Matthew Orsini
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Matthew Orsini (; died after January 1238) or Maio Orsini was a Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos.


Life

Matthew's origin is obscure. He is generally considered the scion of the noble Roman House of Orsini, and according to the—mostly conjectured—genealogy presented by the 19th-century scholar Karl Hopf, was the son of a certain Richard Orsini and a daughter of admiral
Margaritus of Brindisi Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian language, Italian: ''Margaritone'', Greek language, Greek: ''Megareites'' or ''Margaritoni'' αργαριτώνη c. 1149 – 1197), called "the new Neptune", was the last great ''ammiratus ...
, who had conquered the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
islands of
Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...
,
Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian language, Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an are ...
, and Ithaca during the Third Norman invasion of the Balkans in 1185. Other scholars on the other hand have considered him Margaritus' son-in-law. In both cases, it is considered that he succeeded Margaritus in his rule over Cephalonia, Zakynthos, and Ithaca, following the latter's disgrace in 1194. Like Margaritus, Matthew acknowledged the suzerainty of the Norman Kings of Sicily. More recent research has cast doubt on this traditional account: Matthew was most likely from Monopoli in
Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, and appears to have been unrelated to Margaritus. Even his surname, Orsini, is only attested for his descendants and not himself, and it remains unclear how it became associated with his family. The
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
ese version of the '' Chronicle of the Morea'' offers an alternative background, reporting that Maio had been expelled from Monopoli, fled to Cephalonia, and married the daughter of the local Byzantine governor before extending his rule over the neighbouring islands. While previous scholars dismissed this version, it may have been closer to reality according to the historian Andreas Kiesewetter. Kiesewetter suggests that Matthew became master of the islands as late as 1206, following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire due to the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
in 1204. Following the partition of the Byzantine Empire by the participants of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the
Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...
, including those ruled by Matthew, were assigned to the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
. In 1205, Venice proceeded to occupy
Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
, the largest of the Ionian Islands, which was ruled by the Genoese pirate . To insure himself against a similar fate, in 1207 Matthew placed himself and his domains under the authority of
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
. Two years later, however, Matthew accommodated himself with Venice, acknowledging the Republic's suzerainty. However, this information is reported by Venetian chroniclers of the 14th and 15th centuries, so that its veracity is unverifiable; at any rate, as Kiesewetter notes, the Venetian loss of Corfu in 1210 would have made any Venetian connection less attractive to Matthew. Indeed, it appears that during the same period he placed himself under the suzerainty of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. After the death of Emperor Henry of Flanders in 1216, he sought protection from the Pope, while at the same time seeking close relations with Theodore Komnenos Doukas, the neighbouring Greek ruler of the Epirote mainland. These ties between the two were strengthened by the marriage of Matthew to a sister of Theodore in 1227. Following the defeat of Theodore at Klokotnitsa in 1230, which spelled an end to his imperial ambitions, in 1236 Matthew became a vassal of the
Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...
instead.
Jean Longnon Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...
''L’Empire Latin de Constantinople et la Principauté de Morée'', Payot, Paris 1949, p. 175
The last record of Matthew is a letter sent to him by
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...
in January 1238, exhorting him to come to the defence of Constantinople against the Greeks of the
Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...
. Count
Richard Orsini Richard Orsini () was the count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from before 1260 to his death in 1303/4, and also Count of Gravina in 1284–91. He also served on behalf of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples as captain-general of Corfu in 1286 ...
is often considered his son and successor, but this is problematic for chronological reasons. It is likely that Matthew was succeeded by another person, possibly named Theodore, who would then be the father of Richard.


References


Bibliography

* * * {{s-end 12th-century births 12th-century counts in Europe 13th-century deaths 13th-century counts in Europe Matthew Matthew People from Apulia