Colonization and the Church in High Medieval Sardinia by Ann Wesson A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright 2015 by Ann Wesson Colonization and the Church in High Medieval Sardinia Ann Wesson Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto 2015 Abstract This thesis investigates the role that the Church played in the political, spiritual and economic colonization of Sardinia in the high Middle Ages. By using Robert Bartlett’s conception of the European “center” and “periphery,” it shows that Sardinia represents an unusual case of a territory that was culturally both central and peripheral. Within this ambiguous cultural setting, and using papal letters, political treaties, chronicles, monastic documents, and onomastic evidence, the thesis examines the way Pisa, Genoa and the Roman pontiffs used Rome’s spiritual and cultural authority to strengthen their own political and economic claims in Sardinia. Specifically, by focusing on the archbishop of Pisa and the bishops and archbishops of Sardinia, it shows that the personnel of the Church, which are not commonly considered agents of colonization in Sardinia, were in reality fundamental to bringing Sardinian society closer to being a political and cultural extension of the Italian mainland. It also, however, investigates the ways in which local Sardinian rulers at times strongly resisted ecclesiastical pressures to conform to the norms of Rome, or used the spiritual prestige and cultural tools offered by the Roman Church to negotiate political advantages for themselves. In this way, the thesis finds that foreign cultural colonization in Sardinia was at times less effective than is generally assumed, and that in certain situations the personnel of the Sardinian Church could offer the means for resistance to foreign colonization. Finally, the thesis draws comparisons between Sardinia and other examples ii of political, economic and spiritual colonization within Europe, to show how Sardinia is both part of a wider medieval European pattern, and simultaneously a unique case in the study of medieval colonization. iii Acknowledgments This thesis is not at all what I had expected to write when I began doing preparatory research, some four years ago, on church sanctuary in late medieval England. Throughout the repeated changes of focus that took me from fourteenth- and fifteenth-century English sanctuary practices to colonization in high medieval Sardinia, my two co-supervisors, Mark Meyerson and Joseph Goering, displayed awesome flexibility and amazing patience. The combination of their unfailing support, wise cautions, and suggestions led me to a topic I have found fascinating. Their encouragement and understanding was just as constant through the trials of balancing new and full-time motherhood with the research and writing of this thesis, and their careful feedback led me to improve both my thesis and myself as a scholar. I am deeply grateful to them: I could not have wished for better supervisors. My third committee member, Jill Caskey, gave me the benefit of her art-historian’s perspective and expertise in post-colonial theory. Her thoughtful comments helped me to develop the theoretical side of this thesis, which before her timely intervention had been nearly non-existent. I am greatly obliged to her for her kindness, support, and generosity in using her sabbatical time to guide me through the stressful last stages of writing-up. My parents, Laurence and Louise Wesson, deserve deeper thanks than I can express for their unstinting love and support throughout my PhD, and for the many ways they have expressed this. Only most recently has been their undertaking to proofread the thesis from beginning to end. Their careful attention saved me from a number of typographical errors and unclear passages; for this and for everything else, I thank them. I am also very grateful to my parents-in-law, Anna and Augusto Garau, who have always been so generous with their time, their house and their car, allowing me explore Sardinia’s medieval remains in person and to meet and collaborate with the historians of the island. The greatest debt of gratitude is due to my husband, Salvatore Garau. It was his belief in me that led me to apply to the PhD program in the first place, and his loving help has been unfailing, even during the labor of writing his own monograph over the last few years. Without his sound advice and his great faith in me, this thesis would never have been written. I am lucky to have him. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................... viii Chapter One. Introduction: Sardinia from Antiquity to the Middle Ages ......................... 1 1.1 From Late Antiquity to the End of the Byzantine Age ....................................................... 5 1.1.1 The Four Judicates .................................................................................................. 6 1.1.2 The Origin of the Judicates ..................................................................................... 7 1.1.3 The Byzantine Legacy .......................................................................................... 12 1.2 Theoretical aspects ............................................................................................................ 14 1.2.1 Colonization: a term appropriate for the Middle Ages? ....................................... 19 1.2.2 Colonization in Eastern Europe ............................................................................ 24 1.3 Documentary Sources ....................................................................................................... 29 1.4 Structure of the thesis ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter Two. Pisa, Genoa and The Papal Legation in Sardinia ....................................... 31 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 31 2.2 Historical Background: The Expedition of 1015 and Pisa and Genoa’s first penetration in Sardinia ...................................................................................................... 32 2.3 Pisa’s Acquisition of the Papal Legation in Sardinia ........................................................ 41 2.3.1 Pisa’s first foothold in the Sardinian Church ........................................................ 41 2.3.2 The First Pisan Legate in Sardinia: Archbishop Daibert ...................................... 46 2.3.3 The Legation Lost and Found, and Pisa’s Continuing Growth in Sardinia .......... 52 2.3.4 Genoa’s Struggle to Compete with Pisa’s Legation ............................................. 62 2.4 Mediating Between Pisan and Papal Interests: The Intervention of Pisa’s Archbishop- Legate in Sardinian Affairs ............................................................................................... 69 2.4.1 Promoting Pisa and Rome Simultaneously: The Archbishop-Legate between 1131 and 1145 ....................................................................................................... 69 2.4.2 Genoa and the coronation of the “King of Sardinia” ............................................ 78 v 2.4.3 Conflict Between Pisa and the Papacy, and its Impact on Sardinia ...................... 85 2.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 92 Chapter Three: The Role of the Upper Sardinian Clergy Vis-a-Vis Pisa, Genoa and Rome ........................................................................................................................................ 93 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 93 3.2 Background: The Colonizing Potential of Sardinian Bishoprics ...................................... 94 3.3 The Political and Cultural Use of Sardinian Bishoprics in the Twelfth Century ............ 102 3.3.1 The Arrival of Pisan Prelates in Logudoro ......................................................... 102 3.3.2 Archbishop Azzo of Torres, Western Monasticism, and the Cultural Colonization of Logudoro ................................................................................... 105 3.3.3 Indigenous Bishops in Logudoro: Conflict and Cooperation with Pisa ............. 117 3.3.4 Monastic Bishops in Logudoro and their Complex Matrix of Loyalties ............ 125 3.3.5 Foreign Attempts at Direct Control over Torres, and Sardinian Responses ....... 134 3.4 The Archdiocese of Cagliari ........................................................................................... 137 3.5 The Archdiocese of Oristano (Arborea) ......................................................................... 142 3.6 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 148 Chapter Four. Sardinian Bishoprics between Rome, Pisa and Genoa in the Struggle for Thirteenth-Century Sardinia .......................................................................................