Individuals identified with the collective name Hucpoldings constituted one of the most important kindred groups among the Frankish aristocracies, who were active at the very centre of the Italian kingdom in their role as marchiones and comites. Arriving in Italy during the middle of the Carolingian era in the wake of Lothar I, the leading figures of the groups were adept at holding eminent political positions well into the eleventh century. They were in constant dialogue with both kings and the archbishops of Ravenna. The various figures operated and entertained relationships across a wide portion of Italy, spanning the Po valley and the Apennines. Indeed, in order to overcome the difficulties imposed by significant geographical dispersion of archival sources, it has been necessary to consider familial connections in the widest possible way, thus conferring importance on each single horizontal cognatic tie as it is brought to light.

For this reason, to clear the field of conceptual misunderstandings, when referring to the Hucpolding group from the ninth to eleventh centuries it would seem appropriate to adopt the expression ‘kinship group’, rather than that of ‘family’. The latter refers markedly to family links of an agnatic nature, those characteristic of a later period and very different from the horizontal kinship ties of the germanic Sippen. The term ‘kinship group’, on the other hand, is more suited to representing the inherently inclusive character of the group's wide cognatic ties, typical of early medieval Frankish elites. At the same time, upon historical reconstruction, the character and efficacy of each horizontal connection discovered will be verified one by one.

Finally, it is opportune to acknowledge how the notable chronological depth of the documentation – unusual in the study of early medieval aristocracies – permits reflection on long historical developments, thus setting the whole Hucpolding issue within the wider picture of the kingdom of Italy. In fact, the prosopography of the kindred group covers a chronological span of almost three centuries. From the first reference to the eponymous founder, Hucpold, in 847, all the way to the initial references to the counts of Panico, lords of large areas of the Bolognese Apennines at the beginning of the twelfth century.