Marozia
Marozia also known as
Mariuccia, given the unprecedented titles
senatrix ("senatoress") and
patricia of
Rome by
Pope John X, was born about
890, and died, imprisoned by her son
Alberic II,
duke of Spoleto, between
932 and
937. She was the daughter of the Roman consul
Theophylact, Count of Tusculum and of
Theodora, the real power in Rome, whom
Liutprand characterized as a "shameless whore...[who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man."
Edward Gibbon â€" though confusing Theodora (the mother of Marozia) with Theodora (the sister of Marozia) â€" wrote memorably of her that the "influence of two sister prostitutes, Marozia and Theodora, was founded on their wealth and beauty, their political and amorous intrigues. The most strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the Roman mitre, and their reign may have suggested to darker ages the legend of a
female pope. The
bastard son, the grandson, and the great grandson of Marozia â€" a rare genealogy â€" were seated in the
Chair of St. Peter." From this inaccurate description the term
pornocracy has become associated with the effective rule in Rome of Theodora and her daughter Marozia through male surrogates.
The alleged mistress of
Pope Sergius III, her first husband was
Alberic I, duke of Spoleto (died
926). In order to counter the influence of
Pope John X (who Liutprand alleges was another of her lovers) she married
Guy of Tuscany, who loved his beautiful wife as much as he loved power. Together they attacked Rome, arrested
Pope John X, and jailed him in the
Castel Sant'Angelo. Guy had him smothered with a pillow in
928, and Marozia seized power in Rome in a
coup d'état.
When her husband died in
929, Marozia negotiated a marriage with his half-brother,
Hugh of Arles, who had been elected
King of Italy. Hugh was already married, but Marozia's son
Pope John XI annulled that marriage so Hugh and Marozia could be wed.
Alberic II, Marozia's son, led the opposition to the rule of Marozia and Hugh. After deposing them in
932, at the very wedding ceremonies, Alberic II imprisoned his mother until her death. Hugh escaped the city.
Marozia had the great misfortune of having eloquent detractors. The
Liber Pontificalis recorded that by
Pope Sergius III she was mother of
Pope John XI, whose pontificate marked the complete supremacy in Rome of the house of
Theophylactus. From Pope John X she received the extraordinary titles of
senatrix and
patricia, yet she had him assassinated in 928.
By her first husband, Alberic I, she was mother of
Alberic II of Spoleto, Prince of the Romans, who appointed four popes in the years
932 to
954, and who in his turn was father of Octavian, who became
Pope John XII in
955. Popes
Benedict VIII,
John XIX, and
Benedict IX, of the House of Tusculani, were also her descendants. By Guy of Tuscany she had a daughter named
Berta Theodora, who never married.
Marozia died in prison, sometime between 932 and 937.
Williams, George.
Papal genealogy, the families and descendants of the popes, 1998.Chamberlin, E.R.
The Bad Popes, 1969.
*http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_marozia.htm
*http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831924.html
