Officers: prévôtés, bailiwicks, seneschals · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Gentile at Palermo

The chancellor's brother, a count from the Abruzzi, is the man who holds Palermo for the regency in 1200: he defends it when Markward besieges it in the spring, and after the chancellor's bargain with Markward (November 1200) he keeps Palermo and the young king until he hands both over in November 1201, when the palace guards betray him.

Whether he is already in command on 1 January 1200, while the king and the council shelter at Messina, is not pinned.

Who he is

Name
Gentile of Palear (Gentile di Pagliara)
Title
Commander of Palermo and keeper of the royal palace for the regency (his formal title not pinned); count of Manoppello in the Abruzzi
Since
Not pinned: attested defending Palermo in the spring 1200 siege
Family
Brother of the chancellor Walter of Palear; with his brother Manerius received the county of Manoppello from Henry VI in April 1195; the family takes its name from the castle of Pagliara on the Gran Sasso and descends from the counts of Valva. Count Peter of Celano is the chancellor's brother-in-law. Gentile dies after 1212.
Confidence
low

Dizionario Biografico (Gualtiero di Pagliara) for the defence of Palermo in spring 1200 and the 1195 grant; Enciclopedia Federiciana (Markward; Gualtiero di Palearia) for his later custody of the king and of Palermo.

Overlord

The king and the regency; in practice his brother the chancellor.

What it holds

  • Command of Palermo and the royal palace (not pinned for 1 January)
  • The county of Manoppello in the Abruzzi, with his brother Manerius (see the abr records)

How it was acquired

By his brother's appointment as the regency's man in the capital.

Allies and rivals

His brother the chancellor; against Markward until November 1200, then his partner; the pope distrusts the brothers.

How things stand that morning

Probably in Palermo for his brother (attested there by the spring); not pinned.

Wealth

His Abruzzi county; the palace's resources.

Military

The palace guard and the Palermo garrison; their loyalty fails in November 1201.

Threats

  • Markward's siege
  • Treachery of the palace guards

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.

  1. Spring to 21 July 1200Defends Palermo against Markward until the battle near Monreale relieves it.Depends on: Supplies and the garrison's loyalty. Stopped by: Betrayal or famine.
  2. November 1200 to November 1201Keeps Palermo and the king under the chancellor's settlement with Markward, then hands both to Markward.Depends on: His brother's alliance with Markward. Stopped by: A papal reconciliation with the chancellor.

Places of note

  • Royal palace: His charge

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: His 1200-1201 role is well attested; his position on 1 January 1200 is not.

On the map: An office in the capital: not drawn as ground (Palermo is drawn under Royal demesne and Palermo).

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.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Gualtiero di Pagliara, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Treccani)
  2. Marcovaldo di Annweiler, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)
  3. Gualtiero di Palearia, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.