Elena (c. 1190–1218) was the daughter and successor of

Barisone II of Gallura Barisone II (died 1203) was the Judge of Gallura from about 1170 to his death. He was the son of Constantine III. His name appears in acts of 1182 and 1184. He was married to Elena de Lacon and had a daughter named Elena who inherited Gallura. Ba ...

and was named after her mother Odolina of the

Lacon family Lacon can refer to: ;People: * Demetrius Lacon (late 2nd century BC), Greek philosopher * Lacon family, a Sardinian dynasty * Lacon baronets, of the English baronetcy * William Lacon (ca. 1540–1609), English politician * Roland Lacon (ca. 15 ...

. First queen regnant in Sardinia, she ruled

Gallura Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...

from the death of her father until her own death, though she was eclipsed by her husband after 1207.Murineddu, p. 200 When Barisone died in 1202 or 1203, he left Elena and the ''giudicato'' under the protection of

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

,Moore, 91. According to Innocent, Barisone left his ''giudicato'' to papal protection, probably because of Innocent's success in protecting

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

and

Frederick I of Sicily Frederick II ( German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jeru ...

. who wrote a letter to

Biagio, Archbishop of Torres Biagio (or Blaise, Latin ''Blasius'') was the Archbishop of Torres from 1 December 1202 to his death late 1214 or early 1215. He was originally from the diocese of Nevers. He went to Rome and became a subdeacon and then a papal notary before 1200 ...

, charging him with assuring a smooth succession in Gallura, which meant arranging a marriage for the young Elena. The prospect of interference from

William I of Cagliari William I (c. 1160–1214), royal name Salusio IV, was the Giudicato of Cagliari, '' judike'' of Cagliari, meaning "King", from 1188 to his death. His descendants and those of his immediate competitors intermarried to form the backbone of the I ...

, Comita III of Logudoro, and Hugh I and

Peter I of Arborea Peter I (died 1214), of the Serra family, was the eldest son and successor of Barisone II of Arborea, reigning from 1186 to his death. His mother was Barisone's first wife, Pellegrina de Lacon. He was crowned King of Sardinia, the title his fa ...

was great enough to incite a second letter to those judges, in which the pope told them to respect Biagio's authority in the matter. On 15 September 1203, Innocent admonished William to restrain a relative of his (the margrave William Malaspina) who was seeking Elena's hand and to get him out of Gallura.Moore, 90. He was asked to guard Elena from making a poor match and especially to guard her from Ittocorre de Gunale, her presumed grandfather. Ittocorre was the cousin, possibly brother, of Comita of Logudoro, and the father of her father Constantine III. Both William and Comita were warned a second time to follow Biagio in the matter. Innocent desired a husband that would not be "suspect" to any of the judges. In July 1204, Innocent wrote to Elena commending her for abiding by papal advice and admonishing her mother,

Riccus, Archbishop of Cagliari Riccus or Ricco was the Archbishop of Cagliari in the early thirteenth century. In 1206, he requested the right to resign from Pope Innocent III, who simply enumerated the justifications for archiepiscopal resignation and left the decision up to Ri ...

, and the people of Gallura to follow the decision of Biagio. The bishop of Cività, the Gallurese capital, was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to receive papal instruction concerning the marriage prospects. William of Cagliari intervened again to remove a suitor, a certain unnamed margrave. On 11 May 1206, Elena was informed that she would be marrying Trasimondo, a cousin of the pope's.Moore, 93. In August, Innocent sent letters ordering the Sardinian

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

to go through with the marriage. Elena, however, refused him and instead married a

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

n named

Lamberto Visconti di Eldizio Lamberto Visconti di Eldizio (died 1225) was the Judge of Gallura from 1206, when he married the heiress Elena, to his own death. He was a member of the Visconti family of Pisa and the first of that dynasty to rule in Sardinia, where they lasted ...

. Elena died around 1218, when Lambert was engaged to

Benedetta of Cagliari Benedetta (c. 1194 – 1232/33) was the daughter and heiress of William I of Cagliari and Adelasia, daughter of Moroello Malaspina. She succeeded her father in January or February 1214. She was consecrated in 1214 by Riccus, Archbishop of Ca ...

. Her son

Ubaldo II Visconti Ubaldo II Visconti, son of Lamberto di Eldizio and Elena of Gallura, Elena de Lacon, was the Giudice of Gallura, Judge of Gallura from 1225 to his death in 1238. He ruled every ''giudicato'' on the island of Sardinia at one point or another save Gi ...

later succeeded to the Gallurese throne.

Notes

Sources

*Ghisalberti, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: X Biagio – Boccaccio''. Rome, 1968. *Moore, John C.
Pope Innocent III, Sardinia, and the Papal State.
''Speculum'', Vol. 62, No. 1. (Jan., 1987), pp 81–101. *Murineddu, Antonio. ''Gallura''. Cagliari: Fossataro, 1962. {{DEFAULTSORT:Elena of Gallura 1190s births 1218 deaths Judges (judikes) of Gallura 13th-century women rulers Year of birth unknown 13th-century Italian women 13th-century Italian nobility Queens regnant in Sardinia