Werner II of Spoleto
Encyclopedia
Werner II was the margrave of Ancona
March of Ancona
The March of Ancona or marca Anconitana was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and, then, Macerata in the Middle Ages...

 and Duke of Spoleto from 1093 to 1119. He was the founder of the family of the Guarnieri of Urslingen.

Werner was originally a Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

n count who was sent as captain of the German contingent of 700 infantry and cavalry by the Emperor Henry III
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...

 to assist Pope Leo IX
Pope Leo IX
Pope Saint Leo IX , born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He was a German aristocrat and as well as being Pope was a powerful secular ruler of central Italy. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19...

 at the Battle of Civitate
Battle of Civitate
The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in Southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian-Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Duke of Lorraine, and Rudolf, Prince of Benevento...

. Subsequent to that great defeat, during which his Swabians were routed by Richard I of Capua
Richard I of Capua
Richard I Drengot was a count of Aversa and prince of Capua .He was the son of Asclettin, count of Acerenza, younger brother of Asclettin, count of Aversa, and nephew of Rainulf Drengot, the Norman adventurer who had first travelled to southern Italy in 1017 and progressed to set up the first...

, Werner conquered a swathe of Adriatic territory centred on the Pentapolis
Pentapolis
A pentapolis, from the Greek words , "five" and , "city" is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities...

. The region was called after him the "March of Werner". He became an ally of the Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

, son of Henry III, in the war against the marchioness of Tuscany, Matilda
Matilda of Tuscany
Matilda of Tuscany was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...

. Henry appointed him duke of Spoleto in 1093. In 1105, he affirmed him as margrave in the three marches of Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....

, Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....

, and Camerino
Camerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....

, which was thereafter called the "March of Ancona", or Marca Anconitana. This forms the basis for the existing Italian region of Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

. He henceforth appears in chronicles and charters as Dux et Marchio Guarnerius and Guarnerio Marchione.

In November 1105, Werner went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 with an army of Germans in support of the Antipope Sylvester IV
Antipope Sylvester IV
Sylvester IV was a claimant to the papacy from 1105 to 1111.Members of the Roman aristocracy, with the support of the German king Henry V set up another antipope to replace Pope Paschal II , electing Maginulfo, the Archpriest of St. Angelo in Peschiera, while Paschal II was outside of Rome...

. At his coming, Pope 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...

 fled to the Tiber Island
Tiber Island
The Tiber Island , is a boat-shaped island which has long been associated with healing. It is an ait, and is one of the two islands in the Tiber river, which runs through Rome; the other one, much larger, is near the mouth. The island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. It is...

. By force, Werner installed Sylvester in the Lateran
Lateran
Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several architectural projects throughout Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the former Roman Empire...

. Werner's troops, led by one Berto, were not successful in the long run and Sylvester had to flee Rome for Tivoli
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...

, where Werner himself lay encamped. Werner retreated with Sylvester to Osimo
Osimo
Osimo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the province of Ancona, 15 km south of that town by rail. It is situated on a hill near the Adriatic Sea.Silk-spinning and the raising of cocoons are carried on.-History:...

.

Sources

  • Gregorovius, Ferdinand
    Ferdinand Gregorovius
    Ferdinand Gregorovius was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. He is best known for Wanderjahre in Italien, his account of the walks he took through Italy in the 1850s, and the monumental Die Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter , a classic for Medieval and early...

    . Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV Part 1. trans. Annie Hamilton. 1905.

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