c. 1075–1112 · First Crusade leader, prince of Galilee and regent of Antioch
Tancred
Bohemond's nephew; on the First Crusade he contended with Baldwin of Boulogne for Tarsus in Cilicia, took part in the capture of Jerusalem, and later governed the Principality of Antioch as regent.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Tancred grew up among the Normans of southern Italy and joined the First Crusade with his uncle Bohemond's forces. He is known as a young and ambitious commander who tried to avoid swearing allegiance to the Byzantine emperor.
Role in the Crusades
In 1097 he left the main army in Cilicia and took Tarsus; but in rivalry with Baldwin of Boulogne's larger force he had to leave the city to him and turned to Adana and Mopsuestia. In 1099 he was at the capture of Jerusalem and became prince of Galilee. During Bohemond's captivity (1100–1103) and return to Europe he governed Antioch as regent, extending the principality at Byzantium's expense.
Historical significance and source problems
Tancred died in Antioch in 1112. His life is told in Ralph of Caen's laudatory Gesta Tancredi; Anna Komnene paints a critical picture from the Byzantine side. Tancred's figure later became a romantic hero in Tasso's epic Jerusalem Delivered.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.