
The ''Giudicati'' of Sardinia.
'Comita II' or 'III' (died
1147) was the ''
giudice'' of the
Giudicato of Arborea, from
1131 until his death. He was the son of
Gonario, first ruler of Arborea of the Lacon dynasty, and Elena de Orrubu.
[1] The dating and chronology of his reign are obscure.
Comita succeeded his elder brother
Constantine I, who died heirless. The date of this succession is assumed to be 1131, when he first appears in a communication with the
Republic of Genoa. In
1130, Constantine,
Gonario II of Torres, and
Comita I of Gallura had sworn fealty to the
archbishop of Pisa. In
1133,
Pope Innocent II raised Genoa to archiepiscopal status and divided the island of
Sardinia between the two sees, giving the north to Genoa and the south to Pisa. In the subsequent wars of that decade, Comita was the sole ally of the Genoese.
From 1133 to
1145, there is a gap in the testimony referring to Comita and it is possible that his brother
Torbeno successfully usurped his throne during a war with the
Giudicato of Logudoro. In 1145, Comita was back in power and was excommunicated by
Baldwin, Archbishop of Pisa. The Pisan prelate, travelling the island as a
papal legate, had excommunicated the judge for oppressing the people and warring against Pisa, his righfult sovereign.
Bernard of Clairvaux even weighed into island politics and sent a letter to
Pope Eugene III to justify Baldwin's actions. Nominally Arborea was transferred to Logudoro. Comita died soon after.
Notes
1. According to the ''Condaghe di Santa Maria di Bonarcado'', he was the son of Constantine I and Anna de Zori.
Sources
★ Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: XXVII Collenuccio – Confortini''.
Rome,
1982.
★ Scano, D. "Serie cronol. dei giudici sardi." ''Arch. stor. sardo.'' 1939.
★ Besta, E. and Somi, A. ''I condaghi di San Nicolas di Trullas e di Santa Maria di Bonarcado''. Milan, 1937.