Gisulf II of Salerno
Deceased Person
1052 – 1089
Who was Gisulf II of Salerno?
Gisulf II was the last Lombard prince of Salerno.
Gisulf was the eldest son and successor of Guaimar IV and Gemma, daughter of the Capuan count Laidulf. He appears as a villain and a pirate in the chronicle of Amatus of Montecassino, Ystoire de li Normant. Historian John Julius Norwich speaks "of one unfortunate victim [an Amalfitan] whom Gisulf kept in an icy dungeon, removing first his right eye and then every day one more of his fingers and toes. He [Amatus] adds that the Empress Agnes—who was spending much of her time in South Italy—personally offered a hundred pounds of gold and one of her own fingers in ransom, but her prayers went unheard."
He was made co-prince with his father in 1042 while very young and, only a decade later, his father was assassinated in the harbour of his capital by four brothers, sons of Pandulf V of Capua and inlaws of Guaimar, who had been goaded into the act by the Byzantine partisans of Amalfi. Young Gisulf was taken captive by the assassins, but soon his uncle, Guy, the duke of Sorrento, had garnered a Norman army and was besieging Salerno. Guy took captive the assassins' families and negotiated the freedom of Gisulf. Soon the city had surrendered and Guy and the Normans paid homage to Gisulf, who confirmed their titles and lands. The rocky start to his reign was merely an indication of its character, for Gisulf held a grudge against the Amalfitans who initiated the slaying of his father. He also, for reasons unknown, came to hate the Normans as barbarians and spent his whole reign in opposition to them.
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- Born
- 1052
- Parents
- Siblings
- Died
- Apr 20, 1089
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
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