Aristocratic society in Abruzzo, c.950-1140

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of aristocratic society in the Italian province of Abruzzo from the mid-tenth century to the incorporation of the region into kingdom of Sicily in 1140. To rectify the historiographical deficit that exists concerning this topic, this thesis analyses the aristocracy of Abruzzo from the tenth to the twelfth centuries. It elucidates the polictical fragmentation apparent in the region before the Norman invasion, the establishment and administration of the Abruzzese Norman lordships and their network of political connections and the divergent political strategies employed by the local aristocracy in response to the Norman conquest.