Landulf

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LANDULF

A member of the capitanei (the Italian noble class) in 11th-century Milan, leader of the Patarines from c. 1056 through the early 1060s; b. Milan; d. the early 1060s (exact date is unknown). While arialdo preached in the countryside, Landulf covered the city. Together, they formed a powerful team, exhibiting sincerity, efficiency, gentleness, and most of all a good strategic plan for their quest of reforming the Church of Milan.

Dressed shabbily, Landulf, with a persuasive voice, preached reform to the people like a demagogue. As early as 1057 he could be heard addressing the people as follows: "For light flatters darkness, all blind are affected, because the blind are your leaders. But now can the blind lead the blind? Is it not both who are falling down in a pit?"

On his way to Rome during the pontificate of stephen ix to join Arialdo, Landulf was wounded at Piacenza. (It seems that the Patarine movement branched throughout Lombardy, especially at one of the Lombard cities, Piacenza, where Bishop Dionigo tried to drive them from his city; thus it can be assumed that Landulf received his wound in one of the skirmishes there.) Shortly afterward, his strength was weakened further by consumption. Thus, he had to withdraw from the Patarine effort. After his death his brother, erlembald, replaced him in the reform movement.

Bibliography: arnulf, "Gesta archiepiscoporum Mediolanensium," Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores (Berlin 1826) 8.131. u. balzani, Le cronache Italiane nel medio evo (2d ed. Milan 1900). s. m. brown, "Movimenti politico-religiosi a Milano ai tempi della Pataria," Archivo-storico Lombardi, ser. 58, 6 (1931) 227228. h. e. j. cowdrey, "The Papacy, the Patarenes and the Church of Milan," TRHS, ser. 5, 18 (1968) 2548. landulf senior, "Historia Mediolanensis," Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores (Berlin 1826) 8.32100. f. meda, "Arialdo ed Erlembaldo," La scuola cattolica e la scienze Italiana, ser. 2, l0 (1895) 535552. j. p. whitney, Hildebrandine Essays (Cambridge 1932) 143157.

[p. m. levine]