Peter I of Trani

Who is Peter I of Trani?

Peter I, also known as Petronius, was the first Norman count of Trani. He was one of the most prominent of the twelve leaders of the Norman mercenaries serving Guaimar IV of Salerno. Though it had not yet been conquered from the Byzantine Empire, Peter received Trani in the Normans' division of Apulia made at Melfi in 1042. In that same division his brother Walter received Civitate.

Peter probably arrived in southern Italy around 1035. It is unknown if Peter was in fact from Normandy; he may have been a Breton or a Frenchman. His father, Amicus, may have been a relative of the Hautevilles or married to one. In 1038 Peter participated in the Byzantine campaign led by George Maniakes against the Emirate of Sicily. In battle he was usually found beside William Iron Arm, the leader and first count of the Normans of Melfi. After the division of 1042 Peter fortified the region around Trani, building new cities at Andria and Corato and re-fortifying Bisceglie and Barletta, as recorded by the chronicler William of Apulia:

Ditior his Petrus consanguinitate propinquus

Edidit hic Andrum fabricavit et inde Coretum