the Great Count: Ruggiero I of Sicily . . . "never used the title 'gran conte', great count, which is often ascribed to him in modern literature. It was only after his death that in documents of Roger II he was described as magnus comes ('great count'), although we should remember that magnus can also mean 'the elder' to distinguish Roger I from his son of the same name." (Houben. Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler Between East and West: 23)
Ruggiero of Apulia (1060-1111)
Borsa (Moneybags, Purse): " . . . Named Roger--he was later given the appellation 'Borsa', meaning 'Moneybags', because he reputedly loved nothing more than to count coins. . . ." (Asbridge. The First Crusade: A New History: 59)
Ruggiero Morosini.
Malabranca (the Evil Claw): " . . . In 1296 about seventy-five Venetian ships sailed up the Hellespont without warning. They were led by Ruggiero Morosini, known as Malabranca, the Evil Claw. . . ." (Nicol: 217)
born Rupprecht von der Pfalz
Prince Rupert of Bavaria
Prince Rupert of the Palatinate
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Robber: "Some persons in his own time, who were enemies to the Prince, tried to make out that he was nothing better than a fierce cruel tyrant, and called him, in mockery, Prince Robber instead of Prince Rupert. . . ." (Bushe. Rupert of the Rhine: The History of a Brave Prince: 1)
Robert the Devil (Fr. le Diable): " . . . As a child, Rupert was at times badly behaved, 'fiery, mischievous, and passionate' and earned himself the nickname Robert le Diable, or 'Rupert The Devil'. . . ." (Wikipedia)
the Admiral:
the Brilliant (Phoebus):
the Cavalier:
the Mad Cavalier: "A sobriquet given to Prince Rupert of Bavaria . . . nephew of Charles I of England, and a leader of that king's forces during the civil wars. He was remarkable for his rash courage and impetuosity, and his impatience of control and advice." (Wheeler. An Explanatory and Pronouncing Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction: 225)
the Seamen's Friend: "That the prince took a kindly interest in the welfare of the seamen under his command, and generally throughout the fleet, is shown by his having been called 'the seamen's friend.'" (Gower. Rupert of the Rhine: 122)
Klem, Clem (Smith's Vise):
--" . . . Elizabeth's husband was the only son then living of Rupert II, and should be called Rupert III.; he was further distinguished from his father, and his granduncle the Elector, by the surname of ' Clem,' which has caused some authors to speak of him as ' Clement.' Various meanings have indeed been assigned to this appellation; one account is that it really meant 'clement,' and was given to the Prince on account of his mild and amiable disposition; but this is very uncertain, since others assert that it was an old German word signifying ' firm,' or ' the Pincher;' while not a few writers consider ' clem' to be a mistaken version of 'klain,' or 'klein,' 'the Little;' from which it may be inferred that Rupert was not a man of lofty stature." (Higgins: 250)
--Rupert of the Pfalz proved a highly respectable Kaiser; lasted for ten years (1400-10), with honor to himself and the Reich. A strong heart, strong head, but short of means. He chastised petty mutiny with vigor, could not bring down the Milanese Visconti, who had perched themselves so high on money paid to Wenzel; could not heal the schism of the Church (double or triple Pope, Rome-Avignon affair), or awaken the Reich to a sense of its old dignity and present loose condition. In the late loose times, as antiquaries remark, most members of the Empire, petty princes even and imperial towns, had been struggling to set up for themselves; and were now concerned chiefly to become sovereign in their own territories. And Schilter informs us it was about this period that most of them attained such rather unblessed consummation; Rupert of himself not able to help it, with all his willingness. The people called him "Rupert Klemm (Rupert Smith's-vise)," from his resolute ways; which nickname - given him not in hatred, but partly in satirical good-will - is itself a kind of history. From historians of the Reich he deserves honorable regretful mention." (Carlyle)
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