Test #3 - Lombards Flashcards
What does Lombard (Langobards) mean?
“long-bearded” (long beards and hair on front and sides)
What is the Iron Crown?
The Iron Crown of Lombardy became a symbol of the Christian faith tied to monarchy and its right to rule
Crown was said to be made with an iron nail from the True Cross (cross Jesus was crucified on)
Authari elected king…
reasserts central authority
marries Theodolinda - Catholic daughter of the Duke of Bavarians
begins slow conversion of Lombards to Orthodox Christianity (Roman Catholicism) from Arianism
further reduces hostility of Rome
Who was the most powerful Lombard King?
King Liutprand (712-744 CE)
Catholic
Why were the Lombards successful?
- reduced taxes from higher levels under imperial rule
- many of the wealthy fled to Lombardy
- financially, life under Lombards was preferred to life under Imperial rule
- lack of strong opposition, urbanization, economic vitality, attempt to rule a single kingdom with one set of laws for all
Why did the Lombard Empire collapse?
they failed to develop a strong concept of centralized royal power
- no strong rule of succession
- kings elected by the Dukes
- hereditary succession existed, but still must be elected
- king lead the army and his province
- political and judicial powers constantly challenged by Dukes and powerful families
What were the role of Kings?
head of the Lombard nation
- elected leader
- military leader in war
- weak political and judicial power
- appoint royal officials responsible to him
What was the role of a Noble?
- Dukes come from this group
- great landowners and military elite
- appoint own officials in their territories
What were the 3 kinds of freeman?
- Those in service to the King
- Landholders of the “first-class” with a weregild of 300 solidi
- Landless freemen or “lesser men” (minores homines), with weregild of 150 solidi
What was a half-freemen?
- agricultural workers, weregild of 60 solidi
- often slaves of war
- free man but without mobility (could not leave)
What is the weregild of a freeman?
300 solidi
What is the weregild of a half-freeman?
60 solidi
What was Lombard law?
- took whatever made sense from Lombard tradition and Roman law
- clear law codes critical for the functioning of a highly developed international economy
- under Roman influence, the concept of the “state” appears
What was the concept of the ‘state’?
- state/king has certain powers on one hand and certain duties/responsibilities on the other
- as state/king authority increases, the power of the kin/family decreases
What were the two most important legal codes?
King Rothair (Rothair’s Edict of 643) and King Liutprand (713-735)
What was King Rothair’s Edict?
- almost entirely customary Germanic law, slightly modified by the migration experience
- most like a ‘code’ among Germanic codes
- a nearly complete statement of Lombard legal principles
- more organized
Define mundium
male’s legal right to protect the person, rights and property of his wife, minor sons, umarried daughters, aldii (half-freemen) and slaves
- protect them
- appear in court for them and pay their fines
Define munwald
was the person responsible for the mundium
Define meta
The sum agreed upon by the groom to pay to the bride’s family in exchange for his right to her mundium
Define Garethinx
“spear assembly” or “warrior assembly”
- was a Lombard gathering to witness or affirm laws, edicts and adoptions
Define traditio
- the act of the bride’s father in handing over his daughter, her mundium and her property to the groom
- origin of “traditional” wedding
Define faderfio
gift given to the newly-weds by the bride’s father
Define lidinlaib
an inheritance
Define faida
a blood feud
(only legitimate sons could raise the faida)
Define thinx
a gift, usually of property, given to someone other than legitimate heirs
What are heirs?
Family members up to the 7th degree/4th cousins
- only family can inherit
What are legitimate children?
legitimate sons are sons that result from a legal marriage
What are natural sons?
sons born outside of marriage, but to a wife whom you would be allowed to marry
What are illegitimate sons?
sons born from illegal or incestuous marriages
What happens with inheritance and sons?
Each legitimate son will receive twice as much as all of the natural sons (as a group)
What happens if you plot the death of a relative?
You can not inherit from this relative
- succession of inheritance skips over the murderer as they can not benefit from the crime
- King then decides what happens to the murderer to avoid an internal family faida
For what reasons can a father disinherit his son?
- for plotting against the life of his father or blood family
- for deliberately striking his father
- for having intercourse with his noverca (stepmother)
What happens if one brother is given family property to purchase his bride’s meta?
all brothers will get the same amount, either when they marry or the family property is divided up or sold
Define launigild and when they were exchanged
reciprocal gifts
- these were exchanged between two men to show their friendship or an alliance
Define manumission
freeing of a slave
Define amundius
freed male slave
Define amundia
freed female slave
When does manumission (freeing of a slave) take place and how?
- takes place before the gairethinx (warrior assembly)
- you must hand your slave over to 4 people (break line of ownership)
- 4th person will take slave to a crossroads, give her/him an arrow and a whip
- arrow = symbolizes to go as far as an arrow flies
- whip = symbolizes travel as fast as your horse will take you
Why did single women wear their hair in capillo (tied up)?
symbol of their single status
What is the legal age for a Lombard to sell his property?
18
When can a woman sell her property?
only if her munwald consents
(munwald is the man who is responsible for her and possesses her mundium)
How much can a Lombard’s morgengab (morning gift) be to his new bride?
no more than 1/4 of his property
What happens to daughters/sisters who act contrary to the wishes of their father or brother?
they can have their inheritance reduced or be disinherited
What can ill Lombards, on their death bed but sound of mind, do with their will/property?
- can change Will at any time
- grant his personal property, not family property, to the Church or others
- give this to the Church as an offering to pray for his soul (to not “go to hell”)
What happens to the inheritance of a Lombard who has legitimate daughters but no legitimate sons?
he may reward a favored daughter with a greater part of an inheritance
- always gets twice as much as each of the other daughters, no matter how many there are
A betrothed man has 2 years to complete the nuptials (wedding) or the wedding can be called off…
- wedding can be cancelled by the woman’s family
- the father or munwald of the woman can demand that the meta be paid, as agreed
- woman then free to marry another, and keeps the meta
How can a woman accused of adultery clear herself and what happens?
12 oathhelpers
- if found innocent, husband must marry her
- if he refuses to marry her, he must pay 2x the meta agreed upon for disgrace and insult
- if she is found guilty, marriage is cancelled, husband will get his meta back and woman is punished for adultery = death
When can a betrothed male break off a betrothal?
if his betrothed girl becomes a leper, mad, or blind in both eyes after they become betrothed because these ailments are a sign of her “weighty sins”
- if wedding is cancelled, he will get his meta back
What happens after a legal marriage (traditio)?
the groom cannot ask a greater faderfio than was agreed upon before the wedding
What happens when a Lombard free woman widow remarries to another free man of her choice?
her meta for her mundium is half of what was given for her first marriage because she is no longer a virgin