Charlotte (Cyprus)

Carlotta von Lusignan (center, above the book)

Charlotte of Cyprus (born June 28, 1444 in Nicosia , † July 16, 1487 in Rome ; actually Carlotta of Lusignan ) was Queen of Cyprus from 1458 to 1463 .

Life

Carlotta von Lusignan was the daughter of John II , King of Cyprus, and Helena Palaiologa . At the age of 14 she became Queen of Cyprus with the death of her father.

Her right to the throne was contested by her illegitimate half-brother Jakob (Jacques Le Bâtard), the Archbishop of Nicosia and his Venetian wife Caterina Cornaro . After Carlotta had been besieged in Kyrenia Castle for three years , she fled to Rome in 1463, whereupon her half-brother was crowned king. From 1474, Caterina Cornaro was the actual ruler of Cyprus and found support in her home republic of Venice , while Pope Sixtus IV and Ferdinand of Naples supported Carlotta's claims. Sixtus IV and Ferdinand endeavored to bring Carlotta back to the throne of Cyprus, and in 1478 they induced them to turn to the Sultan of Egypt Al-Malik al-Ashraf Qait-Bey for assistance. In 1478 she sailed from Ostia to Alexandria and Cairo , where her efforts were thwarted by Venetian diplomats. She only returned to Rome in 1482.

She was married twice:

1456 Johann , Duke of Coimbra († summer 1457), a grandson of King John I and the son of Peter of Portugal . It was rumored that he was poisoned at the instigation of his mother-in-law.
October 7, 1459 Louis of Savoy , Count of Geneva (* June 5, 1436, † August 1482).

Charlotte of Cyprus was buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

literature

Angela Dillon Bussi: Carlotta di Lusignano, regina di Cipro. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 20: Carducci-Carusi. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1977.
Louis de Mas Latrie: Histoire de l'île de Chypre sous le règne des princes de la maison de Lusignan . Vol. 3. Impr.impériale, Paris 1861, p. 152 ff . (French, online [accessed July 1, 2015]).
Mariano Borgatti: Borgo e S. Pietro nel 1300, nel 1600 e nel 1925 . Federico Pustet, Rome 1926.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Joseph Schlecht: Andrea Zamometić and the attempt at the Basel Council of 1482 (= sources and research from the field of history. 8). Volume 1. Schöningh, Paderborn 1903, p. 79.

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann II.	Queen of Cyprus 1458–1460	Jacob II
Johann II.	Titular Queen of Lesser Armenia 1458–1463	Jacob II
Johann II.	Titular Queen of Jerusalem 1458–1485	Charles of Savoy

personal data
SURNAME	Charlotte
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Cyprus, Charlotte von (full name); Lusignan, Carlotta von (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Queen of Cyprus (1458–1463)
DATE OF BIRTH	June 28, 1444
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nicosia
DATE OF DEATH	July 16, 1487
Place of death	Rome

[Schlecht-1] Joseph Schlecht: Andrea Zamometić and the attempt at the Basel Council of 1482 (= sources and research from the field of history. 8). Volume 1. Schöningh, Paderborn 1903, p. 79.