William II's great foundation above Palermo is both an abbey-cathedral and the largest Church lordship in Sicily: about 1,200 square kilometres of the western interior, with the castles of Iato, Corleone and Calatrasi and their villages, worked by nearly 2,000 families of Muslim villeins over whom the archbishop holds high justice (Federiciana).
On 1 January 1200 that country is the seat of the war. Markward has landed at Trapani, and the Muslims of the western hills are his allies; in July the decisive battle will be fought at Monreale's gates.
Who holds it
- Name
- Caro (Carus)
- Title
- Archbishop of Monreale (a Benedictine abbey-cathedral and metropolitan see)
- Since
- Before 1194 (Federiciana: 1194); in office until after 1222
- Confidence
- high
A Benedictine and a confidant of the regency council for the boy king, Caro struggles to keep control of his Muslim villeins and of his own monks (Federiciana). In October-November 1198 Innocent III had John of Cicala, bishop of Cefalu, look into complaints against Monreale; in 1200-1201 Caro and John stood together against both Markward and the chancellor Walter of Palear (en.wikipedia on John of Cicala).
What it holds
- Monreale: the walled abbey-town and cathedral; the first abbot was made 'lord of the town' in 1176 (it.wikipedia)
- Iato: castle and district with its villages, the heart of the Muslim estates (Federiciana)
- Corleone: town and castle, enfeoffed to the church of Monreale by 1180 (it.wikipedia)
- Calatrasi: castle and villages in the Belice valley (Federiciana)
- High civil and criminal justice over the abbey's lands (it.wikipedia)
- Bitetto in Apulia (Federiciana)
- Metropolitan rights over Catania and, from 1188, Syracuse (it.wikipedia)
How it was acquired
Founded by William II, built 1172-1176; Abbot Theobald arrived on 20 March 1176 with the title of lord of the town, and William's diplomas of 1176 and after granted the estates with high justice (it.wikipedia). Lucius III made Monreale a metropolitan see (5 February 1182 per it.wikipedia; the Federiciana gives 1183).
How things stand that morning
The abbey-town and Corleone held by the archbishop; the Muslim estates of Iato and Calatrasi slipping out of his hands as their people side with Markward [the date at which they joined him is not pinned].
Wealth
Grain and pasture of the western interior, worked by Muslim villeins owing rents and labour; the abbey's mills; Bitetto's olive country in Apulia.
Threats
- Markward's army and his Muslim allies
- Revolt of the villeins of Iato and Calatrasi
- Battle at the abbey's gates (July 1200)
Advocates and rivals
The Muslim villeins and their leaders, restless since the 1190s; Markward and his allies; the vacant see of Palermo next door and the chancellor who wants it; the royal court at Palermo; the archbishop's own monks.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 21 July 1200The papal army under James the marshal breaks Markward's siege of Palermo in a bloody battle at Monreale; the town is sacked in the fighting (Federiciana; DBI on Walter of Palear).Depends on: Markward besieging Palermo with his Muslim allies, and the papal force reaching Sicily. Stopped by: A settlement between Markward and the chancellor before the summer.
Places of note
- Cathedral of Monreale: Abbey-cathedral and archbishop's seat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The endowment and the archbishop are well documented; the state of the Muslim estates on 1 January 1200 is inferred from the events of 1200.
On the map: Iato and Calatrasi are drawn as the modern communes around the old castles (San Giuseppe Jato, San Cipirello, Roccamena); the real estate was larger and ran across the hills between Partinico, Corleone and the Belice.
Primary sources for Sicily
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
- The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online
7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
- Monreale (Treccani, Enciclopedia Federiciana)
- Arcidiocesi di Monreale (it.wikipedia)
- Monreale (it.wikipedia)
- Corleone (it.wikipedia)
- John of Cicala (en.wikipedia)
- Gualtiero di Pagliara (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.