The Ancestry and Kinship of Tancred, Prince Regent of Antioch

Authors

Francesca Petrizzo, Leverhulme Study Abroad Leverhulme Study Abroad Scholar, Università di Roma 2 Tor VergataScholar, Universita

Abstract

Tancred, youngest of the leaders of the First Crusade, is at once one of the better-known and less-studied members of the crusader movement. Closely related to well-known Normans of Southern Italy such as Bohemond and Robert Guiscard, Tancred sits at an important knot in the Hauteville family tree, but inquiry into his family connections has been fragmented. This article aims at thoroughly reviewing the primary and secondary evidence, producing a new and updated family tree for Tancred, and clarifying many of the obscure points about his kin and ancestry. By reviewing Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Armenian sources, and bringing together material from both Southern Italy and the crusader East, the article will investigate Tancred’s probable date of birth; the debated parentage of his mother Emma, with the consequences for Tancred’s relationship with Bohemond; the biography of Tancred’s father Odo; the probable place of Tancred’s birth and raising, and its implications for his identity; the existence and number of Tancred’s siblings, both brothers and sisters, with the consequences for Tancred’s relationship to fellow crusaders Roger of salerno and Richard of the Principate; finally, Tancred’s marriage to Cecile of France. Thus, the article will examine Tancred’s family tree as a case study for an ambitious, far-reaching Hauteville kin group’s connections across the Mediterranean.

Recommended Citation

Petrizzo, Francesca (2019) "The Ancestry and Kinship of Tancred, Prince Regent of Antioch," Medieval People: Vol. 34: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/medpros/vol34/iss1/3