The Battle of Falconaria (also La Falconara or Falconeria) was a battle of the latter days of the

War of the Sicilian Vespers The War of the Sicilian Vespers or just War of the Vespers was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and ended in 1302 with the Peace of Caltabellotta. It was fought in Sicily, C ...

. Fought on 1 December 1299 between the forces of Frederick II of Sicily and

Philip I of Taranto Philip I of Taranto (10 November 1278 – 26 December 1331), of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip II) by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of Acha ...

of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as 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 ...

, it was a momentous victory for Frederick and a disaster for Philip, who was captured.

Prelude

Philip had been named, on 12 July 1294, as

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

by his father,

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 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 ( ...

. As such, he took over preparations for a general invasion of the island, which invasion was realised in November 1299. He landed with about fifty galleys and numerous militia and noblemen and besieged

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') 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 impor ...

. Frederick lost no time in assembling the able-bodied citizenry and his own troops at Castrogiovanni and marching to relieve Trapani. On the plain of Falconaria, between

Marsala Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...

and Trapani, the two armies met. Philip assembled his army in traditional feudal fashion: three battles abreast. He himself commanded the right, while the centre was under the command of the

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Broglio dei Bonsi Broglio may refer to: People * Angelo Broglio da Lavello, known as Angelo Tartaglia (1350 or 1370–1421), Italian condottiere * Chris de Broglio (1930–2014), Mauritian-born South African weightlifter and anti-Apartheid activist * Ernie Br ...

, and the left

Thomas II Sanseverino Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

, count of Marsico. Frederick too followed typical medieval tactics and aligned his forces in three columns side-by-side. Frederick commanded his own centre, composed entirely of infantry. The left he put under command of

Blasco I of Alagona Blasco I Alagona or d'Alagona (died 1301), called the Elder, was an Aragonese nobleman and soldier in the service of the Kingdom of Sicily after 1285. His family was originally from Alagón. As a military commander, he was noted for his adept use o ...

, with a little cavalry and some

Almogàvers Almogavars ( es, almogávares, an, almugávares, ca, almogàvers and pt, almogávares ar, Al-Mugavari) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during th ...

. The right was composed mainly of cavalry under the direction of Frederick's premier vassals, the victors of Montaperti.

Battle

The battle started when the Sicilian left marched against Sanseverino. In response, Philip ordered his

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

men to bombard the Almogàvers. Philip himself then led his men against Blasco and the Sicilian left, but meeting strong resistance, he moved against the weak Sicilian centre under Frederick himself. This move was fatal. Broglio was impeded from entering at that moment and this gave the opportunity to Blasco to turn his Almogàver mercenaries on Philip, whose cavalry, the flower of Neapolitan chivalry, was completely disordered. Philip fought bravely until he was unhorsed and taken prisoner.

Aftermath

With their leader captured, the Neapolitan attack melted away and Frederick marched victoriously into Trapani. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Falconaria Falconaria Falconaria 1299 in Europe 13th century in the Kingdom of Naples 13th century in the Kingdom of Sicily Conflicts in 1299