Boniface Fadrique was a Catalan nobleman active in Central Greece as lord of

Karystos Karystos () or Carystus is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 5,000 inhabitants (12,000 in the municipality). It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Marmari from the port of ...

from 1359 until 1365 and then as Count of Salona and owner of various other fiefs in the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...

from 1366 until his defeat in a conflict with his nephew Louis Fadrique in the late 1370s. Boniface was the son of

Alfonso Fadrique Don Alfonso Fadrique (; ; died 1338) was the eldest and illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily. He served as vicar generalHe is referred to with the magniloquent title ''magnificus dominus, dominus Alfonsus, excellentissimi domini, domini Fe ...

, vicar-general of the

and the

Duchy of Neopatras The Duchy of Neopatras (; ; ; ) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily, itself part of the Crown of Aragon, the duchy was governed in conjunction with the neighbouring Duchy of Athe ...

, and of Marulla of Verona, daughter of the baron of

Boniface of Verona Boniface of Verona (, died late 1317 or early 1318) was a Lombard Crusader lord in Frankish Greece during the late 13th and early 14th century. A third son from a junior branch of his family, he sold his castle to equip himself as a knight, bec ...

. When Alfonso Fadrique died in 1338, Boniface inherited his mother's barony of Karystos and various other possessions across

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

. He remained in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

until 1359, when he came to Greece to claim them. In 1365 however he sold his barony of Karystos with all its possessions, including serfs, to Venice, which had long coveted it, for 6,000

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s. James Fadrique had also willed to his brother "all his rights and properties" in the Duchy of Athens, including the

County of Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western R ...

with

Loidoriki Lidoriki (, Katharevousa: Λιδωρίκιον) is a village and a former municipality in Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Dorida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Its area is 409. ...

and Veteranitsa, but not

Zetounion Lamia (, ''Lamía'', ) is a city in central Greece. The city dates back to antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region (comprising five regional units). According to the 2021 census, th ...

and

Siderokastron Siderokastron () was a medieval fortified settlement on Mount Oeta in Central Greece. Siderokastron was first mentioned in the 13th century. Some scholars have identified it with a place on Mount Knemis ( Buchon), Delphi or Arachova ( Gregorovius ...

, which passed to James' son Louis Fadrique. James also gave the island of

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

to Boniface, who granted it to his son Peter. When James died in 1366, this left Boniface and his nephew Louis as the two most powerful lords in the Catalan domains. The two got on badly, as Louis challenged the cession of his father's domains to Boniface. Louis prevailed in the dispute: in 1375 he was recognized by

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick III (also Frederick II, ', ', '); 13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Ara ...

as vicar-general of Athens and Neopatras, and in a clash between Louis and Boniface soon after, the former prevailed. Boniface's son Peter was sent to exile and imprisonment in Aragon, Louis confiscated their domains, while Boniface himself died sometime before September 1380. On 8 May 1381 Boniface's widow Dulcia and her other son, John, obtained a royal pardon for Boniface as well as the restoration of his confiscated properties from

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

. It is unclear, however, whether they actually received possession of any of these domains.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fadrique, Boniface 1380 deaths

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

People from the Duchy of Athens