Alexander (died after 1142) was the second count of

Conversano Conversano ( Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversano owned a stud that they us ...

(1085–1132), the son and successor of Geoffrey the Elder. Alexander, with his brother

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

, was a constant thorn in the side of

Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...

. He took part in a civil war that broke out in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

. Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the

princess of Taranto This is a list of the Princesses of Taranto, a principality in Southern Italy. Countess consort of Taranto Princess consort of Taranto House of Hauteville, 1088–1194 House of Hohenstaufen, 1194–1266 Capetian House of Anjou, ...

, Constance of France, was imprisoned at

Giovinazzo Giovinazzo ( Barese: ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former bishopric within the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia region, southeastern Italy. History It was a small fortified centre of the Romans, who called it Natolium, maybe buil ...

(1119) by

Grimoald Alferanites Grimoald Alferanites was the prince of Bari from 1121 to 1132. After a civil war broke out in Bari, Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the princess of Taranto, Constance of France, was imprisoned at Giovinazzo (1119) by ...

, the prince of Bari, and Alexander. After Roger was defeated at the

Battle of Nocera The Battle of Nocera or Scafati was the first major battle of Roger II of Sicily and the first of his two major defeats (the other being the Battle of Rignano) at the hands of Count Ranulf of Alife. Background In 1132, the disaffected Ranulf had ...

in 1132, Tancred returned to the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning ...

and entered into open rebellion again, taking the cities of

Montepeloso Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town Irsina is an agricultural town pe ...

and

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 ...

, with the support of their populations. He raised a force with his brother Tancred, Count Godfrey of Andria, Count

Ranulf of Alife Ranulf II (or Rainulf II, it, Rainulfo; died 30 April 1139) was the count of Alife (CE), Alife and Caiazzo, and duke of Apulia. He was a member of the Italo-Norman Drengot family which dominated the Principality of Capua for most of the century ...

, and Prince

Robert II of Capua Robert II (died 1156) was the count of Aversa and the prince of Capua from 1127 until his death . He was the only son and successor of Jordan II of Capua. According to the Lombards, Lombard chronicler Falco of Benevento, he was "of delicate cons ...

. Roger crossed the

Straits of Messina The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...

with a large force and Alexander was so afraid that he abandoned his city of

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...

to his son, Geoffrey the Younger, and fled to the court of Ranulf. After Roger's successfully besieged Matera, Alexander, deeply grieved, fled to

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. He was deprived of his fief and unable to return home. He tried to meet up with the

Emperor Lothair II Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...

, but was set upon by thieves in a forest. According to

Alexander of Telese Alexander of Telese ( it, Alessandro Telesino) was an Italian chronicler and historian, and the abbot of San Salvatore, near Telese, in southern Italy from before 1127 to before November 1143. His most famous work is ''The Deeds Done by King Roge ...

, he was left in the town of Valona very poor. In 1142, near the end of his life, he appears as an envoy along with Robert of Capua of

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

to the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

John II Comnenus John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautifu ...

. Their mission was the arrangement of a marriage between Conrad's sister-in-law

Bertha of Sulzbach Bertha of Sulzbach (1110s – August 29, 1159) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Life She was born in Sulzbach, a daughter of Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach (c. 1080 – 3 December 1125) and his second sp ...

and John's son Manuel. This marriage sealed an alliance between the two empires, Holy Roman and Byzantine, against Roger of Sicily. On the same day in 1135 that he made his son

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

prince of Capua This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the ...

, Roger made his brother-in-law

Robert I of Basunvilla Robert I of Bassunvilla (also ''Basunvilla'' and ''Bassonville'') (died 1138 or 1140) was a Norman baron from Molise. His family originated in Vassonville, near Dieppe. In 1110, Robert married Judith, the youngest daughter of Roger I of Sicily an ...

, "a man in the flower of his youth", as Alexander of Telese says, "both affable and most active in knightly deeds", count of Conversano.

Sources

''Lexikon de Mittelalters''.
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. Longmans:

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 1967. *Alexander of Telese, translated by G. A. Loud. ''The Deeds Done by Roger of Sicily''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversano, Alexander, Count of Italo-Normans Norman warriors Counts of Conversano 12th-century deaths Year of birth unknown