Acerenza, a hill fortress above the Bradano, is the metropolitan see of the Basilicata, with suffragans at Venosa, Potenza, Tricarico, Gravina and Anglona-Tursi, and a Norman cathedral rebuilt from the 1080s.
Its archbishop that winter is, on the campaign notes, Rainald, the papal notary and vice-chancellor, who is styled archbishop of Acerenza as well by April 1200: an absentee who runs the pope's chancery in Rome. The see is a Church map record; the town is his.
Who holds it
- Name
- The archbishop of Acerenza (Rainald, the pope's vice-chancellor, most likely; see notes)
- Title
- Archbishop's city
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- medium
campaign notes, Part 3: Rainald, styled vice-chancellor in March 1199 and archbishop of Acerenza as well by April 1200. it.wikipedia cronotassi: Pietro IV 1184-1194; Pietro V 1194-1197; Rainaldo from March 1198, 'deceased 1199'; Andrea from 7 May 1203 to 1231. Suffragans of 1106: Venosa, Gravina, Tricarico, Tursi, Potenza.
Lord in 1200
The archbishop of Acerenza (Rainald, the pope's vice-chancellor, most likely; see notes)
Overlord
The king, the boy Frederick, under the pope's wardship and the regency council at Palermo
How things stand that morning
Regency ground (realm sicily): no German captain, siege or raid is recorded here in the winter of 1199-1200 in the sources checked.
Military
No figures.
Threats
- Not pinned
Charter
No town charter is known; the town lives by the king's law and the customs confirmed by the Norman kings.
Council
No commune: the king's or lord's officers (bailiff, judges) govern with the leading men; no council is recorded for 1200.
Communities
Latin clergy and townsmen.
Militia
Townsmen owe guard and service to the lord and the crown; no figures.
Walls and castle
A natural fortress with walls; the cathedral on the summit.
Trade and crafts
Grain and pasture of the upper Bradano.
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.
- By April 1200Rainald appears styled archbishop of Acerenza as well as vice-chancellor (campaign notes).Depends on: His provision to the see. Stopped by: Nothing in play.
Places of note
- Acerenza: Town
Where the sources disagree
- it.wikipedia's list of archbishops gives Rainaldo from March 1198 and marks him deceased in 1199, with Andrea only from 7 May 1203. The campaign notes (canon) have the vice-chancellor Rainald styled archbishop of Acerenza by April 1200. Either the list conflates two men or misdates his death; the campaign's reading is kept.
Evidence: The archbishop's identity rests on the campaign notes; the diocesan list disagrees on dates.
On the map: Point only.
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.