Journal Summary: The Norman Invasion of Sicily
Georgios Theotokis, author of The Norman Invasion of Sicily, 1061–1072: Numbers and Military Tactics, is a history professor at Fatih University in Istanbul, Turkey. Professor Theotokis earned his PhD in Military History from Glasgow University in Glasgow, Scotland. In writing The Norman Invasion of Sicily, 1061–1072: Numbers and Military Tactics, Theotokis relied heavily on Geoffrey Malaterra’s Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of His Brother Duke Robert Guiscard. Geoffrey Malaterra came to Sicily to assist Count Roger’s attempt to re-establish the power of the Latin church. Theotokis states that therefore Malaterra began writing of Count Roger and Duke Robert late in the last decade of the eleventh century. Theotokis also referenced William of Apulia’s Gesta Roberti Guiscardi and Amatus Montecassino’s History of the Normans, both of which were written between 1080 and 1099 CE and are contemporaries of Malaterra.
Theotokis is upfront about the short comings of his sources. Malaterra’s work is scarce on the numbers and composition of armies, the dating of events, and details of battles and sieges. Amatus and William’s accounts concentrate on Robert Guiscard’s actions on mainland Italy and use only a few verses to talk about events in Sicily. While Amatus barely speaks of Count Roger, he was an eye witness to events unlike Malaterra. William of Apulia was a member of the court of Roger Borsa, heir to Robert Guiscard.
During the Norman Conquest and as seen throughout history, Sicily was of vital strategic importance as a control point for sea routes in the Mediterranean Sea. Great generals from Belisarius to Patton and Montgomery have used Sicily as the start poin...
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...large periods of inactivity. These periods of inactivity allowed the Muslim defenders to call for reinforcements and to drag out the Norman conquest. While the Norman conquest of Sicily took nearly twelve years, Norman struggles on the mainland prevented a quick victory.9
Endnotes
1. Theotokis, Georgios. "The Norman Invasion of Sicily, 1061-1072: Numbers and Military
Tactics." War in History 17, no. 4 (November, 2010), 385. Accessed April 12, 2014,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/814669058?accountid=8289.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., 388.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid., 391.
6. Ibid., 395.
7. Ibid., 398.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., 399.
Bibliography
Theotokis, Georgios. "The Norman Invasion of Sicily, 1061-1072: Numbers and Military
Tactics." War in History 17, no. 4 (11, 2010): 381-402. Accessed April 12, 2014.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/814669058?accountid=8289.
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