Burchard I ( – 5 or 23 November 911), a member of the Hunfriding dynasty, was a Duke of Alamannia from 909 until his death. He also held the title of a

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Raetia Curiensis Raetia Curiensis (in Latin; , ) was an early medieval province in Central Europe, named after the preceding Roman province of '' Raetia prima'' which retained its Romansh culture during the Migration Period, while the adjacent territories in the ...

, as well as count in the

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

and Baar.

Life

Burchard was the son of Adalbert II the Illustrious, Count of Thurgau, and his wife Judith of

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

. By 900, Burchard was already the most powerful noble in

Alamannia Alamannia, or Alemania, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman '' limes'' in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main River basin during the 3rd century and ...

. In a 904 deed, he appeared as ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' administrator of the Swabian possessions of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

. He succeeded the Welf scion Ruadulf in the borderlands of Raetia, mentioned as ''marchio'' (margrave) in 903 and '' dux'' (duke) in 909. To further increase his influence, Burchard entered into a conflict with the Swabian count palatine Erchanger and Bishop Solomon III of Constance, who both were loyal supporters to the later East Frankish king Conrad I. In turn, Burchard was captured and charged with

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

. He was found guilty by a tribal council and executed, along with his brother, Count Adalbert III of Thurgau. His son, Burchard II, and his daughter-in-law, Regelinda, left for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, either exiled or taking refuge. Their Rhaetian estates were lost, though later recovered. Count Palatine Erchanger proclaimed himself

Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchy, stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most no ...

in 915.

Issue

About 882 Burchard married one Liutgard (possibly the

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...

princess Liutgard of Saxony, widow of King

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes called Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Hemma. He succeeded his father as the King of Eastern Francia on 28 August 876 and his ...

) and had the following children: * Burchard II (d. 926), succeeded as

in 917 *Dietpirch of Swabia (also known as Theoberga) married Hupald of Dillingen (d. 909). *Odalric, count in the Thurgau and

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

gau, had issue.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * *Leyser, Karl. ''Communications and Power in

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: The

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

and

Centuries''.

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1994. {{Authority control Dukes of Swabia 850s births 911 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century dukes in Europe Alemannic warriors Hunfridings 9th-century people from East Francia