Lantfrid
Encyclopedia
Alamannia
Alamannia or Alemannia was the territory inhabited by the Germanic Alamanni after they broke through the Roman limes in 213.The Alamanni expanded from the Main basin during the 3rd century, raiding the Roman provinces and settling on the left bank of the Rhine from the 4th century.Ruled by...
under Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
sovereignty from 709 until his death. He was the son of duke Gotfrid
Gotfrid
Gotfrid, Gotefrid, or Gottfried was the Duke of Alemannia in the late seventh century and until his death. He was of the house of the Agilolfing, which was the dominant ruling family in Bavaria....
. Lantfrid's brother was Theudebald.
Following Gotfrid's death in 709 and the accession of Lantfrid and his brother Theudebald, the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
maior domus
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
Pepin of Herstal invaded Alamannia and fought against yet another duke, Willehari
Willehari
Willehari or Willihari was an Alemannic duke in the Ortenau in the early eighth century.According to the Vita Sancti Desiderii, Pepin of Heristal of the Franks, led two expeditions against Willehari in 709 and 712...
, whose territory was restricted to the Ortenau
Ortenau
The Ortenau is a historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, located on the right bank of the River Rhine. It covers approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day district....
in western Alamannia. This campaign can be seen as an attempt by Pepin to impose royal authority on the duchy following the death of Gotfrid and also to assert his right to influence or even control the succession within the duchy. Pepin’s campaign against Willehari might therefore have taken place to assist Lantfrid and Theudebald in their claim for the duchy. However, both Lantfrid and Theudebald were hostile to Pepin’s successor.
After Pipin’s death in 714, Lantfrid dissolved all links with the royal court and its new maior domus Charles Martell.
Alamannic resistance against Frankish supremacy was tenacious. In 722 Charles Martel
Charles Martel
Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
forcefully subdued the duchies of Alamannia and Bavaria
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...
but in the following year both duchies again rose against Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
supremacy.
In 724 Pirmin
Saint Pirmin
Saint Pirmin , also named Pirminius, was a monk, strongly influenced by Celtic Christianity and Saint Amand.-Biography:...
founded the Reichenau Abbey under the protection of Charles Martel, Lantfrid and Theudebald considered this a provocation and in 727 Theudebald ob odium Karoli ("out of hatred against Charles") evicted first Pirmin and, in 732, his successor Heddo from Reichenau. The Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was...
, however, founded 719 by the Alamannic monk Otmar, was favoured by the dukes of Alamannia and the regional aristocracy.
Between 724 and 730 Lantfrid usurped the right to issue a law-code whereas up until then law-giving had been one of the major activities of the Merovingian kings. He instigated a revision of the Laws of the Alamans (Lex Alamannorum Lantfridus
Lex Alamannorum
The terms Lex Alamannorum and Pactus Alamannorum refer to two early medieval law codes of the Alamanni. They were first edited in parts in 1530 by Johannes Sichard in Basel.-Pactus Alamannorum:...
), a sign and an expression of his claim to be an independent ruler. Even though in the law-code the king is mentioned as dominus, there is no reference to the role of the maior domus, which is an indication of Lantfrid’s loyalty towards the Merovingian dynasty.
In 730 Charles Martell invaded the duchy with an army once again. Lantfrid's death is recorded for the same year. Whether this occurred as a result of the fighting is not clear. His brother Theudebald succeeded to the duchy as sole ruler.