An Apulian adventurer from Monopoli who, on the usual account, took over Margaritus of Brindisi's island lordship after the admiral's fall in December 1194 and held it, under shifting overlords (Sicily, then the pope in 1207, perhaps Venice in 1209, later Achaea in 1236), until after 1238.
On 1 January 1200 he holds, if the usual account is right, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca as a Latin count acknowledging the Sicilian crown.
Who he is
- Name
- Matthew (Maio), 'de Cefalonia', of Monopoli in Apulia (called Orsini only by later historians)
- Title
- Count (comes) of Kefalonia
- Since
- Not pinned (about 1194-1195 on the usual account; as late as 1206 on Kiesewetter's)
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Apulian of Monopoli (Breve chronicon de rebus Siculis). Wife: the local Byzantine governor's daughter (Aragonese Chronicle of the Morea) or Margaritus's daughter (Hopf, Miller); not pinned. He marries a sister of Theodore Komnenos Doukas only in 1227 (later). No child known by 1200.
- Confidence
- low
See Kefalonia. He dies after January 1238, when Gregory IX writes to him.
Overlord
The king of Sicily (nominal; the boy Frederick under papal wardship).
What it holds
- Kefalonia and the castle of St George
- Zakynthos and its castle
- Ithaca
How it was acquired
Succession to Margaritus by unknown means after 29 December 1194 (usual account).
Allies and rivals
As Kefalonia: the empire's rival; neighbour of the corsair of Corfu; tied to Apulia.
How things stand that morning
Holds the three islands, if the usual dating is right (low confidence). Across the water: Byzantine Lefkada, Acarnania and the western Peloponnese; Corfu contested.
Wealth
Island farms, the sea road and the profits of the sea, including piracy (Benedict of Peterborough's report of 1191, via Miller).
Military
Castles of St George and Zakynthos; ships. No numbers.
Threats
- The empire's claim
- Venice
- Rival Latin adventurers
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1207 (beyond 1200)Submits himself and his lands to Innocent III.Depends on: The fall of Constantinople and the Venetian claim to the islands Stopped by: A surviving empire
Where the sources disagree
- Accession date not pinned: 1194/1195 (usual), 1197 (Hopf, for Richard Orsini), by 1206 (Kiesewetter). See Kefalonia.
Evidence: No document of his before 1207.
On the map: Drawn as the whole county; his tenure on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Sources and studies
- County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos (en.wikipedia)
- Matthew Orsini (en.wikipedia), citing Kiesewetter 2006, Miller 1908, Setton 1976, the Breve chronicon de rebus Siculis and the Aragonese Chronicle of the Morea
- Margaritus of Brindisi (en.wikipedia), with Roger of Howden on the 'duchy of Durazzo'
- W. Miller, The Latins in the Levant (1908), chapter I
- Contea palatina di Cefalonia e Zante (it.wikipedia, after Hopf)
- Kefalonia (en.wikipedia)
- Ionian Islands under Venetian rule (en.wikipedia)
- Duchy of Durazzo (en.wikipedia, disambiguation: Howden's name for the county)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.