Jordan of Ariano
Count of Ariano

Jordan (died 12 August 1127), count of Ariano (from 1102), was the ruler of the county of Ariano in the eastern Campania during the reign of the Duke William II. He was the son and successor of Count Herbert and Altrude of Buonalbergo.
Biography
In 1113–4, Jordan and Robert I of Capua waged war against Benevento, but the Archbishop Landulf II made peace with them.
He rebelled against Duke William and, at Nusco in 1121, he took a troop of knights to threaten and insult the duke, saying, according to Falco of Benevento, "I will cut your coat short for you," before plundering the district. William begged assistance from his more powerful relative Roger II of Sicily, who, in exchange for Calabria and the duke's halves of Palermo and Messina, sent a corps of knights and a sum of gold, which assisted Duke William in seizing most of the county of Ariano. When Jordan died, his young son was put under the suzerainty of his neighbour, Count Ranulf of Alife.
Sources
Norwich, John Julius. The Normans in the South, 1016–1130. London, 1967.
Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Jordan of Ariano” is count of Ariano. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Jordan, Ariano and Count, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “count of Ariano” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1770636. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1127, 1102, 1113 and 1121.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jordan of Ariano”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jordan of Ariano primary sources, Jordan of Ariano archive and Jordan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jordan of Ariano”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jordan of Ariano” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.