Duchy of Friuli

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Duchy of Friuli
568–828
The Duchy of Friuli in the northeast within Lombard Italy
The Duchy of Friuli in the northeast within Lombard Italy
Status
Capital
Cividale
Common languages
Government
Duke of Friuli
 
• 568-~584 or 568/c.584–590
Grasulf I or Gisulf I (first)
• 774-776
Hrodgaud
• 819-828
Baldric (last)
Historical era
conquered
773-774
• Divided into smaller counties
828
• Reestablished as the March of Friuli
846
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty
March of Friuli
Today part ofFriuli-Venezia Giulia

The Duchy of Friuli was a

Avars, and the Byzantine Empire. The original chief city in the province was Roman Aquileia, but the Lombard capital of Friuli was Forum Julii, modern Cividale
.

Interior of the Lombard Tempietto in Cividale del Friuli

Along with the dukes of

Trent, the lords of Friuli often attempted to establish their independence from the royal authority seated at Pavia, though to no avail. After the Lombard campaign of Charlemagne and the defeat of King Desiderius in 774, the last Friulian duke Hrodgaud ruled until 776. Upon his death, Friuli was incorporated as a march of the Carolingian Empire
.

History

Medieval house in Cividale del Friuli

Origins

The Venetian territory around Forum Iulii, still devastated by the Gothic War, was the first in former Roman Italy to be conquered by the Lombards under their king Alboin in 568. Before continuing on to penetrate Italy further southwards, Alboin left a large garrison at Cividale and placed the government of the district under his nephew and Marepaphias (shield-bearer), Gisulf as a dux, who was allowed to choose the faras or noble families with which he wished to settle the land.[2]

The original duchy was bound by the

Lombard kingdom
and meant that it always played an important role in Italian politics, such that several of its dukes achieved the rank of king.

Grisulf, a capable ruler according to the Historia Langobardorum chronicles by Paul the Deacon, suppressed the Roman population in Friuli. He gained even greater influence during the Lombard interregnum upon the death of King Cleph in 574. Little is known of Gisulf's first successor, Grasulf I

Seventh century

Byzantine and Lombard Italy

Around 610, Avar forces invaded Friuli pillaging the Lombard settlements. While King Agilulf did not take any action, Duke Gisulf II was killed in battle when the invaders occupied his residence at Cividale. Paul the Deacon recounts the event in epic tones.[3] Paul, who was originally from the duchy of Friuli also recounts in detail the betrayal of Romilda, Gisulf's wife, who handed the city of Cividale over to the Avars. They sacked the duchy and then withdrew to Pannonia. Gisulf II's sons, Tasso and Kakko had narrowly managed to escape the battle in which their father lost his life and assumed control of Friuli. They undertook a campaign against the Slavs and temporarily extended the eastern borders of the duchy up to Matrei in present East Tyrol. The Slavs continued to pay tribute to Friuli until the reign of Ratchis. The brothers also undertook campaigns against the Byzantine forces in Italy. In 615, Concordia was captured, and around 625 the brothers were killed in an ambush at the Byzantine city of Oderzo by the patrician Gregorius.[4]

The Ducal throne was then assumed by

Grado in 662, in which he sacked the city and seized the treasures of the Patriarchate of Aquileia himself. The Duke was very closed with Grimoald (now King of the Lombards), who entrusted him with his palace in Pavia when he went away to Benevento, but in 663 Lupus rebelled. Grimoald then made an agreement with the Avars who invaded the duchy and killed Lupus. They then refused to withdraw and continued their raids until Grimoald himself intervened and managed to induce them to return to Pannonia. Grimoald installed Wechtar as the next duke, rather than Lupus' son Arnefrit
.

Wechtar, originally from

Papacy. On this occasion however, King Cunipert had the better of it; Ansfird was captured near Verona and sent into exile. In his place, Cunipert installed a loyal supporter, Ado
, the brother of the deposed Duke Rodoald. He reigned as duke for a little over a year.

Eighth century

On Ado's death, at the beginning of the 8th century, the duchy passed to

Pemmo
around 710.

Rachis in a miniature.

Pemmo was esteemed by Paul the Deacon (who calls him "an intelligent man who was useful to the country"

Patriarch of Aquileia, Callixtus [it]. The Patriarch protested against the fact that the bishop of Zuglio, Fidentius, had moved his seat from his actual diocese to Cividale - a decision which was confirmed by Fidentius' successor, Amator. Callixtus, whose titular see was Aquileia, but who had himself moved to Cormons because Aquileia was too vulnerable to Byzantine attack, considered another bishop based in the ducal capital to be inconvenient. So he drove Amator out of the city and took over his residence for himself. Pemmo did not accept the patriarch's actions and moved against Callixtus, imprisoning him in harsh conditions. At this point, King Liutprand intervened against the duke, stripped him of his title and handed the duchy to his oldest son, Rachis
.

The new duke led an expedition into the Slavic territory (Carniola) and pillaged it as a proof of his valour. Rachis and his warriors also distinguished themselves in the defence of Liutprand when he was attacked and betrayed on the march to Fossombrone by the rebellious Duchy of Spoleto. As a result of the prestige that he had gained from these ventures, Rachis became king of the Lombards in 744, deposing Liutprand's successor Hildeprand after a few months of rule. Rachis assigned the duchy to his brother Aistulf, who only held it for a few years, since in 749 he succeeded Rachis (who had been deposed by his dukes) as king of Italy.

Information about the situation in the Duchy during the final years of the Lombard kingdom is scarce. It was ruled by the co-regents, Anselm and Peter (749-756) and the final duke that we know of was Hrodgaurd (774-776). It is likely that in these years, when the Lombard kingdom was ruled by sovereigns of Friulian origin and the central power was particularly strong, that the autonomy of the duchy was very limited. An indirect piece of evidence for this is the fact that Istria, which was conquered by Aistulf after he became king, was not annexed to the Duchy, but remained under direct royal control.

Friuli after the fall of the Lombard kingdom

See also: Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)

After the

Leges Langobardorum [it] were maintained, he reorganised the kingdom on the Frankish model, with counts rather than dukes. The duchy of Friuli thus became a county, but Hrodgaud was allowed to keep it until he rebelled in 776, when he was killed in battle and replaced with Macarius. In 781, Friuli, along with the other territory of the old Lombard kingdom was placed under the control of Charlemagne's son Pepin. In 828, Friuli was subdivided into a number of smaller counties and then in 846 it was reformed as the March of Friuli
.

In the early modern period, the Habsburg-ruled

grand title of the Emperor of Austria
.

Dukes

See also: Dukes and margraves of Friuli

Notes

  1. ^ Thomas Hodgkin, Italy and Her Invaders, vol. 5:160.
  2. ^ Paul the Deacon, Historia Langobardorum, ii.9.65-66.
  3. Historia Langobardorum, IV
    , 37.
  4. Historia Langobardorum, IV
    , 38.
  5. Historia Langobardorum, VI
    , 24.
  6. Historia Langobardorum, VI
    , 26.

Sources
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