Adalrich (; reconstructed
Frankish: ''*Adalrik''; died after 683 AD), also known as Eticho, was the
Duke of Alsace
The Duchy of Alsace (, ''Ducatum Elisatium''; ) was a large political subdivision of the Frankish Empire during the last century and a half of Merovingian rule. It corresponded to the territory of Alsace and was carved out of southern Austrasia in ...
, the founder of the family of the
Etichonids
The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Franks, Frankish-Burgundians, Burgundian origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Adalrich, Duke of Alsace, Eticho ( ...
and an important and influential figure in the power politic of late-seventh-century
Austrasia
Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...
. He may possibly be a progenitor of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
.
Adalrich's family originated in the ''pagus Attoariensis'' around
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
in northern
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
. In the mid-seventh century, they began to be major founders and patrons of monasteries in the region under a duke named
Amalgar and his wife Aquilina. They founded a convent at
Brégille and an abbey for men at
Bèze, installing children in both abbacies. They were succeeded by their third child, Adalrich, who was the father of Adalrich, Duke of Alsace.
Civil war of 675–679
Adalrich first enters history as a member of the faction of nobles which invited
Childeric II
Childeric II ( 653 – 675) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Austrasia from 662 and Neustria and Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole king for the final two years o ...
to take the kingship of
Neustria
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...
and
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
in 673 after the death of
Chlothar III. He married Berswinda, a relative of
Leodegar, the famous
Bishop of Autun, whose party he supported in the civil war which followed Childeric's assassination two years later (675). Adalrich was duke by March 675, when Childeric had granted him ''honores'' (
benefices) in Alsace with the title of ''
dux'' and asked him to transfer some land to the recently founded (c. 662) abbey at Gregoriental on behalf of Abbot Valedio. This grant was most probably the result of his support for Childeric in Burgundy, which had often disputed possession of Alsace with Austrasia. Later writers saw Adalrich as the successor in Alsace of
Duke Boniface. After Childeric's assassination, Adalrich threw his support behind
Dagobert II for the Austrasian throne.
Adalrich abandoned Leodegar and went over to
Ebroin
Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the ...
, the
mayor of the palace
Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo,
( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...
of Neustria, sometime before 677, when he appears as an ally of Theuderic, who granted him the monastery of Bèze. Taking advantage of the assassination of
Hector of Provence in 679 to bid for power in Provence, he marched on
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
but failed to take it and, returning to Alsace, switched his support to the Austrasians once more. After the assassination of Dagobert II, Adalrich was dispossessed of his lands in Alsace by the now undisputed king
Theuderic III, who was controlled by Ebroin. Adalrich's possessions fell to the Abbey of Bèze that year.
Power in Alsace
Adalrich maintained his power in a restricted dukedom which did not encompass land west of the
Vosges as it had under Boniface and his predecessors. This land was a part of the kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy, and only the land between the Vosges and the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
south to the
Sornegau, later Alsace proper, remained with Austrasia under Adalrich. The west of Vosges was under duke
Theotchar.
In Alsace, however, the civil war had resulted in a curtailed royal power and Adalrich's influence and authority, though restricted in territory, was augmented in practical scope. After the war, parts of the Frankish kingdom saw a more powerful viceregal hand under the exercise of the mayors of the palaces, while other regions were even less directly affected by the royal prerogative. The
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
palace at
Marlenheim in Alsace was never visited by a royal figure again in Adalrich's lifetime. While southern Austrasia had been the centre of
Wulfoald's power, the
Arnulflings were a north Austrasian family, who took scarce interest in Alsatian affairs until the 730s and 740s.
Adalrich had initially made his allies counts, but in 683 he granted the comital office to his son and eventual successor
Adalbert. By controlling monasteries and counties in the family, Adalrich built up a powerful regional duchy to pass on to his Etichonid heirs.
Relationship with monasteries
Adalrich had a rocky relationship with the monasteries of his realm, upon which he relied for his power. He is infamous for the suppression of that of
Moutier-Grandval, and for lording it over monasteries, including his own foundations. According to the ''
Life of Germanus'' of Grandval, Adalrich "wickedly began oppressing the people in the vicinity
ornegauof the monastery and to allege that they had always been rebels against his predecessors." He removed the ''
centenarius'' ruling in the region and replaced him with his own man, Count Ericho. He exiled the people of the Sornegau, who denied being rebels against previous dukes. Many of the people exiled from the valley were attached to Grandval and could not thus be exiled. Adalrich marched into the valley of the Sornegau with a large army of
Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
at one end while his lieutenant Adalmund entered with a host by the other. The abbot, Germanus himself, and his provost
Randoald met Adalrich with books and relics in order to persuade him not to make violence. The duke granted a ''wadium'', a device of recompense or promise, and offered thus to spare the valley devastation, but for unknown reasons Germanus refused it. The region was ravaged.
Perhaps as penance for his relationship to the deaths of two future saints, Leodegar and Germanus of Grandval, or perhaps out of a secret desire—disclosed it is said to his intimate friends—to found a place to the service of God and take up the religious life, Adalrich founded two monasteries in north central Alsace between 680 and 700:
Ebersheim in honour of
Saint Maurice and
Hohenburg on the site of an old Roman fort (of the emperor
Maximian
Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...
) discovered by his huntsmen and which he appropriated for his own military uses. Adalrich's daughter
Odilia served as Hohenburg's first abbess and was later named
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Alsace by
Pope Pius VII in 1807.
Veneration as a saint
His daughter Odilia was reputedly born blind, which Adalrich took as a punishment for some offence done to God. In order to save face with his retainers, he tried to persuade his wife Bereswinda to kill the infant child in secret. She instead sent the child into hiding with a maid at the monastery of Palma. According to the ''Life of Odilia'', a bishop named Erhard baptised the adolescent girl and smeared a
chrism
Chrism, also called ''myrrh'', ''myron'', ''holy anointing oil'', and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian C ...
on her eyes, which miraculously restored her sight.
The bishop tried to restore the duke's relationship with his daughter, but Adalrich, fearing the effect of admitting to having a daughter hiding in poverty in a monastery would have on his subjects, refused. A son of his, ignoring Adalrich's orders, brought his sister back to Hohenburg, where Adalrich was holding court. When Odilia arrived, Adalrich, in a rage, struck a blow with his sceptre to his son's head, accidentally killing him. Disgraced, he reluctantly allowed Odilia to live in the monastery, which had no abbess, with a minimal wage under a British nun.
Towards the end of his life he was reconciled to her and made her the first abbess of his foundation, handing the abbey over as if it were private property.
[Hans Hummer, "Reform and lordship in Alsace at the turn of the millennium," in Warren Brown and Piotr Górecki, eds. ''Conflict in Medieval Europe: Changing Perspectives on Society and Culture'' (Ashgate) 2003:76.] Through his daughter Adalrich was reconciled to God and as early as the twelfth century was regarded as a saint with a local cult. His burial garments were displayed to pilgrims in his foundation at Hohenburg and a feast day was celebrated annually by the nuns. The portrayal of Adalrich as a nobleman who became holy while retaining his noble status and rank was very popular in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
and as far away as
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
in the Middle Ages. The ''Life'' probably sought to show how by simply maltreating a blind daughter in order to save face, Adalrich ended up far more dishonoured than he otherwise would have.
Notes
References
Sources
*Hummer, Hans J. ''Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm 600 – 1000''. Cambridge University Press: 2005. See mainly pp 46–55.
*Lewis, Archibald Ross.
The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550-751. ''
Speculum'', Vol. LI, No. 3. July, 1976. pp 381–410.
{{Authority control
Etichonid dynasty
680s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
Dukes of Alsace
7th-century dukes in Europe
7th-century Frankish saints
Catholic saints