History Of The Lombards. Paolo Diacono – Paulus Diaconus

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СКАЧАТЬ their own champion to compete in a duel with their own. The strict pact was that if the Assopitto warrior had won, the Lombards would have retraced their steps, renouncing to go through those lands, if the Lombard had won they would have had the green light. The Lombards were uncertain on which to choose between them to send against that very strong warrior. Then, a servile condition man offered to fight on behalf of the Lombards on condition that he and all his descendants be removed from the bondage of slavery. What else to say? The Lombards, grateful, accepted and promised to grant him what he asked for. The latter, out of the Lombard ranks, faced the enemy, won, obtained the right of passage for the Lombards and for himself and his loved ones freedom.

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       Finally arrived in Mauringa, the Lombards decided to remove slavery from many in order to increase the number of fighters. The elevation of these to the status of free men involved a ceremony with the gift of an arrow and the murmuring of an ancient formula in the language of their fathers. After this act they left the Mauringa and entered Golanda where they stopped for some time, it is said indeed, a few years. They occupied Anthab, Banthaib and Vurgundaib, we can believe they are villages or places of little importance.

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       In the fourth century after Christ.

       Dead at the same time Ibore and Aione, who had led the Lombards out of Scandinavia and governed up to this point, not wanting to be submissive only to the Dukes imitating the other Germanic lineages, elected their King. First Agelmondo, son of Aione, reigned his dignity from the Gugingi, a lineage that was the most noble among them. The ancestors handed down that he reigned for thirty-three years.

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       In those days a harlot, who had given birth to seven babies, a cruel mother more than a beast, threw them into a pond to make them die. If this seems strange, and someone believes it impossible, reread the writings of the ancients where he will find that not only seven, but also nine children were generated at one time, this was typical especially among the Egyptians. The King Agelmondo, passing through that pond, seeing the poor children, stopped the horse and with the spear tried to remove them, one of them reached out and grabbed the rod of the King. Agelmondo, deeply affected, declared that he would become a great and having him removed from the water, he entrusted him to the care of a nurse, also gave orders that he should be bred with every care and since he had been extracted from a pond, which in their language is called "lama", gave him the name Lamissione. Growing up, the Mission became brave and also the most valiant in war, so much so that he became regent at the death of Agelmondo. It is said that one day, while the Lombards were marching with their King, they arrived on the banks of a river, there they found the step blocked by the Amazons. LamissionE threw himself into the river and went to fight with the strongest of them, killed her and gained glory for himself and the passage for the Lombards. In fact, a pact had been established between the two hosts, if the Amazon had beaten Lamissione, the Lombards would have withdrawn from the river, if instead, as happened, Lamissione had won, the Lombards would have had the right to cross the river. However, the chronology of this story seems hardly credible, those who know the stories of the ancients know that the race of the Amazons was exterminated long ago, and that it was located in places other than these. However, considering that the ancient stories were hardly and vaguely and imprecisely preserved, it can be assumed that a part of them continued to exist in those remote wild lands of Germany. Moreover, I have also heard that a tribe of such women still lives in the remote internal regions of Germany.

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       Crossed the river, the Lombards arrived in new lands and lived there for some time. Since those places were quiet and without suspicion of nasty surprises, they became less attentive and neglected safety, which is always the mother of misfortunes and which brought them not a little misfortune. In fact, at night, while everyone rested relaxed and without any precaution, the Burgundians suddenly fell upon them. Many were wounded and many others killed, as well as King Agelmondo himself, also dragging his only daughter into slavery.

       17.

       After this defeat they thought about recovering their strength, then the Lombards gave themselves the king of the LamissionE we talked about. The latter, with the ardour of his youth, was ready to compete in war to avenge the death of Agelmondo the one who had raised him. So he turned his arms against the Burgundians, but at the first clash the Lombards turned their s balls to the enemy and took refuge in the camp. Seeing this, the King LamissionE, overwhelming everything with his voice, shouted to his warriors that they remembered the outrage at once, reviewing the shame, how the enemies slaughtered their king, how they had led his daughter into slavery, who they had hoped to see their queen. He urged them to defend themselves and their loved ones with weapons, saying that it is better to die in battle than to endure the ridicule of enemies as worthless slaves. Shouting these things, threatening and making promises, he refreshed the spirits to face the battle, he also said that if he had seen someone of servile condition fight, he would have given him, in addition to the prizes, also freedom. Inflamed by the incitements and by the example of their leader, who before all had launched into the battle, the Lombards burst on the enemies and fighting fiercely, exterminated their opponents by massacring them, so they took the victory over their winners, avenging the death of their own kings and wrongs suffered. From the remains of the killed enemies, they also collected a large loot and this made them more daring in facing the risks of war.

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       Dead LamissionE who had been the second King of the Lombards, ascended the throne Lethu. He reigned for about forty years, and left the throne to Hildehoc who was the fourth king and upon his death, the fifth was Godehoc.

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       In those times, between Odoacre, who had reigned in Italy for some years, and Feleteo, called Feba, King of the Rugi, a great enmity originated. At the time Feleteo inhabited the lands beyond the Danube, those which the Danube itself divides from Norico. Also in that area there was the monastery of Blessed Severinus, who lived there in holy abstinence and, at the time, was already worthy of great esteem for his many virtues. And although he had lived in those places until his death, now it is Naples that preserves its miserable little remains. Blessed Severinus had often admonished Feleteo and his wife Gisa to refrain from iniquity, but these, despising his words, did not listen to him, so the blessed foretold them those misfortunes which then struck them. Odoacre therefore, gathered the peoples under his command, Turcilingi, Eruli, part of the Rugi already submitted by him, and also others from Illyria, entered Rugiland, defeated the Rugi, made an almost total massacre and also killed the King Feleteo. Returning to Italy after having devastated the whole region, he brought with him many prisoners leaving those lands almost uninhabited. Then the Lombards, taking advantage of the moment, left their region to occupy Rugiland. In Latin Rugiland means "the ancestral land of the Rugi", this was a very fertile land and here the Lombards lived for several years.

       20.

       During these events Godehoc died and was succeeded by his son Claffone. Dead also Claffone, who was the seventh, his son Tatone ascended the throne. Also abandoned Rugiland, the Lombards lived in open fields, in the barbarian language called "feld". For three years the Lombards lived in these lands when the war broke out between Tatone and Rodulfo, King of the Eruli. The two sovereigns tried to make a pact of friendship between Eruli and Longobardi but the discord between them ignited. The cause was this, a brother of King Rodulfo had come to offer peace to Tatone, ended the mission, while returning home he happened to pass in front of his daughter's house of the King, Rumetruda, this, intrigued by the large following that preceded him, asked who that man was surrounded by such a noble court, they replied that it was the brother of Rodulfo King of the Eruli, who after having made the embassy to Tatone, he was returning home. Rumetruda sent a messenger to invite him to her, offering him a cup of wine. The latter, with a straight heart as he was, accepted. The girl, seeing that he was of small stature, with СКАЧАТЬ