Further Reading
Frinta, Mojmír S. The Genius of Robert Campin. Paris: Mouton,
1966.
Snyder, James. Northern Renaissance Art. New York: Abrams,
1985.
Michelle I. Lapine
CANGRANDE DELLA SCALA
(1291–1329)
Cangrande I della Scala (Canfrancesco) was the third
son of Alberto I della Scala, lord of Verona. He was
probably born on 8 or 9 May 1291 and was christened
Canfrancesco, but from his childhood he was called
Canis Magnus, or Cangrande (also Can Grande, “great
dog”). Little is known of his youth. In 1294, at the age of
three, he was made a knight during a courtly celebration
of his father’s victory over the d’Este family. Upon his
father’s death in 1301, he was entrusted to the care of
his elder brother Bartolomeo.
In 1306, Cangrande was invested with a fi ef by the
bishop of Vicenza and began to take part in his brother
Alboino’s military campaigns. The brothers collaborated
as rulers of Verona from 1308 on, and in 1308 Cangrande
was married to Giovanna of Svevia, daughter of Conrad
of Antioch. Both Alboino and Cangrande were made
imperial vicarii of the city in 1311, during the Italian
expedition of Emperor Henry VII. When Alboino died
later that year, Cangrande became the sole ruler of
Verona.
Cangrande was clearly the most militarily gifted of
the Scaliger lords (Scaliger was a name adopted by de-
scendants of the della Scala). He expanded his rule over
the entire mark of Verona-Treviso. He was granted the
imperial vicariate of Vicenza early in 1312 and quickly
established himself as personal ruler of the city. After
Emperor Henry VII died in 1313, Cangrande remained
loyal to the imperial party. He did homage to Frederick
of Austria in 1317 and received a confi rmation of his
vicariate of Verona; when he refused to renounce the
imperial vicariate, Pope John XXII excommunicated
him the following year. Allied with Duke Henry of
Gorizia and Henry of Carinthia, Cangrande conquered
much of the countryside south of Padua in the winter
of 1317–1318, and most of the castles in the territory
of Treviso the following September. His participation in
the siege of Genoa (in the autumn of 1318) increased his
stature among other Ghibelline leaders, but Cangrande’s
ambitions were focused on the Veneto. In 1319 he laid
siege to Padua, but a defeat in August 1320 led to the
lifting of the blockade. The following year, however, he
conquered Feltre (June 1321) and then Belluno (Octo-
ber 1322). After a brief fl irtation with the papal party
in the early 1320s (he was negotiating with the curia to
rescind his excommunication), Cangrande reaffi rmed
his Ghibelline connection and helped to lift the siege
of Milan in 1323. He entered a league with Mantua,
Ferrara, and the emperor in 1324–1325 and brought
his forces to various sieges in the countryside around
Modena. In 1327, Cangrande fi nally gained control of
Padua with the help of exiled malcontents, entering the
city on 11 September. Early in July 1329 he began a war
against Treviso, conquering the city on 17 September.
Cangrande fell ill after entering Treviso and died there
on 22 July 1329. He left no legitimate heir.
While he is chiefl y known for his military exploits,
Cangrande also sheltered the poet Dante during Dante’s
long exile (1312–1318). Dante eulogized him in Parad-
iso 17 (76–93), describing him as so magnifi cent “that
his enemies will not repress/Their tongues from tell-
ing what things he hath done” (Le sue magnifi cenze
conoscriute/saranno ancora, si che’ suoi nemici/non ne
potran tener le lingue mute).
The essential work on Cangrande is still Spangenberg
(1892–1895), a derailed narrative political biography
organized chronologically; the auditor’s annotations are
an invaluable guide to primary sources, and the work
includes a few key documents (2:151–163). None of the
sources for Cangrande’s career, however, is available
in translation. The sources most central to an analysis
of his rule are Antiche cronache Veronesi and Statuti di
Verona del 1327.
See also Dante Alighieri;
Henry VII of LuxembourgFurther Reading
Primary Sources
Antiche cronache Veronesi, ed. Carlo Cipolla. Monumenti Storici
Pubblicati dalla R. Deputazione Veneta di Storia Patria, Series
3, Vol. 2. Venice: R. Deputazione Veneta di Storia Patria,
1890.
Statuti di Verona del 1327, ed. Silvana Anna Bianchi and Rosalba
Granuzzo, 2 vols. Rome: Jouvence, 1992.
Studies
Allen, A. M. A History of Verona. London: Methuen, 1910.
Bowsky, William M. Henry VII in Italy: The Confl ict of Empire
and City-State (1310–1313). Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 1960.
Dante e Verona: Studi, ed. Antonio Avena and Pieraluise di
Serego-Alighleri. Verona: Tip. Cooperativa, 1921.
Hyde, John Kenneth. Padua in the Age of Dante: The Social Life
of an Italian City State. Manchester: University of Manchester
Press; and New York: Barnes and Noble, 1966.
Rossini, Egidio. Verona Scaligera. Vol. 3, part 1 of Verona e il
suo territorio. Verona: Istituto per gli Studi Storici Veronesi,
1975.
Gli Scaligeri 1277–1387: Saggi e schede pubblicati in occasione
della mostra storico-documentaria allestita dal Museo di
Castelvecchio di Verona (giugno-novembre 1988), ed. Gian
Maria Varanini. Verona: Arnoldo Mondadori, 1988.CANGRANDE DELLA SCALA