Victorious rebellion
42-568: Aragonese Crusade Angevin invasion of Sicily The Sicilian Vespers ( Italian : Vespri siciliani ; Sicilian : Vespiri siciliani ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou , who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. The revolt came after sixteen years of Angevin rule over Sicily, whose policies were deeply unpopular among
84-420: A proper showing of deference made for the pope's consumption, he took advantage of the revolt. Peter ordered his fleet to sail for Sicily, landed at Trapani on 30 August 1282. While he marched towards Palermo, his fleet followed close by the coastal road. Peter III of Aragon's involvement changed the character of the uprising from a local revolt into a European war. When Peter arrived at Palermo on September 2, he
126-585: Is of interest to sociologists. According to the legend, John of Procida was the mastermind behind the conspiracy, though modern sources consider Procida's role in instigating the revolt to be either an exaggeration or outright historical inaccuracy. It seems that he was in contact with both Michael VIII Palaiologos and Peter III of Aragon . All three were later excommunicated by Pope Martin IV in 1282. After leaders were elected in Palermo, messengers spread word across
168-577: The Saracens along the northern coast of Africa, because he had legitimate trade interests there and needed to protect them. So when Peter received a request for help from the Sicilians he was conveniently on the north coast of Africa in Tunis , just 200 miles across the sea from the island. At first, Peter feigned indifference to the request of the Sicilians and their plight, but after several days to allow
210-569: The War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302), the crusade was called by Pope Martin IV in retribution for Peter III of Aragon 's intervention in Sicily, which had damaged the political ambitions of the papacy and France. The Kingdom of France, aided by the Kingdom of Majorca , led the crusade. Despite domestic opposition to the crusade, Philip III of France invaded Catalonia in 1285. While
252-475: The heavy taxes he imposed on wars outside Sicily, making Sicily somewhat of a donor economy to Charles' nascent empire. As Steven Runciman put it, "[The Sicilians] saw themselves now being ruled to enable an alien tyrant make conquests from which they would have no benefit". The unrest was also fomented by Byzantine agents to thwart Charles' projected invasion and by King Peter III of Aragon , Manfred's son-in-law, who saw his wife Constance as rightful heir to
294-705: The interregnum lasted longer and there was no emperor until 1274. He first styled himself as vicar of his nephew Conradin , Conrad's son. However, following a false rumor that Conradin was dead, Manfred had himself crowned king. He wished for a reconciliation with the papacy, which may have explained his support for the landless Baldwin II, Latin Emperor . However, Pope Urban IV and later Pope Clement IV were not prepared to recognize Manfred as lawful ruler of Sicily and first excommunicated him, then sought to depose him by force of arms. After abortive attempts to enlist England as
336-575: The Capetian monarchy." W. C. Jordan has blamed it for the young Philip's opposition to papal interference in French foreign policy upon his succession, which had long-reaching consequences for Europe. The crusade's legacy to France was slight, but Majorca was devastated as an independent polity. Alfonso III annexed Majorca, Ibiza , and Menorca in the following years. In 1295, the Treaty of Anagni returned
378-456: The Fair . Although Peter feared a full-scale invasion from Navarre, there were only some cross-border raids. The Navarrese king joined the main invading army under his father. In 1284, the first French armies under Philip and Charles entered Roussillon. They included 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though they had James' support,
420-538: The French saw some successes on land, the Aragonese navy won control of the sea, and a badly attritted French crusader army was forced to retreat in the fall of 1285. The defeat of the French army in 1285 effectively ended fighting, and Aragon would make peace with the pope by way of the 1291 Treaty of Tarascon . The crusade, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers , was declared by Pope Martin IV against King Peter III of Aragon in 1284 and 1285. Because of
462-457: The French. 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. Peter's eldest son, the future Alfonso III , was placed in charge of defending the border with Navarre , which was ruled by Philip III's son, Philip
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#1732765197110504-602: The Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II . Of all that emperor's heirs, she was the only one not captive and was able to assert her rights. Peter III championed his wife's claim to the entirety of the Kingdom of Sicily. Before the Vespers, Peter III constructed and outfitted a fleet for war. When the pope asked why he needed such a great war fleet, Peter stated that it would be used against
546-564: The Holy Land (1095–1291) Later Crusades (1291–1717) Northern (1147–1410) Against Christians (1209–1588) Popular (1096–1320) The Aragonese Crusade (1284–1285), also known as the Crusade of Aragon or Crusade against Catalonia , was a military venture waged by the Kingdom of France against the Crown of Aragon . Fought as an extension of
588-566: The Pope, who would hold a vague and unstable suzerainty. However, the French pope was firmly in Charles' camp and he directed the Sicilians to recognize Charles as their rightful king. But Martin underestimated the Sicilians' hatred of the French, and especially of Charles, who ruled from Naples rather than Palermo, where he could have seen the suffering caused by his officials. Charles' island officials were far removed from his oversight; he did not see
630-548: The Sicilian crowd fell upon them, killing them all. At that moment all the church bells in Palermo began to ring for Vespers. Runciman describes the mood of the night: To the sound of the bells messengers ran through the city calling on the men of Palermo to rise against the oppressor. At once the streets were filled with angry armed men, crying "Death to the French" (" moranu li Francisi " in Sicilian ). Every Frenchman they met
672-504: The Sicilian populace. Sparked by an incident in Palermo , the revolt quickly spread to the majority of Sicily. Within six weeks, approximately 13,000 French men and women were slain by the rebels, and the government of Charles lost control of the island. Seeking support for the rebellion, the Sicilians offered the throne to Peter III of Aragon , who claimed the crown on behalf of his wife, Constance of Sicily . The Aragonese intervention in
714-541: The Sicilian throne. The event takes its name from an insurrection which began at the start of Vespers , the sunset prayer marking the beginning of the night vigil on Easter Monday , 30 March 1282, at the Church of the Holy Spirit just outside Palermo . Beginning on that night, thousands of Sicily's French inhabitants were massacred within six weeks. The events that started the uprising are not known for certain, but
756-461: The advancing royal forces as a prisoner. In 1285, Philip the Bold 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. On 28 April, Cardinal Jean Cholet placed his own hat on the count's head. For this, Charles was derisively but not unaffectionately nicknamed roi du chapeau ("king of
798-420: The avarice, the rape, theft and murder, nor did he see the high taxes levied against the meager possessions of the peasants, which kept them impoverished, but made no improvement in their lives. The pope refused the rebels' pleas to allow the status of free communes; therefore, the Sicilians sent their pleas to Peter III of Aragon married to Constance , daughter of Manfred, King of Sicily and granddaughter of
840-492: The cathedral in Palermo on September 4, thus becoming also Peter I of Sicily . With the pope's blessing, the counterattack from Charles was not long in coming; his fleet from the Kingdom of Naples arrived and blockaded the port of Messina and made several attempts to land troops on the island, but all were repulsed. Years later, in his autobiography, the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII wrote: "Should I dare to claim that I
882-546: The champion of the Papacy against Manfred, Urban IV settled on the later Charles I of Naples as his candidate for the Sicilian throne. Charles would invade Italy, and in 1266 defeated and killed Manfred at the Battle of Benevento , becoming King of Sicily. In 1268 Conradin, who had meanwhile come of age, invaded Italy to press his claim to the throne, but he was defeated at the Battle of Tagliacozzo and executed afterwards. Charles
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#1732765197110924-420: The fee from their tenants, thus in practice the peasants were to pay the adoha . Those who lived in the royal demesne—all burghers and the majority of the peasantry—were subjected to levies in money or in kind, known as collecta . The monarchs could in theory freely demand such levies, only their fear of riots limited their greed. The Holy Roman Emperor , Frederick II , who was also king of Sicily, summoned
966-491: The hat"). The French soon experienced a reversal, however, at the hands of Peter III's admiral, Roger de Lauria . The French fleet was defeated and destroyed at the Battle of Les Formigues , on the Catalan coast near to Palamós . As well, the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery . Philip himself was afflicted. The heir to the French throne, Philip of Navarre, opened negotiations with Peter for free passage for
1008-590: The island for the rebels to strike before the French had time to organise resistance. In a fortnight the rebels gained control over most of the island, and within six weeks it was all under rebel control, except for Messina which was well fortified, and whose leading family, the Riso, remained faithful to Charles. But on 28 April it too broke into open revolt under the command of Captain of the People Alaimo da Lentini [ it ] and, most significantly,
1050-513: The island upon a promise that they never return. After the restoration of order in the city, the townsmen announced themselves a free commune answerable only to the pope. They elected leaders, one of whom was Bartholomaeus of Neocastro who was prominent in the unfolding events and would later chronicle much of the revolt in Historia Sicula , an important if sometimes contradictory source of information for historians. Again significantly,
1092-419: The islanders' first act was to set fire to Charles's fleet in the harbor. It is reported that upon hearing of the fleet's destruction, King Charles exclaimed "Lord God, since it has pleased You to ruin my fortune, let me only go down in small steps." Charles' Vicar Herbert and his family were safely within castle Mategriffon , but after negotiations the rebels granted Herbert and his family safe conduct to leave
1134-438: The islands to James and the Treaty of Tarascon of 1291 officially restored Aragon to Alfonso and lifted the ban of the church. Subventio generalis The subventio generalis (or "general aid"), also known as collecta , was a direct tax in the medieval Kingdom of Sicily . The subventio generalis had its origins in the obligation of the holders of fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily to provide military service to
1176-652: The leaders' next act was to send word, via a Genoese merchant named Alafranco Cassano, to the Emperor Michael advising him that his nemesis Charles had been crippled. Only thereafter were ambassadors sent to Pope Martin IV pleading for each city on the island to be recognised as a free commune under the sole suzerainty of the Holy Church. The islanders were hoping for status similar to that enjoyed by Venice , Genoa, Pisa and other cities, which were free to form their own government but morally answerable only to
1218-495: 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 burned, despite the presence of papal legates , while the population was massacred, all save the Bâtard . He succeeded in negotiating his surrender and accompanied
1260-452: The monarchs. They were required to serve in the royal army without compensation for maximum 90 days for each 20 ounces of their annual income. They could get rid of this irksome duty, if they pay a special fee, known as adohamentum or adoha . Most barons and counts preferred to pay the fee which thus developed into a tax already under the Norman kings of Sicily . The landowners collected
1302-680: The rebellion led to an expansion of the conflict into the War of the Sicilian Vespers . The rising had its origin in the struggle of investiture between the pope and the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors for control of Italy , especially the Church's private demesne known as the Papal States . These lay between Hohenstaufen lands in northern Italy and the Hohenstaufen Kingdom of Sicily in
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1344-583: The recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, Martin declared a crusade against him and officially deposed him as king, on the grounds that Aragon was a papal fief: Peter's grandfather and namesake, Peter II , had surrendered the kingdom as a fief to the Holy See . Martin bestowed Aragon on Peter's nephew Count Charles of Valois , son of King Philip III of France . The crusade soon caused civil war within Aragon, as Peter's brother, King James II of Majorca , joined
1386-659: 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, and was buried in Narbonne . Peter did not long survive him. Historian H. J. Chaytor described the Aragonese Crusade as "perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by
1428-555: The rule of the Latin Empire . With the Byzantine recapture of the city in 1261, Michael VIII Palaiologos continued to rebuild what was left of the economically strategic city as an important trade route to Europe. Unrest simmered in Sicily because of its very subordinate role in Charles' empire—its nobles had no share in the government of their own island and were not compensated by lucrative posts abroad, as were Charles' French, Provençal and Neapolitan subjects; also, Charles spent
1470-704: The south; the Hohenstaufens also, at the time, ruled Germany. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick II and declared him deposed, and roused opposition against him in Germany and Italy. When Frederick died in 1250, his dominion was inherited by his son, Conrad IV of Germany . A period of turmoil followed Conrad's death in 1254, and the Kingdom of Sicily was seized by Manfred, King of Sicily , Frederick's illegitimate son, who reigned from 1258 to 1266. Manfred had no involvement in German politics, where
1512-583: The test was slain… By the next morning some two thousand French men and women lay dead; and the rebels were in complete control of the city. According to Leonardo Bruni (1416), the Palermitans were holding a festival outside the city when the French came up to check for weapons, and on that pretext began to fondle the breasts of their women. This then began a riot. The French were attacked, first with rocks, then weapons, and all were killed. The news spread to other cities leading to revolt throughout Sicily. "By
1554-413: The time the furious anger at their insolence had drunk its fill of blood, the French had given up to the Sicilians not only their ill-gotten riches but their lives as well." There is also a third version of the events that is quite close to Runciman's, varying only in the minor details. This story is part of the oral tradition on the island up to the present time. This oral tradition cannot be verified, but
1596-430: The various retellings have common elements. According to Steven Runciman, the Sicilians at the church were engaged in holiday festivities and a group of French officials came by to join in and began to drink. A sergeant named Drouet dragged a young married woman from the crowd, pestering her with his advances. Her husband then attacked Drouet with a knife, killing him. When the other Frenchmen tried to avenge their comrade,
1638-481: Was God's instrument to bring freedom to the Sicilians, then I should only be stating the truth." But as Runciman observes, with or without Byzantine gold, it was the proud people of Sicily alone who fought against their armed oppressor; and "However it may have been plotted and prepared, it was that one March evening of the Vespers at Palermo that brought down King Charles' empire." Aragonese Crusade Aragonese Crusade Angevin invasion of Sicily In
1680-602: Was now undisputed master of the Kingdom of Sicily. Charles regarded his Sicilian territories as a springboard for his Mediterranean ambitions, which included the overthrow of Michael VIII Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire and the capture of Constantinople . Constantinople was captured during the Fourth Crusade and had been brought into the fold of the Roman Catholic religion for 57 years under
1722-459: Was received initially by the populace with indifference, as merely one foreign king replacing another. However, when Pope Martin made plain his orders for the Sicilians to accept Charles, Peter promised the islanders that they would enjoy the ancient privileges they had had under the Norman king, William II of Sicily . Thus, he was accepted as a satisfactory second choice and crowned by acclamation at
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1764-500: Was struck down. They poured into the inns frequented by the French and the houses where they dwelt, sparing neither man, woman nor child. Sicilian girls who had married Frenchmen perished with their husbands. The rioters broke into the Dominican and Franciscan convents; and all the foreign friars were dragged out and told to pronounce the word "ciciri", whose sound the French tongue could never accurately reproduce . Anyone who failed
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