Guy (or Guido) (c. 940 – 25 June 965) was the

margrave of Ivrea The March of Ivrea was a large frontier county (march) in the northwest of the medieval Italian kingdom from the late 9th to the early 11th century. Its capital was Ivrea in present-day Piedmont, and it was held by a Burgundian family of marg ...

from 950 to his death. In 950, his father, King

Berengar II of Italy Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the king of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as ma ...

, appointed him to rule in the familial margraviate. His mother was

Willa of Tuscany Willa, known as Willa of Tuscany (911/912–970), was a medieval noblewoman. By birth, she was a member of the Bosonids, Bosonid noble dynasty. By marriage to Berengar II of Italy she was Countess of March of Ivrea, Ivrea from 930 to 963, and Lis ...

, his elder brother was Adalbert II, co-king with their father, and their younger brother was Conrad. In 959, Guy sheltered the exiled

doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

, Pietro III Candiano. Guy brought Pietro to his father the king and then the two of them led an expedition against Theobald II, Duke of Spoleto. He captured both

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

and

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...

. In 962, when Adalbert returned from exile in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

to try to reclaim his throne. Guy and Conrad joined with him in besieging

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, the Italian capital. The brothers then retreated into the fortresses around Lakes

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

and Garda. His lands were confiscated by the

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

and given to Guy, Bishop of Modena.

Death

In 965, Guy was killed fighting an army of

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

ns under Duke Burchard III. The fatal battle took place on the Po as he went to his brother's rescue. Adalbert and Conrad escaped to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

References

Margraves of Ivrea Anscarids 10th-century Italian nobility 940s births 965 deaths Sons of kings {{Italy-noble-stub