Gastald
Encyclopedia
A gastald was a Lombard
official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldia or castaldia) with civil, martial, and judicial powers. By the Edictum Rothari
of 643
, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the reeve
s the like authority in the countryside. Under the Lombard dominion, territories were delimited by giudicati or "judgments" among the several gastaldi. From the immediate region of Parma
and of Piacenza
, numerous such giudicati survive, which cover the range of Lombard rule. The documents follow the same formalized structure, of which one between the gastaldo Daghiberto and the gastaldo Immo was adjudged by Adaloald
, at Ticino
, November 615.
As paid officials with direct allegiance to the roving Lombard kings, whose seat was nominally at Pavia
, the gastaldi were often in conflict with the dukes, the great Lombard territorial magnates who pursued policies of autonomy. By the 9th century, the powers of the gastaldi had devolved to largely administrative ones. The title gradually disappeared over the final century of Lombard power, surviving only in a few instances, especially in the Mezzogiorno
, where ducal Lombard power continued for another two hundred years, for example at Capua, which was included in the Lombard Duchy of Benevento
and where the count's title remained gastaldo as late as the ninth century, when Gastaldo Landulfo
began strenuously to establish his independence. About 1200, in his Magna derivationes, Uguccione of Pisa
included gastradeus [sic., a copyist's slip for gastaldeus] given the meaning "rector loci", the "administrator of a place".
In Milan, the institution of gastaldi endured within the cathedral chapter until the close of the Middle Ages
. In the Arsenal of Venice
, the gastaldi endured to the arrival of Napoleon, in the form of confraternities of craftsmen in the shipyards; the sign of the carpenters' guild, painted under the direction of Misier Zacharia d'Antonio in 1517 and renewed in 1753, under the gastaldia of Francesco Zanotto gastaldo and company, is in the Museum of Venetian History, Venice.
In Old High German
, gastaldus came to denote a steward. Castaldy appears in Middle English with an abstract meaning of "stewardship"; the specific function, however, remained foreign to Anglo-Saxon or Norman institutions.
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldia or castaldia) with civil, martial, and judicial powers. By the Edictum Rothari
Edictum Rothari
The Edictum Rothari was the first written compilation of Lombard law, codified and promulgated 22 November 643 by King Rothari. The custom of the Lombards, according to Paul the Deacon, the Lombard historian, had been held in memory before this...
of 643
643
Year 643 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 643 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Pirooz, the son of the last Sassanid king...
, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the reeve
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
s the like authority in the countryside. Under the Lombard dominion, territories were delimited by giudicati or "judgments" among the several gastaldi. From the immediate region of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and of Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, numerous such giudicati survive, which cover the range of Lombard rule. The documents follow the same formalized structure, of which one between the gastaldo Daghiberto and the gastaldo Immo was adjudged by Adaloald
Adaloald
Adaloald was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. Son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda, he was baptised shortly after his birth in 602. He was an associate king, raised on the shield by the warriors at his father's request, when still young...
, at Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
, November 615.
As paid officials with direct allegiance to the roving Lombard kings, whose seat was nominally at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, the gastaldi were often in conflict with the dukes, the great Lombard territorial magnates who pursued policies of autonomy. By the 9th century, the powers of the gastaldi had devolved to largely administrative ones. The title gradually disappeared over the final century of Lombard power, surviving only in a few instances, especially in the Mezzogiorno
Mezzogiorno
The Midday is a wide definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the southern half of the Italian state, encompassing the southern section of the continental Italian Peninsula and the two major islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to a large number of minor islands...
, where ducal Lombard power continued for another two hundred years, for example at Capua, which was included in the Lombard Duchy of Benevento
Duchy of Benevento
The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically...
and where the count's title remained gastaldo as late as the ninth century, when Gastaldo Landulfo
Landulf I of Capua
Landulf I , called the Old, was the first gastald of Capua of his illustrious family, which would rule Capua until 1058. According to the Cronaca della dinastia di Capua, he ruled in Old Capua for twenty five years and four months and in New Capua for another year and eight months...
began strenuously to establish his independence. About 1200, in his Magna derivationes, Uguccione of Pisa
Huguccio
Huguccio was an Italian canon lawyer . His major non-legal work is the Magnae Derivationes or Liber derivationum, dealing with etymologies, based on the earlier Derivationes of Osbernus of Gloucester.He studied at Bologna, probably under Gandolphus, and taught canon law in the same city, perhaps...
included gastradeus [sic., a copyist's slip for gastaldeus] given the meaning "rector loci", the "administrator of a place".
In Milan, the institution of gastaldi endured within the cathedral chapter until the close of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In the Arsenal of Venice
Venetian Arsenal
The Venetian Arsenal was a complex of state-owned shipyards and armories clustered together in Venice in northern Italy. It was responsible for the bulk of Venice's naval power during the middle part of the second millennium AD...
, the gastaldi endured to the arrival of Napoleon, in the form of confraternities of craftsmen in the shipyards; the sign of the carpenters' guild, painted under the direction of Misier Zacharia d'Antonio in 1517 and renewed in 1753, under the gastaldia of Francesco Zanotto gastaldo and company, is in the Museum of Venetian History, Venice.
In Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
, gastaldus came to denote a steward. Castaldy appears in Middle English with an abstract meaning of "stewardship"; the specific function, however, remained foreign to Anglo-Saxon or Norman institutions.