In 611 the Avars attacked the Langobards living at Venetia.
The Langobards proved to be no match and their duke Gisulfus of Friuli (Foroiulanus dux ) was killed with almost
all of his men. The remainder of the Langobards withdrew in their fortified
settlements, believed to be immune for attacks. However Romilda, the widow of
the duke, sees the young leader of the Avars in full armour on his horse and is
overwhelmed by lust and passion (meretrix
`whore, harlot’ is how Paulus calls her). She comes to a secret understanding
with him that she will open the gates and he will marry her. After the gates
are opened, the leader of the Avars doesn’t keep his promise: the sity is
looted, but the Langobards are promised to be settled in Pannonia, where the
Avars came from, but on their way to that place the Avars decided that all adult
males (in maiori aetate constituti)
should be killed by the sword. Women and small children were divided amongst
their captors
How this story evolves will be told in the next post.
Paulus Diaconus
(720-799) writes with great indignation about the betrayal by the widow,
but it is impossible to say how much his picture of the events corresponds to
what really happened. It is though sure that the Avars made attempts to conquer
the north of Italy, but were repelled. The Avars are a very enigmatic nomadic
people, whose exact ethnic and linguistic backgrounds are unclear. It is
possible that they were a confederation of various tribes rather than single
ethnic group, but some Turkish component seems likely. They are not Huns, as
Paulus thinks, but in their way of operating they look similar.
Paulus’ Latin is not that difficult. This edition of the
Bibliotheca Augustana has sometimes e
for ae.
Paulus Diaconus, Historia
Langobardorum 4.37 (first part)
Circa haec
tempora rex Avarum, quem sua lingua Cacanum appellant, cum innumerabili
multitudine veniens, Venetiarum fines ingressus est. Huic Gisulfus Foroiulanus
dux cum Langobardis, quos habere poterat, audacter occurrit; sed quamvis forti
animositate contra inmensam multitudinem bellum cum paucis gereret, undique
tamen circumseptus, cum omnibus pene suis extinctus est. Uxor vero eiusdem
Gisulfi nomine Romilda cum Langobardis qui evaserant sive eorum uxoribus et
filiis qui in bello perierant, intra murorum Foroiulani castri [se] muniit
septa. Huic erant filii Taso et Cacco iam adulescentes, Raduald vero et
Grimuald adhuc in puerili aetate constituti. Habebat vero et filias quattuor,
quarum una Appa, alia Gaila vocabatur, duarum vero nomina non retinemus.
Communierant se quoque Langobardi et in reliquis castris quae his vicina erant,
hoc est in Cormones, Nemas, Osopo, Artenia, Reunia, Glemona, vel etiam in
Ibligine, cuius positio omnino inexpugnabilis existit. Pari etiam modo et in
reliquis castellis, ne Hunnis, hoc est Avaribus, praeda fierent, se
communivere. Avares vero per omnes Foroiulanorum fines discurrentes, omnia
incendiis et rapinis vastantes, Foroiulanum oppidum obsidione claudunt et totis
viribus expugnare moliuntur. Horum rex, id est Cacanus, dum circa muros armatus
cum magno equitatu perambularet, ut, qua ex parte urbem facilius expugnare
posset, inquireret, hunc Romilda de muris prospiciens, cum eum cerneret
iuvenili aetate florentem, meretrix nefaria concupivit, eique mox per nuntium
mandavit, ut, si eam in matrimonium sumeret, ipsa eidem civitatem cum omnibus
qui aderant traderet. Quod rex barbarus audiens, eidem malignitatis dolo quod
mandaverat se facturum promisit eamque se in matrimonium accipere spopondit.
Illa vero nihil morata, portas Foroiulensis castri aperuit et ad suam
cunctorumque qui aderant perniciem hostem introduxit. Ingressi vero Avares cum
rege suo Forumiulii, universa quae invenire poterant rapinis diripiunt;
ipsamque urbem flammis concremantes, universos quos reppererant captivos
adducunt, fallaciter tamen, eis promittentes, quod eos, unde digressi fuerant,
Pannoniae in finibus conlocarent. Qui cum patriam revertentes ad campum quem
Sacrum nominant pervenissent, omnes qui iam in maiori aetate constituti erant
Langobardos gladio perimere statuunt, mulieres vero et parvulos captivitatis
sorte dividunt.
cacanus: khan
animositas –atis
(f.): boldness, courage
bellum gero:
to wage war
circumseptus :
surrounded
filiis qui in bello
perierant: with the sons (of those eorum) who had fallen in the war
munio: to protect
septum: fence
communierant = munierant
Cormones, Nemas,
Osopo, Artenia, Reunia, Glemona, Ibligis: modern Cormons, Nimis, Ossopo, Artegna,
Racogna, Germona, Iplis
inexpugnabilis:
unconquerable
pari modo: in
the same way
ne…praeda fierent:
in order not to become booty for
rapina:
plunder
vasto: to
devastate
obsidio, -onis
(f.): siege
molior: to
strive
cerno crevi certum:
to perceive, see
nefarius:
impious, nefarious
in matrimonium sumo:
to marry
eidem malignitatis
dolo quod mandaverat se facturum promisit: he promissed her with a conceit
of malignity that he would do what she has demanded
spondeo spopondi
sponsum: to assure
moror: to
delay
ad suam…perniciem:
to her destruction
diripio diripui
direptum: to plunder
reperio repperi
repertum: to find
fallaciter:
falsely
unde digressi
fuerant: the Avars
campus Sacrus: location
unknown
omnes Langobardos, qui
perimo peremi peremptum: to kill
sors sortis
(f.): lot (captivitatis sorte by a
lot for captivity)
A translation can be found here:
http://www.thule-italia.org/Nordica/Paul%20the%20Deacon%20-%20History%20of%20the%20Lombards%20%281907%29%20%5BEN%5D.pdf?lbisphpreq=1
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