Constantine I of Logudoro
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Constantine IAlso ''Costantino'', ''Gosantine'', ''Goantine'', or ''Gantine''. (c. 1064 – 1128) was the giudice of Logudoro. 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 ...
following the successful liberation of the Balearic Islands from
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'', 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 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, 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), and the suzerainty of the archdiocese of Pisa were probably the advancements brought by closer ties to the mainland and the technological, economic, agricultural, educational, and religious knowledge that the monks brought.


Expanding religious interest

During Constantine's reign, the noblemen, especially those of the Athen and Thori families, first began to expand their religious interests and participate in the ecclesiastic expansions and structural reforms that characterised the twelfth century in Sardinia founded a series of churches.


Churches founded during Constantine's reign

*S. Maria del Regno ( 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
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, where she founded a hospital named after S. Giovanni at Messina and took up service for God there until her death.


Notes


Sources

*Ghisalberti, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XXX Cosattini – Crispolto''. Rome, 1984. {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 01 Of Torres 1060s births 1128 deaths Judges (judikes) of Logudoro Christians of the 1113–1115 Balearic Islands expedition Year of birth uncertain