Guicpert or Wigbert (died before 781) was the

abbot of Farfa Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, in t ...

for eleven months in 769–770 and probably also the

Bishop of Rieti The Diocese of Rieti ( la, Dioecesis Reatina (-S. Salvatoris Maioris)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. It is immediately Exemption (Catholic canon law), exempt to the Holy See.

in 778. According to the twelfth-century chronicler of the abbey,

Gregory of Catino Gregory of Catino (1060 – aft. 1130) was a monk of the Abbey of Farfa and "one of the most accomplished monastic historians of his age."Marios Costambeys, ''Power and Patronage in the Early Medieval Italy: Local Society, Italian Politics, and t ...

, Wigbert was an

Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

and already a bishop when he convinced the dying Abbot

Alan of Farfa Alan (died 9 March 769) was an Aquitaine, Aquitanian scholarly method, scholar, hermit and homilist who served as the sixth Abbot of Farfa in central Italy from 761. Before taking over at Farfa, Alan composed the ''Homiliarium Alani'', "one of the ...

to name him as his successor. From a twelfth-century perspective, Wigbert's accession was invalid because it was not in accordance with the

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

, although that rule was neither strictly nor uniformly enforced at Farfa in the eighth century. Nevertheless, the monks found Wigbert's rule a "tyranny" (in Gregory's words) and sought the king,

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...

, to remove him and confirm their freedom to elect a successor, which he did. Nothing is known about Wigbert between February 770 and April 778, but in the latter month the bishop of Rieti, named Guicpert in the source, received for the duration of his life the church of Saint Michael in

Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabin ...

from

Hildeprand Hildeprand (died after 744), sometimes called the Useless, was the king of the Lombards from around 735 in association with his uncle, Liutprand. After Liutprand's death in 744, Hildeprand ruled in his own name until he was overthrown later that y ...

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. The ...

.Costambeys, 98. This church had long been disputed between the dukes and the bishops, but the grant to Guicpert, which stated that the church was to revert to Farfa on his death, did not end the disputes. Guicpert's predecessor, Sinuald, had been bishop as late as March 777.For the dispute over Saint Michael's, cf. Costambeys, 96–98 and 226–31. By July 781, when a judicial decision of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

placed the church under the control of Farfa, Guicpert was dead.

Notes

{{authority control Bishops of Rieti Abbots of Farfa 8th-century English people