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Norman Origins of Frederick II In the second half of the 11th century, once settled the civil wars that had raged for decades between different social classes and ethnic groups, the Norman kingdom in Southern Italy reached moments of great splendor.
From the Bayeux tapestry, made shortly after the Battle of Hastings (1066), which brought William of Normandy (the Conquerer) to the throne of England. The Normans are portrayed in the moment of disembarkation In the peninsula, in Puglia as well as in Campania, in Abruzzo and in Calabria, new public buildings and cathedrals were built, often by the initiative of individual Florentines. Admiration of the beauty and the splendor of Sicilian cities is well displayed in the memoirs of Arab travelers who joined the Palermo Court of King William I (1154-1166) and his second-born son William II (1166-1189). But the beautiful monarchy created by the efforts of Roger II began to slowly become undone.
"Christ Crowning King Roger", a mosaic from the Martorana chapel in Palermo (mid 12th century). Roger II, with a humble attitude, receives his power directly from Christ. William II had married Joan, the daughter of Henry II of England. Everything seemed to indicate that he would return to God without leaving an heir to the throne. Because of that, after the death of Pope Alexander III (1181), the pro-papal policy of the Crown of Sicily suffered a sudden blow in favor of an alliance with the House of Swabia. Consequently, in 1186 Constance of Altavilla, William's sister, married Frederick Barbarossa's son Henry precisely with the hope of giving in some way an adequate continuation of the family monarchy. This was a fruitful move because three years later, in 1189, the glorious Norman period ended with the death of William II, described by Pietro of Eboli: "...after the unhappiness-laden illness of the King, after his sorrowful death, as the sun disappeared, it rained in the back night". In 1191, Henry VI, crowned Emperor, descended to southern Italy to contest the advanced claims to the Crown of Sicily by Tancred, also an Altavilla. Once victorious, he effected through his marriage to Constance the "unio regni ad imperium", the union of the Imperial Crown with that of Sicily. On December 26th of the same year, 1194, while travelling to join her husband in Sicily, Constance of Altavilla, , gave birth in a tent set up in the middle of the square in Jesi to a baby that would give the world a great deal to talk about. He was given the names Frederick Roger to commemorate his Swabian and Norman origins. Only a short time later would the first name be enough to make anyone in the known world who was tempted to block his path tremble. He was the Stupor Mundi. To investigate the Normans further, visit the webpage: I Normanni del Sud (The Normans in the South) Theme: Anonymus, Corrento. Seq. J.Feliz. |
