ABSTRACT
The administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily had been regarded to be highly specialized and bureaucratized in comparison with other monarchies in medieval Europe, and was treated as one of the most remarkable institutional achievements of that era. This chapter aims to analyse the characteristics and changes of the administration of Count Roger I of Sicily, which has been regarded as the foundation of the administrative system of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. The people shown as witnesses in the documents were by no means the whole entourage of Roger I, or even all of its principal members, but just a part of this important group at a certain time. The land registers and lists of inhabitants became the most significant land administration tools for Roger I, and keeping these documents and revising them became an important duty of the comital government. Muslims or titles of Arabic origin seldom appear in Roger I’s documents.
