The Lombards: The Ancient Longobards

"Evidence for the early movement of the Lombards (called Longobards by Christie) from Scandinavia to the middle Danube is primarily archaeological, inasmuch as later historical sources repeat largely unfounded muths about their origin and movement. Although this evidence does not provide a clear- cut picture of Lombard culture, it does offer a fairly clear picture of Lombard movement south-eastward in central Europe, until the historical record picks them up in the early sixth century in the former Roman province of Pannonia. There they established contact with the Byzantine Empire (which they served as mercenaries in the Gothic-Byzantine wars) and struggled with other barbarians (Gepids and Avars). The Lombards left Pannonia and descended into central Italy in 568; they succeeded in occupying most of northern and much of central Italy, creating a kingdom with its capital at Pavia. Christie (Univ. of Leicester) uses both archaeological and historical evidence to trace the Lombards from the Italian expedition to their conquest by Charlemagne in 774. The historical evidence relies heavily on the Lonbard chronicler Paul the Deacon, the Frankish Gregory of Tours, and on the Lombard law of codes. The archaeological evidence comes from the grave goods of Lombard cemeteries and from the remains of buildings (mainly ecclesiastical) in the Italian cities that became centers of Lombard administration. Extensive bibliography, numerous art plates, and a number of maps and diagrams." Choice