Fulcrad was the count of

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

in the middle of the ninth century, who was given military command over the other counts of the Provençal country and took the title of duke (Latin ''dux''). His recorded activity took place after the

treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (; ), agreed to on 10 August 843, ended the Carolingian civil war and divided the Carolingian Empire between Lothair I, Louis the German, Louis II and Charles the Bald, Charles II, the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the ...

(843), when Provence lay in the south of the kingdom of

Middle Francia Middle Francia () was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Francia was allocated ...

ruled by the Emperor Lothair I. As the leading man in Provence he seems to have succeeded Warin. In 845 Fulcrad led the counts of Provence in revolt against Lothair. The emperor came down and forced him to surrender. The northern ''

Annals of Saint-Bertin ''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus conti ...

'' record that "Count Fulcrad and the other Provençals failed to usurp all power in Provence from Lothair". The German ''

Annals of Fulda The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the ...

'' give Fulcrad the title of duke: "Lothair accepted the surrender of the duke of Arles and the rest of the counts of the party planning to rebel and ordered Provence according to his own wishes." Fulcrad was reconciled to the emperor by the next year (846), when he accompanied Lothair on a military expedition against the Saracens of Italy. Fulcrad's revolt took place at a time when Provence was increasingly under attack from foreign quarters. In 842

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

attacked

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and Arles, and in 848 Marseille was assaulted by Byzantine (Greek) pirates. In 859 Arles was fortified against Saracen attacks. In 859–60 Provence was ravaged by the Vikings under

Hastein Hastein (Old Norse: ''Hásteinn'', also recorded as ''Hastingus'', ''Anstign'', ''Haesten'', ''Hæsten'', ''Hæstenn'' or ''Hæsting'' and alias ''Alsting''Jones, Aled (2003). ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series'' Cambridge ...

and

Björn Ironside Björn Ironside ( Swedish: ''Björn Järnsida''; Old Norse: ''Bjǫrn Járnsíða'') according to Norse legends, was a Norse Viking chief and Swedish king. According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of notor ...

. After Lothair's death in 855, Middle Francia was divided between his sons.

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, the youngest, received Provence and the lands to its immediate north. His kingdom is usually called the "Kingdom of Provence", although it was much more extensive than Fulcrad's dukedom. The southern part of Charles's kingdom—Provence proper—is poorly documented in this period. Fulcrad attended the public assembly at Sermorens (near

Voiron Voiron (; ) is a commune (French municipality) in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron is located northwest of Grenoble ...

) that probably took place between 858 and 860 (prior to the death of Bishop Ebbo of Grenoble). Fulcrad's preeminence among the counts of Provence is indicated by his place in the surviving list of attendants: second after the regent of the kingdom, Girard of Roussillon. In a royal diploma of 25 August 862, Fulcrad appears as Charles's special representative (''ambasciator'') to the church of Orange when the king donated a village in the county of Orange to the church. The count of Orange at the time was Aldric, who also participated in Lothair's Italian expedition in 846.

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* * * {{refend Counts of Provence