Luitpold (or Liutpold) (modern ''Leopold'') (died 4 July 907), perhaps of the Huosi family or related to the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

by Liutswind, mother of Emperor

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor, ...

, was the ancestor of the Luitpolding dynasty which ruled

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 ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

until the mid-tenth century.

Biography

In 893, he was appointed

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

in the

March of Carinthia March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...

and Upper

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

by Arnulf of Carinthia, then King of

East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

. Luitpold succeeded the deposed Margrave Engelschalk II of the Wilhelminer family; unlike his predecessors he could extend his power unimpeded by the mighty Margrave Aribo, acquiring numerous counties in Carinthia as well as on 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 ...

and in the Nordgau around

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 ...

from 895 on, and setting himself up as the most prominent of Bavaria's aristocracy. Though he thereby laid the foundations of the renewed

stem duchy A stem duchy (, from '':wikt:Stamm, Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Baiuvarii, Bavarians and Alemanni, Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dyna ...

, it was his son Arnulf the Bad who, based on his father's acquisitions, first assumed the title of a Bavarian duke. As Luitpold remained a loyal supporter of the Carolingian monarch Arnulf of Carinthia and his son

Louis the Child Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...

, he enjoyed their support and was entrusted with the defence at the Hungarian and

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n borders. In 898 he fought successfully against Mojmír II, the king of Great Moravia, on behalf of the king's rebellious brother Svatopluk II and forced Mojmír to become a vassal of Arnulf. In 903, Luitpold held the title of a ''dux Boemanorum'', "Duke in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

". He organised the Frankish defence against the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

under Grand Prince

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

after invading Hungary, on 4 July 907 was killed east of Vienna in the

Battle of Pressburg The Battle of Pressburg (), or Battle of Pozsony (), or Battle of Bratislava () was a three-day-long battle fought between 4 and 6 July 907, during which the East Francian army, consisting mainly of Bavarian troops led by Margrave Luitpold, was ...

Marriage and issue

Luitpold married Cunigunde of Swabia, daughter of Berthold I, royal

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 ...

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

, and sister of Duke Erchanger of Swabia, a member of the Ahalolfing dynasty. After Luitpold's death Cunigunda married King

Conrad I of Germany Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen as ...

in 913. Luitpold had two sons by her: * Arnulf the Bad, Duke of Bavaria from 907 to 937 * Berthold, Duke of Bavaria from 938 to 948. From his descendants' titles, Luitpold is often called a duke of Bavaria or margrave of Bavaria, the latter title being more accurate to his actual status.

References

Sources

239 {{DEFAULTSORT:Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria 9th-century births 907 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century dukes of Bavaria 10th-century dukes of Bavaria Margraves of Germany Military personnel killed in action Luitpoldings