The town that grew up on the site of the old village of Bulchar round William II's abbey of Santa Maria la Nuova (founded 1174, an archbishopric since 1183, with Catania and later Syracuse as suffragans), on the slope above the Conca d'Oro.
Its archbishop is lord of one of the largest lordships of the island: the castles of Iato, Corleone and Calatrasi with their villages, almost wholly Muslim villeins (at least 2,000 families, by the Federiciana's reading of the 1182-1183 lists), and Bitetto in Apulia; William II also made him a justiciar. Archbishop Caro, installed in 1194, sits on the regency council; since Constance's death the Muslims of his estate have risen again, and his own monks oppose him.
Who holds it
- Name
- Caro (Carus), archbishop from before 1194 to after 1222, a member of the king's council
- Title
- Archbishop of Monreale (lord of the town)
- Since
- before 1194
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The archbishop of Monreale, lord of the town and of the great estate William II gave the abbey (a Church map record). Archbishop Caro sits among the familiares.
How things stand that morning
Held for the regency: its archbishop is a familiaris. The war between Markward with his Saracen allies and the pope's army will devastate the Monreale lands, and the battle that breaks Markward's siege of Palermo is fought near the monastery in July 1200.
Council
No commune: the archbishop's officers govern town and estate.
Communities
Latin monks and clergy; Muslim and Greek villeins on the estate.
Walls and castle
The abbey precinct with its towers; no town walls pinned for 1200.
Trade and crafts
The abbey's estates: grain, flocks, gardens; the market of the abbey town.
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.
- 21 July 1200Battle near Monreale: Markward routed by the pope's marshal James and the regency.Depends on: The papal army's arrival. Stopped by: Palermo's earlier fall.
Places of note
- Cathedral and abbey of Monreale: William II's foundation, seat of the archbishop
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Federiciana (Monreale) and the diocesan list.
On the map: Shown as a point.
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
- Monreale, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)
- Arcidiocesi di Monreale (it.wikipedia)
- Gualtiero di Pagliara, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Treccani)
- Marcovaldo di Annweiler, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.