Manso II the Blind was the

duke of Amalfi Medieval Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes ( la, duces), sometimes called ''dogi'' (singular: ''doge''), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle Ages. Before the t ...

on three separate occasions: from 1028 to 1029, from 1034 to 1038, and from 1043 to 1052. He was the second son of Sergius II and

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, sister of

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 ...

. His whole ducal career consisted of wars with his brother,

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

, over the throne. The ''

Chronicon Amalfitanum In historiography, a ''chronicon'' is a type of chronicle or annals. Examples are: * ''Chronicon'' (Eusebius) * ''Chronicon'' (Jerome) *''Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham'' *'' Chronicon Burgense'' *'' Chronicon Ambrosianum'' *''Chronicon Compostellan ...

'' (''c''. 1300) is an important source for his reign. In 1028, he and his mother seized the throne, while Sergius and John fled to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. This was probably at the instigation of his uncle Pandulf. In 1029, John, but not Sergius, returned and reasserted his authority, deposing Manso and Maria. In April or May 1034, John was forced to flee

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 ...

again for

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and Manso and Maria retook the throne with the support of Pandulf. Maria took the titles ''ducissa et patricissa'', but Manso received no titles from Byzantium: clearly, they had aligned themselves with the Lombards and not the Greeks. In 1038, the Holy Roman

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 ...

deposed Pandulf and John was able to return to Amalfi. He blinded Manso and exiled him to the island of

Sirenuse The Sirenusas ( it, Le Sirenuse), also known as the Gallos (', "the Cocks"), are an archipelago of little islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy between Isle of Capri and southwest of Province of Salerno's Positano, to which it is administratively ...

, with the support of Maria, whom he allowed to co-reign. The cruelty of this act turned the citizenry against the duke and duchess and, in April 1039, they ousted John and Maria and accepted

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. ...

as duke. Guaimar appointed Manso to act as duke in 1040 or 1043, under Salernitan suzerainty. Manso named his son after Guaimar and appointed him co-duke in 1047. In 1052, the Amalfitans, who loved Manso, rebelled nevertheless over the burden of Salernitan taxation. John was able to seize power again. In addition to his son Guaimar, he had a son named Manso, who in turn had a son named Manso, who married a Gaitelgrima and had a son named John. Either one of these may be the viceduke Manso known only from coins of the period. He may have had a daughter who married

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 ...

.Chalandon, p 79.

References

*''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LV''. Rome: 2000. * Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie''. Paris: 1907.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manso 02 Of Amalfi 11th-century dukes of Amalfi