Lucia Visconti

Lucia Visconti (Milan, 1372 – April 14, 1424) was the daughter of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Beatrice Regina della Scala. She was one of seventeen legitimate children.

The Visconti household were the rulers of Milan from 1277 to 1447. As a result of this, she grew up extremely wealthy. Lucia Visconti is part of line that includes other powerful Visconti women, such as Isabeau of Bavaria, Valentina Visconti and Caterina Visconti. As a noblewoman in a powerful family, they were often expected to enter into marriages to form or strengthen alliances. Lucia and her sisters were all involved in Bernabo’s dynastic policy, as he married them off into many different ruling houses across Europe.

Lucia herself was connected to various potential marriage partners, including both Henry Bolingbroke and then Frederick of Thuringia. However, in 1406 Lucia was to marry Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent. Lucia’s marriage with Edmund was complicated, as Edmund was selected as a husband for her though she had originally wanted to marry King Henry IV. As her father had died prior to the marriage, it was King Henry who gave her away at Edmund and Lucia’s wedding. Lucia and Edmund’s marriage lasted only a year before he died. From January 1407 to April 14, 1424 she was the Countess of Kent. She would not return to Milan. While widowhood for some consisted of being dependent on others, Lucia Visconti used her power and title to overcome debt. Her relationship with King Henry allowed her to avoid obstacles in which most widows would have to overcome. When she died in 1424 she left what money she had to nobles and lords in England. Due to her relationship with powerful political figures, Lucia remained a respected noblewoman.

Visconti family history

The Visconti Family acquired the signoria of Milan in 1277, when Archbishop Ottone Visconti defeated the Guelfs at Desio, usurping their power. Otto took the title of signore from Martino della Torre.^[1] Prior to this, the family had been growing ever more powerful. By the early 12th century, the Visconti family had extended their control over two-thirds of the island of Sardinia, though the family is most commonly known for its dominance in the Italian city of Milan.^[2] Ottone Visconti (1277–1295) and his successor Matteo Visconti (1287–1302, 1317–1322) had several political disagreements with other prominent families. The Visconti family was expelled by their rivals in 1302, the della Torre’s, but was restored to power in 1311 by Matteo. The Visconti’s were restored by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, who also made Matteo the military vicar of Lombardy at this time.^[3] In his time, Matteo also made several territorial gains, as he was able to take control of Pavia, Vercelli, Novara and Como.^[4] Following Matteo, there was a long line of powerful successors in the Visconti family, who created a stable state in Milan. This line started with Galeazzo I (1322–1327), Azzone (1329–1339), Giovanni (1339–1354) and Archbishop of Milan starting in 1342, Luchio (1339–1349), Matteo II (1354–1355), Galeazzo II (1354–1378), and ended with Barnabó (1354–1385), who was the father of Lucia.^[5]

These strong rulers demonstrated several noteworthy accomplishments. Galeazzo I was excommunicated in 1323, and went on to defeat a Papal army at Vaprio in 1324, but soon afterwards he was imprisoned by Emperor Louis IV.^[6] His successor, Azzone, fortified the Visconti state by buying the title of the vicariate, and by murdering his uncle and rival Marco. The Visconti state now expanded to include the cities of Como, Bergamo, Crema, Cremona, Pavia, Piacenza, Novara, and Vercelli. Luchio went on to accqire the city of Parma, and the dependency of the city of Pisa.^[7] He also made peace with the church, as there was still tension from Galeazzo’s conflict with the Papal army. In agreement with Pope Benedict XII, by 1341 all sentences of excommunication had been eradicated, and in return the Viscontis would obey and acknowledge Papal power over them.^[8] Giovanni proceeded to acquire the cities of Bobbio, Tortona, and Asti, and also gained the position of Lord of Genoa, and eventually he captured Bologna against the church in 1350.^[9] The next ruler, the oppressive and harsh ruler Barnabó ended this streak of powerful rulers. During his time in power, he near constantly was a war with the church, notably with Popes Innocent VI and Urban V, who led a crusade against him in an attempt to quell him.^[10] Charles IV even rescinded the imperial vicariate that the Visconti’s held in 1372, and as Pope Gregory XI got ready to fight the Visconti, it was imperative that peace was made.^[11] He was eventually murdered, and left several children including Lucia behind. Barnabó was known to be a very harsh and cruel in his rule, and was not a popular ruler due to his policies such as heavy taxation for fighting wars.^[12] The family rose to princely status in 1395 when the family, namely Giovanni Galeazzo, received the Emperor Wenceslas’s ducal title, and was now recognized as the Duke of Milan.^[13]

However, at the turn of the 15th Century, there were a series of political crises, starting with the ruler Giovanni Maria (1402-1412), who was eventually assassinated. These issues eventually waned when Giovanni’s brother, Filippo Maria (1412-1447) took the throne, and he again began to build on the achievements of the Visconti family. Following Filippo’s reign, there was a short republican era from 1447 to 1450, and Francesco Sforza reasserted the Visconti government.^[14] The Visconti’s depended on a mercenary army, and with this power they dominated Lombardy, suppressing the local rulers there, and advancing as far as Venetian territory, and also even invading parts of the area of Genoa.^[15]

The Visconti family gained effective control of the institutions of the Lombardy during their time in power, and their power extended into many realms besides that of politics. During the Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism, when the Papacy was weakened by internal struggles, the Visconti family was able to control several important religious positions in the city of Milan, especially the position of the Archbishop of Milan.^[16] The Visconti family also paid a lot of attention to moral and cultural conditions of the clergy and of society. Ottone, the first Visconti signore in 1277, founded a school of theology adjacent to a cathedral, and Galeazzo II founded a university in Pisa after he came to acquire lordship there, and even Petrarch visited the university that he had established.^[17] The family as a whole founded and funded many churches, they donated to hospitals and supported mendicant orders, such as the Dominicans and the Franciscans, and they also created public works in efforts to stimulate the economy.

Visconti women

The long line of Visconti had many notable female figures, including Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France. Many of the Visconti women became wives of powerful men, and as such, had some power for themselves as well. Bernabo Visconti had united himself, through the consequences of his aggressive marriage policy, to some of the most powerful houses in Europe.^[18] He had married his daughters into the ruling houses of Austria, Bavaria and Wurtemburg, and of Cyprus and Mantua, as well as in England. A Wittelsbach alliance was so desirable that Bernabo Visconti married four of his children into that house.^[19] Two of Lucia’s sisters, Elisabetta and Maddalena were married into the House of Bavaria, with Elisabetta marrying Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Maddalena to the Duke’s uncle, Frederick, Duke of Bavaria.^[20]

Lucia’s cousin Valentina, Duchess of Orleans, was very well known for her manner and grace.^[21] Her marriage contract with Louis, Duke of Orleans, stipulated that upon termination of the male line of the Visconti, the Duchy of Milan would come to the future heirs of Valentina and Louis.^[22] Her father, Gian Galeazzo, caved to the immense pressures of the politics of the court, such was the way it went for the daughter of a royal.^[23]

Caterina Visconti, Lucia’s older sister, was the wife of Gian Galeazzo and may have been much like both of her parents, domineering and haughty.^[24] She occasionally went hunting and saw to the interests of her younger and unmarried sisters. Gian Galeazzo would often consult her in those matters.^[25]

Taddea Visconti, the eldest child of Bernabo and Beatrice Regina della Scala, was the first wife of Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria and the mother of the French Queen Isabeau of Bavaria.^[26] Taddea and Maddalena both brought a dowry of 100,000 ducats into the marriage.^[27] Stephen III was reckless and brazen, which made him well suited to marry a Visconti daughter.^[28]

Isabeau, at the age of fourteen, became queen at the most renowned court in Europe in the age.^[29] Lucia’s niece was thrust right into the political dealings at court due to Gian Galeazzo’s murder of Bernabo. It had divided the Visconti branches, embroiling the family in a crisis.^[30] Gian Galeazzo saw Isabeau to be a threat by and as such married off his daughter Valentina to the Duke of Orleans in 1389.^[31] It is suggested that her ties to her immediate Visconti family were strong and was a prominent figure in the Armagnac-Burgundian feud.^[32]

Lucia’s marriage was one of ten marriages whose purpose was to extend the Visconti influence throughout Europe.^[33] Though Bernabo’s aim was to target mostly continental powers, the family did have some contact with England. Lucia’s cousin Violante married the Duke of Clarence, her sister Caterina was in negotiations with Richard II in the late 1370s and another sister, Donnina married John Hawkwood, who was an English mercenary and who had been serving the Visconti family for some time.^[34] Donnina was forceful, much like her father and many of the Visconti women.^[35] She too entered her marriage with a substantial dowry and diligently managed both her and her husband’s affairs. After Hawkwood died, Donnina moved to England to regain the legacy he had left there.^[36]

Lucia’s father’s active promotion in 1382-84 to marry Louis II of Anjou was intended to have her installed as the Queen of Sicily.^[37] After the death of her father in 1385, however, her marriage contract and negotiations were then organized by her cousin, Gian Galeazzo. Lucia was then to marry Edmund Holland, and spend the rest of her life as Countess of Kent in England.

Lucia Visconti's singlehood

Before her move to England, Lucia’s cousin, Duke Galeazzo decided to give a donation to Lucia by titling her a noblewoman or Countess of Melzo and by presenting her with a coat of arms.^[38] By giving Lucia this title, Galeazzo was in fact defying conventional laws. Lucia was not permitted this title not only because she was a woman, but also because Galeazzo did not possess the rights to make such distinctions.^[39] Despite the effort to reverse this title, Lucia remained a noblewoman throughout the remainder of her life and was highly respected by officials.^[40]

Courtship and marriage

Lucia Visconti and Louis II Anjou

Between 1382 and 1384, Bernabo Visconti (Lucia Visconti’s father) actively sought marriage negotiations with Louis II Anjou, the future King of Naples (ruling from 1389 - 1399) and Duke of Anjou (from 1384 until his death in 1417). A marriage would have cemented Lucia Visconti’s place on the throne, as future Queen of Sicily. Bernabo remained in close contact with Marie of Blois attempting to come to terms on a marriage contract. Both Bernabo Visconti and Marie of Blois would come to terms of a marriage agreement between Lucia and Louis II Anjou ^[41] At the time, there was civil unrest in the Visconti family. Gian Galeazzo Visconti saw the marriage of Lucia to Louis II Anjou as a threat - and an alliance which would enhance Bernabo’s position in the family.^[42] In the Spring of 1385, Bernabo Visconti was taken prisoner by his nephew. The marriage contract between Louis II Anjou and Lucia Visconti was never to be carried out. Bernabo Visconti would remain in captivity until his death in winter 1385. With the death of her father, Gian Galeazzo Visconti had the authority to determine whom Lucia was to wed.

Lucia Visconti and John of Gorlitz

When the marriage negotiations of Lucia Visconti to Louis II Anjou fell through, Gian Galeazzo sought an allegiance with the son of Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor. Gian Galeazzo offered Lucia Visconti in marriage to John of Gorlitz in 1385. Sources are incomplete for this marriage contract and do not convey why it fell through. In 1388 John of Gorlitz was wed to Richardis Catherine of Mackelberg.

Lucia Visconti and King Henry IV

Year 1399: “... if she could be sure of having Henry, she would wait for him to the very end of her life, if she knew that she would die three days after the marriage.^[43]

The most notable potential suitor lined up for Lucia Visconti by Gian Galeazzo Visconti was Henry, the Duke of Lancaster; the future King Henry IV of England. However, for Gian Galeazzo, political security came first and foremost. Author Helen Bradley asserts that “Gian Galeazzo insisted that Henry must be back in favour first...” ^[44] According to Helen Bradley, Lucia Visconti could not be certain that a marriage between herself and Henry would ever come to fruition. In 1399, Henry Bolingbroke (Henry of Lancaster and future King Henry IV) was banished to France for ten years by King Richard II and had his lands taken.^[45] However, within the same year, Henry returned with an army, supplied by the King of France and overthrew King Richard II.^[46] Unfortunately, the two would never wed. On September 30, 1399 Henry, Duke of Lancaster rose to the throne and was crowned King Henry IV of England (reigning from 1399 to 1413).^[47] While the two never wed, Henry IV remained a pivotal figure in Lucia Visconti’s life. It was Henry IV whom arranged for Edmund of Holland’s marriage to Lucia. Henry was also the one whom gave Lucia away at the wedding ceremony.

Lucia Visconti weds Edmund of Holland

In 1402 Gian Galeazzo Visconti died and Lucia Visconti was no longer required to fulfill any pre-arranged martial agreements. According to Helen Bradley, “Lucia gained an annulment on the grounds of duress” (Bradley, Lucia, 78). For the majority of her life, Lucia Visconti had been a pawn in her families attempts to strengthen alliances and build upon their family position. With the death of both her father and her cousin, it was Henry IV whom was to arrange Lucia Visconti’s first and only marriage to a suitor who had the kings full support. The term chivalrous can be best used to describe Edmund of Holland. He had won great favour and respect from the English king in important battles - for example, at Shrewsberry in 1403. In 1405, Edmund of Holland had defended King Henry IV’s son in battle which helped solidify his exemplary prominence. As reported by Bradley, “Edmund was in such favour with King Henry, that he had not on[ly] advanced him to high offices and great honours, but also to his great costs and charges obtained for him the lady Luci” (Ibid., 78). In May of 1406 a marriage contract was drawn up for Lucia Visconti and Edmund of Holland, the earl of Kent. Editor Allen B Hinds reports that the details of the marriage contract included a dowry of 70,000 florins of which 12,000 were to be paid on consummation of the marriage.^[48] On January 24, 1407 Lucia Visconti and Edmund of Holland were married at St. Mary Overy in Southwark. The record of their marriage was reported in Sir Nicholas Harris’ A Chronicle of London, 1089 - 1483.^[49] At the wedding ceremony, it was King Henry IV whom gave Lucia Visconti away. However, the marriage between the newlywed couple was off to a rocky start. To preface, in 1406 Edmund of Holland had an affair with Constance of York. The year in which Edmund of Holland and Lucia Visconti solidified their marriage agreement, Constance of York gave birth to Edmund’s illegitimate daughter, Eleanor of Holland. Unfortunately sources can not convey how Lucia Visconti felt about her husbands adultery and his illegitimate child. Furthermore, as asserted by Helen Bradley, “[n]othing definite is known of the relationship between [Lucia and Edmund] (Ibid., 79). What is certain is that their marriage produced no children. Lastly, the marriage between Lucia and Edmund was short lived. In September 1408, Edmund was killed in Brittany. Lucia Visconti’s first successful marriage was also her last. After the death of Edmund of Holland she would not remarry.

Conclusion to marriage and courtship

Lucia Visconti’s courtship and marriage may best be understood as a tragedy. Her marriage to her late husband, Edmund of Holland was not built on a foundation of love, or respect (given Edmund’s offense of fidelity). Lucia Visconti never rose to the status achieved by her sisters - for example - Isabeu of Bavaria (Queen Consort of King Charles VI of France). A series of unfortunate events halted Lucia from rising above her status. In the end, it was the man whom she most desired and loved that gave her away at the altar. It is worth mentioning that in piecing together Lucia Visconti’s life that the sources we must rely on are predominantly sources not written by Lucia Visconti herself. There exist no written records of her opinions on the various marriage contracts and proposals sought by Bernabo Visconti and Gian Galeazzo Visconti. There exists only a brief remark on her opinion of Henry IV: Year 1399: “... if she could be sure of having Henry, she would wait for him to the very end of her life, if she knew that she would die three days after the marriage.^[50] How these events shaped and impacted Lucia Visconti’s life are left to speculation.

Lucia Visconti’s widowhood

An “independent” widow

After her husband Edmund died in 1408, Lucia Visconti was left alone with no children and was forced to make some crucial decisions. Unlike regular widows of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Lucia was not made to return to her families home, but was rather able to make a life out of what she had. More specifically, she used her title as the Countess of Kent to her benefit. Since her husband left her with little money, she was to deal with his major debt. She decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps by planning to approach King Henry for financial aid.^[51] King Henry, who took a liking to Lucia Visconti, granted her one third of the income of her late husband’s land.^[52] Visconti was adamant to be rid of the debt Edmund had left her. While neither her, nor her family ever ended up paying for her dowry, Lucia was granted an English pension.^[53]

Lucia's stay at Holy Trinity Minories

As a result of her husband’s political downfall, Lucia Visconti eventually found herself somewhat immobilized and ashamed.^[54] Thirteen years after her husband died, Lucia was residing at the medieval Holy Trinity Minories.^[55] There is speculation that Lucia lived in a townhouse built in 1352 by Elizabeth de Burgh.^[56] More importantly, the women living in Elizabeth de Burgh’s countryside homes would have faced a shameful experience with regards to politics and finances, and therefore, would reside in the remote Holy Trinity Minories. ^[57] The Holy Trinity Minories was similar to a nunnery but was also known as a place where women and widows of high status and money would live together. Lucia included some of the Minoresses from Holy Trinity in her will, stating that silverware and expensive textiles be given to them.^[58] Here, she lived a comfortable and well-kept life.^[59]

Lucia Visconti’s death and will

Lucia died in 1424 and was buried in Austin Friars in London, England. Her relationship with her personal steward and lady in waiting are emphasized through her death. Considering her high status and infamous nature, she received a noble burial consisting of beautiful textiles and cloth materials. She requested this from her lady in waiting, Antonia de Arengo.^[60] It is noted that her epitaph reminds the people of England about her beauty, good qualities and charismatic personality. Furthermore, the epitaph notes her birthplace of Milan and touches on her Lucia’s sisters and nieces.^[61] More importantly, it was especially unusual and somewhat frowned upon, for the lack of mention about her marriage with her late husband, Edmund.^[62] Below is a late sixteenth century version of her epitaph, most of which contains non-sensible translation and text.^[63]

Magnificently suited, Bernabonis beholds Lucia
Milan’s brilliant master’s offspring
O Cyprus’s were themselves, sisters’s princess
Sunday mass conducted, including Milan, Padova
Wertinbergis and Countess of Mantua
Lady prodigns niece was the queen
France was the great-granddaughter of Queen proclaim
England, with its reputation as the world wanted
Virtues of character and charm of the intended form
What do such honor, what worldly pleasures now
The defense of the profit only to him, since he is neither Veleaule.^[1]

1. ^ Caroline M. Barron and Anne F. Sutton, eds., “Lucia Visconti, Countess of Kent (d.1424).” in Medieval London Wives 1300-1500 (London: The Hambledon Press, 1994), Accessed March 3, 2015, https://books.google.ca/books?id=uc3RLXFANoMC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77.

In her will, Lucia asked for both her lady and steward to be taken care of, financially. In doing so, she also requested that her steward, Nicholas De Aliardis, travel to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage.^[64] This pilgrimage was asked for her steward and a few other close friends to pray for the death of her and her late husband. Unlike many widows, Lucia was able to make such requests because of her great status and well-known relatives and friends.^[65]

Legacy

Due to her position, Lucia passed her title on to English noblemen and in addition, left a great deal of money to these newly titled lords as a means of maintaining her status well after she was deceased. Not only were the lords granted these funds, but Lucia also left approximately eight thousand marks as charity for a number of religious institutions.^[66] She made this money accessible with one condition. In her will, Lucia asked that by accepting part of her estate, that religious churches and institutions pray for her and her loved ones.^[67] The churches followed her request and included Edmund and Lucia into their masses, as they usually did at the time. They did so by singing certain psalms and playing certain music as a tribute to the deceased couple.^[68]

References