Nicholas of AjelloHe was not a native of Ajello (

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), but

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 ...

. His elder brother,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, received the county of Ajello from King

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

and the name has been applied to the entire family. ( it, Nicolò d'Aiello; died 10 February 1221) was the second son of the Sicilian

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 ...

Matthew of Ajello Matthew of Ajello ( it, Matteo d'Aiello) was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century. His brother John was a bishop. Career He first appears as the notary of the Admiral Maio of Bari who drew up th ...

and the

archbishop of Salerno The Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno ( la, Archidioecesis Salernitana-Campaniensis-Acernensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1986. The historic Archdiocese of Salerno was in existence f ...

from 1181, when he succeeded the historian

Romuald Guarna Romuald Guarna (between 1110 and 1120 – 1 April 1181/2) was the Archbishop of Salerno (as Romuald II) from 1153 to his death. He is remembered primarily for his ''Chronicon sive Annales'', an important historical record of his time. Life ...

. He was a trusted advisor in 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 un ...

at the time of its fall to

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of S ...

(1194). Henry claimed Sicilian throne for his wife Empress Constance was a Sicilian princess and heiress of her nephew the late

William II, King of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from hi ...

. When Henry was marching to besiege

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 ...

in 1191,

sent a letter promising him its loyalty and the Archbishop Nicholas, hostile to Germans, abandoned the faithless city for

, where he took control of the city's defences after

Richard, Count of Acerra Richard, count of Acerra (died 30 November 1196) was an Italo-Norman nobleman, grandson of Robert of Medania, a Frenchman of Anjou. Brother of Sibylla, queen of Tancred of Sicily, Richard was the chief peninsular supporter of his brother-in-law du ...

, was wounded. Together, he and the '' ammiratus ammiratorum''

Margaritus of Brindisi Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian ''Margaritone'' or Greek ''Megareites'' or ''Margaritoni'' �αργαριτώνη c. 1149 – 1197), called "the new Neptune", was the last great '' ammiratus ammiratorum'' (Grand Admiral) of Sic ...

successfully defended the ancient city and forced Henry to lift the siege. When Henry retreated, he left Constance at Salerno as a sign that he would soon return. Nicholas wrote letters to tell the events to his friends in Salerno, and the populace of Salerno resubmitted to

King Tancred Tancred ( it, Tancredi; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of ...

and besieged Constance. Constance spoke to them trying to explain that the defeat of Henry was exaggerated by Nicholas, but the Salernitani were determined to capture her in favor of Tancred; finally they handed her to Tancred. Though it was of little effect in the long term. The empress was released the next year; Henry was crowned on 25 December 1194 in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, with not only Nicholas, but Richard, Margaritus, and Queen Sybilla present. Four days thence, they were all arrested on charges of conspiracy (probably trumped up) and shipped off to German prisons. There he remained for many years, despite the prayers and pleas of

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

Notes

References

* * Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun, 1130–1194''. London: Longman, 1970. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Archbishop of Salerno 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sicily Archbishops of Salerno 1221 deaths