Peter III of Aragon
Encyclopedia
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon (as Peter III) of Valencia
(as Peter I), and Count of Barcelona (as Peter II) from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily
and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.
and his second wife Yolanda of Hungary
. On 13 June 1262, he married Constance, daughter and heiress of Manfred of Sicily
. During his youth and early adulthood, Peter gained a great deal of military experience in his father's wars of the Reconquista
against the Moors
.
On James' death, the lands of the Crown of Aragon
were divided, with Aragon and Valencia, along with the Catalan counties
, going to the eldest son, Peter, while the Balearic Islands
(constituted as the Kingdom of Majorca
), alongside the territories in the Languedoc
(Montpellier
and Roussillon
), went to the second son, James
. Peter and Constance were crowned in Zaragoza
(the capital of Aragon) in November by the archbishop of Tarragona. At this ceremony, Peter renounced all feudal obligations to the papacy which his grandfather Peter II
had incurred.
However, a revolt soon broke out in Catalonia, led by the viscount of Cardona
and abetted by Roger-Bernard III of Foix
, Arnold Roger I of Pallars Sobirà, and Ermengol X of Urgell
. The rebels had grown a hatred for Peter in response to the severity of his dealings with them in the days of his father. Now, as king, they opposed him for not summoning the Catalan corts, or assembly, and confirming its privileges.
At the same time, a succession crisis continued in the County of Urgell. When Count Álvaro
died in 1268, the families of his two wives, Constance, a daughter of Pedro Moncada of Béarn, and Cecilia, a daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix
, began a long fight over the inheritance of his county. Meanwhile, a good portion of the county had been repossessed by James and thus inherited by Peter. In 1278, Armengol X, Álvaro's eldest son, succeeded in recovering most of his lost patrimony and came to an agreement with Peter whereby he recognised the latter as his suzerain.
In 1280, Peter defeated the stewing rebellion led by Roger-Berengar III after besieging the rebels in Balaguer
for a month. Most of the rebel leaders were imprisoned in Lleida
until 1281, while Roger-Bernard was imprisoned until 1284.
, who had put himself under James the Conqueror, died in 1277, Tunisia threw off the yoke of Aragonese suzerainty. Peter first sent an expedition to Tunis
in 1280 under Conrad de Llansa designed to re-establish his suzerainty. In 1281, he himself prepared to lead a fleet of 140 ships with men to invade Tunisia on behalf of the governor of Constantine. The fleet landed at Alcoyll
in 1282 and the troops began to fortify themselves in. It was these Aragonese troops that received a Sicilian embassy after the Vespers
of 30 March asking Peter to take their throne from Charles of Anjou.
Peter was the direct descendant and the heir-general of the Mafalda, daughter of Robert Guiscard
, Duke of Apulia, the Norman
conqueror, and his official wife Sigelgaita, daughter of a Lombard
prince
, Guaimar IV of Salerno
. Thus, he stood at the end of the Hauteville
succession to Sicily. After the ducal family of Apulia became extinct with William II
in 1127, Mafalda's heirs (then counts of Barcelona) apparently became de jure heirs of Guiscard and Sigelgaita: thus Peter was dormantly a claimant to the Norman succession of southern Italy. More directly, he was the heir of Manfred in right of his wife. The Two Sicilies were to be a tenaciously-pursued inheritance for the Aragonese royal house and its heirs for the next five centuries.
The Italian physician John of Procida
acted on behalf of Peter in Sicily. John had fled to Aragon after Charles' success at Tagliacozzo
. John travelled to Sicily to stir up the discontents in favour of Peter and thence to Constantinople
to procure the support of Michael VIII Palaeologus. Michael refused to aid the Aragonese king without papal approval and so John voyaged to Rome and there gained the consent of Pope Nicholas III
, who feared the ascent of Charles in the Mezzogiorno. John then returned to Barcelona and the pope promptly died, to be replaced by Simon de Brie, a Frenchman and a staunch ally of Charles. The stage, however, had been set for a conflict.
After receiving an embassy from the people of Palermo
at Alcoyll, Peter landed at Trapani
on 30 August 1282. He was proclaimed King in Palermo on 4 September. Charles was forced to flee across the Straits of Messina and be content with his "Kingdom of Naples
". Simon de Brie as the new Pope Martin IV
excommunicated both Peter and the Byzantine emperor for providing Peter III with gold pieces to invade Sicily
(18 November).
Peter nevertheless pressed his advantage and by February 1283 had taken most of the Calabria
n coastline. Charles, perhaps feeling desperate, sent letters to Peter demanding they resolve the conflict by personal combat. The invader accepted and Charles returned to France to arrange the duel. Both kings chose six knights to settle matters of places and dates. A duel was scheduled for 1 June at Bordeaux
. A hundred knights would accompany each side and Edward I of England
would adjudge the contest; the English king, heeding the pope, however, refused to take part. Peter left John of Procida in charge of Sicily and returned via his own kingdom to Bordeaux, which, evading a suspected French ambush, he entered in disguise. Needless to say, no combat ever took place and Peter returned to a very troubled Spain.
While Peter was back in France and Spain, his admiral, Roger of Lauria
, was wreaking havoc in Italy. He routed Charles' fleets on the high seas several times and conquered Malta
for Aragon.
from the rebellious noble Juan Núñez de Lara, and he renewed the alliance with Sancho IV of Castile
and attacked Tudela
in an attempt to prevent the king of Navarre, Philip I
, the son of the French king, from invading on that front.
Peter held meetings of the cortes at Tarragona
and Zaragoza
in 1283. He was forced to grant the Privilegio General to the newly-formed Union of Aragon
. Also in that year, Peter's brother James joined the French and recognised their suzerainty over Montpellier, giving them free passage through the Balearic Islands and Roussillon. In October, Peter began preparing the defences of Catalonia
.
In 1284, Pope Martin IV
granted the kingdom of Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, the son of the French king, Philip III the Bold
, and great nephew of Charles. Papal sanction was given to a war — crusade — to conquer Aragon on behalf of Charles of Valois.
and Count Charles
entered Roussillon. They included cavalry, crossbowmen, and infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though the French had James' support, the local populace rose against them. The city of Elne
was valiantly defended by the so-called bâtard de Roussillon ("bastard of Roussillon"), the illegitimate son of Nuño Sánchez
, late count of Roussillon (1212–1242). Eventually he was overcome and the cathedral was burnt; the royal forces progressed.
In 1285, Philip entrenched himself before Girona
in an attempt to besiege it. The resistance was strong, but the city was taken. Charles was crowned there, but without an actual crown. The French soon experienced a reversal, however, at the hands of Roger de Lauria, back from the Italian theatre of the drawn-out conflict. The French fleet was defeated and destroyed at the Battle of Les Formigues
. As well, the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery
.
Philip himself was afflicted. The heir to the French throne, Philip the Fair
, opened negotiations with Peter for free passage for the royal family through the Pyrenees
. But the troops were not offered such passage and were decimated at the Battle of the Col de Panissars
. The king of France himself died at Perpignan
, the capital of James of Majorca, who had fled in fear after being confronted by Peter, and was buried in Narbonne
. James was declared a vassal of Peter.
os.
The first is in the form of an exchange between Peter and one Peironet
, a jongleur. The second forms part of a compilation of five compositions from Bernat d'Auriac, Peter the Great, Pere Salvatge
(perhaps the same as Peironet), Roger-Bernard III of Foix, and an anonymous contributor.
As well, the wars with Philip of France and James of Majorca furnished material for new sirventesos and during this period the sirventes was converted into a convenient tool of political propaganda in which each side could, directly or allegorically, present its case and procure sympathy propitious to its cause.
Peter died at Vilafranca del Penedès
on 2 November 1285, in the same year as his royal foe Philip
, and was buried in the monastery of Santes Creus
. His deathbed absolution occurred after he declared that his conquests had been in the name of his familial claims and never against the claims of the church.
Peter left Aragon to his eldest son Alfonso III
and Sicily to his second son James II
. Peter's third son, Frederick III, in succession to his brother James, became regent of Sicily and in due course its king. Peter did not provide for his youngest son and namesake, Peter (1275 – 25 August 1296), who married Constanca Mendes de Silva, daughter of Soeiro Mendes Petite, governor of Santarém
in Portugal. This Peter left Spain for Portugal with his sister Elizabeth.
Peter also had two daughters, Elisabeth, who married Denis of Portugal
, and Yolanda
(1273 – August 1302), who married Robert of Naples
.
In the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
sees Peter "singing in accord" (d'ogni valor portó cinta la corda) with his former rival, Charles I of Sicily, outside the gates of Purgatory
. He is also the main character of Shakespare's Much Ado About Nothing
.
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
(as Peter I), and Count of Barcelona (as Peter II) from 1276 to his death. He conquered 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...
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 AragonJames I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
and his second wife Yolanda of Hungary
Violant of Hungary
Violant of Hungary was Queen consort of James I of Aragon. She is also called Jolánta in Hungarian, Iolanda or Violant d'Hongria in Catalan and Yolanda or Violante de Hungría in Spanish.-Family:...
. On 13 June 1262, he married Constance, daughter and heiress 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...
. During his youth and early adulthood, Peter gained a great deal of military experience in his father's wars of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
against the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
.
On James' death, the lands of the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
were divided, with Aragon and Valencia, along with the Catalan counties
Catalan counties
The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica created after its Frankish conquest. The various counties roughly defined what came to be known as the Principality of Catalonia....
, going to the eldest son, Peter, while the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
(constituted as the Kingdom of Majorca
Kingdom of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...
), alongside the territories in the Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
(Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
and Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
), went to the second son, James
James II of Majorca
James II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...
. Peter and Constance were crowned in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
(the capital of Aragon) in November by the archbishop of Tarragona. At this ceremony, Peter renounced all feudal obligations to the papacy which his grandfather Peter II
Peter II of Aragon
Peter II the Catholic was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.He was the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile...
had incurred.
Early rebellions
Peter's first act as king was to complete the pacification of his Valencian territory, an action which had been underway on his father's death.However, a revolt soon broke out in Catalonia, led by the viscount of Cardona
Cardona
Cardona is a town ìn Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona; about 90 km northwest of the city of Barcelona, on a hill almost surrounded by the river Cardoner, a branch of the Llobregat.Near the town is an extensive deposit of rock salt...
and abetted by Roger-Bernard III of Foix
Roger-Bernard III of Foix
Roger-Bernard III was the Count of Foix from 1265 to his death. He was the son of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissende of Cardona. He entered into conflicts with both Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon, who held him in captivity for a time...
, Arnold Roger I of Pallars Sobirà, and Ermengol X of Urgell
Ermengol X of Urgell
Ermengol X was the Count of Urgel and Viscount of Àger from 1268, though his succession was disputed. He was the son of Álvaro of Urgell and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix....
. The rebels had grown a hatred for Peter in response to the severity of his dealings with them in the days of his father. Now, as king, they opposed him for not summoning the Catalan corts, or assembly, and confirming its privileges.
At the same time, a succession crisis continued in the County of Urgell. When Count Álvaro
Álvaro of Urgell
Álvaro , called Álvar el Castellà in Catalan, was the Count of Urgell and Viscount of Àger from 1243...
died in 1268, the families of his two wives, Constance, a daughter of Pedro Moncada of Béarn, and Cecilia, a daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix
Roger-Bernard II of Foix
Roger Bernard II , called the Great, was the sixth count of Foix from 1223 until his death. He was the son and successor of the illustrious count Raymond-Roger and his wife Philippa of Montcada....
, began a long fight over the inheritance of his county. Meanwhile, a good portion of the county had been repossessed by James and thus inherited by Peter. In 1278, Armengol X, Álvaro's eldest son, succeeded in recovering most of his lost patrimony and came to an agreement with Peter whereby he recognised the latter as his suzerain.
In 1280, Peter defeated the stewing rebellion led by Roger-Berengar III after besieging the rebels in Balaguer
Balaguer
Balaguer is the capital of the comarca of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre....
for a month. Most of the rebel leaders were imprisoned in Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
until 1281, while Roger-Bernard was imprisoned until 1284.
Africa
When the Hafsid Emir of Tunisia, Muhammad I al-MustansirMuhammad 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...
, who had put himself under James the Conqueror, died in 1277, Tunisia threw off the yoke of Aragonese suzerainty. Peter first sent an expedition to Tunis
Tunis
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....
in 1280 under Conrad de Llansa designed to re-establish his suzerainty. In 1281, he himself prepared to lead a fleet of 140 ships with men to invade Tunisia on behalf of the governor of Constantine. The fleet landed at Alcoyll
Collo
Collo is the capital, and one of three municipalities, of Collo district in Skikda Province, Algeria. As of 1998, it had a population of 27,800....
in 1282 and the troops began to fortify themselves in. It was these Aragonese troops that received a Sicilian embassy after the 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 30 March asking Peter to take their throne from Charles of Anjou.
Italy
Peter was the direct descendant and the heir-general of the Mafalda, daughter of Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, Duke of Apulia, the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
conqueror, and his official wife Sigelgaita, daughter of a Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
, Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV was Prince of Salerno , Duke of Amalfi , Duke of Gaeta , and Prince of Capua in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. He was an important figure in the final phase of Byzantine authority in the Mezzogiorno and the commencement of Norman power...
. Thus, he stood at the end of the Hauteville
Hauteville family
The family of the Hauteville was a petty baronial Norman family from the Cotentin which rose to prominence in Europe, Asia, and Africa through its conquests in the Mediterranean, especially Southern Italy and Sicily...
succession to Sicily. After the ducal family of Apulia became extinct with William II
William II, Duke of Apulia
William II was the duke of Apulia and Calabria from 1111 to 1127. He was the son and successor of Roger Borsa. His mother, Adela of Flanders, had previously been queen of Denmark, and he was a half-brother of Charles the Good....
in 1127, Mafalda's heirs (then counts of Barcelona) apparently became de jure heirs of Guiscard and Sigelgaita: thus Peter was dormantly a claimant to the Norman succession of southern Italy. More directly, he was the heir of Manfred in right of his wife. The Two Sicilies were to be a tenaciously-pursued inheritance for the Aragonese royal house and its heirs for the next five centuries.
The Italian physician 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...
acted on behalf of Peter in Sicily. John had fled to Aragon after Charles' success at 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...
. John travelled to Sicily to stir up the discontents in favour of Peter and thence to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to procure the support of Michael VIII Palaeologus. Michael refused to aid the Aragonese king without papal approval and so John voyaged to Rome and there gained the consent of Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III , born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, Pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St...
, who feared the ascent of Charles in the Mezzogiorno. John then returned to Barcelona and the pope promptly died, to be replaced by Simon de Brie, a Frenchman and a staunch ally of Charles. The stage, however, had been set for a conflict.
After receiving an embassy from the people of 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...
at Alcoyll, Peter 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 on 4 September. Charles was forced to flee across the Straits of Messina and be content with his "Kingdom 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...
". Simon de Brie as the new Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
excommunicated both Peter and the Byzantine emperor for providing Peter III with gold pieces to invade 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,...
(18 November).
Peter nevertheless pressed his advantage and by February 1283 had taken most of the 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....
n coastline. Charles, perhaps feeling desperate, sent letters to Peter demanding they resolve the conflict by personal combat. The invader accepted and Charles returned to France to arrange the duel. Both kings chose six knights to settle matters of places and dates. A duel was scheduled for 1 June 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...
. A hundred knights would accompany each side and Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
would adjudge the contest; the English king, heeding the pope, however, refused to take part. Peter left John of Procida in charge of Sicily and returned via his own kingdom to Bordeaux, which, evading a suspected French ambush, he entered in disguise. Needless to say, no combat ever took place and Peter returned to a very troubled Spain.
While Peter was back in France and Spain, his admiral, 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...
, was wreaking havoc in Italy. He routed Charles' fleets on the high seas several times and conquered 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...
for Aragon.
Later domestic unrest
Peter was dealing with domestic unrest at the time when the French were preparing an invasion. He took AlbarracínAlbarracín
Albarracín is Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census , the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants...
from the rebellious noble Juan Núñez de Lara, and he renewed the alliance with Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
and attacked Tudela
Tudela, Navarre
Tudela is a municipality in Spain, the second city of the autonomous community of Navarre. Its population is around 35,000. Tudela is sited in the Ebro valley. Fast trains running on two-track electrified railways serve the city and two freeways join close to it...
in an attempt to prevent the king of Navarre, Philip I
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, the son of the French king, from invading on that front.
Peter held meetings of the cortes at Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
and Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
in 1283. He was forced to grant the Privilegio General to the newly-formed Union of Aragon
Union of Aragon
The Union of Aragon was an anti-royalist movement among the nobility and the townsmen of the lands of the Crown of Aragon during the last quarter of the thirteenth century...
. Also in that year, Peter's brother James joined the French and recognised their suzerainty over Montpellier, giving them free passage through the Balearic Islands and Roussillon. In October, Peter began preparing the defences of 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...
.
In 1284, Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
granted the kingdom of Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, the son of the French king, Philip III the Bold
Philip 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:...
, and great nephew of Charles. Papal sanction was given to a war — crusade — to conquer Aragon on behalf of Charles of Valois.
Aragonese Crusade
In 1284, the first French armies under King PhilipPhilip 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:...
and Count Charles
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...
entered Roussillon. They included cavalry, crossbowmen, and infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though the French had James' support, the local populace rose against them. The city of Elne
Elne
Elne is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan...
was valiantly defended by the so-called bâtard de Roussillon ("bastard of Roussillon"), the illegitimate son of Nuño Sánchez
Nuño Sánchez
Nuño Sánchez was a Catalan nobleman and statesman.Nuño was the son of Sancho, Count of Provence, Roussillon, and Cerdagne, and Sancha Núñez of the House of Lara. His father was dispossessed of Provence in 1185 but maintained Roussillon and Cerdagne until his death in 1223, handing control of them...
, late count of Roussillon (1212–1242). Eventually he was overcome and the cathedral was burnt; the royal forces progressed.
In 1285, Philip entrenched himself before Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
in an attempt to besiege it. The resistance was strong, but the city was taken. Charles was crowned there, but without an actual crown. The French soon experienced a reversal, however, at the hands of Roger de Lauria, back from the Italian theatre of the drawn-out conflict. The French fleet was defeated and destroyed at the Battle of Les Formigues
Battle of Les Formigues
The naval Battle of Les Formigues took place probably in the early morning of 4 September 1285 near Les Formigues Islands, about 85 km northeast of Barcelona, when a Catalan-Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a French and Genoese galley fleet commanded by Guilhem de...
. As well, the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
.
Philip himself was afflicted. The heir to the French throne, Philip the Fair
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, opened negotiations with Peter for free passage for the royal family through the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. But the troops were not offered such passage and were decimated at the Battle of the Col de Panissars
Battle of the Col de Panissars
The Battle of the Col de Panissars was fought on 30 September and 1 October 1285 between the forces of Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragón...
. The king of France himself died at Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
, the capital of James of Majorca, who had fled in fear after being confronted by Peter, and was buried in Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
. James was declared a vassal of Peter.
Troubadour works
Peter matched his father in patronage of the arts and literature, but unlike him he was a lover of verse, not prose. He favoured the troubadours, of which he himself was one, and wrote two sirventesSirventes
The sirventes or serventes is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. In early Catalan it became a sirventesch and was imported into that language in the fourteenth century, where it developed into a unique didactic/moralistic type...
os.
The first is in the form of an exchange between Peter and one Peironet
Peironet
Peironet or Peyronet was a Catalan troubadour and jongleur . "Peironet" is a diminutive of the Occitan name "Peire", meaning Peter. He might be the same person as Pere Salvatge....
, a jongleur. The second forms part of a compilation of five compositions from Bernat d'Auriac, Peter the Great, Pere Salvatge
Pere Salvatge
Pere Salvatge or Peire/Peyre Salvagge was a Catalan troubadour of the late thirteenth century . He is most notable as a constant attendant at the court of Peter III and Alfonso III of Aragon...
(perhaps the same as Peironet), Roger-Bernard III of Foix, and an anonymous contributor.
As well, the wars with Philip of France and James of Majorca furnished material for new sirventesos and during this period the sirventes was converted into a convenient tool of political propaganda in which each side could, directly or allegorically, present its case and procure sympathy propitious to its cause.
Death and legacy
Vilafranca del Penedès
Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca, is the capital of the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, Villafranca del Penedés, is no longer in official use...
on 2 November 1285, in the same year as his royal foe Philip
Philip 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:...
, and was buried in the monastery of Santes Creus
Santes Creus
Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus is a Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.- History :The monastery's origins date to 1158, when the Lords of Montagut y de Albá donated the village of Santes Creus to the monks of Valdaura...
. His deathbed absolution occurred after he declared that his conquests had been in the name of his familial claims and never against the claims of the church.
Peter left Aragon to his eldest son Alfonso III
Alfonso III of Aragon
Alfonso III , called the Liberal or the Free , was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1285...
and Sicily to his second son James II
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
. Peter's third son, Frederick III, in succession to his brother James, became regent of Sicily and in due course its king. Peter did not provide for his youngest son and namesake, Peter (1275 – 25 August 1296), who married Constanca Mendes de Silva, daughter of Soeiro Mendes Petite, governor of Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
in Portugal. This Peter left Spain for Portugal with his sister Elizabeth.
Peter also had two daughters, Elisabeth, who married Denis of Portugal
Denis of Portugal
Dinis , called the Farmer King , was the sixth King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile and grandson of king Alfonso X of Castile , Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.-Biography:As heir to the throne, Infante Dinis was...
, and Yolanda
Yolanda of Aragon
Yolanda of Aragon was the daughter of Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily. She married Robert of Naples but was never Queen of Naples since she died before her husband inherited the throne.- Family :...
(1273 – August 1302), who married Robert of Naples
Robert of Naples
Robert of Anjou , known as Robert the Wise was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the third but eldest surviving son of King Charles II of Naples the Lame and Maria of Hungary...
.
In the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
sees Peter "singing in accord" (d'ogni valor portó cinta la corda) with his former rival, Charles I of Sicily, outside the gates of Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
. He is also the main character of Shakespare's Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
.