Agilolfinger

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Bavarian bow brooch from the 6th century

The Agilolfinger (also called Agilulfinger ) were a presumably Franconian aristocratic family who had provided dukes of Bavaria and Alemannia (Swabia) and kings of the Lombards since the 6th century . Early members were probably appointed as official dukes of the Merovingians in Bavaria ( Lex Baiuvariorum , Title III), after which their rule was hereditary and independent of the Merovingians. The main residence of the Agilolfinger in Bavaria was in Regensburg , in Alemannia a main town was Cannstatt .

Hypotheses on origin

Grave goods of a Frankish prince from the 6th / 7th centuries. Century

There are only more or less convincing hypotheses about the origin of the Agilolfinger. An Agilulf (* around 420; † around 482), who was a prince of the Suebi and Quadi , is legendary as the progenitor of the family . He could have been the son of the Danube-Suebian prince Hunimund Filius Hermanarici (* around 395; † after 469 in Suavia ). He threatened Passau and was probably an Arian . The historian Jörg Jarnut sees in Bishop Agilulf von Metz († 602) an early member of the family. As the eponymous progenitor, he suggests that Warnen Agiulf , who was the governor of the Visigoth king Theodoric II for the Iberian Sueb Empire and who was executed in 457. Under the first name Theodo three dukes are named who are said to have ruled in Bavaria from 508-565, whereby it remains questionable whether Theodo I. - III. actually ruled, or just legend. In the following text they are ignored when numbering.

The early and intensive dynastic and political relations between the Agilolfingers and the Franks and Lombards are well documented . Duke Garibald I of Bavaria married the Langobardin Walderada , widow of the Merovingian king Theudebald , around 555 AD . This was first married by Chlothar I, but the marriage had to be dissolved again due to church objections. Walderada was now married to "uni ex suis, qui dicebatur Garipald" (after Paulus Diaconus), to the Baiern Duke Garibald I. This marriage indicates a strong and equally close connection between the Bavarians and the Franks, which had already flourished in the early days . The domestic political difficulties of the Frankish king soon gave Garibald the opportunity to pursue a refined policy of his own in league with the Lombards who had moved into Italy in 568 and with whom he had an interest in the Brenner-Verona route. He married a daughter to the Lombard Duke Ewin (Eoin) of Trient , who was attacked by the Franks around the same time (575). This is an indication that the Longobard sought to protect itself against similar Frankish attacks through an alliance with its northern neighbor.

When the Franks threatened the Longobards again in 584, the new Longobard king Authari joined the Bavarians after he had failed to communicate with the Franks. Apparently, Garibald's rapprochement with the Lombards led to the Franks taking military action against him in 589, at least in that year the children Theodelinde and Gundoald fled to Italy to the Lombards: Garibald's daughter Theodelinde married because she had been spurned by the Frankish King, the Lombard kings Authari and, after his untimely death, Agilulf . This connection is astonishing because Theodolinde was Catholic, while the Lombards were Arians . Garibald's son Gundoald becomes Duke of Asti and as the father of King Aripert I's ancestor and progenitor of the Agilolfing Langobard kings.

Duke Garibald I (also Garipald ) (548-590 AD) is often seen by Bavaria as the first secure member of the family. But this can no longer be maintained today.

history

Franconian Empire in the 7th century without the Duchy of Bavaria

In 591 Tassilo I was appointed rex (king) by the Frankish king Childebert II over Bavaria . Tassilo was thus given a comparatively strong position, on an equal footing with the Merovingian kings in Neustria , Austrasia and Burgundy (Franconia) . Shortly after his inauguration and in the mid-590s, he waged campaigns against the Slavs, who had migrated westward from their eastern homeland during these years and had become neighbors of the Bavarians in the northern Gau and Carantania . Paulus Diaconus describes the first campaign with the following sentence: He (Tassilo I) immediately marched into the land of the Slavs with his army and returned victorious and with great booty to his own country. After his victorious campaign against the advancing Slavs in the Alpine region, Tassilo I made another incursion into the land of the Slavs around 595. This campaign ended in defeat, as the Avars came to the aid of the Slavs. Tassilo I lost about 2000 warriors in this campaign. Garibald II was a son of Tassilos I, whom he followed in 610 office. Like him, Garibald was involved in battles with his Slavic neighbors. He was defeated by the Slavs near Aguntum in East Tyrol and the Bavarian region plundered. Subsequently, however, Baiern apparently succeeded in partially pushing back the Slavs. During this time Garibald zu Agunt (East Tyrol) was defeated by the Slavs and the Bavarian territory was plundered. But the Bavarians rallied again, stole the booty from the enemy and drove them out of the country. These wars sealed the decline of the Romanesque cities of Aguntum and Lavant (Tyrol) , the Romanesque remaining population was blocked the way to their own statehood.

The South German Agilolfinger were usually on the part of the Merovingian, the strengthening of the Hausmeiertums Carolingian could not be in their mind. As early as 624, the family, represented at that time by Chrodoald, an Australian nobleman (of whom Fredegar writes: "ex proceribus de gente nobili Agylolfingam"), came into conflict with the Carolingians or their oldest known ancestors, Bishop Arnulf von Metz ( Arnulfinger ) and Pippin the Elder ( Pippiniden ), who in alliance with one another sought to dominate the Frankish imperial politics. In 632 King Dagobert I decided to launch a large-scale campaign against the Samo Empire . The allied with him Alemanni under Duke Chrodobert attacked the outlying areas of the empire. The allied Friulian Longobards invaded most likely from the south and occupied the "regio Zellia", probably located in today's Gailtal in Carinthia. The main Austrasian army, perhaps led by Dagobert himself, was supposed to penetrate into the heart of the empire. However, the individual armies did not succeed in uniting. There is no mention of Bavarian troops under an Agilolfinger in this context, although Bavaria was directly adjacent to the Samo Empire. How the Franconian and Alemannic troops were able to penetrate Bavaria past Bavaria into the Czech Empire also remains a mystery. While the first two armies returned victorious with many prisoners, the main Austrasian army was totally defeated after a three-day unsuccessful siege of a place called castrum vuogastisburc . The remaining fighters of Dagobert had to flee and leave all weapons and tents behind. The authority of the Merovingian kingdom was then badly shaken. The caretaker Grimoald , the son of Pippin the Elder, actually managed to install his own son Childebertus adoptivus as King of Austrasia. Grimoald, on the other hand, was ambushed by King Clovis II , who ruled in Neustria , brought to Paris and executed there in dungeon in 656 or 657.

Remains of the original building of the Agilolfingian or Carolingian basilica St. Emmeram in Regensburg

The wandering monk Emmeram , who was initially Bishop of Poitiers in Aquitaine , came during a missionary trip to spread Christianity in the middle of the 7th century from western Franconia along the Danube to the Bavarian ducal court in Regensburg, where the Agilolfing Duke Theodo I ruled. This accepted Emmeram benevolently and persuaded him to stay. Emmeram then devoted himself to strengthening Christianity in Regensburg and the surrounding area. About three years after his arrival in Regensburg, Uta , the duke's daughter, confided in him. She had a secret liaison with the son of a civil servant who was expecting an illegitimate child. To protect the couple from a likely punishment from the Duke, Emmeram advised Uta to name himself as a father. He himself went on a pilgrimage to Rome to answer for the supposed misstep in front of the Pope and, after his return, to clarify the truth in front of the Duke. When Uta revealed the agreed story to her father shortly after Emmeram's departure, he was angry. In order to save his sister's honor , the duke's son, Lantpert , pursued the wandering bishop who was fleeing in his eyes. On September 22, 652 Lantpert and his troops placed the bishop in the town of Kleinhelfendorf, southeast of Munich . He had him tied to a ladder and his body parts cut off while he was still alive, until he finally had him beheaded . After Duke Theodo learned the truth, he had Emmeram exhumed and the body transferred to Regensburg.

Duke Theodo II intervened in the Lombard throne dispute. He allied himself again with the Lombards and granted asylum to King Claimant around the year 702 . In the year 715 Theodo undertook a trip with a Bavarian embassy over the Alps to Rome. In the same year (715) he also married his granddaughter Guntrud to Liutprand , the son of Ansprand. Throughout his life he could not come to terms with the strengthening of the Franconian housekeepers ( Pippin the Middle ). So he planned together with Pope Gregory II the establishment of an independent Bavarian church province. The division into the four dioceses of Regensburg, Freising, Passau and Salzburg was probably already carried out at that time. Like an independent prince, Theodo II was able to divide his duchy among his sons without the consent of the Merovingian Franconian kings.

Altoetting Gnadenkapelle, the central building was built under the Agilolfingers

Due to a military intervention during a power dispute within the ducal family in 725, Karl Martell installed Duke Hugbert , also a grandson of Theodos II, in Bavaria. The Lex Baiuvariorum is the collection of the Bavarian people's law , which was created between the 6th and 8th centuries , i.e. the oldest collection of laws of the early Bavarian tribal duchy . The text is in Latin but contains fragments from the Bavarian region. It is the oldest and most important monument of the Bavarians. Abbot Eberswind of the newly founded Niederaltaich monastery is considered by many to be the processor of this first Bavarian tribal law (around 741/743). The Lex Baiuvariorum in St. Emmeram in Regensburg or in the bishop's monastery on the Freisinger Berg may also have been created. The initiative for this is said to have come from Duke Odilo. The Lex Baiuvariorum was in force until 1180. In 743 the Franks attacked, now under the leadership of Karl's sons, Duke Odilo , who was defeated by them in the Battle of Epfach am Lech, and forced him to recognize the sovereignty of the Frankish Empire. On the other hand, around the year 740 the Carantans came under Bavarian control, in 772 Duke Tassilo III defeated. in later Carinthia a revolt of the pagan Slavs down.

Gunther's tomb, a son of Tassilos III, in Kremsmünster Abbey

Since Bavaria stood in the way of the Franks' expansion policy, it had family ties to the Lombards and held peace with the Avars for decades, Charlemagne set Duke Tassilo III in 788. in a show trial , blinded him and banished him and his family to monasteries, whereupon Karl abolished the Duchy of Bavaria and incorporated it into the Frankish Empire as a prefecture. Before that, Tassilo was forced by massive military pressure in 787 to take Baiern as a fiefdom from his cousin Karl and to hold his son and co-regent Theodo hostage. Karl then spent two consecutive winters (791–793) in the old Bavarian royal seat of Regensburg in order to personally secure the incorporation of Bavaria into the Franconian Empire.

The historical achievement of the Agilolfinger consists in

Dukes (from 591 also called Rex rulers) of Baiern from the Agilolfinger family

King David from the Tassilo Psalter, now stored in Montpellier

In general, when it comes to the genealogy of the Bavarian Agilolfinger, it is important to point out that sometimes large gaps (especially in the 6th century) make the exact reconstruction of the family tree difficult. Between the end of Tassilo I (around 610 AD) and Theodo (around 680 AD) there was a gap in the succession that could not be clearly closed. During this period, apart from a few, albeit few, mentions from Franconian sources, hardly anything has come down to us about Bavarian history. The genealogy mentioned above must therefore remain provisional, the rulers constructed between 610 and 680 arose from conclusions and isolated references from sources. Sometimes it is also assumed that the Agilolfinger Fara (around 630-640), who was demonstrably wealthy in the Rhineland, was ruler of the Bavarian duchy. However, this is considered unlikely.

Kings of the Longobards in Italy from the Agilolfinger family

589–615 was Theodolinde , daughter of Duke Garibald I of Bavaria, queen of the Lombards. Her daughter Gundeperga was 626–652 Queen and her son Adaloald 615–626 King of the Lombards. Adaloald was also the first Catholic Longobard king, but the Arians were tolerated.

Cunipert 688-700 King of the Lombards, Tremissis in Milan defeated

Guntrud , the daughter of Theudebert von Baiern, was queen of the Lombards from 715; her husband, King Liutprand, died in 744, the date of her death is unknown.

Dukes of the Alemanni (Swabians) from the Agilolfinger family

See also

literature

Overviews and lexicon articles

Special studies

  • Bernhard Sepp : The Bavarian dukes from the Agilulfinger family and the false Theodons. In: Upper Bavarian Archive. Volume 50, 1897, pp. 1-17.
  • Erich Zöllner : The origin of the Agilulfinger. On the history of Bavaria. In: Communications from the Institute for Austrian Historical Research . Volume 59, 1951, pp. 245-264 ( digitized version , PDF ).
  • Karl August Eckhardt : Merovingian blood. Volume 2: Agilolfinger and Etichonen (= German law archive. Volume 2). Typescript, Witzenhausen 1965, pp. 85-173. (Digital copy, PDF)
  • Wilhelm Störmer : Nobility groups in early and high medieval Bavaria (= studies on Bavarian constitutional and social history. Volume 4). Commission for Bavarian State History, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-7696-9877-7 . (Also habilitation thesis, University of Munich, 1971. Review ).
  • Werner Goez : About the beginnings of the Agilulfinger. In: Yearbook for Franconian State Research. Volume 34/35, 1975, pp. 145-161.
  • Jörg Jarnut : Agilolfingerstudien: Investigation of the history of a noble family in the 6th and 7th centuries (= monographs on the history of the Middle Ages. Volume 32). Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-7772-8613-3 .
  • Joachim Jahn : Ducatus Baiuvariorum. The Bavarian duchy of the Agilolfinger (= monographs on the history of the Middle Ages. Volume 35). Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-7772-9108-0 . (also habilitation thesis)
  • Carl I. Hammer: From Ducatus to Regnum. Ruling Bavaria under the Merovingians and Early Carolingians (= Haute Moyen Age. Volume 2). Brepols, Turnhout 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52582-2 (publisher information)
  • Britta Kägler: "Tell me what your name is ...". Late antique-early medieval elites in the written sources. The example of the early Agilolfinger. In: Hubert Fehr, Irmtraut Heitmeier (ed.): From Raetien and Noricum to the early medieval Baiovaria. EOS, St. Ottilien 2012, pp. 183–196 ( full text on Academia.edu ).
  • Norbert Wagner : On the origin of the Agilolfinger. In: Journal for Bavarian State History 41, 1978, pp. 19–48.

Web links

Wiktionary: Agilolfinger  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

supporting documents

  1. ^ Jörg Jarnut: Agilolfingerstudien. Studies on the history of a noble family in the 6th and 7th centuries. Stuttgart 1986. This view is largely divided into: Wilhelm Störmer: Die Baiuwaren. From the Great Migration to Tassilo III. Munich 2007.
  2. ^ Carl I. Hammer: From Ducatus to Regnum. Ruling Bavaria under the Merovingians and early Carolingians. 2007; Britta Kägler: "Tell me what your name is ...". Late antique-early medieval elites in the written sources. The example of the early Agilolfinger. In: Hubert Fehr, Irmtraut Heitmeier (ed.): From Raetien and Noricum to the early medieval Baiovaria. EOS, St. Ottilien 2012, pp. 183–196.
  3. ↑ Rudolf Reiser : Tassilo I. In: Karl Bosl (Hrsg.): Bosls Bavarian Biography. Pustet, Regensburg 1983, ISBN 3-7917-0792-2 , p. 771 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ Paulus Diaconus , Historia Langobardorum 4, 39. In: This volume of the series Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum does not exist, p. 70 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version ); Cf. also Paulus Deaconus. Historia Langobardorum (History of the Longobards). Latin and German. Edited and translated by Wolfgang F. Schwarz. Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-22258-2 .
  5. ↑ Dagobertus superveter iubet de universe regnum Austrasiorum contra Samonem et Winidis movere Exercitum; ubi trebus turmis falange super Wenedos exercitus ingreditur, etiam et Langobardi solucione Dagoberti idemque osteleter in Sclavos perrixerunt. Sclavi his et alies locis e contrario preparantes, Alamannorum exercitus cum Crodoberto duci in parte qua ingressus est victuriam optinuit. Langobardi idemque victuriam obtenuerunt, et pluremum nummerum captivorum de Sclavos Alamanni et Langobardi secum duxerunt. Aostrasiae vero cum ad castro Wogastisburc, ubi plurima manus forcium Venedorum inmuraverant, circumdantes, triduo priliantes, pluris ibidem de exercito Dagoberti gladio trucidantur et exinde fugaceter, omnes tinturius et res quas habuerunt adertunturebus. - B. Krusch (ed.): Fredegarii et aliorum Chronica. Vitae sanctorum . MGH SS rer. Merov. 2. Hannover 1888, p. 155 lines 2-11. Online edition: http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00000749/images/index.html?id=00000749&&seite=164 .
  6. ↑ Bernhard Bischoff : Life and Suffering of St. Emmeram, 2nd edition, Regensburg 1993.
  7. ^ Hubensteiner: Bayerische Geschichte , Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, 17th edition 2009, pp. 44–48.