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Conrad of Antioch
Conrad of Antioch (Italian: Corrado d'Antiochia; born 1240/41, died after 1312) was a scion of an illegitimate branch of the imperial Staufer dynasty and a nobleman of the Kingdom of Sicily. He was the eldest son of Frederick of Antioch, imperial vicar of Tuscany, and Margherita di Poli. He was thus a grandson of the Emperor Frederick II (reigned 1220–50), a nephew of King Manfred of Sicily (1258–66) and cousin of King Conradin (1266–68). His surname, which is contemporary, comes from his paternal grandmother, a mistress of Frederick II from Antioch. He may be called "Conrad I" to distinguish him from his descendants with the same given name.
Conrad's activities were mainly confined to the north of the Kingdom of Sicily and to the Papal State. Under Manfred, he governed several counties and held numerous castles in fief in the region of Abruzzo. He fought as Manfred's representative to re-assert Staufer control of central Italy. After Manfred's death, he was forced into exile by the Angevin conquest. In exile Conradin elevated him in rank by granting him the title Prince of Abruzzo and he took part in Conradin's attempt to regain the kingdom. Following the failure of this in 1268, he became a prisoner-of-war until 1272. The remaining forty years of his life were mostly spent quietly at his castle in Anticoli, save for the years 1282–86, at the start of the War of the Vespers, when he launched several invasions and raids into Abruzzo. These ultimately failed to shake Angevin control.
Conrad was born probably in the same year as his parents' marriage (1240) or in the following year. His father died in 1256 and he inherited the counties of Alba, Celano and Loreto, as well as numerous feudal possessions the Ruffi Mountains, around the Aniene river and in the Marsica. One of these, the town of Anticoli Corrado, today bears his name. He also received Saracinesco, Mola, Sambuci, Rocca dei Sorci, Rocca dei Murri and the castle of Piglio.
Nothing is known of Conrad's childhood or youth. He is first mentioned in the Chronicon Lauretanum for the year 1258, when he was already exercising the captaincy of Abruzzo. He attended the parliament convoked by his uncle at Foggia in September and October, where his possession of the counties of Alba, Celano and Loreto was confirmed, and he was given the county of Abruzzo as well as some small estates in Calabria.
At some point between 1258 and 1261, Conrad married Beatrice Lancia, daughter of Galvano Lancia, grand marshal of Sicily. They had five sons and three daughters. Two of his sons, Bartolomeo (1260–1311) and Francesco (1265–1320), held the office of archbishop of Palermo in succession; two of his daughters, Costanza (1270–1304) and Giovanna (1280–1352), married the brothers Bartolomeo I and Cangrande I della Scala, respectively. His youngest daughter, Giovanna, was the last known patrilineal descendant of the Staufer family.
In 1256, Manfred, still only acting as regent on behalf of his nephew Conradin, asserted Conradin's rights to the Romagna (Romandiola), the March of Ancona and the Duchy of Spoleto, which the Papacy also claimed. At a general colloquy in Naples in October 1261, Manfred, now king, appointed Conrad his vicar general in the March, the Duchy and the Romagna and charged him with leading an invasion to capture the disputed provinces. The army he was given was composed almost entirely of Saracens from Lucera.
Conrad invaded the Duchy of Spoleto in the summer of 1262. His assault on Spoleto itself failed, but with the help of the town of Matelica he was successful in taking the hilltop fortress of Castel Santa Maria from the city of Camerino. He proceeded to win over to Manfred's allegiance most of the towns of the March of Ancona through a combination of threats, donations and granting of privileges. In December 1263, after more than a year of campaigning, he was captured by trickery while besieging Treia and imprisoned in the dungeon of the tower. His father-in-law led several unsuccessful assaults on the town in an effort to force his release, but succeeded in sneaking Conrad out of the town in January 1264. There was suspicion that the podestà, Baglione Baglioni, had been corrupted, a charge Pope Clement IV was still leveling in 1266.
Conrad remained in the March of Ancona throughout 1264, for which he was excommunicated by Pope Urban IV. In 1265, he returned to his fiefs in Abruzzo.
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Conrad of Antioch
Conrad of Antioch (Italian: Corrado d'Antiochia; born 1240/41, died after 1312) was a scion of an illegitimate branch of the imperial Staufer dynasty and a nobleman of the Kingdom of Sicily. He was the eldest son of Frederick of Antioch, imperial vicar of Tuscany, and Margherita di Poli. He was thus a grandson of the Emperor Frederick II (reigned 1220–50), a nephew of King Manfred of Sicily (1258–66) and cousin of King Conradin (1266–68). His surname, which is contemporary, comes from his paternal grandmother, a mistress of Frederick II from Antioch. He may be called "Conrad I" to distinguish him from his descendants with the same given name.
Conrad's activities were mainly confined to the north of the Kingdom of Sicily and to the Papal State. Under Manfred, he governed several counties and held numerous castles in fief in the region of Abruzzo. He fought as Manfred's representative to re-assert Staufer control of central Italy. After Manfred's death, he was forced into exile by the Angevin conquest. In exile Conradin elevated him in rank by granting him the title Prince of Abruzzo and he took part in Conradin's attempt to regain the kingdom. Following the failure of this in 1268, he became a prisoner-of-war until 1272. The remaining forty years of his life were mostly spent quietly at his castle in Anticoli, save for the years 1282–86, at the start of the War of the Vespers, when he launched several invasions and raids into Abruzzo. These ultimately failed to shake Angevin control.
Conrad was born probably in the same year as his parents' marriage (1240) or in the following year. His father died in 1256 and he inherited the counties of Alba, Celano and Loreto, as well as numerous feudal possessions the Ruffi Mountains, around the Aniene river and in the Marsica. One of these, the town of Anticoli Corrado, today bears his name. He also received Saracinesco, Mola, Sambuci, Rocca dei Sorci, Rocca dei Murri and the castle of Piglio.
Nothing is known of Conrad's childhood or youth. He is first mentioned in the Chronicon Lauretanum for the year 1258, when he was already exercising the captaincy of Abruzzo. He attended the parliament convoked by his uncle at Foggia in September and October, where his possession of the counties of Alba, Celano and Loreto was confirmed, and he was given the county of Abruzzo as well as some small estates in Calabria.
At some point between 1258 and 1261, Conrad married Beatrice Lancia, daughter of Galvano Lancia, grand marshal of Sicily. They had five sons and three daughters. Two of his sons, Bartolomeo (1260–1311) and Francesco (1265–1320), held the office of archbishop of Palermo in succession; two of his daughters, Costanza (1270–1304) and Giovanna (1280–1352), married the brothers Bartolomeo I and Cangrande I della Scala, respectively. His youngest daughter, Giovanna, was the last known patrilineal descendant of the Staufer family.
In 1256, Manfred, still only acting as regent on behalf of his nephew Conradin, asserted Conradin's rights to the Romagna (Romandiola), the March of Ancona and the Duchy of Spoleto, which the Papacy also claimed. At a general colloquy in Naples in October 1261, Manfred, now king, appointed Conrad his vicar general in the March, the Duchy and the Romagna and charged him with leading an invasion to capture the disputed provinces. The army he was given was composed almost entirely of Saracens from Lucera.
Conrad invaded the Duchy of Spoleto in the summer of 1262. His assault on Spoleto itself failed, but with the help of the town of Matelica he was successful in taking the hilltop fortress of Castel Santa Maria from the city of Camerino. He proceeded to win over to Manfred's allegiance most of the towns of the March of Ancona through a combination of threats, donations and granting of privileges. In December 1263, after more than a year of campaigning, he was captured by trickery while besieging Treia and imprisoned in the dungeon of the tower. His father-in-law led several unsuccessful assaults on the town in an effort to force his release, but succeeded in sneaking Conrad out of the town in January 1264. There was suspicion that the podestà, Baglione Baglioni, had been corrupted, a charge Pope Clement IV was still leveling in 1266.
Conrad remained in the March of Ancona throughout 1264, for which he was excommunicated by Pope Urban IV. In 1265, he returned to his fiefs in Abruzzo.