Benedict was the Abbot of Farfa from 802 until his death. He is the first abbot mentioned in the eleventh-century history of the abbey written by Gregory of Catino

Gregory of Catino

Gregory of Catino was a monk of the Abbey of Farfa and "one of the most accomplished monastic historians of his age." Gregory died shortly after 1130, possibly in 1133....

 whose origins were not known. He continued the policy of his predecessor of expanding Farfa's landed endowments. Neverthelss, according to the forensic testimony of his successor, Ingoald

Ingoald

Ingoald was the Abbot of Farfa from 815, succeeding Benedict. At the beginning of his abbacy he vigorously protested the policies of Pope Leo III , which had resulted in the abbey's loss of property...

, the monastery lost property during the reign of Pope Leo III

Pope Leo III

Pope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....

 (795–816), partly from the unlawful seizures of the Holy See.

Two charters from 802 and 804 show that Benedict and his predecessor Mauroald

Mauroald

Mauroald was a Frankish monk from Worms and the Abbot of Farfa from 790. Farfa, at less than a century old, was still interested in accruing territories through grants and donations in order to support its building projects and the expansion of its site.According to Gregory of Catino, the late...

 financed the military service of two brothers from the Sabina

Sabina

Sabina, the region in the Sabine Hills of Latium named for the Sabines, is the ancient territory that today is still identified mainly with the North-Eastern Province of Rome and the Province of Rieti, Lazio.-History:...

, Probatus and Picco, sons of Ursus of the Pandoni family, who were serving the army of Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

 then targeting the Principality of Benevento. In 804 they defaulted on their debt to the abbey of twenty gold mancus

Mancus

Mancus was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g , or a unit of account of thirty silver pence. This made it worth about a months wages for a skilled worker, such as a craftsman or a soldier...

es, ten pounds of silver, and cloth worth sixty mancuses. They ceded all their wealth to the abbey save their lands in Fermo

Fermo

Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....

, a few movables and their slaves

Slavery in medieval Europe

Slavery in early medieval Europe was relatively common. It was widespread at the end of antiquity. The etymology of the word slave comes from this period, the word sklabos meaning Slav. Slavery declined in the Middle Ages in most parts of Europe as serfdom slowly rose, but it never completely...

.