Rabodo (or Rapoto) was the
imperial vicar and
marquis of Tuscany from 1116 until his death in battle in 1119.
A
German count, Rabodo was appointed by the
Emperor Henry V after the death of the Marchioness
Matilda of Tuscany (1115) in order to break the practice of hereditary succession in the Tuscan marquisate.
He was a much weaker ruler than his predecessor, unable to dominate the many disparate forces opposed to direct imperial (or German) rule.
This weakness is often associated with the rise of autonomous city government in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
. In a document of 11 September 1116, Rabodo is called "marquis of Tuscany owing to imperial largesse", but in one dated to 1119 he is said to rule "
by God's grace
By or BY may refer to:
Places
* By, Doubs, France, a commune
* By, Norway, a village
Codes
* Belarus ISO country code
** .by, country-code top-level domain for Belarus
* Burundi, obsolete FIPS Pub 10-4 and NATO digram country codes
* TUI Air ...
", using the same formula used by Matilda.
He moved the Tuscan capital from Florence, where it had been since 1057, to the fortified town of
San Miniato al Tedesco, thereafter the seat of the imperial vicars into the 13th century. He brought with him a German entourage, referenced with contempt in many contemporary documents merely as the ''Teutonici'' (Germans).
[ In 1116 Rabodo pledged the castle of Bientina to Archbishop Pietro Moriconi of Pisa and the Pisan judge (''iudex'') and operator (''operarius'') Ildebrando. This pledge was witnessed by four consuls of the commune of the city of Pisa.][ Rabodo disputed the jurisdictional claims of the commune of Florence and established an alliance with the city's rivals, the Alberti counts.] He took the castle of Monte Cascioli, which was coveted by the Alberti, from the Florentines in 1119. The Florentines assaulted the castle twice, and Rabodo was killed defending it. The castle was burnt to the ground.[ His successor, Conrad of Scheyern, another German, was in office by 1120.][
]
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Margraves of Tuscany
1119 deaths