The crown governs Apulia through a small set of officers: the master justiciars and captains of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro, who judge the great crimes and lead the host; the chamberlains (camerarii) who manage the royal demesne and its revenues; the bailiffs (baiuli) and, at Bari, the catepan, who govern the royal towns; and the castellans of the royal castles.
With the boy king in Palermo and the regency divided, the office of master justiciar is claimed rather than conferred: from 1199 Count Berard of Loreto and Conversano styles himself master justiciar, and so does Count James of Tricarico. There is no single head of royal government on the Apulian mainland that winter. The provincial justiciarates of Frederick II's later kingdom do not yet exist.
Who he is
- Name
- Berard, count of Loreto and Conversano, styles himself master justiciar of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro from 1199 (to 1207); James, count of Tricarico, makes the same claim; the chamberlains, bailiffs and castellans of the royal cities in January 1200 are not pinned
- Title
- Master justiciars and captains of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro; local justiciars, chamberlains, bailiffs and castellans
- Since
- 1199 (Berard)
- Confidence
- medium
Federiciana (Puglia, J.-M. Martin): under William II the master constables and master justiciars of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro (Tancred of Lecce and Roger of Andria) were in effect viceroys of the mainland north of Calabria; Tancred named Berard Gentilis of Lesina and Hugh Lupin of Conversano captains and master justiciars in 1190; from 1199 to 1207 Berard of Loreto and Conversano and James of Tricarico styled themselves master justiciars; in 1202 Walter of Brienne and the marshal James were named to the office. Federiciana (Bari): a royal catepan governs Bari (Donadeo, before about 1212).
Overlord
The king (the regency council at Palermo and the pope as guardian).
What it holds
- The royal castles of Bari, Trani, Brindisi, Taranto and Monte Sant'Angelo (castellans not pinned)
- The royal demesne towns: Bari, Trani, Barletta, Molfetta (put into the demesne by Constance in 1197-1198), Brindisi, Taranto, Otranto, Gallipoli, Foggia, Lucera
- The mint of Brindisi (since Henry VI)
- Port dues, salt pans (Salpi), market tolls
How it was acquired
Royal government of the Norman kingdom.
Allies and rivals
Answer to the familiares at Palermo led by the chancellor Walter of Palear, and to the pope's legates. The pope and the Palermo council both make grants in the king's name and do not always agree: in the autumn of 1199 the pope invested Roger of Chieti with the county of Civitate while Palermo granted it to Peter of Celano (see Civitate). Rival claims to the justiciarship among the counts.
How things stand that morning
The royal demesne of Apulia is held for the boy king under the regency; no German captain is recorded holding an Apulian castle that winter. Authority is fragmented among the counts who claim the justiciarship.
Wealth
Port and market dues, salt, the mint, demesne rents. No figures.
Military
The royal castles and the town levies; the host is raised through the master justiciars. No numbers.
Threats
- Diepold and the German captains of the Terra di Lavoro
- A break between the chancellor and the pope
- Walter of Brienne's claims cutting across royal land
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1201The pope names Peter of Celano and Roger of Chieti master justiciars of Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro together (abr records, after Kamp).Depends on: Walter of Brienne's arrival and the pope taking the appointments into his own hands Stopped by: The Palermo council keeping control of the offices
- 1202Walter of Brienne is named master justiciar, and the pope's cousin James the marshal master justiciar of all Apulia and the Terra di Lavoro.Depends on: Brienne's victories of 1201 Stopped by: Brienne's defeat
Places of note
- Royal castle of Bari: Norman castle
- Castrum vetus of Brindisi: Norman castle and mint town
- Castle of Taranto: At the isthmus
- Castle of Monte Sant'Angelo: Mountain fortress and state prison
- Salpi: Lagoon port and salt pans
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Offices from the Federiciana (Puglia, Bari); individual castellans and chamberlains in January 1200 are not pinned.
On the map: Not drawn: the officers' ground is the royal towns and castles, drawn under their own records.
Primary sources for Sicily
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
- The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online
7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
- Puglia, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
- G. Musca, Bari, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
- Molfetta (it.wikipedia)
- Brindisi, Enciclopedia Federiciana (treccani.it)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.