The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the

Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under ...

on behalf of their

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...

suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the

Kingdom of the Lombards The Kingdom of the Lombards ( la, Regnum Langobardorum; it, Regno dei Longobardi; lmo, Regn di Lombard) also known as the Lombard Kingdom; later the Kingdom of (all) Italy ( la, Regnum totius Italiae), was an early medieval state established ...

intermittently from 616 to 712. They are mentioned as the leading dynasty in the ''

Lex Baiuvariorum The ''Lex Baiuvariorum'' was a collection of the tribal laws of the Bavarii of the sixth through eighth centuries. The first compilation was edited by Eberswind, first abbot of Niederaltaich, in 741 or 743. Duke Odilo, founder supplemented th ...

'' (c. 743). Their Bavarian residence was at

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

. The dynasty's eponymous ancestor is

Agilulf Agilulf ( 555 – April 616), called ''the Thuringian'' and nicknamed ''Ago'', was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was of Thuringian origin and belonged to the A ...

, a semi-legendary prince of the

Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own name ...

and descendant of

Hermeric Hermeric (died 441) was the king of the Suevi from at least 419 and possibly as early as 406 until his abdication in 438. Biography Before 419 Nothing is known for sure about Hermeric before 419, the year in which he is first mentioned; ...

, the 5th-century Suevic king of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, possibly identical with one Agilulf, a steward of the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

king

Theoderic II Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...

, who was executed in 457. The first duke identified with the Agilolfing line in German historiography is Garibald I (''Gariwald''). However, doubt has been cast on Garibald's membership in the Agilolfing family in modern scholarship,Carl I. Hammer: ''From Ducatus to Regnum. Ruling Bavaria under the Merovingians and early Carolingians.'' 2007; Britta Kägler: ''„Sage mir, wie du heißt …“. Spätantik-frühmittelalterliche Eliten in den Schriftquellen. Das Beispiel der frühen Agilolfinger.'' In: Hubert Fehr, Irmtraut Heitmeier (eds.): ''Von Raetien und Noricum zur frühmittelalterlichen Baiovaria.'' EOS, St. Ottilien 2012, S. 183–196. which makes Tassilo I (r. 591–610) the first ascertained member of the dynasty. The Agilolfings had close ties to the Merovingians. Garibald I himself married Waldrada, the widow of Merovingian king Theudebald, in 555, after her marriage to

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kingd ...

was annulled on grounds of

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

. As they had their fate intertwined with the Merovingian dynasty, they opposed the rise of 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 Pippi ...

mayors of the palace, who finally deprived the Agilolfings of their power.

Rulers of Bavaria

* Garibald I, Duke of Bavaria 548–591 * Tassilo I, King of Bavaria 591–610 * Garibald II, Duke of Bavaria 610–630 * Theodo, Duke of Bavaria 680–716 * Lantpert, son of Theodo, murderer of

Emmeram of Regensburg Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also ''Emeram(m)us'', ''Emmeran'', ''Emmerano'', ''Emeran'', ''Heimrammi'', ''Haimeran'', or ''Heimeran'') was a Christian bishop and a martyr born in Poitiers, Aquitaine. Having heard of idolatry in Bavaria, Emmera ...

* Uta, daughter of Theodo * Theodbert, son of Theodo, Duke in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

ca. 702–719 *

Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tyb ...

, son of Theodo, Duke of parts of Bavaria ca. 711–719 *

Tassilo II Tassilo II (died c. 719) was a ruler in southern Germany. He was the son, probably third, of Theodo of Bavaria and Folchaid. Sometime before 715, Theodo divided his duchy and associated with its rule the eldest two of his four sons. The eldest, Th ...

, son of Theodo, Duke in

Passau Passau (; bar, label= Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's po ...

ca. 716–719 * Grimoald, son of Theodo, Duke in

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

ca. 716–725, later ruling all of Bavaria * Hugbert, son of Theudbert, Duke of Bavaria 725–737 * Odilo, son of Gotfried of Allemania, Duke of Bavaria 737–748 * Grifo, 748 (half-Carolingian usurper) * Tassilo III, son of Odilo, Duke of Bavaria 748–788, deposed 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 E ...

* Theodo, son of Tassilo III, became a monk

Rulers of Italy

Gundoald, Duke of Asti Gundoald or Gundwald (''c.'' 565–616) was a Bavarian nobleman of the Agilolfing family, a son of Duke Garibald I and Waldrada, and Duke of Asti from sometime around 589. In 588 his elder sister Theudelinda was engaged to the king of the Lomba ...

, son of Garibald I * Theodelinda, daughter of

Garibald I of Bavaria Garibald I (also Garivald; la, Garibaldus; born 540) was Duke (or King) of Bavaria from 555 until 591. He was the head of the Agilolfings, and the ancestor of the Bavarian dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards. Biography After the de ...

, Queen of the Lombards *

Adaloald Adaloald (602–628) was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. He was son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda. He was baptised shortly after his birth in 602; the abbot Secundus of Non (later historian) was his g ...

, son of Theodelinda and

, King of the Lombards 616 to 626 *

Gundeberga Gundeberga or Gundeperga, queen of the Lombards, (591-..) was the daughter of Theodelinda and her second husband, the Lombard king Agilulf. She married Arioald, ''(king of the Lombards; 626-636)'' and his successor Rothari, ''(king of the Lombards ...

, daughter of

and Theodelinda, married King

Arioald Arioald was the Lombard king of Italy from 626 to 636. Duke of Turin, he married the princess Gundeberga, daughter of King Agilulf and his queen Theodelinda. He was, unlike his father-in-law, an Arian who did not accept Catholicism. Arioald de ...

Aripert I Aripert I (also spelled ''Aribert'') was king of the Lombards (653–661) in Italy. He was the son of Gundoald, Duke of Asti, who had crossed the Alps from Bavaria with his sister Theodelinda. As a relative of the Bavarian ducal house, his was c ...

, son of Gundoald, King of the Lombards 653–661 * Godepert, eldest son of Aripert, King of the Lombards 661–662 jointly with * Berthari, younger son of Aripert, King of the Lombards 661–662 and 672–688 * Cunincpert, son of Berthari, King of the Lombards 688–700 *

Liutpert Liutpert (or Liutbert) (died 702) was the Lombard king of Italy from 700 and to 702, with interruption. Upon succeeding his father, King Cunincpert, at a young age, he ruled together with his tutor, Ansprand, the duke of Asti. After eight month ...

, son of Cunincpert, King of the Lombards 700–701 *

Raginpert Raginpert (also ''Raghinpert'' or ''Reginbert'') was the Duke of Turin and then King of the Lombards briefly in 701. He was the son of Godepert and grandson of Aripert I. He usurped the throne in 701 and removed Liutpert, his grandnephew, putti ...

, son of Godepert, King of the Lombards 701 *

Aripert II Aripert or Aribert may refer to: * Aripert I, king of the Lombards from 653 to 661 AD * Aripert II, king of the Lombards from 701 to 712 AD {{Hndis ...

, son of Raginpert, King of the Lombards 701–712

At the Austrasian court

*Chrodoald, nobleman at the court of

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...

, killed in 624 *Fara, opponent to

Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'' —do-nothing king—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom througho ...

References

External links

Biographies of some AgilolfingiansTentative Genealogy of Early Agilolfings, according to Jörg Jarnut
{{Authority control Duchy of Bavaria Lombard families Merovingian period Baiuvarii

Rulers of Bavaria

Rulers of Italy

At the Austrasian court

References

Further reading

External links