Gisulf I (also ''Gisulph'', ''Gisolf'', ''Gisulfo'', ''Gisolfo'', ''Gisulphus'', or ''Gisulfus'') (May 930 – November or December 977) was the eldest son of Guaimar II, Lombard

Prince of Salerno This page is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Salerno. When Prince Sicard of Benevento was assassinated by Radelchis in 839, the people of Salerno promptly proclaimed his brother, Siconulf, prince. War raged between Radelchis and Sico ...

, and his second wife

Gaitelgrima {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Gaitelgrima is a Lombard feminine name. There are several notable Gaitelgrimas in history. The identities of these six women (as well as some others of the same name) are often confused because they were all cl ...

. He was associated with his father as ruler in 943 and succeeded him on his death in 952. He took to using the title ''Langobardorum gentis princeps'', "prince of the people of the Lombards". He was originally under the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of his mother and Prisco (Priscus), treasurer (''comes tesaurarium'') and count of the palace (''magister palatii''). In 946, he was attacked by

Landulf II of Benevento Landulf II (died 961), called the Red, was the Lombard prince of Benevento and prince of Capua (as Landulf IV) from 939 or 940, when his father, Landulf I, first associated him with the government. His mother was Gemma, daughter of Athanasius o ...

in alliance with John III of Naples, but his own ally,

Mastalo I of Amalfi Mastalus I ( it, Mastalo) (died 953) was the penultimate Duke of Amalfi, ''patricius'' of Amalfi. He was succeeded by his son, Mastalus II of Amalfi, Mastalus II, who was raised to the status of ''dux''. His own father was the last prefect, Manso, P ...

, came to his rescue and ambushed Landulf's forces at La Cava. In the next year, he allied with Landulf and besieged Neapolitan

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...

. In October 953, he issued a diploma favouring the bishop of Naples, but the unscrupulous diplomacy of his neighbours never seemed to favour him. Sometime after 955, however, he was made a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

by Marianus Argyrus, the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of

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 ...

. In Autumn 966, Pope John XIII led a Roman-Tuscan-Spoletan army against

Landulf III of Benevento Landulf III (died December 968 or 969) was Prince of Capua (as Landulf V) and Benevento from 959 as co-prince with his father, Landulf II, and brother Pandulf Ironhead. In 961, he would be co-prince with only his brother after the death of his f ...

and his brother Pandulf Ironhead, but Gisulf came to his rescue and no battle was given. The pope and Gisulf made a treaty at

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

. It was this act which bought him later assistance from the powerful Ironhead. In 973, Gisulf was deposed and removed from office by

Landulf of Conza Landulf of Conza (died after 979), a Lombard nobleman, was briefly Prince of Benevento in 940 and then briefly Prince of Salerno in 973. The son of Atenulf II of Benevento, Landulf ruled on his father's death (940) as co-prince with his uncle, L ...

and his sons in alliance with Marinus II of Naples and Manso of Amalfi. His neighbour, the prince of Benevento and

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

, Pandulf Ironhead, restored Gisulf as his vassal. Though Gisulf was married to Gemma, he died heirless in late 977 (or perhaps 978) and Pandulf succeeded in Salerno.

References

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LVI Giovanni di Crescenzio – Giulietti''.

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 2003. * Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. ''The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1926.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gisulf 01 Of Salerno 977 deaths Gisulf 1 Lombard warriors 10th-century rulers in Europe 930 births 10th-century Lombard people