Tristan of Montepeloso

Tristan (born before 1020) was the first lord of

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 ...

from 1042. Unlike his fellow

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

mercenaries, Tristan was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

. He was one of the twelve leading barons of the Hauteville following as indicated by his inclusion in the partition which divided the conquered regions of Apulia. Tristan probably arrived in the Mediterranean around 1030. He took part in the Sicilian campaign of

George Maniaches George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin during the 11 ...

of 1038. In 1042,

William Iron Arm William I of Hauteville (before 1010 – 1046), known as William Iron Arm,Guillaume Bras-de-fer in French, Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro in Italian and Gugghiermu Vrazzu di Ferru in Sicilian. was a Norman adventurer who was the founder of the ...

was elected count of the Normans and the division was made. Montepeloso was his capital and he received the region of

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

. He married a sister of William and undersigned two diplomas of William's brother and successor Drogo as ''Tristainus cognatus comitis'': "Tristan, relative of the count." It is possible that he is the Tristan recorded as the founder of the

Deliceto Deliceto ( Irpinian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia, from which it is , in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. Adjacent towns are Ascoli Satriano (to the east); Bovino, Castelluccio dei Sauri (to the north and the ...

, near

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

, in 1073. Italo-Normans Norman mercenaries Norman warriors 11th-century Breton people {{Europe-noble-stub