Rinaldo II d'Este

Biography

He was the son of Aldobrandino II d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, and Alda Rangoni.

He lived in Ferrara until 1317, a time when the city was governed by the vicar of King Robert of Anjou, King of Naples. On July 17, 1317, the populace rose up against the rulers—whom they viewed as invaders—forcing their militias to abandon the city. The House of Este was acclaimed as the new ruling family, and Rinaldo assumed power over the city. This provoked the wrath of Pope John XXII, as a city that had been granted in vicariate by the Papal States had rebelled. Rinaldo attempted, in vain, to secure recognition from the Pope; failing in this endeavor, he proceeded to expel the bishops from their sees in Ferrara, Comacchio, and Adria, and to plunder the furnishings from the churches. The Pope excommunicated him, but in the meantime, in 1324, Rinaldo d'Este obtained the investiture of his territories from Louis the Bavarian; the Pope responded by launching a crusade against the House of Este.

In 1325, he fought alongside the Ghibellines in the Battle of Zappolino, with the aim of seizing control of Bologna. In 1327, he attended the coronation of Louis the Bavarian as King of Italy in Milan; Louis subsequently arranged for the election of the Antipope Nicholas V, who was excommunicated by John XXII in April 1329. The Este family, too, declared themselves opposed to the Antipope; this paved the way for a reconciliation with Pope John XXII, who—via a papal bull issued from Avignon—lifted the excommunications previously imposed upon the House of Este, granting Ferrara to the three brothers—Rinaldo, Nicolò, and Obizzo III d'Este—to hold as a papal vicariate. He subsequently forged treaties of friendship with both the Gonzaga—the new lords of Mantua, who had risen to power in 1328 following the expulsion of the Bonacolsi—and the Della Scala, the lords of Verona.