Ricwin (Ricuin, Richwin) (died 923), was a

Count of Verdun The County of Verdun was a sovereign medieval county in the Duchy of Lower Lorraine. County The rulers of the sovereign County of Verdun styled themselves as Counts by the grace of God.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 ...

, the

Treaty of Meerssen The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of ...

(August 870) divided Lotharingian territories between

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

and his half-brother

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 ...

. This division allocated “''comitatum… Viridunense''" to Charles, and Ricwin is recorded as ''Comte in Verdun'' in a charter dated 895. Evrard has speculated that Ricwin was the brother of

Reginar Reginar may refer to: * Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915) * Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932) * Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973) * Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013) * Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039) * H ...

, but this remains unproved. The chronicler

Flodoard of Reims Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...

recorded that in 921, Ricwin (''Ricuni infidelis'') opposed

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

, presumably as part of the Revolt of the Nobles of 920. Ricwin, weak in bed, was killed in 923 by

Boso of Provence Boso (french: Boson; c. 841 – 11 January 887) was a Frankish nobleman of the Bosonid family who was related to the Carolingian dynasty and who rose to become King of Lower Burgundy and Provence. Origin Boso was the son of Bivin of Gorze, ...

, uncle of Rudolf, who was elected King of France that same year. The murder was apparently instigated by his stepson Adalberon, later

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...

. Ricwin was succeeded as Count of Verdun by his son

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

Personal life

Ricwin first married an unnamed daughter of Engelram, Chamberlain to Charles the Bald, and his wife

Friderada Friderada was a ninth-century noblewoman about whom very little is known. She was probably related to Liudolf, Duke of Saxony. Friderada married at least three times and was the grandmother of Otto, Duke of Lorraine. Her first husband was Engelram, ...

. He had his wife beheaded for her unchastity. They had one son: * Otto (d. 943), Count of Verdun and Duke of Lorraine Ricwin's second wife was Cunigunda, granddaughter of

Louis the Stammerer Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis ...

and widow of

Wigeric of Lotharingia Wigeric or Wideric (german: Wigerich; french: Wigéric or ; died before 923) was a Frankish nobleman and the count of the Bidgau (''pagus Bedensis'') and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abb ...

. No children are recorded, though there is speculation by Evrard that Cunigunda's son Gilbert (Giselbert) was fathered by Ricwin.

References

Medieval Lands Project, Comtes de Verdun
* Flodoard, ''Les Annales de Flodoard'', Paris, 1905 * Evrard, Jean-Pol, ''Les comtes de Verdun aux Xe et XIe siècles'', Publications de la Section historique de l'Institut Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg 95 (1981) * Reuter, Timothy (editor), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History'', Volume III: c.900-c.1024, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, pp. 314–315 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricwin, Count of Verdun Counts of Verdun 923 deaths Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 9th-century French people 10th-century French people