Manfred (1306 – 9 November 1317), ''

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

'' of

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

, was the second son of

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick II (or III) (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 Aragon and served in th ...

and

Eleanor of Anjou Eleanor of Anjou (August 1289 – 9 August 1341) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of King Frederick II of Sicily. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou by birth. She was the third daughter of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hunga ...

. He was appointed

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

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 ...

in 1312 by his father at the request of the knights of the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

then in control of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Manfred was only five when he was named duke. His father sent Berenguer Estanyol as his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. In 1316,

Alfonso Fadrique Don Alfonso Fadrique ( en, Alfonso Frederick; ca, N'Anfós Frederic d'Aragó; died 1338) was the eldest and illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily. He served as vicar generalHe is referred to with the magniloquent title ''magnificus dominus, ...

, Manfred's elder (but illegitimate) brother, was appointed

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of Athens. The young Duke never set foot in his realm, however, for he died in a fall from his horse before his twelfth birthday. He died in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

and was buried in the Dominican church located there. His younger brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

succeeded him as duke.

References

*Fiske, H. ''Acta Aragonensia''. Berlin-Leipzig, 1908. * * * *Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975. {{Infantes of Aragon 1306 births 1317 deaths Dukes of Athens House of Barcelona (Sicily) Deaths by horse-riding accident in Italy Sons of kings