The Honour of Monte Sant'Angelo is the eastern Gargano: the mountain town and castle above the cave-shrine of St Michael, one of the great pilgrim churches of Europe and a station for crusaders, with the old port-city of Siponto below it and Vieste on the headland.
William II made it a queen's dower in 1177 for Joan of England. Tancred took it back in 1189-1190 and bought off Richard I's claim for his sister in the treaty made at Messina in 1190. It is the core of the queens' dower, and in January 1200 there is no queen: the king is a boy of five and his mother is dead. No other grant is known, so it is most likely crown land under the regency that winter, held by a royal castellan in the Norman castle, which the kings also used as a prison.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned; most likely the crown (the regency government), with a royal castellan at Monte Sant'Angelo whose name is not known
- Title
- Honour of Monte Sant'Angelo (honor Montis Sancti Angeli)
- Since
- Back in the crown's hands since Tancred took Queen Joan's dower lands in 1189-1190
- Family
- Earlier holders: Queen Joan of England, William II's wife, who received it as her dower in 1177
- Confidence
- low
Federiciana (Capitanata): the Gargano honour was the main core of the dower of the queens of Sicily from 1177. it.wikipedia: William II gave Monte Sant'Angelo to his young wife Joan in 1177, calling it the Honor Montis Sancti Angeli. en.wikipedia (Joan of England): Tancred took the lands William had given her and, after Richard I's attack on Messina in 1190, agreed to his terms and paid her dower. No grant of the Honour between 1190 and 1200 was found; later it was the dower of Frederick II's queens and was held by Manfred.
Overlord
The king under the regency.
What it holds
- The town and Norman castle of Monte Sant'Angelo above the sanctuary of St Michael
- Siponto, the archbishop's port-city on the plain below (in decline; its harbour silting)
- Vieste, a small walled port and bishopric on the headland
- The eastern Gargano: Mattinata, Peschici, Vico, Ischitella, Rodi, Carpino (extent in 1200 not pinned)
- The pilgrim traffic and its tolls
How it was acquired
Crown land; a queen's dower 1177-1189; resumed by Tancred.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the Gentile counts of Lesina to the north-west, the monastery of San Giovanni in Lamis (Church map), the royal towns of the Tavoliere.
How things stand that morning
Most likely held for the crown by a royal castellan under the regency; holder not pinned. No German presence recorded.
Wealth
The pilgrims to St Michael's cave and their offerings and tolls, the port of Siponto, olive oil, timber and pasture of the Gargano. No figures.
Military
The Norman castle of Monte Sant'Angelo, a strong mountain fortress; the walls of Vieste and Siponto. No numbers.
Threats
- Grant to a favourite or a claimant
- Seizure by a party in the regency war
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.
- 1200No dated event known.Depends on: nothing Stopped by: nothing
Places of note
- Sanctuary of St Michael: Cave-shrine and pilgrim church
- Siponto: Archiepiscopal port-city (Santa Maria di Siponto, consecrated 1117)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1177 dower and Tancred's seizure are well known; nothing found for the Honour between 1190 and 1200.
On the map: Extent from the Honour's later shape; its holder and bounds in 1200 are not pinned.
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
- Capitanata, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
- Monte Sant'Angelo (it.wikipedia)
- Joan of England, Queen of Sicily (en.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.