Albertino Morosini
Albertino Morosini | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Slavonia Count of Požega | |
| Born | c. 1240 |
| Died | after November 1305 Republic of Venice |
| Buried | Santi Giovanni e Paolo |
| Noble family | Morosini |
| Spouse(s) | Marchesina N |
| Issue | Michele Marino Cubitosa Caterina Tommasina (natural) |
| Father | Michele Morosini |
| Mother | Agnese Cornaro |
Albertino Morosini was a
Life
Early life in Venetian service
Albertino Morosini's early life is obscure. He was likely born in the 1230s or early 1240s. His father was Michele Morosini, who served as governor (
Albertino Morosini is first attested as a member of the
In 1278–1279 Morosini served in the Great Council. In 1280–1281 he served as podestà of Treviso, concluding a treaty with Venice over the division of estates in San Cataldo.[1] He was elected to another tenure in the Great Council in 1283, and participated in a special commission for the revision of the 1277 agreement with Tyre.[1] Morosini was then elected podestà of Chioggia, but his tenure was cut short when he was elected podestà of the Republic of Pisa in January 1284.[1]
Podestà of Pisa and further career in Venice
Morosini arrived in Pisa in March, accompanied by his son, Marino (erroneously called Martino by the Pisan sources).[1] Morosini's election came at a time of rising tensions between Pisa and its rival, the Republic of Genoa. In June, Morosini was appointed 'lord-general of the war at sea' against Genoa, while Marino undertook to serve as his deputy in the governance of the city.[1] The choice of Morosini by the Pisans has been the subject of considerable debate among medieval and modern historians. Most consider it a means by the Pisans for securing Venetian backing against the Genoese, who were also rivals of Venice. In view of the eventual conflict, the opinion has been voiced that he was selected for naval expertise, but nothing in his prior career points to that. At the same time, his appointment was part of a trend of central and northern Italian communes selecting Venetians as their podestàs.[1]
In summer of the same year, Morosini led a Pisan fleet of 72 galleys in a surprise attack against the Genoese. The endeavour failed due to bad weather, and the Pisans moved towards the French coast, before turning back east and making for their home port. At the island of Meloria, off the Tuscan coast, the Pisan fleet met their Genoese rivals, with 66 galleys. In the ensuing battle, the Genoese received reinforcements of further 30 vessels, securing a crushing victory: 10,000 prisoners were taken, including a wounded Morosini.[1] Venice sent an embassy to Genoa on 19 August, pleasing for his release; the Genoese complied, in exchange for an oath that he would not return to Pisa. His son, Marino, remained as deputy podestà in the city until Ugolino della Gherardesca replaced him on 18 October.[1]
Back in Venice, Morosini resumed his seat in the Great Council. In 1285, he was involved in the ratification of a
Involvement in Hungary
Morosini's sister Tommasina had married in second marriage Stephen, the posthumous son of King Andrew II of Hungary (r. 1205–1235), who lived in exile in Italy.[1] The couple had a son, also named Andrew, and when Stephen died in 1271, Albertino and another kinsman Marino Gradenigo took over as Andrew's guardian.[5][6] Among other affairs, Morosini ensured Andrew's rights to the inheritance of Stephen's first wife, Isabella Traversari, daughter of a powerful Ravennate family.[1] Upon the invitation of some Hungarian lords, Andrew, adopting the title of Duke of Slavonia, acted as a pretender to the throne against Ladislaus IV of Hungary (r. 1272–1290) in 1278 and 1286–1287. His mother Tommasina and uncle Albertino Morosini supported his efforts in Hungary.[5] During Andrew's first attempt in 1278, Morosini came to Hungary for the first time to visit his nephew in the company of a certain Gyarmanus, a local Slavonian lord, who guided him back to his homeland.[5] In the spring of 1286, Andrew sought assistance from the Great Council of Venice in order to support his case in the kingdom. In June 1286, while engaged in the Venetian legation trying to re-open the trade routes, Morosini traveled to Duino to make a marriage proposal between Andrew and Clara, the daughter of Albert I of Gorizia (r. 1258–1304).[7][8]
In early 1290, Andrew again entered Hungary. Morosini escorted him until Zara before returning to Venice.
Final years and death
Andrew's death in 1301, and the subsequent interregnum and civil war over the Hungarian crown rendered Morosini's influence and rights more theoretical than real, although he took care to have them confirmed by papal legate Niccolò Boccasini (the future Pope Benedict XI) and even repeated them in his testament.[1] According to the 15th-century Venetian chronicler Donato Contarini, Morisini's estates and properties were confiscated shortly after his nephew's death. Indeed, one of the Hungarian oligarchs that took power in the interregnum, Ugrin Csák, captured the fort of Požega already in the early months of 1301.[16] Despite his alleged status as de facto heir per the aforementioned 1299 decision, Albertino Morosini did not take a step in the direction of announcing his claim to the Hungarian throne.[14] Albertino returned to the Republic of Venice still in that year. Contarini claimed that Tommasina outlived her son and left Hungary too at the same time. Albertino had a palace built in the San Marco district and the queen spent the last years of her life and died there.[16] His testament, dated 3 November 1305, is the last information about Morosini, who probably died soon after. His tomb is in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice.[1]
Family
Albertino Morosini was married to a Marchesina, of unknown family. The couple had four children: two sons, Michele (the father of Constanza) and Marino (who had died by 1305), and two daughters, Cubitosa and Caterina. Albertino also had a natural daughter, Tommasina.[1] Albertino's grandson Turcho was engaged to an unidentified daughter of Hungarian lord Henry Kőszegi on the occasion of a mutual agreement between Andrew III and the Hungarian barons in the summer of 1300.[17][18]
Footnotes
- Duke of Crete in 1255–1257.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Salvatori 2012.
- ^ Jacoby 2016, p. 190.
- ^ Jacoby 2016, pp. 189–190.
- ^ a b Bácsatyai 2018, p. 336.
- ^ a b c Štefánik 2008, p. 5.
- ^ Zsoldos 2003, p. 125.
- ^ Bácsatyai 2018, p. 325.
- ^ Rudolf 2023, p. 441.
- ^ a b Zsoldos 2003, p. 205.
- ^ Rudolf 2023, p. 466.
- ^ Zsoldos 2003, p. 187.
- ^ Gerics 1987, pp. 260–261.
- ^ Štefánik 2008, pp. 11–12.
- ^ a b Rudolf 2023, p. 522.
- ^ Zsoldos 2003, pp. 215–216.
- ^ a b Štefánik 2008, p. 13.
- ^ Zsoldos 2003, p. 220.
- ^ Rudolf 2023, p. 521.
Sources
- Bácsatyai, Dániel (2018). "Aptatio stratarum. Egy balsikerű velencei követség és Magyarország 1286-ban [Aptatio stratarum. An Unsuccessful Venetian Legation and Hungary in 1286]". In Kádas, István; Skorka, Renáta; Weisz, Boglárka (eds.). Veretek, utak, katonák. Gazdaságtörténeti tanulmányok a magyar középkorról (in Hungarian). MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont. pp. 325–338. ISBN 978-963-416-124-0.
- Gerics, József (1987). A korai rendiség Európában és Magyarországon [The Early Society of Estates in Europe and Hungary] (in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-4218-8.
- Jacoby, David (2016). "The Venetian Presence in the Crusader Lordship of Tyre: A Tale of Decline". In Boas, Adrian J. (ed.). The Crusader World. Venice: Routledge. pp. 181–195. ISBN 978-0-415-82494-1.
- Rudolf, Veronika (2023). Közép-Európa a hosszú 13. században [Central Europe in the Long 13th Century] (in Hungarian). Arpadiana XV., Research Centre for the Humanities. ISBN 978-963-416-406-7.
- Salvatori, Enrica (2012). "MOROSINI, Albertino". ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- Štefánik, Martin (2008). "The Morosinis in Hungary under King Andrew III and the two versions of the death of the Queen of Hungary Tommasina" (PDF). Historický Časopis. 56 (Supplement): 3–15. ISSN 0018-2575.
- Zsoldos, Attila (2003). "III. András". In Szovák, Kornél; Szentpéteri, József; Szakács, Margit (eds.). Szent István és III. András [Saint Stephen and Andrew III] (in Hungarian). Kossuth Kiadó. pp. 119–227. ISBN 963-09-4461-8.
