History UsefulNotes / JulianRomero

At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of a war that seemed endless, especially when the similarly disgruntled Duke of Alba was replaced by Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the neglection of many officers with experience. In one of the most dramatic instances, Romero was roped into leading naval action against an English-Dutch fleet, even although, echoing the future mismanagement of the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSpanishWar15851604 Spanish Armada]], he didn't stop telling Requesens that he was a land commander with zero naval experience (there are even speculations that Requesens [[WeAreStrugglingTogether deliberately put Romero in this position to screw him up]]). The imperial fleet was defeated so badly that Romero's own flaship was peppered and sank, but he managed to pull one of his unlikely survival stunts by jumping off a porthole and swimming away among the fire and shots, fueling the aforementioned rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking by this point.

His story as a SelfMadeMan was something he valued highly and cultivated himself, to the extent of choosing the intriguing PretentiousLatinMotto of ''sine causa et principio impossibile ese'' ("it would be impossible without causes and principles"). The quote alludes to the law of cause and consequence, and at the same time to the importance of one's principles, ultimately turning into a BadassBoast: he wanted everybody to realize that if he reached so high, it was by the power of his hard work and the strength of never losing his ideals.

The son of a builder, Julián joined the armies of King UsefulNotes/CharlesV as a drummer at the young age of 15, witnessing the famous capture of Tunis in 1534 before eventually progressing into a soldier and a captain. His unit was honorably discharged after a career in Italy, but due to a lack of money, they decided to become PrivateMilitaryContractors and enter the service of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England, at the time allied with Spain against France. The Spaniards distinguished themselves in the English campaigns in Scotland and France, and in one those Romero had the chance to shine by himself against a Spanish mercenary working for the French, Antonio Mora, in a duel highly publicized and witnessed by King Francis I of France himself. Romero was a heavy underdog, losing his horse and sword early into the three-hour match, but he managed to take down Moro and submit him with his dagger to the English' rejoicement. He eventually inherited the team's command, being [[{{Knighting}} knighted]] by Henry VIII for his services, although the squad would terminate their services in 1551, ultimately driven away by religious agitation between Anglicans and Catholics.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than [[UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfAlba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo]], the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the soon-to-be captain UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own underling, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout the years, even although this way of life came at the realistic outcome of losing now the usage of an arm, an eye, four brothers, three sons-in-law and an illegitimate son. Among his feats, though, the piece of increasingly DentedIron that was Romero spearheaded the army that curbstomped the rebels in Jemmingen, and later almost managed to arrest William the Silent himself in an ''encamisada''-style raid in Mons (ironically, William could only escape because of the warning of a Spaniel bitch of his, Kuntze). He came to be included in the "[[PowerTrio Flemish Trinity]]" of Alba's veterans, which also included Sancho Dávila and Cristóbal de Mondragón, names that would still resound in Flanders long after their master was gone.

At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of a war that seemed endless, especially when the similarly disgruntled Duke of Alba was replaced by Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the neglection of officers with experience. In one of the most colourful instances, Romero was roped into leading naval action against an English-Dutch fleet, even although, echoing the future mismanagement of the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSpanishWar15851604 Spanish Armada]], he didn't stop telling Requesens that he was a land commander with zero naval experience (there are even speculations that Requesens [[WeAreStrugglingTogether deliberately put Romero in this position to screw him up]]). The imperial fleet was defeated so badly that Romero's own flaship was peppered and sank, but he managed to pull one of his unlikely survival stunts by jumping off a porthole and swimming away among the fire and shots, fueling the aforementioned rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking by this point.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the soon-to-be captain UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own underling, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout the years, even although this way of life came at the realistic outcome of losing now the usage of an arm, an eye, four brothers, three sons-in-law and an illegitimate son. Among his feats, though, the piece of increasingly DentedIron that was Romero spearheaded the army that curbstomped the rebels in Jemmingen, and later almost managed to arrest William the Silent himself in an ''encamisada''-style raid in Mons (ironically, William could only escape because of the warning of a Spaniel bitch of his, Kuntze). He came to be included in the "[[PowerTrio Flemish Trinity]]" of Alba's veterans, which also included Sancho Dávila and Cristóbal de Mondragón, names that would still resound in Flanders long after their master was gone.

The son of a builder, Julián joined the armies of King UsefulNotes/CharlesV as a drummer at the young age of 15, witnessing the famous capture of Tunis in 1534 before eventually progressing into a soldier and a captain. His unit was honorably discharged after a career in Italy, but due to a lack of money, Romero and his partners decided to follow their commander Pedro de Gamboa into forming a mercenary team and enter the service of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England. The Spanish contingent distinguished itself in the wars against Scotland and France, and in one those Romero had the chance to shine by himself too by taking part in a knightly contest against a Spanish mercenary working for the French. The duel, which was highly publicized and witnessed by King Francis I of France, saw Romero defeating his opponent to the English' rejoicement, and earned him being knighted by Henry VIII as a reward. Romero eventually succeeded Gamboa at the team's command, although the squad would terminate their services in 1551, ultimately driven away by religious agitation between Anglicans and Catholics.

After rejoining the Spanish army with honors, Romero added extra action against the French, the Dutch and the Turks. He commanded the Spanish center during the CurbStompBattle of St. Quentin, origin of the Spanish idiom ''se armó la de San Quintín'' (meaning roughly "all hell broke loose"), although he didn't come out without losing the usage of a leg by an arquebus shot. Stationed later in Sicily, he was among the Spanish and Italian troops that relieved the Great Siege of Malta, and there are sources that he might have briefly returned to England as part of Prince [[UsefulNotes/PhilipII Philip]]'s entourage during his marriage to UsefulNotes/MaryTudor. Even if he didn't, the contacts he made during his English tenure would come in handy to feed the prestigious spy network of the future King Philip II.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the soon-to-be captain UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own underling, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout the years, even although this way of life came at the realistic outcome of losing now the usage of an arm, an eye, three brothers and an illegitimate son. Among his feats, though, the piece of increasingly DentedIron that was Romero spearheaded the army that curbstomped the rebels in Jemmingen, and later almost managed to arrest William the Silent himself in an ''encamisada''-style raid in Mons (ironically, William could only escape because of the warning of a Spaniel bitch of his, Kuntze). He came to be included in the "[[PowerTrio Flemish Trinity]]" of Alba's veterans, which also included Sancho Dávila and Cristóbal de Mondragón, names that would still resound in Flanders long after their master was gone.

At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of a war that seemed endless, especially when the similarly disgruntled Duke of Alba was replaced by Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the neglection of officers with experience. In one of the most colourful instances, Romero was roped into leading naval action against an English-Dutch fleet, even although, echoing the future mismanagement of the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSpanishWar15851604 Spanish Armada]], he didn't stop telling Requesens that he was a land commander with zero naval experience (there are even speculations that Requesens deliberately put Romero in this position to screw him up). The imperial fleet was defeated so badly that Romero's own flaship was peppered and sank, but he managed to pull one of his unlikely survival stunts by jumping off a porthole and swimming away among the fire and shots, fueling the aforementioned rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking by this point.

After UsefulNotes/JohnOfAustria's Edict of 1577, Romero found himself and his troops returning to southern Europe, being granted a castle in reward for his 44-year military career... only for his army to be recalled again to the Netherlands, much to the chagrin of the tired generals, because nobody had believed for a moment that the war would end like that. However, Julián would never return to the battlefields, as on the way back to the Netherlands, he died anticlimactically of a stroke on his horse while training younger officers in cavalry tactics.

-->--'''Diego Jiménez de Ayllón''' about Romero's feats

The son of a builder, Julián joined the armies of King UsefulNotes/CharlesV as a drummer at the young age of 15, witnessing the famous capture of Tunis in 1534 before eventually progressing into a soldier and a captain. His unit was honorably discharged after a career in Italy, but Romero and his partners decided to follow their commander Pedro de Gamboa into forming a mercenary team and enter the service of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England. The Spanish contingent distinguished itself in the wars against Scotland and France, and in one those Romero had the chance to shine by himself too by taking part in a knightly contest against a Spanish mercenary working for the French. The duel, which was highly publicized and witnessed by King Francis I of France, saw Romero defeating his opponent to the English' rejoicement, and earned him being knighted by Henry VIII as a reward. Romero eventually succeeded Gamboa at the team's command, although the squad would terminate their services in 1551, ultimately driven away by religious agitation between Anglicans and Catholics.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the famous UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own captain, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout many years, almost taking down William of Orange himself in an ''encamisada''-style raid, always at the cost of losing the usage of an arm, an eye, three brothers and an illegitimate son to many of those battles. At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of such an endless misery, especially when the Duke of Alba was replaced by the diplomat Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the mismanagement of veterans like Romero. The latter and his colleagues, however, were still capable to make their skills good wherever they could, fueling the aforementioned rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking (and winning) by this point.

When payments took too much time to arrive, a general mutiny stopped the whole war, and to top it all off, Requesens died of illness at the same time, leaving 86.000 Habsburgian soldiers of multiple nationalities pissed off and with various attitudes about what to do. Romero and the substitute governor Peter Ernst von Mansfeld tried to appease the mutineers, but after several Dutch loyalists and European mercenaries switched sides and allowed the rebels to besiege the allied citadel of Antwerp, all the imperials could do was to redirect the frustration against the enemy. The mutineers utterly crushed the besiegers in Antwerp and proceeded vent themselves by looting the city, causing such chaos that the fires got out of hand and ended up destroying 80 houses. Although not all the attackers were Spaniards and paradoxically the sack itself was quite average for time's customs, the incident went into history as an example of the so-called Spanish Fury, which ruined the Spaniards' already bad reputation in the Netherlands. Somehow, Romero always found himself in the best and the worst of the wars.

After UsefulNotes/JohnOfAustria's Edict of 1577, Romero found himself and his troops returning to southern Europe, being granted a castle in reward for his 44-year military career... only for his army to be recalled again to the Netherlands, much to the chagrin of the tired veteran, because nobody had believed for a moment that the war would end. However, Romero would never return to the battlefields, as on the way back to the Netherlands, he died of a stroke on his horse while training younger officers in cavalry tactics. The rumors about his sorcery were so strong that a Jesuit chronicler had to specifically write in his report that there were ''no'' magical signs in his body, and even then, folklore claims he was covering up that when they opened him up, they found Romero had a [[BodyHorror giant, hairy heart]], like a beefed-up version of the dude from ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard''.

Julián Romero de Ibarrola (1518 - 13 October 1577) was a Spanish general and mercenary of the 16th century. He became a military legend in his own time by a variety of colourful facts, chief of them being that he [[FromNobodyToNightmare rose from a pauper soldier to a full-fledged field commander by sheer effort]], and second to it, that he seemed to be [[SuperToughness utterly unable to die on the battlefield]], where he lost an eye, an arm, a leg and an eardrum among many other war wounds, to the point he was rumored to be not only a HandicappedBadass, but also [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport a sorcerer that kept himself alive through occult arts.]] His long and motley career earned him the honor of being immortalized by Creator/LopeDeVega and other writers.

The son of a builder, Julián joined the military as a drummer at the young age of 15, eventually progressing into a soldier and later captain. After the Spanish victory at the capture of Tunis, his unit was honorably discharged in Italy and, under the command of Pedro de Gamboa, turned into a mercenary team that entered the service of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England. Their success didn't stop there, as they also participated as a distinguished unit in the wars in Scotland and France, where Romero eventually succeeded Gamboa at the team's command and was knighted by the king as a reward for his services. After finishing their service in 1551, they returned to mainland and rejoined the forces of King UsefulNotes/CharlesV, adding some extra action against the French, the Dutch and the Turks; Romero would be one of the captains of the Habsburg army in the CurbStompBattle of St. Quentin, origin of the Spanish idiom ''se armó la de San Quintín'' (meaning roughly "all hell broke loose"), where he lost a leg by an arquebus shot. His tenure in England would later come in handy not only to feed his service record, but also the prestigious spy network of UsefulNotes/PhilipII.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the famous UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own captain, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout many years, almost taking down William of Orange himself in a raid, always at the cost of losing the usage of an arm, an eye, three brothers and a son to many of those battles. At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of such an endless misery, especially when the Duke of Alba was replaced by the diplomat Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the mismanagement of veterans like Romero. The latter and his colleagues, however, were still capable to make their skills good, fueling the aforementioned rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking (and winning) by this point.

When payments took too much time to arrive, a general mutiny stopped the whole war, and to top it all off, Requesens died of illness as the same time, leaving 86.000 Habsurgian soldiers of multiple nationalities pissed off and wondering what to do now. Romero and the substitute general Peter Ernst von Mansfeld tried to appease the mutineers, but after several Dutch loyalists and European mercenaries switched sides and besieged the allied citadel of Antwerp, the only thing they could do was to redirect the frustration against the rebels. A smallish cadre of nearby mutineers crushed the besiegers despite their enormous numeric advantage and proceeded vent themselves with the Sack of Antwerp, a violent bout of looting where a fire got out of hand and ended up destroying 80 houses. The incident went into history as an example of the so-called Spanish Fury, which ruined the Spaniards' already bad reputation in the Netherlands, even although not all the attackers were Spaniards and the sack itself would be quite subdued for the time's customs.

After the Edict of 1577, Romero found himself and his troops returning to southern Europe, being granted a castle in reward for his 44-year military career... only for them to be recalled again to the Netherlands, much to the chagrin of the tired veteran, because nobody had believed for a moment that the war would end. However, he would never return to the frontlines, as he died of a stroke while training younger officers in horsemanship. The rumors about his sorcery were so strong that a Jesuit chronicler had to specifically write in his report that there were ''no'' magical signs in his body, and even then, folklore claims he was covering up that when they opened him up, they found Romero had a [[BodyHorror giant, hairy heart]], like a beefed-up version of the dude from ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard''.

Julián Romero de Ibarrola (1518 - 13 October 1577) was a Spanish general and mercenary of the 16th century. He became a military legend in his own time by a variety of colourful facts, chief of them being that he [[FromNobodyToNightmare rose from a pauper soldier to field commander by sheer effort]], and second to it, that he seemed to be [[SuperToughness utterly unable to die on the battlefield]], where he lost an eye, an arm, a leg and an eardrum among many other war wounds, to the point he was rumored to be not only a HandicappedBadass, but also [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport a sorcerer that kept himself alive through occult arts.]] His long and motley career earned him the honor of being immortalized by Creator/LopeDeVega and other writers.

The son of a builder, Julián joined the military as a drummer at the young age of 15, eventually progressing into a soldier and later captain. After the Spanish victory at the capture of Tunis, his unit was honorably discharged in Italy and, under the command of Pedro de Gamboa, turned into a mercenary team that entered the service of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII of England. Their success didn't stop there, as they participated as a distinguished unit in the wars in Scotland and France, where Romero eventually succeeded Gamboa at the team's command and was knighted by King Henry as a reward for his services. After finishing their service in 1551, they returned to mainland and rejoined the forces of King UsefulNotes/CharlesV, adding some extra action against the French, the Dutch and the Turks; among those, he was one of the Habsburg captains in the CurbStompBattle of St. Quentin, origin of the Spanish idiom ''se armó la de San Quintín'' (meaning roughly "all hell broke loose"), where he lost a leg by an arquebus shot. His tenure in England would later come in handy not only to feed his service record, but also to feed the prestigious spy network of UsefulNotes/PhilipII.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the famous UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own captain, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout many years, almost taking down Williem of Orange himself in a raid, always at the cost of losing the usage of an arm, an eye, three brothers and a son to many of those battles. At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of such an endless misery, especially when the Duke of Alba was replaced by the diplomat Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the mismanagement of veterans like Romero. The latter and his colleagues, however, were still capable to make their talent good, fueling the rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to the dark arts that he could still be alive and kicking (and winning) by this point.

* José Javier Esparza wrote an entire series of HistoricalFiction about him, of which the existent chapters are ''San Quintín'' and ''El tercio que nunca existió: Gloria y tragedia de los soldados españoles en Escocia''.

Julián Romero de Ibarrola (1518 - 13 October 1577) was a Spanish general and mercenary of the 16th century. He became a military legend in his own time by a variety of colourful facts, chief of them being that he [[SelfMadeMan rose from a pauper soldier to field commander by sheer effort]], and second to it, that he seemed to be [[SuperToughness utterly unable to die on the battlefield]], where he lost an eye, an arm, a leg and an eardrum among many other war wounds, to the point he was rumored to be not only a HandicappedBadass, but also [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport a sorcerer that kept himself alive through occult arts.]] His long and motley career earned him the honor of being immortalized by Creator/LopeDeVega and other writers.

In 1666, the man that started as a drummer boy was riding the wave of his fame, as he was promoted to second-in-command by no other than UsefulNotes/FernandoAlvarezDeToledoYPimentel, the Duke of Alba, in route to drown the revolt of the Protestant Dutch provinces. With the famous UsefulNotes/JuanDelAguila as his own captain, Romero became the Iron Duke's frontline enforcer, leading all sorts of sieges, operations and brawls throughout many years, almost taking down Williem of Orange himself in a raid, always at the cost of losing the usage of an arm, an eye, three brothers and a son to many of those battles. At the end, as one can imagine, even Romero had to get tired of such an endless misery, especially when the Duke of Alba was replaced by the diplomat Luis de Requesens, whose differences of approach led to the renovation of the whole commanding staff and the mismanagement of veterans like Romero. The latter and his colleagues, however, were still capable to make their talent good, fueling the rumors that Romero was a MagicKnight and that it was thanks to occult arts that he could still be alive and kicking (and winning) by this point.