Civitate was an old Byzantine and Norman city on the lower Fortore, a bishopric and the site of the Normans' great victory over Pope Leo IX in 1053; by the late twelfth century it was a county in decline.
In the autumn of 1199 it became a test of who governs the kingdom: Innocent III, as the boy king's guardian, invested Roger of Chieti with it in October 1199, while the household council at Palermo, led by the chancellor Walter of Palear, granted the same county to Peter of Celano, the chancellor's brother-in-law. The pope refused to revoke his grant. On 1 January 1200 the county has two lords on parchment; who holds the town is not pinned.
Later it passes to Matthew Gentile of Lesina.
Who he is
- Name
- Two rival grantees: Roger, count of Chieti, invested by Innocent III in October 1199, and Peter, count of Celano, granted the same county by the king's household council at Palermo; who holds the town itself that morning is not pinned
- Title
- County of Civitate
- Since
- October 1199 (the papal investiture of Roger); the Palermo grant to Peter about the same time
- Family
- Roger of Chieti's family is not pinned (abr's record). Peter of Celano is the great Abruzzese count and the chancellor Walter of Palear's brother-in-law (abr's record).
- Confidence
- medium
Kamp, DBI (Pietro di Celano), as read by the abr researcher: Innocent III gave Civitate to Roger of Chieti in October 1199 and refused to revoke the grant when Palermo granted the same county to Peter of Celano; in 1201 the pope named Roger and Peter master justiciars of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro together. DBI (Gentile, Matteo): Matthew Gentile later 'gained the county of Civitate, which had been disputed between Ruggero di Chieti and Pietro di Celano'.
Overlord
The king under the regency; both the pope (as guardian) and the household council claim the right to grant it.
What it holds
- The town of Civitate on the Fortore with its bishop's church
- Its territory on the lower Fortore (extent not pinned)
How it was acquired
Papal investiture of Roger of Chieti (October 1199); rival grant by the Palermo council to Peter of Celano.
Allies and rivals
Roger of Chieti, the pope's man; Peter of Celano, the chancellor's kinsman; their neighbours the Gentile counts of Lesina, who will end up with Civitate.
How things stand that morning
Two rival grants stand; possession not pinned. No fighting over it is recorded for that winter. The quarrel is a live wedge between the pope and the chancellor's council.
Wealth
Grain and pasture of the lower Fortore; the river crossing on the road along the coast. No figures.
Military
The walled town of Civitate. No numbers.
Threats
- The rival grant
- A breach between the pope and the chancellor
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.
- 1201The pope names Roger of Chieti and Peter of Celano master justiciars of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro together, which papers over the quarrel.Depends on: Walter of Brienne's campaign and a papal settlement with the Celano Stopped by: A break between Peter of Celano and the pope
- By 1203 (not pinned)Matthew Gentile of Lesina gains Civitate and styles himself count of Lesina and Civitate.Depends on: Both claimants letting it go Stopped by: Peter of Celano or Roger of Chieti keeping it
Places of note
- Civitate (ruins): The medieval city on the Fortore
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The October 1199 grant and the rival Palermo grant come from Kamp's DBI article on Peter of Celano (read through the abr record); the town's actual holder is not pinned.
On the map: Rough; the county's extent is unknown.
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.
Sources and studies
- N. Kamp, Pietro di Celano, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (treccani.it), as read by the abr researcher
- Gentile, Matteo, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (treccani.it)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.