Principality of Salerno - Formation

Formation

See also: Chronicon Salernitanum

In 841, the prince of Benevento, Sicard, died. Immediately, his chief army officer, Radelchis, seized power in Benevento and imprisoned Sicard's heir and brother, Siconulf, in Taranto. Amalfitan merchants rescued Siconulf from prison, and he was proclaimed prince in Salerno. A civil war erupted in the Italian Mezzogiorno. In 847, the Emperor Lothair I had Guy I of Spoleto and Sergius I of Naples mediate a division of the great Lombard principality. In 849, Louis, King of Italy, the Radelgisi et Siginulfi principum Divisio Ducatus Beneventani divided the principality into two sections: one with its capital at Salerno and another with the original Benevento.

Salerno consisted of Taranto, Cassano, Cosenza, Paestum, Conza, Potenza, Sarno, Cimitile (Nola), Capua, Teano, and Sora. It was a maritime power with numerous seaports, including Salerno itself, and controlled mostly the western half of the old duchy.

The principality did not enjoy stability in its early years. In 851, Siconulf died and his son Sico was still a child. He was deposed and replaced by his regent, Peter, in 853, and Peter was succeeded that year by his son Adhemar. Adhemar's stormy princeship ended violently: a revolt deposed him, and Guaifer, the scion of a local family of note, the Dauferidi, had him blinded and imprisoned. Guaifer succeeded him in the princely office with the support of the people.

Read more about this topic:  Principality Of Salerno

Famous quotes containing the word formation:

    “Out of my discomforts, which were small enough, grew one thing for which I have all my life been grateful—the formation of fixed habits of work.”
    —Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911)

    “The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit.”
    —Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)

    “I want you to consider this distinction as you go forward in life. Being male is not enough; being a man is a right to be earned and an honor to be cherished. I cannot tell you how to earn that right or deserve that honor. . . but I can tell you that the formation of your manhood must be a conscious act governed by the highest vision of the man you want to be.”
    —Kent Nerburn (20th century)