Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan

Albert Atto I (Italian: Alberto Azzo or Adalberto Azzo) (c. 970 – died before 1018[1] or in 1029[2]) was an Italian nobleman. He was a member of the Obertenghi (or Adalbertini) family. From 1014 onward, he was margrave of Milan and count of Luni, Genoa and Tortona.[3]

Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan
Bornc. 970
Died1018/1029
Noble familyObertenghi
Spouse(s)Adela of Milan
Issue
FatherOtbert II, Margrave of Milan
MotherRailend

Life

Albert was the son of Oberto II, count palatine of Milan, and Railenda, daughter of Count Riprand, and widow of Sigfred, Count of Seprio.

Albert is attested in documents between 1011 and 1026.[4] On 10 May 1013, he was acting as a missus in Italy.[5] Also in May 1013 Albert is documented with iudiciaria (the right of justice) in Monselice. In 1014, he inherited the counties of Luni, Tortona, Genoa, and Milan on the death of his father, Otbert II, Margrave of Milan.[6] His holdings were extensive and both feudal and allodial. Albert and his brothers Hugh, Adalbert (IV), and Obizzo all carried the title margrave. Their sister Bertha married Arduin of Italy to ally the Anscarid and Obertenga families. Another sister named Bertha married Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Albert himself married Adela of Milan, a Salian and relative of Lanfranc, Count of Piacenza and Aucia.

At first, Albert and his brothers supported their brother-in-law Arduin against the Emperor Henry II in the war for the Italian throne. In 1014, he did not oppose Henry's imperial coronation, but after Henry left in May, he sought to aid Arduin.[7] Albert was named as one of Henry II's opponents in an imperial diploma issued in July 1014 at Solingen.[8] The diploma indicates that Albert was among those who supported Arduin, and who had assaulted Pavia, Vercelli, and Novara. In 1019, he reconciled with Henry, but in 1022, all four brothers were captured by Henry's forces and Albert submitted. In Spring 1026, Albert joined Ulric Manfred in defending Pavia from Conrad II.[9]

Marriage and children

With his wife, Adela of Milan (d. after 1012), Albert had two children:

Notes
  1. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln, table 29.
  2. Chiappini, Gli Estensi, p. 19.
  3. Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
  4. Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
  5. Bresslau, Bresslau, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reiches, p. 416.
  6. Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
  7. Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
  8. Die Urkunden Heinrichs II (Hannover 1900), no. 321 (July 1014).
  9. Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
  10. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln, table 152.
  11. Brunhofer, Arduin von Ivrea, p. 212.

References
  • U. Brunhofer, Arduin von Ivrea. Untersuchungen zum letzten italienischen Königtum des Mittelalters (Augsburg, 1999).
  • A. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band III Europäische Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser (R.G. Fischer Verlag, 1994).
  • Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi (Varese, 1988).
  • M.G. Bertolini, 'Alberto Azzo' in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Vol. 1 (1960)
  • H. Bresslau, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reiches unter Konrad II. vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1879).

Sources

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