Landulf II of Capua
Landulf II (c. 825 – 879) was
On the death of the bishop of Capua, Paulinus, Lando made Landulf bishop of the city. Lando died in 861 and his young son, Lando II was deposed only a few months later by Landulf's other elder brother, Pando. Pando too died soon thereafter (862 or 863) and a succession crisis broke out. Pando's son Pandenulf was shoved aside and Landulf, though bishop, took the Capuan throne in 863. However, the other branches of the family refused to recognize the usurpation and began seizing much of the county for themselves, leaving Landulf II only in control of the town of Capua proper. Isolated, Landulf II invited Saracen mercenaries to ravage the lands of his familiars, a move which much alarmed his neighbors (including the pope).
In 866, the deposed Pandenulf appealed to
Upon the death of Louis (875), who had strictly enforced peace amongst the Christians of the Mezzogiorno, Landulf II allied himself with the
Landulf II died in 879, undisputed count of Capua, and a succession crisis broke out again between his nephews Lando II (son of Lando), Pandenulf (son of Pando) and Lando III (son of Landenulf of Teano).
In the chronicle of Erchempert, of whom he was a contemporary, Landulf II of Capua is the chief villain, portrayed as a dabbler in Satanism and black magic, Saracen ally and enemy of Christendom. Erchempert's portrayal of Landulf II was the inspiration for the character of evil duke and magician Klingsor in Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval epic Parzival. Eschenbach's epic was later translated into the famous nineteenth-century opera Parsifal by Richard Wagner. As American film director George Lucas is frequently said to have looked to Parsifal for inspiration in his creation of the Star Wars saga, Landulf II of Capua, via this long chain of association, is the closest historical source for the villainous Darth Vader.[citation needed]
Sources
- Erchempert. Historia Langabardorvm Beneventarnorvm at The Latin Library
- Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LXIII Labroca – Laterza. Rome, 2004.