Robert of Selby (or Salebia) (died 1152) was an Englishman, a courtier of

Roger II Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in ...

and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

. It is likely that his name indicates that he was from

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

in Yorkshire. He probably journeyed to

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

about 1130. In his train was

Thomas Brun Thomas Brun, also le Brun or Brown, was son or nephew of William Brun (first to bear the name Le Brun), a clerk of Henry I of England. He travelled to Sicily as a child in the entourage of Robert of Selby about the year 1130. He first appears in ...

. In 1137, he was appointed governor of

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

shortly before

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, the capital of Campania, was besieged by Count

Ranulf of Alife Ranulf II (or Rainulf II, it, Rainulfo; died 30 April 1139) was the count of 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 between 1 ...

, Duke

Henry the Proud Henry the Proud (german: Heinrich der Stolze) (20 October 1139), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria (as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and Duke of Saxony (as Henry II) as well as Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto fro ...

, and Prince Robert II of Capua, with the troops of the Emperor Lothair II. Robert stayed in Salerno to defend the city while Roger was in the island capital

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

. With the cause hopeless, Robert advised the city to surrender and beg imperial protection to prevent a sack by the eager

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...

ns. The citizens did so and Robert of Selby left to organise the defence of the rest of the province. In 1143, when

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

refused to recognise the

Treaty of Mignano The Treaty of Mignano of 1139 was the treaty which ended more than a decade of constant war in the Italian Mezzogiorno following the union of the mainland duchy of Apulia and Calabria with the County of Sicily in 1127. In 1130, Antipope Anacletus ...

, Robert of Selby marched on papal

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and '' comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. The Beneventans argued that their royal charter was being violated, whereupon Robert entered the palace and the charter was never seen again. In Summer 1144,

Pope Lucius II Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated ...

was barred from

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 ...

by the ''

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

es'' and the '' patricius''

Giordano Pierleoni Giordano (sometimes anglicized as Jordan) Pierleoni (in contemporary Latin, ''Jordanus filius Petrus Leonis'') was the son of the Consul Pier Leoni and therefore brother of Antipope Anacletus II and leader of the Commune of Rome which the people se ...

. He failed in his negotiations with Roger at

Ceprano Ceprano (Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, part of the Lazio region of central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. History Ceprano was part of the Pa ...

. Robert of Selby led expeditions against the ill-defended

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. Lucius' successor,

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...

, was invited back after the deposition of Giordano, but forced out again in March 1146. Late in 1149, Robert of Selby led him back into the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantin ...

with a Sicilian troop. Robert of Selby probably acted as a sort of guardian for the young

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 ...

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 ', ' ( ...

, the son of Roger II. According to

John of Hexham John of Hexham (c. 1160 – 1209) was an English chronicler, known to us merely as the author of a work called the ''Historia XXV. annorum'', which continues the ''Historia regum'' attributed to Symeon of Durham, and contains an account of Englis ...

, writing in 1147, Robert was "the most influential of the King's friends, a man of great wealth and loaded with honours." Likewise, in his '' Policraticus'', VII.19,

John of Salisbury John of Salisbury (late 1110s – 25 October 1180), who described himself as Johannes Parvus ("John the Little"), was an English author, philosopher, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres. Early life and education Born at Salisbury, E ...

calls him "an able administrator . . . feared by all because of his influence with the Prince, and respected for the elegance of his life . . ." A modern opinion is that of

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

: "Robert's administrative methods were as unorthodox as his way of life. He emerges as a far more cheerful and extrovert character than his master. . ." An incident in the ''Policraticus'', records Robert negotiating three large bribes from three candidates for the vacant see of

Avella Avella is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Etymology Could be related to the Indo-European root ''*h₂ebōl, *h₂ebl'' ( apple), meaning "place where apple-orchards originated" (read below). Hi ...

—and promptly disclosing the

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to i ...

to an assembly of bishops, who elected a worthy abbot instead. Robert collected the bribes nevertheless.

References

Sources

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

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 1970. *{{cite book , last=Matthew , first=Donald , title=The Norman Kingdom of Sicily , publisher=Cambridge University Press , year=1992 *Houben, Hubert. ''Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West''. Trans. G. A. Loud and Diane Milbourne.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

: 2002. 1152 deaths Anglo-Normans Italo-Normans Medieval chancellors (government) People from Selby Year of birth unknown