William II of Sicily

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Biography

The first years

William ascended to the throne just twelve years after the death of his father William I of Sicily in May 1166 under the protection of Queen Margaret of Navarre, assisted by a council of regency of three familiars: the bishop of Syracuse, Richard Palmer, the notary Matteo d'Aiello and the Gaito Pietro. The Kingdom of Sicily came from a sad period of intestine struggles due to a series of lacerations between the barons, the clergy and the people probably also accentuated by the slightly mild character of William I; therefore the first measures of the regency were the imprint of the conciliation with the population and nobility. Tax concessions were also granted, some vacant counties were infeuded and the exiles Tancredi of Lecce and Roberto of Loritello were again welcomed in the Kingdom.

The balance that seemed to be realized at court was questioned by the arrival in Sicily of the French Stephen of Why, the relative of the queen, who was appointed first chancellor and then archbishop of Palermo (1167): in his comparisons were raised many Sicilian nobles and to nothing was the transfer of the court from Palermo to Messina, indeed the rebellion of the Mexicans and a hard grip of position of Henry of Montescaglioso, brother of the queen. Stephen of Why left Sicily for the Terrasanta and in Palermo he set up a new regency council in which Riccardo Palmer and Matteo d'Aiello were accompanied by Gentile bishop of Agrigento, Romualdo Guarna, Giovanni bishop of Malta, Gualtiero Offamilio, Ruggero conte di Geraci, Riccardo di Mandra, Enrico conte di Montescaglioso and gaito Riccardo.

Ascese to the throne

He became an elder, William was crowned king in December 1171: he exercised the government by relying on the small group of family members, including Archbishop Gualtiero.
From William II, compared to his father, the chroniclers of the time often underlined, in addition to beauty, the correctness in the exercise of functions and respect for the laws and the people, the education and the meekness of indole all qualities that earned him the nickname of Good. The king also managed to enjoy a period of relative stability and reappearance in relations between the different factions.

In 1174 William sent a fleet, led by Tancred, Count of Lecce, to help Amalric, the Christian king of Jerusalem, with a demonstration against Alexandria. In the following years the Sicilian fleet carried out numerous raids on the Egyptian coasts, without a particular strategy of conquest, which earned the name of Arcipirata to the new Amiratus Margarito from Brindisi.

William's marriage project with the Byzantine princess, Mary, daughter of Emperor Manuel I Comneno, Pope Alexander III opposed in 1173 the marriage between the Sicilian king and Sofia, daughter of Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1176 he was sent Alfano di Camerota, arcivesc