The ''Leggenda di Messer Gianni di Procida'' ("Legend of Mister John of Procida") is a short

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Tuscan history of the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) 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, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

, synoptic with another early Tuscan account, the '' Liber Jani de Procida et Palialoco''. Both texts focus on the conspiratorial role played by

John of Procida John of Procida ( it, Giovanni da Procida) (1210–1298) was an Italian medieval physician and diplomat. He was born in Salerno, educated in the Schola Medica as a physician. He was a noted physician for his age and received a professorial ch ...

, who is cast as a villain. A contemporaneous Sicilian writing, '' Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia'', portrays John as a hero. Both Tuscan versions are later than the Sicilian, but may share the ''Reballamentu'' as a source. Conversely, all three may derive from an earlier, now lost source. All three agree on the centrality of John of Procida in the Vespers. The ''Leggenda'' was probably written by a

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. Sicilian folklorist

Giuseppe Pitrè Giuseppe Pitrè (22 December 184110 April 1916) was an Italian folklorist, medical doctor, professor, and senator for Sicily. As a folklorist he is credited with extending the realm of folklore to include all manifestations of popular life. He is ...

first suggested that the ''Leggenda'' may have influenced the Florentine ''

Nuova Cronica The ''Nuova Cronica'' (also: ''Nova Cronica'') or '' New Chronicles'' is a 14th-century history of Florence created in a year-by-year linear format and written by the Italian banker and official Giovanni Villani (c. 1276 or 1280–1348). T ...

'' of

Giovanni Villani Giovanni Villani (; 1276 or 1280 – 1348)Bartlett (1992), 35. was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the ''Nuova Cronica'' (''New Chronicles'') on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman ...

, but a critical study by German historian Otto Hartwig soon dismissed this. The ''Leggenda'' is conserved in a Modenese manuscript.Vincenzo di Giovanni (1871)
''Filologia e letteratura siciliana: studii''
(Palermo: L. P. Lauriel), 52, who quotes its prologue. It was published by

Lodovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...

in his ''Raccolta degli storici Italiani'', XXXIV.

Notes

{{reflist Medieval historical texts Medieval Italian literature War of the Sicilian Vespers