Matthew Bonnellus ( it, Matteo Bonello or ) was a rich knight of an ancient and influential

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

family who became the lord of

Caccamo Caccamo (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Càccamu'') is a town and ''comune'' located on the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily in the Metropolitan City of Palermo. History The official founding of Caccamo was not until 1093, when the No ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. He is most famous as the leader of three consecutive revolts against the '' ammiratus ammiratorum''

Maio of Bari Maio of Bari ( it, Maione da Bari) (died 10 November 1160) was the third of the great admirals of Sicily and the most important man in the Norman kingdom of Sicily during the reign of William I (1154–66). Lord Norwich calls him "one of the mos ...

and King

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. Wi ...

. When young he was attached to Maio, who destined him to be his son-in-law, and sent him on a diplomatic mission to

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. While there, Bonnellus became romantically involved with Clementia, Countess of Catanzaro, the heiress of Count Robert of Catanzaro. In return for her hand in marriage, he was induced to join the brewing conspiracy bent on Maio's assassination. According to

Hugo Falcandus Hugo Falcandus was a historian who chronicled the reign of William I of Sicily and the minority of his son William II in a highly critical work entitled ''The History of the Tyrants of Sicily'' (or ''Liber de Regno Sicilie''). The Latin of the work ...

, on 10 November 1160, rumours began circulating in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...

that "the King was coming that night, at Maio's instigation, to the Archbishop's palace, and that there, in that very street, he was to be slain." It was not, however the king, but the admiral, who was to be slain: with the complicity of the Archbishop Hugh.

Matthew of Ajello Matthew of Ajello ( it, Matteo d'Aiello) was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century. His brother John was a bishop. Career He first appears as the notary of the Admiral Maio of Bari who drew up th ...

warned Maio, but it was of no use. For immediately upon hearing his name mentioned, Bonnellus leapt from his crevice and stabbed the admiral while his attendants fled. Bonnellus himself fled to Caccamo, but his popularity in the streets of the capital was such that the king was forced to grant him a pardon and he reentered Palermo as a hero. Under the urging of Queen Margaret, however, the king was prompted to demand a long-overlooked duty, a payment owed by Bonnellus for his inheritance, of 60,000 ''taris''. Bonnellus paid, but his enmity with the king grew and his fellow conspirators convinced him to move to assassinate William. This he did by purchasing the support of

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, the bastard son of

Roger II Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in ...

, and Tancred, Count of Lecce, the bastard grandson of Roger, both Hauteville claimants to the throne. With the help of the prisoners in the dungeon, Simon and Tancred stormed the palace and captured the king. Many courtiers were killed and an anti-Moslem pogrom began, only halted by the narrowness of the streets in the Moslem quarter. Bonnellus himself was out of Palermo and it was announced that

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, William's eldest son of nine years, already

duke of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when ...

, would be crowned in William's stead. The conspirators paused to await Bonnellus' return and the city reacted against them. The king was freed and the leaders fled to Caccamo. Bonnellus himself led the rebels out of Caccamo in an assault on Palermo. Once again, however, the insurrectionists paused and allowed the momentum to pass from them and their enemies to regroup. Reinforcements arrived from

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the 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 more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

and the rebels were forced to accept very generous terms: exile for all and pardon for Bonnellus himself. Bonnellus charged the king's ministers with various evils to justify his actions and so proved to the king that he would never be pacific. William imprisoned him in a dungeon in al-Halka and Palermo revolted. This time all captured rebels were executed or mutilated and Bonnellus was blinded and hamstrung. He died soon thereafter in prison. His fiancée Clementia was exiled from Palermo to Calabria.

Sources

*Alio, Jacqueline. ''Margaret, Queen of Sicily''. Trinacria:

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 2017. * Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. Longman:

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 1970. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnellus, Matthew Italo-Normans Norman warriors 1161 deaths Year of birth unknown