The Alaholfings (occasionally Ahalolfings) were a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

of Alemannia in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. They were related to the previous rulers of Alemannia, to the Bavarian

Agilolfings The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...

and to the Geroldings. Their original power base was around the upper Neckar and

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

rivers. They came to possess lands in not only Alemannia, but also in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The Ahalolfings are divided into two groups, the older and the younger. It is not certain how the two groups are related. The older group descends from a Berthold who was the joint founder, with Hnabi, of

Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...

in 724. His most famous descendant was Cadolah,

Duke of Friuli The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy and March of Friuli in the Middle Ages. The dates given below, when contentious, are discussed in the articles of the respective dukes. Lombard dukes * 568–c.584 Grasulf I * 5 ...

, who defended the Pannonian plains into Italy from the Avars. Halaholf founded

Marchtal Abbey Marchtal Abbey (german: Kloster Marchtal or ') is a former Premonstratensian monastery in Obermarchtal in the Alb-Donau-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The minster church of Saints Peter and Paul, the former abbey church, located on a promin ...

as a proprietary monastery in the mid-8th century. His descendants gave it to the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

in 776. In modern scholarship, the family is named after Halaholf, although in later generations the family's

leading name A leading name (German ''Leitname'', plural ''Leitnamen'') is a given name that is used repeatedly over several generations in a lineage or broader kin group. Usually the entire name is used again and again, but sometimes a root of a name may be re ...

was Berthold. The younger branch of the family itself comprises two branches. Empress

Richardis Saint Richardis ( la, Richgardis, Richardis), also known as Richgard, Richardis of Swabia and Richarde de Souabe in French ( 840 – 18 September, between 894 and 896 AD), was the Holy Roman Empress as the wife of Charles the Fat. She was re ...

descends from Erchanger. Her sister married Berthold I and was the mother of the other branch of the family, which included the famous

Erchanger, Duke of Swabia Erchanger (or Erchangar) (c. 860/880 – 21 January 917) was the duke of Swabia from September 915 to his death. He was the son of Berthold I, count palatine of Swabia, who is sometimes called Erchanger as well, in which case the duke is Erchange ...

, and his brother Berthold II. The Ahalolfings died out when Berthold III died in 973, though the Zähringen may be descended from them.

Notes

Sources

* *{{LexMA, 1, 263, 263, Alaholfinger, Störmer, Wilhelm, , Störmer1980 Ahalolfing dynasty Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire