Diepold of Acerra and the German captains

Who rules

Name

Diepold of Schweinspeunt (Dipoldo, Diopuldus)

Title

Count of Acerra (comes Acerrarum); self-styled leader of the imperial (German) party in the Terra di Lavoro and the Principato

Since

Castellan of Rocca d'Arce since September 1191; imperial justiciar of the Terra di Lavoro 1194; count of Acerra since late 1196 or early 1197; free again and at the head of the German party on the mainland since November 1199

Born

About 1160-1165

Family

A German family of ministerials (unfree knightly servants) of the counts of Lechsgemund, named from the estate of Schweinspeunt near Morchsheim in Bavaria. The name 'Diepold of Vohburg' found in older books is a mistake, shown to be one by Winkelmann in 1876.

Confidence

high

DBI life of Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt; Richard of San Germano for 1197-1199.

Overlord

None that he obeys. He claims to act for the Staufen inheritance and the dead emperor Henry VI; his ally Markward of Annweiler claims the regency of the kingdom under Henry VI's will. The pope, as the boy king's guardian and overlord of the kingdom, treats him as a rebel: Markward's party lies under excommunication (Diepold's brother Otto is named in 1199), and Diepold is absolved only in 1205.

What the realm holds

• The county of Acerra: the town and castle of Acerra in the plain north-east of Naples, with the lordship of Nusco in the Irpinia that went with the county
• Rocca d'Arce: the rock castle over the Liri where the road from the papal Campagna enters the kingdom, his first command (1191). By 1208 his men's castellan there was Hugh (Ugo) of Marlenheim, Conrad's cousin; who commanded it in January 1200 is not pinned
• Pontecorvo, Interamna (Pignataro) and Castelnuovo (Castelnuovo Parano): Montecassino's castles, given to him and his men by Markward in February 1199 and still garrisoned by them
• Aquino, on the Via Latina: one of the places the DBI says were 'added for a time' to his holdings; the abbot of Montecassino took it from his party only in 1201 (DBI on Roffredo). Held by his men on 1 January 1200 [medium]; the lords of Aquino keep Roccasecca above it
• Venafro, at the head of the Volturno valley: Markward's base in December 1198; in June 1200 Diepold marches on it and beats Count Peter of Celano before its walls (DBI on Peter of Celano), so on 1 January 1200 it is probably not his [not pinned]; he holds it from June 1200 until 23 June 1201
• Alife and a place the DBI prints as 'Samo' (perhaps Sarno): held for a time (DBI, dates not pinned)
• Salerno: Henry VI placed the city under him after storming it on 17 August 1194 (Federiciana); it was 'favouring Diepold' when Markward sailed from it for Sicily in the autumn of 1199 (Richard of San Germano), and the DBI counts it his chief city. His men hold its castle: when he gave up the city to Walter of Brienne in 1204 he kept the castle
• Allied ground: Sora and Sorella (Conrad of Marlenheim); the county of Caserta (Count Robert, his son-in-law); the county of Fondi (Count Richard of Aquila, whose daughter married his brother Siegfried)

How it was acquired

By the emperor's grants and by force. Rocca d'Arce was given to him in September 1191, after Henry VI's failed siege of Naples. He won Acerra by treachery: he captured Count Richard of Acerra, Queen Sibylla's brother, and handed him to Henry VI, who had him executed at Capua; the county and Diepold's own release from unfree status were his reward (late 1196 or early 1197). The abbey castles came from Markward in February 1199.

The marriage alliances with Caserta and Fondi date from 1199.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Markward of Annweiler (in Sicily since the autumn of 1199); Conrad of Marlenheim at Sora; Count Robert of Caserta, who married his daughter and freed him; Count Richard of Aquila of Fondi, father-in-law of his brother Siegfried; the city of Salerno; inside Montecassino, the monk Atenolfo and his faction, who had worked with him. Enemies: Pope Innocent III and his marshal James; the regency council at Palermo; Abbot Roffredo of Montecassino; Count Peter of Celano, brother-in-law of the chancellor Walter of Pagliara, who brought his troops into the Terra di Lavoro in the autumn of 1199 and pushed his son Rainald into the archbishopric of Capua; the lords of Aquino at Roccasecca, whom his brother besieged in 1197; Naples, whose archbishop Anselm backs the pope's cause, and Capua, which hold for the king.

The realm that morning

Free since November 1199 and rebuilding his party. His garrisons hold Rocca d'Arce, Acerra, Nusco, the castle of Salerno and the abbey castles of Pontecorvo, Interamna and Castelnuovo; the city of Salerno favours him; Aquino is probably his [medium]; Venafro is not yet; Caserta and Fondi are bound to him by marriage. He is at open war with the abbot of Montecassino, whose land lies between his castles, and with the regency's captains.

Markward, his ally, is in Sicily and cannot help him.

Wealth

The dues and courts of the county of Acerra (a rich plain of grain, vines and flax north-east of Naples) and of Nusco; whatever the garrisoned castles can take from the abbey's land and the Liri valley; Salerno's port and market dues while the city favours him; plunder and ransoms.

Military

German knights and sergeants of his own household and his brothers' followings, garrisons in the rock castles, and the knights of the counts allied to him. He is a hard and able captain in small war: sudden marches, surprise and seizing men by treachery. No source gives his numbers. His record: held Rocca d'Arce against Tancred in 1191-1193; took Count Richard of Acerra in 1196; besieged San Germano with Markward in 1199.

Threats

• The papal army: Innocent's cousin James the marshal and Cardinal Cencius are to go south against Markward in 1200
• Count Peter of Celano and the regency barons in the Terra di Lavoro
• Abbot Roffredo of Montecassino, who has already won back Sant'Angelo and can hire mercenaries with money raised in the Marsica
• The resentment of the towns his men hold by force, and the brutal reputation of the German garrisons
• A new claimant with an army: Walter of Brienne, husband of Tancred's daughter (his marriage and his coming to Rome fall in 1200, his campaign in 1201)

Officers and household

His brothers Otto and Siegfried, who lead his German knights; Conrad of Marlenheim at Sora and his cousin Hugh of Marlenheim (castellan of Rocca d'Arce by 1208); the castellans of Acerra, Salerno's castle, Pontecorvo, Interamna and Castelnuovo (names not pinned). No chancery or court of officers is recorded: he rules through his captains.

Great vassals and allies

No vassals in the strict sense: his allies are Count Robert of Caserta (son-in-law since 1199) and Count Richard of Aquila of Fondi (whose daughter married Siegfried in 1199), both counts of the kingdom who hold of the crown.

Treaties wars feuds

Marriage alliances of 1199 with Caserta and Fondi. War with the abbot of Montecassino since Markward's campaign of January 1199 (the abbot bought Markward off on 9 February 1199, but Diepold's men kept the abbey castles; no truce with Diepold is recorded). Enmity with Count Peter of Celano, whose troops came into the Terra di Lavoro in the autumn of 1199. Feud with the lords of Aquino since Otto's siege of Roccasecca in 1197.

Under the papal excommunication of Markward's party.

Coinage

No coin of his own; the kingdom's coin (gold tari and copper follari) and whatever the mints of Salerno and Amalfi struck [whether Salerno's mint worked for him is not pinned].

Host and fleet

A field force of German knights and sergeants with his allies' knights; garrisons in the rock castles. No fleet: Salerno's ships, if any were his to use, are not recorded. No numbers in the sources.

Ports mints tolls

Salerno, his only port; the toll roads of the Liri at Rocca d'Arce, Aquino and Pontecorvo, and the plain north of Naples at Acerra.

Ruler family

Consort

Not named in the sources seen (DBI).

Children

• A daughter, married in 1199 to Count Robert of Caserta as the price of Diepold's release; she may be the countess Adelagisia, mother of Count Thomas of Caserta (DBI)
• Another daughter, name unknown, married to Count James (Giacomo) of Avellino (DBI; date not pinned, possibly later than 1200); perhaps the same man as the Jakob von San Severino who arrested Diepold in 1218 (de.wikipedia)
• Conrad, his only known son: with his father at Palermo in 1206, married Stefania of Celano in 1209 (DBI); probably born before 1200, age not pinned

Brothers

• Otto (Oddone): besieged Roccasecca for the emperor in 1197, then fell back on Rocca d'Arce; excommunicated in 1199 as one of Markward's men (DBI)
• Siegfried (Sigfrido): married the daughter of Count Richard of Fondi in 1199; taken prisoner by Walter of Brienne at Canne in October 1201 (DBI; the day is given as 22 or 26 October)

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. March 1200Diepold attacks Montecassino and fails (DBI). The abbot flees San Germano with his brother Gregory, hires mercenaries and archers with money raised in the Marsica and persuades Diepold to withdraw, then fortifies the Rocca Janula (DBI on Roffredo); Count Peter of Celano refuses to help him (DBI on Peter of Celano).Depends on: His garrisons in the abbey's land and the abbot's weakness after the 1199 sack. Stopped by: A papal force or the regency's barons moving into the Liri valley first, or a truce with the abbot.
2. June 1200Diepold marches on Venafro; Count Peter of Celano tries to stop him and is badly beaten before the town. Diepold takes Peter's eldest son Berard prisoner and keeps him at Rocca d'Arce until 1202, and holds Venafro until June 1201 (DBI lives of Diepold and of Peter of Celano).Depends on: Peter of Celano campaigning without papal troops. Stopped by: The marshal James's army reaching the mainland in strength, or Celano avoiding battle.
3. 21 July 1200Markward, his ally, is beaten by the papal army near Monreale in Sicily; Diepold is left to fight on the mainland alone.Depends on: James and Cardinal Cencius crossing to Sicily (see the sicily and markward records). Stopped by: The papal army being held on the mainland, or Markward avoiding battle.
4. 1200-1201Walter of Brienne, who has married Tancred's daughter, comes to Rome to claim Lecce and Taranto; Innocent accepts him as the papal champion in 1201. He beats Diepold before Capua in June 1201 and again at Canne in October 1201, where Siegfried is taken. In June 1201 the abbot of Montecassino joins Walter, burns Venafro, takes Aquino, and later that year retakes Castelnuovo and Fratte (DBI on Roffredo). These belong to 1201, not 1200.Depends on: The pope's acceptance of Walter's claim. Stopped by: A settlement between the pope and the German captains before Walter arrives.

Places of note

• Castle of Acerra: Seat of his county
• Rocca d'Arce: His first command (1191), the gate of the kingdom on the Liri
• Nusco: Lordship belonging to the county of Acerra; he made a grant there to San Salvatore del Goleto in 1197

Where the sources disagree

• The brief calls him 'Diepold of Schweinspeunt (or Vohburg)'. The DBI is firm that 'of Vohburg' is a 19th-century mistake (Winkelmann, 1876); use Schweinspeunt.
• The campaign notes (Parts 4 and 7) say San Germano 'fell to Markward in 1199'. Richard of San Germano shows Markward entering the abandoned town on 8 January 1199, sacking it and breaching its walls, and leaving the abbey's land on 9 February 1199. On 1 January 1200 San Germano is the abbot's again, unwalled; the German garrisons sit in Pontecorvo, Interamna and Castelnuovo (the Church map record Montecassino says the same).

Evidence: Diepold's career is well documented (Richard of San Germano, the Gesta Innocentii, the papal letters; DBI). What exactly his men garrisoned on the morning of 1 January 1200, six weeks after his release, is inferred from the 1199 grants and the 1201 losses.

On the map: Diepold's party holds castles and towns, not a block of country. The map parts mark the places his garrisons or his allies held; the country between them was fought over. Caserta and Fondi are drawn in their own lord records as allied counties.

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 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
• 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
• Book in honour of the Emperor, or On Sicilian affairs, Peter of Eboli (1195 to 1197). An illustrated verse account of Henry VI's conquest of Sicily, preserved in a single manuscript made at the imperial court. Read online