Florius of Camerota
Encyclopedia
Florius of Camerota was a royal justiciar
of the Kingdom of Sicily
who worked an itinerant circuit throughout the Principality of Salerno
, across different local jurisdictions, between 1150 and 1189. He hailed from Camerota
in the Principality, and was a nephew of Alfanus, Archbishop of Capua. He was forced into a temporary exile in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
(c.1165), but the intervention of the pope restored him. He moved in the highest circles in the kingdom and in Europe, serving as a diplomat to the Kingdom of England
in 1176.
In 1150, a court was held before the presence of King Roger II
by Florius, fellow justiciar Lampus de Fasanella, and the chamberlain Atenulf in Salerno
. Another court was held by the same officers in the same city, absent the king, in 1151. In 1158, in the castle of Capua
, Florius and fellow justiciar Aimeric of Montemore adjudicated a complaint from the abbot of Santa Sofia of Benevento
. Around 1166, at Aversa
, Florius, with the justiciars Matthew de Venabulo and John de Valle, "performing the role of the lord king [in a] plenary and solemn court" (plenariam et sollempnem curia), restored two mills to the Diocese of Aversa. Around 1165, Florius fell from favour and was exiled to the Jerusalem. This prompted Pope Alexander III
to request King Louis VII of France
to intervene on Florius' behalf with King William II of Sicily
and, if this failed, with the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Comnenus.
By 1168, Florius, restored to favour, was administering a court at Messina, and had responsibility beyond his justiciarate, according to the court historian known by the pseudonym "Hugo Falcandus
". Florius made only brief visits to his old justiciarate thereafter. In 1172, he and justiciar Lucas Guarna were in Salerno. In 1176, according to Romuald Guarna, Florius was sent to England to arrange a marriage between Joan
, daughter of Henry II of England
, and William II. In 1178, Florius and Lucas Guarna returned to Salerno and, with Eugenius of Palermo, presided over an inquiry into the murder of an abbot. By the 1180s, Florius was in charge of justice in Calabria
. The length of his tenure as justiciar was "a force for continuity".
Justiciar
In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...
of the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
who worked an itinerant circuit throughout the Principality of Salerno
Principality of Salerno
The Lombard Principality of Salerno was a South Italian state, centered on the port city of Salerno, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war....
, across different local jurisdictions, between 1150 and 1189. He hailed from Camerota
Camerota
Camerota is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.-Geography:Camerota is situated in the southern area of Cilento and borders with the municipalities of Celle di Bulgheria, Centola, Roccagloriosa and San Giovanni a Piro.The municipality of...
in the Principality, and was a nephew of Alfanus, Archbishop of Capua. He was forced into a temporary exile in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
(c.1165), but the intervention of the pope restored him. He moved in the highest circles in the kingdom and in Europe, serving as a diplomat to the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
in 1176.
In 1150, a court was held before the presence of King Roger II
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...
by Florius, fellow justiciar Lampus de Fasanella, and the chamberlain Atenulf in Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
. Another court was held by the same officers in the same city, absent the king, in 1151. In 1158, in the castle of Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
, Florius and fellow justiciar Aimeric of Montemore adjudicated a complaint from the abbot of Santa Sofia of Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
. Around 1166, at Aversa
Aversa
Aversa is a town and comune in the Province of Caserta in Campania southern Italy, about 15 kilometres north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the agro aversano, producing wine and cheese...
, Florius, with the justiciars Matthew de Venabulo and John de Valle, "performing the role of the lord king [in a] plenary and solemn court" (plenariam et sollempnem curia), restored two mills to the Diocese of Aversa. Around 1165, Florius fell from favour and was exiled to the Jerusalem. This prompted Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
to request King Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
to intervene on Florius' behalf with King William II of Sicily
William II of Sicily
William II , called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William's character is very indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy...
and, if this failed, with the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Comnenus.
By 1168, Florius, restored to favour, was administering a court at Messina, and had responsibility beyond his justiciarate, according to the court historian known by the pseudonym "Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus
Hugo Falcandus was an Italian historian who chronicled the reign of William I of Sicily and the minority of his son William II in a highly critical work entitled The History of the Tyrants of Sicily . There is some doubt as to whether "Hugo Falcandus" is a real name or a pseudonym. Evelyn Jamison...
". Florius made only brief visits to his old justiciarate thereafter. In 1172, he and justiciar Lucas Guarna were in Salerno. In 1176, according to Romuald Guarna, Florius was sent to England to arrange a marriage between Joan
Joan of England, Queen of Sicily
Joan of England was the seventh child of Henry II of England and his queen consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine.Joan was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France...
, daughter of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, and William II. In 1178, Florius and Lucas Guarna returned to Salerno and, with Eugenius of Palermo, presided over an inquiry into the murder of an abbot. By the 1180s, Florius was in charge of justice 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....
. The length of his tenure as justiciar was "a force for continuity".
Further reading
- G. Breccia. "Florio da Camerota". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 48. Alberto Maria Ghisalberti, ed. Rome: 1960.
- E. Jamison. "The Norman administration in Apulia and Capua more especially under Roger II and William I, 1127–1166". Papers of the British Society in Rome 6 (1913), 211–481.
- —. Admiral Eugenius: His Life and Work and the Authorship of the Epistola ad Petrum and the Historia Hugonis Falcandi Siculi. London: 1957.
- H. Takayama. The Administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. New York: 1993.