Federici

Who he is

Name

Lanfranco Brusati

Title

head of the Federici

Since

not pinned

Family

Brusati of the Valcamonica, later called Federici

Confidence

medium

A deed of 1200 between the men of Darfo and Montecchio and the lords of Monticolo names 'Laffrancum d. Brusati' as 'caput Federicorum', the first appearance of the name. The deed's day is not pinned, so his headship on 1 January 1200 is likely, not certain. The scholar Alessandro Sina derived the family from the Brusati of Brescia, themselves descended from the Bergamasque lords of Mozzo who had rights in the lower Valcamonica in the 11th century.

Overlord

The bishop of Brescia and the commune of Brescia [the terms of their dependence in 1200 not pinned].

What it holds

• Montecchio (in the comune of Darfo) and its castle, the oldest Federici seat
• rights over the men of Darfo and Montecchio [as settled in the 1200 deed; terms not pinned]

How it was acquired

Inherited rights of the Brusati and the lords of Mozzo in the lower Valcamonica (11th-12th centuries).

Allies and rivals

Kin of the Brusati of Brescia; party with the lords of Monticolo and the men of Darfo and Montecchio to the 1200 deed. Their later valley rivals ('estrinseci' or 'malesardi') are 13th-century.

How things stand that morning

Masters of the valley floor round Darfo at the head of Lake Iseo, under the loose rule of Brescia and its bishop; the valley's imperial privilege of 1164 gives it a standing apart from the Brescian county.

Wealth

Iron and the valley road from Lake Iseo to the Alps; the old royal court of Darfo, where the men of Scalve paid their iron dues under Henry III's charter of 1047.

Military

The castle of Montecchio and the valley's men [no figures].

Threats

• the commune of Brescia
• the valley communities

Places of note

• Montecchio: Oldest seat of the Federici, in the comune of Darfo.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: One deed of 1200 and modern genealogies (it.wikipedia, Federici).

On the map: Their other castles (Gorzone, Erbanno) are attested only from about 1250 and are not drawn.

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