| Sibylla of Conversano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duchess consort of Normandy | |
| Tenure | 1100–1103 |
| Died | 18 March 1103 Rouen |
| Spouse | Robert Curthose |
| Issue | William Clito |
| House | Hauteville |
| Father | Geoffrey, Count of Conversano |
Sibylla of Conversano [lower-alpha 1] (d. 18 March 1103) was a wealthy Norman heiress, Duchess of Normandy by marriage to Robert Curthose. She was regent of Normandy during the absence of her spouse.
She was the daughter of Geoffrey of Brindisi, Count of Conversano and a grandniece of Robert Guiscard. [1] [2]
During the winter of 1096-97 while Robert Curthose was in Apulia awaiting transport on the First Crusade, he probably began negotiations to marry the heiress, Sibyl of Conversano. [3] Orderic Vitalis claims Robert 'fell in love' with Sibyl and further the chronicler called her 'truly good in character' and also wrote she was 'endowed with many virtues and lovable to all who knew her'. [lower-alpha 2] [3]
On Robert's return from the Crusade he married Sibylla in Apulia [4] in 1100. [1]
Shortly after returning to Normandy, Robert and Sibylla undertook a pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel to give thanks for his safe return from the Crusade. [5]
It is clear that writers of the time were quite taken with Sibylla, praising both her beauty and intelligence. [6]
During Curthose's absence, Robert of Torigni noted that the new duchess administered Normandy better than the duke did. [6] On 25 October 1102, their son was born. [7] He was named William for William, Archbishop of Rouen who presided over his baptism, this according to Orderic. [7] William of Malmesbury suggested he was named after his grandfather, William the Conqueror. [7]
On 18 March 1103, [8] less than six months after the birth of her only child, she died at Rouen, Caux, and was buried, amid universal sorrow, in the cathedral church, Archbishop William Bonne-Ame performing the funeral rites. Sibylla was admired and often praised by chroniclers of the time; William of Malmesbury claims she died as a result of binding her breasts too tightly while both Robert of Torigny and Orderic Vitalis suggest she was murdered by a group of noblewomen led by her husband's mistress, Agnes de Ribemont. [lower-alpha 3] [9]
Robert and Sibylla had one son:
Robert Curthose, was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Robert II of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106.
Robert I of Normandy, also known as Robert the Magnificent and by other names, was a Norman noble of the House of Normandy who ruled as duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035. He was the son of Duke Richard II; the brother of Duke Richard III, against whom he unsuccessfully revolted; and the father of Duke William who became the first Norman king of England after winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066. During his reign, Robert quarrelled with the church—including his uncle Robert, archbishop of Rouen—and meddled in the disorder in Flanders. He finally reconciled with his uncle and the church, restoring some property and undertaking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, during which he died.
William Clito was a member of the House of Normandy who ruled the County of Flanders from 1127 until his death and unsuccessfully claimed the Duchy of Normandy. As the son of Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, William Clito was seen as a candidate to succeed his uncle King Henry I of England. Henry viewed him as a rival, however, and William allied himself with King Louis VI of France. Louis installed him as the new count of Flanders upon the assassination of Charles the Good, but the Flemings soon revolted and William died in the struggle against another claimant to Flanders, Thierry of Alsace.
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Robert de Bellême, seigneur de Bellême, seigneur de Montgomery, viscount of the Hiémois, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Count of Ponthieu, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror. He was a member of the powerful House of Bellême.
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Elizabeth of Vermandois, was a French noblewoman, who by her two marriages was the mother of the 1st Earl of Worcester, the 2nd Earl of Leicester, the 3rd Earl of Surrey, and of Gundred de Warenne, mother of the 4th Earl of Warwick.
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Helias of Saint Saëns (?–1128), Count of Arques was a Norman magnate of the eleventh and twelfth century, a loyal supporter of Robert Curthose and protector of his son William Clito. His support of the latter eventually brought him into conflict with Henry I of England, ending in his willing exile from Normandy.
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Walter Giffard, Lord of Longueville in Normandy, 1st Earl of Buckingham was an Anglo-Norman magnate.
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Gerard Flaitel was a Norman knight and a ' most powerful lord in Normandy at the time of the Richards' according to Orderic Vitalis.
Ralph of Gacé was a member of the House of Normandy who played an influential role during the minority of William the Bastard, prior to his conquest of England. Ralph was the lord of Gacé and other estates in Normandy.
William of Évreux or William d'Évreux was a member of the House of Normandy who played an influential role during the Norman conquest of England, one of the few Norman aristocrats documented to have been with William I at Hastings. He was the count of Évreux in Normandy as well as additional lands and expanded his holdings by consenting to the marriage of his young ward and niece Bertrade to Fulk the Rude of Anjou, whose support against the Manceaux rebels was important for William's liege Robert Curthose. A feud between William's wife Helvise or Heloise of Nevers and Isabel of Conches, the wife of Raoul II of Tosny, led to open war between the two men. Helvise also governed Évreux in William's infirm old age until her own death. Having no children of his own, William was succeeded at Évreux by his sister's son Amaury of Montfort.
Events during the year 1103 in Italy.