Hugh

Who was Hugh?

Hugh was an archbishop of Palermo. He was given the pallium by Pope Eugene III in 1150, but was denied the metropolitan authority previously granted by the Antipope Anacletus II.

At Easter 1151, Hugh crowned William, son of Roger II, co-king at Palermo. In 1155, after the death of Roger, it was alleged that Hugh and the Admiral Maio of Bari were plotting to overthrow William. However, these reports are contradicted by the trust William placed in Hugh and Maio during his lengthy illness that year, from September to Christmas. Later, Hugh, Maio, and the Archbishop Romuald of Salerno represented William at the negotiations for the Treaty of Benevento in 1156, after the suppression of a rebellion.

On the night of 10 November 1160, Hugh was walking with Maio when the admiral was set upon by Matthew Bonnellus and assassinated. Some allege Hugh to have been privy to the plot, but that too can probably be dismissed. Hugh died the next year.