Francesca of Montferrat
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Francesca of Montferrat was a noblewoman of the Palaeologus-Montferrat family, a cadet branch of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty. She married Costantino Arianiti Comneno of the Arianiti family [1]
Life[edit]
Francesca Paleologo Lady of Refrancore was an illegitimate daughter of Boniface III, Marquis of Montferrat.[2]
She married Costantino ArArianitiin 1489 or 1492. The marriage was possibly arranged by the groom's niece, Maria of Serbia who was married to Francesca's father.
She brought a good dowry to the marriage which enabled Constantine to be able to purchase some fiefs.
After the death of her husband in 1531, Francesca gained a position at the court of Christina of Denmark in Milan as a lady in waiting to the young duchess and later in the Christinas second marriage a governess to the duchess daughters.[3][4] She was seen as an ideal candidate because of her husbands loyalty to the pope and because her daughter Deianeiras husband was married to a loyal subject to Francesco Sforza to the . She was also related to Margaret Paleologa,Duchess of Mantua.
After leaving the position and returning to Italy she was given 4000 scudi by the son of Christina, Charles of Lorraine.[4]
Francesca died sometime after 1561.[5]
Issue[edit]
They had six children together.
- Arianitto, Served as a captain in the army of the Papal States until his death on 16 November 1551. Arianitto's death ended the male line of the Arianiti family in Italy.
- Andronica, Constantine's eldest daughter. Married Carlo III Tocco, the claimant Despot of Epirus and Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos. Through their son Leonardo IV Tocco she was ancestral to the later members of the Tocco family. After Carlo III's death, Andronica remarried, marrying Milanese nobleman Giorgio Secco.
- Penthesilea, Married Lek Dukagjin of the Albanian Dukagjini family.
- Ippolita, Married Zanobio de 'Medici of the Italian Medici family. Remarried in 1532 to Lionello Pio di Carpi of the Pio di Savoia family.
- Polissena, Married Rinaldo degli Ottoni di Matelica of the Ottoni family.
- Deinaira, Married Giorgio Trivulzio[3] of the Trivulzio family.
- Elena, Married Juan de Luna, a castellan in Milan.
References[edit]
- ^ Sainty, Guy Stair (2018-12-01). The Constantinian Order of Saint George: and the Angeli, Farnese and Bourbon families which governed it. Boletín Oficial del Estado. ISBN 978-84-340-2506-6.
- ^ Ernstberger, Anton (1960). Post und Politik: zum Abwehrkampf Kaiser Leopolds I. gegen König Ludwig XIV (in German). Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; in Kommission bei Beck.
- ^ a b Cartwright, Julia (2023-10-27). Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590. Good Press.
- ^ a b "Arianiti Costantino |" (in Italian). 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ Ricaldone, Giuseppe Aldo Di (1972). Annali del Monferrato (951-1708) (in Italian). La cartostampa.