Constantine I
[Also ''Costantino'', ''Gosantine'', ''Goantine'', or ''Gantine''.] was the
giudice of Cagliari. He was the son of the ''giudice''
Orzocco Torchitorio and ''giudicessa'' Vera. In the eleventh century, the throne of Cagliari traditionally passed between the houses of
Torchitorio de Ugunale and
Salusio de Lacon. Constantine took the name Salusio II (de Lacon) upon his succession, in an attempt to unite the families. He appears in contemporary charters as ''rex et iudex Caralitanus'': "King and Judge of Cagliari."
On 30 June 1089, Constantine confirmed that the monastery of
Saint-Victor in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
possessed the Sardinian monasteries of
San Giorgio di Decimo and
San Genesio di Uta. Such confirmations of monastic privileges were commonly associated with accessions at the time and this seems to indicate that Constantine was new to the throne in 1089, fixing the date of his succession to in or shortly before that year.
The bishops and giudici of Cagliari had attained a high level of autonomy and isolation in the past century before Constantine's accession and this prompted papal action, a side-action of the
Gregorian reform
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be na ...
. Constantine began to take Cagliari out of its isolation, banking on
Benedictine monasticism to reform his country economically, technologically, and ecclesiastically. In accord with the pope's wishes, he put Cagliari under the authority of
Lambert, Archbishop of Pisa. Constantine ardently supported the Church and vowed to uphold its rights and abandon the ways of his forefathers: concubinage, incest, and murder.
Constantine married Giorgia, probably of the Lacon family. He had a daughter named Elena who died before 1089 and another named Vera who was alive in 1124. He had four sons, including
Marianus II, and Orzocco (died after 1163), Itocorre (died 1112), and Sergius (died circa 1141). Constantine last appears in 1090, but a successor does not appear until 1103. His successor was his brother
Torbeno, who may have been associated with him before.
Notes
Sources
*Ghisalberti, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XXX Cosattini – Crispolto''. Rome, 1984.
Prima Carta Cagliaritana.
Judges (judikes) of Cagliari
11th-century rulers in Europe
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