Guaimar III (also ''Waimar'', ''Gaimar'', ''Guaimaro'', or ''Guaimario'' and sometimes numbered Guaimar IV) (c. 983 – 1027×31) was the
Lombard prince of
Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
from around 994 to his death. Under his reign, Salerno entered an era of great splendour. ''Opulenta Salernum'' was the inscription on his coins. He made
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
,
Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
and
Sorrento
Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...
his vassals and annexed much of
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 ...
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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and
Calabria
, population_note =
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.
He was the second eldest son of Prince
John II of Salerno
John II (died between 994), called the Accursed (''Maledictus''), son of Lampert of Spoleto, was the count of the palace of Salerno in 980 and acting regent for Prince Pandulf II. He was pushed out with the prince by Manso, Duke of Amalfi, in 98 ...
. The eldest was Guy, who ruled as co-ruler with his father from January 984 to 988. Sometime between January and March 989, John made Guaimar co-regent. In 994 (also given as 998 or 999), his father died and he became sole ruler.
In 999, a band of
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 ...
pilgrims returning from
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
stopped at the port of Salerno. While they were staying there, the city was attacked by
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
pirates. The Salernitans were afraid to offer battle, but the Normans were not. Soon their bravery drew out the Salernitans and together they routed the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
force. Guaimar promptly offered the Normans numerous incentives to stay, but to no avail. Before they left, however, the Normans promised to spread the word about the need for fighting men in the south.
As a member of the independent
Lombard leadership of 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 ...
, Guaimar supported the Lombard rebel
Melus of Bari
Melus (also ''Milus'' or ''Meles'', ''Melo'' in Italian) (died 1020) was a Lombard nobleman from the Apulian town of Bari, whose ambition to carve for himself an autonomous territory from the Byzantine catapanate of Italy in the early eleventh ...
. After Melus's defeat in 1011, Guaimar was paid a visit by the victorious Byzantine
catapan
The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. "he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the ...
,
Basil Mesardonites
Basil Mesardonites was the Catapan of Italy, representing the Byzantine Emperor there, from 1010 to 1016 or 1017. He succeeded the catapan John Kourkouas, who died fighting the Lombards, then in rebellion under Melus, early in 1010. In March, Basil ...
, in October. Later, he sheltered Melus. Guaimar was nominally a vassal of
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Henry II, but after the
defeat at Cannae in 1018, he discreetly transferred his allegiance 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 ...
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
. When Henry died in 1024, Guaimar sent an embassy to the new emperor,
Conrad II
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
, to plead for the release of his brother-in-law
Pandulf IV of Capua
Pandulf IVAlso spelled ''Randulf'', ''Bandulf'', ''Pandulph'', ''Pandolf'', ''Paldolf'', or ''Pandolfo''. (died 1049/50) was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions.
From February 1016 to 1022 he ruled in association with his cousin Pa ...
, the Wolf of the Abruzzi. Conrad naively complied. Upon his return, Pandulf immediately put his old capital, Capua, under siege, an endeavour in which he had the support of Guaimar and his Normans under
Ranulf 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 Ra ...
and the
catepan of Italy
The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of S ...
,
Boioannes
Basil Boioannes ( grc-gre, Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης, Basíleios Boïōánnēs, ; la, Basilius Bugianus, ), in Italian called it, Bugiano, label=none, i=no (), was the Byzantine catapan of Italy (1017 – 1027 Chalandon, Ferdinand. '' ...
.
In 1015, Guaimar made his eldest son by his first wife, Porpora of Tabellaria (d.c.1010), co-prince as John III. In 1018, however, John died. Guaimar then made co-prince his eldest son by 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 ...
, the sister of Pandulf. It was this son, also named
Guaimar, who succeeded him in 1027 at the age of fourteen or sixteen under the regency of Gaitelgrima, who was basically the pawn of her brother Pandulf. Guaimar III's second son,
Guy, was made
gastald
A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers.
...
of Capua by his uncle and later duke of Sorrento by his elder brother. His third son,
Pandulf, became lord of
Capaccio
Capaccio Paestum (formerly only Capaccio) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. The ruins of the ancient Greek city of Paestum lie within borders of the ''comune''.
History
Geograp ...
(his daughter Theodora became the second wife of
Geoffrey of Hauteville Geoffrey of Hauteville (also ''Gottfried'', ''Godfrey'', ''Godefroi'', ''Goffredo'', or ''Gaufrido''; about 1020-1071) was a Norman military leader, the second youngest son of Tancred of Hauteville by his first wife Muriella. He joined his brothers ...
). He had a daughter (probably about 1026) named
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 ...
, who married successively the brothers
Drogo and
Humphrey
Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid.
Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Medieval period
:''Ordered chronologically''
*Hunfrid of P ...
,
counts of Apulia.
References
*
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.
*
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.
*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LX Grosso – Guglielmo da Forlì''.
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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guaimar 03 Of Salerno
1027 deaths
Lombard warriors
Guaimar 3
10th-century Lombard people
11th-century Lombard people
10th-century rulers in Europe
11th-century rulers in Europe
Year of birth unknown