King Guglielmo II of Sicily

King Guglielmo II of Sicily is an aging ruler whose determination to honor a royal pledge brings about the execution of his own grandson, Gerbino. His brief but decisive role turns a promise made in ignorance into a public test of kingship, with fidelity to his word taking precedence over the continuation of his family.

Identity and Family

The story describes King Guglielmo as the King of Sicily and, according to the Sicilians, the father of Ruggieri and Costanza. Ruggieri died before his father, leaving Gerbino, whom the king raised carefully. The text calls Guglielmo old and says that he knew nothing of his grandson’s love for the daughter of the King of Tunis when he made the promise that would later condemn Gerbino.

The Pledge to the King of Tunis

When the Tunisian princess was to be sent by sea to marry the King of Granada, the King of Tunis sought assurance that Gerbino would not obstruct her passage. He had learned something of Gerbino’s love and feared the young man’s courage and prowess. Guglielmo, unaware of the passion behind the request, granted the assurance freely and sent the King of Tunis one of his gloves as its token. His decision was not presented as permission for an attack: it was a guarantee that Gerbino, or anyone acting for him, would not interfere with the voyage.

The princess, knowing that her ship was being prepared, secretly sent word to Gerbino that it would soon sail and that his conduct would show whether he truly loved her and possessed the courage attributed to him. Gerbino armed two light galleys at Messina and intercepted the ship, despite knowing that his grandfather had given the assurance. The king’s earlier pledge thus became the measure by which the consequences of Gerbino’s choice would be judged.

Judgment and Execution of Gerbino

After Gerbino’s attack, the King of Tunis sent ambassadors dressed in black to complain that Guglielmo had failed to keep faith. They recounted what had happened, and the king, deeply angered, saw no way to deny them the justice they sought. His barons tried through their pleas to turn him from his purpose, but he nevertheless condemned Gerbino to death and had him beheaded in his presence.

The account makes the cost of that judgment explicit: Guglielmo chose to remain without posterity rather than incur the reputation of a faithless king. His action is therefore neither a simple absence of feeling nor a rescue of his grandson from the consequences of the attack. The narrative presents him as accepting the loss of his heir in order to answer for a pledge made in his own name.

Narrative Significance

Guglielmo’s unwitting promise links a private love story to public obligations between rulers. He did not know why the King of Tunis demanded the assurance, and he had not learned of Gerbino’s passion; yet once the pledge was violated, that ignorance could not undo its political force. The glove, first sent as a token of good faith, becomes the sign of an obligation that the king enforces against his own household.

The story’s tragic balance rests on contrasting forms of loyalty. Gerbino follows his love and defies the guarantee; Guglielmo upholds his pledged faith at the price of his grandson’s life and his own posterity. The lovers die without having enjoyed the fulfillment of their love, while the king preserves his standing as a ruler who kept faith, but only through an act that makes fidelity inseparable from familial loss.