THE MOROSINIS IN HUNGARY UNDER KING ANDREW III AND THE TWO VERSIONS OF THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF HUNGARY TOMMASINA

The youngest son of King Andrew II, Stephen lived in exile in Venice, where he married a local noble woman Tommasina Morosini and had a son Andrew with her. After Stephen’s death, Andrew was brought up by his uncle Albertino. Meanwhile in the Kingdom of Hungary the direct line of the House of Arpad died out. Andrew’s candidacy succeeded with the support of the domestic clergy. His succession was opposed by Ladislav’s sister, Maria wife of King Charles II of Naples from the House of Anjou. Aristocrats in the southern part of the kingdom formed the domestic opposition. Andrew was supported by his mother Tommasina and uncle Albertino from Venice. After ten years Andrew III had the situation firmly in his hands thanks to the support of the lesser nobility, but on 14th January 1301 he suddenly died. The official historiography based on the Austrian chronicle of Ottokar von Horneck holds the view that Tommasina already died before him. However, according to a less well-known version of the chronicle of Donato Contarini, she died in her native Venice a few years after her son Andrew.