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 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. On Childebert's death in 595, the Thurgau, 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, then under the rule of Theuderic II. 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 as ...

, 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, 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 Brunhilda (c. 543–613) was queen consort of Austrasia, part of Francia, by marriage to the Merovingian king Sigebert I of Austrasia, and regent for her son, grandson and great-grandson. In her long and complicated career she ruled the eastern ...

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