Uncelen, Uncelin, or Uncilin (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Uncelenus''; died c. 613) was the

Duke of Alemannia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...

from 587 to 607. He was appointed to replace Leutfred by the

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

n king

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his de ...

. On Childebert's death in 595, the

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

, Kembsgau, and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

passed to the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva and ...

, then under the rule of

Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') (587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's k ...

. In 605 Theuderic went to war with his brother

Theudebert II Theudebert II () (c.585-612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well ...

, who ruled Austrasia. His army, which did not wish to go to war, he placed under the command of his

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

Protadius Protadius (died 606) was the mayor of the palace of Burgundy from 604, when he displaced his rival Berthoald, until his death two years later. He was originally the noble lover of Brunhilda, the grandmother of and regent for King Theuderic II. S ...

with instructions to induce the soldiers to fight. The next year (606) at

Quierzy-sur-Oise Quierzy (), also known as Quierzy-sur-Oise (; formerly in la, Cariciacum, ''Carisiacum'', ''Charisagum'', ''Karisiacum''), is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, straddling the Oise River between Noyon and C ...

, Theuderic re-assembled the army, but the men once again refused to fight their countrymen and the king ordered Uncelen to coerce them. Uncelen, however, declared that the king had ordered the Protadius' death. The despised majordomo was killed by the warriors and the king was forced to sign a treaty. Queen Brunhilda, who had induced Theuderic to war, had Uncelen's foot cut off. According to the ''

Lex Alamannorum The Lex Alamannorum and Pactus Alamannorum were two early medieval law codes of the Alamanni. They were first edited in parts in 1530 by Johannes Sichard in Basel. Pactus Alamannorum The ''Pactus Alamannorum'' or ''Pactus legis Alamannorum'' is the ...

'', a duke was only eligible for office if he could mount a horse. Being unable to continue exercising his office, Uncelen was removed.

Sources

*Fuchs, Karlheinz; Kempa, Martin; Redies, Rainer. ''Die Alamannen (Ausstellungskatalog)''. Stuttgart: Verlag Theiß, 2001. . *Geuenich, Dieter. ''Geschichte der Alemannen''. Stuttgart:

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-law ...

, 2004. . Alemannic rulers 613 deaths 7th-century rulers in Europe Year of birth unknown {{Germany-noble-stub