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Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298-1352) was an influential queen and royal family member in the Kingdom of Sicily, who lived and ruled in a tumultuous time. In 1323, she married Peter II of Sicily and became the Queen of Sicily. During her time as Queen, Elizabeth ensured that the royal lineage of the Aragonese in Sicily continued. Two sons eventually ascended the throne, Louis of Sicily and Frederick IV of Sicily. Elizabeth was the regent for her young son Louis from 1348 until her death in 1352. Politically, the decades leading up to Elizabeth's reign were full of conflicts between Frederick III, King of Sicily, and Robert of Naples who had the backing of the papacy in Avignon. Famine, warfare, and plague were widespread in Europe during the mid-fourteenth century, which had a devastating impact on Sicily in particular, due to its economic expansion and prosperity in the two centuries prior. Elizabeth's reign occurred during a period where Italian citizens were disheartened and anxious, which caused tension among the local populace. The island was also marked by turbulent relations between the throne and Sicily's noble families, eventually degenerating into a civil war. These internal rivalries between the noble families required the coming of age of Elizabeth's sons to resolve the fighting. ==Sicilian context in the early fourteenth century== Understanding Elizabeth of Carinthia's rule in Sicily (1323–52) requires some background information specifically examining the political decision-making of Frederick III, King of Sicily and father of Elizabeth's husband Peter II. In 1282, the Crown of Aragon led by Peter III took Sicily from the Angevins, part of the outcome of the so-called Sicilian Vespers rebellion. In 1295, Pope Boniface VIII insisted that Aragon return Sicily to the Angevins. The Treaty of Anagni was signed by Peter's son James II who was king of both Sicily and Aragon at the time. The treaty promised to withdraw Aragonese troops from Sicily. Frederick III, acting governor of Sicily, however, refused to relinquish control. The Sicilians were more loyal to Frederick than the Angevins and so Frederick was crowned King of Sicily by the people at Palermo in 1296. Frederick also had the support of the local clergy, who were treated poorly by the Angevins, but Sicily had been excommunicated in 1282. Pope Boniface was not pleased about this new king of Sicily, as the Angevins were close allies to the papacy. In response, he declared successive crusades against the Sicilians in 1296, 1299, and 1302. Even with the help of Frederick's brother James, the crusading forces were not able to take back Sicily. This victory for Frederick was cemented in the treaty of Caltabellotta in 1302. The treaty recognized Frederick as the King of Sicily under the condition that his heirs must return Sicily to the Angevins upon his death in exchange for other land. It thereby allowed Sicily to remain under Aragonese rule, attracting settlers and developing trade with Catalonia. Frederick would later change his mind on these conditions, which led to Peter becoming king when he died. Frederick was an effective ruler for the first decade and Sicily was more prosperous than it had been in decades. Still, Robert of Naples was bitter that the Angevins had lost Sicily from his kingdom. The Roman Curia had refused Robert's request in 1302 for a crusade against Sicily. Southern Italy and Sicily were considered by the Pope to be part of the Church's patrimony, second only to the Papal State. This alliance between the papacy and Robert of Naples was strong because of this. It was further strengthened in 1308 when Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon. Robert had strong connections with powerful people in France, so moving the papacy to Avignon only strengthened relations. With the constant threat from Naples, Frederick allied Sicily with the Ghibelline league in 1310. He saw this as an opportunity to protect Sicily from the Angevins, as the Italian expedition by Emperor Henry VII in 1310-1313 helped to increase Ghibelline power in northern and central Italy. Robert of Naples was becoming frustrated with the Sicilian situation and renewed war in 1313. Henry's unexpected death in 1313 increased Robert's resolve. In 1315, Frederick of Austria hoped to marry his sister Catherine to Frederick's son Peter. Instead, Robert, hoping to interrupt an Imperial-Sicilian alliance, married Catherine to his son Charles. During this time, the Angevins and Frederick's brother James of Aragon tried to convince the King of Sicily to trade his kingdom in exchange for Achaea and Albania. Frederick declined this request, but Robert of Naples continued this dialogue in 1316-1317, even offering the western half of Sicily along with the lands previously offered. Frederick wanted no part of these other lands and Pope John XXII established a truce between these feuding kingdoms in 1317. However, Robert remained bitter, and in 1320 war broke out between the Angevins and the Sicilians. Attacks and blockades became common in the 1320s. The Sicilians were able to hold out against the Angevins, but the people of Sicily saw their living standards deteriorate. The people still remained loyal to Frederick as they disliked the Angevins more. In 1322, the Sicilians swore fealty to Frederick's son Peter, thus officially breaking the terms set up at Caltabellotta. Crusades against the Ghibellines, who were important trading partners with Sicily, began in 1320 and lasted until 1334. Though not directly attacked, this was another hardship that Frederick and his kingdom had to deal with. Frederick was given hope by the fact that Emperor Louis IV intervened in northern Italy in 1323, protecting Milan from an invasion by Naples. This drew Pope John's attention to the north. In 1325, the Angevins and Charles of Calabria requested a crusade against Sicily. However, Pope John rejected this request, stating that it would hurt papal authority and that Frederick had not reached a level where this last resort was necessary. This refusal may have saved Sicily from being conquered. Papal policy was less aggressive towards Sicily under John XXII and Benedict the XII. In 1328, Emperor Louis invaded Italy, taking Rome. From the Sicilian perspective, an invasion of Naples seemed to be the next step. However, Frederick and Louis made mistakes in coordinating their forces and sending Sicilian food supplies to the Emperor's army. This resulted in Louis fleeing Rome. Things only got worse for the Sicilians as the Ghibelline coalition disintegrated and Louis left Italy in 1330, never to return. Sicily was left in a very vulnerable position. Angevin campaigns continued with separate attacks occurring in 1325-26, 1327, 1333, and 1335. The Sicilians were able to prevail, but by this point they had exhausted all of their resources. Frederick's reign, which ended in 1337 with the succession of his son Peter, was a tale of two types. The early years were an attempt at reconstruction from the fighting with Naples that ended in 1302. Frederick wanted to integrate the people of Sicily and unite them into a true Kingdom of Sicily. He attempted to do this by drawing on the people's hate of the Angevins and was largely successful. During this reconstruction process, the Sicilians saw improvement in their fortunes, both culturally and commercially, until around 1312. However, as invasions by the Angevins increased during the 1310s, Sicily was ravaged. Siding with the Ghibellines resulted in a loss of Guelph trading partners in northern Italy. It appears that most Sicilians were ambivalent to the Guelph/Ghibelline conflict, which made Frederick's decision seem unreasonable. Various food crises also occurred between 1311 and 1335. After 1321, the economy was in ruins. Constant port blockades by Robert of Naples hurt Sicily further, and by 1325 its economy was destroyed. Frederick's government became increasingly hated and powerless. The economic burden of constantly being at war had taken its toll on the population. The king had also dispensed the majority of his personal wealth to churches and hospitals, so there was nothing left to give barons or ecclesiastical leaders. If all of this was not bad enough, eruptions of Mount Etna in 1329 and 1333 signaled to Sicilians that God was punishing them for Frederick's sins. Once the decline started, it just got worse and worse. When Frederick died in 1337, civil war broke out in Sicily, with the barons feuding for control of the island. Peter II and Elizabeth were left with a kingdom that went from a high point in the early part of Frederick's reign, to a low point at his death when Sicily was in shambles. The decisions made by Frederick may have protected Sicily from the Angevins, but it came at a cost that would be a common theme when Elizabeth became Queen. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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