HAUTEVILLE Tancred

Male Abt 0980 - Abt 1041  (61 years)

Personal Information    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name HAUTEVILLE Tancred 
    Birth Abt 0980  Hauteville, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death Abt 1041  Coutances, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Italian: Casa d'Altavilla, Sicilian: Casa d'Autavilla, French: Maison de Hauteville

      SEIGNEUR TANCRED de HAUTEVILLE (980/90 -1041).[1]
      Disambiguation
      Not to be confused with Tancred's great-grandson, also bearing the same name, Tancred, Prince of Galilee, was a leader in the First Crusade.

      Not much is known about this, "11th-century Norman petty lord. ... His historical importance," is based on "the accomplishments of his sons and later descendants. He was a minor noble near Coutances in the Cotentin. Various legends arose about Tancred which have no supporting contemporary evidence that has survived the ages."[2]

      Marriages/Family
      A MYTH, not based on any evidence, emerged in the 16th century to the effect that both wives of Tancred de Hauteville were daughters of Richard I Duke of Normandy[3]

      Marriage 1
      m.1 Moriella UNKNOWN[4][5] Issue: 6.

      Serlon (1005/10 - after 1027/35)
      Beatrix (1005/10 - 1101)
      m.1 Armand de Mortain (p. Robert, Combe d'Eu and Beatrice)
      m.2 Roger UNKNOWN
      Godefroi (d. 1063), Conte di Loritello.
      Guillame "Bras de Fer" (1010/20 - May/Sep 1046), Conte di Apulia.[6]
      m. (Sep 1042) Guida di Salerno (b. 1030/2; father: Guido di Salerno, Conte di Conza and uca Duca di Sorrento)
      Drogo, Conti di Apulia
      m.1 Altruda UNKNOWN.[7]
      m. (1046) Gaitelgrima di Salerno.[8]
      Onfroi, Conte di Apulia (1015/20 - spring 1057).[9]
      m (after Aug 1051) Gaitelgrima di Sorrento (widow of Rodolfe, Conte d'Aversa)
      Marriage 2
      m.2 Fressenda UNKNOWN.[10][11] Issue: 8.[12]

      Robert Guiscard
      Mauger
      Fredesende
      Guillame "Sanicandro" (d. 1080), Conti di Principato
      Aubrey
      Humbert (d. 1071)
      Tancred
      Frumentin
      Roger (1031- 22 Jun 1101)
      Descendants
      Hauteville, HOUSE OF, Italian ALTAVILLA, line of Norman lords and knights who were founders of fiefdoms and kingdoms in southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries. The wars fought by members of the Hauteville family contributed to a steady reduction of Muslim and Byzantine power in the region. In their conquered territories the Hauteville descendants established strong states that were organized according to hierarchical feudal norms.

      Three Hauteville brothers - William, Drogo, and Humphrey - were among the Norman knights who flocked to southern Italy in the early 11th century. The sons of a minor Norman lord, Tancred, the three settled in southern Italy and Sicily, which were at that time a patchwork of waning towns and principalities. Serving as mercenaries, the brothers soon began to seize lands for themselves. They also recruited more knights for their wars and campaigns of plunder. In 1041 a Norman-Lombard force defeated a Byzantine army near Melfi.

      Pope Leo IX led a combined force of local levies, Germans (Lombards), and others against the Normans at Civitate in 1053. The Normans again scored an impressive victory.

      Robert Guiscard (c.1015-85), younger half brother of the earlier Hautevilles, became a leader in the Norman conquests. Gradually he drove the Byzantine forces from southern Italy.

      He made peace with Pope Nicholas II in 1059.[1] Robert and his brother, Roger (1103-1101), then invaded Muslim-held Sicily. Roger became Roger I, ruler of Sicily. The Norman conquests continued until, with the fall of Bari in 1071, the last Byzantine forces had been driven from the Italian boot. Palermo in Sicily, with its great port, fell in 1072. At one time the Normans attacked the Byzantine Empire itself but had to withdraw because of revolts in Italy.

      Still allies of the papacy, the Norman knights became crusaders in the closing years of the 11th century. Tancred (c. 1075-1112), a Hauteville, joined the First Crusade in 1096 and gained fame as a military leader. By 1154 Roger II (1095-1154), the youngest living son of Roger I,

      extended his kingdom throughout all of southern Italy and Sicily and into Greece;
      taken control of part of North Africa;
      and made his court at Palermo an important centre of learning and culture.
      Under later rulers, the Hauteville dynasty faded. In 1194 King Henry VI of Germany invaded Sicily. Taking complete control of the Norman kingdom, Henry put German officials into key administrative posts.

      Sources
      ↑ Nicholas sent Hildebrand of Sovana to ask the "Norman barbarians" for help. He crowned Guisgard for this purpose and made him swear and oath to protect the Vatican ... it was a plan to stop Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, the Pope "gave" Sicily to Robert ... not that he had the authority to do so. So then the Norman mercenaries stomped Sicily. | Ogle, B. (Mar 2014). Herleva and Robert II the Magnificient: A look at the “Danish Marriage.” Weblog. © Creative Commons 4.0
      Wikipedia contributors, "Tancred of Hauteville," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, [13] (accessed March 24, 2016).
      MedLands by Charles Cawley - TANCRED de Hauteville
    Person ID I59710  Freeman-Smith
    Last Modified 27 Jan 2026 

    Family NORMANDIE Fresenda,   b. Bef Aug 0997, Normandy, France Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1057 (Age > 59 years) 
    Children 
     1. HAUTEVILLE Robert,   b. Abt 1015, Hauteville-la-Guichard, Coutances, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Jul 1085, Phiscardo Bay, Cephalonia, Greece, Byzantine Empire Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
    Family ID F26510  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 27 Jan 2026 


Home Page |  What's New |  Most Wanted |  Surnames |  Photos |  Histories |  Documents |  Cemeteries |  Places |  Dates |  Reports |  Sources