Stelle Absolutus autem, Domino iubente, ce...; (Historia Langobardorum Beneventanorum (880 - 890), trans. Ferry, 35, pp. 180-182) [5566]

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ID 5566
Text Historia Langobardorum Beneventanorum (880 - 890) Erchempert
Quotation Absolutus autem, Domino iubente, cesar insons, statim Saraceni Salernum applicuerunt quasi 30 milia; quam graviter obsidentes, hinc et inde cuncta forinsecus stirpitus deleverunt, occisis in ea innumerabilibus colonis; et depopulati sunt ex parte Neapolim, Beneventum et Capuam. Quo tempore ambo Lamberti comites augusti furorem metuentes, Beneventum recesserunt, et ab Adelgiso honorifice suscepti sunt. Quorum auxilio fretus, super Saracenorum scaram irruit et viriliter stravit, occisis ex eis pene tribus milibus viris; quibus etiam diebus Capuani iuxta Suessulam mille ex eis peremerunt. Cumque in hac obsidione prope terminaretur annus, misso exercitu iam dictus augustus per suggestionem Landulfi presulis—hoc enim solummodo memorabile bonum gessit a die ortus sui—et perdidit ex prophanis in Capua ferme novum milia viros; post hac per semet ipsum dignatus est adveniret Capuam. Cuius advento cognito, Saraceni Salernum relinquentes, Calabriam adeunt eamque intra se divisam repperientes, funditus depopularunt, ita ut deserta sit veluti in diluvio. (...) Guaiferius vero pro sua obsessione primum Petrum, cognatum suum, et Guaimarium, filium suum, legatos ad iam fatum augustum misit; quos ille consilio Landulfi retinuit et exilio destinavit; cuius etiam postea duos filios obsides suscepit et Langobardiam misit.
Translation After the emperor had been set free at the command of the Lord, the Saraceni at once drew near Salerno with about thirty thousand soldiers; they seriously besieged the city, utterly destroying everything on all sides, and killing numberless farmers there; they also destroyed parts of Naples, Benevento and Capua. At this time both count Lamberts, fearing the emperor’s fury, withdrew to Benevento and were receive honorably by Adelchis. With their help, Adelchis attacked a band of Saraceni and courageously overthrew them, killing almost three thousand; during that time Capuans also killed a thousand of them near Suessula, And when nearly a year had ended during this siege, the emperor sent an army through the suggestion of the bishop Landulf—indeed, this was the only good thing he did which can be remembered from the day of his birth—and it destroyed almost nine thousand of the profane forces at Capua; after this the emperor thought it worth coming to Capua himself. Learning of his approach the Saraceni left Salerno and approached Calabria, and discovering it divided within itself, utterly destroyed it, so that it became a desert just as in the flood. (...) In the face of their blockade, Guaiferius for the first time sent as ambassadors to the emperor his relative, Peter, and Guaimarius, his own son; the emperor detained them at the advice of Landulf and sent them into exile; he also later took their two sons as hostages and sent them to Longobardia.
Summary Large Saracen forces from North Africa attack Salerno, Naples, Benevento and Capua, and emperor Louis II is set free. Adelchis of Benevento receives Lambert of Spoleto and his namesake, Lambert of Camerino, two of the conspirators against the emperor, and together they fight against the Saracens. The troops of the emperor also manage to kill a large number of Saracen soldiers. Guaifer of Salerno sends two ambassadors, one of them his son, to Louis II, who sends them into exile.
Quotation source trans. Ferry, 35, pp. 180-182
Temporal Coverage 871 - 871
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