Tancred of Sicily
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/206.219.94.10|206.219.94.10]] ([[User talk:206.219.94.10|talk]]) to last version by SieBot
[[Image:Tancred von Lecce.jpg|thumb|Tancred of Sicily - from ''[[Liber ad honorem Augusti]]'', 1196]]
'''Tancred''' (died [[February 20]], [[1194]]) was [[Monarchs of Naples and Sicily|King of Sicily]] from [[1189]] to 1194. He was an illegitimate son of [[Roger III, Duke of Apulia]], the eldest son of [[Roger II of Sicily|King Roger II]], and of Emma, daughter of [[Achard II, Count of Lecce]]. He inherited the title "Count of Lecce" from his grandfather, and is consequently often referred to as ''Tancred of Lecce''.
On [[9 March]] [[1161]], Tancred joined his uncle [[Simon, Prince of Taranto]], in invading the palace, detained the king and queen, [[William I of Sicily|William I]] and [[Margaret of Navarre (Sicilian queen)|Margaret]], and their two sons, and incited a massacre of Muslims. Originally, the eldest of these two sons, [[Roger IV, Duke of Apulia]], was destined to be crowned in place of William, but soon the populace supported the accession of Simon himself. Before Simon could put himself forward as a candidate, however, the rebellion had broken down and the people were restless. The insurrectionists were forced to free the king and retreat to their castles. Pardon was given them on condition of exile and many, including Tancred, took the offer.
As soon as [[William II of Sicily|William II]] died, in 1189, Tancred rebelled and seized control of the island, and he was crowned as King [[Tancred|Tancred I of Sicily]] early in [[1190]]. His coup was backed by the chancellor [[Matthew d'Ajello]] and the official class, while the rival claims of Roger II's daughter [[Constance of Sicily|Constance]] and her husband, [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], King of the Romans, were supported by most of the nobles.
Tancred was a good soldier, though his tiny stature earned him the nickname "Tancredulus" from the poet chronicler [[Peter of Eboli]]. Despite a measure of popular support, his rule faced daunting challenges right from the start. In 1190 [[Richard I of England]] arrived in Sicily at the head of a large crusading army on its way to the Holy Land. Richard immediately demanded the release of his sister, William II's Queen [[Joan of England, Queen consort of Sicily|Joan]], imprisoned by Tancred in 1189, along with every penny of her dowry and inheritance. He also insisted that Tancred fulfil the financial commitments made by William II to the crusade. When Tancred balked at these demands, Richard seized a monastery and the castle of La Bagnara.
Richard was joined in Sicily by the French crusading army, led by [[Philip II of France| King Philip II]]. The presence of two foreign armies soon caused unrest among the locals. In October the people of [[Messina, Italy|Messina]] revolted, demanding that the foreigners leave the island. Richard responded by attacking Messina, which he captured on [[October 4]], [[1190]]. After the city had been looted and burned, Richard established his base there and decided to stay the winter.
He remained at Messina until March [[1191]], when Tancred finally agreed to a treaty. According to the treaty's main terms:
*Joan was to be released, receiving her inheritance along with the dowry her father had given to the deceased William.
*Richard and Philip recognised Tancred as legal King of Sicily and vowed to keep the peace between all three of their kingdoms.
*Richard officially proclaimed his nephew [[Arthur of Brittany]], son of Geoffrey, as his heir, and Tancred promised to marry one of his daughters to Arthur when he came of age (Arthur was four years old at the time).
After signing the treaty Richard and Philip finally left Sicily for the Holy Land.
Having at last rid himself of the crusaders, Tancred next confronted the threat from the north. In April [[1191]] in [[Rome]], Henry and Constance were crowned Emperor and Empress by [[Pope Celestine III]], and now the pair turned south to claim the Kingdom of Sicily in the name of Constance, who was the posthumous daughter of [[Roger II of Sicily]] by his third wife [[Counts and dukes of Rethel|Beatrice of Rethel]] and therefore the legitimate heiress to the throne.
Constance accompanied her husband at the head of a substantial imperial army that descended into the Regno. The northern towns of the kingdom opened their gates to Henry, including the earliest Norman strongholds [[Capua]] and [[Aversa]]. [[Salerno]], once Roger II's mainland capital, sent word ahead that Henry was welcome and invited Constance to stay in her father's old palace to escape the summer heat. [[Naples]] offered the first resistance of the whole campaign, withstanding a siege with the help of [[Margaritus of Brindisi]]'s fleet, until much of the army had succumbed to malaria and disease. Eventually the imperial army was forced to withdraw from the kingdom altogether. Constance remained in Salerno with a small garrison, as a sign that Henry would soon return.
Once Henry had withdrawn with the bulk of the imperial army, the towns that had supposedly fallen to the empire immediately declared their allegiance to Tancred, for the most part now fearing his retribution. The populace of Salerno saw an opportunity to win some favour with Tancred and delivered Constance to him in [[Messina]], an important prize given that Henry had every intention of returning. However, Tancred was willing to give up his negotiation advantage, that is, the empress, in exchange for [[Pope Celestine III]] legitimising him as King of Sicily. In turn, the Pope was hoping that by securing Constance's safe passage back to Rome, Henry would be better disposed towards the papacy, and he was still hoping to keep the empire and the kingdom from uniting. However, imperial soldiers were able to intervene before Constance made it to Rome, and they returned her safely across the [[Alps]].
Henry had left garrisons along the frontiers of the Regno. Tancred now sought to win over the towns by extensive grants of privileges. At [[Gravina]] (June [[1192]]) he reinforced his papal support by surrendering the royal legateship over Sicily. In 1192 and 1193 he personally led successful campaigns against the [[Apulia]]n barons. But his death, at [[Palermo]] ([[February 20]], [[1194]]), a few days after that of his young son and co-king, [[Roger III of Sicily|Roger III]], opened the way for Hohenstaufen rule in Sicily.
His wife [[Sibylla of Acerra]] did establish a regency for her second son [[William III of Sicily|William III]], but Henry VI returned to Italy later that year, his army financed by the lucrative ransom of Richard I. Naples surrendered in May, almost without a blow, and the rest of the Regno followed. Sybilla and the loyal Margaritus prepared to defend Palermo, but the citizens admitted the emperor on [[November 20]], [[1194]]. Tancred's family fell into Henry's hands, and William III, rumoured castrated and blinded, seems to have died in Germany in [[1198]], the last of the Norman kings of Sicily.
==References==
*{{1911}}
* John Julius Norwich, ''The Kingdom in the Sun'', reprinted as part of his ''The Normans in Sicily'', ISBN 0-14-015212-1
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{{succession box|title=[[King of Sicily]]|before=[[William II of Sicily|William II]]|after=[[William III of Sicily|William III]]|years=1189–1194}}
{{succession box|title=[[Principality of Taranto|Prince of Taranto]]|before=[[William II of Sicily|William II]]|after=[[William III of Sicily|William III]]|years=1189–1194}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:1194 deaths|Tancred of Sicily]]
[[Category:Kings of Sicily]]
[[de:Tankred von Lecce]]
[[es:Tancredo de Sicilia]]
[[fr:Tancrède de Lecce]]
[[it:Tancredi di Sicilia]]
[[nl:Tancred van Sicilië]]
[[ja:タンクレーディ (シチリア王)]]
[[ru:Танкред (король Сицилии)]]
[[scn:Tancredi di Lecci]]