Francesco II of Lesbos

Francesco II Gattilusio, Lord of Lesbos (c. 1365 - 26 October, 1403/ 1404) was the second ruler of an independent Lesbos from 1384 to his death.

He was the third son of Francesco I of Lesbos and Maria Palaiologina. His maternal grandparents were Andronikos III Palaiologos and his second wife Anna of Savoy.

On 6 August, 1384, an earthquake affected Lesbos. Francesco I and his two eldest sons, Andronico and Domenico, were all killed. However the third son Jacopo survived. He succeeded in the rule of Lesbos under the name "Francesco II". Francesco II was yet underage and was placed under the regency of his paternal uncle Niccolo of Ainos.

Francesco II married a Genoese noblewoman, Valentina Doria, daughter of Dorino Doria q. Dorino of Loano and Violante Doria q. Brancaleone II of Sardinia, Lady of Lerma. From a first marriage, Dorino Doria had a son called Pietro Doria, who was none other than the Genoese Admiral who won the battle of Chioggia against the Venetians in 1379 and died a hero in the following year. Francesco and Valentina had six children:

*Jacopo of Lesbos. Ruled from 1403/04 to 1428.
*Dorino of Lesbos. Ruled from 1428 to 1455.
*Palamede of Ainos. Ruled Ainos from 1409 to 1455.
*Irene Gattilusio. Married John VII Palaiologos.
*Helena Gattilusio. Married Stefan Lazarević.
*Caterina Gattilusio. Married Pietro Grimaldi, Baron of Bueil. They were eleventh generation ancestors of Marquis de Sade.

He reportedly died in an unusual manner. He was bitten by a scorpion. The number of people rushing to his aid resulted in the wooden floor of his room collapsing under their combined weight. The poison did not kill him but the fall did.

References and notes

*W. Miller, The Gattilusj of Lesbos (1355-1462), Byzantinische Zeitschrift 22, 1913, p. 406-447.
*T. Ganchou, Valentina Doria, épouse de Francesco II Gattilusio, seigneur de l'île de Mytilène (1384-1403), et sa parenté. Le Lesbian puzzle résolu, in Nuova Rivista Storica LXXXVIII, 2004, p. 619-686.

External links

* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LATIN%20LORDSHIPS%20IN%20GREECE.htm#FrancescoGattilusiodied1384 His listing along with his father and siblings in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.] The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
* [http://www.wargs.com/essays/lesbian.html "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]
* [http://www.pastfinders.net/bizarre%20deaths.htm His entry in "Bizarre deaths in History"]
* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/grim/grimaldi6.html A listing of the line of Grimaldi-Bueil, descendants of Francesco II]