Italian Manfredi
born 0441; 1232
died Feb. 26, 1266, near Benevento, Kingdom of Naples
King of Sicily (125866).
Born out of wedlock, the son of Frederick II , he was made vicar of Italy and Sicily for his half brother Conrad IV, but, following Conrad's death, Manfred sought the Sicilian crown for himself. He resisted Pope Alexander IV's efforts to assign the throne to an English rival, and, after fighting off a papal army, Manfred was crowned king in 1258. He became a defender of the Ghibellines in northern Italy (see Guelphs and Ghibellines ). Pope Urban IV declared Charles of Anjou (later Charles I ) king of Sicily, and Manfred fell in battle against Charles's army.