The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

Description

The Normans originally came to Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries looking for adventure or a livelihood, but once there, found opportunity for fame and fortune. The story of the Norman conquest in Italy and Sicily is indeed one of knights and adventurers, great battles and lowly pillage, opportunism and statesmanship, and crusade and coexistence. This rich and often dramatic study focuses on the eight sons of Tancred of Hauteville, especially Robert Guiscard, who has been called "the most dazzling military ruler between Julius Caesar and Napoleon," and his youngest brother Roger, who conquered Sicily. It discusses how they expanded their lands throughout southern Italy, and then took Sicily from its Muslim rulers. The brothers, often in conflict with each other, challenged both the Papacy and the Byzantine Empire, became the main supporters of the reformed Papacy, and founded a rich, sophisticated kingdom that lasted until the nineteenth century. Preface 1 Introduction 3 I. Civitate 7 II. The Adventurers 16 III. Tancred of Hauteville 24 IV. Mercenaries for the Basileus 33 V. Rebels 40 VI. Warlords in Apulia 49 VII. Count of Apulia 56 VIII. The Pope's Wrath 65 IX. Consolidation 76 X. Guiscard 85 XI. Calabria 95 XII. Sicily 103 XIII. Cerami 114 XIV. Rebellion 122 XV. Victory 129 XVI. The Duke and the Pope 139 XVII. Salerno 149 XVIII. Carrying War to the Enemy 159 XIX. The Pope's Savior 168 XX. Terror of the World 174 XXI. The Quest for Glory 184 XXII. The End of the Beginning 191 Chronology 201 Genealogical Table - Sons and Grandsons of Tancred of Hauteville 205 Bibliography 207 Index 211