Clementia of Catanzaro
Clementia of Catanzaro (fl. 1145–1179/81) was the ruling countess of Catanzaro in the Kingdom of Sicily. She became countess by 1158 while still a child, with her mother Segelgarda acting as regent until 1167. She played a major role in the baronial rebellion of 1160–1162.
Her father was Count Raymond of Catanzaro, who had succeeded his elder brother Geoffrey before 1145. The earliest record of Clementia comes from a charter by her paternal grandmother Bertha.
In 1160 a conspiracy led by Count Robert III of Loritello planned to kill the admiral Maio of Bari and offered Clementia’s hand in marriage to Matthew Bonnellus, who carried out the assassination on November 10, 1160, though he never married Clementia.
When King William I crossed from Sicily to Calabria in spring 1161, Clementia resisted from the castle of Taverna for about a year but surrendered in April 1162. Her relatives Thomas and Alfred supported her and were harshly punished. Clementia and her mother were imprisoned in Messina and later in Palermo.
She married Hugh Lupin the Elder around 1167 (certain by 1168). Clementia is last mentioned in a papal order of Pope Alexander III (dated 1179–1181) placing the hospital of Buonalbergo, built by Berard, lord of Pietrabbondante, under Holy See protection at her request. Her exact death date is unknown.
Hugh Lupin the Elder was alive in 1190, but by 1195 their eldest son had become count. Clementia and Hugh had twin sons: Hugh Lupin the Younger, who became Count of Catanzaro, and Jordan Lupin, who led a rebellion in Sicily in 1197.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:42 (CET).