The siege of Faenza occurred from August 1240 to April 14, 1241, during the course of the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. In this military confrontation, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Frederick II aggressively laid siege 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 ...

and successfully captured the city.

Background

In August 1237, Frederick II returned to the northern Italian domain of the Holy Roman Empire from northern Europe. He had just put his affairs in Germany and Austria in order, including electing his son Conrad as the

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 Empir ...

and vanquishing the rebellious

Duke of Austria This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, t ...

. With these accomplishments complete, the Emperor assembled an army and turned his attention to reasserting control over the rebellious northern Italian cities in his Empire. Frederick_II_and_Eagle

Italy_-_Relief_Map_-_Showing_the_location_of_Faenza

The war for Lombardy and Italy

Once he reached northern Italy in the late summer of 1237, Frederick II and his

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

allies quickly captured the cities of

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

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 ...

. Then on November 27, 1237, the Imperial army decisively defeated the Lombard League at Cortenuova. In August 1238, Frederick II attempted to capture the city 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. ...

by means of a siege; this effort failed and in October an armistice was put in place.

Pope Gregory IX takes action

These actions of Frederick II and the possibility that the Holy Roman Empire would dominate all of Italy soon became threatening to

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

. In defense, Gregory IX went on the attack against Frederick II in the early months of 1239. First the Pope formed an alliance with the republics of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and asserted his support of the Lombard League. Then in March 1239 Gregory IX excommunicated Frederick II for ten crimes including inciting "rebellion in Rome against the Pope and Cardinals" and being in "contempt of the papal decision between himself and the Lombards." In addition, Gregory IX proclaimed a

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

against the Emperor and raised a large Guelph army to fight against the enemies of the Pope. And finally, the Pope declared that

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

included for Frederick II a forfeiture of his Empire, and instructed the German princes to move forward with an election.

War between Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX

The result was an extended and prolonged war between the Holy Roman Empire and Pope Gregory IX. Fighting began in 1239 when Frederick II named his son Enzio his Vicar or Lieutenant in Italy. Enzio won victories in north at

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

and in central Italy at the Marche of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

. The Guelphs defeated the Ghibellines at Ravenna but the Ghibelline defeated the Bolognese. Frederick II considered a siege on

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 ...

but changed his mind and led his army into

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

,where he spent Christmas in

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 ...

. In 1240 Frederick II advanced south. He captured the cities of

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 ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, and

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. Frederick II continued south into Papal territory and captured the city of

Foligno Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...

. The citizens of Foligno and

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

declared their loyalty to the Holy Roman Emperor. For a while the citizens of Rome leaned toward Frederick II, but Gregory IX won back their loyalty. Rather than attack Rome, Frederick II took his army to southern Italy to address a papal incited rebellion in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

. In southern Italy Frederick II attacked and razed

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

and St. Angelo. Meanwhile, in northern Italy, Ferrara surrendered to Venice. The Guelphs unsuccessfully attacked Padua but captured Mantua. In the south, Frederick II raises a new Apulian Army and moves where the city of Ravenna surrendered on 8 August 1240. Next Frederick II set his sights on Faenza, a city that had previously expelled its Ghibellines and were now the home of 36,000 Guelphs.

The siege of Faenza

When the siege of Faenza began in August 1240, the citizens of Faenza were at first encouraged when they saw that Frederick II did not have hard currency to pay his soldiers and resorted to "coins" struck from leather. However, the citizens were soon discouraged when they saw that Frederick II's intrinsically worthless leather "coins" were readily accepted upon his word by his army. Frederick II attempted to negotiate a surrender however the Faenzans were told by Gregory IX's emissaries that help from the Milanese and the Bolognese would be forthcoming. No help ever came from the Milanese or the Bolognese. The Venetians attempted to draw Frederick II's forces away from Faenza by raiding the

n coast, but Frederick II kept his soldiers in camp and let the Apulians defend Apulia. Faenza's last hope was that the winter would force Frederick II to retreat. Here again Frederick II held fast, ordering his army to build huts that would withstand inclement weather. When food supplies ran short in the besieged city, the citizens sought permission to send out their women, children, and non-combatants. This request was denied by Frederick II as he knew that such an act would only prolong the siege of those fighting men that remained inside the city walls. Ultimately, the citizens offered to surrender if they would be allowed to leave the town with their safety protected. Here again Frederick II refused to make any promises because of past offenses against him including an assassination attempt. Finally the citizens surrendered unconditionally on 14 April 1241 when famine and the condition of the city walls gave them little choice. As the defenders of Faenza exited the city expecting death sentences, Frederick II pronounced their unconditional pardon.

Final outcome

In 1241 the war continued to go badly for the Pope. Gregory IX decided to yield; he moved to begin negotiations for a truce and peace treaty. When the talks went nowhere, the Pope stopped the peace negotiations and called for a General Council. Frederick II prevented the delegates of the General Council from assembling by intercepting the prelates at sea at the Battle of Giglio. Frederick II advanced on Rome, but on 22 August 1241 Gregory IX died. Frederick II called off the attack on Rome, saying that he was not at war with the church. Frederick II went to Sicily while a new Pope was elected.

Citations

References

* * * * *