Everything about Renier Of Montferrat totally explained
» For the earlier Margrave of Montferrat, see Rainier of Montferrat.Renier of Montferrat (
1162–
1183; in Italian,
Ranieri di Monferrato) was the fifth son of
William V of Montferrat and
Judith of Babenberg. He became son-in-law of the
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and
Caesar in
1180, and was later murdered in a Byzantine power-struggle.
It was Manuel who suggested the marriage of his daughter
Maria the Porphyrogenita to a son of William V. Since
Conrad and
Boniface were already married, and Frederick was in the priesthood, the only eligible son was the youngest, 17-year-old Renier. The Byzantine chronicler
Niketas Choniates described him as handsome, blond (his hair "
shone like the sun") and beardless.
Renier arrived in Constantinople in autumn 1179 and soon afterwards accompnied Manuel on a military expedition. His marriage to the 27-year-old Maria took place at the Church of St Mary,
Blachernai, in February 1180. The wedding was celebrated with lavish festivity including games in the
Hippodrome of Constantinople, as fully described by the Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem,
William of Tyre, who happened to be present. Renier was given the title
Caesar, was renamed
John, and (according to some Western sources) was granted
Thessalonica, presumably as an estate for life, a
pronoia. Maria was second in line to the throne, and had only been deprived of the succession by the birth of her much younger half-brother
Alexios. Thus Renier became entangled in the perpetual power struggle around the Byzantine throne.
With the death of Manuel in September
1180, the throne fell to the boy Alexios II, with his mother, the empress dowager
Maria, acting as regent. The Empress caused a scandal by taking the
protosebastos Alexios Komnenos as a lover. This, combined with her Latin-friendly views, triggered a plot to end the regency (or, as some describe it, to overthrow the Emperor) and give power to Maria and Renier. The plot was discovered, and several conspirators arrested. Maria and Renier sought refuge in the
Hagia Sofia cathedral with some 150 of their followers. Fighting ensued, later dubbed the
Holy War as it took place in that most holy church. Eventually, the conspirators were offered an
amnesty to end the hostilities.
Both the Emperor and the conspirators soon fell victim to another usurper, however, as Manuel's cousin and rival
Andronikos Komnenos returned from exile, apparently with Maria's encouragement, and, more importantly, with an army in support. Andronikos' takeover was marked by the massacre of the Latin population that followed. Maria died soon afterwards, allegedly by poison: she was, no doubt, a potential focus of opposition to the usurper. Renier seems to have shared her fate, though his death is noted by very few sources.
Alexios II was forced to recognise Andronikos as his co-Emperor, and was later murdered. The Latin massacre hadn't been forgotten, twenty years later, when the leaders of the
Fourth Crusade found reasons to divert their expedition to Constantinople. Later sources suggest that Renier's surviving older brother
Boniface based his claim to Thessalonica on his late brother's title.
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