23. The Weasel Who Roiled the Mediterranean
Robert Guiscard (1015 – 1085), also known as the Weasel or the Wily, was a Norman knight who settled in southern Italy in about 1047. After a series of adventures, he made himself Duke of Apulia in 1059. He then transformed southern Italy into a Norman domain by extending his rule over Calabria, Naples, and Sicily, laying the foundations for the Kingdom of Sicily. The Weasel was a descendant of Vikings who settled in northwest France, learned French, married the locals, and came to be known as Normans. In 911, the French made a face-saving agreement with their leader, Duke Rollo, whereby they recognized him as feudal lord of Normandy in exchange for the Normans’ conversion to Catholicism and protection of Paris from other Vikings.
In the early 11th century, some Norman knights passed through Italy en route to pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They found Italy agreeable, and stayed, finding employment as mercenaries for Italian lords who were impressed by the Norman lancers’ cavalry charges. Those Norman knights’ sons, of whom Robert Guiscard was one, eventually formed an independent army. In 1047, Guiscard The Weasel used them to make himself Duke of Apulia, and from there, he led an invasion of southern Italy in 1053, warring against the Pope.