Chapter XLV: State Of Italy Under The Lombards.—Part I

Reign Of The Younger Justin.—Embassy Of The Avars.—Their Settlement On The Danube.—Conquest Of Italy By The Lombards.—Adoption And Reign Of Tiberius.—Of Maurice.—State Of Italy Under The Lombards And The Exarchs.—Of Ravenna.—Distress Of Rome.—Character And Pontificate Of Gregory The First.

During the last years of Justinian, his infirm mind was devoted
to heavenly contemplation, and he neglected the business of the
lower world. His subjects were impatient of the long continuance
of his life and reign: yet all who were capable of reflection
apprehended the moment of his death, which might involve the
capital in tumult, and the empire in civil war. Seven nephews 1
of the childless monarch, the sons or grandsons of his brother
and sister, had been educated in the splendor of a princely
fortune; they had been shown in high commands to the provinces
and armies; their characters were known, their followers were
zealous, and, as the jealousy of age postponed the declaration of
a successor, they might expect with equal hopes the inheritance
of their uncle. He expired in his palace, after a reign of
thirty-eight years; and the decisive opportunity was embraced by
the friends of Justin, the son of Vigilantia. 2 At the hour of
midnight, his domestics were awakened by an importunate crowd,
who thundered at his door, and obtained admittance by revealing
themselves to be the principal members of the senate. These
welcome deputies announced the recent and momentous secret of the
emperor’s decease; reported, or perhaps invented, his dying
choice of the best beloved and most deserving of his nephews, and
conjured Justin to prevent the disorders of the multitude, if
they should perceive, with the return of light, that they were
left without a master. After composing his countenance to
surprise, sorrow, and decent modesty, Justin, by the advice of
his wife Sophia, submitted to the authority of the senate. He was
conducted with speed and silence to the palace; the guards
saluted their new sovereign; and the martial and religious rites
of his coronation were diligently accomplished. By the hands of
the proper officers he was invested with the Imperial garments,
the red buskins, white tunic, and purple robe.

A fortunate soldier, whom he instantly promoted to the rank of
tribune, encircled his neck with a military collar; four robust
youths exalted him on a shield; he stood firm and erect to
receive the adoration of his subjects; and their choice was
sanctified by the benediction of the patriarch, who imposed the
diadem on the head of an orthodox prince. The hippodrome was
already filled with innumerable multitudes; and no sooner did the
emperor appear on his throne, than the voices of the blue and the
green factions were confounded in the same loyal acclamations. In
the speeches which Justin addressed to the senate and people, he
promised to correct the abuses which had disgraced the age of his
predecessor, displayed the maxims of a just and beneficent
government, and declared that, on the approaching calends of
January, 3 he would revive in his own person the name and liberty
of a Roman consul. The immediate discharge of his uncle’s debts
exhibited a solid pledge of his faith and generosity: a train of
porters, laden with bags of gold, advanced into the midst of the
hippodrome, and the hopeless creditors of Justinian accepted this
equitable payment as a voluntary gift. Before the end of three
years, his example was imitated and surpassed by the empress
Sophia, who delivered many indigent citizens from the weight of
debt and usury: an act of benevolence the best entitled to
gratitude, since it relieves the most intolerable distress; but
in which the bounty of a prince is the most liable to be abused
by the claims of prodigality and fraud. 4

1 (return) [ See the family of Justin and Justinian in the
Familiae Byzantine of Ducange, p. 89—101. The devout civilians,
Ludewig (in Vit. Justinian. p. 131) and Heineccius (Hist. Juris.
Roman. p. 374) have since illustrated the genealogy of their
favorite prince.]

2 (return) [ In the story of Justin’s elevation I have translated
into simple and concise prose the eight hundred verses of the two
first books of Corippus, de Laudibus Justini Appendix Hist.
Byzant. p. 401—416 Rome 1777.]

3 (return) [ It is surprising how Pagi (Critica. in Annal. Baron.
tom. ii. p 639) could be tempted by any chronicles to contradict
the plain and decisive text of Corippus, (vicina dona, l. ii.
354, vicina dies, l. iv. 1,) and to postpone, till A.D. 567, the
consulship of Justin.]

4 (return) [ Theophan. Chronograph. p. 205. Whenever Cedrenus or
Zonaras are mere transcribers, it is superfluous to allege their
testimony.]

On the seventh day of his reign, Justin gave audience to the
ambassadors of the Avars, and the scene was decorated to impress
the Barbarians with astonishment, veneration, and terror. From
the palace gate, the spacious courts and long porticos were lined
with the lofty crests and gilt bucklers of the guards, who
presented their spears and axes with more confidence than they
would have shown in a field of battle. The officers who exercised
the power, or attended the person, of the prince, were attired in
their richest habits, and arranged according to the military and
civil order of the hierarchy. When the veil of the sanctuary was
withdrawn, the ambassadors beheld the emperor of the East on his
throne, beneath a canopy, or dome, which was supported by four
columns, and crowned with a winged figure of Victory. In the
first emotions of surprise, they submitted to the servile
adoration of the Byzantine court; but as soon as they rose from
the ground, Targetius, the chief of the embassy, expressed the
freedom and pride of a Barbarian. He extolled, by the tongue of
his interpreter, the greatness of the chagan, by whose clemency
the kingdoms of the South were permitted to exist, whose
victorious subjects had traversed the frozen rivers of Scythia,
and who now covered the banks of the Danube with innumerable
tents. The late emperor had cultivated, with annual and costly
gifts, the friendship of a grateful monarch, and the enemies of
Rome had respected the allies of the Avars. The same prudence
would instruct the nephew of Justinian to imitate the liberality
of his uncle, and to purchase the blessings of peace from an
invincible people, who delighted and excelled in the exercise of
war. The reply of the emperor was delivered in the same strain of
haughty defiance, and he derived his confidence from the God of
the Christians, the ancient glory of Rome, and the recent
triumphs of Justinian. “The empire,” said he, “abounds with men
and horses, and arms sufficient to defend our frontiers, and to
chastise the Barbarians. You offer aid, you threaten hostilities:
we despise your enmity and your aid. The conquerors of the Avars
solicit our alliance; shall we dread their fugitives and exiles?
5 The bounty of our uncle was granted to your misery, to your
humble prayers. From us you shall receive a more important
obligation, the knowledge of your own weakness. Retire from our
presence; the lives of ambassadors are safe; and, if you return
to implore our pardon, perhaps you will taste of our
benevolence.” 6 On the report of his ambassadors, the chagan was
awed by the apparent firmness of a Roman emperor of whose
character and resources he was ignorant. Instead of executing his
threats against the Eastern empire, he marched into the poor and
savage countries of Germany, which were subject to the dominion
of the Franks. After two doubtful battles, he consented to
retire, and the Austrasian king relieved the distress of his camp
with an immediate supply of corn and cattle. 7 Such repeated
disappointments had chilled the spirit of the Avars, and their
power would have dissolved away in the Sarmatian desert, if the
alliance of Alboin, king of the Lombards, had not given a new
object to their arms, and a lasting settlement to their wearied
fortunes.

5 (return) [ Corippus, l. iii. 390. The unquestionable sense
relates to the Turks, the conquerors of the Avars; but the word
scultor has no apparent meaning, and the sole Ms. of Corippus,
from whence the first edition (1581, apud Plantin) was printed,
is no longer visible. The last editor, Foggini of Rome, has
inserted the conjectural emendation of soldan: but the proofs of
Ducange, (Joinville, Dissert. xvi. p. 238—240,) for the early use
of this title among the Turks and Persians, are weak or
ambiguous. And I must incline to the authority of D’Herbelot,
(Bibliotheque Orient. p. 825,) who ascribes the word to the
Arabic and Chaldaean tongues, and the date to the beginning of
the xith century, when it was bestowed by the khalif of Bagdad on
Mahmud, prince of Gazna, and conqueror of India.]

6 (return) [ For these characteristic speeches, compare the verse
of Corippus (l. iii. 251—401) with the prose of Menander,
(Excerpt. Legation. p 102, 103.) Their diversity proves that they
did not copy each other their resemblance, that they drew from a
common original.]

7 (return) [ For the Austrasian war, see Menander (Excerpt.
Legat. p. 110,) Gregory of Tours, (Hist. Franc. l. iv. c 29,) and
Paul the deacon, (de Gest. Langobard. l. ii. c. 10.)]

While Alboin served under his father’s standard, he encountered
in battle, and transpierced with his lance, the rival prince of
the Gepidae. The Lombards, who applauded such early prowess,
requested his father, with unanimous acclamations, that the
heroic youth, who had shared the dangers of the field, might be
admitted to the feast of victory. “You are not unmindful,”
replied the inflexible Audoin, “of the wise customs of our
ancestors. Whatever may be his merit, a prince is incapable of
sitting at table with his father till he has received his arms
from a foreign and royal hand.” Alboin bowed with reverence to
the institutions of his country, selected forty companions, and
boldly visited the court of Turisund, king of the Gepidae, who
embraced and entertained, according to the laws of hospitality,
the murderer of his son. At the banquet, whilst Alboin occupied
the seat of the youth whom he had slain, a tender remembrance
arose in the mind of Turisund. “How dear is that place! how
hateful is that person!” were the words that escaped, with a
sigh, from the indignant father. His grief exasperated the
national resentment of the Gepidae; and Cunimund, his surviving
son, was provoked by wine, or fraternal affection, to the desire
of vengeance. “The Lombards,” said the rude Barbarian, “resemble,
in figure and in smell, the mares of our Sarmatian plains.” And
this insult was a coarse allusion to the white bands which
enveloped their legs. “Add another resemblance,” replied an
audacious Lombard; “you have felt how strongly they kick. Visit
the plain of Asfield, and seek for the bones of thy brother: they
are mingled with those of the vilest animals.” The Gepidae, a
nation of warriors, started from their seats, and the fearless
Alboin, with his forty companions, laid their hands on their
swords. The tumult was appeased by the venerable interposition of
Turisund. He saved his own honor, and the life of his guest; and,
after the solemn rites of investiture, dismissed the stranger in
the bloody arms of his son; the gift of a weeping parent. Alboin
returned in triumph; and the Lombards, who celebrated his
matchless intrepidity, were compelled to praise the virtues of an
enemy. 8 In this extraordinary visit he had probably seen the
daughter of Cunimund, who soon after ascended the throne of the
Gepidae. Her name was Rosamond, an appellation expressive of
female beauty, and which our own history or romance has
consecrated to amorous tales. The king of the Lombards (the
father of Alboin no longer lived) was contracted to the
granddaughter of Clovis; but the restraints of faith and policy
soon yielded to the hope of possessing the fair Rosamond, and of
insulting her family and nation. The arts of persuasion were
tried without success; and the impatient lover, by force and
stratagem, obtained the object of his desires. War was the
consequence which he foresaw and solicited; but the Lombards
could not long withstand the furious assault of the Gepidae, who
were sustained by a Roman army. And, as the offer of marriage was
rejected with contempt, Alboin was compelled to relinquish his
prey, and to partake of the disgrace which he had inflicted on
the house of Cunimund. 9

8 (return) [ Paul Warnefrid, the deacon of Friuli, de Gest.
Langobard. l. i. c. 23, 24. His pictures of national manners,
though rudely sketched are more lively and faithful than those of
Bede, or Gregory of Tours]

9 (return) [ The story is told by an impostor, (Theophylact.
Simocat. l. vi. c. 10;) but he had art enough to build his
fictions on public and notorious facts.]

When a public quarrel is envenomed by private injuries, a blow
that is not mortal or decisive can be productive only of a short
truce, which allows the unsuccessful combatant to sharpen his
arms for a new encounter. The strength of Alboin had been found
unequal to the gratification of his love, ambition, and revenge:
he condescended to implore the formidable aid of the chagan; and
the arguments that he employed are expressive of the art and
policy of the Barbarians. In the attack of the Gepidae, he had
been prompted by the just desire of extirpating a people whom
their alliance with the Roman empire had rendered the common
enemies of the nations, and the personal adversaries of the
chagan. If the forces of the Avars and the Lombards should unite
in this glorious quarrel, the victory was secure, and the reward
inestimable: the Danube, the Hebrus, Italy, and Constantinople,
would be exposed, without a barrier, to their invincible arms.
But, if they hesitated or delayed to prevent the malice of the
Romans, the same spirit which had insulted would pursue the Avars
to the extremity of the earth. These specious reasons were heard
by the chagan with coldness and disdain: he detained the Lombard
ambassadors in his camp, protracted the negotiation, and by turns
alleged his want of inclination, or his want of ability, to
undertake this important enterprise. At length he signified the
ultimate price of his alliance, that the Lombards should
immediately present him with a tithe of their cattle; that the
spoils and captives should be equally divided; but that the lands
of the Gepidae should become the sole patrimony of the Avars.
Such hard conditions were eagerly accepted by the passions of
Alboin; and, as the Romans were dissatisfied with the ingratitude
and perfidy of the Gepidae, Justin abandoned that incorrigible
people to their fate, and remained the tranquil spectator of this
unequal conflict. The despair of Cunimund was active and
dangerous. He was informed that the Avars had entered his
confines; but, on the strong assurance that, after the defeat of
the Lombards, these foreign invaders would easily be repelled, he
rushed forwards to encounter the implacable enemy of his name and
family. But the courage of the Gepidae could secure them no more
than an honorable death. The bravest of the nation fell in the
field of battle; the king of the Lombards contemplated with
delight the head of Cunimund; and his skull was fashioned into a
cup to satiate the hatred of the conqueror, or, perhaps, to
comply with the savage custom of his country. 10 After this
victory, no further obstacle could impede the progress of the
confederates, and they faithfully executed the terms of their
agreement. 11 The fair countries of Walachia, Moldavia,
Transylvania, and the other parts of Hungary beyond the Danube,
were occupied, without resistance, by a new colony of Scythians;
and the Dacian empire of the chagans subsisted with splendor
above two hundred and thirty years. The nation of the Gepidae was
dissolved; but, in the distribution of the captives, the slaves
of the Avars were less fortunate than the companions of the
Lombards, whose generosity adopted a valiant foe, and whose
freedom was incompatible with cool and deliberate tyranny. One
moiety of the spoil introduced into the camp of Alboin more
wealth than a Barbarian could readily compute. The fair Rosamond
was persuaded, or compelled, to acknowledge the rights of her
victorious lover; and the daughter of Cunimund appeared to
forgive those crimes which might be imputed to her own
irresistible charms.

10 (return) [ It appears from Strabo, Pliny, and Ammianus
Marcellinus, that the same practice was common among the Scythian
tribes, (Muratori, Scriptores Rer. Italic. tom. i. p. 424.) The
scalps of North America are likewise trophies of valor. The skull
of Cunimund was preserved above two hundred years among the
Lombards; and Paul himself was one of the guests to whom Duke
Ratchis exhibited this cup on a high festival, (l. ii. c. 28.)]

11 (return) [ Paul, l. i. c. 27. Menander, in Excerpt Legat. p.
110, 111.]

The destruction of a mighty kingdom established the fame of
Alboin. In the days of Charlemagne, the Bavarians, the Saxons,
and the other tribes of the Teutonic language, still repeated the
songs which described the heroic virtues, the valor, liberality,
and fortune of the king of the Lombards. 12 But his ambition was
yet unsatisfied; and the conqueror of the Gepidae turned his eyes
from the Danube to the richer banks of the Po, and the Tyber.
Fifteen years had not elapsed, since his subjects, the
confederates of Narses, had visited the pleasant climate of
Italy: the mountains, the rivers, the highways, were familiar to
their memory: the report of their success, perhaps the view of
their spoils, had kindled in the rising generation the flame of
emulation and enterprise. Their hopes were encouraged by the
spirit and eloquence of Alboin: and it is affirmed, that he spoke
to their senses, by producing at the royal feast, the fairest and
most exquisite fruits that grew spontaneously in the garden of
the world. No sooner had he erected his standard, than the native
strength of the Lombard was multiplied by the adventurous youth
of Germany and Scythia. The robust peasantry of Noricum and
Pannonia had resumed the manners of Barbarians; and the names of
the Gepidae, Bulgarians, Sarmatians, and Bavarians, may be
distinctly traced in the provinces of Italy. 13 Of the Saxons,
the old allies of the Lombards, twenty thousand warriors, with
their wives and children, accepted the invitation of Alboin.
Their bravery contributed to his success; but the accession or
the absence of their numbers was not sensibly felt in the
magnitude of his host. Every mode of religion was freely
practised by its respective votaries. The king of the Lombards
had been educated in the Arian heresy; but the Catholics, in
their public worship, were allowed to pray for his conversion;
while the more stubborn Barbarians sacrificed a she-goat, or
perhaps a captive, to the gods of their fathers. 14 The Lombards,
and their confederates, were united by their common attachment to
a chief, who excelled in all the virtues and vices of a savage
hero; and the vigilance of Alboin provided an ample magazine of
offensive and defensive arms for the use of the expedition. The
portable wealth of the Lombards attended the march: their lands
they cheerfully relinquished to the Avars, on the solemn promise,
which was made and accepted without a smile, that if they failed
in the conquest of Italy, these voluntary exiles should be
reinstated in their former possessions.

12 (return) [ Ut hactenus etiam tam apud Bajoarior um gentem,
quam et Saxmum, sed et alios ejusdem linguae homines..... in
eorum carmini bus celebretur. Paul, l. i. c. 27. He died A.D.
799, (Muratori, in Praefat. tom. i. p. 397.) These German songs,
some of which might be as old as Tacitus, (de Moribus Germ. c.
2,) were compiled and transcribed by Charlemagne. Barbara et
antiquissima carmina, quibus veterum regum actus et bella
canebantur scripsit memoriaeque mandavit, (Eginard, in Vit.
Carol. Magn. c. 29, p. 130, 131.) The poems, which Goldast
commends, (Animadvers. ad Eginard. p. 207,) appear to be recent
and contemptible romances.]

13 (return) [ The other nations are rehearsed by Paul, (l. ii. c.
6, 26,) Muratori (Antichita Italiane, tom. i. dissert. i. p. 4)
has discovered the village of the Bavarians, three miles from
Modena.]

14 (return) [ Gregory the Roman (Dialog. l. i. iii. c. 27, 28,
apud Baron. Annal Eccles. A.D. 579, No. 10) supposes that they
likewise adored this she-goat. I know but of one religion in
which the god and the victim are the same.]

They might have failed, if Narses had been the antagonist of the
Lombards; and the veteran warriors, the associates of his Gothic
victory, would have encountered with reluctance an enemy whom
they dreaded and esteemed. But the weakness of the Byzantine
court was subservient to the Barbarian cause; and it was for the
ruin of Italy, that the emperor once listened to the complaints
of his subjects. The virtues of Narses were stained with avarice;
and, in his provincial reign of fifteen years, he accumulated a
treasure of gold and silver which surpassed the modesty of a
private fortune. His government was oppressive or unpopular, and
the general discontent was expressed with freedom by the deputies
of Rome. Before the throne of Justinian they boldly declared,
that their Gothic servitude had been more tolerable than the
despotism of a Greek eunuch; and that, unless their tyrant were
instantly removed, they would consult their own happiness in the
choice of a master. The apprehension of a revolt was urged by the
voice of envy and detraction, which had so recently triumphed
over the merit of Belisarius. A new exarch, Longinus, was
appointed to supersede the conqueror of Italy, and the base
motives of his recall were revealed in the insulting mandate of
the empress Sophia, “that he should leave to men the exercise of
arms, and return to his proper station among the maidens of the
palace, where a distaff should be again placed in the hand of the
eunuch.” “I will spin her such a thread as she shall not easily
unravel!” is said to have been the reply which indignation and
conscious virtue extorted from the hero. Instead of attending, a
slave and a victim, at the gate of the Byzantine palace, he
retired to Naples, from whence (if any credit is due to the
belief of the times) Narses invited the Lombards to chastise the
ingratitude of the prince and people. 15 But the passions of the
people are furious and changeable, and the Romans soon
recollected the merits, or dreaded the resentment, of their
victorious general. By the mediation of the pope, who undertook a
special pilgrimage to Naples, their repentance was accepted; and
Narses, assuming a milder aspect and a more dutiful language,
consented to fix his residence in the Capitol. His death, 16
though in the extreme period of old age, was unseasonable and
premature, since his genius alone could have repaired the last
and fatal error of his life. The reality, or the suspicion, of a
conspiracy disarmed and disunited the Italians. The soldiers
resented the disgrace, and bewailed the loss, of their general.
They were ignorant of their new exarch; and Longinus was himself
ignorant of the state of the army and the province. In the
preceding years Italy had been desolated by pestilence and
famine, and a disaffected people ascribed the calamities of
nature to the guilt or folly of their rulers. 17

15 (return) [ The charge of the deacon against Narses (l. ii. c.
5) may be groundless; but the weak apology of the Cardinal
(Baron. Annal Eccles. A.D. 567, No. 8—12) is rejected by the best
critics—Pagi (tom. ii. p. 639, 640,) Muratori, (Annali d’ Italia,
tom. v. p. 160—163,) and the last editors, Horatius Blancus,
(Script. Rerum Italic. tom. i. p. 427, 428,) and Philip
Argelatus, (Sigon. Opera, tom. ii. p. 11, 12.) The Narses who
assisted at the coronation of Justin (Corippus, l. iii. 221) is
clearly understood to be a different person.]

16 (return) [ The death of Narses is mentioned by Paul, l. ii. c.
11. Anastas. in Vit. Johan. iii. p. 43. Agnellus, Liber
Pontifical. Raven. in Script. Rer. Italicarum, tom. ii. part i.
p. 114, 124. Yet I cannot believe with Agnellus that Narses was
ninety-five years of age. Is it probable that all his exploits
were performed at fourscore?]

17 (return) [ The designs of Narses and of the Lombards for the
invasion of Italy are exposed in the last chapter of the first
book, and the seven last chapters of the second book, of Paul the
deacon.]

Whatever might be the grounds of his security, Alboin neither
expected nor encountered a Roman army in the field. He ascended
the Julian Alps, and looked down with contempt and desire on the
fruitful plains to which his victory communicated the perpetual
appellation of Lombardy. A faithful chieftain, and a select band,
were stationed at Forum Julii, the modern Friuli, to guard the
passes of the mountains. The Lombards respected the strength of
Pavia, and listened to the prayers of the Trevisans: their slow
and heavy multitudes proceeded to occupy the palace and city of
Verona; and Milan, now rising from her ashes, was invested by the
powers of Alboin five months after his departure from Pannonia.
Terror preceded his march: he found every where, or he left, a
dreary solitude; and the pusillanimous Italians presumed, without
a trial, that the stranger was invincible. Escaping to lakes, or
rocks, or morasses, the affrighted crowds concealed some
fragments of their wealth, and delayed the moment of their
servitude. Paulinus, the patriarch of Aquileia, removed his
treasures, sacred and profane, to the Isle of Grado, 18 and his
successors were adopted by the infant republic of Venice, which
was continually enriched by the public calamities. Honoratus, who
filled the chair of St. Ambrose, had credulously accepted the
faithless offers of a capitulation; and the archbishop, with the
clergy and nobles of Milan, were driven by the perfidy of Alboin
to seek a refuge in the less accessible ramparts of Genoa. Along
the maritime coast, the courage of the inhabitants was supported
by the facility of supply, the hopes of relief, and the power of
escape; but from the Trentine hills to the gates of Ravenna and
Rome the inland regions of Italy became, without a battle or a
siege, the lasting patrimony of the Lombards. The submission of
the people invited the Barbarian to assume the character of a
lawful sovereign, and the helpless exarch was confined to the
office of announcing to the emperor Justin the rapid and
irretrievable loss of his provinces and cities. 19 One city,
which had been diligently fortified by the Goths, resisted the
arms of a new invader; and while Italy was subdued by the flying
detachments of the Lombards, the royal camp was fixed above three
years before the western gate of Ticinum, or Pavia. The same
courage which obtains the esteem of a civilized enemy provokes
the fury of a savage, and the impatient besieger had bound
himself by a tremendous oath, that age, and sex, and dignity,
should be confounded in a general massacre. The aid of famine at
length enabled him to execute his bloody vow; but, as Alboin
entered the gate, his horse stumbled, fell, and could not be
raised from the ground. One of his attendants was prompted by
compassion, or piety, to interpret this miraculous sign of the
wrath of Heaven: the conqueror paused and relented; he sheathed
his sword, and peacefully reposing himself in the palace of
Theodoric, proclaimed to the trembling multitude that they should
live and obey. Delighted with the situation of a city which was
endeared to his pride by the difficulty of the purchase, the
prince of the Lombards disdained the ancient glories of Milan;
and Pavia, during some ages, was respected as the capital of the
kingdom of Italy. 20

18 (return) [ Which from this translation was called New
Aquileia, (Chron. Venet. p. 3.) The patriarch of Grado soon
became the first citizen of the republic, (p. 9, &c.,) but his
seat was not removed to Venice till the year 1450. He is now
decorated with titles and honors; but the genius of the church
has bowed to that of the state, and the government of a Catholic
city is strictly Presbyterian. Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise,
tom. i. p. 156, 157, 161—165. Amelot de la Houssaye, Gouvernement
de Venise, tom. i. p. 256—261.]

19 (return) [ Paul has given a description of Italy, as it was
then divided into eighteen regions, (l. ii. c. 14—24.) The
Dissertatio Chorographica de Italia Medii Aevi, by Father
Beretti, a Benedictine monk, and regius professor at Pavia, has
been usefully consulted.]

20 (return) [ For the conquest of Italy, see the original
materials of Paul, (l. p. 7—10, 12, 14, 25, 26, 27,) the eloquent
narrative of Sigonius, (tom. il. de Regno Italiae, l. i. p.
13—19,) and the correct and critical review el Muratori, (Annali
d’ Italia, tom. v. p. 164—180.)]

The reign of the founder was splendid and transient; and, before
he could regulate his new conquests, Alboin fell a sacrifice to
domestic treason and female revenge. In a palace near Verona,
which had not been erected for the Barbarians, he feasted the
companions of his arms; intoxication was the reward of valor, and
the king himself was tempted by appetite, or vanity, to exceed
the ordinary measure of his intemperance. After draining many
capacious bowls of Rhaetian or Falernian wine, he called for the
skull of Cunimund, the noblest and most precious ornament of his
sideboard. The cup of victory was accepted with horrid applause
by the circle of the Lombard chiefs. “Fill it again with wine,”
exclaimed the inhuman conqueror, “fill it to the brim: carry this
goblet to the queen, and request in my name that she would
rejoice with her father.” In an agony of grief and rage, Rosamond
had strength to utter, “Let the will of my lord be obeyed!” and,
touching it with her lips, pronounced a silent imprecation, that
the insult should be washed away in the blood of Alboin. Some
indulgence might be due to the resentment of a daughter, if she
had not already violated the duties of a wife. Implacable in her
enmity, or inconstant in her love, the queen of Italy had stooped
from the throne to the arms of a subject, and Helmichis, the
king’s armor-bearer, was the secret minister of her pleasure and
revenge. Against the proposal of the murder, he could no longer
urge the scruples of fidelity or gratitude; but Helmichis
trembled when he revolved the danger as well as the guilt, when
he recollected the matchless strength and intrepidity of a
warrior whom he had so often attended in the field of battle. He
pressed and obtained, that one of the bravest champions of the
Lombards should be associated to the enterprise; but no more than
a promise of secrecy could be drawn from the gallant Peredeus,
and the mode of seduction employed by Rosamond betrays her
shameless insensibility both to honor and love. She supplied the
place of one of her female attendants who was beloved by
Peredeus, and contrived some excuse for darkness and silence,
till she could inform her companion that he had enjoyed the queen
of the Lombards, and that his own death, or the death of Alboin,
must be the consequence of such treasonable adultery. In this
alternative he chose rather to be the accomplice than the victim
of Rosamond, 21 whose undaunted spirit was incapable of fear or
remorse. She expected and soon found a favorable moment, when the
king, oppressed with wine, had retired from the table to his
afternoon slumbers. His faithless spouse was anxious for his
health and repose: the gates of the palace were shut, the arms
removed, the attendants dismissed, and Rosamond, after lulling
him to rest by her tender caresses, unbolted the chamber door,
and urged the reluctant conspirators to the instant execution of
the deed. On the first alarm, the warrior started from his couch:
his sword, which he attempted to draw, had been fastened to the
scabbard by the hand of Rosamond; and a small stool, his only
weapon, could not long protect him from the spears of the
assassins. The daughter of Cunimund smiled in his fall: his body
was buried under the staircase of the palace; and the grateful
posterity of the Lombards revered the tomb and the memory of
their victorious leader.

21 (return) [ The classical reader will recollect the wife and
murder of Candaules, so agreeably told in the first book of
Herodotus. The choice of Gyges, may serve as the excuse of
Peredeus; and this soft insinuation of an odious idea has been
imitated by the best writers of antiquity, (Graevius, ad Ciceron.
Orat. pro Miloue c. 10)]