List of counts of Aversa

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In 1030, the first Norman foothold in the Mezzogiorno was created when Sergius IV of Naples gave the town and vicinity of Aversa as a county to Ranulf. The following are the counts of Aversa:

In 1058, Richard conquered the Principality of Capua and thereafter the counts of Aversa were, more importantly, princes of Capua.

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Drogo of Hauteville Italian count

Drogo of Hauteville was the second Count of Apulia and Calabria (1046–51) in southern Italy. Initially he was only the leader of those Normans in the service of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, but after 1047 he was a territorial prince owing fealty directly to the Emperor.

Guaimar IV of Salerno Italian prince

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 of Capua Italian prince

Pandulf IV was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions.

Asclettin Drengot was the son of Asclettin, count of Acerenza, brother of Rainulf Drengot, whom he succeeded in the county of Aversa in 1045. He was duly elected by the Norman nobles of Aversa and invested with the countship by his suzerain, Guaimar IV of Salerno.

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.

Herman was the son of Rainulf Trincanocte, count of Aversa (1045–1048), whom he succeeded. He was only an infant then and he was put under the regency of his father's cousin Richard. Within two years, he had disappeared from the scene and Richard was count. His fate is a mystery, though it is not hard to imagine that, as an obstacle to power, he was disposed of in the most efficient manner.

Sergius IV of Naples

Sergius IV was Duke of Naples from 1002 to 1036. He was one of the prime catalysts in the growth of Norman power in the Mezzogiorno in the first half of the eleventh century. He was nominally a Byzantine vassal, like his father, John IV, before him.

Richard Drengot was the count of Aversa (1049–1078), prince of Capua and duke of Gaeta (1064–1078).

Ranulf II was the count of Alife and Caiazzo, and duke of Apulia. He was a member of the Italo-Norman Drengot family which dominated the Principality of Capua for most of the century between 1050 and 1150. Ranulf's wife, Matilda, was the sister of King Roger II of Sicily.

Asclettin 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 the Mezzogiorno of Italy to fight in the service of the Lombards. They became the most prominent family after the Hautevilles.

Atenulf I was the Lombard count of Aquino who rose to become Duke of Gaeta in Southern Italy during the chaotic middle of the eleventh century.

Maria of Gaeta was an Italian regent, countess of Aquino by marriage and regent of the Duchy of Gaeta for her son in 1062–65.

Casaluce Comune in Campania, Italy

Casaluce is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Naples and about 13 kilometres (8 mi) southwest of Caserta.

Norman conquest of southern Italy Historical event in the European Middle Ages

The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, 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.

Richard of Rupecanina

Richard was the Italo-Norman count of Rupecanina.

Robert of Caiazzo

Robert was a south Italian nobleman who ruled the counties of Airola, Alife, Caiazzo, Sant'Agata and Telese from 1088 until his death. He was the regent of Capua in 1090–93, and was effectively independent of any lord after 1105. He was a major patron of churches and abbeys, and also commissioned several books.

References

  1. Kenneth Baxter Wolf, Making History: the Normans and Their Historians in Eleventh-century Italy (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995), p. 14.