Tancred of Conversano, the youngest son of

Geoffrey, Count of Conversano Geoffrey the Elder (died September 1100) was an Italo-Norman nobleman. A nephew of Robert Guiscard through one of his sisters, he was the count of Conversano from 1072 and the lord of Brindisi and Nardò from 1070, until his death. According to Go ...

, became the count of

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

on his father's death in 1100. Tancred's elder brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

succeeded their father as count of

Conversano Conversano ( Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversano owned a stud that they us ...

. In 1121, Count

Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...

invaded the

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

to annex the county of

Montescaglioso Montescaglioso (Montese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, including production of renowned oil and wine, as well as traditional food. Historically, it ...

which had formerly been held by his sister Emma in right of her deceased husband Rudolf Maccabeus. In April, Tancred assisted Duke

William II of Apulia William II (1095 – July 1127) was the Duke of Apulia and Calabria from 1111 to 1127. He was the son and successor of Roger Borsa. His mother, Adela of Flanders, had previously been queen of Denmark, and he was a half-brother of Charles the Good. ...

and Prince Bohemond II of Taranto and Antioch in conquering the castle of Basento, within the county of Montescaglioso claimed of Roger. With the help of

Pope Callistus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

, a treaty, however, ended hostilities between the descendants of

Tancred of Hauteville Tancred of Hauteville (c. 980 – 1041) was an 11th-century Norman petty lord about whom little is known. He was a minor noble near Coutances in the Cotentin. Tancred is also known by the achievements of his twelve sons. Various legends arose ...

. Tancred was recognised as count of Brindisi. Tancred became part of a grand alliance of rebels, including

Robert II of Capua Robert II (died 1156) was the count of Aversa and the prince of Capua from 1127 until his death . He was the only son and successor of Jordan II of Capua. According to the Lombards, Lombard chronicler Falco of Benevento, he was "of delicate cons ...

Ranulf II of Alife Ranulf II (or Rainulf II, it, Rainulfo; died 30 April 1139) was the count of Alife (CE), Alife and Caiazzo, and duke of Apulia. He was a member of the Italo-Norman Drengot family which dominated the Principality of Capua for most of the century ...

Grimoald of Bari Grimoald Alferanites was the prince of Bari from 1121 to 1132. After a civil war broke out in Bari, Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the princess of Taranto, Constance of France, was imprisoned at Giovinazzo (1119) by ...

, Geoffrey of Andria, and

Roger of Ariano Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

. In the spring of 1129, Roger entered the peninsula with a great army to claim Apulia after William's death (1127). Many of the princes came to heel, but in the summer of 1131, when Roger left, Grimoald and Tancred revolted immediately and took the

port of Brindisi The port of Brindisi is a port in Brindisi, Italy. It is used for tourism, commercial and industrial shipping on the Adriatic Sea. Tourist traffic offer connections with the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey, while commercial concerns include coal, fuel ...

and held it against Roger. In May 1132, Grimoald was taken captive and Tancred was only spared by a promise to leave on

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

. He gave up Brindisi for twenty gold coins. In 1133, Tancred was preparing for a crusade when an insurrection broke out around him. He joined the revolt at

Montepeloso Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town Irsina is an agricultural town pe ...

. There he "dug in," as Lord Norwich informs, and took command of the Apulian rebels, who held

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 ...

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, ...

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 ...

, and many other cities. Roger fell on them and took the central cities, cutting Tancred off from his

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

n allies and then isolated Montepeloso itself. Ranulf of Alife sent forty knights under Roger of Plenco to assist him, but other than that he was helpless. After two weeks of siege, with

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, the city capitulated and, as the rebel sympathiser

Falco of Benevento Falco of Benevento ( it, Falcone Beneventano; lng, Falco Penevent) was an Italian-Lombard twelfth-century historian, notary and scribe in the papal palace in Benevento, his native city, where he was born to high-standing parents. He is an im ...

, relates:

Tancred and the unfortunate Roger flung down their arms and sought refuge among the darkest and most obscure alleys of the town; but they were sought out, and discovered . . . e King decreed that Roger should forthwith be hanged by the neck, and that Tancred himself, with his own hand, should pull on the rope.

Tancred was imprisoned in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, where he disappears from history.

Sources

''Lexikon de Mittelalters''.
*

''Chronicon Beneventanum''
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''.

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 1967. * Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''.

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

, 1970. *

Alexander of Telese Alexander of Telese ( it, Alessandro Telesino) was an Italian chronicler and historian, and the abbot of San Salvatore, near Telese, in southern Italy from before 1127 to before November 1143. His most famous work is ''The Deeds Done by King Roge ...

, translated by G. A. Loud. ''The Deeds Done by Roger of Sicily''
Introduction
an
Books OneTwoThree
an
Four

Sources

See also