Adelaide del Vasto

Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) (c. 1075 – 16 April 1118) was countess of Sicily as the third spouse of Roger I of Sicily, and Queen consort of Jerusalem by marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem. She served as regent of Sicily during the minority of her son Roger II of Sicily from 1101 until 1112.

Her rule occurred between the previous reign of multiple Arabian dynasties and the formal declaration of the Kingdom of Sicily, placing her between two massive shifts in Sicilian identity. Under Adelaide, the economic and social shifts of Norman conquest led to many rebellions and societal tension, which she handled with frightening swiftness.

She was the daughter of Manfred del Vasto (brother of Boniface del Vasto, marquess of Western Liguria, and Anselm del Vasto).

Her paternal grandparents were Teto II del Vasto, and his wife Bertha of Turin, daughter of margrave Ulric Manfred II of Turin.

In 1089, Adelaide married Roger I while her sister married Roger's illegitimate son Jordan. Roger I died in 1101, and Adelaide ruled as regent of Sicily for her young sons Simon and Roger II. During her tenure, the emir Christodulus rose to preeminence at the court and Palermo was settled as the capital of the realm.

Adelaide came into regency at a time when Norman identity was heavily influenced by primary source writing. While Norman identity was called into question centuries later, 11th century rhetoric characterized Normans as not just mercenaries of Lombards, but as an incredibly masculine people. Characteristics such as their penchant for overcoming exile and a need for conquest dominated the scarce primary sources and heavily skewed perception of Normans to masculinity. This impacted and downplayed Adelaide’s role as regent significantly, marking her as an interim ruler between her son’s minority.

Almost immediately after Adelaide assumed the position of regent, rebellions broke out in parts of Calabria and Sicily. The writings of the Norman monk Orderic Vitalis recount that Adelaide put an end to these episodes of insurgency with severity. The use of great force in suppressing such rebellions, however, did not tarnish her reputation as a ruler. In fact, Abbot Alexander of Telese's history of Roger I describes Adelaide as

A Greek and Arab charter from 1109 describes Adelaide as “the great female ruler, the malikah of Sicily and Calabria, the protector of the Christian faith.”