Gerold "der Jüngere" in der Baar, II

From the German Wikipedia page on Gerold der Jungere:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerold_der_J%C3%BCngere

Gerold in der Baar (auch Gerold II.; † 1. September 799) war ein alamannischer Markgraf der Awarenmark und Präfekt von Bayern.

Gerold stammte aus einer alamannischen Adelsfamilie und war der Sohn des Gerold von Anglachgau und der Imma sowie der Bruder von Hildegard, die 771 mit Karl dem Großen verheiratet wurde. 785 und 790 wird er als Graf in der Baar (Bertoldsbaar) in Urkunden erwähnt. Gerold scheint eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Integration Bayerns in das fränkische Reich und im Kampf gegen den letzten bayerischen Stammesherzog Tassilo III. gespielt zu haben. Nach der Absetzung Tassilos 788 wurde Gerold zum Präfekten Bayerns ernannt. Als Präfekt von Bayern setzte ihn Karl der Große im Kampf gegen die Awaren ein. Dort tat er sich gemeinsam mit dem Markgrafen Erich von Friaul hervor, sodass Karl die Fortführung des gesamten Feldzugs Gerold, Erich und seinem Sohn Pippin von Italien anvertraute. Auch im Kampf gegen die Sachsen und Slawen tat sich Gerold hervor. 799 starb er in einer Schlacht gegen die Awaren gemeinsam mit Erich und seinem Sohn.

Literatur

Karl Schmid: Gerold. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 6. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, S. 315 .

Bernhard von Simson: Gerold (Graf in der Baar). In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 9. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, S. 40 f.

In English:

Gerold in der Baar (also Gerold II, d. 1 September 799) was an Alemannian Margrave of the Avar Marches and Prefect of Bavaria.

Gerold was from a noble Alemannian family and was the son of Gerold of Anglachgau and his wife Imma. He was the brother of Hildegarde, who in 771 married Charlemagne. In 785 and 790, he is documented as the Graf in der Baar (Bertoldsbaar). Gerold plays a crucial role in the integration of Bavaria into the Frankish Empire, and in the fight against the last tribal Duke of Bavaria, Tassilo III. After the fall of Tassilo in 788, Gerold was appointed Prefect of Bavaira.

As Prefect, Gerold was ordered by Charlemagne to fight against the Avars. He teamed up with Eric, Marquis of Friuli (his brother), and carried out an entire campaign that included the two brothers and his son, Pippin von Italia. Gerold also carried out campaigns against the Saxons and Slavs. In 799 he died in battle against the Avars, as did Eric and his son.

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From the page on Warfare and Society in the Carolingian Ostmark by Charles R. Bowlus (1978):

http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/bowlus.htm

Gerold, the prefect of Bavaria and Charlemagne's brother-in-law, was on horseback when he was killed while preparing armies to fight the Avars in 799. But Einhard, who reported the incident, does not give us the impression that his troops were mounted, for he wrote that “Gerold . . . was killed by an unknown hand . . . as he rode along the line encouraging his soldiers by name."26

26. Einhard, Vita Caroli Magni, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum in Usum Scholarum, edited by Georg Waitz (Hanover: Gesellschaft for Altere deutsche Geschichtskunde, 1905), Chapter XIII, p. 14; Bullough, "Europae Pater: Charlemagne and His Achievement in Light of Recent Scholarship," p. 88.

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From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on Swabia Nobility:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SWABIAN%20NOBILITY.htm#GeroldUdalri...

GEROLD . Graf im Kraichgau [Udalrichinger].

m IMMA, daughter of NEBE [Hnabi] Duke of Alemannia & his wife Hereswint --- (-798).

"Imma" daughter of "Nebe" is named by Thegan[300]. Her marriage is suggested by Thegan's Vita Hludowici Imperatoris which names "Hildigardam [wife of Charles I King of the Franks] quæ erat de cognatione Gotefridi ducis Alamannorum" and specifies that she was Imma's daughter[301]. The Annales Alamannici record the death in 798 of "Imma"[302].

Graf Gerold & his wife had seven children:

a) GEROLD [II] (-killed in battle 1 Sep 799, bur Augia).

An epitaph to “quondam comitem…Geroldum” records that “cui regina soror, Ludovici…genitrix, Hildegardis erat”[303]. "Dudo" donated "Sytinga marca in pago Bertoldesbara" to the monastery of St Gallen by charter dated 11 Apr 786 subscribed by "Dirodhario comite, Geroldo comite, Birtilone comite, Bertoldo comite"[304]. "Ceroldus comes" donated property "in pago Perihtilinpara" to the monastery of St Gallen, referring to "meus infans", by charter dated 3 May 786 subscribed by "Imma genitrix, Perihtilone comite"[305]. "Cozbertus" donated property "in Peratholtipara in villa…Priari" to the monastery of St Gallen by charter dated 24 Jan 790 subscribed by "Geraldo comite"[306].

Prefect in Bavaria 796. Benefactor of Reichenau and St Gallen.

He was killed in battle against the Avars[307]. The Annales Alamannici record that "Kerolt" was killed in 799[308]. The Annales Fuldenses record that "Geroldus Baioariæ præfectus" was killed in 799 fighting the "Hunis"[309]. Gerold is recorded as "defuerat soboles, pariterque defuit heres"[310]. The Epitaphium Geroldi Comitis records the death in battle "Sep…Kal" of "Geroldi"[311]. The Annales Laurissenses Continuatio records that "Geroldus comes Baioariæ prefectus" was killed in battle against the Avars and was buried "in Augia" in 799[312].

m ---. The name of Gerold's wife is not known.

Graf Gerold [II] & his wife had one child:

i) child (-after 3 May 786). "Ceroldus comes" donated property "in pago Perihtilinpara" to the monastery of St Gallen, referring to "meus infans", by charter dated 3 May 786 subscribed by "Imma genitrix, Perihtilone comite"[313].

References:

[300] Thegani Vita Hludowici Imperatoris 2, MGH SS II, p. 591.

[301] Thegani Vita Hludowici Imperatoris 2, MGH SS II, p. 590-1.

[302] Annales Alamannici 798, MGH SS I, p. 48.

[303] RHGF V, p. 399.

[304] Württembergisches Urkundenbuch I, 32, p. 32.

[305] Württembergisches Urkundenbuch I, 33, p. 34.

[306] Württembergisches Urkundenbuch I, 37, p. 39.

[307] ES XII 24.

[308] Annales Alamannici 799, MGH SS I, p. 48.

[309] Annales Fuldenses 799, MGH SS I, p. 352.

[310] Walahfrid Viso Wettini, line 816, quoted in Jackman, D. C. (1997) Criticism and Critique, sidelights on the Konradiner (Oxford Unit for Prosopographical Research), p. 126.

[311] Tituli Sæculi VIII, X Epitaphium Geroldi comitis, MGH Poetæ Latini ævi Carolini I, p. 114.

[312] Annales Laurissenses Continuatio usque ad a. 829 Auctore Einhardo 799, MGH SS I, p. 186.

[313] Württembergisches Urkundenbuch I, 33, p. 34.

From the English Wikipedia page on the Siege of Trsat:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Trsat

Siege of Trsat: Part of the Frankish campaign against the Avars and Slavs

Date: Autumn of 799[1]

Location: 45.332°N, 14.455°E, or coordinates: 45.332°N 14.455°E, Trsat (Rijeka), Littoral Croatian Duchy (today's Croatia)

Result: Decisive Croatian victory[2]

Belligerents

Croats[3][4][5] and Citzens of Tarsatica[6] under Višeslav of Croatia[2]

Franks[3] under Eric of Friuli †[3] (suffered heavy losses [2])

Introduction

The Siege of Trsat (Croatian: Opsada Trsata) was a battle fought over possession of the town of Trsat (Latin: Tarsatica)[Note 1] in Liburnia, near the Croatian–Frankish border.[3]

The battle was fought in the autumn of 799 between the defending forces of the Littoral Croatian Duchy under the leadership of Croatian duke Višeslav and the invading Frankish army of the Carolingian Empire led by Eric of Friuli.[2] The battle was a Croatian victory, and the Frankish commander Eric was killed during the siege.[1][4][7]

The Frankish invasion of Croatia, the destruction of Tarsatica, the coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, and negotiations from 802–815 between the Franks and Byzantines led to a stalemate. The Littoral Croatia Duchy consequently peacefully accepted a limited Frankish overlordship.[6]

Background

Charlemagne, King of the Franks from 768 until his death in 814, expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe.[8] He brought the Frankish state face to face with the Slavs to the northeast and the Avars and Slavs to the southeast of the Frankish empire.[8] The Croats lived in Pannonian Croatia and Dalmatian Croatia (Littoral Croatian Duchy) to the southeast of the Frankish Empire. Dalmatian (Littoral) Croatia was ruled by Duke Višeslav, one of the first known Croatian dukes.[9]

While fighting the Avars, the Franks called for Slavic-Croatian support.[1] Croatian Prince Vojnomir of Pannonian Croatia launched a joint counterattack with the help of Frankish troops under Charlemagne in 791.[10] The offensive was successful and the Avars were driven out of Croatia.[10] In return for the help of Charlemagne, Vojnomir was obliged to recognize Frankish sovereignty, convert to Christianity, and have his territory named Pannonian Croatia.[10] Charlemagne again campaigned against the Avars and won a major victory in 796.[11] Prince Vojnomir aided him, and the Franks became overlords of the Croatians of northern Dalmatia, Slavonia, and Pannonia.[11] The Franks placed Pannonian Croats under Eric, the margrave of Friuli, who then tried to extend his rule over the Croatians of Dalmatia.[12]

The conquest of Istria by the Franks brought the realm of Charlemagne adjacent to Dalmatia.[13] Dalmatia at that time included both Roman cities and a Slavic-Croatian hinterland that was loosely subject to the rule of the Byzantine Empire.[13] In the treaty of 798, the Franks acknowledged Byzantine rights over the Slavs, but in the following years both Croatian Župans (dukes) and Roman communities recognized an opportunity to win full independence from both Imperial powers.[13]

As the eldest son of Gerold of Vinzgouw and as a high ranking Frankish commander, Eric was titled from 789 to his death the Duke of Friuli (dux Foroiulensis). He was appointed governor of Istria, Fruli, and neighbouring areas by Charlemagne. Eric wanted to extend his dominion by conquering Dalmatian Croatia.[Note 2][3][12][14] In the autumn of 799, Eric marched from Istria along the seacoast of Liburnia towards the town of Trsat, which is today part of the city of Rijeka.[14] Meanwhile his opponent, duke Višeslav, gathered his forces and moved north from his governing center at Nin.[2]

Siege

Upon arriving at the foot of the settlement, Eric besieged and attacked the city, but was repelled. Led by duke Višeslav, the inhabitants of Trsat threw spears, shot arrows, and hurled huge stones on the enemy, and managed to kill many of them.[Note 3][14] Eric's forces fled their positions, and were subsequently routed by the forces of Višeslav in an ambush.[15] Eric was among those killed, and his death and defeat proved to be a great blow for the Carolingian Empire.[16][14][8] Aquileian Patriarch Saint Paulinus II cursed the land in which the hero was killed, and wrote Carmen de regula fidei, the rhythmus or elegy for his death.[14]

According to contemporary Frankish scholar and courtier Einhard, Eric was killed at Trsat (Tarsatch), a town on the coast of Liburnia by the treachery of the inhabitants.[16] Due to a lack of primary materials, it is uncertain who killed Duke Eric. Most of historians point at Croats,[5] while some point at Byzantines.[17] Einhard also notes the death of Gerold, Prefect of Bavaria, another Frankish commander who was slain in Pannonia in the same year.[16] Croatian historian Nenad Labus refers to this event as a successful assassination attempt by Avars and Slavs.[17] Historian Pierre Riché believes that Dalmatian Croats (Guduscani) killed Eric in collusion with Avars.[5]

Besides the Royal Frankish Annals (Annales Regni Francorum), there is another primary source compiled in c. 950, the historical work De administrando imperio, ascribed to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, which refers to Croatian-Frankish relations.[18] Constantine notes that for a number of years the Croats of Dalmatia were subjects of the Franks, who treated them brutally.[18] The Croats revolted and slew their princes.[18] In an act of revenge, a large army from Francia invaded Croatia.[18] After seven years of war, the Croats managed to defeat the Franks, killing a large portion of the invading army along with its commander.[18] Although Constantine describes a chain of events that are analogous to the 'Siege of Trsat', he does not mention Tarsatica or the exact year of these events.[18]

Aftermath

In 800, Eric's successor Cadolah of Friuli invaded the Littoral Croatian Duchy by the order of Charlemagne, but without considerable military success.[14] Still, Tarsatica was burned down.[Note 4][14] Tarsatica's surviving inhabitants moved to a more protected hill, where they established a new settlement called Trsat.[Note 5] Višeslav continued to rule over the Littoral Croatian Duchy and warred against the Franks, avoiding defeat upon his death in 802.[14] He was succeeded by his son Borna, who later become a Frankish ally.[14][19]

On Christmas Day in 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Imperator Romanorum (Holy Roman Emperor) in Saint Peter's Basilica.[12][14] This was a direct challenge to Byzantium's claim to be the one - the Roman - empire.[12] Nicephorus I of the Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire settled their imperial boundaries in 803. Littoral Croatia peacefully accepted a limited Frankish overlordship.[14] The peace of Aache in 812 confirmed Dalmatia, except for the Byzantine cities and islands, as under Frankish domain.[6]

Ljudevit Posavski, Croatian Duke of Pannonian Croatia, led a resistance to Frankish domination.[20][21] Ljudevit also had to fight against Dalmatian Croatia, as their prince Borna was a Frankish ally.[19] After unsuccessful resistance by Ljudevit and Pannonian Croats, the Franks again controlled Istria, Dalmatia, and Pannonia.[22] Nevertheless, Dalmatian Croatia remained a semi-independent duchy between the two Empires, as they had a right to elect their own prince.[22]

Notes

Note 1. The city of Tarsatica, where the siege happened, was probably located at the present Old Town in Rijeka, not at Trsat itself, which is found on on a hill overlooking Rijeka on the other side of the Rječina River. Trsat was actually founded by the Tarsatica's surviving inhabitants, a year after the siege. (Croatian Academy of America. Journal of Croatian studies (1986), Vol. 27–30)

Note 2. According to Denis Sinor, it is possible that Eric set his army to fight the Avars and was attacked by Croats at Trsat. (Sinor (1990), p. 219.)

Note 3. This description of the battle can also be found in primary material from Aquileian Patriarch Saint Paulinus II. In his poem "Versus de Herico duce" he mention throwing spears, arrows, and huge stones upon Eric.

Note 4. Historians have a disagreement whether Tarsatica was destroyed in 799 or in 800.

Note 5. According to Ferdo Šišić, Rijeka was founded by the Croats after the destruction of Tarsatica. (Šišić, Ferdo. Abridged Political History of Rieka (Fiume) (1919))

Footnotes

1. Sinor 1990, p. 219

2. Gaži 1973, p. 20

3. Scholz 1970, p. 191

4. Rogers 2002, p. 77

5. Riché 1993, p. 111

6. Dzino 2010, p. 183

7. Žic 2001, p. 18

8. Ross 1945, pp. 212–235

9. Fine 1991, p. 296

10. Dvornik 1959, p. 69

11. Fine 1991, p. 257

12. Fine 1991, p. 252

13. Bury 2008, p. 329

14. Klaić 1985, pp. 63–64

15. Tomac 1959, p. 304

16. Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni

17. Labus 2000, pp. 1–16

18. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, pp. 143–145

19. Scholz 1970, p. 106

20. Riché 1993, pp. 158–159

21. Royal Frankish Annales Annales Regni Francorum ed. G. H. Pertz. Monumenta Germanicae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum 6, (Hannover 1895) for the years 819–822.

22. Scholz 1970, p. 197

Bibliography

Bury, John Bagnell (2008). History of the Eastern Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil: A.D. 802-867, Dij. 802-867. Cosimo, Inc.. ISBN 9536531313, 9789536531318.

Constantine Porphyrogenitus (1967). Moravcsik, Gy.. ed. De Administrando Imperio. Translated by R.J.H. Jenkins (Rev. ed.). Washington: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 0884020215, 9780884020219.

Dvornik, Francis (1959). The Slavs: their early history and civilization. American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dzino, Danijel (2010). Becoming Slav, Becoming Croat: Identity Transformations in Post-Roman and Early Medieval Dalmatia. Brill. ISBN 9004186468, 9789004186460.

Einhard (1880). Turner, Samuel Epes. ed. The Life of Charlemagne (Vita Karoli Magni). Translated by Samuel Epes Turner. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991). The early medieval Balkans: a critical survey from the sixth to the late twelfth century. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08149-7.

Gaži, Stephen (1973). A history of Croatia. Philosophical Library.

Klaić, Vjekoslav (1985) (in Croatian). Povijest Hrvata: Knjiga Prva. Zagreb: Nakladni zavod Matice hrvatske. ISBN 8640100519, 9788640100519.

Labus, Nenad (2000). "Tko je ubio vojvodu Erika [Who was Duke Eric?]" (in Croatian) (PDF). Radovi Zavoda povijesnih znanosti HAZU u Zadru (Zagreb: Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) (42): 1–16. ISSN 1330-0474.

Riché, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: a family who forged Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812213424, 9780812213423.

Rogers, Clifford J. (2002). The journal of medieval military history. New York: Boydell Press. ISBN 0851159095, 9780851159096.

Ross, James Bruce (April 1945). "Two Neglected Paladins of Charlemagne: Erich of Friuli and Gerold of Bavaria". Speculum (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Medieval Academy of America) 20 (2): 212–235. ISSN 00387134. Retrieved 2010-09-23.

Scholz, Bernhard Walter (1970). Carolingian chronicles: Royal Frankish annals and Nithard's Histories. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472061860, 9780472061860.

Sinor, Denis (1990). The Cambridge history of early Inner Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24304-1.

Tomac, Petar (1959) (in Croatian). Vojna istorija. Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod JNA. LCCN 60-039538. OCLC 21319446.

Žic, Igor (2001) (in Croatian). Kratka povijest grada Rijeke. Adamić. ISBN 9536531313, 9789536531318.

External links

(Croatian) Map of Littoral Croatian Duchy in early 9th century

http://www.croatia-in-english.com/images/maps/800s.jpg

On the burial location of Gerold II, "Augia":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichenau_Island

The Alemannic name of (Reichenau) island was Sindleozesauua, but it was also simply known as Ow, Auua, 'island' (Latinized as Augia, later also Augia felix or Augia dives, hence Richenow, Reichenau).