ROGER OF LAURIA (c.1250–1305) Z01 Stan Book B.indb 1 10/07/2019 11:38 Z01 Stan Book B.indb 2 10/07/2019 11:38 ROGER OF LAURIA (c.1250–1305) ‘ADMIRAL OF ADMIRALS’ Charles D. Stanton THE BOYDELL PRESS Z01 Stan Book B.indb 3 10/07/2019 11:38 © Charles D. Stanton 2019 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Charles D. Stanton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2019 The Boydell Press, Woodbridge ISBN 978-1-78327-453-6 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A catalogue record of this publication is available from the British Library The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate This publication is printed on acid-free paper Z01 Stan Book B.indb 4 10/07/2019 11:38 To a modern-day ‘Admiral of Admirals’: Adm. William J. Crowe USN PhD, Political Science, Princeton Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1985–1989) US Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1994–1997) ‘Sailor, Scholar, Statesman’ Z01 Stan Book B.indb 5 10/07/2019 11:38 Z01 Stan Book B.indb 6 10/07/2019 11:38 CONTENTS List of Illustrations viii Prologue 1 1 Battle of Benevento (26 February 1266) 9 2 A Calabrian Exile in the Court of Aragon (1262–1282) 25 3 Battle of Tagliacozzo (23 August 1268) 36 4 Aragonese Expansion (1229–1282) 48 5 Angevin Consolidation and Aggrandizement (1268–1282) 66 6 Revolt of the Vespers (30 March 1282) 79 7 Aragonese Intervention (August–October 1282) 90 8 Stalemate (November 1282–March 1283) 104 9 Admiral of Aragon (20 April 1283) 115 10 The Opposing Fleets (1282–1302) 126 11 Battle of Malta (8 June 1283) 147 12 Anjou’s Dreams of Empire Dashed (June–November 1284) 160 13 France’s Crusade against Aragon (May–November 1285) 177 14 Battle of the Counts (23 June 1287) 198 15 Truces and Treaties (June 1287–November 1291) 210 16 Raid on Romania (Summer 1292) 223 17 Switching Sides (December 1293–April 1297) 236 18 Aragon’s Invasion of Sicily at Anjou’s Bidding (1298/1299) 256 19 Lauria’s Last Great Campaign (Summer 1299–Spring 1300) 271 20 Endgame (Spring 1301–Summer 1302) 289 Epilogue 302 Bibliography 309 Index 316 Z01 Stan Book B.indb 7 10/07/2019 11:38 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1 Charles I of Anjou, Musei Capitolini, Rome (Credit: Kristy Stanton/Musei Capitolini, Rome) 16 2 Castello di Lauria in the Basilicata Region of Southern Italy (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 29 3 Almugavars and Balistarii catalane, Palau Reial Major, Barcelona (Credit: Alamy Stock Photo/Saló del Tinell of the Palau Reial Major, Barcelona) 64 4 La Chiesa dello Spirito Santo (Church of the Holy Spirit), Palermo (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 80 5 Roger of Lauria, Barcelona (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 118 6 Byzantine Dromōn (Credit: John H. Pryor, copyrighted with all rights reserved) 127 7 Sicilian Galea, Codex 120 II, Burgerbibliothek, Bern (Credit: Burgerbibliothek Bern, copyrighted with all rights reserved) 132 8 Catalan Galea, Museu Nacional d’arte de Catalunya, Barcelona (Credit: Kristy Stanton/Museu Nacional d’Arte de Catalunya, Barcelona) 134 9 Angevin war galley (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 142 10 Drassanes Reials de Barcelona (Royal Arsenal of Barcelona) (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 145 11 Castrum Maris (Fort St Angelo), Grand Harbour of Malta (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 150 12 Castel dell’Ovo, Naples (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 169 13 Palais des Rois de Majorque (Palace of the Kings of Majorca), Perpignan (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 181 14 City walls of Girona, Catalonia (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 183 15 Gaeta, in Lazio north of Naples (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 215 Z01 Stan Book B.indb 8 10/07/2019 11:38 illustrations ix 16 Qalat de Ayyub (Castel of Ayyub) at Calatayud in Aragon (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 226 17 Palazzo Bonifacio VIII, Anagni (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 241 18 Aci Castello, Catania (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 250 19 Castello Maniace, Syracuse (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 259 20 Roger of Lauria’s Tomb, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Santes Creus, Aiguamúrcia (Credit: Kristy Stanton) 305 The author and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omission, and the publisher will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions. Maps 1 The Mediterranean (late thirteenth century) 8 2 Battle of Benevento 20 3 Kingdom of Sicily (The Regno) 40 4 Battle of Tagliacozzo 42 5 The Western Mediterranean 49 6 Sicily (‘Trinacria’) 82 7 Battle of Nicotera 101 8 Battle of Malta 155 9 Battle of the Gulf of Naples 167 10 Battle of Les Formigues 188 11 Battle of the Counts 205 12 Raid on Romania 229 13 Battle of Capo d’Orlando 267 14 Battle of Falconaria 276 15 Battle of Ponza 285 All maps produced by Kristy Stanton Z01 Stan Book B.indb 9 10/07/2019 11:38