Constantine IAlso ''Costantino'', ''Gosantine'', ''Goantine'', or ''Gantine''. (c. 1064 – 1128) was the
giudice of Logudoro
The kings or ''judges'' (''iudices'' or ''judikes'') of Logudoro (or Torres) were the local rulers of the ''locum de Torres'' or region (province) around Porto Torres, the chief northern port of Sardinia, during the Middle Ages.
:''The identity, ...
. He was co-ruling by 1082 and sole ruler by 1113. His reign is usually said to have begun about 1112.
He was the son of Marianus I, with whom he co-reigned, and Susanna de Thori.
1113/1115
Sometime between 1113, the first year in which Constantine is recorded as sole ruler, and 1115, a Tuscan and Lombard fleet, led by the
Republic of Pisa
The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...
, sailed into the harbour of
Porto Torres
Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
domination. Indeed, one of the leaders of this brigade was Saltaro, Constantine's son. According to the ''
Liber maiolichinus
The ''Liber maiolichinus'' ''de gestis pisanorum illustribus'' ("Majorcan Book of the Deeds of the Illustrious Pisans") is a Medieval Latin epic chronicle in 3,500 hexameters, written between 1117 and 1125, detailing the Pisan-led joint military ...
'', Constantine was recognised as ''re chiaro e molto celebrato'' ("clear, most-celebrated king") over the entire island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
after this.
Improved knowledge
Constantine continued the monastic reforms and expansions of his predecessors' reigns. He firstly supported the Cassinese establishments, but his favour soon shifted to the
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...
and Vallumbrosan houses. By 1125, Camaldolese foundations were the most numerous on the island and Vallumbrosan ones could be found in every province of Logudoro. The reasons for such strong support of
monasticism
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
, the
papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
(including the
Gregorian reforms
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 nam ...
), and the suzerainty of the
archdiocese of Pisa
The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 Ardara)
*S. Pietro (Bosa)
*S. Michele (Plaiano, Sassari)
*S. Michele de Salvenor (Ploaghe)
*S. Maria Coghinas (Coghinas)
*S. Nicolas di Trullas (Semestene)
Constantine himself, in fulfillment of a vow, founded the
Basilica di Saccargia
The Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia () (English: "Basilica of the Holy Trinity of Saccargia") is a church in the ''comune'' of Codrongianos, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the most important Romanesque site in the isl ...
in Codrongianus, Sassari, where he was later buried.
Family
It appears that, in 1116, Constantine married Marcusa de Gunale of the
Giudicato of Arborea
The Judicate of Arborea ( sc, Judicadu de Arbaree, it, Giudicato di Arborea, ) or the Kingdom of Arborea (, , ) was one of the four independent judicates into which the island of Sardinia was divided in the Middle Ages. It occupied the central ...
. Other later documents cite a wife named Maria de Orrubu, but whether or not these were two different women or the same woman is unknown, though the former hypothesis seems most probable. According to the ''Libellus iudicum Turritanorum'', Marcusa was a widow with two sons at the time of her marriage to Constantine. Together with him she had a son named Gonario. After her husband's death, she went to
, where she founded a hospital named after S. Giovanni at
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
and took up service for God there until her death.