Rainulf II, called Trincanocte, was the fourth Count of Aversa (1045–1048), the cousin of his immediate predecessor Asclettin and nephew of

Rainulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; ''c.'' 990 – June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in ...

, the founder of their family's fortunes in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the historic ...

. There was a succession crisis after the premature death of Asclettin and

Guaimar IV of Salerno 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. ...

, as suzerain of Aversa, tried to impose his candidate on the Normans, but they elected Trincanocte and he prevailed in getting Guaimar's recognition too. In 1047, he was present at a council with

Pandulf IV of Capua Pandulf IVAlso spelled ''Randulf'', ''Bandulf'', ''Pandulph'', ''Pandolf'', ''Paldolf'', or ''Pandolfo''. (died 1049/50) was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions. From February 1016 to 1022 he ruled in association with his cousin Pan ...

and Guaimar, where the former was returned to his princely position and the latter's great domain was broken up. The feudal titles of Rainulf and

Drogo of Hauteville {{Infobox noble , name = Drogo of Hauteville , title = , image = {{CSS image crop, Image = Statue cathédrale Coutances Drogon de Hauteville.JPG, bSize = 607, cWidth = 235, cHeight = 247, oTop = 155, oLeft = 200, Location = center , caption ...

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 ...

, were confirmed by the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

and they were made his direct vassals.John Beeler, ''Warfare in Feudal Europe'', (Cornell University Press, 1971), 70. Within a year, Trincanocte died and was succeeded by his infant son Herman under the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of his cousin

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

, whom he had originally spurned, believing him to be a dangerous rival. Soon, Herman was displaced (or worse) and Richard was count.

Notes

References

*Cuozzo, E
"Drengot, Rainulfo, detto Trincanotte (Trinclinocte, Drincanoctus)
''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''. 1048 deaths Italo-Normans Counts of Aversa Year of birth unknown {{Italy-noble-stub