Part II - Properties and Patronage

Summary

Let us now discuss the patrimonial development made by the Hucpoldings from the moment they settled in Italy to the beginning of the twelfth century, when the relevance of the various branches of the group reduced dramatically as a result of land distribution and contemporary prominence of new political figures.

The main outcome of this analysis and of our reconstruction of the kinship patrimony is the extensive dispersion of the group's possessions and interests across each of the three territorial environments in which it has been possible to retrace their activities. The geography of archival fonds obtained from exploring the archives is, in fact, formed of multiple documentary hubs which differ from one another not only by distinct regional areas, but also within the property areas themselves. To facilitate the full appreciation of the specificity of each series of documents and the patrimonial relationships they certify, the analysis has been split into three chapters. Each chapter corresponds to one of the following three geographical areas: Romagna, where a strong relationship with the archbishop of Ravenna constantly underlies kinship operations; the march of Tuscia, where the relevance of kinship patrimony depended significantly on the ownership of the marchisal rank, which gave access to fiscal assets; and finally, the Bologna territory, a border area between the kingdom and the exarchate where, thanks to a brief period of being public officials at the beginning of the tenth century, the group established its patrimony and later its seignorial domain.

The considerable wealth in landholdings that the Hucpoldings acquired and managed between the ninth and eleventh centuries was, in the majority of cases, foreign to the districts where leading group members exercised their marchisal office. Indeed, the patrimony administered in the Tuscan area came in decisive quantities from fiscal assets, whereas there are no specific patrimonial indications at all for the large area of Spoleto and Camerino. The only exception to this rule is the first marquis’ affirmation achieved by Boniface I within the wider district of Modena. On that occasion only, and for just a few years, we can detect the alignment of public office and patrimonial presence, above all in the Bologna area which was later at the centre of the seignorial presence of Boniface's descendants.