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El Reino de Sicilia (en verde) en 1154, que representa el alcance de la conquista normanda en el sur de Italia durante varias décadas de actividad por parte de aventureros independientes.
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La conquista normanda del sur de Italia duró desde 999 hasta 1139, involucrando muchas batallas y conquistadores independientes.

En 1130, los territorios del sur de Italia se unieron como el Reino de Sicilia , que incluía la isla de Sicilia , el tercio sur de la península italiana (excepto Benevento , que se mantuvo brevemente dos veces), el archipiélago de Malta y partes del norte de África. .

Las fuerzas normandas itinerantes llegaron al sur de Italia como mercenarios al servicio de las facciones lombarda y bizantina , comunicando rápidamente noticias sobre oportunidades en el Mediterráneo . Estos grupos se reunieron en varios lugares, estableciendo feudos y estados propios, uniéndose y elevando su estatus a la independencia de facto dentro de los 50 años de su llegada.

A diferencia de la conquista normanda de Inglaterra (1066), que se llevó unos años después de una batalla decisiva , la conquista del sur de Italia fue producto de décadas y una serie de batallas, pocas decisivas. Muchos territorios fueron conquistados de forma independiente y solo más tarde se unificaron en un solo estado. Comparada con la conquista de Inglaterra, no fue planificada y desorganizada, pero igualmente completa.

Actividad vikinga pre-normanda en Italia [ editar ]

Hay poca evidencia de la actividad vikinga en Italia como precursora de la llegada de los normandos en 999, pero se registran algunas incursiones. Ermentarius de Noirmoutier y los Annales Bertiniani proporcionan evidencia contemporánea de vikingos con base en Frankia que procedieron a Iberia y de allí a Italia alrededor de 860. [1]

Algunos eruditos modernos han relacionado este evento con un relato mucho más tarde del infame dudo de Saint-Quentin , que tenía una flota vikinga liderada por un Alstingus que aterrizó en el puerto ligur de Luni y saqueó la ciudad. Luego, los vikingos se mueven otras 60 millas (97 kilómetros) por la costa toscana hasta la desembocadura del Arno , saqueando Pisa y luego, siguiendo el río río arriba, también atacan la ciudad montañosa de Fiesole sobre Florencia y obtienen otras victorias alrededor del Mediterráneo ( incluso en Sicilia y África del Norte). [2] Basándose en la especulación moderna sobre la invención medieval, algunos estudiosos han identificado a los líderes de esta expedición comoBjörn Ironside y Hastein . Sin embargo, el relato de Dudo probablemente no agrega información históricamente confiable a los breves anales contemporáneos. [3]

Otro contacto entre Italia y el mundo vikingo se produjo a través de los escandinavos orientales que llegaron a Italia a través del Austrvegr (las rutas fluviales del Báltico al Mar Negro) y trabajaron como mercenarios varegos que luchaban por Bizancio. En particular, tres o cuatro piedras rúnicas suecas del siglo XI mencionan a Italia , en memoria de los guerreros que murieron en 'Langbarðaland', el nombre nórdico antiguo para el sur de Italia ( Langobardia Minor ). [4] Los varegos pueden haber sido desplegados como mercenarios en Italia contra los árabes ya en 936. [5]

Llegada de los normandos a Italia, 999-1017 [ editar ]

Mapa de Italia a la llegada de los normandos, que finalmente conquistaron Sicilia y todo el territorio del continente al sur del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico (la línea gruesa), las regiones del sur de los Estados Pontificios y el Ducado de Spoleto.

La fecha más antigua informada de la llegada de los caballeros normandos al sur de Italia es 999, aunque se puede suponer que la habían visitado antes. En ese año, según algunas fuentes tradicionales de origen incierto, los peregrinos normandos que regresaban del Santo Sepulcro en Jerusalén vía Apulia se quedaron con el príncipe Guaimar III en Salerno . La ciudad y sus alrededores fueron atacados por sarracenos.de África exigiendo el pago de un tributo anual vencido. Mientras Guaimar comenzaba a cobrar el tributo, los normandos lo ridiculizaron a él y a sus súbditos lombardos por cobardía y atacaron a sus sitiadores. Los sarracenos huyeron, se confiscó el botín y un agradecido Guaimar pidió a los normandos que se quedaran. Ellos se negaron, pero prometieron llevar sus ricos obsequios a sus compatriotas en Normandía y contarles sobre el posiblemente lucrativo servicio militar en Salerno. Algunas fuentes dicen que Guaimar envió emisarios a Normandía para traer de regreso a los caballeros, y este relato de la llegada de los normandos a veces se conoce como la "tradición de Salerno (o Salernitan)". [6] [7]

La tradición de Salerno fue registrada por primera vez por Amatus de Montecassino en su Ystoire de li Normant entre 1071 y 1086. [7] Gran parte de esta información fue tomada de Amatus por Peter the Deacon para su continuación del Chronicon Monasterii Casinensis de Leo of Ostia , escrito a principios del siglo XII. A partir de los Annales Ecclesiastici de Baronius en el siglo XVII, la historia salernitana se convirtió en la historia aceptada. [8] Aunque su exactitud fáctica fue cuestionada periódicamente durante los siglos siguientes, ha sido aceptada (con algunas modificaciones) por la mayoría de los estudiosos desde entonces. [9]

Otro relato histórico de la llegada de los primeros normandos a Italia, la "tradición Gargano", aparece en las crónicas primarias sin referencia a ninguna presencia normanda previa. [6] Según este relato, los peregrinos normandos en el santuario de Miguel Arcángel en Monte Gargano en 1016 se encontraron con el lombardo Melus de Bari , quien los persuadió de unirse a él en un ataque contra el gobierno bizantino de Apulia.

Al igual que con la tradición de Salerno, hay dos fuentes principales para la historia de Gargano: la Gesta Roberti Wiscardi de Guillermo de Apulia (con fecha de 1088-1110) y la Chronica monasterii S. Bartholomaei de Carpineto de un monje llamado Alejandro, escrita aproximadamente un siglo después. y basado en el trabajo de William. [10] Algunos eruditos han combinado los cuentos de Salerno y Gargano, y John Julius Norwich sugirió que la reunión entre Melus y los normandos había sido organizada por Guaimar. [11] Melus había estado en Salerno poco antes de su visita a Monte Gargano.

Otra historia trata sobre el exilio de un grupo de hermanos de la familia Drengot . Uno de los hermanos, Osmund (según Orderic Vitalis ) o Gilbert (según Amatus y Peter the Deacon), asesinó a William Repostel (Repostellus) en presencia de Robert I, duque de Normandía después de que Repostel supuestamente se jactara de deshonrar a la hija de su asesino. Amenazado de muerte, el hermano Drengot huyó con sus hermanos a Roma y uno de los hermanos tuvo una audiencia con el Papa antes de unirse a Melus (Melo) de Bari. Amatus fecha la historia después de 1027 y no menciona al Papa. Según él, los hermanos de Gilbert eran Osmund, Ranulf, Asclettin y Ludolf (Rudolf, según Peter). [12] Entre 1016 y 1024, en un contexto político fragmentado, el condado de Ariano fue fundado por el grupo de caballeros normandos encabezados por Gilbert y contratados por Melus. El condado, que reemplazó al chambelán preexistente, se considera el primer organismo político establecido por los normandos en el sur de Italia. [13]

El asesinato de Repostel está fechado en todas las crónicas del reinado de Roberto el Magnífico y posterior a 1027, aunque algunos eruditos creen que "Robert" fue un error de escribano para "Ricardo" ( Ricardo II de Normandía , que fue duque en 1017). [14] La fecha anterior es necesaria si la emigración de los primeros normandos estaba relacionada con los Drengots y el asesinato de William Repostel. En las Historias de Ralph Glaber , "Rodulfus" abandona Normandía después de disgustar al Conde Ricardo (Ricardo II). [15] Las fuentes no están de acuerdo sobre qué hermano fue el líder en el viaje al sur. Orderic y Guillermo de Jumièges , en la Gesta Normannorum Ducum de este último, nombre Osmund; Glaber nombra a Rudolph, y Leo, Amatus y Adhemar de Chabannes nombran a Gilbert. Según la mayoría de las fuentes del sur de Italia, el líder del contingente normando en la batalla de Cannas en 1018 fue Gilbert. [16] Si Rudolf se identifica con la historia de Rudolf de Amatus como hermano Drengot, es posible que haya sido el líder en Cannas. [17]

Una hipótesis moderna sobre la llegada de los normandos al Mezzogiorno se refiere a las crónicas de Glaber, Adhemar y Leo (no la continuación de Peter). Las tres crónicas indican que los normandos (ya sea un grupo de 40 o una fuerza mucho mayor de alrededor de 250) bajo el mando de "Rodulfus" (Rudolf), huyendo de Ricardo II, llegaron al Papa Benedicto VIII de Roma. El Papa los envió a Salerno (o Capua ) para buscar empleo mercenario contra los bizantinos debido a la invasión de estos últimos del territorio papal Beneventan. [18] Allí, conocieron a los primates Beneventan (hombres destacados): Landulf V de Benevento , Pandulf IV de Capua, (posiblemente) Guaimar III de Salerno y Melus de Bari. Según la crónica de Leo, "Rudolf" era Ralph de Tosni . [12] [19] Si las primeras acciones militares normandas confirmadas en el sur involucraron a los mercenarios de Melus contra los bizantinos en mayo de 1017, los normandos probablemente abandonaron Normandía entre enero y abril. [20]

Revuelta lombarda, 1009-1022 [ editar ]

El encarcelamiento de Pandulf IV de Capua , después de la campaña de 1022 del emperador Enrique II

El 9 de mayo de 1009, estalló una insurrección en Bari contra el Catapanato de Italia , la autoridad regional bizantina con sede allí. Liderada por Melus , un lombardo local, la revuelta se extendió rápidamente a otras ciudades. A fines de ese año (o principios de 1010), el katepano , John Curcuas , murió en batalla. En marzo de 1010 su sucesor, Basil Mesardonites , desembarcó con refuerzos y sitió a los rebeldes en la ciudad. Los ciudadanos bizantinos negociaron con Basilio y obligaron a los líderes lombardos, Melus y su cuñado Dattus, a huir. Basilio entró en la ciudad el 11 de junio de 1011, restableciendo la autoridad bizantina. No siguió su victoria con sanciones severas, solo envió a la familia de Melus (incluido su hijo, Argyrus ) a Constantinopla . Basilio murió en 1016, después de años de paz en el sur de Italia.

Leo Tornikios Kontoleon llegó como sucesor de Basil en mayo de ese año. Después de la muerte de Basil, Melus se rebeló nuevamente; esta vez, utilizó una banda de normandos recién llegados enviados por el Papa Benedicto o que se reunieron con él (con o sin la ayuda de Guaimar) en Monte Gargano. Tornikios envió un ejército, dirigido por Leo Passianos , contra la coalición lombardo-normanda. Passianos y Melus se encontraron en Fortore en Arenula ; la batalla fue indecisa ( Guillermo de Apulia ) o una victoria para Melus ( León de Ostia y Amatus). Tornikios tomó el mando y llevó a sus fuerzas a un segundo encuentro cerca de Civita . [21] Esta segunda batalla fue una victoria para Melus, aunqueLupus Protospatharius y el cronista anónimo de Bari registraron una derrota. [21] Una tercera batalla (una victoria decisiva para Melus) tuvo lugar en Vaccaricia ; [21] la región de Fortore a Trani estaba en sus manos, y en septiembre Tornikios fue reemplazado por Basil Boiannes (quien llegó en diciembre). Según Amatus, hubo cinco victorias consecutivas de Lombard y Norman en octubre de 1018. [21]

At Boioannes' request, a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard was sent to Italy to fight the Normans. The armies met at the Ofanto near Cannae, the site of Hannibal's victory over the Romans in 216 BC, and the Battle of Cannae was a decisive Byzantine victory;[21] Amatus wrote that only ten Normans survived from a contingent of 250.[21] After the battle, Ranulf Drengot (one of the Norman survivors) was elected leader of their company.[21] Boioannes protected his gains by building a fortress at the Apennine pass, guarding the entrance to the Apulian plain. In 1019 Troia (as the fortress was known) was garrisoned by Boioannes' Norman troops, an indication of Norman willingness to fight on either side. With Norman mercenaries on both sides, they would obtain good terms for the release of their brethren from their captors regardless of outcome.[21]

Alarmed by the shift in momentum in the south, Pope Benedict (who may have initiated Norman involvement in the war) went north in 1020 to Bamberg to confer with Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. Although the emperor took no immediate action, events the following year persuaded him to intervene. Boioannes (allied with Pandulf of Capua) marched on Dattus, who was garrisoning a tower in the territory of the Duchy of Gaeta with papal troops. Dattus was captured and, on 15 June 1021, received the traditional Roman poena cullei: he was tied up in a sack with a monkey, a rooster and a snake and thrown into the sea. In 1022, a large imperial army marched south in three detachments under Henry II, Pilgrim of Cologne and Poppo of Aquileia to attack Troia. Although Troia did not fall, the Lombard princes were allied with the Empire and Pandulf removed to a German prison; this ended the Lombard revolt.

Mercenary service, 1022–1046[edit]

In 1024, Norman mercenaries under Ranulf Drengot were in the service of Guaimar III when he and Pandulf IV besieged Pandulf V in Capua. In 1026, after an 18-month siege, Capua surrendered and Pandulf IV was reinstated as prince. During the next few years Ranulf would attach himself to Pandulf, but in 1029 he joined Sergius IV of Naples (whom Pandulf expelled from Naples in 1027, probably with Ranulf's assistance).

In 1029, Ranulf and Sergius recaptured Naples. In early 1030 Sergius gave Ranulf the County of Aversa as a fief, the first Norman lordship in southern Italy.[21] Sergius also gave his sister, the widow of the duke of Gaeta, in marriage to Ranulf.[21] In 1034, however, Sergius' sister died and Ranulf returned to Pandulf. According to Amatus:

For the Normans never desired any of the Lombards to win a decisive victory, in case this should be to their disadvantage. But now supporting the one and then aiding the other, they prevented anyone being completely ruined.

Norman reinforcements and local miscreants, who found a welcome in Ranulf's camp with no questions asked, swelled Ranulf's numbers.[21] There, Amatus observed that the Norman language and customs welded a disparate group into the semblance of a nation. In 1035, the same year William the Conqueror would become Duke of Normandy, Tancred of Hauteville's three eldest sons (William "Iron Arm", Drogo and Humphrey) arrived in Aversa from Normandy.[22]

In 1037, or the summer of 1038[21] (sources differ), Norman influence was further solidified when Emperor Conrad II deposed Pandulf and invested Ranulf as Count of Aversa. In 1038 Ranulf invaded Capua, expanding his polity into one of the largest in southern Italy.[21]

In 1038 Byzantine Emperor Michael IV launched a military campaign into Muslim Sicily, with General George Maniaches leading the Christian army against the Saracens. The future king of Norway, Harald Hardrada, commanded the Varangian Guard in the expedition and Michael called on Guaimar IV of Salerno and other Lombard lords to provide additional troops for the campaign. Guiamar sent 300 Norman knights from Aversa, including the three Hauteville brothers (who would achieve renown for their prowess in battle). William of Hauteville became known as William Bras-de-Fer ("William Iron Arm") for single-handedly killing the emir of Syracuse during that city's siege. The Norman contingent would leave before the campaign's end due to the inadequate distribution of Saracen loot.[22]

After the assassination of Catapan Nikephoros Dokeianos at Ascoli in 1040 the Normans elected Atenulf, brother of Pandulf III of Benevento, their leader. On 16 March 1041, near Venosa on the Olivento, the Norman army tried to negotiate with Catapan Michael Dokeianos; although they failed, they still defeated the Byzantine army in the Battle of Olivento. On 4 May 1041 the Norman army, led by William Iron Arm, defeated the Byzantines again in the Battle of Montemaggiore near Cannae (avenging the Norman defeat in the 1018 Battle of Cannae[22]). Although the catapan summoned a large Varangian force from Bari, the battle was a rout; many of Michael's soldiers drowned in the Ofanto while retreating.[23]

On 3 September 1041 at the Battle of Montepeloso, the Normans (nominally under Arduin and Atenulf) defeated Byzantine catepan Exaugustus Boioannes and brought him to Benevento. Around that time, Guaimar IV of Salerno began to attract the Normans. In February 1042, Atenulf negotiated the ransom of Exaugustus and then fled with the ransom money to Byzantine territory. He was replaced by Argyrus, who was bribed to defect to the Byzantines after a few early victories.

The revolt, originally Lombard, had become Norman in character and leadership. In September 1042, the three principal Norman groups held a council in Melfi which included Ranulf Drengot, Guaimar IV and William Iron Arm. William and the other leaders petitioned Guaimar to recognize their conquests, and William was acknowledged as the Norman leader in Apula (which included Melfi and the Norman garrison at Troia). He received the title of Count of Apulia from Guiamar, and (like Ranulf) was his vassal. Guaimar proclaimed himself Duke of Apulia and Calabria, although he was never formally invested as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. William was married to Guida (daughter of Guy, Duke of Sorrento and Guaimar's niece), strengthening the alliance between the Normans and Guaimar.[24]

At Melfi in 1043, Guaimar divided the region (except for Melfi itself, which was to be governed on a republican model) into twelve baronies for the Norman leaders. William received Ascoli, Asclettin Drengot received Acerenza, Tristan received Montepeloso, Hugh Tubœuf received Monopoli, Peter received Trani, Drogo of Hauteville received Venosa and Ranulf Drengot (now the independent Duke of Gaeta) received Siponto and Monte Gargano.[24]

During their reign William and Guaimar began the conquest of Calabria in 1044, and built the castle of Stridula (near Squillace). William was less successful in Apulia, where he was defeated in 1045 near Taranto by Argyrus (although his brother, Drogo, conquered Bovino). At William's death, the period of Norman mercenary service ended with the rise of two Norman principalities owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire: the County of Aversa (later the Principality of Capua) and the County of Apulia (later the Duchy of Apulia).

County of Melfi, 1046–1059[edit]

The stone castle at Melfi was constructed by the Normans where no fortress had previously stood. The present castle includes additions to a simple, rectangular Norman keep.

In 1046 Drogo entered Apulia and defeated the catepan, Eustathios Palatinos, near Taranto while his brother Humphrey forced Bari to conclude a treaty with the Normans. Also that year, Richard Drengot arrived with 40 knights from Normandy and Robert "Guiscard" Hauteville arrived with other Norman immigrants.[25]

In 1047 Guaimar (who had supported Drogo's succession and the establishment of a Norman dynasty in the south) gave him his daughter, Gaitelgrima, in marriage. Emperor Henry III confirmed the county of Aversa in its fidelity to him and made Drogo his vassal, granting him the title dux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae (duke and master of Italy and count of the Normans of all Apulia and Calabria, the first legitimate title for the Normans of Melfi).[25] Henry did not confirm the other titles given during the 1042 council; he demoted Guiamar to "prince of Salerno", and Capua was bestowed upon Pandulf IV for the third (and final) time.[25] Henry, whose wife Agnes had been mistreated by the Beneventans, authorised Drogo to conquer Benevento for the imperial crown; he did so in 1053.

In 1048 Drogo commanded an expedition into Calabria via the valley of Crati, near Cosenza. He distributed the conquered territories in Calabria and gave his brother, Robert Guiscard, a castle at Scribla to guard the entrance to the recently conquered territory; Guiscard would later abandon it for a castle at San Marco Argentano.[25] Shortly thereafter he married the daughter of another Norman lord, who gave him 200 knights (furthering his military campaign in Calabria).[26] In 1051 Drogo was assassinated by Byzantine conspirators[26] and was succeeded by his brother, Humphrey.[27] Humphrey's first challenge was to deal with papal opposition to the Normans.[27] The Norman knights' treatment of the Lombards during Drogo's reign triggered more revolts.[27] During the unrest, the Italo-Norman John, Abbot of Fécamp was accosted on his return trip from Rome;[27] he wrote to Pope Leo IX:

The hatred of the Italians for the Normans has now reached such a pitch that it is almost impossible for any Norman, albeit a pilgrim, to journey in the towns of Italy, without being assailed, abducted, robbed, beaten, thrown in irons, even if fortunate enough not to die in a prison.[28]

The pope and his supporters, including the future Gregory VII, called for an army to oust the Normans from Italy.[27]

Battle plan of Civitate: Normans in red, papal coalition in blue

On 18 June 1053, Humphrey led the Norman armies against the combined forces of the pope and the Holy Roman Empire. At the Battle of Civitate the Normans destroyed the papal army and captured Leo IX, imprisoning him in Benevento (which had surrendered). Humphrey conquered Oria, Nardò, and Lecce by the end of 1055. In 1054 Peter II, who succeeded Peter I in the region of Trani, captured the city from the Byzantines. Humphrey died in 1057; he was succeeded by Guiscard, who ended his loyalty to the Empire and made himself a papal vassal in return for the title of duke.[27]

County of Aversa, 1049–1098[edit]

During the 1050s and 1060s, there were two centres of Norman power in southern Italy: one at Melfi (under the Hautevilles) and another at Aversa (under the Drengots). Richard Drengot became ruler of the County of Aversa in 1049, beginning a policy of territorial aggrandisement to compete with his Hauteville rivals. At first he warred with his Lombard neighbours, who included Pandulf VI of Capua, Atenulf I of Gaeta and Gisulf II of Salerno. Richard pushed back the borders of Salerno until there was little left of the once-great principality but the city of Salerno itself. Although he tried to extend his influence peacefully by betrothing his daughter to the oldest son of Atenulf of Gaeta, when the boy died before the marriage he still demanded the Lombard dower from the boy's parents. When the duke refused, Richard seized Aquino (one of Gaeta's few remaining fiefs) in 1058. However, the chronology of his conquest of Gaeta is confusing. Documents from 1058 and 1060 refer to Jordan (Richard's oldest son) as Duke of Gaeta, but these have been disputed as forgeries (since Atenulf was still duke when he died in 1062).[29] After Atenulf's death, Richard and Jordan took over the rule of the duchy and allowed Atenulf's heir—Atenulf II—to rule as their subject until 1064 (when Gaeta was fully incorporated into the Drengot principality). Richard and Jordan appointed puppet, usually Norman, dukes.[30]

When the prince of Capua died in 1057, Richard immediately besieged the comune. This chronology is also unclear. Pandulf was succeeded at Capua by his brother, Landulf VIII, who is recorded as prince until 12 May 1062. Richard and Jordan took the princely title in 1058, but apparently allowed Landulf to continue ruling beneath them for at least four years more. In 1059 Pope Nicholas II convened a synod at Melfi confirming Richard as Count of Aversa and Prince of Capua, and Richard swore allegiance to the papacy for his holdings. The Drengots then made Capua their headquarters for ruling Aversa and Gaeta.

Richard and Jordan expanded their new Gaetan and Capuan territories northwards toward Latium, into the Papal States. In 1066 Richard marched on Rome, but was easily repelled. Jordan's tenure as Richard's successor marked an alliance with the papacy (which Richard had attempted), and the conquests of Capua ceased. When Jordan died in 1090, his young son Richard II and his regents were unable to hold Capua. They were forced to flee the city by a Lombard, Lando, who ruled it with popular support until he was forced out by the combined Hauteville forces in the siege of Capua in 1098; this ended Lombard rule in Italy.

Conquest of the Abruzzo, 1053–1105[edit]

In 1077 the last Lombard prince of Benevento died, and in 1078 the pope appointed Robert Guiscard to succeed him. In 1081, however, Guiscard relinquished Benevento. By then, the principality comprised little more than Benevento and its environs; it had been reduced in size by Norman conquests during the previous decades, especially after the Battle of Civitate and after 1078. At Ceprano in June 1080 the pope again gave Guiscard control of Benevento, an attempt to halt Norman incursions into it and associated territory in the Abruzzi (which Guiscard's relatives had been appropriating).

After the Battle of Civitate, the Normans began the conquest of the Adriatic coast of Benevento. Geoffrey of Hauteville, a brother of the Hauteville counts of Melfi, conquered the Lombard county of Larino and stormed the castle Morrone in the region of Samnium-Guillamatum. Geoffrey's son, Robert, united these conquests into a county, Loritello, in 1061 and continued his expansion into Lombard Abruzzo. He conquered the Lombard county of Teate (modern Chieti) and besieged Ortona, which became the goal of Norman efforts in that region. Loritello soon reached as far north as the Pescara and the Papal States. In 1078 Robert allied with Jordan of Capua to ravage the Papal Abruzzo, but after a 1080 treaty with Pope Gregory VII they were obligated to respect papal territory. In 1100 Robert of Loritello extended his principality across the Fortore, taking Bovino and Dragonara.

The conquest of the Molise is poorly documented. Boiano (the principal town) may have been conquered the year before the Battle of Civitate by Robert Guiscard, who had encircled the Matese massif. The county of Boiano was bestowed on Rudolf of Moulins. His grandson, Hugh, expanded it eastward (occupying Toro and San Giovanni in Galdo) and westward (annexing the Capuan counties of Venafro, Pietrabbondante and Trivento in 1105).

Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091[edit]

See also: Emirate of Sicily, County of Sicily, and Norman invasion of Malta
Roger I of Sicily at the 1063 battle of Cerami, victorious over 35,000 Saracens according to Goffredo Malaterra.

After 250 years of Arab control, Sicily was inhabited by a mix of Christians, Arab Muslims, and Muslim converts at the time of its conquest by the Normans. Arab Sicily had a thriving trade network with the Mediterranean world, and was known in the Arab world as a luxurious and decadent place. It had originally been under the rule of the Aghlabids and then the Fatimids, but in 948 the Kalbids wrested control of the island and held it until 1053. During the 1010s and 1020s, a series of succession crises paved the way for interference by the Zirids of Ifriqiya. Sicily was racked by turmoil as petty fiefdoms battled each other for supremacy. Into this, the Normans under Robert Guiscard and his younger brother Roger Bosso came intending to conquer; the pope had conferred on Robert the title of "Duke of Sicily", encouraging him to seize Sicily from the Saracens.

Robert and Roger first invaded Sicily in May 1061, crossing from Reggio di Calabria and besieging Messina for control of the strategically vital Strait of Messina. Roger crossed the strait first, landing unseen overnight and surprising the Saracen army in the morning. When Robert's troops landed later that day, they found themselves unopposed and Messina abandoned. Robert immediately fortified the city and allied himself with the emir, Ibn at-Timnah, against his rival Ibn al-Hawas. Robert, Roger, and at-Timnah then marched into the centre of the island by way of Rometta, which had remained loyal to at-Timnah. They passed through Frazzanò and the Pianura di Maniace (Plain of Maniakes), encountering resistance to their assault of Centuripe. Paternò fell quickly, and Robert brought his army to Castrogiovanni (modern Enna, the strongest fortress in central Sicily). Although the garrison was defeated the citadel did not fall, and with winter approaching Robert returned to Apulia. Before leaving, he built a fortress at San Marco d'Alunzio (the first Norman castle in Sicily). Roger returned in late 1061 and captured Troina. In June 1063 he defeated a Muslim army at the Battle of Cerami, securing the Norman foothold on the island.

Roger I receiving the keys of Palermo in 1071

Robert returned in 1064, bypassing Castrogiovanni on his way to Palermo; this campaign was eventually called off. In 1068 Roger struck another defeat against the Muslims at the Battle of Misilmeri. In August 1071, the Normans began a second and successful siege of Palermo. The city of Palermo was entered by the Normans on 7 January 1072 and three days later the defenders of the inner-city surrendered.[31] Meanwhile, in 1066, William the Conqueror had become the first Norman King of England. Robert invested Roger as Count of Sicily under the suzerainty of the Duke of Apulia. In a partition of the island with his brother Robert retained Palermo, half of Messina, and the largely Christian Val Demone (leaving the rest, including what was not yet conquered, to Roger).

In 1077 Roger besieged Trapani, one of the two remaining Saracen strongholds in the west of the island. His son, Jordan, led a sortie which surprised guards of the garrison's livestock. With its food supply cut off, the city soon surrendered. In 1079 Taormina was besieged, and in 1081 Jordan, Robert de Sourval and Elias Cartomi conquered Catania (a holding of the emir of Syracuse) in another surprise attack.

Roger left Sicily in the summer of 1083 to assist his brother on the mainland; Jordan (whom he had left in charge) revolted, forcing him to return to Sicily and subjugate his son. In 1085, he was finally able to undertake a systematic campaign. On 22 May Roger approached Syracuse by sea, while Jordan led a small cavalry detachment 15 miles (24 km) north of the city. On 25 May, the navies of the count and the emir engaged in the harbour—where the latter was killed—while Jordan's forces besieged the city. The siege lasted throughout the summer, but when the city capitulated in March 1086 only Noto was still under Saracen dominion. In February 1091 Noto yielded as well, and the conquest of Sicily was complete.

The Palazzo dei Normanni was a 9th-century Arab palace in Sicily, converted by the Normans into their governing castle.

In 1091, Roger invaded Malta and subdued the walled city of Mdina. He imposed taxes on the islands, but allowed the Arab governors to continue their rule. In 1127 Roger II abolished the Muslim government, replacing it with Norman officials. Under Norman rule, the Arabic spoken by the Greek Christian islanders for centuries of Muslim domination became Maltese.

Conquest of Amalfi and Salerno, 1073–1077[edit]

The fall of Amalfi and Salerno to Robert Guiscard were influenced by his wife, Sichelgaita. Amalfi probably surrendered as a result of her negotiations,[32] and Salerno fell when she stopped petitioning her husband on behalf of her brother (the prince of Salerno). The Amalfitans unsuccessfully subjected themselves to Prince Gisulf to avoid Norman suzerainty, but the states (whose histories had been joined since the 9th century) ultimately came under Norman control.

By summer 1076, through piracy and raids Gisulf II of Salerno incited the Normans to destroy him; that season, under Richard of Capua and Robert Guiscard the Normans united to besiege Salerno. Although Gisulf ordered his citizens to store two years' worth of food, he confiscated enough of it to starve his subjects. On 13 December 1076, the city submitted; the prince and his retainers retreated to the citadel, which fell in May 1077. Although Gisulf's lands and relics were confiscated, he remained at liberty. The Principality of Salerno had already been reduced to little more than the capital city and its environs by previous wars with William of the Principate, Roger of Sicily and Robert Guiscard. However, the city was the most important in southern Italy and its capture was essential to the creation of a kingdom fifty years later.

In 1073 Sergius III of Amalfi died, leaving the infant John III as his successor. Desiring protection in unstable times, the Amalfitans exiled the young duke and summoned Robert Guiscard that year.[33] Amalfi, however, remained restless under Norman control. Robert's successor, Roger Borsa, took control of Amalfi in 1089 after expelling Gisulf (the deposed Prince of Salerno, whom the citizens had installed with papal aid). From 1092 to 1097 Amalfi did not recognise its Norman suzerain, apparently seeking Byzantine help;[32] Marinus Sebaste was installed as ruler in 1096.

Robert's son Bohemond and his brother Roger of Sicily attacked Amalfi in 1097, but were repulsed. During this siege, the Normans began to be drawn by the First Crusade. Marinus was defeated after Amalfitan noblemen defected to the Norman side and betrayed him in 1101. Amalfi revolted again in 1130, when Roger II of Sicily demanded its loyalty. It was finally subdued in 1131 when Admiral John marched on it by land and George of Antioch blockaded it by sea, establishing a base on Capri.

Byzantine–Norman wars, 1059–1085[edit]

Main article: Byzantine–Norman wars

While most of Apulia (except the far south and Bari) had capitulated to the Normans in campaigns by the fraternal counts William, Drogo and Humphrey, much of Calabria remained in Byzantine hands at Robert Guiscard's 1057 succession. Calabria was first breached by William and Guaimar during the early 1040s, and Drogo installed Guiscard there during the early 1050s. However, Robert's early career in Calabria was spent in feudal infighting and robber baronage rather than organised subjugation of the Greek population.

He began his tenure with a Calabrian campaign. Briefly interrupted for the Council of Melfi on 23 August 1059 (where he was invested as duke), he returned to Calabria—and his army's siege of Cariati—later that year. The town capitulated at the duke's arrival, and Rossano and Gerace also fell before the end of the season. Of the peninsula's significant cities, only Reggio remained in Byzantine hands when Robert returned to Apulia that winter. In Apulia, he temporarily removed the Byzantine garrison from Taranto and Brindisi. The duke returned to Calabria in 1060, primarily to launch a Sicilian expedition. Although the conquest of Reggio required an arduous siege, Robert's brother Roger had siege engines prepared.

After the fall of Reggio the Byzantine garrison fled to Reggio's island citadel of Scilla, where they were easily defeated. Roger's minor assault on Messina (across the strait) was repulsed, and Robert was called away by a large Byzantine force in Apulia sent by Constantine X late in 1060. Under the catapan Miriarch, the Byzantines retook Taranto, Brindisi, Oria, and Otranto; in January 1061, the Norman capital of Melfi was under siege. By May, however, the two brothers had expelled the Byzantines and calmed Apulia.

Norman progress in Sicily during Robert's expeditions to the Balkans: Capua, Apulia, Calabria, and the County of Sicily are Norman. The Emirate of Sicily, the Duchy of Naples and lands in the Abruzzo (in the southern Duchy of Spoleto) are not yet conquered.

Geoffrey, son of Peter I of Trani, conquered Otranto in 1063 and Taranto (which he made his county seat) in 1064. In 1066 he organised an army for a marine attack on "Romania" (the Byzantine Balkans), but was halted near Bari by a recently landed army of Varangian auxiliaries under the catapan Mabrica. Mabrica briefly retook Brindisi and Taranto, establishing a garrison at the former under Nikephoros Karantenos (an experienced Byzantine soldier from the Bulgar wars). Although the catapan was successful against the Normans in Italy, it was the last significant Byzantine threat. Bari, the capital of the Byzantine catapanate, was besieged by the Normans beginning in August 1068; in April 1071 the city, the last Byzantine outpost in western Europe, fell.

After expelling the Byzantines from Apulia and Calabria (their theme of Langobardia), Robert Guiscard planned an attack on Byzantine possessions in Greece. The Byzantines had supported Robert's nephews, Abelard and Herman (the dispossessed son of Count Humphrey), in their insurrection against Robert; they had also supported Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, who recognised Byzantine suzerainty in his county, against him.

In 1073-75 Robert's vassal, Peter II of Trani, led a Balkan expedition against the Kingdom of Croatia's Dalmatian lands. Peter's cousin Amico (son of Walter of Giovinazzo) attacked the islands of Rab and Cres, taking Croatian king Petar Krešimir IV captive. Although Petar was ransomed by the Bishop of Cres, he died shortly afterwards and was buried in the church of Saint Stephen in the Fortress of Klis.

Robert undertook his first Balkan expedition in May 1081, leaving Brindisi with about 16,000 troops. By February 1082 he captured Corfu and Durazzo, defeating the Emperor Alexius I at the Battle of Dyrrhachium the previous October. Robert's son Mark Bohemond temporarily controlled Thessaly, unsuccessfully trying to retain the 1081–82 conquests in Robert's absence. The duke returned in 1084 to restore them, occupying Corfu and Kephalonia before his death from a fever on 15 July 1085. The village of Fiskardo on Cephalonia is named after Robert. Bohemond did not continue pursuing Greek conquests, returning to Italy to dispute Robert's succession with his half-brother Roger Borsa.

Conquest of Naples, 1077–1139[edit]

The Duchy of Naples, nominally a Byzantine possession, was one of the last southern Italian states to be attacked by the Normans. Since Sergius IV asked for Ranulf Drengot's help during the 1020s, with brief exceptions the dukes of Naples were allied with the Normans of Aversa and Capua. Beginning in 1077, the incorporation of Naples into the Hauteville state took sixty years to complete.

In summer 1074, hostilities flared up between Richard of Capua and Robert Guiscard. Sergius V of Naples allied with the latter, making his city a supply centre for Guiscard's troops. This pitted him against Richard, who was supported by Gregory VII. In June Richard briefly besieged Naples; Richard, Robert and Sergius soon began negotiations with Gregory, mediated by Desiderius of Montecassino.

In 1077 Naples was again besieged by Richard of Capua, with a naval blockade by Robert Guiscard. Richard died during the siege in 1078, after the deathbed lifting of his excommunication. The siege was ended by his successor, Jordan, to insinuate himself with the papacy (which had made peace with Duke Sergius).

In 1130, the Antipope Anacletus II crowned Roger II of Sicily king and declared the fief of Naples part of his kingdom.[34] In 1131, Roger demanded from the citizens of Amalfi the defences of their city and the keys to their castle. When they refused, Sergius VII of Naples initially prepared to aid them with a fleet; George of Antioch blockaded Naples' port with a large armada and Sergius, cowed by the suppression of the Amalfitans, submitted to Roger. According to the chronicler Alexander of Telese, Naples "which, since Roman times, had hardly ever been conquered by the sword now submitted to Roger on the strength of a mere report (i.e. Amalfi's fall)."

In 1134 Sergius supported the rebellion of Robert II of Capua and Ranulf II of Alife, but avoided direct confrontation with Roger and paid homage to the king after the fall of Capua. On 24 April 1135 a Pisan fleet with 8,000 reinforcements, captained by Robert of Capua, anchored in Naples and the duchy was the centre of the revolt against Roger II for the next two years. Sergius, Robert and Ranulf were besieged in Naples until the spring of 1136, by which time starvation was widespread. According to historian (and rebel sympathiser) Falco of Benevento Sergius and the Neapolitans did not relent, "preferring to die of hunger than to bare their necks to the power of an evil king." The naval blockade's failure to prevent Sergius and Robert from twice bringing supplies from Pisa exemplified Roger's inadequacy. When a relief army commanded by Emperor Lothair II marched to Naples, the siege was lifted. Although the emperor left the following year, in return for a pardon Sergius re-submitted to Roger in Norman feudal homage. On 30 October 1137, the last Duke of Naples died in the king's service at the Battle of Rignano.

The defeat at Rignano enabled the Norman conquest of Naples, since Sergius died without heir and the Neapolitan nobility could not reach a succession agreement. However, it was two years between Sergius' death and Naples' incorporation by Sicily. The nobility apparently ruled during the interim, which may have been the final period of Neapolitan independence from Norman rule.[34] During this period Norman landowners first appear in Naples, although the Pisans (enemies of Roger II) retained their alliance with the duchy and Pisa may have sustained its independence until 1139. That year, Roger absorbed Naples into his kingdom; Pope Innocent II and the Neapolitan nobility acknowledged Roger's young son, Alfonso of Hauteville, as duke.

Kingdom of Sicily, 1130–1198[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Sicily

Although the conquest of Sicily was primarily military, Robert and Roger also signed treaties with the Muslims to obtain land. Hindered by Sicily's hilly terrain and a relatively small army, the brothers sought influential, worn-down Muslim leaders to sign the treaties (offering peace and protection for land and titles). Because Sicily was conquered by a unified command, Roger's authority was not challenged by other conquerors and he maintained power over his Greek, Arab, Lombard and Norman subjects. Latin Christianity was introduced to the island, and its ecclesiastical organisation was overseen by Roger with papal approval. Sees were established at Palermo (with metropolitan authority), Syracuse and Agrigento. After its elevation to a Kingdom of Sicily in 1130, Sicily became the centre of Norman power with Palermo as capital. The Kingdom was created on Christmas Day, 1130, by Roger II of Sicily, with the agreement of Pope Innocent II, who united the lands Roger had inherited from his father Roger I of Sicily.[35]

Woodcut illustration of Constance of Sicily, her husband Emperor Henry VI and her son Frederick II

These areas included the Maltese Archipelago, which was conquered from the Arabs of the Emirates of Sicily; the Duchy of Apulia and the County of Sicily, which had belonged to his cousin William II, Duke of Apulia, until William's death in 1127; and the other Norman vassals.[36]

With the invasion of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor on behalf of his wife, Constance, the daughter of Roger II, eventually prevailed and the kingdom fell in 1194 to the House of Hohenstaufen. Through Constance, the Hauteville blood was passed to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Sicily in 1198.

Encastellation[edit]

See also: Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture
Early Norman castle at Adrano

The Norman conquest of southern Italy began an infusion of Romanesque (specifically Norman) architecture. Some castles were expanded on existing Lombard, Byzantine structures, while others were original constructions. Latin cathedrals were built in lands recently converted from Byzantine Christianity or Islam, in a Romanesque style influenced by Byzantine and Islamic designs. Public buildings, such as palaces, were common in larger cities (notably Palermo); these structures, in particular, demonstrate the influence of Siculo-Norman culture.

The Normans rapidly began the construction, expansion and renovation of castles in southern Italy. By the end of the Norman period, most wooden castles were converted to stone.

After the Lombard castle at Melfi, which was conquered by the Normans early and augmented with a surviving, rectangular donjon late in the 11th century, Calabria was the first province affected by Norman encastellation. In 1046 William Iron Arm began construction of Stridula (a large castle near Squillace), and by 1055 Robert Guiscard built three castles: at Rossano, on the site of a Byzantine fortress; at Scribla, the seat of his fief guarding the pass of the Val di Crati, and at San Marco Argentano (donjon built in 1051) near Cosenza.[37] In 1058, Scalea was built on a seaside cliff.

Guiscard was a major castle-builder after his accession to the Apulian countship, building a castle at Gargano with pentagonal towers known as the Towers of Giants. Later, Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo built a castle at nearby Castelpagano. In the Molise the Normans built many fortresses into the naturally defensible terrain, such as Santa Croce and Ferrante. The region of a line running from Terracina to Termoli has the greatest density of Norman castles in Italy.[38] Many sites were originally Samnite strongholds reused by the Romans and their successors; the Normans called such a fortress a castellum vetus (old castle). Many Molisian castles have walls integrated into the mountains and ridges, and much of the quickly erected masonry demonstrates that the Normans introduced the opus gallicum into the Molise.[39]

The encastellation of Sicily was begun at the behest of the native Greek inhabitants.[40] In 1060, they asked Guiscard to construct a castle at Aluntium. The first Norman building on Sicily, San Marco d'Alunzio (named after Guiscard's first castle at Argentano in Calabria), was erected; its ruins survive. Petralia Soprana was then built near Cefalù, followed by a castle at Troina in 1071; in 1073 a castle was built at Mazara and another at Paternò .[40] At Adrano (or Aderno) the Normans built a plain, rectangular tower whose floor plan illustrates 11th-century Norman design. An outside stairway leads to the first-storey entrance, and the interior is divided lengthwise down the middle into a great hall on one side and two rooms (a chapel and chamber) on the other.[41] Other fortifications in Sicily were appropriated from the Arabs, and the palatial and cathedral architecture of cities such as Palermo has obvious Arab features.

See also[edit]

  • Vikings
  • Normans
  • Byzantine-Norman Wars
  • First Crusade

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Ann Christys, Vikings in the South (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), pp. 59-60.
  2. ^ Haywood, John. Northmen. Head of Zeus.
  3. ^ Ann Christys, Vikings in the South (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), pp. 60-61.
  4. ^ Judith Jesch, Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2001), p. 88.
  5. ^ Ullidtz, Per. 1016 The Danish Conquest of England. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 936.
  6. ^ a b Joranson, 355 and n 19.
  7. ^ a b Brown, R. Allen (1984). The Normans. Woodsbridge, Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer. p. 97. ISBN 0-85115-359-3.
  8. ^ Joranson, 356.
  9. ^ Both Chalandon and Norwich provide a combined story based on the Salerno and Gargano traditions. Houben, p.8, presents the Salerno tradition as fact.
  10. ^ Joranson, 358.
  11. ^ Chalandon makes a similar connection between the traditions. Joranson, 367, finds such hypotheses "unworkable."
  12. ^ a b Brown, R. Allen (1984). The Normans. Woodsbridge, Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0-85115-359-3.
  13. ^ "Il Mezzogiorno agli inizi dell'XI secolo" [Southern Italy at the beginning of 11th century]. European Center for Norman Studies (in Italian).
  14. ^ Joranson, 369.
  15. ^ Joranson, 371.
  16. ^ Chalandon, 52. Norwich.
  17. ^ Joranson, 371, disputes the identification of the two Rudolfs.
  18. ^ Joranson, 371–373.
  19. ^ Joranson, 373. Leo calls him "Rodulfus Todinensis."
  20. ^ Joranson, 372.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Brown, R. Allen (1984). The Normans. Woodsbridge, Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer. pp. 102–103. ISBN 0-85115-359-3.
  22. ^ a b c The Normans p104
  23. ^ Brown, Gordon S. (2003) p. 42
  24. ^ a b The Normans p104-106
  25. ^ a b c d The Normans p106
  26. ^ a b The Normans p108
  27. ^ a b c d e f The Normans p109
  28. ^ Chalandon, i, 124; Migne Pat. Lat., t. 143, p.798
  29. ^ Skinner, 156 and n32. Both documents are preserved in the Codex Cajetanus [es]. Both have been ruled forgeries on the basis of erroneous dating clauses and the absence of Richard. Also, Jordan's reputed wife, Rapizza, appears to be make-believe.
  30. ^ Skinner, 156 and n32.
  31. ^ Rogers, p. 98.
  32. ^ a b Skinner, 203.
  33. ^ Skinner, 202.
  34. ^ a b Skinner, 206–207.
  35. ^ Douglas, David. The Norman Fate, 1100-1154. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976.
  36. ^ Houben, Hubert (2002). Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West. Cambridge University Press. pp. 7, 148. ISBN 0-521-65573-0.
  37. ^ Gravett and Nicolle, 132.
  38. ^ Gravett and Nicolle, 134, based on map.
  39. ^ Gravett and Nicolle, 135.
  40. ^ a b Gravett and Nicolle, 136.
  41. ^ Gravett and Nicolle, 137.

References[edit]

Primary[edit]

  • Leeds University Medieval History Texts Centre, with primary sources available in translation under the heading "The Norman Kingdom of Sicily"
  • Gaufredo Malaterra, De rebus gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae comitis et Roberti Guiscardi ducis fratris eius at The Latin Library
  • Gaufredo Malaterra (Geoffroi Malaterra), Histoire du Grand Comte Roger et de son frère Robert Guiscard, édité par Marie-Agnès Lucas-Avenel, Caen, Presses universitaires de Caen, 2016 (coll. Fontes et paginae). ISBN 9782841337439. Texte latin et traduction française consultable en ligne : https://www.unicaen.fr/puc/sources/malaterra/
  • William of Apulia, Gesta Roberti Wiscardi at The Latin Library
  • Lupus Protospatarius Barensis, Rerum in regno Neapolitano gestarum breve chronicon, ab anno sal. 860 vsque ad 1102 at The Latin Library
  • Van Houts, Elizabeth. The Normans in Europe. Manchester, 2000.
  • Amatus of Montecassino, L'Ystoire de li Normant

Secondary[edit]

  • Bachrach, Bernard S. "On the Origins of William the Conqueror's Horse Transports." Technology and Culture, Vol. 26, No. 3. (Jul., 1985), pp. 505–531.
  • Brown, Gordon S. (2003). The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily. McFarland & Company Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-1472-7.
  • Brown, Paul. (2016). Mercenaries To Conquerors: Norman Warfare in the Eleventh and Twelfth-Century Mediterranean, Pen & Sword.
  • Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris: 1907.
  • Loud, Graham Alexander. "Coinage, Wealth and Plunder in the Age of Robert Guiscard." English Historical Review, Vol. 114, No. 458. (Sep., 1999), pp. 815–843.
  • Loud, Graham Alexander. "Continuity and change in Norman Italy: the Campania during the eleventh and twelfth centuries." Journal of Medieval History, Vol. 22, No. 4 (December, 1996), pp. 313–343.
  • Loud, Graham Alexander. "How 'Norman' was the Norman Conquest of Southern Italy?" Nottingham Medieval Studies, Vol. 25 (1981), pp. 13–34.
  • Loud, Graham Alexander. The Age of Robert Guiscard: Southern Italy and the Norman Conquest. Essex, 2000.
  • France, John. "The Occasion of the Coming of the Normans to Italy." Journal of Medieval History, Vol. 17 (1991), pp. 185–205.
  • Gay, Jules. L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904.
  • Gravett, Christopher, and Nicolle, David. The Normans: Warrior Knights and their Castles. Osprey Publishing: Oxford, 2006.
  • Houben, Hubert (translated by Graham A. Loud and Diane Milburn). Roger II of Sicily: Ruler between East and West. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Jamison, Evelyn. "The Norman Administration of Apulia and Capua, more especially under Roger II and William I". Papers of the British School at Rome, VI (1917), pp. 265–270.
  • Joranson, Einar. "The Inception of the Career of the Normans in Italy: Legend and History." Speculum, Vol. 23, No. 3. (Jul., 1948), pp. 353–396.
  • Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  • Norwich, John Julius. The Normans in the South 1016-1130. London: Longman, 1967.
  • Norwich, John Julius. The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. London: Longman, 1970.
  • Rogers, Randall (1997). Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820689-5.
  • Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
  • Theotokis, Georgios. (2014). The Norman Campaigns in the Balkans, 1081-1108, Boydell & Brewer.
  • Theotokis, Georgios, ed. (2020). Warfare in the Norman Mediterranean. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell and Brewer. ISBN 9781783275212.

External links[edit]

  • The Normans, a European People, by the European Commission
  • Norman mercenaries invaded Croatia and captured King Petar Krešimir IV (the book "Western Balkans - History and Movements of People", published by Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA)