William II, Duke of Apulia
- William II, Duke of Apulia
William II (1095-July 1127) 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.
He succeeded his father as duke in 1111, though Adela served as regent until William was of age. Like father, like son: he proved utterly inept at governing his Italian possessions. He could not avoid conflict with his cousin Roger II of Sicily, and in 1121 Pope Calixtus II personally intervened to make peace between the warring cousins. William and Roger came to an agreement, whereby Roger provided knights to help William quash a revolt of the minor baron Jordan of Ariano, and in exchange, William abandoned his Sicilian and Calabrian lands.
In 1114, William married a daughter of Count Robert of Carazzo, but they had no children. He died without legitimate posterity in July 1127, leaving the entire of the Norman Mezzogiorno to his first cousin once removed, Roger of Sicily, his erstwhile ally.
Generally considered an insignificant ruler by modern historians, William was respected by his contemporaries, popular with his barons and subjects, and praised for his martial prowess.
ources
* Houben, Hubert. "Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West", 2002
* Matthew, Donald. "The Norman Kingdom of Sicily", 1992
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Roger III, Duke of Apulia — Roger III (1118 ndash; 2 or 12 May 1148) was the Norman duke of Apulia from 1134. He was the eldest son of King Roger II of Sicily and Elvira of Castile. Roger makes his first appearance in the chronicles at Melfi in 1129, jointly accepting with… … Wikipedia
Roger IV, Duke of Apulia — Roger IV (1152 ndash;1161) was the eldest son of William I of Sicily and Margaret of Navarre. Twice in his short life he was the object of the barons intent to replace his father as king. When he was made the duke of Apulia is unknown, probably… … Wikipedia
William of Apulia — was a chronicler of the Normans, writing in the 1090s. His Latin poem, The deeds of Robert Guiscard , one of the principal contemporary sources for the Norman conquests in southern Italy, was composed between 1096 and 1099. It can be dated by the … Wikipedia
William II — may refer to:* William II of Aquitaine (died 926) * William II of Montferrat (died c. 961). * William II Sánchez of Gascony (died after 996). * William II of Provence (c. 987–1019). * William II of Besalú (died 1066). * William I of England (c.… … Wikipedia
Bohemond, Duke of Apulia — Bohemond or Boamund is the only recorded son of William II of Sicily and his wife Joanna of England. According to Orderic Vitalis, in Normandy, he was born in 1181 and created duke of Apulia. The child certainly did not live long enough to… … Wikipedia
William I of Sicily — William I (1131 May 7 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked, was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father s death in 1154 to his own. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. His maternal grandparents were Alfonso VI of… … Wikipedia
William Iron Arm — [Guillaume Bras de fer in French, Guglielmo Braccio di Ferro in Italian and Gugghiermu Vrazzu di Ferru in Sicilian.] (born before 1010 ndash; died 1046) was a Norman adventurer, founder of the fortunes of the Hauteville family. One of twelve sons … Wikipedia
William I — may refer to:Kings* William I of England (c. 1028–1087) known as William the Conqueror * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214) * William I of the Netherlands (1772–1843) * William I, German Emperor (1797–1888) *… … Wikipedia
William Iron-Arm — may refer to: *William IV Iron Arm, Duke of Aquitaine *William I Iron Arm, Duke of Apulia … Wikipedia
William II of Sicily — William II (French language: Guillaume II, 1155 ndash; November 11 1189 Palermo), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189.William was only eleven years old at the death of his father William I, when he was placed under the regency… … Wikipedia
