Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The papacy, 1024–1122
- 3 The western empire under the Salians
- 4 Italy in the eleventh century
- 5 The kingdom of the Franks to 1108
- 6 Spain in the eleventh century
- 7 England and Normandy 1042–1137
- 8 The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1118
- 9 Kievan Rus’, the Bulgars and the southern Slavs, c. 1020 – c. 1200
- 10 Poland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
- 11 Scandinavia in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
- 12 Hungary in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
- 13 The papacy, 1122–1198
- 14 The western empire, 1125–1197
- 15 Italy in the twelfth century
- (a) Northern and central Italy in the twelfth century
- (b) Norman Sicily in the twelfth century
- 16 Spain in the twelfth century
- 17 The kingdom of the Franks from Louis VI to Philip II
- 18 England and the Angevin dominions, 1137–1204
- 19 Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the Twelfth Century
- 20 The Byzantine Empire, 1118–1204
- 21 The Latin East, 1098–1205
- 22 ’Abbasids, Fatimids and Seljuqs
- 23 Zengids, Ayyubids and Seljuqs
- Appendix: genealogical tables
- List of primary sources
- Bibliography of Secondary Works Arranged by Chapter
- Index
- Map 1a The western empire: Burgundy and Provence in the eleventh century"
- Map 1b The western empire: Germany and the north-eastern frontier of Christendom in the eleventh century"
- Map 3 The kingdom of the Franks"
- Map 4 England and Normandy"
- Map 10 Germany under Frederick Barbarossa, c. 1190">
- Map 12 The Angevin empire"
- References
(b) - Norman Sicily in the twelfth century
from 15 - Italy in the twelfth century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The papacy, 1024–1122
- 3 The western empire under the Salians
- 4 Italy in the eleventh century
- 5 The kingdom of the Franks to 1108
- 6 Spain in the eleventh century
- 7 England and Normandy 1042–1137
- 8 The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1118
- 9 Kievan Rus’, the Bulgars and the southern Slavs, c. 1020 – c. 1200
- 10 Poland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries
- 11 Scandinavia in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
- 12 Hungary in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
- 13 The papacy, 1122–1198
- 14 The western empire, 1125–1197
- 15 Italy in the twelfth century
- (a) Northern and central Italy in the twelfth century
- (b) Norman Sicily in the twelfth century
- 16 Spain in the twelfth century
- 17 The kingdom of the Franks from Louis VI to Philip II
- 18 England and the Angevin dominions, 1137–1204
- 19 Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the Twelfth Century
- 20 The Byzantine Empire, 1118–1204
- 21 The Latin East, 1098–1205
- 22 ’Abbasids, Fatimids and Seljuqs
- 23 Zengids, Ayyubids and Seljuqs
- Appendix: genealogical tables
- List of primary sources
- Bibliography of Secondary Works Arranged by Chapter
- Index
- Map 1a The western empire: Burgundy and Provence in the eleventh century"
- Map 1b The western empire: Germany and the north-eastern frontier of Christendom in the eleventh century"
- Map 3 The kingdom of the Franks"
- Map 4 England and Normandy"
- Map 10 Germany under Frederick Barbarossa, c. 1190">
- Map 12 The Angevin empire"
- References
Summary
the settlement and, eventually, conquest of southern Italy by the Normans during the eleventh century had greatly altered both its society and its political structures, above all by the conquest of Muslim Sicily. What it had not done was to unite the region. Indeed by c. 1100 the new principalities which the conquerors had created were already fragmenting, and the maintenance of authority, and law and order, was becoming increasingly difficult. This fragmentation was to be abruptly reversed by the unification of southern Italy and Sicily under the rule of Count Roger II of Sicily in the years 1127–30, and the creation of the new kingdom of Sicily in the latter year. This process was by no means painless; indeed the coronation of 1130 was to usher in nearly a decade of civil war on the south Italian mainland, but it did in the end lead to the unification of the whole area for the first time since the age of Justinian. The kingdom created in 1130 was to last, albeit with many vicissitudes, until 1860. The imposition of strong central government, and the challenges that this government faced, form the central theme of south Italian history in the twelfth century.
AUTHORITY AND CHALLENGE BEFORE 1127
Roger II’s contemporary biographer, Abbot Alexander of Telese, claimed that, in 1127, ‘If God had not preserved a scion of the Guiscard’s lineage through whom the ducal power might quickly be revived, almost the whole country … would have rushed headlong to destruction.’ Given that Alexander was writing a work of propaganda, justifying Roger’s takeover of the mainland and the often drastic methods which his hero used to reduce his new dominions to obedience, such an opinion on his part was hardly surprising.
Keywords
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- Information
- The New Cambridge Medieval History , pp. 442 - 474Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
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