Cunincpert (also Cunibert or Cunipert) was king of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 680.

Life

Soon after his assumption of the sole kingship, Cunincpert 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 did not rule long, however. His first rebellion against King Perctarit failed in 680, b ...

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 sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

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 Ise ...

(who had previously been duke of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th cen ...

). Alahis had also rebelled during the reign of Perctarit, but it was Cunincpert who, according to Paul the Deacon in the ''

Historia Langobardorum The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' ( la, Historia Langobardorum) 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 n ...

'', 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 Cunincpert to flee to

Isola Comacina Isola Comacina is a small wooded island of Italy’s Lake Como, administratively a part of the comune, commune of Ossuccio. It is located close to the western shore of the Como arm of the lake in front of a gulf known as ''Zoca de l'oli'', a Lomba ...

, an island in the middle of

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

. 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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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

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

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, defeated Alahis and the men of Venetia at the Battle of Coronate, on the Horn of the Adda, near Lodi, in 689. Alahis was slain in battle. Cunincpert 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, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time. It was part of a larger Three-Chapter C ...

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

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

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 (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

References

{{Reflist 700 deaths 7th-century Lombard monarchs Lombard warriors Bavarian dynasty Year of birth unknown

Life

Further reading

References