Lombards

A tribe of Germanic descent who conquered northern Italy in the late 6th and early 7th centuries. The region was weak from the gothic wars and vulnerable by the death of the Emperor Justinian (565). Having swept through Venice, Milan, Tuscany, and Benevento, King Alboin established Pavia, on the Ticino River, as the capital of the newly created Lombard kingdom in 572. Although their territorial expansion extended as far south as Benevento, the Lombards never managed to gain complete control of the peninsula. Many major Byzantine cities fell to them but the Eastern Empire maintained a firm hold in the coastal ports of Ravenna and Venice. The Lombards' impact was considerable and they imposed distinct cultural traditions on Italy's decaying classical past. They made rich inlaid gold jewelry, fine sculpture, and created new architectural design which played a significant part in the development of the Romanesque style. The Lombard settlement seems to have been largely to the north of the Po River, the area with the majority of Lombard place-names and Germanic-style archaeological finds, mainly from cemetery sites. The Lombard language seems to have disappeared by the 8th century, leaving few loanwords in the Italian language. When the Franks invaded, Lombards and Romans moved together still more as a conquered, by now Italian people.

Tribe of Germanic descent who conquered northern Italy in the late 6th and early 7th centuries. The region was already weakened by the Gothic wars and was left vulnerable in 565 by the death of the Emperor Justinian, encouraging another phase of invasions. Led by their king Alboin, the Lombards crossed from Pannonia into the north Italian regions of Friuli and Veneto, capturing Aquelia and founding a new capital at Milan. Although their territorial expansion extended as far south as Benevento, the Lombards never managed to gain complete control of the peninsula. Many major Byzantine cities fell to them but the Eastern Empire maintained a firm hold in the coastal ports of Ravenna and Venice. The Lombards always remained somewhat politically disorganized, with control exercised not by central government but through provincial leaders of noble or ecclesiastical status. Nevertheless, their impact was considerable and they imposed distinct cultural traditions on Italy’s decaying classical past. This tradition was expressed in the rich inlaid gold jewellery (such as the Monza Cathedral treasure) buried in the tombs of their nobles. New emphasis was also placed on sculpture as a decorative medium for church interiors, a feature found in the nimbed figures adorning the Tempietto at Cividale. This individuality persisted in Lombardic architecture generally and the combination of new sculptural and architectural design played a significant part in the development of the Romanesque style.