Ulric Manfred II of Turin

Ulric Manfred II (or Olderico Manfredi II or Manfredo Udalrico; 992 – 29 October 1034) was the Margrave of Turin and Susa in the early 11th century.

Biography

Born in Turin, Ulric Manfred was the son of Manfred I. Ulric Manfred inherited a vast march centred on Turin (1000), which had been created from the lands of Arduin Glaber. By a charter dated 31 July 1001, the Emperor Otto III confirmed his possessions and granted him several privileges.^[1] This grant was requested by Hugonis marchionis, probably Hugh the Great, margrave of Tuscany.

Ulric Manfred, immediately upon his succession, began to consolidate his power vis-à-vis Arduin of the March of Ivrea on one hand and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II on the other. In the fight over the regnum Italicum, he gained a great deal of territory at the expense of the Eporedian march. By the preserved notarial deeds of a priest named Sigifred (1021 and 1031), a precise catalogue of the cities under his control can be known: Turin, Ivrea, Albenga, Ventimiglia, Auriate, Tortona, and Vercelli. In all the wars between Arduin and Henry, Ulric Manfred prudently avoided any confrontation with the two leaders and gradually extended his territories by arms (he was at war with the margrave of Tuscany, Boniface III, in 1016) and by increasing his authority within his proper domains. In 1024, following the death of Henry, he opposed the election of Conrad II and instead invited William V of Aquitaine to take the Italian throne, but to no avail.^[2]

Ulric Manfred, though his capital was Turin, rarely resided in that strategic, but small city. He lived an itinerant life typical for an early eleventh century feudal lord, moving from castle to castle in order to maintain his control and to effect the administration of his dominions. His daughter Adelaide abandoned Turin as a capital and the itinerant baronial lifestyle for setting up house in Susa.

Ulric Manfred restored the old church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Susa and Novalesa Abbey. He also founded, in 1029, a new Benedictine abbey in Susa, for the relics of Saint Justus of Novalesa (Italian: San Giusto) and also dedicated to him. The church of the Abbey of San Giusto is now Susa Cathedral. He fortified the villages of Exilles and Bardonecchia. He died at Turin and was buried there in the cathedral.

Family

Ulric Manfred married Bertha (born 997) of the Obertenghi, daughter of Oberto II, in 1014. That year, the Emperor Henry confirmed their joint donation to the abbey of Fruttuaria. On 29 December 1037, the Emperor Conrad confirmed a donation to San Giusto expressly without her. She must therefore have died in the meanwhile. Other than his aforementioned heir, Adelaide, Ulric Manfred had two other daughters:

• Irmgard (also Emilia or Immula; died 28 January 1078), married Otto III, Duke of Swabia
• Bertha (died after 1050), inherited Vasto and Busco, married Otto, Marquis of Liguria (a great-grandson of Aleram) and was the mother of Boniface del Vasto

Sources

• Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Northern Italy, 900–1100.
• Trillmich, Werner. Kaiser Konrad II und seine Zeit.

Notes

1. ^ He is referred to as Odelrico marchioni qui Mainfredus nominatur in this charter.
2. ^ Trillmich, p 348.

Preceded by Manfred I

Margrave of Turin 1000-1034

Succeeded by Adelaide of Susa