Boniface of Montferrat
Encyclopedia
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
. He was the third son of William V of Montferrat
William V, Marquess of Montferrat
William V of Montferrat , also known as William the Old to distinguish him from his eldest son, William Longsword, was marquess of Montferrat from c. 1136 to his death in 1191...
and Judith of Babenberg
Judith of Babenberg
Judith of Babenberg , , was a daughter of Agnes of Germany and her second husband Leopold III of Austria. The chronicler Otto of Freising was one of her older brothers; Conrad III of Germany her half-brother. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor was her nephew.She married c...
, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...
. He was a younger brother of William 'Longsword'
William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon
William of Montferrat , also called William Longsword , was the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the eldest son of William V, Marquess of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, and of Conrad I of Jerusalem
Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat was a northern Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the de facto King of Jerusalem, by marriage, from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death...
.
Boniface in Italy
Boniface's youthful exploits in the late 1170s are recalled in the famous Epic Letter, "Valen marques, senher de Monferrat", by his good friend and court troubadour Raimbaut de VaqueirasRaimbaut de Vaqueiras
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade....
. These included the rescue of the heiress Jacopina of Ventimiglia from her uncle Count Otto, who was intending to deprive her of her inheritance and send her to Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. Boniface arranged a marriage for her. When Albert of Malaspina (husband of one of Boniface's sisters) abducted Saldina de Mar, a daughter of a prominent Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
family, Boniface rescued her and restored her to her lover, Ponset d'Aguilar. Like the rest of the family, he also supported his cousin Frederick I Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
in their wars against the independent city communes of the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
.
Boniface's eldest brother, William, had died in 1177, soon after marrying Princess Sibylla
Sibylla of Jerusalem
Sibylla of Jerusalem was the Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon from 1176 and Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She was the eldest daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay, sister of Baldwin IV and half-sister of Isabella I of Jerusalem, and mother of Baldwin V of Jerusalem...
, the heiress to the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
. In 1179, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus offered his daughter Maria the Porphyrogenita as a bride to one of the sons of William V. Since Boniface, like his older brother Conrad, was already married, and Frederick was a priest, the youngest brother, Renier
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
, married her instead, only to be murdered along with her during the usurpation of Andronicus.
In 1183, Boniface's nephew Baldwin V
Baldwin V of Jerusalem
Baldwin V of Jerusalem was the son of Sibylla of Jerusalem and her first husband, William of Montferrat...
was crowned co-king of Jerusalem
Kings of Jerusalem
This is a list of kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...
. William V went out to the Latin Kingdom
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
to support his grandson, leaving Conrad and Boniface in charge of Montferrat. However, in 1187, Conrad also left for the East: Isaac II Angelus had offered his sister Theodora to Boniface as a wife, to renew the family's Byzantine alliance, but Boniface had just married for the second time, while Conrad was a recent widower.
In 1189, Boniface joined the council of regency for Thomas I of Savoy
Thomas I of Savoy
Thomas I or Tommaso I was Count of Savoy from 1189-1233. He was the son of Humbert III of Savoy and Beatrice of Viennois. His birth was seen as miraculous; his monkish father had despaired of having a male heir after three wives. Count Humbert sought counsel from St...
, son of his cousin Humbert III
Humbert III of Savoy
Umberto III , surnamed the Blessed, was Count of Savoy from 1148 to 1189. His parents were Amadeus III of Savoy and Mahaut of Albon, the sister of Guy IV of Dauphinois. His memorial day is March 4.According to CopeHis first wife died young; his second marriage ended in divorce...
, until the boy came of age about two years later. In 1191, after the new Emperor Henry VI
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...
granted him the county of Incisa, a fifteen-year war broke out against the neighbouring communes of Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
and Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
. Boniface joined the Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
League, while the two cities joined the League of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Boniface defeated the cities at Montiglio in June that year, but the war as a whole went badly for the dynasty's interests. At Quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
, he and Vaqueiras saved his brother-in-law Alberto of Malaspina when he was unhorsed. The first phase of the war ended with a truce in April 1193. By now, Boniface was Marquess of Montferrat, following the deaths of his father in 1191 and of Conrad, the newly elected King of Jerusalem
Kings of Jerusalem
This is a list of kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.-Kings of Jerusalem :...
, in 1192. (No claim to Montferrat ever seems to have been made on behalf of Conrad's posthumous daughter Maria
Maria of Montferrat
Maria of Montferrat was Queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Conrad of Montferrat and Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem...
.)
In June 1194, Boniface was appointed one of the leaders of Henry VI's expedition to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. At Messina, amid the fighting between the Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and 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...
n fleets, Vaqueiras protected his lord with his own shield – an act which helped the troubador win a knighthood from Boniface that year, after the campaign's successful conclusion: Henry's coronation in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. In October 1197, the truce with Asti ended. Boniface made an alliance with Acqui in June 1198. There were numerous skirmishes and raids, including at Ricaldone
Ricaldone
Ricaldone is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km southeast of Turin and about 25 km southwest of Alessandria...
and Caranzano, but by 1199 it was clear the war was lost, and Boniface entered into negotiations.
Throughout the 1180s and 1190s, despite the wars, Boniface had nevertheless presided over one of the most prestigious courts of chivalric
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
culture and troubador song. In the 12th century, the Piemontèis
Piedmontese language
Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 2 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Northern Italian group . It is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, including French, Occitan, and Catalan.Many European and...
language (which in the present day reflects more French and Italian influences) was virtually indistinguishable from the Occitan of Southern France and Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Besides Vaqueiras, visitors included Peire Vidal
Peire Vidal
Peire Vidal was a troubadour. According to his biography, he was born in Toulouse, the son of a furrier, and the greatest of singers....
, Gaucelm Faidit
Gaucelm Faidit
Gaucelm Faidit was a troubadour, born in Uzerche, in the Limousin, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France, Spain, and Hungary...
, and Arnaut de Mareuil
Arnaut de Mareuil
Arnaut de Mareuil was a troubadour, composing lyric poetry in the Occitan language. Twenty-five, perhaps twenty-nine, of his songs, all cansos, survive, six with music....
. Boniface's patronage was celebrated widely. To Gaucelm, he was Mon Thesaur (My Treasure). Curiously, Vaqueiras sometimes addressed him as N'Engles (Lord Englishman), but the in-joke is never explained. His sister Azalaïs
Azalaïs of Montferrat
Azalaïs of Montferrat was marchioness and regent of Saluzzo.-Biography:Azalaïs was one of at least three daughters of William V of Montferrat and his wife Judith of Babenberg...
, Marchioness of Saluzzo
Saluzzo
Saluzzo is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont region, Italy.The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc...
, also shared this interest and was mentioned by Vidal.
The Fourth Crusade
Theobald III of Champagne
Theobald III was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death.Theobald was the younger son of Henry I of Champagne and Marie, a daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine...
, died in 1201, Boniface was chosen as its new leader. He was an experienced soldier, and it was an opportunity to reassert his dynasty's reputation after defeat at home. Boniface's family was well-known in the east: his nephew Baldwin and brother Conrad had been Kings of Jerusalem, and his niece Maria
Maria of Montferrat
Maria of Montferrat was Queen of Jerusalem, the daughter of Conrad of Montferrat and Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem...
was heiress of the kingdom.
Boniface's cousin Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
was married to Irene Angelina
Irene Angelina
Irene Angelina was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos by his first wife, perhaps named Herina, possibly a member of the Tornikes family.- Marriage and issue :...
, a daughter of the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus and niece of Conrad's second wife Theodora. In the winter of 1201 Boniface spent Christmas with Phillip in Hagenau, and while there also met with Alexius Angelus, Isaac II's son, who had escaped from the custody of his uncle Alexius III Angelus. At this time the three discussed the possibility of using the crusading army to restore Alexius' right to the throne. Both Boniface and Alexius travelled separately to Rome to ask for Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
's blessing for the endeavour; however, Boniface was specifically told by Innocent not to attack any Christians, including the Byzantines.
The Crusader army was in debt to the doge of Venice, who had provided their fleet. He instructed them to attack the rebellious cities of Trieste, Moglie, and Zara and beat them into submission before sailing for Cairo. The Pope was angered by these Christian cities being attacked by a Crusader army. The doge, Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo
Enrico Dandolo — anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus — was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1195 until his death...
, was now the true war leader of this Crusade, with Boniface as only a figurehead. Alexius Angelus made many promises to the Crusaders and their principal financer, the doge of Venice, for riches and honors if they would help him reclaim his kingdom. Dandolo placated the Pope by having Alexius Angelus promise to submit the Orthodox Church to Rome when he was restored to his throne in Constantinople. This being done, the fleet set sail for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1203.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1204, Boniface was assumed to be the new emperor, both by the western knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s and the conquered Byzantine citizens. However, the Venetians
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
ed him, believing that he already had too many connections in the Empire (and, likely, felt that they would not have as much influence in the new Empire if Boniface was in control). Instead, they chose Baldwin of Flanders
Baldwin I of Constantinople
Baldwin I , the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, as Baldwin IX Count of Flanders and as Baldwin VI Count of Hainaut, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Constantinople, the conquest of the greater part of the Byzantine...
. Boniface founded the Kingdom of Thessalonica
Kingdom of Thessalonica
The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands.- Background :...
and also held all the territories lied east of Bosphorus and territories in Crete, though he later conceded Crete to
Baldwin. Late 13th and 14th century sources suggest that Boniface based his claim to Thessalonica on the statement that his younger brother Renier
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
had been granted Thessalonica on his marriage to Maria Komnene
Maria Komnene (Porphyrogenita)
Maria Komnene was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos by his first wife, Irene of Sulzbach. She was known as the Porphyrogenneta or Porphyrogenita because she had been "born in the Purple Chamber", i.e...
in 1180.
Family and death
Boniface was first married c. 1170 to Helena del Bosco. They had three children:- William VI, (c. 1173-17 September 1226). Marquess of Montferrat.
- Beatrice, m. Henry II del Carretto, marquess of SavonaSavonaSavona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, as the second of his three wives; she is the Bel Cavalher (Fair Knight) of Vaqueiras's songs, composed in the 1190s. - Agnes of MontferratAgnes of MontferratAgnes of Montferrat was the first Empress consort of Henry of Flanders, Latin Emperor of Constantinople.- Family :She was a daughter of Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat, founder of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, and his first wife Helena del Bosco...
(d. 1207), m. the Emperor Henry of FlandersHenry of FlandersHenry was the second emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He was a younger son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut , and Margaret I of Flanders, sister of Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders....
in 1207.
According to Nicetas Choniates
Nicetas Choniates
Nicetas or Niketas Choniates , sometimes called Acominatos, was a Greek historian – like his brother Michael Acominatus, whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople...
, Boniface had remarried circa in late 1186 – early 1187. This bride was possibly Jeanne de Châtillon-sur-Loing, daughter of Raynald de Châtillon-sur-Loing
Raynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...
and his first wife Princess Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch was the only daughter of Bohemund II of Antioch by his wife Alice, princess of Jerusalem. She was also Princess regnant of the Principality of Antioch from 1130 to her death.-Early life:...
. The Lignages d'Outremer name "Maria e Joanna" as the two daughters of "Rinaldo de Castellion" and his wife "Costanza…la Nova Princessa", stating that Marie (presumably being an error for Agnes) married "el re d'Ungaria" and Jeanne married "el re de Salonichio". This is the only reference so far found to this daughter but, if it is correct, "el re de Salonichio" can only refer to Boniface. Jeanne would have been the maternal aunt of Boniface's last wife; apparently, the marriage was childless or, if they had children, none survive to adulthood.
In 1205 in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
he married the Dowager Empress Margaret of Hungary
Margaret of Hungary
Margaret of Hungary was the Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor.- Family :Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and...
, daughter of King Bela III of Hungary
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
. Margaret was the widow of Emperor Isaac II Angelus. They had one child:
- DemetriusDemetrius of MontferratDemetrius or Demetrios of Montferrat , , king of Thessalonica from 1207 to 1224.Demetrius was the son of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat by Margaret of Hungary, the widow of Emperor Isaac II Angelos. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Boniface had secured for himself the kingdom of Thessalonica...
, b. c. 1205, King of Thessalonica
Boniface was killed in an ambush by the Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
on September 4, 1207, and his head was sent to Bulgarian Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Kaloyan
Kaloyan of Bulgaria
Kaloyan the Romanslayer , Ivan II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1197-1207. He is the third and youngest brother of Peter IV and Ivan Asen I who managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire...
. The loyal Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade....
, who had followed him to the East, probably died with him: it is significant that he composed no planh
Planh
The planh or plaing is a funeral lament used by the troubadours, modeled on the medieval Latin planctus. It differed from the planctus in that it was intended for a secular audience...
(lament) in his memory.
Sources
- Vaqueiras, Raimbaut de. The Epic Letter (external link to bilingual text)