Rodolfo de Moulins was the first, among the Norman, that lived in Molise: his traces and those of his descendants are throughout our region.
Bojano
San Giuliano del Sannio
Sepino
Monteroduni
Let's take a few steps back, when Rodolfo was not yet in Bojano and Italy was beginning to fear the Normans... It all began with Rollo, the famous Norman leader, who in the 10th century devastated and plundered the French territories along the Seine, until, to put an end to the numerous clashes with the French armies, King Charles the Simple formally ceded some territories in Brittany and Neustria to the men of the North, which became Normandy.
Their new land was thus passed down from generation to generation, after the reign of Robert, called the Magnificent or the Devil, there was the brief ascension of King Henry, whose death began a period of revolts between those who supported the natural heir, William the Bastard (later called the Conqueror), who was then seven or eight years old, and those who instead wanted to usurp his hereditary title.
“It is in this turbulent period that the founder of the future Norman counts of Bojano appears in the history of Normandy, whose political, administrative and military ability allowed him to occupy a large part of the other counties established in Sannio Pentro and to constitute a single and homogeneous county which will take the name of their Norman town of origin, which also became their surname MOULINS”
– O. Gentile, Il Sannio Pentro, dalla civitas di Bojano alla contea di Molise
Why "de Moulins"?
Moulins was the name of the fortress entrusted to the ancestors of our Rodolfo de Moulins. His family, of which there is more than one testimony, thanks to the numerous donations, attested by diplomas that have survived the centuries, that his father, Guimond II, made to the church of Saint Pere de Chartes and the Abbey of Saint Evroult, was among those who opposed the ascension to the throne of William the Conqueror.
Having suppressed their dissent, they lost the fiefdom, which became that of William I, son of Walter of Falaise, and undertook a long journey (they emigrated) seeking greater fortune, retaining the name of their home.
Conquests and alliances in southern Italy
During the 10th century, there were already Norman settlements in Southern Italy: the first to make his fortune was Rainulf, who later became the first Norman count of Aversa, alongside whom the Altavilla family made its fortune.
The success of the Hauteville in Puglia attracted some other normans to Italy, including Robert of Hauteville, half-brother of William of Hauteville, in whose entourage was none other than Rodolfo de Moulins, his witness in various donations to various abbeys and churches.
Note: This article is for informational purposes only and is a brief summary of the historical elements underlying the reenactment, allowing even the uninitiated to approach and become passionate about local history. For further information, sources, and testimonials, see the section Historical writing.