Nonna Strega
Aug. 2nd, 2009 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat1138Currently bouncing off another attempt to appreciate John M. Ford's The Dragon Waiting, and am heading into a tangent to chase down one cryptic reference that still baffles the book's fan concordance:
Apparently Federigo also suffered from a bout of malaria in 1453 that endangered his other eye.
RL info-- (assuming 1450/1453 as the dates in question)
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (1472–1508)
<- (father) Federico III da Montefeltro (1422–1482)
<-- (paternal grandfather) Guidantonio da Montefeltro (1377-1443)
1.a.) <--- (paternal grandmother; illegitimate) Elisabetta degli Accomandugi ("very young" when giving birth; dates?)
1.b.) <--- (paternal step-grandmother #1) Rengarda Malatesta (died 1423; Guidantonio's first wife, predating Federico's birth (she was already gravely ill by then); Elisabetta was one of her ladies-in-waiting)
1.c.) <--- (paternal step-grandmother #2) Caterina Colonna (married 1424, died 1438; had Federico exiled for most of her marriage in case she gave birth to legitimate heirs to displace him)
<- (mother) Battista Sforza (1446–1472; married 1457 as Federico's second wife)
<-- (maternal grandfather) Alessandro Sforza (1409-1473)
2.a.) <--- (maternal grandmother) Costanza da Varano (1428-1447; Alessandro's first wife)
2.b.) <--- (maternal step-grandmother) Sveva da Montefeltro (1434-1478; Alessandro's second wife and Federico's half-sister via Caterina Colonna-- married in 1448, put away into a convent in 1458, elected abbess in 1475, beatified(!) in 1754 as the Blessed Seraphina Sforza)
2.c.?)<--- (Alessandro also had an illegitimate daughter, Ginevra, by another woman whose name I can't find at the mo)
<- (proto-stepmother) Gentile Brancaleoni (Federico's first wife; married 1437, died 1457)
<-- (proto-maternal grandfather) Bartolomeo Brancaleoni (died before Gentile's marriage)
3.) <--- (proto-maternal grandmother) Giovanna Alidosi (died 1440?)
Neither of Federico's stepmothers seem likely, due to death dates and general attitude-- even if the critical injury took place during Caterina Colonna's lifetime, she seems unlikely to've tended him. There's not enough info about his real mother to suggest anything in particular; ditto for most of his semi-mothers-in-law candidates except for Sveva (2.b.), who has the dual points of having been married to his father-in-law in the 1450-1453 period *and* later being beatified. So I think that must be her.
p94:"My son thought you were a witch. Are you?"This passage is suggestive, but I can find no clear interpretation.
"No, my lord."
"But you know the power of the crocus." [Federigo] pointed to Cynthia's pendant. "Guidobaldo doesn't know it, but his grandmother was a witch. She healed me with the crocus..."
Colchicine is associated with curing gout, and little else (see p67). In medieval times, crocus or saffron was used for many diseases, such as measles. However, this may merely have been the "if it's expensive, it must be good for you" theory of medicine.
Federigo da Montefeltro suffered a serious sword wound in 1450, which cost him an eye (see p93). I can find no other historical reference to a condition which might have required healing.
Apparently Federigo also suffered from a bout of malaria in 1453 that endangered his other eye.
RL info-- (assuming 1450/1453 as the dates in question)
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (1472–1508)
<- (father) Federico III da Montefeltro (1422–1482)
<-- (paternal grandfather) Guidantonio da Montefeltro (1377-1443)
1.a.) <--- (paternal grandmother; illegitimate) Elisabetta degli Accomandugi ("very young" when giving birth; dates?)
1.b.) <--- (paternal step-grandmother #1) Rengarda Malatesta (died 1423; Guidantonio's first wife, predating Federico's birth (she was already gravely ill by then); Elisabetta was one of her ladies-in-waiting)
1.c.) <--- (paternal step-grandmother #2) Caterina Colonna (married 1424, died 1438; had Federico exiled for most of her marriage in case she gave birth to legitimate heirs to displace him)
<- (mother) Battista Sforza (1446–1472; married 1457 as Federico's second wife)
<-- (maternal grandfather) Alessandro Sforza (1409-1473)
2.a.) <--- (maternal grandmother) Costanza da Varano (1428-1447; Alessandro's first wife)
2.b.) <--- (maternal step-grandmother) Sveva da Montefeltro (1434-1478; Alessandro's second wife and Federico's half-sister via Caterina Colonna-- married in 1448, put away into a convent in 1458, elected abbess in 1475, beatified(!) in 1754 as the Blessed Seraphina Sforza)
2.c.?)<--- (Alessandro also had an illegitimate daughter, Ginevra, by another woman whose name I can't find at the mo)
<- (proto-stepmother) Gentile Brancaleoni (Federico's first wife; married 1437, died 1457)
<-- (proto-maternal grandfather) Bartolomeo Brancaleoni (died before Gentile's marriage)
3.) <--- (proto-maternal grandmother) Giovanna Alidosi (died 1440?)
Neither of Federico's stepmothers seem likely, due to death dates and general attitude-- even if the critical injury took place during Caterina Colonna's lifetime, she seems unlikely to've tended him. There's not enough info about his real mother to suggest anything in particular; ditto for most of his semi-mothers-in-law candidates except for Sveva (2.b.), who has the dual points of having been married to his father-in-law in the 1450-1453 period *and* later being beatified. So I think that must be her.