Stephen du Perche
Encyclopedia
Stephen du Perche was the chancellor
of the Kingdom of Sicily
(1166–68) and Archbishop of Palermo (1167–68) during the early regency of his cousin, Queen Margaret of Navarre (1166–71).
Stephen's relation to Margaret of Navarre is unknown, as is his parentage. He may have been a son of Robert I of Dreux
, the brother of Louis VII of France
. He is described by Hugo Falcandus
as a son of the Count of Perche. He was a young man when he entered politics, born at the earliest in 1137 or 1138. He may have been named after King Stephen of England
, at the time ruling the Duchy of Normandy
.
, to send her a family member to aid and support her in government. Coincidentally, Stephen was at that moment preparing to go on crusade to the Holy Land
and so decided to visit Palermo
, the capital of Sicily, for a few months. There he ended up staying for two years. He was very young at the time, described as puer and adolescens by William of Tyre
, and may have still been in his teens. Nevertheless, in November, Margaret appointed him chancellor. His appointment was resented by the local nobility. His chancellorship was noted, according to Hugo Falcandus
, in that "he never allowed powerful men to oppress their subjects, nor ever feigned to overlook any injury done to the poor. In such a way his fame quickly spread throughout the Kingdom . . . so that men looked on him as a heaven-sent angel of consolation who had brought back the Golden Age". The opinion of Falcandus probably coincides better with that of the lower classes than Stephen's fellow aristocrats.
, only days before his elevation and it deeply rankled the old noblesse. Romulad and Richard Palmer
, bishop of Syracuse, both candidates for the vacant see of Palermo themselves, were strongly opposed. But Stephen's greatest opponents was Matthew of Ajello
, a notary whom he had offended the year previous. Stephen went so far as to try and seize Matthew's mail, but nothing indicating conspiracy was ever proven against the notary. Stephen was never consecrated, perhaps because had not attained the canonical age of thirty.
In that year as well, Henry, Count of Montescaglioso
, the queen's brother, returned from the peninsula on the counsel of his friends, who had goaded him into making a complaint to his sister about the rank of Stephen. Stephen won Henry over, for a while, but rumours of an affair between Stephen and Margaret was enough to push him into a conspiracy. Most of the Moslem staff of the palace and the eunuchs were involved in the plots and, on 15 December, Stephen promptly moved the court to Messina, to where he had implored his cousin Gilbert, Count of Gravina
, to go with an army. The plotters, led by Matthew of Ajello and Gentile, Bishop of Agrigento
, went to Messina, but Henry, for reasons unknown, gave them up to a local judge. At a meeting of the entire court, Gilbert accused Henry of treason and the latter was imprisoned in Reggio Calabria
. By allowing Matthew to go free, however, Stephen prepared the way for future plots against his life.
, and queen regent, arrived in Palermo, where the conspirators had already arrived. This time, Matthew was imprisoned and Gentile fled. He was arrested in Agrigento
. But, though the Arabs of Palermo had been soothed, the Messinan Greeks had been riled by the past months and a rebellion consequently broke out in that city (on account of the criminal practices of one of Stephen's friends, Odo Quarrel). There, a mob commandeered some ships and sailed to Reggio, there to force the release of Henry of Montescaglioso. After Henry's arrival in Messina, Odo was arrested and brutally executed and all the Frenchman of the city massacred: an inglorious prélude to the more widespread Sicilian Vespers
of 1282. Stephen prepared an army (largely of Lombards
from the region of Etna) and was ready to march on Messina when the young king postponed the campaign on astrological grounds.
Matthew of Ajello, from prison, had organised the rebellion in Palermo and, seeing his opportunity, struck. The chancellor-archbishop was forced to take refuge in the campanile
, there he held out until offered terms. In return for his safety, he agreed to embark at once for the Holy Land. He was deposed as archbishop and Walter of the Mill
was elected to replace him. Gilbert of Gravina and his family were forced to do the same and they all left for the Kingdom of Jerusalem
.
He arrived in Jerusalem the summer of 1169 and soon fell ill and died. According to William of Tyre
, "he was buried with honour in Jerusalem in the chapter-house of the Temple of the Lord."
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
(1166–68) and Archbishop of Palermo (1167–68) during the early regency of his cousin, Queen Margaret of Navarre (1166–71).
Stephen's relation to Margaret of Navarre is unknown, as is his parentage. He may have been a son of Robert I of Dreux
Robert I of Dreux
Robert I of Dreux, nicknamed the Great , was the fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne. Through his mother he was related to the Carolingians and to the Marquess William V of Montferrat.In 1137 he received the County of Dreux as an appanage from his father...
, the brother of Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
. He is described by Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus was an Italian historian who chronicled the reign of William I of Sicily and the minority of his son William II in a highly critical work entitled The History of the Tyrants of Sicily . There is some doubt as to whether "Hugo Falcandus" is a real name or a pseudonym. Evelyn Jamison...
as a son of the Count of Perche. He was a young man when he entered politics, born at the earliest in 1137 or 1138. He may have been named after King Stephen of England
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
, at the time ruling the Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
.
Arrival in Italy
In 1166, Margaret appealed to her other cousin, Rotrou, Archbishop of RouenRotrou, Archbishop of Rouen
Rotrou or Rothrud was the bishop of Évreux and twenty-fifth archbishop of Rouen, France, from 1165, a year after the death of Archbishop Hugh IV, until his own death. He was the fourth son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick, and Margaret, daughter of Geoffrey II of Perche...
, to send her a family member to aid and support her in government. Coincidentally, Stephen was at that moment preparing to go on crusade to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
and so decided to visit Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, the capital of Sicily, for a few months. There he ended up staying for two years. He was very young at the time, described as puer and adolescens by William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, and may have still been in his teens. Nevertheless, in November, Margaret appointed him chancellor. His appointment was resented by the local nobility. His chancellorship was noted, according to Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus was an Italian historian who chronicled the reign of William I of Sicily and the minority of his son William II in a highly critical work entitled The History of the Tyrants of Sicily . There is some doubt as to whether "Hugo Falcandus" is a real name or a pseudonym. Evelyn Jamison...
, in that "he never allowed powerful men to oppress their subjects, nor ever feigned to overlook any injury done to the poor. In such a way his fame quickly spread throughout the Kingdom . . . so that men looked on him as a heaven-sent angel of consolation who had brought back the Golden Age". The opinion of Falcandus probably coincides better with that of the lower classes than Stephen's fellow aristocrats.
Conflict with Matthew of Ajello
In 1167, Margaret had Stephen elected as archbishop of Palermo, the highest ecclesiastic office in the land. He was ordained by Romuald, Archbishop of SalernoRomuald, Archbishop of Salerno
Romuald Guarna was the Archbishop of Salerno from 1153 to his death. He is remembered primarily for his Chronicon sive Annales, an important historical record of his time....
, only days before his elevation and it deeply rankled the old noblesse. Romulad and Richard Palmer
Richard Palmer, Archbishop of Messina
Richard Palmer, an Englishman, was the bishop of Syracuse from 1169 and archbishop of Messina from 1182. Palmer first rose to prominence in 1160 as one of the triumvirate of grandees who replaced the assassinated Emir Maio of Bari...
, bishop of Syracuse, both candidates for the vacant see of Palermo themselves, were strongly opposed. But Stephen's greatest opponents was Matthew of Ajello
Matthew of Ajello
Matthew of Ajello was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century.He first appears as the notary of the Admiral Maio of Bari who drew up the Treaty of Benevento of 1156...
, a notary whom he had offended the year previous. Stephen went so far as to try and seize Matthew's mail, but nothing indicating conspiracy was ever proven against the notary. Stephen was never consecrated, perhaps because had not attained the canonical age of thirty.
In that year as well, Henry, Count of Montescaglioso
Henry, Count of Montescaglioso
Henry or Enrico di Navarra , born Rodrigo, was a son of García Ramírez of Navarre and Marguerite de l'Aigle, and brother of Queen Margaret of Sicily, who made him Count of Montescaglioso and then Count of the Principate .-Arrival in Sicily :The chief primary source for Henry's life is the Sicilian...
, the queen's brother, returned from the peninsula on the counsel of his friends, who had goaded him into making a complaint to his sister about the rank of Stephen. Stephen won Henry over, for a while, but rumours of an affair between Stephen and Margaret was enough to push him into a conspiracy. Most of the Moslem staff of the palace and the eunuchs were involved in the plots and, on 15 December, Stephen promptly moved the court to Messina, to where he had implored his cousin Gilbert, Count of Gravina
Gilbert, Count of Gravina
Gilbert was a Norman Count of Gravina from 1159.He was a cousin of Margaret of Navarre, the queen of Sicily. He arrived in Sicily sometime around 1159 and, through Margaret's influence, was created Count of Gravina in Apulia immediately....
, to go with an army. The plotters, led by Matthew of Ajello and Gentile, Bishop of Agrigento
Gentile, Bishop of Agrigento
Gentile was the bishop of Agrigento in Sicily from 1154 to his death. He has been described as a prélat aventureux et vagabond, an "adventurous and vagabond prelate" ....
, went to Messina, but Henry, for reasons unknown, gave them up to a local judge. At a meeting of the entire court, Gilbert accused Henry of treason and the latter was imprisoned in Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
. By allowing Matthew to go free, however, Stephen prepared the way for future plots against his life.
Deposition and exile by a conspiracy
In March 1168, Stephen and his entourage, including the king, William IIWilliam II of Sicily
William II , called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William's character is very indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy...
, and queen regent, arrived in Palermo, where the conspirators had already arrived. This time, Matthew was imprisoned and Gentile fled. He was arrested in Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
. But, though the Arabs of Palermo had been soothed, the Messinan Greeks had been riled by the past months and a rebellion consequently broke out in that city (on account of the criminal practices of one of Stephen's friends, Odo Quarrel). There, a mob commandeered some ships and sailed to Reggio, there to force the release of Henry of Montescaglioso. After Henry's arrival in Messina, Odo was arrested and brutally executed and all the Frenchman of the city massacred: an inglorious prélude to the more widespread Sicilian Vespers
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out on the Easter of 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks three thousand French men and women were slain by...
of 1282. Stephen prepared an army (largely of Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
from the region of Etna) and was ready to march on Messina when the young king postponed the campaign on astrological grounds.
Matthew of Ajello, from prison, had organised the rebellion in Palermo and, seeing his opportunity, struck. The chancellor-archbishop was forced to take refuge in the campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
, there he held out until offered terms. In return for his safety, he agreed to embark at once for the Holy Land. He was deposed as archbishop and Walter of the Mill
Walter of the Mill
Walter of the Mill , Italianised as Gualtiero Offamiglio or Offamilio and Latinised as Ophamilius , was the archdeacon of Cefalù, dean of Agrigento, and archbishop of Palermo , called il primo ministro...
was elected to replace him. Gilbert of Gravina and his family were forced to do the same and they all left for the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
.
He arrived in Jerusalem the summer of 1169 and soon fell ill and died. According to William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, "he was buried with honour in Jerusalem in the chapter-house of the Temple of the Lord."
Sources
- William of TyreWilliam of TyreWilliam of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
. Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum. http://colet.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/getobject_?c.5452:1:20:3./projects/artflb/databases/efts/PLD/IMAGE1/ at Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
. - Norwich, John JuliusJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
. The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1970.