Gilbert Buatère (c. 985 – 1 October 1018) was one of the first Norman adventurers in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the historic ...

. He was the eldest son of a petty, but rich, lord of Carreaux, near Avesnes-en-Bray in the region of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. Carreaux gives his family, the Drengot, the alternate name of ''de Quarrel''. In 1016, his brother Osmond, according to some sources, or Gilbert himself, according to others, killed one William Repostel, a relative of Duke

Richard II of Normandy Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: ''Le Bon''), was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026. Life Richard was the eldest surviving son and heir of Richard the Fearless and Gunnor. He succeeded his father as the ruler of ...

in revenge and the duke pardoned his life, but exiled him. Osmond and his four brothers—Gilbert, Asclettin,

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

, and Ranulf—travelled to the Mediterranean to assist

Melus of Bari {{Infobox noble , name = Melus , title = Duke of Apulia , image = , caption = {{longitem, Cape given to Holy Roman Emperor Henry II by Melus , alt = , CoA = , ...

and

Guaimar III of Salerno Guaimar III (also ''Waimar'', ''Gaimar'', ''Guaimaro'', or ''Guaimario'' and sometimes numbered Guaimar IV) (c. 983 – 1027×31) was the Lombard prince of Salerno from around 994 to his death. Under his reign, Salerno entered an era of great sple ...

, Lombards in revolt against Byzantine control. In 1018, 250 Norman knights under Gilbert's command fought against the Greek general

Basil Boioannes Basil Boioannes (, ; , ), in Italian called (), was the Byzantine catapan of Italy (1017 – 1027 Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''. Paris, 1907.) and one of the greatest Byzantine generals of his ...

in the

Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae (; ) was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and ...

, a grave Norman defeat. Gilbert himself, along with Osmond, died in the battle: only ten knights survived.

Notes

Sources

* * Norman warriors Italo-Normans Normans killed in battle 11th-century Normans 980s births 1018 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Europe-noble-stub