Maria (2 July 1363 – 25 May 1401) was

Queen of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 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 ...

and

Duchess of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...

and

Neopatria The Duchy of Neopatras ( ca, Ducat de Neopàtria; scn, Ducatu di Neopatria; gr, Δουκάτο Νέων Πατρών; la, Ducatus Neopatriae) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sici ...

from 1377 until her death.

Accession

Born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, she was the daughter and heir of

Frederick the Simple Frederick III (or IV) (1 September 1341 – Messina 27 July 1377Setton, Kenneth M. (1975) " Volume III: The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries", Edited by Harry W. Hazzard, page 214.), called the Simple, was King of Sicily from 1355 to 1377. H ...

by his first wife

Constance of Aragon Constance of Aragon (1179 – 23 June 1222) was an Aragonese infanta who was by marriage firstly Queen of Hungary, and secondly Queen of Germany and Sicily and Holy Roman Empress. She was regent of Sicily from 1212 to 1220. She was the second c ...

. As she was thirteen years old at the time of her father's death in 1377, her government was effectively taken over by four baronial families who styled themselves "vicars".

Unrest

The regent named by Maria's father, Artale Alagona, was initially forced to form a government with three other Vicars, including Francesco II count of Ventimiglia,

Manfredi III Chiaramonte Manfredi III Chiaramonte (died November 1391) was a Sicilian nobleman. Of French origins, he was given the County of Modica, then one of the most powerful fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1377. He was also made lord of Trapani, Agrigento, Bivona ...

count of Modica The County of Modica was a feudal territory within the Kingdom of Sicily from 1296 to 1812. Its capital was Modica, on the southern tip of the island, although the cities of Ragusa and Scicli housed some government offices for a period. Today i ...

, and Guglielmo Peralta, count of

Caltabellotta Caltabellotta ( Sicilian: ''Cataviḍḍotta'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento. History Caltabellotta has been identifie ...

, a parity of exponents of the "Sicilian" and "Aragonese" parties. However, the four men ruled in their separate baronial lands alone. In 1379 she was kidnapped by count William Raymond of Montcada, Sicilian nobleman and member of the Aragonese House of Montcada, to prevent her marriage with

Giangaleazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...

Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...

, and imprisoned for two years at

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Agr ...

. Montcada's move had been approved by her grandfather King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

. In 1382 Maria was rescued by an Aragonese fleet; she was taken first to

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, then, in 1384, to

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, where she was married to

Martin the Younger Martin I of Sicily (c. 1374/1376 – 25 July 1409), called "The Younger", was King of Sicily from his marriage to Queen Maria in 1390 until his death. Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon, and his grandparents were King Pet ...

, the grandson of Peter IV (1390).

Co-reign

In 1392 Maria and Martin returned with a military force and defeated the opposing barons, ruling jointly until Maria's death in 1401. At that time, Martin repudiated the

Treaty of Villeneuve The Treaty of Villeneuve (1372) was the definitive agreement that ended the dispute between the House of Anjou and the House of Barcelona over the Kingdom of Sicily that began ninety years earlier in 1282. Its final form was approved by Pope Gregor ...

(1372) and ruled Sicily alone. She also survived their only son,

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 sur ...

(1398–1400). The kingdom remained without a crown prince and this caused a succession crisis for Martin, who ruled by right of his wife. Frederick the Simple had named his illegitimate son, William, Count of Malta, as heir presumptive in the case of the extinction of his daughter's line. William had died in c. 1380, but he had a daughter, Joan, wife of the Sicilian nobleman Pietro di Gioeni. She, however, cannot have contested her uncle's claim since Martin continued to rule unopposed until his death. Maria of Sicily died at

Lentini Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...

in 1401.

References

External links

* *https://web.archive.org/web/20040820055312/http://www.mittelalter-genealogie.de/mittelalter/koenige/sizilien/maria_koenigin_1402.html , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Of Sicily 1363 births 1401 deaths 14th-century Kings of Sicily 14th-century women rulers 14th-century Italian women Nobility from Catania Queens regnant House of Barcelona (Sicily) Dukes of Athens Burials at Catania Cathedral 15th-century deaths from plague (disease) Women in medieval European warfare Women in war in Italy Women in 14th-century warfare Daughters of kings Counts of Malta