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Robert Guiscard (by Merry-Joseph Blondel)
Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabria (1057–1059), Duke of Sicily (1059–1085), and briefly prince of Benevento (1078–1081) before returning the title to the papacy. His sobriquet, in contemporary Latin and Old French , is often rendered "the Resourceful", "the Cunning", "the Wily", "the Fox", or "the Weasel". In Italian sources he is often Roberto II Guiscardo or Roberto d'Altavilla (from Robert de Hauteville), while medieval Arabic sources call him simply ''Abārt al-dūqa'' (Duke Robert). Background From 999 to 1042 the Normans in Italy, coming first as pilgrims, were mainly mercenaries serving at various times the Byzantines and a number of Lombard nobles. The first of the independent Norman lords was Rainulf Drengot who established himself in the fortress of Av ...
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Hauteville Family
The Hauteville ( it, Altavilla) was a Norman family originally of seigneurial rank from the Cotentin. The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. By 1130, one of their members, Roger II, was made the first King of Sicily. His male-line descendants ruled Sicily until 1194. Some Italian Hautevilles took part in the First Crusade and the founding of the Principality of Antioch (1098). Origins The traditional account of the family's origin traces them back to Hiallt, a 10th-century Norseman who settled in the Cotentin Peninsula and founded the estate of ''Hialtus villa'', giving rise in corrupted form to the family toponymic ''Hauteville''. The name represents the Scandinavian ''Hjalti'' or ''Hialti''), but may instead have resulted from confusion with the ''Helt s' found in ''Heltvilla'', modern Héauville.''Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche'', A. et J. Picard, préface Yves Nédélec, 1986, , oclc=1531442 ...
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Duke Of Apulia And Calabria
The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman people, Norman state founded by William Iron Arm, William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Province of Foggia, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture (region), Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when Robert Guiscard was raised to the rank of duke by Pope Nicholas II in 1059. The duchy was disestablished in 1130 when the last duke of Apulia and Calabria, Roger II, Roger II of Sicily became King of Sicily. The title of duke was thereafter used intermittently as a title for the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sicily. Creation Drogo of Hauteville was made "count" of Apulia & Calabria by Emperor Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III, with territories lost by Guaimar IV of Salerno, Guaimario IV of the Principality of Salerno. William I of Hauteville, who returned in September 1042 in Melfi, was recognized by all the Normans as supreme leader. He turned to Guaimar IV ...
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Drogo Of Hauteville
Drogo of Hauteville (''c''. 1010 – 10 August 1051) was the second Count of Apulia and Calabria (1046–51) in southern Italy. Initially he was only the leader of those Normans in the service of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, but after 1047 he was a territorial prince owing fealty directly to the Emperor. Drogo was born in Normandy, a son of Tancred of Hauteville and his first wife, Muriella. Around 1035, he arrived with his elder brother William in southern Italy. With his brother, he took part in the campaign of the Byzantine catepan George Maniaches in Sicily (1038) and then in the campaign of Guaimar IV against the Byzantines in Apulia (1041).Manselli 1960. In 1042, Drogo was one of the twelve Norman leaders who met at Melfi to elect his brother William their first count under Guaimar's suzerainty. In the ensuing twelve-part division of the conquered territory in northern Apulia, Drogo received Venosa. In 1044–45, Drogo fought on behalf of his brother in Apulia. In 1045, he ...
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William Iron Arm
William I of Hauteville (before 1010 – 1046), known as William Iron Arm,Guillaume Bras-de-fer in French, Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro in Italian and Gugghiermu Vrazzu di Ferru in Sicilian. was a Norman adventurer who was the founder of the fortunes of the Hauteville family. One of twelve sons of Tancred of Hauteville, he journeyed to the Mezzogiorno with his younger brother Drogo in the first half of the eleventh century (c.1035), in response to requests for help made by fellow Normans under Rainulf Drengot, count of Aversa. Between 1038 and 1040, he and other Normans fought in Sicily along with the Lombards as mercenaries for the Byzantine Empire against the Kalbids. It was there that he won his nickname "Iron Arm" by single-handedly killing the emir of Syracuse during a sally at the siege of Syracuse. When the Byzantine general George Maniakes publicly humiliated the Salernitan leader, Arduin, the Lombards withdrew from the campaign, along with the Normans and the Varangi ...
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Duke Of Gaeta
This is a list of the hypati, patricians, consuls, and dukes of Gaeta. Many of the dates are uncertain and sometimes the status of the rulership, with co-rulers and suzerain–vassal relations, is vague. Native rule (839–1032) Anatolian dynasty *Constantine (839–866) *Marinus I (839–866) Docibilan dynasty * Docibilis I (866-906) *John I (867–933 or 934), also patrician from 877 * Docibilis II (914 or 915–954), co–hypatus from 906 *John II (954–962 or 963), co–duke from 933 or 934, consul * Gregory (962 or 963–978) *Marinus II (978–984) * John III (984–1008), co–duke from 979 * John IV (1008–1012), co–duke from 991 *John V (1012–1032), also consul **Emilia, grandmother, regent (1012–1027) **Leo I, uncle, regent (1017–1023) Lombard period (1032–1064) In 1041, Guaimar gave direct control and his title to the count of Aversa. In 1058, Gaeta was made subject to the count of Aversa, by then prince of Capua. * Pandulf I (1032–1038) * Pandulf II (103 ...
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Count Of Aversa
In 1030, the first Norman foothold in the Mezzogiorno was created when Sergius IV of Naples gave the town and vicinity of Aversa as a county to Ranulf. The following are the counts of Aversa: *Rainulf I 1030–1045 *Asclettin 1045 (nephew of prec.) *Rodulf Cappello 1045–1046 (appointee of the Prince of Salerno)Kenneth Baxter Wolf, ''Making History: the Normans and Their Historians in Eleventh-century Italy'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995), p. 14. *Rainulf II Trincanocte 1045–1048 (cousin of Asclettin) *Herman 1048–1049 (son) *Richard I 1049–1078 (cousin) In 1058, Richard conquered the Principality of Capua and thereafter the counts of Aversa were, more importantly, princes of Capua. References {{reflist * Aversa Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical ...
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Aversa
Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buffalo mozzarella). Aversa is also the main seat of the faculties of Architecture and Engineering of the ''Seconda università degli studi di Napoli'' (Second University of Naples). With a population of 52,974 (2017), it is the second city of the province after Caserta. Geography Aversa is located near the city of Naples; it is separated by only 24 kilometres from Naples and by 26 kilometres from Caserta, the administrative centre of the province of the same name. The municipality borders Carinaro, Casaluce, Cesa, Frignano, Giugliano in Campania, Gricignano di Aversa, Lusciano, San Marcellino, Sant'Antimo, Teverola and Trentola Ducenta. It is located in a fertile coastal plain north of Naples, thus serving as a market for agricultur ...
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Rainulf Drengot
Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in Italy When Rainulf was exiled by Richard II of Normandy for a violent criminal act,Marjorie Chibnall, ''The Normans'', (Blackwell Publishing, 2006), 76. Rainulf, Osmond, and their brothers Gilbert Buatère, Asclettin (later count of Acerenza), and Raulf went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the soldier-archangel, Michael, at Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano in the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. They brought with them a band of 250 warriors, formed of other exiles, landless cadets and similar adventurers. Mercenary service In 1017 they arrived in the Mezzogiorno, which was in a state of virtual anarchy. Establishing a stronghold at Monte Gargano in Apulia, they joined forces with the Lombard Melus of Bari, who had rebelled against his Byzantine overlor ...
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Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and 796) that the Lombards descended from a small tribe called the Winnili,: "From Proto-Germanic '' winna-'', meaning "to fight, win" who dwelt in southern Scandinavia (''Scadanan'') before migrating to seek new lands. By the time of the Roman-era - historians wrote of the Lombards in the 1st century AD, as being one of the Suebian peoples, in what is now northern Germany, near the Elbe river. They continued to migrate south. By the end of the fifth century, the Lombards had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria and Slovakia north of the Danube, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids. The Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, and his successor Alboin ...
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Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome ...
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Arabic Language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston, 2011. Having emerged in the 1st century, it is named after the Arab people; the term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula, as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece. Since the 7th century, Arabic has been characterized by diglossia, with an opposition between a standard prestige language—i.e., Literary Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Classical Arabic—and diverse vernacular varieties, which serve as mother tongues. Colloquial dialects vary significantly from MSA, impeding mutual intelligibility. MSA is only acquired through formal education and is not spoken natively. It is the language of literature, official documents, and formal written m ...
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Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligible yet diverse, spoken in the northern half of France. These dialects came to be collectively known as the , contrasting with the in the south of France. The mid-14th century witnessed the emergence of Middle French, the language of the French Renaissance in the Île de France region; this dialect was a predecessor to Modern French. Other dialects of Old French evolved themselves into modern forms (Poitevin-Saintongeais, Gallo, Norman, Picard, Walloon, etc.), each with its own linguistic features and history. The region where Old French was spoken natively roughly extended to the northern half of the Kingdom of France and its vassals (including parts of the Angevin Empire, which during the 12th century remained under Anglo-Norman rul ...
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