1.
Investiture Controversy
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The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was a conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies, at issue was who, the pope or monarchs, had the authority to appoint local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries. The conflict ended in 1122, when Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II agreed on the Concordat of Worms and it differentiated between the royal and spiritual powers and gave the emperors a limited role in selecting bishops. The outcome seemed mostly a victory for the Pope and his claim that he was Gods chief representative in the world, however, the Emperor did retain considerable power over the Church. The investiture controversy began as a struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. By undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian emperors, the led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany. Imperial power was finally re-established under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, historian Norman Cantor, The age of the investiture controversy may rightly be regarded as the turning-point in medieval civilization. After the decline of the Roman Empire, and prior to the Investiture Controversy, while theoretically a task of the church, many bishops and abbots were themselves usually part of the ruling nobility. Since the eldest son would inherit the title, siblings often found careers in the church and this was particularly true where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate. Since Otto the Great the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, the control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance, affecting as it did imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint someone who would remain loyal. e, the Holy Roman Emperor and placing that power wholly within control of the church. An opportunity came in 1056 when Henry IV became German king at six years of age, the reformers seized the opportunity to take the papacy by force while he was still a child and could not react. Once Rome regained control of the election of the pope, it was ready to attack the practice of investiture, in 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus Papae. One clause asserted that the deposal of an emperor was under the power of the pope. By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child and it called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, and is often quoted with and to be damned throughout the ages. In 1076 Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, and deposed him as German king, releasing all Christians from their oath of allegiance, enforcing these declarations was a different matter, but the advantage gradually came to be on the side of Gregory VII. German princes and the aristocracy were happy to hear of the kings deposition and they used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075, and for seizure of royal holdings
2.
Italian Peninsula
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The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe. It extends 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south, the peninsulas shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this shape, namely Calabria, Salento. Geographically, the Italian peninsula consists of the south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers. It excludes the Po Valley and the slopes of the Alps. All of the lies within the territory of the Italian Republic except for the microstates of San Marino. Additionally, Sicily, Elba and other islands, such as Palagruža, are usually considered as islands off the peninsula. The peninsula lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east, the backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. Most of its coast is lined with cliffs, the Italian Peninsulas location between the centre of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea made it the target of many conquests. The peninsula has mainly a Mediterranean climate, though in the parts the climate is much cooler. Its natural vegetation includes macchia along the coasts and deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in the interior. Political divisions of the peninsula sorted by area, Apennine Mountains Roman Republic Roman Italy Insular Italy Media related to Italian Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Italian city-states
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The Italian city-states were a political phenomenon of small independent states mostly in the central and northern Italian peninsula between the 9th and 15th centuries. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, urban settlements in Italy generally enjoyed a greater continuity than in the rest of western Europe, many of these towns were survivors of earlier Etruscan, Umbrian and Roman towns which had existed within the Roman Empire. The republican institutions of Rome had also survived, the very first Italian city-state can be considered the Republic of Venice, which de facto broke apart from Byzantine Empire since 742, becoming also de jure independent in the following centuries. The other first Italian city-states appeared in northern Italy as a result of a struggle to gain greater autonomy when not independent from the German Holy Roman Empire, other city-states were associated to these commune cities, like Genoa, Turin and, in the Adriatic, Ragusa. It is important to say that Venice was never subjected to the Holy Roman Empire, around 1100, Genoa and Venice emerged as independent Maritime republics. For Genoa – nominally – the Holy Roman Emperor was sovereign, pisa and Amalfi also emerged as maritime republics, trade, shipbuilding and banking helped support their powerful navies in the Mediterranean in those medieval centuries. Between the 12th and 13th centuries, Italy was vastly different from feudal Europe north of the Alps, the Peninsula was a melange of political and cultural elements, not a unified state. Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel have argued that geography determined the history of the region, the very mountainous nature of Italys landscape was a barrier to effective inter-city communication. The Po plain, however, was an exception, it was the large contiguous area. Those that survived the longest were in the more rugged regions, such as Florence or Venice, while those Roman, urban, republican sensibilities persisted, there were many movements and changes afoot. Italy first felt the changes in Europe from the 11th to the 13th centuries and he argues that these states were mostly republics, unlike the great European monarchies of France and Spain, where absolute power was vested in rulers who could and did stifle commerce. Even northern cities and states were also notable for their merchant republics, geographically, and because of trade, Italian cities such as Venice became international trading and banking hubs and intellectual crossroads. It is estimated that the per capita income of northern Italy nearly tripled from the 11th century to the 15th century and this was a highly mobile, demographically expanding society, fueled by the rapidly expanding Renaissance commerce. In the 14th century, just as the Italian Renaissance was beginning, Italy was the capital of Western Europe. However, with the Bubonic Plague in 1348, the birth of the English woolen industry and general warfare, however, by the late 15th century Italy was again in control of trade along the Mediterranean Sea. It found a new niche in luxury items like ceramics, glassware, lace, however, Italy would never regain its strong hold on textiles. And though it was the birthplace of banking, by the 16th century German, by the 13th century, northern and central Italy had become the most literate society in the world. More than one third of the population could read in the vernacular, as could a small
4.
Medieval commune
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Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup, communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread phenomenon. They had the development in central-northern Italy, where they were real city-states based on partial democracy, while in Germany they became free cities. The English and French word commune appears in Latin records in various forms and they come from Medieval Latin communia, plural form of commune, substantive noun from communis. Ultimately, the Proto-Indo-European root is *mey-, when independence of rule was won through violent uprising and overthrow, the commune was often called conspiratio. In the Low Countries, some new towns were founded upon long-distance trade, the sites for these ab ovo towns, more often than not, were the fortified burghs of counts, bishops or territorial abbots. Such towns were founded in the Rhineland. Other towns were simply market villages, local centers of exchange, the burghers of the tenth and eleventh centuries were ruthlessly harassed, blackmailed, subjected to oppressive taxes and humiliated. This drove the back upon their own resources, and it accounts for the intensely corporate. Because much of medieval Europe lacked central authority to provide protection, thus towns formed communes, a legal basis for turning the cities into self-governing corporations. Every town had its own commune and no two communes were alike, but at their heart, communes were sworn allegiances of mutual defense and it then spread in the early 12th century to France, Germany and Spain and elsewhere. The English state was already very centralized, so the communal movement mainly manifested itself in parishes, craftsmens and merchants guilds and monasteries. According to an English cleric of the late 10th century, society was composed of the three orders, those who fight, those who pray and those who work. In theory this was a balance between spiritual and secular peers, with the third order providing labour for the other two, the urban communes were a break in this order. The Church and King both had mixed reactions to communes, on the one hand, they agreed safety and protection from lawless nobles was in everyones best interest. The communes intention was to keep the peace through the threat of revenge, however, the Church had their own ways to enforce peace, such as the Peace and Truce of God movement, for example. On the other hand, communes disrupted the order of medieval society, furthermore, there was a sense that communes threatened the medieval social order. Only the noble lords were allowed by custom to fight, and ostensibly the merchant townspeople were workers, as such, the nobility and the clergy sometimes accepted communes, but other times did not
5.
House of Welf
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The House of Welf was a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The House of Welf is the branch of the House of Este. The first member was Welf IV, he inherited the property of the Elder House of Welf when his maternal uncle Welf III, Duke of Carinthia and Verona, the last male Welf of the Elder House, died in 1055. Welf IV was the son of Welf IIIs sister Kunigunde of Altdorf and her husband Albert Azzo II of Este, in 1070, Welf IV became duke of Bavaria. Since the Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, Henry the Black, duke of Bavaria from 1120–1126, was the first of the three dukes of the Welf dynasty called Henry. His wife Wulfhild was the heiress of the house of Billung, possessing the territory around Lüneburg in Lower Saxony and their son, Henry the Proud was the son-in-law and heir of Emperor Lothair of Supplinburg and became also duke of Saxony on Lothairs death. Lothair left his territory around Brunswick, inherited from his mother of the Brunonen family and her husband Henry the Proud became then the favoured candidate in the imperial election against Conrad III of the Hohenstaufen. But Henry lost the election, as the other princes feared his power and temperament, Henry the Lion recovered his fathers two duchies, Saxony in 1142, Bavaria in 1156 and thus ruled vast parts of Germany. In 1168 he married Matilda, the daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and sister of Richard Lionheart, gaining ever more influence. His first cousin, Emperor Frederick I of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, tried to get along with him, Henry made his peace with the Hohenstaufen Emperor in 1185, and returned to his much diminished lands around Brunswick without recovering his two duchies. Bavaria had been given to Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria, Henry died at Brunswick in 1195. Henrys son Otto of Brunswick was elected King of the Romans and he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215. Otto was forced to abdicate the throne by the Hohenstaufen Frederick II. He was the only Welf to become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry the Lions grandson Otto the Child became duke of a part of Saxony in 1235, the new Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and died there in 1252. The subsequent history of the dukedom and its subordinate principalities was characterized by divisions and reunifications. The subordinate states that were created, and which had the legal status of principalities within the duchy were generally named after the residences of their rulers. The estates of the different dynastic lines could be inherited by a line when a family died out. The individual subordinate principalities continued to exist until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, following the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, the territories became part of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick
6.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
7.
Lombard League
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At its apex, it included most of the cities of Northern Italy, but its membership changed with time. With the death of the third and last Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II, in 1250 and it was backed by Pope Alexander III, who also wished to see Fredericks power in Italy decline. Though not a declared separatist movement, the League openly challenged the claim to power. Frederick I strived against the cities, especially Milan, which already had been occupied and devastated in 1162 and he nevertheless was no longer able to play off the cities against each other. At the Battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176, the army finally was defeated. Among the Leagues members, Milan, now favoured by the emperor, began to take a special position, in 1226 Frederick, sole king since 1218 and emperor since 1220, aimed to convene the Princes in Italy in order to prepare the Sixth Crusade. The efforts of Emperor Frederick II to gain power in Italy were aborted by the cities. The emperors measures included the taking of Vicenza and his victory in the 1237 Battle of Cortenuova which established the reputation of the Emperor as a skillful strategist, nevertheless, he misjudged his strength, rejecting all Milanese peace overtures and insisting on unconditional surrender. It was a moment of historic importance, when Fredericks hatred coloured his judgment. Milan and five other cities withstood his attacks, and in October 1238 he had to raise the siege of Brescia. The Lombard League once again receiving papal support by Pope Gregory IX, who excommunicated Frederick II in 1239, during the 1248 Siege of Parma, the Imperial camp was assaulted and taken, and in the ensuing battle the Imperial side was routed. Frederick II lost the Imperial treasure and with it any hope of maintaining the impetus of his struggle against the rebellious communes, the League was dissolved in 1250 when Frederick II died. Under his later successors the Empire exerted much influence on Italian politics. Guelphs and Ghibellines Old Swiss Confederacy Lusatian League Décapole Hanseatic League Ariberto da Intimiano Gianluca Raccagni, The Lombard League, G. Fasoli, La Lega Lombarda --Antecedenti, formazione, struttura, Problema des 12. Jahrhunderts, Vortraege und Forchungegen,12, 1965–67, pp. 143–160
8.
Kingdom of Naples
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It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
9.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
10.
Hohenstaufen
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The Hohenstaufen, also called the Staufer or Staufen, were a dynasty of German kings during the Middle Ages. Besides Germany, they ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. In Italian historiography, they are known as the Svevi, since they were dukes of Swabia from 1079, three members of the dynasty—Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II—were crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The name Staufen derives from Stauf, meaning chalice, and was applied to conical hills in Swabia in the Middle Ages. The family derives its name from the castle which the first Swabian duke of the lineage built there in the half of the 11th century. Staufen castle was finally called Hohenstaufen by historians in the 19th century. The name of the dynasty followed, but in recent decades the trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name Staufer, the noble family first appeared in the late 10th century in the Swabian Riesgau region around the former Carolingian court of Nördlingen. A local count Frederick is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine, his son Frederick of Buren married Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg and their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the kings approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Fredericks brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Fredericks death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II, Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the kings representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival House of Welf, when the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V, died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. A civil war between Fredericks dynasty and Lothairs ended with Fredericks submission in 1134, after Lothairs death in 1137, Fredericks brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, conrads brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III. When King Conrad III died without heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced and he was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. During Fredericks long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger, offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung
11.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
12.
Kingdom of Sicily
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The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of the Apennine peninsula from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. Until 1282 the Kingdom covered not only the island of Sicily, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of the southern Apennines, the island was divided into three regions, Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto, val being the Arabic word meaning district. In 1282, a revolt against Angevin rule, known as the Sicilian Vespers, the island became a separate kingdom under the Crown of Aragon. After 1302 the island kingdom was called the Kingdom of Trinacria. Often the kingship was vested in another such as the King of Aragon. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1860 the Two Sicilies were amalgamated with Sardinia and several northern city-states and duchies to form the Kingdom of Sardinia which in 1861 renamed itself the Kingdom of Italy, after taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with an army of 700 knights. In 1068, Roger I of Sicily and his men defeated the Muslims at Misilmeri but the most crucial battle was the siege of Palermo, which led to Sicily being completely under Norman control by 1091. The Norman Kingdom was created on Christmas Day,1130, by Roger II of Sicily, with the agreement of Pope Innocent II, Roger threw his support behind the Antipope Anacletus II, who enthroned him as King of Sicily on Christmas Day 1130. In 1136, the rival of Anacletus, Pope Innocent II, convinced Lothair III, Two main armies, one led by Lothair, the other by Duke of Bavaria Henry the Proud, invaded Sicily. On the river Tronto, William of Loritello surrendered to Lothair and this was followed by Count Hugh II of Molise. The two armies were united at Bari, from where in 1137 they continued their campaign, Roger offered to give Apulia as a fief to the Empire, which Lothair refused after being pressured by Innocent. At the same period the army of Lothair revolted, then Lothair, who had hoped for the complete conquest of Sicily, gave Capua and Apulia from the Kingdom of Sicily to Rogers enemies. Innocent protested, claiming that Apulia fell under papal claims, Lothair turned north, but died while crossing the Alps on December 4,1137. At the Second Council of the Lateran in April 1139, Innocent excommunicated Roger for maintaining a schismatic attitude, on March 22,1139, at Galluccio, Rogers son Roger III, Duke of Apulia ambushed the papal troops with a thousand knights and captured the pope. On March 25,1139, Innocent was forced to acknowledge the kingship and it was through his admiral George of Antioch that Roger then proceeded to conquer the Mahdia in Africa, taking the unofficial title King of Africa. At the same time Rogers fleet attacked the Byzantine Empire, making Sicily the leading power in the Mediterranean Sea for almost a century
13.
Charles I of Anjou
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Thereafter, he claimed the island, though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom, with his capital at Naples. Charles was the child and youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen and acquired lands in the eastern Mediterranean, however, the War of the Sicilian Vespers forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire. By marriage to Beatrice of Provence, heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence, he was Count of Provence, in 1247, his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine, as appanages of the French crown. By conquest and self-proclamation, he became King of Albania in 1272, by the testament of William II of Villehardouin, he inherited the Principality of Achaea in 1278. Charles was born in March 1227, four months after the death of his father, like his immediate older brother, Philip Dagobert, he did not receive a county as appanage, as had their older brothers. In 1232, his brothers Philip Dagobert and John, Count of Anjou and Maine, died, Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties, but was formally invested only in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have bestowed upon his brother Louis. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive, upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246, Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Burgundy and hence of the Holy Roman Empire, recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities had enjoyed great liberties. Three cities, Marseille, Arles, and Avignon were Imperial cities technically separate from the county. In 1247, while Charles was in France to receive the counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility joined with Beatrice, unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade. For the time being, Charles compromised with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier, rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career. His rights as landlord were, on the whole, of recent establishment, from the Church, unlike his brothers in the north, he received virtually nothing. Charles agents were efficient, the towns were prosperous, the peasants were buying up the duties of corvée and establishing self-governing consulats in the villages, Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues-Mortes in 1248 and fought at Damietta and in the struggle around Mansourah, Egypt. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother, during his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full rights, in November 1252, the death of his mother Blanche of Castile caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse
14.
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Frederick I, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and he became King of Italy in 1155 and was crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. Two years later, the term sacrum first appeared in a document in connection with his Empire and he was later formally crowned King of Burgundy, at Arles on 30 June 1178. He was named Barbarossa by the northern Italian cities which he attempted to rule, Barbarossa means red beard in Italian, in German, he was known as Kaiser Rotbart, before his imperial election, Frederick was by inheritance Duke of Swabia. He was the son of Duke Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, Frederick therefore descended from the two leading families in Germany, making him an acceptable choice for the Empires prince-electors. Historians consider him among the Holy Roman Empires greatest medieval emperors, in 1147 he became Duke of the southern German region of Swabia, and shortly afterwards made his first trip to the East, accompanied by his uncle, the German king Conrad III, on the Second Crusade. The expedition proved to be a disaster, but Frederick distinguished himself, when Conrad died in February 1152, only Frederick and the prince-bishop of Bamberg were at his deathbed. Frederick energetically pursued the crown and at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 the kingdoms princely electors designated him as the next German king and he was crowned King of the Romans at Aachen several days later, on 9 March 1152. Fredericks father was from the Hohenstaufen family, and his mother was from the Welf family, the Hohenstaufens were often called Ghibellines, which derives from the Italianized name for Waiblingen castle, the family seat in Swabia, the Welfs, in a similar Italianization, were called Guelfs. The reigns of Henry IV and Henry V left the status of the German empire in disarray, for a quarter of a century following the death of Henry V in 1125, the German monarchy was largely a nominal title with no real power. The king was chosen by the princes, was given no resources outside those of his own duchy, the royal title was furthermore passed from one family to another to preclude the development of any dynastic interest in the German crown. When Frederick I of Hohenstaufen was chosen as king in 1152, royal power had been in abeyance for over twenty-five years. The only real claim to lay in the rich cities of northern Italy. The Salian line had died out with the death of Henry V in 1125, one of the Hohenstaufens gained the throne as Conrad III of Germany. When Frederick Barbarossa succeeded his uncle in 1152, there seemed to be excellent prospects for ending the feud, the Welf duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion, would not be appeased, however, remaining an implacable enemy of the Hohenstaufen monarchy. Barbarossa had the duchies of Swabia and Franconia, the force of his own personality, the Germany that Frederick tried to unite was a patchwork of more than 1600 individual states, each with its own prince. A few of these, such as Bavaria and Saxony, were large, many were too small to pinpoint on a map. The titles afforded to the German king were Caesar, Augustus, by the time Frederick would assume these, they were little more than propaganda slogans with little other meaning
15.
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry VII was the King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg, born around 1275 in Valenciennes, he was a son of Count Henry VI of Luxembourg and Béatrice from the House of Avesnes. Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was symptomatic of the weakness that during his rule as the Count of Luxembourg, he agreed to become a French vassal. During his rule of Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes, Henry became caught up in the internal political machinations of the Holy Roman Empire with the assassination of King Albert I on 1 May 1308. Almost immediately, King Philip of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois, Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope Clement V, and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors, although Charles of Valois had the backing of Henry, Archbishop of Cologne, a French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Rudolf, the Count Palatine, Henry of Cologne’s brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of the electors, including Henry, in exchange for some substantial concessions. Consequently, Henry skillfully negotiated his way to the crown, elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308, Henry was subsequently crowned at Aachen on 6 January 1309. In July 1309, Pope Clement V confirmed Henrys election and he agreed to crown Henry Emperor at Candlemas 1312personally, the title having been vacant since the death of Frederick II. Yet the newly crowned king had local issues to deal with before he could seek the imperial crown, Henry was approached by part of the Bohemian nobility and some important and influential ecclesiastics to intervene in Bohemia. In July 1310 he engineered the removal of Henry of Carinthia and he therefore confirmed them in their imperial fiefs by October 1309, in exchange, Leopold of Habsburg agreed to accompany Henry in his Italian expedition, and to provide a body of troops as well. He also saw it, together with the crowns of Italy and Arles and it was hoped that this would lessen the tensions in Italy between the anti-imperial Guelphs, who looked to the King of Naples for leadership, and the pro-imperial Ghibellines. Negotiations broke down due to Robert’s excessive monetary demands, as well as through the interference of Philip, while these negotiations were taking place, Henry began his descent into northern Italy in October 1310, with his eldest son John remaining in Prague as the Imperial vicar. As Emperor, Henry had planned to restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, each of these contests had created bitter losers, each of whom looked to the emperor-elect for restitution. Henry expressed both his high-minded idealism and lack of craft in his plan to require all the cities of Lombardy to welcome back their exiles. He received both parties, Guelph or Ghibelline, courteously, in the beginning he showed no obvious favoritism to either party, nevertheless, he insisted that the current rulers in all of the Italian city-states had usurped their powers. He insisted that the towns should come under the control of the Empire
16.
Ezzelino III da Romano
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Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades. He became infamous as a cruel tyrant, Ezzelino was son of Ezzelino II da Romano, ruler of Bassano and other fiefs in the Veneto, and Adelaide degli Alberti di Mangona, who came from a family of counts in Tuscany. At the age of four years, he was sent as a hostage to Verona, nothing else is known about his childhood or education. In 1213, he took part in the siege of the castle of Este, which belonged to his fathers archenemy, marquis Azzo VI of Este, who died in 1212, and later to his son Aldobrandino. According to the chronicler Rolandino of Padua, the young Ezzelino already showed a keen interest in siegecraft, from this time onwards Ezzelino became an important factor in Veronese politics. In 1226/1227 he was podestà of the city, at this time control over Verona was highly important because Emperor Frederick II was in conflict with the Second Lombard League, an alliance of cities in Northern Italy. Whoever controlled Verona, could block the Brenner pass and thereby prevent the arrival of reinforcements for Frederick from Germany, Ezzelino initially favoured the Lombard League which could block the Brenner in 1226 and emerge victorious from its first confrontation with the Emperor. Later, however, Ezzelino and his brother Alberico changed sides when it became apparent that the League favoured their enemies in the March, in 1232 they struck an alliance with Frederick and received an imperial privilege of protection. However four years passed before Frederick could personally intervene in the March of Treviso, the years 1232-1236 were therefore very hard for Ezzelino and Alberico, who were assaulted by many enemies, primarily the San Bonifacio, the Este and the city of Padua. In 1236 Frederick finally arrived in the March, in a campaign that began in November 1236 Frederich and Ezzelino, who was becoming an increasingly important ally of the emperor, subjugated all the important cities of the March of Treviso. In 1236 Ezzolino married Selvaggia, Fredericks natural daughter, who was thirteen years old at the time, Ezzelino conquered Verona and, by treason, Padua, seizing the position of podestà of that city. He was one of the protagonists in the Ghibelline-Imperial victory of Cortenuova and his long-lasting struggle against Azzo VII, the new duke of Este after 1215, ended with the total defeat of the latter, and the annexion of many territories for Ezzelino. After a pacification attempt by Frederick, when the set off again, Ezzelino attacked the Este, submitting Treviso, Belluno. Ezzelino was now lord of all lands between Trento and the Oglio river and he had acquired a reputation for cruelty and merciless use of torture against enemies and alleged plotters in the cities he ruled. In 1249, five years after Selvaggias death, he married Beatrice di Buontraverso, in 1254, four years after Frederick IIs death, he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV, who also launched a crusade against him. In 1258 he launched a broad Ghibelline offensive in Lombardy and Veneto along with Oberto Pallavicino of Cremona, in 1259 he assaulted the castle of Priola, near Vicenza, and had all the defenders mutilated. After a failed attempt to assault Milan itself, he was wounded by an arrow in the course of the Battle of Cassano dAdda and he had to retreat but was captured near Bergamo. He killed himself during his imprisonment in Soncino, much of what we know about Ezzelino comes from a literary tradition that was embroidered over the course of centuries
17.
Enzo of Sardinia
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Enzo was an illegitimate son of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II, who appointed him King of Sardinia in 1238. He played a role in the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines in the Imperial kingdom of Italy, and was captured by his enemies in 1249. He remained imprisoned in Bologna until his death, Enzo was a natural son of Frederick II by a certain Adelaide, possibly a member of the Swabian noble House of Urslingen and relative of Duke Conrad I of Spoleto. He was the eldest of the illegitimate sons and allegedly the favourite one. He had a pleasant personality, a physical resemblance to his father. Enzo fought in the wars of his father with Pope Gregory IX. Upon the marriage, Enzo by jure uxoris would accede to the Sardinian Giudicati of Logudoro and Gallura and he was created a knight in Cremona and granted the Sardinian royal title, last held by Barisone II of Arborea in 1164/65. Enzo travelled to the island to marry Adelasia in October that year, in July 1239, he was assigned as Imperial vicar general in Lombardy, as well as General-Legate in Romagna, and left Sardinia never to return. In 1241, he took part in the capture of a fleet at the Battle of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea. His first successful move as military leader was the reconquest of Jesi, in the Marche, later he was captured in a skirmish against the Milanese at Gorgonzola, but soon released. In 1245 or 1246 his marriage was annulled, in 1247, he took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Parma and continued to fight the Guelph Lombards, assaulting Reggio and conducting an assault in the surroundings of Parma. During a campaign to support the Ghibelline cities of Modena and Cremona against Guelph Bologna, though the emperor demanded his release, Enzo was thenceforth kept a knightly prisoner in Bologna, in a palace that came to be named Palazzo Re Enzo after him. Every attempt to escape or to him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. Enzo shared the fathers passion for falconry, and was thus nicknamed Falconello and he was the dedicatee of a French translation of a hunting treatise by Yatrib. Like his brother Manfred, he grew fond of poetry at Fredericks court, during his long imprisonment Enzo wrote several poems. His pitiful fate and the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was itself a source of inspiration for several poets, the powerful Bentivoglio family of Bologna and Ferrara claimed descent from him. Cioppi, Alessandra, Enzo re di Sardegna, Carlo Delfino, dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, I Aaron – Albertucci. König Enzo von Sardinien und Friedrich von Antiochia, zwei illegitime Söhne Kaiser Friedrichs II
18.
Manfred, King of Sicily
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Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. Manfred, who bore his mothers surname, studied in Paris and Bologna and shared with his father a love of poetry. At Fredericks death, Manfred, although only about 18 years old, acted loyally, the Kingdom was in turmoil, mainly due to riots spurred by Pope Innocent IV. Manfred was able to subdue numerous rebel cities, with the exception of Naples, when his legitimate brother Conrad IV appeared in southern Italy in 1252, disembarking at Siponto, his authority was quickly and generally acknowledged. Naples fell in October 1253 into the hands of Conrad, the latter, in the meantime, had grown distrustful of Manfred, stripping him of all his fiefs and reducing his authority to the principality of Taranto. In May 1254 Conrad died of malaria, Manfred, after refusing to surrender Sicily to Innocent IV, accepted the regency on behalf of Conradin, the infant son of Conrad. The pope however, having been named guardian of Conradin, excommunicated Manfred in July 1254, the regent decided to open negotiations with Innocent. By a treaty made in September 1254, Apulia passed under the authority of the pope, but Manfred’s suspicions being aroused by the demeanour of the papal retinue, and also annoyed by the occupation of Campania by papal troops, he fled to the Saracens at Lucera. Aided by Saracen allies, he defeated the army at Foggia on 2 December 1254, and soon established his authority over Sicily. He thus reached the status of patron of the Ghibelline League, also in that year Innocent died, succeeded by Alexander IV, who immediately excommunicated Manfred. In 1257, however, Manfred crushed the army and settled all the rebellions, imposing his firm rule of southern Italy. The following year, taking advantage of a rumour that Conradin was dead, the falsehood of this report was soon manifest, but the new king, supported by the popular voice, declined to abdicate and pointed out to Conradin’s envoys the necessity for a strong native ruler. The pope, to whom the Saracen alliance was a serious offence, undeterred by the excommunication Manfred sought to obtain power in central and northern Italy, where the Ghibelline leader Ezzelino III da Romano had disappeared. He named vicars in Tuscany, Spoleto, Marche, Romagna, after Montaperti he was recognized as protector of Tuscany by the citizens of Florence, who did homage to his representative, and he was chosen Senator of the Romans by a faction in the city. His power was augmented by the marriage of his daughter Constance in 1262 to Peter III of Aragon. Terrified by these proceedings, the new Pope Urban IV excommunicated him, the pope first tried to sell the Kingdom of Sicily to Richard of Cornwall and his son, but in vain. In 1263 he was most successful with Charles, the Count of Anjou, a brother of the French King Louis IX, who accepted the investiture of the kingdom of Sicily at his hands
19.
Army of the Holy Roman Empire
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The Army of the Holy Roman Empire was created in 1422, and came to an end even before the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806, as the result of the Napoleonic Wars. It must not be confused with the Imperial Army of the Emperor, the Army of the Empire did not constitute a permanent standing army which was always at the ready to fight for the Empire. When there was danger, an Army of the Empire was mustered from among the elements constituting it, in practice, the imperial troops often had stronger local allegiances than their loyalty to the Emperor. The Hussite Wars continued from 1420 to 1434, by point the army had proved its worth. Over the next hundred years, the size of the Army was controlled either by the number of serving men being strictly regulated or by limits on the money paid for it. At the Diet of Worms in 1521 a commitment was made to keep the strength at 20,063 infantry and 4,202 cavalry and this was later simplified to 20,000 and 4,000. The monthly cost of paying for an army of this size was known as the Römermonat, the Imperial Register determined the contributions of the individual states making up the Empire, the first being the Register of 1422. Contrary to popular belief, the Army of the Empire did not take part in the Thirty Years War of 1618 to 1648, the Emperor participated in this war with the Imperial Army instead. The Constitution of the Army of the Empire of 1681 finally determined the composition of the army, the simple total strength was now fixed at 40,000 men, consisting of 28,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, including 2,000 dragoons. In emergencies, the size of the army could be increased by doubling or tripling the contingents, such multiples were called in Latin the duplum and the triplum. The figures for the contingents to be supplied by each Imperial Circle were little altered until the demise of the Empire, in practice, they were organized into a number of separate regiments. In some cases, money was provided instead of men to fulfil these obligations to the Emperor. The army came to an end even before the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806, in 1806 the victorious French organized much of the former empire into the Confederation of the Rhine, a grouping of client states of the French Empire, with a common federal army. Hofkriegsrat List of Lieutenant Field Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Vladimir Brnardic, Darko Pavlovic, Imperial Armies of the Thirty Years War John G
20.
Siege of Crema
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The Siege of Crema was a siege of the town of Crema, Lombardy by the Holy Roman Empire in 1159. The Cremaschi tried to defend their city from the German invaders, Frederick seized Milan in 1162 shortly after he took Crema. These events started the wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines, leading to the formation of the Lombard League, in 1158, Frederick Barbarossa led an army into northern Italy to reduce the autonomy of its communes. The main imperial ally, Cremona, was at the time quarreling with the nearby Crema about rights, Crema was also allied to Milan, and this was seen as a menace of extension of the Milanese power towards Cremona and the Po River. In a meeting held at Casale Monferrato, the Cremonesi convinced Frederick to attack Crema, the Cremonese also paid 15,000 silver corone to Frederick in exchange of his help. After an ultimatum sent by Frederick on 2 February 1159, asking the destruction of their walls, was refused, Barbarossa killed his prisoners, so the Cremese hacked their prisoners to pieces in front of their comrades. This led to the Cremaschi also digging tunnels to start underground warfare, after the cat had eroded the walls, a ram was used to create a breach in the walls, the tower was further neared to the walls starting from 6 January. The final assault was launched on January 21 using a mobile bridge measuring some 24 x 3.5 meters, the defenders and the civilians, some of which had died of hunger and disease, surrendered on January 25 after the imperial troops had taken control of the walls. Some 20,000 survivors were allowed to leave before Crema was burnt to the ground, an edict issued by Frederick in 1162 at Lodi officially forbade its reconstruction. Milan was also taken and destroyed two years later, ending the first phase of the war, Crema could be rebuilt by its citizens after the signature of the Peace of Constance in 1183
21.
Battle of Monte Porzio
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The Battle of Monte Porzio was fought on 29 May 1167 between the Holy Roman Empire and the Commune of Rome. Comparing its effect on the city of Rome, one historian has been called Monte Porzio the Cannae of the Middle Ages. The site of the battle was the field between a hill and the walls of the city of Tusculum, at a place called Prataporci. In his universal chronicle, the Chronica Universalis, the contemporary writer Sicard of Cremona describes the site of battle as near Monte Porzio, the Battle of Monte Porzio is part of the long struggle between the Italian city-states and the Holy Roman Empire. In 1166, Barbarossa set out on an expedition to Italy with the intent of deposing the anti-imperialist Pope Alexander III and setting up his own antipope, Paschal III. On 18 May, Rainald took Civitavecchia and then moved into the city of Tusculum, possibly at the suggestion of Count Raino. The communal Roman army had been harassing Tusculum, a longtime rival, Pope Alexander, knowing that Barbarossa was likely to come to Rainos assistance, urged the Romans to abstain from attacking his city. It did not work, when the consul of the Roman commune learned of the arrival of Rainald at Tusculum, with the Roman army approaching, Count Raino and Archbishop Rainald sent word to Christian, who was away besieging Ancona on the coast, to come to their relief. Within Christians army were the forces commanded by Bishop Alexander II of Liège, the total number of troops Christian was leading was about 1,300, which, according to Otto of Sankt Blasien, was a combination of 500 knights and 800 caesarianos. Otto places 300 men inside Tusculum, other chroniclers claimed the Christian had with him 1,000 cavalry and some Brabantine mercenaries. The lowest estimate of Christians forces put it at 500 men, Christian encamped his army beside the hill and rested for a day while trying to negotiate a resolution. The communal Roman army refused Christians diplomatic overtures and instead attacked with their force, numbering 10,000 poorly armed men. The name of the leader of the Roman force has not been preserved, the imperial forces were gravely outnumbered, but they were more disciplined and better armed. The Brabantines were quickly routed, but the cavalry from Rainalds city, Cologne, two sallies from Tusculum divided the Romans, one hitting their flank and one running through the centre. As the Roman cavalry fled the field, the Brabantines descended on the Roman camp, only a third of the Roman army had made it inside Romes walls before nightfall. Thousands were eventually taken prisoner and sent to Viterbo, and more were dead on the field. The pope and Oddo took refuge in the Colosseum and called in reinforcements, the city prepared for a siege. Later the pope fled to the city of Benevento and the Emperor entered Rome, the imperial army, however, was hard hit by a wave of either malaria or plague, and Barbarossa withdrew his forces to Germany
22.
Battle of Legnano
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The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29,1176, between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the Lombard League. The Imperial army suffered a major defeat, the Lombard League was formed in 1167, largely out of the Veronese League. It was a Union of Lombard cities promising each other unity, the cities of Lombardy swore their oath of mutual protection at Pontida, a small village in the region. In September 1174, Frederick embarked on his fifth Italian campaign, to quash the constant revolts in Lombardy, Frederick led a force of 8,000 knights over the Alps and arrived in Piedmont in late September. His cousin Henry the Lion and his forces were again not a part of the imperial campaign. Frederick wanted to revenge on Susa for its behaviour of 1168. His next goal was the town of Asti, which he captured after a seven-day siege, in October, Frederick finally received the promised imperial reinforcements from Bohemia. Upon Fredericks rapid and fierce initial success, Margrave William of Montferrat, Fredericks next goal was therefore the Lombard city of Alessandria. Alessandria was founded by Milanese refugees, who fled after Fredericks forces burned and destroyed the city of Milan in 1162, the siege of the Straw City, called so because all the roofs were covered with straw, began at the end of October. To Fredericks surprise and anger, his forces were not able to take the city so he had to spend the winter in front of its gates. On Holy Saturday, Fredericks forces managed to enter the city by digging tunnels under its walls, Alessandria withstood, and that was the first victory of the Lombard League. Frederick had to break off the siege due to an advancing Lombard army, on April 16,1175, Frederick and the Lombard League attempted to negotiate peace at the Castle of Montebello, but after long talks, negotiations broke with no result. Frederick knew that a battle was imminent and traveled to Chiavenna to meet Henry the Lion, Henry the Lion however refused to help his cousin as he thought that Fredericks defeat would allow him to obtain greater power. The German reinforcements crossed the Lukmanier Pass into the Lake Como region in April 1176, Frederick received 1,000 knights and 1,000 foot soldiers from 16 different German rulers. At Como, Lombard imperial allies increased the reinforcements to a total of about 3,000 knights, however, the Imperial army was largely a cavalry force of German knights. The Milanese were informed about Fredericks plan and prepared for battle, a Carroccio, or a sacred war wagon drawn by oxen, was built and was decorated with the city standard and an altar upon which the cross of Archbishop Aribert of Milan was erected. In 1038, Archbishop Aribert had led the defence of Milan against the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II. According to Sire Raoul, a chronicler from Milan,900 knights came from Milan and around 550 knights from three other towns, the rest of the Leagues forces were foot soldiers
23.
Battle of Cortenuova
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The Battle of Cortenuova was fought on 27 November 1237 in the course of the Guelphs and Ghibellines Wars, in it, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II defeated the Second Lombard League. In 1236 Emperor Frederick was in Germany to quench the rebellion of his son Henry, in the autumn of that year he decided to return to Italy to suppress the Lombard communes which, backed by Pope Gregory IX, were contesting his authority. He arrived at Valeggio, near Verona, and, with the help of Ezzelino III da Romano and other Ghibelline leaders, in the August 1237 the emperor returned again to Italy, this time aiming to definitely crush the Second Lombard League. Later 6,000 infantry and horsemen from the Kingdom of Sicily came, Frederick then invaded Brescias territory, capturing Goito and Montichiari among the others, although the latters resistance gave time to most of the Lombard League troops to reach Brescia. The 2, 000-knights and 6, 000-infantry strong army, led by Pietro Tiepolo, son of the doge of Venice and current podestà of Milan, the two armies remained fifteen days facing each other without battling, separated by a marsh that thwarted the knights effectiveness. The Lombards believed the voices, which had been spread by the emperor. Therefore, they left the field, returning to their quarters. Frederick had however attested a contingent from Bergamo at Cividate al Piano, when the Lombard army had completed its crossing of Oglio at Pontoglio and Palazzolo, the imperial troops saw large smoke clouds and moved to Cortenuova, which was 18 km from their current positions. The imperial vanguard included Saracens and horsemen, which were the first units to attack the Lombard units, taken by surprise, the Milanese and Piacentines were unable to form a defense line, and fled to Cortenuova. When Frederick and his force reached the battlefield, it was scattered with knights, slain or wounded. At Cortenuova, other Milanese and troops from Alessandria had amassed around their Carroccio, where the Lombards fought valiantly under the Saracen arrows and the Teutonic charges. A column of men from Milanese noble families, despite the arrival of other Bergamo troops, was able to protect the rest of the retreat to Cortenuova till night. To keep the armys morale as high as possible, Frederick ordered his troop to sleep with their armors on, and to attack at the first lights of dawn. On the other side, the podestà of Milan, recognizing that the troops could not withstand another battle, ordered to abandon the town together with the Carroccio, on the dawn of 28 November the imperial attacked the hastily retreating Lombards, who fell without nearly no resistance. Many drowned in the Oglio, which was in spate, at the end, some 5,000 Lombards were captured, casualties amounting to some other thousands killed. The Milanese alone lost 2,500 soldiers Of the battlefield, Pietro della Vigna recorded, who can describe the heaps of corpses, the Germans dyed their swords in blood. The loyal Cremonese with the other states satiated their axes with blood, never in any war were so many corpses piled up, had not night come on suddenly, none of the enemy would have fled from Caesars hands. The Lombard Leagues army was virtually annihilated, Frederick made a triumphal entrance in the allied city of Cremona, with the Carroccio towed by an elephant and Tiepolo chained on it
24.
Battle of Giglio (1241)
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The naval Battle of Giglio was a military clash between a fleet of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and a fleet of the Republic of Genoa in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It took place on Friday, May 3,1241 between the islands of Montecristo and Giglio in the Tuscan Archipelago and ended with the victory of the Imperial fleet, the Emperor controlled the land route through central Italy and thus Rome was cut off by land from northern Italy. The council gathered in Nice, where they were first transported by a fleet of the Maritime Republic of Genoa, when Frederick II learned of this project he ordered in March 1241 his in Lombardy prevailing vicars, Marino di Ebulo and Oberto Pallavicini to attack Genoa by land. The Emperor had to upgrade its Sicilian fleet to set the Genoese under pressure from the sea, the Emperor had 27 galleys armed standing under the command of his son Enzio along with admiral Ansaldo de Mari. This contingent than sailed to the Maritime Republic of Pisa which was the rival of Genoa. The Pisan fleet of 40 galleys stood under the command of Ugolino Buzaccherini, on April 25, the Genoese fleet sat sail from Genoa but first headed to Portofino where they were anchored there for one or two days. In another stopover in Porto Venere they learned of the union between the Sicilian fleet and that of the Pisan fleet and thus now had an enemy between them and their destination. They managed to sail past Pisa but not unnoticed since the Imperial fleet was already emerging between the islands of Montecristo and Giglio, of the battle Matthew Paris recorded, A most bloody fight then ensued at sea between the Pisans. The Imperial side succeeded in sinking 3 and hijacking 22 galleys killing 2,000 soldiers, sailors and priests and capturing the notable prelates as well as the treasuries, the hijacking of the Genoese fleet was a great success for the Emperor Frederick II. Almost all the dignitaries of the council got into his captivity. On the ships that saved themselves and were able to capture were mainly the prelates of the Spain. Emperor Frederick II proclaimed his victory to be Gods judgment and a symbol against the illegality of his persecution by the Pope Gregory IX, the comune of Pisa was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX and the interdict lasted until 1257. Only with the surprisingly fast death of Pope Gregory IX in August 1241 did the situation seemed to relax at first, as a sign of good will Frederick II had the legates released in order to make way for the election of a new Pope. The newly elected Pope Innocent IV, however, should prove to be an equally intransigent opponent as his predecessor, in 1244 he took his exile seat in safe Lyon, where this time the convocation of the First Council of Lyons was achieved, which formally deposed the Emperor. Republic of Genoa Republic of Pisa Maritime republics Guelphs and Ghibellines Attribution, This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
25.
Battle of Parma
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This article is about the 1248 Battle of Parma. For the Battle of 1734 see the Battle of San Pietro, the Battle of Parma was fought on 18 February 1248 between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Guelphs. The Guelphs attacked the Imperial camp when Frederick II was away, the Imperial forces were defeated and much of Fredericks treasure was lost. The free commune of Parma had been a supporter of the Ghibelline party. However, it was considered an important stronghold to take by the Guelphs, due to its flourishing economy. On 25 June 1243 Innocent IV, who had friends in the city and had held several positions in the local diocese, was elected as pope. The emperor knew of the rebellion when he was at Pavia and he immediately mustered an army, marched against Parma from Emilia, ousted Rolando Rossi and installed Tebaldo Franceschi at the new citys captain. Innocent IV, however, continued his campaign against Frederick both in Lombardy and the Kingdom of Sicily with letters to the local nobility and clergymen. Several noblemen, including the Sanseverino and three Fasanella, set a plot against the emperor in 1244, however, they were betrayed by a participant, and many were arrested and executed. Some conspirators sought the protection of the pope, who, in the meantime, had moved to Lyon, here he summoned the Council of Lyon in 1245, where it was decided to confirm the excommunication of the emperor, proclaimed in 1227 by Gregory IX. Now that the participation in the plot against him had become clear, Frederick wrote to the noblemen to inform them of the popes vile behavior. Once he had arrived in Turin, however, he received news that Parma had rebelled again, according to Salimbene di Adam, a group of Guelph Parmigian refugees who had taken shelter in Piacenza led by Ugo di Sanvitale and Bernardo di Rolando Rossi. Frederick immediately diverted his troops to Emilia, and at the time he called for reinforces from friendly lords. The imperial army was joined by Enzio, who raised the siege of Quinzano. The pope did his best to help to Parma from cities faithful to him, such as Milan, Piacenza, Mantua. Gregorio di Montelongo was able to reach the city, organizing its defense with Bernardo Rossi, perhaps due to a shortage of siege weapons, Frederick decided to take the city by starvation. The Guelphs were however determined to resist thanks to the help. Further, on 12 February 1248 Gregorio di Montelongo launched a sortie, Frederick was hunting in the Taro valley and he took refuge at Borgo San Donnino, and then moved to Cremona
26.
Battle of Fossalta
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The Battle of Fossalta was an episode of the War of the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Northern Italy. It took place in Fossalta, a location on the Panaro river. In the spring of 1249, a Guelph Romagnol army of the Lombard League advanced to the Panaro. The army was led by the Brescian Filippo Ugoni, who had victoriously defended Milan while besieged by Emperor Frederick II, and accompanied by Ottaviano degli Ubaldini, the Cardinal of Bologna. The Guelph army threatened the Ghibelline city of Modena and therefore the Modenese had requested help from Enzio of Sardinia, who was imperial vicar in northern Italy. Enzio organised an army of 15,000 men, composed of Imperial Germans. He led the army across the Po by using his self-constructed bridge at Bugno and they arrived at the Fossalta stream, some 5 km north of Modena. Both armies faced each other for days, yet none dared to attack the other, on the 26 May 1249, Enzio ordered his troops to assume a formation, he split his army into 3 corps and positioned them into 2 lines. Ugoni divided his forces into 4 corps on a broad line, once, the 2,000 additional troops from Bologna had arrived, Ugoni charged for battle. At dawn, the Guelph army furiously attacked Enzio, after a long struggle, but Bolognese attacks continued all morning and all day long. The Imperial army resisted each attack, but the skirmish was fierce, by evening the Imperial line was bent and Enzios horse was killed underneath him. The Bolognese advanced and the Imperial force started to flee, the fleeing Imperial force, who fought with the network of canals and streams in their back, were now an easy target for the Bolognese and many were killed or taken prisoner. The Bolognese had taken a lot of German and Cremonese prisoners at Fossalta, the victorious Bolognese were greeted by a fanatical crowd, upon their return to Bologna. Enzio, in his armour and decorated helmet, was put in golden chains. He would spend his life in the Bolognese palace thenceforth named after him. The battle had no meaning and did not change or shape the contemporary politics or map of Italy. But the defeat and the imprisonment of his son Enzio was a blow for Emperor Frederick II. Frederick demanded the release of Enzio, but the Bolognese stood firm with their policy, lexikon des Mittelalters, Band III Decker-Hauff Hansmartin, Band III Kantorowicz, Ernst
27.
Battle of Cassano (1259)
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The Battle of Cassano was fought in the Autumn of 1259 between a Guelph and a Ghibelline army in Northern Italy. In 1259, Ezzelino da Romano and his Ghibelline army moved into Lombardy, but the approach of the Guelph army forced Ezzelino to abandon the siege and cross the Oglio River. Joined by exiled nobles from Milan, the Ghibellines attempted to take the city of Monza by force, Ezzelino and his troops, aware of the dangerous position they were now in, retreated to the Adda river. Here, Ezzelino III da Romano and his troops were defeated by the Guelphs under Azzo VII dEste, Ezzelino was wounded and captured, and imprisoned at Soncino, where he died of his wounds a few days later
28.
Battle of Montaperti
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The Battle of Montaperti was fought on 4 September 1260 between Florence and Siena in Tuscany as part of the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. It was the bloodiest battle fought in Medieval Italy, with more than 10,000 fatalities, an act of treachery during the battle is recorded by Dante Alighieri in the Inferno section of the Divine Comedy. In the mid-13th century, Guelphs held sway in Florence whilst Ghibellines controlled Siena, the feud came to a head two years later when the Florentines, aided by their Tuscan allies, moved an army of some 35,000 men toward Siena. The Sienese called for help from King Manfred of Sicily, who provided a contingent of German mercenary heavy cavalry, as well as the Holy Roman states of Pisa, the Sienese forces were led by Farinata degli Uberti, an exiled Florentine Ghibelline. Even with these reinforcements, though, they could raise an army of only 20,000, the Ghibelline army consisted of four divisions, with a well worked out but risky plan involving an ambushing force in the rear of the Florentine army. The second division, led by the German commander, Count Giordano dAgliano made up the vanguard of the Sienese main body, in addition, the Ghibellines conducted harassing night raids on the Guelf camp. The Florentines had no choice but to offer battle, the battle took place at the foot of the Monselvoli-Costaberci Ridge about six kilometers east of Siena. The Ghibelline-Sienese army was arrayed north to south with the vanguard on the north, or left wing, to the east, facing them, with the tactical advantages of being uphill and with a rising sun behind them were the Guelf-Florentines, in a defensive posture. The battle raged with the Florentines gradually gaining the upper hand due to the weight of numbers until about 15,00. At about this time, a group of Tuscan Ghibelline exiles. Bocca and the other Ghibelline sympathizers in the Guelph ranks then charged the Florentine Carroccio, by then it was late in the day and the Guelphs had the sun in their eyes. Around 18,00, the cry of “San Giorgio” went up from the Ghibelline ranks. This led to the beginning of a rout of the Florentine-Guelph forces, the greater part of the Florentine cavalry was destroyed, their camp sacked, and their carroccio was captured. It is estimated that 10,000 men died on the Guelph side,4,000 went missing, and 15,000 were captured, the rest running for their lives. Dante studied under Florences Chancellor Brunetto Latini, who was away from the battle scene. As a result, Dante reserved a place in the circle of Hell for the traitor Bocca degli Abati in his Divine Comedy. The Ghibelline commander Farinata degli Uberti is also consigned to Dantes hell, not for his conduct in the battle, Dante Alighieri Guelphs and Ghibellines Manfred of Sicily Siena Florence Montaperti Excerpt from the Chronicle of Giovanni Villani Excerpt from The Divine Comedy, the ninth circle of Hell
29.
Battle of Benevento
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The Battle of Benevento was fought on 26 February 1266 near Benevento, in present-day Southern Italy. It was waged between the troops of Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily, Manfreds defeat and death resulted in the capture of the Kingdom of Sicily by Charles, effectively ending the rule of the Hohenstaufen in the Italian Peninsula. The Papacy had long been in conflict with the Imperial house of Hohenstaufen over their rule in Italy, at the time of the battle, the Hohenstaufen ruler in the Kingdom of Sicily was Manfred, illegitimate son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. While the rightful heir to the kingdom was Fredericks legitimate grandson Conradin, he was young, taking advantage of a false rumor of Conradins death, Manfred had usurped the throne in 1258. Pope Urban IV determined to wrench the Kingdom from him, and in 1263, concluded a treaty with Charles of Anjou. Charles reached Rome in 1265, but was halted by financial embarrassments. Manfred, however, did not take the field against him until January 1266, alarmed by desertions among his followers and fearing further treachery, Manfred sought to bring Charles to battle as swiftly as possible. Charles had divided his cavalry into three battles, the infantry and the first battle, consisting of 900 Provençals were at the front, commanded by Hugh of Mirepoix, Marshal of France, and Philip of Montfort, Lord of Castres. Behind them were the battle, which consisted of 400 Italians and 1,000 men of Languedoc. Charles would command the battle in person. Behind them, the battle consisted of about 700 men from the county of Flanders under Gilles II de Trasignies, Constable of France. His Saracen archers were in the fore, behind them was the first battle,1,200 German mercenaries armed in coats of plates, commanded by his cousin Giordano dAnglano and Galvano of Anglona. The second battle consisted of the Italian mercenaries, about 1,000, the third battle, numbering 1,400, were the feudatories of the Kingdom, under Manfreds personal command. The battle began in the morning, when Manfred advanced his Saracens across the bridge to skirmish and they drove off Charles infantry, but were put to flight by his Provençal cavalry. Rashly, Manfreds first battle crossed the bridge and counter-charged, at first, the German mercenaries seemed unstoppable, all blows rebounded from their armor plates, and Charles was forced to commit his second battle. The Germans continued to advance, but then the French discovered that the new plate armor did not protect the armpits when the arm was lifted to strike, the tide of battle now rapidly turned against Manfred. His troops were forced to defile across the bridge over the Calore to reach the field. By the time his second battle had crossed the bridge, Charles had ordered his third battle to them on both flanks and they were swiftly destroyed
30.
Battle of Tagliacozzo
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The Battle of Tagliacozzo was fought on 23 August 1268 between the Ghibellines supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen and the army of Charles of Anjou. The battle represented the last act of Hohenstaufen power in Italy, the end of Conradin marked also the fall of the family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy. The resulting struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire split the loyalties of many Italians and led to factionalism, after considerable maneuver, Conradins invading army confronted that of Charles of Anjou outside the town of Tagliacozzo. Each army deployed in three divisions, Conradins forces won the initial phase of the battle, and broke up to pursue Charless first two divisions, which were in flight, and pillage the Angevin camp. At this point Charles sprung his trap, his reserve forces entering the fight. Conradin was forced to back to Rome, but was later captured, imprisoned. Thus ended the rule of the Hohenstaufens
31.
Battle of Colle Val d'Elsa
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After the battle of Montaperti where Siena, a Ghibelline city, defeated Guelph Florence on 4 September 1260, Colle Val dElsa found itself in the Guelph camp. Indeed, Colle had ended up as a center for former citizens of Siena who, finding themselves on the wrong side, had been persecuted. But the Ghibellines, despite the defeat, continued their persecution of Guelphs, the Colle inhabitants, who did not expect this siege, locked themselves up between the fortifications of Colle Alta and sent messengers to seek help from Florence. The next day,400 French horse under the command of Marshal Giambertoldo, vicar of King Charles of Anjou in Tuscany, the Florentine foot, except for a fraction, did however not arrive in time for the battle. During the night the Marshal lined the French over the walls of Colle Alta and it seems that the trick worked, because in the early morning the Ghibellines retreated to San Marziale, and remained on the hill Poggio ai Berci. Marshal Giambertoldo ordered the Colle militias to get around that hill and to remain hidden until the moment he appeared with the insignia of Florence in front of the Siena troops and attacked them. During his advance the Marshal tore down the bridge of San Marziale to prevent a retreat of his soldiers, but also to slow down the escape of Siena. Once in sight of the Ghibellines, Gianbertoldo started the battle, while Colle inhabitants were shouting and waving their weapons, captain Salvani threatened, promised compensation and shouted, but the Ghibelline soldiers fought only briefly and badly, retired soon and fled. Many were hunted down and killed by the Guelphs, while Salvani, not wanting to return to Siena defeated, threw himself into the fray and was killed by Regolino Tolomei, his sworn enemy. Gianbertoldo had managed, with only 800 horsemen and 300 infantry of Colle, all this happened under the eyes of Provenzanos paternal aunt Sapia Salvani of Siena, sung by Dantes Divine Comedy, who followed the battle, praying for the defeat of her countrymen
32.
Battle of Roccavione
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The Battle of Roccavione was the last battle of the invasion of the territory of Asti by the Angevine troops from the Kingdom of Sicily. Charles I of Sicily was defeated, and his entire invasion failed, the battle was also the end of the Astigiani participation in the wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and the end of Charles intervention in the rest of the Italian Peninsula. Charles I of Sicily had landed in Piedmont to challenge the commune of Asti, Charles defeated a coalition of Ghibellines at the Battle of Cassano in 1259, and he was determined to bring down the Astigiani forces that remained. He found an Astigiani force waiting for him at Roccavione, in what is now the province of Cuneo, Asti had made allies with the Marquess of Montferrat, William VII. He was to lead the army, and his men awaited the Neapolitan army, when the two sides met, the Neapolitans were destroyed. Charles Is campaign in Piedmont, and Italy in general, had failed and he would not set foot in Piedmont again after he left back for Naples. After the flunked invasion of Piedmont by Charles I, there would be no war in Asti. Inner struggles for the control of trading and bank enterprises, soon divided the city in factions, the most prominent was that of the powerful bankers of the Solaro family, who, in 1314, gave the city to king Robert of Naples. The free Republic of Asti ceased to exist, in 1339 the Ghibelline exiles recaptured the city, expelling the Solaro and their helpers. In 1342 however, the menace of the Solaro counter-offensive led the new rulers to submit to Luchino Visconti of Milan, Visconti built a citadel and a second ring of walls to protect the new burgs of the city. In 1345, in the Battle of Gamenario, the Ghibelline Astigiani, John also ruled over Asti until 1372, but seven years later the city council submitted to Galeazzo II Viscontis authority. The latter in turn assigned it to Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans
33.
Battle of Desio
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The Battle of Desio was fought on 21 January 1277 between the Della Torre and Visconti families for the control of Milan and its countryside. The battlefield was located near the modern Desio, a commune outside the city in Lombardy, the Visconti victory granted them the rule over Milan, which lasted until the 15th century. In the 13th century, the life in Milan shared the same path of many other communes in Italy, living an increasing series of inner divisions. On 22 July 1262 Ottone Visconti was created archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the Della Torre candidate, Raimondo della Torre, the civil war which ensued caused more damage to Milans population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. The Milanese had destroyed most of the fortifications in the towns of Brianza north to the city, fearing they could be used as strongpoints by the rebels and their northern ally, Como. They had however spared those of Desio, some 30 km north to Milan, as there converged three important trade routes from Como, Erba and Lecco. On 20 January 500 Milanese heavy cavalry moved to occupy Desio, where they would be joined by other 500 heavy cavalry which had just pushed back an attack at Civate. Likely, their strategy was to attack Viscontis vanguard army, which amounted to some 1,200 men, next step was the destruction of the rebel base of Como. However, during the inhabitants of Desio abandoned the now hated Milanese government, Visconti rushed to the town before the Milanese reinforces could arrive. Despite the minor size of the battle, Napos capture was a blow for the della Torres party. The Visconti easily seized Milan and put their supporters in the most important positions, gradually strengthening their power, which lasted until the mid-15th century
34.
Sicilian Vespers
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Within six weeks, three thousand French men and women were slain by the rebels, and the government of King Charles lost control of the island. It was the beginning of the War of the Sicilian Vespers and these lay between Hohenstaufen lands in northern Italy and the Hohenstaufen Kingdom of Sicily in the south, the Hohenstaufen also at the time ruled Germany. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick II and declared him deposed, when Frederick died in 1250, his dominion was inherited by his son, Conrad IV of Germany. A period of turmoil followed Conrads death in 1254, and the Kingdom of Sicily was seized by Manfred, King of Sicily, Fredericks illegitimate son, Manfred had no involvement in German politics, where the interregnum lasted longer and there was no emperor until 1274. He first styled himself as vicar of his nephew Conradin, Conrads son, however, following a false rumour that Conradin was dead, Manfred later had himself crowned as king. He wished for a reconciliation with the papacy, which may have explained his support for the landless Baldwin II, Latin Emperor. However, Pope Urban IV and later Pope Clement IV were not prepared to recognize Manfred as lawful ruler of Sicily and first excommunicated then sought to depose him by force of arms. After abortive attempts to enlist England as the champion of the Papacy against Manfred, Charles invaded Italy and defeated and killed Manfred in 1266 at the Battle of Benevento, becoming King of Sicily. In 1268 Conradin, who had come of age, invaded Italy to press his claim to the throne. Charles was now undisputed master of the Kingdom of Sicily, beginning on that night, thousands of Sicilys French inhabitants were massacred within six weeks. The events that started the uprising are not known for certain, the only town in Sicily not to join the rebellion was a small village called Sperlinga, which protected French soldiers in a castle excavated in sandstone. According to Steven Runciman, the Sicilians at the church were engaged in holiday festivities, a sergeant named Drouet dragged a young married woman from the crowd, pestering her with his advances. Her husband then attacked Drouet with a knife, killing him, when the other Frenchmen tried to avenge their comrade, the Sicilian crowd fell upon them, killing them all. At that moment all the bells in Palermo began to ring for Vespers. The French were attacked, first with rocks, then weapons, the news spread to other cities leading to revolt throughout Sicily. By the time the furious anger at their insolence had drunk its fill of blood, there is also a third version of the events that is quite close to Runcimans, varying only in the minor details. This story is part of the tradition on the island up to the present time. This oral tradition cannot be verified, but is of interest to sociologists, according to the legend, John of Procida was the mastermind behind the conspiracy
35.
Battle of Pieve al Toppo
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The Battle of Pieve al Toppo was a battle fought between Arezzo and Siena. The two sides engaged in the battle, and Arezzo was able to take the town, later on in history, Florence would take over the town, and Arezzo was forced to retake it all over again. Arezzo was a city state in Medieval Italy. It wanted control of the Province of Siena, but there were already inhabitants, and so the only choice was war. An excuse was easy to make, Arezzo was Ghibelline, the two sides were at war in the Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and Arezzo was given the absolute right to invade Siena. The aggressors went looking for battle and they found a force of Guelphs awaiting them at the fields of Pieve al Toppo, in Tuscany. The two sides engaged, and Arezzo emerged as the winner of the battle, after the Battle of Pieve al Toppo, the victors burnt the town of Civitella in Val di Chiana, wrecking or damaging all of the buildings. In the years in the wake of the battle, the city-state of Florence swept off the Arezzo territories in the Province of Siena and this was because of the defeat of Arezzo by the Guelphs at the Battle of Campaldino. Arezzo found itself at war with Florence, and the city fell after a battle in 1311. Pieve al Toppo remained in the hands of Arezzo until 1348, when it became the seat of a Florentine podesta
36.
Battle of Campaldino
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The Battle of Campaldino was a battle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines on 11 June 1289. One of the combatants on the Guelph side was Dante Alighieri and this led to an Arentine force being quickly assembled and marching out to counter the threat. The Florentines deployed an advance guard of cavalry, behind which, on each wing they placed their infantry, slightly forward so the line was crescent shaped. Behind this force, they drew up their baggage and, behind that, the Arentines drew up in four lines, the first, second and fourth of cavalry, the third of infantry. The Arentines attacked with their first three lines, scattering the Florentine advanced guard and pushing back the body towards the wagons. However, they now came under crossfire from the flanking infantry, the Florentine reserve now made a flanking attack, trapping the Aretines. According to Villani, Corso Donati, podestà of Pistoia. Though under orders to stand ready in reserve, shouted “If we lose, I will die in the battle with my fellow citizens, instead of coming to the rescue, the Aretine reserve fled
37.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Guelphs and Ghibellines". Encyclopædia Britannica. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 668–669.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
