The ''Vendicatori'' ('Avengers'), were a secret society of

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

formed about 1186 in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

to avenge popular wrongs. The society was finally suppressed by

William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from hi ...

(1155–1189), who hanged the grand master and branded the members with hot irons. The ''vindicosi'', or vindicators, are described as a historical sect by

Francesco Maria Emanuele Gaetani Francesco Maria Emanuele Gaetani (1720–1802), marquis of Villabianca, was a Sicilian nobleman and historian. Life Gaetani was born in Palermo, and held public office there. He was senator of the city in 1775–76. He studied and wrote abou ...

(1720–1802) in his ''Diari palermitani'' (Palermo diaries). According to this author, they may date back to 1185.

References

Attribution: *

See also

References

Further reading