
Dogado The Dogado, or Duchy of Venice, was the homeland of the Republic of Venice, headed by the Doge. It comprised the city of Venice and the narrow coastal strip from Loreo to Grado, though these borders later extended from Goro to the south, Polesine ...
(homeland of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
). Then on the day of the martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (29 June), on their "leather ships", they tried to enter
Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
and Malamocco, but before they reached the islands, on the place called Albiola the
doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...
Pietro Tribuno met them with the Venetian war fleet, forcing them to retreat. Although they lost this unusual sea battle, the Hungarians achieved something what was never done by a land army: attacking islands lying in the sea. And although the attack from 29 June was unsuccessful, they succeeded in the attack on the island of Chioggia. This attack was not a violation of the agreement with Berengar, because at that time Venice was not part of the Italian kingdom, but was an autonomous republic under
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
influence.Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1982, p. 72 Historians disagree about the route taken by which the army returned to the Hungarian lands. On one hand György Szabados believes that the Hungarian army turned back home from Italy without entering Pannonia, avoiding it from the south, because in his opinion they were exhausted of continuous fighting in Italy in the last year, and were loaded up with plunders, so they would not be capable to accomplish such an important mission.Bóna István 2011 p. 215-216 The same opinion had György Györffy too in 1974.Györffy György, 2002 p. 43-44 On the other hand,
Gyula Kristó Gyula Kristó (11 July 1939 – 24 January 2004) was a Hungarian historian and medievalist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and pres ...
and István Bóna think that the Hungarian army returning from Italy took part in the conquest of Pannonia, but in different ways. Kristó believes that the returning Hungarian army had the task only to plunder the land, weakening the capability of the inhabitants to withstand the final attack, then crossed the Danube, turning home, and after that two new Hungarian armies, coming from East accomplished the occupation.Kristó Gyula 1980, p. 215 Bóna believes that the returning Hungarian army played an active role in the conquest of Pannonia, coming from the southwest, when other armies coming from east, from the Eastern part of the Carpathian Basin, crossed the Danube, attacking it from the north and east. He thinks that the Hungarian army came back from Italy because they received an order from home to come help in the conquering of Pannonia, accomplishing it with an encircling movement.Bóna István 2000 p. 33


References


External links

*Albin E. Gombos: A honfoglaló magyarok itáliai kalandozása 898-904. ''Hadtörténeti Közlemények'' 1927. *Tamás M. Tarján
A kalandozó magyarok győzelme Berengár fölött
''Rubicon Online''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenta, Battle of the Brenta Battles of the Hungarian invasions of Europe Battles involving Hungary in the Middle Ages 890s conflicts 9th century in Italy 899