Maio I. Orsini
Maio I. Orsini (also Mateo , Madius , Matthaios , Maso or Mahius Orsini ; † around 1238) from the Italian Orsini family was Count Palatine of Kefalonia from 1194/95 .
Life
Little is known about the life of Maio I Orsini. According to the European family tables , he came from Monopoli in Apulia and was a member of the local branch of the Roman Orsini family . He lived as a pirate , probably in the wake of the Norman pirate and Sicilian admiral Margaritos of Brindisi .
Maio I. Orsini married his daughter and was thus entitled to his father-in-law's possessions.
In 1185 , William II of Sicily enfeoffed Margaritos of Brindisi with the Ionian Islands , which he had previously conquered in the fight against the Byzantine Empire . Margaritos of Brindisi thus became the first Count Palatine of Kefalonia and Zakynthos. However, he was already 1194 on the orders of the Roman-German Emperor Heinrich VI. blinded and therefore transferred the Palatinate County of Kefalonia to his son-in-law Maio I. Orsini.
Maio became the second Count Palatine of Kefalonia and Zakynthos (Zante) around 1194/95. In order to secure the relative independence of his territory and to protect himself from invasions, he placed himself under the protection of the more powerful neighboring states: in 1209 he submitted to the Republic of Venice and became a Venetian citizen, in 1216 he became a papal vassal , in 1236 he accepted the sovereignty of the principality Achaia under Gottfried II of Villehardouin .
In 1207 the Catholic diocese of Kefalonia was founded in the Palatinate .
According to some sources, his reign ended before 1228, but it is more likely that Maio I remained Count Palatine until his death in 1238, possibly together with his successor Maio II Orsini . Around 1238 Maio I. died.
progeny
- with the daughter of Margaritos of Brindisi, Maio I. Orsini (presumably) had a son:
- Maio II. Orsini , Count Palatine of Kefalonia (the descent is ambiguous and controversial)
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Margaritos from Brindisi |
Count Palatine of Kefalonia 1195–1238 |
Maio II. Orsini |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Orsini, Maio I. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Orsini, Mateo; Orsini, Majo; Orsini, Madius; Orsini, Matthaios; Orsini, Maso; Orsini, Mahius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Count Palatine of Kefalonia and Zakynthos |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Monopoli |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1238 |