Amateur of Monte Cassino

Amatus of Monte Cassino (Amatus Casinensis) - Benedictine monk and chronicler, living in Monte Cassino Abbey. Its Norman History, consisting of eight parts, is considered one of the three most important historical sources for the Norman conquest of southern Italy (the other two were written by William of Apulia and Geoffrey Malaterra). Amatus described events from the perspective of monks from Monte Cassino, which was then one of the most important religious and cultural centers in Italy. His work is the oldest known contemporary source of events in the Norman conquest of the peninsula, the careers of Robert Guiscard and Richard Drengot and the course of the Gregorian reform (it is described from the point of view of the papacy).

Little is known about Amatus before he became a monk at Monte Cassino Abbey. He began writing chronicles when the abbot was Dezderius (later Pope Viktor III). Before DeSderius, the relationship between the monks and the Normans did not work out well and were hostile. The election of the new abbot coincided with the acquisition of the Capuchin by Richard Drengot, which made him the patron and protector of the Abbey. This fact had a great impact on Amatus' views and the shape of his work. Graham Loud suggested that Amatus before he landed at Monte Cassino, was a bishop of Paestum, near Salerno. Amatus was very critical of Gisulf of Salerno, who often went into conflict with the church in his duchy and limited his privileges. L'Ystoire de li Normant covers the period from the appearance of the Normans in the south of Italy to the death of Richard Drengot. Kenneth Baxter Wolf hypothesized that Amatus wrote his work on Norman orders and his purpose was to commemorate the actions of Drengot and Guiscard. Amatus completed his work around 1080, making it the oldest known source of Norman activity in the south of Italy. Amatus used Latin, but until the present day only the French translation of the 14th century, commissioned by the Count of Militre, has been preserved. This man was most likely associated with the Anjougans, ruling the kingdom of Naples. The French version is not a complete translation, rather a summary and summary of the most important events. It is known, however, that another historian from the Monte Cassino Abbey, Leon of Ostia, used the original work to write the Chronica Monasterii Casinensis. This work contains a considerable part of the text by Amatus.

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