Arduin the Lombard (or Arduin of Melfi; it, Arduino di Melfi; el, Αρντουίνος του Μέλφι, translit=Ardouinos ton Mélfi) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
-speaking
Lombard nobleman who fought originally for the
Byzantines on
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and later against them as the leader of a band of
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
mercenaries.
He was the leader of the troops committed by
Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV (c. 1013 – 2, 3 or 4 June 1052) was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 105 ...
to
George Maniakes
George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin
during the 11 ...
' Sicilian expedition in 1038. According to
Amatus of Montecassino
Amatus of Montecassino ( la, Amatus Casinensis), (11th century) was a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Montecassino who is best known for his historical chronicles of his era. His ''History of the Normans'' (which has survived only in its medieval ...
, he refused to surrender a captured horse to the Byzantine general and Maniakes consequently had him stripped and beaten. Whatever happened, Arduin and his Salernitan contingent along with the Normans (also sent by Guaimar) and the
Varangians
The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';[Varangian]
" Online Etymo ...
(sent by Emperor
Constantine IX
Constantine IX Monomachos ( grc-x-medieval, Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, translit=Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; 1004 – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita ...
) abandoned Sicily and returned to the mainland.
On the peninsula, the Byzantine
catepan of Italy
The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of ...
,
Michael Doukeianos
Michael Dokeianos ( el, Μιχαήλ Δοκειανός), erroneously called Doukeianos by some modern writers, was a Byzantine nobleman and military leader, who married into the Komnenos family. He was active in Sicily under George Maniakes befo ...
, appointed him ''
topoterites'' of
Melfi
Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768.
Geography
On a ...
. He soon revolted against Greek authority in
Apulia and he and his Normans joined the rebellion-in-progress of
Argyrus. First, the nominal leader of the insurrection,
Atenulf, brother of Pandulf III of Benevento Atenulf was the son of Prince Landulf V of Benevento and brother of Prince Pandulf III. In 1040, Benevento still had the prestige of being the first of the independent Lombard principalities of the Mezzogiorno. So, when the Lombard Arduin, ''topot ...
, defected to the Greeks and then Argyrus, his successor. The Normans, bypassing Arduin (who may also have been bought off by the Greeks), chose their own successor to Argyrus,
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 ...
, and Arduin faded completely out of view.
Sources
*
Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. London: Longman, 1967.
*
Loud, Graham Anthony. ''The Age of Robert Guiscard: Southern Italy and the Norman Conquest.'' Harlow: Longman/Pearson Education, 2000.
11th-century Byzantine people
{{Authority control
11th-century Lombard people
Byzantine generals
Byzantine rebels
Lombard warriors