Arduin of Italy
Encyclopedia
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
. He was the son of Dado, Count of Pombia
Dado, Count of Pombia
Dado was the Count of Pombia from 967. The comitatus of Pombia included Novara at the time.He was possibly the son of Adalbert, Count of Pombia, or possibly of Berengar II. He was the father of Guibert, Count of Biandrate; Arduin, King of Italy; and Amadeus, Count of Pombia....
. Arduin succeeded to the northern Italian Margraviate of Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...
in 990 on dubious grounds. He was excommunicated for the murder of the Bishop of Vercelli in 997.
He was made King of Italy after the death of Otto III in 1002, while in Germany Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
was acclaimed king. At first Arduin was "elected by the Lombards in Pavia and was called ‘caesar’ [emperor] by all", according to the chronicler Arnulf of Milan
Arnulf of Milan
Arnulf of Milan, or Arnulfus Mediolanensis was a chronicler of events in Northern Italy in the work in five books by which he is known, Liber gestorum recentium, a "book of the deeds of recent times"...
. He then made the rounds of the kingdom with the Archbishop of Milan publicly at his side. The territorial magnates of Italy professed to favour him but secretly were in favour of Henry, according to Arnulf. His enemies in the church, led by Frederick, Archbishop of Ravenna
Frederick, Archbishop of Ravenna
Frederick was the Archbishop of Ravenna briefly from 1002 to 1004.Frederick, a Saxon, first appears as a collaborator of the Emperor Otto III in 1000, when he was present at the reconsecration of Pomposa in Ravenna. In April 1001 he was appointed a presbyter and a cardinal...
, sided with the new king of Germany. Henry sent Duke Otto I of Carinthia
Otto I, Duke of Carinthia
Otto , called Otto of Worms, was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death....
, whom he set over the March of Verona
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march in northeastern Italy during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Except for Venice, it included the territories of the modern-day regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia as well as Istria and Trentino up to the Adige...
, to face Arduin, who was successful in a pitched battle at Fabrica.
Henry then invaded Italy with a large force that left Germany in March 1004 and arrived at Trent
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
on 9 April 1004. He met Arduin outside Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, where Arduin was disappointed by a poor showing from his erstwhile supporters. Henry entered Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, ancient capital of Italy, and had himself crowned king on 14 May in San Michele, and then burned the city that had given shelter to Arduin. This had its effect: "all of Italy was horrified by this and likewise extremely fearful. As confidence in Arduin waned from this time on, Henry's power prevailed everywhere." Arduin took revenge on those who had been unfaithful to him. According to Arnulf, he
After his death the Margraviate of Ivrea, which had given the Ottonian emperors so much trouble, was dissolved.