Medieval Sicily: Hohenstaufen, Angevin, and Aragonese
Part II: High and Late Middle Ages
Last time we stopped at the 12th century; today we continue the story of Sicily in the Middle Ages. Sicily under the Normans stretched into the High Middle Ages. It was a multicultural society blending Byzantine, Muslim, and Norman cultures, whose influences are still visible today. Sicily was truly a "globalization in small," and it remained so through the end of the Middle Ages.
Sicily under the Hohenstaufen Dynasty
At the end of the 12th century, a marriage union between Princess Constance of Sicily from the Norman dynasty of the Kingdom of Sicily and Henry VI – the son of Frederick Barbarossa from the Hohenstaufen dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire – merged the two kingdoms. The arrival of the Hohenstaufens brought tensions and civil wars to the island. It also made enemies of the popes, who claimed Sicily as Church land. Until the coronation of Frederick II, Sicily was a battlefield. His rule seemed stable, but it wasn't. Popes quarrelled with Frederick II; in the end, he was excommunicated, not once, but twice, by two different popes!
Frederick II's rule was marked by innovations in education, culture, and administration. He founded the University of Naples in 1224, built a bureaucratic administration, and established a standing army and navy. He didn't invest only in improving the administration; he also invested in poetry. In fact, he and his son Manfred were poets themselves.
The Sicilian School of Poetry
The Scuola Siciliana was a landmark literary movement founded by Frederick II Hohenstaufen. It gathered around his court in Palermo. Their love and secular poetry was written in Italian, unlike previous times when it was written in the Provençal dialect (Occitan language). In fact, this movement was the start of systematic literary production in the Italian language. Poets of this movement were highly influenced by Provençal troubadours, whose poetry was all about courtly love – knights and unattainable ladies.
The Sicilian School poetry was written in endecasillabo. Besides that, the Sicilian poetry movement was a pioneer in the sonnet, whose founder is considered Giacomo da Lentini. Alongside Giacomo stood out Giacomino Pugliese, Pier delle Vigne, Guido delle Colonne, and Rinaldo d’Aquino. By the mid-13th century, the Sicilian School of poetry came to an end due to new rulers of Sicily. Nevertheless, the prosperous rule of Frederick II was characterized by conflict with the Church. The unstable climate continued after Frederick II's rule. His heirs didn't last long; Charles I of Anjou killed Manfred in 1266 and became king of Sicily.
Fun fact: Not only were men troubadours, but women were also. Read more.
Angevin Rule (1266–1282)
With the arrival of Charles of Anjou began the Angevin Rule, which was rather brief. Why did Charles I of Anjou, the Frenchman, come to Sicily? The pope called him to take Sicily for the Church, as the pope claimed Sicily as Church land. Therefore, Charles I of Anjou invaded the island. His rule was characterized by high taxation; the capital was moved from Palermo to Naples; and the administration was taken over by the French, which made Sicilians angry.
The turning point happened in 1282, when a revolt known as the Sicilian Vespers broke out against the French. Hundreds of Frenchmen were killed; King Charles I of Anjou died during his campaign to defend against the uprising in 1285. His son Charles II, who couldn’t reclaim Sicily, succeeded him in the kingdom on the mainland, with Naples as capital. At this stage came the Aragonese dynasty.
Aragonese Rule (1282–15th Century)
Peter III of Aragon, who was married to Manfred's daughter Constance, took the Sicilian throne. The marriage meant he had the legal right to control the Kingdom of Sicily – the thing they usually did in medieval times. With the Aragonese dynasty, the Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Aragon on the Iberian Peninsula. This period integrated Sicily into Spanish cultural and political circles. The Aragonese rule, which lasted into the 15th century, was as unstable as the previous ones, intertwined with early modern wars and political instabilities.
Conclusion
Italy’s and Sicily’s Middle Ages were as turbulent as any European country’s. In the turmoil of medieval times, dynamic exchanges alternated with prosperous periods, as seen in this micro-review. Instability during the Hohenstaufen dynasty came with flourishing years that birthed the Scuola Siciliana and the first sonnet. The oppression of Angevin rule made people dissatisfied, resulting in a violent revolt. The Aragonese silenced it and brought Spanish culture into Sicilian everyday life. Medieval Sicily teaches us that there is no prosperity without hardship.
#medievalliterature #sicily #hohenstaufen #sicilianschoolofpoetry #angevin #aragonese #scuolasiciliana #frederickII
Sources:
Goldstein, I.; Grgin, B., Europa i Sredozemlje u srednjem vijeku, Zagreb: Novi Liber, 2006
The Medieval Scholar, https://medievalscholar.substack.com/p/the-house-of-hohenstaufen-power-empire
sicilijanska škola. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2013. – 2026. https://enciklopedija.hr/clanak/sicilijanska-skola (Croatian Encyclopedia, Online Edition)
Sicilijanska večernja. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2013. – 2026. https://enciklopedija.hr/clanak/sicilijanska-vecernja (Croatian Encyclopedia, Online Edition)
Sicilija. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2013. – 2026. https://enciklopedija.hr/clanak/sicilija (Croatian Encyclopedia, Online Edition)
Britannica Editors. "Sicilian school". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Feb. 2009, https://www.britannica.com/art/Sicilian-school