Guido II de la Roche

Guido II. De la Roche ( French Guy ; † October 5, 1308 in Athens ) was the last Duke of Athens from the la Roche family . He was the son of Duke Wilhelm I of Athens and Anna Angelina of Thessaly.

Life

Since Guido was still under the age of majority when his father died in 1287, his mother took over the reign for him. Around 1291 the mother married Guido's uncle Hugo von Brienne , who was now in charge of the government. Hugo came into conflict with Florence of Hainaut , the prince of Achaia , to whom he refused to pay homage.

Guido was knighted by Bonifazio da Verona in 1294 , appointed to the age of majority and took over the government. In gratitude, Guido ordered Bonifazios to marry the heiress of Karystos on Euboea , which could be recaptured by the Byzantines in 1296. In the same year Guido paid homage to the Prince of Achaia after he had been asked to do so by King Charles II of Naples . In 1299 he married Mathilde von Hennegau , who was considered the designated heiress of Achaia and brought him Kalamata as a dowry in the marriage. The marriage provoked a quarrel with the King of Naples, who, as their liege lord, had not been asked for permission to marry. But he accepted them as early as 1300 and the Pope also gave his dispensation , because the couple had been too closely related. But as early as 1301 Guido's mother-in-law married Philip of Savoy , to whom he now had to pay homage as the new prince of Achaia.

In 1304 Guido's maternal uncle, the despot Constantine Angelus of Thessaly, died. He was appointed by him as guardian for his minor son, whereupon Guido energetically built up his rule in Thessaly. But this provoked the hostility of the despot Anna Angelina of Epirus, who invaded Thessaly in the same year and occupied the castles of Pindus and Phanarion. Guido summoned his vassals, united 900 Frankish knights and 6,000 Greek and Bulgarian mercenaries under his flag and marched against Ioannina . In view of this power, the despot gave in and lifted the occupation of the castles.

In 1305 Guido took part in the parliament of Prince Philip in Corinth , which was accompanied by the most glamorous court festivals that the Franks ever celebrated in Greece. He was thrown from his horse in a tournament by the knight Guillaume Brouchart. In 1307 Philip of Savoy and his wife were deposed as Prince of Achaia by King Charles II of Naples and replaced by his son Philip I of Taranto . Guido paid homage to him and took part in an unsuccessful campaign against the despot of Epirus. Then the new prince withdrew to Italy and left Guido in the office of Bailli von Achaia.

During Guido's reign in Athens, the Catalan Company reached Constantinople in 1302 , where they fought for the Byzantine Emperor. But after their leader Roger de Flor was murdered by the emperor's son in 1305, the Catalans retreated through the country in vengeance on the Greeks. Guido tried to use the unclear balance of power in the company by trying to win over the captain Rocaforte. For this he took the Infante Ferdinand von Mallorca prisoner, who was originally intended by the King of Sicily as the new leader of the company. A little later he supported the envoy of Charles of Valois , Theobald von Cepoy, who wanted to march against Constantinople.

For Guido, however, these plans ended with his death after a long illness in October 1308. He was buried in the Daphni monastery in Athens. For the time being, Guido's friend, Bonifazio da Verona, took over the reign until his cousin and stepbrother Walter von Brienne was called to the country.

literature

• Ferdinand Gregorovius : History of the City of Athens in the Middle Ages. From the time of Justinian to the Turkish conquest. 2 volumes. Cotta, Stuttgart 1889, ( digitized volume 1 , digitized volume 2 ; numerous editions).

predecessor	Office	successor
William I de la Roche	Duke of Athens 1287–1308	Walter of Brienne