Nicholas I Zorzi (or Giorgi) (; died 1354) was a

Marquess of Bodonitsa The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa (also Vodonitsa or Boudonitza; ), today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis (180 km northwest of Athens), was a Frankish state in Greece following the conquests of the Fourth Crusade. It was originally granted as a ...

, and the first member of the

Zorzi The Zorzi or Giorgi was a noble family of Republic of Venice, Venetian origin. They thrived in the Late Middle Ages, especially in the remnants of the Latin Empire in Greece, where they controlled the Margrave of Bodonitsa, Margraviate of Bodo ...

family of

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 ...

to hold the post, from 1335 to his death. In 1335, he married

Guglielma Pallavicini Guglielma Pallavicini (rarely ''Wilhelmina''; died 1358), the Lady of Thermopylae, was the last Pallavicino heir to rule in Bodonitsa, in Frankish Greece. After the death of her father Albert in 1311, she became Margrave and held this positi ...

, heiress of Bodonitsa and widow of Bartolommeo Zaccaria. Though Nicholas was on good terms with

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (; , , , or ) was a company of mercenaries led by Roger de Flor in the early 14th century and hired by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos to combat the increasing power of the Anatolian b ...

then ruling the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...

, he objected to the annual tribute of four

destrier Mounted on a destrier, Richard Marshal unseats an opponent during a skirmish. The destrier is the best-known war horse of the Middle Ages. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as th ...

s. Though he held the margraviate until his death and his descendants continued to rule it until the Ottoman conquest, his wife "tired of him" according to Setton. He left three sons,

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, James, and

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

, each of whom ruled the margraviate at some point or other.

Sources

*Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) ''A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries''. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975. *Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975. 1354 deaths Christians of the Crusades Marquesses of Bodonitsa Year of birth unknown 14th-century Venetian people Nicholas 01 {{europe-noble-stub