Radulf or Ratolf was the Duke of Thuringia (or the Sorbian March

Sorbian March

The Sorb 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 Thuringia....

) from 874 until his death. Radulf was the successor and possibly son of Thachulf

Thachulf, Duke of Thuringia

Thacholf, Thachulf, Thaculf, or Thakulf was the Duke of Thuringia from 849 until his death. He held the titles of comes and dux and he ruled over a marca...

.

On Thachulf's death in August 873, the Sorbs

Sorbs

Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...

, Siusli, and their neighbours revolted. Radulf and Liutbert, Archbishop of Mainz

Liutbert, Archbishop of Mainz

Liutbert was the Archbishop of Mainz from 863 until his death. He also became Abbot of Ellwangen in 874 and is reckoned the first Archchancellor of Germany...

, crossed the Saale

Saale

The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...

 in January 874 and through a campaign of pillage and fire brought the Slavs into submission without a battle.

Sources

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