Manfred Lancia

We're going to look at the life of Manfred (1232 - 1266), who became King of Sicily. He was originally called Manfred Lancia, after his mother, Bianca Lancia. Bianca was an Italian noblewoman who was certainly the mistress of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and possibly became his last wife.

Matthew Paris and an Italian Franciscan named Salimbene di Adam both wrote in their histories that there was a last-minute marriage between Frederick and Bianca when Frederick was on his deathbed. When Manfred was born, however, Bianca was not married to Frederick, and so Manfred is considered an illegitimate, or "natural" son of the emperor.

Frederick certainly considered Manfred his son, with all the privileges a son of the emperor should have. Frederick's will named Manfred as Prince of Taranto, the "heel" of the Italian peninsula (dark green in the illustration) which was part of the area known as the Regno (the island of Sicily and the southern part of Italy). Frederick's son Conrad IV  by Isabella II of Jerusalem was named king of Germany and Italy and Sicily. Manfred was a vassal of Conrad and would act as regent in Sicily when Conrad was away.

When Frederick died in 1250, Manfred worked to quell any unrest, and tried to repair the relationship with Pope Innocent IV, who had clashed with Frederick over many issues and felt that the Regno was a danger to the Papal States and should revert to papal control. Innocent was not inclined to be nice to that dynasty, however.

Conrad arrived in the Regno in 1252 and quickly asserted his authority, taking fiefs away from Manfred and reminding him that he only had authority in Taranto.

Conrad had a young son born in 1252, also named Conrad but referred to as "Conradin" or "Conrad the Younger" to distinguish him from his father. Conrad the father asked the pope to be Conradin's guardian, along with a German baron, Berthold of Hohenberg.

Conrad died from malaria in 1254 and Manfred declared himself in control of Sicily, clashing with Innocent. Innocent agreed to recognize Conradin as the legitimate heir to Sicily and have Manfred be Conradin's regent, but Innocent was still Conradin's guardian. Once this was settled, Innocent made clear what he thought of Manfred by excommunicating him.

This would not be the only excommunication Manfred would suffer, but he wasn't going to accept his fate with humility. He decided the best course of action was to strike back at the pope. We'll see how that worked out for him tomorrow.

The Assize on Liege-homage

We think of the Magna Carta as an important moment in legislative history, when laws forced a king to relinquish some power to others of lesser rank. Something similar took place several years before, in the Latin East of the Holy Land.

The Assise sur la ligece ("Assize on liege-homage") was established by the High Court of Jerusalem under King Amalric I. His initial purpose was to gain control of the vassals of his vassals, so that they could appeal directly to the king.

It also claimed that a lord could not legally seize a vassal's fief, and if any lord did so then all the king's vassals should turn against him. Vassals could also withdraw their support from any liege lord who acted illegally.

In 1198, Ralph of Saint-Omer, seneschal to the King of Jerusalem Aimery of Lusignan, defended himself against Aimery when Aimery accused him of orchestrating the king's assassination attempt. He used the Assize. The High Court considered that Aimery had acted against Ralph improperly, and they as Aimery's vassals withdrew their support of the king in accordance with the Assize. It set a daring precedent, that a king could be affected by the law.

Thirty years later, this precedent was applied again against a king and emperor.

Frederick II (1194 - 1250) was Holy Roman Emperor in 1220. He agreed to the Sixth Crusade, but he wanted to become King of Jerusalem if he did so. To become king, he would have to marry the current successor to the throne, Isabella II (1212 - 1228). She was a child at the time, but the betrothal was made and the marriage took place by proxy in 1225. Frederick sent a flotilla to bring her to Italy, where they were wed in person.

Frederick arrived in Jerusalem in 1228. Isabella died that year giving birth to a son, Conrad, for which Frederick held the regency. (At this point, Conrad was king, not Frederick.)

One year later, Frederick and his forces successfully regained control of the city of Jerusalem, that had been lost in 1187 to Saladin's forces. (The illustration shows Frederick meeting with the sultan who controlled Jerusalem, al-Kamil.) Feeling full of himself, he claimed the lands held by several nobles, including Jaffa, Haifa, and Beirut.

Those nobles knew the law of the land, and they challenged his land grab. They were successful, and Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor and acting as King of Jerusalem, had to relinquish those lands.

Did young Conrad ever get to be king in his own right? Let's find out next.

John of Brienne and the Queen of Jerusalem

John of Brienne never expected to be a king, or even a lord. He was born about 1170 to Count Erard II of Brienne and Agnes of Montfaucon, a fourth son destined for a career in the priesthood. The deaths of some of his older siblings, however, put him in a position where he became a knight with some estates in Champagne. Then his brother, Walter III, who succeeded Erard in June 1205, was killed, and John became regent to his nephew, Walter IV. (A 13th century anonymous minstrel left a tale claiming that John never wanted the clerical life and became a knight on his own, distinguishing himself in tournaments. This cannot be verified, and contains some untruths that may have been literary license.)

That same year, 1205, saw the death of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem, and saw the crown pass to her daughter, Maria of Montferrat. Maria, 13, needed a regent to guide the kingdom during her minority. That was her mother's half-brother, John of Ibelin, also called the Old Lord of Beirut (a later nickname, surely: he was only 26 when he became regent). John ruled for three years, and then the search for a husband started.

Also in 1205, King Peter II of Aragon was crowned, and he was considered an option. In 1208 he was 30 and a successful king of a large Christian nation, but he had recently married. The bishop of Acre visited King Philip II of France and asked for help finding a suitable candidate. Philip and Pope Innocent III approved the choice of John of Brienne.

John sailed to the Holy Land from France and married Maria; they were jointly crowned (her regency being ended) in 1210. Maria's uncle was not confident in John of Brienne's ability to handle the kingdom's affairs, but the pope supported the new king. John of Ibelin left to live on Cyprus

After Maria's death in 1212, John was regent for their infant daughter, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem.

John led the Fifth Crusade, which did not end well. He himself traveled to several countries (Castile, England, France, Germany, Italy) to request support for the Holy Land. He married Isabella to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who then ended not only John's regency but also his other privileges. John shortly after became commander of Pope Gregory IX's army against Frederick while Frederick was on the Sixth Crusade.

Meanwhile, was John of Ibelin stirring up hostility against the new King of Jerusalem? King Hugh I of Cyprus (who also came to power in 1205 at the age of 10) imprisoned supporters of the new king. But then, he had other reasons: Hugh felt that his regent, Walter of Montbéliard, had kept him in a state of deprivation during his minority, and demanded 240,000 bezants of restitution. Walter fled Cyprus and found shelter with John of Brienne. The pope forced Hugh to free John's supporters.

There was much more to come in John's life, including a couple more wives and a new title. More on those tomorrow.

Teen Queen of Jerusalem

Isabella II was the daughter of John of Brienne and Maria of Montferrat. Maria (1192 - 1212) was the daughter of Isabella I, Queen of Jerusalem and Conrad of Montferrat, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. When Isabella I died in 1205, Maria became Queen of Jerusalem at the age of 12. She was married in 1210 to John of Brienne. Isabella II (1212 - 4 May 1228) was their only child.

Isabella was born in Sicily, and was declared Queen when she was only a few days old, since her mother died shortly after giving birth. John of Brienne managed her regency. Note that her father did not have a direct claim on the throne; he was only styled king by virtue of marriage.

When Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Sicily agreed to go on Crusade, he wanted to guarantee that he would become King of Jerusalem. This Crusade was called by Pope Honorius III. Honorius, John of Brienne, and Frederick met in Ferentino, not far south of Rome, and arranged that the widower Frederick would marry Isabella, who was 11 at the time. Honorius hoped this would cement Frederick to the Crusade and guarantee that it would take place.

Frederick managed to delay going, however. Honorius died and was succeeded by Gregory IX, who pushed Frederick to fulfill his vow, finally excommunicating him to get him to start. Frederick still delayed until the wedding took place.

In August 1225, when she was 13, the two were finally married by proxy; it is possible that they had still not met. Days after, since she had reached a majority, she was crowned queen of Jerusalem in her own right. Frederick sent 20 galleys to bring Isabella to Brindisi (on Italy's "heel") where they were married in person. By this act, Isabella also became Holy Roman Empress as well as Queen Consort of Sicily and Germany.

Frederick then declared himself rightful King of Jerusalem by marriage and transferred to himself all rights and privileges previously held in the kingdom by John of Brienne as Regent, his new father-in-law.

Isabella was sent to live in Palermo in northern Sicily while Frederick went on Crusade. There she gave birth at the tender age of 14 to a daughter, in November 1226. The daughter died a year later. In 1228, on 25 April, she gave birth to a son, Conrad, but she died of complications a few days later.

Who was John of Brienne, and how did he come to be married to one Queen of Jerusalem and father another? Come back tomorrow and I'll explain.

The War of the Keys

The War of the Keys was called that because of the image of crossed keys (keys to the Kingdom of Heaven) on the papal flag. The war was between Pope Gregory IX and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Frederick vowed to go on Crusade, which Gregory supported wholeheartedly. The vow was on pain of excommunication. Gregory's predecessor, Honorius III, had granted Frederick several delays, but Gregory was not going to be patient anymore, and threatened Frederick with excommunication.

Along with that issue, Frederick laid claim to some lands in central Italy that the popes believed belonged to the Papal States. Also, Gregory felt that Frederick was abusing the church in Sicily.

Part of Frederick's agreement to go on Crusade was that he wanted to be King of Jerusalem. Currently, the King-by-marriage was John of Brienne, who was regent for his 12-year-old daughter, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. The marriage, in November 1225, removed John's regency and made technically Frederick King of Jerusalem. Yet still he delayed.

Gregory excommunicated Frederick in October 1227. Isabella died in May 1228. In June 1228, Frederick finally began the Sixth Crusade. While he was traveling, some of his followers invaded the disputed Italian territories. Gregory responded with an army intending to take Sicily from Frederick. For the leader of his army he chose John of Brienne. Gregory levied tithes from several Christian countries to raise money for his army. According to contemporary English chronicler Roger of Wendover, England resisted the tax. King Henry III of England called an assembly of nobles and prelates to hear from the papal legate about the tithe, but the nobles simply refused to pay. Henry did not do anything to interfere with the papal request, but he did not force his nobles to comply.

Meanwhile, Frederick was in the east and signing a treaty with al-Kamil, who was perfectly happy to giving Jerusalem to the Crusaders if they left him alone. When Gregory heard about this, he denounced the treaty and Frederick as being un-Christian.

Now, however, Frederick was free to return and face the pope's forces. We will see how that went tomorrow.