After King Rachis there succeeded to the realm of Lombardy, and to that of Apulia, Astolf, called in Latin Telofre, brother of the said Rachis. He was a lord of great power, and cruel, and an enemy of Holy Church and of the Romans; and by the counsel of evil and rebellious Romans, he took Tuscany and the valley of Spoleto, and devastated them, and claimed tribute on every man's head; and made a conspiracy with Leo, and Constantine, his son, emperors of Constantinople, and at his request they came to Rome, and together with Telofre they took it, and sacked it, and burnt the churches and holy places, and carried to Constantinople the riches of Rome, and all the images from the churches in Rome, and in contempt of the Pope and of the Church and to the shame of the Christians he burnt them all with fire, and many faithful Christians they destroyed and consumed in Rome and in all Italy. For which thing Pope Stephen II. excommunicated them, and as a punishment for the misdeed took away from the emperor the kingdom of Apulia and of Sicily, and established by a decree that it should pertain to Holy Church for ever. And afterwards, not being able to resist the force of the said tyrants and so much affliction, he went in person into France to Pepin, prince and governor of the French, to require and pray him to come into Italy to defend Holy Church against Telofre, king of the Lombards, and he gave to the said Pepin many privileges and graces, and made and confirmed him king of France, and deposed Childeric, the king which was of the first race, forasmuch as he was a man of no account, and he became a monk. Which Pepin, a faithful and loving son of Holy Church, received him with great honour, and afterwards with all his forces with the said Pope Stephen came into Italy, in the year of Christ 755, and fought great battles with the said Telofre, king of the Lombards. In the end, by force of arms and of his folk, the said Telofre was overcome and defeated by the good King Pepin, and he obeyed the command of the Pope and of Holy Church, and made all amends, just as he and his cardinals chose to devise; and he left to the Church by compact and privilege the realm of Apulia and of Sicily, and the patrimony of S. Peter. And when the said Pepin was come to Rome with the said Pope, they were received with great honour by the Romans; and the said Pepin was made patrician, that is, vicar of Rome, and father of the Roman Republic. And when Rome and Holy Church were restored to their liberty and good estate, he returned into France, and ended his life with great honour, and Charles the Great, his son, succeeded him as king of France. Sec. 13.--_How Desiderius, son of Telofre, began war again with Holy Church, for the which thing Charles the Great passed into Italy, and defeated him, and took away and destroyed the lordship of the Lombards._ [Sidenote: De Mon. iii. (11) 1-6.] [Sidenote: 775 A.D.] [Sidenote: Par. vi. 94-96.] [Sidenote: Ep. v. (4).]