PART I
INTRODUCTION
5. The Rythmus on Emperor Louis’s Captivity
The author of this Rythmus is unknown, but the fact that the sole extant manuscript of this text dates to the ninth century and that this work mentions numerous details concerning Emperor Louis Il’s imprisonment by the Beneventans in 871 imply that he was contemporary with this event, and either witnessed it or had the opportunity to question someone who had been present. According to the anonymous poet, Adelferius and Saductus played an important role in the conspiracy. The former, who persuaded the Beneventans to capture the sovereign, [186] probably held a high position in the court of the Prince of Benevento, Adelchis. [187] The latter, on the other hand, mentioned alongside the Emir of Bari, Sawdān, [188] was likely a member of the Saducti, a family from Capua, who had fled to Benevento some years previously because of a clash with the gastald of Capua. [189] The author, moreover, reports that Louis II was liberated because Christ had arranged for a large number of Muslims to arrive at Salerno, [190] a detail recorded by Erchempert, one of the most well-informed chroniclers on this episode. [191]
The Rythmus is structured as a sort of trial of Louis II in which the wide use of direct discourse contributes notable dynamism and drama to the account. [192] Adelferius has the role of the accuser; he incites Prince Adelchis and the Beneventans to arrest and kill the emperor, who was accused of trying to seize Benevento and of not taking the Beneventans into any consideration. [193] Louis II, depicted as a martyr, is brought before the Beneventan prince. After being mocked by the Emir of Bari, Sawdān, [194] and by Saductus, the emperor, described as holy and pious, turns to the Beneventans, telling them that they arrested him like a thief, even though he had come to their land induced by love for the Church and to liberate them from the Muslims. [195] Sawdān responds with a parody, putting the imperial crown on his head and declaring himself emperor. [196] Yet he does not succeed in continuing this farce because he is immediately possessed by the devil and falls to the ground, a miraculous event large numbers of people rush to observe. [197] The author declares that in this way Christ expressed his verdict and goes on to narrate how many Muslims went to besiege Salerno and that Louis II promised to defend those lands without trying to conquer them. [198]
186. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 4-9.
187. Russo Mailler, La politica meridionale, p. 23.
188. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, line 13.
189. The Saducti’s escape is described by the ninth century southern Lombard chronicler Erchempert, Ystoriola Longobardorum Reneventum degentium, ch. 15. The significant role that this family then assumed in Benevento seems to be suggested by the fact that a Saductus is among the signatories of the division of the principality of Benevento in 849. Chronicon Salernitanum, ch. 84b. Cf. Russo Mailler, La politica meridionale, p. 24.
190. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 28-30.
191. Erchempert, Ystoriola Longobardorum Beneventum degentium, ch. 35.
192. Dronke, Generi letterari della poesia ritmica altomedievale, p. 176.
193. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 4 -9.
194. After the fall of Bari, Sawdān was taken to Benevento, where it seems that he enjoyed a certain freedom. Musca, L’emirato di Bari, pp. 124-126.
195. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 10-21.
196. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 22-24.
197. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 25-27.
198. Rythmus tie captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 28-32.
30
It has been supposed that the author was a cleric in Louis II’s entourage, who later became a «jongleur,» and that this Rythmus parodies Louis II. Such a hypothesis would he supported by the fact that this text is characterized by dialogues and that the manuscript in which the Rythmus is reported is written in Carolingian minuscule and is in a library in Verona, details that might indicate that this work was composed in Carolingian Italy. [199]
In my opinion, the Rythmus is not satire. Firstly, one must observe that the Audite (Hear) with which this text opens does not necessarily mean that it is the work of a storyteller. In fact, numerous early medieval rythms start with this incipit, above all the abecedarii. [200] Moreover, that Louis II defends himself by pointing out the ingratitude of the Beneventans, and that the emir of Bari places the imperial crown on his own head do not represent the ridiculing of the sovereign. In fact, Louis II says the very words used by Christ when he was captured at Gethsemane, [201] Sawdān is punished immediately for what he did, while the emperor is liberated and asked to protect the principality of Benevento from the Muslims. [202]
The hypothesis that the anonymous poet was someone in Louis II’s entourage is not to be ruled out. The sovereign appears to be the innocent victim of a conspiracy and it is clearly understood from the text that Christ had made sure that the emperor was saved. It is not absurd, however, to suppose that the author came from southern Italy. The Rythmus, in fact, gives voice to the fears of the Beneventans, who were worried that they would be subjugated by Louis II; yet, at the same time, it highlights the innocence of the holy and pious emperor and emphasizes the wish of the Lombards to be defended by him. The imprisonment of Louis II had embarrassing implications: the emperor was jailed without clear provocation and immediately after his conquest of Bari, the most dangerous Saracen base in southern Italy. Besides, the Muslim threat did not cease and the Lombards demonstrated their inability to resist it. Consequently they were forced, through the mediation of the Bishop of Capua, Landulf, to ask for the intervention of the emperor, who agreed to the request for help and defeated the Saracens. [203] The Rythmus could, therefore, be the expression of the embarrassment of the Beneventans, who asked for the help of the very person they had betrayed. It is noteworthy that in the text the Prince of Benevento, Adelchis, is never mentioned. It is only reported that Adelferius spoke to the prince, telling him of Louis II’s faults. [204] Only Adelferius, Saductus, and Sawdān acted against the emperor. The Rythmus could represent the version of the events presented by the Lombards who went to solicit the sovereign’s help against the Muslims. The Beneventan prince had not actually wanted Louis II to be imprisoned and tried.
199. Russo Mailler, La politica meridionale, pp. 17 and 24-25.
200. The abecedarii are poems in which the lines begin with the letters of the alphabet in sequence.
201. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, line 15. Cf. Luke 22:52.
202. One of the reasons for C. Russo Mailler’s flawed interpretation is poor comprehension of the text. She translates lines 31 and 32 «loratum est ad sancte Dei reliquie / ipse regnum defendendum et alium requirere» as follows: «It had been sworn on the holy relics that the emperor would seek another kingdom to defend.» In spite of the ungrammatical Latin, it appears clear that Louis II is being asked to defend the regnum and alium requirere. Given that in line 8 Adelferius defines the principality of Benevento as regnum and that the Saracens were besieging Salerno, it is probable that Louis II was asked to defend the principality of Benevento without trying to take possession of it.
203. Erchempert, Ystoriola Longobardorum Beneventum degentium, ch. 35.
204. Rythmus de captivitate Lhuduici imperatoris, lines 5-9.
31
Moreover, the emperor had been recognized as innocent and Sawdān, who had dared to scoff at Louis II’s imperial status, had been severely punished. The sovereign, therefore, had no cause to bear any grudge against the Beneventans and could continue his fight to liberate southern Italy from the Muslims.