The Hauteville family (Italian: Altavilla, Sicilian: Autaviḍḍa) was a Norman family, originally of petty lords, from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy.
The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. In 1130, Roger II of Hauteville, was made the first King of Sicily. His male-line descendants ruled the kingdom until 1194. The Hauteville also took part in the First Crusade and ruled the independent Principality of Antioch (1098).
Origins
Tradition traces the family's origins to Hiallt, a 10th-century Viking who supposedly founded the village of Hialtus villa, from which the family's name originates. Hiallt, however, is probably just a legendary eponymous ancestor: the Latin form of Hauteville, Altavilla, simply means "high estate".
The first well-documented member of the family is Tancred of Hauteville, petty lord of Hauteville-la-Guichard. Tancred had many sons by his two wives, Muriella and Fressenda, and his small patrimony was hardly enough to accommodate all of his children. They were thus forced to seek fortune elsewhere, namely in Southern Italy.
Southern Italy
William Iron Arm and Drogo were the first of Tancred's sons to arrive in Southern Italy, sometime around 1035. They distinguished themselves in a rebellion against the Byzantines, and in 1042 William Iron Arm was named the first Count of Apulia. In 1046 he was succeeded by Drogo, whose titles were confirmed by Emperor Henry III. Drogo was succeeded by another brother, Humphrey, who in 1053 defeated Pope Leo IX in the Battle of Civitate, strengthening the Hautevilles’ power.
Humphrey was succeeded by a fourth brother, Robert Guiscard. In 1059, Robert was made the first Duke of Apulia and Calabria, and also Lord of Sicily, by Pope Nicholas II. Together with his younger brother, Roger I, he started to conquer Sicily, at the time occupied by the Saracens. Guiscard was succeeded by his son Roger Borsa, who in turn was succeeded by his son William II. When William died childless, all of the Hauteville family's domains were inherited by Roger II, son of Roger I.
Kingdom of Sicily
After unifying all of the Hauteville family's domains, Roger II supported Antipope Anacletus II, and on Christmas of 1130, Roger was made King of Sicily. Roger spent the majority of his first decade of reign fending off invaders and suppressing rebellions. In 1139, with the Treaty of Mignano, his kingship was recognized by the legitimate Pope, Innocent II. Through the actions of his admiral George of Antioch, Roger also proceeded to conquer the Mahdia, taking the unofficial title of “King of Africa”.
Roger's son and successor was William I the Bad. His nickname derives primarily from his lack of popularity among the chroniclers, who supported the baronial revolts that William crushed. In 1166 he was succeeded by his son William II the Good, who was still a minor. During his regency, that lasted until 1189, the realm was subject to turmoils, which almost broke it apart. Eventually peace won, and William II's reign is remembered as peaceful and prosperous.
William II died without heirs in 1189, and there was a succession dispute. William's only legitimate heir was his aunt Constance, but she had married Emperor Henry VI, and Sicilian officials didn't want a German ruler. An illegitimate cousin of William, Tancred of Lecce, seized the throne. He initially had to fight against a revolt of Roger of Andria, a former contender. In 1190 he managed to kill him, and in 1191 he was able to repel an invasion of Constance and Henry VI. After he died in 1194, however, the kingdom passed to Constance anyway, and was afterwards ruled by the Hohenstaufen. Constance and Henry's son and successor was Emperor Frederick II.
Crusades
The eldest son of Robert Guiscard, Bohemond, didn't inherit the majority of his father possessions because he wasn't considered legitimate, as his parents’ marriage was annulled for consanguinity. He thus had to find land elsewhere. In 1097 he joined a band of Crusaders, on their way to the first Crusade, along with his nephew, Tancred of Galilee. Bohemond took the city of Antioch, and remained there for the duration of the Crusade, carving out the independent Principality of Antioch for himself. He was succeeded by his son Bohemond II, who in turn was succeeded by his daughter Constance, who ruled the principality until 1163. Bohemond's nephew, Tancred, also had luck in carving the Principality of Galilee, a vassal fief of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Cadet branches
Different Italian noble families are scions of the House of Hauteville. Among these, there are the Gesualdo family, the Rosso family, and the Guarna / Avarna family.
Supposed members of the House of Hauteville also appear in England. According to Goffredo Malaterra, one of Tancred's sons, Aubrey or Alverard, remained in Normandy. The Domesday Book, written in 1086, records that a certain Aluericus Halsvilla had previously held lands in Compton Martin, in the County of Somerset. His kinsman, Ralf Halsvilla is mentioned as a tenant in Burbage and Wolfhall, in Wiltshire.
Genealogy
Here follows the family tree of the main branch of the Hauteville family:
Notes
References
Sources
- European Commission presentation of The Normans Norman Heritage, 10th-12th century.
- Norwich, John Julius. The Normans in the South 1016-1130. Longmans: London, 1967.
- Norwich, John Julius. The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: London, 1970.
- Pierre Aubé, Roger II de Sicile. 2001.
- Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University Press: 1992.
- Houben, Hubert. Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West. Trans. G. A. Loud and Diane Milbourne. Cambridge University Press: 2002.
- Medieval Sourcebook: Alexiad—complete text, translated Elizabeth A. Dawes
- Ralph of Caen. Gesta Tancredi. trans. Bernard S. and David S. Bachrach. Ashgate Publishing, 2005.
