Adalbert of Babenberg (c. 854 – 9 September 906 http://www.toveogflemming.dk/tove/per19696.htm, Adalbert I (Pious), Hertug Von Franconia) was a member of the Frankish

house of Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its ...

. He was the son of Margrave Henry I of Babenberg and either Ingeltrude or Judith of Friuli.

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

Adalbert was one of the most important representatives during the

Babenberg feud The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...

, a quarrel between the Babenbergs and Conradine families. His sister Hedwiga was married to

Otto I of Saxony Otto ( – 30 November 912), called the Illustrious (german: Otto der Erlauchte) by later authors, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 880 to his death. Family Otto was a younger son of the Saxon count Liudolf (d. 866), t ...

. On 27 February 906 an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

led by Adalbert attacked the Conradines near Fritzlar. During the fight Conrad the Elder was killed. After Adalbert had withdrawn to Castle

Theres Theres is a municipality on the river Main, in the district of Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany. It was once the site of Theres Abbey Theres Abbey (german: Kloster Theres) was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Theres in the district of ...

he was besieged by the royal army. The king's envoy, archbishop of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

and chancellor

Hatto I Hatto I (c. 850 – 15 May 913) was Archbishop of Mainz (Mayence) from 891 until his death. Hatto belonged to a Swabian family, and was probably educated at the monastery of Reichenau, of which he became abbot in 888. He was also abbot of Ellwan ...

, promised him a safe conduct. However, when Adalbert left the castle he was taken prisoner, convicted and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

. After that the Babenbergs lost all their

offices An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

and possessions in the

Duchy of Franconia The Duchy of Franconia (german: Herzogtum Franken) was one of the five stem duchies of East Francia and the medieval Kingdom of Germany emerging in the early 10th century. The word Franconia, first used in a Latin charter of 1053, was applied l ...

References

*
Graf Adalbert
article in the '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Adalbert of Babenberg Babenberg 850s births 906 deaths Year of birth uncertain