Milo Of Verona
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Milo () was the Count (later Margrave) of Verona from 931 until 955. He was a
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
of four successive kings of Italy from 910. Under
Berengar I Berengar I (; ; 845 – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887 and emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost contro ...
he became a courtier (''
familiaris In the Middle Ages, a ''familiaris'' (plural ''familiares''), more formally a ''familiaris regis'' ("familiar of the king") or ''familiaris curiae''In medieval documents, ''curiae'' may also be spelled ''curiæ'' or ''curie''. ("of the court"), ...
'') and by 924 head of the bodyguard. By 927 he had expanded his landholdings to have vassals of his own. Under
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
, he revolted twice but kept his position in Verona. Under
Berengar II 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 ...
, he was raised to the rank of
margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
(''marchio'') in 953. Milo was a son of Manfred, from Mosezzo in the region of
Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...
. His brother Manfred was the count of
Lomello Lomello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 30 km west of Pavia, on the right bank of the Agogna. It gives its name to the surrounding ar ...
. His given name suggests a kinship with the
Widonids The Widonids, also called Guidonids, or Lambertiner, after their leading names, were an Italian family of Frankish origin prominent in the ninth century. They were descended from Guy of Nantes, whose origins were Austrasian. They were an aggre ...
, perhaps on his mother's side. He is described in a document of 906 as being "of
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
origin" and not a Lombard. His wife, Valperga, was also a Frank. All the evidence suggests that he belonged from the beginning to the upper ranks of the nobility.


Berengar I's vassal

Milo's first documentary appearance associates him with the city of
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
and with the aristocratic supporters of King
Berengar I Berengar I (; ; 845 – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887 and emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost contro ...
. On 1 September 906, he undersigned a donation by the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
bishop of Verona 235px, The facade of ''Palazzo del Vescovado'' The Diocese of Verona () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. The diocese belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Venice. The bishop of Verona has his seat in Verona, Vene ...
, Adalard, to his friend Ingelfred, also a German. It is unclear how Milo came to prominence at Verona—possibly he arrived in the retinue of Ingelfred—but he was to spend the rest of his life based out of the city. In November 910, Milo was one of ten vassals of the king who acted as a judicial "college" during two ''
placita In the early Middle Ages, a (Latin for "plea") was a public judicial assembly. origins can be traced to military gatherings in the Frankish kingdoms in the seventh century. After the Frankish conquest of Italy in 774, were introduced before th ...
'' (public hearings) held at
Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
by Berengar. These ''placita'' marked the resumption of public royal justice after it had fallen in abeyance during years of civil war between rivals for the throne. On 1 December 914, Milo witnessed a gift of Ingelfred, who since 906 had become count of Verona, to the nunnery of San Zaccaria in Venice. Milo was to show generosity to the nuns in his will, and it is possible that he had relatives living there. He subscribed Ingelfred's gift with a ''
signum manus ''Signum manus'' (transl. ''sign of the hand'', sometimes also known as ''Chrismon'') refers to the Middle Ages, medieval European practice of Signature, signing a document or charter with a special type of monogram or royal cypher. The practi ...
'' as a "lord vassal of the king rom the peopleof the Franks". As a loyal support and vassal, Milo was rewarded by Berengar with a real property after Berengar was crowned
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
by Pope
John X Pope John X (; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was inst ...
in 915. The diploma recording this royal gift is now lost. Milo was eventually welcomed into the imperial household—the so-called '' familia''—of Berengar as head of the emperor's personal bodyguard. He was holding this position when, on 7 April 924, Berengar was assassinated at Verona. According to Bishop
Liutprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios ( – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, and t ...
, a contemporary, Milo had tried in vain to warn the emperor of the conspiracy. Three days after the assassination, he caught the assassin, the steward (''sculdascio'') Flambert, and hanged him alongside his accomplices.


Hugh's vassal

Milo retained his status as a royal vassal after the coronation of King
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
in 926. By this time he also had vassals of his own. On 15 November 927, he undersigned the testament of Notker, bishop of Verona, being accompanied as a witness by one of his vassals, as per
Lombard law The ''Edictum Rothari'' (lit. ''Edict of Rothari''; also ''Edictus Rothari'' or ''Edictum Rotharis'') was the first written compilation of Lombard law, codified and promulgated on 22 November 643 by King Rothari in Pavia by a gairethinx, an assem ...
. In this document he signed his name with his own hand and not with, as on all previous occasions, a ''signum manus''. This may indicate that he had learned to write in the preceding decade. According to Liutprand of Cremona, Milo was one of the noblemen who helped quash a tentative rebellion around 930. Two local judges, Walpert and Everard Gezo, were plotting to assassinate the king in collaboration with some dissident nobles during one of Hugh's visits to the capital,
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 plot became known, and Everard Gezo was captured, his eyes and tongue cut out. Like his predecessor, Hugh rewarded Milo for his loyalty with grants of public rights, land and offices. By 929, Milo had received from Hugh the right to collect the ''decima'' or tithe, an annual tax of a tenth (probably not an ecclesiastical tithe), in the jurisdiction of the villa of
Ronco all'Adige Ronco all'Adige is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southeast of Verona. As of 31 October 2018, it had a population of 6,002 and an area of .All demographic ...
. This secured for him a valuable revenue stream that he would hang onto for the rest of his life. Only briefly did he let it go: on 11 July 929, he and Valperga gave the ''decima'' of Ronco and the church dedicated to the Virgin that they had founded there to the canons of Verona in accordance with Frankish law. This was witnessed by four of his vassals. In different circumstances in 931, he took the gift back. In 930 or 931, Hugh embarked on a major reorganization of the kingdom. He appointed new loyalist counts
Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...
,
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
,
Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
and Reggio. He placed his half-brother Lambert at the head of the
margravate of Tuscany Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...
and his young son Lothair was associated with him as junior king. It is probably around this time that, as part of this effort to strengthen his hold on the kingdom, he appointed Milo count of Verona. Ingelfred was dead by this time; his son, Aitingus (or Egitingus), was displaced.


Count of Verona


First revolt

In June 931, the
archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Amb ...
, Lambert, died and was succeeded by Hilduin, bishop of Verona, who was replaced by Rather by August. The election of Rather as bishop of Verona was the supported by Pope John XI and all the leading men of Italy, including Milo, but it was strongly opposed by Hugh. In response, the king took control of the diocese and seized its revenues. This was the first major split between Milo and Hugh. The first certain reference to Milo as count of Verona comes from Liutprand's description of Rather's election in August 931. By 934 the situation at Verona had become intolerable. Milo and Rather actively recruited Duke
Arnulf of Bavaria Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (), the Evil () or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his death in 937. He is numbered in succession to A ...
to come to Italy with an army to install his son,
Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...
, on the throne. According to Liutprand of Cremona, Arnulf and his army were welcomed "gleefully" (''libenter'') by the count and the bishop and a party of "the most noble men" (''honestiores''), but were forced to retreat in the face of Hugh's vigorous opposition. In order to salvage something from his defeat, Arnulf intended to take Milo, the instigator of the enterprise, back to Bavaria as a hostage. Getting wind of this plan and in fear of his life, Milo surrendered Hugh. In revenge Arnulf captured Milo's brother Manfred, who had been defending the citadel of Verona against the Bavarian army. By 935 Arnulf and his son had returned to Bavaria. In the aftermath of the revolt, Milo lost influence at court, but retained his county. His co-conspirator, Rather, was imprisoned at Pavia, then exiled to
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 ...
. He was replaced at Verona by
Manasses Manasses or Manasseh (;churchofjesuschris ...
, the king's nephew, who already held the dioceses of Trent and
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
and controlled the revenues and defences of the newly created "Tridentine march". Rather finally left Italy in 939.


Second revolt

In 936, Hugh moved to weaken the power and influence of the
Anscarids The Anscarids () or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Burgundian and Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, briefly holding the Italian throne. The main branch ruled the County of Burgundy ...
in the margravate of Ivrea in the northwest. He transferred Margrave Anscar II to the
duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto () was a Lombards, Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard ''dux'' Faroald I of Spoleto, Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards invaded northern Italy in 568 and b ...
in central Italy, and began distributing lands in the county of Parma to rival families. In 941, Milo received one such grant near Parma from Hugh and his son Lothair. It signified his return to royal favour, but also represented a policy of weakening the regional power of the great families. In the winter of 941–42, Anscar's brother
Berengar Berengar is a masculine name derived from Germanic roots meaning "bear" and "spear". The name appears frequently among certain noble families during the Middle Ages, especially the Unruochings and those related. Bérenger is the French form, while ...
was exposed as having plotted against Hugh and fled to
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 ...
in Germany. In early 945, Berengar returned to Italy at the head of a small army, initially taking up residence in Milan. Following the lead of Bishop Guido of Modena, Manasses abandoned Hugh and soon persuaded Milo to do likewise. The latter offered Berengar safety within the walls of Verona. The dissident group began negotiations with Hugh and Lothair. They agreed to recognise them as kings if they accepted Berengar as the "highest councilor of the kingdom". Hugh opted to go into exile in his native
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
, and Lothair became sole king. From Verona, Berengar and Milo moved on to the capital, Pavia, where on 13 April 945, in Hugh's absence, Berengar was proclaimed "highest councilor" before a solemn assembly in the presence of many counts, including Milo. Milo appears at his strongest during Berengar's return to Italy, acting almost a kingmaker, although Berengar refrained from deposing Hugh, preferring the claim to be governing on his behalf. Liutprand of Cremona defends Milo for his second rebellion against Hugh. He baldly asserts that Milo was not "unfaithful" (''infidelis'') to Hugh because his actions were necessary given Hugh's overbearing behaviour. He also describes Milo as a described as a "very powerful count" (''praepotens comes''). Shortly after Berengar's assumption of power, Rather returned to Italy. His return to Verona was initially opposed by Milo, and he was imprisoned by Berengar for three and a half months. Manasses, who already held other dioceses and responsibilities, was then shunted aside and Rather was reluctantly welcomed back to Verona by Milo. The count took advantage of the shakeup in the diocese to seize control of its revenues. In his own letters, Rather calls his treatment under Milo a "martyrdom" that lasted two years while the count tried to keep him from exercising his office fully. Posing as the "advocate and protector" of the diocese, Milo prevented Rather from managing ecclesiastical properties, implementing clerical reforms and, most importantly, convoking a diocesan synod. Rather remarked in one letter, "I would rather hunger under Hugh than make merry under Milo". It has been hypothesised that Milo was behind the theft of the relics of a local Veronese priest, Saint Metro, housed in the church of San Vitale, by the people of nearby
Bolzano Vicentino Bolzano Vicentino is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, in the northern Italian region of Veneto. It lies east of the A31 highway, with a population of 5,455. The main attraction is Palladio's Villa Valmarana Scagnolari Zen, situ ...
, in order to deprive Rather of the support of a local saint's cult. Rather himself, however, calls this a "laudable theft" (''furtus laudibilis''), presumably because it rescued the saint's relics from Milo.


Control of the church

In 947 Hugh died and his son and co-king, Lothair, became sole ruler. In May 948, Lothair convinced Rather to leave Verona for his personal safety and Bishop Manasses returned. In October, however, Archbishop Arderic died and the archdiocese of Milan fell vacant. Berengar put Manasses forward as a candidate, but he was rejected by the Milanese, who elected one Adalman. Milo, looking to weaken Manasses as bishop of Verona by distracting him elsewhere, lent support to Adalman. For the next five years, Manasses was preoccupied with the conflict over Milan. Milo took advantage of the Milanese quarrel to negotiate his own economic control of the diocese of Verona. With the consent of Pope
Agapetus II Pope Agapetus II (died 8 November 955) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 May 946 to his death. A nominee of the princeps of Rome, Alberic II of Spoleto, his pontificate occurred during the period known as the ''Saeculu ...
, he had his young nephew
Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Milo (magazine), ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine * ''Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * Milo (video game), ''Milo'' (video game) * Milo ( ...
, son of the count of Lomello, made bishop of Verona. He received from Agapetus the necessary dispensation on account of his nephew's youth and Milo became bishop in 950 or 951. He was bishop for the rest of his uncle's life, although he was removed when
Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish (German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of ...
seized Italy in 961 and reinstalled Rather.


Margrave

After Lothair's death in 950, Berengar took the throne. His mistreatment of Lothair's widow,
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, whom he tried to marry, incited German intervention. In 951, Otto I invaded Italy, married Adelaide himself and subjected the marches of Verona,
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
and
Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
to the
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria () was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarians, Bavarian tribes and ruled by List of rulers of Bavaria, dukes (''duces'') ...
under Duke
Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...
. It is unclear whether this large Italian march was detached from Italy and annexed to Bavaria or was merely placed under Bavarian oversight. In neither case did it cause any loss of freedom of action for Milo. In September 953, Milo used the title "margrave" for the first time in a description of boundaries. He probably received the title from Berengar II as a reward for his loyalty. It may also have been part of Berengar's effort to reconstitute the old margravate of Friuli as a bulwark against the Magyars and Slavs. At the same time, Milo's nephew Egelric, brother of the bishop, was raised to the rank of count. At Ronco all'Adige on 10 July 955, Milo drew up his will. It is his last known act and he probably died shortly after, although it is unknown when, where or how. At the time he possessed lands in Verona, including a church dedicated to Saint Paul, and three strategically placed castles at Ronco all'Adige,
San Bonifacio San Bonifacio () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about east of Verona. San Bonifacio borders the following municipalities: Arcole, Belfiore, Gambellara, ...
and Begosso. His will refers to earlier "written letters of instruction" (''paginae preceptoriae''), probably charters recording grants of land from the king. These may have been in the area of Parma and given between 936 and 945, when Hugh was distributing public lands there to counter the rise of the Anscarids. Acting as a Frank and in accordance with the
Salic law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...
, Milo named as heirs to his lands his brother Manfred and nephew Egelric. He provided an annuity for the convent of San Zaccaria in Venice from the revenues of Ronco all'Adige, and specified that if Manfred and Egelric failed to produce heirs then all his lands should devolve to the convent. This generosity with a Venetian house suggests an otherwise unknown connexion. Perhaps a female relative was a nun there. Egelric succeeded Milo as count of Verona. He was deposed by Otto in 961, reverting to a mere royal vassal. Milo's family subsequently became known as "da San Bonifacio" (later Sambonifacio) after his castle. Milo's career has been compared to that of
Gandulf of Piacenza Gandulf or Gandolf (; 907–31) was a Frankish nobleman in the medieval kingdom of Italy. He rose from relatively low rank to become the count of Piacenza and finally a ''marchio'' (marquis). He is an ancestor of the Da Palazzo family. Family ...
, since both rose through the ranks from royal vassal to count to margrave.


Footnotes


Notes


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milo of Verona Margraves of Verona 950s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain