Counts of Marsi
Encyclopedia
The Conti di Marsi, the Counts of Marsi, were a lineage of Frankish
origin who figured among the main feudal lords of Abruzzo
, part of the Duchy of Spoleto
in southern Italy, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
With Celano
as their main seat, they ruled over a territory that stretched from Lake Fucino as far as the Peligni.
The conti maintained that they descended from Bernard, king of Italy
, grandson of Charlemagne
, who had been dethroned and blinded by his uncle, Louis the Pious
, in 818. This Carolingian
connection cannot now be proved or disproved. It is more certain that they descended from a certain Berardo who was called "Francesco" because he came from Francia, who came to Italy with Hugh of Provence, King of Italy
from 924 until his death in 948. According to the Chronicle of Monte Cassino
, the first known member of this family, Azzo, Berardo's uncle, was a Burgundian count. The conti di Marsi considered themselves Berardinga, "Berardings" or, by modern historians, Bosonids.
The chronicler of Monte Cassino
who records this decisive event was of the house himself, Leo Marsicanus
(1046, Marsica — 1115 or 1117, Ostia) (meaning "of the Marsi"), also known as Leone dei Conti di Marsi; Leo became a monk in Monte Cassino around 1061 and served as a cardinal in the early twelfth century.
As Azzo and Berardo arrived in Italy with Hugh in 926, it is likely that these Burgundian counts originated in the Kingdom of Arles
, originally the southern part of the kingdom of Burgundy, where Hugh's family originated. Though the name Azzo is familiar today from the Este
family, later rulers in Ferrara and Modena, the name was not unusual in northern Italy at the time.
The Lombard
gastaldate of Marsi in the territory of the dukes of Spoleto was erected as a county
by Louis the Pious
.
Three sons of Berardo are recorded in the Chronicle of Monte Cassino, Rinaldo and Oderisio, both counts of Marsi in a charter of 981, and Azzo II, whose son Lupo was abbot of Montecassino. Abbot Lupo's first cousin Oderisio and his wife Gibberga were joint benefactors of Monte Cassino.
Powerful nobles like the conti di Marsi expected to place their sons in commanding positions in the church hierarchy as well. Marsi
itself was an ancient episcopal see, and younger sons of the counts served repeatedly as bishops: Alberic, son of Berardo III, succeeded in 970 to the see, in which he was succeeded by his natural son, Guinizio, in 994. In 1056, Azzo dei conti di Marsi was transferred from his see of Chieti to that of Marsi. In 1110 Berardo dei conti di Marsi was named bishop by Paschal II
; Berardo was a cardinal, with the tituli first of S. Angelo in Pescheria, then of S. Grisogono, and was canonized long afterwards (1802) as Saint Berardo
; his great niece, Saint Rosalia, is patroness of Palermo. The chronicler Amatus of Montecassino
names Oderisius, the oldest brother of Berard, Count of Marsia, against whom Berard rebelled, specifying that he had seven sons, two of whom were bishops, a third a monk and a cardinal at Rome. This Bernard, who died after 1070/73, "through insatiable greed and desire for wealth fell out with his brother" the chronicler reports.
Dissension among the counts of Marsi enabled the a new power to be reckoned with in the south of Italy, that of Robert Guiscard
, whose base of power lay to the south, in Apulia
and Calabria
, to defeat the individual members of the Berardings and establish Norman power in southern Italy
.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
origin who figured among the main feudal lords of Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
, part of the Duchy of Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
in southern Italy, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
With Celano
Celano
Celano is a town and comune in the Province of L'Aquila, central Italy, east of Rome by rail.-Geography:Celano rises on the top of a hill in the territory of Marsica, below the mountain range of Sirente. It faces the valley of Fucino, once filled by the large Fucine Lake, which was drained during...
as their main seat, they ruled over a territory that stretched from Lake Fucino as far as the Peligni.
The conti maintained that they descended from Bernard, king of Italy
Bernard of Italy
Bernard was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's Ordinatio Imperii made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair...
, grandson of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who had been dethroned and blinded by his uncle, Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, in 818. This Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
connection cannot now be proved or disproved. It is more certain that they descended from a certain Berardo who was called "Francesco" because he came from Francia, who came to Italy with Hugh of Provence, King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
from 924 until his death in 948. According to the Chronicle of Monte Cassino
Leo of Ostia
Leo Marsicanus or Ostiensis , also known as Leone dei Conti di Marsi , was a nobleman and monk of Monte Cassino around 1061 and Italian cardinal from the twelfth century.In Monte Cassino, he became a friend of Desiderius of Benevento, later Pope Victor III, and it was to him that Leo dedicated...
, the first known member of this family, Azzo, Berardo's uncle, was a Burgundian count. The conti di Marsi considered themselves Berardinga, "Berardings" or, by modern historians, Bosonids.
The chronicler of Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
who records this decisive event was of the house himself, Leo Marsicanus
Leo of Ostia
Leo Marsicanus or Ostiensis , also known as Leone dei Conti di Marsi , was a nobleman and monk of Monte Cassino around 1061 and Italian cardinal from the twelfth century.In Monte Cassino, he became a friend of Desiderius of Benevento, later Pope Victor III, and it was to him that Leo dedicated...
(1046, Marsica — 1115 or 1117, Ostia) (meaning "of the Marsi"), also known as Leone dei Conti di Marsi; Leo became a monk in Monte Cassino around 1061 and served as a cardinal in the early twelfth century.
As Azzo and Berardo arrived in Italy with Hugh in 926, it is likely that these Burgundian counts originated in the Kingdom of Arles
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Arles or Second Kingdom of Burgundy of the High Middle Ages was a Frankish dominion established in 933 from lands of the early medieval Kingdom of Burgundy at Arles...
, originally the southern part of the kingdom of Burgundy, where Hugh's family originated. Though the name Azzo is familiar today from the Este
Este
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
family, later rulers in Ferrara and Modena, the name was not unusual in northern Italy at the time.
The Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
gastaldate of Marsi in the territory of the dukes of Spoleto was erected as a county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
by Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
.
Three sons of Berardo are recorded in the Chronicle of Monte Cassino, Rinaldo and Oderisio, both counts of Marsi in a charter of 981, and Azzo II, whose son Lupo was abbot of Montecassino. Abbot Lupo's first cousin Oderisio and his wife Gibberga were joint benefactors of Monte Cassino.
Powerful nobles like the conti di Marsi expected to place their sons in commanding positions in the church hierarchy as well. Marsi
Marsi
Marsi is the Latin exonym for a people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus, drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century. The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. During the Roman Republic the people of the region spoke a...
itself was an ancient episcopal see, and younger sons of the counts served repeatedly as bishops: Alberic, son of Berardo III, succeeded in 970 to the see, in which he was succeeded by his natural son, Guinizio, in 994. In 1056, Azzo dei conti di Marsi was transferred from his see of Chieti to that of Marsi. In 1110 Berardo dei conti di Marsi was named bishop by Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
; Berardo was a cardinal, with the tituli first of S. Angelo in Pescheria, then of S. Grisogono, and was canonized long afterwards (1802) as Saint Berardo
Saint Berardo
Saint Berardo is an Italian saint, patron saint of the city and diocese of Teramo.-Life:Saint Berardo was born into the noble family da Pagliara, whose castle bore their name near the town of Isola del Gran Sasso in the Abruzzo region of Italy...
; his great niece, Saint Rosalia, is patroness of Palermo. The chronicler Amatus of Montecassino
Amatus of Montecassino
Amatus of Montecassino , a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Montecassino is one of three Italo-Norman chroniclers, the others being William of Apulia and Goffredo Malaterra...
names Oderisius, the oldest brother of Berard, Count of Marsia, against whom Berard rebelled, specifying that he had seven sons, two of whom were bishops, a third a monk and a cardinal at Rome. This Bernard, who died after 1070/73, "through insatiable greed and desire for wealth fell out with his brother" the chronicler reports.
Dissension among the counts of Marsi enabled the a new power to be reckoned with in the south of Italy, that of Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, whose base of power lay to the south, in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
and Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, to defeat the individual members of the Berardings and establish Norman power in southern Italy
Norman conquest of southern Italy
The Norman conquest of southern Italy spanned the late eleventh and much of the twelfth centuries, involving many battles and many independent players conquering territories of their own...
.