Davila, ENRICO CATERINO

Davila, ENRICO CATERINO, a celebrated Italian historian, was born at Pieve di Sacco, in the vicinity of Padua, in 1576. When seven years old, he was taken to France for his education, and at the age of eighteen he entered the service of Henry IV., which he afterwards exchanged for the military service of Venice. In 1631 he was shot by an assassin on his way to Crema, to take command of the garrison. Davila has been rendered famous by his great work, entitled Storia delle Guerre civili di Francia (1630; best ed. Milan, 1807), a history comprising that eventful period from the death of Henry II. (1558) to the peace of Vervins in 1598. There is a translation by Aylesbury and Cotterell (1647). See BALBOA, AVILA.