pirate Francesco I Gattilusio, archon of Lesbos

Biography

From William Addams Reitwiesner:

In 1354, Francesco Gattilusio, a Genoese freebooter5, landed, with his band, on the island of Tenedos, and there discovered John V Palaiologos, the Emperor of Byzantium, who had been retired there after losing his throne to John VI Kantakuzene. Palaiologos and Gattilusio struck a deal whereby if Gattilusio would help Palaiologos regain the Byzantine throne, Gattilusio would be given Palaiologos's sister's hand in marriage. By means of a clever trick6, Gattilusio did just that, in Autumn of that year (1354). Palaiologos followed through on his end of the deal, married his sister Maria to Gattilusio, and gave him the island of Lesbos as her dowry. On 17 July 1355, Francesco I began his reign as Lord of Lesbos.
After an eventful reign of 29 years, Francesco, his wife Maria, and their two eldest sons, Andronico and Domenico, were killed by an earthquake on 6 Aug. 13847. A third son, Jacopo, miraculously survived the earthquake and was installed (under the regency of his uncle, Francesco's younger brother, Niccolo I Gattilusio, Lord of Ainos) as Lord of Lesbos with the name of Francesco II.

Origins

From GATTILUSIO, Francesco di Enrico Basso - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 52 (1999)

The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa . The parents of Francesco and his brother Niccolò Gattilusio , lord of Ainos are not known, although based on the heraldic evidence of their inscriptions, Anthony Luttrell claims that their mother was a member of the Doria family [2] .
The grandfather was Luchetto Gattilusio , poet and troubadour and merchant, who was ambassador to Bonifacio VIII and podestà of Bologna, Milan and Cremona. Uncle Oberto (Obertino) was ambassador to Constantinople [1]

His sons brides

From Luttrell, Anthony. “John V's Daughters: A Palaiologan Puzzle.”:

On 6 August 1384, an earthquake affected Lesbos. Francesco I, Maria and their two eldest sons, Andronico and Domenico, were all killed. In a letter he wrote from Constantinople soon after the event, Kydones describes how the two dead sons' prospective brides arrived from afar and searched among the ruins for the bodies of the intended husbands they had never seen.[5]

References

• 1. http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-gattilusio_(Dizionari...
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_I_Gattilusio
• 5., 6. Luttrell, Anthony. “John V's Daughters: A Palaiologan Puzzle.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 40, 1986, pp. 103–112. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291531
• Marek, Miroslav. "Gattilusio family". Genealogy.EU. http://genealogy.euweb.cz/italy/gattilusio.html
• Cawley, Charles, His listing ., Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LATIN%20LORDSHIPS%20IN%20GREECE.htm...
• "The Lesbian ancestors of Prince Rainier of Monaco, Dr. Otto von Habsburg, Brooke Shields and the Marquis de Sade" by William Addams Reitwiesner, an extensive article on the Gattilusio and their descendants. link
• Miller, William (1913). "The Gattilusj of Lesbos (1355–1462)". Byzantinische Zeitschrift. Page 406. Archive.Org

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-http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-gattilusio_%28Diziona...
Primo di questo nome nacque a Genova nella prima metà del XIV secolo (secondo alcune fonti nel 1326). Non sono noti i nomi dei genitori anche se, sulla base dei nomi successivamente imposti ai suoi figli, è possibile ipotizzare che il padre potesse chiamarsi Domenico. ..

...suo nonno era infatti il celebre Luchetto Gattilusio - trovatore e mercante nonché ambasciatore alla corte di Bonifacio VIII e podestà di Bologna, Milano e Cremona -, mentre suo zio Oberto (Obertino) per ben due volte, nel 1341 e nel 1351, era stato ambasciatore a Costantinopoli.

Two brothers, parents not known. 

-http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LATIN%20LORDSHIPS%20IN%20GREECE.htm...

1. FRANCESCO Gattilusio (-6 Aug 1384). A Genoese freebooter, he landed on the island of Tenedos where he found Ioannes V Palaiologos ex-Emperor. The latter agreed to give him his sister in marriage in return for help in recovering his throne from Ioannes VI Kantakouzenos. His father-in-law gave him the island of Lesbos as his daughter's dowry, he reigned from 17 Jul 1355 as FRANCESCO I Lord of Lesbos. He was killed in an earthquake with his wife and two eldest sons.

m ( [1355] ) MARIA Palaiologina, daughter of Emperor ANDRONIKOS III & his second wife Jeanne [Anna] de Savoie ([1327/41]-[1401]). The Historia Byzantina of Michælis Ducæ Nepotis records the marriage of "Franciscus Gateluzus" and "Mariam sororem meam [=Iohannis imperatoris]", with the island of Lesbos as her dowry[710]. Francisco I & his wife had three children:

• a) ANDRONICO Gattilusio ([1356]-6 Aug 1384).
• b) DOMENICO Gattilusio ([1358]-6 Aug 1384).
• c) GIACOPO Gattilusio ([1365]-26 Oct 1404). ... ... ...
  • ... . . . . . . . . .