It is this Lambert's son, Guy (Guido) who appears as the first Frankish Duke of Spoleto. Brother-in-law of Siconolf, Prince of Benevento, he contrived to interfere skilfully in the wars among the Lombard princes, betray his allies at well-chosen junctures, and add to his duchy various cities, Sora, Atino, etc., the spoil of Siconolf or his rivals. He died about 858. His son Lambert shewed himself an intractable vassal, sometimes the ally of Louis II, and again at open war with him, or fugitive at the court of the princes of Benevento. He was even temporarily deprived of his duchy, which was transferred to a cousin of the Empress Engilberga, Count Suppo. After the Emperor Louis's death, however, Lambert is found again in possession of his duchy, and like his brother Guy, Count of Camerino, is counted among the adherents of Charles the Bald. In Tuscany the ducal family was of Bavarian origin, tracing its descent from Count Boniface who, in the beginning of the ninth century was established at Lucca and was also entrusted with the defence of Corsica. His grandson, Adalbert, succeeded in consolidating his position by marrying Rotilda, daughter of Guy of Spoleto. As to Southern Italy, beyond the Sangro and the Volturno, the Lombard principalities there, in spite of formal acts of submission, remained, like the Greek territories, outside the Carolingian Empire. The power of the Princes of Benevento was considerably diminished after the formation of the principality of Salerno, cut off from the original duchy in 848. From the middle of the ninth century, the Gastalds of Capua also affected to consider themselves independent of the prince reigning at Benevento. The Frankish sovereign could hardly do otherwise than seek to foment these internal dissensions and try to obtain from the combatants promises of vassalage or even the delivery of hostages. But Louis II made no real attempt to compel the submission of the Lombards of Benevento and Salerno, who were firmly attached to their local dynasties and to their independence. If he interfered on several occasions beyond the limits of the States of the Church and the Duchy of Spoleto, it was not as suzerain, but as the ally of the inhabitants in their struggle against the common enemies of all Italy, the Saracens.
These latter, who came from Africa and Spain, were for more than a hundred years to be to the peninsula nearly as great a scourge as the Northmen were to Gaul and Germany. In 827 they had gained a foothold in Sicily and four years afterwards (831), taking advantage of the dissensions between the Byzantine governors, they seized Palermo and Messina and made themselves masters of the whole island. In 837 the Duke of Naples, Andrew, set the fatal example of calling them in as allies in his struggle with Sicard of Benevento, to whom he was refusing the tribute he had promised. Thenceforward, in spite of engagements to the contrary, Italian dukes and Greek governors constantly took Muslim pirates into their pay. Other bands having seized various Greek cities such as Taranto, we get the pillage of the towns on the
