Constantine I was the giudice of Arborea

Giudice of Arborea

The Giudici ) of Arborea were the local rulers of the west of Sardinia during the Middle Ages...

. He was the son of Gonario II

Gonario II of Arborea

Gonario or Gonnario II was the Guidici of Arborea circa 1116. He is know to have been a scion of the House of Serra and married Elena, the heiress of Comita I of the Lacon-Zori. He left behind a daughter, Elena, and a son, Constantine I....

 and Elena de Orrubu. The dates of his reign are unknown, but he was probably in power at the turn of the 12th century. It was probably dominated by wars between Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 and Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

 which lasted from 1118 to 1133.

Constantine tightened Aborea's alliance with the Republic of Pisa

Republic of Pisa

The Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late tenth and eleventh centuries. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and...

. His reign followed on the Gregorian reform

Gregorian Reform

The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy...

 of the papal church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and its major effect on Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

. Like his predecessors, Constantine probably paid the annual tribute to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 of 1,100 bezants. He accepted papal and Pisan suzerainty and sponsored the expanding monasticism on the island. Monasticism provided much needed technological and economic improvements, as the monks which immigrated to inhabit the new foundations and the reformed old ones brought with them collections of books and knowledge of more efficient agricultural and construction techniques, as well as connections to the wider Christian world. There is some discrepancy over the foundation of Santa Maria de Bonarcado, but it seems likely that Constantine laid its foundation around the year 1100. He put it under the authority of the Camaldolese

Camaldolese

The Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...

 abbey of San Zenone in Pisa instead of the monastery of Saint-Victor in Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

, which was the great monastic power in the rival giudicato of Cagliari

Giudicato of Cagliari

The Giudicato of Cagliari was one of the four Sardinian giudicati of the Middle Ages. It covered the entire south and central east portion of the island and was composed of thirteen subdivisions called curatoriae. To its north and west lay Arborea and north and on the east lay Gallura and Logudoro...

. According to a charter of his grandson Barison II

Barisone II of Arborea

Barison II or Barisone II was the giudice of Arborea, a kingdom of Sardinia, from 1146 to 1186. He was the son of Comita II and Elena de Orrubu. His reign was groundbreaking in Sardinian history...

 in 1182, he founded a monastery in dedication to San Nicolas di Urgen.

Following the Condaghe di Santa Maria de Bonarcado, Constantine's wife was Anna de Zori and he left two sons: Comita II

Comita II of Arborea

Comita II was the giudice of the Giudicato of Arborea, from 1131 until his death. He was the son of Gonario, first ruler of Arborea of the Lacon dynasty. Married Elena de Orrubu, mother of Barison II of Arborea. The dating and chronology of his reign are obscure.Comita succeeded his elder...

, who succeeded him by 1131, and Orzocco.

Sources

• Ghisalberti, Aldo (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XXX Cosattini – Crispolto. Rome, 1984.