This is a quote from Charles of Anjou, when he was informed of the massacre of the French inhabitants of Sicily in April 1282. The massacre is known as the Sicilian Vespers, since it began at the start of Vespers, the sunset prayer that marked the beginning of the night vigil on Easter Monday (30 March). Coincidentally, it occured just 24 hours after the rising of Prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd against Edward I in Wales.
 |
| The Sicilian Vespers |
Edward was on the Welsh Marches when news reached him of trouble in Sicily. Ferrante of Aragon, writing from France, informed the king of the news in a most casual way:
“Also, my lord, know that I have learnt from certain merchants who lately came to Court that it is decided that the pope will soon arrive at Marseilles; they also told me as sure that five Sicilian cities have risen against King Charles and killed all the French living in them. There is no other news in Paris worth repeating”.
 |
| Charles of Anjou |
The Vespers was apparently triggered by an incident involving a French soldier named Druet, who tried to chat up a woman outside the Church of the Holy Spirit near Palermo. She resisted - other sources say she pulled a knife on him - and then her husband got involved. A scuffle broke out, Druet was killed, and then his comrades were slaughtered by an angry mob. The news quickly spread and within hours the entire island was in revolt against the French occupiers. Within six weeks over five thousand French, soldiers and civilians, were put to death. Foreign clergymen who could not pronounce the word “ciciri” - a sound the French tongue could never accurately reproduce - were also butchered.
Despite the tales of Druet and his botched womanising, the Vespers was probably organised in advance. King Charles had planned to make Naples the capital of his empire of the Two Sicilies, and use the Mediterannean as a springboard for the conquest of Constantinople. He would thus become king and emperor, the heir to the Roman Empire, and the most powerful Christian ruler in the world.
 |
| Michael VIII |
The Byzantine Emperor, Michael VIII, had seized the throne by deposing and blinding his nephew, John IV Laskaris, on the latter’s eleventh birthday. This supremely ruthless and competent man, who made Edward I and Philip le Bel look like schoolboys, wasn’t about to submit to some Angevin pretender. It is possible that the massacre was organised by Michael and Peter of Aragon via John of Procida, an Italian physician and diplomat: John had good reason to hate Charles of Anjou, since his wife and daughter had been raped by a French knight in Angevin service. Afterwards the knight murdered John’s son. It is theorised that John lay at the heart of a “vast European conspiracy” against Charles and his ally the pope.
Michael VIII made no effort to hide his role in the affair. In latter years he proudly declared:
"Should I dare to claim that I was God's instrument to bring freedom to the Sicilians, then I should only be stating the truth."
No comments:
Post a Comment