Culti e agiografie d’età normanna in Italia meridionale

During the XIth and XIIth centuries, the Southern Italy was characterized by the process of settlement and consolidation of Normans, that largely broke up institutional, social and economic structures, conditioning the current balances, making different ones and replacing spaces and powers. These transformations touched, obviously, also the religious and ecclesiastical world and they intersected with others phenomena related to the Southern Italy: first of all the “Reform” of the Church and the pontifical ecclesiastical reorganization. All these aspects had repercussions on the devotional and hagiographic level, although there are only few cases where the influence of the new conquerors is highlighted. They used to either accept or promote local devotions. Through the analysis of some cults and hagiographies of the Southern Italy between the XIth and XIIth centuries, this paper focuses on the religious-devotional Normans’ customs and on the continuities/discontinuities related to this aspect registered during this period. In particular the focus will be reserved to Campania and Puglia.