Eberhard (Franconia)

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Eberhard (* around 885; † October 2, 939 near Andernach ) from the Konradin family was the younger brother of King Konrad I.

In 909 he was lay abbot of the St. Maximin monastery in Trier , in 913 he was count in Hessengau and Perfgau , in 913 and 928 count in Oberlahngau . From 914 to 918 he was Margrave , then until 939 Duke of Franconia and from 926 to 928 at the same time Duke of Lorraine . In 936 he was Truchsess and in 938 Count Palatine .

Life

Eberhard actively supported his brother's rule (911-918), especially against the dukes Arnulf of Bavaria and Heinrich of Saxony .

When Konrad I knew at the end of 918 that he was going to die, he asked all the dukes to come to him in Forchheim . What is certain is that Heinrich did not come. Widukind von Corvey reports that on his deathbed on December 23, 918, Konrad commissioned his brother Eberhard to personally hand over the royal insignia to Heinrich . In May 919 Eberhard handed over the insignia to Heinrich at the Reichstag in Fritzlar , and the Franks and Saxons elected Heinrich as king, making a Saxon ruler of the East Franconian Empire for the first time. Widukind's designation report is now regarded by many historians as a legend brought up by the Liudolfingers .

The relationship between Eberhard and the new King Heinrich I was untroubled. From 926 to 928, Heinrich I Eberhard also transferred the Duchy of Lorraine , which can be seen as a vote of confidence: the new duke was able to quickly calm the country through his government.

After Heinrich's death, Eberhard soon came into conflict with Heinrich's son and successor Otto I. In 937, Eberhard besieged Helmern Castle near Peckelsheim , which was in the Franconian duchy on the border with Saxony . The lord of the castle Bruning was Saxon and refused a feudal relationship to Eberhard and generally to a Franconian or non-Saxon. Otto I. urged everyone involved to come to Magdeburg to the royal court. Eberhard had to pay a fine and his captains were sentenced to publicly carrying dead dogs , which was considered a particularly dishonorable punishment.

Eberhard then joined Otto's opponents. In 938 he rebelled together with Otto's older half-brother Thankmar and the new Duke of Bavaria, Eberhard (son of Arnulf of Bavaria). Thankmar was killed in battle as early as 938 and Eberhard von Bayern was replaced by his uncle Berthold , who ruled Bavaria from 938 to 945. After a brief reconciliation with Otto, Eberhard allied himself with Giselbert von Lothringen and Otto's younger brother Heinrich soon after in a renewed uprising. On October 2, 939, Eberhard and Giselbert were defeated by the Conradin counts Konrad Kurzbold and Udo I. von der Wetterau in the battle of Andernach on the Rhine. Eberhard fell in battle; Udo is said to have killed him with his own hands. Giselbert drowned in the Rhine while trying to escape.

swell

  • Widukind von Corvey : The Saxon history of Widukind von Corvey . In: Sources on the history of the Saxon imperial era . Translated by Albert Bauer and Reinhold Rau. Darmstadt 1971, pp. 1–183 (Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe, Volume 8).

literature

Overview representations
Lexicon article
predecessor Office successor
Conrad III. the younger one Duke of Franconia
918–939 		King Otto I.
under direct administration
Regent Conrad IV. The Red
Wigerich ( Count Palatine of Lorraine)
as deputy for King Charles III. from France 		Duke of Lorraine
926–928 		Giselbert II of Maasgau
personal data
SURNAME Eberhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eberhard of Franconia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Franconia and Lorraine
DATE OF BIRTH at 885
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 939
Place of death at Andernach