Boniface III (also ''Boniface IV'' or ''Boniface of Canossa'') (c. 985 – 6 May 1052), son of

Tedald of Canossa Tedald (died 1012), of the House of Canossa, was the count of Brescia from 980, Modena, Ferrara, and Reggio from 981, and Mantua from 1006. He used the title of margrave because of his vast comital holdings and their frontier nature. His family' ...

and the father of

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as th ...

, was the most powerful north Italian prince of his age. By inheritance he was count (or lord) of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his exco ...

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, Reggio, and

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

from 1007 and, by appointment,

margrave of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

from 1027 until his assassination in 1052.

Early life

He was the son of the Margrave Tedald and Willa of Bologna. The Lombard family's ancestral castle was Canossa and they had held Modena for several generations. They possessed a great many

allodial title Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defens ...

s and their power lay chiefly in

Emilia Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...

. Boniface was probably associated with his father before the latter's death. In 1004, with the title ''marchio'', he donated land to the abbey of Polirone, and he appears in two documents of the same year as ''gloriosus marchio''. He kept his court at Mantua, which he transformed into a city of culture: "With so many magnificent spectacles and feasts that all posterity and all their contemporaries marvelled thereat."

Imperial politics

In 1014, Boniface aided the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

in putting down Margrave

Arduin of Ivrea Arduin ( it, Arduino; – 14 December 1015) was an Italian nobleman who was King of Italy from 1002 until 1014. In 990 Arduin became Margrave of Ivrea and in 991 Count of the Sacred Palace of the Lateran in Rome. In 1002, after the death of Em ...

, who claimed the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in opposition to Henry. His father nominated him as heir over his brothers and, in 1016, he was again fighting alongside the emperor, this time against the

margrave of Turin The March or Marquisate of Turin ( it, marca di Torino) was a territory of medieval Italy from the mid-10th century, when it was established as the Arduinic March ( la, marca Arduinica). It comprised several counties in Piedmont, including the cou ...

, Ulric Manfred II. In 1020, Boniface defeated a rebellion of his brother Conrad, but the two reconciled and both were later recorded as dukes. In 1027, he supported the candidacy of the Salian

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

and

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...

for the thrones of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire against the other claimants:

William V of Aquitaine William the Great (french: Guillaume le Grand; 969 – 31 January 1030) was duke of Aquitaine (as ) and count of Poitou (as or III) from 990 until his death. Upon the death of the emperor Henry II, he was offered the kingdom of Ital ...

Robert II of France Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted h ...

, or

Hugh Magnus Hugh Magnus (french: Hugues le Grand) (1007 – 17 September 1025) was co-King of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025. He was a member of the House of Capet, a son of Robert II by his third wife, Constance ...

. When Boniface's Lombard enemies tried to incite his brother against him, the two offered battle to them at Coviolo, near Reggio, and emerged victorious, though Conrad was killed. When Conrad II finally succeeded in entering Italy, he was met with defiance at Lucca and he deposed the reigning margrave of Tuscany, Rainier, and gave his lands and titles to Boniface. This seems to be the probable scenario, though the exact date of Boniface's assumption of the Tuscan lordship is uncertain. He thereby considerably increased his paternal domains and Boniface rose to be the most powerful person between the middle Po and the northern border of the ''Patrimonium Petri'' (

Patrimony of Saint Peter The Patrimony of Saint Peter ( la, Patrimonium Sancti Petri) originally designated the landed possessions and revenues of various kinds that belonged to the apostolic Holy See (the Pope) i.e. the "Church of Saint Peter" in Rome, by virtue of the ap ...

). Emperor Conrad II wanted to tie his most powerful vassal in south of the Alps to his inner circle in the long term through a marriage. Boniface attended the emperor at the city of

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

in 1036 on the occasion of the wedding of Conrad II's son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

with

Gunhilda of Denmark Gunhilda of Denmark ( 1020 – 18 July 1038), was Queen consort of Germany by her marriage with King Henry III from 1036 until her death. Biography Gunhilda was a daughter of King Cnut the Great (985/95 – 1035), ruler over the Anglo-Scandin ...

. On that occasion Conrad, his family and his court took up residence in Nijmegen for more than a month. Here Boniface met

Beatrice of Lorraine Beatrice of Bar (also ''Beatrix''; c. 1020 – 18 April 1076) was the marchioness of Tuscany by marriage to Boniface III of Tuscany, and Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death, during the minority of and in co-regency with, her daughter Mat ...

, niece and foster daughter of Empress

Gisela of Swabia Gisela of Swabia ( 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of ...

with whom a marriage convenant could be arranged. According to the agreements, Beatrice brought important assets in Lorraine: the Château of

Briey Briey (; german: Brietz) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in northeastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Val de Briey.Mouzay, Juvigny, Longlier and Orval, all the northern part of her paternal family's ancestral lands. As the daughter of Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine and

Matilda of Swabia Matilda of Swabia (german: Mathilde von Schwaben; – 29 July 1032), a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duchess of Carinthia by her first marriage with Duke Conrad I and Duchess of Upper Lorraine by her second marriage to Duke Frederic ...

, she and her sister Sophia were raised in the imperial court by their aunt Empress Gisela (her mother's sister) after the deaths of their parents. For Boniface, the marriage to Beatrice, a close relative of the Emperor, brought him not only prestige but also the prospect to finally have an heir; his first marriage with Richilda (died after February 1036), daughter of

Giselbert II Giselbert II ( es, Guislaberto, ca, Guislabert) (died 1102) was the count of Roussillon from the death of his father, Gausfred II, in 1074 until his own death. His mother was Adelaide. In 1040, he participated in his father's sack of Ampurias. ...

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

, brought one daughter, born and died in 1014. Boniface subdued

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

and

, in revolt against the emperor, and the emperor made a treaty with Boniface, an act which has been construed as recognition of Boniface's independence. In 1032, he was at war with the rebel Count

Odo II of Blois Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 a ...

. In early summer 1036, In 1037, he helped put down a revolt against the Emperor Conrad, and in February 1038, hosted the Emperor, while the latter journeyed to Florence. In 1043, for services rendered the Empire, he received the Duchy of Spoleto and

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of C ...

. He also acquired more land in Parma and

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, and his chief residence in this time was at Mantua. In 1039, Boniface travelled to Miroalto to aid Henry against the rebellious Odo of Blois. While he was returning, he destroyed the grain fields of the region and the enraged populace retaliated and stole some of his retainers' horses. It was during his blood reprisal that Boniface made his most famous recorded statement. Preparing to hack off the ears and nose of a young man, Boniface was confronted by the youth's mother, who begged him be spared and promised him her son's weigh in silver. Boniface replied to his offer that he "was no merchant, but a soldier," adding: "Absit ut hostes ferro capti redimantur argento". (Far be it that what was captured by steel should be redeemed with silver.) In 1046, Henry III entered Italy to be crowned emperor. Boniface received the emperor and the empress, Agnes of Poitou, with honour and munificence on their arrival at Piacenza and his governor did so at

on their return journey. The relationship between Boniface and Henry, however, soon deteriorated in 1047.

Papal intrigue

With the death of Pope Clement II,

Pope Benedict IX Pope Benedict IX ( la, Benedictus IX; c. 1012 – c. 1056), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States on three occasions between October 1032 and July 1048. Aged approximately 20 at his first ele ...

, with the covert support of Boniface, was re-instated, This was a choice not universally approved, and by Christmas 1047, a delegation of Romans met with the emperor to ask him to name a successor. The following month, Henry called a council. Although the Romans wanted Halinard of Lyons, the Bavarian Bishop Poppo of Brixen was chosen, taking the name of Damasus II. On his way to Rome, Damasus met Boniface, who informed him that Benedict had already been chosen by the people; and declined to accompany Damasus. Damasus returned to Henry, who viewed Boniface's support of Benedict a challenge to imperial authority. He ordered Boniface to escort Damasus to Rome. Damasus was consecrated on 17 July 1048, but died less than a month later, at Palestrina, just outside Rome, probably poisoned. In fact, his habit of cheating the church of land, especially the

Diocese of Reggio In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, by offering some small farm land and an annual rent in turn for it was legendary. He rarely paid the promised rents. However, Boniface eventually joined the reform party of

Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

and was present at the Synod of Pavia in 1049. In his later years, he kept the Abbey of Pomposa well-endowed for the sake of his soul and even confessed to

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

and permitted Guido of Pomposa to flagellate him in punishment for it.

Death

He tried to restrict the rights of his '' valvassores'', despite Conrad's imperial edict of 1037. It was this action against his

undertenant In English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands. The tenants were termed m ...

s which got him killed in 1052, during a hunting expedition. This version of Boniface's death is disputed. Some have alleged that Henry played a part in his assassination. It is also held by some that in 1044 there was an attempt made on the margrave's life at Brescia and that the conspirators fled to Verona, which Boniface subsequently sacked before expelling some Veronese conspirators from Mantua as well. One Scarpetta Carnevari apparently nursed a grudge for this act and years later, while Boniface was preparing a galley for a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, shot him with a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

on the river

Oglio The Oglio (; Latin ''Ollius'', or ''Olius''; Lombard ''Òi''; Cremonese ''Ùi'') is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd pla ...

, near Martino dall'Argine in the region of Spineta while on the hunt.

Family

Boniface and Beatrice had three children, one son,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(named after his maternal grandfather), and two daughters, Beatrice (named after her own mother) and Matilda (named after her maternal grandmother). Matilda, probably born around 1046, was the youngest child. Boniface's first marriage (before 1015) was to Richilda, daughter of

. Richilda took little part in Boniface's government and was dead by 1034, leaving no children. In 1037, he married Beatrice, daughter of

Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine Frederick II (c. 995–1026), son of Thierry I of the House of Ardennes and Richilde von Blieskastel, daughter of Folmar III, Count in Bliesgau, was the Count of Bar and Duke of Lorraine, co-reigning with his father from 1019. On the Emperor He ...

and

Count of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the ''Barrois, pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the County of Montbéliard, House of Montbéliard from the 11t ...

, and niece and adoptive daughter of

Empress Gisela Gisela of Swabia ( 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of S ...

, wife of Emperor Conrad II. They celebrated their marriage in high style, keeping court at Marengo for three months afterwards. Beatrice did bear three children, the eldest, Beatrice, died in 1053, shortly after Boniface. The only son,

, succeeded his father, but died soon after. The youngest child was

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

, who inherited the great patrimony from Frederick. Beatrice was Regent of Tuscany from 1052 until her death in 1076, during the minority of and in co-regency with, Matilda. Beatrice remarried in 1054 to

Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey III ( 997 – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of ...

, who co-ruled as consort until his death in 1069.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Letter_from_St_Peter_Damian
_requesting_Boniface_to_protect_the_monasteries.html" ;"title="Peter Damian">Letter from St Peter Damian
requesting Boniface to protect the monasteries">Peter Damian">Letter from St Peter Damian
requesting Boniface to protect the monasteries {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 03, Margrave of Tuscany 980s births 1052 deaths Year of birth uncertain Margraves of Tuscany, Boniface 03 House of Canossa 11th-century rulers in Europe 11th-century Italian nobility Matilda of Tuscany