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Lombards

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The '''Lombards''' (Latin ''Langobardi'', from which the alternative name '''Longobards''' found in older English texts), were a Germanic tribes Germanic people originally from Northern Europe that entered the late Roman Empire.

History

Origins and conquest of Italy
Their own traditions (preserved in the ''Origo Gentis Langobardorum'') describe how they were formerly called ''Winili'', and how they left Scandinavia under the leaders Ybor and Agio, and settled in Continental Europe, in the lower course of the Elbe river, where they were recorded by Tacitus as early as A.D. 98: :''What, on the contrary, ennobles the Langobards is the smallness of their number, for that they, who are surrounded with very many and very powerful nations, derive their security from no obsequiousness or plying, but from the dint of battle and adventurous deeds. After the Langobardi come the Reudigni, Auiones, Angli, Varni, Eudoses, Suarines, and Nuithones, all well guarded by rivers and forests. There is nothing remarkable about any of these tribes unless it be the common worship of Nerthus (i.e., Earth Mother).'' (''Germania (book) Germania'' by Tacitus) Lombards were one of the tribes forming the Suebi, and during the 1st century AD they lived in northwest Germany. They occasionally clashed with the ancient Rome Romans, but it seems they were mainly shepherds and farmers until, in the 4th century, the great migrations of peoples coming from East changed the situation. At the end of the 5th century Lombards settled in the area of what is now Austria, in the territory formerly occupied by the Rugians, and at the beginning of the 6th century they were settled in Pannonia (now Hungary Western Hungary and the Czech Republic) by the Emperor Justinian I Justinian, in quality of ''foederati''. The Lombards at this time had already begun to change their tribal organisation to one led by a group of dukes and counts who commanded bands of warriors of related or kin people. In 560 a new, energetic king emerged: Alboin, who defeated the neighbouring people of the Gepidae, made them his subjects, and, in 566, married the daughter of their king Cunimond, Rosmunda. In the spring of 568, Alboin led the Lombards to cross the Julian Alps and to invade northern Italy, together with other Germanic tribes living with them (Bavarians, Gepidae, Saxons) and Bulgars. The first important city to fall was ''Forum Iulii'' (Cividale del Friuli), in North-Eastern Italy, in 569: there, Alboin created the first Lombard duchy, which he entrusted to his nephew Gisulf. Soon Vicenza, Verona, and Brescia fell in Germanic hands. In the summer of 569, the Lombards conquered the main Roman centre of northern Italy, Milan. The area was then recovering from the terrible Gothic War (535â€“552) Gothic Wars, and the small Byzantine Empire Byzantine army left for its defence could do almost nothing: the Exarch sent to Italy by Emperor Justinian II, Longinus, could defend only coastal cities that could be supplied by the powerful Byzantine fleet. Pavia fell after a siege of three years, in 572, becoming the first capital city of the new Lombard kingdom of Italy. In the following years, the Lombards penetrated further south, conquering Tuscany and establishing two duchies, the Duchy of Spoleto Spoleto and Duchy of Benevento Benevento under Zotto, which soon became semi-independent and even outlasted the northern kingdom, surviving well into the 12th century. The Byzantine Empire Byzantines managed to retain control of the area of Ravenna and Rome, linked by a thin land corridor running through Perugia. The whole Lombard territory was divided into 36 duchies, whose leader settled in the main cities. The king controlled them and administered the land through emissaries called ''gastaldi''. This subdivision, however, together with the independent indocility of the duchies, deprived the kingdom of its unity, making it weak even with the Byzantines when they partly recovered after the initial invasion, and even more so when the Lombards had to face the increasing power of the Franks. As an answer to this problem, the kings tried to centralize power over time; but, in this attempt, they definitively lost control over Spoleto and Benevento. When they entered Italy, some Lombards were and remained pagan, while some were Arianism Arian Christians. Hence they did not enjoy good relations with the Catholicism Catholic Church. Gradually, as they remained in Italy, they adopted Roman titles, names, and traditions, and partially converted to orthodoxy (7th century), not without a long series of religious and ethnic strifes. Alboin was murdered in Verona by a plot led by his wife, who took shelter in Ravenna. His successor, Cleph, was also killed in a conspiracy after a ruthless reign of 18 months: his death began an interregnum of years during which the dukes did not elect any king, and which is regarded as a period of violence and disorder. In 584, threatened by a Franks Frankish invasion, the dukes elected king Cleph Cleph's son, Authari: in 589, he married Theodelinda, daughter of the duke of the Bavarians, Garibald I (Bavaria). The Catholic Theodelinda was a friend of Pope Pope Gregorius I Gregorius I and pushed for the Christianization of his people. In the meantime Authari embarked on a policy of internal reconciliation and tried to reorganize the administration: the dukes yielded half of their estates for the maintenance of the king and his court in Pavia. On the foreign affairs side, Authari managed to thwart the dangerous alliance between the Byzantines and the Franks. Autari died in Pavia in 590: his successor was Agilulf, the duke of Turin, who, in 591, also married Theodelinda. He successfully fought the rebel dukes of Italy Northern Italy, conquering Padova (601), Cremona, and Mantua (603), and obliging the Exarch of Ravenna to pay a conspicuous tribute. Theodolinda reigned alone until 651, and was succeeded by Adaloald. Arioald, who had married Teodolinda's daughter Gundeberga, deposed Adaloald at the head of the Arian party opposing the former king.

Rothari and his successors
His successor was Rothari, regarded by many authorities as the most energic of all Lombard kings. He extended his dominions conquering Liguria in 643 and the remaining part of Byzantine Empire Byzantine inner Veneto territories, including the Roman city of ''Opitergium'' (Oderzo). Rothari also emanated the famous Edict with his name, which established the laws and the habits of his people in Latin language: the edict was not directed to the subjects of the Lombards, which could retain their laws. Rothari's son Rodoald succeeded him in 652 still very young, and was killed by the Catholic party. At the death of king Aripert in 661, the reign was split among its children Perctarit, who set its capital in Milan, and Godepert, who reigned from Pavia. Perctarit was thrown off by Grimoald, son of Gisulf, duke of Friuli and duke of Benevento since 647. Perctarit fled to the Avars and then to the Franks. Grimoald managed to regain control over the duchies and pushed off the late attempt of the Byzantine emperor Constans II to conquer southern Italy. He also defeated the Franks. At Grimoald's death in 671 Perctarit returned and promoted the tolerance between Arians and Catholics, but he could not defeat the Arian party led by Arachi, duke of Trento, who subdued only to his son, the filo-Catholic Cunipert.

The end of the Lombard kingdom of Italy
Religious strife remained a source of struggles in the following years. The Lombard reign began to recover only with Liutprand the Lombard (king since 712), son of Ansprand and successor of the brutal Aripert II. He managed to regain a certain control over Spoleto and Benevento, and, taking advantage of the disagreements between the Pope and Byzantine Empire Byzantium concerning the cult of images, he annexed the Exarchate of Ravenna and the duchy of Rome. He also helped the Franks Frank marshall Charles Martel to drive back the Arabs. His son Aistulf conquered Ravenna for the Lombards for the first time, but was subsequently defeated by the king of the Franks Pippin III, called by the Pope, and had to leave it. After the death of Aistulf Ratchis tried once again to be king of the Lombardy but he was deposed in the same year. After his defeat of Ratchis, the last Lombard to rule as king of the Lombards was Desiderius, duke of Toscana, who managed to conquer in a definitive way Ravenna, ending the Byzantine Empire Byzantine presence in Central Italy. He decided to reopen struggles against the Pope, who was supporting the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento against him, and entered Rome in 772, the first Lombard king to do so. But when Pope Hadrian I called for help from the powerful king Charlemagne, he was defeated at Susa, Italy Susa and besieged in Pavia, while his son Adalgis Adelchi had also to open the gates of Verona to Frank troops. Desiderius surrendered in 774 and Charlemagne, in an utterly novel decision took the title "King of the Lombards" as well. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. Charlemagne took part of the Lombard territory to create the Papal States. The Lombardy region in Italy, which includes the cities of Brescia, Bergamo, and Milan, is a reminder of the presence of the Lombards.

Lombard states after the kingdom
Though the kingdom, centred on Pavia in the north, fell to Charlemagne, the Lombard-controlled territory to the south of the Papal States was never subjugated by Charlemagne or his descendants. In 774, Duke Arechis II of Benevento, whose duchy had only nominally been under royal authority, though certain kings had been effective at making their power known in the south, declared himself ''princeps'', or prince, effectually independent. He tried to claim the kingship, but with no support and no chance of a coronation in Pavia. Charlemagne came down with an army, and his son Louis the Pious sent many, to force the duke of Benevento Beneventan dukes to submit, but their submission and promises were never kept and they were ''de fact'' independent. In 839, Duke Sicard of Benevento Sicard was murdered by Radelchis II of Benevento Radelchis, who seized the dukeship. Sicard's brother Siconulf was declared prince in Salerno and a ten year civil war erupted, settled only by Emperor Louis II's permanent division of the principality. There were then two Lombard states in the Mezzogiorno. The independent state at Salerno inspired the prince of Capua gastalds of Capua to move towards independence and, by the end of the century, they were styling themselves "prince of Capua prince" and there was a third Lombard state. The Capuan and Beneventan states were united by conquest in 910 and only separated in 982, on the death of Pandulf Ironhead. The diminished Beneventan principality soon lost its independence to the papacy and declined in importance until it was gobbled up by the Normans, who, first called in by the Lombards to fight the Byzantines for control of Apulia and Calabria (under the likes of Melus of Bari and Arduin the Lombard Arduin, among others), had become rivals for hegemony in the south. The Salernitan principality experienced a golden age under Guaimar III of Salerno Guaimar III and Guaimar IV of Salerno Guaimar IV, but under Gisulf II of Salerno Gisulf II, the principality shrunk to insignificance and fell in 1078 to the Robert Guiscard, who had married Gisulf's sister Sichelgaita. The Capua principality was hotly contested during the reign of the hated Pandulf IV of Capua Pandulf IV, the ''Wolf of the Abruzzi'', and, under his son, it fell, almost without contest, to the Norman Richard I of Aversa Richard Drengot (1058). The Capuans revolted against Norman rule in 1091, expelling Richard's grandson Richard II of Capua Richard II and setting up one Lando IV of Capua Lando IV. Capua was again put under Norman rule by the Siege of Capua of 1098 and the city quickly declined in importance under a series of ineffectual Norman rulers. The independent status of these Lombard states is generally attested by the ability of their rulers to switch suzerains at will. Often the legal vassal of pope or emperor (either Byzantine or Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman), they were the real power-brokers in the south until their erstwhile allies, the Normans, rose to preeminence. Certainly the Lombards regarded the Normans as barbarians and the Byzantines as oppressors, regarding their own civilisation as superior, they did indeed provide the environment for the illustrious Schola Medica Salernitana. They left their mark also through such great figures as Hildeprand (Pope Gregory VII) and Napoleon Bonaparte, who have Lombard names, being descendants of those cultured Mediterraneans who ruled the Mezzogiorno for three centuries (774-1078).

Sources
Much of our knowledge of the mythological and semi-mythological early history of the Lombard people comes from Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon's ''History of the Lombards'' (''Historia Langobardorum'') written in the late 8th century, indebted to the 7th century ''Origo Gentis Langobardorum''. According to the Lombards themselves, a legend documented by Paul the Deacon, their name was derived from a joke played on Odin (Godan) by his wife Frige (Frea). She told the Lombard women to tie their hair in front of their faces and when Odin saw them he asked about the ''longbeards''. Then Frigg said that since Odin had named them ''longbeards'', Langobards was to be their name. The name has also been tentatively considered as being derived from the name of a preferred weapon of the Lombards in war: the ''lang barte'' ("long halberd" or "long-bladed axe"). However, neither of these possibilities is considered by scholars at this time to be plausible. The translation of Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon's ''History of the Lombards'' (''Historia Langobardorum'') published in 1907 by W. D. Foulke mentions these as well as other possibilities, but his speculation in that respect is now thought to be based on highly tenuous etymological links.

Historic kings of the Lombards

Lething Dynasty
*Tato (???)

Early Lombard Kings Another Dynasty
*Wacho (died 539) *Waltari, King of the Lombards Waltari (539 - 546)

Gausian Dynasty
*Audoin (546 - 565) *Alboin (565 - 572)

Early Lombard Kings Another Dynasty
*Cleph (572 - 574) :''Rule of the Dukes'' ''(Ten year interregnum)'' *Authari (584 - 590), son of previous *Agilulf (591 - c.616), cousin of previous

Bavarian Dynasty, First Time
*Adaloald (c.616 - c.626)

Non-dynastic Kings
*Arioald (c.626 - 636)

Harodingians Dynasty
*Rothari (636 - 652) *Rodoald (652 - 653)

Bavarian Dynasty, Second Time
*Aripert I (653 - 661) *Perctarit and Godepert (661 - 662)

List of Dukes and Princes of Benevento Beneventan Dynasty
*Grimuald (662 - 671)

Bavarian Dynasty, Third Time
*Perctarit (671 - 688) (restored from exile) *Alahis (688 - 689), rebel *Cunincpert (688 - 700) *Liutpert (700 - 701) *Raginpert (701) *Aripert II (701 - 712)

Non-dynastic Kings
*Ansprand (712) *Liutprand the Lombard Liutprand (712 - 744) *Hildeprand (744) *Ratchis (744 - 749) *Aistulf (749 - 756) *Desiderius (756 - 774)

See also
* List of Dukes and Princes of Benevento * Duchy of Benevento * Duchy of Spoleto * The Lombard League Category:Lombards Category:Lombardy br:Lombarded da:Langobarder de:Langobarden et:Langobardid eo:Lombardoj fr:Lombards it:Longobardi nl:Langobarden no:Langobardene ja:ãƒ©ãƒ³ã‚´ãƒ?ãƒ«ãƒ‰äºº pl:Longobardowie pt:Lombardos ru:Ð›Ð°Ð½Ð³Ð¾Ð±Ð°Ñ€Ð´Ñ?ÐºÐ¾Ðµ ÐºÐ¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð»ÐµÐ²Ñ?Ñ‚Ð²Ð¾ fi:Lombardit sv:Langobarder uk:Ð›Ð°Ð½Ð³Ð¾Ð±Ð°Ñ€Ð´Ð¸ zh:ä¼¦å·´åº•äºº Category:Ancient Germanic peoples Category:Ancient Roman enemies and allies Category:Ethnic groups in Europe Category:Lombardy

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