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Demetrio Franco

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Demetrio Franco
Born1443
Died1525 (aged 81–82)
NationalityAlbanian
Other namesDhimitër Frëngu
Occupation(s)scholar, soldier and Catholic priest
Years active1443–1480 - ...?
Known forauthor of the biography of Skanderbeg
Notable workGli illustri e glorioisi gesti et vittoriose imprese contra Turchi del S. Don Giorgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg, principe di Epiro, also with the title : Comentario de le cose de' Turchi, et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, principe d' Epyro

Demetrio Franco (Albanian: Dhimitër Frëngu; 1443–1525) was an Albanian historian. He was a close accomplice of Skanderbeg, later publishing works on his life.

Life

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Franco was born in Drivasto in 1443 to a Catholic family. Through his mother he was a cousin of Pal Engjëlli, the Archbishop of Durrës and a close collaborator of Scanderbeg.[1] In 1466 he accompanied Skanderbeg in Rome as a scribe.[2] In 1479 after Shkodër was conquered by the Ottoman Empire he migrated to Italy, where he served as vicar until his death in Trevi in 1525.[3]

Service and work

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Franco himself accompanied Skanderbeg to Italy in the winter of 1466–1467. Following his death in 1468, Franco moved to Tivar, and then to Venice. In April 1480, he published a biography of Skanderbeg in Latin at the printing house of German Erhard Ratdolf.[citation needed]

His most notable piece work is considered to be Gli illustri e gloriosi gesti e vittoriose imprese fatte contro i Turchi dal Signor Don Georgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg, principe d' Epiro, along with the aforementioned biography of Skanderbeg.

Sources

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  • Demetrio Franco : "Gli illustri et gloriosi gesti et vittoriose imprese cobtra Turchi fatte dal Signor Giorgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg principe di Epiro, (manuscript, 1480), Italian translation 1584, in Venice.
  • Paolo Jovio : "Commentario delle cose de Turchi et del Signor Gorgio Scanderbeg, prencipe d'Epirro., Venice, 1539.
  • Jaques De Lavardin, Histoire de Georges Castriote surnommé Scanderbeg Roi d'Albanie, Paris 1576".
  • Jean Nicolas Duponcet : "Histoire de Scanderbeg Roy d'Albanie",

Paris 1709.

  • R.P. Duponcet : "Les exploits heroïque de Scanderbeg Roi d'Albanie,

Liège, 1854.

  • Anonimo di Palermo : "Storia di Giorgio Castriotto sopranomminato Scanderbeg, principe d'Albania, Palermo, 1847.
  • C.C. Moore, George Castriot Scanderbeg, King of Albania, 1850.
  • Fan Stillian Noli : " Historia e' Sknderbeut§", Tirana, 1924.
  • Harry Hodkinson Scanderbeg, London, 1999.
  • Lek Pervizi, translator, of Veprat e Lavdishme te Skenderbeut Of Dmetrius Francus, Tirana, 2005
  • Lek Pervizi, Scanderbeg, Album commemoratif, Bruxelles, 2018

References

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  1. ^ Elsie, Robert (2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B. Tauris. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
  2. ^ Shuteriqi, Dhimitër (1978). Shkrimet shqipe në vitet 1332-1850 (in Albanian). Rilindja. p. 42. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  3. ^ Prenushi, Mikel. "Meshtari Dhimiter Frangu (Demetrio Franco) (1443 - 1525) Luftëtar dhe historian i Skenderbeut" (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2011.