“A most prudent woman, [she] exercised the cares of the government and ruled over the county.”
At the time of Roger’s death, his sons were still minors. Adelasia del Vasto (d. 1118) assumed the regency. With great skill, she had consideration for local traditions and was careful not to appoint foreign staff to her circle of advisers. A Greek-Arab document describes her as “a great female ruler, the malikah of Sicily and Calabria, the protector of the Christian faith.” She moved her royal residence to Palermo where she created a multicultural court. One of her most influential advisers was the emir Christodulus. Her son Roger II (d. 1154) thus grew up in a multicultural and multilingual environment and benefited from the cultural diversity surrounding him.
Messina, 6 March 1109
Paper
Palermo, Archivio di Stato, Tabulario Ospedale Grande, Monastero di S. Filippo di Fragalà e S. Maria di Maniaci, doc. 9, cart.
Adelasia’s mandate is the oldest existing paper document in Europe written in a secular chancellary. As regent of the county of Sicily Adelaide addresses the Greek and Arab officials of Castrogiovanni (today Enna) and orders them to treat well and support the monks of the monastery of S. Filippo di Fragalà. In the Arabic part, Adelasia is celebrated as “great mistress, ruler of Sicily and Calabria and defender of the faith of the Christians”.
Constantinople, April 1109
Golden, silver and red ink on crimson parchment
Provenance: Palermo, Tesoro della Cappella Palatina, Inv. 340
Rom, Patrimonio del Fondo Edifi ci di Culto, amministrato dal Ministero dell’Interno – Dipartimento per le Libertà Civili e l’Immigrazione – Direzione Centrale degli Affari dei Culti e per l’Amministrazione del FEC
Christodulos was one of the closest advisors of Adelaide. Even in the eyes of the Byzantine Emperor he was an important person. With this document, he thus appointed him the honorable title of a prōtonōbelíssimos. This so-called Kodikillos exemplary shows the influence of Byzantine practice on the Norman chamber and was a role model for the preparation and execution of the Cappella Palatina’s foundation charter.