Yolande of Montferrat ( – 1317 in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
) (also known as Violante, then Empress Irene) was the second wife of
Andronikos II Palaiologos
, image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg
, caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia''
, succession = Byzantine emperor
, reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328
, coronation = 8 Novembe ...
and thus
Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She was the heir of the
Margraviate of Montferrat.
Born in
Casale, she was daughter of
William VII, Marquess of Montferrat
Guillaume VII de Montferrat.
William VII (c. 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great Marquis ( it, il Gran Marchese), was the twelfth Marquis of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. He was also the titular King of Thessalonica.
Biography Y ...
and his second wife
Beatrice of Castile.
Her maternal grandparents were King
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...
and his wife
Violante of Aragon. Yolande (variation of Violante) was named after her grandmother.
In 1284, Andronikos II, a widower by his first marriage with
Anna of Hungary, married Yolanda (who was renamed Eirene as Empress). She and Andronikos II were distant cousins, both being descendants of
Andronikos Doukas Angelos
Andronikos Doukas Angelos ( el, Ἀνδρόνικος Δούκας Ἄγγελος, – before 1185) was a Byzantine aristocrat related to the ruling Komnenos dynasty. During the reign of his cousin, Manuel I Komnenos, he served without ...
(ca. 1122–1185). With her, Eirene brought the Montferrat rights to the
kingdom of Thessalonica
The Kingdom of Thessalonica () was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly.
History
Background
After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Bonifac ...
,
a dominion that, despite having been conquered half-a-century before Eirene's birth by the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
state of
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
, was still claimed by its short-lived (1204–1224) Montferrat royal dynasty.
It was later proven that the Italian
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
had no living male heirs of the
Aleramici dynasty
The House of Aleramici were a medieval Italian noble family of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern counties and marches, in Piedmont and Liguria from the tenth to the 14th centuries.
History
The founder of the family was William I of ...
, and Eirene's sons were entitled to inherit it upon the 1305 death of Eirene's brother
John I, Marquess of Montferrat John I (''circa'' 1275 – 1305) was the thirteenth Marquis of Montferrat, last of the Aleramici dynasty, from 1292 to his death.
Life
John was the only son of William VII of Montferrat and his second wife Beatrice, daughter of Alfonso X of Casti ...
.
The marriage produced the following children:
*
John Palaiologos (c. 1286–1308), ''despotes''.
* Bartholomaios Palaiologos (born 1289), died young.
*
Theodore I, Marquis of Montferrat
Theodore I Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παλαιολόγος, full name: ''Theodoros Komnenos Doukas Angelos Palaiologos'') ( – 24 April 1338) was Marquis of Montferrat from 1306 until his death.
Life
He was a son of Em ...
(1291–1338).
*
Simonis Palaiologina (1294–after 1336),
who married King
Stefan Milutin
Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Stefan Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Милутин, Stefan Milutin), was the King of Serbia between 1282&nd ...
of Serbia.
* Theodora Palaiologina (born 1295), died young.
*
Demetrios Palaiologos
Demetrios Palaiologos or Demetrius Palaeologus ( el, Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος, Dēmētrios Palaiologos; 1407–1470) was Despot of the Morea together with his brother Thomas from 1449 until the fall of the despotate in 1460. Deme ...
(1297–1343), ''despotēs''.
Father of
Irene Palaiologina.
* Isaakios Palaiologos (born 1299), died young.
Eirene's stepson,
Michael IX Palaiologos
, image = 154 - Michael IX Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png
, caption = 15th-century portrait of Michael IX (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the ''Extracts of History'' by Joannes Zonaras)
, succession ...
was intended to succeed her husband as emperor, but ultimately it was Michael's son
Andronikos III Palaiologos
, image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg
, caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek.
, succession = Byzantine emperor
, reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341
, coronation = ...
, who became the successor instead of Michael. This was largely due to the work Eirene did to ensure some power and property to her own offspring.
Eirene left Constantinople in 1303 and settled in
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. She set her own court in the city and controlled her own finances and foreign policy until her death fourteen years later.
Nicephorus Gregoras
Nicephorus Gregoras (; Greek: , ''Nikephoros Gregoras''; c. 1295 – 1360) was a Greek astronomer, historian, and theologian.
Life
Gregoras was born at Heraclea Pontica, where he was raised and educated by his uncle, John, who was the Bisho ...
portrayed her as an ambitious and arrogant leader in his historical writings.
References
External links
*
* The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irene of Montferrat
1274 births
1317 deaths
People from Casale Monferrato
Palaiologos dynasty
13th-century Byzantine empresses
14th-century Byzantine empresses
13th-century Italian nobility
14th-century Italian nobility
13th-century Italian women
14th-century Italian women
Aleramici
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism
Italian people of Portuguese descent
Italian people of German descent
Italian people of French descent
Italian people of Hungarian descent
Italian people of English descent
Italian people of Spanish descent
Burials at Lips Monastery