Puglia and Calabria

The first count of Puglia is traditionally considered the eldest son of Tancred de Gotville , Wilhelm (Guillaume, Guglielmo) Iron Hand (d. 1046), elected in September 1042 by the Normans at a meeting in Melfi, count in the areas recaptured in southern Italy from Byzantium. In order to legitimize the title of count, Wilhelm turned to Prince Solerno Gvemar IV to take supreme power over the areas liberated from Byzantines. At the end of 1042, Guemar IV arrived in Melfi and with the consent of the Normans accepted the title of Duke of Puglia and Calabria . At the same time, Wilhelm was granted the title of Count Melfi with the right to establish barony on lands that would subsequently be recaptured from Byzantium . Already liberated and held by the Normans, the lands were divided into twelve baronies, Wilhelm himself kept Ascoli , and his brother Drogo - Venozu . However, this award was not recognized by the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire .

After the death of William, the brother of Drogo who succeeded him (d. 1051) in 1047 recognized himself as a vassal of Emperor Henry III , who, in turn, recognized Drogo as the Count of Apulia and Calabria and removed Apulia from submission to the princes of Salerno. Drogo's official title was “the duke and master of Italy, count of all the Normans of Puglia and Calabria ” ( lat. Dux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae ).

Under the successors of Drogo, possessions were still expanded. Robert Guiscard, who accepted the ducal title, was able to unite the whole of southern Italy in his hands, capturing all Byzantine possessions by 1071, and capturing Salerno , which had become the capital of the duchy, in 1077 . In 1059, Robert Guiscard recognized himself as a vassal of Pope Nicholas II , and the latter granted Robert the title of Duke of Puglia, Calabria and Sicily.

After the death in 1127 of Robert's grandson, William (Guglielmo) II , the duchy was inherited by the Count of Sicily Roger II , the nephew of Robert Guiscard. In 1128, the rights to the duchy were recognized by Pope Honorius II . In 1130, Roger took the royal title and the duchy became part of the Sicilian kingdom formed by him.

In 1134, Roger II appropriated the title of Duke of Puglia and Calabria to his eldest son Roger III . From that moment on, the title of the Duke of Puglia and Calabria was often held by the heirs of the King of Sicily. The last title was worn by the oldest son of King Tancred di Lecce , who died in 1193 , Roger V.

Counts of Puglia and Calabria

• 1042 - 1046 : Wilhelm (Guglielmo) I Iron Hand (d. 1046), Count of Melfi from 1042, son of Tancred de Gottwil
• 1047 - 1051 : Drogo (d. 1051), Count of Melfi from 1046, Count of Puglia and Calabria from 1047, brother of the previous
• 1051 - 1057 : Gottfried Otville (d. 1057), brother of the previous
• 1057-1059: Robert Guiscard (1016-1085), Count of Puglia and Calabria from 1057, Duke of Puglia and Calabria from 1059, brother of the previous

Dukes of Puglia and Calabria

• 1059-1085: Robert Guiscard (1016-1085)
• 1085 - 1111 : Roger I Borsa (1060/1061 - 1111), son of the previous
• 1111 - 1127 : Wilhelm (Guglielmo) II (1095-1127), son of the previous
• 1127 - 1134 : Roger II (1095-1154), Count of Sicily from 1105, king of Sicily from 1130, nephew of Robert Guiscard
• 1134 - 1148 : Roger III (d. 1148), son of the previous
  • 1137 - 1139 : Rainulf Drengo (d. 1139), Earl of Alif , in 1137 was elevated by Emperor Lothar II and Pope Innocent II to the title of Duke of Puglia
• 1148 - 1156 : Wilhelm (Guglielmo) III Evil (1126-1166), king of Sicily from 1154, brother of Roger III
  • 1156 - 1161 : Roger IV (1152–1161), son of the previous
• 1182 : Boehmund ^[1]
• 1189 - 1193 : Roger V (d. 1193), son of Tancred di Lecce , grandson of Roger III

• The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy
• Duke of Calabria

• Norwich J. Normans in Sicily. Second Norman Conquest. 1016-1130 / Transl. from English L. A. Igorevsky. - M .: Centerpolygraph , 2005 .-- 367 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9524-1751-5 .
• Norwich John . The heyday and sunset of the Sicilian kingdom. Normans in Sicily. 1130–1194 / Transl. from English L. A. Igorevsky. - M .: Centerpolygraph , 2005 .-- 399 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9524-1752-3 .