Other lordship · Markward of Annweiler's party · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Markward's March

Markward was the emperor's marquis of Ancona from 1195, a hard governor whose heavy taxes the towns hated.

After Henry VI died (28 September 1197) he tried to hold the March, with Camerino as one base, but Innocent III's legates arrived in March 1198, excommunicated him, and raised the towns: on 28 August 1198 he was still besieging the castle of Ripatransone in the south of the March, and three days later Ancona's league was sworn against him. Driven from Ancona, he withdrew into his county of Molise, and by March 1199 the pope could claim almost the whole March. In summer 1199, at Veroli on the frontier, he treated with three cardinals, renounced the regency, swore fealty to the pope and was absolved; then he broke his word and crossed to Sicily in October 1199 to seize the regency.

On 1 January 1200 he holds no known castle in the March. His title is a dead claim there, but Philip of Swabia's party still treats the March as imperial, so the claim could return with a German army.

Who he is

Name
Markward of Annweiler
Title
Marquis of Ancona and duke of Ravenna (by Henry VI's grant); imperial seneschal
Since
Easter 1195 (diet of Bari)
Born
Not pinned
Family
A ministerial of the Staufen, freed from ministerial status by Henry VI in 1195
Confidence
high

The Enciclopedia Federiciana says Henry VI gave him the duchy of Ravenna with the Romagna and the March of Ancona as a hereditary fief at the diet of Bari (Easter 1195), with the county of the Abruzzi in autumn 1195 and the county of Molise in 1196. The Enciclopedia Italiana (Ancona) has him styled 'marchio Anconae et Molisii' in 1197 and still in the March on 28 August 1198, besieging Ripatransone, before he left for the south. The Dizionario Biografico (Giovanni di San Paolo) has him excommunicated by the legates in 1198 and swearing fealty to the pope in summer 1199, when the excommunication was lifted.

He landed in Sicily in October 1199 (at Trapani, per en.wikipedia).

Overlord

The emperor (Henry VI's grant); Philip of Swabia's party recognised him as procurator of the kingdom of Sicily in May 1199.

What it holds

  • No castle or town in the March is known to be held for him on 1 January 1200
  • The title of marquis of Ancona under Henry VI's hereditary grant of 1195 (a claim)

How it was acquired

Granted by Henry VI at the diet of Bari, Easter 1195; lost in 1198 to Innocent III's legates and the March towns.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Philip of Swabia's party; the Germans of the kingdom. In the March, no ally is documented for 1199-1200. Rivals: the pope and his legates; Ancona and the league of 1198.

How things stand that morning

In Sicily, fighting the pope's regency for the boy king (see the Sicily records). Nothing in the March is known to be his that morning.

Wealth

None from the March.

Military

None in the March.

Threats

  • The papal crusade proclaimed against him (Sicily records)

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. 1205 (not 1200)Lupold of Worms, sent by Philip of Swabia, is admitted at Ancona and by towns of the old league, reviving the imperial claim to the March.Depends on: Philip of Swabia's party gaining ground and the towns tiring of papal demands. Stopped by: The towns holding to the pope.
  2. 1208 (not 1200)Innocent III grants the March to Azzo VI d'Este as marquis, closing Markward's claim for good.Depends on: Papal choice of a lay marquis. Stopped by: A papal rector able to rule directly.

Places of note

  • Siege of Ripatransone: Markward was besieging this castle on 28 August 1198 (Enciclopedia Italiana, Ancona).

Where the sources disagree

  • The Enciclopedia Italiana (Pesaro) says Markward held the March as imperial marquis from 1198 to 1200; the Federiciana and the other entries date his grant to 1195 and his loss of the March to 1198. We follow 1195-1198.
  • On Veroli (summer 1199) the sources differ: the Dizionario Biografico (Giovanni di San Paolo) and FIU have Markward swear fealty, renounce the regency and be absolved; Gregorovius says he treated with the cardinals and sent them away. Either way he was in arms against the pope's regency by October 1199.

Evidence: His titles and the dates of 1195-1199 are well attested; whether any of his men still held a castle in the March after March 1199 ('almost all' returned to the pope) is not documented.

On the map: Not drawn: no ground in the March is his that morning.

Primary sources for Markward

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Marcovaldo di Annweiler, Enciclopedia Federiciana (2005)
  2. Ancona, Enciclopedia Italiana (1929)
  3. GIOVANNI di San Paolo, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 56 (2001)
  4. S. Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: cardinals created in the 1190s (FIU)
  5. F. Gregorovius, Storia della città di Roma nel medio evo, vol. 5 (Project Gutenberg)
  6. Markward von Annweiler (en.wikipedia)

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