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

Capua

Capua, the old capital of the Lombard and Norman princes, guards the bridge of the Via Appia over the Volturno.

In 1191 the German castellan Conrad of Lutzelhardt held its citadel for Henry VI until hunger made him surrender to Count Richard of Acerra; in 1197 Richard himself was put to death at Capua. On 1 January 1200 the city holds for the king, under an archbishop-elect who is the son of Count Peter of Celano, with Diepold's son-in-law at Caserta a few miles east and Diepold's Acerra to the south.

Who holds it

Name
The crown; the archbishop-elect Rainald of Celano (elected autumn 1199)
Title
Royal city and archbishopric
Since
Royal since 1135
Confidence
medium

Richard of San Germano; DBI on Peter of Celano.

Lord in 1200

The king, through the castellan of the citadel (not pinned). In the autumn of 1199 Count Peter of Celano, the chancellor Walter of Pagliara's brother-in-law, brought his troops into the Terra di Lavoro and pressed the election of his son Rainald as archbishop of Capua against local resistance (DBI on Peter of Celano). See Capua castellan.

Overlord

The king; the pope as guardian.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Count Peter of Celano and his son the archbishop-elect. Rivals: Diepold; Count Robert of Caserta; townsmen who resisted Rainald's election.

How things stand that morning

Held for the king [castellan not pinned].

Wealth

Tolls of the bridge and the road; the plain.

Military

The citadel and the river line of the Volturno.

Threats

  • Diepold and Caserta
  • division in the city over the archbishop's election

Charter

Not pinned for 1200.

Council

Not pinned; the archbishop, the city's judges and nobles.

Communities

A Jewish community (Benjamin of Tudela, about 1165).

Militia

The citizens' militia [not documented for 1200].

Walls and castle

Walls in the loop of the Volturno; the citadel by the bridge.

Trade and crafts

The bridge and the Via Appia; the grain and wine of the Campanian plain.

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. 10 June 1201 (not 1200)Walter of Brienne defeats Diepold's side before Capua (DBI).Depends on: Walter's coming south with papal backing. Stopped by: A settlement in 1200.

Places of note

  • Citadel and bridge: Royal citadel by the Volturno bridge

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The city's government in 1199-1200 is not described in the sources seen; Rainald's election is in the DBI on his father.

On the map: The near land of the city on both banks of the Volturno.

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. Richard of San Germano, Chronicle, trans. G.A. Loud (University of Leeds, PDF; covers to 1199)
  2. Pietro di Celano (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)
  3. Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)

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