A
gastald (
Latin gastaldus or
castaldus,
Italian gastaldo or
guastaldo) was a
Lombard official in charge of some portion of the
royal demesne (a
gastaldia or
castaldia) with civil, martial, and judicial powers. By the
Edictum Rothari of 643, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the
reeves the like authority in the countryside. Under the Lombard dominion, territories were delimited by
giudicati or "judgments" among the several
gastaldi. From the immediate region of
Parma and of
Piacenza, numerous such
giudicati survive, which cover the range of Lombard rule. The documents follow the same formalized structure, of which one between the gastaldo Daghiberto and the
gastaldo Immo was adjudged by
Adaloald, at
Ticino, November 615.