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 year by
Ratchis
RatchisAlso spelled ''Rachis'', ''Raditschs'', ''Radics'', ''Radiks''. (died after 757) was the Duke of Friuli (739–744) and then King of the Lombards (744–749).
Ratchis was the son of Duke Pemmo of Friuli and the nephew of the Lombard kin ...
,
duke of Friuli.
The son of Sigiprand,
duke of Asti, Hildeprand was also a
duke (''dux'') prior to his elevation to the throne. In 734, he participated in the successful siege of
Byzantine Ravenna. Either just before or after the siege, Liutprand fell ill and was not expected to live. The leading Lombard noblemen elected Hildeprand as king, but Liutprand recovered. Although displeased with the election, he felt bound to accept Hildeprand as co-ruler. Liutprand himself had been elected while his father
Ansprand, was fatally ill. In both cases, the initiative to elect a successor was taken by the nobility. By 735, the diplomacy of
Pope Gregory II had patched together an alliance between the Byzantine exarch,
Eutychius Eutychius or Eutychios ( el, Εὐτύχιος, "fortunate") may refer to:
* Eutychius Proclus, 2nd-century grammarian
* Eutychius (exarch) (died 752), last Byzantine exarch of Ravenna
* Saint Eutychius, an early Christian martyr and companion of ...
, Duke
Ursus of Venetia
Orso Ipato (Latin: ''Ursus Hypatus''; died 737) was the third traditional Doge of Venice (726–737) and the first historically known. During his eleven-year reign, he brought great change to the Venetian navy, aided in the recapture of Ravenn ...
and Patriarch
Antoninus of Grado Antoninus is a Latin masculine given name. It may refer to:
Roman people
* Antoninus (philosopher), Neoplatonist philosopher of the 4th century
*Antoninus (turncoat), Roman who joined the Sassanid Empire and assisted Shapur II in the siege of Amida ...
. With a large Venetian fleet, the new allies retook Ravenna. In this second siege, Hildeprand and Duke
Peredeo of Vicenza were captured by the Venetians, according to the ''
Chronicon Venetum
The ''Chronicon Venetum et Gradense'', formerly known as the ''Chronicon Sagornini'', is a Venetian chronicle compiled by John the Deacon in ca. 1008. It is the oldest chronicle of the Republic of Venice. John was the chaplain and perhaps a rel ...
''.
In 739, while Liutprand was campaigning against the church in the
Duchy of Rome, Hildeprand was ravaging the
ecclesiastical lands around Ravenna. In August, he was joined by Liutprand, who attacked the
Pentapolis
A pentapolis (from Greek ''penta-'', 'five' and ''polis'', 'city') is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. Cities in the ancient world probably formed such groups for political, commercial and military reasons, as happened ...
. By 743, Liutprand's health had again begun to fail, and there may have arisen a pro-papal party in the kingdom, led by Duke Ratchis. The next year Liutprand died and Hildeprand succeeded unopposed, being elected in
Pavia, near the church of Santa Maria delle Pertiche, in the presence of the Lombard army.
Piero Majocchi, "Sviluppo e affermazione di una capitale altomedievale: Pavia in età gota e longobarda", ''Reti Medievali - Rivista'', XI - 2010, 2
/ref> He had proved himself an opponent of both the Byzantines and the Papacy, and within a few months he was overthrown by a revolt led by Ratchis, who immediately made peace with Pope Zachary
Pope Zachary ( la, Zacharias; 679 – March 752) was the bishop of Rome from 28 November 741 to his death. He was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Zachary built the original church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, forbade the traffic of slav ...
.
References
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{{Antique Kings of Italy
8th-century Lombard monarchs
Lombard warriors
Year of birth missing
744 deaths