Counts of Montichiari

Who he is

Name

Narisio Longhi

Title

count of Montichiari

Since

not pinned

Family

Ugoni-Longhi, rural counts of the Brescian county, first called 'de Longis' in 1167

Confidence

medium

Counts Narisio, Vizolo and Azzo granted privileges to the vassals of Montichiari on 6 April 1167; the Narisio who leads the Brescian people in 1200-1201, invites Otto IV into Brescia (1207, possibly), witnesses an imperial act at Capua on 4 March 1211, guarantees the 1213 peace and is dead before 1220 (leaving sons Federico and Ugolino) may be the same man or his son: not pinned.

Overlord

Citizens of Brescia; their comital rights are older than the commune.

What it holds

• Comital rights over Montichiari and its vassals (1167 privileges), with the castle on the Chiese [their hold after the 1191 attack: medium]
• a share in the Ugoni lands round Asola and Mosio [not pinned]
• possibly the episcopal fiefs at Gargnano granted in 1196 to the counts Pizino, Egidio and Vizolo [branch not pinned]

How it was acquired

Inherited comital rights of the counts of Sabbioneta-Desenzano (Ugo and Matilde of Desenzano, 1107).

Allies and rivals

The people of Brescia (society of San Faustino); kin and soon rivals of the counts of Casaloldo; the commune of Brescia, which has twice attacked Montichiari.

How things stand that morning

Narisio and Alberto of Casaloldo still act together on 1 October 1200 (Winkelmann, from Odorici); on 1 January 1200 the counts are reconciled to the commune and lead it.

Wealth

Rents and dues of Montichiari's vassals and lands on the Chiese [not pinned].

Military

Their vassals; the people's militia that Narisio leads in 1200-1201.

Threats

• the commune's pressure on their rights
• the rival knights' party

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.

In 1200

1. autumn 1200 (between 1 October and 9 December)Narisio and Alberto of Casaloldo fall out; Narisio heads the people against the knights.Depends on: their quarrel Stopped by: a settlement

Later, on the likely course

1. August 1201Battle of Albezzago (Calcinato); peace by Bolognese envoys in November 1201.Depends on: the civil war Stopped by: an earlier peace

Places of note

• Castle of Montichiari: Comital castle on the Chiese, attacked by Brescia in 1168 and 1191.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: it.wikipedia (Ugoni-Longhi, from Odorici, Malvezzi and local studies) and Winkelmann.

On the map: Drawn as the modern comune; the counts' rights there were contested by the commune.

Primary sources for Brescia

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.

• 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 Lombard city annals of Piacenza, Milan, Cremona, Parma, Mantua and Verona (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries). The communes' own year lists. Read online