Atenulf was the son of Prince

Landulf V of Benevento Landulf V (died September 1033) was the prince of Benevento from May 987, when he was first associated with his father Pandulf II, to his death. He was chief prince from his father's death in 1014. In 999, Otto III visited the shrine of Saint Mi ...

and brother of Prince Pandulf III. In 1040, Benevento still had the prestige of being the first of the independent Lombard principalities of the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning ...

. So, when the Lombard

Arduin ''Arduin'' is a fictional universe and fantasy role-playing system created in the mid-1970s by David A. Hargrave. It was the first published "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama, altho ...

, ''

topoterites ( grc-gre, τοποτηρητής, topotērētēs) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine technical term, meaning deputy or lieutenant (). As such, it was used in different ways throughout the Empire's history. In the 9th-11th centuries, the was the de ...

'' of

Melfi Melfi (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,7 ...

, and his

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

mercenaries rebelled against

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

authority, they elected the son of Pandulf as their leader, calling him "prince of Benevento." After the assassination of the

Catepan The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. "he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the ...

Nicephorus Doukeianos, the Normans planned to elect a leader from amongst their own, but

William of Apulia William of Apulia ( la, Guillelmus Apuliensis) was a chronicler of the Normans, writing in the 1090s. His Latin epic, ''Gesta Roberti Wiscardi'' ("The Deeds of Robert Guiscard"), written in hexameters, is one of the principal contemporary source ...

notes that Atenulf had "perhaps given them gold or silver and thus led them to renege on a prior agreement." Thus was he elected leader. On 3 September 1041, the rebels defeated the new Byzantine catepan,

Exaugustus Exaugustus Boiοannes ( it, Exaugusto Bugiano), son of the famous Basil Boioannes, was also a catepan of Italy, from 1041 to 1042.He was released in February 1042 from captivity, at which time he was replaced by Synodianos. He replaced Michael Doke ...

, the son of the great

Boioannes Basil Boioannes ( grc-gre, Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης, Basíleios Boïōánnēs, ; la, Basilius Bugianus, ), in Italian called it, Bugiano, label=none, i=no (), was the Byzantine catapan of Italy (1017 – 1027 Chalandon, Ferdinand. '' ...

, and took him captive. The catepan was taken captive to

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. At about that time, the

prince of Salerno This page is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Salerno. When Prince Sicard of Benevento was assassinated by Radelchis in 839, the people of Salerno promptly proclaimed his brother, Siconulf, prince. War raged between Radelchis and Sico ...

, Guaimar IV, began to draw the Normans under his banner with myriad promises. In February 1042, probably feeling abandoned, and perhaps bribed by the Greeks, Atenulf negotiated the ransom of Exaugustus and then fled with the ransom money to Greek territory, where he died in obscurity (but probably wealthy). He was replaced as leader by Argyrus.

References

* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South, 1016–1130''. London: Longmans, 1967. Lombard warriors Princes of Benevento 11th-century Lombard people 11th-century Byzantine people