Maud of Apulia facts for kids
Maud of Apulia (born around 1060, died around 1112) was an important woman from the Norman Hauteville family. She was the daughter of Robert Guiscard, a powerful Norman leader, and his second wife, Sikelgaita. Sikelgaita was a Lombard princess.
Maud was also known by other names like Mahalda, Mahault, Mafalda, and Matilda. She became the Countess of Barcelona when she married Ramón Berenguer II in 1077. After her first husband's death, she married Aimery I, the Viscount of Narbonne, in 1086.
Contents
Maud's Family Background
Maud was the first daughter of Robert Guiscard, who was the Duke of Apulia and Calabria. Her mother was Sikelgaita. Her brother was Roger Borsa, who became a ruler in southern Italy.
Maud also had famous cousins, Simon of Sicily and Roger II. They worked to unite southern Italy and Sicily under Norman rule. This was completed in 1130. Maud was also the half-sister of Bohemund of Taranto. He was a leader in the First Crusade and later became the Prince of Antioch.
Countess of Barcelona: A New Role
Maud married Ramon Berenguer II in early 1077. This marriage might have been part of a plan by Pope Gregory VII. The Pope wanted support from Norman nobles in southern Italy against Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Around the same time, other counts related to Ramón Berenguer also married Norman noblewomen.
On December 5, 1082, Ramón Berenguer II died suddenly. Many believed his twin brother, Berenguer Ramón II, was involved. The brothers had shared power in Barcelona. Just a few days before, Maud had given birth to their son, who would become Ramón Berenguer III.
Her husband's death left Maud and her baby son in a difficult spot. Her son could not become count until his uncle died. However, Ramón Berenguer III did become the Count of Barcelona in 1097, after his uncle was sent away.
Viscountess of Narbonne: A Second Marriage
Around 1086, Maud married again. Her second husband was Aimery I, the Viscount of Narbonne. They had four children together: Aimery II of Narbonne, Guiscardo, Bernardo, and Berenguer.
Maud became a widow for the second time in 1105. After this, she returned to Barcelona. By then, her first son, Ramón Berenguer III, was already the Count of Barcelona.
Maud died at the Monastery of Sant Daniel, Girona. She was buried in the Girona Cathedral next to her first husband.
See also
In Spanish: Mafalda de Apulia para niños
- Tancred of Hauteville
- County of Apulia and Calabria
- Norman conquest of southern Italy
- First Crusade
Sources
- Sobrequés, Santiago, Els Grans Comtes de Barcelona, Barcelona, 1961.
- Norwich, John Julius, The Normans in the South 1016-1130. Longman: London, 1967.
- Norwich, John Julius, The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longman: London, 1970.
- Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University Press: London, 1992.
