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| Marozia | |
|---|---|
| Senatrix and Patricia of Rome | |
 Fictive portrait of Marozia from the 19th century | |
| Born | Maria c. 890 Rome,Papal States |
| Died | 937 Rome, Papal States |
| Spouse | Alberic I of Spoleto Guy, Margrave of Tuscany Hugh of Italy |
| Issue | Pope John XI Alberic II of Spoleto David Berta Theodora |
| Father | Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum |
| Mother | Theodora |
Marozia, bornMaria and also known asMariuccia orMariozza (c. 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress ofPope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titlessenatrix ("senatoress") andpatricia ofRome byPope John X.
Edward Gibbon wrote of her that the "influence of two sisterprostitutes, Marozia and Theodora[1] was founded on their wealth and beauty, their political and amorous intrigues: the most strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the Romantiara, and their reign may have suggested to darker ages the fable of afemale pope. Thebastard son, two grandsons, two great grandsons, and one great great grandson of Marozia—a rare genealogy—were seated in theChair of St. Peter."Pope John XIII was her nephew, the offspring of her younger sister Theodora. From this description, the term "pornocracy" has become associated with the effective rule in Rome of Theodora and her daughter Marozia through male surrogates.
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Marozia was born about 890. She was the daughter of the RomanconsulTheophylact, Count of Tusculum, and ofTheodora, the real power in Rome, whom bishopLiutprand of Cremona characterized as a "shameless whore... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man."
At the age of fifteen, Marozia became the mistress of Theophylact's cousin Pope Sergius III, whom she knew when he was bishop ofPortus. The two had a son, John (the laterPope John XI). That, at least, is the story found in two contemporary sources, theLiber Pontificalis and theAntapodosis sive Res per Europam gestae (958–62), byLiutprand of Cremona (c. 920–72). But a third contemporary source, the annalistFlodoard (c. 894–966), says John XI was brother ofAlberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husbandAlberic I. Hence John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I.
Marozia marriedAlberic I, duke of Spoleto, in 909, and their sonAlberic II was born in 911 or 912. By the time Alberic I was killed at Orte in 924, the Roman landowners had won complete victory over the traditional bureaucracy represented by the papal curia. Rome was virtually under secular control, the historic nadir of the papacy.
In order to counter the influence ofPope John X (whom the hostile chronicler Liutprand of Cremona alleges was another of her lovers), Marozia subsequently married his opponentGuy of Tuscany. Together they attacked Rome, arrested Pope John X in theLateran, and jailed him in theCastel Sant'Angelo. Either Guy had him smothered with a pillow in 928 or he simply died, perhaps from neglect or ill treatment. Marozia seized power in Rome in acoup d'état. The following popes,Leo VI andStephen VII, were both her puppets. In 931 she managed to impose her twenty-one-year-old son as pontiff, under the name ofJohn XI.
Guy died in 929, and Marozia negotiated a marriage with his half-brotherHugh of Arles, theKing of Italy. While in Rome Hugh quarreled with Marozia's son Alberic II, who organized an uprising during the wedding ceremonies in 932. Hugh escaped, but Marozia was captured.
Marozia died after spending some 5 years in prison. Her descendants remained active in papal politics, starting with Alberic II's son Octavian, who becamePope John XII in 955. PopesBenedict VIII,John XIX, andBenedict IX, andantipope Benedict X of theHouse of Tusculani, were also descended from Marozia. By Guy of Tuscany she had a daughter named Berta Theodora, who never married.
| Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum 864–924 | Theodora c. 870–916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hugh of Italy c. 880–947 (also married Marozia) | Alberic I of Spoleto d. 925 | Marozia c. 890–937 | Pope Sergius III c. 860–911 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alda of Vienne | Alberic II of Spoleto 905–954 | David orDeodatus | Pope John XI 910–935 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gregory I, Count of Tusculum | Pope John XII c. 930/937–964 | Pope Benedict VII r. 974–983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Theophylact Pope Benedict VIII r. 1012–1024 | Alberic III, Count of Tusculum d. 1044 | Pope John XIX r. 1024–1032 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gregory II, Count of Tusculum | Peter, Duke of the Romans | Guy/Gaius Count of Tusculum | Octavian Count of Tusculum | Theophylact Pope Benedict IX c. 1012-1056 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gregory III, Count of Tusculum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ptolemy I of Tusculum | Peter de Columna Colonna family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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