Romegas
Encyclopedia
Mathurin d’Aux de Lescout, called Romegas or Mathurin Romegas (1525 or 1528 – November 1581 in Rome), was a scion of the aristocratic Gascony
family of d'Aux and a member of the Knights of Saint John
. He was one of the Order's greatest naval commanders and ended his life disgraced as a Rival Grand Master
.
. In 1542 he joined the Knights Hospitaller
and became a full knight some four years later after completing his military and religious studies. He quickly made a name for himself as a good fighter with incredible stamina.
s on the waters and shores of the Mediterranean
, continually raiding along the Barbary Coast
, the Levant
and the Aegean Sea
and capturing numerous ships and slaves. At the request of the Pope he even waged a short, but vicious campaign against the Protestant Huguenot
forces in parts of southern France.
He first gained fame by virtue of a seemingly miraculous escape from a shipwreck in 1555. His galley was capsized during a violent storm in a harbor of Malta. When the storm had passed, knocking was heard from inside the overturned vessel. A hole was punched into its bottom and from it emerged Romegas, with his pet monkey, having somehow managed to stand for hours up to his chest in water in an air bubble under the keel of the ship. Grand Master La Valette
witnessed the event and remained a close friend of Romegas' for the remainder of his life.
, captured Penon de Velez
in 1564, on the North African coast opposite Malaga, a major stronghold of the Barbary Pirates, and enraged the Ottoman emperor Suleiman. Shortly after the capture of the Penon de Velez, several Maltese galleys, under Romegas and de Giou, attacked and after a very bloody battle captured a large and heavily armed Ottoman galleon
, under the command of Bairan Ogli Reis and with 200 Janissaries on board, near Kefalonia
. Owner of the ship was Kustir Aga, the chief eunuch
of the Sultan’s Seraglio
, and the merchandise it carried, valued at about 80,000 ducats, was his and that of a number of the sultan’s ladies, including his favorite daughter. Among the prisoners they took were the governor of Cairo, the governor of Alexandria, and the former nurse of Suleiman's daughter. This event led Suleiman the Magnificent
to mobilize the great force that landed on Malta on 18 May 1565 to begin the Great Siege of Malta
.
During the siege itself, Romegas played a prominent part, leading several thousand knights and soldiers in the defense of the Great Harbor. When the siege ended, he immediately returned to raiding Muslim shipping, continuing to build his reputation as a fearless warrior and defender of Christendom
.
At the Battle of Lepanto
in 1571, Romegas commanded the Papal flagship and fought again with distinction, being invited afterwards by the admiral of the Papal detachment, Marcantonio Colonna
, to join him in Rome to celebrate the victory.
In 1575 Romegas was appointed General of the Order’s Galleys and soon afterwards Grand Prior of Toulouse
. In 1577 he was elected Lieutenant to the Grand Master. With his record of valor and success, he seemed destined to be elected Grand Master in due course, but he was eventually tripped up by the intrigues and machinations of several senior members of the Order who sought to use his prestige and influence for their own ends.
over a series of perceived humiliations suffered by the Order during his rule. In 1581, this led to a virtual mutiny, when the General Convent deposed La Cassiere and placed him in confinement in Fort St. Angelo, making Romegas the de facto Grand Master. The Pope sent a special envoy, Gaspare Visconti, to investigate and, simultaneously, to administer the Order until the dispute could be settled.
La Cassiere and Romegas were both summoned to Rome to explain their conduct and plead their case. La Cassiere arrived in Rome on 26 October 1581 and, on orders of Pope Gregory XIII, was treated with much deference and ceremony. By contrast, Romegas was treated with extreme coldness and much disdain. He died, alone and with broken spirit, within a week, on 4 November 1581.
La Cassiere was honorably acquitted of all charges against him and restored to the position of Grand Master. He did not live long enough, however, to enjoy his triumph, dying in Rome on 21 December 1581.
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
family of d'Aux and a member of the Knights of Saint John
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. He was one of the Order's greatest naval commanders and ended his life disgraced as a Rival Grand Master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...
.
Early life
He was born to a French noble family with connections to the House of ArmagnacCount of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:-House of Armagnac:*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960*Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?*Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020*Bernard I Tumapaler 1020–1061...
. In 1542 he joined the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
and became a full knight some four years later after completing his military and religious studies. He quickly made a name for himself as a good fighter with incredible stamina.
Early career
He became a knight of the Order in December 1546 and served most of his life commanding its galleys. He soon became the terror of MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s on the waters and shores of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, continually raiding along the Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
, the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and capturing numerous ships and slaves. At the request of the Pope he even waged a short, but vicious campaign against the Protestant Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
forces in parts of southern France.
He first gained fame by virtue of a seemingly miraculous escape from a shipwreck in 1555. His galley was capsized during a violent storm in a harbor of Malta. When the storm had passed, knocking was heard from inside the overturned vessel. A hole was punched into its bottom and from it emerged Romegas, with his pet monkey, having somehow managed to stand for hours up to his chest in water in an air bubble under the keel of the ship. Grand Master La Valette
Jean Parisot de la Valette
Fra' Jean Parisot de Valette was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1557 to 1568. He succeeded La Vallette as grandmaster and continued the construction of Valletta...
witnessed the event and remained a close friend of Romegas' for the remainder of his life.
Naval Exploits
Serving with the Order’s General of the Galleys, Gozon de Melac, Romegas battled repeatedly with the galleys of Turgut ReisTurgut Reis
Turgut Reis was an Ottoman Admiral and privateer who also served as Bey of Algiers; Beylerbey of the Mediterranean; and first Bey, later Pasha, of Tripoli. Under his naval command the Ottoman Empire maritime was extended across North Africa...
, captured Penon de Velez
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera , in ancient times Badis or Bades, is a Spanish rock in North Africa off the Moroccan coast . It is part of several Peñones, or rock-fortresses on the coast of Northern Africa. Vélez de la Gomera is administered from Melilla...
in 1564, on the North African coast opposite Malaga, a major stronghold of the Barbary Pirates, and enraged the Ottoman emperor Suleiman. Shortly after the capture of the Penon de Velez, several Maltese galleys, under Romegas and de Giou, attacked and after a very bloody battle captured a large and heavily armed Ottoman galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
, under the command of Bairan Ogli Reis and with 200 Janissaries on board, near Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
. Owner of the ship was Kustir Aga, the chief eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
of the Sultan’s Seraglio
Seraglio
A seraglio or serail is the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in a Turkish household. The word comes from an Italian variant of Turkish saray, from Persian sarai , meaning palace, or the enclosed courts for the wives and concubines of the harem of a house or palace...
, and the merchandise it carried, valued at about 80,000 ducats, was his and that of a number of the sultan’s ladies, including his favorite daughter. Among the prisoners they took were the governor of Cairo, the governor of Alexandria, and the former nurse of Suleiman's daughter. This event led Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
to mobilize the great force that landed on Malta on 18 May 1565 to begin the Great Siege of Malta
Siege of Malta (1565)
The Siege of Malta took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island, then held by the Knights Hospitaller .The Knights, together with between 4-5,000 Maltese men,...
.
During the siege itself, Romegas played a prominent part, leading several thousand knights and soldiers in the defense of the Great Harbor. When the siege ended, he immediately returned to raiding Muslim shipping, continuing to build his reputation as a fearless warrior and defender of Christendom
Christendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
.
At the Battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
in 1571, Romegas commanded the Papal flagship and fought again with distinction, being invited afterwards by the admiral of the Papal detachment, Marcantonio Colonna
Marcantonio Colonna
Marcantonio II Colonna , Duke and Prince of Paliano, was an Italian general and admiral.-Biography:...
, to join him in Rome to celebrate the victory.
In 1575 Romegas was appointed General of the Order’s Galleys and soon afterwards Grand Prior of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. In 1577 he was elected Lieutenant to the Grand Master. With his record of valor and success, he seemed destined to be elected Grand Master in due course, but he was eventually tripped up by the intrigues and machinations of several senior members of the Order who sought to use his prestige and influence for their own ends.
Rival Grand Master
Much resentment had built up within the Order and in the General Convent against Grand Master Jean de la CassiereJean de la Cassière
Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order in Valletta, Malta, and is buried in the Crypt of St...
over a series of perceived humiliations suffered by the Order during his rule. In 1581, this led to a virtual mutiny, when the General Convent deposed La Cassiere and placed him in confinement in Fort St. Angelo, making Romegas the de facto Grand Master. The Pope sent a special envoy, Gaspare Visconti, to investigate and, simultaneously, to administer the Order until the dispute could be settled.
La Cassiere and Romegas were both summoned to Rome to explain their conduct and plead their case. La Cassiere arrived in Rome on 26 October 1581 and, on orders of Pope Gregory XIII, was treated with much deference and ceremony. By contrast, Romegas was treated with extreme coldness and much disdain. He died, alone and with broken spirit, within a week, on 4 November 1581.
La Cassiere was honorably acquitted of all charges against him and restored to the position of Grand Master. He did not live long enough, however, to enjoy his triumph, dying in Rome on 21 December 1581.