Seguin IISeguin is but one of several possible variations on this duke's name. Seguin (also Siguin or Sigwin) is a Gascon name. It is of Germanic origin (''sig-'', that is, "victory", cf.

modern German New High German (NHG; german: Neuhochdeutsch (Nhd.)) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language, starting in the 17th century. It is a loan translation of the German (). The most important characteristic o ...

''sieg'', and ''-win'', that is, "friend", related to modern English "win"). Semen is a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

name. It is either the Basque version of the biblical name Simon or a native Basque name based on the word ''seme'' (meaning "son"). It is also spelled Semen, Semeno, Xemen, or Ximen and gave rise to the Castilian Ximeno and Jimeno. Both Semen and Seguin, unrelated names, are found in sources. (died 846), called Mostelanicus, was the

Count of Bordeaux The Count of Bordeaux (Latin ''comes Burdagalensis'') was the ruler of the city of Bordeaux and its environs in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. The names of the counts are scarcely known until the ninth century, when they start to take on ...

and Saintes from 840 and

Duke of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...

from 845. He was either the son or grandson of Seguin I, the duke appointed by

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 Holy ...

. When

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 ...

subdued

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

and took it from his rebellious grandson

Pepin II Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...

in 839, he began partitioning it into counties for those loyal to him. Seguin was one of the new counts. It was probably the emperor's intention to install a duke with local connections to offset the power of

Sancho Sánchez Sancho Sánchez ( fl. 1075–1127) was an important magnate of the Kingdom of Aragon in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, during the reigns of Sancho Ramírez, Peter I and Alfonso I. He was governor of the important Navarrese tenancies of ...

, the local factional leader who opposed both Pepin and then Louis. Seguin continued to support Louis until his death and then his successor in the west,

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 ...

, but his fidelity to the latter wavered and he went over to the side of Pepin. He was rewarded with the title of ''dux Wasconum''—Duke of Gascony—which probably referred to 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 ...

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 ...

against the

Gascons Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

of Sancho. In Autumn 845, Seguin marched on the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

assaulting

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and Saintes but was captured and put to death.

Notes

Bibliography

Monlezun, Jean Justin. ''Histoire de la Gascogne''. 1846.
*Higounet, Charles. ''Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age''. Bordeaux, 1963. 846 deaths Dukes of Gascony Year of birth unknown Date of death unknown {{France-noble-stub