Alamannia
Encyclopedia
Alamannia or Alemannia was the territory inhabited by the Germanic
Alamanni
after they broke through the Roman limes in 213.
The Alamanni expanded from the Main
basin during the 3rd century, raiding the Roman provinces and settling on the left bank of the Rhine from the 4th century.
Ruled by independent tribal kings during the 4th to 5th centuries, Alamannia lost its independence and became a duchy of the Frankish Empire
in the 6th century, and with the beginning formation of the Holy Roman Empire
under Conrad I
in 911 became the Duchy of Swabia
. The term Swabia
was often used interchangeably with Alamannia in the 10th to 13th centuries.
The territory of Alamannia as it existed from the 7th to 9th centuries corresponds roughly to what is today the German region of Swabia
, the French Alsace
and the eastern part of the Swiss plateau
(Eastern
and Central Switzerland
).
during the 3rd century, and were ruled by kings throughout the 4th and 5th centuries until 496, when they were defeated by Clovis I
of the Franks
at the Battle of Tolbiac
.
The Alamanni during the Roman Empire period were divided into a number of cantons or goviae, each presided by a tribal king. But there appears to have been the custom of the individual kings uniting under the leadership of a single king in military expeditions.
Some kings of the Alamanni of the 4th and 5th centuries are known by name, the first being Chrocus
(died 306), a military leader who organized raids across the limes during the 3rd century.
Chnodomarius
(fl.
350) supported Constantius II
in the rebellion of Magnentius
.
Chnodomarius was the leader of the Alamannic army in the battle of Strasbourg
in 357.
Macrian
, Hariobaud, Urius, Ursicinus, Vadomar, and Vestralp were Alamannic kings who in 359 made treaties with Julian the Apostate
. Macrian was deposed in an expedition ordered by Valentinian I
in 370.
Macrian appears to have been involved in building a large alliance of Alamannic tribes against Rome, which earned him the title of turbarum rex artifex ("king and crafter of unrest"). The Romans installed Fraomar as a successor of Marcian, but the Bucinobantes
would not accept him and he was expelled and Macrian restored and Valentinian made the Bucinobantes
his foederati in the war against the Franks
. Macrian was killed on campaign against the Franks, in an ambush laid by the Frankish king Mallobaudes
.
Gibuld
(fl. 470) is the last known king of the Alamanni. His raid on Passau
is mentioned in the vita of Saint Lupus
. The name of Gibuld's successor who was defeated at Tolbiac is not known.
of the Ostrogoths, but after his death they were again subjugated by the Franks (539), under Theuderic I
and Theudebert I
. Thereafter, Alamannia was a nominal dukedom within Francia.
Though ruled by their own dukes, it is not likely that they were very often united under one duke in the 6th and 7th centuries. The Alamanni most frequently appear as auxiliaries in expeditions to Italy. The Duchy of Alsace
was Alamannic, but it was ruled by a line of Frankish dukes and the region around the upper Danube
and Neckar
rivers was ruled by the Ahalolfing family and not by the ducal house which ruled central Alamannia around Lake Constance
. Rhaetia too, though Alamannic, was ruled by the Victorids
coterminously with the Diocese of Chur
.
Alamannia was Christianised during the 7th century, although not as thoroughly as either Francia to its west or Bavaria
to its east.
The first Alamannic law code, Pactus Alamannorum, dates to this period.
The Roman dioceses of Strasbourg and Basel covered Alsace and that of Chur, as mentioned, Rhaetia. Alamannia itself only had a diocese in the east, at Augsburg (early 7th century).
There were two Roman bishoprics, Windisch and Octodurum, which were moved early to other sites (Avenches
and Sitten respectively). Western Alamannia did eventually (7th century) receive a diocese (Constance) through the cooperation of the bishops of Chur and the Merovingian monarchs. The foundation of Constance is obscure, though it was the largest diocese in Germany throughout the Merovingian and early Carolingian
era. The dioceses of Alamannia, including Chur, which had been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Mainz by the Carolingians.
After the death of Dagobert I
in 638, Alamannia, like Bavaria, Aquitaine, and Brittany, broke its ties with its Frankish sovereigns and struggled for independence. This was largely successful until the early 8th century, when a series of campaigns waged by the Arnulfing mayors of the palace reduced Alamannia to a province of Francia once again.
It was, however, during this period of de facto independence that the Alamanni began to be ruled by one duke, though Alsace and Rhaetia remained outside of the scope of Alamannia. Between 709 and 712, Pepin of Heristal fought against Lantfrid
, who appears as dux of the Alamanni, and who committed to writing the second Alamannic law code, the Lex Alamannorum
.
In 743, Pepin the Short and Carloman
waged a campaign to reduce Alamannia and in 746 Carloman began a final thrust to subdue the Alamannic nobility. Several thousand Alamanni noblemen were summarily arrested, tried, and executed them for treason at a Council at Cannstatt
. Thereafter, Alamanni was ruled by Franks and the only remaining native Alamannic nobility seems to have hailed from Alsace.
, there were tendencies to renewed independence in Alamanni, and the 830s were marked by bloody feuds between the Alamannic and Rhaetian nobility vying for dominion over the area. Following the Treaty of Verdun
of 843, Alamannia became a province of East Francia, the kingdom of Louis the German
, the precursor of the Kingdom of Germany
. It was called a regnum in contemporary sources, though this does not necessarily mean that it was a kingdom or subkingdom. At times, however, it was. It was granted to Charles the Bald
in 829, though it is not certain whether he was recognised as duke or king. It was certainly a kingdom, including Alsace and Rhaetia, when it was granted to Charles the Fat
in the division of East Francia in 876. Under Charles, the Alammania became the centre of the Empire, but after his deposition, it found itself out of favour. Though ethnically singular, it was still plagued by Rhaetian-Alamannic feuds and fighting over the control of the Alammanic church.
Alamannia in the late 9th century, like Bavaria, Saxony
, and Franconia
, sought to unite itself under one duke, but it had considerably less success than either Saxony or Bavaria. Alammannia was one of the jüngeres Stammesherzogtum
, one of the "younger" stem duchies, or tibal duchies, which formed the basis of the political organisation of East Francia after the collapse of the Carolingian dynasty in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. In the 10th century, no noble house of Alamannia succeeded in fouding a ducal dynasty, as the Ottonians did in Saxony or the Liutpolding in Bavaria, though the Hunfridings
came closest.
The duchy encompassed the area surrounding Lake Constance, the Black Forest
, and the left and right banks of the Rhine, including Alsace and parts of the Swiss plateau
, bordering on Upper Burgundy
. The boundary with Burgundy, fixed in 843, ran along the lower Aare, turning towards the south at the Rhine, passing west of Lucerne
and across the Alps
along the upper Rhône
to the Saint Gotthard Pass. In the north, the boundary ran from the Murg
(some 30 km south of Karlsruhe
) to Heilbronn
and the Nördlinger Ries
. The eastern boundary was at the Lech River
. Argovia was disputed territory between the dukes of Alamannia and Burgundy.
From the tenth century onwards, Alamannia is more typically known as the Duchy of Swabia
.
persists as a separate family of dialects
within High German.
The distribution of the Low Alemannic and High Alemannic subgroups largely correspond to the extent of historical Alemannia, while the Highest Alemannic dialects spread beyond its limits during the High Middle Ages. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line
is a cultural boundary within High Alemannic which marks the division of Alemannia proper and the Argovia marches between Alemannia and Burgundy.
The names for Germany in modern Arabic
(ألمانيا), Catalan
(Alemanya), Welsh
(Yr Almaen), Cornish
(Almayn), French
(Allemagne), Persian
(Alman), Portuguese
(Alemanha), Spanish
(Alemania), and Turkish
(Almanya) all derive from Alamannia. A similar correspondence exists for "German", both as the language and the adjectival form of "Germany".
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
after they broke through the Roman limes in 213.
The Alamanni expanded from the Main
Main river
Main rivers are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also include some smaller watercourses. A main river is defined as a watercourse marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure or appliance for controlling or regulating...
basin during the 3rd century, raiding the Roman provinces and settling on the left bank of the Rhine from the 4th century.
Ruled by independent tribal kings during the 4th to 5th centuries, Alamannia lost its independence and became a duchy of the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
in the 6th century, and with the beginning formation of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
under Conrad I
Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I , called the Younger, was Duke of Franconia from 906 and King of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine dynasty...
in 911 became the Duchy of Swabia
Duchy of Swabia
Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany.-History:...
. The term Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
was often used interchangeably with Alamannia in the 10th to 13th centuries.
The territory of Alamannia as it existed from the 7th to 9th centuries corresponds roughly to what is today the German region of Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
, the French Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and the eastern part of the Swiss plateau
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...
(Eastern
Eastern Switzerland
Eastern Switzerland is the common name of the region situated to the north of Glarus Alps, with the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus...
and Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug....
).
Tribal kingdoms
Originally a loose confederation of unrelated tribes, the Alamanni underwent coalescence or ethnogenesisEthnogenesis
Ethnogenesis is the process by which a group of human beings comes to be understood or to understand themselves as ethnically distinct from the wider social landscape from which their grouping emerges...
during the 3rd century, and were ruled by kings throughout the 4th and 5th centuries until 496, when they were defeated by Clovis I
Clovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
at the Battle of Tolbiac
Battle of Tolbiac
The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks under Clovis I and the Alamanni, traditionally set in 496. The site of "Tolbiac", or "Tulpiacum" is usually given as Zülpich, North Rhine-Westphalia, about 60km east of the present German-Belgian frontier, which is not implausible...
.
The Alamanni during the Roman Empire period were divided into a number of cantons or goviae, each presided by a tribal king. But there appears to have been the custom of the individual kings uniting under the leadership of a single king in military expeditions.
Chrocus
Chrocus or Crocus, also Croc, Krokus, Crochus or Croscus was a leader of the Alamanni in the late 3rd century. In 260, he led an uprising of the Alamanni against the Roman Empire, traversing the Upper Germanic Limes and advancing as far as Clermont, and possibly as far as Ravenna, and he was...
(died 306), a military leader who organized raids across the limes during the 3rd century.
Chnodomarius
Chnodomarius
Chnodomarius, also Chnodomar, cognate to the Germanic Gundmar, was the king of an Alamannic canton in what is now south-west Germany, near the Rhine from sometime before 352 till 357...
(fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
350) supported Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
in the rebellion of Magnentius
Magnentius
Flavius Magnus Magnentius was a usurper of the Roman Empire .-Early life and career:...
.
Chnodomarius was the leader of the Alamannic army in the battle of Strasbourg
Battle of Strasbourg
The Battle of Strasbourg, also known as the Battle of Argentoratum, was fought in 357 between the Late Roman army under the Caesar Julian and the Alamanni tribal confederation led by the joint paramount king Chnodomar...
in 357.
Macrian
Macrian
Macrian or Makrian was the king of the Bucinobantes, an Alemannic tribe, in the late fourth century and the brother of Hariobaud. Macrian tried to confederate all the north Germanic and Alemannic tribes together against Rome....
, Hariobaud, Urius, Ursicinus, Vadomar, and Vestralp were Alamannic kings who in 359 made treaties with Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
. Macrian was deposed in an expedition ordered by Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
in 370.
Macrian appears to have been involved in building a large alliance of Alamannic tribes against Rome, which earned him the title of turbarum rex artifex ("king and crafter of unrest"). The Romans installed Fraomar as a successor of Marcian, but the Bucinobantes
Bucinobantes
The Bucinobantes were an Alemannic tribe in the region of the modern city of Mainz on the river Main.The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that Caesar Julian crossed the river Rhine near Mainz in 359 for negotiations with Macrian, the chieftain of the Bucinobantes, and with other...
would not accept him and he was expelled and Macrian restored and Valentinian made the Bucinobantes
Bucinobantes
The Bucinobantes were an Alemannic tribe in the region of the modern city of Mainz on the river Main.The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that Caesar Julian crossed the river Rhine near Mainz in 359 for negotiations with Macrian, the chieftain of the Bucinobantes, and with other...
his foederati in the war against the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. Macrian was killed on campaign against the Franks, in an ambush laid by the Frankish king Mallobaudes
Mallobaudes
Mallobaudes or Mellobaudes was a 4th-century Frankish king who also held the Roman title of comes domesticorum.In 354 he was a tribunus armaturarum in the Roman army in Gaul, where he served under Silvanus, who usurped power in 355. Malobaudes tried unsuccessfully to intervene on his behalf...
.
Gibuld
Gibuld
Gibuld was a king of the Alamanni. He is the last known king before the defeat of the Alamanni at the battle of Tolbiac in 496.Gibuld is known from two hagiographic sources, the contemporary Vita Severini by Eugippus,, where his name is latinized as Gibuldus, and the later Vita Lupi where it is...
(fl. 470) is the last known king of the Alamanni. His raid on Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
is mentioned in the vita of Saint Lupus
Saint Lupus
Saint Lupus may refer to:*Lupus of Troyes , early bishop of Troyes*Lupus of Sens, bishop of Sens...
. The name of Gibuld's successor who was defeated at Tolbiac is not known.
Merovingian duchy
After their defeat in 496, the Alamanni bucked the Frankish yoke and put themselves under the protection of Theodoric the GreatTheodoric the Great
Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire...
of the Ostrogoths, but after his death they were again subjugated by the Franks (539), under Theuderic I
Theuderic I
Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534....
and Theudebert I
Theudebert I
Theudebert I was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald....
. Thereafter, Alamannia was a nominal dukedom within Francia.
Though ruled by their own dukes, it is not likely that they were very often united under one duke in the 6th and 7th centuries. The Alamanni most frequently appear as auxiliaries in expeditions to Italy. The Duchy of Alsace
Duchy of Alsace
The Duchy of Alsace was a large political subdivision of the Frankish Empire during the last decade and a half of Merovingian rule. It corresponded to the territory of Alsace and was carved out of southern Austrasia in the last decade of the reign of Dagobert I, probably to stabilise the southern...
was Alamannic, but it was ruled by a line of Frankish dukes and the region around the upper Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and Neckar
Neckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
rivers was ruled by the Ahalolfing family and not by the ducal house which ruled central Alamannia around Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
. Rhaetia too, though Alamannic, was ruled by the Victorids
Victorids
The Victorids were a powerful family in Rhaetia during the seventh and eighth centuries, dominating the region politically and controlling the diocese of Chur. The family is termed after the continued use of the name Victor....
coterminously with the Diocese of Chur
Diocese of Chur
The Diocese of Chur comprises the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden , Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri.-History:A Bishop of Chur is first mentioned in 451/ 452 when its Bishop Saint Asimo attended the Synod of Milan, but probably existed a century earlier...
.
Alamannia was Christianised during the 7th century, although not as thoroughly as either Francia to its west or Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
to its east.
The first Alamannic law code, Pactus Alamannorum, dates to this period.
The Roman dioceses of Strasbourg and Basel covered Alsace and that of Chur, as mentioned, Rhaetia. Alamannia itself only had a diocese in the east, at Augsburg (early 7th century).
There were two Roman bishoprics, Windisch and Octodurum, which were moved early to other sites (Avenches
Avenches
Avenches is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully.-History:The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts...
and Sitten respectively). Western Alamannia did eventually (7th century) receive a diocese (Constance) through the cooperation of the bishops of Chur and the Merovingian monarchs. The foundation of Constance is obscure, though it was the largest diocese in Germany throughout the Merovingian and early Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
era. The dioceses of Alamannia, including Chur, which had been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Mainz by the Carolingians.
After the death of Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
in 638, Alamannia, like Bavaria, Aquitaine, and Brittany, broke its ties with its Frankish sovereigns and struggled for independence. This was largely successful until the early 8th century, when a series of campaigns waged by the Arnulfing mayors of the palace reduced Alamannia to a province of Francia once again.
It was, however, during this period of de facto independence that the Alamanni began to be ruled by one duke, though Alsace and Rhaetia remained outside of the scope of Alamannia. Between 709 and 712, Pepin of Heristal fought against Lantfrid
Lantfrid
Lantfrid was duke of Alamannia under Frankish sovereignty from 709 until his death. He was the son of duke Gotfrid...
, who appears as dux of the Alamanni, and who committed to writing the second Alamannic law code, the Lex Alamannorum
Lex Alamannorum
The terms Lex Alamannorum and Pactus Alamannorum refer to two early medieval law codes of the Alamanni. They were first edited in parts in 1530 by Johannes Sichard in Basel.-Pactus Alamannorum:...
.
In 743, Pepin the Short and Carloman
Carloman, son of Charles Martel
Carloman was the eldest son of Charles Martel, major domo or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud. On Charles' death , Carloman and his brother Pippin the Short succeeded to their father's legal positions, Carloman in Austrasia, and Pippin in Neustria...
waged a campaign to reduce Alamannia and in 746 Carloman began a final thrust to subdue the Alamannic nobility. Several thousand Alamanni noblemen were summarily arrested, tried, and executed them for treason at a Council at Cannstatt
Blood court at Cannstatt
The blood court at Cannstatt took place as Carloman in 746 invited all nobles of the Alamanni to a council at Cannstatt. According to the annals of Metz, the annales Petaviani and an account by Childebrand, Carloman arrested several thousand noblemen and executed them for high treason...
. Thereafter, Alamanni was ruled by Franks and the only remaining native Alamannic nobility seems to have hailed from Alsace.
Carolingian regnum
During the reign of Louis the PiousLouis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, there were tendencies to renewed independence in Alamanni, and the 830s were marked by bloody feuds between the Alamannic and Rhaetian nobility vying for dominion over the area. Following the Treaty of Verdun
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun was a treaty between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, the son and successor of Charlemagne, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms...
of 843, Alamannia became a province of East Francia, the kingdom of Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
, the precursor of the Kingdom of Germany
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
. It was called a regnum in contemporary sources, though this does not necessarily mean that it was a kingdom or subkingdom. At times, however, it was. It was granted to Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
in 829, though it is not certain whether he was recognised as duke or king. It was certainly a kingdom, including Alsace and Rhaetia, when it was granted to Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
in the division of East Francia in 876. Under Charles, the Alammania became the centre of the Empire, but after his deposition, it found itself out of favour. Though ethnically singular, it was still plagued by Rhaetian-Alamannic feuds and fighting over the control of the Alammanic church.
Alamannia in the late 9th century, like Bavaria, Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
, and Franconia
Duchy of Franconia
The Duchy of Franconia was one of the stem duchies of Germany during the formative period of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, part of former Frankish Austrasia.But unlike the others Franconia did not evolve into a stable political entity...
, sought to unite itself under one duke, but it had considerably less success than either Saxony or Bavaria. Alammannia was one of the jüngeres Stammesherzogtum
Stem duchy
Stem duchies were essentially the domains of the old German tribes of the area, associated with the Frankish Kingdom, especially the East, in the Early Middle Ages. These tribes were originally the Franks, the Saxons, the Alamanni, the Burgundians, the Thuringii, and the Rugii...
, one of the "younger" stem duchies, or tibal duchies, which formed the basis of the political organisation of East Francia after the collapse of the Carolingian dynasty in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. In the 10th century, no noble house of Alamannia succeeded in fouding a ducal dynasty, as the Ottonians did in Saxony or the Liutpolding in Bavaria, though the Hunfridings
Hunfridings
The Hunfridings or Burchardings 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 of Istria and, according to some sources, last Duke of Friuli under...
came closest.
The duchy encompassed the area surrounding Lake Constance, the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
, and the left and right banks of the Rhine, including Alsace and parts of the Swiss plateau
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...
, bordering on Upper Burgundy
Upper Burgundy
Upper Burgundy is the part of Burgundy east of the Jura mountains, that together with the western County of Burgundy from 868 formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, encompassing both sides of the Jura mountains range...
. The boundary with Burgundy, fixed in 843, ran along the lower Aare, turning towards the south at the Rhine, passing west of Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
and across the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
along the upper Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
to the Saint Gotthard Pass. In the north, the boundary ran from the Murg
Murg
The Murg is a river and right tributary of the Rhine in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Source:The river has numerous tributaries and is known as the Murg only from the point of confluence of the rivers Rechtmurg and Rotmurg in the community of Obertal, a part of Baiersbronn...
(some 30 km south of Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
) to Heilbronn
Heilbronn
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
and the Nördlinger Ries
Nördlinger Ries
The Nördlinger Ries is a large circular depression in western Bavaria, Germany, located north of the Danube in the district of Donau-Ries. The city of Nördlingen is located about southwest of the centre of the depression....
. The eastern boundary was at the Lech River
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
. Argovia was disputed territory between the dukes of Alamannia and Burgundy.
From the tenth century onwards, Alamannia is more typically known as the Duchy of Swabia
Duchy of Swabia
Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany.-History:...
.
Legacy
Alemannic GermanAlemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...
persists as a separate family of dialects
German dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
within High German.
The distribution of the Low Alemannic and High Alemannic subgroups largely correspond to the extent of historical Alemannia, while the Highest Alemannic dialects spread beyond its limits during the High Middle Ages. The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line
Brünig-Napf-Reuss line
The Brünig-Napf-Reuss line forms a geographical boundary in traditional Swiss culture . Running from the Brünig Pass along the Napf region to the Reuss River , it partly separates western and eastern varieties of High Alemannic, although some places east of the line belong to the western dialect...
is a cultural boundary within High Alemannic which marks the division of Alemannia proper and the Argovia marches between Alemannia and Burgundy.
The names for Germany in modern Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
(ألمانيا), Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
(Alemanya), Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
(Yr Almaen), Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
(Almayn), French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(Allemagne), Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
(Alman), Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
(Alemanha), Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(Alemania), and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
(Almanya) all derive from Alamannia. A similar correspondence exists for "German", both as the language and the adjectival form of "Germany".
Kings
Known kings of Alamannia prior to AD 496:- ChrocusChrocusChrocus or Crocus, also Croc, Krokus, Crochus or Croscus was a leader of the Alamanni in the late 3rd century. In 260, he led an uprising of the Alamanni against the Roman Empire, traversing the Upper Germanic Limes and advancing as far as Clermont, and possibly as far as Ravenna, and he was...
306 - Mederich (father of Agenarich, brother to Chnodomar)
- Chnodomar 350, 357
- Vestralp 357, 359
- Ur 357, 359
- Agenarich (Serapio) 357
- Suomar 357, 358
- Hortar 357, 359
- Gundomad 354 (co-regent of Vadomar)
- Ursicin 357, 359
- Makrian 368–371
- RandoRandoRando may refer to:* Rando Ayamine , manga artist* Rando , a fictional character from the anime and manga series YuYu Hakusho* slang for a random person...
368 - Hariobaud 4th c.
- Vadomar vor 354–360
- Vithicab 360–368
- Priarius ?–378
- GibuldGibuldGibuld was a king of the Alamanni. He is the last known king before the defeat of the Alamanni at the battle of Tolbiac in 496.Gibuld is known from two hagiographic sources, the contemporary Vita Severini by Eugippus,, where his name is latinized as Gibuldus, and the later Vita Lupi where it is...
(Gebavult) c. 470
Merovingian dukes
- Butilin 539–554
- Leuthari I before 552–554
- Haming 539–554
- Lantachar until 548 (Avenches diocese)
- Magnachar 565 (Avenches diocese)
- Vaefar 573 (Avenches diocese)
- TheodefridTheodefridTheodefrid was the Frankish duke of the Alemanni in the Diocese of Avenches until 573, when Marius became bishop and took over the secular affairs of the diocese. Marius in his Chronicon mentioned five dukes that ruled Avenches between 548 and 573. Theodefrid was the last and a successor of Vaefar...
- LeutfredLeutfredLeutfred, Leutfried, or Leudefredus was the Duke of Alemannia from 570. He was deposed from his ducal office in 587 by the Frankish king Childebert II and replaced by Uncilin.-Sources:...
until 588 - Uncilin 588–607
- GunzoGunzoGunzo was a 7th century duke of the Alamanni under Frankish sovereignty. His residence was at villa Iburninga at Lake Constance...
613 - ChrodobertChrodobertChrodobert, Crodobert, or Crodebert was an Aleman dux of the early seventh century . He probably ruled in the south of the region later known as Swabia....
630 - Leuthari IILeuthari IILeutharis, Leuthari, Leuthard, or Leutharius II was the Duke of Alamannia in the early seventh century.Leuthari murdered Otto, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia, in 643. By doing so he made Grimoald I the mayor of the palace for Sigebert III...
642 - GotfridGotfridGotfrid, Gotefrid, or Gottfried was the Duke of Alemannia in the late seventh century and until his death. He was of the house of the Agilolfing, which was the dominant ruling family in Bavaria....
until 709 - WillehariWillehariWillehari or Willihari was an Alemannic duke in the Ortenau in the early eighth century.According to the Vita Sancti Desiderii, Pepin of Heristal of the Franks, led two expeditions against Willehari in 709 and 712...
709–712 (in OrtenauOrtenauThe Ortenau is a historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, located on the right bank of the River Rhine. It covers approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day district....
) - LantfridLantfridLantfrid was duke of Alamannia under Frankish sovereignty from 709 until his death. He was the son of duke Gotfrid...
709–730 - TheudebaldTheudebald, Duke of AlamanniaTheudebald or Theutbald was the Duke of Alamannia from 730 until his deposition. He was a son of Gotfrid and brother and co-ruler with Lantfrid from 709....
709–744
Sources
- Reuter, TimothyTimothy ReuterTimothy Alan Reuter , 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 institutions of the Ottonian and Salian periods .Reuter received his D.phil from Oxford in...
. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991.