War of the Sicilian Vespers
Encyclopedia
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. It was fought in Sicily
, Catalonia
(the Aragonese Crusade
) and elsewhere in the western Mediterranean between, on the one side, the Angevin claimants Charles of Anjou and his son, Charles II
and the kings of France, their relatives, backed by the Papacy and, on the other side, the kings of Aragon.
, which also encompassed the southern Italian peninsula, since the early 12th century, when Roger II of Sicily
defeated the Italian mainland barons and was elected King by the pope. His reign had been inherited by Frederick II of Sicily
, whose son Manfred
was however ousted by the French invasion of Charles I of Anjou in 1266. The French rule soon assumed a repressive and ferocious character.
On Easter Monday
(30 March) 1282, at the Church of the Holy Spirit just outside Palermo
, at evening prayer (vespers
), a Frenchman harassed a Sicilian woman. Accounts differ as to what the harassment entailed, who the woman was, and who the Frenchman was.
This single event led to the massacre of four thousand Frenchmen over the course of the next six weeks. The king of Sicily at the time, Charles I, was an Angevin
, and his French followers had a legacy of mistreating the native people of Sicily, especially while Charles was away on one of his many absences. Only a few officials notable for their good conduct were spared; and the city of Messina held out for Charles. But through the diplomatic errors of the vicar
, Herbert of Orléans, Messina revolted on April 28. Herbert retreated to the castle of Mategriffon
and the Crusader fleet stationed in the harbour was burned.
The Italian physician John of Procida
acted on behalf of Peter of Aragon
, the heir of Manfred
in right of his wife. John had been a loyal servant of Manfred's and 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 of Procida then returned to Barcelona
and the pope promptly died, to be replaced by Simon de Brie
, a Frenchman and an ally of Charles.
Soon after the Vespers itself, the Sicilians turned to Peter of Aragon to deliver them from French dominion. An Aragonese fleet under Peter himself had landed at Collo
, now in eastern Algeria
, and to those troops the Sicilians sent envoys. Peter was offered the throne of Sicily and accepted. Pope Martin had meanwhile refused to help the Sicilian communes and the rebels were excommunicated, as was the Byzantine emperor and the Ghibellines of northern Italy
.
Charles gathered his forces, abandoning Crusading hopes, in Calabria
and made a landing near Messina and began a siege. Five months after the Vespers, on 30 August, Peter landed at Trapani
. He quickly marched into Palermo and, on 4 September, received the homage of the Sicilians and confirmed their ancient privileges. Only the vacancy of the Palermitan archdiocese prevented a coronation. Charles was still besieging Messina when Peter's forces first met him. Charles was forced to vacate the isle by the end of October and was thenceforth restricted to the mainland. The pope then excommunicated the Aragonese king and deprived him of his kingdom (18 November).
Peter pressed his advantage and by February 1283 he had taken most of the Calabrian 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, refused to take part. Peter left John of Procida in charge of Sicily and returned via his own kingdom to Bordeaux, which he entered in disguise to evade a suspected French ambush. Needless to say, no combat ever took place and Peter returned to a very troubled Spain.
While Peter and Charles had been pursuing justice by duel in France, the Catalan admiral Roger of Lauria
had been continuing the war in Italy. He had been ravaging the Calabrian coast and keeping up a strong naval presence. Charles had left Bordeaux for Provence and there sent out a fleet for Naples
(his capital in Italy at the time and for the future of his dynasty). Roger took Malta
and defeated the Angevin-Provençal fleet near the islands in the Battle of Malta
. Roger then drew Charles the Lame
, the son and heir apparent of the Neapolitan king and the Prince of Salerno, out of Naples' port. Roger utterly routed him on the high seas, destroying the whole Angevin navy in the Battle of the Gulf of Naples
. Roger took the prince and forty two ships captive to Messina. Charles the elder arrived in Italy at that time, but died soon after in 1285 and the war in Italy was put on hold by the lack of leadership on both sides: Charles' successor was in chains and Peter was dealing with a new menace, the Aragonese Crusade
.
In 1284, Pope Martin granted the kingdom of Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, the brother of the French king and great nephew of Charles of Sicily. Papal sanction was given to a war—crusade—which historian H. J. Chaytor describes as "perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by the Capetian monarchy
." While Roger of Lauria was still solidifying Peter's gains in Sicily and Calabria, Peter himself had entered France clandestinely to duel Charles, but that failing, returned to his Spanish domains, while Charles re-entered Italy, where he had died.
Peter was dealing with domestic unrest at the time when the French were preparing invasion. He took Albarracín
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, Philip III the Bold, from invading on that front.
In 1283, Peter's brother, King James II of Majorca
, joined the French and recognised their suzerainty over Montpellier
and gave them free passage through the Balearic Islands
and Roussillon
. James had also inherited the county of Roussillon
and thus stood between the dominions of the French and Aragonese monarchs. Peter had opposed James' inheritance as a younger son and reaped the consequence of such rivalry in the crusade. In 1284, the first French armies under King Philip and Count Charles entered Roussillon. They included 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 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, the king of Navarre, opened negotiations with Peter for free passage for the royal family through the Pyrenees
. But the troops were not offered such passage and were devastated 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
.
Peter died on 2 November 1285, in the same year as his two royal foes, Charles and Philip. 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. After a few more years of general warfare, marked by the Battle of the Counts
on 23 June 1287, where the Angevins were defeated near Naples, the Treaty of Tarascon
of 1291 officially restored Aragon to his heir, Alfonso
, and lifted the ban of the church.
whereby he gave up Sicily to the papacy, with Pope Boniface VIII
granting it to Charles. However, Peter III's third son, Frederick
, the regent of Sicily, refused to acquiesce in the treaty, as did the Sicilian populace and they proclaimed him king. With this, war was renewed between Aragonese Sicily and Angevin Naples, between Frederick and Charles.
The treaty, however, obligated James to enter the war in assistance of Charles and he sent his fleet from Catalonia to harass his brother's coasts. Frederick went on the offensive quickly and invaded Calabria in 1296. He seized several towns, encouraged revolt in Naples, negotiated with the Ghibellines of Tuscany
and Lombardy
, and assisted the house of Colonna against the pope.
James was very serious about fulfilling his part of the treaty of 1295 and enforcing a peace. In this he had the support of John of Procida and Roger of Lauria, his father's ablest men. On 4 July 1299, James himself led his fleet with Roger of Lauria and defeated his brother at the Battle of Cape Orlando
. Meanwhile, Charles' sons, Robert
(who had married James' daughter) and Philip
, had landed in Sicily and captured Catania
. Philip moved to besiege Trapani
, but was defeated and captured by Frederick at the Battle of Falconaria
. Frederick multiplied his successes in Calabria. On 14 June 1300, Roger of Lauria defeated the Sicilians again at the Battle of Ponza. Frederick himself was captured in battle.
In 1302, Charles of Valois came down into Italy at the behest of Pope Boniface. He landed in Sicily, but his army was ravaged by the plague and forced to sue for peace. On 19 August, the Peace of Caltabellotta
was signed and Frederick was recognised as king over Sicily, with the title of King of Trinacria. Charles was recognised as king over the peninsula, with the title of King of Sicily, usually rendered by historians as "King of Naples," for such was his capital. In May 1303, the pope ratified the treaty and Frederick paid him tribute. Marriage was arranged between Frederick and Charles' daughter Eleanor.
The Vinuta di lu re Iapicu in Catania, another Sicilian history, by Atanasiu di Iaci
, is available online:
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...
against Charles of Anjou
Charles I of Sicily
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...
in 1282 and finally ended with the peace of Caltabellotta
Peace of Caltabellotta
The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August, 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Tarascon and Anagni, designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the Mediterranean and especially Sicily and the Mezzogiorno.The peace divided...
in 1302. It was fought 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,...
, 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...
(the Aragonese Crusade
Aragonese Crusade
The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragon, Peter III the Great, in 1284 and 1285...
) and elsewhere in the western Mediterranean between, on the one side, the Angevin claimants Charles of Anjou and his son, 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:...
and the kings of France, their relatives, backed by the Papacy and, on the other side, the kings of Aragon.
Background
Sicily had been part of a Kingdom of SicilyKingdom 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...
, which also encompassed the southern Italian peninsula, since the early 12th century, when Roger II of Sicily
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...
defeated the Italian mainland barons and was elected King by the pope. His reign had been inherited by Frederick II of Sicily
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, whose son 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...
was however ousted by the French invasion of Charles I of Anjou in 1266. The French rule soon assumed a repressive and ferocious character.
On Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
(30 March) 1282, at the Church of the Holy Spirit just outside 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 evening prayer (vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
), a Frenchman harassed a Sicilian woman. Accounts differ as to what the harassment entailed, who the woman was, and who the Frenchman was.
This single event led to the massacre of four thousand Frenchmen over the course of the next six weeks. The king of Sicily at the time, Charles I, was an 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...
, and his French followers had a legacy of mistreating the native people of Sicily, especially while Charles was away on one of his many absences. Only a few officials notable for their good conduct were spared; and the city of Messina held out for Charles. But through the diplomatic errors of the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, Herbert of Orléans, Messina revolted on April 28. 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...
and the Crusader fleet stationed in the harbour was burned.
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 of Aragon
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...
, the heir of 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...
in right of his wife. John had been a loyal servant of Manfred's and 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
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
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
Mezzogiorno
The Midday is a wide definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the southern half of the Italian state, encompassing the southern section of the continental Italian Peninsula and the two major islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to a large number of minor islands...
. John of Procida then returned to 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...
and the pope promptly died, to be replaced by Simon de Brie
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
, a Frenchman and an ally of Charles.
Aragonese invasion of Italy
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....
, now in eastern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, and to those troops the Sicilians sent envoys. Peter was offered the throne of Sicily and accepted. Pope Martin had meanwhile refused to help the Sicilian communes and the rebels were excommunicated, as was the Byzantine emperor and the Ghibellines of northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
.
Charles gathered his forces, abandoning Crusading hopes, 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. Five months after the Vespers, on 30 August, 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:...
. He quickly marched into Palermo and, on 4 September, received the homage of the Sicilians and confirmed their ancient privileges. Only the vacancy of the Palermitan archdiocese prevented a coronation. Charles was still besieging Messina when Peter's forces first met him. Charles was forced to vacate the isle by the end of October and was thenceforth restricted to the mainland. The pope then excommunicated the Aragonese king and deprived him of his kingdom (18 November).
Peter pressed his advantage and by February 1283 he had taken most of the Calabrian 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, refused to take part. Peter left John of Procida in charge of Sicily and returned via his own kingdom to Bordeaux, which he entered in disguise to evade a suspected French ambush. Needless to say, no combat ever took place and Peter returned to a very troubled Spain.
While Peter and Charles had been pursuing justice by duel in France, the Catalan 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...
had been continuing the war in Italy. He had been ravaging the Calabrian coast and keeping up a strong naval presence. Charles had left Bordeaux for Provence and there sent out a fleet for 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...
(his capital in Italy at the time and for the future of his dynasty). Roger took 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...
and defeated the Angevin-Provençal fleet near the islands 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...
. Roger then drew Charles the Lame
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:...
, the son and heir apparent of the Neapolitan king and the Prince of Salerno, out of Naples' port. Roger utterly routed him on the high seas, destroying the whole Angevin navy in the Battle of the Gulf of Naples
Battle of the Gulf of Naples
The naval Battle of the Gulf of Naples took place on 5 June 1284 in the south of the Gulf of Naples, Italy, when an Aragonese-Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a Neapolitan galley fleet commanded by Charles of Salerno and captured Charles.Charles' Genoese allies had...
. Roger took the prince and forty two ships captive to Messina. Charles the elder arrived in Italy at that time, but died soon after in 1285 and the war in Italy was put on hold by the lack of leadership on both sides: Charles' successor was in chains and Peter was dealing with a new menace, the Aragonese Crusade
Aragonese Crusade
The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragon, Peter III the Great, in 1284 and 1285...
.
Aragonese Crusade
In 1284, Pope Martin granted the kingdom of Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, the brother of the French king and great nephew of Charles of Sicily. Papal sanction was given to a war—crusade—which historian H. J. Chaytor describes as "perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by the Capetian monarchy
House of Capet
The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...
." While Roger of Lauria was still solidifying Peter's gains in Sicily and Calabria, Peter himself had entered France clandestinely to duel Charles, but that failing, returned to his Spanish domains, while Charles re-entered Italy, where he had died.
Peter was dealing with domestic unrest at the time when the French were preparing invasion. He took Albarracín
Albarracín
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
Juan Núñez de Lara
Juan Núñez de Lara , Lord of Lara and Vizcaya, son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and Juana Núñez de Lara the Little Dove...
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, Philip III the Bold, from invading on that front.
In 1283, Peter's brother, King James II of Majorca
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...
, joined the French and recognised their suzerainty over 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 gave them free passage through 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...
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...
. James had also inherited the county of Roussillon
Counts of Roussillon
This is a list of the counts of Roussillon, in Catalan Rosselló.-Carolingian counts:These counts were nominated by the Carolingian kings of France, of whom they were vassals.*Gaucelm Hereafter, also counts of Barcelona....
and thus stood between the dominions of the French and Aragonese monarchs. Peter had opposed James' inheritance as a younger son and reaped the consequence of such rivalry in the crusade. In 1284, the first French armies under King Philip and Count Charles entered Roussillon. They included 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 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, the king of Navarre, 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 devastated 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...
.
Peter died on 2 November 1285, in the same year as his two royal foes, Charles and Philip. 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. After a few more years of general warfare, marked by the Battle of the Counts
Battle of the Counts
The naval Battle of the Counts took place on 23 June 1287 at Naples, Italy, when an Aragonese-Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a large combined Angevin galley fleet commanded respectively by Reynald III Quarrel and Narjot de Toucy.Lauria had taken his fleet to Augusta,...
on 23 June 1287, where the Angevins were defeated near Naples, the Treaty of Tarascon
Treaty of Tarascon
The Treaty of Tarascon was an accord between Pope Nicholas IV, Philip IV of France, Charles II of Naples, and Alfonso III of Aragón that was intended to end the Aragonese Crusade, an episode in the War of the Sicilian Vespers...
of 1291 officially restored Aragon to his heir, Alfonso
Alfonso III of Aragon
Alfonso III , called the Liberal or the Free , was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1285...
, and lifted the ban of the church.
Sicily against Naples and Aragon
With the Treaty of Tarascon, the war with Aragon ended, but it had little effect with the death of Alfonso within months. Alfonso's brother, James I of Sicily, inherited Aragon and united the two realms. In 1295, James signed the Treaty of AnagniTreaty of Anagni
The Treaty of Anagni was an accord between the Pope Boniface VIII, James II of Aragon, Philip IV of France, Charles II of Naples, and James II of Majorca. It was signed on 20 June 1295 at Anagni, in what is now central Italy. The chief purpose was to confirm the Treaty of Tarascon of 1291, which...
whereby he gave up Sicily to the papacy, with Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
granting it to Charles. However, Peter III's third son, Frederick
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...
, the regent of Sicily, refused to acquiesce in the treaty, as did the Sicilian populace and they proclaimed him king. With this, war was renewed between Aragonese Sicily and Angevin Naples, between Frederick and Charles.
The treaty, however, obligated James to enter the war in assistance of Charles and he sent his fleet from Catalonia to harass his brother's coasts. Frederick went on the offensive quickly and invaded Calabria in 1296. He seized several towns, encouraged revolt in Naples, negotiated with the Ghibellines of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
and Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, and assisted the house of Colonna against the pope.
James was very serious about fulfilling his part of the treaty of 1295 and enforcing a peace. In this he had the support of John of Procida and Roger of Lauria, his father's ablest men. On 4 July 1299, James himself led his fleet with Roger of Lauria and defeated his brother at the Battle of Cape Orlando
Battle of Cape Orlando
The naval Battle of Cape Orlando took place on 4 July 1299 at St Marco di Val Demone, north-western Sicily, when an Aragonese and Angevin galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Conrad d'Oria. Both leaders, James II and Frederick III, were present...
. Meanwhile, Charles' sons, Robert
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...
(who had married James' daughter) and Philip
Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
, had landed in Sicily and captured Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
. Philip moved to besiege 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:...
, but was defeated and captured by Frederick at the Battle of Falconaria
Battle of Falconaria
The Battle of Falconaria was a battle of the latter days of the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Fought on 1 December 1299 between the forces of Frederick II of Sicily and Philip I of Taranto of the Kingdom of Naples, it was a momentous victory for Frederick and a disaster for Philip, who was...
. Frederick multiplied his successes in Calabria. On 14 June 1300, Roger of Lauria defeated the Sicilians again at the Battle of Ponza. Frederick himself was captured in battle.
In 1302, Charles of Valois came down into Italy at the behest of Pope Boniface. He landed in Sicily, but his army was ravaged by the plague and forced to sue for peace. On 19 August, the Peace of Caltabellotta
Peace of Caltabellotta
The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August, 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Tarascon and Anagni, designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the Mediterranean and especially Sicily and the Mezzogiorno.The peace divided...
was signed and Frederick was recognised as king over Sicily, with the title of King of Trinacria. Charles was recognised as king over the peninsula, with the title of King of Sicily, usually rendered by historians as "King of Naples," for such was his capital. In May 1303, the pope ratified the treaty and Frederick paid him tribute. Marriage was arranged between Frederick and Charles' daughter Eleanor.
Primary
The Rebellamentu di Sichilia, a Sicilian tract of 1290, is available online in two editions:- Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia. Codice della Biblioteca regionale di Palermo. Edited by Filippo Evola (1882).
- Le vespro siciliano. Cronaca siciliana anonima intitolata Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia, codice esistente nell' Archivio municipale di Catania. Edited by Pasquale Castorina (1882).
The Vinuta di lu re Iapicu in Catania, another Sicilian history, by Atanasiu di Iaci
Atanasiu di Iaci
Frate Atanasiu di Iaci or Athanasiu da Jaci was a Benedictine monk and historiographer from Aci. He wrote Vinuta di lu re Iapicu in Catania , a Sicilian chronicle of the arrival and stay of James I in Catania in May 1287...
, is available online:
- Romanzo siculo del 1287. Edited by Bernardino Biondelli (1856).
Secondary
- Runciman, StevenSteven RuncimanThe Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
. The Sicilian Vespers. 1958. ISBN 0-521-43774-1 - Bruni, LeonardoLeonardo BruniLeonardo Bruni was an Italian humanist, historian and statesman. He has been called the first modern historian.-Biography:...
. History of the Florentine People. 1416. ISBN 0-674-00506-6 (Harvard, 2001) - Abulafia, David. The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms, 1200-1500. 1997. ISBN 0-582-07820-2
- Chaytor, H. J. A History of Aragon and Catalonia. 1933.
- Ramon MuntanerRamon MuntanerRamon Muntaner was a Catalan soldier and writer who wrote the Crònica, a chronicle of his life, including his adventures as a commander in the Catalan Company...
, Chronicle, tr. Lady Goodenough (available in PDF format).