Adalrich, Duke of Alsace
Encyclopedia
Adalrich also known as Eticho, was the Duke of Alsace, the founder of the family of the Etichonids
, and an important and influential figure in the power politic of late seventh-century Austrasia
.
Adalrich's family originated in the pagus Attoariensis around Dijon
in northern Burgundy. In the mid-seventh century they began to be major founders and patrons of monasteries in the region under a duke named Amalgar and his wife Aquilina. They founded a convent at Brégille and an abbey for men at Bèze
, installing children in both abbacies. They were succeeded by their third child, Adalrich, who was the father of Adalrich, Duke of Alsace.
to take the kingship of Neustria
and Burgundy
in 673 after the death of Chlothar III. He married Berswinda, a relative of Leodegar
, the famous Bishop of Autun, whose party he supported in the civil war which followed Childeric's assassination two years later (675). Adalrich was duke by March 675, when Childeric had granted him honores in Alsace with the title of dux
and asked him to transfer some land to the recently-founded (c. 662) abbey at Gregoriental on behalf of Abbot Valedio. This grant was most probably the result of his support for Childeric in Burgundy, which had often disputed possession of Alsace with Austrasia. Later writers saw Adalrich as the successor in Alsace of Duke Boniface
. After Childeric's assassination, Adalrich threw his support behind Dagobert II
for the Austrasian throne.
Adalrich abandoned Leodegar and went over to Ebroin
, the mayor of the palace
of Neustria, sometime before 677, when he appears as an ally of Theuderic, who granted him the monastery of Bèze. Taking advantage of the assassination of Hector of Provence
in 679 to bid for power in Provence, he marched on Lyon
but failed to take it and, returning to Alsace, switched his support to the Austrasians once more, only to find himself dispossessed of his lands in Alsace by King Theuderic III
, an ally (and puppet) of Ebroin's who had opposed Dagobert in Austrasia since 675, who gave them to the Abbey of Bèze that year (679).
as it had under Boniface and his predecessors. This land was a part of the kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy, and only the land between the Vosges and the Rhine south to the Sornegau, later Alsace proper, remained with Austrasia under Adalrich. The west of Vosges was under duke Theotchar.
In Alsace, however, the civil war had resulted in a curtailed royal power and Adalrich's influence and authority, though restricted in territory, was augmented in practical scope. After the war, parts of the Frankish kingdom saw a more powerful viceregal hand under the exercise of the mayors of the palaces, while other regions were even less directly affected by the royal prerogative. The Merovingian palace at Marlenheim
in Alsace was never visited by a royal figure again in Adalrich's lifetime. While southern Austrasia had been the centre of Wulfoald
's power, the Arnulflings were a north Austrasian family, who took scarce interest in Alsatian affairs until the 730s and 740s.
Adalrich had initially made his allies counts, but in 683 he granted the comital office to his son and eventual successor Adalbert
. By controlling monasteries and counties in the family, Adalrich built up a powerful regional duchy to pass on to his Etichonid heirs.
and for lording it over monasteries, including his own foundations. According to the Life of Germanus
of Grandval, Adalrich "wickedly began oppressing the people in the vicinity [Sornegau] of the monastery and to allege that they had always been rebels against his predecessors." He removed the centenarius ruling in the region and replaced him with his own man, Count Ericho. He exiled the people of the Sornegau, who denied being rebels against previous dukes. Many of the people exiled from the valley were attached to Grandval and could not thus be exiled. Adalrich marched into the valley of the Sornegau with a large army of Alemanni at one end while his lieutenant Adalmund entered with a host by the other. The abbot, Germanus himself, and his provost Randoald
met Adalrich with books and relics in order to persuade him not to make violence. The duke granted a wadium, a device of recompense or promise, and offered thus to spare the valley devastation, but for unknown reasons Germanus refused it. The region was ravaged.
Perhaps as penance for his relationship to the deaths of two future saints, Leodegar and Germanus of Grandval, or perhaps out of a secret desire — disclosed it is said to his intimate friends — to found a place to the service of God and take up the religious life, Adalrich founded two monasteries in north central Alsace between 680 and 700: Ebersheim in honour of Saint Maurice
and Hohenburg on the site of an old Roman fort (of the emperor Maximian
) discovered by his huntsmen and which he appropriated for his own military uses. Adalrich's daughter Odilia served as Hohenburg's first abbess and was later named patron saint
of Alsace by Pope Pius VII
in 1807.
The bishop tried to restore the duke's relationship with his daughter, but Adalrich, fearing the effect of admitting to having a daughter hiding in poverty in a monastery would have on his subjects, refused. A son of his, ignoring Adalrich's orders, brought his sister back to Hohenburg, where Adalrich was holding court. When Odilia arrived, Adalrich, in a rage, struck a blow with his sceptre to his son's head, accidentally killing him. Disgraced, he reluctant allowed Odilia to live in the monastery, which had not abbess, with a minimal wage under a British nun.
Towards the end of his life he was reconciled to her and made her the first abbess of his foundation, handing the abbey over as if it were private property. Through his daughter Adalrich was reconciled to God and as early as the twelfth century was regarded as a saint with a local cult. His burial garments were displayed to pilgrims in his foundation at Hohenburg and a feast day was celebrated annually by the nuns. The portrayal of Adalrich as a nobleman who became holy while retaining his noble status and rank was very popular in the Rhineland
and as far away as Bavaria
in the Middle Ages. The Life probably sought to show how by simply maltreating a blind daughter in order to save face, Adalrich ended up far more dishonoured than he otherwise would have.
Etichonids
The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish , Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who rose to dominate the region of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages from the seventh to the tenth centuries....
, and an important and influential figure in the power politic of late seventh-century Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
.
Adalrich's family originated in the pagus Attoariensis around Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
in northern Burgundy. In the mid-seventh century they began to be major founders and patrons of monasteries in the region under a duke named Amalgar and his wife Aquilina. They founded a convent at Brégille and an abbey for men at Bèze
Bèze
Bèze is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...
, installing children in both abbacies. They were succeeded by their third child, Adalrich, who was the father of Adalrich, Duke of Alsace.
Civil war of 675–679
Adalrich first enters history as a member of the faction of nobles which invited Childeric IIChilderic II
Childeric II was the king of Austrasia from 662 and of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole King of the Franks for the final two years of his life. He was the second eldest son of Clovis II. His elder brother Chlothar III was briefly sole king from 661, but gave...
to take the kingship of Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
and Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
in 673 after the death of Chlothar III. He married Berswinda, a relative of Leodegar
Leodegar
Saint Leodegar or Leger, Bishop of Autun , was the great opponent of Ebroin— the mayor of the Palace of Neustria— and the leader of the faction of Austrasian great nobles in the struggles for hegemony over the waning Merovingian dynasty...
, the famous Bishop of Autun, whose party he supported in the civil war which followed Childeric's assassination two years later (675). Adalrich was duke by March 675, when Childeric had granted him honores in Alsace with the title of dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
and asked him to transfer some land to the recently-founded (c. 662) abbey at Gregoriental on behalf of Abbot Valedio. This grant was most probably the result of his support for Childeric in Burgundy, which had often disputed possession of Alsace with Austrasia. Later writers saw Adalrich as the successor in Alsace of Duke Boniface
Boniface, Duke of Alsace
Boniface or Bonifacius was the second Duke of Alsace, in the mid 7th century. He is an obscure figure and his background is unknown, but charter evidence and onomastics make him a relative of the families of Gundoin and Wulfoald, a powerful extended kin group in Austrasia...
. After Childeric's assassination, Adalrich threw his support behind Dagobert II
Dagobert II
Dagobert II was the king of Austrasia , the son of Sigebert III and Chimnechild of Burgundy. The Feast Date of St Dagobert II is 23 December -Biography:...
for the Austrasian throne.
Adalrich abandoned Leodegar and went over to Ebroin
Ebroin
Ebroin was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681...
, the mayor of the palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
of Neustria, sometime before 677, when he appears as an ally of Theuderic, who granted him the monastery of Bèze. Taking advantage of the assassination of Hector of Provence
Hector of Provence
Hector was the Patrician of Provence in the 660s and 670s. He intervened in the wars between Leodegar and Ebroin in Burgundy on behalf of the former, as recorded in the Passio Leudegarii. When he died, Eticho invaded Provence and tried to take Lyon, unsuccessfully.-Sources:*Lewis, Archibald R. ""...
in 679 to bid for power in Provence, he marched on Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
but failed to take it and, returning to Alsace, switched his support to the Austrasians once more, only to find himself dispossessed of his lands in Alsace by King Theuderic III
Theuderic III
Theuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...
, an ally (and puppet) of Ebroin's who had opposed Dagobert in Austrasia since 675, who gave them to the Abbey of Bèze that year (679).
Power in Alsace
Adalrich maintained his power in a restricted dukedom which did not encompass land west of the VosgesVosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
as it had under Boniface and his predecessors. This land was a part of the kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy, and only the land between the Vosges and the Rhine south to the Sornegau, later Alsace proper, remained with Austrasia under Adalrich. The west of Vosges was under duke Theotchar.
In Alsace, however, the civil war had resulted in a curtailed royal power and Adalrich's influence and authority, though restricted in territory, was augmented in practical scope. After the war, parts of the Frankish kingdom saw a more powerful viceregal hand under the exercise of the mayors of the palaces, while other regions were even less directly affected by the royal prerogative. The Merovingian palace at Marlenheim
Marlenheim
Marlenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
in Alsace was never visited by a royal figure again in Adalrich's lifetime. While southern Austrasia had been the centre of Wulfoald
Wulfoald
Wulfoald was the mayor of the palace of Austrasia from 656 or 661, depending on when Grimoald I was removed from that office , to his death and mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 to 675.He was the regent of Austrasia during the minority of Childeric II until 670...
's power, the Arnulflings were a north Austrasian family, who took scarce interest in Alsatian affairs until the 730s and 740s.
Adalrich had initially made his allies counts, but in 683 he granted the comital office to his son and eventual successor Adalbert
Adalbert, Duke of Alsace
Adalbert was the Duke of Alsace beginning after 683 and probably until his death, before 700. He was the second duke of the family of the Etichonids and the first to inherit the duchy from his father....
. By controlling monasteries and counties in the family, Adalrich built up a powerful regional duchy to pass on to his Etichonid heirs.
Relationship with monasteries
Adalrich had a rocky relationship with the monasteries of his realm, upon which he relied for his power. He is infamous for the suppression of that of GrandvalGrandval, Switzerland
Grandval is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura . Grandval also used to be known under its German name Granfel or Granfelden, but these forms are no longer commonly...
and for lording it over monasteries, including his own foundations. According to the Life of Germanus
Germanus of Granfelden
Saint Germanus of Granfelden was the first abbot of Moutier-Grandval Monastery.Germanus hailed from a family of senators in Trier. He became a monk in Remiremont monastery near Metz, later in Luxeuil...
of Grandval, Adalrich "wickedly began oppressing the people in the vicinity [Sornegau] of the monastery and to allege that they had always been rebels against his predecessors." He removed the centenarius ruling in the region and replaced him with his own man, Count Ericho. He exiled the people of the Sornegau, who denied being rebels against previous dukes. Many of the people exiled from the valley were attached to Grandval and could not thus be exiled. Adalrich marched into the valley of the Sornegau with a large army of Alemanni at one end while his lieutenant Adalmund entered with a host by the other. The abbot, Germanus himself, and his provost Randoald
Randoald of Grandval
Saint Randoald was prior of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval in the Moutier valley, under saint Germanus. They were martyred together by the duke of Alsace, Eticho, for standing up for the poor....
met Adalrich with books and relics in order to persuade him not to make violence. The duke granted a wadium, a device of recompense or promise, and offered thus to spare the valley devastation, but for unknown reasons Germanus refused it. The region was ravaged.
Perhaps as penance for his relationship to the deaths of two future saints, Leodegar and Germanus of Grandval, or perhaps out of a secret desire — disclosed it is said to his intimate friends — to found a place to the service of God and take up the religious life, Adalrich founded two monasteries in north central Alsace between 680 and 700: Ebersheim in honour of Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms...
and Hohenburg on the site of an old Roman fort (of the emperor Maximian
Maximian
Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...
) discovered by his huntsmen and which he appropriated for his own military uses. Adalrich's daughter Odilia served as Hohenburg's first abbess and was later named patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Alsace by Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
in 1807.
Veneration as a saint
His daughter Odilia was reputedly born blind, which Adalrich took as a punishment for some offence done to God. In order to save face with his retainers, he tried to persuade his wife to kill the infant child in secret. Berswinda instead sent the child into hiding with a maid at the monastery of Palma. According to the Life of Odilia, a bishop named Erhard baptised the adolescent girl and smeared a chrism on her eyes, which miraculously restored her sight.The bishop tried to restore the duke's relationship with his daughter, but Adalrich, fearing the effect of admitting to having a daughter hiding in poverty in a monastery would have on his subjects, refused. A son of his, ignoring Adalrich's orders, brought his sister back to Hohenburg, where Adalrich was holding court. When Odilia arrived, Adalrich, in a rage, struck a blow with his sceptre to his son's head, accidentally killing him. Disgraced, he reluctant allowed Odilia to live in the monastery, which had not abbess, with a minimal wage under a British nun.
Towards the end of his life he was reconciled to her and made her the first abbess of his foundation, handing the abbey over as if it were private property. Through his daughter Adalrich was reconciled to God and as early as the twelfth century was regarded as a saint with a local cult. His burial garments were displayed to pilgrims in his foundation at Hohenburg and a feast day was celebrated annually by the nuns. The portrayal of Adalrich as a nobleman who became holy while retaining his noble status and rank was very popular in the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
and as far away as 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...
in the Middle Ages. The Life probably sought to show how by simply maltreating a blind daughter in order to save face, Adalrich ended up far more dishonoured than he otherwise would have.
Sources
- Hummer, Hans J. Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm 600 – 1000. Cambridge University Press: 2005. See mainly pp 46–55.
- Lewis, Archibald Ross. "The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550-751." SpeculumSpeculum (journal)Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies is a quarterly academic journal published by the Medieval Academy of America. It was established in 1926. The journal's primary focus is on the time period from 500-1500 in Western Europe, but also on related subjects such as Byzantine, Hebrew, Arabic, and...
, Vol. LI, No. 3. July, 1976. pp 381–410.