Alberada of Buonalbergo
Encyclopedia
Alberada of Buonalbergo (c. 1033 – July 1122) was the first wife of Robert Guiscard
, duke of Apulia (1059–1085), whom she married in 1051 or 1052, when he was still just a robber baron in Calabria
.
Alberada was the young aunt of Lord Girard of Buonalbergo
, who wanted the support of the rising Guiscard at that moment. As her dowry, she brought Guiscard two hundred knights. She bore Guiscard two children: a daughter, Emma, mother of Tancred, Prince of Galilee
, and a son, Prince Bohemond I of Antioch. In 1058, after Pope Nicholas II
strengthened existing canon law against consanguinity
and on that basis, Guiscard repudiated Alberada in favour of a then-more advantageous marriage to Sichelgaita, the sister of Prince Gisulf II of Salerno
. Nevertheless, the split was amicable and Alberada showed no later ill will.
She was alive at the death of Bohemond in March 1111 and died very old, probably in July 1122 or thereabouts. She was buried near the Hauteville family mausoleum in the Abbey of Holy Trinity at Venosa
. Her tomb is the only one remaining intact today.
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, duke of Apulia (1059–1085), whom she married in 1051 or 1052, when he was still just a robber baron in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
.
Alberada was the young aunt of Lord Girard of Buonalbergo
Girard of Buonalbergo
Girard, lord of Buonalbergo, was a Norman chieftain in the middle of the eleventh century in the Mezzogiorno. He was in the service of the prince of Benevento....
, who wanted the support of the rising Guiscard at that moment. As her dowry, she brought Guiscard two hundred knights. She bore Guiscard two children: a daughter, Emma, mother of Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
, and a son, Prince Bohemond I of Antioch. In 1058, after Pope Nicholas II
Pope Nicholas II
Pope Nicholas II , born Gérard de Bourgogne, Pope from 1059 to July 1061, was at the time of his election the Bishop of Florence.-Antipope Benedict X:...
strengthened existing canon law against consanguinity
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
and on that basis, Guiscard repudiated Alberada in favour of a then-more advantageous marriage to Sichelgaita, the sister of Prince Gisulf II of Salerno
Gisulf II of Salerno
Gisulf II was the last Lombard prince of Salerno ....
. Nevertheless, the split was amicable and Alberada showed no later ill will.
She was alive at the death of Bohemond in March 1111 and died very old, probably in July 1122 or thereabouts. She was buried near the Hauteville family mausoleum in the Abbey of Holy Trinity at Venosa
Venosa
Venosa is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, Rapolla and Spinazzola....
. Her tomb is the only one remaining intact today.
Sources
- Norwich, John JuliusJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
. The Normans in the South 1016-1130. Longmans: London, 1967.