Rainier of Montferrat

Notes:

Also called Renier. Margrave of Montferrat.

Rainier married Gisela of Burgundy in 1105. Gisela (daughter of William I "The Great" of Burgundy and Stephanie) was born about 1070; died after 1133. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joanna married William Clito in 1127. William (son of Robert Curthose and Sibyl of Conversano) was born on 25 Oct 1102 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France; died on 28 Jul 1128; was buried in Abbey of Saint-Bertin, Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also Guilhem, Gugliemo, Guillermo. Marquess of Montferrat.

From Wikipedia:

Dynastically, he was extremely well-connected: a nephew of Pope Callixtus II, a half-brother of Amadeus III of Savoy, a brother-in-law of Louis VI of France (through his half-sister Adelasia of Moriana), and cousin of Alfonso VII of Castile. [...] William and Judith's powerful dynastic connections created difficulties in finding suitable wives for his sons, however: too many potential spouses were related within prohibited degrees. In 1167, he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate marriages for his eldest sons to daughters of Henry II of England - but the girls were very young at the time and were related through Judith's descent from William V of Aquitaine. He then applied for sisters of William I of Scotland, who were not related, but were already married.

[...]

William took part in the Second Crusade, alongside his half-brother Amadeus of Savoy (who died during the campaign), his nephew Louis VII of France, his brother-in-law Count Guido of Biandrate, and his wife's German and Austrian relatives.

As supporters of the imperial party (later known as the Ghibellines), he and his sons fought [alongside] the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Judith's nephew) in his lengthy struggle against the Lombard League. Following Barbarossa's capitulation with the Peace of Venice in 1177, William was left to deal with the rebellious towns in the area alone. Meanwhile, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos sought support for his own politics in Italy.

William broke with Barbarossa and formed an alliance with Manuel. His eldest surviving son, Conrad, was taken prisoner by Barbarossa's Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz, but then captured the chancellor in battle at Camerino. In 1179 Manuel suggested a marriage between his daughter Maria, second in line to the throne, and one of William's sons. As Conrad and Boniface were already married, the youngest son, Renier, was married off to the princess, who was ten years his senior. Renier and Maria were later killed during the usurpation of Andronikos, and the family rebuilt ties with Barbarossa.

In 1183, with the accession of his grandson Baldwin V, a minor, as co-King of Jerusalem, William, then probably in his late sixties, left the government of Montferrat to Conrad and Boniface, and returned to the east. He was granted the castle of St. Elias (present-day Taybeh). He fought in the Battle of Hattin in 1187, where he was captured by Saladin's forces. In the meantime, his second son, Conrad, had arrived at Tyre from Constantinople. Conrad was given the command of the defences. During the siege of Tyre in November that year, he is said to have refused to surrender as much as a stone of its walls to liberate his father, even threatening to shoot him with a crossbow himself when Saladin had him presented as a hostage. Eventually, Saladin withdrew his army from Tyre. In 1188, William was released unharmed at Tortosa, and seems to have ended his days in Tyre, with his son. He probably died in the summer of 1191: Conrad last describes himself as "marchionis Montisferrati filius" in a charter of May that year.

William married Judith of Babenberg before 28 Mar 1133. Judith (daughter of St. Leopold von Babenberg and Agnes of Germany) was born in 1115; died after 18 Oct 1168. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1164
• Alternate death: Aft 1231

Notes:

Also Adelasia, Alasia, etc. Regent of Saluzzo during her grandson's minority.

From Wikipedia:

Like her brother Boniface, Azalaïs was a patron of troubadours. She is mentioned in Peire Vidal's song, Estat ai gran sazo:

Dieus sal l'onrat marques
E sa bella seror...
(God save the honoured marquis
And his beautiful sister)

and is the dedicatee of his Bon' aventura don Dieus als Pizas.

Around 1192, she had built the church of San Lorenzo, which she granted to the canons of San Lorenzo in Oulx; her eldest son, Boniface, named after her brother, is mentioned for the first time in the donation. However, Boniface died in 1212, and with the death of her husband in February 1215, Azalaïs became regent of Saluzzo for her grandson, Manfred III.

In 1216, she made a treaty with Thomas I of Savoy for a marriage between his son Amadeus and her granddaughter Agnes. However, the marriage never took place, possibly on grounds of consanguinity, since Azalaïs was a first cousin of Thomas's father. Amadeus married Anne of Burgundy, and Agnes became Abbess of the Cistercian convent of Santa Maria della Stella in Rifreddo. Azalaïs also made political and ecclesiastical agreements with Alba and with the Bishop of Asti.

When young Manfred reached his majority in 1218, Azalaïs returned to church patronage. In 1224, she endowed the convent of Rifreddo with the income of the church of San Ilario. In 1227, she made further grants to the canons of Oulx.

Family/Spouse: Manfredo II del Vasto. Manfredo (son of Manfredo I del Vasto and Eliana) was born about 1140; died in 1215. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marchese de Monferrato. Crusader who led a long and complex life. Killed in an ambush by the Bulgarians, who sent his head to their tsar.

Boniface married Elena di Busca before 1179. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The identification of her parents comes to us from Leo van de Pas, whose cited source is Genealogie medievali di Sardegna Publicazione della Deputazione di Storia Patria per la Sardegna (1983).

Family/Spouse: Guglielmo II del Vasto. Guglielmo (son of Guglielmo I del Vasto) died in 1219. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marquis of Saluzzo. "In 1197 he was given extensive lands by his uncle Bonifacio di Monferrato. In 1212 he led an army in defense of Cuneo and perhaps died in battle." [The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, citation details below.]

Bonifacio married Maria di Torres on 24 Aug 1202. Maria (daughter of Comita III, Giudice of Logudoro and Ispella de Lacon-Serra) died after 1215. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marchese de Monferrato. Pretender to the kingdom of Thessalonica. Died in the midst of endless delays to his plans to reconquer his father's holdings.

Guillermo married Berta de Clavesena before 9 Aug 1202. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]