The Guidi were a Tuscan aristocratic family prominent in the region during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Descended from Tegrimo Guidi, the family practised

partible inheritance Partible inheritance is a system of inheritance in which property is apportioned among heirs. It contrasts in particular with primogeniture, which was common in feudal society and requires that the whole or most of the inheritance passes to the el ...

and in the thirteenth century began to split into separate cadet lineages. Since the 11th century, the

Poppi Castle Poppi Castle ( it, Castello di Poppi, or the ''Castello dei Conti Guidi'') is a medieval castle in Poppi, Tuscany, Italy, formerly the property of the noble Guidi family. History Medieval The Guidi family owns most of the castles in DeCourcey Cou ...

in Tuscany was the property and main residence of the noble family of the Conti Guidi.

Early history

The Guidi family descended from

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

settled in Tuscany in the mid 10th century. Guidi family legend stated that the progenitor of the family, Tegrimo Guidi, presented Lady Engelrada, the daughter of Duke Martino of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, with a

stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

he had killed. This gesture won her favour and the two were married, increasing Tegrimo's influence among the nobles of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. By 960 Guido Guidi, son of Tegrimo, had acquired property in the valley of Sieve, granted to him by Oberto, son of

Hugh, Margrave of Tuscany Hugh ( la, Ugo, Hugo; 953/4 – 21 December 1001), called the Great, was the Margrave of Tuscany from 969 until his death in 1001, and the Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Camerino from 989 to 996 (as "Hugh II"). He was known for his restoration ...

. Guido also expanded the family control over the town of

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 ...

. In Pistoia the family owned a number of houses with a tower close to the city walls commanding the gateway. As a result, the entrance to the town came to be known as Porta Guidi. Guido's son, Giovanni Guidi, resided as a monk in Florence. in 1035 he accused several ecclesiastics of

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 was forced to flee the city as a result. He sought refuge in the hermitage of Acqua Bella. Here, he helped turn the hermitage into a prominent monastery. Guido Guidi's grandson by Tegrimo II, named Guido II, lived in open enmity with the church and came into conflict with

Peter Damian Peter Damian ( la, Petrus Damianus; it, Pietro or '; – 21 or 22 February 1072 or 1073) was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of '' Paradiso'' ...

following the death of his father in 1010. in 1043, Guido acquired the town of

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

from

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 ...

. Guido also robbed the Abbey of Florence of gold, jewels, and artifacts. Guido II also had a son named Guido – Guido III. Unlike his father, Guido was on good terms with the clergy and was influenced by the reform movement of Florence led by

Giovanni Gualberto Giovanni Gualberto (c. 985 – 12 July 1073) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic abbot and the founder of the Vallumbrosan Order. Born into a noble family, Gualberto was a predictably vain individual who sought ...

. Guido returned the gold and jewels looted from the Abbey of Florence by his father and paid for the construction of a hospital within the city. Guido sided with

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 ...

during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

. Guido's two sons, Guido and Tegrimo left Italy for Palestine during

the First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rul ...

, however both were imprisoned in 1097 for unspecified reasons. Their father was forced to raise money in order to pay the ransom for their release in May 1099. Later in 1099 Matilda of Tuscany formally adopted Guido's son, Guido, granting him the title of

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. By 1102 Guido the younger had assumed the position as head of the family. By 1109 he lent his support to the town of

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...

in their revolt against Etelberto,

Bishop of Ravenna This page is a list of Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1985, of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia. Guido's aid led to Etelberto lifting his siege of the town. By now the nearby city of Florence had increased tremendously in size and influence as a result of the conflict in Tuscany during the

. The city did not submit to the rule of

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 ...

's successor, Rabodo,

marquis 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 ...

, and instead favoured self rule as a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. The growing power of Florence directly threatened the power of the Guidi counts in the outskirts of the city and in the surrounding rural areas. Members of the Guidi family became political leaders and magistrates in the rural communities they ruled over, whilst others became military chiefs in the conflicts of central Italy. However there is no evidence to suggest that any member of the Guidi family became a professional ''

condottiere ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

.''

Decline

By the early thirteenth century the lordships of the Guidi counts dotted the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

between Romagna and Tuscany, from the

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Flo ...

to the

Casentino The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the river Arno flows to Subbiano, Italy. It is one of the four valleys (alongside Valdarno, Valdichiana, and Valtiberina) in which the Province of Arezzo is divided. Mount Falterona, from ...

, and other lordships subject to them lay in the lower Valdarno west of Florence (

and other castellanies), the upper Valdarno, the

Pratomagno The Pratomagno is a mountain range, which has the Arno River on both sides: to the west is the upper Valdarno and to the east is the Casentino. It lies north-west of the city of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the ...

and the Val d'Ambra. The mid thirteenth century saw hostility directed towards the Guidi family from the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

, which saw the rural lordships of the Guidi as a block to Florentine ambitions of regional hegemony. By the fourteenth century the powers of the rural Guidi lordships had progressively been eroded by the Florentines. The last bastion of Guidi power in

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

, the

, was surrendered to

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 ...

in 1440.

Early history

Decline

References

Further reading