Conferences - Roger I of Hauteville

History and Heritage
Cycle of 2 conferences and a screening on Roger I of Hauteville.

This cycle of two conferences and one screening explores the fate of Roger I of Hauteville and the connections between Normandy and southern Italy in the 11th century. Born from the Norman expansion initiated after the creation of the Duchy of Normandy in the 10th century, this movement is reinforced by the political tensions that mark the reign of William the Conqueror and by the lack of land that drives many Normans towards the Mediterranean.

Among them are Robert Guiscard and Roger I of Hauteville. Having become the Count of Sicily and southern Calabria, Roger I established his capital at Mileto and began the conquest of Sicily from 1061, completing it in 1091. Taking advantage of the weakening of the Kalbid emirate, he built fortresses, cathedrals, and religious institutions that contributed to the political and spiritual organization of his territories and the emergence of the future Regnum of the Hautevilles in the 12th century.

The cycle also focuses on Robert de Grandmesnil, former abbot of Saint-Évroult-en-Ouche, who settled in southern Italy after his exile from Normandy. Abbot of Sainte-Euphémie, he played a major role in the development of Latin monasticism in Sicily and Calabria, serving the policy of Roger I, husband of Judith of Évreux.

Through the intertwined paths of William the Conqueror, victor of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and Roger I of Hauteville, architect of the conquest of Sicily, these meetings highlight the movements of men, ideas, and powers that shape Norman history on a European and Mediterranean scale.

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