William of Apulia

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William of Apulia was a southern Italian historian who lived in Apulia between the second half of the 11th century and the first half of the 12th century . Biographical data are not known, his knowledge of the topography of Puglia suggests that he was born there. Whether he was a cleric or a layperson cannot be determined either. The thesis that he was born in Giovinazzo has not yet been substantiated. It is also unclear whether Wilhelm came from a Norman or a local Longobard family.

The epic

Along with Amatus von Montecassino and Gaufredus Malaterra, his Gesta Roberti Wiscardi are among the main historiographical sources that tell of the emergence of Norman rule over southern Italy . His protagonist is Robert Guiskard , but he also reports on the beginnings of the Normans, such as their contacts with Meles von Bari . At the suggestion of Urban II , he began it between 1088 and 1098 and completed it before 1111. This epic in five books is based not only on Amatus but also on the local historiographical texts ( Annales Barenses , Anonymus Barensis , Lupus Protospatharius ) and on oral tradition. In antique hexameters , books I and II describe the Normans' march to Italy, the first settlements and the beginnings of the formation of the state, books III to V deal with the conquests of Guiskards in Italy and Dalmatia and end with his death in 1085. In addition to the glorification of the house of Hauteville takes place Wilhelm also praised local leaders such as Count Amicus von Giovinazzo. To legitimize the conquest, he repeatedly emphasizes the marriage connection between the Norman duke and the Lombard prince's daughter Sikelgaita . Despite the Norman – Byzantine enmity, Alexios I Komnenus is the rightful emperor ( rector imperii ) for him , while Henry IV is only rex Alemannicus ( German king ).

The only surviving medieval manuscript from the end of the 12th century (Bibliothèque Municipale d ' Avranches , ms. 162) comes from the library of Mont-Saint-Michel . The manuscript used for the editio princeps of 1582 came from the Abbey of Le Bec , but has been lost.

Edition

  • Guillaume de Pouille, La Geste de Robert Guiscard , ed. Marguerite Mathieu, Palermo 1961 (Instituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi e monumenti 4).

literature

  • Max Manitius : History of Latin Literature in the Middle Ages . Third part (volume) with Paul Lehmann's participation: From the outbreak of the church dispute to the end of the twelfth century . Munich 1931, pp. 660–662 ( HdAW 9.2.3)
  • Pietro De Leo, 63. W. von Apulien in Lexikon des Mittelalters 9, 161–162.
  • Ovidio Capitani, The Normans in Sicily and Southern Italy , Lincei Lectures 1974, 1977, 1-46
  • Vincenzo D'Alessandro, Storiografia e politica nell'Italia normanna , 1978
  • Kenneth Baxter Wolf, Making history. The Normans and their historians in eleventh-century Italy , Philadelphia 1995.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME William of Apulia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guillermus apuliensis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian historian
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH 12th Century