Abelard of Hauteville

Who was Abelard of Hauteville?

Abelard of Hauteville was the eldest son of Humphrey, count of Apulia and Calabria, and his Lombard wife, Gaitelgrima of Salerno, also known as Altrude. He was supposed to inherit his father's lands, but Robert Guiscard, his uncle and guardian, who was elected count on Humphrey's death, confiscated them.

In April 1064, Abelard joined three discontented barons in rebellion against Robert, who had just left for Sicily. They received the aid, financial and military, of Perenos, the Byzantine duke of Durazzo, and held out for several years, neither making headway against Robert nor he against them. On 1 January 1068, Romanus Diogenes was acclaimed emperor in Constantinople and the Greeks transferred their military attention to the Seljuk threat to their east. The rebellion fell apart and by February only Geoffrey remained. Abelard was exiled, but Robert forgave him and gave him cities.

Abelard was again at the head of a revolt later in December 1071. Then, he recruited not only the Byzantines, but his brother Herman, whose inheritance had also been confiscated by his guardian Guiscard at the same time, and the lords of Giovinazzo and Trani. To their aid came the prince of Capua, Richard Drengot, and the prince of Salerno, Gisulf II, both of whom feared the ascendancy of Robert Guiscard. Robert, however, did not leave the siege of Palermo. He preferred to ignore the insurrection, then spreading to Calabria, in favour of speeding up events in Sicily.