Enzio of Sardinia

Enzio (or Enzo) (Italianisation of Heinz, diminutive of Heinrich) (c. 1218–1272) was an illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II and King of Sardinia.

Life

Enzio was an illegitimate son of Frederick II by a certain Adelaide. It is speculated that she was Adelaide of Urslingen. He was the eldest of the illegitimate sons of the emperor, and allegedly the favourite one.

He had a pleasant personality and a strong physical resemblance to his father. He fought in the wars between his father, the pope, and the Northern Italian communes.

When Ubaldo of Gallura died in 1238, the Doria family of Genoa, in order to secure the Giudicato of Logudoro from Pisan domination, convinced the emperor to marry Enzio to Ubaldo's widow, Adelasia of Torres. By marrying her, Enzio would accede to half of the island of Sardinia jure uxoris. He was created a knight in Cremona and granted the title "King of Sardinia". He travelled to the island to marry Adelasia in October that year.

In July 1239, he was assigned as imperial vicar general in Lombardy, as well as General-Legate in Romagna, and left Sardinia never to return. In 1241, he took part in the capture of a papal fleet at Giglio Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. His first successful move as...
Read More