Frederick the Simple

Frederick III, king of Sicily
A reale of Frederick the Simple
King of Sicily
Tenure	16 October 1355 - 27 January 1377
Predecessor	Louis, King of Sicily
Successor	Maria, Queen of Sicily
Born	1 September 1341 Catania
Died	27 January 1377 Messina
House	House of Barcelona
Father	Peter II of Sicily
Mother	Elizabeth of Carinthia

Frederick III (or IV) (1 September 1341 – 27 January 1377), called the Simple, was King of Sicily from 1355 to 1377. He was the second son of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. He succeeded his brother Louis. The documents of his era call him the "infante Frederick, ruler of the kingdom of Sicily", without any regnal number.

"Frederick the Simple" is often confused with an earlier Sicilian monarch, Frederick II, who chose to call himself "Frederick III", even though he was actually only the second King Frederick to occupy the Sicilian throne, as also this Frederick has been dubbed by later generations of genealogists and historians as Frederick III.

Frederick III was born in Catania, and succeeded to his brother Louis in 1355 under the regency of his sister, Euphemia of Sicily. In his youth the reign was under the control of powerful Sicialian barons, in particular of Artale I Alagona. The beginning of Frederick III's reign was also plagued by intermittent wars with the Kingdom of Naples (see War of the Sicilian Vespers) and also by the Black Death, to which his elder brother and predecessor had succumbed. On 25 December 1369 Frederick ordered all Jews to wear a badge indicating their heritage. The badge consisted of a piece of red material, not smaller than the largest royal seal; men were required to wear it under the chin, and women on the chest. In 1372 he was able to come to peace terms with Naples and Pope Gregory XI, obtaining the title of tributary King of "Trinacria".

Marriages

On 11 April 1361, Frederick married his first wife Constance of Aragon, daughter of King Peter IV of Aragon.^[1] They had only one daughter, Maria.^[1]

On 17 January 1372, Frederick married secondly Antonia of Baux. This marriage was designed to seal the Treaty of Villeneuve of 1372, by which Frederick's right to rule Sicily was recognised by Naples and the Papacy. There were no children from this marriage. Frederick was betrothed again to Antonia Visconti, but he died before the wedding and was succeeded by his only child, Queen Maria.

References

1. Archbishop Pierre d'Ameil in Naples and the Affair of Aimon III of Geneva (1363-1364), Kenneth M. Setton, Speculum, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct., 1953), 645.