La Longobardia Minor

Paul Deacon , who resumes the traditions of the ' Origo gentis Langobardorum , tells the story of two legends explaining the displacement of the Lombards from Germany to Italy . The first concerns the revenge of Narses , who would invite the Lombard people to flee their homeland to seek prosperity and wealth in Ancient Greece . The second concerns Autari . The Lombard king , after arriving at the end of Calabria crossed the sea on horseback , where he found a column that touched the tip of the spear , saying " the boundaries of the Lombards come this far ." In truth , the people of Lombard , including the superiority of the Latin peoples , understood the necessity and utility that would be derived from their merger with them and not by their imposition . A sign of what stands out from the immediacy with which they converted to Christianity in a sincere manner . The Lombards in fact built many churches and monasteries , and introduced the transfer of many relics. With regard to the law , they just replaced the Roman, but maintained a dual system , leaving the Italic peoples their laws. The kingdom of Italy, capital of Pavia, was divided into thirty-six ducats , including that of Benevento , who will be the most extensive , as well as the most famous and long-lived . The duke was appointed by the King, but there was also a city council that could provide for the election in the case of gravity. The task of the council was to identify a legitimate male heir and , only in the absence thereof, to elect a successor to the Duke . This excluded from the succession unworthy or undesirable . Lombard laws were codified and written for the first time with the Edict of Rothari November 22 643. It was written in Latin , although outcrop Germanic words . it replaced the previous customs, handed down orally . In procedural law is to detect the possibility for the defendant to choose between Italic Roman law and the Lombard . The punishments were for the most part of a financial character , so it involved the use of God's judgment in many cases .