The arimanni (singular ''arimannus'') were a

warrior class A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been pr ...

of freemen in Lombard and later

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 ...

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 re ...

. In contemporary documents ''arimanni'' are sometimes denominated as ''liberi homines'' (free men) or ''exercitales'' (soldiers). The ranks of the ''arimanni'' were originally filled by experienced warriors, the descendants of the Lombard freemen who invaded Italy in 569. The position of the ''arimanni'' declined after the Frankish conquest of 774. By the mid-ninth century, many Franks were also ''arimanni'', no longer just Lombards. By the tenth century, the ''arimanni'' had declined to a position barely above that of

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

s. The ''arimanni'' were typically small or medium landowners with a few tenants, or none, beneath them. They formed the basis of the Italian state as they owed it service, specifically ''oste et ponte et placito'': army, bridge, and court services. This service was not mediated by

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

obligations. The ''arimanni'' held public offices at the local level. The

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

took a special interest in the obligations and rights of the ''arimanni'' as they were foundational to royal control.

Lothair I Lothair I or Lothar I (Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bavar ...

tried to curb the tide of feudalisation by reasserting the public obligations of the ''arimanni'' even if landless, making these obligations due to the local

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. In a conscious continuation of Carolingain policy, both Guy and Lambert in the 890s created legislation asserting the obligations, especially military, of the ''arimanni'' and outlawing the prevalent practice of granting public obligations to

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

s as

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. The concept of ''arimanni'' survived into the eleventh century, when certain Tuscan citizens pleaded that status against the claims of the

House of Canossa The House of Canossa was an Italian noble family from Lucca holding the castle of Canossa, from the early tenth to the early twelfth century. Sigifred of Lucca, Sigifred of Lucca built the castle at Canossa around 940. Adalbert Atto appears in Can ...

Sources

* Cavanna, Adriano. Fara, sala, arimannia nella storia di un vico longobardo. Milano, 1967. *Gasparri, Stefano. 'Strutture militari e legami di dipendenza in età longobarda e carolingia,' Rivista Storica Italiana 98 (1986), 664–726. * Gasparri, Stefano. 'La questione degli arimanni,' Bullettino dell’Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medioevo 87 (1978), 121–153. * Gasparri, Stefano. 'Nobiles et credentes omines liberi arimanni'. Linguaccio, memoria sociale e tradizioni longobarde nel regno italico,' ed. S. Gasparri, Bullettino dell'Istituto storico italiano, Istituto storico italiano 105 (Rome, 2003), 25–51. * Gasparri, Stefano. 'Il popolo-esercito degli arimanni. Gli studi longobardi di Giovanni Tabacco', Giovanni Tabacco e l'esegesi del passato. Quaderni, Accademia delle Scienze di Torino 14 (Torino, 2006), 21-36. * Jarnut, Jörg. 'Beobachtungen zu den langobardischen arimanni und exercitales,' Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte. Germanistische Abteilung 88 (1971), 1-28. *Tabacco, Giovanni. I liberi del re nell'Italia carolingia e postcarolingia. Spoleto, 1966. *Wickham, Chris. Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000. MacMillan Press: 1981. {{Italy-hist-stub Lombards Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)