Busca

Who he is

Name

Berengario (Berengar) of Busca

Title

Marquis of Busca

Since

1158 (it.wikipedia gives his rule as 1158-1211)

Born

not pinned

Family

Del Vasto Aleramici: grandson of Boniface del Vasto through Guglielmo, first lord of Busca; brother of Manfredi I Lancia (see Manfredi Lancia). His son Guglielmo II succeeds in 1211.

Confidence

medium

it.wikipedia Marchesato di Busca; en.wikipedia Manfred I Lancia; DBI on Boniface of Montferrat for the 1192 grant.

Overlord

The emperor.

What it holds

• Busca and its castle
• The lower Maira valley (the 'Vallis Mallae' of an act of 1123)
• Villafalletto and part of the Saluzzo plain (it.wikipedia; by 1206 Villafalletto is the marquis of Saluzzo's)
• Kinsmen's shares: Cossano Belbo, Rocchetta Belbo, Castino; Rossana, Cavallerleone, Polonghera

How it was acquired

Inherited share of the Del Vasto lands after about 1142.

Allies and rivals

Kin of Saluzzo, Ceva, Clavesana and the Del Carretto; tied to Montferrat by the 1192 grant. Neighbour of the new commune of Cuneo.

How things stand that morning

Holds Busca and the Maira mouth; no event of 1199-1200 is recorded.

Wealth

Valley and road dues on the way from the plain into the Maira valley and over the passes to Provence.

Military

Castle and vassals; no figures.

Threats

• Debt and division among kinsmen
• Saluzzo's expansion
• Cuneo drawing away his villagers

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. 1204 (beyond 1200)The marquises of Busca join Saluzzo, Montferrat, Ceva, Clavesana and the Del Carretto with Alba against Asti and Cuneo.Depends on: Asti's protection of Cuneo. Stopped by: A settlement over Cuneo.

Places of note

• Busca castle: Seat of the marquisate.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Holder and family are clear; the extent of his lands in 1200 is not.

On the map: A rough block round Busca and the valley mouth.

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.