Marcin Böhm, The Battle of Misilmeri (1068) and its connection to the church of the Santa Maria di Campogrosso in Altavilla Milicia.
The modern Misilmeri is a city located in the province of Palermo in Sicily. Few people know that more than a thousand years ago in 1068, there took a place one of the most important battles, that decided the fate of the island, and above all the nearby Palermo. This is where the Normans, led by Roger I (1031-1101) pitched the superior forces of the enemy, which consisted of the inhabitants of Palermo and their allies from North Africa. That battle became by a legend a driving force responsible for the rise of the Norman Church of St. Michael, which later transformed into the church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso in modern Altavilla Milicia. The main purpose of this article is to show the relationship of this church with the place of the aforesaid battle, what will be done based on existing source material, supported by modern amenities of the historical geography. We will also try to answer the question of whether the battle of Misilmeri had taken place near this town.
The main historical source, which is connected with the battle of Misilmeri is a chronicle written by Gaufredi Malaterrae[1]. Gaufredi was of Norman origin, who decided to become a Benedictine monk. Malaterrae travelled throughout southern Italy (mainly Puglia) before he entered the monastery of St. Agata in Catania[2]. His work was dedicated to Roger I and his brother Robert Guiscard, and it was written in the late nineties of the XI Century[3]. It is a source of enormous significance for the study of Norman expansion to Sicily in the eleventh century. Before we go any further, let our voice to the chronicler and his account of the battle:
Unde et Sicilienses, consilio intra se habito, mori potiusquam cum tanta inquietudine infelicem vitam diutius protelare deliberantes, belli fortunam contra comitem tentare parant Denique versus Panormum praedatum proficiscenti, exercitu innumerabili undique conflato, ex improvviso apud Miselmir occurrunt, anno incarnati Verbi MLXVIII. Porro comes, eminus eos conspiciens, totus infremuit; omnesque suos in unum coÎrcens, subridendo ait suis: "Eia - inquit - nobilium praedecessorum nobiliores! Fortuna vobis favens, praedam, quam longius quaerere disposueratis, labori vestro parcens, ultro vobis obviam, ne plus in conficiendo itinere fatigemini, adducit. Ecce praeda a Deo nobis concessa! Auferte iis, qui ea indigni sunt! Utamur ea, dividentes apostolico more, prout cuique opus est. Ne exhorrescatis iamdudum a multotiensque a vobis devictos. Si ducem mutaverunt, eiusdem nationis, qualitatis, sed et religionis est, cuius et caeteri sunt. Deus autem noster immutabilis est; et, si a nobis non mutatur integritas fidelis spei, nec ab ipso mutabitur sententia triumphalis auxilii".[4]
From the above passage of the chronicle of Malaterrae, we know that in 1068, Roger I went on a marauding expedition near Palermo. Unfortunately, the chronicler does not mention from which direction Comes Roger marched towards the capital of Sicily. The battle took place at Misilmeri. We do not know anything about the composition of the two hostile armies[5]. It is hard to imagine that a clash occurred accidentally, as that wants Malaterrae. The more that he later mentions, that Comes Roger from a distance saw the enemy army and gathered his people around him. The Normans were burdened with gained loot. Because of this, Roger with fiery speech appealed to Normans desire to possess the newly gained booty and to their superiority in the arms over the Muslims of Sicily. Roger also said to his knights, that the new leader of the enemies (which Malaterrae does not mention by the name), was as miserable at the commander post as his predecessors. Who was this man? We know from other sources, that he was Ayub, a North African mercenary, who in the early 60s of the XI century appeared in Sicily with his men[6]. Before the battle at Misilmeri Ayub was probably going to remove the old Emir of Palermo, Ibn al-Ḥawwās and take his place. He had that opportunity, because in fact he united around himself all the forces opposed to the Normans, and was sure of his army, so he decided to drive them out from the island[7]. His main base was situated in Agrigentum in the southern part of Sicily[8]. For now let us return to the relation of Malaterrae, of the further course of the battle. The chronicler wrote:
His dictis, acieque suorum prudenter ordinata, cum hoste congreditur. Fortiter nostris agentibus, gens inimica in tantum debellatur, ut vix ex tanta multitudine superesset, per quem rei eventus Panormi renuntiaretur. Nostri vero triumphalibus spoliis plurimum ditantur.[9]
XLII. Moris vero Saracenorum est, ut columbas, frumento et melle infuso domi nutrientes, cum aliquorsum longius digrediuntur, masculos sportulis inclusos, secum ferant; ut, cum aliquid novi fortuna illis administraverit, quod domi scitum velint, chartulis eventus suos annotantes et collo avis, vel certe sub ala, suspendentes, avibus dimissis per aera, familiae domi sollicitae, utrum prospere erga peregrinos amicos omnia agantur, notificare accelerant. Avicula enim dulcedine grani melliti, quam domi degustare saepius assueverat, illecta, reditum accelerat, chartulas morem suum scientibus repraesentat. Huiusmodi sportulas cum avibus comes inter reliqua spolia accipiens, avibus cum inscriptis sanguine chartulis dimissis, tristis fortunae eventus Panormitanis repraesentat. Urbs tota concutitur: lacrimosae voces liberorum et mulierum per aÎra coelum usque attolluntur. Gaudium nostris, illis tristitia parturitur.[10]
The battle was a great success on the Christian side. Into the hands of Normans fell also another spoil. Besides gold gained from Muslims, these spoils of war were pigeons mentioned by the chronicler. Malaterrae devoted a lot of space in this paragraph, to their breeding by the Sicilians. They also carried the blood written message of defeat to Palermo. Ayub was able to leave the battlefield and wasn't captured by the Normans. We know this thanks to the information from other sources, not from the chronicle of Malaterrae. Ayub survived and the remnants of his forces returned in 1069 to North Africa, taking with them many important Muslim inhabitants of the island[11]. This act forced him an attitude his Sicilian allies, who raised a weapon against him and his troops, defeating his army in the vicinity of Agrigentum, which cost the life of the emir of Palermo[12]. The Battle near Misilmeri is of great importance for the further conquest of Sicily, as it opened to the Normans constant access to Palermo. Knowing now the course of this battle, we should take a look at the history of the creation of the church dedicated to St. Michael in Altavilla.
What do we know about it today? This is one of the first buildings built in Norman style in Sicily. The remains of the church are located in a strategic position on top of a hill, a short distance, only 56 meters from the Tyrrhenian Sea. As it has been said above it was probably built in 1068, after the victory over the Muslim Normans under Misilmeri[13]. It has one nave with three apses and a crypt; next to it are the remains of a monastery belonging to the Order of St. Basil (Basilians)[14]. Modern historians owe valuable information about that church to the two authors coming from the early modern period: Tommaso Fazello (1498 – 1570) and Rocco Pirri (1577 – 1651)[15]. Fazello was a Dominican friar, historian and teacher in the Convent of St. Dominic of Palermo, and also he is known as the „father” of Sicilian history. The books written by Pirri were to some extent a continuation of the work of Fazello. Pirri was an abbot of the monastery of St. Elias in Noto, and from 1643 he was also a historian of King Philip IV of Spain. Both left important information that at this point we need to quote in its entirety. Let's begin with Fazello, as he was chronologically earlier:
De Abbatia S. Michaelis, Ordivii Basili, Inter Panoramus & Thermos, Mari Imposita.
Rogerius Comes, adeptus hoc loco contra Saracenos victoriam, antequam Panoramo potiretur, hoc Coenobium Divo Michaeli Sacrum, lapide quadrato erexit, feudumque conterminum Sacerdotibus tradidit, ut eius Archetypo constant. Quod postea Panormitano Archiepiscopatui annexum, & hodie pro maiori parte prostratum, latrocinatium, brutorumque est habitaculum.[16]
Pirri provides us with much more data than Fazello:
Panormitanae Ecclesias octo Monasteria , quae Prioratus dicebantur, unita, atque adnexa reperio . Primum scilicet S. Micheali, sive S. Marie de Campo große ordinis , ut creditur, S. Basilii . Id in Casali Aylyel in itinere , quo Thermas contendimus , a Roberto Guiscardo excitatum , atque eodem Casali donatum esse testatur diploma ejusdem Roberti Arabicis exaratum litteris deinde ejusdem coenobii Priori Rex Rogerius terrae tractum prope Misilimerim, seu Montismmellem concessit , datis litteris deinde nomen etiam S. Mariae Annunciatae Montismellis factum illi est, obfrequentes piratarum incursiones celeberrima S. Michaelis , ас SS. Basilii, & Laurentii marmorea simulacra inde in aedem Cathedralem translata sunt.[17]
These two chroniclers involve the establishment of the church with the conquerors of Sicily from the Altavilla family. There appears both Robert Guiscard and his younger brother (a main winner of the island), Roger I. Only Fazello mentions the connection of the church to the battle with the Saracens, but Pirri gives the name of the Arab village (Aylyel) near which the church was built. Both pieces of information are extremely important. The church and monastery were located near the Muslim village, in a region called „large field” (Campo Grosso), near the Roman road Via Valeriana, which ran from Messina to Palermo. Fazello in addition to the above-cited data about the church is also the author of a second, equally important (though the origin of the sixteenth century) historical source for the study of clash near Misilmeri, which informs about both the place and the course of the battle:
...,qui hucusque; Sarracenice Bayharia dicitur, loco iuxta littus maris Misilimir etiam Sarracenorum lingua hodie appellato sex ab urbe ad orientem.p.m.recedenti, Normannis in occursum prodiere. Rogerius iam cum exercitu loco vicnius, ut hostium numerum á longê conspexit,primum quidem territus constitit, ac auxiliares Roberti milites expectare sibi videbatur. Sed mox rupta mora, resumptisque; animis ad Deum ad quo sibi tot victoriae prouenerant, spem omnem dirigens ‚ suos ad- victoria hortatur, ac dato militibus pugnae signo Sarracenos principio multitudine quidem superiores inuadit. Quos, quia inconcussa Normannorum virtus‚ ac ferox audacia terrebat, signa consestim ordinem deserere incipientes Normanni miserabiliter cedunt, tantamque; Barbarorum stragem faciunt, ut vix nuntius quidem. E tot milibus euaserit. Erat tum saluti annus 1068. Tantae cladis fama Panormu delata, tota urbs in maerorem vertitur, quippe quòd de se nihil mitius deinceps expectaret [18].
The Description of the Battle of Misilmeri contained in the chronicle of Fazello differs significantly from that provided by the Malaterrae. According to Fazello, the Normans were there earlier and they surprise the inhabitants of Palermo. Roger had to wait for the knights of his brother, Robert Guiscard(1015-1085), but later he turned his forces against the enemy alone. In a similar vein as Malaterrae, Fazello is writing about the ultimate success of the Normans, emphasizing their bravery and courage, in which they towered over the Muslims. In the light of these differences with descriptions of the Battle done by Malaterrae, could we consider the facts adduced by Fazello as credible?
Fazello clearly writes that medieval Misilmeri lay six miles from Palermo to the east, near the sea. This comes as a surprise, but it is of great importance to our ongoing conclusions. The Modern Misilmeri is located 16 km southeast of Palermo, and it is not at all on the seafront. In Middle Ages, the Emir Jafar II (996-1018) built there a large castle (Qasr-al-Amir) and at its foot, he formed a village Manzil-al-Amir, which means village of the Emir[19]. The village was inhabited by the Muslim population, and the first Christian church was erected there in 1123[20]. The data about the activity of the bishops of Palermo in Misilmeri precedes information we have about Santa Maria di Campogrosso, taken from church sources. The first important document about that church, was issued in 1134 by King Roger II (1095-1154), son and successor of Roger I, conqueror of Sicily. It is addressed to Michael, the abbot of the monastery located near the Church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso, and in which the king gave him lands near Misilmeri and the right to use the forest near Bagheria[21]. In this document, there is not a direct reference to the Battle of Misilmeri, or to the first call of the church at Campogrosso- St.Michael, the Archangel. The situation is similar in the documents issued later in the twelfth century in which we have data about the church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso[22]. We also have a diploma, which is the privilege of King William II (1153-1189) for the casale Aya lyen, which says that in 1179 there was a hospital in Campogrosso[23]. In the thirteenth century, the Basilian monastery of Campogrosso began to decline and in 1284 was entrusted to the frater Cirino, who also managed the church of St. Eunuphrii and St. Mary of Ustica [24]. The related document is interesting because it defines the church in that time as a call of Michael the Archangel. Brother Cirino was also the liquidator of the earthly estates of the aforementioned ecclesiastical institutions, whose movable and immovable property was handed over to the Archbishopric of Palermo. The building of the church itself was desecrated in the 16th century, where most of the equipment was taken to Palermo, and it fell into ruin[25].
How to explain the change of church call and lack of information about the church's relationship with the battle at Misilmeri in the sources from medieval epoche? The first option is to assume that the battle of Misilmeri had no real connection with the establishment of the Church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso, and all the above-mentioned facts are a figment of Fazello. However, this approach to this author, and to his meritorious research of the history of Sicily, is unfair. Fazello staying during his lifetime in Palermo had access to all of its archives and collections of documents, often issued in three languages (Arabic, Greek and Latin). Because of this, he was well informed about the turn of events on which he wrote. The second option seems to be the hypothesis, according to which Fazello benefited from some alternative source to Malaterrae, which disappeared in modern times, and which was connected to the monastery located in Campogrosso. Maybe in this way, we can find an explanation of information written by this historian, especially the one about Misilmeri, and its location near the seashore. Perhaps during the expedition of Roger I in 1068 in the direction of Palermo, that the battle was not even fought at Misilmeri. This town is in fact located approximately 7 km from the sea[26]. Much closer to the sea is Bagheria, or Campogrosso, which is part of modern Altavilla Milicia. A place where today lie the ruins of the church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso lies in a straight line at a distance of 11 km from Misilmeri, and about 23 km from Palermo (12 miles), in the direction of the southeast[27]. We can not forget that initially the church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso, had earlier another patron saint. It was St. Michael, the national saint of all Normans. Therefore it is possible that the battle was fought by the Normans with Muslims, on a small plain near the modern Altavilla Milicia, where Muslim people from Palermo and Berbers supporting them, would not be able to use their numerical superiority. The Normans probably efficiently operated with their own cavalry troops, driven with several pitched batches less disciplined units of Berbers and caused a panic in the other branches of the enemy army. The Muslims probably have not made the correct reconnaissance, because they didn't know how large forces Roger I have. After winning the battle, Comes built here the monastery and church of St. Michael in Campogrosso, as a votive offering. To some extent, this situation would resemble that one after the Battle of Hastings. The only difference is that William the Conqueror built a building at the battle site between Anglo-Saxons and the Normans, which we know today as the Battle Abbey, as an atonement for his sins. The church and monastery on the hill in Campogrosso, in the Norman period of the Sicilian Middle Ages, also had the important task of defence. That hill guarded the routes leading from Cefalu to Palermo and served probably as a refuge for local Christians, which in the period after the capture of the capital of Sicily by Normans, were still a minority in that region. And after the death of Roger I, the cult of St. Michael lost in this area to the Marian cult, which was more popular throughout Italy of that time, which could be the reason why the church changed its patron. This hypothesis, however, requires a much broader archaeological research in the area of Altavilla Milicia, particularly on said plain (near the so-called Norman tower), located between the city and the sea, and in ruins of Chiesa di Santa Maria di Campogrosso. Equally essential would be to conduct archaeological research in the area of today's Misilmeri, especially in that part which is located on the hill leading to the castle of the Emir. Unfortunately, in the case of potential excavations at Misilmeri huge obstacle is a fact, that at the foot of the castle lied in a dense residential area, which seized nearly all the valley.
The archaeological excavations conducted in 2015-2018 in the ruins of the church of Santa Maria di Campogrosso, allowed showing this place in a new light. In the cemetery, inside discovered graves, there was not much equipment. A few coins, beads discovered at children's graves and a bracelet may imply either a poor community or merely a symbol of a gift. At the burials, nails appear, which are the testimony of wooden coffins. Discovered buried skeletons mainly lie on the east-west axis of the churchyard, but only two are arranged differently[28]. Tombs were usually placed singly, but few exceptions were noted. Two sarcophagi were placed after several individuals. Whenever someone was buried in one of the sarcophagi, where an earlier burial was located, the skull was taken off the previous skeleton and placed next to the feet of a new one. This was done in 4 cases. There is also a fragment of a marble tombstone with a quotation from the Koran. Most of the men's skeletons excavated are of non-Sicilian origin, from northern Europe, according to Italian anthropologist Prof. Sara di Salvo, who works with our team[29]. These people (men and women) were tall (5.8-6 feet). We can not, unfortunately, clearly state that they were monks. Most of the found skeletons did not, however, have any signs of fighting or fractures and injuries. Certainly, a testament to the activity of Basilian monks on this hill which could be associated with their running of the hospital is a large number of Mandragora, which grows in considerable clusters near the church. It is well known that Mandrake or Mandragora was considered in the Middle Ages as a magical plant, used also in medicine. Mandragora is highly poisonous, has psychoactive and stimulant properties, contains atropine and alkaloids, causes respiratory irritation and delirium. The Hippocrates recommended her as a remedy for depression. Teofrast of Eresos, a Greek scholar and philosopher, disciple and friend of Aristotle, who lived in the years 322-287, recommended that it should be used as an analgesic medicine[30]. And in the High Middle Ages in Western Europe, mandragora was described as a herb of black magic, and because her name was magical, also was forbidden in the Christian world. That is why her use in medicine was abandoned. This plant has survived near the ruins of the church to this day, although the hill today is mostly used commercially as an olive grove or a mandarin plantation.
Therefore, we have not found any evidence in archaeological material so far, which would evidently confirm the relationship between the monastery and the church in Campogrosso with the battle of Misilmeri. From the point of view of this article, the strongest proofs are provided by the work of Fazello and geographic determinants, and some parallels to Hastings.
Bibliography:
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Catalogo Ragionato dei diplomi nel tabulario della catedralle di Palermo ora coordinati per ordine dell regal governo, ed. V. Mortilaro, Palermo 1842,.
Fazello T., De rebus Siculis, decadis secundae, edizione a cura di V. Amico, Catania 1753.
Fazello T., Della Storia di Sicilia Deche Due, tradotte in lingua toscana dal. P. M.Remigio Fiorentino, Venezia 1573.
Fazello T., Le due deche dell'historia di Sicilia, Tradotte dal Latino in lingua Toscana dal P. M. Remigio Fiorentino, del medesimo Ordine, Venetia 1573
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Gaufredi Malaterrae, De Rebus Gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae Comitis et Roberti Guiscardi Ducis Fratris eius, RIS. t.5/1, ed. E. Pontieri, Bologna 1928.
Ibn al-Ațīr: Ali bin Muhammad bin ‛Abd al-Karīm bin ‛Abd al-Wāhid Abū ‛l-Hasan al-Ǧazarī aš-Šaibānī ‛Izz ad-Dīn, Al-Kāmil fī ‘t-tarīh, Biblioteca Arabo-Sicula, racolta di Michele Amari. Versione italina, volume primo, Torino e Roma 1880.
Mongitore A., Bullae, privilegia, et instrumenta Panormitanae metropolitanae ecclesiae, regni Siciliae primariae, Palermo 1734.
Pirri R., Sicilia sacra disquistionibus et notitiis ilustrata, tomus primus, Palemo 1733.
Theophrast’s Naturgeschichte der Gewächse, ed. K. Sprengel, Altona 1822.
The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of his brother Duke Robert Guiscard by Geoffrey Malaterra, transl. by K. B. Wolf, University of Michigan 2005.
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Amari M. (1854-1868): Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, voll. 1-3, Firenze, Le Monnier.
Barone Z. (2017), La chiesa di Santa Maria di Campogrosso ad Altavilla Milicia (Palermo), i ruderi di un monumento normanno tra abbandono, restauri e studi archeologici, RA 2 | 2017, pp. 106-121.
Brancato G., Brancato S., Scammacca V. (2011): Un insediamento rurale dell'area palermitana Altavilla milicia, secoli XII-XIX, Bagheria.
Becker J. (2008): Graf Roger I. von Sizilien. Wegbereiter des normannischen Königreichs, Tübingen.
Böhm M. (2014): Normański podbój Sycylii w XI wieku, Oświęcim.
Johns J. (2007): Arabic Sources for Sicily, Proceedings of the British Academy 132, pp. 341-360.
Johnson E.(20005): Normandy and Norman Identity in Southern Italian Chronicles, Anglo-Norman Studies 27, p p.85-100.
Loud G.A. (1998): Betrachtungen über die normannische Eroberung Süditaliens, (in:) Forschungen zur Reichs-, Papst- und Landesgeschichte, ed. K. Borchardt, E. Bunz, Stuttgart, pp. 115-132.
Loud G.A. (2000): The Age of Robert Guiscard: Southern Italy and the Norman Conquest, Harlow 2000.
Mannoia G. (2013): Il Castello dell'Emiro di Misilmeri (PA). "Luoghi di Sicilia" è un contributo alla conoscenza del patrimonio culturale siciliano realizzato da Gaspare Mannoia. I sottotitoli possono essere scelti in qualunque lingua, arabo compreso(Documentary), Gasman Productions.
Moździoch S., Baranowski T., Stanisławski B. (2017): Rapporto preliminare della I campagna di scavi archeologici condotti nel sito della Chiesa di Santa Maria di Campogrosso (San Michele del Golfo) – Altavilla Milicia-PA, Notiziario Archeologico Soprintendenza Palermo, n. 19/2017, pp. 1-13.
Moździoch S., Vassallo S. (2018): S. Maria di Campogrosso: centro spirituale ed economico dai tempi della conquista normanna, (in:) INCONTRI, year 6, no 24, July-September, pp. 29-34
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[1] Gaufredi Malaterrae: De Rebus Gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae Comitis et Roberti Guiscardi Ducis Fratris eius, RIS. t.5/1, ed. E. Pontieri, Bologna 1928.
[2] Johnson (2005): p. 95-96.
[3] Wolf (1995): p .146-147.
[4] Gaufredi Malaterrae, II, 41, p. 50; As a result, the Sicilians took counsel among themselves, and, deciding that they would rather die than continue to live such unfavourable, troublesome lives, they prepared to test their fortune in the war against the count. So one day—in the year of the Incarnation of the Word 1068—when the count's forces were heading toward Palermo on a plundering expedition, they unexpectedly ran into a huge army at Misilmeri, an army that had been gathered from far and wide. The count, seeing the enemy forces at a distance, called out loudly and assembled his men. Smiling, he said to them: "Behold how fortune favours you, you who are even nobler than your distinguished predecessors. For it has brought the booty, which you had been prepared to seek far and wide, right to you, thus sparing you the trouble of exhausting yourselves looking for it. Look at the booty that has been given to us by God! Let us take it away from these ones who do not deserve it. Let us make use of it, dividing it in an apostolic manner, to each according to his need. Do not be afraid of those whom you have already beaten so many times. Though they have a new leader, he is nonetheless of the same nation, quality, and religion. Our God is immutable, and if the faithful integrity of our hope is not compromised, neither will be the triumphant judgment of his assistance. The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of his brother Duke Robert Guiscard by Geoffrey Malaterra, transl. by K. B. Wolf, University of Michigan 2005, II, 41, p. 119.
[5] Theotokis (2010): p. 397.
[6] Ibn al-Ațīr: Ali bin Muhammad bin ‛Abd al-Karīm bin ‛Abd al-Wāhid Abū ‛l-Hasan al-Ǧazarī aš-Šaibānī ‛Izz ad-Dīn, Al-Kāmil fī ‘t-tarīh, Biblioteca Arabo-Sicula, racolta di Michele Amari. Versione italina, volume primo, Torino e Roma 1880, p. 448.
[7] Böhm (2014): p. 77.
[8] Ibn al-Ațīr, p. 448-449.
[9] Gaufredi Malaterrae, II, 41, p. 50; After speaking these words and prudently organizing his battle line, the count engaged the enemy. Our men, fighting courageously, beat the opposing army to such an extent that scarcely anyone from that great multitude survived to report the outcome of the battle to Palermo. Our men were greatly enriched with the spoils of victory. The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily, II, 41, p. 119.
[10] Gaufredi Malaterrae, II, 42, p. 50; It is a custom among the Saracens that, when they go anywhere far away, they take with them pigeons that have been fed at home with grain dipped in honey, male pigeons kept in baskets. If fortune should mete out something unexpected to them [while they are away], something that they would like their family back home to know about, they record what happened on a little note and hang it from the neck of the bird, or under its wing. Then they release the bird, sending it off through the air to the home of the concerned family with the intention of quickly notifiring them as to whether or not everything is going well for the travellers. The bird, longing for the sweetness of the honeyed grain to which it was accustomed while at home, returns in haste and in the process deliver its message to those familiar with this practice. Among the spoils taken at Misilmeri, the count found such baskets with birds in them. So he used them to report the unhappy outcome of the battle to the people of Palermo, sending the birds on their way with notes written in blood. When the people of Palermo heard the news, the whole city was shaken: the tearful voices of the children and women rose up through the air to the heavens. Thus joy was generated for us; sorrow, for them. The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily, II, 42, p.120; Amari (1858): voll. 3, p. 113.
[11] Ibn al-Ațīr, p. 449; Becker (2008): p. 57; Johns (2007): p. 343; Loud (1998), p.128.
[12] Ibn al-Ațīr, p. 449; Loud (1998), p.128; Loud (2000): p. 159; Stanton (2011), p. 39.
[13] Brancato,Scammacca (2011): p. 14-15; Oliva (2008): p. 19.
[14] Brancato,Scammacca (2011): p. 15; Oliva (2008): p. 20-21; Barone(2017), p. 107-108.
[15] T. Fazello, De rebus Siculis, decadis secundae, edizione a cura di V. Amico, Catania 1753; T. Fazello, Della Storia di Sicilia Deche Due, tradotte in lingua toscana dal. P. M.Remigio Fiorentino, Venezia 1573; R. Pirri, Sicilia sacra disquistionibus et notitiis ilustrata, tomus primus, Palemo 1733.
[16] The Comes Roger, get this place, after the victory over the Saracens, before Palermo country, this holy place of the monastery of St. Michael, built in a square stone, to priests monastery he assigned feudum, in a permanent type. But later it was annexed by the Palermo archbishopric, and today, for the most part of the ground, this is the habitat of robbers. T. Fazello, De rebus Siculis, p. 272-273; Brancato,Scammacca (2011): p. 14-15; Oliva (2008): p. 20.
[17] First of St. Micheal, or Saint Mary of Campogroße or as is believed, of St. Basil the Great order. Near the village of Aylyel, where Thermas labour, Robert Guiscardo excited, this village was presented with a diploma with the same witnesses and the same Robert Arabic writing letters, then former King Roger granted the monastery with land near Misilimerim or Montismmellem, and then were eyewitnesses of his letters is the name of S. Maria Annunciata Montismellis, because of frequent pirate incursions on famous St. Michael, ас SS. Basil & Laurent marble statues are transferred from there to the temple of the cathedral. R. Pirri, Sicilia sacra, t. I, p. 292; Brancato,Scammacca (2011): p. 15; Oliva (2008): p. 20.
[18] … that far; Saracen said Bayharia, near the shore of the sea in a place called Misilimir in the language of the Saracens six miles from the city (Palermo) to the east, to met Normans. Roger was already in place with an army and saw the number of enemies at a distance and first stopped being afraid, and wait for the auxiliary soldiers of Robert to be seen. But finally, he has resolved not to waste time. Many souls directed all their hopes to God for the victory which he had emerged, The coming victory urges the soldiers. The fighting Saracens signal the beginning of the assembly of the upper rear. And, because of the unshakable power of Normans, the fierce courage of Normans and alarming signs instantly in order to leave, they miserably crowded. So great was the destruction of the barbarians, that there is scarcely a messenger could, among the many thousands escaped. It was in the year 1068. As such disaster was reported in Palermo, the whole city turned into grief, because that in itself is nothing milder than expected after. F. Thomae Fazelli, Siculi. Or. Praeducatorum / De rebus Siculis decades duae / Panormi / apud Ioannem Matthaeum Maidam / et Franciscum Carraram / Anno Domini MDLVIII , p. 432; T. Fazello, Le due deche dell'historia di Sicilia, Tradotte dal Latino in lingua Toscana dal P. M. Remigio Fiorentino, del medesimo Ordine, Venetia 1573, p. 640-641.
[19] Al-Idrisi, La Sicilia e il Mediterraneo nel Libro di Rugerio, testo introduttivo di C. Schiaparelli, Roma 2015, p. 82; G. Mannoia, Il Castello dell'Emiro di Misilmeri (PA). "Luoghi di Sicilia" è un contributo alla conoscenza del patrimonio culturale siciliano realizzato da Gaspare Mannoia. I sottotitoli possono essere scelti in qualunque lingua, arabo compreso(Documentary), Gasman Productions 2013.
[20] A. Mongitore, Bullae, privilegia, et instrumenta Panormitanae metropolitanae ecclesiae, regni Siciliae primariae, Palermo 1734, p. 18-19.
[21] A. Mongitore, Bullae, privilegia,s. 20-21; Oliva (2008): p. 25-26.
[22] L. Garofalo, Tabularium regiae capellae Divi Petri in regis Panormitano palatio, Palermo 1835, p. 28-34, nr XIII-XIV.
[23] το κατανμον των αντρωπων του κωρου αιν λιεν των δωτεντον εισ το σπιταλ του καμὧου γρασσου. ιουλ. ινηδ. β. ετους ςχοζ/ The settlement of the People of the Aye Lien of the Dawn enters in spital of Campo grosso. Catalogo Ragionato dei diplomi nel tabulario della catedralle di Palermo ora coordinati per ordine dell regal governo, ed. Vincenzo Mortilaro, Palermo 1842, s. 40-41, diploma nr 25.
[24] A. Mongitore, Bullae, privilegia,s. 138-139; Moździoch, Vassalo (2018), p. 31.
[25] Moździoch, Vassalo (2018): p. 31; Barone(2017), p. 110-111.
[26] That distance gives us a measurement of the satellite (Google Earth), assuming that the village we are talking about was at the foot of the Castle of Emir in Misilmeri.
[27] The data provided by Google Earth.
[28] Moździoch, Vassalo (2018): p. 31.
[29] Moździoch, Vassalo (2018): p. 31
[30] Theophrast’s Naturgeschichte der Gewächse, ed. K. Sprengel, Altona 1822, Vol. I, b. VI, ch.2.9, p. 221 ; b. IX, ch. 8.8-9.1, p. 326-327.