Lombards

The classical Latin and Greek forms of the name ( and ) were first recorded by Strabo and Velleius Paterculus. The standard explanation derives the name from "long" and "beard," meaning "the Long-beards". Isidore of Seville stated in the 7th century that it was commonly said that the Langobards got their name because they never cut their beards. Place-names like Bardengau and Bardowick in northern Germany, near the first known homeland of the Langobardi, possibly preserve this same element. On the other hand, scholars have also noted that this type of Bard placename is common throughout northern Germany, and apparently associated with wet or muddy areas. ==Legendary origins==

, historian of the Lombards, circa 720–799 All three of the legendary accounts state that the Langobards were originally called Winnili, and they begin with the Winnili being ruled by two brothers, Ibor and Aio (or Agio), whose mother and advisor is named Gambara. The Origo and the History of Paul the Deacon have them first living an island in the far north which the various manuscripts of these works spell in different ways: Scadan, Scandanan, Scadanan, or Scadinavia. This appears to be an imitation of the 6th-century origin of the Goths written by Jordanes. The 7th-century writer Fredegar similarly says that the Langobardi came from Scathanavia, but only says this is "between the Danube and the Ocean." The Codex Gothanus was written later than the other two records, but it appears to preserve some older material. It says that the Lombards set out from a river called Vindilicus at the far edge of Gaul, then moved to "Scatenauga", which was a place on the lower Elbe. In contrast, the oldest of the three versions, the Origo, reports a war between the Winnili and the Vandals, who were attempting to force other peoples to pay tribute. In this version, the Winnili did not move from their home island until after they won this war, and changed their name to the Langobardi. The Origo gives no reason for leaving. In contrast, Paul the Deacon's History says that one third of the Winnili needed to leave the island because of over-population and a low-lying coast. In this version the war with the Vandals happened in the new homeland called Scoringa, which is not mentioned in the other two sources. It was here that they also changed their tribal name according to Paul, but afterwards they decided to move again, this time because of famine. Scoringa was perhaps on the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa's etymology is uncertain, but it probably refers to a coastal shoreline region. In the Vandal war reported by the Origo and History, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying "It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute." The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan (the god Odin), who answered that he would give victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number From that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards (Latinised as Langobardi, Italianised as Longobardi, and Anglicized as Langobards or Lombards). In contrast, the Chronicon has the Winnili living first on a similarly named river, the Vindilicus, near the furthest borders of Gaul. Once they started moving, their new dwellings were on the banks of the Elbe at a place called Stananauge. The Vindilicus had in fact been mentioned in the earlier collection of etymologies by Isidore of Seville, as a river where the Vandals supposedly originated. This sentence however comes immediately after a comment about the etymology of the name of the Langobards. The Chronicon therefore apparently combined two distinct entries of Isidore. The Chronicon does not mention the places on the migration route described by Paul and the Origo (see below), but it surprisingly says that after living on the Elbe, the Langobardi lived in Saxony at Patespruna, which is probably intended to be Paderborn. The Chronicon says that the new tribal name was a result of the common people's voice (vulgorum vocem). Paul explained that the name "Langobard" came from the length of their beards. A modern theory suggests that the name "Langobard" comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to "Lombards", they also changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin, thus creating a conscious tribal tradition. ==History==

First century: Lower Elbe Lands (according to W. Wegewitz) The first mention of the Lombards in a near contemporary record occurred between AD 9 and 16, by the Roman court historian Velleius Paterculus, who accompanied a Roman expedition as prefect of the cavalry. Paterculus says that under Tiberius the "power of the Langobardi was broken, a race () surpassing even the Germans in savagery". Strabo, writing in about 20 AD, treats them as a branch of the Suebi, and indicates that they had previously lived west of the Elbe, but were now forced by Romans to stay on the eastern side. Tacitus, writing in about 100 AD in his Germania, emphasized that the Langobardi were a distinctively small Suebian people, in terms of numbers, but surrounded by the most powerful peoples. They kept safe, according to him, "by daring the perils of war". Beyond the Langobardi were the Nerthus-worshipping tribes whose land of rivers and forest stretched to the sea and the remote parts of Germania. In his Annals, Tacitus also noted the involvement of the Langobardi in the conflicts of the time. 9 AD when Arminius and his allies won the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, the Lombards and Semnones were part of the kingdom of Marobod, the King of the Marcomanni, who was allied with Rome. However, after the outbreak of war between Arminius and Marobod in 17 AD the Lombards and Semnones switched to the alliance of Arminius. They detested Marobod's title of king, and saw Arminius as a champion of freedom. In the battle the two sides eventually fought, Tacitus believed that the Cherusci and Langobardi were fighting for ancient renown or newly-won freedom, while the other side for the increase of their dominion. Arminius died in 21 AD. In 47 AD, the Cherusci were assigned a new leader by Rome, Italicus, and this was controversial. Both his supporters and detractors appealed to neighbouring tribe. When he was eventually dethroned, the Langobardi restored him. The lands of the lower Elbe fall into the zone of the Jastorf Culture and became Elbe-Germanic, differing from the lands between Rhine, Weser, and the North Sea. Archaeologists have identified the probable core region of the Langobard settlements in zone south of Hamburg, separated from the coastal Chauci to the west by the moorlands of the Oste river, and to the south was the sparsely populated Lüneburg Heath. To the east their borders are hard to define, though they may have reached as far as the Ilmenau, or Drawehn, or even Höhbeck. On the north of the Elbe, cemeteries in the districts of Hagenow, Ludwigslust, and the fringe of the district of Schwerin up to Lake Schwerin are considered Langobardic. This whole area was continuously inhabited until the late early Roman period, when parts of the population began to shift. The German archaeologist Willi Wegewitz defined several Iron Age burial sites at the Lower Elbe as Langobardic. The burial sites are crematorial and are usually dated from the sixth century BC through the third century AD, so a settlement breakoff seems unlikely. Archaeological finds show that the Lombards were an agricultural people. Second century Far to the south of the Lower Elbe, in 166 AD Cassius Dio reported that just before the Marcomannic Wars, 6,000 Lombards and Obii (sometimes thought to be Ubii) crossed the Danube and invaded Pannonia. The two tribes were defeated, but the non-Roman nations of the region were concerned about the possible Roman reaction. They sent Ballomar, King of the Marcomanni, as ambassador to Aelius Bassus, who was then administering Pannonia. Peace was made and the two tribes returned to their homes. However, this was seen as a foretaste of the great war which subsequently broke out. In the mid-second century, surviving descriptions of Europe based on the work of geographer Claudius Ptolemy appears to describe the Langobardi in two distinct places, probably because the text is partly based upon several different earlier sources. • Uniquely, the "Suebi Langobardi" ( were described as living close to the Rhine - south of the Bructeri and Sugambri, north of the Tencteri. To their east stretching northwards to the central Elbe are the Suebi Angili. These locations for the Langobards and Angles are far to the west of any other classical reports. • The "Laccobardi" () were however placed between the Lower Weser and Lower Elbe, just inland of the Chauci on the coast, together with the Angrivarii and the Dulgubnii, all roughly in the locations where earlier Roman sources had placed them. The first of these entries has been interpreted as an editorial error by Gudmund Schütte, in his analysis of Ptolemy. Difficult to evaluate, the Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani mentions Patespruna in Saxony, probably Paderborn, as one of the places the early Langobardi lived. The Lombards are not mentioned at first, perhaps because they were not initially on the border of Rome, or perhaps because they were subjected to a larger tribal union, like the Saxons. However, the Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani states that the Lombards were subjected by the Saxons around 300 but rose up against them under their first king, Agelmund, who ruled for 30 years. In the second half of the fourth century, the Lombards left their homes, probably due to bad harvests, and embarked on their migration. Migration The only account of how the Langobards moved from the Lower Elbe to the Danube is found in the Origo Gentis Langobardorum, and the History of Paul the Deacon. The end of their journey was "Rugiland", where they arrived after 487 when Odoacer defeated the kingdom of the Rugii. They stopped in several places: Scoringa and Mauringa are only mentioned by Paul the Deacon; Golanda, Anthaib, Banthaib, and Vurgundaib (Burgundaib) are mentioned in both texts. The crossing into Mauringa was very difficult. The Assipitti (possibly the Usipetes) denied them passage through their lands and a fight was arranged for the strongest man of each tribe. The Lombard was victorious, passage was granted, and the Lombards reached Mauringa. The Lombards departed from Mauringa and reached Golanda. Scholar Ludwig Schmidt thinks this was further east, perhaps on the right bank of the Oder. Schmidt considers the name the equivalent of Gotland, meaning simply "good land". This theory is highly plausible; Paul the Deacon mentions the Lombards crossing a river, and they could have reached Rugiland from the Upper Oder area via the Moravian Gate. Moving out of Golanda, the Lombards passed through Anthaib and Banthaib until they reached Vurgundaib, believed to be the old lands of the Burgundes. In Vurgundaib, the Lombards were stormed in camp by "Bulgars" (probably Huns) and were defeated; King Agelmund was killed and Laimicho was made king. He was in his youth and desired to avenge the slaughter of Agelmund. The Lombards themselves were probably made subjects of the Huns after the defeat but rose up and defeated them with great slaughter, gaining great booty and confidence as they "became bolder in undertaking the toils of war." Middle Danube During the reign of King Claffo, the Langobards occupied parts of modern-day Upper and Lower Austria and converted to Arian Christianity. In 505 the Herulians attacked and defeated them, obliging them to pay tax and withdraw to Northern Bohemia. In 508, King Rodulf sent his brother to the Lombard court to collect tribute and extend the truce; however, he was stabbed by Rometrud, sister of King Tato. Rodulf personally led his forces against Tato, but was ambushed and killed from a hill. In the 540s, Audoin (ruled 546–560) led the Lombards across the Danube once more into Pannonia. Thurisind, King of the Gepids attempted to expel them, and both peoples asked for help from the Byzantines. Justinian I sent his army against the Gepids; however, it was routed on the way by the Herulians and the sides signed a two-year truce. Avenging what he felt as a betrayal, Thurisind made an alliance with the Kutrigurs who devastated Moesia before the end of the armistice. The Langobard and Roman army joined together and defeated the Gepids in 551. In the battle, Audoin's son, Alboin killed Thurisind's son, Turismod. In 552, the Byzantines, aided by a large contingent of Foederati, notably Lombards, Heruls and Bulgars, defeated the last Ostrogoths led by Teia in the Battle of Taginae. In approximately 560, Audoin was succeeded by his son Alboin, a young and energetic leader who defeated the neighboring Gepidae and made them his subjects; in 566, he married Rosamund, daughter of the Gepid king Cunimund. In the same year, he made a pact with Khagan Bayan. Next year the Lombards and the Avars destroyed the Gepid kingdom in the Lombard–Gepid War, the allies halved the prize of war and the nomads settled in Transylvania. Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy, 568–774 . According to Samu Szádeczky-Kardoss, the cup could be a gift from Bayan, as it was a nomad habit to make cups from the enemy's skulls. In the spring of 568, Alboin, now fearing the aggressive Avars, led the Lombard migration into Italy, which he planned for years. The Avars have agreed to shelter them if they wish to come back. At least 20,000 Saxon warriors, old allies of the Lombards, and their families joined them in their new migration. The first important city to fall was Forum Iulii (Cividale del Friuli) in northeastern Italy, in 569. There, Alboin created the first Lombard duchy, which he entrusted to his nephew Gisulf. Soon Vicenza, Verona and Brescia fell into 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 Wars, and the small Byzantine army left for its defence could do almost nothing. Longinus, the Exarch sent to Italy by Emperor Justin II, could only defend 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., LombardyIn the following years, the Lombards penetrated further south, conquering Tuscany and establishing two duchies, Spoleto and Benevento under Zotto, which soon became semi-independent and even outlasted the northern kingdom, surviving well into the twelfth century. Wherever they went, they were joined by the Ostrogothic population, which was allowed to live peacefully in Italy with their Rugian allies under Roman sovereignty. The Byzantines managed to retain control of the area of Ravenna and Rome, linked by a thin corridor running through Perugia. When they entered Italy, some Lombards retained their native form of paganism, while some were Arian Christians. Hence they did not enjoy good relations with the Early Christian Church. Gradually, they adopted Roman or Romanized titles, names, and traditions, and partially converted to orthodoxy (in the seventh century), though not without a long series of religious and ethnic conflicts. By the time Paul the Deacon was writing, the Lombard language, dress and even hairstyles had nearly all disappeared in toto. , mid-eighth century, Civic Museums of Pavia. The whole Lombard territory was divided into 36 duchies, whose leaders settled in the main cities. The king ruled over them and administered the land through emissaries called gastaldi. This subdivision, however, together with the independent indocility of the duchies, deprived the kingdom of unity, making it weak even when compared to the Byzantines, especially since these had begun to recover from the initial invasion. This weakness became even more evident when the Lombards had to face the increasing power of the Franks. In response, the kings tried to centralize power over time, but they definitively lost control over Spoleto and Benevento in the attempt. Langobardia major • Duchy of Friuli • Duchy of Tridentum • Duchy of Persiceta • Duchy of Pavia • Duchy of Tuscia Langobardia minor • Duchy of Spoleto and Duke of Spoleto • Duchy of Benevento and List of dukes and princes of Benevento Arian monarchy King Chlothar II in combat with the Lombards In 572, Alboin was murdered in Verona in a plot led by his wife, Rosamund, who later fled to Ravenna. His successor, Cleph, was also assassinated, after a ruthless reign of 18 months. His death began an interregnum of years (the "Rule of the Dukes") during which the dukes did not elect any king, a period regarded as a time of violence and disorder. In 586, threatened by a Frankish invasion, the dukes elected Cleph's son, Authari, as king. In 589, he married Theodelinda, daughter of Garibald I of Bavaria, the Duke of Bavaria. The Catholic Theodelinda was a friend of Pope Gregory I and pushed for Christianization. In the meantime, Authari embarked on a policy of internal reconciliation and tried to reorganize royal administration. The dukes yielded half 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. Authari died in 591 and was succeeded by Agilulf, the duke of Turin, who also married Theodelinda in the same year. Agilulf successfully fought the rebel dukes of northern Italy, conquering Padua in 601, Cremona and Mantua in 603, and forcing the Exarch of Ravenna to pay tribute. Agilulf died in 616; Theodelinda reigned alone until 628 when she was succeeded by Adaloald. Arioald, the head of the Arian opposition who had married Theodelinda's daughter Gundeperga, later deposed Adaloald. Arioald was succeeded by Rothari, regarded by many authorities as the most energetic of all Lombard kings. He extended his dominions, conquering Liguria in 643 and the remaining part of the Byzantine territories of inner Veneto, including the Roman city of Opitergium (Oderzo). Rothari also made the famous edict bearing his name, the Edictum Rothari, which established the laws and the customs of his people in Latin: the edict did not apply to the tributaries of the Lombards, who could retain their own laws. Rothari's son Rodoald succeeded him in 652, still very young, and was killed by his opponents. At the death of King Aripert I in 661, the kingdom was split between his children Perctarit, who set his capital in Milan, and Godepert, who reigned from Pavia (Ticinum). Perctarit was overthrown by Grimoald, son of Gisulf, duke of Friuli and Benevento since 647. Perctarit fled to the Avars and then to the Franks. Grimoald managed to regain control over the duchies and deflected 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 tolerance between Arians and Catholics, but he could not defeat the Arian party, led by Arachi, duke of Trento, who submitted only to his son, the philo-Catholic Cunincpert. The Lombards engaged in fierce battles with Slavic peoples during these years: from 623 to 626 the Lombards unsuccessfully attacked the Carantanians, and, in 663–64, the Slavs raided the Vipava Valley and the Friuli. Catholic monarchy (712–744) "was a zealous Catholic, generous and a great founder of monasteries". Religious strife and the Slavic raids remained a source of struggle in the following years. In 705, the Friuli Lombards were defeated and lost the land to the west of the Soča River, namely the Gorizia Hills and the Venetian Slovenia. The Lombard reign began to recover only with Liutprand the Lombard (king from 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 Byzantium concerning the reverence of icons, he annexed the Exarchate of Ravenna and the duchy of Rome. He also helped the Frankish marshal Charles Martel drive back the Arabs. The Slavs were defeated in the Battle of Lavariano, when they tried to conquer the Friulian Plain in 720. Salerno in these decades was the main and more rich city (called "Opulenta Salernum") in southern Italy, even because of the "Schola Medica Salernitana" (the first "university" of medicine in Europe). After the assassination of Guaimar IV the Principality of Salerno started to be dominated more and more by the Normans: in 1077 ended the history of the Langobards in Italy when this Principality was conquered by the Norman Robert Guiscard. The principal source for the history of the Lombard principalities in this period is the Chronicon Salernitanum, composed late in the tenth century at Salerno. Norman conquest, 1017–1078 The diminished Beneventan principality soon lost its independence to the papacy and declined in importance until it fell in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Normans, 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, among others), had become rivals for hegemony in the south. The Salernitan principality experienced a golden age under Guaimar III and Guaimar IV, but under Gisulf II, the principality shrank to insignificance and fell in 1078 to Robert Guiscard, who had married Gisulf's sister Sichelgaita. The Capua principality was hotly contested during the reign of the hated Pandulf IV, the Wolf of the Abruzzi, and, under his son, it fell, almost without contest, to the Norman Richard Drengot (1058). The Capuans revolted against Norman rule in 1091, expelling Richard's grandson Richard II and setting up one Lando IV. Capua was again put under Norman rule after the Siege of Capua of 1098 and the city quickly declined in importance under a series of ineffective Norman rulers. The independent status of these Lombard states is in general attested by the ability of their rulers to switch suzerains at will. Often the legal vassal of the pope or the emperor (either Byzantine or Holy Roman), they were the real power-brokers in the south until their erstwhile allies the Normans rose to preeminence. ==Genetics==

A genetic study published in Nature Communications in September 2018 found strong genetic similarities between Lombards of Italy and earlier Lombards of Central Europe. Lombard males were primarily carriers of subclades of haplogroup R1b and I2a2a1, both of which are common among Germanic peoples. Lombard males were found to be more genetically homogeneous than Lombard females. The evidence suggested that the Lombards originated in Central/Northern Europe, and were a patriarchal people who settled Central Europe and then later Italy through a migration from the north. A genetic study published in Science Advances in September 2018 examined the remains of a Lombard male buried at an Alemannic graveyard. He was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1c2b2b and the maternal haplogroup H65a. The graveyard also included the remains of a Frankish and a Byzantine male, both of whom were also carriers of subclades of the paternal haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1. The Lombard, Frankish and Byzantine males were all found to be closely related, and displayed close genetic links to Northern Europe, particularly Lithuania and Iceland. A genetic study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics in January 2019 examined the mtDNA of a large number of early-medieval Lombard remains from Central Europe and Italy. These individuals were found to be closely related and displayed strong genetic links to Central Europe. The evidence suggested that the Lombard settlement of Italy was the result of a migration from the north involving both males and females. A 2024 paper found that the Lombards of Italy were best modelled by a Jutlandic Iron Age source, consistent with an origin in Jutland or northern Germany. ==Culture==

Language Unless Cimbrian and Mòcheno represent surviving dialects, the Lombardic language is extinct. It declined beginning in the seventh century, but may have been in scattered use until as late as about the year 1000. Only fragments of the language have survived, the main evidence being individual words quoted in Latin texts. In the absence of Lombardic texts, it is not possible to draw any conclusions about the language's morphology and syntax. The genetic classification of the language depends entirely on phonology. Since there is evidence that Lombardic participated in, and indeed shows some of the earliest evidence for, the High German consonant shift, it is usually classified as an Upper German dialect descended from Elbe Germanic. may be the earliest written example of Lombardic language Lombardic fragments are preserved in runic inscriptions. Primary source texts include short inscriptions in the Elder Futhark, among them the "bronze capsule of Schretzheim" (c. 600) and the silver belt buckle found in Pforzen, Ostallgäu (Schwaben). A number of Latin texts include Lombardic names, and Lombardic legal texts contain terms taken from the legal vocabulary of the vernacular. In 2005, Emilia Denčeva argued that the inscription of the Pernik sword may be Lombardic. Paul the Deacon, writing about 790 AD, mentioned that in his time the Bavarians and Saxons, and "other peoples of the same language ", were still singing songs about King Alboin (died 572 AD). This indicates that at least for the use of such songs, there was still a shared language connecting at least the Saxons and Bavarians, and possibly also the Langobardi. The Italian language preserves a large number of Lombardic words, although it is not always easy to distinguish them from other Germanic borrowings such as those from Gothic or from Frankish. They often bear some resemblance to English words, as Lombardic was akin to Old Saxon. For instance, guardia from wardan (warden), guerra from werra (war), ricco from rikki (rich), and guadare from wadjan (to wade). The Codice diplomatico longobardo, a collection of legal documents, makes reference to many terms of Germanic origin, some of them still in use in the Italian language: marchio (mark), maniscalco (blacksmith), braida (suburban meadow), borgo (burg, village), fara (fundamental unity of Lombard social and military organization, presently used as toponym), sala (hall, room, also used as toponym), staffa (stirrup), stalla (stable), sculdascio, faida (feud), manigoldo (scoundrel), sgherro (henchman); fanone (baleen), stamberga (hovel); anca (hip), guancia (cheek), nocca (knuckle), schiena (back); gazza (magpie), martora (marten); gualdo (wood, presently used as toponym); verbs like bussare (to knock), russare (to snore). Social structure Migration Period society During their stay at the mouth of the Elbe, the Lombards came into contact with other western Germanic populations, such as the Saxons and the Frisians. From these populations, which had long been in contact with the Celts (especially the Saxons), they adopted a rigid social organization into castes, rarely present in other Germanic peoples. The Lombard kings can be traced back as early as c. 380 and thus to the beginning of the Great Migration. Kingship developed among the Germanic peoples when the unity of a single military command was found necessary. Schmidt believed that the Germanic tribes were divided into cantons and that the earliest government was a general assembly that selected canton chiefs and war leaders in times of conflict. All such figures were probably selected from a caste of nobility. As a result of the wars of their wanderings, royal power developed such that the king became the representative of the people, but the influence of the people on the government did not fully disappear. Paul the Deacon gives an account of the Lombard tribal structure during the migration: ... in order that they might increase the number of their warriors, [the Lombards] confer liberty upon many whom they deliver from the yoke of bondage, and that the freedom of these may be regarded as established, they confirm it in their accustomed way by an arrow, uttering certain words of their country in confirmation of the fact. Complete emancipation appears to have been granted only among the Franks and the Lombards. Society of the Catholic kingdom Lombard society was divided into classes comparable to those found in the other Germanic successor states of Rome, Frankish Gaul and Spain under the Visigoths. There was a noble class, a class of free persons beneath them, a class of unfree non-slaves (serfs), and finally slaves. The aristocracy itself was poorer, more urbanised, and less landed than elsewhere. Aside from the richest and most powerful of the dukes and the king himself, Lombard noblemen tended to live in cities (unlike their Frankish counterparts) and hold little more than twice as much in land as the merchant class (a far cry from provincial Frankish aristocrats who held vast swathes of land, hundreds of times larger than those beneath his status). The aristocracy by the eighth century was highly dependent on the king for means of income related especially to judicial duties: many Lombard nobles are referred to in contemporary documents as iudices (judges) even when their offices had important military and legislative functions as well. The freemen of the Lombard kingdom were far more numerous than in Frankish lands, especially in the eighth century, when they are almost invisible in surviving documentary evidence. Smallholders, owner-cultivators, and rentiers are the most numerous types of person in surviving diplomata for the Lombard kingdom. They may have owned more than half of the land in Lombard Italy. The freemen were exercitales and viri devoti, that is, soldiers and "devoted men" (a military term like "retainers"); they formed the levy of the Lombard army, and they were sometimes, if infrequently, called to serve, though this seems not to have been their preference. The small landed class, however, lacked the political influence necessary with the king (and the dukes) to control the politics and legislation of the kingdom. The aristocracy was more thoroughly powerful politically if not economically in Italy than in contemporary Gaul and Spain. The urbanisation of Lombard Italy was characterised by the (or "city as islands"). It appears from archaeology that the great cities of Lombard Italy—Pavia, Lucca, Siena, Arezzo, Milan—were themselves formed of small urban cores within the old Roman city walls. The cities of the Roman Empire had been partially destroyed in the series of wars of the fifth and sixth centuries. Many sectors were left in ruins and ancient monuments became fields of grass used as pastures for animals, thus the Roman Forum became the Campo Vaccino, the field of cows. The portions of the cities that remained intact were small, modest, contained a cathedral or major church (often sumptuously decorated), and a few public buildings and townhouses of the aristocracy. Few buildings of importance were stone, most were wood. In the end, the inhabited parts of the cities were separated from one another by stretches of pasture even within the city walls. Lombard states • Lombard state on the Carpathians (sixth century) • Lombard state in Pannonia (sixth century) • Kingdom of Italy and List of kings of the Lombards • Principality of Benevento and List of dukes and princes of Benevento • Principality of Salerno and List of princes of Salerno • Principality of Capua and List of princes of Capua Religious history The legend from Origo may hint that initially, before the passage from Scandinavia to the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, the Lombards worshiped the Vanir. Later, in contact with other Germanic populations, they adopted the worship of the Æsir: an evolution that marked the passage from the adoration of deities related to fertility and the earth to the cult of warlike gods. In chapter 40 of his Germania, Roman historian Tacitus, discussing the Suebian tribes of Germania, writes that the Lombards were one of the Suebian tribes united in worship of the deity Nerthus, who is often identified with the Norse goddess Freyja. The other tribes were the Reudigni, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suarines and Nuitones. St. Barbatus of Benevento observed many pagan rituals and traditions among the Lombards authorised by the Duke Romuald, son of King Grimoald: Christianisation The Lombards first adopted Christianity while still in Pannonia, but their conversion and Christianisation was largely nominal and far from complete. During the reign of Wacho, they were Orthodox Catholics allied with the Byzantine Empire, but Alboin converted to Arianism as an ally of the Ostrogoths and invaded Italy. All these Christian conversions primarily affected the aristocracy, while the common people remained pagan. In Italy, the Lombards were intensively Christianised, and the pressure to convert to Orthodox Catholicism was great. With the Bavarian queen Theodelinda, an Orthodox Catholic, the monarchy was brought under heavy Catholic influence. After initial support for the anti-Rome party in the Schism of the Three Chapters, Theodelinda remained a close contact and supporter of Pope Gregory I. However, the lack of spiritual involvement of most of the Lombards in religious disputes remained constant, so much so that the opposition between Orthodox Catholics, on the one hand, and pagans, Arians and schismatics, on the other, soon took on political significance. The supporters of Roman orthodoxy, led by the Bavarian dynasty, were politically the proponents of greater integration with the Romans, accompanied by a strategy of preserving the status quo with the Byzantines. Arians, pagans and schismatics, rooted above all in the northeastern regions of the kingdom (Austria), were instead interpreters of the preservation of the warlike and aggressive spirit of the people. Thus, to the "pro-Catholic" phase of Agilulf, Theodolinda and Adaloald followed, from 626 (Arioald's accession to the throne) to 690 (definitive defeat of the rebel Alahis), a long phase of the revival of Arianism, embodied by militarily aggressive kings like Rothari and Grimoald. However, tolerance towards Orthodox Catholics was never questioned by the various kings, also safeguarded by the influential contribution of the respective queens (largely chosen, for reasons of dynastic legitimacy, among the Orthodox Catholic princesses of the Bavarian dynasty). In the seventh century, the nominally Christian aristocracy of Benevento was still practising pagan rituals such as sacrifices in "sacred" woods. By the end of the reign of Cunincpert, however, the Lombards were more or less completely Catholicised. Under Liutprand Orthodox Catholicism became tangible as the king sought to justify his title rex totius Italiae by uniting the south of the peninsula with the north, thereby bringing together his Italo-Roman and Germanic subjects into one Catholic State. Beneventan Christianity in Beneventan (i.e. Lombard) script The Duchy and eventually Principality of Benevento in southern Italy developed a unique Christian rite in the seventh and eighth centuries. The Beneventan rite is more closely related to the liturgy of the Ambrosian rite than to the Roman rite. The Beneventan rite has not survived in its complete form, although most of the principal feasts and several feasts of local significance are extant. The Beneventan rite appears to have been less complete, less systematic, and more liturgically flexible than the Roman rite. Characteristic of this rite was the Beneventan chant, a Lombard-influenced Montecassino was also the starting point for another characteristic of Beneventan monasticism, the use of the distinct Beneventan script, a clear, angular script derived from the Roman cursive as used by the Lombards. Art During their nomadic phase, the Lombards primarily created art that was easily carried with them, like arms and jewellery. Though relatively little of this has survived, it bears resemblance to the similar endeavours of other Germanic tribes of central Europe from the same era. The first major modifications to the Germanic style of the Lombards came in Pannonia and especially in Italy, under the influence of local, Byzantine, and Christian styles. The conversions from nomadism and paganism to settlement and Christianity also opened up new arenas of artistic expressions, such as architecture (especially churches) and its accompanying decorative arts (such as frescoes). Langobard Shield Boss 7th Century.jpg|Lombard shield bossnorthern Italy, seventh century, Metropolitan Museum of Art Langobardic - Fibula - Walters 542440.jpg|Lombard S-shaped fibula Arte longobarda, da sutri, bicchiere a forma di corno, fine VI-inizio VII sec.JPG|A glass drinking horn from Castel Trosino Langobardic - Shroud Cross - Walters 571773.jpg|Lombard Goldblattkreuz Cividale fibula1.jpg|Lombard fibulae Cividale Ratchis1.JPG|Altar of Ratchis Cividale Tempietto Longobardo - Westwand Märtyrerinnen 1.jpg|Eighth-century Lombard sculpture depicting female martyrs, based on a Byzantine model. Tempietto Longobardo, Cividale del Friuli Interno della cripta.jpg|Crypt of Sant'Eusebio, Pavia. Architecture |alt=Chiesa di santa sofia, benevento.jpg Few Lombard buildings have survived. Most have been lost, rebuilt, or renovated at some point, so they preserve little of their original Lombard structure. Lombard architecture was well-studied in the twentieth century, and the four-volume Lombard Architecture (1919) by Arthur Kingsley Porter is a "monument of illustrated history". The small Oratorio di Santa Maria in Valle in Cividale del Friuli is probably one of the oldest preserved examples of Lombard architecture, as Cividale was the first Lombard city in Italy. Parts of Lombard constructions have been preserved in Pavia (San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, crypts of Sant'Eusebio and San Giovanni Domnarum) and Monza (cathedral). The Basilic autariana in Fara Gera d'Adda near Bergamo and the church of San Salvatore in Brescia also have Lombard elements. All these buildings are in northern Italy (Langobardia major), but by far the best-preserved Lombard structure is in southern Italy (Langobardia minor). The Church of Santa Sofia in Benevento was erected in 760 by Duke Arechis II, and it preserves Lombard frescoes on the walls and even Lombard capitals on the columns. Lombard architecture flourished under the impulse provided by the Catholic monarchs like Theodelinda, Liutprand, and Desiderius to the foundation of monasteries to further their political control. Bobbio Abbey was founded during this time. Some of the late Lombard structures of the ninth and tenth centuries have been found to contain elements of style associated with Romanesque architecture and so have been dubbed "first Romanesque". These edifices are considered, along with some similar buildings in southern France and Catalonia, to mark a transitory phase between the Pre-Romanesque and full-fledged Romanesque. ==List of rulers==

Notes Sources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In two volumes. Diss. Eberhard-Karls-Universität zu Tübingen. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • ==Ancient sources==

• Cosmographer of Ravenna • Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani • Historia Langobardorum • Origo Gentis Langobardorum • Tacitus. Annals • Tacitus. Germania ==External links==