Boccanegra
Encyclopedia
The surname Boccanegra (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

) or Bocanegra (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

) originated sometime in the 13th century AD, in northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

. The following information contributes to the origin, meaning and translation for this name.

The Church

During the 12th and 13th century Western Europe begins to come out of its dark age. There is an age of discovery and rediscovery, and an eventual Renaissance in Florence in the 15th century. During this period of time due to a period of religious struggle, Protestants and Catholics viewed the era from opposing perspectives and all those who did not conform completely to the church were considered heretics. It was believed by the church that an individual was either with the church or against the church, an all or nothing mentality. Many individuals in Europe still practiced alchemy, herbology and sorcery. They were the healers of the time long before medical physicians. These Soothsayer
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...

s and alchemists were the counsel for Kings, Counts and nobleman, even though they were branded as heretics for their practice. They would conjure spirits to reunite with the living, crush herbs for medicinal cures, tell fortunes of defeat and victory during war, read signs in the phases of the moon and much more. The church labeled these mystics as witches, necromancers (Necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...

), sorcerer (Magic (paranormal)
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

) and warlocks for their so called dark arts and dark words. Thousands of innocent men, women and children died at the hands of the church.

The original

In the twelfth century, the Geneose were granted sovereignty over the port and the Rock of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

 by the Emperor of Germany. In 1215, a fortress (now the Prince's Palace) was built. These were years of struggle between the Guelphs (who were followers of the Pope and church) and the Ghibellines (who were supporters of the Emperor).

In 1295, with the coming into power of the Ghibellines, an important Genoese family, the Grimaldi, who had taken the side of the Guelphs, were forced into exile in Provence. Francois Grimaldi who was set on the conquest of Monaco's Castle (Prince's Palace of Monaco
Prince's Palace of Monaco
The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the...

) which was the stronghold of the Ghibellines, was advised by the Church to take a more passive approach, but had decided to go another route.

Legend has it that in 1297 under the guidance of a soothsayer known as Dracosia (a mystic from Genoa) who practiced Stregheris, sometimes referred to as "La Vecchia Religione" (meaning the Old Religion), who had advised François Grimaldi
François Grimaldi
Francesco Grimaldi called il Malizia , was the Genoese leader of the Guelphs who captured the Rock of Monaco on the night of 8 January 1297...

 to disguise himself as a monk in order to gain entrance to the Ghibellines fortress, foretelling that this would insure his victory. Legend relates that François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, sought shelter at the castle. On obtaining entry he murdered the guard, whereupon his men appeared and captured the castle.

For his use of the so called dark arts, the church then persecuted Dracosia for Heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

 and branded him and his family as those who “speak evil” or “evil Speakers”. The first Dracosia Boccanegra.

The name, the title, the label

In Italian, bocca means "mouth and Ne(g)ra "black", so in English Boccanegra means "black mouth".
Translation – Mouth Black, or in English Black Mouth.

During the 13th century the representation or depiction of evil was black (or Darkness) and the representation or depiction of speaking was the Mouth.

To say that one had a "black mouth" was to say that one was an "evil speaker" or one who "spoke of evil".

Although possessors of wisdom and knowledge that could aid mankind, the ancestors of this name were regarded as mystics, soothsayers, and alchemists, being branded by some as heretics, sorcerers, necromancers and warlocks. Despite this, they were the healers of their time, counsel to kings, and, ultimately, bringers of peace.

The comeback

The Boccanegra family later rose to power in Genoa. Simone Boccanegra
Simone Boccanegra
Simone Boccanegra was the first doge of Genoa. His story was popularized by Antonio García Gutiérrez's 1843 play Simón Bocanegra and Giuseppe Verdi's 1857 opera Simon Boccanegra. Note the spellings....

, who died 1363, was the first Doge of Genoa
Doge of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa, in what is now northern Italy, was technically a communal republic in the early Middle Ages, although it was actually an oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom were selected the Doges of Genoa.- History :...

. The title of Doge was used for the elected chief of state in a number of Italian "crowned republics". The two best known such republics were Venice and Genoa, which rivaled each other, and the other regional great powers, by building their historical city-states into maritime, commercial, and territorial mini-empires. Simone Boccanegra was elected as doge for life on September 24, 1339, as the candidate of the "popular" Ghibelline faction. Boccanegra was opposed by the aristocratic Guelf faction, representing the old mercantile nobility, which his first actions excluded from public life. With the old nobility excluded from power, a new class of mercantile house arose. There were constant conspiracies and attempts against Boccanegra's life from the outset. (The first conspirator was executed on December 20, 1339) This led to the establishment of a bodyguard of 103 mounted soldiers. For Boccanegra's security these were drawn from Pisa, the inveterate enemy of Genoa, where, however, Simone's brother Niccolò was "captain of the people", their mother having been a Pisan aristocrat.

Boccanegra was forced to resign his office at a public meeting he had called in December of 1344. Giovanni Valente ruled as chief magistrate, until Boccanegra regained power in 1356. Boccanegra was fatally poisoned in 1363.

Simone Boccanegra's tomb in the church of San Francesco in Castelletto was decorated with a remarkable funeral sculpture, depicting him as if lying in state with extraordinary realism in his features. This sculpture is now in the Museum of Sant'Agostino.

Simone Boccanegra is an opera by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

, which depicts his life.
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