Cunipert (also Cunibert or Cunincpert) was king of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father

Perctarit Perctarit (also Berthari; died 688) was the first Catholic Church, Catholic king of the Lombards, leading a religiously divided kingdom during the 7th century. He ruled first from 661 to 662, and again from 671 to 688. He is notable for making Cat ...

, though he was associated with the throne from 680.

Life

Soon after his assumption of the sole kingship, Cunipert was ousted by

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 ruled for about a year. His first rebellion against King Perctarit failed in 680, but the ...

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

(who had previously been duke of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

). Alahis had also rebelled during the reign of Perctarit, but it was Cunipert who, according to

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, sc ...

in the ''

Historia Langobardorum The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' () 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 no later than 796, maybe at ...

'', had persuaded his father to show mercy. Perctarit is reported to have warned his son of the consequences. It was thus soon after Perctarit's death that Alahis forced Cunipert to flee to Isola Comacina, an island in the middle of

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

. The only extant record of the rule of Alahis is contained in ''Book V'' of Paul the Deacon's ''Historia Langobardorum''. His rule is portrayed as burdensome and tyrannical, and particularly antagonistic to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Having lost the support of the Church and, crucially, of the 'people' (notably the brothers Aldo and Grauso of

), Cunipert was able to return to Pavia and resume control. Alahis, however, was able to acquire sufficient support to bring the matter to battle. Cunipert, with the men of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, defeated Alahis and the men of Venetia at the

Battle of Coronate The Battle of Coronate was fought in 689 between rival Lombard forces loyal to King Cunicpert and Alahis, Usurper King and Duke of Trent. Victory went to Cunicpert and Alahis was killed. Initial campaign In 689 Cunicpert returned from exil ...

, on the Horn of the Adda, near Lodi, in 689. Alahis was slain in battle. Cunipert suppressed other insurrections during his reign, including that of the usurper Duke Ansfrid of Friuli. He also successfully settled 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 and in some areas to 715 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted during that time. It was part of ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Church between the

patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

and his rival patriarch of Grado. He died in 700 and was succeeded by his young son Liutpert, the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Ansprand, and many rebels. Many wars took place during his reign. He is notably the first Lombard monarch to strike coins in his image. (For his epitaph, see Latin rhythmic hexameter.) He was buried in the Basilica of Santissimo Salvatore in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

Life

References

Further reading