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- BIOGRAPHY
Fadrique II of Aragón, king of Sicily, was born on 13 December 1272, the third son of Pedro III 'the Great', king of Aragón, king of Sicily, and Constance of Sicily. When his father died in 1285, he left the kingdom of Aragón to his eldest son Alfonso, and that of Sicily to his second son Jaime. When Alfonso died in 1291, Jaime became king of Aragón and left Fadrique as regent in Sicily. The war between the Angevins, who contested the title to Sicily from their peninsular possessions centred on Naples (the so-called kingdom of Naples), and the Argonese for the possession of the island was still in progress, and although the Aragonese were successful in Italy, Jaime's position in Spain became very insecure due to internal troubles and French attacks. Peace negotiations were begun with Charles II, king of Naples, but were interrupted by the successive deaths of two popes. At last, under the auspices of Pope Boniface VIII, Jaime concluded a shameful peace by which, in exchange for being left undisturbed in Aragón and promised possession of Sardinia and Corsica, he gave up Sicily to the Church, for which it was to be held by the Angevins (the Treaty of Agnani, 10 June 1295). The Sicilians refused to be made over once more to the hated French they expelled in 1282 (in the Sicilian Vespers), and found a national leader in the regent Fadrique. In vain the pope tried to bribe him with promises and dignities; he was determined to stand by his subjects, and was crowned king by the nobles at Palermo in 1296. Young, brave and handsome, he won the love and devotion of his people, and guided them through long years of storm and stress with wisdom and ability.
When Fadrique heard that Jaime was preparing to go to war with him, he sent a messenger, Montaner Pérez de Sosa, to Catalonia in an effort to stir up the barons and cities against Jaime in 1298. Montaner carried with him an Occitan poem, _Ges per guerra no.m chal aver consir,_ intended as a communication with his supporters in Catalonia. This communiqué seems to have had in mind Ponç Hug as a recipient, for the count penned a response (under the title _con d'Enpuria), A Ponrat rei Frederic terz vai dir,_ in which he praised Fadrique's tact and diplomacy, but told him bluntly that he would not abandon his sovereign. The poetic transaction is usually dated to January-March, Spring or August 1296, but Gerónimo Zurita in the seventeenth century specifically dated the embassy of Montaner to 1298.
Fadrique reformed the administration and extended the powers of the Sicilian parliament, which was composed of the barons, the prelates, and the representatives of the towns.
His refusal to comply with the pope's injunctions led to a renewal of the war. Fadrique landed in Calabria, where he seized several towns, encouraged revolt in Naples, negotiated with the Ghibellines of Tuscany and Lombards, and assisted the house of Colonna against Pope Boniface. In the meanwhile Jaime, who received many favours from the Church, married his sister Yolanda to Robert, the third son of Charles II. Unfortunately for Fadrique, a part of the Aragonese nobles of Sicily favoured King Jaime, and both Giovanni da Procida and Ruggiero di Lauria, the heroes of the war of the Vespers, went over to the Angevins, and the latter completely defeated the Sicilian fleet off Cape Orlando. Charles' sons Robert and Philippe landed in Sicily, but after capturing Catania they were defeated by Fadrique, Philippe being taken prisoner (in 1299), while several Calabrian towns were captured by the Sicilians.
For two years more the fighting continued with varying success, until Charles, comte de Valois, who had been sent by Boniface to invade Sicily, was forced to sue for peace, his army being decimated by the plague, and in August 1302 the treaty of Caltabellotta was signed, by which Fadrique was recognised as King of Trinacria (the name Sicily was not to be used) for his lifetime, and was to marry Eleonore d'Anjou, daughter of Charles II, king of Naples, and Maria I, queen of Hungary; at his death the kingdom was to revert to the Angevins (this clause was inserted chiefly to save Charles' face), and his children would receive compensation elsewhere. Boniface tried to induce King Charles to break the treaty, but the latter was only too anxious for peace, and finally in May 1303 the pope ratified it (with changes and additions), Fadrique agreeing to pay him a tribute. Fadrique had nine children by Eleonore d'Anjou of whom Pietro II and Elisabeth would have progeny. By his mistress Sibilla Sormella he had at least five children of whom two sons and a daughter would have progeny.
For a few years Sicily enjoyed peace, and his kingdom was reorganised. However on the descent of Emperor Heinrich VII, Fadrique entered into an alliance with him, and in violation of the pact of Caltabellotta he made war on the Angevins again (in 1313) and captured Reggio. He set sail for Tuscany to cooperate with the emperor, but on the latter's death he returned to Sicily. Robert, who had succeeded Charles II in 1309, made several raids into the island, which suffered much devastation. A truce was concluded in 1317, but as the Sicilians had helped the north Italian Ghibellines in the attack on Genoa, and Fadrique had seized some Church revenues for military purposes, Pope John XXII excommunicated him and placed the island under an interdict (in 1321) which lasted until 1335. An Angevin fleet and army, under Robert's son Charles, was defeated at Palermo by Giovanni da Chiaramonte in 1325, and in 1326 and 1327 there were further Angevin raids on the island, until the descent into Italy of Emperor Ludwig IV 'der Bayer' distracted their attention. The election of Pope Benedict XII (in 1334), who was friendly to Fadrique, promised a respite; but after fruitless negotiations the war broke out once more, and Chiaramonte went over to Robert, owing to a private feud.
On 25 June 1337 Fadrique died at Paternò, and in spite of the peace of Caltabellotta his son Pietro II succeeded to the throne of Sicily. Fadrique's great merit was that during his reign the Aragónese dynasty became thoroughly national and helped to weld the Sicilians into a united people.
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