The ''Vendicatori'' ('Avengers'), were a secret society of rebel-

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

formed about 1186 in

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

to avenge popular wrongs. The society was finally suppressed by William II of Sicily (1155–1189), who hanged the grand master and branded the members with hot irons. The ''vindicosi'', or vindicators, are described as a historical sect by Francesco Maria Emanuele Gaetani (1720–1802) in his ''Diari palermitani'' (Palermo diaries). According to this author, they may date back to 1185.

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See also

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Further reading