Guy (; born c. 1012) was the

duke of Sorrento The Duchy of Sorrento was a small peninsular duchy of the Early Middle Ages centred on the Italian city of Sorrento. Established in the 7th century as a fief of the Duchy of Naples, at the time still part of the Byzantine Empire. Subsequently ...

from 1035, the brother of

Guaimar IV of Salerno Guaimar IV (c. 1013 – 2, 3 or 4 June 1052) was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. ...

, father-in-law of

William Iron Arm William I of Hauteville (before 1010 – 1046), known as William Iron Arm,Guillaume Bras-de-fer in French, Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro in Italian and Gugghiermu Vrazzu di Ferru in Sicilian. was a Norman adventurer who was the founder of the ...

and

William of the Principate William of Hauteville ( 1027 – 1080) was one of the younger sons of Tancred of Hauteville by his second wife Fressenda. He is usually called ''Willermus'' instead of ''Wilelmus'' in Latin annals and so is often called ''Guillerm'' instead of ''Gui ...

, and brother-in-law of Humphrey of Hauteville. He was the son of Guaimar III and

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 ...

. Guy's place in history is secured primarily through his relations (by blood and marriage), though his own actions were not inconsequential. According to

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

, he was a "selfless" prince, exhibiting a "moral sense rare for istime and position." His brother conquered Sorrento in 1035 and bestowed it on him as a duchy. He was a constant supporter of his brother and the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

during the former's reign and he counted the mercenaries as allies when, upon the assassination of Guaimar, his family, including his nephew, the Salernitan heir, was rounded up by the assassins and imprisoned, he being the only one to escape. He quickly flew to the Normans of

Melfi Melfi (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,7 ...

, whom he paid highly for aid. He brought them back with his own Sorrentine army to besiege Salerno, wherein the conspirators had fortified themselves. Guy had soon captured all of the conspirators' families and had negotiated the release of his nephew, Gisulf. Guy accepted their surrender soon after and promised them no harm. The Normans, not bound, they said, by Guy's oath, massacred the four brothers and 36 others, one for each stab wound found in Guaimar's body. Guy enthroned his nephew and he and his Normans, who would have preferred Guy as prince, did immediate homage to him. Nevertheless, Gisulf was thankless to his Norman vassals and grew to be a piratical neighbour to all in Southern Italy. His principality was constantly picked away and he ignored the advice of his uncle Guy counselling moderation. Guy remained forever loyal to the Hauteville leadership, however. In 1073, he captured the rebel

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

, his own nephew, and handed him over to

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 ...

, his nephew-in-law. Guy died amidst the breakup of the great principality his brother had forged and he had preserved. With his death, Sorrento became independent once more.

Issue

His children were: * Guida, wife of

, * Maria, wife of

Notes and references

11th-century Lombard people Lombard warriors {{Europe-noble-stub