Luca Grimaldi ( fl. 1240–1275) was a Genoese

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

and

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 ...

politician and diplomat. None of his poetic work survives.

Jean de Nostredame Jean de Nostredame (1522–1576/7) was a Provençal historian and writer. He was the younger brother of Michel de Nostredame. He was baptised at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on 19 February 1522. He followed the footsteps of his father, Jaume de Nos ...

listed one ''Luco ou Lucas de Grymaud, natif de Grymauld en Provence'' as a Provençal troubadour, and speculated that his birthplace may also have been Gennes. However, it is more probable that he was of the Grimaldi family of Genoa. He was once identified with a Luchetto Grimaldi from the same period, but a medieval document, ''Liber Jurium Januae'', mentions both a Luca and a Luchetto ''de Grimaldo''. The first mention of a Luca Grimaldi is in a document formalising the alliance between Genoa and

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 ...

against the

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...

in 1240. There was a Luca, son of Grimaldo de Grimaldi, who was the brother of Bovarello, the Genoese ambassador to Charles I of Provence in 1252. This was probably the troubadour, not to be confused with another Luca Grimaldi, son of one Ugo and first cousin of the poet, who was ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' of

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 ...

in 1257. In 1255, a certain Luca Grimaldi married his daughter Alasina to Pasqualino Usodimare, who promised not to consummate the marriage until she was twelve. It is not known if this was the troubadour or his cousin. In 1242 Luca Grimaldi appears as ''podestà'' of Milan. By 1253 he had returned to Genoa, where he appears in several acts of the ''podestà'' along with Alberto Fieschi. In that year he purchased a precious throne from the cash-strapped

Conrad IV Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) up ...

; he re-sold it to

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

a few years later. In 1258 he was sent as an ambassador of Genoa to the court of

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...

and in 1262 he was elected, along with fellow troubadour

Jacme Grils Jacme or Iacme Gril(s)Other manuscript variants include ''Iacine'' and ''Grill''. ( it, Giacomo Grillo; fl. 1244–1262) was a Genoa, Genoese troubadour of the mid-thirteenth century. He wrote two ''tensos'' which survive, one with Lanfranc Ci ...

and other citizens, as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the city. Luca Grimaldi was also familiar with the troubadours

Simon Doria Simon Doria ( it, Simone, oc, Symon; fl. 1250–1293) was a Genoese statesman and man of letters, of the important Doria family. As a troubadour he wrote six surviving ''tensos'', four with Lanfranc Cigala, one incomplete with Jacme Grils, ...

and

Luchetto Gattilusio Luchetto Gattilusio ( fl. 1248–1307) was a Genoese statesman, diplomat, and man of letters. As a Guelph he played an important role in wider Lombard politics and as a troubadour in the Occitan language he composed three poems descriptive of his ...

, beside both of whom he appears in a document of 1267. In 1269 Luca and his brother Bovarello were charged by Charles of Provence, now

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the ...

, with receiving the ambassadors of the "Sultan of Babylonia", actually the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

then in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Al-Hakim I Al-Hakim I (), (c. 1247 – 19 January 1302) (full name: ''Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Abu Bakr'') was the second Abbasid dynasty, Abbasid caliph whose seat was in Cairo and who was subservient to the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), M ...

, in Genoa. Luca Grimaldi was ever a Guelph at heart. In 1271 he was elected ''podestà'' in

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

and he spent his term there working for the Guelph cause. The Ghibellines in Genoa, however, rebelled, and, on 28 October 1271, in a major battle, the Guelphs were defeated and many were captured, including Luca Grimaldi, who was imprisoned for twenty three years. He had died by 18 April 1275, when a Genoese document refers to him and his brother Bovarello as dead. Nostradamus dated his death to 1308, but this is certainly wrong.

Sources

* *Hughes, Daine Owen
"Urban Growth and Family Structure in Medieval Genoa."
''Past and Present'', No. 66. (Feb., 1975), pp. 3–28.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimaldi, Luca 1275 deaths 13th-century Genoese people 13th-century Italian troubadours Year of birth unknown