Tancred of Lecce

Tancred
Tancred of Sicily from Liber ad honorem Augusti, 1196
King of Sicily
Reign	1189 - 1194
Predecessor	William II of Sicily
Successor	William III of Sicily
Died	1194
Spouse	Sibylla of Acerra
Issue	Roger III of Sicily William III of Sicily Maria/Elvira Constance of Sicily Valdrada of Sicily
House	Hauteville
Father	Roger III, Duke of Apulia
Mother	Emma of Lecce

Tancred (died 20 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. He inherited the title "Count of Lecce" from his grandfather and is consequently often referred to as Tancred of Lecce.

On 9 March 1161, Tancred joined his uncle Simon, Prince of Taranto, in invading the palace, detained the king and queen, William I and Margaret, and their two sons, and incited a massacre of Muslims. Originally, the older of these two sons, Roger IV, Duke of Apulia, was destined to be crowned in place of William, but soon the populace supported the accession of Simon himself. Before Simon could put himself forward as a candidate, however, the rebellion had broken down and the people were restless. The insurrectionists were forced to free the king and retreat to their castles. Pardon was given them on condition of exile and many, including Tancred, took the offer. Tancred was exiled to Constantinople and returned to Sicily in 1166 upon the accession of the new king, his cousin William II.

In 1174 Tancred led a large fleet to Egypt on behalf of William II. The Sicilians landed near Alexandria but when they realised that their expected allies would not be coming (due to King Amalric I of Jerusalem's death) and with Saladin's army approaching they returned to their ships and sailed home.

As soon as William II died, in 1189, Tancred rebelled and seized control of the island. He was crowned early in 1190. His coup was backed by the chancellor Matthew d'Ajello and the official class, while the rival claims of his aunt Constance and her husband, Henry VI, King of the Romans, were supported by most of the nobles. Roger, Count of Andria, also a candidate for Sicilian throne, was among the supporters of Constance and Henry. Matthew d'Ajello managed to defame Roger, and in the same year Richard, Count of Acerra brother-in-law of Tancred tricked Roger into captivity and execution. Matthew also persuaded Pope Clement III to support Tancred, and Tancred appointed Matthew as chancellor.