Barons and castellans · Contested ground · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Bertinoro lords

Bertinoro's comital line ended in 1177, and since then the castle and county have been fought over by two factions of its knights, the imperial Mainardi and the Bulgari, while pope, emperor and archbishop all claim the dead count's rights.

Arrigo Mainardi, famous for courtesy, is the Mainardi's leading man.

Who he is

Name
Arrigo Mainardi
Title
Leading knight of the Mainardi faction
Since
documented from 1170
Born
not pinned
Family
The Mainardi of Bertinoro; a nephew Alberiguccio is named later
Confidence
medium

Enciclopedia Dantesca: Arrigo fought for Forlì against Faenza at San Varano in 1170, where he was taken with Pietro Traversari; witnessed Henry VI's diploma at Cesena on 25 November 1186; last appears on 25 July 1228. After Count Cavalcaconte's death in 1177 the pope and Barbarossa disputed the county and the emperor backed the Mainardi against the Bulgari faction. Acts of 1201-1202, in which Arrigo does not appear, ended the feud and gave the count's goods and rights to the archbishop of Ravenna.

Overlord

Disputed: the emperor (Henry VI's will of 1195 named the land of Bertinoro with Markward's duchy), the pope (who says the last count left it to the Church), and from 1201-1202 the archbishop of Ravenna.

What it holds

  • Towers and houses in Bertinoro
  • A share of the castle and county of Bertinoro (disputed)

How it was acquired

Local knightly families of the castle; imperial backing after 1177.

Allies and rivals

Allies: the Traversari, Forlì, the imperial party. Rivals: the Bulgari faction; later the Dusdei of Ravenna, who drive them out in 1218.

How things stand that morning

Contested; no lord.

Wealth

Wine and land of the Bertinoro hill.

Military

Their towers and followers.

Threats

  • The Bulgari faction
  • A settlement handing Bertinoro to the archbishop

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1201-1202The feud is ended and the old count's rights pass to the archbishop of Ravenna.Depends on: The factions agreeing. Stopped by: The Mainardi refusing.

Where the sources disagree

  • The papal claim record (Romagna (claim)) says the papacy held the last count had left Bertinoro to the Roman Church [thin]; the Enciclopedia Dantesca says pope and emperor disputed it and the archbishop of Ravenna got the rights in 1201-1202.

Evidence: Enciclopedia Dantesca entry with dated acts.

On the map: The old county's limits are not documented; drawn as the hill and its slopes.

Sources and studies

  1. Arrigo Mainardi (Enciclopedia Dantesca, Treccani)
  2. Bertinoro (it.wikipedia)
  3. Storia di Ravenna (it.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.