Gundoin
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Gundoin was the first
Duke of Alsace The Duchy of Alsace ( la, Ducatus Alsacensi, ''Ducatum Elisatium''; german: Herzogtum Elsaß) was a large political subdivision of the Frankish Empire during the last century and a half of Merovingian rule. It corresponded to the territory of Alsac ...
in the middle of the seventh century. He was a
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
nobleman from the
Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
-
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
basin. He was, according to the author of the '' Vita Sadalbergae'', an "illustrious man (''vir inluster''), opulent in wealth and fame according to the highest secular dignity and skilled in courtly affairs." Gundoin's duchy comprised both sides of the
Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, the
Burgundian Gate The Belfort Gap ( ) or Burgundian Gate ( ) is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River R ...
, and the
Transjura The Kingdom of Upper Burgundy was a Frankish dominion established in 888 by the Welf king Rudolph I of Burgundy on the territory of former Middle Francia. It grew out of the Carolingian margraviate of Transjurane Burgundy (''Transjurania'', ) ...
. It was probably created by
Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...
in order to defend southern
Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
from the
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
and to assert Austrasian claims to the region in the face of Burgundian opposition. In 596,
Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his de ...
bequeathed Alsace to his son
Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') (587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's k ...
, who was raised there. This attached it to Burgundy, but in 610
Theudebert II Theudebert II () (c.585-612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well ...
, Theuderic's brother of Austrasia, forced Alsace' cession to him only to lose it two years later to Burgundy again. In 623, when
Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young" (French language, French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629), was king of Neustria and king of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an in ...
granted Austrasia to Dagobert, he excluded Alsace, the Vosges, and the
Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
, but was shortly after forced to concede it to Dagobert by the Austrasian nobility. The rule of a Frank from the Austrasian heartland tied Alsace more closely to the Austrasian court. By some accounts, Gundoin even lived in "Meuse", a villa at the headwaters of the Meuse and may have been a royal courtier. He did have problems retaining the faithfulness of the
Sundgau Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt- gowe'' ("South shire"), denoting an Alemannic county in the Old Hi ...
. By his wife Saratrude he had five children, including Leduin Bodo,
Bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...
;
Sadalberga Sadalberga (or Salaberga) (c. 605 – c. 670) was the daughter of Gundoin, Duke of Alsace and his wife Saretrude. Sadalberga founded the Abbey of St John at Laon. She is the subject of a short hagiography, the '' Vita Sadalbergae''. Life Gundoin ...
; and a son named Fulculf Bodo. According to the ''Vitae Columbani'' of
Jonas of Bobbio Jonas of Bobbio (also known as Jonas of Susa) (Sigusia, now Susa, Italy, 600 – after 659 AD) was a Columbanian monk and a major Latin monastic author of hagiography. His ''Life of Saint Columbanus'' is "one of the most influential works o ...
, Sadalberga was born blind before being healed by
Eustasius of Luxeuil Eustace of Luxeuil (c. 560 – c. 626), also known as Eustasius, was the second abbot of Luxeuil from 611. He succeeded his teacher Columbanus, to whom he had been a favorite disciple and monk. He had been the head of the monastic school. Life ...
. Between 629 and 631, Gundoin removed Sadalberga, already a widow, from her convent of
Remiremont Remiremont (; german: Romberg or ) is a town and commune in the Vosges department, northeastern France, situated in southern Grand Est. The town has been an abbatial centre since the 7th century, is an economic crossroads of the Moselle and Mosel ...
and sought to marry her to a courtier of Dagobert I, Balduin Baso, at the king's insistence.Kreiner, Jamie. ''The Social Life of Hagiography in the Merovingian Kingdom'', Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 191
/ref> During the tenure of Waldebert of Luxeuil, Gundoin granted property in the Giura valley to the
Abbey of Luxeuil Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France. History Columbanus It was founded circa ...
to found a daughter house at Grandval (''Grandisvallis''). The monks, under Germanus, built a monastery and cleared an old Roman road which lay on the shortest route from
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
to
Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...
. Gundoin probably intended to link his duchy with the region of the Aar and extend his authority as far as
Lake Thun Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created af ...
. He probably also wished to better impose himself on the Sornegau. Gundoin died and was succeeded by
Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, according to Bobolenus. This has led to him being called the first of a line of dukes ruling Alsace for the next century; the later dukes of Alsace did consider him a predecessor. Gundoin has controversially been identified with
Gunzo {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 :''The article is about the historical figure. For the Japanese magazine, see Gunzo''. Gunzo (also ''Cunzo'') was a 7th-century duke of the Alamanni under Frankish sovereignty. His residence was at ''villa Iburni ...
, a duke in the region around
Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
with his seat at
Überlingen Überlingen is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis (district), and a cent ...
, who betrothed his daughter to
Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'' —do-nothing king—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom througho ...
. Gunzo's men escorted the woman as far as the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
, which would imply that Gunzo's authority ended there, but the region over which Gundoin ruled was without a doubt Alsace on the other side of the Rhine.


References

{{Reflist


Sources

*Hummer, Hans J. ''Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm 600 – 1000''. Cambridge University Press: 2005. *Borgolte, Michael. "Gundoin." ''
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publishe ...
''. 2005
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an
Deutsch
*Geuenich, Dieter

''Geschichte der Alemannen''.
Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-law ...
, 1997. pp 99, 102, 158. Dukes of Alsace 7th-century Frankish nobility 7th-century rulers in Europe