Kings and their demesnes · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Royal demesne

Most of Sicily was royal demesne, held directly by the crown through its officers rather than granted to counts.

Its heart is Palermo and its plain, the Conca d'Oro: the royal palace with the treasury, the sea castle (Castellammare), the walled parks and pleasure palaces of the Norman kings (the Favara or Maredolce, the Zisa, the Cuba, the hunting park at Altofonte), the gardens and the tuna fisheries of San Giorgio and Solanto. Beyond it the crown holds the island's great towns and their castles through castellans and local royal officers (the bailiff, baiulus, and the judges), and draws the revenues of ports, customs, salt and fisheries through the royal fiscal bureau (the diwan) in the palace.

Who he is

Name
Frederick (aged five, at Messina with the regency council that winter), under the chancellor Walter of Palear and the familiares; the chancellor's brother Gentile of Palear, count of Manoppello, commands in Palermo in the spring 1200 siege (in post on 1 January not pinned)
Title
King of Sicily, governed by the council of familiares
Since
1198
Confidence
medium

Palace, parks and fisheries from the Enciclopedia Federiciana (Palermo); the command of Gentile from the Dizionario Biografico (Gualtiero di Pagliara). Castellans of the royal castles that winter are not named in the sources read.

Overlord

The pope, as the king's overlord and guardian.

What it holds

  • The royal palace at Palermo (the New Palace: the Cappella Palatina, the Torre Pisana with the treasury, the Greek Tower) and the Castellammare (the Old Palace) on the harbour
  • The royal parks and palaces of the Conca d'Oro: the Favara (Maredolce), the Zisa, the Cuba, the Parco (Altofonte), the Genoardo
  • The tuna fisheries (tonnare) of San Giorgio and Solanto
  • Royal castles and towns across the island (castellans not pinned that winter): Castrogiovanni, Messina (the palace and the Mategriffon), Milazzo, Taormina, Termini, Lentini, Syracuse, Noto, Calascibetta, the Lombard towns of the interior (Piazza, Nicosia, Randazzo, Aidone, Capizzi)
  • Lost to Markward: Trapani (October 1199)
  • Not pinned: Caltabellotta, the refuge of Sibylla and William III in 1194; its lord or castellan in 1200 is unknown, and the county there is created only in 1338

How it was acquired

The Norman conquest (Palermo taken in 1072); passed with the crown to Constance and Frederick.

Allies and rivals

Held for the regency; threatened by Markward from the west and by the Muslims of the mountains to the south-west.

How things stand that morning

Held for the regency that morning, while the king and the council shelter at Messina. Palermo and its plain lie a day's march from the country Markward and the Muslims are fighting over; the spring 1200 siege is still to come.

Wealth

Grain, gardens and orchards of the Conca d'Oro, irrigated by the old Arab channels; tuna; the palace workshops (the silk tiraz); port dues and the customs of Palermo; the king's monopolies.

Military

The palace guard, the garrison of the Castellammare, the citizens' militia of Palermo; the royal castellans' garrisons elsewhere. No numbers given in the sources read.

Threats

  • Markward's siege of Palermo (spring 1200)
  • Raids by the Muslims of Iato on the plain
  • Treachery of the palace guards (which lets Markward in, November 1201)

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 1200Palermo besieged by Markward and relieved by the battle near Monreale.Depends on: The papal army arriving. Stopped by: The city's fall.
  2. September 1200Privilege of freedom from dues for Palermo, rewarding its loyalty.Depends on: Palermo holding out. Stopped by: Its fall.

Places of note

  • Royal palace and treasury: Seat of the king and the familiares
  • Royal park (Parco): Hunting park and palace of the Norman kings
  • Castle of Castrogiovanni: Royal fortress of the interior
  • Caltabellotta castle: Fortress where Sibylla and William III held out in 1194; lord in 1200 not pinned

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The palace, parks and fisheries are well attested; the royal castellans and the exact list of demesne castles held that winter are not.

On the map: Only the Palermo plain is drawn as a block; the royal castles elsewhere are points and town records.

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. Palermo, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)
  2. Gualtiero di Pagliara, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Treccani)
  3. Caltabellotta (it.wikipedia)
  4. Friedrich II. (HRR) (de.wikipedia)
  5. Messina, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)

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