Children of the Guiscard: A Norman Sicily TL

Zioneer

Banned
Hello everybody, Zioneer here. I've got a TL for you all that I think you'd like. As you can see, it's called "Children of the Guiscard", and is at it's core, about the survival of a Norman-ruled (or at least self-ruled) Sicily. It'll be heavily inspired by the excellent Age of Miracles TL by Basileus444. With that being said, here goes.

"I suppose that we all are children of the Guiscard in our own way."- Roger IV of Sicily.



1130:
On Feburary 13, Pope Honorius II dies. The next day, the cardinals decide that they will entrust the election to a commission of eight men, led by papal chancellor Haimeric, who had his candidate Cardinal Gregory Papareschi hastily elected as Pope Innocent II. He is consecrated on February 14, the day after Honorius' death. On the same day, the other cardinals announce that Innocent had not been canonically elected and chose Cardinal Pietro Pierleoni, a Roman whose family were the enemy of Haimeric's supporters the Frangipani. Pietro is elected as Anacletus II.[1]

Duke Roger of Sicily, Calabria, and Apulia supports Anacletus, and with covert Norman backing and Anacletus’s own popularity and excellent reputation, Innocent is thrown out of Rome.

Innocent and his supporters flee to Pisa in a bid to sail to the port of Genoa then France to gain the support of notable figures like Bernard of Clairvaux, but on the way to Genoa, Innocent falls ill and dies. Anacletus II is now the undisputed moral head of Catholic Christendom.[2]

Anacletus quickly reassures the reformists within the Catholic Church that he will undertake a reformist program, and to prove it, he bars his powerful brother Giordano from his papal chambers and symbolically from Rome itself. However, as Giordano simply builds a manor directly outside Rome and Anacletus travels to his brother’s manor often, this has little effect beyond satisfying the reformists.

Anacletus then decrees a reform to clerical families; he proclaims that those directly related to an ordained priest within one generation cannot become priests themselves.

Pleased by the actions of Anacletus, the reformists decline to set up a new papal contender, though Bernard of Clairvaux quietly funds an anti-Pierleoni movement in Rome, not trusting the powerful family to stay as meek and humble as they seem.

The new Pope proceeds to reward faithful Duke Roger with a crown. Henceforth, Roger is to be known as Roger II of Sicily[3].

Immediately after the coronation, a collection of Norman nobles rebel against Roger’s rule, fearing that he will centralize his power at the expense of their feudal rights. The ringleaders of the rebellion are Count Ranulf Drengot of Alife, Count Robert of Capua and Aversa, the Lombard Count Grimoald of Bari, and the leaders of the city of Almalfi. Defeating Roger at Melfi and Bari, Ranulf secures the leadership of the rebellion.

1131: The rebellion continues, but with military defeats, Roger tries a different tactic: excommunication. With Pope Anacletus firmly under his grip, Roger convinces the Holy Father to excommunicate the rebels. Papal messengers are sent throughout the domains of Ranulf, Robert, and Grimoald, and the subjects of all three are told that they are free to leave the service of their masters. Count Robert’s subjects rebel most readily, as he is a weak ruler, and Ranulf is forced to spend a month cutting down a papal-inspired counter-rebellion in Aversa.

Roger cannot advance as much as he would like, however, due to the determined resistance of Grimoald, who revives a sense of nationalism among the Lombards of southern Italy. Roger, never a skilled general, is defeated again at Bari, the citizens of which support Grimoald readily despite the papal excommunication. Roger is driven back down to Calabria, the “toe” of Italy.

By mid-May, Ranulf crushes the counter-rebellion occupying his attention, and after combining his army with Grimoald’s, advances on Roger’s position at Reggio, where he is met by a last-ditch attempt by King Roger to stop the rebellion. As the Battle of Reggio begins, Ranulf has the larger army, and is a far better general, but he is lacking many of his most skilled soldiers, who were killed or wounded in the suppression of the counter-rebellion.

The battle is short, but has a surprising conclusion: Ranulf defeats Roger, but Grimoald the Lombard is killed by Roger’s Saracen bodyguards and Ranulf’s depleted army is barely able to force Roger back to Palermo. Roger decides to spend the rest of the year recuperating his forces and allowing the farmers among them to plant more food for the year’s harvests. Roger spends his own time meeting with the Hungarian king Bela II, known as “The Blind”, hoping to enlist Hungarian aid to take back the rest of southern Italy.

Bela, a young man at 22, and Roger, a somewhat older monarch at 36, strike up a strong friendship, the blind Hungarian figuratively looking up to the man known to his enemies as the “baptized sultan”. Both had been rejected as monarchs by a large portion of their nobility, and both struggled with certain duties of a king; Blind Bela at royal administration, and Roger at military matters. The two even faced rebellions, Bela waging war against Boris Kalamenos, a bastard son of his uncle Coloman, who had served as king before Bela. All in all, their meeting is a rousing success, Bela and Roger promising help to the other in their respective rebellions. Bela even pledges a force of a thousand Magyars[4] and Croats immediately to Roger, and the two seal the deal with a marriage alliance; when she is of age, Bela’s infant daughter Elizabeth will be wed to Roger’s son of thirteen years, also named Roger.

Meanwhile, the anti-Roger rebellion falls to in-fighting as Ranulf and Robert of Aversa fall to squabbling over the spoils of war. Ranulf desires the late Grimoald’s city of Bari, but Robert desires the prosperous port city as much as Ranulf does. Wise enough to realize that coming to actual blows will allow Roger to shatter the divided rebellion, Ranulf hammers out a deal with Robert; they will station their troops in the city on differing days. For now, the two rebels are satisfied, though with the heavy hand of two masters, the Bariots grow unhappy.

To the northwest at Rome, Bernard of Clairvaux’s strategy finally pays off, as Pope Anacletus is forced out of Rome by a popular revolt. The revolutionaries demand further reforms before allowing him back in, but Anacletus refuses.

1132: In January, one of Robert of Aversa’s troops takes a Bariot girl for his bride without asking the family. This would not normally be of note, but this same family had been smuggled a secret cache of weaponry by Roger’s spies. The men of the family kill the soldier, then distribute the weapons among the people of Bari, leading into a revolt against Robert of Aversa, coordinated by Roger. Soon, Ranulf must come to the incompetent Robert’s aid, and this time, he is in no mode for compromise. Ranulf has seen his ambitions thwarted time and time again for Robert's sake, and this will be the last time.

He has his troops seize Robert, and after making the Count his prisoner, Ranulf forces his ally to legally sign over all his lands. Once the Count is done, Ranulf quietly executes him. The rebel lord is now master of mainland Norman Italy, but at a cost. With the defection of a few of Rainulf’s scouts, Roger knows exactly how tenuous Ranulf’s position is. The Sicilian king re-enters Southern Italy by March, and has reconquered Calabria by May, looking poised to reclaim Apulia as well.

Attempting to salvage this disaster and knowing full well that he will not be given mercy by a furious Norman king, Ranulf calls upon the giant waiting in the wings; The Holy Roman Emperor, Lothair III. He swears to be a vassal duke[4] to Lothair if the Emperor helps him defeat Roger, and pay vassal dues. Desiring to bring all of Sicily back under his control, Lothair accepts, and by mid-June, a massive German army led by the Emperor himself arrives in Norman-controlled southern Italy. It is welcomed by many Lombards and Greeks living in the peninsula, seeing a far-away emperor an easier yoke than their nearby king.

Facing the Imperial behemoth, Roger changes his tactics. His scouts have brought him reports that the German troops are unused to the hot Sicilian summer, and have developed an overbearing attitude towards the mainly Sicilian rebels. Thus, the Sicilian rebels have refused to march with the Germans, and stay far behind their allies.

Roger, knowing that the rebels alone hold knowledge of the geography of southern Italy, sends out Saracen raiders to harass the Imperial supply lines and bring the spoils back to mainland towns whose loyalties could waver. The Arabs, utterly loyal to their multicultural master, do their jobs well, plundering the German supply line and distributing it among various towns. Largely unaware of this distribution, the Germans seize the foodstuffs of the suspiciously well-stocked towns, and act tyrannically towards the Sicilians, their tempers frayed by the hot climate of the peninsula. Predictably by the autumn, the Sicilians rebel against the Germans they welcomed not long before. 1132 ends in blood and rebellion, just as the year preceding it.
_________
Notes:

[1] Copy-pasted (except the last sentence) from Wikipedia.
[2] First PoD, and most major one.
[3] For some reason, Roger II’s father, Roger the Great Count, is counted in the OTL regnal numbers as Roger I, despite not holding a crown.
[4] Lothair isn't stupid enough to allow Ranulf to be a king.
 
Eh, the Islamic loyalty to the Norman Lords wasn't as great as history tidbits make out. They were glad when the Normans weren't massacring them and they had maybe a few Arab court members in their train.

Freddie 2 did a "good" job of partially massacring the Arabs in Sicily then moving them all to the middle of Italy where depends on him he made them a valuable source of craftsmen and soldiers-even using them to fight along side the Pope ironically enough.

I have a book on the matter of Islamic-Christian armies working together and a chapter is devoted to The Sicillian Arabs if you want me to share some information.
 
Last edited:

Zioneer

Banned
Eh, the Islamic loyalty to the Norman Lords wasn't as great as history tidbits make out. They were glad when the Normans weren't massacring them and they had maybe a few Arab court members in their train.

Freddie 2 did a "good" job of partially massacring the Arabs in Sicily then moving them all to the middle of Italy where depends on him he made them a valuable source of craftsmen and soldiers-even using them to fight along side the Pope ironically enough.

I have a book on the matter of Islamic-Christian armies working together and a chapter is devoted to The Sicillian Arabs if you want me to share some information.

Good point. I guess "utterly loyal" isn't the right word. Though you also have to keep in mind that Roger II is probably a more lenient lord then they've had in a while. And I have a few incidents in mind that will make the Sicilian Muslims far less loyal to the throne in the future.

And feel free to share any info; I only have three sources; the Norman Centuries podcast, Wikipedia, and the excellent book The Normans in the South by John Julius Norwich. I'd love any extra information.
 
Intriguing start, I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

Unfortunately I can't help with sources specific to the Sicilian Normans. But Peter Lock's Franks in the Aegean, 1204-1500 might be tangentially useful. Another potentially helpful source is Donald Nicol's Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations. Obviously it's about Byzantium and Venice, and mostly post-1204, but the sections on the 12th century do touch on the Normans a good bit since a major facet of 12th century Byzantine-Venetian relations was the need to contain the Normans.
 
I wonder if we may see Roger's Kingdom of Africa come to fruition in TTL? At the very least, the Scicilian Normans may not raid the Byzantines as much as OTL - the manpower would be better used in Italy anyway.

Looking forward to see how this pans out!
 

Zioneer

Banned


1133:
After nearly two years of exile, Pope Anacletus humbles himself further before the Roman reformers, promising to enforce clerical celibacy and the laws against simony, and additionally, finally expelling his brother from the lands of the Papacy. He is allowed to enter Rome, once again, but this time, the Holy Father has come prepared. He excommunicates the most obvious of Bernard of Clairvaux’s supporters in Rome, while praising the celebrated monk himself. The excommunicated malcontents are sent to evangelize among the heathens in Lithuania, under heavy guard. The Holy Father does not expect them to return.

Wary of the Imperial army on his doorstep, Anacletus also blesses Emperor Lothair with “May all the saints of Germany watch over him in his travels, and on his journey home“, a none-too-subtle reminder to return to Germany instead of looming over the Papacy.

In southern Italy the Imperial forces wait out the winter before finally meeting again ten miles from Bari.


_______
Werner of Habsburg was not normally an impatient man, but having to wait for the winter to fade before confronting that Sicilian dog who called himself “king” certainly frayed his nerves. The baptized sultan refused to fight them in glorious battle. That coward sent only raiders to harass Werner and his fellow Imperial vassals. Thankfully, only a few sentries had died; Werner himself was not harmed. After the plague in the Swiss mountains that took almost all of the Habsburg line back to God[1], Werner was quite cautious with his life. His refuge was a small camp near Bari, shrouded by hills, hardly a defensible area, and more of an earthly cloak to hide him from a sudden ambush.

But it was no matter; the Count of Habsburg had a few Moorish scouts, traitors to Roger, that had kept him apprised of the Sicilian force. The “baptized sultan” had far less loyal men then Werner himself did; the battle to come would be a bloodbath, and not for Werner. Roger’s forces would be decimated, and his towns and supply trains open for a looting.

Thinking upon the glory and riches he would gain from defeating Roger, Werner’s mood improved considerably. Yes, he would defeat the Sicilian, and with the prestige and wealth gained from that, he would marry a fertile daughter of a high-ranking duke, or perhaps even a princess. Then he could restart the line of Habsburg over again, elevating them to dizzying new heights. His grandchildren would rule kingdoms, and his great-grandchildren empire. Then all the world would be subject to the House of Habsburg.[2]

This thought put Werner in such a splendid mood that he nearly didn’t notice the four robed Moors walking up to him. These were the scouts that had been so helpful to Werner. Surely they would give him word of the Sicilian’s next move. He heard the leader of the scouts, a tall Moor slightly paler than the rest, mumble to the others in their primitive language, before turning to him.

“Ah, my scouts. Come to bring me news of that dog Roger?” It was then that Werner noticed that the other three scouts had stepped around him, and the glint of blades greeted his eyes. A circle of steel cut off his path away from the Moors.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are you?” At Werner’s questions, the leader of the Moors laughed, his voice suddenly taking on a Norman accent. He drew a sword, a sword that did not look like any Moorish sword Werner had seen. It looked more like a well-used Norman longsword.

“Germans. You put on a Moorish robe, cake your face with a few pigments, and talk Magyar to your Magyar warriors[3], and they’re fooled. I am Prince Roger of Sicily, son of ‘the dog’, my friend. And you are already dead.” Before Werner could draw his sword or respond, the Prince of Sicily and his apparently Magyar fellows plunged their swords into Werner, and so the life of the last Habsburg ended in pain.[4]
_______


After the daring murder of the leader of a major Imperial army by Prince Roger and his Magyar agents, the Sicilians shatter the now leaderless column, driving them from the outskirts of Bari to Melfi, where the Imperial forces finally find refuge. King Roger's alliance with Bela the Blind pays off, with the Hungarian monarch's troops proving to be far more effective in battle than even Roger had hoped.

As the spring months end, Emperor Lothair moves to reinforce the damaged Imperialarmy, and the result is a stalemate; the Germans in Melfi cannot push back in a counter-attack due to Roger’s improved position, and Roger cannot face the power of a reinforced Imperial army head-on. Instead, Roger concentrates on capturing the mostly hapless German commanders in Lothair’s army, leading the Emperor to rely on Ranulf Drengot, who realizes the stalemate will not last forever.

However, a semblance of a truce develops through the summer and fall, and winter opens with an Imperial army weary of waiting. Grumbling begins to occur among the German lords, who wish to return to their native lands. Ranulf Drengot realizes that his rebellion is doomed without Lothair, and he quietly sends a messenger asking for mercy to Roger, who is not inclined to be forgiving.

1134: King Roger’s advisors tell him that imprisoning and executing Ranulf, as he plans to do, will anger the Drengot family and possibly cause another rebellion. Therefore, an agreement is worked out that Ranulf will give up all claims on the Kingdom, that the lands he seized from his co-rebel Robert of Aversa (who was also prince of Capua) will fall under the ownership of the royal family, and that Ranulf’s wife and son would be held as hostages to ensure his good behavior.

Additionally, Ranulf will plead with Emperor Lothair to return to Germany and recognize Roger as King of Sicily. As winter turns into spring, Ranulf accepts, and successfully persuades Lothair to leave. The first crisis of King Roger’s rule is over.

With the immediate threat to his rule extungished, Roger turns his eye towards Duke Sergius VII of Naples, heir to an ancient Lombard line and last ruler south of Rome not under Roger's control. Roger begins overtures to the Duke, offering vassal status under the Sicilian crown. At the same time, he begins preparations to aid King Bela II of Hungary with the rebellion against the Magyar king's rule. His son Prince Roger, already renowned as a hero in Sicily, will acquire quite a different reputation in Hungary...


____________________________
Notes:
[1] A minor PoD, only used for the purposes of this segment.
[2] Had to use the (paraphrased) AEIOU motto.
[3] Remember them?
[4] So yeah, no more Habsburgs.
 
I was going to write interesting TL and in principle it still is. Though I can't see the reason to kill off the Habsburgs, certainly at this point, they're only counts in the Aargau, so not really important yet; so I guess you must really dislike them. In fact at this point there is no reason to assume that the Habsburgs would ever have become as successful as IOTL anyway, maybe in the future like the count of Württemberg IOTL they could have gotten a promotion to duke and stayed a local ruler, but with or without killing them off at this point AEIOU is far away and not likely at all.

Apart from this slight comment, I find this (in general;)) a well written TL.
 
Last edited:

Zioneer

Banned
I was going to write interesting TL and in principle it still is. Though I can't see the reason to kill off the Habsburgs, certainly at this point, they're only counts in the Aargau, so not really important yet; so I guess you must really dislike them. In fact at this point there is no reason to assume that the Habsburgs would ever have become as successful as IOTL anyway, maybe in the future like the count of Württemberg IOTL they could have gotten a promotion to duke and stayed a local ruler, but with or without killing them off at this point AEIOU is far away and not likely at all.

Apart from this slight comment, I find this (in general;)) a well written TL.

Oh, I don't dislike them, I just wanted to remove the possibility of them ever reaching the heights of power they did. And I wanted to troll the idea I've seen in many TLs where the Habsburgs rise in power no matter the PoD. I was using Werner as a vehicle to mock the rather implausible rise of the Habsburgs, and to show off how Prince Roger operates.

And I have a few families in mind that will fulfill the role of the Habsburgs quite nicely...
 
Top