Otranto, the nearest Italian port to Albania and Greece, is the metropolitan see of the Salento and the meeting place of Latin and Greek Christianity: its cathedral floor was laid in mosaic by the priest Pantaleone in 1163-1165 for Archbishop Jonathas, and just outside the city the Greek monastery of San Nicola di Casole keeps a great library and a school.
On 1 January 1200 it is a royal city under the regency; in 1201 it submits to Walter of Brienne.
Who holds it
- Name
- The crown, through its officers (not pinned); Archbishop William of Aversa (Guglielmo di Aversa), in office from before August 1189 to after June 1200
- Title
- Royal city and archbishopric
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The king (the regency government); the archbishop holds the cathedral and its lands.
How things stand that morning
Royal city under the regency; no record of fighting that winter.
Council
Royal officers and judges; no commune.
Communities
Greek and Latin clergy and people; the Basilian monastery of San Nicola di Casole; a large Jewish community (Benjamin of Tudela, about 1165: about 500 Jews); the Hospitallers had a house here by 1113 (Paschal II's bull).
Militia
Citizens' levy; no figures.
Walls and castle
Walled port city; castle not pinned for 1200 (the present castle is Aragonese).
Trade and crafts
The short crossing to Valona and Durazzo; olive oil; trade with the Greek world.
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.
- July 1201Otranto submits to Walter of Brienne.Depends on: Brienne's victory at Capua Stopped by: Brienne's defeat
Places of note
- San Nicola di Casole: Greek monastery and library south of Otranto
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: General knowledge of the mosaic and Casole; the 1201 submission from the Federiciana; officers and archbishop in 1200 not pinned.
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
- Gualtiero di Brienne, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
- Benjamin of Tudela, Itinerary (about 1165), trans. M. N. Adler (1907); figures cited from that translation, not re-checked in this run
- Arcidiocesi di Otranto, cronotassi (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.