The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily
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About the Book
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.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Gordon S. Brown
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 222
Bibliographic Info: maps, chronology, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2003
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1472-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5127-2
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Civitate 7
The Adventurers 16
Tancred of Hauteville 24
Mercenaries for the Basileus 33
Rebels 40
Warlords in Apulia 49
Count of Apulia 56
The Pope’s Wrath 65
Consolidation 76
Guiscard 85
Calabria 95
Sicily 103
Cerami 114
Rebellion 122
Victory 129
The Duke and the Pope 139
Salerno 149
Carrying War to the Enemy 159
The Pope’s Savior 168
Terror of the World 174
The Quest for Glory 184
The End of the Beginning 191
Chronology 201
Genealogical Table—Sons and Grandsons of Tancred of Hauteville 205
Bibliography 207
Index 211
Book Reviews & Awards
- “Excellent…useful textbook…well-written…interesting read”—De Re Militari
- “Interesting…accessible”—Military Heritage
