The Arduinici were a noble Frankish family that immigrated to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the early tenth century, possibly from

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

. They were descended from and take their name after one Arduin (Harduoin). The first of the Arduinici to enter Italy was Roger, son of Arduin, who was established as

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

(''comes'') at

Auriate {{No footnotes, date=June 2020 Auriate was a county in medieval Italy on the eastern slopes of the Western Alps lying between Cuneo and Saluzzo. The county existed from the late ninth century to the middle of the tenth. The name of the county survi ...

in the early tenth century. He extended his power and was succeeded by his son

Arduin Glaber Arduin Glaber ( it, Arduino Glabrio,'' Glabrione'', or'' il Glabro'', meaning "the Bald"; died c. 977) was count of Auriate from c. 935, count of Turin from c. 941/942, and Margrave of Turin from c. 950/964. He placed his dynasty, the Arduinici, ...

, named after his grandfather, who established the family as one of the most powerful in northwestern Italy. He conquered the

Susa Valley The Susa Valley ( it, Val di Susa; pms, Valsusa; french: Val de Suse; oc, Val d'Ors) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the so ...

and allied with

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

against Fraxinetum. He ruled the counties of Auriate,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

, Albenga and probably Bredulo,

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

, and

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label= Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

. During a reorganisation of the structure of Italy's

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

under Berengar II in 950, Arduin's territories were organised as the March of Turin, or ''marca Arduinica''. Arduin allied his family with the

House of Canossa The House of Canossa was an Italian noble family from Lucca holding the castle of Canossa, from the early tenth to the early twelfth century. Sigifred of Lucca, Sigifred of Lucca built the castle at Canossa around 940. Adalbert Atto appears in Can ...

by marrying his heir, Manfred I to Prangarda, daughter of

Adalbert Atto of Canossa Adalbert Atto (or Adalberto Azzo) (died 13 February 988) was the first Count of Canossa and founder of that noble house which eventually was to play a determinant role in the political settling of Regnum Italicum and the Investiture Controversy ...

. The family later drew itself close to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. Arduin's grandson, Ulric Manfred (Odalrich-Maginfred), was one of the most powerful noblemen Italy in the 1020s, when he tried to play kingmaker and give the throne to William V of Aquitaine. Ulric Manfred's daughters,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and Irmgard, married high-ranking German princes:

Hermann IV of Swabia Herman IV (c. 1015-July 1038) was the Duke of Swabia (1030–1038). He was the second son of Ernest I and Gisela of Swabia. He was one of the Babenberg dukes of Swabia. Herman became duke in 1030 following the death of his older brother Ernest ...

and

Otto III of Swabia Otto III (died 28 September 1057), called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the margrave of the Nordgau (1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga of ...

, respectively. Irmgard later married

Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen Egbert I (german: Ekbert) (died 11 January 1068) was the Margrave of Meissen from 1067 until his early death the next year. Egbert was the Count of Brunswick from about 1038, when his father, Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia, died. His mother was Ger ...

, one of the richest magnates in Germany, and Adelaide, through her marriage to

Otto of Savoy Otto (french: Odon, Oddon, Othon; it, Oddone; /1060) was count of Savoy from around 1051 until his death. Through marriage to Adelaide, the heiress of Ulric Manfred II, he also administered the march of Susa from around 1046 until his deat ...

, was the mother of Bertha, empress of Henry IV and of another Adelaide, who married the German anti-king

Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt an ...

. Adelaide (died 1091) was the last scion of the house; her heirs were her sons

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

and Amadeus II of Savoy.

References

*M. G. Bertolini, "Arduino", Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, VI (Rome: Società Grafica Romana, 1964), 49–52. Italian noble families Frankish noble families