{{about, the Italian chaplain and chancellor, the surname, Guarin (surname) Guarin (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Guérin'',

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Guarino'',

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 ...

: ''Warin'') (died 21 January 1137) was the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

(''magister capellanus'') and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

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 ...

from about 1130 to his death, during the first decade of the

Norman kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 unt ...

. 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 ...

, the contemporary chronicler, he was "erudite ... and most prudent in negotiations ... a cleric well-versed in letters, skillful in matters of the world, and possessed of a tenacious and cautious mind." Guarin was a

from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

who arrived in Italy not long before Roger was crowned king in 1130. He first appears as ''cancellarius'' (chancellor) in a diploma of 1130 and then appears in an August 1132 diploma as ''magister cancellarius'' (master chancellor). When his chancellorship proper began has been disputed, the ''Dizionario'' giving a date of 1131 and Houben of 1133. In the winter of 1134–1135, Guarin and the Emir John were sent at the head of an army into the

Terra di Lavoro Terra di Lavoro (Liburia in Latin) is the name of a historical region of Southern Italy. It corresponds roughly to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania and upper north west and west border area of Molise regions of Italy. In Italian th ...

against the rebel trio of

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 ...

Sergius VII of Naples Sergius VII (died 30 October 1137) was the thirty-ninth and last dux, duke (or ''magister militum'') Duke of Naples, of Naples. He succeeded his father John VI of Naples, John VI on the Neapolitan throne in 1122 at a time when Roger II of Sicily wa ...

, and

Ranulf II 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 ...

. The rebels had taken

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...

, which the two generals set about trying to retake. Guarin also defended and fortified

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 Etrusc ...

against any possible assault. After the arrival of Roger II on the scene, the insurrection soon collapsed and Guarin took Alife and

Raviscanina Raviscanina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about north of Caserta. Raviscanina borders the following municipalities: Ailano, Pietravairano, Prata Sanni ...

without opposition. Guarin joined the siege of Naples then in progress. Having taken control of Capua for the king, he was appointed the administrator of the eponymous

Principality of Capua The Principality of Capua ( la, italic=yes, Principatus Capuae or ''Capue'', it, italic=yes, Principato di Capua) was a Lombard state centred on Capua in Southern Italy, usually ''de facto'' independent, but under the varying suzerainty of Ho ...

when the king 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 that year (1135). For the next two years, Guarin governed Capua with the young prince. When, in late Summer 1136, 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 ...

led a large army down the peninsula, Guarin was sent again to prepare a defence and to force cooperation out of the abbot

Seniorectus Seniorectus (died February 1137) was the Abbot of Montecassino in the early twelfth century. Seniorectus was opposed to the policy of Roger II of Sicily, who intended in the late summer of 1136 to establish a garrison in Montecassino under the c ...

and the monks of

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. On 5 January 1137, Guarin demanded their assistance and when refused besieged the monastery in an attempt to seize its treasure and its walls (to use as a fortress against the army of Henry X of Bavaria). He contracted illness during the siege and died at

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 ...

on 21 January. The ''Chronica monasterii Casinensis'' cites his death as evidence of divine justice. Guarin was succeeded in his office briefly by his lieutenant on the scene,

Jocelyn Jocelyn is a surname and first name. It is a unisex (male/female) name. Variants include Jocelin, Jocelyne, Jocelynn, Jocelynne, Joscelin, Josceline, Joscelyn, Joscelynn, Joscelynne, Joseline, Joselyn, Joselyne, Joslin, Joslyn, Josselin, Josselyn, ...

. As master chaplain he was succeeded by

Thomas Brun Thomas Brun, also le Brun or Brown, was son or nephew of William Brun (first to bear the name Le Brun), a clerk of Henry I of England. He travelled to Sicily as a child in the entourage of Robert of Selby about the year 1130. He first appears in a ...

and as chancellor by

Robert of Selby Robert of Selby (or Salebia) (died 1152) was an Englishman, a courtier of Roger II and chancellor of the Kingdom of Sicily. It is likely that his name indicates that he was from Selby in Yorkshire. He probably journeyed to Sicily about 1130. In his ...

, both Englishmen.

Sources

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LX Grosso – Guglielmo da Forlì''. Rome, 2003. *Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily''.

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 ...

: 1992. *Houben, Hubert. ''Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West''. Trans. G. A. Loud and Diane Milbourne.

: 2002. *Curtis, Edmund. ''Roger of Sicily and the Normans in Lower Italy 1016–1154''. G. P. Putnam's Sons: New York, 1912. *Alexander of Telese, translated by G. A. Loud. ''The Deeds Done by Roger of Sicily''
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1137 deaths Italo-Normans Norman warriors Year of birth unknown 12th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Kingdom of Sicily people