Richard II of Capua

Richard II of Capua

Richard II (died 1105/1106), called "the Bald", was the count of Aversa and the prince of Capua from 1090 or 1091.

The eldest son and successor of Jordan I of Capua and Gaitelgrima, daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, he was named after his grandfather, Richard I of Capua. While digressing on this impressive lineage, the chronicler William of Apulia in his "The Deeds of Robert Guiscard" says that he "though now only a young man, already shows courage worthy of an adult."

He succeeded to his father's dominions at a very young age and immediately he and his family were thrown out of their city by the capricious Capuans. The counts of Aquino rose in rebellion and attacked Soria, defended by Richard's uncle, Jonathan, Count of Carinola.

Richard was an exile for the next seven years (during which a Lombard named Lando IV reigned) until, upon reaching his majority, he requested the aid of his great uncle, the count of Sicily, Roger I, and his first cousin once removed, the duke of Apulia, Roger Borsa. The two Rogers came, the former in exchange for the city of Naples and the latter for Richard's recognition of Apulian suzerainty, in May 1098 and besieged Capua for forty days.

It was an interesting siege, for Pope Urban II, embroiled in a controversy with Count Roger, came down to discuss the legatine power in Sicily with him and Anselm of Aosta, the archbishop of Canterbury in self-exile from King William II of England, came to meet the pope. With the aid of Sicilian Saracens, the city fell and the prince was reinstated, Apulian suzerainty acknowledged, and the pope and the count withdrew to Salerno.

The final eight years of his reign were uneventful and he left no heir and was succeeded by his younger brother Robert when he died (in 1105 or, more probably, 1106). Though he had accepted doing homage to the Hauteville duke of Apulia, his successors did not and Capua returned to "de facto" independence under them.

ources

*William of Apulia, "The Deeds of Robert Guiscard" [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/history/weblearning/MedievalHistoryTextCentre/william%20ap%201.doc Books One] (pdf)
*Norwich, John Julius. "The Normans in the South 1016-1130". Longmans: London, 1967.

-
-


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Richard I of Capua — Richard I Drengot (died 1078) was a count of Aversa (1049 1078) and prince of Capua (1058 1078). He was the son of Asclettin, count of Acerenza, younger brother of Asclettin, count of Aversa, and nephew of Rainulf Drengot, the Norman adventurer… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard III of Capua — Richard III (died 10 June 1120), count of Aversa and prince of Capua briefly in 1120 between his anointing on 27 May and his death, was the only son and heir of Robert I of Capua. He was an infant when his father died, and he fell under the… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard of Capua — may refer to:*Richard I of Capua *Richard II of Capua *Richard III of Capua …   Wikipedia

  • Richard III of Gaeta — Richard III (or Richard II if Richard I of Capua is not counted; died 1140), also known as Richard of Caleno, was the Count of Carinola last independent Duke of Gaeta, ruling from 1121 to his death. He was a son of Bartholomew of Carinola and a… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard II of Gaeta — Richard II [Or Richard I if Richard I of Capua is not counted.] (often Richard I of Aquila) (d.1111) was the consul and duke of Gaeta, ruling from 1104 or 1105 to his death. He conquered the duchy from his predecessor, William Blosseville, whom… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard von Capua — (auch: Richard von Aversa, Richard Drengot; † 5. April 1078) war ein normannischer Fürst in Unteritalien, Graf von Aversa (1049–1078) und Fürst von Capua (1059–1078). Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Graf von Aversa 1.2 Fürst von Capua …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Capŭa [1] — Capŭa, 1) Stadt am Volturno im District Caserte der neapolitanischen Provinz Terra di Lavoro, mit Befestigungswerken; Sitz eines Erzbischofs; die große Kathedrale, deren Kuppel auf 18 antiken Säulen verschiedener Größe ruht, hat Gemälde von… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Richard, Count of Acerra — Richard, count of Acerra, was the brother of Sibylla, queen of Tancred of Sicily. He was the chief peninsular supporter of his brother in law during his claim for the throne in 1189. Richard was the co commander of the army attached to Tancred s… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard von Acerra — († 1196 in Capua) war Graf von Acerra. Richard von Acerra war der Sohn des Grafen Roger von Acerra und Bruder der sizilianischen Königin Sibylle. Im Jahr 1190 sandte ihn sein Schwager, König Tankred von Lecce, nach Apulien, um dort den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Capua (Italy) —     Capua     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Capua     (CAPUANA).     The city of Capua is situated in the province of Caserta, Southern Italy. Of Etruscan foundation, it was formerly known as Volturnum and was capital of Campania Felix. About 424 B.C …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”