Milo ( it, Milone) was the
Count (later Margrave) of Verona from 931 until 955. He was a
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
of four successive kings of Italy from 910. Under
Berengar I
Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friu ...
he became a courtier (''
familiaris'') and by 924 head of the bodyguard. By 927 he had expanded his landholdings to have vassals of his own. Under
Hugh
Hugh may refer to:
*Hugh (given name)
Noblemen and clergy French
* Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks
* Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II
* Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...
, he revolted twice but kept his position in Verona. Under
Berengar II
Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Marg ...
, he was raised to the rank of
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...
(''marchio'') in 953.
Milo was a son of Manfred, from
Mosezzo in the region of
Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...
. His brother Manfred was the count of
Lomello. His given name suggests a kinship with the
Widonids, perhaps on his mother's side. He is described in a document of 906 as being "of
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
origin" and not a
Lombard. His wife, Valperga, was also a Frank. All the evidence suggests that he belonged from the beginning to the upper ranks of the nobility.
Berengar I's vassal
Milo's first documentary appearance associates him with the city of
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 ...
and with the aristocratic supporters of King
Berengar I
Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friu ...
. On 1 September 906, he undersigned a donation by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
bishop of Verona
235px, The facade of ''Palazzo del Vescovado''
The Diocese of Verona ( la, Dioecesis Veronensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in northern Italy. The diocese belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Venice. The bishop of Verona ...
,
Adalard, to his friend
Ingelfred, also a German. It is unclear how Milo came to prominence at Verona—possibly he arrived in the retinue of Ingelfred—but he was to spend the rest of his life based out of the city.
In November 910, Milo was one of ten vassals of the king who acted as a judicial "college" during two ''
placita'' (public hearings) held at
Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
by Berengar. These ''placita'' marked the resumption of public royal justice after it had fallen in abeyance during years of civil war between rivals for the throne. On 1 December 914, Milo witnessed a gift of Ingelfred, who since 906 had become count of Verona, to the nunnery of
San Zaccaria in Venice. Milo was to show generosity to the nuns in his will, and it is possible that he had relatives living there. He subscribed Ingelfred's gift with a ''
signum manus'' as a "lord vassal of the king
rom the peopleof the Franks".
As a loyal support and vassal, Milo was rewarded by Berengar with a real property after Berengar was crowned
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
by Pope
John X
Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, ...
in 915. The diploma recording this royal gift is now lost. Milo was eventually welcomed into the imperial household—the so-called ''
familia''—of Berengar as head of the emperor's personal bodyguard. He was holding this position when, on 7 April 924, Berengar was assassinated at Verona. According to Bishop
Liutprand of Cremona, a contemporary, Milo had tried in vain to warn the emperor of the conspiracy. Three days after the assassination, he caught the assassin, the steward (''sculdascio'') Flambert, and hanged him alongside his accomplices.
Hugh's vassal
Milo retained his status as a royal vassal after the coronation of King
Hugh
Hugh may refer to:
*Hugh (given name)
Noblemen and clergy French
* Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks
* Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II
* Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...
in 926. By this time he also had vassals of his own. On 15 November 927, he undersigned the testament of
Notker, bishop of Verona, being accompanied as a witness by one of his vassals, as per
Lombard law
The ''Edictum Rothari'' (lit. ''Edict of Rothari''; also ''Edictus Rothari'' or ''Edictum Rotharis'') was the first written compilation of Lombard law, codified and promulgated on 22 November 643 by King Rothari in Pavia by a gairethinx, an asse ...
. In this document he signed his name with his own hand and not with, as on all previous occasions, a ''signum manus''. This may indicate that he had learned to write in the preceding decade.
According to Liutprand of Cremona, Milo was one of the noblemen who helped quash a tentative rebellion around 930. Two local judges, Walpert and Everard Gezo, were plotting to assassinate the king in collaboration with some dissident nobles during one of Hugh's visits to the capital,
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 ...
. The plot became known, and Everard Gezo was captured, his eyes and tongue cut out.
Like his predecessor, Hugh rewarded Milo for his loyalty with grants of public rights, land and offices. By 929, Milo had received from Hugh the right to collect the ''decima'' or tithe, an annual tax of a tenth (probably not an ecclesiastical tithe), in the jurisdiction of the villa of
Ronco all'Adige
Ronco all'Adige is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southeast of Verona. As of 31 October 2018, it had a population of 6,002 and an area of .All demographi ...
. This secured for him a valuable revenue stream that he would hang onto for the rest of his life. Only briefly did he let it go: on 11 July 929, he and Valperga gave the ''decima'' of Ronco and the church dedicated to the Virgin that they had founded there to the
canons of Verona in accordance with Frankish law. This was witnessed by four of his vassals. In different circumstances in 931, he took the gift back.
In 930 or 931, Hugh embarked on a major reorganization of the kingdom. He appointed new loyalist counts
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Piacenza and
Reggio. He placed his half-brother
Lambert
Lambert may refer to
People
*Lambert (name), a given name and surname
* Lambert, Bishop of Ostia (c. 1036–1130), became Pope Honorius II
*Lambert, Margrave of Tuscany ( fl. 929–931), also count and duke of Lucca
*Lambert (pianist), stage-name ...
at the head of the
margravate of Tuscany and his young son
Lothair was associated with him as junior king. It is probably around this time that, as part of this effort to strengthen his hold on the kingdom, he appointed Milo count of Verona. Ingelfred was dead by this time; his son, Aitingus (or Egitingus), was displaced.
Count of Verona
First revolt
In June 931, the
archbishop of Milan,
Lambert
Lambert may refer to
People
*Lambert (name), a given name and surname
* Lambert, Bishop of Ostia (c. 1036–1130), became Pope Honorius II
*Lambert, Margrave of Tuscany ( fl. 929–931), also count and duke of Lucca
*Lambert (pianist), stage-name ...
, died and was succeeded by
Hilduin
Hilduin (c. 785 – c. 855) was Bishop of Paris, chaplain to Louis I, reforming Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, and author. He was one of the leading scholars and administrators of the Carolingian Empire.
Background
Hilduin was from a pr ...
, bishop of Verona, who was replaced by
Rather by August. The election of Rather as bishop of Verona was the supported by Pope
John XI and all the leading men of Italy, including Milo, but it was strongly opposed by Hugh. In response, the king took control of the diocese and seized its revenues. This was the first major split between Milo and Hugh. The first certain reference to Milo as count of Verona comes from Liutprand's description of Rather's election in August 931.
By 934 the situation at Verona had become intolerable. Milo and Rather actively recruited Duke
Arnulf of Bavaria
Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (german: der Schlimme), the Evil (''der Böse'') or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpoldings, Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his dea ...
to come to Italy with an army to install his son,
Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.
People
First name
*Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire
*Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian
*Eberhard I, Du ...
, on the throne. According to Liutprand of Cremona, Arnulf and his army were welcomed "gleefully"
(''libenter'') by the count and the bishop and a party of "the most noble men" (''honestiores''), but were forced to retreat in the face of Hugh's vigorous opposition. In order to salvage something from his defeat, Arnulf intended to take Milo, the instigator of the enterprise, back to Bavaria as a hostage. Getting wind of this plan and in fear of his life, Milo surrendered Hugh. In revenge Arnulf captured Milo's brother Manfred, who had been defending the citadel of Verona against the Bavarian army. By 935 Arnulf and his son had returned to Bavaria.
In the aftermath of the revolt, Milo lost influence at court, but retained his county. His co-conspirator, Rather, was imprisoned at Pavia, then exiled to
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
. He was replaced at Verona by
, the king's nephew, who already held the dioceses of
Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
and
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 ...
and controlled the revenues and defences of the newly created "Tridentine march". Rather finally left Italy in 939.
Second revolt
In 936, Hugh moved to weaken the power and influence of the
Anscarids in the
margravate of Ivrea in the northwest. He transferred Margrave
Anscar II to the
duchy of Spoleto
The Duchy of Spoleto (, ) was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard ''dux'' Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto.
Lombards
The Lombards had invaded Italy in 568 AD and conquered much of it, establishing ...
in central Italy, and began distributing lands in the county of Parma to rival families. In 941, Milo received one such grant near Parma from Hugh and his son Lothair. It signified his return to royal favour, but also represented a policy of weakening the regional power of the great families.
In the winter of 941–42, Anscar's brother
Berengar was exposed as having plotted against Hugh and fled to
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
in Germany. In early 945, Berengar returned to Italy at the head of a small army, initially taking up residence in Milan. Following the lead of Bishop
Guido of Modena, Manasses abandoned Hugh and soon persuaded Milo to do likewise. The latter offered Berengar safety within the walls of Verona. The dissident group began negotiations with Hugh and Lothair. They agreed to recognise them as kings if they accepted Berengar as the "highest councilor of the kingdom". Hugh opted to go into exile in his native
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, and Lothair became sole king. From Verona, Berengar and Milo moved on to the capital, Pavia, where on 13 April 945, in Hugh's absence, Berengar was proclaimed "highest councilor" before a solemn assembly in the presence of many counts, including Milo.
Milo appears at his strongest during Berengar's return to Italy, acting almost a kingmaker, although Berengar refrained from deposing Hugh, preferring the claim to be governing on his behalf. Liutprand of Cremona defends Milo for his second rebellion against Hugh. He baldly asserts that Milo was not "unfaithful" (''infidelis'') to Hugh because his actions were necessary given Hugh's overbearing behaviour. He also describes Milo as a described as a "very powerful count" (''praepotens comes'').
Shortly after Berengar's assumption of power, Rather returned to Italy. His return to Verona was initially opposed by Milo, and he was imprisoned by Berengar for three and a half months. Manasses, who already held other dioceses and responsibilities, was then shunted aside and Rather was reluctantly welcomed back to Verona by Milo. The count took advantage of the shakeup in the diocese to seize control of its revenues. In his own letters, Rather calls his treatment under Milo a "martyrdom" that lasted two years while the count tried to keep him from exercising his office fully. Posing as the "advocate and protector" of the diocese, Milo prevented Rather from managing ecclesiastical properties, implementing clerical reforms and, most importantly, convoking a diocesan synod. Rather remarked in one letter, "I would rather hunger under Hugh than make merry under Milo".
It has been hypothesised that Milo was behind the theft of the relics of a local Veronese priest, Saint Metro, housed in the church of San Vitale, by the people of nearby
Bolzano Vicentino
Bolzano Vicentino is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, in the northern Italian region of Veneto. It lies east of the A31 highway, with a population of 5,455.
The main attraction is Palladio's Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen, situa ...
, in order to deprive Rather of the support of a local saint's cult. Rather himself, however, calls this a "laudable theft" (''furtus laudibilis''), presumably because it rescued the saint's relics from Milo.
Control of the church
In 947 Hugh died and his son and co-king, Lothair, became sole ruler. In May 948, Lothair convinced Rather to leave Verona for his personal safety and Bishop Manasses returned. In October, however, Archbishop
Arderic died and the archdiocese of Milan fell vacant. Berengar put Manasses forward as a candidate, but he was rejected by the Milanese, who elected one
Adalman. Milo, looking to weaken Manasses as bishop of Verona by distracting him elsewhere, lent support to Adalman. For the next five years, Manasses was preoccupied with the conflict over Milan.
Milo took advantage of the Milanese quarrel to negotiate his own economic control of the diocese of Verona. With the consent of Pope
Agapetus II
Pope Agapetus II (died 8 November 955) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 May 946 to his death. A nominee of the princeps of Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the ''Saeculu ...
, he had his young nephew
Milo, son of the count of Lomello, made bishop of Verona. He received from Agapetus the necessary dispensation on account of his nephew's youth and Milo became bishop in 950 or 951. He was bishop for the rest of his uncle's life, although he was removed when
Otto I of Germany
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...
seized Italy in 961 and reinstalled Rather.
Margrave
After Lothair's death in 950, Berengar took the throne. His mistreatment of Lothair's widow,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, whom he tried to marry, incited German intervention. In 951, Otto I invaded Italy, married Adelaide himself and subjected the marches of Verona,
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
and
Friuli to the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...
under Duke
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
. It is unclear whether this large Italian march was detached from Italy and annexed to Bavaria or was merely placed under Bavarian oversight. In neither case did it cause any loss of freedom of action for Milo.
In September 953, Milo used the title "margrave" for the first time in a description of boundaries. He probably received the title from Berengar II as a reward for his loyalty. It may also have been part of Berengar's effort to reconstitute the old margravate of Friuli as a bulwark against the Magyars and Slavs. At the same time, Milo's nephew
Egelric, brother of the bishop, was raised to the rank of count.
At Ronco all'Adige on 10 July 955, Milo drew up his will. It is his last known act and he probably died shortly after, although it is unknown when, where or how. At the time he possessed lands in Verona, including a church dedicated to Saint Paul, and three strategically placed castles at Ronco all'Adige,
San Bonifacio and
Begosso. His will refers to earlier "written letters of instruction" (''paginae preceptoriae''), probably charters recording grants of land from the king. These may have been in the area of Parma and given between 936 and 945, when Hugh was distributing public lands there to counter the rise of the Anscarids.
Acting as a Frank and in accordance with the
Salic law
The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...
, Milo named as heirs to his lands his brother Manfred and nephew Egelric. He provided an annuity for the convent of San Zaccaria in Venice from the revenues of Ronco all'Adige, and specified that if Manfred and Egelric failed to produce heirs then all his lands should devolve to the convent. This generosity with a Venetian house suggests an otherwise unknown connexion. Perhaps a female relative was a nun there.
Egelric succeeded Milo as count of Verona. He was deposed by Otto in 961, reverting to a mere royal vassal. Milo's family subsequently became known as "da San Bonifacio" (later Sambonifacio) after his castle.
Milo's career has been compared to that of
Gandulf of Piacenza
Gandulf or Gandolf ( it, Gandolfo; 907–31) was a Frankish nobleman in the medieval kingdom of Italy. He rose from relatively low rank to become the count of Piacenza and finally a ''marchio'' (marquis). He is an ancestor of the Da Palazzo fam ...
, since both rose through the ranks from royal vassal to count to margrave.
Footnotes
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Milo of Verona
Margraves of Verona
950s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain