180A. | 
after a few months was fucceeded by Ro- 
ger II. who, in 1130, by the advice of his 
nobles, and the confent and countenance 
of the Pope, affumed the title of King. 
Roger was wile, difcreet, and provident, 
and placed his dependance rather in coun- 
fel than in arms. He was a great admi- 
rer of men of learning or valour, in what- 
ever nation they werefound. And many 
who entered into his fervice by his invi- 
tation, were advanced by him to the 
higheft honours of his kingdom. He died 
in 1154, leaying his fon, William the 
Wicked, his fucceffor, the character of 
whole reign is fufficiently defignated by 
the epithet applied to him. 
William the Good came to the crown 
after William the Wicked, his father*. 
After his death (A. D. 1189) followed a 
feries of con‘ufions and civil wars. ‘an- 
cred, Count of Lecce, was declared king 
in 1190; and entertained the King of 
France and Richard Cceur de Lion, of 
England, with great hofpitality, at Mei- 
fina, on their way to the Holy Land. 
Henry the Emperor, who fo treache- 
rouily imprifoned Richard Coeur de Lion, 
on his return from the crufade, after the 
death of the Count de Lecce got poffeffion 
of Sicily, about A. D. 1200: for half a 
century after which period, continual 
ftruggles enfued for the throne of Sicily, 
either between the true or pretended heir 
to it and the reigning Pope. At length, 
Charles, Coun: of Anjou, and, in right of 
bis countefs, Lord of Provence, Langue- 
doc, and great part of Piedmont, pofleffed 
himfelf of the crown. The tyranny of 
this prince, and the licentioufnefs_of the 
French introduced by him into Sicily, in- 
cited the Sicilians to the remarkable con- 
{piracy, well remembered to this very day, 
in every part of the Ifland, under the title 
of the Sicilian Vefpers. John de Procida, 
a noble Salerniran, and Lord of the Ifland 
of Procida, in the bay of Naples, planned, 
and by his perfeverance matured, this re- 
markable plot? John, though a nobleman, 
practiled alfo as a phyfician, and had been 
one of the counfel of Fr-deric II. and 
Manfred, two of the fleeting governors of 
Sicily, and even of Charles of Anjou him- 
felf. Deeply incenfed againit Chartes for hav- 
ing, on pretence of treafon, deprived him 
of his eftate, and againit the French, fome 
of whom had debauched his wife, he re- 
tired to Conftantia, Queen of Arragon, 
and was, by her hufband, King Peter, 
* This prince demanded and obtained in 
marriage Joan, daughter of Henry Il. of 
England. 
Montury Mac. No, 120, 
Account of a recent Voyage to Malta and Sicily. 
201 
created a baron of the kingdom of Valen- 
tia, and Lord of Luxen, Benizzano, and 
Palma. Here he continued to receive in- 
telligence of the difaffe€tions of the Sici- 
lians to the French, and, therefore, deter. 
mined to pafs into the Ifland in difguife, 
there to concert meafures with thofe dif 
pofed, like himfelf, to free Sicily from the 
French yoke. From Sicily, he proceeded 
to the Emperor Palzologus, at Conftan- 
tinople. Palzvlogus having, at that time, 
reafon to apprehend an invafion of hisown 
dominions from Charles, Procida’s perfe- 
cutor, was eafily perfuaded to aid Procida 
in the advancement of a projest calculated 
to give Charles caufe of detention far frona 
Greece. Procida proceeded from the Em- 
peror to the Pope, who readily entered in- 
to his meafures, and wrote to Peter, King 
of Arragon, inviting him todo the fame. 
Procida returned to Arragon himfelf in 
the beginning of the following year, and 
having fhewn his letters from the Pope, 
from the Sicilian barons, and ftated his 
affurance of the friendly difpofition of Pa- 
lzologus, fecured Peter in the intereft of 
the confpirators. Unfortunately for their 
{cheme, the Pope at this junéture died, 
and was fucceeded by a friend of Charles. 
This event damped the ardour of the 
King of Arragon. Neverthelefs, Procida 
did not relinquith his obje&t. From Italy, 
whither he had returned a fhort time be- 
fore the death of the Pope, who had fa- 
voured his caufe, he paffed a fecond time 
into Sicily ; renewed his conferences with 
the con(pirators; proceeded once more to 
the Emperor Palzologus; received of him 
30,000 Ounces of gold; and with them 
haftened back to Arragon. Here Peter, 
having recovered his zeal in the caufe, was 
haftening his preparations to fupport the 
caufe of Procida in Sicily, as foon as the 
conipirators fhould have perpetrated their 
general murder. Procida left him fo en- 
gaged, and went to Palermo to attend the 
execution of the plot. On Eafter Mon- 
day, A.D. 1282, at the ringing of the 
bell for velpers*, the con{pirafors rofe al 
over the Ifland, and without diftinG@ion cf 
age, fex, or condition, maflacred every in- 
dividual of the French nation. Peter foon 
after took poffeffion of the Ifland, efta- 
blithed his royal court at Palermo, and 
ee RS Se ee 
* I: ought to be obferved, that fome hiffo- 
rians of eftablifhed repute vary from this ac- 
count of the refult of the confpiracy: they 
aver, that the maffacre took place previous te 
its intended execution, in confequence of an 
unexpected affray between a Frenchman and 
a young Sicilian, who formed a part of a 
grand proceffion in the environs of Palermo, 
25 prevailed 
