Counts · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Roger of Chieti

Count Roger of Chieti is the baron of the Abruzzi whom Innocent III trusts.

In October 1199 Innocent entrusted him with the vacant county of Civitate in Capitanata; when the household council at Palermo granted the same county to Peter of Celano, the pope refused to accept it, holding that the disposal of counties belonged to him as the king's guardian. In 1201 the pope will make him master justiciar of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro alongside Peter, and by 1205 he is count of Chieti and Civitate. Of his own county round Chieti little is known: the city's bishop holds wide rights (Henry VI granted the church of Chieti land at Sambuceto and the tithe of the bridge and port of Pescara in 1195).

Who he is

Name
Count Roger of Chieti (il conte Ruggero di Chieti, Ruggero di Teate)
Title
Count of Chieti (Teate); invested by the pope with the county of Civitate in October 1199
Since
not pinned; recorded as count of Chieti and of Civitate in 1205 (Kamp)
Born
not pinned
Family
not pinned; Medieval Lands lists no count of Chieti between the Attoni of the eleventh century and Simon (1243).
Confidence
medium

Kamp (DBI, Pietro di Celano) is the only source checked: Innocent III gave Civitate to Count Roger of Chieti in October 1199, refused to accept the Palermo grant of the same county to Peter of Celano because he held that the disposal of counties belonged to the regency, that is to himself as guardian, named Roger master justiciar of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro with Peter in 1201, and Roger appears as count of Chieti and Civitate in 1205. His family and the extent of his county round Chieti are not established.

Overlord

The crown of Sicily; in practice the pope's man.

What it holds

  • Lands and castles round Chieti (not pinned)
  • The pope's grant of the county of Civitate in Capitanata (October 1199), contested by Peter of Celano

How it was acquired

Not pinned; Civitate by papal grant in October 1199 (Kamp).

Allies and rivals

The pope's man; rival of Peter of Celano over Civitate.

How things stand that morning

Holding round Chieti; claiming Civitate on the pope's grant. Stands with the papal side of the regency.

Wealth

The hill country between the Pescara and the Foro; the Pescara crossing and its port.

Military

No figures.

Threats

  • Peter of Celano's rival grant of Civitate
  • The German captains if they turn to the Adriatic

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. 1201 (after this year)Innocent III names Roger and Peter of Celano master justiciars of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro (Kamp).Depends on: The pope's war on the German captains on the mainland Stopped by: A papal settlement with Peter that leaves Roger out

Places of note

  • Chieti: City and see on its ridge above the Pescara

Where the sources disagree

  • The it.wikipedia life of Peter of Celano makes 'Ruggero di Teate' claim Civitate only after Peter; Kamp makes the pope's grant to Roger the earlier one (October 1199). Kamp is followed.

Evidence: Known from the papal register as digested by Kamp; his county is not described in any source checked.

On the map: The block round Chieti is an estimate; only Roger's title and the Civitate grant are documented.

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.

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

Sources and studies

  1. N. Kamp, 'Celano, Pietro di', Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 23 (1979), treccani.it
  2. Pietro da Celano (it.wikipedia)
  3. Chieti (it.wikipedia)
  4. Medieval Lands: Central Italy (counties in Abruzzo), fmg.ac

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