The Corsican lords

Who rules

Name

The Corsican lineages of the castles (the Cinarca lords beyond the mountains, the northern lords this side of them), under the overlordship Pisa claims; Genoa holds Bonifacio

Title

No single ruler

Since

Pisan overlordship from the papal grants of 1077-1091; Genoa at Bonifacio since 1195

Confidence

low

it.wikipedia and fr.wikipedia on the history of Corsica, fr.wikipedia on Bonifacio and Cinarca; the lineages are known mainly from Giovanni della Grossa's fifteenth-century chronicle.

What the realm holds

• The pievi of the Pumonte, the south-west, where the Cinarca lords are dominant (thin)
• The pievi of the Cismonte, the north and east, divided among several kin-groups (thin)
• The six bishoprics (Church map records): Aléria, Ajaccio, Sagone (Pisan suffragans), Mariana, Nebbio, Accia (Genoese suffragans)

Allies and rivals

Pisa and Genoa each have friends among the lords; the chronicle tradition makes the Cinarca lords Pisa's men in the thirteenth century and the lords of Cap Corse Genoa's.

The realm that morning

On 1 January 1200 Corsica outside Bonifacio is held by its own lords, with Pisa's claim to overlordship standing and Genoa's colony at Bonifacio at war with Pisa at sea (no peace or truce since 1195). Which lord holds which castle that winter is not pinned.

Wealth

Livestock and chestnut woods, wine (the Nielluccio vine is credited to the Pisans), the salt and coral of Bonifacio's waters, timber, the coastal trade with Pisa and Genoa.

Military

Castle garrisons and kin followings; no host of the island. Bonifacio holds a Genoese garrison.

Threats

• Genoa's expansion from Bonifacio
• Pisa's attempts to retake Bonifacio (until 1217)
• Feuds among the lineages

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. During 1200 (no dated event)The Pisan and Genoese war at sea continues round Bonifacio and the strait; no battle or truce is dated for 1200.Depends on: No peace between the two cities. Stopped by: A papal truce; the next dated settlement is Lerici in 1209 and Honorius III takes Bonifacio into his protection in 1217.

Where the sources disagree

• The division of the Corsican sees between Pisa and Genoa is dated 1133 by fr.wikipedia and 1138 by it.wikipedia.
• The campaign notes do not cover Corsica's lords.

Evidence: Twelfth-century Corsica is known mainly from church documents and from Giovanni della Grossa's fifteenth-century chronicle, which historians treat as legendary before about 1000 and patchy after.

On the map: The island is coloured as one block because the lordships of 1200 cannot be drawn reliably; the two lord records for the lineages give rough zones.

Primary sources for this realm

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 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