Boniface III of Tuscany
Encyclopedia
Tedald of Canossa
Tedald , of the House of Canossa, was the count of Brescia from 980, Modena, Ferrara, and Reggio from 981, and Mantua from 1006. He used the title of margrave because of his vast comital holdings and their frontier nature. His family's seat was Canossa and he was the son of Adalbert Azzo of...
and the father of Matilda of Canossa, was the most powerful north Italian prince of his age. By inheritance he was Count (or lord) of Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Canossa
Count of Canossa
The counts of Canossa were a family of Italian lords holding the castle of Canossa, which they built, from the early tenth to the early twelfth century....
, Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Reggio, and 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...
from 1007 and, by appointment, Margrave of Tuscany from 1027 until his assassination in 1052. He was the son of the Margrave Tedald
Tedald of Canossa
Tedald , of the House of Canossa, was the count of Brescia from 980, Modena, Ferrara, and Reggio from 981, and Mantua from 1006. He used the title of margrave because of his vast comital holdings and their frontier nature. His family's seat was Canossa and he was the son of Adalbert Azzo of...
and Willa of Bologna. The Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
family's ancestral castle was Canossa and they had held Modena for several generations. They possessed a great many allodial title
Allodial title
Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property that is independent of any superior landlord, but it should not be confused with anarchy as the owner of allodial land is not independent of his sovereign...
s and their power lay chiefly in Emilia
Emilia (region of Italy)
Emilia is a historical region of northern Italy which approximately corresponds to the western and north-eastern portions of today’s Emilia-Romagna region...
.
Boniface was probably associated with his father before the latter's death. In 1004, with the title marchio, he donated land to the abbey of Polirone, and he appears in two documents of the same year as gloriosus marchio. He kept his court at Mantua, which he transformed into a city of culture:
In 1014, Boniface aided the Emperor Henry II in putting down Arduin, Margrave of Ivrea, self-styled King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
, a royal title that the Emperor did not recognise. His father nominated him as heir over his brothers and, in 1016, he was again fighting alongside the emperor, this time against the Margrave of Turin, Ulric Manfred II
Ulric Manfred II of Turin
Ulric Manfred II was the Margrave of Turin and Susa in the early 11th century.- Biography:...
.
In 1020, he defeated a rebellion of his brother Conrad, but the two reconciled and both were later recorded as duces. In 1027, he supported the candidacy of Conrad II of Germany for the Iron Crown of Lombardy
Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy...
and the Imperial Crown
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
against the other claimaints: William V of Aquitaine
William V of Aquitaine
William V , called the Great , was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 990 until his death. He was the son and successor of William IV by his wife Emma of Blois, daughter of Theobald I of Blois. He seems to have taken after his formidable mother, who ruled Aquitaine as regent until 1004...
, Robert II of France
Robert II of France
Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
, or Hugh Magnus
Hugh Magnus of France
Hugh Magnus of France was co-King of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025...
. When Boniface's Lombard enemies tried to incite his brother against him, the two (Boniface and his brother Conrad) offered battle to them at Coviolo, near Reggio, and emerged victorious, though Conrad was killed. When Conrad II finally succeeded in entering Italy, he was met with defiance at Lucca and he deposed the reigning margrave of Tuscany, Rainier
Rainier of Tuscany
Rainier was the Margrave of Tuscany from 1014 until 1027. After the death of the Emperor Henry II, of whom he had been a supporter, he opposed Conrad II. When Conrad descended into Italy to receive the Iron Crown and the Holy Roman Emperorship, he had to fight and depose Rainier, replacing him with...
, and gave his lands and titles to Boniface. This seems to be the probable scenario, though the exact date of Boniface's assumption of the Tuscan lordship is uncertain.
Boniface subdued 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...
and Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, in revolt against the Emperor, and the Emperor made a treaty with Boniface, an act which has been construed as recognition of Boniface's independence. In 1032, he was at war with the rebel Odo II, Count of Blois
Count of Blois
The County of Blois was originally centred on Blois, south of Paris, France. One of the chief cities, along with Blois itself, was Chartres. Blois was associated with Champagne, Châtillon , and later with the French royal family, to whom the county passed in 1391...
, Chartres, Meaux, and Troyes. In 1037, he helped put down a revolt against the Emperor Conrad. In 1043, for services rendered the Empire, he received the Duchy of Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
and Camerino
Camerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....
. He also acquired more land in Parma and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, and his chief residence in this time was at Mantua.
In 1039, he travelled to Miroalto to aid the Emperor Henry III against the rebellious Odo of Blois. While he was returning, he destroyed the grain fields of the region and the enraged populace retaliated and stole some of his retainers' horses. It was during his blood reprisal that Boniface made his most famous recorded statement. Preparing to hack off the ears and nose of a young man, Boniface was confronted by the youth's mother, who begged him be spared and promised him her son's weigh in silver. Boniface replied to his offer that he "was no merchant, but a soldier," adding:
In 1046, Henry III entered Italy to be crowned Emperor. Boniface received the emperor and his empress, Agnes of Poitou, with honour and munificence on their arrival at Piacenza and his governor did so at Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
on their return journey. The relationship between Boniface and Henry, however, soon deteriorated in 1047. The reasons for this are debated. Henry may have been fearful of Boniface's wealth and power, and on several subsequent occasions tried to arrest him. On the other hand, Boniface may have allied with the Counts of Tusculum
Counts of Tusculum
The counts of Tusculum were the most powerful secular noblemen in Latium, near Rome, in the present-day Italy between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came from their ranks. They created and perfected the political formula of noble-papacy, wherein...
, their relatives the Popes, and Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV was Prince of Salerno , Duke of Amalfi , Duke of Gaeta , and Prince of Capua in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. He was an important figure in the final phase of Byzantine authority in the Mezzogiorno and the commencement of Norman power...
. Thus, despite his quashing revolts on Henry's behalf, Henry came to resent his power, as he did with Guaimar.
In 1048, he supported the abdicated Pope Benedict IX
Pope Benedict IX
Pope Benedict IX , born Theophylactus of Tusculum, was Pope on three occasions between 1032 and 1048. One of the youngest popes, he was the only man to have been Pope on more than one occasion and the only man ever to have sold the papacy.-Biography:Benedict was born in Rome as Theophylactus, the...
when he tried to retake his throne and he extended his domains at the expense of ecclesiastic lands. In fact, his habit of cheating the church of land, especially the Diocese of Reggio, by offering some small farm land and an annual rent in turn for it was legendary. He rarely paid the promised rents. However, Boniface eventually joined the reform party of Leo IX
Pope Leo IX
Pope Saint Leo IX , born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He was a German aristocrat and as well as being Pope was a powerful secular ruler of central Italy. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19...
and was present at the Synod of Pavia in 1049.
In his later years, he kept the Abbey of Pomposa well-endowed for the sake of his soul and even confessed to simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
and permitted Guido of Pomposa to flagellate him in punishment for it.
He tried to restrict the rights of his valvassores
Vavasour
A vavasour, is a term in Feudal law. A vavasour was the vassal or tenant of a baron, one who held their tenancy under a baron, and who also had tenants under him...
, despite Conrad's imperial edict of 1037. It was this action against his undertenants which got him killed in 1052, during a hunting expedition. This version of Boniface's death is disputed. Some have alleged that Henry played a part in his assassination. It is also held by some that in 1044 there was an attempt made on the margrave's life at Brescia and that the conspirators fled to Verona, which Boniface subsequently sacked before expelling some Veronese conspirators from Mantua as well. One Scarpetta Carnevari apparently nursed a grudge for this act and years later, while Boniface was preparing a galley for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, shot him with a poisoned arrow on the river Oglio
Oglio
The Oglio is a left-side tributary of the Po River in Lombardy, Italy. It is 280 km long....
, near Martino dall'Argine in the region of Spineta while on the hunt.
Boniface's first marriage (before 1015) was to Richilda, daughter of Giselbert II, Count Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
. Richilda took little part in Boniface's government and was dead by 1034, leaving him no children. In 1037, he married Beatrice
Beatrice of Bar
Beatrice of Bar was the marchioness of Tuscany from 1053 to her death as the wife of Boniface III of Tuscany...
, daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine
Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine
Frederick II , son of Thierry I and Richilde von Blieskastel, daughter of Folmar III, Count in Bliesgau; was the count of Bar and duke of Lorraine, co-reigning with his father from 1019....
and Count of Bar, and niece of the Empress Gisela, wife of Conrad II. They celebrated their marriage in high style, keeping court at Marengo
Morengo
Morengo is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 40 km east of Milan and about 20 km south of Bergamo...
for three months afterwards. Beatrice also had but a small role in the rule of Tuscany, but she did bear her husband three children. The eldest, Beatrice, died in 1053, shortly after Boniface. The only son, Frederick
Frederick of Tuscany
Boniface IV Frederick was the only son of Boniface III of Tuscany and Beatrice of Bar. He was young when his father died on 6 May 1052 and he inherited the great north Italian margraviate....
, succeeded his father, but died soon after. The youngest child was Matilda
Matilda of Tuscany
Matilda of Tuscany was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...
, who inherited the great patrimony from Frederick. Beatrice remarried in 1054 to Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Godfrey III , called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. By inheritance, he was count of Verdun and he became margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of the duke of Lower Lorraine...
, who ruled until his death in 1069.
