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Henry, known as Enrico Pescatore (i.e., the fisherman; ), was a Genoese adventurer,
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
and
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
active in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
at the beginning of the thirteenth century. His real name is said to have been Erico or Arrigo di Castro or del Castello di Candia. The title
Count of Malta The County of Malta was a feudal lordship of the Kingdom of Sicily, relating to the islands of Malta and Gozo. Malta was essentially a fief within the kingdom, with the title given by Tancred of Sicily the Norman king of Sicily to Margaritus of ...
was created by
Tancred of Sicily Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...
some years before, for
Margaritus of Brindisi Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian language, Italian: ''Margaritone'', Greek language, Greek: ''Megareites'' or ''Margaritoni'' �αργαριτώνη c. 1149 – 1197), called "the new Neptune", was the last great ''ammiratus ...
and then was taken over by
Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...
, Tancred's opponent in Southern Italy and Sicily. Henry’s irregular acquisition of the title is attributed to his relationship as son-in-law to the previous holder, Guglielmo Grasso, Henry VI's and then
Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...
’s admiral, around 1204. From 1206, Pescatore took control of large parts of
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
. After the dissolution of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
by the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, the island of Crete was initially allotted to Boniface of Montferrat, who soon accepted an offer from Enrico Dandolo and sold his rights to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. As Venice was not prepared to enforce her control over the island, Pescatore seized the opportunity and landed on Crete. However, Venice responded by sending troops and Pescatore was pushed out of the island a few years later. The Genoese held onto
Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
, and in 1211 his fellow Genoese, Alamanno da Costa, began a campaign against Crete. He was employed with imperial
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
s in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in 1225 transporting
Isabella II of Jerusalem Isabella II (12124 May 1228), sometimes erroneously called Yolanda, was Queen of Jerusalem from 1212 to 1228. She was the daughter of Queen Maria of Jerusalem and her husband, John of Brienne. By marriage to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Is ...
to marry the Emperor Frederick.ORB: The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies
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References

*
David Abulafia David Samuel Harvard Abulafia (born 12 December 1949) is an English historian with a particular interest in Italy, Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He spent most of his career at the University of ...
. ''Henry count of Malta and his Mediterranean activities: 1203-1230'', in ''Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean, 1100-1400'' (1987) *


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Count Of Malta 13th-century Genoese people Genoese admirals Medieval pirates People of medieval Crete Monarchs of Crete Counts of Malta Christians of the Fifth Crusade 13th-century governors