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Birth:          1239 of Barcelona
Death:          2 Nov 1285 Villa Franca del Panades, Barcelona, Aragon
Burial:         Monasterio de Santa Cruz

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_III_of_Aragon
Peter the Great (Catalan: Pere el Gran, Aragonese: Pero lo Gran; 1239 – 11 November 
1285)[1] was the King of Aragon (as Peter III) of Valencia (as Peter I), and Count of 
Barcelona (as Peter II) from 1276 to his death, (this union of kingdoms was called the 
Crown of Aragon). At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered Sicily and became 
its king in 1282, pressing the claim of his wife, Constance of Hohenstaufen, uniting 
the kingdom to the crown. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese 
monarchs.
Youth and succession

Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife Violant of Hungary. 
Among (opportunistic) betrothals of his youth, he was betrothed to Eudoxia Laskarina, 
the youngest daughter of Emperor Theodoros II of Nicaea, in or before 1260. This 
contract was dissolved, however, after Eudoxia's brother lost the imperial throne in 
1261, and Eudoxia was instead married to the Count of Tenda. On 13 June 1262, 
Peter married Constance, daughter and heiress of Manfred of Sicily. During his youth 
and early adulthood, Peter gained a great deal of military experience in his father's 
wars of the Reconquista against the Moors.[2]

On James I's death in 1276, the lands of the Crown of Aragon were divided amongst 
his two sons. The Kingdom of Aragon, the Kingdom of Valencia and the Catalan 
counties went to Peter III as being the eldest son; while the Kingdom of Majorca 
(actual Balearic Islands) and the Catalan counties beyond the Pyrenees of Rousillon-
Vallespir, Conflent and Capcir and the lordship of Montpellier (all his territories in the 
Languedoc), went to the second son, who became James II of Majorca.

Peter the Great and Constance of Sicily, Queen of Aragon were crowned in Zaragoza 
(capital of the Crown of Aragon) in November 1276 by the archbishop of Tarragona.

Early rebellions
Peter's first act as king was to complete the pacification of his Valencian territory, an 
action which had been underway before his father's death.

However, a revolt soon broke out in Catalonia, led by the viscount of Cardona and 
abetted by Roger-Bernard III of Foix, Arnold Roger I of Pallars Sobirà, and Ermengol X 
of Urgell.[2] The rebels had developed a hatred for Peter as a result of the severity of 
his dealings with them during the reign of his father. Now they opposed him for not 
summoning the Catalan corts (Royal Courts), and confirming its privileges after his 
ascension to the throne.

At the same time, a succession crisis continued in the County of Urgell. When Count 
Álvaro died in 1268, the families of his two wives, Constance, a daughter of Pedro 
Moncada of Béarn, and Cecilia, a daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix, began a long 
fight over the inheritance of his county. Meanwhile, a good portion of the county had 
been repossessed by Peter's father, James I, and was thus inherited by Peter in 1276. 
In 1278, Ermengol X, Álvaro's eldest son, succeeded in recovering most of his lost 
patrimony and came to an agreement with Peter whereby he recognised the latter as 
his suzerain.[2]

In 1280, Peter defeated the stewing rebellion led by Roger-Bernard III after besieging 
the rebels in Balaguer (main city of the County of Urgell) for a month. Most of the rebel 
leaders were imprisoned in Lleida until 1281, while Roger-Bernard was imprisoned until 
1284.

Wars abroad
Africa

When Muhammad I al-Mustansir, the Hafsid Emir of Tunisia who had put himself under 
James the Conqueror, died in 1277, Tunisia threw off the yoke of Aragonese 
suzerainty.[3] Peter first sent an expedition to Tunis in 1280 under Conrad de Llansa 
designed to re-establish his suzerainty.[2] In 1281, he himself prepared to lead a fleet 
of 140 ships with 15,000 men to invade Tunisia on behalf of the governor of 
Constantine.[4] The fleet landed at Alcoyll (now Collo, Algeria) in 1282. It was these 
Aragonese troops that received a Sicilian embassy after the Vespers of 30 March 
asking Peter to take their throne from Charles of Anjou.

Italy
Main article: War of the Sicilian Vespers

In 1266, the French Charles I of Anjou, king of Naples with the approval of Pope 
Clement IV, invaded the Kingdom of Sicily, governed by the house of Hohenstaufen, 
which was the house of Peter III's wife, Constance of Sicily, oldest daughter of 
Manfred I of Sicily and rightful heir to the throne of Sicily after the deaths of her father 
and brother Conradin fighting against Charles' invading forces (Manfred died at the 
battle of Benevento in 1266 and her brother Conradin died in 1268). This made Peter 
III the heir of Manfred of Sicily in right of his wife.

 Peter's fleet landing at Trapani, Sicily. The king is depicted directing the landing, 
second from left in the upper boat, wearing the crown and a red tunic, next to his wife 
Constance, rightful heir of Manfred of Sicily. Nuova cronica. f.127r (1.VIII,69) ms. 
Chigiano L VIII 296.
The Italian physician John of Procida acted on behalf of Peter in Sicily. John had fled 
to Aragon after Charles' success at Tagliacozzo. John travelled to Sicily to stir up the 
discontents in favour of Peter and thence to Constantinople to procure the support of 
Michael VIII Palaeologus.[5] Michael refused to aid the Aragonese king without papal 
approval, and so John voyaged to Rome and there gained the consent of Pope 
Nicholas III, who feared the ascent of Charles in the Mezzogiorno. John then returned 
to Barcelona but the pope died, to be replaced by Simon de Brion (as Pope Martin IV), 
a Frenchman and a staunch ally of Charles and the Anjou dynasty. This set the stage 
for the upcoming conflict.

Constance thus claimed to her father's throne, supported by her husband, but the 
claim was fruitless, as Charles was supported by the Papacy and his power remained 
stronger. The election of a new Pope Nicholas III in 1277 gave the king of Aragon a 
glimpse of hope, but Nicholas somehow died in 1280 and a pro-French Pope Martin IV 
dissipated hopes.

Peter nevertheless had begun making strategic alliances with his neighbouring 
monarchs. Peter made his brother James II of Majorca sign the treaty of Perpignan in 
1279, in which he recognized the Kingdom of Majorca as a feudal kingdom of Peter III 
(making the Crown of Aragon an indissoluble unity). Peter pressed his advantage and 
by February 1283 had taken most of the Calabrian coastline. Charles, perhaps feeling 
desperate, sent letters to Peter demanding they resolve the conflict by personal 
combat. King Peter accepted and Charles returned to France to arrange the duel. Both 
kings chose six knights to settle on places and dates, and a duel was scheduled for 1 
June at Bordeaux. A hundred knights would accompany each side and Edward I of 
England would adjudge the contest; the English king, heeding the pope, however, 
refused to take part. Peter left John of Procida in charge of Sicily and returned via his 
own kingdom to Bordeaux, which he entered in disguise to evade a suspected French 
ambush. Needless to say, no combat ever took place and Peter returned to find a very 
turbulent Aragon.[6]

He also had a long-lasting friendly relationship with the Kingdom of Castile (western 
frontier of the Crown of Aragon, towards the central Iberian Peninsula), establishing a 
strong alliance between realms by signing the treaties of Campillo and Ágreda in 1281 
with king Alfonso X the Wise and infant Sancho (future Sancho IV of Castile).

With the Kingdom of Portugal, Peter established a marital alliance by which his eldest 
daughter Elizabeth of Aragon married the King of Portugal, Denis I.

Peter III also made alliance with England, engaging his heir Alfonso III with Eleanor of 
England, daughter of Edward I of England. Despite all these alliances, Peter kept his 
bad relationship with the Kingdom of France.

On March, 30 of 1282, there was a popular uprising in the Kingdom of Sicily called the 
Sicilian vespers, against the government of Charles I d'Anjou. The noble sicilian rebels 
asked for help to Peter III and offered him the crown as they considered his wife 
Constance their rightful Queen, and after receiving an embassy from the people of 
Palermo at Alcoy, Peter landed at Trapani on 30 August 1282.[5] He was proclaimed 
king in Palermo on 4 September. Charles was forced to flee across the Straits of 
Messina and be content with his Kingdom of Naples. Simon de Brion, now Pope Martin 
IV, excommunicated both king Peter and the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII for 
providing Peter with 60,000 gold pieces to invade Sicily (18 November).[7]

Catalan ground troops were commanded by Guillem Galceran de Cartellà, and were 
formed by the famous and feared almogavars, crossbowmen and lancers. Peter's 
powerful fleet was commanded by Roger of Lauria (serving the Crown of Aragon since 
Constance became queen), and constantly repelled angevin attacks to the island. 
Roger de Lauria defeated the French forces at the port of Malta in 1283 (Malta and 
Gozo became associated with Sicily), and at the Bay of Naples in 1284, where Charles 
of Anjou was made prisoner.

The conquest of Sicily was financed by Jewish contributions and taxes charged to the 
aljamas. The infant Alfonso demanded them an allowance of 200.000 sous in 1282. 
The aljamas from the Kingdom of Valencia gave 25.000 sous, the Aragonese 75.000 
and 100.000 were charged to the Catalan aljamas. The Kingdom of Sicily was to be a 
tenaciously-pursued inheritance for the Aragonese royal house and its heirs for the 
next five centuries.

Later domestic unrest

Peter was dealing with domestic unrest at the time when the French were preparing an 
invasion of Aragon. He took Albarracín from the rebellious noble Juan Núñez de Lara, 
he renewed the alliance with Sancho IV of Castile, and he attacked Tudela in an 
attempt to prevent Philip I, the king of Navarre and the son of the French king Philip 
III the Bold, from invading on that front. Peter held meetings of the cortes at 
Tarragona and Zaragoza in 1283. He was forced to grant the Privilegio General to the 
newly formed Union of Aragon.[6]

Also in 1283, Peter's brother James II of Majorca joined the French and recognised 
their suzerainty over Montpellier. This gave the French free passage into Catalonia 
through Roussillon as well as access to the Balearic Islands. In October, Peter began 
preparing the defences of Catalonia. In 1284, Pope Martin IV granted the Kingdom of 
Aragon to Charles, Count of Valois, another son of the French king and great-nephew 
of Charles of Anjou. Papal sanction was given to a war – crusade – to conquer Aragon 
on behalf of Charles of Valois.

Aragonese Crusade

In 1284, the first French armies under King Philip and Count Charles entered 
Roussillon. They included 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, 
along with 100 ships in south French ports.[8] Though the French had James's 
support, the local populace rose against them. The city of Elne was valiantly defended 
by the so-called bâtard de Roussillon ("bastard of Roussillon"), the illegitimate son of 
Nuño Sánchez, late count of Roussillon (1212–1242). Eventually he was overcome 
and the cathedral was burnt; the royal forces progressed.

In 1285, Philip entrenched himself before Girona in an attempt to besiege it. The 
resistance was strong, but the city was taken. Charles was crowned there, but without 
an actual crown. The French soon experienced a reversal, however, at the hands of 
Roger de Lauria, back from the Italian theatre of the drawn-out conflict. The French 
fleet was defeated and destroyed at the Battle of Les Formigues on 4 September 
1285. In addition, the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery.

Philip himself was afflicted. Philip I of Navarre, the heir to the French throne, opened 
negotiations with Peter for free passage for the royal family through the Pyrenees. But 
the troops were not offered such passage and were decimated at the Battle of the Col 
de Panissars. Philip III of France died in October at Perpignan, the capital of James II 
of Majorca (who had fled in fear after being confronted by Peter), and was buried in 
Narbonne. James was declared a vassal of Peter.

Troubadour works

Peter matched his father in patronage of the arts and literature, but unlike him he was 
a lover of verse, not prose. He favoured the troubadours, having himself created two 
sirventesos. The first is in the form of an exchange between himself and Peironet, a 
troubadour. The second is part of a compilation of five compositions from Peter 
himself, Bernat d'Auriac, Pere Salvatge (perhaps the same as Peironet), Roger-
Bernard III of Foix, and an anonymous contributor.

As well, the wars with Philip of France and James of Majorca furnished material for 
new sirventesos and during this period the sirventes was converted into a convenient 
tool of political propaganda in which each side could, directly or allegorically, present 
its case and procure sympathy propitious to its cause.

Death and legacy

Peter died from unknown causes at Vilafranca del Penedès on 11 November 1285,[1] 
just one month after his royal foe Philip III of France, and was buried in the Monastery 
of Santes Creus.[9] His deathbed absolution occurred after he declared that his 
conquests had been in the name of his familial claims and never against the claims of 
the church. His remains are entombed in a porphyry sarcophagus at the monastery.

Like his father, Peter divided his kingdoms between his sons. He left Aragon to his 
eldest son, Alfonso, and Sicily to his second son, James. Peter's third son, Frederick, 
in succession to his brother James, became regent of Sicily and in due course its king. 
Peter did not provide for his illegitimate youngest son and namesake, Peter (1275 – 25 
August 1296), who married Constança Mendes da Silva, daughter of Soeiro Mendes 
Petite, governor of Santarém in Portugal. This Peter left Spain for Portugal with his 
half-sister Elizabeth.

Peter also had two daughters, Elizabeth, who married Denis of Portugal, and Yolanda, 
who married Robert of Naples.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri sees Peter "singing in accord" (d'ogni valor 
portó cinta la corda) with his former rival, Charles I of Sicily, outside the gates of 
Purgatory.

Parents
____ Jaime I "The Conqueror" (1 Feb 1207 - 25 Jul 1276)
____ Yolande (Jolan) (ABT 1215 - 12 Oct 1251)

Siblings
OF ARAGON Yolanda (Violante) (8 Jun 1236 - 1301)
OF ARAGON Pedro III "the Great" (1239 - 2 Nov 1285)
OF ARAGON Isabel (1248 - 28 Jan 1271)

Marriage To OF SICILY Constance (Costanza) (1249 - 1302)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Manfred (1232 - 26 Feb 1266)
OF SAVOY Beatrice (ABT 1213 - 1259)

Children by OF SICILY Constance (Costanza) 1249 - 1302
____ Elizabeth (Isabel) (4 Jan 1271 - 4 Jul 1336)

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