Rainerio (or Renier) of Travale ( Italian: Ranieri da Travale, [1] Latin: Rainerius de Traval [2]) was an Italian soldier of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) who became the chancellor of the Kingdom of Thessalonica. [2]
A native of Travale in Tuscany, he possessed several castles in the region, among them Elci, Giuncarico, Montalbano and Montingegnoli. [2] In Greece, he acquired a fief in the diocese of Kitros. [2] [3] With Albertino of Canossa and Pietro Vento, he was part of the council of the regent of Thessalonica, Oberto of Biandrate, that received the ambassadors of the Latin emperor Henry. [2] He participated in the Second Parliament of Ravennika, where he supported Biandrate, and was one of ten barons of Thessalonica who signed the concluding convention of 2 May 1210. [2]
In the aftermath of Henry's invasion of Thessalonica in 1209–1210, Rainerio entered imperial service. He was made administrator of Zetounion and Ravennika, territories taken from the Knights Templar by the emperor. [4] He was back in Italy by 1222, when he gave his castles over to Siena to finance his return to Greece. [2] In return he was made a citizen of the Republic of Siena. [1] [2] He probably returned to Greece in the expedition of Demetrius of Thessalonica and William VI of Montferrat in 1225, which ended in failure. [2]