William VII the Great (Marquis of Monferrath)

William VII was born in 1240 in the city of Trino, his parents were Boniface II of Monferrat and Margarita of Savoy. After the death of Boniface in 1253, he inherited the throne, but due to his young age, until 1257 his mother Margarita was regent with him. In 1258, William married Isabella de Claire , daughter of Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. ^[1]

In his policy, Wilhelm adhered to the line of the Guelph party, because of which in 1264 he had to start a war with Oberto Pallavichino and the cities that held the emperor - Alessandria , Asti and Pavia . The support of Charles I of Anjou decided the outcome of the war in favor of William, as a result of which he significantly increased his domain . Concerned about the reinforcement of Karl of Anjou after the capture of Sicily by the latter, William VII was forced to enter into negotiations with the Ghibellines, whose leader was then Alfonso X ^[2] . This union was secured by the marriage of William VII the Great and Beatrice of Castile in 1271 , which was concluded in the city of Murcia ^[3] .

Alfonso appointed William as his viceroy in Lombardy and promised him help in the event of the invasion of the Angevin, but did not fulfill his promise when they attacked Monferrato. The Anjou occupied a portion of the territories of Wilhelm, and the recently annexed Alessandria, Asti, and Genoa rebelled against their overlord . Despite this and the fact that Pope Gregory X excommunicated William from the church, he still decided to defend his territory. On November 10, 1274, William VII the Great defeated Karl of Anjou at the Battle of Roccavione , took Trino, Turin and captured Savoy , after which all the lost territories were returned, in addition, in 1278 the city ​​of Vercelli recognized him as his lord , Alexandria made him his national the captain . Thus, William came out of this conflict, significantly strengthening his position and acquiring new land for his domain. William became the ruler of the cities: Alessandria, Novara , Torton , Alba , Genoa, Turin, Asti, Brescia , Cremona and Lodi . On August 5, 1278, Milan appointed William VII the people's captain of the city with an annual salary of 10,000 lire. This was the moment of the greatest power of William the Great. The excessive strengthening of William provoked a negative reaction from neighboring states and internal enemies. Alessandria and Asti rebelled against his power. After that, William VII was captured by Thomas III of Savoy . On June 21, 1280, in exchange for freedom, he had to cede Turin, Grulyasco and Collegno , and also pay a huge ransom in gold. From this moment, the power in Piedmont gradually passed into the hands of the House of Savoy . On December 27, 1281, William was expelled from Milan, where Ottone Visconti seized power. In compensation for the loss of Milan, William VII received Alba ^[4] .

In 1284, the daughter of Wilhelm Violante (Yolanda) married the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II Paleolog . With the help of this marriage, William VII planned to improve the shaky positions of Aleramichi in the Balkans recently ^[4] .

Death

In 1291, Asti citizens paid a large sum of money to the city of Alessandria to rebel against the Marquis . The Marquis, desiring to crush the resistance once and for all, besieged the city. Residents of the city invited him to negotiations, but when he entered the fortress, he was arrested and put in an iron cage. In it, he died on February 6, 1292 ^{[2] [3]} , most likely from starvation. The body of William VII the Great was returned to his family and was buried in the Cistercian monastery - the , next to the grave of his father Boniface II. It is believed that Wilhelm is the founder of this monastery, although in reality he was just a member of the founder's family. Despite political and military setbacks, William's generosity was appreciated by his contemporaries. He ruled the state without oppression and corruption, for this his subjects called him the "Great" ^[4] .

William VII the Great was married three times ^[5] :

1st wife: Elena de Bosco - daughter of Anselmo Marquis de Bosco, there were no children in this marriage.

2nd wife: Isabella de Claire (1240 - † c. 1270) - daughter of Richard de Claire, one child was born in this marriage:

• Margarita († 1286) is the wife of the Castilian prince Juan .

3rd wife: Beatrice of Castile (1254 - † 1280) - daughter of King of Castile Alfonso H. They had five children:

• son (born 1222), died in infancy;
• son (born 1273), died in infancy;
• Yolanda (1271–1315) - wife of Andronicus II Paleologist;
• Giovanni I (1275 - January 9, 1305) - Margrave of Montferrat;
• Alyssina (d. Before 1305) - the wife of Bertoldo Orsini ^[6] .

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• Leopoldo Usseglio, I Marchesi di Monferrato in Italia ed in Oriente durante i secoli XII e XIII. Curata da Carlo Patrucco. Miglietta, Casale Monferrato ua 1926
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• Howell, Margaret. Eleanor of Provence. - Oxford: Blackwell, 2001.
• de Conti, Vincenzo. Notizie storiche della città di Casoli del Monferrato. Tipografia Mantelli, 1838.
• di Ricaldone, Giuseppe Aldo. Annali del Monferrato (951-1708). La cartostampa, 1972.
• Scifoni, Felice. Dizionario biografico universale. D. Passigli, 1845.
• Tabacco, Giovanni. Te stuggle for power in medieval Italy, 1989.
• Orton, CW Previte. Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 2. Cambridge University Press, 1975.