Longobards

The Longobards, also known as the Lombards (Latin Longobardi), were a Germanic people who played a major role in early medieval Europe. Their origins are typically traced to regions north of the Danube, with a traditional association to southern Scandinavia, and they moved through Central Europe before reaching Italy. The name Longobards is sometimes linked to the appearance of their beards.

In 568, under King Alboin, the Lombards crossed the Alps and established a kingdom in northern and central Italy. They displaced or absorbed other populations and created a political state with its capital at Pavia. Over the next two centuries they controlled large portions of the Italian peninsula, while the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna retained its holdings in the south and along the Adriatic. The Lombard kingdom lasted until 774, when Charlemagne defeated King Desiderius and incorporated the territory into the Frankish Empire.

Government and law were organized around a king and numerous duchies, each governed by a duke under the king. Lombard law was codified in vernacular Latin, most notably in the Edictum Rothari (643), which systematized customary practices. The Lombards maintained a Roman administrative influence and interacted with Roman populations, the Catholic Church, and neighboring peoples, contributing to the evolving medieval institutions of northern Italy.

Religion initially followed Arian Christianity, but over time Catholicism gained prominence, aided by papal alliances and internal dynastic shifts. This religious shift facilitated closer ties with the Roman Church and contributed to the integration of Lombard and Roman societies.

Legacy of the Longobards is seen in the linguistic, legal, and cultural layering that shaped early medieval Italy. Their rules and settlements influenced the formation of the Italian state, and their interactions with Roman and Byzantine traditions left a lasting mark on the region.