Demetrio Franco
Demetrio Franco (date of birth unknown) was an Albanian historian. He was a close accomplice of Skanderbeg, later publishing works on his life.
Demetrio Franco | |
---|---|
Born | ???? |
Died | ???? |
Nationality | Albanian |
Other names | Dhimitër Frëngu |
Occupation | scholar, soldier and Catholic priest |
Years active | 1443–1480 - ...? |
Known for | author of the biography of Skanderbeg |
Notable work | Gli 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 |
Life
His date of birth is unknown. Known by the Albanian neologism of Dhimitër Frëngu, he was born in Drivasto to a Catholic family. He was a cousin of Paulus Angelus, Archbishop of Durrës.
Service and work
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.
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
- 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.
- Scanderbeg, Album commemoratif, Bruxelles, 2018