Eberhard of Franconia facts for kids

Eberhard III (born around 885 – died October 2, 939) was an important duke in early German history. He was a member of the Conradine family. Eberhard became the Duke of Franconia in December 918. He took over after his older brother, King Conrad I, passed away. From 926 to 928, he also helped rule Lotharingia.

Life of Duke Eberhard

Early Life and Family Feuds

Eberhard was the second son of Conrad the Elder. His mother was Glismut, who died in 924. She might have been the daughter of the emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. The Conradine family were counts in the Franconian Lahngau area. They were strong supporters of the Carolingians, who were a powerful royal family.

At the same time, the Conradines were rivals with the Babenberg family. Both families wanted to be the most powerful in Franconia. In 906, the two groups fought near Fritzlar. Eberhard's father, Conrad the Elder, was killed in this battle. Two of the three Babenberg brothers also died. The feud ended when King Louis the Child supported the Conradines. This made Conrad the Younger, Eberhard's brother, the undisputed duke of all Franconia.

Supporting King Conrad I

When King Louis died in 911, the princes from Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria chose Conrad the Younger as their king. He became King of East Francia. While his brother was king, Eberhard became a count in different regions. These included the Franconian Hessengau and Persgau in 913. He was also a count in the Upper Lahngau in 913 and 928.

Eberhard helped his brother King Conrad against other powerful dukes. These rivals included Arnulf of Bavaria and Henry of Saxony. In 914, Eberhard became a Franconian margrave, a kind of border count. However, he couldn't stop Henry of Saxony from taking over the Thuringian lands. These lands had belonged to the late Duke Burchard.

A New King for Germany

In December 918, King Conrad was dying in Forchheim. He called the German princes together to decide who would be the next king. A medieval writer named Widukind of Corvey wrote about this. King Conrad convinced Eberhard to give up his own dream of becoming king. Instead, Conrad asked Eberhard to tell the princes to choose his former rival, Duke Henry the Fowler. Henry was from the Ottonian family.

Eberhard was given the important task of personally handing over the royal symbols to Henry. This happened at a big meeting called the Imperial Diet in May 919 in Fritzlar. King Conrad believed this was the only way to end the long-standing rivalry between the Saxons and the Franks. He also wanted to prevent the kingdom from breaking apart into smaller states. These smaller states were called stem duchies.

Duke of Franconia and Regent of Lotharingia

Eberhard became Duke of Franconia after his brother died. He remained a very loyal supporter of the new king, Henry I. King Henry later took back control of the difficult region of Lotharingia. In 926, he made Eberhard a regent there. A regent is someone who rules for the king or queen when they are away or too young.

Eberhard quickly brought stability to Lotharingia. He ruled there until 928. Then, King Henry gave the rule of Lotharingia to his son-in-law, Gilbert. Gilbert was married to Henry's daughter, Gerberga.

Conflict with Otto I

After King Henry died, his son Otto I became king. Otto wanted to make the king's power much stronger. This soon led to problems between Eberhard and King Otto. In 937, Duke Eberhard attacked Helmern castle. This castle was near Peckelsheim, close to the Saxon border. A Saxon commander there refused to promise loyalty to anyone who wasn't Saxon.

King Otto called Eberhard and the Saxon commander to a royal court in Magdeburg. There, Eberhard was ordered to pay a fine. His officers were given a very humiliating punishment. They had to carry dead dogs in public. Eberhard was furious about this. He joined King Otto's enemies. In 938, he started a rebellion with Otto's half-brother Thankmar and Duke Eberhard of Bavaria. This Duke Eberhard was the son of the late Duke Arnulf.

The rebellion was quickly put down. Thankmar was killed at Eresburg Castle. Duke Eberhard of Bavaria was replaced by his uncle Berthold.

Final Rebellion and Death

After a short time of peace with King Otto, Eberhard joined another uprising. He allied with Duke Gilbert of Lorraine, Archbishop Frederick of Mainz, and Henry. Henry was Otto's younger brother. Their combined forces were a serious threat to King Otto's rule.

However, on October 2, 939, the rebels were finally defeated. This happened in the Battle of Andernach. Eberhard of Franconia was killed in this battle. It is said that his relative, Count Odo of Wetterau, killed him. After Eberhard's death, his duchy was taken by the king. Franconia remained under direct royal control until it was dissolved in 1039.