Ratchis 1 was king of the Lombards. He was the son of Pemmo 1 and Ratperga 1 and brother of Ratchait 1 and Ahistulfus (Aistulf 1): Paul. Diac. Hist., Lang. VI 26, 51, cf. Lib. Pont. 94. 48 (brother of Aistulf 1). He was appointed dux of Forum Iulii by king Liutprand 1 after the dismissal of his father for maltreatment of the patriarch Callistus (Kallistos 9) ("ducatumque Pemmoni auferens, Ratchis eius filium in eius loco ordinavit"); he persuaded the king to receive his father back into favour, and narrowly prevented his brother Aistulf 1 from killing the king: Paul. Diac., Hist. Lang. VI 51.

Once dux ("Ratchis denique aput Foroiuli dux, ut dixeramus, effectus"), Ratchis 1 attacked the Slavs living in Carniola and killed many of them: Paul. Diac., Hist. Lang. VI 52. He and his brother Aistulf 1 accompanied Liutprand 1 with troops from Forum Iulii on the king's expedition against Spoletium and Beneventum; between Fanum and Forum Sempronii they bore the brunt of an attack by the Romans and troops from Spoletium but beat them off with few losses; in this battle Ratchis 1 allowed Berto 1 to escape with his life: Paul. Diac., Hist. Lang. VI 56.

Formerly a dux, in 744 Ratchis 1 was chosen to be king of the Lombards on the removal of Hildeprand 1 ("Ratchisum qui fuerat dux sibi Langobardi elegerunt in regem"); he apparently approached pope Zacharias (Zacharias 16) with a request for peace and the pope, because of the king's reverence for St Peter ("ob reverentiam principis apostolorum et eius precibus inclinatus"), agreed a twenty years' peace with him: Lib. Pont. 93. 17. King of the Lombards ("Ratchis Langobardorum rex"); he subsequently laid siege to Perusia (Perugia), to add it to the other towns of the Pentapolis held by the Lombards; Zacharias 16 visited him there and paid him to abandon the siege; he also discussed spiritual matters with the king and a few days later Ratchis 1 abdicated from the throne and, accompanied by his wife and children, went to Rome; there he was ordained priest, with the pope's prayers, and with his wife and children assumed the monastic habit ("isdem Ratchis rex, relinquens regalem dignitatem, devote cum uxore et filiis ad beati Petri principis apostolorum coniunxit limina, acceptaque a praelato sanctissimo papa oratione clericusque effectus, monachico indutus est habitu cum uxore et filiis"): Lib. Pont. 93. 23.

After the death of Aistulf 1 (in December 756), Ratchis 1, formerly a king and then a monk ("dudum rex et postmodum monachus"), tried to seize the throne from Desiderius (Desiderios 3): Lib. Pont. 94. 48. However Desiderios 3 secured the support of pope Stephen III (II) (Stephanos 8), who sent an envoy to Ratchis 1 to inform him, and Desiderios 3 became king with no bloodshed: Lib. Pont. 94. 50.

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