Gaidoald
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Gaidoald ( la, Gaidoaldus, ''Gaidualdus'' or ''Gadoaldus'') was the second Lombard
duke of Trent The Duchy of Tridentum (Trent) was an autonomous Lombard duchy, established by Euin during the Lombard interregnum of 574–584 that followed the assassination of the Lombard leader Alboin. The stronghold of Euin's territory was the Roman city ...
, succeeding
Euin Euin (died 595), also ''Ewin'' or ''Eoin'', was the first Lombard Duke of Trent (from 569) during the Rule of the Dukes, an interregnum (575–585) during which the Kingdom of Italy was ruled by its regional magnates, the dukes of the thirty or so ...
in 595. Our main source for Gaidoald's life is
Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
's ''
Historia Langobardorum The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' ( la, Historia Langobardorum) is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. This incomplete history in six books was written after 787 and at any rate ...
'', which in turn depends on the lost ''Historiola'' of
Secundus of Non Secundus of Trent or Secundus of Non authored ''History of the Acts of the Langobards'', up to 612. Secundus is first mentioned in the letters of Pope Gregory I for January 596, at which time Secundus served archbishop Marinianus of then-Byzantine ...
, Gaidoald's contemporary. Nothing is known of Gaidoald before his accession to the duchy, although he was probably already a powerful and influential man. No sources speak of his family relations, and all speculation is based on
onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
. The -''oald'' element in his name (from
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
*'' waldaną'', to rule) was especially common among the
Agilolfing The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...
family of neighbouring
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, who were of
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
origin. Paul describes as "a good man and a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in religion".
Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
(1907)
''History of the Langobards (Historia Langobardorum)''
William Dudley Foulke, trans. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania), IV, x. (.)
This meant that he was neither a pagan nor an
Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
. In the
schism of the Three Chapters The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected Chalcedonian Christianity in Northern Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter C ...
then affecting northern Italy, he probably adhered to the Three Chapters, as did Secundus of Non and Bishop Agnellus of Trent. The duchy of Trent was strategically important, since it lay on the main road to
Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
and Bavaria. According to Paul the Deacon, Gaidoald was assigned to Trent by King
Agilulf Agilulf ( 555 – April 616), called ''the Thuringian'' and nicknamed ''Ago'', was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was of Thuringian origin and belonged to the An ...
, who was Euin's brother-in-law, their wives being sisters. The women were Agilofings and their brother,
Gundoald Gundoald or Gundovald was a Merovingian usurper king in the area of southern Gaul in either 584 or 585. He claimed to be an illegitimate son of Chlothar I and, with the financial support of the Emperor Maurice, took some major cities in southern ...
, was rewarded with the duchy of
Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
when he fled Bavaria in 589. These known connections strengthen the supposition that Gaidoald was an Agilolfing related by marriage to the king. Despite his obvious closeness to the royal family, Gaidoald later joined a rebellion,Panagiotis Antonopoulos, ''Early Peril Lost Faith: Italy between Byzantines and Lombards in the Early Years of the Lombard Settlement, A.D. 568–608'' (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2016), p. 50, reads it not as a rebellion but as a dispute between the dukes that was mediated by the king. the precise dating of which is uncertain, but certainly after 600. For reasons unknown, Gaidoald and Duke
Gisulf II of Friuli Gisulf II (''Gisulfo II di Friuli''; abt. 545 – 611) was the Duke of Friuli from around 591 to his death. He was the son and successor of Gisulf I. Gisulf and Gaidoald of Trent were at odds with King Agilulf until they made peace in 602 or 603. ...
broke with Agilulf—"refused contact" in Paul's words.Lieve Van Hoof and Peter Van Nuffelen (eds.), ''The Fragmentary Latin Histories of Late Antiquity (AD 300–620): Edition, Translation and Commentary'' (Cambridge University Press, 2020), pp. 238–239. They were probably acting in concert with the
Byzantine exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...
Kallinikos Callinicus or Kallinikos ( el, Καλλίνικος) is a surname or male given name; the feminine form is Kalliniki, Callinice or Callinica ( el, Καλλινίκη). It is of Greek origin, meaning "beautiful victor". People named Callinicus Seleu ...
, who launched an attack on Agilulf in 601.T. S. Brown, ''Gentlemen and Officers: Imperial Administration and Aristocratic Power in Byzantine Italy, 554–800'' (Cambridge University Press, 1984), p. 72. The king's daughter and son-in-law, Godescalc, duke of Parma, were captured and Kallinikos achieved several military victories over Agilulf's forces. Not long after,Jarnut places it later in 601 or in 602, Brown in 602 or 603. Gaidoald and Gisulf made peace with the king. In celebration of the peace, Agilulf had his son
Adaloald Adaloald (602–628) was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. He was son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda. He was baptised shortly after his birth in 602; the abbot Secundus of Non (later historian) was his g ...
baptised at
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
on 7 April 603 with Secundus acting as godfather. While nothing is known of Gaidoald after his reconciliation with Agilulf, it is probable that he lived beyond 612, since in that year Secundus died and his ''Historiola'' came to an end. In that event, the date of his death would likely not have been known to Paul. No dukes of Trent are known after Gaidoald until
Alahis Alahis (or Alagis) ( fl. 680–689) was the Arian duke of Trent and Brescia before becoming king of the Lombards after his successful rebellion in 688. He did not rule long, however. His first rebellion against King Perctarit failed in 680, bu ...
in the 680s.


Notes

{{reflist 6th-century Lombard people 7th-century Lombard people