Eugenius of Palermo (also Eugene) ( or ,Gigante. , ; 1130 – 1202) was an '' amiratus'' (admiral) of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

in the late twelfth century. He was of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

origin, but born in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, and had an educated background, for he was "most learned in Greek and Arabic, and not unskilled in Latin."Houben, 99, quoting an anonymous Latin translator of Ptolemy's ''

Almagest The ''Almagest'' ( ) is a 2nd-century Greek mathematics, mathematical and Greek astronomy, astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Ptolemy, Claudius Ptolemy ( ) in Koine Greek. One of the most i ...

''. By the time of his admiralcy, the educated, multilingual Greek or Arab administrator was becoming rare in Sicily. Eugenius' family had been important in the Hauteville administration for generations before him. He was a son of Admiral John and grandson of another Admiral Eugenius. He served under William II before being raised to the rank of admiral in 1190.Norwich, 406. His first duties were as an officer of the '' diwan'' (Latinised ''duana'' or ''dohana''). He bore the title ''magister duane baronum'' in September 1174, when he was sent by the king to

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

to check the accounts of the

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

s and to authorise the sale of property on behalf of the '' stratigotus,'' so he could pay off a loan. Though his official duties as ''magister'' are unknown, he was also in charge of publishing and disseminating a ''signaculum'' of William's whereby all tolls at bridges, roadways, and riverways in the royal demesne were lifted (April 1187).Matthew, 226. Eugenius determined the boundaries of the lands of the church of Santa Sofia of

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) 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 Sabato (r ...

in 1175 and he arbitrated a boundary dispute between Ravello and

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...

at Nocera in 1178 and at Minori later that year in September. There he was styled ''magister regie dohane baronum et de secretis''. At this time, he appears to have worked under Walter de Moac. He loyally served Tancred before transitioning to a role in the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

government of Constance and the Emperor Henry VI. He was falsely accused of conspiring against Henry and was briefly held captive in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Eugenius was an accomplished translator and poet and has even been suggested as the person behind the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

" Hugo Falcandus", a chronicler who wrote a record of events at Palermo from 1154 to 1169. Eugenius was certainly well-placed for such a chronicle. Around 1154, he made a translation from Arabic to Latin of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

's ''

Optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

'', which survives in twenty manuscripts. He also translated the Sibylline ''Erythraeon'' from Greek into Latin, but the only manuscripts of this which survive are thirteenth-century copies based on the prophecies of Joachim of Fiore. He wrote Greek poetry, of which twenty-four verses survive in a fourteenth-century manuscript. They were of mediocre quality and written in the style then prevalent at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

.Matthew, 119. The poems give insight to his life and times: he was an intimate of King William I and an associate of the Greek religious communities in

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

and

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

. He wrote one poem lamenting his imprisonment (in Germany), blaming it on the evil state of the world, but taking a philosophical approach to his troubles.

Sources

* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130–1194''. London: Longmans, 1970. *Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)''. Cambridge University Press, 1992. *Houben, Hubert (translated by Graham A. Loud and Diane Milburn). ''Roger II of Sicily: Ruler between East and West''. Cambridge University Press, 2002. * von Falkenhausen, Vera. "Eugenio da Palermo." ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''. 1993. * Jamison, Evelyn. ''Admiral Eugenius of Sicily, his Life and Work and the Authorship of the Epistola ad Petrum and the Historia Hugonis Falcandi Siculi''. London: 1957. * Gigante, Marcello.
Eugenii Panormitani versus iambici
' ( ''Testi e monumenti'' 10). Palermo: 1964.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugenius 1130s births 1202 deaths Military personnel from Palermo Italian admirals Greek–Latin translators Arabic–Latin translators Kingdom of Sicily people Year of birth uncertain Medieval admirals 12th-century translators 12th-century Italian poets 12th-century writers in Latin

See also

Sources

Notes