I LOnGOBARDI A BENEVENTO

Benevento Benevento is a town in Campania, about 35 miles northeast of Naples. It was founded as a Greek colony, and after the collapse of the Roman empire was the southernmost duchy of the Longobardi (Lombards). It was always more or less independent, as the Roman papal states lay between it and the other Lombard territories. The first duke, Zotto (died 591), and his nephew Arechis, expanded their territory considerably through the early seventh century. It is not clear how they are related to the family described below. The Lombard chieftain Grasulf of Friuli, who lived in the second half of the sixth century, was evidently a grandson (via his mother) of the Lombard king Audouin (see Lombardy). He had a son Grasulf or Gisulf who married Romilda, daughter of Garibald of Bavaria. Their son Grimoald (c610-671; Romualdo in Italian) was named duke of Benevento by the Lombard king in 651, and may have been connected with the earlier dukes; or the connection may have been through his elder brother Rodoald, who was duke 646-651. Grimoald was a renowned general, fighting several wars against the Byzantines and against neighboring states, and defeating a Frankish invasion. He overthrew and killed his cousin King Godebert of the Lombards, and made himself king in 662, passing Benevento to his son Romualdo I (duke 662-677), who married Theodrada, daughter of Duke Lupus of Friuli. Their son Grimoald II ruled only three years, and was succeeded by his brother Gisulf (died 706). Gisulf married Winiperga, and was succeeded by their son Romuald II the Younger (died 732); he was succeeded by his son Gisulf (died c753) and then Gisulf's son Liutprand (deposed 756), and then by Arechis II (died 787), who was probably an uncle. Arechis II was almost certainly a grandson of Romualdo I (above). He married Adalperga, daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius (see Italy) - one of her sisters was married briefly to Charlemagne. They had five children: (1) Romualdo, who apparently died before his father, perhaps while he was a hostage at Charlemagne's court; (2) Grimoald III, see below; (3) Gisulf; (4) Theodrada; and (5) Adelchisa. Grimoald III (died 806) accepted Frankish sovereignty; he had one son, Ilderic, who did not succeed him. The next duke of Benevento was Grimoald IV, no doubt a relative, but his parentage is unknown. This Grimoald was murdered in 817, and succeeded by Sico, another Lombard noble; Sico died in 832 or 834, and was followed by his son Sicard, at whose murder in 839 a civil war broke out, between the treasurer Radelchis, who made himself Prince of Benevento, and Sicard's brother Siconulf, who became Prince of Salerno (which had been part of Benevento's territories). We are definitely descended from Radelchis; a descent from his predecessors is likely but uncertain. Sicard had a sister Itana who married Guido II of Spoleto; their daughter Yota married Guaimar II of Salerno; they are our ancestors through the Hautevilles and other lines - see Salerno. Radelchis (died 851) was a Lombard, and perhaps noble, but nothing is known of his ancestry. In 849 he agreed to a compromise worked out by King Louis II of Italy which gave him about half of Benevento's former territory. He also lost Bari and Tarento to the Saracens. His wife's name was Caretruda; they had two children: (1) Radelgar I of Benevento (died 854), who had a son Gaideris, prince of Benevento (died 881), who was deposed and had no descendants; and (2) Adelchis (murdered 878), who had three children: (1) Radelchis II, deposed and killed in 900; (2) Aio, prince of Benevento c884-888; his son Urso was also briefly prince; and (3) Ageltruda (died p921), who married Guido III, Duke of Spoleto, and is our ancestor via that family. Landolfo I of Capua married a daughter of one Rofrit of Benevento, who is thought to be a descendant of Romualdo I, see above - but this is uncertain. Landolfo is our ancestor through his son Adenolfo I; see Capua. During most of the tenth century Benevento was ruled by various members of the house of Capua, whose count, Adenolfo I, had deposed Radelchis II. For the later Benevento rulers see Capua and Salerno. By the eleventh century it had been conquered by the Normans, later by the Holy Roman emperors; and finally became a papal state (until 1806).