Perctarite

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perctarit (also Pertarit, Bertarit, Pertari, Perctarith, Bertari (d) us ; † 688 ) was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 and again from 671 to 688 .

Life

family

Perctarit was the son of King Aripert I of the Agilolfinger family . He was married to Rodelinda , with whom he had the son Cunincpert and the daughter Wigilinde, who married the dux Grimoald II of Benevento.

Domination

Aripert decided that his sons Godepert and Perctarit should succeed him as kings with equal rights. After Aripert's death in 661, Godepert resided in Ticinum ( Pavia ), Perctarit in Mediolanum ( Milan ). There was general dissatisfaction, on the one hand in the nobility, who insisted on their participation in the election of the king, on the other hand between the two brothers, who met with suspicion. Godepert asked the Duke of Benevento , Grimoald, for support, but he took advantage of the situation, marched with his troops to northern Italy and murdered Godepert. Perctarit fled into exile with the Avars , while his wife Rodelinda and young son Cunincpert were taken hostage to Benevento. Thus the rule of the successor Grimoald was unchallenged, who had his kingship confirmed by the nobility and in 662 married the unknown sister Perctarits.

exile

Nevertheless resistance spread; The supporters of the deposed dynasty formed in Asti and Turin and made contact with the Frankish Empire . Meanwhile, Grimoald threatened the Avars with war if they did not hand over Perctarit. This returned to the Longobard Empire and submitted to Grimoald, who initially welcomed him in Pavia. He received a severance payment and a stately home from the king, but as a pretender to the throne he remained a danger. Perctarit realized that Grimoald wanted to get rid of him and fled again, this time to the Franks . A military intervention by the Franconian Empire in favor of the Agilolfinger failed in a battle near Asti, which was costly for the Franks.

Renewed rule

Monogram of perctarits on silver denar , minted after 672

After Grimoald died in 671, Perctarit returned from the Frankish Empire and was greeted by his followers at the border of the Longobard Empire. Garibald , Grimoald's underage son and successor, was expelled after 3 months of rule and a popular assembly unanimously elected Perctarit as king. He immediately had his wife and son brought back from their Beneventine exile.

In contrast to his Arian predecessors, Perctarit was a devout Catholic. The Catholic faith became the state religion. The Jews were forced to be baptized or, if they refused, executed. In Pavia he had the Agatha monastery built, while Queen Rodelinde had the basilica Sanctae Dei Genitricis (Church of the Holy Mother of God) built on the pagan cult site of Ad Perticas in front of the city .

Around 679/680 Perctarit raised his son Cunincpert to co-king.

Dux Alahis of Tridentum ( Trient ) rose against Perctarit around 679. Perctarit advanced with his army and besieged Alahis in Tridentum. By a failure, Alahis was able to put the king to flight. Cunincpert managed to reconcile the two. In addition, Perctarit also awarded the rebel the Ducat Brescia at the request of Cunincpert , although he mistrusted Alahis.

Perctarit had the magnificent Porta Palatinensis (palace gate) built in Pavia. In his second term in office he mainly sought a balance with Byzantium , so that these years were relatively peaceful. In 680 Emperor Constantine IV first recognized the independence of the Longobard Empire in Italy.

Perctarit died in 688 and was buried in Pavia next to the church Domini Salvatoris (Church of the Lord and Savior, today: Monastero di San Salvatore), which his father Aripert I had built. He was succeeded by his son Cunincpert.

reception

Perctarit is a main character in the operas Rodelinda, regina de 'Longobardi by Georg Friedrich Händel and Flavius ​​Bertaridus, King of the Longobards by Georg Philipp Telemann , which premiered in London in 1725 and in Hamburg in 1729.

swell

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Historia Langobardorum  - Sources and full texts (Latin)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MGH SS rer Lang I, p. 138
  2. ^ Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum IV, 51
  3. ↑ Historia Langobardorum V, 1
  4. ↑ Historia Langobardorum V, 2
  5. ↑ Historia Langobardorum V, 5
  6. ↑ a b Historia Langobardorum V, 33
  7. ^ The New Cambridge Medieval History , Vol. 2, p. 321
  8. ↑ Thomas Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders Vol VI, p. 303
  9. ↑ a b Historia Langobardorum V, 34
  10. ↑ a b Historia Langobardorum V, 36
  11. ↑ Lexicon of the Middle Ages : Volume VI Column 1879
  12. ^ Historia Langobardorum V, 37
predecessor Office successor
Aripert I. King of the Lombards
661–662 		Grimoald
Garibald King of the Lombards
671–688 		Cunincpert
personal data
SURNAME Perctarite
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pertarite; Bertarite; Pertari; Perctarith; Bertarius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Lombards
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH 688