Commune of Pavia

Who rules

Title

The commune's consuls or podestà for 1199, until the officers of 1200 take over

Since

Yearly office; changeover date not pinned

Confidence

low

No list of Pavia's officers for 1199-1200 was found (Treccani, Enciclopedia Italiana and DBI; Wikipedia). Consuls appear at Pavia from the early twelfth century. The bishop, Bernardo Balbi, the canonist, formerly bishop of Faenza, was elected by acclamation on 24 June 1198 and confirmed by Innocent III on 8 August 1198 (DBI); he is a Church map record.

Overlord

The Empire. Pavia, the old royal capital of the kingdom of Italy, is the most loyal imperial city of Lombardy; Frederick I's charter of 1164, its 'magna charta', gave it the Lomellina and its contado. No German king has an officer here in 1200.

What the realm holds

• The city on the Ticino, its bridge and river port, the coronation church of San Michele
• The Lomellina: Vigevano (a Pavese borgo since 1197), Mortara (seat of a Pavese podestà since 1164), Lomello, Garlasco, Gambolò, Mede, Breme and the castles of the Lomello counts, who are sworn to the city
• The Campagna east and north of the city: Belgioioso, Corteolona, Bereguardo, Giussago, Villanterio
• The Oltrepò: Voghera, Casteggio, Broni, Stradella and the lowland castles; the hills to the south are shared with the Malaspina and the abbey of Bobbio
• The old royal mint of Pavia

How it was acquired

Consuls from the early twelfth century; the counts of Lomello subjected 1140-1145; Vigevano granted by Frederick I in 1154, lost to Milan in 1157 and recovered; the charter of 1164 (Lomellina, Mortara); Vigevano made a borgo in 1197.

Allies and rivals

Ally: Cremona, Milan's other great enemy. Rivals: Milan and its league (Piacenza, Vercelli, Novara and Alessandria among Milan's partners on Pavia's western and southern flanks). Tortona, rebuilt with Milan's help after Frederick I destroyed it in 1155, lies beyond the Scrivia [general knowledge]. Lodi made peace with Milan in 1198. Positions of Bergamo and Como not pinned.

The realm that morning

The commune holds the city, the Lomellina, the Campagna and the lowland Oltrepò. Vigevano is Pavese and faces Milan's Abbiategrasso across the Ticino. The state of arms with Milan on the morning of 1 January is not pinned; the war is open during 1200 (the attack on Rosate) and in 1201. Across the Sesia and the Agogna lie Vercelli's and Novara's lands; beyond the Scrivia, Tortona's; beyond the Bardonezza and Castel San Giovanni, Piacenza's; north of Bereguardo and Giussago, Milan's.

Wealth

River trade on the Ticino and the Po (salt, grain, wine), the market and mint of the old capital, the farms of the Lomellina and the vineyards of the Oltrepò.

Military

City militia and the knights of the Lomello kin and other rural lords sworn to the city; the castles of the Lomellina (Vigevano's new tower of 1197, Mortara, Lomello). No figures in the sources read.

Threats

• Milan's army across the Ticino: Vigevano is the first target
• Milan's allies on its flanks: Vercelli, Novara, Tortona, Piacenza
• The cost of the war in 1200-1201

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.

In 1200

1. early 1200 (day not pinned)Pavia's officers for 1200 take office.Depends on: The usual yearly election. Stopped by: Internal strife.
2. during 1200 (month not pinned)Pavia's army attacks the Milanese fortress of Rosate.Depends on: The war with Milan continuing. Stopped by: A truce.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1201Milan besieges and takes Vigevano; the Pavesi are beaten at Negrino and submit to Milan in August 1201.Depends on: Milan's league staying united and Cremona not relieving Pavia. Stopped by: A peace in 1200, or a Pavese and Cremonese victory.
2. 1212Pavia wins a great victory over the Milanese at Casei Gerola (outside 1200; shows the war is not over).Depends on: The long rivalry continuing. Stopped by: A lasting peace.

Places of note

• Vigevano: castle and its tower of 1197: Pavese borgo facing Milan across the Ticino.
• Mortara: Seat of a Pavese podestà for the Lomellina since 1164.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The frame (1140-45, 1164, 1197, Rosate 1200, Vigevano and Negrino 1201) is sourced; the officers of 1199-1200 and the state of arms on 1 January are not.

On the map: Pavia's hold on the Oltrepò hills and on the north-west edge of the Lomellina (toward Robbio and Palestro) is not pinned; the outline follows the later Pavese.

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.

• 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 Lombard city annals of Piacenza, Milan, Cremona, Parma, Mantua and Verona (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries). The communes' own year lists. Read online