| The Normans in the Mediterranean |
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6 |
The heirs of the Conquest |
On the death of Robert Guiscard in 1085, the Norman domain was tripartite:
- the Mezzogiorno mainland, divided into the principality of Capua, ruled by the Drengots,
- the duchy of Apulia, ruled by the direct heirs of Robert Guiscard,
- Sicily, raised to the status of a county from 1072, under the rule of Roger I ‘the Grand Count’, loyal vassal of his brother, Robert.Roger II, son of the Grand Count, laid claim to the entire family legacy by demanding the duchy of Apulia on the death of his cousin, William, grandson of Guiscard, in 1127. He was crowned, king of Sicily, in December 1130.
In the meantime, the Hautevilles not having gained enough land in Italy, carved up the lasting principalities in the East.
Roger I, ‘Great Count’
