Francis Zorzi (or Giorgi) ( it, Francesco) (1337–1388), called Marchesotto, was a member of the Venetian

Zorzi The House of Zorzi or Giorgi was a noble family of Venetian origin. They thrived in the Late Middle Ages, especially in the remnants of the Latin Empire in Greece, where they controlled the Margraviate of Bodonitsa and through marriage the Duc ...

family and the

Marquess of Bodonitsa The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa (also Vodonitsa or Boudonitza; el, Μαρκιωνία/Μαρκιζᾶτον τῆς Βοδονίτσας), today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis (180 km northwest of Athens), was a Frankish state in Greece foll ...

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

from 1345 to his death. Francis was the son of

Guglielma Pallavicini Guglielma Pallavicini (rarely ''Wilhelmina''; died 1358), the Lady of Thermopylae, was the last Pallavicino heir to rule in Bodonitsa. She ruled as Margrave of Bodonitza in 1311 – 1358. She was an infant when she succeeded her father Albert in ...

and her husband

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

, the first Zorzi lord of Bodonitsa. His parents were embroiled in a dispute when Nicholas died in 1354 and Guglielma raised Francis to co-rule with her. The

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

was pleased that one of its own was again ruling Bodonitsa and happily negotiated for Francis and his mother with the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of the ...

. Francis was a vassal of the Duke of Athens, to whom he was obligated to send an annual of tribute of four armed horses. Francis tried to maintain his independence from the Catalan

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of Athens and resisted the attempts of

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

to establish his authority in Greece. He also supported Maria of Sicily against Peter for the

Trinacria Trinacria may refer to: *the ancient Name of Sicily **Sicily in the classical Greek period, see History of Greek and Hellenistic Sicily **Name for the Kingdom of Sicily during the 1300s **Name for the emblem of Sicily (the triskeles with the Go ...

n throne. Indeed, through inheritance and "mercantile venture" he had obtained "a very fine estate" and great wealth, being the most important of Mary's princely supporters. Francis even made overtures to the Navarrese mercenaries of Juan de Urtubia before his death, perhaps encouraging their sack of Thebes. He took part in the Council of Thebes on 1 October 1373. He died around 1388 and was succeeded by his eldest son

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

under the regency of his widow Euphrosyne Sommaripa of the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

. He had a daughter whom he married to a Serbian lord in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

(the Serbs had established themselves there under

Dušan Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name ...

), Stephen, a son of

Simeon Uroš Simeon Uroš ( sr-cyr, Симеон Урош, gr, Συμεών Ούρεσης; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (Синиша), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III a ...

.R-J Loenertz, ''Une page de Jérôme Zurita relative aux duchés catalans de Grèce'' p 163-16

/ref>

References

Sources

* * *Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zorzi, Francis 1388 deaths Christians of the Crusades

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

1337 births 14th-century Venetian people