Alberto AZZO I and his brother Ugo were sons of Oberto II, Marquis of the Holy Palace, and were the first Marquises d'Este in 1012.
With these two brothers, Alberto Azzo I and Ugo commenced the hostility of the House of d'Este against the German emperors.
In 1014, having assisted Arduino, Marquis of Ivrea, who had been called to the throne of Italy by the Italian nobles since 1002, against the Emperor Henry II, on his second descent into Italy, the two marquises of d'Este, Alberto Azzo I and Ugo, were placed under the ban of the empire, deprived of their estates, and thrown into prison.
But they soon escaped or were released and regained possession of their lands, which comprised at this time, besides
Este
Rovigo and
Mouselice.
On the death of Henry II in 1024 Alberto Azzo I and Ugo strenuously opposed the election of Conrad II and offered the crown of Italy to King Robert of France.
On his refusal, they offered it successively to his son Hugues, to Guillaume IV., Duke of Aquitaine, and to his son the Count of Angouleme, afterwards Guillaume V.
The duke was induced to meet his adherents in Italy, hut finding little concert among them, and unwilling to embroil himself with the Holy See by the deposal and creation of certain bishops, as was required of him, he returned to Aquitaine, and no claimant remained to oppose Conrad.
Alberto Azzo I died in 1029, and was succeeded by his son Alberto Azzo II.
With these two brothers, Alberto Azzo I and Ugo commenced the hostility of the House of d'Este against the German emperors.
In 1014, having assisted Arduino, Marquis of Ivrea, who had been called to the throne of Italy by the Italian nobles since 1002, against the Emperor Henry II, on his second descent into Italy, the two marquises of d'Este, Alberto Azzo I and Ugo, were placed under the ban of the empire, deprived of their estates, and thrown into prison.
But they soon escaped or were released and regained possession of their lands, which comprised at this time, besides
Este
Rovigo and
Mouselice.
On the death of Henry II in 1024 Alberto Azzo I and Ugo strenuously opposed the election of Conrad II and offered the crown of Italy to King Robert of France.
On his refusal, they offered it successively to his son Hugues, to Guillaume IV., Duke of Aquitaine, and to his son the Count of Angouleme, afterwards Guillaume V.
The duke was induced to meet his adherents in Italy, hut finding little concert among them, and unwilling to embroil himself with the Holy See by the deposal and creation of certain bishops, as was required of him, he returned to Aquitaine, and no claimant remained to oppose Conrad.
Alberto Azzo I died in 1029, and was succeeded by his son Alberto Azzo II.
ALBERTO AZZO II was the son of Azzo I.
In 1045, Alberto Azzo II held two Plaids at Milan as lieutenant of the Emperor Henry III.
Already the wealthiest of the Italian nobles, Alberto Azzo II became the founder of the greatness of the house of d'Este by various alliances, and chiefly by his marriage with Cunigunda, sister of Guelfo III, Duke of Carinthia and Marquis of Verona.
Guelfo III died, and left his extensive domains, including large estates in Swabia, to his nephew Guelfo IV., the eldest son of Alberto Azzo II.
After the death of Cunigunda, Alberto Azzo II took to wife Garsende, sister of Herbert, Count of Maine, the inhabitants of which province, after its conquest by William of Normandy (1058), called in the aid of the Italian prince.
Alberto Azzo II took possession of it whilst William was engaged on the conquest of England.
But his son Ugo, whom he left in Maine on his return to Italy, was easily expelled by William in 1072.
Alberto Azzo II's power in Italy, however, still continued to increase.
Alberto Azzo II was, with the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, a member of the synod held at Rome by Gregory VII in 1074.
Three years after, on the occasion of the famous penance of Canossa, he was one of the nobles whom the Emperor Henry IV deputed to the pope to solicit the removal of the interdict which the pope had pronounced against him.
About the same time Alberto Azzo II married his second son Ugo to the daughter of Robert Guiscard, the Norman, now master of the greater part of Southern Italy.
A still more important alliance was that which he negotiated (1089) between his grandson Guelf V., son of Guelf IV. (created Duke of Bavaria in 1071), and the Countess Matilda.
The pope Urban II willingly assented to the marriage for the increase of the power of the Holy See, of which both the houses of Tuscany and d'Este were devoted adherents; and the ceremony was performed without the knowledge of Henry IV, who was greatly incensed on hearing of it.
Alberto Azzo II died in 1097, at the age of more than a hundred years.
Alberto Azzo II's donations to the church were very considerable.
Alberto Azzo II is stated to have given fifty estates to one monastery, that of the Vangadizza on the Adigetto.
He left three sons—Guelf IV. of Bavaria, from whom the royal house of Brunswick descends, Ugo, and Folco; the last-named prince was the ancestor of the house of d'Este properly so called.
In 1045, Alberto Azzo II held two Plaids at Milan as lieutenant of the Emperor Henry III.
Already the wealthiest of the Italian nobles, Alberto Azzo II became the founder of the greatness of the house of d'Este by various alliances, and chiefly by his marriage with Cunigunda, sister of Guelfo III, Duke of Carinthia and Marquis of Verona.
Guelfo III died, and left his extensive domains, including large estates in Swabia, to his nephew Guelfo IV., the eldest son of Alberto Azzo II.
After the death of Cunigunda, Alberto Azzo II took to wife Garsende, sister of Herbert, Count of Maine, the inhabitants of which province, after its conquest by William of Normandy (1058), called in the aid of the Italian prince.
Alberto Azzo II took possession of it whilst William was engaged on the conquest of England.
But his son Ugo, whom he left in Maine on his return to Italy, was easily expelled by William in 1072.
Alberto Azzo II's power in Italy, however, still continued to increase.
Alberto Azzo II was, with the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, a member of the synod held at Rome by Gregory VII in 1074.
Three years after, on the occasion of the famous penance of Canossa, he was one of the nobles whom the Emperor Henry IV deputed to the pope to solicit the removal of the interdict which the pope had pronounced against him.
About the same time Alberto Azzo II married his second son Ugo to the daughter of Robert Guiscard, the Norman, now master of the greater part of Southern Italy.
A still more important alliance was that which he negotiated (1089) between his grandson Guelf V., son of Guelf IV. (created Duke of Bavaria in 1071), and the Countess Matilda.
The pope Urban II willingly assented to the marriage for the increase of the power of the Holy See, of which both the houses of Tuscany and d'Este were devoted adherents; and the ceremony was performed without the knowledge of Henry IV, who was greatly incensed on hearing of it.
Alberto Azzo II died in 1097, at the age of more than a hundred years.
Alberto Azzo II's donations to the church were very considerable.
Alberto Azzo II is stated to have given fifty estates to one monastery, that of the Vangadizza on the Adigetto.
He left three sons—Guelf IV. of Bavaria, from whom the royal house of Brunswick descends, Ugo, and Folco; the last-named prince was the ancestor of the house of d'Este properly so called.
Several other Azzos (Azzo III, Azzo V, Azzo VI, Azzo VII., and Azzo VIII. chiefly -- but let us not forget Azzo IV, Rinaldo's grandfather) play a somewhat conspicuous part in the intricate history of Northern Italy during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Azzo VI may be mentioned as having married Alisia, a daughter of Rinaldo, Prince of Antioch, whilst he gave his two daughters in marriage, the one to Manuel Comnenus, Emperor of Constantinople, the other to Bela, King of Hungary.
His estates comprised the greater part of the marches of Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Treviso, Trento, Feltro, and Belluno. (Muratori, Delle Antichita Estensi, vol. i., Annali d'Italia, vols. vi. to viii.).
AZZO VII., while yet in his infancy, succeeded to the estates and titles of his father Azzo VI., conjointly with his elder brother Aldovrandino, and on the death of the latter remained sole Marquis of Este and Ancona. His first wars were with Salinguerra, the chief of the Ghibeline faction in Ferrara, over which town the Marquises of Este claimed to exert an influence; afterwards with the infamous Ezzelino da Romano, podesta of Verona, and the head of the whole Ghibeline party in Northern Italy. In 1236, when the Emperor Frederic II. had crossed the Alps on the invitation of Ezzelino, and the latter had left Verona unguarded to join the Emperor, Azzo of Este and Ramberto Ghisilieri, podesta of Padua, made an attempt upon that town; but during the absence of the Marquis of Este, Frederic marched upon Vicenza, of which Azzo was rector, took and sacked the place, and gave it over to Ezzelino, whom he left as his lieutenant on his return to Germany. The Guelfs immediately rose again, and Azzo VII. received from the hands of the podesta of Padua the standard of that republic, with the fullest powers for the defence of the March; but he had scarcely quitted the town when the Ghibeline faction gave it up to Ezzelino, and Azzo then made his peace. Two years after hostilities again broke out in the March of Treviso; Azzo was deprived of almost all his estates, and compelled to shut himself up in Rovigo. The Emperor however (1238) appears not to have approved of these hostilities; he spent the greater part of the winter of this year in Padua, invited the Marquis of Este to his court, treated him with much favour, negotiated a marriage between Rinaldo d' Este, son of Azzo, and Adelaide, daughter of Alberigo da Romano, Ezzelino's brother, and was present at the ceremony. In vain Ezzelino besought him to beware of the only traitor noble who yet " kicked against the pricks," telling the Emperor to " strike the snake on the head, that the body might be more easily secured:" the Emperor wrote back that he considered the marquis as one of the staunchest defenders of his throne.
This interval of imperial favour was a short one for the marquis. On the excommunication of Frederic by the pope, Gregory IX. (Palm Sunday, 1239), the Emperor began to suspect the Guelf nobles, especially the Marquis of Este, a family always devoted to the Holy See, and compelled him to give up as hostages his son Rinaldo, with the newly married wife of Rinaldo, both of whom were sent to a castle in Apulia. Alberigo da Romano took fire at this affront, and began hostilities against the Imperialists, which, though of short duration, were sufficient to produce a reaction in favour of the Guelfs; so depressed had that party become, that no one dared even to mention the name of the Marquis of Este in Verona, Vicenza, Ferrara, or Padua, all now under the immediate tyranny of Ezzelino. As the Imperial army was passing under the walls of San Bonifazio, the count of which town was, with the Marquis Azzo, the chief Guelf noble of Northern Italy, and was at the time, together with Azzo himself, in the suite of the Emperor, a friend of the two nobles made sign to them, drawing his hand across his neck, that their execution was resolved. They instantly put spurs to their horses, and succeeded in entering the town and closing the gates, almost before their sudden flight had suggested the idea of pursuit, and uo persuasion could induce them to venture forth again. Frederic did not undertake the reduction of the place, and the marquis soon succeeded in recovering, one after the other, almost all his lost estates. The next year (1240) his old enemy Salinguerra, now more than eighty years of age, was taken prisoner by the Guelfs; and the city of Ferrara, tired of Ghibeline sway, gave the supreme authority to the Marquis of Este.
Hostilities continued with varying success during the following years, no longer against Ezzelino alone, but against the Emperor himself. In 1247, when the Emperor laid siege to Parma, the Marquis of Este shut himself up in the town with a body of Ferrarese, leaving his own estates to be overrun and devastated by Ezzelino. The success of the Parmesans is well known; whilst the Emperor was engaged in hunting, they repelled their besiegers, and took and burnt the camp (1248), of which Frederic had made a town under the name of Vittoria. Meanwhile Azzo lost once more all his possessions and fortresses, even Montagnana and Este, which had been considered impregnable, and only retained the Polesino of Rovigo and his influence over Ferrara. The death of Frederic, in the year 1250, was the occasion of fresh calamity, for Conrad IV., his successor, caused Rinaldo d' Este, still a hostage, to be put to death.
The enormities of the house of Romano had now reached such a pitch that the pope, Alexander IV., preached a crusade against them (1254). Azzo VII. was named captain and marshal of the whole army, and in this manner, says the chronicler Rolandino," the whole people were made quiet and secure, by reason of the greatness, wisdom, and courage of the lord Marquis." The Crusaders entered Padua (1255); Ezzelino took his revenge for this reverse by the execution of 11,000 Paduans, who were serving under his own banners. This butchery only served to exasperate his own subjects, and the efforts of the league were at last crowned with success in the campaign of 1259. Ezzelino had laid siege to Orci Novi, near the Oglio, between Brescia and Crema, when he found himself between two bodies of troops, the Ferrarese and Mautuans under the Marquis of Este, and the Cremonese under the Marquis Pelavicino, and threatened on a third side by the Milanese. After trying in vain to baffle them, he engaged the Marquis of Este at Ponte Cassano, after fording the Adda, and was completely put to rout and taken prisoner: he died of his wounds a few days after. The allies next besieged his brother Alberigo in San Zeno, amidst the Euganean hills. Compelled by starvation to give himself up, with his six sons and three daughters, Alberigo vainly recalled to the mind of the Marquis of Este the former ties which had subsisted between them. The whole family were put to death, and their limbs sent to the different towns till then subject to the tyranny of the house of Romano, as memorials of their deliverance (1260).
The reign of Azzo VII. was little troubled after the death of Ezzelino. It may perhaps be mentioned, as a somewhat rare example of feudal honesty, that he raised money for payment of his debts by selling to the town of Padua his possessions in Monte Ricco. He died in Ferrara (13th or 16th of February, 1264), after having seen, says the monk of Padua (monaehus Pataviinsis), "the most eminent Emperor Frederic despoiled of all honour, the astute Salinguerra a prisouer, the tumid Ezzelino struck down with a club, the slippery Alberigo killed dreadfully before his eyes; for those princes of iniquity, like four pestilent winds, had rushed with all their fury against the house of Este to destroy it wholly ; but it did not fall." Azzo left by will his estates to his grandson Obizzo, son of Rinaldo, who had been brought back from Apulia before his father's execution. At his funeral, says another chronicler (Ricobaldus), " even his adversaries could not restrain their sighs or their tears; a man liberal, innocent, ignorant of all tyranny, always most ashamed to refuse when solicited to give." Azzo VII. was a zealous patron of Provencal literature, and retained at his court a somewhat celebrated troubadour of the name of Mastro
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