Gualtiero Corradi da Gonzaga

Coat of arms of the House of Corradi-Gonzaga until 1328

Gualtiero Corradi da Gonzaga (* around 1170? (1196 statesman), † after April 10, 1225), also called Gualtiero Corradi or Gualtiero dei Corradini da Gonzaga, was the first representative of the Corradi – Gonzaga family - whose descendants later became famous European ruling family of the Gonzaga - who appeared as a statesman, which is why more details are known about his life. He was directly affected several times by the quarrel between the emperor and the pope and experienced the changing fate of the Gonzaga rule, which would later give his family its name.

origin

Gualtiero came from the old Italian aristocratic family of the Corradi, also called Corradi-Gonzaga, or Corradi da Gonzaga, who were fiefdoms of the Benedictine Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone and were therefore particularly well off in the Gonzaga dominion , which is about 25 km south of Mantua . This led to the fact that the family used "Gonzaga" as a family name from the 14th century.

His family relationship with the oldest documented members of his family is not known, from the Obizzone, Raniero and Guiberto Corradi appear as witnesses in a deed of donation from Countess Mathilde von Canossa (also called Margravine of Tuszien) to the Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone in 1146 . In the same year Governolo, Obizzone and Rodichero Corradi are also found as witnesses of donations to the monastery and in 1149 Alberto, Sigifredo di Regnerio and their uncle Uguccone Corradi testify to the sale of certain goods by the abbey.

His father is not specifically named by Giuseppe Coniglio, but it could be Filippo Corradi da Gonzaga , who died before 1199 and had a son Gualtieri.

Life

Gualtiero was the first of the family to play an active political role as a confidante of the powerful Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone and as a supporter of the party of the Guelphs loyal to the Pope .

Expropriation by Emperor Heinrich VI.

It first appeared in a document in 1196. This took place in connection with the conflict between Henry VI. (* 1165; † 1197) from the Staufer dynasty from 1191 to 1197 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1194 to 1197 King of Sicily , and Pope Celestine III. because of the appointment of bishops in the Kingdom of Sicily. Emperor Heinrich VI. came to Italy in July 1196, but had previously sent his younger brother Philip of Swabia (* 1177; † 1208), Duke of Tuszien (Tuscany) since 1195, with a delegation to settle open disputes in advance. This ordered tough measures against clergy who had actively campaigned against the interests of the empire, such as the Archbishop of Salerno.

For his part, Gualtiero Corradi, as an important representative of the Guelphs in Lombardy, was so exposed to the Pope that Philip of Swabia decided to take action against him. He therefore revoked, on behalf of the emperor, all the fiefs and privileges granted by Abbot Alberto of San Benedetto di Polirone Gualtiero on the grounds that these favors were excessive and incompatible with the proper administration of the abbey. Although Emperor Heinrich VI. After confirming this order, enforcement proved to be ineffective. The emperor was still a long way off and died on September 28, 1197. Gualtiero therefore kept his fiefs and possessions.

The political position of Gualtiero is also evident in the fact that in 1199, as representative of Mantua, he participated in the conclusion of a peace treaty between Mantua and Padua and was part of the Mantua delegation that met on August 28, 1207 in Verona in the church of San Pietro in Carnario with the Marquis Azzo VI. d'Este and the Count of San Bonifacio formed an alliance.

Expropriation by King Friedrich II.

However, Gualtiero fell victim to the changeable relationship between the emperor and the pope a second time. Friedrich II. , The son of Emperor Heinrich VI., Had succeeded his father as Roman-German king in 1212 . In 1220 he tried the particularly bad relations of Pope Honorius III. (Cencio Savelli, who reigned from 1216 to 1227) with the Romans to - contrary to previous agreements - achieve the unification of the Kingdom of Sicily with the Empire. He also showed sympathy for the secular politics of the municipalities in Italy.

For Gualtiero, as a prominent representative of the papal party of the Guelphs , this was an alarm signal, as he had to be prepared for a renewed withdrawal of his fief.

However, it turned out differently than expected: King Friedrich II wanted to be crowned emperor and was therefore compelled to make compromises with the Pope in order not to endanger his coronation (November 22, 1220). On August 5, 1220 King Frederick II had again recognized the Pope's claims in connection with the thorny question of the division of the extensive inheritance after Margravine Mathilde von Tuszien, who died in 1115 (after the Golden Bull of Eger in 1213.

However, this agreement with the Pope had the surprising consequence that the emperor again ordered the confiscation and return of the fiefs that Gualtieri had received from the Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone. This time, however, not because Gualtiero was a supporter of the opposing party of the Guelphs, but because his fiefs were part of the inheritance of Margravine Mathilde, therefore, according to her will, should fall to the Pope, which is why King Frederick II demonstratively for the return to the saint Chair started. However, this decree was ultimately not implemented, so that Gualtieri remained in the possession of his fiefs.

However, this agreement had consequences, which - as would later become apparent - were important for the rise of the petty aristocratic family of the Corradi or Corradi-Gonzaga, as they were also called, to the princely house of the Gonzaga operating on a European level .

This, because on the one hand they concerned the Gonzaga rule - from which the Corradi later carried the family name "Gonzaga" - and on the other hand the family of the Counts Casaloldi, who were partly allies, partly rivals of the Corradi and since 1212 fiefdoms of the Gonzaga rule.

City war for the Gonzaga rule

In accordance with the recognition of the papal right of inheritance to the Mathildic estates of August 5, 1220, King Friedrich II canceled the enfeoffment of Count Casaloldi with the rule of Gonzaga by his predecessor Emperor Otto IV of Braunschweig († 1218) and ordered its transfer the Holy See as the rightful heir of Margravine Mathilde. Since the Casaloldi refused to surrender the castle and the Gonzaga rule, they were banned by King Frederick, who also owned the cities of Reggio nell'Emilia (which had been in conflict with the Casaloldis for years and had tried to conquer Gonzaga as early as 1215) and Cremona charged with the forcible confiscation of the disputed rule. Since the city of Mantua supported the Casaloldi, who were strongly anchored there, from 1220 onwards, the Gonzaga rule led to a multi-year city war.

Crusaders

In 1220, however, Gualtiero Corradi had very different plans than this internal war. He decided to take part in the 5th Crusade, also called the Damiette Crusade . To this crusade, Pope Innocent III. (Lotario Segni) (1198–1216) called as early as the spring of 1213 to regain Jerusalem , which Saladin had conquered in 1187 , for Christendom. In 1215 and again in 1220 on the occasion of his imperial coronation by Pope Honorius III. obliged to participate, but this had no consequences. An expedition to the Holy Land had already started in 1217, conquered Damiette in Egypt in 1219 and asked for supplies from Europe in 1220.

The reason for Gualtiero's decision to become a crusader was probably the solemn call to the crusade issued by Emperor Friedrich II on February 11, 1221 from Sicily. Gualtieri was obviously determined to heed this call and wrote his will in 1221 before leaving. Since the main army of the Crusaders was defeated by the Muslim troops in the Nile Delta in August 1221, it is unclear whether Gualtiero was able to take part in these battles or whether he returned after receiving news of the defeat of the Crusaders.

End of the city war

In any case, he was back home in time that he witnessed the end of the city war between Mantua and the Casaloldis and Reggio nell'Emilia around Novellara and other possessions, which had been going on since 1220, and was able to witness the peace treaty that was signed on April 10, 1225 Abbey of San Benedetto di Polirone was signed.

Events that Gualtiero probably still lived through

Gualtiero later no longer appears in documents, the year of his death is unknown. But he could have lived through the following events shortly after:

- The establishment of the second Lega Lombarda , the "Lombard League", d. That is, a military alliance of the cities of Milan , Bologna , Piacenza , Verona , Brescia , Faenza , Mantua , Vercelli , Lodi , Bergamo , Turin , Alessandria , Vicenza , Padua , Treviso , Crema and Ferrara , closed for 25 years . March 1226 in San Zenone in Mosio, (today part of Acquanegra sul Chiese in the dominion of the city of Mantua).

- The death of Pope Honorius III on March 19, 1227. and the succession of Pope Gregory IX. , who excommunicated Emperor Frederick II on September 29, 1227, who thereupon gave up his pope-friendly policy and the rights to the rule of Gonzaga instead of the Pope now granted to Count Casaloldi. This was not without a negative impact on the Corradi family, as Corradi shifted its focus from Gonzaga to Marmirolo , where the sons of Gualtiero acquired important properties.

Marriage and children

The name and origin of Gualtiero Corradi's wife are not known.

children

In his will from 1221 the following sons are named:

1. Corrado Corradi, who together with his brothers owned goods in Marmirolo and in 1260 represented the Santo Stefano district as one of the city's Anziani.
2. Guglielmo Corradi, who, together with his brothers, acquired extensive properties around Marmirolo in 1261.
3. Gigliolo (Ziliolo) Corradi, who was a member of the City Council of Marmirolo in 1285 and one of the witnesses who testified on January 23, 1285 the peace treaty between Rinaldo dei Bonacolsi, called "Passerino" Lord of Mantua from 1309 to 1328, and the city of Padua . Little did he know that his relative - Luigi I. Gonzaga - would gain rule over Mantua in 1328 by ousting (and killing) this Rinaldo dei Bonacolsi.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga" page 8; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
2. ↑ European Family Tables New Series, Volume I.1, Plate 15; Publishing house Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main; ISBN 3-465-02743-4
3. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga", page 9; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
4. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga", page 9; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
5. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga", page 11; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
6. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga", page 9; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
7. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga", page 9; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
8. ↑ Johannes Lehmann, “The Staufers. Splendor and misery of a German imperial family ”, page 228; Gondrom Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-8112-0903-5 )
9. ↑ Johannes Lehmann, “The Staufers. Splendor and misery of a German imperial family ”, page 266; Gondrom Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-8112-0903-5

literature

• Giuseppe Coniglio: "I Gonzaga"; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967.
• Kate Simon: «The Gonzaga - A ruling family of the Renaissance»; Translated from the American by Evelyn Voss, Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne, 1991, p. 228.
• Johannes Lehmann, “The Staufers. Splendor and misery of a German imperial family ”, page 266; Gondrom Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-8112-0903-5 .

See also

• Gonzaga
• San Benedetto in Polirone
• Mathildic goods
• Guelfs and Ghibellines