L’ABBAZIA CONTESA PRESENZE FRANCHE E LONGOBARDE NEL MONASTERO DI SAN VINCENZO AL VOLTURNO
ABSTRACT. The second half of the VIII century was a period of profound transformation in Italy. The Lombard, Frankish and Byzantine appearances constituted part of the thick mosaic present in the peninsula. The crucible of opposing forces present in the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno is a clear example of what was happening in other parts of Italy. In the monastery, Franks and Lombard monks coexisted harmoniously and even contrasting. The two factions were supported, or indirectly influenced, by different parts: Longobard duchies, the Frankish kingdom, Byzantine Empire, Pope and other nearby abbeys. During the second half of the VIII century, while Charlemagne extended his domains in different areas of Europe, monasticism was preparing for a profound and lasting transformation. The idea of restoration proper to the Carolingian politics was investing the monastic space significantly. A solid process of unification of the coenobies was started under the same rule, the Benedictine one, and laid the foundations for their development as centers of cultural transmission. In the decades that preceded the coronation of Charlemagne to Romanorum Imperator, on that famous Christmas night of the 800, a reciprocal and fruitful influence was established between Franco monasticism and the one widespread in the areas of the Italian South. Here we have analyzed the frank ancestry on the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno in the few years that followed 774, when Carlo assumed the title of Gratia Dei Rex Francorum et Langobardorum et Patricius Romanorum and the Carolingian domination was formally recognized in Italy. We have chosen to consider one event in particular: the deposition of one of the abbots of the monastery, a certain monk named Potone.