Suppo II (Italian: Suppone) (died circa 879) was the Duke of Spoleto from 871 until his death. He was the archiminister (archminister) and consiliarius (counsellor) of the Emperor Louis II. In 869-870 he travelled to Constantinople as imperial missus

Missus dominicus

A missus dominicus , Latin for "envoy[s] of the lord [ruler]", also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf , meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Holy Roman Emperor to supervise the administration, mainly of justice, in parts of his dominions too far for frequent personal...

 together with Anastasius the Librarian, to negotiate a peace with the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. Throughout Louis's reign he was the most powerful lay magnate in Italy.

He was a member of the Supponid family and was related to Louis's empress, Engelberga

Engelberga

Engelberga was the wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, from 5 October 851 to his death on 12 August 875. As empress, she exerted a powerful influence over her husband. Her family, the Supponids, prospered during Louis's reign...

, and also to Suppo

Suppo II

Suppo II was a member of the Supponid family and Engelberga, the wife of Louis II may have been his sister. He was Count of Parma, Asti, and Turin. Along with his cousin, Suppo III, he was the chief lay magnate in Italy during Louis's reign....

, count of Parma

Parma

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

, Asti

Asti

Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...

, and Turin

March of Turin

The county or march of Turin was founded in 941 by Hugh of Italy, who appointed Arduin Glaber as its governor. Arduin had captured Turin and the Susa Valley from the Saracens...

, his cousin. After Louis's death, at first he supported Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman was the eldest son of Louis the German, king of East Francia , and Hemma, daughter of the count Welf...

 for the Italian throne. After 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...

 obtained the crown, he pacified with him but in February 876 he was stripped of the duchy of Spoleto, in favour of the previous duke, Lambert I

Lambert I of Spoleto

Lambert I was the duke and margrave of Spoleto on two occasions, first from 859 to 871 and then from 876 to his death.Lambert was the eldest son of Guy I of Spoleto and Itta, daughter of Sico of Benevento...

.

Suppo III died between March 877 (when he is mentioned in a document) and August 879 (when a letter from Pope John VIII

Pope John VIII

Pope John VIII was pope from December 13, 872 to December 16, 882. He is often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the ninth century and the last bright spot on the papacy until Leo IX two centuries later....

 laments his death]].
Suppo's wife was a sister of Eberhard of Friuli

Eberhard of Friuli

Eberhard was the Frankish Duke of Friuli from 846. His name is alternatively spelled Everard, Evrard, Erhard, Eberhard, or Eberard, or in Latinized fashion Everardus, Eberardus, or Eberhardus. He wrote his own name "Evvrardus"...

 and he had a son named Unroch, which in turn had a son named Rudolph.

Sources

• Wickham, Chris. Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000. MacMillan Press: 1981.
• Hlawitschka, Eduard. Franken, Alemannen, Bayern und Burgunder in Oberitalien (774-962), 1960