Roger Of Lauria
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Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305), was a
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
n
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
who served the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
as admiral of the Aragonese navy during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tactician of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. He is known as Ruggero or Ruggiero di Lauria in Italian and Roger de Llúria in Catalan.


Biography

Roger of Lauria was born at Lauria (or Scalea) in what is now southern Italy, the son of Richard of Lauria, Great Justiciar of 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 ...
, and Donna Bella, a nurse of Constance of Sicily. His father had served under King
Manfred of Sicily Manfred (; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on b ...
, a
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
; when the last member of that family, Conradin of Swabia, was beheaded at Naples in 1268, he and his mother took refuge with other Ghibelline exiles at
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, part of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
.


Naval career

Later King Peter III of Aragon, who had married Constance of Hohenstaufen, made him knight together with Corrado Lancia, who was to be a comrade of Roger in many of his enterprises as well as brother-in-law. King Peter arranged a marriage between Roger and Corrado's sister Margherita in 1273. The marriage, Rogers first of two, produced offspring. In 1282, Roger was named commander of the Aragonese fleet, keeping this post under Peter's successors James II and Frederick III. Roger of Lauria commanded the Aragonese fleet during the campaign to capture
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. ...
from the Angevins after the
Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...
revolt in 1282, which made the Aragonese rulers of Sicily. He fought and won six naval galley battles in total. On 8 July 1283, he defeated the Angevins in the
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at the Battle of Malta. On 5 June 1284, he defeated the Neapolitan fleet at the Battle of Castellammare and even captured the enemy commander, Charles of Salerno (the future
Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (; ; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania ( ...
). On 4 September 1285, during the
Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade (1284–1285), also known as the Crusade of Aragon or Crusade against Catalonia, was a military venture waged by the Kingdom of France against the Crown of Aragon. Fought as an extension of the War of the Sicilian Vespers ...
, he defeated the French near Barcelona at the Battle of Les Formigues, which destroyed for a long time the French naval power in the Mediterranean. Within days, he had landed and taken part in the Battle of the Col de Panissars. On 23 June 1287, he again defeated the Angevins near Naples at the Battle of the Counts, despite being outnumbered forty ships to eighty. After this victory, without any authorization from King James, he made a truce with the Neapolitans. Observers noted that this truce probably deprived the Aragonese-Sicilians of the victory also on the mainland.


Lord of Aci

When Frederick III was elected King of Trinacria (Sicily), Roger received the fief of Aci and the annexed castle stripped from the bishops of
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 ...
as rewards for his victories. However, the relationship between the admiral and the young King soon soured; when the former passed to the Angevins, Aci was besieged and captured by Frederick, and Roger took refuge at his summer residence in
Castiglione di Sicilia Castiglione di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Castigghiuni di Sicilia'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). C ...
. Again besieged and defeated, he was arrested and brought to
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 ...
. However, he managed to escape and left Sicily, while all his
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
s were confiscated. Roger then entered the service of
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
to fight against the French. But, in spite of his promises, he returned to Italy, where, on 4 July 1299, he defeated the Sicilians near Sicily at the Battle of Cape Orlando, capturing eighteen enemy galleys. He had another victory on 14 June 1300, the Battle of Ponza. After the
Peace of Caltabellotta The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Treaty of Tarascon, Tarascon and Treaty of Anagni, Anagni, designed to end the War of the Sicilian Vespers between the Houses of Capetia ...
, he submitted to Frederick and received a whole pardon. He retreated to Cocentaina in the Kingdom of Valencia, where he died in 1305.


Tactics

Roger was successful in naval warfare because of his skilled naval command and use of tactics. He tried to lure enemy fleets out of defended ports, pretending to retreat and getting them to chase him until they became disorganized, then turning in formation to attack. He had much more control over his captains than his foes did. His crews were made up of specialized troops, instead of the more generic types used by his enemies. His archers and crossbowmen were used initially, while his oarsmen and/or '' Almogavars'' (unarmored and highly mobile elite troops armed with two javelins, a lance and a dagger) stayed under cover. When his galleys closed, often from the sides of the enemy galleys (which damaged their oars), these skirmishers were much more agile than the heavily armored knights with swords his enemies often used, especially on the moving deck of a galley at sea. He used trickery to disguise the size of his force. In addition, he sometimes kept some of his galleys hidden, to attack the rear of the enemy after the battle had started.


Namesakes

* The ''
Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...
'' (Royal Navy)
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
''Ruggiero di Lauria'', completed in 1888 and stricken in 1909, was named for Roger of Lauria. * was an in the Spanish Navy, launched in 1967 and stricken in 1982. * The Spanish Navy thought of naming F-102, an ''Alvaro de Bazán''-class air warfare destroyer, the new ''Roger de Lauria'', but finally the ship was christened ''Almirante Juan de Borbón''. * The
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...
's future frigate F-112 will be named after him. * One of the main paratrooper units of the
Spanish army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...
is named after him.


References

*''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'' (2003
"Roger of Loria"
Columbia University Press. * * (

– Infiesta Pérez, José Luis Infiesta, Editor – col·lecció Gent nostra {{DEFAULTSORT:Roger of Lauria 1240s births 1305 deaths People from Lauria Italian admirals Military history of Catalonia 13th-century people from the Crown of Aragon Medieval admirals People of the War of the Sicilian Vespers Counts of Malta People from Scalea