Sulmona is the chief town of the Valva, the Peligna basin where the roads from the Marsica, the Aterno, the Pescara valley and the upper Sangro meet.
Its bishop is bishop of Valva and Sulmona, with one cathedral at San Pelino by Corfinio, the old Valva, and another at San Panfilo in the town, and the two chapters quarrel. The basin is lordship country of lesser barons, with the Palear's Collepietro to the north, the Celano lands of the Subequana valley to the west, Anversa to the south and the county of Manoppello down the Pescara. Under Frederick II it will become the capital of the justiciarate of the Abruzzi (1233) and the first of the kingdom's seven fairs: not yet.
Who holds it
- Name
- The crown; the king's officer there in 1200 not pinned. The bishop of Valva and Sulmona (name not pinned) holds the double see of San Pelino at Corfinio and San Panfilo at Sulmona.
- Title
- Royal town (universitas) of the Valva
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The crown, as far as the evidence goes: Sulmona became a town community under the Normans and was the Swabians' loyal centre; no baron is recorded as its lord.
Overlord
The crown of Sicily.
How things stand that morning
Quiet; regency ground at the centre of the Abruzzi.
Charter
Not recorded for 1200; Frederick II's favours (justiciarate seat 1233, fair 1234) are later.
Council
The town community (universitas); no officers named for 1200.
Communities
Latin townsmen; no Jewish community recorded for 1200.
Fairs and markets
No fair recorded before Frederick II's decree.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
The old walled town on the Roman circuit; the later walls are fourteenth-century.
Trade and crafts
Wool and the sheep roads, the Pescara valley road to the Adriatic, crossroads of the Abruzzi.
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.
- 1200No dated event of 1200 is known for this lordship.Depends on: nothing Stopped by: nothing
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The town's status in 1200 is inferred; its later role is well attested.
On the map: The tierra is the town's near land, shared out by distance; towns of the kingdom did not govern a contado as the communes of the Papal State did.
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.