Giovanni Demetrio Angeli | |
---|---|
Prince of Achaea, Cilicia and Macedonia | |
Born | 1499 |
Died | 1571 (aged 71–72) |
Spouse | Franceschina Magna (?) |
Issue | Pietro Angeli |
House | Angelo Flavio Comneno |
Father | Pjetër Engjëlli |
Mother | Lucia Span |
Giovanni Demetrio Angeli ( Latin: Joannes Demetrius Angelus, [1] [2] Albanian: Gjon Dhimitër Engjëlli; 1499–1571) was an early member of the Albanian-Italian Angelo Flavio Comneno family, which claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. His later relatives attributed him various titles, such as " Prince of Achaea and Macedonia" and "Prince of Cilicia".
Giovanni Demetrio was born in 1499, [1] as the son of the Albanian noble Pjetër Engjëlli. [3] Giovanni Demetrio's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. [4] In the mid-15th century, Giovanni Demetrio's younger brothers Andrea and Paolo were officially acknowledged as descendants of the Angelos emperors by Pope Paul III ( r. 1534–1549) and founded the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, [5] [6] a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections. [7]
Although no contemporary evidence survives for Giovanni Demetrio claiming any noble titles, [8] he is accorded various titles in later texts published by his family, such as " Prince of Achaea and Macedonia" [1] and "Prince of Cilicia". [8] He was also considered by his later relatives to have been a Grand Master of the Constantinian Order, together with Andrea, [1] but on account of the lack of evidence he is typically not counted as such in modern accounts of the order. [8]
Giovanni Demetrio married a woman described as of the Venetian noble family "Franceschina" and as a "daughter of Bartolomeo Magna"; her name might thus have been Franceschina Magna. [9] The couple had a single son, Pietro Angeli, [10] born in 1526. [1] Upon the death of Giovanni Demetrio's brother Andrea in 1580, Andrea named Pietro as his heir as Grand Master "by reason of primogeniture". [9]