nary quarrel which he instigated between
himself and the king of the country. The name of this king was
Tancred.

The kingdom of Sicily in those days included not merely the island of
Sicily, but also nearly all the southern part of Italy--all that part,
namely, which forms the foot and ankle of Italy, as seen upon the map.
It has already been said that Richard's sister Joanna some years ago
married the king of this country. The name of the king whom Joanna
married was William, and he was now dead. Tancred was his successor,
though not the regular and rightful heir. In order that the reader may
understand the nature of the quarrel which broke out between Tancred
and Richard, it is necessary to explain how it happened that Tancred
succeeded to the throne.

If William, Joanna's husband, had had a son, he would have been the
rightful successor; but William had no children, and some time before
his death he gave up all expectation of ever having any, so he began
to look around and consider who should be his heir.

He fixed his mind upon a lady, the Princess Constance, who was his
cousin and his nearest relative. She would have been the heir had it
not been that the usages of the realm did not allow a woman to reign.
There was another relative of William, a young man named Tancred. For
some reasons, William was very unwilling that Tancred should succeed
him. He knew, however, that the people would be extremely averse to
receive Constance as their sovereign instead of Tancred, on account of
her being a woman; but he thought that he might obviate this objection
in some degree by arranging a marriage for her with some powerful
prince. This he finally succeeded in doing. The prince whom he chose
was a son of the Emperor of Germany. His name was Henry. Constance was
married to him, and after her marriage she left Sicily and went home
with her husband. William then assembled all his barons, and made them
take an oath of allegiance to Constance and Henry, as rightful
sovereigns after his decease. Supposing every thing to be thus
amicably arranged, he settled himself quietly in his capital, the city
of Palermo, intending to live there in peace with his wife for the
remainder of his days.

When he married Joanna, he had given her, for her dower, a large
territory of rich estates in Italy. These estates were all together,
and comprised what is called the promontory of Mont Gargano. You will
see this promontory represented on any