Jordan Otville

The name of Jordan's mother is unknown. Malaterra several times emphasizes his illegitimate birth, but despite this, several researchers consider him the son of Roger I and his first wife Judith d'Evreux .

In 1077, Jordan was first mentioned by Malaterra as a participant in the siege of Trapani . Jordan and his detachment landed on the peninsula at night, where the townspeople usually herded herds, and set up an ambush. In the morning, the inhabitants of Trapani, as usual, brought their herds to the pasture, where all the animals were captured by Jordan. Having lost his supplies, Trapani capitulated.

In 1078, Jordan was mentioned as a member of the siege of Taormina . In 1081, Jordan, with two military commanders Robert de Surdevil and Elias Cartomensis, managed to recapture Catania from the Arabs, captured with the help of a traitor by the Syracuse emir Benarvet .

For his services, Jordan was left in 1082 the viceroy in Sicily, while Roger I took part in the campaigns of Robert Guiscard .

In 1083, Jordan was embroiled in discontent by the barons against the absent Roger I; the rebels captured Mystretta and San Marco d'Alunzio and intended to capture Triple . Urgently returning to Sicily, Roger I quickly suppressed the rebellion, the twelve closest advisers to Jordan were blinded, and Jordan himself was thrown into prison.

Subsequently, Jordan was forgiven and participated in the siege of Syracuse in 1085 (or 1086 ) and Noto ( 1091 ), and then was elevated to the counts of Syracuse and Noto.

During Roger I’s expedition to Malta, Jordan asked his father to allow him to lead the campaign, but his father left him in Sicily and, fearing rebellion, strictly forbade him from even entering cities that did not belong to him. Nevertheless, Jordan, although not enjoying the trust of his father, was considered at that time as a potential heir, since the only legitimate son of Roger I Godfrey was a leper .

Jordan unexpectedly died of a fever in 1092 ; a stone with a carved inscription about the death of Jordan was preserved in the church of the village of Mili San Pietro .

In 1089, Jordan married one of the daughters of Boniface of Savona (Roger I himself married a third marriage to another daughter, Adelaide of Savona ), there is no information about his possible offspring.

• 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 .
• Malaterra G. The Deeds Done by Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of Duke Robert his Brother = De Rebus Gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae Comitis et Roberti Guiscardi Ducis fratris eius (lat.) / Ed. Ernesto Pontieri, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores V pt. 1. - Bologna, 1927-1928.