Signori e signorie nella Sicilia normanna. Due pergamene inedite sui Perollo di Gagliano (1142-1176)

This article addresses the issue of land distribution in Norman Sicily, based on the discovery of two unpublished parchments of 1169 and 1176 preserved within the Tabularium of Santa Maria dei Latini in Agira. Their study supplements and clarifies the scarce available information not only on the castle of Gagliano, but also on its lords of the Norman era. Indeed, it was known only that during the 1140s the Perollo family controlled the Sicilian stronghold. This information was drawn from a judicial act of 1142, issued by Simone del Vasto and George of Antioch in the name of King Roger II. However, the document had been the subject of a superficial reading. Thus, the thorough re-examination of the document of the 1140s together with the study of the two unpublished parchments, transcribed in the appendix to this essay, sheds new light on the Perollo family of Gagliano. In addition, this article aims to provide new information on the mobility processes of the Norman aristocracy within the Regnum Siciliae and new data on the strategies adopted by the seigniorial elites to establish themselves within their territory.