The administrative history of the Sicilian kingdom under Tancred, count of Lecce, an illegitimate member of the Norman royal family who reigned from 1189 to 1194, is in many respects obscure, but a charter from Montevergine, brought to my notice by Miss Jamison and now printed at the end of this article, throws some light on the fate of the larger of the two mainland provinces, namely All Apulia and Terra di Lavoro.
The document in question was drawn up on the instructions of Lanzo Petitus, Humphrey, Bisantius and Pandulf, catepans of Ascoli Satriano, in November 1190, shortly after the town had been taken by the royalists from Count Roger of Andria, a supporter of Henry VI of Germany, Tancred's imperial rival for the throne of Sicily. Its purpose was to enable Iohannicitus de Bocco to turn out the butchers' stalls under the arches of his house and it also authorised him, should the need arise, to prevent the said stalls from being set up in the market place in front of his house. In making this concession the catepans were acting on the orders of Berard Gentilis, count of Lesina, captain and master justiciar of All Apulia and Terra di Lavoro, and with the consent of the men of Ascoli.