The county of Montescaglioso holds the ridge above the Bradano south of Matera, with the castle the Maccabeo counts built at the end of the eleventh century and the Benedictine abbey of San Michele Arcangelo (Sant'Angelo), and looks over the Ionian plain toward the mouth of the Bradano and Taranto.
Its holder on 1 January 1200 is not pinned. It will matter in 1201, when Walter of Brienne comes to claim the neighbouring principality of Taranto for his wife.
Who he is
- Title
- Count of Montescaglioso
- Since
- Not pinned
- Family
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia lists the holders of Montescaglioso without dates: Robert, Guiscard's nephew; the Maccabeo (Count Rodolfo Maccabeo, who welcomed the Benedictines); Goffredo of Lecce; Henry of Navarre, brother of Queen Margaret; a Ugo de Maccla; the Sanseverino; Berthold of Hohenburg (a Staufen-era grant, much later); and later houses. FMG has a chapter on the counts that could not be read. Who held the county on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Overlord
The king, under the regency
What it holds
- Montescaglioso and its castle
- Lands toward the Ionian plain (Pomarico, Bernalda: extent in 1200 not pinned)
- The abbey of San Michele Arcangelo at Montescaglioso is a Church map record, not the count's
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: Matera to the north, the county of Tricarico to the west, the lords of Taranto and the Terra d'Otranto across the Bradano (apu's records).
How things stand that morning
Ground of the regency (realm sicily); no fighting recorded here that winter.
Wealth
Grain of the Bradano and Basento plains, olives, pasture on the Ionian lowlands.
Military
The castle of Montescaglioso; knight service to the crown. No figures.
Threats
- Walter of Brienne's claim to Taranto, across the Bradano (from 1201)
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.
- 1201 (not 1200)Walter of Brienne, granted Lecce and Taranto as his wife Elvira's inheritance, campaigns in Apulia; the Bradano frontier of Taranto lies next to this county.Depends on: The pope granting the claim and Walter coming south. Stopped by: The pope refusing the claim, or Walter staying with the crusade.
Places of note
- Montescaglioso: County seat and castle; Benedictine abbey of San Michele Arcangelo
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only an undated list of holders was found; no count is pinned for the 1190s or 1200.
On the map: Approximate: the county's bounds in 1200 are not documented in the sources checked.
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.