The Drengots and the rise of the Hautevilles

The Normans who made their way south differed widely. Their family or social backgrounds were as different as were their motives. Not all of them achieved their aim of conquering a dominion or just making a living. Amongst the first Normans to settle permanently in Italy were the Drengots. In the service of the count of Naples, they were given the rule over Aversa (in the 1020s), where they intermarried with the local elites. Even more successful than the Drengots were the Hautevilles. They came from the lesser Norman nobility, a family with numerous children, many of them seeking their fortune in Southern Italy – with outstanding success. Up to the end of the 11th century, three of the brothers succeeded each other as counts of Apulia and leaders of the Normans in southern Italy.