Lupo II (died 778) is the third-attested historical

duke of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...

(''dux Vasconum'' or ''princeps''), appearing in history for the first time in 769. His ancestry is subject to scholarly debate. In 769, a final rising of the Aquitanians against

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

and Carloman was put down and the rebel,

Hunald II Hunald II, also spelled Hunold, Hunoald, Hunuald or Chunoald (French: ''Hunaud''), was the Duke of Aquitaine from 768 until 769. He was probably the son of Duke Waiofar, who was assassinated on the orders of King Pippin the Short in 768. He laid cla ...

, was forced to flee to the court of Lupo in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. Lupo had thitherto been his ally, lending him Gascon troops. Lupo, however, did not desire to bring down upon himself the wrath of the Frankish kings and handed Hunald, along with his wife, over to Charlemagne. He himself did homage for his province, recognising Charlemagne's

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

. Lupo may have been a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, but perhaps a

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

(Aquitanian). The name Lupo ("wolf", ''otsoa'' in

) is a well-attested

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

ic first name and surname widely spread across the whole Basque ethnic area in the early Middle Ages. He may have been a royal appointment of

Pepin III the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of t ...

(in 768), but he may have been elected duke by the people. The extent of his territory is unknown. He may have ruled all of Aquitaine after 769, but that is not likely. His Gascony did border the

Agenais Agenais (), or Agenois (), was an ancient region that became a county (Old French: ''conté'' or ''cunté'') of France, south of Périgord.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Agenais". '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Sprin ...

and its northern border seems to have been the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

was not under his control, but that of a separate line of

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

-appointed

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s. His power may or may not have extended to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, but the trans-Pyrenean Basques were also under Carolingian suzerainty, as seen by

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...

's reference to Basque ''perfidia'' (treachery) at

Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; eu, Orreaga ; an, Ronzesbals ; french: Roncevaux ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French bor ...

. This region may have been part of Lupo's realm. Lupo has nevertheless been implicated by some historians in the ambush of

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

. He died probably in 778. His relationship to the previous dukes of Aquitaine-Vasconia and his successors is unclear. If he is to be regarded as related to subsequent Gascon dukes, which seems reasonable on the basis of patronymics, a genealogy can easily be constructed. He was the father of

Sancho The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

, Seguin, Centule and García (Garsand). All of his sons ruled Gascony at one time or another, except García, who died in battle with

Berengar of Toulouse Berengar, called the Wise ( ca, Berenguer el Savi, la, Berengarius Sapiens), was the duke or count of Toulouse (814–835) and duke (or margrave) of Septimania (832–835). He held the County of Barcelona concomitantly with Septimania. Beren ...

in 819.Collins, p 129. He may have had another son named

Adalric Adalric, Adalrich, Adelric, or Adelrich is a Germanic languages, Germanic given name. Notable people with the name include: * Athalaric (516–534), King of the Ostrogoths * Adalrich, Duke of Alsace (died after 683) * Adalric of Gascony, late 8th c ...

, who was active in the reign of Chorso of Toulouse.

Notes

Sources

*Collins, Roger. ''The Basques''. Blackwell Publishing: London, 1990. *

.
Vita Karoli Magni
'. Translated by Samuel Epes Turner. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1880. *Lewis, Archibald R.

'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. *Lacarra, J. ''Vasconia medieval: Historia y Filología''. * Wallace-Hadrill, J. M., translator.
The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations
'. Greenwood Press: Connecticut, 1960. *Estornés Lasa, Bernardo.
Auñamendi Encyclopedia: Ducado de Vasconia.
' * *''Annales Laurissense'', in Mon. Gen. Hist. Scriptores, I, 148. *"Astronomus",
Vita Hludovici imperatoris
', ed. G. Pertz, ch. 2, in Mon. Gen. Hist. Scriptores, II, 608. *Sedycias, João

*Monlezun, Jean Justin
''Histoire de la Gascogne''.
1864. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lupo II of Gascony 778 deaths Dukes of Gascony 8th-century Frankish people Year of birth unknown