Anastasia de Montfort

Anastasia de Montfort, Countess of Nola (born c.1274), was an Italian noblewoman and a wealthy heiress. She was the eldest daughter of Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, himself the son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. She held the title suo jure Countess of Nola after her father's death in 1291. She also held the titles of suo jure Dame de Chailly and suo jure Dame de Longjumeau.^[1] She was the wife of Romano Orsini, Senator of Rome, by whom she had at least three children. English queen consort Elizabeth Woodville was among her numerous descendants.

Family

Anastasia was born in Italy in about 1274, the eldest^[2] daughter of Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, and Margherita Aldobrandeschi,^[3] Countess of Sovana and Pitigliano (c. 1255-after 1313). She had a younger sister, Tommasia, who married Pietro Vico, but the marriage was childless. Her paternal grandparents were Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England, daughter of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême. Her maternal grandparents were Ildebrandino Aldobrandeschi, Count of Sovana and Tommasia di Baschi.

Her father and his brother Simon fled England in 1266 after they had escaped from prison where they had been held following the Battle of Evesham in 1265, where his father and eldest brother, Henry were slain, and Guy and Simon had been captured. They both eventually arrived in Italy, and Guy entered the service of Charles of Anjou who made him Count of Nola and Vicar-general of Tuscany. On 10 August 1270, he married Margherita Aldobrandeschi at Viterbo. Less than a year later, in March 1271, he and Simon murdered their cousin Henry of Almain inside San Silvestro church, an act which led to Guy being excommunicated and stripped of his titles. He once again took up service with Charles of Anjou. He was later captured off the coast of Sicily in 1287 by the Aragonese after the Battle of the Counts. He died in a Sicilian prison in 1291.^[3] Upon his death, Anastasia became the suo jure Countess of Nola. In an effort to retain her lands, Anastasia's mother married four more times after Guy's death. Her four additional husbands were: Orsello Orsini, Loffredo Caetani, her cousin Guido Aldobrandeschi di Santa Fiora, and Nello de' Pannocchieschi.

Marriage and issue

On 8 June 1293^[1] Anastasia married Romano Orsini (1268–1327), Senator of Rome and son of Gentile II Orsini, Senator of Rome and Claricia de Ruffo. The marriage had been arranged by Cardinal Napoleon Orsini, who was her mother's guardian. Anastasia, being Margherita's eldest daughter and heiress, eventually brought the rich Aldobrandeschi and Sovana inheritances into the Orsini family.

Together Romano and Anastasia had at least three children:

• Roberto Orsini, Count of Nola (1295- 15 January 1345), married Sueva del Balzo, the daughter of Hugues del Balzo, Count of Soleto and Seneschal of Naples, and Jacopa della Marra, by whom he had issue. Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of Edward IV of England was a descendant of Roberto and Sueva.^[1]
• Guido Orsini, Count of Pitigliano (died after 1348), married Agostina della Gherardesca, by whom he had issue.
• Giovanna Orsini, married in 1334 Nicolo Caetani by whom she had issue.

Anastasia died on an unknown date, which occurred sometime before her eldest son, Roberto's death on 15 January 1345 as he had succeeded her as Count of Nola. Her husband Romano died in 1327.

Ancestry

References

• Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Earls of Leicester 1239-1265 (Montfort)
• Leo van de Pas, Worldroots