63S 
NAP 
had aflembled at Palermo; and, after dinner, both the 
Palermitans and French -went in a grand proceflion to 
the church of Monreale, about three miles without the 
city. While they were in the fields, a bride happened 
to pafs by with her train, who being obferved by one 
Drochet, a Frenchman, he ran to her, and began to ui'e 
her in a rude manner, under pretence of fearching for 
concealed arms. A young Sicilian, exafperated at this 
affront, ftabbed him with his own fword ; and, a tumult 
enfuing, two hundred French were immediately murdered. 
The enraged populace then ran to the city, crying out, 
“ Down with the French!” and, without diftin&ion of 
age or fex, flaughtered all of that nation they could find, 
even fuch as had fled to the churches; for it was the 
time of vefpers; and hence this maffacre has been called 
the Sicilian vefpers. Children were not fpared, nor wo¬ 
men who were fuppofed to be with child by Frenchmen ; 
the unhappy mothers were ripped open, and their half- 
formed infants torn away. Not fewer than 8000 males 
were defiroyed, befides women and children. The con- 
fpirators then left Palermo, and excited the inhabitants 
to murder the French all over the ifland, excepting in 
Medina, which city at firft refufed to be concerned in the 
revolt; but, being invited by the Palermitans to throw 
off the French yoke, a few weeks after, the citizens in a 
tumultuous manner defiroyed feme of the French ; they 
tore down the arms of king Gharles, and, eredling thofe of 
the city, chofe one Baldwin for their governor, who laved 
the remaining French from the fury of the populace, and 
allowed them to tranfport themfelves, with their wives 
and children, to Italy. 
Immediately' after this maffacre, the Sicilians offered 
their allegiance to Peter king of Arragon; who accepted 
of the invitation, and landed with his forces at Trapani. 
From thence he went to Palermo, where he was crowned 
king of Sicily with great folemnity, and Charles left the 
ifland with precipitation. The day after he landed his 
army in Italy, the Arragonian fleet arrived, took twenty- 
nine of his galleys, and the next day burnt eighty tranf- 
ports in prefence of his army. Soon after this, Charles 
fient an embaffy to Peter, accufing him of perfidy, in in¬ 
vading his dominions in time of peace ; and, according 
to fome, challenged him at the fame time to decide the 
matter by Angle combat. -Others fay that the challenge 
was given by Peter. Certain it is, however, that a chal¬ 
lenge was given, and to appearance accepted : but Peter 
determined to employ much more effectual means in fup- 
port of his pretenfions than trufling to a duel; and there¬ 
fore pufhed on his operations moft vigoroufly, while his 
adverfary trifled away his time: and thus he at laft be¬ 
came mafter of the contefted kingdom; which, however, 
he did not long enjoy, dying about the end of the year 
1285. 
By his will, Peter left the kingdom of Arragon to his 
eldeft fon Alphonfus, and Sicily to Don James his other 
fon, who was alfo to fucceed to the kingdom of Arragon 
in cafe Alphonfus flrould die without male ifl'ue. Ac¬ 
cordingly'', Don James was folemnly crowned at Palermo 
the 2d of February, 1286. In 1295, however, he defert- 
ed them, and tamely refigned his right to Charles of 
Anjou, fon to him above mentioned, in a manner per¬ 
haps unparalleled. On his refignation, the Sicilians con¬ 
ferred the crown upon his brother Don Frederic: after 
which the war continued with great violence till the 
year 1303, when a peace was concluded, and the king¬ 
doms of Naples and Sicily formally disjoined; Frederic 
being allowed to keep the latter, under the name of 
Trinacria; and Charles being confirmed in the pofleffion 
of the former, which he quietly enjoyed till his death 
in 1309. 
Naples continued to be governed by its own kings till 
the beginning of the fixteenth century; but the line of 
Anjou had expired in 1382, in the perfon of the infamous 
Jane. This princefs, wdio is commonly called Jane of 
Naples, was betrothed, when only five years of age, to 
■ 1 
LAE S. 
Andrew, the fecond fon of the king of Hungary. Upon 
the death of her grandfather Robert, in 1343, Jane was 
appointed his luccefibr; and, two years afterwards, the 
pope grafited a bull for the coronation of her hufband 
Andrew. The princes of the blood had ufed their utmoft 
endeavours to prevent the granting of the bull; but, 
their hopes being difappointed, they now formed a con- 
fpiracy to murder the king, with the confent even of 
Jane, who was openly accufed of adultery with her coufin 
Louis prince of Tarento, and feveral other perfons about 
her court. She is faid, by many authors, to have con¬ 
ceived a difguft for her hufband, on account of his bar¬ 
barous Hungarian manners, his infolence ar.d debility, 
which laft was owing to his exceffes after the confum- 
mation of their marriage. 'Andrew, having gone with 
his queen to Averfa, on the 18th of September, 13+5,. 
about midnight was called out of his bed-chamber by 
one of the confpirators, under pretence of fome important 
news from Naples. He had no fooner entered the hall 
adjoining, than they threw a rope about his neck and; 
ftrangled him, by hanging him over a balcony into the 
garden, at the fame time, torturing him after the moft: 
cruel manner, as appears by informations taken con¬ 
cerning the murderers, by order of pope Clement. [Alii 
vero receperunt eum per genitalia, et adeo traxerunt, 
quod multi, qui decebant fe vidiffe, retulerunt quod 
tranfeenderunt genua.] The confpirators, being dis¬ 
covered by an Hungarian maid, left the corpfe in the, 
garden, and fled. Jane appeared but flightly concerned 
at the murder, and next morning returned to Naples, 
whence file wrote to the pope, and to Louis king of 
Hungary, giving them an account of the faft, and allur¬ 
ing them of her innocence. In the mean time, fhe was 
delivered of a fon, who was named Carobert, after his, 
grandfather, and, loon after, created duke of Calabria. 
The pope, upon hearing of the murder, exprefled great 
refentment and grief; and queen Jane, under pretence, 
of lecuring the kingdom againlt the threatened Hungarian, 
invafion, married Louis of Tarento. without waiting for 
his dil’penfation. As her hufband was her full coufin,, 
the marriage was looked upon as inceftuous, and fhe was 
befides accufed of having had a criminal intimacy with 
him during the life of Andrew. The king of Hungary* 
however, loon after entered Naples wdth a black ftandard, 
on which his brother was reprelented as ftrangled. Jane, 
in the mean time, fled to Provence, and aftemards to 
Avignon, where fhe was kindly received by the pope, who, 
on condition of her prefenting to him Avignon and its ter¬ 
ritory , declared her innocent. Yet fhe loon after poi- 
foned her fecond hufband, Louis. She poifoned alfo her 
third hufband, James of Majorca; and married a fourth, 
Otho of Brunfwick. Jane, however, at length, buffered 
the punifhment due to her crimes. 
After a long feparation, Alphonfus of Arragon at laft 
united both Sicily and Naples under his dominion. Dur¬ 
ing the government of his fon, thefe kingdoms were un- 
fuccefsfully invaded by John of Anjou, and during that of 
his grandlon by Charles VIII. of France. In the reign of 
their lucceflor Frederic, in 1495, Naples was invaded by the 
kings of France and Spain, who divided it betwixt them; 
but, a difference taking place about the limits of their 
fliares, the French w'ere expelled from the kingdom in 
1304 ; and the government at laft devolved to the king of 
Arragon. Upon the deatii of Ferdinand, Charles V. luc- 
ceeded to Naples, as well as to the reft of the Spanifh mo¬ 
narchy. In his reign, Francis I. of France alfo invaded 
Naples; but was by him made a prifoner, and carried into 
Spain. During the government of Charles, and that of 
his fuccelfors, Philip II. Philip III. and Philip IV. Na¬ 
ples was governed by the viceroys of Spain. 
The government of the Spaniards proved no lefs op- 
preffive to the Neapolitans than that of others had been. 
The kings of Spain fet no bounds to their exaflions, 
and of confequence the people were loaded with all man¬ 
ner of taxes; even the moft indifpenfable neceffaries of 
life 
