Hardrad
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Hardrad (died after 786) was a Frankish count and a leading figure in the conspiracy of Thuringian noblemen against
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 ...
. This conspiracy resulted in many nobles being killed and their property confiscated, leading to the laws concerning the subdued Saxons established in the Diet of Aix of 802-803. Hardrad was a member of the Eastern Frankish aristocracy with extensive land assets and good relations with the
Monastery of Fulda The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
, and was likely related to the abbot, :de:Baugulf von Fulda. Little is known about the life of Count Hardrad, even from contemporary Frankish sources. In 771, the Cartulary of Lorraine, Abbey Gorze, identified a deceased Hardrad, father of Ratard (Rothard of the Argengau, father of Welf I of Bavaria), who could have been the father or grandfather of the younger Hardrad. It is the same with two other occurrences, one of which is in 746 in Echternach and the other in 721 in Prüm, in which
Bertrada of Laon Bertrada of Laon (born between 710 and 727 – 12 July 783), also known as Bertrada the Younger or Bertha Broadfoot (cf. Latin: ''Regina pede aucae'' i.e. the queen with the goose-foot), was a Frankish queen. She was the wife of Pepin the Short an ...
and her father
Charibert Charibert is a Frankish given name meaning "glorious warrior". The name Berthar contains the same two elements in reversed order.Laury Sarti, ''Perceiving War and the Military in Early Christian Gaul (ca. 400–700 A.D.)'' (Brill, 2013), p. 260. It ...
, the maternal grandfather of Charlemagne, are mentioned. The uprising of 786 supported by Hardrad was one of two during Charlemagne's reign, the second being that of his son
Pepin the Hunchback Pepin, or Pippin the Hunchback (French: Pépin le Bossu, German: Pippin der Buckelige; c. 768 / 769 – 811) was a Frankish prince. He was the eldest son of Charlemagne and noblewoman Himiltrude. He developed a humped back after birth, leading ...
in 792, and both seemed to be associated with Charlemagne's marriage to
Fastrada Fastrada (c. 765 – 10 August 794) was queen consort of East Francia by marriage to Charlemagne, as his third wife. Life Fastrada was born ''circa'' 765 at Ingelheim, the daughter of the powerful East Frankish Count Rudolph (also called Eado ...
, as attested by
Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...
. Some members of the court called for a marriage by Thüringer customary law, but Charlemagne opted for a marriage under Frankish law. Accordingly, Hardrad conspired with numerous other Thuringian nobles against the emperor, as suggested by the ''
Annales Nazariani Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...
'', an East Frankish source. This view is regarded by many historians as poetic exaggeration. The background of the conspiracy is rather the introduction of the Carolingian imperial order in Thuringia, with the form of marriage rather trifling. The emperor sent troops to Thuringia to ravage the possessions of the rebels, who fled to the monastery of Fulda. Charlemagne ordered the rebels to his court and Hardrad submitted as justification for refusing allegiance was that he had never sworn allegiance. This is the first documented rebellion against Charlemagne. The emperor had the conspirators expelled and the goods and lands confiscated, with the blinding of rebel lords used as further punishment, suggesting a powerful response from Charlemagne. Evidence for Hardrad's actions are mentioned in a revised edition of the
Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...
for the year 785. Almost no other first-hand sources reference Hardrad directly, or suggest what his motivations or plans were for the revolt, with historians suggesting general aristocratic dissatisfaction with Charlemagne's rule as a potential motive, though this is based largely in conjecture, and lacks an explanation for the Thuringian character of the revolt. Hardrad was married to an unknown woman and they had a least two daughters, both unnamed, one of whom married the Frankish count Meginhare. Meginhare's son
Reginar Reginar may refer to: * Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915) * Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932) * Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973) * Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013) * Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039) * H ...
, following in his grandfather's tradition, conspired against
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 ...
, resulting in his blinding and death.


References


Sources

* Turner, Samuel Epes (Translator), ''Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne'', Harper & Brothers, New York, 1880, reprinted by the University of Michigan Press in 1960 with a copyrighted foreword by Sidney Painter * Thorpe, Lewis G. M., ''Two Lives of Charlemagne'', Penguin, 1969, page 90 and footnote 106 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardrad 8th-century deaths Counts of Germany Thuringian nobility Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown