Walter of Palear (or Palearia, also Gualtiero da Pagliaria; died 1229 or 1231) was the chancellor of the Kingdom of Sicily under Queen Constance and the

Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...

. He was also the bishop of Troia (1189–1208) and later bishop of Catania (from 1208).

Biography

Walter put Palermo under the authority of his brother, Gentile, Count of Manoppello, while acting as guardian of Henry and Constance's son, the young king Frederick of Hohenstaufen. He "was perhaps the most important man in the kingdom of Sicily during the early years of Frederick's minority". Gentile surrendered the city to Markward von Anweiler in 1198, but

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

alleged that Markward had bribed Walter for the city and the king's regency. In 1202, an army led by Walter and

Dipold, Count of Acerra Dipold (died after 1221), known in German as Diepold (or Dietpold) von Schweinspünt, was a German ''ministerialis'' who was raised to the Duchy of Spoleto in 1209. Of Bavarian origin, he was a reputed younger son of Berthold II of Vohburg and Ade ...

, was defeated by the claimant

Walter III of Brienne Walter III of Brienne (french: Gautier, it, Gualtiero; died June 1205) was a nobleman from northern France. Becoming Count of Brienne in 1191, Walter married the Sicilian princess Elvira and took an army to southern Italy to claim her inheritanc ...

, who opposed Frederick as king. Markward died at a town called Patti having succumbed to surgery for kidney stones. After Markward's death, Frederick fell under the control of

William of Capparone William of Capparone was a German captainNeveux, François (2008). ''A brief history of the Normans: the conquests that changed the face of Europe''. Robinson. of Palermo who came to power as the regent of Sicily and guardian of future emperor F ...

. Dipold wrested Frederick from Capparone in 1206 and gave him over to the guardianship of the chancellor. Walter and Dipold then had a falling-out and the latter captured the royal palace, where he was besieged and captured by Walter in 1207. Rainaldo di Celano, the

archbishop of Capua The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capua ( la, Archidioecesis Capuana) is an archdiocese (originally a suffragan bishopric) of the Roman Catholic Church in Capua, in Campania, Italy, but its archbishop no longer holds metropolitan rank and has no e ...

, was his nephew.

Sources

* Kantorowicz, Ernst. ''Frederick the Second''.

Frederick Ungar Publishing Company Frederick Ungar Publishing Company was a New York publishing firm which was founded in 1940. History The Frederick Ungar Publishing Company published over 2,000 titles, including reference books such as the ''Encyclopedia of World Literature in ...

: 1937. *Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

: 1992.
''Ryccardi di Sancto Germano Notarii Chronicon''.
G. A. Loud, trans.

References

External links

{{authority control 12th-century births 1220s deaths 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Catania Bishops of Troia Medieval chancellors (government) Kingdom of Sicily people Christians of the Fifth Crusade Court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor