Robert II of Capua
Encyclopedia
Aversa
Aversa is a town and comune in the Province of Caserta in Campania southern Italy, about 15 kilometres north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the agro aversano, producing wine and cheese...
and the prince of Capua from 1127 until his death .
He was the only son and successor of Jordan II of Capua
Jordan II of Capua
Jordan II was the third son of Prince Jordan I of Capua and Princess Gaitelgrima, a daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno. He was, from at least May 1109, the lord of Nocera, and, after June 1120, Prince of Capua. The date and place of his brith are unknown, but it must have been later than...
. According to the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
chronicler Falco of Benevento
Falco of Benevento
Falco of Benevento was an Italian twelfth-century historian, notary and scribe in the papal palace in Benevento, his native city, where he was born to high-standing parents.He is an important chronicler for the years between 1102 and 1139 in the Mezzogiorno...
, he was "of delicate constitution, he could endure neither labour nor hardship."
In the final month of 1127, Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II , born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was pope from December 21, 1124, to February 13, 1130. Although from a humble background, his obvious intellect and outstanding abilities saw him promoted through the ecclesiastical hierarchy...
came to Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
to preach a crusade against Count Roger II of Sicily
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...
in order to prevent the union of his county with the duchy of 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...
(Duke William II
William II, Duke of Apulia
William II was the duke of Apulia and Calabria from 1111 to 1127. He was the son and successor of Roger Borsa. His mother, Adela of Flanders, had previously been queen of Denmark, and he was a half-brother of Charles the Good....
being recently deceased). At the start of 1128, Honorius II granted investiture to Robert which made the principalities of Capua independent from Apulia. The pope endeavoured to gain Robert's loyalty to help defeat Roger II of Sicily in return for remissions of his sins. He was quickly recruited for the endeavour by the pope, who went to Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
for the ceremony. The pope probably hoped to use Capua as a counterpoise against 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...
, as in the days of Robert's grandfather and great grandfather. Likewise, Robert may have intended to be the chief papal protector, as his ancestors had been. However, he was weak-willed and he soon fell ill and wanted out. Eventually, the coalition commenced negotiations on Roger's arrival with an army. Honorius even successfully negotiated the independence of Capua. In 1129, however, Robert submissively surrendered suzerainty to the duke of Apulia and, the next year (on 25 December 1130) it was believed by Falco of Benevento that, as Roger's vassal-in-chief, laid the crown on his head at his royal coronation. This is difficult to believe as it was such a crucial role and Roger II would not have wanted Robert, as one of his vassals, to perform such an important task, even if he was one of the highest rank.
In 1132, Robert rebelled with many other south Italian vassals of the king of Sicily and with the support of Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
and his coalition of Louis VI of France
Louis VI of France
Louis VI , called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death . Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".-Reign:...
, Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, and the Emperor Lothair II. Robert defeated Roger at the Battle of Nocera
Battle of Nocera
The Battle of Nocera or Scafati was the first major battle of Roger II of Sicily and one of two of his major defeats at the hands of Count Ranulf of Alife.-Background:...
on 24 July, but Roger burnt Aversa and, by 1134, forced Ranulf, count of Alife
Alife
-Other uses:* Artificial life* Artificial Life, Inc., , a mobile content and technology provider...
, and the nominally Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Duke Sergius VII of Naples
Sergius VII of Naples
Sergius VII was the thirty-ninth and last duke of Naples. He succeeded his father John VI on the Neapolitan throne in 1120 or 1123 at a time when Roger II of Sicily was rising rapidly in power...
to submit. Robert was given an ultimatum; if he wanted to keep his title, he must submit to Roger. After the death of Roger's wife, Elvira, and the false news of Roger's death, Robert went to Naples from Pisa with 8000 men. He was met by Rainulf and Duke Sergius when Roger arrived in June 1135, he again offered Robert a choice to keep his title. Roger made his third son Alfonso
Alfonso of Hauteville
Alfonso of Hauteville , third son of Roger II of Sicily and Elvira of Castile, was the prince of Capua from 1135 to his death.He was named after his maternal grandfather, Alfonso VI of Castile...
prince in his stead (1135).
Robert fled to Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, where he gathered a navy and made war against Roger in Sicily, but it was a stalemate. The Pisan fleet ravaged Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...
and took much loot. Laden with this plunder and accompanied by a papal legation, Robert went to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to plead for the aid of the emperor. In Spring 1137, the emperor came down with Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...
; Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria; and a large force. They took Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, and Capua itself, installing Ranulf as duke of Apulia and Robert in Capua, vindicating these actions in battle. But when the emperor left Italy, Roger sacked Capua yet again. On 25 July 1139, Robert and the pope were defeated in battle on the Garigliano, at Galluccio
Galluccio
Galluccio is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northwest of Naples and about 45 km northwest of Caserta.-History:...
, ambushed by Roger. The pope was captured, though Robert escaped. They thereafter acknowledged him as principatus Capuae. He spent most of the next fifteen years in exile in Germany. When Alfonso died in 1144, Roger made his fourth son William
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...
prince. However, following Roger's death in 1154, there was a revolt on the mainland, led by Robert II of Basunvilla, cousin of the new king William I
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...
.
When William was excommunicated by Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
, and with (unjustified) rumours that the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was set to invade southern Italy, Prince Robert was tempted to make a comeback. He swore homage to Adrian retook Capua (1155), taking advantage of William's serious illness. However, in the spring of 1156 William recovered and took a fleet to the mainland. He dealt, first, with the more serious threat from Robert of Basunvilla and the other Apulian and Campanian rebels, but then he turned to Capua. Robert was captured. He might have been executed as a traitor, but instead William sent him as a prisoner to Palermo, where he was possibly blinded.
Robert left a son named Jordan who lived in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he served the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus as sebastos
Sebastos
Sebastos was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus. From the late 11th century on, during the Komnenian period, it and variants derived from it formed the basis of a new system of court titles for the Byzantine Empire. The female form of the title...
and diplomat. He journeyed to Rome in 1166-1167 to try and aid the reunion of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.