Eberhard was the eldest son and successor of the Luitpolding duke

Arnulf of Bavaria Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (german: der Schlimme), the Evil (''der Böse'') or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpoldings, Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his dea ...

(907–937). His dukedom was short, however, for he was banished by King

Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...

in 938. In 933 or 934, Eberhard, in view of his maternal

Unruoching The Unruochings ( it, Unrochingi ; french: Unrochides; german: Unruochinger) were a Frankish noble family who established themselves in Italy. The family is named for the first member to come to prominence, Unruoch II of Friuli (floruit early 9th c ...

descendance, was offered the Iron Crown of Lombardy by supporters of King Rudolph II of Burgundy in the conflict with rivalling Hugh of Arles. After Rudolph himself had renounced all claims on the Italian throne, the Bavarian duke allied with Bishop Ratherius and marched against Verona, but the campaign failed. In 935, Eberhard was designated by his father as his heir to the duchy. Duke Arnulf reached the consent of King

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...

and also made the Bavarian nobility pay homage to his son at

Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall (Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Staufe ...

in July. At about this time, Eberhard married Liutgard. On his father's death, he succeeded without fanfare, but quickly came into conflict with Henry's son King Otto, who opposed the privileges won by late Duke Arnulf from his father. Such being the privilege to nominate bishops, that leading to Eberhard's rebellion, which did not garner full support of Bavaria, but did cause Eberhard of Franconia to rebel alongside Eberhard. In two campaigns in 938, in spring and fall, Otto defeated Eberhard and banished him. In his place he appointed his loyal uncle

Berthold Berthold or Berchtold is a Germanic given name and surname. It is derived from two elements, ''berht'' meaning "bright" and ''wald'' meaning "(to) rule". It may refer to: *Bertholdt Hoover, a fictional List_of_Attack_on_Titan_characters, character ...

. Eberhard's place of banishment and date of death are unknown. He may have died around 940, or may have fled to Hungary, even assisting the rebels of 953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard, Duke of Bavaria 10th-century deaths Year of death uncertain Year of birth unknown 10th-century dukes of Bavaria 10th-century rulers in Europe Luitpoldings