GAETA: A NEW ELITE

We have seen in the previous chapter that, despite the upheaval of the mid-eleventh century, a few of the older Gaetan families continued to be prominent after 1032. Although that date is seen as a watershed in the history of the duchy of Gaeta by many writers, it did not signal the end of Docibilan power, which continued to be supported actively by clans such as the Kampuli and Coronellas. However, the instability led to the disappearance of the Christopherii from our documents after 1041, and those whom I identified as a new tenth-century aristocracy patronised by the Docibilans, such as the Gaetani and Mauri, also fared less well. The former disappear after 998, and, whilst members of the Mauri family are present in our documents right up until 1109, they suffered a period away from court between the fall of duke Leo in 1042 and the end of the eleventh century. Even the Kampuli, who may have owed their longevity to their enormous wealth, disappear after 1071.

But the survival of their erstwhile patrons until the 1070s may explain why the Caracci continue to appear in the documents throughout the eleventh century and into the twelfth.