William II (1095 – July 1127) was the Duke of Apulia and Calabria from 1111 to 1127. He was the son and successor of

Roger Borsa Roger Borsa (1060/1061 – 22 February 1111) was the Norman Duke of Apulia and Calabria and effective ruler of southern Italy from 1085 until his death. Life Roger was the son of Robert Guiscard and Sikelgaita, a Lombard noblewoman. His ambiti ...

. His mother,

Adela of Flanders Adela of Flanders (also Ala and Alana in southern Italian sources) (c. 1064 – April 1115), was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to King Canute IV and duchess of Apulia by marriage to Duke Roger Borsa, and then regent of Apulia from 1111 ...

, had previously been queen of Denmark, and he was a half-brother of Charles the Good. He succeeded his father as duke in 1111, though Adela served as regent until William was of age. Like his father, he proved utterly inept at governing his Italian possessions. He could not avoid conflict with his first cousin once removed Roger II of Sicily, and in 1121

Pope Calixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

personally intervened to make peace between the warring cousins. William and Roger came to an agreement, whereby Roger provided knights and a sum of gold to help William seize the county of one of his major vassals Jordan of Ariano, and in exchange, William abandoned his Sicilian and Calabrian lands. In 1114, William married a daughter of Count Robert of Carazzo, but they had no children. He died without legitimate posterity in July 1127, leaving the entire of the Norman

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...

to be seized by his first cousin once removed, Roger II of Sicily, his erstwhile ally. Considered an insignificant ruler by dated historiography, William was respected by his contemporaries, popular with his barons and subjects, and praised for his martial prowess.

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* * {{S-end 1095 births 1127 deaths Italo-Normans Norman warriors Dukes of Apulia