Azalaïs of Montferrat (also Adelasia or Alasia) (1150–1232) was marchioness consort of

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

, and regent for her grandson, Manfred III from 1212 to 1218.

Biography

Azalaïs was one of at least three daughters of

William V of Montferrat William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. ''Guilhem'', it. ''Guglielmo'') ( 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest s ...

and his wife

Judith of Babenberg Judith (or Jutta, sometimes called ''Julitta'' or ''Ita'' in Latin sources; c. 1115/1120 – after 1168), a member of the House of Babenberg, was Marchioness of Montferrat from 1135 until her death, by her marriage with Marquess William V. ...

. Her brothers included

William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon William of Montferrat (early 1140s – 1177), also called William Longsword (modern Italian ''Guglielmo Lungaspada''; original Occitan ''Guilhem Longa-Espia''), was the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the eldest son of William V, Marquess of Montfe ...

, Conrad I of Jerusalem, and

Boniface of Montferrat Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat ( it, Bonifacio del Monferrato, link=no; el, Βονιφάτιος Μομφερρατικός, ''Vonifatios Momferratikos'') (c. 1150 – 4 September 1207), was the ninth Marquis of Montferrat ( ...

. She married Marquis

Manfred II of Saluzzo Manfred II (1140–1215) was the second marquess of Saluzzo from his father's death in 1175 to his own. He was the son of Manfred I and Eleanor. He placed the capital of the margravate definitively in Saluzzo. He married Azalaïs of Montferrat b ...

before 1182, in which year she received lands in Saluzzo, Racconigi, Villa, Centallo and Quaranta, in case her marriage (like that of her sister Agnes) should need to be annulled for reasons of sterility. Like her brother Boniface, Azalaïs was a patron of

troubadours A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

. She is mentioned in

Peire Vidal Peire Vidal ( fl. 12th century) was an Old Occitan troubadour. Forty-five of his songs are extant. The twelve that still have melodies bear testament to the deserved nature of his musical reputation. There is no contemporary reference to Peire o ...

's song, ''Estat ai gran sazo'': ::''Dieus sal l'onrat marques'' ::''E sa bella seror...'' ::(''God save the honoured marquis'' ::''And his beautiful sister'') and is the dedicatee of his ''Bon' aventura don Dieus als Pizas''. Around 1192, she had built the church of San Lorenzo, which she granted to the canons of San Lorenzo in

Oulx Oulx ( oc, label= Occitan, Ors) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France. Names Like many other towns in the Susa V ...

; her eldest son, Boniface, named after her brother, is mentioned for the first time in the donation. However, Boniface died in 1212, and with the death of her husband in February 1215, Azalaïs became regent of Saluzzo for her grandson, Manfred III. In 1216, she made a treaty with

Thomas I of Savoy Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy. Bi ...

for a marriage between his son Amadeus and her granddaughter Agnes. However, the marriage never took place, possibly on grounds of consanguinity, since Azalaïs was a first cousin of Thomas's father. Amadeus married Anne of Burgundy, and Agnes became Abbess of the

Cistercian convent Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church. History The first Cistercian monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l'Abbaye in ...

of Santa Maria della Stella in Rifreddo.comune.rifreddo.cn.it: Informazioni storiche
/ref> Azalaïs also made political and ecclesiastical agreements with

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

and with the

Bishop of Asti The Diocese of Asti ( la, Dioecesis Astensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Piedmont, northern Italy, centered in the city of Asti. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin since 1515.

. When young Manfred reached his majority in 1218, Azalaïs returned to church patronage. In 1224, she endowed the convent of Rifreddo with the income of the church of San Ilario. In 1227, she made further grants to the canons of Oulx. She died in 1232, and was buried in the Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria di Staffarda.

Issue

Manfred and Azalaïs had at least five children: * Agnes m. Comita III, '' giudice'' of

Logudoro The Logudoro (meaning "Golden Place") is a large traditional region Sardinia, Italy. The name of Logudoro today is linked to the Logudorese dialect, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia. The first denomination of the area is ...

, in

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, aft ...

. * Boniface (the heir, who predeceased his father) m. Maria of Torres (daughter of Agnes's husband). They were the parents of Manfred II's successor

Manfred III of Saluzzo Manfred III (died 1244) was the third Marquess of Saluzzo, from 1215 to his death. He was the son of Boniface of Saluzzo and Maria di Torres of Sassari (in Sardinia). Since his father died in 1212, he succeeded his grandfather Manfred II as marq ...

*Margaret m. Geoffrey de Salvaing. * (daughter, given name unknown) m. Marquis William II of Ceva. * Thomas.

Notes

Sources

* Ernest Hoepffner, ''Le Troubadour Peire Vidal: sa vie et son œuvre'', Paris, 1961 * A M Patrone, "Alasia", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. 1, p. 583 * Leopoldo Usseglio, ''I Marchesi di Monferrato in Italia ed in Oriente durante i secoli XII e XIII'', 1926.

External links

Santa Maria di Staffarda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azalais Of Montferrat 1150 births 1232 deaths Regents of Italy Marquesses of Montferrat Patrons of literature Aleramici Marchionesses of Saluzzo 13th-century women rulers 13th-century Italian nobility 13th-century Italian women 12th-century Italian nobility 12th-century Italian women