Tells how young Federigo held Sicily against all odds, how the Catalan
Company went to the east, and how Jayme of Majorca was restored to his
island home
The news of the King’s death was at once sent to Majorca and to
Sicily. Alfonso was only in his twenty-second year--an impulsive,
quick-tempered youth, intolerant of opposition, but not guilty of the
cruelties imputed to him by some writers. He refused to surrender the
Balearic Islands to his uncle again, and there was trouble about it
during the five years that his reign lasted. He returned at once to
Barcelona and went to mourn at his father’s grave in the church of
Santa Creus, previous to the coronation at Zaragoza. His brother Jayme
was crowned King of Sicily at Palermo, and in a successful campaign
subdued all the mainland of Calabria.
Through the intervention of King Edward I. of England, negotiations
were set on foot to reconcile the King of Aragon with France and the
Pope; to make a compromise with his uncle, of Majorca, and for a
marriage between Alfonso III. of Aragon and the Princess Eleanor of
England, a daughter of Edward I. by his second marriage. Young Alfonso
spent some time with Edward I. and the intended bride at Bordeaux.
He was induced to liberate Charles II. of Naples on receiving his
three sons and twenty nobles of Provence in exchange. The other
important questions were in a fair way of solution through the tact and
diplomatic skill of the wise King Edward, when a sudden stop was put to
the negotiations by the wholly unexpected death of Alfonso. A neglected
tumour on his thigh brought on a fever of which he died at Barcelona
when only in his twenty-seventh year.
The Count of Ampudia and other great nobles at once proceeded to Sicily
to announce his accession to Jayme. The new king embarked at Trapani,
landed at Barcelona, and was crowned at Zaragoza as Jayme II. of
Aragon. Sicily remained under the rule of Queen Constance and her son
Federigo, who had now attained to years of discretion and gave promise
of becoming a very able and resolute leader of men.
History is rarely quite symmetrical. One would have wished to see the
noble policy of En Pedro continued as firmly and resolutely by his
son. But this was not to be. Jayme II. of Aragon was weak, and fell
under papal influences. There was a new Pope, and Boniface VIII. was
more diplomatic. Jayme first abandoned his cousins of La Cerda, and
made an alliance with the usurping Sancho of Castille. He next made his
peace with France and the Holy See, and acknowledged Charles II. of
Naples as King of the Sicilies. The treaty was signed at Anagni, under
the supervision of Pope Boniface. Jayme was to marry Blanche of Anjou,
to give up all prisoners, and, worst shame of all, Sicily was to be
handed over to the Pope again. In return the excommunication was taken
off, and, in defiance of all right, Corsica and Sardinia were to be
handed over to Jayme if he could drive out the Genoese and Pisans who
possessed those islands; but he was to hold them in fief of the Pope.
Sicily was abandoned without the assent of En Federigo, who was now
grown up and was a prince to be reckoned with. He sent Sicilian envoys
to remonstrate with his brother, but without avail. He then resolved
to resist the iniquity and to defy his brother and the Pope. He had
against him the King of Aragon and his forces, France and Naples,
and the whole influence of the papacy. He had no ally. Yet he defied
them all, and swore that Sicily should be free. Many of the Catalonian
nobles who revered the memory of his father rallied round the gallant
young prince. He was a true son of En Pedro. Volunteers flocked to
his standard. Above all, the _almogavares_ were staunch to a man. En
Federigo was proclaimed King of Sicily.
The Pope gave Jayme II. the titles of Gonfalonier, Admiral, and
Captain-general of the Church; and, in addition to his marriage with
Blanche of Anjou, he married his sister, the granddaughter of King
Manfred, to the French heir of Naples.
Jayme II. received the standard of the Church at Rome, collected
eighty-three galleys, and sailed to form a junction with the forces
of Naples and overwhelm his brother. En Federigo had an able admiral
in Conrad Doria, while Blasco de Alagon commanded the land forces.
The allies made their first attack on Syracuse, where they suffered
disastrous defeats both by sea and land. Charles of Naples then sent
a force of 1,200 men, in fifty galleys, under the command of his son,
the Prince of Tarentum, to effect a landing at Trapani. En Federigo,
with some of his Catalan supporters, Moncadas and Entenzas, was
ready to defend the coast. The gallant young King of Sicily led on
the _almogavares_, who shouted ‘Dispierto hierro!’ and fell with such
fury on the invaders that they broke and fled. En Federigo himself
fought his way straight for his enemy’s standard, and encountered the
Prince of Tarentum. After a short combat the Prince was unhorsed, and
would have been killed if Federigo had not protected him. He was taken
prisoner and sent to the castle of Cefalu.
Charles and the Pope appealed to France for help, dispatching
ambassadors with an urgent request that the King would send his brother
Charles of Valois, ‘the Cap King,’ with a large force to invade Sicily.
Accordingly he came to Naples with four thousand men, landed at Termini
in Sicily, and besieged Sciacca. His people were decimated by disease,
the siege had to be raised, and the expedition was a complete failure.
En Federigo had the rare gift, of surrounding himself with the ablest
and most efficient men. Among these was the famous Roger de Flor. The
good Emperor Frederick II. had a German falconer named Richard de Flor,
who married the daughter of a rich proprietor at Brindisi. When Prince
Conradin came to regain his right, Richard fought for him and was
killed in the battle. All his property was confiscated and his widow
was left penniless, with two boys to support, Jacobo and Roger. A ship
belonging to the Knights Templars, and commanded by a Serjeant Friar
named Vassayll, was wintering at Brindisi when Roger was about eight
years old. The little fellow went up and down the rigging with such
agility that Vassayll took a fancy for him, and persuaded his mother
to let him go to sea and learn a sailor’s duties. By the time he was
twenty he had become a very expert seaman, and the Master of the Temple
conferred on him the mantle of the Order. He was then given the command
of a large ship called the _Falcon_. Friar Roger de Flor soon acquired
renown as a very able naval commander. He was captain of another ship,
called the _Oliveta_, when he entered the harbour of Messina and
offered his services to En Federigo. He was most cordially received,
and he swore allegiance to the young King of Sicily, with all his crew.
His first service was to capture several large Neapolitan vessels laden
with wheat and other supplies, with which the garrisons of Syracuse,
Augusta, and Lentini were to be provisioned. He also captured much
treasure, enabling him to make liberal presents to the nobles and to
pay the wages of the garrisons. For these services the King made him
Vice-Admiral of Sicily.
The Neapolitans were besieging Messina by land and sea, led by Robert,
the heir of Charles II. When the town was almost at the point of
starvation, Friar Roger de Flor, the Vice-Admiral, manned ten galleys,
loaded them with corn, and waited at Syracuse for a fair wind. It came
on to blow very fresh from the south, and he made sail in the night,
reaching the _faro_ of Messina just before dawn. By that time it was
blowing very hard and a heavy sea was raging in the strait, with many
cross-currents. The besieging ships saw the galleys, but feared to
raise their anchors in such a sea. Friar Roger, with sails split and
top masts sprung, led all the ten galleys safely into the harbour. Next
day Duke Robert raised the siege.
Jayme II. of Aragon was half-hearted in this papal war against his
young brother. He obtained a grant from the Cortes of Catalonia, and
sailed for Sicily with fifty-six galleys. Federigo put to sea with only
forty vessels, and there was a long-contested fight off Cape Orlando,
a most fratricidal and unnatural strife. Jayme had with him Almenany,
Cabrera, and other great Aragonese names. Round Federigo were Blasco de
Alagon, Hugo Count of Ampurias, Gombau de Entenza, and others. It was
a drawn battle, and, in spite of the prayers of Charles of Naples and
of Pope Boniface, Jayme returned to Barcelona to fight no more. He must
have been ashamed of the part he had been taking.
Very tardily the Pope came to see that all his curses in a bad cause
were of no avail, and that they persistently came home to roost. He at
length consented that his _protégé_ of Naples should negotiate with
En Federigo, and acknowledge him as King of Sicily. Charles of Naples
met the King of Sicily at Calatabellota, and agreed to acknowledge him
as king, and to give him his daughter Leonor for his wife. In return
Federigo consented to evacuate Calabria. The marriage took place at
Messina in May 1302.
A very large army remained in Sicily without employment. Friar Roger
de Flor conceived the idea of offering his services to the Emperor
of the East and of enlisting the Aragonese and Catalonian soldiers
to fight against the Turks. Berenger de Entenza, Berenguer Rocafort,
and many other Aragonese nobles and knights agreed to accompany the
renowned Templar, and more than four thousand _almogavares_ enlisted.
An envoy was sent to Constantinople, and the Emperor Andronicus, with
his son Michael, agreed to the terms proposed, including the scale of
pay. Friar Roger was to be a Grand Duke and to marry the Emperor’s
niece; while liberal allowances were promised to his companions. Among
them was our good and faithful chronicler Ramon Muntaner himself. En
Federigo furnished ten galleys to transport the company of adventurers,
provisioning them well, and supplying his faithful Admiral Friar Roger
de Flor with necessary funds. The whole party which finally sailed
for the East consisted of 1,500 cavalry, 4,000 _almogavares_, 1,000
other foot-soldiers, besides wives and children. There were twenty-six
sail of vessels, and all embarked well pleased with the liberality
of the good King of Sicily and with the prospect before them. At
first the Emperor received them with much cordiality, and the company
landed near Cyzicus on the Asiatic side, gaining some victories over
the Turks. Friar Roger was rewarded with the title of Cæsar, which
had not been conferred during four hundred years, and the company
went into winter quarters at Gallipoli. Michael, the Emperor’s son,
had conceived an intense feeling of jealousy on account of the great
honours conferred on Friar Roger. He sent an invitation to him to come
to Adrianople, where he and all his companions were massacred. Another
massacre was perpetrated at Constantinople; but the treacherous Greeks
were defeated with great slaughter when they attacked the company at
Gallipoli. The company made several retaliatory incursions, Muntaner
being left in charge at Gallipoli; but there were disputes between the
leaders, Entenza and Rocafort, and much need of proper guidance and of
a leader acknowledged by all. At this time a Prince of Majorca began
to take a part in the affairs of the company and of Greece; but before
narrating his adventures we must return to the island itself and to its
restoration to its rightful King.
King Jayme of Majorca had been unjustly deprived of his islands by his
nephew Alfonso III., and, while constantly protesting, he was obliged
to remain at Montpellier and Perpignan. But after he had made his peace
with the Pope, Jayme of Aragon sought an interview with his uncle of
Majorca, greeted him affectionately, and restored to him the Balearic
Islands. Both the King of Majorca and the King of Aragon, uncle and
nephew, were Jayme II., which might cause some confusion. For the next
twelve years Jayme, the uncle, reigned peacefully in Majorca.