Manfred II Lancia
Manfred II (Italian: Manfredo or Manfredi) Lancia or Lança (1185/1195 - Asti, c.1257), eldest son of Manfred I, was the margrave of Busca. He became Imperial Vicar and a faithful follower of Frederick II.
Life
In 1216 Mainfredus Lancia was established as Frederick II's representative in Piedmont and later followed him to southern Italy. Around 1230 he was one of his closest followers. The Emperor's relationship with Bianca Lancia, Manfredo's niece, resulted in the birth of Constance and Manfred, the latter destined to become King of Sicily.
He also accompanied Frederick II on his 1235 expedition to Germany, following which he was commissioned to escort the emperor's rebellious son and king of the Romans, Henry, to Apulia. In 1238, Manfredo assumed the position of Imperial Vicar. He was then served as governor of Alessandria for many years. Subsequently he alternated between diplomatic assignments and military tasks, often aimed at restoring imperial authority over the townships that attempted to rebel (Alessandria, Vercelli, Brescia, Piacenza, Crema, Milan), but otherwise aimed at consolidating his control over his family's feudal lands in southern Piedmont. In the summer of 1245, Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Manfred, along with Frederick II and King Enzo.
In January 1248 he was entrusted with the custody of Vittoria, the military encampment that the emperor had established in opposition to Guelph Parma, but he was not blamed by the emperor for the subsequent defeat there of the imperial army. For a brief period he also had the right to mint coinage, as evidenced by some small and larger denarii that have survived.
When the Emperor died on 19 December 1250, Manfred avoided the Guelphs of Lodi and moved to Piedmont. When Conrad IV, Frederick's legitimate heir, arrived in Italy, Manfredo tried to reestablish his relationship with the new emperor, but Oberto Pelavicino was preferred; this choice and the harsh treatment that the emperor reserved for the Lanza di Sicilia, induced him in 1252 to switch unscrupulously to the Guelph party. Thus, on 1 January 1253, he accepted the position of mayor and commander in chief of the Municipality of Milan and then Novara.
On the death of Conrad IV in May 1254, he made a military commitment to defend his possessions in Piedmont: but he was attacked in September 1257 by the forces of Pavia, Alessandria and the margrave of Monferrato. He was probably mortally wounded during this clash, as his name is not found in any further (In August 1259, Isolda is referred to as the daughter of the late margrave of Lancia).[1]
Descendants
it is thought that "his probable son, Oberto Lanza, attested in Piedmont in 1256, and it may be assumed that, alongside Isolda (Isotta), who had married Bertoldo of Hohenburg, Manfred of Sicily's guardian, there was another Manfredi (III) present in the kingdom from 1251 and possibly Beatrice, Abbess of Santa Maria di Messina from 1250 to 1263. It seems likely that Galvanus and Frederick (the eldest adult from at least 1240) were his brother's sons, although the connections remain very difficult to establish".[2]
References
- ^ Merkel, Carlo (1886). Manfredi I e Manfredi II Lancia. Contributo alla storia politica e letteraria italiana nell'epoca sveva (in Italian). Turin: Ermanno Loescher. pp. 53–174.
- ^ Settia, Aldo G. (2004). "LANCIA (Lanza), Manfredi (Manfredo)". Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Vol. 63. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
Bibliography
- Cognasso, Francesco (1968). Il Piemonte nell'età sveva. Turin: Deputazione subalpina di storia patria.
- E. Voltmer, I collaboratori piemontesi di Federico II e di Manfredi, in Bianca Lancia di Agliano: fra il Piemonte e il Regno di Sicilia. Atti del Convegno, Asti-Agliano 1990, a cura di R. Bordone, Alessandria 1992, pp. 29 and following.