Rudolph, Duke Of Burgundy
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Rudolph (), sometimes called Ralph (; 890 – 14/15 January 936), was the king of
West Francia In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...
(France) from 923 until his death in 936. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law,
Robert I Robert I may refer to: * Robert I, Duke of Neustria (697–748) *Robert I of France (866–923), King of France, 922–923, rebelled against Charles the Simple * Rollo, Duke of Normandy (c. 846 – c. 930; reigned 911–927) * Robert I Archbishop o ...
, and spent much of his reign defending his realm from
Viking raids The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
.


Name

In contemporary
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
documents, his name is usually ''Rodulfus'', from the Germanic roots ''hruod'', "fame, glory", and ''wulf'', "wolf". Rodulf and Rudolf are variants of this name; the French form is ''Rodolphe''. By contrast, the king is normally known as ''Raoul'' in modern French, a name which derives from ''Radulfus'', from Germanic ''rad'', "counsel", and ''wulf'' (whence
Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...
). Although this name is of different origin, it was sometimes used interchangeably by contemporaries with ''Rodulfus''. The king himself, however, always used ''Rodulfus'', as on his personal seal. Nonetheless, he is sometimes called Ralph (from ''Raoul'') or Radulf in English.


Background

Rudolph was born around 890, the son of Richard the Justiciar and Adelaide of Auxerre. He inherited the
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
from his father in 921 and married Emma, daughter of King
Robert I of France Robert I ( – 15 June 923) was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquess, Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian ...
. He was elected to succeed his father-in-law, who was killed at the Battle of Soissons against the deposed King
Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...
. He was crowned by
Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
, the
archbishop of Sens The Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese co ...
, at Saint-Médard de Soissons on 13 July 923. On assuming the crown he passed the Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother, Hugh the Black.


Reign

Rudolph's first act was to lead an army against the 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 ...
Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
, who had made a pact with King Robert I at Jülich earlier in the year. After trying to annex
Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...
Henry met Rudolph with a considerably-sized army and made peace again. However, in 925 Henry attacked Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, and took over Lotharingia permanently, Rudolph being in no position to resist. In 924
Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
made a fresh series of raids into West Francia. From the
Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...
they threatened
Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...
, brother of Queen Emma, but Rudolph did nothing. They attacked Burgundy, the domain of Rudolph's brother, but were repulsed, and moved on to
Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the ÃŽle-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
, where they threatened the royal lands. Joined only by his ecclesiastic vassals and Herbert, Rudolph recruited troops in Burgundy, while Hugh the Great was convinced to join him. After the Vikings left, the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
, whom Charles the Simple had settled in
Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...
in 911, began ravaging that whole region. Herbert and Arnulf I of Flanders joined Rudolph and together they took Eu, but were ambushed near Fauquembergues where the king was wounded, the count of Ponthieu killed, and many Normans left dead on the field. Also in that year, Rudolph conversed with Louis the Blind,
king of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
, over 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 ...
, the newest barbarian migrants to Europe, then menacing Louis. In 930 Magyars invaded the region around Rheims, but left before the king could engage them. In 935 Magyars invaded Burgundy and Rudolph brought a large army against them, causing their retreat without a battle. West Francia was temporarily safe from both Vikings and Magyars at Rudolph's death. In order to increase his own power, Herbert II of Vermandois used his royal prisoner as a bargaining tool to secure the Archbishopric of Rheims for his son
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
in 925 and the County of
Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...
for his son Odo in 927. The complaints from Rudolph led Herbert II to bring Charles before
William Longsword William Longsword (, , , ; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, ...
, the
count of Rouen In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Nor ...
, for homage and then to
Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
to press Charles' claim on Pope John X. In 928 Herbert II finally got possession of Laon, but the next year Charles died at Péronne and Herbert II lost his leverage against Rudolph. After defeating Vikings of the
Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...
, Rudolph received the allegiance of the Aquitainians and homage from William Longsword, to whom he granted in 933 the islands off the coast of Normandy, now referred to as the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
. In 929 Rudolph attempted to reduce the power of Duke Ebalus of Aquitaine. He withdrew from him access to
Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...
, and in 932 granted the title of prince of Gothia to the
count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...
,
Raymond Pons Raymond Pons (''Regimundus Pontio''; died after 944), who may be numbered Raymond III or Pons I,He has traditionally been called Raymond III, but with the discovery of at least one and perhaps two additional Raymonds, this numerical designation is ...
, and his brother of Rouergue, Ermengol. He also transferred the County of Auvergne to Raymond. Moreover, the territory of the
march 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 2 ...
which was under the control of the lord of Charroux was transformed into an independent county. Later, however, Rudolph was campaigning with Ebalus in the south to eradicate the last Viking strongholds there. He then proceeded aggressively against Herbert II, marching into Rheims and replacing Hugh with Artald in 931. Then, joined by Hugh the Great, Rudolph burned Herbert's fortresses and cornered him in
Château-Thierry Château-Thierry (; Picard: ''Catieu-Thierry'') is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is u ...
, where he had first imprisoned Charles, from 933 to 934. The two made peace in 935 and Rudolph fell ill, dying a few months later on 14 or 15 January 936, leaving no sons.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * Gwatking, H. M., Whitney, J. P., et al. ''Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III – Germany and the Western Empire''.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
: London, 1930. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph of France 10th-century kings of West Francia Bosonids Dukes of Burgundy Frankish warriors 890s births 936 deaths