View source for Theodore II, Marquis of Montferrat

{{Short description|Italian noble}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{infobox noble
| name        = Theodore II, Marquis of Montferrat
| image       = Teodoro II del Monferrato - moneta 1409-1413.jpg
| caption     = Moneta of Theodore II 1409–13.
| succession  = [[Marquis of Montferrat]]
| reign       = 1381–1418
| predecessor = [[John III, Marquis of Montferrat|John III Palaiologos]]
| successor   = [[John Jacob, Marquis of Montferrat|John Jacob Palaiologos]]
| noble family= [[Palaeologus-Montferrat]]
| father      = [[John II, Marquis of Montferrat]]
| mother      = [[Isabella of Majorca]]
| spouse      = Argentina Malaspina<br/>Joanna of Bar<br/>[[Blessed Margaret of Savoy|Margaret of Savoy]]
| issue       = [[John Jacob of Montferrat]]<br/>[[Sophia of Montferrat|Sophia, Byzantine Empress]]
| birth_date  = 1364
| birth_place =
| death_date  = {{death date|1418|4|16|df=y}} (aged 54)
| death_place =
}}
'''Theodore II Palaeologus''' ('''Teodoro II Paleologo''') (died 16 April 1418) was the [[Margrave of Montferrat]] from 1381.
==Life==
He was the thirdborn son of [[John II of Montferrat]] and [[Isabel of Majorca]].  Theodore was named governor of the margraviate after the death of his brother [[John III of Montferrat|John III]]. After the death of John II, Montferrat had been plunged into a crisis brought on by the quick succession of two young rulers, neither of whom had the necessary authority to deal with internal state of chaos. During his youth, Theodore was under the [[Regent|regency]] of [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]]. Soon it became apparent that he was a weak person on his own. By marrying, of his own will, a [[Duchy of Milan|Milanese]] woman, the daughter of [[Leonardo Malaspina]], margrave of [[Lunigiana]], he was forced to cede [[Asti]] to Gian Galeazzo.
After the death of his first and second wives, he remarried [[Blessed Margaret of Savoy|Margaret of Savoy]], daughter of [[Amadeus of Piedmont|Amadeus]], [[Prince of Achaea]], on 17 February 1403. Immediately, a war erupted between Theodore and [[Amadeus VIII of Savoy]]. [[Filippo Maria Visconti]] of Milan intervened on behalf of Theodore in return for the aid the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]] had received in reestablishing their power in Milan.
In 1400, Theodore had granted [[Borgo San Martino]] to one [[Facino Cane]] for his service. In 1409, Theodore and Facino succeeded in taking possession of Milan and [[Genoa]]. Theodore maintained possession of these places until 1413, when, despite several military expeditions,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/43469329|title = Gli obblighi militari nel marchesato di Monferrato ai tempi di Teodoro II|journal = Bollettino Storico- Bibliografico Subalpino|last1 = Romanoni|first1 = Fabio}}</ref> finding the government of both his [[Piedmont]]ese and [[Lombardy|Lombard]] dominions too difficult, he gave them up in exchange for a large sum.
After the death of Facino, Theodore had to fight the Visconti in Piedmont until an agreement was reached in 1417. Theodore died soon after, leaving a widow in the person of Margaret, later the Blessed Margaret. He was succeeded by his son [[John Jacob of Montferrat|John Jacob]].
==Marriages and children==
Theodore married, as his first wife, Argentina Malaspina. She was a daughter of Leonardo Malaspina, Marquis of [[Massa, Tuscany|Massa]]. They had no known children.
In 1393, Theodore married his second wife Joanna of Bar. She was a daughter of [[Robert I, Duke of Bar]] and [[Marie of Valois (1344-1404)|Marie of Valois]]. Her maternal grandparents were [[John II of France]] and [[Bonne of Bohemia]]. They had two known children:
*[[John Jacob of Montferrat]] (23 March 1395 – 12 March 1445).
*[[Sophia of Montferrat]] (died 21 August 1434). Married [[John VIII Palaiologos]].{{sfn|Origone|1996|p=236}}
Joanna died on 15 January 1402. Theodore remained a widower for a year. On 17 January 1403, Theodore married his third wife [[Blessed Margaret of Savoy|Margaret of Savoy]]. She was the eldest daughter of [[Amadeus, Prince of Achaea |Amedeo, Prince of Achaea]] and Catherine of Geneva. Their marriage was childless. Margaret survived her husband by forty-six years and died on 23 November 1464.
==Literary References==
Theodore is one of the major antagonists in [[Rafael Sabatini]]'s 1926 novel [[Bellarion|Bellarion the Fortunate]], wherein he is portrayed as being sly, untrustworthy, and overly ambitious, though a formidable opponent in war. This is in contrast to his historical repute as a captain, which was not great. Sabatini's book alters history slightly by having Theodore as Regent, when he was in fact the reigning Marquis. Theodore's son and successor [[John Jacob of Montferrat|John Jacob]] also appears as a minor character in the book, though he is portrayed as Theodore's nephew.
==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Theodore II, Marquis of Montferrat'''
|2= 2. [[John II, Marquis of Montferrat]]
|3= 3. [[Isabella of Majorca]]
|4= 4. [[Theodore I, Marquis of Montferrat]]
|5= 5. Argentina Spinola
|6= 6. [[James III of Majorca]]
|7= 7. [[Constance of Aragon, Queen of Majorca|Constance of Aragon]]
|8= 8. [[Andronikos II Palaiologos]]
|9= 9. [[Irene of Montferrat]]
|10= 10. [[Opicino Spinola]]
|11= 11. Violante of Saluzzo
|12= 12. [[Ferdinand of Majorca]]
|13= 13. Isabelle de Sabran
|14= 14. [[Alfonso IV of Aragon]]
|15= 15. [[Teresa d'Entença]]
|16= 16. [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]]
|17= 17. [[Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina]]
|18= 18. [[William VII, Marquis of Montferrat]]
|19= 19. [[Beatrice of Castile, Marchioness of Montferrat|Beatrice of Castile]]
|20= 20. Sbaralia Spinola
|21=
|22= 22. [[Thomas I, Marquis of Saluzzo]]
|23= 23. Luigia di Ceva
|24= 24. [[James II of Majorca]]
|25= 25. Esclaramunda of Foix
|26= 26. Isnard de Sabran
|27= 27. Margaret of Villehardouin
|28= 28. [[James II of Aragon]]
|29= 29. [[Blanche of Anjou]]
|30= 30. Gombald d'Entença
|31= 31. Constance of Attillon
}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book |chapter=Marriage Connections between Byzantium and the West in the Age of the Palaiologoi |first=Sandra  |last=Origone |pages=226–241 |title=Intercultural Contacts in the Medieval Mediterranean |editor-first1=Benjamin |editor-last1=Arbel |publisher=Frank Cass |year=1996 }}236
==External links==
{{S-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[Margrave of Montferrat]] | before=[[John III, Marquis of Montferrat|John III]] | after=[[John Jacob, Marquis of Montferrat|John Jacob]] | years=1381–1418}}
{{S-end}}
[[Category:1418 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century Italian nobility]]
[[Category:15th-century Italian nobility]]
[[Category:Palaeologus-Montferrat dynasty|Theodore 2]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Montferrat]]
[[Category:1364 births]]