"on Christmas Day, before the city of Terranova in Calabria, he approached them within a mile", the second Battle of Seminara, December 1502

At the start of the festive season my friend Tom visited and having already gamed the first battle of Seminara back in 2019, http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2019/10/seminara-1495.html, we decided it was time to try the second battle. We felt this was particularly seasonal as some sources state the battle took place on Christmas day 1502.

The Second Battle of Seminara

The treaty of Granada, agreed on 11 November 1500, between Louis XII of France and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain was meant to divide an already cowed Southern Italy between the Spanish and French. The terms of the treaty left room for interpretation as three areas were not clearly assigned to either power, these being the Basilicata, Principato and Capitanate, and by the summer of 1502 fighting had broken out between the occupying French and Spanish troops (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/12/ambush-at-tripalda-june-1502.html). Being out matched by the Swiss infantry in French employ as well as by the French gendarmes the Spanish commander, Gonzalo de Cordoba, El Gran Capitan, had retreated to the coastal town of Barletta, buying himself time to gather his forces for a counterattack. 

Whilst de Cordoba was surrounded in Barletta  the Spanish continued to hold territory further south in the province of Calabria. The leading Italian nobles of the region, such as the Sanseverino family, had allied with the French putting the garrisons held by the Spanish in Calabria under pressure. This led to Spanish reinforcements being sent in the autumn of 1502. Sources differ on the number of troops engaged but Mallet and Shaw's "The Italian Wars" state how by "mid-November about 3,000 infantry, 300 light horse and 200 hundred men-at-arms had come from Spain, Sicily and Rome (where 600 hundred infantry had been recruited among Spanish troops in the service of the Borgia)". The arrival of Spanish reinforcements in the area prompted the French commander Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, to send reinforcements to the region under the command of the Scotsman Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny. Lord d'Aubigny had captained Henry Tudor's French troops at Bosworth and defeated de Córdoba at the first Battle of Seminara in 1495. Again the sources vary on the numbers at d'Aubigny's disposal but Mallet and Shaw estimate he had "100 lances, and 1,500 Swiss infantry, giving the French with their allies among the barons about 400 men-at-arms, 600 light horse and over 5,000 infantry".

At the time of d'Aubigny's arrival the Spanish were based around Terranova, which Hugo de Cardona, in command of the Spanish forces, had recently relieved from a month long siege.  Having ransomed prisoners recently taken by the Spanish when they stormed Calimera, which included Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt, d'Aubigny advanced to the nearby town of Polistena. The contemporary Italian chronicler Paulo Giovio explains in his "Vite del Gran Capitano e del Marchese di Pescara" how Hugo de Cardona  was keen to retreat in the face of the more powerful French and Italian forces but that the newly arrived captains such as Manuel de Benavides, the Alvarados, a father and son pair, and Antonio de Leyva, who would of course hold Pavia against Francis I twenty three years later (see http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2025/02/of-all-i-had-only-honour-and-life-have.html), thought this was shameful and that they should assess the French strength first, especially as according to their spy the French were not close yet. The spy's information was incorrect and after a night march d'Aubigny, who Giovio refers to as "Obegni" or "Obegnino", reached the Spanish giving them no option to retreat.

Translated from the Italian:

"Cardona was then encamped in the plain that extends south from the castle of Terranuova. He, informed of the enemy's approach, put the matter to council, and although he had been augmented by new troops, he nevertheless decided to flee the open countryside, and decided to retreat to the fortress of San Giorgio, which overlooks the Apennines. But the new captains, who had recently arrived from Spain, prevented this plan from being adopted. Among them were Manuel de Benavides, Antonio da Leva, who later became a high captain, and two Alvaradis, father and son, who had led four hundred men-at-arms and light cavalry, and four companies of infantry. They considered it dishonorable and highly shameful to break camp and retreat before the enemy appeared and before it was more clearly known how many men and what rank they had, especially since a suspicious Calabrese spy had made it known that the French would not arrive for two days. But Obegni (d'Aubigny) , an old captain, skillfully deceived the enemy's opinion, for using French speed, having traveled at night and along an unused route, the Calabrians showed him the way, he presented his men for battle and sounded the trumpets."

Jean d'Auton's chronicles of Louis XII explain how d'Aubigny (translated from the French) "went out into the fields, and searched for his enemies from day to day, and pursued them so much that, with his men, on Christmas Day, before the city of Terranova in Calabria, he approached them within a mile" whilst Paulo Giovio gives a detailed account of what purportedly took place in the ensuing clash. Giovo explains how the French deployed with men-at-arms on their right wing under the Sanseverinos, followed by more cavalry under d'Aubigny. Also in the centre with d'Aubigny were the Swiss pike in close order and Gascon crossbowmen in loose order under Yves de Malherbe, whilst the left flank was covered by Claude de Grigny and a force of light cavalry, again translated from Italian:

"From the right horn came forward the two Sanseverini princes, having bent their men in the shape of the moon; on the left was Grigninio (Claude de Grigny) who, as we have said, led all the light cavalry; in the middle of the battle there was Obegnino (d'Aubigny) was stopped, almost joined to the princes by a close order of men-at-arms. Malerba (Yves de Malherbe) had brought the Swiss, closely packed together, and the Gascons, who were firing comfortably from the sparse order, closer to Grigninio's light cavalry."

From Giovio's account it seems both sides had artillery but the fighting began before any guns could be brought into action. The Spanish infantry, who look to have been deployed on the Spanish right wing,  were quickly routed when Claude de Grigny flanked them with the French light cavalry whilst the Swiss and Gascons under Malherbe attacked them from the front. On the other side of the field the Spanish left was held by Hugo de Cardona with the cavalry who initially resisted a charge by the Italian men-at-arms before being put to flight by d'Aubigny and his company of gendarmes:

"On the other side, the Spaniards, seeing the enemy, although they were outnumbered and deceived in their plan, courageously formed into order and encouraged themselves to engage, and thus steadfastly withstood the fury of the advancing French. A fierce battle ensued, with neither side having the opportunity to unleash artillery. But as the battle raged, while Cardona, with marvelous perseverance, performed the duties of captain and soldier, Grigninio, forming a wide circle and spreading out his band, entered the enemy infantry on the flank, disorganized them, and routed them. The Swiss and Gascons immediately pressed upon them with such fury that, driven back by pikes and wounded by arrows, they were put to flight. But on the other side, all the cavalry, closed together at the advice of Don Ugo (Hugo de Cardona), held the Calabrese without advantage. But when Obegnino (d'Aubigny) pushed his order, neither the Sicilian cavalry nor the Spanish could withstand the fury of the Scottish men-at-arms. Instead, they immediately turned and fled hastily, retreating into the mountains, although Cardona rebuked them and in vain begged them to turn slowly and retreat. Thus, the cavalry being routed, the infantry in the midst was routed and shattered, and most of the cavalry retreated to the mountain passes."

Not everything went well for the French as in the chaos of the pursuit Claude de Grigny raised his visor only to receive a wound to the eye which killed him. Lord d'Aubigny himself was also nearly killed as Antonio de Leyva had later reported to Giovio how d'Aubigny was surrounded by Spanish knights who attempted to remove his helmet to cut or stab his throat. Only the timely arrival of Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, saved his life:

"In this rout of the enemy, Grigninio (Claude de Grigny), running in too disorderly a manner after those who were fleeing, had raised the visor of his helmet, thus exposing his face. He was wounded in the eye by the point of a lance from an enemy who turned, and was killed. And Obegnino (d'Aubigny) was also in great danger of his life, because the Spanish knights, as I later learned from Signor Antonio da Leva, having caught him in the middle and almost captured him, were trying to take off his helmet, and without a doubt they were about to wound him in the throat if he had not been saved by the band of the Prince of Salerno (Roberto Sanseverino), who arrived."

The Spanish infantry captain Antonio de Sena Sardo was slain along with over four hundred Spanish infantry killed or captured, whilst around fifty Spanish men at arms were killed or made prisoner. The French captured the Spanish baggage train along with many banners and Spanish horses but Giovio explains that for D'Aubigny this did little to make up for the loss of de Grigny:

"The baggage was taken by the soldiers and peasants, but the standards, with many beautiful Spanish horses, were taken to Obegnino, and the number of prisoners was much greater than the number of dead. Nor could that victory have seemed very joyful to Obegnino, since it cost him the death of Grigninio, his dear friend and a very brave man".

Cardona retreated to the town of  Rocella Ionica leaving the French in command of nearly all of Calabria.

A view of the Spanish infantry in front of their camp forming the right wing of the Spanish army.

The speed of the French march has caught the Spanish off guard and they must fight them in open ground.

Scenario

As always the game was played using our modified Lion Rampant rules.

Deployment

For this game each army was divided into three standard retinues and also had a small artillery one as well (see the rules for the artillery below). In an attempt to match Paulo Giovio's account the two armies had to be deployed on the table in following positions. For the French Lord d'Aubigny and the Calabrian Italian Princes retinue had to form the right wing. The infantry retinue under Yves de Malherbe would form the centre and the left wing would be held by Claude de Grigny and the light cavalry.  For the Spanish the Infantry under Antonio de Sena Sardo had to form the right wing whilst the Spanish player could place Antonio de Leyva and Hugo de Cardona's retinues as a centre and left wing or could intermingle them. The Spanish infantry had to form the right wing of the Spanish deployment.

Both players could decide where to place their guns but the guns had to be placed together.

Turn sequence

To make the game even more chaotic The order in which the retinue acted would change each turn. Each standard retinue, the three Spanish and three French, was represented by a different coloured dice. The 6 dice were placed in a bag. Each turn a dice was taken from the bag and the retinue whose dice was drawn would then act. This was done for all six retinues every turn. If a retinue was wiped out its dice would be removed from the bag.

To represent Giovio's statement that "neither side having the opportunity to unleash artillery" the two artillery retinues always went last with the first artillery retinue being the alternate to whoever had just played a turn with their last standard retinue via the dice bag. So for example if the last dice had been pulled by the French Player, who had played that retinue, then the first artillery turn would be for the Spanish and then the French guns would take a turn. The artillery retinues activated as normal and did not have retinue leaders but they could use the special activation reroll rules (see below).

Rerolls

Each army contained three retinue leaders as well as units containing other personalities as described in the lists below. Every time an opposing player killed or routed a retinue leader or killed or routed the unit containing the other personalities they would get D3 activation rerolls which they could then use for any of their retinues during the remainder of the game.

Victory

 

Victory would go to the first player who could halve the points of all of the three standard retinues. If both players did this on the same turn then the game was considered a draw. The artillery retinues did not count towards the victory conditions.

A view of the French infantry comprising Swiss pikemen, Gascon crossbowmen and Calabrian swordsmen. To the left the Stradiots who form part of the French left flank can be seem.

The French right flank comprises the gendarmes, Calabrian heavy cavalry and supporting lancers under the command of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny.

A view of the table with the armies arrayed. In the top right can be seen the French heavy cavalry, under Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny, with the infantry positioned beneath them, under the command of  Yves de Malherbe, and the French light cavalry, under Claude de Grigny, in the bottom right. In the top left the Spanish heavy cavalry are facing their French counterparts, under the command of Hugo de Cardona, with the jinetes in the centre, under a young Antonio de Leyva, and the Spanish infantry in front of the Spanish camp in the bottom left under Antonio de Sena Sardo.

The Armies

For this game Tom chose to play the French under Hugo de Cardona so I took on the role of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny, in command of the French.

The French Army

The Cavalry of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny and the Calabrian Italian Princes

1 Unit of Gendarmes (Contains retinue leader Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny)

1 Unit of Gendarmes (Contains Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt)

1 Unit of Italian Elemti (Contains Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno)
1 Unit of Italian Elemti

2 Units of French Ordonnance Archers with lances

The Infantry under Yves de Malherbe

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Contains retinue leader Yves de Malherbe)

2 Units of Swiss Pike

2 Units of Gascon Crossbowmen

1 Unit of Calabruan Infantry

The Light Cavalry under Claude de Grigny 

1 Unit of French Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Claude de Grigny) 

2 Units of Mounted Crossbowmen

2 Units of Stradiots

Artillery

2 Culverins

The Spanish Army

The Cavalry under Hugo de Cardona 

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Hugo de Cardona)

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains Manuel de Benavides)

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains the Alvarados father and son)

1 Unit of Men at Arms

1 Unit of Lancers

The Light Cavarly under Antonio de Leyva 

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Antonio de Leyva)

4 Units of Jinetes

The infantry under Antonio de Sena Sardo 

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Contains retinue leader Antonio de Sena Sardo)

2 Units of Spanish Arquebusiers

2 Units of Rodeleros

1 Unit of Sicilian Infantry

1 Unit of Galician Infantry

1 Unit of Spanish Pike

Artillery

2 Culverins

The captions under the photos describe the events that follow and a brief account of this chaotic Christmas game also follows!

The fighting starts with the French light cavalry and Gascon crossbowmen shooting at the Spanish infantry as the Spanish guns return fire.

The French heavy cavalry hold firm as the Spanish jinetes launch skirmishing attacks at them.

A view across the field showing how the Gascon crossbowmen and Spanish jinetes have advanced from their respective lines to shoot at their enemies.

The first melee develops as a group of Spanish rodeleros defeat a unit of stradiots in French pay.

The French guns open fire on the Spanish infantry and a lucky shot sends the Spanish pikemen fleeing from the field.

The Swiss infantry sweep across the field and drive back the Spanish cavalry as...

...some of the French gendarmes and their Calabrian allies charge forward into the fight.

The fighting opened with the light cavalry of both sides, the stradiots and jinetes, launching attacks across the battlefield. The Spanish infantry, aided by their artillery, quickly drove off the stradiots, with the first melee of the day taking place as a unit of veteran Spanish rodeleros cut down some of the stradiots. The Spanish were less successful at being able to dislodge the Gascon crossbowmen who advanced in support of the stradiots and sent a hail of bolts into the Spanish ranks. On the other side of the field the Spanish jinetes fared better but the French and Calabrian heavy cavalry they hurled their javelins at suffered few casualties and refused to give chase.

A unit of Spanish pikemen suffered a direct hit from one of the French guns and fled the field whilst at the same time a unit of Swiss mercenaries in French pay charged forward and quickly drove the jinetes back. Behind the Swiss followed some of the Calabrian heavy cavalry and some of the French gendarmes but the attack was not well coordinated and the rest of the Swiss, Calabrians and gendarmes were slower to support their comrades which gave the Spanish cavalry enough time to launch a counter attack.

Whilst the French light cavalry skirmish with the Spanish infantry at one end of the field at the other the ferocity of the Swiss attack has pushed back the Spanish cavalry.

    The Swiss pike and Calabrian cavalry drive the Spanish back but the chaos of the fighting opens large gaps in the French ranks.

The Gascon crossbowmen, "firing comfortably from the sparse order", continue to engage with the Spanish arquebusiers and Galician Infantry.

A view of the fierce cavalry battle that is raging around one of the Swiss pike blocks which has...

...advanced far ahead of its own line of battle and is repeatedly charged by the Spanish men at arms...

...who surround the Swiss unit.

The men in the Swiss pike block sell their lives dearly as they are finally ridden down.

A fierce and bloody fight took place as the Swiss pike block that had advanced far ahead of the rest of the French army was charged repeatedly by the Spanish men at arms. Both sides suffered casualties and some of the Calabrians rode to the aid of the beleaguered Swiss unit only to be driven back by the fierce charges that Hugo de Cardona and his men launched. Surrounded the Swiss pike sold their lives dearly.

At the other end of the field the Spanish infantry were struggling to get to grips with the remaining French light cavalry who continued to skirmish and shoot at them. Every time they attempted to close in on the French the fire from the French guns and bolts of the Gascon crossbowmen would drive them back and something of a stalemate developed with the Spanish being unable to reach the French and the French missile fire being unable to break the Spanish.

French and Calabrian mounted crossbowmen skirmish with the Spanish infantry.

The Galician infantry in the Spanish ranks hurl javelins back at the skirmishing French.

A view across the field as the overall Spanish commander, Hugo de Cardona and his men at arms clash with a troop of Calabrian men at arms.

As the cavalry fight develops Manuel de Benavides is killed in a clash with Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt and his gendarmes.

At the same time Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, and Hugo de Cardona trade blows in the melee but neither is slain or unhorsed.

The second unit of Swiss pike attacks the Spanish men at arms hoping to avenge their countrymen.

On the other side of the field the Spanish infantry finally advance and start to drive the French back.

A view across the field. At the top the cavalry melee continues whilst at the bottom the Spanish infantry are advancing and driving off the French light horse.

A chaotic swirling cavalry battle took place at one end of the field. The first casualty of note was Manuel de Benavides who was killed in a brutal clash with the recently ransomed Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt, and his French gendarmes. Hugo de Cardona and Roberto Sanseverino were also in the thick of the fighting which was made even more bloody and bitter when the second group of Swiss pikemen entered the fray keen to avenge their countrymen who had been surrounded and killed moments earlier.

At the other end of the field the Spanish infantry finally closed with the French left flank which did not put up much of a fight. Claude de Grigny charged into the fray but the veteran Spanish infantry could not be broken.

Claude de Grigny charges into the Spanish arquebusiers hoping to scatter them in flight by the dogged Spanish infantry hold their ground.

In a clash with the Alvarados family the Calabrian Prince, Roberto Sanseverino, is unhorsed and defeated...

...only for the Alvarados father and son pair to then be slain in a charge from d'Aubigny and his Scots gendarmes.

In the chaos Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt is captured by Antonio de Leyva and his men at arms...

...whilst the overall Spanish commander Hugo de Cardona is himself brought down in a savage engagement with the remaining Swiss.

The heavy cavalry of both sides suffered high casualties in the final stages of the battle. Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, was unhorsed  in a melee with the "two Alvaradis, father and son" who were themselves then defeated when they were caught between the fresh unit of Swiss pike and d'Aubigny and his gendarmes. The young Antonio de Leyva captured Lord Humbercourt, who would have to be ransomed yet again.

As the Spanish infantry swept all before them at the other end of the field it was clear that the French were defeated. Lord d'Aubigny and the French infantry captain Yves de Malherbe sounded the retreat and began to withdraw whilst Claude de Grigny had to fight his way from the field with the Spanish and Sicilian infantry very nearly surrounding him. In a final act of revenge the remaining Swiss pike unit advanced towards Hugo de Cardona who, having fought heroically for the duration of the battle, was finally overpowered and brought down by the mercenary pikemen. The Spanish were victorious but it had come at a price.

At the other end of the field the Sicilian and Spanish infantry push forward...

...and drive Claude de Grigny and the remaining French from the field. It has been a bitter clash and the Spanish have lost Hugo de Cardona, their commander, but they have the field, having suffered far fewer casualties than the the French.

This was one of those games where at one point I was certain of victory...but it all crumbled! With the Swiss charging forward with lots of fresh units of cavalry behind them and most of the Spanish personalities trapped in one corner of the field how could it go wrong? The attack faltered, units were fed into the endless cavalry melee one by one and as I put all my focus into the heavy cavalry battle Tom methodically pressed attacks against my weaker units so that I suddenly discovered the French army had very few units left in it and was defeated! 

This was another really entertaining and fun game. We will certainly game the third battle of Seminara at some point, having lost the first and the second maybe I can win that one!

Merry Christmas!