ALFONSO THE MAGNANIMOUS AND THE FALL OF ANJOUthe early fifteenth century: to the indecisiveness of the highly
susceptible Queen Joanna II was added the fractiousness of
a baronage that saw in the weakness of the monarchy an
opportunity to strengthen its own power in the localities.
(A further ingredient was, of course, the unbridled ambi-
tion of King Alfonso, who at one time hoped to dominate all
of Italy.) Such barons as the Prince of Taranto, of the fam-
ily del Balzo-Orsini, partly Proven~al and partly Italian in
descent, established a degree of authority in their lands which
fell not far short of that of a king. The trend towards regional
statelets is in many ways reminiscent of that in northern
Italy, where warlords taking employment as condottieri or mer-
cenaries were able to establish regional states around Milan,
Urbina, Mantua and other centres great and small, gaining
the title of duke or count, and, despite often illegitimate
origins, creating lasting dynasties. Such war captains were by
no means absent in southern Italy as well, where the family
of Muzio Attendolo, the Sforzas, earned their formidable
reputation as skilled leaders of men, and were rewarded
with grants of lands and favours, before going on to capture
Milan in 1450. Although this may be overstating the contrast,
Rene could be seen as the hero of those in southern Italy
who believed that their interests were best served by a com-
pliant monarch, willing to give due weight to the baronage,
while the Aragonese were regarded as interlopers who would
wish to favour their own followers. In the event, Alfonso was
extremely careful to show regard for the baronage, and his
solution to the problem of finding adequate sources of in-
come was to leave the greater nobles in charge in the prov-
inces, while relying on votes of funds through parliaments.
Since his major concerns included projects outside the Regno
-notably his over-ambitious plans to establish himself as ruler
in the Balkans, Constantinople and, ultimately, Jerusalem -
it was always the search for money rather than the internal
affairs of his kingdoms that appeared to be uppermost in
his mind. He was a ruler in the south Italian tradition, re-
miniscent of Frederick II in his appeal to the Roman past as
a source of royal authority; and of Charles I of Anjou in his
campaigns in Albania, Achaia and north Mrica, and in his
attempt to secure the kingdom of Hungary for his house.
Though his rival Rene seems at times the very paradigm of
fifteenth-century chivalry, Alfonso too was exposed as much