Eberhard was the eldest son and successor of the

Luitpolding The Luitpoldings were a medieval dynasty which ruled the German stem duchy of Bavaria from some time in the late ninth century off and on until 985. Origins The descent of the East Frankish Luitpoldings has not been conclusively established. The ...

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 in 938. In 933 or 934, Eberhard, in view of his maternal Unruoching descendance, was offered the

Iron Crown of Lombardy The Iron Crown ( lmo, Corona Ferrea de Lombardia; it, Corona Ferrea; la, Corona Ferrea) is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fit ...

by supporters of King

Rudolph II of Burgundy Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the ...

in the conflict with rivalling

Hugh of Arles Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...

. After Rudolph himself had renounced all claims on the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

throne, the Bavarian duke allied with Bishop

Ratherius Ratherius (887–890 AD – 974 AD) or Rathier or Rather of Verona was a teacher, writer, and bishop. His difficult personality and political activities led to his becoming an exile and a wanderer. Early life and career He was born sometime betw ...

and marched against

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, 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 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 Eberhard III (c. 885 – 2 October 939), a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ruler of Lotharingia. Life Eberhard was the seco ...

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 Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, 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