Montevergine

Who holds it

Name

Not pinned (Donato is abbot later, until May 1220, per the Federiciana)

Title

Abbot of Montevergine, baron of Mercogliano

Since

Not pinned

Confidence

low

On 30 March 1195, at an assembly in Bari, Henry VI, with Constance, granted the abbots baronial powers over the territory of Mercogliano, with fiscal exemptions; Constance is said to have visited the abbey and given it a silver imperial image. Frederick II issued 26 documents in its favour between March 1206 and 1250, the first granting a plot of the royal demesne at Maddaloni (Federiciana).

What it holds

• Mercogliano: baronial powers over its territory, granted by Henry VI at Bari on 30 March 1195 (Federiciana)
• The sanctuary on Monte Partenio and the abbey's hospice
• Fiscal exemptions granted in 1195 (Federiciana)

How it was acquired

Founded by William of Vercelli in the early 12th century; the barony of Mercogliano came from Henry VI and Constance in 1195; more grants followed from Frederick II after 1206 (Federiciana).

How things stand that morning

Held by the abbot.

Wealth

Pilgrims to the sanctuary of the Virgin; the land of Mercogliano; the congregation's dependent houses.

Threats

• War around Avellino between Markward's party and the regency

Advocates and rivals

The lords of Avellino; the German party in the Principality; the royal court, its benefactor.

Places of note

• Sanctuary of Montevergine: The abbey on Monte Partenio

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The 1195 grant is documented; the abbot in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: Drawn as the modern commune of Mercogliano, which contains the sanctuary and the land of the 1195 grant.

Primary sources for Sicily

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 Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
• Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
• Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. 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 Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
• The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.