“ Of no man of the 14th century can it be more truly said that his life was a warfare on earth. He had first to subdue his nobles, and to reannex the Balearic Islands to the crown of Aragon. When he had made himself master at home, he had to carry on a long and fierce contest with his namesake Peter the Cruel of Castile, which only terminated when Henry of Trastamara succeeded, largely with Aragonese help, in making himself king of Castile in 1369. Peter succeeded in making himself master of Sicily in 1377, but ceded the actual possession of the island to his son Martin. ”

“ Maria de Padilla was only the one lady of his harem of whom he never became quite tired. At first he was controlled by his mother, but emancipated himself with the encouragement of the minister Albuquerque and became attached to Maria de Padilla. Maria turned him against Albuquerque. In 1354 the king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying Blanche of Bourbon, but deserted her at once. A period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and in effect imprisoned. ”

“ Peter III., king of Aragon (1236-1286) , son of James the Conqueror, and his wife Yolande, daughter of Andrew II. of Hungary, was born in 1236. Having married Constance, daughter of Manfred of Beneventum, he came forward as the representative of the claims of the Hohenstaufen in Naples and Sicily against Charles, duke of Anjou. Peter began the long strife of the Angevine and Aragonese parties in southern Italy. His success in conquering Sicily earned him the surname of “the Great.” ”