The Supponids were a

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 ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family of prominence in the

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 ...

regnum Italicum The Kingdom of Italy ( la, Regnum Italiae or ''Regnum Italicum''; it, Regno d'Italia; german: Königreich Italien), also called Imperial Italy ( it, Italia Imperiale, german: Reichsitalien, links=no), was one of the constituent kingdoms of the ...

'' in the ninth century. They were descended from

Suppo I Suppo I (or Suppone) (died 5 March 824) was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Regnum Italicum in the early ninth century. In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a ''missus dominicus'', ...

, who appeared for the first time in 817 as a strong ally of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

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 and his descendants were on and off

dukes of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

, commonly in opposition to the Guideschi clan, another Frankish family powerful in

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

History

The family consolidated its holdings in

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

through the 820s, 830s, and 840s, often controlling the counties of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

(hereditarily),

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

, and

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

among others. Their power was extended and not highly centralised. They shared power with the bishops in the cities and were stoutly loyal to the emperors in order to ensure the peace and stability necessary to rule their vast and separated domains in the

Po valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. This loyalty bought them great power, especially in their heartland of

Emilia Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...

. A Supponid daughter,

Engelberga Engelberga (or Angilberga, died between 896 and 901) was the wife of Emperor Louis II and thus Carolingian empress to his death on 12 August 875.Bougard, François (1993)"ENGELBERGA (Enghelberga, Angelberga), imperatrice"‘’Treccani’’. As ...

, even married the

Emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

. With her influence, the Supponids became the most powerful noble family in Italy during the two decades of Louis's reign and one of the few to hold high offices. Following Louis's death, the Supponids supported their relatives, the

dukes of Friuli Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

, and the German claimants for the Italian crown against the Guideschi dukes of Spoleto and the West Franks. Their influence declined rapidly after they fell out with Berengar I in 913 and joined the faction of

Rudolph II of Burgundy Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the ...

in 922. They are not heard of after the middle of the tenth century.

Prominent members

(d. 824) * Adelchis I (d. c. 834), second son of Suppo I *

Suppo II {{for, the second Suppo who was Duke of Spoleto, Suppo II of Spoleto Suppo II (835-885) was a member of the Supponid family. Engelberga, the wife of Louis II may have been his sister. He was Count of Parma, Asti, and Turin. Along with his cousin, ...

, son of Adelchis I ** Boso, Count of Parma **

Wifred I, Count of Piacenza Wilfried is a masculine German given name derived from Germanic roots meaning "will" and "peace" (''Wille'' and ''Frieden'' in German). The English spelling is Wilfrid. Wilfred and Wifred (also Wifredo) are closely related to Wilfried with the sa ...

Suppo III Suppo II (also Suppo III in the familial genealogy) (Italian: ''Suppone'') (died circa 879) was the Duke of Spoleto from 871 until his death. He was the ''archiminister'' (archminister) and ''consiliarius'' (counsellor) of the Emperor Louis II. I ...

(d. 877/879), cousin of Suppo II * Suppo IV * Mauring *

(d. 896/901), wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor

Sources

*Wickham, Chris. ''Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000''. MacMillan Press: 1981. Supponid dynasty