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The Aribonids were a noble family of probably Bavarian origin who rose to preeminence in the Carolingian
March of Pannonia The March of Pannonia or Eastern March ( la, marcha orientalis) was a frontier march of the Carolingian Empire, named after the former Roman province of ''Pannonia'' and carved out of the preceding and larger Avar march. It was referred to in so ...
and the later
Margraviate of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...
(''marcha orientalis'') in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. The dynasty is named after its ancestor Margrave
Aribo of Austria Aribo (or Arbo; – after 909) was margrave (''comes terminalis'', "frontier count") of the Carolingian March of Pannonia from 871 until his death. He is recognised as a progenitor of the Aribonid dynasty. In his day, the Pannonian march, also ca ...
(d. 909). The Aribonids maintained influence in the
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...
, the Austrian march, and other parts of Germany (the Saxon eastern marches and the Rhineland) until the early twelfth century, when they disappear.


Genealogy

Their earliest identifiable member was Bishop
Arbeo of Freising Arbeo (also Aribo or Arbo) of Freising (723 or earlier near Meran – 4 May 784) was an early medieval author and Bishop of Freising from 764. Arbeo probably was a scion of the Huosi noble dynasty in the stem duchy of Bavaria. He may have been t ...
(d. 784), probably related to the
Huosi The Huosi were one of the ''Uradel'' (ancient noble families) in the duchy of Bavaria. Their status was enshrined in the '' Law of the Bavarians'', which lists them first among the five families having special rights privileges after the ducal Ag ...
family. Margrave Aribo succeeded
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and his brother
Engelschalk I Engelschalk I was the margrave (''comes terminalis'', "frontier count") of the March of Pannonia in the mid ninth century until his death on campaign against the Moravians in 871. In his day, the ''march orientalis'' corresponded to a front along t ...
in the Bavarian March of Pannonia in 871, after both had been killed fighting against
Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...
n forces. In result, the Aribonid dynasty had a long-sustained feud with the
Wilhelminers The Wilhelminers were a noble Bavarian family of the 9th century. They rose to prominence mid-century under the brothers William (marcha orientalis), William and Engelschalk I, sons of William I of Traungau, William I, the founder of the family. The ...
in the late ninth century. As in the
Wilhelminer War Wilhelminer War was a minor war fought in the March of Pannonia (later Austria) from 882 to 884. It was initially a rebellion of the sons of the margraves William II and Engelschalk I, led by Engelschalk II, against the new margrave Aribo. Svatopl ...
the dukes of Great Moravia tended to support the Wilhelminer
Engelschalk II Engelschalk II was the margrave (''comes terminalis'', "frontier count") of the March of Pannonia in the late ninth century in opposition to Aribo. In his day, the ''march orientalis'' corresponded to a front along the Danube from the Traungau to ...
, the Aribonids were usually at war with the Moravians. Margrave Aribo survived the disastrous
Battle of Pressburg The Battle of Pressburg (german: Schlacht von Pressburg) or Battle of Pozsony ( hu, Pozsonyi csata), or Battle of Bratislava ( sk, Bitka pri Bratislave) was a three-day-long battle, fought between 4–6 July 907, during which the East Francian arm ...
in 907 and became the dynasty's progenitor. As most of the Pannonian march had been conquered by the
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
, the family retired to Bavaria. The Aribonids controlled the
Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (german: Fürsterzbistum Salzburg; Erzstift Salzburg; Erzbistum Salzburg) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of ...
for a long time.
Reuter, Timothy Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical i ...
. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991. page 196.
From 985 the dynasty held the office of a Bavarian
count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
and donated monasteries like
Seeon Abbey Seeon Abbey (german: Kloster Seeon) is a former Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Seeon-Seebruck in the rural district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. History Seeon Abbey was founded in 994 by the Bavarian ''Pfalzgraf'' Aribo I, a ...
and
Göss Abbey Göss Abbey (german: Stift Göß) is a former Benedictine nunnery and former Cathedral in Göss, now a part of Leoben in Styria, Austria. After the abbey's dissolution in 1782 the church, now a parish church, was the seat of the short-lived Bish ...
in
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
. They lost their influence after they got involved in a 1055 insurrection led by Duke
Conrad I of Bavaria Conrad I ( 1020 – 5 December 1055), also known as Cuno or Kuno, was the duke of Bavaria from 1049 to 1053. He was of the Ezzonen family, his parents being Liudolf, Count of Zütphen and eldest son of Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lorraine, and Matil ...
against Emperor Henry III. Nevertheless, they retained some of their possessions in
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, where they later established the abbeys of
Millstatt Millstatt am See is a market town of the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. The traditional health resort and spa town on Lake Millstatt is known for former Benedictine Millstatt Abbey, founded about 1070. Geography It is situate ...
and
Eberndorf Eberndorf ( sl, Dobrla vas, archaically ''Dobrla ves'') is a market town of the Völkermarkt District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is the main settlement in the Jaun (''Podjuna'') Valley of the Drava River, east of the Carinthian capita ...
. In fact, the family provided many high ecclesiastics; Bishop Piligrim of Passau (971–991) as well as the archbishops Aribo of Mainz (1021–1031) and his brother
Pilgrim of Cologne Pilgrim ( la, Pilgrimus; c. 985 – 25 August 1036) was a statesman and prelate of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1016 he took charge of the chancery of the Kingdom of Italy, and became the first archchancellor in 1031. In 1021 he became Archbishop of ...
(1021–1036) were Aribonids, as their names would suggest.


Notes

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