Zwentibold

Zwentibold
Born	(870-01-01)1 January 870 Babaria, East Francia
Died	13 August 900(900-08-13) (aged 30) Lotharingia
Spouse(s)	oda of Saxony
Children	Godfrey, count of Lorraine Otto de Lorraine(949 death) Benedetta Cecilia Relenda
Parents	Arnulf of Carinthia(father) Vinburga(mother)

Zwentibold (or Zventibold, Swentiboldo, 1 January 870 – 13 August 900) was the illegitimate son of the Carolingian Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. In 895, his father, then king of East Francia, granted him the Kingdom of Lotharingia, which he ruled until his death.After his death he was declared a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church.

Life

Early life

Zwentibold was illegitimate son of East Francian emperor Arnulf of Carinthia, his mother Vinburga(d. 18 May 898) was a one of concubine.

Zwentibold intervened in the scramble for the throne in West Francia (France) between Count Odo of Paris and Charles the Simple, but they began to cooperate against Zwentibold, when it became apparent that he intended to become king of West Francia himself. The eldest son of Arnulf was at first marked out for his succession in East Francia. According to the 870 Treaty of Meerssen and the 880 Treaty of Ribemont, the Lotharingian kingdom of former Middle Francia had fallen to the East Frankish realm. When in 893 King Arnulf's wife Ota gave birth to his legitimate son and successor Louis the Child, Zwentibold in compensation received the Lotharingian royal title, which at last had been held by Lothair II.

King of Lotharingia

In Summer 893 Arnulf, receiving pleas of intervention against [emperor] Wido of Spoleto from pope Formosus and Berengar of Friuli, king of Italy, sent Zwentibold down the Brenner Pass with an army. Joining forces with Berengar in Verona, the two marched to Wido's capital, Pavia, and besieged it unsuccessfully, finally renouncing to the siege: according to Liutprand of Cremona, Zwentibold accepted money from Wido in order to leave, although it is not clear if it was in the form of a personal bribe or a tribute to his father. Zwentibold's retreat was nonetheless seen as a failure, and on hearing the news of the retreat, Arnulf summoned a new army and personally led it to Italy and took Pavia a few months later.

As a part of the plans to integrate Lotharingia into the East Frankish realm, the rule of King Zwentibold was enforced by his father, supported by the archbishops Herman I of Cologne and Ratbod of Trier, against the resistance of the local nobility. As he helped the common population too much, he began to be hated in a few years. He was fighting unruly nobles when his father Arnulf died in 899 and the legitimate son Louis the Child at the age of six became king of East Francia.

Death

Zwentibold attempted to take advantage of the succession of his minor half-brother to establish complete independence for his Lotharingian kingdom. However, after he had lost his father's backing, the entire nobility supported Louis and asked him to intervene. In 900, Count Reginar I of Hainault rose against Zwentibold and slew him near present-day Susteren.

After Zwentibold's death, his half-brother King Louis the Child of East Francia also ruled over Lotharingia. However, under his reign the East Frankish realm disintegrated and from 903 Zwentibold's kingdom was administered by the Lahngau Count Gebhard, a scion of the Conradine dynasty, who received the title of a Duke of Lorraine.

Family

Zwentibold was named after his godfather, King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia (Zwentibold being a Frankish transcription of Svatopluk). In 897, he married Oda, a daughter of Duke Otto I of Saxony. His mortal remains are buried at Susteren Abbey.

• Godfrey, count of Lorraine
• Otto de Lorraine(? – 2 December 949)
• Benedetta (ca. 888 -?), abbey of Susteren
• Cecilia (ca. 889 -?), abbey of Susteren
• Relenda (ca. 900 -?)

References

• Collins, Roger (1999). Early Medieval Europe 300–1000, 2nd edition. Palgrave Macmillan
• Annales Fuldenses, sive Annales regni Francorum orientalis, 10th century.
• Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, 10th century

Notes

Zwentibold Carolingian Born: 1 January 871 Died: 13 August 900
Preceded by Arnulf	King of Lotharingia 895–900	Vacant Title next held by Louis the Child (King) Gebhard (as Duke of Lorraine)