Conradine dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconia
n counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder
and his son King Conrad I of Germany
.
in the lower Lahn
region. His sons are mentioned in 861 as propinqui (close relatives) of Adalard the Seneschal
, who had served Louis the Pious
. But the clan's rise to prominence began with Oda, wife of Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia
, who was a member of the family. In view of his family relationship with Oda, Conrad the Elder was frequently referred to as nepos (nephew, grandson, descendant) of the Emperor. He and his brothers apparently were in fact Arnulf's closest relatives, and he relied heavily on their support in his feud with the counts of Babenberg
. Arnulf rewarded them by helping them gain territories, beyond their original realm in Hesse, in Thuringia and the Frankish regions along the Main river.
After Arnulf's death, the Conradines were the only blood relatives of the new king, Louis the Child
, and thus the dominant family in the kingdom. Konrad's brother Gebhard became duke of Lorraine in 903. In 906, Conrad the Elder and his son Conrad the Younger decisively defeated the rival counts of Babenberg in the battle of Fritzlar
, thereby attaining supremacy in Franconia. Conrad the Elder died in the battle, but his son became duke of Franconia.
Five years later, after the death of the last Carolingian wearing the crown of East Francia in 911, Conrad was elected king as Conrad I -- instead of the West Francian (and Carolingian) king Charles the Simple, thus ending Carolingian rule in East Francia.
Conrad I had no children. Having largely failed to secure unity and order in the Empire in the face of obstinate resistance from the dukes of Swabia, Bavaria and Lorraine, Conrad, on his deathbed in December 918, persuaded his brother Eberhard, margrave and subsequently duke of Franconia, to forgo any aspiration for the crown for himself and to recommend to the Frankish nobles the election of the powerful duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler (Henry I), as next king in order to ensure unity among the German tribes and preserve the Empire. Eberhard honored this request, and Henry was duly elected at the Reichstag of Fritzlar
in 919.
With this, the Conradines reverted to the status of local princes. Conrad's brother Eberhard, the new duke of Franconia, remained loyal to the new (Saxon) king Henry and for a while (926-928) even held the troubled duchy of Lorraine in order to restore order. However, when Henry's son Otto the Great became king and emperor, Eberhard unwisely joined Arnulf of Bavaria and Thankmar, Henry's son from his first marriage, in a rebellion which ended in defeat and Eberhard's death at the battle of Andernach in 939 and the family's loss of the Franconian duchy.
In 982 the family temporarily regained the duchy of Swabia, which they had inherited in 926 but then lost again, but they held it only until 1012. In 1036, the last Conradine count died and the family (in the male line) became extinct.
(d. 879)
(d. 997), also Kuno of Öhningen
, descendance uncertain, probably a grandson of Count Gebhard in the Ufgau; married Richlint, a scion of the royal Ottonian dynasty
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder
Conrad, Duke of Thuringia
Conrad , called the Old or the Elder, was the Duke of Thuringia from 892 until his death. He was the namesake of the Conradiner family and son of Udo of Neustria. His mother was a daughter of Conrad I of Logenahe . He was the count of the Oberlahngau , Hessengau , Gotzfeldgau , Wetterau , and...
and his son King Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I , called the Younger, was Duke of Franconia from 906 and King of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine dynasty...
.
History
The family is first mentioned in 832, with Count GebhardGebhard, Count of the Lahngau
Gebhard was a mid-9th-century count in the Lahngau and the first documented ancestor of the dynasty later known as the Conradines. He was a "leading man of the [East] Franks" and a brother-in-law of Ernest, margrave of the Bavarian Nordgau...
in the lower Lahn
Lahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
region. His sons are mentioned in 861 as propinqui (close relatives) of Adalard the Seneschal
Adalard the Seneschal
Adalard, also known as Adalhard or Alard, and called the Seneschal, was a Frankish nobleman of the ninth century. He served as warden of the Norman march from 861 to 865....
, who had served Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
. But the clan's rise to prominence began with Oda, wife of Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
, who was a member of the family. In view of his family relationship with Oda, Conrad the Elder was frequently referred to as nepos (nephew, grandson, descendant) of the Emperor. He and his brothers apparently were in fact Arnulf's closest relatives, and he relied heavily on their support in his feud with the counts of Babenberg
Babenberg
Originally from Bamberg in Franconia, now northern Bavaria, an apparent branch of the Babenbergs or Babenberger went on to rule Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976–1248, before the rise of the house of Habsburg.-One or two families:...
. Arnulf rewarded them by helping them gain territories, beyond their original realm in Hesse, in Thuringia and the Frankish regions along the Main river.
After Arnulf's death, the Conradines were the only blood relatives of the new king, Louis the Child
Louis the Child
Louis the Child , sometimes called Louis IV or Louis III, was the last Carolingian ruler of East Francia....
, and thus the dominant family in the kingdom. Konrad's brother Gebhard became duke of Lorraine in 903. In 906, Conrad the Elder and his son Conrad the Younger decisively defeated the rival counts of Babenberg in the battle of Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
, thereby attaining supremacy in Franconia. Conrad the Elder died in the battle, but his son became duke of Franconia.
Five years later, after the death of the last Carolingian wearing the crown of East Francia in 911, Conrad was elected king as Conrad I -- instead of the West Francian (and Carolingian) king Charles the Simple, thus ending Carolingian rule in East Francia.
Conrad I had no children. Having largely failed to secure unity and order in the Empire in the face of obstinate resistance from the dukes of Swabia, Bavaria and Lorraine, Conrad, on his deathbed in December 918, persuaded his brother Eberhard, margrave and subsequently duke of Franconia, to forgo any aspiration for the crown for himself and to recommend to the Frankish nobles the election of the powerful duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler (Henry I), as next king in order to ensure unity among the German tribes and preserve the Empire. Eberhard honored this request, and Henry was duly elected at the Reichstag of Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
in 919.
With this, the Conradines reverted to the status of local princes. Conrad's brother Eberhard, the new duke of Franconia, remained loyal to the new (Saxon) king Henry and for a while (926-928) even held the troubled duchy of Lorraine in order to restore order. However, when Henry's son Otto the Great became king and emperor, Eberhard unwisely joined Arnulf of Bavaria and Thankmar, Henry's son from his first marriage, in a rebellion which ended in defeat and Eberhard's death at the battle of Andernach in 939 and the family's loss of the Franconian duchy.
In 982 the family temporarily regained the duchy of Swabia, which they had inherited in 926 but then lost again, but they held it only until 1012. In 1036, the last Conradine count died and the family (in the male line) became extinct.
Elder line
Gebhard, Count of the LahngauGebhard, Count of the Lahngau
Gebhard was a mid-9th-century count in the Lahngau and the first documented ancestor of the dynasty later known as the Conradines. He was a "leading man of the [East] Franks" and a brother-in-law of Ernest, margrave of the Bavarian Nordgau...
(d. 879)
- UdoUdo of NeustriaUdo was a 9th-century nobleman of East Francia, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and older brother of Berengar I of Neustria. He and his brother were afforded their position in the March of Neustria both by kinship to Adalard the Seneschal and the favour of Charles the Bald.With his brothers,...
, Count in the Lahngau- Conrad, Duke of ThuringiaConrad, Duke of ThuringiaConrad , called the Old or the Elder, was the Duke of Thuringia from 892 until his death. He was the namesake of the Conradiner family and son of Udo of Neustria. His mother was a daughter of Conrad I of Logenahe . He was the count of the Oberlahngau , Hessengau , Gotzfeldgau , Wetterau , and...
(d. 906)- Conrad I of GermanyConrad I of GermanyConrad I , called the Younger, was Duke of Franconia from 906 and King of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine dynasty...
(d. 918), Duke of FranconiaFranconiaFranconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
from 906, first German kingKingdom of GermanyThe Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
from 911 - Eberhard (c. 885 – 939), Duke of Franconia from 918
- Otto (d. after 918), Count in the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
gau
- Conrad I of Germany
- Eberhard (d. about 903), Count in the Niederlahngau
- Conrad Kurzbold (d. 948), Count in the Niederlahngau
- Gebhard (d. after 947), Count in the UfgauUfgauUfgau was a historical county of the Frankish duchy of Swabia, along the Oos River and the lower Murg, delimited to the south by the counties of Albgau and Ortenau...
- Eberhard (d. 944), Count in the BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
gau - a daughter, married WernerWerner (Salian)Werner V, count in the Nahegau, Speyergau and Wormsgau is the first definite progenitor of the Salian Dynasty of German kings....
, Count in the NahegauNahegauThe Nahegau was in the Middle Ages a county, which covered the environs of the Nahe and large parts of present-day Rhenish Hesse, after a successful expansion of the narrow territory, which did not reach the Rhine, to the disadvantage of the Wormsgau...
, progenitor of the Salian dynastySalian dynastyThe Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings , also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia...
- Gebhard, Duke of LorraineGebhard, Duke of LorraineGebhard of Lahngau , of the Conradine dynasty, son of Odo , count of Lahngau, and Judith, was himself count of Wetterau and Rheingau and then duke of Lotharingia ....
(d. 910)- Herman I, Duke of SwabiaHerman I, Duke of SwabiaHerman I was the first Conradine Duke of Swabia , the son of Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine, and a cousin of King Conrad I of Germany....
(d. 949) - Odo (d. 949), Count in the WetterauWetterauThe Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains....
, married Cunigunda, daughter of Herbert I, Count of VermandoisHerbert I, Count of VermandoisHerbert I of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois, lord of Senlis, of Péronne and of Saint Quentin, was the son of Pepin of Vermandois.-Marriage and issue:...
- Heribert, Count in the Wetterau (925 - 992)
- Ermentrude (972 - 1015), married Count Frederick of LuxembourgFrederick of LuxembourgFrederick of Luxembourg , count of Moselgau, was a son of count Siegfried of Luxembourg and Hedwig of Nordgau.By a wife whose name is unknown , he had:...
- Otto of Hammerstein (975 - 1036), Count of ZutphenCount of ZutphenThe title of Count of Zutphen historically belonged to the ruler of the Dutch province of Gelderland ....
, married Ermengarde, daughter of Godfrey I, Count of VerdunGodfrey I, Count of VerdunGodfrey I , called the Prisoner or the Captive , sometimes the Old , was the count of Bidgau and Methingau from 959 and the count of Verdun from 963 to his death. In 969, he obtained the margravate of Antwerp and Ename...
- Ermentrude (972 - 1015), married Count Frederick of Luxembourg
- Heribert, Count in the Wetterau (925 - 992)
- Herman I, Duke of Swabia
- Rudolph (d. 908), Bishop of WürzburgRoman Catholic Diocese of WürzburgThe Diocese of Würzburg is a diocese of Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, and the bishop is seated at Würzburg Cathedral...
- Conrad, Duke of Thuringia
- Waldo, Abbot of St. Maximin's at TrierSt. Maximin's Abbey, TrierSt. Maximin's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-History:The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. Maximin St. Maximin's Abbey was a...
868/879 - Bertulf, Archbishop of Trier from 869 until 883
- BerengarBerengar I of NeustriaBerengar I was a 9th-century nobleman of East Francia, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and younger brother of Udo. He and his brother were created Margraves of Neustria by Charles the Bald in 861....
(d. after 879), Count in the HessengauHessengauHessengau is an historical region of modern-day Germany located between Beverungen and Marburg in the north and Bad Hersfeld to the south....
- Ota, wife of Arnulf of CarinthiaArnulf of CarinthiaArnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
- Ota, wife of Arnulf of Carinthia
Younger line
Conrad I, Duke of SwabiaConrad I, Duke of Swabia
Conrad I was Duke of Swabia from 983 until 997. His appointment as duke marked the return of Conradine rule over Swabia for the first time since 948....
(d. 997), also Kuno of Öhningen
Öhningen
Öhningen is a town in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-World heritage site:It is home to one or more prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements that are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps UNESCO World Heritage Site....
, descendance uncertain, probably a grandson of Count Gebhard in the Ufgau; married Richlint, a scion of the royal Ottonian dynasty
- Herman II, Duke of SwabiaHerman II, Duke of SwabiaHerman II was the Conradine duke of Swabia from 997 to his death, as the son of and successor Conrad I.Herman opposed the election of Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, as king of Germany because he himself had been a contender...
(d. 1003), married Gerberga, daughter of King Conrad of BurgundyConrad of BurgundyConrad the Peaceful was the king of Burgundy from 937 until his death. He was the son of King Rudolph II, the first king of a united Burgundy and Bertha of Swabia...
- Matilda (988 - 1032), married Conrad I, Duke of CarinthiaConrad I, Duke of CarinthiaConrad I , of the Salian Dynasty, was the duke of Carinthia from 1004. He was the third son Duke Otto I and thus brother of both Henry of Speyer, father of the Emperor Conrad II, and Bruno, who was pope as Gregory V. He outlived both those elder brothers and his father.Along with his father, he was...
, secondly Frederick II, Duke of Upper LorraineFrederick II, Duke of Upper LorraineFrederick II , son of Thierry I and Richilde von Blieskastel, daughter of Folmar III, Count in Bliesgau; was the count of Bar and duke of Lorraine, co-reigning with his father from 1019.... - GiselaGisela of SwabiaGisela of Swabia was the daughter of Herman II of Swabia and Gerberga of Burgundy. Both her parents were descendents of Charlemagne.-Life:...
(989 - 1043), married Brun I, Count of BrunswickBrun I, Count of BrunswickBrun , was count in the Derlingau, the Nordthüringgau, the Hastfalagau, the Salzgau, the Gau Gretinge, and the Gau Mulbeze, with Brunswick as his residence. Brun was a member of the Brunones dynasty....
, secondly Ernest I, Duke of SwabiaErnest I, Duke of SwabiaErnest I was Duke of Swabia . He was a younger son of Leopold I, the Babenberg Margrave of Austria....
, thirdly Conrad II, Holy Roman EmperorConrad II, Holy Roman EmperorConrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty... - Beatrix (d. after 1025), married Adalbero, Duke of CarinthiaAdalbero, Duke of CarinthiaAdalbero of Eppenstein was Duke of Carinthia from 1011 or 1012 until 1035. He succeeded Duke Conrad I from the Salian dynasty....
- Hermann III, Duke of Swabia (d. 1012)
- Matilda (988 - 1032), married Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia
- a daughter (?), married Grand Prince Vladimir I of KievVladimir I of KievVladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
See also
- Conrad I of GermanyConrad I of GermanyConrad I , called the Younger, was Duke of Franconia from 906 and King of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine dynasty...
- Kings of Germany family tree. The Carolingians were the second dynasty to rule Germany and were related by marriage to all the others.
Sources
- Reuter, Timothy (trans.) The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.