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Norman Settlement in Southern Italy

Type Event Region Italy Time c. 999–1017

Around 999 CE, Norman warriors and pilgrims from Normandy began settling long-term in southern Italy, first as mercenaries for the Lombard duchies, t…

Timeline

  1. c. 999–1005Monte Gargano · ApuliaAccording to later chronicles, a group of Norman pilgrims on the way to Rome were stranded in southern Italy by Lombard civil war, and were invited by the Prince of Capua to serve as mercenaries against Byzantine and Arab forces, beginning a long-term stay.
  2. 1005–1010Campania · CampaniaNorman warriors fought for the Lombard principalities of Capua, Salerno and others, distinguishing themselves on southern Italian battlefields with cavalry tactics, exchanging military service for land grants, gradually transforming from itinerant mercenaries into settled local nobility.
  3. 1010–1017Aversa · CampaniaThe Norman leader Rainulf was granted the County of Aversa, establishing the first hereditary Norman domain in southern Italy. Aversa became a base for subsequent Norman expansion, attracting more Norman migrants southward.

Sources