Landulf IV (died 13 July 982) was the

prince of Capua This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the ...

(as Landulf VI) and

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

from 968, when he was associated with his father, Pandulf Ironhead, and

prince of Salerno This page is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Salerno. When Prince Sicard of Benevento was assassinated by Radelchis in 839, the people of Salerno promptly proclaimed his brother, Siconulf, prince. War raged between Radelchis and Sico ...

associated with his father from 977 or 978. In 968, his uncle Landulf III died, which lead to his rise, as Pandulf ignored the rights of Landulf II's son Pandulf II, his nephew, and instead associated his own son with the government. In 969, Pandulf I was captured in the

Battle of Bovino A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Eugenius, captured the town of

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, besieged Capua, and then Benevento. Landulf's mother,

Aloara of Capua Aloara of Capua (died 992), was a Princess regnant of Capua jointly with her son from 982 until 992. She was said to have governed her states with great ability. Life She married Pandulf Ironhead, prince of Capua and Benevento. Her husband died at ...

and

Landulf I, Archbishop of Benevento Landulf I (died 982) was the bishop of Benevento from 956 and the first archbishop of Benevento from 969. Landulf was installed as bishop no later than 19 December 956, because on that date Pope John XII addressed a letter to him. Paul Fridolin K ...

, took over the government in his name, to defend the city from the Byzantines. In 977, after the Pandulf's release, he joined his father in an expedition in defense of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

against the predations of Count Bernard of Alife. On Pandulf I's death in March 981, the great Lombard principality was divided: Landulf, the eldest son, received Capua-Benevento and Spoleto, and Pandulf, the second son, received Salerno. However, the

Emperor Otto II An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

, who was in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning ...

at the time, fighting the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

, dispossessed Landulf of the

duchy of Spoleto The Duchy of Spoleto (, ) was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard ''dux'' Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto. Lombards The Lombards had invaded Italy in 568 AD and conquered much of it, establishing ...

and gave it to Thrasimund, duke of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...

and count of

Penne Penne () is an extruded type of pasta with cylinder-shaped pieces, their ends cut at an angle. ''Penne'' is the plural form of the Italian ''penna'' (meaning ''feather'' but ''pen'' as well), deriving from Latin ''penna'' (meaning "feather" or " ...

. Soon thereafter, Landulf was forced also to recognize the division of Capua-Benevento, which was united since 899. His cousin, the aforementioned deprived Pandulf II, as prince of Benevento, perhaps as an underling. Thereafter, Landulf IV was merely prince of Capua, in which capacity he supported the

Cluniac reform The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

and founded the church of San Croce at

Caiazzo Caiazzo (also Cajazzo) (Campanian: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta (Campania) in Italy. It is located on the right bank of the Volturnus, some northeast of Capua. History The ancient Caiatia was already in the hands of the ...

. He joined his deposed brother Pandulf II in

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, where they fought the Saracens with Otto. They both died in the

Battle of Stilo The Battle of Stilo (also known as Cape Colonna and Crotone) was fought on 13 or 14 July 982 near Crotone in Calabria between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and his Italo-Lombard allies and those of the Kalbid emir of Sicily, Ab ...

on 13 July. He was succeeded by his younger brother Landenulf, who was under the regency of Aloara.

References

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LXIII Labroca – Laterza''.

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, 2004.
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Landulf 04 of Benevento 982 deaths Lombard warriors Landulf 4 Landulf 4 Landulf 4 Military personnel killed in action Year of birth unknown 10th-century Lombard people