Sicilian nobility

The Sicilian nobility was a privileged hereditary class in the Kingdom of Sicily, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Italy, whose origins may be traced to the 11th century AD.

The Romans, Byzantines and Saracens exported different elements of their structures to the island of Sicily, however, it was not until the Norman invasion of 1061, led by Roger I de Hauteville, that the Sicilian aristocracy and feudal system took root.

By the mid-twelfth century the majority of the island was divided into an agglomeration of agrarian communities (fiefs), controlled by Roger I, known as the Great Count, and his knights.

Count Roger was the youngest of five sons born to the petty Norman lord, Tancred de Hauteville. During the mid-eleventh century, southern Italian powers from the mainland sought military assistance from Norman mercenaries in an attempt to wrest control of Sicily away from its Saracen rulers. In 1068, Roger and his army of knights and foot soldiers were victorious at Misilmeri (Menzil el Emir), and by 1072 Sicily was under Norman control.

The knights were given estates for their loyalty and military service to Roger and his army. The Catalogus Baronum ("Catalogue of Barons"), was an early twelfth-century document listing the Norman vassals of the region and their respective feudal rights, possessions and duties. Although some historians claim it was a Norman creation others contend that it was modelled on the dîwân al-majlis, a document introduced by the Fatimidi prior to the Norman invasion.

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