Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours

Gaston de Foix, 1630s depiction.
Agostino Busti's unfinished tomb for Gaston de Foix, in the Museo d'arte antica, Sforza Castle, Milan

Gaston de Foix, duc de Nemours (10 December 1489 – 11 April 1512), nicknamed The Thunderbolt of Italy,[1] was a famed French military commander of the Renaissance. Nephew of King Louis XII of France and general of his armies in Italy from 1511 to 1512, he is noted for his military feats in a career which lasted no longer than a few months. The young general is regarded as a stellar commander well ahead of his time. An adept of lightning fast forced marches as well as sudden and bold offensives that destabilized contemporary armies and commanders, De Foix is mostly remembered for his six-month campaign against the Holy League in the War of the League of Cambrai. He met his end in said conflict, at the age of 22, during the Battle of Ravenna (1512), the last of his triumphs.

  1. ^ William Hickling Prescott, History of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic, (Southern Illinois University Press, 1962), 288.