Queens of Sicily 1061-1266

Eighteen women. Eighteen stories. Each one unique. Some never told before. They are the semi-forgotten women of European medieval history. This is the first compendium of detailed scholarly biographies of the countesses and queens of the Kingdom of Sicily during the Hauteville and Hohenstaufen reigns, based on original research in medieval charters, chronicles and letters. The book includes eighteen biographies of varying length and such details as original translations from medieval records (in Latin and Sicilian). It contains 20 pages of maps, two dozen genealogical tables, photos of royal charters and other manuscripts, pictures of places the author visited while researching this work, a detailed timeline, over five hundred endnotes and a lengthy index. Reflecting research in several countries, this is a peer-reviewed monograph in the Sicilian Medieval Studies series. It is a useful, informative reference yet highly readable. Among the wealth of material included is an original translation of the poem of Ciullo of Alcamo, the longest surviving example of the court poetry of the Sicilian School, accompanied by the original Sicilian text. Included with the 'extra' features is information on the crown of Queen Constance (shown on the cover) and the reliquary pendant worn by Queen Margaret. An unusual addition is a previously-unpublished interview of a royal princess who knew Queen Maria Sophia of the Two Sicilies, Sicily's last queen consort, who died in 1925, a detail that reminds the reader that the kingdom described in these pages survived in some form into the nineteenth century. This book is a unique, long-awaited contribution to the field of royal medieval biography. It fills a void in the subfield of reginal studies and the study of southern Italy, and indeed medieval Europe generally. No other work ever published has presented such accurate, informative biographies of all of the queens of Sicily during Norman and Swabian rule. Many studies are informative. This one is an enlightening journey with some very special women.