no signs of doing so.^62 Innocent had become extremely impatient by
September 1202. To induce the count to launch an invasion, Innocent
confirmed that Walter, not James, would be in charge of the expedition,
and that the revenues of the Terra di Lavoro and Apulia could be used
to pay for it.^63 Only a few days later, Markward died in Sicily, and
the jubilant pope must have thought that the opportune moment had
finally arrived. Innocent was crushingly disappointed when still nothing
happened, and this may have encouraged him to press ahead with vague
plans to supplement Walter, or even to replace him, with forces loyal to
the king of Aragon.^64 The fundamental point is simply that Walter was
determined to consolidate his position in southern Italy before moving
further afield. Whilst there could well have been a number of reasons for
this, Walter was quite correct in asserting that the pope’s enemies on the
mainland were by no meansfinished. It can come as no surprise that the
count was soon frantically trying to suppress revolts. Although we hear
that the Church lost control of towns such as Matera, Brindisi, Otranto
and the citadel of Barletta, the crucial region seems to have been a swathe
along the west coast, from Terracina to Salerno.^65 TheGestais trying to
make the best of a bad job when it comments that the count of Brienne
‘carried out many things on a grand scale, which it would take too long to
explain individually’.^66 It cannot name a single place that Walter took,
let alone held, during this long period. There could be no thought, now,
of crossing to Sicily.
These revolts provided a platform for the re-emergence of Dipold as a
formidable threat. Mindful of the danger, the count of Brienne moved
to face him at the head of a powerful host, including the counts of Chieti
and Tricarico. (The latter, as we shall see, would soon marry Walter’s
widow.) Although Walter managed to seize Terracina, he was cornered
and besieged there by Dipold and the Salernitans. Our main source for
this rather obscure period, Richard of San Germano, claims that Walter
lost an eye in thefighting and had to be rescued by his Italian allies.
Whatever the truth on this particular point, it was the Church’s forces
that emerged victorious. Between them, they drove Dipold out of Salerno
and pursued him all the way back into his fortress of Sarno.^67
Well aware of the strength of the castle’s defensive position, Walter
settled down for a lengthy siege. Bearing in mind the events that
(^62) Seeibid., vol. ccxvi, col. 1059. (^63) Ibid., vol. ccxiv, cols. 1070–4.
(^64) See Van Cleve,Markward of Anweiler, 198–201.
(^65) For this, seeThe Deeds of Pope Innocent III, ch. 37; and Van Cleve,Markward of Anweiler,
66 181 n. 39.
The Deeds of Pope Innocent III, ch. 37.^67 See Richard of San Germano,Chronica, 24.
The Life and Death of Walter III 45