Frangipani

Who he is

Name

The house of Frangipane (Fraiapane); the head that winter is not pinned (Gregorovius names an Oddone Frangipane and five sons in the troubles of 1203-1204)

Title

Roman barons; lords of the castle of Terracina, of the Rocca Circea and of Astura

Since

Terracina castle 1153; Circeo granted 1145; Astura 1193

Born

Not pinned

Family

Old Roman house of the Colosseum and the Palatine slopes, with branches by the Turris Chartularia near the arch of Titus and at the Septizonium

Confidence

medium

it.wikipedia (Terracina): in 1153 the Frangipani took the castle (Rocca Traversa) the Crescenzi had built in the upper town and ruled harshly; the Acso and Rosa families led a long struggle over hunting, grazing, wood and oak-bark; a rising in 1202 expelled them and destroyed the castle. it.wikipedia (San Felice Circeo): in 1145 Lucius II granted the Rocca Circea to the family, 'which already owned Terracina'; the Terracinesi seized it in the early 1200s and Innocent III bought the fief in 1207. it.wikipedia (Torre Astura): the Frangipani acquired Astura in 1193 and built a sea fortress there against Saracen raids. Gregorovius: Innocent III protected Terracina against the Frangipani, who had seized the castle of Traversa. it.wikipedia (Frangipane): the pope enfeoffed them with the Colosseum, which they had fortified.

Overlord

The pope.

What it holds

• The castle of Terracina (Rocca Traversa) and lordship rights over the town (hunting, grazing, wood, bark), held since 1153
• The Rocca Circea on Monte Circeo (San Felice Circeo), granted by Lucius II in 1145
• Astura, a sea castle on the Pontine coast, acquired in 1193
• In Rome: the Colosseum (held of the pope), the Turris Chartularia by the arch of Titus, the Septizonium tower
• Marino in the Alban hills is suspected by historians to have been taken from church lands (it.wikipedia; date not pinned)

How it was acquired

Papal grants and seizures over the twelfth century.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: the commune of Terracina and its leading families (the Acso, the Rosa); the Pierleoni of old (the schism of 1130). After 1202 the Annibaldi and the Ceccano fight over Terracina's factions (it.wikipedia).

How things stand that morning

Hold Terracina's castle, Circeo and Astura; Terracina's townsmen resist their lordship and look to the pope.

Wealth

Terracina's port and the Via Appia traffic to the kingdom; the fisheries and pasture of the Circeo and the coast; Roman rents.

Military

Three strong places on the coast and the Colosseum fortress in Rome; knights and men of their castles; no numbers.

Threats

• Terracina's revolt (1202)
• The pope taking Terracina under his direct protection and buying Circeo (1207)
• Saracen and Pisan raiders on the coast

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.

1. 1202 (beyond 1200)Terracina rises, expels the Frangipani and destroys their castle; a commune is established under papal protection.Depends on: The townsmen's grievances and the pope's sympathy. Stopped by: A settlement of the grazing and wood rights.
2. 1207 (beyond 1200)Innocent III buys the fief of the Rocca Circea.Depends on: Frangipani need of money; loss of Terracina. Stopped by: The family holding on.

Places of note

• Colosseum: Frangipani fortress in Rome
• Terracina castle (Rocca Traversa): Castle in the upper town, theirs since 1153
• Rocca Circea: Fortress on Monte Circeo, theirs since 1145
• Astura: Sea castle, theirs since 1193

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The dates come from it.wikipedia's local pages, consistent with Gregorovius; the head of the house in 1200 is not pinned.

On the map: Terracina is drawn both as the commune's land and as the Frangipani's lordship because both are true that winter; Marino is not drawn.

Primary sources for Papal State

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 Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
• Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. 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 Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. 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

12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.