Robert “Guiscard” de Hauteville, Duke of Apulia and Calabria (1015 – 1085) Norman Conqueror of Southern Italy and Sicily

The British Chronicles, Volume 2 (David Hughes – 2007) – Viking Royalty

The British Chronicles, Volume 2 (David Hughes – 2007) – House of Ogier the Dane

Tancred de Hauteville, Robert’s father, is considered the primogenitor of both the House of Hauteville and House of Spencer of Great Britain (at least in one genealogical study). The primogenitor of both is Viking Fornjót, “The Giant”, who ruled much of present-day Finland during the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. A recently discovered Saturn moon is named after him (or perhaps the mythical Norse deity of the same name).

In 1047 Robert and his brother Roger took advantage of the chaotic state of political affairs soon after they arrived in Italy from their ancestral homeland in northern France. After a time spent as roving pillagers, Lombard and Byzantium princes engaged them as knights. They soon gained keen insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their employers, which they later parlayed to their advantage in leading rebellions against them.

Due to their overwhelming success on the battlefield in opposition to the Byzantines, and respect for their leadership skills held by the papacy, on 23 August 1059, Pope Nicholas II invested Robert as the duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. By 1154 the House of Hauteville ruled southern Italy and Sicily as well as strategically important areas of northern Africa and Asia, such as Palestine and Antioch.

Daughter of Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comena, Princess Anna Comnena (1083 – 1153), whose great-grandniece would marry one of Robert’s great-grandnephews, wrote a physical and psychological description of Guiscard:

“This Robert was Norman by birth, of obscure origins, with an overbearing character and a thoroughly villainous mind; he was a brave fighter, very cunning in his assaults on the wealth and power of great men; in achieving his aims absolutely inexorable, diverting criticism by incontrovertible argument. He was a man of immense stature, surpassing even the biggest men; he had a ruddy complexion, fair hair, broad shoulders, eyes that all but shot out sparks of fire. In a well-built man one looks for breadth here and slimness there; in him all was admirably well-proportioned and elegant… Homer remarked of Achilles that when he shouted his hearers had the impression of a multitude in uproar, but Robert’s bellow, so they say, put tens of thousands to flight.”

As one of knight commanders of the First Crusade (1096 – 1099), Bohemond, Guiscard’s son, played a pivotal leadership role in the First Crusade . He later claimed sole rulership of the Principality of Antioch for himself.

Anna Komnene also met Bohemond when she was a teenager. The following is what she wrote about him:

“Now [Bohemond] was such as, to put it briefly, had never before been seen in the land of the Romans [that is, Greeks], be he either of the barbarians or of the Greeks (for he was a marvel for the eyes to behold, and his reputation was terrifying). Let me describe the barbarian’s appearance more particularly — he was so tall in stature that he overtopped the tallest by nearly one cubit, narrow in the waist and loins, with broad shoulders and a deep chest and powerful arms. And in the whole build of the body he was neither too slender nor overweighted with flesh, but perfectly proportioned and, one might say, built in conformity with the canon of Polycleitus… His skin all over his body was very white, and in his face the white was tempered with red. His hair was yellowish, but did not hang down to his waist like that of the other barbarians; for the man was not inordinately vain of his hair, but had it cut short to the ears. Whether his beard was reddish, or any other colour I cannot say, for the razor had passed over it very closely and left a surface smoother than chalk… His blue eyes indicated both a high spirit and dignity; and his nose and nostrils breathed in the air freely; his chest corresponded to his nostrils and by his nostrils…the breadth of his chest. For by his nostrils nature had given free passage for the high spirit which bubbled up from his heart. A certain charm hung about this man but was partly marred by a general air of the horrible… He was so made in mind and body that both courage and passion reared their crests within him and both inclined to war. His wit was manifold and crafty and able to find a way of escape in every emergency. In conversation he was well informed, and the answers he gave were quite irrefutable. This man who was of such a size and such a character was inferior to the Emperor alone in fortune and eloquence and in other gifts of nature.”

Bohemond’s great-granddaughter, Philippa Poitier (of Antioch), was a mistress of Byzantine Emperor Andronicos I Comnenus. She gave birth to Eirene and Manuel Komnenos. Her sister Maria de Poitiers married Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. The couple produced Byzantine Emperor Alexios II Komnenos. Both Maria and Philippa were daughters of Raymond I of Poitiers (1115 – 1149).

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194 – 1250) was the son of Constance de Hauteville, Roger’s granddaughter, and Heinrich VI de Hohenstaufen. Called “The Wonder of the World” by his contemporaries, he founded University of Naples Federico II in 1224 (the oldest state-supported university in world history). His cousin Scottish Lord John Balliol (1208 – 1268), who was also a descendant of Ragnarr “Loðbrók” Halfdansson (c. 765 – 845) King of Denmark & Sweden, founded Balliol College of Oxford University in 1263.

Frederick authored a treatise on ornithology and falconry, entitled De arte venandi cum avibus . In review, historian Charles Homer Haskins stated:

“It is a scientific book, approaching the subject from Aristotle but based closely on observation and experiment throughout, Divisivus et Inquisitivus, in the words of the preface; it is at the same time a scholastic book, minute and almost mechanical in its divisions and subdivisions. It is also a rigidly practical book, written by a falconer for falconers and condensing a long experience into systematic form for the use of others…”

Dante Alighieri waxed poetic about Robert, both publicly and in his epic poem The Divine Comedy . In the Inferno, Guiscard exemplifies the cardinal virtue of fortitude along with his fellow “warriors of the faith in the Heaven of Mars”.

Guiscard was an agnatic descendant of Sveidi Heytirsson, Sea King (650 – 710)

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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