Rudolph I (859 – October 25, 911) was King of

Upper Burgundy 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'', ) s ...

from his election in 888 until his death. Rudolph belonged to the

elder Welf An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

family and was the son of Conrad, Count of Auxerre and

Waldrada of Worms Waldrada or Waldraith (born 801) was a Frankish noblewoman who lived during the 9th century. Her father was Adrian, Count of Orléans (758–824), and her mother was also named Waldrada, daughter of Adalhelm of Autun. Waldrada was first married ...

. From his father he inherited the lay abbacy of St Maurice en Valais, making him the most powerful magnate in Upper Burgundy - present-day western Switzerland and the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

. After the deposition and death of

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

in 888, the nobles and leading clergy of Upper Burgundy met at St Maurice and elected Rudolph as king. Apparently on the basis of this election, Rudolph claimed the whole of

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 ...

, taking much of modern Lorraine and Alsace - but his claim was contested by

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 Feb ...

, the new king of

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

, who rapidly forced Rudolph to abandon Lotharingia in return for recognition as king of Burgundy. However, hostilities between Rudolph and Arnulf seem to have continued intermittently until 894. Rudolph's relationships with his other neighbours were friendlier. His sister Adelaide married Richard the Justiciar, duke of Burgundy (the present day Burgundy, part of west Francia). He had at least four children: # Rudolph II, King of Burgundy # Adelaide, married

Louis the Blind Louis the Blind ( 880 – 5 June 928) was the king of Provence from 11 January 887, King of Italy from 12 October 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. His father was a Bosonid and his mother was a Carolingian ...

of Provence (Lower Burgundy), #

Willa Willa is a feminine given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: * Willa or Guilla of Provence (died before 924), early medieval Frankish queen * Willa of Tuscany (died 970), queen consort of Berengar II of Italy * Willa Brown ( ...

married

Boso of Tuscany Boso ( it, Bosone; died after 940?) was a Burgundian nobleman who spent much of his career in Italy, where he became Margrave of Tuscany about 932. He ruled semi-autonomously and was a benefactor of the churches of his region. He lost his office in ...

, # Waldrada married Boniface I, of Spoleto. Rudolph was succeeded as king of Burgundy by his son,

Rudolph II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

. Rudolf I's widow,

queen Guilla Guilla (or ''Willa'') of Provence or Burgundy (died before 924) was an early medieval Frankish queen in the Rhone valley. It is certain that she was the first consort of Rudolf I of Upper Burgundy (who was proclaimed king in 888 and died on 25 Oc ...

, married

Hugh of Arles Hugh (c. 880–947), known as Hugh of Arles or Hugh of Provence, was the king of Italy from 926 until his death. He belonged to the Bosonid family. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to estab ...

in 912. This Rudolph is frequently confused with his nephew

Rudolph of France Rudolph (french: Rodolphe), sometimes called Ralph (; c. 890 – 14/15 January 936), was the king of France from 923 until his death in 936. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law, Robert I, and spent much of his reign defending his realm fr ...

, who was the second

duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

and ninth

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph 01 Of Burgundy Elder House of Welf 859 births 912 deaths Kings of Burgundy 10th-century rulers in Europe 9th-century rulers in Europe