Walter III. (Brienne)

Walter III. von Brienne (French: Gauthier de Brienne , Italian: Gualtiero di Brienne ; † June 14, 1205 ) was a Count of Brienne (1191-1205), as well as (de jure uxoris) a prince of Taranto and Count of Lecce . He was the eldest son of Count Érard II and Agnes von Montbéliard, his younger brother was John of Brienne , who later became King of Jerusalem and Latin Emperor of Constantinople .

The father died in 1191 during the third crusade , whereupon Walter succeeded as Count of Brienne.

Life

On the occasion of a tournament organized by the Count of Champagne in Écry-sur-Aisne in 1199 , at which the traveling preacher Fulko von Neuilly gave a rousing address to the one year earlier by Pope Innocent III. held the fourth crusade , Walter decided to take the cross together with his brother Johann. The following year, however, he married Elvira († after 1216), the daughter of King Tankred of Sicily , who after her family was ousted by Emperor Henry VI. lived in exile in France. Through them Walter received a claim to the Principality of Taranto and the County of Lecce in the Kingdom of Sicily , which was ruled by the still underage Staufer Friedrich II .

Friedrich II. Was that of Pope Innocent III. recognized king of Sicily, who was at the same time the liege lord and protector of the child king. At the time of Frederick II's minority, the Pope was supposed to lead the government in Sicily for him, but the country was actually ruled by German knights who once joined Emperor Heinrich VI. had come to Italy and refused to bow to the Pope's authority. The most important of them were Markward von Annweiler , who ruled the island of Sicily, and Diepold von Schweinspeunt , who ruled in southern Italy . Pope Innocent III intended to eliminate these men, and Walter von Brienne came in handy.

The Pope released Walter from his crusade vows and instead declared a regular crusade against the Germans in southern Italy. In the year 1200, Walter marched with an army to Rome . On Mont Cenis he crossed the path of Marshal Gottfried von Villehardouin , who was on his way back from Venice , where he had negotiated a transport agreement for the fourth crusade. In Rome, the Pope formally enfeoffed Walter with Taranto and Lecce. He then marched on to Calabria and in May 1201 won a first battle against Diepold von Schweinspeunt near Capua . He repeated this in June at the Battle of Agnella , then he was victorious in October 1201 on the historic field of Cannae over the troops of the Sicilian Chancellor and Pope opponent Walter von Pagliara . Then he managed to conquer almost all of Puglia and thus secure his legacy. He received the support of some knights of the fourth crusade who had refused to take part in the siege of Zara that was taking place at the same time . Walter's struggle against the German rulers sparked a wave of enthusiasm among the young Italians who joined him. Among them was the young Francesco from the Umbrian town of Assisi , who wanted to earn his knight spurs at Walter's side around the year 1204. But before he took part in the fighting, Francesco renounced the sword in a change of heart and returned to his hometown.

The long propagated invasion of the island of Sicily did not materialize in the following years. On the one hand because of lack of money, but also because of the restrained influence of the Pope on Walter. The Pope still held on to Frederick II as King of Sicily, since Walter would have become too powerful for him through a successful conquest of the island and perhaps would have felt strong enough to reach for the crown himself. In addition, the situation in southern Italy was not yet calm. In 1204 Walter was besieged in the fortress Terracina by Diepold von Schweinspeunt, although he lost an eye from an arrow shot, but was ultimately able to lift the siege and put Diepold to flight. But on June 11, 1205, Walter was ambushed near Sarno when he was ambushed by Diepold while camped for the night and seriously wounded. He died of his wounds three days later in German captivity and was buried in the church of Santa Maria della Foce in Sarno.

In the same year his son, Walter IV. , Was born, but he only inherited the county of Brienne, while the southern Italian properties were confiscated. Presumably Walter was also the father of Anais , who became a lover of Frederick II.

His widow Elvira married Giacomo Sanseverino, Count of Tricario , in their second marriage , and Tigrini Guidi, Count of Modigliano , in their third marriage .

literature

• Wolfgang Stürner : Friedrich II. 1194-1250. Special edition. 3. Edition in one volume, fully bibliographically updated and expanded to include a foreword and documentation with additional information. Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-89678-664-7 .
• Hubert Houben : Gualtiero di Brienne . In: Federico II. Enciclopedia fridericiana . Treccani, Rome 2005.
• Norbert Kamp :  Brienne (Brenensis, Brennensis, Brenne, de Brena), Gualtieri di. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 14:  Branchi-Buffetti. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1972.
• http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/chambrien.htm#_Toc478483915
• http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/chambasbol.htm#ArnoulReyneldied1228

Remarks

1. ↑ The exact name of his wife is unclear, it is also given as Elvira, Albiria, Albinia, or Blanche.

predecessor	Office	successor
Erard II	Count of Brienne 1191–1205	Walter IV.
Roberto de Biccari;	Prince of Taranto 1200–1205	Friedrich II.