Liutfrid

Liutfrid (* around 700 ; † around 743 ) was a Frankish nobleman and under the rule of the Merovingians the fifth known duke in Alsace . He belonged to the Alsatian ducal dynasty of the Etichones named after his predecessor and was the last Alsatian duke from this noble house.

Live and act

origin

Liutfrid was born as the eldest son of the Alsatian Duke Adalbert . His grandfather Eticho , who came from the Burgundian people, was wealthy and influential as Dux in the Pagus Attoriensis , the area between Dijon and Langres , before he was granted the ducal dignity of Alsace. On the paternal side there was a direct relationship with the Burgundian noble family, which in the late phase of the Merovingian rule and under the following Carolingians, as a clan of the Waltriche, was to become one of the most influential families in the Franconian Empire. His mother Gerlindis was a daughter of the Duke Eudo of Aquitaine . His two sisters Attala and Gundlinda were abbesses of influential Alsatian monasteries and, like their common aunt Odilia , are venerated as saints of the Catholic Church .

Rule as duke

After the death of his father Adalbert, Liutfrid succeeded him as Duke of Alsace; in a deed of donation from Honau Abbey of December 11, 723, he is already referred to as Dux. Whether Liutfrid held the office of Comes or Count before the ducal was conferred , who in contrast to the Dux did not have a military task but only the management function of the administration, can no longer be determined from the few surviving testimonies. It is certain that he conducted the official business from Strasbourg , as the majority of the documents and documents he received were produced in the ducal chancellery there under the direction of Presbyter Ansgar.

The inheritance dignity of the Duchy of Alsace in the Etichonische family established by Eticho could be asserted for the last time when Liutfrid was appointed. The end of the Pippinid-Carolingian succession crisis and the appointment of Karl Martell as caretaker of the entire Franconian empire in 718 eliminated the weakness of the royal central power in the late phase of the Merovingian rule and forced the de facto independent ducats under Carolingian rule in the following years.

Despite the growing power of Karl Martell, Liutfrid managed to maintain rule over Alsace and thus the etichonic independence for some time. In the years 734-737 he granted the in Speyergau so in Austrasian situated sphere Weissenburg Abbey a narrow access to the Alsace and the Abbey donated the proceeds to him per lege as Duke from the charges of places Betschdorf , Niefern , Gœrsdorf and Preuschdorf were due. The fact that this was fiscal income that was reserved for the king in the Merovingian and Carolingian times shows that Liutfrid saw himself formally as a royal official who did not bow to Karl Martell's claim to power as a housekeeper or Dux Francorum wanted to.

From the mid-thirties of the 8th century onwards, these manifestations of their own power and strength were contrasted by a steadily increasing loss of political authority in the duchy in favor of the Hausmeiers of the Frankish Empire. As early as 734, Karl Martell was able to secure the leadership of the diocese of Strasbourg, which was so important for the Etichones, to his confidante Heddo without Liutfrid, according to reports, being given a say in the appointment of the bishopric in his duchy. The death of the Hausmeiers in 741 did not change the politically tense situation for Liutfrid, especially since Karl Martell divided the Frankish empire like a king among his sons Karlmann and Pippin as heir.

With the uprising of the Alemanni under Duke Theudebald in 742, which also encroached on Alsace and thus the Frankish imperial territory, the independence of the Etichonian duchy ended. Karlmann, the successor to his father Hausmeier and supreme warlord of Australia, ousted Liutfrid and made the duchy subject to his rule. It remains uncertain whether Liutfrid renounced the ducal dignity voluntarily or under, possibly military, pressure from the Carolingians. However, a deed of donation from Liutfrid to the Weißenburg monastery of June 15, 742, in which the title "Dux" has already been omitted, indicates that his withdrawal was made under duress - for example, a Ruadhartus appears as a witness in the deed in an exposed place , who, as the commissioner of Karlmann, enforced his claim to power and later, with the blood court of Cannstatt, also forcibly ended the independence of the Duchy of Alemannia.

With the deed of donation of 742, the historical trace of Liutfrid is lost - it remains uncertain whether he withdrew to his family's estates, was removed by Karlmann or perished in the fierce battles of the Alemannic uprising. After his rule, the Duchy of Alsace was finally dissolved and the country permanently integrated into the Franconian Empire. Only his brother Eberhard was mentioned as Comes des Sundgau in the following years.

Marriage and offspring

Liutfrid was married to Hiltrudis for the first time; from this marriage came the son Hildifrid. Between 739 and 742 he entered into a second marriage with Theutila.

literature

• Horst Ebeling: Prosopography of the officials of the Merovingian empire from Chlotar II (613) to Karl Martell (741) in: Beihefte der Francia, Volume 2, Munich 1974, pp. 182-184.
• Nicole Hammer: The foundations of the Etichonen monasteries in Alsace. Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2003, ISBN 3-8288-8509-8 .
• Karl Weber: The formation of Alsace in the Regnum Francorum , in: Archeology and History, Volume 19. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7995-7369-6 .
• AM Burg: The Alsatian Duchy - an overview , in: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine Volume 117.Braun, Karlsruhe 1969.
• Eva Maria Butz: The withdrawal of the etichons (735/742) in the mirror of their followers , in: Heinz Krieg, Alfons Zettler (ed.): Festschrift for Thomas Zotz on his 60th birthday. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 3-7995-7080-2 .
• Hans J. Hummer: Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe - Alsace and the Frankish Realm, 600–1000. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 978-0-521-85441-2 , pp. 157-165.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Johann Daniel Schöpflin: Alsatia ... diplomatica; Volume I, Typographia académica. Mannheim 1772, Dipl. V
2. ↑ Eva Maria Butz: The withdrawal of the etichons (735/742) in the mirror of their followers , in: Heinz Krieg, Alfons Zettler (Hrsg.): Festschrift for Thomas Zotz on his 60th birthday. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 3-7995-7080-2 , p. 13
3. ^ Karl Weber: The formation of Alsace in the Regnum Francorum , in: Archeology and History, Volume 19. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7995-7369-6 , pp. 123-124