Landulf II (''c''. 825 – 879) was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and

Count 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 ...

. He was the youngest of four sons of Landulf I,

gastald 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 a young man, he entered the church. When his father died, his eldest brother, Lando, succeeded him. On the death of the bishop of Capua, Paulinus, Lando made Landulf bishop of the city. Lando died in 861 and his young son, Lando II was deposed only a few months later by Landulf's other elder brother, Pando. Pando too died soon thereafter (862 or 863) and a succession crisis broke out. Pando's son Pandenulf was shoved aside and Landulf, though bishop, took the Capuan throne in 863. However, the other branches of the family refused to recognize the usurpation and began seizing much of the county for themselves, leaving Landulf II only in control of the town of Capua proper. Isolated, Landulf II invited Saracen mercenaries to ravage the lands of his familiars, a move which much alarmed his neighbors (including the pope). In 866, the deposed Pandenulf appealed to

Emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

, then visiting

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 ...

, to act against his uncle. The Emperor promptly besieged Capua and divested Landulf II, but instead of restoring Pandenulf, decided to pass the county of Capua over to the marquis Lambert I of Spoleto. This arrangement did not last long. In 871, Lambert was involved in a rebellion against Louis II orchestrated by

Adelchis of Benevento {{Infobox noble, type , name = Adelchis , title = , image = Adelchis.JPG , caption = Adelchis, from the 11th-century ''Codex legum Langobardorum'' , alt = , CoA = , ...

. In the aftermath, Louis II deposed Lambert and restored Landulf II as count of Capua. As a condition, Landulf II swore off deploying Saracens in the county. Upon the death of Louis (875), who had strictly enforced peace amongst the Christians of the Mezzogiorno, Landulf II allied himself with 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 ...

, but in 877,

Pope John VIII Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy ...

convinced him to ally himself to the papacy against the Muslims. He spent the next years defending the

Amalfi Coast The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Celebrated worldwide ...

with his navy in return for tribute. Landulf II died in 879, undisputed count of Capua, and a succession crisis broke out again between his nephews Lando II (son of Lando), Pandenulf (son of Pando) and Lando III (son of Landenulf of Teano). In the chronicle of

Erchempert Erchempert ( la, Erchempertus) was a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy in the final quarter of the ninth century. He chronicled a history of the Lombard Principality of Benevento, in the '' Langobardia Minor'', giving an espec ...

, of whom he was a contemporary, Landulf II of Capua is the chief villain, portrayed as a dabbler in Satanism and black magic, Saracen ally and enemy of Christendom. Erchempert's portrayal of Landulf II was the inspiration for the character of evil duke and magician Klingsor in

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...

's medieval epic ''

Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) and his long ...

''. Eschenbach's epic was later translated into the famous nineteenth-century opera ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

'' by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. As American film director

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

is frequently said to have looked to ''Parsifal'' for inspiration in his creation of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' saga, Landulf II of Capua, via this long chain of association, is the closest historical source for the villainous

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

Sources

''Historia Langabardorvm Beneventarnorvm''
at

The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LXIII Labroca – Laterza''. Rome, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Landulf 02 Of Capua 820s births 879 deaths Bishops of Capua Landulf 2 Lombard warriors 9th-century Italian bishops 9th-century Lombard people 9th-century rulers in Europe