Hugo Falcandus was an Italian historian who chronicled the reign of William I of Sicily

William I of Sicily

William I , called the Bad or the Wicked, was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own...

 and the minority of his son William II

William II of Sicily

William II , called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. William's character is very indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy...

 in a highly critical work entitled The History of the Tyrants of Sicily (or Liber de Regno Sicilie). There is some doubt as to whether "Hugo Falcandus" is a real name or a pseudonym. Evelyn Jamison argued that he was Eugenius, amiratus

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

from 1190. The Frenchman Hugues Foucaud (Hugo Fulcaudus), abbot of Saint-Denis, has been proposed as an author.

The History covers the period from 1154 to 1169, the death of Roger II to the majority of William II. Hugo concentrates on the internal politics of the Palermitan

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

 court. Intrigues and scandals are never ignored. He has a low opinion of most of his contemporaries and ascribes villainous intent to next to all actions. Nevertheless, his detailed account is so far above other narratives of like time and place that he cannot on grounds of bias be overlooked. According to Lord Norwich

John Julius Norwich

John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...

, he "has been compared to Tacitus

Tacitus

Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...

 and Thucydides

Thucydides

Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...

."

The Latin of the work is polished and the first English translation, by G.A. Loud and T. Wiedemann, was published in 1998.

Sources

• Norwich, John Julius
  John Julius Norwich
  John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
  
  . The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  , 1970
• History of the Tyrants of Sicily at The Latin Library
  The Latin Library
  The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. The texts have been drawn from different sources. Many were originally scanned and formatted from texts in the Public Domain. Others have been downloaded from various sites on the Internet . Most of the recent texts have been...
  
  
• G. B.: La 'Historia' o 'Liber de Regno Sicilie' e la Epistola ad Petrum Panormitane Ecclesie Thesaurarium di Ugo Falcando, bearb. v. , Siragusa, Roma 1897