William of Montreuil (french: Guillaume de Montreuil) (

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

aft. 1068), was an Italo-Norman freebooter of the mid-eleventh century who was briefly Duke of Gaeta. He was described by Amatus of Monte Cassino as "an exceptional knight, small in stature, who was very robust, strong, valiant" and by

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

as 'the good Norman' ( la, le bon Normand).

Career

He was a son of

William fitz Giroie William fitz Giroie (died 1057), Lord of Échauffour and Montreuil-l'Argillé. A Norman nobleman and patriarch of a large and powerful family in Normandy and Apulia. Career William was the second son of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour and Gisle, da ...

Lord of Échauffour and

Montreuil-l'Argillé Montreuil-l'Argillé () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France. The communes c ...

and Emma de Tannei, daughter of Walchelin de Tannei. By a charter to the

Abbey of Saint-Evroul The Abbey of Saint-Evroul or Saint-Evroul-sur-Ouche (''Saint-Evroult-sur-Ouche, Saint-Evroul-en-Ouche, Saint-Evroult-en-Ouche, Abbaye de Saint-Evroult, Sanctus Ebrulphus Uticensis '') is a former Benedictine abbey in Normandy, located in the present ...

in 1050, William was still in Normandy at that time. Like his father and brother he granted all the monasteries he possessed, in return "for no small sum", to the abbey of Saint-Evroul.Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', trans. Thomas Forester, Vol. I (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853), p. 398 With his brother Arnold consenting, he granted the abbey his mills, farms and fisheries. Before leaving Normandy he also donated a farm of one plough, situated at Verneuces, to the abbey of Saint-Evroul "for the redemption of the soul of his mother Emma."

In Italy

William left Normandy for Italy before 1056. At some point he joined forces with Richard I Drengot, who became

Prince of Capua This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the ...

in 1058.Einar Joranson, 'The Inception of the Career of the Normans in Italy: Legend and History', ''Speculum'', Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul., 1948), p. 389 Richard both adopted William as his son and gave him his daughter's hand in marriage. Richard granted his son-in-law the unconquered counties of

Marsia A marsiya ( fa, مرثیه) is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain ibn Ali and his comrades of the Karbala. Marsiyas are essentially religious. Background The word ''Marsiya'' is derived from the Arabic word ...

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, and Aquino as part of her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

, giving William the title of Duke of Gaeta. The prince then ceded control of

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

to William, but he soon revolted and attempted to repudiate his wifeIn the spring of 1063 Pope Alexander II forbade William to repudiate his wife, the prince's daughter. "We have heard through the testimony of many that you wish to cast off your own wife, using a claim of

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

as a pretext, and adhere to another. We forbid this by Apostolic authority, and order you that you should in no way presume to reject the wife whom you how have or to marry another, until the case has been examined by a council of religious bishops". See: ''History of the Normans by Amatus'' (2004), 148 n. 6. after which he planned to marry Duchess Maria, widow of Atenulf I, the former Duke of Gaeta.''The Society of Norman Italy'', eds. G. A. Loud, A. Metcalfe (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2002), p. 78 He joined together with Count Atenulf of Aquino,Not to be confused with Duke Atenulf I of Gaeta who had died two years earlier. See: 'History of the Normans by Amatus' (2004), 148 notes 7 & 8. Lando, Count of Traietto, and Lando's son Peter to free themselves of Prince Richard's control and keep their castles.''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'', trans. Prescott N. Dunbar, ed. Graham A Loud (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 148 William obtained some help from friends in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

consisting of donations and knights to support him and returned to hold Traetto against the prince. The prince in turn encamped near Traetto across the Garigliano river and for months the two sides engaged in small skirmishes. Finally, short of supplies William and his companions left Traetto for Aquino, where they parted each going his own way. William returned to the castle of Piedimonte trying to gather supplies but with little success. Prince Richard next acted to break up the coalition between William, Atenulf, Lando and the Duchess Maria.''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'', trans. Prescott N. Dunbar, ed. Graham A Loud (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 149 He arranged for Maria to wed his son,

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

(who he had also made a prince), which offer the duchess readily accepted. Next the prince offered Lando the hand of another daughter, which Lando humbly accepted. He then made Lando Duke of Gaeta in William's place. William was still married to the prince's daughter and by the intercession of William's friends, asked the prince's forgiveness. The prince returned William's wife and heaped riches on him (although there was no further mention of William becoming a duke). It was also at this time the peasants of the castle of Piedimonte rebelled and all the Normans William had left to guard the castle were killed, which disturbed William greatly. William rebelled against Prince Richard a second time,The dates of William's two rebellions against Prince Richard are not at all clear. Likewise how the two occasions of William's papal service fit into this chronology is also less than clear. The best source for information on William at this point is Amatus of Montecassio, the Italo-Norman monk whose chronicle ''The History of the Normans'' ( la, L'Ystoire de li Normant) follows William's career in Italy. See: ''Hist. Normans by Amatus''(2004), pp. 150 n. 11, 154-5 & ns. 27-29. apparently emboldened by the lands originally given him by the prince had since been regranted by the pope.''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'', trans. Prescott N. Dunbar, ed. Graham A Loud (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 154 William assumed he could count on the pope opposing his master Richard, so he began burning the prince's towns. After suffering this injury to his realm Richard finally sent his son Jordan against William with two hundred and sixty knights.''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'', trans. Prescott N. Dunbar, ed. Graham A Loud (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 155 Not being able to locate William or his troops, Jordan and his knights raided William's territories carrying off a great deal of plunder. By this time William had been away at Rome and on his return he asked that the animals be returned to him as they hadn't been plunder, it was robberyWilliam's request for the return of his animals refers to temporal privileges usually associated with and granted to crusaders and others involved in holy wars. When

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

proclaimed the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...

in 1095, these promises of protection for a crusader's property and family while serving the church were offered as an inducement. But the origins of these privileges are found in church custom predating this crusade and it's clear this is what William is referring to here. See: Edith Clementine Bramhall, 'The Origin of the Temporal Privileges of Crusaders', ''The American Journal of Theology'', vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr., 1901), pp. 279-292. since William had been away at the time. Jordan refused claiming William broke his oath of fealty. William furious with this reply took his eight hundred knights and three hundred infantry and attacked Jordan. According to Amatus, the plunder was abandoned and Jordan and his knights fled the battle after losses on both sides. William then returned to Aquino. Prince Richard then asked for help from Duke Robert in dealing with William, but before anything could be organized it was learned that William had died.

Papal service

William took up service with

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform ...

as commander of his papal forces. He was

gonfalonier The Gonfalonier (in Italian: ''Gonfaloniere'') was the holder of a highly prestigious communal office in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States. The name derives from ''gonfalone'' (in English, gonfalon), the term ...

of the Roman troops, carrying the banner of St. Peter in the conquest of the fertile plains of

. The inhabitants were schismatics, a splinter group who had cut themselves off from the Catholic Church.''The Normans in Europe'', ed & trans. Elisabeth van Houts (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 2000), p. 246 William, by force of arms, compelled them to accept the authority of the church. William, called ''le bon Normand'', was in another expedition at

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, Spain in charge of troops recruited from Italy and the south of France. An Islamic historian called William de Montreuil the "Captain of the Cavalry of Rome" at the

Siege of Barbastro The crusade of Barbastro (also known as the siege of Barbastro or battle of Barbastro) was an international expedition, sanctioned by Pope Alexander II, to take the Spanish city of Barbastro, then part of the Hudid Emirate of Lārida. A large a ...

in 1063.Andrew Sinclair, ''Jerusalem: the Endless Crusade'' (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1995), p. 42 William was, like many of his kinsmen, a benefactor to the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in Normandy. When visited by his father, he sent back a great deal of gifts and money to Saint-Evroul with his father and his companions. William gave to his cousin,

Robert de Grandmesnil Robert de Grantmesnil (de Grandmesnil) also known as Robert II, was a Norman nobleman; a member of a prominent Norman family. He first became a monk, then abbot at the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in Normandy and later Bishop of Troina in the Norman King ...

, former abbot of Saint-Evroul, half the town of Aquino to support him and his monks, the brothers having recently been exiled from Normandy. In September 1068, he granted two churches to

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...

, which is the last record of him.''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'', trans. Prescott N. Dunbar, ed. Graham A Loud (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2004), p. 155, n. 29 According to the chronicler Amatus of Montecassino, William died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

of a "burning fever."

Career

In Italy

Papal service

Notes

References

Further reading