Hauteville dynasty

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Byzantine Princess Anna Komnene on Bohemond:

>Now [Bohemond] was such as, to put it briefly, had never before been seen in the land of the Romans [that is, Greeks], be he either of the barbarians or of the Greeks (for he was a marvel for the eyes to behold, and his reputation was terrifying). Let me describe the barbarian's appearance more particularly – he was so tall in stature that he overtopped the tallest by nearly one cubit, narrow in the waist and loins, with broad shoulders and a deep chest and powerful arms. And in the whole build of the body he was neither too slender nor overweighted with flesh, but perfectly proportioned and, one might say, built in conformity with the canon of Polycleitus... His skin all over his body was very white, and in his face the white was tempered with red. His hair was yellowish, but did not hang down to his waist like that of the other barbarians; for the man was not inordinately vain of his hair, but had it cut short to the ears. Whether his beard was reddish, or any other colour I cannot say, for the razor had passed over it very closely and left a surface smoother than chalk... His blue eyes indicated both a high spirit and dignity; and his nose and nostrils breathed in the air freely; his chest corresponded to his nostrils and by his nostrils...the breadth of his chest. For by his nostrils nature had given free passage for the high spirit which bubbled up from his heart. A certain charm hung about this man but was partly marred by a general air of the horrible... He was so made in mind and body that both courage and passion reared their crests within him and both inclined to war. His wit was manifold and crafty and able to find a way of escape in every emergency. In conversation he was well informed, and the answers he gave were quite irrefutable. This man who was of such a size and such a character was inferior to the Emperor alone in fortune and eloquence and in other gifts of nature.

>>2867293

you just KNOW

>>2867288
the normans had a very impressive will to power.
Shame it didn't last and they were assimilated or outbred.

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Thermopylaen victories against the infidels cemented the Norman reputation as "a race unbridled", many such as the prodigious sons of the Hauteville dynasty were legendary even in their own time. So much so that the pope and emperors (both Byzantine and Holy Roman) came to fear their growing influence.
When Tancred's youngest son Roger Bosso "The Great Count",who with his brothers had conquered Sicily, Apulia and Calabria, sailed for Malta the usually ferocious Saracens fled and qadi immediately sued for terms. It was agreed that the islands would become tributaries of the count himself and that the qadi should continue to administer the islands. With the treaty many Greek and other Christian prisoners were released, who chanted to Roger the Kyrie eleison.

The Benedictine monk, Geoffrey Malaterra, who compares Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger to "Joseph and Benjamin of old," said of Roger:
>"He was a youth of the greatest beauty, of lofty stature, of graceful shape, most eloquent in speech and cool in counsel. He was far-seeing in arranging all his actions, pleasant and merry all with men; strong and brave, and furious in battle."
>In the Divine Comedy, Dante sees Guiscard's spirit in the Heaven of Mars, along with other "warriors of the faith" who exemplify the cardinal virtue of fortitude. In the Inferno, Dante describes Guiscard's enemies as a field of mutilated shades stretching out to the horizon.

>>2867293
Did he fuck her?

>>2867497
Probably not but you can tell she probably touched herself thinking about him.
I always found it interesting the Normans kept their haircut short.

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>>2867497
It's possible. Normans excelled at cuckolding Byzantines. The first crusaders vowed to give the great fortified city of Antioch back to Alexios (Anna's dad) as it has been theirs before they lost it to turks 14 years prior.
>The crusaders knew they would have to take the city before Kerbogha arrived if they had any chance of survival. Weeks earlier, Bohemond had secretly established contact with someone inside the city named Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the Tower of the Two Sisters. Firouz's motivation was unclear even to Bohemond, perhaps avarice or revenge, but he offered to let Bohemond into the city in exchange for money and a title. Bohemond then approached the other crusaders and offered access to the city, through Firouz, if they would agree to make Bohemond the Prince of Antioch. Raymond was furious and argued that the city should be handed over to Alexios, as they had agreed when they left Constantinople in 1097, but Godfrey, Tancred, Robert, and the other leaders, faced with a desperate situation, gave in to Bohemond's demand.
Not only this but the Normans regularly annexed Byzantine territory that they actually controlled. Historians consider it remarkable that Anna speaks so highly of Bohemond given this tension but to say they fucked is conjecture. It might be worth noting that Anna was only 14 when she encountered Bohemond, it's hard not to read arousal in her description of him but it seems a fair observation, he and his exploits really were extraordinary. He scaled the "unassailable" after all.
I think if it was possible, it happened - I suspect Alexios didn't allow his daughter to be alone with him though. He definitely fucked a lot of women, Henry I of England famously prevented him from landing on English shores and he went onto marry a French princess; not bad at all for the bastard son of low nobility.

>>2867736
He was only rendered a bastard after his father annulled his marriage with his mother and set her aside. He was a better man in every way than his half brother.

>>2867736
> he went onto marry a French princesq

Nope he maried an italian girl

>>2867797
He married Princess Constance of France.