The county of Caserta: the hill town of Caserta (today Casertavecchia) with its castle and its cathedral, consecrated in 1153, above the plain north of Naples, and the villages of the slopes and the plain below.
Count William had been Henry VI's man since 1191 and Diepold's ally in 1192, but in 1199, soon after the sack of San Germano, he caught Diepold and kept him in chains. William died while Diepold was still his prisoner; his son Robert married Diepold's daughter and released him in November 1199 (Richard of San Germano; DBI). On 1 January 1200 Robert is Diepold's son-in-law and his ally, and his county sits between the king's Capua and Diepold's Acerra.
Who he is
- Name
- Robert (Roberto)
- Title
- Count of Caserta (comes Casertanus)
- Since
- 1199, on the death of his father Count William, between Diepold's capture in the spring and his release in November (Richard of San Germano; DBI on Diepold). A note to Loud's translation dates Robert's acts as count 1201-1212.
- Born
- Not known
- Family
- The counts of Caserta of the Lauro line, a branch of the Sanseverino (it.wikipedia on his grandson Richard). His father William welcomed Henry VI in 1191 and called Diepold in to help him in 1192, then seized him in 1199. Robert's wife is Diepold's daughter, married in 1199 (perhaps the countess Adelagisia); their son Thomas and grandson Richard (husband of Frederick II's daughter Violante, 1249) hold the county after him.
- Confidence
- medium
Richard of San Germano (1191, 1192, 1199); DBI on Diepold; it.wikipedia on Riccardo di Caserta. The Chronicle's text calls the son 'William'; Loud's note and the DBI make him Robert.
Overlord
The king (the county is held of the crown); in practice he stands with Diepold, his father-in-law.
What it holds
- Caserta (Casertavecchia): the count's castle town on the Tifata hills, seat of a bishop
- The county's villages on the slopes and in the plain round Caserta [castle by castle not pinned]
- Possibly Lauro in the Nolan hills, the family's old lordship [not pinned for 1200]
How it was acquired
Inherited from his father William in 1199; the Lauro family held the county from the mid 12th century.
Allies and rivals
Allies: Diepold (father-in-law since 1199), Count Richard of Fondi. Rivals: the regency's men at Capua; Count Peter of Celano; the royal demesne at Maddaloni and Capua.
How things stand that morning
Held by Count Robert, allied to Diepold. His county is not under the regency's control that winter.
Wealth
Grain, vines and olives of the Campanian plain and the Tifata slopes; the count's courts and dues.
Military
The castle of Caserta on the hill; the knights owed by the county's fiefs. His father showed in 1199 that the house could take a German captain by surprise. No numbers in the sources.
Threats
- The regency's barons and a papal army
- Diepold's own volatility: the house had been his ally, then his jailer
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.
- 10 June 1201 (not 1200)Walter of Brienne defeats Diepold before Capua, a few miles from Caserta; the alliance is put to the test. Robert remains count until 1212.Depends on: Walter's coming south. Stopped by: A settlement between Diepold and the pope in 1200.
Places of note
- Castle of Caserta: The count's castle and the cathedral of 1153
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1199 capture, the marriage and the release are in Richard of San Germano and the DBI; the county's extent in 1200 is not documented in the sources seen.
On the map: Only the core round Caserta is drawn. Maddaloni, below it, was royal demesne (Frederick II gave part of it to Montevergine in 1206) and is left out.
Primary sources for Diepold's Germans
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
- 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
- Book in honour of the Emperor, or On Sicilian affairs, Peter of Eboli (1195 to 1197). An illustrated verse account of Henry VI's conquest of Sicily, preserved in a single manuscript made at the imperial court. Read online
Sources and studies
- Richard of San Germano, Chronicle, trans. G.A. Loud (University of Leeds, PDF; covers to 1199)
- Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)
- Riccardo di Caserta (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.