County of Monte Sant'Angelo
Encyclopedia
The County of Monte Sant'Angelo or Gargano was a large Norman
county in southern Italy, covering the Gargano Peninsula and much of the later Province of Foggia
. Its comital seat was Monte Sant'Angelo
.
The ruling family was a cadet branch of the Drengots. The first count, Robert, inherited the Monte Sant'Angelo from his uncle Ranulf Drengot, to whom it had been granted as his share (a twelfth) of the Apulian conquests in 1042. Ranulf died in 1045. Robert founded the importance of his fief by marrying Gaitelgrima
, daughter of Guaimar IV of Salerno
and Drogo of Hauteville
, the two most powerful south Italian lords of the day. Robert was succeeded by his sons, Richard, Henry
, and William
, in succession.
Henry renounced the suzerainty of the Duke of Apulia, Roger Borsa
, and began to chart an independent course, giving his allegiance to the Byzantine Empire
and dating his charters by the reign of Alexius I Comnenus. His county was the most powerful Norman state after the Principality of Capua
and the Duchy of Apulia and the last foothold the Greeks had in Italy when it was conquered by Borsa from William in 1104. It was never recreated.
Italo-Norman
The Italo-Normans, or Siculo-Normans when referring to Sicily, were the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to the southern Italy in the first half of the eleventh century...
county in southern Italy, covering the Gargano Peninsula and much of the later Province of Foggia
Province of Foggia
The Province of Foggia is a province in the Apulia region of Italy.This province is also known as Capitanata, originally Catapanata, because during the Middle Ages it was governed by a catapan, as part of the Catapanate of Italy...
. Its comital seat was Monte Sant'Angelo
Monte Sant'Angelo
Monte Sant'Angelo is a town and comune of Apulia, southern Italy, in the province of Foggia, about 15 km north of Manfredonia by road and 4 km west of Mattinata, on the southern slopes of Monte Gargano.-History:...
.
The ruling family was a cadet branch of the Drengots. The first count, Robert, inherited the Monte Sant'Angelo from his uncle Ranulf Drengot, to whom it had been granted as his share (a twelfth) of the Apulian conquests in 1042. Ranulf died in 1045. Robert founded the importance of his fief by marrying Gaitelgrima
Gaitelgrima, daughter of Guaimar IV
Gaitelgrima was the daughter of Guaimar IV of Salerno and Gemma. She was married off by her brother Gisulf II of Salerno to Jordan I of Capua as was her sister, Sichelgaita, to Robert Guiscard....
, daughter of Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV of Salerno
Guaimar IV was Prince of Salerno , Duke of Amalfi , Duke of Gaeta , and Prince of Capua 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...
and Drogo of Hauteville
Drogo of Hauteville
Drogo of Hauteville succeeded his brother, William Iron Arm, with whom he arrived in southern Italy c. 1035, as the leader of the Normans of Apulia....
, the two most powerful south Italian lords of the day. Robert was succeeded by his sons, Richard, Henry
Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo
Henry was the Count of Monte Sant'Angelo, with his seat at Foggia, from November 1081.He was the second son of Robert, Count of Lucera, and Gaitelgrima, daughter of Guaimar IV of Salerno. The identity of his father is disputable...
, and William
William, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo
William was the Count of Monte Sant'Angelo from 1102 to 1104. He succeeded his brother Henry on his death.According to the Chronica Montasterii Casinensis of Leo of Ostia, William , whom Leo calls comes civitatis montis Sancti Michahelis archangeli , made a donation to Montecassino in April 1100...
, in succession.
Henry renounced the suzerainty of the Duke of Apulia, Roger Borsa
Roger Borsa
Roger Borsa was the Norman Duke of Apulia and effective ruler of southern Italy from 1085 until his death. He was the son of Robert Guiscard, the conqueror of southern Italy and Sicily; Roger was not as adept as his father, and most of his reign was spent in feudal anarchy.-Biography:Roger was the...
, and began to chart an independent course, giving his allegiance to the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and dating his charters by the reign of Alexius I Comnenus. His county was the most powerful Norman state after the Principality of Capua
Principality of Capua
The Principality of Capua was a Lombard state in Southern Italy, usually de facto independent, but under the varying suzerainty of Western and Eastern Roman Empires. It was originally a gastaldate, then a county, within the principality of Salerno....
and the Duchy of Apulia and the last foothold the Greeks had in Italy when it was conquered by Borsa from William in 1104. It was never recreated.
Sources
- Chalandon, FerdinandFerdinand ChalandonFerdinand Chalandon was a French medievalist and Byzantinist.Chalandon’s work remains the most substantial study of the Normans in Italy and though the details of what he wrote a hundred years ago have in places been modified, it remains the single most important work available to historians.Being...
. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile. Paris, 1907. - Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani LXII Dugoni – Enza. Rome, 1993.
- Jahn, W. Unersuchungen zur normannischen Herrschaftsbildung in Süditalien (1040–1100). Phil. Diss. Munich, 1988.