- Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo
Henry (died probably
21 December 1102 [Anecrology ofMontecassino dates his death to 21 December in an uncertain year. He is known to have been dead by August 1103.] ) was theCount of Monte Sant'Angelo , with his seat atFoggia , from November 1081.He was the second son of
Robert, Count of Lucera , and Gaitelgrima, daughter ofGuaimar IV of Salerno . The identity of his father is disputable. He was either the same person as a Robert who was Count ofDevia between 1054 and 1081 or he was a son ofAsclettin, Count of Aversa , and brother ofRichard I of Capua . Henry's mother is known from one of his documents of 1098 which calls Guaimar IV "avi mei".Henry had an elder brother named Richard who served as count between 1072 and 1077 and was dead by March 1083. He also had a younger brother named William and a sister named Gaita who married
Rao of Devia .Henry was the perhaps the same Henry as rebelled between 1079 and 1080 against
Robert Guiscard . He certainly participated in the revolt inApulia in 1081, on the eve of the Guiscard's firstBalkan campaign. This revolt was led byGeoffrey, Count of Conversano , and supported byAlexius I Comnenus but quashed by 1083. Nonetheless, Henry had, in during the insurrection, transferred his allegiance to theByzantine Empire . Between March 1083 and June 1086, he dated his charters by the reign of Alexius I.In June 1087, Henry appeared at the side of
Roger Borsa , apparently having patched up his differences with the HautevilleDukes of Apulia . He maintained a good rapport with Borsa. In 1088, he was present at the duke's making of a donation toSS Trinità di Venosa and he made his own in 1089. Henry was a prolific donor toBenedictine monasteries, endowing, besides Venosa,Montecassino ,La Trinità della Cava ,S. Sofia di Benevento , andS. Giovanni in Lamis .For every year between 1089 and 1096, save 1091, all his documents use imperial dating. During this era, his territorial authority reached its maximum extent stretching from
Lucera toFiorentino ,Vaccarizza , andSiponto , along the coast of theGargano fromVieste toRodi andCagnano and fromSan Nicandro to the promontory,Rignano , and theCapitanate .In 1098, he donated land outside the walls of Monte Sant'Angelo to his uncle,
John, Abbot of Curte , son of Guaimar IV, for the construction of a hospice. This hospice was approved byPope Paschal II in January 1100. In April 1101, the hospice came under Cassinese supervision.Henry died not long after and was succeeded by his brother William. In October 1104, Roger Borsa besieged William and expelled him, abolishing the county. In 1086, Henry had married Adelicia (died before 1096), daughter of
Roger I of Sicily , but she gave him no descendants.Notes
ources
*Chalandon, Ferdinand. "Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie". Paris, 1907.
*Caravale, Mario (ed). "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani LXII Dugoni – Enza". Rome, 1993.
*Jahn, W. "Unersuchungen zur normannischen Herrschaftsbildung in Süditalien (1040–1100)". Phil. Diss. Munich, 1988.External links
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NEAPOLITAN%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc174874010 "Sicily/Naples, Nobility (Conti d'Aversa)"]
*it [http://www.homomediterraneus.it/esp/download/HM-Martin-MonteSant'Angelo.pdf "Il Santuario di Monte Sant'Angelo nel Medioevo" of Jean-Marie Martin]
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