Peter II (1304 – 8 August 1342) was the

King 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 occ ...

from 1337 until his death, although he was associated with his father as co-ruler from 1321. Peter's father was

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 the W ...

and his mother was

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, a daughter of

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 ( ...

. His reign was marked by strife between the throne and the nobility, especially the old families of Ventimiglia, Palizzi and Chiaramonte, and by war between Sicily and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Contemporaries regarded Peter as feeble-minded.

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 ...

, in his ''Nuova Cronica'', calls him "almost an imbecile" (Italianate Latin: ''quasi un mentacatto'') and Nicola Speciale, in his ''Historia Sicula'', calls him "pure and simple" (''purus et simplex''). Under Peter, the Neapolitans conquered the

Lipari Islands Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...

and took the cities of

Milazzo Milazzo ( Sicilian: ''Milazzu''; la, Mylae; ) is a town (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a p ...

and Termini in Sicily itself. He died after a short illness on 8 August 1342 in

Calascibetta Calascibetta (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Calascibbetta'') is a ''comune'' in the Province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. History It was assumed that Calascibetta was founded in the 9th century as a Muslim military camp, on the fortress in ...

and was buried in the

cathedral of Palermo Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the pre ...

. He was succeeded by

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, his eldest son, who was only four years old.

Marriage and children

He married

Elisabeth of Carinthia Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298–1352) was Queen of Sicily by marriage to Peter II of Sicily. She was the regent of Sicily during the minority of her son Louis, King of Sicily from 1348 until her death in 1352. The daughter of the Otto, the penu ...

, with whom he had nine children: *

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

(1324 – October 1355), regent of Sicily from 1352 to 1354, unmarried *

(1325–1375), married

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 ...

, mother of Martin II of Sicily * Beatrice (1326–1365), married

Rupert II, Elector Palatine Rupert II, Count Palatine of the Rhine () (12 May 1325, Amberg – 6 January 1398, Amberg). He was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1390–1398. Life Rupert was the elder son of Adolf, Count Palatine of the ...

, mother of

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...

. *

Euphemia Euphemia ( el, Εὐφημία; "well-spoken f), known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer ...

(1330–1359), regent from 1355 to 1357, unmarried *

Louis of Sicily Louis the Child ( it, Ludovico or ; 4 February 1338 – 16 October 1355) was King of Sicily (also known as "Trinacria") from 15 September 1342 until his death. He was a minor upon his succession, and was under a regency until 1354. His actual ru ...

(1338 - 1355), succeeded his father * Frederick IV (1341 - 1377), successor of Louis *Violante (born 1334), died young *John (1342 – 22 June 1353), died young * Blanche (1342–1373), married Count John I of Empúries, but had no issue

References

Sources

* * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 02 Of Sicily 1304 births 1342 deaths 14th-century Kings of Sicily House of Barcelona (Sicily) Burials at Palermo Cathedral