43 
L O M BARD S. 
«archy. Impatient for revenge, they returned a third 
time with accumulated force; and Aurharis yielded to 
the fury of the torrent. The troops and treafures of the 
Lombards were diftributed in the walled towns between 
the Alps and the Apennine. A nation, lefs lenfible of 
danger than of fatigue and delay, foon murmured againlt 
the folly of their twenty commanders; and the hot va¬ 
pours of an Italian fun infefted with difeaie thofe tramon¬ 
tane bodies which had already fuffered the viciflitudes of 
intemperance and famine. The powers that were inade¬ 
quate to the conquelt, were more than fufficient for the 
defblation, ot the country.; nor could the trembling na¬ 
tives diftinguilh between their enemies and their deli¬ 
verers. If the junction of the Merovingian and Imperial 
forces had been effected in the neighbourhood of Milan, 
perhaps they might have fubverted the throne of the Lom¬ 
bards \ but the Franks awaited fix days the fignal of a 
flaming village; and the arms of the Greeks were idly 
employed in the reduction of Modena and Parma, which 
were torn from them after the retreat of their tranfalpine 
allies. The victorious Autharis afferted his claim to the 
dominion of Italy. At the foot of the Rhaetian Alps, he 
fubdued the refinance, and rifled the hidden treafures, of 
a fequeitered ifland in the lake of Comum. At the ex¬ 
treme point of Calabria, he touched with his fpear a co¬ 
lumn ou the fea-fhore of Rhegium ; proclaiming that an¬ 
cient land-mark to Hand the immoveable boundary of his 
kingdom. The Golumna Rkegina, in the narroweft part of 
the Faro of Meffina, one hundred ftadia from Rhegium 
itfelf, is frequently mentioned in ancient geography. 
From fcenes of blood, we turn witjh pleafure to the 
adventurous gallantry of Autharis, which breathes the 
true fpirit of chivalry and romance. After the lofs of his 
promifed bride, a Merovingian princefs, he fought in mar¬ 
riage the daughter of the king of Bavaria; and Garibald 
accepted the alliance of the Italian monarch. Impatient 
of the flow progrefs of negociation, the ardent lover ef- 
eaped from his palace, and vifited the court of Bavaria in 
the train of his own embafly. At the public audience, 
the unknown Itranger advanced to the throne, and in¬ 
formed Garibald, that the ambaffador was indeed the mi- 
nilter of flate, but that he alone was the friend of Au¬ 
tharis, w ho had trufted him with the delicate commiflion 
of making a faithful report of the charms of his fpoufe. 
Theudelinda was fummoned to undergo this important 
examination ; and, after a paufe of filent rapture, he hailed 
her as the queen of Italy, and humbly reqneited, that, 
according to the cuftom of the nation, fhe would prefent 
a cup of wine to the firft of her new fubjeAs. By the 
command of her father, (Ire obeyed : Autharis received 
the cup in his turn, and, in reitoring it to the princefs, 
he fecretly touched her hand, and drew his own finger 
over his face and lips. In the evening, Theudelinda im¬ 
parted to her nurfe the indilcreet familiarity of the ftranger; 
and was comforted by the affurance, that fuch boldnefs 
could proceed only from the king her hnfband, who, by 
his beauty and courage, appeared worthy of her love. 
The anxbaffadors were dil'miffed : no fooner did they reach 
the confines, of Italy, than Autharis, railing himfelf on 
his horfe, darted his battle-axe againlt a tree with incom¬ 
parable ltrength and dexterity: “Such.” faid he to the 
altonilhed Bavarians, “ fuch are the ftrokes of the king of 
the Lombards.” On the approach of a French army, Ga¬ 
ribald and his daughter took refuge in the dominions of 
their ally; and the marriage was confummated in the pa¬ 
lace of Verona. At the end of one year, it was dilfolved 
by the death of Autharis, A. D. 590. but the virtues of 
Theudelinda had endeared her to the nation, and Use was 
permitted to bellow, with her hand, the fceptre of the Ita¬ 
lian kingdom. 
Thefe five gave to Agilulf, of whom we know little more 
than that he renounced the opinions of Arius.. which had 
been countenanced by Autharis, and embraced the or¬ 
thodox catholic faith. Agilulf was fucceeded, A.D. 615, 
by his fon Adaluald 5 who, being depofed, had for his luc- 
ceflor Ariovald, under whofe government the Lombards 
enjoyed tranquillity both at home and abroad. Upon his 
death, A. D, 636, Rotharis afcended the throne, who is 
the firft that gave written laws to the Lombards. Before 
his time they had been governed only by tradition ; but 
Rotharis, in imitation of the Romans and Goths, under¬ 
took the publifliing of writif.'en laws; and to thole which 
he enabled, many were added by the fucceeding princes. 
Grotius prefers the method which the Lombards followed 
in making laws, to that which was praftifed by the Ro¬ 
mans themfelvef. Among the latter, the emperor was 
the foie lawgiver; fo that whatever pleafed him had the 
force of a law : but the Lombard kings did not alfume 
thatpovverto themfelves, fince their laws were enafted in 
public affemblies, convened for that purpofe, after they 
had been maturely examined and approved of by all the 
lords of the kingdom : but from thefe affemblies were ex¬ 
cluded the ecclefiaftical order and the pepple; fo that the 
legillative power was lodged in the king and nobles alone. 
The reign of Rotharis is remarkable, not only for bis 
introducing written laws among his fubjeffts, but for the 
conquefts. he made, and the fuccefsful wars carried on 
with the exarch of Ravenna, whom he totally defeated in 
feveral engagements, and made himfelf mailer of fome 
part of his territories. This monarch died in 65a ; and 
the affairs of the Lombards went on profperoully, till the 
ambition of Liutprand, or Luitprand, laid the foundation 
of the total ruin of his kingdom. He afcended the throne 
of Lombardy in 7.11, and watched all opportunities of en¬ 
larging his dominions at the expenfe of the emperor’s. 
Of this, a fair opportunity offered in 7x6 ; for the emperor 
Leo Ifanricus, who at that time reigned in the eaft, hav¬ 
ing by his famous edidt, forbidden the worlhip of images, 
and ordered them to be every-where pulled down, the 
people were fo provoked at this innovation, that, in feve¬ 
ral places, they openly revolted, and, falling upon the em¬ 
peror’s officers, drove them out of the cities. In the eaft, 
Germanus, patriarch of Conftantinople, oppofed the em¬ 
peror's delign with great warmth ; but Leo canfed him 
to be depofed, and Anaftafius to be raifed to that fee in 
Ins room, ordering at the lame time all the images in the 
imperial city to be pulled down and publicly burnt. He 
ltriflly enjoined his officers iru the weft, el'pecially the 
exarch of Ravenna, to fee his edidt pundtually obeyed in 
their refpective governments. In compliance with thefe 
orders, Scholalticus, then exarch, began to pull down the 
images in all the churches and public places in Ravenna; 
which incenfed the fuperlfitious multitude to fuch a de¬ 
gree, that, taking arms, they openly declared they would 
rather renounce their allegiance to the emperor than the 
worlhip of images. 
Thus a kind of civil war being kindled in the city, 
Luitprand thought he' had now a favourable opportunity 
of making himfelf mailer of the feat of the exarch, not 
doubting but the conquelt of fuch an important place 
would be followed by that of the whole exarchate. Hav¬ 
ing therefore drawn together all his forces, he unexpedt- 
edly appeared before Ravenna, and clofely belieged it. 
The exarch little expelled fuch a furprife, as a friendly 
correfpondence had been maintained for many years be¬ 
tween the exarchs and the Lombard kings. However, he 
defended the place with fuch courage and refolution, that 
Luitprand, defpairing of fuccels, broke up the fiege, and 
led his army againlt Clalfis, at a fmall diltance from Ra¬ 
venna, which he took, plundered, and levelled with the 
ground. The lofs of this place, and the fevere treatment 
the inhabitants met with from the king, threw the citizens 
of Ravenna into the utmoft conlternation ; which Luit¬ 
prand being informed of, he refolved to take advantage 
of their fears, and, returning before Ravenna while the 
inhabitants were thus dilheartened, to attempt once more- 
the reduction of that place. Accordingly he led his whole 
army againlt it, and, by frequent attacks, tired the inha¬ 
bitants and garrifon to fuch a degree, that the exarch,, 
finding they could hold out no longer, and delpairing of 
* ishefi^ 
