March of Ivrea
Encyclopedia
The March of Ivrea was a large frontier county in the northwest of the medieval Italian kingdom
from the late 9th to the early 11th century. Its capital was Ivrea
in present-day Piedmont
, and it was held by a Burgundian family of margrave
s called the Anscarids
. The march was the primary frontier between Italy and France and served as a defense against any interference from that state.
by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia
in 887, the power in Italy was assumed by the Unruoching
margrave Berengar of Friuli
, who received the Iron Crown of the Lombards from the hands of Archbishop Anselm II of Milan
. Arnulf, King of East Francia marched against Italy to gain the Lombard crown for himself and Berengar chose to pay homage to him, which led to discord with the Italian nobility. They supported the ambitious Duke Guy III of Spoleto
, who had just failed to succeed Charles in West Francia, but now with the support of Archbishop Anselm and Pope Stephen V
prevailed against Berengar and had himself crowned King of Italy at Pavia
in 889.
Guy had created the March of Ivrea for his liensman Anscar
in 888. Anscar and his relatives had been some of Guy's supporters in his failed quest for the French throne. The initial Eporedian march consisted of Piedmont and most of the Liguria
n coast with the counties of Acqui, Alba
, Asti
, Bredulo, Auriate
, Turin
, Ivrea
, Vercelli
, Pombia
, Stazzona
, Bulgaria
, Lomello
, Savona
, and Ventimiglia
. Anscar remained a loyal supporter of Guy and his son Lambert
, even when King Arnulf called by Pope Formosus
again invaded Italy in 894. Upon Lambert's disposition in 896 however, he turned to his rival Berengar of Friuli, who managed to secure his rule in Italy after Arnulf's death in 899. In 902 Anscar bequested the lands of Ivrea to his son Adalbert I
, who had married Berengar's daughter Gisela.
Adalbert however was on bad terms with his father-in-law: together with Margrave Adalbert II of Tuscany he backed Berengar's Bosonid rival Louis the Blind
, King of Lower Burgundy
(Provence
). Louis was defeated and Adalbert had to flee from his margarviate to neighbouring Provence, nevertheless he returned with his new ally King Rudolph II
, King of Upper Burgundy
, both finally defeated Berengar at the 923 Battle of Firenzuola
. Even after Rudolph had to cede Italy to Hugh of Provence
in 926, the Anscarid fortunes rose in the middle of the century and some margraves became kings of Italy, but in the early eleventh century the margraviate fell vacant and the Emperor Conrad II did not appoint a new margrave.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....
from the late 9th to the early 11th century. Its capital was Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...
in present-day Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, and it was held by a Burgundian family of margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
s called the Anscarids
Anscarids
The Anscarids or Anscarii or the House of Ivrea were a medieval Frankish dynasty of Burgundian origin which rose to prominence in Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. They also ruled the County of Burgundy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and it was one of their...
. The march was the primary frontier between Italy and France and served as a defense against any interference from that state.
History
Upon the deposition of the Carolingian king Charles the FatCharles the Fat
Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
in 887, the power in Italy was assumed by the Unruoching
Unruochings
The Unruochings were a Frankish noble family who established themselves in Italy. The family is named for the first member to come to prominence, Unruoch II of Friuli ....
margrave Berengar of Friuli
Berengar I of Italy
Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...
, who received the Iron Crown of the Lombards from the hands of Archbishop Anselm II of Milan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan
The Archdiocese of Milan is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has long maintained its own rite: the Ambrosian rite. It is led by the Archbishop of Milan who serves as metropolitan to the dioceses of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Crema, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, and Vigevano.The...
. Arnulf, King of East Francia marched against Italy to gain the Lombard crown for himself and Berengar chose to pay homage to him, which led to discord with the Italian nobility. They supported the ambitious Duke Guy III of Spoleto
Guy III of Spoleto
Guy of Spoleto , sometimes known by the Italian version of his name, Guido, or by the German version, Wido, was the Margrave of Camerino from 880 and then Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 883. He was crowned King of Italy in 889 and Holy Roman Emperor in 891...
, who had just failed to succeed Charles in West Francia, but now with the support of Archbishop Anselm and Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V was pope from 885 to 891. He succeeded Pope Adrian III, and was in turn succeeded by Pope Formosus. In his dealings with Constantinople in the matter of Photius, as also in his relations with the young Slavonic church, he pursued the policy of Pope Nicholas I.His father, Hadrian, who...
prevailed against Berengar and had himself crowned King of Italy at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
in 889.
Guy had created the March of Ivrea for his liensman Anscar
Anscar of Ivrea
Anscar I was the margrave of Ivrea from 888 to his death. From 877 or 879, he was the count of Oscheret in Burgundy. He supported Guy III of Spoleto for the throne of France after the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, but after Guy's failed attempt and the coronation of Odo, Count of Paris, he...
in 888. Anscar and his relatives had been some of Guy's supporters in his failed quest for the French throne. The initial Eporedian march consisted of Piedmont and most of the Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
n coast with the counties of Acqui, Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
, Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
, Bredulo, Auriate
Auriate
Auriate was a county in medieval Italy on the eastern slopes of the Western Alps lying between Cuneo and Saluzzo. The county existed from the late ninth century to the middle of the tenth...
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...
, Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...
, Pombia
Pombia
Pombia is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km north of Novara.-History:It has Roman origins, when it was called Flavia Plumbia...
, Stazzona
Stazzona
Stazzona is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km north of Milan and about 40 km northeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 672 and an area of 7.5 km²....
, Bulgaria
Bulgarograsso
Bulgarograsso is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km northwest of Milan and about 10 km southwest of Como...
, Lomello
Lomello
Lomello is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 30 km west of Pavia, on the right bank of the Agogna...
, Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, and Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia is a city and comune in Liguria, northern Italy, in the province of Imperia. It is located southwest of Genoa by rail, and 7 km from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia River, which divides the town into two parts...
. Anscar remained a loyal supporter of Guy and his son Lambert
Lambert II of Spoleto
Lambert II was the King of Italy from 891, Holy Roman Emperor, co-ruling with his father from 892, and Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from his father's death in 894. He was the son of Guy III of Spoleto and Ageltrude, born in San Rufino...
, even when King Arnulf called by Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.-Biography:...
again invaded Italy in 894. Upon Lambert's disposition in 896 however, he turned to his rival Berengar of Friuli, who managed to secure his rule in Italy after Arnulf's death in 899. In 902 Anscar bequested the lands of Ivrea to his son Adalbert I
Adalbert I of Ivrea
Adalbert I was the son of Anscar of Ivrea and, from his death in 902, margrave of Ivrea.He rebelled against his father-in-law Berengar I in 905 in support of Louis III. When Louis was defeated, captured, and blinded, Adalbert was exiled to Burgundy, whence his family had originated...
, who had married Berengar's daughter Gisela.
Adalbert however was on bad terms with his father-in-law: together with Margrave Adalbert II of Tuscany he backed Berengar's Bosonid rival Louis the Blind
Louis the Blind
Louis the Blind was the king of Provence from January 11, 887, King of Italy from October 12, 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. He was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II. Through his father, he was...
, King of Lower Burgundy
Lower Burgundy
Lower Burgundy was a historical kingdom in what is now southeastern France, so-called because it was lower down the Rhone Valley than Upper Burgundy. Lower Burgundy is sometimes called the Kingdom of Arelat or the Kingdom of Cisjurane Burgundy...
(Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
). Louis was defeated and Adalbert had to flee from his margarviate to neighbouring Provence, nevertheless he returned with his new ally King Rudolph II
Rudolph II of Burgundy
Rudolph II was king of Upper Burgundy , Lower Burgundy , and Italy . He was the son of Rudolph I, king of Upper Burgundy, and it is presumed that his mother was his father's known wife, Guilla of Provence...
, King of Upper Burgundy
Upper Burgundy
Upper Burgundy is the part of Burgundy east of the Jura mountains, that together with the western County of Burgundy from 868 formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, encompassing both sides of the Jura mountains range...
, both finally defeated Berengar at the 923 Battle of Firenzuola
Battle of Firenzuola
The Battle of Firenzuola was fought on 29 July 923 between the forces of Rudolph II of Burgundy and Adalbert I of Ivrea on one side and Berengar I of Italy on the other. The battle was a defeat for Berengar, who was thus de facto dethroned and replaced by Rudolf as King of Italy...
. Even after Rudolph had to cede Italy to Hugh of Provence
Hugh of Italy
Hugh of Arles was King of Italy from 924 until his death. He was a Bosonid. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to establish a relationship with the Byzantine-Roman Empire...
in 926, the Anscarid fortunes rose in the middle of the century and some margraves became kings of Italy, but in the early eleventh century the margraviate fell vacant and the Emperor Conrad II did not appoint a new margrave.
Margraves
- 888888Year 888 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* January 13 – With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom is split again, and this time permanently...
– 902902Year 902 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* August 1 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army....
AnscarAnscar of IvreaAnscar I was the margrave of Ivrea from 888 to his death. From 877 or 879, he was the count of Oscheret in Burgundy. He supported Guy III of Spoleto for the throne of France after the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, but after Guy's failed attempt and the coronation of Odo, Count of Paris, he... - 902902Year 902 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* August 1 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army....
– 924924Year 924 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Taizu of Liao leads another campaign to the west, reaching the former Uyghur capital on the Orkhon River...
Adalbert IAdalbert I of IvreaAdalbert I was the son of Anscar of Ivrea and, from his death in 902, margrave of Ivrea.He rebelled against his father-in-law Berengar I in 905 in support of Louis III. When Louis was defeated, captured, and blinded, Adalbert was exiled to Burgundy, whence his family had originated... - 924924Year 924 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Taizu of Liao leads another campaign to the west, reaching the former Uyghur capital on the Orkhon River...
– 940940Year 940 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Saadia Gaon compiles his siddur in Iraq.* Narita-san Temple is founded in Chiba, Japan....
Berengar IBerengar II of ItalyBerengar of Ivrea , sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy, was Margrave of Ivrea and usurper King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961, the last before Italy's incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire... - 957957Year 957 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Chandra Hindu Dynasty ends, thus beginning a time of chaos in areas belonging to modern-day India....
– 965965Year 965 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Khazar fortress of Sarkel falls to the Kievan Rus....
GuyGuy of IvreaGuy was the margrave of Ivrea from 950 to his death. In 950, his father, King Berengar II of Italy, appointed him to rule in the familial margraviate. His mother was Willa of Tuscany, his elder brother was Adalbert II, co-king with their father, and their younger brother was Conrad.In 959, Guy... - 965965Year 965 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Khazar fortress of Sarkel falls to the Kievan Rus....
– 970970Year 970 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* A devastating decade-long famine begins in France....
Adalbert IIAdalbert of ItalyAdalbert was the king of Italy from 950 to 963. He was the son of the Margrave Berengar of Ivrea and Willa.On 15 December 950, both he and his father were crowned kings of Italy after the death of Lothair II. His father tried to force Adelaide, widow of Lothair, to marry Adalbert and cement their... - 970970Year 970 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* A devastating decade-long famine begins in France....
– circa 990990Year 990 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Religion :* The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the church in southern France attempting to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy, is promulgated.- Births :* Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor * Edmund II of England,...
ConradConrad of IvreaConrad Cono was the Margrave of Ivrea from 970 to his death. He was the third son of Berengar II of Italy and Willa of Tuscany. His elder brothers were Adalbert and Guy, both of whom ruled the march before him... - circa 990990Year 990 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Religion :* The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the church in southern France attempting to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy, is promulgated.- Births :* Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor * Edmund II of England,...
– 1015 ArduinArduin of ItalyArduin of Ivrea was Margrave of Ivrea and King of Italy. He was the son of Dado, Count of Pombia. Arduin succeeded to the northern Italian Margraviate of Ivrea in 990 on dubious grounds. He was excommunicated for the murder of the Bishop of Vercelli in 997.He was made King of Italy after the death...
Sources
- Wickham, Chris. Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000. MacMillan Press: 1981.