Dipold, Count of Acerra
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as Diepold or Dietpold von Schweinspeunt or Schweinspünt, was a ministerialis
Ministerialis
Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
who was raised to 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...
in 1209. Of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n origin, he was a reputed younger son of Berthold II of Vohburg and Adelaide of Ballenstedt. He was originally a vassal of the count of Lechsgemünd. His career in the Mezzogiorno
Mezzogiorno
The Midday is a wide definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the southern half of the Italian state, encompassing the southern section of the continental Italian Peninsula and the two major islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to a large number of minor islands...
was marked by continual raids and sieges, battles, and sacks recounted in exhaustive detail by Richard of San Germano
Richard of San Germano
Richard of San Germano was a notary at the monastery of Cassino from February 1186 to March 1232. He wrote a chronicle of the Mezzogiorno from the death of William II of Sicily in 1189 to 1243...
, a monk of the abbey whose lands were especially hard-hit.
He accompanied Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
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,...
, to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and 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,...
in 1191. He was first made castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
of Rocca d'Arce
Rocca d'Arce
Rocca d'Arce is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 100 km southeast of Rome and about 20 km southeast of Frosinone....
. He made an agreement with the dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
, Atenulf, and raised a large army. They invaded the lands of the monastery of San Germano, now renamed Cassino
Cassino
Cassino is a comune in the province of Frosinone, Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio.Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Rapido and Liri rivers...
, taking the castles of Piumarola and Pignetaro. Dipold defeated a royalist army in pitched battle at Aquino
Aquino
Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 km northwest of Cassino.-History:The ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri...
"as a result [his] power increased." In 1191, he captured Richard, Count of Carinola, a former ally of Roger of Andria
Roger of Andria
Roger, count of Andria and Great Chamberlain of Sicily, was a claimant for the Sicilian throne after the death of William II in 1189. He is claimed by some to have been a great-grandson of Drogo of Hauteville, but this cannot be proven....
. During Henry's retreat, Dipold successfully defended the rear from a bridgehead
Bridgehead
A bridgehead is a High Middle Ages military term, which antedating the invention of cannons was in the original meaning expressly a referent term to the military fortification that protects the end of a bridge...
in the Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro is the name of a historical region of southern Italy. It corresponds roughy to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania regions of Italy....
.
In the intervening period, Dipold established a base of power in the Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
. He remained mostly on the mainland and acted as Henry's governor there. He strongly supported the regent Markward von Annweiler
Markward von Annweiler
Markward von Annweiler was Imperial Seneschal and Regent of the Kingdom of Sicily.-Biography:Markward was a ministerialis, that is, he came not from the free nobility, but from a class of unfree knights and administrators whose purpose was to serve loyally the Imperial administration in any capacity...
, but was captured by the count of Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
. In 1195, he was designated justiciar
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...
of the Terra di Lavoro. In 1197, he captured Richard of Acerra and threw him in prison. After turning him over to the emperor, he was created count of Acerra
Acerra
Acerra is a town and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the Province of Naples, about 20 km northeast of the provincial capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain.-History:...
. Dipold began increasing his influence through marriage alliances. He married his brother Siegfried to a daughter of the count of Fondi
Fondi
Fondi is a city and comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. Before the construction of the highway between the latter cities in the late 1950s, Fondi had been an important settlement on the Roman Via Appia, which was the main connection from Rome to...
in 1199. He married his daughter to the count of Caserta and his son to a daughter of Peter, Count of Celano.
Dipold fought against Walter III of Brienne
Walter III of Brienne
Walter III of Brienne was the Count of Brienne 1191–1205, Prince of Taranto, Duke of Apulia, and Count of Lecce, and titular King of Sicily 1201–1205....
a claimant opposed to Frederick of Hohenstaufen. In 1201, Walter defeated and put to flight Dipold on 10 June at Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
. In 1204, he besieged Walter in the fortress of Terracina
Terracina
Terracina is a town and comune of the province of Latina - , Italy, 76 km SE of Rome by rail .-Ancient times:...
, but Walter broke the siege and put Dipold to flight. On June 11, 1205, he ambushed by Walter while the latter was besieging him at Sarno
Sarno
Sarno is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, 20 km northeast from the city of Salerno and 60 km east of Naples by the main railway.-Overview:...
. Walter was captured and mortally wounded.
In 1206, Dipold finally convinced the guardian of the young Frederick, William of Capparone
William of Capparone
William of Capparone was a German captain of Palermo who came to power as the regent of Sicily and guardian of future emperor Frederick II in 1202 after the death of Markward von Anweiler. He held the post for the next four years until 1206. He was called the Great Captain.William was probably...
, to release the boy to the hands of Walter of Palearia
Walter of Palearia
Walter of Palear was chancellor of Sicily and the bishop of Troia and then bishop of Catania ....
, the chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
and an ally of the Germans and 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....
. Capparone, meanwhile, maintained himself in the royal palace until Dipold came to the island and dislodged him. By 1207, Walter, however, distrusted Dipold, who had recently travelled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to be released from excommunication by 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....
. The chancellor captured him, but Dipold escaped and fled to Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, where he entered into open war with Walter and the chancellor's brother-in-law, Peter of Celano. He sorely defeated the men of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, allies of Palearia, in May.
In exchange for his support, the Emperor Otto IV raised Dipold to the title of magister capitaneus totius Apuliae et Terre Laboris and made him Duke of Spoleto between 6 or 10 February 1209. He was incapable, however, of maintaining his authority over his vast territory. In 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...
in November, it was probably he who convinced Otto to invade Sicily.
Dipold fell out with Frederick and the Genoese. In 1218, Frederick sent James of Avellino to arrest him and he was carted back to Germany. According to Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
Alberic of Trois-Fontaines was a medieval Cistercian chronicler who wrote in Latin. He was a monk of Trois-Fontaines Abbey . In 1232 he began his Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium, which describes world events from the Creation to the year 1241...
, he was released in 1221 and joined the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
, living many more years. He did not return to Italy and never resurfaces in the chronicles, presumably dying soon after.
Sources
- Pavan, Massimiliano (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XL Di Fausto – Donadoni. RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 1991. - Annales Casinenses. Translated by G. A. Loud.
- Norwich, John JuliusJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
. The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1970. - Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
: 1992. - Ryccardi di Sancto Germano Notarii Chronicon. trans. G. A. Loud.
- Riezler, R. Über die Herkunft Dipolds v. Acerra. FDG 16, 1876, 373-374.
- Keupp, Jan Ulrich. "Dienst und Verdienst". Die Ministerialen Friedrich Barbarossas und Heinrichs VI. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 2002. ISBN 3-7772-0229-0
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