Margaret, Queen of Sicily - Paperback

by Jacqueline Alio (Author)

Sometimes it takes just one strong woman to tame a pack of unruly men. Meet Margaret of Navarre, Queen of Sicily. This is the first biography of the queen who was the most powerful woman in Europe and the Mediterranean for five years during the 12th century, ruling a multicultural, multiconfessional kingdom of millions in the name of her young son, William II of Sicily. Founded by a Norman dynasty in 1130, the Kingdom of Sicily encompassed that island and nearly half the Italian peninsula. At over 500 pages, this enjoyable read is a definitive reference that has been cited in academic articles, books and dissertations. The result of research in original sources in several countries, this volume contains an extensive bibliography, hundreds of endnotes, a detailed timeline, the text of the legal code of 1140, and numerous maps and genealogical tables. Following publication of this monumental work, the author wrote the first compendium (in English) of scholarly biographies of Sicily's queens until 1266 (a 740-page volume), and a book on Sicilian queenship.

Author Biography

Jacqueline Alio is one of Sicily's leading historians, and part of a new wave that is writing the history of Sicily's women. Over the last decade, she has been consulted by The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and other media. An accomplished medievalist, she has published the results of her original research while writing insightful articles for a general readership. Online, her articles have captivated millions, gaining her a special place as one of the Sicilian historians with the most readers around the world. In print, scholarly works like her translation of the Ferraris Chronicle have earned her kudos in academic circles. Margaret Queen of Sicily, the first biography of that regent, is the lengthiest published work of original scholarship written in English by a historian in Sicily. She co-authored the first book in English to outline the emerging field of Sicilian Studies. Her most recent book, the result of years of research, is a compendium of biographies of the queens of Sicily into the middle of the 13th century.