Eleanor ' onMouseout='HidePop("74116")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Molins_de_Rei">Molins de Rei
Molins de Rei is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat river, on the A-7 autopistafrom Valencia to La Jonquera and the main N-II road....
,
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
, – 1404
OristanoOristano is a town and municipality, chef-lieu of the province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 33,000 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.- History :...
) was the
giudicessa ("judge") of Arborea from 1383 to her death.
Eleanor ' onMouseout='HidePop("74116")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Molins_de_Rei">Molins de Rei
Molins de Rei is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat river, on the A-7 autopistafrom Valencia to La Jonquera and the main N-II road....
,
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
, – 1404
OristanoOristano is a town and municipality, chef-lieu of the province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 33,000 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.- History :...
) was the
giudicessa ("judge") of Arborea from 1383 to her death. Known to English historians as the "Gloriana" of the Italian States, a comparison to Elizabeth the First of England,she was one of the last — and most powerful and significant — Sardinian "Judges", (the Judges were like Kings and Queens); as well as the island's most renowned heroine.
Born, Eleonora de Bas Serra, in
CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
Spain, Eleanor was the daughter of
Marianus IV of ArboreaMarianus IV , called the Great, was the Judge of Arborea from 1347 to his death. He was, as his nickname indicates, the greatest sovereign of Arborea. He was a legislator and a warrior whose reign saw the commencement of massive codification of the laws of his realm and incessant warfare with the...
, who had become in 1346
giudice of Arborea, on the west coast of
SardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The nearest land masses to the island are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia, and the Spanish Balearic Islands...
, and his wife Timbora de Roccabertí. It has been said that their family, the Serra family, belonged to the
House of ViscontiVisconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. Two distinct Visconti families are known: the first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century, who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia, where they became rulers of Gallura; the...
. The house of Arborea, whose power extended over about one third of
SardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The nearest land masses to the island are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia, and the Spanish Balearic Islands...
, was the only independent part of the island at that point in history. During her childhood, she was raised with a natural tendency towards war and weapons.
Her father married Eleanor to
Brancaleone DoriaBrancaleone Doria was the husband of Eleanor of Arborea. He was a scion of an influential family of the Republic of Genoa, the son of the elder Brancaleone and a woman named Giacomina...
, a
GenoeseGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
nobleman, in order to strengthen local alliances. Brancaleone allowed his children to keep the name Serra, to possibly inherit the kingdom. Marianus died in 1376 and was succeeded by his son
Hugh IIIHugh III was the eldest son and successor of Marianus IV of Arborea and Timbor of Rocabertí. He succeeded in 1376 as Giudice of Arborea and Count of Goceano. In most ways he continued and augmented the policies of his father...
. In March 1383, there was a republican uprising in Arborea and Hugh was murdered. Eleanor defeated the rebels and became regent to her infant son
FrederickFrederick was the Judge of Arborea from 1383 until his death. His surname was Doria Cappai de Baux, the last part being a corruption of Bas-Serra...
, who as next male heir became the official monarch of Arborea.
For the next four years Arborea was at war with the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Southwestern France, as well as...
, which claimed the island. It lost much of its Sardinian possessions to Eleanor. Arborea obtained almost all of the island during this war. After rallying Sardinian forces, Eleanor was able to negotiate a favourable treaty. Her eldest son Frederick died during this war and was succeeded by her younger son,
Marianus VMarianus V was the Judge of Arborea from 1387 until his death. His surname was Doria Cappai de Baux, the last part being a corruption of Bas-Serra...
. An alliance was formed with Genoa which sustained Arborea's independence for another generation.
Eleanor composed the
Carta de LoguThe Carta de Logu was legal code of the Giudicato of Arborea promulgated by the giudicessa Eleanor in 1392. It was in force in Sardinia until it was superseded by the code of Charles Felix in April 1827....
, a body of laws which came into force in April 1395. They were considered to be far in advance of the laws of other countries, the penalty for most crimes being a fine, and the property rights of women being preserved. These laws remained in force in Sardinia until the
Italian unificationItalian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
of 1861.
Eleanor was particularly interested in ornithology. As a friend of birds, she was the first to legislate protection to a certain species of bird (
falconA falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings.-Overview:...
). Based on this, the
Eleonora's FalconEleonora's Falcon is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The Sooty Falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem...
(
Falco eleonorae) was named after her.
Sources
- Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani LXII Dugoni – Enza. Rome, 1993.
- Mearns, Barbara and Richard. Biographies for Birdwatchers. ISBN 0-12-487422-3
- Manno, Giuseppe. Storia di Sardegna. 2005.