Marietta de Patras (died 12 April 1503) was the Greek mistress of King

John II of Cyprus John II or III of Cyprus (16 May 1418 – 28 July 1458) was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a titular Prince of Antioch. History Born 16 May 1418 in Nicosia, John was the ...

and the mother of his illegitimate son King

James II of Cyprus James II (; /1439 or 1440 – 10 July 1473) was the penultimate King of Cyprus (usurper), reigning from 1460/1464 until his death. Archbishop of Nicosia James was born in Nicosia as the illegitimate son of John II of Cyprus and Marietta d ...

. Shortly after King John's marriage to Helena Palaiologina, the new Queen ordered that Marietta's nose be cut off. Following the death of her son, she was taken to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

where she was kept in semi-captivity.

King's mistress

Marietta was born on an unknown date in

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is not known when she arrived in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, however, she became the mistress of King John II of Cyprus before 1438. The ''Chronicle'' of

Florio Bustron Florio Bustron (Greek: Φλώριος Βουστρώνιος) (1500s - post-1568, perhaps 9 September 1570), was a 16th century administrator, jurist and historian. Florio became a prominent administrative figure when Cyprus was under Venetian rule ...

describes her as having been "very beautiful and prudent". Together King John and Marietta had one son, King

(1439/1440- 10 July 1473), who reigned in 1463-1473. He married

Catherine Cornaro Catherine Cornaro (; or ; ; 25 November 1454 – 10 July 1510) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus, also holding the titles of Queen of Jerusalem and Queen of Armenia. She became queen consort of Cyprus by marriage to James II of ...

in 1472, by whom he had one posthumous son,

James III of Cyprus James III of Cyprus (or Jacques III de Lusignan) (6 August 1473 – 26 August 1474) was the only child by the marriage of James II of Cyprus and Catherine Cornaro. He died as an infant, leaving his mother as the last Queen of Cyprus. His death pa ...

; he also had four illegitimate children by an unnamed mistress. In February 1442, King John married his second wife, the fourteen-year-old

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 ...

princess Helena Palaiologina. His first wife

Amadea Palaiologina of Monferrato Amadea Palaiologina of Monferrato (1418–1440), was a queen consort of Cyprus, wife of king John II of Cyprus. Amadea was the daughter of John Jacob, Marquess of Montferrat and Joanna of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy. On 3 Jul ...

had died childless in September 1440. Upon being apprised of the existence of Marietta and her son, Queen Helena ordered that Marietta's nose was to be cut off. Queen Helena continued her enmity towards James. In 1456, he was appointed

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, an act which enraged her. When he murdered Iacopo Urri, the Royal Chamberlain on 1 April 1457 and escaped to the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

after having been removed from office, the King pardoned him and restored him to his

archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

which further angered the Queen. In 1458, both King John and Queen Helena died. The crown of Cyprus passed to John's only surviving daughter by Helena, Charlotte, who reigned as

Queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...

. James, however, challenged her right to occupy the throne, and with the help of the

Mameluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

Sultan of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, James forced Charlotte to flee Cyprus, and in 1463, he was crowned king. In 1468, King James gave Marietta the villages of Pano Kivides, Lysos, Peristerona, and Pelathousa as gifts.''Pano Kivides Community Council, History'', retrieved on 19 June 2009

Captivity in Venice

When James died on 10 July 1473, Marietta was taken to Venice and thence to

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, where she was placed in semi-captivity. A decision of the

Council of Ten The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...

of Venice dated 22 January 1479 records that Marietta was placed under the control of ''magister puerorum regiorum'' Christopher Mutius. Marietta herself died on 12 April 1503 at Padua. She was buried in the church of Saint Augustine's. An epitaph records the death of ''Marieta mater quondam Jacobi Cypri Regis''. Through her son's illegitimate children, she has numerous descendants in the 21st century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patras, Marietta De 1503 deaths 15th-century Greek people People from the Kingdom of Cyprus Royal mistresses People from Patras Year of birth unknown 15th-century Greek women Mothers of Cypriot monarchs