Franks and Lombards in Italian Carolingian Texts Memories of the Vanquished

Franks and Lombards in Italian Carolingian Texts examines how historians of Carolingian Italy portrayed the history of the Lombards, Charlemagne’s conquest of the Lombard kingdom, and the presence of the Franks in the Italian Ppeninsula. The different contexts and periods in which these writers composed their works allows readers to focus on various aspects of this period and to highlight the different ways the vanquished remembered Carolingian rule in Italy. The ‘"memories’" of these authors are organized by topic, ranging from the origin of the Lombards to the conflicts that broke out among the Carolingians after Louis II died in 875. Besides presenting the English translation and the original Latin text of the excerpts from the Italian Carolingian historical works, the volume also contains the English translations of the same events recorded in Frankish and papal narrative texts. In this way it is possible to compare different memories about the same episode or topic. The book will appeal to scholars and students of the Lombards and Carolingians, as well as all those interested in medieval Europe.

Introduction 1. The Origin of the Lombards 2. The migrations and the settlement in Pannonia 3. The Lombard invasion of Italy 4. The rule of the Lombards in Italy until King Liudprand 5. The last Lombard kings 6. Charlemagne’s conquest of the Lombard kingdom 7. The revolt of north-east Italy’s Lombards 8. Opinions about Charlemagne 9. The imperial coronation of Charlemagne 10. The rule of Pippin 11. Pippin’s expedition against the Avars 12. The rule of Bernard 13. Louis the Pious and his sons 14. The Archbishop of Milan teaches Louis the Pious and Lothar a lesson 15. The death of Louis the Pious and the civil war among his sons 16. Disasters provoked by a Carolingian in Italy 17. Louis II punishes a rebel in Burgundy 18. Louis II’s expedition against the Muslims in Benevento 19. A campaign against the Muslims in Calabria 20. Holy war against the Muslims 21. The siege and conquest of Bari 22. Emperor Louis II’s captivity 23. The last years of Emperor Louis II and his death 24. The Conflicts for the acquisition of the Italian Kingdom

Luigi Andrea Berto is Professor of Medieval History at Western Michigan University, USA. His research focuses on Medieval Italy and the Mediterranean, with a special interest in the use of the past in the medieval and modern periods, and the relationships between Christians and Muslims.