The Age of Liutprand

Dynamics of Power in Eighth-Century Italy

Christopher Heath

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781350168336
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

The Age of Liutprand provides a thematic analysis of Lombard Italy in the pivotal early part of the 8th century. It surveys the crucial role and rule of Liutprand [712-44], the powerful and effective Lombard king. By restoring this successful exemplar of Lombard kingship to the centre of events and developments in the Italian peninsula, this book pulls together all the pertinent evidence for a 'new' kingship in Lombard Italy that used a sophisticated set of strategies to enhance, deepen and expand its effectiveness. In presenting an evaluation of Italy on the cusp of dramatic change, this book explains how not only the kingship of Liutprand, but also his legal reforms and his relationships with the Church and neighbouring peoples all contributed to a model of kingship successfully and subsequently deployed by Charlemagne and his successors later in the 8th century.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Dedication Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface and acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Introduction – The contexts of Lombard Italy: The Catholic dynasty and Ansprand 680–712
• 2 ‘A man of great boldness’ (712–26)
• 3 Vir multae sapientiae: Liutprand’s wars and peace (726–44)
• 4 Legum augmentator: The practice of law, kingship and governance
• 5 Pacts, towns and trade: The socio-economic landscapes of Liutprandine Italy
• 6 Liutprand and the church
• 7 ‘Pacem custodiens’: The Lombards and their neighbours
• 8 Conclusions: Nutritor gentis of the Lombards
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Imprint