Sibylla of Acerra

Sibylla of Acerra (1153–1205) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of King Tancred. She was regent in 1194 for their son, King William III. She was the sister of Count Richard of Acerra.

It was Queen Sibylla who, as regent, when the Emperor Henry VI crossed the Straits of Messina in Autumn 1194, negotiated an agreement whereby the young William III, now whisked off to safety, should retain the county of Lecce. Henry and his wife Constance, Sibylla's aunt-in-law, had been claiming the Kingdom of Sicily since Tancred's accession.

Sibylla attended the consequent coronation of Henry in the Cathedral of Palermo. Days after the coronation, Queen Sibylla, along with her erstwhile supporters Nicholas of Ajello, Archbishop of Salerno, and Margaritus of Brindisi, was arrested and imprisoned in Germany with her son and daughter. She managed to escape to France while Pope Innocent III petitioned Henry for her release.

Sibylla's children with Tancred were:

Acerra

Acerra [aˈtʃɛrra] is a town and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain.

History

Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the region, probably founded by the Osci with the name of Akeru (Latin: Acerrae). It was the first Roman city that was granted the status of civitas sine suffragio (332 BC).

Acerra was destroyed by Hannibal in 216 BC, but was restored in 210 BC.

Acerra served as a Roman base during the Social War in 90 BC.

In 826 the Lombards built here a castle, later destroyed by Bono of Naples. In 881 it was sacked by the Saracens. Later it was a Norman possession, the seat of a county. As part of the Kingdom of Naples, it was a fief of the Aquino, the Origlia, the Orsini del Balzo and, from 1496 until 1812, the Cardenas. From 1927 it was part of the province of Terra di Lavoro.

Main sights

Acerra (incense box)

In Ancient Roman sacrificial tradition, an acerra (Greek: λιβανωτρίς) was the incense box used in sacrifices. The incense was taken out of the acerra and let fall upon the burning altar; hence, we have the expression de acerra libare. (turibulum)

The acerra was also, according to Festus, a small altar, placed before the dead, on which perfumes were burnt. There was a law in the Twelve Tables, which restricted the use of acerrae at funerals.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray. 

Acerra (moth)

Acerra is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.

Species

References