The Supponids were a 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...

 noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 family of prominence in the 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...

 regnum Italicum in the ninth century. They were descended from Suppo I

Suppo I

Suppo I was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Regnum Italicum in the early ninth century.In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a missus dominicus, along with the Brescian bishop Ratald, for Italy...

, who appeared for the first time in 817 as a strong ally of the Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 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...

. He and his descendents were on and off dukes of Spoleto, commonly in opposition to the Guideschi

Guideschi

The Guideschi, Guidoni, Vitone or Widonids were an Italian family of Frankish origin prominent in the ninth century. They were descended from Guy of Nantes, whose origins were Austrasian. They were an aggressive dynasty, expanding their base of power into the Papal States, ever loyal to the Empire...

 clan, another Frankish family powerful in central Italy

Central Italy

Central Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...

.

History

The family consolidated its holdings in northern Italy

Northern Italy

Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

 through the 820s, 830s, and 840s, often controlling the counties of Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

 (hereditarily), Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

, Cremona

Cremona

Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...

, and Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

 among others. Their power was extended and not highly centralised. They shared power with the bishops in the cities and were stoutly loyal to the emperors in order to ensure the peace and stability necessary to rule their vast and separated domains in the Po valley

Po Valley

The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...

. This loyalty bought them great power, especially in their heartland of Emilia

Emilia (region of Italy)

Emilia is a historical region of northern Italy which approximately corresponds to the western and north-eastern portions of today’s Emilia-Romagna region...

. A Supponid daughter, Engelberga

Engelberga

Engelberga was the wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, from 5 October 851 to his death on 12 August 875. As empress, she exerted a powerful influence over her husband. Her family, the Supponids, prospered during Louis's reign...

, even married the Emperor Louis II

Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis II the Younger was the King of Italy and Roman Emperor from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was imperator augustus , but he used imperator Romanorum after his conquest of Bari in 871, which led to poor relations with Byzantium...

. With her influence, the Supponids became the most powerful noble family in Italy during the two decades of Louis's reign and one of the few to hold high offices.

Following Louis's death, the Supponids supported their relatives, the dukes of Friuli, and the German claimants for the Italian crown

Iron Crown of Lombardy

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the medieval Kingdom of Italy...

 against the Guideschi dukes of Spoleto and the West Franks. Their influence declined rapidly after they fell out with Berengar I in 913 and joined the faction of Rudolph II of Burgundy

Rudolph II of Burgundy

Rudolph II was king of Upper Burgundy , Lower Burgundy , and Italy . He was the son of Rudolph I, king of Upper Burgundy, and it is presumed that his mother was his father's known wife, Guilla of Provence...

 in 922. They are not heard of after the middle of the tenth century.

Prominent members

• Suppo I
  Suppo I
  Suppo I was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Regnum Italicum in the early ninth century.In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a missus dominicus, along with the Brescian bishop Ratald, for Italy...
  
  
• Suppo II
  Suppo II
  Suppo II was a member of the Supponid family and Engelberga, the wife of Louis II may have been his sister. He was Count of Parma, Asti, and Turin. Along with his cousin, Suppo III, he was the chief lay magnate in Italy during Louis's reign....
  
  
• Suppo III
• Suppo IV
• Mauring
• Adelchis I
• Engelberga
  Engelberga
  Engelberga was the wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, from 5 October 851 to his death on 12 August 875. As empress, she exerted a powerful influence over her husband. Her family, the Supponids, prospered during Louis's reign...
  
  
• Boso
• Wifred

Sources

• Wickham, Chris. Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000. MacMillan Press: 1981.