Conrad I of Germany facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Conrad I
Conrad's seal
King of East Francia
Reign	10 November 911 – 23 December 918
Predecessor	Louis the Child
Successor	Henry the Fowler
Duke of Franconia
Reign	27 February 906 – 23 December 918
Predecessor	Conrad the Elder
Successor	Eberhard of Franconia
Born	c. 881
Died	23 December 918 Weilburg Castle
Burial	Fulda Cathedral
Consort	Cunigunde of Swabia
House	Conradines
Father	Conrad, Duke of Thuringia
Mother	Glismut

Conrad I (German: Konrad; born around 881 – died December 23, 918), also known as Conrad the Younger, was the King of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was a very important king because he was the first one not from the famous Carolingian dynasty. He was also the first king chosen by the powerful nobles and the first to be officially blessed in a special ceremony. The leaders of the different parts of East Francia, called stem duchies, chose him after the young King Louis the Child died. Before becoming king, Conrad was the ruler (Duke) of Franconia starting in 906.

Early Life of Conrad I

Conrad was the son of Duke Conrad of Thuringia, who was called the Elder. His mother was Glismoda. She might have been related to Ota, who was the wife of Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia and mother of Louis the Child.

Conrad's family, the Conradines, were counts in the Franconian Lahngau area. They were always loyal to the Carolingian emperors. But they also had a strong rivalry with another powerful family, the Babenbergs, who lived near Bamberg Castle. Both families wanted to be the most powerful in Franconia.

In 906, the two families fought a big battle near Fritzlar. In this battle, Conrad the Elder (Conrad I's father) was killed. Two of the three Babenberg brothers also died. King Louis the Child then sided with the Conradines. The last Babenberg brother, Adalbert, was arrested and executed soon after, even though the king's chief advisor, Archbishop Hatto I of Mainz, had promised him safety. After this, Conrad became the clear ruler of all Franconia. However, he couldn't expand his family's power into western Lotharingia after his uncle, Duke Gebhard, died.

Conrad's Time as King

King Conrad, from an old book called the Codex Eberhardi, around 1150.

After King Louis the Child passed away, Conrad was chosen as the King of East Francia. This happened on November 10, 911, in a place called Forchheim. The powerful dukes from Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria all agreed to elect him.

The dukes did not want Louis's relative, Charles the Simple, who was King of West Francia, to become their king. Instead, they chose Conrad because he was related to the late king through his mother. Only Conrad's rival, Reginar, the Duke of Lotharingia, refused to accept Conrad as king and joined West Francia instead.

Because Conrad I was one of the dukes himself, it was very hard for him to make the other powerful dukes obey him. For example, Duke Henry of Saxony fought against Conrad I until 915. Also, the fight against Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, was so difficult that it eventually led to Conrad I's death. Burchard II, Duke of Swabia, another duke, demanded and received more freedom to rule his own lands.

Arnulf of Bavaria even asked the Magyars (a group of fierce warriors from the east) for help during his rebellion. When Arnulf was defeated, he ran away to the Magyar lands. For this, he was declared a traitor and sentenced to death, but the powerful duke managed to escape execution.

In 913, Conrad I married Cunigunde. She was the widow of Liutpold and the sister of a Swabian count named Erchanger. Conrad and Cunigunde had two children, Cunigunda and Herman, both born in 913.

The Kingdom of Conrad I (shown in green) in 915. Lotharingia had joined West Francia.

In 913, Erchanger, Conrad's brother-in-law, also rebelled against him. In 914, Erchanger captured Solomon III, who was the Bishop of Constance and Conrad’s main advisor. Erchanger was sent away from the kingdom, but he still managed to defeat the king's army in a battle near Lake Constance. Finally, he was arrested for treason at a meeting of nobles in Hohenaltheim in Swabia. On January 21, 917, he was executed along with his brother Berthold.

Conrad's time as king was a constant and often unsuccessful struggle. He tried to keep the king's power strong against the growing power of the local dukes. His military campaigns against Charles the Simple to get back Lotharingia and the important city of Aachen did not succeed. Even Archbishop Ratbod of Trier became a chief advisor for West Francia in 913.

Conrad's kingdom also faced constant attacks from the Magyars. These raids had been happening since the Bavarian army was badly defeated in the 907 Battle of Pressburg. This made Conrad's authority much weaker. He tried to get the support of the church leaders, led by Archbishop Unni of Bremen, at a meeting in Hohenaltheim in 916. But this was not enough to make up for his other problems. After several fights, Conrad was at least able to make peace with Duke Henry of Saxony. However, the rebellious Swabian dukes Erchanger (who was executed in 917) and Burchard II were a constant threat, as was Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria.

Conrad was badly hurt in one of his battles with Arnulf. He died on December 23, 918, at his home in Weilburg Castle. He was buried in Fulda Cathedral.

According to an old book called Res gestae saxonicae by a writer named Widukind of Corvey, Conrad, while he was dying, convinced his younger brother Eberhard of Franconia to offer the royal crown to Henry the Fowler. Henry was the Duke of Saxony and one of Conrad's main opponents. Conrad believed that Henry was the only duke strong enough to keep the kingdom together, especially with all the fighting among the dukes and the ongoing Magyar raids.

It took until May 919 for Eberhard and the other Frankish nobles to agree with Conrad's dying wish. Henry was then chosen as king and became Henry I at a big meeting called the Reichstag in Fritzlar. This was a big change because the kingship now moved from the Franks to the Saxons. The Saxons had suffered a lot during the conquests of Charlemagne and were very proud of their own identity.

Eberhard became the Duke of Franconia after Conrad. But he was killed in 939 at the Battle of Andernach during his own rebellion against Emperor Otto I. After this, the Duchy of Franconia became a direct possession of the Ottonian dynasty until 1024.

See also

In Spanish: Conrado I de Alemania para niños