Gisulf II was the third last duke of Benevento before the fall of the Lombard kingdom

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...

. He ruled from 743, when King Liutprand came down and removed Godescalc

Godescalc of Benevento

Godescalc, was the Duke of Benevento in Langobardia minor from 740 to his assassination in 743. Godescalc's accession was without approval of the king....

, to his death up to ten years later.

Gisulf was the son of Romuald II of Benevento

Romuald II of Benevento

Romuald II the Younger was the son of Gisulf I and Winiperga. He succeeded as duke of Benevento on the death of his father, which is dated variously as 698, 706, or 707. According to Paul the Deacon, Gisulf reigned 17 years, which would imply his death in 698, but Paul also mentions acts which...

 and Gumperga, daughter of Aurona, sister of Liutprand. As a relative of the king, he was supported by the royal power, but being a minor on his father's death, one Audelais

Audelais of Benevento

Audelais was an usurper of the duchy of Benevento for two years after the death of Romuald II. He overthrew Romuald's son and heir, Gisulf II....

 managed to usurp the duchy. Liutprand removed Audelais and, placing another nephew Gregory

Gregory of Benevento

Gregory was a nephew of King Liutprand of the Lombards, who appointed him Duke of Benevento in 733 or thereabouts after removing both the usurper Audelais and the minor Gisulf II. He governed the "people of the Samnites," as Paul the Deacon calls the Beneventans, for seven years.He was married to...

 on the throne, brought Gisulf back to be raised in the royal palace 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...

.

In 744, Gisulf made a donation of land to the Abbey of Montecassino

Monte Cassino

Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...

 which would become the basis for the Terra Sancti Benedicti

Terra Sancti Benedicti

The Terra Sancti Benedicti was the secular territory, or seignory, of the powerful Abbey of Montecassino, the chief monastery of the Mezzogiorno and one of the first Western monasteries: founded by Benedict of Nursia himself, hence the name of its possessions.The secular holdings had their origin...

.

The Beneventans (or Samnites) remained faithful to Gisulf and his father's dynasty, however, and when, after Gregory's death, Godescalc usurped the ducal throne, the people rose up and murdered him, allowing Liutprand to place the now-adult Gisulf in power. According to Hartmann http://www.northvegr.org/lore/langobard/044.php, Gisulf followed the policies of Liutprand faithfully.

Sources

• Lexikon des Mittelalters: Gisulf II. Herzog von Benevent (741-749).
• Paul the Deacon
  Paul the Deacon
  Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...
  
  . Historia Langobardorum. Available at Northvegr.