The bishop of Populonia moved his seat to Massa in the metal-bearing hills after pirates and a Byzantine fleet sacked Populonia; Alexander II confirmed the move in 1062.
Until the early 13th century the bishop exercises civil power over Massa and some villages, and he takes the tithe of all mining on the island of Elba. Massa lives from copper and silver mines; it will make itself a free commune in 1225.
Who holds it
- Title
- Bishop of Populonia-Massa
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
The Italian Wikipedia list gives Martino (before 28 October 1189 to after 1196) and next Marzucco Gaetani (before July 1211, moved to Luni in 1213). Martino may still be bishop on 1 January 1200, but this is not pinned.
What it holds
- Massa: civil power over the city and some villages (until the early 13th century)
- The tithe of all mining on Elba
How it was acquired
Inherited with the see of Populonia, which moved to Massa by 1062.
How things stand that morning
Held by the bishop, over a growing mining town.
Wealth
Copper and silver of the Colline Metallifere; the Elba mining tithe.
Threats
- The townsmen's drive for a commune
Advocates and rivals
The townsmen and mine owners of Massa, who will form a commune in 1225; Siena, which will absorb Massa in the 14th century.
Places of note
- Massa Marittima cathedral: Seat of the bishop
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The bishops' civil power and the Elba tithe are attested in outline; the bishop in office on 1 January 1200 is not.
On the map: Drawn as the modern municipality; the villages under the bishop are not pinned.
Primary sources for Empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.