Rudolph Drengot was one of the Drengot family of Norman adventureres who came to

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

with his brothers, Gilbert, Asclettin, Osmond, and Ranulf. The Drengots arrived in Italy in 1017 to support

Melus of Bari {{Infobox noble , name = Melus , title = Duke of Apulia , image = , caption = {{longitem, Cape given to Holy Roman Emperor Henry II by Melus , alt = , CoA = , ...

in his rebellion against the Catapanate. According to some sources, they stopped in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on the way and Rudolph had an audience with

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII (; – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieval pope, he had strong aut ...

.Glaber, who also accounts Rudolph as the leader of the Normans. Whatever the case, they aided Melus until their defeat at the

Battle of Cannae (1018) The Battle of Cannae took place in 1018 between the Byzantines under the Catepan of Italy Basil Boioannes and the Lombards under Melus of Bari.John Beeler (1971) ''Warfare in Feudal Europe, 730–1200''. Cornell University Press. pp. 65–66. ...

. After this, Melus went north to

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

to meet the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (; ; ; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 AD), also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. As Duke of Bavaria, ...

. Rudolph accompanied him. It is certain that Rudolph had an opportunity to then meet with the pope. He returned to the south on the emperor's expedition, after Melus' death, and was installed at

Comino Comino () is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta (island), Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents a ...

under one of Melus' nephews, a count. Rudolph then led some Normans back to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

Notes

Sources

* Rodulfus Glaber. ''Opera'', ed. J. France.

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 1989. * Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 1907. Italo-Normans Norman warriors 11th-century Normans {{Europe-mil-bio-stub