personal union, King of Sicily and Jerusalem
|
The relationship of independent countries, which were connected to each other through the person of the ruler. The opposite of this is the real union, which means the real community of countries. The exact meaning of personal and real union were not defined, these notions were not used in the Middle Ages. Hungary was in a personal union with Croatia since the end of the 11th century till 1918, and between 1370-82 with Poland.
TI
King of Sicily and Jerusalem
The title 'King of Sicily' includes the territory around Naples. The Angevine rulers bore this title starting with Charles I, since 1265, though they were expelled from Sicily in 1282. From this time on they ruled only in Naples, although the title 'King of Naples' did not exist independently. The Aragon dynasty ruled in Sicily. The Angevine kings bore the title 'King of Jerusalem' since 1277, but this title was used by another French ruling family, the kings of Cyprus, as well.
TI