The Normans in Italy 1016-1194 (D'Amato Raffaele)(Paperback)

This title covers the history and armies of the powerful military kingdom founded by the Normans in southern Italy and Sicily, which were contemporary to William the Conqueror's invasion of England.

Preceding and simultaneously with the conquest of England by Duke William, other ambitious and aggressive Norman noblemen (notably the Drengot, De Hauteville, and Guiscard families) found it prudent to leave Normandy. At first taking mercenary employment with Lombard rulers then fighting the Byzantine Empire in southern Italy, many of these noblemen achieved great victories, acquired rich lands of their own, and perfected a feudal military system that lasted for 200 years. As news of the rich pickings to be had in the south spread in Normandy, they were joined by many other opportunists--typically, younger sons who could not inherit lands at home. Steadily, these