| The name Gisolfi comes from the Longobard
Gisulf, meaning "spear-wolf", the nephew of Alboin, King of the Longobards who
irrupted into Italy in 568 A.D. The Longobards (Long Beards) were a Germanic people
who crossed the Apennines and penetrated down the length of Italy. The first Gisulf was made chieftain or duke of Forum Julii
district or Friuli, the eastern segment of Venetia. He is presumed to have reigned
for 43 years before dying a warrior's death in defense of his capital Cividale from
attacking Mongolian Avars.
In the 600's Grimoald, son of the first Gisulf and his
wife Romilda, assumed the kingship in Pavia, but returned south to defeat the last attempt
of the Eastern Empire to retake Italy. He rousted the Byzantine Emperor, Constant
II, who had laid siege to Beneventum.
Gisulf I, Duke of Beneventum, lived and ruled until
shortly after 700 A.D.
Gisulf II, also Duke of Beneventum, illustrates how even
after 2 centuries Longobardia still extended down the length of Italy and the Longobard
King still exercised his power over the southern duchy. In 732 A.D. when Gisulf
II's succession was contested, King Liutprand had him brought to Pavia and installed
his nephew as duke, who ruled until his death in 742. King Liutprand then restored
Gisulf II in the Duchy of Beneventum where he ruled until his death in 751.
Gisulf II's lasting fame, however, is associated with
the Abbey of Montecassino. For his donation of land his statue along with 17 others
stands in the "Cloister of the Benefactors".
In the history of the Abbey we now find listed Abbot
Gisolfo, who ruled the Abbey from 797 to 817, a good half century after the donation by
Gisulf II.
In 774 the Longobard Kingdom in northern Italy ended
when Pavia fell to Charlemagne. However, in the south the local chieftains became in
name and in fact independent princes and would continue to rule for almost 3 more
centuries. The once vast duchy is gradually fractured into three principalities;
Beneventum in 774, Salernum in 839, and Capua in 850.
The Gisulf name reappears in the person of Gisulf I,
prince of Salernum, who ruled from 930 to 977. He was a typical petty ruler of
his age, often losing and regaining his throne in conflict with his neighbors.
A full century later we find a second Salernitan Gisulf,
a new enterprising type who has to match his sword and wits with the impetuous
Normans. In 1052 Gisulf II makes an alliance with the Norman adventurer, Robert of
Hauteville, the Guiscard (the cunning), and keeps his throne. The alliance is
strengthen by the marriage of Gisulf's sister, Segilgaita to Robert. This alliance
lasts twenty years and so by 1076 we find the Guiscard laying siege to Salernum and his
brother-in-law and Gisulf succumbs to the struggle in 1077.
He enters into papal service for a number of years and
reappears as Duke of Amalfi in 1088. As for the Guiscard, while in an attempt to
conquer the Eastern Empire he dies from a fever on the shores of Epirus at age 70.
The Longobards ruled for some 5 hundred years and with
the adding in of -aldi and -olfi we find the name Gisulf
in the 3 surnames of "Gisolfi", "Ghisolfi" and "Grimaldi"
(for the son of the First Gisulf).
We how have to jump to 1637 and Onofrio Antonio
Gisolfi. All we know of him is he worked in Naples from 1637 to 1647 and built the Church
of San Nicola alla Carità on the famous Via Toledo
in Naples.
He is a link in the persistence of the Longobard name
down the centuries, which of course had become a surname.
At this time I can trace the unbroken Gisolfi line to
1860. With a little luck and a lot of perseverance I hope to bridge the gap between
the 1600 Gisolfi and my cousin Guiseppe Gisolfi (1800's). |
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