author
Francisco de Moncada
1586–1635
A soldier, diplomat, and writer of Spain’s Golden Age, he moved through courts and battlefields with equal authority. He is best remembered today for a vivid historical account of the Catalan Company’s campaign in the eastern Mediterranean.
1 Audiobook
Expedición de Catalanes y Aragoneses al Oriente
by Francisco de Moncada
About the author
Born in Valencia in 1586, Francisco de Moncada was a Spanish nobleman of the House of Moncada who became the 3rd Marquis of Aitona. Contemporary reference sources describe him as a military commander, diplomat, and writer, and note that he served the Spanish monarchy in major political and military posts during the early 17th century.
He was appointed ambassador to the imperial court in Vienna and later served as interim governor of the Spanish Netherlands. His career unfolded during the long conflicts of his age, and sources also connect him with high offices in the councils of war and state, showing how closely his literary life was tied to public service.
As an author, Moncada is especially known for his history of the expedition of the Catalans and Aragonese against the Turks and Greeks, a work that helped secure his place in Spanish historical writing. He died near Goch, in present-day Germany, in 1635.