William I, Marquis of Montferrat (Italian: Guglielmo I del Monferrato, floruit 921, d. 933 or before) stands at the head of the Aleramici family which ruled Montferrat for four centuries. He was the father of the first Marquis Aleram.
According to the Gesta Berengarii Imperatoris, William was a Frank who crossed the Alps leading 300 armed retainers in 888–889 to fight alongside Guy III of Spoleto against Berengar of Friuli for the Iron Crown of Lombardy. He apparently established himself in northwestern Italy, probably supported by Guy, where he eventually received the title of comes. It is also probable that he gave his support to Berengar after Guy's death, for he appears, in 921, along with Lambert, Archbishop of Milan, and two other counts, Giselbert and Samson, as dilectissimi fideles of the Emperor. The counts were also cited as illustres comites. They stood opposed to Adalbert of Ivrea and others in rebellion against Berengar.
William transferred his allegiance again following the death of Berengar. He appears for the last time alive in 924, intervening on behalf of the bishop of Piacenza with Rudolf II of Burgundy, a claimant for the Italian crown. Never again does he appear in history and a diploma of his son's dating to around 933 fixes his death sometime between those two years (924–933). Nonetheless, some, including 18th-century historian Malaspina and 20th-century historians Usseglio and Cognasso (writing in 1960), consider him to have been alive in 961, based on a faulty reading and interpretation of the foundation charter of the monastery of Grazzano, founded that year by Aleram and his family.
Various legendary assertions about his Saxon and Kentish origins and the origins of his wife have been met by the definitive Dizionario Biografico with the pronouncement: Ma tali asserzioni non sono ancora state seriamente coinprovate da documenti: "But such assertions are not yet seriously backed up by the documents."
Hugh, known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to establish a relationship with the Byzantine Empire. He had success in defending the realm from external enemies, but his domestic habits and policies created many internal foes and he was removed from power before his death.
Berengar I was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896.
The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marriage between Gonzaga and Margaret Paleologa, Marchioness of Montferrat.
William V of Montferrat also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest son, William Longsword, was seventh Marquis of Montferrat from 1135 to his death in 1191. William was the only son of Marquis Renier I and his wife Gisela, a daughter of Count William I of Burgundy and widow of Count Humbert II of Savoy. It seems likely, given that he was still fit enough to participate in battle in 1187, that William was one of his parents' youngest children.
Aleram was the first Marquis of Montferrat and Liguria in Northern Italy until his death. He was son of William I of Montferrat and is mentioned in documents for the first time in 933 when he received a fief near Vercelli by Hugh of Italy. In 955 he was invested of lands in what is now the province of Alessandria.
William III was the third Marquis of Montferrat and Count of Vado from 991 to his death. He was the eldest son and successor of Otto I. William I and II were the father and son, respectively, of Aleram, the first Marquis, but neither served as Marquis himself.
Adalbert was the king of Italy from 950 until 961, ruling jointly with his father, Berengar II. After their deposition, Adalbert continued to claim the Italian kingdom until his defeat in battle by the forces of Otto I in 965. Since he was the second Adalbert in his family, the Anscarids, he is sometimes numbered Adalbert II. His name is occasionally, especially in older works, shortened to Albert.
Guy IV was the Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 889 and Prince of Benevento from 895. He was the son of Guy II of Spoleto.
Adalbert I was the margrave of Ivrea, the second of the Anscarid dynasty, from the late 890s until his death. In the intermittent civil war which affected Italy from 888 into the 930s, Adalbert initially strove to remain neutral, but from 901 on he sided sequentially with every claimant to the Italian throne.
Willa, known as Willa of Tuscany (911/912–970), was a medieval noblewoman. By birth, she was a member of the Bosonid noble dynasty. By marriage to Berengar II of Italy she was Countess of Ivrea from 930 to 963, and queen consort of Italy from 950 to 963.
The March or Marquisate of Turin was a territory of medieval Italy from the mid-10th century, when it was established as the Arduinic March. It comprised several counties in Piedmont, including the counties of Turin, Auriate, Albenga and, probably, Ventimiglia. The confines of the march thus stretched across the Po Valley from the Western Alps in the north, to the Ligurian Sea.
William IV was the fifth Marquis of Montferrat from 1084.
William VI was the tenth Marquis of Montferrat from 1203 and titular King of Thessalonica from 1207.
The Aleramici were a Northern Italian noble and royal dynasty of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern Italian territories in Piedmont and Liguria from the 10th to the 14th century, also reigning over the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Thessalonica during the 12th and 13th centuries.
Bertila of Spoleto was the wife of Berengar I of Italy, and by marriage Queen consort of Italy and Holy Roman Empress.
Gandulf or Gandolf was a Frankish nobleman in the medieval kingdom of Italy. He rose from relatively low rank to become the count of Piacenza and finally a marchio (marquis). He is an ancestor of the Da Palazzo family.
Lambert was the archbishop of Milan from his ordination on 5 October 921 until his death. He was related to two prior archbishops: Andrea da Canziano and Garimpert, his father and predecessor, who involved him in the administration of the diocese before 921.
Gisela of Friuli was a medieval Italian noblewoman. She was the daughter of Berengar I of Italy and Bertila of Spoleto. Through her marriage to Adalbert I of Ivrea, Gisela was countess of Ivrea, and mother of Berengar II of Italy.
Maginfred I of Milano, also known as Manfred II, was count of Lomello and imperial vicar in Milan from 892 to 901.
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