Conrad I of Germany
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| Conrad I | |
| King of the Germans, Duke of Franconia | |
|---|---|
| Reign | 10 November 911 – 23 December 918 |
| Born | c.890 |
| Died | 23 December 918 |
| Place of death | Weilburg |
| Buried | Fulda |
| Predecessor | Louis the Child |
| Successor | Henry the Fowler |
| Consort | Cunigunde of Swabia |
| Royal House | Conradine dynasty |
| Father | Conrad, Duke of Thuringia |
| Mother | Glismut |
Conrad I (German: Konrad, c. 890–December 23, 918), called the Younger, was duke of Franconia from 906 and king of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine (or Franconian) dynasty. Though Conrad never used the title "king of Germany" (rex Teutonicorum), he was the king of East Francia as the elected successor of the Carolingian Louis the Child and this kingdom evolved into Germany in the following century.
Conrad was the son of Conrad, Duke of Thuringia, and Glismut, daughter of Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. The Conradines, counts in the Lahn region, and the Babenbergs, counts in the Main area, competed vigorously for predominance in Franconia. In 906, they battled each other near Fritzlar. Conrad the Elder was killed, as were two of the three Babenberg brothers; the third was executed shortly thereafter, despite a promise of safe conduct by archbishop Hatto I of Mainz, the Kingdom's chancellor. Conrad the Younger became Duke of Franconia after this.
Conrad married the sister of the Swabian count Erchanger to patch up relations in 913. Cunigunda, widow of Liutpold and mother of Duke Arnulf of Bavaria, gave him two children: Cunigunda and Herman, both born in 913.
Conrad was elected King of the East Frankish Kingdom on November 10, 911, at Forchheim after the death of his uncle, the last East Frankish Carolingian, Louis the Child.
His reign was a continuous and generally unsuccessful struggle to uphold the power of the kingship against the growing power of the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia. His military campaigns were failures, and his attempt to mobilize the bishops to his cause at the synod of Hohenaltheim (916) was not enough to compensate. Conrad died on December 23, 918 at Weilburg. He is buried at Fulda.
On his deathbed, he persuaded his brother, Margrave Eberhard of Franconia, to offer the crown to Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony and one of his principal opponents, since he considered Henry to be the only prince capable of holding the Kingdom together in the face of internal rivalries among the dukes and the continuous raids of the Hungarians. Eberhard and the other Frankish nobles accepted Conrad's advice, and Henry was elected king, as Henry I, at the Reichstag of 919 in Fritzlar.
Eberhard succeeded Conrad as duke of Franconia. He was killed in 939 at the Battle of Andernach during his rebellion against Emperor Otto I, and the duchy of Franconia became a direct Imperial possession from 939 to 1024.
[edit] See also
- Kings of Germany family tree. He was related to every other king of Germany.
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Conrad I of Germany
Born: c. 890 Died: 23 December 918 |
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| Preceded by Louis the Child |
King of Germany 911–918 |
Succeeded by Henry I |
| Preceded by uncertain Babenberg |
Duke of Franconia 906–918 |
Succeeded by Eberhard III |
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