The March of Friuli was a
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 Pippi ...
frontier
march
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
, established in 776 as the continuation of the
Lombard Duchy of Friuli
The Duchy of Friuli was a Lombard duchy in present-day Friuli, the first to be established after the conquest of the Italian peninsula in 568. It was one of the largest domains in '' Langobardia Major'' and an important buffer between the Lombar ...
, established against the
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
and
Avars. It was ceded to the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under ...
as the
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast Marches, march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I, Holy Roman ...
in 952. Its territory comprised parts of modern-day
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 ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
and
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
.
History
After
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 E ...
had conquered the Italian
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards ( la, Regnum Langobardorum; it, Regno dei Longobardi; lmo, Regn di Lombard) also known as the Lombard Kingdom; later the Kingdom of (all) Italy ( la, Regnum totius Italiae), was an early medieval state established ...
under King
Desiderius
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...
at the
Siege of Pavia in 774, he at first allowed the Lombard duke
Hrodgaud to continue ruling in Friuli.
Charlemagne attached the
March of Istria
The March of Istria (or Margraviate of Istria ) was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789. After 1364, it was the name of the Istrian ...
to Friuli.
According to the
Royal Frankish Annals, Hrodgaud two years later revolted declaring himself a King of the Lombards, whereafter Charlemagne came rushing into Italy where he routed the duke's forces and had him deposed and killed. The autonomous Lombard duchy was dissolved and incorporated into
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks du ...
.
From 776, Friuli was ruled by Frankish appointees, who continued to bear the title of a ''dux Foroiuliensis''.
To the former Lombard duchy he added
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...
as an integral part of his
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the L ...
and a bulwark against the encroachments of the
Avars and the
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...
.
In February 828 the last Friulian ''dux'',
Baldric, was removed from office by 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 Aqu ...
at the Imperial diet of
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 ...
, as he had not been able to defend the Pannonian frontier against the troops of Khan
Omurtag of Bulgaria. The duchy was divided into four counties, which in 846 were gathered together again as part of the
Middle Frankish realm ruled by Louis' eldest son Emperor
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I ( Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bava ...
. He bestowed Friuli on his brother-in-law
Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.
People
First name
*Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire
* Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian
*Eberhard I, D ...
, of the Frankish
Unruochings, with the title of ''dux'', though his successors were called ''marchio'': "margrave."
Eberhard's son
Berengar, Friulian margrave since 874, was elected King of Italy after the deposition of
Charles the Fat in 887. His election precipitated decades of contests for the throne between rival claimants. Berengar paid homage to the
East Frankish king
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from ...
, he nevertheless lost the crown to Duke
Guy III of Spoleto in 889 and did not succeed in recapturing it until 905. Meanwhile, represented by his counsellor
Walfred at the city of
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
, he remained master in Friuli, which was always the base of his support. After Berengar's death in 924, his partisans elected
Hugh of Arles king.
King Hugh did not appoint a new margrave and the march lay vacant. It remained a political division of the Frankish
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
until the usurpation of the throne by
Berengar II upon the death of Hugh's son King
Lothair 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 politic ...
in 950. Summoned by Lothair's widow
Adelaide of Burgundy, the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
king
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
took the chance to conquer Italy, depose Berengar II and to marry Adelaide. The conflict was settled at the 952 diet of
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
, where Berengar II was allowed to retain the royal title as a German vassal, but had to cede Friuli as the
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast Marches, march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I, Holy Roman ...
to Duke
Henry I of Bavaria, brother of King Otto I. On February 2, 962 Otto was crowned
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
at
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, deposed King Berengar II and had him arrested and exiled one year later. His remaining Italian kingdom became a constituent part of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
.
The Veronese march was held by the
Carinthian dukes from 976 well into the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
. In 1077 King
Henry IV of Germany vested the
Patriarchate of Aquileia with the Friulian territory east of the
Tagliamento
The Tagliamento () is a braided river in north-east Italy, flowing from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea at a point between Trieste and Venice.
The Tagliamento river is considered as the last morphologically intact river in the Alps. (Its c ...
river.
Governors
Dukes
* 776–787
Marcarius
* 789–799
Eric
* 799–808
Hunfrid
* 808–817
Aio
* 817–819
Cadalaus
* 819–828
Balderic
Margraves
* 830–866
Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.
People
First name
*Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire
* Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian
*Eberhard I, D ...
(also ''dux Foroiuli'')
* 866–874
Unroch (III)
* 874–890
Berengar, also
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
* 891–896
Walfred
* 896–924
Berengar, also
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
* 924–952
Berengar II
Sources
*
Hodgkin, Thomas. ''Italy and her Invaders''. Clarendon Press: 1895.
{{Former monarchies Italian peninsula
Friuli, March of
Carolingian marches
Friuli, March of
Medieval Slovenia
9th century in Italy
10th century in Italy
776 establishments
States and territories established in the 770s
828 disestablishments
States and territories disestablished in the 820s
846 establishments
States and territories established in the 840s