Manfredi III Chiaramonte

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

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

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 (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 was kidnapped by the Aragonese and forced to marry Martin I 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 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 14th-century births 1391 deaths Lords in Italy 14th-century Sicilian people Counts of Malta