An ancient Christian city and bishopric on its hill over the Tavoliere, long in decline and losing people by the early thirteenth century.
The Normans built or strengthened a castle-like building here, of which nothing survives. In 1200 it is a small Christian demesne town: the Muslims of Sicily are deported here only from 1223 onward, and Lucera's Muslim colony belongs to the 1220s and later.
Who holds it
- Name
- The crown (officers not pinned); the bishop of Lucera (name not pinned)
- Title
- Royal demesne town and bishopric
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The king (the regency government); Lucera most likely became a demesne town in the second half of the twelfth century and was demesne when Frederick II first came in 1221 (Federiciana).
How things stand that morning
Royal demesne under the regency; no garrison of note recorded.
Communities
Latin Christians and their bishop; no Muslims yet (they arrive from 1223).
Walls and castle
A Norman fortified building (no trace survives); the great Swabian fortress is later.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Federiciana (Lucera).
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.