Pandulf III was briefly the

Prince of Salerno This page is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Salerno. Salerno was a Lombard Principality in southern Italy in the latter centuries of the first millenium. When Prince Sicard of Benevento was assassinated by Radelchis I of Benevento, ...

from around 3 to 10 June 1052. He was the eldest of four brothers of Gemma, wife of Prince

Guaimar IV Guaimar IV (c. 1013 – 2, 3 or 4 June 1052) was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. ...

. He seized the throne in a coup d'état, when he and his brother assassinated Guaimar. He reigned for only a week before he was forced to step down and was promptly murdered. Pandulf was probably a member of the family of the counts of

Teano Teano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's cathedral is ...

in the

Principality of Capua The Principality of Capua ( or ''Capue'', Modern ) was a Lombards, Lombard state centred on Capua in Southern Italy. Towards the end of the 10th century the Principality reached its apogee, occupying most of the Terra di Lavoro area. It was ori ...

. According to

Amatus of Montecassino Amatus of Montecassino (), (11th century) was a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Montecassino who is best known for his historical chronicles of his era. His ''History of the Normans'' (which has survived only in its medieval French translation, ...

, who is the chief source for the coup of 1052, the first challenge to Guaimar's authority came from the

Duchy of Amalfi The Duchy of Amalfi () or the Republic of Amalfi was a '' de facto'' independent state centered on the Southern Italian city of Amalfi during the 10th and 11th centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger Duchy of Na ...

, which was subject to Guaimar and owed him tribute. In April, Guaimar's representative, Duke Manso II, was forced to flee Amalfi, which began attacking Salernitan shipping. With the revenue from the tribute gone, some of Guaimar's leading men began to waiver in their loyalty. According to Amatus, the leader of the conspiracy to remove Guaimar was Pandulf, who offered to reward with

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s any who would help him become prince. Although Guaimar was apparently aware of the plot, he did not believe he was vulnerable. When the Amalfitans attacked Salerno from the sea, the Pandulf and his three brothers were ordered to defend the shore. They refused and, in the ensuing argument, stabbed Guaimar to death. They also killed his chamberlain and his brother, Duke

Pandulf of Capaccio Pandulf or Paldolf (died June 1052) was the first Lombard lord ('' dominus'') of Capaccio in the Principality of Salerno. Pandulf was the youngest son of Prince Guaimar III of Salerno and his second wife Gaitelgrima. He was born in the 1010s. The ...

. They tried to kill his other brother, Duke

Guy of Sorrento Guy (; born c. 1012) was the duke of Sorrento from 1035, the brother of Guaimar IV of Salerno, father-in-law of William Iron Arm and William of the Principate, and brother-in-law of Humphrey of Hauteville. He was the son of Guaimar III and Gait ...

, but he escaped. Amatus gives the date of the assassinations as 3 June, while the ''

Annales Beneventani The ''Annales Beneventani'' ("Beneventan Annals"), also called the ''Breve chronicon monasterii Sanctae Sophiae Beneventi'' ("Brief Chronicle of the Monastery of Santa Sofia of Benevento") or ''Chronicon Sanctae Sophiae'' for short, is a series of ...

'' give 2 June and Guaimar's death was commemorated in the

Abbey of Montecassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...

on 4 June.Prescott N. Dunbar (trans.) and Graham A. Loud (ed.), ''The History of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino'' (Boydell Press, 2004). pp. 96–97.Vincenzo De Bartholomaeis (ed.), ''Storia de' Normanni di Amato di Montecassino volgarizzata in antico francese'', Fonti per la Storia d'Italia 76 (Rome, 1935)
Book III
Odon Delarc (ed.)
''Ystoire de li Normant par Aimé''
(Rouen: A. Lestringant, 1892). Following the assassinations, Pandulf was made prince and his three younger brothers swore fealty to him. His first act was to reverse several confiscations of land made by Guaimar. He succeeded in taking the citadel of Salerno because it was poorly stocked with food and could not hold out. Guaimar's sister and other relatives in the citadel were imprisoned. Guaimar's son and heir, Gisulf, also fell into Pandulf's hands. The failure to kill Guy was the coup's undoing. Guy fled to

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of Pr ...

, the

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

count of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1043, composed of the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became ...

and a faithful vassal of Guaimar. A Norman force arrived outside Salerno on 8 June. Two days later the gates were opened. Guy apparently negotiated the surrender of the citadel, promising to spare the lives of Pandulf and his co-conspirators in exchange for his nephew, Gisulf. The Normans did not feel bound by this agreement, and hunted down and killed Pandulf and thiry-five others to avenge the thirty-six wounds found on Guaimar's body. In Amatus' evaluation, Pandulf "was ill-advised to attempt to become prince with his three brothers". Among those conspirators who were captured and imprisoned were the brothers of the future archbishop of Salerno, Alfanus I. Michelangelo Schipa, "Storia del Principato Longobardo di Salerno", in ''La Longobardia meridionale (570–1077): Il ducato di Benevento, il principato di Salerno'' (Rome: Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 1968), pp. 209–10, originally published a
''Storia del Principato Longobardo di Salerno''
(Naples: Francesco Giannini e Figli 1887), in which cf. pp. 147-49.

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Further reading