Frothar or Frotar (Latin ''Frotharius'', French ''Frotaire'') was an Aquitanian prelate in

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

, who held two different bishoprics and three abbacies during a long career. He was appointed

Archbishop of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...

around 859, but

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

raids forced him to abandon his seat in 870. With papal approval, he was transferred to the

Archdiocese of Bourges The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bourges (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Bituricensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bourges'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese comprises the departements of Ch ...

in 876. He died after 893. Frothar was related to the

Counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...

and

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan ...

, and perhaps to his predecessor at Bourges, Rodulf. By maintaining control of the abbeys of

Brioude Brioude (; Auvergnat: ''Briude'') is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-central France. It lies on the banks of the river Allier, a tributary of the Loire. History At Brioude, the ancient ''Brivas ...

and Beaulieu, he preserved his family's influence in southern Gaul during the ascendancy of the Marquis

Bernard Plantapilosa Bernard Plantapilosa or Bernard II of Auvergne (22 March 841-886), or Plantevelue, son of Bernard of Septimania and Dhuoda, was the Count of Auvergne (as Bernard II) from 872 to his death. The Emperor Charles the Fat granted him the title of Margra ...

. Brioude had been under the protection of the

Counts of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...

until 874, when Frothar possessed it. King

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

granted it permission to elect its own abbot and the monks chose Frothar, who was abbot as late as 893. After Frothar's death, the abbey reverted to the control of Duke

William I of Aquitaine William I (22 March 875 – 6 July 918), called the Pious, was the Count of Auvergne from 886 and Duke of Aquitaine from 893, succeeding the Poitevin ruler Ebalus Manser. He made numerous monastic foundations, most important among them the found ...

. Frothar was also the abbot of Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers from 868 and of

Charroux Charroux may refer to: Places * Charroux, Allier, commune in the department of Allier, France * Charroux, Vienne, commune in the department of Vienne, France * Charroux Abbey, in Charroux, Vienne, France People with the surname *Gaby Charroux (bo ...

in Provence from about the same time. Frothar was archbishop at Bordeaux by late 860, when Archbishop

Hincmar of Reims Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Ea ...

directed an epistolary treatise at him and Rodulf of Bourges. In the treatise, Hincmar suggested that the marriage of a certain Count Stephen to a daughter of Count Raymond of Toulouse could be annulled on the grounds that the couple had not consummated it. Rodulf and Frothar seem to have successfully negotiated the annulment and preserved peace between the two powerful Aquitanian families of Stephen and Raymond. This was especially important because Aquitaine had recently been re-constituted as a subkingdom for the king's son,

Charles the Younger Charles the Younger or Charles of Ingelheim (c. 772 – 4 December 811) was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, the second son of Charlemagne and the first by his second wife, Hildegard of Swabia and brother of Louis the Pious and Pepin Carloman ...

. Hincmar later opposed Frothar's transfer to Bourges at the synod of

Ponthion Ponthion () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located southeast of Châlons-en-Champagne. History Ponthion was a royal pfalz (crown estate) under both the Merovingian (mainly Neustrian branch) and the Carolingia ...

(20 June–16 July 876). Frothar was active in preserving church lands. He returned lands his family stole from Beaulieu in the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

and forced his relatives to confirm a charter of 887 restoring those lands to Beaulieu. He also intervened with King

Carloman II Carloman II ( 866 – 6 December 884) was the King of West Francia from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he and his elder brother, Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's d ...

to have land in

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

in Provence taken from the

abbey of Saint-Victor de Marseille The Abbey of Saint-Victor is a former abbey that was founded during the late Roman period in Marseille in the south of France, named after the local soldier saint and martyr, Victor of Marseilles. History The crypts of the abbey contains artefac ...

returned to it.

Notes

Sources

* * {{authority control Archbishops of Bordeaux Archbishops of Bourges 9th-century archbishops