Winigis, also spelled Winiges or Winichis (died 822), was the

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. Th ...

(''dux Spolitanus'') from 789 to his death. He was sent by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in 788 with Frankish troops to assist Dukes Hildeprand of Spoleto and Grimoald III of Benevento against a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

invasion. In this, his first recorded action, he was successful, defeating the a Greek expeditinoary force led by

Theodoros Theodoros or Theodorus () is a masculine given name, from which Theodore is derived. The feminine version is Theodora. It may refer to: Ancient world :''Ordered chronologically'' * Theodorus of Samos, 6th-century BC Greek sculptor, architect ...

in Calabria in 788. Hildeprand, however, died on the campaign and Charlemagne appointed Winiges to succeed him in the

Duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto () was a Lombards, Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard ''dux'' Faroald I of Spoleto, Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards invaded northern Italy in 568 and b ...

. Winiges was appointed by Charlemagne to act as his ''

missus dominicus A ''missus dominicus'' (plural ''missi dominici''), Latin for "envoy of the lord uler, also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf ( German: ''Sendgraf''), meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Holy Roman Emperor to sup ...

'' in the Ducatus Romae and he was at

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

when

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...

was assaulted on 25 April 799. It was then he who brought him to shelter in

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

until he could safely return to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Winiges got involved in a war with Grimoald of Benevento, however, and was captured while being besieged at

Lucera Lucera (Neapolitan language, Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia. Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere ...

in 802. He was held captive for a year before being released in 803. While Leo III was nearing death in 815, the Roman citizens revolted, but King Bernard sent Winiges to Rome to quell the unrest. In 822, Winiges abdicated his worldly office and retired to a monastery, where he died not too long after (probably that same year). His successor was

Suppo I Suppo I (or Suppone) (died 5 March 824) was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Kingdom of Italy in the early ninth century. In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a ''missus dominicus'' ...

, ''Brixiæ civitatis comes'' ("Count of the city of

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 ...

").

Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...

and Einhard.

Notes

References

Sources

* Hodgkin, Thomas. ''Italy and her Invaders''. Clarendon Press: 1895. {{DEFAULTSORT:Winiges of Spoleto 8th-century dukes of Spoleto 9th-century dukes of Spoleto Frankish warriors 8th-century births 822 deaths Year of birth unknown