Frotharius, Frotar, or Frotaire was the Archbishop of Bordeaux and then of Bourges (876) in the ninth century. In 870, Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 raids forced him to abandon Bordeaux.

Frotharius was related to the Counts of Toulouse

Counts of Toulouse

The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...

 and Rouergue

Counts of Rouergue

This is a list of the counts of Rouergue.*Gilbert c. 790 – c. 810 or 820*Fulcoald c. 810 or 820 – c. 836 or 849*Raymond I c. 836 or 849 – 864*Fredol c...

. By maintaining control of the abbeys of Brioude

Brioude

Brioude is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne region in south-central France. It lies on the banks of the River Allier, a tributary of the Loire.-History:...

 and Beaulieu

Beaulieu

-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...

, he probably preserved his family's influence in southern Gaul during the ascendancy of Bernard Plantapilosa

Bernard Plantapilosa

Bernard Plantapilosa , or Plantevelue, son of Bernard of Septimania and Dhuoda, was the Count of Auvergne from 872 to his death. The Emperor Charles the Fat granted him the title of Margrave of Aquitaine in 885....

. Brioude had been under the protection of the Counts of Auvergne until 874, when Frotharius had it. Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...

 granted it permission to elect its own abbot and the monks chose Frotharius, who was abbot still in 893. After Frotharius' death, the abbey reverted to William I of Aquitaine

William I of Aquitaine

William I , called the Pious, was the Count of Auvergne from 886 and Duke of Aquitaine from 893, succeeding the Poitevin ruler Ebalus Manser. He made numerous monastic foundations, most important among them the foundation of Cluny Abbey on 11 September 910.William was the son of Bernard II of...

.

Frotharius was active in preserving church lands, however. He returned lands his family stole from Beaulieu in the Limousin

Limousin (province)

Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...

 and forced them to observe a charter of 887 granting those lands back to Beaulieu. He also intervened with King Carloman

Carloman of France

Carloman II , King of Western Francia, was the youngest son of King Louis the Stammerer and Ansgarde of Burgundy, and became king, jointly with his brother Louis III of France, on his father's death in 879....

 in Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

 to have land in Fréjus

Fréjus

Fréjus is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one town...

 taken from Saint-Vincent de Marseille returned.

Sources

• Lewis, Archibald R. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.