Matthew D'Ajello
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Matthew of Ajello () was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the
Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...
in the 12th century. His brother
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
was a bishop.


Career

He first appears as the notary of the
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Maio of Bari who drew up the Treaty of Benevento of 1156. He rose to prominence in the next reign, that of
William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from hi ...
, becoming first grand protonotary and then
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
. Maio groomed Matthew to be his successor and, it was alleged, even used him to get permission from
Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
for Maio to succeed
William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
in 1159. On 10 November 1160, Matthew warned Maio of an impending assassination attempt, but to no avail. While Matthew escaped, Maio was killed by Matthew Bonnellus. In 1162, Matthew interceded to prevent the William I from sacking
Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
. On William's death, he became foremost among the advisors of the
queen regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
, Margaret of Navarre. After the rebellions of the later years of William's reign, Matthew compiled from memory a vast catalogue of records lost in the revolts. In 1166, he was a candidate for the chancellorship but was passed over in favour of
Stephen du Perche Stephen du Perche (1137 or 1138 – 1169) was the chancellor of the Kingdom of Sicily (1166–68) and Archbishop of Palermo (1167–68) during the early regency of his cousin, the queen dowager Margaret of Navarre (1166–71). Stephen is desc ...
, which caused him lasting resentment. He took part in the conspiracies of Henry, Count of Montescaglioso, but was not arrested. However, he joined with Gentile, Bishop of Agrigento to assassinate Stephen in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...
after Henry's arrest in
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
. This failed and both were arrested. Yet from prison Matthew coordinated a new conspiracy, and his plotters successfully besieged the chancellor in the cathedral tower and released Matthew, who offered the chancellor the opportunity to leave unmolested on
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
, paving the way for Matthew's own rise to the chancellery. Matthew was not raised immediately to the rank of chancellor. He was first appointed vice-chancellor (1169), in which capacity he constantly advised Margaret against interfering in the crisis between church and state in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, where Margaret supported
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
and Pope Alexander III, and Matthew firmly supported King
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
, believing his cause was similar to that of the previous monarchs of Sicily. For similar reasons, in his later years he opposed Walter of the Mill's feudalising and pro- imperial policies. The chronicler Richard of San Germano described Walter and Matthew as "the two firmest columns of the Kingdom." Matthew was known to be a cruel bigamist. Though racked with
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...
, which the poet Peter of Eboli states he tried to cure by washing his feet in the blood of children. Matthew opposed the marriage of Princess Constance paternal aunt of William II to Prince Henry of Holy Roman Empire, the future Henry VI; while William II had named his aunt heiress to the Sicilian throne and ordered Matthew and others to swear fealty, Matthew induced Walter and other barons to support Tancred, Count of Lecce, an illegitimate cousin of William, for the throne after the death of William. It was Matthew's propaganda against Roger of Andria that ruined that claimant's candidature and secured Tancred's coronation and Matthew's urging that brought the Pope Clement III on side. For this, Tancred created Matthew chancellor, the first since the flight of Stephen du Perche in 1168. In 1191 Emperor Henry attempted to invade Sicily to strive for the Sicilian crown for Empress Constance but failed and retreated, leaving Constance at Salerno as a sign that he would soon return.
Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...
son of Matthew who had been made archbishop of Salerno was hostile to Germans, and at then he was at Naples to help the defense there. He wrote letters to some friends at Salerno, and later they resubmitted to Tancred and handed Constance over to him. Unable to persuade Tancred to put Constance to death, Queen Sibylla discussed with Matthew on the place to imprison Constance, and Matthew wrote a letter to Tancred at her presence, managing to persuade him to lock Constance in
Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman Republic, Roman poet Virgil, who had a ...
at Naples, a castle on an island and surrounded by water to be better-guarded and secluded from people, in the custody of nobleman Aligerno Cottone who was defending Naples. In addition Matthew wrote to Aligerno ordering him to "''ut imperatricem in Castro Salvatoris ad mare benè custodiat''" (guard the empress in Castle of the Savior (i. e. Castel dell'Ovo) in the sea properly). However, only one year later under the pressure of
Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III (; c. 1105 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, including Emperor ...
Tancred had to send Constance to Rome to exchange for his recognition from the Pope, and on the way Constance was released by German soldiers. Matthew's health, however, continued to deteriorate and he died at a great old age in 1193. He left as his monument a nunnery in Palermo named San Benedetto. He had two sons of influence:
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, who was made count of Ajello (
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
), and the aforementioned Nicholas.


Assessment

*While not predicting Matthew to be prominent, Falcandus never denied his ability or intelligence, and twice claimed at court that he was the wisest man. It is inferred that Matthew was specialized in Arabic, Greek and Latin.Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic-Speakers and the End of Islam, Dr Alexander Metcalfe, p. 108 *Monk Peter of Eboli who served for Henry VI and Constance never referred Matthew as Chancellor and referred him as "bigamus, sacerdos, scariothis, Hydra" (bigamist, priest, Iscariot, Hydra).


Notes

{{reflist


References

* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. Longman:
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 1970. 1193 deaths People from Salerno 12th-century Sicilian people Year of birth unknown