Charles and Sicily, Part 1

While Charles of Anjou was consolidating his rule over the counties of Provence and Forcalquier between 1250 and 1252, events elsewhere were shaping up to be advantageous for him.

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II died in 1250. Frederick had been King of the Regno, which comprised Sicily and southern Italy almost all the way up to Rome (its coat of arms is shown here). Upon his death, Pope Innocent IV declared that the Regno reverted to control by the Vatican. The Vatican, however, would need a strong military force to keep it under Vatican control.

Innocent offered the Regno to Richard of Cornwall, uncle to King Henry III of England. Frederick's son Conrad IV of Germany also claimed the Regno, and Richard did not relish a war against Conrad, so declined. Provence was fairly close, and Innocent turned to Charles, but Charles' older brother, King Louis IX of France, told Charles to stay out of it because Louis recognized Conrad as the rightful heir.

Charles declined the offer formally in October 1253. A year earlier, Queen Blanche had died, and Louis made Charles and their brother Alphonse co-regents of France so that Louis could stay fighting in the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, in Provence, another rebellion rose, led by Boniface of Castellane and supported by Charles' mother-in-law, Beatrice of Savoy. We know some of Boniface's actions through poems written about different phases of the rebellion. Boniface raised arms against Charles in Marseille, but this time a previous rebel and friend, Barral of Baux, stayed loyal to Charles and helped suppress the revolt. Boniface was exiled and went to Spain where he tried to raise allies against Charles. Marseilles had its fortifications dismantled so that it could no longer resist the ruler.

As for Beatrice, Louis returned from the Holy Land and persuaded her to return Forcalquier to Charles and pay restitution of 160,000 marks over the next 13 years.

But what of Sicily? In 1258 the Regno got a king, Manfred, an illegitimate son of Frederick. While Innocent was looking for someone to take over the Regno, Manfred had been there, suppressing rebellions and attempting to rule, but stepping aside when legitimate son Conrad IV showed up in 1252. Conrad died in 1254, leaving his young son Conradin with Manfred as regent.

In 1263, it looked like Manfred might use the Regno as a base to make himself Holy Roman Emperor, leaving Conradin in Sicily. This concerned Pope Urban IV, who like his predecessor offered the kingdom to Charles. This time, Louis supported the idea of Charles invading Italy and Sicily. Upon this news, Manfred declared himself heir to the Holy Roman. Empire, setting up the final clash.

See you tomorrow.

The Start of Charles' Reign

Some months after Charles of Anjou married Beatrice of Provence in 1246, therefore becoming Count of Provence and Forcalquier, he was knighted by his brother, King Louis IX, and formally given the counties of Anjou and Maine. (He had representatives manage them for him.)

Preparations had been underway in France for a Crusade (the Seventh), and Charles joined his brother along with their other brothers, Robert and Alphonse. They did not depart until 25 August 1248.

While Charles was away, the cities of Arles, Avignon, and Marseilles joined their military forces in an alliance. They chose a leader of their own, Barral of Baux, who had helped negotiate a conflict earlier between Savoy and Provence. Barral's army helped Charles save Beatrice of Provence from the forces of James I of Aragon that had surrounded her, and Barral's army helped guard the wedding of Beatrice and Charles. Now, however, Barral became Charles' rival.

Barral saw Charles' disrespect for the local nobles and was willing to join the rebellion against him. Charles' mother-in-law, Beatrice of Savoy, supported the rebel alliance. But more on that later.

The Seventh Crusade did not go well. Louis was very keen on it, but no one else in Europe was interested or free enough of other concerns to join. The French had to go it alone. They invaded Egypt in early June 1249, capturing Damietta and intending to invade Cairo in November. Charles' older brother Robert was killed in battle in February 1250 (see illustration). While retreating from Egypt, the remaining brothers were captured. Their ransom was the return of Damietta and the payment of 800,000 bezants.

While the army sailed to Acre, Charles showed his callow nature by spending his time gambling while Louis was mourning their brother. This annoyed Louis.

Returning to Provence, Charles continued to have his people make an account of all the towns and his possessions and claims. His decisions to increase his revenue and make demands of towns came up against the rebellion. One particular decision that rankled was the salt tax. We'll learn more about that tomorrow.

Securing Beatrice

The agreement was made in 1245 between several powerful individuals that Beatrice of Provence (heir to the counties of Provence and Forcalquier, pictured here) would marry Charles of Anjou. Part of the deal was that Pope Innocent IV would endorse the marriage if Charles' brother, King Louis IX of France, would offer Innocent military support against Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (who wanted Beatrice to marry one of his sons).

Another part of the agreement was that, if Charles and Beatrice had no heirs, her counties would go to the king of Aragon, currently James I, whose army currently surrounded Beatrice's residence at Aix-en-Provence, and who had made claims to Provence previously.

Not everyone was happy about this.

The mother of Beatrice, Beatrice of Savoy, had not long before arranged for a loan of 4000 marks from Henry III of England for her husband, Ramon Berenguer V. Some castles in Provence had been put up as collateral. Henry felt he should have been part of the negotiations, since there were castles in Provence that potentially could become his. Also, Beatrice's older sister Eleanor had married Henry 10 years earlier, and Henry had still not received all the promised dowry.

The immediate problem was Aragon, however. Charles took 500 knights and rode to Provence, encountering Raymond VII of Toulouse along the way. Raymond also wanted to marry Beatrice, but his retinue was smaller than Charles' and so was easily turned away.

Once Charles reached Aix-en-Provence, after a brief clash (supported by Barrel of Baux, of whom more tomorrow), James accepted the terms agreed upon, that Aragon might get those counties anyway, and returned home.

Beatrice and Charles were married at Aix-en-Provence on 31 January 1246, with soldiers guarding the ceremony.

Then Charles brought his own team of advisors to Provence and cut his mother-in-law off of involvement in government. He also started taking management of castles away from the local nobles. This made him unpopular. Marseilles threw Charles' officials out of their city. Charles' wife supported him, but Beatrice of Savoy "exiled herself" to Forcalquier.

Charles was only 20 years old, and not even knighted yet. This was a swift elevation from youngest son destined for the Church to Count of Provence and Forcalquier, two large territories on the continent...and this was only the beginning.

See you tomorrow.

Charles & Beatrice of Savoy

Charles of Anjou became Count of Provence and Forcalquier by his marriage in 1246 to Beatrice of Provence. His attempt to rule them was challenged by his mother-in-law, Beatrice of Savoy.

Beatrice of Savoy (1198 - 1267, whose tomb is shown here) was considered not only (according to Matthew Paris) extremely beautiful (like her daughter) but also very smart and politically shrewd. A couple years before the marriage of her daughter and Charles, for instance, she had convinced King Henry III of England to lend 4000 marks to her husband.

She was also involved in the negotiations regarding her daughter's marriage, and now may be a good time to explain what I teased in yesterday's post about that matter.

Because Ramon Berenguer V managed to get his three eldest daughters marriages that led to them being queens, he left the counties of Provence and Forcalquier to his youngest, Beatrice of Provence. When this became known, many powerful men in Europe angled for her hand in marriage.

James I of Aragon was already married to Violant of Hungary, but that was after he annulled a marriage to Eleanor of Castile after eight years (!) and having a son with her. He invaded Provence, because he had designs on Provence from long ago, and actually surrounded Beatrice's castle.

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II sent his navy to Provence to gain leverage so that he could get Beatrice married to one of his sons. Count Raymond VII of Toulouse (divorced twice already) appealed to Blanche of Castile, mother of King Louis IX of France, for her support to marry young Beatrice. (Raymond's mother and Blanche's mother were sisters, both daughters of King Henry II.)

Blanche, however, was in favor of a different approach. Her youngest son was destined for an ecclesiastical life, but this was an opportunity to give him something more prestigious and tie Provence more closely to France. Blanche, Louis IX, Pope Innocent IV, and the young Charles of Anjou met in 1245 in Cluny. Innocent had many issues with Frederick, and did not want to see Frederick gain any more territory. Innocent was happy to endorse marriage between young Beatrice and Charles in exchange for Louis giving Innocent military support against Frederick.

Mother and daughter were satisfied with the terms, but not everyone was. King Henry III of England had an issue with them, and there was the problem of James I of Aragon, who was parked outside Beatrice's residence and would need to be dealt with. How that went will be a subject for tomorrow.

Charles of Anjou

King Louis VIII of France (1187 - 1226) and Blanch of Castile (1188 - 1252) had several children, one of whom became the next king of France, but their youngest son, Charles (1226 - 1285), had to find other venues for greatness.

Young Charles was fond of the fact that he was the first in the Capetian dynasty who was actually named after Charlemagne. He was also born to Louis after Louis became king, meaning he was the only son of Louis actually born to a king, or born "to the purple."

Youngest royal sons often had nothing to inherit—no land and no titles—and therefore were placed in powerful ecclesiastical positions (whether they were trained or interested was immaterial). His education included what a good priest would know: he would understand Catholic doctrine and be literate. He learned about medicine and law, and he enjoyed poetry (the illustration shows him depicted in a manuscript of one of his songs). Much of this took place away from his family, at the court of his brother, Count Robert I of Artois, who was about 10 years older.

Charles would have been put into a church role, but along came Beatrice of Provence, who was a few years younger.

Beatrice was the youngest daughter of the Count of Provence, and like Charles likely would have been destined for a convent. Her father had found very good marriages for his three elder daughters (they all became queens) and, since they were all provided for, he left his title to Beatrice. His death would make Beatrice the owner of the counties of Provence and Forcalquier.

Suddenly, Beatrice was a prize for any man, and several powerful men took steps to gain her hand (and tracts of land) in marriage. She was also considered a great beauty. (There is much more to this story, but we're going to focus on Charles for the moment.) Suffice it to say that the two were married in 1246, the year after her father died and she became wealthy.

Charles set out to control the two counties as the Count by right of marriage, but clashed with the nobility and Beatrice's mother, Beatrice of Savoy. This was to be his first taste of trying to rule those who did not want to be ruled, and his motivation to become ruthless in the future.

More on his problem with Provence and his mother-in-law tomorrow.