In 1196 Bishop Arduino of Turin gave the Templars land and the castle of La Rotta on the plain south of Turin; by then they already had houses at Testona, Villastellone, Pancalieri and other places in Piedmont.
A small but permanent military-religious lordship on the road between Turin, Chieri and the Saluzzo plain.
Who he is
- Title
- Order of the Temple (local preceptors not named)
- Since
- Present at Testona, Villastellone, Pancalieri and elsewhere in Piedmont by 1196
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia Arduino di Valperga.
Overlord
The order's own master; the land at La Rotta is the bishop of Turin's gift.
What it holds
- The castle of La Rotta and its land (bishop's gift, 1196)
- Houses at Testona, Villastellone and Pancalieri
How it was acquired
Gifts of the bishop of Turin and of local lords.
Allies and rivals
The bishop of Turin (patron).
How things stand that morning
Holding La Rotta and their Piedmont houses.
Wealth
Farmland and dues sent toward the East.
Military
Brothers of the order; no figures.
Places of note
- Villastellone: Templar house (by 1196).
- Pancalieri: Templar house (by 1196).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One general source; the exact site of La Rotta is not pinned here.
On the map: A token block for the order's main Piedmont holding.
Primary sources for Empire
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 Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. 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 Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.