Drogo of Hauteville | |
|---|---|
Statue of Drogo outside Coutances Cathedral | |
| Count of Apulia and Calabria | |
| Reign | 1046 - 10 August 1050 |
| Predecessor | William Iron Arm |
| Successor | Humphrey |
| Died | 10 August 1051 |
| Noble family | Hauteville |
| Spouse(s) | Altrude Gaitelgrima |
| Issue | Richard Rocca Eremburga |
| Father | Tancred |
| Mother | Muriella |
Drogo of Hauteville (died 10 August 1051) was the second Norman Count of Apulia. He led the Normans of Southern Italy after the death of his brother, William Iron Arm.
Drogo was a son of Tancred of Hauteville by his first wife Muriella. Goffredo Malaterra records him as being the second son, after William Iron Arm, while Romuald Guarna records him as being the third, coming after Serlo and Geoffrey. Regardless, it is unlikely anyway that Drogo was older than Serlo, as Serlo stayed in Normandy to inherit their father's possessions, while Drogo journeyed to Southern Italy. [1] [2] [3]
Since Tancred had many sons, and his possessions were not enough to satisfy all of them, Drogo and many of his brothers were soon forced to seek fortune elsewhere. [4]
Around 1035/7, Drogo journeyed to Southern Italy with his brothers William Iron Arm and Humphrey, to strengthen the ranks of Rainulf Drengot, Count of Aversa, the first Norman mercenary lord who had been granted a fief. Together with Rainulf, the Hauteville brothers took part in a military operation led by Guaimar IV of Salerno against Pandulf IV, Prince of Capua. [3] [4]
With time, Drogo and his brothers put themselves under the direct service of Guaimar IV. Under Guaimar's authority, Norman and Lombard forces served the Byzantine army in an attempt to conquer Sicily from the Saracens. After two years, however, they left the expedition because of a loot dispute. In 1040 they joined a Lombard rebellion in Apulia, this time against the Byzantines. [3] [4]
During said rebellion, Drogo's brother William Iron Arm had managed to keep the Normans under his control, and was the key to many victories. Thus, in September 1042, William was nominated Count of all the Normans in Apulia, with the Norman capital in Melfi. His title and territories were recognized by Guaimar IV; In turn, William declared himself Guimar's vassal, as Guaimar assumed the title of Duke of Apulia and Calabria. [2] [3] [4] In this occasion, Drogo was given Venosa. He took advantage of his new possession, and also occupied Bovino in 1045. [1] [4]
When William Iron Arm died childless in 1046, Drogo succeeded him as Count of Apulia after fighting for the title with Peter I of Trani. Guaimar IV of Salerno acknowledged Drogo's succession, and gave him his daughter's hand in marriage. Drogo's legitimacy grew significantly when Emperor Henry III came to Southern Italy in 1047: Drogo paid homage to the Emperor on 3 February, and Henry III confirmed the possession of his territories and invested him as "Dux et magister totius italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae", which translates to "Duke and master of all of Italy, and Count of all the Normans in Apulia and Calabria ". Henry III, however, did not recognize Guaimar IV's title of "Duke of Apulia", and stripped him of it, theoretically meaning that Drogo wasn't subject to Guaimar's control anymore. [1] [5]
During Drogo's tenure as Count, between 1046 and 1047, his half-brother Robert Guiscard arrived in Southern Italy. Drogo, however, welcomed him coldly, not granting him any fief and sending him to Calabria to get him out of the way, probably fearing his competition for the County. Drogo also initially refused to allow Robert's marriage with Alberada of Buonalbergo. If we consider that Robert and Alberada's marriage was later annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, Drogo might have had actual reasons; however, the claim of consanguinity is usually regarded as an excuse to divorce. [5]
At one point during his reign, Drogo imprisoned Richard Drengot, one of the contenders for succession to the County of Aversa. The reason for Richard's eventual release is unclear. According to Amatus of Montecassino, Guaimar IV of Salerno pressured Drogo to free him. Alternatively, Drogo might have kept Richard prisoner in order for William Bellabocca, regent of Aversa and possibly a relative of Drogo, to keep his power. If this is the case, Drogo probably released Richard after the Aversans expelled Bellabocca, as keeping him prisoner no longer served a purpose. [5]
Towards the end of his reign, Drogo met with Pope Leo IX, when he came to Southern Italy to restore the Libertas Ecclesiae under Henry III's directives. However, as he was returning from the meeting with the Pope, he was assassinated along with several of his followers on Saint Lawrence's Day (10 August) of 1051, while he was entering the chapel of his castle at Monte Ilario, near Bovino, to attend mass. Goffredo Malaterra records that he was killed by a Lombard man of his entourage. Drogo was possibly the victim of an anti-Norman conspiracy led by Argyrus, the Byzantine catepan of Italy, who was trying to reclaim the region for the Byzantine Empire. Drogo was buried at the Abbey of Santissima Trinità of Venosa. [1] [5] [6]
Drogo's first wife was named Altrude. With her, he had three children: [2]
Drogo's second wife was Gaitelgrima, daughter of Guaimar IV of Salerno (not the same as this Gaitelgrima, who was princess of Capua). No children result from this marriage. [2]
Year 1043 (MXLIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Robert Guiscard, also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Norman adventurer remembered for his conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century.
The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian-Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Duke of Lorraine, and Rudolf, Prince of Benevento. The Norman victory over the allied papal army marked the climax of a conflict between the Norman mercenaries who came to southern Italy in the eleventh century, the de Hauteville family, and the local Lombard princes. By 1059 the Normans would create an alliance with the papacy, which included a formal recognition by Pope Nicholas II of the Norman conquest in south Italy, investing Robert Guiscard as Duke of Apulia and Calabria, and Count of Sicily.
Tancred of Hauteville was an 11th-century Norman lord. Little is known about him, and he is best remembered by the achievements of his twelve sons. Various legends arose about Tancred, but they have no supporting contemporary evidence that has survived the ages.
William of Hauteville, better known with his nickname, William Iron Arm, was a Norman military leader and the first Count of Apulia. He initiated the series of fortunes of the House of Hauteville.
Humphrey of Hauteville, also nicknamed Abelard, was the third Norman Count of Apulia. He succeeded his brother Drogo.
Guaimar IV was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. He was an important figure in the final phase of Byzantine authority in the Mezzogiorno and the commencement of Norman power. He was, according to Amatus of Montecassino, "more courageous than his father, more generous and more courteous; indeed he possessed all the qualities a layman should have—except that he took an excessive delight in women."
Rainulf Drengot was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family.
Pandulf IV was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions.
Guaimar III was the Lombard prince of Salerno from around 994 to his death. Under his reign, Salerno entered an era of great splendour. Opulenta Salernum was the inscription on his coins. He made Amalfi, Gaeta and Sorrento his vassals and annexed much of Byzantine Apulia and Calabria.
Rainulf II, called Trincanocte, was the fourth Count of Aversa (1045–1048), the cousin of his immediate predecessor Asclettin and nephew of Rainulf Drengot, the founder of their family's fortunes in the Mezzogiorno. There was a succession crisis after the premature death of Asclettin and Guaimar IV of Salerno, as suzerain of Aversa, tried to impose his candidate on the Normans, but they elected Trincanocte and he prevailed in getting Guaimar's recognition too. In 1047, he was present at a council with Pandulf IV of Capua and Guaimar, where the former was returned to his princely position and the latter's great domain was broken up. The feudal titles of Rainulf and Drogo of Hauteville, count of Apulia, were confirmed by the Emperor Henry III and they were made his direct vassals. Within a year, Trincanocte died and was succeeded by his infant son Herman under the regency of his cousin Richard, whom he had originally spurned, believing him to be a dangerous rival. Soon, Herman was displaced and Richard was count.
Richard Drengot was the count of Aversa (1049–1078), prince of Capua and duke of Gaeta (1064–1078).
Geoffrey of Hauteville was a Norman military leader and Count of the Capitanate, son of Tancred of Hauteville by his first wife Muriella.
William of Hauteville was one of the younger sons of Tancred of Hauteville by his second wife Fressenda. He is usually called Willermus instead of Wilelmus in Latin annals and so is often called Guillerm instead of Guillaume in French.
Asclettin or Asketil was the first count of Acerenza, one of the twelve leaders of the Norman mercenaries of Guaimar IV of Salerno who conquered much of Apulia between 1038 and 1042. In the latter year, the division of the conquests twelvefold was made and Asclettin received his portion.
The Drengots were a Norman family of mercenaries, one of the first to head to Southern Italy to fight in the service of the Lombards. They became the most prominent family after the Hautevilles.
The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1194, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern third of the Italian Peninsula, the archipelago of Malta, and parts of North Africa.
The County of Monte Sant'Angelo or Gargano was a large Norman county in southern Italy, covering the Gargano Peninsula and much of the later Province of Foggia. Its comital seat was Monte Sant'Angelo.
The County of Apulia and Calabria, later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria, was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1043, composed of the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when Robert Guiscard was raised to the rank of duke by Pope Nicholas II in 1059.
The Battle of Olivento was fought on 17 March 1041 between the Byzantine Empire and the Normans of southern Italy and their Lombard allies near the Olivento river, between the actual Basilicata and Apulia, southern Italy.
