Robert of Bassunvilla (also Basunvilla and Bassonville) (''c.'' 1125 – died 15 September 1182) was the count of

Conversano Conversano (Bari dialect, Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversan ...

(from 1138) and

Loritello Loritello was an Italo-Norman county along the Adriatic north of the Gargano, now called Rotello, in the Molise region. It was carved out of the eastern seaboard of the Principality of Benevento following the Battle of Civitate in 1053 by members o ...

(from 1154, as Robert III). His family had a long history in

Vassonville Vassonville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A farming village situated by the banks of the river Scie in the Pays de Caux, some south of Dieppe on the D 57 road. Pop ...

, near

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

. Robert (II) was the son of Robert I of Bassunvilla, who had been granted Conversano by

Roger II Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek: Ρογέριος; 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 ...

. Robert inherited this possession on his father's death. Roger II had cause later to confiscate the county of Loritello from

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, his own relative. On his deathbed, he asked his son

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

to appoint Robert count of Loritello, a quasi-autonomous post. Soon however, he was implicated (truly or falsely) in rebellion and fled first to the Holy Roman imperial court of

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

and then the Byzantine imperial court of

Manuel I Comnenus Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of ...

. He may have laid claim to the throne, on the basis of a forged will. He had the assistance of John Ducas when he returned to lead the revolt of 1155–1156, but the Byzantine general Michael Palaeologus died at

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 ...

and William defeated the imperial troops. By the

Treaty of Benevento The Treaty of Benevento or Concordat of Benevento (18 June 1156) was an important treaty between the papacy of Adrian IV and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. After years of turbulent relations, the popes finally settled down to a peace with the Haute ...

of 1156,

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

guaranteed Robert's right to leave the kingdom peacefully, but he renewed instead his designs on the land of the

diocese of Penne The Archdiocese of Pescara-Penne () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church on the east coast in central Italy. It was promoted to the status of metropolitan archbishopric in 1982, and its name was changed from the Diocese of Pen ...

. In 1157 he was encouraged in his rebellious efforts by a new emissary of Manuel I. This was Alexius Axuch, the son of Manuel's chief advisor

John Axuch John Axouch or Axouchos (, (), also transliterated as Axuch, was the commander-in-chief (''megas domestikos'') of the Byzantine army during the reign of Emperor John II Komnenos (), and during the early part of the reign of his son Manuel I Komn ...

.Norwich, p. 117. Though his

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

, Richard of Mandra, was captured, he evaded the royal army and continued in defiance of William I's authority. In 1161, he conquered much territory to the south. William responded by chasing him from

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

and almost razing

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 Naples. It is located ...

. In 1163, however, he was forced to flee again to Barbarossa. In 1167, he was with the army of

Rainald of Dassel Rainald of Dassel (c. 1120 – 14 August 1167) was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial p ...

at the

Battle of Monte Porzio The Battle of Monte Porzio (also called the Battle of Tusculum) was fought on 29 May 1167 between the Holy Roman Empire and the Commune of Rome. The communal Roman army, which one historian has called the "greatest army which Rome had sent int ...

on 29 May, when a great Roman army was defeated. In 1169,

Margaret of Navarre Margaret of Navarre (, , ) (c. 1135 – 12 August 1183) was List of Sicilian royal consorts, Queen of Sicily as the wife of William I of Sicily, William I (1154–1166) and the regent during the minority of her son, William II of Sicily, William ...

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of William II and widow of William I, and her council of advisors restored Robert to all his former possessions. His widow Adelisa, daughter of Roger II, inherited Conversano.

Notes

Sources

''Lexikon des Mittelalters''.
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. 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 ...

, 1970. *Norwich, John Julius. ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. *Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

: 1992. *Houben, Hubert. ''Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West''. Trans. G. A. Loud and Diane Milbourne.

: 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert 03 Of Loritello Italo-Normans Norman warriors 1182 deaths Counts of Conversano Counts of Loritello Year of birth unknown Italian rebels Medieval rebels People of the Byzantine–Norman wars