Tancred

Tancred (Tancred of Lecce) (tăng'krid;, le'chā) [key], b. 1130 or 1134, d. 1194, king of Sicily (1190–94), illegitimate son of Roger of Apulia and grandson of Roger II of Sicily. On the death of his cousin, William II of Sicily, Tancred was crowned (1190) king. The Sicilian crown was, however, claimed by Constance, who was William's aunt. Her husband, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, made an unsuccessful expedition against Tancred in 1191 and, soon after Tancred's death, deposed (1194) Tancred's infant son, William III.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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