William of Hauteville ( 1027 – 1080) was one of the younger sons 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 ...

by his second wife Fressenda. He is usually called ''Willermus'' instead of ''Wilelmus'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

annals and so is often called ''Guillerm'' instead of ''Guillaume'' in French.

Life

William left

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

around 1053 with his elder half-brother Geoffrey and full brother Mauger. He participated in the

Battle of Civitate The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian- Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Du ...

in the years of his arrival and was received cordially by his half-brother

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

, the reigning

count of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy whe ...

. In 1055, he distinguished himself in the taking of the castle of San Nicandro (today San Licandro) close to

Eboli Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno. An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for olive oil and for its dairy products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the ...

, which formed the nucleus of his county of the Principato, with which he was invested by Humphrey in 1055. In 1058, he married Maria, the daughter of

Guy, Duke of Sorrento Guy (; born c. 1012) was the duke of Sorrento from 1035, the brother of Guaimar IV of Salerno, father-in-law of William Iron Arm and William of the Principate, and brother-in-law of Humphrey of Hauteville. He was the son of Guaimar III and Gai ...

and brother of

Guaimar IV of Salerno Guaimar IV (c. 1013 – 2, 3 or 4 June 1052) was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. ...

. He inherited all Guy's lands in the

principality of Salerno The Principality of Salerno ( la, Principatus Salerni) was a medieval Southern Italian state, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war. It was centred on the port city of Salerno. Although it owed alle ...

and fought with Guaimar's successor, Gisulf II, whose lands he ate away at until little was left but Salerno itself. He also inherited the

Capitanate The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, a ...

from Mauger, who died between 1054 and 1060. That last possession he gave to Geoffrey, out of fraternal love,

Malaterra Gaufredo (or Geoffrey, or Goffredo) Malaterra ( la, Gaufridus Malaterra) was an eleventh-century Benedictine monk and historian, possibly of Norman origin. He travelled to the southern Italian peninsula, passing some time in Apulia before entering ...

informs us. He invited his landless youngest brother

Roger 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 ', ' ( ...

to join him, promising him half of all he owned, save his wife and children. He aided Roger against their elder brother

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 ...

, who had succeeded Humphrey, and gave him the castle of

Scalea Scalea ( Calabrian: , lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promonto ...

, at

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

. He fought against Robert later when Robert came to the aid of Gisulf in order to receive in marriage Gisulf's sister

Sichelgaita Sikelgaita (also ''Sichelgaita'' or ''Sigelgaita'') (1040 – 16 April 1090) was a Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. She commanded troops in her own right. Life Sh ...

. In 1067, the Council of

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 ...

excommunicated him, along with Turgis de Rota and Guimond de Moulins, for stealing property from the church of

Alfano I, Archbishop of Salerno Saint Alfanus I or Alfano I (died 1085) was the archbishop of Salerno from 1058 until his death. He was famed as a translator, writer, theologian, and medical doctor. Life Alfanus was born to a noble Langobard family of Salerno between 1015 and ...

. Later that year, he travelled to Salerno to reconcile with Pope Alexander II. Tomba degli Altavilla

According to some sources, he died in 1080, though others have him living into the twelfth century (to 1104, 1113, or 1117) and participating in the Guiscard's

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

campaigns and being present at the Battle of Durazzo, October 1081. He was buried in the church of the Santissima Trinità in

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, ...

Marriage and issue

In 1058, he married Maria, the daughter of

. They had three sons, among which: * Richard of Salerno,

participant Participation or Participant may refer to: Politics *Participation (decision making), mechanisms for people to participate in social decisions * Civic participation, engagement by the citizens in government * e-participation, citizen participati ...

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 ...

* Robert of the Principate

References

Sources

*Goffredo Malaterra
''The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of Duke Robert Guiscard his brother''
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130''. Longmans:

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. *Ghisalberti, Albert (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: II Albicante – Ammannati''.

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 1960. {{DEFAULTSORT:William of Hauteville 1020s births 1080 deaths Italo-Normans Norman warriors People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church Hauteville family Burials at the Abbey of Santissima Trinità, Venosa