434 
ITALY, 
In 879, the pope was recondufled to Italy with an army 
by Bofon, fon-in-lavv to Louis II. of France; but, though 
he inclined very much to have raifed this prince to the 
dignity of king of Italy, he found his interelt infufficient 
for that purpofe, and matters remained in their former 
fituation. The nobles, who had driven out the pope, were 
now indeed reconciled to him; but, notwithtlanding this 
reconciliation, the ftate of the country was worfe than 
ever; the great men renouncing the authority of any fu- 
perior, and every one claiming to be fovereign in his own 
territories. To add to the calamities which enfued through 
the ambition of thefe defpots, the Saracens committed 
every where the molt terrible ravages ; till at laft the Ita¬ 
lian nobles, defpifing the kings of the Carlovingian race, 
Who had weakened themfelves by tbeir mutual diffenfions* 
began to think of throwing off even all nominal fubmif- 
fion to a foreign yoke, and retaining the imperial dignity 
among themfelves. Thus they hoped, that, by being 
mote united among themfelves, they might be more able 
to refill the common enemy. Accordingly in 885 they 
went to pope Adrian; and, requeuing him to join them 
in aflerting the independency of Italy, they obtained of 
him the two following decrees, viz. That the popes, after 
their election, might be confecrated without waiting for 
the prefence of the king or his ambafiadors; and that, if 
Charles the Grofs died without fons, the kingdom of 
Italy, with the title of emperor, ihould be conferred on 
fome of the Italian nobles. 
Thefe decrees were productive of the worlt confe- 
quences imaginable. The emperor complained of being 
deprived of his right; and the dilfenlions between the 
Italian nobles themfelves became more fatal than ever. 
The two moll powerful of thefe noblemen, Berenga- 
rius duke of Friuli, and Guido or Vido duke of Spoleto, 
entered into an agreement, that on the death of tire em¬ 
peror, the former Ihould' l'eize on the kingdom of Italy, 
and the latter on the kingdom of France. Berengarius 
fucceeded without oppofition ; but Vido was disappoint¬ 
ed, the French having already chofen Eudes, or Otho, 
for their king. Upon this he returned to Italy, and turn¬ 
ed his arms againft Berengarius. Vido proved victorious 
in an engagement, and drove his rival into Germany; 
where he fought the afiiltance of Arnolphus, who had fuc¬ 
ceeded to the crown after the death of Charles. Having 
thus obtained the kingdom of Italy, Vido employed his 
time in reforming the abufes of the Hate, and confirming 
the grants formerly given to the pope, out of gratitude 
for his having fanftified his ufurpation, and declared him 
lawful king of Italy. This tranquillity, however, was of 
fhort duration. Arnolphus fent an army into Italy; the 
Saracens from Spain ravaged the northern parts of the 
country, and, getting poffeflion of a caftle near the Alps, 
held it for many years after, to the great diftrefs of the 
neighbouring parts, which were expofed to their conti¬ 
nual incurfions; and at the fame time Benevento was be- 
fieged and taken by the forces of the eaftern emperor, fo 
that Vido found his empire very confiderably circum¬ 
scribed in its dimenfions. 
The new king, dillrelfed by fo many enemies, affociated 
his l'on Lambert with him in the government, and bribed 
the Germans to return to their own country. In 893, 
however, they again invaded Italy; but were fuddenly 
obliged to leave the country, after having put Berenga- 
rius in pofiefTidn of Pavia. In the mean time, Vido died, 
and his fon Lambert drove out Berengarius: but, having 
joined a fa£ti.on, headed by one Sergius, againft pope For- 
mofus, the latter offered the kingdom of Italy to Arnol¬ 
phus ; who thereupon entered the country with an army, 
befieged and took Rome, maffacreing the faction of Ser¬ 
gius with the moft unrelenting cruelty. 
Arnolphus, thus mailer of Italy, and crowned emperor 
by the pope, began to form fchemes of ilrengthening 
himfelf in bis new acquifitions by putting out the eyes of 
Berengarius; but the latter, having timely notice of his 
treachery, fled to Verona; and the Italians were fo pro¬ 
voked at this and the other cruelties of Arnolphus, that 
they drove him out of the country. His departure occa- 
floned the greateil confufion at Rome. Fortnofus died 
foon after; and the fuccelfors to the papal dignity, hav¬ 
ing now no army to fear, excited the greateil diiturbanceSi 
The body of Formofus was dug up and thrown into the 
Tiber by one pope; after which that pope was ftrangled, 
and Formofus’s body buried again in the Vatican by or¬ 
der of another. At laft the coronation of Arnolphus was 
declared void, the Sergian faction entirely demolifhed, 
and the above-mentioned decrees of Adrian were annul¬ 
led; it being now determined that the eledted popes 
ihould not be confecrated but in prefence of the emperor 
or his ambafiadors. 
During thefe eonfufions, Lambert enjoyed the kingdom 
in quiet; but the nobles, hating him on account of his 
arbitrary and tyrannical government, began again to think 
of Berengarius. In the mean time, however, another fac¬ 
tion offered the crown to Louis king of Arles. This 
new competitor entered Italy with an army in 899 ; but 
was forced by Berengarius to renounce his claim upon 
oath, and to fwear that he would never again enter Italy, 
even though he Ihould be invited to be crowned emperor. 
This oath, however, was foon forgotten. Louis readily 
accepted of another invitation, and was crowned king of 
Italy at Pavia in 901. The following year he forced Be¬ 
rengarius to fly into Bavaria; but, having unadvifedJy 
difbanded his army, as thinking himfelf now fecurely 
feated on the throne, Berengarius, who watched every op¬ 
portunity, furprifed him at Verona, and put out his eyes. 
Thus Berengarius at laft became king.of Italy without 
a rival; and held his kingdom for twenty years after¬ 
wards, without any oppofition from his fubjeCts, who at 
lall became fenfible of the mifehiefs arifing from civil ctif- 
cords. He was not yet, however, without troubles. The 
Hungarians invaded Italy with a formidable army, and 
advanced within a fmall diftance of Pavia. Berengarius 
armed the whole force of his dominions ; and came againft 
them with fuch a multitude, that the Hungarians retired 
without venturing an engagement. A great many of 
their men were loft in palling a river; upon which they 
fent deputies to Berengarius, offering to reftore all their 
booty, and never to come again into Italy, provided they 
were allowed a fafe retreat. Thefe conditions were im¬ 
prudently denied ; upon which the Hungarians attacked 
the army of Berengarius in defpair, and defeated them 
with great llaughter. After this, they over-ran the whole 
country, and plundered the towns of Trevifo, Vicenza, 
and Padua, without refiilance, the inhabitants flying every¬ 
where into fortified places. This devaftatioa they con¬ 
tinued for two years; nor could their departure be pro¬ 
cured without paying them a large fum of money; which, 
however, proved of little avail; for the following year 
they returned, and ravaged the territory of Friuli without 
controul. Scarcely were thefe invaders departed, when 
the Saracens, who had fettled at the foot of the Alps, in¬ 
vaded Apulia and Calabria, and made an irruption as far 
as Acqui in the neighbourhood of Pavia; while the in¬ 
habitants, inilead of oppofing them, fled to fome forts 
which had been erected in the time of the firft irruption 
of the Hungarians, In 912, however, John, prelbyter of 
Ravenna, having attained the papal dignity by means of 
Theodora wife of Adelbert count of Tulcany, applied 
himfelf to regulate the affairs of the church, and to re- 
prel's the infults of the Saracens. While he was confider- 
ing on the moft proper method of effecting this, one of 
the Saracens, who had received an injury from his coun¬ 
trymen, fled to Rome, and offered to deliver the Italians 
from their invafions, if the pope would but allow him a 
fmall body of men. His propofals being accepted, fixty 
young men were chofen, all well armed; who, being con¬ 
ducted by the Saracen into by-paths, attacked the infidels 
as they were returning from their inroads, and feveral 
times defeated great parties of them. Thefe Ioffes affect¬ 
ing the Saracens, a general alliance was concluded amongft 
i -all 
