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Monnaie de ParisGrimoald III (died 806) was the
Lombard Prince of Benevento from 788 until his own death. He was the second son of
Arechis II and
Adelperga. In 787, he and his elder brother Romoald were sent as hostages to
Charlemagne who had descended the Italian peninsula as far as
Salerno to receive the submission of Benevento. In return for peace, Arechis recognised Charlemagne's suzerainty and handed Grimoald over as a hostage.
When his father and brother both died in 788, Grimoald was allowed to return to Italy. He recognised Frankish overlordship, but was permitted practical independence in return for defending Italy from the
Byzantines. In 788 he faced a Byzantine invasion commanded by
Adelchis, the son of the last Lombard king,
Desiderius. A Frankish army under
Winigis and
Hildebrand, Duke of Spoleto, joined Grimoald and defeated Adelchis on the coast soon after his landing.
Later, Grimoald tried to throw off Frankish suzerainty, but Charlemagne's sons,
Pepin of Italy and
Charles the Younger, forced him to submit in 792.
Sources
- Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (edd.) The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume II—The Rise of the Saracens and the Foundations of the Western Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1926.
- McKitterick, Rosamond. The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987. London: Longman, 1983. ISBN 0 582 49005 7.
Category:8th-century birthsCategory:806 deathsCategory:Princes of BeneventoCategory:LombardsCategory:8th-century rulers in EuropeCategory:9th-century rulers in EuropeCategory:8th-century Italian peopleCategory:9th-century Italian peoplede:Grimoald III.es:Grimoaldo III de Beneventofr:Grimoald III de Bénéventgl:Grimoaldo III de Beneventoit:Grimoaldo III di Beneventouk:Грімоальд III (князь Беневентський)
