City · The Papal State: the pope's own lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Perugia

Perugia is the strongest commune between Rome and Tuscany: a hill city in its Etruscan walls above the Tiber, with consuls from the 1130s (ten consuls in 1130 by the Enciclopedia Italiana; 1139 on it.wikipedia, the year the men of Isola Polvese submitted to it) and a podestà named in 1177.

Henry VI on 7 August 1186 recognised its consuls and its lordship over its contado. In the later twelfth century it spread west over Lake Trasimeno and the Chiugi and towards Castel della Pieve (an act of 1188 by the Enciclopedia Italiana), north towards Città di Castello (an act of submission in 1180, soon thrown off) and Gubbio (1184), and east over Gualdo and Nocera. In 1198 it accepted Innocent III's protection, received him solemnly, and had the emperor's grants and its customary law confirmed by him; friendship with the pope is the base of its policy.

On 1 January 1200 it is the patron of the nobles driven out of Assisi.

Who holds it

Name
Officers for 1199-1200 not pinned
Title
The commune (consuls; a podestà is named as early as 1177)
Confidence
low

Lord in 1200

The commune of Perugia, under the pope's protection since 1198 and lord of the largest contado in Umbria.

Allies and rivals

Friend and protégé of the pope; ally and sometime overlord of Gubbio and Città di Castello; patron of the Assisi exiles. Rivals: Assisi (war in 1202), Foligno (the imperial party's town in the valley), Arezzo and Cortona over the Chiugi and the lake, Orvieto over Castel della Pieve, Todi to the south.

How things stand that morning

Governs its contado from the Chiana to the Chiascio, with the lake and its islands; leads the Umbrian towns as the pope's friend. Assisi: after Assisi's commune broke the nobles' castles in 1198-1199, the noble exiles look to Perugia; their formal submission to Perugia as its citizens is dated 1200 by the Assisi historians (the day is not pinned here: if after 1 January, it is the likely course). No war with Assisi is open that winter.

Across the borders: Cortona and Arezzo's lands north-west (the Northern Italy map), Chiusi (contested) and Orvieto south-west, Città di Castello north, Gubbio north-east, Assisi east, Todi south.

Wealth

The largest contado of Umbria, the lake's fish, the Tiber's grain; the road trade.

Military

Strong walls; the levy and knights of a large contado; it defeated Assisi in 1202. No figures.

Threats

  • Arezzo and Cortona on the north-west
  • An imperial revival in the valley (Foligno)
  • Its own nobles and popolo

Charter

Henry VI's privilege of 7 August 1186 (consuls freely chosen, the contado confirmed); Innocent III's confirmation of 1198 (the imperial grants and the city's customary law (consuetudines); the day is not pinned here).

Council

Consuls, a general assembly (the arengo) and a smaller council; the names of the consuls or podestà of 1199-1200 are not pinned.

Communities

Exiled nobles of Assisi (see status); a Jewish community is not pinned for 1200.

Militia

The city levy by gates and the knights of the contado; the lake gives it boats. No figures.

Walls and castle

The Etruscan circuit with its gates (the Arco Etrusco, Porta Marzia); no lord's castle.

Trade and crafts

Grain and wine of the Tiber valley; the fisheries of Lake Trasimeno; the roads from Rome to Arezzo and from the Tiber 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. 1200 (day not pinned)Nobles exiled from Assisi become citizens of Perugia and place their castles under it; Perugia takes up their demand for restitution.Depends on: Assisi refusing to restore the exiles Stopped by: a settlement between Assisi's commune and its nobles
  2. November 1202 (beyond 1200)Perugia defeats Assisi at Collestrada and takes many prisoners, Francis among them; peace with Assisi about 1205.Depends on: the quarrel over the exiles Stopped by: papal mediation or a settlement

Places of note

  • Isola Polvese: Island of Lake Trasimeno; its men submitted to Perugia in 1139.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The 1139, 1177, 1186 and 1198 dates and the submissions of 1180-1188 are in the Enciclopedia Italiana and it.wikipedia; the officers that winter and the exact day of the Assisi exiles' submission are not pinned.

On the map: The polygon follows Perugia's contado as the submissions of 1139-1188 and the later contado show it: the lake with its shores, the Chiugi east of the Chiana, Piegaro, Fratta (Umbertide) north, Deruta and Torgiano south-east. Castel della Pieve is left out: the Enciclopedia Italiana puts it under Perugia from 1188, it.wikipedia makes it a free commune until it submitted to Perugia in 1250 (Castel della Pieve). Gualdo and Nocera, which Perugia had 'subdued', keep their own records; Marsciano and Bettona are left out (not pinned).

Primary sources for Papal State

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.

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

Sources and studies

  1. Perugia (Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani)
  2. Storia di Perugia (it.wikipedia)
  3. Umbria (Enciclopedia Italiana, Treccani)
  4. Battaglia di Collestrada (it.wikipedia)

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