John I (''circa'' 1275 – 1305) was the thirteenth

Marquis of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

, last of the Aleramici dynasty, from 1292 to his death.

Life

John was the only son of

William VII of Montferrat Guillaume VII de Montferrat. William VII (c. 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great Marquis ( it, il Gran Marchese), was the twelfth Marquis of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. He was also the titular King of Thessalonica. Biography ...

and his second wife Beatrice, daughter of

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

. In his youth, John was put under the tutelage of

Thomas I of Saluzzo Thomas I (1239–1296) was the fourth Marquess of Saluzzo from 1244 to his death. He was the son of Manfred III and Beatrice of Savoy. He succeeded his father Manfred III. He was also the grandson of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy. Biography Unde ...

during the period of William's imprisonment in Alessandria. William died in prison and the peace was upset by

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

ese rebellions.

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...

intervened for the defence of John's realm, hoping in the end to install him as his vassal in Piedmont. With Charles and Thomas, who renewed the investiture of

Dogliani Dogliani () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Dogliani borders the following municipalities: Belvedere Langhe, Bonvicino, Boss ...

, John fought against Alessandria and

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

to recuperate territories lost by his father. He came in conflict with the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. Philip of Savoy possessed

Collegno Collegno (; pms, Colegn ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. It occupies an alluvial plain at the end of the Val di Susa, between Rivoli and Turin, at ...

Grugliasco Grugliasco (; pms, Grujasch ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about west of Turin. Grugliasco borders the municipalities of Turin, Collegno, and Rivoli. In 1945 here a ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, and

Pianezza Pianezza is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cu ...

which had been lost by William VII. The league John formed against

Matteo Visconti Matteo I Visconti (1250–1322) was the second of the Milanese Visconti family to govern Milan. Matteo was born to Teobaldo Visconti and Anastasia Pirovano. In 1287, Matteo's uncle Ottone Visconti, archbishop and first lord of Milan, nomina ...

succeeded in chasing him from the city in 1302 and obtaining the submission of Asti in 1303. In January 1305, he fell ill while planning a campaign against Savoy. A few days after dictating his testament, which entrusted his lands to the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

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 ...

, he died and was buried with his forefathers in the abbey of

Santa Maria di Lucedio Lucedio Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di Santa Maria di Lucedio'') is a 12th-century former Cistercian foundation near Trino, which is now in the province of Vercelli, north-west Italy. It played an important role in the development of rice producti ...

. The chronicler

Guglielmo Ventura Guglielmo Ventura, sometimes anglicized William Ventura (1249/50–''c''.1322), was a merchant, public official and chronicler of Asti. He is believed to have been an ancestor of the later chronicler Secondino Ventura.Alberto Luongo"Ventura, Gugli ...

reported that John I was suspected to have been murdered in his text ''De Gestis Civium Astensium'', although he was not present to witness John's death. John's personal physician, Emanuele of Vercelli, was charged with his relatively sudden death, but Ventura considered the charge to be baseless. However, after the funeral rites were completed, some of John's ministers murdered Emanuele, without a trial confirming or denying his guilt, by stabbing him repeatedly and then eating his flesh. As he died childless he was succeeded by his sister Irene's son Theodore Palaiologos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 01 Of Montferrat 1305 deaths Marquesses of Montferrat Aleramici Year of birth uncertain Burials at Lucedio Abbey