CYPRUS

The Lusignan Dynasty,

300 years of Frankish rule

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Rule and fate
of Charlotte,
the last Lusignan
Queen of Jerusalem,
Cyprus and Armenia

1458 - 1460

... The use of French was declining and the use of Greek increasing; in the towns there is evidence from the 15th century of a linguafranca in which Greek, French and Italian words were indiscriminately mixed. Charlotte, the last Lusignan Queen, spoke Greek not French and annoyed Pope Pius II by her excessive fluency in it.

In many other ways also Charlotte, King John's II (1432-1458) daughter, turned out to be one of those forceful women who make the history of Cyprus so entertaining. She intimidated her father and dominated her second husband Louis, son of the Duke of Savoy. As the only legitimate heir she was recognised as Queen-Regnant in 1458, with the right of succession to Louis.


Charlotte entering her name in the registry of members of the confraternity of San Spirito
(fresco by Guidobaldo Abbatini, Rome, Chrurch of San Spirito)
Her illegitimate half-brother James was the complete opposite of his father, except in good looks, being active and ambitious. He had been involved in several murders before his father's death and he was not slow to try his hand at usurping Charlotte's throne. Defeated in his attempt he fled to Egypt, where the Sultan was also captivated by him, and, having received from him a promise to be a faithful subject, conferred the Kingdom on him by right of suzerainty and supplied him with ships, soldiers and money to make good his claim.

With a fleet of eighty ships under the Egyptian Commander-in-Chief he landed at Ayla Napa in September 1460 and advanced boldly on Nicosia.

_____Siege of Kyrenia castle
Jacques's supporters fighting with Queen Charlotte's supporters for the control of the throne and the island

Charlotte and Louis took refuge in Kyrenia, whose strong castle stood a siege for four years. Next year James began operations against Famagusta. In 1464 he was finally successful on both fronts. Queen Charlotte, showing the strength of character she had inherited from her mother, went on repeated journeys to the West pleading for support. She was unsuccessful, and Kyrenia castle, whose garrison had been reduced to famine by the siege, was surrendered by the treachery of its commander. Famagusta was surrendered by its Genoese garrison when attempts to revictual it failed. James II was now established firmly on the throne and controlled the whole island.



Pope Sixtus IV receiving Queen Charlotte. Among the Queen's attendants are Hugo de Langlois and Louis Podocataro; mid-15th century.
(Fresco, school of Melozzo da Forli)
To have regained Famagusta meant the end of a parasitic growth which had for long sapped the strength of Cyprus. But it came too late. The revenues had been mortgaged and capital exhausted. The tribute to Egypt was a heavy burden especially when, as was frequently demanded, it had to be paid in coined gold. The morals of the ruling class had been perverted, treachery was everywhere and the political basis of the Kingdom was undermined. Some writers claim that James was popular with the Greeks because he was half Greek on his mother's side. (The same thing was true of Charlotte.)

The evidence is late and doubtful. James certainly treated the serfs on his estates very harshly. When it came to the choice of a wife he broke his father's Greek connections and married a Venetian, Caterina Cornaro. The Venetian state, with prudent foresight, adopted Caterina as a daughter; the legal effect would be that if the crown came to her, and if she then died without heirs, Venice would inherit. In fact when James died in 1473 (having reigned since 1460, or 1464 counting from the surrender of Kyrenia) he left the Kingdom to his posthumous child, for Caterina was pregnant, and to her as Regent.

Caterina's child was a son, James III, but he lived only for a year (1473-1474). She herself remained Queen for fifteen years until 1489. It was not a happy reign.

There were still many supporters of Charlotte in the island, and the ex-Queen continued her intrigues until she died in 1485. (She bequeathed her rights to the Duke of Savoy and the arms of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia still appear in the great shield of the former royal house of Italy). In addition there was a strong party which supported the aspirations of Ferdinand II of the Aragonese dynasty of Naples, for a large number of Spaniards, especially Catalans, had settled in Cyprus during the past two reigns. In 1473 the last-named party fomented a conspiracy that began with the murder of the Queen's uncle and principal adviser, Andrew Cornaro, and nearly brought the whole island under control; it was put down by the arrival in mid-winter of the Venetian fleet with reinforcements. The party that favoured Queen Charlotte, headed by a Venetian malcontent Mark Verner, plotted to assassinate Caterina in 1479. The conspiracy had gone far, and the King of Naples was ready to send a fleet to assist, when it was betrayed in the usual way and suppressed by the Venetians with their usual ruthless severity. <<< end of Life and fate of Queen Charlotte (Carlotta) <<<