Conrad I the Elder was the count of several counties, most notably the Aargau

Aargau

Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...

 and Auxerre, 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...

, as well as Paris

Count of Paris

Count of Paris was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. Eventually, the count of Paris was elected to the French throne...

 from 859 to 862/4. He was also the lay abbot

Lay abbot

Lay abbot is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income.This custom existed principally in the Frankish Empire from the eighth...

 of Saint-Germaine in Auxerre

Auxerre

Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...

. Conrad's father was Welf

Welf (father of Judith)

Welf I of Altorf was the son of the 9th century Frankish count Rothard of Metz, to whom the sons of Charles Martel entrusted half of Alemannia. Welf was master of several counties in the southern Rhineland & Bavaria. His family became politically powerful when Louis the Pious chose his oldest...

.

He was one of the early Welfs, a member of the Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

n branch, and his sister Judith was the second wife of Louis the Pious

Louis 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...

. In 858, he and his family — his wife Adelaide of Tours

Adelaide of Tours

Adelaide of Tours was a daughter of Hugh of Tours and his wife Bava.She married first Conrad I, Count of Auxerre with whom she had two children, Hugh and Conrad the Younger....

 and his sons Hugh

Hugh the Abbot

Hugh the Abbot was a member of the Welf family, a son of Conrad I of Auxerre and Adelaide. After his father's death, his mother apparently married Robert the Strong, the margrave of Neustria. On Robert's death in 866, Hugh became the regent and guardian for Robert's sons, Odo and Robert.Hugh...

 and Conrad the Younger

Conrad II, Duke of Transjurane Burgundy

Conrad II the Younger was the Count of Auxerre from 864 until his death. He was a son of Conrad I of Auxerre, and Adelaide; an older brother of Hugh the Abbot; and a member of the Bavarian branch of the Welfs....

 — abandoned their sovereign 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...

 and went over 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...

, Judith's son. They were generously rewarded and Conrad was appointed to many countships. Louis the German confiscated his Bavarian fiefs and lands.

The Miracula Sancti Germani calls Conrad Chuonradus princeps (prince, sovereign), when recording his marriage. By some accounts his wife re-married to Robert the Strong

Robert the Strong

Robert IV the Strong , also known as Rutpert, was Margrave in Neustria. His family is named after him and called Robertians. He was first nominated by Charles the Bald missus dominicus in 853. Robert was the father of the kings Odo and Robert I of France. Robert was the great-grandfather of Hugh...

 after his death.

Sources

• The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Reuter, Timothy (trans.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.