Rural settlement and economic development

in Southern Italy: Troia and its contado,

c.1020 - c.1230
Paul Oldeld
Department of History, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Abstract
The history of urban life in Southern Italy during the eleventh and twelfth centuries was particularly
disjointed. At varying points many of the regions cities were subject to the domination of petty Lombard
princes, Byzantine emperors, Norman dukes and, as one passes into the twelfth century, Sicilian kings and
German emperors. This paper uses the case of the northern Apulian city of Troia to show that, below this
surface of political discontinuity, it is possible to discern a different understanding of an urban history. In
highlighting the signicance of the economic development of Troias surrounding territory and the manner
in which this created a damaging rivalry with the neighbouring settlement of Foggia, this essay emphasises
the need to take into account local (and not only wider-ranging political) inuences on the shaping of me-
dieval south Italian urban life. In this context the paper also considers the importance of the development
of a stable local government and a burgeoning civic conscience at Troia.
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Rural settlement; Land cultivation; Civic identity; Economic and urban development
Troia was founded by the Byzantine catepan (governor) of Apulia, Basil Boiannes, on a hill-
top site (436 m) on the edge of the Tavoliere plain in northern Apulia in 1019 (Fig. 1). It lies
some 22 km south-west of Foggia, itself originally an offshoot of Troia which later eclipsed it
in importance, and 16 km due south of Lucera, which up to the foundation of Troia had been
the most prominent settlement of the region. While today Troia is a small town of only minor
E-mail address: pauloldelduk@yahoo.co.uk
0304-4181/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmedhist.2005.09.001
Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
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and local signicance, it was during the eleventh and twelfth centuries one of the key urban
centres in inland Apulia and this is reected in abundant contemporary documentation.
1
The settlement was created as part of a defensive network of hill-forts along the northern
border of Apulia to protect Byzantine Southern Italy from the Lombard Principalities.
2
Built
on a steep sub-Apennine hill within the region that became known as the Capitanata, its formi-
dable position enabled it to act as guardian for the vast Tavoliere. Troias history in the period
c.1020-c.1220 was eventful to say the least. In 1022 the settlement performed its duty by de-
taining the German Emperor Henry IIs expedition into Southern Italy, against the Byzantines,
for three months outside its walls.
3
After a further forty years of distant Greek rule the city
Fig. 1. Map of Northern Apulia and the Capitanata.
1
This article is heavily indebted to the magnicent works, and advice, of Professor J-M Martin. It has also beneted
immensely from the support and guidance of Professor G. A. Loud. The useful comments of Mr I. S. Moxon and the
encouragement of Dr P. Skinner must also be mentioned.
2
For the foundation of these fortresses by Boiannes, S. Borsari, Aspetti del dominio bizantino in Capitanata, Atti
dellacademia Pontaniana, xvi (1966/7), 55-66.
3
Many sources cover the siege including: Romualdi Salernitani Chronicon, ed. C.A. Garu, Rerum Italicarum Scrip-
tores (Citta di Castello, 1935), 175 [henceforth Romuald]; Chronica monasterii Casinensis, ed. H. Hoffman, Monu-
menta Germaniae Historica Scriptores xxxiv (Hanover, 1980), Bk. II. 40, 244; Lupus Protospatharius, Annales, ed.
G. H. Pertz, Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores v (Hanover, 1845).
328 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
passed, in 1060, under the domination of Duke Robert Guiscard, the leader of one of several
bands of Norman adventurers recently arrived in the region. Up until the dukes death in
1085 Troia, now part of the newly created Norman duchy of Apulia, was developed into a quasi-
ducal capital (though this did not prevent, and perhaps was responsible for, a brief and bloody
rebellion in the city in 1082). Under Guiscards successors, his son Roger (1085-1111) and
grandson William (1111-1127), the city was increasingly left to its own fate amidst growing
disorder and the fragmentation of ducal power. By 1127, when Duke William died without is-
sue, Troia was effectively autonomous. In this year the city received a controversial charter of
liberties from the pope. Unsurprisingly the city ferociously opposed the attempts of Count Rog-
er II of Sicily, who claimed to be the last dukes rightful successor, to integrate Apulia into
a centralised South Italian kingdom. In the ensuing civil war Troia was one of Rogers leading
opponents, until its nal capitulation in 1139.
4
Once incorporated within the kingdom the city
enjoyed relative peace. However there were two widespread mainland revolts against the mon-
archy in the 1150s and 1160s which undoubtedly affected Troia.
5
Moreover, the death of King
William II without a direct heir led to a struggle for the throne between the native claimant,
Tancred, and the outsider Henry VI of Germany. The latter was ultimately successful in
1194 but only after Southern Italy had suffered great disruption. Troia could now add a German
ruler to its previous list of Byzantine emperors, Norman dukes and Sicilian kings. But once
again Troia, and Southern Italy as a whole, were denied any sense of political stability. Both
Henry VI and his wife had died by 1198, leaving a three year old son, Frederick II, and
a huge political vacuum. The resultant anarchy in the region was not quelled until Frederick
entered Southern Italy in 1220.
One could be forgiven for thinking of Troias history primarily in terms of military cam-
paigns, repeated disruption and suffering. Amongst the damage wrought by Robert Guiscards
lengthy siege of the city in 1060, the chronicler Amatus of Montecassino tells us that bread,
wood, wine and water ran low, the harvest could not be gathered so that granaries could not
be replenished and that,
The citizens [were forced to beg] for Duke Roberts pardon, since they did not want to see
great Troia destroyed.
6
Later on, William of Apulia gives the following account of the manner in which Guiscards
son Roger put down the 1082 revolt,
he [Roger] left the citadel [in Troia], threw himself down furiously, and punished the rebel
people with various tortures. He cut the head off one man, off another his foot, he de-
prived one of a nose, the other of his testicles, he pulled out the teeth of some, and the
ears of others.
7
A now familiar depiction of havoc, this time concerning the retribution that King Roger
wreaked on the city in 1133, is provided by (the openly anti-Rogerian) Falco of Benevento.
4
See especially Alexandri Telesini abbatis ystoria Rogerii Regis Sicilie Calabrie atque Apulie, ed. L. De Nava, his-
torical commentary by D. Clementi, Fonti per la storia dItalia 112 (Rome, 1991) [henceforth Al. Tel.] and Falcone di
Benevento, Chronicon Beneventanum, ed. E. DAngelo (Florence, 1998) [henceforth Falco].
5
See especially Hugo Falcandus, The history of the tyrants of Sicily by Hugo Falcandus, 1154-1169, ed. G.A. Loud
and T. Wiedemann (Manchester, 1998), 62-113.
6
The history of the Normans by Amatus of Montecassino, trans. Dunbar and G. A. Loud (Woodbridge, 2004), 155.
7
Guillaume de Pouille, La geste de Robert Guiscard, ed. M. Mathieu (Palermo, 1961), Bk. IV, lines 506-520.
329 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
He claimed that, after the king had imprisoned many of the citys inhabitants, executed some
others and forced the remainder to ee,
he then ordered that the houses and the property of the Troians be given over to the sword
and consumed by re. Oh what a wailing of women and children arose over the whole
city of Troia!
8
Even within the relative security of the kingdom of Sicily, the unrest of the 1150s and 1160s,
according to the commentator Hugo Falcandus, repeatedly left Apulia in turmoil.
9
Indeed, the
canons of Troia cathedral complained around 1170 of the oppression of the city and enemy
incursions, though who was conducting these raids remains unclear.
10
Yet, if we move away from purely political episodes and do not fall into the fallacy of eval-
uating life according to the headlines, we may be able to reconstruct a rather different, deeper
and more stable history for Troia.
11
It is possible to do so by focusing on local rather than pro-
vincial or indeed national inuences. One such eld of enquiry can be found in the analysis of
settlement patterns and economic developments in and around Troia. This opens an entirely
new perspective and one virtually unexplored by the contemporary South Italian chroniclers.
Evidence exists for an increased settlement and cultivation of Troias appended territory (con-
tado) from the late eleventh century, and this was of great consequence to the city for two rea-
sons. Firstly it allowed Troia to create an economic and administrative base alongside its
primarily military functions. This was necessary in order to maintain the citys status as a prom-
inent urban centre. In the eleventh century Troia, largely through its strategic position and re-
ligious establishments, had been lucky enough to receive generous patronage from Robert
Guiscard. It also hosted three lucrative and prestigious church councils, attended by the
pope, between 1093 and 1120. However, Guiscards impoverished ducal successors were un-
able to be as lavish, while King Roger was understandably never fond of the rebellious city.
After its incorporation into the kingdom, even the pope visited Troia only once, in 1177.
12
The city could no longer rely on the same levels of patronage from above, and after 1139 its
military assets were not especially required by the royal government. Although Roger II re-for-
tied Troia in the 1130s this was less to do with strategic defence and more to do with surveil-
lance of a population with a reputation for rebellion. Secondly, and equally as important, the
development of the contado allowed for the rapid rise of Foggia, a settlement which by the thir-
teenth century was already surpassing Troia as the regions key urban agglomeration.
13
1. Troia and urban stability
Strategic considerations were behind Troias foundation. However its Byzantine creators
also foresaw a role as an administrative centre from which the surrounding countryside could
8
Falco, p.154.
9
History of the tyrants ed. Loud and Wiedemann, 84.
10
Les chartes de Troia. Edition et etude critique des plus anciens documents conserves a` lArchivio Capitolare, 1
(1024-1266), Codice diplomatico Pugliese xxi, ed. Jean-Marie Martin (Bari, 1976), no. 87 [henceforth Troia followed
by the document number].
11
Susan Reynolds, Kingdoms and communities in Western Europe 900-1300 (Oxford, 1997), 217.
12
Romuald, 202.
13
Jean-Marie Martin, Foggia nel Medioevo (Rome, 1998).
330 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
be settled and reclaimed. It is difcult to know how much of this initiative was controlled by the
city and its people. Most of the wealthiest inhabitants of Troia had extensive properties in the
contado and many prominent inhabitants of the contado possessed extensive properties in and
around Troia.
14
But, as we shall see, the contado was riddled with different institutions, both
ecclesiastical and lay, that also drove its agricultural development. Whoever was chiey respon-
sible, its success was impossible without the protection, the market and the manpower that the
city could offer. It was especially important then that Troia was able to maintain itself as a stable
urban settlement. Indeed, Troia possessed qualities that were key to the survival and continuity
of any city and which help explain its endurance in the face of repeated phases of external dis-
order. It is of fundamental importance therefore to rst look at these qualities, as it were, before
turning to the contados development. All of Troias varying rulers retained the city within their
demesne. This may have assisted in the evolution at Troia of a continuous tradition of stable
local self-government which operated under the ever-changing higher political structures of
the region and which allowed the city to continue functioning in periods of turmoil. Many
of the citys local ofcials survived in their ofces through periods of political upheaval and
regime change. The two main city judges in the second quarter of the twelfth century enjoyed
long careers: Secundinus from 1125 to 1169 and Iannucius from 1127 to 1144, with only simple
title changes (ducal, Troian, royal judge) in accordance with whoever was the citys superior at
that time.
15
Moreover, of the various higher ofcials who operated in and around Troia, the
Byzantine tepoteritii and strategotii, or the Norman royal justiciars and chamberlains, many
were of local origin and thus sympathetic to native customs. Behind these ofcial appointments
can also be traced the rise of inuential local kin-groups, the Galliardi in the eleventh century,
and the de Lamas and de Roccas in the twelfth; families who maintained their wealth and status
amidst political change.
16
The de Lama family, documented from 1138 to 1224, included judg-
es, notaries and advocates, while the de Roccas kin-group undoubtedly enjoyed even more in-
uence. This family included in their ranks (perhaps) an archdeacon of Troia cathedral,
a strategotus, a catepan and two royal justiciars, one of whom was also a royal baron. The citys
charter of liberties of 1127, although it needs to be read with caution, gives the impression that
the city had a strong sense of identity with a tradition of acting as a community. Indeed, this
seems to have continued after 1139 with many of the local usages preserved in this document
probably remaining in force. Much of the royal legislation of the Norman kings sanctioned dai-
ly legal practices and native customs provided they did not conict with royal law.
17
14
Troia nos. 71-80.
15
For Secundinus: Troia nos. 49, 51, 52, 54, 66, 67, 76, 83; Iannucius: Troia nos. 51, 59, 61, 65, 67.
16
For the Galliardi: Troia nos. 4, 10, 11, 17, 22, 25, 26; Chronicon Sanctae Sophiae, ed. Jean-Marie Martin, Fonti per
la Storia dellItalia medievale, Rerum Italicarum scriptores, 3*-3** (Rome, 2000), vii, vi.7, 696-8; Le colonie Cassinesi
in Capitanata IV. Troia, ed. T. Leccisotti, Miscellanea Cassinese, 29 (Montecassino, 1957) [henceforth Colonie Cass],
82-85 no.22. De Lamas: Troia nos. 61, 70, 71, 73, 129; Codice diplomatico Verginiano, ed. M. Tropeano, 12 vols.
(Montevergine, from 1977) [henceforth Montevergine] vol. 9, 135 no. 840, vol. 10, 119 no. 935; Le cartulaire de
S.Matteo di Sculgola en Capitanate (Registri distrumenti di S.Maria del Gualdo) (1177-1239), 2 vols., ed. Jean-Marie
Martin (Bari, 1987), 479-82 no. 275. De Roccas: Troia nos. 42, 46, 58, 65, 67, 76, 87, 103, 139; E. M. Jamison, The
Norman administration of Apulia and Capua more especially under Roger II and William I, 1127-1166, Papers of the
British School at Rome vi, 1913, 211-481 (reprinted as a separate volume, Aalen, 1987), 428, calendar of documents no.
31 (and also 313, 316); Catalogus Baronum, ed. E. M. Jamison, Fonti per la storia dItalia 101, 3 vols. (Rome, 1972) 71,
art. 397; Le cartulaire de S.Matteo di Sculgola, ed. Martin, 80-2 no. 45, 134-6 no. 75, 161-3 no. 90.
17
Troia no. 50; G. A. Loud, How Norman was the Norman conquest of southern Italy, Nottingham Medieval Studies
25 (1981) 26.
331 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
Another important evolution for the city, and a necessary prerequisite for any successful ur-
ban settlement, was the emergence of a sense of civic solidarity amongst the population. The
revolt of 1082 and more notably the struggles of the 1130s, when the citizens fought to preserve
their liberty, hint at a burgeoning civic conscience. Without any civic identity the citys repopu-
lation, following its almost complete destruction in 1133 by King Roger, would be hard to en-
visage (just as it would be at Bari in 1156 when King William I levelled that city). In 1184,
a dispute between the monastery of St Nicholas of Troia, supported by a Troian delegation,
and men from Ascoli Satriano resembled a veritable civic contest.
18
The greatest outpouring
of Troian civic pride emerged in the citys rivalry with Foggia, of which we will speak more later.
That some of the citys streets were named after local citizens, something quite rare in Southern
Italy, may also have nurtured a collective civic awareness.
19
This ts with evidence of a clear
interest in history within the city. It seems that sections of the world chronicle attributed to
the Archbishop Romuald II of Salerno were actually drawn from a now lost set of Troian annals
composed in the early twelfth century.
20
The construction of the citys cathedral (c.1093-1120)
also enhanced civic identity.
21
The works needed a full cooperation between the church of Troia
and the inhabitants. It required various citizens agreeing to sell or exchange their properties in
the vicinity of the future cathedral and needed the labour and skills of local artisans.
22
The ca-
thedral was as much a reection of civic pride as it was of the prestige of the bishopric. The
transference of the relics of Troias saints to the cathedral in 1105 was a momentous event
for the whole community.
23
The aforementioned judge Secundinus was perhaps named after
another civic saint, a seventh-century bishop of Aecae, the classical settlement from which Troia
claimed its heritage.
24
Indeed, according to Falco of Benevento, in his native city the feast days
of local saints were the only occasions on which the whole population was truly united, and we
might imagine a similar situation at Troia.
25
The development of the episcopal ofce at Troia
strengthened the civic conscience, with the bishop symbolically representing the citys collective
unity. Indeed the medieval Italian city has been described as a town encircling a cathedral.
26
It
should not be surprising that the citizens turned to their bishop William to guide them when the
city became effectively autonomous in 1127, nor that the latter styled himself Liberator Pat-
riae.
27
Troias bishops, often the informal gureheads and spokesmen of the city, were key sta-
bilising gures for the population. The longevity of the citys urban elites, the maintenance of its
local customs and the cultivation of a spiritually inspired urban patriotism were essential to
Troia. It was a combination common to most other South Italian cities during this period.
18
Troia no. 102.
19
Troia nos. 19, 49, 51, 54, 143; Colonie Cass. 74-76 no. 18; Montevergine, vol. 7, 26 no. 606, vol. 9, 134 no. 840, vol.
11, 76 no. 1022.
20
Donald Mathew, The chronicle of Romuald of Salerno, The writing of history in the middle ages. Essays presented
to Richard William Southern, ed. R. H. C. Davis (Oxford, 1981), 250-6.
21
Emile Bertaux, LArt dans lItalie meridonale de la n de lempire Romain a` la conquete de Charles dAnjou, vol. 1
(Rome, 1968 reprint), 353-8.
22
Troia nos. 19, 20, 24, 40, 42, 49, 51.
23
Romuald, 204.
24
Vita Sancti Secundini, Patrologia Latina vol.147, ed. J-P. Migne (Paris, 1879), col. 1293-1302.
25
Falco, 48-50; G. A. Loud, The genesis and context of the chronicle of Falco of Benevento, Anglo-Norman Studies
15. Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1992, ed. M. Chibnall (Woodbridge, 1993), 192.
26
Phillip Jones, The Italian city-state: from commune to signoria (Oxford, 1997), 292.
27
Francesco Carabellese, LApulia ed il suo comune nellalto medio evo (Bari, 1905), 413, n. 2.
332 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
Bari was notable in this respect; so too were Benevento, Naples, Gaeta and Salerno. One could
also add other differing urban centres such as Capua, Trani, Aversa and Conversano.
28
2. The contado
At its foundation Troia was endowed with a large, mostly deserted, territory, which was
some 45 km at its longest and varied between 12 and 22 km in width.
29
The city stood in
the western part of the contado which, allowing for uctuations mostly in the north and east,
steadily expanded in the late twelfth century and the extent of which paralleled the diocese
of Troia. The eastern border, coterminous with the lands of Siponto (56 km east), was especially
vague due to its barren wilderness, but it stretched beyond the village of Castiglione (the
present-day Masseria Castiglione). The ancient deserted site of Arpum stood at the extreme
north-east boundary. The northern border is equally problematic and at rst seems quite limited.
Initially the large Byzantine foundation of Vaccarizza (probably dating from the tenth century)
was outside the contado, as too was the later settlement of Montaratro, but both seem to have
been, somewhat ambiguously, incorporated within it by the late twelfth century, therefore push-
ing the frontier toward the river Vulgano. Another sizeable settlement pre-dating Troias foun-
dation, Biccari, was situated within the western border of the territory, which ran south through
the Apennine foothills along the Vetruscelle ridge, passing present-day Faeto. The circuit was
completed in the south near the river Cervaro, including later on in the twelfth century the vil-
lage of Fabrica (modern Masseria Giardino) and the area around Incoronata.
The eastern half of the contado forms part of the Italian peninsulas most extended plain, the
Tavoliere, at and relatively bare. The western area around Troia constitutes the rst escarp-
ments of the Apennines and is dotted with small, steep mountains. The region has generally
the lowest precipitation in the peninsula; Foggia gets on average only 60 days of rain per
year.
30
The climate of medieval Italy was much the same as today while, in classical times,
Horace had described Apulia as parched (siticulosa).
31
But the Troian contado did incorporate
various rivers, including the Vulgano, Celone and Sannoro. It appears that they often broke their
banks in the winter, which would have been vital in such a dry region. This is attested by charter
reference to iscle, fertile alluvial land, rich in potassium and often owned by wealthy Troians.
32
Thus despite the general aridity we also nd some waterlogged areas and marshlands,
28
This nding upon a range of Southern Italian cities is taken from the present authors current PhD thesis entitled
Urban society and communal independence in twelfth-century Southern Italy, which is due for completion in
2006. For similar general conclusions see: for Campania, G. A. Loud, Continuity and change in Norman Italy: The
Campania during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Journal of Medieval History 22 (1996), 313-43. [reprinted in
G. A. Loud, Conquerors and churchmen in Norman Italy (Aldershot, 1999)]. For Salerno, Donald Matthew, Semper
deles. The citizens of Salerno in the Norman kingdom, Salerno nel XII secolo. Istituzioni, societa`, cultura, Atti del
convegno internazionale (June 1999), 27-45. For Benevento, Alfredo Zazo, Professioni, arti e mestieri in Benevento
nei secoli XII-XIV, Samnium, vol. 32 (1959), 121-77. For Gaeta, Patricia Skinner, Family power in Southern Italy:
the Duchy of Gaeta and its neighbours 850-1139 (Cambridge, 1995). For Apulia, Jean-Marie Martin, La Pouille du
VI au XII sie`cle (Rome, 1993).
29
The approximate conclusions of Martin and Von Falkenhausen, concerning the contados boundaries, have been fol-
lowed here; Jean-Marie Martin, Troia et son territoire au XI sie`cle, Vetera Christianorum, 27 (Universita` degli studi di
Bari, 1990), 176-86.
30
Naval Intelligence Division, Italy Volume I, B.R.517 Geographical handbook series (1944), 364-84.
31
John Bradford and R. Williams-Hunt, Siticulosa Apulia, Antiquity, 80 (1946), 191, n. 1, where the quotation of
Horace is taken from Epodes, III, 16.
32
Troia nos 25, 26, 113.
333 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
particularly around Vaccarizza, where there was a region called Ysclitella, and even more so in
the east of the contado.
33
Marshes ( paludes) are described near S.Lorenzo in Carminiano, Fab-
rica, Castiglione and Foggia.
34
The existence of reed-elds (canneta) also identies such hu-
mid, marshy areas, again mostly in the eastern territory.
35
In addition the sources give the
impression of barren stretches of land with only a scattering of trees. The Troian foundation
charter even uses certain trees to delineate the citys territory which suggests that they were
so few that they actually acted as landmarks.
36
The contado of Troia thus appears to have been quite dry and deserted, especially in the cen-
tral plain, although the network of small rivers would have alleviated this to some extent. The
eastern border, was equally desolate, but perhaps more heavy and marshy. The western region
around Troia and the lower Apennine slopes seem to have held the lands most suitable for cul-
tivation, with the southern periphery possibly the most wooded region. The whole area was
a fragile environment, with difcult but potentially rich soils.
37
To take advantage of this po-
tential required a high level of technical organisation involving the guidance of a strong central
power and the supply of labour. The establishment of Troia, to protect, administer, and even-
tually serve as a market, provided the necessary management to entice communities to settle
and cultivate this region.
3. The initial development of rural settlements
At the time of the citys foundation the human settlement of the contado was relatively
slight, apart from at Biccari and Vaccarizza. It has generally been assumed that the region, right
through to modern times, was always given over to pasture with only small pockets of cultiva-
tion.
38
Certainly, Troias foundation charter does suggest that large swathes of land were pas-
ture, particularly a belt on the eastern border. Both the inhabitants of Troia and Vaccarizza were
allowed to graze their animals in this area free from the payment of pasturage taxes (herba-
ticum). These two communities could however receive the herbaticum from foreigners who
brought their animals there to pasture.
39
Although this would seem to suggest transhumance,
Martin has pointed out that this could only be a local form of the phenomenon, as its working
over a wider area depended on a high level of government organisation that transcended differ-
ent regions.
40
There is no evidence for the existence of such a structure in northern Apulia or
the Abruzzi, where most of the great grazing routes (tratturi) passed, between the fall of the
Roman empire and the late thirteenth century.
33
Troia no. 88.
34
S.Lorenzo: Troia no. 36; Fabrica: Troia no. 99; Castiglione: Colonie Cass, 110-11 no. 39; Foggia: Le Cartulaire de
S.Matteo di Sculgola, ed. Martin, 499-502 no. 284.
35
Colonie Cass. 45-6 no. 1, 73-4 no. 17; Troia nos. 16, 88.
36
Martin, Pouille, 102-3.
37
Martin, Foggia, 9-12.
38
See Jean-Marie Martin, Settlement and the agrarian economy, The society of Norman Italy, ed. G. A. Loud and A.
J. Metcalfe (Leiden, 2002), 42-3 and John Bradford, Buried landscapes in southern Italy, Antiquity, 90, vol.23 (1949),
58-72.
39
From Troia no. 1 which appears to be a later, somewhat questionable, copy of Syllabus Grecarum membranarum,
ed. F. Trinchera (Napoli, 1865), doc: 18, but nevertheless based on likely conditions in the early eleventh century. See
Martin, Vetera Christianorum, 27, 176-86 for discussion on the veracity of Troias foundation charters.
40
Jean-Marie Martin, Le travail agricole: rythmes, corvees, outillage, Terra e uomini nel mezzogiorno normanno-
svevo. Atti delle settime giornate normanno-svevo. Bari 1985 (Bari, 1987), 139-40.
334 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
Although evidence of early medieval settlement is slight, this area previously had one of the
densest concentrations of pre-historic settlements in Europe. From the Roman period centuri-
ated eld systems and cultivation trenches survived, probably until the seventh century.
41
It
would be surprising then if the regions lands were not eventually put back into use, especially
since northern Apulia, as with the rest of Europe, saw general demographic growth at this pe-
riod.
42
From the late eleventh century, settlements began to appear on Troias previously de-
serted territory. Most of these communities originally grew around isolated religious houses.
In one instance, St Mennas di Scabezzuli, such a development appears to have been unsuccess-
ful, for we hear no more of the abbey or its locality despite interest in land nearby up to 1040.
Yet, in other cases such settlements were successful. In 1080 the monastery of St Mary of Mon-
taratro appeared and by 1092 it was anked by a casale and had villani. In this latter year the
village of S.Lorenzo in Carminiano rst appeared, donated by Roger Borsa to the Bishop of
Troia. S.Lorenzo was then described as a casale with rustici living there, and Rogers charter
envisaged the arrival of more inhabitants. In fact by 1095 S.Lorenzo had its own designated
territories within the contado and in 1100 (like Montaratro) received a charter of liberties
from the bishop.
43
However, the most notable example of such a new settlement is that of Fog-
gia, a village which originally formed around the church of St Mary de Focis. It rst appears in
a dubious ducal privilege to the archbishop of Bari in 1089. But more authentic references in
1092 and 1100 suggest that Foggia was then still little more than a single church. Yet so rapid
was the settlements development that by 1125 it was called a castrum. By then Foggia had
another church, a hospital, a suburb, and its own boni homines.
44
Although the Norman conquerors were not responsible for this demographic boom, which
lasted from around 1080-1180, they certainly took advantage of it and extended its consequen-
ces. By developing Troia as a regional capital, the dukes in particular created the stability that
these new settlements required to ourish. Most of these communities succeeded in establishing
themselves precisely at the time when the region was nominally governed by the weaker Dukes
Roger and William. More signicantly most were still only unfortied villages (casalia) and
there is no clear evidence for incastellamento, the process in which the rural population was
assembled within fortied villages for both strategic and economic motives. According to Tou-
bert incastellamento remodelled the visage of central Italy. It was a notable phenomenon in Lat-
ium in the mid-tenth century and also on the lands of the monasteries of Montecassino and St
Vincent of Volturno by the early eleventh century.
45
The terminology used in the sources for the
rural habitats in the contado of Troia is however rather inconsistent. Moreover, when the usual
41
Bradford, Antiquity, 90, 58-72; John Bradford, The Apulian expedition; an interim report, Antiquity, 93, vol. 24
(1950), 84-95.
42
Martin, Foggia, 29-38.
43
St. Mennas: Colonie Cass 45-48 nos. 1-2; Montaratro: Troia nos. 16, 27; S. Lorenzo: Troia no. 28. 31, 33, 34.
44
Le pergamene di S.Nicola di Bari. Periodo normanno (1075-1194), ed. F. Nitti, Codice diplomatico Barese V (Bari,
1902, reprint, 1968), no. 14; Troia nos. 28, 35, 48.
45
See the various works of Pierre Toubert especially: Les structures du Latium medieval; Pour une histoire de len-
vironment economique et social du Mont-Cassin (IXe-XIIe sie`cles), Comptes rendus de lAcademie des Inscriptions et
Belles-Lettres (Paris, 1976), 689-702; Le terre et les hommes dans lItalie normande au temps de Roger II: lexample
campanien, Societa`, potere e popolo nelleta` di Ruggero II. Atti delle IIIe giornate normanno-svevi, Centro di Studi
normanno-svevi, Bari 1977 (Bari, 1979), 55-71 [both articles are reprinted in Pierre Toubert, Histoire du Haut Moyen
Age et de lItalie medievale (London, 1987)]; see also Chris Wickham, Il problema dellincastellamento nellItalia cen-
trale: lesempio di San Vincenzo al Volturno, Studi sull societa` degli Appennini nellalto medioevo. II. (Florence, 1985),
5-94.
335 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
term for a fortied settlement (castrum, castellum) appears, it seems to be used to denote pri-
marily the rank of a habitation rather than its fortied status. Thus both S.Lorenzo and Foggia
started as casalia but as they expanded became known as castra. In the same sense, as both
Vaccarizza and Biccari declined in the later twelfth century their respective titles of civitas
and oppidum were downgraded to castra. The low number of true fortied settlements may
not solely be due to the stabilising presence of Troia but also because the dukes had placed
most of these communities, and their surrounding lands, under the protection of trusted estab-
lishments which could offer the new settlements effective support. Thus Montaratro, S.Lorenzo
in Carminiano and Fabrica (which was later to be dependent on the abbey of Cava) were offered
to the bishopric of Troia.
46
Similarly the Castellum Novum at Ripalonga was donated to St So-
phia of Benevento; Castiglione (which rst appeared in 1090 and had its own dependant vil-
lages by 1126) to Montecassino; and Abrancaterra (rst mentioned in 1116) to the
monastery of St Lawrence of Aversa.
47
The main promoters of the development of the contado of Troia were the dukes of Apulia,
the bishops of Troia and several of the larger monasteries of Southern Italy. However, local re-
ligious houses also played a prominent role. The monastery of St Nicholas of Troia, for exam-
ple, held sizeable possessions at Ponte Albanito (17.5 km east of Troia) and granted out various
land tenements in the mid-twelfth century specically ad laborandum.
48
Land cultivation
clearly brought great prots and interest in it is understandable. In 1080 Robert Guiscard of-
fered to the bishopric of Troia the tenth of the revenues from all his ploughmen, grain, barley,
wine, animals and mills in the contado.
49
In 1128 Duke Roger made a virtually identical do-
nation, while a year later the bishop of Troia granted a similar privilege to his canons.
50
Guis-
card had previously, in 1082, offered some properties in Troia to the monastery of St Lawrence
of Aversa along with a wide licence to build churches, create villages, attract inhabitants, plant
vines and olives, and build mills wherever it had lands in the Capitanata.
51
Two charters accorded to the communities of S.Lorenzo and Montaratro in 1100, listing cus-
tomary services and rights, clearly show the bishop of Troias efforts to develop these commu-
nities and cultivate the land.
52
In both settlements the inhabitants were given freedom to sell or
donate their goods but only to relations or holy places, and while they were allowed to leave the
casale they had to pay an exit fee before doing so. Thus the bishop encouraged the villagers to
stay, yet ensured that, should they leave, their property was transmitted to a person or institution
that would remain local, and work the land. The same reasoning was perhaps behind the clause
in the customs of Montaratro allowing the bishop to buy the inhabitants property for a limited
price when put up for sale. The emphasis on agriculture is particularly striking at S.Lorenzo.
The inhabitants were taxed according to the number of draught-animals they possessed and
had to render to the bishop sixteen days of labour annually (six for sowing, three for weeding
46
Montaratro: Troia nos. 16, 27; S.Lorenzo: Troia nos. 28; Fabrica: Troia no. 35, Annales Cavenses, ed. G. H. Pertz,
Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores iii (Hanover, 1839), 191.
47
Ripalonga: Chronicon Sanctae Sophiae, ed. Martin, x.vi.10, 705-7; Castiglione: Colonie Cass. 69-71 no. 15, 91-2
no. 26; Abrancaterra: Troia no. 80; Italia Pontica, ed. F. Kehr (10 vols., Berlin 1905-74); vol.ix: Samnium-Apulia-
Lucania, ed. W. Holtzmann (1963), 208 no. 22.
48
Troia nos. 73, 82.
49
Troia no. 17.
50
Troia nos. 53, 55.
51
Recueil des actes des ducs Normands dItalie [1046-1127]: I., Les premiers ducs (1046-1087), ed. Leon-Robert
Menager (Bari, 1980), 128 no. 40 (III).
52
Troia nos. 33, 34.
336 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
and seven for reaping). Five years later the bishop received more land from Duke Roger Borsa
near S.Lorenzo with the express purpose of settling peasants there (rustici coadunandum).
53
Later still, in 1162, Montecassino offered scal exemptions and lenient terms to attract settlers
to its village of Castiglione which had previously been destroyed.
54
The exible inheritance laws
in this charter seem to be aimed at ensuring the continued maintenance of lands and properties.
4. Production, cultivation and agricultural techniques
The success of this drive to bring the contado under cultivation is attested not only by the
appearance of various settlements but also by an abundance of other evidence throughout the
twelfth century and beyond. It is clearly indicated at S.Lorenzo in the charter of 1100, which
shows the existence of large plough-teams of three or more oxen. These plough-teams were ca-
pable of working the nearby heavy soils and imply a high level of technical organisation. In the
charter of customs of Montaratro the building of houses, planting of trees and vines, working of
lands, grazing of sheep and ownership of other livestock are all mentioned. Both ducal and epis-
copal privileges, along with the two aforesaid charters of customs, indicate the cultivation of
wheat, barley and vines. The last of these featured particularly prominently in charter transac-
tions. The cultivation of vines can be located all over the region and represented an advanced
stage of production.
55
The active land market, especially in vineyards, in the second half of the
twelfth century correlates well with the general development of the area. So too do references
to pastinum, ground trenched for growing vines, which mostly appear in the same period.
56
The produce of the vine and later the olive, became an important revenue conceded in priv-
ileges, often by the bishop of Troia to his canons. Revenues received from these products
formed part of the disputes between the lords of Biccari and the bishops of Troia in 1144
and 1177.
57
The increasingly specialised cultivation of vines and olives can be seen from the
appearance of wine and olive presses ( palmenta et trapeta). A wooden wine-press, with vines
and a well was sold in 1170 at a place called Rabbianus.
58
A trapetum is rst mentioned in
a grant made by the bishop of Troia to the cathedral chapter in 1182 where the tenth of the
oil from Troia and S.Lorenzo was conceded.
59
Evidently S.Lorenzo had diversied from the
cereal production and livestock breeding referred to in its 1100 charter of customs, and now
had its own (or more accurately the bishops) oil-presses. The presses are again mentioned
in a series of charters from 1237 between the bishop of Troia and some inhabitants of
S.Lorenzo, who had returned to the site after its destruction by Frederick II.
60
Furthermore,
in 1197, a woman donated a property with an olive-press to the Campanian monastery of Mon-
tevergine, reserving the right to live in the property during her lifetime, and to receive a quarter
53
Troia no. 36.
54
Colonie Cass. 99-100, no. 31.
55
Pierre Toubert, Paysages ruraux et techniques de production en Italie meridionale dans le seconde moitie du XIIe
sie`cle, Potere, societa` e popolo nelleta` die due Guglielmi. Atti delle IVe giornate normanno-svevi, Centro di studi nor-
manno-svevo, Bari 1979 (Bari, 1981), pp, 205-6, 217 [also reprinted in Toubert, Histoire du haut moyen age et de lItalie
medievale].
56
Troia nos. 79, 146, 156; Colonie Cass. 74-6, no.18.
57
Troia nos. 67, 94.
58
Troia no. 86.
59
Troia no. 99.
60
Troia nos. 153-5.
337 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
of the oil from the oil-press.
61
All of this production presupposes that some of the land must
have been irrigated or reclaimed from marshland. This is revealed by the existence of place
names containing forms of the word palus (swamp). Irrigation required co-ordinated planning
between different landowners. Private charters are often silent on this subject although in 1089
three brothers purchased the water running from another mans pond in order to water their
lands.
62
Moreover, excavation around the site of S.Lorenzo has discovered a surrounding sys-
tem of eld-drainage canals essential for this region, while wells (putei) and cisterns (cisternae)
can also be found on rural lands, usually alongside vines.
63
This combination of land cultivation, irrigation and demographic growth from the late elev-
enth century made possible, and created a demand for, an increase in gardens (orta). Often the
garden in the contado was bordered by others, giving the impression of sets of allotments such
as mentioned in 1154 situated north of Troia and anked by three more gardens, one of which
belonged to the bishopric.
64
Frequently such gardens were close to a source of water. In 1182
the bishop of Troia even offered the tithe from all his gardens to the chapter, adding that they
were irrigated by rivers.
65
Generally, the large-scale production of vegetables was the last phase
of the successful cultivation of the contado, only necessary on such levels when the population
had signicantly increased. In the charter of 1182 onions and garlic were mentioned among the
produce of the bishops gardens and in 1177 the nuns of the abbey of St Cecilia near Foggia
specied chick-peas in their harvest collection.
66
In the early thirteenth century Bishop Phillip
of Troia was witnessed sitting on a stone at S.Lorenzo planting rosemary and sage.
67
Yet only
two privileges mention a tithe received from legumines (leguminous vegetables), one in 1177
by the lord of Biccari and the other in 1182 by the bishop of Troia.
68
The privilege from
1177 also refers to the growing of ax, though such textile plants were rare in the region.
As the cultivation of the contado progressed, more diversied agricultural techniques
emerged; larger plough-teams, the appearance of wine- and olive-presses, irrigation and vegeta-
ble gardens. We should also add mills to this list and not underestimate the mechanisation of one
of the most exacting tasks of cerealiculture.
69
Clearly the rivers that passed through the contado
possessed enough power to work mills, the majority of which were found on the Celone and Cer-
varo. These were often built on soft alluvial soil (iscla) where it was easy to dig the necessary
channels, arcatura and aqueductus, ad aquam conducendam.
70
Not surprisingly the builders
and owners of mills were usually wealthy and most often were religious establishments. In
1123 the monastery of St Nicholas received a bank of the Cervaro in order to construct a mill
there, while the monastery of St Angelus de Orsara bought part of a forest on the Sannoro for
the same purpose in 1144.
71
The bishopric of Troia also acquired a number of mills and the tithe
(molendina) from the revenue generated from them was often granted out.
72
61
Montevergine, vol. 11, 76-9 no. 1022.
62
Troia no. 22.
63
Bradford, Antiquity, 93, 84-95; Troia nos. 66, 86; Colonie Cass. 89-91 no.25; Montevergine, vol. 10, 81-4, no. 924.
64
Troia no. 71.
65
Troia no. 99.
66
Troia no. 96.
67
Troia no. 139, 379.
68
Troia no. 94.
69
Martin, Pouille, 340.
70
Troia no. 11.
71
Troia nos. 46, 65.
72
Troia nos. 17, 20, 25, 26, 53, 81, 99, 113.
338 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
The number of mills in the contado meant both that grain was already being produced in
sizeable quantities and that more landowners could turn to cereal growing if they wished.
That the inhabitants of S.Lorenzo in 1100 owed the bishop of Troia three days work weeding
may suggest a fallow eld and crop rotation. So too does the complaint of the nuns of St Cecilia
de Foggia in 1177 that they had to go to the elds in order to pull up like hardened reapers the
evil and useless weeds growing there.
73
As mentioned already, the dukes and bishops of Troia
testied to an increased production by regularly offering a tithe of the wheat and barley from
their elds.
74
Ducal privileges additionally granted a tenth of the terraticum (a rent in kind for
licence to cultivate arable land) collected in the contado.
75
The lords of Biccari also appeared to
be involved in this type of cultivation. Both cereals formed a large part of the offering they
made to the bishop of Troia in 1144 and again in 1177 from their agri.
76
Yet certain areas of the contado remained uncultivated. This was in part because some lands
were simply too poor or marshy to use, and partly because livestock needed to be reared and
grazing land maintained. A tithe of the revenue from animals, especially cows, pigs and sheep,
consistently formed part of the donations of the Norman dukes, the bishops of Troia and lords
of Biccari.
77
Their importance to the rural economy and society should not be underestimated.
This is evident in the classication of the inhabitants of S.Lorenzo according to their draught-
animals in the bishops privilege of 1100. A curious exchange of 1162 also emphasised the
nancial importance of animals: a large strip of land in the contado of Troia was swapped
for forty measures (coppelli) of barley, seven ducats (coins), fty sheep and twenty working
oxen (though the meaning of viginti opera boum is far from clear).
78
A contract agreed in
1199 between the widow of a Troian knight and the monastery of Montevergine is much
less ambiguous. It saw the abbey take custody of the womans cattle until her son came of
age and allowed both parties an equal share of calves born during that time; the detail of the
act implies that an important commodity was being dealt with.
79
5. The rural population
Unfortunately the sources reveal little on those who carried out the physical side of land cul-
tivation, the peasants.
80
The charters given to S.Lorenzo and Montaratro in 1100 both granted
a general freedom to the villagers. In essence the inhabitants were not bound to the land and
could leave for a small fee provided that their property was passed to someone (presumably)
local who could maintain it. Similarly at Castiglione in 1162 settlers were offered exemption
for a year from all extra scal duties over and above the normal tithe that they rendered
from their elds and animals. Interestingly at this casale those who were not milites (knights)
enjoyed the same privilege with only an additional payment of two salutationes (an unspecied
fee in this case), indicating very little social stratication. Again, the inhabitants were allowed
to leave Castiglione on payment of one romanatum and those who lived there for less than
73
Troia nos. 33; 96; see also Martin, Terra e uomini. Bari 1985, 118.
74
Troia nos. 17, 53, 55, 99, 113.
75
Troia nos. 17, 28, see also 50, 102.
76
Troia nos. 67, 94.
77
Troia nos. 17, 53, 55, 67, 94, 99, 113.
78
Troia no. 80.
79
Montevergine, vol. 11, 223-4 no. 1061.
80
Troia no. 98; Montevergine, vol. 7, 296-8 no. 684.
339 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
a year could do so for free.
81
Of course, as can be seen from this example, peasants were subject
to duties, possibly labour services and certainly scal taxes. Indeed in 1177 the bishop of Troia
claimed the tenth of the money which the men of Biccari annually pay to the court at Biccari
for taxes.
82
On the other hand Troias charter of liberties of 1127 exempted from the land-tax
(terraticum) any inhabitant of Troia, without a lord, who worked the land around St Iusta.
83
On
the whole, in this region and during this period, labour services were quite mild, probably be-
cause the lords of the lands wished to attract settlers. However, similarly favourable conditions
have also been identied for the rural inhabitants of Campania.
84
The sixteen days work re-
quired of those dwelling at S.Lorenzo was not overly harsh compared to the demands in other
areas like the Abruzzi.
85
Furthermore the eventual use of salaried seasonal workers (operarii),
especially at harvest time, would have provided the peasant with another potential source of in-
come and mobility. It was usually religious establishments, particularly the bishopric of Troia,
which paid for this labour.
86
The poverty-stricken nuns of St Cecilia complained in 1177 that
they did not have sufcient funds to recruit workers at harvest-time.
87
In 1197, Montevergine,
having received an olive-press in Troia, had to pay for its operation at the time of the olive gath-
ering.
88
Similarly, in 1222 the prior of St Leonard at Foggia had to lease a house in one of the
settlements suburbs to gain money (presumably for seasonal workers), which he said was nec-
essary for gathering the harvest.
89
It should also be remembered that many citizens, not just
monasteries, churches and lords, owned lands in the contado. Undoubtedly most of these indi-
viduals were relatively wealthy and had additional affairs to attend to, so presumably they need-
ed other people to work the land. For instance, one Peter of Rapolla bought from the monastery
of St Nicholas two large pieces of land in 1156. Yet Peter clearly spent a lot of time at Troia
where in 1176 he witnessed a charter of sale and did the same the following year in an important
agreement between the bishop of Troia and the lord of Biccari.
90
Unfortunately we have little
information from the Troia region on the relationship between these kinds of landowners and
the people they required to cultivate them.
A dispute in the 1140s concerning lands owned by Montecassino at Castiglione may throw
a little light on the subject. The abbey accused a certain John de Boccio of wrongfully holding
its lands without paying the usual tithes. The latter appeared in the Catalogue of the Barons (a list
of ef-holders owing military service to the crown compiled in the mid-twelfth century) holding
twenty commended men at Castiglione and with the augmentum owed the service of one
knight.
91
John de Boccio also carried the title of royal baron at a court-case convened in 1151
81
Colonie Cass. 99-100, no. 31. The romanatum was a nominal solidus of account, composed of thirty pence, see Mar-
tin, Pouille, 458-60.
82
Troia no. 94.
83
Troia no. 50, clause 33.
84
See G. A. Loud, The monastic economy in the Principality of Salerno during the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. lxxi (2003) 155-9; Toubert, Societa`, potere e popolo nelleta` di Ruggero
II, 66.
85
L. Feller, Les abruzzes medievales - territoire, economie et societe en Italie centrale du IX au XII sie`cle (Rome,
1998), part II, chapters VII, XI; see also Martin, Terra e uomini. Bari 1985, 147-51.
86
Troia no. 90.
87
Troia no. 96.
88
Montevergine, vol. 11, 78 no. 1022.
89
Regesto di S.Leonardo di Siponto, ed. F. Camobreco, Regesta chartarum Italiae 10 (Rome, 1913), 111-12, no. 173.
90
Troia nos. 73, 92, 94.
91
Catalogus Baronum, ed. Jamison, 71 art. 400.
340 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
in the contado of Troia.
92
Additionally, he and his family held other lands in the region making
him an inuential local gure. The eventual settlement of the dispute shows that John held
a number of people on his lands. The agreement, covering land cultivated by himself or by others
for him, stated that all his men and those of his sons should pay various tithes, oblations, church
offerings and duties on all these lands. Moreover, Johns men should do homage to Montecassino
and share with the monasterys men in fullling the kings service.
93
This dispute shows that the
exactions made on the men of the de Boccio family were not dissimilar from those owed by men
under the lordship of the bishops of Troia, the lords of Biccari or other large monasteries. The
fact that their fortunes were linked tightly indicates a close relationship between the homines and
their immediate superior. However, information is supplied only on their burdens and not about
any liberties that they might have enjoyed. Therefore a true comparison between the status of
those men under John de Boccio and those say of the bishop of Troia at S.Lorenzo and Montar-
atro is impossible. Should we also assume that Johns men at Castiglione possessed the same
liberties as the others at the village who in 1162 were direct subjects of Montecassino itself?
94
One nal observation needs to be made and this is linked to the reference above to paying
homage. During this period in the territory of Troia allusions to so-called feudo-vassalic rela-
tions are both rare and imprecise. For example, it remains unclear whether the men of de Boccio
could be termed vassals. Certainly, cases of swearing delity are more common, but the specic
context of such oaths must always be remembered, thus making any general conclusions prob-
lematic.
95
A royal privilege of 1156 stipulating that the men of the Troian see had to give an
oath of fealty to the bishop must be interpreted primarily in its religious setting.
96
Furthermore,
only two charters from the Troia contado refer to efs ( feuda), but in a vague manner. Both in-
volve the concession by St Lawrence of Aversa of feuda near Foggia, in 1181 and 1184 respec-
tively.
97
The grants were made for a life term but the obligations imposed on the holders do not
appear exceptional. Lands conceded, for instance, in the 1160s by the monastery of St Nicholas at
Ponte Albanito were similar without the mention of feuda and the recipient was merely called a
friend and supporter.
98
Furthermore, the feuda at Foggia do not appear overtly military in con-
tent, especially in terms of the dues and services owed, and although one of the recipients was
a knight the other was merely a man fromRavello. We must then conclude again that the meaning
of the word ef is more than uncertain and follow Louds characterisation of the South Italian use
of the word possibly to denote a peasants agricultural tenement, not a military holding.
99
6. The expansion of rural settlements and the rise of Foggia
There can be no doubt then that towards the end of our period the contado of Troia was be-
ing systematically developed. The primary index of the contados development can be seen in
92
Jamison, PBSR vi, 428, Cal. no. 31.
93
Colonie Cass. 93-95 no. 28 and for the rest of the dispute see 93 no. 27, 96-9 no. 30; Jamison, PBSR vi, 432-3, Cal.
no. 37.
94
Colonie Cass. 99-100 no. 31.
95
Martin, Pouille, 756-62.
96
Troia no. 75.
97
Codice diplomatico Normanno di Aversa, ed. Alfonso Gallo (Napoli, 1926), 210-11 no. 113, 233-4 no. 125.
98
Troia no. 82.
99
G. A. Loud, A Lombard abbey in a Norman world: St Sophia, Benevento, 1050-1200, Anglo-Norman Studies 19.
Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1996, ed. C. Harper-Bill (Woodbridge, 1997), 291.
341 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
the stabilisation and expansion of rural establishments whence most of the land cultivation was
effected. In fact Alexander of Telese indirectly refers to them when saying that King Roger dis-
persed a great part of the populace [of Troia] among several casales, after he had captured the
city in 1133.
100
Indeed some of these exiles may have remained permanently in these rural hab-
itats and encouraged their growth. In 1123 S.Lorenzo, a mere casale some 40 years earlier,
hosted a ducal court and by 1180 it was termed a castrum.
101
The settlements territory had
been progressively increased and its population was no longer devoted solely to agriculture.
From at least 1180 onwards S.Lorenzo possessed more than one judge and notary, in 1196
we see a faber (smith), in 1205 a ferrarius (iron worker), and a doctor in 1224.
102
Castiglione
had established old customs by 1162 and the settlements at Fabrica, Monte Calvello and Ponte
Albanito (to name but a few) developed steadily in the early twelfth century.
103
The growth of
Foggia was the most spectacular example of this phenomenon. By the 1160s a constable and
former catepan are found at the settlement, suggesting an administrative aristocracy. In the
same decade a royal court held by the Master Captain Count Gilbert of Gravina was convened
not at Troia but at Foggia.
104
By the end of the twelfth century the settlement had three suburbs
and several churches.
105
A source from 1191 actually calls Foggia a civitas but it appears that
compared to Troia it had already in reality been a city for some time.
106
Interestingly the fortunes of the two major settlements already established in the region be-
fore Troia itself was founded, Biccari and Vaccarizza, differed from those of the more recent
foundations. Biccari always had a strong local lord and remained larger and more stable
than most sites in the Troian contado. Yet it did not expand in the way that Foggia did, possibly
because, like Troia, it was restricted by its hilly surroundings. In fact by 1113 Biccari was no
longer called a town (oppidum) but only a castrum.
107
Vaccarizza, on the other hand, exhibited
real signs of decline. In the early eleventh century it was termed a city and had an administra-
tive hierarchy. But when King William I offered Vaccarizza to the bishopric of Troia in 1156 it
was now only a castrum and its inhabitants were called rustici in stark contrast to the homines
of S.Lorenzo.
108
The settlements decline continued in parallel to the rise of most others in the
territory. That Vaccarizza and Biccari were planned sites established by higher authorities and
did not emerge organically may have had something to do with their eventual decline. They
were founded above all for military reasons in an era before the demographic boom of
1080-1180.
109
Their relationship with the environment was unharmonious and primarily strate-
gic, which constrained the extent to which they could develop a strong economic infrastructure.
Troia although established in similar circumstances was always intended to have a secondary
role in settling the contado, hence the city obtained certain administrative and economic
100
Al. Tel., Bk. II. 49, p.47.
101
Troia nos. 46, 98.
102
Jean-Marie Martin & Ghislaine Noye, La Capitanata nella storia del mezzogiorno medioevale, Societa di storia per
la Puglia; studi e ricerche IX (Bari, 1991), 255-6.
103
Colonie Cass. 99-100 no. 31; Troia, introduction, 41-60.
104
Chronicon Casuriense, sive Historia Monasterii Casauriensis, ed. L. A. Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, ii (2)
(Milan, 1726), col. 903.
105
Troia no. 139, 380-1.
106
Codice diplomatico Normanno di Aversa, ed. Gallo, 270-2, no. 143.
107
Troia no. 41.
108
Troia nos. 7, 75.
109
C. G. Mor, La difesa militare della Capitanata ed i conne della regione al principio de secolo XI, Papers of the
British School at Rome xxiv, new series xi (1956) ed. Philip Grierson and John Ward-Perkins, 29-36.
342 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
functions. It is no coincidence that the city began to ourish for reasons other than its military
strength at precisely the same era as the contado began to be systematically cultivated. Troia
became a regional market in the period before Foggia really emerged. It stood at the intersec-
tion between supply (from the Tavoliere in the east) and demand (from the villages perched in
the Apennines to the south and west). This is highlighted by an increasing number of artisans
and immigrants who appeared at Troia from the mid-twelfth century onwards. Goldsmiths, gen-
eral metal-workers, builders, saddlers, cloth-workers and leather-workers are recorded, as are
people migrating from all over Southern Italy. The city market probably developed along its
main commercial thoroughfare, the platea maiore puplica, where grain-pits were found, possi-
bly for merchants storage. Local markets are also suggested by clause 31 from Troias charter
of privileges which freed citizens from paying market tolls which foreigners coming to sell
their goods still had to pay.
110
In the 1130s the bishop of Troia regularly acquired sh from
the port of Siponto, while a street named after a money-changer hints at local commerce.
111
Clearly Troia and its contado were closely linked in a symbiotic relationship.
But there was a limit to which Troia could develop itself in this direction. By the time the city
began receiving the economic and commercial benets of the contados development (c.1150 on-
wards), making Troia not just a military centre, it was surpassed by Foggia, a settlement that it had
ironically helped to foster. The latter agglomeration was situated in the middle of a by then richly
cultivated plain, with excellent communication networks; thus it was always going to win the
competition for regional trade and wealth. Foggia seems to have swiftly attracted a higher density
of artisans than Troia. By the early thirteenth century Foggia hosted specialised traders such as
a merchant, an oil-trader (olearius) and some sort of spice-trader (speciarius).
112
Troia, perched
on a tightly constricted site on a ridge, could never truly compete with its up-and-coming neigh-
bour. In fact Troias topography made the physical expansion of the city difcult. Any extramural
settlement (for which there is no direct evidence before the 1250s) would have been at the bottom
of the ridge, most likely planned rather than a natural overspill, but still disconnected from the
original site. Indeed, Lucera, the other major settlement in the Capitanata, was similarly located
on the summit of a hill and also, in contrast to Foggia, did not have suburbs.
113
In fact, it is the emerging rivalry between Troia and Foggia which informs us that the city of
Troia was aware of this potentially dangerous eventuality. So too were the Foggians, who be-
lieved that their economic superiority should be rewarded with the designation of their settle-
ment as a city. In the tradition of ancient Christianity this required possession of its own
bishopric. Foggia needed to break its ecclesiastical subordination to the church of Troia.
This in turn posed a real threat to all the citizens of Troia, not just in religious terms, but
also to the citys prestige and economy. It is particularly interesting to note that from the
1170s, when the rst discord was erupting between the two settlements, we see the initial ap-
pearances in private charters of individuals calling themselves citizens of Troia (cives) rather
than just inhabitants (habitatores). By the early thirteenth century the people of Foggia were
similarly identifying themselves as citizens, even though they were not ofcially so.
114
110
Martin, Vetera Christianorum, 186; Troia nos. 18, 50.
111
Troia no. 57; Montevergine, vol. 9, 134, 840, vol. 11, 76, 1022.
112
Regesto di S.Leonardo di Siponto, ed. Camobreco, 99-100 no. 157, 111-12 no. 173; Troia no. 152; see also Martin,
Foggia, 47-53.
113
Jean-Marie Martin, Foggia, Lucera, Itinerari e centri urbani nel Mezzogiorno normanno-svevo. Atti delle decime
giornate normanno-sveve. Bari 1991 (Bari, 1993), 351.
114
For example, Colonie Cass. 106-7 no. 36.
343 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
The popular element of this ostensibly religious quarrel between Troia and Foggia was
easy to understand. The rst signs of problems occurred in 1174, but it seems that open rivalry
magnied after the death of King William II in 1189.
115
Indeed an investigation carried out in
the 1220s indicated that there had always been litigium inter Troianos et Fogitanos.
116
Pre-
dictably both settlements repeatedly supported rival claimants in the civil war after 1189: Troia
sided with Henry VI while Foggia looked to his rival Count Tancred of Lecce. Some time in
1190 the whole population of Troia took part in attacking Foggia alongside Troias bishop, Wal-
ter of Pagliaria. The stakes were raised higher when, in the early 1190s Tancred (by this time
king) reportedly elevated Foggia to the status of a civitas and beseeched the pope to concede
a bishop to it.
117
Indeed a document of 1191 does call Foggia a city.
118
In 1194, when Troias
Bishop Walter was away from the city alongside the German emperor, there appears to have
been an open rebellion against the church of Troia. The clergy of Foggia were heavily involved
but so too was the populus. Both groups were expressly accused by the papacy of attacking the
bishop of Bovino, who had been sent to persuade them back into submission. The depth of feel-
ing is evident in the brutal assault on the bishop in which the Foggians,
presumed to cast violent hands on him [the bishop], they beat him with many blows,
struck him with hard slaps, and when on the ground they dragged him for a long time
by the hair and ripping his clothes to pieces they struck him most harshly with their heels
and made him bloody.
119
Afurther clue to the participation of the people of Foggia is inferred fromthe ensuing papal ex-
communication that forbade inhabitants in the diocese of Troia to trade with the Foggians. The ban
on commerce with Foggia struck at the root of the problem. One must imagine that such public rage
was also evident at Troia but that it has largely been obscured by the one-sided documentation em-
anating from this city. Francesco Calasso, an expert on South Italian urban legislation, has rightly
highlighted the tradition of mutual friendship and propensity for immigration amongst the regions
towns, in stark contrast to their warring NorthItalian counterparts.
120
Yet, during this tense period it
is hard to imagine much goodwill obtaining between the inhabitants of Troia and Foggia.
The problems rumbled on and in 1204 the archpriest of Foggia complained to the pope of a series
of oppressions heaped upon his church by the bishops of Troia and claimed that Foggia had been at-
tacked four times by its neighbour.
121
Interestingly, the Troians were accused of stealing the relics of
Foggias saints, which carried huge civic importance, and of threatening to reduce Foggia to pasture-
land. This long diatribe was yet another unsuccessful attempt to obtain Foggias elevation to a bish-
opric by arguing that the settlement was the heir to the ancient episcopal city of Arpum.
122
Again in
1212 we hear of disputes between the chapter and people of Troia and the clergy and inhabitants of
Foggia. It was in this year that Troia, for the rst time designated as a community (universitas),
115
Troia no. 89.
116
Troia no. 139.
117
Documenti tratti dai registri Vaticani (da Innocenzo III a Nicola IV) (Documenti Vaticani relativi alla Puglia I), ed.
D. Vendola (Trani, 1940), 49-55 no. 53.
118
See above n. 106.
119
Troia nos. 114, 115.
120
Francesco Calasso, Le citta` nell Italia meridionale dal secolo IX al XI, Atti del 3
rd
Congresso internazionale di
studi sull alto medioevo [14-18 ottobre 1956] (Spoleto, 1959), 243.
121
See above n. 117.
122
For which, John Bradford, The ancient city of Arpi in Apulia, Antiquity, 121, vol. 31 (1957), 167-9.
344 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345
disobeyed its own bishop and joined the cause of Otto IVagainst Frederick II.
123
The ensuing papal
threat to transfer the episcopal see from Troia to Foggia, if the city did not reverse its allegiance,
perhaps had an effect on the rebellious population less for religious motives than for local pride.
Although papal mandates were still required in the 1220s to conrm Foggias submission to the
church of Troia, this bitter ecclesiastical quarrel appears to have abated in that decade.
124
This
coincided with Frederick IIs choice of Foggia as his luxurious mainland capital, which perhaps
gave its inhabitants sufcient expression of their civic importance to postpone their demands for
a bishopric. More importantly, by this era, Troia had lost its prime position in the region and would
never regain it. The reason for the citys eventual decline is not to be found externally through a de-
ning battle or the will of a lord, but perhaps internally, within the city and contado itself.
7. Conclusion
Troias internal history barely runs parallel with the environment of political discontinuity ex-
posed by many contemporary commentators on Southern Italy. In fact at times the two almost
seem to contradict each other. In Carabelleses important work on the cities of Apulia, Troias fa-
mous charter of liberties of 1127 is described as the song of the dying swan, because within a few
years the de facto autonomy of the city was ended by Roger II.
125
Other general modern works on
Southern Italy barely mention Troia after the anarchic 1130s as if the city no longer existed. Indeed
these studies arewrittenwith an emphasis placed on political developments and in certain ways are
correct; Troia as a political entity did virtually cease to exist after 1139.
126
But by looking aside
from the wider disruptive political atmosphere an analysis of Troias regional environment sug-
gests that the period immediately following its integration into the kingdom sawagricultural spe-
cialisation in the area, which in turn attracted artisans and immigrants. The city evolved its
functions in conjunction with the general demographic growth. The territory around Troia was
systematically cultivated and saw the rapid rise of rural settlements in a previously deserted re-
gion. It was this process, ironically, which eventually led to Troias decline. For by promoting
the economic development of its territory, it fostered the growth of Foggia, a settlement endowed
from the start with greater trading potential. The era of Foggias exponential growth paralleled
a sharpening of civic awareness and pride at Troia which led the city into a rivalry that it could
not win. Troia was a victim of its own attempts to survive. The potency of Foggias expansion,
and Troias ultimate decline, are all the more remarkable when one realises that in other respects
Troia had the makings of a secure urban settlement: a strong and stable local government sup-
ported by well-established urban kin-groups and a vigorous, religiously inspired, civic pride. It
was not a Sicilian monarch who provided the nal blow to Carabelleses ailing swan but an eco-
nomically viable settlement 22 km north-east.
Paul Oldeld is currently undertaking a PhD, due for completion in 2006, under the supervision of Professor G. A.
Loud at the University of Leeds. The thesis is entitled Urban society and communal independence in twelfth-century
mainland Southern Italy. This article, his rst published piece, is formed out of his current research and previous MA
research on the city of Troia. He is also teaching at the University of Leeds on Medieval and Renaissance Europe.
123
Troia nos. 130, 131.
124
Troia nos. 135, 140, 144.
125
Carabellese, LApulia ed il suo commune, 442.
126
John Julius Norwich, The Normans in Sicily (London, 1992); Donald Matthew, The Norman kingdom of Sicily (Cam-
bridge, 1992); Hubert Houben, Roger II of Sicily; a ruler between east and west (Cambridge, 2002).
345 P. Oldeld / Journal of Medieval History 31 (2005) 327e345