Charles I. (Monaco)

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Charles I. Grimaldi , also Carlo Grimaldi (* between 1267 and 1315; † 1357 ) from the Grimaldi family was a Genoese-French seigneur and from 1331 to 1357 lord of Monaco .

Charles was born as the son of Raniero Grimaldi and Mamsell Salvatico. On September 12, 1331, as head of the Grimaldi family, under the influence of the French king, Charles was awarded the fortress of Monaco, which his father had ruled from 1297 to 1301. He is considered the first lord of Monaco , in a French document from 1342 he is officially referred to for the first time as Seigneur de Monaco, Menton et Roquebrune .

Charles was known for his forward-looking and balanced politics, maintaining the balance between the Provençals and the Genoese in particular . He granted the Monegasque population some freedoms, among other things the consuls were democratically determined. He made his fleet available to France and rented his knightly army to foreign rulers. From the income he expanded his possessions to Monaco, Provence and Genoa. Soon he was considered the richest medieval seigneur on the Riviera. Historians sometimes refer to him as “Charlemagne of the Grimaldi”.

However, his successes and his successful expansion efforts provoked the Genoese. During a large-scale campaign on land and water, they besieged the fortress Monaco in 1357 with 4000 men and Karl had to surrender to the superior force. After losing his riches, he died shortly before the last battle in the summer of 1357, the causes of his death are still unknown.

Charles' successor as head of the Grimaldi was his son Rainier II. (1350-1407).

predecessor	Office	successor
Ghibelline / Genoese rule	Lord of Monaco 1331–1357	Rainier II.