Palamede Bozzuto (Old French: Palamides Bochut; fl. 1381–1382) was an Italian knight and nobleman who took part in the wars of the succession of the Kingdom of Naples between the Angevins and the Durazzo. He was a partisan of the latter.[1] In the Western Schism, he was a fierce supporter of Pope Urban VI.[2]
A native of Naples, Palamede was the son of Nicola and nephew of the Archbishop Ludovico Bozzuto. His brother was Giovanni Bozzuto, captain of Bari.[1]
At the siege of Naples in 1381, Palamede was instrumental in getting the Hungarian soldiers of Charles of Durazzo into the city on 16 July.[1][2] Charles rewarded him by placing him on his council and granting him several fiefs, including Rosito, Calogenario and the castle of Muro Lucano.[1] He also became one of the founding members of Charles' new order of knighthood, the Order of the Ship.[3] Charles also placed Palamede in charge of his captured rival, Queen Joan I, who was locked up in Muro Lucano.[1]
According to a letter of 1385, Palamede was a brutal jailer.[1] He forcefully removed the queen's jewellery, dismissed most of her servants and limited her food. She was not allowed visitors and saw only Palamede, her lady-in-waiting and three servants.[1][2] It is probable that he had a hand in Joan's assassination on 27 July 1382, but there is no proof. Palamede is not mentioned in any document after this.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Clara Gennaro (1971). "Bozzuto, Giovanni". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 13: Borremans–Brancazolo (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- ^ a b c Nancy Goldstone (2009), The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily, Walker & Co., p. 303.
- ^ D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre Boulton (1985), "The Middle French Statutes of the Monarchical Order of the Ship (Naples, 1381): A Critical Edition, with Introduction and Notes", Mediaeval Studies, 47: 271.