Saba Malaspina (died 1297 or 1298) was an Italian historian, writer, and clergyman. Born around the mid-13th century in southern Italy, he was from a "Roman family with a strong tradition of support for the papal cause" and was the
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
(later
bishop
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 c ...
) of the
diocese of Mileto
The Diocese of Mileto-Nicotera-Tropea is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Calabria, southern Italy, created in 1986. In that year the historical Diocese of Mileto was united with the Diocese of Nicotera-Tropea. The diocese is a suffra ...
. Little is known about his early years and education. His honorific of ''
magister'' indicates that he studied at a
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. In 1275, he collected tithes for crusading on
Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...
behalf. Around 1283, while serving as the
amanuensis of
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...
, Malaspina began writing the ''Liber gestorum regum Sicilie''; he finished writing his history of Sicily on 29 March 1285, by which time he had already obtained Roman citizenship.
Drawing upon records from both the
Angevin
Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to:
*County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France
**Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou
**Counts and Dukes of Anjou
* House of Ingelger, a Frank ...
and papal archives, the ''Liber'' begins with the birth of
Manfred in 1232 and ends with the death of
Charles of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...
in 1285, with a focus on the events after the death of
Frederick II (Manfred father) in 1250. In writing the ''Liber'', Malaspina was particularly influenced by the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' by
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
. He dedicated the ten-volume work to the members of the
Roman Curia.
Étienne Baluze
Étienne Baluze (24 November 1630 – 28 July 1718) was a French scholar and historiographer, also known as Stephanus Baluzius.
Biography
Born in Tulle, he was educated at his native town, at the Jesuit college, where he studied the Arts. H ...
published the first edition in 1713, although only of the years down to 1276. The first complete edition was published by posthumously in 1868. The latest edition, titled ''Die Chronik des Saba Malaspina'' by its editors, came out in 1999.
On 12 July 1286,
Pope Honorius IV
Pope Honorius IV (c. 1210 – 3 April 1287), born Giacomo Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 April 1285 to his death in 1287. During his pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French politi ...
ordained Malaspina as bishop of Mileto. In 1288 or 1289, Malaspina was captured by the forces of
Roger of Lauria
Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talen ...
when they occupied Mileto. He successfully escaped and fled to
Larino
Larino ( nap, label= Campobassan dialect, Larìne; la, Larinum) is a town and ''comune'' of approximately 8,100 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River.
The old to ...
, where he became the local parish administrator. In 1295,
Pope Boniface VIII formally named him as the "spiritual and temporal administrator of Larino". Saba Malaspina died in late 1297 or early 1298.
Although traditionally seen as an apologist and propagandist for the papacy, Clifford R. Backman argues that Malaspina was a "reluctantly charmed, enamored-yet-critical admirer of Charles of Anjou". On the other hand, Michael Lower suggests that he was "disillusioned" with Charles' rule. Marc Laureys describes him as "the only important Roman historiographer from the 13th century", while Backman writes that Malaspina was both a "professional scribe of such high standing" and a "literary artist of considerable ability". The ''Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle'' regards Malaspina's Sicilian chronicle as "one of the most important sources for the history of Southern Italy".
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1297 deaths
13th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops
13th-century Italian writers
13th-century Italian people
People from Sicily