Assizes of Capua
Encyclopedia
The Assizes of Capua were the first of two great legislative acts of the reign of Frederick II of Sicily
, Holy Roman Emperor
. They were the first, promulgated at Capua
in 1220, before the Constitutions of Melfi
of 1231.
The Assizes were promulgated on the mainland of the realm as they were a reform of the Assizes of Ariano
, promulgated by Frederick's grandfather Roger II in 1140 at Ariano Irpino
, nearby to Capua. The intent was, as in the previous Assizes and his coming Constitutions, the strengthening of the royal power in the kingdom, usually at the expense of the noblesse.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. They were the first, promulgated at Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
in 1220, before the Constitutions of Melfi
Constitutions of Melfi
The Constitutions of Melfi, or Liber Augustalis, were a new legal code for the Kingdom of Sicily promulgated on 1 September 1231 by Emperor Frederick II. It was given at Melfi, the town from which Frederick's Norman ancestors had first set out to conquer the Mezzogiorno two centuries earlier...
of 1231.
The Assizes were promulgated on the mainland of the realm as they were a reform of the Assizes of Ariano
Assizes of Ariano
The Assizes of Ariano were a series of laws promulgated in the summer of 1140 at Ariano, near Benevento in the Mezzogiorno, by Roger II of Sicily. Having recently pacified the peninsula, constantly in revolt, he had decided to make a move to more centralised government...
, promulgated by Frederick's grandfather Roger II in 1140 at Ariano Irpino
Ariano Irpino
Ariano Irpino is a municipality in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of Italy on the railway between Benevento and Foggia, c. 40 km east of the former.-Geography:...
, nearby to Capua. The intent was, as in the previous Assizes and his coming Constitutions, the strengthening of the royal power in the kingdom, usually at the expense of the noblesse.