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Manfred being crowned
'Manfred of Sicily (1232-26 February 1266) was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. The son of Emperor Frederick II of Germany and his wife Bianca Lancia, Manfred was made King of Sicily after the Holy Roman Empire conquered Naples and Sicily. His rule was contested by the claims of the Papal States-backed House of Anjou and he was killed in the 1266 Battle of Benevento. He succeeded Conradin and preceded Charles of Anjou.
Biography[]
Manfred Lancia was the son of Emperor Frederick II of Germany of the Holy Roman Empire and his Italian wife Bianca Lancia, and was borrn in the city of Venaso in the Province of Potenza, southern Italy. He originally bore his mother's surname, but shared withy his father a love of poetry and science. On his deathbed, Frederick II had Manfred named Prince of Taranto and made him the representative of his half-brother Emperor Conrad IV of Germany in Italy. Manfred was able to subdue numerous rebel cities, with the exception of Naples. When his legitimate brother Conrad IV appeared in southern Italy in 1252, disembarking at Siponto, his authority was quickly and generally acknowledged. Naples fell in October 1253 into the hands of Conrad. The latter, in the meantime, had grown distrustful of Manfred, stripping him of all his fiefs and reducing his authority to the principality of Taranto.
In May 1254 Conrad died of malaria. Manfred, after refusing to surrender Sicily to Innocent IV, accepted the regency on behalf of Conradin I of Sicily, the infant son of Conrad. The pope however, having been named tutor of Conradin, excommunicated Manfred in July 1254. At Foggia on 2 December 1254, Manfred returned to power with aid from Saracen mercenaries from Sicily, defeating the Papal States army. In 1257 he crushed the Papal army and was made Vicar by Conradin.
In 1258, when Conradin was rumored dead, Manfred became king in Palermo, although Conradin was alive. Manfred consolidated his power, making enemies with the Pope. Pope Urban IV conferred the title of King of Sicily upon Charles of Anjou in protest, so Manfred opposed the claim.
Death[]
In the Battle of Benevento, the Angevin army met the Sicilian army in battle. Manfred charged into the fighting to take part in the fray, but he was lanced in the neck by Charles himself. His death led to Charles taking the throne as King of Naples and Sicily.