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Charles I Of Anjou

Charles I of Anjou

Charles of Anjou (1227–1285), also Charles I of Sicily. He was King of Sicily 1262–1282 (and under that title, King of Naples 1282–1285), King of Albania 1272–1285, King of Jerusalem 1277–1285, Prince of Achaea 1278–1285, Count of Provence and Forcalquier 1246–1285, and Count of Anjou and Maine 1247–1285. He was the posthumous son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, and hence brother to Louis IX of France and Alphonse of Toulouse. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen in 1266 and began to acquire lands in the eastern Mediterranean. However, the Sicilian Vespers freed Sicily from his control, and the resulting war forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire.

Biography

Early Life

Charles was born in 1227, shortly after the death of his father, King Louis VIII. In his will, his father had left to him (should he be male), the Counties of Anjou and Maine, with which he was invested in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have been bestowed upon his brother Louis; and Louis tended to favor his elder brothers Robert of Artois and Alphonse. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the tremendous drive and ambition he showed in his later life.

Marriage and Children

Charles was wedded to Beatrice of Provence on January 31, 1246, in Aix-en-Provence. Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, who had died on August 19, 1245. As his elder three daughters had all married kings and received substantial dowries, Raymond settled his entire inheritance upon Beatrice, making Charles Count of Provence and Forcalquier. They had the following children: # Louis (1248, Nicosia) # Blanche (1250 – July 1269), married 1265 Count Robert III of Flanders # Beatrice (1252–1275), married October 15, 1273 at Foggia to Philip of Courtenay, titular Emperor of Constantinople # Charles II of Naples (1254 – 1309) # Philip (1256 – January 1, 1277), King of Thessalonica and Prince of Achaea, married May 28, 1271 to Isabella Villehardouin # Robert (1258–1265) # Elizabeth or Maria (1261 – c. 1300), married bef. September 1272 to Ladislas IV of Hungary

Accession in Provence

Upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246, Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties. His sisters-in-law felt cheated by their father's will, and the Dowager Countess Beatrice of Savoy claimed the entire County of Forcalquier and the usufruct of Provence as her jointure. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and hence of the Holy Roman Empire, in practice it was free of central authority. The recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities (three of which, Marseille, Arles, and Avignon were Imperial cities technically separate from the county) had enjoyed great liberties. Charles, in constrast, was disposed towards a rigid administration, and aroused considerable hostility by his punctilious insistence on enjoying his full rights and fees. In 1247, while Charles had gone to France to receive the Counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility (represented by Barral of Baux and Boniface of Castellane) joined with Beatrice and the three Imperial cities to form a defensive league against him. Unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade. For the time being, Charles' only recourse was to compromise with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier and a third of the Provençal usufruct.

Seventh Crusade and Return

Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues-Mortes in 1248, and fought gallantly at Damietta and during the fighting around Mansourah. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother (Jean de Joinville relates a tale of Louis catching him gambling on the voyage from Egypt to Acre) and he returned with his brother Alphonse in May 1250. During his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved with his characteristic energy to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, and Barral of Baux had surrendered to him by June 1251. Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full panoply of comital rights, and acknowledgement of his suzerainity by Marseille.

Wider Ambitions

In November 1252, the death of his mother Blanche of Castile caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse. While in Paris, he was approached by envoys from Pope Innocent IV. Innocent was then seeking to detach the Kingdom of Sicily from the Holy Roman Empire (in the person of Conrad IV of Germany), and offered it to Charles, after his brother-in-law Richard, Earl of Cornwall had declined it. Alphonse, however, liked the idea; and King Louis forbade it outright. Balked, Charles took up the cause of Margaret II of Flanders against her son, John I, Count of Hainaut, and she granted him the County of Hainaut for his service. King Louis again disapproved, and on his return from Outremer in 1254 he returned Hainaut to John. The disappointed Charles returned to Provence, which had become restive again. The mediation of King Louis led to a settlement with Beatrice of Savoy, who returned Forcalquier and relinquished her claims for a cash payment and a pension. Marseille had attempted to involve Pisa and Alfonso X of Castile in the quarrel, but they proved unreliable as allies, and a coup by the supporters of Charles resulted in the surrender of the city's political powers. Charles spent the next several years quietly increasing his power over various lordships on the borders of Provence. A final rebellion occurred in 1262, when he was absent in France; Boniface of Castellaine rebelled yet again, as did Marseille and Hugh of Baux. However, Barral of Baux now remained loyal to Charles, and Charles quickly returned to scatter the rebels. The mediation of James I of Aragon brought about a settlement; while Marseille was forced to dismantle its fortifications and surrender its arms, it otherwise went unpunished. Surprisingly, this lenity worked to good effect; hereafter, the Provençals proved staunch supporters of Charles, providing money and troops for his further conquests. Many of them were to be rewarded with high posts in his new dominions. With the usurpation of the Sicilian throne from Conradin by Manfred of Sicily in 1258, the relationship between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen had changed again. Instead of the boy Conradin, safely sequestered across the Alps, the Papacy now faced an able military leader in Italy. Accordingly, when negotiations broke down with Manfred in 1262, Pope Urban IV again took up the scheme of disseising the Hohenstaufen from the Kingdom, and offered the crown to Charles again. Manfred's own usurpation from Conradin told upon King Louis' scruples; this time, he was persuaded to admit the offer, and Charles ratified a treaty with the Pope in July 1263. The terms were heavily in favor of the Pope; the Kingdom must never be re-united with the Empire, and the King was never to hold Imperial or Papal office, or interfere with ecclesiastical matters in the Kingdom. Nevertheless, Charles accepted eagerly.

Conquest of Sicily

Having endorsed the treaty, Charles could now play for time. With Manfred's troops advancing on the Papal States, Charles obtained an extensive renegotiation of the treaty on more favorable lines. As instructions went out to the clergy to submit contributions for the war, Urban IV died in October 1264 at Perugia, fleeing Manfred. This raised the possibility of a reversal of Papal policy. To underscore his resolve, he broke sharply with his previous policy of lenity and ordered the execution of Hugh of Baux and several other Provencial rebels, who had been in his hands for a year. Fortunately for Charles, the new Pope Clement IV was the former adviser of his brother Alphonse and strongly supported the accession of Charles. Charles entered Rome on May 23, 1265 and was proclaimed King of Sicily. Charles was popular in Rome, where he was elected Senator, and his diplomacy had already undermined Manfred's support in northern Italy. While Charles' campaigns were delayed for lack of money, Manfred, curiously, idled away his time hunting in Apulia, while his support in the north of Italy dwindled. Charles was able to bring his main army through the Alps, and he and Beatrice were crowned on January 6, 1266. As Charles' army began an energetic campaign, Manfred suddenly shed his lethargy and moved to meet him. Worried that further delays might endanger the loyalty of his supporters, he attacked Charles' army, then in disarray from the crossing of the hills into Benevento, on February 26, 1266. In the Battle of Benevento that followed, Manfred's army was defeated in detail and he was killed in the melee. Upon his death, resistance throughout the Kingdom collapsed, and Charles was master of Sicily. While Charles' administration in his new Kingdom was generally fair and honest, it was also stringent. As in Provence, he insisted on maximizing the revenues and privileges he could obtain from his new subjects. Discontent was high; but for now, Charles could focus on extending his power in northern Italy (which alarmed the Pope, who feared a powerful king of all Italy as much as he did an Emperor). But the Pope was willing to allow this; for in September 1267 Conradin marched south to reclaim the rights of the Hohenstaufen, and one of his agents instigated a revolt in Sicily. He entered Rome on July 24, 1268, where his arrival was wildly celebrated. At the Battle of Tagliacozzo, on August 23, 1268, it appeared he might win the day; but a sudden charge of Charles' reserve discomfited his army and he was forced to flee to Rome. Told it was no longer safe, he attempted to escape to Genoa, but was arrested and imprisoned in the Castello dell'Ovo in Naples. In a trial carefully managed by Charles, Conradin was condemned for treason, and he was beheaded on October 29, 1268. By the end of 1270, he had captured Lucera and put down the revolt in Sicily, executing many of the captured. With the whole kingdom powed beneath his strict, if fair, rule, he was ready to consider greater conquests.

Ambitions in the Latin Empire

After the defeat of Manfred at Benevento, Charles immediately began to plan his expansion into the Mediterranean. Historically, the Kingdom of Sicily had at times controlled parts of the eastern Adriatic seaboard, and Manfred had been possessed of the island of Corfu and the towns of Butrinto, Avlona, and Suboto, which had formed the dowry of his wife Helena. Charles seized these at the end of 1266. From thence, he passed on to intrigue with the remaining nobility of the Latin Empire. In May 1267, he concluded the Treaty of Viterbo with the exiled Baldwin II of Constantinople and William II Villehardouin (through his chancellor Leonardo of Veruli). Taking advantage of the precarious situation of the remains of the Empire in the face of rising Greek power, he obtained confirmation of his possession of Corfu, the suzerain rights over Achaea, and sovereignty over most of the Aegean islands. Furthermore, the heirs of both the Latin princes were to marry children of Charles, and Charles was to have the reversion of the Empire and Principality should the couples have no heirs. With few options to check the Byzantine tide, he was well placed to dictate terms. Charles' wife Beatrice died on September 23, 1267, and he immediately sought a new marriage to Margaret, daughter of Bela IV of Hungary. However, Margaret wished to be a nun (and was later canonized); Charles instead married (on November 18, 1268), Margaret, Countess of Tonnerre (1250 – September 4, 1308, Tonnerre), the daughter of Eudes of Burgundy. However, he was able to make a marital alliance with the Hungarians: his son Charles, Prince of Salerno married Maria, daughter of crown prince Stephen, while Charles' daughter Elizabeth married Stephen's son Ladislas.

Eighth Crusade

Having thus made secure his position in the East, he began to prepare a crusade to recover the Latin Empire. Michael VIII Palaeologus was greatly alarmed at the prospect: he wrote to King Louis, suggesting that he was open to a voluntary union of the Roman and Latin churches, and poiting out the interference a descent on Constantinople would pose to Louis' own crusading plans. Louis took a dim view of his sincerity; but he was eager to take up the cross again, and he notified Charles of his intentions. Charles continued with his preparations against Constantinople, hoping the crusade might be postponed, but he also prepared to turn his brother's crusade to his own advantage. The Caliph of Tunis, Muhammed I al-Mustansir had been a vassal of Sicily, but had shaken off his allegiance with the fall of Manfred. However, there were rumors he might be sympathetic to Christianity. Accordingly, Charles suggested to his brother that the arrival of a crusade in his support might bring about Mustansir's conversion. Thus it was that Louis directed the Eighth Crusade against Tunis. Charles did not arrive until late in the day on August 25, 1270, only to find that his brother had died of dysentery that morning. Charles took command, and after a few skirmishes, Mustansir concluded a peace treaty and agreed to pay tribute to Charles. Illness continued to plague the army, however, and a storm devastated the fleet as it returned to Sicily. Charles was forced to postpone his designs against Constantinople again.

Conquest of Albania and Genoese War

In February 1271, Charles began to expand his Adriatic possessions by capturing Durazzo, and he soon controlled much of the Albanian interior. In February 1272, he proclaimed himself King of Albania and appointed Gazzo Chinardo as his Vicar-General. He hoped to take up his expedition against Constantinople again, but was delayed by the rise Pope Gregory X, consecrated on March 27, 1272. Gregory had high hopes of reconciling Europe, unifying the Greek and Latin churches, and launching a new crusade: to that end, he announced the Council of Lyons, to be held in 1274, and worked to arrange the election of an Emperor. In November 1272, the strained relations between Charles and Ghibelline-ruled Genoa finally broke into war. Ghibelline revolts broke out across the north of Italy, and increasingly occupied the attention of Charles, even as Michael Palaeologus was negotiating a union of churches with the Pope. At the same time, he had made contact with Genoa and was sending money to encourage the revolts in the north. At the apparently successful conclusion of the Council of Lyons, a Union of Churches was declared, and Charles and Philip of Courtenay were compelled to extend a truce with Michael. This was a blessing in disguise for Charles, for the Ghibellines now controlled most of the north, and he was forced to retreat from Piedmont in late 1275. In truth, Pope Gregory was not entirely displeased; he regarded north Italy as best dealt with by its new Emperor, Rudolph of Habsburg, and preferred that Charles be confined to the south. If he wished to make war, let him look to Outremer; and to this end, Gregory endorsed the sale to Charles of the claims of Maria of Antioch on the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been rejected by the Haute Cour there. On March 18, 1277, he bought her claim and assumed the title of King of Jerusalem, sending Roger of Sanseverino as his bailli to Acre. There Roger ousted Balian of Ibelin, the bailli of Hugh I and compelled the nobles to swear fealty. In the meantime, Gregory had been succeeded by Pope Innocent V, who arranged a peace between Charles and the Genoese.

Breakdown of the Union

Meanwhile, in Constantinople, the Union of the Churches was proving difficult to arrange, and the Emperor Michael had great difficulty in imposing it on his people. Nevertheless, he persuaded Innocent of his sincerity in working towards it, and Charles was again forbidden to attack Constantinople. Knowing this, Michael began a campaign in Albania in late 1274, where he captured Berat and Butrinto. He also enjoyed some success in his campaigns in Euboea and the Peloponnese. Affairs dragged on for several years, until the accession of Pope Martin IV on March 23, 1280. Pope Martin was a Frenchman, and lacked the evenhandedness of some of his recent precursors. He brought the full power of the Papacy into line behind Charles' plans. The Union, which had proved impossible to impose upon Constantinople, was called off, and Charles given authorization for the restoration of the Latin Empire. He opened his campaign in Albania, where his general Hugh of Sully captured Butrinto from the Despotate of Epirus in 1280 and besieging Berat. A Byzantine army of relief under Michael Tarchaniotes arrived in March, 1281: Hugh of Sully was ambushed and captured, and his army put to flight. The Byzantines took possession of the interior of Albania. Nor was Charles particularly successful in Achaea, where he had become (by the Treaty of Viterbo) Prince of Achaea on the death of William II Villehardouin in 1278. His bailli Galeran of Ivry was defeated at Skorta in his one attempt to engage the Byzantines, and was recalled in 1280 and replaced by Philip of Lagonesse. Nonetheless, Charles was to launch the body of his crusade against Constantinople in the spring of 1282.

Sicilian Vespers

But Michael had not been working upon the military front alone. Many Ghibelline officials had fled the Kingdom of Sicily to the court of Peter III of Aragon, who had married Constance, the daughter and heir of Manfred. Manfred's former chancellor, John of Procida, had arranged contact between Michael, Peter and the refugees at his court, and conspirators on the island of Sicily itself. Peter began to assemble a fleet at Barcelona, ostensibly for another Crusade to Tunis. In fact, the master-plan of John of Procida was to place Peter on the throne of Sicily, his Hohenstaufen inheritance. The result was the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers, which was initiated in Palermo on March 29, 1282. It rapidly grew into a general massacre of the French in Sicily. A few officials notable for their good conduct were spared; and the city of Messina still held for Charles. But through the diplomatic errors of Charles' Vicar, Herbert of Orleans, Messina, too, revolted on April 28, 1282. Herbert retreated to the castle of Mategriffon, but was forced to abandon the Crusading fleet, which was burnt. The news surprised Peter of Aragon, who had expected to intervene only after Charles had left for Constantinople. But the conspirators, aided by the Emperor Michael (who wished to see Charles balked in his expedition), had set the revolt in motion early. Peter did not immediately intervene; he sailed with the fleet to Tunis, where he discovered that the would-be convert on whose behalf the crusade had ostensibly been undertaken had been caught and executed. While he bided his time, the Sicilians made an appeal to Pope Martin to take the Communes of their cities under his protection. But Martin was far too deeply committed to Charles and French interests to heed them; instead, he excommunicated the rebels, the Emperor Michael, and the Ghibellines in north Italy. Charles gathered his forces in Calabria and made a landing near Messina and began a siege. Several attempts to assault the city were unsuccessful. Rejected by the Pope, the Sicilians now appealed to King Peter and Queen Constance; he duly accepted, and landed at Trapani on August 30, 1282. He was proclaimed King in Palermo on September 4; as the Archibishopric of Palermo was vacant, he could not immediately be crowned. In the face of the Aragonese landing, Charles was compelled to withdraw across the Straits of Messina into Calabria in September; but the Aragonese moved swiftly enough to destroy part of his army and most of his baggage. The Angevin house was forever ousted from Sicily.

War with Aragon

Despite his retreat into Calabria, Charles remained in a strong position. His nephew, Philip III of France, was devoted to him; and Pope Martin regarded the rebellion as an affront both to French interests and his own rights as suzerain of the Kingdom. Both sides temporized; the expense of a long war might be disastrous for both, and Peter and Charles arranged for a judicial duel, with a hundred knights apiece, on June 1, 1283 at Bordeaux. Skirmishes and raids continued to occur: in January 1283, Aragonese guerillas attacked Catona and killed Count Peter I of Alençon in his hostel. In February, the Aragonese crossed into Calabria to face off with Charles of Salerno. However, tensions between the Aragonese and the Sicilians had begun to rise. Both men now hoped to turn the war to their advantage, and the judicial duel turned into a farce, the two kings arriving at different times, declaring a victory over their absent opponent, and departing. Now the war was to escalate: Pope Martin had excommunicated Peter and proclaimed the war against the Sicilians a Crusade in January, and in March, declared Peter to be deprived of his dominions. On February 2, 1284, Aragon and Valencia were officially conferred upon Charles of Valois. The war continued in Italy: while little progress had been made in Calabria, a detachment of the Aragonese fleet was blockading Malta. Charles of Salerno sent a newly raised Provençal fleet to the relief of Malta; but it was caught by the main Aragonese fleet under Roger of Lauria and destroyed in the Battle of Malta. The Aragonese were now, however, running quite short of money, and Peter was threatened by the prospect of a French attack on Aragon. King Charles planned to raise new troops and a fleet in Provence, and instructed Charles of Salerno to maintain a strict defensive posture until his return from France. However, Roger of Lauria continued to command the sea and launch harrasing raids up and down the coast of Calabria, and in May 1284 he successfully blockaded Naples, basing a small squadron on the island of Nisida to do so. The Neapolitans were infuriated by the blockade; and in June, Charles of Salerno armed the newly launched fleet at Naples and embarked on June 5 to destroy the blockading squadron. Evidently believing the main Aragonese fleet was raiding down the coast, he hoped to destroy the blockading squadron and return to Naples before it returned. However, Roger of Lauria had learned of his plans, and Charles found himself engulfed by superior numbers. After a short, sharp, fight, most of his fleet was captured, and he himself was taken prisoner. News of the reverse caused anti-French riots in Naples, and Roger of Lauria was quick to take advantage of Charles' captivity to obtain the release of Beatrice, daughter of Manfred of Sicily, then held in Naples. King Charles arrived in Gaeta on June 6 and learned of the disaster. He was furious at his son and his disobedience; by the time he reached Naples, the riots had been quelled. He advanced on Calabria and attempted a landing in Sicily; but his main army was blocked at Reggio, and he retreated from Calabria entirely on August 3. He continued to make preparations for a campaign against Sicily in the new year; but his health failed. On January 7, 1285, he died in Foggia.

Death and legacy

On his death, Charles left all of his domains to his son Charles, then a prisoner in Catalonia. For the time being, they were held by a joint regency between a papal legate and Robert II of Artois. Charles had spent his life striving to assemble a Mediterranean empire out of whatever land he could get through law or force of arms. He did so, it seems, with a clear conscience; he regarded himself as God's instrument to uphold the Papacy and punish the Hohenstaufen. He ruled justly, but with the rigidity and severity that might be expected in one of his convictions. Ultimately, his unbending austerity could not inspire the devotion needed to hold his conquests together. Still, he was to leave a substantial legacy to his heirs. Henry II of Cyprus reclaimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem after his death, for the few short years left to it; but his possessions otherwise remained within the Angevin dynasty which he founded, or their descendants. Both the Angevins and their Aragonese rivals were to claim the title of "King of Sicily"; but the Angevins, confined to the mainland, would be known to history as "Kings of Naples". But the style of "King of Sicily" persisted; and when the two realms were reunited, it was under the style of "King of the Two Sicilies". However, his wars resulted in an even more serious consequence that the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily. Pope Martin IV had hopelessly compromised the Papacy in his cause; and the botched secular "Crusades" against Sicily and (after Charles' death) Aragon greatly tarnished its spiritual power. The collapse of its moral authority and the rise of nationalism rang the death knell for Crusading, and would ultimately lead to the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism. Charles was an able soldier and a good administrator; but his failure to understand the qualities of his diverse subjects, and his grasping, if pious, ambition, ultimately led him to failure.

References

External links

1227

Events

- Henry III of England declares himself of age and assumes power

Births

- September 30 - Pope Nicholas IV (died 1292)
- Charles I of Sicily

Deaths

- March 18 - Pope Honorius III (born 1148)
- July 23 - Qiu Chuji, Chinese founder of Dragon Gate Taoism (born 1148)
- August 1 - Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (born 1179)
- August 18 - Genghis Khan founder of the Mongol Empire
- Reginald de Braose, English rebel baron
- Jochi, son of Genghis Khan
- Marco Sanudo, Venetian crusader Category:1227 ko:1227년 simple:1227

List of monarchs of Naples and Sicily

The following is a list of monarchs of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily: Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130
- Roger I 1071-1101
- Simon 1101-1105
- Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198
- Roger II 1130-1154
- William I 1154-1166
- William II 1166-1189
- Tancred 1189-1194
- (Roger III 1193-1194)
- William III 1194
- Constance of Sicily 1194-1198, married to Henry VI Hohenstaufen Kings of Sicily, 1194-1266
- Henry VI 1194-1197
- Frederick 1198-1250
- Henry (VII) 1212–1217 (nominal king under his father)
- Conrad 1250-1254
- (Conradin 1254-1258/1268)
- Manfred 1258-1266 Angevin Kings of Sicily, 1266-1442 (after 1282 restricted to Kingdom of Naples)
- Charles I 1266-1285 (lost Sicily, 1282)
- Charles II 1285-1309
- Robert the Wise 1309-1343
- Joan I 1343-1382
- Charles III 1382-1386 opposed by
- Louis I of Anjou 1383-1384
- Ladislas 1386-1414 opposed by
- Louis II of Anjou 1390-1399
- Joan II 1414-1435
- Rene I the Good of Anjou 1435-1442 Aragonese Kings of Sicily (also called Trinacria), 1282-1409
- Peter I 1282-1285
- James I 1285-1295
- Frederick II (III) 1296-1336
- Peter II 1337-1342
- Louis 1342-1355
- Frederick III the Simple 1355-1377
- Mary 1377-1401
- Martin I the Younger 1395-1409
- Martin II 1409-1410 to Aragon and subsequently to Spain (1409-1713), to Savoy (1713-1720), to Austria (1720-1735) Aragonese Kings of Naples, 1442-1500
- Alfonso I 1442-1458
- Ferdinand I 1458-1494
- Alphonso II 1494-1495
- to France 1495
- Ferdinand II 1495-1496
- Frederick IV 1496-1500
- to France, 1500-1504
- Ferdinand III 1504-1516 to Spain (1516-1707), then to Austria (1707-1735) Bourbon Kings of Naples and Sicily, 1735-1806
- Charles VII 1735-1759
- Ferdinand IV (III of Sicily) 1759-1806 (continued to reign in Sicily until 1815, when he was restored in Naples as well)
- Queen Marie Caroline was de-facto ruler 1768-1812 Bonapartist Kings of Naples, 1806-1815
- Joseph I 1806-1808
- Joachim I 1808-1815 Kings of the Two Sicilies, 1815-1860
- Ferdinand I (formerly Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily) 1815-1825
- Francis I 1825-1830
- Ferdinand II 1830-1859
- Francis II 1859-1860 See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Naples Naples
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- Category:Naples ja:ナポリとシチリアの君主一覧

1262

For broader historical context, see 1260s and 13th century.

Events

- King Mindaugas of Lithuania renounces Christianity, returning to his pagan roots and reverting to Grand Duke of Lithuania.
- The Icelandic Commonwealth enters into a treaty establishing a union with Norway and acknowledges Norwegian King Haakon IV as its ruler.
- Strasbourg becomes an Imperial Free City of the Holy Roman Empire.
- King Mengrai of the Lannathai kingdom in present day Thailand founds the city of Chiang Rai as the kingdom's first capital.
- Adam de la Halle writes the first operetta, "Le Jeu de la Feuillee".
- Richard of Chichester is canonized as a saint; he is best known for authoring the prayer later adapted into the song Day by Day in the musical Godspell.

Births

- July 2 - Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (died 1312)
- Ladislaus IV of Hungary (died 1290)
- Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester (died 1326)

Deaths

- July 15 - Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English soldier (born 1222)
- Aegidius of Assisi, companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
- Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism

1282

For broader historical context, see 1280s and 13th century.

Events

War and politics

- March 30 - The Sicilian rebellion known as the Sicilian Vespers begins against the rule of Angevin King Charles I of Sicily; over the next six weeks, thousands of French are killed. The rebellion forces Charles to abandon the Ninth Crusade while still en route to the target city of Constantinople, and allows King Peter III of Aragon to take over rule of the island from Charles (which in turn leads to Peter's excommunication by Pope Martin IV).
- March - Dafydd ap Gruffydd, brother to Prince of Wales Llywelyn the Last, attacks an English castle; his brother feels compelled to support him despite poor preparation for war, quickly leading to the final English conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England.
- Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I of Germany invests his sons Albert I of Germany and Rudolph II of Austria as co-rulers of the duchies of Austria and Styria, thus founding the Habsburg dynasty in those territories.
- Floris V, Count of Holland defeats the Frisians at the battle of Vronen and retrieves the body of his father, some 26 years dead.

Culture and natural disasters

- The technology of watermarks is introduced by paper manufacturers of Bologna, Italy.
- Hertford College is founded at the University of Oxford.
- The Archbishop of Canterbury orders all synagogues of London to close, and forbits Jewish doctors from practicing on non-Jews.
- The form for the Trial of the Pyx, during which it is confirmed that newly-minted coins conform to required standards, is established.
- The most recent eruption of Larderello, a volcano in southern Tuscany, is observed.

Births

- Marguerite of France, daughter of Philip III of France and Queen consort of Edward I of England (died 1317)
- King Oshin of Armenia (died 1320)
- Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy (died 1315)
- Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (died 1322)
- Pope Innocent VI (died 1362)
- Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (died 1329)
- Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1347)
- Pierre Maury, French shepherd

Deaths

- August 25 - Thomas Cantilupe, English saint
- October 13 - Nichiren, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism (born 1222)
- December 11 - Llywelyn the Last, Welsh Prince of Gwynedd (born 1228)
- December 11 - Michael VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (born 1225)
- Georgius Acropolita, Byzantine historian and statesman (born 1217)
- Ahmad Fanakati, Mongol finance official
- Owain Goch ap Gruffydd, Welsh prince
- Abaqa Khan of the Mongol Empire (born 1234)
- Eleanor de Montfort, last princess of Wales (born 1252)
- Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Wigmore (born 1231) Category:1282 ko:1282년

Kingdom of Albania

The Kingdom of Albania was established by Charles of Anjou in the territory he conquered from the Despotate of Epirus in 1271. He took the title of King of Albania in February, 1272. The kingdom extended from Durazzo (modern Durrës) south along the coast to Cape Linguetta, with vaguely defined borders in the interior. A Byzantine counter-offensive soon ensued, which drove the Angevins out of the interior by 1281. The Sicilian Vespers further weakened the position of Charles, and the Kingdom was soon reduced by the Epirotes to a small area around Durrës. The Angevins held out here, however, until 1368, when the city was captured by Karl Thopia. The small size and ephemeral nature of the Kingdom meant that it had few feudatories, but the title of Duke of Durazzo was commonly granted to members of the Angevin house.

List of Kings of Albania

- Charles I 1272–1285
- Charles II 1285–1301
- Philip I 1301–1332
- Robert 1332–1364
- Philip II 1364–1368 Category:Middle Ages Category:History of Albania

Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 by the First Crusade. It was finally destroyed in 1291 with the fall of Acre.

Foundation and early history

The kingdom came into being with the Crusader capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the climax of the First Crusade. Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders of the crusade, was chosen as its first king. He refused, however, to take this title, saying that no man should wear a crown where Christ had worn his crown of thorns; instead, he took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri ("Defender of the Holy Sepulchre"). Godfrey died the next year, and his brother and successor, Baldwin I, was not so scrupulous, having himself immediately crowned King of Jerusalem. Baldwin successfully expanded the Kingdom, capturing the port cities of Acre, Sidon, and Beirut, and also exerted his suzerainty over the other Crusader States to the north - the County of Edessa (which he had founded), the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Tripoli. He also saw an increase in the numbers of Latin inhabitants, as the minor crusade of 1101 brought reinforcements and a Latin Patriarch to the kingdom. The Italian city-states of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa also began to play a role in the kingdom. Their fleets assisted in the capture of the ports, where they were given their own autonomous trading quarters. Baldwin died without heirs in 1118, and was succeeded by his cousin, Baldwin of Le Bourg, the Count of Edessa. Baldwin II was also an able ruler, and though he was imprisoned by the Turks several times throughout his reign, the boundaries of the Kingdom continued to expand, with the city of Tyre captured in 1124.

Life in the kingdom

As new generations grew up in the kingdom, they began to think of themselves as native, rather than immigrants. Thus, in many senses, they behaved and thought more like "orientals" (Syrians) than like Western-Europeans of their day. They often learned to speak Greek, Arabic, and other eastern languages, and married Greeks or Armenians: as the chronicler Fulcher of Chartres wrote, "we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals". The kingdom was essentially based on the feudal system of contemporary western Europe, but with many important differences. First of all, the kingdom was situated within a relatively small area, with little agricultural land. Since ancient times it had been an urban economy, unlike medieval Europe; in fact, although the nobility technically owned land, they preferred to live in Jerusalem or the other cities. As in Europe the nobles had vassals and were themselves vassals to the king. However, agricultural production was regulated by the Muslim equivalent of the feudal system (the iqta), and this system was not disrupted by the Crusaders. Although Muslims (as well as Jews and Eastern Christians) were persecuted somewhat in the cities (and were not allowed in Jerusalem at all), in rural areas they continued to live as they had before. The rais, the leader of a community, was a kind of vassal to whatever noble owned his land, but as the Crusader nobles were absentee landlords the rais and their communities had a high degree of autonomy. They grew food for the Crusaders, but owed no military service as vassals would have in Europe; likewise, the Italian city-states owed nothing despite living in the port cities. As a result, Crusader armies tended to be small, and drawn from the French families of the cities. The urban composition of the area, combined with the presence of the Italian merchants, led to the development of an economy that was much more commercial than it was agricultural. Palestine had always been a crossroads for trade; now, this trade extended to Europe as well. European goods, such as the textiles of northern Europe, made their way to the Middle East and Asia, while Asian goods were transported back to Europe. The Italian city-states made enormous profits from this trade, and it influenced their Renaissance in later centuries. Because the nobles tended to live in Jerusalem rather than an estate in the countryside, they had a larger influence on the king than they would have in Europe. The nobles formed the haute cour (high court), one of the earliest forms of parliament that was also developing in western Europe. The court consisted of the bishops and the higher nobles, and was responsible for confirming the election of a new king, allotting money to the king, and raising armies. The problem of lack of manpower for armies was solved to some extent by the creation of the military orders. The Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller were both formed in early years of the kingdom, and they often took the place of the nobles in the countryside. Although their headquarters were in Jerusalem, they often lived in vast castles and bought land that the other nobles could no longer afford to keep. The military orders were under the direct control of the Pope, however, not the king; they were essentially autonomous and technically owed no military service, though in reality they participated in all the major battles. Some important sources of information about life in the Kingdom of Jerusalem are William of Tyre from the Christian perspective, and Usamah ibn Munqidh from the Muslim perspective.

Mid-12th century

Baldwin II was succeded in 1131 by his daughter Melisende, who ruled jointly with her husband Fulk. During their reign Jerusalem exercised its greatest economic and artistic expansion, with the Melisende Psalter commissioned between 1135 and 1143. Fulk, a renowned military commander, was faced with a new and more dangerous enemy - the Atabeg Zengi of Mosul. Although Fulk held off Zengi throughout his reign, William of Tyre criticized Fulk for not securing the borders. Fulk died in a hunting accident in 1143. Zengi took advantage of Fulk's death by successfully conquering Edessa. Queen Melisende, now regent for her elder son, Baldwin III appointed a new constable, Manasses of Hierges, to head the army after Fulk's death, and a Second Crusade arrived by 1147. Meeting in Tripoli in 1147, the crusading Kings of France and Germany decided to attack the friendly Emir of Damascus, seen as an easy target, despite a peace treaty between Jerusalem and Damascus. This was in direct opposition to the advice Queen Melisende and constable Manasses gave, as they and other Crusader states saw Aleppo as the main target that would allow the recapture of Edessa. The Crusade ended in defeat by 1148. Melisende ruled as regent until her government was overthrown by her son Baldwin III in 1153, but Baldwin appointed her his regent and chief advisor the next year. Baldwin III conquered Ascalon from the Fatimids, the last Egyptian outpost on the Palestinian coast. At the same time, though, the overall crusader situation became worse, as Nur ad-Din succeeded in taking Damascus and unifying Muslim Syria under his rule. Baldwin III died in 1162, a year after his mother Melisende, and was succeeded by his brother Amalric I. Amalric's reign was taken up with competition with Nur ad-Din and his wily some-time subordinate Saladin over control of Egypt. Although supported by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, Amalric ultimately failed in his bid to conquer Egypt. His and Nur ad-Din's deaths in 1174 ensured the dominance of Saladin.

Disaster and recovery

Amalric was succeeded by his young son, Baldwin IV, who was discovered at a very young age to be a leper. During Baldwin's reign the Kingdom began to collapse internally, as factions formed behind Baldwin's cousin, Count Raymond III of Tripoli, who led the "nobles' party" of native barons, and Baldwin's incompetent brother-in-law, Guy of Lusignan, who led the "court party", backed by the royal family and relative newcomers to the kingdom. Baldwin IV died in 1185, and was succeeded by his infant nephew Baldwin V, son of his sister Sibylla. Baldwin V died within a year and the kingdom passed to his mother Sibylla and her husband Guy. Guy proved a disastrous ruler. His close ally Raynald of Chatillon, the lord of Oultrejourdan and the fortress of Kerak, provoked Saladin into open war, and in 1187 the army of the Kingdom was utterly destroyed at the Battle of Hattin. Over the next few months Saladin easily overran the entire Kingdom, save for the port of Tyre, which was ably defended by the newcomer Conrad of Montferrat. The fall of Jerusalem shocked Europe, resulting in the Third Crusade. Due to the efforts of Richard the Lionheart, most of the coastal cities of Syria, especially Acre, were recovered, and the Treaty of Ramla was signed with Saladin in 1192 after the Battle of Arsuf. Conrad of Montferrat was married to Isabella, daughter of Amalric I, and made King of this rump state, but he was killed by the Hashshashin almost immediately thereafter. Isabella was married again to Henry II of Champagne.

The later kingdom

For the next hundred years, the Kingdom of Jerusalem clung to life as a tiny kingdom hugging the Syrian coastline. Its capital was moved to Acre and at best, it included only a couple of other significant cities (Beirut, Tyre), as well as overlordship over Tripoli and disputedly Antioch. A Fourth Crusade was planned after the failure of the Third, but it resulted in the sack of Constantinople in 1204 and the Crusaders involved never arrived in the Kingdom. Isabella and her last husband Amalric I of Cyprus died 1205 and again an underage girl, Isabella and Conrad's daughter Maria of Montferrat, became queen of Jerusalem. Maria was then married to an experienced sexagenarian knight John of Brienne who succeeded in keeping the tiny kingdom safe. Schemes were hatched to reconquer Jerusalem through Egypt, resulting in the failed Fifth Crusade against Damietta in 1217. In 1229 Emperor Frederick II, who was King of Jerusalem by virtue of his marriage to the heiress, managed to recover Jerusalem by a treaty with the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil (the Sixth Crusade). The recovery was short-lived - not enough territory had been ceded to make the city defensible, and in 1244 the city was reconquered by the Ayyubids. The Seventh Crusade under Louis IX of France was inspired by this, but it accomplished little save to replace the Ayyubids with the more powerful Mamluks as the Crusaders' main enemy in 1250. For the period from 1229 to 1268, the monarch resided in Europe and usually had a larger realm to pursue or take care of. Kings of Jerusalem were represented by their baillis and regents. The title of King of Jerusalem was inherited by Conrad IV of Germany, son of Frederick II and Yolande of Jerusalem, and later by his own son Conrad III of Jerusalem. In their later years, the Crusaders' hopes rested with the Mongols, who were thought to be sympathetic to Christianity. Although the Mongols invaded Syria on several occasions, they were repeatedly defeated by the Mamluks, who took their revenge on the practically defenseless Kingdom, taking its cities one by one until, in 1291, Acre, the last stronghold, was taken by the Sultan Khalil. Thereafter, the Kingdom of Jerusalem ceased to exist on the mainland, but the kingship was claimed by the Kings of Cyprus, who for many decades hatched plans to regain the Holy Land. For the next seven centuries, up to today, a veritable multitude of European monarchs have used the title of King of Jerusalem. See Kings of Jerusalem.

Arms of Kingdom of Jerusalem

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which has gone through several different varieties of a cross Or (gold) on an argent (silver) field, is a famous violation of or exception to the rule of tincture in heraldry, which prohibits the placement of metal on metal or colour on colour. It is one of the earliest known coats of arms.

1277

For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century.

Events

- Burma's Pagan empire begins to disintegrate after being defeated by Kublai Khan at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, at Yunnan near the Chinese border.
- Some 50,000 leaders and citizens of the Southern Song Dynasty of China become the first recorded inhabitants of Macau, as they seek refuge from the invading Mongol Empire.
- Mamluk sultan Baibars invades Anatolia and captures the emirates which once composed the Sultanate of Rüm.
- Llywelyn ap Gruffyd is subdued by King Edward I of England in the First Welsh War.
- St George's cross is first used as the flag of England.
- The philosophical doctrine Averroism is banned from Paris at a condemnation at the University of Paris.
- In Japan, a 20 kilometer stone wall defending the coast of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka is completed; it is built in response to the attempted invasion by the Mongol Empire in 1274.

Births

- Sempad of Armenia (died c. 1310)
- Isabella of Mar, first wife of Robert Bruce (approximate date; died 1296)
- Narymunt, Prince regnant of several principalities mostly in Belarus (approximate date; died 1348)

Deaths

- May 1 - Stefan Uros I of Serbia
- May 20 - Pope John XXI (born 1215)
- July 1 - Baibars, Mameluk sultan of Egypt (born 1223)
- October 27 - Walter de Merton, Lord Chancellor of England and founder of Merton College, Oxford
- Folke Johansson Ängel, Archbishop of Uppsala Category:1277 ko:1277년

1278

For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century.

Events

- August 26 - Kings Rudolph I of Germany and Ladislaus IV of Hungary defeat King Otakar II of Bohemia in the Battle of Marchfield, a match of over 80,000 men and the largest battle of knights in the middle ages. The battle ends a power struggle between Rudolph and Otakar over the fate of central Europe, and Rudolph's Habsburg family will continue to rule Austria and other captured territories until the end of World War I in 1918.
- The independence, boundaries, and political structure of Andorra are agreed to by the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the French Count of Foix.
- The earliest known written copy of the Avesta, a collection of ancient sacred Persian Zoroastrian texts previously passed down orally, is produced.
- An edict by Pope Nicholas III requires all Jews to attend conversion sermons.
- The Japanese era Kenji ends, and the Koan era begins.

Births

- Constantine III of Armenia (died c. 1310)
- Ferdinand of Majorca (died 1316)
- Philip I of Taranto (d. 1332)

Deaths

- February 10 - Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (born 1202)
- May 1 - William II Villehardouin
- May 8 - Emperor Duanzong of China (born 1268)
- June 30 - Pierre de la Broce, French courtier
- August 26 - King Otakar II of Bohemia
- Al-Nawawi, Syrian writer (born 1233)
- Ulrich von Liechtenstein, knight, politician, and minnesinger (born 1200)
- Nicola Pisano, Italian sculptor Category:1278 ko:1278년

1246

Events

- End of the reign of Emperor Go-Saga, emperor of Japan.
- Emperor Go-Fukakusa ascends to the throne of Japan.
- Sainte-Chapelle built.
- With the death of Duke Frederick II, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria
- Beaulieu Abbey dedicated.

Births

- September 14 - John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel (died 1272)

Deaths

- February 25 - Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd
- May 31 - Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John of England
- June 15 - Duke Frederick II of Austria (born 1219)
- September 20 - Mikhail of Chernigov, Prince of Kiev
- September 30 - Yaroslav II of Russia (born 1190)
- November 8 - Berenguela of Castile, queen of Alfonso IX of Castile (born 1180)
- Walter IV of Brienne (born 1205)
- Alice of Champagne, daughter of Henry II of Champagne and regent of Jerusalem (born 1196)
- Richard Fitz Roy, illegitimate son of John of England
- Ednyfed Fychan, sensechal of Gwynedd Category:1246 ko:1246년

List of Counts and Dukes of Maine

This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine, France. In the 13th century it was annexed by France as a royal domain.

Counts of Maine

- Rorgon I (820–839)
- Gauzbert (839–849)
- Rorgon II (849–865)
- Gosfrid (865–886)
- Roger (886–893)
- Gauzlin (893–895)
- Roger (restored) (895–898)
- Gauzlin III (898–900)
- Hugh I (900–950)
- Hugh II (950–992)
- Hugh III (992–1015)
- Herbert I Wakedog (1015–1032)
- Hugh IV (1036–1051)
- under Angevin rule (1051–1063)
- Herbert II (1058–1062)
- Walter of Mantes (1062–1063)
- under Norman rule (1063–1110)
- Robert Curthose (1063–1070)
- Azzo d'Este (1070–1073)
- Robert Curthose (1073–1096)
- William Rufus (1096–1110)
- (under Norman rule, Hugh V was count, 1069–1072; titular count, 1072–1090; count, 1090–1093; and titular count, 1093–1131; Elias of La Fleche was count 1093–1110)
- Erembourge and Fulk V of Anjou (1110–1126)
- Geoffrey of Anjou (1126–1151)
- Elias II (1151)
- Henry II of England (1151–1189)
- Henry the Young King (1169–1183)
- Richard Lionheart (1189–1199)
- John Lackland (1200–1205)
- Arthur I of Brittany (1186–1203)
- annexed by France in 1203
- John Capet (1219–1232)
- Charles I (1246–1285)
- Charles II (1285–1325)
- Louis I (1339–1384)
- Louis II (1384–1417)
- Louis III (1417–1434
- René I of Naples (1434–1441)
- Charles IV of Maine, Duke of Anjou (1441–1472)
- Charles V of Maine, Duke of Anjou (1480–1481)
- royal domain
- Charles VI of Maine, Duke of Mayenne (?–1611)
- Henry, Duke of Mayenne (1611–1621)
- Charles II Gonzaga (1621–1631)
- Ferdinand Gonzaga (1631–1632)
- Charles III Gonzaga (1632–?)

Dukes of Maine

- Louis Augustus of Bourbon (1673–1736) Maine Maine Maine Maine Maine

1247

Events

- Shams ad-Din disappears resulting in Jalal Uddin Rumi writing 30,000 verses of poetry about his disappearance.
- Romford, London, England is chartered as a market town.
- Bedlam becomes part of London.
- Thuringian War of Succession begins.
- Ch'in Chiu-Shao publishes the original form of the Chinese remainder theorem.
- Pope Innocent IV sends missionaries to attempt to convert the Mongols.
- Egypt takes control of Jerusalem from the Kharezmians.
- Nijmegen becomes part of Gelderland.
- The Romanesque cathedral of St. Pierre is begun in Beauvais.
- Afonso III succeeds Sancho II as King of Portugal.
- Saint Louis massacres the last remaining Catharists at Montségur.

Births

- Isabella of Aragon, queen of Philip III of France (died 1271)
- Angelo da Clareno, founder of Fraticelli (died 1337)
- Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (died 1255)
- John II, Count of Hainaut (died 1304)
- Rashid al-Din, Persian writer and historian (died 1318)
- Zhang Sanfeng, Chinese Taoist priest
- Giles of Rome, Roman archbishop and philosopher

Deaths

- February 16 - Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (born 1204) Category:1247 ko:1247년

Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile (1188-1252), wife of Louis VIII of France, third daughter of Alfonso VIII, king of Castile, and of Eleanor of England, daughter of Henry II, was born at Palencia. In consequence of a treaty between Philip Augustus and John of England, she was betrothed to the former's son, Louis, and was brought to France, in the spring of 1200, by John's mother Eleanor. On May 22 1200 the treaty was finally signed, John ceding with his niece the fiefs of Issoudun and Gracay, together with those that André de Chavigny, lord of Châteauroux, held in Berry, of the English crown. The marriage was celebrated the next day, at Portmort on the right bank of the Seine, in John's domains, as those of Philip lay under an interdict. Blanche first displayed her great qualities in 1216, when Louis, who on the death of John claimed the English crown in her right, invaded England, only to find a united nation against him. Philip Augustus refused to help his son, and Blanche was his sole support. The queen established herself at Calais and organized two fleets, one of which was commanded by Eustace the Monk, and an army under Robert of Courtenay; but all her resolution and energy were in vain. Although it would seem that her masterful temper exercised a sensible influence upon her husband's gentler character, her role during his reign (1223-1226) is not well known. Upon his death he left Blanche regent and guardian of his children. Of her twelve or thirteen children, six had died, and Louis, the heir--afterwards the sainted Louis IX--was but twelve years old. The situation was critical, for the hard-won domains of the house of Capet seemed likely to fall to pieces during a minority. Blanche had to bear the whole burden of affairs alone, to break up a league of the barons (1226), and to repel the attack of the king of England (1230). But her energy and firmness overcame all dangers. There was an end to the calumnies circulated against her, based on the poetical homage rendered her by Theobald IV of Champagne, and the prolonged stay in Paris of the papal legate, Romano Bonaventura, cardinal of Sant' Angelo. The nobles were awed by her warlike preparations or won over by adroit diplomacy, and their league was broken up. St Louis owed his realm to his mother, but he himself always remained somewhat under the spell of her imperious personality. After he came of age (1236) her influence upon him may still be traced. In 1248 she again became regent, during Louis IX's absence on the crusade, a project which she had strongly opposed. In the disasters which followed she maintained peace, while draining the land of men and money to aid her son in the East. At last her strength failed her. She fell ill at Melun in November 1252, and was taken to Paris, but lived only a few days. She was buried at Maubuisson. Besides the works of Joinville and William of Nangis, see Elie Berger, "Histoire de Blanche de Castille, reine de France," in Bibliothèque des écoles francaises d’Athènes et de Rome, vol. lxx. (Paris, 1895); Le Nain de Tillemont, "Vie de Saint Louis," ed. by J de Gaulle for the Société de l’histoire de France (6 vols., 1847-1851); and Paulin Paris, "Nouvelles recherches sur les mteurs de la reine Blanche et de Thibaud," in Cabinet historigue (1858).

References

- Category:1188 births Category:1252 deaths Category:Queen consorts Category:Queen mothers Category:Regents

Alphonse of Toulouse

Alphonse, Count of Toulouse and of Poitiers (November 11, 1220 – August 21, 1271). Alphonse was a son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile. He was a younger brother of Louis IX of France and an older brother of Charles I of Sicily. His coat-of-arms was "Per pale France-Ancient (azure seme-de-lis or) dimidiating Castile (gules seme of castles or)". He joined the county of Toulouse to his appanage of Poitou and Auvergne, on the death, in September 1249, of Raymond VII of Toulouse, whose daughter Joan of Toulouse Alphonse had married in 1237. He took part in two crusades with his brother, St Louis, in 1248 (the Seventh Crusade) and in 1270 (the Eighth Crusade). In 1252, on the death of his mother, Blanche of Castile, he was joint regent with Charles of Anjou until the return of Louis IX. During that time he took a great part in the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Paris in 1259, under which King Henry III of England recognized his loss of continental territory to France (including Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou) in exchange for France withdrawing support from English rebels. His main work was on his own estates. There he repaired the evils of the Albigensian war and made a first attempt at administrative centralization, thus preparing the way for union with the crown. The charter known as "Alphonsine," granted to the town of Riom, became the code of public law for Auvergne. Honest and moderate, protecting the middle classes against exactions of the nobles, he exercised a happy influence upon the south, in spite of his naturally despotic character and his continual and pressing need of money. He is noted for ordering the first recorded local expulsion of Jews, when he did so in Poitou in 1249. He died without heirs on his return from the Eighth Crusade, in Italy, probably at Savona, on August 21, 1271. As part of his bequest, he left his lands in the Comtat Venaissin to the Holy See and it became a Papal territory in 1274, a status that it retained until 1791.

References

- B. Ledain, Histoire d'Alphonse, frère de S. Louis et du comte de Poitou sous son administration (1241-1271) (Poitou, 1869)
- E. Bourarie, Saint Louis et Alphonse de Poitiers (Paris, 1870)
- A. Molinier, Etude sur l'administration de S. Louis et d'Alphonse de Poitiers (Toulouse, 1880)
-
- A. Molinier, Correspondance administrative d'Alphonse de Poitiers in the Collection de documents inedits pour servir à l'histoire de France (Paris, 1894 and 1895).
- http://www.davidsconsultants.com/jewishhistory/history.php?startyear=1240&endyear=1249 (Retrieved February 16, 2005)

External links

- [http://www.briantimms.com/rolls/WalfordsC1.html Coat of Arms in the Walford Roll] Category:1220 births Category:1271 deaths Category:Counts of Toulouse Toulouse, Alphonse of

Hohenstaufen

The Hohenstaufen were a dynasty of Kings of Germany, many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. The proper name, taken from their castle in Swabia, is Staufen. When the last member of the Salian dynasty, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, died without an heir there was controversy about the succession. Frederick and Conrad, the two current male Staufens, were grandsons of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor and nephews of Henry V. After the death of the intervening king and emperor Lothar III of Supplinburg, in 1137, Conrad became Conrad III of Germany.

Members of the Hohenstaufen family

Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Germany

- Conrad III, king 1138-1152
- Frederick I Barbarossa, king 1152-1190, Emperor after 1155
- Henry VI, king 1190-1197, Emperor after 1191
- Philip of Swabia, king 1198-1208
- Frederick II, king 1208-1250, Emperor after 1220
- Henry (VII), king 1220 - 1235 (under his father)
- Conrad IV, king 1237-1254 (under his father) The last ruling Hohenstaufen, Conrad IV, was never crowned emperor. After a 20 year period the first Habsburg was elected king.

Dukes of Swabia

Note: Some of the following dukes are already listed above as German Kings
- Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (Friedrich) (r. 1079 -