An Incredible Destiny

This article analyses some of the mechanisms that led King Grimoald ( 663–671 ) to obtain the royal title in the Lombard kingdom, examining his relationships with some of the key figures of the time. The main one is Garibald, Duke of Turin, who played a fundamental role in the king’s rise to power. Through a series of in-depth analyses linked to Paul the Deacon’s ‘Historia Langobardorum’ and to Fredegar’s ‘Chronicle’ and new clarifications, this article traces potential relationships with the Agilolfing dynasty. Through a new hypothesis, it discusses and proposes to trace Duke Garibald of Turin and Grimoald’s mother, Romilda, with her descendants, back to this large aristocratic group active in the Frankish kingdom, in the duchies of Alemannia and Bavaria, and the Lombard kingdom. One of the central hypotheses of the contribution is the proposal to identify the Duke of Turin with his namesake Garibald II, Duke of Bavaria, who moved to one of the most prestigious dukes in the Lombard kingdom following the international crisis of 625–626. The result is a largely renewed picture, which seeks to overcome the numerous silences of Paul the Deacon. The events surrounding Grimoald’s appeal to Duke Garibald, ostensibly aimed at stabilising a kingdom fractured by fratricidal conflict among King Arioald I’s descendants, can also be interpreted as the manifestation of internal competition within the extended royal kin group of the Agilolfings, who were destined in the long term to be defeated by their main adversaries, the Pippinid-Arnolfing family.