Valdrada of Sicily

Valdrada of Sicily (died c. 1252) was a Sicilian princess and the Dogaressa of Venice by her marriage to Doge Jacopo Tiepolo (r. 1229–1249).

Born at the very latest in 1194, Valdrada was the youngest child of King Tancred of Sicily and Sibylla of Acerra. She married the Doge in 1242, two years after the death of his former dogaressa Maria Storlato. Valdrada has been described as dominant and forceful, and is said to have had a great deal of control over her husband and the affairs of Venice. Following Jacopo's resignation in early 1249, she lived with him at his private residence at Sant' Agostino, in San Polo. He died on 19 July 1249. She is said to have died three years later. It is stated by Edgcumbe Staley in The Dogaressas of Venice that Valdrada had two young children. The accuracy of this statement is questionable, as at the time of her marriage to the Doge she was already well into her forties, and perhaps beyond the years of child-bearing.

Notes

Not listed as a daughter of Tancred at http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SICILY.htm#Tancreddied1194B

References

• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilla_di_Medania listed with ??
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdrada_of_Sicily
• Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges, London : T. W. Laurie, 1910. Page 97 Archive.Org

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- http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SICILY.htm#dauTancredBetArthurBrittany

3. [--- of Sicily . Benedict of Peterborough records the betrothal in 1190 of "Arturum ducem Britanniæ" and "unam de filiabus regis Tancredi"[633]. It is not known which of Tancred's daughters was betrothed to Arthur of Brittany, presumably one of the daughters named below, probably the oldest considering the prominent position of the future bridegroom. The betrothal was arranged as part of the treaty signed between Richard I King of England and Tancred King of Sicily, concerning the inheritance of Tancred's predecessor Guillaume II King of Sicily whose widow was King Richard's sister[634]. The agreement between “Tancredo...Regi Siciliæ” and “Ricardus...Rex Angliæ...”, dated 1190, includes the betrothal of “Arthurum...ducem Britanniæ...nepotem nostrum et hæredem si forte sin prole nos obire contigerit” and “filiam vestram” [referring to King Tancred][635].

Betrothed (11 Nov 1190) to ARTHUR I Duke of Brittany, son of GEOFFREY of England Duke of Brittany & his wife Constance Dss of Brittany (posthumously Nantes 29 Mar 1187-murdered Rouen or Cherbourg 3 Apr 1203, bur Notre Dame des Prés, Rouen or Abbaye de Bec, Normandy).]