Robert Guiscard (gēskär`), c.1015–1085, Norman conqueror of S Italy, a son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans Normans, designation for the Northmen, or Norsemen , who conquered Normandy in the 10th cent. and adopted Christianity and the customs and language of France. Abandoning piracy and raiding, they adopted regular commerce and gave much impetus to European trade.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Robert joined (c.1046) his brothers in S Italy and fought with them to expel the Byzantines. In 1057 he succeeded his brother Humphrey as count of Apulia, and in 1059 Pope Nicholas II invested him at Melfi with Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. However, most of these lands remained to be conquered, and Robert set himself to the task with the help of his younger brother Roger, who wrested (1061–91) Sicily from the Arabs (see Roger I Roger I (Roger Guiscard), c.1031–1101, Norman conqueror of Sicily; son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans ). He went to Italy in 1058 to join his brother, Robert Guiscard , in conquering Apulia and Calabria from the Byzantines.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Calabria was occupied by 1060; Bari fell in 1071, Salerno in 1076. Robert's attacks on the duchy of Benevento, a papal fief, resulted in his excommunication (1074), but a reconciliation was brought about because the pope, Gregory VII Gregory VII, Saint, d. 1085, pope (1073–85), an Italian (b. near Rome) named Hildebrand (Ital. Ildebrando); successor of Alexander II. He was one of the greatest popes. Feast: May 25.
..... Click the link for more information. , needed Norman assistance against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV Henry IV, 1050–1106, Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III . He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had invaded Rome (1081). Ultimately, virtually all of Benevento except the city itself fell to Robert; he then turned his eyes to the Byzantine Empire. Championing the cause of the deposed emperor, Michael VII, he sailed in 1081, conquered Corfu, and defeated (1082) Emperor Alexius I Alexius I (Alexius Comnenus) (əlĕk`sēəs, kəmnē`nəs), 1048–1118, Byzantine emperor (1081–1118).
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1083 he returned to aid Gregory VII, who was besieged in the Castel Sant' Angelo. Robert's troops sacked Rome for three days (1084), but were again expelled by those of Henry IV. Robert, with his elder son Bohemond I Bohemond I (bō`həmŏnd), c.
..... Click the link for more information. , resumed his conquests in the east. Robert died of fever during the siege of Cephalonia and was succeeded in Apulia by his younger son, Roger.

Robert Guiscard

(born c. 1015, Normandy—died July 17, 1085, near Cephalonia, Greece, Byzantine Empire) Norman adventurer and duke of Apulia (1059–85). Born into a family of Norman knights, he joined his brothers and half brothers in southern Italy, defeating the Byzantines, Lombards, and papacy (1053) and taking over Apulia. He allied with the papacy (1059), agreeing to oppose the Byzantines and expel the Arabs from Sicily. His brother Roger (later Roger I) helped him to conquer Sicily and Calabria, and he gained control of Salerno in 1076, making it the capital of his duchy. Robert made an abortive attempt to gain the Byzantine throne (1083) but returned to Italy to defend Pope Gregory VII from his enemies.