THE BALLAD-SINGER
THE NORMANS IN SICILY
There was conflict among Sicily's jealous emirs, and one of them was in contact with a band of Europeans set on the conquest of Sicily. TheNormans had been in Italy for decades, as mercenaries fighting battles for Byzantine, Lombard or Papal patrons. The Norman conquest of Sicily began in 1061 when Roger de Hauteville and his brother Robert de Guiscard crossed the strait from Calabria and with only a handful of men seized Messina. Thirty years later, they had driven out the Saracens and were in control of the whole island.
Palermo
Palermo was still far away. It was captured only in 1071 following another epic battle by land and sea. When the fighting was over, Sicily was part of Europe again. Robert cross from Kalsa, trough the Bab Al Futuh door. The Arabs stayed in the Kalsa, the Latin in Albergheria and the Greek near the Cathedral.
Mazara
In 1072, Mazara was conquered by Normans, headed by Roger I. During that period, in 1093, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mazara del Vallo was instituted. Roger I built walls around the town and a castle. In 1097 there was the first conference in Mazara del Vallo convened by Roger I the Great Count of a parliament initially travelling. The Sicilian Parliament was made up of three branches: from feudalism, from the Ecclesiastical and from the State Property. The feudal branch was formed by nobles representatives of counties and baronies; the ecclesiastical branch was formed by archbishops, bishops, abbots and archimandrites, while the stateowned branch was formed by representatives of 42 autonomous towns in Sicily. The first Norman parliament was not a deliberative, and had only an advisory function and confirmation of the sovereign, especially in taxation, economics and wars. Members were chosen from the more powerful nobles.
RECONSTRUCTION
The Normans, like the Arabs were tolerant because most of Sicilian people were not catholic, but they had to pay a tax. The Normans reorganized the Cristian cult and built new churches. The Cathedral was built in 1086 and Mazara became the new ecclesiastical district. Count Roger established the new diocese of Mazara, and as it appears on a diploma of February 1081, Count Roger wanted to define the territorial boundaries of the new ecclesiastical district and he chose Mazara, like Troina, as a new heart of the episcopal jurisdiction. Roger built also a castle and defensive walls around the old town.
Churches and monasteries
Chiesa di San Nicolò Regale.
Chiesa di Santa Veneranda.
Chiesa di San Vito a Mare. •
Chiesa e Monastero di San Michele.
Chiesa di San Francesco.
Chiesa della Madonna delle Giummare.
Chiesa di San Martino.
The Normans built many churches in the countryside, too: Sant'Elia, Santa Maria di Gesù, San Cusumano, San Nicola, and San Peri.
THE FIRST PARLIAMENT
Mazara was again an important economical center. As Edrisi refers to the twelfth century, and in a document of the next century (1273) Mazara is burdened by seventeen gabelles or forced " dohane ", unlike other cities in western Sicily ( Marsala, Salemi, Alcamo, Trapani, Castelvetrano ) instead subjected to a lower number. Every gabelles refer to an economic activity, so there were 17 economic activities in Mazara. Mazara was, for a short time, the center of the Norman power: In 1097 Roger Ist had The first parliament took place in Mazara in 1097 and in 1130 Count Roger went to Palermo where he established the Parliament in the Norman Palace.
Malta 1091
In 1091, Count Roger I of Sicily, made an initial attempt to establish Norman rule of Malta and was greeted by the few native Christians. In 1127, his son Roger II of Sicily succeeded. This marked the gradual change from a Moorish cultural influence to a European one. In 1191, Tancred of Sicily appointed Margaritus of Brindisi the first Count of Malta. Until 1224, however, there remained a strong Muslim segment of society. After the Norman conquest, the population of the Maltese islands kept growing mainly through immigration from the north (Sicily and Italy), with the exile to Malta of the entire male population of the town of Celano (Italy) in 1223, the stationing of a Norman and Sicilian garrison on Malta in 1240 and the settlement in Malta of noble families from Sicily between 1372 and 1450. As a consequence of this, one major academic study found that "the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria." Malta was part of the Kingdom of Sicily for nearly 440 years.
The Norman coinage of Sicily When the Normans began to produce their own coinage in southern Italy and Sicily, they simply continued to issue the same coin types that their predecessors had struck. In Salerno on the mainland, the mint continued to issue its own gold tarì under the Normans, but the coins grew increasingly distinct from the Fatimid quarter-dinar of Sicily and ever more debased, with examples from the late 11th century onwards containing less than fifty per cent gold and sometimes even much less. Amalfi remained independent of the Normans until 1127, but its coinage followed a similar pattern. Robert Guiscard struck most of his coins in the Salerno mint on the mainland, where he continued to issue the same sort of copper follari that the Lombard princes of Salerno had produced. Roger Borsa went on striking follari in the Salerno mint, and after 1085, Roger I began to strike follari in Calabria at Mileto, where he also based his administration. Though most of Robert's coins were Salernitan follari, his earliest coins were Sicilian gold tarì of Palermo with cufic epigraphy and the hegira date 464, or 1072, the same year in which Robert and his brother Roger I conquered Palermo. This indicates that there was no significant break in the activity of the Palermo mint between Arab and Norman rule. Robert's tarì did not follow the concentric design of the Fatimid quarter-dinar struck under the 10th century caliph al-Mu'izz but rather the more traditional design with horizontal inscriptions across the field. They were modelled instead after the coins of later caliphs that were circulating in Sicily when the mint came under Robert's control.Robert and Roger also continued to strike small silver dirhem fractions in Sicily, called kharruba, which further demonstrates the continuity of minting during the transition from Arab and Norman rule.
Gold tarì Palermo (1073) -Roberto il Guiscardo
Large copper follaro of Palermo Guglielmo II
Large copper follaro Guglielmo I
Large copper follaro Tancredi
THE BALLAD SINGER
After Count Roger conquered Mazara, a singer performed his battle. The Ballad singer performed for his family and friends, and at village fairs and markets. The ballad singer went around Sicily and sang the ballad. Count Roger invited him to sing in the Castle in Mazara. (Siciliano) «Sugnu risortu a farivi sintiri a zoccu fici lu Conti Ruggeri, amurusu di Cristu e di la fidi, unitu a quattrucentu cavaleri. Cc'era a Mazara tanti saracini, Muarta sulu arzava li banneri. Cci fu 'na guerra, sintistivu diri. Persi Muarta, e cu vincìu? Ruggeri.»
(Italiano) «Sono tornato a farvi sentire cosa fece il Conte Ruggero, che adorava Cristo e la Sua fede, insieme a quattrocento cavalieri. C'erano a Mazara tanti saraceni, solo Mokarta alzava gli stendardi. Ci fu una guerra, l'avete sentito dire. Perse Mokarta, e chi vinse? Ruggero.»
( English) I went back to make you feel What did the Count Roger , who loved Christ and His faith , along with four hundred horsemen . There were many Saracens in Mazara , Mokarta only raised the banners . There was a war , you have heard . Mokarta lost and who won ? Ruggero."