Atenulf I (died 910), called the Great (Latin ''magnus''), was the prince of Capua from 7 January 887 and of Benevento from 899, when he conquered that principality. He also used the title ''princeps gentis Langobardorum'': "prince of the Lombard people," an echo of the title used by the earliest prince of Benevento following the collapse of Lombard cohesion in 774. The son of Landenulf,

gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...

of Teano, Atenulf, through his influence and conquests, succeeded in vindicating his Lombard family's pretensions to princely status, ''à la'' those of Benevento and Salerno. From 879, Capua had been contested between several candidates, but, by 887, Atenulf had removed his brothers and cousins from contention and become sole prince with the assistance of the '' hypatus''

Athanasius of Naples Athanasius (died 898) was the Bishop (as Athanasius II) and Duke of Naples from 878 to his death. He was the son of Gregory III and brother of Sergius II, whom he blinded and deposed in order to seize the throne while he was already bishop. In ...

. In the next year (888), he was at war with Athanasius over "Liburnia." They fought an indecisive battle at S. Carzio on the Clanio. Atenulf then turned his attention to Benevento, which had recently been under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and then Spoletan control. He conquered it from the once-deposed Prince Radelchis II in 899 and was acclaimed prince in Santa Sofia in Benevento in January 900. He was opposed by the one-time

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Benevento, the Bishop Peter, whom he exiled to Salerno. Having united most of the Lombard

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...

, he directed his aggression towards the Saracens of the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri") ...

. Atenulf allied with

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramati ...

and

Gregory IV of Naples Gregory IV (died 915) was the firstborn son of Duke Sergius II of Naples and successor of his paternal uncle, Bishop Athanasius, in 898, when he was elected ''dux'', or ''magister militum'', unanimously by the aristocracy. His other paternal uncle, ...

and attacked and defeated the Saracens in 903. He made himself a vassal of the Byzantines in order to receive military assistance, but got none. He spent the rest of his life preparing for a major second expedition. He died before its fruition, though it resulted in the famous and successful

Battle of Garigliano The Battle of Garigliano was fought in 915 between Christian forces and the Saracens. Pope John X personally led the Christian forces into battle. The aim was to destroy the Arab fortress on the Garigliano River, which had threatened central Ita ...

in 915. For his successes against the Muslims, he was the dedicatee of a poem of Eugenio Vulgario. Atenulf was succeeded by his son Landulf I, whom he had associated in the princeship in 901. Atenulf declared the two principalities of Capua and Benevento inseparable and instituted the principle of co-rule between sons and brothers which was to guide the principality until its division in 981.

Sources

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: IV Arconati – Bacaredda''. Rome, 1962.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atenulf 01 Of Capua 910 deaths Lombard warriors Atenulf 1 Atenulf 1 9th-century Lombard people 10th-century Lombard people 10th-century rulers in Europe Year of birth unknown