Grimoald Alferanites was the

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

from 1121 to 1132. After a civil war broke out in Bari, Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the princess of Taranto, Constance of France, was imprisoned at

Giovinazzo Giovinazzo ( Barese: ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former bishopric within the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia region, southeastern Italy. History It was a small fortified centre of the Romans, who called it Natolium, possibly b ...

(1119) by Grimoald and Alexander, Count of Conversano.

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

intervened to procure the release of Princess Constance in 1120, who recognised her captor in his later titles. During this conflict, Grimoald was elected ruler in 1121, in opposition to William II, Duke of Apulia, the proper legal suzerain of Bari. He first used the title ''dominus'' or ''dominator'', as in ''barensium dominator'' in October 1121. In June 1123, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

-inspired blue diploma with gold script calls him ''Grimoaldus Alferanites gratia Dei et beati Nikolai barensis princeps''. In May 1122, he entered into an alliance with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. In October 1127, he was drawn to the side of

Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...

in his claim to the Apulian succession. However, in 1129, Grimoald and several other notable barons in Apulia flew into revolt after the papal approval of Roger's title by

Pope Honorius II Pope Honorius II (9 February 1060 – 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi,Levillain, pg. 731 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130. Although from a humble background, ...

. With a fleet of sixty ships, George of Antioch blockaded the Bariot harbour and besieged Grimoald for months from Spring to August, when the prince finally gave in. Nevertheless, Grimoald was granted a full pardon from Roger and confirmed in his own chosen princely title. When, the next year (1130), Roger sought the royal title, receiving an honour higher than that of prince (as the rulers of Capua and Bari held) was one of his many motives. Joined with Tancred of Conversano, an old ally and renegade, Grimoald rose up in revolt in 1131 and captured the port of Brindisi at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

time. It took until May 1132, after astronomic omens and papal urgings, for Roger to leave comfortable

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

to go and deal with insurrection in Apulia. A brief siege convinced the Bariots to give up their prince and Grimoald and his whole family were given over on the city's surrender. The deposed prince was brought with his family to prison in Sicily and Tancred was only forgiven on condition he leave on

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. Grimoald was replaced by Roger's own son, Tancred. According to Falco of Benevento, Grimoald was a ''vir mirabilis et bellicosi spiritus'' and

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

calls him ''liberalem et strenuum virum''. It seems, from the dating of the events, that the prince of Bari who rescued the saintly Giovanni di Matera from prison and then demanded that the holy man give an account of his theology to prove its orthodoxy was Grimoald. He was known to have tight control over his own churches and was a great patron of the Church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

which housed the relics of Saint Nicholas, whom he championed as a Bariot patron saint, as seen in his official title. {{s-end

Sources

* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. Longman:

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1967. * Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. Longman:

, 1970. *Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 2003. 12th-century Lombard people Lombard warriors