Sichelgaita was born in 1035 into the ruling family of the Duchy of Salerno.
Sichelgaita was by his side when he died, and she arranged to have his mortal remains returned to Italy to rest in the Hauteville crypt in the Cathedral of Venosa in Puglia.
Sichelgaita died in March of 1090 in Salerno, the city of her birth.
Spartanburg SC | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
According to Orderic Vitalis, Bohemund fled to Capua in fear that Sichelgaita, who was rumoured to have poisoned Guiscard, would poison him.
A better suggestion is that he wished to ally himself with Prince Jordan I of Capua in light of the alliance between Roger and his uncle, Count Roger I of Sicily, who had secured his nephew's recognition as duke in September.
Though Bohemund received a small principality (an allodial possession) for himself in the heel of southern Italy, as compensation from Sichelgaita after renouncing his rights to the Duchy, he sought a greater status for himself.
Amazons Encyclopedia Article @ Gaily.org(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
The vogue of such female knights in literature would continue though the seventeenth century and inspired not only dramatic recreations but also actual military feats (such as the duchess of Montpensier's participation in the Fronde).
The best known historical Medieval Amazon characters are Sichelgaita of Salerno, Joan of Arc, queen Margaret I of Denmark and Jeanne Hachette.
Medieval noblewomen often had a rudimentary military training, as it was the task of the lady of the castle to lead the defence of the castle if the lord was away.
Soon after his succession, probably in 1058, Robert separated from his wife Alberada because they were related within the prohibited degrees to marry Sichelgaita, the sister of Gisulf II of Salerno, Guaimar's successor.
The territory of Salerno was already Robert's; in December 1076 he took the city, expelling its Lombard prince Gisulf, whose sister Sichelgaita he had married.
Guiscard was succeeded by Roger Borsa, his son by Sichelgaita; Bohemund, his son by an earlier Norman wife Alberada, being set aside.
Gisulf soon raised the ire of Count Richard I of Aversa and, only by alliance with the despised Almafitans, could he retain his throne.
The predations of William, Count of the Principate, a brother of Guiscard, forced him to marry his sister Sichelgaita to Guiscard in return for protection, and eventually his sister Gaitelgrima to Jordan, the son of Richard, recently prince of Capua.
In 1071, he and Richard of Capua threw their support behind a rebellion of Abelard of Hauteville and Herman of Hauteville, nephews of Robert Guiscard, and several other minor lords against the Guiscard's authority in his duchy of Apulia.
Soldiers -- Many women of nobility are know for their military skills either in the field or in holding their castles during a siege.
Lombardian princess, Sichelgaita often rode into battle with her husband who was a Norman mercenary soldier.
Of course there is the familiar Joan of Arc who commanded her own army and Eleanor of Aquitane defended her own castle with a force while under siege by her grandson.
By expanding her family's influence -- i.e., conquering most of England -- she helped her brother Edward the Elder become England's mightiest monarch (Gies and Gies, Women 23).
A princess of Lombardy, Sichelgaita was the wife of a Norman mercenary.
Tall, imposing, and muscular, she was a soldier herself and rode into battle at her husband's side.
“Matilda of Tuscany,” “Beatrice of Lorraine,” “Sichelgaita of Salerno,” ”Kang Keqing,” “Chaike Belchatowska Spiegel,” and “Ani Pachen” in Amazons to Fighter Pilots: A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women, ed.
“Sichelgaita of Salerno: Amazon or Trophy Wife?” Journal of Medieval Military History 3 (2005)
2003- "Sichelgaita of Salerno: Amazon or Trophy Wife?" 38th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, May 8-11.
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The Norman battle lines stretched inward from the coast towards the city itself, Robert Guisgard took the centre of the line with his wife Sichelgaita next to him.
Robert arranged his forces in 3 "battles", essentially 3 semi-independent divisions, with his son (Bohemond) commanding the left battle, and Sichelgaita commanding the right battle.
The part of the Battle of Durazzo that I was talking about was after the Variangians broke Sichelgaita's battle, and had it in full retreat (with Sichelgaita chasing after them, cursing all the way).
The Norman right now charged the Varangian left flank but while they stood firm the Byzantine left counterattacked driving Count Ami’s forces towards the shore in panic.
They were rallied later by Guiscard’s wife Sichelgaita, in full armour.
However, the Varangians also pursued the beaten Normans leaving themselves exposed to an attack on their right by Norman spearmen supported by crossbows.
Paradox Interactive Forums - The Last Lombard Princes of Italy(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
In the vanilla scenario, the count of Salerno, Gisulf only has one sister, Sichelgaita, the wife of Robert Guiscard.
Of his brothers and sisters, only his sister Sichelgaita was still alive in 1088.
Landulf I was a much more dipomatic man, then his brother Gisulf II, he also wasn’t as cruel as him, but during his reign he became much more deceitfull, helping for example his spymaster Fausto de Morra, the bastardson of the magistrate of Bologna, twice with a assasination attempt to his halfbrothers.
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Rick Rohde is from the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Pasquale Lucio Scandizzo is professor of political economy at the University of Rome and president of the Sichelgaita Institute of Economic and Social Research, Salerno, Italy.
Brent Swallow is with the International Center for Agro-Forestry in Nairobi.
EN World - Morrus' D&D / d20 News & Reviews Site - more evidence of warrior women!(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
There's still some debate as to how prevalent it was, but contemporary accounts and archaeology are fairly clear that women often participated in warfare.
Of course in many other cultures there are singular historical and legendary accounts of it, Boudicca, Sichelgaita of Salerno, Mu Lan, and Camilla the Volscian.
Frequently the idea is heavily romanticized I've found.
[No title](Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
She also wishes her name to be made authentic for an unspecified language/culture (likely German).
'Sichelgaita' from numerous sources: Sichelgaita was a princess of Lombardy, dated to 1090, the wife of Robert Guiscard (from "Medieval Europe, A Short History", PCA).
The rest of the references to 'Sichelgaita' appear to be from a variety of geneaology web pages whoch are not quoted here.
From right to left, Master Galleron de Cressy, squire; Daffyd Rosensoldat, squire; Sichelgaita von halsstern, squire; being introduced with others of The Company of the Horn Vert.
If you would like a copy of this photo for your personal use, email Ailis
Selected papers from these events have been included in a volume on
Morals of Legitimacy (I. Pardo ed., Berghahn Books, Oxford, 2000) in a volume on Questioni di legittimitaÌ: corruzione tra moralitaÌ e legge (I. Pardo ed., Sichelgaita: Rome, 2001), in a volume on Legittimità e etica del potere (I. Pardo ed., in publication) and in a volume on Corruption (in preparation for publication for Berghahn Books).
He has recently published a book titled Elite senza fiducia: ideologie, etivhe di potere, legittimitaÌ (Rubbettino: Catanzaro, 2001) and is preparing a volume on Corruption and a monograph on the Italian Elite for Berghahn Books.
