John I also known as the Just (''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 River, Po and east of Turin. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the northwest o ...

, last of the

Aleramici The Aleramici were a Northern Italian noble and royal dynasty of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern Italian territories in Piedmont and Liguria from the 10th to the 14th century, also reigning over the Kingdom of Jerusalem and th ...

dynasty, from 1292 to his death.

Life

John was the only son of

William VII of Montferrat William VII (c. 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great Marquis (), was the twelfth Marquis of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. He was also the titular King of Thessalonica. Biography Youth William was born in Trino, the eldest son ...

and his second wife Beatrice, daughter of

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...

. 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 of Saluzzo, Manfred III and Beatrice of Savoy. He succeeded his father Manfred III of Saluzzo, Manfred III. He was also the grandson ...

during the period of William's imprisonment in

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

. William died in prison and the peace was upset by

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

ese rebellions.

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (; ; 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 (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania ( ...

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 Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Dogliani borders the following municipalities: Belvedere Langhe, Bonvicino ...

, John fought against Alessandria and

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

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

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Philip of Savoy possessed

Collegno Collegno (; ) 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 the foot of ...

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

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, and

Pianezza Pianezza is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northwest of Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It ...

which had been lost by William VII. In 1296, John married Marguerite of Savoy, daughter of

Amadeus V, Count of Savoy Amadeus V (1249 – 16 October 1323), also known as Amadeus the Great, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 until his death in 1323. He was a significant medieval ruler who played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the House of Savo ...

and

Sybille of Bâgé Sybille de Baugé, Lady of Bâgé (1255–1294), was the suo jure Lady of Bâgé and Lady of Bresse in 1255-1294. She was a Countess Consort of Savoy in 1285-1294 by marriage to Amadeus V, Count of Savoy. Life She was born to Guy I Damas de ...

. 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, nominate ...

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 of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, he died and was buried with his forefathers in the abbey of Santa Maria di Lucedio. The chronicler Guglielmo Ventura 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

Sources

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