Cancor (died 771) was a Frankish

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

associated with

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 was son of a noble lady Williswinda. Since Williswinda's only known husband before being widowed was named Robert (Rodbert), it has been proposed that Cancor was a son of Count Robert I of Hesbaye, who lived in the 8th century. Robert II of Hesbaye may have been his brother or his nephew. Together with his widowed mother Williswinda, Cancor founded

in 764, as a

proprietary church During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church (Latin ''ecclesia propria'', German ''Eigenkirche'') was a church, abbey or cloister built on private ground by a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests, especially the right of what ...

and monastery on their estate ''Laurissa'' ( Lorsch). They entrusted its government to Cancor's cousin Chrodegang,

Bishop of Metz This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Ad ...

. Chrodegang dedicated the church and monastery to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and became its first abbot. The founders later enriched the new abbey with further donations. In 766, shortly before his death, Chrodegang resigned as Abbot of Lorsch (owing to his duties as Bishop of Metz) and sent his brother Gundeland, another nephew of Cancor, to Lorsch as his successor. Cancor married a noblewoman named Angila, of unknown parentage, probably before 766. Cancor and Angila had four children: * Heimrich, Count in the Upper Rheingau (d. 5 May 795), Count in the Upper Rheingau, who died in the Battle of Lüne and the Elbe, a campaign in Charlemagne’s

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...

* Embert (d. 803), Bishop of Worms, 770-803 * Rachilt (d. after 1 November 792), Nun at Lorsch * Euphemia, Nun at Lorsch. Cancor was succeeded as Count of Hesbaye by his brother Thuringbert. His great-grandson, through his son Heimrich, would be Poppo I of Grabfeld († 839/841), the progenitor of the Popponids ( Early or Franconian House of Babenberg). In turn, several later dynasties would descend from them, including the Younger or Austrian House of Babenberg, the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, the Henneberg, the Schweinfurt and the Babonids. The recurring name of Poppo (Bubo, Pabo, Babo, ''etc.'') are likely to be variations of Robert, Cancor's father.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book , last=Riché , first=Pierre , title=The Carolingians, a Family who Forged Europe , translator-first1=Michael Idomir , translator-last1=Allen , publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press , year=1993 Robertians Counts of Hesbaye 8th-century Frankish nobility 771 deaths