Kingdom of the Lombards - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Kingdom of the Lombards or Lombard Kingdom (Regnum Langobardorum in Latin) was an early medieval

Early Middle Ages

The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

state, with its capital in Pavia

Pavia

Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

, established by the Lombards

Lombards

The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

on the Italian Peninsula

Italian Peninsula

The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...

between 568

568

Year 568 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 568 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* April 1 – King Alboin leads the Lombards...

-569

569

Year 569 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 569 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The King of the Garamantes signs...

(invasion of Italy) and 774

774

Year 774 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 774 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Charlemagne conquers the kingdom of the...

(fall of the kingdom at the hands of the Franks

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

led by Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

).
Effective control by the rulers of both the major areas that constituted the kingdom, Langobardia major

Langobardia Major

Langobardia Major was the name that, in the Early Middle Ages, was given to the domains of the Lombard Kingdom in Northern Italy. It comprised Lombardy proper with its capital Pavia, the Duchies of Friuli and Trent as well as the Tuscany region. In the south it was confined by the Patrimonium...

in northern-central Italy and Langobardia Minor

Langobardia Minor

Langobardia Minor was the name that, in early Middle Ages, was given to the Lombard dominion in central-southern Italy, corresponding to the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento...

in the south, was not constant during the two centuries of life of the kingdom; from an initial phase of strong autonomy for the many duchies that constituted it, it developed over time an ever greater authority of the sovereign, even if the dukes' drive for autonomy was never fully harnessed and its Lombard character gradually evaporated and evolved into the Kingdom of Italy. The Lombards gradually adopted Roman titles, names, and traditions, and partially converted to orthodoxy (7th century), though not without a long series of religious and ethnic conflicts. By the time Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...

was writing in the 8th century, the Lombard language, dress and even hairstyles had all disappeared.

The foundation of the kingdom

In the 6th Century, Emperor Justinian's attempted to reassert Imperial authority in the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

. In the resulting Gothic War, Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

hopes of an early and easy triumph evolved into a long war of attrition

War of Attrition

The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been...

that brought mass dislocation, destruction of property, famine (538-542) and plague (541). The eventual Imperial victory proved in part pyrrhic

Pyrrhic victory

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...

, as the population of Italy crashed, leaving the reacquired territories underpopulated and impoverished. Although an invasion attempt by the Franks, allies of the Ostrogoths in the late war, was repelled, migration by the Lombards, a people that had been previously allied with the Empire, quickly overwhelmed the small Byzantine army left by Narses

Narses

Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....

to guard Italy.

The Lombard arrival broke the political unity of the Italian peninsula

Geography of Italy

Italy is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, the land between the peninsula and the Alps, and a number of islands including Sicily and Sardinia . Its total area is , of which is land and...

for the first time since the Roman conquest (3rd-2nd centuries BCE). The peninsula was now torn between the Lombards and Byzantines, with boundaries which changed over time given the nature of the Lombard settlement and fluctuations in power.

The newcomers were apportioned among Langobardia Maior (northern Italy gravitating around the capital of the kingdom, Ticinum

Ticinum

Ticinum was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name a little way above its confluence with the Padus ....

- today Pavia

Pavia

-, hence the name of today's region Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

) and Langobardia Minor (the duchies of Spoleto

Duchy of Spoleto

The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...

and Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically...

), while the territories which remained under Byzantine control were called "Romania" (hence the name of today's region Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

) and had its fulcrum the Exarchate of Ravenna

Exarchate of Ravenna

The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...

.
Arriving in Italy, Alboin

Alboin

Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...

gave control of the Eastern Alps

Eastern Alps

Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of the Splügen Pass in eastern Switzerland. North of the Splügen Pass, the Posterior Rhine forms the border, and south of the pass, the Liro river and Lake Como form the boundary line.-Geography:The...

to one of his most trusted lieutenants, Gisulf

Gisulf I of Friuli

Gisulf I was probably the first duke of Friuli , a nephew of Alboin, first king of the Lombards in Italy. Alboin appointed him duke around 569 after the Lombard conquest of the region, though some scholars believe he appointed Gisulf's father, his brother, Grasulf, duke.Before this, Gisulf had been...

, who became the first Duke of Friuli

Duke of Friuli

The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy and March of Friuli in the Middle Ages.The dates given below, when contentious, are discussed in the articles of the respective dukes.-Lombard dukes:* 568–c.584 Grasulf I...

. The duchy, established in Cividale del Friuli

Cividale del Friuli

-External links:*...

(then Forum Iulii), always fighting with the foreign population which faced the Gorizia

Gorizia

Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...

threshold,. Until the reign of Liutprand

Liutprand, King of the Lombards

Liutprand was the King of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his Donation of Sutri, in 728, and his long reign, which brought him into a series of conflicts, mostly successful, with most of Italy. He profited by Byzantine weakness to enlarge his domains in Emilia and the...

, the duchy held greater autonomy in relation to other duchies of Langobardia Maior, justified by its exceptional military needs.

Later other Duchies were created in major cities of the kingdom: the solution was dictated primarily by military needs (the Dukes

Duke (Lombard)

Among the Lombards, the duke or dux was the man who act as political and military commander of a set of "military families" , irrespective of any territorial appropriation.-Etymology:...

were first of all commanders, tasked to secure control of territory and guard it against possible counter-attacks), but sowed the seeds of the structural weakness of Lombard royal power.

In 572

572

Year 572 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 572 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Byzantine Empire begins a war...

, after the capitulation of Pavia

Pavia

, and his elevation to the royal capital, Alboin

Alboin

Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...

fell victim to a conspiracy in Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

by his wife Rosamund, in league with some warriors Gepidae and Lombards. The Lombard aristocracy, however, did not endorse the assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

and forced Rosamund to flee to the Byzantines, in Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

Cleph and the Rule of the Dukes

Later in 572, the thirty-five dukes assembled in Pavia hailed king Cleph

Cleph

Cleph was king of the Lombards from 572 or 573 to 574 or 575.He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood. He was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain control of the peninsula...

. The new monarch extended the boundaries of the kingdom, completing the conquest of Tuscia

Tuscia

Tuscia is a historical region of Italy that comprised the southern territories under Etruscan influence. While it later came to coincide with today’s province of Viterbo, it was originally much larger, including the whole Region of Tuscany, a great part of Umbria and the northern parts of...

and laying siege to Ravenna. Cleph tried to consistently pursue the policy of Alboin, which aimed to break the legal-administrative institutions firmly established during Ostrogoth

Ostrogoth

The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy....

and Byzantine rule, by eliminating much of Latin aristocracy, occupying the lands and acquiring the assets. He too, however, in 574

574

Year 574 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 574 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Emperor Justin II retires,...

fell victim of a regicide, slain by a man of his entourage, perhaps instigated by the Byzantines.

Following Cleph's assassination another king was not appointed, and for a decade dukes ruled as absolute monarchs in their duchies

Lombard duchies

The Lombard duchies were the main political organizations created by the Lombards in Italy.After the invasion led by Alboin in 568-569 the conquered territory was divided in a primarily military manner and assigned to those who, among the nobles Lombards, had proved themselves in combat: the dukes,...

, not without internal struggles (Rule of the Dukes

Rule of the Dukes

The Rule of the Dukes was an interregnum in the Lombard Kingdom of Italy during which Italy was ruled by the Lombard dukes of the old Roman provinces and urban centres...

or of anarchy). At this stage, the occupation of the dukes was simply the heads of the various fare of the Lombard people; not yet firmly associated with the cities, they simply acted independently, also because they were under pressure of the warriors nominally under their authority to exploit the still largely possibility of loot. This unstable situation, which persisted over time, led to the final collapse of the Roman-Italic political-administrative structure, which was almost maintained up to the invasion, so that the same Roman-Italic aristocracy had retained responsibility for civil administration (as exemplified by the likes of Cassiodorus

Cassiodorus

Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...

).

In Italy the Lombards then imposed themselves at first as the dominant caste in place of the pre-existing one, deleted or thrown out. The products of the land were allocated to his Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

subjects that worked it, giving to the Lombards a third (tertia) of crops. The proceeds were not given to individuals but to the fare, which administered them in the halls (a term still used in the Italian toponymy). The economic system of late antiquity

Late Antiquity

Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...

, which focused on large estates

Latifundia

Latifundia are pieces of property covering very large land areas. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates, specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, olive oil, or wine...

worked by peasants in semi-servile condition, was not revolutionized, but modified only to benefit the new rulers.

The final settlement: Autari, Agilulf and Theudelinda

After ten years of interregnum, the need for a strong centralized monarchy was clear even to the most independent of the dukes; Franks

Franks

and Byzantines pressed and the Lombards could no longer afford a too fluid power structure, useful only to make forays in search of plunder. In 584

584

Year 584 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 584 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Fourth Turkic khagan Taspar dies. Interregnum...

the dukes agreed to crown king Cleph's son, Autari, and delivered to the new monarch half of their property (and then probably getting even with a new crackdown against the surviving Roman property land). Autari was then able to engage in the reorganization of the Lombards and their settlement in stable form in Italy. He assumed, like the Ostrogoth Kings, the title of Flavio, with which he intended to proclaim himself also protector of all Romans

Ancient Rome

on its territory: it was a clear call, with anti-Byzantine overtones, to the heritage of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

.

From the military point of view, Autari defeated both the Byzantines and Franks and broke the coalition, thereby fulfilling the mandate which the dukes themselves had entrusted him at the time of his election. In 585

585

Year 585 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 585 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* The Suebi kingdom on the Iberian peninsula...

he drove the Franks into modern Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

and led the Byzantines to ask, for the first time since the Lombards had entered Italy, for a truce. At the end, occupied the last Byzantine stronghold in northern Italy: Isola Comacina

Isola Comacina

Isola Comacina is a small wooded island of Italy’s Lake Como, administratively a part of the commune of Ossuccio. It is located close to the western shore of the Como arm of the lake in front of a gulf known as Zoca de l'oli, a dialectal name referring to the local small-scale production of olive...

in Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

. To ensure a stable peace with the Franks, Autari attempted to marry a Frankish princess, but the project failed. Then the king, in a move that would influence the fate of the kingdom for more than a century, turned to the traditional enemies of the Franks, the Bavarii

Bavarii

The Bavarii were a Germanic tribe whose name emerged late in Teutonic tribal times. The full name originally was the Germanic *baio-warioz. This name has been handed down as Baiwaren, Baioaren, Bioras, latinised Bavarii, Baioarii. or Bavarii, Bavarians, Bajuwaren, Bajuvarii, Bajuwaren and Baiern....

, to marry a princess, Theodelinda

Theodelinda

Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, was the daughter of duke Garibald I of Bavaria.She was married first in 588 to Authari, king of the Lombards, son of king Cleph. Authari died in 590. Theodelinda was allowed to pick Agilulf as her next husband and Authari's successor in 591...

, which is more blood was Lethings

Lethings

The Lethings were a dynasty of Lombard kings ruling in the 5th and 6th centuries until 546. They were the first Lombard royal dynasty and represent the emergence of the Lombard rulership out of obscurity and into history....

(i.e. descended from Wacho

Wacho

Wacho was king of the Lombards before they entered Italy from an unknown date until his death in 539. His father was Unichis. Wacho usurped the throne by assassinating his uncle, King Tato . Tato's son Ildchis fought with him and fled to the Gepids where he died...

, king of the Lombards between 510

510

Year 510 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severinus without colleague...

and 540

540

Year 540 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus without colleague...

and a figure surrounded by an aura of legend, a member of a royal line of great ascendency over the Lombards). The alliance with the Bavarii led to a rapprochement between Franks and Byzantines, but Autari managed (in 588

588

Year 588 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 588 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Guaram becomes prince of Iberia.-...

and again, despite some severe early setbacks, in the 590

590

Year 590 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 590 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Summer – Maurice agrees to...

) to repel the Frankish attacks. The period of Autari marked, according to Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...

, the attainment of a first internal stability to the Lombard kingdom:
Autari died in that same 590

590

, probably due to poisoneing in a palace plot

Conspiracy (political)

In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....

and, according to the legend recorded by Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...

, the succession to the throne was decided in a novel fashion. It was the young widowed Queen Theodelinda, a Bavarii of Lething descent, to choose the heir to the throne and her new husband: the Duke of Turin, Agilulf

Agilulf

Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death.-Biography:A relative of his predecessor Authari, he was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married...

. The following year (591

591

Year 591 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 591 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Agilulf marries Theodelinda and becomes king...

) Agilulf received the official investiture from the Assembly of the Lombards

Gairethinx

The gairethinx was a Lombard ceremony in which edicts and laws were affirmed by the army. It may have involved the entire army banging their spears on their shields. It may have been a much quieter event....

, held in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. The influence of the queen over Agilulf's policies was remarkable and major decisions are attributed to both.
After a rebellion among some dukes in 594

594

Year 594 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 594 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Byzantine Emperor Maurice disposes...

was nipped in the bud, Agilulf and Theodelinda developed a policy of strengthening their hold of Italian territory, while securing their borders through peace treaties with France and the Avars. The truce with the Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

s was systematically violated and the decade up to 603

603

Year 603 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Battle of Degsastan: Æthelfrith of Bernicia...

was marked by a marked recovery of the Lombard advance. In northern Italy Agilulf occupied, among other cities, Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

, Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

, Padova, Monselice

Monselice

Monselice is a town and municipality located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua.It is about 20 km southeast of the city of Padua, at the southern edge of the Euganean Hills .-History:...

, Este

Este

The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...

, Cremona

Cremona

Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...

and Mantua

Mantua

Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

, but also to the south the duchies of Spoleto

Duchy of Spoleto

and Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

, extending the Lombards' domains.

The strengthening of royal powers, started by Autari and continued by Agilulf, also marked the transition to a new concept based on stable territorial division of the kingdom into Duchies. Each duchy was led by a Duke

Duke (Lombard)

Among the Lombards, the duke or dux was the man who act as political and military commander of a set of "military families" , irrespective of any territorial appropriation.-Etymology:...

, not just the head of a fara but also a royal official, depositary of public powers. The locations of the duchies were established in strategically important centers, thus further the development of many urban centers placed along the main communication routes of the time (Cividale del Friuli

Cividale del Friuli

-External links:*...

, Treviso

Treviso

Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

, Trento

Trento

Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

, Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Verona

Verona

, Bergamo

Bergamo

Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...

, Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

, Ivrea

Ivrea

Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...

, Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

). In the management of public power dukes were joined by minor officials, these the sculdahis and the gastald

Gastald

A gastald was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne with civil, martial, and judicial powers. By the Edictum Rothari of 643, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the reeves the like authority in the countryside...

.

The new organization of power, less linked to race and Clan

Clan

A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

relations and more to land management, marked a milestone in the consolidation of the Lombard kingdom in Italy, which gradually lost the character of a pure military occupation and approached a more proper state model. The inclusion of the losers (the Romans) was an inevitable step, and Agilulf made some symbolic choices aimed at the same time in strengthening its power and to credit it with the people of Latin descent. The ceremony of association to the throne of her son Adaloald

Adaloald

Adaloald was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. Son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda, he was baptised shortly after his birth in 602. He was an associate king, raised on the shield by the warriors at his father's request, when still young...

in 604

604

Year 604 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Sassanids destroy the...

, followed a Byzantine rite, chose as the capital no longer Pavia

Pavia

, but the ancient Roman city of Milan

Milan

and Monza

Monza

Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...

as a summer residence; identified himself, in a votive crown

Votive crown

A votive crown is a votive offering in the form of a crown, normally in precious metals and often adorned with jewels. Especially in the Early Middle Ages, they are of a special form, designed to be suspended by chains at an altar, shrine or image...

, Gratia Dei rex totius Italiae ("By the grace of God king of all Italy," and not just Langobardorum rex, "King of the Lombards").

Moves in this direction also the strong pressure, particularly from Theodelinda, of turning toward the conversion of the Lombards to Catholicism, until then still largely pagan

Paganism

Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....

or Arians

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...

. The rulers also endeavored to heal the Three Chapter schism (where the Patriarch of Aquileia

Patriarch of Aquileia

The Patriarch of Aquileia was an office in the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a temporal state in Northern Italy. The Patriarchate of Aquileia as a church office was suppressed in 1752....

had broken communion with Rome), maintained a direct relationship with Gregory the Great

Pope Gregory I

Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...

(preserved in correspondence between him and Theodelinda) and promote the establishment of monasteries, like the one founded by Saint Columbanus in Bobbio

Bobbio Abbey

Bobbio Abbey is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus...

.

Even art enjoyed, under Agilulf and Theodelinda, a flourishing season. In architecture Theodelinda founded the Basilica of St. John and the Royal Palace of Monza

Monza

, while some masterpieces in gold were created such as Agilulf Cross, the hen with chicks, the Theodelinda Gospels and the famous Iron Crown

Iron Crown of Lombardy

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy...

The revival of the Arians: Arioald, Rotari

After death of Agilulf

Agilulf

, in 616

616

Year 616 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 616 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Eadbald succeeds Ethelbert as king of Kent.*...

, the throne passed to his son Adaloald

Adaloald

, a minor. The regency (which in fact continued even after the release of King from minority) was exercised by the Queen Mother Theodelinda, who gave the military command to the Duke Sundarit. Theodelinda continued Agilulf's pro-Catholic policy and peace with the Byzantines, however, this caused an ever stronger opposition from the warrior and Arian

Arian

Arian may refer to:* Arius, a Christian presbyter in the 3rd and 4th century* a given name in different cultures: Aria, Aryan or Arian...

component of the Lombards. Conflict broke out in 624

624

Year 624 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 624 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* After 70 years of Byzantine rule,...

and was led by Arioald

Arioald

Arioald was the Lombard king of Italy from 626 to 636. Duke of Turin, he married the princess Gundeberga, daughter of King Agilulf and his queen Theodelinda. He was, unlike his father-in-law, an Arian who did not accept Catholicism....

, Duke of Turin and Adaloald's brother in law (he married his sister Gundeperga). Adaloald was deposed in 625

625

Year 625 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 625 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Religion :* March 23 – Battle of Uhud Year 625...

and Arioald became king.
The "coup d’etat" against the Bavarian dynasty

Bavarian Dynasty

The Bavarian dynasty was those kings of the Lombards who were descended from Garibald I, the Agilolfing duke of Bavaria. They came to rule the Lombards through Garibald's daughter Theodelinda, who married the Lombard king Authari in 588...

of Adaloald and Theodelinda, which led Arioald to the throne, opened a season of conflict between the two religious components of the realm. Behind or beside the choice of faith, however, the conflict had political colourings, as it opposed the architects of a policy of peace with Byzantium and the Papacy

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

and integration with the Romans to the proponents of a more aggressive and expansionist policy (Arian

Arianism

nobility). The kingdom of Arioald (626

626

Year 626 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 626 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* August 7 – The Byzantines...

-636

636

Year 636 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 636 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* August 20 – Battle of Yarmuk:...

), which brought the capital back to Pavia, he was troubled by these conflicts, as well as from external threats; the King was able to withstand an attack of the Avars in Friuli

Friuli

Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

, but not to limit the growing influence of the Franks in the kingdom. At his death, the legend says that, with identical procedure to that followed with his mother Teodolinda, Queen Gundeperga had the privilege to choose her new husband and king. The choice fell on Rotari

Rotari

Rotari may refer to:* Rotari, Transnistria, a commune in Moldova* Rotari, a village in Ceptura Commune, Prahova County, Romania* Rotari, a village in Puieşti Commune, Vaslui County, Romania* Pietro Rotari , Italian painter of the Baroque period...

, also duke of Brescia and Arian.

Rotari reigned from 636

636

to 652

652

Year 652 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 652 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Africa :* Second Battle of Dongola between Makuria and...

, and led numerous military campaigns, which brought almost all of northern Italy under the rule of the Lombard kingdom. He conquered Liguria (643

643

Year 643 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 643 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Pirooz, the son of the last Sassanid king...

), including the capital Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Luni

Luni, Italy

Luni is a frazione of the comune of Ortonovo, province of La Spezia, in the easternmost end of the Liguria region of northern Italy...

, and Oderzo

Oderzo

Oderzo is a town and comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy.It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about 66 km to the northeast of Venice...

, however not even a landslide victory over the Byzantine Exarch of Ravenna, defeated and killed along with his eight thousand men at the River Panaro

Panaro

The Panaro is an Italian river and the final right-hand tributary to the Po, discounting the Cavo Napoleonico canal. It runs right across Emilia-Romagna in a north-easterly direction: from its source close to the Apennine watershed, where Emilia-Romagna meets Tuscany, to its outlet where the Po...

, succeeded in forcing the Exarchate to submit to the Lombards.
Internally, Rotari strengthened the central power at the expense of the duchies of Langobardia Maior, while in the south the Duke of Benevento Arechi I

Arechis I of Benevento

Arechis I was the second duke of Benevento from 591 to his death in 641, a reign of half a century. He was from Friuli and was a relative of the dukes there, maybe a nephew of Zotto, his predecessor. He was appointed by King Agilulf in the spring of 591, after Zotto's death...

(who in turn was expanding Lombard domains) also recognized the authority of King of Pavia.

The memory of Rotari is linked to the famous edict

Edictum Rothari

The Edictum Rothari was the first written compilation of Lombard law, codified and promulgated 22 November 643 by King Rothari. The custom of the Lombards, according to Paul the Deacon, the Lombard historian, had been held in memory before this...

, promulgated in 643

643

, and written in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, although it was only designed for the Lombards, under the principle of personality of the law. The Romans were still subject to Roman law

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

. The Edict consolidated and codified Germanic

Germanic peoples

The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...

rules and customs

Early Germanic law

Several Latin law codes of the Germanic peoples written in the Early Middle Ages survive, dating to between the 5th and 9th centuries...

, but also introduced significant innovations, a sign of progress of Latin influence on the Lombards uses. The edict forbade the feud

Feud

A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...

(private revenge) in favor of weregild

Weregild

Weregild was a value placed on every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code...

(financial compensation) and also contained drastic restrictions on the use of the death penalty.

The Bavarian dynasty

After the short reign of the son of Rotari, Rodoald

Rodoald

Rodoald was a Lombard king of Italy, who succeeded his father Rothari on the throne in 652. He was said to be lecherous and he was assassinated after a reign of just six months in 653 by the husband of one of his lovers. Aripert, a rival claimant was elected with the support of the Catholic...

(652

652

-653

653

Year 653 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 653 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Sigeberht II the Good succeeds Sigeberht I...

), the dukes elected king Aripert I

Aripert I

Aripert I was king of the Lombards in Italy. He was the son of Gundoald, duke of Asti, who had crossed the Alps from Bavaria with his sister Theodelinda. As a relative of the Bavarian ducal house, his was called the Bavarian Dynasty.He was the first Roman Catholic king of the Lombards, elected...

, Duke of Asti and grandson of Theodolinda. So returned to the throne the Bavarian dynasty, a sign of the dominance of the Catholic faction over the Arian one; the kingdom of Aripert was known for the heavy repression of Arianism. At his death (661

661

Year 661 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 661 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Perctarit and Godepert become co-rulers of...

) Aripert’s will divided the kingdom between his two sons, Perctarit

Perctarit

Perctarit was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 the first time and later from 671 to 688. He was the son and successor of Aripert I. He shared power with his brother Godepert. He was a Catholic, Godepert an Arian. He ruled from Milan, Godepert from Pavia...

and Godepert

Godepert

Godepert was king of the Lombards , eldest son and successor of Aripert I. He was an Arian who governed from the ancient capital, Pavia, while his brother, Perctarit, a Roman Catholic, governed from Milan...

. The procedure was common among the Franks, but remained a unique case among the Lombards. Perhaps because the partition entered immediately into crisis: a conflict broke out between Perctarit, based in Milan

Milan

, and Godepert, who remained in Pavia

Pavia

, which also involved the Duke of Benevento, Grimoald

Grimoald

Grimoald, Grimald, Grimoart, Grimwald, Grimuald, or Grimbald is a Germanic given name that may refer to:*Grimoald I of Benevento, duke of Benevento and king of the Lombards...

. The duke intervened with substantial military force to support Godepert, but as soon as he arrived in Pavia, he killed the king and took his place. Perctarit, clearly in inferiority, fled to the Avars.

Grimoald obtained the investiture of the Lombard nobles, but still had to deal with the legitimate faction, which tied international alliances to bring the throne Perctarit. Grimoald obtained from the Avars and the return of the deposed ruler and Perctarit, as soon as he returned to Italy, had to make an act of submission to the usurper before he could escape to the Franks of Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...

, who in 663

663

Year 663 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 663 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Byzantine Emperor Constans II...

attacked Grimoald. The new king, hated by Neustria because he was allied with the Franks of Austrasia

Austrasia

Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...

, repelled them in Refrancore

Refrancore

Refrancore is a village and comune in the northwestern Italian province of Asti in the Piedmont region, located some 13 km east of Asti in the Basso Monferrato...

, near Asti

Asti

Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...

, and remained on his throne.

Grimoald, who in 663

663

had also defeated an attempt to reconquer Italy by the Byzantine Emperor

Basileus

Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine Emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of...

Constans II, exercised his sovereign powers with a fullness never attained by his predecessors. At the fidelity of his Duchy of Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

entrusted to his son Romuald

Romuald I of Benevento

Romuald I , duke of Benevento was the son of Grimoald, king of the Lombards. He received Benevento when his father usurped the throne in 662. Grimoald sent the deposed king Perctarit's wife Rodelinde and son Cunincpert to the court of his son in Benevento.Romuald betrothed his sister Gisa to...

, added that the duchies of Spoleto and Friuli, where he imposed dukes loyal to him. He favoured the integration of the different components of the kingdom, and presented his subjects with an image modeled on that of his predecessor Rotari, at the same time that of wise legislator (Grimoald added new laws to the Edict

Edictum Rothari

), patron

Patrón

Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...

(built in Pavia a church dedicated to Saint Ambrose) and valiant warrior.

With Grimoald’s death, in 671

671

Year 671 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 671 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Perctarit returns from exile to become...

, Perctarit

Perctarit

returned from exile and ended the ephemeral realm of Garibald

Garibald

Garibald was the young son of Grimoald I of Benevento, king of the Lombards, and Theodota, daughter of Aripert I. After his father's death in 671, he reigned briefly for three months until the numerous adherents of Perctarit, his uncle, who had been exiled by Grimoald nine years earlier, beseeched...

, the son of Grimoald and still a child. He immediately came to an agreement with Grimoald's other son, Romualdo I of Benevento, who pledged loyalty in exchange for recognition of the autonomy of his duchy. Perctarit developed a policy in line with the tradition of his dynasty and supported the Catholic Church against Arianism and members to Three-Chapter Controversy. He sought and achieved peace with the Byzantines, who acknowledged Lombard sovereignty over most of Italy, and repressed the rebellion of the Duke of Trent, Alahis

Alahis

Alahis was the Arian duke of Trent and Brescia before becoming king of the Lombards after his successful rebellion in 688. He did not rule long, however....

, although at the cost of hard territorial concessions (the duke himself also obtained for the Duchy of Brescia).

Alahis again rose up, joining with the political opponents of the pro-Catholic Bavarian policy, at Perctarit's death in 688

688

Year 688 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 688 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Emperor Justinian II of the Byzantine...

. His son and successor Cunipert

Cunipert

Cunipert was king of the Lombards from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 678....

was initially defeated and forced to take refuge on the isola Comacina

Isola Comacina

- only in 689

689

Year 689 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 689 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Battle of Coronate: The army of Cunincpert,...

did he manage to control the rebellion, defeating and killing Alahis in the battle of Coronate

Battle of Coronate

The Battle of Coronate took place in 689, after King Cunicpert returned from exile and ousted Alahis, Usurper King and Duke of Trent, from the capital Pavia.Duke Alahis, fled towards the east, into Austria. There he asssembled an army to march against the king...

at the Adda

Adda

Adda can refer to:*Adda in Italy.*River Adda in Wales.*Adda , a concept/slang in South Asia, especial Bengal, also Addabazi.*Adda , an archaeological site in Nigeria.*Adda Corporation, a Taiwanese fan manufacturer....

. The crisis resulted from the divergence between the two regions of Langobardia Maior: on one side the western regions (Neustria

Neustria (Lombard)

Neustria was, according to the early medieval geographical classification, the western portion of Langobardia Major, the north-central part of the Lombard Kingdom, extended from the Adda to the Western Alps and opposed to Austria...

), loyal to the Bavarian rulers, pro-Catholic and supporters of the policy of reconciliation with Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

and Byzantium; on the other side the eastern part (Austria

Austria (Lombard)

Austria was, according to the early medieval geographical classification, the eastern portion of Langobardia Major, the north-central part of the Lombard Kingdom, extended from the Adda to Friuli and opposite to Neustria...

), linked to the Lombard tradition that, after accession to paganism and Arianism, didn’t want to resign himself to a mitigation of the warlike character of their people. The branch of the dukes of Austria challenged the increasing "latinization" of customs, court practices, law and religion, which accelerated the disintegration and loss of Germanic identity of the Lombard people. However, the victory allowed Cuniperto, already long associated with the throne by his father and not a secondary actor of his policy, to continue the work of pacification of the kingdom, always with a pro-Catholic accent. A synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

convened in Pavia

Pavia

in 698

698

Year 698 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 698 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Spring–summer –...

, sanctioned the reabsorption of the Three-Chapter Controversy, with the return of the schismatic to Roman obedience.

The dynastic crisis

Cunipert

Cunipert was king of the Lombards from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 678....

's death in 700

700

Year 700 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 700 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- North America :* The Mount Edziza volcanic complex...

, marked the opening of a dynastic crisis. The ascent to the throne of the minor son of Cunipert, Liutpert

Liutpert

Liutpert was the Lombard king of Italy from 700 and to 702, with interruption. Upon succeeding his father, King Cunincpert, at a young age, he ruled together with his tutor, Ansprand, the duke of Asti...

, was immediately challenged by the Duke of Turin, Raginpert

Raginpert

Raginpert was the Duke of Turin and then King of the Lombards briefly in 701. He was the son of Godepert and grandson of Aripert I. He usurped the throne in 701 and removed Liutpert, his grandnephew, putting his son Aripert in line for the succession...

, also leader of the Bavarian dynasty. Raginpert defeated in Novara

Novara

Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...

the supporters of Liutpert (his tutor Ansprand

Ansprand

Ansprand was king of the Lombards briefly in 712. Before that he was the duke of Asti and regent during the minority of Liutpert . He was defeated at Novara by Raginpert and exiled during the subsequent war over the succession, fleeing to the court of Theudebert, duke of Bavaria, in 702.In 711,...

, Duke of Asti, and the Duke of Bergamo, Rotarit

Rotarit

Rotarit was a Lombard duke, the last Duke of Bergamo.In 700, fighting broke out over the succession of the just disappeared king, Cunipert , Rotarit stood in favor of his son, Liutpert, who was still underage, and his tutor Ansprand...

) and the beginning of 701

701

Year 701 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 701 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Wittiza succeeds his grandfather Ergica as...

, succeeded to the throne. However, he died after just eight months, leaving the throne to his son Aripert II

Aripert II

Aripert II was the king of the Lombards from 701 to 712. Duke of Turin and son of King Raginpert, and thus a scion of the Bavarian Dynasty, he was associated with the throne as early as 700. He was removed by Liutpert, who reigned from 700 to 702, with the exception of the year 701, when...

; Ansprand and Rotarit reacted immediately and imprisoned Aripert, returning the throne to Liutpert. Aripert, in turn, managed to escape and meet with the tutors of his antagonist. In 702

702

Year 702 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 702 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Franconian Duke Hetan II completes the...

he defeated them in Pavia, imprisoned Liutpert and occupied the throne. Shortly after, he finally defeated the opposition: he killed Rotarit, suppressed his duchy and drowned Liutpert. Only Ansprand managed to escape, taking refuge in Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

. Subsequently Aripert crushed a new rebellion, that of the Duke of Friuli

Duke of Friuli

, Corvulus

Corvulus of Friuli

Corvulus was the Duke of Friuli for a brief spell in the early eighth century . He replaced Ferdulf, but he offended King Aripert II and was arrested and his eyes gouged out. He lived in obscurity and shame thereafter, according to Paul the Deacon. He was replaced by Pemmo.-Sources:*Paul the...

, and was able to develop a policy of appeasement, always favouring the Catholic element in the kingdom.

In 712

712

Year 712 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 712 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Ansprand succeeds Aripert as king of the...

Ansprand returned to Italy with an army raised in Bavaria, and clashed with Aripert; the battle was uncertain, but the king gave proof of cowardice and was abandoned by his supporters .
He died while trying to escape to the realm of the Franks

Franks

, and drowned in the Ticino

Ticino

Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...

, where he sank due to the weight of gold that he brought with him . With him ended the presence of the Bavarian dynasty on the throne of the Lombards.

Liutprand: the apogee of the reign

Ansprand died after only three months of his reign, leaving the throne to his son Liutprand

Liutprand, King of the Lombards

. His reign, the longest of all those Lombards in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, was characterized by the almost religious admiration that was accorded to the king by his people, who recognized in him boldness, courage and political vision; Thanks to these qualities Liutprand survived a two attempts on his life (one organized by one of his relatives, Rotari), and he displayed no inferior qualities in the conduct of the many wars of his long reign. These values are typical of Liutprand German descent, king of a nation now overwhelmingly Catholic, joined by those of a ’’piissimus rex’’ (despite having tried several times to take control of Rome

Rome

). On two occasions, in Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

and in the region of Arles

Arles

Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....

(where he had been called by his ally Charles Martel

Charles Martel

Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...

) he successfully fought Saracen

Saracen

Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

pirates, enhancing his reputation as a Christian king.

His alliance with the Franks

Franks

, crowned by a symbolic adoption

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

of the young Pepin the Short, and with the Avars, on the eastern borders, allowed him to keep his hand relatively free in the Italian theater, but he soon came to a clash with the Byzantines and with the Papacy. A first attempt to take advantage of an Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

offensive against Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, in 717

717

Year 717 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 717 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* March 21 – The Battle of Vincy is...

, achieved few results; to draw closer to the papacy had therefore wait for the outbreak of tensions caused by the worsening of the Byzantine tax and the expedition in 724

724

Year 724 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 724 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Emperor Shōmu succeeds Empress Genshō on the...

conducted by the Exarch of Ravenna to destitute the rebel Pope Gregory II

Pope Gregory II

Pope Saint Gregory II was pope from May 19, 715 to his death on February 11, 731, succeeding Pope Constantine. Having, it is said, bought off the Lombards for thirty pounds of gold, Charles Martel having refused his call for aid, he used the tranquillity thus obtained for vigorous missionary...

. Later on he exploited the disputes between the pope and Constantinople over iconoclasm

Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

(after the decree of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian

Leo III the Isaurian

Leo III the Isaurian or the Syrian , was Byzantine emperor from 717 until his death in 741...

of 726

726

Year 726 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 726 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Seismic activity in the Mediterranean: The...

) to take possession of many cities of the Exarchate and of the Pentapolis

Duchy of the Pentapolis

In the Byzantine Empire, the Duchy of the Pentapolis was a duchy , a territory ruled by a duke appointed by and under the authority of the Praetorian Prefect of Italy and then the Exarch of Ravenna . The Pentapolis consisted of the cities of Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini and Sinigaglia...

, posing as the protector of Catholics. In order not to antagonize the Pope, he gave up the occupation of the village of Sutri

Sutri

Sutri is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, about 50 km from Rome, and about 30 km south of Viterbo. It is picturesquely situated on a narrow tuff hill, surrounded by ravines, a narrow neck on the west alone connecting it with the surrounding country.thumb|220px|Entrance to the...

; however, Liutprand gave back the city not to the emperor, but to "the apostles Peter and Paul", as Paul the Deacon related in his ‘’Historia Langobardorum’’. This donation, known as the Donation of Sutri

Donation of Sutri

The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand, King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. At Sutri, the two reached an agreement by which the city and some hill towns in Latium were given to the Papacy, "as a gift to the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul" according to...

, provided the legal precedent for attributing a temporal power to the papacy, which finally produced the Papal States

Papal States

.

In the following years, Liutprand entered into an alliance with the Exarch against the pope, without giving up the old one with the Pope against the Exarch; he crowned this classic double play with an offensive that led to the duchies of Spoleto

Duchy of Spoleto

and Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

under his authority, eventually arriving to negotiate a peace between the pope and Exarch beneficial for the Lombards. No Lombard king ever had obtained similar results in wars with other powers on the Italian territory. In 732

732

Year 732 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 732 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* October 10 – Battle of Tours: Near...

his nephew Hildeprand

Hildeprand

Hildeprand the Useless was king of the Lombards in 744 and grandson or nephew of Liutprand. He participated in the siege of Ravenna in 734 with Liutprand, with whom he was associated as king from 737. He began his reign in his own right in January 744, but was deposed by a great council after a...

, who succeeded him on the throne, even briefly succeeded in taking possession of Ravenna

Ravenna

, however he was driven away by the Venetians

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

called shortly after the new pope, Gregory III

Pope Gregory III

Pope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...

.

Liutprand was the last of the Lombard king to count on the unity of his kingdom; after him no king was able to eliminate the opposition and to reign supreme, and indeed many dukes’ defections and the constant betrayals would lead to the ultimate defeat. The strength of his power was based not only on personal charisma, but also on the reorganization of the kingdom which he had undertaken since the early years. He strengthened the chancellery

Chancellery

Chancellery is the office of the chancellor, sometimes also referred to as the chancery. Both of those words have other meanings as well.Chancellery can specifically refer to:...

of the royal palace of Pavia and defined in an organic way the territorial competencies (legal and administrative) of sculdasci, gastald

Gastald

s and dukes

Duke (Lombard)

Among the Lombards, the duke or dux was the man who act as political and military commander of a set of "military families" , irrespective of any territorial appropriation.-Etymology:...

. He was also very active in the legislative field: the twelve volumes of laws enacted by him introduced legal reforms inspired by Roman law

Roman law

, improve the efficiency of the courts, changed the wergild and, above all, protected the weaker sectors of society (minors, women, debtors, slaves ).

Already in the 7th century, the socio-economic structure of the kingdom had been progressively changing. Population growth led to fragmentation of funds, which increased the number of Lombards that fell below the poverty line, as evidenced by the laws aimed to alleviate their difficulties. By contrast, some Romans began to ascend the social ladder, becoming rich through commerce

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

, crafts, the professions or the acquisition of lands that the Germans had not been able to manage profitably. Liutprand intervened also in this process by reforming the administrative structure of the kingdom and freeing the poorest Lombards from military obligations.

The last kings

Hildeprand

’s reign lasted only a few months, then was overthrown by a rebellion led by Duke Ratchis

Ratchis

Ratchis was the Duke of Friuli and King of the Lombards . His father was Duke Pemmo. His Roman wife was Tassia. He ruled in peace until he besieged, for reasons unknown, Perugia. Pope Zachary convinced him to lift the siege and he abdicated and entered, with his family, the abbey of Montecassino...

. The details of the episode are not clear, since the crucial testimony of Paul Deacon

Paul Deacon

Paul Deacon is a retired rugby league footballer. He previously played for Bradford Bulls from 1998 until joining his hometown club Wigan Warriors in 2010...

ended with a eulogy

Eulogy

A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...

on the death of Liutprand. Hildeprand had been anointed king in 737

737

Year 737 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 737 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming"737" is also known as a commonly celebrated phrase in the...

, during a serious illness Liutprand (who did not like at all: "Non aequo animo accepit" wrote Paul Deacon ), although, once recovered, he accepted the choice. The new king, then, at least initially enjoyed the support of most of the aristocracy, if not that of the great monarch. Ratchis, the Duke of Friuli

Duke of Friuli

who took the throne in his place, came from a family with a long tradition of rebellion against the monarchy and rivalry with the royal family, but on the other hand, he owed his life and the ducal title to Liutprand, who had forgiven him after discovering a conspiracy headed by his father, Pemmo of Friuli

Pemmo of Friuli

Pemmo was the Duke of Friuli for twenty six years, from about 705 to his death. He was the son of Billo of Belluno.Pemmo came to the duchy at a time when a recent civil war had ravaged the land. Pemmo raised all the children of the many nobles killed in the war in his own household next to his own...

.

Ratchis was a weak ruler: on one side he had to concede greater freedom of action to the other dukes, on the other extreme he had to take care not to exacerbate the Franks

Franks

and, above all, the mayor of the palace

Mayor of the Palace

Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....

and de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

king Pepin the Short, the adopted son of the king that had dethroned his nephew. Not being able to trust the traditional structures of support for the Lombard monarchy, he sought support among the gasindii, namely the gentry bound to the king by treaties of protection and especially among the Romanians, the non-Lombard subjects. These innovations of ancient costumes, along with public pro-Latin attitudes (he married a Roman woman, Tassia, and with Roman rite; adopted the title of princeps

Princeps

Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person."...

instead of the traditional ‘’rex Langobardorum’’) increasingly alienated the Lombard base which forced him to seek a total change of heart, with a sudden attack to the cities of the Pentapolis

Pentapolis

A pentapolis, from the Greek words , "five" and , "city" is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities...

. The pope, however, convinced him to abandon the siege of Perugia

Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....

. After this failure the prestige of Ratchis collapsed and the dukes elected as the new king his brother Aistulf

Aistulf

Aistulf was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His father was the Duke Pemmo.After his brother Ratchis became king, Aistulf succeeded him in Friuli. He succeeded him later as king when Ratchis abdicated to a monastery...

, who had already succeeded him as duke in Cividale and now, after a short struggle, forced him to flee to Rome

Rome

and finally to become a monk in Monte Cassino.

Aistulf was the political expression of the more aggressive stance of the dukes, who refused an active component of the Romanian population. For his expansionist policy, however, he had to reorganize the army to include, albeit in a subordinate position of light infantry

Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...

, all ethnic groups in the kingdom. To be subject to military obligations were all free men of the kingdom, both those of Romanian and Lombard origin; the military standards promulgated by Aistulf mention several times the merchants, a sign of how the class had now become relevant .
Initially Aistulf achieved some notable successes, culminating in the conquest of Ravenna

Ravenna

(751

751

Year 751 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 751 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pepin the Short is elected as king of the...

); here the king, residing in the Palace of the Exarch

Exarch

In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....

and coining money in Byzantine style, presented his program: to collect under its power all the Romanians until then subject to the emperor, without necessarily merging them with the Lombards. The Exarchate

Exarchate of Ravenna

The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...

was not homologous to other Lombard possessions in Italy (that is it was not converted into a Duchy), but retained its specificity as sedes imperii: this way Aistulf proclaimed himself heir, in the eyes of Italian Romans, of the Byzantine Emperor and of the Exarch, his representative . His campaigns led the Lombards to a near complete domination of Italy

Italy

, with the occupation (750

750

Year 750 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 750 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Gopala is proclaimed as the first ruler of...

-751

751

) also of Istria

Istria

Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

, Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

, Comacchio

Comacchio

Comacchio is a town and comune of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, 48 km from the provincial capital Ferrara.-Geography:...

, and all territories south of Ravenna up to Perugia. With the occupation of the stronghold of Ceccano

Ceccano

Ceccano is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy.-History:The town had its origins as an ancient Volscian citadel that surrendered to the Romans in 424 BC...

he was putting further pressure on the territories controlled by Pope Stephen II

Pope Stephen II

Pope Stephen II was Pope from 752 to 757, succeeding Pope Zachary following the death of Pope-elect Stephen. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy.-Allegiance to Constantinople:...

, while in Langobardia Minor he was able to impose his power on Spoleto and, indirectly, on Benevento.

Just when it seemed Aistulf was now up and running to defeat all opposition on Italian soil, in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

Pepin the Short, the old enemy of the usurpers of Liutprand

Liutprand, King of the Lombards

's family, finally managed to overthrow the Merovingian dynasty, deposing Childeric III

Childeric III

Childeric III was the last King of the Franks in the Merovingian dynasty from 743 to his deposition by Pope Zachary in March 752...

and becoming king also de jure

De jure

De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....

. The support of the papacy was decisive, although negotiations were also underway between Aistulf and the pope (which soon failed), and an attempt was made to weaken Pepin by lobbying against him his brother Carloman.

Because of the threat that this move was for the new king of the Franks

Franks

, an agreement between Pepin and Stephen II settled, in exchange for the formal royal anointing, the descent of the Franks in Italy. In 754

754

Year 754 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 754 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pope Stephen II crowns Pepin the short King...

the Lombard army, deployed in defence of the Locks in Val di Susa, was defeated by the Franks. Aistulf, perched in Pavia

Pavia

, had to accept a treaty that required the delivery of hostages and territorial concessions, but two years later resumed the war against the pope, who in turn called on the Franks. Defeated again, Aistulf had to accept much harsher conditions: Ravenna

Ravenna

was returned not to the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, but to the pope, increasing the core area of the Patrimony of St. Peter; Aistulf had to accept a sort of Frankish protectorate, the loss of territorial continuity of his domains and payment of substantial compensation. The duchies of Spoleto and Benevento were quick to ally themselves with the victors. Aistulf died shortly after this severe humiliation, in 756

756

Year 756 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 756 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pepin the Short defeats the Lombards of...

.

Aistulf's brother Rachis

Rachis

Rachis is a biological term for a main axis or "shaft".-In zoology:In vertebrates a rachis can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the rachis usually form the supporting axis of the body and is then called the spine or vertebral column...

left the monastery and attempted, initially with some success, to return to the throne. He opposed Desiderius

Desiderius

Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...

, who was put in charge of the Duchy of Tuscia by Aistulf and based in Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

; he did not belong to the dynasty of Friuli, frowned upon by the pope and the Franks

Franks

, and managed to get their support. The Lombards surrendered to him to avoid another descent of the Franks and Rachis was persuaded by the Pope to return to Monte Cassino.

Desiderius with a clever and discreet policy gradually reasserted Lombard control over the territory by leveraging on the Romanians again, creating a network of monasteries ruled by Lombard aristocrats (his daughter Anselperga was created abbess of San Salvatore in Brescia

Brescia

), dealing with Pope Stephen II

Pope Stephen II

's successor, pope Paul I

Pope Paul I

Pope Paul I was pope from May 29, 757 to June 28, 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard kings....

, and recognizing the nominal domain on many areas truly in his power, such as reclaimed southern duchies. He also implemented a casual marriage policy, marrying his daughter Liutperga to the Duke of Bavaria, Tassilo

Tassilo III of Bavaria

Tassilo III was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings.Tassilo, then still an infant, began his rule as a Frankish ward under the tutelage of the Merovingian Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short after Tassilo's father, Duke Odilo of Bavaria, had died in 747 and...

(763

763

Year 763 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 763 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Ciniod succeeds Bridei V as king of the...

), historical adversary of the Franks and, at the death of Pepin the Short, by marrying the other daughter Desiderata (who was immortalised in the tragedy Adelchi

Adelchi (tragedy)

Adelchi is the second tragedy written by Alessandro Manzoni. It was first published in 1822.The main character is Adelchi, a Longobard prince torn by the inner conflict between his father Desiderio's will and his own desire for peace....

by Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist.He is famous for the novel The Betrothed , generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature...

as Ermengarde) to the future Charlemagne

Charlemagne

, offering him a useful support in the fight against his brother Carloman.

Despite the changing fortunes of central political power, the 8th century represented the apogee of the reign, also a period of economic prosperity. The ancient society of warriors and subjects had been transformed into a vivid articulation of classes with landowners, artisans, farmers, merchants, lawyers; the era saw great development, including economic, abbeys, notably Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

and expanded 's monetary economics, resulting in the creation of a banking class. After an initial period during which Lombard coinage created only imitation Byzantine coins

Byzantine coinage

Byzantine currency, money used in the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of coins: the gold solidus and a variety of clearly valued bronze coins...

, kings of Pavia developed an independent gold and silver coinage. The duchy of Benevento

Duchy of Benevento

, the most independent of the duchies, also had its own independent currency.

The fall of the kingdom

Just when, in 771

771

Year 771 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 771 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* December 4 – Carloman I, King of the...

, Desiderius

Desiderius

Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...

was about to reap the fruits of his skillful policy by managing to convince the new pope, Stephen II

Pope Stephen II

, to accept his protection, the death of Carloman left freehanded Charlemagne, now firmly on the throne, which repudiated the daughter of Desiderius. The following year a new pope, Adrian I

Pope Adrian I

Pope Adrian was pope from February 1, 772 to December 25, 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.Shortly after Adrian's accession the territory ruled by the papacy was invaded by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and Adrian was compelled to seek the assistance of the Frankish king...

, of the opposite party of Desiderius, reversed the delicate game of alliances, demanding the surrender of the area never ceded by Desiderius and thus bring him to resume the war against the cities of Romagna

Romagna

. Charlemagne, though he had just begun his campaign against the Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

, came to the aid of the pope, fearing the capture of Rome

Rome

by the Lombards and the consequent loss of prestige. Between 773

773

Year 773 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 773 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* At request of the Pope Adrian I, Charlemagne...

and 774

774

he invaded Italy - once again the defence of the Locks was ineffective, the fault on the divisions among the Lombards - and, having prevailed against a tough resistance, captured the capital of the kingdom, Pavia. The son of Desiderius, Adalgis

Adalgis

Adalgis was the son of Desiderius and the prince of the Langobards or Lombardia in Italy. After his father was defeated by Charlemagne in Pavia in 774, Adalgis took refuge in Byzantium...

, found refuge with the Byzantines; Desiderius and his wife were deported in Gaul

Gaul

. Charles then called himself Gratia Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum ( "By the grace of God king of the Franks and the Lombards"), realizing a personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...

of the two kingdoms; he maintained the Leges Langobardorum, but reorganized the kingdom on the Frankish model, with counts in place of dukes.

Historiographical views

The age of the Lombard kingdom was, especially in Italy

Italy

, devalued as a long reign of barbarism in the midst of the "dark ages". A period of confusion and dispersion, marked by the abandoned ruins of a glorious past and still in search of new identity; see, for example, the verses of Manzoni's Adelchi:
Sergio Rovagnati defines the continuing negative prejudice against the Lombards "a sort of damnatio memoriae

Damnatio memoriae

Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State...

", common to that given often to all the protagonists of the barbarian invasions. The most recent historiographical guidelines, however, have largely reassessed the lombard era of the history of Italy

History of Italy

Italy, united in 1861, has significantly contributed to the political, cultural and social development of the entire Mediterranean region. Many cultures and civilizations have existed there since prehistoric times....

. The German historian Jörg Jarnut pointed out all the elements that constitute the historical importance of the Lombard kingdom. The historical bipartition of Italy that has, for centuries, directed the North towards the Central-Western Europe and the south, instead, to the Mediterranean area dates back to the separation between Langobardia Major and Langobardia Minor, while Lombard law conditioned for long time the Italian legal system, so as not to be completely abandoned even after the rediscovery of Roman law

Roman law

, between the 11th and 12th centuries. Lombard, a Germanic language

Germanic languages

The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...

, made a large contribution to the formation of the Italian language

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, which precisely in the centuries of the Lombard kingdom matured in its detachment from vulgar Latin

Vulgar Latin

Vulgar Latin is any of the nonstandard forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Because of its nonstandard nature, it had no official orthography. All written works used Classical Latin, with very few exceptions...

to take on autonomous forms.

Regarding the role played by the Lombards within the emerging Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Jarnut shows that, after the decline of the kingdom of the Visigoths and during the period of weakness of the kingdom of the Franks

Franks

in the Merovingian

Merovingian dynasty

The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...

era, Pavia was about to take a guiding role for the West after determining, by tearing a large part of Italy from the dominance of the Basileus

Basileus

, the final boundary line between the Latin-German West and the Greek-Byzantine East; breaking sharply the rise of the Lombards in Europe intervened, however, the strengthening of the Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne

Charlemagne

, who inflicted decisive defeats to the last kings of the Lombards. The military defeat, however, didn't corresponded to a disappearance of the Lombard element: Claudio Azzara states that "the same Carolingian Italy is configured, in fact, as a Lombard Italy, in the constituent elements of society and culture".

Literature

The persistent injury historiography on the "dark ages" has long cast shadows on the Lombard kingdom, averting the interest of writers from that period. Few literary works have so been set in Italy between the 6th and 8th centuries; between them, relevant exceptions are those of Giulio Cesare Croce

Giulio Cesare Croce

Giulio Cesare Croce was an Italian writer, actor/producer of cantastoria and enigma writer....

and Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist.He is famous for the novel The Betrothed , generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature...

. More recently the Friulian writer Marco Salvador

Marco Salvador

-Biography:Born in San Lorenzo di Arzene, Friuli, Salvador published several historical essays, especially about Middle Ages. He also published six historical novel, starting from Il Longobardo , dealing with the story of the Lombard 7th century king Rothari, with which he won the "Città di Cuneo"...

has devoted a trilogy fiction to the Lombard kingdom.

Berthold

The figure of Berthold

Berthold

Berthold or Bertolt is a Germanic given name, from berht "bright" and wald "rule".-People with the given name Berthold:*Saint Berthold, 12th century, founder of the Carmelites*Berthold, Duke of Bavaria*Berthold of Garsten, 12th century prelate...

, a humble and clever farmer from Retorbido

Retorbido

Retorbido is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km south of Milan and about 30 km southwest of Pavia...

, who lived during the reign of Alboin

Alboin

Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...

(568

568

-572

572

), inspired many oral traditions throughout the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

and early modern period; in them found inspiration the 17th scholar Giulio Cesare Croce in his Le sottilissime astutie di Bertoldo ("the smart craftiness of Berthold") (1606), which in 1608 added the following Le piacevoli et ridicolose simplicità di Bertoldino ("The pleasant and ridiculous simplicity of Little Berthold"), about son of Berthold. In 1620 the abbot Adriano Banchieri

Adriano Banchieri

Adriano Banchieri was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna.-Biography:...

, poet and composer, produced a further follow-up: Novella di Cacasenno, figliuolo del semplice Bertoldino ("News of Cacasenno, son of simple Little Berthold"). Since then, the three works are usually published in one volume under the title of Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno.

Adelchi

Set during the extreme end of the Lombard kingdom, the Manzonian tragedy Adelchi

Adelchi (tragedy)

tells the story of the last king of the Lombards, Desiderius

Desiderius

Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...

and his children Ermengarde (whose real name was Desiderata) and Adalgis

Adalgis

Adalgis was the son of Desiderius and the prince of the Langobards or Lombardia in Italy. After his father was defeated by Charlemagne in Pavia in 774, Adalgis took refuge in Byzantium...

: the first the divorced wife of Charlemagne

Charlemagne

, and the second the last defender of the Lombard kingdom against the Frankish invasion. Manzoni used the Lombard kingdom as the scene, adjusting its interpretation of the characters (real centers of the work) and portrayed the Lombards as having a role in paving the way to the Italian national unity and independence, while reproducing a then dominant image of a barbaric period after the classical splendor.

Cinema

Three films were inspired by stories of Croce and Banchieri and set in the initial period of the Lombard kingdom (very freely played):

Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno (1936), directed by Giorgio Simonelli;
Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno (1954), directed by Mario Amendola
Mario Amendola
Mario Amendola was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for 153 films between 1941 and 1987. He also directed 37 films between 1949 and 1975...

and Ruggero Maccari
Ruggero Maccari
Ruggero Maccari was an Italian screenwriter.Specially known by his collaboration with film director and screenwriter Ettore Scola...

;
Bertoldo, Bertoldino e... Cacasenno (1984), directed by Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...

.

By far the most famous is the last of the three films, which boasted a cast composed of, among others, Ugo Tognazzi

Ugo Tognazzi

Ugo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...

(Berthold), Maurizio Nichetti

Maurizio Nichetti

Maurizio Nichetti is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director.-Film Director:* 1979 - Ratataplan* 1980 - Ho fatto splash* 1983 - Domani si balla!* 1986 - Il Bi e il Ba...

(Little Berthold), Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi

Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....

(fra Cipolla) and Lello Arena (king Alboin).

Primary sources

Chronicle of Fredegar
Chronicle of Fredegar
The Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....

, Pseudo-Fredegarii scholastici Chronicarum libri IV cum continuationibus in Monumenta Germaniae Historica
Monumenta Germaniae Historica
The Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...

SS rer. Mer. II, Hanover 1888
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...

, Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Libri historiarum X (Historia Francorum) in Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Mer. I 1, Hanover 1951
Leges Langobardorum (643-866), ed. F. Beyerle, Witzenhausen 1962
Marius Aventicensis
Marius Aventicensis
Marius Aventicensis or, popularly, Marius of Avenches was the Bishop of Aventicum from 574, remembered for his terse chronicle...

, Chronica a. CCCCLV-DLXXXI. ed. Theodor Mommsen
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...

in Monumenta Germaniae Historica AA, XI, Berlin 1894
Origo gentis Langobardorum
Origo Gentis Langobardorum
The Origo Gentis Langobardorum is a short 7th century account offering a founding myth of the Lombard people. The first part visions the origin and naming of the Lombards, and the following text more resembles a king-list, up until the rule of Perctarit , which helps date the original writing of...

, ed. G. Waitz in Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Lang.
Paolo Diacono, Historia Langobardorum (Storia dei Longobardi, Lorenzo Valla/Mondadori, Milan 1992)

Historiographical literature

Chris Wickham (1981). Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society, 400–1000. MacMillan Press.

Paolo Delogu. Longobardi e Bizantini in Storia d'Italia, Torino, UTET, 1980. ISBN 8802035105.

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