Alberghetto II. Manfredi

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Coat of arms of the Manfredi family

Alberghetto II. Manfredi , also called Alberghettino Manfredi (* around 1285 in Bologna ; † October 18, 1329 in Bogota by beheading ) was an Italian nobleman whose father Francesco I Manfredi became the first "Signore Sovrano" (ie, the immediate lord ) of Faenza and Imola , but had to renounce his rule in 1327 under pressure from the papal legate. Alberghetto, however, was not ready to renounce the rule, made a fruitless attempted coup against his father, then seized the city of Faenza, but remained as the second signor for just under a year, then got involved in highly political intrigues against the papal legate and was eventually beheaded for high treason.

origin

Alberghetto II. Manfredi came from the noble family of Manfredi , which was possibly of Longobard origin, which referred to a German origin, carried a German motto: "If I do" and which derives its family name from Manfredo di Guido, one of the most respected patricians the city of Faenza when he died before May 7, 1050. A hundred years later the Manfredi family was so respected that in 1164 they were able to accommodate Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa (1155–1190) in their palazzo during his visit to Faenza. The family ruled the city of Faenza and its jurisdiction from 1313 to 1503 with brief interruptions.

The father of Alberghetto Manfredi was Francesco I. Manfredi (* around 1260; † 29 May 1343 in Faenza), who succeeded as a supporter of the party of the Guelphs loyal to the Pope after lengthy power struggles with partisans of the Ghibellines loyal to the emperor - including direct rivals in Faenza was to make himself Lord of Faenza from 1313 to 1327 and from 1340 to 1341 and Lord of Imola from 1319 to 1327. He established the rule of his family over the city of Faenza, which extended with short interruptions from 1313 to 1501.

The mother of Alberghettos was Rengarda Malatesta († before 1311), a daughter of Malatesta da Verucchio , the Lord of Rimini (1295-1312) and his wife, Concordia dei Pandolfini. She was a daughter of Ser Pandolfino Pandolfini di Rinuccio from Signa (* around 1200, † around 1270), who had participated in the Battle of Montaperti in 1260 (in which the Ghibelline Siena defeated the Guelph Florence ) and from 1269 was a notary in Florence.

Life

youth

Alberghetto Manfredi was born as the eldest son of his parents and therefore experienced in his youth the permanent feuds with the rival patrician family of the Accarisi in Faenza as well as the multiple expulsions from the city. When his father finally managed to make himself Capitano del Popolo in 1313 and the independent lord of Faenza and Imola in 1319 by taking advantage of a favorable political situation, he understood this as adequate compensation for the fights fought by the family and for those suffered Setbacks and evictions.

From his father's extensive land holdings around 1320, he received the goods Marradi (in the province of Florence) and Biforco as well as shares in Calamello, Cavina, Cerfognano, Montemaggiore di Predappio (in the province of Forlì-Cesena) and Fornazzano. After the rule of his father from the papal legate, Robert von Anjou (* 1278; † January 20, 1343), King of Naples (1309-1349), the papal legate (governor) from 1310 to 1318 "in temporalibus" (ie in secular Affairs) in Romagna was tolerated and thus at least indirectly recognized, he was convinced that his family, like so many others, had succeeded in making themselves master of an independent rule under the nominal suzerainty of the Pope. As the eldest son, he could also expect to succeed his father as the second lord of Faenza and Imola. This hope was to be fulfilled in a way, but not in the way Alberghetto had expected.

Concern for the inheritance

Alberghetto's expectations suffered a first setback in 1322, when his hopes of taking over the entire rule of his father were dashed when his father transferred control of the town of Imola to his youngest brother Riccardo Manfredi and made him permanent Capitano del Popolo von Imola ordered. However, there remained the expectation of obtaining the main independent rule, that of Faenza, a city whose beginnings are lost in mythology that was important even in ancient times, since it was at the crossroads of strategic communication routes - the Lamone river, Via Salaria and Via Aemilia - which became a free municipality as early as the 12th century, was the plaything between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in the Middle Ages and is famous for its faience , which owes its name to the city of Faenza.

  • Garofano (carnation) decorative plate

  • Melograno (pomegranate) decorative plate


  • Penne di Pavone (peacock feathers) decorative plate

However, the political developments in Italy during Alberghetto's time gave cause for concern that this rule could also be threatened. The centuries-long struggle between emperor and pope for rule in Italy was by no means over, so that regional, in the communities and sometimes even within the families of their supporters - the Ghibellines and the Guelphs - continued to be hostile to one another. Added to this was the confusion of the Great Western Schism , where in a barely transparent way at least two popes claimed rule and obedience at the same time, banned each other and let their supporters wage proxy wars that devastated Italy. In addition, there was a double kingship in the Holy Roman Empire , which lasted from 1314 to 1330, since in 1314 besides Ludwig the Bavarian (* 1281/82; † 1347) also Frederick the Fair (* 1289 in Vienna; † 1330), Duke of Austria , considered themselves elected.

For the fate of Alberghetto and Faenza, the Italian policy of King Ludwig IV., Who was in open dispute with Pope John XXII. (Jacques Arnaud Duèze), who ruled from Avignon from 1316 to 1334 and not only refused him recognition, but also covered him with heretic trials. In order to represent his rights in Italy, King Ludwig IV appointed Matteo I. Visconti (* 1250, † 1322), Lord of Milan, governor of the empire in Lombardy in 1314 . This succeeded between 1314 and 1316 in an impressive military campaign, u. a. to conquer the cities of Pavia , Alessandria , Tortona , Vercelli , Parma and Piacenza . Pope John XXII. In return, appointed his nephew, the son of his sister Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget (Italian: Bertrando del Poggetto, * around 1280; † 1352), as papal governor in northern Italy in 1319, who exercised this function from 1319 to 1334. Despite his ecclesiastical dignity, the legate showed a strategic talent that was still superior to that of Matteo I. Visconti, as he succeeded in assigning the cities or provinces of Asti , Pavia, Piacenza, Parma and Reggio nell'Emilia to him between 1320 and 1327 snatch.

For the Manfredi, who were traditionally leading members of the Papal-friendly Guelphs, this was a reason for joy and reassurance, as it averted the danger of being displaced by the imperial-friendly Ghibellines at the local level. Less reassuring, however, was that Cardinal du Pouget, on behalf of the Pope, insisted on taking direct control of the various city-states, thereby questioning the continuation of the more or less presumptuous rule of local lords and tyrants.

The situation only became worrying for the Manfredi when Cardinal du Pouget turned south after the settlement of the open questions in Lombardy in order to bring Romagna back under the direct control of the Church. The legate therefore decided to conquer Bologna, which turned out to be unnecessary, since the city, which was traditionally Guelfish-minded, opened its gates to the papal legate and welcomed him with joy when he entered the city on February 3, 1327 .

The fact that the intentions of the cardinal legate in Bologna were not limited to preaching peace and blessing the faithful could be recognized by the Manfredi and other self-appointed feudal lords at the latest from the fact that the legate immediately after its arrival in Bologna with the building of a mighty city castle, the Castello di Porta Galliera, began and did not dismiss its troops, but reinforced them.

Father's renunciation of rule

The Manfredi family was of course aware that their rule was based on factual power, but not on legal legal foundations - for example a formal enfeoff by the Pope - that therefore, in view of the determination - and the strength of the legate - the end of this situation was foreseeable was. Francesco I. Manfredi, first lord of Faenza and Imola of his house, was by character not a warrior, but a skilful politician with a sense of proportion. He had understood how to build his rule through clever tactics and flexibility both with regard to his authorities and to his subjects. He realized that military resistance against the army of the battle-hardened cardinal legates would be hopeless, and therefore decided to choose a tactic that not only avoided confrontation, but also included the chance of ultimately being able to retain his dominions: this consisted of To submit to the legate as a representative of the Pope, giving up the presumptuous dominions, in order to prove himself a loyal son of the Church and to - as a proven Guelfe and thus partisan of the Pope - to get the dominions back as a fiefdom of the Church against an appropriate penance.

Alberghetto, Francesco's eldest son and heir, saw this as an illusion and a tactical mistake: The rule that had been won after so many battles should not be given up, as there was no chance of ever being regained afterwards. Only if one resolutely defends the rulers can one expect to keep them. Despite his best efforts, he could not convince his father.

He teamed up with other hotspurs to disempower his father by means of a coup, to avoid the cession of rule and to take the defense of rule into his own hands. This attempted coup failed, however, be it that the planning or implementation was inadequate or that the company was betrayed. Alberghetto had to ask for the forgiveness of his father, who then traveled to Bologna as planned at the beginning of 1327 in order, as a faithful son of the church, to renounce the rule over Faenza and Imola to the legate.

  • Duomo di San Pietro in the center of Faenza

  • Arcades in Faenza with the Palazzo del Podestà in the background

Second Lord of Faenza

Alberghetto Manfredi was still not ready to give up. He began to conspire with other regional master families on how to evade the confiscation of the rulers. The solution, the Alberghetto, in coordination with other threatened ruling families such as Count Guidi, whom da Polenta and the Ordelaffi found, was to mobilize the city of Faenza, which was not favored by direct ecclesiastical rule, against taking over rule there itself and then defend together against the legate's troops. Alberghetto actually managed to mobilize Faenza against direct control by the church, to take control of the city with the help of friends and relatives and to be proclaimed and recognized as the new master. He is therefore counted as the second lord of Faenza. He holed up in the city and defied various attempts to persuade him to surrender through negotiations or threats, and was thus able to maintain his rule until the next year. In July 1328, however, a large papal army approached - including his father and younger brother Riccardo Manfredi - and began to enclose and besiege the city. Alberghetto doggedly defended the city for twenty-five days, but was finally forced to surrender on July 23, 1328 in view of the overwhelming power. Through the intercession of his father, he was treated leniently, initially brought to Bologna as a prisoner, but soon afterwards released from prison.

On the international stage, at the same time, the Roman-German King Ludwig the Bavarian undertook an expedition to Italy and took the city of Rome in January 1328. There, in a revolutionary act, he did not let himself be acclaimed by the Pope, who resided in Avignon and banned and declared a heretic, but by the people of Rome and acclaimed by the aged Senator Sciarra Colonna († 1329) as Emperor of the Crowning Holy Roman Empire . He declared on April 18, 1328 Pope John XXII. for heresy deposed and put Pietro Rainalducci, an ascetic Franciscan priest, as (anti-) Pope Nicholas V a. However, both had to flee from Rome in August 1328 from the troops that the most powerful leader of the Guelphs in Italy, Robert von Anjou (* 1278; † 1343), King of Naples (1309-1343), had sent to Rome.

Third coup attempt and death

Alberghetto had tried to overthrow his father through a first coup and failed. He had then tried to gain permanent control of Faenza and failed. Despite these setbacks, Alberghetto was still not ready to give up Faenza. So he decided this time to try his luck at the highest political level. Emperor Ludwig IV was still in the country and interested in allies. Alberghetto therefore contacted Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian and submitted his plan to him. He would open the city of Bologna to him and thus hand over the center of the Ghibellines to him if he, Alberghetto, were appointed imperial vicar of Faenza. These secret contacts, however, were not hidden from the legate's people, who had informants everywhere. Alberghetto was therefore arrested, sentenced to the death penalty after torture and imprisonment as a traitor and finally beheaded on October 18, 1329 in Bologna.

Marriage and children

Alberghetto was married to Jacopa degli Ubaldini, a daughter of Count Giovanni degli Ubaldini, Lord of Palazzuolo sul Senio and Valmaggiore. The following children were born from his wife's marriage:

  • Giovanni Manfredi († before 1389), Lord of Marradi , Montemaggiore, Biforco and Castiglionchio etc. He was knighted by his uncle Riccardo Manfredi in 1339 and served as a condottiere. His first marriage was to Lisa Sanvitale, a daughter of Gian Quirico Sanvitale, Lords of Belforte and Podestà of Parma , and his second marriage to Ne degli Ubaldini, a daughter of Count Maghinardo degli Ubaldini and Antonia da Correggio.
  • Bernardo Manfredi († after 1332)
  • Maddalena Manfredi, who married Messer Biordo dei Bardi from Florence in 1337.
  • Isabella Manfredi, who was married to Ludovico da Barbiano, Conte di Cunio and Mr. von Massa Lombarda (in the province of Ravenna ).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kuhoff: The great families of Italy. 1992, p. 331
  2. ^ Famiglia Pandolfini , Associazione Turistica Pro Loco Signa, (Italian)
  3. ↑ See Ludwig IV. (HRR)
  4. ↑ a b c Vasina: Faenza nell'età dei Manfredi. 1990, p. 18
personal data
SURNAME Alberghetto II. Manfredi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alberghettino II. Manfredi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian politician
DATE OF BIRTH around 1290
PLACE OF BIRTH Bologna , Italy
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1329
Place of death Bologna