St. Michael - Patron Saint of the latter Langobards

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."


When approximately a half million Langobards invaded the Cisalpine region in the sixth century, perhaps slightly over half of them were Odinic Heathens (not the Christian usage of "heathen"), and the rest were Arian Christians (not the same as "Aryan"). Over time, especially under the rule of Queen Theodelinda, they became largely Catholic.

The Prayer to St. Michael (above), to me somehow captured the spirit of the still-very-formidable Langobard army of the post-Cisalpine era. However, it was written by Pope Leo XIII in the nineteenth century.


From PacemInTerris.org:

In a vision, Pope Leo XIII was shown the fearful battle to be waged between Satan and St. Michael over the Church of the future. He composed the following powerful prayer, which you may use as a defense against Satan and all evil spirits. The Church has set aside September 29th to celebrate the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

The Archangels

An archangel is an angel of high rank. Beings similar to archangels are found in a number of religious traditions; but the word "archangel" itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions.


From PaceInTerris.org:

Archangels are mentioned throughout sacred Scripture in their unique role as God’s messengers to people at critical times in the salvation process.


The Archangels likely predate Abrahamic religions, but that opens up a whole new area of study.

Archangel Michael

Michael the Archangel

Michael ("who is like God") is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as "Saint Michael the Archangel" and also as "Saint Michael". Orthodox Christians refer to him as the "Taxiarch Archangel Michael" or simply "Archangel Michael."


St. Michael (Catholic)

Saint Michael the Archangel is referred to in the Old Testament and has been part of Christian teachings since the earliest times. In Catholic writings and traditions he acts as the defender of the Church, and chief opponent of Satan; and assists souls at the hour of death.


"Lombards" from the well-admired 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

The 1911 Ecyclopedia Britannica is considered by many to be a great source of knowledge. Later encyclopedias were influenced by powerful institutions and lobbying groups who basically sought to "change history." Its description of the Langobards and their history, entitled 'LOMBARDS, or LANGOBARDI', is excellent as a brief source.


If you're like me, and during the evening you don't feel like staring at a screen and concentrating to read a long article, you may want to try FromTextToSpeech.com. Then you can just sit back and listen. I use the "Heather" voice, which I find easy to understand.

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Gairethinx

In the book 'The Lombard Laws' (Fischer Drew; 1973), footnote 43, on page 245; it states regarding the "thinx":

"The thinx was, properly speaking, the public assembly, ding, of the Lombards. After the settlement in Italy, however, the wide scattering of the Lombard people would have made such a general assembly impossible.

Hence the witnessing of contracts--an important function of the assembly--was transferred to a smaller group of witnesses. "The gairethinx ("spear assembly") name remained, however, and from this word the shorter form thinx was often used to refer to the formal contractual procedure of gairethinx, or even to the gift, the object of the transfer, itself."


Gairethinx (from Wikipedia):

The gairethinx was a Lombard ceremony in which edicts and laws were affirmed by the army. It may have involved the entire army banging their spears on their shields. It may have been a much quieter event.

It is etymologically related to the Thing of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and the Althing of Iceland.

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

Lombard Kingdom WAS "Padania"

I just began to read 'History of the Lombards', written by Paul the Deacon in the eighth century, and I would like to post a quote from the book here now:

"By the middle of the eighth century, with the fall of Ravenna and the increasing Lombard pressures on Rome, the Lombard kingdom wholly dominated the north of the peninsula, while the Byzantine forces held the south. This division survived Charlemagne's conquests, the raids of the Arabs in the ninth and early tenth centuries, and the Norman invasions of south Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In addition, it played an important part in the later history of Italy, contributing to the many differences between the north and the south and shaping the culture out of which emerged the Italian communes of the north in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries."

--'History of the Lombards'; 'Introduction I' by Edward Peters; pages ix to v; exact and continuous quote

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Addition [12-2-08]: It was under the leadership of the Lombard King Alboin, that "Langbard" (Kingdom of the Lombards) was first established. However, it was not until his successor's reign, that all of Northern Italy was conquered. The following is the Wikipedia entry for "Cleph.":

"Cleph

"Cleph (also Clef, Clepho, or Kleph; in Italian, Clefi) was king of the Lombards from 572 or 573 to 574 or 575.

"He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood. He was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain control of the peninsula. He extended Lombard dominion over all of northern Italy, finishing the conquest of Tuscany and bringing Lombard authority to the gates of Ravenna. He was assassinated after an 18-month reign by a young guard, a slave whom he had mistreated. His death was followed by a ten year interregnum, known as the "Rule of the Dukes" because the territorial dukes were supreme. His son, Authari, eventually took the throne in 585."

So for all who insist that "Padania" was never a nation... well, it was! It was called the Kingdom of the Lombards or LANGBARD.