Manfredi Chiaramonte

Manfredi III Chiaramonte (died November 1391) was a Sicilian nobleman. Of French origins, he was given the

County of Modica The County of Modica was a feudal territory within the Kingdom of Sicily from 1296 to 1812. Its capital was Modica, on the southern tip of the island, although the cities of Ragusa and Scicli housed some government offices for a period. Today it ...

, then one of the most powerful fiefs in the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

, in 1377. He was also made lord of

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

Bivona Bivona is an Italian ''comune'' in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily. Geography Bivona is located at the foot of Monti Sicani, in the mainland of Agrigento, on the boundary with the province of Palermo. The communal territory is crossed by the Al ...

Licata Licata (, ; , whence or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Agrigento and Gela. It is a major se ...

, Castronovo,

Lentini Lentini (; ; ; ) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, southeastern Sicily (Southern Italy), located 35 km (22 miles) north-west of Syracuse. History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 729 BC, which in its beginning ...

Palma di Montechiaro Palma di Montechiaro () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. Many Greek archaeological findings of Magna Graecia have been found near the town. Formerly known as Palma, in 1863, Montechiaro was added to ...

and

Mussomeli Mussomeli (''Mussumeli'' in Sicilian language, Sicilian) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy. History Mussomeli is claimed to have been founded in the 14th century by Chiaramonte, Manfredo III Chiaramonte wit ...

, where he built a castle which still bears his name. Manfredi was governor of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, and, after having liberated the island of

Jerba Djerba (; , ; ), also transliteration, transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. Administratively, it is part of Medenine Governorat ...

from Arab pirates, he was made also lord of it. He held court in the

Palazzo Chiaramonte Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri is a Gothic-style palace located on via Piazza Marina, facing the Giardino Garibaldi in the ancient quarter of Kalsa of Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. History The building, intended to be the family palace or cast ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. Despite having obtained his lands by the Aragonese Kings of Sicily, he usually sided for the Angevines who held the rival

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. In 1354 Manfredi was besieged in Lentini by the Aragonese troops of Artale I Alagona; the latter was able to capture it by treason only in 1360. Manfredi was captured and imprisoned in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

; however he later escaped and regained his possessions. His daughter

Costanza Costanza is a feminine given name. It may refer to: People Given name *Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla (1460–1541) *Costanza Bonaccorsi (born 1994), Italian canoeist *Costanza Chiaramonte (1377–1423), Neapolitan noble *Costanza Di Ca ...

(born 1377) married the future King

Ladislaus of Naples Ladislaus the Magnanimous (, ; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and military leader, protector ...

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

in 1389. At the death of king Frederick III, Manfredi became one of four viceroys, ruling the kingdom for

Maria, Queen of Sicily Maria (2 July 1363 – 25 May 1401) was Queen of Sicily and Duchess of Athens and Neopatria from 1377 until her death. Accession to the Sicilian Throne Born in Catania, Maria was the daughter and heir of Frederick the Simple by his fi ...

. Maria was kidnapped by the Aragonese and forced to marry

Martin I Martin I may refer to: * Pope Martin I (c. 590/600–655), bishop of Rome 649–655 * Martin I (bishop of Oviedo) (died 1101) * Martin I (archbishop of Gniezno) (died after 1112) * Martin I of Aragon (1356–1410) * Martin I of Sicily (1374/6–1 ...

the Younger. Manfredi fought against Aragonese power. Manfredi Chiaramonte died in Palermo in 1391. His son, Andrea Chiaramonte, governor of Palermo, was beheaded in 1392 by

Martin I of Aragon Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...

(Martin the Elder) after the fall of Palermo. With the fall of the family from power, his daughter Costanza was divorced by the King Ladislaus and forced to marry a local Neapolitan noble. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiaramonte, Manfredi 3

Manfredi Manfredi is a surname of Italians, Italian origin. The name may refer to: People * Manfredi family, a noble family, lords of Faenza, Italy ** Francesco I Manfredi (1260–1343), Lord of Faenza ** Astorre I Manfredi (1345–1405), condottiero, foun ...

14th-century births 1391 deaths Lords in Italy 14th-century Sicilian people Counts of Malta