Walter of Palear was chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of Sicily

Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

 and the bishop of Troia (1189–1208) and then bishop of Catania (from 1208).

Walter put Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

 under the authority of his brother Gentile, Count of Manopello, as guardian of the young king Frederick of Hohenstaufen. Gentile surrendered the city to Markward von Anweiler in 1198, but Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....

 alleged that Markward had bribed Walter for the city and the king's regency.

In 1202, an army led by Walter and Dipold, Count of Acerra

Dipold, Count of Acerra

Dipold , known in German as Diepold or Dietpold von Schweinspeunt or Schweinspünt, was a ministerialis who was raised to the Duchy of Spoleto in 1209. Of Bavarian origin, he was a reputed younger son of Berthold II of Vohburg and Adelaide of Ballenstedt. He was originally a vassal of the count of...

, was defeated by the claimant Walter III of Brienne

Walter III of Brienne

Walter III of Brienne was the Count of Brienne 1191–1205, Prince of Taranto, Duke of Apulia, and Count of Lecce, and titular King of Sicily 1201–1205....

, who opposed Frederick as king. Markward was killed and Frederick fell under the control of William of Capparone

William of Capparone

William of Capparone was a German captain of Palermo who came to power as the regent of Sicily and guardian of future emperor Frederick II in 1202 after the death of Markward von Anweiler. He held the post for the next four years until 1206. He was called the Great Captain.William was probably...

. Dipold wrested Frederick from Capparone in 1206 and gave him over to the guardianship of the chancellor. Walter and Dipold then had a falling-out and the latter captured the royal palace, where he was besieged and captured by Walter in 1207.

Sources

• Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University Press
  Cambridge University Press
  Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
  
  : 1992.
• Ryccardi di Sancto Germano Notarii Chronicon. trans. G. A. Loud.

External links

• Europe's 13th-Century Progress.