Asclettin was the first count of

Acerenza Acerenza ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. History With its strategic position above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders. The town, then kno ...

, one of the twelve leaders of the

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 of

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 1052. ...

who conquered much of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

between 1038 and 1042. In the latter year, the division of the conquests twelvefold was made and Asclettin received his portion. Asclettin arrived in 1016 with his older brothers Osmond and

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

. He was a member of the

Drengot family The Drengots were a Normans, Norman family of mercenaries, one of the first to head to Southern Italy to fight in the service of the Lombards. They became the most prominent family after the Hauteville family, Hautevilles. Origins The family came f ...

and his brother

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 ...

was the first Norman to hold any land in the south: he was the first

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 pr ...

. Rainulf was succeeded by Asclettin's son and namesake,

Asclettin Asclettin (from Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and ...

. Asclettin was also the father of Prince

Richard I of Capua Richard Drengot (died 1078) was the count of Aversa (1049–1078), prince of Capua (1058–1078, as Richard I) and duke of Gaeta (1064–1078). Early career in Italy Richard, who came from near Dieppe in the Pays de Caux in eastern Normandy, was t ...

and Count Ranulf I of Caiazzo.

External links

"Sicily/Naples, Nobility (Conti d'Aversa)"
Italo-Normans 11th-century French people Norman mercenaries Norman warriors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{europe-noble-stub