Officers: prévôtés, bailiwicks, seneschals · The Papal State: the pope's own lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Rector of the duchy

Early in 1198 Duke Conrad of Urslingen, having failed to keep the duchy by offering fealty, tribute and his sons as hostages, gave it up publicly at Narni: he handed the castles of Cesi and Gualdo to the cardinals Innocent had sent, ordered Assisi surrendered, released all his vassals from their oaths, was absolved of his excommunication and left Italy.

Innocent toured the duchy himself in 1198 (he consecrated Spoleto's cathedral) and set a rector in the duke's place. The rector inherits the duke's rights: the duke's castles and demesne, high justice, the hospitality and army dues, the census, and the oaths of the towns and counts. In practice the towns rule themselves; the first years of papal rule changed little in local conditions (Enciclopedia Italiana).

Who he is

Name
Cardinal Gregorio Crescenzi, deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro, named rector in 1198 in Duke Conrad's place (Enciclopedia Italiana, Spoleto); whether he still holds the office and is in the duchy on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
Title
Rector of the duchy of Spoleto for the pope
Since
1198
Family
Crescenzi, a Roman house
Confidence
medium

Enciclopedia Italiana (Spoleto) names him as the new rector of 1198, and Gregorovius (as cited by rom) makes 'the cardinal of S. Maria in Aquiro' rector of the duchy in summer 1198; the DBI life of Conrad of Urslingen gives the surrender at Narni; campaign notes Part 4 list him among the cardinals and put an unidentified Cardinal Gregory in Hungary as legate.

Overlord

Pope Innocent III

What it holds

  • The castle of Cesi, chief castle of the Terra Arnolfa above Terni (surrendered by Conrad, 1198)
  • The castle of Gualdo (most likely Gualdo Tadino; surrendered 1198)
  • The duke's lordship over the towns of the duchy: Spoleto, Foligno, Assisi, Spello, Trevi, Bevagna, Nocera, Gualdo, Terni, Norcia, Cascia and the rest (oaths, census, justice)
  • The duke's overlordship of the counts and castle lords of the valleys (the Arroni of Arrone, the counts of Coccorone, the Arnolfi counts of the Terra Arnolfa)

How it was acquired

By Conrad of Urslingen's surrender at Narni early in 1198 and the towns' submission to the pope that year.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Perugia, the pope's friend; the Catholic party in the towns. Rivals: Conrad's sons (Enrico, Corrado, Rainaldo, Bertoldo), who will claim the duchy for decades; the towns' wish to rule themselves (Assisi pulled down the Rocca rather than hand it over); any imperial return.

How things stand that morning

The duchy is the pope's in law and in its castles; the towns are self-governing. No German captain of Conrad's is known to hold a castle in the duchy that winter (the DBI records none). Conrad himself is in Germany: he was at Philip of Swabia's court in summer 1199. Across the duchy's borders: the kingdom of Sicily's Abruzzi east of Norcia and Cascia (abr), the March of Ancona north-east (anc), Rieti and the Sabina south (rom).

In 1199 the pope also gave the prefect of the City (The prefect) powers of justice as his envoy in the Tuscia, Umbria and the duchy.

Wealth

The duke's dues and census; the castles.

Military

Castellans in Cesi and Gualdo; the pope's hired troops and his marshal (rom's record) in need; the towns' levies by their oaths.

Threats

  • Conrad's sons and Philip of Swabia's party
  • Towns that refuse real lordship
  • The rector's absence if he is the Cardinal Gregory sent to Hungary

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. 8 June 1201 (beyond 1200)At Neuss Otto IV promises the pope the duchy with the other recovered lands.Depends on: Otto needing the pope's support Stopped by: the pope turning to Philip
  2. 1210 (beyond 1200)Otto IV, now emperor, takes the duchy back and gives it to Diepold, then to a Rainald.Depends on: Otto's break with the pope Stopped by: nothing in play in 1200

Places of note

  • Castle of Cesi: Chief castle of the Terra Arnolfa, surrendered by Conrad in 1198.
  • Castle of Gualdo: Surrendered by Conrad in 1198 (most likely this Gualdo).
  • Narni: Where Conrad gave up the duchy early in 1198.

Where the sources disagree

  • campaign notes Part 4 list Gregorio Crescenzi as a cardinal and Part 3 put 'a Cardinal Gregory' in Hungary as legate without saying which. If Crescenzi is that legate, the duchy's rector on 1 January 1200 is someone else or a deputy (not pinned).
  • en.wikipedia (Duchy of Spoleto), following the old Catholic Encyclopedia, names 'Cardinal Giovanni Colonna the Younger' as rector for three years after 1198; that cardinal was created only in 1212. The old confusion is probably with Giovanni di San Paolo, who was in France and Languedoc in 1200. Not followed.

Evidence: The surrender at Narni and its terms are in the DBI; the rector's name rests on the Enciclopedia Italiana and on Gregorovius as cited by rom.

On the map: The rector's lordship covers the whole duchy in law, which the towns' records colour papal; only the two castles the duke gave up are drawn as his.

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.

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

Sources and studies

  1. Corrado di Urslingen (Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Treccani)
  2. Spoleto (Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani)
  3. Umbria (Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani)
  4. Duchy of Spoleto (en.wikipedia)

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