When we first meet Tancred, he was called Tancred de Brionne. This was natural. He was the junior in his family. Brionne was a Barony up river from the Chateau de Bucy. His father had died, and his mother was so grief-stricken that she entered the nunnery at Bayeux, a not uncommon practice in that time. His eldest brother ruled Brionne with a rod of iron. Unlike Tancred he was rude, crude, and totally disrespectful to the Duke, despite the fact that their father had been a half-brother. Later history indicated that this ill-will would not augur well for the House of Brionne. In the meantime, Tancred, who was Baron Michel's "half-nephew", had turned out to be a most exemplary Knight. He was rewarded for his loyalty by being given the Barony of Hauteville, near Coutances, the former holdings of a certain disreputable family, the House of d'Arques. But to prove his loyalty to the Duke he first undertakes a pilgrimage to the Holy land, which takes him through the countries of the then known world.
His sons are historical figures, and make their name well-known in Italy and Sicily, where they found the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It is obvious their genes come from a fine stock. For Tancred has been betrothed to Fjorda Solig, the eldest daughter of King Doom and Queen Seraphine, the rulers of the Nordic Kingdom.
He's rather handsome, in a dignified sort of way. He is as tall as King Doom, has closely cropped fair hair, blue eyes and an aquiline nose. He is slow to anger, but decisive and effective when his passions are aroused. He does not have the solid figure of his close friend, Hugh, but he is quite athletic, and excels in horse riding and sword fighting on horseback. His archery is good, not excellent, but he has certain skills in secret oriental martial arts, picked up when an Oriental stopped over at Chateau Bucy for a few months.
Unlike his uncle, Baron Michel de Bucy, he loves fighting, but considers this to be inferior to the pursuit of intellectual dominance. He believes that words are more effective than the sword, but will readily use the sword when words fall on deaf ears. He is a strategist, rather than a tactician, and always looks to the long view.
