Richard of Salerno ( 1060 – 1114), was a participant in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

and governor of the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-115 ...

from 1104 to 1108. He was the cousin of

Richard of Hauteville Richard of Hauteville (c. 1045–1110) was a noble knight of Hauteville family, the conquerors of South Italy during the 11th century. Richard was born around 1045 to Drogo of Hauteville, a Norman adventurer and count, and Altrude of Salerno, a L ...

Biography

Richard was born around 1060, the third son of

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 ...

, a Norman count, and Maria, daughter of Guy, the Lombard duke of Sorrento. He was also one of the many nephews of

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 ...

and

Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the H ...

and in his early life Richard participated with his two famous uncles to the conquest of Sicily. In 1097, Richard joined his cousins,

Bohemund of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch (5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leading a contingent of Normans on the qu ...

and

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 ...

, in their army on the

. Richard and Tancred were notable for being among the few Crusaders who could speak

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, an ability doubtlessly learned during the wars in Sicily, which had a strong Arab presence.

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

relates that when Richard crossed the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, his ship was attacked and captured by the

Byzantine fleet The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than ...

, who had mistaken him for a pirate. He was soon released and joined the main Crusader army marching through

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. Along with Tancred, Richard refused to swear an oath of fidelity to the Byzantine emperor

Alexius I Comnenus Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

, preferring to cross the Bosphorus in secret. Richard was one of the commanders at the Battle of Dorylaeum in the summer of 1097. Richard and Tancred joined Bohemund at the

siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, last ...

. Richard was among those captured with Bohemund in 1100 when ambushed by the

Danishmends The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...

at the

Battle of Melitene A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. From there Richard was sent to the emperor Alexius, who imprisoned him in

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 (" ...

before he was finally released in 1103. His cousin Tancred then appointed him governor of

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

in the winter of 1104, a city which he ruled until 1108. He was bitterly hated by the citizens of Edessa for being ruthless and greedy. During this time, Richard also acted as a diplomat, traveling to France and Italy and arranging the marriage of Bohemund to the princess Constance of France. He was a witness of the 1108

Treaty of Devol The Treaty of Devol ( el, συνθήκη της Δεαβόλεως) was an agreement made in 1108 between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, in the wake of the First Crusade. It is named after the Byzantine fortress of ...

. He also participated in the ultimately disastrous campaigns Bohemund waged against the emperor Alexius, but may have been secretly plotting with Alexius against Bohemund. After Bohemund's death in 1111, Richard retired to

Marash Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş ...

, where he died in the great earthquake of November 29, 1114.

Family issue

By his wife Altrude, daughter of

Emma of Hauteville Emma of Hauteville (fl. c. 1080–c. 1120) was a daughter of Robert Guiscard and Alberada of Buonalbergo. According to Ralph of Caen, she married Odo the Good Marquis and had two sons: Tancred and William, both of whom participated in the Firs ...

and

Odo the Good Marquis Odo (or Eudes) the Good Marquis (''fl.'' 11th century), sometimes called Odobonus,Evelyn Jamison, "Some Notes on the ''Anonymi Gesta Francorum'', with Special Reference to the Norman Contingent from South Italy and Sicily in the First Crusade", ''S ...

, he had a son *

Roger of Salerno Roger of Salerno (or Roger of the Principate) (died June 28, 1119) was regent of the Principality of Antioch from 1112 to 1119. He was the son of Richard of the Principate and the 2nd cousin of Tancred, Prince of Galilee, both participants on the ...

, who was the regent of the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...

. His daughter * Maria married

Joscelin I, Count of Edessa Joscelin of Courtenay (or Joscelin I) (died 1131), Prince of Galilee and Lord of Turbessel (1115–1131) and Count of Edessa (1119–1131), ruled over the County of Edessa during its zenith, from 1118 to 1131. Captured twice, Joscelin continued ...

Biography

Family issue

Notes and references

Sources

Further reading