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 rms 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 him, 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. But 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. 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.
