The siege of Crema was a siege of the town of

Crema, Lombardy Crema (; Eastern Lombard, Cremasco: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio River, Serio at from Cremona. It is also the seat of the Catholic Bishop of C ...

by the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

from 2 July 1159 to 25 January 1160. The Cremaschi attempted to defend their city from the Germans, but were eventually defeated by Frederick Barbarossa's men.

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 ...

seized

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 ...

in 1162, shortly after he took Crema. These events started the wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines, leading to the formation of the Lombard League, a league of northern Italian communes allied against the emperor, supported by the Pope.

Background

In 1158, Frederick Barbarossa led an army into northern Italy to reduce the autonomy of its

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

. The main imperial ally, Cremona, was at the time quarreling with the nearby Crema about rights and privileges namely owed to the

bishops of Cremona A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Crema was also allied to Milan, and this was seen as a menace of extension of the Milanese power towards Cremona and the Po River. In a meeting held at Casale Monferrato, the Cremonesi convinced Frederick to attack Crema, an act that would also imply a menace against the rebellious Milan. The Cremonese also paid 15,000 silver ''corone'' to Frederick in exchange of his help.

The siege

After an ultimatum sent by Frederick on 2 February 1159, asking the destruction of their walls, was refused, the Cremaschi settled into their city to hold against a siege. Barbarossa killed his prisoners, so the Cremaschi hacked their prisoners to pieces in front of their comrades.Grant, RG: ''Battle'' The besieging troops were formed mostly by Barbarossa's imperial contingents, part of which led by his brother, Conrad, and by the latter's son Frederick; by Bavarian troops under duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

; and by communal troops, mostly belonging to the main imperial allies, Cremona (under bishop Oberto of Dovara) and

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 cap ...

. The city was on a marshy plain and was protected by several moats and a tall double wall. The defenders had nine

mangonel The mangonel, also called the traction trebuchet, was a type of trebuchet used in Ancient China starting from the Warring States period, and later across Eurasia by the 6th century AD. Unlike the later counterweight trebuchet, the mangonel o ...

s as defensive artillery. Milan attempted to save Crema by assaulting a nearby town, but Barbarossa drove back the Milanese. The besiegers set in their final positions in the October 1159; starting from the following December, they used a "cat" (a mobile roof), followed by a

siege tower A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...

, to cover their siege engineers who were mining under the walls. This led to the Cremaschi also digging tunnels to start underground warfare. After the cat had eroded the walls, a ram was used to create a breach in the walls; the tower was further neared to the walls starting from 6 January. The final assault was launched on January 21 using a mobile bridge measuring some 24 x 3.5 meters, while a smaller one was launched from the siege tower. The defenders and civilians, some of whom had died of hunger and disease, surrendered on January 25 after the imperial troops had taken control of the outer walls. Some 20,000 survivors were allowed to leave with whatever they could carry before Crema was looted and burnt to the ground. An edict issued by Frederick in 1162 at Lodi officially forbade its reconstruction.

was also taken and destroyed two years later, ending the first phase of the war. Crema could be rebuilt by its citizens after the signature of the Peace of Constance in 1183.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{coord missing, Italy

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product), the Spanish word for cream * ''Cremà ...

1159 in Europe 1160 in Europe 12th century in Italy

History of Lombardy 1150s in the Holy Roman Empire 1160s in the Holy Roman Empire