Southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th-13th centuries


The historical fate of Southern Italy and Sicily was different. These areas in the XI century. conquered the Normans, who formed the Sicilian kingdom there. The feudal nobility in the kingdom existed, but the kings held it under their control.

At the beginning of the XIII century. The Sicilian kingdom was given to Frederick II, grandson of Frederick I Barbarossa. Frederick II kept the Italians in a gloved hand. He destroyed the feudal castles, forbade the feudal lords to carry arms. Frederick II himself fought a lot and tax and bribes brought the population almost to poverty.

1268. The Sicilian kingdom was given to the Frenchman Charles Anjou. The Italians changed the awl to soap, as the French behaved even more unceremoniously in their house than the Germans. Among Italians, there was a growing protest against foreign domination. When the French soldiers began to offend local women, the inhabitants of the city of Palermo rose in 1282. Their call “Death to the French!” supported other Sicilian cities. According to the legend, the church bells ringing for vespers served as a conditional signal, therefore this uprising was called “Sicilian evening”. The Sicilians refused to obey the Anjou dynasty. Sicily entered the Aragonese Kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula. Southern Italy became the Neapolitan kingdom and until the middle of the XV century. remained an Angevin possession. Then she went to the Aragonese crown.


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Southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th-13th centuries