William was an

Italo-Norman The Italo-Normans ( it, Italo-Normanni), or Siculo-Normans (''Siculo-Normanni'') when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy, are the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to southern Italy in the first half of the ...

nobleman, the son and successor of Count

Robert II of Loritello Robert II (died 1134 or 1137) was the son and successor of Count Robert I of Loritello. His father died in 1107. He married his second cousin Adelaide, a daughter of Roger II of Sicily and Elvira of Castile. They had a son, named William, who succ ...

in 1137. He reigned only briefly, because, immediately after his succession, the

Emperor Lothair II Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...

descended the peninsula to fight the royal pretensions of

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 ...

in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning ...

. On the river

Tronto The Tronto ( la, Truentus) is a long Italian river that arises at Monti della Laga and ends in the Adriatic Sea at Porto d'Ascoli, San Benedetto del Tronto. It traverses the Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions of Italy. The source of the Tronto i ...

, William did homage to Lothair and opened the gates of

Termoli Termoli (Neapolitan language, Molisano: ''Térmëlë'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly af ...

to him. In this he joined Count Hugh II of Molise. William did not last long in this state. As the first to openly welcome the emperor to the south, the royal furor landed on him with especial swiftness. His county was seized by the crown. It was not regranted until Roger's death, when

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. Wi ...

granted it to Robert II, Count of Conversano.

Sources

Molise in the Norman period.
Italo-Normans Norman warriors Counts of Loritello 12th-century Italian nobility {{europe-noble-stub