The Battle of Sant'Egidio was fought on 12 July 1416 at
Sant'Egidio, near
Umbertide
Umbertide () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Perugia, in the Italian region of Umbria, at the confluence of the Reggia river and the Tiber. It is 30 km (19 mi) north of Perugia and 20 km (12 mi) south ...
(central Italy) between the condottiere
Braccio da Montone and the troops of
Perugia
Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
, under
Carlo I Malatesta. Braccio's victory resulted in his long-desired conquest of Perugia, of which he became lord.
As a result of his political ties to John XXIII against Ladislaus, Braccio also received the command of Bologna before he became lord of Perugia.
The battle lasted for 7 hours and saw the massive use of heavy
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
. Braccio used his famous tactics of using repeated cavalry assaults carried on by smaller units, seeking for weak spots in the enemy's line. This also allowed his troops time to refresh, as the battle was fought under an implacable sun.
The Perugians had 3,000 cavalry captured and 300 casualties; Braccio da Montone's troupes had 180 men-at-arms killed. Members of the Michelotti family taken prisoners were killed, a not usual outcome for condottieri battles. Both
Carlo I Malatesta and his cousin
Galeazzo Malatesta were taken as prisoners.
References
*
External links
Page at condottieridiventura.it
{{coord missing, Italy
1416 in Europe
15th century in Italy
Sant'Egidio
Sant'Egidio