Ramnulf II (Poitou)

Ramnulf II of Poitou , also called Ranulf or Rainulf , († August 3 or 5, 890 ) was a Count of Poitou from the family of the Ramnulfiden . He was a son of Count Ramnulf I and his wife Bilchilde, a daughter of Count Roricos I of Maine .

Life

After the death of his father (he fell in the battle of Brissarthe in 866 ) Ramnulf and his brothers Gauzbert and Ebalus were ousted from Poitou by Bernhard von Gothien (868). They found refuge at the court of the Aquitaine sub-king Ludwig the Stammler , even when he was placed under the tutelage of Bernhard and others by Charles the Bald in 872 . After Charles the Bald died in 877 and Ludwig the Stammler had succeeded him in the entire empire, Bernhard von Gothien was expelled after an unsuccessful revolt, whereupon Ramnulf was able to take possession of his paternal inheritance again.

Ludwig the Stammler died in 879 and his son Karl the Simple- Minded, who was born in the same year, was entrusted to the protection of Ramnulf and his authority. After the deposition of Emperor Charles the Fat (887), Ramnulf refused to recognize the elected King Odo , but protected his protégé Karl the Simple. He ruled from then on in western Aquitaine as an independent prince, which is why he was awarded the title of King of Aquitaine in the Annales Fuldenses . After Odo had largely prevailed north of the Loire , Ramnulf reconciled with him in early 889. He retained his royal position and was named in the Annales Vedastini as "dux maximae partis Aquitaniae" ( Duke of the greater part of Aquitaine ). It should be noted that Ramnulf was neither awarded this dignity, nor had he ever usurped it. The first prince of Aquitaine was also Wilhelm the Pious , with whom Ramnulf was friends. The title as Dux should only illustrate Ramnulf's outstanding position of power.

Ramnulf founded vice-counties in his sphere of influence, including the vice-county of Thouars , in order to better protect his country from the raids of the Vikings . Despite his compromise with King Odo, Ramunlf was always considered to be his greatest threat. When he died in 890 during a meeting with the king, Ademar von Chabannes, among others, suspected Odo of poisoning.

Ramnulf's wife was called Ada; after his death she went to a monastery. Her tomb is in a museum in Poitiers. They had a son, Ramnulf III, who probably died in 901 without any descendants. In addition, Ramnulf II had an illegitimate son, Ebalus Mancer , who followed him in Poitou.

swell

• Annales Fuldenses , ed. by Friedrich Kurz in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Germ. 7 (1891), p. 116
• Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini , ed. by Bernard Simson in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Germ. 12 (1909), p. 67

predecessor	Office	successor
Ramnulf I.	Count of Poitou 866–868	Bernhard of Gothien
Bernhard of Gothien	Count of Poitou 878-890	Ebalus Mancer