Counts of Aprutium, Count of Aprutium

Aprutium, the name that later spread to the whole Abruzzi, still means in 1200 the Teramo country between the Tronto and the Vomano.

Its city, Teramo, belongs to its bishop since King William I gave it to Bishop Guido II after Robert of Loritello burned it (1156); the countryside is held by the counts of Aprutium, whose chief fiefs were Atri and San Flaviano by the sea, and by lesser lords. Count Rainaldo joined Henry of Swabia's raids into the kingdom in 1189-90 and was dead soon after 1195; his son Monaldo is still a count in 1229. In the autumn of 1195 Henry VI added 'the county of the Abruzzi' to Markward's March of Ancona, and enfeoffed Teramo castles to his own favourites.

Whether Monaldo or Markward's grant counts on 1 January 1200 is not pinned; no German garrison is recorded here that winter, and the land is drawn as the regency's.

Who he is

Name: Not pinned: Count Rainaldo, attested 1170-1193 and dead soon after 1195, was followed by his son Monaldo (it.wikipedia, Storia di Teramo); Henry VI had extended Markward's lordship over 'the county of the Abruzzi' in the autumn of 1195 (Federiciana)
Title: Count of Aprutium (comes Aprutinus); Atri and San Flaviano were the counts' chief fiefs in the twelfth century
Since: not pinned
Born: not pinned
Family: The old comital line of Aprutium, whose chief fiefs in the Catalogus baronum (mid-twelfth century) were Atri, rated at 10 knights, and San Flaviano (it.wikipedia, Atri); Monaldo is attested in the war of 1229 against Frederick II.
Confidence: low

it.wikipedia (Storia di Teramo) for Rainaldo and Monaldo and for Henry VI's grants of Teramo castles in 1195 to a Count Maurizio and kinsmen of Master Berardo; the Federiciana for Markward's county of the Abruzzi. Which of these held the county on 1 January 1200 is not settled.

Overlord

The crown of Sicily.

What it holds

Atri and San Flaviano (by Giulianova), the counts' chief fiefs in the twelfth century
Castles of the Teramo country between the Tronto, the Salinello and the Vomano (Campli, Civitella, Bellante and others; not pinned for 1200)

How it was acquired

Old comital line; Henry VI's grants of 1195 (Federiciana; it.wikipedia).

Allies and rivals

The bishop of Teramo, lord of the city; Ascoli and the March across the Tronto; the Palear in the Valle Siciliana to the south-west.

How things stand that morning

Holder not pinned. The frontier with the papal March is quiet as far as the sources show, but it does not run neatly along the Tronto: the bishop of Ascoli holds the castle of Ancarano south of the river, and the upper Tronto valley round Amatrice and Accumoli belongs to the bishop of Ascoli's lordship (later disputed by Norcia), entering the kingdom only about 1265 under Manfred (it.wikipedia, Amatrice, Accumoli, Ancarano). Montereale and the Amiternum country are the kingdom's.

Wealth

Hill farming between the rivers, the coast road and the crossing of the Tronto.

Military

Frontier castles on the Tronto (Civitella); no figures.

Threats

Ascoli and the March across the Tronto
A German claim revived from the March

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.

1200No dated event of 1200 is known for this lordship.Depends on: nothing Stopped by: nothing

Places of note

Civitella: Frontier castle above the Salinello facing Ascoli

Where the sources disagree

it.wikipedia (Storia di Teramo) gives inconsistent bishops for these years (Dionisio 1170-1202, a Bishop Rainaldo in 1195); the diocese's list makes Atto I bishop from before 1179 to 1204, and he is taken as bishop on 1 January 1200.

Evidence: Local historiography only; no charter of 1199-1200 checked.

On the map: An estimate of the old county's ground; lordship here was divided between the counts, the bishop and lesser lords.

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

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