The Battle of Rignano was the second great defeat of the career of Roger II of Sicily and, like the first, the

Battle of Nocera The Battle of Nocera or Scafati was the first major battle of Roger II of Sicily and the first of his two major defeats (the other being the Battle of Rignano) at the hands of Count Ranulf of Alife. Background In 1132, the disaffected Ranulf had ...

, it too came at the hands of Ranulf II, Count of Alife. The prime difference was the position of the two combatants. At Nocera on 24 July 1132, Ranulf was allied with

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 Lombard chronicler Falco of Benevento, he was "of delicate constitution, ...

and

Sergius VII of Naples Sergius VII (died 30 October 1137) was the thirty-ninth and last duke (or ''magister militum'') of Naples. He succeeded his father John VI on the Neapolitan throne in 1122 at a time when Roger II of Sicily was rising rapidly in power. When Roger ...

and he was a mere rebel, fighting the king of Sicily. On 30 October 1137, Ranulf was the recently appointed

duke 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 ...

, with a contingent of 800 German troops on loan from 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 ...

, and his adversaries were not only Roger, but his erstwhile ally Sergius. In 1134, Roger had appointed his eldest legitimate son,

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 ', ' ( ...

, duke of Apulia. Ranulf's creation as such in 1137 by the emperor and Pope Innocent II was in direct opposition to not only King Roger, but the young Duke Roger as well. Ranulf had raised an army of 800 knights of his own to augment his German forces and had infantry in proportion. He did not want a battle, but Roger and his son, with the newly submitted Sergius, marched against him. King Roger decided to attack at Rignano, the ''Balcone delle Puglie'', where Monte Gargano drops off steeply over the Apulia plain. The armies joined battle with the young Roger attacking successfully. He pushed Ranulf's army back along the road to

Siponto Siponto ( la, Sipontum, grc-gre, Σιπιούς) was an ancient port town and bishopric in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' ...

. King Roger II joined in the fray at that time and his charge was, for reasons unknown, completely repulsed. He fled and soon the Norman army was in full retreat. Though both Rogers survived to make it to Salerno, Sergius lay dead on the field and Ranulf's claim to the duchy was vindicated. The battle had, like Nocera, little lasting effect because the cities of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

did not revolt as expected, but Ranulf was safe in Apulia until his death two years later. The defeat in the Battle of Rignano had one positive effect for Roger. Since Duke Sergius died heirless and the Neapolitan aristocracy could not reach agreement as to whom to support for the succession, Roger took control over the Duchy of Naples, nominating his son

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

as the new duke.

Sources

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 ...

''Chronicon Beneventanum''
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun, 1130–1194''. London: Longman, 1970. {{coord, 41, 41, N, 15, 35, E, display=title Rignano Rignano 1137 in Europe 12th century in the Kingdom of Sicily Rignano Roger II of Sicily