Charles I of Sicily
Encyclopedia
Charles I known also as Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily
by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal
grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers
of 1282. Thereafter, he continued to claim the island, though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom, with his capital at Naples
(and for this he is usually titled King of Naples after 1282, as are his successors).
Charles was the youngest son of Louis VIII of France
and Blanche of Castile
, and hence younger brother of Louis IX of France
and Alfonso II of Toulouse. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen
and began to acquire lands in the eastern Mediterranean. However, the War of the Sicilian Vespers
forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire
.
By marriage to Beatrice
, heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence
, he was Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1246. In 1247, his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine, as appanages of the French crown. By conquest and self-proclamation, he became King of Albania
in 1272 and by purchase King of Jerusalem
in 1277. By the testament of William II of Villehardouin
, he inherited the Principality of Achaea
in 1278.
. Like his immediate older brother, Philippe Dagobert (who died in 1232 aged 10) he did not receive a county as appanage
, as had his older brothers. Shortly after the death of Philippe Dagobert, his other brother, John Tristan, Count of Anjou and Maine, also died. Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties, but was formally invested only in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have been bestowed upon his brother Louis; and Louis tended to favour his other younger brothers, Robert of Artois and Alphonse of Toulouse
. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive and ambition he showed in his later life.
. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy
and hence of the Holy Roman Empire
, in practice it was free of central authority. The recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities (three of which, Marseille
, Arles
, and Avignon
were Imperial cities technically separate from the county) had enjoyed great liberties. Charles, in contrast, was disposed towards a rigid administration; he ordered inquests in 1252 and again in 1278 to ascertain his rights Charles broke the traditional powers of the great towns (Nice, Grasse, Marseille, Arles, Avignon) and aroused considerable hostility by his punctilious insistence on enjoying his full rights and fees. In 1247, while Charles had gone to France to receive the Counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility (represented by Barral of Baux
and Boniface of Castellane) joined with Beatrice and the three Imperial cities to form a defensive league against him. Unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade
. For the time being, Charles' only recourse was to compromise with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier and a third of the Provençal usufruct.
Rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career. His rights as landlord were on the whole of recent establishment, but his rights as sovereign entitled him to revenues on the gabelle
s (mainly salt), from alberga (commutation of gîte
) and cavalcata (commutation of the duties of military service) and quista ("aids") (Baratier 1969). From the Church, unlike his brothers in the north, he received virtually nothing.
Charles' agents were efficient, the towns were prosperous, the peasants were buying up the duties of corvée
and establishing self-governing consulats in the villages: Provence flourished.
in 1248, and fought gallantly at Damietta
and during the fighting around Mansourah. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother (Jean de Joinville
relates a tale of Louis catching him gambling on the voyage from Egypt
to Acre) and he returned with his brother Alphonse in May 1250. During his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved with his characteristic energy to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, and Barral of Baux had surrendered to him by June 1251. Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full panoply of comital rights, and acknowledgement of his suzerainity by Marseille.
caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse. While in Paris, he was approached by envoys from Pope Innocent IV
. Innocent was then seeking to detach the Kingdom of Sicily from the Holy Roman Empire (in the person of Conrad IV of Germany
), and offered it to Charles, after his brother-in-law Richard, Earl of Cornwall had declined it. Alphonse, however, was cool to the idea; and King Louis forbade it outright. Balked, Charles took up the cause of Margaret II of Flanders against her son, John I, Count of Hainaut in the War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
. She granted him the County of Hainaut
for his service. King Louis again disapproved, and on his return from Outremer
in 1254 he returned Hainaut to John.
The disappointed Charles returned to Provence, which had become restive again. The mediation of King Louis led to a settlement with Beatrice of Savoy, who returned Forcalquier and relinquished her claims for a cash payment and a pension. Marseille had attempted to involve Pisa
and Alfonso X of Castile
in the quarrel, but they proved unreliable as allies, and a coup by the supporters of Charles resulted in the surrender of the city's political powers. Charles spent the next several years quietly increasing his power over various lordships on the borders of Provence. A final rebellion occurred in 1262, when he was absent in France; Boniface of Castellane rebelled yet again, as did Marseille and Hugh of Baux. However, Barral of Baux now remained loyal to Charles, and Charles quickly returned to scatter the rebels. The mediation of James I of Aragon
brought about a settlement; while Marseille was forced to dismantle its fortifications and surrender its arms, it otherwise went unpunished. Surprisingly, this leniency worked to good effect; hereafter, the Provençals proved staunch supporters of Charles, providing money and troops for his further conquests. Many of them were to be rewarded with high posts in his new dominions.
With the usurpation of the Sicilian throne from Conradin
by Manfred of Sicily
in 1258, the relationship between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen
had changed again. Instead of the boy Conradin, safely sequestered across the Alps
, the Papacy now faced an able military leader in Italy. Accordingly, when negotiations broke down with Manfred in 1262, Pope Urban IV
again took up the scheme of disseising the Hohenstaufen from the Kingdom, and offered the crown to Charles again. Manfred's own usurpation from Conradin told upon King Louis' scruples; this time, he was persuaded to admit the offer, and Charles ratified a treaty with the Pope in July 1263. The terms were heavily in favor of the Pope; the Kingdom must never be re-united with the Empire, and the King was never to hold Imperial or Papal office, or interfere with ecclesiastical matters in the Kingdom. Nevertheless, Charles accepted eagerly. For money, he called for help from the then-omnipotent Sienese banker, Orlando Bonsignori
. Charles' cousin, Henry of Castile lent him forty thousand gold ounces to finance the war against King Manfred. This loan was never repaid. Henry of Castile, angered by Charles' disregard, changed sides to Conradin's and fought with a host of Spanish knights against Charles in Tagliacozzo. Defeated, Henry was imprisoned by Charles for 22 years in Canosa di Puglia and Castel del Monte, where he wrote the famous novel of chivalry, Amadis de Gaula
.
Having endorsed the treaty, Charles could now play for time. With Manfred's troops advancing on the Papal States, Charles obtained an extensive renegotiation of the treaty on more favorable lines. As instructions went out to the clergy to submit contributions for the war, Urban IV died in October 1264 at Perugia
, fleeing Manfred. This raised the possibility of a reversal of Papal policy. To underscore his resolve, he broke sharply with his previous policy of leniency and ordered the execution of several Provençal rebels, who had been in his hands for a year. Fortunately for Charles, the new Pope Clement IV
was the former adviser to his brother Alphonse and strongly supported the accession of Charles. Charles entered Rome on 23 May 1265 and was proclaimed King of Sicily.
Charles was popular in Rome, where he was elected Senator, and his diplomacy had already undermined Manfred's support in northern Italy. While Charles' campaigns were delayed for lack of money, Manfred, curiously, idled away his time hunting in Apulia
, while his support in the north of Italy waned. Charles was able to bring his main army through the Alps, and he and Beatrice were crowned on 6 January 1266. As Charles' army began an energetic campaign, Manfred suddenly shed his lethargy and moved to meet him. Worried that further delays might endanger the loyalty of his supporters, he attacked Charles' army, then in disarray from the crossing of the hills into Benevento
, on 26 February 1266. In the Battle of Benevento
that followed, Manfred's army was defeated in detail and he was killed in the melee. Upon his death, resistance throughout the Kingdom collapsed, and Charles became master of Sicily.
While Charles' administration in his new Kingdom was generally fair and honest, it was also stringent. As in Provence, he insisted on maximizing the revenues and privileges he could obtain from his new subjects. Discontent was high; but for now, Charles could focus on extending his power in northern Italy (which alarmed the Pope, who feared a powerful king of all Italy as much as he did an Emperor). But the Pope was willing to allow this; for in September 1267 Conradin
marched south to reclaim the rights of the Hohenstaufen, and one of his agents instigated a revolt in Sicily
. He entered Rome on 24 July 1268, where his arrival was wildly celebrated. At the Battle of Tagliacozzo
, on 23 August 1268, it appeared he might win the day; but a sudden charge of Charles' reserve discomfited his army and he was forced to flee to Rome. Told it was no longer safe, he attempted to escape to Genoa
, but was arrested and imprisoned in the Castel dell'Ovo
in Naples
. In a trial carefully managed by Charles, Conradin was condemned for treason, and he was beheaded on 29 October 1268 at the age of 16. By the end of 1270, he had captured Lucera
and put down the revolt in Sicily, executing many of the captured. With the whole kingdom cowed beneath his strict, if fair, rule, he was ready to consider greater conquests.
and the towns of Butrint
o, Avlona
and Suboto, which had formed the dowry of his wife Helena. Charles seized these at the end of 1266. From thence, he passed on to intrigue with the remaining nobility of the Latin Empire. In May 1267, he concluded the Treaty of Viterbo
with the exiled Baldwin II of Constantinople
and William II Villehardouin (through his chancellor Leonardo of Veruli
). Taking advantage of the precarious situation of the remains of the Empire in the face of rising Greek power, he obtained confirmation of his possession of Corfu, the suzerain rights over Achaea, and sovereignty over most of the Aegean
islands. Furthermore, the heirs of both the Latin princes were to marry children of Charles, and Charles was to have the reversion of the Empire and Principality should the couples have no heirs. With few options to check the Byzantine tide, he was well placed to dictate terms.
Charles' wife Beatrice died on 23 September 1267, and he immediately sought a new marriage to Margaret, daughter of Bela IV of Hungary
. However, Margaret wished to be a nun (and was later canonized); Charles instead married (on 18 November 1268), Margaret, Countess of Tonnerre
(1250 – 4 September 1308, Tonnerre
), the daughter of Eudes of Burgundy
. However, he was able to make a marital alliance with the Hungarians: his son Charles, Prince of Salerno
married Maria, daughter of crown prince Stephen
, while Charles' daughter Elizabeth married Stephen's son Ladislas.
, Muhammad I al-Mustansir
had been a vassal of Sicily, but had shaken off his allegiance with the fall of Manfred. However, there were rumors he might be sympathetic to Christianity. Accordingly, Charles suggested to his brother that the arrival of a crusade in his support might bring about Mustansir's conversion. Thus it was that Louis directed the Eighth Crusade
against Tunis. Charles did not arrive until late in the day on 25 August 1270, only to find that his brother had died of dysentery that morning. Charles took command, and after a few skirmishes, Mustansir concluded a peace treaty and agreed to pay tribute to Charles. Illness continued to plague the army, however, and a storm devastated the fleet of 18 men-of-war and innumerable smaller vessels as it returned to Sicily. Charles was forced to postpone his designs against Constantinople again.
, and he soon controlled much of the Albanian interior. In February 1272, he proclaimed himself King of Albania
and appointed Gazzo Chinardo as his Vicar-General. He hoped to take up his expedition against Constantinople again, but was delayed by the rise of Pope Gregory X
, consecrated on 27 March 1272. Gregory had high hopes of reconciling Europe, unifying the Greek
and Latin
churches, and launching a new crusade: to that end, he announced the Council of Lyon
, to be held in 1274, and worked to arrange the election of an Emperor.
In November 1272, the strained relations between Charles and Ghibelline-ruled Genoa
finally broke into war. Ghibelline revolts broke out across the north of Italy, and increasingly occupied the attention of Charles, even as Michael Palaeologus was negotiating a union of churches with the Pope. At the same time, he had made contact with Genoa and was sending money to encourage the revolts in the north. At the apparently successful conclusion of the Council of Lyon, a Union of Churches was declared, and Charles and Philip of Courtenay
were compelled to extend a truce with Michael. This was a blessing in disguise for Charles, for the Ghibellines now controlled most of the north, and he was forced to retreat from Piedmont
in late 1275. In truth, Pope Gregory was not entirely displeased; he regarded north Italy as best dealt with by its new Emperor, Rudolph of Habsburg, and preferred that Charles be confined to the south. If he wished to make war, let him look to Outremer
; and to this end, Gregory endorsed the sale to Charles of the claims of Maria of Antioch
on the Kingdom of Jerusalem
, which had been rejected by the Haute Cour
there. On 18 March 1277, he bought her claim and assumed the title of King of Jerusalem, sending Roger of San Severino
as his bailli to Acre. There Roger ousted Balian of Ibelin
, the bailli of Hugh III
and compelled the nobles to swear fealty. In the meantime, Gregory had been succeeded by Pope Innocent V
, who arranged a peace between Charles and the Genoese.
had great difficulty in imposing it on his people. Nevertheless, he persuaded Innocent of his sincerity in working towards it, and Charles was again forbidden to attack Constantinople. Knowing this, Michael began a campaign in Albania in late 1274, where he captured Berat
and Butrint
o. He also enjoyed some success in his campaigns in Euboea
and the Peloponnese
.
Affairs dragged on for several years, until the accession of Pope Martin IV
on 23 March 1281. Pope Martin was a Frenchman, and lacked the even-handedness of some of his recent precursors. He brought the full power of the Papacy into line behind Charles' plans. The Union, which had proved impossible to impose upon Constantinople, was called off, and Charles given authorization for the restoration of the Latin Empire.
He opened his campaign in Albania, where his general Hugh of Sully with 8,000 men (including 2,000 cavalry) captured Butrinto from the Despotate of Epirus
in 1280 and besieged Berat
. A Byzantine army of relief under Michael Tarchaneiotes
arrived in March, 1281: Hugh of Sully was ambushed and captured, and his army put to flight. The Byzantines took possession of the interior of Albania. Nor was Charles particularly successful in Achaea, where he had become (by the Treaty of Viterbo
) Prince of Achaea on the death of William II Villehardouin in 1278. His bailli Galeran of Ivry
was defeated at Skorta in his one attempt to engage the Byzantines, and was recalled in 1280 and replaced by Philip of Lagonesse
. Nonetheless, Charles was to launch the body of his crusade (400 ships carrying 27,000 mounted knights) against Constantinople in the spring of 1282.
, who had married Constance, the daughter and heir of Manfred. Manfred's former chancellor, John of Procida
, had arranged contact between Michael, Peter and the refugees at his court, and conspirators on the island of Sicily itself. Peter began to assemble a fleet at Barcelona
, ostensibly for another Crusade to Tunis. In fact, the master-plan of John of Procida was to place Peter on the throne of Sicily, his Hohenstaufen inheritance. The result was the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers
, which was initiated in Palermo on 29 March 1282. It rapidly grew into a general massacre of the French in Sicily. A few officials notable for their good conduct were spared; and the city of Messina still held for Charles. But through the diplomatic errors of Charles' Vicar, Herbert of Orléans, Messina, too, revolted on 28 April 1282. Herbert retreated to the castle of Mategriffon
, but was forced to abandon the Crusading fleet, which was burnt.
The news surprised Peter of Aragon, who had expected to intervene only after Charles had left for Constantinople. But the conspirators, aided by the Emperor Michael (who wished to see Charles balked in his expedition), had set the revolt in motion early. Peter did not immediately intervene; he sailed with the fleet to Tunis, where he discovered that the would-be convert on whose behalf the crusade had ostensibly been undertaken had been caught and executed. While he bided his time, the Sicilians made an appeal to Pope Martin to take the Communes of their cities under his protection. But Martin was far too deeply committed to Charles and French interests to heed them; instead, he excommunicated the rebels, the Emperor Michael, and the Ghibellines in north Italy. Charles gathered his forces in Calabria
and made a landing near Messina and began a siege. Several attempts to assault the city were unsuccessful. Rejected by the Pope, the Sicilians now appealed to King Peter and Queen Constance; he duly accepted, and landed at Trapani
on 30 August 1282. He was proclaimed King in Palermo
on 4 September; as the Archibishopric of Palermo was vacant, he could not immediately be crowned. In the face of the Aragonese landing, Charles was compelled to withdraw across the Straits of Messina into Calabria in September; but the Aragonese moved swiftly enough to destroy part of his army and most of his baggage. The Angevin
house was forever ousted from Sicily.
, was devoted to him; and Pope Martin regarded the rebellion as an affront both to French interests and his own rights as suzerain of the Kingdom. Both sides temporized; the expense of a long war might be disastrous for both, and Peter and Charles arranged for a judicial duel, with a hundred knights apiece, on 1 June 1283 at Bordeaux
. Skirmishes and raids continued to occur: in January 1283, Aragonese guerillas attacked Catona and killed Count Peter I of Alençon in his hostel. In February, the Aragonese crossed into Calabria to face off with Charles of Salerno
. However, tensions between the Aragonese and the Sicilians had begun to rise. Both men now hoped to turn the war to their advantage, and the judicial duel turned into a farce, the two kings arriving at different times, declaring a victory over their absent opponent, and departing. Now the war was to escalate: Pope Martin had excommunicated Peter and proclaimed the war against the Sicilians a Crusade in January, and in March, declared Peter to be deprived of his dominions. On 2 February 1284, Aragon and Valencia were officially conferred upon Charles of Valois
. T
he war continued in Italy: while little progress had been made in Calabria, a detachment of the Aragonese fleet was blockading Malta
. Charles of Salerno sent a newly raised Provençal fleet to the relief of Malta; but it was caught by the main Aragonese fleet under Roger of Lauria
and destroyed in the Battle of Malta
. The Aragonese were now, however, running quite short of money, and Peter was threatened by the prospect of a French attack on Aragon. King Charles planned to raise new troops and a fleet in Provence, and instructed Charles of Salerno to maintain a strict defensive posture until his return from France. However, Roger of Lauria continued to command the sea and launch harassing raids up and down the coast of Calabria, and in May 1284 he successfully blockaded Naples
, basing a small squadron on the island of Nisida
to do so. The Neapolitans were infuriated by the blockade; and in June, Charles of Salerno armed the newly launched fleet at Naples and embarked on 5 June to destroy the blockading squadron. Evidently believing the main Aragonese fleet was raiding down the coast, he hoped to destroy the blockading squadron and return to Naples before it returned. However, Roger of Lauria had learned of his plans, and Charles found himself engulfed by superior numbers. After a short, sharp, fight, most of his fleet was captured, and he himself was taken prisoner.
News of the reverse caused anti-French riots in Naples, and Roger of Lauria was quick to take advantage of Charles' captivity to obtain the release of Beatrice, daughter of Manfred of Sicily
, then held in Naples. King Charles arrived in Gaeta
on 6 June and learned of the disaster. He was furious at his son and his disobedience; by the time he reached Naples, the riots had been quelled. He advanced on Calabria and attempted a landing in Sicily; but his main army was blocked at Reggio
, and he retreated from Calabria entirely on 3 August. He continued to make preparations for a campaign against Sicily in the new year; but his health failed. On 7 January 1285, he died in Foggia
.
On his death, Charles left all of his domains to his son Charles
, then a prisoner in Catalonia
. For the time being, they were held by a joint regency between a papal legate and Robert II of Artois
. Charles had spent his life striving to assemble a Mediterranean empire out of whatever land he could get through law or force of arms. He did so, it seems, with a clear conscience; he regarded himself as God's instrument to uphold the Papacy and punish the Hohenstaufen
. He ruled justly, but with the rigidity and severity that might be expected in one of his convictions. Ultimately, his unbending austerity could not inspire the devotion needed to hold his conquests together.
Still, he was to leave a substantial legacy to his heirs. Henry II of Cyprus reclaimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem
after his death, for the few short years left to it; but his possessions otherwise remained within the Angevin
dynasty which he founded, or their descendants. Both the Angevins and their Aragonese rivals were to claim the title of "King of Sicily"; but the Angevins, confined to the mainland, would be known to history as "Kings of Naples". But the style of "King of Sicily" persisted; and when the two realms were reunited, it was under the style of "King of the Two Sicilies".
Charles of Anjou contributed to the early medieval revival of learning, often referred to as the "Latin" Renaissance, through his employment of several Jewish scholars at the University of Salerno and Naples, who were expert translators. The most famous of these, Moses of Palermo, he had tutored in Latin, to enable direct translations of ancient classical and Arab texts. These Jewish scholars translated dozens of philosophical and medical treatises into Latin, bringing the heritage of classical antiquity and the great contemporary Muslim culture to pre-Renaissance Europe.
However, his wars resulted in an even more serious consequence than the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily. Pope Martin IV
had hopelessly compromised the Papacy in his cause; and the botched secular "Crusades" against Sicily and (after Charles' death) Aragon greatly tarnished its spiritual power. The collapse of its moral authority and the rise of nationalism rang the death knell for Crusading, and would ultimately lead to the Avignon Papacy
and the Western Schism
. Charles was an able soldier and a good administrator; but his failure to understand the qualities of his diverse subjects, and his grasping, if pious, ambition, ultimately led him to failure.
In the Divine Comedy
Dante sees Charles outside the gates of Purgatory "singing in accord" with his former rival Peter.
on 31 January 1246, in Aix-en-Provence
. Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
and Forcalquier, who had died on 19 August 1245 by his wife Beatrice of Savoy
. As his elder three daughters had all married kings and received substantial dowries, Raymond settled his entire inheritance upon Beatrice, making Charles Count of Provence and Forcalquier. They had the following children:
After the death of Beatrice, he married Margaret of Burgundy
in 1268. They only had one child:
|-
| width="30%" align="center" rowspan="2"| Preceded by:
Manfred
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Sicily
1266–1282
| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
Peter I
|-
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Naples
1266–1285
| width="30%" align="center" rowspan="5" | Charles II
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | New creation
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Albania
1272–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | William II
| width="40%" align="center" | Prince of Achaea
1278–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | Ramon Berenguer IV
| width="40%" align="center" | Count of Provence and Forcalquier
1246–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | John, Count of Anjou
| width="40%" align="center" | Count of Anjou and Maine
1247–1285
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out on the Easter of 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks three thousand French men and women were slain by...
of 1282. Thereafter, he continued to claim the island, though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom, with his capital at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
(and for this he is usually titled King of Naples after 1282, as are his successors).
Charles was the youngest son of Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
and Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX....
, and hence younger brother of Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
and Alfonso II of Toulouse. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
and began to acquire lands in the eastern Mediterranean. However, the War of the Sicilian Vespers
War of the Sicilian Vespers
The War of the ' Vespers started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and finally ended with the peace of Caltabellotta in 1302...
forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
.
By marriage to Beatrice
Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence , was a countess regnant of Provence. She was also a Queen consort of Sicily by marriage to King Charles I of Sicily....
, heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
, he was Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1246. In 1247, his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine, as appanages of the French crown. By conquest and self-proclamation, he became King of Albania
Kingdom of Albania
The Kingdom of Albania, or Regnum Albaniae, was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territory he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus in 1271. He took the title of "King of Albania" in February 1272. The kingdom extended from the region of Durrës south along the coast to Butrint...
in 1272 and by purchase King of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
in 1277. By the testament of William II of Villehardouin
William II of Villehardouin
William II of Villehardouin, was the last Villehardouin prince of Achaea and ruled the principality at the height of its power and influence.William was the son of Geoffrey I Villehardouin...
, he inherited the Principality of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...
in 1278.
Early life
Charles was born in 1226, shortly before the death of his father, King Louis VIIILouis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
. Like his immediate older brother, Philippe Dagobert (who died in 1232 aged 10) he did not receive a county as appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
, as had his older brothers. Shortly after the death of Philippe Dagobert, his other brother, John Tristan, Count of Anjou and Maine, also died. Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties, but was formally invested only in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have been bestowed upon his brother Louis; and Louis tended to favour his other younger brothers, Robert of Artois and Alphonse of Toulouse
Alphonse of Toulouse
Alfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse from 1247.-Life:...
. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive and ambition he showed in his later life.
Accession in Provence
Upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246, Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties. His sisters-in-law felt cheated by their father's will, and his mother-in-law the Dowager Countess Beatrice of Savoy claimed the entire County of Forcalquier and the usufruct of Provence as her jointureJointure
Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the death of her husband for the life of the wife at...
. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy
King of Burgundy
The following is a list of the Kings of the two Kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations.- Kings of the Burgundians :...
and hence of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, in practice it was free of central authority. The recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities (three of which, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, and Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
were Imperial cities technically separate from the county) had enjoyed great liberties. Charles, in contrast, was disposed towards a rigid administration; he ordered inquests in 1252 and again in 1278 to ascertain his rights Charles broke the traditional powers of the great towns (Nice, Grasse, Marseille, Arles, Avignon) and aroused considerable hostility by his punctilious insistence on enjoying his full rights and fees. In 1247, while Charles had gone to France to receive the Counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility (represented by Barral of Baux
Barral of Baux
Barral of Baux vas Viscount of Marseilles and Lord of Baux. He was the son of Hugh III of Baux, Viscount of Marseilles, and Barrale....
and Boniface of Castellane) joined with Beatrice and the three Imperial cities to form a defensive league against him. Unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade
Seventh Crusade
The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...
. For the time being, Charles' only recourse was to compromise with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier and a third of the Provençal usufruct.
Rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career. His rights as landlord were on the whole of recent establishment, but his rights as sovereign entitled him to revenues on the gabelle
Gabelle
The gabelle was a very unpopular tax on salt in France before 1790. The term gabelle derives from the Italian gabella , itself from the Arabic qabala....
s (mainly salt), from alberga (commutation of gîte
Gîte
"Gîte" is a French term which refers to a specific type of holiday accommodation. A "Gîte" is a holiday home that is available for rent. Gîtes are usually fully furnished and equipped for self-catering...
) and cavalcata (commutation of the duties of military service) and quista ("aids") (Baratier 1969). From the Church, unlike his brothers in the north, he received virtually nothing.
Charles' agents were efficient, the towns were prosperous, the peasants were buying up the duties of corvée
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
and establishing self-governing consulats in the villages: Provence flourished.
Seventh Crusade and return
Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues-MortesAigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved.-History:...
in 1248, and fought gallantly at Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
and during the fighting around Mansourah. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother (Jean de Joinville
Jean de Joinville
Jean de Joinville was one of the great chroniclers of medieval France.Son of Simon de Joinville and Beatrice d'Auxonne, he belonged to a noble family from Champagne. He received an education befitting a young noble at the court of Theobald IV, count of Champagne: reading, writing, and the...
relates a tale of Louis catching him gambling on the voyage from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to Acre) and he returned with his brother Alphonse in May 1250. During his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved with his characteristic energy to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, and Barral of Baux had surrendered to him by June 1251. Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full panoply of comital rights, and acknowledgement of his suzerainity by Marseille.
Wider ambitions
In November 1252, the death of his mother Blanche of CastileBlanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX....
caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse. While in Paris, he was approached by envoys from Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
. Innocent was then seeking to detach the Kingdom of Sicily from the Holy Roman Empire (in the person of Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad IV was king of Jerusalem , of Germany , and of Sicily .-Biography:...
), and offered it to Charles, after his brother-in-law Richard, Earl of Cornwall had declined it. Alphonse, however, was cool to the idea; and King Louis forbade it outright. Balked, Charles took up the cause of Margaret II of Flanders against her son, John I, Count of Hainaut in the War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
The War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault was a series of feudal conflicts in the mid-thirteenth century between the children of Margaret II, Countess of Flanders...
. She granted him the County of Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
for his service. King Louis again disapproved, and on his return from Outremer
Outremer
Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...
in 1254 he returned Hainaut to John.
The disappointed Charles returned to Provence, which had become restive again. The mediation of King Louis led to a settlement with Beatrice of Savoy, who returned Forcalquier and relinquished her claims for a cash payment and a pension. Marseille had attempted to involve Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
and Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
in the quarrel, but they proved unreliable as allies, and a coup by the supporters of Charles resulted in the surrender of the city's political powers. Charles spent the next several years quietly increasing his power over various lordships on the borders of Provence. A final rebellion occurred in 1262, when he was absent in France; Boniface of Castellane rebelled yet again, as did Marseille and Hugh of Baux. However, Barral of Baux now remained loyal to Charles, and Charles quickly returned to scatter the rebels. The mediation of James I of Aragon
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
brought about a settlement; while Marseille was forced to dismantle its fortifications and surrender its arms, it otherwise went unpunished. Surprisingly, this leniency worked to good effect; hereafter, the Provençals proved staunch supporters of Charles, providing money and troops for his further conquests. Many of them were to be rewarded with high posts in his new dominions.
With the usurpation of the Sicilian throne from Conradin
Conradin
Conrad , called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin , was the Duke of Swabia , King of Jerusalem , and King of Sicily .-Early childhood:Conradin was born in Wolfstein, Bavaria, to Conrad...
by Manfred of Sicily
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
in 1258, the relationship between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
had changed again. Instead of the boy Conradin, safely sequestered across the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, the Papacy now faced an able military leader in Italy. Accordingly, when negotiations broke down with Manfred in 1262, Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
again took up the scheme of disseising the Hohenstaufen from the Kingdom, and offered the crown to Charles again. Manfred's own usurpation from Conradin told upon King Louis' scruples; this time, he was persuaded to admit the offer, and Charles ratified a treaty with the Pope in July 1263. The terms were heavily in favor of the Pope; the Kingdom must never be re-united with the Empire, and the King was never to hold Imperial or Papal office, or interfere with ecclesiastical matters in the Kingdom. Nevertheless, Charles accepted eagerly. For money, he called for help from the then-omnipotent Sienese banker, Orlando Bonsignori
Orlando Bonsignori
Orlando Bonsignori was an Italian banker from Siena.He was the son of Bonsignore di Bernardo, a minor merchant, but Orlando, together with his brother Bonifazio, expanded the family fortunes until in the 1230 he was among the largest Sienese taxpayers...
. Charles' cousin, Henry of Castile lent him forty thousand gold ounces to finance the war against King Manfred. This loan was never repaid. Henry of Castile, angered by Charles' disregard, changed sides to Conradin's and fought with a host of Spanish knights against Charles in Tagliacozzo. Defeated, Henry was imprisoned by Charles for 22 years in Canosa di Puglia and Castel del Monte, where he wrote the famous novel of chivalry, Amadis de Gaula
Amadis de Gaula
Amadis de Gaula is a landmark work among the knight-errantry tales which were in vogue in 16th century Iberian Peninsula, and formed the earliest reading of many Renaissance and Baroque writers, although it was written at the onset of the 14th century.The first known printed edition was published...
.
Conquest of Sicily
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, fleeing Manfred. This raised the possibility of a reversal of Papal policy. To underscore his resolve, he broke sharply with his previous policy of leniency and ordered the execution of several Provençal rebels, who had been in his hands for a year. Fortunately for Charles, the new Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
was the former adviser to his brother Alphonse and strongly supported the accession of Charles. Charles entered Rome on 23 May 1265 and was proclaimed King of Sicily.
Charles was popular in Rome, where he was elected Senator, and his diplomacy had already undermined Manfred's support in northern Italy. While Charles' campaigns were delayed for lack of money, Manfred, curiously, idled away his time hunting in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
, while his support in the north of Italy waned. Charles was able to bring his main army through the Alps, and he and Beatrice were crowned on 6 January 1266. As Charles' army began an energetic campaign, Manfred suddenly shed his lethargy and moved to meet him. Worried that further delays might endanger the loyalty of his supporters, he attacked Charles' army, then in disarray from the crossing of the hills into Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, on 26 February 1266. In the Battle of Benevento
Battle of Benevento
The Battle of Benevento was fought near Benevento, in present-day Southern Italy, on February 26, 1266, between the troops of Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in the capture of the Kingdom of Sicily by Charles....
that followed, Manfred's army was defeated in detail and he was killed in the melee. Upon his death, resistance throughout the Kingdom collapsed, and Charles became master of Sicily.
While Charles' administration in his new Kingdom was generally fair and honest, it was also stringent. As in Provence, he insisted on maximizing the revenues and privileges he could obtain from his new subjects. Discontent was high; but for now, Charles could focus on extending his power in northern Italy (which alarmed the Pope, who feared a powerful king of all Italy as much as he did an Emperor). But the Pope was willing to allow this; for in September 1267 Conradin
Conradin
Conrad , called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin , was the Duke of Swabia , King of Jerusalem , and King of Sicily .-Early childhood:Conradin was born in Wolfstein, Bavaria, to Conrad...
marched south to reclaim the rights of the Hohenstaufen, and one of his agents instigated a revolt in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. He entered Rome on 24 July 1268, where his arrival was wildly celebrated. At the Battle of Tagliacozzo
Battle of Tagliacozzo
The Battle of Tagliacozzo was fought on 23 August 1268 between the French, Provençal, and Italian forces of Charles of Anjou and the Italian, Spanish, Roman, Arab and German troops of the Hohenstaufen army, led by Conradin , the sixteen year old Duke of Swabia and claimant to the throne of Sicily...
, on 23 August 1268, it appeared he might win the day; but a sudden charge of Charles' reserve discomfited his army and he was forced to flee to Rome. Told it was no longer safe, he attempted to escape to Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, but was arrested and imprisoned in the Castel dell'Ovo
Castel dell'Ovo
Castel dell'Ovo is a castle located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the gulf of Naples...
in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. In a trial carefully managed by Charles, Conradin was condemned for treason, and he was beheaded on 29 October 1268 at the age of 16. By the end of 1270, he had captured Lucera
Lucera
Lucera is a town and comune in the Province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southern Italy.-Ancient era and early Middle Ages :Lucera is an ancient city founded in Daunia, the centre of Dauni territory . Archeological excavations show the presence of a bronze age village inside the city boundaries...
and put down the revolt in Sicily, executing many of the captured. With the whole kingdom cowed beneath his strict, if fair, rule, he was ready to consider greater conquests.
Ambitions in the Latin Empire
After the defeat of Manfred at Benevento, Charles immediately began to plan his expansion into the Mediterranean. Historically, the Kingdom of Sicily had at times controlled parts of the eastern Adriatic seaboard, and Manfred possessed the island of CorfuCorfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
and the towns of Butrint
Butrint
Butrint was an ancient Greek and later Roman city in Epirus. In modern times it is an archeological site in Sarandë District, Albania, some 14 kilometres south of Sarandë and close to the Greek border. It was known in antiquity as Βουθρωτόν Bouthroton or Βουθρώτιος Bouthrotios in Ancient Greek...
o, Avlona
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
and Suboto, which had formed the dowry of his wife Helena. Charles seized these at the end of 1266. From thence, he passed on to intrigue with the remaining nobility of the Latin Empire. In May 1267, he concluded the Treaty of Viterbo
Treaty of Viterbo
The Treaty of Viterbo was a pair of agreements made by Charles I of Sicily with Baldwin II of Constantinople and William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, on 27 May 1267, which transferred much of the rights to the Latin Empire from Baldwin to Charles.-Background:The recapture of Constantinople...
with the exiled Baldwin II of Constantinople
Baldwin II of Constantinople
Baldwin II of Courtenay was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.He was a younger son of Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors, Baldwin I and Henry of Flanders...
and William II Villehardouin (through his chancellor Leonardo of Veruli
Leonardo of Veruli
Leonardo of Veruli was the chancellor to and close adviser of William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea.In 1239, Leonardo married Marguerite, the daughter of Narjot de Toucy, then regent of the Latin Empire....
). Taking advantage of the precarious situation of the remains of the Empire in the face of rising Greek power, he obtained confirmation of his possession of Corfu, the suzerain rights over Achaea, and sovereignty over most of the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
islands. Furthermore, the heirs of both the Latin princes were to marry children of Charles, and Charles was to have the reversion of the Empire and Principality should the couples have no heirs. With few options to check the Byzantine tide, he was well placed to dictate terms.
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
. However, Margaret wished to be a nun (and was later canonized); Charles instead married (on 18 November 1268), Margaret, Countess of Tonnerre
Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of Sicily
Margaret of Burgundy was the second wife of Charles I of Sicily, and by marriage Queen consort of Sicily.The second daughter of Odo, Count of Nevers, and Maud of Dampierre, Margaret was Countess of Tonnerre by inheritance from 1262 until her death...
(1250 – 4 September 1308, Tonnerre
Tonnerre
Tonnerre is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Twin town:* Nenagh, North Tipperary, Ireland-References:*...
), the daughter of Eudes of Burgundy
Eudes of Burgundy
Odo of Burgundy was Count of Nevers and Auxerre and the heir of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. His mother was Yolande of Dreux.He never inherited the duchy, due to his death before his father; Burgundy was thereafter ruled by Odo's brother Robert...
. However, he was able to make a marital alliance with the Hungarians: his son Charles, Prince of Salerno
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
married Maria, daughter of crown prince Stephen
Stephen V of Hungary
Stephen V , was King of Hungary from 1270 to 1272.-Early years:...
, while Charles' daughter Elizabeth married Stephen's son Ladislas.
Eighth Crusade
Having thus made secure his position in the East, he began to prepare a crusade to recover the Latin Empire. Michael VIII Palaeologus was greatly alarmed at the prospect: he wrote to King Louis, suggesting that he was open to a voluntary union of the Roman and Latin churches, and pointing out the interference a descent on Constantinople would pose to Louis' own crusading plans. Louis took a dim view of his sincerity; but he was eager to take up the cross again, and he notified Charles of his intentions. Charles continued with his preparations against Constantinople, hoping the crusade might be postponed, but he also prepared to turn his brother's crusade to his own advantage. The Caliph of TunisTunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Muhammad I al-Mustansir
Muhammad I al-Mustansir
Muhammad I al-Mustansir was the second ruler of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya and the first to claim the title of Khalif. Al-Mustansir concluded a peace agreement to end the Eighth Crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270...
had been a vassal of Sicily, but had shaken off his allegiance with the fall of Manfred. However, there were rumors he might be sympathetic to Christianity. Accordingly, Charles suggested to his brother that the arrival of a crusade in his support might bring about Mustansir's conversion. Thus it was that Louis directed the Eighth Crusade
Eighth Crusade
The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade...
against Tunis. Charles did not arrive until late in the day on 25 August 1270, only to find that his brother had died of dysentery that morning. Charles took command, and after a few skirmishes, Mustansir concluded a peace treaty and agreed to pay tribute to Charles. Illness continued to plague the army, however, and a storm devastated the fleet of 18 men-of-war and innumerable smaller vessels as it returned to Sicily. Charles was forced to postpone his designs against Constantinople again.
Conquest of Albania and Genoese War
In February 1271, Charles began to expand his Adriatic possessions by capturing DurazzoDurrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...
, and he soon controlled much of the Albanian interior. In February 1272, he proclaimed himself King of Albania
Kingdom of Albania
The Kingdom of Albania, or Regnum Albaniae, was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territory he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus in 1271. He took the title of "King of Albania" in February 1272. The kingdom extended from the region of Durrës south along the coast to Butrint...
and appointed Gazzo Chinardo as his Vicar-General. He hoped to take up his expedition against Constantinople again, but was delayed by the rise of Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X
Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....
, consecrated on 27 March 1272. Gregory had high hopes of reconciling Europe, unifying the Greek
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and Latin
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
churches, and launching a new crusade: to that end, he announced the Council of Lyon
Second Council of Lyon
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...
, to be held in 1274, and worked to arrange the election of an Emperor.
In November 1272, the strained relations between Charles and Ghibelline-ruled Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
finally broke into war. Ghibelline revolts broke out across the north of Italy, and increasingly occupied the attention of Charles, even as Michael Palaeologus was negotiating a union of churches with the Pope. At the same time, he had made contact with Genoa and was sending money to encourage the revolts in the north. At the apparently successful conclusion of the Council of Lyon, a Union of Churches was declared, and Charles and Philip of Courtenay
Philip of Courtenay
Philip I of Courtenay was titular Emperor of Constantinople 1273–1283. He was the son of Baldwin II of Constantinople and Marie of Brienne....
were compelled to extend a truce with Michael. This was a blessing in disguise for Charles, for the Ghibellines now controlled most of the north, and he was forced to retreat from Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
in late 1275. In truth, Pope Gregory was not entirely displeased; he regarded north Italy as best dealt with by its new Emperor, Rudolph of Habsburg, and preferred that Charles be confined to the south. If he wished to make war, let him look to Outremer
Outremer
Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...
; and to this end, Gregory endorsed the sale to Charles of the claims of Maria of Antioch
Mary of Antioch
Maria of Antioch , daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende de Lusignan, was the pretender to the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277...
on the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, which had been rejected by the Haute Cour
Haute Cour of Jerusalem
The Haute Cour was the feudal council of the kingdom of Jerusalem. It was sometimes also called the curia generalis, the curia regis, or, rarely, the parlement.-Composition of the court:...
there. On 18 March 1277, he bought her claim and assumed the title of King of Jerusalem, sending Roger of San Severino
Roger of San Severino
Roger of San Severino was the bailiff of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1277 to 1282. He was sent to Acre, then the capital of the kingdom, with a small force by the new king Charles I, also King of Sicily, to act as regent....
as his bailli to Acre. There Roger ousted Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.-Early life:Balian was the youngest son of Barisan of Ibelin, and brother of Hugh and Baldwin. His father, a knight in the County of Jaffa, had been rewarded with the lordship of Ibelin after the...
, the bailli of Hugh III
Hugh III of Cyprus
Hugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...
and compelled the nobles to swear fealty. In the meantime, Gregory had been succeeded by Pope Innocent V
Pope Innocent V
Pope Blessed Innocent V , born Pierre de Tarentaise, was Pope from January 21 to June 22, 1276.He was born around 1225 near Moûtiers in the Tarentaise region of the County of Savoy, then part of the Kingdom of Arles in the Holy Roman Empire, but now in southeastern France...
, who arranged a peace between Charles and the Genoese.
Breakdown of the Union
Meanwhile, in Constantinople, the Union of the Churches was proving difficult to arrange, and the Emperor MichaelMichael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
had great difficulty in imposing it on his people. Nevertheless, he persuaded Innocent of his sincerity in working towards it, and Charles was again forbidden to attack Constantinople. Knowing this, Michael began a campaign in Albania in late 1274, where he captured Berat
Berat
Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...
and Butrint
Butrint
Butrint was an ancient Greek and later Roman city in Epirus. In modern times it is an archeological site in Sarandë District, Albania, some 14 kilometres south of Sarandë and close to the Greek border. It was known in antiquity as Βουθρωτόν Bouthroton or Βουθρώτιος Bouthrotios in Ancient Greek...
o. He also enjoyed some success in his campaigns in Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
and the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
.
Affairs dragged on for several years, until the accession of Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
on 23 March 1281. Pope Martin was a Frenchman, and lacked the even-handedness of some of his recent precursors. He brought the full power of the Papacy into line behind Charles' plans. The Union, which had proved impossible to impose upon Constantinople, was called off, and Charles given authorization for the restoration of the Latin Empire.
He opened his campaign in Albania, where his general Hugh of Sully with 8,000 men (including 2,000 cavalry) captured Butrinto from the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
in 1280 and besieged Berat
Siege of Berat (1280–1281)
The Siege of Berat in Albania by the forces of the Angevin Kingdom of Sicily against the Byzantine garrison of the city took place in 1280–1281. Berat was a strategically important fortress, whose possession would allow the Angevins access to the heartlands of the Byzantine Empire...
. A Byzantine army of relief under Michael Tarchaneiotes
Michael Tarchaneiotes
Michael Tarchaneiotes was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, active against the Turks and in the Balkans from 1278 until his death from disease in 1284.- Life :...
arrived in March, 1281: Hugh of Sully was ambushed and captured, and his army put to flight. The Byzantines took possession of the interior of Albania. Nor was Charles particularly successful in Achaea, where he had become (by the Treaty of Viterbo
Treaty of Viterbo
The Treaty of Viterbo was a pair of agreements made by Charles I of Sicily with Baldwin II of Constantinople and William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, on 27 May 1267, which transferred much of the rights to the Latin Empire from Baldwin to Charles.-Background:The recapture of Constantinople...
) Prince of Achaea on the death of William II Villehardouin in 1278. His bailli Galeran of Ivry
Galeran of Ivry
Galeran of Ivry was an official of Charles I of Sicily.Galeran was appointed seneschal of the kingdom of Sicily in 1272, where he was unpopular due to his arrogance and partiality....
was defeated at Skorta in his one attempt to engage the Byzantines, and was recalled in 1280 and replaced by Philip of Lagonesse
Philip of Lagonesse
Philip of Lagonesse was an official of Charles I of Sicily.He was a Frenchman, from Gonesse or La Gonesse, a village near Paris.His father, Guillaume of Lagonesse, had accompanied Charles on his conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily, and died in 1269...
. Nonetheless, Charles was to launch the body of his crusade (400 ships carrying 27,000 mounted knights) against Constantinople in the spring of 1282.
Sicilian Vespers
But Michael had not been working upon the military front alone. Many Ghibelline officials had fled the Kingdom of Sicily to the court of Peter III of AragonPeter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
, who had married Constance, the daughter and heir of Manfred. Manfred's former chancellor, John of Procida
John of Procida
John of Procida was an Italian medieval physician and diplomat.He was born at Salerno, educated in the Schola Medica as a physician. He was a noted physician for his age and received at professorial chair at this university...
, had arranged contact between Michael, Peter and the refugees at his court, and conspirators on the island of Sicily itself. Peter began to assemble a fleet at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, ostensibly for another Crusade to Tunis. In fact, the master-plan of John of Procida was to place Peter on the throne of Sicily, his Hohenstaufen inheritance. The result was the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out on the Easter of 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks three thousand French men and women were slain by...
, which was initiated in Palermo on 29 March 1282. It rapidly grew into a general massacre of the French in Sicily. A few officials notable for their good conduct were spared; and the city of Messina still held for Charles. But through the diplomatic errors of Charles' Vicar, Herbert of Orléans, Messina, too, revolted on 28 April 1282. Herbert retreated to the castle of Mategriffon
Mategriffon
Mategriffon or Mategrifon or Mathegriffon was a medieval castle near Messina, Sicily, initially built as a wooden castle by Richard Ist, king of England and demolished before his departure in 1191 from Messina for the conquest of Cyprus...
, but was forced to abandon the Crusading fleet, which was burnt.
The news surprised Peter of Aragon, who had expected to intervene only after Charles had left for Constantinople. But the conspirators, aided by the Emperor Michael (who wished to see Charles balked in his expedition), had set the revolt in motion early. Peter did not immediately intervene; he sailed with the fleet to Tunis, where he discovered that the would-be convert on whose behalf the crusade had ostensibly been undertaken had been caught and executed. While he bided his time, the Sicilians made an appeal to Pope Martin to take the Communes of their cities under his protection. But Martin was far too deeply committed to Charles and French interests to heed them; instead, he excommunicated the rebels, the Emperor Michael, and the Ghibellines in north Italy. Charles gathered his forces in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
and made a landing near Messina and began a siege. Several attempts to assault the city were unsuccessful. Rejected by the Pope, the Sicilians now appealed to King Peter and Queen Constance; he duly accepted, and landed at Trapani
Trapani
Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
on 30 August 1282. He was proclaimed King in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
on 4 September; as the Archibishopric of Palermo was vacant, he could not immediately be crowned. In the face of the Aragonese landing, Charles was compelled to withdraw across the Straits of Messina into Calabria in September; but the Aragonese moved swiftly enough to destroy part of his army and most of his baggage. The Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
house was forever ousted from Sicily.
War with Aragon
Despite his retreat into Calabria, Charles remained in a strong position. His nephew, Philip III of FrancePhilip III of France
Philip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...
, was devoted to him; and Pope Martin regarded the rebellion as an affront both to French interests and his own rights as suzerain of the Kingdom. Both sides temporized; the expense of a long war might be disastrous for both, and Peter and Charles arranged for a judicial duel, with a hundred knights apiece, on 1 June 1283 at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. Skirmishes and raids continued to occur: in January 1283, Aragonese guerillas attacked Catona and killed Count Peter I of Alençon in his hostel. In February, the Aragonese crossed into Calabria to face off with Charles of Salerno
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
. However, tensions between the Aragonese and the Sicilians had begun to rise. Both men now hoped to turn the war to their advantage, and the judicial duel turned into a farce, the two kings arriving at different times, declaring a victory over their absent opponent, and departing. Now the war was to escalate: Pope Martin had excommunicated Peter and proclaimed the war against the Sicilians a Crusade in January, and in March, declared Peter to be deprived of his dominions. On 2 February 1284, Aragon and Valencia were officially conferred upon Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois was the fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. His mother was a daughter of James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary. He was a member of the House of Capet and founded the House of Valois...
. T
he war continued in Italy: while little progress had been made in Calabria, a detachment of the Aragonese fleet was blockading Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Charles of Salerno sent a newly raised Provençal fleet to the relief of Malta; but it was caught by the main Aragonese fleet under Roger of Lauria
Roger of Lauria
Roger of Lauria, Loria or de Llúria in Catalan , was an Sicilian-Aragonese admiral, who was the commander of the fleet of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tactician of the medieval period...
and destroyed in the Battle of Malta
Battle of Malta
The Battle of Malta took place on 8 July 1283 in the entrance to the Grand Harbour, the principal harbor of Malta, when a galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a fleet of Angevin galleys commanded by William Cornut and Bartholomew Bonvin...
. The Aragonese were now, however, running quite short of money, and Peter was threatened by the prospect of a French attack on Aragon. King Charles planned to raise new troops and a fleet in Provence, and instructed Charles of Salerno to maintain a strict defensive posture until his return from France. However, Roger of Lauria continued to command the sea and launch harassing raids up and down the coast of Calabria, and in May 1284 he successfully blockaded Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, basing a small squadron on the island of Nisida
Nisida
Nisida is a volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is now connected to the mainland by a stone bridge. The islet is almost circular, with a flooded crater forming the bay of Porto Paone on...
to do so. The Neapolitans were infuriated by the blockade; and in June, Charles of Salerno armed the newly launched fleet at Naples and embarked on 5 June to destroy the blockading squadron. Evidently believing the main Aragonese fleet was raiding down the coast, he hoped to destroy the blockading squadron and return to Naples before it returned. However, Roger of Lauria had learned of his plans, and Charles found himself engulfed by superior numbers. After a short, sharp, fight, most of his fleet was captured, and he himself was taken prisoner.
News of the reverse caused anti-French riots in Naples, and Roger of Lauria was quick to take advantage of Charles' captivity to obtain the release of Beatrice, daughter of Manfred of Sicily
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
, then held in Naples. King Charles arrived in Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
on 6 June and learned of the disaster. He was furious at his son and his disobedience; by the time he reached Naples, the riots had been quelled. He advanced on Calabria and attempted a landing in Sicily; but his main army was blocked at Reggio
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, and he retreated from Calabria entirely on 3 August. He continued to make preparations for a campaign against Sicily in the new year; but his health failed. On 7 January 1285, he died in Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
.
Death and legacy
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
, then a prisoner in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. For the time being, they were held by a joint regency between a papal legate and Robert II of Artois
Robert II of Artois
Robert II was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant.An experienced soldier, he took part in the Aragonese Crusade and attempted an invasion of Sicily in 1287. He defeated the Flemings in 1297 at the Battle of Furnes...
. Charles had spent his life striving to assemble a Mediterranean empire out of whatever land he could get through law or force of arms. He did so, it seems, with a clear conscience; he regarded himself as God's instrument to uphold the Papacy and punish the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
. He ruled justly, but with the rigidity and severity that might be expected in one of his convictions. Ultimately, his unbending austerity could not inspire the devotion needed to hold his conquests together.
Still, he was to leave a substantial legacy to his heirs. Henry II of Cyprus reclaimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
after his death, for the few short years left to it; but his possessions otherwise remained within the Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
dynasty which he founded, or their descendants. Both the Angevins and their Aragonese rivals were to claim the title of "King of Sicily"; but the Angevins, confined to the mainland, would be known to history as "Kings of Naples". But the style of "King of Sicily" persisted; and when the two realms were reunited, it was under the style of "King of the Two Sicilies".
Charles of Anjou contributed to the early medieval revival of learning, often referred to as the "Latin" Renaissance, through his employment of several Jewish scholars at the University of Salerno and Naples, who were expert translators. The most famous of these, Moses of Palermo, he had tutored in Latin, to enable direct translations of ancient classical and Arab texts. These Jewish scholars translated dozens of philosophical and medical treatises into Latin, bringing the heritage of classical antiquity and the great contemporary Muslim culture to pre-Renaissance Europe.
However, his wars resulted in an even more serious consequence than the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily. Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
had hopelessly compromised the Papacy in his cause; and the botched secular "Crusades" against Sicily and (after Charles' death) Aragon greatly tarnished its spiritual power. The collapse of its moral authority and the rise of nationalism rang the death knell for Crusading, and would ultimately lead to the Avignon Papacy
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown....
and the Western Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...
. Charles was an able soldier and a good administrator; but his failure to understand the qualities of his diverse subjects, and his grasping, if pious, ambition, ultimately led him to failure.
In the Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
Dante sees Charles outside the gates of Purgatory "singing in accord" with his former rival Peter.
Marriage and children
Charles was wedded to Beatrice of ProvenceBeatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence , was a countess regnant of Provence. She was also a Queen consort of Sicily by marriage to King Charles I of Sicily....
on 31 January 1246, in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
. Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
and Forcalquier, who had died on 19 August 1245 by his wife Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy was the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. She was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence.-Family:...
. As his elder three daughters had all married kings and received substantial dowries, Raymond settled his entire inheritance upon Beatrice, making Charles Count of Provence and Forcalquier. They had the following children:
- Louis (1248, NicosiaNicosiaNicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
) - Blanche (1250 – July 1269), married 1265 Count Robert III of FlandersRobert III of FlandersRobert III of Flanders , also called Robert of Bethune and nicknamed The Lion of Flanders , was Count of Nevers 1273–1322 and Count of Flanders 1305–1322.-History:...
- Beatrice of SicilyBeatrice of SicilyBeatrice of Sicily was the Empress consort of Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople.-Family:...
(1252–1275), married 15 October 1273 at FoggiaFoggiaFoggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
to Philip of CourtenayPhilip of CourtenayPhilip I of Courtenay was titular Emperor of Constantinople 1273–1283. He was the son of Baldwin II of Constantinople and Marie of Brienne....
, titular Emperor of ConstantinopleLatin EmpireThe Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261... - Charles II of NaplesCharles II of NaplesCharles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
(1254 – 1309) - Philip of Sicily (1256 – 1 January 1277), titular King of ThessalonicaKingdom of ThessalonicaThe Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands.- Background :...
from 1274, married 28 May 1271 to Isabella of VillehardouinIsabella of VillehardouinIsabella of Villehardouin was the elder daughter of William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and of his second wife Anna, the third daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, the despot of Epiros.... - Robert (1258–1265)
- Elizabeth of SicilyElisabeth of Sicily (1261–1300)Elisabeth of Sicily was the youngest child of Charles I of Naples and his first wife Beatrice of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Her paternal grandparents were Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile...
(1261 – c. 1300), married bef. September 1272 to Ladislas IV of Hungary
After the death of Beatrice, he married Margaret of Burgundy
Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of Sicily
Margaret of Burgundy was the second wife of Charles I of Sicily, and by marriage Queen consort of Sicily.The second daughter of Odo, Count of Nevers, and Maud of Dampierre, Margaret was Countess of Tonnerre by inheritance from 1262 until her death...
in 1268. They only had one child:
- Margaret (after 1268 – ca. 1276), died in infancy of unknown reasons.
Ancestors
External links
- The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, translated by Ethel Wedgwood
- Armorial of the House Anjou-Sicily
- House of Anjou-Sicily
|-
| width="30%" align="center" rowspan="2"| Preceded by:
Manfred
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
1266–1282
| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
Peter I
Peter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
|-
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
1266–1285
| width="30%" align="center" rowspan="5" | Charles II
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | New creation
| width="40%" align="center" | King of Albania
Kingdom of Albania
The Kingdom of Albania, or Regnum Albaniae, was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territory he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus in 1271. He took the title of "King of Albania" in February 1272. The kingdom extended from the region of Durrës south along the coast to Butrint...
1272–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | William II
| width="40%" align="center" | Prince of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...
1278–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | Ramon Berenguer IV
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
| width="40%" align="center" | Count of Provence and Forcalquier
1246–1285
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | John, Count of Anjou
| width="40%" align="center" | Count of Anjou and Maine
1247–1285