Markward von Annweiler (died 1202) was Imperial
SeneschalA seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
and
RegentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
of the
Kingdom of SicilyThe Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom covered not only the island of...
.
Markward was a
ministerialisMinisterialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
, that is, he came not from the free nobility, but from a class of unfree service men whose purpose was to serve loyally the Imperial administration in any capacity. This Markward did during the reign of the Emperor
Frederick BarbarossaFrederick I Barbarossa 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 1154, and finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. He was crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178...
, becoming one of the most important figures in the administration.
From 1184, Markward served Barbarossa's son
Henry VIHenry 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,...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
.
Markward von Annweiler (died 1202) was Imperial
SeneschalA seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
and
RegentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
of the
Kingdom of SicilyThe Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom covered not only the island of...
.
Biography
Markward was a
ministerialisMinisterialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
, that is, he came not from the free nobility, but from a class of unfree service men whose purpose was to serve loyally the Imperial administration in any capacity. This Markward did during the reign of the Emperor
Frederick BarbarossaFrederick I Barbarossa 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 1154, and finally crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155. He was crowned King of Burgundy at Arles on 30 June 1178...
, becoming one of the most important figures in the administration.
From 1184, Markward served Barbarossa's son
Henry VIHenry 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,...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. Henry appointed him
MargraveA Margrave was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active military forces...
of
AnconaAncona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central Italy, population 101,909 . Ancona is situated on the Adriatic Sea and is the center of the province of Ancona and the capital of the region....
and
CountA count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The British equivalent is an earl...
of
AbruzzoAbruzzo Abruzzo Abruzzo (IPA: /aˈbruttso/ is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than 50 miles due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
, placing him in a highly strategic position in north-central Italy. After the death of Henry, Markward at first supported his widow
Constance of SicilyConstance was the heiress of the Norman kings of Sicily and the wife of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. She was Queen of Sicily in 1194-1198, jointly with her husband from 1194 to 1197, and with her infant son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1198.-Biography:Constance was the posthumous...
, but later found himself her enemy. He had been excommunicated by Popes
Celestine IIIPope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family, though he was only a deacon before becoming Pope...
and
Innocent IIIPope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. He was born with the name Lotario de Conti.-Early life and election to the Papacy:Lotario de' Conti was born Gavignano, near Anagni...
, who were trying to take over lands in central Italy.
Markward stayed in Italy, and became a supporter of
Philip of SwabiaPhilip 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 the emperor Frederick I and Beatrix, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
, the brother of Henry. Markward's political and military activities caused great problems for the Popes, whose control of Sicily gradually weakened. Two years after Constance's death (1198), Philip gave Markward the lordship of
PalermoPalermo is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, where the under-age heir, the future Emperor
Frederick IIFrederick II of Hohenstaufen was Holy Roman Emperor from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, and of Burgundy...
, was resident. Despite the opposition of Innocent III, Markward became Guardian of Frederick II and Regent of Sicily. However, Markward died within a few years.
He was succeeded in Palermo by one
William of CapparoneWilliam of Capparone was a Norman knight of Palermo who came to power as the regent of Sicily and guardian of future King and emperor Frederick II in 1202 after the death of Markward von Anweiler. He held the post for the next four years until 1206...
.
External links
Further reading
- David Abulafia
David Samuel Harvard Abulafia has been Professor of Mediterranean History at the University of Cambridge since 2000 and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge since 1974....
, 1988. Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor (Oxford University Press)