County and nobility in Norman Italy : aristocratic agency in the Kingdom of Sicily, 1130-1189 / Hervin Fernández-Aceves

Date :

Type : Livre / Book

Langue / Language : anglais / English

ISBN : 978-1-350-13322-8

ISBN : 1-350-13322-1

EAN : 9781350089266

Normands -- Sicile (Italie) -- 12e siècle

Aristocratie -- Sicile (Italie) -- 12e siècle

Politique et gouvernement -- Sicile (Italie) -- 12e siècle

Classification Dewey : 945.8/03

Résumé / Abstract : Whilst historians often regard the Norman Kingdom of Sicily as centralised and administratively advanced, County and Nobility in Norman Italy counters this traditional interpretation; far from centralised and streamlined, this book reveals how the genesis and social structures of the kingdom were constantly fraught between the forces of royal power and local aristocracy authority. In doing so, Hervin Fernandez-Aceves sheds important new light on medieval Italy. This book is the result of thorough research conducted on the vast source material for the history of this fascinating 12th-century world. Starting with the activities of Norman counts and the configuration of the counties, it explores how social control operated in these nodes of regional authority, and argues that the Sicilian monarchy relied on the counties (and the counts' authority) to keep the realm united and exercise control