Cover photo: Charles I of Anjou over the body of Manfred after the Battle of Benevento, 1838 by Carl Rahl.

During the 13th century, the German House of Hohenstaufen was in constant conflict with the Popes of Rome. The last king of Sicily was Manfred, a brave man with a particular love for hunting (though to an excessive degree, as he often prioritized hunting over his administrative duties). He became regent for his nephew Conrad in 1254, having already participated in many battles and quelled rebellions even from the age of 18 (born in 1232). On August 10, 1258, taking advantage of Conrad’s rumored death, he was crowned king of Sicily in Palermo. Despite the fact that these rumors ultimately proved false, the new king, enjoying great popular support, refused to resign.

Pope Alexander IV declared Manfred’s coronation invalid. Undeterred by excommunication, the German king extended his power in central and northern Italy. His power also increased with the marriage of his daughter Constance in 1262 to Peter III of Aragon. Intimidated by these developments, the new Pope Urban IV excommunicated him again. However, this would have little significance if not accompanied by action. Finally, in 1263, he found a willing ally in Charles I of Anjou, a brother of King Louis IX of France. Charles’ army, around 26,600 men (though contemporary historians slightly reduce this number), entered Italy from Col de Tende in late 1265.

They soon captured some of the numerous fortresses of the Ghibellines in northern Italy and Charles was crowned king of Sicily in Rome in January 1266, while the Pope was absent. On January 20, he marched southward and crossed the Liri River, invading the Kingdom of Sicily with 12,000 soldiers in the crucial confrontation that would decide the future of the Kingdom and beyond. Among them, 3,000 were horsemen, including 600 heavily armed knights, 600 crossbowmen, and the rest light and heavy infantry. Against them were 13,500-14,000 men, the cream of the heavy German cavalry of about 1,000 men, 1,000 Italian mercenary knights, another 300 lightly armed Saracens, and the remaining infantry were Saracen archers¹.

The battle began with Manfred’s Saracens attacking the French infantry. Charles of Anjou send against them, the semi-armed irregular infantry of his army, his ribaulds, along with his crossbowmen. The Saracens dominated the skirmish; the French were mowed down in large numbers and began to retreat, but a detachment of 900-1000 Provençal knights rushed to cover the infantry’s retreat and attacked the enthusiastic mass of Saracens with tremendous results. It was the turn of the Germans to “save” the allied troops, and thus, 1,200 fully armed knights descended with a spectacular charge, striking the French cavalry with force, shaking it. Charles ordered his next line, which consisted of 1,400 knights, to reinforce the Provençals. Despite the numerical superiority of the French, the Germans fought fiercely.

Their metallic armors seemed impenetrable until a Frenchman noticed that when they raised their arms to strike the opponent, their armpits were unprotected. A shout echoed through the French’ lines «give point!» (à l’estoc!), and stab under the arm. The French surged again with such force and in such numbers that the combatants had become a huge mass that hardly recognized its friendly sections. The Germans were unable to use their long swords, and the sharp daggers of the French made breakthroughs. One by one, the Ghibelline knights had been put out of action.

At the same time, Manfred’s second and third units crossed a bridge, but wasted much time in crossing it and forming up. The balance already leaned visibly towards the side of Charles’ Guelphs. Discouraged by this unfavorable turn, they offered only little resistance and retreated, while most of the nobles in Manfred’s third section made an immediate change and abandoned him, leaving the king to his fate. The king now had only two choices, retreat or death. But for the fearless German, there was no hesitation.

After exchanging royal attire with his friend Tembald Annibaldi, to whom he had also given his royal armor before the battle so as not to draw too much attention during it, he said in Latin “Hoc est signum Dei (This is the sign of God), because I myself placed this crest with my own hands in such a way that it should not be able to fall”. Then Manfred charged with the few faithful soldiers remaining and fell directly into the large enemy mass, meeting a glorious death. Some French knights requested from Charles an honorable burial, befitting such a brave soldier. The French king first sought the opinion of the Pope, who allowed a decent burial but without religious ceremony, as it was done.

The defeat was overwhelming, as only 600 German knights were saved, and all the other sections were scattered. Also, the Saracens who had fought as mercenaries were completely dispersed. The battle signaled the downfall Hohenstaufen dominance in Italy and the remaining territories of the Kingdom of Sicily fell swiftly under conquest, facing little opposition. Charles, firmly established in his newfound realm, anticipated the arrival of Conradin, the final beacon of hope for the Hohenstaufen cause, in 1268. Their encounter culminated in the bloody battle of Tagliacozzo (23 August 1268).

Primary Sources:

Giovanni Villani, «Nuova Cronica», early 14th century.

Saba Malaspina, «Liber gestorum regum Sicilie», 1285.

«Chronicle of Primat of Saint-Denis», 1277(?).

Bibliography:

S. Runciman, «The Sicilian Vespers», publ. Cambridge University Press, 2000.

C. Oman, «A history of the art of war; the Middle Ages from the fourth to the fourteenth century», publ. London Methuen, 1898.

Footnotes:

1. Frederick II Hohenstaufen founded a colony (in 1240) of about 35.000 Saracens near Lucera and for many decades this colony provided the German emperors with 5.000 archers annually. ↩︎