The Harodingian dynasty ( it, Arodingi or {{lang, it, Arodi) was a prominent Lombard noble family which provided

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

with two kings in the middle of the seventh century (636–653). The Harodingians started out owning one small ''fara'' near

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. Then

Rothari Rothari (or Rothair) ( 606 – 652), of the house of Arodus, was king of the Lombards from 636 to 652; previously he had been duke of Brescia. He succeeded Arioald, who was an Arian like himself, and was one of the most energetic of Lombard kings ...

, son of Nanding, became Duke of Brescia and raised the fortunes of his family to great heights. In 636, he was elected to the Lombard throne. Through his marriage to Gundiperga, widow of Arioald and daughter of

Authari Authari (c. 550 – 5 September 590) was king of the Lombards from 584 to his death. He was considered as the first Lombard king to have adopted some level of "Roman-ness" and introduced policies that led to drastic changes particularly in th ...

and

Theodelinda Theodelinda also spelled ''Theudelinde'' ( 570–628 AD), was a queen of the Lombards by marriage to two consecutive Lombard rulers, Autari and then Agilulf, and regent of Lombardia during the minority of her son Adaloald, and co-regent when he ...

, he attained legitimacy and a connection to the ancient and illustrious

Lething {{Short description, Dynasty of Lombard kings The Lethings ( it, Letingi) were a dynasty of Lombard kings ruling in the 5th and 6th centuries until 546. They were the first Lombard royal dynasty and represent the emergence of the Lombard rulership ...

and

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. T ...

families. Indeed, Gundiperga had been given the opportunity upon her husband's death to choose a new husband to reign over the Lombards. A Catholic herself, she chose the Arian but tolerant Rothari and thus changed the course of Lombard Italy and its Papal relations. Rothari's young son and successor,

Rodoald Rodoald (or ''Rodwald''), ( 630 – 653) was a Lombard king of Italy, who succeeded his father Rothari on the throne in 652. He was said to be lecherous and he was assassinated after a reign of just six months in 653 by the husband of one of his ...

, was the last Harodingian and last Arian to wear the

Iron Crown The Iron Crown ( lmo, Corona Ferrea de Lombardia; it, Corona Ferrea; la, Corona Ferrea) is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fit ...

. The

Bavarian dynasty The Bavarian dynasty was those kings of the Lombards who were descended from Garibald I, the Agilolfing duke of Bavaria. They came to rule the Lombards through Garibald's daughter Theodelinda, who married the Lombard king Authari in 588. The Ba ...

replaced them and another attempt to establish a long-lasting dynasty failed.

Sources

*Jarnut, Jörg. ''Storia dei Longobardi''. Turin: Einaudi, 2002. *Rovagnati, Sergio. ''I Longobardi''. Milan: Xenia, 2003. Medieval royal families Lombard families Harodingian dynasty