Arichis II

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arichis II (also Harichis, Arechis, Arechi, Aregis, Aretchis, Aragisus ; * around 734; † August 26, 787 ) was Duke of Benevento from 758 to 787 .

Tremissis des Arechis

Life

family

Arichis' parents are unknown, but he may have descended from Arichis, the third son of Romuald I of Benevento. He had a sister whom he appointed in November 774 as the first abbess of the Santa Sophia Monastery (Chiesa di Santa Sofia) in Benevento, which he founded. He was married to Adelperga , a daughter of King Desiderius with whom he had five children:

  1. Romuald (* 761/762; † July 21, 787; buried in the Cathedral of Salerno)
  2. Grimoald III. (* before 773 - April 806; buried in the Cathedral of Salerno), successor of his father as dux gentis Langobardorum (Duke of the Longobards)
  3. Gisulf (* ?; † before 806; buried in the Cathedral of Salerno)
  4. Theoderada (* ?; † after February 788)
  5. Adelchisa (* after 773; † after November 817), abbess of San Salvatore d'Alife
Tremissis des princeps Arechis
D NS VI CTORIL
VITIR PRINIPI

Domination

King Desiderius consolidated his position in the Longobard Empire by marching into the Ducat Spoleto in 758 , capturing dux Alboin and initially not forgiving the ducat. Dux Liutprand von Benevento fled to Otranto and Desiderius installed Arichis II in his office, to whom he gave his daughter Adelperga as his wife. Adelperga was accompanied to the Beneventine court by her teacher Paulus Diaconus. During his ducal days he enlarged and consolidated his rule over Pavia, the Pope, Naples and Byzantium.

After the conquest of the Longobard Empire in 774 by Charlemagne , Arichis II concluded an alliance with him that formally recognized Franconian sovereignty. But the ducat Benevento remained independent under Arichis II, who assumed the title of princeps and ruled with power equal to kings from 774. Arichis also made use of the previously royal right to enact laws and amended the Edictus Rothari . Arichis understood his principate as a continuation of the Lombard kingship and as an expression of his independence. In the representation of his rulership Arichis mainly followed Byzantine models. From a cultural point of view, Arichi's reign was a high point in Benevento history: arts and education flourished. Queen Adelperga was known for her knowledge of philosophy, poetry, history and exegesis.

Ruins of the Castello di Arechi in Salerno

Due to the Frankish-Byzantine alliance, Arichis pursued a cautious policy towards Pope Hadrian I and Charlemagne after 780 . He had a palace built in Salerno and the fortifications of the city expanded. Around 787 he attacked the Byzantine fort Amalfi, but withdrew as auxiliary troops from Naples came back and made peace. He sent his son Romuald with presents to Charlemagne, who was in Rome, to confirm his loyalty to the Franks. Probably at the instigation of Pope Hadrian I, Karl Romuald took hostage and marched to Capua in Benevento, while Arichis withdrew to the heavily fortified Salerno. Arichis sent his son Grimoald to Karl and was able to negotiate a peace treaty that provided for a personal oath of loyalty and an annual tribute of 7,000 solidi . The cities of Arce , Aquino , Arpino , Sora , Teano and Capua were to be ceded to the Papal States, which would connect Rome and Naples by means of a wide "corridor". Grimoald III. followed as hostage of his father Charlemagne in the Franconian Empire, while Romuald was released. The Frankish-Byzantine alliance was over and so Arichis did not hand over the cities to the Pope, but instead is said to have concluded an alliance with Byzantium and his brother-in-law Adelchis , who lived there in exile .

Arichis died on August 26, 787, shortly before the arrival of an embassy from Empress Irene , which was to give him the title of patrician . He was buried in the Cathedral of Salerno. As long as Charlemagne hesitated, Grimoald III. released from hostage custody in Benevento, Adelperga took over the reign up to Grimoald III for a few months. Became Duke of Benevento and Salerno.

swell

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Thierry Stasser: Ou sont les femmes? Prosopographie des femmes des familles princières et ducales en Italie méridionale 774-1100 , ISBN 1-900934-08-6 , Oxford 2008, p. 12.
  2. ↑ MGH SS XXXIV, Chronica Monasterii Casinensis I, p. 37
  3. ↑ Italy, Emperors & Kings (English)
  4. ↑ Hartmann: History of Italy in the Middle Ages Vol. II Part 2, Perthes, Gotha 1903, p. 210ff
  5. ↑ a b Martina Hartmann : The Queen in the Early Middle Ages , Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-17-018473-2 , p. 55ff
  6. ↑ a b Hans H. Kaminsky: Arichis II . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , Sp. 930 f.
  7. ↑ Hartmann: History of Italy in the Middle Ages, Vol. II Part 2, Perthes, Gotha 1903, p. 285ff
  8. ↑ Principum Beneventi Leges ( Memento of November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Latin)
  9. ↑ a b c Hartmann: History of Italy in the Middle Ages Vol. II Part 2, Perthes, Gotha 1903, p. 302ff
  10. ↑ Einhard: Vita Karoli Magni , chap. 10
  11. ↑ Chronicon Salernitanum 30, MGH SS III, p. 486.
predecessor Office successor
Liutprand Duke of Benevento
758–787 		Grimoald III.
personal data
SURNAME Arichis II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aretchis; Arichis; Arechi; Aregis; Aragisus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Benevento (758–787)
DATE OF BIRTH at 734
DATE OF DEATH August 26, 787
Place of death Salerno