Amatus of Montecassino
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Amatus of Montecassino (Amatus Casinensis): (b. c1010, Salerno; d. c1083?). Chronicler, Ecclesiastic Benedictine monk. He was the author of several Latin poems. His 8-book L’Ystoire de li Normant (History of the Normans) (pub. c1080), was an important source for the history of the Normans in Mediterranean and elsewhere, covering the years from 1016 to 1078. While normally considered reliable, he approached the events he described from the strong pro-Norman point of view of the Montecassino Abbey to which he belonged. He also tended to believe in miracles and prophecy. Amatus is perhaps best-known as the primary source for the belief that Harold, the Saxon king of England, was killed by an arrow in the eye at the battle of Hastings in 1066. He also covered the Lombard revolt of Meles against the Byzantines in Apulia, the Byzantine invasion of Sicily under George Maniaces, and the struggles for the control of the southern Italian mainland.
Amatus served for a time as a bishop although it is disputed in the sources as to whether his see was at Paestum-Capaccio or Nusco.