Arnulf, Duke Of Bavaria
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Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (), the Evil () or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...
from about 907 until his death in 937. He is numbered in succession to Arnulf of Carinthia, counted as Arnulf I.


Life

The year of Arnulf's birth is unknown, but it is said that he was the namesake of other Arnulfs born around the time of the reign of the seventh-century bishop Arnulf of Metz and the Carolingian king Arnulf of Carinthia. Arnulf was the son of Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria and Cunigunde, herself a member of the Ahalolfing dynasty, daughter of Berthold I, the
count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...
of Swabia. Her brother Erchanger assumed the Swabian ducal title in 915. Under the weak rule of the East Frankish king Louis the Child, Margrave Luitpold had already achieved a strong position in the Bavarian lands, succeeding the Wilhelminer margraves. He ruled over extended estates along the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
with
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
(Ratisbon), and in the adjacent Nordgau.


Duke of Bavaria

Together with numerous Bavarian nobles, Arnulf's father was killed in the 907 Battle of Pressburg (Bratislava), when the Bavarian ''
Heerbann The ''Heerbann'' (also formerly ''Heermannie'', Middle High German, MHG ''herban'', Old High German, OHG: ''heriban'', Mid. Latin: ''Heribannus''), in the Imperial Military Constitution (''Reichsheeresverfassung'') of the Holy Roman Empire, was th ...
'' under his command suffered a crushing defeat in a campaign against the Hungarian forces of Grand Prince Ãrpád. After the death of his father, Arnulf succeeded him in his Bavarian lands, and soon after he assumed the title of a "Duke of Bavaria" as ruler of the estates around Regensburg. An energetic and combative man, he received broad support from the local nobles, however, already during his ascension in to dukedom, he was faced with constant raids from the Hungarians. These attacks had laid waste the East Frankish lands of Bavaria,
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, and
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
. Besieged by frequent Hungarian raids and desperate to raise funds to finance a re-organized defense, Arnulf strengthened his power through confiscation of church lands and the secularization of numerous monastery estates, which earned him the nickname "the Bad" by medieval chroniclers. In several skirmishes he was able to force back the Hungarian invaders and he defeated a small force in 913 with the support by his Swabian relatives. Having re-established the stem duchy of Bavaria, he eventually negotiated a truce with the Hungarian princes, who thereafter largely passed through Bavaria on their raids into other German duchies.


Imperial politics

Duke Arnulf pursued a policy of independence from the East Frankish kings. Though in 911 he participated in the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
of King Conrad I of Germany in 911; in Conrad's conflict with Erchanger of Swabia he backed his Swabian uncle and later challenged Conrad's Saxon successor, King Henry the Fowler. The dispute was only temporarily settled when in 913 Arnulf's widow mother Cunigunda married King Conrad. In 916 Conrad's forces invaded Bavaria, attacking and pillaging Regensburg. These attacks drove Arnulf into exile with his former enemies in Hungary. In September, the king convoked a church council in Hohenaltheim, attended by the Bavarian episcopate, which summoned Arnulf and his younger brother Berthold on the grounds of excommunication at Regensburg on 1 November. It is more than likely that Arnulf and his family never appeared at the convocation, or that the council meeting was never held. As a result, they remained exiled among the Hungarians. In January 917, King Conrad, angered at the situation, called for the execution of his rebellious Swabian brother-in-law, Erchanger and his brother Berthold, giving Arnulf more pause for concern. In 919, the death of Conrad I allowed Arnulf to return to Bavaria and expel the king's forces. Conrad I being childless, the throne was open to Arnulf, again. On his return, according to the '' Annales iuvavenses'', in 920, ''Baiuarii sponte se reddiderunt Arnolfo duci et regnare ei fecerunt in regno teutonicorum'' ("the Bavarians freely submitted themselves to Duke Arnulf and asked him to reign within the realm of the Germans"). The 919 ascension of Henry the Fowler would bring forth a battle for the throne; however, whether the Bavarians, with some other East Franks, actually elected Arnulf anti-king in opposition to Henry has not been conclusively established. In any case, Arnulf's "reign" was short-lived; King Henry I turned out to be a strong opponent and defeated him in two campaigns in 921. When Arnulf was besieged by Henry in Regensburg, the duke entered into peace negotiations and recognized the sovereignty of the German king. King Henry confirmed Arnulf's autonomous rule over Bavaria, including the right of investiture and several important regalia, in return for Arnulf's renunciation of his royal claim.


Later years

Arnulf accompanied King Henry I on his 928 campaign against Duke Wenceslaus of Bohemia. In 935 he launched an attack against King Hugh of Provence to obtain the Iron Crown of Lombardy for his eldest son Eberhard, which only resulted in defeat. After King Henry had died in 936, the Duke attended the coronation of his son Otto as
King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...
at Aachen Cathedral. Duke Arnulf died in his Regensburg residence on 14 July 937; he was succeeded by his son Eberhard, who nevertheless was deposed by King Otto in 938. Arnulf is buried at St. Emmeram's Abbey. A
commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
in tribute to him was attached to the Walhalla memorial in 1842.


Marriage and children

Historians believed Arnulf was married to Judith of Friuli, a member of the Unruoching dynasty, daughter of Count Eberhard of Friuli (d. 866). The dates, however, do not match up. Judith of Friuli died ca. 881. This would have made a marriage between a boy (or at least young) Arnulf and an elder Judith, who was supposed to have produced several children 23 years or so after her death. More likely, therefore, is that he was married to Judith of Sülichgau (born ca. 888), daughter of Margrave Eberhard's grandson Count Eberhard of Sülichgau (d. after 889) and Gisela of Verona. They had the following children: * Eberhard ( – ),
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...
from 937 to 938 *Arnulf II ( – 954),
Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...
of
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 ...
from 938 *Herman (d. 954) *Henry *Louis (born , died after 974) * Judith (died after 984), married the Ottonian duke Henry I of Bavaria, brother of
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
. *Berthold I, Margrave of Nordgau (maybe identical to Berthold, Count of Schweinfurt, Margrave of Nordgau), founder of the branch of Schweinfurt. *Adelheid married Burkhard, Margrave of (later Austria)


References


Sources

* * {{Authority control 937 deaths 10th-century kings of East Francia 10th-century dukes of Bavaria Burials at St. Emmeram's Abbey Luitpoldings Year of birth unknown Anti-kings