War for Occupied Cisalpine Gaul: Byzantine Roman Empire versus Langobard Nation

War for Occupied Cisalpine Gaul: Byzantine Roman Empire versus Langobard Nation

Langobard warriors, under warrior King Alboin, defeat the Byzantine Roman Army. The Nation of Langbard is born.

Kingdom of the Lombards

Lombards

Byzantine Empire

Women in Langbard

I am currently examining the footnotes of the book 'History of the Lombards'. Although the book was written by Paul the Deacon, it was edited by Edward Peters. More than in most books, I find myself disagreeing with both of them. Rather than using a lot of text explaining why, which I may cover some other time, I wanted to just look briefly at an issue that I saw on one open set of pages (pgs. 194-195), in the footnotes.

On page 194, Edwards is commenting on the advance of the Catholic Church in Langbard (the Lombards were either Arian Christian or "heathen" (some form of Wotanism most likely). He writes "The conversion of the Langobards to the Catholic faith was prompted by their intermarriage with Roman wives."

This is a clumsy statement based on the easy concept that everyone living on the Italian peninsula before the Langobards was "Roman." However, this concept is not used for Roman citizenry outside of the peninsula. Also, the population were no longer "Roman citizens," but some still attach an easy, catch-all "Roman" ethnic title to the entire population. Most of the population, at least north of Etruria, was either Alpine Euganean or Celtic Gaul, with some old Etruscan or later Germanic genes admixed. Therefore, when a Germanic Lombard married a culturally Romanized ethnic Celt, it became Edwards "intermarriage with a Roman wife."

On page 195, Edwards is discussing Lombard Law, and states "Rothari Edict was published Nov. 22nd, 643. It was composed of 388 chapters. Although written in Latin, the greater part of this Edict was of purely Langobard origin." After giving some examples of this law, he gets to the treatment of women in Langbard, and writes "'If anyone should "place himself in the way" of a free woman or girl or injure her he must pay nine hundred solidi (540 pounds sterling). If any one should "place himself in the way" of a free man he must pay him twenty solidi .....' These provisions indicated the high estimation the high estimation in which the free women were held."

For thousands of years, in both Wotanist and Wicca-like faiths, women not only were often equal, but actually held much power in many instances. Often in matters of faith, though not nearly as much in politics. I'm not sure about pre-Christian Etruscan society and spirituality.

Ostrogothic Kingdom: Germanic Conquest

Ostrogothic Kingdom: Germanic Conquest

The Ostrogothic Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. In Italy the Ostrogoths replaced Odoacer, the de facto ruler of Italy who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Gothic kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of its first king, Theodoric the Great. Most of the social institutions in the late Western Roman Empire were preserved during his rule.

Ostrogothic Kingdom

Theodoric the Great (454 - August 30, 526) was king of the Ostrogoths (471 - 526), ruler of Italy (493 - 526), and regent of the Visigoths (511526). He became a hero of Germanic legend as Þeodric in English legends, Dietrich von Bern in German legends, and as Þjóðrekr and Þiðrekr in Norse mythology.

Theodoric the Great

The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Roman Empire. The other branch was the Visigoths.

The Ostrogoths established a relatively short-lived successor state of Rome in Italy and the Balkans, even briefly incorporating most of Hispania and southern Gaul. They reached their zenith under their Romanised king Theodoric the Great, who patronised such late Roman figures as Boethius and Cassiodorus, in the first quarter of the sixth century. By mid-century, however, they had been conquered by Rome in the Gothic War (535 - 554), a war with devastating consequences for Italy.

Ostrogoths

Our New Symbol: The Triquetra

The PAL had been using the actual flag of the Langbard Kingdom for a number of reasons. One being that it was literally the flag of a country which encompassed the northern part of the Italian peninsula. Another being the symbolism on it, with the red odal rune, which probably was of Etruscan origin, as the original runes were. Red represents blood, and the odal rune means "our land."

While we still will use the Langbard flag, as well as the Betsy Ross flag, we have adopted a signature symbol, much like Lega Nord has. I would also like to add that the Betsy Ross flag symbolizes that our people have been in America from its beginning. I mean the 1600s, and maybe someone can say Columbus as well. Getting back to the original point, we needed a symbol which would truly represent us, so that when someone sees it, there's no doubt who it is.

Lega Nord uses the great, but somewhat little-used "Sun of the Alps" symbol, which is Celtic in origin. The Celts have very deep roots in the country, while the Lombards, like the Romans, were technically invaders. I think that is why they chose that symbol. They used green, as it's sometimes thought of as a Celtic color, although it's probably more of an Irish-Celtic color. It should noted that the Celts were in our country long before other branches of them migrated to the British Isles.

We chose the Triquetra, also of Celtic origin. Specifically either red-on-white or white-on-red. There is tremendous symbolism here. The red and white is a take on the Langbard flag colors. Red also symbolizes blood, although that wasn't one of the reasons we even thought of. Also, some Catholic institutions use the Triquetra symbol, as to them it represents the Holy Trinity: "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Usually that comes by way of the Irish Catholic influence. This symbol goes clear back into the ancient world. As far as we can tell, the original meaning was that it symbolized God Odin. I know all of this sounds somewhat wild, but it's all true, and can be proven. It should also be pointed out that this particular triquetra is probably ancient Celtic and has three separate interlocking parts to it, making it very distinct.

I was just looking at SymbolDictionary.net, and I can see that there is even more to this than I had originally thought. Amazing. Well, I think we have made our case here. It can represent many aspects of our history at the same time.

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From SymbolDictionary.net...

Triquetra (Triqueta, Trinity Knot)

The triquetra (sometimes, triqueta) is a tripartate symbol composed of three interlocked vesica pisces, marking the intersection of three circles. It is most commonly a symbol of the Holy Trinity (Father, son, Holy spirit) used by the Celtic Christian Church, sometimes stylized as three interlaced fish:

The triqueta symbol predates Christianity and was likely a Celtic symbol of the Goddess, and in the North, a symbol of the god Odin. Although it is often asserted that the triquetra is a symbol of a tripartite goddess, no such goddess has been identified with the symbol. Similar symbols do occur in some Norse and Celtic goddess imagery, but most likely represents the divisions of the animal kingdom and the three domains of earth mentioned above.

Triplicities were common symbols in Celtic myth and legend, one of the possible reasons Christian beliefs were so easily adopted by the Celtic people. The triqueta makes an ideal Christian symbol. It is a perfect representation of the concept of “three in one” in Christian trinity beliefs, and incorporates another popular Christian symbol, the fish, in its original form of the vesica pisces. It is sometimes enclosed within a circle to emphasize the unity aspect.

In Wiccan and Neopagan belief, the triqueta symbolizes the triple aspected goddess (maid, mother, and crone). Some Christians have protested this “appropriation” of the symbol…however, ironically enough, the original Christian fish symbol was derived from an early symbol of venus, one representing female generative organs- making the triquetra perfectly appropriate symbol for a Goddess revival. The triquetra is also considered to represent the triplicities of mind, body, and soul, as well as the three domains of earth according to Celtic mythology- earth, sea, and sky.

The triquetra also appears on the television series Charmed, probably as a less threatening alternative to the pentacle (the preferred emblem of witches real and imaginary). In the show, it represents the “power of three, acting as one,” which in turn represents the three sisters.Evangelical tract writers and conspiracy theorists like to label the triquetra a ’satanic’ symbol, claiming it is a ’stylized’ 666, an allusion to the ‘number of the beast’ in the Book of Revelation. This, however, is simply wishful thinking. The triquetra of interlaced fishes is one of the very earliest of Christian symbols, predating the crucifix by hundreds of years. The purported ’satanic’ meaning of the symbol is a modern evangelical interpolation.

Gallia Cisalpina III: Celto-Ligurian Culture

Gallia Cisalpina III: Celto-Ligurian Culture

All of the tribes of Cisalpine Gaul are sometimes referred to as part of the "Celto-Ligurian" culture. Although some may be "Celto-Venetic" or other regional variations.

LIGURES

The Ligures (singular Ligus or Ligur; English: Ligurians, Greek: Λίγυες) were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, which once stretched from Northern Italy into southern Gaul. According to Plutarch they called themselves Ambrones which means ¨people of the water¨. The Ligures inhabited what now corresponds to Liguria, northern Tuscany, Austria (Noricum), Piedmont, part of Emilia-Romagna, part of Lombardy, and parts of southeastern France.

Classical references and toponomastics suggest that the Ligurian sphere once extended further into central Italy (Taurisci): according to Hesiod's Catalogues (early 6th century BC) they were one of the three main "barbarian" peoples ruling over the Western border of the known world (the others being Aethiopians and Scythians). Avienus, in a translation of a voyage account probably from Marseille (4th century BC) speaks of the Ligurian hegemony extending up to the North Sea, before they were pushed back by the Celts. Ligurian toponyms have been found in Sicily, the Rhône valley, Corsica and Sardinia.

It is not known for certain whether they were a pre-Indo-European people akin to Iberians; a separate Indo-European branch with Italic and Celtic affinities; or even a branch of the Celts or Italics. Kinship between the Ligures and Lepontii has also been proposed. Another theory traces their origin to Betica (modern Andalusia) and southern Lusitania (modern Algarve and Alentejo).

The Ligures were assimilated by the Romans, and before that by the Gauls, producing a Celto-Ligurian culture.

Gallia Cisalpina II: Pagan Celtic Nation

Gallia Cisalpina II: Pagan Celtic Nation

In memory of the earth-based and gender-equal pagan culture of the Celto-Ligurian tribes in the southern Alpine and Po river valley region called Gallia Cisalpina (Cisalpine Gaul; "Gaul south of the Alps") by the Romans who eventually destroyed their world, took their land, and subjugated them under the Roman Empire.