The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

by Gordon S. Brown

Overview

The Normans originally came to Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries looking for adventure or a livelihood, but once there, found opportunity for fame and fortune. The story of the Norman conquest in Italy and Sicily is indeed one of knights and adventurers, great battles and lowly pillage, opportunism and statesmanship, and crusade and coexistence.

This rich and often dramatic study focuses on the eight sons of Tancred of Hauteville, especially Robert Guiscard, who has been called "the most dazzling military ruler between Julius Caesar and Napoleon," and his youngest brother Roger, who conquered Sicily. It discusses how they expanded their lands throughout southern Italy, and then took Sicily from its Muslim rulers. The brothers, often in conflict with each other, challenged both the Papacy and the Byzantine Empire, became the main supporters of the reformed Papacy, and founded a rich, sophisticated kingdom that lasted until the nineteenth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786414727
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	01/06/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.45(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired ambassador and diplomat Gordon S. Brown lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

Civitate     
The Adventurers     
Tancred of Hauteville     
Mercenaries for the Basileus     
Rebels     
Warlords in Apulia     
Count of Apulia     
The Pope’s Wrath     
Consolidation     
Guiscard     
Calabria     
Sicily     
Cerami     
Rebellion     
Victory     
The Duke and the Pope     
Salerno     
Carrying War to the Enemy     
The Pope’s Savior     
Terror of the World     
The Quest for Glory     
The End of the Beginning     

Chronology     
Genealogical Table—Sons and Grandsons of Tancred of Hauteville    
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

excellent...useful textbook...well-written...interesting read”—De Re Militari; “interesting...accessible”—Military Heritage.

From the Publisher

"interesting...accessible"

Military Heritage

excellent...useful textbook...well-written...interesting read

De Re Militari