Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat
Encyclopedia
Life
He was the thirdborn son of John II of Montferrat and Isabel of MajorcaIsabel of Majorca
Isabella of Majorca was the last titular Queen of Majorca and Countess of Roussillon and Cerdanya from 1375 to her death.-Family:...
. Theodore was named governor of the margraviate after the death of his brother John III. After the death of John II, Montferrat had been plunged into a crisis brought on by the quick succession of two young rulers, neither of whom had the necessary authority to deal with internal state of chaos. During his youth, Theodore was under the regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
. Soon it became apparent that he was a weak person on his own. By marrying, of his own will, a Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese woman, the daughter of Leonardo Malaspina, margrave of Lunigiana
Lunigiana
The Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no longer exists....
, he was forced to cede Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
to Gian Galeazzo.
After the death of his first and second wives, he remarried Margaret of Savoy
Blessed Margaret of Savoy
The Blessed Margaret of Savoy was Marchioness of Montferrat.-Family:Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy, and his wife Catherine of Geneva.Her paternal grandparents were Giacomo of Savoy, titular Prince of Achaea and his second wife...
, daughter of Amadeus, Prince of Achaea, on 17 February 1403. Immediately, a war erupted between Theodore and Amadeus VIII of Savoy. The Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...
of Milan intervened on behalf of Theodore in return for the aid the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
had received in reestablishing their power in Milan.
In 1400, Theodore had granted Borgo San Martino
Borgo San Martino
Borgo San Martino is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km east of Turin and about 20 km northwest of Alessandria....
to one Facino Cane
Facino Cane
thumb|Facino Cane.Facino Cane da Casale , born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family....
for his service. In 1409, Theodore and Facino succeeded in taking possession of Milan and 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....
. Theodore maintained possession of these places until 1413, when, finding the government of both his Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
ese and Lombard
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
dominions too difficult, he gave them up in exchange for a large sum.
After the death of Facino, Theodore had to fight the Visconti in Piedmont until an agreement was reached in 1417. Theodore died soon after, leaving a widow in the person of Margaret, later the Blessed Margaret. He was succeeded by his son John Jacob
John Jacob of Montferrat
John Jacob Palaeologus was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1418 to 1435....
.
Marriages and children
Theodore married first wife Argentina Malaspina. She was a daughter of Leonardo Malaspina, Marquess of MassaMassa
Massa is a town and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, the administrative centre of the province of Massa-Carrara. It is located in the Frigido River Valley, near the Alpi Apuane, some 5 kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea....
. They had no known children.
In 1393, Theodore married his second wife Joanna of Bar. She was a daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois. Her maternal grandparents were John II of France
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
and Bonne of Bohemia
Bonne of Bohemia
Bonne of Luxemburg, Duchess of Normandy, Countess of Anjou and of Maine , was born Jutta , the daughter of John the Blind of Luxemburg, king of Bohemia and his first wife Elisabeth of Bohemia. She was the first wife of King John II of France; however, as her death occurred a year prior to his...
. They had two known children:
- John Jacob of MontferratJohn Jacob of MontferratJohn Jacob Palaeologus was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1418 to 1435....
(23 March 1395 – 12 March 1445). - Sophia of MontferratSophia of MontferratSophia of Montferrat was the second wife of John VIII Palaiologos. She was briefly the senior Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:...
(died 21 August 1434). Married John VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII PalaiologosJohn VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus , was the penultimate reigning Byzantine Emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.-Life:John VIII Palaiologos was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš...
.
Joanna died on 15 January 1402. Theodore remained a widower for a year. On 17 January 1403, Theodore married his third wife Margaret of Savoy
Blessed Margaret of Savoy
The Blessed Margaret of Savoy was Marchioness of Montferrat.-Family:Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy, and his wife Catherine of Geneva.Her paternal grandparents were Giacomo of Savoy, titular Prince of Achaea and his second wife...
. She was the eldest daughter of Amadeo, Prince of Achaea
Amadeo, Prince of Achaea
Amadeus or Amedeo of Savoy was the son of James of Piedmont and his third wife Marguerite de Beaujeu. By James' will of 16 May 1366, he was declared his firstborn and heir. In 1367, he succeeded his father in his titles of Lord of Piedmont and Prince of Achaea...
and Catherine of Geneva. Their marriage was childless. Margaret survived her husband by forty-six years and died on 23 November 1464.