William of Montreuil
Encyclopedia
William of Montreuil was an Italo-Norman
freebooter of the mid-eleventh century. He was described by Amatus of Monte Cassino as an exceptional knight, small in stature, who was very robust, strong, valiant and by Orderic Vitalis
as le Bon Normand, "the Good Norman."
He was a son of the Guillaume Giroie who journeyed to Apulia
and died in Gaeta
, and Emma. He too travelled to Italy, where he married a daughter of Richard I of Capua
. This may have been the same daughter who was betrothed to the son of Atenulf I of Gaeta
. Richard granted his adopted son the counties of Marsia
, Campania
, and Aquino
as part of her dowry
. In 1064, he was appointed Duke of Gaeta, but he repudiated his wife to marry Maria
, widow of Atenulf I and daughter of Pandulf IV of Capua
. He joined with Lando, Count of Traietto
, a son of Atenulf, and besieged Aquino and Piedimonte, defended by Atenulf's other sons. He was unsurprisingly deprived of Gaeta and forced to flee.
He then took service with Pope Alexander II
and saw military action in the Reconquista
in Iberian Peninsula
, where he won his famous sobriquet. In 1064, as the gonfalonier
of the cavalry of Rome
, he was present at the siege of
Barbastro
, where he took an enormous booty http://libro.uca.edu/chaytor/hac3.htm. He was equally successful on behalf of the pope in the Campania.
He granted two churches to Monte Cassino
in September 1068 and died in Rome
of a fever.http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SOUTHERN%20ITALY,%20PRE-NORMAN.htm#_Toc111996683
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...
freebooter of the mid-eleventh century. He was described by Amatus of Monte Cassino as an exceptional knight, small in stature, who was very robust, strong, valiant and by Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
as le Bon Normand, "the Good Norman."
He was a son of the Guillaume Giroie who journeyed to Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
and died in Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
, and Emma. He too travelled to Italy, where he married a daughter of Richard I of Capua
Richard I of Capua
Richard I Drengot was a count of Aversa and prince of Capua .He was the son of Asclettin, count of Acerenza, younger brother of Asclettin, count of Aversa, and nephew of Rainulf Drengot, the Norman adventurer who had first travelled to southern Italy in 1017 and progressed to set up the first...
. This may have been the same daughter who was betrothed to the son of Atenulf I of Gaeta
Atenulf I of Gaeta
Atenulf I was the Lombard count of Aquino who rose to become Duke of Gaeta in Southern Italy during the chaotic middle of the eleventh century....
. Richard granted his adopted son the counties of Marsia
Marsia
Marsiya is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain and his comrades of the Karbala...
, Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, and Aquino
Aquino
Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 km northwest of Cassino.-History:The ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri...
as part of her dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. In 1064, he was appointed Duke of Gaeta, but he repudiated his wife to marry Maria
Maria of Gaeta
Maria , daughter of Pandulf IV of Capua and Maria, was the wife of Atenulf, count of Aquino, while her unnamed sister was the wife of Atenulf's brother Lando...
, widow of Atenulf I and daughter of Pandulf IV of Capua
Pandulf IV of Capua
Pandulf IV was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions.From February 1016 to 1022 he ruled in association with his cousin Pandulf II. In 1018, the Byzantine catapan Boiannes destroyed the Lombard army of Melus of Bari and his Norman allies at Cannae...
. He joined with Lando, Count of Traietto
Lando of Gaeta
Lando was the Duke of Gaeta briefly in 1064–1065. He was appointed by Richard I and Jordan I, co-princes of Capua, after the revolt of William of Montreuil, who attempted to repudiate Richard's daughter and marry Maria of Gaeta....
, a son of Atenulf, and besieged Aquino and Piedimonte, defended by Atenulf's other sons. He was unsurprisingly deprived of Gaeta and forced to flee.
He then took service with Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II , born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073.He was born in Milan. As bishop of Lucca he had been an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand of Sovana in endeavouring to suppress simony, and to enforce the celibacy of the clergy...
and saw military action in the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
in Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, where he won his famous sobriquet. In 1064, as the gonfalonier
Gonfalone of the Church
The Banner of the Holy Roman Church was the battle standard of the Papal States during the Renaissance and a symbol of the Roman Catholic Church...
of the cavalry of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, he was present at the siege of
War of Barbastro
The War of Barbastro was an international expedition, sanctioned by Pope Alexander II, to take the Spanish city of Barbastro from the Moors. A large army composed of elements from all over Western Europe took part in the successful siege of the city...
Barbastro
Barbastro
Barbastro is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain...
, where he took an enormous booty http://libro.uca.edu/chaytor/hac3.htm. He was equally successful on behalf of the pope in the Campania.
He granted two churches to Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
in September 1068 and died in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
of a fever.http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SOUTHERN%20ITALY,%20PRE-NORMAN.htm#_Toc111996683
Sources
- Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
- Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 1926.
- Chaytor, H. J. A History of Aragon and Catalonia. London: Methuan, 1933.
- Bishko, Charles Julian. "Study II: Fernando I and the Origins of the Leonese-Castilian Alliance With Cluny." Cuadernos de Historia de España. 48 (1969), 30–116, pp 53–88.