Euin (died 595), also ''Ewin'' or ''Eoin'', was the first Lombard

Duke of Trent The Duchy of Tridentum (Trent) was an autonomous Lombard duchy, established by Euin during the Lombard interregnum of 574–584 that followed the assassination of the Lombard leader Alboin. The stronghold of Euin's territory was the Roman city ...

(from 569) during the

Rule of the Dukes The Rule of the Dukes was an interregnum in the Lombard Kingdom of Italy (574/5–584/5) during which Italy was ruled by the Lombard dukes of the old Roman provinces and urban centres. The interregnum is said to have lasted a decade accordin ...

, an

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

(575–585) during which the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

was ruled by its regional magnates, the dukes of the thirty or so cities. Euin participated in several significant wars during his long reign. The primary source for his career is Paul the Deacon's ''

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 ...

''. In 584 the

Frankish kings The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who co ...

Guntram of Burgundy Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and ...

and

Childebert II of Austrasia Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his d ...

invaded northwestern Italy. The fortress Anagnis, north of

Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

, surrendered to them and was consequently the victim of a plundering expedition by Ragilo, the Lombard count of Lagaris. Ragilo and his army, however, were attacked in the field of "Rotalian" by a Frankish army under Chramnichis. Ragilo and many of his followers, still with their booty, were killed. Chramnichis then moved on to "devastate Trent", but probably this phrase (in Paul the Deacon) refers not to a Frankish occupation of the city itself but just a raid of its environs. At

Salurn Salorno sulla Strada del Vino (; german: Salurn ) is the southernmost ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about southwest of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking municipalities in S ...

is, Euin, the duke of Trent, ambushed Chramnichis and killed him. He took the Franks' booty and regained the booty collected by Ragilo. He then drove the Franks from the duchy of Trent. Paul records that it was around this time, when

Sigebert I of Austrasia Sigebert I (c. 535 – c. 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful ci ...

was assassinated by Chilperic I of Neustria (584), that Euin married a daughter of

Garibald I Garibald I (also Garivald; la, Garibaldus; born 540) was Duke (or King) of Bavaria from 555 until 591. He was the head of the Agilolfings, and the ancestor of the Bavarian dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards. Biography After the dea ...

, whom Paul refers to as "king of the Bavarians". The elder sister of Euin's wife was Theudelinda, who in 589 married the Lombard king

Authari Authari (c. 550 – 5 September 590) was king of the Lombards from 584 to his death. He was considered as the first Lombard king to have adopted some level of "Roman-ness" and introduced policies that led to drastic changes particularly in th ...

. In 587 Authari sent an army under Euin into

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

. By tactics Paul only describes as "plunderings and burnings", Euin established peace for a year and returned with a large

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

for Authari. In 590 Childebert invaded Italy with an army led by twenty dukes, notably Auduald, Olo, and Cedinus. Olo was killed trying to take Bilitio and Auduald, with six other dukes, camped outside

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

waiting for the army of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

, which never came. Cedinus, with thirteen dukes, invaded the northeast, and marched west. In the duchy of Trent he destroyed the fortresses of Tesana, Maletum, Sermiana, Appianum, Fagitana, Cimbra, Vitianum, Bremtonicum, Volaenes, and Ennemase. With dysentery racking his army and the Byzantine reinforcements yet to show up, Cedinus made a ten-month truce and returned across the Alps. In May 591, Authari's successor, Agilulf, sent Agnellus, Bishop of Trent, Agnellus, Bishop of Trent, to the Frankish court of Brunhilda of Austrasia, Brunhilda to secure the ransom of several Tridentine prisoners captured in the previous war, which he did. At that same time Euin went to the Franks to negotiate a peace, which he did. Euin was dead by January 595, when he was replaced by Gaidoald, described by Paul as "a good man and a Catholic in religion".Paul the Deacon
IV, x.
/ref>

Notes

{{Authority control 595 deaths Dukes of Italy Lombard warriors 6th-century Lombard people Year of birth unknown