Rudolf I was the Bishop of Würzburg

Bishopric of Würzburg

The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...

 from 892 until his death. He was the youngest son of Udo of Neustria

Udo of Neustria

Udo 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,...

.

In 892, he was appointed as bishop to replace Arno, who had been killed during a campaign against Great Moravia

Great Moravia

Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...

. At the same time, his brother Conrad the Elder became Margrave of Thuringia, reflecting the influence the family held within East Francia. It is probable that Arnulf

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:...

 was switching his patronage from one family to another, because Poppo, Duke of Thuringia

Poppo, Duke of Thuringia

Poppo II or Boppo II was the Duke of Thuringia from 880 until his deposition in 892. His title was dux Sorabici or dux Thuringorum, sometimes marchio . Before that his title was comes ....

, a 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:...

, was deposed for counselling Arno to campaign. Soon after the Babenbergs and Conradines were in a feud.

Rudolf was killed in 908 while fighting against the Magyars in Thuringia.

Sources

• Reuter, Timothy (trans.) The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.