Rudolf ( la, Ruadolfus) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

nobleman of the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...

, attested as the duke of

Rhaetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Tr ...

in 890–92. He probably succeeded his cousin Conrad (died 876) as duke. He was one of fives sons of Rudolf, count of Ponthieu, and hroudun. He is sometimes numbered Rudolf II to distinguish him from his father. In 864, Conrad was described as "duke of the Rhaetians and a part of the Jura" (''Raeticarum vel Jurensium partium dux''). In 890, Rudolf was described as simply "duke of the Rhaetians" (''dux Raetionorum''), although this might not be taken to exclude his rule in part of the Jura as well. Between 870 and 885, Rudolf was count in the

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

and Zürichgau in Rhaetia. He may also have been count in Augstgau, east of the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, between 870 and 891. Although it is probable, it cannot be proved that the same Rudolf held each of these counties or that he was the same person as the later duke of Rhaetia; the evidence is too sparse. He supported

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 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 emperor from Feb ...

's claim to the kingdom of

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

after the deposition of

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

in 887. He was a close relative of the

Ahalolfings The Alaholfings (occasionally Ahalolfings) were a noble family of Alemannia in the Early Middle Ages. They were related to the previous rulers of Alemannia, to the Bavarian Agilolfings and to the Geroldings. Their original power base was around t ...

, a prominent family in Alemannia.

Richardis Saint Richardis ( la, Richgardis, Richardis), also known as Richgard, Richardis of Swabia and Richarde de Souabe in French ( 840 – 18 September, between 894 and 896 AD), was the Holy Roman Empress as the wife of Charles the Fat. She was re ...

, the repudiated wife of Charles the Fat, was an Ahalolfing. It is possible that Rudolf's support for Arnulf stemmed from the treatment Richardis had received from Charles. In 890, Charles's son

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

rebelled against Arnulf in Alemannia. He was forced to flee to Italy later that year, but he returned in the winter of 891–92. At that time, Rudolf killed him; how and in what circumstances are unknown. These events are not mentioned in the main East Frankish source, the ''

Annals of Fulda The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the ac ...

'', rather they come from brief notices in the ''

Annales Alamannici The ''Annales Almannici'', which are also referred to as the ''Annals of St. Gall'', provide one of the earliest records of Medieval Europe available. The core text of the ''Annales Alamannici'' covers the years 709 through to 799. Spread over se ...

'' and ''

Annales Laubacenses Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'', which record that in 890, "Bernard, Charles's son, barely escaped the net", and in 891 (which possibly should be 892), he "was killed by Rudolf", without specifying who Rudolf was. By 903 Rudolf had been succeeded in Rhaetia by

Burchard I Burchard I ( – 5 or 23 November 911), a member of the Hunfriding dynasty, was a Duke of Alamannia from 909 until his death. He also held the title of a margrave of Raetia Curiensis, as well as count in the Thurgau and Baar. Life Burchard was t ...

, who would expand ducal authority, leading to the creation of the

duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia (German: ''Herzogtum Schwaben'') was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity. While the ...

. Rudolf was not related to Burchard, whose family, the

Hunfridings The Hunfridings or Burchardings (''Bouchardids'') were a family of probably Alemannic origin who rose to prominence in their homeland, eventually becoming the first ducal dynasty of Swabia. The first known member of the family was Hunfrid, Margrave ...

, were Alemannian rivals of Rudolf's relatives, the Ahalolfings.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{refend Elder House of Welf Nobility of the Carolingian Empire 9th-century people from East Francia