Jordan of Ariano

Who was Jordan of Ariano?

Jordan, count of Ariano, was a petty baron in Apulia during the reign of the Duke William II. He was the son and successor of Count Eribert and Altrude of Buonalbergo.

In 1114, he and Robert I of Capua assaulted Benevento, but the Archbishop Landulf II made peace with them.

He rebelled against the duke and, at Nusco in 1121, he took a troop of knights to threaten and insult the duke, saying, according to Falco of Benevento, "I will cut your coat short for you." The contumacious vassal then plundered the entire district. William begged assistance from the more powerful Roger II of Sicily, who, in exchange for all Calabria and the duke's halves of Palermo and Messina, crossed the straits and subjugated the count of Ariano. When Jordan died, his young son was put under the suzerainty of his neighbour, Count Ranulf of Alife.