Alberada of Buonalbergo was a duchess of Apulia as the first wife of

Robert Guiscard 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 Calabri ...

duke of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when ...

(1059–1085). She married Guiscard in 1051 or 1052, when he was still just a robber baron in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. As her dowry, she brought

200 knights under command of her nephew

Girard of Buonalbergo Girard, lord of Buonalbergo, was a Norman nobleman in the middle of the eleventh century in the Mezzogiorno. He was in the service of the prince of Benevento. Despite being chiefly known for giving his paternal aunt Alberada in marriage to the ...

. She had two children with Guiscard: a daughter, Emma, mother of

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo-Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grandson ...

, and a son, Prince

Bohemond I of Antioch Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the q ...

. In 1058, after

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

strengthened existing canon law against

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

and on that basis, Guiscard repudiated Alberada in favour of a then-more advantageous marriage to

Sichelgaita Sikelgaita (also ''Sichelgaita'' or ''Sigelgaita'') (1040 – 16 April 1090) was a Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. She commanded troops in her own right. Life Sh ...

, the sister of Prince

Gisulf II of Salerno Gisulf II (also spelled ''Gisulph'', Latin ''Gisulphus'' or ''Gisulfus'', and Italian ''Gisulfo'' or ''Gisolfo'') was the last Lombard prince of Salerno (1052–1077). Gisulf was the eldest son and successor of Guaimar IV and Gemma, daughter o ...

. Nevertheless, the split was amicable and Alberada showed no later ill will. She was alive at the death of Bohemond in March 1111 and died very old, probably in July 1122 or thereabouts. She was buried near the Hauteville family mausoleum in the Abbey of Holy Trinity at

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, ...

. Her tomb is the only one remaining intact today.

References

Sources

* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. Longmans: London, 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alberada of Buonalbergo 1030s births 1122 deaths Italo-Normans People from the Province of Benevento 11th-century Italian women Hauteville family Burials at the Abbey of Santissima Trinità, Venosa