Roger Of Lauria
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Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan
admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
during 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 ...
. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tactician of the
Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. He is known as Ruggero or Ruggiero di Lauria in Italian and Roger de Llúria in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
.


Biography

Roger of Lauria was born at
Lauria Lauria is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, southern Italy, situated near the borders of Calabria. It is a walled, medieval town on the steep side of a hill, with another portion of municipal territory in the p ...
or
Scalea Scalea ( Calabrian: , lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promonto ...
in what is now southern Italy, the son of
Richard of Lauria Richard of Lauria (died 26 February 1266) was an Italian nobleman. He was the father of admiral Roger of Lauria. Biography He was lord of Lauria from 1254 and Scalea from 1266, and also held fiefs in Basilicata (from 1239) and Calabria. He married ...
, Great Justiciar 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 ...
, and Donna Bella, a nurse of
Constance of Sicily Constance I ( it, Costanza; 2 November 1154 – 27 November 1198) was reigning Queen of Sicily from 1194–98, jointly with her spouse from 1194 to 1197, and with her infant son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1198, as the heiress of the ...
. His father had served under King
Manfred of Sicily Manfred ( scn, Manfredi di Sicilia; 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 th ...
, a
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
; when the last member of that family,
Conradin of Swabia Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (german: link=no, Konradin, it, Corradino), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke ...
, was beheaded at Naples in 1268, he took refuge with other
Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...
exiles at
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...
, part of the
Crown of Aragón The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
with his mother. Later King
Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( 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 conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pres ...
, who had married Constance of Hohenstaufen, made him knight together with Corrado Lancia, who was to be a comrade of Roger in many of his enterprises. In 1282, Roger was named commander of the Aragonese fleet, keeping this post under Peter's successors James II and Frederick III. Roger of Lauria commanded the Aragonese fleet during the campaign to capture
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
from the Angevins after 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 ...
revolt in 1282, which made the Aragonese rulers of Sicily. He fought and won six naval galley battles in total. On 8 July 1283, he defeated the Angevins in the
Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks (Malta Dockyard), wharves, and ...
at the
Battle of Malta The Battle of Malta took place on 8 July 1283 in the entrance to the Grand Harbour, the principal harbour of Malta, as part of the War of the Sicilian Vespers. An Aragonese fleet of galleys, commanded by Roger of Lauria, attacked and defeated ...
. On 5 June 1284, he defeated the Neapolitan fleet at the Battle of Castellammare and even captured the enemy commander, Charles of Salerno (the future
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 ( ...
). On 4 September 1285, during the
Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against King Peter III of Aragon in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, Martin declared ...
, he defeated the French near Barcelona at the
Battle of Les Formigues The naval Battle of Les Formigues (Catalan language, Catalan) took place probably in the early morning of 4 September 1285 near Les Formigues Islands, Catalonia, about 85 km northeast of Barcelona, when a Catalan-Sicilian galley fleet command ...
, which destroyed for a long time the French naval power in the Mediterranean. Within days, he had landed and taken part in the
Battle of the Col de Panissars The Battle of the Col de Panissars was fought on 30 September and 1 October 1285 between the forces of Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon. It was a severe defeat for the French, who were already retiring over the Pyrenees when the ...
. On 23 June 1287, he again defeated the Angevins near Naples at the
Battle of the Counts The naval Battle of the Counts took place on 23 June 1287 at Naples, Italy, when an Aragonese- Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a large combined Angevin (Kingdom of Naples) galley fleet commanded respectively by Reyn ...
, despite being outnumbered forty ships to eighty. After this victory, without any authorization from King James, he made a truce with the Neapolitans. Observers noted that this truce probably deprived the Aragonese-Sicilians of the victory also on the mainland. When Frederick III was elected King of Trinacria (Sicily), Roger received the fief of Aci and the annexed castle stripped from the bishops of
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 ...
as rewards for his victories. However, the relationship between the admiral and the young King soon soured; when the former passed to the Angevins, Aci was besieged and captured by Frederick, and Roger took refuge at his summer residence in
Castiglione di Sicilia Castiglione di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Castigghiuni di Sicilia'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. Castiglione di Sicilia lies about east of Palermo and about north of Catania. It bo ...
. Again besieged and defeated, he was arrested and brought to
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 ...
. However, he managed to escape and left Sicily, while all his
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
s were confiscated. Roger then entered the service of
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...
to fight against the French. But, in spite of his promises, he returned to Italy, where, on 4 July 1299, he defeated the Sicilians near Sicily at the
Battle of Cape Orlando The naval Battle of Cape Orlando took place on 4 July 1299 at St Marco di Val Demone, north-western Sicily, when an Aragonese and Angevin galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Conrad d'Oria. Ki ...
, capturing eighteen enemy galleys. He had another victory on 14 June 1300, the Battle of Ponza, in which he defeated and captured King Frederick himself. After the
Peace of Caltabellotta The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Tarascon and Anagni, designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the Mediterranean and espec ...
, he submitted to Frederick and received a whole pardon. He retreated to
Cocentaina Cocentaina (, ) is a locality and municipality in the comarca of Comtat, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The village is located between the mountainous Serra de Mariola national park and the Serpis river. Cocentaina is ideally situated for both ...
in the Kingdom of Valencia, where he died in 1305.


Tactics

Roger was successful in naval warfare because of several skillful tactics. He tried to lure enemy fleets out of defended ports, pretending to retreat and getting them to chase him until they became disorganized, then turning in formation to attack. He had much more control over his captains than his foes did. His crews were made up of specialized troops, instead of the more generic types used by his enemies. His archers and crossbowmen were used initially, while his oarsmen and/or ''
Almogavars 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 ...
'' (unarmored and highly mobile elite troops armed with two javelins, a lance and a dagger) stayed under cover. When his galleys closed, often from the sides of the enemy galleys (which damaged their oars), these skirmishers were much more agile than the heavily armored knights with swords his enemies often used, especially on the moving deck of a galley at sea. He used trickery to disguise the size of his force. In addition, he sometimes kept some of his galleys hidden, to attack the rear of the enemy after the battle had started. Roger was also infamous for ruthless sackings and devastation, often driven only by greed and personal advantage. On the other hand, his reputation alone possibly caused some enemies to lose heart during a battle.


Namesakes

The ''
Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
'' (Royal Navy)
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
''Ruggiero di Lauria'', completed in 1888 and stricken in 1909, was named for Roger of Lauria. was an in the Spanish Navy, launched in 1967 and stricken in 1982. The Spanish Navy thought of naming F-102, an ''Alvaro de Bazán''-class air warfare destroyer, the new ''Roger de Lauria'', but finally the ship was christened ''Almirante Juan de Borbón''. The future frigate F-112 of the Armada will be named after him. One of the main paratrooper units of the
Spanish army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...
is named after him.


Sources

*''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'' (2003
"Roger of Loria"
Columbia University Press. * * (

– Infiesta Pérez, José Luis Infiesta, Editor – col·lecció Gent nostra {{DEFAULTSORT:Roger of Lauria 1245 births 1305 deaths People from Lauria Italian admirals Military history of Catalonia Crown of Aragon Medieval admirals People of the War of the Sicilian Vespers Counts of Malta