Rollo 627helpful in capturing Reggio in 1060. He was installed as
Roger I of SICILY, called the Great Count, in 1061. He
exploited disputes among the Muslim rulers of Sicily and
successfully completed its conquest between 1060 and
- Supported by the Christians of the northeastern
side of the island and the Pisan fleet, he captured Nolo,
the last Muslim stronghold, in 1091. He established a
strong government on the island and relied on an admin-
istrative and fiscal regime run by Greek and Muslim per-
sonnel. On Guiscard’s death in 1085, he assumed the rule
of both Sicily and Calabria. He obtained from Pope
URBANII the privilege of an apostolic legateship for Sicily
in 1099. A tolerant ruler, he granted religious freedom to
JEWSand Muslims, evidence that he exercised effective
control of the CLERGYof Sicily and Calabria. He died on
June 22, 1101, leaving behind his third wife Adelasia (d.
- as regent for his son ROGERII.
See alsoNORMANS INITA LY.
Further reading:Edmund Curtis, Roger of Sicily and
the Normans in Lower Italy, 1016–1154(New York: G. P.
Putnam’s Sons, 1912); D. A. Loud, Conquerors and
Churchmen in Norman Italy(Aldershot: Variorum, 1999);
Donald Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily(Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992).
Roger II(1095–1154) count, king of Sicily
The son of ROGERI of SICILYand Adelasia (d. 1118), Roger
II was born in 1095. He succeeded his brother, Simon (d.
1105, as count of Sicily at age nine in 1105 and assumed
full control in 1112. As an initial act, he transferred the
seat of power to PALERMO. Roger gained control over the
other Norman possessions on the mainland, the duchy of
APULIAand the principality of Capua. He was crowned at
Christmas 1130, with the consent of the antipope Anacle-
tus (r. 1130–38). Pope Innocent II (r. 1130–43) later reluc-
tantly recognized his coronation in 1138 after being
captured. Roger entrusted the reorganization of his king-
dom to an authoritarian and bureaucratic regime to the
Syrian Christian George of Antioch (ca. 1085–ca. 1150),
exploiting as further support Norman traditional feudal
ties. His ships, mostly Greek, captured Corfu, raided up to
the walls of CONSTANTINOPLE, and set up a temporary base
in Tunisia. His court was an important center of cultural
and intellectual patronage in the 12th century, in which
Jewish, Islamic, and Christian ideas met. He died on
February 26 or 27, 1154, either of a fever or, in the mind
of some, of an excess of sexual activity.
See alsoNORMANS INITA LY.
Further reading:D. C. Douglas, The Norman Fate,
1100–1154 (London: Eyre Methuen, 1976); Hubert
Houben, Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West,
trans. Graham A. Loud and Diane Milburn (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2002); Jeremy Johns, Arabic
Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Dı ̄wa ̄n(Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002); Donald
Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1992); John Julius Norwich,
The Kingdom in the Sun, 1130–1194(Harlow: Longmans,
1970); William Tronzo, The Cultures of His Kingdom:
Roger II and the Cappella Palatina in Palermo(Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997); Kenneth Baxter
Wolf, Making History, The Normans and Their Historians
in Eleventh-Century Italy (Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1995).Roger Bacon SeeBACON, ROGER.Rolle, Richard SeeRICHARDROLLE.Rollo(Hrolfr)(ca. 860–ca. 932)Viking chief
Born about 860, Rollo was perhaps of Norwegian origin
but called a Dane in Norman sources. In 911 he received
from King Charles III the Simple (r. 893–923, d. 929)
grants of territory around ROUENand Évreux in modern
NORMANDY, on the condition that he protect the
approaches to PARIS from raids. Considered the first
“duke of Normandy,” he has remained a mysterious
figure even with uncertain dates. Under the name ofCoronation of King Roger II of Sicily, Byzantine mosaic, La
Martorana, Palermo, Italy (Scala / Art Resource)