of Sicily presents an astonishing state of things in the Middle Ages, a complex society of Moslems, Byzantines, and Latins. All these had their share. The Moslems had real affection and loyalty to their Christian King. At the beginning of the reign of Roger II, Palermo was still much more a Moslem than a Christian city. The Moslems call Roger the "great Sultan"; his armies are composed chiefly of Moslems. Indeed, they believed that he himself had joined their religion. He kept a harem like a Moslem emir; he adopted many Moslem customs. At least his successors understood Arabic. He employed Saracen architects, enjoyed the society of their learned men, which he was said to prefer to that of priests and monks. Under his rule Islam produced great writers in Sicily, such as the famous geographer Abū ʿAbdillah Muhammad alIdrīsī.
The Byzantine Christians also enjoyed his favour. He used their artists to make mosaics in his churches; he was surrounded by them also at his court. His admirals, Eugenios, Christodulos, and George of Antioch, were Greeks. He had a Greek court preacher,[1] and Byzantine polemists writing against the Papacy at his court dedicated their works to him.[2] Meanwhile Roger II was himself, as far as he had any religion at all, a Latin Catholic. He was Apostolic Legate for Sicily; he set up Latin bishops in the cities. When he said any prayers at all, he said them in Latin.
This curious combination of races and civilizations lasted a long time in Sicily. Under Frederick II[3] we still find Moslem
- ↑ Theophanes Kerameus (ὁ Κεραμεύς), Metropolitan of Rossano. His fifty-fifth homily was preached in Roger's presence in the Cappella Palatina; it describes its mosaics (P.G. cxxxii, 952-956).
- ↑ So Nilos Doxapatres (see p. 93).
- ↑ Frederick II, King of Sicily from 1198 to 1250 (Emperor, 1220-1250), inherited the kingdom through his mother Constance, daughter of Roger II. This is the lady whom Dante puts in the heaven of the moon ("Par." iii, 118). Before him had reigned William I, "the Bad" (1154-1166), son of Roger II; then William II, "the Good" (1166-1189), son of William I. William II died s.p.; so ended the direct main line of the de Hauteville kings. There remained Constance, William II's aunt, who had married the Emperor, Henry VI (1190-1197). William II, by his will, left the crown to Henry VI; at his death (1197) it came to his son, Frederick II. When Frederick II died (1250) his illegitimate son Manfred first administered the kingdom for his nephew Conradin, then made himself king (1258-1266). But the Pope (Alexander IV, 1254-1261) gave the kingdom to Charles of Anjou, brother of St Lewis IX of France. At Benevento, in 1266, Charles defeated and slew Manfred; so the kingdom passed to the French House of Anjou. In 1282 a revolution in Sicily (the Sicilian Vespers) expelled the French. Peter III of Aragon, son-in-law of
