Constance II ( – ) was

Queen of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...

from September 1282 to November 1285 alongside her husband, King Peter I. She was also

Queen of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

from 1276 to 1285 during her husband's reign as Peter III of Aragon. She was a pretender to 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 ...

from 1268 to 1282. She was the only daughter of

Manfred, King 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 beh ...

, and his first wife,

Beatrice of Savoy Beatrice of Savoy (c. 1198 – c. 1267) was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence. She served as regent of her birth country Savoy during the absence of her brother in 1264. Beatrice was the daugh ...

Life

Constance was largely raised by Bella d'Amichi, who remained her favorite and confidante as queen.
Diccionari Biogràfic de Dones: Bella, d'Amichi
» On 13 June 1262, Constance married

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, eldest son of King

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

. Her father was killed in the

Battle of Benevento The Battle of Benevento was a major medieval battle fought on 26 February 1266, near Benevento in present-day Southern Italy, between the forces of Charles I of Anjou and those of King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in C ...

(26 February 1266) while fighting against his rival,

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

. She inherited his claim to the Sicilian throne. According to author E.L. Miron in her book "''The Queens of Aragon''" Constance was the first Queen of Aragon whose coronation was recorded as taking place, in Zaragoza on November 17, 1276. James I died on 27 July 1276 and Peter succeeded to the throne with Constance as queen. During the

War of the Sicilian Vespers The War of the Sicilian Vespers, also shortened to the War of the Vespers, was a conflict waged by several medieval European kingdoms over control of Sicily from 1282 to 1302. The war, which started with the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, was ...

(1282–1302), Peter and then their sons claimed the throne of Sicily in her right. The war resulted in the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily and the creation of the

Kingdom of Trinacria The Kingdom of Trinacria was established after Sicilian Vespers in 1282, when King Peter III of Aragon ascended the throne, and was consolidated after the War of the Sicilian Vespers in 1302. According to the Peace of Caltabellota, the Kingdom ...

under her heirs and the

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 ...

under the heirs of Charles of Anjou. Peter III died on November 1285. Constance died as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

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 ...

Children

Constance and

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...

had six children: *

Alfonso III of Aragon Alfonso III (4 November 1265 – 18 June 1291), called the Liberal (''el Liberal'') and the Free (also "the Frank", from ''el Franc''), was king of Aragon and Valencia, and count of Barcelona (as ) from 1285 until his death. He conquered the ...

( – ). *

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

( – ). * Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal ( – ). Married

Denis of Portugal Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal from 1279 until his death in 1325. Dinis was the eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second ...

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 ...

( – ). * Yolande, Duchess of Calabria ( – ). Married

Robert of Naples Robert of Anjou (), known as Robert the Wise (; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the thir ...

* Peter of Aragon ( – ). Married Guillemette of

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

, daughter of Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn.

Role in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''

Though most historical sources have little information about her, Constance occupies a place in Dante Alighieri's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

.'' Constance's appearance in Canto III of ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...

'' of the ''Divine Comedy'' is understated and shadow-like. The reader learns of Constance through the speech of her father,

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 ...

, whom

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

meets in the space of Mount

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

reserved for

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

souls. Manfred begs the poet to bring the truth "if another tale is told o hisfair daughter, mother of the pride of Sicily and Aragon." Manfred proceeds to tell Dante of how he repented and confessed to God for his "horrible" sins shortly before his death, and was thus saved from an afterlife in Hell, contrary to what others may have thought. Manfred concludes his speech by telling Dante that his sentence in Purgatory may be lessened if those still alive on Earth pray for him, and subsequently by asking Dante to tell Constance of his current placement and of how her "holy prayers" can aid in his movement toward Paradise.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance 02 of Sicily Queens consort of Aragon 13th-century kings of Sicily Queens regnant in Europe Sicilian princesses 1240s births 1302 deaths Hohenstaufen family House of Aragon People of the War of the Sicilian Vespers Burials at Barcelona Cathedral 13th-century Italian women 13th-century Sicilian people 13th-century people from the Crown of Aragon Women in medieval European warfare Women in 13th-century warfare 13th-century queens regnant Roman Catholic royal saints Aragonese queen mothers Mothers of Majorcan monarchs Mothers of Sardinian monarchs