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Byzantium, Political Agency, and the City: a Case Study in Urban Autonomy During the Norman Conquest of Southern Italy

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Byzantium, Political Agency, and the City: a Case Study in Urban Autonomy During the Norman Conquest of Southern Italy Byzantium, Political Agency, and the City: A Case Study in Urban Autonomy During the Norman Conquest of Southern Italy by Christopher Henry Dickert B.A. (Hons., History), Simon Fraser University, 2012 B.A. (Philosophy), Simon Fraser University, 2008 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Christopher Henry Dickert 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2014 Approval Name: Christopher Henry Dickert Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: Byzantium, Political Agency, and the City: A Case Study in Urban Autonomy During the Norman Conquest of Southern Italy Examining Committee: Chair: Allen Seager Associate Professor Dimitris Krallis Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Emily O’Brien Supervisor Associate Professor Anthony Kaldellis External Examiner Professor, Department of Classics Ohio State University Date Defended/Approved: May 16, 2014 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract At the turn of the first millennium, a group of Norman adventurers arrived in the Byzantine territories of southern Italy and within a century had conquered the entire region, putting an end to imperial rule in the Mezzogiorno. This thesis examines the reactions of cities to the Norman Conquest as imperial forces crumbled in the face of their advance. After centuries of Byzantine rule in the region, urban polities had grown accustomed to a mode of government that acknowledged the legitimacy of popular political participation, which may have had its roots in the often ignored republican heritage of citizens of the Eastern Roman Empire. The presence of political agency challenges our conception of imperial authority as tyrannical and unresponsive. In the final analysis, cities exhibited hitherto unacknowledged political agency as they sought to defend their urban autonomy during the transition to Norman rule at the close of the eleventh century. Keywords: Byzantine Italy; Political Agency; Urban Autonomy; Imperial Authority; Eleventh Century; Republicanism iv Acknowledgements A project such as this would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of a great many people and institutions. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies, the Simon Fraser University History Department and the Saywell Graduate Scholarship in History have all provided generous financial support that allowed me to complete this thesis. My time as a student in the SFU History Department has been a rewarding one and I have the many people that have challenged and inspired me to thank for it. I have Paul Garfinkel to thank for sparking an interest in Italy in the first place, and who along with others such as Hilmar Pabel and Roxanne Panchasi have challenged me to become a better writer and thinker. I would also like to thank André Gerolymatos, Christine Jones, Thomas Kuehn, and Ilya Vinkovetsky for their kind support, and engaging discussions during various courses. Thank you also to the staff of the History Department: Ruth Anderson, Judi Fraser, and Tessa Wright, as well as the staff of the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies: Maria Hamilton and Colleen Pescott for their help over the years. Lastly, a big thanks to my fellow graduate students: compatriot pre-Modern historians, Simone Hanebaum and Kathryn Hearn have both looked at earlier drafts of this thesis and provided valuable comments, while Scott Eaton, Maddie Knickerbocker, and Joseph Tilley have all been good friends to me. I would like to single out for thanks Emily O’Brien, who has been so influential in my development as a historian. Her infectious enthusiasm has inspired me to do justice to the people whom I study. Also, I would especially like to thank my supervisor, Dimitris Krallis whose mentorship and encouragement can be found throughout these pages. I am honoured to call him friend. Lastly, and perhaps most of all, I would like to thank my partner, Clea Moray, whose support and encouragement have been invaluable; without her, this wouldn’t have been possible. And not to be forgotten, my daughter Charlotte and son Ferris, who may not understand why their father is mumbling about people who have been dead for centuries, but have nonetheless put up with it. v Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vi List of Figures................................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ viii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 What does a medieval state look like? ............................................................................ 2 Chapter 1. Room to Manoeuver: Provincial Administration and the Limits of Imperial Authority ............................................................................... 16 Chapter 2. The Mezzogiorno in Change: The Norman Conquest and Urban Autonomy ................................................................................................ 36 Chapter 3. The City of Bari: A Case Study in Urban Political Agency ................... 57 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 81 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 86 Primary Sources ............................................................................................................ 86 Secondary Sources ....................................................................................................... 89 Reference Works .................................................................................................. 89 Monographs, Journal Articles and Books Chapters .............................................. 89 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Southern Italy ..................................................................................... 15 vii Abbreviations Alexiad Anna Comnena. Alexiade (règne De L’empereur Alexis I Comnène, 1081-1118). Amatus Amatus of Montecassino. The History of the Normans. Ann. Bari “Annales Barenses” in W.J. Churchill, “The Annales Barenses and the Annales Lupi Protosptharri: Critical Edition and Commentary.” Ann. Lupi. “Annales Lupi Protosptharri” in W.J. Churchill, “The Annales Barenses and the Annales Lupi Protosptharri: Critical Edition and Commentary.” Anon. Bari Anonymi Barensis Chronicon (855-1149). Aristakes Aristakes Lastivertc'i. The History. Attaleiates, Michael Attaleiates. Diataxis :: Rule of Michael Attaleiates for his Diataxis Almshouse in Rhaidestos and for the Monastery of Christ Panoiktirmon in Constantinople. Attaleiates, Hist. Michael Attaleiates. The History. Attaleiates, Michael Attaleiates. Ponema Nomikon. Ponema Nomikon CDB I Codice diplomatico barese. I. Le pergamene del Duomo di Bari (952-1264). CDB III Codice diplomatico barese. III. Le pergamene della Cattedrale di Terlizzi (971-1300). CDB IV Codice diplomatico barese. IV. Le pergamene di S. Nicola di Bari. Periodo greco (939-1071). CDB V Codice diplomatico barese. V. Le pergamene di S. Nicola di Bari. Periodo normanno (1075-1194). Choniates Niketas Choniates. O city of Byzantium : annals of Niketas Choniates. Chron. Ahimaaz Ahimaaz ben Paltiel. The Chronicle of Ahimaaz. Chron. Cas. Chronica Monasterii Casinensis. Chron. Sal. Chronicon Salernitanum: A Critical Edition with Studies on Literary and Historical Sources and on Language. DAC Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. The Book of Ceremonies: with the Greek edition of the Corpus scriptorum historiae Byzantinae. DAI Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. De Administrando Imperio. Erchempert Joan Rowe Ferry. “Erchempert's History of the Lombards of Benevento: a translation and study of its place in the chronicle tradition.” viii Falcandus Hugo Falcandus. The History of the Tyrants of Socily by ‘Hugo Falcandus’ 1154-69. Gesta Tancredi Ralph of Caen. ‘Gesta Tancredi' of Ralph of Caen: A History of the Normans on the First Crusade. Kekaumenos Kekaumenos. Raccomandazioni e consigli di un galantuomo: Strategikon. Kinnamos Ioannes Kinnamos. The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos. Leo the Deacon Leo the Deacon. The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century. Listes Nicolas Oikonomidès. Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles: Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire. Liudprand, Relatio “The Embassy of Liudprand the Cremonese Bishop to the Constantinopolitan Emperor Nicephoros Phocas on Behalf of the August Ottos & Adelheid” in Liudprand of Cremona. The Complete Works of Luidprand of Cremona. Malaterra Gaufredo Malaterra. “De Rebus Gestis
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