William of Apulia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William of Apulia was a chronicler of the Normans, writing in the 1090s. His Latin poem, The deeds of Robert Guiscard, one of the principal contemporary sources for the Norman conquests in southern Italy, was composed between 1096 and 1099. It can be dated by the reference in the prologue to Pope Urban II; this gives a terminus ante quem, for the pope died in July 1099. A reference in Book III to "the Gallic race [who] wanted to open the roads to the Holy Sepulchre" shows that William must have been writing after the beginning of the First Crusade, called by Urban in November 1095. The poem was dedicated to Duke Roger Borsa son of duke Robert Guiscard.
William's is one of three Italo-Norman histories, with those of Amatus of Montecassino and Goffredo Malaterra.
[edit] References
See also:
