The fortress city on its high table-mountain at the centre of the island, the key to the interior, which the Normans took only in 1087.
In 1197 Henry VI besieged it during the great revolt against him and caught there the illness that killed him (it.wikipedia). That winter it is a royal stronghold of the regency in the heart of the island.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king; castellan not named in the sources read
- Title
- Royal fortress town
- Since
- 1087
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The king, through the castellan of its great castle.
How things stand that morning
Royal, for the regency as far as is known.
Council
No commune: the town is governed by the king's officers (a bailiff, baiulus, for markets, weights, measures and the grain supply, and royal judges), under the justiciar and the royal fiscal bureau at Palermo.
Communities
Latins, Greeks, Lombard settlers (not pinned in number).
Walls and castle
The great castle on the summit (later called the Castello di Lombardia) and the town walls.
Trade and crafts
Grain and flocks of the interior; the island's crossroads.
Places of note
- Castle: Royal fortress of the interior
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1197 siege is from it.wikipedia (Costanza d'Altavilla); nothing specific for 1200.
On the map: Near land about 8 km round the fortress.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.