Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan
{{short description|Italian nobleman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{ infobox noble
| name = Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan
| image = Arms of the house of Este (1).svg
| caption = Arms of the Obertenghi
| noble family = Obertenghi
| father = Otbert II, Margrave of Milan
| mother = Railend
| spouse = Adelaida
| issue = Albert Azzo II
Adela of Savona
| birth_date = c. 970
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1029 (Aged c. 58–59)
| death_place =
}}
Albert Azzo I ({{langx|it|Alberto Azzo}} or Adalberto Azzo) (c. 970 – 1029Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln, table 29.Chiappini, Gli Estensi, p. 19.) was an Italian nobleman. He was a member of the Obertenghi (or Adalbertini) family. From 1014 onward, he was margrave of Milan and count of Luni, Genoa and Tortona.Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
Life
Albert was the son of Oberto II, count palatine of Milan, and Railenda, daughter of Count Riprand, and widow of Sigfred, Count of Seprio.
Albert is attested in documents between 1011 and 1026.Bertolini, Alberto Azzo. On 10 May 1013, he was acting as a missus in Italy.Bresslau, Bresslau, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reiches, p. 416. Also in May 1013 Albert is documented with iudiciaria (the right of justice) in Monselice. In 1014, he inherited the counties of Luni, Tortona, Genoa, and Milan on the death of his father, Otbert II, Margrave of Milan.Bertolini, Alberto Azzo. His holdings were extensive and both feudal and allodial. Albert and his brothers Hugh, Adalbert (IV), and Obizzo all carried the title margrave. Their sister Bertha married Arduin of Italy to ally the Anscarid and Obertenga families. Another sister named Bertha married Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Albert himself married Adela of Sabbioneta, daughter of count Bosone of Sabbioneta.
At first, Albert and his brothers supported their brother-in-law Arduin against the Emperor Henry II in the war for the Italian throne. In 1014, he did not oppose Henry's imperial coronation, but after Henry left in May, he sought to aid Arduin.Bertolini, Alberto Azzo. Albert was named as one of Henry II's opponents in an imperial diploma issued in July 1014 at Solingen.[http://www.dmgh.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb00000444_00432.html?sortIndex=030%3A040%3A0003%3A010%3A00%3A00 Die Urkunden Heinrichs II (Hannover 1900), no. 321 (July 1014).] The diploma indicates that Albert was among those who supported Arduin, and who had assaulted Pavia, Vercelli, and Novara. In 1019, he reconciled with Henry, but in 1022, all four brothers were captured by Henry's forces and Albert submitted. In Spring 1026, Albert joined Ulric Manfred in defending Pavia from Conrad II.Bertolini, Alberto Azzo.
Marriage and children
With his wife, Adelaida, Albert had two children:
- Albert Azzo II, founder of the House of Este.Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln, table 152.
- Adela of Milan, who married Anselm II, margrave of Savona (d. before 1055).{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- U. Brunhofer, Arduin von Ivrea. Untersuchungen zum letzten italienischen Königtum des Mittelalters (Augsburg, 1999).
- A. Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band III Europäische Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser (R.G. Fischer Verlag, 1994).
- Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi (Varese, 1988).
- [http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/alberto-azzo_res-f80d1700-87e5-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Dizionario-Biografico) M.G. Bertolini, 'Alberto Azzo' in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Vol. 1 (1960)]
- H. Bresslau, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reiches unter Konrad II. vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1879).
Sources
- Ferrabino, Aldo (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: I Aaron – Albertucci. Rome, 1960.
- [http://www.manfred-hiebl.de/genealogie-mittelalter/este_familie/adalbert_azzo_1_markgraf_von_mailand_vor_1018/adalbert_azzo_1_markgraf_von_mailand_+_vor_1018.html Adalbert Azzo I Markgraf von Mailand] (in German)
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