Southern Calabria, from the isthmus of Catanzaro to the Strait of Messina, is governed for the boy king by a royal justiciar whose seat is the royal city of Reggio, facing Messina across the Strait.
Inside it lie the counties of Squillace, Tropea and Sinopoli, the lordship of Bova (which the Federiciana says was subject to the archbishop of Reggio from 1195), and the Greek country of the Aspromonte and the Locride, with Greek bishops at Gerace, Bova and Oppido. On 1 January 1200 it is regency ground; the justiciar's name is not pinned.
Who he is
- Title
- Royal justiciar (iustitiarius) of Calabria
- Since
- Not pinned
- Family
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
The Federiciana (Calabria) places the justiciarate of Calabria south of the Squillace-Tiriolo-Nicastro line and names Reggio as a royal city; it.wikipedia (Storia di Reggio Calabria) says Reggio was never granted as a fief and remained the capital of the Calabrian justiciarate after Roger II moved his seat to Palermo. No justiciar is named for the winter of 1199-1200 in the sources checked.
Overlord
The regency council at Palermo, under the pope as guardian
What it holds
- The royal city of Reggio with its castle and port on the Strait
- Crown pleas over the counties and baronies of the province
- Counties the Federiciana lists for Swabian Calabria (1194-1266, undated) in this province: Squillace, Tropea, Sinopoli; Bova under the archbishop of Reggio from 1195
- The Tyrrhenian ports below Reggio and the coast road to the Strait crossing
How it was acquired
A Norman royal office going back to Robert Guiscard's government of Calabria from Reggio (it.wikipedia).
Allies and rivals
The archbishop of Reggio (a new archbishop since July 1199), the Greek bishops and archimandrites, the counts of the province; across the Strait, Messina and the regency's Sicily (sic's records).
How things stand that morning
Regency ground (realm sicily). Markward came to Sicily by sea and landed at Trapani in October 1199, not by the Strait; no German force is recorded in southern Calabria that winter.
Wealth
The Strait crossing and Reggio's port, silk (mulberries recorded round Reggio since Byzantine times), oil, wine and the coastal fisheries.
Military
The castle of Reggio and the castles of the counties; the Strait is watched from Reggio and Messina. No figures.
Threats
- Markward's war in Sicily reaching the Strait
- Muslim or Pisan and Genoese raiders on the coasts
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.
- Spring and summer 1200The papal army sent against Markward reaches Sicily and beats him near Monreale on 21 July 1200; its route to the island is not pinned in the sources checked, but any crossing by land would come down through Calabria to the Strait.Depends on: The pope's army being raised and paid; Markward pressing Palermo. Stopped by: A settlement between the chancellor and Markward first.
Places of note
- Reggio: Seat of the justiciar; royal city on the Strait
- Bova: Greek bishop's town; subject to the archbishop of Reggio from 1195 (Federiciana)
- Sinopoli: County (Federiciana); holder not pinned
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The structure is fair (Federiciana, it.wikipedia); the office holder that winter is not pinned.
On the map: Drawn as the area of the justiciar's jurisdiction, not as his lordship; the line to the northern justiciarate is approximate.
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
- Calabria, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
- Storia di Reggio Calabria (it.wikipedia)
- Arcidiocesi di Reggio Calabria-Bova (it.wikipedia, cronotassi)
- Marcovaldo di Annweiler, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.