Samarus (died 1201) was the

Archbishop of Trani The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie ( la, Archidioecesis Tranensis-Barolensis-Vigiliensis (-Nazarensis)) is a Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the southeastern Italian regi ...

from 1192, when he succeeded Bertrand II, until his death. He was successful as a lawyer before becoming archbishop, and excelled at diplomacy after that. Samarus was a member of a family of government officials from

Trani Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the fir ...

. A document of 1104 was written by a certain Samarus ''iudex'' (judge), probably a relative of his. His relatives Nicholas and Samarus were justiciars at Trani and his father, Rainald, and another relative, Roger, were royal chamberlains.G. A. Loud, ''The Latin Church in Norman Italy'' (Cambridge, 2007), 277. He himself originally served Bertrand as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

(1160s?) before becoming

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of the cathedral around 1174. Six documents drawn up by Samarus before his election as archbishop are known. In 1182 he argued before

Pope Lucius III Pope Lucius III (c. 1097 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born of an aristocratic family of Lucca, prior to being elected pope, he had a long career as a papal diplomat. His pa ...

his cathedral's case against the clergy of

Corato Corato ( Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy. It is located in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Founded by the Normans, it became subject to Alfonso V, king of Aragon, at the end of the 15th century, and later ...

. In light of this and his subsequent success at political manoeuvring, it is probable that his election had more to do with his merits than his connexions. In 1192 Samarus was still on good terms with

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 ...

, who donated to him "the tithe of the royal revenues at Trani and

Barletta Barletta () is a city, ''comune'' of Apulia, in south eastern Italy. Barletta is the capoluogo, together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of around 94,700 citizens. The city's territory belong ...

", a donation confirmed that year by

Pope Celestine III Pope Celestine III ( la, Caelestinus III; c. 1106 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, ...

. Nevertheless, Samarus supported Queen Constance and the

Emperor Henry VI 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 Sic ...

in their claim on the

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 ...

. He was warmly praised by Henry in a diploma of April 1195, in which the emperor granted imperial protection to the church of Trani and confirmed all its rights and customs since the time of King William (probably William II). In reward for his service to Henry, Samarus also received the lordship of the

Jewry Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

of Trani. On a diplomatic mission to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 1196 he negotiated commercial privileges for his town's merchants.Loud (2007), 389.

Notes

{{Reflist 1201 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sicily 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sicily Date of birth unknown