Lewis II.,[45] which says “ut nullum ab expeditione aut Comes aut Gastald, vel Ministri eorum excusatum habeant”; and in the life of Gregory II., Anastasius Bibliotecharius[46] tells that at the overthrow of the castrum of Cumae with the help of that pope, “Langobardos pene trecentos cum eorum Gastaldione interfecerunt.”  In military affairs the command held by the gastald seems to have been lower than that of the dux, the leader of all the troops furnished by the civitas.  A right of appeal to the dux existed for the exercitalis who was oppressed by the gastald, as shown by the twenty-fourth law of Rhotaris,[47] which says:  “Si Gastaldius exercitalem suum contra rationem molestaverit, Dux eum soletur.”  In a case of oppression by the dux, the gastald, on the other hand, could bring the matter before the king.

Before considering the changes introduced by the Carlovingian rule, let us cast a hasty glance at a few of the minor officers who acted as subordinates of the judex in administering the affairs of the civitas.  As their relations to the urban portion of the Lombard kingdom, which is the special object of our study, were either slight in themselves or else so closely connected with those of their superiors as not to merit any particular description, I will merely mention the names of a few of them and indicate their duties.  The officer who came next in rank to the judex, and who, in a subordinate capacity, assisted him especially in administering the judicial affairs of the civitas, was in Lombard times called the sculdahis, and in Carlovingian times the centenarius.  Under him were the saltarius and the decanus.  The sculdahis acted as a local officer under the judex, having limited judicial, police and military powers.  His jurisdiction was confined to the small fortified towns and villages of the civitas, where he administered justice and collected fines, forfeitures, etc., in much the same manner as did the judex in the largest town of the civitas; his judgments, however, were not final, but always subject to appeal to a higher authority:  “Si vero talis causa fuerit, quod ipse Sculdahis minime deliberare possit, dirigat ambas partes ad judicem suum."[48] There were several sculdahis in one judiciaria, and cases were often tried before more than one,[49] though each of the smaller local units seems to have had such an officer.  Paulus Diaconus[50] speaks of “elector loci illius, quem sculdahis lingua propria dicunt, vir nobilis,” etc.