Marco Angelo Flavio Comneno (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Marcus

Angelus FIle:Jean-François Millet (II) 001.jpg, ''The Angelus (painting), The Angelus'' (1857–1859) by Jean-François Millet The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnation of Jesus ...

Flavius The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; how ...

Comnenus The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. Th ...

''; 1608–1679?) was according to the official reconstruction of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (; ), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood ...

the grand master of the order from 1678 to 1679, though the historicity of his tenure as grand master has been questioned on the basis that he might in actuality have predeceased his supposed predecessor, his older brother Angelo Maria Angeli. Marco's family, the

Angelo Flavio Comneno The Angelo Flavio Comneno or Angeli () were a Venetian noble family of Albanians, Albanian descent who claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. In the 16th century, the family founded the Sacred Military Constantinian Order ...

, claimed descent from the

Angelos The House of Angelos (; pl. Angeloi; , pl. ) was a Byzantine Greek noble family that produced several Emperors and other prominent nobles during the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family rose to prominence through the marriage of its foun ...

dynasty of

Byzantine emperors The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

. The modern Constantinian Order attributes Marco the titular titles previously used by his older brother; "Prince of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo".

History

Marco was born in 1608, as the second son of Michele Angeli, who in turn was the eldest son of Girolamo I Angeli. Marco had an older brother, Angelo Maria, as well as three sisters; Ursula, Maria Altadonna and Laura. Marco's family, the

, claimed descent from the

dynasty of

. In the mid-15th century, Michele's uncles

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

and Paolo were officially acknowledged as descendants of the Angelos emperors by Pope

Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

(1534–1549) and founded the

, a

chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...

with invented Byzantine connections. Later and modern lists of grand masters by the Constantinian Order list Marco as the grand master from 1678 to 1679, succeeding his brother Angelo Maria and preceding his cousin Girolamo II. According to these reconstructions, Marco died in 1679 and also used the titles "Prince of

and

" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo". Though he is known to have been Angelo Maria's designated heir throughout his tenure as grand master, it is unclear whether Marco's tenure as grand master is historical. According to

Guy Stair Sainty Guy Stair Sainty, (born 7 December 1950) is a British art dealer and author on nobility, royal genealogy, and heraldry. Life and education Guy Stair Sainty is the son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and Virginia Cade Stair, grand-daughter of A ...

, who wrote a historical account of the order, published by the order itself in 2018, Marco predeceased Angelo Maria (who died in 1678). According to Sainty, Angelo Maria was directly succeeded by Girolamo II.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angeli, Marco 1608 births 1679 deaths Byzantine pretenders after 1453 17th-century Italian nobility

History

See also

References

Bibliography