Fernando Palaiologos

Last updated
Fernando Palaiologos
Despot of the Morea
Born15th century
Died16th century
Dynasty Palaiologos (?)
Father Andreas Palaiologos (?)

Don Fernando Palaiologos or Paleologo [lower-alpha 1] was a 15th and 16th-century nobleman of Greek descent who lived in Italy. After the death of Andreas Palaiologos in 1502, Fernando claimed the title of Despot of the Morea. Though Andreas Palaiologos is generally believed to have been childless, Fernando might have been his son, though possibly illegitimate, and through Andreas possibly a grandnephew of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor.

Contents

There are early 16th century references to a Despot of the Morea commanding a cavalry unit, and fathering a son by the name Giovanni Martino Leonardo, but it is not clear whether these are references to Fernando, given the existence of a contemporary rival claimant to the title, Constantine Arianiti.

Biography

Fernando is first attested on 17 July 1499, when the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, reported that he had sent "Don Fernando, son of the Despot of the Morea, nephew of the lord Constantine [Arianiti, governor of Montferrat], to the Turk with five horses". [1] This appears to have been a diplomatic, or possible espionage, mission. [2] The only claimant to the title of Despot of the Morea at this time was Andreas Palaiologos. Although Andreas is commonly believed not to have left any children, [3] it is thus possible that Fernando was Andreas's son. [4] The historian Jonathan Harris believes that it is possible that Fernando was Andreas's illegitimate son. [2]

After Andreas Palaiologos died in June 1502, Fernando adopted the title of Despot of the Morea. [2] Fernando's life is obscure and he appears to have made relatively little impact on history. Why is not clear, but it is possible that he was hampered somehow, perhaps explainable if he was illegitimate. Alternatively, he way simply have been unwilling to play a more prominent role. [2] After Andreas's death, the genealogically unconnected Constantine Arianiti, referenced in Sforza's 1499 report, also claimed the title of Despot of the Morea. [4] A letter from Antonio Giustiniani, Venetian ambassador to the Pope, mentions an unnamed 'despot' in command of a cavalry unit in October 1502, though Jonathan Harris believes that this might be a reference to Constantine Arianiti rather than Fernando. [5]

One of Andreas's successors as claimant to the position of despot, the name of whom is not mentioned in the sources, raised problems of protocol when he in 1518 invited Pope Leo X to become the godparent of his son Giovanni Martino Leonardo [6] (Joannes Martinus Leonhardus as written in Latin) [7] and also invited ten cardinals to the baptism. [6] According to the contemporary Papal master of ceremonies, Paris de Grassis, the honors asked for was as if the despot believed himself to be 'baptizing the Emperor of Christendom himself'. [8] Kenneth Setton, writing in 1962, believed this despot to be Constantine Arianiti, [6] a sentiment also held by Christian Gottfried Hoffmann, who included Paris de Grassis's account of the affair in his work Nova scriptorum ac monumentorum partim rarissimorum partim ineditorum, a collection of historical texts, in 1731. [7] Identification with Constantine is problematic however, given that contemporary sources otherwise hold that Constantine only had a single son, named Arianitto. [9] Jonathan Harris believes that this 1518 despot could instead be Fernando. [2] [lower-alpha 2]

Notes

  1. ↑ No contemporary source gives Fernando's last name. Given that he was described as the 'son of the Despot of the Morea', a title held by the Palaiologos dynasty, he presumably used the last name Palaiologos, rendered as Paleologo in Italian
  2. ↑ The 1518 despot's claimed territory is not specified in de Grassis's note. [7] In addition to Fernando and Constantine, another 'despot' was active in Italy at this time: Carlo III Tocco, claimant Despot of Epirus. Carlo did coincidentally have a son by the name Giovanni Leonardo , [10] born at some point in the 1510s, but this Giovanni Leonardo cannot be the same person as the Giovanni Martino Leonardo born in 1518, given that Carlo's son was recognized as a citizen of Venice in 1517, the year prior. Giovanni Leonardo was also Carlo's only son. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palaiologos</span> Byzantine imperial family

The House of Palaiologos, also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek family that rose to nobility and produced the last and longest-ruling dynasty in the history of the Byzantine Empire. Their rule as Emperors and Autocrats of the Romans lasted almost two hundred years, from 1259 to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent state, initially being a vassal state subservient of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, being represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Despotate of the Morea</span> Province of the Byzantine Empire

The Despotate of the Morea or Despotate of Mystras was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost all the southern Greek peninsula now known as the Peloponnese, which was known as the Morea during the medieval and early modern periods. The territory was usually ruled by one or more sons of the current Byzantine emperor, who were given the title of despotes. Its capital was the fortified city of Mystras, near ancient Sparta, which became an important centre of the Palaiologan Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Palaiologos</span> Despot of the Morea from 1428 to 1460

Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years later. He was the younger brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. Thomas was appointed as Despot of the Morea by his oldest brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, in 1428, joining his two brothers and other despots Theodore and Constantine, already governing the Morea. Though Theodore proved reluctant to cooperate with his brothers, Thomas and Constantine successfully worked to strengthen the despotate and expand its borders. In 1432, Thomas brought the remaining territories of the Latin Principality of Achaea, established during the Fourth Crusade more than two hundred years earlier, into Byzantine hands by marrying Catherine Zaccaria, daughter and heir to the principality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Palaiologos</span> Prince of the Palaiologos dynasty

Andreas Palaiologos or Palaeologus, sometimes anglicized to Andrew, was the eldest son of Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea. Thomas was a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. After his father's death in 1465, Andreas was recognized as the titular Despot of the Morea and from 1483 onwards, he also claimed the title "Emperor of Constantinople".

Manuel Palaiologos or Palaeologus was the youngest son of Thomas Palaiologos, a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. Thomas took Manuel and the rest of his family to Corfu after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the subsequent Ottoman invasion of the Morea in 1460. After Thomas's death in 1465, the children moved to Rome, where they were initially taken care of by Cardinal Bessarion and were provided with money and housing by the papacy.

Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1376, and ruled as the Despot of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centurione II Zaccaria</span>

Centurione II Zaccaria, scion of a powerful Genoese merchant family established in the Morea, was installed as Prince of Achaea by Ladislaus of Naples in 1404 and was the last ruler of the Latin Empire not under Byzantine suzerainty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morea revolt of 1453–1454</span>

The Morea revolt of 1453–1454 was a failed peasant rebellion carried out against the rule of the brothers Thomas and Demetrios Palaiologos, rulers of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the Peloponnese peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tocco family</span> Italian noble family

The House of Tocco was an Italian noble family from Benevento that came to prominence in the late 14th and 15th centuries, when they ruled various territories in western Greece as Counts Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos and Despots of Epirus. During their brief period of rule in Greece, they were one of the most ambitious and able Latin dynasties in the region, and they were one of the few to leave descendants lasting until modern times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Echinades (1427)</span>

The Battle of the Echinades was fought in 1427 among the Echinades islands off western Greece between the fleets of Carlo I Tocco and the Byzantine Empire. The battle was a decisive Byzantine victory, the last in the Empire's naval history, and led to the consolidation of the Peloponnese under the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea.

Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey was an Ottoman general and governor. The son of the famed Turahan Bey, he was active chiefly in southern Greece: he fought in the Morea against both the Byzantines in the 1440s and 1450s and against the Venetians in the 1460s, while in 1456, he conquered the Latin Duchy of Athens. He also fought in Albania, north-east Italy, Wallachia and Anatolia.

Leonardo II Tocco was a scion of the Tocco family and lord of Zakynthos, who played an important role as a military leader for his brother, Carlo I Tocco, in early 15th-century western Greece.

Carlo III Tocco (1464–1518) was the titular despot of Epirus and count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from the death of his father Leonardo III Tocco c. 1503 to his own death in 1518. Carlo lived in Rome, where he received pensions from both the Papacy and the Kingdom of Naples. As an adult, Carlo worked as a military officer, serving both the Papacy and Emperor Maximilian I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantine Arianiti</span> Albanian nobleman

Constantine Cominato Arianiti also known as Constantine Komnenos Arianites, was a 15th and 16th-century Albanian nobleman, military leader, diplomat and pretender who lived most of his life in exile in Italy due to the conquest of his homeland by the Ottoman Empire. Constantine sought to establish himself as a leader among the Christian Balkan refugees in Italy and claimed lordship over various former Christian lands in Greece, using the titles Prince of Macedonia, Duke of Achaea and Despot of the Morea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Byzantine Empire</span> Claims to Byzantine legacy and inheritance

Since its fall, the issue of succession to the Byzantine Empire has been a major point of contention both geopolitically, with different states laying claim to the legacy and inheritance of the Byzantine Empire, and among the surviving members of the Byzantine nobility and their descendants. Historically, the most prominent claims have been those of the Ottoman Empire, which conquered Byzantium in 1453 and ruled from its former capital, Constantinople; the Russian Empire, as the most powerful state practising Orthodox Christianity; and various nobles and figures in Western Europe of increasingly spurious and questionable imperial descent.

Leonardo IV Tocco was the titular Despot of Epirus and Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from the death of his father Carlo III Tocco in 1518 to his own death in 1564. His mother was Andronica Arianiti, daughter of Constantine Arianiti, also a claimant to various lands in Greece. From his maternal grandfather, Leonardo was granted the fortress of Refrancore, which he held under the title signore (lord).

Arianitto Cominato Arianiti was a 16th-century Italian nobleman of Albanian descent, the only son of the diplomat and pretender Constantine Arianiti. After his father's death in 1530, Arianitto continued Constantine's pretensions, styling himself as the 'Prince of Macedonia', but dropping the other titles used by his father. He served as a captain in the papal army in Rome until his death in battle in 1551, which ended the male line of the Arianiti family in Italy.

Don Antonio Tocco was the last titular Despot of Epirus and Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, claiming these titles from the death of his father Leonardo V Tocco in 1641 until he abandoned them in 1642, substituting them for the title of Prince of Achaea, which he used until his death in 1678.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gian Antonio Lazier</span> Italian pretender to the Byzantine Empire

Gian Antonio Lazier, also known under his claimed official name Ioannes IX Antonius I Angelus Flavius Comnenus Lascaris Palaeologus, and various variations thereof, was an 18th-century Italian impostor and pretender. Born of lowly origins in the Aosta Valley in Italy, Lazier claimed his last name to be a corruption of the surname Laskaris, an imperial dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. Also claiming connections to the Angelos, Komnenos and Palaiologos dynasties as their supposed last legitimate descendant, Lazier claimed the style 'prince of the line of the empire of the east'. Through various noble titles, Lazier claimed to be the rightful ruler of a vast number of former territories of the Byzantine Empire, as well as of a selection of other eastern lands. He also claimed to represent the legitimate Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections.

References

  1. ↑ Setton 1978, p. 513.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Harris 2013, p. 651.
  3. ↑ PLP, 21426. Παλαιολόγος Ἀνδρέας.
  4. 1 2 Harris 2013, p. 653.
  5. ↑ Harris 2013, pp. 653–654.
  6. 1 2 3 Setton 1978, p. 463.
  7. 1 2 3 Hoffmann 1731, p. 418.
  8. ↑ Hoffmann 1731, p. 419.
  9. ↑ Babinger 1962.
  10. ↑ Miller 1921, p. 513.
  11. ↑ Shamà 2013, p. 42.

Bibliography

  • Babinger, Franz (1962). "ARIANITI, Costantino". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 4: Arconati–Bacaredda (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN   978-8-81200032-6.
  • Harris, Jonathan (2013). "Despots, Emperors, and Balkan Identity in Exile". The Sixteenth Century Journal. 44 (3): 643–661. JSTOR   24244808.
  • Hoffmann, Christian Gottfried (1731). Nova scriptorum ac monumentorum partim rarissimorum partim ineditorum collectio (in Latin). Vol. 1. Sumptibus Haered. Lanckisianorum.
  • Miller, William (1921). "Balkan Exiles in Rome". Essays on the Latin Orient. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC   457893641.
  • Setton, Kenneth M. (1978). The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571), Volume II: The Fifteenth Century. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society. ISBN   0-87169-127-2.
  • Shamà, Davide (2013). "I di Tocco, Sovrani dell'Epiro e di Leucade: Studio storico-genealogico". Notiziario dell'Associazione Nobiliare Regionale Veneta (in Italian).
  • Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates (1976–1996). Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN   3-7001-3003-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.