Waifer of Aquitaine
Encyclopedia
Waifer was the duke of Aquitaine
from 748 to 768, succeeding his newly-monastic father Hunold
.
When asked to give up Frankish
refugee
s and seized church lands in 760, Waifer rebelled. The king, Pepin the Short, marched against him, ravaging the land of Berry
and Auvergne
. Waifer did homage and promptly Pepin left to deal with other things.
As soon as the Frankish monarch had returned to his domains, two counts of the contumacious Aquitanian duke retaliated by rampaging through Burgundy
and prompting Pepin to come south again in 761. He took Clermont
and Auvergne in that year and, in the following years (762/763), Berry and Bourges
. According to the continuator of the Chronicle of Fredegar
, Waifer opposed Pepin cum exercito magno et plurima Wasconorum qui ultra Garonnam commorantur, quem antiquitus vocati sunt Vaceti: "with a great and large army of Vascones from across the Garonne
, who in antiquity were called Vaceti". However, Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria
revolted against Frankish overlordship and drew off Pepin's attention, leaving Waifer in place.
Until 766, there was a general impasse after the destructive scorched earth tactics implemented by the Frankish Pepin the Short across Aquitaine, though Waifer continued in his opposition to the king. In that year, Pepin returned a third time and drove Waifer beyond the Garonne
. Things began to turn sharply against Waifer at this point and, in 767, his capital, Toulouse
, fell. He fled, but his dissastified followers, tired of losing wars, murdered him and pledged loyalty to Pepin. Though this itself did not last long.
Duke of Aquitaine
The Duke of Aquitaine ruled the historical region of Aquitaine under the supremacy of Frankish, English and later French kings....
from 748 to 768, succeeding his newly-monastic father Hunold
Hunald of Aquitaine
Hunald , Duke of Aquitaine , succeeded his father Odo the Great in 735....
.
When asked to give up 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...
refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s and seized church lands in 760, Waifer rebelled. The king, Pepin the Short, marched against him, ravaging the land of Berry
Berry (province)
Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on 4 March 1790....
and Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
. Waifer did homage and promptly Pepin left to deal with other things.
As soon as the Frankish monarch had returned to his domains, two counts of the contumacious Aquitanian duke retaliated by rampaging through Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
and prompting Pepin to come south again in 761. He took Clermont
Clermont
-In Canada:*Clermont, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec*Clermont, Capitale-Nationale, Quebec-In France:* Clermont, Ariège, in the Ariège département* Clermont, Haute-Savoie, in the Haute-Savoie département* Clermont, Landes, in the Landes département...
and Auvergne in that year and, in the following years (762/763), Berry and Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
. According to the continuator of the Chronicle of Fredegar
Chronicle of Fredegar
The Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....
, Waifer opposed Pepin cum exercito magno et plurima Wasconorum qui ultra Garonnam commorantur, quem antiquitus vocati sunt Vaceti: "with a great and large army of Vascones from across the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...
, who in antiquity were called Vaceti". However, Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria
Tassilo III of Bavaria
Tassilo III was duke of Bavaria from 748 to 788, the last of the house of the Agilolfings.Tassilo, then still an infant, began his rule as a Frankish ward under the tutelage of the Merovingian Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short after Tassilo's father, Duke Odilo of Bavaria, had died in 747 and...
revolted against Frankish overlordship and drew off Pepin's attention, leaving Waifer in place.
Until 766, there was a general impasse after the destructive scorched earth tactics implemented by the Frankish Pepin the Short across Aquitaine, though Waifer continued in his opposition to the king. In that year, Pepin returned a third time and drove Waifer beyond the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...
. Things began to turn sharply against Waifer at this point and, in 767, his capital, Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, fell. He fled, but his dissastified followers, tired of losing wars, murdered him and pledged loyalty to Pepin. Though this itself did not last long.
Sources
- Oman, CharlesCharles OmanSir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
. The Dark Ages, 476–918. London: Rivingtons, 1914. - Collins, Roger. The Basques. London: Blackwell Publishing, 1990.
- Collins, Roger. "The Vaccaei, the Vaceti, and the rise of Vasconia." Studia Historica VI. Salamanca, 1988. Reprinted in Roger Collins, Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain. Variorum, 1992. ISBN 0 86078 308 1.
- Collins, Roger. The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0 631 15923 1.
- Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0 631 18185 7.