Maria Follia
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Maria Follia | |
|---|---|
| Died | after 1358 |
| Noble family | House of Drugeth (by marriage) |
| Spouse(s) | William Drugeth |
| Issue | daughters |
Maria Follia (died after 1358) was a Hungarian noblewoman of Italian origin in the 14th century, the wife of William Drugeth, Palatine of Hungary. She was a lady-in-waiting in the court of Elizabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary.
Similarly to the Drugeth family, Maria Follia (also Folia, Folya or Feulie) originated from a Neapolitan noble family of Ultramontane (French or Provençal) origin, who arrived to the Italian peninsula with Charles I of Anjou in 1266. According to Serbian historian Đura Hardi, two noble families with the surname Follia lived in San Severino in the 1320s, but her family connections beyond this are completely unknown.[1] A certain knight Ernulfus de la Folia was mentioned in 1283, while another lord, Everaldus Follia, and his son Guillelmus de San Severino and a knight Geraldus de Follia were called on to fight by Robert, King of Naples in 1324 in the war against the Kingdom of Aragon, who had seized Sicily from the Angevins. Hardi argues Maria's father or brothers should be sought among the aforementioned noblemen and this implies that her social status was equal to the Drugeth family.[2]
Marriage to William Drugeth
Maria Follia is first appeared in contemporary records on 9 August 1330, when her husband William Drugeth drafted his last will and testament in Sáros Castle, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Šariš, Slovakia), because he prepared for war against the Teutonic Order. The date of wedding of William and Maria is unknown; it is plausible it occurred, when William's father, John I Drugeth and his family served in the court of the former French queen Clementia, where the young William functioned as the queen's shield bearer and squire.[2] Based on this, it is possible that Maria Follia was also a member of the household of Clementia in Paris and Aix-en-Provence. It seems probable that she arrived to Hungary along with William in the middle of 1327.[3] William's last will in 1330 referred to her as "demoiselle" (Latin: domicella), consequently their wedding occurred shortly before that.[4]
John Drugeth and his family – including the eldest son William – were invited from Naples to Hungary by King Charles I in order to inherit the wealth and power of Philip Drugeth (John's younger brother), who lived in Hungary for decades as the king's most loyal comrade-in-arms, and by the time of his death (June or July 1327) he had risen to be one of the most influential barons. While John succeeded his brother as Palatine of Hungary, William, who was in his twenties, inherited his late uncle's wealth and large-scale province in Northeast Hungary, instantly becoming the richest and most powerful magnate in the Kingdom of Hungary.[5]
In addition to 1000 marks of fine silver, William Drugeth bequeathed to his wife ten large vessels of silver, twelve silver cups with one handle, three silver jugs with a long neck and one large, two smaller and four those for pouring water. Also one golden crown decorated with precious stones in the value of 100 marks of fine silver, eight small salt shakers, ten spoons of silver, ten deep red fabrics with gold plated threads, nineteen deep red silk fabrics, three silver belts, two larger and one smaller, and other jewelry which was taken to the castle of Gönc for safekeeping. Beside that, Maria Follia was to inherit also a large gilded cross decorated with precious stones that are kept in Szepes Castle (Spiš, Slovakia).[6] Historians Ágnes Kurcz and Đura Hardi argued, these items do not just reveal the wealth of the Drugeth family, but also show their sense of refinement and the quality of life, which distinguished them from the other noble families in Hungary. Hardi considered Maria Follia in her look and appearance was a role model in terms of aristocratic fashion and culture of daily life for many ladies and courtiers at the royal court in Visegrád.[7]