William I of Sicily

William I of Sicily from the house of Hauteville, also known as William the Bad (not contemporary ), ( * 1122, † May 7, 1166 in Palermo ) was King of Sicily.

Family relationships

William was the youngest son of Roger II of Sicily. He was employed by his father at Easter 1151 as co-regent. After the death of his father on February 26, 1154 he became king of Sicily.

William was married to Margaret of Navarre. The eldest son, Roger, was from June 1156 to his death in March 1161 Duke of Apulia. Was succeeded by William II of Sicily, where after the death of his elder brother no title has been awarded, while the youngest brother, Henry († 1172 ), was appointed Prince of Capua.

Foreign Policy

His greatest success in foreign policy was the peace treaty with Pope Adrian IV in the Concordat of Benevento in June 1156, which brought excluding the territorial disputes on the northern border of the kingdom almost complete recognition of the prerogatives of Sicilian king opposite the church. The commercial and legal protection treaties with Genoa in November 1156 and Venice ( 1155? ) Strengthened the Norman kingdom.

Domestic Policy

Domestically, he had to contend with the opposition of the nobility. The Apulian uprising, which was also supported by Byzantium, he has 1156 downhearted himself: Bari was, with the exception of the Basilica of San Nicola razed to the ground, the inhabitants driven out, exiled some leaders, which the regency for Wilhelm II allowed the return. The policy of his closest collaborator Maio of Bari, whose career had begun in the court of Palermo in recent years Roger II - under Wilhelm, he became the ammiratus ammiratorum ( Emir of Emirs ) - sparked riots in Palermo, the first on the murder Maios led in November 1160. In the spring of 1161 the king was set even caught with his family. The conspirators wanted to William son of Roger rise to the king, who, however, died in the unrest. After a short time Wilhelm was released and was able to suppress the conspiracy.

He is buried in the cathedral of Monreale, where he was transferred from the Capella Palatina.

Sources and Literature

  • Giovanni Battista Siragusa: Historia o Liber de Regno e la Siciliae Epistola ad Petrum Panormitanae Ecclesiae thesaurarium di Ugo Falcando [ Fonti per la storia d' Italia 22], Roma 1897
  • Carlo Alberto Garufi, Romualdi Salernitani Chronicon [ Rerum Scriptores Italicarum, NS t. VII / 1] Città di Castello 1935.
  • Horst Enzensberger, Guillelmi I registered diplomata Cologne - Vienna 1996 [ Codex diplomaticus Regni Siciliae. Series fine, tomus III ] ISBN 3-412-00689-0
  • GB Siragusa: Il regno di Guglielmo I in Sicilia, illustrato con nuovi documenti. Seconda edizione Riveduta ed ampliata con was tavole illustrate, Palermo, 1929.
  • Horst Enzensberger, The "evil" and "good" Wilhelm. To the church policy of the Kings of Sicily after the Concordat of Benevento ( 1156 ), in: German archive 36, 1980, pp. 385-432
  • Potere, società e popolo dei due nell'età Guglielmi [ Centro di studi normanno - svevi. Università degli Studi di Bari, Atti 4], Bari 1981.
  • Norwich, John Julius, The Normans in Sicily 1130-1194, pp. 157-223; F.A.Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1971.
Hauteville family Cappella Palatina Integrated Authority File
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