Matthew of Ajello^[1] (Italian: Matteo d'Ajello) was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. The Italo-Normans, or Siculo-Normans when referring to Sicily, were the Italian -born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to The Kingdom of Sicily (Regnum Siciliae or Sicilie Regno di Sicilia, commonly abbreviated Regno) was a state that existed in the south of Italy

He first appears as the notary of the Admiral Maio of Bari who drew up the Treaty of Benevento of 1156. Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers Maio of Bari (Majone di Bari Maion de Bari (died 10 November 1160) a Lombard merchant's son from Bari, was the third of the great Admirals The Treaty of Benevento was an important treaty between the Papacy of Adrian IV and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. He rose to prominence in the next reign, that of William II of Sicily, becoming first grand protonotary and then chancellor. William II (French language Guillaume II, 1155 &ndash November 11 1189 Palermo) called the Good, was king of Sicily The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447 as "principal clerk of a court" from L Chancellor or chancellour (archaic ( Latin: cancellarius) is an official Title used in countries whose civilization has arisen

Maio groomed Matthew to be his successor and, it was alleged, even used him to get permission from Pope Alexander III in Rome for Maio to succeed William I in 1159. Pope Alexander III (c 1100/1105 &ndash August 30, 1181) born Rolando (or Orlando) Bandinelli, was Pope from 1159 Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 William I ( 1131 - May 7 1166) called the Bad or the Wicked, was the second King of Sicily, ruling from his father's death On 10 November 1160, Matthew warned Maio of an impending assassination attempt, but to no avail. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw While Matthew escaped, Maio was killed by Matthew Bonnellus. Matthew Bonnellus (Matteo Bonello or Bonnel was a rich knight of an ancient and influential Norman family who became the lord of Caccamo in Sicily

From Peter of Eboli's Liber ad honorem Augusti of 1196. Peter of Eboli or Petrus de Ebulo (flourished ca 1196&ndash1220 was a Didactic Versifier and Chronicler who wrote in Latin. Matthew is depicted first with two wives and then bathing his feet in the blood of children.

In 1162, Matthew interceded to prevent the William I from sacking Salerno. Salerno is a town in southern Italy, capital of the province of the same name in the region of Campania. On William's death, he became foremost among the advisors of the queen regent, Margaret of Navarre. A regent, from the Latin regens "who reigns" is a person selected to act as Head of state (ruling or not because the ruler is a minor After the rebellions of the later years of William's reign, Matthew compiled from memory a vast catalogue of records lost in the revolts. In 1166, he was a candidate for the chancellorship but was passed over in favour of Stephen du Perche, which caused him lasting resentment. Stephen du Perche was the Chancellor of Sicily (1166&ndash1168 and Archbishop of Palermo (1167&ndash1168 during the early regency of his cousin Queen

He took part in the conspiracies of Henry, Count of Montescaglioso, but was not arrested. Henry, born Rodrigo, was the son of Marguerite de l'Aigle the queen of García Ramírez of Navarre, and brother or half-brother of Queen Margaret of Sicily However, he joined with Gentile, Bishop of Agrigento to assassinate Stephen in Palermo after Henry's arrest in Messina. Palermo ( Sicilian: Palermu, Greek: Panormus, al-Madinah during Muslim rule is a historic City in This failed and both were arrested. Yet from prison Matthew coordinated a new conspiracy, and his plotters successfully besieged the chancellor in the cathedral tower and released Matthew, who offered the chancellor the opportunity to leave unmolested on crusade, paving the way for Matthew's own rise to the chancellery. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents

But Matthew was not raised immediately to the rank of chancellor. He was first appointed vice-chancellor (1169), in which capacity he constantly advised Margaret against interfering in the crisis between church and state in England, where Margaret supported Thomas Becket and Pope Alexander III, and Matthew firmly supported King Henry II, believing his cause was similar to that of the previous monarchs of Sicily. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland St Thomas Becket (c 1118 &ndash December 29, 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170 For similar reasons, in his later years he opposed Walter of the Mill's feudalising and pro-imperial policies. Walter of the Mill ( fl 1160&ndash1191 Italianised as Gualtiero Offamiglio or Offamilio and Latinised as Ophamilius The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in The chronicler Richard of San Germano described Walter and Matthew as "the two firmest columns of the Kingdom. "

Though racked with gout, which the poet Peter of Eboli states he tried to cure by washing his feet in the blood of children, Matthew opposed the marriage of Constance, daughter of Roger II, to Henry VI and supported Tancred for the throne. Gout (also called metabolic arthritis) is a disease created by a buildup of Uric acid. Peter of Eboli or Petrus de Ebulo (flourished ca 1196&ndash1220 was a Didactic Versifier and Chronicler who wrote in Latin. Constance of Sicily (1154 &ndash November 27, 1198) was the heiress of the Norman kings of Sicily and the wife of Henry VI Holy Roman Emperor Roger II ( 22 December 1095 &ndash 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his Henry VI (November 1165 – 28 September 1197) was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197 Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King Tancred (died February 20, 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194 It was Matthew's propaganda against Roger of Andria that ruined that claimant's candidature and secured Tancred's coronation and Matthew's urging that brought the Pope Clement III on side. Roger, count of Andria and Great Chamberlain of Sicily was a claimant for the Sicilian throne after the death of William II in 1189 } See also 11th century Antipope Clement III. Pope Clement III (1130 – March 27 or April 10, 1191) born For this, Tancred created Matthew chancellor, the first since the flight of Stephen du Perche in 1168.

Matthew's health, however, continued to deteriorate and he died at a great old age in 1193. He left as his monument a nunnery in Palermo named San Benedetto. San Benedetto in Perillis is situated in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. He had two sons of influence: Richard, who was made count of Ajello, and Nicholas, who was made archbishop of Salerno.

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References

• Norwich, John Julius. John Julius Cooper 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO (born 15 September 1929) is an English historian travel writer and television personality The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: London, 1970. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.