Constantine IAlso ''Costantino'', ''Gosantine'', ''Goantine'', or ''Gantine''. (1128) was the

giudice of Logudoro The kings or ''judges'' (''iudices'' or ''judikes'') of Logudoro (or Torres) were the local rulers of the ''locum de Torres'' or region (province) around Porto Torres, the chief northern port of Sardinia, during the Middle Ages. :''The identit ...

. He was co-ruling by 1082 and sole ruler by 1113. His reign is usually said to have begun about 1112. He was the son of Marianus I, with whom he co-reigned, and Susanna de Thori.

1113/1115

Sometime between 1113, the first year in which Constantine is recorded as sole ruler, and 1115, a Tuscan and Lombard fleet, led by the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa () was an independent state existing from the 11th to the 15th century centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian t ...

, sailed into the harbour of

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

following the successful liberation of the Balearic Islands from

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

domination. Indeed, one of the leaders of this brigade was Saltaro, Constantine's son. According to the '' Liber maiolichinus'', Constantine was recognised as ''re chiaro e molto celebrato'' ("clear, most-celebrated king") over the entire island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

after this.

Improved knowledge

Constantine continued the monastic reforms and expansions of his predecessors' reigns. He firstly supported the

Cassinese The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...

establishments, but his favour soon shifted to the

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona () are a Catholic Church, Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded by Romuald, St. Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage () in Camaldoli, high in the mountains of Tuscany, ...

and

Vallumbrosan The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa (), situated 30 km ...

houses. By 1125, Camaldolese foundations were the most numerous on the island and Vallumbrosan ones could be found in every province of Logudoro. The reasons for such strong support of

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

, the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

(including the

Gregorian reforms The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–1080, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be nam ...

), and the suzerainty of the

archdiocese of Pisa The Archdiocese of Pisa () is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.

were probably the advancements brought by closer ties to the mainland and the technological, economic, agricultural, educational, and religious knowledge that the monks brought.

Expanding religious interest

During Constantine's reign, the noblemen, especially those of the Athen and Thori families, first began to expand their religious interests and participate in the ecclesiastic expansions and structural reforms that characterised the twelfth century in Sardinia founded a series of churches.

Churches founded during Constantine's reign

*S. Maria del Regno ( Ardara) *S. Pietro (

Bosa Bosa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano (until May 2005 it was in the province of Nuoro), part of the Sardinia region of Italy. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, about ...

) *S. Michele ( Plaiano,

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

) *S. Michele de Salvenor (

Ploaghe Ploaghe () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southeast of Sassari. Ploaghe borders the following municipalities: Ardara (SS), Ardara, Chiar ...

) *S. Maria Coghinas (

Coghinas The Coghinas is a river of northern Sardinia, Italy. With a length of , it is the third longest river of the island behind the Tirso and the Flumendosa. It has a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surf ...

) *S. Nicolas di Trullas (

Semestene Semestene is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southeast of Sassari. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 206 and an area of .All demographic ...

) Constantine himself, in fulfillment of a vow, founded the

Basilica di Saccargia The Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia () (English: "Basilica of the Holy Trinity of Saccargia") is a church in the ''comune'' of Codrongianos, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the most important Romanesque architecture, Rom ...

in Codrongianus, Sassari, where he was later buried.

Family

It appears that, in 1116, Constantine married Marcusa de Gunale of the

Giudicato of Arborea The Judicate of Arborea (; ; ) or the Kingdom of Arborea (; ; ) was one of the four independent judicates into which the island of Sardinia was divided in the Middle Ages. It occupied the central-west portion of the island, wedged between Logud ...

. Other later documents cite a wife named Maria de Orrubu, but whether or not these were two different women or the same woman is unknown, though the former hypothesis seems most probable. According to the ''Libellus iudicum Turritanorum'', Marcusa was a widow with two sons at the time of her marriage to Constantine. Together with him she had a son named Gonario. After her husband's death, she went to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where she founded a hospital named after S. Giovanni at

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

and took up service for God there until her death.

Notes

Sources

*Ghisalberti, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XXX Cosattini – Crispolto''. Rome, 1984. {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 01 Of Torres 1060s births 1128 deaths Judges (judikes) of Logudoro Christians of the 1113–1115 Balearic Islands expedition Year of birth uncertain