Sibylla of Conversano (d. 18 March 1103) was a wealthy Norman heiress,

Duchess of Normandy The Duchess of Normandy was the wife of the Duke of Normandy. Duchess of Normandy First Creation House of Normandy, 911–1135 House of Blois, 1135–1154 House of Plantagenet, 1144–1204 Second Creation House of Valois, 13 ...

by marriage to

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...

. She was regent of Normandy during the absence of her spouse.

Life

Felix Auvray - Devouement de la princesse Sybille

She was the daughter of Geoffrey of Brindisi, Count of

Conversano Conversano (Bari dialect, Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversan ...

, and his wife Sichelgaita of Moulins, and a grandniece of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 81 During the winter of 1096-97 while Robert Curthose was in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

awaiting transport on 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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

, he probably began negotiations to marry the heiress, Sibyl of Conversano.William M. Aird, ''Robert Curthose Duke of Normandy'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008), pp. 191-2

Orderic Vitalis Orderic 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.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

claims Robert 'fell in love' with Sibyl and further the chronicler called her 'truly good in character' and also wrote she was 'endowed with many virtues and lovable to all who knew her'. On Robert's return from the Crusade he married Sibylla in Apulia in 1100. Shortly after returning to Normandy, Robert and Sibylla undertook a pilgrimage to

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

to give thanks for his safe return from the Crusade. It is clear that writers of the time were quite taken with Sibylla, praising both her beauty and intelligence.C. Warren Hollister, ''Henry I'' (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2003), p. 180 During Curthose's absence,

Robert of Torigni Robert of Torigni or Torigny (; –1186), also known as Robert of the Mont (; ; also Robertus de Monte Sancti Michaelis, in reference to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel), was a Norman monk, prior, and abbot. He is most remembered for his chronicl ...

noted that the new duchess administered Normandy better than the duke did. On 25 October 1102, their son was born.William M. Aird, ''Robert Curthose Duke of Normandy'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008), p. 212 He was named William for William, Archbishop of Rouen who presided over his baptism, this according to Orderic.

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...

suggested he was named after his grandfather,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. On 18 March 1103, less than six months after the birth of her only child, she died at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, Caux, and was buried, amid universal sorrow, in the cathedral church, Archbishop William Bonne-Ame performing the funeral rites. Sibylla was admired and often praised by chroniclers of the time;

claims she died as a result of binding her breasts too tightly while both Robert of Torigny and

suggest she was murdered by a group of noblewomen led by her husband's mistress, Agnes de Ribemont.Agnes de Ribemont was the widow of Walter Giffard, 1st Earl of Buckingham, and the sister of Anselm of Ribemont, who had died on crusade. It remains unclear if or when she and Robert even had an affair, but the story goes that she promised that if he would marry her he'd have the support of her powerful family. William of Malmsebury loved a good story, even if untrue; and in one version of his '' Gesta Regum'', he credits Sibylla's death to Robert's "mistress", and in a later version he stated "mid-wife". However plausible it may have been that she was Robert's mistress, it remains less than plausible that Robert allowed his new wife, the mother of his infant son, to be poisoned while he sat idly by. Orderic may have seen such a story as further evidence Robert Curthose was unfit to rule Normandy. See: William M. Aird, ''Robert Curthose Duke of Normandy'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008), pp. 213-14. The mysterious story also has a chronological problem in that Agnes de Ribemont may not even have been a widow at the time of Sibylla's death. See: Charles Wendell David, ''Robert Curthose'' (1920) pp. 146-7. According to Europäische Stammtäfeln, III/4, Tafel 695, Walter died 15 July 1102.Katherine Lack, ''Conqueror's Son: Duke Robert Curthose, Thwarted King'' (Sutton Publishing, 2007), p. 153

Issue

Robert and Sibylla had one son: * William Clito (1102—27 July 1128), Count of Flanders.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibylla of Conversano 1103 deaths Duchesses of Normandy Year of birth unknown 11th-century Italian nobility 11th-century Italian women 12th-century Italian people 12th-century Italian women 12th-century Italian nobility 11th-century Norman women 11th-century Normans 12th-century Norman women 12th-century Normans 12th-century women regents Italo-Normans Wives of knights 12th-century landowners 12th-century women landowners Italian landowners 12th-century regents Mothers of French monarchs