Manfred Ier of Sicily
See also: Manfred
Manfred Ier of Sicily (towards 1232 - 1266), king of Sicily in 1258, often indicated under the name of Manfred de Hohenstaufen , was the illegitimate son of the emperor Frederic II (emperor) and of Bianca Lancia, or Lanzia, who seem to be married with the emperor right before his death.
Frederic seems to have regarded Manfred as legitimate, and from its will appointed it prince of Tarente and representing in Italy of his/her half-brother, the King of the Romans, Conrad IV. Although only eighteen years old, Manfred acts accurately and with zeal in the execution of this task, and when Conrad came in southernmost Italy in 1252, its authority quickly and was generally recognized.
When Conrad died in May 1254, Manfred, after having refused to return the Sicily to the pope Innocent IV, accepted regency in the name of Conradin, the young person wire of Conrad. But the force of the partisans of the pope in the kingdom of Sicily made the position of the regent so perilous that it decided to open negotiations with Innocent. By a treaty signed in September 1254, the Pouille passed under the authority of the pope, that Manfred led personally in its new possession.
In 1258, benefitting from a rumor announcing the death of Conradin, Manfred was made crown king de Sicile with Palermo, the August 10th of this year. The rumor was unfounded, but the new king, supported by the popular voice, did not abdicate, and specified with the envoys of Conradin the need for a local leader. But the pope, for whom alliance with buckwheats was a serious offense, declared the cancellation of the crowning of Manfred and the excommunicated.
Manfred died on February 26th, 1266 with the Bataille of Bénévent, overcome by its rival Charles Ier of Anjou.
Manfred convola twice. His first wife was Béatrice, girl Amédée IV of Savoy with which it had a girl, Constance, become wife of Pierre III of Aragon. His second wife, died in prison in 1271, was Helene, girl of Michel II of Épire. It took part in the attempt at conquest of Constantinople by his father-in-law, but was overcome by Michel VIII Paleologist with the Bataille of Pélagonia.
Its contemporaries appreciated the character noble and magnanime of Manfred, famous for its physical beauty and its intellectual qualities.
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