Matfrid (died 836) was the

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 ...

count of Orléans 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: ...

in the reign of Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

. He is usually thought to have been the first of the lineage known to historians as the Matfridings (German ''Matfridinger'' or ''Matfriede''). Matfrid was Count of Orléans from around 818. He accompanied the Emperor on his expedition to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

in 824, and served at Louis's court. However, in 825, he supported

Lothar Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", and ...

, eldest son of Emperor Louis, in his revolt against the Emperor. Restored to favour, he led a Frankish army on the

Marca Hispanica The Hispanic March or Spanish March ( es, Marca Hispánica, ca, Marca Hispànica, Aragonese and oc, Marca Hispanica, eu, Hispaniako Marka, french: Marche d'Espagne), was a military buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania, esta ...

, the Spanish frontier, in 827, jointly with his sister's husband Hugh, Count of Tours and Louis's son

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life of Pepin the Hunchback * Pippin T ...

King of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

. Matfrid, Hugh, and Pippin failed to meet the invasion by Abu Marwan, and the following year at

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

an Imperial assembly stripped Matfrid and Hugh of their titles. Thereafter, although Matfrid supported the rebellions of Emperor Louis's sons on every occasion, he was repeatedly restored to his lands, title, and imperial favour. Matfrid, once more serving Lothar, died in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 836 during a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

Jonas of Orléans Jonas (c. 760–843) was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious. Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as King ...

addressed his "

mirror of princes Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. ...

" work ''De Institutione laicali'' to Matfrid. A second Matfrid, presumed to be the son of the first, was active in

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

during the reigns of Lothar and his son

Lothar II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder. Reign For political ...

, a frequent witness to their charters in the period from 843 to 860. The third Matfrid, presumed son of the second, was active in the period 867 to 878. Later cognatic members of the Matfriding clan included

Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey I (born 940/945; died 964) was the count of Hainault from 958 and margrave or vice-duke of Lower Lorraine from 959, when that duchy was divided by Duke Bruno, who remained duke until his death in 964. Life Godfrey was the son of Godfr ...

References

* * Godman, Peter, and Collins, Roger, editors. ''Charlemagne's Heir: New perspectives on the reign of Louis the Pious.'' Oxford University Press, 1990. * Jeep, John M., ed. ''Medieval Germany: an encyclopedia'', sv "Matfridings". Routledge, 2001. * Riché, Pierre. ''Dictionnaire des Francs: Les Carolingiens,'' sv "Matfrid". Bartillat, 1997. {{Authority control Matfriding dynasty Counts of Orléans Nobility of the Carolingian Empire 836 deaths Year of birth unknown