Thacholf, Thachulf, Thaculf, or Thakulf (died 1 August 873) was the

Duke of Thuringia Thuringia is a historical and political region of Central Germany. Kings of Thuringia *500?–507 Bisinus *507–529 Baderich *507–525 Berthachar *507–532 Herminafried :''Conquered by the Franks.'' Frankish dukes of Th ...

from 849 until his death. He held the titles of ''

comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

'' (

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

) and ''

dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

'' (

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

) and he ruled over a ''

marca Marca may refer to: Places * Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania * an alternative name for Merca, Somalia * Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru * Marçà, a vil ...

'' (march). He may have been the son of Hadulf, son of Thankulf. Thachulf was placed in charge of the

Sorbian March The Sorbian March (, , , ) was a frontier district on the eastern border of East Francia in the 9th through 11th centuries. It was composed of several counties bordering the Sorbs. The Sorbian March seems to have comprised the eastern part of Th ...

in 849 with the title of ''dux Sorabici limitis'', giving him military command over the counts with lands bordering the

Sorbs Sorbs (; ; ; ; ; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Germany, states of Saxony and Brandenburg. Sorbs tradi ...

. On account of his knowledge of Slavic customs, he was petitioned by the Sorbs with the offer of hostages for peace to protect them from the warmaking of Ernest, Duke of Bavaria, but he had been wounded in battle the day before the arrival of the Slav embassy and so could not be of assistance. Hiding his injury from the Slav delegates, he sent men to the other leaders of the Frankish host proposing terms with the Slavs, but the other generals suspected him of a ''coup'' to assume supreme command of the army and so ignored his representatives and made war anyway, being badly defeated in the process. According to the ''

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, 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 Fran ...

'', in 858, a Reichstag held at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

under

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

sent three armies to the eastern frontiers to reinforce the submission of the

Slavic tribes This is a list of early Slavic peoples reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500. Ancestors *Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers) ** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of Balts and Slav ...

. Carloman was sent against

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes called Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Hemma. He succeeded his father as the King of Eastern Francia on 28 August 876 and his ...

against the

Obodrites The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavs, West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian S ...

and Linonen, and Thachulf against the Sorbs, who were refusing to obey him. The armies of Carloman and Louis set out in July, but it is uncertain if Thachulf ever undertook a campaign, as the Sorbs rose in rebellion late in that year and do not appear to have been restless beforehand. The ''Annales Fuldenses'' may be incorrect about the timing of Thachulf's command to send an army against them. Thachulf died in the summer of 873. His death was immediately followed by the revolt of the Sorbs, Siusli, and their neighbours. The revolt was not put down until Liutbert and Radulf, Thachulf's successor, campaigned in January 874.

Sources

*
The Annals of Fulda
'. (Manchester Medieval Series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.)

Reuter, Timothy Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...

(trans.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992. {{Authority control 873 deaths Dukes of Thuringia Frankish warriors 9th-century dukes in Europe Year of birth unknown Carolingian dynasty