The Relationship Between The Lombard Kingdom And The Papacy In 712-774

The Lombard kingdom experienced the course from prosperity to extinction from 712 to 774.During this time,the Papacy separated from the Byzantine Empire and then depended on the Frankish kingdom,and “the Republic of St.Peter” was gradually built in central Italy.Most conventional studies on the Papacy grounds would regard Lombards as invaders of Italy and oppressors of the Roman Catholic Church,emphasizing the conflict and opposition between them.However,through reinterpreting lots of important historical resources,many scholars in recent years have applied new research paradigm of “Transformation of the Roman World” and paid more attention to their peace and cooperation.From the point of view of the Lombard kingdom,all the kings during this period had complicated relationships with the popes for the different political aims.For example,King Liutprand devoted himself to uniting Spoleto and Benevento to his kingdom,which were two self-ruled duchies in southern Italy.He fought against Pope Gregory II and Pope Gregory III when they supported the splittism of the two duchies,but cooperated many times with Pope Zachary who backed the king,and they concluded “a peace treaty for 20 years” as a result.King Ratchis took pro-Rome standpoint and maintained the Italy equilibrium overall with Pope Zachary.King Aisitulf tried to establish the supremacy in the whole Italy,and even forced Pope Stephen II to submit himself to the rule of Lombards.But with the help of King Pepin of Franks,Pope Stephen II frustrated King Aisitulf and built “the Republic of St.Peter” on the basis of “Donation of Pepin”.To preserve his limited kingship,King Desiderius make some concession with Pope Stephen II and King Pepin of Franks.Meanwhile,Roman fell apart when struggling for the Papacy.In such circumstances,the both sides could adjust the external relationships to balance the internal crisis,though the territorial disputes always remained.The Franks were deeply involved in the conflicts,which broke the balance between the both sides.In 774,King Desiderius were dethroned by Charlemagne,which symbolized the downfall of the Lombard kingdom.By contrast,“the Republic of St.Peter” expanded to the central and northern Italy.In conclusion,as two neighbors bordering on each other,the relationship between the Lombard kingdom and the Papacy was not as hostile as one may think.On the contrary,in most cases they both could adjust policies to resolve conflicts timely and keep the relative balance.The balance would be broken only when one of them took an intransigent attitude.When out of balance,both sides would seek for external powers and therefore might fall into rivalry.In general,the both sides had confrontation and cooperation as well during the period,characterized by pursuing the balance.